...

Summer in the hills

Those hazy days I do remember

We were running still

Had the whole world at our feet

-Monody, TheFatRat

...

There's no denying that Harith is a young prodigy and he knew that. In fact, everyone did.

After all, at the age of seven, he had already managed to conjure a ball of magic which usually no Leonin could at that young age. Not only that, ever since then, he had rapidly improved in casting spells and controlling his magic that soon, most would agree that he's the strongest budding mage among his generation. Some would even go as far to say that he'll be as powerful as others in the Land of Dawn someday.

But you see, even if his fellow Leonins praised him for his talents and wisdom, to him, it wasn't enough. He knew he was still far from great, especially, knowing that there's someone else who was also in the same league, if not could potentially be even stronger than him. And she was no other than a young feline wizard from his clan named Nana.

Nana was also special among the Leonins. In fact, she's naturally gifted with strong magical abilities (much stronger than his, in his opinion) and was only a few months younger. But unlike him, Nana had trouble controlling her powers that often times it would cause accidents to those around her. It also didn't help that she had this michievous side which all the more made her prone to disaster.

Still, despite of it, other Leonins were drawn to her bright personality and love for adventure, and so, naturally, she's surrounded by many friends, young and adults alike. She also has this big heart that even if she did cause a lot of trouble, others would still easily forgive her because she would try to make up for them and helped them fix their destroyed property.

Harith couldn't help but compare himself to her though. He hadn't cause any accidents, nor had he destroy any property. He was generally much more mature and controlled with his powers. But he never received the same kind of treatment as she did.

Yes, he would get a lot of praises from their clan and they would think highly of him but that's it. Because of his title as a strongest mage, others would only get intimidated and thus often reluctant to approach him thinking he's someone out of their level. They would either be too polite to him or wouldn't say a word for the fear of offending him. It was only later that it became apparent that all this time, they only see his talents but never beyond that.

So much for being a prodigy.

He wondered if he was only an average mage, then others might have treat him differently.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Harith immediately turned towards the source of that voice and saw a ten-year-old girl, with brownish cat-like ears and tail, crouching in front of him. She was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt with white fur trim, a bell around her neck, two long pink armbands, a pair of purple baggy pants, a golden rope with a cat mark in the middle tied around her waist, and brown leather boots. Her shoulder-length magenta hair was tied into two low pigtails and was sticking out to all places but she seemed to didn't mind. Her smile that reached her sapphire blue eyes never wavered as she patiently waited for him to respond to her question. "Well?"

"Uh, nothing." He answered then went back on scanning the book about some intermediate magic on his hand. He had borrowed it from the library that morning and decided to read the book here under one of the largest trees in the Dark Forest (the darkest part of the Enchanted Forest) while sitting on its overgrown root. It was actually quite far from the village but he still preferred it since it was the most quiet place and no one usually bothered to come—well, maybe except for her.

Out of all the Leonins around him, surprisingly, it was also Nana who seemed to be the only one that treats him normally aside from his own grandfather which is why even if she had all the attention, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. After all, she wouldn't hesitate talking to him despite of his status. Whenever she saw him, she would always smile widely and dragged him to her mini-adventures.

One of the downsides however was that sometimes, she would force him to join her shenanigans which usually ended up him getting in trouble. And so, that's the reason why when that happens, he would avoid her if he could. But what baffled him was how in the world was she able to still locate him wherever he went every single time. Was she a stalker or something?

He tried to ignore the other feline hoping that she would just leave him alone. But much to his dismay, she began to sit beside him instead and also peered on his book with full of curiousity. She immediately grimaced once she saw what was written.

"That looks hard," she commented. "No wonder you've been spacing out for more than—hmm... five—no—ten minutes now."

"No, I'm not." He quickly denied.

"Eh? But you've been staring on the same spot in that page the whole time, you know?"

His bluish-grey ears perked up and he could feel his face burning at her remark but he still tried to act cool. "I-I'm just concentrating on how to cast this Chrono Dash spell in my mind, okay?"

"Oh... I see." She smiled sheepishly.

He sighed finally closing the book since he couldn't focus reading anyway. "What are you doing here, Nana? If I remember correctly, you're supposed to be helping your mom about something." He knew that because he practically just live next door to their house and had overheard her mother's request before he left.

"Well..." She trailed off then bit her lip.

Harith immediately knew that look and narrowed his caramel eyes. "What did you do this time?"

"Um... ImayormaynothaveaccidentallyturnedsomeoneintoaMolina?" She was speaking so fast that he could barely understand her but he did.

