¨What should we name him?¨
That was the question that had left the group scouring through their bag of ideas; coming up with such masterpieces as: 'Bucktooth', or the charming 'Wonky Donk'; Prince Charming was another one worthy of consideration.
¨Terrorhoof, depressing all, inducing dread in whomever dares gaze at the monstrosity surrounding those horrid protuberant snowglobes.¨ Adel proposed.
¨Stop being so mean!¨ Liline stressed, rushing over to the donkey as she started talking to it like a baby, letting the donkey know how handsome and perfect he was…
Well, the donkey didn't seem to mind regardless, in fact the thing's horrifying face was seemingly devoid of any consciousness whatsoever, only an empty look and two massive front-teeth resting gracefully on his lower lip.
Basically, it was a complete lie—that donkey might have been the most unattractive donkey ever born; certainly in the last century or so. Therefore her actions did raise a few eyebrows, which is why Damien tried to explain the situation in words of his own—to the best of his flawed perception that is.
¨I've noticed women seem to do this a lot. If you want to know whether you're ugly or attractive. You mention being ugly to the average woman, just randomly. If their reaction is to get mad or annoyed—you're probably attractive. But, if they try to convince you of the opposite; well, you're ugly; and the bigger more grand the compliments, the more ugly you are. I wond-...¨
¨That's preposterous!¨ Iris exclaimed; ¨You think you can just lump all women into a category like that?!¨ — ¨Well, that's not exactly what I was saying—I mean I did specify the ave-¨ — ¨It doesn't matter what you were saying, it was horribly out of pocket regardless! But you did give me an idea, I for one think Hobwobble is a perfectly ugly specimen with no redeeming features, whereas you Damien are so stinking handsome that I can barely look your direction without my eyes being blasted by the sheer radiance your face emits!¨ Iris ranted, face red in passionate anger.
Damien dumbly stood for a moment in silence, trying to process the situation; but upon noticing Adel's smirk a spark of indignation did eventually burst into a bright flame; ¨Oh really princess?! Well, let me just say this: that was perhaps the only string of words you've uttered, that I found even the slightest of substance in. So I suppose you're not a complete bore after all; instead, only mostly.¨
¨Oh??? And what could be the reason for that? Perhaps I have indeed been a bore, perhaps so. But Damien; have you considered one thing? Perhaps the reason for my cautious behaviour has been a fault of your making. Have you considered that perhaps I've only neglected sharing my personality with you, due to the disgust and hatred you inspire in my bones…Frankly I see you as nothing more than a grumpy bully that thinks he's better than everyone else!¨
Damien glanced at Adel for some sort of reassurance perhaps, feeling utterly confused and dazed; whereas the handsome boy only shrugged his shoulders with an awkward half-smile.
¨Hobwobble huh? I like it.¨ Hermes muttered, pensively stroking his chin with a thoughtful look, seemingly oblivious of the present drama unfolding.
Damien sighed, his eyes desperately avoidant of Iris; ¨It's pretty good.¨ he muttered with an evident distance in his frail and insecure voice.
Liline had been silent, it almost seemed like she had retreated into herself like some timid mouse at the first sign of conflict. In its aftermath however, she did try to comfort Damien with a calming touch. But, she could say no words, and the boy paid her no mind regardless, he was preoccupied with the prior conversation in his head, trying to understand it, seeing where he went wrong; weighing her words for any potential truths within.
¨Oh right, I wouldn't go as far as calling you handsome Damien. I mean we need to be realistic with these things, you're more like slightly above average, or terribly fucking unkind to the eyes when bloated by beer.¨ Hermes inserted with a straight face from seemingly out of nowhere; making the black-haired boy's mood brighten ever so slightly as he chuckled at his friends adorable ignorance; ¨Thanks brother.¨
Adel incidentally could not help but shake his head with an entertained smile. Ignorance is a mercy, a succulent fruit of which delectable juices only a fool can suck. But a buffoon's naivety is never a flaw, rather the opposite.
The group had a basket full of fresh bread that had risen with the sun, and indeed it had been just yesterday. As Adel had been walking around town, kicking dirt, talking to people here and there; seeking information. That was when he had first tasted this heavenly softness that was unlike anything Scorburg had produced in the last twenty years at least.
Upon his first mouthful he had made up his mind that such pleasures required sharing, so buying an entire loaf he brought it with him as he seeked out the two boys. Eventually finding the two of them in a pleasant tavern, sitting by a fireplace eating stew and drinking beer…Adel wasted no time before slamming the bread on the table; ¨you guys need to try this!¨ he exclaimed, and Damien could be seen reaching for it greedily without delay like some starved pig, stuffing his mouth with the fluffy warmth as his eyes widened in response.
Recalling the look on Damien's face then, he dubbed it one for the ages; and in fact Adel had never seen him so content. That boy did after all normally have eyebrows that were perpetually tense and a persistent look in his gaze that simultaneously felt tortured and apathetic.
Now Hermes on the other hand seemed more enlightened than anything, it looked like the boy was already fantasizing about the various ways he could elevate his cooking now that the cold's restrictions had been lifted.
But regardless, the three of them spent a few hours just hanging out, even Adel ended up having a few beers after ten minutes of Hermes' persistent encouragement; and who knows what the girls were doing during all that. Though they did show up at a certain point, wondering where they'd sleep.
Which was an issue solved quite easily since the bartender revealed a place they could find rooms. It was another place for drinking, an alehouse on the opposite side of town, by the lakeshore.
