FVN Book 7: Chapter 48: Around Town
Book 7: Chapter 48: Around Town
Book 7: Chapter 48: Around Town
“Do you think I should do it?” Miguel asked, walking next to Nerthus as the spryggent made his rounds. Fat drops of rain fell upon the young man’s shoulders, washing away the sweat of his most recent bout of training. It was cold, but he could ignore that so he could experience the rain’s rejuvenating properties. The spell wasn’t as powerful as Elijah’s, but it was enough to wash away his fatigue and improve his training. “I should do it, right?”
“I do not know why you ask me. I am no expert on mating traditions of adolescent humans,” Nerthus answered. “However, the answer to your question seems simple enough.”
Despite his discomfort with how Nerthus had characterized his interest in Hope, Miguel asked, “What is it?”
“You should do whatever necessary to foster a good relationship with Miss Hope. Ask her out, as you put,” Nerthus answered, letting his gnarled hand hover only an inch above one of the bushes. Ethera swirled, but Miguel couldn’t see any change.
He groaned. “You’re no help at all.”
“Would you like an alternative piece of advice?”
“Yes!”
“Then you should pursue the girl quite ardently. She has a nature attunement, and as such, we should seek to tie her to the grove as quickly as possible. There is no proof that attunements are hereditary, but logic suggests that a child born to two nature-attuned parents and raised in a grove such as this will be quite an asset,” Nerthus explained. “For the grove, of course.”
That was not the answer Miguel wanted to hear, and what’s more, he couldn’t stop his cheeks from reddening in embarrassment at the spryggent’s frank discussion of the subject.
“I wish Elijah was here,” he muttered.
“Alternatively, you could ask your mother. She is a female, correct? Perhaps she could offer proper perspective.”@@@@
“I am not asking my mom for dating advice,” Miguel insisted. “That’s just...that’s just wrong.”
He couldn’t articulate why he felt that way, but the thought of approaching his mother with the question of whether or not he should ask Hope out left him with knots in his stomach. He wouldn’t go down that road unless someone forced him to. And even then, he’d resist every step of the way.
The problem was that he didn’t know why he was so nervous. Hope had been friendly enough, and what’s more, he’d faced down deadly threats aplenty. By all rights, the prospect of spending the day with a girl his own age shouldn’t have been nearly as daunting as fighting through dark elf infested forests.
And yet, he could face the latter without a hint of hesitation, but the former prompted a panic response. It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d been interested in a girl. He’d even had a girlfriend – at least as much as a pair of pre-adolescents could claim such a relationship status – back in Easton. However, what he felt when Hope looked at him was something altogether different. Something special.
“Do you seek any other advice? I must tend to the Frozen Glade.”
Miguel shook his head. “No. Thanks for trying, though.”
“I wish you luck, Warden.”
“A lot of help you were,” Miguel muttered after Nerthus was gone.
“What was that, Warden?” came the tree spirit’s disembodied voice.
“Uh...nothing. Just talking to myself,” Miguel said, finally seeing Nerthus’ face sticking out of the bush. It was so well disguised that even looking right at it wasn’t a guarantee of detection.
“Very well.”
Nerthus disappeared, and this time, Miguel didn’t forget that in the grove, the spryggent was basically omniscient. So was Elijah, but the Druid didn’t rub it in Miguel’s face. Regardless, he was no closer to making a decision than when he’d asked Nerthus for help.
For the next few minutes, he paced back and forth, going over all the ways asking Hope out could go wrong. At worst, she’d be offended, which could affect Elijah and the grove. Or she could just turn him down. Maybe she’d even laugh in his face. A thousand different scenarios, each worse than the last, flitted through his mind until, at last, he pushed them aside.
He was a powerful fighter. One of Ironshore’s saviors. And Hope had acted like she was interested, at least in being friends. If he had the courage to face monsters and dark elves, then he could face the possibility of rejection. So, he made his decision and started toward the dock.
“Yeah. It’s fine. I was just...uh...you know, I know you’re new around here, and I was thinking that maybe you wanted to see the city,” he offered, noticing a bunch of cloth sitting on one of the nearby counters. “With me. Maybe we can get something to eat, too. And I could show you Druid’s Park. If you want, I mean. If you’re busy, I understand. You’re busy. I get it. I’ll just –”
“No, of course I want to see the city! It’s all so fascinating,” she said. “And everyone here is just so nice. It’s so much better than Forest Hills. Let me get my coat.”
