~ The loss of his friend Flint hit Ion hard, he would go through spurts of being reinvigorated thinking about carrying on Flint's dream only to be pulled back down moments latter by the remembrance of that he was no longer there. A week went by since that fateful day, with Ion mostly just laying in bed during that time, not even attending school. As it was now Saturday again, it was usually the day he and Zephyr would leave the city and go to the lands held by Flint's tribe to meet up with him and continue their training in their dream of becoming Contract Hunters, spending the weekend all together. Last weekend was suppose to be special, it was the first time that the three boys would be aloud to venture on their own into the woodlands area without the oversight of one of the tribe's lookouts and camp out on their own, but Flint's sudden passing that day changed everything. No more would the three of them spend these weekends together, no more would they have the ability to train all together again but none the less, Ion still wanted to achieve their dream, he owed it to Flint. It was around the time Ion would usually depart that he felt a presence around him still urging him to go to the tribal lands, to take that walk out of the city again.
Begrudgingly Ion got out of bed, got dressed and left the house for the first time in a week. Walking down the streets, Ion had a lot on his mind, especially with all the things that occurred, he went to the usual spot where he would meet up with Zephyr, seeing if he would come but after a while of him not showing up, Ion decided to continue on, on his own. He thought about how Zephyr was handling this, kicking himself for not handling it better himself so he could also be there for Zephyr as he also not scene him since leaving Flint's hospital room a week ago after he passed. Well if he could not see him today, he would tomorrow Ion thought, as Flint's pyre memorial was the next day, knowing Zephyr would not miss this just as Ion wouldn't. Passing the city gate and coming up to Flint's tribe grounds, Ion started to get shaky, still thinking about who was not there anymore, the one person he really wanted to see. Getting closer, he could see a bunch of kinds hanging around the entrance and they all came running towards Ion as he approached. They were all Flint's younger siblings, wrapping their arms around him and embracing him, bringing Ion to a stand still. Flint's parents can by soon after, happy to see that Ion came by and welcoming him in. They all chatted for a bit before Ion said he had somewhere to go in the woods, as he wanted to go to Flint's special spot, the one he went to when he got overly stressed about the medical condition he was battling and life in general. Flint's parents understood, making sure his siblings wound not follow him, as they wanted to but were told that Ion might just need some alone time there for now.
Walking through the wood with his head down and still in a state of sorrow, Ion came upon the fallen log by the small lake that Flint would come to when he was depressed. Sitting down and looking at the dark cloudy sky, tears came to his eyes as thought why did Flint have to leave them. Somewhat angry, Ion held his head down and burst out crying but then suddenly felt again that warm presence wrapping around him, with that calming voice in his head telling him that it was ok. Ion felt the presence seemingly trying yo lift his head up and when he did, Ion could see that the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through with birds flying in the distance. Ion could hear that voice again saying that he would be by his side whenever he needed him, which made Ion crack a small smile. Wondering if this was just his mind doing all this to help him cope, Ion did think back to that dream he had the night of Flint's passing and wondered if it was something more but his train of thought was lost when he heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. Ion turned around and looked behind him to see Zephyr coming towards him. Without saying a word, Zephyr sat down beside him and just pulled Ion into a hug. Ion returned the gesture as Zephyr apologized for not seeing him sooner but Ion rebutted with the same remark. Letting go of their embrace, both of them turned back towards the lake and looked up to the sky, mentioning out that they would push on and not let Flint down, they would achieve the dream all of them had as Flint would not wanted it any other way. ~
