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Stumbling through the buckwheat fields was a boy with silvery-white hair. His joyous laughter sounded throughout the plains as his steps hurriedly rush past the broken fence. With a great leap, he landed on his two feet, swaying his arms to catch his balance.
"Careful, Khaslana" called out a voice far beyond the field. "You're in such a rush, what for?"
Turning his head back, he flashed the old man a bright and cheery grin. "It's a surprise! You can't spoil it!"
Before further questioning, the boy left in a flash. The old man laughed to himself, shaking his head in defeat. "Ah, that boy is always on his way to see her."
The humble town of Aedes Elysiae knew very well of Khaslana and his chipper adventures. Once, he scaled a tree solely to retrieve some barely ripe fruit. In another day, he bartered with a vendor for some planks from freshly chopped wood. Today was no special, not to the townsfolks at least. But for the bright eyed boy? It was the most special day yet.
Following the dirt path down to the river, he staggered towards the familiar tree. Orange and yellow leaves swayed quietly with the gentle breeze. But, his eyes were not drawn to the handful of leaves slowly dancing in the air; rather, his attention remained on the short, pink haired girl sat on her swing. Each little shift from her weight resulted in the softest creak from the worn down wooden plank.
The loudest would come from him. The moment his weight shifted onto the wooden dock, his presence became known. The girl didn't hesitate to turn her head, greeting the boy with a soft smile.
"Khaslana! Trying to sneak up on me again?" she teased playfully, twisting herself to get a better look at him. Her smile dropped to a curious look. "Hey, do you know you have wheat stuck in your hair?"
Khaslana perked up, his hand shooting up to his hair and quickly ruffling the loose wheat away. He could hear the girl's laughter as he shut his eyes tight, trying to fix himself up right away.
"Hold still," she spoke through her laughter. He could feel her hand gently pluck against his strands, carefully picking away.
Seconds passed, he felt her hands draw away from his scalp. "There, all done!"
Khaslana opened his eyes, hand reaching up to fix his hair. "Thank you, Cyrene," he muttered with a shy smile. The rush to get to their spot left him frazzled and messy, a mistake far too common and yet, one he hated making.
"It's no worries," she reassured. Taking his hand, she started to guide him over to their picnic blanket, settling down beside him as the water gushed beneath them.
Taking this chance, he took out a small box hidden in his pocket. "You gotta check this out," he ushered, scooting closer to her side and passing the box along to her.
Carefully examining the box, Cyrene's eyes widened with a look of shock and awe. "Oh! Is this?" she questioned. "Is this a box of oracle cards?"
Khaslana's eyes beamed with joy. "Yeah! The merchant came all the way and told me how special it was. You could make a divination this time!"
She laughed at his excitement, finding it endearing. "Haha, next time," she told him, placing the cards aside as she leaned over to his shoulder. "We should just enjoy the afternoon!"
For a moment, he was annoyed by the shift in conversation. He wanted to learn about their future, even if it was false. Maybe Oronyx would grant them some insight on the path ahead of them. But, he obliged.
"Oh… Cyrene…" His voice cried out, hoarse and quiet. Golden blood seeping between his fingers and cascading to the ground. "Just one more afternoon… Please?"