The boys and the young Quashtis walked peacefully. The beasts followed Vars as if he were their mother, probably because he had slipped some of Titi's fur here and there in his clothes. He was also illuminated by three small balls of light he had summoned.
"Hey, Vars, how did you beat the other one? He seemed stronger than the guy I fought," Itoî asked.
"Ah, the poacher? Well, I gotta admit I threw a few spells and it was over. Vines to grab him, then I crushed him with a boulder. In a few minutes, the deal was sealed. I wanted to be quick to check if you were okay."
Itoî smiled faintly. He seemed embarrassed. A bitterness gnawed at him, so he asked:
"Big bro?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I a burden to you?"
"Why do you say that?" Vars asked, frowning.
"Well... You said you beat the guy very fast. I know you tend to drag out fights for fun..."
Vars gently patted his back to reassure him.
"Stop saying crap. You're my brother, of course I'm gonna worry about you. You don't need to constantly compare yourself to me," Vars said, lowering his head to smile at him.
"I feel weak," Itoî said.
It wasn't just a simple lack of self-confidence. It was a deeply real feeling.
"I know," Vars replied.
Itoî was surprised by this answer. He hadn't expected that, but rather an empathetic reaction like the ones his brother usually gave him. So he said nothing.
"That's what people felt when I was in class with them, and I gradually distanced myself. I stopped showing my powers. Originally, I wanted to perfectly master my four elements, but then I finally decided to focus on the Nature element. That's why I'm not very good with the other three," Vars said, lowering his head slightly as he walked.
Itoî was stunned and didn't know what to say anymore.
My brother, who has everything going for him in magic, stopped progressing out of fear of being rejected by others?
Itoî looked at his hands, then thought for a moment about the demon inside him.
In the end, we're not so different, are we?
"You can't stop progressing," Itoî said in an almost inaudible voice.
Vars turned his head to him.
"Did you say something? I didn't hear you."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"You can't give up! Train!" Itoî yelled.
The baby Quashtis panicked for a second.
Then Vars laughed.
"W-What? Did I say something funny?" Itoî asked, blushing.
"You scared the Quashtis. You don't need to yell," Vars said, continuing to chuckle softly.
Itoî brought his hands to his mouth, eyes wide, then pulled them away after a moment.
"Shoot! Plus, at this hour, there must be hostile beasts prowling, right?"
Vars pulled out a kind of very bright white ball. Itoî slapped his left arm over his eyes.
"Argh! Put that away, it's too bright! What is this thing?"
Vars wrapped it again with leaves to dim its glow.
"It's what I found in their bag. Besides blinding beasts, this stone can repel minor monsters thanks to its slight scent. We can't smell it, but they can. That's how they managed to come here without a scratch," Vars replied.
"Ah, okay, I get it," Itoî replied.
"But you didn't answer what I said!" he continued.
"I'll think about it on one condition," Vars said.
"Which is?" Itoî asked.
"If you train with me, without whining or complaining about your level."
Itoî protested immediately.
"Me? But I don't whine! It's true, I'm not strong! I don't even have an element, nothing! I don't have an element like y—"
"Fuck, stop comparing yourself to me!" Vars yelled.
He stopped walking.
"Why do you constantly feel the need to compare yourself to me?!"
Itoî didn't answer and tears came to his eyes.
"Stop crying, damn it..." Vars said, tilting his head to the left, annoyed.
"Because you're my role model," Itoî replied, wiping his eyes.
Vars's eyes widened for a moment. He looked happy, because it was the first time someone admired him. Indeed, some of his classmates considered him a "monster" and others a "cheater."
Vars's green eyes sparkled and tears rolled down his cheeks.
Seeing this, Itoî got worried and asked quickly:
"Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"
Vars quickly wiped his eyes before answering:
"It's the first time."
"The first time for what?" Itoî asked, not understanding what his brother meant.
"The first time someone admires me."
"Huh?!" Itoî was shocked by his brother's words.
"How is that possible? You're super strong in magic, but also in hand-to-hand combat! Dad even said you were pretty good with a sword too!"
"That's the problem, Itoî. Sometimes, when you're way too talented, some people get envious, and jealousy sets in little by little, until they hate us. I lived through that in elementary school, while I was hiding my powers a lot on Mom's advice, and then the same thing happened at the academy. So I stopped. My transcript shows grades of 95 out of 100 everywhere. The five missing points are solely because I stopped going to class and no longer knew the curriculum," Vars said, looking exhausted.
He didn't seem to enjoy talking about this subject.
"I..." Itoî didn't know what to say anymore.
Vars gently stroked his brother's head, smiling.
"It's fine, it's in the past now. Phew, we've been walking for three hours already! We're out of the dark part of the forest. Normally, we have nothing to fear here. The apex predator is the Tigoora, and with the stone, we'll be fine. Besides, it doesn't hunt at night. We'll rest."
Vars chanted for a few minutes to create tents made of plants for him and his brother. He also stacked some stones and used his Earth magic to create a shelter for the young Quashtis.
"Okay," Itoî said.
"Okay to what?" Vars asked, still perfecting the tent.
"To your offer. I'll train with you and Grandpa without a word of complaint! But I want you to train hard too!" Itoî said, looking motivated, fist clenched and thrust forward as a sign of determination.
Vars smiled and imitated him.
"OK! Now I'm pumped up too!" he said before the two boys burst out laughing.
The two boys settled into the tent, while the Quashtis went to their stone shelter. But quickly, the young beasts wanted to enter the tent where Vars was. After all, baby Quashtis sleep alongside their mother.
The tent collapsed.
"Shit!" Vars cried.
Itoî burst out laughing.
"Don't laugh! What do we do now?" Vars asked, chuckling slightly himself.
"Well, head to the stone shelter!" Itoî said, pointing at it.
The two boys settled there, and the Quashtis surrounded them. They fell asleep in a sweet and peaceful night, lulled by the quiet breathing of the beasts and the warmth of their silky fur.