The Blade, the Bow and the Bullet
I don't own grandchase.
Chapter 1: Default Hostility
"Good morning." She said in a distasted manner, with obvious play.
"Morning." He responded, but in a darker tone, without any façade.
They stood a few paces from one another with nothing short of what we might call aggression in their countenance. Their eyes of extreme concentration meticulous in scanning the other for faults with which to pin point – sadly, and much to their own respective disdain, she looked cute in her simple crème blouse and cotton purse hanging on her bare shoulders, and he looked quite manly in his rugged pants, blue shirt and a black open polo.
They both took a mental note that appearances might not be the best field of competition.
The door infront of them slid open and out peeked a handsome young albino with a question mark quickly plastering on his usually serious face.
"Oh, I thought I felt something."
Immediately, the expressions of the two softened, one with a smile, the other with something a little gentler than a frown. Nevertheless, after wiping his hand with the apron on his waist Lass greeted them both with a hug, not being good with words but clearly saying how happy he was to see them both.
"Good to see you both." He whispered, lips between their ears.
It wouldn't be the first time Lass embraced her, nor would be the same case with the counterpart guess. But they wouldn't want to be in the spot for too long, primarily because it annoyed him how her skin felt so soft and smooth as it touched his, and it irritated her how nice he smelled.
"Um, sorry." Lass said, realizing he was being too familiar, and gently released them both.
The two visitors wanted him to retract the apology, since they didn't mind the hug at all. They stole a quick glance of death at each other after sensing that common thought, then looked back at the clueless boy.
"Come on in. I'm almost done making lunch."
"Are you sure I'm not intruding?" she respectfully asked.
"Maybe I'll drop by some other time." He said, simultaneous with the elf.
It was another reason for them to glare at each other again, and it allowed Lass to finally catch a hint of the tension.
"Erm, you two know each other, right?" he asked, not really sure if it was the right question.
"Fortunately, not too well." She said.
"And hopefully, never will." He supplemented the thought. Both of them crossing their arms and portraying a not so pleasant air. Lass scratched his head, not clearly understanding what the friction is all about.
"Ooookay… well, formal introductions then. Rufus," he first walked towards the bounty hunter, putting a hand on his shoulder and gestured another towards the elvish princess. "this is my… um, friend… Lire."
It doesn't really take much to annoy the young half-demon, but for some reason that blush on Lass's face ticks him on a whole new level. To make it more insulting, the elf was equally red.
"She saved me… in more ways than I could've afforded to ask. And, as the elves put it – she is my connection to the truth of this world." He said, getting redder, and looking warmly at Lire.
When it took more than a reasonable amount of time for them to gaze at each other's eyes, Rufus respectfully cleared his throat to get some attention.
"Oh, and Lire?" the thief began, "This is my brother, Rufus." Lass's voice was somehow decorated with pride.
"Don't you mean half-brother?" Lire corrected, for the sole purpose of screwing with him.
Lass could feel steam coming from the bounty hunter. And as much as he is truly in love with Lire, he doesn't know why she would suddenly have a tongue sharp enough to be mean. He eyed Rufus' fingers: they were twitching, clearly itching to go for the pair of pistols in his pants.
He took a cautious step in front of Lire, separating the two like a wall would, though still admitting to himself that it was the elf who was at fault.
"Alright, alright, so much for the getting to know part. Shall we go in? I'll be serving lunch in about 5 minutes." Lass said, sounding as accommodating as possible.
"No, I better go. You probably cooked just for two so…" Rufus said, with a lot less aggression this time, but Lire cut him off.
"Oh, it's alright, you stay. Maybe you have some catching up to do, and for my part, there's a bazar waiting for me mid village. I'll see you later Lass." She bid the thief with a smile and pulled the strap of her purse on her shoulder.
"Um, but…"
Rufus saw Lass' eyes and was quite disturbed realizing that he was in some way the cause for them to look so lonely. He swiftly went in front of Lire and stared her down.
"The bazar would last for the whole week. I know, because most of the products there were shifted under my supervision. I think you have sufficient opportunity to shop tomorrow, so you should spend the day with my brother, Ms. Eryuell." he said with a dark tone of voice.
But the girl wouldn't be intimidated. She had stared death straight on the face, after all, so the handsome young demon wouldn't pose much of a threat.
"Well, unlike you, Mr. Wild, I always have time to spend with the people important to me, so allotting this time to you would not be a big deal, as much as I do want to spend the rest of the day with Lass."
"I see. So that's how cheap companionship is for you. Since the love one's are always there, we can always go shopping instead of having lunch with them."
"I value companionship," Lire said, eyes reflecting anger, "which is precisely the reason why I'm giving this opportunity to you, because I don't really know if you value anything more than money."
This clearly is a shooter who knows the vital points to strike at, Rufus thought. As much as he was very much enraged at her judgmental remark, he still thought it was quite formidable, even impressive, that she can attack like this.
Unfortunately, Lass wasn't at all impressed. The whole scenario was bringing out the socially aggressive Lire, the Lire whose pride as an Elven corps leader swells higher than the mountains. He held them by the arm and gently gave a tug, pulling them inside the house and distracting them from one another, though with one being a master assassin, and the other being the best archer in existence, finding something that will serve as a distraction for them would be a heavy task. True enough, their eyes kept intense connection as they moved inside.
"Please, both of you." Lass whispered, sliding the door closed, his voice blank and sullen.
The two knew him well enough to be alarmed. They cleared the tension and steadied themselves, taking a gentler countenance as they waited the beloved thief to face them. Lass is a calm and composed person, which means that moments when he is enraged are rare… and often unsavory. But much to their guilt, he face both of them with a smile, with eyes reflecting that of an anticipating, yet disappointed child.
"I told Lire she is always welcome here, and I often insisted that she visit," he began, looking at Rufus, then he turned to the elf, "And I asked Rufus to have lunch with me today."
The thought clearly meant it was Rufus' win, so said bounty hunter crossed his arms and tried not to look too smug about it. But Lire was quick to catch on. Ironically, she also thought it was her win, since she'll be giving the curly haired demon a good guilt trip the next time they meet.
"So, if it is not too much to ask from the both of you, Lire, Rufus, won't you please spend the rest of the day with me?"
They both looked at Lass as if he was once again possessed by some sinister mind. The very idea of spending time with one another even for a brief minute was offensive for Lire, and unsettling for Rufus.
"Please?"
But the look of Lass, made adorable by his blue eyes slightly curtained by thin strands of white hair on a semi-bowing head, was hard to ignore, let alone disregard for such an offending request that would leave them quite unsettled. Bottom line: he was too cute with the apron and they both love him immensely to deny him. He smiled as he watched them both released a sigh at the same time before removing their footwear, giving courtesy to the owner, and walking inside the oriental-styled home.
The two visitors braced themselve for an ensuing afternoon of awkwardness.
end of Chapter 1
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