The sun was yet to emerge in the golden sky when Vince got up. A slim figure was holding a spear at the river, occasionally taking a dip. The pony was grazing at the side. Wild birds were chirping. Vince stretched up and walked towards the river. It was a wonderful morning. He wanted to take a dip in the crystal clear river.
"Ohh, it's cold!"
Vince uttered as he submerged half of his body in the water.
The prince who was busy fishing turned around and stared at Vince's bare chest for a few seconds.
"You're... awake."
"Yes. It's a huge carp again!" Vince was looking at the fish that was pierced in Prince Aiji's spear.
Prince Aiji took his sight away from Vince. "This river is huge, there are plenty of fish. I caught four, we need to eat a lot since we will start another journey."
"Where are we heading to this time?"
"I don't know yet, we will just cross the river and continue walking until we reach the sea."
"Prince Aiji, this river is connected to the sea, I mean, this water is flowing down towards the sea."
The prince's innocent eyes turned curious. "How did you know? Dari, it's our first time venturing outside the tribe's territory. No one told us this before?"
"Mmm... I also dreamed about this when I was unconscious."
It was a lame excuse, but the ancient prince was convinced. He stared at the flowing water.
"It's easier this way. Prince Aiji, we can make a raft and ride with the flow. We will reach the sea faster this way."
"But..."
"But, what?"
"...nothing, let's follow the river flow then."
"Okay, then let's make a raft after breakfast." Vince said then took a few dips at the clear water.
Logs we're gathered at the riverbank after breakfast. They bound it with sturdy vines. Two hours later, two sweaty foreheads were looking at a spacious raft floating in the river.
The prince caught and roasted more carps and root crops for their meals later. He also gathered wild fruits. They boarded their weapons and other stuff and tied it well.
After securing all their things, Vince boarded, the prince followed. They were on the top of the raft ready to paddle when the water splashed along with a loud neigh. The pony jumped at the shallow bank making the two boarding the raft, speechless.
Vince turned to the prince. This little horse is adorable, but taking it along might be inconvenient, so Prince Aiji should decide on this matter.
"The raft is spacious, we can bring this little horse." Prince Aiji, who was stared at by Vince for a good while, said.
"Okay!" Vince cheerfully helped the pony aboard. He went back to the riverside to gather bundles of grass for the pony's consumption.
"Beauty, this is your food." Vince said after boarding three bundles of tender grass.
"Beauty?" Prince Aiji's eyebrows almost meet.
"Ah, last night I gave this little horse a name. Since it is beautiful, I named it Beauty."
"But Dari, it is a male horse, isn't it a bit off calling it beauty?"
Vince looked at the pony's behind. "Ah! I was mindless. What shall we call it then?"
"Since you like this horse, you should name it. Think of another name." The prince suggested.
"What about Gorgeous, it can be interpreted as beautiful or handsome." Vince said.
"I think it's fine."
Then it's decided, we will name this little horse, Gorgeous." Vince patted little Gorgeous' head. The little horse seemed to like its name, it neighed softly.
They paddled forward and started their journey. The river was neither shallow nor deep, just enough depth to travel smoothly. They passed by massive towering trees. Fishes of different sizes can be seen under the clear water. Wild boars, monkeys, wild birds, and many wild creatures who are mostly extinct in modern times, could be seen. Vince's eyes were satisfied with these views, but he felt bad he didn't have his camera and couldn't capture these beautiful creatures and these perfect landscapes.
It was already noon and they were floating in a dense forest. Massive trees were leaning towards the river, with branches bent and the leaves were just a few inches above the water. Monkeys of different sizes were swinging and playing at the tree branches. Monkeys were playing and there were also others fighting. It was chaotic and noisy. Vince was enjoying these scenes above while feeding Gorgeous. The prince took out their food, preparing their lunch.
Amid their meal, a small, red monkey fell to the prince's lap. The shocked duo raised their heads and saw two monkeys, black and red, fighting at the tree branch above.
"What will we do, we're getting farther to its mother." Vince, who had no idea what to do, said. The raft was moving further from the fighting monkeys.
"We will bring it to the side." Prince Aiji said while holding the scared monkey, who was shrinking his body trying to hide in the prince's lap.
"Okay, I will paddle to the side" Vince replied, but a loud splash was heard from the distance and they saw the red monkey fall to the water. The area where it fell turned red. The red monkey was severely injured. It was sinking.
The little monkey wailed, looking in its mother's direction. Vince stopped paddling.
"Let's bring this little one too." Prince Aiji said, hugging the monkey, patting its tiny head.
"Okay." Vince smiled, fondly looking at the prince who was cuddling the little monkey. Some kind of familiar yet unknown feeling in him was triggered while looking at the prince's fine gesture.