The Golden Gift

Chapter Ten, Visiting Family

Hunter's Perspective

I stared at the pine boy's entrancing eyes for a long time, getting lost in the beautiful honey-like colors. He seemed very tired and annoyed, but he had settled down while we laid in bed. "Do you think Belos will come for me?" I asked quietly, though I was almost certain of his answer. It still made me happy to fish for it, so I could hear it. "No, you're safe here Hunter. Just relax." He replied just as quietly. I slowly blinked and shifted onto my side more so I could look at his bedazzling and hypnotic eyes for longer. However, that was cut short by Edric turning away from me. "Y'know Hunter, I haven't been this vulnerable with another person in a long time. I think I should show you what I really look like, so you aren't fooled by my fake charm." He mentioned as he sat up. I sat up as well and watched, intrigued as he pulled out the illusion stone he was hiding. His look shifted as the illusion shattered, showing a more natural and awkward looking young teenager.

I smiled at the cute dorkiness he physically displayed, with pushed back messy hair in a headband and glasses that slumped down on his nose slightly. His face also looked a lot scruffier, showing those weird short hairs people always get if they don't regularly shave. I wonder why he wore that illusion stone to begin with. "I think you look nice." I told him and fixed the messy hairs that had escaped from the headband he was wearing. "Thanks- I just use that stone all the time because my mother always forced us to and now I feel almost naked without it. But... I'm glad somebody likes the way I look without it." He said and I nodded. "I know how you feel. I used to wear my mask all the time until it broke. Now that isn't really an option, but... Yeah." I ended awkwardly. Edric smiled and moved closer to me. "I wish you could stay for longer. You're the most relatable person I've met in my whole life..." He said almost pathetically. But I felt the same, so I understood why he said it.

"Well.. I think if I stay for too long, my uncle will be so angry. He's probably already very angry... I... I'm worried." I admitted. Edric rubbed my shoulder and sighed. "Well, we should at least try to find your Palisman... Right?" He said and I nodded. "I mean we should, but I think at this point Raine is gone." I sighed tiredly, emotionally exhausted just thinking about it. "Hold on- Raine as in Raine Whispers?" He asked and I nodded. "Oh- why didn't I make the connection before-! That's my cousin! It really makes sense if you think about it. Or not, I guess." He said and I attempted to comprehend it. "No, I don't understand the connection at all." I admitted cluelessly to the pine boy. He nodded and got out a very old and dusty book labeled "family tree". It was quite small, but seemed to have a lot of information. He sat back down beside me and I watched over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages carefully as to not injure the delicate book.

He stopped at a specific page and smiled softly. "I love family history." He sighed happily and pointed at his and his sister's written in location. It was much newer ink then at the top of the tree. "So this is me and my twin, and Mittens is right next to us. So if we go up, on my mom's side there's my grandma, and she had a ton of other kids aside from us. She was Grandma Whispers, and my last name is Blight because that's my dad's last name. Anyways, Grandma whispers had Della Whisper, My mom's twin, who had Raine and Oleander. We call her Lee. So there's that, that's our family tree." Edric finished explaining and took a breath. Boy, that was one big long monologue. "Well now I understand. So.. How does this help us-?" I asked and Edric put the historic and important book away. "It means I know Raine's address, so we can easily find their house. And that means getting your Palisman back too." He explained excitedly. I started to get the same excitement at the thought of getting my Palisman back.

"When can we go?" I asked and Edric shrugged. "We can go today if you want. I haven't been to their house in a while anyways, it's about time I paid a visit." He prattled as he walked towards the door. "What are you doing-?" I asked and followed him to the door. "I'm just going to have some lunch with my family. You should come too." He said and opened the door more for me. I nervously looked at the door and back to his kind but tired face. "Are you sure? I'm not a part of your family.." I reasoned shyly. Edric walked through the door and gently grabbed ahold of my wrist. "Come on, we've got really good food." He beckoned, though it wasn't so much beckoning as it was stating, because he was dragging me with whether I wanted to or not. I sighed and gave in, following him down the long fancy stairs towards a large dining room. Edric slowed down as he neared the room, letting go of my wrist and straightening his clothes. I started to get pre-social anxiety and ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to make it look neater.