TAIHEN Only If We Could Go Back

Ishtar gallops and runs as far as he can go. He gallops as fast as he can through the varying streets of Memphis, straying away for as far as they can muster. Taihen could barely balance himself on the ride since his hands are tied. Whina, on the other hand, focuses on making sure they go on a quick route.

As they go on their way, Taihen busies himself trying to untie himself by biting on the rope. Whina glances and realizes what hes doing.

”Don you even try… ” Whina warns Taihen.

”B-but… I can b- ”

”Do it and Ill hand you to them myself. ” she interrupts. ”Don even think about escaping. It won help you. ”

”I- I just told you I can b-balance mys-! ” Taihen says as he immediately falls to the ground.

The impact on the ground was, well, as painful as ever. He rolls from the momentum and causes a civilian to fall and drop their belongings. Whina halts from her ride and turns around to pick up Taihen.

Taihen slowly stands up as his body ached. He then sees the poor lady he knocked out and rushes in to help her.

”I-Im so sorry. Are… are you um… alright? ” he asks.

As the lady stands up in Taihens aid, she pats his back. ”Kids these days… ” she says. ”Do you mind picking my… ”

”Yeah of course! ” Taihen smiles.

He picks up all of her belongings on the floor. Whina then arrives, unmounts, and helps along.

”Are you ok miss? ” she asks. ”Im sorry for what happened, I hope you don mind. ”

”You
e so sweet- ” she says, but then quickly feels pain on her back. ”Agh! ”

”Maam! ” Taihen calls as he walks over.

Whina raises her hand and gestures it to stop Taihen. ”Stay there. This was your fault anyway. ”

”Wh-what?! But- ”

”Miss, we will be bringing you to a physician. ” she tells her as calmly as possible.

”Thank you. ” she replies.

Whina guides her and helps her mount to Ishtar. She calls on Taihen too so they could move on. After everyone has mounted, with Whina on the front and Taihen on the far back, they all go to the nearest physician. One thing, they had to turn around and go back since the nearest physician is just blocks away from Ubels inn. So, they have to find the safest route where Lukeman and his team won be able to spot them.

After minutes of riding, they arrive without any problems at all. Taihen stays as alert as he can, using his gifts of heightened senses to get a warning as soon as possible.

Whina and the old lady carefully unmount the horse and enter the clinic. ”You still feel the pain? ”

”All the riding made it a little sore, but Im fine sweetie. ” she replies. ”Thanks for bringing me here. ”

”Let me take you all the way in. ” she says.

”Oh, thats so kind of you. ” the lady mentions.

”C…could you… uh- check if Bardicks th-there? ” Taihen requests.

”Yes I know. Don need to remind me. ” she replies.

At this point, Taihen just genuinely gave up on trying to untie his hands. He just kept it and stayed still. He felt guilty for doing it to the lady, he really does. And he wanted to help, but Whina wouldn allow him anyway.

Then… he hears something. It was subtle, which means its quite far away. ”Are we close? ” it says. It slowly gets louder and louder, which means its getting closer and closer. This alerts him.

”Whina! ” he calls. ”They
e close! ”

Whina steps out of the clinic. ”Are you sure? ”

He listens again to make sure. ”They must be close. The civilians said they were here! ” it says.

”Y-yes! ” Taihen answers.

”You sure? You
e not lyin- ”

”IM SURE! ”

Whina walks over to the lady. ”Im sorry. We need to go miss. ”

”Well enough. ” she replies. ”

”Well come back tomorrow, I promise you. ”

”No need, but Id appreciate that. ”

”Thanks. ” Whina says as she leaves the clinic.

As she goes outside, she immediatley mounts Ishtar and pauses for a moment.

”How are they able to find us quickly? ” she asks Taihen. ”They
e riding camels. They shouldn be able to outrun a horse. ”

Taihen closes his eyes and hears closely once again. He can hear galloping, a fast galloping that no camels can do. So, it mustve been a horse.

”Th…they have a…horse. ” Taihen replies.

”What? ” she asks. ”How…? Can you hear it?! I can hear anything. Stop lying- ”

”THERE THEY ARE! ” A voice shouts from behind.

”Oh no… ” Taihen comments.

Looking over, they see Husani with a bunch of other mejays charging towards them. Lukeman and the others weren in the scene.

