155 Outside the Cave
Lachlan woke up, and turning to his side he noticed both Sarah and Phoebe weren't there. They had likely woke up early and prepared for something to eat, maybe even prepared something for him as well.
Lachlan groaned as he stretched his body across the bed, he got up and did some more stretches before finally walking outside, equipping his armour as he walked through the doors. His nose was greeted by the scent of roasted meat, properly seasoned.
Looking around Lachlan noticed Pedro, Elena, and Valentina cooking over a fire. There was a crocodile corpse right behind them, parts had been slightly skinned with large chunks of meat missing.
Most of the group was by the fire, only Simon, Maddie, and Joe were still in their huts. Lachlan walked over to the little gathering of people, the fire radiated a blazing heat as it sizzled the meat, letting off a powerful scent that went straight through the nostrils.
"Well, well, well, what do we have going on over here?" Lachlan asked as he joined them. They usually didn't set something like this up, very rarely would they have Pedro or Elena cook for them at the centre of the island.
"Well, you are leaving aren't you? We decided to give you a celebratory farewell," Pedro stated as he took the meaty sausages off the fire. Whipping out a soft roll he placed it in before covering it in vegetables and sauces. "Here, for you."
"Oh, so you all know now?" Lachlan grabbed the food from Pedro's hands, the roll had been heated up by the meat. Lachlan took a bite of it, the juices from the meat-filled his mouth, Lachlan swiftly snapped out of his blissful moment. "I was planning on telling you all today but yeah, I'm leaving to explore the other world."
"You want anyone to come along with you? Or do you want to do it solo?" Flynn asked as he was given food by Pedro. Chloe was by his head, resting her head against his shoulders as they both ate the food.
"I'd rather not have anyone come along with me; the only ones I would ever want though would be Simon and Joe. At least that way the men in that world won't take much notice of us," Lachlan replied. "Aaron, my tame, the one who lived there told me that the people of that world are barbaric, so I don't want to bring anyone who would attract attention."
"You know what? That's actually a pretty fair reason." Chloe agreed with Lachlan's reasoning. "Lachlan is only going there to tame a beast, but if he were to bring along a female who knows how troublesome the matter would become. He would probably get stopped by just about every male, wanting to challenge him for the female if they're that barbaric."
'Master, Chloe is completely correct, rather, that's what they were even doing before my world evolved. They would have contests of strength, the winner would win some woman's hand in marriage' Aaron informed Lachlan of how right Chloe was.
'Even the one Baron, Aaron? The one you respect so much?' Lachlan asked.
'Indeed, although there was still a romantic connection before the contest; the contest just made him more determine, he didn't want any other man to lay a finger on the woman he cares so much for' Aaron swiftly explained that Baron Aaron's circumstances were slightly different.
'However, I'm guessing now that they've turned to a more barbaric path, they don't exactly think too much about anything like that and just take what they want' Lachlan said to Aaron as he took another bite.
'Indeed, it's now truly survival of the fittest in my world, where even the humans use only their strength to fight against others rather than their brains. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if some beasts became smarter than humans' Aaron explained his perspective of his own world. 'Although I was only on the mainland for a day or two before setting off into the great ocean.'
'So how long exactly did it take you to reach the island from the mainland? I forgot' Lachlan asked as he scratched his head from embarrassment.
'It took exactly 4 weeks to reach the island from the mainland; that is also with only 2 breaks during the entire time' Aaron said proudly. 'That's right, I only slept twice during the time flying, and although my body was completely exhausted by the end it was worth it.'
'Why didn't you rest more? You could have died from overworking yourself you know?' Lachlan felt as though Aaron did something rather reckless and idiotic. It would have been horrible if Aaron wasn't able to make it all the way to the island, Lachlan wouldn't have ever known about the spatial gates, nor would he have tamed Aaron in the first place.
'Well, I wanted to rest but the only problem was...' Lachlan could feel Aaron slightly tearing up from through the contract. 'The only problem was... there weren't any more islands in sight, not a single one, it really was just the great ocean.'
'So you're telling me you almost died getting to the island because there weren't enough smaller islands along the way? Also, why didn't you just stop by and live on one of the other islands?' Lachlan felt as though he was talking to a child, there were so many problems in his story that can't be explained with logic.
'Well, there were other beasts there, some griffons as well. I thought I would be accepted and integrated into their little society easily but instead, they bullied me off the island.' Lachlan felt like sticking his head into the ground like an emu.
'Why didn't you just use your strength to fight back?' Lachlan asked as he was on the edge of facepalming himself so hard he knocks himself out. If he got one more rediculous answered he may as well hide his face from the world.
'Well, that's not how Sarah raised me' Aaron's reply stumped Lachlan in his tracks. 'Sarah was incredibly strong but had a large heart as well. She raised me to not abuse my strength, but rather, use it for the wellbeing of others.'
