Marcilene, Steel and I all finished getting things for the going away party.
Foods, some snacks and since Marcilene was so insistent on it.
She got a gift for Wes.
I hold it in my hand as Steel holds literally all the food, in a basket, the place that we went to had a very nice old man that was more than happy to provide a basket for us.
Tossing it in the air and feeling the coldness of the silver that is on the necklace that she bought.
Her head right next to mine as we look at it.
"Be careful!"
She tells me as she grabs for it.
Her head covering over her to stop people from seeing her ears.
"This is for Wes, what will happen if he doesn't get the gift?"
"Nothing, because if we broke or lost the gift he'd never know because we wouldn't have shown it to him."
We pass a couple more people at the same time as the sign to return to the village.
"Well, let's not make a mistake and break the necklace."
Steel says with his voice talking calmly.
"Yeah. I don't plan to break it."
I nod along with her.
"But Marci..? Why a necklace?"
"Yeah Marci? Why?"
Steel asks the same question I asked about, giving her the question twice.
"Well, I fill like it'll be a very good thing to have in someone, and plus it's from us, since we are like family to him. It'd be good for him to feel a small part of us with him at all times."
She says with a smile as she spins her face at us, then back forward.
"WOW…? That was unexpectedly smart."
I say.
A hard punch hits my shoulder.
Making me wince.
"Shut up Lazi."
Her punch was very strong for a girl that is stuck at home a lot.
"Ouch! Why did that hurt so much."
Steel chuckles a bit.
"She still is my daughter."
"Yeah… more like a monster…"
I feel a slight sting in the words I say.
"Didn't mean it like that."
I say as I look at Marcilene.
"Like what?"
I sigh in relief a bit.
"It's nothing."
"Okay then…?"
She says.
We inch closer to the house and many people passing and some even staring at me, maybe because of the eye patch but I don't concern myself with that.
"So Lazi? How does the patch feel?"
Steel asks as we walk.
"It feels good really, just like before, but this one is really different, it's like it makes itself strap just right along my head, not tight enough to squeeze my head but really just right."
"Like it can strap itself.."
He chuckles at what I said. But me and Marcilene both look back to him as we walk a tad slower so we don't fall.
"It did strap itself."
"I was there for that."
We say to defend both of our positions.
"Wait really?"
"Yeah."
Steel squints his eyes when we say that.
"Damn, Flock is either a big genius or he's been making some big friends."
"Yup!"
Marcilene says as we make it to the house going through the gate to the front door inside.
"Okay guys…"
Steel says as we enter:
"…just do a bit of fixing upping in here and we should be able to be done cooking by tonight."
"You're going to use the pit?"
I ask.
Marcilene begins to take off the head covering.
"Why wouldn't he?"
"No. I was just asking."
"Yeah, I'm going to use it."
"Cool. Can I help?"
I ask.
Steel looks at me suspiciously for a second.
"Sure. I don't mind and plus I feel like it's been a while since we've had a bonding moment."
Steel then turns his head to Marcilene.
"You okay with cleaning inside Marci?"
Steel asks.
"Yeah. You two go ahead."
She nods and waves us off.
I smile at her.
"Thank you."
"Your welcome."
Both Steel and I exit the house and go around back.
Wood is stacked beside the grill place.
Steel sets down all the foods, in the basket, which is mostly just uncooked meats.
Steel tosses a good amount of wood into the bottom and begins to chant in a language that I really should learn, then fire appears briefly in his hand before it flies and hits the wood, sparking the fire for the heat needed for the grill.
"We're just going to let the grill fire itself up."
He says as he backs away and puts his hand to my chest to softly push me back as well.
"Yeah, okay."
I take the steps back as he pushes.
Steel stops then looks down to me, his hair falling just to slightly cover his face a little.
His body still towering over my small frame.
"How do you feel?"
I look up at the sky, seeing the weather warm, then look at the grill.
