"You know… the sooner we get ourselves an airship, the better. I'm wasted on cross-country… on foot and by wing," Gideon sighed as he dropped rather roughly onto a rock on the edge of the road and wiped sweat from his forehead onto his sleeve. He lifted up his canteen and poured water over his head to cool off. They had just left Laeto forest and it had been HOT and humid. His wings felt damp and heavy and he actually envied Rynn's hard scaly membrane wings. He pulled off his boots which had officially started wearing thin in the soles. "I'm going to have to start wearing those fancy boots we bought in Adeluna for walking," he muttered as he rubbed his aching feet and looked back up at Rynn. 

"How are you holding up?" he asked her. Their nightmare trek across the Plains had not been kind on them physically or mentally. A reminder of all they had lost was not something they had needed. Gideon was resilient enough to come back from it, but he knew Rynn. 

He reached out to touch Rynn's arm. "Talk to me…"

The idea that Rynn was a fragile woman was far from the truth, but the nightmare situation that they had encountered in the plains had shaken her. After all, it wasn’t often that one relieved their greatest fear. She shivered, despite the heat that they had just endured through the forest. She had been a mix of okay and not okay through the entire trip, and she knew that Gideon was trying to make small talk to distract her from the nightmare.

It wasn’t working.

She appreciated his efforts. She really did. But when he reached out to touch her she recoiled slightly, as if she had been struck. Rynn took a moment to process what she had done, and quickly apologized.

“Sorry…” She shook her head, trying to push away the feelings of doubt and insecurity that plagued her. “I was just…in my head again,” she said finally. “I’m fine. Really.” The draconian put on a strong, yet fake, smile.

Rynn had no way of knowing just what Gideon had seen in the nightmare, but she knew what she had experienced. Just when she had thought she had quelled the helpless feelings she had held for him, the realm that they had dropped in to had forced them back to the surface, and furthermore, tortured Rynn with them.

None of it was real. That was the first step. And she logically knew it. Aeolus was dead. And, even if he was alive….there wasn’t a chance in all the realms combined that her feelings of him were reciprocated. And it wasn’t fair to Gideon either. To place the burden of her feelings on to the poor celestial’s shoulders.

“So, where are we now?” she asked. “What does the map say?”

It stung when she recoiled from his touch and it showed visibly on his face for a moment until Rynn apologized to him. The look disappeared but the sting didn't and he rubbed his sore feet. He looked back up at her as she flashed him the smile. He gave her a small smile in return. He knew how fake it was. Her eyes didn't sparkle. They rarely sparkled anymore. 

He had seen more than Rynn knew. And that was the hardest part. He knew everything. The worst part was that there was no way for him to compare. And he had accepted that for a long time… but then there seemed to be the chance that Rynn had decided that what she had wanted had been her partner. And now… he felt her slipping away and becoming distant again. All he truly wanted was for her to be happy. He hated seeing her sad, but what was worse was that he seemed to be unable to pull her out of that slump now. 

He cleared his throat when Rynn asked about the map and he reached into his bag and pulled it out. 
"We are… approximately two leagues outside the Laeto forest. From here we go through the Valley of Vada, and the Harri desert to Sularia. From there, we should be able to figure out exactly where we need to go from there. Hopefully we can get an airship," he replied. He rolled the map up and put it back in his pack before he stood and shouldered the bag. "I figure we can get another league before nightfall."

Rynn let out a genuine groan at the prospect of doing another league before they stopped for the night. If there was anything that she hated about all of this, it was the fact that without her celestial star, she felt drained and tired all of the time. This, combined with the emotional stress of the recent events, lead her to ultimately wanting to just curl up in a ball and sleep the rest of the day away. This, however, was not a choice for either of them.

Jace.

Even if the nightmare had broken her spirit down, it had not entirely crushed it. Even of Aeolus was gone, Jace was not. And he had to be here. He just had to. She stood up from the rocky seat where she had dropped, and took a moment to straighten herself out before letting out a fierce, yet somewhat cute roar as she stretched out.

Just the thought of seeing her brother, and perhaps even punching him for leaving, was enough to bring at least a little life back into her. She looked to Gideon, and with at least a half smile, motioned. “Let’s ge to it, then.”

She was trying her hardest to push past the pain. And it was slowly, but surely, working.

That being said, it wasn’t even ten minutes before she was complaining again, sweat dripping down her face. “Gideon….I’m so tired,” she said, yawning. “I don’t like this at all. I never thought I’d have taken the airship for granted. We really need a new one.” She took a sip from her own canteen, and looked at it, tempted to pour it over herself. She glanced back to Gideon, her eyes narrowed. He’d enjoy it too much….

Gideon couldn't help but perk up slightly when Rynn let out her little roar. It was like a little piece of her old self had finally risen to the surface again. He smirked and stretched out his wings and flapped them, sending up a bit of dust as he did. "You are the boss," Gideon chuckled and he began trudging down the road beside Rynn. 

It wasn't much longer after that Gideon found them stopping again. "Rynn, please we can't stop. We can still bloody see where we stopped on the road ten minutes ago!" Gideon chuckled. He watched her contemplate pouring the canteen, and he really hoped she would for a brief moment. Of course, he also knew she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He sighed and spread his wings and took to the sky. The wind felt nice and he looked around and surveyed the surrounding area. He could see just a short fly away a good place to rest; a grove of sparkling white trees beside the river. 

He flew down and landed next to Rynn. 
"All right. If you have it in you for a short flight, I spotted a good place to camp for the night. And the wind will help you cool off," he said with a bit of a chuckle. 

