That night, Loiya had gathered everyone into the taverns with a broad smile on his face. Kaetar couldn't remember the last time he saw Loiya look so happy and he was so excited for everyone to meet up. Arum and Rylar were glaring at each other while Duma, Darius, Aletta, and Kaetar tried to figure out what was going on. Nasir didn't seem to mind being there one way or another and waited patiently for Loyia to speak. "So what's going on?" Aletta asked.
"I'm not sure about what you guys do with stuff like this, I mean it might just be a beorc thing but... Kaetar hasn't celebrated his seventeenth birthday yet and it's been a few months! I just thought that since there's so few of us and we have some time to ourselves, we can finally celebrate it!" he said with a bright smile. Kaetar, in all honesty, completely forgot about his birthday. He had his mind on the rebellion, on the people in it, and about the history of it all. The fact that he was seventeen, and had been for a couple of months, completely astounded him.
"A birthday? You mean to say you guys celebrate the day you were born? Isn't it just a yearly reminder that you're one year closer to death? Why is it important to celebrate?" Rylar asked. Arum shook his head.
"Beorc lives are relatively short assuming they don't starve or get sick, so they chose to celebrate each year that survive because they could have easily died," Nasir answered.
"Even I know my birthday. Not that's there much for Elli and I to do with hardly any gold though," Arum sighed with a shrug.
"How old are you two?" Kaetar asked. He was curious. He certainly didn't act like he was the youngest, as Chifee was technically around for longer but mentally and physically matured more slowly than any beorc did. Chifee was a hawk child. But was Kaetar the youngest beyond that? Someone came over to them and shook Loiya's hand.
"Ah, are these all of your friends?" he asked Loiya, who nodded. "I see. Anyone here interested in free ale then? It's on the house."
Arum, Darius and even Duma raised their hands and the person disappeared.
"Anyway, I'm almost twenty-four. Elli isn't much younger than you are and she just turned seventeen about a week ago. She just wanted it to be just us," Arum said, leaning back in his chair like he was ready to get comfortable. While Arum was originally more than willing to give anyone the cold shoulder, he seemed comfortable with everyone, even though Aletta was around him and Arum was previously all too happy to avoid the girls. It must have been because Aletta was silent, so as long as he was talking to other males, he seemed alright and didn't really notice her. He wasn't even upset with Rylar though, so perhaps he was just in a really good mood.
The man Loiya negotiated with came back with three mugs. Arum picked one up and took a sip immediately while Darius and Duma toasted with theirs and gulped it down.
"So she's still pretty young," Loiya asked, watching as Kaetar shifted himself to sit beside Nasir and Aletta. He didn't seem to to mind, it wasn't like he was leaving. "She's pretty good for her age."
Arum cracked a smile. "She watched me battle since she was six and when she was thirteen, she decided she wanted to try too, so I taught her the basics and she picked the rest up on her own. She just needs more experience and that's where all this fighting comes in handy."
"You're pretty good too, Loiya," Duma said with a smile.
"But I've been hitting people with sticks since I was three and I've been training with a real lance since I was six. I got hired when I was thirteen," Loiya muttered. Rylar raised an eyebrow.
"Since you were six? What the heck?" Rylar asked.
"His father was a captain in our military, so he start training Loiya early," Kaetar answered. Kaetar decided to leave the others to their conversation to talk to the quieter ones. He still had the feeling that Aletta was super shy about possibly upsetting Arum but it didn't seem like she was having any fun.
"Are you alright?" Kaetar asked her.
She smiled a little. "I'm fine. Why?"
"You just look a little left out is all," Kaetar muttered. "Same with you," he added quickly when he turned his attention to Nasir.
"I don't mind. I enjoy listening to others," Nasir said softly. Kaetar didn't know what to say to that. Maybe that was something that came up with age, not that Kaetar would know.
"Besides, today should be about you, not about us. You should have a drink too." Aletta shrugged.
"I haven't tried ale. Just wine," Kaetar answered. Darius seemed to have heard that and instantly shoved his mug in his direction.
"Then try some!" he exclaimed. He already seemed to be overly cheerful but Kaetar took the mug hesitantly and brought it to his lips. He didn't like the smell of it but nonetheless, he took a sip and shook his head. He didn't like it very much, though it wasn't like he liked the wine very much.
