The tentacles started retracting back into the whale's spiky body, and Atomu began struggling, shaking around.
"Oh," Chyuuichi announced. "We're about to be eaten!"
"MORIO! MORIO!!!" Atomu continued yelling. "DO SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING!!!"
Morio eyed a red, pulsating point inside the whale's jaw, attached to the ceiling of its mouth. He breathed heavily, grinding his teeth, and then yelled out in a fit of vigour. Without further hesitation, he jumped in.
"MORIO?!" Atomu screamed at a high pitch, and his eyes widened. The tentacles retracted completely and Atomu and Chyuuichi started falling into its mouth, right after Morio.
But then, at that moment, the whale closed its mouth.
The two bounced off its moving body, quickly running up to find any fins they could hold onto.
"Morio... Morio!" Atomu kept yelling. "No, no, no, no! MORIO!"
The whale flipped around, making a strange sound, and Chyuuichi slid down towards its flipper.
Chyuuichi looked around. "Jyuso. Where is Jyuso?" he asked.
"Jyuzou..? J-Jyuzou?! MORIO'S DEAD! HE WAS EATEN BY THE GODDAMN WHALE!!! CAN YOU HEAR YOURSELF?!" he grabbed him by his wet scarf, and the moon reflected in his eyes. "Agh..." Atomu felt a sharp pain in his jaw, before moving back.
Chyuuichi glanced around, before jumping into the water, and Atomu sat down on the slippery body, defeated. He opened his mouth, shaking.
And when all hope was lost, Atomu saw something strange. All of a sudden, a fountain of blood appeared next to his body, and when he looked closer, he made out a shape of a stone sword, with words etched into its blade.
"Haa?" Atomu put his hands on the body, and the whale screamed out, essentially spewing Morio out of its mouth. It shot up into the sky again, and Atomu flew around in the air before landing on the boat he rode earlier. It looked at Morio once again, as the red colour faded from its eyes. It dived into the deep again, never to be seen.
Morio put his head out of the water and breathed in and out, heavily. "I killed it. I KILLED IT!" he yelled in joy, looking at Atomu.
"Oh... my..." Atomu put his hand on his face. "Morio! Morio..!" he extended his arms towards him. "Morio... don't ever do something as stupid as that again!" he pointed. Morio swam up to the boat and sloppily climbed on. Atomu moved back, afraid of any water getting on his clothes.
"Sorry!" Morio sounded, lying down on the wood. "There was no other way around."
Jyuzou struggled underwater, moving his arms and legs around quickly, trying to make his way up to the surface. The moon's light grew distant with each second that passed, and his body headed into the lake's depths. He tried screaming out, but his voice was drowned by all the liquid surrounding his body, climbing into every crevice of his body. His vision quickly got blurry, and he closed his eyes, as there was no point in reaching out for any light above anymore.
His limbs gave up, yet his mind was racing, asking too many questions. He didn't want to give up, but despite his vows, none of his limbs budged.
An image of Morio flashed in his mind, then of Atomu, Chyuuichi.
He recalled the time when Victoria scolded him for refusing to eat a soup that's gone cold. He remembered the stories Bancho used to tell him.
Despite his stern face... he longed for home. He wanted to have this calm and pure happiness again. But... he chose this.
Someone dived into the water, and reached for Jyuzou's hand, quickly swimming up.
Chyuuichi quickly put Jyuzou's body atop the flipped boat, and Jyuzou slowly blinked, coughing out water. Chyuuichi breathed heavily, holding onto the boat's edge. He glanced at Jyuzou, who turned his head to him.
"I couldn't see ya, Jyuso!" Chyuuichi yelled out. "I thought something bad was happening, so I dove in and you were drowning! Seriously!" he sat on the edge of the boat. "Ya ought to learn to swim someday!" he put his legs together.
Jyuzou slowly sat up, and Morio swam towards their boat. He bit his lip, stressed, and put his hand over his head.
"You... you..." he slowly raised his hand.
"No biggie!" Chyuuichi added.
Jyuzou put his hand into one of his pockets. "The boat's flipped over," Jyuzou muttered.
"I got your backpack, though!" Chyuuichi lifted it out of the lake, all soaked.
"Um... thank you, but your... armour?" Jyuzou asked.
"Oh... damn it!" Chyuuichi slapped his knee. "I'll be cold now."
"You're already wet." Jyuzou pointed.
"I'll be colder!" Chyuuichi raised his voice, before diving back into the water.
"Cold armour wouldn't make it any better!" Jyuzou raised his voice, and Morio laughed a bit, snorting.
"Morio..." Atomu looked his way. "There's blood on your arm. It's that whale's, isn't it?" he pointed.
