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The first time DeValo suggested going out in search of his brother's former life, he hadn't really thought it through. It was a suggestion born of a less than stellar game of hide and seek. Still, it had intrigued DeValo ever since. Rai'Talun's odd fears tended to get in the way of their fun. DeValo didn't like to see his brother so frightened all the time. He always wondered if Rai would grow out of it, but it didn't seem to be happening fast enough. As much as he hated breaking rules, he was beginning to think perhaps it would be a good idea. They had gotten bigger since that first day. Maybe it was time to revisit the idea.

He thought of all this early one morning. He was nestled with his brother and sisters. His parents were sleeping a little ways away from them. If they snuck off, a time like this would be ideal. "Rai," he whispered, "Rai, are you awake?"

"Hey... do you remember that day, a while ago, when we were playing hide and seek with the girls?" If Rai had forgotten, maybe they shouldn't bother going. DeValo would never admit it to anyone, even himself really, but he was pretty scared too. Leaving their parents' side. Leaving their sisters behind. Wandering off into the night with no real plan or even starting point. It was kind of crazy. Even so, he wanted to go more than he was scared to go.

"Yeah, it prolly is. But... y'know, I can protect you." DeValo smiled proudly. He would protect his brother. At least, he would try to. They'd never really had to worry about much since they were always near their parents or well hidden. DeValo didn't really know what they would face in the wild. It was both terrifying and exciting. "Besides, it'll be worth it to find out. Won't it?"

DeValo stretched and stood up. "C'mon Rai. Let's go. Before mom and dad wake up. They'd never let us leave if they knew. The girls will only tell if we wake them up too..."

"Shh, we'll talk more when we get further away." DeValo slunk away as quietly as he could. He chose a direction at random. His brother's question was a valid one. Where should they start? His parents had told them stories about adventures like these, but usually the boy or girl fell into them rather than chose to be in them. Maybe there was a reason for that.

When he felt they were far enough away to chance a bit of noise he considered bringing these thoughts up to Rai. In the end he felt that was a bad idea. It would be better for them both if Rai thought DeValo knew what he was doing. "Well, let's think of this logically. We know that you are scared of tall things, so your soul probably isn't from the woods. So the first thing we need to do is leave the woods. I figure if we keep going in this direction, eventually the trees will be gone."

"Well, you would've spent a bunch of time around trees right? You would be used to them. We need to find a place where you feel comfortable. Then that is prolly where your soul comes from." It all made perfect sense to DeValo. He had no idea how much of a needle in a haystack search this journey would be. He had no idea how large the world was. "We should keep moving." DeValo smiled at his brother.

"I don't think that it means you were always alone. I bet you had a family before, but they were small. Maybe you were a mouse or something. You probably were afraid of kage before and its just the same now..." It was a possibility. DeValo was determined to help his brother learn more about his former self. He knew it wasn't just trees. It was anything big. But trees were big, lots of things in the woods were, surely whoever had Rai's soul before wouldn't have hung around somewhere like that.