Ramblings

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~~Title:Chapter 4~~
<fs xx-large>4.</fs>
Álvaro said that the hike to the other village was a one or two hour endeavor. He wasn't the fastest walker due to his age and Hiero had been walking several paces ahead of him to scout out the vista. At first they walked past the palm forest in which Hiero and Tess were hunting yesterday. On the hunting trip Hiero had the honor of using one of the village's precious bows. Each of these had to be meticulously handcrafted - just finding the materials was already a challenge that required several explorations into the forest, but then making the actual bow took months. He did not yet hit anything, but Tess was a great teacher and Hiero's marksmanship improved rapidly, so Hiero expected to do much better next time. Although archery didn't seem like a particularly important skill of an aspiring village leader, Hiero knew that any good leader should lead with a good example, so he tried to learn everything (and more!) that Tess and Anaestasia had learned. While his fellows at school would have to specialize eventually, Hiero was set to branch out as much as possible, learning as many different things as he could, though immediate survival skills like hunting took some priority. After leaving the shoreline and the beaches and the lush coconut forests near the edge of the island, the two headed towards the inland and ascended a more or less steep incline which marked the beginning of the island mountain, the center of the island. The sand desire path eventually turned into dirt leading its way through the fresh and green bushes and trees. A smaller path forked off the main route into a dense woodland, too dense indeed for Hiero to see anything. Approaching the foundation of the main mountain part, the path took a sharp left and started weaving its way up and up the mountain. Hiero stopped multiple times to take in the ambiance of the nature, all the noises of the different animals and the smell of palms and the ocean. The things Hiero saw climbing up the mountain was something very different from what Hiero had ever seen before and the different colored plants and animals almost felt magical - such vibrance, as if they were exploding with life. It was like shimmering dust of stars or water falling off of them when he touched one. In his village there was mostly just sand and the occasional patch of grass - and the plantation fields, of course, but those were just mud in long lines with green stuff in them that he would have to eat eventually. In the village it was only the salt from the ocean and the kitchen or the forgery where you would actively smell something outdoors. Hiero knew he could individually smell the interiors of every public building in his village because of their unique smells, but outside had always been the same, monotone blend of smells he was all too familiar with. That was nothing against what he was experiencing out here, the plants, the air, the animals, there were so many things. It was like just being up here already smelled different. When he closed his eyes to take in the nature around him he could feel his weight dig his feet into the cold ground which provided a gentle contrast to the pleasantly warm air.

The path took yet another turn and slowly changed from dirt to a mix of dirt and stone. The forest lightened up a bit but remained a forest and wouldn't let Hiero see any further than a hundred meters or so. Eventually Hiero heard splashing water, and when he and Álvaro walked around the next bend he discovered a small waterfall rushing down from the mountain wall to his right. It was maybe one palm tree high and supplied a continuous stream of cold, crystal clear water to a pond underneath. From the pond emerged a stream, about two to three meters across, speeding across his sight to the left towards the ocean. A big rock laid on the bottom of the river, big but only a small part of it still tipped out above the surface of the water. The way it laid there was almost begging to be used to jump across to the other side. The sun lit up the fall and cast reflections in all colors from each individual falling droplet of water and the small pond underneath. The cliff the water fell from was rough and some of the water bounced away from the uneven surfaces, which provided for a constant, super light sprinkling of water that, even from several meters away, gently cooled down Hiero's skin without actually making him wet. A lot of water collided away from the cliff, though, and created what looked like a white fog cloud around the waterfall.\\
Hiero didn't even notice that he had his mouth wide open in wonder and Álvaro only laughed and knocked him on the shoulder. "It's a nice place here. We can take a break if you want." Hiero desperately wanted to stay for as long as he could, so he promptly jumped over the stone on the other side of the river, put off his clothing next to the pond on what looked like a stone bench and jumped into the water. It was much colder than he thought and too deep for him to stand, but the sun warmed his face and as long as he kept away from the end of the pond to avoid being dragged down the river he could freely swim. He even tried to shower under the waterfall but the water fell down from such a height that it mostly just hurt standing beneath it, though he cherished the experience. "We are well over halfway there, now." Álvaro said and took another bite from his lunch. Hiero had almost forgotten that they didn't plan on staying there forever, "What will the other village be like?"

Álvaro used the time he needed to chew his bite to think of a good reply. "Well..." he said, struggling to find the right words, "...it's mostly going to be like ours. It's just... different. You know, in their village there are no rules against stealing. Or killing. Or... well. Anything, really. It's all just a matter of mutual trust - or distrust." Álvaro was glad he got that part out because it was really hard to describe. "Our village, we used to live like that. It was said that there should be no rules, no rules at all, but the village very quickly had to agree on a few fundamentals if it wanted any semblance of peace. Well, as peaceful as it gets on this island, anyway." Álvaro's expression shifted. His face was usually pretty relaxed but Hiero knew his teacher's serious face very well. "What... Isn't this island great?"