Galcia

Star Academy

IY 3205

Tel and Tagus left the track, running up the trail. They ran together, Tagus keeping up with Tel. They went over the first hill, then up the second slope, stopping at the top. Tel ran past the bent tree and circled back while Tagus slowed and stopped to catch his breath. Tel stopped running.

"Keep moving."

"Hard to."

"Less talk... more motion." Tagus nodded and walked around with Tel until they had both caught their breath.

"You're getting better."

"It's been months."

"Well, almost six since we started."

"Yeah." Tagus said, walking up to the edge of the hill. It was a steep drop, nothing to be attempted without ropes and climbing gear. He drew in a deep breath and watched the sun as it slowly slipped below the horizon. He noticed Tel was staring off in the distance, at the town nearby, possibly at Iziuchi's, or the playhouse. "Hungry?"

Tel snapped out of his trance. "No. not really."

"Is there another play?"

"Every month."

"Is she in this month's?"

"Yeah." That 'yeah' caught Tagus' attention, that something wasn't quite right with Tel, or Luyca. "You going to see it?"

"Maybe?"

"Okay, what's going on?"

Tel frowned, "Nothing." Tagus stared back at him. "Well, in a sense."

"Which sense?"

"Nothing is going on between me and Luyca."

Tagus nodded sadly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What is there to say? She's going to finish this year here and then wants to move to Southern Astri and go to a university there since they have excellent music and drama programs." Tagus nodded. "I can't go, I have to finish the academy and..."

"And y'all don't want to do a long distance relationship."

Tel shook his head. "She does, I don't"

"Well, now, I think you should try."

"Why?"

"Duty, honor, giving her deference."

"In the beginning, I did, and Luyca initially didn't want to."

"But now she's changed her mind."

"Yeah. But I'm done, her... attitude about it when we talked about it. Her going off to another place to sing and dance and act, while I... She'd move there and it's another three years. I figured that we were over, that she was going, she would be gone, and I would be here."

"Even though that's another three months out?"

Tel shrugged.

"Wow. I would have never thought you'd be like that, especially to her."

"I... maybe you're right. I should be there for her."

Tel smiled. "You do that, Rescue Ranger."