"What? You can drink wine but not ale?" Rylar asked with a smirk. Arum glared but didn't say anything.
Kaetar shook his head. "I only drink wine because I have to. Nobles don't drink water at dinner parties, so you drink wine to be polite or whatever. I make one glass last the night and I'm done. Even the wine is somewhat watered down because being drunk at a party like that is just looks bad and nobody will let you live that one down."
"I hate those parties. I never even get to see what goes on, I just get to listen to everyone else have a good time while I guard the door." Loiya rolled his eyes.
"There's not much, honestly. I don't think you would like them anyway," Kaetar mumbled. Maybe it was just his experience, but all the nobles he met seemed particularly boring. Part of the reason was because they seemed so political about everything. The goal for those attending was to make sure the family name was either protected or improved and he knew that nobles brought their sons and daughters for the sole purpose of getting them married to someone who was higher up in the social ladder than they were. Kaetar never really had fun because in a way, he was doing the same thing. He was there to help remind everyone who was in charge by sticking close to his father and dressing up in his best clothing. He even had to wear that stupid circlet to remind everyone of his title. It was the rare time where he needed to truly look and behave like he was the heir to his father's throne.
Perhaps the dinner parties was the reason why his father found arranged his marriage with Arianna before Kaetar was even thirteen. He couldn't really remember anyone introducing their daughters to him before, so apparently his father was merciful in that regard. He was sure that all of Daein knew of the arrangement.
Loiya shrugged as Darius' hands found his mug again.
"Can I get another one?" Arum asked, holding his mug up. Aletta, Nasir, and Rylar left to go back to their respective homes while everyone else stayed. Loiya and Kaetar consumed hardly any alcohol but Darius and Arum kept drinking through out the night. Duma stopped with the first mug so he was pretty sober, perhaps because he knew others were drinking.
"How many have you had?" Duma asked, glancing down at Arum. He definitely seemed a little tipsy and he more talkative than usual, though Darius was helping with that. The raven liked to talk a lot in the first place and alcohol made him talk even more. Darius was obviously drunk, his wings twitching often and somehow ending up in Duma's face whenever Duma tried to talk.
"This is my... fifth? I usually don't drink this much," Arum slurred as his mug was filled.
"Drink that and go get some water and some sleep," Duma said with a frown. Kaetar guessed that his fatherly instincts kicked in and it didn't matter that Arum was stronger than he was.
"Awh, the night's over then?" Darius asked with a frown. Arum looked down at his mug for a moment, then swallowed the ale in one gulp.
"Alrighty, we're done," Arum mumbled, raising to his feet. He took a step forward but suddenly tripped and gripped the table for support but it didn't make the landing any softer. All it did was keep him upright. Duma and Loiya helped him to his feet while Arum chuckled lightly, feeling his forehead. "I didn't know I was so drunk 'til I got up."
"Loiya, help Arum and I'll help Darius. Let's take them both to Arum's room," Duma said with a sigh as he wrapped Darius' arm around his shoulders. The trip went without incident. It seemed that as soon as Arum had a little support and a better idea of his current situation, he was able to get around without much trouble at all. He almost looked sober, except that Loiya had an arm around his waist. They slipped in bed after a long trip up the stairs and fell asleep almost immediately.
Kaetar wasn't surprised that Rylar walked into Arum's room. It was bright and early when Kaetar was getting ready for the day. He generally liked to sleep in, since there was hardly to do, but he felt too awake to try to fall asleep again. "What are you doing?" Kaetar asked in a whisper when he found Rylar outside of Arum's room. He followed him in. Rylar had a mischievous grin and he motioned for silence. He crept to the window and rip the curtains apart, letting the sunlight into the room.
"RISE AND SHINE GUYS!" he shouted.
Arum groaned and buried his head under his pillows.
"Go annoy someone else today."
"What are doing up so early?" Darius whined, using his arm to shield his eyes from the light. He seemed to be more disturbed by Rylar's shouting, considering his more sensitive hearing.
