Vistus

The rest of the ferry ride passed by uneventfully, and eventually Akorri put his usual cloak and shirt back on. He did agree to keep the jumper though.

The two of them were now making their way to Greenglade. They had been trudging through a dense forest for well over an hour, having been told that the village was nestled among such greenery. The sunny weather was holding up, but it wasn’t as warm as it could be. Laerya’s thick fur protected her from the chill, but Akorri was less lucky. She caught him hugging his cloak close to him as they walked.

“When Fericeus said it was a bit of a walk, I didn’t think it would take this long...” the Fillian mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Lae chirped, trying to remain optimistic. “We’re almost there!”

Akorri glanced at her. “You said that half an hour ago!”

“Doesn’t hurt to think it, though.” Lae shrugged and kept walking. She would not let her grouchy companion spoil the excitement she felt at the thought of learning magic. What if she had amazing magical potential like her great grandfather? Maybe she could even become an Air master. That would be quite something...

Birds trilled cheerfully overhead, filling in the silence that Lae and Akorri left. The rabbit girl had tried talking with him, but Akorri seemed intent on letting conversations drop after a couple of responses. Eventually she gave up; the task of chatting to him left her emotionally exhausted. Not to mention he was throwing in snide comments whenever he got the chance. It was annoying, but she could put up with it for now.

They kept going, both of them weaving their way expertly through the tricky foliage. Lae had explored many forests in her time and had gotten used to all of nature’s traps. She knew Akorri lived in an actual forest, so it was no surprise that he could walk through here so easily. Neither of them stumbled even once, despite their growing fatigue slowing down their footsteps.

“We’re going so slowly,” Laerya mumbled after a while, watching a green leaf spiral down from the sky.

“Can’t be helped,” Akorri said. “Neither of us even knows exactly where to go.”

Laerya looked over at her companion. Though he wasn’t saying anything, his haggard breathing told her he was more tired than she was. “We should rest a while,” she suggested.

Akorri looked carefully at her. “Are you tired?”

“No, but you are.” Lae raised an eyebrow at him. “Walking when you’re this exhausted is only gonna slow us down more.”

“Are you calling me a burden?” Akorri asked, his eyes narrowing.

“No...” Lae sighed. Perhaps she should have worded that better. “Let’s just stop and rest for a while. I kinda want a break anyway.”

Akorri looked at her for a few moments longer before nodding. He turned and scurried up the nearest tree. Lae watched with wide eyes as he quickly climbed up the branches until he was perched on the highest one, looking down at her with a smirk.

“What are you doing up there?” Lae asked.

“Resting.” Akorri turned his attention to the tree. “There’s nowhere safer to rest than in a tree.”

“It’s not like we’re in danger or anything...” Lae mumbled.

“It’s good to be cautious.”

“Yeah, but–”

“Wait.” Akorri interrupted her with a wave of his hand. “I can see something from up here.”

Lae bit back a retort at having been silenced so abruptly, but his words intrigued her. “Something?”

“Yeah.” Akorri stood up, balancing precariously on the branch as he got a better view. “I actually think it might be Greenglade.”

Lae’s ears perked up as excitement sparked in her chest. “What’s it look like?”

 “A bunch of cottages... are those cottages? Some kind of small houses are in the distance. And I can see lots of little things wandering around. Are those people?” Akorri squinted. “And I think I see stuff like market stalls...”

“Oh, that must be it!” Lae clapped her hands. “We were going the right away after all!”

“I guess our rest is over...” Akorri slithered down the tree and rejoined her. “There’s no way you’ll take a break now that we’re close, right?”

“Oh, you know me so well.” Lae chuckled. “Let’s pick up the pace! No time to waste!” She set off, not checking to see if Akorri was following behind her.

“There’s no need to rush...” he protested quietly, but hurried after her.

“Oh, this isn’t rushing...” Lae looked back at him and grinned slyly. “You wanna see rushing?”

Akorri blinked. “What, are you gonna start running now?”

“Well, I would...” Lae said slowly, “... but I know you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.”

“I probably can. It’s not like you’ve got super speed or anything.”

Lae’s mouth stretched into a wide, satisfied grin that reached her eyes. “Oh no, of course not, who’d ever heard of such a thing,” she drawled gleefully. If she managed to goad Akorri into running with her, she’d get the chance to show him up.

