With the discussion under wraps, Dorian finds himself a little more calm even if he keeps a healthy, in his mind, distance with Isa. For the end of the evening, he indulged in little to no discussion, with his answers as laconic as Garm's.
The next morning, instead of immediately going to train the children, Garm gestures for Isa to follow him. In his mind, Dorian will be enough to handle the beginning with the kids. Even more, it will be beneficial to him. The warrior leads the fidgeting kid to a secluded place and, with his full attention on her, he sees that her uneasiness crank up more and more as she follows him. He doesn't know, after all, that he leads her to the hurtful spot. What he knows, however, is that they are under watch, probably by concerned villagers who saw her crying the day before.
— You talked, yesterday.
Isa tenses on the spot. Garm didn't let her collect herself when they arrived here and her mind was full of sorrow when he talked, abruptly shoving her out of it. The girl doesn't know that he did it specifically for this. With her growing unease, she would have broken in tears before long if he didn't talk.
— Y, Yes.
— Can you explain ?
She nods, but does not speak immediately. First, she sits and breathes deeply.
— I wanted to help him. I wanted to understand. He… Talked.
Beginning her tale, she closes her eyes. Not for remembering, she doesn't need any help to remember this horrible scene, but to keep her tears from flowing.
— I was happy… At first. He talked a little ab… About why he was in the forest.
Garm nods with a grim face. That the boy opened up, despite his fear, was a heavy leap of faith on his part.
— Then, he told me… What… What happened on the hunt.
She gulps heavily and, despite her closed eyes, some tears begin to show up.
— He was… Afraid. He thought he was weak but… He was afraid of becoming a… A monster.
Isa begins to sob.
— I… I only wanted… Wanted to… Help… I… I told him that… That he's like you… that… that, he uses his sword to protect and… He…
Now, she openly cries, unbothered by the fact that her voice now sounded loudly.
— He looked at me. He… He begged for forgiveness… And… And… And he fled! I… He… I am a monster! I made him flee !
The warrior scoops her in a tight hug, pats her head, while waiting for her wails to end.
— No. You aren't. He opened up.
— B… But…
— No. He opened up. That's what he fears.
— Why… ?
Garm let go of her then looks right into her eyes.
— What do you fear ?
Isa blinks.
— Bandits ? Why ?
— Why do you fear them ?
She shivers.
— You… You know already… It's… It's because of mom… And dad… And…
— Exactly. And he fears opening up to us. He begged for forgiveness afterwards. Why ?
Garm dries Isa's tears with a tender move from his thumb. She focuses, now, on something else than her pain.
— He… If he begged forgiveness… He… Thinks that he did something wrong… But… How can…
She eagerly awaits for Garm to answer her, but faces instead a soft smile and a raised eyebrow.
— He fears to talk. How, no, why does he fear it ?
— Now, Isa, you're on the right track.
He stands, smiling as she is now more thoughtful than hurt.
— Time to train. Come.
From now on, she accepts Dorian's distantiation, albeit with difficulties. She simply waits for him to come back, once again, and return to how things were. Each day, either during training, eating or the evening before sleeping, she discreetly looks at him. Garm's gaze doesn't leave either one of the kids for long. He sees what habits they begin to develop and how those may hinder their mending or not. Before doing anything rash, he chooses to wait for some time.
After another month here, the three of them leave the village. This sudden move makes every villager doubt their reason for this, especially Albert who glares at Garm until they are out of view. He couldn't, in the end, save both kids from the monster's clutches.
Quickly, the three find themselves back in the woods.With none other than themselves to rely upon, both Dorian and Isa are left with no choice but to interact. Their habits come back quickly, even if both kids act stiffly when they share a task. Garm, on the other hand, takes upon himself to patrol even more, as even if the boy's shadows continue to follow the group, their owner isn't quite in the right mood to react in time. Moreover, as he remembers from the ambush, they can be completely bypassed by hostiles.
