Ochette couldn't have asked for a better ending to the day. 

Even if the search for Cateracta hadn't exactly gone according to plan, she was still able to find Acta and at least start outlining her plan for how she was going to reach the others. Tera was waiting for her somewhere else on the western continent near Crackridge, making him the perfect target to turn to next. Glacis was on the eastern continent to the far north, and coincidentally, she seemed to be in the same town as the Sacred Guard's headquarters. In other words, Ochette would be able to knock out both of her tasks at the same time as Temenos' missions. It was perfect. 

But even more perfect was the fact that Ochette was able to enjoy an absolutely wonderful meal with the rest of the travelers in Conning Creek. Agnea had amazing tips for how to season the fish caught in the sea, and Osvald was able to offer a bit of advice too even if he was nowhere near as experienced. Ochette's stomach was craving more even after she hit her point of being too full to continue, and she was certain the rest of the group felt much the same way. 

Ochette sighed and stretched her hands high above her head. "That was amazing!" she called out. She pressed her head against a table that had been set out in the marketplace for any buyers to enjoy after they picked up their food. The rest of the group was gathered around the table as well, and each of them was every bit as full as she was. "I hope we can eat like this again before we have to leave town... I'm going to miss this place after we leave. I don't know if any other town is ever going to be able to match up to the fish here."

"It really is incredible," Castti agreed with a smile. "We should probably try to come up with a plan for what we're going to be doing after we leave town though. Osvald needs to do something here in Conning Creek tomorrow, but... Just in case that mission goes south, I believe it would be for the best if we had a backup plan for how we were going to proceed. Where do we want to go from here?"

Partitio hummed, cupping one hand around his chin. "Well... Throné said that she has to go to Oresrush in order to look around for more information about someone she's chasin' after. On the way, we might be able to pass through Sai in order to make sure Castti can wrap up her own business there."

"That seems like a good idea," Temenos nodded. "After that, we can decide if we want to go up north to Crackridge or if we should come back in this direction and return to the eastern continent. We can consider going to Wellgrove as well, though if we decide to wait, then that would be fine as well."

"Yeah..." Ochette murmured, trailing off with a frown. She could hear activity stirring elsewhere in town, but it wasn't close enough for her to be able to say for certain where it was coming from. Ochette was stuffed from dinner, but she forced herself to sit up in search of something that might fill her in on the source of the scuffle. 

"We have to get out of here."

Whatever it was, Mahina figured it out first, and Ochette looked up to find the owl suddenly shifting back and forth in a moment of pure anxiety. "There are soldiers at the entrance of town. I can hear them," Mahina went on. "I think news got out that Hikari is here on the western continent again. They're talking to the locals, and they're going to find us soon."

Ochette gasped, and she reached her hand out to tap wildly at the arm of the person to her left. It just so happened to be Hikari himself, and he watched her in muted confusion. "Ochette?" Hikari asked softly. "What is--"

"We have to get out of here!" Ochette cried out. "Remember the whole 'you're on the run from the army of Ku' thing? I think someone in Canalbrine might have recognized a wanted poster that had you on it! Or they saw a poster of you here in Conning Creek! I don't know! But there are soldiers here, and we have to get out of town before they spot us!"

"What?" Agnea asked, her eyes going wide. "But what are we supposed to do? If we leave, then we'll either have to go back to Canalbrine to the eastern continent..."

"Or we'll need to cut through Hinoeuma," Hikari finished for her, and Ochette began to chew on her bottom lip. They were right; either way, they would probably end up being chased. "Both of those options are incredibly risky, and if they pursue us long enough to start a fight..."

Temenos, who had been lost in thought since Ochette's declaration, snapped his fingers as a memory returned to him. "You said Kazan would be waiting for you in the desert town of Ryu until all the pieces were in place to begin the charge on Ku. Perhaps we will be safe in Ryu. If we have other allies to defend you, then that should make this a bit easier for us."

"But... Are we sure that's going to work?" Ochette asked anxiously. "If they decide to follow us, then we're going to be in enemy territory, and it'll be even harder than ever before to get out!"

"But we have a lot that needs to be accomplished here on the western continent. Even if we come back to see what we can learn about Harvey later, the fact remains that we will have to return," Osvald frowned. "One way or another, we cannot avoid half of Solistia forever."

Hikari took in a careful breath and pushed himself to his feet. "I... I think Ryu is the safer option," he admitted. "If we go to Canalbrine and the soldiers follow us all the way there, then we could end up starting a war that will span multiple countries. The desert sands between towns are a lot less occupied than the space between Canalbrine and Conning Creek..."

