Adam woke up groggily with a soft grunt, feeling the rhythmic jostle on the horseback. His vision was blurry, and the world looked upside down, actually, he was upside down. His cheek resting on the sweat-damp flank of the horse.
He felt for his hands, and found them chafed with a rope. Same for his legs.
"Ugh… Am I dead?" Adam reached for his voice, it came out hoarse with a cough.
"No, but you're not so far off, why?" Isha's voice answered from behind him. "Were you hoping to get yourself killed?"
Adam realized he was tied up to the back of Isha's horse like a butchered stag, and that he was about to be in big trouble.
"Look, I swear I wasn't trying to hunt down the Fenrir, I'm not that crazy." He tried to defend himself while turning around to look at Isha. The ropes were too tight, and he failed miserably.
"At least you realize you are crazy in the head, that's a start." Isha tried to mask his concern with anger, but Adam knew him too well.
The forest was getting farther away, yet the Fenrir's howls managed to reach them, prompting the pair to keep their mouths shut for the next few minutes.
Adam wriggled around, trying to free his hands, when Isha started again. "That thing killed seven hunters before, you know." He paused. "And you marched in there with a child's bow."
He then took a long deep breath. "I saw your boat drift north from the marketplace, knew you were up to no good." He paused again. "I don't know what you keep trying to achieve Adam. What was the point of this?"
Adam felt guilt for making his savior worry, but he was not ready for a lecture. He managed to barely turn his head around to look at Isha's back, and saw his white-knuckled grip on the reins. "You want an explanation? Well, let me off the horse's ass first. The smell is going to kill me."
Isha didn't stop the horse, just reached back, meeting his eyes, then yanked the rope tighter. "You survived the Fenrir's wrath, the smell of horse shit is not going to finish you." His jaw clenched biting back worse words. "Now start talking, or this is going to be a long ride."
Adam's bones ached, reminding him of his bitter struggle. Then he remembered the deer he left strapped to a tree, a frustrated groan escaping his lips. This was going to be hard to explain.
"I tracked a deer in the eastern side of the forest, got chased by a pack of wolves. Next thing I know; the Fenrir was right in front of us." Adam mumbled hoping Isha would believe the lie. 'it's not all a lie though.'
Isha stopped the horse, then silently untied him. His actions were precise, yet his eyes were eerily calm. Adam didn't like how he was being looked at.
"What? You don't believe me, do you?" He hopped down from the horse, defiance glistening in his eyes. Isha unmounted, then held him by the shoulder.
"Seven hunters Adam, Seven." He repeated, his fingers digging into Adam's shoulders. He sighed. "You are all that Tammer left for me, don't make me bury you too."
Adam felt the blood in his veins freeze, guilt consuming him in an unimaginable way.
Isha was Tammer's younger brother, and his only caretaker for the last eight years. His slender and tall figure was powerful and tempered, yet right now, he didn't look imposing. He looked helpless, with a pleading gaze.
Adam was wrong to think no one would have cared about his death, it would have shattered Isha's heart.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Isha took out a water bag from the horse saddle, then dumped cold water over Adam's head, pulling him out of his stupor.
"Hey, what was that for?"
"You look like hell, I'm just making you a little presentable when we enter the village." A small smile tugged at Isha's lips. "Just promise me to be more careful from now on."
Adam shook himself like a wet raccoon would, then looked serious again. "I'm sorry." He was sincere.
Isha's smile grew bigger. "I'm sure you are." He then stared at Adam intently, a long pause followed before he continued.
"No, but seriously, you look like hell. I thought all that blood was yours at first. Many would assume the same. We should stop near the lake and take a bath."
Adam groaned in frustration, he did not like swimming, or baths. It made his features even more striking. He didn't like standing out with his mismatched eyes and the white streaks in his hair.
He reached to his belt to hold his dagger as a force of habit, then his eyes widened in fear. He could not find it.
"Here, I picked it up for you, don't lose it again." Isha held out Tammer's Dagger for him, a brotherly smile still drawn on his face.
Adam had been attached to the dagger ever since Isha fished him—and Tammer's corpse—out of the boat. From that day on, he never slept without clutching it close. And Isha had let him keep it, something Adam couldn't be more grateful for.
The pair of boys continued riding east, towards Star Fell lake, the same one Adam had used to drift towards the forest in his boat. The lake was Huge, spanning several kilometers in radius, with clear waters that reflected the night sky with all its stars. It was said the lake was formed when a meteorite fell on east Marelia, hundreds of years ago, before the term Marelia was even formed.
Adam remembered his father talking about an old empire that ruled both the continents, Marelia and Valora; an empire that conjured magic using mysterious artifacts and relics.