Whina didn flinch and quickly made Ishtar gallop away, escaping as swiftly as they can. Husani commands the group to charge at them, causing a chase.

It goes down quite baffling. None of the medjays were firing since civilians were at risk for being hit. And one thing, Taihen shouldn be injured since hes supposedly a guest. Though, with Whinas skill in horse riding, they were able to evade being caught. They are still being chased at though.

”Was Bardick th…there? ” Taihen asks.

The speed at which they
e going meant that Whina has to focus on the road. Ever so much that they
e also escaping something. But since shes skilled at this, talking while riding is nothing. Taihen though had to clench his grip as tight as he can to Ishtar since his balance was a little off.

”No he wasn ! ” she replies.

”Where… where is he then? ” Taihen asks.

”I don know-! ”

”Sir! ” Husani calls. ”The Pharoah only requests kindly of your presence! We mean no harm! ”

Taihen turns around, confused. ”Y…youve been treating me badly! How- how am I… supposed to believe-?! ”

”Stop running and calmly come with us, sir! ”

”You can hear him?! ” Whina loudly comments. ”I can even hear him. Can he even hear you?! ”

”Surrender now sir! ”

”I guess… ” Taihen says.

”What did you say?! ” she asks since she couldn hear a thing.

”N-nothing! ” Taihen shouts.

As they continue on with escaping, they run into an intersection which, in their dismay, shows Lukeman and his team on horses probably looking for them. Lukeman spots them and immediately calls on his team.

”There he is! ” Lukeman commands.

Whina stops Ishtar from moving as they
e surrounded. Lukeman, his team, and the other medjays on the other side start to slowly creep in. Some of them would begin unmounting their rides and saunter towards them.

”Listen. ” Lukeman says as he slowly walks with caution towards Taihen. ”In contrast to how we treated you, our intentions remain the same. The Pharoah requested your appearance at the palace as soon as possible. And we won stop until we do. Now, come with us. ”

Taihens left himself speechless. He doesn know if he wants to follow Lukeman or not. Currently, hes more in consideration of giving in to Lukeman rather than escaping.

Whina, on the other hand, stays alert. Since she needs the money she demanded from Daniel, she remains as vigilant as she can. But, theres a feeling within her that genuinely yearns to protect Taihen. Even with just knowing him for two days, the feeling seemed strong. She didn understand what it was, but she went with it.

As Lukeman, along with several other medjays, advances towards them, Whina spots a tight opening between two houses just beside them.

”So, what do you say, the man in the big coat? ” Lukeman asks.

”I… accep- ”

Without any warning, Whina pulls Taihen off Ishtar and enters the small opening. Taihen, in fright, just follows her.

”They
e escaping! ” a medjay warns everyone.

”Quick, after them! ” Lukeman commands. ”Half of you, stay here. We
e going around. ”

”Yes sir! ” everyone replies in chorus.

Whina continues on pulling Taihen through the tight alley as they
e chased down by a ton of Lukemans men. They stumble upon innocent civilians and a couple of barrels here and there, but it doesn seem to hinder their escape so far. As much things are concerned, they
e causing the medjays to go slower.

”Can we- agh… ” Taihen pants heavily. ”Can y-you stop pulling me?! ”

”Do you want to- agh… get caught or- agh… what?! ” she asks.

The alley seems longer than it felt. Even though they
e running as swiftly as they could, they have yet to reach the end. Were the houses that big here? They probably thought.

Then, at last, they reach a dead end. They both stop as they see the wall preventing them from further escaping. It felt impossible to get out of the situation now.

”A dead-end?! Seriously?! ” Whina complains, breathing heavily from running.

”Get them! ” a random medjay shouts.

Taihen stays vigilant while Whina observes around them, looking for any possible thing to do. Then, lucky for them, theres an open window they can fit through just to their left.

”Sir Tora! ” she calls. ”There! ” – she points to the window – ”We can go in there! ”

”B-but well be violating th-their privacy- ”

Whina pulls Taihen towards the window. ”I know! Lets just ask them politely or something! ”

They immediately went into the house to escape. Taihen tumbles to the ground as he enters. Whina, after pushing Taihen, enters as well. There, they see a mother cooking a meal in the kitchen and a daughter sitting on the dining table doing nothing. When they entered, the mother quickly went to her daughter and hugged her as if Taihen and Whina were gonna do anything.

