Adam got out of his bedroll when he was woken up, thanking the person who did so. While he did want to sleep a little longer, the man knew he had an important task to take care of, plus he wanted everyone to get some rest. Fortunately the Druid had gone camping on many occasions, so once he was awake, getting adjusted to the night was pretty easy. After he looked around to make sure nothing was amiss, the plant magic user sat on the log, enjoying looking at the starry sky until MacKensie joined him.
When MacKensie was roused from sleep, her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, before smiling and thanking the person for waking her. As she rose to her feet, she stretched her neck to one side and rolled her shoulders to loosen up. Sleeping on the hard ground would definitely take some getting used to. Joining Adam to sit on the log, she whispered a
"Hello," to the young man, then covered her mouth to yawn.
"Yesterday was quite a day, no?" she said, giving him a glance before looking up at the stars. She didn't know the exact time but it probably wouldn't be more than a few hours before dawn broke.
"I am still a little shell-shocked from it all.""You and me both," Adam quietly responded, "Getting interrogated by guards, fighting evil creatures, and adjusting to a new world after...you know. It would be a lot to deal with for anyone." The man emphasized the last sentence in an empathetic way, looking at the Ranger as he spoke.
"Yes," MacKensie conceded.
"All things considered, I think we performed admirably," she added with a reassuring nod to herself. There was a short silence.
"Since leaving Hommas, you have been exceptional, Adam. Staying our course to Valhiem, finding this nice place for camping and so much more. I see; you care so very much. We are lucky to have you."It was funny; Adam had just been thinking how nobody had thanked him for navigating, and now here he was getting praised like a king. By MacKensie, of course. A part of him wondered if she was like this with everyone or just him, but the majority of the Druid's thought process at that moment was that she likely didn't feel that way about him and it was foolish to expect anything of that sort to happen at a time when they might be fighting a Witch Queen and her army.
Even so, he couldn't help blushing slightly at the compliment as he smiled, grateful that the darkness hid it. Or hid it well enough for plausible deniability, at least.
"Aw, thank you. I just do the best I can," Adam replied, "and your arrows back at Hommas were impressive also. You were very brave back there."
We're lucky to have you too, he almost added to that.
"Thank you," she replied with a sudden rise in her energy, excited to get the next part out.
"I would probably be even better with a regular bow, as that is my specialty, but I am really enjoying this crossbow. I feel like a gunslinger from the wild west." She chuckled, eyes closed, feeling a little stupid for saying it.
"As for bravery, I suppose it was a combination of instinct, this Gift..." she looked at the crystal on the back of her left hand.
"...and James' magical blessing. All of these things, plus... well... I have had everything and everyone I love taken from me." That brought her energy back down to normal.
"It is not a nice feeling. I did not wish that to happen to any of the residents of that town. I was determined to help."A sudden noise drew her attention to the darkness. On appraisal, it sounded like something small, shuffling through some bushes. Nothing to be alarmed about. Then an owl hooted. Night time in nature was almost as busy as day-time.
Adam understood MacKensie's feelings about her weapon. The plant magic, while not physical in the same way, had grown (pun not intended) on him too. He understood the woman's feelings about losing the ones she loved even more. Had she seen him earlier by the stream, she would have gotten visual proof of that.
After following MacKensie's eyes to where the noise came from, and seeing she was satisfied it wasn't anything dangerous, the man spoke. "I get it. I lost the ones I love too. My parents, little brother, friends - I'll never see any of them again." There was sadness in his voice, for obvious reasons. "I'm not some combat prodigy or tactical genius, but if there are innocent people who need help, I have to do the right thing and help them. The loss...like you said, it isn't nice."
MacKensie nodded sadly. A moment passed in silence as she thought about his loss and her own. Along with the sorrow came an underlying anger too. It wasn't fair. They'd had their whole lives ahead of them. So many years left to live, to love, to learn, to enjoy. Gone. And how their families must feel? It was so hard to wrap her head around. Seeking to avoid wallowing in misery this moment, she tried to shed light on a nicer aspect of this whole thing: Rememberance. Common ground.
