A Fervent Desire

     Campfires for weary travellers were not uncommon throughout the land. Whether it was a resting point for someone on their way to Brightvale or even to the further away Faerieland, Hilda had never felt uncomfortable sharing a fire with strangers from lands far beyond.

     At this particular campsite, Hilda found herself surrounded by quite the motley group - on the rightmost log sat a green quiggle with a large backpack. If she had to guess, he was probably out to travel Neopia and all of its vast worlds. At the leftmost log sat a shadow buzz and a brown eyrie, and judging from the swords that hung at their sides, Hilda guessed they were mercenaries.

     But of the travellers that sat before the fire, one stranger in particular stood out to Hilda, who wasn’t even sitting amongst the others.

     Fierce yells echoed through the air as a red ixi swung her weapon at the nearby trees, clearly training. Every few seconds or so, Hilda could see what looked like fire burning in her deep orange eyes. But periodically, the ixi would fall to the ground on her knees, clutching onto an arm or leg in clear pain. But as soon as it came, the ixi would slowly rise up, appearing to ignore the pain in favour of pushing herself further.

     Though the other travellers were content chatting amongst themselves, Hilda found herself fascinated as she watched the ixi from afar. When she finally came to sit before the fire, the ixi sat on the one empty log, not speaking as she reached for her bag and pulled out a roll of gauze.

     “What brings you to Meridell, stranger?”

     Now highlighted by the orange glow of the fire, Hilda now saw that the ixi’s attire was unlike any found in Meridell - rather, it perfectly suited the elegant attire of Shenkuu. Even her weapon was an outcast compared to the other travellers - instead of a sword or a dagger, a long naginata leaned against her shoulder, the crescent-shaped blade shining against the kindling embers.

     But beyond her attire, the ixi’s appearance was fairly average, save for two distinct features, being a long scar tearing across the bridge of her nose, and the more notable of the two, her left horn being broken near the bottom, making the right one dwarf it in comparison.

     After she had tied off a particularly large wrap on her arm, the ixi looked up to Hilda, her dark orange gaze almost furrowed into a slight glare.

     “I was born in Shenkuu. But I lost everything when the Great War ravaged the land. I don’t plan on returning anytime soon.” Her voice sounded heavy, matching the intensity in her gaze.

     Though she had never been to Shenkuu, Hilda had heard whispers of the Great War of Shenkuu - homes and families alike had been devastated. The war supposedly only ended when both sides were unable to continue, and it had since faded into memory. But it was told that those who had seen the war were unable to forget it, and it was clear to Hilda that this ixi had seen the war’s horrors firsthand.

     “You haven’t answered my question, though. Why did you come to Meridell, Miss…?”

     “Hinoka,” the ixi briskly answered. “And I don’t need any formalities. Just Hinoka is fine.”

     “Very well then, Hinoka,” Hilda nodded. “So why have you travelled such a far distance to Meridell?”

     Hinoka glanced down, and Hilda could see sadness wash over the ixi as she hunched over. “I suppose to fulfil a fervent desire of mine.”

     Once again, a rather vague answer. If Hilda had to guess, Hinoka wasn’t comfortable revealing much of her past to strangers. Not only that, her hunched posture and the sadness in her eyes suggested that just briefly talking about it brought her pain. Still...

     “The war was eleven years ago,” the cybunny noted. “Isn’t there anything waiting for you back home?”

     Hinoka glanced down, and Hilda could see guilt cloud her eyes. At this point, she knew that she was intruding too far. But despite her newfound uneasiness, Hinoka answered, her voice now sorrowful.

     “I suppose there is. But I swore not to face them until I fulfil my goal.”

     “Your goal?” The unfamiliar voice made Hilda and Hinoka turn, where the green quiggle sat curiously. “What exactly are you trying to accomplish here in Meridell?”

     For a moment, the ixi and the air was silent, save for the kindled embers that jumped out from the fire.

     “I’m here...because I failed to protect someone,” Hinoka slowly answered. “Someone very dear to me.”

     Hilda nodded somberly. Though she lacked any physical wounds save for her nose scar and broken horn, Hilda could see that Hinoka carried heavy emotional wounds. Wounds to the heart. Had the War of Shenkuu really scarred her so badly?

     “Someone?” the quiggle pondered. “Who? Are they even alive anymo-”

     Before the quiggle could continue, the ixi held a hand upward, a signal for the quiggle to stop talking. The quiggle, slowly understanding her gesture, fell silent as Hinoka stood up from her seat, to Hilda’s slight confusion.

     “Are you retiring for the night? So soon?”

     Hinoka nodded. “Just for a moment. I can stand guard if you need it.”

     “N-No, you don’t have to,” Hilda answered, standing to her feet quickly. “I can manage.”

     To the cybunny’s slight dismay, Hinoka shook her head. “Don’t think anything of it. It’s the least I can do.”

     Grabbing her naginata in one hand, the ixi made her way towards a tree before leaning up against it, letting out a heavy sigh. The quiggle, buzz, and eyrie all stared at Hinoka curiously until they eventually went back to talking amongst one another. Hilda, however, couldn't ignore her growing curiosity about this stranger. But out of the corner of her eye, she could see the dark blue of the sky growing larger and larger, along with the fire slowly starting to shrink. As much as Hilda wanted to ask Hinoka more about her, that could wait until morning.

