Admiration
He was... For lack of better words, amazing. Talented. Rough, but handsome. She couldn't think of any better words to describe him. The way his deep brown hair fluttered in the wind, how his brown eyes seemed to glint amber with a hidden power of unspoken exhilaration. His face, hard and determined, always seemed to show little regret in his decisions.
She could go on and on, but it wouldn't really take her anywhere. In the near beginning, when they had first met, she had thought him to be a rude and disloyal sorcerer who did nothing but sit around, being lazy and horrid. But then why had she followed him? She supposed it had been because, not even a year before, her eyes had caught sight of him on the tower down by the lake, and she had instantly become enchanted.
She had assumed that her childish crush would... die. Disappear. Grow old. Had she expected that it would extend? Not really. His determination had inspired her, giving her capability. She no longer sat around allowing others to do her work. She loved the thrill of adventure. Which was why she had followed him yet again.
When they had parted ways, she had been convinced she'd change and become a respectable person. For the first week or so, she'd been happy to say she'd conquered that task. But as time passed, she grew both bored and sad. Her friends were no longer around. He was no longer around.
So, she'd gone back to the lake, in hopes of finding peace. Instead, she'd been joined again by them both. Him, and his apprentice. Both who held such large pieces in her life. But he held so much more. She'd decided then that she'd follow him, to the ends of the earth if she had to.
And so, the trio had started on, yet again, with the tiny wolven cub in her hands, and the two pesky trolls following in tail. It had become an inseparable friendship, and she cherished it. The adventure's continued, and her feelings began to grow more. The childish crush had extended into so much more...
A young girl soon joined the group, and mysteries arose. But it was only natural. After all, she was traveling with him. When the mystery they had tailed was yet again solved, the young girl who had journeyed decided to continue on her own. And so, it was back to the simple trio yet again.
The friendship was nearly impossible to break. The feelings she had as well. Though they were silent. Nobody really knew, though suspicions were made. And she tried as well to push them away. After all, he was in love with someone else. He'd never give a pesky rich brat a chance. But she continued to hope... And she continued to wish...
Cleao yawned, mouth wide in boredom, "Well? What now?" She demanded, holding her hands at her hips in question.
Orphen only rolled his eyes at her, "Would you keep quiet? I'm trying to think."
"Think? You? Hah!" Cleao burst out laughing at the thought, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. Orphen frowned, but held his tongue as he continued to stare at the map.
"Majic, how do you read this thing?" He snapped, turning the map in his hands as he glared up at his apprentice, a blond-haired kid with bright green eyes and determination the size of Cleao's head. Not that Orphen would say that out loud any time soon.
"Read it? Master, weren't you taught how to read a map at the Tower of Fang?" Majic inquired, confusion plastered across his innocent face as he took the map delicately from his master's hands.
"Of course we were! But this damn map of yours is giving me a headache. Weren't you ever taught how to make a map?"
"We were in a hurry! And since we couldn't exactly steal the map the innkeeper had in Morden, I had to copy it!" Majic shrugged in exasperation, squinting at the slip of rough paper, "It was the best I could do in twenty seconds."
Orphen sighed, frustration clear on his face, "Well, then, you read it. I don't feel like trying to figure out what everything is."
"Of course, Orphen doesn't. Orphen's a lazy sorcerer who can't think long enough to read a simple map," Cleao replied sarcastically, her hands at her hips as she stared at him defiantly.
Said sorcerer glared at her and replied, in a rude voice, "Then you read it, Cleao."
"I will," She proceeded to snatch the map from Majic and hold it in front of her, determining the direction they'd head, "I think the nearest town is... that way!" She pointed to the left of her.
"You think?"
"If it makes you feel any better, I know," Cleao folded the map and handed it back to Majic, "Besides, if you don't remember, I'm the one who wants to sleep in an actual bed tonight. After all, I'm not like you."
"What are you talking about?"
"She means she's not prepared to sleep outdoors again, Master," Majic piped, sticking the map in his large bag.