'She certainly sounds like a great person' Lachlan felt like summoning Aaron and giving him a tight, comforting hug. 'Suppose that's the reason behind why you didn't attack us with your elemental powers when we first arrived in your cave?'
"Kind of, but it was more so because I was extremely curious as to why you weren't completely barbaric and mindless like the other humans on my planet' Aaron explained honestly. 'I mean seriously, I hadn't seen intelligent life for weeks in that cave and the last time I saw a human they attempted to kill me. But you, on the other hand, you only knocked me unconscious, but not only that, you were curious about the entire cave and the things in it.'
'So you were curious about me?' Lachlan thought about it and it added up with Aaron's curious nature. It also explained why he didn't really hesitate when it came to being tamed by him, as though he wanted it.
'Indeed, I was curious as to why, with all your strength and comrades that you didn't decide to end my life right there. As on my planet, it's customary to kill the animals/beasts you beat in a fight, it's also a matter of honour as well' Aaron explained.
'Honour eh' Aaron felt as though Lachlan went into a trance, as he was reminiscing on past memories. The day they returned to Sydney and helped people escape, yet May was so stubbornly bent on getting revenge and protecting her honour.
'Honour is basically pointless in the survival of the fittest, no one cares how honourable you are, they only care about your strength and how far you're going to go to survive and protect those dear to you' Lachlan remarked as he sighed rather loudly, getting everyone's attention for a split second.
Seeing that Lachlan swiftly scuffed the meal down, he then turned to every as he stood up and stretched his back. "Alright, I'll be going now. When I come back this island better not be gone, also, make sure my little sister stays safe."
Sarah came running up to Lachlan as she wrapped herself around Lachlan's legs. "No! You're not allowed to leave again! Maybe this time you won't come back!"
Lachlan's heart ached at the sight but he knew he needed to power through and tame a worthy beast. Bending over Lachlan grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and threw her up, catching her as she fell before placing her on his shoulders.
"Listen, Sarah, your big brother needs to do this to get stronger alright," Lachlan took Sarah off his shoulders as he felt the soft petter patter of teardrops falling on his hair. Holding her in on arm Lachlan wiped the tears from her face. "You don't have to worry Sarah, your big brother is strong and won't be defeated or in any danger where I'm going. You just have to wait patiently here alright? You still have everyone here to look after you and play with you alright?'
Sarah nodded slowly as she sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. She was shaking her head before wrapping her arms around Lachlan's neck, she held on firmly, with all her strength. "I don't want Lachlan to leave me again. How long will you be gone for?"
"Oh, well if I try hard I should only be away for a month or two, I could possibly even shorten that time down to a week if I get lucky," Lachlan explained as he held onto Sarah tightly. "And if you continue to cheer me on, who knows, maybe I'll be back in a day."
Putting Sarah down Lachlan tousled Sarah's hair with a bright smile. "Remember, you have to wait patiently for me every day. Also, by the time I get back I'm hoping you make some new friends alright? You need to at least double them by the time I get back okay?'"
"Alright, come back quickly." Sarah ran up and gave Lachlan one more hug, standing on her tippy toes she wrapped her arms around his waist before letting go. "If I do that will Lachlan take me to explore the other world one day as well?"
Lachlan felt frozen for a moment as he himself wasn't entirely certain how the people there would react to his sister, someone who was so cute and innocent. Just the thought of it made his blood churn but seeing his sister's puppy eyes his heart softened and melted. "Alright, but only once I have the necessary strength to protect you alright?"
"Okay, have fun," Sarah said as she began to wave. The rest of the group said their goodbyes before Lachlan shot into the air and headed towards the orphanage. When he landed he swiftly made his way to the cave and walked through the darkness.
As he looked back he noticed at one point the cave entrance behind him disappears entirely, he knew he was in the other world. Although it didn't feel the slightly best different, it was odd.
This time he didn't continue on his path to the main cave where all the farmers were but turned around and began carving against the wall using wind and water. He slowly but surely dug himself a path that circled around the gate.
Walking alongside it he looked to his side, in hopes of seeing the edge of the gate. Unfortunately, it seems a tear in space is a lot thinner than Lachlan thought. He didn't mind though and continued along his journey.
He walked for a couple of minutes before he finally got a glimpse of sunlight, the light rays were powerful as they lit up the cave entrance. Walking out he was hit by a gust of ocean air, the salty went straight through his nostrils.
He looked around and noticed nothing really different about the island. Sure it wasn't his island but there didn't seem to be anything special. The only noticeable feature was its size, it stretched for probably 10 - 15 kilometres.
Looking up he noticed something that almost shocked him, but confirmed the reality that he was in an entirely different world. There were three suns, all different sizes, but all radiating and blazing heat.
'You never told me that your planet had three suns!' Lachlan exclaimed to Aaron.
'You never asked' Aaron replied.