The Magic of Frienship [Calvin/Isabel]

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin clapped with a childish smile returning to his face. He wanted his friends to be able to rely on him, just as he needed to rely on them. Friendship was a two way street.

“You really think so? I’m glad I could help! ...but what about everyone else we fought? They’ll be ok right?”

Calvin spoke with little change in his voice but his eyes showed sorrow. He was still young, he had been in a few fights already but the heat of the moment distracted him from the people they had killed. Only now had he remembered when they met Tara and killed that other man. Did they do the same to all those people? Those people with family and friends, just like him?

[Isabel]

Isabel eyed Calvin critically for a moment before returning her gaze to the rapidly descending sun. This... This was a question she wished she wouldn't have to answer. "Calvin... No. Not everyone we fought will be okay. At least not here on this mortal world... I suppose, maybe if they were religious, they could have gone to the place where their ancestors went." The self-proclaimed prodigy believed this was a bunch of crap, but it might help lessen Calvin's pain at knowing that the people they had killed in the past days wouldn't be... 'Ok'. "And, well... They won't have fear of pain and sorrow anymore. And, one day, their friends and family will join them..."

And suddenly Isabel found herself almost wishing she believed what she was saying.

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin listened closely to what Isabel told him. His childish grin inverted, leaving a saddened frown. It was a sad thought, he knew deep down he understood what death was, even if it was only farm animals he had still encountered it. It was a sad thought to think they could be the reason of it. The whole idea got Calvin thinking about why people even fight, what is the need to do such things to other people…

“No pain or sorrow?... That sounds like a nice place… I hope that when the time comes, you’ll come with me to that place! Travelling with you has been really fun... I learn so much from you! I don’t want our adventures to ever end…”

[Isabel]

"Me neither, Calvin... You're a good friend, you know." Isabel said with a smile. The sun was almost below the horizon at this point, and then Isabel pointed to it. "Shh... Let's watch this..." she whispered, and then followed through. The glowing orange-red light around the sun was quickly diminishing, and only the very top of the sun could still be seen. The dark of night almost seemed to be pushing the sun down... The lower it got, the harder the night pushed to have it be its time. After another five seconds, only a little remnant of the glow could still be seen, coloring a low-lying cloud deep orange, before being snuffed out. Isabel turned her head upward, looking for the twinkling of the stars. As she looked, one, two seemed to pop into existence.

"Calvin... What was your life like before me? I mean... You know... All of this. Before we met Tirion."

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin smiled gently. A good friend… He was glad Isabel felt the same about him, his friends were important to him. Calvin was about to speak but was gently told to remain quiet, instead enjoy the sunset. Maybe sometimes, being quiet isn’t such a bad thing… Calvin stared out to the horizon and watched as the arrays of colors slowly retracted across the skies, the large ball of beauty slowly descending, and the gorgeous light diminishing. It was truly a beautiful sight, Calvin wished he could sit here with Isabel longer, and watch the sun set but after a few seconds the sun was already hidden beyond the horizon. Calvin can never fail to see the beauty in the world, his childhood innocence made him unsuited for combat, but he found enjoyment and beauty in everything. Even as the sun set, a new sight emerges, the twinkling stars slowly popping into the dark night abyss, illuminating the sky with a gorgeous display of lights. Calvin stared into the sky, with wide eyes, a gentle blush of pink presenting itself on his delicate face. Isabel spoke breaking the silence, and Calvin turned. He pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them. His head tilted, resting on his knees as he looked over to Isabel. His life before he left… He missed it…

“My life… It was very nice, oftentimes I find myself sad, thinking back on everything I’ve left behind. But I know someday I’ll return! I’ll return more talented in music, more so than my parents and grandparents! I’ll return with stories and pictures and new friends and memories! Everyone will be happy to see me, and we’ll play and dance together like we used to! I’ll return with the money I need to save these memories!”

[Isabel]

"When you return home... You'll miss me, right?" Isabel said with a forced grin. "I mean... Maybe I'll come and visit you, but... For the most part, we probably won't see each other anymore." Isabel looked over at him. "I know that when we part, I'll miss you, you crazy bard. I know for certain..."

