[56.3] Giving A Name

Years passed, and Syrus started to grow restless. His eyes drifted off into the distance as he stared out of their room window. His eyes were directed toward the barrier and what was beyond.

A sense of longing was present that none can ignore.

Caldwell didn't need words to understand his brother and immediately understood the meaning. He felt panicked, "Sy… Are you thinking about traveling again?"

"I can't help it." He pursed his lips, "My people are wanderers. Staying in one spot for so many years makes my bones restless."

Caldwell clenched his fists, "I-It's not so bad here. Why do you want to leave?"

Syrus turned back with unmistakable light in his eyes, "Don't you ever wonder what's out there? There must be so many towns! So many things to see! So many things to eat!"

"But… It's dangerous. You could die."

"Then I'd die without regrets." He grabbed Caldwell and smiled at him brightly, "Come on, Caldwell. Let's adventure out and see what this world has to offer. Let's visit a new place every night! Let's sleep under the stars and own only the things on our backs!"

"But our parents-"

"-We are no longer children." He interrupted quickly, "Humans outside of our village get married at our age. Would it be weird for us to leave our home?"

Caldwell's heart was filled with worry, "But… The last time I left…"

Seeing his reluctance, Syrus pulled back and gave up on convincing him. He let out a heavy sigh and propped himself up on the window. He muttered to himself, "Since you want to stay, I won't leave."

Caldwell felt a strange feeling tugging at his heart. It made him uncomfortable, nauseated, and desperate to chase away this feeling. He suddenly shouted, "L-Let's go!"

Syrus flinched and looked at him in surprise, "What did you say?"

Caldwell clenched his fists and nodded, "Let's go! I don't care much for those things, but if you want to go, I want to go."

Syrus's eyes lit up, "You really mean it?!"

He nodded, "If it's what you want."

"I really REALLY want it!"

"Then let's go." Caldwell smiled to hide his anxiety, "If I go with you, Mother and Father have nothing to fear. I'm good at transforming and I can protect us both."

His bright yellow eyes flashed as his body transformed, looking exactly like his brother.

Sy gasped, "Whoa… You're so good at that."

"I can maintain this human form for as long as I'd like. There's nothing to fear about me going out into the world. I'm more than capable, right?"

Caldwell turned to the doorway where his mother and father flinched at being caught. They both looked guilty, "I don't think it's a good idea…"

Syrus ran to them to plead with innocent eyes, "Pleaaase? I promise I will write and send updates every day!"

They both looked at each other nervously.

His father mumbled, "Maybe this is just what they need?"

His mother sighed, "It could take our children away from us permanently."

"When I was younger than them, my parents pushed me out of the birdhouse to see if I could fly on my own… It's time we push them out."

"You're right." His mother turned to face them, "You're old enough to decide what to do."

Both of their faces lit up and they shouted in unison, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

As Caldwell watched Syrus pour over all his plans in unbridled excitement, a strange stuffy feeling emerged in his chest.

Why did he feel like this decision would take his brother away from him?

Thus, the two donned large backpacks and were sent off by a huge party from the village. The Elders placed protective charms on them and wished them the best. Concern was clearly on everyone's faces as no one ever left the village before unless for mundane trading with the village right next to the Macabre forest.

They walked out of the barrier, shoulders nearly touching. Syrus's face was extremely bright and cheerful, while Caldwell anxiously looked around surveying the potential dangers.

Caldwell spoke in a low voice, "Where to?"

"There is no 'where to'." Syrus gave him a wink, "You just start walking."

Syrus didn't wait for him to say anything and happily started skipping forward. Caldwell gulped and trudged after him, not even daring to let him out of his sight. They went through the next village, one full of smiles and the other extremely jumpy. Syrus made a point to introduce themselves to every person and listen to the other's story with bright eyes.

The villagers were wary, but because of his natural warmth and charm, they eventually opened up. However, they were extremely pensive of the twin beside him who wouldn't acknowledge them or answer.