"You what?!"

"It was an accident!"

"That's what you also said the last time!"

"But it's true!"

"Tsk. When it comes to you, it's always an accident, Nana."

"Hey!"

"Geez..." He ran his hand through his silver hair out of frustration. "Please don't tell me it's Garett." He was referring to one of the bullies from their village who although was the same age as them but was much more on the bulkier side.

"Um, no?"

"Oh, good." He sighed in relief.

"But I hit his brother?"

He paled. "WHAT?!"

That's much worse. Theos, Garett's twin brother, has also the same built as him but with a louder mouth and shorter temper.

Harith could almost feel a headache coming. "So care to explain to me how it all started?"

"Well..." Nana went on retelling what happened on that incident. Apparently, the twins were out bullying again and their latest victim happened to be her companion, Molina, a dragon cat (No, that creature was not her pet. She was her friend. Nana insisted.), while she was busy helping her mom clean their house. The two boys doused the poor animal with a pail of water calling it a penguin. When Nana finally saw it, out of impulse, casted the Transformation spell (with the help of Molina) on one of the twins. Unfortunately, she still hadn't mastered the Reverse spell for it and so Theos was still in a chubby cat form when she ran away after the twins threatened her.

Not like there would be any kind of difference though, Harith thought sarcastically to himself.

"What about Molina?" he asked.

"Mama's taking care of her. I had to leave her at home since she was really shivering from the cold. You know how she hates water."

He sighed for the nth time then reprimanded her. "Still, didn't Grandpa already told us in class the other day that we shouldn't cast spells we're not familiar with? And we're not supposed to hurt anyone from our kind either."

Elder Lanbert, Harith's grandfather and only living relative was one of the best mages in the village and also their magic instructor but aside from that, when they are out from school, the old Leonin would treat both of them like his own family. Still, he can be pretty strict and scary especially when it comes to the arts of discipline in using magic.

"But—" She tried to reason out but finally relented knowing he was right. "Fine. It's partly my fault. But still, I just hope, Master Lan wouldn't be so mad at me." She sulked as her ears drooped on each side.

"It'll be alright, I guess." He shrugged while trying to make it sound like it wasn't much of a big deal. He's not really used to Nana being negative about a situation. "Granpa's not that hard. He'll still probably give you a word or two though but it wouldn't be that bad. Besides, he had probably undone your curse by now already."

"Yeah... Maybe you're right." She took a deep breath and finally beamed at him. "Thanks, Harith!"

He blinked then slowly a small smile also tugged his lips. "No problem."

Suddenly, she stood up from where they were sitting and turned towards him with a renewed energy. Her tail was even wagging in excitement. "Hey, since were already here, I have something to show you."

His eyes immediately narrowed. "I hope it's not something dangerous again," he muttered wryly.

He remembered that she also showed him a large beautiful flower she found deep in the Enchated Forest but it turned out to be a deadly flesh-eating plant and let's just say, it didn't end pretty well. Thankfully, he was able to subdue it with a Synchro Fission spell. But ever since that incident, he became rather very cautious around flowers even those planted in their neighborhood.

"Scaredy cat!" She stuck her tongue out then laughed. "It's a perfectly safe place, I promise. In fact, I've been there for quite some time now already. I'm sure you'll like it. It's also a secluded area so you can read all you want."

"Fine." He sighed in defeat. It wasn't like the girl would back down anyway.

He also stood up from the overgrown root while dusting his grey cloak, blue shirt and dark pants then checked if there were any dirt on his leather sandals before taking the book he had borrowed and slid it inside his brown satchel. "But we can't stay long, okay? It will be getting dark soon."

"Alrighty, Siree~! Now come on!" She even made a clumsy salute then started to sprint away.

He couldn't help but shook his head then sighed. That girl was really impossible. But then he also chuckled to himself afterwards.

If he were to be honest, he would say he really appreciated her company in spite of the fact that she had caused him more trouble than he could ever think. She was, after all, the only closest person he could call as his friend since others are a bit reluctant to approach him. But that's fine. It is fine. Because for him, she's more than enough.

"Hey, we're almost out of the borders." Harith suddenly stopped walking then frowned. "You know that we're prohibited from going beyond that, right?"

"Well..." She also halted then scratched her head.

He crossed his arms. "Nana..."

"Okay, I admit that place is outside the boundary buuuuut it's just a few meters away from it!" She explained helplessly.

He didn't budge.

