Chapter 1703: A Talk

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Aquarina shared with the young, feathered man a lot of things about her culture, and how they seemed so similar. In that moment, the young man felt rather touched. It made him remember and miss home like nothing ever, despite how many years it has been since then.

“I see… I suppose our cultures were a bit similar. We did the same here as well…”

“Yeah! P-Perhaps we’ve been influenced by your people one way or the other…”

Agua tried to be cheerful, something she usually wasn’t, just to make the man smile even if lightly.

However, such a task was very hard!

As he heard her, he only got more depressed, sighing and looking at the paintings.

“Just how long has it been? For how long was I a monster? Was it really… thousands of years? I can’t… believe this…”

“I-I…”

Agua began to panic; she didn’t know what to say anymore…

“I don’t even remember people like you living around here either and… Ah, no… no offense. I’m sorry if it sounded rude.”

He didn’t want to sound rude, but simply wanted to show just how long he has been “absent” and living as a monster.

To the point that he lived in an era where the Oasis People wasn’t even a thing!

“It’s fine… Yeah, we came to live here only a few thousand years ago I think. We are half-elves, descendants of Desert Elves and a Human Hero. My tribe is a branch of these people, the Everstonians. We became Oasis People, we live in front of the Oasis and we protect it.”

Agua nodded, as she responded to his question and explained to him the origins of the Everstonians, and her branch that came to live on the Oasis.

“A human hero and a desert elf ancestor? So you’re a tribe of half-elves… how interesting… And you’re also protecting the oasis. I remember it was very fragile back then, sometimes it would dry out completely, and we would have to survive drinking cactus juice. Unfortunately we weren’t adept at water magic.”

“I see… It must have been harsh… But the Oasis is very big now, sir. It’s enormous! And it is surrounded by beautiful vegetation as well.”

“So it truly has become so much more different than before.” He man nodded. “Um, have… Have you seen any more of my kind? With wings?”

Agua noticed within his eyes some hint of hope, a light that might be very dim, and one that quickly extinguished after her quick, yet harsh response.

“…No.”

Agua sighed, as she looked down for a bit, she didn’t want to face him after saying such a thing.

It was the truth, and it was harsh, but it was necessary, he had to learn what happened.

It was always better to simply tell the truth than to feed false hope, only to make the people become even worse than before.

“I… I see…”

The man gripped his hands tightly, looking down, almost to the point his sharp claws tore through his own scales and his hands started bleeding.

Agua gasped, realizing how much pain he felt, to the point he didn’t even realize he was causing himself harm by the simplest of actions.

“Am I really the last of my kind…?”

As he groaned, gritting his teeth in frustration, Agua’s water magic gently encompassed his hand.

“Ah…!”

He was slightly surprised, the water was very cold, but it quickly and rapidly healed his wound, the blood was gone as well.

Agua held his large hands and glanced at his big claws.

“Sir… please don’t harm yourself. I know you’re going through a lot but… this is not the way.” She muttered. “Also, I’m afraid we haven’t even introduced each other yet… I am Agualinda, my mom called me like that… I-It means pretty water, but I guess it is whatever. You can call me Agua.”

“Agualinda… That’s… a beautiful name,” he smiled. “I am… Quetzalcoatl, it is a rather complicated name perhaps. It means king of the sky. I was born with a special sigil, or a mark, a tattoo in my body. Hence the name.”

“A sigil?” Agua wondered. “A-Ah right, your name…! Quetzalcoatl! I will make sure to remember it, sir.”

“You can call me Quetz if it’s too long,” he said. “And don’t call me sir… Before I transformed… I remember that I was only seventeen years old.”

“S-Seventeen?! With that body?” Agua gasped.

“Huh? What’s wrong… with my body?” Quetz tilted his head like a confused bird. “I perhaps look older? But… I am fairly sure I looked like this before. It appears that my transformation has maintained my youth and appearance… Even though now, I might be thousands of years old…”

“N-Nothing! A-Ah, there’s nothing wrong with your body, I’m sorry…” Agua muttered, getting redder as she looked elsewhere. “Um… Thank you for telling me your name, Quetz. I will make sure to tell everyone that’s how you want to be called.”

“Everyone?” Quetz wondered.

“Wouldn’t you like to come with us to my tribe? It’s not like… you could stay anywhere else, right? And perhaps being in the company of many people could help you feel at home… Just an idea though!” She muttered.

“Ah… I will… consider it,” he nodded. “But maybe I should… I did promise to repay your kindness, to make it my new purpose… I must… persevere I suppose.”

“Hm, I-I think you should…” Agua nodded, as she and Quetz were still holding hands. “A-Ah! Sorry…”

“It’s fine, your hands might be small, but they’re warm,” the man said. “I’m lucky to have met you… I suppose you also have a special sigil like me? You were born blessed by a spirit, just like me. That’s why you could listen to my cries.”

“So that’s how it is… Perhaps that’s the reason? But which spirit blessed you, Quetz?” Agua asked, tilting her head.

“I think he might be long gone now… But he was the Great Spirit of the Cliff Winds, a powerful bird-like spirit of enormous size, whose winds protected us, in exchange, we offered him the blood and bones of the beasts we hunted,” Quetz explained.

“Another Great Spirit?” Agua was shocked. “And-“

“It’s ready! The food’s ready!”

However, their conversation was cut short, as their lunch was ready.

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