”I…I…Im… sorry. ” Taihen says as he stands up from the ground. ”We didn mean t-to scare y- ”

Whina then pushes Taihen away to exit the house. ”Peace be with you. I apologize for our sudden intrusion, ” Whina interrupts, ”but this criminal just kidnapped an old man and needs to be taken to jail. Now, if youll excuse us. ”

”C-criminal?! ” Taihen asks, confused.

”Just shut up! ” Whina whispers, aggravated.

And thus, they left the house as quickly as they can.

Somehow, some of the medjays manage to insert themselves through the window as well. ”Stop them! ” a medjay alerts the others.

When they enter, they see the mother and daughter looking afraid at them.

”Peace be with you. I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but have you seen- ”

The mother and daughter point to the door at the same time, without saying a word.

”Thank you! ” one of them replies.

As each of them went outside, Taihen and Whina were nowhere to be seen. They try looking around, but still, no signs.

”Where are they? ” one asks.

”They mustve escaped… ” the other replies.

”They shouldn have gotten that far… ” another comments. ”We should look around. ”

All of the medjays storm around the area, looking for the two. They look through bushes, rocks, and tall grass. But, it seems like they
e nowhere to be found. After a long while of searching, they seem to have given up and moved on to another area.

Just beside the house, a tree can be seen silently minding its own business. Nothing seems suspicious, at first. But in just moments, the leaves start shuffling intensely. Its as if somebodys there. And then, low and behold! Taihen can be seen gently dropping down from the tree.

He inspects the area, alertly looking around if the medjays are still there. He uses his gift to listen closely, and it seems that all of them have already left the vicinity.

”Alright… Whi…whina. I think they
e… gone. ” Taihen says, whispering.

Whina, not hearing anything, softly shouts, ”I can see anything here! Are they gone?! ”

”Yes! ” Taihen answers, hesitant to shout. ”Th…they are. ”

”Are you sure?! ”

”YES! ” He shouts.

”Okay… ”

For a while, Whina doesn get off from the tree. Taihen notices that something may be wrong since the leaves just seem to shuffle continuously without her dropping to the ground. He walks back to check on her.

Upon closer inspection, it looks as if Whinas having trouble getting down. Nothing seems to keep her from dropping down, so she should be fine.

”Are you…ok? ” He asks in concern.

She stops hesitating for a moment. ”What are you- go away! Im trying to- AGH! ” – she shouts briefly as the branch shes currently stepping on slowly bends – ”I…Im trying to get down! ”

”D-do you need h…help? ”

”I SAID LEAVE-! ” she tries kicking Taihen as she shouted, but it just backfired and it caused her to lose her balance and fall…

WHAM

…directly on him. Elbow first to his stomach.

”Aaaaaaghck! ” Taihen screams. ”GET OFF GET OFF! ”

”YOU GET OFF ME YOU- ”

She pushes herself off of Taihen, giving her a small boost to stand up. Taihen, on the other hand, doesn feel happy about this. Hes just…completely and utterly defeated. Just, weakened. Can even stand up for a bit because of the immense pain.

”FFFFFFfffffhgaaaaghck… ” he groans in pain.

She stares at him for a short while, feeling guilty for what she has just done to him for once. She doesn know what to do. She feels the need to help him, but her stubbornness kept her from doing so. So, she just looks for the right direction to where they
e supposed to go to try and forget what happened.

After looking over, she seems to be able to see their destination at a favorable distance. ”We
e close. ” she says. ”We can walk there. Itll take a while but not that long. ”

”GGgggccchacck. ” he continues to groan.

Whinas consciousness overwhelms her. She needs to help him. She has to help him. Besides, thats who she is anyway. Her prejudice just kept her stubborn towards him. Thus, she decides to help.

In her aid, Taihen finally gets the hang of it and slowly stands up. Hes still angry at Whina, so he just stares at her with that look the whole time.

She sees this and begs to differ from apologizing. ”What are you looking at? ” she asks.

”Y-you… agh… ” Taihen replies.

”What?! ”

”You shouldve… haah… untied…agck. ”

”Huh?! ” she sprites out in confusion.

