They went to the direction according to the map Darrion had memorized in the windlet office. It led them further east past a small ravine until the road split up into two branches. A wooden pole stood between the two roads with two different directions. The left road led to the Affedor Path while the other one was hardly noticeable. The sign of the right road already looked decayed and its letters had faded a bit, but it was still readable to the boys’ eyes.
“Grun…rind? What’s that letter in the middle?” Jai pointed to the crooked letter in the middle of the name.
“Letter ‘E’. It’s Grunerind,” Darrion answered. “Oh yeah, I just remembered it was called like that,” the blonde said, opening the small handbook he got from his colleagues in Rettaza.
“Grunerind? What does it mean?” Jai asked as he observed the right road.
Darrion pointed to the handbook. “Green bark. The
When they reached the very entrance of the forest, they were immediately greeted by a row of giant budding plants on each side of the road. Each row had three to four of those white budding flowers, and what's more, they were facing the road and spewing yellow fumes every now and then."I think I understand why I feel the air is heavier here..." Darrion said, looking nervously at the plants."And why nobody crosses this road again," Jai said.Luckily, they stopped right just before the entrance when they see the first giant bud, saving them from inhaling any gas yet. He observed the plants for a few moments before Darrion spoke. "I can create air barrier around us, but then I won't be able to sense our surroundings for any sneaky monsters."Jai observed the forest once again before nodding. "It would be appreciated. The gas isn't thick enough to obscure our vision. It's better to avoid a slow death rather than a surprise attack."Darrion looked at
"I have a weird question," Darrion suddenly talked."What?" Jai asked immediately without lowering down his guard."If I fart, do you think the monsters here would be able to tell the difference?" Darrion asked.Jai stopped walking and looked at him without saying anything.Noticing his friend stopped, the windlet stopped too and turned his attention to him. Seeing his friend looking at him with no expression, he then grinned and looked away sheepishly, realizing that was a stupid question.Jai turned again to the front and continued walking. "No. I don't think they would."Darrion looked slightly surprised that his friend decided to respond. "Right? I mean, there's so many smells in here.""Mmhm," Jai responded and continued walking. Darrion followed him again and their talk ended there. But he couldn't stop feeling giddy from the small funny moment that happened now.Jai had taken care of the other Barbwa bug with his thunder
As they followed the path, the gas gradually faded until it was only faintly seen. There were still some flowers that they saw in the area, but the number greatly decreased from the entrance road they had come in before.The right side of the road ascended and it made it seem like they were walking in the side of a dug hill. Eventually, they arrived at some sort of Y crossing with the right road being more into the hill. Slightly to the right was a road that was quite crowded with some tiny budding plants growing on the trees. These flowers were in normal size like any other flowers they knew, but they looked very similar to the giant ones in the entrance. Although they did not spew gas like the ones in the entrance, there were some weirdly lilac-colored mushrooms with various sizes on the right road that seemed to glow slightly.“Uhh… I take it we’re not going there?” Darrion asked. It was more like a statemen
When they walked down the mushroom filled road, Jai felt like this was a bad idea. They’re in a clutch of time and they shouldn’t be meddling around in here more than they have to. He also didn’t know just how far the distance from this forest to the Fire Border, and it would not be great if the night time came and they’re still stuck here. Or worse, lost.But at the same time, Darrion seemed quite reluctant to go on because of the voice. His friend was usually able to ignore some things, but for some reason, this one he could not. Jai was worried that his friend would be in a trance somehow, and suddenly flew away from him.A ridiculous fear as it is, this situation was already weird to him to not think of that. But he’ll be there with his friend.Every step of the way.The road widened a bit and ascended, signifying they’re walking up a hill. Jai noticed this because he had seen the hill before at the abandoned post c
“We apologize. We didn’t know it’s your nest,” Jai said, rubbing at one of the creature’s head. “But I put it back. Nothing is damaged.”The creature that was standing on his thigh, turned around to see the round things still inside the trunk. It seemed to heave as a sigh before turning around and sitting on his thigh again.Jai had let the panic one go and they immediately reunited. They rubbed their heads/shells against each other before tip-toeing towards him and Darrion as if thanking them. Then they ran up the fallen bark again before jumping inside the trunk, to the round things. That’s when the boys realized it’s their nest. Since they didn’t see any sort of violence shown by the creatures after that, Jai and Darrion considered them to be harmless.“You’re such a cutie patootie,” Darrion cooed, holding the other one in his arms like a baby. The creature didn’t seem to mind
The pair of pink orbs stared back at them with indifference and emptiness at first, like an empty vessel or someone in a trance, looking at something yet nothing in particular. Then it turned its head fully towards them with a slightly wider gaze and a tinge of hope. Then the gaze softened.“Erie… You came…”Darrion could only blink and breathe and blink and breathe as he stared back at the creature back. “I-I’m not Erie…”But then the creature tilted its head, and still with a soft gaze, it spoke. “How I missed you so, Erie…”Darrion swallowed his saliva. “I-I’m not Erie!”The creature then frowned slightly. “Erie… Who is that with you?”Darrion glanced at Jai, who still had his left hand stretched in front of Darrion and his other hand holding onto the Oliviers, before looking back at the creature.“He looks… Famil
A young man with brown hair that was styled up into flame stood straight in the middle of a road. His face was cute square, smooth, and seemed well maintained. His clothes were consisted of a pair of dark boots, dark pants, a knife holster on his thigh, and white shirt underneath a black leather jacket. There was a green cloth that was connecting both sides of his jacket and ended up hanging on his right chest right to half of his stomach.He was standing in the roadway where all three paths leading to the Fire Border met. It would be awkward to stand in the middle of the road with no significant reason, but this man was waiting for someone. He looked at his watch before looking back to the road, the left road.“It’s almost 5 PM. What could they possibly be doing?” he pursed his lips, looking slightly annoyed. He crossed his arms on his chest. “I know this is the first time for them to be here, but… They’re strong, rig
“Here you are, Aumer berry juice! I squeeze them myself so you don’t have to worry about the kids getting dirt on it…” the ‘dragon’ said, handing them each some sort of small bowl that looked like hardened pumpkin. There was a purple colored liquid inside it.Darrion immediately looked at the content and gave it a sniff. “It smells like Aumer drink! Is this really made of Aumer berry?!”She smiled. “Yes, Erie… It’s your favorite, isn’t it? We grew these berries a lot in your absence. The kids also love it and it’s also healthy for them.”“By kids, you mean…” Jai looked at her in confusion.She turned around and waved her hands to the lake. “Them. They grow so fast that I can’t wait to show all of them to you. This small heaven is having lots and lots of families!”Jai noticed she was being more cheerful than she was before. &ls