Descendants of Gibbous
Chapter 61: Risk

Chapter 61: Risk

"Books? Check. Uniforms? Check. Clothes? Check. Ointments and potions? Check. Cage? Check—ah, lock it so that Silky won’t open it with his beak," Ahara commanded her brother before turning back to the paper in her hand, ticking all the boxes after making sure Damien had the things written next to them.

The sound of metal clanging lightly on the cage filled the room as Damien locked it. Silky tried brushing his beak on the boy, but Damien was careful not to let that sharp mouth graze his skin. He had stopped Ahara from having it trimmed and curved to avoid damage once the bird decided to peck and something—only to become Silky’s prime target after saving him from momentary pain.

"Do you have your oblong on you?"

"Yes—tsk," Damien hissed after Silky managed to get a jab at his hand. "Are you sure I’m Silky’s master or is this you trying to avoid taking care of him whilst I’m gone?"

Ahara glanced at her brother. "Don’t start a fight before leaving Damien. What if you found me dead when you return and the last conversation you remember of us was a fight?"

"Please stop saying such depressing stuff."

"I’m not saying it because I want to, but because you need to know what line of work you’re signing yourself up for. Going to a hero school means you have to be a hero until the day you retire. It’s like signing up to be a soldier despite having so many career options at hand," Ahara explained.

"I signed up for that, and that means I have to live with my decision. I’ve already received an area to oversee in the human world and I’m switching places with the assigned hero there next week...my warning is a bit validated you know."

Damien wanted to tell her she would survive, but after listening to her and Kingston’s fighting tales, he couldn’t. There was a high chance that Ahara could die during her hunts despite her rank—he’d almost seen it himself that night one month ago. But still, saying that an hour before Damien’s departure was kind of...

"You...you can’t die before I become a hero, " Damien mumbled in a low tone, ignoring the blood seeping out from where Silky’s beak had jabbed. It’d heal anytime soon anyway.

"You can’t. That’s too cruel."

Ahara strutted to where her brother was standing dressed in his complete uniform—black trousers, white shirt, a blood-red blazer, and a matching tie. She patted his back, a sad smile on her lips before saying:

"I’ll try not to."

Damien felt something snap inside his heart. Ahara’s truth-telling for the last few weeks had the same impact no matter what time of the day it was. It was mostly his fault, really. Ever since making her cry at the stadium, he had watched her struggle to leave the past version of herself that treated Damien like a kid for a new version that treated him more like a grown-up.

At first, it was nice. But now? Damien might as well have gone back in the past and stopped himself from asking Ahara to treat him like a grown-up. She stopped hiding the gruesome stuff from him, like how her mission went and how she had to watch people and her comrades get devoured by rogues before her eyes. The worst Damien had to hear of it all was how many times his sister had narrowly escaped death and how she’d probably die in a mission soon enough—just like she’d done now.

She had stopped sugar coating things from Damien and had somewhat discarded her sense of timing. He was about to be separated from her damnit. What was with her talking about dying in a mission whilst he would be in Gibforge?

Just then, a sharp light burst right in front of the siblings. Damien winced.

ZING!

Came a sharp sound as if strings had been tugged somewhere in the room before—

FWOOSH!

A tiny fairy appeared before them.

"Ah, it’s already time," Ahara said the words bitterly as though she dreaded her brother going to Gibforge.

Damien heard the pang of regret in her voice. He turned to face her, already feeling his heart wavering—the feeling intensified when he saw the expression on her face. Distraught. That was the word. Her entire facial features were hanging low, drooping on her face as though their muscles were deflating.

"I have five minutes to spare for you in case you have something you forgot," the fairy announced behind Damien, her green wings flapping nonstop and filling the room with a buzzing sound similar to that of a bee’s.

Damien ignored her.

"What’s wrong Ahara?" He found himself asking.

"Nothing, just...I won’t be able to see you for the next couple of months," she wiped her eyes, removing the stray tear that threatened to fall.

Damien almost told her he’d stay home with her, but then he remembered her mission.

She’d be gone next week if he decided to choose getting expelled from Gibforge over his sister, and he’d have to be enrolled in Fangpeak’s regular schools that were meant for Gibbits who wanted to pursue other careers that did not entail hunting Rogues and protecting humans or themselves from being killed.

Then there was his mission—he had a Rogue lord to chase after. If Damien dismissed Gibforge and attended a regular school just to be closer to Ahara, his chances of protecting her and becoming strong enough to battle the man who killed his parents would be slim if not impossible. And he’d stay weak...forever.

However, Damien wasn’t sure if going to Gibforge was the right decision either. Ever since the large pillar couldn’t determine his aura value, none of the oblongs back home could. If he decided to go and train to become a hero, the chances of him failing were just as great.

’So these are the risks shadow guy meant, huh? Stepping out of my comfort zone my ass. It feels like ripping a part of me and ditching it for a future I’m not even certain I can attain.’

"Two minutes left."

Damien sighed. With one large stride, he stood before his now sobbing sister. She’d tried to hold it in, but after seeing her brother standing there unwavering—she couldn’t contain her tears. Damien looked like he was set on becoming a hero no matter the risks that came with it.

True to her thoughts, when Damien hugged her and looked below at her—for he had grown a few inches taller than her in the month and a half since they returned to Gibbous—he gave her a sad smile that mirrored the turmoil in her heart.

"I’ll keep in touch through the oblong you brought me. Make sure you don’t die in your missions and I’ll meet with you back here during the holidays, okay?"

"One minute left. Make sure your belongings are in a 2-meter radius around you for take off," the fairy interjected their mellow moment with her sharp voice.

Ahara slowly nodded at her smiling brother and let out a sound that should have been her saying "okay" but came out sounding like a squeak when Damien let her go and stood between his belongings they had piled around in a space for him to have a safe departure.

"Thirty seconds. I’m going to sit on your shoulders now!" The fairy yelled as Damien felt her little body sit on him.

"Stay safe, sis. I love you."

Ahara couldn’t even reply to him from how hard she was sobbing and by the time she opened her mouth to do so, a faint green light flashed from where he brother was standing before—

ZING!

He disappeared.