Is This a Date?...

Lyra and I left the temple and the forest as soon as I knocked both out, we packed up the tents and took the rations the dwarf and boy had.

She explained that they would lure people into the temple and throw them into that pit, at the bottom was a rune that absorbed people’s aura and if another person touches it afterwards will gain that aura, however, it was very inefficient.

When a person dies, their aura disintegrates since there is no one to control and contain it and there is only a short period of time where it is still ‘alive’ which is when the rune can absorb it.

Lyra also said that it was very hard to take another person’s aura while they are alive, since that aura is still assigned to that person.

I kind of think of it as blood types, a person with a A+ blood type cannot give their blood to someone who has a B+, well technically you can, the body will reject it and may even die from it. If you give someone your aura, unlike blood, they are able to use it as their own, however, overtime their body will attack this aura and soon will return to the same amount as they had before. I guess growing up in a very poor area still has pretty okay education, still have no idea how they can identify which blood type is which.

If someone dies their aura will turn into a O- blood type for a very short amount of time, which means they can give their aura and not have it rejected. So instead of training, they wanted to take the easy path, pathetic.

Lyra refused any aura that they gained from this ritual.

Now we’re back on the path following the arrow hopefully pointing towards Circe and Corban, gods I hope they’re okay…

We walked in silence; it was a little awkward.

“So… Lyra, what’s your favourite food?”

She started smiling, then giggling, then full on laughing.

Did I say something funny?!

That’s a normal question, right?

“Have you ever talked to someone before?”

As she was talking, she held her stomach in pain after LAUGHING too much.

“Yes! I have; I do all the time.”

Well, lately I have been threating people, but I have talked to people normally.

“I really like, um… how do you say it in common, it is like a small cake, but its swirly? And I like to put this sweet sauce on.”

“…you are terrible at describing things.”

“Hey, I’m working on it! It is franzbrötchen in elvish.”

“Why would you think saying it in elvish would make it more understandable?”

I started to giggle.

“Hmph, what is your favourite food.”

“Salmon.”

“Salmon? Just salmon?”

“Yeah! Roasted, raw, grilled, whatever but it must be salmon.”

“That is something a cat would say.”

She looked at me while turning her head to the side, she probably was imagining me with cat ears and a tail.

We eventually got to a small town, around the same size as the one Corban, Circe and I lived in before.

“Here, let us go to the pub.”

“What? No, sorry we have to keep moving.”

I haven’t been keeping track of how long I’ve been searching for, around three days maybe, that’s pushing it. The people who took them most likely has a vehicle; they could be halfway across the country by now.

“You can not keep walking for that long without breaks.

“Lyra, we do not have time…”

I point to my chest.

“I do not have time…”

I dramatically point behind me while still looking at Lyra.

“THEY do not have time.”

“What is the point if you are dead!”

“What if they are dead!”

“I was watching you fight that dragon…”

Lyra stepped forward.

“Your movements were sloppy, you could not even notice I was behind you as soon as you stepped into that forest, you attacked the dragon without thinking. You can blame all those things on lack of training, but in fight, your opponent would not care if you only got an hour of sleep.”

“Lyra…”

“Sure, you can keep walking until you reach your siblings, but if anything comes out, which something will! and attacks you, then what.”

“I’m strong enough.”

“Even the strongest fighters in the world can lose to someone who has half of their strength, there are so many variables when you are fighting someone or something. Stress, mental state, sickness, environment, previous injuries all play an effect in your fight, and you Damian are not that strong so you need all the advantages you can get, so we are resting.”

“Why are you worrying about me so much?”

She stares and me angerly, but sighs and smiles.

“I have my reasons.”

Hm, I thought back to where I collapsed by the apple trees.

Shit, she’s right.

It was my fault that Corban and Circe are gone; since I… I didn’t want to burden them with my pain.

“…Fine.”

Her smile got bigger, she has a nice smile.

We both entered the pub that doubled as a small guild which is usually the norm in small towns.

This pub had a bunch of circular tables scattered around the large floor where the waitresses are dressed as dragons with big paper wings, tail and a dress that looked like the body of a dragon.

I look towards Lyra.

“Must be an event?”

“…Sure.”

We sat down at one of the tables and called over a dragon-- I mean waitress.

Every time this girl ‘rawred’ she would say it in a high-pitched voice and struck a pose.

