Sitting around a bonfire near the middle of the grassy piece of land hanging over the lake, the members of the research team and their kids leisurely chomped away at the lakesnake meat. Arold sat beside his mother, back against the cliff, opposite to them were Malaro and his daughter, Vurils to the right and Salonesas to the left.
"This one's super badass, Mrs. Sylren," Korven said as he walked to them, the excited smile on his face lit by the crackling fire, showing the research team leader the photo of her jamming an arrow into the Etherbeast's skull. He clicked a button on his camera and the photo changed, looking at Arold. "This one's of you saving Arold, who I still can't believe volunteered to become bait."
Arold ate his dinner quietly.
"You're too humble," Korven said, patting the boy's shoulder. "Thanks for the dinner anyway." He sat beside Arold, eyes and hands on his camera. He was right beside the awkward boy. Arold gulped…down his food, his blinks getting faster.
Sylren tore into another chunk of Beast flesh, the thick sauce marinating it prepared by Malaro himself. He was responsible for bringing in all the food supplies, including the cooking appliances—all solar powered.
And just like always, he'd brought a lot more than just "extra" food. They would probably not need it for the weeks to come, because if preserved properly, the lakesnake would last them for the coming period.
"When'll we start, Sylren?" Malaro asked. "The sun had set hours ago." Preparing the snake—skinning, draining blood, cutting, organ removal, and finally cooking—had taken a long while.
"Can't focus with an empty stomach," Sylren said, dipping the meat in some extra sauce. "Let me finish this."
Malaro sighed. "I knew it…"
Lariz had already finished his dinner so he was organizing his notes to make their reading smoother for the rest of the team. "I'll have you know that aside from the physical description we know nothing of these mysterious Etherbeasts."
"The real mystery is their behavior toward the mining skyguards," Prestris said, pointing with a spoon. "We have to find out why they do it and if attacking humans is also a part of their personality."
"I'll handle most of that," Malaro said, refilling Ulana's cup with water. "I personally think their aggression stems from their diet, but we'll only find the truth once we look into what they actually eat. Prestris, you'll have to look into the relation they have with their habitat and why they prefer living down here."
"Must be their biology," Sylren said, putting down her plate. "Night vision and keen senses. Not too dissimilar from the other Etherbeasts that call caves their home." She turned to take Arold's plate as well and found him smiling at the photos Korven was showing him on his camera. Seeing her boy open up to someone, she started smiling unknowingly.
Ulana stood, a glass of water in her hand, and walked over to them. "Don't bore the kid, Korvem," she said sarcastically.
"You could've told me that from there too, Ulama," Korven replied slyly. "But guess you wanna get bored too."
Sylren rose, her own and Arold's dirty plates in hand. "You two knew each other before this?"
Korven and Ulana looked at each other, then smiled. "Not at all," Ulana said. "And I wish it could've stayed that way."
Korven shrugged. "I'm with you on that."
Sylren snorted softly. "Oh, you two are going to be with each other on a lot of things, trust me." She walked to the inflated tub behind Malaro which was filled with water taken from the lake, leaving both teenagers with red faces.
Prestris joined her, chuckling softly. "You better tell him what you really think about him before I do it for you, Ulana."
Korven turned his head toward the orange-haired teen, both flushing profusely at this remark. "What you think about…me—?"
Ulana emptied the glass of water on Korven's face, blushing as she stood and walked away right after. "Don't even think about it!"
Korven handed the camera to the very confused Arold, running down his palms on his face to wipe away the water. He then sighed deeply.
Lariz flipped a page on his notepad, fixing his glasses with the hand holding the pen—
"She ran away," Sylren said, turning to the writer. "Guess that's one trait you passed down to your son, Lariz."
Lariz choked, falling to the side. "Why must you always remind me of her…?"
###
The adults laughed but Arold didn't know why.
He was so caught up in figuring out the reason that he didn't even notice Trixina walking to his side and was caught off-guard after suddenly finding her sitting beside. He gulped, sweat forming on his forehead.
'I never apologized…' he thought. 'I should…'
"What were you looking at, Arold?" said the little girl.
Words did not leave his mouth and the moment got longer, Trinixa growing apprehensive for an answer. So Arold simply handed her the camera that he held as Korven wiped the water off his face. Trixina took the device but her confused face told that she was obviously expecting a verbal answer.
