Hesitation

'Did you see what happened?' Ryan asked Codex, his brows furrowed.

[Besides the fact she sowed some sort of seed in the ground? Nope.]

'I see...'

"If you want to know what you just saw, you will have to ask Cloe." Eloise answered Oliver. "It's her secret to spill, not mine." She concluded, leaning over the newly seeded earth, curiously inspecting any changes.

Now the target of attention, Cloe twirled in place and smiled. "Want to know?"

"Of course!" Oliver cried out, nodding vigorously.

"Heh, it's a secret~" Cloe answered, chuckling as she wagged her index finger at the practically squirming Oliver.

"Want to trade secrets, then?" Tristan proposed. "I'll tell you what mine does, and you tell me what yours does."

'Oi, Triss, shut it, will you?' Ryan cringed inside. 'Why do that when we will get to know the effects in some time anyways?'

"Can we, mom?" Tristan turned to Eloise, along with Oliver who joined in the pleading.

"If you think it's worth the effort, sure, go ahead." Eloise encouraged with a light smile.

Getting the go ahead both from his mother and Cloe, Tristan walked to the center of the yard as he spoke to Cloe with an awkward smile.

"Don't be disappointed if mine turns out to be rather lame."

"Don't worry, mine isn't too flashy either." Cloe reassured him, moving past him to sit on ground under the shade with Ryan and Oliver.

Removing his shoes to stand barefoot on the cold grass — feeling the touch of individual blades of grass and adjusting his footing to be comfortable — Tristan closed his eyes and breathed deeply, letting the fresh air fill his lungs.

Slowly, brown and gray motes of light floated up from the ground near his bare feet — like multicolored fireflies — flying in different trajectories, outlining various marks and shapes.

Green particles of light escaped the grass he was standing on and concentrated in six different spots in the Rune, taking shape.

A serene expression washed over his face, as the Rune stabilized and calmly rotated in place with his feet as the center.

The ground nearby looked as if freshly watered. The blades of grass stood ever so slightly straighter, and the soil felt ever so slightly browner.

A few moments later, the Rune dissolved into particles of light.

Opening his eyes as if he had just woken from a dream, Tristan dazedly looked around him and found Eloise looking at him with her motherly smile.

"Congratulations, Triss," she said, patting him on his head. "That was a wonderful demonstration."

"Yeah! That was awesome!" Ryan shouted from his location, clapping for his brother, soon joined by Oliver and Cloe.

Giggling at the praise, Tristan turned to Cloe standing with his brothers in the shade.

"So, can you now tell me what your Rune is?" He asked, a curious smile hanging on his lips.

"Yes, of course. Mine is called Budding Spring." Cloe answered enthusiastically. With how much she was jumping, one would assume she would have spilled the beans given enough time.

"Budding Spring allows me to refine a magical seed depending on how much mana I use and how long I refine it for. When sown, the seed should grow into a plant that produces water," Cloe explained,her voice brimming with excitement. "As to how long it takes to mature, or how much water it will produce, I have no idea. This is the first seed I've sown since getting my rune."

"Understandable. Still, it's damn good." Tristan nodded appreciatively. If her Rune worked as intended, having her use it in their backyard basically meant an exclusive, renewable source of water — for free.

"My first Rune is Earthen Embrace." He reciprocated, rubbing the back of his head a bit shyly. "It lets me to sense the condition of the ground I'm standing on and... it has a side effect of making me feel refreshed."

"Ouh," all three of them voiced out in unison.

[Both of them sound insanely useful, depending on the situation they are used in.] Codex commented, whistling in astonishment in Ryan's head.

'Indeed,' Ryan nodded. 'I can't wait to have my own. Still, Triss shouldn't have told her about his Rune... feels like a waste.'

[Relax, what's the worst that could hap—right, my bad.]

'Sigh,' Ryan pace palmed, sighing at Codex's unintentional jinx.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Cloe left them and went home to enjoy her week off.

Done with magic, they resumed their daily lives.

"So, how did the imprinting go?" Eloise asked her eldest, kneading the dough as the boys sat around in the kitchen.

"It went great," Tristan answered, playing with Rocky on his palm. "Though Master Gorg said he wouldn't help me advance my Rune unless I get your permission and seriously think it over."

"Do you want to let him work with your Rune as if it were his?" She threw back a question of her own.

"I mean," Tristan mumbled. "Yeah, Gorg is the eldest stonesmith in the village. And he's a Rank 3, his own Runes would be much more advanced than mine. If someone can help me refine my Rune, it would be him." He elaborated on his choice.

Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, Tristan added, "And I think I trust him, he seems like a nice person."

"As long as you know what you are doing," Eloise said, indirectly giving her approval, moving to partition the kneaded dough into smaller pieces.

Hearing the exchange from the side, light flickered in Oliver's eyes, subtle hesitation hidden in his expression.

Hesitation that Ryan noticed.

Noticing a comfortable silence settling in the atmosphere — with the only sound being heard being the thudding of balls of dough hitting the shelf — and seeing Oliver shrink back down, Ryan elbowed him in his belly.

"Ow, what was that for?" Oliver groaned, furiously rubbing the side of his stomach, his face scrunched up in pain.

"You wanted to say something to mum, remember?"

"Huh? Oh... yeah, about that..." Oliver mindlessly continued to rub at his stomach, avoiding Ryan's eyes.

"What happened?" Tristan asked, jumping down from his spot as he worriedly approached his younger brother.

Meanwhile, Eloise watched the situation unfold from over her shoulder.

"It's... nothing." Oliver shook his head.

Ryan, leaning back, nonchalantly gave an ultimatum.

"Either you say it now, or I will."

[You're pushing it too far now, Ryan. I don't think it's the right time for this.] Codex tried to persuade Ryan.

'I need to do this, for Ollie's sake,' Ryan rebutted.

Eloise, catching the shift in atmosphere, gave Ryan a stern look — a hurtful expression flashing across his face — before turning to Oliver. Dusting her hands off on her apron, she softened her gaze.

"Go on, sweetheart. What is it?"

Oliver hesitated, biting his lip. His fingers fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he cast a glance at Tristan, then at Ryan, before finally settling on Eloise.

Oliver hesitated for a second longer, then took a deep breath. "Mom, can I start learning how to hunt?"

Eloise's hands stilled for a brief moment before she continued. "Hunting?" she repeated, her voice even.

"Yeah," Oliver nodded quickly. "I mean, Tristan's learning his craft, and Ryan's always reading or helping at the eatery, but I want to do something useful too! If I learn how to hunt, I can bring in free food for us, maybe even sell pelts later on."

She sighed softly, wiping her hands on her apron before turning to face him fully. "It's dangerous, Oliver. You know that, right?"

"I do," he said, meeting her gaze. "But I'll be careful! I can ask one of the village hunters to teach me. I promise I won't do anything reckless."

Eloise studied his determined expression for a moment before exhaling through her nose.

"We'll talk about it later," she finally said. "Let me think it over first."

Oliver grinned, taking that as a good sign. "Alright!"

Ryan leaned back, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips. Though Eloise's earlier glare had stung, it wasn't enough to truly unsettle him — he had expected it. More importantly, he had steered the conversation exactly where he wanted it to go.

"See? Not so hard," he murmured, just loud enough for Oliver to hear.

Oliver shot him a glance, narrowing his eyes. "You planned this, didn't you?"

Ryan didn't answer, only the corners of his lips twitching upward.