"Please, Harith!" She clasped both of her hands together while her eyes was pleading. "Just this once."

He sighed. He really couldn't say no to her once she used her secret weapon. "Alright. Alright."

"Yaaay!" She then proceeded to drag him before he could even change his mind.

"Oy!" But she continued to pull him and so he had no choice but to also follow.

When they finally arrived to the saud place, Harith was beyond speechless. The scene which was in front of him was breathtaking.

They were standing in front of a wide meadow filled with wild plants and flowers growing all the way downhill underneath the bright blue sky where white cottony clouds were also rolling by lazily. Trees of various of sizes could be seen from a distance and if he squinted his eyes he could also spot a river flowing towards the mountains.

"What do you think?"

Nana's question disrupted his thoughts but all he could do was to respond, "Wow!" Who would have thought that just beyond the Dark Forest was something as beautiful as this?

"This place is really peaceful, isn't it?"

He nodded in agreement.

"Come on! Let's go sit over there." She pointed towards a tree near them and settled under it.

Harith still couldn't believe what he had seen so he continued to scan their surroundings as he sat beside her. "How did you managed to find this?"

Nana beamed at him then leaned comfortably on tree trunk. "It was during one of my exploration. Molina was actually the first one to find this place when she suddenly run off and I followed. Ever since then, I would go here if I had the chance."

He looked at her. "I see. You really like to wander around, right?"

"Of course. My greatest dream is to go on adventure someday to a far away place and explore the Land of Dawn," she explained as she also turned to watch the scenery in front of them. "I want to see many places and meet new people. I just couldn't take it, sitting around knowing there's so much places I could go, you know."

So that's why she couldn't stay put, he concluded in his head but didn't dare to interupt.

"I mean, just look around us," she continued. "If it wasn't for Molina, I would never find something as beautiful and I bet there are even more wonderful sceneries somewhere out there waiting to be discovered, if only our people weren't so scared to go out." She sighed.

He didn't know how to respond at that. It was his first time to hearing all of this coming from her. He knew she really likes to explore a lot but he never knew why until now.

However, he also understood why they never dared to set a foot outside the village. Leonins, like them, are special in a way that they have this ability to free and seal forbidden magical powers. Which is why, for a long time, evil creatures were also after their abilities intending it to use for the former's own selfish desires.

A few years ago, those creatures did tried to attack their village but they didn't succeed because of the spell casted in the Dark Forest had protected them. But that didn't mean there weren't any casualties though. He knew that because his—he immediately shook his head. He didn't want to remember.

"Sorry, I'm rambling too much, aren't I?" She smiled a little upon realizing it while scratching her head.

"No, it's fine." He shrugged. "It's good that you have something dream about as early as now."

"Well, how about you, Harith?" She asked curiously. "What's your dream?"

He just stared at her but didn't immediately respond. He actually already knew what he wanted but it just occured to him that it was more of an ambitious fantasy than a concrete goal in all honesty. But she continued to look at him expectantly and so he sighed.

"I want to get stronger, I guess." He finally said then went back on staring at the horizon. The sun was starting to set at that time. "I want to become our people's leader in magic and protect everyone from those outsider's who want our abilities for evil purposes."

"Just like your parents?"

He was stunned at the mere mention of his mother and father and Nana seemed to have realized her mistake. She immediately apologized. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"No. It's okay." He gave her a withered smile.

Surprisingly, he didn't really feel that aggravated talking about his parents. If it might be someone else, he would have probably lashed out but seeing the sincerity in her eyes, he knew she really cared.

"Yes, it's because of them that I want to become stronger. I want to be like them. They had fought for the people they cared about even if it means... Sacrificing their own life." He paused then laugh half-heartedly. "But, yeah, I guess, it's just a silly dream. I mean, I'm still far from from—"

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed both of his shoulders which caught him off-guard. He looked a her while she gave him a determined look in return.

"I'm sure you'll be able to that, Harith. You'll be the strongest mage ever because you've been studying so hard and doing your best all this time. Besides, if there was a silly dream, between the two of us, it would be mine, you know," she declared. "But, someday, you'll be as great as your parents. That's why, I believe in you."

He couldn't look away. The light that was coming from the setting of the sun reflected on her and gave her an ethereal glow as a soft breeze gently stroke her hair. He almost looked like a fairy to him.

He finally went back to his senses when she called out his name. "Harith?"

"Maybe," he said.

"Maybe? Are you kidding me?!" She pouted. "You're Harith, the most talented young mage in our clan! How can you say something like that?"

