Chapter 118 - Extra - Isaa part VII - Final (1/2)

In mere seconds we are engulfed in the shadows of the thick trees canopies, the few rails of light that manage to pass the leaves barely being able to brighten the way, and even though it helps us hide yourselves from the others it too obscure most of the path ahead of us, making that our crazy blind dash resulted in many unpleasant bumps and scratches from hidden branches and stones.

At that point onwards our hands stayed glued together so much that I could almost feel his heartbeat through the touch.

With our weak thin bodies we had to push ourselves forwards just to keep moving, the adrenaline easing the pain and trying to overcome the numbness that I had for staying sitting for far too long, which lead to the elf guiding me and pulling me non-stop through the uneven path of this remote forest.

We could still hear shouts from behind us but not many made this far, or rather, not many even manage to get into the woods as the creature, livid as it was, thought they were trying to escape it, making exploding sounds resonates with screams behind us, but I could not turn around to see what had happened as we keep running for our lives, left only to wonder what end they got back there.

I don't remember for how long we run, I just know that when we finally stop my legs seemed to have been cut by small needle knives and my heart was overtaking all sounds in its mad quick beat.

It took me some time to calm down, bending over and gasping for air, afraid that if I sat down I would not have the strength to stand up again, and only after a while I was able to assert our surroundings.

The elf-boy was already looking around, pilling some wood on the side and binding them with some roots.

I still remember how capable you here… and how out of place I was too. You find a cave, taught me how to make a fire, how to put traps for small animals, soo many little things…

”Do you remember when we were at the river?” I ask you, now, on bed, while your sluggish eyes look at me as if asking what was passing in my mind to go as far as to remember such a thing of the past. Your smile tells me yes and I cannot help but feel embarrassed by it, even if I found it funny too.

”Well, I could not help it you know, who would have thought that wet fish can be so slippery?” I say, wanting to add blame to the moss all over the stones too for all the embarrassment I had there, but my Templar kisses the back of my hand, making me smile and forget about the embarrassment as I keep looking at him and speaking about the past, chitchatting and lazing around.

Since that incident I had always felt that it laid on me the responsibility of speaking for him, so everytime I'm alone with my elf I turn into a chatterbox.

So the words flow now like a river, mere thoughts turning into sound now since he was awake, reminiscing about when we were kids, and how, starving in the wilderness, the loss of a fish wasn't so funny at the time…

It was strange, really, because in one side everything seemed bright, the freedom, the excitement, like when you are about to move to live alone, a mix of fear and enjoyment, and even if we went though bad things we were still kids and the world still seemed like a magical place, and we truly had fun there, in the woods, in the wilderness.

But the problem lay in the fact that we were still kids, how could we survive on our own in the wilderness? How could we hunt with magical beast around and our little arms? How could we live without a knife to cut wood and clean the fish? How could we live without warm clothes to pass the winter?

But I rather hold into the good memories that the harsh reality; that, in the end, we were two lone kids in an unforgiving world that had to fetch for themselves in the wilderness.

There were bad days with no food, and with only one set of clothes winter was bound to be unmerciful. Those were valid worries we had back in the day, especially since those woods were full of magical beasts, which made even harder for us to hunt anything for the fur; not that there was much two kids could do.

But I guess it is in my human nature too somehow… to want to go back to the city, to a village, to civilization, to find other humans, logging for some normal food, soup, bread, a cozy bed, not a cold place on the floor and a flavorless dish after the other; or no dish at all.

I wonder if my life before had spoiled me somehow… we enjoyed only the best without holding back in the end.

Perhaps that too made me go aghast to the luxury that some high priests enjoy…Because I lived two opposite lives back then.

But no matter the true reason for because, months later, I had the idea of going to the villages and try to earn money. I knew the risks, so at first I thought that by not using my powers it would be enough to keep us safe, that we could find easy jobs to do and buy some clothes, that we would be able to get by.

Only that… my appearance was too out of place, even if my body was dirty and my hair darker with grime, a child coming from the woods carrying a pair of purple eyes, only to be followed by a dark elf, made rumors upon rumors.

I remember that, in the end, we decide to walk separately so we wouldn't bring so much attention to us, you would stay in the woods and find resources there, while I would stay in the cities asking for money and food.

And that's how the church found me, how Eanna found me.