The riverside was dead quiet. Yet strangely, the silence didn't choke her the way it usually did. It didn't feel heavy anymore.
Nearly a month had passed since they first crossed paths among the rotting roots of the Burnt Grove. It was a short time, really, but it felt like a lifetime. They had shared just about everything since then. They had split the skulls of low-grade demons in the dark , bickered over stale, rock-hard bread, and huddled shivering under a single cloak while the rain threatened to wash them away.
Even so, Kaera had always seen them as two parallel lines. Walking side by side, but never truly touching. To her, they were just traveling companions. No more, no less. But tonight, the lines were beginning to blur.
The fire crackled between them. Kaera sat with her back against a stone, knees drawn up. Her katana lay beside her, close enough to grab. But her hand wasn't on it. That was new.
Across the fire, Eira was playing with water again. Droplets floated in the air, catching the firelight. She twirled her finger, and they spun like tiny stars.
The atmosphere was too quiet. Too peaceful. And that peace was slowly chipping away the walls Kaera had spent years building around herself.
"Eira."
Kaera's voice broke the silence. It sounded fragile, almost swallowed by the whisper of the cold night wind.
Eira immediately stopped her little water dance. The droplets fell back into the river with soft splashes.
"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow, looking at Kaera with the faint smile that almost always rested on her face.
Kaera still didn't look at her. Her gaze remained fixed on the darkening horizon, watching the stars as though they were silently judging her.
"Why do you keep following me?"
The question hung there. Eira tilted her head, thinking.
"Because you never told me to leave."
Kaera looked at her. Really looked. Eira wasn't joking. That made it worse.
Kaera fell silent. She had expected something logical. Something about a mission, fate, or repaying a debt. Reasons that made sense. Instead, Eira had given the most human answer possible.
The corner of Kaera's lips lifted slightly. It was a rare smile, thin as a strand of silk, but completely real. She took a long breath, gathered the courage to push a little deeper, wanting to test just how far Eira's loyalty truly went.
"What if I told you I will hunt every demon to the very end? No matter what."
Eira shrugged. "Then I'd ask why."
Kaera lowered her head slightly, letting her hair hide part of her expression. She picked up a small stone and rolled it between her fingers before tossing it down the hill. It bounced once, twice, then disappeared into the darkness.
"I was eight."
"My mother died in front of me. She died trying to save me. The demons came looking for my father."
She paused, her fingers tightening around the dirt.
"I don't even know who he really was. But that night.. I saw him fight." She swallowed. "He wasn't normal." Her voice dropped. "The way he moved... I've never seen anyone move like that."
Her fingers slowly curled into a fist.
"And before they dragged him into that portal, he looked at me." Her voice faltered for a moment. "Like he was telling me not to follow. Like he knew something I didn't."
A hollow laugh escaped her.
"Then, I found out I could do things. With blood. My own blood." She stared at her palm.
"Humans can't do that." A beat of silence.
"So maybe..." Her gaze dropped. "Maybe I'm one of them too." She said it flat. Like she'd said it to herself before. Many times.
Eira didn't answer right away. She just sat there, watching Kaera's face.
"I don't know what he is," Kaera continued. "I don't know why he left. I don't know why he just... gave up, when he should have fought to his last breath." Her voice cracked. Just a little.
"But I need to find him. I want to hear it from him. Whatever the reason was... I want him to tell me himself."
Her eyes lowered again.
"Because I don't know what I'm supposed to feel anymore." A faint tremor passed through her voice.
She looked at Eira. Her eyes were dry. But raw.
"Should I hate him? Or... should I forgive him?" Her eyes began to glisten. The reflection of the fire trembled inside the tears gathering there. But she bit her lip. Not a single tear fell.
For ten years she had trained herself to become as hard as stone. And tonight, she refused to let that wall collapse completely.
Eira didn't answer with words. She stood up. Walked around the fire. Sat down beside Kaera. Close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
"I don't know," Eira said quietly. "But you don't have to figure it out tonight."
"And most importantly… you don't have to carry this burden alone."
Kaera slowly turned toward her. This time, she didn't avoid Eira's gaze. In the elf girl's eyes, she didn't see pity. Only understanding.
"I trust you," she said. Quiet. Barely there.
"But I can't promise I'll always be okay."
A soft, genuine smile touched Eira's lips. Warm enough to make the cold night vanish."That's fine," she said gently.
"I'll be there when you are okay... and I'll still be there when you're not."
Silence returned. But instead of awkward silence, the two girls were enveloped in a soft night breeze that brushed through their hair. Fireflies emerged from the bushes to circle the dying campfire like tiny, glowing sparks carried on the air.
"You know what I think?" said Eira after a moment, her eyes on the sky.
Kaera glanced at her.
"I think you're really bad at talking about yourself."
Kaera blinked. "...What?"
Eira smiled. "You finally tell me something serious, and somehow you still make it sound like it doesn't matter."
Kaera looked away, staring into the dying embers. "It doesn't."
"See? You're doing it again."
Kaera clicked her tongue quietly, but didn't argue.
Eira laughed under her breath, then looked back up at the vast expanse above them."But..." Her voice softened.
"I think you've been carrying all of this by yourself for a long time. That's why you keep pushing people away."
Kaera's fingers tightened around her sleeve.
Eira looked at her for a moment before continuing. "Not because you don't care about them."
She gave a small shrug. "Maybe you just... don't want to get too close. Because if you let someone get close, then losing them would hurt a lot."
Kaera didn't answer.
Eira looked back at the fire." I think that's what you're afraid of."
Kaera remained silent. Eira watched her for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "Anyway... you're stuck with me."
Kaera looked at her. "What?"
"You heard me." A faint grin tugged at Eira's lips. "So don't bother trying to push me away."
Kaera stared at her for a few seconds before looking back at the fire. "...You're annoying."
"Yeah, I've been told."
Despite herself, Kaera smiled. It was small. Barely there. But Eira noticed.
After that, neither of them said much. They just sat there, listening to the fire crackle and the river flowing. A cricket chirped in the distance.
Kaera slowly loosened her grip on her sleeve. Her problems hadn't disappeared. Her questions were still there. So was the fear she'd carried since she was eight.
But for tonight, at least...She didn't feel like she had to carry them alone.
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