Some time in the afternoon his constant agony returned, but both his body and mind was quite well-rested thus he endured it a lot better throughout the day.

Quin spent the remaining time of the day by preparing for his journey, especially figuring out what kind of items he would need. He did not want to bring a lot of stuff, only the ones he needed the most. Unfortunately he was not able to buy most of those things, as when he finished his planning it had already become dark.

The next day, after having his breakfast he decided to tell his mother about his plans. Although she was naturally sad that she would not be seeing his son for a long time, she was still happy to know that the Chief Healer had finally found a viable treatment for Quin.

Afterward Quin went to the market and visited various shops to purchase the items he needed. He bought some utensils for cooking, a couple of firestarters -- small, common magical tools used for making fire by only having to rub it against something flammable --, a few types of seasonings, a portable tent and of course some kind weapon: a dark gold spear. Lastly, he went to buy a horse for carrying his stuff and to make the journey more comfortable.

When he finished packing, all of his things could easily be fit into two suitcases, which he then loaded onto the horse.

During the day his control over the pain sometimes nearly slipped, but he managed to keep it each times in the end.

Alright, it’s already afternoon, so Leyn should be already home, he thought and then started to walk toward her house.

“Hey, Quin! How are you doing?” Leyn asked.

“Hey, actually a bit better. I took a painkiller yesterday after midnight, so I was able to get a good rest and then it even lasted to the early afternoon. It’s still there, but with a clear and rested mind it’s easier,” he said.

They went to the living room and sat down on the sofa. Leyn put her hand on his stomach and her Water Qi started flowing right away, filling Quin.

“Does it feel better?” she asked with a warm smile.

“Thanks, it does a lot,” Quin said and smiled back. “I don’t think I’ll be here for so long, but please don’t exhaust yourself like last time.”

“I won’t, don’t worry,” she replied.

“So, I actually came here to talk about something,” Quin said. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot in the past days, and I decided that I’ll leave the city and--”

“What? Why?” she asked worriedly.

“I... To be honest, each day, I just can’t prevent myself thinking about that I no longer fit into this place. You know how’s school, and the people there and I really don’t want to spend my remaining time sitting behind the school desk or just by sitting at home. I’ve never left the city, well except the Coming of Age Ceremony, and it’d be a good opportunity to see the world, or at least a part of it.”

“What about your friends? Or Aline? Your mom?” she asked.

“Friends? You’re about the only one I have,” he said with a dejected look. “I’ve never been the one who had a lot of friends, instead I preferred to only have a couple of good ones. Dreon, he died... Alinor? I considered him my best friend, but honestly? It seems that I’ve been mistaken. I’m not saying that he’s not my friend or anything like that, but it doesn’t feel at all that our friendship is such a good one. You know, it’s quite a bad feeling to realize that after years of being friends and after that I risked my life for them, he simply doesn’t trust me at all.”

“Hey, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,” she said with the same smile and tousled his hair with her free hand.

“Thanks for saying that, but sadly I’ve seen it my own eyes.” He sighed shaking his head. “Lin and Sao... Well they’ve never been really my friend, and I rarely spoke to them. Besides them I’ve got a few schoolmates who I sometimes talked with, but they seem to keep their distance and Aline? Let’s not even talk about her.”

“What happened?” she asked. “Are you really sure you don’t want to tell it to someone? It can help.”

“Nah, even this has been more than enough time of self-pity,” he said with a dry laugh.

“Okay, and do you have a destination in your mind, or you’ll just go wherever the road takes you?”

“Yeah, I’ve already decided on it: Hounxi. You know about it, right?” Quin asked.

“Of course I know it,” he answered with a small laugh. “I’ve been long interested in the lake over there, hey, how about I go with you and then you won’t have to be alone either?”

Quin shook his head and then said, “Thanks, but aren’t you just saying this because you feel sorry for me?”

“I do feel sorry for you, however I truly want to visit that place and that way I can help you with healing or anything,” she replied.

“And then what about your life here? It does feel good to see that you’d willing to leave it all behind just because of me, but I don’t think that’d right,” Quin said. “Obviously, I cannot stop you from doing that, but just think about it. You’ve got a job, a future here as a healer and from what you’ve told me, it looks like you really love it. You’re still in that period of your life when every day of training is important, not to speak about one or more years. You can still visit Hounxi later and I don't want to drag you down with me. Besides it’s not by chance that I’ll go alone.”

“Alright,” she said a bit disheartened. “Then how about that I’ll visit you there before the New Year’s celebration?”

“I--” Looking at her expression I doubt I could convince her otherwise, but would it be really that bad? Well, if I won’t be in a worse condition there shouldn’t be any problem. “Alright, that’s a good idea,” he said.

Quin stayed there until night and then went home. He decided not to waste any more time and set out tomorrow afternoon. It was his last day at home, so he spent the evening by talking with her mother. Quin told her that with the bronze badge he got from Gorman he bought a couple of things to her so that even if he was at the other side of the country, she would face no hardship regarding money.

Although her mother became quite sentimental Quin said, “Mom, you’ve been there for me for my entire life, cared for me and gave me anything I needed, while all I’m giving you is something I can get for free and in any amount.”

Her mother’s eyes became teary and she pulled Quin into a hug. It’s been so long I gave her a hug and I had even considered them childish. He sighed. I’ll really miss her. At this point Quin’s eyes became filled with tears as well.

On the next day there was only a single thing left he wanted to do: to search for a gift for Leyn. She had always supported him since that incident and when she healed him that time, she did not even stop after being totally exhausted. He knew that he could entrust his very life to her; she was someone whom he completely trusted. Though it was him who ended their friendship previously because he felt betrayed, that was the past and the present was different.

Thanks to Leyn’s work as a healer -- something she turned out to be very talented at --, their family was not so poor anymore, like they had been years ago. Her mother did not need to continue the hard physical labor which had quite a bad effect on her health, and they could move into a better house as well.

They were not rich at all however, so despite that they could afford to have a comfortable life, Leyn could not allow herself to buy the things she wanted to. Women at her age often bought themselves expensive clothing and accessories, but she did not have the money for it.

Thus Quin decided to buy her a few thing she could not. In truth, he wanted to give her a lot more, however he knew her attitude well and that it would only cause more bad than good. She would appreciate a present but not charity.

Though he had some idea of what kind of dress he wanted to buy, it was safer to ask the opinion of the shopkeeper as well, and in the end he bought her a beautiful jade-green dress.

He visited several jewelry stores until he found something noteworthy. There was no end to eye-catching jewelries, however he wanted something unique and something which would suit her. In the end he selected a pair of earrings, which looked like a rose hanging down from its stem.

The rose was made out of some kind of red crystal, its stem out of gold and Quin thought that it would look great on her.

Part of the reason he decided on this piece of jewelry was because of what he had dreamed about when the group of youths beat him up. He could not forget that beautiful rose which surrounded him in his dreams when Leyn started healing him, and these earrings resembled to that rose a lot.

He went home a last time, and after asking her mother to give these items to Leyn, Quin said his goodbyes and left.

Author's note: I'll release 6 chapters next week, one each day except Wednesday.