     - - - - - -

     A thud to her right made Hilda snap awake.

     The pink cybunny instantly glanced at her surroundings, which was difficult given how the fire was practically on the verge of burning out. But from what light she could see, she could see Hinoka standing her ground against a trio of shadowed figures. Though difficult to decipher, Hilda could see something sharp pointed at Hinoka’s chest - knives. Rogues.

     How had they managed to sneak towards the campsite unnoticed? Normally, her sharp hearing would have alerted her, but these rogues had to be skilled if they could move without making a single sound. But it appeared that even without the sharp hearing of a cybunny, Hinoka managed to catch them.

     But amidst the fight, a thought crossed Hilda's mind, one that made her heart drop - the rest of the travellers. Where had they gone? Before she could start looking, Hilda's ears picked up a sound, the quietest of whispers. The direction of the sound came from behind the tree, the tree where Hinoka stood watch hours earlier. Amidst the darkness, Hilda could barely make out the figures of the quiggle, buzz, and eyrie from earlier, huddling as silently as they could next to one another. Thankfully, the rogues didn't appear to notice them in favour of fighting Hinoka, a sight that made Hilda sigh silently of relief.

     Under the cover of shadow, one of the rogues hurled themselves towards the ixi, letting out a yell. But before the knife could bury itself into her chest, Hinoka sidestepped and slammed the rogue with the blunt end of her naginata, sending them stumbling sideways.

     Upon seeing their comrade fall, another rogue charged forward, brandishing two daggers instead of one. They swung at Hinoka once, then twice, both slashes missing in part to the ixi’s reflexes. Once crouched, Hinoka jabbed the dull end of her naginata at the rogue’s chest (again, Hilda silently noted) before jumping up and delivering a vicious kick to the head, causing the rogue to fall back on top of their comrade, knocked out.

     A non-lethal victory.

     Hilda finally took a step forward, pausing right before the fallen rogues. Meanwhile, Hinoka threw her naginata over her shoulders as she panted, appearing rather indifferent to her victory.

      They’re not dead,” the cybunny pointed out curiously. “Why did you let them live?”

     Hinoka merely sighed at Hilda’s question. Underneath her indifference, Hilda could see that something was on her mind.

     “I’ve always been opposed to needless death. I’ve seen enough death as is.” Her voice was solemn.

     Another vague answer. But before Hilda could question Hinoka again, the ixi spoke first.

     “I have to go.”

     Hilda blinked in surprise. “What?”

     “The rogues’ comrades will continue to target me even if I didn’t kill any of their allies. If I stay here, I’ll just put you and everyone else at risk.”

     Despite wanting to protest, Hilda found herself frozen. Even if the ixi didn’t do anything wrong (just the opposite, having stopped the rogues), she had a valid point - rogues were notorious for never letting go of a grudge. If it meant getting payback, they would hunt down anyone to the far ends of Neopia.

     “I-I…” For a moment, Hilda let herself breath, letting her composure return. “...If you really must go, I wish you safe travels. But…you have my gratitude for keeping me and everyone else safe.” From behind the tree, the quiggle, eyrie, and buzz slowly stepped out, appearing both relieved and grateful.

     “Of course,” Hinoka nodded as she grabbed her bag. “I just have one question to ask before I leave - have you seen or heard of a neopet named Corrin?”

     Hilda tilted her head somewhat. “Corrin?”

     “Yes,” Hinoka nodded. “She’s a white draik with long, silver-white hair and ruby-like eyes. I've been looking for her for a very long time now. If you’ve heard anything about her, I’d be most grateful.”

     For the briefest of moments, Hilda could see a glint of hope in Hinoka’s eyes. Though she scoured through her mind for any familiarity, the name Corrin was unfortunately a mystery to Hilda. She slowly shook her head and spared a glance at the trio near the tree. All three looked at each other in confusion before shaking their heads, and what hope in Hinoka’s eyes vanished.

     “...I see. But thank you regardless, not just for the information. I’m grateful for letting me stay for the night.” Hinoka then dipped down, a hand pressed across her chest, a gesture Hilda assumed was a symbol of gratitude in Shenkuu.

     “Don’t think anything of it. Stay safe, alright? And...”

     For whatever reason, Hilda found herself pausing, to Hinoka's slight confusion.

     "...I'm in no position to say this, but I'm sure that Corrin's waiting for you somewhere in Neopia. As long as you don't give up and stay strong, I'm sure you'll be reunited with her soon. Okay?"

     For a moment, Hinoka gasped, and the hope Hilda saw in the ixi's eyes earlier briefly returned. Hinoka briefly looked to the ground before looking up with newfound resolve, giving Hilda another grateful nod before grabbing her naginata and quickly started sprinting away, her long white scarf billowing with a morning breeze.

     Just like the evening before, Hilda found herself fascinated watching the ixi. She told so little about herself, yet her desire to fulfil her goal was clearly strong. Despite not knowing Corrin's relationship to her, Hinoka appeared determined to find her, no matter where she had to go or who she had to ask or fight. Even with her earlier disappointment of Hilda not recognizing Corrin, it was clear to the cybunny that Hinoka was still holding onto hope, and that was something Hilda held the utmost respect for.

     So long as there was hope, Hilda was sure Hinoka would keep travelling until she found Corrin, no matter where in Neopia she was.

     The End.