Tweet
"Well, I doubt I could ever run a farm. It must take a lot of dedication." Elliot happily took the piping hot bowl of soup and proceeded to dig in. The delicious mixture of flavors seemed to burst to life in his mouth as he hungrily slurped it all down in just a matter of minutes. He could definitely tell that it was farm made from the fresh taste it had. He licked his lips and wondered if it would seem greedy of him to ask for seconds when the others hadn't even finished on their first bowl.
-
-
Avalona giggled, watching him as she ate. "Told you so. She's the best cook in the whole world!"
The woman chuckled and ruffled Avalona's hair. "Silly Ava." She looked at Elliot, smiling. "Would you like some more? There's plenty still left, you can have as much as you want." She ladled up a bowl of the stew for Midnight and set it down beside him. "Careful, it's hot." She looked back at Elliot. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lyla, and the three ruffians over there are my sons, Fredrik, Nel, and Alfonz." The three boys waved quickly before going back to eating.Comment
-
"I'd love to have some more, please," Elliot said sheepishly. "That's some really good stuff. I bet you could open up a business selling just that." As he helped himself to another bowl filled to the brim with the delicious soup, Lyla introduced herself and her three boys. He acknowledged them with a nod and a smile before going back to eating. The whole atmosphere of the house was so warm and inviting--the perfect place to live in with a loving family to match. Thinking about it made him think about his own home and how completely opposite it was in contrast to the house he was in now. He couldn't help but sigh and he stopped eating mid-scoop for a moment to stare wistfully down at the table. For one, at least everyone in this family seemed happy--even Avalona, who'd lived a terrible past. No matter how hard he tried to not think about it, he felt as if he'd failed his own family. He couldn't even keep them all together, for Din's sake. He sighed again and wondered what Rose was doing now. If she was truly happy being away from him. He wondered if James was okay and if he'd eaten. It was already late and he was liable to be starving right about now. Probably cold, too, if he was still out. He couldn't remember if he'd brought a jacket with him. And here he was stuffing himself silly when he didn't even make sure that the kid had something to eat. What kind of father was that? He sighed again and suddenly felt guilty for eating. He stirred his spoon around in the soup and took a few more sips of it so as not to appear rude.
Midnight, of course, remained oblivious to his internal conflicts, too occupied with happily slurping down the contents of his bowl to notice.Comment
-
Avalona saw the sudden change in Elliot's mood and reached over to lightly touch his elbow. "What's wrong? Is there some way I can help?"Comment
-
"Hm?" Elliot looked up, a little startled. "Oh, no, I'm...fine." He looked at his bowl of soup for a moment. "Say, do you think I could bring some of this back home with me? I bet my kid would really enjoy it." He was about to say something else when he was suddenly interrupted by a loud thunder clap that made even Midnight jump up in surprise. He glanced out the window and saw that it started to rain really heavily, so much so in that you couldn't even see out the window.When did that happen? he quietly thought to himself. The hard pitter-patter of rain drops could be heard as it splashed against the roof of the house.Comment
-
Avalona jumped, gripping Elliot's arm tightly. She was shaking like a leaf in the wind, her eyes wide.
Lyla smiled. "Sure." She sighed as the storm began to rage outside. "Not again... The weather lately has been so strange...."Comment
-
"It has, hasn't it?" Elliot said with a sigh. "Perhaps I'd better get going before the rain and thunder gets any worse. Thanks again for having me over. We should do this again sometime, especially when the weather is much better." He pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. "Come on, Midnight. Time to go." The wolf looked at the door, then back at him and whined. "Oh, it's not that bad," Elliot grumbled. He figured he'd just use his cloak or something to protect himself from the rain.Comment
-
Avalona jumped as thunder crashed overhead. "I hate storms...." She whimpered softly.Comment
-
"Hey, it's alright," Elliot said, giving her a reassuringly light squeeze on her shoulder. He'd never seen anyone this afraid of thunderstorms before. "It's nothing to be afraid of. After all, how many times have you heard of a person getting struck by lightning?" He said one last goodbye to everyone there, then walked over to the door and opened it. A cold blast of rain began pelting him and making the floor around him wet. He quickly stepped outside, tugging the hood of his cloak down over his face and quickly shutting the door after him so the rain wouldn't make more of a mess inside.Comment
-
Avalona whimpered. "Please be safe...." She went over to the window to watch him, worried.