"And we might be able to lose them in the sand too if we play our cards right," Throné suggested. "Agnea knows how to use wind magic. We can try to start a sandstorm as a diversion, use that to make it to Ryu, and then decide if Oresrush or Sai is a safer next step for us to take from there."

"Then let's go already!" Mahina cried out. "We don't have long before they come after us! If we're going to find a way to sneak around them, then we have to do it right now!"

"How are we gonna get around the guards that could be at the entrance of the town?" Partitio asked. "If they station any soldiers there to make sure no one is able to get out, then we're as good as stuck... Unless we want to try and take some of the boats from the dock, but it wouldn't be right to run off with those. We wouldn't have anywhere to stop sailin' around later anyway."

"I'll handle that," Throné assured him. "Come on. Get everything together and start coming toward the front of the town. I'll take care of the rest." 

Ochette was tempted to ask what Throné had in mind, but she knew now was far from the time to try and push it. Instead, she nodded and fell into place, the rest of the group trailing after her. Throné gestured for the travelers to gather as close around her as possible before raising one hand into the air. Ochette couldn't describe what followed even if she had wanted to, but she was certain something in the air began to change around her. It felt like her view of the outside world had shifted, but at a glance, everything looked the same. 

Before Ochette had the chance to question it, Throné tilted her head forward, and the rest of the group began to creep quietly through the darkness of the night. Just as Mahina had said, there were soldiers from Ku clustered near the entrance of town. They were speaking with a few of the townsfolk, looking at wanted posters that had been drawn in Hikari's likeness. Ochette bit back a shudder. She had known Hikari was on the run from the army of Ku, but she hadn't thought it would be quite so terrifying to run into soldiers that were trying to bring him back to Hinoeuma. 

Luckily, it seemed like none of the soldiers were able to see the group at all on their way out of town. Ochette had thought at least someone would raise an eyebrow at them, but that wasn't a concern at all. No one looked their way twice, and Ochette couldn't help but stare in shock at the soldiers as they rushed deeper into Conning Creek. She had no idea what Throné was doing to make sure they weren't chased, but she was glad for it. Ochette didn't know what would have happened if they had stayed in town for too much longer, and she didn't want to have to think about it either. 

The Ku soldiers faded into the distance in a matter of minutes. The army was concentrated on searching through every corner of the town for any traces of Hikari that they would be able to find, but they had come up short in every respect. They would not find him so long as the travelers were able to slip away undetected. Hopefully, they would lose any and all pursuers that may have broken away from Conning Creek by the time they left Ryu. If not, then they would be able to take advantage of Agnea's wind magic to start up a sandstorm to cover their escape. Mahina would be able to help too, and that would be all they needed to get out of there... Or so Ochette was hoping. 

No one in the group spoke until they were twenty minutes away from Conning Creek. Throné had been leading them out of town, pressing plums into her mouth as needed to keep the strange spell she had cast going for as long as possible. Once she was certain they were in the clear, she let out a sigh and allowed her hands to fall back down by her sides. Ochette could see exhaustion tearing at the skin just beneath her eyes, but Throné refused to acknowledge it. "Alright," the thief said instead. "We should be fine for the time being. It would be better if we could find a cave to sleep in for the night where we'll be out of the open, but we're safe for a little while."

"What did you do to help us get out of there?" Agnea asked, unable to hold her curiosity back for even a moment longer. "I didn't realize it was possible for us to get out of town without being spotted after the soldiers got there... What did you do?"

"I... I know a lot about how to use dark magic, and one of the ways you can utilize it is by having it disguise your presence," Throné explained hesitantly. "Since it was already dark outside, I just... I used my magic a little bit to make sure it looked like there was nothing around us. I directed the light away from us. It's a good trick for stealth if you're worried about being caught by someone who wants to chase after you."

"Wow... That's incredible!" Ochette exclaimed. "You should teach the rest of us how to do that sometime! If there's a chance that we're going to have to run away from other soldiers like that again, then we need to be ready for it. We'll have a much easier time of it if you can help us to learn more about how to defend ourselves should it come up."

"I... I guess I can try," Throné agreed, though there remained a bit of unspoken tension in her voice. "If you really want to learn, then I'll do my best to teach you. We should wait until I've recovered a bit of my strength though. Spells like that are meant to be cast in short bursts, and keeping it going for that long was harder than I expected. It was a wider area than I'm used to too."

