Upon exiting the Medicus's tent, Spes was greeted by the warm rays of the sun. A small surprise to him, as while he was inside, he hadn't noticed that the clouds were already slowly parting, the sky opening up to gift its warmth to everyone.
The young man stopped in his tracks, and for a moment, he closed his eyes to enjoy the sun's gentle touch. Spes only opened his eyes once the last bits of clouded thoughts in his mind had disappeared. And just like the sky, his mind went from clouded—crying tears of rain—to blue, ever so quiet, so calm.
"Just keep walking, and someday, reason will find you," Spes quietly whispered, a smile on his face. And so he went on, having urgent matters to attend to. It was concerning what Crystal had said.
It wasn't too hard for Spes to find the person he needed help from, as the camp was set on a large open field. After just turning his head a few times, he spotted Decus tending to the griffins. With a large cloth, he was meticulously drying each one of them—a very peculiar scene, were a commoner to witness it, as a fully armored Inquisitor was doing the job of a squire.
"Hey," Spes said upon approaching Decus.
"Now that's a face that's ready to continue this journey!" Decus laughed, slowly folding the large cloth he'd used to dry the griffins.
"So, you found your path?" he added, stashing the cloth in his blue spatial ring—the same kind Spes had, gifted by the King.
"Not really," Spes replied casually this time, without the slightest hint of desperation in his voice.
"Well, that's okay. Just come to me if something goes wrong. But I'm sure you'll do just fine, seeing that you're already all smiles." Decus laughed again, patting Spes's shoulder vigorously.
"It's all thanks to the Medicus," Spes sighed, thinking how he'd have left the camp if not for those few small words of encouragement.
"Well, he's a good man. He's helped the Omega Squad a lot," Decus smiled, glancing briefly toward the Medicus's tent.
"A good drunk man," Spes added, making the two stare at each other in silence. And after a moment, neither of them knew who started it—but they both burst into laughter, each holding their stomachs as it began to hurt.
Only after a while did they calm down again, slightly gasping for breath.
"I didn't think you were the funny guy," Decus said, wiping the small tears from the corners of his eyes.
After a deep sigh, Decus composed himself and materialized a brush from his spatial ring, having noticed something off with the griffins. Yes, they were dry—but their fur was now messy, making the creatures look like puffy little beasts.
"It's nice talking to you, Spes, but as you can see—duty calls." Decus smiled apologetically before starting to brush the griffins.
After finishing with one, he moved to the next—only to realize that Spes was still standing behind him, scratching his head with a wry smile.
"About, uh... Crystal…"
"Oh, right! Sorry, lad, I almost forgot. Don't worry, I'll talk to her after I'm done here. You can go now—I'm a bit busy."
Spes nodded before turning to leave, leaving Decus to his griffins.
"Thanks, Decus," he said, stopping mid-step and turning back to offer his gratitude—almost forgetting to do so.
"You don't have to. We gotta have each other's backs, us commoners."
And so Spes truly left, turning his back and heading toward his tent. Meanwhile, Decus, who had resumed brushing the griffin, suddenly paused. A frown crept onto his face as he watched Spes's figure growing smaller in the distance.
There was something familiar about it—something that stirred a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Dolere…" Decus whispered, his eyes following the flower patterns on Spes's clothes—another figure, slowly superimposing itself over Spes's silhouette