Ivan rolled over on the uncomfortable ground, not having been able to get to sleep on this camping spot for enough time for the fire to die away, leaving the boy cold. He shivered and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to slumber, but a voice changed his mind:
"Can't sleep?" Isaac asked, smiling kindly to the younger man, who merely shook his head lightly.
Isaac turned back to staring up at the sky as he had been, and Ivan could not help but to let his eyes linger on Isaac's face.
Finally, after quite a silence, Ivan spoke. "I told you that I wouldn't read your mind any more… but I can't say I'm not curious about what you're thinking."
Isaac laughed lightly, giving the blonde boy an assurance that everything was fine when he turned to him and said, "Just thinking about what it's going to be like getting back home."
Ivan nodded. It was understandable—after all, they had just saved the entire world from forces of evil… plus it had been just over two years since Isaac had seen his hometown of Vale.
"If everything is different… and you don't like it…" Ivan averted his attention to the ground, waiting anxiously upon himself to make the offer, "You could always come home with me."
Isaac let out another light chuckle, and responded easily, "Even if things are different, I'll learn to live with it. My whole life is in Vale." His words lifted Ivan's attention, and their eyes met—so he smiled a comfort, "And besides, you don't even have a home, technically."
"Vault isn't so bad..." Ivan lied. He didn't have anything against the people there, or the town at all for that matter, but he would certainly miss the adventure.
They had just gotten past Bilibin, and were resting before crossing through the Goma Range the next day. This was it—both Vault and Vale were on the other side of the passage, and both of them would be separated for ever…
"What's on your mind?" Isaac asked. He wasn't looking at Ivan as he was deep in thought, but he could sense it by the awkward silence.
"Oh, just…" obviously, he could not tell him the true reason: that he would miss Isaac terribly, and couldn't stand even the thought of living without him. "I just miss Mia." Another small lie to get him out of the topic, though it wasn't completely false. They had left Mia's village many days prior and she had, of course, stayed there in Imil.
"We'll visit her again some day," the older boy encouraged, getting the other's hopes up more than he had known.
That meant that someday, Isaac would travel with him again.
Ivan couldn't help but to let a smile and a small blush come over him, and curled up again without another word to rest for the night…
The next morning, Ivan was most unfortunate to be the first one to awaken. It seemed that the sun had risen quite a bit, and so he decided to nudge Isaac, and then let him deal with Garet's usual grumpy morning wrath.
A couple of pokes and one 'wake up' led the other blonde to awaken and stretch, laughing a bit at knowing Ivan's tactic.
"Oh, so you want me to wake up Garet?" He smiled and rose, going over to the sleeping red-head and nudging him with his foot.
Garet immediately swatted at the foot lazily, and grumbled something or other, his expression changing from peaceful to upset in no time at all.
"Garet, we need to get moving!" Isaac shouted into Garet's ear, making the other man jump. Garet's head rammed straight into Isaac's nose, which was completely unexpected, and made the Earth Adept stumble backwards a bit, and the Fire Adept fall back down, holding his head.
Ivan ran over to Isaac, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other hand on top of the other man's, asking worriedly if he was all right.
"I'll be fine." Isaac nodded his head, scrunching up his nose a couple of times to make sure it wasn't broken or bleeding, and then patted Ivan on the head to signify a 'thank you.'
Isaac went over to Garet and helped him to his feet, apologizing for waking him so abruptly, at which time Garet admitted to waking up as such because he was having a nightmare about Saturos and Menardi, but didn't speak much into it.
After getting ready for another day of journeying, the boys all took their turns heaving a sigh as they went towards the Goma Range. On the other side were their homes—well, for Garet and Isaac, anyway. Ivan didn't even know if Hammet would be there to keep him any more; but the young man decided that he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
After all, he was older and much stronger now. He could easily manage on his own, but the entire point was that he wanted to live out the rest of his life with—
"Ivan, are you paying any attention at all?" Garet shouted at the younger man, nudging his shoulder roughly. "Are you going to fight or what?"
Ivan looked up to see Isaac taking on a group of stray monsters, and rolled his eyes slightly. He called upon Zephyr to attack the beasts, and the Djinn wiped them out in nothing flat.
Isaac turned to Ivan questioningly. "You know that Djinn are way stronger than those beasts—we could have taken them on."
Ivan shrugged. "I'm just not in the mood..."
Isaac and Garet continued to stare at Ivan for a moment, until they put away their weapons and continued walking, letting the younger boy lag behind them.
"I wonder what's going on with him?" Garet whispered to Isaac, though it echoed in the cave and Ivan could still hear their conversation.
"Maybe I hurt his feelings yesterday..." Isaac looked down with a guilty and worried expression on his face, "I told him that he didn't really have a home."
"Isaac, why did you say that to him?" Garet said a bit louder, and then turned to take a glance at Ivan to see that he was listening to their conversation. He lowered his voice again. "I mean, he's still got Hammet."
For a while the men just walked in an awkward silence, and luckily didn't come across any more beasts to fight until they were outside of the passage. Monsters were much fewer now without evil powers roaming around so freely to summon them. Thanks to these adepts, people could travel without fear, which also made their way home less tedious.
Both of the older men were overly excited to see the familiar plains and bridges that would lead them home. Ivan, on the other hand, slumped up against the cave wall and moped for a moment, mulling over whether or not he should ask Isaac what he had been wondering for quite some time now.
Finally, he decided that there was no harm in asking, so right as Garet said, "All right, let's head towards Vault," Ivan interrupted their footsteps with the question:
"Can I go to Vale?"
Isaac and Garet both turned to the Wind Seer with surprise, but Isaac more so than the redhead.
Ivan quickly tried to make up some excuses. "I mean, I've never been to Vale before... maybe I would like it a lot more there—you guys seem to like it. Plus, what if Master Hammet doesn't even remember me anymore... and even if he does, he'll get word of me being in Vale—it's just the next village over—and he could come see me if he really cared so much."
Garet looked from Ivan to his childhood friend, and then back to the blonde, and laughed. "I don't think I have ever heard you speak that much at once!" Garet chuckled, "The Elders of Vale will have to decide, I suppose, but—"
"No," Isaac interrupted, and Ivan was distraught, thinking that the other man was saying that it wasn't okay. Luckily, he let Isaac finish his sentence: "The Elders don't have to have any say in it. He can stay with me."
Ivan's face slowly formed the most excited smile he had ever worn, and he ran to Isaac. He so badly wanted to hug the other man and thank him, but instead decided upon grasping one of the Earth Adept's strong hands in both of his, and thanking him full-heartedly.
"It's really okay." Isaac smiled politely, patting Ivan on the head and pulling his hand away. "Besides, my mother will love you."
"Speaking of love..." Garet came over and nudged Ivan, winking at him. Ivan got afraid that he had caught on to the feelings he harbored for Isaac, but was quickly relieved that this wasn't true: "You can meet Jenna when we get to Vale."
Isaac laughed and started walking towards their village. "Oh, please. You still have a crush on her?"
"This is way past crush!" Garet shouted out, prancing a bit, "I have loved her since we were kids." He sighed happily. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees that I've returned, and I'm all strong and handsome and—"
"And we have to tell her that Felix is dead?" Isaac reminded. It was a cruel thing to say in that moment—but he wanted to remind his friend that her brother was Jenna's main concern at the moment. Jenna had lost her brother once when the siblings were both still young, only to find years later that he had been taken in by Saturos and Menardi. The part she didn't know was that at the end of it all, Felix had sacrificed himself to rid the world of their evil. He died a hero, but he would still be badly mourned by his worried sister back at Vale… Garet's expression dropped with his shoulders, and he kind of trudged for a second, until he decided to himself that he would be the one to comfort Jenna in this time of need.
Through the entire walk, Isaac and Garet were telling Ivan happily about everything in Vale—and even during battles with monsters they continued to explain to him all of the wonders of their hometown.
Ivan got so wrapped up in the explanations and dreamlike sounds of the village that he urged them not to sleep that night, as they were close enough to Vale that they could make it there by early morning.
Eventually, just barely before the sunrise, the three tired men made it to Vale to see that it was the same as it had been when they left—just without all of the people there to see them off.
In fact, no one at all was outside, so Garet came up with the idea that they stay at the Inn and sleep, so that the next day they can see everyone as refreshed and restored warriors.
"He's so dramatic all of the time." Isaac whispered to Ivan as they walked into the Inn, gaining an agreed giggle in response.
The Innkeeper recognized them of course and had many questions, but the three men begged him not to tell a soul that they were there, and that they would see everyone that afternoon. He agreed to keep the promise, and gave them a three-bed room free of charge.
The Adepts quickly fell asleep, all of them exhausted from the travel, yet excited to awaken and announce their return and arrival to Vale.