Chapter 10 - Finding Determination

Andrew was irritated. He let his legs hang from the top of the boulder he was sitting on. The overcast evening sky did little to lift his mood.

In fact, it made it worse. Andrew groaned and slowly rolled down to the ground. His muscles hurt. Silinth - the dick he was, had made his life a hell today.

After wallowing in self-pity for a moment, Andrew got up. He did kick the large rock, but all it amounted to was a hurt toe.

It had been three weeks since Andrew had landed in this world. At first, he had hoped to find a way back soon. Then, he had distracted himself with the possibility of learning magic and doing it himself.

That had amounted to nothing. Silinth was still taking his sweet time to start with that. Andrew suspected the man just didn’t want to teach them magic.

Well, that had changed. Silinth had revealed they would have to make a supply trip to a nearby settlement. Among the things they needed for comfy living were those special rocks needed for testing.

Magic was the last chance for Andrew to grow in strength. He had tried his best to learn swordsmanship and even felt good about his skills, but that was until he compared himself to Isabel and Mila.

Those girls managed to leave him in the dust despite his physical superiority. Andrew didn’t envy them. He just wanted something for himself. Something that would make it easier for him to find a way back home.

Silinth did claim Andrew was passable but had to put more effort into learning.

It had led to the trashing he had received today by the man’s hands after Andrew had agreed to try out a more intensive method of training.

Andrew didn’t think he could do that daily. He straightened his garb and decided to take a walk in the surrounding forest. It wasn’t like there was much to see, but at least he wouldn’t have to suffer through Isabel staring at Mila with puppy eyes.

Kefo was another option he could visit, but Andrew only had the most basic phrases of his language down. And that guy had a crush on Tiff, who at least was aware of it, unlike Mila, who was oblivious to Isabel’s poor attempts at flirting.

It meant all Kefo wanted to talk about was Tiff. Well, that and his revenge. Silinth had been kind enough to let Andrew talk at length with the boy, and he had learned a lot about their life here.

Andrew sighed while stomping towards the woods. He really wanted to scream his frustrations away.

Not that he would actually do that. Andrew had learned that while the nearby forest was generally safe, the risk of running into something unpleasant was still there.

“Where was I?” Andrew stopped, realising he had lost track of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah!” He remembered. He was irritated.

Andrew wanted to go out with his friends and mess around with girls. He remembered he had a date lined up back on Earth. Nothing serious. He barely could recall the girl's face now.

What he did constantly recall was the faces of his parents, siblings and closest friends. Andrew punched a tree. He missed them. Missed them so so much.

After a minute, he regained the control of his emotions. Andrew wiped the corners of his eyes and continued walking.

It wasn’t like he was alone here. At this point, Andrew was confident in calling Isabel his friend. The girl was fun to mess around with, even if her head was currently in the clouds.

Kefo was a chill dude and was always ready to hang out. At least until Tiff needed help with something. Still, Kefo knew quite a few dirty jokes, which translated surprisingly well to English. The guy had learned them from his late father.

Tiff didn’t quite gel with Andrew. He didn’t know how to deal with a fourteen-year-old girl and wasn’t all that interested in trying.

Both Kefo and Tiff required Silinth’s presence if Andrew wanted to have a proper talk, so for most of the day, they were not a real option.

Silinth himself was a random ashole of a man. Andrew struggled to keep up with his antics. He could be a strict teacher one moment and make fun of his pronunciation the other. Sometimes, he would entertain them with a random magic show and later bore them with dry lectures about the flora.

Andrew also could not shake off the feeling that Silinth didn’t quite like them. It was subtle and hard to pinpoint, but Andrew trusted his gut feeling.

And then there was Mila. Andrew did not know what to think about the girl. She had too many secrets and could be offended by the strangest things.

Isabel might be blinded by her budding feelings, but Andrew saw just how fast Mila picked up on new things without Silinth’s help. And her interactions with the man were strange as well.

Sure, the girl had hinted there was something special about her, but Andrew did not get it. She should just talk it out with them. In his mind, it was the right way to straighten out relationships.

Of course, Andrew did not bring it up. He had his own demons he hid from everyone. How could Andrew preach to Mila when he was a step away from breaking and did not let anyone know of it?

Andrew felt like he was alone in a vast, hostile world. He looked around, finally realising he had walked too far into the forest.

“Just fucking great!” Andrew cursed under his breath. He turned around to walk from where he had come from when the noise of a struggling chirp reached his ears.

Andrew looked around but found nothing. After a moment of hesitation, he started to look for the source of the sound.

