I looked at him for a few moments, not too sure what he meant by that. I nodded to him anyways, and he squinted his eyes at me. I still was not sure if he trusted me, it was weird because if you think about it, technically should it not be vice versa at the moment?
I walked away from him shivering a bit. I sat down at the log that I had been sitting at before, and I shook my head. I knew why he was not sure he trusted me. It was not because he thought that I might betray us, that would not make very much sense at all.
He thought that I would not be able to do what it was that was destined for me. From generation to generation of my family. That is what he did not trust me on. I was not sure if I even trusted myself to do it, so I did not blame him for have little faith in me.
All of this was so new to me, and it seemed as if I was just in a dream. Like I would wake up, and I would be in bed with Julia, and Mariah would be sleeping on the couch in the other room. That was false hope, at least that is what John would tell me when I would bring it up to him.
Sometimes, I wish that I would have died that day. Me and my father would be with my mother up in heaven. I did not like John very much, if you had to ask me, he was a bit of a dick to everyone in camp. No one stood up because they knew it was his camp, and we would not be here if it were not for him.
He seemed to bring that up fairly often. I admit, he had saved our lives that day that the dragon had killed Pop. He was coming after us next, but it seemed like he had not really saved us very much sense then. I shook my head, I did not know what the hell I was talking about right now clearly.
Us being here right now was saving our lives, none of us would have any idea what we were doing, which was the exact reason that I was fairly sure that Julia and Mariah were dead. They had no idea where to go, and unlike us they did not know how to hunt.
I looked at Padre, he was staring at me, and I could tell he saw the look in my eyes, and on my face. It was a look of anger, and a look of pain. When he saw that I had noticed him looking at me, he turned his head away. I shook my head, I should stop thinking like this, it was only going to make my life worse.
I knew that John was starting to get a bit frustrated with me. I did not blame him for it either, I had hardly learned nor done anything in the last year to help our small little group. He always brought up the fact that my Uncle was not just a guy who could see the dragons. He also happened to fight them as well.
I knew it was not him trying to be mean or attack me. He was just trying to get my head up, and do something with my life, rather than sit there all day and think about what could have been. I looked over at John, as I saw him beginning to prepare the soup for the rest of us.
He had a couple of spices that his friends had given him, and I had to admit, it sure had helped with the flavor or our food. The food was getting kind of stale, not because or Padre being a bad cook, but there was only so much that he could make with what we had.
I waited for him to serve the food for us, trying to keep myself calm at the same time. I was surprised that no one else noticed the look on my face besides Padre. I was not very good at hiding my emotions, that was one thing that I knew for sure.
I looked around at the others, and I saw why I suppose. None of them were really paying attention to me. Even if John saw, I doubted that he would even care. My father, he did not even look like he was a human anymore. He had made so many mistakes, he had told me about all of them.
He had told me that him and my mother were making a plan to save him. Now that was gone, and it left him in pieces. I knew that he still loved my mother, even if he did not treat her like he did. I felt bad for my father for the first time in a long time.
He was not a drunk anymore, and when John offered us drinks, he refused to take them. I was not sure if all of this had changed him for the better or for the worse. His decisions that he made was for sure a lot better than before, but his emotions were empty.
Same could be said for Uncle, he had been broken when he had lost his wife and it seemed like there was no going back on it now. You would think that my father, and Uncle would talk about it because they had that in common. I did not hardly ever see them talk however. I was pretty sure that Uncle despised my father.
I did not blame him either, he knew what my father was like, everyone in that city did. My father he did not care at all, or he did not notice it. He just sat there, sitting in his tent of a log most of the days, unless he went hunting on the rare occasion.
I knew he was lonely, and broken, bht there was not much I could do, to make him feel any better. I feared if I tried to help him, it would only make me feel worse. I was lonely as well, and I struggled to keep my own head up on a daily basis, let alone try to help others.
John did not seem to notice, or he did not care about it. He just let us be, and that was why I tried to sneak in on his little meetings. I was curious what it was that he was talking about, that he did not want the rest of us to hear.
