“Tash, you absolute idiot, clearly he wasn’t interested, so the easiest thing he could do was say he did not have a phone. If he lost it in the sea, he would have just got himself a new one, he’s staying at The Rinniel so he is not exactly short of marks, is he…”
The remainder of their conversation was lost amongst the traffic and noise of the nightlife, as he smiled to himself, and turned back into the park, heading who-knows-where.
The smile faded from his face as he remembered what was happening in Xanthia, the thought entering his mind as he returned to the serene quiet of the park itself.
How dare he enjoy the company of these humans, even if it weren’t for long? He was not here to make friends. He was here to find a way to save his people and his realm.
Selfish. He was selfish.
Porthan. Porthan. Porthan.
The familiar chant returned in his head.
No. He would not deem himself selfish for helping two females get out of that situation. He needed to work out why he was here, what had brought him here, and knowing two people from Porthan could only aid him. They might have answers. He’d just have to be careful about how he asked his questions.
Porthan. Porthan. Porthan.
He dropped his face into his hands, searching his brain for anything, anything at all about this place.
Porthan. Porthan. Porthan.
Nothing. He couldn’t think of anything useful. Not one bit of information, or a fact about Porthan, except for those he had discovered since he had been here. None of those were useful.
Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan. Porthan.
He found his body shaking as he tried to drive the voice further down in his thoughts, to drown it out. He felt his power building up inside him, desperate for some sort of release that he wasn’t giving it while he was here. He had not contained this much, gone without using this much, in a long, long time.
He’d get a hold of it. He had to. He needed to. He had no other option.
He dropped to his knees, clenching his jaw, resting his palms on the earth around him. Slowly, Rionan fed droplets of magic into the ground, to release just the smallest amount. He felt it flowing through his body, like a stream meeting a river. Different to in Xanthia, where he was the river, and his power met with the sea.
His fingers buzzed with life, and he opened his eyes to see the freshly bloomed flowers surrounding him that had not been there mere moments before.
He tried to think of other things, silencing the nagging voice in his head reminding him that he needed to search this town. He thought of the beach, the hospital, the hotel, and the park. His mind snagged on one detail and seemed to soothe the raging tide of energy in his body, lulling it quietly.
Alianna.
6
Lattes & Syrup
Tash
09:21: My head hurts. Thank you for suggesting we went home when we did.
Ali
09:25: Welcome. Are you still ok to walk Shadow while I work this afternoon?
Tash
09:27: Yes. I have his favourite treats. Can we talk about mr hospital guy? Swooping to your rescue? Swoon
Ali
09:29am: Not swoon! That was one of the most embarrassing things, why did you ask if he wanted my number? I could have lived with how it all went until then!!!
Tash
