"I promise you guys will love it there! My mom's also a great cook!"
"Yeah, yeah. No doubt about it."
"Be more excited Kai! I'm thrilled!"
We found ourselves sprinting through the grasslands just far off the capital, heading towards Sorren's hometown, Yalengor.
"Listen, Team Soke. I know you've just gotten back, but I'll need to task you with another mission. Don't worry, I'll send help from other teams as well. Soke"
"Yes, chairman?"
"Diana is currently situated at Aurealia's finest resort."
"You don't mean-"
"Yes, Aethia. You are to take your team and arrive at Aethia within a week, acting as bodyguards for Diana."
"You don't suppose you have her contact or anything, do ya?"
"I'll get it to you later. Diana has been split up from her team, alone at Aethia. So I need you to get there soon, I'll be notifying another team as well."
As we departed the capital, Sorren pleaded for a quick visit to his hometown, seeing that it was on the way and we had a week, Soke couldn't find proper reason to refuse.
The wind brushed against my face as we reached the top of a hill, below, a large village could be seen in the distance.
"That's the one, my town Yalengor."
The steep descent brought us right into the town, a complete contrast to the grandeur of the Capital and the Aurelian cities. Soaring stone buildings were nowhere to be found; everything was made out of wood here, small cottages that stood side by side. Handcrafted shops filled the gaps, some familiar names from the city, others completely unique to this place.
"Your town's pretty, Sorren."
"Yer darn right it is! And I left this place to become a cadet, imagine that!"
Sorren seemed quite fond of his village.
It's something I wished I could've felt before, all that happened.
We trailed along a stone path that wound past a blooming field of flowers, leading us toward a solitary house perched at the very edge of the garden.
"Here we are."
Sorren rushed up to his door, frantically knocking in excitement.
The rest of us couldn't help but smile.
The door creaked open, a petite figure peeking through the gaps, she had long brown hair just like Sorren's, even her eyes were the same shade.
Is that-?
"Noza!!"
The girl flung the door open, throwing herself into Sorren's arms.
"Big brother!!"
"I missed you so much!"
"I did too."
We watched as Sorren swept her up, spinning her through the air as their laughter echoed through the garden. The sight left a warm feeling in my heart.
And somewhere underneath, a cold one.
He set her down carefully, introducing us.
"Noza, these are my partners in the cadets. The old guy is Soke."
Soke frowned.
"The overly attractive one is Kai."
A puzzled expression formed on his face.
"The tan one is Akio."
I sighed.
"And that plain girl over there is Hana."
I stared across at Hana, an embarrassed smile washing over her face.
And yet behind her back, she'd hidden palms that seemed to be almost...
Quivering.
"Alright guys, come in!"
And in a moment, they'd gone back to normal.
We made our way through the front door, the house compact yet emitting a sense of coziness even our dorms wouldn't be able to offer.
Sorren led us to the kitchen, a middle-aged woman stood across the table, chopping vegetables.
"Mom! Sorren's here!"
The woman's chin perked up in an instant, her gaze landing directly on Sorren.
The knife clattered to the floor as she lunged toward him, pulling him into a desperate embrace while a torrent of tears streamed down her face.
"Oh, Sorren! How have you been! It's been two months!"
That's right. We've been team Soke for two months now. It's supposed to be a short amount of time, and yet it feels as if I'd known these guys forever.
A good feeling.
"Relax, I've been great, Ma. I phone you almost every day! I've even made lots of new friends. And had lots of fun out there."
"A stupid call couldn't compare to seeing the face of my son."
She released him hesitantly as she turned her gaze over to us.
"And you four must be his friends. Soke. Kai. Akio. And Hana."
Soke nodded with a bow, slapping mine and Kai's head down with him.
Perhaps I should greet her properly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, auntie-"
"Auntie?" She curved an odd smile.
A strange shudder fell over me.
"Miss Vaskir."
"Why, it's a pleasure to meet you too... Akio?"
"That's right."
She ushered us back out into the garden to wait while she started on dinner, and Noza followed us out.
Noza grabbed on to my arm as we arrived outside.
"Hey, play with me."
"Ah. But why me?"
"I don't know. Sorren said you're weird."
Oh.
"Hey, Noza!"
