Partners

The figure was tired and sleepy as it flew by the riverbanks near the path to the Outskirts of Harmos. It stifled a yawn as it located the perfect spot on which to perch itself.

“Finally.” It thought as it descended on a tree just near the river that was tall enough to see the swimming fish, and close enough to swiftly launch itself to catch them.

“Another boring night. I wonder if anyone of interest will present themselves” it pondered as it tilted its head while keeping its eyes on the river.

“Ah, breakfast!” it exclaimed while it positioned for a nosedive.

However, before it could proceed, the figure noticed that what he spotted swimming within the river was too big to snatch up with talons.

“What the… is that a boy?” it thought while staring in disbelief.

It was at that moment the figure realized that it didn’t have the riverbank to itself.

“Wow! That’s amazing Yami!” shouted Raia as Yami burst out of the river with a fish in his mouth.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone catch a fish quite like that!” she continued to say.

“Ha-ha! And food is served! I told you my steal magic was amazing.” Yami boasted as he handed Raia his catch.

“All fish in the realm use some form of water magic to push themselves across the currents. So, if a living thing can do it, I can steal it!” he continued to explain.

“Whoa. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of magic like that. Can your dad do that too?” she asked.

“Nah my dad uses his craft magic to acquire resources.” he replied.

“Well now that we have food, I’ll use my elements magic to cook this up for us! Let me just get a fire going.” Just then, Raia held her hand out toward the wood they both had gathered earlier. A magical circle appeared around her opened palm as an orange blaze shot out and ignited the wood to create a roaring campfire.

“Wait a minute, so does that mean you can use my magic too?” she asked him as they pierced their fish with sticks and placed them on the fire.

“Well. Yeah, if a person is near enough and is using their magic I can” Yami held up his hand and showed Raia a little flame floating just above his palm.

“Whoa! That’s awesome! Does that mean you can both “acquire” AND “refine” materials?” she asked with excitement.

“Well, it’s not that easy, Raia. First, I’d still need a partner who has some form of “refine” magic. And second, she can’t think that I’m a total freak.” Yami responded nervously.

“Well, I certainly don’t think you’re a freak! So, we should get paired up as partners! I’m sure the Fates would be more than ok with that!” she said back to him.

Upon hearing this Yami suddenly turns bright red and felt so warm that he imagined steam must have been shooting out from both of his ears.

“Is this a proposal!?” Yami thought to himself.

“U… Us… partners!?” he exhaled with a tremendous amount of effort to mask his overwhelming joy.

In this realm, being partners holds much more weight than usual. Partners in Harmos are bound forever and are expected to support one another in all aspects of life. In short, it is basically a marriage.

“Well of course! It’s obvious that the Fates will pair us up anyway. Why? Do you have any objections?” Raia glared back at Yami.

“No! No objections at all. I mean you are the first person, outside of my family, who doesn’t think that I am some sort of monster. I’d be happy if the Fates paired us up.” he replied with a calmer tone in his voice.

This response made Raia start to blush as well.

“Well! We’re both just eight right now anyway.” Raia said to break the tension.

“So, we have ten more years to wait before we are even old enough to participate in the pairing ritual. So, there’s no use getting worked up over this now.”

“Look the fish is ready” Raia said quickly hoping to change the topic.

“Yeah, let’s eat!” Yami responded. Jumping at the chance end the awkwardness.

As the two children enjoyed their late breakfast, they both took solace in the fact that no one was around to bear witness to their awkward yet tender moment.

Unbeknownst to them however, there had been something that was observing them the whole time. It tilted its head again as it continued to watch perched on a nearby tree.

“This is most interesting. A pairing being made without the Fates knowledge?  Well, this area of the realm is far enough away from their immediate senses.” The figure continued to wonder as it tilted its head yet again toward the opposite direction.

“However, it may not be as easy. Considering their garments, it seems as if these two are from different familial classes. It is likely they will have their struggles. But still… could they be able to rock the boat?”

“I guess, only time can tell. Until then I will continue to observe” it concluded as it darted towards the river to catch its breakfast.

Elsewhere, at that same moment, the Council of Fates were amid their regular discussion on the current events around the realm.

“It seems some strange reports have been given about some unusual behavior between two children from of the Heart level and the Edge level of the realm.” Said the first Fate who wore a dark black hooded cloak.

“Yes, it is rather unusual for this kind of bond to form between two family classes that are so far apart. Should we act on this matter?” asked the second Fate who was also draped in a dark black hooded cloak.

The last Fate was seated at a higher position than the other two, she wore a white hooded cloak and spoke definitively on the matter.

“Sisters, let us not waste any effort on this. Why cause unnecessary unrest between the family classes now? Once we make their Fate known during the pairing ritual, they would have no say in the matter anyway.”

“Agreed” the other two fates replied in unison.

***