Icariel stood frozen, troubled by the girl's terrified reaction. He looked at the cooked rabbit leg in his hand, then at her as she trembled, nearly in tears.
"Why are you complaining when your stomach growled like that?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Get that away from me… please…" she said, her voice shaking.
Then the voice in Icariel's mind spoke, calm but firm. "Remove it. Now. Elves—this kind of elf—don't eat meat."
"What?" Icariel replied mentally, startled.
"Yes. It's part of their culture. Their traditions. Their rules. They don't break them—not for anything."
As Icariel lowered the rabbit leg to the ground, he asked the voice, "So what do they even eat? What do they live on?"
"They survive off unique plants and forest-grown food. Mostly things tied to nature."
Icariel blinked, scoffing lightly. "No wonder they're all so thin."
He glanced at the girl, who was still pressed against the wall. "I can't live like that. Meat is… it's everything. I feel full, satisfied, stronger after I eat it." He frowned. "Forget it—I take it back. I'm glad I wasn't born an elf. What kind of life has no meat in it?"
Since he could remember, meat had been a constant in Icariel's life. Whether he hunted it himself or ate what others brought in, it filled his belly and gave him strength. Even when he got sick of the taste, he kept eating. It was part of who he was. The idea of cutting it out was unthinkable—like trying to survive without air.
Still, the voice's words held weight. And though he didn't agree with it, he understood. He placed the rabbit leg aside.
"It's gone. Relax," he muttered.
The silver-haired elf girl slowly began to calm down. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, though her wide, watchful eyes stayed on him. "What is wrong with you?" she finally snapped. "It's not just disgusting—it's wrong! How could you eat creatures the gods have bestowed upon us? It's a sin!"
Icariel's eyes darkened, empty of emotion. "Stop. That's nonsense."
"I need to eat to live properly. To stay strong. What do the gods have to do with that? Bears can kill us if we don't kill them first. Do the gods gift us bears just so they can rip us apart? Are we supposed to let them eat us while we pray?"
He turned his back to her, sat by the fire, and began eating the rabbit himself—uncaring of her reaction now. His stomach was empty, and survival didn't wait for philosophy.
The elf girl flinched at his words, then scowled. "They won't mess with you unless you threaten them. Wild beasts only attack when they're scared or provoked."
A flash of memory passed through Icariel's mind. A dog, once loyal in the village of Mjull, had tried to bite its owner. Not out of fear. But out of hunger.
His voice came low between chews of roasted meat. "You've never seen one blinded by hunger, then… Not even a dog hesitates when it's starving."
She stared at him, silent. "You're so weird…"
He glanced at her mid-bite. "Haven't you met humans before?"
"Plenty. But none were as rude as you. Even the ones who ate meat… they never gave such an emotionless answer."
She lowered her gaze. Her voice softened, almost too quiet to hear. "Still… I've never seen anyone with such… pure mana…"
Icariel didn't catch the last part—his mouth was still full of rabbit meat. "Did you say something?" he mumbled.
She blinked. "Just… please finish eating where I can't see it."
After a while, Icariel licked the grease from his fingers and leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"Ahhh... I feel full. What a great feeling that is." He smirked slightly, teasing her with exaggerated joy.
"Your stomach's already growling again. What're you gonna eat if not meat? It's like your stomach's trying to eat itself."
The elf girl rolled her eyes but ignored his provocation. "I should go out. I've recovered a bit. After a while my mana will replenish enough for me to heal myself."
Then, the voice in Icariel's mind chimed in.
"If she performs healing magic now, watch carefully. Observe how elements act and flow through her body and how they're applied. You'll learn more from seeing it than from me explaining it."
"Fine," Icariel replied mentally. "It'll be useful if I want to learn healing magic myself."
As she stood and adjusted the cloth wrapped around her shoulder, she glanced toward the cave entrance.
The girl stood carefully, adjusting her torn clothes and pulling the bandage tighter across her shoulder. "I'll gather some plants first. I need something to eat. Even if it's not much."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Icariel said, stretching.
Then she tilted her head slightly, a curious glint in her eye. "What is a kid like you doing alone out here, anyway?"
Still shirtless, Icariel turned toward her. His expression was unreadable. "I have my own reasons. Like you."
"But I told you my reason," she replied with a soft pout.
"Then I'll choose not to tell mine. Fair trade."
A small nerve ticked at her forehead as she clenched her fists. "You jerk!"
Icariel stood and stretched, yawning. "I should go grab some water before I sleep."
