“Yeah. I’ll tell you about them sometime, but for now, how about we go take a look at our house?”
“Your house,” Angelle said.
“Still don’t believe me, huh?” he asked, as he held his hand out toward the porch steps that led to the ground.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that it’s your house. I’ve never even been here before.”
“It was a hut until I realized I was bringing you home to a hut. Only then did I bother to make it something worth presenting you with.”
“You know, the hut would have been okay, too.”
“No, it was just a roof to throw my stuff under, and a small one at that. You will never have to make do with just okay.”
As they stepped onto the soft, green grass, Boon turned to his right, leading the way to a path not too far away that would take them through the woods. Minutes later, Boon reached for her hand just as they moved past the tree line. “This is one of many trails crisscrossing through the woods. Easy enough to follow, but stay close, though.”
“Is it dangerous?” Angelle asked.
“Not exactly. I mean, we’re just off the swamps and the further south you go, the more swampy the land gets. But you never know, creatures wander in from time to time. Most stay away, our scents and the activity of people civilizing an area are usually enough to deter them. It’s still the woods, though.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good. That’s not exactly what I meant, though.”
“Oh…”
“I said stay close, but really, it’s just because I like you close.”
Following closely behind Boon, Angelle smiled to herself, held more tightly to his hand, and followed him while her eyes darted everywhere, taking in all the beauty of the land around them.
As they walked, he explained where they were in relation to other families’ homes, more or less. “If you head off through those trees to your left, you’ll eventually run across some other homes, the farthest of which are Enthrall’s on one side and Destroy’s on the other. Their houses flank a large clearing. It’s a very large area, and special occasions are often celebrated therebecause there’s room for everyone with a fire for warmth in the middle, and plenty of space to set up tables for food and drink and room for the kids to play.”
“It sounds really nice. I look forward to attending one.”
Boon snickered.
“What is so funny?”
“No, you don’t. You don’t mind meeting people a few at a time, but you don’t want to go to a celebration where everyone is celebrating all at once.”
Angelle’s smile was sudden and bright. The fact that he really did ‘get’ her made her unreasonably happy. “But I would go, as long as you stayed beside me.”
“I will always be beside you.”
“Then I’ll go.”
They were quiet for a few more moments before he looked off to his right. “If you go that way, that’s where most of our community lives. So many different families. Some further east, some further west, but all south of here. My parents’ home is there, too; closer to Lily’s house, but still south of there.”
“Are there worn paths through the woods, or is it all just memory that keeps you going in the right direction?”
“Occasionally paths get worn, but then Terrus makes the grasses and the shrubs overgrow them again.”
“Why?” Angelle asked. “And who is Terrus?”
“Terrus is Lore’s brother. He’s got powers like Lily and Tempest and Lore. And Lore’s and Terrus’ sister is Lucitari. Her magics are more associated with the going ons of the heavens and the air itself. Terrus is more concerned with the earth and all her flora and fauna. Lore is just concerned with whatever there is that interests him at the moment. There was another brother, Acaelo. He was the oldest sibling. The strongest of them all, but he went insane with power — among other things — and had to be removed.”
“That’s sad. And all his magics died with him.”
“Oh, no. Lily helped fight him. He did not go quietly. In the end, she took Acaelo’s powers into herself. She was just a child, when she helped vanquish Acaelo and save Lore. Lore was his primary target. Because she was so young, she was only able to take so much of his magics into herself. But as she grew and matured more and more of Acaelo’s powers were siphoned from the other siblings into her. She also received parts of their magics as well, and is now the strongest of all of them. But there must always be four to perfectly balance things among the elements.”
