Nibbling on the red, palm sized fruit, August kept on walking. Behind him May and Damian were also following closely. From the past few reactions of both of them August was pretty sure that they were having a good time. Even if Damian was trying to hide his interest, he too seemed like was having fun.
The tour of the town was supposed to be a refreshing experience after the days of constant uproar. Fortunately, it turned out to be an even bigger cause of excitement which completely overshadowed the incident from the past days within their memories.
The path ahead was becoming narrower and narrower. They left the residential area of the town and entered into the place with neverending greenery. The trees beside them stood tall, walking ahead on the steep path where various birds were to be heard.
"Where are we headed to?" May couldn't hide her excitement and asked.
August never looked back but continued walking, "you'll find out soon"
After about twenty minutes of small hike they finally reached a grassy plane situated on a small mountain behind the town. The place was quiet allowing anyone to hear their inner voice much louder than the surroundings. The wind blew past without making much noise either.
A clear stream of water flowed seamlessly on the mountain, falling over the cliff as a small waterfall.
"Wow!" May exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise, "It's beautiful"
The view before held the image of the town but more distant. From here the houses that seemed huge just a while ago looked like toy houses. The field of view provided a different perspective to all of them as they looked at the town before them.
Far in the distant horizon, the boundary between human settlements and the southern forest was to be seen, not clearly though. August thought in his mind, somewhere deep within that boundary his father was trying to look for the monster leader Arachnid to ensure the safety of countless people that relied on him. August felt a little bit afraid but the feeling of pride over his father washed away any uneasy thoughts.
They sat on the gentle grass taking in the beauty of the place before.
Time passed slowly, laying on the gentle grass while watching the clouds in the sky change shapes. No one said a word, embracing the moment of peace and tranquility.
After a while it was August who suggested going back home. No matter how much they wanted to stay at this place, they had to go back for now since it was already evening.
On the way back home three of them conversed a lot. It was just a matter of spending some time together that made the ice of awkwardness between them break. While it was true that August and May had shared secrets with each other but that alone wasn't enough to make them close enough to be called as friends- given the circumstances which conspired the whole ordeal were strange.
This short stroll of them together added more in their relation than any shared secret.
There was also Damian. August's first meeting with the noble boy wasn't something that could be called as a pleasant experience. However, this time there happens to be less icy stares on him from Damian. Which was quite the development.
From a corner of his eye suddenly, August saw a familiar face across the street which made him feel an inexplicable emotion. It was the same boy from the trial class who had challenged him to a duel.
Elias looked just like before. Like August himself Elias also seemed to have noticed him.
August had only known that Elias had gone to the city of Eldoria for further studies. He was a mage of high potential after all.
There was no exchange of words, with both of their expressions composed they silently greeted each other with a subtle nod. The greetings were silent enough to not be noticed by anyone beside them.
Damian and May had not seemed to notice that as well. Turning to them he simply joined the conversation.
— — —
After having dinner, August stood in the balcony of his room gazing at the night sky above. There was something he suddenly was reminded of when his gaze fell on Elias today. A distant memory of the past. A sour one at that.
August gritted his teeth when suddenly there was a strong sense of impulse inside his brain. The whispers were loud enough to be heard but same as ever, undecipherable. He wondered if the good front he put up today was enough to make May and Damian believe that he was alright.
In truth though, the effects of echoes was something he endured the whole time. Luckily, the severity of the echoes wasn't as high to be worried about, for now atleast. He had maybe one or two days before elements would go all out on him.
'I wonder how long I could hide this from mom'
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. August thought it could be his mother but as it turned out there was Damian standing on the other side.
"Hey!" He said awkwardly, not knowing how he was supposed to act around him without his sister around.
"W—what brings you here?" August asked.
"I ..uh wanted to say thanks" Damian replied, making August feel a little surprised since he didn't know the reason yet and also didn't remember doing anything for him that he felt was worth thanking for.
"Thanks?" He asked reflexively, "For what exactly?"
"For the tour today" Damian said as August started to understand things a little, "it looks like my sister had quite a fun time. There are only a few moments I have seen her smile genuinely, from the heart. And today it seemed she enjoyed our time together."
"Ah.. that?" He replied waving his hand, "that was nothing really. I mean, it was my responsibility to take you on a stroll around my hometown as a host."
"Yeah, you're right actually. But thank you anyway" Damian said, almost about to leave, "mind if I ask you a question?"
