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Now, Souppi knew he was far from home. He thought that with a day's rest, he'd have enough energy to make it back to the Catalia Glades. I am not going back, he thought. Not now. Not yet. He thought that he'd lose if he did that. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong. It was his brother who was forcing him to do terrible things. Souppi didn't want to do anything that'd make his brother look like he had won. I know I can take care of myself. I turned out fine for one whole day already. Still, it was comforting to know he at least had the option to go back if he felt like it.

Souppi was on a grand adventure. He wasn't sure where, but he knew it wasn't the Catalia Glades. It was some forest. He looked up, down, and all around and was completely and utterly bewildered. "Am I lost?" He winced and shook his head. No, no, not at all! He had to push such thoughts out of his mind. I am not lost. I am just charting unexplored territory. Yes, that sounds far nicer. Like something out of a grand storybook.

Souppi ran down the path and piles of leaves squeaked beneath his feet as he stepped over them. He saw a familiar looking gladier on his way through. She was Girafarig, but he had always called her Ball and it looked like she was selling something out of a wooden cart now.

"Ball?" Souppi had to excuse his own rudeness. He quickly corrected himself. "Sorry about that! Miss Ball, what are you doing here?"

Girafarig's jaw dropped and her eyes lit up. "Wow! You took the words right out of my mouth! What are you doing here?" She stopped, and without leaving her cart, she looked around and paid special attention to bushes and large rocks. She didn't seem to see anything of interest.
Then, she went down on his level, looked at him, and cocked her head in confusion. "Where's your brother? Right after, she stopped, got up, and smiled. "Oh, no, wait, there's no need to answer. I figured it out already. This must be one of those training exercises. He's always off doing something...weird...like that.
After this, she dug around in her cart, pulled a rolled up piece of parchment that looked like it'd be around a square foot unrolled, and gave it to him. "Anyway, for you, my first customer - not to mention my best friend - I'll give you a deal. The best deal ever. You can have this. Yes, this. The best, most high quality map of Wysteria Forest for an irresistible low payment of...nothing. It's free. One bite sized map for the little master. Now, go and frolic and whatever it is pups your age do nowadays. And don't tell your brother about it, until you finish. I don't want him to think you cheated."

"Thank you." That was all Souppi said. He decided it would be best to keep his big mouth shut. He knew she had it all wrong, but he was afraid that if he told her the truth, then she'd blab to his brother.

"No problem! Now, shoo, shoo, little butterfly boy! Go, go! If you stay here too long, then I'll make you into my apprentice and you'll only get paid by commission." She giggled maniacally after that.

Souppi took her hint and ran off...

Souppi remembered Ball taught him how to read a map soon after they met. He was especially glad of that now. He unrolled the small, off-white map and looked over it. It looked like he was almost in the middle of the forest and that a lot of paths lead to and from that spot. There were a lot of places he could go from here too.

He hadn't decided where to go, yet. Not just yet. He traced paths on the map with his paw and thought of all the places he could go. I could go over The Libra's place. It's not the fastest way, but I'm sure I'd see a lot of nice things on my way there. He finally decided that he would take a walk and go wherever it looked nicest.

When Souppi looked up, he saw a white Circinus with blue and purple markings coming down a path to his right. He thought she looked joyful all the way up from her grinning face down to her trotting toes. If he had to guess, then she must've been younger than him. Just a bit. He thought that her hair was the most interesting looking thing about her. It was done up in a ponytail and pinned with wing-shaped hair clips. All the gladiers he had seen, so far, had short hair like him.

"Ah!" What is up with me? It is impolite to stare. He stood up and tried to look his best. He shook the leaves and twigs off him and puffed his chest out. He wanted to make a good impression. "Good morning, little miss. You can call me Souppi. What are you up to? Are you going anywhere in particular? I was just going to go take a walk."