Chapter 2 Ivalice tales- Luscious the spirit master
By; ester crow
The sound of distant thunder clashes with the sound of traders selling their wares and doing business in the community. Luscious looks over from his bedroom window, envious of the information being distributed outside. He scratches his neck where the collar aloud just enough room to. It recently glowed a singing amber when he attempted to use a spell for a mundane task and he suddenly felt his neck being burnt.
His only successful and spiteful stab at Olivia's imposed punishment is bombarding her with unaccounted hypotheticals. She did not appreciate any of them. It is the few things he can do to pass the time.
Olivia enters their room, tired from a long morning of training. When she came close enough he notices the large gash on her forehead. He didn't enjoy looking at wounds of any sort, it made him feel useless." Are you going to..?" He traces his finger along his forehead.
"I don't think it's that bad." She dismisses the dripping sound in the room. The tired girl drops her bag on the bed on the other side of the room. She went to the window to see what is going on outside.
"You're leaving puddles of blood on the floor!" He luscious became distress over the sight. The ring around his neck glowed a disgusting amber and began to heat up.
Olivia caught the smell of burning flesh and glares angrily at him." I told you no magic until you learned your lesson!" she saw smoke and steadily grew frantic. "Stop!" She is hesitant to do anything.
Luscious handled the rings effects rather well. He calmly stood up and walks to the wound. Olivia is more focused at the horrifying ring and the agitated expression.
His magic is cut off by the ring and he knows cheap models like this one overheated after over use. The more he wills for his magic the ring continues to burn out. He brings his hand up to Olivia's cut. She hesitates, assuming he is preparing to strike her. A cool and relaxing sensations spreads around her head. The wound slowly began to mend and grew less and less noticeable.
The collar snaps and fall to the ground still smoking. Olivia feels for the smooth spot on her forehead." How?" she is cut off when a pale blue barrier separated her side of the room from the door on Luscious's side. Luscious did not say anything as he left the room quietly.
The smell of rain is refreshing in comparison to near isolation in that house. It did not seem fair to treat a guest in such a way, but his stay is more or less long term. So what does that make him? A mage among brutes. He turns his attention to a merchant attempting to shield her wares from the current weather conditions.
She beckons him over with pleading eyes. He sighs, but waves his hand producing a blue barrier over her possessions. The merchant sighs in relief as she motions for the white mage to aid her even more.
Luscious pulls his hood over and steps out into the rain closing the door to his home. The merchant pleaded for him to carry the books over to a small caravan. He extends the barrier over to the caravan. The process was tedious and cumbersome. Spending nearly a week locked in a house wears one down over time.
When the task was done the merchant thanked him courteously and he nodded in agreement. "Is there anything you would like here?" She gestures to her caravan.
"No thank you." He snaps his fingers and the barrier fades away, allowing the rain to pelt them once more. The merchant did not mind the rain, her concern is towards her items and they are safely in the caravan.
Luscious notices the merchant's appearance being odd. Her clothes were a mix of different layers of the magic arts her hood is green with archaic markings over the hem and her hair was braided on both sides hanging over the shoulder. She notices his eyes were drawing towards her face and she smiles a tinge of vermillion on her cheeks. Luscious paid no mind to this and focuses on her other features to learn more of this stranger.
"To answer the question on your mind, I am a black mage. I so happen to know many things." She did nothing to prove this, but she did not give the boy a reason to not believe.
Luscious didn't wish to take up too much of her time and turns to another merchant's tent. The women turns him around and shoves a small journal into his chest. "That is for you." She walks out, pulling the caravan with a spell.
He kept the book close, not wanting it to get soiled by the rain water. He tucks it into his robe and runs to his house.
Olivia is still were he left her only less angry. She waited impatiently for him to dissipate the barrier. He waits for himself to be on his bed. When the barrier lifted she runs to him before he erects another one for himself she bashes her fists into it, causing cracks before they mend themselves. "You can't try to control me however you like." He placed a noise cancel on the barrier before she berates him with her simple minded logic. Holding all those barriers on top of carrying heavy books made him tired. Know Olivia is currently pounding at the barrier, shouting her lungs out at him.
"later." He told himself. Luscious turns to his side and drifts into slumber.
Olivia stomps out of the room, slamming the door. On the way down she kept on dragging her fingers along the wall. The sight did not interrupt the conversation in the dining room. She did not wish to be rude and quietly walks to the door. The door handle refuses to budge furthering fanning her foul mood. "Why don't you take a seat." A calm and composed voice fills in her thoughts. The feeling made her stomach lurch. Olivia turns to see her father speaking to a tall, lively man with reddish brown hair and wearing a white thing that appears to be a suit with a lab coat over it tied together with a large ribbon on the back. This man seems strange to Olivia, but the voice she heard unsettled her deeply.
Before the stranger decides to speak to her in such a way again, she curtly walks to the two men compliantly. The stranger waves his hand and a chair moves for her to sit." I understand that you may have some questions for who you assume I am, but it can't be now. He tilts his head to the ceiling, listening for something. Then he nods and turns his attention to her.
This man made her feel a sense of helplessness. The way he uses his gaze to discern any movement or twitch. His familiar face and unknown relationship with her father. Just by sitting in the same room makes her want to be somewhere else. Olivia shakes somewhat in her seat, obviously he notices.
"Alex and I have been discussing the availability of Luscious's current education and we agree his dissatisfaction is warranted." He lifts the shield that once belonged to her father and traces his fingers along the pattern. The little dents and scratches started to fade away more and more as his hand passes by them.
Somewhere in the boring information center of her brain, Olivia began to make connections until she felt mental fatigue, again the strange man notices this.
"Who are you!?" She rudely announces. The poor girl is confused and intimidated by a stranger in her home. She wants answers and her temper is on fire, once more the strangers lets her know he notices.
The stranger turns to her father expectantly." It is not the best time to say who or what he is and I'll leave the obvious answer to you, but please don't say it out loud." Her father rolled his at his own child's expected bluntness.
The trio hears the sound of luscious coming down the stairs. He looks pleasant after his short little nap. His mood darkens at the sight of the guest.
"Good afternoon! Here come take a …" Luscious pushes the seat back into the table with a gust of wind.
"I would rather stand." His voice did not match the resentful expression. His face looks aged and worn. A strange site for such a young boy.
The stranger did not take offence, in fact, he took this with understanding." I brought you some gifts." He seems hesitant to present them so he mutters some incoherent words and he looks up at them. "To save any time or disgrace its waiting in your room, by the way your barrier needs more work if you're going to stop her in the next few months." He stands up to leave. As he made it to the door luscious throws a crumpled ball of paper at him and it fall into his hood. The stranger sighs in content and leaves the home.