Lost and Found

[Inori]

Wizardmon sat atop a particularly large tree root, staring down at the unconscious girl. Could this really be her? Not what he had expected, but then again he wasn't really sure what he was expecting at all. He'd answered the call...gone where he was told to, and waited. It seemed surreal...a thought which made him chuckle. Surreal was something of a specialty of his, being what he was and what he did. A groaning sound snapped the wizard digimon from his thoughts, and drew his attention to the girl whom was finally stirring. He watched in idle amusement as she opened her eyes, and take in the forest canopy.

It took her a moment before she sat up, a little thankful she had not noticed him yet..more thankful when she took notice of the digivice lying on the ground by her hand. She was tentative in taking the device, not that he could blame her. She'd just been thrown out of her usual life and into this strange new place. He wasn't sure he would react much differently.

"You're awake." He spoke up after a moment, startling the girl. She was surprisingly fast to get to her feet and face him considering she had just awoken.

"Wha--" She started, but cut herself off as dizziness washed over her. Wizardmon pushed himself off of the tree root, landing softly with the aid of a little magic. It would be quite embarrassing to fall on his face...and that was not an impression he particularly cared to leave.

"You should take it a little slower. That was quite a fall." He commented, taking a few steps towards her. Carefully he started to hold his hand out to her, intending to introduce himself...but the digivice seemed to have other plans.

Inori panicked as the device started beeping her hand. Without really thinking about it, she dropped the device, and bolted.

"No, wait I...!" He called after her, swiftly moving to retrieve the fallen digivice, and follow. This was not good. There were a variety of unpleasant things out here, and being a lone human running through here would likely not end well for her. He took some solace in knowing that she would not be able to keep this pace up for nearly as long as he could...

[Inori]

Inori wasn't sure if she had lost the cloak wearing creature or not, but every muscle ached and told her to stop. The tree root sticking out of the ground to trip seemed to have the same idea. The girl clattered face first to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Wincing, Inori shifted, trying to at least lie on her back, so she could see if she escaped the creature. Maybe she could drag herself behind some tree roots and...

"Gah!" She startled, finding the creature standing beside her, peering down with an unreadable expression. "How did you..."

"Persistence and patience..." He responded, offering her his hand. When she made no move to accept it, he sighed. "Let's try this again."

Inori watched as the creature's hand dropped back to it's side. It straightened up a little then bowed.
"My name is Wizardmon. I've been waiting for you for some time now."

Inori gave him an unconvinced look, which earned her a quiet chuckle.
"Either you doubt my name, or you doubt that I've been waiting...but either way I have no reason to--"

"What kind of a name is Wizardmon?" Inori blurted out suddenly, not really thinking about what she was saying. She gasped, then covered her mouth with one hand quickly, regretting every word. The creature started shaking...Inori thought she made it mad. Before she could stammer out an apology, it started laughing.

"It's -my- name...unless you have something else you want to call me." He mused.
"Why would I--"
"Fate deemed it to be so." Wizardmon stated cryptically, holding out his hand again. "You have questions, and I probably have answers to some of them...but I doubt lying here on the ground is particularly comfortable for you."

Inori had to admit he had a point. Reluctantly she took his gloved hand, and he pulled her to a sitting position. A moment later she was on her feet, brushing herself off. Wizardmon nodded to himself, then gestured to a nearby tree.

"We should be safe here for a while. Sit...and I will answer what questions I can."

[Inori]

She was surprisingly calm as he explained the situation to her. Part of him wondered if she was grasping much of what he said, or tuning out much of his wording.

"This...is a lot to take in." Inori admitted in a soft tone. Wizardmon smiled at her from behind his cloak.
"I know...but you have me to aid you through this." He offered, watching her reaction carefully.
"Thanks...I think." She paused and moved to scratch the back of her head. "No offence but...I'm still not sure how much I can trust you."

