Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 6: Wishful Thinking

After a long training session with Seir, Ori reunited with his family back at their home in the Wellspring Glades. The techniques took a lot longer to learn and hone than he expected, as it was now the late afternoon. In fact, Ori had missed lunch due to how long he was training with Seir, and based on his growling stomach, they all knew he was hungry. Therefore, Naru ultimately decided that it was time for dinner as she began to prepare some stew for the family to enjoy. The sun slowly fell on Niwen as Naru finished her cooking, leading to the family gathering around the table to enjoy their meal and talk.

Gumo's been pretty busy, helping Grom out not only in the Glades but also with the new residences closer to the Wellspring itself. Naru, although not having a main job in Niwen, has been managing to keep the moki behaved and happy ever since they arrived in Niwen. They remind her of the spirits back in Nibel, who were always such a joy to be around. She reflected back to her younger years when she tried to play with two spirits named Eki and Sol. That was such a long time ago, but she still remembers them fondly. Ku has been mostly keeping to herself, trying to improve her flying capabilities ever since she got her wing back. She remembers how that was the one thing she always wanted, and now that she had it, it became all she wanted to do. But now, she needed her rest, and she sat down in the nest where she and Ori slept together.

Then, it was Ori's turn...

"So, how was everything with Seir, Ori?" Gumo asked.

"Mm?" Ori quickly swallowed his food before shrugging indifferently. "Eh, not too bad. I didn't expect training to take so long."

"Probably because you didn't train much with your magic back home," Ku remarked.

"I didn't?"

"Yeah," the owl laughed at his unknowingness. "You always complained that it was boring."

"Well... with my experience with Seir, I can understand why," Ori laughed with her.

"Regardless of your views," Naru spoke quietly. "I'm glad you're learning."

"S-So am I," Ori nodded back.

"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Gumo asked both Ori and Ku.

"W-Well... I'm not sure," Ku muttered. "Maybe I could play with the moki tomorrow?"

"That's alright," Gumo smiled back.

"And what about you Ori?" Naru asked her spirit son. "If you want to, maybe we could forage some food tomorrow."

"For what?"

"I know we just had one, but I was already planning on making a small feast for the Glades a couple days from now," Naru chuckled. "Inconvenient timing, I know. Still, I don't want to throw away those plans, so I'm going to need some more food."

"I... well..."

"If you want to do something else, that's perfectly fine too."

"I... a-actually, uh..." There was something else that Ori wanted to do, but... he wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. He wanted to do something to try and regain his memories, the thing that would make him whole again, an endeavor that would rekindle the loves and losses of his life. In the two days he's been alive again, there had been no improvements to his amnesia going away. Obviously, he wasn't sure if these things took a lot of time or not. Therefore, Ori assumed that a more direct approach to rekindling them would be necessary.

The question was: What was the correct approach to this situation?

Seir said that, if his mind was just motioned in a familiar direction, like seeing a familiar place or doing a familiar activity, then there was a greater chance that he would rekindle the lost memories. Despite the general approach he recommended, it was too broad of a thing to expect. He honestly just wanted his family to tell them everything, but then he understood the significance of finding the memories himself. If he's just told what happened, it doesn't really hold the same weight as actually living through it does. So he was back at just looking for familiar locations and activities again.