#forgive me for the silly draws but this is the mood im in today lol

[betasuppe]

[This one is longer than i intended, oops plz forgive me x0000]

The morning after the mamoswine incident, Norumi was called to meet with Irida, where she anticipated being sorely punished from nearly being trampled to death, if it wasnt for the warden saving her. Instead, she found the clan leader in a great mood, telling Rumi that Ingo was so impressed with Norumi's knowledge of pkmn that he requested HER to show him around the Icelands.

Evidently Irida had been trying to get the elusive warden to stay for a bit and become familiar with the Pearl homeland, but he never found a reason to stay and vanished shortly after he arrived. He'd even admitted to the leader that he had full intentions to set out this day... except something changed his mind. So, Irida proudly explained that he had finally accepted to stay for two weeks straight to truly become close to the Pearl lands... as long as Norumi would accompany him as his guide.

After going silent & nodding dumbly the entire time, shocked straight through with this turn of events, Irida sent Rumi off to pack a day bag and meet the warden at the gate for the first day of their excursion around the land.

When Norumi finished preparing & finally set out for the gate, she found Ingo and Lady Sneasler both waiting patiently there for her. The warden greeted her and casually produced a package, which he apologized for not having much time to prepare. After opening it, she found completely new writing implements and a fresh, untouched leather bound journal for her work. Ingo explained that though it wasn't much, he wanted to repay her for such an interesting time the day prior.

Completely unused to feeling emotions rattle her stoic heart, she hastily bowed & thanked him before packing her new belongings away & insisted they head out before they wasted the precious light of day OR before her building emotions could get the best of her.

They spent the following days with Norumi heading the party, introducing different areas & sharing info on the pkmn they crossed in the wilderness as well as jotting down observations and sketches from the beasties they passed. Then, Lady Sneasler was keeping alert & on the prowl for dangerous activity, occassionally going her own way before meeting up with the other two somewhere down the line. Meanwhile, the warden was listening with rapt attention and otherwise was focused on battling away any aggressive pkmn with ease, his team proving to be a quite a force to reckon with. They'd return to the village in the evening to go their separate ways & catch a few hours of sleep before setting out for somewhere new the next day.

The group also found themselves tucking away in some secluded, safe spot for their lunches, where they'd continue to talk about pkmn, of course, but also about themselves. Norumi learned about Ingo's case of troubling amnesia & the odd memories he was struggling to set straight in his own mind, of which she felt she just had try to and help him connect with his forgotten life!... even if she didn't know how. She also became incredibly aware that he had an untapped wealth of pkmn knowledge and she was keen to learn as much as possible from him as she was in learning about the warden's personal life, as well.

Likewise, Ingo enjoyed hearing of, as Norumi herself called it, her rather uneventful existence. He could easily see she wanted nothing more than to experience everything the world had to offer, but felt trapped in the Icelands under the expectations of her family and clan. He sat quietly & listened to her stories, trying to find a way to propose an idea that would benefit them both...

Anyways! Together, they spent their days learning & laughing, with Norumi wearing a rare smile more often than not while being the warden's travelling companion.

On the last day of his time in the Icelands, during lunch, Ingo extended Norumi the offer to accompany him on his travel back to the Highlands and to Jubilife Village where his protégé was living, or anywhere else life might take them. Ingo was quite aware he still had much to learn from her and though Lady Sneasler was almost always at his side, the warden was fairly lonely and would've been thrilled to have Norumi around. Plus, she'd be able to escape the village tucked away in the coldest part of Hisui and finally get the chance to see the world and observe so many different spices of pkmn, assuredly filling up the rest of her journal in no time at all.

Though she found her heart thudding in her chest at the thought of leaving her old life behind and spending her days besides the warden himself... Norumi quickly realized the implications of them both leaving together and how it could cause immense drama in both of their lives. She also could not shake the dreadful fear that he too would quickly find her weird or boring, before she simply became an outcast again, just in a different place rather than the Pearl village.

Unable to force herself to commit to the biggest choice in her boring, mundane life, Norumi sadly turned down the warden's invitation, telling him she'd love to but it just wasn't the right time. Ingo still managed a smile & told her the offer would always be open to her, should she ever change her mind.

That night upon returning to the village, Ingo thanked Norumi deeply for her company and all the knowledge she shared with him. He found himself having a hard time saying good night, as it meant they'd both be parting for good after spending two solid weeks at each other's side. She too struggled to move herself and fought back a tightness capturing her throat as the warden turned to leave in the direction of the hut he'd been staying in.

He told her he'd hope to see her when he next made a return trip to the Icelands and hoped she'd reconsider his offer, but she didn't speak up. Norumi could only nod, fearing if she'd open her mouth, she'd start crying the minute she'd finally say good bye.

Instead, she quickly rushed away to her family's hut, where she threw herself under the covers, not being able to stop herself from all the stupid useless feelings she had pouring out from some deep dark place inside her. After slowly calming herself & letting the tears flood from her eyes, she decided she'd try to intercept the warden before he left & either compel him to stay longer or to force herself to agree to his generous offer and set out with him.

She eventually drifted off to a restless sleep and when she woke early the next morning, Norumi quickly dressed and ran down to the village gate, just as she'd done for the last two weeks, hoping to stop the warden before he left. As morning light trickled on into the brightest part of day, Norumi came to the realization that either the warden wasn't coming or had already left.

She ran to see Irida, who informed the poor girl that Ingo had left the previous night in a quiet, glum sort of mood. Norumi felt the cold grip of remorse catch in her chest as Irida repeated the warden's farewell, including the statement that he had no other reasons to stay on at this point. Evidently, the man hastily left that same night, not even waiting for daylight to set out from the chilled Icelands.

Norumi went back to her family's hut and stayed indoors for a few days, too overcome with guilt & sorrow to want to move, as she looked through the pages of the journal she filled out at the warden's side, only now realizing that she didn't care what anyone else thought... she just wanted to be around him again.

[Final parts coming shortly...]