"I know that, Majic. But what are we supposed to be?"
"Rough morons who don't deserve to even think of sleeping inside," Cleao snapped, "Now come on! We have three hours before the sun lowers, and then we're stuck outside," Cleao proceeded to storm off down the road, Orphen and Majic following at a slightly slower pace. They decided to take their time, mumbling to each other quietly.
"To think, she's usually the one complaining," Orphen snickered.
Majic said nothing.
"No!" Cleao cried out some time later, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she stared at the place they were about to set up camp at, "No, no, no, no, no! Not FAIR!!!"
"Would you shut up already and help set up something?" Orphen snapped back, anger apparent on his face.
"Wah..." Cleao sobbed, cheeks puffed out in sadness and anger, "I don't wanna sleep outside again..."
"Suck it up."
"Master..."
"Orphen, you ass! I can't believe you!" Cleao sniffed, rubbing her eye sadly, "I haven't slept in a real bed in days..."
"Like I said before, suck it up. Now are you going to help, or am I going to have to kick you away?" Orphen waited as she sighed and stood in reluctance.
"Fine. I'll go collect wood. Then maybe I can make a real meal."
"Real meal, eh? Go right ahead, if you can," Orphen snickered.
Cleao frowned and stormed off, her tiny wolven cub following cheerfully. As Leki's tail swung back and forth into the trees, Orphen sighed and began to help Majic unpack. For once. The younger boy was nearly given a heart attack at this.
"Are you feeling okay, Master?" Majic questioned, staring at Orphen oddly, eyebrows furrowed in question.
"I'm perfectly fine. Are you going to do something, or will I have to let you do all the work?" Came the rough reply.
This sent Majic into a frenzy to get his job done.
-----
Cleao sighed and picked up another stick, stacking it on the pile on her arm. Leki sweetly grasped a small twig in his mouth, a proud look on the innocent face.
"Aw, aren't you just a sweety-pie?" Cleao kneeled and gave the blue creature a pat on the head. As she stood again, her feet began to move and she grasped more sticks along the way. Soon, her hands were too full to grasp any more freely, and she headed back. As she neared their current post, Cleao stopped and, staying silent, stared as Orphen kneeled and spread out a thin blanket across the ground.
He was... somewhat sweet. But only for a select few times. She could probably count the amount of times he'd been truly kind to her on her ten lone fingers. Although that wasn't exactly natural, Cleao didn't mind too much. It was an honor each time he was sweet like that. She felt so overjoyed when he gave her a simple smile, so when he did a rare, sweet, kind thing for her, she treasured the moment.
Their friendship meant so much to her, and despite many fights and bickering problems, Cleao knew she'd never truly leave him.
Leki squeaked beside her and she let herself out of the trance and walked into the camp as grandly as she could. Fortunately, her sandel got caught on a rock and she fell forward, the sticks flying and her mouth letting off a squeak of surprise.
As she connected with the ground, Orphen and Majic glanced at her in surprise.
"Cleao! Are you okay?" Majic asked, natural concern showing on his face for her companion.
Groaning, Cleao sat up and brushed off her hands, "Yeah, I'm fine," she stood and patted the dirt from her skirt.
"Jeez, Cleao, a little clumsy, eh?" Orphen stated, kneeling and beginning to pick up the sticks around the ground.
"Don't you dare start, Orphen," snapped the girl, also starting to pick up the fallen sticks. When the objects to be burned were collected and thrown into a pile, Cleao sat on a log a few feet away and examined her injuries. A bruised and bloody knee was the extent, and she sighed, brushing any dirt from the wound.
Orphen sat beside her and gave her a lopsided grin, "So, I'm guessing I should ask if you'd like that healed?" He asked somewhat kindly, and Cleao nodded regrettably. She wasn't sure, but she would continue to accept his help. It was sweet...
Orphen held his hand over her knee and in moments, it was healed instantly. Cleao felt a blush growing on her face, so she returned his grin happily.
"Who would'a thought you'd do something nice!"
