She Left

Ares and Lev returned to the Forest of the Lost with Garsam. As they entered the clearing, Lev started laughing and talking to the air, making Garsam sure he had lost it. Ares walked forward, picked a small plant, and returned to him. "Eat it so you can see," Ares instructed. Garsam took the leaf with heavy doubt. "This isn't poisonous, right?" She sniffed it. "No," Ares deadpanned and walked away. He reached a spot, made a motion of opening a door, then disappeared. Garsam frowned and ate the leaf. It didn't have any taste. She blinked and widened her eyes in surprise. The once-empty space was filled with people. Behind them were several huts; it was a small village. Garsam looked towards the spot where Ares disappeared; there was a hut there. Ares walked out with a stormy expression. "They are gone!" He hissed. Lev, who was busy making a few older women giggle, turned at this. "Gone? What do you mean gone? Where could they go?" He walked into the same hut and exited almost immediately, not looking too happy. A little girl ran over with a giggle, hugging Lev's leg. "Chief," she grinned. "What did you bring for Lili?" Lev picked her up, making the girl shriek excitedly. "Something sweet, perfect for a sweet little girl." "Yay, where is it?" "Sure, you can have it, but first, tell me where the two nice sisters and brother went?" The girl's cute face puckered in a frown. "The nice sister said 'give me gateway orbs,' so I gave her. Now where's my gift?" Her eyes shone in excitement. Lev tossed her a small gift box, and she bounced away. In a corner where they couldn't see, Lili let out a sigh of relief. That was so nerve-wracking. She pinched her chubby cheeks. She had been having fun hiding and eating the siblings' food; she almost forgot about the Chief's return. She recalled the strange man's eyes on her; his violet eyes seemed to want to tear through her innocent charade. Who was he, and why was he looking for them? Catching herself, she shook her head hard. The whats and whys were none of her business; that's the adults' problem. Anyway, she was off the hook. The Chief rubbed his head. "I'm so tired; that cheeky little girl, I wonder what Aria promised her that made her agree to steal a gateway orb." "Get the Pathfinder to locate her," Ares turned around and started walking out of the village. "Are we leaving so soon? We barely just returned," Lev whined. Ares glared at him. "Fine, slave master! I'll buckle up for another journey." He turned to Garsam. "Won't you say something to him?" Garsam shrugged with a smirk. "What can I say? I'm just a little girl." Lev protested. "Hey! So you're a girl when it's convenient for you!" *** The Pathfinder chirped as Ares tore through a barrier. "She's here," its squeaky voice said. Lev sighed in relief. Ares, that mad man, had been tearing through covens in their search for Aria, and each time Lev had to mediate and calm down the angry horde before they ended up in a fight! Lev felt for the magic in the air. The magic was not very impressive, but there was someone strange here. He was getting an odd aura; the person had magic but was certainly not a witch. He knew Ares must have noticed too, but the blockhead probably didn't care. He looked around for a while then marched in a direction. Lev and Garsam went after him. "Hey, you're heading in the wrong direction," Garsam said. "The village is that way." "She's over here," Ares replied. Finally, they came to a small path. It didn't look very frequented. Through the path, they found a small hut. Ares and Garsam immediately recognized the girl working in front. She was bent over grinding something with a stone so she didn't see them. Ares didn't know her name. "Ur," he called out. The girl raised her head like a whip and stared at them with wide eyes. "Y...you h...how?" She stuttered. Ares looked at the hut. "We are looking for Aria." In the hut, Aria, who was busy eating, paused at the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite remember it. Vel noticed the girl's shock and wariness. He didn't know how Ares knew her name, but he was scaring the poor girl speechless with his stony look. "Hi," Vel called out. The girl turned to him, and he gestured with a smile. "Do you know a girl about yay tall, has dark hair and a nasty mouth...oh, she had a brother and sister with her too." In the hut, Aria's face darkened. She could recognize that infuriating voice anywhere! Who the hell has a nasty mouth! But wait, how did he find them? She peeped through a crack in the door and nearly passed out when her eyes met violet ones. It gave a strong sense of deja vu, but wasn't he one of the Acabi? She pulled open the door and rushed out. She fired Ares with a few questions at once. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?...and most importantly, what are you doing with him?" She was referring to the chief, Vel. Vel rolled his eyes with a smug smile. "Gee, you don't have to sound so excited to see me, darling." Ares looked down at Aria. Having looked up to her through the period of their first meeting, she suddenly seemed so small. His soul stirred, and an overwhelming urge to embrace her engulfed him. But he was sure that wouldn't end well. "You left," he said instead, his voice accusatory. Aria blinked. Left from where? She looked at the chief; did he mean from the village? Was she supposed to sit there and rot? Besides, what does her leaving have to do with him? "It's none of your business," she snapped. Ares frowned dangerously. "You are my business!" Aria's face darkened. "Oh nah! Don't get the wrong idea, I have no plans to take on Selena's burden." She jerked her chin towards Ivy. "She has half of Ur's true spirit; you don't need me." Ares looked at the little witch in the corner. She stood staring at them blankly. Although she also had half of Ur's true spirit, he was not drawn to her. He turned back to Aria and spoke seriously. "But I'm only attracted to you." There was a three-point-five seconds silence, then the chief guffawed. Beside him, Garsam chuckled. "Is-is that supposed to be a confession? Hahaha how lame." Aria's face flamed red. How could a complete stranger say something so inappropriate! "Don't talk nonsense, you...you dummy." Ares frowned and said with even more severity. "I am only drawn to you; I do not lie!" The chief might even go into a coma from how hard he was laughing. "So lame, so lame," he repeated. A muscle ticked on Ares' jaw. He clicked his finger, and chief froze. He literally turned into a jade statue. His expression was one of bitter betrayal. Garsam looked at the frozen Lev in wonder. "Wow, so that was your magic in the sword."