The Tension Between Us

We surprisingly had a great time with Mother. I now Mother loves to interact with people but since no one was around while I was growing up, I can't remember how she does around others. With Portia around, she's genuinely a warm person to be with. It's like she and Portia almost always exchange smiles all throughout our every conversation. I even had the thought that Portia may pass as Mother's own daughter due to the fact of how comfortable they were with each other. We didn't even realize that Aela hadn't come back yet until Mother went back to the cave before the moon threatened to rise.

          "Your mother was super sweet, Vatic!" Portia commends. Her smile stretches from ear to ear, eyes twinkling. "I really like her."

          "Well, it's obvious that she likes you too. If I was a stranger, I would think that you're her child than me." I banter. Both laughing, she instinctively slaps me multiple times on the arm. It stings a little but I like the feeling. Her laugh is very contagious.

          "Stop it!" She pinches me and it definitely stings but still, I like it.

          My gazes wander in the direction of the door and comments, "I wonder where Aela is." The bubble of laughter in me pops, letting me drown in worry.

          "Right. It's already nighttime. She's way past our rendezvous point." Portia agreed. "We should search for her!" It sounds like a command instead of a suggestion. She sprints to her workbench to grab some maps of the forest. She slings one across her torso and tosses one at me.

          "This isn't a good idea, Portia." I say.

          "What do you mean? She's our friend." She shrieks, muscles tensing. "You're not really saying that we're going to leave her there alone, are you?"

          "What I mean is it's not a good idea for the two of us to look for her," I explain. My hands are still grabbing her not too forcefully by her wrist. "I'll look for her. And don't worry because I have this." I wave the map she just tossed at me with my left hand. "And this…" I raise my right arm. "Etingi." A ball of fire ignites from my right palm. Her eyes immediately widened in astonishment.

          "But, Vatic…" She slides her hands to mine. I drop the map and extinguish the ball of fire subconsciously. I blush.

          I look her straight in the eyes and slowly down to our intertwined hands. She must've realized what we're doing so her face mirrors my reddening cheeks and she unhands me. We both noticed the map I dropped to the floor and in a panic we both crouched and reached for it. We grabbed each end of the scrolled map at the same time. Our gazes once again locked with each other. Her blue eyes watch my green eyes intently, her nose subtly twitches, and her lips are just sitting there idly on top of her strong chin. I move my hand to grab the other end of the map. Our hands now are grasping the same edge of the scroll.

          The spark in her eyes becomes even more visible and her cheeks are almost like they're on fire now as her blushing intensifies. I even see her ears redden. It's cute. She is cute. I initiate for us to stand up, clutches her hands relatively tightly on her end of the map. She's not budging. We find ourselves standing closer to each other. I can feel the tension between us and I know she does too. That tension that hasn't been there before. That tension that I think I don't want to leave. Suddenly, we hear the door violently swinging open.

          "Vatic!" Masid came rushing in. That magical gaze Portia and I exchange is suddenly pulled to a halt. "I can't sense Aela anywhere!"

          "That's what we're afraid of." I respond, worried. Portia gently shakes her hand off from the map –my hand.

          "We must look for her. Now!" Alert, Portia prepares herself.

          "No, let us handle it." I grab Portia by the shoulder making her freeze in place. "If something happened to her, I can't afford if something happens to you to. I won't forgive myself if that happens. Please, just stay here."

          Portia's stance mellows. She finally understands me. "Fine, I'll stay. But, promise me…" She suddenly cups my cheeks with her hands. She's definitely feeling how warm I'm getting. "Bring her back and don't you die on me, Vatic." She pulled my head to her. I thought she was going for it because the only things that touched were... our foreheads. I don't get it but I admit that it's sweet.

          "Leave it to us!" I say bravely. "Masid, shadow me." We closed the door more aggressively than I hoped behind us as we left Portia's place.

          It's already dark out making it hard to see throughout the vicinity. It's a good thing I already conjured two balls of fire even before we can get far. I manage to make them hover over me and Masid so I don't have to keep them lingering on my palms all the time. Without much time wasted, Masid and I reached the heart of the forest. With Portia's readily available maps and some corrections from Aela, we now have the most updated versions of the map of the island. Portia was really smart to think of having compact versions of every sector of the island. The one we have is the map of the forest.

          "Aela!" I call out to the dead of night. Nothing.

          The moon finally peaks out from the crowns of the towering trees. It's as majestic as it always is. However, the calm the moon sent to my body couldn't get rid of the worry I was feeling for my first friend. Where could she be? We've been out here for quite some time now but there's nothing I can hear from her. I remember Mother's ability to sense life energy. What's stopping me from trying to do that? I know I haven't tried that before and I don't even think that specific type of spell has an affinity with flame magic. I have to try if I really want to find Aela.

