Too Old For Your Age
Part 1: Colors
Contains minor spoilers from the manga.
This is the first of the drabbles (although it ended up much longer than I would have thought) I have planned based on a post I made a while back on my Tumblr. The tone and content ended up slightly different from that of the original post but I believe I'm mostly happy with how it came out. I can't really make any promises on when the next one will come but I will try my best.
The Ancient Magus Bride belongs to Kore Yamazaki
"Did you have any fun at Ethan's party?" Chise asked hopefully as she and Elias entered in the front door.
She was somewhat afraid of what his answer might be. Although they had obviously been present for the party, Ethan's 11th birthday had provided a prime education opportunity for the human teacher and her oblivious pupil. Elias had in time and practice grown more aware of his own feelings of jealousy and how to act appropriately when they sprung, but he was still no master. He shrugged off his robe and glanced down at his party favor bag sporting a picture of a man in a blue and red costume. "I suppose so, although I can't say I understood much of it."
"That's fine, there's still a lot I didn't understand either." Chise said with a small shrug and a relieved smile.
She made her way to the living room and was about to rest on the couch when she found Elias' gaze was lingering on her with the clear indication of curiosity etched across his features. She cocked her head in questioning, "What is it?"
"Did you have a good time?" he asked bluntly.
Chise frowned. "What makes you say that?"
"You seemed…stiff during most of the party." Chise was almost surprised he had noticed, but quickly thought better of it. Elias deserved a little more credit than she was giving him. He was growing more perceptive by the day, steadily coming into an ability to read her at the very least and other humans on infrequent occasion.
She thought for a moment. "I think had a good time…" it was true…mostly.
When her attention wasn't focused on the glamoured mage awkwardly meandering around the Barklem Home Chise had enjoyed talking to Stella and meeting a few of Ethan's younger friends. However, she still had felt…distant. She initially had chocked the feeling up to the difference in age, although that had never before caused any rift between her and the Barklem siblings. Yet when she saw the children engaged in games and stories of colorful characters and playful frivolities, she was almost frustrated at her inability to join along.
"I guess…I still don't really know how friends or children are supposed to enjoy themselves."
Elias took his turn to cock his head. "Why do you suppose that is?"
That…was a good question. Why indeed?
"I'm not sure…I guess I just I never got a chance to do anything children normally do. Even before…even when I was with my family I couldn't go to school or play outside." Her early life in Japan had slowly begun to bleed into her memory over the years. As she remembered more and more she realized that strangely enough her happy memories had been buried alongside the dark ones. Perhaps that was because those few bright moments were only bright in comparison. Anyone in a normal situation would call her earliest days of hiding indoors alongside her mother until her father could ward off hungry assailants terrifying rather than comforting. Not to say there were no truly bright moments. Brief minutes between hiding and running had yielded tumbling over park toys with her father or cooking with her mother. But even so, those few lights were hardly an equal for the seemingly endless night up until a fateful trip across the hemisphere.
Her grip tightened on her own party favor. "I didn't have much of a childhood when I really think about it." Why did this cause her heart to sink so much now?
Large gentle fingertips cupped her jaw tenderly urging her gaze upwards.
"Did I upset you, Chise? I didn't mean to pry into something you'd rather not think about." He said with a hint of worry in his voice as he brushed his thumb across her cheek.
A wave of guilt washed over her. This outing was supposed to help Elias deal with his feelings of envy and here she was getting tangled up in her own. She placed her hand atop of his and made efforts to swallow the knot growing uncomfortably in her throat. It wouldn't do for a teacher to lose composure in front of her student.
"You didn't upset me, I just got a bit lost in thought." Elias hummed in response clearly not convinced by her answer but respecting her desire not to divulge all at once.
The humming continued as he released her jaw placing his hand on his chin in contemplation. "Thinking about it, I don't suppose I had much of one either." He said in a somewhat uncertain tone.
"Really? Even when you were traveling with Lindel?" Mention of Echoes brought a grumble out Elias.
"Although that time was formative, I wouldn't call it a proper childhood. It was mostly spent navigating a very harsh land with more than a few unpleasant encounters." The hand on his chin slowly dropped to his chest as his eyes fixed on a pattern on the wall. "I wonder…maybe that has something to do with why neither of us could understand much of the party. I believe we may have missed something important in those years." Although his tone remained neutral a slight wistfulness played on the edge of Elias' eyes making something in Chise's chest ache.