He shook his head. "Not as strong as you though."

"What?" She blinked then stared at him in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yes, believe me. If only you're able to control your magic, I'm sure you'll be a lot more powerful than me."

"But... I still haven't yet, you know, so you're still greater than me." She insisted then she mumbled. "And I don't think it will be happening any time soon, anyway."

He immediately flicked on her forehead then narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't mean, you also won't try harder, idiot. Tsk!"

"Ow, that huuuuurts!"

He laughed as he also started to get up from sitting under the tree then sprinted away from her. "You can't catch me!"

"Geez... You'll pay for that, Harith!" She exclaimed but she was also beginning to laugh along while running after him in the fields. "I'm really going to turn you into a Molina #2!"

He only laughed harder.

At that moment, his resolve on his goal on becoming a powerful mage became stronger. He was finally contented knowing there's someone who's going to support him. But what he didn't realized then was that, that day would also be the last time he'll ever get to see the female Leonin who pushed him towards his dreams.

By the time, they had returned to the village, it was already dark, later than what Harith had planned. He reasoned to himself that he had fun anyway and was able to get home safely so it was alright. Nana, on the other hand, wasn't really bothered either and was even humming happily to herself.

But before they could have their separate ways from the entrance of the village, two figures suddenly appeared in front of them. Nana immediately paled and began to panic while Harith only frowned.

"Well, well, well. You really gave us a hard time looking for you, midget!" A bulky cat-like kid with a sinister smile stated while his arms folded. He was wearing an orange coat matching the colors of his ears and tail with a brown shirt underneath and a black baggy pants.

"You really think, you could escape us after what you did to my brother?" His brother continued, who also had the same smirk plastered on his face and was doning the same outfit but instead with the shades of green.

Harith immediately went forward in front of Nana shielding her from the twins. "Cut it out, Theos, Garett."

"What?" Garett sneered. "Protecting your little girlfriend now, aren't we, smarty-pants?"

The young talented mage frowned deeper but ignored his remark. "You two were the one who started it in the first place. You should be thankful that you were only turned into a dragon cat." Then smirked. "If it was me, I would have transformed you into a wild pig."

The twins scowled at him.

"Come on, Nana." He grabbed her arm at started to walk away. The feline wizard, although still a little bit shaken, only followed quietly.

But before they could walk further, Theos said something that made Harith stopped.

"That's right. Walk away. As if I'm afraid of your powers. Without it, you're just a weakling just like your parents anyway."

He clenched his fist and turned to him sharply, his expression dark. "What did you just say?"

"H-Harith..." Nana called worriedly but he ignored her.

"But it's true, isn't it? Many claimed that your parents were the strongest protectors of the village borders but guess it's all just talk. They couldn't even save themselves from those creatures." Then the two brothers laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Harith yelled. Anger was already boiling inside him. "You don't know anything."

For a long time, he wished he could just forget everything that had happened on that day, but he couldn't. The painful memories came crashing down to him. The truth is his parents died fighting the intruders buying some time for other Leonins that also protected the border to escape. They knew that if they didn't, more of their people will perish. That's why, even though it was hard for him to get over that fact, he still understood the decision of his parents. But what he really hated the most was when other people won't even recognize their sacrifice.

"Why don't we find out for ourselves which one of us is right then?" Theos taunted. "You versus me. Both of us won't use any powers. What do you say?"

"Harith, no!" Nana intervened while tugging his sleeve. "Y-You shouldn't. Master Lan will be really mad if he finds out and you could get hurt."

Harith knew she was right. Sure, when it comes to magic, he got the upperhand but when it comes to physical attack, it was the other way around due to the other guy's strength. But he was hoping that his speed and good reflexes will make up for it.

So he made his decision. He removed her hands and looked at her seriously. "You should leave now while you still can, Nana. I can handle this."

"B-But—"

He walked away from her then faced one of the twins. "We have a deal."

"Excellent!"

The two male Leonins gathered in the center and readied themselves for the attack while Nana and Garett watched from a distance in opposite corners.

It was Theos who charged first towards him with a punch which he immediately dodged. The former attacked again this time by sending a kick at his direction but he still managed to avoid it. The cycle continued which eventually made the bigger mage pissed off.

"You coward! Stay still will ya?!"

"As if I'd do that," he replied nonchalantly then smiled. "I'm not stupid like you."

"Why you—" Theos gritted his teeth in rage and charged again.

