Ciclico: Such beautiful days, weren't they? ~ Past

“It’s a boar, I’m telling you!”

When Ases, Herm and Plojem returned to Ciclico they immediately tried to get help for their sheep, only to find out that they were not the only ones with issues. Apparently, all the animals around had escaped, and the shepherds all had tales about what they saw in the woods.

“But it was even bigger than the trees! That wasn’t a boar, it was a monster!”

But unfortunately, they didn’t manage to say anything that made any sense.

Plojem reunited with the other adults of the village who kept shouting to each other about what they thought they saw in the forest. Ases’s father wanted to bring both Herm and Ases to the conversation, but they quickly found an opportunity to escape his grasp and got out of the building while they could. Unwilling to go outside again to get them, Plojem went back with the group of adults.

In the stairs that led to the entrance of the building, Ases and Herm found someone they hadn’t seen in a long time.

“So you returned again.” said Herm, sitting on the side of his friend he had not seen in a long time.

“It’s nice to see you again. You really took your time to return this time.” Said Ases, sitting on the opposite side.

“I wanted to return a long while ago, but my father got obsessed with some animal and we ended up traveling everywhere for a while. It’s nice to see you too, Ases.” Said Raz, looking back at him.

“An animal? Don’t tell me your father believes that ridiculous story about an enormous boar the size of a tree.” replied Herm, as snarkily as he could.

“An enormous boar, yes. We have been following its trail. It’s quite easy honestly, it always leaves a path of destruction wherever it goes. And it’s not ridiculous, my father saw it with his own two eyes.”

“Really? Have you seen it too?”

“No, but…”

“Then he probably confused it with something else. Scholarly people like that don’t know the first thing about the forest, animals like that simply don’t exist” Concluded Herm, reclining back in the stairs to look at the sky.

“How are you more insufferable every time I see you?” Asked Raz, looking away. Herm simply swatted his hand at her, ignoring her.

“But he has a point. A boar bigger than a tree? Are you sure it wasn’t something else?”

“Okay, let’s say that it was not a boar then, then there’s a mysterious animal bigger than trees demolishing everything in its path and scaring every single animal in its vicinity. I don’t see how that is better.” ended Raz, almost screaming at that point.

After that, the three of them stayed in silence on the stairs for a while.

“A boar? I don’t really know. A woman? That I did see.” Said Ases, out of nowhere.

“You saw what?” Asked Herm, a snarky smirk creeping into his face.

“Before we left this morning. A woman, really tall, had a long dark dress and a crown. She had some really weird vibes.” Said Ases, slightly relieved from getting that out of his chest.

“I can’t believe you are so desperate for a woman that you are hallucinating them now.” Said Herm. Raz simply hit him in the shoulder, to which he swatted at her again to leave him alone.

“Eat a frog and die, asshole.” Said Ases, regretting speaking up in the first place.

The three of them stayed in silence again. Slightly more aggravated than before.

“So, you won’t believe a gigantic boar, but do you want us to believe that you saw a woman dressed like a noble in the forest?” Said Raz, acting as if she was deep in thought.

“Not you too.” Groaned Ases back.

Herm could only buff contentedly.

“I mean, really? Are you sure you saw that?”

“Yes, I am. I can bet you on it even… Though she probably isn’t there anymore. She got out of sight before we left.” Said Ases, his voice getting lower every word he said.

“Likely story, sure.” Teased Herm.

“And I told you that the boar has left paths of destruction to the forest and that my father saw him and you didn’t believe me, so why would I believe you?” Said Raz, feigning to be offended.

“How about this? I bet you all of them are going to try and hunt your magical boar tomorrow. We will make sure to make our father bring us with him, and then I’ll find that there is a woman like that in the forest.” Said Ases, tired from the teasing from Raz and Herm.

“Oh, a bet. Last time this didn’t work out for you, did it? I’m not gonna stop you from humiliating yourself again, if that’s what you want.”

“So it will be. Tomorrow I’ll make you eat up your words, idiot.” Concluded Ases, looking at Herm, challenging him.

“And here I hoped the two of you would have grown up since I last saw you.” Said Raz, sighing, seeing how the two of them entered a stare contest with her in the middle.

When night arrived, the adults were still discussing what to do with the enormous mysterious animal of the forest. The three of them spent all the time until the night fell speaking in the stairs, until the time came to go home. None of them were aware of the things they would find in their hunt the next day.