“So go on, run ahead,” said Akorri. Lae giggled at how confident he sounded. “I’ll catch you up.”

Without giving him a chance to change his mind, she ran off. Her strong legs propelled her forward at a remarkable speed, practically gliding over the ground. The wind whipped at her face, tossing her hair and ears back as she ran.

She saw the sign within seconds. She skid to a halt and twirled around in one swift motion to look for Akorri. Of course, he was nowhere in sight.

He did not appear for several minutes. Lae contended herself with examining the sign until he showed up. It read “Greenglade” in an elaborate handwritten font, the sign itself made out of wood. It even resembled a small tree in its shape. “They really aren’t messing around with the whole nature theme,” she said to herself.

Eventually her companion appeared, his breathing even more ragged than before and his hair littered with leaves. “Hi.” Lae greeted him with a wave of her hand.

“How...” Akorri panted, “... in the world... did you get so damn fast?”

Lae chuckled at him. “I was born speedy, but I just kinda... practised a lot, I guess?”

“That’s kind of cool, actually,” Akorri said. Lae was surprised to see that he looked genuinely impressed.

“Thanks.” She felt a little awkward at his earnest words and decided to change the subject. “Anyway, we made it.” She pointed at the sign.

“Yeah.” Akorri looked up at it. “Get ready, Greenglade. You’re in for a real treat.”

“Yeah!” Lae cheered, and then paused as she digested his words. “... Stop being sarcastic.”

“As you wish.” Akorri snickered and bowed his head. “Lead the way, princess.”

Lae gave him a flat look. “Shut up.”

The two of them walked past the sign and into Greenglade.

The first thing they saw was a cottage. And then nearby, another cottage. The small houses lined the area, all of them with sturdy white walls and big windows. Groups of people surrounded the cottages. As Lae looked at each in turn, she saw that some of them were actually casting magic; Earth by the look of it, making small plants bloom around them. With a click of their fingers the plants dissipated into nothing, as if they had never grown.

“Amazing,” Lae breathed.

There was plenty of chatter going on all around, and she was able to pick up snippets of conversations from the villagers. She did not pay them much attention, instead focusing on the market up ahead. People were gathered around all sorts of stalls, some of which sold food, others which sold strange items she had never seen before. She thought she could even see an armoury in the distance.

“I feel like we’ve gone back a bit,” Akorri mumbled next to her, “in time.”

“This is what happens when you don’t live in a tech-based society,” Lae said. This was all relatively new to her too and she had to admit it felt like she’d just stepped out of some sort of time machine. “It’s a different way of life, but it’s... it’s amazing.”

“This is more what I’m used to, actually.” Akorri rubbed his head. “Treetop village was kinda like this. We did have TVs and stuff though.”

“They might have those here too,” Lae said. “We don’t know yet.”

She was too focused on her conversation with Akorri to notice someone approaching them. “Hello,” a voice said calmly.

“Mm?” She whipped her head around to face the stranger, her mind still elsewhere. She blinked and tried to focus on her new company. A yellow-furred squirrel girl stood in front of them, and from her clothes alone Lae could tell she was a Havran native. She wore an orange tunic that resembled a sleeveless dress, tied at the waist with a brown sash. Her curled brunette hair just reached her hips, giving her a mature appearance. Lae naturally had to look up at her, but even Akorri had his head angled upwards to see her face; she was tall, but that was most likely because of her age. It was evident that the squirrel was older than both of them.

“I can tell you two are not from around here.” Her voice had traces of an accent Lae had not heard often; southeast Havran, she assumed.

“Really?” Lae found she was feeling rather embarrassed. Her cheeks felt hot. It was a bit uncomfortable to know she stood out so much.

“Your clothes give you away.” The squirrel girl smiled warmly. “Such an outfit is not the norm in Havran. Are you from Nemon?”

“Tananshia,” Lae corrected. She pointed at Akorri, who she figured was wearing relatively standard dress for Havran. “What about him?”

“He looked as lost as you, so I figured he isn’t from Havran either.” The squirrel held out a hand. “I am Katarina. It’s nice to meet you. Always good to run into another traveller.”

