Familiar Strangers

What a terrifying experience. Nina watched from behind the elder's back as the wind ancient left, shooting into the sky and disappearing in an instant. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was faster than anything she had ever seen.

The ancient's voice made her hairs stand on its ends. How could anything have a voice like that? And the eyes... When the ancient looked at her, she felt her body freeze up. It was like she was the prey and that thing was the predator.

"Selphie, are you okay!?" She heard Mytill call out to her, concerned about her well-being. He ran up to her and grabbed her hands. "You're freezing cold!"

Nina looked at him and tried to speak but she felt light-headed all of a sudden and almost fell over. With a tug, Mytill pulled her back onto her feet and that was when she realized that she had her breath held this entire time.

"I'll bring you to the infirmary," Mytill said, pulling her hand.

"W-wait." Nina stuttered. Mytill stopped and looked at her, his eyes full of worry. Elder Gildor was standing right behind him, also concerned about her. The third elf who she did not recognize was standing by with her arms crossed, acting like it wasn't her business. "I'm fine," Nina managed, after catching her breath. "Really."

Mytill let go of her hands and Nina took a deep breath. "What was that..." Mytill mumbled, turning his head back to the direction in which the ancient had disappeared off in. "And who are you!?" he suddenly shot over to the unknown elf, seemingly looking around without a care in the world.

Elder Gildor calmed him down. "Don't be rude. She's our guest. She's a Sylv sent by the capital. She is here to help solve our poison problem," he explained to the young elf.

"A Sylv!?" Mytill's attitude did a complete one-eighty and he quickly bowed his head and apologized for the way he spoke to her. "I'm so sorry. I-"

"No need," the elf cut her off. She waved her hand and said, "I'm just here to do my job. I'll be gone before you know it." Having said everything she needed to, the elf walked off.

Mytill stared at her back, afraid that he offended her. "Do you think she's angry?"

"Doubtful," someone from behind them answered. Another elf appeared and chuckled. "Hm, it seems that I have spent too much time here that they have forgotten that there is already a Sylv investigating this case," she said.

"Ms. Idril." Nyana ran up to her and greeted her teacher.

The elf frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you to just call me by my name? Drop the Ms. already."

"Sorry..."

"Anyway, what was that magic just now? I felt it from where I was." Idril looked at the three of them. All of them looked fine so it wasn't an attack of some sort.

"That was one of the people that just arrived from the capital," Gildor informed the Sylv operative.

"Really? Were they showing off their magic?"

"No. That was only their aura," Gildor told her.

Idril's brows perked up. She placed her hands on her hips. "Seriously? Who did they send?"

"An Ancient," Gildor mouthed.

Idril's face turned from excitement to a frown. "An Ancient, you say. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they all slumbering?"

"Not all of them, apparently. This one has an interest in our village for whatever reason," Mytill butted in. Though they had only just met and had not even had the proper chance to talk, he didn't like that Ancient one bit.

Idril noticed the harsh tone of the young elf's voice and commented on it. "You don't sound fond of this so-called Ancient. You do know that they created this forest, don't you? You should be a little more respectful to them."

"Oh, this is a wind Ancient. He's an outsider..." Nina hastily told her mentor.

"Huh. Interesting. What business does one of them have in this forest?"

"He's with the investigation team according to Ms. Nyana-"

Idril suddenly rushed up to Nina. "Did you just say Nyana?" she cut her student off. Her eyes sparked with a small fire as she stared down at the girl who was way shorter than her.

"-Um, yes."

Idril spun around and surveyed their surroundings, looking for the Sylv operative that had already left. The elf laughed. "Looks like I will be busy for a while. Selphie, you can study and practice on your own for a bit, can't you?"

Nina looked at her mentor. It wasn't a question. It was an order. "Yes," she said, not sure how else she would reply.

Idril nodded her head once, pleased by the answer. "Good. Now if you will excuse me, I will take my leave." The elf disappeared in a hurry, leaving Nina to ponder what relationship her mentor had with the other elf. She turned to Gildor, wondering if he knew.

The old elf shook his head. He knew of many things in this village and its inhabitants, but even he was clueless about Idril's past. "She doesn't speak much of her past. If you wish you know, I suggest that you ask her directly," Gildor advised.

"I see..." Nina clutched her collar. "I'm not sure if I can practice on my own."

Gildor saw that she was worried, and assured her that, "There's no need to worry, my child. You will be fine on your own. Idril trusts in your ability to learn by yourself."

Nina learned under Idril's guidance for years now and it felt strange not having someone to rely on, even if it was only for a short while. "Thank you," she said in a soft voice, still doubtful of her own capabilities.

After saying goodbye, the three of them parted ways as they had something they needed to do. Being an elder, Gildor had mountain loads of work to do. Mytill checked again with Nina to see if she was fine and after she assured him that she was, he reluctantly left to do his own thing.

Nina went back to her small house to complete the assignments given to her by her mentor. She was told to go through some old books and papers that had the history of ice magic. It was hard to read when so many of the words and letters were faded out and so she had to go slow.

Aside from this assignment, in her free time, she did all that she could to help with the investigation of the poisoning, but after making no progress for so long, she knew that she was of no help, especially now that more Sylvs have been deployed to their village.

Thinking about this, Nina felt her motivation go away and she stopped reading and went to lie down on her bed. No matter how hard she tried, why did it always feel as if she couldn't do anything? Even now, although her ice magic had already taken form and she was quite skilled at using it, it was still lacking compared to her mentor's.

Always. Always. Why was she so helpless? Why could she never do anything? Today, when she met that wind Ancient, she cowered behind Gildor. Avenging her family was little more than a dream with where she was currently at.

As Nina laid in her bed and contemplated things, a strong force shook her house and startled her. Items fell off their shelves and off the tables. She opened the door and ran outside to see what had happened.

Her body stiffened when she saw who it was that was outside her home, standing right on top of her crumpled flowerbed.

The figure slowly turned around. The ghostly eyes pierced her body. It was like they were looking right through her.

The two of them stood there, watching each other silently. Nina wanted to run and hide but her legs were glued tight to the ground. She took a deep breath. She needed to face her fears. How could she accomplish her goal if she was frightened by everything?

Nina opened her mouth, ready to say something but what came out was a wheeze. Her face reddened with embarrassment and she closed her eyes and after taking another deep breath, blurted out, "W-what are doing here!?"

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