Binding the corpse of the Wendigo. I sit down on some rubble. "You did well." Hearing Raven compliment me, he hands me a water bottle. "Thanks, when you said that it's gonna be a relaxing walk, I didn't have this in mind."
Chuckling, he sits next to me. "Do you still hate volunteers?" Thinking about Raven's question, I reply. "Some of them, I put them all under the same roof. Even though all are volunteers not all of them are bad people."
Finishing the battle, I saw Ravne smile. "Yeah, I learned the same thing when we met Marie and Lucy. They also weren't like the other Depreaved I knew."
Laying down on the piece of concrete, I say. "Looks like we both changed, to think so much can happen in 2 weeks." Feeling something wrap around my neck, I hear Ella.
"What are you two thinking about? We still have to see that grave you talked about Raven."
Nodding my head, I start o dust off my clothes. Getting up, we get ready to head out of the city but stop at a call. "Wait! You with the golden blade!" Turning around, I see a ginger man with a full beard.
"Thank you for your help, all of you. Today we failed to protect the city from outside dangers. We had to move some of the men to different posts, but I'm ever grateful for your help. Mr...."
"Ken, I'm Ken."
"Thank you, Mr. Ken. I'm Alexander Alekseev. The captain of the eastern volunteers. If you ever need help, I'll be available." Reaching out with his hand for a shake, I smile. "No need, I did what any citizen of Aquaria would have done."
Waving as off, we head for the grave. "Something isn't right." I hear Raven say. When I ask him what he means by that, he explains.
"The volunteers sport the numbers in thousands. There shouldn't be a lack of men, even if half of them would die, as there are people fighting over the opportunity to be a volunteer."
Speaking way too fast for my lacking, I ask if it couldn't be because of that southern independence program. "Yeah, of course, that's what they call it." Hearing Ella scuff.
I realized something for the first time. I feel like I understand why she's mad.
"Although they call it an independent action, they just want to leave us to the dogs, since it's just a big slum down here." Raven's hand slams with a cheer from both of us.
"Oh, that's it! They lack men because if the north abandons the slums, they'll have to act as a police force!" raising my eyebrow, I ask him if that's not what they've been doing all along.
"Kinda, but they were an official volunteer group, but if the North abandons us, they will be forced to take on the full mantle of the police force."
Nodding our heads, we arrive at the top of a hill. A single tree grows on top, overlooking the giant city, with the far mountains in the distance.
"This is it? Thought we would go further. We've practically barely left the city." Sitting down on the hill, Raven nods. "Yeah, but during winter the travel isn't safe. While most magical beasts stay away from densely populated areas the same can't be said for the man-eating ones."
Sitting next to him, I say. "Wendigos, I didn't think they were this much of a problem."
Shrugging his shoulders, he tells me that the wendigos are not that dangerous. You have the same chance of encountering a bear. "Yeah, but one will look at you and the other will shove you in its mouth. Not exactly good odds."
Shrugging his shoulders, he closes his eyes. Sitting there in silence, I feel Ella pull on my hand.
"Where is the grave?" Right, where is the grave? "The tree, the tree is the grave. I buried some of her things below the tree." Overhearing our conversation, I can see Ella shrink in embarrassment.
Unsheathing the golden blade, I speak out loud. "So its previous owner rests here." Placing the blade on the grass, I silently pray. Sitting around in silence, Raven is the first one to break it.
"I don't even know why I brought you here. This place can barely be called a grave, yet you followed me here and sat by me in silence." Standing up, he thanked us for it.
"Don't worry, this is the least I can do for you." Patting him on the back, he turns to the city. "Isn't it nice? From up here you can see most of the city, only the most western parts behind can't be seen."
Agreeing with him on that, I look at the distant mountains. "How tall do the mountains have to be for us to be able to see them from such a far?" Telling me that he doesn't know, Ella chirps in.
"They're giant, When I was young and was still a nomad with my father, we were at the bottom of those mountains. It's said that they're larger than any mountains before the cataclysm."
Watching the sunset, Ella lights up like a lightbulb. Reaching into her small purse which I didn't even know she had, she pulls out three small plastic cups.
"How about we share a drink together? It's going to be new years eve yet none of you care. So maybe we can do some oaths like in the old movies? Like, let's see the mountain range together?"
Smiling, we both say. "That sounds like a great idea." Each taking one cup, we see Ella pull out a bottle of water. "I'm not gonna carry a bottle full of liquor. Water will have to be enough."
Laughing about it, we clink our cups. "Cheers! And for another year of luck!"