"You don't have to force yourself to get along with the villagers, you know?" Gruff sat on the hard hospital chair, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Jonah let out a sigh. "I know. But I'm living here now, for better or for worse, so I'd prefer to be on good terms with them. If you give them a chance, you'll see that the villagers have repented." Jonah pointed to his light red eyes. "They treat me well despite my eyes. Do you know how rare that is in the Northern Nation?"
"They just don't want me to get angrier than I already am." Gruff stormed out of the room, slamming the door as he left.
A group of village kids scooted across the hall with their backs pressed against the wall. They held a stark white tarp between them and the wall, which almost perfectly made them invisible. They were undoubtedly looking for Jonah. They'd taken an interest in his magic.
"Jonah, your stalkers are here."
The tarp swayed, and three sets of feet poked out from underneath it. Jonah had told them he would teach them magic if they could sneak up on him.
"Fire," he spoke, and a blaze engulfed the tarp.
"Gruff—" Jonah hobbled out of the room, "Extinguish." The fire went out, and Jonah turned to Gruff. "Why do you always make trouble for me?"
Gruff clicked his tongue and walked away, leaving Jonah with a group of pouting kids. "Get in the room, let's talk."
The kids filed into Jonah's hospital room, and Jonah looked down the hall. "Gruff, I swear. You're so stubborn sometimes."
Gruff entered Smith's shop in a huff. "What seems to be the matter, kid?"
"This village is driving me insane. I need to leave."
"Sounds like you need something to do. How about this, then?" Smith held up a pamphlet. The top read 'Guild of Soa Pel'. Below, a request was posted to find some missing livestock. They were last seen grazing near the yoRck Mountains, the recent site of numerous monster sightings.
Gruff snatched the flyer from Smith and turned it around.
On the back, there was a map. "I recognize this area." Gruff darted out of the smithy. "Let Jonah and Marcia know I'll be gone for a while."
"Are you not going to tell them?" Smith ran after the boy, but he was already long gone. Smith sighed. "Marcia and Jonah aren't going to be happy about this."