I wake up the next day, and I see Merle packing up some things while humming quietly a nice melody.
"Oh, you're awake." He greets me with a smile, and I get to with a sleepy groan. "Yeah. What are you packing?" I ask while stretching before rubbing my eyes a bit as I yawn, slowly coming to my senses after a good night's sleep.
"My stuff. I was called back to Silvailia." He ties something to his belt, giving me a calm answer. However, he's avoiding looking at me for some reason.
"Huh? Why?" I get up in surprise at his words. 'Who will lead me if not him? I don't know my way around as well as he does...'
"Well... To put it simply, I have a certain position in the village that refrains me from exiting it fully without permission. When I was in Lafiel, I had permission from the Elder, but now I don't."
He explains while getting his horse ready, and I stare at him. 'I wonder what sort of position he holds that doesn't allow him to leave the village whenever he wants. Sounds kinda inconvenient.'
"I see. But how am I supposed to get to the village without getting hurt?" I raise an eyebrow a bit as I look at him, awaiting his response.
"You'll get more skilled as time passes, you know. More experience, Alaire. Keep in mind that it changes things," he answers with a wink before getting his horse.
Then, he turns to me one last time. "I hope that we'll meet again in the future. It was an honour for me to help you start your journey. And to be completely honest, you grew on me while we spent our time together. Farewell, then. And take care."
And with that, he gives me a small bow with his head and nudges his horse to get moving. It's not long before I see him disappear from my field of vision.
"Just great..." I mutter in slight annoyance, although there's a hint of sadness in my tone at his departure. But he's right. I can't rely on him forever, and I also need to gain experience and skills on my own.
However, there's a thing that bothers me. Why does he have to leave so suddenly? What sort of position does he hold in Silvailia?
With a sigh, I come to a realisation that I might never get an answer from him. Who knows if we'll meet again. 'I should've asked him before he left. Damn it...'
Meanwhile, Merle rides back to Silvailia, looking at the road in front of him as his horse gallops through the forest as Merle grumbles to himself.
"Man, I hope that he'll survive. Poor kid. I didn't want to leave him like that, but Elder called. Agh! Why do I have to be a guardian and informant?! I really shouldn't have taken that position back then..." 'Stupid past me!'
As I stand there, trying to figure out what now, my horse looks at me and then grazes on some more grass, seemingly not phased by the situation at all. He's a stallion, after all, not a person... Although some compassion would've been nice.
Just then, a rabbit runs by, and I hear my stomach growl. "Well... Time to try and hunt my breakfast, I guess." I grab my bow and quiver, drawing an arrow.
This will be my first time shooting at a real, moving target... I'm kinda nervous! I also feel bad for killing such a defenceless animal, but I don't have a choice here. I'm hungry.
I steady my breathing and start hunting my food, preparing myself mentally to actually kill an animal like that.
But I'm not even sure if I'll be able to actually shoot the rabbit... I can only try and see if my stomach and mental fortitude are built for this.
When humans are desperate, they'll do anything. That's just how we are. Some may overcome the desperation, but hunger is something everyone has and struggles with.
Honestly, I know that I'm no different from anyone else. If I'm hungry, I'll go eat food. If I'm thirsty, I drink. If I have any other need, I satisfy it. That's just how it works.
Sometimes, though, there's nothing you can do about that need. And once it's not satisfied, it grows. And grows... and grows... It turns into some sort of desperation for the needed thing. Just like how a starving person is desperate for water because the hunger gets bigger with each passing moment...
And right now, I'm hungry. Not starving or extremely famished, but just hungry. If I won't eat food for some more hours, it'll be fine. But this is exactly one need that I just want to satisfy. The road ahead is long and may be treacherous. I need to prepare for the worst.