War And Throne

Chapter 4 : Painful Failure

Darren had never felt the sensation of falling from a height, and as his body floated, the young man closed his eyes, his mind blank, and he was ready for whatever was down there. Until finally, Darren felt pain as his body hit the water so hard. 

The handsome young man sank for a few moments; the water seemed to be pulling him down. Darren squirmed quickly, trying to move his arms and legs, and swam towards the surface. 

Darren gasped for breath. He rubbed his face, which was full of water, and his vision, which was originally blurred, was now clear again. Fortunately, the river wasn't swift, so Darren wasn't swept away. Instead of swimming towards the bank, Darren looked up. 

The thief uncovered his head. Although from a considerable distance, Darren could still see him clearly. The thief smiled sarcastically at Darren with a satisfied look on his face. The damn thief again smiled arrogantly, this time accompanied by a wave of his hand. 

The thief was bald-headed with a cut across his cheek; his face was easily recognizable. 

Unfortunately, the thief was taunting Darren for losing the match. Darren knew he was losing; he just wasn't careful enough. In the end, the thief disappeared in a matter of seconds. 

Darren blinked his eyes; he was sure that he was not mistaken. The man's strength could disappear. 

"That's impossible; no Crimson Citizen has such power," Darren said to himself. Darren pondered for a while, until Yupo's voice startled the young man. 

Up on the cliff, Yupo was meowing at him, turning his face downward. Darren was horrified that Yupo would fall. That's why Darren hurriedly shouted loudly.

"Yupo, meet me down below; I'll pull over right now." 

Darren knew that Yupo always understood his words. The big cat immediately turned around, running fast with its strong legs. 

After Yupo disappeared from his sight, Darren swam upstream, then he collapsed on the ground with his breath hitching and his chest heaving. 

While waiting for Yupo, Darren tried to create fire with his hands. But alas, the fire would not come out. Darren was soaked; water was his weakness. No wonder about that; Darren comes from the fire clan, and fire is always defeated by water. 

Darren couldn't summon his strength if he was soaked like this. Darren let out a long sigh. He had to dry first so he could freely create fire.

Darren regretted that he failed to catch the thief; the thief managed to escape and escaped his reach. Failure is something Darren tries to stay away from. But what could he do now? The damn thief was gone; he disappeared somewhere.

Darren clenched his fists, he tried to calm himself down as he let the water drip from his body, down, falling on the ground, Darren's gaze watching the water that looked calm. 

"Meow!" 

Yupo's voice made Darren immediately turn his head, the young man published a smile. "Hey, come here buddy." 

Yupo curled up next to Darren, letting Darren lean his body against Yupo's big, warm body. 

"I failed Yupo, you saw it yourself didn't you?" 

Yupo was silent, not responding to Darren's words. But, Darren felt that Yupo was listening to him. This was enough.

"The thief got away, I fell into the river, and now I have to take some time to dry out to get my strength back." 

Darren didn't want to think about the thief and his powers that were different from most Crimson residents. He had a headache of his own. 

"That old lady, poor thing." 

"Meow!" Yupo responded this time. 

"Come on, Yupo, we have to move again; let's get out of the forest and meet the old lady." After he finished saying that, Darren stood up from his seat. Together with Yupo, he went out of the forest.

Darren met the old woman whose purse had just been snatched by a thief on the side of a cornfield owned by one of the Crimson residents. 

"Madam, I'm sorry. I failed to get your wallet back. The thief managed to escape; he escaped my pursuit." Darren said regretfully. His face looked glum. 

The purple-clad old lady watched Darren with a smile and a slow nod. From the color of her clothes, it was clear that the woman was from the Lightning clan. 

"Ah, no problem, young man; you've been trying to chase that thief; you did nothing wrong, so you don't need to apologize to me," said the woman.

"But I failed," Darren wailed.

"But your persistence is not a failure at all; you are the only one who is willing to help me chase after the thief's son; you are very kind; I just have to say thank you; you care about an old woman like me; I am very impressed, really." 

Darren blinked.

"You're soaking wet; want to stop by my house for a while? "I can make you some warm soup; think of it as a reward for helping me."

"I didn't help you; I failed. Your wallet didn't come back."

The old woman waved a hand quickly. "Let's not talk about it anymore; I told you that you did nothing wrong; it was just a wallet with a small amount of money." 

Darren didn't answer anything else, and even so, he was still at a loss. 

"So handsome young man, are you willing to drop by my house? You need to dry off and warm up your body; come, follow me." 

"I actually really want to come, but I regret having to say this." Darren shook his head apologetically. "I can't stop by your house ma'am; I have to get some fresh fish at the market for my friend here; he hasn't eaten yet; the poor thing must be starving." 

"Meow." 

The old woman looked at Yupo, and without hesitation, she moved and stroked the giant cat's fluffy fur. "Well, I see, this giant cat does look lethargic." 

"I'm sorry once again." 

"It's okay. Um, if I may know, what's your name?" 

"Call me Darren; I'm from the fire clan." 

"Well, I know you're from the Fire Clan; the color of your shirt says it all. Nice to meet you, Darren; I'm Lousiana. Call me Anna. You can guess which clan I'm from." 

"Lightning." 

The two laughed at each other. 

"Nice to meet you too, Anna." 

Anna looked back at Yupo. "As for this big creature, does it have a name?" 

"I usually call him Yupo."

"Meow." 

"Yupo? What a cute name, I like the sound of it." 

"Thank you, Anna. Um, I think I should go now."

"Yes, be careful on the road; I have to go home too. I'll have to be more aware of my surroundings from now on; there are a lot of thieves around." 

Darren and Yupo now parted ways with Anna. They walked in different directions. Darren knew that Anna must be feeling sad because her wallet was missing; it was just that she didn't show her sadness right in front of him.

Actually, Darren wanted to tell her about the thief who had unusual powers, but Darren decided to keep his lips sealed. Darren wanted to discuss it first with someone he really trusted. Namely his mother and his two best friends.