69 Intermission (1/2)

Tala was bored. For a while now, the book she was holding was not getting her attention. She hasn't even gotten past the first page.

It has already been two months since Mayari's collecting team left, but Kisig and his friends had already returned more than a month ago, while the Mayari and the two children with him were still on their travels.

Of course it wasn't Mayari she missed but Ling and Maga. Being with those two children for days previously made her remember how tedious it was when she was just interacting with the troupe members.

Just last night, she had advised Inggi that her actions onstage was being affected by the 'mist' around them, then she immediately cried and rushed out. That was during practice, which meant they had to stop their practice until the others pacified the child.

When the others left, Tala didn't bother with them and just signaled the stage hands to start again so she could practice her solo. Having the others forgo practice didn't mean she had to too. That was what made her better than the rest.

The other members returned eventually, but the acting was still subpar, hence, it was Tala herself who asked them to take a rest and have their dinner. She knew thar letting them work right then would not amount to anything.

At least when Ling and Maga were there, she could practice with a better partner in Ling. After she had observed the child for days, she realized that he was probably even better than hers in sustaining his own emotions while inside an intense 'haze'. Maybe she should talk to Mayari about letting the two join the performance.

Sitting in her bed, Tala was suddenly distracted from her thoughts by the noises outside. She frowned as she put down the script she was holding. It hadn't manage to catch her attention anyway so she'd tell Mayari that it was boring.

It was still afternoon. The crew just had their lunch and practice would resume later, therefore, there shouldn't be any issues at this time to cause too much noise. Were the children fighting again?

Tying her still wet hair in a bun, Tala got off her bed and walked to open her door. There might be people she could ask to tell those causing trouble to shut up since she's busy reading a script.

When she opened the door, a figure suddenly rushed past. Despite her slight surprise, Tala managed to reach out a hand and catch a hold of his arm before the teenager could run way.

The young man inhaled a sharp breath from being pulled so suddenly, but he became compliant when he saw it was Tala. Blushing slightly after his arm was set free, he apologized first. ”Sorry, Tala. I didn't know you were in and we were being noisy. I'll just walk now.”

”Never mind that.” Tala shook her head as she noticed that the teenager was skipping in place, obviously still wanting to rush past. ”I want to know what's causing the commotion.”

”Oh!” A briliant light came over the young man's face. ”They already returned! I hears that Mayari was already reaching our camp!”

Tala didn't know why, but children had always felt comfortable around Mayari. This reaction was never a surprise to her, so she just sighed and asked the young man to lead the way.

Outside, children were jumping around Mayari, clamoring for presents and stories, while the adults were joining in their voices, complaining about the problems in the troupe for the past month the owner had been away.

”Uncle Mayari, where did you go this time?”

”Where are our presents? You've been gone so long!”

”You have another gash on your arm! Was that from another crazy beast?!”

”Mayari, we had a problem with the stage but we managed to fix it in the mean time.”

”Good that you're here with more stones. The ones the kids brought back were almost gone.”

Among the crowd, there were two figures left out at the back, and Tala was surprised to see that the dragon's head could be seen above even the adults. This child had grown so much!

Ignoring the others, Tala stepped forward and walked past the crowd until she reached those two. However, before she could speak, she felt that there was something different with these two.

It was not just that the dragon was taller or that the boy had darker complexion and longer hair. The atmosphere around them was more strained until a smile finally showed on their faces when they finally notice Tala.

”Sister Tala!”

The smiles Tala received was as bright as ever. Looking closely, she realized that the boy also looked taller. Or maybe it was only his posture that got firmer.

Tala smiled. ”Let's take walk away from this noisy crowd and tell me what you've been doing.” Then, she led them to a bench under a tree, near the barn where the animals were kept.

Having the dragon with them, they wouldn't be able to talk in the privacy of her room. Besides, most hands had already joined the commotion around Mayari, hence, they could talk freely here with only the animals hearing.

”So, where did you go?” Tala started and Ling proceeded to boast about their adventures with Maga adding its snorts and growls.

Their attitude was not much different from before, lively and childlike. However, Tala was slightly horrified by their stories. During her childhood, she had also experience staying at a 'haze' infested environment and these children went willingly to not just one.

Trying to hide her frown, Tala wanted to go to Mayari and wipe that big smile off his face. What was he doing with these children?!

Soon after that thought came, it disappeared quickly when she heard the child exclaim, ”Uncle Mayari said we should be ready to sail through the Limaw sea now.” The boy turned his bright eyes to the dragon beside him. ”We could finally meet Maga's family!”

From this reaction, Tala was sure she wouldn't be able to stop them. That made her think of a good idea. With a laugh, she managed to stop Ling from continuing his story. ”Okay. Since you will be leaving again, why don't we do something fun?”

In the face of the children's confusion, Tala just continued grinning. She didn't tell them her plan despited their repeated questioning.