The Hunt for Peace

Chapter 2

Rakni's eyes open, he rubs some sand off of his eye before getting up. He can feel his entire body creak like a bunch of gears forcefully rubbing and grinding against each other. He stretched, the popping of his bones was loud enough to hear. The sky was slowly brightening, the dark sky gradually becoming more and more purple, the moonset accompanied with the first light of an nearing sunrise.

He looks back at the log, and sees Hiroka just sitting there. Her eyes were closed, her face was calm, her hair hitting her face because of the wind, yet she seemed unbothered. Her legs were crossed and her hands together, the palms facing upward, one over the other and the thumbs touching. The fire was out, and there wasn't a single other person in sight.

Hiroka's eyes open, she puffs a strand of hair away from her face before giving Rakni a smile. "Good to see you well rested." She stretches her legs, and then stands up to stretch her back.

"I told you to wake me"

"It's fine" says Hiroka, she walks over to pat him on the shoulder. "So, where to next?"

"Hmm? I don't know, I'll just go east, I guess. Nothing left for me here up north." answers Rakni, "or out west, for that matter. You, you go run off elsewhere. I'm sure you've got a lot of strong opponents to practice with."

"You're the only person here I can trust, and you seem to know well enough about Nalae. I'm sticking by your side." Hiroka places her hands behind her head. Rakni scoffs, "can't say the same for you, it seems. I told you we were sleeping in shifts and instead you doze off too."

"You seem to underestimate me then," the smile on Hiroka's face disappears, "as the chosen one, I can do a lot of things."

"Aside from stop getting your blade stolen four times, it seems" Rakni remarks before turning to face the pond. He walks towards it, without looking at her he asks "what were you doing anyways?

"Meditating," says Hiroka, picking up her sword and tying it back to her person. She points to her ears, "since you like pointing out that you're a golem so much, I suppose I should remind you that I'm an elf."

Rakni scoops up some water to drink, "still not a smart decision, lack of rest kills even the best."

"Anyways," Hiroka looks around, stretching. "Know of a place where I can bathe?"

"There's probably a lake here somewhere. Some small rivers"

"How about a waterfall? Know any of that?"

"What's wrong with the other two? The nearest waterfall is miles away, and the wolves definitely circle that area, if not the wheels too."

The sky slowly continued to brighten as the first light grew. The sun's luminescence peered through the wall of clouds. "Sounds good, that's why I am here, after all." says Hiroka, she grabs a wooden cup and scoops up some water from it. She must have made it while he was asleep, the surface of the cup was smooth, its inside perfectly hollowed out. Not a single ounce of struggle or hacking marks on the entirety of the tool. She places the cup of water over some sticks, and then sets the bonfire alight once more with a swift flick of her hands.

"You could also use some new clothes too," says Hiroka, "your wounds may heal fast but the fabric is still all torn up." Rakni looked at his shirt, she was right. Doesn't mean he'll do anything about it, "I probably won't get a new one until autumn. Warsen are out doing their errantry thing."

"None of that made any sense."

"It's spring, the Warsen are out doing errantries and whatnot, a bunch of inter-den affairs. Politics, basically. They don't really roam beyond the south of the continent until fall. The only ones we'll see out here during spring time are those that want to kill us." Rakni explains, yet the clueless look on Hiroka's face remains. Tilting her head and raising her brow, she looks at Rakni in the eyes. "I think you've forgotten that I literally got here yesterday. I don't know what a warsen is or why they live south of the continent."