"I slept as soon as I got home and when dad told me about you guys, I wanted to be here for this perfect moment. I'm going back to bed as soon as you guys are sufficiently annoyed," Rylar answered with a smug grin. He looked quite proud of himself.
"You should let them sleep," Kaetar mumbled.
"Nah, they got no one else to blame but themselves, it's their fault for drinking so much."
Arum found his extra pillow and tossed it in Rylar's general direction. Rylar moved to catch it, and threw it back at him and laughed when he heard Arum growl. "He's so going to kill me but it's so worth it."
"Ughh, go away."
"Pfft, I'm taking a nap anyway. Have fun with your hangovers," Rylar mumbled, rolling his eyes as he left. Kaetar was nice enough to close the curtains for them before leaving the room. However, he found the door to his own room open and he was sure he closed the door when he left. Kaetar was surprised to find Rylar inside of his room, poking his head out the window in his room. Loiya was beside him.
"You really think that's Saira?"
"Yeah. It's her. Her hair is kinda like Soren's and Misha, so I can see her from far away. 'Sides, not a bad time for her to attack right now with half our people gone."
Kaetar frowned. Saira was persistent and that's part of the reason why she was actually good at her job. His father needed people that would keep at something until it was done. It was probably the reason why she was sent out to look for him instead of Vaughn or Gander. Gander was getting old and with all his armour, his mobility wasn't very good. Vaughn could be kind of lazy and he was always somewhat obsessed caring for all of the wyverns. If Kaetar recalled correctly, Vaughn came from a noble family who gained their status from their work and expertise with wyverns because it was very beneficial to the army. Toha was safe from Daein and from Crimea, but the two Daeins in Toha weren't going to get away from Saira if they were caught.
"What the heck do we do then?" Loiya asked with a frown.
"Actually, the family I stay with said something about having a cellar that their grandparents made to hide in or something," Rylar muttered. "We could hide Kaetar in there."
Kaetar didn't even get to decide. Rylar took his wrist and dragged him to the other side of Toha and into a plain looking home. When Rylar opened the door, Kaetar was greeted with a small family of three, a father and a young son and daughter. "Where's your cellar thing?" Rylar asked quickly. The father pulled their sofa back and the son pulled the carpet away, revealing a trap door. When Kaetar peered over the edge, he found a ladder and slowly followed it down. When he reached the bottom, Kaetar found that the walls were supported with stone and the ceiling with wooden beams. It wasn't very large, but it was big enough for Kaetar to sit comfortably. He could stretch his legs at least.
Rylar peered over the edge. "We're going to put the stuff back so you have to sit down and stay there," he said before disappearing. The door was closed and suddenly, it was very dark. He could feel the stone against his back but it was still rather frightening, he found, to not able to see where you were in relation to other things. He never experienced such darkness before and it wasn't a pleasant experience. He took deep breaths, knowing that he needed to remain calm and that he wasn't going to be stuck done there forever. He just had to stay tight until Saira left.
Thankful, a sudden vision distracted him from the fact that he was in the cellar at all. It was sudden in the fact that when he could see only black, he couldn't see anything fading away as he slipped into Syrin's old memories. It was more startling to suddenly be thrown in this vision than it was with the others.
Titania rolled her eyes. "Oh look. Soren's upset again. Who knew?" she asked with a sigh. "What is it this time?"
Soren looked at her for a moment, probably with a glare, before answering. "If Crimea is not the crux of Daein's defeat, this war means nothing," he said.
The older woman frowned. "What does that have to do with the reinforcements?"
"The battalion that just arrived is greater in numbers than the one we originally received. Not only that, but all of these soldiers are marching under Begnion's name. If these reinforcements are responsible for defeating King Daein, what do you think will happen? That achievement, the very victory itself, will belong to the Begnion Empire. Not to Crimea. If that happens, Crimea will be rebuilt however Begnion sees fit, and Princess Elincia will be a mere figurehead. And then, the deeds of an unknown mercenary company will be expertly covered up. We'll receive some paltry sum of money and be swept under a rug somewhere. Mark my words," he said slowly, his words heavy with emotion. What emotion that was, Kaetar couldn't pick out, but he felt something heavy in Soren's chest.
And Soren received nothing but confused looks and frowns.
