Emotional Escape

Nox sat on the front steps of her house as the evening breeze blew gently. She stared with empty eyes out to the distance, her thoughts leading her away from reality. The sun would soon complete its daily journey and disappear for the night. The falling temperature caused goosebumps to form along her arms but the cold was the least of Nox's concerns. Nox's eyes were drawn to the sun as it slowly lowered in the sky. It was like a timer, eventually, it would run out as would the light and heat it brought with it.

Nox was broken from her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. After a small pause, the door was carefully shut by the porch's new guest. Nox didn't bother to greet the person, she simply waited for them to acknowledge her. After a few moments of the only sound being the light breeze rustling the leaves the person spoke.

"Hey Nox," Hitsu said softly.

Nox was expecting the person to be her family's new visitor, he seemed to be inescapable.

"Hey," Nox replied in a monotone voice as she continued to gaze at the horizon.

Hitsu walked across the small porch and down the few steps past Nox. Juno followed after him before stopping at Nox's side, her tailed wagged slowly as she looked up at the girl.

"Your dad filled me in," Hitsu said awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Nox said without emotion, "I really don't want to talk about it."

"That's alright," Hitsu said with a hint of relief, "I didn't want to either."

"Then why did you come out here?" Nox asked without looking at the hero.

"Well, your dad asked me to," Hitsu replied.

Nox didn't say anything as her gaze shifted to Hitsu. He stood with his hands in his pockets as he looked up to the evening sky. He didn't meet Nox's gaze but he seemed to know that he should continue.

"He's really worried about you," Hitsu said, "and I think he doesn't know how to handle this himself. He might look up to me too much because I'm no expert on stuff like this either. But I still came out here because we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"We?" Nox asked, the word sticking out to her.

"Well yeah," Hitsu responded like it was common knowledge, "I'm worried about you too."

As Hitsu said those words he turned his head to meet Nox's gaze, his gentle smile returning to his face. Nox couldn't help but crack a smile at Hitsu's statement as she turned to the cat at her side.

"That was so cliche," Nox said as she pet Juno, "It sounded like something out of a movie."

"Humph," Hitsu said as he crossed his arms jokingly, "well then I take it back."

"Oh no," Nox said sarcastically, "anything but that."

The two let out small laughs as the sun continued to set. As Nox continued to pet the adoring cat Hitsu went silent for a moment. Suddenly he spoke out to the girl.

"You wanna do something fun?"

Those words seemed to pique Nox's curiosity.

"Fun?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Hitsu took that as a yes.

"Juno," He called to his cat."

Juno's eyes perked up and her tail began to wag faster. Juno excitedly bounded to Hitsu's side. In a flash, Juno's white fur turned a bright pink and she began to grow. After several moments Juno was once again at least ten feet tall, her new size would tower over the old. Once Juno had grown Hitsu lept onto the giant cat's back where he could stand comfortably. Hitsu faced Nox and held out his hand invitingly.

"Come on," Hitsu said with a smile, "Juno wants to go for a run."

After a silent moment, Nox rose from her seat on the porch steps. She briskly walked to Hitsu and Juno, both of them with their eyes on her. She stopped at Juno's side, her gaze locked on Hitsu's outstretched hand. She looked back up to Hitsu, his smile was all the convincing she needed. She reached out and placed her hand in Hitsu's. Carefully, Hitsu helped pull Nox onto Juno's back. She found she was able to sit comfortably on the giant cat.

Hitsu pat Juno on the head, "Alright girl, let's go."

Juno began to walk but soon her pace quickened and she was running freely across the rolling hills. Hitsu pulled himself onto Juno's head and sat crouched as he guided the giant cat. Nox sat quietly on Juno's back, silently feeling the wind blow through her hair. She gazed back out on the horizon to the setting sun as they ran through the empty fields. As she sat in quietude Nox could feel the storm of emotions inside of her begin to clear.

Nox lifted her arms to her sides and closed her eyes. In her mind, it felt as though she was flying, spring through the air like a bird. At this moment she had no fears, no problems, no worries, at this moment she was free. Nox opened her eyes and looked up to Hitsu. The hero still sat on Juno's head giving her directions. Nox crawled cautiously across the giant cat's back to her head. Carefully holding Juno's head for support Nox pulled herself to her feet. She found herself unable to see due to Hitsu blocking her view.

Hitsu looked back at Nox and smiled before he moved himself to the side and allowed Nox to see. With her vision unobstructed, Nox could see that Juno was quickly making her way up a green, flower-covered hill. She watched with anticipation as Juno neared the top of the hill, her mind racing through the possibilities of what Hitsu could have lead her to. As they reached the top of the hill Nox's eyes widened in surprise.

They stood on the top of a hill that overlooked the entire small town and the surrounding forest. In the distance, Nox could see the walls that surrounded them all, the walls she had never seen past. But what she was most focused on was the setting sun. The giant ball of fire was moments away from dipping behind the horizon and it painted the sky a vibrant mix of orange and red. They all sat in silence as they watched the sun shine for the final moments of the day before it vanished until the next.

"Hey Hitsu," Nox whispered as dusk set in.

"Yeah?" Hitsu asked.

"Thank you," she responded.

"Anytime," Hitsu replied.

With that, they sat and stared up to the sky, watching as dusk turned to dark and the first stars of the night appeared before them, shining down from high up in the sky.

...

End of Episode 10