”Nevermind… ”

”What in the… oh my lord, you are wasting time! ” Whina shouts irritatingly. ”If you keep this up, the medjays would catch you. And I won hesitate to bring you in. ”

”B…but- ”

”Up there. ” – she points to the tree standing on a grassy sandhill – ”Thats where we
e supposed to go. Now, lets hurry up. Hopefully, hes already there. ”

”Who? ” Taihen asks, confused.

« « ————- ¤ ————- » »

”How far is this bloody tree?! ” Daniel asks himself, complaining about the distance he had to walk. ”Was I even walking in the right direction?! ”

Earlier, the man told him where to walk towards to. Daniel, after walking through intersections and dead ends, finds himself a little bit lost.

He looks around, worrying that hes been walking in the wrong direction. His stuff was taken by the medjays not long ago, so hes unable to use any devices he previously had. Plus, he relies heavily on his time device to go anywhere.

He stops for a moment and scratches his head, contemplating whether to pursue or not. He really wants to continue, but he doesn know where to go. Maybe asking someone nearby would work. At least, thats what hes thinking.

A young lady can be seen sitting on a bench just in front of their house. She looks familiar. It seems as if theyve already met already. He quickly walks towards her.

”Excuse me, miss. ” he greets as unawkward as possible.

She doesn answer. She just continues to look at the distance, seeing the ambience around her. She smiles, joyfully.

”Miss? Hello? Can you hear me? ” he asks.

Nothing. She doesn even flinch one bit. This annoys him a little bit so he walks right over to her for her to see him.

”Excuse me~ ”

The lady looks over to him and jumps out of surprise. ”Im so so sorry for that. You were ignoring me so I just… ”

She stares at him, terrified. She looks around to check if theres anywhere or anyone she could go to, but it seems as if the only place she could go is back in her own home, so she just quickly goes inside. Her actions… it seems to be that she has trouble with hearing. Or maybe shes just extremely introverted.

Daniel felt the need to stop her, but he stopped himself before he could. ”Man… ” he tells himself, disappointed.

He prompts himself to ask another person nearby, but a familiar voice catches his attention.

”…a minute. ” the voice utters. ”Slow down! ”

A couple of horses neighing and galloping can be heard in the same direction. He faces the same direction and to look at who was talking and… it was Lukeman talking to his underling.

”This is better. ” Lukeman says to Yasim.

”Sir, this isn necessary…we can still- ”

”I insist. ” he replies, menacingly.

Seeing this made Daniel surprised. What are they doing here? They were supposed to be chasing Taihen but it doesn seem to be the case. Daniel just turns around so that they couldn recognize him. He stays to listen to them as they pass him slowly.

”What was your concern, Yasim? ” Lukeman asks.

”I was wondering about that man we left. ” he replies. ”Was it really fine to leave him there? ”

”Don fret. We
e on our way back there. ”

The medjays look at Lukeman as surprised. ”Sir, I thought we were supposed to be- ”

”You dare question my actions? ”

”No sir! But… ”

”Calm down, I have a plan. ” Lukeman says.

Yasim seems to be asking something, but his voice becomes more inaudible as they go farther. Daniel turns around and stares at them as they leave.

Hes left confused. Shocked. But more or less worried. The medjays would probably know the location hes going towards when they get there. And far more so that he doesn know which direction to go. Hes unsure on what action he should take. If he doesn get there on time, the medjays would most likely capture them.

He panics a little. looking around, trying to spot one area which could resemble an elevated tree. None. There were only houses and sandstone establishments around him.

He attempts to talk to other people around the area.

”Hello maam, do you happen to- ” he walks up and asks a lady, but she just stares at him, hinting for him to leave. So he leaves without finishing.

He tries another person, a man playing with children just on the other side of the pavement. Maybe he would talk, he thinks.

”Good afternoon mate. ” he says. ”Lovely kids you have there. ”

”Oh, haha. Peace be with you. ” the man chuckles awkwardly. ”These aren my kids. They are my sisters. Im just playing with them because…you know- ”

”Ah yeah. I understand. ” he replies.

”Yes. Yes. ” the man says. ”So, what is it? ”

”I was wondering if there were any elevated tree around here? ”

”Elevated… tree? Huh… ”

”Yes. ”

”I don really do much exploring around here. ” he answers. ”If you want, I know someone you can go to. ”

”Really? ”

He points to the young lady to whom he already talked to earlier. He begs to differ.

