Chapter Sixteen - Old Friends

“Oh you didn’t actually do that, did you?”

Raw, almost throaty laughter echoed through the street, not quite melodious, but peculiar enough that a few people turned their heads to stare at its owner.

Arette didn’t notice them, though - she was too busy laughing at Lyndon, who sat across her.

“No, no, I did it! Shaved every single hair from my body just because he said I needed to do it to enter the temple. It was an important quest, so...well, the priests only laughed at me in the end though. I swear if I ever meet that brat again…”

Lyn glowered, but the sparkle in his eyes spoke of different emotions. Arette laughed again, hard pressed to imagine Lyn’s voluminous light brown hair replaced by a bald heard, yet she was sure it must have looked ridiculous.

“Did you complete the quest in the end?” Liz asked, sitting a little to the side, body turned to Arette, even when her eyes followed Lyn’s every move. He turned to her, his happy grin not skipping a beat.

“Yeah, I did. Even though the rewards sucked bad,” he shrugged and Liz nodded, still a little shy around someone who was basically a stranger.

Arette had more or less dragged her out into the city when she heard that Lyndon, Rize and Neiro were back in Fall’s End and willing to meet up with her. Even though it had only been little over a week, she did miss the group that were the first real Immortals she’d ever met.

They had met up on one of the bigger streets of Fall’s End, one where the stalls at the sides of the road almost all sold some kind of food. Rize turned out to be somewhat addicted to all the different flavours they offered and even Arette had to admit that some of the snacks tasted good - at least better than that abominable fruit she ate on her first day in the city.

Rize and Lyndon had immediately run towards her and greeted her happily, obviously just as glad to meet again as she was. Neiro was a little more reserved, but his smile was steady and friendly.

They were now talking for over three hours and as of yet, they weren’t running out of things to tell.

“Ah, and there was that one time when Rize here had a crush on a guy and -”

“You are going to shut up right now!” Rize yelled through the food she stuffed into her mouth and hit Lyn over the back of his head, “You’ve been pestering her with all your stupid stories the entire time anyways!”

Arette laughed and even Liz let out a small chuckle. Liz’ darkness had been swirling tightly around her ever since they left Redhall and there had been quite a few mishaps in the time they’d spent with Lyn and the rest, but by now, she relaxed enough to not cause a big danger anymore.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you guys something,” Arette spoke up, suddenly remembering something that had always bugged her, “What did you do in the woods when you picked me up? I mean, I was pretty far out there and I didn’t meet anyone before you, for over a year.”

“Wait, we didn’t tell you?” Rize gaped and laughed, “Then again, it isn’t as if it was that important. We were out on a quest.”

Lyn bobbed his head, wrestling with Rize for the last piece of food they stacked on a plate in front of them. She shot him a deadly glare as she hogged it, so Lyn moved to talk to Arette instead.

“You know how Kassa can be a little...difficult at times? She used to be together with some dude, who dumped her for another girl, but she’s still all over him. Can’t let go or something. So when he issued a quest to get him some sort of plant, she jumped right on it. But his pay was good, so we decided to take it anyways,” he gave a shrug and Arette thought back to Kassa and her intense dislike for her.

She was only too glad that the woman hadn’t accompanied her teammates to the meet up today - now that Arette had been mingling with other people for a while, she wasn’t sure she’d be as forgiving towards someone’s deadly glares and snarls all the time.

“It was a herb called Galmor Leaf. I don’t really know what it’s used for, but it’s very rare and only grows deep in woods that aren’t touched by civilisation. That’s why we asked Murron to accompany us - it’s dangerous deep in the woods, at least for weaker Immortals like us,” Rize added with a side look towards Liz, who made an astonished gasp halfway through her explanation.

“Galmor Leaf? You actually found it?” Liz gaped.

“What, it’s something special?” Arette’s eyes flickered confused between Liz and the others, but Rize and Lyn only gave a small shrug. Neiro’s eyes were cast away from the group, more absent than actually there.

“Of course it is!” Liz’s eyes were still wide, “It’s said that it only grows at one place at a time, in the entire Plane of Gods, maybe even in the entirety of all worlds. There’s only ever a single one growing anywhere to replace the old one if it dies! In the entire Plane!”

