A Break From Studying

Heron had been once again dragged outside by Elswyth. She said that being cooped up for a week straight was bad for his health. She was probably right.

So he followed her outside, she had her pack slung over her shoulder as she led him. He was not entirely sure where they were going but he trusted her.

Though he was rather startled that she had led him outside the city limits. Up into the forested hills. They were both rather quiet as they walked along a rather faint path. Heron found himself quite interested in the world around him.

The forest was filled with life. Much of which Heron was unfamiliar with. Elswyth was far more familiar with their surroundings and led him confidently. He rather admired that about Elswyth, she always seemed so confident in herself. He wished that someday people would see him as being that confidant.

Heron looked around as he followed her up the trail. Crull really was surrounded by so many forests. He had never seen so many trees before. Also hills. Amriel was a lot flatter than Jarenkul.

After a while of walking his calves began to ache. But this was probably really good for him, so he did not complain. He just tried to distract himself from his body's discomfort by enjoying the scenery. It did help a little.

Not as much as he was hoping it would.

"You doing okay?" Elswyth was almost smirking, as she turned to him after he stumbled a bit over a tree root he had not seen. He probably needed to pay more attention to his feet.

"I'm fine." He managed, despite the fact he felt rather out of breath.

"We can take a break from walking." She took his hand and led him to sit on a fallen tree, "You look like you need one."

"I can-" He tried to protest but she just put her hand over his mouth.

"Heron. We are trying to improve your overall health. Its not something that will just fix overnight. You shouldn't push too fast, you'll just hurt yourself." She smiled, "Little at a time, okay?"

He nodded and pulled his head away from her hand. "Okay." He wasn't sure what else to say. She was right. His body couldn't take it if he abused it. He needed to be more careful about keeping to what his body was capable of.

If he needed to rest, he should rest. His body was slowly becoming stronger. No need to rush it.

She sat beside of him on this log and patted his knee. "Don't ever let pride get you to hurt yourself. It wouldn't be worth it."

"Yes, ma'am." Heron said reflexively and then blushed a bit cause she wasn't technically a ma'am as she was unmarried. She just chortled.

A silence fell between them. Heron had nothing really to say, but he didn't feel awkward. Just sitting with Elswyth was relaxing and he enjoyed her company, even when it was silent.

He felt lucky to have her as a friend. He really felt like he could be himself around her. Even more than he could with his sister. Well, that was partway cause he could be open about his studies into the arcane with Elswyth but it would have upset his sister.

Hazel just wasn't yet ready to accept magic. He hoped that would change or else she would break both hers and Asrar's hearts. He really wanted to see them be happy together.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Elswyth suddenly broke the silence, "You have a far away look in your eye."

"My sister." He smiled, "And her future."

"Ahh…." Elswyth said, "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Yep!" Heron grinned, "She's my most important person! I would do anything for her."

"Mm…someday, you'll get married, what about then? Would she still be your most important person?"

"Both my wife and my sister would be important in two different ways to me. And that is one of the reasons why I want to make sure my sister is well taken care of. And if she marries Asrar I can rest easy knowing he will always take care of her."

Elswyth laughed, "Not a bad answer. Personally I think you could stand to be a bit more interested in your own life and future rather than just your sister's but it is one of the reasons I think you are a good guy."

"Thanks?" Heron smiled uncertainly.

"Fell better now?" She suddenly changed the topic as she stood up and offered him her hand, "Ready to continue our walk?"

Heron let her pull him up and they continued their walk. It was amazing how much a brief rest helped him feel a lot less like his muscles were protesting. He was ready to continue walking uphill, at least for a bit.