”Oh… her? I already- ” Daniel says.

”Yes. Her. ” he interrupts. He stares at her in affection. His eyes are locked on her and her only, smiling a bit as if hes joyed by looking at her. ”Shes quite beautiful isn she? ”

”I beg you pardon? ”

”Ah! Sorry. ” he apologizes. ”If you want to know any location around here, you should-you know- go to her. ”

”I couldn - ”

”Shes a very exploring person. Always seem to have a place to go. ” he ganders a bit to her. ”I bet she wants to travel farther than Egypt. She has a map of where she dreams to go, and is working hard to save up money. So… cute. ”

He clears his throat to grab his attention. ”Excuse me, mate? ”

He goes back to reality and starts getting a little embarrassed. ”I apologize. Do you need help to talk-? ”

”I already tried talking to her, but she seems to be afraid of me. ”

”Oh…that… You just surprised her, thats all.

”Does she not like surprises? ”

”Its not that. Shes deaf. ”

”Shes- oh… ”

”Yes. You talk to her using gestures or writing. Do you need help? Ill be glad to. ”

”Thatll be great mate. ”

The man, before walking into his home, asks. ”Im Vihaan, whats yours? ”

”Daniel. ”

”Ill be right back, Daniel. ” he says as he walks back inside his home and grabs a parchment paper and a reed pen.

While waiting, one of the kids walks up to him. ”Uncle Vii really likes her. He stares at her everyday. ”

”Oh. How so? ”

”Thats enough Fidi. Go back inside. ” Vihaan interrupts. ”Lets go. ”

”Of course! ”

They walk towards her, intending to ask her a question. Still hiding behind the doorframe, this time, she stared at them the whole walk towards her. As they both briefly arrive, Vihaan kneels to the bench and whips out the pen and paper to write.

”What was your question again? ” he asks Daniel.

”An elevated tree, apparently… ” Daniel replies.

The young lady just looks at the whole ordeal quite confused. She couldn hear what they were saying, but based on Vihaans actions, she quickly realizes that they were about to talk to her. So she just stands still.

Vihaan finishes writing, stands up, and hands the paper to her. Daniel knows a few hieroglyphics, so when he ganders a tad to see what was written, he could tell that it was very similar to his question.

after reading, she smiles. A bit embarrassed, one could say. She walks inside her house, intending to grab a pen to use, but Vihaan taps her shoulder and hands his. She accepts it and uses the wall as a support for her writing.

Vihaan seemed overjoyed. he couldn stop staring at her. Daniel could tell that something really is going on, supported by the kids remark earlier. He had a similar experience you could say. Except it was not. The girl was from an Anime he really liked. Quite the degenerate since she looked…underaged.

She finishes writing and returns the paper to Vihaan. ”She said that… no wait… shes asking what you mean by that. ”

”Don know man. Im confused too. ” Daniel replies.

Vihaan nods confusingly. The lady realizes whats happening and takes the paper to write something again. After that, she hands it back.

”Were you talking about a tree on some sort of hill, she says. ” he tells Daniel.

Daniel, still confused, just nods in agreement. She looks around the area, seemingly looking for something from afar. Shortly, she points towards the direction. Both of the men look towards where shes pointing at and see a tree on a tall hill afar.

Daniel looks back. ”Thanks. ”

”No problem. ” the guy replies.

The lady smiles and waves as Daniel leaves. They both look at each other and immediately face away in embarrassment.

« « ————- ¤ ————- » »

After sneaking around the area, they reach their final destination. Its a tree on top of a hill. Taihens confused about why theyve gone here, but its quite a distance from the town. So it must be safe for them to wait.

They walk up the hill towards the tree. The immense heat from the suns rays has been giving them a headache, so the shade of the leaves helped quite a ton. Whina, tired after the constant running from the medjays, sits under the tree to take a rest.

”You alright? ” Taihen asks.

”Im fine… agh- ” she answers. ”Aren you…agh… tired or something? ”

”I… a little… ” he replies.

Taihen somehow is barely tired. He stays on high alert and looks around. Not long, he witnesses a sight to behold. A very beautiful view of the desert. Deserts are mostly dull and empty, but somehow, it looks majestic. Its almost far from what many would imagine.

