[Um... yeah... I'm.... nevermind.]

"*sigh* That girl is so full of energy." Stahl couldn't believe how Cynthia was already pestering the others like nothing happened.

[Ok, I guess we're back in Ylisse.] 'Gah! W-watch the leg!' Lon'qu struggled to stay standing upright on his crutches as he was hugged by Cynthia. Back on the other continent, Lon'qu and Gregor had ↓

been proclaimed national heroes of Valm for helping defeat Zanth, and were granted a free (speedy) trip back to Ylisse, as well as the invitation to return anytime. Much to Gregor's delight and ↓

they were taken back on the contest boat, with the various heart themed furniture. Gangrel however, was unable to be found, and did not return home with them. Lon'qu was happy to be back in Ylisse, ↓

and happier to see that his friends were okay. He had a helI of a story to tell them. 'Heh... It's nice to see you too Cynthia...' Lon'qu tried to hug her back as best he could with one (damaged) arm.

Stahl walks out and sees Lon'qu. "Whoa! You need to lay down right now. You can't possibly stand on that leg much longer."

The seagull chirped inquisically at Stahl, Sumia, and Cynthia. Lon'qu breathed a sigh of relief as the recover relieved some of the pain.

"So, uh, what happened exactly, Lon'qu?" Stahl was confused since his vision had shown Lon'qu with only minor injuries, and his face clearly showed his confusion.

'It's good to be back. ...M-may I sit down for a moment? I still feel a bit queasy... I can tell you the whole story.'

'Well... about a week ago, Nowi and I started a game of hide-and-seel. I was lead to believe that she had went to Ferox, and then Valm... Where is she anyway?'

[*Seek] '...Anyways, I boarded a cargo ship to Valm thinking that Nowi was actually there. Halfway there, I realized she couldn't have possibly flown to Valm because she never specified continent ↓

crossing in the rules. Once I was in Valm, I couldn't afford a ticket back to Port Ferox, so I had to work at an Alm's Bar & Grill to earn enough gold to buy one. While I was there, I met this ↓

guy,' *pets the seagull* '...For three days he was my only friend in the world... I missed all of the Shepherds here in Ylisse. ...On the third night, I had finally earned enough gold to purchase a ↓

ticket. ...But right before my boat was scheduled to leave, a large hoard of enemy ships approached Valm Harbor, delaying my trip. I offered to help the Valmese deal with them, so for another night ↓

I was stuck in Valm, watching the unknown pirate ships, unmoving. Yesterday morning, the leader revealed himself to be Zanth, the Southron Sea King. He brought a hostage and threatened to kill her ↓

unless we surrendered the Harbor to him. The Valmese knew it was a terrible trade, and refused. ...But the hostage's name was... Lycia. I asked Zanth to not kill her and negotiate, because I knew she↓

was important to Gregor. But Zanth just stalled for time so his reinforcements could arrive. ...And then... SOMETHING happened... I'm not exactly sure, but I think Zanth was approached from behind and

was distracted. ...And then I saw GREGOR swimming towards the ship that Zanth and Lycia were in. In all the confusion, I decided to attack the enemy and try and save Lycia, and the Valmese followed.↓

I climbed atop the ship and saw Zanth fighting Gregor and... and...Gangrel.' Lon'qu looked at the other's faces, and they seemed just as suprised as he was. He let them question him before continuing.

"Gangrel? As in the Mad King Gangrel?" Stahl was very skeptical since his dream was nothing like Lon'qu's description of the events that took place.

'...Yes, Gangrel. And... he was helping Gregor. It was weird... and all of a sudden, I was defending them from a group of pirates from behind. I suffered all these injuries because I was fighting ↓

ten to twenty of them at once. ...Gods, I just HAD to hurt my leg again... Eventually the two had managed to kill Zanth, and helped me with the others. ...The seagull actually saved Gangrel from an ↓

attack from behind.' {S} :D {L}'...After we won the battle, Gregor ran to get the unconscious Lycia... but then Oilisab appeared. He took Lycia away and said if Gregor ever touched her again, he↓

would kill Gregor. ...I kind of blacked out after that, and Gangrel just disappeared. ...They gave Gregor and I a free trip back here for helping fight Zanth. Oh, and we got these medals.' Lon'qu ↓

revealed a golden medal that hung around his neck, with the words 'NATIONAL HERO' inscribed on the front. {L} '...And now I'm here.' [So much typing...]

