"Argh fine! You'll be my companion or whatever! Stop chasing me!!"
Ignoring the shrieking coming from Elijah behind them, Azreal and Kevin were enjoying the cold breeze.
"The leaves are always so pretty around this time of the year, do you think it'll be same on the outside ?"
"It should be, It'd be strange if only our trees had their leaves turned brown you know. It's probably a naturally occurring phenomenon."
Kevin lied down on the leaves, his arms and legs spread out
"…do you actually think we'll see each other again after I leave the orphanage?"
"Why not? All 3 of us are mostly on the same caliber, Serena and saoirse can still visit us. We may see each other less but it's not like we'll lose contact. Besides, didn't you suggest we head to the same academy?"
Azreal turned his body slightly to look down on Kevin, who had a solemn expression on his face
"Do you… not like the person who adopted you?"
"Ah.. no it's just.. he seems kind of weird"
"He? Was it just a single person? Not a couple?"
"Yea.. it's strange all things considered but… I can't do anything about it"
"…the director forced you into it? But you seemed so happy"
A slight smile appeared on Kevin's face
"Keep it a secret from Elijah, he's surprisingly sensitive to our feelings you know? I don't want to see him cry when I leave"
Azreal sighed as he cracked his neck, before glancing to his side, staring at the blond kid named "Zaire" on top of Elijah, pinning him down
"Don't worry, I will. Besides, he looks like he'll be busy in the foreseeable future."
"Can't he break out of that hold? He looks like he's losing in a battle of brute strength against a twig"
"I wouldn't say he's a.. whatever"
"Hey! Stop talking shit and get this guy off me!!!"
"Are you being serious I get to be your companion?"
"Yes! Now get off!"
Zaire obediently got off Elijah, who immediately sat up and dusted his clothes off.
Gasping for breath, Elijah started complaining
"Suddenly appearing out of nowhere ..l doing all that … and then crashing me… how the hell … are.. you so fast? Did you get some artifact that improves your mobility?"
Zaire shook his head
"No, why would I get artifacts on my shoes?"
"…to be quicker?"
"I'm already quick"
"Wow, I can tell"
Elijah lied back down, as if he was admitting defeat
"I'm too tired for this"
Azreal popped his head in, standing over Elijah's body
"Eli, I thought you had better stamina"
"Try sprinting for a whole 20 minutes…"
"Haha, it's rare to see him so out of breath"
Kevin chuckled as he picked some leaves.
He then walked behind Zaire, who turned around, and under Zaire's gaze, Kevin placed a few leaves on Zaire's head
"…?"
Looking at Zaire's obvious confusion, Kevin laughed.
"It's kind of a ritual between us, when we were younger, Azreal used to do this to us."
"Why?"
Zaire looked at Azreal innocently, as if he was waiting for an answer
Azreal, who didn't even bring up the topic yet was put on the spotlight, was confused
"Why… are you looking at me? Are you waiting for me to answer?"
"Who else?"
Azreal sighed and itched his hair
"Uh well.. someone I used to know did it for me. I just.., yea"
"Alright"
Zaire went back to squatting over Elijah
"I'm sorry"
"Hgg… for what"
"Being faster than you"
"Fuck off"
***
Staring at the 3 walk back to the orphanage, Zaire walked a few steps before hopping onto a tree.
At first, he was planning to scout to explore the surroundings before go back to the cave and unsealing it to go rest inside. he soon found a problem
The forest was too damn big.
What was an orphanage like this doing having this massive forest as private propety, is this actually a demonic cult? That wouldn't make sense, the hero was here.
Sighing, Zaire lied down on the branch of the tree.
'These trees are surprisingly huge'
Staring at the sun set, Zaire took a water bottle from his spatial ring.
'I sealed the cave so those without divinity should be unable to find it, though there is a chance it may be found by demonic creatures. Well, they'll be fended off with the authority of time anyway, that wall took a lot out of me to make.'
Throwing his bottle back into the spatial ring, he continued looking up at the sun.
'The hero of the prophecy..'
Back then, Zaire was introduced to a lot of stories by the group. These stories were often boring and predictable and Zaire found it a chore to read through, but due to this, he had a set perception of the hero.
The hero should be attractive, strong, self-sacraficing, a strong sense of justice… strong.
Yea he didn't have a very set perception but it was a perception
'But that guy was anything but those traits'
Taking out a watch from his packet, Zaire continued thinking kind thoughts
'Sure, the hero was attractive, but that's all. He was weak and he didn't seem to uphold a strong sense of justice with his constant swearing.
Did I mess things up? Or maybe he just has to go through something heartbreaking.. maybe everyone here dies?'
It'd made sense, there was barely any human presence in the orphanage from what Zaire could tell with his watch
There were some other presences in the forest too but they were pretty faint, even if it was a demon it'd be F rank at best.'
Closing his watch, Zaire looked at the sun, which was still setting
'If only I could speed everything up'