Guardian of Elements

Chapter 37 - Ingenuity

The two Guardians went back to the den. Kate was deep in her thoughts. Again, she learned so much more about the world. She was maybe even immortal. What would that mean for her? And the Guardian of Minds had been able to contain the threat of humans, almost negate it. She even managed to unlock its secret, something that Verilion struggled to do for three years. And why? Only because of her love to the human girl. Another proof that Raya was wrong.

"Do you want one?"

She was torn out of her line of thoughts by Arneia, who sat down next to her and offered her a blackberry. She remembered what Eriana said about her not having to eat, but she took it anyway, just for the taste.

Arneia put her hand into the basket again and took another one. Kate was intrigued by the craft. Her basket was made from some tall grass, tangled together into a shallow bowl.

"You made this?" she asked her.

"This? Yes, I like to craft things from what I can find around here. Wait, I'll show you something."

She went into the den and returned with a piece of husk with a stick stuck into it and a leaf attached to the stick.

"What is that?" asked Kate, admiring the handcraft.

"A boat. I remember them from my village. Men were using them to travel off shore for fishing."

"This? You mean as a bait? It looks too fragile to be able to float."

"No, the real ones were bigger, made from hollowed trunks and leather. You've never seen one?"

"No. There aren't any humans in my dom... my home." She was still cautious about revealing too much to her. She knew how she reacted when Kate asked her about the Guardian of Minds. For her, she was probably just a talking blue cat with a strange pendant.

"Oh, you must be from afar then, Eri told me that there are many humans here. But that they are bad, that they would leave me in the woods alone just like they did when I was young." She shivered at the thought and leaned against Eriana.

"Young? You were six, or that's what I've been told."

"Humans age much slower than we do," said Eriana. "I think that by human standards, she's not even adult yet."

"After... thirteen years you said? Wow, that's weird."

"What's weird about it, how old are you then?" the girl asked her.

"Nevermind."

Kate shivered too as the cold breeze from the mountains passed through the meadow.

"It's getting cold. Night is inbound," said Eriana and stood up. So did Arneia and ran to the nearest trees and began gathering sticks.

"Never stay outside in these lands during nights," Eriana told Kate. "You'd have to keep fire all around you the entire night to not freeze."

"Then what is she doing?" Kate nodded towards the girl.

"You'll see human ingenuity now. I know you can create fire easily, but let her do it, you'll be quite amazed."

Kate remembered the human back in Lerinth's forest, how he was cutting down small trees and throwing them into the fire. She was hoping that Arneia wouldn't be so careless.

After some time, the girl returned with a handful of sticks and branches. She led the two closer to the den and put the wood down into a small circle of stones, full of ash. Then, she went into the shallow cave and returned with another stick and a bit of dried grass. She knelt next to the stone circle, found a bigger piece of bark and put the grass into it, then stabbed the stick into it and began swirling it rapidly with her hands.

"Um, are you sure that this'll work? It's getting quite cold already..." Kate was itching to just spark the flame to life.

"Yes, but it takes some time. Be patient," she answered.

"How was she able to learn it?" Kate turned to Eriana. "I doubt those evil humans were able, much less willing to show her."

"I showed her an image of humans who were igniting fire this way in the wilds, before they've been corrupted. They often sat around a campfire, telling strange tales. Sometimes, I hid nearby and listened, and I saw them making fire several times. Arneia was able to mimic them and learn it."

"But she doesn't know about..." Kate whispered so only the Guardian of Minds could hear it, and she nodded back.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting and trying to catch the warmth of last sunrays of the day, Kate had enough of it. She lay down to cover her gem and whistled silently. The grass under Arneia's hands caught fire and she quickly leaned back.

"Wow, that was fast," she said, and she quickly added a few sticks in to support the fire.

"Fast? How long would it take otherwise?"

"What do you mean, otherwise? Usually it takes like half an hour."

"Half an hour? Well, I am glad that I am... from warmer climates then." She still couldn't understand why Eriana has kept the truth about Guardians away from her. But it was her call.

Daylight was almost gone now. Kate went into the den, which was being lit by shimmering lights of the fire now. As she was lying down, she noticed strange paintings on the wall behind her. There were mostly humans, but animals too and something like trees.

"You made those, Arneia?" she asked her.

"Oh, yes, with a bit of clay and water. It's quite boring here sometimes, you know. With Eri gone so often, I have to find myself some fun," she replied as she sat next to the fire.

"Oh, I see. And you won't be sleeping tonight?"

"Not now, I have to keep the fire burning, ensure that it won't go out in the middle of the night. Igniting it again would be next to impossible in the darkness. Not to mention the freezing cold."

"Well, I think that you can go to sleep, this fire won't die out," said Kate, as she infused it with her power, making it fueled not by wood but by magic.

"How can you be so sure? You don't even know how to start one."

"Well, if you think so..." she winked at Eriana. "But I mean it, come and get some rest."

"Well, if you insist..." She went to the Guardian of Minds and lay down next to her to share some body warmth. "Good night everyone."