Walking toward Talic’s home, Owain noticed that the beach was getting less populated. In fact, the only sound he heard was the wild birds squawking and the ocean waves. It was rather peaceful and tranquil, unlike the bustling resort towns that lined up the shore. He could understand why Talic preferred staying away from the crowded capital city of Nerida.
“Are you sure your mother won’t mind us?” he heard Armita asked.
The Eireneridan shook his head and chuckled. “Of course not; my mom is used to having a crowded home. Besides, she loves entertaining guests.”
“A crowded home?” Chiara inquired.
“I almost forgot that you didn’t know,” Talic replied, “but I am the oldest of six children so my home is very busy with activities. When I was young, my cousin and I would run back and forth from our houses, which drove our parents crazy. As a matter of fact, you can see my home in the distance.”
All of them looked at where he was pointing. There were six huts standing near the edge of the tropical forest. It looked like no one was around since it was so quiet; however, as they came closer, they could see two young boys playing in the sands. They didn’t notice Owain and the others at first until one of them looked up. The boy, who looked to be around eleven years old, looked at them confoundedly. He especially looked at Talic for the longest time before he ran inside one of the huts and screamed happily, “Talic usem bae!”
“What did he say?” Tristé wondered as they watched the younger boy followed his brother inside the house.
“He said, ‘Talic is here’,” he translated with a bemused look on his face.
Just then a woman with gray hair came out with the boys following behind. She squinted and stared at Talic in disbelief. “Esten hom, Mather,” Talic said warmly (“I’m home, Mother,” Armita explained). The woman suddenly cried and ran over to hug him. She kept asking him questions, which the Eireneridan answered. Sometimes Armita would say something as well. On the other hand, Owain and Tristé listened to their conversation without knowing what’s going on.
“Does anyone else know what they’re saying?” he wondered aloud. In order to get into Bartheomos, recruits were required to learn two other languages besides their native ones. The ones that Owain chose were Fravashian and Isharan. If he recalled correctly, Armita studied the Eireneridan and Sabinite languages while Talic studied the Isharan and Ankan languages.
Chiara pursed her lips. “Ummm… she’s just asking him how he’s doing and that she missed him,” she translated.
“You know the language?” he asked.
She nodded. “Lady Aundra said that it’s required of me to learn most of the world languages in order to be an effective ambassador.”
“Huh, makes sense.” He noticed that Talic beckoned them to come over so they did. The Eireneridan pointed at them and said something. Owain could hear his name so he guessed that he was introducing them to his mother. She looked them over and sometimes pinched their sides as she shook her head and muttered in disgust. An embarrassed Chiara later explained that she thought they were too skinny and needed more meat, which Owain thought was amusing since his mother would always complain that he was a little bit chubby.
They had forgotten about the two boys until they saw them leading a group of people toward them. Before Owain and the others knew it, they were crowded in as everyone wanted to say hello to Talic. Based on their appearance, they must be related to him. They would slap his back and chat with him. Sometimes they would laugh as if they were remembering something funny; other times, they would tease Talic about something. They also looked at Owain and the others curiously and ask Talic questions about them. Before he could answer them, his mother responded. She pointed at each of them and informed her relatives who they were. Owain, Tristé, and Chiara would just smile and nodded their heads, which the Eireneridans did in return. But when Talic’s mother pointed at Armita, she proudly announced, “Sesten Armita, hesim aveam.”
Whatever she said mortified her son and Armita. The Isharan sputtered frantically, “Ney, ney esten avea.” At the same time, a red-faced Talic tried to correct his mother, who ignored him and kept introducing the Isharan as “hesim aveam”. In turn, his relatives cheered and shook Talic’s hand as if congratulating him.
“What’s going on?” a dumbfounded Owain asked.
Chiara blushed. “She kept telling everyone that Armita is his wife.”
