learning to be a real guardian, you would have been the best one there by far," he said calmly. She looked at him with curiosity as he breathed out in content.
"Still, it does make me feel more at ease knowing I have the best fighter in our village with me," he admitted with a small smile. Triska blushed slightly and looked at him with a gentle smile. She shook her head then turned to look at him, laying on her side and elbow.
"You're the one that's impressive, Daniel. Nobody but you would be trying to get monsters on our side in this world," she said with a small laugh. He chuckled and shrugged slightly.
"Well, I know it's crazy, but-"
"It's not crazy," Triska said softly. He turned to see her looking at him with a gentle expression.
"You're not crazy, sometimes a radical thinker is just what the world needs," she said. Daniel sat up and looked at her curiously.
"That's something else I wanted to ask you. Ever since I showed you my book about the monsters you never once made fun of me or anything. You were the only one in the village who… seemed to believe me and my ideas. How come?" he asked while brushing the grass off his shoulder. She glanced away then downward, hesitating to speak at first.
"Well… I didn't at first. But… you seemed so sure about it, that they could really help us in the world. I don't know… I mean you've never really been wrong with these sorts of guesses before. You've always been the smart one," she said softly. Slowly she looked back up to him with a timid expression, feeling her heart beating faster as she saw him watching her.
‘Ok… maybe now is a good time to tell him. I mean we are alone, and he's right there… in front of me… looking at me…’
"I don't know about always being the smart one, back home I felt like the crazy one actually," Daniel said with a weak smile. Triska quickly sat up and shook her head.
"Not at all. They're just too scared of trying something like this. Wanting to actually talk to monsters isn't something most people would consider safe. But you're not most people," she said reassuringly. She smiled then looked down timidly.
"I mean, you're braver than most, wanting to do this alone speaks of that," she said as she gently tugged on the grass with her fingers. Looking back up at him she saw the curious expression on his face. She slowly inched a bit closer.
"And you're not afraid to follow your dreams, even if they are completely insane," she said gently, and then jumped with a surprised expression as she realized what she just said. Daniel merely raised an eyebrow at her while she waved her hands around in front of her with a nervous laugh.
"I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying your dreams are completely insane, I just meant… what I was trying to say was…" she stammered. Daniel nodded with a sigh then rested back down on the grass.
"I know I know; it's a death sentence to try this. That no monster will be tamed or reasoned with and will only try to use me for their own breeding stock. That's not going to stop me from trying though, even if everybody does think I'm insane for wanting to do this," he said simply before he closed his eyes.
"I didn't mean you were insane, Daniel, really. I was only saying that the idea is insane," she said worriedly. She jumped a bit then hit her head with a quick jab.
‘Dammit, what's wrong with me? It's his idea!’
"That's not what I meant either, let me start over," she said with a nervous smile.
"Let's just stop talking about it, Triska, I'd rather not think about how doomed our journey is right now," he said tiredly. Triska looked at him with concern then up with frustration.
‘Oh c'mon, that was the moment! It was perfect!’
She sighed then looked away with a saddened gaze, holding her legs up to her chest with her arms and nodding slowly. As a small breeze rolled by she glanced to her friend as he lay on the grass. She watched him lay there with a peaceful expression as the sun was high in
Learning to Kill: Stories