"Soren, you're being so rude! Surely the apostle, of all people, would never do such a thing!" a woman with green hair and an orange dressed exclaimed.
"And this General Zelgius seems sincere enough to me," Ike said with a frown.
"Come, Soren," Titania started slowly with a frown. "I have heard of situations like that which you describe, but whether this is such a case... We've been fortunate to receive this good will. Must we always search for such ulterior motives?"
Soren's heart was beating fast and Kaetar could feel the heat in his face. "Yes! We must!" he said, raising his voice. "Have you forgotten Nasir? It's that sort of naive attitude that allowed him to remain undetected for so long!" Again with Nasir. Kaetar never did ask him what it was he did.
Titania opened her mouth to say something but Soren cut her off. "You people don't seem to get it. We are at WAR! All doubts, no matter how small, must be extinguished. If they aren't, we could well be ignoring something that will lead to our defeat... or to our death."
When he finished, no one had an response, at least not immediately. Ike was the first one to say anything. "Let's take Soren's comments under consideration and discuss this at length. We meet in one hour," Ike stated. Everyone began to separate but when Soren passed Ike to leave the tent, Ike took his arm and stopped him in his tracks. "Soren, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Soren said quickly, almost automatically. He shook Ike off his arm and left before Ike could stop him again.
"Soren!" Ike called back but Soren escaped from his grasp by quickly going to the edge of the camp.
And when Kaetar came around again, he was surprised to find that he was still in total darkness so at first, he wasn't sure if he really woke up at all. He wasn't sure how long he was hiding for when the door was finally open again. Light spilled into the cellar and he could see the ladder. "You can come out!" a young voice said. Kaetar presumed it was one of the kids that said it. Kaetar climbed the ladder where Rylar and Loiya lifted him out of the hole before it was covered again.
"She left?"
"Apparently she can't bother the Crimeans so she left when it was made clear that no one was giving up your location," Loiya mumbled. "I guess we could have hidden you in any house but the cellar is probably a good thing to know about."
"We should gather everyone," Kaetar mumbled. "Are Darius and Arum awake yet?"
"Probably not," Rylar answered. "I can go handle it though. It's not like Arum can hate me more anymore than he already does." Rylar shook his head and left promptly. With some effort, everyone was gathered into Kaetar's room. Rylar was sitting on the window sill while Arum was leaning against the wall and Darius was on Loiya's bed. His wings fluttered slightly and he let out a long sigh.
"I'm never drinking that much again," Darius mumbled.
"Agreed."
Rylar laughed for a brief moment but silenced himself when he saw his father and apparently decided that his father was more comfortable. Duma lowered himself to the floor as Rylar settled himself on his father's leg and rested his head on his shoulder. "This is because of Saira right?"
"Yeah. She tried today and she'll continue to try until she catches me, especially since she knows I'm here. We can't stay here. We know where Syrin planned to go so we should meet him there!" Kaetar exclaimed.
"We can't leave until we know where Saira is camped," Nasir stated.
"Then that's lucky for you guys!" a voice said suddenly as Chibuike popped onto the window sill. It looked like he was on the roof, waiting for the perfect time to make himself known. "And I'm feeling generous, so I'll tell you guys for free."
Arum was suddenly sober again and he moved from the wall to give Chibuike a glare. "Who the heck are you?"
"Arum, no! I trust him!" Kaetar exclaimed. Arum turned his head and he looked utterly confused for a moment before realization seemed to hit him. Perhaps he remembered walking in just as Chibuike left and connected it to Chibuike, but he still managed to look quite threatening.
"My name is Chibuike. I tell you that because it's said that your name is probably the most important thing about you, so take as a sign of trust. There's a lot one can do with a name and in my world, a name is a powerful weapon to be used against you. Perhaps that's why Syrin was so quick to adopt a new one, hmm?" He gently allowed himself into the room and shook Kaetar's hand. Loiya moved and hovered over Kaetar with a knife drawn, ready to act.
"What do you mean by that?" Kaetar asked.
"A name is a place to start if someone wants your head. A name means that someone can find you and that's why you have a bodyguard!" Chibuike laughed. "But back to the topic, shall we? Saira's camped about an hour away from the most used entrance into Toha. You'll have to leave from another exit and go around her encampment. She is camped near some woods, so if you go around those woods you should be fine."