He punched Harith directly in the face but the latter only ducked then proceeded to kick both of his legs which caused him to lose his balance and knocked down to the ground.

The blue mage could see from the corner of his eyes that Nana sighed in relief while Garett was fuming with anger.

"Looks like I win," he said confidently as Theos slowly began to get up back again. But instead of replying the latter only smirked.

Suddenly, the Harith couldn't move.

The other Leonin chose that opportunity to strike and this time he finally managed to land a blow.

Theos continued to punch and kick but the blue mage couldn't do anything to fight back. He couldn't even lift a finger but for some reason he could still speak.

"W-What did you do to me?"

"Nothing." But Theos was smiling evilly. That's when he glanced towards the other twin and saw that Garett was casting an Immobilized spell to him.

"Y-You... You cheated!" He hissed.

The orange mage only laughed maniacally. "Well, I did say we won't use any magic. But that didn't include my brother."

Harith could only curse inwardly. He should've know that there was a catch to his challenge. But what should he do now?

The bigger Leonin finally approached him and pulled his collar, raising him from the ground. He tried to struggle but it was no use.

"Well, pretty boy, say good night!"

"STOP IT!"

Suddenly, the strong force that was restricting Harith's movement vanished. He took that moment to kick Theos with all of his strength and so he was able to escape from the latter's grip. When he turned towards the other twin, he saw that Nana had lunged at Garett disrupting the spell.

"D*mmit, you annoying midget!" The green mage pushed the female mage, causing her to fall down.

Harith's vision immediately darkened. "How dare you hit her!"

He was also about to retaliate but then Theos also intercepted. "We're not yet done, smarty-pants. Don't forget I'm your opponent."

The orange Leonin sent a punch directly to his face but Harith only blocked it using both of his arms. However, before he could even strike back, he was again caught in the Immobilized spell and was knocked down into the ground.

"I'm done playing." Theos grinned wickedly as he stepped on his chest. "Why don't we end this now, right, strongest budding mage?"

Harith only glared daggers at him. He was so close in using his powers but then he had swore to his grandfather that he won't use it against his fellow Leonin.

"Bye-bye!"

"NOOOOOO!"

Then there was a huge earthquake. The twins lost their balance and so Harith immediately crawled away from them. He searched for Nana and saw her standing from a distance while both of her arms extended towards the direction of the two brothers. Suddenly, a giant blue creature appeared from the ground and tossing the bullies into the air.

Harith's eyes widen. It was a very huge dragon cat.

Both Garett and Theos screamed in horror as the creature continued to chase them even after they fell back. It started to destroy everything that came on it's way as it followed the twins.

Other Leonins living in the village also came out after noticing the chaos and began to panic as more and more houses were destroyed by the monster.

"Nana, you need to reverse your Summoning spell now!" Harith yelled as he tried to attack the dragon cat to avert its attention.

But the female mage only grew more paler as each second passed by. "I-I can't. I-I don't know how. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Before he could even react, the creature also threw him aside and he had hit one of the trees which caused him to be dizzy.

Finally, an elder Leonin with a wooden cane arrived at the scene and managed to defeat the blue monster with one attack. He then casted a Reverse spell and in a few seconds the dragon cat disappeared. However, all of its destruction was left behind.

He looked at him with a calm expression but disappointment was clearly written on his eyes.

"Grandpa..." was all the blue mage could say but even with just one word, the elder already knew what had happened.

Afterwards, the rest of the evening was a blur.

There were lots of arguements and crying. Apparently, half of the village was destroyed and a few were injured but thankfully, no one died. But still, everyone wanted to have someone held accountable for it. And because it was Nana who had summoned the creature, most of them blamed her. Harith, along those who knew the feline wizard, tried to defend her but no one would listen. They insisted that she should be punished severely.

Elder Lanbert finally intervened and suggested for them to rest for the evening and have their verdict the next day since it was already late. Everyone agreed but the young blue mage was still bothered by it. He couldn't forget the lifeless look in Nana's eyes as her parents lead her home. He wished he could do something for her but, at that moment, everything was a mess.

He couldn't help but blame himself, too. If only he didn't accept Theos' challenge recklessly. If only he had insisted more on pushing her to go home. If only he was a lot more stronger then maybe none of that would have happened. He could have protected her. But all of that he had failed to do.

What kind of friend was he?

The thought haunted him the rest of the night.

The next day, he went to visit Nana's house. He was hoping he could see her but the only person who answered him at the door was her crying mother holding a letter.

"Harith... Nana had left the village."