As the pair drifted from the waterfall that guided them into the crisp pool below them, they managed to collect themselves soon enough before they were taken by the current of the river which followed.
"So! Are you, gahh, happy now?" Rai coughed, attempting to dodge his inability to swim as he swiftly scurried out of the pond. Looking around, the scenery was entirely serene and excreted a pure scent to it. Lush green backgrounds of trees painted the snippet of beauty artistically. The mist of the waterfall could still be felt a bit on their faces, taunting their pores as they were close enough to inhale a refreshing breath. Dawn officially arrived, and the morning sun reflected light in the falling droplets.
"We're still alive, right?" she answered wittingly, taking in the landing area into full perspective herself. "So this is the Laran River... I had no idea it was so beautiful, Rai." she commented as she looked up, seeing that the only artificial creation was the railroad tracks they two just dove from.
"This is probably gonna be a stupid question, but do you know where to go from here if we want to get out?" he asked.
"Actually, if you follow the river's path, it'll lead you to the sea. Since the Ninety-First just arrived at land a moment ago, it shouldn't be too far. Just follow the water all the way down this huge hill." As the two made their way down in this moment of peace, a faint trail could be seen on the way down, as if someone already traversed through Laran.
"How do you KNOW these things, anyway? That rivers lead to the sea and such?" Rai wondered.
"It's uhh, pretty damn common knowledge for anyone who stays up in class." Karla said, narrowly avoiding the fact that he doesn't know anything about the world or life outside of Otana. Looking at Rai as they walked down, she ran a little bit ahead, then faced him while putting her arms to the sky. "Take a look around you, Rai! Everything you see, everything you feel from now on, they're all things that we're not supposed to experience. But it's the fact that we're out here, experiencing it this very moment that makes it so valuable to me, and should be to you too. I've always wanted to get out and away, and even though this isn't entirely how I expected it to happen... I'm kinda happy. No one's there to tell us what's right or wrong, what to believe in, or to say where we should be right now."
"I'd love to agree with you Karla, and I do for some of it, but it doesn't help that we're basically being hunted this moment. Right?" he replied, making Karla drop her arms down in disappointment and continue walking. "But I know what you mean. All this stuff I'm seeing, I guess I'd never see how big the world is if you didn't  screw everything up." he gestured as he caught up.
"Oh, gee thanks." she said coldly.
"Crazy murderers and leaping from high places aside, I'm glad to get out of that stuffy village. So, thanks?" he expressed, bumping her elbow with his own. As they descended the calm river path, the vision of the plains filtering through the trees became more clear and expressive. Taking a moment to themselves, Rai got hungry, which usually doesn't take long to happen, and pointed at a nearby pair of Nikkal fruits up in the trees. "Wait Karla! I'm gonna get those two; they look pretty ripe."
"Can you even climb trees, Rai?" asked the ever-dobutful one.
"Are you kidding me? Do you think I do every little thing without thinking it through first?"
"No, not everything. Most things."
"Okay! Well... you're right. But I'm going to know until I try," he said as he hopped up the tree. With the succulent shine of the cerulean fruit egging him on, he manage to grab the branch, but lost his unorthodox footing and found himself just hanging there on the Nikkal's branch. "Hey! Karla, do something!" he called as he pedaled his feet in the air. From the tree branch, Rai could see Karla covering her mouth lightly in amusement.
"You're doing just fine!" she laughed. "Just cut it, it's right there!"
"So you CAN still laugh, huh?" Rai thought to himself as he reached for the steel sword at his side. Hanging on the slightly thin branch on one hand for the moment he grabbed his sword caused him to sway more than he thought. He managed to slash off the fruits in the nick of time, with Karla there to catch them. Unfortunately, the branch snapped, fell back and squashed Rai between it and the tree itself. Grabbing the tree again and getting himself back to the ground, he was wondering if it was really worth the effort.
"Good job," Karla spoke. "next time we need to get food..."
"I'm not doing that again." Rai coughed.
"Sure, sure... Hey Rai..." she said softly and they sat on the floor. "How long do you think we'll be traveling around like this before we can get home?"
"That depends." he responded. "How long do you want to get away from it all?"
"I..." she started, followed by a sudden silence.
"You don't have to answer right here and right now." he said as he cut the fruit, with its refreshing juices wetting Rai's blade and flashing in the sunlight. "We'll keep walking, and finding people, and avoid getting killed for as long as you want. Or... at least until we can find a way out of this while making the least amount of noise we can." After cutting and enjoying their pieces of the Nikkal fruit, they proceeded to the edge of the Laran where the river gave its water to the ocean below. The green blanket of the plains accompanied by a single road for people was revealed to them as they exited their temporary haven.

