Stunned, Icarth eyed the forest guardian.
'What the hell is it saying?' Icarth thought, not being able to comprehend its words.
Icarth already had a gut feeling that it was only because of the forest guardian that Icarth had survived that near-death experience.
After deducing this, it wasn't hard to conclude that the forest guardian would take something from Icarth in return. After all, nothing was free in this world.
But never did Icarth expect it to be something like this.
Noticing that Icarth was at a loss for words, the forest guardian reassured, "You don't have to accept right away child. I am not forcing you to do this. I saved you because I was impressed by your spirit in the face of death. The request of becoming my pupil is a completely separate matter."
Snapping back to attention, Icarth eyed the guardian suspiciously. While he didn't trust the guardian's words, there was truly no reason for it to lie to him. After all, with its strength it could force him just like the cloaked figure had done.
"Think about it child. You should know that I did not lie. But beware, that man will come after you again. You do not have much time." The forest guardian warned. "When you have decided, come back and state your answer."
Before Icarth could open his mouth, the wind picked up and the tree swayed. Icarth felt a lapse of concentration approaching. But instead of falling victim to it, Icarth didn't lose his concentration at all and saw how the forest guardian disappeared.
A loose veil of leaves flashed by, some real and some made of some sort of energy.
'Universal Energy.' Icarth thought with a flash of excitement. He could finally see it somewhat.
Swirling around the forest guardian, there was a low cracking sound as roots started to break out of the guardian's sole foot.
Quickly digging into the ground, the swirling leaves settled on the forest guardian's body forming a complete tree.
The only difference was that the hollow where the lustrous blue pearl sat was empty.
The forest guardian had seemingly changed back into a normal tree, its presence completely masked.
'No, not the forest guardian.' Icarth concluded after his assessment of the tree.
While it did seem like the forest guardian had transformed into a tree, it was more like the presence of the forest guardian vanished and all that remained was its body.
Staring at the tree for a while longer, Icarth finally muttered, "My name is Icarth Struze, what's yours?"
While it did seem totally out of place, Icarth felt that it was better to introduce himself to his savior before it was too late. Well better late than never that is.
Not expecting a response, Icarth turned to leave the clearing which was no longer a clearing, when he heard a voice carried by the winds,
"Acacia.." A breezy voice whispered with a chuckle. The voice was nothing like the voice that the forest guardian had when it was in its tree form.
Surprised, Icarth paused for a moment, before shaking his head and entering the forest.
Icarth headed back to Aster City relying only on his innate sense of direction to guide him through the forest.
From one place, the forest guardian watched Icarth make his way back to the city.
"Interesting boy..." it murmured watching Icarth leave its domain.
Right now, its body only consisted of the single blue pearl that it used as an eye when it was talking with Icarth. As for where it was, only it knew that.
"I hope you make the right decision boy, you have great potential."
-----
Making his way back to Nova Academy, Icarth stopped near the edge of the forest. He was half naked, and he did not feel like becoming a walking attraction for everyone to gawk at.
Finding the right tree, Icarth used his partial transform and extended his claws into the base of the tree. Hitting an obstruction, Icarth searched for the hook and pulled.
As simple as reading that sentence, the box was pulled out of the ground, even easier than before due to Icarth's increased strength.
Opening the box, Icarth took out a T-shirt and pulled it on. Returning the box, Icarth buried it again making sure it was secure in the ground. Dusting his hands the best he could, Icarth headed out of the forest and towards Nova Academy.
Icarth was still lost in thought, Icarth vaguely noticed that that the sun was slowly setting as the streets were as busy as ever, with people commuting back to their homes after a long day of work.
'Who is that man?' Icarth questioned in his head. What had he done to gain the attention of such a powerful individual? The forest guardian was a different story,
Icarth didn't know, but this trend would continue into the future where he would continue to attract powerful figures.
'Why does the guardian want to take me in?' Icarth wondered after a while. 'I'm still weak compared to it and it can't be because of my spirit or whatever...maybe it's due to my potential?' Icarth concluded hesitantly. He was still unsure if his deduction was right when he found himself in front of the boy's dorm.
"Mr. Uto." Icarth greeted the distracted security guard on his way in.
"Huh?" Uto snapped to attention after his name was called. Icarth didn't pay any further attention to Uto and made his way to his room. Seeing this, Uto frowned slightly at his dismissal, but that's how Icarth acted most of the time so Uto let it go.
Suddenly, Uto remembered the notice that was put out for Icarth's sudden disappearance. Rapidly looking for Icarth, Uto found that Icarth had already disappeared up the stairs and to his room.
Speechless, Uto thought about what to do, 'I'll just inform the authorities that he is back.' Getting to a quick conclusion, Uto went to call the warden that Icarth had returned safely
Reaching his room, Icarth entered his room to find Sefir sitting at his desk contemplating something.
"Sup, Sef." Ica greeted.
"Hey, Ica," Sefir responded absentmindedly before realising what had happened.
"ICA?!!" Sefir repeated in shock and stared at his roommate.
Raising his eyebrows, Icarth slowly said, "yeees?"
"Where have you been?!" Sefir shouted standing up to face Icarth.
"..training.." Icarth responded after a short pause.
"Training?! What sort of training were you doing?!" Sefir continued to grill Icarth with a loud tone of voice.
"What's it to you anyways? It's not been that long anyways," Icarth snapped at Sefir, not willing to reveal his training site. Icarth just didn't want to go through the drama that would come after if people knew where he was going to train.
"Not long?" Sefir said softly.
"Not long?!" Sefir repeated louder.
"Icarth do you know how long you've been gone?!" Sefir asked trying to calm himself down the best he could.
Icarth paused. Sefir's words caused a sprout of worry to plant itself inside Icarth.
"Two days?" Icarth guessed. It might've been around that time given that he had lost consciousness at night. To be honest that was a very wide estimate by Icarth's standards.
Rubbing his head, Sefir sighed. "You've been gone for almost a week and a half."
"What?!"