Test Of Fortitude

Even though his thief days were over, Boru was not a stranger to going for a walk across the Folder Desert to look for some items. Even though he wasn’t on to steal anything and then sell it to local merchants to buy food for the homeless anymore, he knew he could find pretty interesting stuff laying on the sand. He and his brothers were taking a day off from the building of the shelter they were working on along Roff (Meramon Rustport’s officer), so he had decided to take advantage of that fact that Andrea the Vermillimon was visiting them at the old town and rode his friend to the desert seeking for some goods. Maybe something they could decorate the shelter with, or probably other of those useless objects he used to gather and then keep around home doing nothing but gathering dust. Even though what was home had changed since the Gururu Cave crumbled and now the Psychemon trio were living at Roff’s house, for the time being, his ways had not changed.

As the gigantic dinosaur stomped promptly through the desert with Boru on board, he growled, looking up and addressing his rider. –Well… I miss her too. –The Psychemon replied since he could clearly understand his growling. Andrea was asking about Jazz, Boru’s sister, the leader of Jazz’s bandits (the band that Boru belonged to) and also the dinosaur’s close friend. She wanted to know when would she be coming back to visit. Boru frowned, not really knowing what to say, but the truth. –I don’t think she’s coming back soon, Andrea. –He explained with a rather sad countenance. –Once we’re done with the shelter, Koru, Roru and I are going to look for her. –The small horned digimon added, with a smile.

While they spoke, Andrea had lowered his pace, as they had gotten inside the Ancient Ruins, some sort of half-destroyed and very antique city, completely abandoned and with almost crumbling structures. Boru used to come here to gather stuff pretty often, so he was keeping his eyes open in search of any item that could be lying around. What they found was something pretty different from what they expected: a blonde haired human kid, standing next to a Beamon, a bear-like digimon wearing a blue cap and strips around his paws. They seemed to be studying an old temple they had just in front of them. If Andrea’s heavy stomping wasn’t enough to raise their attention, Boru, who at first seemed reluctant about greeting the human, decided to wave at the duo. –Hi there. –The Psychemon started with a flat tone. –Have you seen any kind of item around here I can take home? –He then frowned, thinking that might be an odd question. –I-It doesn’t have to be something of value, really. I pretty much like to collect… anything. –Boru then giggled, upon finishing this sentence. Andrea then let go a growl that didn’t need translation to express his partner’s aspirations were disappointing, to say the least.

At first, both the dinosaur and the strip-pelted digimon felt some sort of tension engulfing the environment, but this was quickly broken after the blonde haired boy, apparently named Buck, reacted in a merry way, calling them treasure hunters. For Boru, that definitely sounded nicer than crap collector as his brothers used to call him, so the human was already winning points on his book, which, to be fair, weren't very difficult to earn.–We’re not trying to harm you in any way. –The Psychemon smiled, scratching the back of his head, stating his intentions clearly, just to avoid any weird tension, specially from the Bearmon. –My name is Boru, and this is Andrea. –The Vermillimon growled kindly.  –We're just looking for stuff, we can't really harm anyone. –He explained, getting off the dinosaur. The Vermillimon simply nodded, admitting he was the friendly kind with no trouble. 

Raising his view to examine the outsides of the temple the new acquaintances were standing in front of, Boru gave some steps forward. It was definitely a very old structure, and totally not prepared to fit a gigantic dinosaur in it. Boru sighed right after. –I really wished you could de-evolve somehow. –He said, turning at Andrea. According to the Vermillimon, it had been years since he evolved to that form, and since he felt comfortable enough in it, his body apparently had taken it by default, to the point he didn't even how to go back at this point. Andrea let go a small growl shaking her head calmly. Apparently, she wouldn’t be getting in there even if she could since she was scared of small narrowed places. –I see… then would you be fine just waiting for me around here? –The giant creature immediately nodded with a smile, and then immediately began walking around the Ancient Ruins by himself again. He probably wouldn’t wander too far, and it was good he went for a walk, so he wouldn’t get bored waiting for the Psychemon right there.

-Okay, then sure, I’m in! –It was definitely a good opportunity for Boru to get a new gewgaw, but most importantly, he hadn’t had any type of adventure since his sister Jazz left; so even though he could be sort of a scaredy-cat sometimes, his soul was burning for new emotions. –Are you guys looking for something in particular inside of this place, Buck? –He turned at the blonde boy, his ears perking up. –I suppose you’re tamer and digimon partner, right? That’s so cool. –He added with a smile, not really knowing how to refer to the Bearmon, after his statement. Should he call him Wylde, or…? He quickly shook his head, letting go of this thought. Time to focus on the work at hand: what could be hiding inside this place?

Even for a digimon as dense as Boru, it wasn’t hard to feel how the Bearmon’s eyes followed him around the old temple’s entrance, while he spoke to Buck. He didn’t entirely trust him, and he couldn’t blame him. Even though he hadn’t met much digimon partners, it was only logical for them to try to protect their tamer no matter what. –Well, I think we can find plenty of interesting items if we explore this place. -The Psychemon didn’t know for sure if there were actually treasures inside this old building, but it seemed big enough to say they were in for an adventure if they entered. –Huh? Buck? -Which… Buck had already done. This little analysis of the situation costed Boru to lose sight of the blonde haired boy for a second, he entering the temple sprinting at full speed.

-Hey! Wait for me! –The horned digimon started following the human’s step. He then reached a circular room with multiple pathways that diverged just around the circle. Multiple symbols adorned the passages. Boru couldn’t really decipher these or what they meant, so that made him uncertain about which path to take. Sadly, he had lost sight of Buck, so he really didn’t know which one to follow. He then frowned, raising his view, thinking which path may a hyperactive human and a Bearmon take.

Luckily, this little silence, allowed him to hear the running footsteps coming from one of the passages. The pathway was adorned by some sort of mallet symbol. Boru simply followed this path running too, trying to reach for the teenager. The Psychemon couldn’t help to wonder if this boy knew what he was doing, even though it didn’t seem like. While he ran, he looked around at the very antique walls of the temple, kind of amazed at how this structure was still standing.