"Took you two long enough!" Kaluar said with a grin, meeting them along the path that they were supposed to walk. "What kinda of detour did you guys take?"
Celi shifted shoulders to Kaluar, smiling up at him as they finally reunite.
"Through a cave," Kurai smiled softly, his gaze drawn to Mirai who walked ahead unbothered by his sudden disappearance or late presence. His gaze drops to the floor as they kept on walking.
"Woah, a cave? Really?" Kaluar was captured by the rather vague tale, walking ahead of Kurai with eyes of wonder and intrigue. "What was in it? Did you find something cool?"
"How should I know, ask Celi!" Kurai muttered, a hint of misdirected annoyance hitting the young elf as he pushed past.
"what's his deal..." Kaluar murmured, Celi watching on with a look of worry, before tugging on Kaluar's ear.
"Let's go! Mush elf boy we're lagging behind! Mush!" The ear pull snapped Kaluar out of his shallow thoughts, his eyes widened as he realized he was being left behind.
"R-right!" Kaluar ran to catch up with them, their journey continuing through the narrow path of the highland mountains
___________________________________________________
Under the night sky the time for rest had soon befell upon them, the stars above them adorned the midnight blue that was painted over their open flame. The crackling sounds almost nostalgic to former adventurers of the ones seasoned in their prime.
Kaluar nestled under the covers, his dream blissful and clear. His careless soft snores accompany the melody of the crickets that hide in the forest beyond them, and the frogs that nestled around the pond.
However his bliss wasn't shared, as Mirai woke up with a start, his hands clawing into the blades of grass that would soon be torn up by the roots. His face was filled with cold sweat as he stood, stumbling away from their resting area.
("Why are you ignoring me!") Words of a little girl would echo in his mind as he stumbled, his eyes filled with fatiuge.
(I'm sorry...)
("I thought we were friends!") The voices would get louder and louder in his mind, making it harder for him to move forward.
(We were...)
("You're being selfish! Atleast give me a reason!")
(I'm sorry...)
He wondered through the path between the mountains, his eyes heavy and his hand gripping the side of the barriers created by the high peaks.
"Hey..." He heard a voice behind him, stopping him within his tracks. His breath was slow yet heavy, his gaze refusing to turn, to acknowledge the person behind him.
"What do you want-" Mirai muttered, his voice laced with venom as he stood there hardly standing on his own two feet.
"For you to be truthful," Kurai declared, his eyes filled with sincerity as the two stood mere feet away from each other. The atmosphere was thick enough to cut it with a knife, even the cold air of the night had distilled for their eventual dispute.
Silence held them by the throats, both refusing to speak.
Mirai chuckled, his fingers dug into the mountain side before loosening ever so slightly. "There's nothing to be truthful about-"
"Yes there is!" Kurai snapped, cutting his sentence before he had the chance to finish. "I know what you did, I know you used that rune against my advice..."
The young boy's head raised, his mouth slightly agape in confusion at his knowledge. "How did you..."
"You think I'm stupid!?" The young mage raised his hand, pointing towards Mirai, his brow furrowed in anger. "I can sense your mana! One that was before nonexistent!"
"I told you- It's too much for you to handle! You don't have the means to-" His hands balled into fists, his eyes filled with rage and sorrow as he took a step towards the young boy, to watch a former friend slowly collapse before him, he couldn't bare the sight any longer. His mind raced with words to say, but the string of criticism was cut short by an irritated cry.
"You don't think I know that?!" Shouted Mirai, his teeth gritted together in anger.
"Then why..." Mirai sighed at the question, his hands pushing off the mountain side to stand on his two feet.
"I just wanted to be a mage," He murmured with a smile. "I know, it's a stupid desire, I know, I could never hope of beating someone with magic it's just not in my sign."
"But, I've been told to reach for the stars, it's only natural i'll fall back to earth soon after," The wind started to pick up once more, Mirai smiled, the trees dancing with the new found tone in the air.
"T-thats... why-" Kurai eyebrows furrowed even more, his face riddled with anger and confusion, he stormed towards the young mage, his fists tighten and wrapping around the collar of his shirt. "Why would you do something so stupid?! All for a few days of a stupid dream you could never have!"
The young lad's hand reached to grab the arm of Kurai, his gaze unreadable. The young mage's breath hitched at his calm reaction, his hand lowering, and his grip loosening ever so slightly on him.
"I rather live a short happy life, than a long shallow one... it's no different from hell," Mirai muttered as Kurai's hand fell, kneeling before him with teary eyes.
"But you can find something else! Surely, you can find something else-" He pleaded and bargained, his words muffled by the sound of his own cries. "You're just... so selfish-"
Mirai's grip tightened at his words, walking past the young mage who sat there in his own sorrow. "I'm going to bed..."