He slid open the door to the living room quietly, peeping in through the little space provided to check if Jonathan was still there.
'Hmm, he isn't here. I wonder where he went to, should be close by'
He walked into the living room, admiring the aesthetics as he made his way to the exit. It was still a mesmerising scene for Clyde to behold, even though by now his eyes should have grown accustomed to the sight of it.
He opened the door and saw Jonathan with two buckets of water heading toward the fence.
'He must be going to get more water for the horses, but I still haven't put a stop to that creatures hunts. I have to take care of it, but first, I have to help him out'
He rushed forward, catching up to him before he made it through the gates.
"Jonathan! Wait, let me help you that," he called out as he caught up to him.
"Here, let me help you carry that." he offered, grabbing both buckets from his grip.
He shook his head at the offer, taking one bucket back from him with a smile.
"No, it's fine. You can have one while I have the other," he said, referring to Clyde's agreement the other day.
Clyde chuckled and handed one bucket over to him.
"Fine then, but if you get tired. Please do well to inform me."
Jonathan nodded, then turned and started walking.
"You're not asleep. Why? not sleepy?" Jonathan asked, glancing at him briefly.
"Nahh, I'm fine. I don't feel tired or sleepy," he chuckled.
"Alright then, but do well to rest up later. There's nothing bad about taking a three hour nap," he advised.
'He's quite nice to someone he just met, I still don't quite get the reason for it, though.'
"So, uhm...I have a question if you don't mind." He started out, scratching the back of his head with a nervous smile.
"Sure, I don't mind. What's it a'bout?"
"Hmm, well. I want to know more about this beast taming you spoke about the other day, at least everything you know about it." He asked, hoping for a reasonable answer.
"Well, I did tell you most of what I know, but if you want to know more, you can ask a friend of mine. He's a professor at the school my son goes to, and he'll be dropping by today to collect some stuff for my son."
They arrived at the spring quite faster than the other day, probably because they were talking along the way.
"So you don't know anything informative? What about a creature named Mireling?" He asked, dropping the bucket close to the bank of the water.
"A Mireling? Where did you hear that from? We don't talk much about that creature." He sighed, dropping the bucket down and stretching his back.
"So what about it, any information you have about it?"
He started with a long sigh before raising his head toward Clyde.
"Well, since we're don't speak much about that creature, I have little information about it. The deal is they call it a bad omen, anyone close or around it would receive a bad omen, that's why" he explained, dropping a hand on his shoulder.
"It's all according to myth though, I'm not true it is, but whatever you do don't get close to that thing or you might get jinxed"
'I think I already am' a nervous smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
'That explains the reason I met the dragon that night, but still, I don't understand why it spared me. Though I'm happy to be alive'
"What kind of bad things happen when you're close to it?" He asked further, picking up the two buckets.
"Well, I haven't met with it before, but really bad things can happen when you're close to it. Just remember these are all speculations and references and should not be used as actual information." he warned, pointing his index finger at Clyde.
"Haha," he chuckled, "don't worry, I don't rely on one information output just to be certain.
He rolled up the hems of his loose trousers before dipping his feet into the cold spring water.
A sizzle of shock went through his body as he relaxed his feet inside the water.
He moved slowly until he reached the centre and pulled out water, then proceeded to head to the source like he did the last time and drank a satisfying amount of water.
Then he brought out both buckets of water from the water and dropped them on the ground.
"Alright, we can start going back now," he said, rolling back down the hems of his loose trouser.
Jonathan picked up one of the buckets while Clyde picked up the other.
'It's just been a day, and it's almost like we have been staying together for a whole year. How calm can this guy really be around me? Is it still because I remind him of his son or something else entirely now?'
They began moving back to Jonathan's house, engaging themselves in other conversations as they moved.
Once they arrived, they met an older man standing patiently at the gates, holding a brown briefcase.
When they came closer, he was indeed an older man wearing glasses and holding a briefcase with him.
'I'm guessing he's the guy Jonathan was talking about.'
Clyde glanced at Jonathan, but he didn't seem to have noticed the man at the gate yet, probably because of his old age.
As they moved closer, Jonathan squinted his eye to see the man properly before a smile appeared on his lips.
"You see that man standing there? That's the guy i was telling you about. The one that comes once in a while to collect items for my son at the academy?." He muttered excitedly.
'Must be happy to finally hear from his son after a long while, a father's love should not be forsaken, I hope his son values it'
"Yeah, I see him, so he's the one who will tell me more about a soul core and the Mireling?" He asked.
"Yeah, he will don't worry. Let's get him inside first,"
They arrived at the gate and exchanged salutations between each other before they went inside for further introductions.
'Time to know more about this soul core of a thing and find out if I'll have to attend the academy or not'