Salem spun around, whipping his leg through the air as a blast of heat slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree, scorching the bark as hot air singed the leaves.

“So, think you got it this time?” said Salem, dismissing the flame armor that surrounded him. But despite the impressive display of fiery might, when Salem looked over to Keldon who was supposed to have been watching his movements, Keldon had dozed off, falling asleep in place cross-legged.

After the incident, the prison cart boys and the rest of the merchant caravans had continued to prepare for departure, albeit with a grim tone underlying the atmosphere. The healthy chatter among the group had all but vanished since then, replaced with shifty looks and silent work. All of them had known that the journey would be fraught with danger but none of them had expected a casualty so soon, some taking it as bad omens for the journey ahead.

Keldon however, had different reasons to be concerned. In hindsight, he should have expected that he wouldn’t be alone in his knowledge of the final calamity, but there was a small part of him that wished otherwise. After Salem had gotten over his initial shock at Keldon’s reveal, he had pulled Keldon over to the side, demanding that Keldon tell him what he knew about the situation. After a hushed explanation, Keldon had expected Salem to clue him into Salem’s own knowledge, but instead, Salem had said he’d need time to think first. For now, the two of them would begin their basic training.

Salem walked over, tapping Keldon on the head as he shot awake in a panic.

“JUST MEDITATING! N-no slacking off here sir!” Keldon said bleary-eyed. Keldon stumbled about, awkwardly flipping over to do one handed pushups which had been drilled into him as Salem looked onwards with notes of concern on his face.

“Perhaps… I pushed him a touch too hard.” Salem thought. He pulled Keldon up onto his feet.

It had been a few days since then, and Salem had insisted that they begin with physical fundamentals first before they even begin to touch naming magic. They barely had a week left with each other until they reached the capital before they’d go their separate ways. But apparently, physical fundamentals meant unrelentless exercise starting at four in the morning, followed with sprinkles of sleep deprivation.

“W-what’s wrong? I-I can keep going.”

“It’s fine, take a break pup.”,

“No, seriously Salem I-“ said Keldon as Salem gave him a light shove, sending him stumbling back before landing on his ass.

“Break. Now.”

“I mean it, let me prove myself! I can keep going!”

“Keep going?” said Salem with a scoff, “You can barely stand up straight. You miss the point of physical fundamentals pup, your body is becoming trained to withstand any potential harm that comes from the effects of uh, what do you call it? “

“Naming magic.”

“Right. That comes from the effects of naming magic, not to push you to the point where you break.”

Keldon opened his mouth to retaliate, but Salem was right. Even just doing those pushups just now had completely winded him. No matter how badly he wanted to get to practicing naming magic, if he fell over with a light tap on the chest, there’s no doubt that whatever ancient archaic magic curse lands in his lap would actually swallow him whole.

“I suppose.”

“Good. Good. Now come, let’s get something to eat.”

“No complaints there, I’m absolutely star-“ Keldon said getting up, however, his knees buckled as he tumbled forward, catching a mouthful of soil.

“I can keep going huh?” Salem said with a self-satisfied grin, but to Salem’s surprise, Keldon didn’t shoot back with a quip of his own.

“*Ppbtt* *Pbbttt* Oh fuck, fuck fuck fuck. I accidentally swallowed some, I-I need water. A-a-and charcoal!!!” said Keldon, violently spitting out the soil in his mouth.

“How many times do I need to tell you, watch your mouth! And what? It’s just a bit of soil pup, no need to get your knickers in a twist.” said Salem.

“What do you MEAN it’s just soil?! Arsenic poisoning Salem, I could DIE!!”

Salem just looked at Keldon raising his eyebrow, but then, dawned on the realization that Keldon had come onboard from the Hissings.

“Keldon, how long have you been working at the Hissings?” Salem asked.

“W-what? 6 years. Why does that matter now?!!” Keldon said, “Salem, this isn’t funny, I’m going to die damnit!!”

Salem knelt down to Keldon who was clawing at his tongue as he put a hand on his shoulder.

“Keldon, soil isn’t normally poisonous to ingest. It’s unique to the environment around the Hissings.” said Salem, “You’ll be fine.”.

Keldon stopped scrapping his tongue with his hands, cheeks flushing red as he tried to regain his composure.

“*ahem* I see. I knew that. I just um…I um… Dammit…Yeah I got nothing.” Said Keldon. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? But more importantly…

“Was it really your first instinct when you saw I thought I was going to die to correct me on my language though?” asked Keldon.

“It’s about manners pup, something you don’t seem entirely acquainted with.” said Salem. “Now c’mon, let’s go eat something other than dirt. It’s about time that we have that talk.”

“A talk? With me AND you? Damn, the apocalypse really is coming.” Said Keldon.

Salem shot Keldon a glare.

“Really? Even that one? Alright fine, darn I suppose.” Said Keldon

“So he learns after all.” Salem said, striding towards the campsite.

Keldon trailed behind, taking in the time to really soak in the atmosphere. Between the terror of the final calamity being closer than he’d thought, and the pressure of learning as much as he could from Salem, more than ever, he needed time to appreciate the little things in life. It was a tried and true method he’d used the last six years and he wasn’t about to stop now. He took the time to smell wildflowers along the way, drink in the warmth of the sunlight, and let a cold stream wash through his fingers.

