After much decision throughout the day, Fletcher closed the bar early and left a note on the door explaining that he was out doing business. He got into his car and dialled Darwin's number on his phone. It was about time he got away from this town, even if just for a bit. It was a good excuse to take Darwin with him to figure some things out. It was only recently after all that Summer had discovered his true abilities.

"Autumn!" Darwin used his new name for Fletcher, spoken in a bright and cheery voice that was full of warmth. Something wasn't right though, his voice was deeper than normal and just that bit too cheery, exaggerated rather than natural. "It's been weird around town lately, how's everything going for you?" His voice was now more serious.

"Summer! Things have been weird for me as well as the town I think. I've been alright all around, you?" Fletcher heard the change in Darwin straight away. It worried him, but the phone wasn't really the place to talk, "So, I was going to take a trip to this place about two hours away from town. I was wondering if you'd like to join me? It's a season thing, it'll be a nice break from everything," he wanted to get Darwin out even more now. It wasn't right form him to stay here. He was still young, despite how old his abilities may be.

"There are some particular things I want to tell you as well. I would like to go with you!" Darwin replied. "Where are we going?" he asked curiously

"Great! Where are you right now? I'll come pick you up," the thought of spending time with his friend put Fletcher in better spirits than he had been for the past few days. "It's a surprise. Somewhere out of town. Think of it as...a half-day holiday," he wasn't sure what to expect from this, but he knew that he'd find what he was looking for. That was a-given.

"Well, I'm currently going to ride out of my house, where is the closest you can get?" he asked. Fletcher could hear worry at the edge of his tone, and then Darwin went silent for a few seconds. There was some rummaging before his voice came back, "I'll be there soon, my shirt is worn!" he laughed, but it sounded hollow and empty unlike his usual giggles.

"I could drive down to your house, it's not that far from the bar," Fletcher replied, putting the phone down on speaker while he started the car up. The engine growled as he moved away. There was absolutely something up with Darwin, Fletcher knew that without a doubt. He decided to make a pit stop on the way there. "Alright! See you then," Fletcher replied, heading towards the shop first. That laugh bothered him. It reminded him of how Summer had been the last time. It wasn't good. Not at all.

Fletcher came down to Darwin's house with a paper bag on the passenger seat next to him. He parked outside of his friend's house and texted him 'I'm outside'. He had music playing softly on the radio, the latest hits and pop songs that he'd heard at least a dozen times each now. It was a nice day too, fit for visiting the Overseer. He looked up and down the street, wondering if Darwin was home already.

Darwin saw Fletcher's car, then parked his bicycle back quickly in its usual spot at the side of the house. Fletcher smiled at him as he approached, unlocking the car door so he could jump right in, "I thought we'd meet by the abandoned garden!?" Darwin ran forward, giving a genuine and warm smile to Fletcher. Fletcher was glad that, despite everything that had happened, Darwin still seemed happy to see him. It made him wonder what Summer thought of his last life, how he felt about Fletcher's inability to save him. Even now, seeing the look in Darwin's eyes, Fletcher was reminded of that last day before he'd left. He pushed it out of his mind.

"Change of plans bud," Fletcher opened the passenger side door, picking up the bag on the seat to hand to Darwin, "Hop in. I picked this up for you, if I remember right, they're all the things you like," he'd bought a selection of sweets, a drink, and a sandwich for Darwin. Fletcher was pretty sure Darwin liked everything there, he'd tried to get his favourites, but there had only been so much in the shop to choose from.

"You change your mind so fast!" Darwin chuckled. He got in and looked out of the window at the grey surroundings, as Fletcher started the car. Carsden was always grey, but looked charming and quiet in an odd way, and looked nice when they had a rare day with the sun peeking out from behind clouds. He turned to Fletcher. "Carsden is pretty, don't you think? It does look somewhat boring though!" Fletcher watched him ruffle through the bag, grinning like a child again, "You didn't need to! Thank you!"

"Keeping to plans is boring," Fletcher smiled. He pulled away from the edge of the road and started the travel towards the forest of the overseer. He looked around him before he replied, "yeah, I guess it is. Everything fits together really nicely," he agreed, wondering how Darwin was really feeling right then.

