Once Aldryn left the forest, Midryl and Ranya dragged the poor Ryan back into the house. The two started going around the kitchen, which was still partly ruined. They took food out of the cupboards and kindled a fire in a small oven. While Ranya was busy with the salad, Midryl was peeling and chopping the potatoes, which he then threw in a pot and then into the oven to bake.

They worked together and despite being all over the place, never once bumped into each other. It was a skill that obviously came from experience. They would speak about random stuff and even bickered sometime. Despite this, they never once forgot about their guest. They would often turn around to face Klyran and either make some nonsense comments about the other, or would make small talk.

It made the young Ryan feel included all the time. It gave him a wonderful feeling of belonging. Despite knowing the siblings and being in this house for merely a single day, Klyran felt like he knew those two for a long time.

'Do we get along so well because mentally we are similar?' he wondered. It became a hobby for the Ryan to compare the humans to his own kind and try to understand them, and compare how old would said human be if they were a Ryan.

It was not long before Zevram arrived back home. He looked tired, having run all day around the village. He offered a smile to the Ryan and went to his room to change his clothes. After quickly washing off the grime gathered during the whole day, he returned to the kitchen. He sat down on one of the available chairs and took a sip of the water present there looking at the three people already there.

“How was your day?” he asked Klyran, noticing how the two siblings were actively dragging him into their conversation.

“It was amazing” he said with a large smile to Zevram.

The four of them sat down on the table to eat. They made small chat. Zevram told them about the happenings around the village. The children who will soon take the Trail of Courage. The herbs that the adults gathered that day in the forest. The new spots with berries that will soon be ripe that the Yakards told him about. The results that the guards retold him from that day.

“What is the Trail of Courage?” Klyran then asked, looking around the table.

“It’s a test that we have” Ranya begun to say.

“If you pass it. You will be officially recognized a Greenyard Warrior” her brother continued.

“But you still have a long way to go to get there” she continued.

“Yeah. People get ready for it for years” Midryl finished.

This temped the Ryan. After their dinner, he helped the two sibling clean up and wash the dishes. Despite the previous conversation, Klyran was highly curious about the Trial. He thought that since his status was much higher than that of humans, he might have a chance to partake in it.

'If I pass... I will be recognized as a warrior' and it was all that he truly needed to hear to decide that no matter what, he will take part in it.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The Ryan spend the rest of the evening on the swinging bench that was on the balcony. He was wrapped in his cloak and the wind was gently ruffling his hair. The evening air was crisp and became chilly as the sun begun to hide. At some point, he was joined by the two siblings. Ranya sat down near him and begun reading her small book again, the same one that Klyran saw that morning. While Midryl sat on a chair and put his arm on the old balcony leaning on it. He was peacefully looking at the village and would sometime wave back at the people passing by. Klyran enjoyed that moment.

Later that evening, when everyone got ready to sleep. The young Ryan approached the two siblings again.

“I will go out” he told Ranya, “I want to walk a bit around the village by myself”, he explained her.

Despite the strange request, she accepted the explanation.

'It's not like I need her permission to do something' he argued with himself, 'But it would be rude of me to simply disappear when they were so nice to me and took me in' he nodded.

“The front door is always open. We never close it” she told him and then warned that if he wanted to stay out, he should be careful on his way back, to not drop anything around the house and wake them all up.

With a nod, Klyran left the house. True to his words, he walked around the village for a bit. He looked upward at the night sky, enjoying the view. There was something different about it. Despite its similarity to his eyes, it was much more different to look at the sky than someone of his own kin in the eyes. He would greet people all over the village and make small talk with them. He felt welcomed there, just like he did with the people from the Silver City. This world was much kinder than his own. The people living here were more welcoming and warm.

'After the initial shock... that is' he remembered how one of the guards from the Silver City fainted when he briefly revealed his wings. They itched so much that he simply let them free and flapped them a few times, before hiding them again. But the reaction of those around was so diverse, that he decided that next time he did it, it would be in a more secluded area.

After his walk, Klyran didn’t head home, but took the path leading to the training area. The more he walked on it, the less people he met. At some point, the light became dim. It caused the Ryan no issues, since he could see well in the dark. When he finally reached the training area, it was empty. Everyone from the village already returned home. Except for the few who were out in the woods patrolling, but they didn't bother him, since they recognized Klyran.

The Ryan stopped only once he reached the middle of the field. He took out the sword given to him by Ylvis, which was much heavier than his own, and got into position. He swung it a few times and repeated some of the moves that Ildurin showed him. Then, he approached a tree and begun sparring with it. He would use the moves to dodge that he was taught, imagining an opponent swinging a weapon at him and then would hit back. He always made sure to hit with the blunt part of the sword, to not damage the tree.

Sometime during the night, Klyran was startled by a noise that could be heard around him. He swiftly looked around himself, trying to assess any threat.

'Keep Calm!' he scoffed at his own body that flinched at the sound, 'There is nothing here that can harm me.'

"Beside..." he muttered, "The Greenyards wouldn't allow some dangerous creature near their village."

Logically, the Ryan knew that there was nothing to be afraid of in the forest. The two siblings told him about the spells that now surrounded it. Klyran looked into the darkness, but couldn’t see anything. He then relaxed and scolded himself again. His old fight or flight instinct making him paranoid. When the Ryan only relaxed a bit and went back to his training, a branch snapped from behind and he quickly turned around. His heart beat like mad, despite his mind being calm.

“So maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come out here alone... without telling anyone” he mumbled to himself.

He heard another noise and turned to face it. For a moment, he didn’t see anything and wondered if it was all his imagination. Then, he noticed branches moving. Two branches wrapped around a tree and a set of curious eyes peeked at him.

It looked like another tree was looking at him. At first, Klyran thought that it must have been his imagination, only to then remember what he was told about the other species that lived in the forest.

“You are a Yakard... Aren’t you?” he asked amazed it and received a groan in reply.

Curious, Klyan tried to approach it, only to notice that it flinched when he took a step forward.

“It okay” he said, realizing that the poor Yakard was more scared of him that he is of it.

The Ryan set his sword on the ground and lifted his arms up in defeat.

“I just want us to be friends”, Klyran spoke again and took a step back, away from the weapons.

Seeing this, the Yakard finally decided to come out from behind the trees that it was hiding. It’s shape was a mix between a human and a tree, the Ryan noted. The Yakard approached him and then openly stared at Klyran.

“Uhm…Hi?” the young Ryan tried again.

This time, the Yakard replied with a more confident groan and even extended his arm, or what Klyran believed to be his arm, toward him. The black-haired man simply grabbed it and saw how the branches went around his arm and gently shook it.

With a smile, Klyran looked again at the Yakard and noticed that its eyes were now curiously staring at him.

“Yeah”, the Ryan said, as if understanding its action, “I am not human”, he told it and then took his original shape.