Of Untold Origins

The Plans

     "I have to say, I don't understand why there's... someone... living in the abandoned city, and the strange talking light thing that happened just now- I just feel very... unnerved by this all." Amico is still standing on the riverbank still as stone while I begin gathering and tying my robes up around my thighs, preparing for the swim across. 

     "Yes, well, we're about to figure all of that out. So, I'm guessing I'll wrap my arms around your neck and my legs around your waist to get across?" Amico turns around to look at me just as I'm finishing tying up my robes, then he quickly snaps his head away.

     "What are you doing that for?!" he asks. I look over and can just faintly see his face turning red in the dim, glowing light. 

     "My robes are longer than yours, they'll weigh us both down in the water and get in the way, so I tied them up." I can see Amico still blushing as I roll my eyes.

     "I'm seeing a whole lot more tonight than I think I've ever seen in my entire existence." he grumbles. 

     "We're about to see the city up close so prepare yourself to keep seeing a whole lot more than just my legs." Amico looks at me with a mixture of nervousness and sternness on his face, the expression is very similar to one I saw a Primo give long ago when I successfully managed to climb up one of the tallest trees in the village. 

     "I can't believe you're getting me into this." He sighs. "Alright, before we actually head over there, I'm going to ask you one more time; are you absolutely sure you want to do this, knowing all the possible consequences?" His blue eyes stare intently into mine, and I have a moment's hesitation that quickly subsides at the thought of going back to the village without any answers.

     "I'm absolutely sure." he nods and motions me over to him, I walk over and hop onto his back, wrapping my legs tightly around his torso. As he is walking towards the water, he places both of his hands underneath my legs, just above my knees, and I let out a small involuntary gasp. He stops short and turns his head to the side.

     "Are you alright?" he asks.

     "Oh, y-yes. I'm sorry, I'm just... excited." I reply.

     "That makes one of us. Alright then, here we go." Amico starts trudging into the river. I can feel the blood in my cheeks, I'm not sure why it was so surprising to feel his hands on my legs like that. Maybe it's because he's never touched me there before, but I felt a strange, unfamiliar sensation when it happened. For some reason, I was embarrassed when he heard my reaction. 

He continues on into the river, holding both of my legs as I wrap myself even more firmly around him. As the water reaches his chest, he lets go of me and begins to swim. The water, still warm from the day that had just ended, ripples up my body as he lunges forward.

     "Hold on tight, and don't let go." he said. I could feel the force of the river pushing against us, but Amico kept on the path to the other side with ease. Once we made it to the opposite bank, we wrung out as much water from our robes as we could. I looked up at the towers which were now much harder to see despite our closeness because of the trees that crowded the bank. An extended time left alone must have allowed the plants and trees to grow without any interference, and I eyed the overgrowth looking for a possible way through.

     "Over here." I heard Amico call out from my right. He was pointing to a thin path just visible between two bushes. "This must be where animals make their way to the river for water. Hopefully it leads to your forbidden city." 

     "My forbidden city? What did I do to deserve a whole city entirely to myself?" I say while starting on the path, turning myself sideways and squirming between the branches to try and avoid as much scratching as possible.