Legend of the Western Lands

Mercenary Squad Avil (2)

Is karma a thing? And if it is, why is Cale's so bad? It feels like his karma is not only bad but buried six feet under with no way of revival. What did he do to deserve this? All Cale did was mind his own business, yet trouble always kept finding him.

Sigh.

Choi Han was still busy attempting not to choke on his herbal beverage after Silvio decided that peace was not an option and info bombed them with a vigor that would have Cale normally impressed, if he was the one who did it and not the other way around. Judging by Darnall's deadpan face, this was a common occurrence. Cale somewhat positive opinion of Silvio instantly evaporated.

The redhead ignored the chubby dragon to his right, for now, as he couldn't publicly answer him without sounding slightly deranged. Also, Cale didn't know how far the kids went into the forest. He honestly can't imagine that the super-secret organization kept their hideout this close to a traveling road. Raon and the others must have gone quite far, in short, not his problem for now.

Turning his openly judging eyes toward the at least somewhat sheepish teal-haired man, Cale raised his brow. A stoic expression delivered his level of enthusiasm well enough.

Only half of Silvio's party was awake. Rowan and the other two drunkards did as their titles suggested and drank themselves into sleep. They didn't even manage to walk back to their tents, instead, they opted to sleep on the bug-ridden grass right next to the fire. Only Silvio and Darnall were still awake.

Vicross and Ron were sitting next to each other. Whereas Ron had a slight smile on his face and merrily drank his tea- Cale is sure that the old man kept all the lemon tea for him and Ron is actually enjoying the nice, fruity ones right now-, Vicross just sat there, stiff as a stone. His dissatisfied eyes kept looking between the teacups of Silvio and Darnall. Cale doesn't know why and also has enough self-preservation to not ask.

Eruhaben excused himself after the kids came back, taking the unruly brood with him to calm them down and not cause any chaos. Also, Cale is sure that the ancient dragon just wanted to escape as situation the involved feelings.

Only Choi Han remained next to Cale- still choking, Cale was seriously contemplating asking Vicross to hit the swordmaster's back-, holding back another sigh, the disguised redhead turned his attention toward Silvio. The other sword user sat on his log with a nostalgic expression on his face that hit far too close to home for Cale, an uneasy feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

Sadly, a retreat wasn't an option anymore. Cale was suddenly very jealous of Eruhaben who managed to avoid this discussion.

"Ah, maybe I shouldn't have said it like that.", Silvio muttered. Cale's side kept their manners and stayed quiet, while Darnall didn't see the logic behind that. "Glad that you are aware of it." The teal-haired man wasn't bothered by his companion's biting remark, instead, he focused his calm eyes on Cale. It was weird, but Silvio had the feeling that Cale, who is just a young man, has the most authority in the group.

"You guys maybe don't know the feeling, but when you lose everything you love and then have to watch the shambles of a once love-filled life, it feels like something broke and will never be the way it was. What am I even talking about? You also lost someone. I'm sorry for being an insensitive prick."

Cale's expression was blank. Silvio couldn't read anything from the young man across from him. Maybe, he will actually understand his plight better than Silvio previously assumed. Drawing wet circles across the rim of his cup, Silvio stayed silent for a few seconds. He needed the time to collect his thoughts and solve the mess he started.

"When I was younger, my family lived on a small piece of land. We were farmers. Money was always tight, yet we never stayed hungry. The love my parents gave to me and my siblings was also more than enough. ", a slight smile formed on his lips, his unfocused eyes watched a happy scene from the past, " We were content. After all, we didn't know about the big world outside."