It doesn't take long for all of us. Steel, Sply and I to make our way out of the forest, with the help only coming from Steel and Sply.
Since I had no idea how they were even able to do what they were doing.
I stay close, my feet following every sound that they made in front of us, stopping never.
The walk back to the ends of the forest, wasn't as long as I thought it would be, only taking about an hour, maybe even less to see the sun rays cut through the trees.
Steel turns back once to look at me.
"You okay back there Lazuli?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it did hold concern along with authority, making it sound like he was a tad bit angry.
"I'm fine Steel…"
I pause, scared to finish my sentence.
A small ray of sun hits my shoulder.
"Are you angry?"
Steel's badly stops, since I was close to him, I run right into his back. Bumping into him, then tripping backwards, holding myself up with my back foot, before I reach out and grab hold of the belt that holds up his pants.
He then reaches out his hand and grabs me by my arm to pull me to stand up.
"Thank you."
I say.
"You're welcome… and sorry."
He says as my feet are steady and then he lets go.
"And, I'm not angry… especially not at you for what you've been able to accomplish in these few days."
He says.
His voice sounds full of admiration for me.
He begins to turn and walk again.
"I have other sons, they all will become great, that I believe never get me wrong…"
He says with a small laughter escaping his voice.
"But you, the youngest… you may very well be damn better than them all…"
He tilts his head, back as sun we reach the end and the sun beams down on us.
"… That's the truth and nothing more."
Sply turns to Steel as he says that, she nods, maybe agreeing with Steel.
The sun is still pretty bright in the sky, but it will undoubtedly fall in a few hours.
Steel turns and I follow after him, but not with being caught by the Germans… or well my German, looking friends.
Elsa and Wes see me and they both have a shocked expression on their faces.
Elsa runs up to me, Wes slowly catching up behind her, his small strides can't compete with Elsa's stride.
Steel steps out the way as Elsa looks me up and down.
I don't stop walking though, meeting them in a middle point where we are away from Warren Forest and a little bit away from the village.
"What the heck? Why did you go out there?"
I look up to Sply.
Wanting to see what she'd do, since she may be seen in a bad light since she's the one that made me fight a Soul Bear to survive, but ended up almost killing me in the process.
She doesn't give me an answer, nor an indication of one. Not a shake of her head, nor a nod of approval.
She just walks away, not even toward the house.
Steel gives her a stink eye, making the back of her head burn with his eye sight.
My head turns toward Steel now, he doesn't even look down to me, instead he begins to go after Sply.
His face, looks very well like it could end up distorted with… anger, insanity, maybe even a small sense of hysteria.
Wes now catches up with me as well and he catches a look in Steel's eye his face growing scared.
He turns to me and instead of asking *what happened?* , he asked:
"What is Steel angry about?"
Elsa gives Steel a look as well, then she lets out a small chuckle, as if what she had just heard was something preposterous.
"Steel? Angry? You sure we are talking about the same Steel?"
Elsa says, but Wes doesn't back down.
"I'm telling the truth he looked really mad…"
He then looks at me.
"… what happened in there?"
Wes asks and Elsa gives Wes another look:
"Okay, Wes, first of all, did you actually see Steel get angry?"
Steel and Sply, still walked further and further into the distance, slowly shrinking with every footstep away from us.
Wes looks back to Elsa.
"Yes!"
His voice was forceful, but not angry or loud.
"I know what I saw, he looked angry…"
Elsa finally believes him.
Then not just Wes, but now Elsa looks at me.
"What happened in Warren Forest, Lazuli."
I pause for a second, my mind running rampant as both of these blue eyed kids stand in front of me demanding answers to a question I don't know if I can give them answers to.
"I… uh…?"
I pause and take a deep breath.
"I stayed in there… overnight."
I threw out a spew of words that were true, while leaving out everything else.
Both Elsa and Wes eyes grew, more than just wide, it was like they were just about ready to pop out of there skull because of what I have said.
"It… it was scary, something that I don't wanna do again, but I had to do it, because I have a purpose."
I pause, as if I spoke to more than I should have spoke.
Wes look at Elsa, then Elsa at Wes, then both of them back to me.
"What purpose is that?"
Wes asks.
I pause afraid to answer his question.
"I have to…"
My heart stops for a second, I turn to Elsa.
"…to protect my sister."
For a second I can see it in her face, confusion.
She nods at me as if understanding where I'm coming from.
"But what happened in the forest that made Steel angry?"
Wes asks.
"I.. uh. I had to… fight a bear…"
Elsa and Wes going back to looking at me baffled.
"Are you okay?"
"Did you win?"
Elsa and Wes ask at the same time yet, two different questions.
Wes asked if I won, and Elsa if I was okay.
'Both have very different priorities.'
Elsa gives Wes a look of anger and disbelief.
"Are you serious? That your question? One of our friends and dad's friend's family got stuck in Warren Forest and you wanna know if he beat the bear..?"
Wes looks at Elsa with a look of annoyance.
I nod.
"Yes… to both of your questions."
"Wow…"
This time they both say in unison and their tone of voice the exact same.
"What type of bear was it?"
I feel ashamed to tell them.
"A Soul Bear..?"
Wes mouth drops open and Elsa eyes go wide once more.
"A SOUL BEAR?!"
Wes looks at Elsa, then Elsa to Wes.
"Hes gotta be joking right?"
Wes says.
"I don't know?"
Elsa answers.
