"I say we set camp here."
Tatanka didn't respond. He just set his baggage on the ground and laid out the deer hide he would sleep on.
"I'll grab some wood for the fire."
"Nayavu."
The young man turned around. It had been a while since Tatanka last spoke, so it must have been something important.
"Something's still bothering you, right?"
This time, it was the boy who had lost his use for words. While a short introspection did help him break free from the cycle of despair he'd been trapped in, that only did for him what applying pressure would do to a cut off leg. The harsh winds, together with the sight of another elemental representative, kept Nayavu's unpleasant memories fresh, opening untreated wounds in his heart. He tried his best not to show it, but it was obvious that the boy was still on the edge.
"You don't need to rush things. Take your time finding suitable wood."
Another act of kindness from Tatanka-Ska—one that only the boy could pick up on. Nayavu smiled, nodded, and ran off in the distance.
Meanwhile, the man pulled out a slingshot, aimed it at the sky, and shot down a bird with almost no effort. Food was ready and waiting to be cooked.
*****
In his search for wood, Nayavu's mind filled with troubling thoughts. In hindsight, his situation was not looking any better. His understanding of the world around him was apparently still lacking, and his current life did not show signs of longevity. He was again on the losing side of a war, this time aware of the outcome.
The young man took a deep sigh. The only progress he had made in a while was the voice he heard in that empty space.
"But what does 'no next time' even mean? I've come back many times since, haven't I?"
Sometimes obtaining an answer is only detrimental to solving the mystery. One answer is like a single piece of a puzzle thrown at random. You can try to connect something to it, but most of the time you end up putting it in the wrong place from the very beginning. Of course, Nayavu had all the time to make mistakes, but he wasn't planning on risking his sanity much more.
"But can my mind hold up while I do my trial and error game?" he asked himself as he kicked a stick, sending it flying far away.
"Oh no! I was looking for those!"
Upon remembering what his objective was, Nayavu ran after the stick. Looking around, he noticed the sun shining across the plains, making the green grass seem even greener. The fields spread as far as the eye can see, gently kissing the sky at the edge of the horizon. At the same time, the sky answered by caressing the ground with its puffy clouds, creating scenery that Nayavu could not take his eyes off of.
"Ah! Here it is… Oh! Talk about luck!"
The stick had landed in the middle of an old campsite. The blackened ground wasn't pleasant to look at, but the presence of more firewood made Nayavu overlook that detail.
As he picked up the wood, he noticed something unusual. Buried in ash, a little bit of green tried to fight for a way out.
"Huh?"
Out of curiosity, Nayavu brushed away the grayish ash.
Beneath it, a single flower pushed through—reaching toward the light. As soon as it found the sun, it opened, petals wide, like it had been waiting for this moment all of its life.
Nayavu stared, breath caught in admiration. A little warrior, blooming where fire had once danced.
Then, suddenly—
"Pfft… ahahahah!"
He laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was impressive.
This tiny thing had no reason to survive, and yet here it was—stubborn, radiant, and alive.
"You don't need to rush things," his mentor had once told him. Now, for the first time, he finally understood what that meant.
Finally accepting those words, Nayavu sat himself on the ground next to the fire pit, lying in the tall grass from where he could take a look at the bright sky.
"Hmm… An owl! No, maybe an eagle? Or a drake?"
It had been many years since he found joy in figuring out the shape of the clouds. He lately found it futile, as wind would blow and dissipate them before he could make something of them.
Yet no he understood that those winds were not an untamed force of nature. He could control them, and he felt stupid for only now realizing this.
I wonder if I could shape the clouds as I wish… he thought, his eyes growing heavy. Before he could find an answer, he found himself drifting off to the realm of dreams.
"Ah!"
The young man screamed as he felt a sudden jolt wake him up. It was not the right place nor time to sleep. He tried to get up, but something heavy was pressing on his stomach.
"Pfft… You've gotta be kidding!"
He puffed again at the comical situation he found himself in. On his stomach, he found the one responsible for waking him up. Looking at him with round black eyes, a deer decided that this man's stomach fit the bill for a comfortable pillow.
"Haha! I should feel flattered! It's not every day that a deer finds and decides to befriend you. Look, I'm happy that we became friends so quickly, but I have to go. My mentor is waiting for me."
As if understanding his words, the buck slowly got up and let the boy go, but not before giving him a goodbye kiss.
"Thanks, I guess? Oh, it's not even that late," the boy concluded after glancing at the sky. "I really owe you one for waking me up! See ya!"
Nayavu picked up the wood and ran back to the camp. The weight of his memories suddenly felt much lighter, as if not pondering on them made the burden much easier to carry.
*****
An uncharacteristic smile. That's what the boy was wearing right now as he walked side to side with the young deer, holding it by the antlers to make sure it would stop bumping into him.