He only rolled his eyes and stood to finish setting up camp. Cleao stroked Leki across his back, for the Wolven had jumped on her lap not seconds before. Cleao stared after Orphen a moment before she too stood and started to make the fire. It was her turn to cook, after all.
-----
"Nn..." Cleao groaned softly and sat up suddenly, her eyes wandering across the dark trees lazily. Leki was curled up in the area next to where her head had been, his soft green eyes staring up at her questioningly. Smiling, Cleao patted him on the head and glanced to the side. Majic was curled up in his section on the ground while Orphen was stretched out. Both were snoring, whether they did it quietly or not.
Cleao sighed, careful to not make any noise. She felt so tired, but the hard rocks digging in her back kept her awake. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply a moment before she stood and made her way across the camp. Digging around in Majic's giant bag, she pulled out the map and, using the still burning coals for light, proceeded to try and find out the direction of the next town.
From what she could make out of the rough drawing, if they traveled south for a few hours, they'd arrive in a town called Erden. From there, it would take some time before they'd reach the next town after that. So, if she could stall or something, then Orphen wouldn't have any choice but to agree to stay at least a night at an inn.
Which meant a comfy bed and a warm, clean bath. Cleao was suddenly looking forward to the next day. Grinning to herself, she rolled the map up and stuffed it back into Majic's bag. From there she crawled over to her area on the ground and curled up with the thin blanket she was using. Leki made a purring noise against her face, soothing her racing brain.
She knew that if she accomplished this mission, Orphen would complain, but she didn't care. They knew each other enough to understand what they wanted and Cleao knew it wouldn't be that big of a deal. She'd do it!
A bath! An actual bath! It had been days since she'd had a proper bath! Cuddling Leki against her face, Cleao smiled to herself and, after some time, fell asleep, soon dreaming of an upcoming bath and a certain sorcerer.
-----
"Cleao, I really think we should wake him up now..." Majic gulped, glancing over towards the still sleeping sorcerer, "He'll be really mad if we don't..."
"Oh, suck it up, Majic. If Orphen plans on sleeping in, then we'll just let him sleep in," She sounded sarcastically annoyed, but inside, she was happily grinning to herself. Stalling was turning out to be easier than she thought it would have been.
Majic sighed and sat on the ground beside Leki, "You have something planned, don't you?"
"Promise to not tell Mr. High-and-Mighty-Sorcerer?"
"...Yeah..."
"The closest town is just a few hours walk from here, but if we leave early, we'll end up simply passing by it. If we leave late, we'll have to stay the night. Get it?" Cleao explained in a quiet whisper to Majic.
Majic nodded carefully, "Okay... You're this desperate, eh?" He snickered at her.
"Shut up... And don't you dare wake Orphen. He's sleeping until I decide he's allowed to wake up," Cleao picked up Leki and walked out of the camp happily. As she wandered around the trees, counting the minutes as she passed, she let Leki sit on her head. The Wolven made himself comfortable and cuddled against her golden hair.
"Leki, what do you think?" Cleao asked as she strode, "What time should we wake Orphen up at?"
Leki squeaked at her in return.
Cleao laughed lightly, "It's pretty late already, so anytime, huh?" She started back towards camp. As she wandered, her foot connected with something bulky and she nearly fell again. A load, annoying groan rose into the air.
"Dorten, what the hell was that for?"
Cleao sighed, knowing that voice as the all-too-annoying Volken, the dimwitted troll.
"I didn't do anything..." Dortin replied back. Cleao glanced at her feet, spotting the two trolls huddled on the ground. With a roll of her eyes, Cleao kneeled beside the trolls.
"Well, well, if it isn't Volken and Dorten," She chimed.
Volken reacted immediately by jumping to his feet, fists balled and an expression of anger on his face.
"It's you!" He yelled dramatically.
"Why yes it is," Cleao snickered at his dumbfounded face.
"You pawn! How dare you step on Lord Volken Polkano!" He demanded.
"Yes, how dare me. Now, Dorten, may I ask why you two are so close to our camp?"