“Oh.” He looked at his comrades, who seemed to give up and accept their congratulations reluctantly. Tristé just snickered. After a few minutes of more teasing at poor Talic’s expense, his mother silenced the crowd and made an announcement. She then grabbed her son and a surprised Armita by the hands and led them inside the house as Cuzo followed behind. Soon a few in the crowd followed as well while the others went back to their huts. The former said something to Owain, Tristé, and Chiara and beckon them to follow.
“They’re telling us to come in,” Chiara explained. “They said that any friends of Talic are welcome here.”
When Talic entered his childhood home, he couldn’t help but look around the one-room hut. It still looked the same even though he hadn’t been back for seven years. A stack of coconut shells, which served as bowls and cups, were placed neatly on one side of the room. A bucket of water was next to it. The large yellow-and-orange blanket, which was woven by his great-great-great grandmother, lay on the opposite side of the room. He could remember how he and his siblings would lie next to each other and pretend to be asleep so they could eavesdrop on their parents’ conversation as they talked in hushed voices. In the middle of the room was another woven blanket with soft cushions surrounding. This one was used for gathering purposes. It was where his mother gestured them to sit down.
As soon as everyone was seated, Talic took a deep breath and smiled at his comrades. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my family,” he began. As he pointed at each family member, he introduced them. “As you guess, this is my mother, Sookan. These are my sisters: Santhe, Hya, and Cinthe. You already met my younger brothers, Ome and Tey. As for these young children, those are my nieces and nephews.”
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Talic informed his family the reason why he was there. As he expected, his mother was quite upset that her oldest son was almost killed. She looked him over to see if he had other wounds in spite of his protests that he was fine. Sookan also fretted about how dangerous his job was and how she wished that he had chosen a safer job. Luckily, his oldest sister, Santhe, admonished her, reminding her that he had comrades who helped him. Besides, didn’t his earnings help provide enough money to support the family?
His mother just shook her head. “True, but I wish you could stay here and work. At least I can get to see you more. I worried too much about you,” she sighed. Talic looked at her sympathetically. He had figured that she would be sad to see her eldest son gone, but he didn’t realize how much she had missed him. To be honest, even though he loved to travel and see the world, he did miss home occasionally. Seeing his family made him realize that. It amazed him to see that his brothers were now tall enough to reach his waist. Not to mention Santhe and Hya were now married and had children now while Cinthe has reached womanhood. While he was gone, he had missed so many happy occasions with his family.
Hya must have sensed that something was bothering him because she scowled at their mother. “Stop being so mopey!; Talic being home is supposed to be a joyous occasion, not a sad one!” she scolded gently as she rocked her baby girl in her arms. “Now we should prepare a feast to celebrate. Talic, why don’t you ask your Lycian friends to help you make the earth oven? Chiara could help keep an eye on the kids while Mother, Santhe, Cinthe, Armita, and I prepare the food.”
As soon as Talic heard the last sentence, he looked at all of his sisters and mother suspiciously, but they looked back at him innocently. Although he thought he saw Cinthe winking at him. Those sly women! They were probably going to pester Armita to see what she was like. After all, they did the same whenever he brought a female friend. Armita must have suspected as well because she began to look nervous. “Don’t worry,” he mumbled underneath his breath so only she could hear. “They’ll just tease you and bug you about me. It’s not an interrogation.”
“If you say so,” she said, but she didn’t look reassured.
Before he could say anything else to calm her nerves, Santhe said aloud in an obviously fake impatient voice, “Where is the firewood? We can’t cook dinner if we don’t have a fire.”
A few hours later, dinner was served. Tristé felt her stomach rumbling as she watched Talic’s sisters carefully removed the sand, dug up the foods which were buried underneath, and placed them neatly on large plates. Then they carefully carried several platters that were covered with different shellfish and vegetables and placed them on the blankets. Since the weather was tranquil, Sookan had decided to have the meal outside. Not to mention it was easier to accommodate the entire village since everyone was eager to see their native son home.
