Cursed with immortality, Mars goes on a journey with his lifelong more-than-friends partner Astral, a painfully average future-seeing mage, to find the root of magic, in an effort to ease the side effects of Astral's visions - and to finish their th...
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"No."
"Wait, why?" Astral asked and frowned.
"Because I ain't going through that forest, son. It's haunted." The driver scratched his big belly.
"But how are we supposed to get to the next town then?"
"Not my problem. Ain't nobody going north these days. Everyone's going south for the coming autumn. You lot should do the same." He looked entirely done with the conversation.
Astral growled under his breath and turned on his heel, walking away before he said something stupid. I knew he'd say something stupid and so did he. It was better to not have this argument. It was better to just walk away.
"So, what do we do?" I asked and scratched my head.
"I guess we'll have to walk. It's not even that far. Might take us better part of a day but not more than that. There's a town on just the other side."
"Ugh I hate walking," Astral whined.
"I know but sometimes we gotta do something we hate in order to do something we don't hate. Which is getting to another town." Zeke smirked and I couldn't hold back a snort. I secretly loved how condescending she could be when dealing with Astral's childish behaviour.
"I guess we'll have to walk then." Astral pouted. "But I'm gonna complain the entire way."
"We know," I said and pulled my rucksack on my back. "It's lucky I still like you, even when you pout like a three-year-old."
"It's lucky I still like you when you offend me so," Astral shot back and grimaced at me, shouldering the strap on his own rucksack.
"If the truth offends you, then so be it." I shrugged and grabbed the straps on my bag. "You can be offended and walk at the same time."
"It's like you don't even like me." He was smiling as he said it.
"Oh, I don't. Next to you I just look a lot taller. It helps with my self-esteem." I shrugged again, but much more dramatically this time.
"You don't look that much taller."
"He's right. He looks taller," Zeke chimed in.
Astral theatrically grabbed the front of his jacket, clutching the fabric in his hand. "Why do you hate me so? I took you in, clothed you and fed you. And now this treachery."
"Mate, I just said Mars looks taller next to you. Your ego needs to relax."
Astral looked to me but I couldn't stop laughing. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to me, kissing his cheek.
"Come on, the both of you. Let's get going."
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