“I’m Laerya, and this is Akorri.” Lae took Katarina’s hand. Her handshake was firm and abrupt, and Lae smiled in amusement as Akorri’s limp hand floundered in her grip. “You’re also a traveller?”

“In a sense,” Katarina replied. “I have been all over Vistus, but I have been stationed in Havran for a while now with no desire to move.” She put a finger to her chin in thought. “So what brings you both to Greenglade?”

“Well...” Laerya felt a little nervous about telling Katarina her objective, but shoved any misgivings aside. Coming here to learn magic was standard practise, after all. Or that was what Feri said, anyway. “I’m here to learn Air magic.”

“Ah, is that so?” To Lae’s relief, Katarina did not mock her. “Then you will want to speak to Alex. He is the Air master here, and he is always taking on willing pupils.”

Laerya nodded. So this person, Alex, would be her tutor. Feri had probably arranged something with him in advance. “Do you know where he is?”

“He should be in his house by now...” Katarina looked up at the sky, which was tinged slightly orange to signal the approaching sunset. “The end of midday is the end of class, after all.” She turned her attention back to Lae and Akorri. “Would you like me to take you to him? I imagine you would not know the difference between these cottages yet.” She smiled again. “Would not want to barge into the wrong house, eh?”

“Haha, nope...” Lae grinned bashfully, all the more embarrassed because that was probably exactly what she would have done. “Thanks.”

“It’s no problem.” Katarina turned and walked on past the stalls. “Come.”

Lae and Akorri followed behind her, trying to avoid bumping in to the villagers. It was strange to Lae that the marketplace was busy this late in the day; she had only ever seen morning markets and wasn’t aware they could carry on past early noon.

“So how come you’re in Greenglade?” she asked Katarina. Since Greenglade was not in southeast Havran, she deduced that the squirrel girl had also travelled here.

“I am here to practise my Fire magic and help those in need,” Katarina replied.

Lae blinked. Somehow she should have guessed this girl, dressed in warm colours, was a Fire user. But something else caught her interest. “Those in need?”

“Tell me, you two...” Katarina glanced at them. “How do you feel about monsters?”

Laerya’s mind flashed back to her incident in the Bleakleaf Woods, when she had been chased down by Wolfbeasts and almost killed. It was only thanks to Akorri that she survived. That wasn’t her only run-in with monsters, but it was the one she remembered most strongly. None of her other encounters had gone much better. “Uh... they’re bad,” she said.

“They’re dangerous,” Akorri added.

“Really?” Katarina kept walking, though she glanced back at them again. Her eyes seemed to narrow slightly. “Unfortunately that is the prevailing opinion, even in Havran...”

“Unfortunately?” Lae echoed.

“I am a monster guardian,” Katarina said. “I work to protect these beasts you call ‘bad’ and ‘dangerous’. Sadly I am one of few, and I seem to be the only one in Greenglade. Not many people like beasts enough to protect them willingly.”

Laerya burned with embarrassment. What a faux pas this was. Yet she could detect no anger from Katarina; the squirrel girl only seemed disappointed.

“While I am grateful that the people of Havran leave monsters alone,” Katarina continued, “I wish they would not live in fear of them. People and beasts can co-exist... I know it. I have seen it.”

“But they attack us!” Lae couldn’t help protesting.

“They do so because they are hungry or territorial.” When Katarina looked at her, Lae finally saw a hint of irritation on the girl’s face. “Just as we do when we hunt or feel threatened. We are no different from them.”

“But...” Lae couldn’t argue under such a firm stare, especially not with someone who was currently helping them out. But no matter what Katarina said, she was sure monsters were no good. They had almost killed her once, and wounded her several times before. There was nothing nice about them. “Sorry.”

Katarina sighed deeply and shook her head. “Never mind it. I will not hold your opinions against you. I am sure you have good reasons for them.” She quickened her pace a bit. “Let’s hurry.”

Lae wondered why they needed to rush, but she didn’t question it. This was probably Katarina’s way of blowing off steam. Lae noticed Akorri had stayed silent throughout this exchange for the most part, but she couldn’t blame him. There was nothing fun about arguing with a kind stranger.

They followed Katarina in silence. Lae didn’t know what to say now; she felt like a wall had been put up between her and her guide. She could only walk behind her awkwardly.

