Two Sides of the Coin we lost

Chapter 11 - Just across the river

Ven and Mora walked along the river once more but now in the opposite direction. Mora walked in silence with a blank expression while Ven had a concerned expression. Ven then proceeded to voice his concerns.

"Mora... Back there I said I would never stop going, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"Yeah, I know. I'm helping because I want to."

"What about your brother?"

"What about him? I told you, he's gone."

"Yeah but... You were so angry before, don't you still miss him?"

"Of course I do! But being with you somehow makes me feel like... It doesn't feel real."

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't feel real that he died. It feels like when I come back he'll be there waiting for me even though I know he wouldn't. I don't wanna go back yet..."

"I'm sorry, Mor..."

"Mor?"

"Mora's too big to say sometimes, Its okay if I call you Mor?"

"Sure, Ven." Mora said with a smile on her face.

"That's how my brother called me."

"Oh... Leif calls me dummy."

"Dummy?! Isn't that more of an insult?"

"Yeah but Leif... he always called me that, I don't mind it."

"Still a weird nickname, you sure he likes you?" Mora said jokingly.

"Well... I don't think he does anymore..." Ven said, frowning.

"I'm sure he does, Ven." Mora said feeling guilty she caused Ven to feel sad."

"It's okay, Mor. I'm sure he'll forgive me once I find the fix."

"What if... There isn't a fix after all?"

"There must be one."

"I don't understand how your mark works but that couple seemed okay with it. Are you sure this is the only way to help your mate?"

"Well... talking to him didn't seem to help... He would just stare at nothing at day. I tried hugging and holding his hand but he wouldn't do or say anything and would just stay still."

"Maybe he just needed some time to think, just needed some space."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, maybe he was just trying to figure things out."

"Come to think of it... My father still talked and took care of me despite his sadness."

Mora stopped walking and mustered the courage to ask Ven a question.

"So... You wanna go back? Try to do as Ubbo and Enya did and maybe accept their offer?"

Ven stood still looking at Mora for a while, thinking.

"What if he doesn't forgive me?"

"What makes you so sure he resents you? Couldn't he be angry at himself like I was?"

"He wasn't angry... He was nothing... I think the bonding took away his feelings."

"I see..."

"Besides we're too close to the zenno to go back now, If I fix this, Leif will get his feelings back."

"I guess you got a point. I'm with you to the end, buddy!"

"Thanks, Mor. I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you."

"I'm sure you would, you're a resilient one" She chuckled.

"Tell me, what makes you like Leif so much?"

"Oh, thats easy. He's super smart, super gentle, funny, he's very handsome and has a super cute horn in the shape of a heart. I never get tired of hanging out with him, even when we have nothing to say it feels good."

"Wow... You really like him huh?"

"I do." Ven said, making a huge smile.

"What about your brother, what was he like?"

"Well, he was a real prick. Always misbehaving, disobeying me and doing whatever he wanted."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry, he had a cute side too." Mora said giggling.

"He would always say he was sorry with his head down and calling me Mor, I could never stay angry at him for long. He was super scared of thunder so whenever it rained he would always sleep with me in my bed."

"You bed? I thought you lived in the trees."

"Why? Because I'm scary looking?"

"No, because Poppy and Ruppy called your kind fruit people"

"That's... Not a good name for us..."

It neared night once again as they diverged from the river towards the mountains where some Zenno supposedly lived. Once night fell, slowly red eyes and shapes started to stare at them from a distance. Mora stood ever vigilant and she and Ven no longer exchanged words. She held her bow tight but had drawn no arrow yet for she was afraid the zenno could take it as a sign of bad faith. Before Ven and Mora reached their destination, slowly the moonshine revealed the forms on the one who stared. They were the zenno. Identical to the zeph were not for their uniform doubled and spiked horns on each side of their heads and many different red glowing marks on their chest instead of hand. Their numbers increased, in silence they approached, slowly making what seemed like a path to outside the mountains as if telling one to leave their territory peacefully or face their numbers. There were certainly more than a few zenno just across the river.