Wrapped in a slight magic shadow, Ayalal held his breath for seconds as he absorbed the whole new world. He looked at Lysa, then looked at the horizon, and looked back at Lysa, wordlessly.
She laughed a little.
“It's a pretty sight, is it not? The rest of the world,” she noted.
“Yes,” Ayalal murmured, taking three steps back along the rocky footpath that went down.
Lysa's eyes widened in alarm, and she reached for him, but Yudarh crossed the staff before her, stopping her.
Fascinated, the little boy contemplated the distance, the blue of the sky, its clouds of a peculiar shape and, with half-closed eyes, the Sun itself. He heard again the hawk's high call and this time he saw it, soaring off in a slow flight. The flapping of its wings transmitted pure freedom to him. Then he took a few more steps along the track, noticing another thing. He skidded once, but curiosity gave him extra confidence, helping him balance himself. He squatted by a rock and stood very still watching a solitary flower. The wind shook it, but the plant's resilience surpassed its apparent fragility. He stretched out a finger and gently touched the red petals. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful being he had ever seen.
“It's a poppy. You can take it with you,” Lysa said, carefully picking up what had caught his eye.
“No.” Ayalal shook his head. “This is it house, it lives here. I can’t take it away. It would be bad for her.”
Lysa did not insist, actually enjoying that show of concern.
A few feet away, Yudarh sat down at the entrance of the tunnel, giving them a serene glance, before losing his thoughts on the vast horizon.
The hours passed. The sun rose higher in the sky until it reached its zenith, while Ayalal asked several questions about what they could see from there, what lived in the forests... and when could they see the sea up close.
Lysa opened her mouth, hesitating at the last answer.
“Well... when you're older.”
Ay blew his cheeks.
“I'm older by tomorrow,” he said.
“Oh, I'm the one who decides how old you must be,” Lysa laughed. “And now we have to go home.”
“Already...?”
“Yes. Master Yudarh has used this spell on you twice, we must not abuse the goodwill of others. We'll come back another day,” she said.
The little boy pouted, but eventually nodded. Shortly afterwards they made their way back through the tunnel, leaving the light of day behind.
When they reached the crossroads, Yudarh motioned with the staff to the road that would take them to the city.
“You can return to the orphanage.” The tone was indifferent and dry, nothing to which they were not accustomed.
Lysa smiled and bowed slightly.
“Thank you for everything, Master. Ay?”
Ayalal looked at Yudarh, clearly hesitant, before approaching, not quite as subtly as he would have liked, and he offered a sudden hug to the tiefling, arms around his legs.
“Thank you, Master Yu,” he murmured, before letting go as quickly as he had grabbed him, going to give Lysa his hand, very embarrassed.
The tiefling did not answer. He stood still, watching them go away for a moment before he returned to his business. Ayalal still looked back in time to see him disappear through the path on the crossroads that led into darkness.
*
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