Warm.
It felt warm.
"W-What?" he muttered, fumbling with the unfamiliar object.
As he peeled it away, the first thing he saw was—
"Felix?" Theo asked, his voice soft with confusion.
He looked down at the item in his hands: a thick, well-worn fur blanket that carried the faint smell of the fire. It was warm to the touch, as though it had absorbed the heat of the flames before being placed on him.
His eyes widened.
"Did you get this because I was cold….?" He asked
"Yuh kid, Ya' said you were cold so I got it for you." Felix said with a small smile, His playful accent slipped in, but his tone was unmistakably sincere.
Theo just looked at Felix and then Theo blinked, staring at the blanket as if it were something alien.
Warm. Soft. Safe.
'This feels so….'
"Thanks," he mumbled, his voice barely audible.
Felix waved him off like it was no big deal. "Eh, don't worry 'bout it. Just stay warm, ya?" With a small grin, he turned back to his seat by the bonfire, Theo starting clutching the blanket.
Theo sat there, still holding it tightly around him. His chest felt tight, and something stirred deep inside—a warmth he couldn't name. It was so foreign. It wasn't just the blanket; it was the act itself, the effortless kindness behind it.
'No one's ever done this for me before,' he thought.
Why?
His fingers tightened on the fabric. Why is he so kind to someone he's just met?
It didn't make sense. People only helped him when they wanted something in return, or when his failure might reflect badly on them.
"It feels odd." he thought,
'I can't remember something like this ever happening. I spent so many nights studying until my eyes burned, trying not to disappoint 'them'. Just studying as much as I could. But I don't remember anyone ever stopping to notice if I was okay. The only warm thing I had was my cat, man…. I miss her, she used to purr so much and she comforted me by licking my forehead.'
But this? This was different. This simple gesture from Felix was something precious to him.
He tucked the blanket closer, the heat of the fire matching the unfamiliar warmth in his chest. His eyes stung, but he refused to let tears fall.
For the first time in a long time, Theo felt something close to care.
'This feels kinda cringe…it's just a blanket, right? Haha.. but still..' He thought but he genuinely felt warm and thankful for such a small, kind gesture.
'Maybe Felix really is as kind as he seems. Maybe… I could belong somewhere like his settlement. If he and his group really don't have any ulterior motives. If they're truly good people, maybe I can ask to join their settlement," Theo thought, his gaze drifting to Felix. Still, he hadn't completely dropped his guard—they'd only just met today.
'I have to be wary, we have just met' He thought as his gaze focused and as he tried to keep his guard up
Theo slowly took the plate from his lap and slowly wrapped the blanket around him, then he started eating slowly.
Sigh
Theo heard a soft sigh coming from Cyrus,
"This is the charm of the captain, that's why so many people talk to him and like him. In this shitty wasteland, there's not many people like him left alive. You're lucky we found you and not the wilderness, kid." Cyrus said in a voice that was almost inaudible.
The crackle of the campfire, the cold air outside of his warm blanket. The spice-less yet delicious meat, the kind Mr. Felix and the stern but sincere and honest Cyrus.
Theo looked at the bright and warm bonfire.
….
Awhile later,
It was unknown how long Theo just stared at the bonfire, although there was a stiff silence, Theo did not feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, the silence felt comforting this time.
"Yeah then, Captain Cyrus smashed the Blood frog on it's head."
"Hahaha, I saw that too. He didn't use mana even once during the fight. Those beasts were like mosquitoes to him. He used mana to clean the blood off of his blade."
"They are literally like mosquitoes, right?"
"True, then they're smaller mosquitoes to him."
"Haha."
Theo turned his head back towards the chatter and noticed a group of convoy guards approaching the bonfire.
Unlike the people he'd seen before from the storage cart, all of these people had proper yet. It looked worn down but the quality of it looked higher than that of the other members he had seen before. The shoulder pads of these soldiers or guards had some red stripes.
'Better armor than the others, all of them have standard armor and either bows or swords.. And that red stripe…'
Theo analyzed the group of people coming towards the bonfire.
As if noticing Theo's curiosity.
"Settlement Warriors." Cyrus said with an aloof voice.
Theo turned towards Cyrus and asked, "What's the difference between them and the people I saw before?"
Cyrus glanced towards the group and said, "All of them are mana warriors."
Theo's eyes widened slightly,
Just then, he heard a bellow from the group.
