Ahuv turned his undivided attention to her once she said, "I remember that. The raid, at least. I was six, at the time, when I stumbled upon a conversation I don't think I was supposed to hear. One of the head generals was discussing a plan to infiltrate the Eldurian castle. He was talking to a small group of soldiers, about 20, I think, and they were saying not to tell the king as he wouldn't approve. They gathered their gear and headed out that night. I don't know how they got over to that village, but I think they got through like we did, under the wall and between the bars. Our king found out about this attack and when the soldiers came back, they were stripped of their powers and banished to the outer regions of Vatnis with nothing. The king said that the two kingdoms were close to a settlement, a treaty, but because of the raid, they were in an even deeper conflict."
Ahuv raised an eyebrow when considering how she only saw about 20 men. Twenty men could not have completely surrounded that village or even stood a chance in that battle. It would have taken up to double the amount. The others must have been waiting. what he next heard from her, especially in the tone she used, caused him to be even more curious. Hash she gone through something similar? He was about to find out when they both heard drums and trumpets in the distance. The sound of those instruments felt strange to him, yet he knew this was not the time to be thinking about it as he heard them, before, during his own battles in the war. It was confirmed by Crystal, as she later introduced herself as, that military personnel were on their way. Once she was out of sight, Ahuv wasted no time in using his pyromancy to envelope himself in the flames before making them so he would be invisible while the fire itself would not scorch or burn anything.
With stealth no longer a problem, he leapt up into the nearest tree he could get on top of before acrobatically making his way back to the river, where he dove in, thus putting out the stealth flames. He could waste no time, at that point: he went under the wall without delay and surfaced where he began his trip. The roasted beetle was still dry, as he placed it in his pack, so he brought it out and began eating it, pondering on what his next move should be. He did not stay completely focused, however, as Crystal's face kept coming back to his mind, as well as when he saw her swimming, to begin with, both when he was out of and in the water. He kept on saying to himself that it was merely infatuation, that he would get over it soon enough. It did not put an end to her continually coming into his thoughts, however, which irritated him some. Of all other people in the world, why did he have to be attracted to a girl he barely knew, let alone a Vatnitian one?