Chapter 39- I Go Alone

Chapter 39: Chapter 39- I Go Alone

Alaric had woken up, but in reality, he had struggled to sleep. But he tried to force himself to, that way no one would be asking questions. He pulled himself up and took a short glance at his cast. He wiggled his arm and it turned out it was completely fine now, which meant he could finally remove this cumbersome cast. He stood and pulled the sling off, letting his arm hover in the air.

...

He doesn’t exactly know how to take off a cast. But, he was sure his mother did, after all, she used to tend to his wounds when he was younger, this should be no problem. He had to see them anyway. He turned towards his window and pulled it open. He whistled and a golden light enveloped the dark room. He covered his eyes, and before he could lower his arm, he felt something push into him. He laughed softly and lowered his arm, staring down at Skydancer.

"I missed you too buddy..." He whispered as he petted the cloud gently. Sky hasn’t been out since the Ice Alien mission, and it was clear it was starved of attention. Alaric quickly climbed onto him as the pair flew out of the window. He glanced down, "Let’s go home real quick buddy..." He pet the cloud again, "We’ll be doing a lot of work tomorrow." Sky picked up speed as it glowed brighter under him. Alaric couldn’t help but smile as he looked ahead, even as his smile faltered slightly.

...

Eventually the pair reached the house Alaric stayed at. He climbed off and knocked on the door, waiting for an answer, trying to keep a straight face even as Sky was butting against his back. Eventually, the door opened and his mother was there, her eyes wide as she took him in.

"...Alaric?"

"...Hey mom." He lifted his arm to wave; she threw herself into him, hugging him tightly. He blinked, turning to look at the back of her head.

"..." He lifted his arms and hugged her back. "I’m okay..." he whispered as she pulled back and grabbed his arm, "My ass! You’re so thin! Come on! I’m cooking you something right now and you will eat!" She exclaimed, pulling him inside with even a chance to explain why he was there. He sighed and simply let it happen, after all... it would be the last time for a while.

He was forced to sit at the kitchen table and wait for her to finish cooking, specifically so she could keep her eyes on him. He blinked awkwardly, looming side to side as she glared at him, causing him to freeze.

This... was a lot harder than expected... perhaps he should’ve thought about this before coming... oh well, what better thing to do than adapt? He leaned forward and rested his trapped arm on the table, "Do you think you can take this off me...?" He asked softly as her head snapped up from whatever she was chopping, "Hm? Oh, it’s all healed?"

He nodded softly.

"Okay, of course! Just after you finish eating!"

He sighed again and leaned back. Even after everything... She still treats him like a child. He opened his eyes slightly, staring off to the side. He wasn’t sure how badly this would hurt her... but there was no stopping what had to happen. He looked ahead and sat up, "Once you’re finished... we need to talk. Is dad here?"

She was stirring something before looking up from the process, "Of course not... he’s always out working..."

He frowned and looked off. That wasn’t ideal, but would have to work... he couldn’t afford to wait any longer. "Alright."

And after some time, she had finally finished making her meal, and slid the plate in front of the starved boy. He sniffed the air and felt his mouth instinctively water at the smell alone. He lifted up his fork and began to dig in, enjoying a home cooked meal after days with just cup noodles. Well, he tried to enjoy it as best he could while his mother stared daggers at him from the opposite end of the table, causing him to sweat and eat carefully, without giving the impression that he was wasting any of it.

Once he was down to just a few bites, he lifted his head, "Now... I wanted to... talk about my system with you."

Her narrowed eyes relaxed slightly and she leaned forward, with a tilt of her head.

Alaric sat the fork down into the bowl as he lifted his arm, "C-Can I tell you while you remove this cast?"

She nodded and pushed herself up from her seat, before walking over to his side of the table and holding onto his arm, before taking the cast apart.

Alaric looked off, "I got my Second Awakening quest..." he said plainly as his mother jumped and blinked surprisingly at him, "Really? That’s amazing! Not many get those." She looked back towards the cast, "Do you plan on doing it?"

"Of course."

She narrowed her eyes at him, a vein popping from her head, "...Watch your tone."

He jumped and coughed, "Sorry. But... yes I do." He tapped his fingers against the table with his free hand, "Um... it’s a journey. A long one." She paused slightly, but continued on with the removal, "How long?"

"A few months, and that’s just the journey there..." he said quietly as her face was hidden from his view. She never stopped removing his cast. He blinked and waited for her to freak out... but she turned towards him, "...I hope you have fun."

He blinked and his eyes shrunk to dots. "...Huh?" He said mostly to himself. That was it?

He definitely expected more of a reaction. "I-I won’t see you for at least a year mom... that doesn’t bother you at all?" He asked softly, blinking his eyes at her as she finally finished removing the cast, which fell down onto the surface of the table. She looked down, "Of course it does. But, I know how much you love adventure and... after everything that happened to you, you deserve this break from everything." She cupped his face and shook her head. "So... you don’t have to worry... okay?" He blinked and nodded smiling softly. She let her hands drop and she smiled big, "But! If you’re going to be gone for entire year, best believe you’ll be spending the entire day with me!"

