After a few minutes of continuous walking, we reach an area with thicker trees and higher blades of grass.
The sky is becoming darker due to it turning to night and how large the leaves are on trees. Even so, we could see just fine, fine enough to notice Honey stop and stand in front of a pile of sticks and mud to create a small like tent.
"Is this where he lives?" I ask, motioning to the tent like home.
Honey nods. "Yup. Though, he hasn't come out in a while.." His voice trails as he stands up straighter and raises his voice. "GoldenBlaze! GoldenBlaze, get your laze horse butt out of there!"
"Aah!" Sayori squeals in surprise.
"Don't worry, it's fine." I say, "He's just calling for someone."
"Oh.. Okay.." Sayori sighed in relief, yet Natsuki still looks sceptical.
I guess I shouldn't blame her, you usually don't make friends with a giant bear. There's no response however, back in the tent.
Grunting in annoyance, Honey turned to me. "Can you call for him? It's worth a shot to see if he thinks you're your mothers voice."
"U-Uhm, sure, if you want." This is going to be strange, but I have to do it anyways. "GoldenBlaze?"
I nearly jump as the ground shakes, and out from the tent a large body of a horse with a golden mane raced out, looking around. "Yes miss?"
I take a second to notice him. He's large and a powerful horse, his mane a bright golden coloured while his fur was a light white. Because he's wild, his fur is long and some hang over his hooves, but is otherwise clean.
Once he realizes that it wasn't my mother who called him, he dropped his ears and head. "Oh. Honey. What do you want?"
"That's one way to greet an old friend of yours." Honey says sarcastically.
The horse seems unfazed by the joke. "What do you want?"
The bear sighs and gestures to me with one of his paws. "I just wanted to bring someone to you."
"Who-" He stops as his eyes land on me. I awkwardly stare back at him, waiting for any reaction.
He tilts his head, puzzled for a moment before looking back at Honey. "Why does she look a lot like..?"
"Because she's her daughter," Honey announced proudly.
I nearly stumble back at he glares once again at me before immediately jumping and kicking the air with his two front legs, running around a small section of the land excitedly.
I see what Honey meant as wild then.
He quickly returns, trotting in place. "Oh! Oh! I carried you!"
"Carried me?" I ask, confused. That wording is strange..
"Yeah! Your mother was having you and needed a way to get out of the forest, so I ran as fast as I could so she could poop you out with your father!"
"Uhm, t-that's not exactly how humans-"
Ignoring me, GoldenBlaze excitedly continued, "I mean, I basically saved you! You wouldn't be alive without me."
"...Right.. Thank you.."
Honey grunted in annoyance. "Actually, I was the one who always watched over her when she-"
"Yeah, yeah," GoldenBlaze laughs, shaking his head. "But oh, your mother was awesome. Your father.. Not so much."
What? What did my father do? "What?"
"GoldenBlaze.." Honey warns. "The girl probably doesn't remember her father—"
"No, no. Let me finish." GoldenBlaze says, "Let me tell you, he was one human alright."
"He was human?" I question. "He didn't have powers?"
"I don't think he did." Honey answers. "If he did then he never showed them."
"And was totally a wussy!" GoldenBlaze adds.
"GoldenBlaze!" Honey growls.
"Alright look, there was this one time, right? Your mother wanted him to learn how to ride horses, and he just insisted on trying me first." The horse explains, almost pacing around now. "So he jumps onto me, and I'm like, 'Okay, Okay, this shouldn't be too hard.'."
I watch intently as he continues to pace, stopping midway to glance at us and continue speaking, "And then I start walking, and all of a sudden he's pulling on my mane and yelling like a little mouse!"
I can't help but smile in amusement as GoldenBlaze continues, "And so your mother and I are like, 'What is wrong with him?!', but you know, of course we don't say anything. So I decide to keep walking around and all of a sudden I feel weightless, and notice him on the ground! The ground! He couldn't even stay on me for a minute!"
"That's because you were running, not walking!" Honey yells in defence.
The horse just shakes his head. "No, no, he just couldn't handle me. So I let him get back on me, and I start walking again, and he falls off, again! And this time your mother is trying not to laugh," GoldenBlaze shakes his head dramatically and sighs. "I tell you, anyways, so he gets back but just lunges over me! And now your mother is fully laughing and I'm just watching him fail to get on my back again!"
I laugh at his expense while Honey chuckles. Earning attention, GoldenBlaze stopped pacing and once again dropped his head and shook it.
