They had travelled on foot for days. Silion complained of hers being sore. Winter was near and they had to move to somewhere warmer. Usually, they would camp at a nearby village in the heart of the lands of Laminites tribe, west and a couple miles away from where they had camped.
They had no money to seek comforting means of transport so they only had to walk to their destination. After all, they had settled in the forest, why would they expect comfort? In the eyes of many, they resembled the Wilds, something that made nearby villages fail to help them.
As soon as they were clear from the forest, Nira suggested that they take a breather since they were almost at Neeka, a small village in Bernbute and a perfect hideout. No one cared about Neeka yet it thrived.
The scare they had faced days ago at dawn had made them paranoid and insecure. Their existence was known, something they had planned to hold secret for until they were able to drown threats against their lives.
Nira picked some few pieces of wood then lit a fire. Josh and Silion, drowned in love, flirted as they sat face to face in isolation, fifty meters at best. They almost shared a kiss for the hundreth time when Nira spilled instructions to them.
" Find materials and scout the area, double check if need be, Neeka is our best shot, we better be alive to see it at least and you will have a bed to finally do it!" She said as the lovers faced each other smiling ear to ear each. They always found her comments towards them amusing instead of bossy as she intended.
She had a taste of dominating. All her life she dominated in all aspects. It was you let her in, then she gets hold of you and she did not let go. It was like you handed her your soul by letting her in.
As the two got back from their patrol, the flames burnt steadily as the fire roared in a way both soothing and irritating. She sat across it skinning a gazelle she had caught. She was a great hunter though Josh thought she cheated by using her gifts in her hunts. It reached a point she challenged him on a hunt expedition and without much struggle, she fairly crashed the challenge and sanctioned him.
" So how many days did it take for you to reach Merria? You never spoke of your journey!" Silion inquired as they walked towards her to aide in the preparation of the meal. Josh stared at the ground then bit his lower lip then released it as he sat heavily on the ground by the fire.
" I travelled with some traders. Coming back, I had a horse- Mellsy. She died on the attack of some lions on my way here. I had paused to rest, I was in the stream to drink when it happened." He spoke smoothly and sadly.
" It was not the lions!" Nira stated, her eyes still fixed on her catch. Josh stared at her furiously yet cautious, he knew she could end him with the blink of an eye. Apart from her supernatural gifts, she was a very good fighter, named herself the Wild slayer. She was the first person to kill over four hundred wilds people. Any attack a human being faced from the cursed people of wilds, it only ended with the human cold and bleeding out to death. Not only were they vicious with their attacks, they had power and force a normal human being did not have. Their speed was exquisite and they had enormous strength.
Silion sat silently, taking turns to look at both Josh and Nira. They sat silently for a while as an awkward situation simmered in the air. Josh, felt offended. He knew Nira was right but why did she meddle? He cursed silently at her, ignoring the fact that she could extract that from his mind.
Silion, noticing the recent tensions between the two since Josh's return, decided to come between them. She cleared her throat as she scanned her mind to find a conversation that would restore peace, at least. She knew Nira did not just call out Josh for lying,it was the truth he lied pointing from his reaction and body language. Just like old times at their royal home during dinner, she tried to cheer up the mood.
" The sun is almost fading...I can feel the winter in my veins. This time might be different, it may overstay its welcome!" She uttered softly as both Josh and Nira stared at her. She did not mean that, she only thought it best to soften things up.
Nira maintained her predictable wild nature. As expected, she did not contest it. Just by looking at her she knew exactly what she intended to do. She stared contesting in her mind whether to give her the satisfaction or not. She smiled to herself then stroked her hair, painting some of it red with the blood of her hunt smeared all over her hands. Her dagger firmly held in her right hand and the meat on the left, she subtly slaughtered it piece by piece as Silion did the honors of passing each through the fire.
Most of the time Josh would lie and since Nira knew the repurcussions of calling him out as a liar everytime, she would just walk away yet this time she didn't. Dusk was approaching fast. Josh had found a way to continue his conversation with Silion, only that he had changed the topic. In his heart, Josh knew that everytime Nira questioned his honesty, Silion slowly lost trust in him, but what was love without trust?
Immediately it was dawn, they continued their journey. They walked down a valley, up a hill, across a plain and finally they saw the little town, Neeka. It was flourishing at its absolute best, businesses on going and as wild and popular as the ancient stories depicted it. It was ironical that it was both a popular and a forgotten infamous small town.
In it, lived business and life itself. Love was something considered the most important thing aspect it withheld. As they stood meters away watching a land that would give the life of normalcy to them before they reclaimed their homes, emotions of fear and confusion subdued them. For starters, they were dressed as some wilds , a tribe that was not welcomed in the land of normal man due to its popular acts of savage. Far from that, what if the warriors looking for them and people who had intent to kill them waited for them inside the streets of the town?
As if on sync, Josh and Silion stared at Nira with their ears begging for her to give a suggestion or a caution at least, though they hoped hope would be what she would grant to them. She stared a little longer before walking towards the town.
" No one will notice us, they are too busy!" She assured them as they walked behind her unable to hide their fear.
" How again were you welcomed in Merria dressed like us?" Silion asked as she reached for his hand.
" I told you. I travelled with traders, they offered me clothes!" He said in a tone that insinuated he wanted the conversation put to bed and nothing more on it. This time, he hoped Nira could resist commenting on it of which she did exactly that.
" Why is it called mid town, again?" Silion said as she let go of Josh's hand and caught up with her sister's pace.
As if she was expecting the question, she answered smoothly, " Neeka means Mid town in their language. It was called mid town or Neeka, since it is shared by all the tribes of the land within Alderia ocean. It is not bound to any country."
They were through the gates of the town. Every step they made further in the town had people turn to them and watched them as outcasts. Despise and hatred all over their hypocritic hearts they claimed love resided for all people, they stood still as the trio furthered into the town.
Nira took the opportunity to torment all those that stared into her eyes. Like a spell, they would take their belongings and hand them to her. She even had someone lead them to his house and left it for them. She was simply proving why you should not stare in her eyes. In her heart, she knew that the town was not the right place for them to shelter during the winter but she had no choice but to drag Josh and Silion inside a lion's den, completely aware of the danger ahead of them. As they settled in the house of her victim, she stared at the sky for a while before exhaling out loudly. She thought of having to live the present, destiny awaited but before then, mid town it was...