He blinked, his smile hanging frozen in place. "Huh? B-But I also have to tell my friends-"

"They can wait! Trust me, I won’t keep you long! I, however, cannot wait! Come on baby!" She pulled him from his seat and dragged him towards the living room.

Alaric wasn’t sure what he expected... but was this it? He wasn’t sure... it was kinda how he thought she might react when he told her initially... but regardless, he has no right to deny her this. It was the least he could do.

It was nighttime when Alaric’s mom finally let him go... they had just spent the day together, watching movies, letting her rant about a book she was reading or a TV show that made no sense and was just drama. They also had baked together, like they did before when he turned ten... and honestly, he sorta wished it lasted just a bit longer... but she knew he had to tell his friends, otherwise he might’ve ended up staying in his room tonight.

Eventually Alaric had flown with Sky towards the dorms, climbing off it to walk outside of the dorms with his head down. It’s been weeks since he’s last been to class, so he’s sure people will be asking him if he’s okay.

He wasn’t in the mood for that, so he just looked for the one person who might let him speak and pass on the information to everyone else. He lifted his eyes and smiled softly as he spotted the person he was looking for. "Clorissa." He called out softly as she turned, and once she heard his voice, sprinted to meet him half way.

"Alaric!" She stopped a few feet in front of him as she reached out and grabbed his hand, "Are you okay? Have you been eating? You’re looking a little thin. I hope everything has been okay for you!"

He blinked as his eyes shrunk to dots. He laughed softly, maybe this wasn’t the best person to see... oh well, he was here. "I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I want to talk to you." He whispered as she blinked and calmed her hyper energy down a bit. "Alright..."

The two had left to move towards a Cafe, most students were asleep at this time, so thankfully he could be alone with her. He sat back against his seat and looked away, "Last night, I got... a notification from my system." He began as she focused all her attention onto him. He looked to his left as the window appeared again, making sure he had his info right.

"And... I got my Second Awakening quest."

Clorissa’s eyes widened slightly and sparkled, "Really? T-Thats amazing!" She leaned forward slightly over the table, "What’s your quest?"

He laid his hand down, "...It’s... a journey. To the west." He looked in the direction the map told him to go.

Clorissa tilted her head with a slight knit in her eyebrows. "What does... that mean?"

"I have to make a long journey towards... some kind of destination."

"...How long?"

"Thousands of miles. It’ll take months."

Clorissa was silent and looked down. She shook her head and smiled, "T-Thats fine! I just... was hoping this doesn’t cut into our classes but... they have measures for people that have their second awakening! So we should be fine!"

Alaric was staring at the table, but frowned as he listened to her talk. He lifted his head, "...Huh?"

"I-I was just saying... I didn’t plan for such a long trip!" She pulled out her phone and began to press her fingers against the keyboard, "I’ll have to adjust my schedule so nothing goes bad!" She said, her eyes scanning the words she typed.

He was silent. He pressed his lips thin and his eyes narrowed and darkened. He waved his hands, "No, Clorissa."

She paused and looked up at him from her phone screen.

He lowered his hand and looked directly into her eyes, "I’m doing this alone."

Her eyes widened. She was flabbergasted. She leaned forward, letting her phone clatter against the table, "W-Why?!"

Alaric looked away and leaned back into his seat, "...My system wants me to do it alone."

The girl blinked and leaned back, her eyes staring aimlessly at his face.

"But..." he placed a hand over his face, "I think... even if I could... I would still choose to go at it alone." His shoulders slumped as his hand slowly slipped away, "After everything that happened... I think a little alone time would do me some good."

"B-But it’s not a little! Y-You..." her voice shook slightly, "You said it would be months!"

He smiled softly, "I did." He looked off, towards another seat in the establishment. "I need to get my mind right. Maybe that’s why I even got this quest in the first place." He shook his head softly, "I don’t know. But... I just know that I want to go alone."

Clorissa stared at him. If it wasn’t for the system, maybe she would argue back. Tell him that she should come, or anyone should!

But... as she watched him. He was serious. Even if the system didn’t give the restriction, he would still choose to go by himself. Her eyes softened.

"I want you to tell Aluxio... Faxon... Odessa. Because... I’m leaving as soon as possible." He leaned forward, "And I mean at midnight."

Her fingers relaxed at her gown and nodded softly, "Okay..."

Alaric watched her to make sure she really understood, before finally standing and turning towards the door. He sucked in his breath and walked towards the exit of the cafe.

But, he was suddenly stopped as something pressed into his back. He glanced back, and the sorceress was hugging him from behind, her arms wrapped around him, her hands pressed into his chest. Her face was pressed into his back, "I know you’re going through a lot. We all care about you." She opened her eyes, glassy and foggy, "Please... come back safely."

He looked forward. "...I will."