Austin was transported back into his office, feeling refreshed. The training with Artas was just what Austin needed. Not only did Artas cure his fatigue, but it also gave him a chance to take his mind off his duties. As Austin gained his bearings, he realized that the sun had already set. He hoped that Maya did not worry about where he went.
“Popped off on a little adventure?” Maya asked. Austin looked to see her standing in the doorway of his office.
“Sorry about that. Artas sort of just popped me into his realm,” Austin said nervously.
“It’s fine,” Maya let out an exasperated sigh. “I just wish I had some sort of warning. You aren’t the type to just disappear. So, I figured it was that, but I was still a little worried.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you. How is Elliot?” Austin asked.
“I’ll be fine. I already put Elliot to sleep. He was disappointed, though. He was really excited that you woke up,” Maya said coldly.
“Oh,” Austin said quietly. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“I know you didn’t mean to, but that doesn’t change how he feels. We both have a lot of work to do in this new situation, but you can’t just forget about him. I know you are doing things to help his future, but he wants a dad in his present.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, things seem to be going well right now. I could take tomorrow off and spend time with him,” Austin suggested.
“I think he’d appreciate that,” Maya nodded, her cold tone eased slightly.
The pair walked towards the living room and sat down on the couch. As they sat, Austin continued their conversation. “Speaking of spending time with Elliot, how was your hike with him?”
“He really enjoyed it,” Maya said. “I think it would be something he would like to do regularly.”
“Sounds like something I can do tomorrow,” Austin said.
“Wow, you’re stealing my activities,” Maya teased. “First, you disappear. Now, you steal my thing. What’s next?”
“We’ll just sit and watch cartoons all day then,” Austin said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
“I’m kidding,” Maya laughed. “You two go and have fun.”
“I know,” Austin said with a smile before he decided to change the subject. “So, how was your mission today?”
Maya let out a sigh as she sat further back on the couch. It was like she had finally gotten the chance to relax from her day. “Not much to say about it. Definitely seems like some dungeons will start popping up soon. But besides that, there was not much excitement about it. How did your day go?”
“I guess it’s hard saying it was a day,” Austin chuckled.
“Oh, right, the time difference, I forgot about that,” Maya said. “How did your ‘days’ go then?”
“Pretty well, I guess. I could not do much when I woke up and just checked up on things. Then, when I got back to the house, I got yelled at by Artas and transported to his realm. Then I made some new techniques. I think that kind of sums it up,” Austin said.
“It must be nice being able to train like that,” Maya said. “I’m kinda jealous.”
“Well, if I die, you are next in line. Artas just told me that.”
“I mean, while that does sound cool, don’t die.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Austin chuckled. “Maybe there is some way we both can go to his realm.”
“That would certainly be nice,” Maya nodded before her eyes lit up with excitement. “So, tell me about these new techniques.”
Austin could not help but smile at Maya’s excitement and proceeded to tell her about his new techniques. As he described the new techniques and their development, Maya ate up every word. She genuinely was so excited to hear about his techniques. In a way, Essence opened up a new shared hobby for the two. After the pair finished talking about techniques, they turned on the television. The pair sat and watched television for some much needed relaxing. Until finally sleep took both of them, and they fell asleep on the couch.
***
Austin and Elliot started their day early to make it to the nearby nature trail. The trail had been worn down from decades of use. Even though there was no one to maintain it, it was still in good condition to walk on. Elliot hummed off tune in excitement as they walked together. He made large, exaggerated steps as he walked on the trail. Even with his large steps, Austin had to make sure to walk slowly. Their pace was slowed even more because Elliot would get distracted by every little plant or rock that he found interesting.
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“Look!” Elliot ran towards Austin and placed a rock in his hand.
Austin looked over the rock. For Austin, the rock seemed entirely ordinary, but he knew that Elliot saw something different in it. Children looked at the world with such a different wonder than adults, and they could drag others into it. As Austin looked at the gray stone, he noticed streaks of red-brown and black going through its center.
“Do you want me to put this in my bag? We could start a rock collection,” Austin suggested with a smile.
“Collshin?” Elliot cocked his head in confusion.
“Collection, it’s like where we save up things we like,” Austin said. “That way you can look at them and enjoy them later.”
“Oooo,” Elliot’s eyes lit up. “Let’s do collshin!”
“I’ll put this in my bag for safekeeping then,” Austin smiled as he unzipped a bag he was wearing on his back. He then placed the rock into the bag. “Let me know if you find any more.”
“Okayyyy!” Elliot nodded with emphasis.
