Kettlelinna Benchflower POV

“W-wait!” I called out to him, arm outstretched.

I was finally able to break out of my frozen state but I’ve come to realize how pointless such a feat was. He didn’t stop, Jeylin continued to walk the other way despite my cries. In the end, I’ve come to lose my friend in a round of confusion.

I could only curse my stupidity.

Every moment of warmth and joy that I recall spending with Jeylin sent a pang to my chest, a distorted feeling that couldn’t be steadied no matter how I twist and turn to try and justify my words. It was almost amazing how so few words could end things in disaster.

“...Please….” I pleaded once more, despite my voice being void of any hope that he would come back.

To my surprise, the footsteps stopped. Before he turned to face me. My head– lowered in defeat– snapped up to meet his gaze. His eyes stared straight into mine. It was sharp, as always. Yet, it was devoid of any emotion. Not in the usual sense of his indifference, but more so he was hiding his feelings.

I could only imagine the sheer rage he was likely feeling. After all, I was able to gain a glimpse of it before he turned to leave.

The way he stared straight ahead reminded me of a herbivore. Predators would turn their eyes and watch their prey. But herbivores stare into nothing and would either run, fight, hide, or attack you. There were little warnings in between, it would just happen depending on the herbivore’s mood.

For a moment, I almost ran. I almost hid and went away to never have to deal with such dreadful fear. But… Jeylin was the only one I have. The only friend I’ve ever made.

With that in mind, I have to at least try– No, I have to get him back. I have to apologize and make it up to him! I took a deep breath, the frigid air filling my lungs. “I… I didn’t mean it. I wasn’t thinking…”

He stared blankly.

“L-Look! I’m… I’m sorry!” I did my best to get rid of any hesitation in my voice. Knowing him, he’ll notice if I hesitated in the slightest, and I had no doubt that it wouldn’t end well if he did.

A spark. I felt it for the briefest of moments. The connection that had snapped returned faintly. I could feel him… thinking? Ah, I guess I couldn’t expect him to have an answer instantly. I’ll wait, just like he had as I stumbled out my apology.

Using this moment to reflect on what had happened… Jeylin killed someone. An elf no less. I thought hard.

But did that last detail matter? If anything… it’s more likely that he killed the elf out of self-defense, rather than some kind of racism. After all, he treated me fairly in his own way. I couldn’t see him acting any other way to someone of a different race. My intuition told me he was just like this with everyone…

However… I also couldn’t just forget the fact that he killed someone. But Jeylin is the kind of person that makes me question; “Couldn’t I?”

What if… “...Haha… you killed someone…” I stated, a part of me still unable to understand.

At that, Jeylin snorted. Finding my tone amusing. My tone that was full of confusion and uncertainty. The previous air that I thought I wouldn’t ever be able to grasp anymore came back, even if only partially.

“That, I did.” He said, simply.

The tension was still present. But maybe… just maybe… I– we could just forget about these things right now. There wasn’t any remorse in his voice. I realized, at that very moment, that I was with a psychopath.

But it was this psychopath that became my friend. The same psychopath that can’t seem to comprehend his own kindness back when he pulled me close, when the fire wasn’t warm enough.

Oh, he still hasn't forgiven me. There was no verbal indication that tells me he did. But I’ve come to learn; That Jeylin didn’t always say what he thought. And I felt that, even if not fully, he forgave me to an extent.

And right now, that’s enough for me.

Third Point of View

The two were near the entrance of a cave. Not in the cave, of course. It was dark and neither wanted to venture inside. They sat around a fire, the warmth heating their bodies. Jeylin told Kettlelinna to stay on either side of the fire, but not in front or opposite to the cave around the fire. On the other hand, the boy sat opposite to the cave.

“...But, why?” She asked, her breaths making clouds in the air.

“Fire consumes air, where we stand forms a vacuum if there’s no wind. So it would be optimal to be in your position if you want heat, since the cave acts as a vacuum as well.” He explained simply, not even bothering to look towards her direction as he stretched.

“I was wondering… about something.” The elf girl started.

“What?” He startled the girl with his bluntness, she shouldn’t have expected any less.

“Well… I wanted to know why… you seemed so mad earlier.” She said, before hastily adding, “N-Not that it wasn’t justified…! I just… wanted to know…” She trailed off, continuing to internally panic.

The boy watched her with hidden amusement, he thought it was akin to an ant struggling. Even though struggling was useless, they would do so anyway. Well, in this case, he wasn’t angered that she asked. So in the end it was pointless to struggle.

“Calm down. I had a sister once. She was like that.” He told her.