She did just that, grabbing a large, fur-lined cloak. Then, suddenly, she took hold of his hand. It happened so suddenly that Miguel had no idea how to react. Fortunately, Hope was more than happy to take the lead, and she quickly dragged him out into the hall, saying, “I’m so excited. I haven’t had the chance to explore much at all. Just the couple of times I’ve been out to the grove. And I visited the Alchemist, but that doesn’t count. It’s necessary, but it’s not really exploration, you know?”
As she led him outside, Miguel just let her go on about how excited she was to see the city. It was so refreshing, especially after everything he’d been through. There was something about her that marked her as entirely different from all the other people he’d met over the past few years. Part of it was innocence, but there was also an optimism about her that he couldn’t help but appreciate.
After they were outside, he escorted her through the city, pointing out landmarks and shops he recognized. And as time went on, he became more and more comfortable with her. He was still nervous, but she had a way about her that put his anxiety at ease.
Eventually, the pair reached what had become Miguel’s favorite restaurant.
“Is this Mexican food?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Or Tex-Mex, really. My mom says there’s a big difference, but being from Seattle, there weren’t a lot of choices for authentic Mexican food. She tried to cook it a few times, but that is not...well, it’s not a strength, even if she probably thinks it is. I’m almost thankful that the way everything works now means that unless you have a cooking skill, you’re probably not going to make anything worth eating. No more bad enchiladas.”
Hope laughed. “My dad was like that. He used to make his ‘famous brisket’,” she said, using air quotes. “It wasn’t famous, and I question if it was actually brisket. But if I used enough barbecue sauce, it was edible. For a while there, I used to dream about that brisket. Like, things were different back then. Easier. Even with mom gone, the world made sense.”
“I...I lost my mom, too. My other mom, I mean. It was after the world changed, but...but I miss her a lot sometimes. All the time, really, unless I’m busy.”
“Is that why you train so hard?” Hope asked.
He shrugged. “Partly. But it’s also because it’s fun, pushing myself harder and harder. Seeing what I can make of myself, you know? Sometimes, I kind of resent the system. Like, I can spend months training, and then somebody can get a level and make the same gains. I know that doesn’t change how much all my work means, but it does sometimes feel like it cheapens everything. Colt tells me it shouldn’t matter, that we work at our craft not in pursuit of results, but because we love the process. That’s hard, though. Really hard.
He sighed, stopping a few feet from the restaurant’s door. “And now I’ve got so much pressure on me because of the class I chose,” he admitted. “Green Warden. It’s supposed to be a leadership class. More than just a defender of the grove, but like a champion. A general, maybe. I don’t know. But that’s a lot, especially with my uncle being gone so much.”
He looked up to see Hope looking at him with those wide, green eyes of hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just unload on you like that. I don’t get to talk to people much, unless you count Nerthus, and I really don’t. He’s great, but he doesn’t get people. Other than that, my normal conversation partner is Trevor, and he can’t even talk. So...”
“So, I’m a step up, huh?” she asked, giving him a little smirk. She stepped forward and grabbed his hand again. “You don’t have to apologize, you know. I’ll always listen when you need to talk.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Miguel felt some of the tension go out of his shoulders, but at the same time, his stomach twisted into even tighter knots. He leaned forward, closing his eyes. Then, his lips brushed against hers. She leaned into the kiss, and for the briefest of moments, Miguel froze. Then, instinct took over, and his hand found her waist.
Just then, a voice called out, “Hope Nancy Latham.”
She pulled away. “Crap. Be cool,” she murmured. Then, she turned and, in a much louder voice, said, “Daddy! You wouldn’t want to have dinner with us, would you? We were just about to come find you. You know Miguel, right? He’s Elijah’s nephew.”
Miguel glanced toward the man Hope had addressed, and his heart leaped into his throat. He’d met Ron once before – the day after he had arrived in Ironshore – but he’d heard a few stories from Elijah about the Healer. His uncle had described the man as imminently patient, kind, and an all-around great guy.
But in that moment, the glare he directed at Miguel made that description hard to believe.
“Hello, Miguel. So good to meet you,” was his terse response to his daughter’s invitation. “I look forward to getting to know you much, much better.”
Given the man’s tone, Miguel wasn’t so sure if those words were true. In fact, it sounded like the complete opposite. His instincts told him to either get ready for a fight or to flee. However, one look at Hope’s, well, hopeful face – and the memory of the kiss that had been interrupted – was all it took to put some steel in Miguel’s spine.
“I look forward to it, too, sir,” Miguel said, giving Ron his best smile. It didn’t seem to work, but that was okay. He’d win the man over one way or another. Hope was worth it.