The boy placed the bag on the floor at his feet. Fletcher imagined there was a lot on his mind right then, things that he wasn't yet ready to say. "Very true! You know I don't keep to plans either!" Darwin replied cheerily, glad that he finally got to be with Fletcher again. The air was pleasant, radiating a feeling of warmth and cosiness. "So! Where are we going?" he asked, excitedly, "Is it a great place? What will we be doing??"

"It's more fun that way, I've always thought," Fletcher agreed amiably, watching the houses give way to trees and fields as they left the town. The roads were pretty quiet out there, so it was a nice and easy ride. He smiled as he replied, "Okay well, it's a valley a few hours' drive away from Carsden. It's a really nice place! I've spent loads of time there, and I'm sure you have too. We're going to be meeting someone, someone like us, but... more powerful? I guess," he fought for ways to explain the Overseer. They weren't the easiest entity to summarise.

"A valley! I remember..." Darwin closed his eyes. He hummed to himself cheerily. Fletcher saw him look to right, out of the car window. What could he be seeing?  Darwin opened his eyes, a sudden pained expression on his face, "Alright, guess I'll have to see for myself." he replied quietly, still looking outside.

Fletcher could remember it well too. Back in time, years and years ago, the four of them had pretty much lived in the valley. Things had changed a lot since then, but he still looked back on it fondly when it came to mind, "It'll be good to go back again, when was the last time you went to see the Overseer?" He asked, wondering if Darwin remembered them. He glanced over at Darwin. It was obvious he wasn't very happy, not really, "how are you holding up with everything that's going on?" He asked softly.

"I-- I don't really remember to be honest." Darwin said, frowning, "I see bits and pieces of everything in dreams, I think. I don't remember them. I do remember there was someone like that whom I talked with in the past, just can't remember them well, you know." Darwin shrugged, giving Fletcher an apologetic smile.

"I just miss... people. I miss them, yeah." He knew Fletcher would understand, so he went back to looking outside the window. "Could you tell me more about them? Maybe I'll remember then!"

"I'm sure you will, once you see them again. Yeah, I think the last time you went was before, with me," he wondered faintly if Darwin remembered the little copse of silver birch trees he and the Summer of the past had always met up under to see the Overseer, and for adventures of all sorts too. He felt the atmosphere in the car flicker slightly as he thought back. It was momentary, but Fletcher was sure it would be noticeable. He glanced at the younger boy when he next spoke. He did understand; he missed people himself too. "Sure, what would you like to know?" Fletcher's eyes brightened at the prospect of reconnecting Darwin with his past.

Darwin stayed looking out of the window. For all Fletcher knew, he was a lot more upset than he let on. "I can't remember much from back then, not yet," he admitted, the false cheerfulness back in his voice. Fletcher wished he wouldn't do that, but he understood why he did. Darwin had a lot of people to talk to and interact with. Fletcher imagined it must be hard to keep strong in front of them all, but he'd never known Summer to be openly emotional with people, not unless they were very trusted. "Hmm. What does the Overseer do?" He asked, breaking Fletcher out of his thoughts.

Fletcher knew from personal experience that memories came back at all different times, he was sure Darwin would be up to speed soon. Hopefully, it wasn't too much for him to handle. "What do they do? Well, the Overseer watches over the seasons, and they can affect our reincarnations. They've been here for much longer than we have. In a way, I guess they created us, but I wouldn't say they're like a God," Fletcher replied, trying to think of the best words he could to explain something so worthy of awe, so powerful. He'd seen the Overseer do some pretty amazing things.

"That sounds cool! What can they do about reincarnations?" Darwin turned towards Fletcher. He seemed genuinely interested in this. Who could blame him? Fletcher would be the same, he remembered he had in the past. Spring had caught him up a few times on this sort of thing.

"They can make sure we have certain characteristics when we come back. Nothing big, just stuff like the same name, same area, that kinda thing," Fletcher explained. He turned down a road that led between two mountains. It would be the same all the way to the Overseer, if he remembered right.

