The blonde sauntered down the busy streets of an early morning. He inhaled, taking in the sweet smell of freshly baked goods from a nearby bakery. His short, unruly hair bounced with every step he took. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as he felt the early summer breeze caress his cheeks. He loves hearing the murmurs and small exchanges between the townsmen, the laughter of the young kids, the rustling of his dark cloak as he moved, all the things that brought calmness to him. Another peaceful, beautiful morning in a fairly large town called Mefsia.
He straightened his posture as he continued off to his destination. Taking quick but light steps he entered the double gates that are covered in vines, with words 'Mefsia, Institute of the Arcane' carved into the silver metal plate.
As he walked through the hallway, he tried his best to tune out other student's conversations. He could feel their gaze on him as he strode by. He hated it, it made him feel self-conscious yet his face remained void of emotions. He let out a breath he didn't know was holding when the bell rang. Unlike his peers who have decided to quickly shuffle to class to avoid getting a detention for being late, he made a sharp turn to a church which is located in the back of the school. Pushing open the large, heavy doors painted in white he was greeted by silence. Despite being non-religious, he finds comfort in these sacred grounds. Once again taking quick steps, he planted himself in the front row as his eyes observed the interior of the clean catholic church. Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head to hide his face, he gazed at his hands absentmindedly.
His mind, too busy switching between a daydream and reality never heard the approaching footsteps until the unknown person had tapped him on the shoulder. The small gesture had pulled him back to reality almost instantly, causing him to fall off the seat and landed on the ground with a loud thud, the hood of his cloak sliding off his head.
One second, two seconds, 11 seconds and soon 30 seconds.
Peridot green clashes with amber. Both on guard with a stiff air around them. None made a sound or twitched a muscle. The blonde raised his head higher to get a better look of this 'newcomer'. A boy who seems to be around his age and maybe even his height with brown hair and a curl that seems to be defying gravity stuck on the right side of his head. A white robe pulled over the top of his school uniform. An obvious frown presented on that slightly tan skin. Ah, no, that wasn't what caught his attention though. It was the sharp glare that was given to him that made his skin crawl and being the anti-social person he is, the poor boy didn't know how to react.
Quickly getting up, he mumbled a quick apology and attempted to dash out. Attempted. Not making any more than a few steps the brown haired boy grabbed him by the arm harshly and spun him around.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class? " fierce amber eyes burned into the blonde, but he isn't backing down either. "I can ask you the same".
He scoffed until realisation sunk into him and he let go of the blonde's arm as if it burnt him and jumped back a few steps. The tan boy narrowed his eyes, "Aren't you the one everyone's been calling a curse?".
An awkward and heavy atmosphere loomed over them. The blonde furrowed his rather thick eyebrows and remembered why he people didn't talk to him.
"Uhh," he coughed a little, "A curse isn't welcomed into sacred grounds I guess?," it came out more of a question than a statement and he cursed himself internally for that, but seeing that the Italian is out of reach he took a turn and sprinted out the church doors that were never closed. The Italian boy focused his attention to the front of the church, his creases deepened as he clutched the cross around his neck. He seemed to be deep in thought until another voice stopped it, "Vee~ Lovino? Fratello, I'm sorry I took a while~," the one who is now identified as Lovino glanced at his brother and sighed. Stuck in a dilemma about whether he should tell his goofy brother about what had just happened, he ended up leaving it.
On the other hand, the blonde boy had stopped near the principal's office, a hand on the wall to steady himself as he tried to catch his breath. He looked cautiously around him to make sure there isn't anyone around before lightly knocking on the principal's office.
"Come in," he opened the door and stepped in, closing it in the process to prevent something like before happening again. The man at his desk raised his head to look at the uninvited guest, before breaking out into a huge grin, "Arthur! What brings you here? Shouldn't you be in class? Is there something new you want to show me? Or perhaps are you feeling a little lonely? " Arthur sighed, being bombed by questions isn't a fun thing.
He made his way to the desk and pulled out a chair before sitting on it. "I didn't want to go to class, they teach things I already know and besides, not like anyone's gonna care, they'll be a lot happier without me there," he said, mumbling the last part with a string of curses connected to it. Mr Vargas said nothing and ruffled Arthur's hair earning himself a glare from the boy.
"Aren't you usually at the church then? " he pulled his arm back when it got slapped.
"Some kid found me," he muttered, as he dug into his recent memories. "Ah well, that's too bad I guess," Mr Vargas seemed thoughtful for a moment before speaking, "Well Arthur, are you interested in some missions? " this cause the said boy to raise his brow.
"Sounds nice but I haven't even been qualified to go on missions yet"
"Well, then you are now qualified!"
"...what? I haven't even gone through the tests yet! " Arthur exclaimed, standing up for emphasis.
"If you're that scared I can always send someone with you," the look of horror on Arthur's face would've been laughable if it weren't because he's serious. Mr Vargas sighed, "Don't fret, it's just a small errand, I was just joking"
Mr Vargas turned around to look for something on his desk. Several seconds later, he pulled up a thick folder and handed it to Arthur. While Arthur skimmed through it the principal spoke, "It's nothing that intense, just thought you needed a breather out of these school grounds and besides! The school's herbalist needs some more herbs! " he patted Arthur on the back. He watched Arthur with amusement as the boy's eyes lit up in excitement. With a stiff nod, Arthur left the office and closed the door with a click.
Mr Vargas sat back in his seat. "Ah~ he's such a lonely boy. He should go make some friends...well he can't do that if everyone is avoiding him huh? Witch, they say...ohoho this witch shouldn't be grouped with ordinary ones then~ I sense some good drama that's about to happen~".
Done with the task at hand he made his way back to the principal's office, looking at his pocket watch he mumbled,"20 minutes till class ends". Deciding that he should just give these straight to the herbalist, he skipped the principal. The school's herbalist was no more than a student who is around his age and honestly the only student that hasn't run the other way just seeing him.
"AI YAA," shaking his head at this he entered the room. The herbalist whipped his head around to look at the intruder. "Oh it's just you Arthur!," the herbalist seemed more relaxed. "Principal sent me on a job for you, here," he said dumping the basket filled with herbs on the counter and taking a seat on one of the stools. Taking a sip out of the tea Wang offered to him he sighed, "Anything new?"
"Well," Wang started, "there's a weapon exam coming up," Arthur nearly spat out his tea.
"What the hell are you supposed to do there?"
He shrugged, "Something about picking out a weapon to suit you or something, you going? " Arthur looked deep in thought then nodded. "Oh, and I heard that the tests are done in pairs and you don't get to pick," at this Arthur tensed up but it did not go unnoticed by him.
"Don't stress, just keep your attention on the examiner and you'll be fine"
"Yeah thanks," and with that Arthur left but not before saying goodbye to Wang. He took a look at his pocket watch. There was still two minutes before the end of school and he decided to make a stop at the library. He waltzed around the bookshelves, ignoring the obvious stare given to him by the librarian. He collected the necessary books and slid them on a table next to the window, slightly jumping when the loud bell rang throughout the school. He exhaled when he heard students storming out of their classes, seemingly happy that it's over. Students who entered the library paid little to no heed to him as they settled down on a table, which he was thankful for. Three books sat on the table, 'How to master weapons', 'Vampires, demons and spirits', 'Exorcism training'.
And like this, the blonde boy sat through the rest of the books, attention so focused on them that he had forgotten reality. Until the librarian had informed him that he should go home. Everything after that was a blur to him, he remembered walking back to his dorm, everything in between that, he did not remember and he blacked out the moment his head hit the pillow.