At that, the girl’s mind froze. That line of words contained so much information and none at the same time that she had to take the time to process it. ‘Jeylin had a sister? Were they close? Or they weren’t… since he said he was like that? What did he mean by that anyway?’ Those were the thoughts that rapidly sprang in her mind.

“Um…” She started, “ ‘Like that’? ” The girl quoted, asking the first question.

Jeylin hummed, as though recalling memories he found uninteresting. “I really don’t like people… who say things they will regret anyways, just cause their emotions were at a high.” He stated flatly.

‘That’s why…?’ Kettlelinna supposed she could understand. From those cheesy romance plays her mother took her to, she saw situations where a person says something they didn’t really mean. Thus, straining or even breaking a relationship.

She felt guilt, when she realized that was exactly what had happened. She wasn’t thinking straight, and said something that hurt him. Though, she wondered if it actually hurt him. Given how much of an anomaly he is, it’s possible that Jeylin was more angry than hurt.

“I..—” The girl was abruptly cut off.

“Don’t say you’re sorry. You’ve already said that before. Silence is better than a conversation that has no meaning.” He said, neither irritated nor angry.

Kettlelinna opened her mouth, before closing it again. Taking a page out of his book and nodding instead.

Just as she was about to smile and tell him that assuming was rude, a thought struck her. ‘He said… that he had a sister right?’ “About your sister…” Her mouth opened before she could stop herself, “I’m sorry to hear that…” She trailed off, a sad tone in her voice.

To her surprise, not a crack appeared in Jeylin’s casual ‘mask.’ He shrugged, muttering “It’s fine. Not your fault.” Before moving on. The girl could feel his intent in the air again. It wasn’t as sharp as usual and she could feel it better after experiencing the male elf’s bloodlust, but it almost felt like her instincts were telling her to change topic.

And she complied. “Well… I think we’re nearing the kingdom by now.”

“Oh? With the fact that you were lost in a forest– as an elf–” He started, muttering the last part, “I figured you wouldn’t recognize your home.” The mocking undertone was obvious to the girl even with his neutral voice.

“I do own a magical map, I just left it back home…” She reasoned.

Then, like butter, her argument was quickly cut up by Jeylin.

“But doesn’t that make it worse that you forgot?” The smirk of amusement came full force by now. The elf girl felt her face and pointy ears turn red out of embarrassment. Weakly, she tried to argue back in order to reclaim some face.

“...Didn’t you say you were forgetful…?” The girl tried to sound mature and smart, it didn’t work.

At this point, Jeylin didn’t even respond and simply laughed, even though she had a point. Apparently, her act was too hilarious to take seriously. Kettlelinna wanted to strangle the boy.

In an act that the elf girl was sure was out of spite, they built a fire much bigger than last time. It emitted enough heat so that she wouldn’t have to stay close to Jeylin. How mean. Snow surrounded them, and the elf girl felt uncomfortable. She struggled in her spot as she tried to get some sleep. ‘How was I able to nap like a baby those other times…?’ She wondered.

Meanwhile, Jeylin seemed unused to sleeping on the snow. But he didn’t struggle like her. He instead shifted into the snow, as if the cold felt comforting for him.

There was silence between them. A comfortable, relaxing silence… But it was soon broken when Jeylin began to cough. He sprang up like a wild animal, rapidly looking around. The girl, startled, asked if he was okay. “Jeylin?”

“That wasn’t air… was it?” He asked in a clipped tone.

She looked at him with confusion before she realized what he meant. “Oh…” The girl relaxed in her spot, “It’s probably just air from illusion magic…” She told him. “We use illusion magic on the main entrances to our kingdom. The thick air is from dispersed illusions. Pretty harmless, just takes getting used to.” The girl elaborated before he could even ask.

Still, in spite of the explanation, the boy still remained tense. He continued to watch the distorted air hugging the ground, as though too heavy to float. Eventually, Jeylin calmed down and lied back down, muttering something about “Shitty air magic,” and “I hate this.”

Kettlelinna giggled from his response. She didn’t even flinch when a glare was sent her way. That was progress, he supposed.

“Why are you so upset?” She asked, half-curious half-amused.

His brows furrowed deeply but the rest of his face remained deadpan. “It’s disturbing my fucking sleep, that’s why.”

‘Ah, so sleep is an exception to what he would hold back on? That makes sense given his reaction when I disturbed him the first morning after I met him…’ Kettlelinna was beginning to understand him more and more. The girl was snapped out of her thoughts when Jeylin spoke again.

“Tell me; What is the name of this kingdom I curse to hell?” Irritation was present in his voice.

The elf girl didn’t know what ‘hell’ was but responded anyway. With a wide smile, she sat up slightly, placing her elbow on her impromptu snow pillow.

“Kingdom Vinebloom.”