Encounter

'What is it?' Mauka wondered aloud, her eyes fixed on the covered artifact. Alfroth, still holding the strange object, said, 'It looks like some kind of box, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen.'

'Well, if it is a box, then we need to open it one way or another and hope to the Ascended that there is something inside, or else we will be roasted alive by Carmilla,' Mauka remarked, her voice tinged with urgency and a hint of fear.

'You really hate her lectures that much?' Alfroth chuckled, his attention divided between the mysterious puzzle before him and his sister's playful banter. 'Of course I do, everybody hates her lectures, don't you?' Mauka responded, settling herself on the ground.

'Nope, she never lectured me,' Alfroth replied, pulling together all his concentration as he mustered all his strength to open the box. After a failed attempt, he extended the object towards Mauka, who took it up and attempted to open it herself.

'Look at little baby man, can't even open a box and living the easy life while I... had to suffer so much,' Mauka teased, trying to twist and turn the object, but to no avail. 'I can't get a good grip on this, this cloth is garbage,' she lashed out in frustration after her unsuccessful attempt.

'I think 'little baby woman' is a fitting title for somebody,' Alfroth joked, attempting to lighten the mood. However, Mauka's reaction was unexpected. She placed the object on the ground and distanced herself from it, determination glinting in her eyes, 'Did you already forget that I saved your life?'

'I will never forget it, sister, and I will always be thankful to you for that,' Alfroth expressed genuinely, watching as Mauka grabbed her sword tightly and formed a stance. 'Umm... sister, what are you doing?' he inquired, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

'Oh, this... nothing at all,' Mauka replied mysteriously. With a swift and powerful strike, she brought her sword down onto the box, the impact resounding through the air, a small cloud of dust formed near encasing the box. Alfroth screamed, a natural reaction, thinking Mauka would accidentally destroy the box and the items within it.

'Why would you do something like that?' Alfroth screamed at Mauka in disbelief.

Ignoring Alfroth's outburst, Mauka pulled her sword back and secured it on her back, feeling the pressure against her still-healing wounds from the numerous times she had crashed into the trees. As the sword slid down, she realized that her back has not fully healed yet, leaving a reminder to her of how weak she has become.

Undeterred, she extended both arms and carefully lifted the box, still covered by the dull cloth, from the ground. Her eyes darted around the various parts of the box, searching for any sign of damage or dent. Despite applying all her strength once more, the box remained unmoved and unchanged, refusing to yield to her efforts.

'You're wrong, Al,' she said, turning to face him.

'How am I wrong for screaming at this stunt you just did?' Alfroth retorted, his frustration evident.

'No, not that. I'm saying that this thing isn't a box, neither is it an artifact,' Mauka explained.

'Then what is it?' Alfroth inquired, raising his eyebrows.

'It seems like an ore to me, probably something you can make weapons out of.'

'How would an ore be in such pristine condition?'

'But if it was an ore, then why would it be in such perfect shape?' Mauka wondered to herself, brushing her fingers across the cloth surrounding the strange object. 'It's weird how I don't feel anything at all, not hot, nor cold, and even no weight to it. Yet it survived my strike.'

Ignoring Alfroth's frustration, Mauka continued to focus on the mysterious object. 'You're clearly ignoring me, aren't you?' Alfroth spoke loudly, his patience diminishing second by second.

'Gather any items you might have dropped; we are not wasting anything,' Mauka instructed.

Not wanting to argue or entertain her rash comments, Alfroth decided to follow her words and started looking around once more in search of something useful. He examined the whole field, not finding anything interesting or useful. Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye beneath some dirt. He rushed towards it and cleared the debris, uncovering his short sword that he had thrown towards the wayran. Joy rushed through him as he lifted it up and examined it, scraping dirt and dust off the sword. 'It survives!' he exclaimed in joy.

'Ah, that cheap sword survives?' Mauka teased.

'Of course it does, and don't call it cheap. It's disrespectful to say things like that about a tool that helps you survive or grow,' Alfroth retorted.

'Oh, so you're a high-standing citizen of the kingdom?'

'I think both of us are that, aren't we? Or I would at least like to believe so.'

'Huh, why are you looking at me like I am homeless or something?'

'Oh, you do understand how I look at you,' Alfroth responded with a teasing tone.

Mauka sighed. 'Let's go back now, or we will end up being food for something else.' Her head started pounding more than before; she grabbed her head and applied pressure but to no avail. 'Being food for something else? I thought you were strong, sis,' Alfroth teased, enjoying the moment.

'Well, somebody is getting bold, aren't they?' Mauka said, raising her fist seemingly in anger. 'Sorry...' Alfroth quickly responded, not wanting to provoke his sister.

'Well then, if that's settled, we should start heading back now,' Mauka said decisively. She began walking back in the direction they had come from, where the molba was waiting for both of them. Alfroth quickly followed her, walking beside her. After a little while, he looked up and noticed the area above them filled with many dark clouds emitting a terrifying deep blue light slipping through them. He notified Mauka about it, but she dismissed it as nothing, attributing it to an approaching thunderstorm. This seemed like an insult to Alfroth's intelligence, as he was already familiar with what thunderclouds looked like. Despite feeling slighted, he chose to ignore it and continued walking straight ahead.