Soon they came upon Alex’s cottage. It did not look different from the ones around it, save for a nameplate that read ‘Hamel’ embedded in the wall by the door. Katarina knocked once and waited.

It wasn’t long before the door opened and Laerya’s future instructor revealed himself. At the door stood a tall, pale-furred hare boy, his long ears pricked with interest. He wore a blue tunic that looked a bit loose on him. He seemed to be about Katarina’s age, perhaps a bit younger. “Ah, Katarina!” He spoke cheerfully. “What brings you here?”

“Apparently you have guests,” the squirrel girl replied, “who want to learn Air magic.”

Laerya waved eagerly at the hare, while Akorri gave a nod.

“These are Laerya and Akorri.” Katarina turned to them. “And this is Alex Hamel.”

Alex’s eyes widened and he tapped his foot. “Ah, yes! Fericeus said you would be coming.”

“So he did get in touch with you beforehand,” said Lae. Feri really was on top of things.

“Of course.” Alex nodded. “From what I understand, you are the one who wants to learn from me.” He looked at Akorri. “You aren’t here to learn magic?”

“No, I have no magical ability,” Akorri said. “I was just told to go with her.”

“Not a problem.” Alex tapped his foot again. “I’m sure you’ll find plenty of other things to do around here.” He folded his arms. “Laerya, I’ll gladly take you on. You are to attend a practise session tomorrow morning by the rock.”

Laerya stared at him in confusion. “The rock?”

“I’ll take you there myself,” Alex said with an amused grin. “I’ll drop by your place in the morning. You better be ready for an early start! I’m not going to wait for you to wake up.”

Laerya tilted her head. “My place?”

“I’ve arranged for you and Akorri to stay at the Greenglade Inn,” said Alex. “It’s not that far from where our practise sessions are held. And the room itself is quite fancy. It’s got big soft beds and everything. Lucky you!”

Lae wondered what ‘everything’ was to a Greenglader, but she didn’t ask. “Thanks for doing that,” she said, “and thanks for helping me out. I hope I’m not a burden.”

“Of course not!” Alex shook his head vigorously, his ears flapping from side to side. “I am glad to help.”

“In that case, I will leave you to it.” Katarina dipped her head and turned away to leave. “I’m sure I will be seeing you around.”

“Yep!” Lae waved as Katarina walked off. She was determined to ignore the awkwardness between her and the squirrel girl. “See you later!”

 They watched her walk away before Alex spoke again. “That’s all I can help you with today, m’afraid,” he said, “I’ve got a busy schedule in the evenings. Grocery shopping and stuff.” He pointed to a large building past the marketplace that was white like the cottages, but was clearly taller than a single storey. “That’s the inn. Like I said, I’ll pick y’up in the morning.” He gave Lae and Akorri a salute. “See you then!” And with that, he abruptly closed the door.

“Seems friendly enough,” Akorri said. “He’s definitely an Air user.”

“Oh, stop going off that old stereotype...” Lae thought back to Alex’s constant movement and his tapping foot; an Air user was often characterised as hyperactive. “...But you’re right. He definitely is one.”

Akorri nodded. “Anyway, let’s head to the inn.”

They made their way towards their new temporary home. Lae looked around with wide eyes, trying to take everything in: the old-style attire of the Greengladers, the lively conversations bouncing through the air, the atmosphere of magic.

Then she smacked straight into someone.

 “Oof!” She stepped back and dusted herself off, a little annoyed that she hadn’t been paying attention.

The recipient of her collision was a white Feln, a bit taller than Lae. She wore a purple and golden robe that hung off her body. It looked far too big for her, her hands hidden in the sleeves. Only one of her blue eyes was visible; the other was hidden behind silver hair.

Lae was only given a second to take in her appearance. “Sorry,” the Feln said quietly. Without giving Lae a chance to apologise, she lowered her head and rushed past, quickly disappearing into the crowd of Greengladers.

Akorri raised his eyebrows. “She looks busy.”

“All of Greenglade does.” Laerya strained her eyes to catch sight of the Feln, but she couldn’t see her anywhere. “This place is like a little city.”

She turned back and set off again. “Anyway, let’s keep going.”