Wizardmon winced. He hadn't quite been expecting that response.
"I see. This could be problematic." He hesitated, than dismissed the issue with a confident: "Nothing time cannot solve."
The digimon shifted to stand and lean on his staff lightly, musing aloud.
"Speaking of time...we should not idle here too long. Many of the residents of this forest can be hostile towards others."

"I don't know how to get out of here...." Inori commented thoughtfully as she pulled herself to her feet.
"I do."
"Can you tell me?"
"No."
"No?" Inori's tone was a mixture of confusion and frustration.
"No. I will show you." The wizard type digimon made a vague gesture.
"But I--"
"Even if I were not your partner, I would be remiss to allow you to wander here alone." Wizardmon responded swiftly in a no-nonsense tone. He was not going to accept an argument on this. Inori sighed heavily, giving in.

"Fine...lead on." She mumbled. Wizardmon gave her a sharp nod, and began walking in a seemingly random direction. He was careful to watch his pace, and keep an eye on her. It would be most troubling if she decided to run off again after all.

[Inori]

Time was not something Inori was particularly good at keeping track of...especially when being distracted by the curious rainforest she was being lead through by the equally curious digimon.

"You still haven't told me your name." The digimon commented without warning. He'd not spoken a word since his decision to lead her out of the forest.

"Well I....uhm...you never asked?" She said lamely, hoping he would take it as a reasonable excuse. His un-phased response didn't help her decide one way or another.

"What is your name?" He glanced back at her expectantly.

"Inori...er...Inori Rook." She fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to avoid looking back at Wizardmon and instead focusing on the fascinating ground before her.

"Are you afraid of me, Inori Rook?"

"I..." Inori stammered a little, caught completely off-guard by his question. "I don't know. This whole situation is kind of intimidating. Should I be afraid?"

Wizardmon visibly flinched at her question, like he'd been hit by something.

"No. Never of me." He replied, a strange harsh edge to his tone. He didn't sound offended or angry just very determined that this was to be the case. "I will prove it to you if I must."

Inori tried to keep her expression neutral, quickly changing the topic to something she found more comfortable.

"So, are we getting closer? We've been here for quite some time it seems."

"Heh, we're not lost if that is what you are asking."

"N-no!"

The wizard digimon laughed, then picked up his pace a little.

[Inori]

Inori nearly walked into Wizardmon as he came to a sudden stop. Something was off...something did not belong. The girl back peddled a little, not wanting to be so close to the digimon whom she was still having issues trusting.

As if to prove Wizardmon right, Inori's digivice began piping up, beeping at a somewhat slow intervals.

"Ahh!" Inori startled, rummaging around quickly in her pocket for the device. "Why does it keep doing that? What does it want?"
"Someone else is in the general area."
"Someone good and friendly, or someone who might decide to attack?"
"That depends..."
"On?"
"Whoever is holding the other Digivice yours is reacting to." Wizardmon noted in a very even tone.
"Y-you mean it could be another human like me?" Inori's inquired in a nervous tone, which baffled Wizardmon to no end. Could it be that his partner was uncomfortable around everyone? The thought brought him some comfort in that her reaction was not exclusive to him. The wizard digimon brushed his thoughts aside as he realized Inori was staring at him expectantly.

"Most likely yes. We should find out for certain. The more of us there are together, the more dissuaded some of the more hostile forest residents may be to attack. Tru--" Wizardmon caught himself before he asked her to trust him. Clearing his throught, he corrected himself. "I am fairly certain of this."

Inori gave him a suspicious look, but nodded after a moment.
"Which way?" The girl asked carefully.
"Your digivice will have to direct us." Wizardmon replied, following up quickly with a: "That button."

Hesitantly, Inori followed the digimon's vague directions...rather impressed with either the device or herself when it pointed her in a direction.

"Shall we?" Wizardmon seemed as if he would be raising an eyebrow if he had one. The reluctant look on Inori's face was certainly not a 'yes', but the fact that she continued to follow him after he began walking again worked out rather well...

(Exiting to The Endless Wood)