Wanderlust 2.4

The kid seemed so confused. She tried to recall the last thing she remembered.

"I was at the pharmacy with Ford..."

She racked her brain in regards to what she was doing the whole day. It started with her coming to school with Ford and reading the new book she borrowed from the library. She planned to come home after the briefing, but Ford decided for them to come to the central market, and lastly, they were in the pharmacy, where she punched Ford in the gut. That was the last thing she could remember from what happened.

"Where is Ford? Where am I?"

She seemed to forget what she was doing the whole time when she left the pharmacy. She has no idea how Ford is panicking over what she was doing.

Right now, she is in a predicament.

"How am I going back?"

She looked around, and she realized that she was in a very unfamiliar place.

A memory played in her head. It was the time she wandered around and got lost as well. But she regretted her decision to wander around, not minding what the consequences of her actions would be.

That incident almost took her and Ford's lives. She was busy following the Faeroh she saw, which is very rare in the south. In the end, she found herself with no Faeroh but with a very large wild animal salivating in front of her, wanting to eat her alive.

But in the nick of time, Ford appeared and fought the wild animal. Ford, of course, didn't get out unscathed, but it was still super dangerous, and he had to recuperate for 2 days before getting fully recovered. But of course, before he collapsed, Ford was so angry at her, and she promised herself she would never do something like that again. But, as of now, it seems like she broke her own promise to herself.

"I'm going to have an earful from Ford, for sure."

A version of Ford played on her head as she wished for him to appear, even if he nags so much.

"Eigh?!"

She turned toward a shout from afar and saw the person she was thinking about. It was Ford.

"Haaa. I'm not ready yet, but I'll take it. I want to go home."

Ford ran towards her. She could see Ford huffing hard and treaking down his face.

When he reached her place, she was expecting his nagging, but instead he hugged her and checked her body around.

"Eigh, were you hurt? Tell me?"

"I'm not.. it's alright.. and.. I'm sorry," she said, averting her gaze from Ford, who's looking at her eye straight. She can't bear to look at him. She knew her wrong, yet even if she wanted to tell him that it's not his job to look for her, they were way past that already. She knew that it'd be her loss if she never tried to appreciate his effort and kindness.

"You're sorry? Really?"

She nodded.

And suddenly, she felt a hard flick on her forehead. It was painful, but bearable.

"Good, next time you do this again, not only that will be your punishment."

She nodded again and just looked at him, ashamed of what she had done.

He picked up her hands and pulled her towards a flat rock on the lakeside. He made her sit beside her.

"A week from now, we will all be going there." Ford pointed at the mountain, which is only visible on its outline. The mountain is covered by a thick hail storm, which causes the veil-like effect. "They said the mountain is beautiful, but seeing it for myself, the word 'beautiful' is not enough to describe it at all."

"Ford."

"Yeah?"

"Will you still protect me if I thread another path, different from what you're going to venture to?" The thought has been bothering her for a long time now. She wanted to know if he would still be her friend in the long run.

"Are you really going to live as a scholar?" Ford asked her in reply.

".. yes." she answered.

" Alright.. I want to say yes, but no. I won't. The future isn't definite. I'm not even sure if I will come to your aid when I'm far away. I can't hone myself to be powerful enough to protect you from all danger by staying where you are."

"I understand." She pinched her finger, hoping to divert the sadness she is feeling.

"Why do you want to pursue the path of being a scholar? I thought you wanted to be powerful as well." A distant memory of them playing as two powerful celestials battling the Demon King when they were still much younger.

"I want, but... don't you ever think about a life pit of danger and just waking up in the morning without wondering, 'am I going to die today?' or something like that?"

"Isn't that the same when you thread the path you want? At worst, you won't be able to fight back if your life is in predicament."

"I know. But can't we just surrender? Maybe that way we could still live?"

Tears started to appear on her eyes; a little budge could lead them to roll down her cheeks.

"Mom and Dad always told me that there's nothing to worry about, that the abomination is already defeated. But... why are they still restless? Still being deployed and not coming back for months? Isn't that weird? It just means the fight is still not over yet." Ford understands what she meant. Being the son of one of the most powerful families in the tribe, even as a little kid, he had to sit on the discussions of their family regarding their business and the security of their family. Their family knew some details that normal people don't have. Only those people, like Eigh's parents and Ford's family, have access to it.

"Ford, I read one of their mission details. They forgot and left it in the house unsealed. You know what the content was? It was a mission order that my parents had to infiltrate the Kingdom of Melodia and look for tracks of the Modavi King. They said the King was already dead. Then why are they still looking for him?"

Ford looked at her. Trying to read her mind, "So you want us to surrender and live with no free will?"

Eigh averted her eyes again, and she felt guilty. She just wanted her parents to stay alive. She'd rather lose her free will than her parents. But she understands as well that there are no definite answers. She has no power to negotiate as well. And there's no guarantee that if she surrenders, her parents will stay alive.

"Alright, the thing you hypothesised. You are right. The king is still alive and hiding, recuperating. There are signs that he's about to come back, a big reason why for the past half a decade, they had to bring the age from 12 to 8 to start the rite. The tribe has to produce more powerful Celestials to fight the looming war again. The peace we are currently experiencing, it is nothing but a veil for people not to panic and continue with their journey to be powerful much easier. And the reason why I'm threading this path is to protect all of you I care about. For you, you may want to exchange your free sill for your parents, but for me, I'd rather bleed or die in exchange for your lifelong happiness."

"I dream of spreading my wings wide, flying in the sky. Freedom. My feathers will teach the next generation about my experiences. Mixing the two opposing elements I always thought about since we were kids, if it really is possible."

Her questions were not just about the things around her. She also has an interest in magic, especially nature manipulation. She always asks herself if some combination doesn't exist because it's impossible or because no one has thought about or done it yet. She wanted to tackle them and planned to do the impossible. But with the current condition of the world, her dream seems impossible to achieve.

"If you want to fly freely and do all of that, why not fight for it? Once everything is done, you could start researching about the things you want to know; you could be a scholar all your life till you stop breathing. That way, you are guaranteed that only time will be your enemy."

Eigh looked towards the mountain. The cold breeze made her hair on her arms stand up. She had to rub her arms to warm herself up. Ford's words circled in her head on replay. Like always, she's always amazed that there is this side of Ford that maybe only she and his family know.

She wondered if Ford just wanted to look stupid in public. Maybe to lessen his aristocratic side, he should be able to associate himself with commoners like her. Not all elite families are like Ford's. Some looked at them like dirt, and some acted like superior beings. Maybe if Ford was like them, Eigh and him would never cross paths with each other.

Eigh felt heat from her side, in her pocket. She checked what it was, and what she saw inside were pearly white feathers. They are white as snow.

"Wow. What are those?" Ford asked.

"I don't actually know. I only found them just now."

"And also, where have you been? We've been searching for you almost the whole afternoon."

Eigh doesn't know what to answer. The only thing she remembered was the time when they were in the pharmacy.

Ford kept on nagging him for answers, but she just let him be. The only clue she has is the feathers in her hands. The heat from it was warm enough to lessen the breeze she was feeling, and lastly, while she was holding those feathers, he felt like something was calling her from that mountain.

So if she wants her answers, she has to climb up that mountain a week from now.