As Suwa made his way back home after following Sezio to his camp, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. To one part, Suwa felt dejected after Sezio sent him away, but that was the lesser of his two feelings. What filled his heart more, was excitement. How could he possibly become as strong as a beast? Was it simple? Would he be able to protect his family from Rashendala if he listened to Sezio? Was Sezio even telling the truth?

The possibilities forced a smile on Suwa's face. It was hard for him to believe that Sezio could be lying when Sezio had saved him so easily before. He even saw himself doing the same in his mind to another young gehm. As beasts surrounded the imaginary child, Suwa would swoop in and defeat them to save the child’s life. Although what exact method he would use was still unknown because he still hadn't learned anything from Sezio properly, yet.

“What are you so happy about, Suwa?”

“Rena! I was just coming to see you!”

“Really? You do know that I live in the other direction, don't you? Where were you expecting to find me?”

“Ahh …” If Suwa were to be honest, he had been so distracted by his, ever so brief, conversation with Sezio, that he had forgotten his original intention to look for Rena.

“Well, it doesn't matter. I was just coming back from your house anyway. Feris told me some interesting stories while I was there, too.”

“Stories? Like what?”

“Like how you two got into an argument again. You know you might not always have each other, right? You should try a little harder to get along.”

“It’s not like that,” Suwa hesitated. Those words were especially stinging when he heard them from Rena. “She still praises dad even though he left us. I was just trying to remind her that, despite him, some of us are still here.”

“If you say so. Though, that's not exactly the words she chose to use.”

Suwa released a short burst of air from his nostrils as he held back an ironic laugh; though he was unable to hide his smile. “I'm sure she didn't.”

“Well, she did show off a certain gift she got from her brother, though. A quaint little flower. I wonder where you might have found it,” Rena claimed through feigned inquisitivity.

“I know you know that I got it from outside,” Suwa responded with a wry smile. “But what you don't know is what happened when I found it.”

“You met some outsiders?”

“How—”

“Everyone is talking about seeing you walking around with one. I feel sorry for Deia; trying to keep you under control is impossible.”

“Look who's talking.”

“Maybe. But I'm a different kind of uncontrollable. Anyway, what did the council say? That's where you went, right?”

“I don't know. I didn't want to stick around for more of Rudahl's preaching. I hate hearing the way he's always praising the elders, even though they never do anything to actually help. But Sezio did say he'll still be here for a few days, so they must have gotten permission somehow.”

“That's surprising. I'm sure Deia had something to do with it. I'm not sure how I feel about outsiders staying so close to the village, though. It just feels like another incident is going to happen.”

Rena's tone quickly fell as she was speaking. She and Suwa had grown up together and could even recognize each other's faces before learning how to speak. For that reason, they were the only ones that truly understood each other, and thus Suwa was well aware of the reason behind her sudden shift in temperament.

“Actually, is it all right if I stay at your house tonight?” Suwa changed the subject while looking away from his friend. “I think it's probably better if I give Feris a little more time alone to forgive me.”

“What? You don't have any faith in your peace offering?”

“I'd rather play it safe.”

“The only time I think I'll ever hear you say that is when it comes to Feris. But, yeah, you can stay.”

“Thanks. And I still wanted to tell you more about what happened today.”

Suwa followed Rena to her home; a small structure even more tent-like than his own. Where Rena slept was one of the few exceptions to the standard of Endora homes being built around trees. Most of what was consider her home was dug from the ground, with a pitched roof over the top. Since she lived alone, she only needed room enough for herself to sleep, so any time spent not sleeping was spent outside the little structure.

“So, you never actually answered my question,” Rena reminded Suwa as she took a seat on the ground near the entrance to her room. “What had you smiling so much earlier?”

“That's exactly what I wanted to talk about.  That man, the outsider, saved my life from an angry plant early—”

“A … what?”

“It’s where I got that flower from, but that's not important. What's important is that when Sezio saved me, he used something I've never seen before, and he seemed so strong. He even said it's possible for gehm like us to be as strong as beasts.”

“That's impossible.”

“Of course. But I saw it myself. And think about it. That would mean that we never need to fear beasts again. We could live free and still protect all the people we care about.”

“Suwa …” Rena had to compete with Suwa's own mind for his attention, “That's impossible. It's nothing more than a dream.”

“But with strength like that, you could have—” Rena put her hand over Suwa's mouth to keep him from continuing.

“Don't. If that's all you wanted to say, then I don't want to talk about it.”

Suwa bit his lip as Rena pulled her hand away from him. He knew it was a sensitive subject, but still failed to control himself in his excitement.

“You're right. I'm sorry. Bringing up the past can't change anything. But … Oh! I know! I'll be meeting with them again tomorrow—you should join me. You can meet them and see what they're talking about yourself.”

“I'd rather not. As much as I dislike Rudahl, I still agree with him when it comes to outsiders. No good will ever come from them.”

“That's just it, Rena. The good doesn't have to come from them. If we can learn what they have to teach, then we can be the ones to help ourselves. The good will come from us. Aren't you at least a little bit curious?”

“Fine. I'll go with you if you want. But I doubt I'll change my mind.”

“Great! Then I'll see you in the morning!”

“I thought you were going to stay here for the night,” Rena looked up at Suwa with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Well, yeah, umm,” Suwa cast a quick glance at Rena's room before giving an awkward smile. “I was kind of thinking that maybe there wouldn't be enough room for both if us, after all.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“But I'll see you first thing in the morning, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. I'll see you in the morning.”