Then Chase laughed.
He had found the situation quite amusing, even though it was the truth.
He was a lost heir.
The thought made him want to squirm and call himself a damned Stray.
Both Neo and Poppy looked at him like he had fully lost it.
"Yeah! Me? Some sort of Prince? I'm sure it was just some cruel trick by the mimic, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were still inside the damn thing..."
He said, through his weak laughter.
It was as if he was trying to convince himself...
It was just sad...
He stopped laughing, and tried to stand up.
Of course he was met with terrible pain, and collapsed to the ground.
"Idiot..."
Poppy mumbled, her eyes not leaving his injured knee.
Once he had gotten back into a somewhat comfortable position, his eyes glanced up at the mountains that surrounded them.
The grand Phoenix Academy stood amongst the stars, glowing like it had been forged by them in the dawn of time.
Then after a few more seconds of silence, Poppy spoke.
"I seen your dad during the fight..."
Something inside of Chase seemed to break, and his heart started to beat swiftly at the mention of his father.
"He seemed strong... How- How did he- You know..."
She seemed to genuinely care, which was probably more terrifying than the vast cursed forest that surrounded them.
He couldn't say why, but he felt inclined to answer. As if he had been waiting for someone that he could spill his feelings out in front of.
Neo and Poppy must have seen equal horrors, because neither of them seemed to mind hearing the story.
They both sat quietly, covered in their own scars and injuries. Both awaiting his next words.
With a sigh, that was followed by the clearing of his throat.
"About a year and a half ago, I lived in this village far in the south..."
Neo's bright blue eyes met the ground below him, a dark expression finding its way onto his face.
"Willowmere..."
He nodded, even though it was obvious that Neo wasn't asking whether it was or wasn't the village that had been burned to the ground by savages.
Hell! The entire continent had heard about the destruction of the southern-most village on Vallmora.
"Me and my father lived there... We never really got along, and he was never home when I was growing up..."
Chase took a deep breath.
"I never got to meet my mother... So I basically grew up on my own, I paid attention in school... I only left the house when I wanted to go to the library and read, but then one night after I got into an argument with my dad..."
Chase avoided eye-contact, and paused for a second or two.
"Some hunting part from Frostfang arrived at the village overnight, I woke up when some giant had broken my door down, and he nearly killed me."
He hated showing weakness.
It made him feel like everything he had been through meant nothing, so he tried his best to stay strong.
Even laughed during parts that neither of the two found funny.
But nonetheless he told the story of Willowmere.
He told it exactly how he remembered it.
The distant screams of people he had never gotten to know, and the screams of those he did...
He tried his best to go over the part where he had parted ways with his father, but his voice cracked.
Neither of the two said anything, so Chase just clenched his fists harder at his side and continued on.
By the end there was only silence.
There wasn't really anything that any of them could say.
The air was thick, but Chase's shoulders felt light.
It was like he had finally lost the burden of carrying that pain alone.
His shoulders felt lighter, and his mind was clear.
Then something that he should've expected happening, caught him off guard.
Poppy burst into laughter, and had to wipe tears from her eyes multiple times before she could catch her breath.
"You're an asshole..."
Neo mumbled.
"No no! I'm not laughing at him!"
She said, not convincing either of the two boys.
"It's just... My family has been trying to kill yours for centuries... I just think it's funny that's all..."
She said, while trying to calm herself from laughing.
Neo looked at her like she had fully lost it.
Then he raised an eyebrow, as Chase actually let out a quiet laugh.
"You're both crazy..."
It was kind of funny... That the two both came from rival families, and had ended up as some sort of cruel rivalry even while not knowing that it was a twisted ploy of fate.
After everyone went back to the awkward silence, Chase decided it was his turn to put the pressure on someone else.
"So... I told my story... How about you? What's with the crazy mom?"
He asked, looking at Poppy.
She frowned.
"That isn't fair."
"Nope it's pretty fair."
"Kinda is..."
The two boys said at the same time.
Her eye twitched, and she gave Neo a "I'm going to kill you in your sleep" look.
Then she tried changing the subject.
"It's cold... Chase use your fire trick, and make a fire."
Rolling his eyes, he muttered.
"Fire attracts monsters in this area..."
Of course he was lying, and was not going to summon a fire until she told her story.
Neo and Chase both started laughing. The three had all taken classes on the forest that surrounded the academy, and knew that having a fire was safer than not.
Summoning a flame on his hand, he held it out in front of the three of them.
"Your turn princess..."