Wings of Valor - Diablo 3: RoS

Chapter 10

"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)

After about 10 minutes of sprinting and tumbling, I stopped by a small creek and sat down on a patch of soft green grass. Now that the steam had subsided, I realised my half-recovered body was protesting me. Besides that fact, I cannot go too far from where we were. As tough as Imperius maybe as an archangel, he was now partly mortal and somewhat my responsibility.

Was it all right to run when I should have stayed? But knowing myself, I was getting more and more infuriating by his response. Maybe I shouldn't have asked and maybe it was better not to know the reasons behind his hatred. I knew very well how little or none I had contributed to it, yet I could not stop my anger and frustration. The longer I stayed there and stared at him, the more I wanted to punch or shake him because I wanted him to realise that the war, as well as the tragedies caused by it, was out of my control. So maybe it was better to isolate myself from him for a little while, just so I could calm myself down. 

Sitting up straighter and slowly letting the anger flow with the running stream before me, I took a deep breath and scanned the water. Fish casually swam upstream and jumped out of the water as they fed and played. I smiled thinking about my own meal for this evening. 

My crossbows came in handy as I put myself to work towards the sweet meal I just dreamed of. '4 small size of these should be enough for us both,' I thought to myself while the fish was dangling in from my hand. [[By now, Imperius should be starving since I did not recall him having anything to eat before we left. Although, I did leave my supply bag by the tree before I ran off.]]

Finding myself a lot calmer and happier, I purposefully made my way back to where I left him.  

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As I approached the ancient tree, Imperius spotted me and sprang up to his feet. I could see his brows tied up into a huge knot and he looked as if he was sick and angry at the same time. I just wasn't sure which to settle with. 

"Was I gone long?" I asked nonchalantly and before letting him spit his anger at me, I cut him off, "I've brought dinner..." Holding up the fish I had caught earlier, now wrapped in clean leaves and ready to be cooked, I gave him a wry smile. 

"There is something awfully wrong with this... mortal vessel!" He said hoarsely and I stepped closer to him with concerns. 

"What's the matter? What's happening?" I scanned his body while dropping my gears and the fish. 

"Look at my hands, they're shaking and I cannot stop them," he lifted his arms up to my eye level and I could see them shaking rapidly. "And it feels like there is sand in my throat! Sometimes, I feel a hot sharp pain here," he pointed slightly to the left of his abdomen, his eyes pleading as he explained all the pains he was experiencing.

Just then, as if there was a beast standing between us, a loud rumbling growl emanated from Imperius' torso. My eyes widened with realisation to what was happening with his vessel body. He saw the glint of recognition in them and looked at me expectantly when I could not hold the laughter and it just burst out uncontrollably. 

I had never in my life heard someone's stomach growl that loud before. Us demon hunters had very high tolerance to our body needs as we put outselves in risky and dangerous situations. These things only happened once in a blue moon so to speak.

"What was that noise?!! Why are you laughing? It is not a humourous matter! I had been in pain for hours!" He bellowed and quickly scanning around, possibly searching for the source of the noise. 

My own stomach ached as the fit continued at the same time, I felt bad for leaving him behind. Kneeling down beside my supply bag I left by the tree, I passed some water and an apple to him. 

"Here! Have these while waiting for the real dinner, will you?" I said through my continuous giggles. "Water will cure your throat and the apple will help with your stomach pain." Turning around, I set to work again and started the fire, "also, the noise will stop once you have the apple so you'd better hurry before the beast shows itself to us." Okay, I couldn't help that, I had to say it. The fire lid brightly as I laughed my heart out. 

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I grumpily sat down by the fire and sipped the water. The irritation subsided and I had a little more before taking a bite at the waxy red fruit. The juicy flesh and aromatic smell were oddly satisfying and I finished it in no time. However, it felt like I needed more than what she gave me to make me feel better. The pains are almost all gone and as she said, the noise wasn't heard again. 

That did not mean it was acceptable for her to jest my pains and suffering. She laughed and mocked me, for goodness sake! I thought back to a moment ago and let out my own angry growl. I glanced at her while she was turning the sticks with some odd looking creatures on each of them over the fire. The nephalem turned towards me and handed one of the sticks to me with that stupid looking grin on her face. She was still mocking me. 

I snatched the food from her and looked at it skeptically, smelling the strange smoky aroma from it, "what is this creature? Is it really safe to eat?" 

She smirked and took a bite out of one, "give it a try, Imperius. It's called a fish and tastes much better than what it looks like." Continuing to eat, she still stared at me encouragingly so I took a bite. The soft white flesh was fairly tasty and sweet but different to that of the fruit I just had. I could not describe enough how satisfying it was to me and I found myself eating it so fast I finished it before she did hers and it left me wanting more. 

"I believe I need more than one," I said to her eyeing the two other sticks by her side. She gave me an odd stare while handing me one. 

"You're either very VERY hungry or you love fish, huh?" She questioned but I only gave her a shrug of my shoulders as I enjoyed my food. Not until she chuckled again that I looked up at her and gave her a glare. 

"What is it that you find funny as to mock me about my new found things and pains?" I challenged her with my stare and she only put her arms up in defence. 

"Jeez, calm down, will you? I did not mean to make fun of you! It was just... strange and I couldn't help my laughter. I'm sorry..." She let her apology trail off softly and handed me the last fish. "How about you have this one too? If it makes you feel better." 

"No, that would not be fair. I imagined you would have to put your merely recovered body to work just to catch these for our meal," I said bluntly and finished my second including all the water she gave me earlier. And no, I still would not thank her. After all, she did mock me no matter what she said. 

The sun was leaving the day, casting the sky with stunning orange glow. I sat by the fire and admired the last lights until the sun set completely.

"Well, time to put this out..." The nephalem stood up and poured water on the fire. Suddenly, I could not see anything surrounding us for a brief moment. 

"Was it necessary to do that?" I wondered how these humans go about without lights, it was uncomfortable and the atmosphere somewhat turned untrustworthy. 

"We do not want to give our location away. The fire will attract all sorts of things to us while we rest and that is not ideal. There's still a long way to go and we should avoid every mishap possible," she finished and I could hear her move closer to the tree doing something I could not imagine what. I tried to find my way to it also and found myself touching some strange material on the ground. 

"You sleep on that and I'll be on the other side of the tree, just here," she was now a little further away from me. I nodded but doubted she could see that. Although, it was nice to know she was prepared so that we did not have to lay on the rough hard ground the whole night. 

Laying down on the soft material, I looked up at the night sky full of stars. There was no point in thinking of what I might have been doing at that moment if I was in the high heavens. Another day was about to pass and I was settling in better than yesterday. 

A/N: So, here is another chapter. I found that it is now harder to concentrate and write properly for me. This chapter took me almost 2 weeks just to get all the words out. I think the bad times are still affecting me. I hope it is still enjoyable, nonetheless. Please, feel free to leave your comments and vote if you like it =) They are greatly appreciated.