The sound of hooves hitting the ground was particularly welcome in this barren land as four large horses traveled the distance. Of the four horses, only 2 were carrying people, with the remaining two having no such task. Each of the horses carrying people carried two. Two men of contrasting builds and looks occupied one horse, and a young man and woman occupied the other.
"This is amazing," Lily whispered to herself as she held on to Mane's clothes. Due to the impressive speed of the Red Maned Horse, she had to clutch on to Mane's attire to prevent herself from falling off. Bu it wasn't like she was complaining. Apart from the fact that riding the horse was much more fun than she could have ever anticipated, she was riding with someone she had a good impression of, so it was a win-win situation for her.
"It really is," Mane replied, stunning Lily who didn't think that he would be able to hear her. The speed the horse was traveling at was so great that all Lily could hear was the wind brushing past her. She couldn't even hear herself properly, yet Mane had heard her silent whisper, which should have been impossible under the current circumstances. Even more fascinating was the fact that she had been able to hear Mane's reply. And from his tone she could tell that he wasn't screaming. So how was he able to hear her and get his voice across without shouting? This baffled her greatly.
"How can you hear me?" Lily asked softly. Again the sound of her voice was drowned by the howling wind, yet Mane responded.
"It's a skill I learnt," Mane replied with a small smile on his lips. How was he supposed to explain to Lily that it was his abilities as a Scholar that made it possible for him to hear her even under these circumstances? Plus it was complicated to explain that he sent his voice directly to her by relying on the very same Scholar skills. So he just decided to tell her that it was a skill he learnt. And to be fair, this wasn't a liar. But it sure was a vague explanation.
"Can you teach me?" Lily asked with twinkling eyes. Since she sat behind Mane, he wasn't able to see her expression, but he was still stunned by her request.
"Okay," Mane replied with a smile. It wasn't a bad idea to guide her on the Path of Scholars. But when he thought about how easily she had approached the Red Maned Horses and gained their affection, he felt that it was a shame. Lily reminded him of a special group of people his mother referred to as people beloved by nature. According to his mother, such people were so innocent and kind that nature itself adored them. And because of this, even Chaos was more docile around them. Mane felt that Lily may be one of these people, but without Chaos in this world to be certain of it, he could only speculate and never truly reach a conclusion.
"Really?" Lily asked, excitement filling her lovely voice. In her excitement she wrapped her arms around Mane's waist and brought herself closer to him. Her supple body came into contact with his, and Mane could feel her delicate mounds pressing against his back. She brought her face so close to his that Mane could feel her breath against his ear, and the ticklish feeling ruffled him a bit.
"Yeah," Mane blushed slightly as he replied. He didn't understand why he felt this way just because she came closer to him. He was confused because he had even carried Selina before, and felt nothing. So he didn't understand why he got so unsettled anytime Lily drew close to him.
"Hehe. This is fun to see." One person was delighted with what she was seeing, and that person was the fairy Hildegarde. She flew above Mane's horse and followed the entourage. Seeing Mane's out of sorts' expression and his blushing face filled her with glee. And she was especially refreshed seeing the all-knowing Mane flustered and unsure of what to do. His slightly dazed eyes and confused expression was a pleasant sight for her. And she was enjoying every bit of it.
"Thank you Mane!" Lily trembled in excitement when she heard Mane confirm that he wasn't kidding. She didn't like to fight, but she was interested in the strange skill Mane was using. And her reason was simple. The skill sounded fun. She didn't have any large ambitions for it. If other Scholars knew why she was interested in becoming a Scholar, they would have coughed up blood.
As the duo rode on, they talked about all sorts of things. Most of the things they talked about revolved around the twins and their childhood, and Ivor. Mane rarely provided a good answer to any question Lily asked him, and he gradually began to sense her frustration and disappointment with his replies, and that shook his heart. He didn't want her to think that he wasn't willing to tell her, but he didn't want to lie to her either.
