"Where do we go from here?!" Kaluar asked in a burst of excitement, running ahead of the crowd and turning to see how far he had gotten from the others. His grin ear to ear and his eyes sparking with excitement.
"You're as hyper as ever-" Celi groaned on his shoulder, getting an earful of his loud voice.
The group walked along a dense forest, the sky blocked from view entirely, Mirai let out a chuckle at the excited tone of his comrade, looking at the paper he had received.
"Well, it does say we're going to Anantvrsti, so we're going to have to cross the skyward mountains first."
"And how far are we away from that-" Kurai muttered to himself, not fully stoked about the path ahead.
"Leave it to me," Kaluar declared, scaling up a tree to get a peak of the forest's horizon. His feet dug into the bark and his fiery red hair pushed past the branches until he saw that sliver of blue.
The young elf grinned and shoved his head through, his eyes widened in awe as he saw the path ahead. His gaze promised a journey through mountains that poked the sky, clouds covering their bases as Kaluar's eyes trace the path that climbs them.
"Woah," he awed at the sight, almost breathless at the spectacle that was held before him.
"What do you see? How far are we?!" Mirai called out to him. The young elf snapped out of his daze to respond.
"A- I can see the skyward mountains from here! We're not too far off!"
Mirai smiled to himself at the news, Kurai's gaze falling on his face analyzing his feature with an expression that seemed rather distant.
"Hm? What's your deal-" Mirai muttered, rather irritated by his stare. Kurai sighing and walking ahead without saying a word.
"Why's he even with us-" The young lad muttered to himself as he watched him walk off, his gaze narrowing on his back as Kaluar fell from the tree above onto his back.
"ow-"
Night rolls by and the sound of the soft night winds filled the atmosphere, the chirps of crickets and the rustling grass in the distance as the foxes find their burrow, all filled the ambience. The three young adventurers, laid in the grass next to a doused flame, the smoke dancing up to the moon as a symbol to its final embers.
Mirai got up from his slumber, his eyes weary with sleep yet still restless, carefully grabbing his bag and walking over his companions as he found a freed patch in the forest.
The young adventurer looked up to the moon with a soft sigh, his hand slowly reached out, his fingers spread wide and his lips part slightly in a mindless daze.
"Raise your head high, claim the stars if you have to." He repeated the words of his father, his voice a soft whisper before he clenched his fist in front of the moon.
He stood there for a minute, his hand falling to his side as he crouched to the floor and searched his bag. He pulled the rune out of it, it's hard backed cover rough against his thumb.
His hand reached to turn the page but, he stopped, sitting there and staring at the rune that stared back at him.
"No going back now-" He muttered, closing his eyes to steel his heart, and opened the rune.
A huge explosion went off in the forest, causing the birds to scatter into the night sky, Kaluar's slumber came to an abrupt end as he jolted awake, his head rapidly searching for the source of the noise.
After a few seconds of silence, the young elf stood up and started his search, his eyes landing on Mirai who sat on the floor in utter shock, his gaze staring at nothing but pure destruction.
He couldn't believe his eyes, neither of them good, Kaluar's look of shock soon turning into a happy grin.
"He did it..." The boy muttered, watching on as Mirai got up and silently celebrate.
"He actually,"
"Used magic..."
____________________________
"Thanks again, Lady Elaris!" Renmar called out as he made his way out of the hut, hit with the fresh forest air.
His eyes landed on the spot Mirai's supposed to be, confusion rising in his mind as he looked around, fear soon starting to take it's place.
Tiny feet pattered against the grass of the morning rain, dew drops grazing their ankles as they kicked the ball through the forest. Mirai stood among them, laughing and enjoying their company. Ayla's eyes drawn to him with a soft smile.
"Mirai, to you!" She shouted out to him, kicking the ball over to the young lad, his feet struggling to juggle the ball, before it inevitably tripped him over.
The other kids look at him with looks of amusement, Mirai meeting the embarrassing situation with a sheepish smile, his hands clutched his hood almost like a reflex, letting off a soft sigh as they stole the ball and continued to play.
"You okay?" Ayla pondered, standing over him, her head tilted to the side to get a good look at him on the floor.
Mirai nodded and sat up, the grass moving slowly in the breeze around him.
"Yeah, I'm fine..."
The two kids smiled at each other and got up once more, running to catch up to the others with mindless grins plastered on their faces.
In the distance watched his father who was looking for him, his eyes filled with worry and fear before he ultimately left to head back.
"What do you mean I can't go back?!" Mirai shouted at his father in the comfort of their home, he demanded answers for his seemingly rash judgment, his father standing before him, letting out a sigh of slight frustration before responding.
"You know why, we're not supposed to be seen in other villages! It will only cause troubles for us-" He tried to explain, his words cut off by the rash response from his son.
"Why?!" Mirai snapped, "Human's visit other villages all the time don't they? They're allowed to despite the ban! So why is it different for us?"
There was a moment of silence, a moment for both parties to calm down before Renmar spoke once more, kneeling down in front of his young boy, his hand rested firmly on his shoulders, a tight squeeze of reassurance as he spoke.
"It's hard to explain," His voice softened, his head hung low as if he was scared to face his own son.
"But please promise me you'll keep hidden, and that Ayla girl, promise me you won't get too close to her either," He raised his head, looking his son in the eyes, hoping that he would get it, hoping he would just comply.
The child's hands turned to fists to let out his pent up annoyance, his head hung low as he finally relucted.
"Ok..." He muttered, his father pulling him into a soft hug.