Ignei began to follow the dim, glowing light until he stops short at the pebbles, signifying the borders of the village. The light was out there, and he was technically done with his chore. No one seemed to be outside, not even the guards, although they should be in his opinion, especially with the rebels around. He looked up and smelled the clear outside. The light was fading away, and he took a step forward, feeling the stones on his feet. He looked down, then with one final breath, he leapt out of the safety of the village and towards the dying light.

There it was! In the midst of the forest, he could see it standing on the water. A strange flame engulfed a large lake, and a boy was standing on the side of it, possibly looking for something. Then, that same boy began to run as shadows of small creatures started chasing after him. He spotted Ignei and began to sprint towards him. Ignei, confused, began to run away.

Ignei ran away from the chaser, who is catching up to him. Why was he pursuing him, and what was that darkness that he saw right behind him? Ignei couldn’t outrun him, and eventually that stranger picked him up and ran away with him. He blinked, not understanding what’s going on.

“What the hell man?” he screamed. The boy didn’t look at him and only focused on running. Somehow he managed to easily carry the boy, which rather annoyed him, but right now he shouldn’t focus on such things. Instead, Ignei turned to see what he was running from, and saw the gigantic group of small, bearded angry creatures with red eyes stampeding towards them. “What the hell?” Ignei repeated.

“Sorry about that,” the boy replied, slightly showing him a smile, not looking at him. Ignei noticed his golden eyes glistening in the light. “But, you don’t mind, right? After all, there is a hoard of trolls chasing after us…” Ignei’s eyes widened at his words. He turned around to see that a bunch of angry hairy creatures were coming straight towards them.

“Trolls? Seriously dude?! You went out of your way to piss off a bunch of trolls— what the hell were you thinking?!”

The boy holding him flashed an impish smile. “I was trying an experiment, although you wouldn’t want to know the details. Basically, I honestly thought that trolls could hold off their temper a little longer, and well my hunch was correct.”

What in the realms did he mean by that? Ignei didn’t want to get involved in this! He just wanted to escape his reality, and yet somehow got caught in the middle of something else entirely. The last thing that he wanted to do was get himself into someone else’s troubles. However…

“Why did you think that would be a good idea?!” he demanded, wondering if the boy seriously thought of the consequences of his actions. Was he the kind of person that wouldn’t think before doing? Was he one of those “live in the moment” types of people?

The boy only shrugged and grinned wider, and from there, Ignei knew his answer. “Well, hang on, and I’ll tell you.” Ignei turned around and saw the two of them speeding towards the edge of a cliff. At this point, he thought he was crazy. At first Ignei tried to struggle out of the strange boy’s grip, only to soon cling onto him, hoping he would survive the ordeal. Because he had a feeling that his doom was waiting from only seconds away.

The boy jumped through the air, as if soaring above the clouds. Ignei bit his tongue, holding back the amount of curse words he wanted to say to him. He only shut his eyes tight, squeezing them, hoping that he would survive the fall.

There was a rustling of the trees, and then a whoosh of the wind. The two boys felt the gravity upon them, pulling them towards the ground. Hopefully, the ground wasn’t far off.

Then, silence. And a thump.

Ignei opened his eyes. He clenched his fists and wiggled his toes. He was alive! The sky was covered by the leaves of the canopies of the trees. Straight ahead was a dirt path that led somewhere else. He still felt an arm wrapped around his waist, a strong grip. He looked up to see the boy still standing, in one piece, taking in a deep breath, as if trying to become one with the forest.

“Ah… that was a close one,” he said to himself. He looked down at his captive and a red blush formed on his cheeks. “Oh! Sorry about that! Usually I’m not this touchy with strangers I haven’t met yet!’ He chuckled in an awkward manner before dropping him on the path. Ignei scraped his knees and his hands as he dropped to the ground, feeling the roughness of the dirt underneath. He let out a slight groan in pain. Well, at least he caught himself.

When he dusted himself off, he looked up and glared at the boy who abducted him. “You’re crazy!” he yelled at him. The boy let out a hearty laugh, causing him to somehow drop onto the path as well in a sitting position, injury free.

“I’m sorry about getting you in that particular predicament. This was the first time I saw any other being pass by through that part of the forest. Where are you from, exactly?” He grinned, staring at him in fascination. Ignei kept himself at a slight distance. This boy was kind of creeping him out.

“Look man, I—”

“You’re bleeding!” the boy suddenly exclaimed, staring at the recent bruises. He reached over to the side pocket of his sweater, pulling out a first-aid kit. “Let me treat it!”