"Lily," Mane called out.
"Yes?" Lily replied, her voice downcast and her expression crestfallen.
"I will answer all your questions one day. I can't tell you yet for there are some things even I am not sure of, but I would tell you one day. Some of the answers are difficult to believe, much less understand. It isn't that I doubt you. Just give me some time" Mane promised solemnly. He didn't know why he was so uncomfortable knowing that she was saddened by his replies. After all, he had done that to Dan so many times, and though he felt a bit of guilt each time, he never felt this uncomfortable. But with Lily, he was willing to give her a promise. A promise that he would have to fulfill eventually – when he knew her better and could fully trust her.
"Okay!" Lily's voice was livelier. Hearing Mane's words, she was filled with warmth, and she hugged him tighter to show him that he wasn't under any pressure to do anything he didn't want to do.
"The great Mane is compromising," Hildegarde smiled broadly and said to herself as she watched the two go on and on about irrelevant things and laugh about silly matters. Seeing that Mane was willing to tell Lily about himself one day, she was a bit delighted. It was nice that he was falling for the girl. But her smile disappeared quickly when she thought about how difficult it would be for Mane to accomplish his mission, or even leave this world if he ever did what he was supposed to do.
'If he really does fall for her, and realizes that what he feels is love, will he be able to do what he must do?' She wondered worryingly. She hoped that day wouldn't come quickly. For she didn't want to see it.
"How is he doing that?" Ivor wondered as he rode next to the two teenagers engaged in conversation. He couldn't hear what Lily was saying, neither could he hear Mane's words. And under the current conditions, it shouldn't be possible for them to be talking to each other. If they wanted to, they would have to scream at the top of their voices. But they weren't. They were only whispering to each other, but they seemed to hear themselves fine. Ivor knew that Lily was a very ordinary girl. Aside from her blinding beauty and unusual origins, she was very much an ordinary girl. So whatever was going on, was likely due to Mane's abilities.
When he recalled Dan telling him that Mane said Ivor was stronger, and the boy's expression when he held his hands, he was able to connect the two events to each other. He was able to tell Mane was unordinary because his soul shook when he shook the boy's hands. He felt like a sheep that had met a wolf. And that was why he knew that Mane was dangerous and had grown so cautious of the boy. But if Mane was able to tell someone's strength from just touching him, then him being able to engage in conversation under these conditions wasn't as impressive.
"Is he really an Ancient? But Ancients aren't light-skinned. Then again, to every rule there is an exception" Ivor wondered.
Shockingly, this man knew about Ancients. And it was actually because of his knowledge of Ancients that he had grown wary of Mane. Especially when his soul felt an instinctive fear towards the boy. Although Old Fan had assured him that Mane wasn't related to Dan by blood like he was told, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Mane was probably more dangerous than Dan. The boy seemed to have an endless list of abilities, and the fact that he was drawing closer to Lily unsettled Ivor. The man couldn't help but wonder if Mane was a card the Ancients had sent to get close to Lily. He looked at the two as they snuggled close to each other and a frown automatically found its way to his face. He didn't like what he was seeing, but there was nothing he could do – for now.
"I don't like that they are getting so close to each other. At least we brought the other horses with us. I'd teach the twins how to ride whenever we have breaks." Ivor whispered silently to himself. And then he looked away from Mane and Lily. He felt that if he kept on watching them his impulsiveness as a guardian may take over and he may end up doing something that he'd rather not.
What Ivor didn't realize was that when he turned away, a small smile appeared on Mane's face. Not only was Mane talking to Lily, he had his senses stretched out to listen to anything else around him. And he picked up Ivor's soft whisper. This gave him an idea about a few things. He couldn't help but wonder,
"He doesn't want me to get closer to Lily. It seems he is more than just an Information Peddler. He seems to be their Guardian. Who is this man exactly? And more importantly, who are the twins?"