If you ask me, we should know what wad going on around the world as well. We had been stuck here with no news in forever. I had thought about sticking up for us, but I honestly do not think the others cared to know what it was that was going on outside of our little camp.
I shook my head, and I watched as John then began to give us the bowls of soup one by one. First he gave it to Uncle who was on the far left side of me, and I watched as Uncle just stood completely still, and just pretended that he had not seen what was going on, or he did not even know.
As soon as John had moved away from him however, I saw him pick up the bowl and the spoon, and begin to eat as fast as he could. I could tell that he was hungry... All of us were, so it was not just him. I knew that he was paying attention to his surroundings, even if he was trying to pretend that he was not.
I shook my head, as I saw John then begin to head over to my father. My father looked about the same as Uncle did when John came up to him. But he actually nodded when John handed him the bowl, unlike Uncle. I looked at the face of John, he did not seem to find, nor did he care.
He did nod back to my father however, and he watched him for quite a while until he began to eat a couple of bites. I knew why he was making sure that my father had begun eating as well. My father, normally extremely chubby because of drinking so much, had lost a lot of weight after he had quit.
A lot of that, I also knew had to do with the fact that he was hardly eating as much as a normal person his age should be. He had to be at least 100 KG before all of this and he had lost about 25 or 30 of that in the last year. It was weird to say, but it almost seemed like his body was shriveling up like a leaf before it died.
I watched as John then walked over to the pot once again, and he put out a big lump into another bowl. He then turned around and began walking over to Padre. I looked at Padre, as I saw he was the only one that seemed to have any sort of emotion on his face out of the rest of us.
He nodded at John just like my father had, and John nodded back to him. John then began walking back over to the pot, and this time he poured 2 bowls. He then walked over to his own spot on the log, and put a bowl down for himself.
Be then began to walk over to me, and he handed me a bowl as well. I looked at him, and then nodded at him. He did not nod back at me like he had done for the others, and it frustrated me quite a bit, so I made a cool way of showing my frustration that only he and I would understand, unless the others were paying close attention, which I seriously doubted.
I looked at all of them, as I saw that Uncle had somehow already finished that big meal of soup, and was going over to the wash room to put away the plate. My father was paying no attention, as he just kept on eating with no emotions on his face what so ever.
I looked at Padre, and saw that his head was staring down at the ground, while he was eating the food that he had made as well. I thought of a good idea for it to complement Padre while also making a point to John at the same time as well. As I then began speaking up for Padre.
"Thank you Padre for this meal, I know it is the same every day, but you did a great job by yourself." I said to him. I had my head pointed over at John however, to see if he had gotten the jest of what I had just said. He did not seem to be paying any attention to my however and I just shook my head.
I then looked over at Padre, as I saw his face light up, and it cracked a smile on his. It was not the real reason of what I had said, but I was happy to see it had at least lit up his face. I looked at my father, as it did not seem that he even realized that anyone had spoke.
I shook my head, and then looked over at Padre, as he then began to respond the the compliment that I had just made for him. I nodded at him for him to go ahead and speak.
"No problem Joseph, and I hope you catch something tomorrow as well. Otherwise we are going to have to use the last of our veggies..." He said to me. I looked down at the ground a bit embarrassed at what he had just said to me.
He did not seem to notice as he looked away from me. It was not him that I was worried about when he had said what he had just said to me. I looked over at John, but it seemed as if he was paying no attention either. I saw him dipping a stick of bread on the soup as well and I got a bit jealous.
I did not say anything about it, because the one time that I had, he had told me something that was a bit rude, but also fairly true at the same time. "Oh so you are the leader now?" He had said. His wording was always short, but it always seemed like it stung like a wasp.
I did not know how he talked like that. He hardly ever spoke, but when he did, it was always short, and it always seemed to get right to the point at the same time. I shook my head and just began to to bite into the soup of the left over deer that we had caught a few weeks ago.
It was good as always, I never understood how Padre could make something so good with not very much to work with at the same time. I closed my eyes, enjoying to warm smell, and the small amount of steam that was coming from the food. It was going to be the last of the warmth that I was going to feel fairly soon.