Currently, she sat between Owain and one of Talic’s relatives. Chiara was sitting on the other side of Owain, but she was too busy entertaining the village children, who squealed and shrieked with delight, with her magic. Heh, if the witch couldn’t handle being an ambassador, she would do a great job working with children. On the other hand, Talic and Armita were sitting with his mother and sisters and were having a lively conversation. Based on their reaction, Armita must have gotten their approval.
Looking at the food, Tristé reached over and grabbed a crayfish. Its beady eyes stared back at her as if asking her why she wanted to eat it, which bothered her slightly. She had never tried any food like this back home. But then she was a guest so she should be polite and try a bite. After looking how the natives ate it, she followed suit… and was pleasantly surprised to find out that she liked it even if the food was staring back at her. Intrigued, she decided to try a mussel and loved it as well.
Grabbing another, she glanced at Owain, who was staring at the meal dubiously. “What’s wrong, Owain?” she asked matter-of-factly. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“A little bit, but…” he faltered, but Tristé knew what he was implying. He had never had this type of food before.
“For someone who claims to love adventure, you’re not an adventurous eater,” she teased as she gobbled down another mussel.
Owain’s face turned a bright red as he scowled at her so she laughed. Annoyed, he grabbed an oyster and ate it without any hesitation. Then he started coughing, which caused the people close by to laugh. “Are you all right, Owain?” Chiara asked worriedly as she patted him on the back.
“Yeah,” he said weakly, taking a drink of water. His face was still red although Tristé thought it was more due to embarrassment than from choking. “I must have swallowed the food the wrong way.”
“Oh, I see. Make sure to eat your food slowly then,” she lectured.
“Yeah, I will, but I’ll be taking it easy for a while.” The Duermon noticed that he was glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. Most likely he thought that she was going to make fun of him for making a fool of himself. Instead she just grabbed a clam, ate it, and smiled sweetly at him.
After all of the villagers went back home, Owain breathed a sigh of relief. Boy, was he exhausted! Nevertheless, he felt content. Even though he embarrassed himself during dinner, he enjoyed himself (though he thought to himself that he didn’t care too much about shellfish, but he would eat it if he had no choice). All of the villagers were very welcoming and friendly. Not to mention the weather was so nice. He closed his eyes as he felt the sea breeze across his face and dug his toes into the sands. After their previous adventures and missions, it was nice to relax and not to think about anything.
A shadow fell on him so he opened his eyes to see who it was. “May I join you?” Chiara asked. He nodded, and she sat next to him. They sat in silence as they listened to the ocean waves.
Finally, Owain said, “So what do you think of the journey so far?”
The Kreesian paused before she answered, “It’s fine. I got to meet a lot of interesting people and learned some new things. In fact, I realized something about myself.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Well…” She took a deep breath and confessed, “When Lady Aundra told me that she wants me to her next ambassador, I was confused on why she wanted me. I wasn’t sure if I was good enough for the job, but after I talked to several foreigners, I realized that I love it. I enjoyed learning about their cultures and customs. Likewise, they seem interested in learning more about my culture. Maybe I can be a good ambassador and make Lady Aundra proud. As long as I don’t accidentally get someone in jail.”
They laughed at that last sentence. Even though the incident was stressful when it happened, now they looked back at it humorously. “That’s great to hear!” Owain smiled after they quieted down. “I’m glad that you want the job. I’m sure Lady Aundra would be thrilled too.”
She nodded, but she became bashful again. “Umm… if I may be bold, may I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Well… I know that Lady Aundra wants me to go on this trip so I can become a better ambassador, but I also know that she wants me to help you on your mission. Lord Brenton told me that the life of a Tracker can be dangerous so I need to be ready to defend myself. I understand that the Velscendus cult is also pursuing you because of Tristé so I know our lives are at risk. Umm… what I’m saying is would you help me prepare just in case we are under attack? My magic can be very useful as long as I don’t panic. What I’m saying is that I was thinking that maybe you and the others can train me to become a better fighter. That way I won’t be a hindrance to all of you. So would you please help me?” she requested.
