The Lorem Milites

02

Wilco hasn't been seen outside since the ordeal, and Conan is still missing. They've gotten rid of the pigs, which was a bitter event for the whole village, considering how much meat has gone to waste only a few weeks before winter. The days are getting shorter and colder. Today, I promised my mother to help Finn find some fruits to dry. I haven't spoken to him since we last saw each other, but Finn and I are usually quick to forgive, and to be honest I lost count of all the arguments we've had growing up. And so I meet him at his fathers shop. 

"You mind Bones coming with?" He points at the excited dog. "No, of course not." We walk through the gates together, Bones far ahead of us. The forest is brown and orange, the leaves starting to fall. The air is fresh and crisp, our breaths forming little clouds. We search in silence, it's a bit of a tense silence, which I'm not used to. Finn puts something in his bag. "So.." I look at him trying to figure out his facial expression. After a bit of walking he sighs. 

"I'm sorry I was harsh the other day." I grin and give him a little shoulder bump. "An actual apology from you. Let me hear that again." He laughs and shakes his head, causing his curls to fall before his eyes. "I'm serious though, Juno. It's not that I don't want to be a good friend and support you, I just don't want you to get your hopes up too high. Or end up getting hurt.." I'm not sure what to reply, so I just give a little nod. After a while he continues. 

"Just out of curiosity, how do you plan on entering the LM? Most soldiers are rich and have been born for that exact purpose, they've trained their entire lives. We didn't exactly hit the jackpot in, well, any aspect of life. " My heart jumps a little out of joy. I know he hates talking about this topic, and he's only asking because he knows how much it means to me. "Well, I've actually read up on that some time ago. There's no rule that says you have to be any of that. Technically, all I need to do is become good enough. Then, I have to apply myself. I think there's a bunch of tests to see if you're worthy, but that information isn't really available to us." I pause for a bit, biting my lip. "I've found someone. I think he can teach me hand to hand combat. It's a start." Finn frowns. "I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but he? What man has agreed to teach a girl?" When he sees my offended face he throws his hands in the air and quickly clarifies, "not that I wouldn't, it's just, you know.." I laugh at his panicked face.

"Calm down, I know what you meant. Well, he hasn't agreed yet.. But I'm working on it." He quietly nods, and we continue our search. After a while we reach a hill top. In the distance we can see the city in front of the castle hill. It looks beautiful, even from here. The white stones of the castle reflect the last sun rays perfectly.  Finn gives me his flask of water and I take a sip. His clothes don't fit his figure very well, they're baggy. I think he lost weight.  I let my head rest on his shoulder for a bit as we take a breather before returning back home.

After we brought our findings to our parents, I decided to go for a stroll through the village. I had never seen Logan before, and new people here aren't that common, so I really want to find him. He looked well fed and strong, which also indicates he probably isn't from here. I hear the sound of wood chopping and decide to follow it, and there he is. He picks up some chopped logs and makes his way to a cabin. It's pretty much outside of the village, there aren't any other cabins around. He has a small plot of land and a shed. I hurry towards him. 

"Hey there!" He looks at me and groans a little. "You again?" He doesn't stop walking. Not sure what to do, I pick up some chopped logs, and struggle over to the cabin. I almost drop them walking in. ''What do you think you're doing?" He throws his on a big pile of wood and looks at me with a somewhat amused look on his face. I stumble across the doorway and drop the wood on the pile. A bit out of breath I look up at him and grin. "Well, I told you I could come in handy. See, you just carried double the wood in the same amount of time." I say winking. He rolls his eyes and pushes me out of the way. It seems that he's a tough egg to crack. I continue to help him carry the wood until it's all inside. "You know I'm not paying you for this right?" I shake my head and rub my painful hands. "I don't want to get paid, I want you to teach me how to fight."