image [https://sygnus.org/flames-of-bedlam/story/pic/banner2.jpg]

The first few days we were back on the trail, Levi set an easy pace. We rested often, even when I didn’t need to rest. We stopped to view anomalies or landmarks that he recognized. He certainly knew quite a few.

“Oh,” he’d motion ahead of us, “There’s Alder Slope.”

Another time, it was Natmore Creek. Or Limber Grove Trail.

All these things out here had names. I wonder who gave it to them. Sometimes I wondered if Levi wasn’t just “spinning yarns” as he liked to say, and making them up as we went along. I think he knew that I liked names and was interested in all the many variations there were.

Above all, I came to realize how large this forest… and the world outside the Grove… really was. Sure, I’d done my share of traveling during the battles in my time with the Invaders. And I’d flown over these lands many times as a Dragon.

This was the first time I’d walked the paths of the forest and really thought about the world around me. Also, this may have been the first time things were quiet enough within me to allow myself to observe and appreciate the world more.

But I won’t bore you with these minor details. Let’s talk about the juicy stuff.

image [https://sygnus.org/flames-of-bedlam/story/pic/divider.png]

Levi had kept to himself more than he used to after the days nursing me to health in the pool. I found this odd. It wasn’t that he was upset. He just seemed unnaturally lost in thought.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

While he still talked to me and told me stories of the places we saw along the way, there was certainly something bothering him. I wanted to prod him until it came to light. But I was getting soft in regards to respecting his privacy and feelings.

Blast it.

Finally, one evening we decided to make camp at the base of a strangely shaped rock outcropping. Levi told me it was known as Kettle Rock. If you squinted enough at it, you could see the resemblance.

He settled next to a fire and began going through the motion of making a meal. We’d hunted along the way and scored a couple plump birds earlier that day. The forest provided a plentiful hunting ground if nothing else.

The food that we cooked — yes, I can cook, thank you — had been more palatable for me lately. In fact, a lot of my raving hunger for crystal energies had faded after I’d recovered from the illness. I never really stopped to think about it, but if I had, I might have pieced together the things Levi was about to discuss with me.

I guess it either ate him up inside too much, or he finally thought it was time. As he crunched on one of the brittle bird bones, he told me, “I haven’t really been honest with you.”

image [https://sygnus.org/flames-of-bedlam/story/pic/divider.png]

I glanced at him from over the top of the wing I was chewing. It didn’t bother me at all when he said this.

I’m not sure how to explain it. Let’s just say, I was used to Levi’s quirky personality, which lends itself to… exaggerating… on certain matters from time to time. Usually this was done with the intentions to entertain and delight, so it wasn’t a big deal.

This seemed to be part of what was weighing on him the past few days, so I gave him the room to air his concerns.

“About what?” I asked, trying to look disinterested.

Levi rubbed the side of his face. “I don’t really know how to start.”

“Is it that bad?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it.”

I laughed. “Since when did you worry about that?”

“Bahamut,” Levi tilted his head with an arched eyebrow. In that moment, I discovered he did worry about how I felt.

I couldn’t understand why.

“Whatever it is can’t be that bad.” I tried to encourage him.

“Maybe not,” he picked at his food. “But I still wasn’t honest.”

I gave him an expectant look. When he didn’t say anything else, I grumbled, “You can’t just say that and not tell me the rest.”

“Okay… okay…” He leaned back, gathering his thoughts. “So, you know when we talked about things before, and I told you no one who ever had the Longing left our village and came back?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, that’s not true.”