A Promise To Forever Keep
"Tell me I'm doing this right", the creature pleaded, hoping to not embarrass himself
"Oh hush, you are doing wonderfully Lin", the man replied with a big smile
'Lin.... What a lovely name'
"... You're saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?", Lin looked at the man with amusement
"Uh, well, whatever you say", the man sighed sheepishly, trying to deny Lin's lax accusation
"Ha ha, sure", Lin teased
'I... don't think I ever got yours...'
"Sooo, any reason you want me to learn how to weave?", Lin inquired
"I was hoping this would help you on your journey one day.", the man confessed bluntly
'You gave me everything you could'
"...I can see some merit in that decision, yes.", Lin answered quietly
"...I'll miss you when you leave. I know you want to explore everything you can, especially given your unique circumstances but that doesn't change the fact that you've been a lovely part of my life"
'Always so very sentimental'
"Nangse eigi machcha malline", he told Lin
'Nangsu eigi ippa malli...'
"....", Lin gave the man a small, reserved smile, opting to turn his attention to the task at hand
'Why didn't I say it back.'
This was never supposed to happen
The world crumbled before his eyes as ravaging beasts unlike anything he had seen laid ruin to his once quaint village and whatever else was unfortunate enough to come into their reach
'I had....so many chances'
Blood, so much blood. Too much blood.
"Wait no. No no no nononononono-", perhaps for the first time, Lin experienced fear
'I was foolish to think I would get another chance'
"Hey there.. my.... little snake", the man groaned, fatally wounded as he was, he wouldn't ever not greet his child
Even if that 'child' he spoke of so fondly was an otherworldly creature himself
'....I regret meeting you'
"Please, please-", tears slipped from his eyes, his first tears in all his sentient years
'Not because I didn't love you... I loved you like a son would love his father'
"H..e.y... remember your....goal?", he asked, his voice growing shaky
'....'
"Lin?", a voice snapped me out of my thoughts
"...yes?", I looked up at her from the pages of my journal I had found myself staring at
"You've been zoned out for a while, are you ok?", I always found it funny that some people had genuine concern for my wellbeing
"Zara, my wellbeing is not of your concern.", I understood that she was just worried, but part of me found it annoying
"Hey! I'm just making sure you're alright! What's the problem with that?", Zara huffed at me in mild annoyance
I rolled my eyes at her, "Yeah well, maybe you shouldn't be too focused on me, I'm not the one who keeps getting injured after all", I jabbed at her
"Uh huh, well I'm not the one who is absentmindedly staring at an empty page", Zara grumbled back before promptly returning to what she had been doing
".....", in a peak of curiosity, I decided to see what she was doing
I was zoned out for a good while if even she managed to notice it, who knows what she did during that time
"...What are you doing?", I asked quietly, looking at what seemed to be a pile of thin and dried strips of leaves and several woven baskets...which weren't the best quality
"Hm? I was attempting to weave a little basket, my dad told me doing things like these can help increase my focus", Zara replied as she picked up one of the baskets
"You clearly need more practice", I commented as I briefly examined the basket in her hand
"HEY! I never said I was good at it", she defended, I could see her embarrassment
"....I could...teach you...", I offered shyly
'Should I...?'
"Wait, really?", Zara gave me a questioning look, "You normally leave me to it, why are you offering help today?"
"Oh so now I can't offer a helping hand? Great, I'll leave you to it then-"
"NO I MEAN- Ugh, just teach me...", Zara sighed in defeat
"Knew you'd break quick", I gave her an amused smile
"I wouldn't be accepting it had I not known you were a good teacher", Zara replied in defense
"...sure, also where did you get the dried leaves from? We are currently in the middle of a giant city", I couldn't help but ask
"Pomar managed to get some from a relative of theirs", Zara didn't elaborate further on that
"...ok, there seems to be enough for at least 5 more attempts so I think we should be good", I noted as I picked up one of the strips
'...This was your final wish. And my eternal goal'
It almost felt like my ears burst when Zara screamed into my ear in excitement. Her basket was turning out really good after a few hours of pointers and tricks so she was really pleased with this lesson
'Learn all you can from every place you venture through, make it count for it was your first true thought'
"This basket's coming out really pretty, I can gift one to Ciera for her little gathering trips to the forest, maybe I can come with her too next time", Zara seemed ecstatic at the thought of gifting her handiwork to a friend or two
"Anyways, thank you for the lesson, you're the best teacher ever", she gave me a wide grin
I snickered at her expression, 'Endearing much?', I thought
"It only came out that good because you listened really well and learnt very quickly, give yourself some credit too", I replied, "But I appreciate the compliment"
'That....is my promise to forever keep'