"Why are helping us?" Rylar asked.
"For fun," Chibuike said with a small chuckle. "I already have some gold from Crimea so why not be on the more amusing side? There's no one to talk to in Crimea. All Liam talks about is about blood and gore, so he's awfully boring. Elymas just hates everyone and that creepy girl that stays with him is well, as I said, creepy. I don't think she's from Tellius."
"Wait! Aren't you the guy who saved Liam from Joel?" Rylar said suddenly, raising from his feet quickly. His father managed to get settled back down before he could do anything.
"Why yes I was! I wasn't ready to look treacherous yet, so I bailed him out," the man shrugged.
"I think we should prepare to leave now if Daein isn't close by," Kaetar said loudly in order to make himself heard. "Are you coming with us?"
Chibuike grinned and nodded.
"Then we pack now," Nasir stated.
It didn't take long for everyone to pack up. Everyone changed back into their old clothing and took what they needed with them. With the mayor aware of what was occurring, they followed Chibuike for the rest of the day and well into the night. Kaetar was exhausted and he could tell that nearly everyone else was as well. Darius had even walked with them to avoid being seen and he started the long march hungover so he looked like he could collapse. Arum seemed better off than Darius but he looked about ready to kill someone.
"Can we take a break?" Aletta asked with a small frown.
"Our destination isn't far and I don't believe anyone is there. We should keep progressing, no?" Chibuike asked, who seemed far too energetic for someone walked so much.
"You suck," Rylar panted.
"Then have your dad carry you. I'm pleasantly surprised the you walked this long," Arum mumbled quietly. "You're capable of doing something on your own. Who knew?"
"Ah, I won't carry him this time. I'm too tired for it," Duma said with a long sigh. Kaetar sighed and somehow, despite their weariness, they were in the village just in time to get rooms at the inn to sleep before the sun came up.
"So there's four doubles and a single booked for a week. May I ask why your group is so large though?" the clerk asked.
Chibuike grinned. "You see, we're mercenaries but we need a break for a while. We're hoping to get a boat from Toha to go to Begnion but if that doesn't work, then I guess we'll just have to walk through Gallia." It was in this moment that Kaetar could understand some of his early conversations with the man. Though it was a lie, he spoke so easily of it that it might as well have been the truth and in the clerk's position, Kaetar wouldn't have questioned anything. They were guided to their rooms, Arum and Duma paired up, Rylar and Aletta took another, and Nasir and Chibuike decided to share a room together. Darius was the one who ended up getting his own room since he wanted a change to spread his wings out. Kaetar was sure he heard the cot being moved.
He wondered briefly if Chibuike had lied before while he was stripping off his shirt and changed into a pair of lose pants for sleeping. If he could lie like it was second nature, then he probably lied to him previously. He said if he was of noble blood and made it seem that his mother was some sort of sex slave, but perhaps that was just a clever lie so Kaetar thought he could relate to him. Perhaps he did need some salt.
The night passed easily. Kaetar had fallen asleep nearly instantly and he assumed that nearly everyone else did the same. He woke before Loiya, who was sleeping with one arm hanging out of the bed and Kaetar knew it wouldn't be easy for him to wake up. He was obviously in a deep sleep. He frowned again at the thought but if Loiya needed rest, there was no better opportunity.
He peeked in Darius' room and found that he did move the bed to the centre and his wings were practically touching the floor. He was also still asleep, resting on his stomach. Aletta and Rylar were asleep when he peeked into their room but everyone else was awake and gathered into Arum's shared room.
"Good morning!" Duma announced.
Kaetar looked out the window for a moment. Was it still morning? He felt like he slept most of the day away.
"What now? Do we just stay here until we meet up with Elli's group?" Arum asked. He was sitting on his bed with some kind of stone in his hand, which he was running along the sharp edges of his blade.
Nasir nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "We'll have to. Chibuike already checked for soldiers, so we're safe here. It's probably best to not blow the cover Chibuike created for us."