They decided the twins must only be similar due to their appearance.

After talking for hours, Syrus left the village with food and trinkets in his hands piled high. Syrus glanced over at Caldwell who held nothing while still looking as tense as he had the day they left the village.

"Caldwell. You're going to give yourself a heart attack if you don't relax a bit."

"...Demons can't get heart attacks."

"You will get sick-"

"-Demons can't get sick."

Syrus let out a sigh and finally relented. He knew that you couldn't make Caldwell do anything he didn't want to do. When Caldwell acted like this, it was best just to ignore him.

Thus, he valiantly skipped forward. The two traveled with no destination in mind, Syrus in front leading and Caldwell just a step behind him. They would hunt and scavenge for food, trade when they encountered villagers, but mostly they just walked and enjoyed nature.

Whenever there were thugs who wanted to rob them, Syrus would hand over their things with a smile on his face. Caldwell would transform into a large beast and scare them away, then grab their stuff back.

He would always glare at Syrus who merely shrugged and said, "They must have needed it more than us."

Caldwell rolled his eyes and forced the things back to Syrus.

Eventually, they found themselves in the Capital of the Kingdom. Syrus hung off of a railing atop a hill overlooking the Port, "Caldwell! Caldwell! Look! Look at all the boats! They are HUGE!"

Caldwell gave a glance to the ships, but warily pulled his eyes away to watch the humans walking past them, all too close for his liking.

Syrus finally noticed that he wasn't watching and pulled Caldwell over, "Come look!"

Caldwell still didn't look and mumbled, "There are too many people here."

Syrus rolled his eyes and grabbed Caldwell's face and forced his head to turn to the port, "Look!"

Caldwell let out a resigned sigh, "I see it."

"Aren't they big???"

"Very big."

"Wow." He let go of Calwell with shimmering eyes of admiration, "I never thought I would ever get to see such a sight. I'm glad we left home. We wouldn't have ever gotten to see such a great thing."

Caldwell mumbled as he turned to watch the people around him, "Yeah. Great."

Syrus leaned forward off of the railing and Caldwell stealthily pulled him back so he wouldn't slip forward. Syrus ignored this and pointed at another ship in excitement.

Two men walked behind them with skewers in their hands. The smell wafted to their noses, inducing drool from the delicious smell.

One man spoke to the other, "Aren't you glad I suggested that stall?"

The other sighed in contentment, "Market food is delicious. I prefer this over my wife's cooking any day."

A low grumble could be heard beside Caldwell. Caldwell turned to see Syrus holding his stomach with a flushed expression.

"Come on! Let's go see the market." Syrus finally pulled himself away from the railing and winked at Caldwell, "I hear the food is delicious."

Caldwell rolled his eyes but gave a nod.

Syrus went skipping ahead, only to be pulled back to Caldwell. Caldwell kept him close, secretly wishing he had a leash as they got closer to the market which was even more dense with people. Most of the touristy areas were filled with individuals with money. If one visited, they would have thought the entire city was rich. However, at the market, people from every class and background could be found.

Caldwell suddenly heard shouting behind him followed by whipping sounds, "Move! Get out of the way!"

Caldwell glanced back to see a carriage moving through the crowd, it was lined with golden jewels that sparkled in the light. The driver wasn't whipping the horses, but the people in front instead. When people saw the carriage, no one dared to make any complaint and just endured the rough treatment. Caldwell quickly grabbed Syrus and jumped to the side, effortlessly avoiding the whip and carriage.

Syrus whistled, "Who do you think is in there?"

Caldwell clicked his tongue, "Someone who is power hungry."

They shook it off and followed the wake of the carriage, arriving at a stall to purchase food. The owner held out three fingers, "Three tin for one!"

Syrus pulled out his coin purse and dumped out all of the change, "Tin… Tin… Tin.. Which one is the tin currency here? They all look the same to me."

Caldwell shrugged.

They had been to many Kingdoms, each one with different coins, that he didn't know what currency belonged to which kingdom.