I hated when it was cold, I would rather it be blazing hot, then have it be freezing outside. Everyone loved the snow, but me personally I was just not a big fan of it. It was more like a kids thing. I did not like walking on black ice either.
I shook my head, trying my best not to think of the winter, as I began to eat the food that Padre had made. It was nice and warm and it tasted great, I did not know how a guy that was a part of a gang could possibly be making food as incredible as this was.
As I got to the final bites of the meat that was in it, I then drank up the rest of the soup. I nodded to Padre, as he nodded back to me as he had already finished, and he too was also going to his tent like Uncle had for the night.
My father however was still just on the log staring at nothing. I felt a bit bad for him, but then I shook my head as I got up from the log and I too put my bowl into the washer. I too began to walk back over to my tent, before John noticed me. I feared what it was that he was going to say to me in a bit, and I figured if I went ahead and got in my tent for the night, than he would not bother me.
Just as I thought of that however, I heard John speak up in a loud voice at me, and I turned my head around. Looking back down at the ground... I was exhausted for some reason, even though I had not hardly put any strain on my body physically over the last couple of days. I listened to what it was that he had to say though.
"Not so fast Joseph... I know you did not just forget that I needed to speak to you in a few moments." He said to me. I looked at the ground for a few more moments, and then I looked up at him, and then shook my head at him.
I knew it was best not to lie to him, especially considering the fact that I was a terrible liar. I figured that I would respond to him with something that was fairly true however. As I then began to speak up to him, I was started to get a bit tired of him.
"No... I am tired, I just want to go to sleep for the night... Can't you tell me in the morning?" I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then he squinted at me. I had a feeling that he was about to tell me something like me being a coward.
He looked at me kind of funny, and then he shook his head at me. I then looked down at the ground, and then walked over to the log that was right beside the one that he was sitting on. I knew better than to deny something that he asked of me.
He then looked over at my father, who was still just staring out into the woods. I looked at whatever it was that he might be looking at, but it was far too dark outside to see anything, and the only thing I could see at the moment was the stuff that was around the camp fire.
It was a part of the reason that I was hoping that I could sneak around John and get to my tent... It seemed if he could not see you, than he would at least be able to hear you. It made sense that he was one of my Uncles best men, and he was also the captain of their legion now.
If there even was a legion left... I still was not too sure if there was or not, we had been sitting in our camp, and I had heard a lot of talking from his friends that came through here every so often, but it seemed as though they never came through with what they were talking about.
After a few moments of silence, and me just looking around at absolutely nothing, I heard John begin to speak. I turned my head over to him to listen to what it was. This time however, he was not speaking to me, he was speaking to my father that was still just staring out into the dark blank woods.
After a few seconds of John speaking, he turned his head over to him, realizing that John was speaking to him. It was a bit new to my father, he normally felt a bit alone, almost as if he was an outside in the group. I think everyone felt like that though. John repeated what he was saying after he noticed that my father was paying attention to him.
"David... You do not need to get any more wood for the fire over the next few days... We are leaving tomorrow." He said to him. I looked at John a bit surprised. What was going on? Was he afraid that we were going to get attacked by dragons? My eyes popped out wide.
No one else seemed to notice however, but my father sat there for a few moments as if he had not heard what John had just said to him. But I knew that he had heard him, his mind was just going blank, I had to guess that he was like that because of all the drinking that he had done in his life.
After he few more moments, I could tell that John was starting to get a bit tired of having to repeat things to all of us. As he began to say what he had just said to my father once again. My father stopped him, and I knew that he had been paying attention, he just did not know how to comprehend what John had said in the first place.
"Yes... I heard you, where exactly are we going?" He asked John. John looked at hom for a few moments, and then he squinted his eyes at my father. I already knew what the answer was going to be to my father. It was the same answer he would always give us when someone asked why one of his legion mates had come to visit him.
John got up from where he had been sitting down at on the log. He began to walk up to my father quite a bit angrily. It was something that I had never really seen from him ever before. It came as quite a surprise to the both of us, as I saw my father look at me as if he was asking me how he should handle this.
