Trigger

“Why did I…” My brain felt foggy, trying to catch up with what was going on. My eyes blinked open. I was lying on a sofa..… “You passed out. Did you even sleep properly?” Aeter reached for my forehead and gently rubbed it. I felt something from her touch—faint, familiar, but I couldn’t name it. Like a feeling I’d forgotten. “Sorry, you just—” She backed away with downcast eyes. I stood and stretched. Maybe my training was too much; I should have considered slowing it down. In the mirror, I still looked like a teenager. So why did I feel decades older? “Sorry to cause you guys trouble. I didn’t sleep properly last night…”

“It’s not your fault. I brought you on a long walk this morning, so I think I’m responsible.” Aeter replied. Sleep feels like a villain sometimes if I don’t need it; imagine how much more time I’d have. Wait—aren’t we already late for school? I knew the time from my spell, but couldn’t tell her; I needed to find a watch. “Err, err, Aeter-Senpai.”

“Please call me Aeter…” She replied with even less emotion than usual, even for someone quiet. “Y-Yeah, Aeter, what time is it?”

“It’s already late for school if that's what you want to know… Let’s skip school today.”

“Ah, did you stay with me? Waiting for me to regain consciousness? Sorry… I’m taking all of your time.”

“N-No, I’m the one who should say sorry.”

“What do you mean I-I–”

“Huh, teenager…” The shopkeeper interrupts us. “You two done with your mission?” I asked. “Yeah, we were just waiting for you to wake up, but you don’t have to rush. I need to buy some inventory, so could you two keep an eye on the shop while I’m gone?” The shopkeeper grabbed his things while we both stayed silent. “And if either of you has something to say… just say it,” he continued.

Is there anything I want to tell her? I don’t have any that isn’t weird if I told her. She’s familiar, Na-ah. She looks pretty; I’d sound like a freak if I said she looked like someone I used to know. I wonder if she feels the same way… Everything I want to say would probably sound weird.

The shopkeeper was already leaving. Yet, the silence is louder. He dropped the bomb on us and expected something to happen. Yeah… that got awkward. “I’m gonna start then,” Aeter said. “This place is full of Keryndale people. You might’ve noticed. Our job here is to protect them and keep an eye on things. You may have heard that some Thugs are trying to track down a particular person from Keryndale.”

The Thugs? The ones I met on my first day? Checking everyone's pass from Ashfall. So, they weren’t just thieves; this is beyond what I understand. I need to be more careful. “And you want me to join the force of rebellion?” I replied. “Nah, I just want you to stay active and try not to stand out as someone from Keryndale. Otherwise, you might end up in a bad situation... I know it’s annoying, but using the word Ashfall would be safer.”

“Is this why you brought me here?” “Um…” It’s insane how common we seem, but something feels off. Her expression… my gut… I can feel it, an emotion that doesn’t even have a name. “Aeter, I met an elf when I was a kid… Do you think there were others in Keryndale?” Aeter smiles and stands. “Of course there is. If she comes to Azmere, you’ll meet her someday… Come on, let’s head to the front of the store, just in case there’s a customer.” Hopefully, I can meet her.

We sat behind the cashier, waiting for any customer to show up. What does this store even sell, anyway? It feels more like a model shop than a magic shop filled with human inventions. Of course, we’re from Kerydale… I mean, Ashfall. My eyes stop at a strange iron tool shaped like an L. I squeezed the bottom, but nothing came out. “What’s this Aeter?”

“It’s called a water gun. People use it to water trees and flowers.”

“This is so cool!” She grabbed it from my hand and cast a spell, filling it with water. “Stop!” She pulled the handle and aimed at me. “Still cool for you?” I wiped the water from my cheek and shook my head. “No, but when you fill it with your hand, I realized we didn’t even need it if we had magic.”

“Um, we can cast it with our wand… and by hand for me.”

“Did you just flex on me?” I asked. She raised a brow with that smug, annoying face. “But if you look at our hand gestures, it does look like it, right?” she replied, raising her hand and mimicking the motion. “Yeah… this is pretty cool,” I admitted, trying the gesture too. Our eyes met, and we both giggled.

“It’s weird how we easily clicked like we've known each other for a long time.” “Um, that’s good, isn’t it? You’d be lonely here without me.” She replied. “I wasn’t sure about that. There is Ruri and Emil-Senpai—” “Uh-huh, so it doesn’t matter if I’m here?” she cut in, eyes narrowing. “There are still girls waiting for you at the dorm, right?” She stared at me intensely.

“No, what I mean is, we just met. At first, you were cold and hard to approach, but after spending time with you today… I realized we clicked. I’m not good at this… It usually takes me a while to feel familiar, to open up… I don’t even know the right word.” She nodded, satisfied with my answer. “You value relationships based on how well you know someone and whether you click. So that means… if we keep interacting over time, it should be a good thing, right?”

“Yeah…”

“So… someone who’s known you for a long time would get along with you even better, right?”

“Better? Yeah… I guess.” That could keep this elf for a while. I don’t know why, but it’s working out. And for now, that’s enough. “You two… The vibe’s different now, isn’t it?” The shopkeeper came back with his packaging. “You can go now if you want.” He continued.

“We don’t want to spend more time in this old store anyway,” Aeter replied. She grabbed my hand and turned to me. “Let’s leave, Auron.” Anywhere with you, Aeter. It wasn’t a thought. Just a feeling that said without control.