Ignei scooted further back, suddenly appalled at the boy’s suggestion. “I thought you wouldn’t touch a stranger you just met!”

The boy huffed. “Well, if he’s injured, it’s best to treat it while it’s fresh, so no infections get to it,” he replied, as if his explanation was the obvious exception. He grabbed a wet tissue and handed it to Ignei. “Well, if you don’t want me to, you can treat it yourself.”

Ignei grabbed the tissue and applied it to his hands, then folded it and applied the tissue to his knees. “Thanks,” he said, still feeling wary of the boy.

“No problem,” he said with a mischievous smile. “So, can you tell me where you’re planning on going on this lovely, lovely afternoon?”

“Can you at least tell me your name?” Ignei replied in annoyance. While he didn’t truly want to know his name, he at least wanted to recognize him the next time someone mentions it, he would know where to avoid.

“Ahu!” he said with glee.

“So, idiot?” Ignei asked.

Ahu glared at him, and for a second, his cheerful smile left his face. However, it came back as soon as it disappeared. “It actually means bright! So, quite the opposite!”

Ignei wasn’t sure whether to believe him, but judging by his personality it would make complete sense. However, he had to wonder how his parents came up with the perfect name for—

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about such strange thoughts. He needed to get out of this forest, which only seemed to stretch out for miles. Ahu stared at him his golden eyes seeming to glow, and Ignei found the way he looked at him rather scary. “Um, you don’t happen know where the nearest city is from here, do you?” he asked.

Ahu scratched his head. “Yeah, actually I think I do. Well, I’m pretty sure we’re heading in the direction of the city of where the king resides. Why?” he asked.

“You wouldn’t mind, guiding me there?” Ignei asked, his face becoming a bright shade of red as he turned away, not wanting to show his expression. The last thing he wanted to do was ask help from a crazy guy that managed to piss off a hoard of trolls.

“Of course!” he heard the strange boy say in a rather enthusiastic way. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. “I know this forest inside and out, so, it shouldn’t take too long until we arrive at our destination!”

Ahu released his shoulder and grasped his wrist as he forcefully led him along the dirt path that would lead him out of the forest. “So, do you want to know the story of how I got a bunch of trolls chasing after me?” Ignei didn’t respond, but he began to tell his tale anyway. As the two trudged on, the golden eye boy began to talk of other stories about his misadventures throughout the forest.

Suddenly, Ignei understood why his village told him never to go through the forest. He couldn’t disagree as of why others would want to avoid him.

After a couple of hours, which seemed like an eternity in Ignei’s mind, they finally arrived. The city, in all its shining glory. The sun was setting, making it seem like it was illuminating. From the distance, he could see futuristic like buildings that make up the bulk of the city, possibly containing even more futuristic technology.

He turned to Ahu, who was also staring at the city in awe. He turned around to face Ignei. “Wow. I’ve heard stories about the city, but I never thought that I would be experiencing… this. It’s beautiful, is it not?”

Ignei only nodded silently in agreement, not wanting to ruin the moment. “I want to come with you,” Ahu said unexpectedly.

“I’m not doing that, Ahu.”

Ahu showed him a weird sad smile. “Sorry, it’s just… I understand if you don’t want me to.” He fiddled his fingers, looking down at his hands.

“You can accompany me to the city, but that’s it. After that, we separate and we never see each other again. Is that clear?”

Ahu looked up at his companion and brought his hands to his sides. “And I promise I’ll talk less, if that’s what you want.” He closed his eyes and breathed in a huge amount of air before letting it out slowly. “Thank you.”

The two set up camp in the border of the woods. Looking up at the stars, Ignei could feel a strange emotion that he couldn’t decipher. He turned towards his current companion, who was also staring at the beautiful night sky. He was smiling, truly smiling, and yet, he seemed a little saddened somehow.

“What a beautiful night,” he sighed in a dreamy-like state. His eyelids slowly dropped and his breaths began to even out. He appeared to be sleeping, yet he murmured a couple of more phrases. “I wish I… aw man, if you could see them right now…”

“Go to sleep idiot,” Ignei snorted at him. He only laughed at his attempts to quiet him down.

“My… name isn’t… idiot…” he fell asleep.

Ignei only shook his head before repositioning himself and falling back onto the dirt. The floor was scratchy, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. He pondered about what tomorrow might bring. Mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement came to him. Whatever tomorrow may bring, he hoped that he would be ready.

But what actually came to him would be even more unexpected than he thought it might’ve been.