Illmis had told him not to rush, and Almark always reminded himself of that, but he couldn’t help but feel a throb of impatience at moments like this.
Am I really going to learn how to use magic? Will I ever be able to use it this naturally?
Almark started to feel anxious, but he kept it at bay. Now wasn’t the time for such emotions.
He and Lilty lit up the ground in silence for a few minutes. Almark expected a white handkerchief to stand out, but they had a hard time finding it.
“Are you sure you dropped it around here?” he asked Lilty.
“Yes. See, we were picking the coiling blackhawk claw over there… The ones with the vines.”
Lilty floated up the magic light in her hand slightly into the air. This illuminated the area above them, revealing the coiling blackhawk claw vines wrapped around the trees.
“All right.”
The two went back to work, but though they searched in silence for minutes, the white handkerchief was nowhere to be found.
Almark heard sniffling. He turned around and saw Lilty was tearing up.
“Oh no… What if we can’t find it…?” she moaned.
He couldn’t tell her it was just a handkerchief. He knew it meant so much more to Lilty, which was honestly self-evident just from the fact a timid girl like her ran out into the night with only a lantern in hand to search for it.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find it,” Almark assured her.
He couldn’t deny that they might not find it, but he knew he couldn’t under any circumstances let Lilty see he felt that way.
“We’ll find your handkerchief for sure,” he added patiently. “Let’s try expanding our search.” Almark got to his feet, which made the lamp’s light waver. “I’ll look over there.”
He started to walk away, but then Lilty grabbed him by the sleeve.
“Wait,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Don’t leave me all alone.”
Her eyes were full of fear; Almark had no choice but to give in. He’d nearly forgotten Lilty was very much a scaredy cat and was probably terrified just from being out in the dark.
“Sorry about that. Let’s look together.”
The range of their search was going to be very limited so long as Lilty refused to leave Almark’s side.
“I’ll look over here… Lilty, you look over there.”
“Almark, did you check that thicket?”
The two stayed close together, talking to each other as they searched through the dark for who knows how long.
“We might have overlooked something on the first go around. Let’s double check the spots we’ve already seen one more time,” Almark suggested once he saw Lilty was losing all hope.
He lit up a thicket Lilty had already looked through earlier. “How about you check over there where I’ve been, and I’ll look here?”
“Sure…,” Lilty said, her voice thin. She sniffled again.
But then, they heard rustling from the thicket. Lilty let out a small screech and clung to Almark.
“It’s okay.”
Almark spotted the source of the sound from the corner of his eye.
“Some fruit just fell down.” He approached the thicket with Lilty and picked up a ripened fruit. “See?”
“You’re right…” Lilty breathed out in relief.
“Most things that look scary turn out to be harmless when you find out what they really are—like this fruit.” Almark dropped the fruit to the ground and smiled. “It’s exactly when you’re scared that you want to keep your eyes open, not closed. Being blindly afraid is the riskiest thing you can do.”
“…Right.”
Lilty stared at the fallen fruit.
“What do you feel like doing, Lilty? Are you too scared to keep going?” Almark asked gently.
Lilty shook her head. “Just a little longer.”
“All right.”
In Lilty’s eyes, the handkerchief must have been worth grappling with her fear.
“I’ll stay with you until we’re finished here.”
The two resumed their search, this time with Lilty expanding the area they looked in. She walked a short distance away from Almark, bravely looking, and eventually, it paid off. A short while after they started looking…
“I found it!” Lilty shouted.
“You did?!” Almark hurried over.
“Yeah!” Lilty held up the handkerchief victoriously.
“Huh? But it isn’t…,” Almark started, but then decided to shut his mouth.
He personally wouldn’t describe Lilty’s handkerchief as “white.” It was gray at best, and honestly closer to black…
Come to think of it, Lilty did say she slept with it every night.
It probably had originally been white… Well, that certainly explained why they had such a hard time finding it.
Either way, this was a huge relief. Lilty tearfully clutched the rag that was once a white handkerchief, and Almark urged her to head back.
“Thank you, Almark,” Lilty said cheerfully, holding onto his sleeve. “I’m so glad you came with me.”
