Ateara and Igor demolished their camp and set off. They had decided to embark on an adventure together as they both agreed they wanted a fresh start and to leave the past where it belongs. They crossed the river and swerved through trees. At first they both were quiet, neither really knew what to say, but as they spent more time together they found they had more things in common.
"I'm so excited about our new adventure I have no idea where we are going or where we will end up, but it's also slightly scary" Igor said with a big grin on his face.
"That's the whole idea of an adventure, it's the not always knowing what's going to happen that makes it exhilarating" Ateara explained "Sometimes not planning what to do gives you more freedom"
"Well I never really dreamed of doing this and hopefully being with you will open up my mind more than it is now"
"Oh believe me this will broaden your mind and should also help use your gift as well"
They travelled by foot, far and wide and occasionally they would phase and have a bit of fun even when they were training. But during the evening they went their separate ways, finding their own food and sleeping separately. Until one clear starry night they became close and one thing led to another, they gazed into each other's eyes like it was their first time and they passionately kissed through the night until dusk.
"Looking into your eyes makes me feel like I have known you for a lifetime," Igor said. There was silence as they laid there in each other's arms. They decided from then on they would sleep together every night. Ateara woke up every morning with Igor cuddling him and he hadn't felt happier in such a long time, they would gather food separately as Igor preferred to find specific foods such as plants and berries rather than hunting animals like Ateara does.
Several weeks later Ateara and Igor have progressed quite considerably since leaving their old site, Igor still has much to learn, but he can now focused enough to hold his air-ball with great control and use its power but, he still lacks accuracy in his aim and has yet to enhance and harness its true power. However Ateara can hold a slightly longer connection with Bella so far every conversation they have had they are able to say goodbye. He now wants to communicate with both Jacob and Bella... Preferably at the same time and without the use of Bella's shield. He will always find something more challenging than the last even if he fails he always thrives to never give up and just carry on to try again.
"Why do you like to set yourself such challenging goals to achieve?"
"The way I see it, is that the higher the bar you set the more rewarding the goal is, it gives you the motivation you need to keep trying even if you fail a hundred times. In the end you will learn more through failing then you would by picking an easy goal without any challenges" Ateara continued "This way you can become stronger"
Igor pondered on the thought about Ateara's theory for some time before responding with "yeah, I suppose that's one way of looking at it, but couldn't that possibly kill you or just seriously injure yourself?"
"Well maybe but I'm usually bit more careful than that as I am aware of my surroundings, that's why I want you to gain more control over your gifts quicker so you don't have to think the way you now"
"But what if this is who I am, the pessimistic thinker" Igor argued "Are you still willing to be with me?" he asked.
"Really? ….. Did you really just ask me that?" Ateara said softly "If you are going to act like that with me after all I have done for you then no, you can lead your own, because I thought that after everything that has happened between us, you would trust in me more. If that is the way you choose to think about things then I will accept that however, it will not stop me from trying to build up your confidence and hopefully your outlook on life" Ateara said half heartedly.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you, I just have some trust issues. I think I may have a condition where my mood changes quickly. There have been times when I have just lashed out at people" Igor said.
Ateara had sensed this about him some time ago and there was probably something else he may or may not even know yet or remember, so he decided to sit him down and had a long talk. "Let's start with what you remember doing last before you left home, we have to figure this out, I will help you get through this so you won't be alone"
"OK…" Igor paused and then sighed "I hope this works because I really don't want to lose you, you have really been good to me. As for remembering my past I really can't remember a lot. I can only recall the memories of recent events, I haven't thought about my parents or if I have any siblings."
"Well this is a start, but there's nothing to go on, so we will have to go to a library in a nearby village".
"Ok but how far is the nearest village"
"Not far just a few Kilometers"
To avoid suspicion they walked all the way to the village, but as they made their way into the village they realised it was far quieter than they thought it would be. Igor and Ateara looked at each other as they cautiously walked through; they could feel a few eyes on them. "Ateara! Take a look around…there's no..." Igor paused then Ateara whispered "no children I know", "Strange isn't it" Igor mouthed the words. Ateara did not want to draw any attention so he just nodded gently.
Then he saw the building he was looking for and moved his head towards the building alerting Igor to where they were heading to that had the word 'Atheneum' written on it. He remembered that word from a book he read a few years ago. He explained to Igor "Atheneum is another word for library". They walked on through, it was more spacious than crowded, dust gathered everywhere and cobwebs wherever they looked.
They browsed every aisle and shelves available till a strange woman came up to them, "Would you like any help?" she asked.
Igor was slightly startled, "Erm…Yes please, we are looking for the heritage section" Ateara asked. "Oh dear…that section burned down last week that's what that smell is in here sorry my dears". "Oh! that is a shame thank you anyway"
She turned away without saying a word, just as they both were walking out another woman that looked exactly like the previous woman only slightly different walked up to them. "Hello dears, you two look like you could do with some food…come with me" she gestured to them. They nodded and followed her though only slightly hesitant, "We can have a chat a little later my dears" she continued on. "Don't worry about my twin sister, she's just a little upset her Atheneum got burnt, what you are looking for, we never stocked them on the shelves, we had it specially placed, where no one could find them, well only the ones in the know"
"What is it that we can find down there?" Igor asked, Ateara looked at him funny.
