Slinging my bow over my shoulder, as her ashen skin and orange hue leaves, I also begin to leave the clearing in the forest.
Not with the same amount of pep in my step, but still with a renewed sense of happiness, the one that I've never really felt, and another felling in my stomach a slight tingling feeling. Thinking about tomorrow and the events that went on about ten minutes ago.
Leaving the darkness of Warren Forest, I end up catching a slight ray of sunshine to my face, making me block it with my hand, and using the other to push shrubs out of the way so that I don't end up snagged on anything.
Fully leaving the forest, with my increased vision, I can catch a whole lot more, as I lift my hand a tad bit higher I can get a full view of what I've always missed from here.
The rock that is named: The Golem of Erical.
Many families and friends getting together and talking, there faint distant auras all spiking or slightly dropping all of them together and having a good time, either talking about their day, the weather or whatever else family and friends talk about to pass time.
Kids being friends, running around and playing tag or hide and seek, their small aura always having a spike in them, showing the innocence of youth, always happy and wanting to stay that way.
My increased vision lets me also feel the sting way more than usual, I just wipe it away, because for some reason, it doesn't sting as bad as it did before, when I was five.
I continue walking to my house, occasionally wiping my eye due to the slight sting, making it feel a bit funny, but not very much in pain.
It takes me about a few more extra minutes to get home, passing the gate I head towards the door, kneeling down to take off my sandals, unstrapping them.
"Lazi? Is that you?"
Marcilene calls to me from the inside of the kitchen making me look up, but not able to see her yet.
"Yeah. It's me."
I undo the first one, then begin on the second one.
"I saw your eye patch and wanted to fix it for you."
She says in a caring tone as she now appears at the wall. Standing up pretty tall, still just a bit taller than me.
She wears a white short sleeved shirt, and pants, that kinda resemble parchute pants, strapping tightly to her ankles, stopping it from moving any further down and dragging on the ground.
She waves the eye patch in front of her face.
"Do you want me to do that for you?"
"No, not really, I mean it was getting old."
I tell her as I stand up.
"It was bound to break eventually."
"But it broke pretty fast?"
"Three years is pretty fast?"
I ask, in a sarcastic tone.
"No, but I mean it was the first one you got, shouldn't it mean something to you?"
Marcilene says in a tone that sounds caring for the eye patch.
"I don't know, but I guess you're right in a way... It was one of the first things I got from Flock as well, so I should maybe want to try and keep it a sort of keepsake or something right?"
"Yeah. But I mean, if you don't want it, I wouldn't mind keeping it."
"Okay, you can have it."
I say as I walk past Marcilene into the kitchen to sit down and relax. There is a bowl of something on the table
"What?"
She says, looking at me with a confused look.
"What?"
I give her one back.
"I thought you wanted to make it a keepsake or something."
"No, you wanted me to make it into a keepsake, I didn't wanna, I was going to just throw it out."
"What?"
"Yeah, I didn't want it, but you wanted ME to want it, so i just said all that to make you think I needed it longer."
"And?"
"You said you'd keep it so, I'm not going to stop you, have fun with a broken eye patch."
She throws it to me and grumbles.
"Freak you!"
It hits my head.
"Dude! What the heck."
I call out to her as she walks up the stairs, rubbing the place she hit me at.
"What?"
"That hurt."
She huffs at me.
"Freaking baby."
She calls me as I sit down and drag the bowl of whatever to me. Looking inside of it, is a bowl that has some bread in it along with some fruits.
The fruits being, just two apples, an orange and a few grapes.
'Like a bad cornucopia.'
I pick up the apple and bite into it.
'Better than nothing.'
As I continue to eat the apple, the door opens, and I hear two very familiar voices break through them.
"I'm not going to let you take Lazuli."
Getting closer, while the door closes behind them, they stop just between the livingroom and the kitchen.
"He can't learn if he continues to stay here."
"And you expect me to just let you take my son from me?"
"I'm not going to just take him from you..."
She says, in her same calm demeanour.
"...I'm going to make sure that he learns to understand the dangers of the world."
Sply's gray aura lulls calmly around her.
Sply stops speaking as she catches me eavesdropping out of the corner of her eye.
Steel also takes a few step more into the house, and catches me just listening to them.
His red aura spikes as he sees me, the sting becoming a bit more prominent, but not enough for me to want to close my eye.
"Hey kid."
Steel says, sounding like he was just caught out after curfew.
"Hey, Steel... An apple?"
I ask, holding out my way more than half eaten apple.
"No thanks."
He waves his hand in front of his face and dismisses the idea. His aura, slight lulling as well.
"Well, there is more if you want."