"You've always cast it in small bursts without having to worry about covering for other people, yes?" Temenos asked, and Throné nodded after a few moments of careful thought. "I see. Well, we can consider learning that trick from you another time. For now, I think it would be best for us to find a cave on the way to Ryu. We can make our final push toward the town in the morning, and once we are there, we can decide on what our next course of action is going to be."

Hikari nodded dully from his place at the back of the group. His eyebrows were knitted together tightly from anxiety, and he couldn't seem to find the words to express all that was racing through his head. Ochette tilted her head over her shoulder to look at him, and when she saw just how upset he was, she darted back to stand beside him. "Are you alright, Hikarin?" she asked. "If there's something wrong, you know you can talk to all of us about it, right?"

"I... I'm sorry for this," Hikari said a moment later, the dams of his defenses bursting free the instant he was pressed even slightly. "None of you should have had to deal with any of this. This isn't your problem, and I wish I could have done something to stop you from being dragged into it. I'm glad that you all have chosen to travel with me, but... If the danger is too much for you, then you should leave me to it alone. I would not fault any of you for walking away now."

"We're not goin' anywhere, Hikari," Partitio assured him, not waiting for anyone else to speak up to the contrary. There was no point in it; Partitio already knew they would not be saying anything to imply an imminent departure from the party. "We're here because we want to help you out. We knew it was gonna be risky when we signed on, and we're not about to just walk away over somethin' we knew we were gonna end up caught up in."

"Still... I knew from the start that it would be dangerous to ask others to travel with me. I knew there was a chance it would put a target on all of your backs, and that was always going to be risky. I should have chosen to make this journey alone. I never meant to inconvenience all of you," Hikari went on, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. "Perhaps I should take my leave of you when we arrive in Ryu. It would be safer that way."

"We're not going to force you to stay if you don't want to, but we don't want you to leave because of what just happened," Castti told him. "We all knew there were dangers involved with traveling at your side, but we chose to stay regardless. I have no plans of leaving just because the soldiers caught up with us. I'm here because I believe in your cause. All of us are. We won't be going anywhere."

"Yeah, Hikarin!" Ochette chimed in. "You told us that there was a chance this was going to happen, and we wanted to come along with you anyway. I know it stinks that we had to leave Conning Creek the way we did, but that's alright. We should be able to loop back around and return there on our way out of the western continent. We can check it out when we go in the direction of Canalbrine to go back to the other half of Solistia. It'll be fine."

Hikari looked to Osvald next, seeing the scholar as the peak of all his uncertainty. After all, Osvald was the reason they were in Conning Creek to begin with earlier that night. Ochette's mission had been accomplished, but Osvald's was left unfinished when they had to flee from the city. If anyone would be able to reassure Hikari that everything was fine, then it was Osvald. 

The scholar considered his words for a few moments before sighing. "To be honest with you, it is probably best that we are coming back to Conning Creek later on when there will not be Ku soldiers chasing after us," he said. "I have no idea what sort of trouble we would have gotten ourselves into in Conning Creek. Harvey had the entire town wrapped around his finger somehow, and that's why I wanted to wait as long as possible. For all we know, that could have also extended to the town guard working with the soldiers of Ku. It wouldn't shock me at all if Harvey was able to convince them to bend the knee for the sake of personal gain. Harvey may not have had to tell them anything if they thought something was in it for them, as a matter of fact."

"It wouldn't shock me if they were the ones who ratted us out in the first place," Throné hummed. "As far as I can tell, the town guard is filled to the brim with corrupt figures. That always seems to happen when you give a city a dedicated army. If any one of them recognized Hikari from the wanted posters scattered throughout the western continent, then they wouldn't have hesitated to send for someone to come and help track him down."

"It worries me that the guards of Conning Creek were so willing to bend to their wishes though," Agnea murmured. "Even if they are corrupt and have been for a long time... It bothers me to think about. That means there are enough soldiers from Ku roaming around the continent for the town guard to know who to contact and how in very little time. We might end up running into other Ku soldiers in the future."

"It's certainly something we'll have to consider," Temenos nodded. "But if we can say anything right now, then I think it is obvious that we are going to need to get a different disguise for Hikari so long as we are here on the western continent. Even outside of Hinoeuma, Ku has a lot of political sway because of how powerful its army is. It would not be out of the question for us to run into more trouble in the future. That means that we need to avoid it before it can happen, and the best way to do that will most likely be to get Hikari a different attire to wear here while we are coming up with another plan."

