Connection

Chapter Seven: Cliff

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 Chapter Seven: Cliff

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The cold air bit at any of Cliff's exposed skin like a vicious snake. Somehow, it seemed to force its way under his clothes and weave its way beneath his skin, chilling him to the bone.

It wasn't often that Mallowkeep grew to be cold—due to the isolation from the actual world and regular atmospheric changes, it was only a few weeks when the climate lacked warm, summer air.

Cliff pulled his black jacket tighter to his body as he pushed his way through the vast expanse of tall grass that ran along the perimeter of the community just before the thin strip of forest that marked where Mallowkeep ended. He pulled the small bag of food he brought under his shirt, trying to give it as much warmth as possible.

Turning his back, Cliff noticed his house was still visible—though barely—from the distance he stood at now. Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued on. Had he left much later, Cliff didn't doubt his mother would have awoken and questioned Cliff, but she was lulled into such a deep sleep at the time of sunrise to notice him slip out of the house.

He'd arrived home from Crannel's the night before after being held there for a week to ensure that he was fully healed—quite unnecessary in his mind. In that time, Cliff had no bizarre reams or flashes of dehydration, though he didn't trust that they were gone for good; nothing was that easy.

The moment he was released he rushed home to prepare for this moment. He set his shoes next to his bed, dressed for the day and created a bag of food before even allowing thoughts of sleep. Previous to that he unlocked all doors that needed to be to make it absolutely certain that he left unnoticed. Finally, he placed a bowl of warm milk in Celtic's cage outside; it usually made him tired enough to sleep past sunrise, which Cliff knew had to happen so his howls wouldn't wake his mother up as he left.

So many precautions were taken for two reasons; Cliff didn't want his mother to know he had a theory on what had happened during the assessment, but he also didn't desire for anyone to know he'd snuck out in the light of dawn to meet one of the only wanted wizards in Mallowkeep. For that matter, he also didn't want anyone to know he was aware of where this particular wizard resided.

Grez Sumtanthe had been convicted years ago, but Cliff had been there the day the so-called crime was committed. He'd witnessed with his own eyes the innocence of Grez. Due to his endless kindness and care for Cliff, he didn't want to sever ties like his mother did, no matter how many times Cliff protested it.

"It's time like these—when you're in need of his knowledge," Cliff muttered to himself, "that it comes in handy to have remained close."

He was just a few steps away from the barren trees that created the closest thing to the forest they had. Brilliant red pine needles crunched under his feet as he followed the path he now knew so well. Many times he wondered where the pine needles came from seeing as there were no pine trees, but often in the world he lived in he just had to accept the strange events that happened.

The tall trees were thinly scattered, making it even easier for Cliff to get to his destination.

With each step, his heart began to pump faster, knowing he was drawing nearer to a thought-out and legitimate answer and a possible validation to the theory that had been brewing in Cliff. It crossed his mind that some may think he was becoming obsessed with the idea, but in reality he just need an answer and the feeling of desire to get one was insatiable.

An icy gust of wind blew through the trees, ruffling Cliff's hair and sending a shocking wave of cold through his body as the pine needles lifted off the ground slightly around him. He suddenly found himself wishing desperately that he'd brought heavier pants than the light jeans which he wore at the moment. He pulled his jacket even closer as his teeth began to chatter.