Something important…what was it that the other children had that she didn't that made her so envious? Or maybe it was something they didn't have? They didn't have to worry about ravenous other-creatures eagerly waiting to find out if they tasted sweet or bitter. And because of that, they could roam play yards free of invisible assailants.
"If I had to guess I'd say you missed the chance to have fun free of worry. That's the nice thing about being a kid really. Responsibilities and expectations don't exist or at least not as great as they do in adulthood. They get to do things for the sake of enjoying them no matter how insignificant they may seem."
Elias glanced upward in thought, cogs turning in his skull. "Let's do that then."
Chise raised an eyebrow "Do what?"
"Those 'insignificant fun things' children do, let's do some of them."
"Really? Why?"
"You can teach me what a 'childhood' should feel like and you can get to experience some of the things you couldn't in Japan." He stated plainly making Chise feel a little sheepish.
"Are you sure? Some of it is definitely pretty silly and don't we have orders due?"
"If it doesn't bother you then I don't mind silly and Silver Lady can take care of anything minor." He hesitated briefly before adding. "Of course if you would rather not than we do not have to do anything." Chise didn't like the idea of dumping work onto Silver, even though the brownie could handle anything without batting an eyelash…However, Elias was rarely so insistent and eager.
She cracked a cautious smile. "Well, I guess I don't see why not."
His head bobbed in a happy nod "Now then, how should we begin?"
"Oh! um…" Right…what did children do these days? What had she done, or wanted to do, as a child that Elias would enjoy?
She fidgeted slightly causing the bag in her hands to crinkle. The party favors…She began to rummage lightly through its contents, a few plastic toys, a paper book and- Oh! This was an easy place to start. She pulled out a small yellow cardboard box eyeing it slightly, "Why don't we start with these? Could you grab some blank paper and meet me at the dining table?"
In a few moments, they were sitting in their respective seats at the dining table, a small stack of cream white stationary and two small boxes of crayons sat in front of them. Chise reached for a box hesitating slightly. Would it be better to leave them in their box or to lay them all out on the table? Probably the table. Elias watched Chise's motions patiently as she took one of the thin boxes and propped it open. He took the other box and followed her example.
"Have you seen crayons before?" She asked curiously.
"Once maybe, although I don't know what they're for. They are a writing instrument, yes?"
"They're more of an instrument for drawing…"
She poured the crayons of her box into her hand and placed them on the table, Elias did the same causing a faint waxy smell to permeate the air. There were ten crayons in all, the boxes had both yielded the same colors; red, green, blue, yellow and black.
"So…there's really not much to this," she grabbed a black crayon and a piece of stationery, "you just take one and draw a picture."
Elias stared at the crayons with a critical eye. "I can only take one?" His hand wavered over the red but retracted, frightened by the commitment of the decision. Chise giggled.
"You can use as many as you'd like, but it's like a quill, it's hard to use more than one at a time."
Elias seemed to relax and picked up the red. "What should I draw?"
"Whatever you'd like, there aren't any rules. Although you should probably take off your gloves, the crayon could leave a stain, maybe roll up your sleeves too." Elias nodded and complied placing his gloves on the corner of the table. He picked up the red once again and ran his fingers over it pressing lightly to gauge its strength before positioning it like he would a quill pen. It was almost comically small in his enormous lavender hands. He tentatively placed his crayon against the stationary and slowly dragged it across the surface. "It's…rougher than a quill."
Chise smiled, with a creature as old as Elias there were very few new experiences. Watching him work through the kinks of a rare first try was oddly endearing. Until the crayon snapped.
He lifted the fractured halves to his face and sighed. "I'm sorry Chise…"
"It's ok!" she reassured quickly leaning forward and grabbing his hand that lay on the table, "there's another red you can use. Besides!" She grabbed the half still bearing a point and scribbled a circle on Elias' paper. "It still can be used, it's just a bit smaller." She smiled at him before releasing his hand and handing him the spare red crayon. He took it cautiously before trying again, making sure to press lighter this time. After a few strokes, he started moving more confidently and eventually switched to the green crayon.
An odd sense of pride welled up in Chise as she watched him grow faster and more assured. She rested her elbow on the table propping her chin against her hand in thought trying to come up with something to draw herself. She glanced out the kitchen window where the early summer wooly bugs drifted through the air, baaing lazily. That seemed easy enough.