She looked at him anxiously while he pondered what she said. It took a few seconds for Owain to digest what she was saying since she was talking rapidly. Finally he answered with a smile, “Yeah, I’ll help, and I’m sure the others will help too. We can train before breakfast so you better go to bed and get plenty of sleep.”
A big grin appeared on her face. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she gushed and hugged him. “Don’t worry! I’ll be the best student you’ll ever have!” With that said she stood up and hurried inside the hut.
The Lycian just chuckled to himself. Even though Chiara acts so timid most of the times, she’s very enthusiastic about learning. Well then, he should be heading to bed as well. After all, he needed to be a good teacher too. He just stood up when he saw Tristé standing in the shadow. Walking toward her, he asked suspiciously, “Were you spying on us?”
“Maybe,” she said in a singsong voice. “You know, you two make a cute couple.”
Owain scowled. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work. First of all, she’s underage and that’s just wrong. Second, we’re just friends and friends hang out. Just because we’re spending time alone with each other doesn’t mean that we’re dating!”
“True,” she admitted, “but you can always wait until she is of age to date. Besides, friends can become lovers. Am I right?”
“You’re being ridiculous, Tristé,” he said irritably, but she just smirked at him. Honestly, did she play matchmaker back in Idilarys as well? Speaking of which, that reminded him that he had a lingering question that bothered him. “Hey, you’re going to give me back Adalynn like you promised, right?”
She looked at him, offended. “Of course I will. A promise is a promise.” She then added, “As long as I have another host body, that is.”
“What!? But you said that you will leave her body as soon as you capture the Kasama,” he protested.
“I didn’t say that! Stop putting words in my mouth! Besides, how am I supposed to bring that bastard back to Idilarys without a body?” she snapped. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. “Anyway, I’m off to bed. Good night, Owain.”
She walked away in a huff with an uneasy Owain watching her disappear into the hut before he looked back at the ocean. He hated to admit it, but she did have a point. She needed a human body to move around. In order to do that, he and the others would need to find another host body for her. However, it would mean that another innocent person would have his or her life taken over. Who would he be willing to sacrifice to save his sister?
“Are you sure your mother won’t mind us?” he heard Armita asked.
The Eireneridan shook his head and chuckled. “Of course not; my mom is used to having a crowded home. Besides, she loves entertaining guests.”
“A crowded home?” Chiara inquired.
“I almost forgot that you didn’t know,” Talic replied, “but I am the oldest of six children so my home is very busy with activities. When I was young, my cousin and I would run back and forth from our houses, which drove our parents crazy. As a matter of fact, you can see my home in the distance.”
All of them looked at where he was pointing. There were six huts standing near the edge of the tropical forest. It looked like no one was around since it was so quiet; however, as they came closer, they could see two young boys playing in the sands. They didn’t notice Owain and the others at first until one of them looked up. The boy, who looked to be around eleven years old, looked at them confoundedly. He especially looked at Talic for the longest time before he ran inside one of the huts and screamed happily, “Talic usem bae!”
“What did he say?” Tristé wondered as they watched the younger boy followed his brother inside the house.
“He said, ‘Talic is here’,” he translated with a bemused look on his face.
Just then a woman with gray hair came out with the boys following behind. She squinted and stared at Talic in disbelief. “Esten hom, Mather,” Talic said warmly (“I’m home, Mother,” Armita explained). The woman suddenly cried and ran over to hug him. She kept asking him questions, which the Eireneridan answered. Sometimes Armita would say something as well. On the other hand, Owain and Tristé listened to their conversation without knowing what’s going on.
“Does anyone else know what they’re saying?” he wondered aloud. In order to get into Bartheomos, recruits were required to learn two other languages besides their native ones. The ones that Owain chose were Fravashian and Isharan. If he recalled correctly, Armita studied the Eireneridan and Sabinite languages while Talic studied the Isharan and Ankan languages.
Chiara pursed her lips. “Ummm… she’s just asking him how he’s doing and that she missed him,” she translated.
