Seren tilted her head, then smiled in delight. She accepted. She always accepted every decision made by Felix; it's not an arbitrary decision, it's well-estimated. She has believed in Felix a lot. Just imagine this, a guy who decided on a complex and difficult to determine choices that made him ponder for a while and bite his lips. Trust him. He's the most reliable one in this state.
She winked and then grabbed Felix's hand. "Let's go!" She started to jog, which Felix got pulled by her; forced to follow.
She giggled along the way, sometimes glancing back just to see her most beloved one. Felix eventually showed a smile just seconds after it. The dawn breeze came from their left; it was very refreshing since the sun hadn't reached its peak. Although they went through difficult life, they're able to make it through. Just because… they have each other—it's enough. She was happy. She was happy that their destination is just beyond the horizon. Even though Felix just got a random speech from a random woman, if you think about it, this is the first actual hint after years of going astray.
They walked, following the riverside. It was in the middle of a residence but no longer can be called habitable—there is a lot of debris. They went on for hours. After that, Seren spotted a black and white cat nearby. It was pretty small for an adult; it might be a young cat. Without any thoughts, Seren immediately stopped, then called it to come closer.
She called with a bright smile on her face. Felix, who's grabbing hands with her, just stands there. His face is also pretty flat. As the cat came closer, she squatted, releasing their hands. She showed her palm to the cat. The cat hesitated to step even closer but eventually accepted 'Seren's friend request'. She rubbed the cat gently, and the cat purred soothingly. Then, she grinned at Felix behind her. How heart-warming.
"Can we keep him?" She asked expectantly.
Felix shook his head and crossed his arms in order to tell his denials. Seren frowned, then turned, to give a warming smile to the cat.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kitty, we don't have much to adopt you." She said in the mix of sadness and acceptance.
Then, Seren got up. By looking at her expression earlier, Felix also wanted to adopt it. Seren looked so happy and she loved animals a lot. Quick flashback, she once kept a cat named Théo. It was a male cat and might be at the same age as the cat they found just now. He was a very friendly cat and very energetic. After that, Felix sighed regretfully, but he couldn't deny the fact that they were also struggling to continue their own life. So adopting pets is a bad idea, which Seren quickly realizes.
As Seren stood up, Felix immediately held her hand.
"Ehh…. You missed me already?" She teases.
"Huh? Nope." Felix looked away as Seren started to chuckle a little.
When they're leaving, Seren waves at the cat for the last goodbye. However, the cat continues to follow them. The cat kept meowing cutely and rubbed his head playfully against Felix's pants. Their steps stopped. Felix turned to Seren, and she was amused by watching this scene. As the moment went on, Felix, who couldn't control his emotions more than this, he released their hands, then lifted the cat gently and carefully. He holds the cat like a baby in his arms.
"Okay, fine, we'll adopt you." Felix paused for a moment. Seren was looking excitedly. "Cats don't eat much. So, sparing some wouldn't be much…, right?" He said.
"Yay! You're invited to the trip…. Uhh, Théo!" She grinned excitedly while petting the cat in Felix's arms.
Felix smiled warmly, "Théo? You wouldn't mind giving it another name?" he rubbed the cat's neck with his index finger.
"Uhh, Théo V2?" She smiled playfully and sweetly.
Felix sighed. "Whatever." He giggled in remembrance of Théo's adorable and funny behavior a long time ago.
"Théo, it is!"
They continued their journey along with a new partner! The cat- No, Théo kept purring in Felix's arms. It looks like he found comfort in it. As time went on, Felix felt sore in his arms. He wanted to release Théo to walk on his own. However, when 3 of them walked, they heard a thunderous sound from their left.
Chronicles? Felix wondered. Then, he immediately released Théo to the ground carefully. He ran to a ruin high enough to see through the horizon—the buildings aren't too tall. He was right. It was the Chronicles. They're at the horizon from their left. And was going about 45° from their direction. After that, he ran back to Seren.
"What's up?" Seren asked.
"There are Chronicles. It looks like they went the same way as ours."
Seren tilted her head in innocence. "As ours?" Then, her eyes widened. "Is this way even safe? …" She started hesitating their own decision.
Felix pondered hard; he scratched his cheeks."There might be a surviving region." He declares confidently.
Her eyes shimmer. "Really?"
"If you think about it, why would they go to the same exact point where they have attacked? In my speculation… it's mostly caused by the region's defense that was hard to penetrate. Therefore, they tried multiple times to get through, didn't it?" He thinks for a while. "Also,... if it came from the horizon, which is about 3 kilometers away, and it was going at 45°, …. It'll also be 3 kilometers until the meeting point." He paused for a moment. "So, it was like a triangle. Each line was perfectly the same distance." He said it out loud.
Seren's eyes went blank. She tried to process every little bit. Meanwhile, Théo yawned.
Felix giggled awkwardly. "For short, we'll be safe." Then, he grabbed Seren's hand. "C'mon!" He smiled.
Seren can't help but put a smile on her face. Thus, Théo follows. Finally, the light of hope; it's so near, isn't it? Three of them ran along to catch it.