Branley And The Land Of Cors

Chapter 4

"I'm Metis" said the young man.

Branley was perplexed. The white haired boy had  somewhat of an ethereal aura about him. It put him on edge every time he stared at the direction of the stranger, but he could not quite understand why that was.

And then it hit him.

"You have magic."Branley said. It was not a question,it was a conclusion.

"Yes, indeed I do."Metis answered,not even a little shaken up.

"Where did you come from? You are not one of us that is for sure." He took a defensive stance only slightly, his body language giving away the feeling of distrust and caution that had risen.

"I escaped" Answered the other warlock.

"Escaped from where?"Asked Branley.

"From the castle"Metis stated, his expression blank, his body unmoving.

"There are still magic users in the castle?"

"Ofcourse there are. But they are restrained and treated horribly, used against their very wills." Now was the only time Metis' eyes showed a sparkle of emotion, but that quickly faded away."I have come to your land in search for shelter. I have nowhere else to escape to, and as I heard in my time in the cells , here with you is the only safe place for people like me."

Branley let down his guard just a tad and pondered on how he could help a fellow magic user live his life in peace, how he could introduce him to the village and have everyone try and find a solution together.

But that was all in theory. He knew that everyone would be even more suspicious than he was of the boy, the sheer name of the land of Cors  would have everyone on their toes instantly and they would not hear any of it. He had seen it before. They would interrogate him harshly and in the end,no matter their good nature they would send him away to find help. It would come to nothing good. Only suspicion at best. But he figured he could find a way to secure food and water for the boy for at least a few days before he decided what to do. He could not find it in his heart to leave another warlock in the hands of luck.

"You cannot go into the village, at least not yet. We are not really fond of strangers you see."he finally said. "You will stay hidden for the time being, and I will make sure you eat."

"Hidden? Where exactly should I hide?" asked the boy, exhaustion now dressed his face, probably from the fall from before, and the time he had spent trying to cross the borders.

"Come with me." Branley said leading the way to a cave not very far from there.

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"Branley" Kyne shouted as he was walking towards the waterfall. Where else could Branley possibly be? He wanted to find him, to tell him he was sorry he did not make time for him during the feast, and to ask him to seat together near the clear water once more, to tell stories and be in each others company. He would not say it that way ofcourse, that would make it sound like he was desperate. But he would find a way to express himself well enough so that Branley would stop pouting. He was used to this after all,his friend had always made a big deal out of this like that. Not without reason but still, it ticked Kyne off to know that Branley did not understand the tight position he was in. As if he would not be with him more if his duties allowed him to.

He reached the waterfall, but Branley was nowhere in sight. Kyne wondered around in the woods in a fruitless attempt to find him. He was starting to get worried. What if something happened while he was not there? What if that idiot went off on his own and is now in some kind of trouble. Kyne would not be very surprised if that were the case.

"Kyne?"said a voice behind him. He recognized it with frightening ease. It was Branley. He turned around and examined the boy. Was he hurt anywhere? No. He looked fine, at least on the outside.

"Where on earth have you been?" Kyne said with a tone that suggested his worry and the fact that he had searched almost the entire forest to find him.

"Oh just out an about." Branley said casually.

"Out and about you say?" It pissed Kyne off, but in the end Branley did not owe him a better explanation, or at least right now it did not feel like he did. "You want to go to the waterfall with me?"

"I don't really fancy it at the moment.Maybe some other time, maybe tomorrow?"said the young sorcerer.

He seemed lost in thought,like his body and mind had two different places to be. Kyne could see that.

"Two minds are better than one."Kyne said suddenly.

"What?" Branley asked confused and shaken out of his thoughts.

"You're thinking about something, isn't that right?Share it with me, you got nothing to lose."answered the blonde.

"I'd really rather not. You need not concern yourself with me oh one and only son of the mighty village chief, I'm sure you have more pressing matters to attend to and I would not like you to waste another second longer on me"Branley said irony filling his voice. He knew he was being condescending, he knew Kyne did not deserve this, but he had a lot on his plate right now, and he could not help but think that if Kyne had kept him company he would not have wondered off in the woods and he would not have had a certainly unexpected encounter with a stranger. A stranger that felt familiar and distant, alluring and frightening. He could not for the life of him get Metis out of his thoughts. He felt otherworldly to him. Maybe that was because he came from a place Branley had wanted to rediscover all his life. Metis felt like the door to something new.

"Oh come on Branley you know how difficult this is for me. Do you think I would ever do this on porpoise?" Kyne asked. He really did not want his friend to think he did not care for him. He did care.That was the only thing he could say for certain.

"No you're right. You have your set of priorities and they can't be easily changed as it stands now, and it will probably become worst in the near future. I know you don't mean for this to happen. But you have to accept that it makes me feel inferior to all the other things you have going on around you. You are the one person who was always there, and now you are not, you can't be I get it, but give me time to adjust would you?" Branley let his feelings spill just a little. He had a ton more to say but did not want to give Kyne the satisfaction of knowing how alone he felt without him. Setting aside all the weird feeling he may have harbored over the years, he missed their friendship as it was before. He knew he would have to accept things as they are now, but he needed time.

"You really are being over the top right now you know that? Why must you make such a big deal out of this?" Kyne asked, his voice a little raised, in an attempt to understand.

"Yes maybe you're right. Maybe it's not all that important after all."said Branley and something tagged at his chest. He was lying. But he also wanted to pause this conversation, because as it seemed it led to nothing.

So he turned his back at Kyne and started walking back to the village. The blonde was behind watching him intently. Kyne wanted to pick up his pace to match Branley's but he decided some distance would do them good. Maybe it would make his friend relax and see sense.