"You'll find everything that you need to know about yourself, about your past and something you have been searching for whether you know it or not." She said as she served them some stew, "Now eat up, you need to keep your strength up and don't worry about me there's plenty in the pot if you want more." She walked out into the next room rustling through things.
Igor turned to Ateara "Do you think she knows about us being you know?"
Ateara was silent for a moment before saying "Well I'm thinking she might do, but I am also wondering if there is something else here, something strange is here, so we have to be careful. Someone mentioned to me that 'my path that I venture on I will find obstacles and challenges' and he also said 'remember this that you will always be loved and protected'"
"Who said that then if you don't mind me asking"
"It was my great grandfather and that was fairly recent too, this is when I was still at home with my family when I first felt like I didn't fit in, he came to me and we had a chat. It was after that I felt inspired to venture out on my own…"
"But you ran away…did he help you?" Asked Igor. "Oh no he would never do that, that was just me cause I didn't want all the commotion" Ateara explained.
"But is he still alive? Cause you talk about him as if he is."
"Well he's not alive in the flesh and I don't know how much you know about the wolf tribe, but they remain in spirit to watch over you like a guardian…" Ateara answered "Oh and I think I may have heard a couple stories like that before I was abandoned and left to fend for myself" Igor said with a slight hitch in his throat.
"Now, now when I say this I'm not taking sides, but I am sure there's a logical explanation for all of this, just need to go to that place to find out for you" Ateara said trying to calm Igor down. "Right. let's clear up and look for the woman so she can show us the way" Ateara said, trying to motivate him.
"Oh my dears there is no need to clear up" The sweet lady said as she walked in. "Oh it's no trouble, we are almost done now". "Well aren't you two a pair of peaches, thank you for doing that, now come on let's go, it's not too far to walk" The sweet lady said.
As they quietly followed the lady, Ateara walked cautiously, all he could think about was if something terrible could happen soon or when they got to their destination. As they arrived the lady turned on the spot and walked away, Ateara quickly said "Thank you" before she was out of sight. "Come on Igor, let's go in and explore this place.
As they walked in Igor was in awe as he scanned the room as it was fairly big to him but to Ateara it was average. He headed towards the back corner of the room and Igor followed him. They spent hours searching the shelves and walking through each aisle but they could not find what they were looking for. They sat nearby on a chair and pondered to themselves, suddenly Ateara shot up and Igor looked at him curiously and watched his head facing towards the other end. "Igor go to the other end, we shall continue our search separately, we should stand a better chance. Just howl if you find anything" Ateara said. "Yeah ok a second search won't hurt" Igor agreed.
When they took another browse which had taken all day, they had decided to call it a day as they reached the middle. Ateara and Igor both headed towards the door for the exit. Igor turned and looked back around then spotted something in the corner of his eye.
"Ateara! ….. What's that over there?" Igor pointed to the corner of the room.
"Not sure, let's take a closer look," Ateara said quickly.
Igor pointed at the book that seemed intriguing, but he couldn't bring himself to pick it up. So Ateara grabbed the book and handed it to Igor. It did take him a while to open it, but as soon as he did a gust of wind blew at him and it happened every time he turned the pages. When he got to the middle a light shone brightly. Igor almost closed the book but Ateara slammed his hands down. He looked at Igor and back down to read the rest of the page.
"So what does this mean?" Igor asked slightly confused, "That's what I am trying to find out if you let me finish…This has a lot more information than you think. The name 'Jerome' has been mentioned a lot here, isn't that your last name Igor." Ateara asked.
"Yeah it is, what else does it say?"
"Well I'm not entirely sure with the majority of it, it's written in some other language, possibly an ancient language, which I won't be able to decipher but the chief would, just have to find a way to connect with him somehow"
"You speak of him like he's still alive, but didn't you say he died many years ago"
"I did say that but this is what you have to learn. He has a way of coming back to us and he has done it a few times quite recently, he is a great man, don't know what I would do without his wisdom" Ateara said feeling grateful.
"Seeing that this book has more than we thought, we may as well take it with us. It doesn't seem like people use this part of the library much."
"Yeah, you're right there" Ateara said as he put it in his satchel, they headed out and decided to take a detour back along the river stream.
Ateara stopped, stood there with his eyes shut just listening to the water flow and the gentle rustling of leaves. "What are you doing?" Igor asked, there was silence for a long while as Ateara reconnected with himself, he took a deep breath "You see this is my way of controlling my gifts that I have so I can learn more to gain"
"But I still don't quite understand how that works"
"It's simple really and I will use your gift for example because your element is the air, it is usually calm till it starts getting rough but at the same time, it flows. So you already learnt how to absorb the energy and create the ball. To use it you can start by controlling that energy, let it flow through your entire body, prepare your stance, visualize where you want to hit, allowing it to flow through your arm …. try it out … just mimic my movements" Ateara instructed.
Igor nodded, as Ateara started Igor followed, he was a little stiff and slow to start with then gradually with more confidence, he soon was in sync with Ateara. After a couple days he managed a small gust. Every day he practiced but still he could only manage a weak blow.
"Don't worry you will get it. The more you practice the stronger you will get the more powerful the blow you can produce" Ateara said "You are almost ready for a friendly battle"