Gouna was surrounded by many large trees. Thus, the youngsters did not walk too far from the town before they entered the thick forests that surrounded the town.
Jacek held Yuki's hand tightly as they walked behind Treyton and Beckett. His eyes wandered and scrutinized everything around them. "Careful," he told Yuki occasionally as they tread forth.
Yuki on the other hand had very little to care about as she left all the worrying to her brother. She only cared about the serene beauty and the refreshening vegetative scent of the forest. Once in a while her thoughts would drift to Treyton. She wanted to question him about his strange reaction when he saw her without her tan that morning. But then again, Yuki did not know how to bring up the topic and so, she chose to ignore that issue all together and concentrate on their hiking instead.
Not far from where the group walked, they witnessed two wolves mating. Jacek was quick to cover his sister's eyes with his large hands. Yuki smacked Jacek's hand away and threw him a sharp glare. Beckett laughed, startling the wolves and causing them to flee the vicinity.
"You two are weird," Beckett continued to laugh.
Jacek and Yuki looked at Beckett with eyes that expressed their derision. They found it ironic that he, of all people, was the one to speak about their peculiarity.
Treyton chuckled when he noticed the expressions on the siblings' faces as they looked at his cousin.
"What is wrong?" Jacek asked when he noticed Yuki's musing countenance.
"Adult wolves should look like those, right?" Yuki pinched her chin and visualized the wolf she saw the previous night.
"That is right," Jacek replied without hesitating.
"But the wolf I saw was twice if not triple the size of those."
"What wolf? Where did you see it? What did it look like?" Beckett spoke with urgency, his expression austere.
Yuki stared at Beckett while she tried to put her imagination to words, "It was very large and it had black fur. I am not sure how to explain what it looked like any further than that. I saw in in the bushes below my window. But like I said it was probably three times the size of those wolves."
Beckett stern face loosen into one that expressed dubiety or disbelief or a little of both. He straightened his back and looked at Treyton from the corner of his eyes; daring not openly look at him or even voice out his confusion.
"Gouna is known for hosting several species of wolves in its forests, you may have seen a very rare species, Ms. Adlerian," Treyton explained slowly while holding Yuki's gaze. The siblings nodded in affirmation and looked in the direction the wolves fled to. When they looked away, Treyton gave Beckett a menacing scowl. Beckett bowed his head and retreated a few steps back.
The group continued their hiking. They ventured deeper and deeper into the forest while at the same time descending the hill.
Along the way, Jacek and Beckett realized they had similar interests in the technology of the outside world from the books they had both read. The two now walked together speaking of the world they had seen in magazines and the innovations that characterized those worlds.
Yuki, when she realized her brother was not only enjoying the activity but also now had someone who shared similar interests as he, to converse with, she separated herself from Jacek and joined Treyton ahead.
There was an awkward silence between Treyton and Yuki as they walked beside each other down the hill. Yuki wanted to do nothing else but appreciate the forest entirely, however, her mind did not stop pestering her about the fact that, that moment was the best time to speak about the he-saw-her-without-a-tan-and-was-not-surprised issue. Yuki cleared her throat, gathered her thoughts and was about to speak when Treyton beat her to it.
"I was surprised; I still am. I am also curious about the story behind it all…" Treyton looked at Yuki and held her gaze, "will you tell me if I asked why you don't wear your own skin?" Treyton continued. He stared into her blue eyes.
Lingering in the enticing blue was a hint of innocence. The type of innocence that was both frail and strong. The type that could be tainted easily and could also withstand all corruption. Treyton's objectiveness weakened as a sense of guilt gripped his heart.
"There are few commoners with my complexion in Stolz, I did not want the attention I could have gotten if I chose to move around without a tan. I wanted to move freely," Yuki looked into a distance when she spoke.
…
After walking for a while, the group arrived at a stream down the hill. A soothing sound of gentle flowing waters as well as pacific ripples emanated the area. Several birds twittered in harmony with the beautiful tune of the placid stream. Every so often, benign winds swirled around the tree branches, hauling them along into a little breeze dance.