She looked at the photo already opened on the screen of the camera and a smile curved her lips up. "A butterfly! So beautiful!" She turned the screen to Arold. "Don't you think so too?"
"Er…" Arold gulped. 'What should I say to not make her mad? I should stay away from saying no. But would she be satisfied with just a simple yes? Or after that, what if she asks me what specific thing I like about this butterfly? I've never even thought about a butterfly before this…but if I had, I would've known what to say right now…'
Trixina sighed with a hand on her forehead, camera on her lap. "I seriously hate that about you," she said, poking him in the forehead. "Why do you take so long to respond? Just say something. Anything."
'Shoot!' Arold thought. 'There were more than two options… Staying quiet to think of an answer was definitely a wrong one—"
She leaned closer and put an ear to Arold's chest, brows furrowed.
Arold squeaked. "Er… What're you doing…?"
"Trying to hear what you're thinking," Trixina replied, hands on Arold's shoulders. "After all, a person's heart tells their true thoughts."
"You're…playing," Arold said.
Trixina pulled herself away from him. "I wasn't! It's true!"
Arold gulped, looking away from her. "Er… No, it's not. A heart is just an organ inside the human body. It pumps blood to keep us alive. It has no connection with our thoughts whatsoever…" He gathered courage to look up at her. Just as expected, she didn't seem pleased with the reply.
"I…" Arold said, looking away again. "I'm sorry. For the previous time too." He clenched his fists. "I never want to make anyone mad. But whenever I talk—"
"I'm not mad," Trixina said, looking mad. "I was just shocked to find you talking that big a sentence is all."
"But the one time before this…" Arold said, trying to force a smile on his face to not make his tone sound offensive. "I didn't say too much—"
"And that's exactly why I got mad," Trixina said. "You only said what you said to run away from your actual answer. I don't like people like that." She grabbed her pony and raised it. "The kids at the academy make fun of me for liking butterflies, saying it's childish. But I still like butterflies and hiding it would be running away from myself.
"Others can't decide who I am! They think it's childish but I don't HAVE to think the same way!"
Arold's eyes widened. 'I was…running away…from myself…?'
"So now," she said loudly, "what do you think of butterflies, Arold?"
"Er…" Arold said with a gulp, looking away from—
She slapped both her palms on his cheeks, grabbing his face and bringing it toward her. "I asked: What do you think of butterflies?"
Cheeks squished, Arold voice was a mumble. "I like them…because you like them."
Trixina's brows rose. She took her hands back. "You're playing…" she said, looking away.
"I wasn't," Arold said immediately. "It's true!"
"Really?" Trixina asked softly.
Arold nodded sharply.
Trixina looked at him and smiled. "Wanna be fr—?"
"There it is," Korven said. "Can you give me back my camera? I kinda have to chase a certain girl."
Trixina handed the young man his device. "Do you like butterflies too?"
Korven put the camera strap across his torso, letting it hang beside his waist. "I don't capture a photo if I don't love what's in it." He smiled then dashed off to the cave.
Trixina smiled as he left. "He's quite big AND likes butterflies. It can't be THAT childish."
Arold nodded in agreement.
"Let's ask him to take our photo," Trixina said.
Arold sharply turned his head toward her, confused. "Er… Why?"
"Come on," Trixina said. "Not everything needs a reason. Let's just do it."
Arold gulped.
Trixina exhaled, grabbing his hand.
Arold squeaked—
She pulled him up and started running to the caves. "Papa, I'm going to the caves."
Malaro looked up from the cooking station. "What? No! Its late night. There'll be monsters there—"
"Don't get lost," Sylren said. "And tell the monsters I said hi."
Trixina smiled. "Alright!"
Arold looked at his mother for help but she just smiled as Trixina dragged him into the darkness. Not too long after this, they caught up with Korven, who had a hand on Ulana's shoulder, both standing beside a small hole in the ground.
Trixina stopped a short distance away from the two—Arold too, by extension. "Is she crying?" she asked, looking at Ulana, who had her face pressed into her palms.
"Er…" Arold said quietly. "We should probably stay out of this…"
Trixina denied with a shake of her head. "I want that photo now."
Arold sighed, troubled. "Fine…" But only now when he looked for it, he noticed Korven's camera was missing.