Her voice lost all shyness as she spoke, eyes sparkling radiantly. For the first time, Arette saw a glimpse of her new friend’s passion, a passion that rivalled her own passion for fighting in kind.

Lyn and Rize were impressed and even Neiro turned his head to look at her, who shyly edged backwards under all the attention.

“Wait, so if it’s that rare, isn’t it really valuable?” Lyn asked her, his voice loud.

Liz shrank into herself under his intense gaze, but answered nonetheless with a tiny nod.

“Y-yes, it should be. I’d be surprised if it was worth less than a few million gold coins. If you were to trade in paper money, it’d be even more.”

“WHAAT?” Rize and Lyn shouted at the same time while Neiro coughed as his food got stuck in his throat.

“We had something so precious in our hands and we gave it to him for a couple of gold coins! The high gods be damned…” Lyn cursed.

Arette pursed her lips, trying not to grin at their outburst. She found it kind of funny, how dependent all of them were on money. While she did understand the concept and its necessity, she couldn’t really understand why some people were so greedy to have it - she had survived until now quite well without earning a single copper.

“This is quite troublesome. Liz, do you know the use of that leaf?” Neiro suddenly asked, speaking up for the first time ever since he greeted Arette when they met up.

Liz frowned and then shook her head. “I’m sorry. The book I read only spoke of its rarity and the peculiarity of its growth. I’m fairly sure that, on its own, it doesn’t have any other effect than nourishment, but as for interactive reactions, I’m really sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not our business anyways. We’re members of a guild and we do missions for the guild - that’s all it is, what happens afterwards doesn’t concern us,” he said with a sharp look towards Lyn, who was still cursing over a missed opportunity.

He rolled his eyes and Rize chuckled, but the depressed atmosphere quickly dispersed. There wasn’t anything they could do about it anyways.

“I do think it’s getting late,” Neiro spoke up again, “It was nice meeting you again, Arette. You as well, Liz. But I think I will need to take my leave now.”

He bowed before the two of them and Arette gave him a quick hug before the other Immortal left their group, hastily walking away from the still busy street.

“Oh well, I guess we’re gonna go as well. We have to leave early tomorrow morning and I’d like to catch some sleep,” Lyn stood up and stretched his arms with a yawn. Rize nodded in agreement and both Liz and Arette got up to bid them goodbye.

“Good luck on your next quest,” Arette said with a smile as she hugged Rize. Just like she did when she left them before entering Redhall, she felt a tinge of sadness as she bid farewell to one of the few Immortals she could consider a friend.

“I wish you the best of luck as well. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone this time, but I’m sure we’ll meet again sometime.”

They smiled at each other and then Lyn tackled Arette in a bear hugt.

“I’ll miss you, no name. Or rather, Arette. Did I mention your name is kind of weird?” Lyn laughed as he patted her back and Arette laughed out loud.

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“No, you didn’t. But you’ll have to live with it, I guess,” she winked at him and boxed him in the shoulder playfully, a smug grin on her face as he yelled out in pain.

“You’re harsh, Ari,” he whined, “But you’re still my favorite wildling.”

“That’s good to know. Goodbye, Lyndon.” She raised her fist to bump it against his.

And with that, they parted again, neither of them knowing just how many years it would take before they met again.

That evening, Arette made her way back into the garden-forest of Redhall, deciding to attend the Beast Taming class as her other extra course. Since Elemental Control was out of the picture and she didn’t see herself doing something like Dancing, she figured that her time in the woods had honed her enough to consider strengthening her bond with other creatures of the wild.

The beast taming instructor was, to say the least, different from the other instructors.

That wasn't saying a lot, seeing as Arette only knew three of the others, but something told her that she would still think him different if she knew every other instructor in Redhall.

Orien, as he introduced himself, was...not quite human.

Well, technically none of them were, but most of the Immortals Arette had met had the same body stature - one Liz had described to her as 'humanoid'.

Liz also said that is was a common thing for Immortals to be 'humanoid' and there were only few who didn't meet that standard. One of the few was, apparently, Orien.