Hikari nodded slowly, though there was still endless guilt etched into his features. Partitio smiled back at Hikari, his grin lightening up the air like the sun rising in the sky. "You don't need to feel bad about any of this, Hikari. It's not like you asked to have to spend your time on the run. Besides, goin' off on your own would just make it harder for the people of Ku to get the chance they need to get back to their regular lives again. You need as much help as you can get, and we're not gonna walk away for anythin'. Even if it's dangerous, we can do this. I promise."

Hikari took in a slow breath, forcing all of the anxiety and self-deprecation out of his body along with the air in his lungs. "I... I think you are right," he agreed, though it was clearly taking a lot more effort to say than he would have liked. "Thank you all for continuing to stand by me through this. I know it is hardly the easiest choice to make, but... It truly means a lot to me. I don't know if I could have possibly asked for a better set of friends to stay with me throughout all of this."

"And we're going to stay here with you for a long time to come too!" Ochette beamed. "You're not going to be facing anything on your own now or in the future. We'll be right here by your side to help you through the situation with Ku. And if you need our help for other things after the war ends and your brother is out of the picture, then we'll be here for that too! You have nothing to worry about at all!"

"You've already done so much for all of us, so staying with you through your darkest hour feels like the least we can offer," Agnea agreed with a smile. "Thank you for being here, Hikari. I know today didn't go as we expected, but we'll find a way to make it all right soon. We can come back to Conning Creek."

"And we'll take care to attract a bit less attention this time too," Osvald finished for her, and Hikari nodded with a resolute frown. "When we get to Ryu, we can discuss how we plan to disguise your appearance on the western continent. It seems that full wanted posters of you have not made it to the eastern half of Solistia yet, but that may be a risk we have to face by the time we return."

"I understand," Hikari nodded, though there was something bittersweet about his expression. He didn't want to have to leave behind the clothing and the culture that he had treasured and known for all his life. Even if Ku's history of bloodshed was far from anything to be proud of, Hikari yearned for his homeland. He wanted to go back to the place where his heart had always waited for him, but so long as that was not an option, he had to cling to it however he could. Having to change his clothing felt like letting that go, and it stung far more than it had any right to. 

"Ah, look over there," Temenos cut in, pointing ahead and to the left. "There's a cave for us to spend the night in. It seems to be large enough for us to stay in together. We can rotate shifts to make sure the Ku soldiers don't come after us, and if a fight breaks out, then we can escape into the sands toward Ryu. Having the reinforcements of the gladiators will help us significantly if it comes to battle."

"I hope we don't have to worry about that," Castti frowned. "If we end up revealing our hand too soon about having the gladiators on our side, then the forces of Ku will be able to prepare for how we are going to handle the battle to defeat Mugen. I sincerely hope it does not come to that, but... I suppose we won't know if we have a choice in the matter until after we have arrived in Ryu."

"Let's not worry about that right now," Ochette suggested. "Let's stay in the cave for the night, try to rest, and then come up with another plan in the morning. I don't know about all of you, but I could use a break."

The rest of the travelers gladly agreed with Ochette's suggestion, and they all filed over to the cave. The group briefly split up to gather the necessary supplies for the night, such as a bundle of sticks that could be lit up for warmth. The night was cooler in the cave than it was on ground level, and Ochette knew they could use the light in the cave too. She couldn't wait to sit down and try to get a bit of rest after the chaotic day they had endured. 

Sure enough, Ochette's eyes began to droop almost as soon as she sat down. Acta coiled around her arm, and Ochette winced as she looked down at the serpent. "Sorry about all of this, Acta," Ochette said apologetically. "I don't think your first day was the most peaceful thing ever... But I don't think it'll be like this forever. Things will be peaceful soon enough. We don't get into fights every single day." Ochette did not say that they had gotten into their fair share of battles; Acta didn't need to hear that yet. It would be a concern for later, and Ochette would protect Acta as much as she could until then. 

To make up for the poor day they had all endured, Ochette began to pull Acta in closer to give it as much comfort as possible. The serpent let out a soft yelp as Ochette pressed it to her chest, but she didn't let up. She knew Acta needed all the reassurance it could get, and this felt like the perfect way to give it. Acta was going to be fine, and she would prove it however she had to in order to reassure it. 

"O-Ochette... What are you doing with Acta?"

