Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

“PWAH~!” Tsubasa sighed in elation after chugging her bowl of stew. “That was pretty good! And to think Mumu made this himself? Unreal. By the way, thanks for letting me in and giving me a bowl, Dama dear.”

“Of course Granny Tsu, anytime! This pales in comparison to the things you've done for me my entire life!” Dama said, full of joy as he dug into his own bowl. “Also I gotta agree. Mumu made some pretty good stew this time around. I've actually been trying to teach both him and Nina to do tasks automatically a few months ago. Seems it's working. Thanks you two!”

Mumu and Nina, who were sitting next to the desk Dama, Tsubasa, and Giona were eating on, nodded. The stitches that made up their mouths even seemed to curl at the tips.

“So, Briarwood, huh?” Dama said bemusedly while shoving a spoonful of stew into his mouth. “They’re the closest village to us, right?”

“Indeed,” Tsubasa confirmed whilst licking her bowl clean like a wild animal. “We haven’t heard from them in over a year now… And since they’re the main source of where we get precious metals like iron and copper, it’s been worrying. Because of that, some of the men are planning on venturing out to check up on them, and they want you to come along with them.” She finished, her tail pointing at Dama rigidly like an arrow.

“M-Me? I don’t get it… If it’s to venture out, why ask for m…” At first confused, Dama’s voice trailed off as he thought about it more. “It was Mr. Koul, wasn’t it?”

“Pff-Ha! You should see the look on your face! Ah, but yes, it was. His reasoning went something like this.” Tsubasa stood up from her chair as she cleared her throat, preparing to mimic Mr. Koul's husky and deep voice. “Ahem, ‘That lad is in his prime, he’ll be a man in no time, and a man needs experience. This little adventure would be perfect for such a thing!’, or something like that.”

Dama's head drooped to the side. “Yeah, that sounds like Mr. Koul…”

“To be honest, Dama dear, I agree with him.”

“Eh!? You too?”

“Think about it, you've never been outside Enohay Valley, no? While the whole ‘being a man’ ideology is a bit, well, cooky, this does seem like a good chance to experience something new! What do ya say?”

“I… I'm not sure, Granny Tsu… What if something bad happens, like running into monsters, along the way?”

“Oh no worries dear, coming along with you and Koul are two other men: Liam and Gus. Those three are the most experienced in hunting and weapons within Enohay. Combined with the fact you'll also have Mumu and Nina by your side, I can't imagine anything horrible happening…” Tsubasa smirked while grasping at her chin. “If only I was a bit younger though, I could come along too, maybe even show my fighting skills, keheha!”

“Pfft, your delusions aside, I'm still not sure, Granny Tsu. This sounds like it's going to take a long time.”

“Long time? Ehhhh, if I remember correctly, the entire trip should take around four days on foot, even faster with the horse carriage Kina is lending for the trip.”

“Ms. Alder? Well, that's good to hear at least… Anyways, point being, if Mumu, Nina, and I are gone, Giona will be all alone. She also still needs time before we introduce her to the village.”

“Nonsense! I'll be here to take care of her! I'll use the excuse that I'm keeping your house clean and tidy while you're gone. Either way, I think it’s about time Giona interacts with another girl. Don't you think so too, Giona?”

Both Dama and Tsubasa looked towards Giona, who was idly playing with her stew as she looked at it solemnly. After a brief moment, Giona perked up seeing their eyes on her in her peripheral vision.

“Eh? Oh, um… Yes…” She murmured, still deep in thought, yet listening to the conversation.

Tsubasa was the first to notice something was troubling Giona. “Giona dear? Is everything alright? You look stressed.”

Dama caught on and walked to Giona, resting his hand on her left shoulder. “Giona?” He said, his voice and eyes full of empathic concern.

Giona took a moment to answer, twirling her spoon around in her half-eaten stew. “Dama… You are… Going?” She murmured while looking up at Dama's eyes.

Taken aback, Dama opened his mouth to answer, but stopped to consider what's best. “Looks like Giona and I were thinking the same thing… But on the other hand, Granny Tsu might be right in both aspects. A part of me is curious as to what lies beyond Enohay Village. Not to mention, Giona IS a girl, it would be no doubt beneficial if she spent some time with another girl, especially a wise woman such as Granny. I guess… I guess I'll go. Giona’s is in perfect hands with Granny and it shouldn't take more than four days.”

Moving his hand from her shoulder to her head, Dama patted her dirty blonde hair and smiled. “Yeah, I'll be going somewhere, but! I won't be gone for too long, ok? Granny Tsu will be here in the meantime, so don't worry.”

“Oh? So you've decided to go, Dama?”

“Yeah. After some consideration, I agree with your line of thinking. I could really spice up my life.”

Confirming his participation, Dama soon felt two hands rest upon his own left hand. He looked back at Giona in response, meeting her smiling face. “O… Ok.”

Later, once Dama cleaned and packed for the upcoming venture, he shared his parting words at the front door with a smile. “Well, I'm ready to go, you two take care. Hopefully I'll be back soon.”

