A calm wind breezed past me, and I looked at the sky. It was dark. Moonlight drizzled through the sparse treetops and reached me. Ophinem's soldiers—scouts, would be out now, wandering these forests they conquered in search of any humans that might have roamed this far. It'd be dangerous to keep Simon out any longer. And despite my feeble attempts at displaying my glee, I had enjoyed myself. With him. The last time I'd felt so enthusiastic in this world had been when my brother was still alive, and we'd frolic around the forest.
There was a low growl somewhere behind me. A bear, most likely. Like humans, they were delicate creatures. No longer could I play with them because, like a child, I underestimated my strength whenever I was excited. Usually, I would have ignored the animal's aggression, but I stopped momentarily. While journeying through my mind, I'd briefly forgotten that the human was my responsibility.
Where had Simon gone?
I spun around and spotted Simon in the distance, distracted by that camera to his eye. He was unbeknownst to the grizzly that stalked him. How powerful were human eyes? Would Simon notice it?
Briefly, I wondered what to do. I didn't want to confront the bear, but if it targeted Simon, I might not have a choice.
Looking in my direction, Simon strained his eyes to see me. "Ruith, come he—"
Oh, now he saw it.
Simon became a wall, his camera falling to the ground and making more noise than he probably would have expected. The smell of his fear was pungent. If I could smell it, the bear certainly could. And it wasted no time charging at Simon. Simon retreated quickly, skillfully without noise, but he groaned when he fell backward onto a bed of sharp rocks.
I lazily wrung out my fingers and manifested a spear with my light magic. In two strides, I protected Simon and blocked the bear's violent slash with my weapon. I hissed when its nails snagged my skin, causing blood to spill. In my other hand, I curled a concentrated ball of golden light.
Then I roared at the bear. Sometimes, it took noise to deter the aggressive ones. The bear's mouth snapped closed with a whimper. It withdrew quickly, losing interest in a potential meal as fear influenced it. I stood my ground until it was out of sight, then dispersed my spear. My light, I kept activated in my other hand.
Once the bear effectively disappeared, guilt nagged me for having raising my voice at it. I recognized the mother bear. She'd been my friend for a while.
Simon was still on the ground when I turned around, trembling slightly. Bears weren't terrifying, but it seemed they could overpower humans. Simon must have thought he would have died at that moment.
"Are you alright?" I dropped to my knees. With my light, I inspected Simon's person. I took his hand and frowned at the color inside his palm. "You must've cut yourself when you fell."
"It's hardly a battle wound." Simon attempted a smile, but it was dull. His expression was a telltale of guilt as he stared at the small wound on my upper arm. It had already begun to close, but plenty of blood remained. "You're hurt."
"It'll heal." I retrieved a tissue from the package Simon had given me earlier and brought a corner to my tongue. Simon observed as I pressed the dampness to his palm. When he hissed, I paused to regard him. "So humans are fragile."
"Are you laughing at me?" Simon asked, but his following smile uncovered the humor in his tone.
A joke.
I shrugged. "It's okay to be weak when you have someone willing to protect you."
We were comfortable in silence while I wiped the dirt and blood from his hand.
"Books don't even scratch the surface of how wonderful magic is. It's strange, but they even have movies trying to recreate it," Simon said, engrossed by the orb of light balancing on my thigh. "What's it like for elves to create something like that?"
I considered my magic also. "The answer to that is based on whether the user depends on pulling their magic from the element around them or being able to manifest it on their own. Magic comes naturally to some, while others must train to access it. Sometimes, even skilled users train to heighten their abilities."
Simon stared thoughtfully at me. "Can magic from your world…heal others?"
"In my province, anyone possessing water magic is capable. But it's rumored that light magic, like mine, also has healing properties. Unfortunately, I never learned how to access it."
"Wow," he breathed, wonder-stricken. "Still, that's incredible."
I was discreetly pleased Simon regarded my magic so fondly, although I was not exceptionally skilled. I desired to wonder him despite my hesitance earlier. It was shameful how easily flattered I was. I stood hastily.
"Come with me. I'll show you something special before you leave."
We followed another grassy path, weaving between growing trees in the dark, although I could see them. This time, Simon stayed nearer to my side. He'd even gotten startled when a family of bunnies crossed before us. Despite his height and lean build, he had quite an adorable air to him.
