Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 60

  
   They arrived at the Viscordian camp within the blink of an eye. There were several people milling about, and the smell of cooking food hung in the air as if preparations for a meal were being made. Beth looked around and was pleased to see that everyone there looked healthy and happy. They already looked so much different than when they'd first emerged from their old home in the cave systems. She didn't know exactly what was different, but it was definitely something. Perhaps they seemed less pale, livelier.

   "Would you like to stay for some food? There's no rush in getting back home." Jakam offered only seconds after they arrived in the middle of the camp, which was made up of tent-like structures.

   "Are you sure? Aren't the people back at your village expecting you?" Beth asked him. A smile played across her lips when Liam kept his hand clasped with hers, instead of breaking contact as everyone else had.

   "They won't start expecting us for a while yet. We made preparations for a long journey, as we had no definite idea when we would be returning." Jakam returned.

   "Then I suppose it would be our pleasure." Beth looked over at Liam, who nodded to show that he agreed.

   "Very good. The cook fire is this way." Jakam gestured with his hand towards a larger gap between two tents, leading to a small area that had been cleared of grass and brush. It was also downwind of the camp, to make sure the smoke stayed away. Beth couldn't see the actual fire from her vantage point, but a few stray wisps of smoke were visible from over the tops of the tents.

   Kelbar led the way through the gap between tents and into the clearing, but Beth stopped dead when she caught sight of something she never thought she would see. It was Aaron! She almost didn't recognize him, because he was so much thinner than she had ever seen him, and he seemed pale enough to be called sickly.

   She didn't think she would ever see him again, much less in a Viscordian camp. What was he doing there? How did he even get there? Questions immediately began to crowd her head, so she looked a bit closer to see exactly what was going on. He was sitting with his legs crossed. On either side of him was a Viscordian, sitting in the same position. They seemed to be having a conversation, though she didn't recall whether or not Aaron even knew their language. He looked happy enough though, and it occurred to her that she hadn't seen him smile before now.

   As they got closer, she could hear what they were saying, and she realized it wasn't a conversation at all. Rather, they were simply pointing out different objects and swapping words for them. The word they were swapping as the group walked up happened to be the one for 'fire.'

   "Ah! Jakam! You've returned just in time. The food is just now getting hot." One of the Viscordians—an unfamiliar male—jumped up when he saw them coming. Aaron looked up to find the cause of the interruption, and it was all too clear from the look on his face that he was extremely stunned. He rose slowly to his feet.

   "What is he doing here?" Liam leaned over to whisper in her hear. He was frowning, his eyes fixed on Aaron.

   Beth shrugged. "No clue."

   Meanwhile, Aaron continued to look shocked, and the two Viscordians had begun preparing for the meal. Soon, several servings of hot, steaming soup were served, and the guests were instructed to sit and be the first to eat. Not wanting to offend them in any way, the two sat and began to eat the fragrant broth. Aaron was still standing, seemingly unable to take his eyes off of Beth.

    "Is something wrong?" Beth tilted her head slightly, resting her bowl on her knee as she gazed up at Aaron.

   He stared for a second longer before shaking his head and taking a seat. He was served a bowl of soup.

   After a moment, more Viscordians began to trickle into the clearing until it was clear that the whole camp had shown up. Many people started cheery conversations, and Beth joined in whenever someone asked a question, or she thought she could contribute. But once again, Aaron was staring at her, and he didn't seem to be eating at all. She couldn't read his expression, so she couldn't tell if he was mad at her, or scared of her, or anything. She didn't know if she ever  wanted to find out.

   "Kelbar?" Beth finally decided to call her friend's attention. Maybe he would be able to shed some light on the mystery.

   "Yes?" he turned to her after saying a quick word to the person sitting beside him.

   "Do you know why he's here?" she spoke quietly and made a discreet gesture towards Aaron so that he wouldn't know she was asking about him. She wasn't sure about his feelings towards her, and so she was trying to be careful, in case she should accidentally make something worse.

   "We found him by the lake. He was weak from hunger and probably close to death." Kelbar explained.

   "And when was this?"

   "Only a couple of days ago."

   "Has he made any trouble?" she didn't want to think badly of him. After all, what he did had apparently been all for a worthy goal—even if it was entirely the wrong way to go about achieving it. But she just wanted to make sure.

   "Not that I know of. He seemed afraid at first. I think he believed we meant him harm."

   Beth nodded. "Okay. That makes sense."

   Kelbar nodded in return. "You can take him back with you if you'd like. He looks to have regained his strength enough to return home."

   "Okay. I'm sure he's eager to go back, seeing as he was scared." She smiled.

   "Probably, yes." He smiled back.

   Beth nodded yet again and then returned to eating her soup, which was quite good since it was almost gone anyway.

   "So Aaron was by the lake? What was he doing there? I thought he was supposed to be watched." Liam sounded almost angry. He was probably just being wary of Aaron, seeing as he had a big hand in kidnapping her. He was most likely trying to protect her, or something of the sort.

   "Who knows? But we can't be breathing down his neck all the time. That might even make the problem worse. I'm sure we're all safe." She smiled reassuringly. She didn't want him to worry. She didn't think Aaron would even try anything, after what had happened last time. And even if he did, she was still perfectly able to take care of herself.

   Liam nodded, his frown easing only slightly. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

   "I'll be fine." She leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. "You don't have to worry about me."

   He smiled. "I know, but it never hurts to be cautious."

   "Of course it doesn't, but I think a more pressing matter is the soup you're currently spilling." She pointed to the slight dribble out of his bowl with a light laugh.

   "Oh-!" he lifted his bowl upright to stop the flow.