“Everything will be fine, trust me dear. Both on your end and ours.” Tsubasa said as she wrapped her tail around Giona, signifying to everyone that she's in good hands. “I can't wait to see how much you've grown Giona.”

“Mhm!” Giona uttered, holding Tsubasa's hand, feeling completely safe.

“Is there anything you want to say to Dama before he goes?”

Giona contemplated the question for a bit, before walking up to Dama and hugging him. “Come back… fast.”

Reciprocating the hug, Dama warmly smiled. “Of course, I'll come back as soon as possible, I promise.”

Pulling away from Dama, Giona actually continued to walk further. Her destination was Mumu and Nina, hugging them as well whilst saying their names.

The toys reciprocated in their own ways. Mumu picking her up and hugging her back, while Nina curled her whole body around Giona's.

-

“JEEZ! Just how many times will I have to repeat myself!? Are you even listening!?”

Now down into Enohay Valley, four figures stood at the front gates of Enohay Village. Three of them were men and all of them wore the same outfit. A white shirt under a plaid vest, of which were different colors for each man, and khaki-colored leggings combo. The man with unruly brown hair wore a red plaid vest. The man with short, blonde hair and side-parted bangs wore blue. The last man with black hair and bangs on both sides wore yellow.

Even though all three towered over the woman figure, who was adorned with a common village dress, they were the ones cowering in fear.

One of the men was Mr. Koul, who was rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment. “I'm sorry Kina… But we've never ridden such a thing before. It's gonna take us ol’ timers to get the jist of it…”

Kina crossed her arms and bent down sassily in response. “Last I checked, you're the only ‘old timer’ here Koul, with you being forty-two years old and all.” Straightening back up, she walked towards the horse leading the carriage, rubbing its head. “Liam and Gus, think you can handle my sweetie pie Dorsey here? Make sure she doesn't get too hurt.”

“No worries Ms. Alder, I understand how to work it.” The blonde haired Liam said, his hand to his chest like a pledge.

“Thank goodness, I did not want to be in charge of that beast…” Gus thought to himself as he masked his relieved face with his right hand.

Continuing to prattle on to the trio, something would catch Kina's eye in the distance. An approaching figure that soon became three different individuals.

“Dama!” She excitedly shouted, prompting the men to turn around.

“Well I'll be!” Mr. Koul said, protecting his eyes from the bright morning sunlight with his hand. “It is Dama! He decided to come!”

“Looks like he also brought his toys along.” Gus commented with a condescending tone. “You sure about this y’all?”

Liam scratched his head as he responded to Gus. “I don't see why not.”

“Oy, those aren't just toys Gus, they’re alive. All due to that boy's magic. Something tells me we're gonna need that ‘soul magic’ of his.” Mr. Koul chuckled with a tinge of pride. Gus, however, rolled his eyes.

Finally making it to the front gate, Dama hopped off Nina's back. “Hey everyone!” He shouted with a welcoming wave.

“Dama, darling!” Kina exclaimed as she ran to Dama, embracing him in a tight hug.

(“It's nice to see you too, Ms. Alder…”) Dama said, muffled from Kina's chest.

“Oh boy, might want to ease up on the lad, else ye'll smother him to death, har!” Koul said with a hearty laugh, patting Dama’s head. “I'm glad you decided to come with us lad!”

Freeing his head from Kina’s embrace, Dama enthusiastically smiled at Koul. “Of course Mr. Koul! I've always wanted to see what was outside of Enohay Valley.”

Looking at the carriage, specifically the back portion that had a white cloth draped over it, Dama's curiosity was piqued. “So that's the carriage Granny Tsu was talking about?”

“Correct,” Kina said, releasing Dama and walking towards the vehicle. “My darling Dorsey will be the one leading the caravan of fruits and veggies you boys will deliver to Briarwood Village. There's enough space for all of you too!”

“Fruits and veggies?”

“Why yes, the mountainous region where Briarwood is located isn't exactly farmer-friendly. Combined with the fact they have a lot of mineral deposits, our ancestors developed a simple trading relationship between each other. Our rich food for their precious metals!” Walking back to Dama, Kina gently pinched his left cheek. “And of course, feel free to eat as much as you need along the way. A growing boy like you needs his nutrients!”

“Thanks Ms. Alder! You're always so upbeat and supportive! You can leave the rest to us!”

“Daaaaw!” Kina squealed while hugging Dama again, only to give Koul a sinister glare right after. “Don’t you three dare put him in danger, capiche?”

Koul simply raised both hands. “Come on now, that’s a given. That boy will be safe with us. Best believe if anything wants to hurt him, it'll have to get through me first, and that's assuming it gets past Mumu or Nina in the first place.”

“Mr. Koul’s right, you don’t have to worry!” Liam yelled from the front seat of the carriage. Readying himself, his hands gripped onto the rope halter attached to Dorsey. “Either way, now that we got everyone, it’s about time we head out. Onward to Briarwood Village!”

-

(Chapter 26) Onward to Briarwood Village!