He’d expected Salem to stop him, claiming it was annoying or that he wasn’t taking things seriously. But whenever he’d lagged behind, Salem had stopped and waited, letting him pick wolfberries or whatever else he’d wanted.

Reaching the resting site, the two of them first had to make their way past the merchant caravans before reaching the prison cart. Walking through the caravans proved even more intimidating than before, even the merchants who were accustomed to lounging around with a glass of wine in their hands had sobered up, making it clear that they were keeping a watchful eye as they glared at both Keldon and Salem who walked by.

“Get your fuckin’ hands off me!” yelled a caravan worker nearby, catching the attention of everyone in the nearby vicinity. Salem sighed, taking a sharp turn towards the commotion as people had begun to gather around.

One of the crates had been knocked over, spilling a fine white powder and scattering it into the earth.

“That was ten gold deniers worth of sugar you son of a bitch!!!” screamed a merchant. He shook the worker violently, who struggled to pull him off. “You trynna ruin me huh?!! You worthless son of a bitch!!”

“I told you, it was an accident dammit!” said the worker.

“I’ll show you a fucking accident!!” said the merchant, winding back his fist.

Salem stepped forward, grabbing the merchant’s fist mid-swing.

“What the- Who are you?!” asked the merchant, letting go of the caravan worker who scrambled away.

“Nobody.” said Salem.

“You fucking with me tough guy?!” asked the merchant.

“Little bit. And watch your language.” Said Salem

“Watch my language huh?” said the merchant. “How about you watch this instead!” suddenly swinging his fist and landing a clean hit on Salem’s face.

“Sale-!“ Keldon started to cry out.

But there was no need.

Salem had taken the punch clean to the face seeming more annoyed than injured as he just frowned, swatting away the merchant’s fist as if it were little more than a buzzing fly.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just do that.” Said Salem “And in exchange for not bursting the rest of your supply into flames, you’re going to play nice with the rest of your crew for the rest of this trip. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-you can’t tell me wh-“ stammered the merchant.

Salem thrust his hand out to the left, summoning the red needle skill orb he owned as a hush washed over the crowd.

“Are.We.Clear.” growled Salem.

The merchant gulped, shrinking into himself as he stumbled a few steps back.

“Y-y-yeah. Crystal.”

“Good, piss off.”

Salem stuck his hands into his pockets as he turned to walk away. The crowd murmuring to each other as they parted ways, clearing the path for Salem as he brushed past Keldon

“Let’s go.” Said Salem, not breaking his stride. Only after getting out of earshot, Keldon found an opportunity to react.

“wAtcH YOur lANgUagE~” mocked Keldon, imitating Salem who retorted with just an eyeroll.

“Oh c’mon, that was SO melodramatic. You could have just flashed your peacekeeper badge instead.” said Keldon, getting in front of Salem and walking backwards as he talked.

“Yeah Maybe. If I was actually a peacekeeper.” Salem said casually.

Taken aback, Keldon stopped in his place as Salem brushed by.

“Wait what?”

Salem smirked as Keldon jogged up to his side. “Woah woah woah woah. Hold up, then what was all that back at the cave??! With that Jorhund guy and all?!”

“Never said I was a peacekeeper, just flashed a little badge was all.” Said Salem, shrugging his shoulders.

“Isn’t-“ Keldon said, stopping first to look around if the coast was clear. “Won’t he be able to tell it’s a fake?”

“If he reports me at the capital, then yes.”

“Huh?! Then what are we going to do??! We’ll be there in a week!”

“Well I’m not going to need to worry about that if I’m not getting off at the capital.” Said Salem

“What? You’re not going to capital? But we’re taking a direct route!” said Keldon.

“Ohhh well done detective, you’re so close to cracking the case!” said Salem, clapping his hands.

“So when?” asked Keldon in a quiet voice.

“Few days.” Said Salem.

Those words pierced Keldon’s mind as he slowly came to a halt, biting his lip as he watched Salem trail ahead. At the end of the day when push came to shove, he liked Salem’s company. Sure, he was blunt, and could be a bit grumpy at times, but as harsh as he was, it was never personal. Mostly. Either way, even if Salem had a spiky exterior, Salem had always kept Keldon’s best interest at heart. Both protecting AND agreeing to train him putting his own safety at risk when he didn’t have to. Salem was more than a potential mentor,

Salem was his friend.

And once he left, Keldon was going to be alone. Again.

Finally, Salem noticed that Keldon had stopped following him, turning around to see Keldon staring at the ground.

“Oh c’mon.” said Salem, walking back to Keldon. “I’ve given you my word, I’ll train you to the best of my abilities before I leave.”

Keldon forced himself to curl up the corners of his mouth, giving Salem a pat on the shoulder as he passed him quickly.

“Right right, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t left out to dry.” said Keldon. “Thanks.”

Salem looked onwards as Keldon whistled casually, leaning his arms against the back of his head. But it couldn’t be more obvious if Keldon had painted it on a giant sign. When Keldon walked towards the prison cart, he simply strode pass a bright red patch of rare wildflowers.

“Alright follow me, I’ve got something to show you.” said Salem, catching up to Keldon.

“If it’s more physical training routines, can it wait for tomorrow? I’m really tir-“

“It’s a watch that counts down until the Final Calamity.”said Salem, staring Keldon in the eyes.

The faux smile melted from Keldon’s face.

“Right...Show me.”