"It is beautiful," Yuki thought out loud as she looked at the mesmerizing scenery before her. The men had similar thoughts as they scanned the area.
Beckett brought out a large mat from his bag and laid it along the stream. He placed a stone on each corner of the mat to prevent it from being blown away. Afterwards, he set the area up for a little leisurely picknick. He invited the group to sit on the mat after he was done setting up.
Yuki and Treyton were the only ones who ended up sitting. Jacek and Beckett decided to compete in a fishing contest after seeing a few fishes swimming in the stream. They took off their boots and rolled up their sleeves, each wearing a look as if they were going to lead a bloody battle.
"I will catch you a big fish, cheer me on, Yuki," Jacek exclaimed in a conceited manner.
"Should I catch my fish in your honor, Treyton?" Beckett asked hesitantly. He turned away and headed for the stream as soon as he saw the look Treyton gave him.
Yuki chuckled. She rose from the mat and started picking up twigs from the ground.
"Are you going to set fire for the fish Jacek promised?" Treyton was curious.
"Who? Did you believe him? He has no skills aside reading and sleeping. I brought some tea along with me, I wanted to brew some for us."
Treyton laughed. He had actually believed Jacek had some skills considering his confidence earlier. Now that Treyton was looking at Jacek try to fish, he understood why Yuki did not trust him to catch anything. He was actually trying to scoop the fish with his hands! Treyton laughed once more. He rose to help Yuki gather her twigs.
While Treyton made the fire, Yuki fetched the kettle and teacups from the bag she brought.
"You must really love tea to actually think of coming along with a kettle all the way from the duchy. I'm impressed," Treyton said and put more twigs on the fire he had made.
Yuki smiled to herself. She poured water into her little kettle and set it on the blazing fire. "Tea calms my nerves and helps me relax. It also reminds me of my mother." Yuki returned to the mat and sat.
Treyton joined her in sitting. They both stared at Beckett and Jacek as they had fun trying to catch fishes.
"May I ask you something?" Treyton asked without looking at Yuki.
"I am all ears," Yuki said, her tone expressing her interest and curiosity.
"In your life now, who is the most important person?" Treyton glanced at Yuki, his grey eyes inspecting her face intensely.
"Most important person in my life…" Yuki contemplated with her head tilted. "Hmmm, I would have to say Jacek, I guess." She glanced at her soaked brother who was at the time battling a fingerling. Yuki was reminded of all the things her brother had been through for her sake. Her lips curved into a grateful smile, "definitely Jacek" she added more firmly than before.
Treyton glanced at Jacek as well, he pictured his own brother in his mind which caused a familiar heaviness to weigh on his heart. "I guess we are more similar than I thought."
Yuki took her eyes off of Jacek and glimpsed at Treyton. He did not wear any emotions on his face but his eyes were narrower than usual.
Treyton set his tea down beside him and laid down on his back while resting his neck on his large arms. He stared at the bright blue sky above the tall trees.
"Yuki…" his voice was low and deep.
"Mmh?" Yuki hummed in response.
"If Jacek was in a dire situation, one that could potentially end his life and by chance, there was a once in a lifetime miracle that could save him but that miracle would endanger someone else…" he turned to look at Yuki who stared back at him thoughtfully "you would still save him, right?"
'Would she?' Yuki was not sure. Since she lived with her godfather while growing up, Yuki had witnessed many family dilemmas and drama when it came to chronically ill relatives. She had witnessed how desperate the relative could be as they sought nonexistent hope. She witnessed how far some went to make sure their loved ones lived longer. She witnessed the absurdity of love through their despairing eyes.
And now as she looked at Treyton, she saw the same absurdity in his beautiful grey eyes. She was never able to empathize with people who were driven to insanity by devotion, but somehow, she could empathize with Treyton. She could comprehend his madness to a fair degree.