Garm out patrolling, Isa steals a glance at her friend. He's gutting a fox, his shoulders more tense than they should be, while trying to be subtle in his avoidance to meet her gaze. A sigh escapes her mouth, startling her and making her try to seem absorbed by her task, preparing the firepit and water for the future meal. Not looking at Dorian anymore, she feels as if his gaze bore a hole in her back while he, in truth, didn't even dare to turn his head to look. They continue silently until, as expected, the meat has to go in the porridge.
— Isa. Here it is.
— T… Thanks.
*Go Isa ! Tell him something, anything ! But… Will he flee again ? I… I don't want him to flee…*
— Please… Don't go…
*Shit ! Not this ! Anything but this ! Why did I say this !*
Dorian, unaware of Isa's struggle, blinks at what she blurts out. He opens, then closes, his mouth multiple times without a sound, before catching her hand.
— Isa… I'm sor… No. I won't go… Not now… But…
She shakes her head, unwilling to hear what will follow this dreaded "but".
— If… No… I… There may be a day… No. I won't go. Not until I'm ready.
A smile illuminates her face before Isa jumps on Dorian to hug him as tightly as she can. He stays stunned for a moment, before awkwardly closing his arms around her. Never had he thought that she would hurt so much from this, even after having himself felt such a thing when Belle ceased to come, before she turned full-on traitorous witch. With a deep breath, he finally truly relaxes for the first time in this month. When he tries to untangle themselves as he feels that the hug lasted long enough, however, she refuses to move and even tighten her embrace. They are still in this position when Garm comes back from the hunt, which makes the warrior smirk at the mute plea from the teen. He, instead of separating them, decides to prepare the meal himself.
— Tim to eat, Isa.
Startled, Isa looks at her caretaker with round eyes.
*How is he here ? Wasn't he out hunting again ?*
With a sheepish grin and a pink hue on her cheeks, she lets go of Dorian and nods. After a lighthearted meal, despite its usual silence, Garm stretches and stands up, goes a little bit further in the clearing before catching a branch and motioning to Dorian. With an audible sigh, the boy stands up too and prepares himself for his daily training (beating).
As they take their stance, Dorian steels himself. He remembers how close to death, no, how close to being forced to reveal his power, he was against the bandits. Seeing this, Garm smiles and nods, the boy is back into the game now. Sure, he was eager at the beginning, but the warrior's harsh way quickly changed that into reluctance even if the boy himself initially asked. Now, with his wake-up call, he seems to understand why the former mercenary acts like this.
This time, for the very first time in more than half a year, Dorian takes the initiative to attack. A slash to the neck, followed by a kick in the gut. With an understanding smile, Garm easily parry the first then, instead of tensing his abdominal muscles, lifts a leg to deflect the kick.
— You could've done that. Not exactly stable, but better than lying on the ground.
He takes a step back and prepares himself again.
— Again, but yourself.
While the men spar, Isa takes tentative looks at them, as usual, despite doing the chores. Once again, something stings in her heart and her movements slow while a glint of envy shines briefly in her eyes.
— Isa. Finish quick and you'll do as in the village.
Immediately, her pace hasten and she ends the assigned task. Under Garm's instructions, strong enough to watch her while training Dorian, she begins her course. Now, without the villager's children to rat on them, Garm intensifies her regimen. In addition to the running, he makes her do push ups, sit ups and squats which leave her panting quickly and, more than anything, happily.
Dorian's state mirrors Isa's. Panting, but relaxed and happy from his progress. Now, for the first time since they met, one of his attacks connected. At the end of the spar, he lays sprawled on the ground with a smile. Garm, too, smiles. In front of him are two loveable students, dedicated to surviving together, as a family, even if none of the three share blood. Sure, Dorian came way later in this foster family, but he seems to be in the way for a seamless integration here. As proof, he was already adopted by the younger Isa.