In no time, we arrived outside the entrance of a cave. The surrounding boulders were decorated with moss, unripe flowers, and birds (when the sun was out). This place occupied another pocket of my heart. In the deepest depths of the cave was where I occasionally planted berry bushes to feed wandering bears and lost cubs. I took a comfortable step into the darkness.
"Wait a second, Ruith." Discomfort had Simon shifting on his feet. "You shouldn't walk in there this late. There could be another bear."
"There isn't. The cave is empty."
Simon's shoulders relaxed a little, and he braved forward. "Are you sure? Does your magic tell you so?"
"Not my magic, my ears. The only heartbeats I hear are ours. Yours is beating fast."
Simon hid his face from me, likely embarrassed. It seemed humans flushed just as readily as I did.
"You can hold onto me if you're afraid, but I wouldn't let anything happen to you," I confidently stated.
When Simon looked at me, our eyes caught for a long, unshakable beat. I felt static on my bare arms; goosebumps tickled my neck. And I wondered if somehow I affected him the same way he strangely affected me.
Eventually, Simon shook his head. "I'm just being cautious. Let's go."
The familiar path of rock felt comfortable beneath my feet. Forward, I strolled with Simon immediately behind me despite 'not being afraid'. My lips were numb with a smile. I turned around and grasped Simon's hand to pull him to the cave's center.
"H-Hey! What are you doing, Ruith? I can't see anything."
"It needs to be dark for this to work," I responded. "Give me your hands."
Simon lifted his hands, and I cupped my own beneath them. I could feel the pulse in his hands beat beneath my fingertips. He was still nervous.
Quickly, I plucked magic from my core deep within me and directed it to the blood in my fingers. I transferred the glittering magic to Simon's hands so that a glowing star of light hovered in his palms.
Simon's wonderous expression was illuminated with a golden sheen, the tips of his curious curls dipping in it also. His cheeks bloomed with color. And he smiled.
"This is amazing, Ruith," he whispered.
I stroked Simon's thumb, lifting my hands against his. "On three." After a nod, "One, two—"
We lifted our hands so that the light could scatter like sunbeams against a mirror. The cave brightened wonderfully, as did Simon's already positive aura. His lips parted with a gasp as he witnessed the magical sight in awe. The light fell like glitter and gathered like snow on the ground until we were standing in a garden of light. My broad smile astonished me, but I could not contain it because Simon also smiled.
He seemed genuinely happy to experience this moment, and that made me embarrassingly glad.
Simon hastily retrieved his camera from his bag. But he did not capture my magic as I thought he would. The camera flashed, and I squinted my eyes.
Simon smiled contentedly as he viewed the photo. "You're really special, Ruith." He offered it for my viewing. In it, my brown eyes shone amber from the flash, and my hair dappled with specks of gold.
"May I try?" I asked.
Simon's voice lifted excitedly. "Really? You want to?" He offered his camera and explained briefly how to use it.
I peeked through the lens I held to my eye. And though the world appeared smaller, many wonderful things came into focus. The carvings on the rock in the distance, the snails that journeyed across the cave floor…the sparkle in Simon's eyes. I captured the picture.
Pulling it out of the slot, I shook it as Simon would and waited a few moments for his image to appear. Humans had magic, too. The elven world didn't have such technology.
"Well…what do you think?" Simon asked after a silent moment. His voice harbored a nervous inflection. He was worried I would disapprove of his image? I inspected the picture for a long time, comparing the intricate details of the Simon on the paper and the one before me.
Eventually, I smiled. "You're special too, Simon."
That usual, wonderful color darkened on his cheeks and neck. He smiled warmly at me. "Thank you for showing me this, Ruith. If this were the last thing I ever saw, I'd die happily."
What an odd thing to say.
Although we'd only just met, I already hoped for the many more days we could enjoy each other's company like this. And I would become hopelessly attached. I already desired many more years of being friends. Now that I'd dipped my heart into this river of friendship, I wanted to submerge myself completely.
The thought of losing what Simon and I had established today inspired an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I'd already lost my brother. How would I cope? Hopefully, I was not destined to be alone…but my heart was skeptical.