They both look back to me.
Asking me questions with their eyes.
I nod.
"It was a Soul Bear."
Wes then for a second, looks at me, and his face gets clouded with clutter, maybe clutter of what seems to be disappointment, but not at me…
"Are you okay?"
Wes asks this time, since Elsa is still getting her head around me killing a Soul Bear.
Though Wes' voice doesn't sound as concerned as it puts on and his eyes look distraught.
I nod.
"I'm fine. But I did end up blacking out and then sleeping in…"
I pause.
'I can't tell them about Apatite or her family, they may hate… maybe not Elsa but Wes might.'
I took a breath:
"…the grass out in the open, it was scary, but after that night I found my way through it all, with the biggest help coming from Sply and Steel."
"Who's Sply?"
Elsa asks, her head now wrapped around the idea of me being able to kill a Soul Bear then sleep in Warren Forest for the night.
I hold my bow up.
"She's the person that'll be teaching me how to use my bow better."
"You're going to get better with your bow?"
Wes asks his voice filled with a sense of disbelief.
Elsa looks at his face and he turns away from her gaze.
"Yes. If I want to protect my sister, I have to get better at using my bow."
Wes then looks down at his feet, then back up, a smile plastered to his face.
"I hope you stay safe Lazuli."
Wes says, then he turns around.
His tone of voice just as energetic as I can be.
He turns then walks away.
Elsa looks at Wes as he walks away from us.
She sputters and then turns back to me.
"He'll be fine, but I will say that he has wanted to be a knight forever, I guess… now he'll end up training for it now."
Elsa says and nods to me as she walks away.
"I'll see you Lazuli, and tell Marcilene, that…"
She pauses then smiles at me.
"..she's in good hands of a good brother."
She then darts toward her brother, who got the biggest head start back home.
After standing there thinking about what she said, I take my first step toward my house.
'*..in good hands of a good brother*… the idea of me actually being a good brother… would that have actually made my life before enjoyable…?'
The thought continues as I walk toward the house.
The stone wall that just blocks my sight of the house is there.
I end up at the gate to enter and push it open.
'If my mother had thought of another kid, would I have been better in their eyes?'
Those thoughts walk around my head as the distance of both the front door and I shrink.
'I'm not sure, if that's very true.'
I open the door and I'm greeted with nobody.
Until I take a few steps in, closing the door behind me.
I turning the corner is Marcilene, sitting on the couch as she looks almost like she's going to cry about something.
I continue closer to her.
"Marci?"
I call out to her.
Her head flipped toward me, her eyes, almost puffy from, maybe tears.
"LAZULI!"
She says as she jumps up off the couch and over towards me, jumping onto me, tackling me to the ground and wrapping her arms around my neck.
"You're safe!"
She says with such glee, as if I wouldn't have been safe.
The front door opens again and two people enter the house, those two being Tali and Flock. Both of them with a smile on their face as they see Marcilene choking me.
"Dear Lord Oros. You're safe!"
Tali says as she continues her walk towards us.
Flock right behind her.
"Why wouldn't I be safe?"
My voice strained from Marcilene.
"Because you had to sleep in Warren Forest."
Marcilene says as she wipes her tears eye, and snot on my shirt.
Then she looks back up, a trail of snort coming out of her nose attached to my shirt.
'Nasty…'
"Steel said that Sply made you go in there. He came back angry and then after an hour of thoughts, someone knocked at the door, their face was covered but they're Soul Energy felt familiar, almost like an elf… which made me feel weird…"
She paused to take a breathe from crying and speaking at the same time.
"I was scared that the elves found you while you were in the forest and then you had died!"
She says the last part exasperated and in tears.
"But I'm here now, safe and sound…"
I say as I hug her back, her head going right into my smaller child chest again.
~~~
Steel continues to walk toward Sply, just exiting the outer edge of the village as Sply heads into the main square.
"SPLY!"
Steel calls out to her in anger.
She stops and waits on the spot of the dirt pathway that connects the square and to outer edges of the village.
"Why would you leave him out there?"
Steel yells at her.
"He has to learn to be stronger."
She says in her calm monotone voice.
"So you're way of doing that is trying to kill him?!"
Steel gets closer.
He walks closer to her back.
"If he wants to protect his sister he has to learn the dangers."
Her tone the same.
"No! He's five. Why would you EVER do that?"
Steel takes a deep breathe then walks in front of her.
"If he's to learn the dangers you follow him through it! Why'd you leave him alone in there. Knowing what's in there..?!"
Sply looks Steel in the face, her height shorter than his so she tilts her head up.
"What's in the forest Steel?"
Sply asks calmly.
"So..Soul Beasts! Dangerous Soul Beasts and…"
Steel stops himself, for a second.
Sply nodded:
"Elves… There are Elves."
Sply says.
"Even if you don't want to believe it, there was no other way to explain how there was still a long eared man sucking the blood of a beast man."
Steel looks at her with uncertainty.
"That doesn't mean that they'll hurt a child."
"Yet, you were still ready to tell me that they were a danger."
Spot begins to walk past Steel, her face never changed once throughout the conversation.
She stops again.
Grabbing her necklace that she had wrapped around her neck again.
"But I'll promise you this Steel, I won't ever do something to endanger your son again."
She says.
Steel still looks at the ground and is somewhat distracted by the earlier conversation.
Sply begins to walk off again.
"Thank you…"
Steel says under his breath as she splits off between them.