Mac stood up and looked around the tent. The tent was massive and could comfortably fit five people inside. But there weren't many things inside the tent. There were just a few stone tablets with drawings, a few candles, and a broken spear.
Mac wanted to give Hai some time for her to calm down. So he decided to entertain himself by observing the drawings on the tablets.
Mac moved closer to the stone tablets, and he noticed that almost all of them showed what he deduced to be a man holding a spear. The drawings weren't very detailed. They looked like what the cavemen would draw on their cave walls. The man seemed to be some type of warrior.
Hai silently got up and started to look at the drawings too. Or, to be more specific, she was looking at a particular one.
Mac also looked at that on drawing. That stone tablet was the closest one to the broken spear, and the strange thing about that drawing was that it showed more than just one man. There was also a little kid at his side holding his hand.
Mac would have been unable to tell anything specific about that kid if it wasn't for the red marks around the kid's head.
"That kid there is you, isn't it?" He broke the silence.
"Yeah."
"And that man beside you?"
"He was the only victim that died before the invaders." Hai closed her eyes, remembering those painful memories. "The saddest thing was that this man, who was the strongest in the village, wasn't even fighting back. His life was reaped just to set an example."
"Why didn't he fight back?"
Hai showed a faint and fragile smile. "There was this thing that he liked to say: True strength is to be used to avoid conflict, not seek them. He didn't want to fight the invaders. He calmly asked them to leave, but..." Hai clenched her fists and tried to hold back the tears. "Those cowards attacked him."
Hai took a deep breath and cleaned her eyes of tears. "The death of this man shook this village to its core. No one had the heart to fight after his death. We were all overcome by grief and fear. We then build this tent as a memorial for him."
Mac looked at Hai's expressions. There was a mixture of pain and happiness as she talked about the man. "This guy... was he your..."
"Yes, he was my father." She said. "His name was Banton, and he was the strongest warrior from this village. Sometimes, when I am feeling sad, I like to come here. It makes me remember how he mattered to me and everyone in this village, and it... What were the words that you used? Oh, yeah. It fills me with determination."
"Heh, really? How come?" Mac felt Hai's mood increase.
"It makes me think that his life was not lived in vain, you know? That, even if he had an undeserving death, the life that he lived was meaningful and worthy." She said with a warm smile. "I do still miss him, a lot. But I am confident that, one day, this pain will go away, and I will only remember him for the life that he chose to live, not the death that he suffered. I don't want to honor his death, only his life."
Hai took another deep breath. Talking to someone about her experiences and views put her at peace with herself. She was happy with her choices.
"That was really..." Mac said solemnly. "Something else. I did not expect that you would be so mature. I feel like way too many people wouldn't have that mentality."
Mac had encountered many different types of people in his life. But he would rarely find someone like Hai. An idea popped into his head, and he silently shook his head.
"Yeah. I don't like it, but I felt that I needed to grow up fast after my father passed." Hai said. "I needed to be responsible... And that is why..." She got on her knees and bowed. "Mac... please," She pleaded. "Give up on reaching the Crimson Coast. I thought I could help you, but I realized that I was still imprudent. Please, I can not bear to risk the life of the tribe here. If I were to do that again, I don't know how I could be able to face my father."
Hai did not falter nor stutter as she spoke. She did not desire to fight anymore. Hai wanted to avoid conflicts, just like her father told her. If she needed to curve and plead before someone she barely knew, she would.
"Oh well. I think it can't be helped." Mac did not feel that he had the power to refuse Hai after such a speech. "I shall not try to force my way till I reach the beach." He said like he was making a promise. "But..." He crouched in front of her and looked into her eyes. "What do you think about you and me joining forces and going to beat the living shit of those invaders?"
Mac was not like Hai at all. He would seek new conflict out of his own volution. Perhaps he did that because it was in his own nature, or maybe he would create new problems just so he did not have to think about the ones he already had. Who knows? He certainly didn't.
"What!?" Hai did not expect Mac to change his mind from a dangerous idea to a stupid and dangerous idea. "Was I not clear enough? I don't want to cause conflict!"
"Well, sometimes conflicts are unavoidable."
"Not this one, if you stay put."
"Oh, c'mon! Let's stop talking about me for a second." Mac said something that he never thought he would say. "What about you? Don't you want to get revenge?"
"Revenge!? I..." Hai faltered for a moment, but then she quickly recovered her composure. "I do want to get revenge!" She said proudly, for Mac and herself. "But I feel that I don't need to. I know that won't bring me peace. Only I can, by myself!"