As they walk along the path, Mauka's steps become heavier, and the pain in her back worsens, evident in her posture. She adjusts her back and cracks her neck multiple times, silently indicating her discomfort. Alfroth notices these signs and the weight of guilt that has been accumulating within him throughout the entire journey begins to gnaw. Finally, he blurts out, 'I'm sorry, sister.'

'What?' Mauka replies, surprised.

'I'm sorry,' he repeats, sounding remorseful.

'For what?' she asks.

'Your back and your neck hurt because you had to protect me back there,' Alfroth explains, subdued.

'It's not your fault, you know that right?' Mauka responds firmly.

'But...' he starts, only to be cut off by her. 'If it was your fault, I would have said so, but it's not. I overestimated myself and underestimated the enemy. That's my problem, not yours, so don't worry about that,' she assures him. Stopping in her tracks, she faces Alfroth. 'But you still got hurt badly, and it's because I kept bothering you, if you were alone you might have never even suffered a single wound from all of this.' Alfroth speaks regretfully.

'That's not true' she responds immediately.

'What?' Alfroth says not able to look up.

'As much as it is embarrassing for me, I would have probably died if you were not here. When you came back and distracted it, you opened up an opening for me which I took advantage of and it led us to victory, it's that simple.'

'But...' Alfroth again gets interrupted by Mauka. 'How many buts do you bring up in a conversation. This is a very bad habit of you and I recommend you stop doing this.' 

'What?' he asks, raising his head.

'Blaming yourself, you have been like this since you were a kid. You always take all the blame, bury yourself in it and then whine about it. Don't you have something better to do than crying all day,' she speaks roughly. Alfroth face drops again, sensing the shift in the mood, a sudden wave of regret fills her up. "Did I go too far this time?" she question herself. To cheer him up, she lifts her hair up with her hand. 'Look, it's already healed, so you don't have to worry about that, okay?'

'How did you heal it?' he asks in surprise.

'I healed it through my mana. If you possess a bunch of mana, then you regenerate your wound faster. But you can also focus on a specific location and heal the wound. That also depends on the amount of mana as well, though,' she explains, hoping to shift the conversation elsewhere.

'That's so cool,' he responds immediately. 'Oh really?' she adds, surprised that Alfroth finds a basic technique like this interesting.

'To heal your own wounds that fast must be such an advanced technique,' he replies, his curiosity piqued.

"Advanced? This is one of the first things you learn when you apply to a guild or any academy," she thinks to herself. 'Your big sister can do anything she wants,' she adds playfully, not wanting to dampen his excitement or let him dwell in self-pity.

She watches as Alfroth's eyes light up with admiration. 'I wish I could do something like that too,' he muses, a hint of longing in his voice.

'Don't worry, you will probably too. All of us are born with different amounts of mana reserves, and some of us need more practice, but everyone is able to use magic in one way or another,' she adds, further wanting to encourage him. "He does seem a bit more down than usual, or even before this," she thinks to herself.

'Yeah, you are probably right, sister,' he says with enthusiasm. "He seems to have returned to his normal mood again. Thank the Ascended he didn't go on any further, or it would have been a really bad time trying to deal with him." In reality, Mauka just wanted this to be over as soon as possible so she could get home quicker and enjoy some hard-earned liquor for herself.

Maybe Alfroth also wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible, because of awkwardness or him knowing that his sister is not benevolent like Carmilla or Fraadh.

'Well then, let's be on our way because we've got a long way to go,' she suggests, eager to continue their journey. Both of them start following the path back from where they came, the familiarity of the surroundings bringing a sense of comfort as they walk.

Soon, Alfroth stumbles upon something on the ground. 'Ouch!' he shouts in pain, face-planting on the ground. He quickly turns around to see what has obstructed his path, covering his bright red nose. He spots a stone pushed into the ground with a weird design. With a bit of effort, he pulls the stone out of the ground and into his hands. It consists of two large oval-sized holes and one rectangular hole beneath them, with carvings resembling teeth, giving off an eerie vibe with all the other sides completely blank. Alfroth's curiosity piqued as he inspects the mysterious stone, 'Sister, I found something in the ground.'

Mauka, ignoring her brother, walks straight ahead without any care. She hears his voice and stops in her tracks, letting out a big sigh. 'What is it this time?' she asks, curious yet slightly exasperated.

'I found a weird stone with a face on it!' Alfroth screams excitedly.

'What?' she shouts back in surprise.

Alfroth repeats himself, and Mauka does the same, annoying him. Instead of explaining again, he simply gestures for her to come over. Mauka, still annoyed and tired, lets out another sigh and walks over to him. 'Why did you call me over?' she asks grumpily.

Alfroth repeats his discovery for the third time about the strange face on the stone. 'Are you sure it's not yours?' she teases him.

