A Journey Across Terra

26

The soft plucking sounds of a Kalimba was the first thing that Yuki heard when he awoke.

"Ugh my head..." As soon as Yuki tried to move, a throbbing pain seared through his head. "Guess that wine really did a number on me eh?"

When he looked to the side, he saw none other than Cantabile, sitting on a chair next to his bed. Her entire focus was on the Kalimba as she played a song with ease. She stopped playing once she realized that Yuki was up.

"Good morning Coral." Set down the Kalimba onto the bedside table. "Apologies. When I saw the Kalimba in your bag, I just had to play it."

"No need to apologize. Hearing some calming music is much better than just sitting in here alone with a hangover."

Cantabile held a small smile on her face. "You're welcome."

"Didn't know you could play the Kalimba though." Yuki sat up as he picked up the instrument.

"I can play plenty of instruments. The acoustic guitar, the lyre, the piano. Those are just a few that I can play."

"Huh, guess you really have a knack for these things, eh?" Yuki looked up to the ceiling. "Are there any instruments you'd like learning?"

Cantabile slightly tilted her head up as she ran the question through her mind. "I recall coming across a band called Alive Until Sunset on one of my trips to Siesta. I recall the jarring way they had used their instruments and the sounds that came from them. It was a whole different feeling from the music that I hear in Leithania."

"Haven't heard much rock?" Yuki raised an eyebrow before slowly getting to his feet, fighting the throbbing pain in his head. "You should ask Vigna about that. She really loves Rock and roll. I wouldn't be surprised if she could give you some pointers on how to play rock and roll."

"Vigna?...Okay. I will go as her right this moment." The Liberi promptly left the room with a light skip in her step.

Yuki could only muster half a chuckle as the throbbing pain in his head became worse with every laugh. "Cuse that Kukulkan." He said half-jokingly as he walked into the living room.

In the living room was Frostleaf sitting on the couch with her eyes closed as she lightly bobbed her head to her music. Yuki simply snuck past the vibing Vulpo due to her hostility towards him.

He sneakily walked out the front door and took a seat on the porch as he reached into his coat pocket.

"Huh?" Yuki rummaged deeper into his coat pocket, only to find nothing in there. "Where is it?"

"Looking for this?" A jar of blood was dangling just above Yuki.

Yuki instinctively spun around and pointed a dagger towards this person. "Utage?"

"W-Woah. Don't worry dude." Utage had a very scared expression on her face as she held her hands up in defense. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

"Geez. You really scared me there." Yuki put the dagger back into his coat. "And why do you have that?" He snatched the jar from Utage's hands.

"I just wanted to ask a few questions." She took a seat next to Yuki, letting her legs swing up and down off the edge of the porch.

"Like?" The Pythian boy shot her a sceptical glance.

"Why do you and Frostleaf have beef with each other? I swear to God, both of you act like a divorced couple. It's become so obvious that Vigna's noticed as well. And I wouldn't be surprised if that Cantabile girl has caught on as well." She leaned forward a bit before poking Yuki on the cheek. "C'mon, what's the deal."

Yuki let out a huff of annoyance as he pushed Utage's hand away. "She just doesn't trust me. That's all."

"Duh, of course I know that dude. I mean why."

"There's nothing more-"

"Would it have to do with your 'primal urges'?" Utage smirked as she saw Yuki freeze up. "Bingo. Would it have to do with blood?"

"Who told you?"

"Nobody. You and Frostleaf just happened to be chatting in the hallway as I was leaving my room." Utage leaned in even further. "So what is it?"

Yuki flung his arms in the air as he fell into the porch. "Fine. I'll tell you. Just sit tight."

{ - Adventures Across Terra - }

"Going berserk after seeing a corpse?...Damn. That's crazy." Utage scratched her chin. "Vigna, you can come out now."

"What?" Yuki turned around and saw Vigna standing off around the corner of the building. "Jesus Utage, you really are scary when you get serious."

"Ehe, yeah I get that a lot."

"Coral...Why haven't you told us about this?" Vigna sat on the other side of Yuki with pursed lips as she looked at him with a conflicted expression. "Why didn't you tell us something that important?"

"I...I was going to tell you eventually..." That was all that Yuki could say.

"We're a team you know. You can't be hiding something that important like that from us."

"Yes...I know."

"I know it's scary to tell someone about something like...That. But you can trust us." Vigna placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "We still trust you."

"Really?"

"Really." Utage gave him a comforting smile. "We're friends after all."

"Yup...Of course."

"And no more secrets alright."

"No promises...But no more secrets."

{ - Adventures Across Terra - }