Apparently there were two empty rooms, seldom used since tourism was as rare as a black sun these days.
So what obviously ended up happening was that the boys slept in one room and the girls in the other.
Leading then of course to the morning, the purchase of a donkey, and the subsequent conversation that led to a silent walk…
Ultimately, it really was mostly a silent walk, and if not for Hermes' occasional comments, it would have been the sonic equivalent of a nighttime graveyard.
Hobwobble seemingly fit well for his proletarian purpose, pulling a small cart full of sacks and a black-haired girl with an empty stare…This made Adel quite satisfied with himself, not regretting in the slightest the 400 marks he had paid for the ugly donkey.
Also, these days there was no longer a cold purpose to travel at night, and therefore the kids had largely normalized their daily schedule by now; sleeping nights whereas the days were reserved for their long pilgrimage south.
It would take a few days of wilderness to reach the duchy of Barcala, and making it through Aragon from there would take three weeks more. After that they would have to cut through Garemia, reaching its southern shores and the Central Sea.
So yeah, it was a long journey ahead, more than a month to be specific, but at the end of it they could hopefully domicile themselves in the ostensibly great city of Pentor. And if dreams came true, they could begin the parts of their lives that mattered for more than growth.
…A few days passed without complaints, the group slept well, ate deliciously, and generally enjoyed the burdenless travel made possible by their newfound member.
Damien's mind was in sequestration, even for him who was chiefly a silent type it was out of the ordinary, and furthermore when it came to Iris he had not even glanced at her direction once during those few days. Well not purposefully at least, and nor did he want to; in fact he didn't want anything to do with her. He did after all still feel an indignant hurt of her fault, he felt that she was quite the rude person indeed and not at all the type of human he wanted as a friend.
Though it was also true that her apparent judgement of his character had certainly made him realize some things, and by no means had he been innocent, in fact perhaps he was even deserving of that mental assault she had unleashed. But even so, even if that was the case; he still could not find any reason not to dislike her, furthermore being an oddly sensitive fellow neither did he feel the lingering effects of her words lifting any time soon.
And of course Iris felt much the same. The truth was that she did feel bad about the whole thing; mostly since she saw it quite unbecoming of her to lash out so viciously. But on the other hand she had meant most of her words, and in fact from her perspective it would have been nigh impossible to determine the actual damage her harshness had caused; in fact in her mind she only thought that Damien hated her now, which was not a bothersome thing in itself since she did in fact hate him too; though as he had built his walls impenetrable, he didn't show any signs of sadness or really any emotion at all for that matter, instead his behaviour was characterized chiefly by cold indifference.
Indeed there was this chilling air between them, which permeated the atmosphere around the entirety of the group; so much so that even Hermes had eventually grown conscious of its coldness.
Naturally something had to change, the differences of these two stubborn children would have to be mediated and a solution required discovery lest the glaring rift's poisonous effect spread further. Which incidentally was an issue that throughout the journey Liline and Adel's minds were both busily trying to solve; though sadly without breakthroughs thus far.
Now that would hopefully change however, as one late evening after dinner while the rest of the group were yawning and rubbing their eyes, those two were left alone some distance away in the presence of each other only.
¨I suspect you've witnessed also the proper mess surrounding, and how those two must be pacified delayless for the sake of frictionless cohabitation. A black bile secretes through their skin and mixes with the air we breathe, infusing a bitter and melancholic taste…I can feel it, a languishing curse that steals the energy of our group slowly, eventually doubtless resulting in a total crash of our entire infrastructure. Things cannot persist in such manner of way, we cannot allow it Lily.¨
¨I agree…Of course, but what can we do? Neither of them likes the other, and both of them are stubborn as they come.¨
¨Hmm, it's difficult. I've searched for a solution continuously, but alas there is no seamless answer. However, I believe our best bet is in steering their minds towards the right direction. After all, the root of their conflict was planted in illusory soil, they see each other through a lens that is warped and cracked, one that refuses to reveal an image of clarity without the imperfections of the tool itself.
¨Uhh, meaning?¨
¨Meaning those two should not be enemies, they're inherently too similar, their experiences mirror each other too closely; only petty gripes stand in the way of what should by all means be a congenial duo.¨
¨How can their experiences mirror each other, I don't get it? Aren't those two from worlds that are as opposite as they come?¨
¨Yes and no. There is one shared memory that binds them, perhaps the greatest and most powerful of all experiences when it comes to its effects on the psyche, isolation.¨
¨You seem to know a lot about that Adel,¨ Liline said silently, her eyes inquisitively searching Adel's face.
¨I suppose I am not exactly a stranger to its effects. You see it grants a certain sort of clarity and awareness of your thoughts that is apparently quite hard to achieve otherwise. But enough about me Lily. We need to try and plant that idea in their head, subtly and carefully. Tomorrow we'll reach the first city, one even larger than Scorburg. Without a doubt we will find ourselves in situations where we can advance our plan.¨
¨But what do you want me to do exactly?¨
¨Convince her to break bread with him. Manipulate her, lie to her if that's what it takes. I know it goes against your nature, but it is what needs to be done; for the sake of them, for the sake of our group.¨
Liline had a deeply troubled look on her face, it almost seemed like the proposed concept was making her physically ill. However, after a moment of troubled silence she did nod her head subtly.
¨I knew I could count on you Lily.¨