"Warm? It's not really hot."
Steel lets out a small laugh.
"Not about the weather or the grill. About tomorrow."
"Oh… about leaving?"
"Yeah."
He looks at the grill for a second then back at me:
"How are you feeling?"
I lift my hands then stretch my fingers.
"I feel fine. But the anxiety will probably set in when we leave… it's probably the same for Wes… or maybe not, he's got a different type of strength compared to me."
"And why do you say that?"
"I don't know. It just seems like that."
"And you're saying your not strong?"
"No, I know I'm strong, but I don't understand the best things when it comes to most people, like anxiety and stuff… I mean, I've only been here for my life, so leaving would be difficult process… or not, I don't know."
I shrug my shoulders. Feeling unsure of my choice of actions now.
"You getting cold feet now, Lazi. I can tell."
"Nuh… No? Or, I'm not very sure…"
My body gets this slight shift in my heart.
"You don't want to leave now?"
My breath now feels a bit harder to push through my lungs out my nose.
"I… Yeah… I uh… I think I do."
"You think?"
Steels words sounds heavily judgmental.
"No. No. I do."
My breath feels much harder to push out my nose, a feel my hands getting really sweaty, along with my hands start to shake very subtly, that I don't even notice it very well.
"So, you feel goood bout leaving?"
"No. I don't… I… I think I'm scared."
My hand now shake even more, and my hands around the only things that start to sweat, and not from the fire from the grill.
Bringing my hands together, I hold myself steady.
"Are you okay?"
Steels eyes look at me with much worry.
He kneels down and puts his hands on my shoulders.
"Steel… I'm scared… like, like really scared."
My breathing takes its turn, from calm to haggard.
"I never noticed it until now, but I'm scared. I thought I'd be fine."
My hands begin to shake as they are together.
"Hey. Hey. You're okay Lazuli."
He pulls me closer and pulls me into a hug.
"You'll be fine."
He looks me in the eye.
"Steel… Steel, I've never been too far from here… what.. what if I…?"
"No…"
He shushes me:
"Don't ever think of anything bad. Never think bad thoughts. If you think bad, bad things happen."
He hugs me tighter.
"Lazuli…"
He pulls back for me to see his face, he finger wipes tears I didn't even know was falling. Even some that spilling from under my eye patch, it still fell through the fabric:
"…you will be strong, and you will be smart, Sply is a person that isn't very good when it comes to expressing emotion, but she is very smart, she won't do something that'll end up making you hurt yourself."
Steel says and he grips my hands in his.
"Don't ever feel like you'll end up hurt, because she'll be there to protect you."
My heart starts to slow in beats as he holds my hand.
'Is this what my father would have been like if he had been there for me?'
My eye feel stinging, but not the same as when it was a few years ago, but instead the actual pain of being dry.
I hug Steel tightly, wrapping my arms as tight as I can.
"Thank you da…"
I stop myself, afraid to say that simple word: Dad
"Thank you Steel."
He hesitated for a moment then hugged me back, his arms holding me tightly.
"You're Welcome Lazuli. And you'll never have to worry about feeling like we are too far from you."
He pulls back once more smiling at me with a bittersweet smile.
He then puts his finger to my chest. Tapping where my heart would be.
"Because the heart is where we will always be, no matter what happens, no matter where we end up, or how far we move away from each other, be it in life or death. We will always be together."
He ruffles my hair, as the shaking slowly stops.
"Me.."
He points to himself:
"Marci…"
Then to the house:
"And You. Even if it's only in your heart."
We pause to share a small laugh.
"We will all be in your heart."
He smiles at me and I smile as well.
"You understand?"
"Yes."
I nod my head at him.
"Okay."
Stands up now. His hand still on my shoulder as he stands tall.
"The grill should be done by now."
He waves me over as he walks closer to the grill.
"How's that scar feeling now?"
I smile and move closer to him as we begin to converse in more happy or nice manner.