”Aren you amazed? ” she comments, seeing Taihen take in the view.

”I assume youve…yeah. ” he murmurs to himself.

”Huh? Assume Ive… what? ”

”No…its… ” Taihen pauses, thinking if he should really comment or not. ”I just assumed y-youve already b…been in this place a lot… ”

”Obviously. I wouldn bring you to a place I didn know. ”

Taihen sighs and sits down under the tree just opposite her. ”Who are we… waiting for…? ”

”Your friend. The one that made this situation worse. ”

”Daniel? I already… Im not r-really… ”

”Whatever. Im not interested. Just be patient. ”

Thirty minutes go by. the sun dims slightly. Still, no sign of Daniel.

Taihens used to waiting for something, so it doesn really surprise him that he needed to wait that long. Plus, he was busy trying to unleash himself from the rope, which wasn really a success. Whina, on the other hand, is becoming impatient.

”Where is he. ” she talks to himself, looking around her like a freak. ”You know what- come here. ”

She walks over to Taihen, pulling his coat to make him stand up.

”Wh…what? ” he asks.

”Im taking you to the medjays. I don care anymore. ”

”What- wait! ” he pulls himself off of her grasp. ”Maybe we should… wait more. ”

”And what? He doesn come and I end up saving you for free? For Pharoahs sake. WHY DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO BE SO- ARGH! ”

She releases a very frustrating sigh, releasing all her anger at that very moment. She sits back down again. Now, Taihen sits beside her. Whina didn back away or become defensive from this thought, so it seems to him that a little bond has been created between the two.

”Uncle Cai had always told me to be kind to others. Don get me wrong, I do. And Im not usually like this towards other people. ”

”Its- ”

”Just because I found you strange shouldn mean I have to be…you know. ”

”I… understand. ”

”Now, I just realized that…- ugh. Im sorry, sir Tora. ”

”What- um- its- no- I- well- ” Taihen stutters with every word. Hes conflicted. But, something similar to this has already happened before, hasn it? That sadness. That…self-doubt. Mary. She asked something similar. Remembering this, now he knew what he had to do.

”Your…uncle mustve been a great guy, ” he comments.

”He was. ” she answers. ”Hes very kind and caring. Ever since my father disappeared, he took me in and treated me and my mother like family. ”

Taihen stays silent for a while and listens to her.

”Wed go to this place, yeah this place. This elevated tree, he called. We would go on picnics, play some games, or just see the beautiful view. ”

She stares at the setting sun, reflecting what she just said. She hugs her knees and buries her face between them.

”If it weren for his illness… If we couldve just…stopped it before… he wouldve been here with us. ” she says, sobbing lightly.

”You know… I… Ive lost my dad as…well… ” Taihen says.

Whina looks at Taihen, interested. ”Really? What happened? ”

”Not only him… everyone… ”

Taihens at a loss of words. He knew what happened. He was there. His memory was never a burden. Yet, it seems as if he refuses to tell her what actually happened. He thinks that she wouldn be able to understand what happened to him. It would sound absurd. Unbelievable, even.

”Everyone? ” she asks, waiting for what comes next.

Taihen looks away, ashamed of himself for trying to open up. ”N-nevermind. ”

Whina gets a little irritated. ”Come on… say it! ”

”Wh-what?! ”

”You were gonna tell me something right?! ” she says, showing her very assertive side again. ”Just say it. ”

”Its…nothing… ” he strays the topic away. ”Your uncle took care of you…right? It mustve been hard to take care of y-you while being sick. ”

”I know… ” she replies. ”But, even though he was sick, he still seemed healthy every time. Its just- Im angry why he didn tell me he was sick. Sure, I was young, but it shocked me. ”

”D-didn the other family members… t-tell you? ”

”NO! ” she shouts, frustratingly. ”I DONT GET IT! I KNOW I WAS YOUNG BUT STILL-! ” – she calms herself down – ”they couldve just at least mentioned it so I was ready. ”

He gets it now. Thats why shes always wary. There mustve been other cases about this in her life, but this really nails it. She dislikes being lied to. She doesn like not knowing anything strange is happening. So shed rather not accept it.

