The Mage Paradox [BOOK THREE]

Chapter 2: The Soothing Tree

Harley sat on the edge of his bed, head buried into his glove-covered hands. He didn't know what came over him, but it made him angry. He tried to calm down with each breath he takes, but it just made him more infuriated.

What is wrong with me??? Harley asked himself.

Before his head could explode out of anger deep inside him, the door swung open to reveal a cautious Harith behind it.

"Everything alright...?" Harith peeped.

Things just got worse. One, Harley got angrier just seeing the leonin. Two, Harith slipped behind the door and knocked face-first on the floor.

He got up and howled in pain.

Harley just glowered at him, not showing any concern for the leonin before him. Harith sat on the bed beside the mage.

"Is something wrong?" Harith asked.

"Why would you care?" Harley scowled.

Hearing Harley taking his sudden anger over him hurt the leonin inside.

"What's gotten into you?" Harith asked. 

Harley couldn't answer. He was so angry he could barely make a sound and because he doesn't know why he was angry. And he wasn't aware his face was so red. Harith was baffled by Harley's sudden turn of expression. So he turned on the expression he always used on Nana.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

Harley was taken aback. What was he on to?

"Who made you angry?" Harith asked softly.

Then Harley felt the thing that fueled all his sudden anger fade away, and he just stared at Harith blankly. The leonin noticed too, and he was a little confused how that worked so easily.

⌛ 

It was three days after Harley's birthday party, which he left before it even started. Harith was very confused about how the mage went from very frustrated to 'as if nothing happened.' The leonin just went out of the room awkwardly and shut the door.

And in those three days, he barely saw the mage. When he woke up, Harley was gone, when he went in the room to serve him breakfast, lunch and, dinner, he was on a wooden chair, reading his magic books again. And when Harith went to sleep, he saw Harley asleep before him.

The leonin knew that Harley was troubled by something, or maybe he started to hate him again. He was afraid that both of them had to start over; rivals to best friends.

Or maybe this time, Harley won't forgive him.

After the fourth night of spending time in Nana's treehouse, Harley woke up at midnight all of a sudden. He was sweating and took deep breaths; he has woken up from a nightmare. But Harley didn't go back to sleep, he went out of the room and down the staircase. He tried to calm down from the nightmare he had earlier.

To his surprise, he wasn't the only one awake now.

"Angela?"

The robot with short blonde hair and a big cyan bow on her head turned with some dirty dishes on her hands.

"Harley, why are you still awake at such a time?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Angela sat down the dishes on the kitchen table. "You were up in that room for so long, what were you doing up there?" Angela asked with a worried expression.

Harley shook his head. "Nothing, I was just...studying."

"So that's an excuse to not come down?" Then for the first time, Angela noticed Harley's facial features. His orange hair wasn't tidy, and there were bags under his green eyes and he looked very pale.