Epilogue

When Zagiha and Hana returned to the Rebane homestead, the cacophonous din of a hammer greeted them. Who in the world did DIY at five in the morning? Going around the back of the cabin, they found Mica, immersed in his work on the wagon.

"Mica?" asked Hana.

"Ah, moi," he greeted, a nail held between his front teeth. He screwed a bolt in. "Repairs on the wagon are almost complete."

"Why are you…?" she sputtered. "If you're ill, you should be resting! Look, we brought medicine."

"Thank you," he said, squinting as he aligned yet another nail with the wood. "But I'm fine now. But the medicine will be good for next time, so…" The shortness in his voice indicated he didn't want to talk to them, which was unusual for Mica.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Zagiha.

"Yes, yes," said Mica. "I feel like a whole new me! Now please let me focus."

They decided to leave him be. Entering the cabin, they found Pops dozing in a twilight state. How in the world was he able to sleep? The older man opened an eye and just shook his head at the racket outside.

"Is Mica upset about something?" asked Hana, but then her gaze trailed to the pink slip sitting on the kitchen counter. "Oh."

"He got sacked," said Pops. "One week no-call-no-show."

"I see…"

"I tried to explain I couldn't come in because I was in jail, but then my supervisor was all, 'oi, possu, stop givin' me reasons to fire you.' And that was that." Mica stormed into the house, taking off his shirt with little shame and walking to the washbasin. He splashed some water on his body and turned around, a towel slung over his shoulders.

He had a six-pack. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

"It's okay, Mica," said Pops. "You'll find a new job soon. And if not, I'll go back to work at the mine."

"The mine's the only place to work here!" he said. "And there's no way you can work again. Do you want to make your knee injury worse?"

Mica was not in any position to lecture anybody about taking care of their health, but he was probably right that Pops couldn't tolerate the hard labor of a mining job at his age.

"Just when I thought we didn't have to worry about money anymore…"

Zagiha fidgeted and sighed, a guilty look on his face. He huffed in frustration and spoke up. "Your dogs got Hana to the capital in under a day, right?" he asked.

"Mine are the fastest!" said Mica, a tint of pride replacing his distress. "I used to win all the races until they put in a no mutant dog rule. So now I'm not allowed to race anymore. But they're strong, too!"

"Uh-huh." Zagiha grimaced. "Look, Mango, I don't like you. I would rather wash my hands of you and be off, but you did help save Modrica, and it is sort of my fault you got fired. So… consider this repaying the favor. Hana and I need to go to Tyressa, but humans can't go through God portals, and flying is impractical for a multi-day trip. Will you be our personal driver? We can figure out payment later, but I'll put in an advance deposit to keep you going for a few months."

"Eh? Are you serious?" Mica's face lit up with joy. "I'd love to accept, but who would take care of Papa…?"

"Micaiah Rebane!" snapped Pops. "How helpless do y'think I am? There's still energy left in these old bones of mine."

"S-Sorry."

"You should do it, Mica. With the money, we could buy more puppies and start a courier business. There'd be no need to apply for a new job."

"Oh! You're right!" Mica clapped his hands together. "I'll raise 'em up big and strong like the ones we have now."

"And I think it would do you some good to spend time outside of this town. You're always wanderin' off anyway. I'll be fine. I promise."

"All right, then. I'll do it. I'll get you to Tyressa. Let's get packin'."

-

Three years ago…

Silvio drew open the curtains, bright mountain sunshine filtering in through the windows. Today was the day. After several weeks of rest and recovery in Rirasiru's Temple, it was time to leave. He pulled on his new boots. They were of decent quality, he thought, good enough to last him awhile.

The only belongings he had were the clothes on his back. While he would miss the warm bed, he was strong now, and he had precious little time to find Rirasiru. Before he left Minumna, he'd pay Mica one last visit, and then he was back out into the countryside to find any trace of the stray God. While recovering in the hospital, he read the Western Gesmauran translation of Rirasiru's writings, which gave him some clues on where he might be.

The God enjoyed delicious food, flowers, and anything beautiful. He wrote with a wide-eyed naïvete that lent itself to curiousity of the natural world, so it was unlikely he settled down in a big city. Silvio was also certain he hadn't left Gesmaura, as Rirasiru was unable to fly.

Actually, he had a good idea where to find him. He just had to hope his hunch was correct.

Fastening his cloak, he opened the door and entered the hall, only to run smack-dab into a girl. The basket in her hands spilled to the ground, sending freshly folded laundry all over the place.

"S-Sorry!" he apologized, squatting down to help her fold it again.

"It's fine," she sighed. "Happens to me a lot. Because I'm short, no one notices me."

"Eh…" He scratched his neck in embarrassment. "I don't have an excuse, then. I'm also pretty short." Setting a pillowcase back into the basket, he looked up at her. She was a little younger than him, with long, blonde hair and brown eyes. She wasn't especially pretty, but she wasn't ugly, either. The girl was thin as a twig, gangly and awkward in the throes of early tween puberty. And she was an Unforgivable like Silvio, with the burn-like markings on her skin standing out like a tulip in midwinter. He was sort of relieved to find someone like him, although there were many Unforgivables working at the Temple.

"Thanks for your help, anyway," she said, folding a topsheet (how did anyone manage to fold a topsheet at all?). "Why are you in such a rush?"

"It's kind of silly," he said.

"Um, sorry if I'm keeping you from anything important," said the girl, straightening her spine as she lifted the basket. "It's just that I hardly meet kids my age around here, so I wanted to talk a bit."

"Oh, I see," said Silvio. Even though he was in a rush, he kind of wanted to talk to her, too. He fought so hard and so long he didn't have the time to be a normal boy. "My name is Silvio. I need to head out and do something, but when I'm done, I'll come back and we can hang out sometime!"

"Do you promise?"

He nodded.

"Maybe I can help?"

Silvio shrugged. "I dunno. You see, I'm on a quest to find Rirasiru-sa."

"You're trying to find the God?" She shook her head. "You're mad."

"Maybe I am," he replied. "But I've been on a long journey to bring my friend back to life."

"I have a wish for the God, too," she said, "so I understand where you're coming from. Be careful. Outside of these walls, people aren't nice to Unforgivables."

"I know." Silvio stood up. "I'll meet him, and maybe he'll grant our wishes." He flashed a peace sign. "I know it's dangerous, so I definitely won't die! I'll come back safe, and then we can be friends. What's your name, by the way?"

"Ah…" The girl faltered a bit, averting her eyes.

She reminded him a bit of Hana. How was Hana doing? He needed to find the God and reunite with everyone. And maybe… maybe… everyone could get along.

"It's Felice," she said. "My name is Felice. Let's get along, okay?"

Volume II End