His entire body was covered in fur, brown like the trees he stood in front of and his two eyeteeth had extended to form frighteningly long canines.

His golden eyes were closer to yellow, pupils more slits than orbs, and on the top of his head sat two big, furry ears.

Arette was a little startled, as she was already used to humanoid Immortals, but as soon as she saw his flame, any reservation disappeared.

His flame was probably the most gentle flame she'd ever seen.

Steady, calm and filled with so much affection for the world, that she couldn't help but want to be his friend. She couldn't believe he would ever plan to hurt her - or anyone, for that matter.

He was also quite a deal weaker than her - barely scraping on the edge of being a Sovereign, of what she couldn't quite say. There was wilderness in his flames, the woods, the earth and the peaceful calm of a stormless night.

"I'm sorry for my absence," he started, his voice quiet, almost too much so, he sounded as if he was lost in his own world.

The students around remained quiet as well and Arette used that moment to steal glances at the people around her. All of them had brought a beast companion - most of them wolves, bears, or birds. One had a horse. Another had a creature Arette had never seen before - a mixture between a butterfly and a hawk that sat perched on his shoulder, watching everyone with glittering eyes.

Arette felt a little lost without a companion at her side, somewhat wishing for Ichack’s solitary presence by her side.

"I'm sure you worked hard to gain the trust of your companion in the meantime," Orien smiled a toothy smile that would've been scary if he wasn't just so...nice. "Today, let's spend the day just deepening your bonds. Remember, your beast is not your slave nor is it your servant. You tame it, it tames you until you are on the same level. A partnership on mutual benefit, that's what you should pursue. Anything less than that is less than either of you deserves."

He smiled again, his eyes dreamy and his flame was filled with dreams and stars. Not the stars that burned in Arette's at the moment, bright and overwhelming in brilliance, but the stars that are unreachably far on the night sky, inspiring countless dreams.

Arette found his speech a little long winded, but she agreed with the sentiment. No beast should be a slave - her companions had never been anything but and she had never wished it any other way.

After Orien spoke his few, quite vague instructions, he turned away from the students, towards a huge bear that came strolling out of the forest. It wasn't quite as intelligent as an Immortal, but by the affection Arette saw in its flame, she knew it was Orien's beast.

Both of them shared a good natured, calm disposition, so Arette didn't think long before approaching them

"Hello," she said, smiling brightly. Orien turned around to her with a smile.

"My name is Arette. I'm a new student. I don’t have a beast companion currently, but I used to be friends with a few of them a while ago, so I decided to join your class.”

"Oh, a new one? Welcome, welcome," he nodded friendly and offered her one of his paw-like hands. Arette stared at it in confusion, until she remembered how Liz told her it was a custom to shake hands when meeting. Hastily, she shook his hand with hers, trying to overplay her awkwardness at the unusual gesture.

"Friends, you say?" he seemed pleased, "That’s a good thing. Far too many misunderstand a beast bond these times.”

“You mean, they enslave their companions?” Arette asked, remembering how Neiro had assumed her to be a commander of beasts when they’d first met. Orien looked at her pensively for a moment and then nodded.

“Indeed. Just look at them,” he pointed towards a group of students at the far end of the class, who had their beast companions on leashes next to them, “I’ve tried to teach them, but they won’t listen. They don’t understand the way it works.”

Arette stared at them, finding not only a physical leash, but also one between the flames of the Immortals and their beasts. Yet, it was a one sided bond, instead of the reciprocative one she saw between Orien and his bear companion.

Anger sparked in her chest as she stared at them and she gritted her teeth.

“Why do you allow them into your class to begin with? What they’re doing, it’s not right,” she snarled, feeling the intense desire to burn their leashes and heads off all in one go.

“Because it’s not my place to tell them how to live. Their companions are not treated cruelly, merely unfairly, and as such, it’s not my place to interfere. But let’s not talk about it. Tell me about those friends of yours.”

Arette blinked at him, trying to disperse her anger at the students back there and her teacher’s indecisiveness, but the burning knot in her chest wouldn’t leave. Nonetheless, she answered.

“I lived in the woods for about a year after I was born. How do you call it? Right. I was a wildling,” she began, the word coming over her lips with difficulty.

