Private Finished Follow the Road that Winds

Elizabeth's eyes stayed a while longer on the man with the crimson eyes even as they turned around and William pulled her along. And then she turned to look at her arm and up at her friend. For a moment, she had an unsure face on, her eyes narrowed and her brows raised, because she feared that this might have been too much and that William was...

"William?" she spoke up, though her voice was too soft that she wasn't sure he'd hear her. His hold on her arm was careful and it didn't hurt, but still. She tugged at her arm and tried to pull away.

Thinking about it at the moment, Elizabeth realized William might have been the only person who has had contact with her this much. She might have gotten a bit too comfortable around him and ended up becoming unmindful and reckless.

"Are you angry? I'm sorry we strayed too far. We're heading back to the campus now, aren't we?"

It was truly a relief to hear William's careful words. Elizabeth felt lighter and less anxious knowing that William wasn't angry, even though it didn't change that she still felt like a very troublesome person. "That's true. We're both unhurt and that man just now didn't seem as if he'd tell on us."

She knew she owed William more gratitude today than she had expressed. Even though the stranger from before didn't pose any thread, William had still stood protectively in front of her, whether he meant to or not. It was nice to have a caring friend! She'll have to do something next time to make up for this misadventure of theirs, but for now, she had nothing but words to give to William.

"William, you're--what's the expression..? Oh! William, you're really cool!"

She trusted he knew the way, because she definitely had no idea anymore. In any case, they'd be fine as long as they get out of the patch of thick trees, since William might be able to fly up to look for directions then.

Elizabeth froze when William began to laugh, he laughed so much that it confused her as to why. She had only said that he was cool, she had learned the expression after hearing others' conversations, and she wanted to give him a compliment like that. It was an honest opinion. Why was he laughing?

Her confusion and curiosity hadn't been sated before William calmed down and already began talking about their situation. Elizabeth continued to stare at him, though she did give him a nod, a slow nod, and eventually managed to shake off her baffled state.

"I don't mind at all. But we need to make it past the trees first, right? Will you be okay?" She was thinking it might hurt William if they got caught in branches while trying to fly.

Elizabeth was still baffled, but William made sense. She hadn't thought of that, actually, she just really wanted to use a modern expression to tell him what she thought. She shrugged. "I'll make a better compliment next time."

When William talked about the trees catching fire, Elizabeth briefly looked around and tried to see where the path they were currently following would lead them. There was more light ahead, which meant the ground was more exposed to the sun there. She smiled at her finding, and quickly pulled William with her as she headed for the bright patch of land.

"Here! I think it's a good place, don't you?" she asked him while looking at the space between the trees, and the blue sky beyond. They were going to fly again, and Elizabeth realized they'd probably be in a more serious mess if she wasn't with him, or if he didn't have the ability to fly. She's been relying on him; her own abilities have been useless so far. "I'm sorry I'm not much help, William. I'll do my best to be more useful next time!"

Well, technically she could clear the branches for them if she wanted, but she'd really hate to ruin nature when it wasn't very necessary. Surely William would hate to resort to that, too. Fortunately they didn't have to do that.

Elizabeth nodded. While what William said made perfect sense, it didn't exactly remove her feeling of uselessness. But there wasn't anything she could do about it, so she'd instead keep her promise to be more helpful next time. And also maybe keep them from getting in trouble in the first place.

"Oh!" When William asked about her powers, her eyes shot up at his face, giving him a look that showed that she completely didn't realize she hadn't told him yet. She's already known about his abilities, some of it anyway if not all, the first time they met, but she never had her chance to show him hers.

She thought it wouldn't hurt to borrow some mana from the air to give a little demonstration. She held her hand out, then small particles that looked like shining dusts suddenly began to compress into a layer of light on her palms. "I'm a mage, but I use mana for all of my abilities," she explained. "This is mana. It looks like light in its raw form, but it's in fact compressed energy from nature. And I have to be careful handling it because it's dangerous, but..." Slowly, Elizabeth pushed the layer of mana against William's chest. It would seep into his body like a comfortable warmth that would quickly spread into his entire body. "I can heal the sick and the injured, or supply strength for the weary."

She wasn't sure it worked for all kinds of creatures, she wasn't sure if William would feel it, or even need it, but she wanted to do it anyway. So when she was done, and she's dropped her hands, she asked him, "Do you feel different? I gathered maybe this trip and all the flying might tire you, so I should relieve the stress in your body at least."