Ochette looked up at Temenos with a smile on her face. He had come to stand over her with a frown, and his eyebrows were creased with concern. Ochette wasn't going to leave him to his worry forever though. "Oh, Acta was grizzling, so it's cuddle time. Isn't it, Acta!?" The serpent let out another strained noise as Ochette pulled it in tighter. 

"Are you perhaps overdoing it?" Temenos asked, settling down next to Ochette and reaching a hand out toward the serpent. "Acta seems rather... Constricted."

"Whoops!" Ochette pulled away immediately, and Acta's entire body relaxed from pure relief at no longer having Ochette wrapped so firmly around it. The huntress cast the serpent an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Acta."

Temenos shook his head with a light sigh. "One cannot soothe through force..." 

Ochette tilted her own head to the side with a frown. Back on Toto'haha, cuddling like that was extremely common among Beastling families. It was how everyone handled their young, as a matter of fact, and that was one reason Ochette had jumped to it so quickly. If humans handled things differently, then Ochette had to know about it. Her curiosity simply would not let it rest. "How do humans soothe their babies?" Ochette asked. 

"We sing songs or read them stories," Temenos answered, looking to another part of the cave. Osvald had lit a match and then tossed it into the fire, prompting the rest of the group to gather around. 

Ochette didn't join the group just yet, instead smiling up at Temenos with wide, sparkling eyes. "Oh, yeah? In that case, would you read Acta one of your histories?" She tilted her head down toward Temenos' bag, knowing that was where he kept the books of scripture that he had brought with him on his journey. 

Temenos seemed less than impressed with the thought though, and his lips tipped into a heavier frown almost immediately. "My histories are for proselytizing purposes."

"Aww, come on," Ochette whined. "Do it for Acta." She held the serpent up beside her head to try and hammer the point home, but the serpent didn't do much to try and convince Temenos. It flicked its tongue out once, though it was largely unaware of the conversation taking place all around it. 

Temenos sighed, unable to resist Ochette's pleas even if she was trying to filter them through Acta. "Oh, very well. But just one."

And with that, Temenos launched into an extensive retelling of Solistia's history. Ochette tried with everything she had to stay awake, but her eyes began to droop, and soon enough, the same was true of Acta. Her head slumped backward until she was leaning against the cave's wall, but Temenos continued to speak. He was looking into the book he had pulled out of his bag and did not notice at all. 

When Temenos reached the end of his tale, he began to close the book, having memorized the last few words of the tale years ago. "And thus the people continued to live in light and warmth. For the Sacred Flame ever shines upon... Hm?" Temenos trailed off when he felt a new weight pressing against his shoulder, and when he looked to the side, he found that Ochette's head had started to fall in his direction. She had been asleep for quite some time, but now she was leaning right up against Temenos in slumber. Ochette was snoring a little bit too, and Acta was coiled up in her lap. The only reason Mahina was not asleep with them was because the owl was perched with the rest of the travelers in the other part of the cave. 

Temenos smiled down at them both with a light shake of his head. "My goodness. They both fell asleep. The scriptures speak in a universal language... Tedium." Temenos did not stir even after realizing Ochette and Acta were asleep though, knowing that moving would only cause them to wake up. They had been at the heart of the day's chaos, and the last thing Temenos wanted to do was force them to get up again after all they had been through. They would be able to get up in the morning. 

Unfortunately, that left Temenos stuck where he was for the time being. He knew better than to try and squirm his way out from beneath Ochette's head, so he stayed right where he was seated. He could move after Ochette had shifted into a different position. Until then, Temenos allowed himself a small smile, and he looked at Ochette's serene, sleeping face. At least she was able to rest easily after the day they had faced. 

Somehow, Temenos didn't know if any of the others would have that same peace so long as they knew the soldiers of Ku were still after them. 

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So... There's something a little bit different, huh? 

This is a plot point that will be coming up occasionally from here on out. I hope no one forgot that there are members of this traveling company that are on the run from the law. The law in question certainly hasn't forgotten about that, and it is about to become everyone's problem. So in short, we'll be facing Osvald's third chapter a little bit later. 

We're not done with Ochette's first chapter two just yet though. There are going to be a few intermission scenes in the next two chapters as we transition into the next part of the story, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I hope you all are too. I love working on the character scenes for this story, and I think they're just as fun as the main story if not even more fun. It's just great all around. 

The cast isn't having much fun though, so next time, we'll look at how they're feeling on the heels of being chased out of Conning Creek. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital