I apologize to everyone that has been expecting this chapter for so long. I was suffering from the case of no-inspiration. It's a tragic thing for one to suffer from. Anyhow, my inspiration came and went, but I think the fact that I recently bought Legend of Dragoon once again (plus the fact that I'm sleep deprived) that did the trick. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and wish for a speedy arrival of chapter three! :D
Chapter 2: Confrontations
Zylup
As I tossed in some wood, the fire crackled as it shot up some sparks. Poking at the flaming pile with the stick, I stirred the fire until it began accepting its new members.
"Eh, that should be fine," I mumbled. As I sat down, I glanced over at the girl. She hadn't said a word since the assault. I wanted to know if she was okay. I'm pretty sure that it was my fault that those guys attacked her, since they were chasing me to begin with.
As I took a toothpick from my pocket, I stated, "That was seriously stupid, charging into the fight." I admit, I'm not the best at starting conversations, but we weren't going anywhere to begin with. When she didn't respond, I locked the toothpick in-between my teeth, adding, "It's never a good idea to take a group of guys head-on by yourself."
"Yeah, that seemed pretty reckless..." I heard her mutter, sounding as though she has heard this type of lecture hundreds of times. She raised her head to look at me. "Why did you come back and help me?"
Biting on the toothpick so it motioned up and down, I scratched my head as I answered, "I felt bad. They would have never run into you if it weren't for me."
"Oh yeah," the girl said, "why were they chasing you?"
Taking a nearby stick, I tossed it into the campfire. "So I don't get any thanks?" I asked, avoiding the question.
"Right, of course," she said, suddenly looking ashamed, "thank you for saving me."
"Geez, you don't need to explain why," I sighed as I rested on my back. As I stared up at the sky, I noticed that the girl kept silent again. Looking over at her, I saw her looking back down at the fire. Shit, I thought, good going, wise-ass... Clearing my throat, I looked back up at the sky as I asked, "So, um, where do you come from?"
With a steady voice, she replied, "Shira. It's a small village in Mille Seseau."
"Mille Seseau, huh?" I said, smirking. "You must be on some kind of quest or something to be a long way from home, right?"
Lightly chuckling, the girl said, "Yeah, you could say that... Oh, right! My name is Avrin." She held her left hand out to me, and it took me a moment to realize that she was exchanging a greeting.
Lazily offering my hand to hers, I simply stated, "Zylup."
After shaking my hand, Avrin released it as she continued, "So Zylup, what did you do to pick Warven's bone?"
"Warven?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean the head honcho of that gang?" Avrin nodded as a response. Judging by the fact that she knew the man's name, she must have known him in the past. Hesitating for a moment, I answered, "He left some of his belongings out. I didn't see anyone around at the time, so I thought they were just up for grabs. My mistake, obviously. What about you? Did you personally know the guy or something?"
"It's complicated..." Avrin replied, looking at the flames dancing. She didn't seem to want to talk about it, so I decided to let it slide. After a long moment, she asked, "Could I tell you something?"
Puzzled, I answered, "I'm no priest, but sure."
Taking in a deep breath, Avrin said, "Today has been an incredibly difficult day. I almost died twice. I was framed and almost arrested. It was all due to bad timing, but there was nothing on my part that I could do anything about it. I just wonder how I was able to stay alive on my own for so long..." As she dragged the last word out, she seemed to resume going back to thinking to herself as she stared at the fire.
I waited a moment before sitting up, saying, "Well, everyone's got their bad days."
"That's true," Avrin agreed, "Besides, it's kind of nice to be able to catch my breath now." Suddenly, she jerked as she jumped onto her feet. "The gem!"
"The what?" I asked.
"I dropped it in the cave!" she exclaimed, looking down at me with wide eyes. "I was supposed to go return it before—"
"Hey, calm down," I cautiously warned, standing up as well. "If you want, we can go back and look for it tomorrow. Limestone Cave is supposed to be more dangerous at nighttime."
Avrin looked at me with the purest expression of awe. "You would really help me out?"
Avoiding eye contact, I fiddled my toothpick with my teeth as I replied, "Sure. I don't have anything important to do at the moment anyhow." Looking back at Avrin, she surprised me as a soft smile lightened her face up.
"There won't be any need for that."
The voice came from behind me. Acting on instinct, I pulled out my dagger from its holster, turned on my heels and faced the source, holding it up in defense. The person standing in the shadows did not react, but I kept my eyes pierced on their silhouette. Despite their body being hidden, a glimmering object was visible in the palm of their hand.
"Show yourself!" I demanded. For a moment, the person still showed no reaction. Slowly, they took a couple of steps before the firelight was able to hit their face. Widening my eyes, I gagged, "You…"
"Hey," Avrin said, "you're that guy from the cave."
With his snow-white hair covering half of his face, he said, "I found this a little while after you left the cave. I figured it must have been yours, so I wanted to return it."
"Oh," Avrin replied, "thank you." However, neither of them made a move to deliver or retrieve the gem, since I stood between them, continuing to pierce a glare at him.
Finally, he recognized me. "Zylup, it's been awhile…"
"No kidding," I growled.
"Zylup, you know him?" Avrin asked.
"His name's Enga," I muttered, "and just knowing him will be the worst mistake of your life." Enga said nothing to defend himself, just as I had expected. "Actually, I still have a bone to pick with him…" Tightening my grip, I dashed towards him. At the same time, he switched the gem to his other hand as he pulled out a sword. By the time that I got to him, I held my dagger against his neck, and he held his blade against the side of mine.
"What are you doing?" Avrin called as she ran over to us. I refused to let up, keeping my scorching gaze on him, and he returned a blank look.
"This has nothing to do with you, Avrin," I stated.
"Well now it does!" she replied angrily. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you two, but could it be settled another time when I'm not around? The last thing that I want is to have my day end on a bad note!" I stopped for a moment. She was right – now wasn't the time to let my selfish actions take place. Waiting a moment, I finally backed away from Enga, who still kept a glazed look.
"You best get ready for the next time we meet…" I warned him before returning to the campfire. So many feelings ran through my head – rage, retribution, remorse… Those were only a few I could list without being explicit about it. The very presence of Enga makes me want to act out on my temper. Honestly, if it weren't for Avrin, I would have severed his head.
After sitting in front of the fire for a while, I peered behind me. The two of them were in a deep conversation, though most of the talking came from Avrin. Where did she say she knew him from? Limestone Cave? Seriously, that hardly surprises me. As the world's worst being, he deserves to live in a cave. Not wanting to make any sort of eye contact, I looked back at the fire. It may have been another minute before Avrin returned as well.
"Is he gone?" I asked, not bothering to look back myself.
"Yeah," Avrin merely responded. Taking her seat, she glanced down at the fire before looking at me. "What was that back there?"
"I'd rather not explain," I stated, "it's a really long story. Just know this: He isn't the hero he's desperately trying to be." Avrin didn't say anything, acknowledging my decision to stay vague.
After another minute or so, she asked, "I didn't mean to pry. Is it alright if I use your campout for tonight?" There she goes again, trying to make it impossible to be annoyed with her, even when it wasn't necessary.
Looking directly at her, I lightened up my face as I said, "Of course you can. How about this: You need to return that gem, right? I could be your bodyguard and make sure that you get there in one piece. How does that sound?"
Bewildered, Avrin inquired, "Really? You would guide me there?"
"Yep," I replied, putting on a smirk. "You can consider it as me making up for my behavior earlier."
Smiling in return, Avrin agreed, "It's a deal then. You're my bodyguard." The title sounded silly to me. I've always played the role of protecting someone, but "bodyguard" was a first.
A quick thought came to my head. Slipping off my red button-up shirt, I gave it to Avrin as I said, "Here. The fire will probably go out later on tonight, so it might get cold."
"Thank you," she nodded, but then her eyes came drawn to the bandage on my left bicep. "What happened?"
"Huh?" I looked down at my arm for a moment, thinking of something to say. "Oh this? It's nothing, really. It's just a birthmark that looks like shit."
"A birthmark?" Avrin repeated. "Can I see?"
"No, really," I said, chuckling nervously, "it looks like someone smeared a handful of shit all over my arm—"
Laughing, she confirmed, "Okay, forget I said anything." Positioning my shirt over her legs, she finished, "Good night, Zylup."
I nodded, lying down as I replied, "Night." It absolutely amused me. It had been a long while since I had someone to talk to, but it was even longer for someone to wish me a good night. I began to wonder what our small expedition would be like until I fell asleep.
The following day, it was the sound of squirrels in the woods that had woken me up. Sitting up, I gripped my head as I grumbled. I had another one of my consecutive nightmares, but I still couldn't recall what it was about. I know it had to do with when I was a kid, but other than that, everything was a blur.
Giving up on trying recalling the dream, I remembered about my new acquaintance. However, as I looked to my side, there was no Avrin. Instead, my red shirt and the teal gem lied in her place.