"But he also said you're a really amazing person, mister Akio. In fact, he talks about all of you guys all the time."
"Hey-!"
A smile ran across our faces as we stared at Sorren, now flustered.
"Oh. Except Soke. He said he's a lazy old coot!"
"NOZA-!"
Soke clamped a hand over Sorren's mouth, hauling him away as the man draped limply over his shoulders.
"You guys have fun!"
"Hey, Aki, Kai. I think I'm going to go explore the town."
...
"Akio, I'm gonna go train my charm over at the field there."
...
"Hey. Mister Akio, what are we gonna play?"
Well darn.
"I guess I don't really mind. What do you usually do with Sorren?"
"Big brother always throws me up in the air and runs me through the sky like an aeroplane!"
Sorren does that, huh.
"I suppose you wouldn't mind doing just that then?"
She nodded her head hastily. Cute.
I heaved her up on my shoulders as I ran through the garden.
"WOOOOHHHH!!"
She gave my head a playful knock.
"Ow!"
"This is boring. Throw me in the air now."
What a demanding young child.
I caught her by the hips and hoisted her into the air, catching her securely as she came back down.
"Yippee!!"
You know what, I think I'm kinda glad nobody's watching.
***
All seven of us were seated at the dining table, a feast prepared in front of us.
Smoke curled off trays of perfectly cooked chicken with a golden glow and juicy lamb with herbs on top that seemed to fall apart when our forks touched it. Situated next to them were colorful salads, plates piled high with buttery pasta and rice. It smelled heavenly, I found myself salivating before I had even taken a bite.
"Woah! Ma, you really made a lot!"
"I had to please your friends here. They've done a whole lot for me."
We thanked her diligently, digging into our meal.
We tore into the feast as the savory juices of the lamb and the crunch of the fresh greens finally silencing our hunger, each forkful of buttery pasta melting in my mouth.
As we began wrapping up our meal, Sorren's mother broke the silence.
"To you five. I really really do want to say thank you."
"No. Mrs Vaskir." Soke had replied in an instant.
"I want to thank you."
Her eyes widened.
"Thank you for bringing that knucklehead to us." Kai, Hana, and I nodded our heads in agreement.
It really was a thanks.
The tears started to flow, dripping and forming salty trails on her face. She brushed them away with the heel of her hand, breathing in uneven gasps.
"I'm, so, so happy. That my boy is able to have people like you."
"Ma..."
I'm happy too.
Right now, I really am. I'd spent today having so much fun here I'd forgotten that tomorrow we'd be travelling to Aethia for a deadly mission.
But, it was worth it. Staying here. Playing with Noza. Seeing her sob tears of joy.
Everything was worth it.
***
Following dinner, Sorren's mother had guided us to the guest room, 3 beds waiting to be occupied.
Soke had to sleep on the couch, he volunteered.
I was heading for the bathroom before turning in when Sorren's voice drifted through the corridor, stopping me in my tracks.
"So, Noza. What do ya think of them?"
"They're all so nice. Especially Akio! We had so much fun playing together."
I grinned softly.
"That so? Then I guess ya just have to see them again later, eh?"
"That would be amazing!"
"Arright then. Let's go ta sleep for now."
"Awhh, okay."
"Sometime, Noza. When I get some free time off the cadets, I wanna take ya somewhere. Just you, me, and mom. How's that sound?"
"It sounds like fun!"
"Yer darn right it does. Haha."
I should get back.
I walked myself back to the guest room, tugging a blanket over my body. That night's sleep, was a great one.
***
"Thank you for having us, Mrs Vaskir. We'll be sure to visit some other day!"
"No, thank you, Soke, and the rest of you. Keep my boy safe."
"We will."
Noza rushed out the door grabbing on to Sorren's legs.
"You better come back soon!"
She turned her gaze to me.
"You too, mister Akio!"
"Sure, I'll come back to visit one day."
"That's a promise?"
"It's a promise."
I intertwined my pinky with hers, a gesture so light, yet filled with so much more.
"Then I'm gonna call you big brother Akio from now!"
Sorren chuckled. "You've just gotten yourself an annoying sister, Akio."
"It seems like I have."
We cast a final wave back at them before breaking into a sprint, our boots thundering across the open fields.
It seems like...
I've just found something else I needed to protect.