The girl tapped her book a few times. "I do hope you succeed, Calvin. In fact, I'm sure you will! Especially with my help."

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin smiled childishly, joy filling his heart as his friend spoke and let out a sincere grin. Or at least Calvin saw it sincere. He laughed to himself a little bit.

“Yes! Of course! I’ll miss Isabel the most out of everyone! But I don’t want to go home, not for a long time! I want to stay with Isabel for as long as possible! And then when I go home, I’ll visit Isabel as much as possible! That’s because Isabel is special to me! You were my very… my first friend!”

His childish voice and expression turned to a more serious one as he neared the end of his speech. However when Isabel spoke again the child inside him returned to the surface.

“When I’m with Isabel, We’ll always succeed!”

He laughed to himself for a minute before thinking to himself.

“What about Isabel? What was your life like before all this?”

[Isabel]

The pupil found herself smiling at Calvin's child-like behavior. "Yes... I think I'd like that. Very, very much." And then his question...

"Well, Calvin... I don't know where to begin answering that one." she said quietly. "When I was a little girl, I lived with my parents and brother and sister. The whole family was magical, I'll tell you now. All of us... Except me. My parents were never fans of Elder Magic, and, because of that, I never found my calling... Until a man came along and told me of where my talents might be. My parents... Well... Sent me off to a teacher. For three years I studied with him, Master Daryl... He's a nice guy." Isabel was now drumming her tome rapidly with all her fingers but her thumbs. "I... Haven't seen my family since."

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin listened intently to Isabel’s story. An entire family of magic? To Calvin that was a pretty amazing quality, but he felt sympathy for Isabel. If her parents never liked Elder magic he wondered how they felt about her studying it?

“That’s amazing… and entire family of magic… I bet none of them are as good as Isabel the prodigy! If you ever want to talk about your family I’ll always be here!”

[Isabel]

Isabel smiled, and gave Calvin a quick friend-hug. She doubted he would misinterpret it, like some people might. He needed why Jya sitting on Valorian's chest being awkward explained to him, after all! "Hey... Thanks Calvin. So... What else do you want to talk about? Perhaps what you'll need to know to prepare yourself for Ilia?"

Isabel glanced at the bard. This was really their first long talk. They had been travelling for many weeks now, but... Wow. The girl felt bad; she hadn't really gotten to know Calvin at all.

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin got a nice hug from Isabel. He didn’t misinterpret it in any way, mostly because he didn’t know how it could be misinterpreted. Calvin nodded and smiled as Isabel thanked him, but he then thought what else they could talk about.

“Your welcome, I enjoyed watching the sunset with you it was really beautiful, travelling with everyone has really been a fun experience, I wonder what we’ll be doing tomorrow…”

[Isabel]

"My rather unhumble guess would be that we all be setting off tomorrow for... Hmm. We'll be making our way to Ilia starting tomorrow, I know that... We might want to invest our money into some thicker clothes before we get into that frost-bitten country." Isabel said with a grin. "And mark my words, Calvin, if you don't, your nose will turn blue and crack off!"

[Calvin Toros]

Illia? Calvin didn’t know where or what that was. However he did hear frost-bitten in Isabel’s sentence and understood it was in fact another country, most probably cold. A sheepish smile broadened across his face.

“A new country! How excited, not only have I never been there, but I’ve only ever seen snow a few times! I can’t wait to play in the snow with Isabel”

[Isabel]

Isabel raised an eyebrow. "If we have the time, Calvin, we can make snow angels, okay? But I doubt we'll have time to play... I mean, we do have a job to do. One that coul probably change the course of history! That flaming symbol or whatever you found earlier seemed important, at least from the snippets of conversation I was paying attention to."

[Calvin Toros]

Calvin’s face lit up, he couldn’t wait to play in the snow with his friends, but she was right they did have a job to do. Calvin knew that he could be of help, even if it were just the littlest of things, they still need to be done.

“I can’t wait to play in the snow with my friends! But don’t worry, I won’t get distracted from our job! If we work together we’re sure to succeed!”