348 You And I

"It was done on purpose," Aether theorised, "To stop people from finding them."

The Future Eye was a secretive organisation after all. Their mysterious ways raised many questions. Uprooting their operation seemed within their means, it was something that they would do. 

In this case, they have done it. 

"So, what now?" Lycster sighed in defeat. 

Aether could tell the boy is exhausted. He was in no condition to continue the search for the time being. 

"We rest for today, then we look for clues early tomorrow," Aether suggested. 

"Alright then,"

The boy and the Familiar got lodging in the hotel they had stayed during their previous trip to the city. Lycster was silent for the most part, so Aether took care of the room arrangement.

Aether knew the boy was upset. They had come a long way looking for answers. Their one lead ran dry. But it was not all over yet, they must keep the hope alive. 

Upon entering the room, Lycster walked up to the sofa. He sat down on it with his knees up. Aether did not say anything, he checked out the different parts of the room before returning to the living area where the sofa was. 

"Are you hungry?" Aether asked. 

Lycster did not respond. 

Aether gritted his teeth. He hated seeing the boy so down. It was completely unlike him to be like this. In past situations, Lycster had always maintained a positive outlook. 

Aether took to his serpent form and slithered on to Lycster. The Familiar coiled himself onto of Lycster's knees and looked into the eyes of the boy. 

-Land to Lycster, do you copy?- 

Lycster still did not respond. However, the growl from his stomach was loud and clear. Thinking back, they had not had anything to eat the entire morning, the boy must be hungry. 

Getting no response from him, Aether slithered off him and took his human form again. He went through his own spatial storage and retrieved a few ingredients. Using some spells, he made two bowls of fried rice. 

Aether walked up to the boy and hovered the bowl of rice in front of him. The aromatic fragrance of the rice caught Lycster's attention after a while. He thanked the Familiar for it and received the piping hot bowl from him. 

Aether sat down next to him and waited for the boy to eat. Lycster looked down at the bowl of rice. It was one of his most favourite dishes to eat. He picked up a spoonful of piping hot rice and put it in his mouth. 

As he chewed it slowly, his eyes were vacant, staring off ahead of him. Soon enough, he noticed that Aether was looking at him the entire time. The boy turned to look at him bewildered as to what was happening. 

Aether shook his head. 

He did not know what to say so he remained silent. Lycster could not figure out what was wrong either so he continued to eat his rice in silence. But Aether continued to look at him like a statue. 

Finally, Aether found some words to say. 

"Is everything alright?"

It was as if the words unlocked a door in Lycster's heart. His hands began to tremble. Soon enough the boy had tears streaming down his eyes. Aether passed him some tissues. 

He turned to Aether with cheeks puffed with rice as he cried, "Aether… what if we can't find her. What are we going to do? Did Vy abandon us? Did she abandon me?"

The Familiar wanted to console the boy but Lycster continued. 

"Is it something that I did? Is… is that why she left?" The boy was crying his heart out. 

Aether took the bowl from his hands and placed it down on the coffee table. Although he was not one for hugs, he felt like the moment called for it. Aether embraced the boy in his arms, patting him on the back. 

"We will find her." He said with determination, "And you don't be silly. Vyrena loves you very much. You of all people should know that."

"What… what if she's in danger and she needs our help but we're not there… there to help? What… what…"

Aether did his best to console the boy, "Then we will find her and save her."

"What if I'm not strong enough,"

"Then I will train you, you will grow stronger. We will grow stronger."

With Aether's words of encouragement, Lycster felt a little better. For the first time in a while, a smile formed on his face. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear away the tears. Aether wiped away his tears with a piece of tissue. 

"I don't think I will ever be able to become stronger," the boy sighed. 

"Nonsense, you will become stronger. I'll train you personally if I have to," Aether assured him, "You're still young, Lycster. Yet you've already accomplished what others take years and years of training to accomplish. That alone is a worthy achievement." 

Lycster smiled, "Thank you, Aether."

The Familiar nodded. He picked up the bowl of rice and handed it to the boy again. 

"Now eat your rice. If you want to be a strong boy, you're going to need all that energy."

That night, the boy was able to sleep soundly. The first time, in quite a while. Aether watched as he slept, his chest moving with each breath he took. In his human form, the Familiar walked up to the large glass panel window. 

Looking out at the cityscape, Aether let out a sigh. He gripped his arms tightly as many thoughts swirled through his mind. It had been quite some time since he had last been able to sense Vy's presence. 

He did not tell anyone about it, because he knew it would cause nothing but panic. Especially with Lycster being so anxious and down about the situation, he could not bring himself to tell him. 

"I hope you're alright, Vy," he muttered to himself. 

One thing was for certain. The fact that Aether was still alive, means Vy was alive. But, in what condition? Could she be barely hanging on for dear life? Or was she desperately trying to find a way back to them?

Aether remembered his distant past. The time he had spent trapped and experimented on was something he had buried a long time ago. He never wanted to revisit those memories. 

But being separated from Vyrena made them resurface. He reminisced about the fun he had with his previous host. That young witch had so much potential. The flame of her life burnt so bright. 

Yet within a split second, it was reduced to nothing more than a flickering glow. 

When Aether first heard Vy's call for a Familiar, he was not interested at all. But the flame of her life was unique, it drew him in like a moth drawn to a flame. 

-You better be alright, Vyrena. Or someone will pay the price.-