"Time passes and wounds heal, those are two facts of life. Both psychically and emotionally I was wounded. Those wounds took a very long time to heal completely, but they healed nevertheless. But at this point in the story, a few days after my mom passed away, I was still hurt. The old me would have been defeated by those wounds, she would have fallen and crumbled, unable to move. The new me on the other hand, the stronger me, the stronger me fell and got back up again."
"We had a day of grief. We buried my mom at the top of the hill in the backyard and mourned. For a single day, I allowed myself to be weak and be sad. But the next day I kept on walking. I walked down to the booth and sold as much jewelry as I could. I dance to draw in customers and I didn't care who saw, that was behind me. The next day I did the same thing. I was going to keep walking, I was going to make my mom proud, I was going to be happy, I just had to find what would make me happy, I had to find my own path."
...
The light from the rising sun shined through Nox's bedroom window waking her up like it did every day. She sat up in her bed and stretched, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Nox tiredly looked out the window and smiled, it was a new day. Still slightly groggy, Nox rose from her bed and started getting ready for the day. After getting dressed in her work clothes Nox exited her room to be greeted by her father.
"Good morning Queen," her father said happily as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Good morning Dad," Nox said. She moved past him to find two slices of bread. She placed them in the nearby toaster and awaited their completion.
"I'm guessing you're ready to work," Nox's father said between sips of his coffee.
"Of course I am," Nox responded.
"Is that what you want to do though?" he asked.
Something about his tone caught Nox off guard. She froze in place as she continued the conversation.
"What do you mean?" Nox inquired.
"I know selling jewelry isn't what you want to do with your life," He replied bluntly, "and after what your mom said you've been trying to figure out what it is you want to do."
Nox's gaze lowered. "Was it that obvious?" she asked.
"No," he said with a laugh, "but I know my daughter."
Nox's toast pop out of the toaster with a clunk. Nox turned away from her dad to retrieve her breakfast.
"What you want to do is go with Mr. Hitsu," Her father said with a grin.
Nox jumped at his words and nearly dropped her toast.
"Wh-what? What gave you that idea? That's crazy," Nox said nervously.
"You're a bad liar Nox," her father interrupted without missing a beat.
After a moment of thought, Nox sighed and lowered her shoulders in defeat.
"I'll take that as confirmation," Nox's father said with a laugh, "You'd much rather be a hero than sit around here all day."
"Yeah, you're right," Nox admitted. "Fighting that giant shadow was terrifying, but at the same time, it made me feel like I really did something. When it was all over I felt like someone really important, like I should be proud of myself."
"Well, you had a chance to ask Mr. Hitsu if you could join him," Nox's father said, "Why didn't you?"
"Even if Hitsu let me join him I couldn't just leave you guys," Nox answered, "It would be wrong for me to just leave."
Nox's father laughed as if Nox just told a hilarious joke. He continued to chuckle as he made his way over to the front door.
"You have a pure heart Nox," he said with a pleased smile, "that's how I knew you would say something like that."
His large hand landed on the doorknob which he slowly turned. Nox could feel her heartbeat increasing as the door gradually opened.
"What's going on?" She thought, "It feels like something is about to happen."
As the door opened more and more Nox's father continued.
"That's why I made a call."
With those words, he turned and made his way out of the door. Nox quickly followed after him, her curiosity driving her forward. As Nox stepped out of the house and into the light she looked down the dirt path to see what her father meant. What she saw made her audibly gasp. At the bottom of the hill were a giant cat and a smiling hero.
Hey Nox!" Hitsu shouted as he waved his hand in the air. He sat on Juno's back, his smile as big as Nox's fathers. Juno turned towards the house and ran up the hill in a few large bounds. Before Nox knew it the two were only a few yards from the house.
"Hitsu?" Nox said in confusion, "What are you doing here? I thought you left town the other day."
"You thought wrong," Hitsu responded, "I stuck around for some business, and the other day your dad got ahold of me. He said you had something important to ask me but we didn't get a chance to talk. So here I am."
Nox looked to her father who grinned from ear to ear.
"Go ahead Queen," He said while holding back his chuckling, "Don't you have something to say to Mr. Hitsu."