We begin to put meats on the grill, cooking the foods that are there for us to eat.
Steel starts to use the grill first, making me watch as he shows me what to do, even if I already know what to do.
We talk about things that he has done from a young age as well, laughing about the funny things he did.
Then he hands me the tongue, to try and turn the meat for a while. I'm just the right height to be able to grab and turn the meat, but that also means that I'm the perfect height to also get hit with the smoke.
As I try to bob and weave out of the way of the smoke to get to the meat, it begins to make my eyes feel so dry, making my eyes water to try and stop that.
Steel watches me and laughs as that happens, slapping his knee and everything.
Finally I manage to get at an angle the makes me able to turn the meat on the grill, which gives a nice sizzle sound.
Soon after that Wes and Rez come around back, wearing white-tees and shorts.
And for some reason Rez looks weird to me…
Is it the stubble on his face, maybe not. Oh. It's his side, I've never seen him without his sword, it's like a needed accessory for him.
Rez and Wes wave then come over.
"Nice eye patch?"
Wes says.
"Yeah thanks."
"Is that really an eye patch?"
Rez says.
"That is what I said!"
Steel jumps in.
"Yeah, it is."
I say semi-annoyed.
"Okay."
Wes says, before coming to help.
We converse until the sun comes down, putting the meats back into the basket and going back inside, to find that the table we're set for everything to be put down.
Soon everyone sets down on the table and we all enjoy the meal as we talk.
Fully enjoying the day before we end up separating, both me and Wes.
"So Lazuli? How do you feel about leaving tomorrow?"
Glee asks.
A smile plastered on her face as she looks at me, taking a bite of my food.
"I… well before I was scared. I was about ready to change my mind for a second, but Steel helped convince me to go."
I pause and smile at her.
"I feel good about being able to go now."
Glee smiles as everyone else does as well.
"Oh. I got you this gift. I didn't know what you were interested in or how you would like to pass time. So I got something that would just be helpful to you."
Glee reaches down beside her and pulls out of nowhere a book.
A regular book, with an indent of an arrow on it that seems kinda corny, but nice.
She holds a pencil on the top where she doesn't block the view of the book and hands it to me.
"I thought I'd be good for you to write down your thoughts, since I heard there are times when you end up angry and hurt."
Glee says, a sad smile on her face now as everyone looks.
"Thank you."
I grab it standing up to reach a tad closer and grab it.
Marcilene seems to have a lightbulb moment.
"Oh way! I have a gift for Wes too!"
Marcilene says as she gets up and runs back up to the stairs running up, then with heavy footsteps she looks around her room.
Wes turns to me, since he is sat beside me.
"She has a gift for me?"
"Yeah. She was very insistent on it."
Wes grows a blush a tad bit.
"Dude…"
I wave him closer to me.
He turns his ear to me.
"I don't mind that you like her, but if you don't tell her now, you may not be able to later."
We separate now.
Marcilene comes back down.
He nods to me.
"Okay."
Elsa looks to us, from across the table.
"What'd you tell him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"What?"
"What?"
She sighs.
"Nevermind."
"Okay."
Marcilene stops at the table and shows the necklace to Wes.
"Here! It's a necklace!"
She sits down and slides the sliver across the table and smiles at him.
Wes smiles as he blushes at her.
"Thank you."
Wes says as his hand slightly brushes Marcilene's. His face grows a bit more red.
"You're Welcome."
Everyone at the table begins to looks around themselves, with the exception of Marcilene and Wes.
Wes looks down in embarrassment and Marcilene just looks at Wes as he grabs the necklace.
Glee, Steel and Rez laugh, not to hard but just enough.
"Wes… Do you…"
Steel tries to finish his sentence.
"No!"
Elsa says before anything else comes out.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about the time I… have nothing… just no."
"Okay."
Steel says very clearly knowing, but not scared that Marcilene has a secret admirer.
