Just gonna start off with a happy birthday message for my twinnie Chou! Happy Birthday Chou! I hope you have a really awesome day! This is is for the awesome kick-ass gorgeous twinnie that I love and I hope you like it!

Hopeit'snottooshorturkurkurk

This feeling was all too familiar to him. The feeling of being lost, that is.

Fingers scratched through short brown locks as the mimic boy observed his surroundings, wondering how in the world he had gotten here; 'here' being in the center of a dense forest. He had been surrounded by trees before the Manikins had attacked, yes, but he had also been accompanied by the blond teen boy, Zidane. Now neither of each were in sight, unless you counted the leftover shards of the carbon copies on the ground as the presence of Manikins. And there were a lot of those, since Bartz just had to fend off a horde of them.

Whatever they are, he thought to himself as he looked all around and up into the trees. Where had Zidane gone? It would've been a shame to lose the only companion he had met so far, especially in a land as strange to him as this. It was weird, waking up and not knowing where he was, or anything about himself at all, apart from his own name. Having a companion that was in the same boat as him was a bit of a comfort for Bartz for that reason.

But where is he?

Bartz was kind of worried; after the two had begun travelling and fighting together, they had collected a couple of insignificant memories. Plus, he felt like he had a lot of things in common with Zidane. Personality-wise, anyways.

But it was so strange that he had disappeared so easily. They were fighting side by side until just a second ago, after all. Did the overwhelming Manikins force Zidane away farther than he had suspected?

"That doesn't seem right," the brunet whispered to himself. He thought harder as he wandered through the woods. His memory rewound itself; Bartz fighting on his own, Bartz fighting with Zidane as they tried to keep a score ("Oh yeah, I ended up losing count"), talking to Zidane just before the ambush.

What was it they were talking about?

"Was it... no, that wasn't it. Right, I suggested coming up with a game... and then he said... something about treasure... oh yeah!"

His exclamation sent nearby birds fleeing their nests as he remembered what happened.

"Zidane wanted to start a treasure hunt! The dirty sneak's probably gone off to get a head start! I better get a move on if I wanna catch up!"

Following his expert travelling instincts, the mimic dashed through the woods in the search of anything that could be deemed treasure. He moved as swiftly and carefully as he could, despite almost stumbling over several exposed tree roots. It didn't bother Bartz; being a treasure hunter had nothing to do with being graceful anyways.

Although, after a while of lonely searching, Bartz was starting to lose the feel of adventure. He wished he had just found Zidane again. It probably would've been more fun if he didn't split off.

"I wonder, can I even find him again?" Bartz mumbled to himself, slowing down to a halt. A smile broke into his face as he considered that question.

"Of course I will! I have this!"

He pulled out his feather, staring at it happily. It was the one thing he had that gave him the reminiscences that he was searching for. Holding onto it, he felt that he wasn't alone, and always had a friend with him. With its hopes he knew he would be able to do anything, that he would find Zidane.

Putting the feather away, he looked around, especially in the treetops, knowing Zidane was quite the adequate climber. The brunet wondered that, if he shouted loud enough, the friend he had just made would come running back.

Probably laughing and thinking I called it quits, he thought with a roll of his eyes. He lifted his hands up to his mouth, cupping it. Bartz puffed out his chest as he exhaled deeply, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Where are youuuu?!"

Bartz jumped back, startled as his fingers shielded his mouth. Was that his shout just now? When did his voice become so high-pitched? Heck, it didn't even feel as if his voice left his throat at all.

That wasn't me, was it?

Hearing the same shout twice while he was still figuring it out answered his question for him. Bartz looked around, searching for the source; was that Zidane? Was he looking for him too?

Does he actually scream like a girl?

"Uh, hold on!" He shouted awkwardly, running in the direction he heard it from. "I'm coming!"

Dashing towards the next scream, Bartz wondered if it really was Zidane, or perhaps another lone fighter in this alien world. Maybe some Manikins had him stuck up a tree, like a dog with a squirrel. Maybe Zidane had found some treasure long ago and was tired of waiting. Or perhaps it was a new treasure-hunting friend waiting to happen.

Bartz slowed down, surveying the area as he felt he was close to the source, and found himself staring towards the back of a blonde girl, looking around nervously as she stood idly nearby.

It wasn't Zidane screaming like a girl, it was a real girl! ...hey, maybe she needs help. Maybe she's lost a friend too or something.