          "Dnif ym dneirf. Dnif reh." I close my eyes as hard as I can. I feel embers sparking deep within me. I calmed down. My muscles relax as I sit steadily on top of a familiar clearing somewhere deep in the forest. "Aela, where are you?" My words are even quieter than a whisper. I hear Masid walking and sniffing around. For some reason, that gives another layer of calm to my concentration but nothing. I can't sense anyone. I can't sense her here. It must be that I haven't mastered this spell yet.

          "Did you find her?" Masid asks. I just shook my head in disappointment. "Don't worry. I may not be too thrilled around her presence but she's important to you so I'll do my best to find anything that leads us to her."

          "Thank you, Masid. I always knew I can count on you."

          He eventually widens her search radius and not too long after, he screams to call my attention. "Vatic!" He calls out to me. "Look here." He instructs from a few feet away from me. He seems to be looking at something on the forest grounds.

          I approach him and then ask, "What is it, Masid?" I want to get there as swiftly as I can that I almost trip and fall to a rocky patch near me. It's a good thing I caught my balance before it's too late. It would've been serious damage if I hit those sharp rocks.

          "There are arrows here." Masid comments. He looks at me and back to the arrows lying eerily close to each other on the ground.

          "Don't touch it!" I halt, reaching out my hand towards Masid's backcoat to prevent him from disturbing the placing of the arrows.

          "What? Why? Those are probably Aela's."

          "Those are hers. Notice the feathers and the tips. Those are the ones she made."

          "Why are you stopping me then?"

          "I feel like there's more to it than meets the eye. I just can't put my finger on it." Like I always do when I'm thinking, I furrow my eyebrows, cross one arm on my chest, put the other on it, and then, pinch my chin ever so gently. I don't know when that started but it does make my gears work.

          "Fine. Do what you got to do."

          I examine the three arrows neatly placed close to each other without disturbing their placements. The sharp tips of these arrows are pointing in one direction. If they were just accidentally dropped here, they should be pointing to random directions but these three are just pointing to one. In order for me to confirm if what I'm theorizing is spot on, I must test some hypotheses. I carefully walk towards where those three arrows are pointing while my eyes are still locked on the grassy forest floor.

          I almost think my theory is a reach since I've been walking for several feet away now until I step on a branch, snapping it clean in two. No. I stepped on a lone arrow. "Vatic, you brilliant son of a witch," I mutter proudly under my breath. "Masid! Come here."

          "What? What did you find?" He asks as he closes in on my location. We're now both looking at Aela's broken arrow.

          "It's another arrow."

          "I see that. So?"

          "I thought you're supposed to be smarter than me." I banter. He rolls his eyes but he doesn't lose his attention to me. "Aela is pointing her current location. We should follow these arrows."

          "What?" I sense anger in his tone. "We were worried about her and she's just out here plotting some romantic crap for the two of you. Screw that looney! I'm coming back to Portia. Enjoy your sexy night with her, you dog." He vanishes almost a second later.

          "Masid, hold up!" I call out. "This doesn't feel like that…" My words die slowly since I'm not talking to anyone anymore.

          If I'm being honest, the thought of me and Aela out here alone is tempting but I know deep in my guts that this is not the case tonight. There's a prickling feeling poking the roots of my spine. I let Masid go but I follow what my soul tells me which is to follow this only lead that may take me to where Aela is. I pick up the first three arrows and head to where they are pointing which as I expected, there are more arrows pointing somewhere. Eventually, I realized where the arrows were most likely pointing at. It's in town.

          Before I can even get close to town, I sense something amiss. I'm being followed. I'm not alone out here in the woods anymore. The night breeze becomes colder than it was just a few moments ago. It sends shivers throughout my body. I just realized that the howls of the wolves sound closer than they were earlier. I suddenly hear almost a dozen light footsteps from within the dark woods. Regrettably, my fireballs couldn't illuminate those parts of the forest. I'm surrounded and most alarming of all, I can't see where they'll pounce from.

          Instinctively, I snatch two daggers for each of my hands. "I will not die tonight." I won't. I scan the perimeter and I can see small patches of mists forming and disintegrating all around me. "I may not die but I am surely doomed."

          Growls and their echoes fill the entire vicinity. The wolves are coming. The intensity of the situation was increased a whole lot. That tiny hope of all this is just a little romantic gesture from Aela is all thrown violently out the window. Where's Masid where you need him the most? Dealing with rabid wolves at night isn't in my bingo book but here I am. I know I've got this but seeing all these wolves emerging from the darkness makes me think otherwise. I know they look intimidating when they're hungry and in the mood for a prey but they look more like angry tonight. Come. At. Me.

          I suddenly hear a random whimpering of a wolf from behind me and I sense that the other wolves in the area scatter but don't break their circle. Then, an aggressive shriek of a familiar feline is heard. "I sense you miss me so here I am." Masid proudly walks into the circle of wolves and confidently stands next to me.

          "More like you missed me." I let out a chuckle.

          "Less talking, more fighting."

          "Ready?"

          "I'm born ready."