TURNING TIDES IV

The screeching crickets didn't allow Alicia time to think about going back to sleep once she broke free from the clenches of slumber in the middle of the night. Lisa was snoring, as she often did, and she appeared to be at ease at the time, leaving the painful shouts of the mad peasants behind her and enjoying her slumber. She observed the sliver of light left behind from the evening fire coming into their tent. Lora had gone back to headquarters earlier in the day, so they intended to return to their ‘home,' which she had no idea where it was.

She heard someone coughing outside, and the sluggish delivery that accompanied the cough was all too familiar. There was only one person she knew who never made an effort to use his vocal cords, and what in the world was he doing awake at this hour?

She went out of the tent to find him seated on a rock, looking into the Cimmerian sky, surrounded by specks of light. Obviously, a boiling pot of green tea sat over the fading firewood flames? But, owing to him, there was no tea.

He sneezed again, this time more forcefully than the last cough that had slipped between his teeth. The fool was sitting outside with only a little cloth covering his torso, knowing full well the repercussions of his actions. Even with god magic, Alicia felt like smacking some sense into that powerful simpleton; mother nature was no match for him. She got an empty cup from behind the tents and filled it with dried tea leaves, which she threw into the cup and worked her magic with. She tried all she could to get his attention, but not loud enough to disturb the others who were snoozing away their exhaustion within the tents.

Daito didn't shiver even though she tried her hardest to clap the cups together. Alicia took up two cups and filled them with the warmed liquid when the brewing tea whistled through the hot kettle. She walked up to him and handed one of the cups across.

Alicia murmured, struggling to balance the fervid crockery between her burning appendages,

"Just take the stupid thing you foot face, it's not poisoned."

Daito stretched out gently as if he intended to prolong the burn on her fingertips. He swung it a few times before taking a graceful swallow. Alicia was on the verge of smiling. When Daito was drinking his cherished tea, he always appeared like a small child. When his face lit up like that, Alicia wondered what it was about green tea that made him so happy. But he didn't react as he usually did at the time, and Alicia understood why.

“You know, that wasn't your fault. And she'll be just fine.” Alicia concluded her remark by taking a taste of her concoction.

“Lisa had previously used healing magic on her hands. So they'll be as good as new in approximately three days.”

She continued. Lora offered Daito an embrace from her wounded arms before she left for headquarters, and Daito recalled it. Under her arms, he felt nothing but remorse, and nothing appeared to be able to take his attention away from it. He chuckled gently as he swayed his cup.

“What's so hilarious about it?” she inquired.

"... Nothing, except it's you.”

“Wait, what? ”

“I mean, you came here to take me back to Royal Republic, but you're still here three weeks later. You never know, you could wake up one morning and discover we've disappeared again.”

“Well...the vurhans and the peasants were the sole reasons I stayed. Despite the fact that they are as foolish and obnoxious as you, they needed to be safeguarded. And I'll continue to aid people as long as I'm a state guard with the authority to do so.

“... If you know what's good for you, you better stop hanging around us.”

“Listen. The only thing I despise, aside from you, are individuals who detest themselves for no reason, which you are doing right now, which makes me despise you even more. Basically, that's a lot of hatred, but you know what I'm getting at.”

He stared into the cup and muttered, "It's horrible."

“I know, I don't enjoy it when people make fun of themselves, and...”

“No, I'm talking about your tea; it's awful.”

She smacked his arm as she stood up and wiped the dirt from under her skirt, both irritated and thrilled. “You moron!” It's obvious that the cold was killing you, and this is my reward for attempting to save your life!” She then went away, both irritated and delighted because he made a joke about the first pot of tea she ever prepared for someone and because it was the first time they had a true discussion, or at least anything close to one.

Before she went very far, Daito whispered to her, "Wait..." Alicia took a deep breath and swallowed uncomfortably. “What, you still have another insult you simply couldn't repress?” she said, trying to hide her discomfort.

"I have a question for you."

The atmosphere seemed to transform in an instant. The whistling wind unexpectedly came to a standstill, and the shrieking crickets completed their irritating recitals. Alicia cautiously moved back

“I, I wanted you to...tell me about Drom, how is he doing?”

Daito enquired, his head cocked even further. Perhaps he didn't want Alicia to see his expression.

Alicia sat down next to him again. To keep warm, she clenched her fists together.

“Well, he's very much the same as he was before you left, with a constant smile on his face and a desire to serve everyone. He's practically the kindest, most upbeat guy you'll ever meet. Though, when you 'died', he did alter for a bit, if you know what I mean. He didn't turn out to be anything like his father.”

“So he sent you to locate me.”

“Despite everyone telling him you were gone, he thought you were still alive and well someplace. He didn't give up on you because he knew you were too determined to give up on life so quickly. He's been looking for you for the past six years! I wish I had someone like him as a friend.”

“That damn oaf!”

Daito finished it off with his trademark chuckle. Alicia covertly scrutinized his grin, which was slightly curled. It was lovely, and his look seemed genuine. Daito really wanted to return home and meet his closest friend, no, his brother, and it was then that she realized he wanted to go back to his friend. But she also noticed the despair hidden behind that grin.

The fact that he couldn't get back to Royal Republic, no matter how badly he wanted to. He appeared vulnerable for a brief time, and Alicia felt compelled to give him a warm, tight hug, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The grin she had seen before quickly morphed into an addled blank shape, and then into a frown. His face became pale once again, whiter than normal.

“How about Hashi?”

“You mean your father...”

“He's not my father!”

He growled angrily, his words dripping with venom.

“Forget about it, forget about what I asked...” He stood up and put his arms into the side pockets of his slacks. "I'm going for a stroll..." She obviously made a blunder.

“Wait Daito...hold on!” Alicia attempted to chase him down, but he fled into the trees, absorbed by the night's darkness. She remembered how difficult it was for Daito to grow up. She, on the other hand, had a beautiful upbringing with everything going her way. A kind father and a loving mother. They seemed to be nobility and lived in a mansion. She had a supportive group of friends, and she had everything Daito lacked. His father was a vicious man, his mother abandoned him when he was seven years old, and the only person he knew was about to die at his hands. Most people would have done what he did if they were in his shoes.

Alicia crept back inside the tent with a sly frown on her face. She swam back into her sleeping bag and attempted to sleep once again. Her heart sank, and she was depressed for no apparent reason. She silently gasped as her eyelids closed, startled by the series of streams that cascaded on her face. Her closed eyelids pushed the tears from under her eyes out, and she didn't even realize it. She soon discovered that the closer she got to him, the farther they drifted away. And it was then that she thought to herself,

"Could I be feeling it for the first time? Is this..."