Isha trotted the horse to a rocky shoreline, where they could overlook both Aram town and the Endless forest on the opposite sides. With the waters of the lake reflecting an aurora with stars that shone with a mesmerizing glow.
Lost in thought, and distracted by beauty of the lake, Adam didn't notice Isha jumping off the horse back into the lake. He was startled by the splash that washed him though, making him grumble about his wet clothes.
Adam unmounted, took his shirt off, then calmly dipped himself in water, all while Isha looked at him in amusement.
"You really hate water, don't you?" Isha commented with a smile. "Quite weird, considering that you love washing yourself with beast blood."
"I said I was hunting a deer, the wolves and the Fenrir are the ones who chased me." Adam raised his hands in dejection.
"And you expect me to believe you accidently led the wolves to the Fenrir's den." Isha raised an eyebrow with sarcastic smile.
"I didn't have a choice okay? They were five wolves, and I had a deer on my back. So I led them to that monster in hopes they ignore me in his favor."
Adam gulped nervously, he was not a good liar, so he decided truth would save him more lectures. "I couldn't have predicted that abomination to be that harrowing." He paused in thought. "And besides, you wouldn't have found me if I wasn't where I was. Everything turned out for the best in the end, if you think about it."
Isha looked at him quietly, water dripping from his wavy black hair. He waited for Adam to finish his rehearsed defense, used to the boy's theatrics.
"So you never heard of the dead hunters west of the forest, and never thought you would fail to escape what a cohort of seven men fully armed couldn't? Never? And let me recall what you said. You made five wolves chase you, WITH A DEER ON YOUR BACK." Isha's eyes widened in rage, as Adam shrunk back with each word.
"Also, I would have never tracked you down that fast had the Fenrir not roared as much as it did." Isha sighed heavily for the fifth time, his head tilting towards the sky in frustration. "I swear, one of these days, you are going to get us both killed."
Adam felt both guilty for his actions, and offended for the fact that Isha thinks he is suicidal. But he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. If he wanted to get the lecture over with, he had to find a way to change the subject.
"Alright, you know what? Next time I'll let those wolves eat me, but-" Adam pointed at the distant forest. "- if that thing is smart enough to hold a grudge, we might have bigger problems."
Isha dragged a hand down his face, his brows furrowing so deeply they carved wrinkles into his youthful features—as if this one conversation had aged him years. "It is smart enough to remember, and that's why you will not be stepping foot in that cursed forest until its either gone, or hunted."
He reached forward with both arms, and caught Adam by the cheeks. "And by hunted, I mean by professionals, people like the ones in the guard order who hunt the actual threats to the village."
Adam winced loudly, as his cheeks reddened from Isha's grip, and pushed himself away. "ouch- alright, alright, just get me my boat back, and I'll stay off the forest for now." He grabbed his own face with both hands, rubbing his red cheeks with frustration. "The tournament is almost here anyway; I don't want to get more bruises." he whispered before he took half a dip in the water.
Isha stared at him in bewilderment, his eyes almost popping out. "It's from one thing to another with you, always." Shaking his head in surrender, he mouthed with great difficulty. "Fine… you can join the tournament, you are almost fifteen anyways, but you have to be careful, all the other kids are older than you. And if you get hurt, you will pull out of the tournament."
Adam's mismatched eyes sparkled in glee. "YES-" he launched out of the water, drenching Isha in a wave as he tackled him into a hug. "- I mean, thank you, ahem, I'll be careful! I'll train! I'll… I'll win the whole thing! Just watch—I'll-!"
In his playful chaos, Adam tripped over a rock under the shallow water, he winced—sending both Isha and him stumbling and falling mid-celebration.
Two seconds later, the two boys emerged from the water, a deep frown still creasing Isha's brows. "I sometimes forget how childish you are about the things you love; it's almost refreshing. If only you had interest in anything other than getting hurt."
Adam ignored Isha's grumble, and went about drying himself. His white streaked hair glistened under the moonlight, as well as his weirdly colored eyes.
Isha soon followed, and after tightening the saddle strap on his horse, the pair headed towards Aram town with a renewed vigor.
Before reaching the town's walls, Isha reeled the horse west, trotting along the wall. "We are going to check your injuries at the herbalist's clinic, before I take you to your shack." He turned back to look at Adam. "Or would you like to stay the night in my house?"
"Just drop me off at uncle Kareem's clinic, I'll go back home from there on my own." Adam was completely spent for the night, but he didn't want to bother Isha. His father's old shack was on the other side of the lake after all.
"After today's roller coaster of events? No, I would feel better about delivering you myself. It's nothing compared to fighting the great Fenrir of the forest." Isha winked at him teasingly.
"Alright, alright, let's get this over with." Adam ended, waving his hands around in surrender.