Am I Not The Hero?

Chapter 9 - Ravi Aldine

"Okay, Ravi, it's fine. You only have to get us to a city nearby. No big deal," he said to himself as he took the map out of his backpack. The sun had already begun to set, and he could barely see anything. "I should have brought a lamp with me" Ravi looked around to see if there were any bioluminescent plants around that he could use as a light source, but there was only grassland. "Alright, I guess I can try one more thing" he held his palm out and closed his eyes.

Ravi tried to concentrate on the tendrá in his body. He could feel it moving around in his body. Remembering his training, he focused only on his palm and imagined the Tendrá flowing into it. Along his shoulders, into his arms, and past his wrist. His hand started to tingle, but he didn't dare to open his eyes just yet, in fear it would disappear. He repeated the process once more, just to be sure, and then a yellow-tinted light bounced against his eyeballs.

And there it was, raw, materialized, Tendrá. He retook the map and tried to find where he was. Next to him was a lake, and he could hear the sound of waves and sealarums and since they had ridden north for a while, they had to be near the isthmus land bridge. The closest city would be Ozryn, so he took out his compass and located where south was.

"Guys! I know where we can go. Follow me," he told the group as he reached them. Draigh was still avoiding him, but he could understand he had shouted at him two times that day, both for things Draigh could not even control. Ravi was a lousy friend, wasn't he?

When they arrived in Ozryn, most of the townspeople were already asleep. Ravi had never been there or in any city that was not Pravda, so he was surprised to see how different it looked from his hometown. There were no tall row houses or any more prominent buildings. The 'streets' were only dirt paths, and the biggest house he could find was as big as Saxtans office at the Guntai Headquarters. It was mindblowing to him that people could live like this.

Luckily the 'Ozryn Inn' was still open so they could get an actual bed to sleep in. "No sir, we need five rooms, five," Z explained to the receptionist again. "I only have three left; either you take it or leave it" Z sighed and took the keys before they returned to the rest of the group. "So you guys probably heard it already, only three rooms. Should we just do it like in the Cabin?" Ravi looked at Draigh, still avoiding his gaze, but he did not say anything against Zs suggestion.

Ravis and Draighs room was on the other side of the corridor, away from the others. It was awkward, to say the least, and the tension between them was high; he could almost feel it in the air. "So, do you want to sleep on the left or the right side?" Ravi asked as he dropped his bag on one of the chairs in the corner. Draigh sat down on the couch before he responded, "Ravi, I found your letter."

Ravi turned around in shock, staring at Draigh with wide eyes as he patted down his pockets. "Look, we don't have to talk about this. I get it. Your different now, Z told me some stuff, and I get it, okay? If you don't want to be friends, that's fine with me just don't let it affect the mission."

Why did he permanently ruin his friendships? What was so fundamentally wrong with him that he made everyone hate him? The only person who ever liked him was his mother, who is now dead. Maybe that is why he pushes everyone away, to avoid getting hurt again. Or it's a curse, he thought, for not saving her that summer morning.

"It's not your fault. I am just not good at making friends; it's better if you stay away from me." Ravi told him. This is so embarrassing was the only thing he could think about. "Stay away from you? Ravi, are you kidding me?" Draigh stood up from his bed and walked towards him. "I did not spend seven years of my childhood trying to get back to Pravda, back to you for you to tell me to stay away." Draigh shouted at him, "Well, I didn't ask you to!"