It wasn’t until another chirp alerted him that Andrew finally found a palm-sized bird under a bush.

The poor thing was dirty, with a wing bent at a weird angle, and it looked at Andrew with eyes full of intelligence and suspicion.

“Hey, there,” Andrew whispered. He greeted the bird that reminded him of a raven, except its beak was more bent, and feathers had some brighter tones mixed in them. “You had a rough day, huh?”

The bird gurgled an answer while trying to back away from the large human. Not that it could. The injured creature trembled and stopped just a moment later.

Andrew tried his best to recall what Silinth had taught them about the birds but came up with nothing. It was not the wisest thing to space out during the lessons so much, but he could not help it.

Still, in Andrew’s opinion, he lacked power and not knowledge about random grass and pests.

“Need help?” He finally offered.

The bird huffed and then puffed its feathers, making it more obvious its wing was broken.

“Where are your family?”

A single chirp was all the answer he got.

“So, you are alone as well, huh?” Andrew sadly noted.

The bird blinked and cocked its head.

“No, you can’t stay here.” Andrew admonished the small thing. “Do you think you can survive for long?” He tried to extend his hand and held it near the bird.

It earned Andrew a sharp peck on his thumb. He endured the pain and simply kept his hand where it was. After another few strikes, the little guy gave up and cooed threateningly instead.

Well, Andrew thought it was meant to be threatening. Instead, he found it cute. “Now, now, don’t be like that.” He attempted to push his fingers under the bird to lift it up.

The little rascal pecked again but with much less force. Andrew scooped it up and pressed it against his chest to keep it warm.

“Let’s go.” Andrew tried to calm the struggling creature. He kept his voice low and steady, trying to not startle it more than necessary. “We will have to see if Mister Dickhead can help you.”

After a bit of floundering, the bird finally calmed down. It still looked at Andrew with suspicion, but it had come to a conclusion the large oaf was not about to eat it.

“I’ll call you Mr. Crow.” Andrew conversed while pathing back towards his temporary home. “Do you need a friend?”

There was no answer. Mr Crow was content to just sit in his palm.

“Well, it was worth trying.” Andrew sighed. “Don’t worry. Becoming friends - real friends takes time.” He reasoned.

“Still, I wish you could become my friend.” Andrew wishfully added. “You know, I had-” He stopped. “HAVE a family. I just have to find my way back to them. I am not going to give up on that. Not ever.”

The determination only grew in Andrew’s heart. He imagined his would-be opponents and shook his fist at them. “Just you wait! I’ll not let anyone stop me!”

Andrew felt the little bird respond to his emotions. It chirped with bravado as if supporting him.

“Oh, you want to join me?” He smiled at the brave display. “Well, I have a room for a comrade because-” The smile dwindled. “Because I may be the only one truly trying to get back.”

A quiet chirp seemingly encouraged him. Andrew felt his smile return. “That’s right. I have to keep my chin up.”

The sky seemed to finally open up. A few beams of moonlight illuminated Andrew’s path. He took it as a sign. “I just have to keep going, huh? No matter what.” He clenched his free hand.

“You know, you are already starting to be a great friend, Mr. Crow.” Andrew cradled his newfound comrade. “I wish you would stay with me even after you get better.”

A coo full of unexpected warmth made Andrew shudder. The little thing was slowly dozing off. Its fear was forgotten - Mr. Crow snuggled deeper into the palm.

“Not afraid anymore?” Andrew looked up to the sky. “Then will you join me?” He teased the tiny creature.

After Mr. Crow chirped an answer, Andrew could not help but wonder how much it truly understood.

“You will?”

Another chirp.

Andrew suppressed his tears. “Hah, well, thanks. Maybe it’s just my loneliness playing tricks on me, but it sounded like a yes. But no pressure, yes? If you grow tired of me, you can leave anytime.”

A faint resonance reached Andrew at that moment. He raised his head and looked towards his temporary residence. It was a slight feeling of a way to get stronger.

“Then let’s join forces, you and I.” Andrew began. “Together, we will grow strong. Strongest. Enough to go home.”

The feeling of warmth overwhelmed him. Andrew felt something abstract extend from him and connect with the creature in his palm.

Mr. Crow raised his head and let out a resounding cry. It echoed around them, declaring a bond being sealed.

Andrew’s body suddenly felt light. The feeling of strength left it, and he felt his consciousness waver. He slowly succumbed, falling to the ground.

In Andrew’s hand, Mr. Crow flapped its wings. The bird blinked and studied its surroundings. The feeling of intelligence in its eyes had grown manyfold. It looked at its master - no, a friend and settled down to wait for his awakening.