Orien looked at her with a surprised smile.

“Ah, that’s why you felt so familiar. There aren’t many who carry the wild in their hearts like you do.”

She peered into his eyes, yellow and slitted, and she couldn’t read them, but the soothing calm of his flame was reassuring enough. It wanted to affect her, embrace her, as well, but the annoyance and anger was still rooted in her heart.

In response to Orien’s words, she gave a nod.

“It’s different there. Easier. This place here, it’s filled with so many rules, so many -”

Her words were cut off when suddenly a shrill yelp reached her ears. She tensed and snapped around, finding the direction of the sound pinpointing to the group of Immortals that had pissed her off the entire time.

One of their beasts, a small wolf like creature, not unlike a smaller version of Ichack, was lying on the floor, sent there by a kick from the person considering himself to be its ‘tamer’.

Red tinged Arette’s version as she watched it.

“Aren’t you going to interfere?” she asked Orien, her teeth gritted.

Orien sighed and shook his head, “Not yet.”

She turned to him, furious and disbelieving. “Fine. But if you won’t, then I will.”

She pressed her lips together and stomped over to them, where the young Immortal was about to deliver another kick to the wolf that was already on the floor.

“Dumb beast,” he was muttering, disdain and arrogance oozing from his small flame. It was a flame weaker than any she’d ever seen - a Saint, not older than a year or two. He might be her age, but their strengths were wider apart than heaven and earth.

And her anger was high as the clouds as well.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed, heart aching at the despair she saw in the small wolf’s flame.

The young Immortal looked up at her, first with annoyance, but then wariness, as he saw the pressure that came from her sheer quantity in power.

“I-I’m taming my beast. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, is it not?” he shot a wavering gaze from her to Orien, who was still silently observing.

She hissed and didn’t have the patience to talk to someone like him anymore. Instead, she balled her hand into a fist and delivered it straight onto his face - the crack that echoed back to her told her of a broken jaw, probably a nose as well.

“What the -” one of the friends standing around gasped and ordered his own beast to attack Arette in retaliation, but not even the tiger that was perched next to him would dare to attack someone far stronger than him and so refused the order with a growl.

Arette meanwhile put her foot on the chest of the man she’d just sent to the floor.

Her bare toes touched his chest and she swiftly sent her flame into her foot, then down towards the flame of the young man. It was the same as she did when she communicated with people, only this time, it wasn’t to talk.

Instead, she swiftly sent her flames against the connection between the Immortals and the small wolf, severing their ties with a violent tug.

“I won’t stand by and watch when you treat someone else with such cruelty,” she snarled and then took her foot off him, too repulsed to touch him any longer.

Instead, she walked towards the small wolf and tried to strengthen him by giving him some of her life energy. It was just like when she’d first met Ichack and she felt strangely connected to the creature for that fact alone.

She missed her old friend. He’d been by her side for so long and even though it had only been a few weeks since they’d separated, she found herself longing for him.

Maybe that was why she bent down and pushed her flame towards the small wolves. She pushed all of her memories of the woods into it, of her troupe and all the beings she’d brought together, as well as the way it would need to travel to reach them.

The small wolf would be safe with them - at least far safer than with the young Immortal here.

It looked up as she gave him her strength and then slowly stood up, seemingly not injured too heavily. It blinked at her and then gave her a friendly nudge, before taking off into the woods of Redhall.

Arette didn’t know if it would follow her advice to join Ichack and the rest of her former family, but she did feel like she did something good, something right.

And yet, Orien and most of the other Immortals in the class stared at her with conflicted looks, some of them with outright fear.

Arette frowned and began to withdraw, not really wanting to return to Orien when the look he was giving her was one of reproval.

In the end, she didn’t go to Beast Taming class again. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was she did wrong - she did save something innocent, gave it a life that was taken from it cruelly - but she still had the nagging feeling that she did something that met the other’s disapproval.

The next day, she visited History of the Plane of Gods with Liz. It was probably the most boring thing she’d ever had to sit through, but still no one called her a murderer or looked at her as if she’d done something horribly wrong - that would have to do, for the beginning.