Haruki wrapped himself around with the cloak on his shoulders as a cover to warm his body.
A bright smile rose on his face, and his eyes shone as if he were a child at the peak of his happiness.
He turned his head, looking toward Noroi, his brown eyes reflecting the glow of the fire beside him.
The crackling sound of burning wood was the only thing filling the air before Haruki broke the silence with a question.
"Where are we on the map now?"
Noroi's eyes lifted for a moment from the blazing fire to Haruki's face , that bright expression once again.
Noroi turned his gaze away, visibly annoyed, and replied in a sharp tone,
"It seems we're at Lake Solmire."
Yamka jumped into their conversation with excitement, not caring about the chewed fish inside her mouth.
"This-"
Haruki cut her off by placing his index finger on her lips, pressing them closed before she could finish what she wanted to say.
When she looked at him in confusion, he placed his other hand on his hip, explaining his action.
"Don't talk while chewing your food, you'll choke."
Yamka swatted his hand away from her face in annoyance, her enthusiasm fading as a frown took over her expression.
She swallowed the food in her mouth before continuing what she had wanted to say before being silenced.
"I wanted to say, this place is amazing. We should come back here someday."
Noroi threw more dry tree branches into the fire, keeping it burning.
As the branches caught flame, the orange glow intensified, reflecting in his gray eyes.
His face held an empty expression, but he replied.
"If our next destination happens to be near here, we might rest here again. Otherwise, we need to keep moving forward."
Haruki's bright expression turned into a childish frown as he threw himself backward, lying on his back with his hands resting beneath his head.
He muttered in a low voice that matched the calmness of the world around them,
"That's unfortunate."
After those drowsy words slipped from his lips, his eyelids grew heavy until they closed completely, and the boy fell into a deep sleep.
Tomoi approached Haruki's sleeping form, gently brushing the top of his pink head beside Haruki's sleeping face.
Then his small orange feet moved toward the top of Haruki's head, and with his beak, he grabbed some strands of brown hair, shaping them into a nest for himself.
He settled atop the locks now coiled into circles, tucked his wings close to his body, curling himself into a pink fluff ball, then closed his black eyes and fell asleep.
Yamka sat quietly beside the fire, the burning wood's glow reflecting in her green eyes.
She drifted off, watching the rays dance with the gentle breeze.
For a moment, her expression turned blank, as if she had left this world entirely and moved to another far away.
Noroi, who was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, noticed her distant expression and how her mind had wandered.
Finally, he broke the silence that had formed between them, saying.
"Stop sitting there like some kind of statue."
Yamka snapped out of the daze she had been in and lifted her head to look directly at him, still somewhat scattered.
It took her mind a few moments to process what he'd said, as if the words hadn't reached her the moment they left his mouth.
She shook her head slightly to regain her focus, then replied.
"And what exactly do you want?"
Noroi turned his face, looking to his left , specifically toward the forest.
The dense trees made it impossible to see what was hidden behind their shadows.
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, sharpening his focus into the forest before turning back to Yamka to answer her question, his unreadable expression unchanged.
"Go to sleep. We have something big to do tomorrow."
Yamka pushed herself up to her feet before beginning to move away from the fire, the rustling sound of grass beneath her steps blending with the crackling of the burning wood.
Suddenly, she froze in place and turned sharply to her right.
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Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