"Try not to waste too much bullets, we might have a lot of them but it is quite time-consuming to set up."
Hearing Reid's words, Cetas aimed at the corn furthest to the right and steadied his fingers. He had been trying for an hour now but he still had no success in shooting!
Once again he shot, but missed!
Reid was beginning to feel impatient, as though the boy in front of him had no talent at all! He was beginning to doubt the Historian's words.
Reaching into his pockets, he felt that their ammunition was down to only one packet.
"This is the last one. Make it count."
He tossed it towards Cetas and watched as the boy reload the flintlock in quick succession.
Cetas breathed deep and calmed his nerves. Raising the gun forward, he stared at the target - this time, it was the crop on the leftmost side of the field.
It was the final bullet. He had to make the shot.
Cetas trembled as his finger began to pull the trigger.
However, something lingered in his eyesight - a tan-colored grain floating towards his target.
Although it was miniscule, Cetas could still see its strange appearance.
It hovered in the air for a few seconds until it finally reached the corn. Somehow, Cetas felt easened, as if his hand felt naturally connected to the gun.
As if he'd already done this mundane task over and over again.
So, Cetas' finger moved a little and then pulled at the trigger! The bullet hurled towards the target, its direction shifting due to the friction of the air. Cetas could almost see that its trajectory was meant to miss but he felt sure that it would hit.
And that it did!
The bullet hit the cob and exploded its insides into many pieces, hurling into the fields below.
Cetas did it!
After a long hour of practice, he managed to hit his first target.
A grin almost painted itself to his face, but he was stopped by Reid's sneer.
"It took you an hour of attempts to hit a single target. That said, a lot of bullets have been wasted. I can't say that this session is fruitful.."
With Cetas' success, Reid began to walk back to the direction of the lonely hut.
Cetas watched as his figure turned smaller and smaller due to being hidden by the tall crops. He stood there bumfuzzled about his failed attempts.
His eyebrows lowered, his mouth curled into a downward arc, and a general look of dejection is seen on his face.
Inside, Cetas felt a foreign feeling yet familiar emotion. He did not know the concepts of emotions but this feeling of his seemed very familiar.
He felt.. disappointment.
For the first time in his life, he felt disappointed.
Whispering to himself, he clenched the gun in his hands so tight that his veins almost showed, "I have to do better."
As a being that had only surfaced for a couple of days, Cetas already began to integrate himself to human society. Although there were only a couple of people that he could interact with, he was beginning to find feelings deep within him.
Feeling disappointed, Cetas walked back to the hut amidst the scorching heat of the fields.
As the cool breeze of the morning was gone, Cetas knew that he had a perilous journey ahead of him.
There was the thought of being lost once more and being drenched by sweat again. However, Cetas saw the grain move in front of him
He saw the miniscule tan-colored grain float towards the direction that Reid tread upon, acting almost like a guide to ensure that he did not get lost in the maze.
Cetas followed through until the grain met a dead-end. Tall crops of wheat blocked his path and loomed over his small stature.
Cetas focused on the grain and saw it stop for a second. However, when it continued, it pushed through the crops of wheat like it was nothing!
The wheat was unaffected though, it was as if the grain itself was incorporeal.
Rushing towards the crop, Cetas squeezed through a number of leaves which left his skin with a burning itch.
After a few seconds though, he stumbled on a rock below, falling face first in the grass!
Feeling a familiar breeze brush through his body, Cetas turned his head up and saw a pair of trousers standing in front of him.
He gazed up and saw golden hair fluttering with the winds, a delicate smooth face gazing at him from above, and a familiar presence watching over him.
It was Skadi..
Cetas looked left and right to search for the tan-colored grain but it was gone!
Noticing this, Skadi tilted her head to the side, "What are you doing, Cetas?"
After determining that the grain was no more, Cetas gazed above and responded with a confused tone:
"I am looking for something, but it doesn't seem to be here anymore.."
"Alright," Skadi leaned down and helped Cetas get up to his feet, "Where's Reid?"
"Ah.. he went ahead of me."
"I see."
Suddenly, the winds seem to have changed direction and emanated an eerie feeling. Even with the sun glaring up above him, Cetas seemed to feel cold for some reason.
He noticed Skadi's face and his body immediately shuddered. She had a grin that seemed innocent yet what was strange is that her eyes were grinning along with it too!
With a shrill voice, she asked Cetas:
"Did he leave you behind?"
It took Cetas 3 seconds to answer back.
"I-I don't think so- We just finished training with the gun and he just went to leave first.."
"So he did leave you behind!"
