Noah

My heart’s racing, faster and faster with each second. I look at Amel sitting opposite to me in the *Bestial horse-drawn carriage.

He gives me a reassuring look. We exchange no words. I feel a little awkward but I remain silent and embrace the quiet as it is.

We arrive at our designated location, the outskirts of Luminous Town, and wait for Vivian and Dalia Nefes, another student at the boarding school.

Dalia is a whimsical, rather chaotic, energetic girl, slim in stature and lapis haired. She takes delight in playing with Vivian, and Vivian returns her silly banter with a playful remark. They must be really close friends.

“Ready for your first mission?” Vivian asks me.

“A bit nervous, haha,” I chuckle, hoping to sound bold when all I want to do right now is head back to the school and hide in a little corner, balled up and secure.

“It’ll be alright. Just some Bestial wolves. We’ve got this!” Amel chimes in, jabbing me at my arm in a lighthearted manner.

I’m walking behind Vivian with my *Mana-shortsword in hand. I can hear Amel and Dalia conversing behind me, their voices are the only thing I can hear apart from the birds’ indistinct chirping.

I turn to my right and see a rattling thicket. It’s the Insaniacs!

“To our right!” I alert the others but it’s too late.

Four Insaniac Bestial wolves charge towards us; we follow through with our plan in case we got ambushed.

The four of us hurry toward the woods. As expected, each of the Insaniac Bestial wolves chase one of us. In normal cases, they’d hunt us in packs, outnumbering us but the Bestial Insania has affected their hunting instincts.

I run, run and run as fast as my wearied legs can carry me, hoping to tire our the Bestial wolf chasing after me before I engage in combat but I trip over and stumble, tumbling into a shallow pit.

The B.wolf catches up and I’m now face to face with the wolf.

The entirety of my body is quivering, my palms profusely sweating, my eyes are transfixed on the wolf. I dare not to look away.

It gives a blaring howl, catching me off guard and proceeds with it’s onslaught.

In my mind, I can envision the fight with the beast but physically, my body isn’t ready.

“Do something, do something, do something,” my thoughts race but my hands  are numb, my legs feel as if they could snap any moment.

The B.wolf pounces, by a stroke of luck, I manage to dodge the assault. Another pounce, I avoid it again. Then another. I try to strike it with my Mana-shortsword but fail to hit it.

We both take a few steps back. Now, having composed myself, I anticipate the B.wolf to lunge at me again. As it charges towards me, I grip my Mana-shortsword as firm as I can. Predictably, the B.wolf lunges and I thrust my Mana-shortsword right into it’s heart.

The dead B.wolf lies in front of me. My legs are trembling, I have to sit. In a daze, I try to make sense of everything that just transpired.

I’m hit with a realisation.

I’ve done it. I’ve killed my first beast. This sent me into a celebratory state and I was too preoccupied by my triumph that I failed to notice the advances of a large Insaniac Bestial Ogre until it stood right behind me.

Coming back to my senses, I turn around and see a towering B.ogre, its jaws slavering, its eyes a deep crimson and its hands raised, holding a wooden mace and ready to strike.

I’m done for.

[*Bestial: Most of the fauna of Eirenai are named with the prefix ‘Bestial’]

[*Mana-weapons: Special weapons effective in killing Insaniacs. Made from Mana, one of the most versatile elements in the world of Azistére, existing in a variety of forms and having a wide range of properties depending on the form]

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Amel

Having killed the B.wolf chasing after me, I decide to search for Noah, Vivian and Dalia.

I’m more worried for Noah as he seemed jittery. I hope nothing bad has happened to him.

Trudging through the overgrown trees, I look for trails which might lead me to the others when I hear a blaring cry. There’s no mistaking it, it’s a frenzied B.wolf.

I sprint as quick as I can. If the B.wolf isn’t killed immediately, it could draw the attention of other beasts. Or worse, it could kill someone.

After a minute or two, I reach the source of the outcry. No sighting of a frenzied B.wolf, However, an even daunting beast, a B.ogre has appeared. And it’s about to pound Noah!

Rushing towards the B.ogre, I tackle and topple the goliath.

I’m punching, smacking, bashing the savage brute barefisted. Noah looks at me astounded, a look that betrays terror.

Before the B.ogre is able to regain footing, I draw out my Mana-sword and behead it.

••••••••

We’re returning to the boarding school. This return journey feels awfully long, dragged out. Did we take as much time on our way to Luminous Town?

Maybe it’s because I don’t feel comfortable with our silence anymore.

Noah seems distant. Compared to the Noah from our first meeting, he’s less approachable and I can’t find the right words to reach him without scaring him off.

The first time we met, there was no barrier between us but now an unseen wall seeks to obstruct any communication.

I want to get to know Noah. I think we could be friends. But does he want to know me?

**********