Flames danced into the night sky, the only form of light on a grim dawn. A young Mirai sat by the pits of the raging inferno, his hands weak and his head heavy, allowing burdened tears to flow onto the charred ground.
"Why..." He murmured, his head raising to greet the flames, "Why did this had to happen! I-if only... if only dad was here-"
"Well, we're here..." Mirai murmurs as they finally passed the mountains, their scenery changing, their goal now insight.
"Finally!" Kaluar cheered, running ahead with Celi, his feet patting against the grass of the new horizon.
"Sleeping in that forest gave me the creeps..." Celi murmured on his shoulder, holding her arms as if something will just pop out at this very moment.
"What kind of adventurer thinks like that? come on cheer up" Mirai chuckled at her words, walking up to meet them side by side.
"We just need to get to this place right?" Kurai pondered.
"Yup!" Kaluar grinned from ear to ear, "Then we pick up a souvenir from our travels as proof!"
Mirai kept quiet as the journey continued, the sound of soft voices echoed in his mind the closer he got.
"H-hey, wait for me!" A young version of himself ran past him, his eyes widened at the sight, watching as he ran through the field in careless bliss. He remembered running down this path before, multiple times to catch up with his father.
"You need keep up the pace, no adventurer is that slow!" He heard his fathers boisterous voice erupting into a loud laughter, his hands falling upon young Mirai's head and ruffling his hair.
Mirai touched the top of his head, almost as though he can feel his touch from just the memory, though his sudden actions created cost for concern.
"You ok?" Kaluar asked, looking over to the boy, to which Mirai responded with a soft smile, turning back to the road ahead of them.
"Yeah I'm good..."
"O-ok..." Kaluar muttered, not fully convinced.
"Come on let's go!" Mirai shouted, running up ahead with almost no warning.
"H-hey wait up will ya?!" Kaluar laughed as he too ran with him, Celi hung on to his ear to not be blown away by the sudden winds, laughing along with them as they got caught up with each other.
Kurai stands behind watching as they all run ahead, his gaze thoughtful before he took his next few steps to catch up with the others.
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"Why're you avoiding me?!" Ayla demanded, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she blocked Mirai's path. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice carried a sharp edge, like she had been holding this in for a while.
"N-no reason..." Mirai stammered, trying to sidestep her. But Ayla moved with him, refusing to let him pass. Her arms stretched wide, determination radiating from her.
"There's obviously a reason!" She insisted, her voice rising in frustration. "Just tell me!"
"I'm serious! Just let me go!" Mirai's voice cracked as he pushed forward, but Ayla held her ground. It was like he was trying to outrun more than just her questions.
Their struggle intensified, both pushing against each other with body and will. Ayla's feet dug into the dirt, her breath growing heavy.
"Then... answer... me!" she gritted through clenched teeth. With one final push, she knocked the poor boy over, his body hitting the ground with a soft thud.
His hood fell back slightly from the sudden impact, shining light on his round human ears.
Ayla froze at the sight, her mouth slightly agape.
The world seemed to stop with her. The wind still blew, the trees still swayed, but between them, silence stretched, thick and palpable. Mirai's heart pounded, fear visible in his gaze. the world around him dull in comparison to the rapid beat of his pulse.
Ayla's eyes widened, locked onto his ears. Her mouth opened, but no words came out at first. She swallowed hard, her previous anger dissolving into stunned curiosity.
His mind raced, searching for an answer, an excuse to hopefully get him out of this situation. He scrambled, his hands shooting up to cover his ears, as if he could somehow erase what she had just seen. "W-wait, it's not what it looks like!" His voice shook with panic.
Ayla stared at him, speechless, before the silence cracked, replaced by a soft chuckle. It started small, but it quickly grew into a hearty laugh, one that made her clutch her stomach as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Mirai blinked, his face flushing a deep red. "Why are you laughing?!" he shouted, still flustered, unsure if he should be embarrassed or relieved by her unexpected reaction.
Ayla wiped a tear from her eye, her laughter softening but not disappearing entirely. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! im sorry!" She apologized rapidly, chuckles and wheezes still escaping her lips. "It's just... I wasn't expecting... that."
Mirai looked down, his hands still on his ears with an embarrassed expression. He wished he'd die right then and there, his face masked with a hue of red.
"So..." He murmured, looking up at her with somewhat hopeful eyes. "You don't hate me...?"
Her laughter slowly dies down, wiping tears of joy that had shed.
"Why would I hate you for that?" She murmurs her voice still joyous. She grinned, eyes still glancing at his hands, masking his ears. "It's kinda cute."
Mirai eyes widened slightly, his gaze filled with surprise and relief. "O-oh... I thought..." He muttered, his sentence cut off by her.
"Is that really all? Did you really think I'd hate you for that?!" She scolded, her arms crossed across her chest as she berated him. "You know I'll be your friend no matter what!"
Mirai Watched on as Ayla went on and on, lightly biting his lip as his father's words soon pushed to the forefront of his mind.
"it's fine..." He thought, "I can still enjoy her company right? I just wont get close!"
He shook his head with a soft smile, as if dispelling all of those bad thoughts from earlier.
"What're you doing-" Ayla muttered, confused by his sudden actions.
"Oh, nothing!" Mirai grinned.
(No matter what... I'll be your friend.)