Chapter 13 - Doing better and messing up

The following few days proved to be incredibly awkward. Isabel had tried to pretend nothing had happened, and for the most part, she succeeded.

Mila had tried to bring up Isabel’s shield once, but it had resulted in a slew of excuses and her friend running away. Again.

At least Mila’s conversation with Silinth had been more successful. The man had not been happy.

Well, that was an understatement. Silinth had groaned and complained to Mila for almost ten minutes about how dangerous it could be. The only reason he had not done anything rash was Mila’s reassurance there was no god involvement in Andrew’s and Isabel’s newfound powers.

Isabel’s constant state of jumpiness had also prevented them from doing any testing. The girl had outright refused to take out her shield in front of anyone.

It was a terrible idea to not at least practice and see what the shield was capable of. Mila hoped Isabel would calm down soon.

As for Andrew? Well, he had shown off his new friend to everyone. While Mr Crow did not leave Andrew’s shoulder, he had still become popular with Kefo and Tiff. Kids loved the vocal little bugger.

And despite Andrew translating most of what the little bird said, Mila had not learned anything useful. Furthermore, Andrew had refused to do any tests or training involving Mr Crow, claiming he was still a little kid.

Which was true, Mila supposed. It was still annoying her. There had not been any further dreams explaining what was happening. All she could do was make guesses.

And tomorrow, they would make the first excursion to see the wider world. They had been cooped in this place for almost a month and had finally run out of supplies.

Their guide would arrive tomorrow and lead their group to the nearest town. Silinth would not come, much to Mila’s surprise. She would have guessed he would not want to leave his charges on their own devices.

As for why? The man had not given the real reason.

Oh, there were several Silinth had brought up. He couldn’t leave their base of operations unguarded. He wanted them to learn without his interference. He claimed he had to fix one of the roofs and so on.

Mila didn’t quite believe those were the real reasons. Just convenient excuses to not go.

As for his replacement? Silinth had assured the guide was trustworthy and capable, as he was a part of their group. The trip itself would take most of the day, with the spending the night in the town.

Because of them possibly running into difficult situations - situations she would have to use some knowledge she should not have, Mila wanted to have a talk with Isabel and Andrew. She had thought it over and decided to speak of some of the things she was hiding.

Letting Isabel know what Mila’s mind had gone through would help the girl reevaluate her expectations.

Letting Andrew learn of her secrets would help her gain his trust.

So now, Mila was sitting outside near the obstacle course, where several rocks formed a circle with a fireplace in the middle. She poked the modest bonfire she had made with a stick.

The slight wind carried cinders up to the clear night sky. Mila heard footsteps behind her, and soon, her friends joined her. Andrew sat across from her while Isabel hesitated before choosing a rock somewhere in the middle between them.

“So, why did you call us?” Andrew began with Mr Crow mimicking the question with a chirp.

Isabel looked at Mila, and when their gazes met, she suddenly turned away, pretending to look at something to the side.

“To have a chat.” Mila turned her gaze towards him. “I felt it to be prudent to have one before tomorrow's trip.” She took a breath to stall for time. It wasn’t a pleasant thing, this topic. “You have probably wondered why I could pick up the lessons so quick.”

“Uh,” Isabel raised her hand. The light from the fire danced over her silhouette. “Isn’t it because you are talented?”

This question earned a scoff from Andrew, but he said nothing further.

A sad smile danced over Mila’s lips. “Not at all.” She tapered off, wondering how to continue. “Well, as you already know, since the age of then, my constitution-” She shifted in her seat. “It has not been the best, shall we say? Though it has been getting better since we arrived here- I digress.”

“There is more to it than that.” She continued. Mila could feel her friends' eyes on her. “My dreams- Back on earth, they were not mine. In them, I lived through many lives. Lives of people from this world.”

Mila felt Andrew and Isabel wanting to ask questions, but those could wait. “Not their whole lives. All of those experiences they-” She gulped. “They centred around a specific event-”

And so, she continued to speak. Mila told them about the bloody war. How many times she had to meet a gruesome end, about what it did to her family when she saw them maybe once every few months. How Mila learned to live with it and gained knowledge of this world, limited as it was. She told them how her dreams had transformed since coming here.

There were also things Mila did not disclose. What skills she gained was left vague, as most of them asked more than her body could handle. Mila danced around just how tangible those experiences were. And more importantly, she never spoke about the presence inside her dreams.

Finally, Mila ran out of words. There was more to tell, but she felt numb. There was no sense of freedom or relief. Just talking about your past traumatic events did not magically fix them. They were still there.

The hesitant steps of Isabel rosed Mila from her brooding. The girl looked at her, leaned down and wrapped her arms around Mila, bringing the much-needed warmth.

“Why are you crying?” Mila felt confused as Isabel squeezed her tighter, her hitching breath brushing against Mila’s nape.

“B- Because,” Isabel sobbed. “It’s been hard for you.” She pulled Mila deeper into her embrace.

