"—ke up"
What?
"—ake up!"
My hazy mind urged me back to sleep but a distant voice kept echoing through my mind.
"Wake up, damn it!l"
"Kuugh"
A heavy impact to my chest flung my eyes open as I sat up, unconsciously groaning.
Light filtered through an old window and lit up the bits of dust that were flung into the air.
A girl stood there, at the foot of my bed, in the golden light.
Her golden hair was long and braided at the end, her shining golden eyes glimmered in the morning sun from beneath well trimmed bangs.
My friend Lena.
"Can you stop staring and get up already!"
Her loud voice gave me a slight headache as I gingerly rubbed my hand through my hair.
"Sorry, just admiring your beauty for a bit, you want to get dinner after this?"
"We eat dinner together everyday doofus, get up and help dad with the farm."
And then she left and not without slamming the door so hard the hinges creaked.
Better get going.
I threw on my working clothes and opened my door dislodging a nail in the process.
***
The morning Sun was much less tolerable outside, it's rays catching my eyes underneath my hat and making everything a little more exhausting.
I rounded the corner and opened the fences to the fields, I spotted Lena's dad working hard on harvesting all the grains.
"Morning mister Renata."
I waved my hands at the old man toiling away.
His body was strong for his age and he stood a good bit taller than me, though his hair had turned white he still looked a sturdy, hardy man.
"Rinne! Good timing you mind using your little miracles to help cut some of this rye?"
"I told you it's called magic…"
I reached my right arm out and placed my left hand over the sigil on my right.
Reaching out into the aether I manifested my consciousness.
"Gale, cut!"
Fwoosh.
A sharp gust of wind swept past my face and condensed into a blade cutting a swathe through the rye stalks.
Instantly I felt like part of myself had been expended and a slight migraine hit me.
Old man Renata whistled behind me and grabbed a few stalks that blew in his direction.
"Sure is a useful trick to have huh, too bad I ain't got the aptitude."
"Tiring to use though…"
"Hah, tiring!?" Old man Renata laughed and slapped my back "Boy you're lucky you can do so much with your handy tricks, I can only rely on these old bones to do the work."
I grinned, in the end some mental exhaustion beat long hours toiling in the fields. I was glad I could help relieve some of the old man's work, even if I occasionally slept in…
"You're right… maybe I need to put on some more muscle to impress the ladies around here."
"Bah, the dumb kids these days love the scrawny pretty boy look." Old man Renata shouted while tying up bundles of rye. "Sure glad my daughter hasn't the fancy for the pretty boy mage type."
"You sure old man?"
The old man gave me a funny look before bursting out laughing.
"Boy, you couldn't woo her after ten years of trying, I'm pretty sure I have nothing to worry about."
…Well he was right, although I was never really sure if I thought about her that way. We were much closer as family than most were as lovers.
"Old man I'm stronger than I look, you see me without a shirt?" I flexed a little, not really showing much underneath my baggy clothes.
"Hahahaha, your hidden strength is why you lose to my girl every time you spar."
"She beats everyone in the village, she doesn't count as a girl clearly… gale, cut!" I shouted back to the old man as I continued to slice through rye.
"…I don't count as a girl, did I hear you right?"
Lena appeared behind me
"You heard me, why would I put you in the same category as Bertha the baker when you can punch a hole in a tree, I think we need to think of a new category of creature."
"Yeah, so then you were peeking at an unknown creature in the bathhouse last week?
Her smug grin seemed to pierce into my soul.
I felt my face flush hot as I dropped a pile of rye and my mind spun into action.
…Okay maybe I do think of her that way.
"You— you knew I was there?"
"Uh huh, you enjoy the view?"
Old man Renata laughed and slapped his knees. Meanwhile I tried to hold it together as I was besieged by the smuggest look known to mankind.
"…Why didn't you say anything?" My voice was unusually quiet as I glanced over at her, she slowly walked forward and whispered into my ear. "Why do you think?"
Oh man.
My mind raced at a million times a minute as I ran through the correct answer to that question.
"You can stop staring at me and get back to work idiot."
"Oh… uh yeah."
I tried to distract myself with work as mister Renata continued to poke fun at me and Lena popped by every now and then to tease me.
Needless to say the rest of the morning went by in a slow painful daze.