”Now… mom, Sir Bardick, and my brother are the only people I have left… ” she adds. ”My moms dying from, Sir Bardick is on an emergency, and my brothers always busy. What am I supposed to do if they both… ”

Again, the situation seems similar. He knows what to do. He knows what will happen. Should he wonder what really should be done? Does he confirm the safety or confront the challenges.

”Its- ”

”Are ya alright mate? ” Daniel asks, staring at both of them in confusion. ”What is she doing there? ”

Whina becomes annoyed. She walks over to Daniel as close as she could to create discomfort. ”What? You
e jealous? ” she tends to infuriate him.

”Huh?! Jealous?! Who do you think I am kid?! ”

”Wha-?! ” she gets annoyingly shocked. ”You piece of shit! ”

BAM.

She kicks him right between his legs.

”AAAAGGH! YOU BITCH- ” he shouts in so much pain.

Its indescribable how much pain hes feeling right now. Couldn bear the pain, he just falls to the ground, not even thinking about anything he was holding. Thus, the purse he was holding falls to the ground, causing all the coins to fall and roll down. They were on a hill after all.

She figured those coins were supposed to be hers, so she walks up and takes the pouch from the ground.

”Ill be taking this. ” she says. Then, she begins picking up each and every coin that is scattered on the ground.

”T-taihen- agh! ” he calls.

Taihen, before even being called, is already there helping him stand up. ”C-can you…stand? ”

”No- agh. Dammit. She really- agh shit. I can - ”

Without even any prior hesitation, Taihen immediately becomes alert. It seems as if he had heard something cautious. He listens closely.

…

No. Closer.

…

”I-its…them. ” he alerts both of them.

Whina stops picking for a moment. ”Who? ”

”The Medjays. They are coming closer! ”

”What?! ” she asks in disbelief, but then picks up all the coins as swiftly as she could and runs away before she could get noticed.

Taihen couldn do anything but stare at Whina running away. He couldn leave either, as Daniel is still unable to stand up.

He has a choice. Abandon Daniel and run. Or take him with him. To be fair, he did help him to escape from them. Its a very difficult choice but, he chooses to stay and help him.

”D…daniel! We need to go! ”

”Just a- agh! A second-! ”

He continues to stand up, but still shaking from the pain. ”Where is she?! That- agh. Scum. ” Daniel asks.

”She… um… left. ” he replies. ”We need to go! The medjays a-are coming! ”

”The medjays?! Come on mate we need to- agh! ”

He falls down. It appears that Whinas kick was very effective. The intense pain still lingers.

Theres no time left. You could already see the medjays by just a couple of miles away, riding their horses in search for them.

”WE NEED TO G-GO! ” Taihen shous a Daniel.

”Just- go. Hide. ” he replies. ”Its- agh. fine. ”

Taihen doesn put up with this. Does he care now? At least, thats what he thinks. He had only known him for two days. Surely that shouldn have caused anything that serious. But then again, he claims to have been his friend for a long time. And since some pieces of evidence appeared to him that can answer his question, theres no doubt hes telling the truth.

He pulls Daniel as hard as he can as they both walk to the tree. ”Wait for me Daniel. ”

Taihen climbs the tree effortlessly. Observing it closely, the tight spaces between the leaves of the tree seems to be a good hiding spot from them. And, it does work as a hiding space as proven from the tree both he and Whina hid earlier.

Successfully hidden in the tree, Taihen reaches out his hand. ”Daniel! ”

”Taihen? ”

”Up here. ”

He looks up and sees him reaching out his hand to him. For Daniel, it was an important moment for him. It reminds him of that time both of them truly became friends before. By hiding in a tree and letting Taihen help him. For Taihen, this moment was the very moment where he knew that he can accept being friends with him.

The pain already eased, so theres no excuse for him not to take it. He grabs his hand and gets assisted in climbing the tree. It was a bit tough, but they managed to both hide on top of a tree.

”Thanks, mate. But you shouldve just- ”

”The medjays are here. ” he warns. ”N-no problem b…by the way. ”

They arrive quickly at the hill as if theyve already known about something that happened there. Lukeman and two of his underlings unmount from their horses. The others stay on guard.

”This must be the place that man talked about. ” Yasim implies.

”It is. ” Lukeman replies. ”He didn seem to be lying. Therfore… ”

”…they should be here. ”