Rynn could practically feel the disappointment from Gideon ,but she shrugged it off.

“I know, I know…but…” She huffed. “Look. It’s not my fault that I lost my star, okay?” The celestial draconian crossed her arms, pouting. Gideon seemed to understand though, and took off, coming back only moments later with an answer.

“A place to rest would be nice. And maybe I can soak in the river for a moment…” Rynn said aloud. She glanced at Gideon. “Maybe you can help rinse my wings too. I’ll do yours if you do mine.” She was already starting to feel better, and the idle chatter between the two was doing wonders for her mood.

“Let’s get on it then,” she said, determined. With a quick, but painful shift, she let her draconic wings spread, and took to the skies. Just as Gideon had said, it wasn’t far. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the wind rush past her. I miss this…the carefree moments… She opened her eyes to see Gideon ahead of her.

He doesn’t deserve what I’m putting him through…

The thought of a good preen was enough to really brighten Gideon's day. While Rynn's wings could be cleaned quickly with water and a soft rag, his often took much longer to clean since he couldn't just get his wings wet. He also had four wings compared to Rynn's two. 

He glanced back over his shoulder at Rynn and gave her a confident, carefree smile that he had become known for before suddenly he dipped and started performing feats of aerial acrobatics. He dipped, spun, dove and looped around Rynn several times with a cheerful whoop to try and entice a smile out of her before their short flight came to an end. 

When they landed in the clearing near the river, Gideon couldn't help but be in awe. The trees weren't just white, they were crystalline, tinged with many different colors, almost like pearls or opals. Even the flowers and grass were crystalline, and the entire air sang with tinkling chimes. The river was pure and clean, and cold to the touch. Many of the trees were small, similar to fruit trees but in the distance Gideon could see some that towered over them, sparkling in the sunlight. 

"Wow…so this is the Valley of Vada…." he said in total awe. 

As Rynn landed, she was just as taken in by the sights as Gideon was. The entire valley was covered in a variety of different crystals, shimmering in all of the colors in the spectrum. It was such a beautiful sight, that she couldn’t help but recall their home. She looked to Gideon, with an almost longing smile.

“Do you remember the caverns in Dragonis?” she asked. “They were behind Uncle Rzek’s castle. We weren’t supposed to go there, but we never listened. I don’t remember if you ever came with us…Sarah and I would always sneak there and look at the crystals.” She paused, and glanced back at the valley. “Father told me that it was off limits because it was a sacred place. It was where Grandfather had been laid to rest for a time. That was before our family had found the Soul Forger.”

Rynn let out a sigh. “This place resonates with the same magic. When the Soul Forger merged with Grandfather, it left a resonation of Celestial Energy. I think that’s where Serah and I got our fascination with the power of the Stars.” It was there, in the air of the Valley. She could feel it, a star that had fallen from the heavens.

“Unlike home, though, it seems as though the star is content being here,” she said. “No reason to send it back to the heavens. But maybe, just maybe…” She wondered if she got close enough, if she could resonate with it.

“Do you think we can go look at the star, Gideon? Would that put us too far out of the way? It doesn’t even have to be before we head to our goal…it can be after.” Rynn looked down. Perhaps her emotions were betraying her, but she felt as though without the power of the star, she might end up pushing Gideon too hard.

I’m a burden as I am now….

"I've seen paintings of it in the history books," Gideon replied. "But you never had the chance to show me. It was something I had been looking forward to," he admitted with a bit of a shrug. "But… if this place is anything like it…" he said looking around more. Rynn was right. This entire place absolutely radiated with star magic. He could feel it in everything around them, the trees, the plants, the water. He knelt and plucked a flower, and lowered his goggles over his eyes. Lights appeared in his fingers and radiated up through the tiny bloom. 

"This… this entire place glows… like stardust is what nourishes it," he said in awe. "I've never heard of a star big enough to leave this much stardust falling before," he said amazed. He pulled open his map and traced the route they were to take. His mind was already on the same track as Rynn's. If there was a star that big, and strong enough to bring life to a valley such as this, then it was possible that Rynn would not have to be powerless much longer. 

"Not at all," he said looking at the map. "The rivers run right to it. Its on the north end of the valley, in what they call the Himirian Scar. There is a sky tram that can take us over the Scar and we should be able to see it," he said. "That puts it right in our path. It would seem Destiny smiles on us… at least if you are able to resonate with it," he said with a grin. Most of him was really happy that this had fallen into their laps. It meant that Rynn had a chance to be her true self again. Deep down though, he had really liked having her depend on him more. 

"Well, what do you say? Time for that preening?" he asked, as he dropped his gear next to one of the sparkling trees and motioned at the water. 

Rynn’s demeanor changed immediately when Gideon mentioned that they would cross the stars path. There was hope now that she would no longer be a burden to her friend and partner. It was, however, not to happen that day, and she was once again brought to reality when Gideon mentioned his wings.

“Right, right…I’ll get on it. Go ahead and get your shirt off. Got to get those hard to reach places.” She started to take off the heavier portions of her clothes and armor, setting them aside. Later, after they were done cleaning themselves, she would have to pay some care to her equipment as well. She rolled up her pants, as not to get them too wet, and started towards the clear water.

As she sat down next to the water, she gazed at her reflection for a moment. “I really do take more after Father…” She sighed. “I really wish I had gotten some of Mother’s traits. I do wish my skin was a deal fairer…”