With their main objective complete, Rion and Lie spent the rest of the day shopping for supplies for their respective journeys—food, clothes, a map for Rion. As a thank-you, Lie even bought Rion a brown leather backpack, which he graciously accepted.
As they made their way back toward the front gate of Waneir, Rion admired the bag in his hands.
Lie giggled. "Why don't you, y'know... put it on?"
Rion nodded. "Yeah, I know."
"Do you?"
"Yeah."
"What'd you have for breakfast?"
"Yeah."
Lie sighed. "For the love of—" She glanced to the side and spotted a sandwich shop. A smile crept across her face. "Let's go in, Rion."
"Yeah…"
She rolled her eyes and tugged him along by the collar.
****
"We had sandwiches the day you helped me with my magic awakening too, huh," Rion said, taking another bite of his fish sandwich.
Lie nodded. "Mhm. Speaking of magic, what are you gonna do about your wand?"
Rion's eyes widened and he coughed from almost choking on his sandwich. "Crap, I forgot all about that."
Just then he remembered it shattering during his final blast against the Clamshell.
Lie laughed. "So? You gonna buy a new one?"
Rion leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Nah. I think I'd be better off without one. I want to try casting from my hands."
"Your hands, huh?" Lie raised a brow. "You sure? That can be dangerous."
"I know," Rion said. "But when I cast that last spell, some magic accidentally flowed into my hands… and I don't know, it felt right."
Lie finished the last bite of her sandwich. "Okay then. Just be careful."
Rion smiled. "I will."
After eating, Rion paid for the food to thank Lie for the bag. Then they stepped out into the warm afternoon light— it was only about 2 p.m.
"Have a nice day!" one of the workers called out cheerfully as they left.
Rion and Lie stood outside the shop for a moment.
"A-anything else you need?" Rion asked.
Lie shook her head. "No. You?"
Rion shook his head too.
And in that moment, they both thought the same thing:
Ah… it's coming to an end.
They strolled slowly—painfully slowly—toward the entrance of Waneir. They stalled by pointing out random things on the street, trying to stretch the moment. But it wasn't long before they reached the front gate.
They turned to each other, standing in silence and for the first time since they'd met, it felt… awkward.
But then after a while of this, they both started laughing.
"Hahaha! What are we doing?" Rion said.
Lie continued to laugh. "No clue!"
Once their laughter faded, their eyes met again.
"See you later," Rion said, smiling. "And… thanks for everything."
Lie smiled back. "Yeah. See you. Stay safe. Oh—and thanks for the date."
Rion blinked, looking at her confused. "What's a date?"
Lie giggled, turning away. "Nothing…"
And with that, she walked off—never once looking back.
Rion watched her go, then smiled to himself.
"Even I know what a date is, dummy."
Then he also turned the other way and started walking.
Toward the Grand Capitol.
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)