Deep inside a forest, full of mysteries yet to be discovered, there stood a youngster inside a shallow river. She stood as still as a statue. If not for the timely blink of her eyes or the flowy clothes rustling from the light river breeze, one might have been deceived into thinking she really was a mere statue. Her eyes were downcast, staring into the river where she seemed to have found something worthy of study. The steady stream of water vanquishing countless rubbles of stones and even bigger rocks was the only apparent sound. Sometimes her eyes would slowly follow the waves of the water, only to halt at a certain point once again. As the sun began to descend and the sky darkened, she seemed to finally come out of her deep contemplation. After blinking repetitiously, the strain on her eyes becoming evident, she carefully stepped out of the river and onto a dry patch of grass beside the flowing water. Picking up her outer layer of clothing from the ground where she stood, she continued to put them on and so hid her silhouette indicating her gender under layers again. Afterwards, she dug into her clothes and pulled out a black stone similar to a piece of coal, embedded with delicate runes. He sat down and began to pull out the grass on a certain spot, before placing the stone there. With a snip of her fingers, a fire suddenly ignited. The flame had a deep blue colour and didn't seem to burn out any time soon, yet still radiated heat as well as light. She was used to the flame though and continued to pull further utensils out of her clothing. A book and something to write with in hand, she started to paint an intricate pattern of swirls. Every line was placed thoughtfully, but without hesitation. Crosses and circles along with other disturbances inside and between the swirls followed soon after. After a while, she slumped into her position with a deep sigh and looked up into the sky. "It doesn't make any sense, it doesn't match up." Her voice grew louder as the words came out, frustration taking over her face.
The youngster proceeded to snappily close the worn out book and put away her utensils before laying down and staring up into the sky. She almost fell into another phase of concentration, if not for the smell of food waving itself into her nose. In a matter of seconds, she was gone from her spot and walking through the woods, not forgetting to take the before lit stone with her. Not long after, a dim light appeared and the sounds of crackling fire could be heard. Much more important though, she arrived at the source of the appetizing smell. Along with the fire, a person roasting fish came into her field of vision. "What are you doing, who are you?" The stranger's voice rang out full of suspicion as soon as he noticed the approaching figure. "I want food." The youngster responded without hesitation and stepped towards the stranger. "I haven't eaten in days and I'm very hungry. Can you give me some?" She was practically glaring at the fish roasting in the fire and licked her lips. "Huh, Uh, I mean, sure?" The stranger, although surprised, complied since he didn't notice any bad intentions from the approaching figure. Of course, he also didn't think that with such a thin figure, the other could harm him even if he tried.
And so the two unfamiliar people shared the bland tasting fish under a beautiful night sky.
"I'm called Chen. Though our meeting is a bit strange, it's nice to meet you." He was honestly glad to have someone to share the food with. Although he himself roasted the fish, he couldn't have bared to eat both of the bland tasting fish by himself and wasting food would have been a pity.
"I'm called Bo Chin. Do you by chance not have a fire stone with you?" Chen sweatdropped before replying that he didn't have one. Though Bo Chin wondered what Chen was doing here in the first place since his speech and clothing, as well as bearing, was obviously that of some rich heir, she didn't linger on it. Instead, she pulled out the stone that she had used before and threw it towards the other. "In exchange for the fish." Even though Chen was caught by surprise, he was able to catch the stone and without further trouble put it into his waistband. "Next time you can pack the fish into these kinds of leaves before putting it over the fire. It'll taste better." Bo Chin continued while showing Chen a sort of plant she drew in her notebook. "Oh, thank you." Even though Chen knew he'd forget about what the youngster showed him, he still didn't forget his manners. Chen wasn't embarrassed about his cooking skills either. He knew it wasn't his strong point and this was just proof of that. "Wait, if you can cook, why did you ask me for food?" "I forgot to catch fish before it turned dark." Bo Chin answered flatly. "Ah, I see."
As they talked a bit, Chen learned to not question Bo Chin's personality and just accept her eccentric ways. "Anyway, I'll be going now. Goodbye." Bo Chin suddenly stood up. "Wait!" Chen said before thinking. "Uh-um, don't you think it's better to travel through the forest together, I mean we might as well since we're going towards the same direction." Chen wasn't used to this way of living, he grew up with enough money to buy anything he wished for, don't even talk about camping in the woods. But most important of all, the food he usually ate was prepared by top chefs. Now though, he had been eating bland tasting fish for about a week and he didn't want to even look at fish anymore. But since he was alone and didn't know how to cook better than this, it was his only option. The stranger he just met, on the other hand, seemed to know how to cook, at least more than he did. So he planned to hold onto his a new cooking source. "No, I don't want to." His hopes were quickly shot down by Bo Chin though. "What, why?" He didn't expect to get that response.
"Because you'll slow me down." "Slow you down? Are you in a hurry or something, or are you looking down on me?" Chen was getting quite agitated. Declining was one thing, but with this sort of reasoning...even good-tempered individuals wouldn't like to hear it. "I'm not in a hurry." Bo CHin voiced out with slight disdain turning around and walking into the dark forest. "You! How annoying, I hope you trip on something." Chen's red face was dully illuminated by the fire while he grumbled to himself. He couldn't help but be dejected about his cooking source walking away and in such a manner at that. Meanwhile, Bo Chin who was walking through the forest suddenly tripped on the root of a tree. She cursed before regaining her upright stans again and continued walking, using the stars as a means of navigation.
On her way, she continued to wonder where exactly Chen was headed. After their brief conversation, she learned that he was going towards the same city she was headed to, a city famous for their first-class academic facilities. But usually, people of his caliber would travel in carriages, especially if they were on their way to such a facility. Arriving in anything other than decorated carriages was a huge loss of face for the rich.
Maybe he was on a training mission of some sort, where he wasn't allowed to rely on his money. Or perhaps he was banned from his family and so had no other choice, she pondered. Though Bo Chin was quite curious, she didn't want to be caught up in some type of family mess. Her curiosity had led her to witness the exhausting complications of aristocratic families countless times already. So the thought to avoid mixing into these things was deeply embedded into her mind.
(Hey! So I'm trying to figure out my writing style etc. so I'd appreciate any kind of feedback - don't feel bad about being harsh too, haha.)
