116 A Welcoming Feas

"I'm not sure, but I think he was even stronger than your grandpa."

"No way!" Pauller went wide-eyed as he looked back to Oliver. "How could he be so strong? And he's dead?"

"Some things happened…After everything I ended up on my own, traveling and cultivating wherever I could. And now, here I am, in Trighton City. I'm still not sure where I'll end up, but at least I'm alive thanks to him."

Quiet and pondering Oliver's words, Pauller closed his open mouth.

The two then walked in silence for the next couple of minutes as they neared their destination. Pauller then opened the door and smiled as he introduced the spacious room.

"What do you think?" Asked Pauller. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you. But before thinking about that, can you show me to the bathhouse?"

"Sure thing! In fact, I'll join you."

Happy he could offer more help to Oliver, Pauller gladly showed him around and led Oliver to the bathhouse. They quickly changed, finding some towels in a cubby of the side. In no time, they entered the steamy open room to the sound of water gently trickling and flowing.

Oliver looked around, glad to see that the Practor family could afford a decent bathhouse. He allowed himself to indulge in the warm water; his body relaxed and unwound unlike anything he'd felt in the past nine moons. "Ahhh…"

"Who are you? And why are you here?"

Pauller hurried into the water and stood before Oliver. "Johan, leave him alone. He's our guest, so treat them with respect."

"Oh, Pauller… So he's with you? Then I guess he's not worth much since you're not either," laughed Johan.

"Hey that's--"

"Why are you complaining? The only reason your position in the family is higher than mine is that your father was lucky enough to be firstborn. And now that he's in a coma, what gives you the right to speak above me?"

"That… that's just..."

"Exactly," Johan chuckled. "Like I said, you and your brother aren't worth anything now. If anything happened to your father, then you'd be worthless."

"Stop that!"

"Why should I? Did your feelings get hurt? Oh, little Pauller needs his big brother to solve his problems," mocked Johan. "Too bad he's not here to save you."

"You're just lucky he's not here to shut you up!" Shouted Pauller.

Through all this, Oliver kept his calm. He sat quietly, enjoying the warm water and letting his own personal stress drift away. As the other two got more riled up, he opened his eyes but still said nothing.

Johan waved his hand mockingly. "Go ahead, leave, go find him. It doesn't matter because we both know that I'm stronger than he is."

"Not for long… Soon, he'll be even stronger than you and he'll be stronger then…"

"Stronger than who?" Asked Johan. "Stronger than my dad? I doubt it! He might get stronger than your dad, but that's not hard now."

"Is that what you really think?"

The three young men all turned toward the open door and noticed the naked Leon standing for all to see. "I don't think there's any reason for us to be talking about this right now. Just calm down and shut up."

John lifted one eyebrow as he stared up at Leon. "Really? How about you prove it then?"

"That's pointless." Leon shook his head. "Right now, we're entertaining guests so there's no need to--"

"You just scared," laughed Johan. "It's always the same thing with you. You never bother arguing about who's stronger and who's not because you know you'll always be weaker. That's the way it's always been, that's the way it will always be. Unless… you can change my mind."

"I don't see a reason to--"

"You're just like your old man, stupid and foolish to think you're stronger without proving your point. Your old man always refused to fight my father, saying that it was pointless. Well, now there's a reason to fight but he's unable to. And because of that, grandpa refuses to pass on the patriarch seat to my father."

Without a word, Leon glared at Johan. The fire in his eyes seemed unquenchable as well as the anger shown as he gritted his teeth.

"If you want to shut me up, then do it with your fist!" Johan stood up as he raised his hand, motioning for Leon to give him a go. "I'm ready whenever you are. So unless you're really a coward, just shut up and take it like your old man did."

"Shut up!"

Leon burst forward in a full sprint, or at least as fast as he could be while in the water.

