Chapter 111: Reflections

Evan and Gideon walked up to the door carrying the big wild boar between them.

The thing was damn heavy, and the head was swinging loosely as they walk.

They did not bring it inside. They just dropped it at the corner of the door, right outside.

Since the door was open, Reynold saw it from where he was sitting. He blinked once, then stood up slowly with his eyes fixed on the boar.

"That is... that is a big one," he murmured, before turning to Nymeria. "I will go help them with it."

Nymeria only nodded, and watched him walk out.

West let out an embarrassed grin... He did not expect to walk in on Reynold and Nymeria staring at each other like that..

He walked to the corner and grabbed a wooden chair with both his hands.

He did not even stop to say anything again. He just pulled the chair outside, and dropped it near the boar, and sat on it with a huge grin on his face.

"Finally, real meat," he said, rubbing his palms together like a child in front of a birthday cake.

The big wild boar was clearly making him happy.

Then Nyx stepped inside a moment later. She walked straight to Nymeria’s side.

"You good?" she asked.

Nymeria gave a small nod.

"I will be outside with them. If you need anything just shout my name.."

Nymeria nodded again. She was feeling weird being treated like this..

Nyx turned away and went to the scattered wood. The fight had turned everything to a mess. Pieces of wood scattered everywhere, and the strips of dried meat Reynold had brought out were ruined. They can not use it for the soup anymore.

Nyx began gathering the woods and packing them outside.

Niya then walked in not long after. She went straight to the cupboard, pulled out two large pots, and took them outside.

Then Lyra walked in holding a small bundle of green leaves in her hand. Her eyebrows were pulled together in surprise.

"I did not expect to find these leaves up here," she said mostly to herself. "Not in a mountain like this."

Nymeria’s eyes followed her from the bed.

Lyra dropped a few leaves on top of her bag, then went to grab a plate from the cupboard. She placed the leaves inside it, picked up a spoon, and started pounding them.

She grabbed a cup of water, walked over, and sat down beside Nymeria on the bed and was still pounding.

Nymeria licked her lips and murmured softly, "Thank you..."

Lyra lifted her head. "Huh?"

"Thank you," Nymeria said again. "For healing me."

Lyra’s face softened. She smiled and let out a small nod. "You’re welcome."

She poured the water into the plate and mixed it until it turned into a thick dark green liquid. Then she lifted it toward Nymeria’s nose.

Nymeria squeezed her nose immediately. She pinched her nose shut with two fingers and turned her face away as fast as she could.

"You have to drink it." Lyra said

"Nope." Nymeria shook her head. "I am not drinking that."

Lyra stood up. She dropped the plate on the bed right beside Nymeria.

"If you want to stay on the bed for two weeks or more without moving your body, then you can decide not to drink it. But if you really want to get out there quickly and go back to training and walking, then you better drink it."

She turned and walked off to start clearing the mess in the room. But every few seconds, she will slid her eyes sideways just to check if Nymeria had touched the plate yet.

Outside, the rest of them were already busy with the boar.

Nymeria let out a long sigh. She reached for the plate but gritted her teeth as pain hit her.

She brought the plate close to her mouth, closed her eyes, and drank it quickly.

Then she squeezed her whole face, and stuck out her tongue stuck from her mouth and waving her hand in front of her open mouth like she was trying to fan away the terrible taste.

Lyra almost burst out laughing at the sight. She quickly grabbed a cup of water and handed it over.

Nymeria snatched it and gulped it down.

Location: Endless Realm.

After days of walking around the dune, and listening to the faint whispers of the sand, Valerius mother finally found the hidden stream.

She was standing in the middle of the river with her dress wet.

A few feet in front of her, a silver river fish swam near the surface.

"Easy there fish..." she murmured, her as she bent her knees slowly. "Come to mummy..."

She lunged forward with her fingers snapping closed underwater.

Splash!

The fish wiggled right through her palms and darted away.

"Damn it!" she hissed through her teeth.

She turned around, wiped the water from her eyes and spotted another fish resting near a small cluster of submerged river stones.