"We should be asking you tha-" Cleao punched Volken in the face and he fell back.
"I asked Dorten."
"Volken thought we'd follow you guys," Dorten explained, "I think that's all he had planned."
"I see. Thank you, Dorten," Cleao stood, "If I find you even thirty feet from us, I'll kick your ass, Volken," Cleao grinned, "Dorten, tell him I said that. I don't think he's capable of listening right now."
The younger brother nodded, "Yes, Miss Cleao."
Cleao started, once again, towards camp. When she arrived, she spotted Majic sitting on a tree stump in near fright with Orphen rushing around, frantically trying to stuff his foot into his boot. He tripped himself and fell into the dirt.
Cleao simply grinned.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Orphen demanded some time later, once they were done packing and had started along.
"No particular reason," Cleao shrugged casually, "You looked like you needed the sleep."
Orphen didn't buy it.
"Sleep?" He gave her an odd look, "You're planning something, aren't you?"
Cleao simply giggled and waved it away, walking ahead of the others. Leki followed her in a swerving motion, his tail swaying back and forth cheerfully. Orphen glared ahead at the stubborn girl and her pet, half tempted to stick out his tongue in defiance. But he was more mature than that, so instead he resorted to hitting Majic across the back of his head.
The boy tumbled in confusion, "What was that for, Master???" He demanded, rubbing his head in pain.
"For not waking me up." Orphen growled back.
The young apprentice frowned but kept quiet, knowing all to well not to push his master's buttons. He didn't want to die too early for his young age, after all. The trio, and their 'pet', continued down the road in silence. Cleao walking in front, a slight skip to her step; Orphen in the middle, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, an angry scowl on his face; and Majic at the end, his huge sack of supplies on his back, and a loud sigh covering his face.
Hours passed in silence, and soon a town grew in the distance. Cleao's grin grew from ear to ear and she turned to the group.
"Looks like the sun's setting! We should stay at that town!"
Orphen knew immediately why she hadn't woken him. When they arrived at the town, Cleao's cry seemed cheerful and amazed.
"Ah, civilization!" Cleao clasped her hands and jumped up and down, "I've longed for this! So many back-breaking days without a proper bath and a cushion covered bed. Oh, Goddesses above, I thank you."
Orphen scoffed, "You're pathetic, you know that? Praying to non-existent rulers and the likes. And here I thought you'd matured, if not just a bit. I guess I was wrong."
Cleao rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Orphen. You're ruining my fun."
"That's the point."
"Well don't," Cleao placed her hands on her hips, "I suggest we grab an inn with a good water supply."
"There's two inns here that have fancy baths, but they cost a little more than the others," Majic commented, reading a nearby map of the town.
"Don't provoke her, Majic," Orphen growled out, but it was too late.
"Oh, what's a little money when it's just one night. Besides, we've gone so long without one, I don't think it'll make any difference." Cleao grinned to herself, "What are the inns called, Majic?"
"There's... Serenity and then another one called Dark Cohen or whatever..."
"Serenity it is!" Cleao pointed down the street, "Come on! What are we waiting for?"
"Day..." Orphen muttered.
"Sleep..." Majic groaned.
Cleao was exceptionally happy, and as she skipped along in the direction of Serenity inn, she knew everything would be alright. Orphen was still with her, Majic was still with her, as was little Leki. Hell, the two annoying trolls were still following her around. She was grateful, and she felt like she was wanted in the world.
Whether Orphen loved her or not, Cleao was still willing to stay by his side. She loved him, and so long as he was with her, she would be alright. She would always be alright. Stopping in the middle of the street, Cleao turned back to face her dearest friends, a bright smile covering her face. As they neared her, she placed herself in between, latching onto both of them tightly.
And so, with Orphen on her left and Majic on her right, the three friends started along down the street, awaiting the new adventures that would come, trying to separate them and destroy the precious friendship they had. But they would make it through just fine. Their friendship was great.
Everything would be alright.
It always was.