Of Thousand Lives

Leviathan - Chapter 12: Refugium Cerula

I was barely able to sleep last night. I kept thinking about what happened. Well, it seems like it's going to dawn soon, anyways. About time I got up from my bed. After taking the backpack full of stuff with me and a deep breath, I open the door and go downstairs. Raven and Natalia are already at the lobby, talking to each other. I wonder what they're talking about.. Meh, I don't really care. "Good morning.", I say, waving at the two. After hearing me, Natalia jumps a little bit, and they both turn to me. "Morning.", "Good morning..", they both return the wave. "Just in time, we're just discussing whether teleporting there or walking there is better.", Raven chuckles a little as I take a seat next to them both, dropping the bag down next to me. A map is laid out on Raven's lap with the path from Iazhioria to Cerula being highlighted with red. "We can hike our way there. Cerula is a neighbouring country, so we don't have to worry much about distance.", Raven taps on the place where port Cerula is. "Yeah. I think we can walk our way there no problem.", I look at the map and nod to Raven. The elf then looks at Natalia, silently asking for her opinion. The girl shrugs, "I'm fine with anything.", and she then replies. The elf nods and promptly rolls the map neatly, standing up from his seat. "Alright, let's set off now, since you all have already prepared for this.", with the map disappearing upon the snap of his fingers, he walks outside the church. Natalia and I both stand up. She looks at me then smiles softly. Seeing this, I can't help but smile as well. "What? Does my face look funny because I just woke up?", I nudge her gently, chuckling. She shakes her head, "No. I just like seeing you.", the girl's smile grow ever so slightly after saying that. "Yeah.. Same here.", I softly mutter as I pick up my backpack and wear it on my back. Natalia seems to be struggling a bit with hers, maybe I should help her out. "Here. I'll carry it for you.", I make an offer, moving over to her to help her pick up the bag. "Oh, yes. Thank you. I would love a helping hand.", with my help, we both pick the bag up and she slowly hands it over to me. It's not that heavy, I can carry both mine and this with no sweat at all. "Is this okay, though?", Natalia tilts her head a little to the side with a worried expression. "Yeah, it's alright. Not that heavy.", I sling the bag over my shoulder to make it easier to carry. Then, we both exit the church. Natalia takes out a key and locks the church's entrance. "You got the back entrance as well, right?", Raven is already leaning on the wall, waiting for us, when we get out. "Yes. No worries, mister Raven.", Natalia nods, then puts the key back into her shirt's pocket. The elf nods, then gets off the wall, "Let's go.", he gestures to us to follow him.

We set off, following the sidewalk of the streets, walking past the familiar buildings of Thannatopia. The three of us eventually pass by the restaurant Theobold frequently goes to. And, of course, he's there, eating his 5th plate of food of that day. I wonder how he can keep himself in shape despite eating so much. Maybe because he has to run around all day, makes sense. Sitting next to him is that familiar shadow of the Valkyries and also his brother, Vurul. The bird is just watching his family member eating up the food, then he notices us walk by. He gives us a little wave while Theobold is oblivious to the world around him. We wave back at him before the two disappear out of sight. "An interesting duo, Theobold and Vurul have always been. I like their attitude, though a bit dumbfounded on the cat's side.", Raven chuckles softly, shaking his head a little as he describes Theobold. Yeah, he's kinda right. Theobold's a little bit silly, but his hospitality is wonderful. Then we come by the central park of Thannatopia, in which there is Hurlem. He's sitting on a bench, talking to another little girl that seems about his age. "Someone's in love.", Natalia playfully says, giggling at the sight of the two kids. Harlem seems to notice us as well, the kid gives us a really big wave to which we also wave back at him. Sometimes.. I'm reminded that soldiers, high ranked or not, are also people who have social lives behind them. They're human.. just like me, like most of us. Well, that's that. After passing by the park entirely, we continue on our way to Cerula. The further we go, the less and less tall buildings we see, indicating that we are now arriving at the outskirts of the city. This place seems a little quieter than the center of the city. The air feels fresher. Now, the trees of the forest that envelopes the city come into view. Nature is abundant here, it's nice to see that the people here respect the beauties of their world. We venture deeper into the woods, as the sounds of Iazhiorian nature welcomes us three into the lush green of the trees. "Feels nice.", I exclaim, looking around to take in the beauty of this place. "Yeah.. It's great to go for a walk after a while.", Natalia nods and stretches left and right as she walks down the path.