The pair continued their walk. While Elliot looked at every little thing, Austin’s attention was mostly on Elliot. Austin had to make sure that Elliot did not get himself hurt in his excitement. Austin was fine with it, though. He really was hiking to spend time with Elliot. So, missing out on looking at all the nature was okay with him. Not to mention, every few minutes, Elliot would point out something he thought was interesting. Because of that, Austin really did not miss out either. Austin became more shocked that Elliot did not point out everything they encountered.
Just as Austin was going to tell Elliot it was time to head back, Austin heard a cracking sound in the forest. Someone was stepping on fallen branches, and they were moving closer to Austin and Elliot. Austin grabbed the back of Elliot’s shirt and pulled him closely with a strong grip. Elliot let out a yelp as he flew into one of Austin’s arms. With his other arm, Austin began to channel Essence. He did not have a specific technique in mind, but he figured that he should prepare himself.
Cracking noises continued and grew closer until Austin saw a figure from the trees. The figure walked onto the trail in an almost casual manner. Austin was shocked to see a man much taller and broader than him waving. That was not the only thing Austin was shocked to see. The man’s skin was light green. His face was similar to a human’s, but had a monstrous ferocity to it. Two tusks came upward from his bottom jaw. His black hair was long and messy as it draped over his body. His dark blue clothes oddly reminded Austin of something a samurai would wear. Part of his top fell to his side as he exposed half of his chest and one of his arms.
“Oh, hello there,” the man’s voice was guttural and deep, but did not sound malicious. He waved towards Austin with one of his giant hands.
“Um, hello,” Austin said warily as he looked over the much larger man. He pulled Elliot tighter to himself. The man may be acting friendly, but Austin could not be too certain.
“Oh, are you on a walk with your son, too?” The man asked as a boy around Elliot’s size came from behind his leg. The boy had the same light green skin as the man and tiny tusks coming from his bottom jaw. His hair was styled in a black mohawk.
“Uh, yeah, we were just on a little walk together,” Austin answered, still wary of the man. “If I may ask, how did you get so close to our town?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I was just on a walk. My tribe has sort of set up residence in the mountain range nearby,” the man replied. “Now that we are all set up, I wanted to spend some time with my boy.”
“Oh, I heard a group settled in the mountains. That still doesn’t explain how you made it past our scouts,” Austin said.
“Oh, so you had scouts! That’s why you asked. Well, when I’m walking with Astenk, I try to keep my Essence subdued. No point in flaring it all over the place. Other than that, I guess they just didn’t see me.”
“You can hide your Essence? I didn’t realize that was a thing. Also I’m guessing Astenk is the name of your son? I’ll introduce myself then. My name is Austin, and this little guy is Elliot.”
“Pretty strange names,” the man chuckled. “My name is Drugos. And yes, I can hide my Essence. It’s pretty handy.”
“I could say the same about your names,” Austin laughed nervously. “That is definitely something I’ll have to learn.”
“I could show you sometime,” Drugos suggested. “I really wouldn’t mind it.”
“You just met me, and you want to show me something like that?” Austin raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Of course,” Drugos smiled widely. Austin was slightly taken aback by the smile. While the man did seem kind, his face still had a somewhat vicious appearance. “I actually knew about this town and thought I would see if we could be allies. I hope that wasn’t too forward.”
Austin relaxed a little at Drugos’s response. He still was not completely sure how to feel but his gut told him that Drugos was being genuine. He decided to set Elliot back on the ground. If anything, Drugos’s son was there too, and he probably would not try anything with him around.
“I’ll have to discuss it with some other people, but I am not completely opposed to the idea,” Austin said. “Having some allies could be helpful.”
“I have already discussed it with my tribe. So, it really is up to your town,” Drugos said. “But as a gesture of goodwill, I am still willing to show you how to hide your Essence.”
“Oh, I’d really appreciate that. I’m sure that could help sway people,” Austin was taken aback by the other man’s kindness. “If I can be honest, your appearance kind of scared me. I’m happy you aren’t as scary as you look.”
“Our people get that a lot,” Drugos chuckled. “At this point, we aren’t even offended. If it isn’t our appearance, it’s our history. But our days of senseless battle are long gone.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Austin smiled. The more Drugos talked with him, the more Austin felt like he could trust him.
From the corner of his eye, Austin noticed Elliot move towards Astenk. Elliot already started to chase Astenk around. It looked like the two started to play a game of tag as they ran around Drugos and Austin. Austin could not help but chuckle at the fact that tag seemed to be universal.
“Looks like our boys are already hitting it off,” Drugos said with a hearty laugh.
“It definitely seems so,” Austin laughed.
“Well, while they are playing. Let me show you how to hide your Essence,” Drugos suggested. “It shouldn’t take too long.”
