A friend? Sure. A friend wasn't that big of an obligation. The definition was ambiguous anyway so as long as Silas didn't consider himself responsible for anything it didn't hold any weight. Is that's what Macy wanted, so be it. Silas wasn't going to act any different just because of a label…. right?
"Okay."
Macy's eyebrows perked up. That was easy. Too easy.
"Hey, Macy! You're here too?" Saya voice came from behind Macy's back. A grin spread across Macy's face as she and Saya embraced. Silas watched them as Saya patted the smaller Macy on the back heartily. Suddenly, Silas began to regret refusing Macy's hug earlier. He felt jealousy welling up inside his chest. He imagined the feel of warm hands around him and the body heat of another. He wanted a hug.
But it was too late for that now, So Silas simply stood and watched.
"You two are close?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Macy giggled. It was a light-hearted laugh, carefree in the same way Saya was.
"You know, when you go out and train alone, it's not like I sit around all day and do nothing. Macy's awesome. I bet you've realized that by now." Saya shook Macy in her arm, jostling her affectionately.
"Oh no, Saya is much more impressive," Macy replied. Her face was bright and alluring, reflecting the sunlight on her bright peach-colored hair. "She has so much energy, I don't know how I could manage."
These compliments are getting out of hand, Silas thought, but he said nothing, because he was smiling.
Oh, I didn't expect this, a sudden voice echoed in Silas' head. It wasn't the voice of his own conscious that he was used to hearing. Instead… it sounded like Rekka.
What are you doing? Silas thought back at the voice in his head.
I wasn't able to access your mind before, but now I can project my thoughts. I can't control yours, however, like I did with Wicke, but it appears I can use my mind manipulation magic to speak with you telepathically.
Okay, that's nice and all, but would you please get out of my head? It's making me uncomfortable, Silas thought, making his inner voice take on an edge.
Oh, of course. My apologies. I hope you can understand why I need to test my powers from time to time.
Suddenly, the voice cut out, leaving Silas' head in utter silence. He looked ahead at Macy and Saya who were already deep in a conversation full of banter. They seemed so natural together – even though Macy had said she was bad at social interaction, she was obviously better than Silas. Silas sulked. He was excluded, again!
But at least Rekka was gone. The fact she could read his thoughts at any time scared him to no end. Hopefully she wouldn't do it again, but he wouldn't put it past her. Even if it eventually helped them survive, Silas hoped Rekka would draw the line. That was an invasion of privacy on so many levels.
This was such a perfect example of how far Silas was falling behind. Earlier, Rekka had said she could only influence people with weak mentalities. And now, she could communicate with Silas. That meant she must've gotten stronger just through course of time.
Either that, or Silas was getting weaker.
Did Silas have a weak mentality? No, he told himself immediately, but the more he started to think about it, the more doubt started to flood his mind. So he tried to push the question away. He didn't want to think about it. It was too stressful.
"Silas, are you coming?" Macy asked. She and Saya were walking back in the direction of camp. They turned back to face him, standing like an idiot, his eyes unfocused.
"S-sorry," he recovered quickly. "Of course."
"Told you. He's always in his own little world," Saya pointed at her head and twirled her finger. A 'cuckoo' gesture that was meant to be silly but Silas found offensive.
Friend… Silas thought to himself. He was free to do with the label as he liked. He could put as much meaning into it as he wanted. He told himself that the concept of a friend was meaningless to him, but as he saw Saya reach over and brush a patch of dirt of Macy's vest, smiling affectionately, he couldn't help but hunger for the same treatment.
He wanted to be loved. And he would be loved. He would make them love him. He was starving for compliments.