"Wake up! You've been snoozing for half a day, come on! Or I will actually drench you this time!" a distant voice yells. The clouds below me begin to darken, harboring an ill intention. I dread the water. I don't wish to get wet. Then I remember! Vasco! I snap my eyes open and see him looming over me, and the biggest magic circle I've ever seen is hovering above me.

"Wait! Wait! Stop, I'm awake!" I scream, raising my hands to shield myself, but he halts in time. He was on top of me and I shove him off the mattress I was on. He tumbles to the floor with a loud thump.

"Ow! Is this how you repay your hero!? I literally dragged you here after you stuffed yourself to sleep! How is that even possible? How hungry were you?" Vasco complains as he stands up.

"So hungry that I could've devoured a whole Ooribrate. Well, I think I did that much yesterday." I reply, proudly grining.

Vasco lets out a groan and says he's weary, "I had to haul you all the way here, and even had to scrub you. I've never seen a filthier creature in my life before." As he says that, I blush and look at myself. My clothes are all gone and I'm now wearing a white gown. I shriek and yell, "Pervert! Admitting that you're fifty but stilll taking your chance when you found it, you beast!" I grab my shoe from the ground and hurl it at him.

"Ouch! Now I am fifty to you? And after all I did to offer you elven hospitality. Truly an ungrateful species." Vasco retorts.

But I notice that my cloak is gone, I look at him and scream, "My cloak! Where! Where is it!" I jump up and frantically search around. I even start perspiring.

"Sadly, I had to toss it away. It looked too fancy to be work by an unrefined person like yourself and-" I dash to him and clutch his shirt, and yell at him, "No! Why! It was my father's cloak. His last request. Why, Vasco? Why?" I collapse crying. 

Vasco is shocked and he quickly hugs me and says that he's only trying to play a joke on me. Then, he gets up and fetches the cloak hidden under the mattress.

"Hestia, I didn't know realize how much it means for you. Please, forgive me! Please!" He falls on both knees while bowing his head to the ground. My tears stop flowing as I hold the cloak in my hand. Without missing a beat, I put it on and say, "That wasn't funny at all. At all! Do that again, and you're not my friend anymore."

"Friend? Are we friends? And did you forgive me?" Vasco replies.

"Anyone who feeds me food is my friend, and yes, idiot, you're forgiven but I will remember this." I say.

"Although you're the one who stole food from them." He mumbles to himself but I hear him loud and clear and smack him on his head.

I wear elven garments brought to me by Vasco. They are green and hug me nicely. He doesn't know but Vasco is the only one to present me clothes besides Leonard. I try to conceal it but I'm beaming and chuckling. He's face is puzzled but he continues guiding me through the rest of the village. I get to see Gulvan again, but he's still occupied with his meetings.

"Did you ever shot a bow? Come, let me teach you!" Vasco instructs me how to shoot a bow. But apparently the blond elf isn't that skilled compared to the others in the range.

"Are you still hanging out with the human, Vasco?" says an elf girl named Yvaka. He was about to reply but I march up to her and stand tall to the ground, "If you have something to say, then say it to my face, short elf."

I must've hit a nerve as her pale skin quickly got flustered. She gets closer to me as if planning to challenge me but Vasco interrupts and pulls me away from the range. "You just want me to get in trouble. Don't forget I'm responsible for you here!" Vasco exclaims as I try to wriggle to break free from his grip but by the Ancient Light is he strong. I stare at his hands and say, "Why are you so muscular and strong for an elf, it doesn't make sense. Let me go!"

"Why not question them why they are slender and skinny instead." Vasco says as he releases me but my momentum overtakes and I slam my face to the mud. "You're cleaning your clothes this time around. I am not handling someone who can't stay upright for more than two minutes."

We head to the Ooribates. Vasco urges me to learn how to ride these furballs but I hesitate.

"Meet Oofang! See, unlike the others, you can see his fangs poking out of his thick fur! Clever name, right?" Vasco says as he hops on the back of the Ooribate, then he speaks again, "This one is Oolax. She has a habit of being bit too clumsy. She often slides of the branches and falls. You guys are a perfect match!"

"I'm not getting on her! Never! I won't put my life on the line today!" I yell but Oolax snatches me by the waist and flings me on her back. She doesn't stop and jumps on a tree, while my legs and arms are quivering, frozen in place on the unstable wooden platform which swayed with each movement. But then, I hear Vasco's voice from a nearby tree telling me to hold on to the reins. 'For the rest.. you will learn as you go.' he said.

We spend the entire afternoon in the forest swinging from tree to tree. Me and lovely Oolax bond after I discover fruit in the forest and feed it to her. Vasco and his silly partner kept trying to play pranks on me but Oolax defended me. Although, she's the one who gave me the biggest fright when her hands slipped off a branch. But she caught me mid air as we both fell and placed me on her chest before crashing to the ground. Vasco of course chuckles and isn't concerned by the fact I almost died. What a way to be treated as a guest.

The sun dips below the horizon, and with the night came the fireflies that illuminated the place. Vasco shares his stories of traveling all the way here. How it's been only a few weeks since. I'm puzzled and ask, "So is this why the village is still unfinished? I always wondered."

He stares at me and then glances back at village. We were sitting on the stump of a feleld tree by the outskirt. He looks back at me and says, "Well... this is not a village. It's a camp. A temporary camp. We're not staying here for long."

"Temporary? Nomad elves? I never heard of such a thing." I say while I tilt my head in confusion. Vasco chuckes softly and stands up.

His face suddenly brightens and he dashes to me and grabs both my hands, "You haven't shown me your magic after all this time! Even though I am dazzling you with my magic! That's not fair!" Vasco exclamis, his puppy eyes growing bigger and bigger with each breath.

"Uh... my magic? I don't think I can-"

"Please, Hestia! I want to see human magic, and more than that, I want to see your magic! Please, show me. I am your friend after all." He continues pleading. 

I don't know how to tell him, that I'm different. Ungifted. Cursed. He will probably laugh at me, or worse, think that I'm weird and keep a distance from me. I am scared but if I have to do it, then I will make it a spectacular show.

"Magic, huh? Then I will show you! Let go!" I yell.

He quickly releases me and settles on the ground with his legs folded, his eyes full of eagerness. I gaze at my hands and begin randomly chanting, "Behold the greatness of mankind, mine ancestry, and sheer might handed down through the ages. I'm one and cannot be replicated, and with this hand, I will engulf the world with same magic which lit the way of man. And as I say, I cast... Fire!"

Moments pass by and in utter silence I stand while blushing. I bring my hand closer to my face to hide my embarrasment but then, I notice a glow radiating from my palms. And not long after, fire bursts from my hand and it hits me full on the face. My face is charred from the blast and my eyebrows slightly singed. I'm wearing a foolish look on my face out of shock.

Vasco who's on the ground, erupts in a hysterical laughter.