Darwin seemed excited by this infuriation, "Oh! What do you usually ask for?"

Fletcher thought about it for a few seconds before he replied, "Somewhere on this continent, and the same name usually. I don't mind as much, but Winter is very specific with how she comes back most of the time," his smile widened slightly as he thought back to the beginning.

One of the very first things Fletcher could remember was Kira with her list for the Overseer, asking what they could do about those characteristics and whether this could be achieved. Of them all, she was probably the most organised. He admired that.

"Huh. What's it like coming back?" Fletcher wasn't surprised that Darwin didn't remember any of this stuff yet, and he had a feeling there would be a lot more questions to come. The bartender was more than happy to answer whatever Darwin had to say. He was just happy to be taking him to somewhere he knew would teach him so much.

~~~

The next two hours passed in a blur for Fletcher, as time spent near Summer often did. Darwin did seem to cheer up some throughout the drive, which the bartender took as a definite plus. He hated seeing his friend sad; it was nice to know he could cheer Darwin up, even if it might not last very long.

Fletcher got out of the car, and locked it once Darwin followed. They had stopped at the edge of the valley, after a few wrong turns and dead ends amongst the trees. Fletcher had found  the entrance to the valley of the Overseer. It was nothing special from here; just a slim path through some silver birch trees. It was very well hidden unless you knew what you were looking for.

"Come on, it's not too far," Fletcher said, nudging Darwin to get him to follow. The younger boy seemed to be in a trance of some kind. Fletcher wondered if maybe he was remembering things from his past lives. It was normal to be a bit out of sorts when that happened. The Overseer could clear things up much better than Fletcher could hope to.

As they made their way along the path, Fletcher relaxed into the tireless best of the forest around him. The trees hummed with unspoken notes of wisdom, the wind shared stories from miles away with him as he passed. It was familiar, and it was homely. In all his years, Fletcher had never tired of this place. How could he?

They came to a clearing after half an hour or so. It was small, irregular, with one oak tree over at the far side. Beneath this tree, there sat a bit with hair as white as the clouds above. He stood when he saw them, and breezed out from the tree to stand in the sunlight just out with the reach of its leaves. A glance at Darwin revealed the open-mouthed shock of the younger boy. He frowned slightly, and glanced at Fletcher.

"That's the Overseer," he clarified, gesturing towards the boy.

Darwin nodded slowly, "I...I think I remember him! I've seen him before!" He smiled, starting towards the Overseer excitedly. Fletcher followed him, stopping only when they were feet apart.

The Overseer looked them both up and down with a warm smile, "Autumn, Summer. How nice to see you both again," he turned his multicoloured gaze on Fletcher, "Thank you for bringing dear Summer here so promptly, there is much for us to discuss,"

"Not a problem at all, Villikus. Be nice," he replied with a playful smile, watching Darwin's reaction.

Darwin seemed unsure how he should act. To Fletcher, he looked like he was in awe, but there was also a degree of confusion across his features.

"It's nice to meet you! I have a lot of questions," Darwin admitted. He stood just a bit shorter than Villikus, but from the power radiating off of the Overseer, he seemed much taller.

"I'm sure you do, my child. I'll answer everything you wish to know. Come with me," Villikus held out one pale hand to Darwin. His eyes swam with browns and blues, yellows and greens. Fletcher wondered sometimes if they represented the earth itself.

Darwin smiled up at Fletcher, and then took the Overseer's hand. There was a spark of light before they disappeared, leaving behind a warm breeze and the scent of cherry blossoms.

Fletcher had seen this happen before, and he himself had been through it. He was never very sure where Villikus took them, but whenever they returned, each season understood their pasts and their abilities. It was a marvellous thing really. The worst part, he supposed, was the waiting.

It could take anywhere from minutes to hours for Darwin to return, which meant that Fletcher had to stay here, but also had to find something to do. He looked about the valley, wondering what he could find to keep himself occupied.

It had been a while since he'd roamed these trees, longer still since he'd last lived here. Maybe it was time to reacquaint himself with the woodland spirits of this place. There were bound to be more than he'd known before. Plus, what harm did a catch up ever do?