Well… at least two of them were.
While Nephis was as carefree and tranquil as Sunny and Cassie in the beginning, as time went by, she grew strangely despondent and gloomy. It seemed as though she had reverted back to her old, distant and unsociable self.
Instead of chatting or relaxing with them, Changing Star ended up spending most of her time sitting on the western edge of the island alone, staring into the distance with bleak eyes. Sunny had no idea what was wrong.
He was worried about her. Not even the frequent, insistent lapses of memory managed to overcome his concern about Neph.
On one of the evenings, Sunny approached the western slope of the island, feeling as though his head was about to split from pain. For some reason, he kept forgetting the reason for this visit on the way here. It took all of his willpower to hold on to his intentions.
He wanted to check on Nephis.
Just like always, she was sitting at the ridge of the western edge, gazing into the distance. Sunny climbed onto the ridge and sat down, looking at her with hesitation.
"Hey, Neph."
Changing Star glanced at him. Her indifferent expression was back, making any attempt to understand her true emotions futile.
However, it was clear that she was not alright.
"Hey."
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
Was he seeing things, or was her hair a bit longer than before?
"Why aren't you enjoying the vacation?"
Changing Star frowned. After a while, she said:
"Don't we... need to keep moving west?"
He raised his eyebrows, surprised.
"West? What is in the west?"
Neph's frown deepened, turning into a scowl.
"I… I don't remember. But I feel… I feel…"
She grew silent, then said quietly:
"I feel like I have to do something very important."
'Abandon the Soul Tree... what a strange idea.'
Sunny pondered for some time, trying to understand where she got the idea that they had to move somewhere. Finally, he asked:
"Why west, of all directions?"
Nephis turned to him. There was a strange, pained expression on her face. Gritting her teeth, she whispered:
"I don't know."
Sunny sighed.
If she didn't know, then he, of course, had no idea either. All he knew was that he wanted to make her feel better.
But how?
Sunny frowned, trying to think of a way. He felt that there was something very obvious that he was forgetting. Something that would instantly erase Neph's suffering...
When the realization hit him, he froze.
'Of course! How could I forget...'
The answer was so clear. He just had to climb the Soul Tree and find an especially juicy fruit for her to eat...