A large crowd, possibly the entire town, cheers for Dimas and Lilee as the two set out to their first tournament. The crowd yells out words of encouragement and support. Amongst them is Lilee's family.
Just a short while ago, the entire family was hugging and crying. In the couple of hours Dimas has known the family, he's seen them do this three times already. He's relieved to be leaving that behind.
"You're popular." Dimas says.
[Friendless my ass...]
"Not really. They're probably just happy because someone from Forest Edge hasn't participated in the tournaments in years. The last time was about 30 years ago." Lilee chuckles. "It's kind of embarrassing though. I didn't think word would spread so fast. Come to think of it..." Lilee tilts her head. "How did word spread in the first place?"
Lilee and her family didn't say a word to anyone. It definitely wouldn't have been Dimas. That was solely the work of everyone else present, except for Alastor. They all overheard Lilee informing her parents about her immediate departure. Alastor left almost suddenly without so much as a single word. The soldiers, on the other hand, quickly escorted the captured gang to their cells before telling other soldiers. Some of those soldiers told their families, others told friends, three in particular were so excited they ran through the town announcing the duo's participation.
Dimas and Lilee would be featured on the front page of the town's newspaper everyday for the next few weeks.
In a matter of minutes, the news had reached everyone in town. By the time Dimas and Lilee had returned to Forest Edge, they were considered celebrities. The townsfolk began to follow the duo just as they did to Alastor a few hours before. Speaking of, even Alastor's visit was overshadowed by the announcement.
The captured gang also received some attention. Not for the kidnapping but because they had seen Dimas in action. Stone, ever vain, would brag about how he was able to fight Dimas.
"People love to talk. It's one of their worst traits." Dimas answers Lilee. The duo continue walking with Lilee waving back to the crowd every once in a while.
At night, the duo settle in for the night on the side of the road. Lilee looks in the direction of her hometown and wonders when she'll get to see it again.
"This feels weird." Lilee says.
"Then don't use it." Dimas pulls a potato from the small campfire. "No one's making you."
Dimas is referring to the sleeping bag that Lilee is currently nestled in. It belonged to her father.
"I'm not talking about the sleeping bag." Lilee burrows deeper into the sleeping bag. "I meant leaving Forest Edge."
"Didn't you want to travel?" Dimas takes a bite of the cooked potato.
"I'm allowed to be homesick!" She turns to look at Dimas. Her eyes peeking out from the top of the sleeping bag. "How are you, by the way."
"Fine." Dimas narrows his eyes. "Why?"
"Aren't you homesick?" Lilee asks.
"Nope." Dimas continues to eat his potato.
"...Why not?"
Dimas finishes chewing the potato before answering. "Cause there's nothing waiting for me."
The conversation comes to a halt. The crackling of the firewood takes its place. Lilee begins to regret bringing it up.
"Which tournament am I starting with?" Dimas asks between bites.
Lilee lets out a silent sigh, glad that the awkward silence she caused was gone. "We're going to be fighting in the Capricornus tournament. Luckily for us, it doesn't start for a few days."
"How long is it going to take to get there?"
"It depends on how often we stop for breaks."
"No breaks."
"What do you mean no breaks?!"
"It means that we're going to be walking from the moment the sun goes up and only stopping to rest at night." Dimas finally finishes eating his potato.
"Why? Onaq isn't too far from Forest Edge! We just walked for eight hours straight, that's good time!" Lilee tries fighting for her break rights.
"Not good enough. Honestly, I'd prefer it if we kept walking instead of wasting time sleeping. The only reason I set up camp was because you were starting to slow down." Dimas scolds Lilee.
Treating her tiredness as a choice rather than a natural reaction to walking for eight hours
"W-W-Well… aren't you tired?"
"Nope."
"Hmph… Fine." Lilee sticks her tongue out at Dimas. The sleeping bag hides her gesture. "Without any breaks we should be there in...about four days, if my math is right."
"No detours either."
"But one of the town's on the way has a dancing pig!"
"If it's not useful or necessary in any way, we're not wasting time on it."
"... Three days… We should reach Onaq in three days." Lilee turns away from Dimas.
"Alright, we'll leave at sunrise." Dimas says.
Lilee stares off into the distance. She thinks about her warm and caring family. A stark difference from the cold and distant Dimas. However, she's still happy to have met Dimas. Even happier that he gave her the opportunity to leave Forest Edge. She closes her eyes and slowly drifts off to sleep. Her last thought being, 'At least he was concerned enough to let me sleep'.
A nice thought even if it's a mistaken one. The real reason Dimas is willing to rest at night is because he isn't willing to wait for her during the day. He wouldn't even carry her if she collapsed from exhaustion. The most he would do is drag her along by her arm.
Dimas stares at the dying fire.
[One day down… One loooong day down. How many more to go?]
He can hear Lilee's small rhythmic breathing.
[Is she really helping me? Or just waiting to screw me over?]
Dimas lies down and looks at the sky. The starry-filled night reminds him of nights he would spend alone in the mountains. Despite not being a nature-loving person, he would still appreciate the beauty of it.
[Why destroy this world? What's your endgame, Corvus?]
By the time he falls asleep, all that's left of the campfire are small glowing chips.