Stars of Freedom

Chapter 78: Apart

Tori sat up from bed, she grabbed her head. Her face expressed anger and discomfort. 

Tori: On one hand, I'm glad you noticed what was wrong. On the other, why? What was the point of doing anything to him? 

Elias: I... I don't know. Honestly, don't. It didn't feel right, so I stopped. I left the group soon after and never looked back. 

Volk: Both of your stories sound... drastically different.

Tori: ...yeah.

Okami leaned against a wall and looked away. 

Kochev: I think I'm understanding this better.

Nahe: ... Are you feeling better, Tori?

Tori: Not exactly, but I can't just lie down. 

Kenos: You should really rest, though.

Tori: I'll be okay. 

Volk: Are you sure?

Tori: Yes. I am. Although, I am hungry. 

Elias: Well, we cooked some food earlier while waiting for Kochev to get here. It's a dish from this place. We still have the plantains and pork meat to cook it again, you want some.

Tori: Yeah, I'll take that. 

Kenos: We also made some rice and beans on the side for anyone who wanted, there should be some of that leftover still. 

Tori: I'll take some of that while I wait, that other dish sounds interesting. Are there any clothes here, by any chance. I'd like to get changed. 

Kenos: I can make something for you. Let me just rest a bit, I pulled too much power not too long ago. 

Tori: Sure, I'll go over to the kitchen in a second. 

Volk: I'll be outside, the air there feels nice.

Okami: Same here, I'd like to enjoy the calm before another storm.

The two of them walked out of the room, they had started talking about a mobile game.

Kenos: I'll be in the living room, Yuzui wanted my help with something.

Kochev: I'll follow you till I find the kitchen, that food sounds good right about now.

He put up a peace sign with his hands and walked out of the room. Only Nahe and Tori were in the room. Nahe looked at the ground, uncomfortable and unable to do anything.

Tori: You good, kid?

Nahe kept quiet for a moment before speaking.

Nahe: ... Why did you lie? 

Tori: I didn't, I'm still not feeling that well.

Nahe: Not about that...

Tori: Hm?

Nahe: Your story. 

Tori looked to her right and kept quiet.

Nahe: I'm not asking you to tell everyone. I know it's not comfortable. Hence, why I didn't wanna talk about Lykos and Argos too much.

Tori: Me and her agreed to just tell a lie instead of the truth ages ago. Okami knows that, I entrusted him with the truth. Hell, I told Argos at one point as well because I trusted him. I'm not just going to tell everyone that my mom and dad fought constantly. That whenever my dad got too heated, he threatened to kill us. That he hurt Kit whenever she made any simple mistake.

Nahe: I-

Tori: You think that's easy to remember?! You think I want to remember how my mom would just ignore that as well?! How whenever Kit looked for help, she would just shut down and leave us to suffer with him?!

Nahe: I didn't-

Tori: I'm not going to go into every detail. So I just say it happened in Amnea, cause yeah, she did switch there and that was the first time anyone but my dad saw me!

She was breathing heavily, tears rolling down her face.

Nahe: I'm sorry... I didn't want to bring that memory back up... I just wanted to know.

Tori: You out of everyone should know how that would affect me! You have all of our memories... You saw how I reacted when Argos asked!

Nahe: I know... I'm sorry for getting curious.

Tori: Look, just give me a minute. I'll be out soon, but I need some space.

Nahe: Sure, I'll be outside.

Nahe left the room and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath with his eyes closed before walking through the house. He walked outside and put his back against a wall. Volk and Okami were still talking about the same mobile game. He looked at them and the memories of other people flashed through his head. 

The two as they were talking. He looked to the side and saw Kitsune sitting next to Okami. Beside him, though, sat Alepou. Nahe was wearing a dark gray jacket that had a specific set of green stripes. He saw other people around him as well, a few he had not met before.

Nahe opened his eyes, only now realizing he had closed them. He saw only Okami and Volk, still talking. Nahe took a deep breath, his thoughts began to get scattered. He felt a hand on his shoulder suddenly, it was Tori who had walked outside. He was startled for a second.

Tori: Oh, my bad. Didn't realize I was being quiet.

Nahe: Ah, it's fine. What's up?

Tori: Just wanted to tell you it's fine. Didn't want to worry you, so I came by to say that. 

Nahe: But still, it's a delicate topic.

Tori: Yeah, it is. But I'm saying it's fine now. I know your intentions weren't bad. 

Nahe: Oh. Well, still. My bad for bringing it up.

Tori: It's okay, you are forgiven. Let's just not bring it up to anyone, unless absolutely necessary.

Nahe: Alright. 

Tori put her fist up, Nahe put his fist up after. The two agreed with a fist bump to leave the topic alone for now...