“RAWR! Welcome to Droc! Rawr! Hundreds of years ago this town was a big rock rawr, until Droc the dragon destroyed it and created her nest! Rawr! One day she left her nest then we came! Our ancestors used the materials that she used for her nest rawr and created the village in Droc’s name! Currently Droc is presumably fighting with king Sgiath against the demons! RAWR!”

Two things; first I want my 15 seconds back and second there is no way she is doing this out of free will.

“What would you like to drink? Rawr!”

I gestured to Lyra.

“Apple cider please.”

“Apple cider? I thought you were more of a beer person.”

“And why would you think that?”

“I don’t know, you’re a.”

I started to slowly punch the air.

Both Lyra and the waitress looked at me with a frown and their neck forward.

“Iwouldlike water please.”

I had to say something quickly to make this less awkward.

“No, I do not drink beer, elves do not handle liquor well. We only drink one time of the neues, during the… uh… neues jahr.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when the… when you change the calendar?”

“Change the calendar… Oh! You mean new years.”

“Yes! That, but our calendar is a bit different since we live longer.”

“Oh? How old are you…”

I swear to the gods if I have feelings for an old woman…

“I’m 44.”

This is it, I’m done for. I think I’m about to puke.

“So, I’m around 22 in human time, you’re a human right? Damian? Are you okay?”

I had my hands together and my head was to the roof, thank you… Thank you gods!

My head went down, and we made eye contact.

“Yes… yes I am a human, and I’m 24, my birthday is November 29th.”

“Oh cool! I thought you were going to tell me you were a child, haha.”

“Yeah haha.”

That’s worse than what I was thinking.

“Wait, wouldn’t I be a child in elf years?”

…

“No… different species mature at different rates, humans fully mature around your age, correct?”

I nod my head.

“So, I would have the equivalent maturity of a 22-year-old human.”

“But wouldn’t I have a maturity of a 12-year-old elf?”

“No, because a 12-year-old elf would be a 6-year-old human. Also, you are using the elf to human conversion, you would have to multiply your age by two.”

“Oh… I’m an idiot.”

“HAHA! You suck at math any who, mine is Oktober 7th.”

“I thought you had a different calendar?”

“Yes, but that ones for celebrations and stuff.”

“Here’s your drink Rawr!”

Our waitress nicely placed Lyra’s apple cider in front of her.

“Rawr…”

She drops my glass a couple of centimeters from the table making some water spill on the table.

Lyra and I looked at each other and laughed.

We started talking about our interests and surprising they aligned a lot, we both like reading comics, we like running, were both the older sibling…

Lyra ordered some dragon stew, but it probably was cow, and I ordered the fish.

“How old are your siblings?”

“Circe is… I think 16 now, and Corban is 13.”

“Oh, you are pretty far apart.”

“Yeah, Circe stopped listening to me now, she’s going through her rebel faze.”

“Haha, yeah Drya also went through that…”

She looked down at her stew.

“It should of have been me…”

“HEY PIKLA, hows IT goin’?”

Now he called her pikla, what’s up with that?

The drunk guy got closer to her while stumbling over his feet, Lyra didn’t move and stared at her stew.

“Hey! IM talking To you!”

Lyra’s hands started to tremble as the guy’s hand got closer and closer to her shoulder.

“Hehe, wha- HEY!”

I stood up and grabbed the guy’s wrist knocking over my water drenching the table.

I squeezed tighter.

“Hey man, I was just jokin!”

“What does pikla mean?”

“Huh?! Its uh, a compliment to elves!”

I squeezed tighter until I heard cracking, he fell to his knees, but I kept his arm in the air.

“Apologise.”

“Yeah! Whatever, sorry!”

I grinded by teeth and adjusted my grip so my thumb is facing away from his hand, bending my knees I threw him across the guild into the farthest window.

“We probably should go now.”

I look down and her hands stopped shaking; she turned her head towards me, crying but smiling.

Lyra spoke up.

“Do not worry, I got the rest.”

Near the kitchen that dragon waitress was whispering something to a couple of guards who also wore dragon themed armor.

Lyra got up and pulled out her bow, drawing back nothing a green light formed into a arrow the tip turned a light grey. She released the arrow and hit the waitress on the head only leaving a bruise, but then the whole guild filled with smoke.

Something grabbed my hand, it was Lyra, I let her take me which we ran outside.

I don’t know how she could see in that smoke, must be an elf thing.

We kept on running till we found a little hiding spot behind a house.

“Bahahaha!”

“Thank you, Damian.”

“For what?”

“I forgot what it is like to have someone who has my back…”