It appears the unknown girl had come through and saved the day for the gang. She showed a lot of proficiency for fishing with nothing but a stick on hand. With all of the fish, she was able to catch it’d make for a somewhat more tolerable night in the wilderness. The sun’s rays were quickly fading underneath the fluffy white clouds that passed by. During this time the air got cooler and it was definitely time to cover up.
Everyone seemed to have been getting comfortable going as far as to eat without the missing Claire. The last thing she said to the group was that she was going to find some replacement berries to make up for the ones they dropped.
At the base of the camp, there was no talking the only thing that was heard was the smacking of lips as they tore into the fish. It had been a long day of strenuous activity and this meal was a long time coming. Even more so when a person had used their mana.
Mana, as mentioned before, was like a life-force which dwells within every living thing in differing quantities. The more one used the weaker they would become due to the loss of stamina. Use up all of your mana and death is guaranteed.
Once the gang had finished devouring their meal, Isaac remembered that Claire hadn’t returned yet. With the recently deceased body that was spotted someone should have gone along to assist her.
“Thank you for the meal. That really hit the spot.” A burp slipped past Junji’s lips as he laid back in the dirt with his hands resting on the back center of his head.
“You're welcome.” The girl would reply, as she picked the scales from another fish before she could eat it.
“Yeah, you really saved the day back there,” Isaac responded, keeping up the circle of compliments.
“It was pretty cool that we didn’t have to eat those lame berries that Claire was supposed to be getting.” Keianna sat against the dirt with her legs straight, the right resting on the left while her hands were spread out behind her to support herself.
“Speaking of Claire it’s been bothering me that she hasn’t returned yet. You think she’s ok?” Isaac mentioned with a worried tone in his voice.
“Personally, I think Claire’s just fine. If something was troubling her she would have screamed to let us know she was in danger, right?” The laziness in Junji was taking over. Once he was full he didn’t really want to do anything anymore.
“Hmm. You might be right, but, I’m going to go check on her.” He stood up, dusting some dirt specks that stuck to the back of his tan pants before he started to go out on his own.
“Be careful, Isaac!” Isaac’s friend said with a yawn before he was already drifting off to sleep.
The others were content with remaining where they were and that was fine. Claire wouldn't have gone too deep into the woods, so she shouldn't be too far away. He never looked back, but if he did he’d see the campfire getting darker and darker until it was no more.
Walking along the woods became harder in the evening, seeing the hidden roots of trees that could trip you became harder to avoid. It highly decreased the mobility that one could exert in normal situations. He had to consciously watch where he stepped while making sure to keep an eye on Claire.
“Hey, Claire! You around here!?”
The shuffling of leaves could be heard just a few trees away from Isaac after he called out before he'd get his answer. “Isaac, is that you?” Her voice could be heard, coming from an elevated height.
Upon the shuffling of leaves, a few beads of sweat could be seen forming around his cheeks. The only thing that resolved his moment of fear was hearing a familiar voice which caused him to sigh. “Yeah..” He sighed deeply to calm his nerves.
Hearing her voice from above the young boy raised his head and shifted his gaze upwards, looking at the trees around him. “Uhh, the girl with no name caught a lot of fish for us and… we kinda ate without you. I didn’t want to though!”
“Wha? Did you guys at least save me one or two?” Claire said a bit loudly, her voice echoing around the immediate area.
Hearing her response, he rubbed his right arm awkwardly. “Well… we were all pretty hungry…”
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“Oh… Well then.” After she said this, multiple spherical objects dropped down to the ground with a slight thud, landing one by one almost a dozen times. They were many nicely shaped apples.
Guilt was being spread through Isaac when they were eating he had mentioned about Claire wanting some, but Junji could really put them down. Keianna wasn’t right behind him and after that getting his fair share of fish was like a race.
“Sorry… but, you’ll be ok with the fruits and berries, right?”
“Sure, I should be fine. I didn't want to go back to the Berry bushes, so I found apples instead. But if everyone's eaten already, that's less to carry, I guess.” With this, the sound of a crisp apple being bitten into is heard.
I-is she mad?
He really couldn’t tell by her expression and actions alone and he’d feel bad to just flat out ask her. Red lines could be seen appearing along with his face from embarrassment. They said being in the wilderness could bring out the true colors of people could there be any truth in that?
“I’m sorry, I feel so bad!”
“Don't feel that way. It's alright, I'm glad you found another source of food.” Soon, she could be seen climbing down from the tree, holding onto branches cautiously, with the apple she bit into still being held onto by her teeth.
“Watch your step we don’t need any more accidents.”
Eventually, her feet touch the ground, and she removed the apple from her mouth, biting it once again. She then dropped the apple and began to pick up the ones she had picked and dropped.
Since we ate without her the least I could do is carry those apples for her.