Ignoring her remark, Alfroth shares his view, 'I think it's a molba.' Mauka bends down to take a closer look at the mysterious stone. After observing it, she lightly smacks the back of Alfroth's head. 'Ouch!' he recoils, surprised by her action. Mauka jokes, 'It's not a molba, you moron; it's a skull.'

Laughing at Alfroth's mistake, she points out the new design and how the shapes now form a skull. Annoyed, Alfroth asks her about the stone's value. Mauka inspects the stone closely and gasps in shock, 'Wait a second, is this a curse?' She forcefully grabs the stone from his hand and examines it from all sides.

'Sis, what's a curse?' Alfroth asks, clearly concerned.

'Anything that can summon harm or reduce someone's capabilities is a curse,' she explains.

'So, did I find a curse then?' Alfroth asks nervously.

'No, I don't think so. There is very little mana attached to it for this to be an artifact, and it contains less mana than what a curse would use.'

'So, is this thing of any use, or can we sell it?' Alfroth inquires, curious about the stone's potential value or purpose.

'Nope, without mana, these things are simply useless, and we don't need extra weight on our backs,' she carelessly remarks as she throws the stone behind her. She instructs Alfroth to start moving again, and reluctantly, he agrees, losing all interest in the strange stone.

After a minute, they encounter another stone in their path, with the same skull design and color pushed into the ground. Alfroth feels creeped out and concerned at the storm brewing above them, while Mauka stares at the sky, noticing it growing darker. Her concern deepens as she senses the mana increasing in the epicenter.

Noticing Alfroth's discomfort, she reveals the mysterious object still hidden under the cloth. Instructing him to look at it, she suddenly exposes the object, momentarily blinding Alfroth. Startled, he steps back and slowly regains his vision, shouting at her, 'Sis, what the hell!' Mauka, in her usual fashion, laughs at his suffering.

'Sis, I am grateful for your help, but this constant teasing is really upsetting,' Alfroth expresses.

'Oh, you think this is upsetting? I haven't even started. And remember, Al, the world will always be harsher on you than I can ever be,' she says, laughing at him while Alfroth rubs his eyes in pain.

'Yeah, yeah, you keep on going about the world this and that, but then what do you do all day, drink? Only for me to carry you to bed every night from wherever you are passed out on a random street?' Alfroth shouts at her, his voice tinged with frustration and anger as he confronts Mauka about her behavior. He is not a loud kid or an angry one, but at that moment, everything that had built into him exploded like a firecracker, yet he did not think once to strike his sister.

Mauka slowly walks towards him, and Alfroth suddenly starts to feel the height difference between them, chills running throughout his body. "I should not have said that," he thinks to himself, heart racing second by second as she walks closer. As Mauka reaches him, she raises her hand, forming a fist still covered in a bit of blood. Alfroth, scared, covers his face with both hands. "I have always wanted to say it, but not like this," he thinks to himself, waiting for the blow, but surprisingly, it never comes.

He slowly removes his hands and looks at his sister's disappointed face. 'You're not wrong, I do only drink all day,' she expresses in a dull voice. Mauka was not disappointed in him but in herself and in her own capabilities. Alfroth, in shock, sees his sister take the blame for something for the first time.

Mauka takes a deep breath. 'I haven't really done anything for the past few months, just the same routine. I go to the bar, pick a corner, and drink all day until I forget about everything,' Mauka speaks regretfully.

'Sis?' Alfroth quietly says.

'Hell, you even carry me to bed every night, don't you? I never said thank you for that, did I?'

'You don't have to, sis.'

'It doesn't matter if I have to or not, but thank you, Al,' she speaks with a faint smile on her face.

'Oh... you're welcome,' shocked at his sister's reaction. 'But... but it's also my duty. As your younger brother, I cannot let you rot in a random street.'

'Of course you can't,' she smiles at Alfroth. 'I will leave drinking when we get back home. Can you help me with that?' She couldn't express her feelings correctly, probably because of embarrassment. Alfroth quickly catches onto this and reassures her that no matter what, he will always help her with whatever she wants. Slowly, the height difference starts to feel normal again.

They both stand straight awkwardly; both of them had never talked like this to each other. Suddenly, Alfroth remembers something exciting.

'Sis, I got it!' he exclaims, slamming his hands together.

'What?' she asks, intrigued.

'The name for this object, I will call it the white cube.'

'Just because it's white and a cube, you have got a long way to go, Al,' Mauka teases him.

Their laughter fills the air, a rare moment of levity amidst their usual banter. Finally feeling a weight lifted off their chests, Alfroth successfully lightens the situation and her mood, just as he wanted to.

In an instant, a flash occurs behind them. Before both of them can react, Mauka feels a huge impact on her back, sending her flying into a tree with the white cube still attached to her. Alfroth swiftly turns to his right, his hand on his sword's grip, ready to draw it. However, a thin blade pointed at his neck stops him in his tracks. 'Don't move,' a voice commands. He sees the woman in front of him, her long light blond hair covering one of her eyes, clad in black armor from head to toe.

Alfroth's heart races as he takes in the sight before him. The woman's intense gaze locks onto his, and for a moment, time seems to stand still. He can feel the tension in the air, the weight of the blade against his skin, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins.