Chapter 16 - 015

Arin floated in the water, staring blankly at the cloudy blue sky. His mind flickered with the night prior's conversation, the fresh scar on Rolan and the fear in Tessa's eyes. 

What did all of that mean?

He tried not to think about it, but between thinking of that or the strange dream, Arin chose to focus on Rolan and Tessa. 

"Master," Nocturnis's voice broke Arin's thoughts. He stood at the edge of the land, near the rocks where the heavy weight of mana water lapped against. "Are you really thinking about going back? Aren't you curious about what happened last night?"

"Would you tell me if I asked you?" Arin asked, pushing himself in a random direct.

"It wasn't you." Nocturnis replied.

"Then what was it? You saw their reactions, right? There was fear in there eyes. That scar…" Arin lifted himself up and looked to the Shadow Panther. His eyes grew but his lips didn't quiver. "Did I…?"

"There is a place I should take you before we return to your home." Nocturnis slightly turned. "I didn't think I should take you there, but I've changed my mind." 

"Where do you want to take me? Will it make me feel better than how I feel now?" 

"If you want to clear your mind, wash it away underneath the weight of the waterfall. I'll come for you when it's time to go." 

"Why can't we go now?!?" Arin shouted as his Beast companion disappeared. He let a frustrated sigh and turned to look at the waterfall. "At least I can take some time to not think of anything and possibly look at my System." He swam over to the waterfall, feeling its strength grow as he neared. The waterfall drowned the noises in his head out and found himself not struggling as much near the waterfall.

Arin submerged himself underneath the waterfall, treading as he closed his eyes. 

'Empty your mind.' Arin thought. He slowly cleared his mind, bits and pieces of yesterday staying. The scar, the fear in Tessa's eyes, and the dream about Mother. He shook his head and imagined everything falling with the waterfall. 

[+.5 Focus!]

[+1 Focus!]

[+.5 Focus!]

[+1 Endurance!]

[+.5 Endurance!]

[+1 Focus!]

Arin gasped as he succumbed to the weight of the waterfall. He drifted to the bottom, opening his eyes and realizing time had escaped him. He swam to the top, breaking past the thin veil of water and gasping for air. The sun had long rose high into the sky and was starting to drift West. 

He wiped his face and looked around. Before he could ask where Nocturnis was, he felt his stomach rumble. 

"Food first." Arin winced. He tiredly swam towards the rocks and climbed out. His fingers were withered with time spent in the water and his body ached. How long had he been in the water?

Arin picked a fruit off the tree and took a bite out of it as he sat. The fruit seemed tastier than last and he welcomed it. He ate three of them before he was satisficed and collapsed onto the soft grass and shade of the tree.

The System screen summoned by itself and there his stats flashed at him.

[Stats:]

+3 Stat Points

Precision: 30

Agility: 19.5

Focus: 21.5

Strength: 14

Endurance: 14

Intuition: 15

"Right," Arin lifted his right finger up. "I have a couple stat points. I guess I'll put it in precision." Precision moved to 33 points, leaving him with no points to allocate. He tucked his right hand underneath his head and let out a sigh of relief. "Where's Noct? Wasn't he supposed to come get me?"

He lifted himself off the ground and made his way back to the tree house where his burnt clothes were. He slipped them on and made a note to get more clothes when he went home.

"Master." Nocturnis appeared out of thin air. Arin turned to greet Nocturnis who looked at him devoid of emotion behind those yellow eyes. 

"Where did you go?" Arin asked. "And where are we going?"

"You want to understand what happened yesterday, right?" 

Arin slowly nodded. "Of course."

"Then we must prepare for the journey and follow the remnants of Ash."

"Remnants of Ash?"

"I smelled brimstone and Ash right before everything happened. It was like it seeped into your being and changed you for a moment." 

"Did I accidentally connect with Dominion Call?" Arin asked with a puzzled expression. He shook it off and started out the tree house with Nocturnis following besides. "If we're going to follow whatever this 'remnant of Ash' thing is, I'll need to return home first for weapons and new clothes and my armor."

Aloe impatiently paced the gates. Night had fallen and there was no sign of Arin anywhere, still. The last of the Hunters had already entered the gates and were all accounted for, but his son.

'I shouldn't have done that to him.' Aloe thought. 

"Leader Drakhar, the Hunters tell me you refuse to turn in for the night. " The Thornwood Leader spoke. Aloe didn't turn to look at him, but kept his eyes on the forest path. The Leader stood besides Aloe and watched the dark forest path ahead. 

"I shouldn't have blamed him for that night. It wasn't his fault and I got angry and just…" 

"That night haunts all of us." The Leader sighed. He lowered his head and shook his head. "Could you believe it? How far we've turned ourselves away from the Ways of our ancestors. We used to be so open to the Way of the Beast. The Ancestors must be disappointed in me - in us - for that night. We turned from the Beasts, we let go of the old Ways and resorted to protecting ourselves from every Beast - big or small…"

"I knew from the moment Arin was born that he was different." Aloe sighed. "Nora felt it actually. She said he was blessed by Nature." A small smile appeared on his face as he reminisced. "She said the Beasts love Arin. They always have. I always saw him playing with all of the Beasts, even the domesticated ones… Who knew that little boy had so much power in that body of his…?

"When that night happened… and my wife decided to protect the city with the other Beastlords, I didn't argue. It was her job to protect like it was my job to Hunt and provide for the village. We all have our role to play." Aloe's voice shook. "Arin must've heard it and ran away. He must've asked himself a thousand questions. 'Why do Beasts attack us still if we're supposed to live with them?' 'How is any of this right?' I…"

The Leader's hand rested on Aloe's shoulder. "You couldn't have known that boy would've got out of the house and out the gates to talk to the Beasts. No one could've known." 

"But, he's my little boy," Aloe's voice broke. Tears fell on his face as he kept himself facing the gates. "Nora and I raised him with ideals on harmony and peace with the Beasts. The cruelty of the Forsaken and what they did to us. The Heart of the Dominion — everything. We taught him all of that and he believed it and thought he could stop a Beast Wave. And now look at what I've done… I've tried to cultivate him into a Hunter when he was never one… I made the other children hate him and distance themselves from him because I want my own boy to be safe. I-It's my fault he's like this…"

"Drakhar," the Leader stepped closer. "We do things that we think are right in that moment. I honestly wish we could go back to the old ways. Go back to allowing our children - our future leaders - to choose their paths. Some have already left for the major cities while others vehemently drink the hate and tragedy of that night, thirteen years ago. If only we didn't lose so many people that night… If we just…"

Footsteps approached the gates of Thornwood suddenly. The two focused, unable to see anything. Aloe instinctively tightened his grip on his spear and waited. The footsteps moved closer but nothing in front of the illuminated space showed anything.

The shadows slowly dispelled away from Arin, revealing himself and Nocturnis. The two walked up together and for a moment, the intense feeling grew. 

"Arin…" Aloe softly called out to his son. The boy - no, his boy - was covered in burnt holes in his clothes and had no spear from the day he ran off. Aloe hesitated to move himself from his spot. His fist tightened around his spear while his body didn't move.

"Leader, Father." Arin greeted the two men. 

"Arin, you've returned to us. Are you okay?" The leader asked nonchalantly. "Has enough time passed for you to come back and talk to your father?"

"I'm not here to talk, but it seems like that might not be the case with…" Arin's eyes lingered on his Father.