The calm gale moved through the village. It was a certainly festive day at the village.
"Stop running, damn it!" Ailsa yelled out, chasing after Marco, as he cackled. The stick of a corndog rested in his mouth.
It was a festival in the village, celebrating the birthday of the chief's son. He had been on this earth for 12 years, now.
Marco sat on a bench, his arms resting on the back. On his head, bandages were wrapped around tightly. He had a dead look in his eyes, as he glared at nothing.
"You still mad about that loss, Marco?" the boy sitting beside him said. A cheeky boy, with sharp ears and golden locks, glistening brown eyes that hit the light just right. His face was plastered with a mischievous smile.
"You've been here for 10 minutes, Flardryn."
"Have I?" Flardryn replief, crabby. Even though he was the one trying to rile up Marco, Flardryn ended up being riled up with a simple phrase. He was a very irascible boy.
Marco was not paying much attention to Flardryn, however. His eyes were set on the sunset.
"Flardryn, I have a question."
"What is it?" Flardryn asked, with his arms crossed. He still wasn't over the simple reply.
"If I had won that fight, what do you think would've happened?"
"You would've regained your honor, and Tou would've started to respect your father."
"Okay. Well, let me ask you this. Do you think this all affects me?"
"Ah... no? What's with all these questions?" Flardryn's eyebrow rose.
"I think that's all that's important."
"..."
"What people think of you, that's reality. Nothing else matters."
"You're stupid, Marco."
"..."
"Living based on others isn't living. That's just existing, you dumbass."
"You're the real dumbass. Doing something like that will get you nowhere!-"
All of a sudden, Flardryn punched Marco. It was hard enough to turn Marco's neck, facing the other way.
"You damn!-"
"You're acting out of character now, Marco. It seems like reality has been shifted."
Marco slowly lowered his hand, which was about to strike Flardryn.
"Damn it."
Flardryn smiled, feeling a bit accomplished.
"Ah, right. Where did Tou even go?" Marco asked.
. . . .
. . .
. .
.
It was a dark room that Tou resided in. He sat cross-legged in the middle of his room, his eyes tightly closed. Meditation was supposed to help with your mind and soul. But it wasn't helping him at all.
"Damn it... I'm supposed to be having fun outside with Ailsa and Marco... but instead, I'm here."
Sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was irregular. It could seem like a common cold, but it was a lot more than that.
He collapsed to the ground, panting even harder. Then, he started rolling around.
"My skin... itches... so bad!" he groaned. He couldn't stop scratching his skin.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain coming from his back. At first, it felt like just a pin pricking his skin. But it was like his bones were sprouting out of his back.
"Shit! Shit! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" he couldn't stop repeating it. As if he was trying to get some kind of, closure. But even after the sprouting of his bone stopped, it still hurt.
He limped to the bathroom, to reach the mirror. There it was. A damp, pair of wings, soaked in blood. His own blood.
They flapped a few times, shaking the blood off. He bit his lip, to at least try and numb the pain.
He placed his hand on the mirror, trying to lean on something. It shattered.
"What... what's going on?"
His nails were sharp and long, like the talons of an eagle. His eyes were big and scanned the entire area, like those of a reptile.
Tou's panting stopped suddenly and abruptly. His wings retracted into his body.
"Strange. A human soul... good enough to hold me? It is restraining to be in a elven body, but I'm not in that freezer anymore."
He looked normal. Besides the injury on his back, which was slowly healing anyway.
Tou grabbed his shirt from the ground, placed it back on, and walked outside.
"There you are, Tou!" Ailsa smiled, grabbing Tou's hand. Tou smiled.
"What were you doing in there anyway, Tou?" Marco asked, crossing his arms. He also had a faint smile, happy to see Tou.
"I was just stretching. That's all."
Tou yawned, his arms stretching out.
"Come on, Tou. Everyone is watching Rar wrestle a bear!" Ailsa giggled.