Ah, the carefree plains. One of the beauties of Latrona is the huge landscapes filled with green and not of industry or corruption. But at the same time, there's still much to be desired. One could say that it's sad to see the plains so very filled with nothing, that there's something beautiful that could be placed there in the emptiness. It's a bittersweet feeling for some, but it's awe inspiring when Rai reaches the end of the river that released water from a high cliff down to the sea again. Back near the main road, there was a division between the trees and plains as the path garnered attention from townsfolk heading from one section of Rudanios to the next.
"Hey, excuse me!" Rai called to a passing middle-aged traveling man with a round blue hat, riding idly on his own horse coach. "Do you know where the nearest city or town is from here?"
"Hmmm...? Now let's see here... Well, if you were to go north-ways, you would find yourself in Aidan, that's where the Ninety-First is making go-arounds right now."
"Ahh, we can't really go that way if the train is stopping there. Do you know of any more places?" asked Karla.
"Ohh, not that I'm aware of. The only place else you could travel to is Skayori, if you dared to. But, as of late that place has been deemed the Battle-Scarred Town, so you'd best head northeast to Aidan, like I told ya." the man answered.
"Battle-Scarred? Is there something wrong going on over there?" asked Rai.
"You... don't know? Crisis, I thought you children were being educated these days!" he said, clearing his throat and pulling back the reigns on his horses. "The war between this continent, Rudanios, and the northern continent, Neroa, has been going for some time now. I've been wanting to deliver something to a friend in Skayori, but..."
"War!?" exclaimed Karla. "How long has there been a war?"
"Golly.... I'd say about 8 or 9 years now? For as long as I've known, it's been called the Remnant's War. But rumor has it that this senseless fighting is gonna end soon! Praise Atlas, this has been hampering our business for such a long time, it's hard to get to Seloria these days, you know? The only way to get in these days is by boat." he said as he began to ride his coach out. "The fighting has died down since about a year ago, so you can try your luck if you want by heading southeast, but I wouldn't advise you!" he shouted as he rode away back on the main road.
"War... you never told me about this going on!" exclaimed Rai.
"But I never-" she stopped. Despite getting out and about every now and then with her father, she could never recall ever hearing about war, even from her home village of Otana. "Were they trying to avoid conflict, or did everyone at home really not know about this either? No..." she echoed in her mind. As she tried to think of what was going on, she realized they could at least trying hitching a ride while they still could. "Gah, hold that thought, follow me!" Karla said quickly, dashing to catch up with the coach. "Excuse me, sirrr!"
"Eh? Oh, hello again. Did ya forget something?" he replied, looking behind to Rai dragging himself to catch up.
"Listen, uhh... we've actually been trying to get away few rough outlaws, and we were wondering if you could take us as close to Skayori as you could."
"A few--? Augh!" yelped Rai as she elbowed his stomach.
"I'm going somewhat in that direction, but..."
"We can deliver that one thing you mentioned you wanted to give your friend! Right Rai?"
"...Yeah, Karla's right. Maybe hiding in the woods for a while will make these outlaws lose our scent, you know what I mean?" he cleverly responded.
"Well... alright, get in then." he said. "The name's Wasser, by the way. I wouldn't be asking you to do this unless it was real urgent, just so you know." As they got into the coach and sat comfortably, Wasser began to talk of days long past, and the present as well. "See here?" he pulled out a broken sword with a beautiful cherry-red hilt. "This belonged to the friend of mine, Reed. You see, we both were in the war from the day it started, but I ended up giving in about 4 years in. Reed, though... he's been at it ever since about half a year ago. I live in Aiden, but he unfortunately lives in Skayori. The deep and detailed Asheri Forest that stretches across a fourth of Rudanios makes it an ideal place in order to fight and get the upper hand on the enemies. Skayori has been caught in the crossfire on numerous occasions, and only until very recently has the fighting quelled long enough for people to escape without getting harmed, you see?" he paused, the two teens in the back listening patiently. "I'm worried now, though. Reed hasn't left the village for some time now... I think it's connected to his 10 year-old son being killed in a bombing near the village about a year ago. It's strange... one would think that he and his wife would find the will to leave after having that much time to grieve, but what can I say? I'm too cowardly to go in that damned place... I just realized how much I'm asking of you. If you don't want to go..."
"Oh, no don't worry! We'll go." responded Rai, which made Karla look at him curiously. "Anywhere is better than waiting aimlessly in the open, you know? It sounds like he's had a rough time lately for sure. We'll help your friend Reed."

As Karla looked behind her, and then to her right where the trees of Asheri Forest began to come into view, she began to think, "Oh crisis... this doesn't seem like a good idea anymore..."