"You have a little brother?" she asked him, a small bittersweet smile creeping at the corners of her mouth.
"I also do too." Feeling slightly awkward - hoping this was not too soon or invasive - she sat on her hands, then asked.
"Please... tell me about him."MacKensie also had a brother, it seemed, and she wanted to learn about his. What a nice thing to have in common. Adam's expression became a match his friend's, cheering up a bit as he recalled the kid he lived with most of his life.
"Oh, Eric is a character. A real nerd, really into stuff like video games and Dungeons and Dragons, stuff that reminds me of this world a bit. He likes to make jokes that reference these things, so I don't usually get them. Super smart, too; he'll probably end up becoming a rich programmer or something. He's only 15, so he has a few years before that though. Kinda loud and kind of a pain at times, for sure." At this, the man chuckled a bit before he resumed speaking, his smile having gradually gotten somewhat wider as he described his brother, "but he's a good guy and I love him."
Adam was glad MacKensie had asked her question, but he didn't want to speak too long. Instead, out of genuine curiosity and care for his friend, he asked "what about yours? I'd like to know."
Her guard dropped as soon as he started talking, the joy in his heart infectious as it came out.
"Eric," she said after he was finished.
"He sounds delightful."At the question of her own brother, she smiled and looked at her knees sightlessly, remembering his face.
"Xander just turned 19 years old, not three weeks ago. He was a little spoiled growing up." They both were, but MacKensie being the eldest sibling, naturally had to grow up faster. She snorted softly in amusement.
"So very annoying. We were close, but fought like cat and dog. Nonetheless, I remember watching him at his family birthday celebration... handling himself and everyone with such competence and maturity... I thought to myself; he's grown into a fine young man. He is much like Papa: He has strong principles and a keen mind, with ambition and work ethic that has come to match it. I know he will be okay."She smiled at the red-eyed man.
"At least he will not be fighting Witch Queens, no?" she chuckled.
"He and Eric are spared of that mild inconvenience, thankfully."Adam smiled and nodded to MacKensie when she complimented his brother and fondly paid attention to her as she described her own, remembering his own arguments with Eric as the woman described her fights. When the Ranger made her joke about Witch Queens, the man laughed a bit.
"Ah, yes, a
mild inconvenience. Fighting evil is easy, we'll just walk up to them and win by looking at them." The Druid chuckled, then sighed. "If only it were that easy." His smile quickly returned though. "Your brother sounds great. Your father too, from what you've said." That brought to mind his own father and Adam's desire to make him proud. The man momentarily wondered if MacKensie felt similarly about hers, but he thought the question was too intrusive to ask. Instead, he went with a statement.
"Yes, from what you've said, it sounds like we both have wonderful families."
She nodded earnestly.
"I think so," she agreed.
The instincts MacKensie had about the group of men and women she'd fallen from the sky with, were only strengthened by her talk with Adam. Here was a good man indeed, with a strong but gentle spirit. MacKensie felt a strangely deep trust for him, part of her wondering why she'd feel such a thing for someone she'd only just met - another part knowing it was real and well-placed.
She asked him about his interests and hobbies, wondering if they related to the abilities his Source Crystal had gifted him, telling him that hers aligned with some of her own interests. The conversation led to more about their friends and life surrounding these skills and only strengthened their bond as they got to know eachother more.
The depth and quality of the conversation was instinctually apparent to Adam. For the first time since arriving in Mytheria, he felt at ease. No evil creatures to fight or teammates to guide with the fate of this world at stake, just great conversation. Despite being from two separate continents, the man felt an undeniable bond with the French girl despite them meeting not even a day ago. And yes, like the woman, his abilities did relate to things that interested him.
Engaged in conversation as they were, it took the two longer to notice the sunlight appear than it would have otherwise. "Oh, we should get ready." The Druid gestured to the sky to indicate daybreak was upon them. The Ranger looked in that direction, nodded, and then the pair began waking up the other members of the group, greeting them with a friendly "good morning" as they did so.
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Lucid Dreaming
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