She dragged the black crayon in light curves creating a puffy cloud body followed by six black legs. The gentle action was calming. She couldn't recall the last time she had drawn like this aside from little doodles in the margins of her notes.
Hmm, what did their faces look like again? She peered up for the window but caught Elias staring at her intently. He didn't meet her eyes but held his gaze for a moment before returning to his drawing.
That was…odd.
Deciding that if he didn't want to explain she shouldn't pry, she returned to her own drawing.
A comfortable silence settled over them occasionally accompanied by a shift of paper or changing colors. It wasn't until she had finished coloring in the bug's face and legs that the silence was broken by a groan from Elias.
"Is there a method for undoing mistakes?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't think so, at least not for crayons and paper."
"Hmm," he held up his paper eyeing it with scrutiny, "I see."
Flames bloomed from his fingers swallowing up the stationery in an instant with not a trace of ash left to prove it had ever existed. He took a new slip of paper and nonchalantly resumed drawing.
Chise huffed. "You know these don't have to be perfect or anything."
"I would still rather start over." Elias replied with a shrug.
She sighed without exasperation and continued onto the bugs wings.
The silence returned as Chise finished her wooly bug. She placed it aside grabbing a new paper and briefly caught Elias staring at her again. She elected to ignore it since he seemed content enough and started drawing a salamander. After finishing rather quickly, during which Elias burned another sheet, Chise excused herself to the washroom briefly which Elias only distractedly acknowledged. When she returned Silver Lady was at the kitchen sink washing vegetables.
"Ack! Silver I'm sorry are we in-" the brownie raised a finger to her lips and smiled brightly before returning to her washing. A half smile found its way to Chise's lips as she went to sit down before realizing her chair had been moved. It now sat on the side normally reserved for Elias alone who still sat quietly scribbling away.
She could have sworn she heard Silver chuckle.
Very aware of the fluttering in her chest, Chise grabbed a new sheet and sat next to her mage. Elias paused briefly to curl an arm around her shoulders leaning her to his side without a word. Well used to his heedless affections, Chise leaned her cheek against his side. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of his paper. Apparently, he had started over again as it currently only bore two empty black ovals. He gave her a quick side hug before releasing her and returning to the paper once more.
Her eyes lingered on his skull, quietly observing the shadows and contours from the dips and grooves in the bone.
Finally breaking away her gaze, she picked up a black crayon and set to work.
—
Peals of Silver's bell finally brought the magi out of their concentration after the sun had sunk just below the horizon.
"Dinner time already?" Chise said as she stretched her back and arms.
"It seems to be." Elias responded, "We should probably wash up before helping set the table."
Nodding Chise made her way to the washroom. She returned shortly finding Ruth positioned at his seat and the table already clear of their little project.
"Uh, where are-?" Silver with plates in both hands gestured toward the fridge with a small hum.
Held in place by small magnets were their drawings; three by Chise and one by Elias. She Stepped closer to get a better look at the picture Elias had been so finicky about getting correct. Chise felt her cheeks burn.
It was only her head and shoulders but with red hair and green eyes, the drawing was unmistakably her. The drawing had her hair down on her shoulders, a thin line for a smile and wore her red sweater. He had even put in a little blue in the background for a sketchy sky. It wasn't perfect; the eyes were slightly different sizes, the nose was off center and there were several places where the colors ran together. But either Elias was finally satisfied with the outcome or Silver Lady had seized it before flames could lick it up. Regardless, Chise was…touched it had been spared.
Warmth settled on her shoulder and side.
"I see we had the same idea." He pointed to her final picture causing Chise's blush to flare hotter. His skull had proven not as difficult as she would have previously thought, at least from the side, but she had run out of room for all but a little of his horns causing it to look a little funny. She wasn't sure if proud was the right word for her feelings toward the drawing, there had to be at least three mistakes on her paper for every one on Elias', but she certainly felt glad she had made it.
She grasped the hand placed on her shoulder giving it a small squeeze. "Your drawing looks very nice."
He made a satisfied sound. "Thank you, yours does as well."
"So what do you think of our first childhood activity?"
Elias shifted his head as he methodically analyzed his feelings over the past few hours. "I would say it was enjoyable in its simplicity. Although I did find myself wishing I had more colors to use."
Chise smiled, "We can pick up a bigger pack next time we're in town…if you'd ever like to do this again that is."
He hummed softly as his thumb circled her shoulder blade.
"I think I'd like that very much."