I was sufficiently tired after a long day of hunting for supplies. Spring had given me a wealth of items and I had taken care to dry roots and herbs as well as pack them neatly into an abandoned fox den near the grotto whenever we got closer. We being Israfel and myself, because it wasn’t like I would leave his side more often than not. Seasons had passed and I had slipped in and out of Glorall, always desiring to learn more, never quite feeling as if I knew enough to be the top healer.

Eventually I would move all my items into Glorall, once I found a sufficient leaf to store them on and drag. It was almost time – at least, that is what I had told Israfel tremulously the day before. I would go right up to Eden and ask him for a rank that would befit my knowledge! I would be like my mother and father before me, regal, smart, and acknowledged. Why did the thought scare me so even at eleven years now?

I creep closer to the river that twists on the northern edge of Glorall, it’s rushing waters soothing. One thing I had never enjoyed nor was I any good at was swimming. Ever since I had saved Thor as a pup, I refused to go into any large body of water that meant I would have to swim, which was odd considering where I had been born. Still, something draws me to the river this day. Memories, perhaps, as I spot a log that juts out over the river. It isn’t the same one I used to catch Thor. At the base of the fallen log I spy something round, with jagged edges, and as I moved closer, I find an empty turtle shell.

While time has passed, my memories seem crisp and fresh. I remember Hadrian demanding I carry a turtle shell and my ill attempts at it. I remember wading into the sea for salt water to cleanse wounds and his gentle yet firm teachings of the Art of Healing. It is with fondness that I nose the turtle shell, wondering what ever became of my mentor – had he passed into oblivion as so many others that I had loved?

It is unusual for me to feel such melancholy and I am ill equipped to handle it, my black-tipped tail swishing slightly at this unsettled feeling. I nose the shell until it up, the bottom protection broken and caved from some unknown source, and I gentle grab the jagged edges between my teeth before spinning around, floppy ear pricked as much as it can while my normal one swivels, searching. I can feel him nearby, my soul, because our bond seemed to only strengthen the longer we spent together. The wistful memories of my past are eased as butterflies enter my belly, my tail now swishing in happiness as I look around, waiting for Israfel to arrive. ”Issshhhhhhhyyy,” I try to call, forgetting for a moment the turtle shell poised between my teeth, and his name comes out garbled, making me grin around the shell, giggling slightly to myself.