Epilogue
Colin was crying.
They found him there, sitting on a bench at the Lakeside with his Comrades; a wolfcat, a Lynxmouse, and a kitten.
Mom almost dropped her picnic basket and went over to him. "Colin! What's wrong?"
"She gave me her kitten… to save me." Colin cried. "And I can't give the kitten back…"
Dad glanced at the blue kitten. Then he turned to Colin. "You better give her something good to thank her for it."
"Three Rainducks. One Watergull." Colin nodded. "Michi brought them to her. But…"
"Hush." Mom said. She looked at him and gave him a hug. "Colin, you've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Colin nodded and buried his face in her shoulder.
Dad sighed, but it sounded like relief. "That's good. I was worried about leaving you here alone, but it seems you're doing well. You've made friends here, haven't you?"
"Good friends." Colin agreed.
"I'm not talking about the animal Comrades, now." Dad said, just to be sure.
"Neither am I." Colin told him.
"Then I'm satisfied." Dad said.
"Me too." Mom agreed. "Come, Colin. We brought food. Let's have a picnic by the lake side."
Colin nodded. "Okay, but there's someone I'd like to invite.
"Her name is Katrin."
***
Connor Rivers watched his son Colin bring his new friend to the picnic and touched a spot on the back of his right hand. A spot that was scarred in the shape of a diamond, though it wasn't visible under his fingerless glove.
"He seems safe enough." Mirai said at his side. "Still, I'm not sure this was the best idea for him."
"The safety protocols on this Dreamworld are as strong as it gets." Connor told his wife. "I don't like what's happened to him either, but it's obvious what his decision was. We can't override decisions that serious, not without making him lose faith that his choices matter."
"But he's just a child." Mirai protested, her motherly instincts turning her protective.
"That's why we brought him here. Of all Dreamworlds, this was the only one that let a kid his age roam around freely, face their own challenges, gain and learn the responsibilities of a sort of power." Connor told her, tightening an arm around her waist. "His Comrades will protect him. Michi gave him her best."
"But look at what else he's gotten involved in! He almost got nabbed by them!" Mirai gestured to some pamphlets left by the Green Men, pamphlets colored green and purple.
"Michi didn't let anything happen to him. And it's important he met those he did." Connor looked at Katrin. "They seem to like him."
"You've picked an odd mix of friends for him." Mirai observed. "Very odd."
"If Tsion's right, they're all going to need each other in the days to come." Connor straightened, and looked up at the sky. "We're all going to need them."
"But they're all so young…"
"That's sort of the point, dear." He took her hand. "There are things they can do that we can't, places only they can go. Places like this Dreamworld that were meant for them."
"You sound like you're putting them to work."
"You always make them wash the dishes." Connor pointed out. "It's good for kids to help around the house."
"Some house." Mirai shook her head. "The dreams and hopes of billions and billions of people…"
"The very future in their hands. As it should be." They watched as Colin and Katrin paused to admire someone's highly evolved Comrade before continuing on to the picnic. "If they only knew…"
"Maybe it's better they didn't. Not yet." Mirai told him. "Let's not force them to grow up too quickly."
"We should let them find out on their own." Connor nodded. "I think we've done all we can here."
"No, we haven't." Mirai poked him. "Someone has to finish all the sandwiches."
Connor barked a laugh as they went over to start their picnic. Sniffing at them from Colin's shoulder, Shiro barked a laugh too.
***
Aftermath
As the picnic went on, Shiro watched the family and Katrin get along. He sat at the side, at a distance, saying nothing, barking nothing.
[Shiro…] Raiki padded up to him, hesitating, her heart torn.
[Raiki.] Shiro's ears drooped. [I'm so sorry.]
Raiki buried her face in his shoulder. She let out a single, keen mew of grief. [She gave me away!]
Shiro stayed where he was, silently letting Raiki cry into his shoulder. He didn't say anything about the Travelers, didn't say anything about Raiki's situation, didn't say anything at all.
But at length, Raiki's tears subsided and she leaned more heavily on him, too worn out from sadness to move. At last, Shiro asked his question. [Are you going to stay with him?]
Raiki did not answer.