Daily life

Life has returned to normal for Claire and Zayne. 

They woke up in the morning. They rushed through the routine, making sure all the children were ready, packed their lunch boxes, fed them breakfast, then they set on the path to the school together. 

Robin's wheelchair floated in the air as soon as they crossed the street amidst villas. 

He and Dolce will be in their own little world, bouncing, sliding and generally getting distracted by thousand little things. 

Credence and Prudence follow behind, making their own plans of mischief. 

Brie follows behind them, her senses fully open, trying to perceive the vitality of all beings in the path. 

Claire and Zayne walk behind them all, making sure that Brie does not slip on the path, the children do not veer of course, the little pebbles twins explode do not hurt themselves, fields or any random public works. 

' Just why was I so bent on sincerity and all the bullshit ' Zayne thought all of a sudden. 

This is the kind of peace he wanted. 

Even in the long dream he had, this is what he wanted, and he thought he could get peace only with Claire by his side. In the end, Claire is staying by his side no matter what, and he had the peace he wanted, even if it's fragile. 

Zayne contemplated the dreams he was having these days. 

[ Sir.. they say Ice Empress froze the tsunami in one shot, but all the mages and ice empress herself died after holding on the barrier. We need to evacuate as soon as possible. This is the time she bought with her life. ] 

But he did not want to run with his subordinates. He just wanted to stay there, and burn the world away, for it has exploited the girl he loved more than himself. 

These dreams are becoming more frequent these days. 

" Claire, what do you think about past lives ? " Zayne asked all of a sudden. 

Claire was startled. She thought she and Zayne were in a silent war. ' This is the damn problem with guys who speak little. You never know when you are at war, when they just don't have anything to talk about, ' she complained in her heart. Unfortunately, she's too mature to say ' compensate for my heartache '. 

" What about them ? " She said, before she realized what he asked. 

" Do you think they exist ? " he asked her. 

' Did he catch on ? ' she wondered in her mind. 

" I do. In nature, everything is recycled. If the soul is a real item, then how is it possible not to have past lives ? ' she mused. 

" Then, what about parallel universes ? " Zayne asked. 

" I am more curious as to what brought this on. " she asked, looking at him. 

" These days, I am having a dream. " Zayne told her. 

" In the dream, my subordinate tells me the Ice Empress has frozen the tsunami for us, so we should run away. " Zayne answered. 

Claire froze. 

That's her nickname. 

Outside BlackBull, that's what they called her. Just how in the world Zayne's dreams are so accurate ? 

" So, did you run ? " she asked. 

Zayne thought seriously in answer. 

" I don't think I did. " he said after some time. 

" It is either you ran, or you did not. What is there to 'think' about ? " she snarked. 

" I think I am in love with this Ice Empress. Since she died, I think it's alright to burn the world down to cinders. " Zayne answered. 

She stumbled on the flat ground. Zayne stabilized her almost involuntarily. 

" What did you say ? " she asked, disbelieving her ears. 

" I am going to burn the world to cinders ? " Zayne asked innocently. 

" No, no, before that ! " 

" I loved the Ice empress ? " Zayne answered. 

" Do you love the Ice empress ? " she breathed out, still unable to believe it. 

" Not I, the I in the dream. I think I loved the Ice empress in the dream. " Zayne told her. 

" Then, who are you in the dream ? " She asked curiously. 

" I think I am Z-Star. I don't think I am a celebrity though. " Zayne said, as if he was still trying to make sense of the name. 

" You mean Z-Star loved Ice Empress ? " Claire asked in shock. 

This is news to her. If he loved her, why didn't he just come out and ask her ? she had her share of boyfriends, but they are more like hangers on than boyfriends. If her family taught her onething, it was that men are useless in life, more they want, on top of that, they need you to stroke their ego while doing it. Her flings are just that, flings where both sides know it's not serious. The pall of death hung on their heads all the time. They just took their solace where they could. In the end, just like she predicted, she died young. 

" I think so ? " Zayne answered. 

She has suddenly become curious about all the details. 

" You mean, Z-star, who is called a star despite not being a celebrity, loved Ice Empress, was she an empress of anything ? " she mused, just to make sure it was herself. 

" I don't think so. I just think the world did her dirty. " Zayne answered, trying to remember the dream with all of his strength. 

This is the first time he has seen such bright expressions from Claire. She was very interested in this dream, he knew as much. Right now, he is grasping at straws to resolve his awkwardness with her, so even if he had to split his head open and read every cell with a laser, he must remember this dream. 

" Did it ? So, what did the Z-star do ? no, never mind that ! How did they first meet ? " Claire asked curiously. 

Zayne was bewildered. 

" I .. don't know. My dream was not a netflix - it was a tiktok. " Zayne answered, taken aback. 

" Zayne Rhafyre … You actually have a sense of humor ! To think it has taken this long to find it ! " she smiled at him, as she said these words. 

Indeed, it's a dream, not a netflix series. But … It surprised her. Z-star also loved her ? In the past life, she did not become whiter, braver or outstanding till she left school. Why in the world does he know her name, no, how in the world did Z-star know her name ? He was surrounded by a group of friends - did those friends play a big role in his becoming a Z-star ? 

She never thought about this perspective at all. She had always assumed Zayne had turned into the Z-star due to his own effort. But what if it is not ? 

No, she will not think about it at all. Whatever she has done till now had already plowed through the time butterflies, there's no use holding back at this time. 

She would only think about herself, her family, and preferably about the place where she was going to build her home. 

Just like that, they walked to the school in a good mood. 

Once entering the school, Claire focused her all on the lessons taught by the teacher. 

The principles of hydroelectric generation, the principles of rock layers, the salt water and crystal separation ! 

She has focused her all on learning the science subjects. 

After all, in this life, she has decided to take the half hunter, half support kind of role. She could not miss this basic knowledge. She would not become a doctor, but she needs to know the basics for her magic to work correctly. 

What would happen if she used her air ability to set a compressed methane ball on fire with a small ignition spark ? Will it still blow up a great white shark in its mouth ? How does water move ? how much mana will be consumed if she imitates bubble head charm, and keeps oxygen around her nose, and only sends out carbon dioxide ? 

All these little things, had she known it in her previous life, she would not have struggled as much in the wild. 

The world has become extremely insular after the apocalypse. They called it the second coming of the middle ages. The world is barely advancing into nineteen hundreds these days, what's with the very perilous travel between nations open just through one route. 

On the other hand, Zayne only had his eyes open, but his entire being is focused internally. 

The dream consisted of little dialogue, but a lot of fighting. Z-Star had indeed been worthy enough to be called a star. His fire handling, his fire spreading, even his battle planning, all of them are abominable compared to the prowess shown by Z-star. 

He needed to start from the basics. 

As such, he spent his entire time in the innerworld, organizing his elements, comprehending the magic circles that he had received from the awakening stone. 

When he opened his eyes in the evening he was confident he could at least run the oven for the night if need be. 

As they were going back home, Claire exclaimed all of a sudden. 

" Zayne, did we register our names for the hunter net ? " She asked him, naturally, the tone very much resembling his sister in law when she asked his brother if he has gotten the milk from the grocery store. 

Then, he woke up from the illusion, blushing at his own absurd thoughts. It's just that they are partners. She is just used to his presence. 

" No. I will register this evening. " Zayne answered.