He looked up to his Dad who smiled confidently. Jealousy always has one reason to come to the surface in people... But you're catching a lot of it because of one reason. What did he mean by that? Was there another reason people misjudged Fabien for the way he was? His big eyes of curiosity turned into impatience and Garen ruffled his son's hair in amusement.

"Because you're my son. That's why. I would be surprised if someone wasn't jealous of my genes.", he simply said with a confident smile. Fabien pouted and glared at his Dad. Garen twitched by his son's deadly gaze and chuckled nervously.

"Come on! I'm just kidding. You always used to laugh at my sarcasm...", he said. Fabien looked at him with an annoyed expression. A calm breeze blew over the lake, finally reaching their skin.

"You should get used to it as fast as possible. In life, you will get many rejections coming to you. You can't be perfect all the time. You're like a peach. They're tasty and sweet but not everybody likes them. You have to grow a thick skin, Fabien, and accept the way it is.", he said, looking at the water while holding his fishing rod. Fabien looked down at his knees as he slouched his shoulders.

"But this thick skin is worth nothing if the people can control you from the inside... You already read it in your comic books! People hate the average hero in the beginning before they get their superpowers... No matter if it's bullies or villains. They even hate themselves. But they develop a thick will that turns into their armor. Just then, they become unstoppable. ", he continued saying and Fabien looked up to him in a daze. He imagined everything he was saying. It was the truth. That was one of the reasons why he loved reading comics...

"But... These feelings are new to me. I don't know how to deal with them.", Fabien said, looking at the water.

"You know.. I have this coworker. He’s always making snarky remarks about something. It angered me so much... So I did everything I could to show him that I'm better than him. But he placed a bomb in me without knowing. And I almost hurt everyone around me. Including you. Now, I have to clean up the mess... ", he heard his father answer. Fabien looked at his father with a blank face.

"If you're going to let these remarks get to you, then one day you might do the same.", Garen continued, looking back at his son. His eyes filled with worry. Fabien was surprised but speechless for a moment. But then he remembered the way they treated him.

"But, I did nothing wrong! I defended myself. They always terrorize everyone in school and I'm sick and tired of them..", Fabien said, sighing in anger. Garen noticed that as he let out a deep breath.

"I'm proud of you for defending yourself. Always do that. But if possible... Try to get out of trouble as much as possible. There is a quote from this famous philosopher, Machiavelli, that I can't quite remember.. But anyways.", he said, patting Fabien's back.

"Don't let people have control of your emotions...", he asked, patting Fabien's head. Fabien pouted while rolling his eyes. He finally gave in.

"Alright...", he said, sighing.

"Good! Also, ask an adult for help next time. It doesn't have to be just the principal. But anyone willing to help. Or... You can always come to me.", Garen said, tilting his head with a soft smile. Fabian smiled weakly while nodding his head.

"Thanks, Dad..", he said, his heart beating in relief. It was calm again for a while before another conversation was dropped in.

"So. What else happened today?", his Dad asked, his mood light as always.

"Christine confessed to me..", Fabien said with a smile. Garen smirked while widening his eyes.

"Just look at you... My boy is already growing into a man.", he said, tapping his shoulders. Fabien laughed while continuing the story.

"But I don't think I handled it well. You can't imagine how embarrassed I was...", he told him with a nervous smile.

He continued the story with Garen being engaged in it.

The sun would be coming down soon and they forgot to look at the time. To any bystanders, it would look like a heartwarming scene between a son and Dad sharing the day without a care in the world. Fabien couldn't stop smiling and talking with no end. It almost felt like the best day of his life. After a while, the sun slowly vanished behind the mountains and the trees stopped rustling in the warm wind.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The forest looked the most mysterious at night and the lake the most beautiful under the moon. Fabien slowly opened his eyes to the sound of weird rustling noises... They sounded like cans. The boy still had black shadows under his eyes as he woke up in the middle of the night. He sat up, not realizing that his hair was a mess. But he realized that he wasn't in his room anymore. It didn't look too familiar to him. It was rather a tent. He remembered how they spend the rest of the day camping and how they opened a tent in the middle of the forest. He looked around and found an empty blanket beside him. His dad was gone.

