The sky was overcast, but it didn't matter. The falling sun was somehow more beautiful when it was harder to see; it made the brief thrill of catching a glimpse all the more powerful. Somehow, it was the things that she could not see that fascinated Trisden the most. Kiche was gone now, she knew that, but his stories had captivated her young mind. They had made her feel special. Now he was gone.

It didn't matter. The sun was gone too, behind a cloud, but it was still there at the same time - everything would be fine, it didn't matter that she couldn't see them.

"Hocus," she called over her shoulder, distracted - but not enough to forget that he was with her, that she had to look after him. Everybody felt that they had to look after her, but she secretly knew it wasn't necessary. It was what they couldn't see inside her that was most important, her hidden strength that made her more than just a little girl. Hocus both understood and did not, at the same time, which made her laugh... but one day, when she was older, it would doubtless infuriate her. His insistence over being her 'big brother' was comforting and smothering at once.

But not today. Today he was just her friend. "Hocus, look at that cloud. What does it look like to you?"

His reply should have been expected, but it tickled a nerve nonetheless. "You look like a cloud," she snapped, but his self-aware grin was contagious, and she soon forgave him with a laugh. At least, mostly forgave him.

Her comment, said in irritation, made her stop and think. "You kinda do, actually. All white and fuzzy at the edges." She leant over to him and swiped her tongue over his cheek, smoothing the errant fur there. In doing so, she only started a chain reaction, for the newly-organised area stood out in comparison to the rest of him. "Don't you ever clean yourself? If you're not careful you'll turn more into... into one of those." This time she pointed at a more distant cloud, a grey and ominous one that wafted across the sky, no doubt dumping wetness on anyone unfortunate enough to stand underneath it. "All, all murky and soggy and blergh."

He was so determined to be sensible. It was quite funny. I am not a cloud, well, honestly! There was no need to be so redundant. When he finally relented enough to remark about his preference in clouds, she gave a high bark of laughter, the images he had created floating around in her mind and all so ridiculous.

This had to be exploited.

"Hocus!" she mock-scolded, trying to emulate a parental voice even as she hopped about to face him. Bouncing onto her hind legs, she placed her paws on Hocus' shoulders and observed him with a critical eye for a moment. With a sudden cackle, she swiped her tongue against the fur on his forehead. Laughter got the better of her, and she rolled away from her creation, delighted with herself.

"There - the fuzzy edges - now you look just like one!" Leaping to her feet, she began to add insult to insult by poncing about, making her movements both ridiculous and airy as she cried breathily "Look at me, I'm Hocus, the useless wafty-thing!"

He didn't help end her laughter by overreacting to her attack on his image, because watching him paw at his forehead and then bash his head into the ground was all too hilarious to cope with. Such was her enjoyment, and his obscured speech, that she almost didn't catch his addendum.

It only dampened her spirits by a fraction, though she determined not to let it show too much. Letting the last of her giggles run their course, she came to face him with an expression of puzzled curiosity. "What do you mean?" It had been a long time since any of Kiche's stories, but she hadn't realised that Hocus was so negative about them. They had been interesting and quite overwhelming to consider, sure, but she had enjoyed listening and taking the lessons in. Nobody had really said much to the contrary. Why would Hocus suddenly be so offhand about it?

For some reason, Trisden felt personally insulted by his comments. She told herself that she wasn't that obsessed with it all, even though deep down the stories had touched her imagination. Now that Kiche was gone, she took care not to talk about it much - even so young, she got the feeling that nobody else really thought like he did - but that didn't stop her from taking the teachings to heart.

"I think it's important, y'know, to... to think. It makes us us instead of, of clouds." She smirked for a moment, pleased with her wit, but it didn't last long. "Besides... it's nice to think that there's something there. Looking after father and Prosper and stuff." She shrugged, turning away from him in order to slump down and not let him see her face. "Since I can't do anything 'cept think about them. I miss them. I hope they're okay."