"Um, no! I washed its blood off in the water!" Morio took off his wet cloak and pointed to a wound going from his forearm to his wrist. "I hurt myself on its body. It's nothing, d-don't mind it!"
"You're bleeding, how is that nothing?" Atomu looked concerned.
"Pff, you're not my dad to tell me all that stuff," Morio smirked.
"No, show it here, we have to pressure and cover it so it doesn't get infected!" Atomu yelled, pulling Morio towards him. He took out a cloth from his brown bag and wrapped it around Morio's hand.
"Why do you care so much?" Morio asked a bit angered.
"You know, I k-kinda feel responsible." Atomu shook his head. "I'm the oldest after all."
"It's just a stupid wound. You have one on your arm too, right?" Morio asked, and Atomu moved his hand back.
"Atomu's right. You should never deny a wound, even if it appears shallow." Jyuzou pointed to his plastered finger, and Morio turned his head towards him. "It was bad, I cried over this, but Victoria-"
"Pfff!" Morio covered his mouth, trying his best not to laugh. "YOU CRIED OVER THAT?!"
"Shut up, Morio!" Jyuzou's lips were shaking. "YOU CHILD!"
Morio turned back, holding back his whimsical and devilish joy. "A stupid little wound made you cry..? If it happened in Mistwick, it didn't hurt!"
"It hurt like hell, I tell you that!" Jyuzou muttered, crossing his arms.
"It's alright, Jyuso. I sometimes cry too." Chyuuichi patted his shoulder with his wet hand, and the other one held onto his armour.
"I don't need your reassurance!" Jyuzou raised his voice.
"Morio..." Atomu muttered. "Please... never do something so reckless again."
"Why not..? I just wanted to save you guys. You're my friends." Morio looked at Atomu's face.
"Your life isn't worth sacrificing. You still have so much to see and live for." Atomu shook his head. "Next time, don't do anything without asking for our help, okay? You're not alone in this."
"But... I'm strong, aren't I? Why shouldn't I head somewhere alone? I can't always depend on you guys!" he frowned. "You won't be there forever!" he turned to the others.
"For now, don't be afraid to ask for help," Atomu explained. "That's what I mean."
"I'm strong enough to fight on my own! I don't want to rely on you!" Morio said.
"I don't want you dying for me, Morio!" Atomu spouted, and the others looked at him. "Do you know how that would feel?" he asked. "You... you don't. I don't know either." he gazed into the waters, closing his eyes. "...and I don't want you to know. None of you." he carefully eyed Chyuuichi and Jyuzou.
Jyuzou looked down at the boat and clenched his fists.
There is a full moon every 30 days, and no matter where you find yourself in Errarion, you're always able to see it clearly that night, shining brightly. In Shimori, it sits above the colourful night lights, in Malikan, it dances above a plethora of little, dotted white points, and in Lignoria, it's usually accompanied by a few small clouds.
With such a common occurrence, come common rumours. Some people tend to think that the worst things in Errarion happen specifically on days with the full moon, and refuse to step outside when it's looking down at them from the skies. But in reality, it's nothing but a set of unfortunate coincidences.
The moon slowly drifted downwards, and the sun came up, among rather clear and blue airspace, and the four continued their way through the lake, eventually following a river, that grew tighter and tighter each time the current sped up.
They travelled in between the Great Mountains, home to the White Tigers, which are rumoured to wander around its white peaks and observe the people passing through. They're wild animals, none of them has been domesticated by Morians, and they are not to be disturbed by anyone else. They're powerful, and hold as much respect for Morians, as much as they do for them. This time, however, they couldn't spot one.
Near the actual river, stood a few small houses, and people tended to walk into the waters with big straw hats and try to find any shining specks of Silver, dug in between the grounds, no matter what season it was. Then, they'd take their horses or boats and go to Magna to trade them for actual money, or to buy things needed for survival. Despite what Morio and the others saw, these people were usually very well off, successful and didn't ask for anyone's help. A few days ago, one of them hit a jackpot, finding a stash of Silver dust below a rock, which swam down from the lakes.
Chyuuichi quickly got excited by the idea, and for a moment, he dove into the water, searching for anything that would shine. Jyuzou quickly pulled him back in, though.
After the Great Mountains, came a long forest, where the waters connected into one, thin path, sometimes bending, but you didn't need to use oars to advance. The wood of the trees was white, with a few black stripes near its branches. It is said that spending time in the forest is usually accompanied by the sound of birds, chirping in a strange manner. The sound resembled a specific word of Old Manjuno: "Birching" which meant "tall trees".
So, the forest was now commonly referred to as the Birching Trees. Jyuzou focused on life around the river, trying to spot any new plant that might interest him. The only thing he spotted, however, were small bunnies, or even deers in the distance, wandering around and minding their business.
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