“Uh,” Andrew’s and Mr Crow’s voices came from somewhere behind Isabel. “I think I’ll leave you two alone. Goodnight, I guess.”

Mila heard Andrew and his companion leave. She awkwardly put her hands around Isabel and patted her back. “It’s okay, Isabel. Everything is fine.”

“What is fine?” Isabel suddenly shouted, let her go and straightened her back. Her burning glare made Mila flinch. “Y-you did nothing to deserve-” Isabel gesticulated wildly, trying to express the unfairness she felt. “And what is wrong with you?” Her gaze continued to increase in intensity.

Mila flapped her mouth, not knowing what to say. This reaction was far out of her predictions. Sure, she had thought her friends could get angry at her for withholding information, but not like this.

“You don’t get it!” Isabel stomped her foot and huffed. “You just keep everything around you away! You can’t live like that!” She declared. “It's clear you are not happy like this!”

“Isabel, it’s not like I want it to be this way, I just-”

“No! No, no, no!” Isabel did not hear any of it. “If no one else, I’ll be there for you! You can always rely on me! I’ll always be with you!” There was a firm conviction in her voice.

Mila looked at Isabel. Her friend was still shedding tears, sniffling and glaring. It felt nice for someone to care so much. And she could not help but feel a little mischievousness bubble up her chest.

“Oh, always?” Mila was startled by her own tone. It was sultry and playful. It was not at all how she had planned to act around Isabel.

And Isabel reacted as expected. Her face turned red, barely made visible by the last few flames, and she puffed her cheeks. “You- You- You are not getting away like this!” She stabbed her finger at Mila.

“Whatever do you mean?” Mila cocked her head, then realised this was making it even worse. Somehow, she acted before thinking it over.

“There is no point in acting all cute!” Isabel shouted. “I am still angry at you!”

Mila was full of regret. It felt like she was dodging Isabel’s concern. Her friend was trying to help, and she was- “Oh, so I am cute?” -Spouting nonsense.

It took all her power to not facepalm. Mila cursed herself and her glib tongue. Where did this even come from?

Isabel’s defences were visibly crumbling. She opened her mouth, then closed. Her breathing grew uneven as her eyes ran down Mila’s body. “N- No! I mean, yes! Shit!” She finally managed to stammer. “This has nothing to do with what we are talking about!”

Once again, Mila had to fight back her first instinct to continue the teasing. Isabel’s reactions were just so cute! And this did not bode well. She could not play around with her friend like that.

With a sigh, Mila pushed her teasing instinct away. “You are right. I am sorry.” She bowed her head.

“A- As long as you understand.” Isabel nodded. “And, uh, I meant it. I’ll do my best to help. So, don’t be afraid to rely on me. I don’t know how or what I can do, but I’ll help.” She petered out.

“You are already helping, Isabel.” Mila sent her a disarming smile.

For a moment, Isabel stared, then turned her head away and sighed. “Sure doesn't feel that way.”

“You are,” Mila reassured. “See, am I not smiling now?”

“I guess.” Isabel kept peeking at her friend. She shuffled her feet, trying to find words. “Um, so, about the shield-” Her voice broke.

After waiting for a minute, Isabel still had not continued. She kept fidgeting with increasing intensity.

“Yes?” Mila encouraged.

“You- You probably noticed, b-but-” Isabel was a nervous wreck. “I- I was looking into your eyes when it formed and-” She coughed in her hand. “A-And think your eyes are- You know-” Her voice died.

“They are what, Isabel?” Mila felt her mischievous side rear its damned head again.

“B-Beaut-Beauti-” Isabel tried. “They are pretty, okay!” She finally snapped and glared at Mila as if challenging her to disagree.

“Why, thank you, Isabel.” Mila leaned forward, looking up to her friend with upturned eyes. “I think yours are beautiful as well.” She added, despite knowing she would regret it later.

A strangled squeak escaped Isabel’s mouth. She stared at Mila in surprise. A moment of silence persisted, with Mila’s words lingering in the air.

“You are beautiful,” Isabel whispered under her breath. Then she realised what she had said. Her body shook, and she started to nervously laugh. “It’s about the earlier.” Isabel hurried to explain. “You asked if you are cute. Yep, yeah, you are. I didn’t mean to say beautiful. Ah, I messed up!” She began to retreat. “Don’t think too hard about it, okay?” Her legs were already carrying her away. “Goodnight!” Isabel was running at full speed.

“That’s what I get for messing around.” Mila chastised herself. “Dummy. You are a dummy, Mila.” She buried her face in her hands.

Where had her decision to keep a proper distance from Isabel gone?

Where did that ‘I think yours are beautiful as well’ come from?

What if Mila’s actions lead to Isabel confessing?

What would Mila do then?

Why were Isabel’s reactions to Mila’s teasing so damn cute?

“Ah, this can’t be good.” Mila raised her head and sighed. “I’ll have to do better from now on. Yes, from tomorrow on, I’ll stop teasing Isabel.” She promised.

Mila rose from her seat and kicked the grass. “Probably.” She whispered, not being sure she could keep this particular promise.