"I-I, uh, I," Nox stuttered as her brain refused to cooperate. "I wanted to thank you for your help," she managed to blurt out. "Now, uh, I have to get ready for work so excuse me," Nox said as she started to make her way back into the house.
"Hey Nox," Hitsu said causing her to stop hin her tracks.
"Y-yeah?"
"You wanna be a hero?"
Nox watched as Hitsu's hand extended down to her. The image of Hitsu doing the same thing only days ago flashed before her eyes. With a tornado of emotions swirling inside of her Nox found her own hand extending out to meet Hitsu's. Her future was before her, she just had to grab on.
"Wait," Nox said as she pulled her hand away. Her father and Hitsu both seemed confused by Nox's sudden change of mind. Nox looked up to Hitsu and smiled, "I need a second." Nox suddenly turned and ran into the house.
She immediately found herself in Joy's room. She carefully approached the crib where Joy lay. She looked as though she had just woken up, as her eyes found Nox she began to laugh and reach her arms out. Nox leaned over the crib and lowered down her pointer finger. Joy happily grabbed Nox's finger with her small hands.
"Hey Joy," Nox said softly, "I'm gonna be going away for a while. But don't worry, I'll be back. I'm gonna go and be a hero, and I promise you I'll come back as a sister you can be proud of." Nox knew Joy had no clue what she was saying, but her younger sister smile filled her with happiness regardless. "I love you," Nox whispered before she gently pulled her finger away from Joy's grasp. With a final laugh from her little sister, Nox backed out of the room before entering her own.
Nox hurriedly rushed around her room as she packed her belongings into a backpack. After she had filled the backpack with clothes, chargers, and other essentials, Nox stopped to look out of her window. She looked up the hill in the backyard where her mother had been laid to rest.
"I'm gonna make you proud Mom," Nox whispered, "I promise."
With those words, Nox turned and ran back to the front porch. She instantly ran into her father and pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you, Dad," she said softly, "I love you."
"Anything for my Queen," he responded. "Don't you worry about us," he said as they broke from their embrace, "I can hold down the fort."
Nox nodded before turning back to Hitsu. His hand remained outstretched, ready for her to take it. Nox looked up to Hitsu, his smile remained as bright as ever. With a deep breath, Nox grabbed Hitsu's hand and pulled herself onto Juno's back.
"Make sure she stays safe now," Nox's father said to Hitsu.
"You don't need to worry," Hitsu replied, "She's pretty strong."
Nox laughed at Hitsu's praise. "Enough talking," she said, "Let's get going."
"You heard her," Hitsu said to Juno.
After a moment of preparation, Juno took off down the hill. Nox waved to her father as they grew farther and farther apart. She knew deep down that everything would be alright. Before she knew it Nox could no longer see her father and the shopping district as growing smaller and smaller.
"Hey Nox," Hitsu said, "What was that town called again?"
"Twindawn," Nox replied, "Why?"
"Because we're gonna have to come back and visit," Hitsu said.
"Yeah," Nox said happily, "I'll come back a hero."
The three continued on towards the wall that surrounded the small town. Nox watched in awe as the gate opened as they approached, a gate she had never thought she would walk through. As they passed by the guards at the gate Hitsu waved.
"I'm glad they remember me," he said with a chuckle, "but then again most people don't forget a giant cat."
Juno meowed in response to being mentioned but Nox was to distracted to notice.
"What's up?" Hitsu asked.
"I've never been outside the gate before," Nox replied. She looked on in wonder at her surroundings. They ran on a dirt road through a vast field. Animals ran in the distance, the trees shook with energy in the breeze, a lake on the horizon shined as it reflected the sun's rays.
"Well then," Hitsu said as he carefully stood, "welcome to the world."
...
"Those were the words. The words that would start my new life. The words that would start my adventure. The words that would start my journey. The words that would start my voyage. But most importantly, these words would be the start of my involvement in the biggest event the world had ever seen. My involvement as apart of a group of heroes known only as The Voyage."
...
"I don't believe it."
"How could he? How could he do this?"
"This can't be real."
"Why is this happening?" Nox whimpered.
"Why Hitsu?"
...
End of Episode 19