The sudden shift in mood surprised August a bit, however he didn't pay it mind,
"sure, go ahead"
"Who was that boy? you didn't seem very pleased to see?" Damian asked knitting his brows together, "sorry if it was something personal. It's just since the day we've met you've struck me as a jolly person who goes around laughing, cracking jokes" he seemed to have difficulty while saying the next words, "...which I ..uh obviously like about you. What? Is something on my face?"
For a moment there was silence as August stared at him blankly knowing well he didn't mean what he said by heart, "No. Nothing", he replied.
"Whatever, can you tell me what a person needs to do to make you feel pissed off to the extent you felt today?" August stood there with no change in his expressions while Damian corrected his words, "I …uh ..I am ..Sorry ..Sorry I am just. I might have phrased that wrong actually."
"Nah! It's …it's okay" August replied, not knowing the correct word to represent the emotion rising in his heart, self pity probably, "you want to know what history I share with Elias, I mean that boy from before, Correct?"
"That's about right," Damian said while trying to gather up a smile which obviously seemed fake, "if it isn't too much of a bother, or too private."
"No, it isn't any of that" he replied, "no idea what you want to know but Elais is the boy I met at a trial class that was being held in the education block of the town square."
Sitting across the table, he then explained the whole trial class incident to Damian causing the noble boy to experience various swings of emotions. Of course he downplayed the severity of the incident which happened after that.
"So you're telling me you are ambivalent" Damian said, trying to clarify what he just heard, "and you fight without being backed by any kind of core element?"
"That's right" he replied scratching the back of his head, "there was a time when I desperately wanted to be a mage. A pity of course."
"Ah.. yes" Damian said in understanding, "that completely explains why you didn't use any magic at battle the other day. It wasn't like you wouldn't use the element, it was that you couldn't if you even wanted to. Oh mother ..I am so sorry."
August felt a little surprised by the sudden act of apology, "The thing is I for some reason blamed you for not using your elemental aptitude in the battle. I thought you were trying to show off your sword skills or something like that. I mean don't get me wrong, many warriors use magic and sword simultaneously. It helps to deliver serious damage, you know."
"Ah …no problem" August tried to be understanding and act like a grown up here. Even what he could do when the person before him decides to dump a load of truth on him,
"not your fault"
A chilling wind passed while the silence grew more awkward between them by the minute.
After a while it was Damian who spoke, ultimately breaking the silence, "That Elias guy surely sounds like a pain" he stood up and put a hand on August's shoulder, "Even I would avoid him given the circumstances."
August gave a wry smile avoiding meeting his gaze. With that Damian left his room leaving August all alone to remember the incident with Elias which happened two years ago.
— — —
Time passed quickly, in a blink of an eye two weeks time to spend which May and Damian had come was already coming to end. August wasn't so sure himself of how he felt about all this.
Firstly he wasn't a very social person. Therefore, he never had close friends aside from Shelly alright. Maybe his relation with Fiona siblings had reached upto the point they could be called as friends. Maybe, but this was nothing but his wishful thinking.
May and Damian had their fair share of problems to be dealt with which were obviously of much higher importance than being his friend.
For some reason he felt a little disheartened as their days together were coming to an end. For god knows when will he meet them again.
The only reason they haven't gone already was that Lord Victor was still helping his father with the monster subjugation task. August himself didn't know how many days it had been since his father had come home.
All he knew was that they had set up a camp somewhere in the depths of the forest and were trying to track down the arachnid and its remaining monster horde. They couldn't possibly let the frenzied monsters run rampant around the town.
Surprisingly, even after the dangerous attack of the monsters, the town was brimming with usual peace. People did not seem to be worried about anything. Maybe it was their faith in the lord or maybe just ignorance.
Whatever, not like it was something August had to give that much thought. He was suffering from the worst fate possible already.
As the day passed, his attempts to suppress the effects of echoes without anyone noticing were about to be proven futile. His head was already aching with much more pain than he could handle.
That's why before rising of the morning Sun, he sneaked away for the place in the woods in darkness.
The morning seemed still even when the darkest hour of the night had already passed. August grabbed the piece of his clothing near his chest in an attempt to slow the fast beating heart. Sweat poured down from his body continuously even though the atmosphere was cold.
With each passing moment he was losing his sense of reasoning. There were few times when he almost forgot what he was doing in this dark forest at this hour.
For better or for worse, August had reached the freshwater pond not remembering how he got here. He cried again and again. But there was no one to witness his worsening condition here for that was the only reason he chose this exact spot to endure the cruelty of his fate.
He shouted his lungs out, cried in desperation but never gave up on life. He knew he was not the most important person but his life also had some value after all.
Therefore he decided not to give up and fight till the bitter end.
— — — — —