"Buckle up, Claire," Musica said, peeking at Claire through the rear-mirror.
Claire was at the backseat. She pulled the belt across her body and fastened it to the buckle.
Musica changed the gear to "D" - Drive Mode - and stepped on the gas pedal.
"Good work on finding his whereabouts, man," Musica commended Sora, who was on the passenger's seat.
Sora said, "Since the cave was already shut due to landslide, I had to think of other places where there are abandoned caves or untouched forests. We found four possible locations but they were no sign of someone recently being there. Then a thought came to mind. He once told me he wanted to go to a natural reservoir where there are free-roaming wolves. I went to check and found a small village on the foot of the mountain. Turned out he was sighted going up and down twice. Though they offered him a place to stay, he declined saying that he wanted to be alone with nature."
"Travel time on land is approximately six hours," Musica said as he continued driving in 60-80kph in the city. "Claire, you can sleep. Sora and I will take turns."
Claire, looking at the city in its beaming natural light through the car window, just nodded. "Uhm."
After over seven hours of driving, with short breaks in between, they finally arrived at the place Sora had located.
The countryside was calm with only few people outside of their homes.
Musica had parked the car beside a cozy coffee shop made of wood. As they descended out of the car, they felt a momentary breeze swept over their faces despite the warm weather. Yes, it was already around seven in the evening yet the gray, purple, orange, pink and blue colors that seemed to blend perfectly in the sky showed a little sign of calling the sheet of dark sky to bring forth the stars and the moon on its schedule time.
They entered the place to grab something to eat before proceeding to their actual destination.
As they were quietly eating on the open-sky terrace, a woman politely approached them.
"Good evening, Sora!" greeted the smiling old lady.
They all looked up to see the one who cheerily greeted them.
"Good evening, Mrs. Hudson," Sora greeted back.
"You finally came today to see that mysterious, handsome man, eh?"
"Ah, yes."
Her smiling face turned worried. "You're going up the mountain at this hour? It's probably dangerous now since the wolves are active during the night, plus it's a full moon. Why not stay over for tonight and just go in the morning?"
"Well, we must see him tonight. But thank you for your kind offer, Mrs. Hudson," Sora replied.
"I see. Then, please tell him 'thank you' for bringing my daughter and son back here when they got in the mountain that almost cost them their lives. I actually did not see him but my daughter said that he was like a dazzling prince from another world. She completely fell for him! She's still 14 though. My son was also mesmerized by him. He would say he would also like to grow his hair long and dye it with gray or silver. I told him he would get that natural color when he gets old," Mrs. Hudson complained as she shook her head. "Kids these days. Full of fantasy."
Sora and Musica just grinned.
"Good luck then," she smiled and waved them goodbye.
"Some people said that they saw a new face going down the mountain with Mrs. Hudson's children. They were curious about the mountain so they went up despite the warning, and since there were no signs up there, they got lost and scared when they heard the howling of wolves. He saw them so he went down with them. He perfectly fits Clarence's description."
"Mrs. Hudson said it too," Musica affirmed. "He had long silvery-gray hair."
He then turned to Claire who looked so spaced out looking at the direction of the mountain. "Let's go up now."
"I'm going alone," Claire said.
"Eh?" they both wondered.
She turned seriously to them. "I'm going alone."
The two men stayed silent as how fast she turned the warm atmosphere into a cold one. But actually, it now turned dark, with the stars twinkling and seemed near to them. The night had finally brought the cool and clean breeze.
Claire stood up and spoke, "We will be back."
She stood up and slid the sling bag on her right shoulder.
"I'm going," she said in a soft voice. She put back the chair before walking down the stairs.
Both Musica and Sora were speechless. They were left in silence as they looked at her back going far, until she was out of sight. Only the sound of the chirping cicadas made that moment real. All the more as these little peaceful insects were simultaneously buzzing and clicking in that cold night.
Realizing she had already left, Musica let out a sigh. He put his right elbow on the table, his palm on the side of his jaw and frowned at no particular area.
Sora felt his friend's disappointment though he was not vocal about it.
"It's been a year already," Musica spoke up. "She still feels so distant. The only times she seemed close to us is actually if Clarence was with us."
"You can't force her to act so friendly if it's just the two of us."
"I wonder what we are to her. Maybe just low-life servants."
Sora laughed and shook his head.
Musica frowned more.
"Musica, it is you who is an 'expert' with women, right?" Sora teased. "Or is it your pride as a 'man' that's bugging you? That someone sees you as 'just a servant'?"
"Don't you feel dejected?!"
Sora, with a happy and contented face, said, "Clarence is my brother and I have dedicated my life to help him. Whom he cares about, I will also care."
Musica sighed in resignation. "That's right. You have a servant heart. That's actually good, man."
"You also care for her, right?"
Musica put his elbow down. "Uhmm, well..."
"Then, isn't that enough? You are not the type to ask something in return from someone. That's why you put up the Securities Agency to help even those who can't afford."
Musica then chuckled a little. "Haha."
"Unless you want something in return from her!"
Musica shook his head and smiled genuinely. "No. Of course not."
"But I really don't know what to feel now." Sora's tone was a little worried. He looked at the dark and murky mountain. "I know Clarence really didn't want to hurt her. He was suppressing his desire for her blood. That's why he left her. Instead of hurting her, he just decided to be alone and do what he could to find another cure for his curse.
As for Claire, I know she's strong and she can protect herself. But she is defenseless when it comes to her brother. That's a given since they're family. But what if..."
Musica knew what he was thinking. Yes, what if something terrible will happen to either one of them, or worse, to both of them.
"Nevertheless, I choose to trust him." Sora said with conviction.
"Me, too."