"And the humiliation! The humiliation! There were the other animals watching this too! He made a joke out of me!" He lifts his head and laughs, "You better be better then him at this."
"Hey, she's not going to learn how to ride right now!" Honey exclaimed. "It's getting late!"
GoldenBlaze sighed. "Whatever. Anyways, yeah, your dad was really something kiddo."
"Where is he now?" I ask curiously. I can't wait to meet him, now that the animals know that I'm alive. He seems like a funny man, and I..
"...What?" I ask, glancing at the two animals who looked at each other, almost worriedly.
"I'm.. I don't want to say it." GoldenBlaze says coldly.
I turn to Honey, who is looking at his paws. "Is something wrong?" I ask worriedly. "I haven't seen him since a small child, I would love to see him again."
"Sugar-cube.." Honey whispers only to raise his head. "The only reason the elders who were granted magic to stay alive longer was because of your mother. And we can feel her magic growing weaker."
"So.. You're saying that my mother is dying..?" I question slowly.
GoldenBlaze flicks his tail uncomfortably. "We don't know here she went after.."
"After..?"
"Your mother told us that she needed to try her best and help another reality." Honey explained. Why did the aura in the forest suddenly change? "She left me in charge of you. And.. And we hid. All the animals did."
"Hid from what?" I ask quietly.
The bear glances off to the side. "We don't know, she never told us. She just wanted to make sure we would stay safe, just in case. Since she was leaving to another world."
GoldenBlaze continued Honey's thought, "And while we were waiting for her to return to the forest, a fire broke out."
A fire? "Is that why you were afraid of.."
Honey nodded. "The forest was burning down.. It was a horrible sight to see. We all escaped, managing to protect you as best as we could. We didn't know where to go, but your father had ran in after us. He told us that your mother had made a separate portal to teleport us.. Well here."
"All animals were safe in the portal, but I couldn't take you with me. I knew your mother needed you." Honey explains. "So I ran to your mothers house, one she lived in with your father."
I.. I don't know what to say.
"What about my father?" I ask. "Why didn't you give me to him?"
GoldenBlaze sat down in front of me. "Because he was searching the burning woods for any injured animals."
Honey nodded. "Your mother was fighting off some evil energy at her house, that.. That was also on flames. There was some kind of barrier around it, but I.. I could get past it."
"Your mother had found me and took you in her arms, and she told me to hurry back in the portal because they were under attack, and the.. The Pocket would close soon..?" Honey questioned himself. "I didn't want to leave, but I had no choice, and I did, ran back to the portal and we were transported in this woods."
"And we never saw any of you three again." GoldenBlaze finishes, looking down.
They.. What?
My one memory of the house burning in flames and that was.. Was part of it?
Is my dad alive?
Is my mom alive?
What's a Pocket?
"So.. Where's my father..?" I ask quietly. They don't know where my mother is..
Honey winced. "Your mother.. We don't know where she is. But your father, he might still-"
"He's dead." GoldenBlaze answers coldly, standing up. "He's dead."
"W-What..?"
"N-Now, hold on," Honey says, rushed. "Your father could be alive, but I didn't see him come out of the burning forest, but he died saving us! And your mother might still be alive somewhere so-"
"Honey, leave her." GoldenBlaze mutters. "It's no use making up excuses like this to her."
He's.. Dead..?
I don't have any fun memories with him, and he's dead?
He never got to say goodbye to me, and he's dead?
He's dead?
My father is dead?
"Monika, go home." Honey says quietly. "It's getting late and you need rest. We can explain everything else tomorrow."
I nod, this time I don't have the energy to fake a smile or a thanks. They've both have helped me, but I..
I turn around and begin walking back, the three girls quickly matching up.
"So?" Natsuki pesters, her cat ears and tail are both gone. "We've been standing there awkwardly, what'd they say? What's the news? What did you ask?"
"Yeah!" Sayori nods. "Who was the horse and what was the joke?"
"I.." I can't bring myself to say anything. Not yet, at least.
"Monika..?" Yuri questions softly. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah.." Sayori mumbles. "You seem.."
"I-I'll explains everything when we get back in the dorms." I quickly say, dismissing their worry.
I don't know if the walk was silent, or if my thoughts were so loud that they yelled over top of the other girls talking. I couldn't hear any of the other animals, if any did say anything.
I just..
I just thought.
My father is dead. One I haven't even known.
And my birth mother is dying at the minute.
Yet I'm only knowing about this now?
...
I hate this.
Who is fire, and what is wrong with them?