But he calmed himself down in an instant as soon as he realized a bright light outside. It would also explain why he suddenly could see so brightly. He opened the tent while slowly sticking his head out. Fabien rubbed his eyes as he looked around and saw a shadow holding a flashlight.

"Dad, what are you doing outside?", he asked.

"I think someone is eating our supplies..", he heard him say as he pointed with the flashlight on some empty rolling cans. Fabien felt an instant goosebump but it was overturned with excitement.

"Ohh! Do you think it's a grizzly bear??", he asked, widening his eyes in excitement.

"Yeah. But be quiet before you chase them away.", he smiled, as he randomly stuck his head into a bush.

Fabien instantly grabbed the flashlight in the tent before stepping out. The boy looked over to his father doing some weird thing... He instantly walked over to him.

Fabian was confused for a second of what he was doing but he was suddenly pulled in. Now, his head was also stuck in a bush. But from there, they could see through another part of the woods. Garen slightly pointed with the flashlight on empty grass where they could see a shadow moving. Soon they realized the dark fur and a big fluffy build. It seemed to stuck his nose in a small can that didn't seem to fit in at all. But it's obliviousness was cute. Still, it was smart enough to open the can with its claws.

"That's amazing.", Fabien exclaimed quietly as possible as he looked into the bear's direction.

But suddenly, he heard a weird noise coming from the trees and bushes. It was strange to the boy as he looked around him with curiosity in his eyes. But his Dad didn't seem to notice it all. Maybe Fabien was overthinking?

The rattling sound became louder.

Out of nowhere, he saw the bear suddenly being pulled away like it was tied to a string. It happened all in a split second which surprised them both as they gasped in shock. Fabien backed away as he looked at the empty spot where the bear was sitting a moment ago. W-ha-

What just happened? He tried to move close to the spot again as he was curious about its whereabouts.

"It disappeared! Did you just see that?", he asked his Dad who was also looking quite dumbfounded. But he still came out as the calmest out of the two. He looked around with a straight face as he flashed his light through the forest. But he couldn't see a thing. It also became suddenly so quiet.

"It seems like someone put an animal trap in the forest. Chief wouldn't be excited to hear about this.", he sighed.

"I hope the bear is okay..", Fabien said, still in shock. But why couldn't they hear the cry of the bear? It seems like it was taken a mile away.

"Yeah, he shouldn't be that far. You stay here. Call me if anything happens.", he said to Fabien, forcing him to stay behind. The boy nodded as he watched the man vanishing behind the bush.

Garen didn't plan on mingling much with a hunter if he saw one. But it may be a possibility that they aren't in the forest right now so the bear could be freed. But it was strange how he didn't see a single trap laying on the ground. Even the trails are gone... Like it was pulled completely into another dimension. Maybe the hunter was even still around? But who would hunt in the forest in the middle of the night?

"Hello-", Garen called. He started to widen his eyes in shock as he suddenly lost balance. As if the ground underneath him disappeared suddenly. It felt like he stepped on a ground of glass which instantly broke down by the touch of his feet. His heart stopped for a moment as he saw nothing but blackness before him.

"Argh..!", he gasped, touching a semi-hard surface beneath him. That scared me... How did I fall? He slowly breathed in and out as he rubbed his butt. How come someone dug a hole in the forest? Seems like I found one trap. Glad that Fabian didn't come here...

He finally grabbed the flashlight as he tried to stand up. But it seemed like he was always slipping on something... He coughed as suddenly a weird scent reached his nose. What's with this foul smell.. he thought as he tried to get away as fast as possible.

The man was lucky enough to not lose his flashlight.

He slowly lighted out the area he was in.

Garen's blood went cold.

He became quiet.

He saw something down there which he didn't expect to see.

He expected corpses from little animals.

But not something as familiar... as a head?

Just not any head.

But a human head. The man stumbled for a moment as he felt dizzy out of nowhere. He couldn't look away from it... The facial features looked similar except the foul and pale look of a fish. It looked awfully like.. Damien..?