Camping And Sharing Are Better Together

Takao and Sumire packed early the next day and left town before the streets filled with the morning rush. They picked up breakfast on their way and ate it as they passed through the north farm district, just outside the wall. They followed the main road through fields of golden grain and rainbow vegetables, where farmers were already tending their crops.

Soon they diverted from the main road onto an overgrown path that wound through the grazing fields. A herd of shaggy lockhorn grazed in the grass and watched as Takao and Sumire passed by. They hiked through needle leaf forests and blue grass fields, traveling till they reached the Frostveil foothills. By the time they had camp setup, it was evening, but Takao’s happiness hadn’t faded in the least.

Gathering herbs was a simple and mundane task, but it was his first job as an adventurer, and he’d never been so excited. Not just to be an adventurer and to be out on his first job, but also to be out of town, so he could practice his magic. He hadn’t had a chance to try his fire magic again after leaving the guild hall. It seemed too powerful to use while in town. Sumire had also recommended he not practice while traveling, since using too much magic at once could exhaust him.

Now that camp was set up, Takao was ready to practice. He picked up his spear and took his stance. He positioned himself the same as when he’d used magic at the guild hall. Then, he took a deep breath and tried to remember the feeling of sending a powerful fireball hurtling through the air.

“Hah!” Takao shouted as he gabbed the air with his spear.

Nothing happened. He took a breath and tried again with the same result. Undeterred, he tried again and again and again. The result was a lot of nothing, but Takao refused to be discouraged. He’d done magic once, he could do it again. He kept trying, but still nothing.

“Um— Takao—” Sumire said, sounding unusually timid.

“What is it?” He asked, and kept stabbing the air, trying to produce fire.

“There’s something you should know— about the adventurer test.”

This caught Takao’s attention. He stopped and turned to face Sumire. She looked strangely small and reserved, and was fidgeting with her fingers. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground even as he approached.

“What about the adventurer test?” He asked, curious about her unusual behavior.

“Um— Well— You see, I— I knew you were ready to be an adventurer, and— I could see that you really wanted to pass. I also know that you can do magic. You just need more training, so it’s not like we lied— exactly—” Sumire trailed off.

She looked up for a moment, catching Takao’s eye, then fixed her gaze back on the ground.

“What are you talking about? Lied about what?” Takao asked, not following her.

“Well— um— I thought that it would come to you in the moment. But then it didn’t. And I didn’t want you to fail. And those idiots would make fun of you. And I didn’t want that. And it just came to me. I didn’t plan it. And then I did it before I knew it. And—” Sumire spoke rapidly as if she couldn’t tell him fast enough, but Takao still wasn’t following.

“Stop!” He interrupted, grabbing her shoulders. “What did you do?”

Sumire finally looked up, and Takao was surprised to see her purple eyes shimmering with tears.

“I enchanted your spear with magic, so that it would shoot a fireball spell. So you would pass the test.” She whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” She cried, but Takao wasn’t listening.

He stood rigid. Cruel reality threatened to crush him. He hadn’t done magic. The harsh truth of it burned like a fire in his chest. Anger swelled in his heart. She’d tricked him, given him hope, then snatched it away, and crushed it before his eyes. She caused him nothing but trouble. Why had he ever trusted her? At that moment, Takao felt a bitter hatred for Sumire.

He looked at her, tears still streaming down her face, mumbling excuses, apologies, and something about fire magic being stronger than she expected. He felt suddenly revolted, and wanted nothing to do with her. He wanted to get away from her. Wanted to be alone. He was better off alone. It was always like that for him, and that’s how it always would be. He’d been alone for years, and without Sumire, he would be alone till the day he died.

The burning anger in his heart snuffed out, replaced by a frigid, icy sadness. He was alone, and would be alone forever. He couldn’t do magic, and never would. He was a failure, and a fraud.

Takao walked away from Sumire and sat down by the fire, staring blank eyed into the embers. After a few minutes, Sumire sat on the other side of the fire, pulled her legs to her chest, and buried her face in her knees.

They sat in silence as night fell. Takao barely moved. Sumire only moved to add wood to the fire, then immediately hid her herself again. Hours crept by. Takao felt empty. His sadness was gone. He felt numb, and unfeeling, like nothing in the world could hurt him.

Old memories floated to the surface. Memories so painful, Takao normally couldn’t bear to think of them, but he felt no pain. He felt nothing at all, so he spoke.

“My little sister, Yukki. She was great at magic. Really talented. Could use ice and water.” Takao said emotionlessly, without looking up from the fire.

Sumire lifted her head.

“She loved to show me her magic. Used it for hunting, cooking, playing. She used it for anything and everything she could. She could make these elaborate little ice sculptures appear from thin air. I liked to joke with her that when she was a baby, I gave her my magic, which was why she could use water and ice. Sometimes when she was acting up, I would tell her to behave, or I would take my magic back. I don’t think she really believed me, but she always listened. She was a good kid. I loved her so much.” Takao said.

“She sounds really great. It’s rare for a human to have two elements. She must’ve been impressive.” Sumire said.

“She was.” He nodded.

“What happened to her?”

“She died.” Takao said, expecting pain, but feeling none. “It was five years ago. Our family was moving from Jari to Sukiya. We rented a big wagon and packed it full. The trip was hard and took weeks, but we had fun. We were almost there when a monster, a stone grizzly, burst from the woods and attacked us out of nowhere.”

“It knocked over our wagon and killed the horses. I got pinned under the wagon. My leg was broken, but I don’t remember feeling any pain. I was looking around, frantic for my baby sister and parents. Then I saw them. They’d been knocked off the wagon, but looked unhurt. I screamed at them to leave me and run. But they didn’t.”

“Of course they didn’t. They had magic. They’d driven away monsters before. They would drive off this one and save me. I know that’s what they were thinking, but I knew something was wrong. The stone grizzly was— off. I was closest to it, so I could tell. I screamed at my family to run. I screamed at the grizzly to attack me, to kill me, then they would run. Then they would have time to escape. It didn’t work.”

“I watched, helpless, as it killed them. My dad. My mom. My little sister. All slaughtered, then it came for me. I was so scared, but also— glad. How could I go on without them? If it killed me, at least I’d be with them.”

Takao stopped.

“But you lived.” Sumire urged tenderly.

“Yes. I lived. That’s when Nanako appeared. She’d always been strong. Even as a kid, she was an adventurer. She’d been hunting the grizzly for a job, and accidentally drove it toward us. She killed it. Then she found my dead family. Then she found me. That’s when we met, and that is the only time I’ve seen her not smiling. She blames herself for my families' death. Almost quit being an adventurer because of it.”

Takao wiped his eyes and found his face wet with tears. He hadn’t talked about his family since they died. He thought he never would. Even Nanako, who knew what happened, he’d never talked to, but talking to Sumire felt different. He felt like she cared, and somehow felt like she understood.

He looked at Sumire and smiled.

Sumire’s Exposé!
Frostveil is a mountain range north of Sukiya. The peaks are so high, they are white with snow, year round. Some monsters hibernate in these mountains during the summer and descend during the winter.