"Hey!" He called, bounding towards her. Unfortunately, keeping his eye on the strange girl distracted him from the unearthed tree root just before him, and Bartz suddenly found himself not so gracefully stumbling over it.

The girl turned towards him, violet hues doe-eyed with surprise as she suddenly found herself staring into his wide brown ones.

"Whoa-!"

"Eek!"

The girl looked away, lifting her hands protectively.

"Get away!"

Before he could manage to stop himself, Bartz was met with a magic blast that sent him flying back into a tree. His head hit the bark with a thud, and the brunet saw stars as he slumped to the ground in a daze. Trying to balance himself from the dizziness, the ground next to him proved to be a great help as he leaned onto one arm.

"What... just happened...?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

His head lolled towards a blurry figure in red moving towards him. He moved one hand to his temple, closing his eyes and shaking his head gently. He leaned back against the tree and held his other arm around his stomach, resisting the oncoming pain and nausea.

"Are you... okay?" Came a whisper from beside him.

Bartz blearily turned towards the blonde girl kneeling beside him, fingers knotted in worry as her face filled with concern.

"I'm sorry," she continued. "I thought... I thought you might have been... one of the monsters..."

"Huh?" Bartz looked down at himself as if expecting to look like one of the Manikins. "Last I checked, I'm made of flesh and blood, so I don't think you have to worry! But wow..."

He rubbed the back of his sore head, and groaned as he leaned forward.

"I wasn't expecting a blast like that when I first saw you. You're a lot tougher than you look...!"

For a moment he focused on where he was hurt, trying to make himself comfortable in some way. He checked himself for potions and was wondering if it was possible to find some, when Bartz noticed her still staring quietly towards him.

"How about you? Are you okay?"

Bartz waved a hand in front of her face, and she flinched.

"Oh—yes, yes I'm fine. Except... I seem to have lost someone I was travelling with."

"So the shouts I heard before...?"

She nodded, downcast. Her hands were clasped tightly, guilt and self-blame written all over her face.

"What?"

"It was my fault... We got separated fighting... those things," she whispered. "I-I've been searching, but—"

"Hey, it's no problem at all!" Bartz said, carefully pushing himself to his feet. "We can find your buddy, and mine too, together! How about that?" He offered a hand to the girl beside him. She did not look completely reassured, but took his hand nonetheless.

"Oh yeah, I don't think I caught your name," he added as he helped her to her feet.

The girl seemed almost startled by her own impoliteness. "I-I'm sorry. My name is Terra. Terra Branford."

Bartz flashed a friendly smile. "Terra... nice to meet you, Terra! I'm—"

"Bartz!"

Out from the trees flipped Zidane, landing into a kneeling position on the ground next to the two warriors. Terra looked apprehensive at first, but did nothing upon seeing Bartz greet him so eagerly.

"Hey Zidane, where've you been? Me and my new friend Terra were just about to look for you."

"Oh?"

Zidane eyed Terra in a manner that she was oblivious to. Bartz also failed to catch on at all.

"So where've you been all this time?" The brunet asked.

"Well, I was putting off our little treasure hunt to look for you, but it looks like you found it first."

"Huh?"

Zidane bowed for Terra, taking her hand and kissing it like a gentleman. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Terra. Name's Zidane, Zidane Tribal."

Bartz was confused; he thought treasure meant gold and jewels and fancy swords. Terra was just a person, wasn't she?

Terra hardly reacted to Zidane's behaviour at all. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Tribal."

"Zidane, please."

"My apologies... the pleasure is mine, Zidane."

"I think you can let go of her now."

Zidane obeyed as he straightened up, letting out a small chuckle. Terra looked between the two of them before her gaze lingered on Bartz.

"Are you two... going to leave now?" She asked quietly.

"What? Of course not!" Bartz exclaimed. "We still have to find your friend too!"

Zidane was quick to jump in. "Yeah! After all, we would never leave a lady on her own in a place like this."

Bartz rubbed the back of his head where it hit the tree, getting the feeling that Terra was capable of defending herself from anything creeping up on her.

"C'mon, we can start looking for your friend now!" Zidane added, beginning to walk in a random direction. The other two watched after him before Bartz smiled playfully to her, taking her hand a gently giving it a kiss as well.

"It's a pleasure to help out, Ms. Terra," he chimed, adding a bit of pitch to better sound like Zidane. For the first time since he met her he seemed to be able to put a smile on her face, which made him feel happier too.

I think the feather has been working its good luck after all.