“You know the language?” he asked.
She nodded. “Lady Aundra said that it’s required of me to learn most of the world languages in order to be an effective ambassador.”
“Huh, makes sense.” He noticed that Talic beckoned them to come over so they did. The Eireneridan pointed at them and said something. Owain could hear his name so he guessed that he was introducing them to his mother. She looked them over and sometimes pinched their sides as she shook her head and muttered in disgust. An embarrassed Chiara later explained that she thought they were too skinny and needed more meat, which Owain thought was amusing since his mother would always complain that he was a little bit chubby.
They had forgotten about the two boys until they saw them leading a group of people toward them. Before Owain and the others knew it, they were crowded in as everyone wanted to say hello to Talic. Based on their appearance, they must be related to him. They would slap his back and chat with him. Sometimes they would laugh as if they were remembering something funny; other times, they would tease Talic about something. They also looked at Owain and the others curiously and ask Talic questions about them. Before he could answer them, his mother responded. She pointed at each of them and informed her relatives who they were. Owain, Tristé, and Chiara would just smile and nodded their heads, which the Eireneridans did in return. But when Talic’s mother pointed at Armita, she proudly announced, “Sesten Armita, hesim aveam.”
Whatever she said mortified her son and Armita. The Isharan sputtered frantically, “Ney, ney esten avea.” At the same time, a red-faced Talic tried to correct his mother, who ignored him and kept introducing the Isharan as “hesim aveam”. In turn, his relatives cheered and shook Talic’s hand as if congratulating him.
“What’s going on?” a dumbfounded Owain asked.
Chiara blushed. “She kept telling everyone that Armita is his wife.”
“Oh.” He looked at his comrades, who seemed to give up and accept their congratulations reluctantly. Tristé just snickered. After a few minutes of more teasing at poor Talic’s expense, his mother silenced the crowd and made an announcement. She then grabbed her son and a surprised Armita by the hands and led them inside the house as Cuzo followed behind. Soon a few in the crowd followed as well while the others went back to their huts. The former said something to Owain, Tristé, and Chiara and beckon them to follow.
“They’re telling us to come in,” Chiara explained. “They said that any friends of Talic are welcome here.”
When Talic entered his childhood home, he couldn’t help but look around the one-room hut. It still looked the same even though he hadn’t been back for seven years. A stack of coconut shells, which served as bowls and cups, were placed neatly on one side of the room. A bucket of water was next to it. The large yellow-and-orange blanket, which was woven by his great-great-great grandmother, lay on the opposite side of the room. He could remember how he and his siblings would lie next to each other and pretend to be asleep so they could eavesdrop on their parents’ conversation as they talked in hushed voices. In the middle of the room was another woven blanket with soft cushions surrounding. This one was used for gathering purposes. It was where his mother gestured them to sit down.
As soon as everyone was seated, Talic took a deep breath and smiled at his comrades. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my family,” he began. As he pointed at each family member, he introduced them. “As you guess, this is my mother, Sookan. These are my sisters: Santhe, Hya, and Cinthe. You already met my younger brothers, Ome and Tey. As for these young children, those are my nieces and nephews.”
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Talic informed his family the reason why he was there. As he expected, his mother was quite upset that her oldest son was almost killed. She looked him over to see if he had other wounds in spite of his protests that he was fine. Sookan also fretted about how dangerous his job was and how she wished that he had chosen a safer job. Luckily, his oldest sister, Santhe, admonished her, reminding her that he had comrades who helped him. Besides, didn’t his earnings help provide enough money to support the family?
His mother just shook her head. “True, but I wish you could stay here and work. At least I can get to see you more. I worried too much about you,” she sighed. Talic looked at her sympathetically. He had figured that she would be sad to see her eldest son gone, but he didn’t realize how much she had missed him. To be honest, even though he loved to travel and see the world, he did miss home occasionally. Seeing his family made him realize that. It amazed him to see that his brothers were now tall enough to reach his waist. Not to mention Santhe and Hya were now married and had children now while Cinthe has reached womanhood. While he was gone, he had missed so many happy occasions with his family.