Putting his thought into action, he approached her, bending down as he started to pick some of the apples that laid on the floor. “Don’t worry, I’ll carry these for you. You just focus on eating and getting ready for bed.”
She'd pause for the moment, allowing him to pick up the apples as he spoke. She'd sigh, picking up a single apple to eat, standing upright. “I was alright, but thank you, Isaac.”
Yes, I feel like I’m truly helping!
Apple by Apple he grasped them, holding them against his stomach with his arms as he stood up. “Alrighty then! It won’t take us long to get back to base.” So far things were going pretty well for the two.
Biting into the apple she held, Claire chewed for a brief moment to enjoy the succulent taste of the fruit, before she took the time to speak. “Thank you for coming to find me, any longer and it would have gotten too dark for me to find my way. I got sidetracked trying to find something better to eat than those berries.”
“No problem. I just had this feeling in my gut that I should see about you. I always try to go by that feeling it seems to know what do half the time.” He mentioned as he started walking, keeping the apples close.
“Well, regardless, it's looking like we're doing alright so far. We'll just have to keep up our progress to get back in time.”
“We couldn’t have done it without teamwork! It’s crazy how efficient we are together.”
“Well, sometimes it's easier in extreme situations. Because then we'd have to rely on each other.”
She has a point… if it wasn’t for our lives being at stake than Keianna probably wouldn’t stick around.
“I see… so it takes something like this to encourage cooperation? If it wasn’t for this would you have wanted to team up with me?”
“Sure. I think it's always wise to have some type of teammate or assistance.” She answered, chomping into the apple once again.
Hearing her say this he turned his head to get a good look at her, not saying anything, but still matching her pace.
“Hmm? Is something the matter?”
Wow, that’s nice of her! She’s not like the other students.
“O-oh nothing. It’s just… I didn’t really notice how pretty you looked before.”
Claire couldn't help but blush a bit at this comment, coughing a bit of the apple out of her mouth, before covering it. “Oh, thank you…”
This is the first time a compliment came out right for me. It’s way easier talking to Claire for some reason.
“You’re welcome, haha!” He laughed awkwardly, looking away as more red lines formed along the bridge of his nose and cheeks. At this moment he just wanted to hide under his shirt. He used to do so a lot when he was younger when people teased him.
“These apples are quite sweet, so have one if you'd like, Isaac.” She'd offer, going back to eating her own. Honestly, she wasn't used to hearing such a compliment, so changing the subject was her immediate response.
Even though he was satisfied with the fish earlier, an apple wouldn’t hurt. It’d keep his stamina up and personally his mana abilities used up a lot of mana and he didn’t have as much mana reserves as Junji.
“Oh, thank you.” He stopped for a moment to grab one from the bunch, raising it up to bring to his mouth as he took a quick bite with a loud crunch being heard. When it came to sweets he was a sucker. He enjoyed anything high in sugar. “Mmm… this taste pretty good. I’m actually glad that we got lost in the woods just because of this apple.”
“Hahaha, come on, we aren’t lost… are we?”
“Not totally. Well, it’s not just because of the apple, that was a joke, hehe. This just feels more laid back then the academy itself. Without Junji, it would have been really stressful.”
“I'm betting you two are really close, huh?”
“We really are! We met each other since pre-K and have been friends ever since! Back during those times, I didn’t really fit in because I always wanted to help the teachers with class. There was one time where someone’s disapproval of me got out of hand and Junji stepped in before it got bad.” Recalling the past causes him to tense up just a little.
“Luckily for you, you got a lifelong friend out of it,” Claire commented, patting his shoulder a few times.
Feeling her pat his shoulder caused him to smile brightly at her. “That’s true. I don’t really hold grudges against people. I’m just blessed to have been raised to a kind family. I feel sad for others who have a lot going on.”
“Yeah. Not everyone has a decent life, but that's the way it works sometimes. One person's fortune could mean another's misfortune.”
Talking sure passes the time along. They were already back at the base with the others. Junji was immediately spotted on the ground sleeping, he hadn’t moved from that spot at all. Keianna was preparing to go to bed as well as she was laying on her side under a tree.
The other girl sat by the river, with her feet over the edge, almost in the water. She didn't speak even after the return of Isaac and Claire.
“I guess everyone is settled in, then,” Claire says, sitting down by the fire.
Isaac follows suit sitting on the other side of the fire across from Claire. “When you feel tired you can call it a night. I’ll stand watch for a bit.”
“Alright, thanks. Just wake me up when you get too tired to watch.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to fall asleep surprisingly. Seeing them all so comfortable warmed Isaac’s heart. Even through these tough times, they were able to doze off. The sound of the crackling fire earned his attention as he stared into the fire. It had been burning for awhile so the intensity had died down.