Lyla went over and rested her hand on Ava's shoulder. "You really want to go with him, don't you? I can tell." She smiled at her. "Go ahead and follow him. We'll be fine here."
Avalona bit her lip. "But..."
"No buts, Ava. We'll be fine, and so will the sheep. But something tells me that your friend is troubled in his heart. Perhaps you can help him, like you helped us." Lyla kissed her forehead. "Go. I'll pack some food for you to take with you, just in case."
Avalona nodded and hugged Lyra tightly. "Thank you, Mrs. Boss. I promise I'll come back." She went to her room to put a spare set of clothes in her bag and gather all her arrows and replacement strings, then put her bow and quiver into the water-proof case Boss had gotten her for her birthday and slung it across her back. She went back out and took the package of food from Lyra, fitting it into her pack as well and slinging it on to join the bowcase.
Lyra hugged her. "You'd better hurry, or you'll never find him." Avalona nodded, hugging her back. "Bye..." She took a deep breath, then ran out into the storm, hurrying to catch up with Elliot. "I'm coming with you...."Comment
-
The rain really did come down quickly. The entire dirt path was now mud and was making it hard for Elliot to run in (although Midnight didn't seem to be having much trouble, what with him being used to all kinds of terrain). Not to mention that it'd gotten dark outside and was a bit hard to see. His boot caught on an upturned root, hidden from all the muck, and he tripped and landed face first on the ground, sending the mud splashing everywhere. Midnight whined and attempted to nudge him up on his feet while licking his face clean. Elliot struggled to his feet, his clothes now soaking wet, reassured Midnight that he was alright, and continued to run. Before he could get anywhere though, Midnight nipped at his heels and pointed in another direction with his snout. Elliot looked at him questioningly, but Midnight remained adamant. He gave a sharp bark and pointed again in the same direction. Elliot sighed and decided that a wolf, taught by Sephira, would know best. Off Midnight bounded through the forest, with Elliot right behind him. Finally they arrived at the base of a cliff with trees standing tall in front of it. "What are we doing here?" Elliot asked Midnight, as if the wolf could respond back in human tongue. Midnight snorted and squeezed through the trees, much to Elliot's surprise. He followed the wolf's example and found himself inside a caved-in part of the cliff. Midnight shook his fur, sending droplets flying everywhere, then laid down on the dry grass. Guess the wolf wanted to wait for the rain to let out, Elliot thought. He realized that he was still dripping wet and decided he'd better start up a fire so he could dry his clothes and warm up.Comment
-
Avalona lost sight of them. She wandered, lost, until she couldn't walk anymore. She curled up at the base of a tree, crying. "Elliot.... Midnight.... where are you guys...." She cried herself to sleep, sheltered from the rain by the tree's branches.Comment
-
Thanks to his experience in the outdoors, Elliot had managed to get a fire going in no time and was just about to slip out of his wet clothes when Midnight suddenly perked his ears up and stood up on all fours, alert and looking out the cave. "What's up, Midnight?" Elliot asked. The wolf sniffed the air, gave Elliot a sidewards glance, then ran out the cave. "Hey!" Elliot sighed and once again went after Midnight in the pouring rain. He wondered where in the world they were running off to in this kind of weather. Then he spotted her--that same girl from before. Avalona. She was lying on the ground and she appeared unconscious. Thousands of questions raced through his mind, but he knew he had to put her safety ahead of his curiosity. Thankfully the trees above prevented her from getting too soaked, but she was liable to get hit by lightening if she stayed near the trees. And the thunder was so deafening he could've sworn it was nearby. Or was that just his heart pounding wildly in his ears? He shooed Midnight away who'd been sniffing at her face and pawing her and gently lifted her up into his arms. Then he shook off his cloak, wrapped it around her like a blanket, and made a run for the cave.Comment
-
Avalona moaned softly, curling into the warmth of his cloak. She slowly began to wake up. "Where-" She coughed, wincing.Comment
-
Elliot looked down at her with concern as he ran, trying to assess if she was okay. "Take it easy," he said, tugging the cloak tighter against her to keep her warm. He did his best to keep up with Midnight, but the rain pelting his face made it hard for him to see where he was going. Somehow, the trio made it back to the cave and Elliot practically threw himself in to the makeshift shelter. Panting and nearly out of breath from running around so much, he gently placed Avalona down next to the simmering fire. Then he gathered up some more sticks from outside and fed it to the flames so it wouldn't go out. He knelt down next to her and anxiously waited for her to make some indicator that she was alright.Comment
Comment