Igniting Sparks

Chapter 19.5

Edited by KitWulf          22-10-2020

*

"Oh stop beating yourself up, Lucas!" Nathan sneered. "The boy was green as grass and never should've come anyway."

The weather seemed to reflect Lucas's mood as he stood with Nathan and Jeff outside a small farmhouse. Rain drizzled down on them, it not being cold enough to turn to snow or ice.

"How come Ben doesn't do anything against this kind of crap!" Stomping his foot down and throwing his hands towards the house, Lucas tried to vent some of the built-up anger inside him. "He's the fucking mayor, our leader, and yet he doesn't take care of his own! He must know the way the boy was treated by his folks!"

"Private business. You of all people should know. Ben doesn't meddle in people's private affairs." Shrugging, Nathan attempted to start walking away. "Look... Johnathan probably joined our expedition hoping that he could get out. You just got first-hand experience of how the kid was treated by his folks, they didn't think much of him and he more than likely tried proving himself over and over. Joining us and hoping to be able to catch a filthy blue-eyed was potentially his way of getting favor from his parents. By the time he realized we wouldn't get any, he probably changed his mind and ran away."

Jeff rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he watched the two other men talk. His mind was already filled to the top with everything going on regarding Sheila, so he just wanted to go home.

"Run away?" Lucas scoffed. "And where would he go?! There is no way he would survive alone out there for so long. He's been missing for five months now! We've not found a single trace of him and mysteriously, no traces of the blue-eyed snow leopards either since then! What does that tell you?!" He balled his hands into fists, ready to hit anything close by. Finding nothing in the vicinity except the two taller and bigger men, Lucas cursed loudly, gaining him two pairs of raised eyebrows.

"I see her ways are rubbing off on you, eh?" Nathan's remark made Jeff sigh and roll his eyes again.

"What? Please elaborate." Lucas was practically fuming.

Johnathan's disappearance had been chewing at him ever since and now with this talk with his parents, it hadn't helped one bit. It had been the mayor's idea as a last attempt to try and find the boy, that maybe his parents would talk more to the men who were with their son when he went missing. How wrong he had been. Besides that, Ben has also been hounding him for more information about Azura to a point it almost felt like an obsession. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone as it wasn't anyone's business but it was getting to the point where he simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh come on, you know what I mean. You're raging like a lunatic. There's only one person who could've taught you that seeing as how you used to be the calmest guy around, then you took that woman into your house. Speaking of which, How come she has no scent? Like...none at all?"

"Ok! That's it! I'm done!" Lucas turned to Jeff who silently watched him. "You, I'll see you tomorrow," Turning to Nathan, he spoke up. "And you, Get off my back, tell Ben to lay off my back too, in fact, I would appreciate if everyone would lay off my back! If Azura posed any threat to our community, Nicolai would have mentioned it by now. I trust her and if she's ready she'll tell us. Till then, I'm not going to pry. Now, enjoy the rest of your day!"

Not waiting for either to respond, Lucas started walking back to his house while swearing under his breath at the rain. Even though Jeff would have to go the exact same way, right now he just needed some alone time and perhaps a beer or two later. Besides, the big man seemed out of it the whole time as well, so Lucas guessed he needed his private time too. He could understand. One thing he preferred about guys more than women; no explanations needed and the next day, all would be good.