...That you found a caravan.

You felt like only minutes have passed since your chat with Rei under the tree, yet it has been several hours that you were sitting in the back of a caravan. You and Rei managed to negotiate with the owner to have a seat for most of your way, since they would stop at a village a day of walk away from Nakemo. Your negotiation went smoothly, since the both of you were able to fight, and the caravan owner wasn't really wanting anything bad to happen, so you became their guards like that. You didn't ask why you were sitting in the back of the caravan while being their guards though, and finding a logic in this was... Unsuccesful to say the least.

Yet, with this, your travel became much shorter, and in three short days, filled with boredom, chatting and defending the caravan from bandits, monsters, animals and some strange things that you couldn't name, you arrived to the village where the caravan would stop its course. From there, and after thanking the caravan owner and ressuplying a bit, you started walking again, this time not chatting at all, walking calmly side by side with Rei.

This walk was peaceful for sure, and that is when the sights of the area around you hit you, like a rock : the trees were almost all cherry blossom trees, with their pink flowers shining in the sunlight. The grass was littered with petals, and it made for a beautiful scenery around you as you walked. You felt nice and safe here for some reason, and you liked it quite a bit.

When you looked at Rei, she had her hand up, over her head, as she caught a petal falling, before looking at it with a faint smile.

"This is a sign of my home... I'm glad to be able to come here again, thank you Adam for coming with me." She said, her smile widening as she talked.

"You don't need to thank me, Rei. You could've asked at any moment." You simply replied, smiling as well.

As you continued walking, Rei held the petal against her heart with the both of her hands, her eyes closed, head down and ears perked up. Her tail was wagging far slower than when she's usually happy, so you didn't really know how she felt, but you knew that this was a good feeling for her.

Something that surprised you was that she was walking completely straight, as if she knew the path ahead, which... Wouldn't be surprising to you, in all fairness. But from her walking like that, you felt like she was a kind of priestess, or someone respected in the vixen society, since she seemed at peace, calm and confident in her walk, even though she locked her vision away. You had to admit that watching her slowly walk like that, in the middle of the trees, petals falling around her from time to time, was an incredible sight, as beautiful, if not more, as the area by itself.

After what felt like an eternity, Rei opened her eyes again, smiling once more as she looked at you, before putting the petal on your head with a giggle.

"This has awakened so much memories. I missed this place far more than I thought, and this is so good to be back after so much time."

You smiled at her, getting the petal in your hand as she was talking, before giving it a closer look. What were you expecting from it ? Absolutely nothing, and you weren't disappointed, since it had nothing in particular, apart from a nice pink color. You then opened your hand fully, letting a soft breeze take it and make it fly away, never to be seen again.

"I think I made a good choice by coming with you." You said, your smile not fading away at all. "I'm able to see something different, new, like this."

"Once again." Rei answered. "Thank you for coming with me."

"No, this time, it is I who have to thank you, Rei."

She didn't reply to this, instead looking left and right, before giving you a soft hug.

"I am so lucky to be your friend." She softly said.

"So am I." You answered, letting the moment go on for a little while, before Rei broke up the hug.

For the rest of the day, nothing worth telling happened, and the same could be said for the night, but the next day, you finally arrived to your destination.