Hya must have sensed that something was bothering him because she scowled at their mother. “Stop being so mopey!; Talic being home is supposed to be a joyous occasion, not a sad one!” she scolded gently as she rocked her baby girl in her arms. “Now we should prepare a feast to celebrate. Talic, why don’t you ask your Lycian friends to help you make the earth oven? Chiara could help keep an eye on the kids while Mother, Santhe, Cinthe, Armita, and I prepare the food.”
As soon as Talic heard the last sentence, he looked at all of his sisters and mother suspiciously, but they looked back at him innocently. Although he thought he saw Cinthe winking at him. Those sly women! They were probably going to pester Armita to see what she was like. After all, they did the same whenever he brought a female friend. Armita must have suspected as well because she began to look nervous. “Don’t worry,” he mumbled underneath his breath so only she could hear. “They’ll just tease you and bug you about me. It’s not an interrogation.”
“If you say so,” she said, but she didn’t look reassured.
Before he could say anything else to calm her nerves, Santhe said aloud in an obviously fake impatient voice, “Where is the firewood? We can’t cook dinner if we don’t have a fire.”
A few hours later, dinner was served. Tristé felt her stomach rumbling as she watched Talic’s sisters carefully removed the sand, dug up the foods which were buried underneath, and placed them neatly on large plates. Then they carefully carried several platters that were covered with different shellfish and vegetables and placed them on the blankets. Since the weather was tranquil, Sookan had decided to have the meal outside. Not to mention it was easier to accommodate the entire village since everyone was eager to see their native son home.
Currently, she sat between Owain and one of Talic’s relatives. Chiara was sitting on the other side of Owain, but she was too busy entertaining the village children, who squealed and shrieked with delight, with her magic. Heh, if the witch couldn’t handle being an ambassador, she would do a great job working with children. On the other hand, Talic and Armita were sitting with his mother and sisters and were having a lively conversation. Based on their reaction, Armita must have gotten their approval.
Looking at the food, Tristé reached over and grabbed a crayfish. Its beady eyes stared back at her as if asking her why she wanted to eat it, which bothered her slightly. She had never tried any food like this back home. But then she was a guest so she should be polite and try a bite. After looking how the natives ate it, she followed suit… and was pleasantly surprised to find out that she liked it even if the food was staring back at her. Intrigued, she decided to try a mussel and loved it as well.
Grabbing another, she glanced at Owain, who was staring at the meal dubiously. “What’s wrong, Owain?” she asked matter-of-factly. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“A little bit, but…” he faltered, but Tristé knew what he was implying. He had never had this type of food before.
“For someone who claims to love adventure, you’re not an adventurous eater,” she teased as she gobbled down another mussel.
Owain’s face turned a bright red as he scowled at her so she laughed. Annoyed, he grabbed an oyster and ate it without any hesitation. Then he started coughing, which caused the people close by to laugh. “Are you all right, Owain?” Chiara asked worriedly as she patted him on the back.
“Yeah,” he said weakly, taking a drink of water. His face was still red although Tristé thought it was more due to embarrassment than from choking. “I must have swallowed the food the wrong way.”
“Oh, I see. Make sure to eat your food slowly then,” she lectured.
“Yeah, I will, but I’ll be taking it easy for a while.” The Duermon noticed that he was glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. Most likely he thought that she was going to make fun of him for making a fool of himself. Instead she just grabbed a clam, ate it, and smiled sweetly at him.
After all of the villagers went back home, Owain breathed a sigh of relief. Boy, was he exhausted! Nevertheless, he felt content. Even though he embarrassed himself during dinner, he enjoyed himself (though he thought to himself that he didn’t care too much about shellfish, but he would eat it if he had no choice). All of the villagers were very welcoming and friendly. Not to mention the weather was so nice. He closed his eyes as he felt the sea breeze across his face and dug his toes into the sands. After their previous adventures and missions, it was nice to relax and not to think about anything.
