Apparently, just after the last brutal war, the beast people were all wiped out, at least that’s what the last Sortan book I read, hinted at.

The new one I’d been reading however had some new information.

‘With almost all of their kin dead, the last remaining Beast Humans sought solace in the forbidden continent. The forbidden continent, famous for harboring the Dead Sirens of yonder, took them in. No one knows for sure, whether any beast humans survived, but one thing is for certain, whoever goes there… never comes out.’

So apparently, after the patchy ocean, there was some sort of continent on the other end. And there was a good chance there were people there. Of course, there was a chance nothing was there other than just shallow water and sirens, but honestly, I wanted to take this risk and-

And do what?

Even if Den and Mom were there, they couldn’t come out for whatever reason. If I went there, I probably couldn’t-

Does that matter? At least I’d be with them.

But then what about my life here?

What about it? Now that I thought about it, I came here solely to stay away from the church. To stay here for ten years and go back to home.

So… why was I having second thoughts?

Did this place… change me? I’d only spent a year here. And I was already attached?

Huh… I was perhaps realizing a bit late but, but I really did like this place. I really did. To the point where I was considering finding my family and coming back here. Almost like that was the most natural thing to do. Even though it wasn’t.

I sighed.

Despite everything, the preparations were well underway. And sometime next month, I’d be setting off on a voyage: At the ripe age of six. Apparently, yesterday was my birthday but I more or less forgot.

And since no one else knew my birthday, I didn’t get any wishes. Sharmon asked me to show up for the family dinner today though. Apparently, he wanted to talk about me leaving and preparations and all that stuff. Despite hating my guts, the guy did help me more than I could have ever hoped for.

So, with nothing in particular to do, I headed out. The sun was in the west horizon, setting. Guess I’ll spend the night there.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

***

Shia opened the doors. She had a smile but I had a feeling she wasn’t smiling at me. She was probably still furious. Actually, she hadn’t talked to me at all these last few weeks. I couldn’t blame her, honestly. I’d be mad at me too.

“Get fresh, we’re having dinner,” Mrs. Alayla said.

Apparently, she came early today and already finished cooking?

Well, that’s new.

I gave the air a sniff and got manafish smell. No, that wasn’t right. I got the smell of her curry. That mustard seed curry. My mouth watered without me having to think about it. Yup, we were going to have a feast tonight.

So, I got fresh, merrily showed up at the dinner table and was a bit surprised to find all our little members sitting idly at the corner, with plates full of food. Usually, they eat first, and leave. We eat as a family afterwards.

“Happy birthday Sol,” Sharmon said.

That was it. How’d they know it was my birthday- I had no idea. All sorts of food on the table, and even some desert in the form of cream puffs.

We started eating.

Kind of quiet. Just the sound of the utensils and the occasional mumble from one of the kids. The food was good so I ended up eating faster than I thought. Once I was done though, I stuck around. Mostly for the cream puffs but also because the others were done and they were staring quite intently.

“So you’ve decided to leave?” Sharmon said.

“Once the preparations are complete, yes.”

“What will you do if Denkar is dead?”

“I will come back here.”

“Hmm… what if you can’t find the wreckage and in turn, him?”

“I’ll keep looking.”

“It’s impossible to keep looking forever. You don’t have any plans to search the cursed islands, right?”

“Nope, not at all.” I lied through my teeth.

I had a feeling both Barack Senior and his wife had figured that bit out but even if they had, it was too late.

He sighed. “Well, do be careful.”

“I-” I paused. I wanted to thank them. I wanted to thank them for everything they’d done for me. I knew I could thank Sharmon by giving him money. I didn’t know how I could thank Alayla or Shia but I figured they weren’t necessarily seeking anything from me in the first place. “I’ll be careful and… try to come back in one piece.”

I got a snort from Alayla and some of the kids laughed. Oh well.

“Under normal circumstances, I’d be coming with you,” Alayla said. “But if Alustur is going with you, then I don’t need to.”

“Would having a priest on board be helpful?” I wondered aloud.

“Alayla was a templar knight trainee. She could have been a templar knight and maybe even one of those special ones. She declined the offer and became a cardinal instead… for me,” Sharmon said, damn proudly too.

I could have sworn I saw miss Alayla blush but I pretended not to. “I see, so she really does call all the shots in this house.”

Now, Sharmon blushed, albeit not in the flirty kind of way. Oh boy, he was pissed.

I got a rather wild giggle from Alayla who, came up to me and took me into her arms. “I’ll miss you. Be sure to write every once in a while.”

“I will. It’s not like I’m leaving right away,” I protested.

“A month will just pass by,” she whispered. “Good luck.” With a pat on my head, she left the room.

The kids one by one gathered up the plates and bowls and took them back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Barack senior stared at me. “Don’t expect a hug kid, I don’t do those.” He grumbled. Still in a bad mood apparently. He left or appeared to. “Good luck.”

Leaving, just me and Shia.