"Ok, Ok. Now, please, stop making me respect you more and more!" Mac felt that he was losing the argument. "You know what? You are right!" He put his arm on her shoulders. He was trying a different approach." Who needs revenge anyway? Certainly not us, as we are too mature for our own good. But imagine this: For how long will those invaders be quiet? They already proved they were violent. So who can say that they will not attack again? If we cause a little conflict now, we may be avoiding a bigger one later!"
"You talk like attacking them ourselves would not be a giant conflict in itself." She said, shoving his arm away. "We would be outnumbered. I remember that there were, AT LEAST, fifteen people, without counting that child that we saw at the beach."
"Yeah, but it is not like we are going to attack them head-on like two headless chickens." Mac did not know if his analogy made sense, but he was still confident that he could change Hai's mind. "I may not look like it, but..." He giggled to himself. "I do have my share of experience with this type of situation. If we plan this out and only target smaller groups, I am sure our strength combined can be more than enough, and the only casualties will be theirs."
"No, that is still too dangerous." She said. "What if we were to fail?"
"HA, me? Fail? Wait, no, I mean. HA, we? Fail?" Mac tried to hide his arrogance. "look at us! We are not your everyday kids. I am a Challenger, and you are a Chosen. You did see how strong I was back then, right? And you didn't even see me using my warhammer. And I bet that you still have some tricks up your sleeve, right?"
Hai finally stumbled. "I mean, yes. A few." She was not that comfortable talking about her powers.
Mac tried to hide his mischievous smile with his hand. He felt that he was making progress. He believed that, by making Hai acknowledge one of his points, she would be more susceptible to accept his other points. Besides, since Mac did not force Hai to talk about her powers, she was now under the impression that she had more information than him, and that now she had more reason to agree with him.
"But... even then..." Hai was starting to be swayed. "Is it really worth the risk? The safety of the entire tribe depends on our actions right now. We may have the power to do something about it. But we also have the choice to not do it."
Mac hesitated. He could tell how Hai was almost being persuaded. Just a little more. But the last words that she said, about having the choice to not do something. He started to remember some bad memories from his past. Memories about his obligations.
Mac just understood why he was trying so hard to convince Hai into getting into trouble with him. He was just trying to bother himself with the problem of others to escape his own.
"You know what? I think you are right again!" He said, faking enthusiasm. "That is two to zero. I guess it is time for me to throw in the towel and admit my defeat."
Hai looked at Mac dumbfounded. She was starting to worry that she would contract some type of damage to her brain due to the number of times that Mac had left her confused. She was afraid that she would become worse in the head like him.
"What? You are gonna give up just like that?" She said. "You were trying to convince me so much... Ah! Is this some kind of trick to confuse me so then you can get what you want?"
"Heh. It looks like that, doesn't it?" Mac faked a smile. "But no, it is not that. I just suddenly got tired and a little ashamed of myself. That is all. And that is how it will always be unless I get my Small Orbis fixed."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Hai looked at Mac with worry and pity. She did not fully understand what he said, but she knew Mac was telling her something important about himself. She wanted to help Mac. And since she failed the first time, she was more than willing to try again.
"No, no, no." He said briefly and calmly as he refused the helping hand. "I just got my own problems, just like you. The only difference is that I still do not have the will to face my own." Mac turned around and went to leave the tent. "I think it is time for me to leave. Don't worry, I will not go to Crimson Coast again. I will see if I can find the solution for my problems in another place." He sped up his pace as Hai tried to stop him. "Oh well, see ya lat- Ouch!
And just as Mac was about to leave the tent, he hit something face-first. He did not hit a wall or a door. Mac hit a giant man. A very old-looking but bulky man. He seemed exactly like a woodcutter stereotype. He didn't carry an ax, though.
Hai looked terrified at the old man. For a moment, she thought he was some type of undead. His clothes were just as dirty and damaged as Mac's. But the worst part was his hair. Mac seemed fascinated with his hair, as he somehow managed to keep it clean and stylish as he traveled in the wild. The old man, on the other hand, seemed to have gone out of his way to fill his hair with everything he saw on his way. It was not only dirt and leaves. Hai could swear she saw some worms on his long and thick white beard.
His face was a disaster too. Unlike Mac's and Hai's, his tone of skin was as white as can be. But they wouldn't be able to tell because there was a little of everything on his face. And by the smell of it, there were a lot of bad things in that everything.
The old man kneeled before Mac and held him by the shoulders. Hai prepared to attack, but the words that left the old man's mouth were her biggest surprise of the night. Yet.
"Please, Mac Key Kast!" The old man pleaded with tears and other things in his eyes. "Please, become my apprentice and allow me to cure your Small Orbis! I beg of you!"
Hearing the old man's words, Mac's tired face changed. It was the same he had when he tried to convince Hai to cause trouble with him. He was about to indulge himself in another cycle one more time.