Soon everyone leaves and the food is finished, as time goes on there is many plates and stuff that everyone helps to clean the place.
Slowly conversing in a way that makes it known that they are tired but still wanting to talk.
It takes about another thirty minutes of this as they end up leaving. And heading back to their own house.
I wave them off before closing the door and making the fire die before I lay on the couch on sleep, soundlessly.
Not before lifting the book, opening it and writing down.
Day before I left, It was an amazing night.
~~~
The morning comes like a train.
Fast and loud as Steel wakes me up, harshly.
With Sply behind, not only Steel but Marcilene as well, who's wearing a dress.
"Let's go. We are going to say goodbye, to both You and Wes today."
The sun shines on my face, making me throw my feet to the ground holding my book in my hands, I drop it to my side of the couch then go to the kitchen to wash face.
Forgetting I have the eye patch on, the water splashes onto it, feeling the fabric I remember it on my face, I try wiping off the water to feel no sign of wetness on it.
'Dang this is really good!'
Steel holds my bag of stuff that I've had packed for a week already and hands it to me, the bag full of many things like a sleeping bag, some food, a canteen and clothes for the journey, and since Steel was very nice to me a pouch of coin.
"You ready?"
Steel asks.
I nod as I put on my sandals.
"Good. Let's go."
Sply says, not wanting to be here too long.
Putting on my backpack I strap it tight to my shoulders, then grabbing my bow, I sling it over my arm.
Holding it tight.
Before walking out, I nearly forget the going away gift I got.
I run into the living room, before running out and grab the book, with the pencil inside and we all go outside.
The walk to the square isn't long, but as we get there, many people gather as they all hug cry and laugh with people that are wearing all different types of armor and holding different weapons as a horse drawn cart like thing has them getting into the back and sitting on the wooden back of it.
We continue walking until we see Glee, walking to her, weaving through people we also end up seeing the whole family.
We wave to Glee, Glee waves to us, and we all huddle together.
Wes looking a tad nervous about leaving… or something else.
Wes looks up from the ground for a second to look at Marcilene.
He takes a deep breath and walks to us.
We all pause.
"How you feel Wes?"
Steel asks him as Rez comes up from beside him.
"Nervous, scared, but I know I'll be fine, this is something I've wanted since I was two."
He says with a sliver of confidence and a bit of fear.
"Marci…"
Wes says pausing for a bit.
"Can I talk to you, privately."
She gives Wes a confused look but nods.
"Okay."
They separate from the rest of us.
Elsa walks to me.
"Is he gonna..?"
"I don't know. Why ask me?"
"Because he was the last one you talked to last night."
"And?"
She punches my shoulder, rather hard.
"And?! That means you know something."
Steel, Rez and Glee look at both Elsa and Elsa.
"Is he going to ask her?"
"I don't know?"
We say at the same time.
"Maybe."
I say.
Sply looks around the place. Then walks off.
"Maybe, What?"
Elsa asks.
"I don't know."
Sply comes back and taps my shoulder.
"We're going now Lazuli."
Sply says in her calm tone.
"Now?"
"Yes."
Sply doesn't sound too concerned for my need to my goodbyes, but I understand.
"Okay."
Steel and everyone else overhears our conversation.
And he hugs me.
As he does that both Wes and Marcilene comes back.
"OKAY PEOPLE AND KNIGHTS OF VIRVANUM! We're leaving!"
A man says calling out to young and old knights alike as they board the cart.
Wes doesn't talk to anyone as he looks really red faced, with embarrassment.
He kisses his mother, hugs his father.
Waves to his sister then with a pack and a sword by his side, he climbs aboard.
"That's our cue as well, Lazuli."
Sply says.
Then before I walk Marcilene hugs me with a red face, not as red as Wes, but still and I smile.
"See you Marci, Bye Steel."
Sply already began to walk away from me.
I run to catch up with her after giving her a hug back.