This time, she lowered her upper body and completely sink-dropping her hands into the water slowly until her fingers were right under the the fish.

With a quick twist of her wrists, she scooped up, and hooked her fingers under the gills and slammed it out of the water against her chest.

The fish thrashed wildly against her face and slapping her cheek with the wet tail, but she hold it very well like it was a treasure.

Without waiting to think, she opened her mouth and bit right into the side of the raw fish.

She chewed it with her jaw moving with quick speed.

Small tears suddenly welled up in her because of how the fish hit her stomach. She could have die of hunger.

Her eyes closed for a moment as if the raw fish was the best thing she had ever tasted.

Once she finished everything, she bent down and cupped both her hands together, and scooped the river water up to her mouth. She drank it and then collapsed backward onto the soft, wet sand along the riverbank.

She rested her cheek against the damp ground as she let out a long breath.

"I love you, sand," she murmured softly.

Back at the safe house, the soup was finally ready. And everyone was eating silently.

Gideon was the one who broke the silent. "So," he said, looking around the group, "what made all of you pick the military?"

Everyone stopped mid-bite as they think about it.

Evan answered first. "I wanted to be a soldier since I was a kid. So when the opportunity came, I just took it..."

Gideon nodded and shifted his eyes to West.

West leaned back in his chair as he chew slowly before he spoke. "My family were very small farmers. They barely made enough to feed all of us. The military paid well, and I have six younger siblings back home. I wanted them to have a better life than I did."

Evan tapping West shoulder.. "You a good brother."

Gideon nodded and then turned to Niya.

Niya was quiet for a moment as she stared into her bowl. "Umm... my village got wiped out during the border wars when I was young. I lost my parent. I joined the military to help in the little way i can."

Gideon nodded again and then glance at Lyra...

Lyra look at Niya..

Seeing the look, she let out a small smile.

"And I came because of her. I wanted to be the one taking care of her injuries. Someone has to keep her from bleeding out one day."

"Aww," West said, grinning. "That’s sweet."

Niya slowly stared back at Lyra and then slowly brought down her head with a smile on her lips.

Gideon lifted his head with his eyes moving from Nyx, to Nymeria, to Reynold. "What about you three?"

"Ummm..." Nymeria spoke first. "It’s been my dream since I was little."

"And you?"

Nyx bit her lip, staring down at her bowl.

"My girlfriend was kidnapped... It kind of changed how I see things."

Evan’s spoon paused halfway to his mouth. "Kidnapped by who?"

Nyx exchanged a quick look with Nymeria and Reynold before answering. "The Forsaken."

Lyra’s head snapped up. "Wait. The healer girl the Forsaken took... that was your girlfriend?"

Nyx gave let out a slow nod.

No one said anything after that. The only sound left was the soft crackle of the fire coming from the outside.

West lowered his spoon back into his bowl, and Evan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The mere mention of the Forsaken was enough to change their mood.

Gideon swallowed. "The intel circulating from the upper ranks is that the White Mages are preparing a search team to track them down and bring her back."

Nyx swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yeah... hopefully it’s not too late by the time they find her."

Everyone became silent again.

Then Gideon’s eyes shifted to Reynold next.

Reynold swallowed. "Same reason as Nyx. She was the only friend I had at the academy who actually made me feel seen."

Evan nodded slowly, then turned to Gideon. "What about you?"

Gideon looked into his soup with a bitter smile touching his face. "I was one of the top ten students when I graduated from the academy. When the list came out, my name was submitted to the higher commanders, and I accepted." He paused as his thumb traced the edge of his bowl. "I wanted my father to see that I was not some lazy, weak son who would bring shame to the family line." He sighed again. "Officer Silas was the one who took me under his wing when I first got here. He taught me everything I know about surviving out in the field."

Gideon’s eyes kept looking at his bowl.

Lyra lowered her eyes and murmured softly, "May the flame guide him, and accept his soul into the afterlife."

"Amen," the rest of them said together.