Stranger Spirits

Temporary Situation [Chapter Two Part Three]

Once he was out of sight I picked myself up and began to walk around looking for some fallen branches or dry leaves to use. I can't believe I'm traveling with the new hero. I laughed. It's totally unheard of for someone to accompany the chosen one on their journey. Who knew I'd grow up to be such a rule breaker?

I picked up a couple of branches and walked a little deeper into the woods. In this area, there was barely any snow. If it didn't snow tonight then we probably won't be able to sled the rest of the way down, which means I'll be with Atticus longer.

I idly brought back the pile that I was gathering and began to make a campfire. I grabbed my designated stick and placed it between my clasped hands. Moving my hands back and forth the stick began to twirl and the friction between the stick and my kindling began to make smoke. Within minutes I successfully made my own campfire.

As I poked and prodded my little fire I began to reflect about Atticus, my current companion. I don't know why but Atticus always piqued my interest. In the village, we never really spoke much since we existed in different crowds. Him being a hunter and myself a merchant we never really had to speak to each other much except for when he'd need supplies.

I always thought of him as a wildfire interesting to observe from the comfort of distance. It's almost odd that I've been near him for so long. The fact that he's not only the chosen hero but his father was one as well and even just the way he acted interests me. It's not like I'm creepy or anything! Just, sometimes during town meetings, I'd notice that I find myself looking at him sometimes. Yup, I sound like a creep.

Speaking of being a creep; what do I do about the other night? I SAW him in the spirit realm. I mean, I saw more than I ever thought I'd see of him! Should I tell him? How would I even explain it to him?

Hey, so I saw you the other night in the spirit realm but not as a wolf for a moment there! I saw you as you are now but naked! I patted my cheeks knowing that they were flushed. I can't just say that to him!

On the other hand, from the way he's been speaking to me it seems as if my evading him in the forest was effective. He didn't see me.

Atticus arrived later with some fish and I had the fire burning well. We spent a couple of minutes prepping the fish. We began by removing the scales from the fish. We then inserted our blades into the fish and cut them open to remove the innards and bones. We finally rinsed the insides using my canteen of water.

I grabbed a spare cloth and began to scoop up the guts and place them on the cloth. I picked it all up and took both our canteens. "Which way is the river?" Atticus pointed and I nodded my head. "I'll be back in a few, I'm going to throw the innards in the river and refill the canteens." With that, I walked off and was once again alone with my thoughts.

Jacob must be worried about me right now. He's probably running around town asking everyone if they've seen me. I've always been the predictable kind of person. I never ran off course so for me to be gone out of nowhere...he must be so scared.

I small ran down my cheek and I wiped it away. "Atticus distracted me for the day but what was I thinking?" I laughed at myself. "That going sledding for the day can truly make me forget what's lurking towards me?" Once I reached the river I got down on my knees and looked at my reflection. The river was moving too fast for my image to be still but I could still see myself: a coward. Someone, who can't even tell his brother what's wrong. Someone, who will just run away from home and probably never return. Someone who is willing to hurt the people he loves to protect them...to protect them from himself.

Done with seeing my reflection I dumped the fish bits into the river and saw it get whisked away. I then began to scrub the cloth lightly so it was at least a little bit cleaner than before. After drinking some water and filling the canteens back up I trudged towards camp.

When I got there, I saw that Atticus had pitched a tent and was now roasting the fish in the fire. "Good, you're back. I just put the fish in so it'll be done cooking any moment now."

"Thanks," I took a seat next to him and placed the canteens down.

We sat in a comforting silence. I watched the flames lick at the wood and burn it into a rich black. "You were crying. Your eyes are bloodshot and puffy." Atticus nonchalantly disturbed the silence as he took the fish away from the fire and handed it to me.

I grasped onto the stick that held the fish. "Thank you, and yes I was." I looked him square in the eye. "I'm not as strong as you are." I faked a chuckle. "I'm a very weak person."

"You're not, though. You're far from that." He blew onto his fish and took a bite of it. "Given your circumstances, the most logical decision was to leave."

"But I didn't tell anyone."

"They wouldn't understand," I began to nibble on the fish as he spoke. "You don't know what you're up against. Strength is not the amount of power that you have in a strike. It's your conviction to do what you know is best for everyone. You're quite a compelling individual, Vaughn. Don't ever second-guess yourself."

My eyes began to water. "Thanks!" I smiled as tears trudged down my cheeks. "It's the smoke, I swear!" I laughed off my tears.

"It's the smoke then." He nodded and chewed off the last bit of fish and threw the stick in the fire. "I put all of our things in our tent. You should finish your food quick and get some rest, we wake at dawn."

I blushed lightly. "Are you sure?"

"It's fine, though it may be a little cramped but the situation is only temporary." He dusted himself off and placed his hands on his hips looking at the sky. "Take a good look, Vaughn. This is the last time you will see the night sky on this mountain."

I looked up at the night sky with its myriad of stars all shining like lanterns in the far distance. I felt a light tug in my chest and clutched it still looking out into the sky. If anything, I guess there is a small bit of comfort knowing that I am looking up at the same sky as my family.

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Everytime I publish another piece of this story I get so excited! Amidst all of the crazy shit I'm going through it's great to post something that makes me so happy!
-Ryan