Suddenly Stahl was quite terrified of how Sumia and Cynthia would react since his vision hadn't been accurate in the slightest.

'...Well, what did you all do this past week?' Lon'qu was pretty sure they didn't notice he was gone at first. He also wanted to know where Nowi was, as she was the entire reason he left at all.

"Nothing worth mentioning." Stahl was not going to recount what happened yesterday.

Lon'qu could sense she was hiding something, but figured it would be better if he did not know, nor did she want him to know.

'...Oh. That's... good. ...We get to hang out more, then!' Cynthia seemed believable enough. '...Hey, have any of you seen Donnel? I still have to thank him for saving my life a week ago.'

Stahl goes back to Sumia, absolutely perplexed as to how his vision was wrong. "What do you think of it?" He asked her.

Coming back from the forest with a live rabbit, Donnel decides that perhaps Cynthia would like the little guy as a pet. "Heya Cynthia. This little feller got ' imself caught in my cage. You want 'em?"

'...Donnel!'

The seagull stared at the rabbit in Cynthia's arms, perplexed and amazed. It had never seen anything like it before on the shores of Valm.

"I's glad ya like 'em. After seein' the way you was scared by Stahl n Sumia's kissin' and whatnot, I thought you'd like a rabbit."

"Well first of all, you should be more gentle with a rabbit." Stahl looked into the rabbit's eyes and was immediately in love with the little guy. "Let me check to see whether it's a boy or girl."

The words of Donnel finally registered in Lon'qu's mind, and he realized that it was what Cynthia was trying to hide. The seagull still stared at the bunny.

"Cynthia, rabbits have very sensitive ears and they scare somewhat easily. You really need to calm down and be careful with it."

"Okay then, could you at least show me its, uh, underside so I can tell its gender?"

While Stahl and Cynthia argued, Lon'qu stood up and quietly whispered into Donnel's ear, 'The other day one of your traps caught a bear right before it ate me. You have my thanks.'

"Well let's see." He examines the rabbit briefly. "Unfortunately, it's a girl, though I'm sure Donnel wouldn't mind getting a boy as well for you, okay?" He ruffles Cynthia's hair and pets the rabbit.

"I'm sorry, but if you look right here, you'd see it's a girl." The rabbit, happy that Stahl acknowledged that it was a girl, licked his hand once.

"I guess we'll keep it then. Sumia, I'll let you choose her name. I'm fine with anything you go with."

"Let's decide on it tomorrow then." Stahl builds a pen for their new rabbit that is large enough and tall enough for her. "I really need some sleep." Stahl then goes to bed and sleeps immediately.

[Good night everyone! I'll see you guys tomorrow!]

'...Looks like everyone's getting a pet.' Lon'qu fed the seagull leftover seeds from the mess tent as he watched the rabbit situation unfold. He assumed that Gregor had retired to his tent, as he ↓

hadn't been present since returning to camp. Nowi didn't seem to be around either, and Lon'qu very much wanted to apologize to her for taking so much time at their game of hide-and-seek, to ↓

congratulate her for winning, and to ask her to name his seagull. He almost fell over as Cynthia darted past him, and just barely caught his balance on his crutches.

Lon'qu hopped on one leg as he was dragged into the forest by Cynthia. '...Where are we going?'

[*Tent, then.]

'Don't worry, Cynthia. ...Uh... L-Lon'ny can handle himself just fine. You can go relax. As long as I have these crutches, I'll be fine--' *one of the cheap wooden crutches snaps, forcing Lon'qu to ↓

put all his weight on his destroyed leg* 'GAAH!' Lon'qu then collapsed and started writhing on the ground. 'Urk... M-maybe I could use... a little help...'

{G} Gregor burst into Lon'qu's tent. "HAH! Did somebody say help!? Do not worry; Gregor is here!"

'G-Gregor? I... Urk... thought you had a stomachache from all those heart shaped cookies? Aah... pain...' Clutching his leg, Lon'qu struggled to keep his voice steady.

"Ah, is Lon'qu in pain? AHA! Lon'qu's crutch break! Gregor know just the thing!" Gregor looked around for something to substitute for a broken crutch, and ↓

'K-keep your concoction Cynthia. It looks too special.' *hands the bottle back to her* '...I'll... be fine... I'm no stranger to excruciating pain...'