"The tankards are in the tent near the campfire, whoever wants a pint can get one." It was the voice of the sweet old lady, the cook that served him the meat sometime back.
'What was her name…?' Theo tried to recall the name of this chief but he couldn't remember.
"Yes, Miss Edna." The group of men shouted like a group of toddlers who answered to their teacher.
The group did chatter any further and quickly entered the tent and as the group entered the tent one person separated from the group.
It was the chief. Miss Edna and she was-
Theo's mouth went a little agape as he saw the almost comical scene in front of him.
Edna was carrying two huge wooden barrels that were almost as big as her on her shoulders.
She walked towards Theo and his group and put the barrels down.
She turned towards the captain and said, "Captain. White Beer and your favorite Red Weed beer."
The warriors quickly got their tankards that were made of wood supported by metal hinges. They came near the bonfire and saluted the Leader of the settlement, Felix. And then they saluted towards Cyrus.
As they saluted towards Cyrus they all momentarily glanced towards the New face.
At Theo.
They looked at Theo with curiosity and wonder as he sat right next to the settlement leader.
Cyrus nodded lightly. After he nodded they excitedly ran towards Miss Edna
They stood in a line in front of Miss Edna. The line was long and it passed by the bonfire and even passed by the logs that were placed near it as seats.
While in line a few of the warriors were even talking about who Theo was and what he was doing near the leader and captain.
Miss Edna slowly removed the lid from the barrel and a breeze of cold air blew.
Woosh
The smell of the white beer, a citrus and herbal smell permeated the air.
The warriors took greedy deep breaths of the air as if trying to steal the beer with their breaths as they waited patiently in line.
Most of these warriors looked domineering and bold but they didn't seem to dare to break the line.
'Either they were scared of their captain… or' He thought as he glanced at Miss Edna who was dipping tunkards into the barrel and gave it to the person in line who happily walked aside.
A gruff and haggard warrior was in the line in front of Theo as he chattered with the man in front of him.
The gruff man was thin and pale. He looked almost malnourished and was extremely boney.
"Yeah so?" The gruff man said in a threatening tone
"So I'm just saying, I don't think its a good idea." The man in front of the gruff man whispered.
Theo squinted his eyes at the conversation going on in front of him, 'Is something suspicious going on?' he wondered.
Noticing Theo, The gruff man turned towards him and said, "Newbie, My pal' here says that White Beer wouldn't go well with sweet dishes. He doesn't even wanna try."
"Oh shut it Edward." The warrior in front of him in the line said while waving his hands.
"Ah?" Theo felt a little stuck. He did not expect to be dragged into a conversation so abruptly and didn't know what to say.
As the warrior said that, The gruff and thin man, Edward got annoyed and started bickering with him yet again.
'Thank god they stopped talking to me.' Theo felt thankful that those strangers stopped talking to him as he felt uncomfortable talking to someone he didn't know.
The line progressed slowly but surely and the warriors dipped their tankards into the barrel or Miss Edna dipped the tankards and got a tankard filled with white beer for themselves.
The first man to get his tankard filled gulped while looking at the bubbly beer. He slowly walked towards the campfire.
Then he removed a small piece of spicy jerky before slowly taking a small gulp of the beer.
He bit a piece of the jerky
"Ahhh" The first warrier sighed with satisfaction.
"A cold white beer with spicy jerky can make any man addicted."
"I'm in heaven."
The first warriors and the rest of the members who got a chance to drink their beers said with euphoria.
The warriors sat near their teammates or friends and started chatting while clunking their tankards together.
Theo felt extremely out of place.
'It's so lively.' Theo thought with a little frown on his face. He didn't really like crowds and he especially hated such occasions.
"Newbie, here." Miss Edna said, with her hand outstretched, trying to give Theo a tankard filled with White beer.
Theo accepted it hesitatingly before taking a small sip of the beer.
It didn't taste that bitter and there was a taste of tart, there was a slight citrusy orange taste and it was even a little sweet. It smelled a little herbal too.
"Why are you drinking it like that, Pal?" The gruff voice of Edward sounded out,
'Shit. He's back.' Theo gulped a little as he turned towards the voice, he saw the same thin man with two tankards filled with beer on one hand and on the other hand had a big leg piece of some animal. It looked well cooked and big. He felt uncomfortable talking to strangers.
'Ugh, what does he want?'