The Promise Path

~ Chapter Nine ~

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In the morning, Avery is back on the windowsill gazing out at the forest. She has been there for hours, hoping the sight of the tranquil forest would lull her to sleep. It didn't. She stares out at the forest, letting her mind wonder. She doesn't really think about anything specific. Her mind casually drifts between thoughts that aren't too serious and have nothing to do with the quest they are going on today. Avery is brought back from her wandering mind when she hears Lucy start to anxiously stir very early in the morning, like Avery thought would happen. She turns to watch over her friend, ready to wake Lucy if needed.

Lucy wakes up on her own a few moments later. She slowly blinks open her eyes and immediately freaks out when she doesn't see Avery in the bed next to her own. Lucy is about to jump out of bed when Avery's voice turns her attention to the window,

"Good morning Lucy." Avery greets in a soft voice, typical of her. Lucy stares quizzically at Avery.

"Why are you awake so early? Also, why are you back on the windowsill?" Lucy asks her friend, then noticing the dark bags under Avery's usually lively dark brown eyes. Lucy can tell that Avery barely got any sleep, if she slept at all. Worry immediately fills her at the thought. She doesn't know what she would do if she lost Avery. Other than her younger brother Larry, Avery is the only person that Lucy gets along with and cares for, and maybe even... loves. Lucy is surprised at her own thought. Is she actually in love with Avery? Has her crush escalated that much without her even realizing? Lucy decides to push that mental debate to the side for now while she focuses on her tired friend.

"I was looking out at the forest, hoping it'd help me fall..." Avery pauses for a brief moment while she considers whether she should tell Lucy about her completely sleepless night or not. She decides against it and continues almost immediately, "back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. As you see, it didn't work." Avery shrugs and smiles brightly at Lucy, trying to get rid of the clear worry in Lucy's green eyes.

"Well maybe you can get some rest while we're traveling." Lucy suggests, but both her and Avery know that won't happen if Avery has to travel anywhere close to Cassius, which seems like what will happen when they finally depart later in the morning. "Anyway, why did you think looking at the forest would help?" Lucy wonders. Avery stares at Lucy for a long moment before blushing slightly and turning away to look back out the window, hoping her dark skin hid the blush enough so Lucy couldn't see. Avery then answers,

"Over the years I've noticed that I have been able to find peace in the forest, with how peaceful I feel seeming to increase slowly over time. I don't really know why it's been happening, as far as I know I don't have any Earth Witches or Warlocks in my family, and I don't know what else could cause the feeling."

"Huh, that's interesting. We'll have to look into that eventually." Lucy responds. Avery makes an agreeing noise, now thinking about the possibilities. The only thing she can think of is it's somehow because Lucy has been her one and only friend since they were both four years old, but she hasn't heard of anything like that happening before. Avery doesn't even know if it's possible.

Lucy sits on her bed and looks out the window past Avery, who is sitting on the windowsill with her knees tucked into her chest and her back against the wall. The silence between them continues for awhile, but it is not awkward. This will sometimes happen with them. Since they've known each other for so long, 12 years to be exact, the silences between them are rarely (if ever) awkward or uncomfortable. Avery usually lets the silences stretch out for as long as possible but this time, her fear pushes her to break it as she seeks reassurance from Lucy,