Am I Not The Hero?

Chapter 6 - Draigh Silas

Draigh lay awake a lot longer than Ravi did. Especially since he snored but also because so many thoughts were flying around his brain at the time, and he couldn't get it to shut up. At one point, he decided to just go for a walk since lay around wasn't solving the problem.

The storm had stopped, but it still smelled like rain when he stepped outside. Silva was already beautiful in the daytime, but it was even more mesmerizing at night. All the trees and flowers were bioluminescent, and he was swallowed by all the different lights. He wandered around for a while, looking at all the exciting things around him. Only now did he realize how much he actually had missed Esperar. In comparison to earth, this planet was heaven.

Every plant and every animal worked together to create the best environment for one another, like one big family. Even the smallest insects and giant mammals did—all beings fueled by Tendrá, the essence of all living things.

When Ravi first told him about this, Draigh thought he was crazy. But the more he explained, the more he wanted to hear about it. The day Ravi showed him how to use it was probably one of the happiest days he had ever experienced. It was a sunny spring afternoon, and they had gone to the river outside Pravda. There Ravi revealed to him that he had practiced his use of Tendrá. He forged his hands into a ball and closed his eyes, saying that it would help him concentrate on it more. And then a yellow light illuminated past his fingers. Ravi was so excited that he immediately hugged Draigh and turned it off again.

On the second try, Ravi even got it to move around in the air. He explained that only a few elves knew how to do this since it requires a lot of training, and not many people were ready to put all that work in. To this day, he was fascinated by it and what things you could accomplish if you could perfect your skills.

They read books about healing, growing plants, creating beautiful illusions, breathing underwater, and even teleportation. But with every good thing, there comes bad. Stories about tyrannic Dictators using it to mind control other people or even go as far as pulling out ones Tendrá, which would lead to immediate death. But all of that happened centuries ago, and due to technological advances, anyone barely used it anyway. Why train for years on end to heal someone if you can just go to the nearest Hospital?

He wandered around the forest until the first sunbeams shone through the trees' leaves. He tried to sneak back into the cabin quietly as he could to not wake any others up and headed into the kitchen. He checked all the cupboards and drawers, but no food was left. „I already checked all of those" he spun around in shock. „Geez, Z, don't scare me like that. Why are you even up already? It's like 5 am." They leaned against the doorframe playing around with something that looked similar to a butterfly knife. „Yea, I overslept; normally, I'm awake by 4 am, at latest 4.30 am. I would be on cleaning duty for the rest of the month if we were at the academy."

Draigh didn't know much about Z. They had only met a few times when he was younger, and Ravi mentioned them a few times when talking about his time at the academy, but that's all. „So you're still going there then?" He said to keep the conversation going. „Yeah, I didn't pass the final exams because I wasn't cooperating enough with my teammates. It's not my fault that they're useless idiots. But it doesn't matter; I'll repeat the year. It's fine." He didn't know what to say next. Talking to Z has always been a little awkward; he could never tell if they liked what he was saying or if they wanted to put a bullet into their head.

„Well, I'll try to sleep for a few more hours then" he rushed past them and up the stairs. Ravi was still asleep when he reached the attic. He looked so peaceful curled up in his blanket; even the snoring had stopped. So he laid down next to him and finally fell asleep too.

When he opened his eyes, he needed a moment to adjust. Everything was too bright, and there was spit rolling down his cheek. He wiped it away and stood up from the bed. Ravi had already left, so he made his way down the stairs to see where he went. After reaching the ground floor, Draigh could already hear the others chatting. "-And I told him that it's a bad idea, but he would not listen." He heard Ravi say, and everyone laughed.

"Hey, guys, what's so funny?" "Draigh! You're finally awake. I've just been telling them the story about how you fell into the river one day and had to walk home like you pissed yourself," he continued laughing. "You're never going to let me forget that story, are you?" Draigh threw a pillow at Ravi as revenge and sat on the sofa beside him.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Esme asked into the round

"Well, I was thinking about going back to Pravda and then getting brunch; what about you guys?"

"I love brunch, but Akira, I meant, what are we going to do about the evil people that are going after our friend."

"Oh yeah, right. I still want brunch first though I can't function when I'm hungry."

Esme and Akira continued to bicker about if waffles or pancakes were the tastier meal, so he tried to ignore that and think of an actual plan. "Returning to Pravda might not even be such a bad idea," Z said, who had been quiet up until now. "Even though the cabin is nice, we have no way of defending it if they come back." They were sure the cabin was in the middle of the woods and pretty much hidden from the outside world, but if Tmesis got into the forest, they could easily circle them with a way for the group to escape.

"What if we just go to them? They're not going to expect that, so we have the surprise element on our side, and if we get back to Pravda first, we could pick up weapons and food for the way." Ravi's plan wasn't half as bad as he thought it would be, "yeah, sounds good. Let's do that. I'll just go get my shoes; I left them in the attic."

As he walked down the stairs again, he could already see the others waiting at the door for him. "Does everyone have their stuff, then?" Z asked, and the group nodded. The sun blinded him es he went through the door. The smell of the rain had blown away and so did all the lights, making him wonder if they were even there in the first place.

The walk back to Pravda was hoorible. The sun was pounding on their heads and they didn't bring any water with them. „Somebody please kill me. I can't handle this anymore" Esme moaned „No, guys, you shouldn't kill her, you should kill me instead." Akira said as he pushed her away. „If you do no shut up I will shove my dagger so far up your a-„ „Guys, look" Ravi interrupted Z and pointed towards the bushes. „What do you mean? They're just bushes" Draigh pointed out „No, they're not just bushes they are a specific plant that only grows near the-„ „Vulcan Lake!" Esme and Akira shouted as they ran towards it.

Turns out there were quiet a few bushes they had to get past before finally reaching the lake itself but it was worth it. Ravi and Draigh decided to take it easy with going in but Esme and Akira barged right in, splashing water around. „Z you gotta come in too" They from the middle of the lake.

„I'll wait! It's not that hot anyway"

„Come on it's going to be fun"

They declined the offer nonetheless and Akira and Esme went back to splashing eachother. „Do you know why Z won't come in? Do they just not like swimming?" Draigh asked his friend as they stepped deeper into the lake. „I think it's more about taking their clothes off. They always had that sorta issue when I was still in the academy and we had to change in the changing rooms. I think it might be because of their scars but I don't know"

Draigh didn't want to prester the issue even more so he let it be at that. „Come on we should dunk their heads in the Water" he suggested and swam towards the others.

„You do know that Akira can breath underwater do you?"

"No, I did not, but it's going to be fun anyway"

They slowly sneaked up on the others diving underwater so they couldn't see the two. After they reached the others, Ravi gave Draigh a thumbs up, and at the same time, they emerged from the water taking the other too right down again with them.

They laughed and had fun just like young adults were supposed to. Even Z got into the water up to their ankles and splashed everyone with water. Draigh was happy, truly happy. Ridiculously happy even, he was grinning from ear to ear and nothing could have ruined it at that moment.

Except something did.

The Siren did.

(1601 Words)