A shadow fell on him so he opened his eyes to see who it was. “May I join you?” Chiara asked. He nodded, and she sat next to him. They sat in silence as they listened to the ocean waves.
Finally, Owain said, “So what do you think of the journey so far?”
The Kreesian paused before she answered, “It’s fine. I got to meet a lot of interesting people and learned some new things. In fact, I realized something about myself.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Well…” She took a deep breath and confessed, “When Lady Aundra told me that she wants me to her next ambassador, I was confused on why she wanted me. I wasn’t sure if I was good enough for the job, but after I talked to several foreigners, I realized that I love it. I enjoyed learning about their cultures and customs. Likewise, they seem interested in learning more about my culture. Maybe I can be a good ambassador and make Lady Aundra proud. As long as I don’t accidentally get someone in jail.”
They laughed at that last sentence. Even though the incident was stressful when it happened, now they looked back at it humorously. “That’s great to hear!” Owain smiled after they quieted down. “I’m glad that you want the job. I’m sure Lady Aundra would be thrilled too.”
She nodded, but she became bashful again. “Umm… if I may be bold, may I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Well… I know that Lady Aundra wants me to go on this trip so I can become a better ambassador, but I also know that she wants me to help you on your mission. Lord Brenton told me that the life of a Tracker can be dangerous so I need to be ready to defend myself. I understand that the Velscendus cult is also pursuing you because of Tristé so I know our lives are at risk. Umm… what I’m saying is would you help me prepare just in case we are under attack? My magic can be very useful as long as I don’t panic. What I’m saying is that I was thinking that maybe you and the others can train me to become a better fighter. That way I won’t be a hindrance to all of you. So would you please help me?” she requested.
She looked at him anxiously while he pondered what she said. It took a few seconds for Owain to digest what she was saying since she was talking rapidly. Finally he answered with a smile, “Yeah, I’ll help, and I’m sure the others will help too. We can train before breakfast so you better go to bed and get plenty of sleep.”
A big grin appeared on her face. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she gushed and hugged him. “Don’t worry! I’ll be the best student you’ll ever have!” With that said she stood up and hurried inside the hut.
The Lycian just chuckled to himself. Even though Chiara acts so timid most of the times, she’s very enthusiastic about learning. Well then, he should be heading to bed as well. After all, he needed to be a good teacher too. He just stood up when he saw Tristé standing in the shadow. Walking toward her, he asked suspiciously, “Were you spying on us?”
“Maybe,” she said in a singsong voice. “You know, you two make a cute couple.”
Owain scowled. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work. First of all, she’s underage and that’s just wrong. Second, we’re just friends and friends hang out. Just because we’re spending time alone with each other doesn’t mean that we’re dating!”
“True,” she admitted, “but you can always wait until she is of age to date. Besides, friends can become lovers. Am I right?”
“You’re being ridiculous, Tristé,” he said irritably, but she just smirked at him. Honestly, did she play matchmaker back in Idilarys as well? Speaking of which, that reminded him that he had a lingering question that bothered him. “Hey, you’re going to give me back Adalynn like you promised, right?”
She looked at him, offended. “Of course I will. A promise is a promise.” She then added, “As long as I have another host body, that is.”
“What!? But you said that you will leave her body as soon as you capture the Kasama,” he protested.
“I didn’t say that! Stop putting words in my mouth! Besides, how am I supposed to bring that bastard back to Idilarys without a body?” she snapped. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. “Anyway, I’m off to bed. Good night, Owain.”
She walked away in a huff with an uneasy Owain watching her disappear into the hut before he looked back at the ocean. He hated to admit it, but she did have a point. She needed a human body to move around. In order to do that, he and the others would need to find another host body for her. However, it would mean that another innocent person would have his or her life taken over. Who would he be willing to sacrifice to save his sister?