Gigima had supplied a very large caravan, and by the looks of the map that He nd Aurora were pointing at as they spoke to each other, It looked like they had some ways to go. A "three day trip, if weather fares well" As they said. Yet what he didn't understand was there destination. It was a small part of a giant forest to the southwest of town, It was so out of the way that they had to use a world map because it wasn't on Any of the guilds maps. When trent learned about their Destination, He was interested... But not too Motivated... He tended to cover up his excitement.
"So tell Me Aurora, Is there a settlement where you live? Or do you live alone?"
Trent could barely overhear their conversation as he pretended to sleep.
"Settlement. Around Fifty people." Aurora Had opened up slightly To The Much Older Gigima. If only slightly.
"And Why did you want us to come as well?"
"I'll need an account of what happened during the rescue, I wasn't conscious when I was pulled from the river..."
" Ah... So Customs aren't the same there as they are for us."
"No... Not even close..."
Trent Had no Idea what these customs could be, but he knew one thing for sure. wherever Aurora Had come from, it wasn't marked as Guild territory. So whatever customs they did have, it would take some getting used to. And Considering Aurora's weapon of choice. They were a weird Culture indeed.
"Rosalyn..." A young Man had grabbed the shoulder of an Older woman with Long Blonde hair. "It's been three weeks, If she was Alive she would have returned by now."
"I won't believe that My daughter could Disappear like this! She has to be alive Jirall!"
The woman Fell to her knees and wept, as another man, seemingly younger than Rosalyn, but a year or so older than Jirall Had walked up behind him.
"Jirall, Rosalyn. The memorial service will begin in an hour, And you've both been asked to come."
"Alright Drake... we're on our way, come on..." Jirall helped Rosalyn off of the ground and walked her to the ceremonial grounds.
"We're almost here... I'm starting to recognise the landmarks..."
It was the third day, and the weather was starting to get a little bit testy. It had stated to drizzle lightly from time to time, and in the distance, it looked like a lightning storm was on it's way.
"That's where I killed my first Jaggi! On top of that stone!" Aurora was getting visibly excited, and oddly, the caravan felt slightly charged.
Arnold And Leanne Were looking out of the Caravan Next to each other at their surroundings.
"I've never seen such a vast forest have such a bloom!" Leanne Looked bewildered at her surroundings.
"It's true! I've never seen such shades of Blue anywhere before!" Arnold shared In his own bewilderment
"Uh... Aurora, Young Lass..." Gigima Had walked out from the front of the caravan. "We can't advance any further, our destination Lies over the cliff"
Aurora Looked at him stupidly. "Then We climb it of course, It's less than a mile from here on out. It should be easy for everyone."
"I'm up for it, Let's climb." Aran grabbed a few of the bags from the caravan and left ahead of the group, already clambering up the side of the hill.
"Rosalyn... You look Sick... Are you alright?" Drake Had taken the seat next to the grieving Mother as the elder had taken the stage.
"No I'm not!" The Woman looked distraught. "My daughter Can't be dead! She-She can't!" She broke into tears.
"I don't believe it either... But The chief has spoken... Here, I'll walk you home, You need some rest."
"Oh... Thank you Drake..." The Woman Sniffled the entire way back to her hut. "You've been so Kind to me these few weeks Drake..."
"Yes... Its rough to lose Family... I know that all too well..."
"She's not Lost! just Misplaced..."
Drake decided to leave Rosalyn before she decided to cry again. He had to return to the ceremony before he was missed.
The ceremony went on as planned, But ended quickly with the lack Of Rosalyn's words. The people were very unsettled by the briefness of the ceremony. Out of the corner of His Eye, He saw Jirall Speaking with The Chief. Before He could figure out what they were talking about. The Chief stood up.
"With the loss of our Warriors captin, We must procure a newone. Drake, Jirall, Please take the stage.
Drake Groaned as he made his way onto the stage "Jirall, You'll make any excuse to start a fight..."
Jirall Shrugged and looked at him "Hey... The people need something to look up for... Come on, Just this once, Alright."
"Fine, No weapons as usual, last one standing is the winner." Drake widened his stance slightly and grinned at Jirall. "Make it a good show..."
"Geez Aurora, How can you climb so fast!" Lyn was panting at the top of the cliff, being the last one up.
"Practice, Lot's of it." Now come on, We should be able to get there before the storm If we hurry.
With that Aurora took off ahead of the Group, Her excitement only heightened By the sound of the plants whistling past her ears.
After a little while, she stopped on top of the log and waited a few minutes for the others to show up. To Her Surprise, Arnold was the first to Arrive. Followed by Aran, then Leanne and Trent. And to nobodies surprise, Lyn and Gigima were the last to arrive.
"We're here." She leapt off of the log and into a small clearing. Following her, the group had expected little shanties made of straw. What they got was Advanced homes made of stone and wood. All very stable, and Many looked very worn by weather. None of the buildings were labeled, as there were only a few of them. And to everybody's surprise, They didn't see a single person.
"they must be having a ceremony, Come on!" Aurora's voice had grown very casual, enough so that she spoke at a normal volume as she walked them through the twisted route towards the clearing towards the grounds, It wasn't a very long walk, but by the time they arrived the storm had reached them and it was pouring. Occasional flashes of lightning could be seen overhead. Once they reached the clearing, they saw two figures through the rain brawling in front of a crowd that seemed to have migrated their seats to the sheltered parts of the clearing.
"Oh not again!" Aurora gasped in exasperation.
Drake was never very good at fighting, But he could hold his own much better than most, He hardly ever took the offensive, Not like he could with Jirall's nonstop waves of Punches. But he took an opening here and there. One swing that was too wide resulted in a jab to Jiralls Chest. The fight kept going as usual when it started raining, not only was it raining, But he could barely see in front of him. Whenever he took a step, He felt like his feet were sliding. It kept going back and forth like that Until A figure Blurred by the rain was visible in front of him. In what felt like less than a second He felt sharp, deep pains to the back of his leg, His spine, and his face, Before he felt his face collide with the muddy ground.
"Gyaugh!" He felt the ground shudder as Jirall's form landed right next to His. Only one person could wipe the floor with the both of them so quickly. He looked up at the blurred figure. A flash of lightning illuminated the characters more Obvious Features, Long Blonde hair, Flattened to their Back from the rain. a short blade etched at their hip. And The most eye catching of all, fittingly, were their eyes, a spectrum of colors staring into his.
"What Did I tell you two about fighting each other!" The voice sealed it, Drake recognized the figure Standing above them.
"Good to have you back, Captain Aurora."