"I wonder if I can keep you. What do you say? Would you like to live in the village with me? If you grow a little bigger, you could become the coolest mount in the country, I guess? No, that may be a dragon or something…"
Bonk
"Ow! What was that for?"
After hitting Nayavu over the head, the buck made a loud sound, as if laughing at him.
"You're a feisty one, I take it? Haha! All the better! Let's see how you like this then!"
With a warrior's scream, Nayavu turned to face the animal, grabbing both of its antlers with his hands.
"Come on! Put some force into it!" he said as he tried to swing the deer's head around, but the deer didn't seem to struggle too much.
"Woah!"
Then, in the blink of an eye, Nayavu found himself facing the other way, or maybe he had been sent to a new place that was hard to describe. It felt like he had been transported into a world where the land and the sky switched places.
*Thump*
Immediately after, his head hit the soft ground, leaving Nayavu to lie flat in the tall grass.
"Ok fine, you won this time! Damn, I never knew y'all were so strong! I've gotten myself a fine stag!"
The young man and the young deer played around for the next hour. Neither of them seemed to tire nor get bored. It took them a long while until they finally calmed down and sat themselves in the grass.
"I wonder how Tatanka will react when he sees you. I think taming a wild deer is enough proof that I can hold my own out here. By the way, I have to give you a name. How does Tahu sound?"
Nayavu reached out to pet the deer, but before he could touch it, the animal got up and ran away for no apparent reason.
"Hey, Tahu! Where are you going?" the boy scratched his head. "Was that name really that bad?"
It was then that the Inyankaran heard a loud bang from the opposite side. He quickly turned to look for the source, and then, he saw them.
"Remans?"
Setting down their guns, a group of Remans approached the boy, who stood up after noticing them. Their advance was slow, and their weapons stood at their sides, as if they didn't consider Nayavu a threat, but the young man was not having any of it. In response to their lack of respect, the boy spat.
The next moment, a wound opened on the cheek of one of the Reman soldiers. The attack was too quick for any of them to catch on to the direction or object that was used, so the group placed themselves back-to-back in a circle to protect themselves.
"Remans who can't identify water magic? What are you even doing in the army?" Nayavu said, his tone full of disdain.
"Ah… we can't have that! You scared my buddy away right as we were having the time of our lives. How are you going to make up for it?"
Nayavu threw away the love he had for Remans at that moment—or it may be better to say that he had forgotten it.
"Oh? A savage who can speak our language?" a voice resounded from the center of the formation. "And your water magic isn't half bad, but the way you use it is for sure disgusting. Who knew I would find such an entertaining individual while out hunting in my new domain!"
"Ha? Your new domain? Want me to point you towards Rema?"
"Such unwelcoming people. What did we ever do to draw your anger?"
"You know, I was finally having a good time around here. How about you don't get in my way, and I will see you back to your ship," Nayavu proposed, his gaze cutting with blades of hate.
"My dear sir, I think there was a misunderstanding. This is, in fact, Reman territory."
"Ya know what? That denial of yours is starting to get on my nerves. You got a name?"
"Call me Aurelio Marcelli, general of the Reman Colonial Army. However, can one such as yourself even pronounce such a complex name? I don't want you Inyankarans spitting on what my dear parents gave me."
"It may be a bit late for that."
As Nayavu spoke, the projectile he had thrown their way not long ago came back, splashing on the nape of the self-proclaimed general.
"Consider it a warning shot. Still, shouldn't a true general have seen that coming ages ago?"
Aurelio pulled out a napkin and wiped himself in disgust, throwing it on the ground after he was done with it.
"As expected, even if you speak our words, you are in the end just another foul savage. But I ask you, why should I bother with pathetic fights when I have people around me tasked with doing just that?"
"Calling us savages in this day and age? Wow, I thought Rema was a bit more developed than this…"
"Are you done with your useless taunts?"
"One more for the company… Ahem, those people of yours also don't seem to be doing a great job!" he said, but his words didn't trigger any sort of reaction.
"…"
"Ah, you've ruined the moment!"
After his cringeworthy performance, Nayavu decided to regain his dignity through sheer power. As such, he took out the knife he held at his hip and readied himself.
"No magic?" the general asked.
"I may be a savage, but I know better than to show all of my cards early."
"I see. A pity, really."
Nayavu was slightly off-put by the lack of reaction, but he wouldn't let it cloud his judgment. He had already revealed his water magic, and the Remans were surely prepared for stones to come flying next.
Wind might be the best option here, he thought. But before he could act, a sharp impact resounded into the back of his skull. His vision darkened almost instantly, and his hearing followed soon after.
"Good job" were the last words he heard from Aurelio—words that were meant for someone standing behind him.