"Me too Im going now to gather… I think even without healing right now, I can move enough," she muttered, stepping toward the cave entrance. It was still night—the full moon lit the forest in a silver glow. Crickets sang their rhythm through the quiet darkness.
"Be careful out there," Icariel said half-heartedly.
"I thought you were coming with me," she turned, frowning. "How can you let a wounded girl wander the forest alone?"
"You're the one who didn't want the meat. Not my fault and I'm tired."
"Unbelievable," she muttered. "How can you—"
Then the voice whispered again into Icariel's mind. "Go with her. Since she isn't healing right now you might miss your chance to see her use healing magic."
"Tch… fine," Icariel muttered mentally, sitting up.
The elf girl was already walking outside, still favoring her side, when he suddenly called out—
"Wait. Wait—I'm coming."
She paused, looking over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "I don't want you to accompany me anymore."
"Shut up," he replied. "Now that I think about it, if you faint from that wound again, that'll be a pain to deal with. Just… don't take too long."
She glanced at him sideways, then looked forward again.
A small, knowing smile curved her lips. "So… you're not completely a jerk after all."
"Huh?"
"Nothing," she said, walking a little faster.
They walked quietly through the moonlit forest, the air still and crisp. Icariel held back a yawn as the silver-haired elf girl crouched near the forest floor, picking carefully through leaves and bushes.
They were close to his training spot now, where the trees stood in pieces and the stones shattered—scars of his recent spell practice.
She paused, looking around with wide eyes. "What happened here?"
"Don't tell me… you did this?"
"Yeah," Icariel said casually, scratching his neck. "I was training."
She gasped slightly, standing with an armful of gathered herbs and mushrooms. "You defiler of soil! Wounding nature for selfish gain!"
Her glare could've pierced metal. Icariel blinked at her expression, confused but unbothered. "Hey," he muttered in his mind, "is it just me, or are elves not really in their right minds?"
A pause. Then the voice replied, somewhat sheepishly: "They're just... different from humans."
"That doesn't answer my question."
More silence.
Then, reluctantly: "I'm with you on this one…"
Icariel smirked to himself. "Of course you are. You were the one who told me to cut them in the first place."
The voice went quiet again.
A few minutes later, the elf girl stood up, arms full of gathered plants. "I've got most of what I need. Just one more thing left." She turned and handed the bundle to Icariel. "Here. Hold these for me."
He took them without complaint, watching as she suddenly paused, exhaling deeply. "My mana's recovered enough now… I should be able to heal my wound. But I'll wait until we're back at the cave. Doing it out here would leave me completely unguarded."
"Why?" Icariel asked.
"Because healing is difficult. Even for elves." She winced slightly as her shoulder throbbed again. "It takes time to cast, and the control required is exhausting. I'll be vulnerable while doing it."
"Voice?" he called out in his mind.
The answer came swiftly.
"Healing defies logic. Unlike most spells, it doesn't follow clean rules—it demands emotion, control, and spirit.Only those blessed by the gods can use it freely. For everyone else—even elves—it requires control. Adult elves handle it better, but she's still young. It's no small feat for her."
Icariel nodded slightly. "Still... I can't wait to see how it's done."
As the elf girl tried to adjust her arm again, she flinched in pain. "Tch… I need to gather that last ingredient and then we return. This wound is becoming unbearable now that I've moved so much."
Icariel narrowed his eyes. "Heal it here."
She blinked. "What?"
"Heal it now. Right here. I'll be your guard. If anything approaches, I'll sense it before it gets close."
"You can sense threats?" she asked, skeptical. "How?"
"Questions later. Just heal. You're in pain, aren't you?"
A moment of silence passed. Then she slowly sat down in the grass, brushing her silver hair over her shoulder. "Fine. I'll believe you." Her voice was soft. "It's not easy for me to trust someone… but since you saved my life. I'll trust you this once."
"Two minutes is all I need."
"Just get on with it," Icariel muttered, eyes already scanning the forest.
He watched intently with his vision, illuminating the forest in waves of colors—orbs of mana floating gently in the air like drifting embers. He turned his gaze to the girl—and saw something he hadn't seen before.
Every part of her body shimmered with mana. Not like a flame or a current—but like something alive. She peeled the bandage back, revealing the deep wound on her shoulder, the flesh still raw and bruised.
Then, placing one hand gently over it, she exhaled.
A warm green light bloomed from her palm—gentle, radiant, and alive. To Icariel's mana-sight, it wasn't just light. It was woven—threads of emerald energy spinning into the wound, stitching flesh together in a dance of precision. Her own aura pulsed in time with the spell, flickering like leaves in the wind as she poured herself into the magic. Then...
[End of Chapter 21]