That's Where I'm Heading Anyway

I woke up the next morning, and exercised a bit. I wasn't sure where to go, I didn't know if Fox was awake either. I decided to just go outside, and roast some meat for my breakfast. 'Why would she say that this is savage? When travelling, you don't have constant food supply, besides whatever you hunt' I thought, as I roasted some meat over the fire.

There were only a few people around the Academy, it was still very early in the morning. The passing students looked at me weirdly, but that wasn't my concern. I simply enjoyed my meal. As I was about to take the last chunk, I heard someone approaching. I turned around, and asked "You want some Fox?". She replied "If you are hungry, you could've said so. Do you have to make fire in the middle of a city?". I smiled at her, and said "Sit down, we can talk over the fire". She looked left and right, a bit hesitant. Ultimately, she sat down.

I said "You worry too much. Who cares what others think? If you enjoy doing it, why stop?". Fox didn't reply, and just stared at the fire. I ate the last chunk of meat, and asked "Did something happen to your face?". She looked at me, seemingly confused and replied "Why do you ask?". I said "You know... If you are afraid to show your face, I have a medicine that can heal the scars…". She stopped me there, and said "It's fine. Besides, I'm used to wearing the mask". I was a bit confused. 'Wouldn't she want to repair those scars? I though women care about such things… Although, now that I think about it, my experience with women is rather poor' I thought.

I leaned back, and watched the fire. We stayed like this for a while, until I said "Soon, I will leave for the Imperial City. I wonder how it looks like?". Fox turned towards me, and said "You can always stay here. You are very hard working, so your Formation knowledge will surpass mine no problem. Besides, I'm not as interested as you seem to be". I shook my head, and replied "I'm a traveller. Although I'm interested in Formations, I also want to explore more. I have enough things to worry about, even without the Formations".

I then continued "After that, I will probably return to the North". She asked surprised "You are leaving the Endrosian Empire?". I nodded, and replied "Yep, I have my plans. Before I do that, I want to check out the Imperial City". Fox said "Can I…", but she didn't finish.

I smiled, and replied "Ask whatever you like". She seemed hesitant about it. After a while of thinking, Fox exclaimed and asked "Oh right! Do you still have the necklace I gave you?". I nodded my head, "Yea, I still wear it. Here it is". I showed her the necklace, that I pretty much forgot about. I asked "You want it back?". I was about to take it off, when she grabbed my hand, and said "No! Keep it, I gave it to you after all".

I nodded, and left it there. Fox struggled again, but finally managed to ask "Can… Can I go with you?". I was a bit surprised, I didn't expect such a question. I replied "If you want to. I have no problem with that. The journey will be more enjoyable with someone around. If…". I stopped myself. I wanted to mention Frosty, but it was better if Frosty remained unknown. I smiled, and continued "Yea sure, come along if you want to". She nodded, and asked "When do you want to leave then?". I thought about it, and said "I want to give your father a few days. After that, we can leave".

She nodded, while I extinguished the fire and said "Let's go study a bit. I want to learn a bit more about formations while I'm here". Fox had no problem with that, so we headed towards our classroom. A few days passed, and I managed to make some improvements with my Rune drawing. Fox explained to me, that in order to make a formation, I had to be very precise and quick. If I spent too much time on drawing, the ink would begin to lose its effectiveness. That was the reason why I failed. With time, I got better at it, and could draw those Runes quicker. The basics Formations which made the paper wet, catch fire or crumble, were quite easy for me now.

After all that studying, I said to Fox "It's time to leave. I've learned a bit about the Formations, but as I said, it's not my main concern right now". She nodded, and replied "Let's go meet with my father then". We both left the Academy, and headed towards her father's tower. I could also leave the Academy anytime I wanted, because I already received the feather. I became a student, but I would become the worst student of all time probably. Even those without the talent, would surpass me in rank one day or another. Not that I cared, the feather would be more like a memento of this place.

We quickly arrived at Fox's father office, where Philip was as always busy with some papers. I asked him "Did you manage to find something out?". Philip lifted his head up, and replied "Although it's not much, I think your sword might be in the Imperial City. You wanted to head over there anyway right?". I nodded, and said "That is good enough for me. As long as it is in the Imperial City, I will find it".

Fox came forward, and said abruptly "I'm leaving father". Philip was shocked, but he managed to reply. "You promised me that you will study the Formations. That is why, I allowed you to go travelling last time". Fox replied "I know, but Formations are not for me. I have no talent like you do, I will never become a Formation Master. I want to travel…" she then looked at me, and back at her father.

Philip was lost for words. He woke up after a while, and asked me "Can you give us a minute?". I nodded, and left the room. Philip must've activated some sort of Formation, because I couldn't hear anything. 'Well, it's not like I'm interested in their private matters. I wonder what would my father say, if he saw me now?' I thought to myself. I waited a while, until Fox opened the doors. She invited me back inside. Philip gestured for me to sit down, and said "I will allow my daughter to go with you, if you promise to protect her with your life".

I didn't expect that kind of development. 'I would protect her naturally, she is my friend after all. But give my life for her? My life is worth a lot to me, I'm no hero either' I thought. Philip was patient, and didn't speak anymore. I replied "I will protect her, but my life is also precious to me. If your question was "Would I abandon her", then the answer would be no. Giving life for someone, is a different matter".

Philip replied "At least you are honest boy. To tell you the truth, if you answered "Yes", I would not believe you. Therefore, I will let my daughter travel with you". I just nodded, and didn't say anything else. There was nothing I could say. I was already living on borrowed life. If not for Shelly, I would be dead a long time ago. I looked at Fox, and asked "Ready to go?". She nodded her head, and replied "Let's go".

I grabbed her, and disappeared from the tower. I stopped when we were outside of the city, and let Fox down. She exclaimed, "You are so fast!". I smiled, and said "When you break through to your Inner Limits, you will see the difference it brings". She nodded, and said excitedly "I can't wait to find out!". Fox was about to take out a map, but I stopped her. I pointed towards north, and said "It's that way. I already memorised your map, remember?". She just stood there. I assumed she was surprised, or stunned. She shook her head after a while, and asked "You really did memorise it? I thought you were just playing a tough guy back then".

I was lost for words. 'Why would I even do that?… That map was very useful to me, why would I fake memorizing it?' I asked myself. Leaving those thoughts behind, we ran in the direction of the Imperial City.