"Haha! Don't think much of the cover, Nasir," Chibuike chuckled, scratching at his short beard. "It doesn't hurt to lie every now and again. Small lies aren't a crime after all. The only tricky part is keeping them straight and know when to lie."
Arum shot him a look. "Keeping them straight, huh? Nice way of saying you're nothing but a liar. Why does Kaetar trust you again?"
Chibuike chuckled. "My information is still good. If I lied about everything, no one would hire me for services again! 'Sides, why lie about news anyway? Though I may find out faster, everyone founds out eventually. Lies on such matter doesn't benefit me. I also have a better idea of what's going on better than anyone of you."
"Then tell us," Arum growled.
"In time. Don't you think everyone should be here for it? I like to talk but I don't like to repeat myself," Chibuike said with a grin. Arum sighed but he didn't say more on the subject. Kaetar frowned. He couldn't wait for the others to come back just so Chibuike said what it was that he knew, and he probably knew a lot about what was going on in Crimea. How long did Kaetar spend outside of Daein only to know so little about why there was such a religion in the first place? Chibuike knew so much and he was taunting Kaetar with it. His curiosity wasn't something other people missed about him.
"In the very least, Syrin needs to hear it," Nasir said with a sigh.
Duma took out his axe from the side of the bed and held his hand out in front of Arum, who handed him the stone. Duma started using it on his own axe, running the stone along the edge. "He would know what to do with such information. Him and Joel. I don't know where their get their ideas and confidence but I would like some of it," Duma said with a light chuckle.
"Well, neither them have raised children so you have that," Kaetar offered with a smile.
"I suppose I do." Duma seemed happier after that.
"What about this other kid of yours though?" Rylar said suddenly, yawning by the doorway. Kaetar didn't even hear him come in and he didn't expect that Rylar would be awake before anyone else. He was the one who usually slept in but somehow, he wasn't the last to wake up. He looked like he just crawled out of bed though - his hair was loose except for the braid that rested on his shoulder and he wasn't wearing a shirt.
Duma sighed. "I don't even truly know whether you have an older brother or an older sister, I don't even know if my mate at the time carried the child to full term. I was forced to leave the village when she wasn't far along so anything could have happened."
"Forced?" Kaetar asked. The only reason he could think for a laguz to be kicked out of a laguz village was if that laguz somehow wronged the village but he couldn't bring himself to think that Duma would do anything to warrant anyone to force him to leave. He didn't know Duma that well and maybe he was younger and stupider when he still had those powers, but he still couldn't picture it.
"Ah, I'm not from Taelug. I was born much closer to the Crimean border and Taelug is in the heart of Gallia, so it's far from the influence of any beorc settlement. Taelug's very traditional and they couldn't stand to have an outsider in their village all the time, so they basically made life difficult until I decided on my own to leave. Even my partner at the time encouraged me to leave, but I don't think that was because she hated me. I think she just wanted me to be happy."
Rylar bit his lips and Kaetar could once again see his pointier teeth. He seemed a little upset. "Well, that's a lot more than you usually bother to tell me."
"You never asked and you never seemed to have cared. You brush off the possibly of having an older brother or sister so I never told you. I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings but you don't tell me these things either. I only know when you're upset or not upset. I can only guess what you feel the rest of the time," Duma responded quickly. He already seemed exhausted and Kaetar had a bad feeling that the tension between father and son would soon end up with one of them very angry and that someone was probably going to be Rylar. He hasn't seen much of Duma actually doing much more parenting than the occasional remark or physically supporting him in someway or another, whether it was Rylar leaning on him or Duma carrying him around.
It kind of reminded Kaetar of his relationship with his father, which was strained by the time at time Kaetar left Daein. While he knew his father could be a father and that as a father, he cared a lot about Kaetar. He just didn't necessarily feel that love and care from him. He saw the king side of him more often than the father side and that led to a lot remarks from his father, none of that was particularly insulting to him but it was strictness to bother him. He got more upset when Kaetar got upset because he didn't want to do all the things his father wanted him to do. Looking back on it, he could see where both of them made the situation worse and the more he thought of it, the more he could appreciate what his father wanted him to do.
The king just wanted to make sure that he left the next king in a good spot, where he was confident in his ability to rule the kingdom.
"Why do you need to know anything else? If I'm not upset, that's all that matters! And I didn't ask because I thought it would make you upset, but why should I care about someone I never met before and probably won't meet anyway? This older sibling of mine could be dead for all I know and care! They haven't done anything for me!"
"Rylar, that can't be all you consider!" Duma exclaimed. "It's not good for you to be this self-centred all the time! I know you are a good kid but you need to know that the affairs of Tellius don't revolve around you. You and I are just a small part of this world. There's more than just you."
Arum rolled his eyes before getting up and leaving the room. Kaetar didn't blame him – it was awkward to be the one standing by when two people were at a disagreement. The tension was thick and he was rather uncomfortable but he was curious to see how it resolved.
"That's enough," Nasir stated. "Both of you need to admit that you need better communication and move on. You two need to talk to each other on your own and sort it out. There is no need for the rest of us to be involved, especially since there are three of us who need their rest right now."
"You're right. I'm sorry, Nasir," Duma said with a sigh. "C'mon, kiddo." Duma put his axe down and he lifted Rylar off the floor. When they were both out of earshot, Arum wandered back in.
"You could have let them at each other for a while longer," Chibuike said with a small chuckle. Nasir shot him a glare, which Chibuike wave off. "I'm just kiddin' around."
"At least they moved," Arum said through gritted teeth. "That kid is so spoiled. I was glad that Duma decided to at least standup for himself but that was going bad quickly."
"You're not used to arguments, are you?" Kaetar asked suddenly.
"I don't like parents and children arguing. It reminds me of... no, we've seen enough today." Arum shook his head while he said that.
"Arum, if helps you to say it, you probably should," Nasir mumbled softly. "Keeping secrets can be devastating."
"It just reminds me of my mom. She died eleven years ago," he answered simply. "And I don't need your apologies for it. It's not something to be sorry about."
Kaetar wondered what that meant. It was as if her death didn't bother him. Arum was old enough to know, remember and get attached. He had to have been around twelve. Or perhaps, he wasn't all that attached to her if it was so easy for him get over her passing.
"Arum?"
"It's fine. Don't worry."
That didn't stop him from worrying.
Kaetar woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. He felt groggy and disorientated but he could vaguely see Loiya standing beside him, one hand on Kaetar's back and one hand under his legs. He realized he was sitting up with his legs bent at the knees, his feet still on his bed. Before Kaetar knew it, the hand under his legs disappeared but Loiya kept the one hand on his back, supporting his strange pose. It was almost like Loiya was trying to carry him out of bed.
"Loiya?" Kaetar asked, unsure of what it was that Loiya was trying to accomplish. Part of him wished it wasn't him because it made Kaetar realize just how odd Loiya was behaving and had been behaving. Loiya didn't seem himself lately, ever since that foggy day where he slept through Saira's attack. His headaches seemed more frequent, there was more than one time where Loiya seemed to try to avoid him, and he disappeared from his side a couple of times when he used to be no more than three steps away from him. He was so confused.
"You were panting. I was just making sure you were okay."
"Like a nightmare? I don't remember ever dreaming," Kaetar said quietly. He didn't remember every dream he had but he remembered the vivid or the stranges ones, usually something the necklace showed him. Nightmares generally fell into the vivid category, so he would remember if he had a nightmare. He didn't think any normal dream would made him react at all.
"I'm not sure what was going on," Loiya said with a frown. "If you're alright then I'll try to go back to sleep."
Kaetar nodded and Loiya let him rest against his pillows once more. However, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Sometimes, my classes spill over a bit into this story. I'm minoring in Greek/Roman civilization and they believed that if someone knew your name, they could curse you. For example, when Odysseus told the cyclops that his name was "No One" in order to protect himself, but he got a big ego and ended using his real name. That's how Poseidon could stalk him... if memory serves me right. I always thought it was an interesting concept though.
And I also imagine Arum to be the kind that wouldn't turn down free beer. The idea kind of came from my brother who also didn't know how drunk he was until he stood up so I guess real life creeps in too!
And SomeoneImportant: perhaps you should get an account and you can just PM corrections? It works fine for the prologue to use the reviews but if you're going to continue with that, might not work out for the longer chapters that will need rewriting.