Skadi placed her two hands on his shoulders, smiling ear-to-ear..
"Cetas.. You wait here for a second, alright?"
Cetas nodded, feeling that if he said anything more then something would go completely awry.
Skadi left immediately, heading towards the hut.
Feeling the cool breeze once more, Cetas hugged his arms and stared at the eerie figure in the distance.
I feel like something really bad is going to happen..
Not even 10 minutes later, a loud scream echoed across the fields, one that enveloped the entire area of its terror.
*
When Cetas came back, he was holding Skadi's hands and saw Reid's body sprawled down on the ground surrounded by Elishia and Jones who were both shaking their heads.
Cetas was asked by Skadi to ignore the commotion and head straight inside the hut directly.
Inside, he met the Historian who seemed to be reading the daily newspaper in the living room complaining about the noise outside of his porch.
Cetas saw many headlines but could not understand what it truly meant.
Even with the blessing of information given by the Historian, Cetas did not completely obtain an omniscient mind.
Anyhow, he was still familiar with many things and through experience he would fully learn of their concepts.
With a curious look, he sat down beside the Historian and started reading with him.
One particular headline piqued his interest.
"Who's Princess Auruea?"
Without even sparing a glance, the Historian replied with a monotone voice, "Oh that girl? She's no one at all, just some girl born from the royal family, that's all."
Cetas pointed at the countless headlines that mention the princess, "Then, why is she written all over this paper?"
"Well, boy, she seems to have been missing as of lately.. I think it has been 2 or 3 years now? Some say that she had been kidnapped by that notorious Falkone and others say that she has eloped with an unknown lover and headed to Verdigian to live a life of peace. Pah! Even with the King searching for her they still haven't made any significant progress!"
"Do you know what happened?", Cetas stared straight into the Historian's bright gray eyes.
In response, the Historian shrugged, "Who knows? I'm just a lonely old man in the middle of a lonely farm."
With that, the Historian closed the newspaper and leaned back on his seat.
"How was that training of yours? Was it fun?"
As if remembering his disappointment, Cetas sighed and shook his head.
"Is that so? I'm sure that it'll be fun soon. You've already took the first step, the next one will be a big leap.."
"..I don't get what that means."
The Historian smiled at Cetas, almost laughing silently, "In time boy.. You will know soon."
Hearing the vague words coming out of the elderly fellow's mouth, Cetas could not help but trust his judgment. He stood up and excused himself from the room.
*
In the afternoon, Cetas stood by the porch and gazed at the peaceful orange hue of the field.
It was a picturesque scenery for someone like Cetas who had spent all of his life in the depths.
Not that he remembers any of it though.
Still, he admired every detail that was portrayed in front of him, allowing even the winds to mess with his dark-blue hair.
Light from the sun dwindled due to the clouds, the air seemed unusually cool, and there were no crops bent into a 90 degree angle.
If Cetas could feel emotions like a human can, then he would be feeling tranquility right now.
Instead, he merely appreciated the beautiful sight because tomorrow.. he would not know what would happen.
Cetas knew little of battles outside of the crew's fight with the large tentacles at sea. On the surface, where land served as a major leverage, Cetas did not know of the outcome that was to come.
So, he wondered.
Wondered about the beauty of the outside world.
Wondered about the beauty of society.
Wondered about the beauty of the surface.
And how it is going to be destroyed by battle.
It was a cruel thought but it seemed inevitable.
Cetas breathed deep.
Tomorrow..
Learning new experiences, meeting new people, appreciating new horizons, and integrating into society, Cetas had many minor goals in his mind.
Yet now, he could only focus on what was near.
In the future, he would return to his home.
In the near future, he would explore the world.
In a few years, he would meet a lot of people.
In a few months, he would learn new experiences.
And tomorrow..
He would experience his first hunt.
Even if he were not included in the main group, he would still experience the feeling of being at battle.
Perhaps, he'll unlock another emotion within him.
Perhaps, he'll learn of fear, anger, contempt, and many others!
Or maybe, he'll be lost - learning no new emotions and remaining the same.
He didn't know.
With a sigh, Cetas gazed at the fields turning dim as twilight approaches from the horizon.
The beauty of warmth would soon sparkle.
The stars above will gleam and Cetas will be there to admire.
He stood up and carefully walked towards the field. Gazing in the distance, Cetas saw the sinking sun parting away from the sky.
In the other direction, the elegance of the moon stood still, already located above the horizon and covered by the peacefulness of clouds.
Cetas reached for the moon.
In time.. he would be the one gazing from above.