Syrus shrugged and picked up three coins, holding them out with a bright grin, "Here you are."

The owner grinned greedily and reached for it.

Suddenly, a frail and thin hand reached out, stopping the hand of Syrus. They turned in surprise to see a short woman wearing a brown robe. A soft whisper came out from under the hood, "That's too much. Here."

She exchanged the incorrect money for the right one. The owner looked irritated, but he still took the money and handed off the skewers.

Syrus looked at her with interest in his eyes, "Thank you, my lady. But how do you know?"

"Tin is more flimsy and has this insignia on it."

She finally turned to look at them, revealing deep blue eyes, the color of opals. Blonde hair poked out from under her hood. Her face was so flawless, Syrus sucked in a breath.

Although imperceptible, Caldwell noticed and was overcome by a sense of dread.

She grabbed the remaining coins and placed them into his coin purse, "You shouldn't flash your money like this. The market attracts all sorts of people and pickpocketing is quite common."

Syrus chuckled, "If they want to steal it, they can just have it. They probably need it more if they are willing to steal."

Her deep blue eyes widened in surprise.

Caldwell tapped his head, "Oi. Don't give away our money. We need to eat and sleep."

The woman giggled lightly, then turned away, "I must excuse myself now."

Syrus panicked and rushed to follow her, "Wait. May I know your name?"

She paused for a moment, then answered in a low voice, "Celane… Celane Ophelio."

"Ah… Celane. That's such a beautiful name."

Her blue eyes widened in surprise then returned to normal, "Are you making fun of me?"

"I would never!"

She was shocked into silence, then turned away and kept walking.

Syrus followed after her, "May I ask where you are going, Miss Celane?"

She paused, "I'm… I'm going to the garden."

Syrus beamed, "May we accompany you? I'd like to get to know you better."

She flinched in surprise, "You... You don't know me?"

He tilted his head, "Should I?"

Blush appeared on her cheeks and she shook her head, "No. You shouldn't… I-I'm just a nobody! So, um, please come along then."

They walked for a while until they left the dense market and arrived at a magnificent garden with no one inside except for old statues. Syrus and Celane chatted for a while as they walked through the garden with Caldwell standing behind them silently watching.

Celane suddenly realized something and turned to Syrus, "Ah. I forgot to ask. What is your name?"

He replied confidently, "Syrus."

"BROTHER!" The two of them flinched, turning to Caldwell. It was obvious they had both forgotten about him. But Caldwell wasn't angry about this, but something else, "Don't give her your name!"

Celane blinked in confusion, "Eh? Why shouldn't he give me his name?" Her gaze turned suspicious, "Are you two criminals?"

"No, no. It's just that our village has a custom about our names. Syrus is my family name, a name only parents and soulmates can have. Everyone else must call me Sy. That's why my brother is mad." Syrus gave her a playful nudge, "That's why only you can use my name."

Her face heated up and she turned away from him after understanding his implication. She nervously made small talk, "You two have similar features, but I would never guess you were related due to your difference in personality."

Syrus laughed again, "You're right. My brother is quite gloomy."

Caldwell wanted to curse out his brother, "I'm not gloomy."

Celane smiled, "And your name?"

"Caldwell." He spat out, "And that's not my family name so don't get excited."

Her face heated up more, "I-I'm not!"

Syrus let out a sigh, "Caldwell. Don't be rude."

Caldwell scoffed and averted his gaze.

A bell suddenly rang, startling Celane. She suddenly spoke, "I-I have to go."

Syrus stopped her quickly, "Wait! Can I see you again?"

She bit her lip and thought about it intently. Then, she nodded quickly, "T-Two days from now. Meet me here."

Hearing her accept, Syrus let go with a bright grin. He called after her as she scurried away, "I will wait upon bated breath, my beautiful lady!!!"

Caldwell grinded his teeth, "Brother. Do you understand what you just did?"

Syrus let out a dreamy sigh, "I do… I've gained a wife today."

"..."