Johan only laughed as he stepped forward and easily grabbed Leon's fist, tossing him through the air. The water broke the fall, yet Johan didn't let up. Instead, Johan positioned himself on top of Leon, pinning him under the water. "What will you do now?"

Bubbles burst to the surface aggressively. It was clear to everyone that Leon was struggling and trying his best to set himself free.

Leaping into the action, Pauller shouted, "Leave my brother!"

"I think that's enough."

Suddenly, Johan felt himself being lifted into the air. He looked to the side to see the guest that Johan had mocked lifting by grabbing his armpit, as easy as he would a baby. At the same time, Johan noticed that Leon was pulled from the water and finally allowed to breathe.

"I don't think family should be fighting like you are. And I don't think your grandpa would like to know about this little scuffle. So, let's forget about this and just go our separate ways." Oliver released both young men and made his way out of the bathe. "I'm guessing the food's ready, so I'll be the first to leave."

Pauller smiled as he hurried behind Oliver. Leon grunted but he did the same, staring angrily at Johan as he closed the door behind him.

The three boys quickly changed and made their way to the banquet hall.

Neither of the two brothers said a word as they led Oliver towards the welcoming meal. They opened the set of double doors and made their way towards the grand table.

Hurman, sitting at the head of the grand table, motioned toward three of the seats near him. "Boys, what took you so long? It's almost gotten cold."

"I don't want to talk about," mumbled Pauller.

"Did you boys get in another fight with Johan?" Herman rubbed his hand against his forehead. "You boys need to learn to control yourselves. If you let your emotions drive you so easily, it will be hard to live a happy life."

"That's not--"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. It was my fault." Before Leon took a seat he bowed before the old man at the head of the table. "I was the one who fought, not Pauller. I'll take the blame."

"Well… Since we're with a guest and you recognize the wrong, then I'll let you off easy this time. For now, just enjoy the food." With a smile, Herman looked toward Oliver. "This meal is meant to be a happy one, celebrating Oliver's help in a time of need. We shouldn't let sour feelings ruin the occasion."

"I agree!"

The three boys looked toward the double doors to see two figures entering. Both Pauller and Leon frowned.

Leading Johan into the room, a fit middle-aged man looked to Herman. "Father, thank you for inviting us and allowing us to meet the newest Savior of these two rascals."

"Jonon, please, take a seat. You was well, Johan." Herman motioned toward the seats on his other side. "Now we're only missing Mertin. He should be here soon but the foods already getting cold so enjoy there's no need to wait."

"Thank you, father." Jonon and his son both started to dig in. They grabbed the steaks and the assorted ribs, filling their plates with meat and sides of potatoes and carrots. "This is quite the feast. We haven't had anything like this in moons. You must highly favor this young man to go to such extents as a thank you for a simple task like saving these two."

"It's the least we can do," added Herman. "Just enjoy yourselves, that's all I ask."

Oliver did exactly as he was told. He filled his plate and enjoyed the food, happy to finally be eating something besides dry and tough boar meat.

The two brothers stayed quiet as they filled their faces. Occasionally, they'd steal a glance at Johan, who only snickered back at.

"So, are you from Trighton city, Oliver?" Asked Jonon.

"No, actually I'm not sure where I'm from," laughed Oliver. "I grew up as a nomad, only following my parents wherever they went. But as time passed one thing led to another and my father was killed while protecting us. At one point I got separated from my mother and I began my own journey to cultivate and grow stronger."

"Really? Then what brought you here? Were you looking for anything in particular?"

"No, not really. I've been traveling the Taltin Mountains for the past nine moons and it led me here. To be honest, I'm not sure how long I'll be staying here but I'm happy to at least have some home-cooked food for once."

Jonon nodded. "Isn't coincidence a funny thing? One moment your complete strangers and the next we're sitting here enjoying a wonderful feast together, and it's all thanks to your help in saving these two people young men. And though I'm grateful that you helped, I wish that Leon was only strong enough to handle himself. If he can't do that much, that he's a failure of a son."