“Don’t mention it.” Almark felt his face naturally relax into a smile at the sight of how happy Lilty was. “I’m just glad we found it. Your courage won out.”
“C-courage? Don’t exaggerate…,” Lilty muttered sheepishly. “I wouldn’t have found it without you.”
“I only helped. You’re the one who made up her mind to look for it.”
Suddenly, they heard a flute in the distance.
Almark’s body unconsciously tensed. A lukewarm wind blew through the woods as if in response to the sound. The trees rustled noisily.
Oh. So today’s that kind of day. Almark grimaced. This sound always puts me on edge.
“…It’s the hour of the monsters,” he said. “Let’s hurry back.”
“Huh?” Lilty turned to look at him, her expression stiff. “What? What are you talking about? Don’t scare me like that.”
“Don’t you know? When you hear that sound in a forest—”
As soon as he said that, he remembered that this was the logic of the Northern forests. But had he ever heard that horn when he hiked through the woods in the central plains or the South…?
No, I don’t have time to think about this now.
The atmosphere of the woods behind them shifted. This place was no longer safe for humans.
“Lilty, we have to go.”
Almark took Lilty’s hand and pulled her along, listening carefully to any noises coming from deep in the forest.
Nothing yet. We’re still okay.
“What? What’s going on?” Lilty asked anxiously as Almark broke into a jog.
“Let’s hurry.”
We’ll probably be fine so long as we make it out of here.
Believing in this as ardently as he could, Almark upped their pace to a run. They raced through the woods, the light shaking in front of them as the lantern in his hand wavered with each step.
“I’m scared,” Lilty whispered in between gasps of air. “Almark, this is scaring me.”
“Don’t worry.”
I’m scared, too, and I’m not confident I can protect her. But so long as we make it out of this forest…
By the time they left the woods and stepped into the bright moonlight, their hands were covered in sweat. Lilty was panting, her hands on her knees.
“Good job keeping up with me,” Almark told her, and then looked toward the dark entrance to the woods. “I think we’re safe here, but let’s get a little further away, just in case.”
Lilty nodded and looked up, not asking the natural question of “safe from what?” She was likely too afraid to risk finding out. The two hurried back to the dorms, still holding hands. After walking for a while, they passed the dark schoolhouse and noticed a group of people with lanterns approaching.
“Huh? Someone’s coming over here. Hey, who’s there?!” a voice called out to Almark and Lilty. It was a lively voice—a familiar one…
“Nelson! It’s me, Almark! Lilty’s here, too!”
“Almark and Lilty? Oh, good. I found them, guys!”
The group approached them, lanterns in hand. Lilty hurriedly let go of Almark’s hand as Nelson, Morgan, and Norish reached them. Apparently, when Norish noticed Lilty wasn’t back after dinner, she went to their classmates for help. Since Almark didn’t have a roommate, no one noticed he was late to come back, too.
“Oh, Lilty, I was so worried!” Norish wrapped her arms around Lilty, who apologized.
Looks like everything’s settled, thought Almark.
He sighed with relief, but then Nelson approached and elbowed him in the ribs.
“What were you two doing outside this late, Almark? Sounds pretty fishy to me…”
“Nothing, it’s just…” Almark started to answer, but paused to think. Telling the truth could end up hurting Lilty’s reputation. “I ended up practicing my meditation for longer than I’d expected, and then I happened to run into Lilty.”
He came up with an excuse on the spot. Lilty did the same, saying she’d gone back to the schoolhouse to find something she forgot, only to remember where she’d put it. A forced excuse, and one Norish had a hard time believing.
“Huh?” Nelson frowned suspiciously, as expected.
“You’re so diligent, Lilty,” Morgan said, his tone easygoing. “I wouldn’t go out to pick something up when it’s this dark out.”
Everyone laughed, putting the topic behind them.
Nice one, Morgan, Almark said to himself. This got them out of needing to explain things.
“Lilty,” Almark called out, careful to make sure no one was looking as he handed her the lantern.
Suddenly, Lilty got very close to him and whispered bashfully into his ear, “Thank you for everything, Almark,” she said. “And keep my hankie a secret.”