The Endless Search

A day passed, and then another. With a sigh, Percy sat himself down.

“It's no use! Two whole days and we’re still going in circles in these woods…”

“Don't give up yet! I'm sure we’ll figure it out eventually!” Seren responded in a cheery voice as he added more branches to their campfire. Percy's luminuki friend happily basked in the warmth, stretching its paws out and sweeping its tail around itself. 

“Are we sure this’ll work? What if it all leads nowhere? Wouldn't it all be a waste of time?” Percy rapid-fired questions. Then he caught himself.

“Oh, uh, I don't mean to say that-”

“No no, it's quite all right!” Seren tilted his head with a smile. “You haven't had a good rest since about a week ago, by now… I’m sure I would want to solve the mystery as soon as possible too, if it happened to me.”

“Mm… Yeah, I must be tired. You’re right. Sorry… I really appreciate you helping me out,” Percy mumbled awkwardly.

The air fell quiet, save for the gentle crackling of the flame, as Percy rested his head on his paws in thought. A few long moments later, he spoke up again.

“Say, Seren?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you ever get homesick? I mean, it sounds like it’s been a while since you’ve gone back…”

The question seemed to challenge Seren slightly. A brief moment of thought later, Seren gave his reply.

“I’m afraid… I don’t really have one. A home, that is.”

The reply made Percy sit right up in shock. At that, Seren hurriedly continued, “Oh, no, don’t worry! It’s not like anything bad had happened! It’s more like… I don’t really know where I came from?”

“You… don’t know?”

“I don’t,” Seren repeated, shaking his head. “That’s part of why I started travelling around, actually! I’ve been searching for my origins - Not that I’ve had any success, really.”

His tone remained calm with his usual jovial undertone, and Percy couldn’t help but keep asking more questions.

“How can you stay so happy? I… I would be worried sick if I forgot all about Lunerest! Mama and Papa would be so worried about me too if they couldn’t find me…”

“Hmm, how do I say this…” Seren spoke evenly. “I’m not always this happy, you know?”

“You aren’t?” Awoken by the conversation, the luminuki padded towards the two xyns. Seren held his paws out. As the little critter nestled under soft strokes, the traveller began to speak.

“It can definitely be pretty upsetting at times, just thinking about my situation!” Seren laughed. “Sometimes, just like you, I wonder if it’d all be pointless in the end. But even if I don't end up figuring out where I really came from, it’s thanks to the journey I've had, that I’ve learnt so many things and met so many new friends, right? My search may prove to be endless, but if I remain hopeful and continue travelling, then the journey itself is just another part of the reward!”

The air fell quiet once more as Seren finished. Percy was at a loss for words, struck by a familiar feeling. The feeling when he first insisted that he left on a journey on his own to reach the stars he so longed to learn more about, regardless of his parents’ reluctance. Had he forgotten about his initial passion already? No, not all! Suddenly motivated once more, he bounced up and stretched, filled with renewed energy.

“You have a point, Seren. It’s too early to give up when we can keep going!”

And so, after a brief rest the duo of young xyns roused their luminuki companion awake again, and set off once more. This time, towards the north.