"Okay."
Sply begins to walk into the kitchen, turning her attention from Steel to me.
Steel aura spikes once, seeing her advancement.
"Lazuli?"
"Yes?"
"What do you want to do?"
She asks in a weird cryptic way. Her aura, no longer lulled, but passive around her body.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean. What do you want to do with this training."
"To protect Marcilene."
I look at her, then to steel.
"Why?"
"Well..."
Steel starts the conversation, slowly beginning to get into the kitchen and take a seat. His aura, taking a small spike.
"... Sply, wants to take you..."
"Take me where?"
Steel pauses as he says that, making a concerned face for a second.
Sply sighs, tired of the prolonged quietness, giving her aura a spike as well, the only way of seeing her true emotions.
"To see the world Lazuli. Everything that you will need to avoid, and everything that you'll need to take advantage of... just everything in general."
"I can't do that from here?"
"Yes."
"No."
They both say at the same time, Both their auras spiking as they say that. Steel saying yes, and Sply saying no.
Steel pauses as Sply, looks at him, not with a glare, not with misunderstanding, just looks at him.
"No, that's a lie. Lazuli. the truth is... you can't see the world from here, not the way they treat Elves, not the misfortune of no money, not the struggle, nothing. This village is one of the many ones. that people are together and even friendly."
Steel shakes his head softly. His aura, now lulling again.
"And somehow, for some reason, even with them being very close to the forest, they are unaware of the... not danger, but how hateful they should feel against the elves."
"What do you mean?"
"Lazuli. The reason people chased elves into Warren Forest is because of the misunderstanding about their origin and long life..."
Steel pauses and looks behind himself to see up the stairs, checking for something, his aura spikes a few times, as he does turn back.
"Elves were said to devour the souls of humans and beastmen to fuel their need to live longer lives, which in turn fueled their need to advance themselves in better ways compared to both humans and Beastmen."
Looking at her confused, I turn toward Steel and he looks at Sply with an angered look, Sply, most likely notices this, but doesn't think it as a problem.
"Is this true? Because I'm having a hard time, thinking it to be..."
"It is."
Steel says to confirm what Sply had just said. His aura calm again.
"Wait, but if it's safe for Marcilene here, why do I have to leave."
"Because, of her life span, and I need to show you the dangers of the world."
"To protect her Lazuli... You have to know what to protect her from."
"Wait... Wait Steel, Are you not against this?"
I ask him.
"I'm in between it Lazi. I don't want you to leave, but I also don't want you to be stuck here, and when the time comes, that you're unable to find a way to help the people around you, most especially your sister."
"So, i'm going to leave this place?"
I ask, sounding scared to do so.
Steel shakes his head, his aura spiking crazily.
"Not if you don't want to."
Sply puffs.
"Lazuli, if you don't follow I leave in a few months, and plus, for now, I should have been able to teach you everything you need to know in order to be able to defend yourself along with Marcilene, but I'll tell you this now Lazuli."
She pauses:
"If you want to be able to fully defend your sister, staying huddled into a corner of Reight will never make you understand what you need to do, in order to make moves to protect her completely."
Sply says that, then steps back slightly from the table, going toward the door.
Her aura, calm.
I notice that the sun isn't reflecting off of her skin, meaaning the talk took us a while, making the sun drop behind the horizon. It's nighttime.
Steel stay at the table though.
"No training tomorrow kid. I want you to think this over, but take your time, you have a few months, and finish learning Soul Displacement."
She closes the door behind her as she leaves.
Steel sighs as she does.
"Lazuli. This decision isn't for me to decide. It's meant for you to decide."
His aura calms itself just as he does.
Loud footsteps are heard upstairs as he says that.
'Fuhhhh!'
I think to myself.
"I knew I heard footsteps."
Steel laughs:
"But before you decide. Talk to your sister."
Steel gets up and walks over to me.
He pats my head, then ruffles my hair, before pulling me into a hug, then pulling away.
"Just know that, whatever you choose, I still love and support it."
"Thanks Da... Thanks Steel."
I stop myself from finishing the words.
He nods, his aura spiking a bit when he heard the start but calmed when I reiterated myself.
He backs away then heads upstairs.
Leaving me alone with myself as the darkness in the room becomes more prominent, his red aura gone as well and Sply's gray aura.
'I don't know what to do...?'
Getting up I go to the couch in the livingroom and drop myself on top of it.
"I'm really stumped today."
When I say that I feel my head eyes, begin to sting, not from looking at anyone's aura or anything, but because of the fact, that I'm tired...
My eyes close and I drift to sleep.
'I'll think about it more tomorrow.'