Hurling through the air, the pod's turbulence causes Hisoka to get motion sickness.
"Stop this thing. I'm gonna throw up!"
"You better not!" Crashing through the trees, bits and pieces of the pod begin to tear off. Directly hitting a tree, the pod bursts, sending the trio off onto the snow-covered ground in different directions. Scattered around the crash site, Jugo begins to regain consciousness.
"Ow, my head," cried Jugo. "Wait! Kyou! Hisoka! Are you guys ok; where are you!" While searching the area, Kyou regains consciousness, too. Removing one of the vines off her torso, she questions Jugo.
"Where's Hisoka?"
"Over there." Pointing to Hisoka throwing up behind a tree. Laughing together at him, Jugo falls back into the snow beside Kyou. Staring up through the pine trees, he takes a deep breath, smelling the air.
"So this is what it's like to be outside the walls. Did the sunrise always seem so beautiful?"
"I never really paid attention; the wall always covered it. The only thing more beautiful is Hisoka's snow art." Yelling from behind the tree.
"Fuck you! Where are we even supposed to go now? What's the plan now, genius?"
"Oh uh… I don't know." Remembering what he found in his backpack, Jugo stands.
"I found the map in my brother's room; we can figure out where to go from here."
"Why didn't you say anything sooner," asked Kyou.
"Well, we were kinda being chased by a man who can create earthquakes and almost arrested by a minuteman sergeant." Taking off his backpack, Jugo Pulls out a map. Using some vine chunks to hold open the map.
"So this map shows the entire region, but it looks like the other half was torn off. Right now, we're about here. Before we can even go anywhere, we'll have to head east to get out of the valley."
"What's this place? Rumble City?" Walking over to the others, Hisoka says.
"Sounds like a place for fighting."
"Yeah, my brother told me about a place like this before. Apparently, if you win a tournament, you're rewarded boatloads of toki, and they rain down from the ceiling."
"That sounds perfect. We need money to travel and eat, so let's head there first."
"Why do you always come up with the plans; who made you leader anyway? We should go somewhere closer."
"There is the 'Sequoia Sanctuary,' but it's surrounded by a thick forest of super tall trees. Apparently, it's called by many names, but the most common are the wandering woods and the wonder ring; some people get lost in there for months. It's already bad enough that we have to pass through the forest to get to 'Rumble City.' The safest option is to avoid going too far into the forest and head somewhere else first." Pointing northeast from the sequoia sanctuary, Hisoka asks.
"This place, Handel town, is closer. Why don't we go there?"
"Do you know anywhere else we can make money?"
"No."
"Then we go with my plan of going to Rumble City."
"Oh, I also found this pocket watch. I tried opening the front, but it won't budge. The back did, though, and inside was a compass, so we'll know exactly where we're going." The trio packed up their things and set off to 'Rumble City.' Walking through the unforgiving tundra, Hisoka asks.
"Are you guys ok? You pushed yourselves pretty far."
"I'm fine. I just made too many vines. We need to keep moving."
"We need to stay alive; if you're tired, we need to take a break."
"Don't tell me what we need to do! I need you to mind your bus-" Collapsing from exhaustion, Kyou falls into Hisoka's arms.
"Shit! Kyou wake up, you'll die from hypothermia! Jugo, help her!" Turning to look at Jugo, Hisoka finds his body face down in the snow.
"Jugo!" Later that night, Jugo awakens to crackling fire and crickets. Looking over, he sees Hisoka tending to Kyou and cooking rabbit stew. Sitting up, Jugo asks.
"What happened?"
"You both collapsed from using your gift too much. It's called nature's curse."
"How do you know that? Why is it called that?"
"The circumstances for someone 'unwrapping' their gift differ from person to person and can happen at any age. I awakened mine at six, along with my twin brothers'. Once our parents found out, our father started our bow training immediately. One of his teachings was never solely to rely on your gift, or you'll be inflicted by nature's curse."
"What does it do."
"In order to use our gifts, we have to draw in nature energy from our surroundings, but did you know we produce our own, too? From the moment we're born, at the center of our being, our bodies produce nature energy to function. Once we can use our gifts, the energy flows a bit easier. However, we must still draw in nature energy to use our gift. Think of it like negative and positive energy. Our bodies produce negative energy, and we use the positive energy from nature to use our gifts. The constant influx of positive energy throws our balance of negative energy out of wack. When too much positive energy is in the body, you start to feel fatigued and, in worse cases, seize up. The only way to mitigate the curse is to increase your energy pool through training."
"How long does it usually last?"
"You guys should be good by morning, but you shouldn't use your gifts for a while."
"I never thought I'd see this side of you."
"What do you mean?"
"You used to bully and make fun of me. But here you are now, caring for us and looking out for our well-being. A lot can change in just a few weeks, I guess." Blushing, Hisoka looks away.
"Eat some stew or go back to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us; if we're headed to 'Rumble City, ' I'll keep watch."
"You got it, 'Hawkeye'." Kyou eats plenty of the stew the following day after sleeping for hours. After emptying the pot, the trio pack up camp.
"Hey, before we leave, do you have anything left from that rabbit last night?"
"No, just these mittens. I almost lost them in the snow this morning."
"That's good enough. Let me see your glove." Grabbing the glove, Jugo's left arm immediately pings green."
"What does that green light mean," asked Kyou.
"Every time I collect a new DNA sample, my arm pings green to let me know."
"Cool, anyway, daylights burning time to get a move on lead the way, Jugo."
"I'm leading!?"
"Well, it is your brother's compass."
"Fair point." Leading the way through the valley, the trio passes through a large river and a small forest. As the day went on, it became warmer and easier for the trio to move around.
"What are we going to do about lunch and dinner," asked Kyou.
"I have some rations I made that we can eat for a while."
"Can't you cook something?"
"Pretty ironic coming from the vegetable girl. Don't you know how to cook?" embarrassed Kyou throws a snowball at Hisoka's face.
"I'm still learning! I haven't been practicing because I've been training with the two of you!"
"We should eat the rations and find something around dinner time. If we keep up this pace, we'll exit the valley by sunset," replied Jugo. To pass the time, Kyou played in the snow as they traveled. Running too far ahead, Kyou trips over a frozen log.
"Kyou, are you ok," questioned Jugo.
"Yeah, it's just a frozen log. Oh?" looking under the turned-over log, Kyou picks up a frozen gecko.
"Jugo, have u gotten a gecko in your arm yet?"
"No, can I see it?"
"Sure, it looks dead, though."
"It's ok." Jugo collects another DNA sample and buries the gecko where Kyou found it.
"So what can you do with the gecko," asked Hisoka.
"In theory, I could crawl up trees and walls."
"That's pretty convenient."
"The only drawback is that I have to switch between animals to use them properly."
"What about that bear arm? You weren't using any other animals, but you didn't seem like yourself."
"I don't know; that was the first time that's ever happened. Pass me one of those rations."
"Sure… Hey, Jugo."
"Yeah?"
"Sorry for bullying you. Sometimes, I just get so irritated with life and my dad. I felt so trapped and frustrated, and you, the guy I used to pick on, helped me shed that life of lies."
"That's what friends are for; as long as your arrows cover my back, I'll always hold the vanguard." With bonds tied even tighter, the two fist bump to their newfound understanding. Finally, exiting the valley, Kyou points out.
"Look, it's the wandering woods!"
"They're even taller than the walls!"
"Let's set up camp for the night so I can check the map and figure out where to go from here."