I just shook my head at him, I was not sure what to say to my father. I could tell that John was fairly upset at him however. He then began to speak to my father, not quite the point of where he would be considered yelling. But it was loud enough to prove a point, and to let us know that he was upset.
"God damn it David! Just go to your tent, if it was something that I felt like I needed to tell you now, than I would say it! You will find out in the morning!" He said to my father. My father moved back, quite a but surprised to hear John talk to him like that.
It also came as a bit of a surprise to me, not just on the fact that John was talking to him like that, but also because of the fact that my father moved back like that. It was almost as if my father was scared of him, which came as a bit of a surprise to me.
My father was never one the shy away from a fight, that was one thing I knew about my father for sure. I had been at the bar when I had seen him get in a couple of fights. He usually won them as well, and it came as more of a surprise to me because John was not really that big of a guy.
My father put his arms up, and shrugged his shoulders at John, letting him know that he was not attacking him at all. It surprised me a lot as well to see John act like that. I squinted my eyes, a bit suspicious, and a bit worried for the both of them.
It looked like John was ready for a fight at any moment now. He did not have his arms and fist balled up, but I could tell that he looked like he was about to swing at my dad at any moment. My dad got up from the log and he just nodded to John, as he quickly headed over to his tent.
John sat there for a few more moments, as he saw him get in his tent. He then looked over at me, and then nodded to me. The rage that I had seen on his face a few moments ago seemed to have just as quickly disappeared as fast as it had begun.
He began to walk over to me, and I moved back, not too sure if he was about to attack me just like he had attacked my father. He saw me move back and he rolled his eyes at me. I wondered if he did not even realize the way he was acting just a few moments ago.
"Alright Joseph... I just want to let you know, that we are leaving tomorrow... Your training is about to take a next step... If you and your friends can't be a part of the legion, than they must leave the legion." He said to me. I looked at him a bit surprised for a few moments.
I was trying to see the look on his face, just to tell if he was being for real or not, but it was just too hard to gage off of him. I looked down at the ground, thinking about what he had just said. I was not sure if he was lying to me or not just to test me.
I had not seen any of his legion mates come to visit him in quite some time, surely they would be visiting him on the daily if that is where we were about to head off to, right? I shook my head, and then I began to shiver as well. I was not too sure if I was ready for it.
I was not a very accurate shooter with a bow, and I was not very good at sword fights either. How was I ever going to be any use to the legion? I figured that I should tell him how I felt about all of this as well. I knew that it did not seem like he listened to what it was that I had to say to him, but I knew that he did anyways.
"If I cant fight, then what use do I have? You brought me all the way here for no reason. I cant think, and I cant focus, I am always worried about whether or not something is watching me from behind the corner." I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then he began to squint his eyes at me once again.
I hated when he was like that, it kind of scared me if I was not going to lie. If he kicked my father out of the legion, he did know that I was going with him as well right? What good would the legion be without me? They would just be a normal army battalion.
I looked at him for a few moments longer, and he finally stopped squinting at me. He did know that I was still quite a bit young for this right? I was only 19! He had told me my Uncle hadn't created the union or started to fight dragons until he was nearly 30... I shook my head as I realized he was speaking to me.
"Joseph... I have seen you, and I have seen your Uncle... Your power goes through generations, you might not be as great as him, but if you work hard enough, and you realize your strengths, and you use them to your advantage, that is when you will start to see your power. You just have not opened up your power, and you do not realize the special abilities that you have... It is not just the visions... That is why we need you." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, and then I nodded to him.
To be frankly honest, it was a lot to take in at one moment. I was not sure if I would ever be as great as my Uncle, just based off of the stories that I had heard about him. I wondered why my mother had never told me about my Uncle, why was she trying to hide it? I felt like I should ask John that question at some point, just not today.
"I am not sure if I can... What happens if I cant?" I asked him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then he shook his head at me. He acted like I was being stupid. Maybe I was, I had to take it from his point of view, he had been fighting dragons practically his whole life.
He looked at me for a few moments longer, just to make sure that I was listening to him. I turned my head to him and I looked at him dead in the eyes as he began to speak to me once again.
"Joseph... Do not worry about it... You will do great things, now you go in to your tent, and you get some good sleep."