Alright, so second chapter. Thank you for those who followed, Favorited and reviewed. It is all appreciated very much. Nothing happens much in this episode, just our main character getting the hang of things, some character depth added (Hopefully) and meeting more characters. Well, hope you enjoy anyway.
WARNING: This contains Shoujo-ai. If you don't like this kind of stuff, I suggest you turn back.
Two: A fragment of a dream.
In my dream, I see a vast view of my home town-Osaki.
I also see something closer, or rather, someone. I remember; it's the misty girl I saw before I landed on the grass. She's standing at the edge of the building, seemingly admiring the view.
I want to ask all sorts of questions: Who are you? Why are you appearing in my dream? Why did you smile at me like that? But there's a force that's stopping me, as if I'm bound to something. The body that my dream-self is trapped in speaks up.
"I'm sorry, Kaori…"
I wake up, strangely feeling anxious. I shake off the feeling, dismissing it immediately. I look outside the window and notice that the sun has yet risen. I groan, cursing my inner alarm clock for waking me up at this god-forsaken hour. What in the world could have triggered it to go off?
Oh yeah, the dream. But now that I try to remember it, nothing comes to mind. I rack my brain and delve deeper into my memory. However, the harder I try to remember, the more my head pounds in resistance.
Oh, screw it. It's probably not worth the effort anyway.
I get up from my pile of hay (which my master had generously provided) and stretch, cracking some bones into place. I then complete my usual morning exercise to warm up. When that's done, I look over to the soundly sleeping form of Louise, who really looks adorable when she's all curled up. Hmm… there's a big space next to her and that bed really does look warm and inviting. Surely it wouldn't hurt anyone if I fill up that space for few minutes.
Agreeing with my thoughts, I give in to the temptation. Because although I'm a law-breaker through and through, I am rather embarrassed to admit that one of my guilty pleasure is cuddling. And if it's with a hot chick or a fit guy, well, you know the saying: two birds with one stone. To think that such a chance is given to me; what can I do but to accept it? I quietly slide beneath the covers and once I'm comfortable, I carefully place an arm over Louise's torso and shamelessly cuddle. If this is how heaven feels like, I'm all for dying early. Maybe I should kill Louise as well so I can cuddle with her even after death. I decide to entertain that thought later because the warmth is getting to me and my eyelids are dropping. One minute of rest. Just one minute. Louise wouldn't mind.
It turns out, I was wrong about both. My little cuddling/resting session did not last one minute and when I woke up with a red-faced and fuming Louise glaring at me, I found that she certainly did mind. She minded a lot actually. I got the hint when she literally kicked me out of the bed so fast, you wouldn't have been able to record it on a camera. It's a shame really because that could have made it to the Genies world record book as 'The fastest time for kicking out a half-stranger off your bed'. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, as Louise might say) I was not hurt in the process so all's well, ends well.
And that's how it came to this situation, Louise lecturing me about the limits of a familiar and the respect it should show its master. I feel a sense of déja-vu. Oh, I wonder why. I patiently listen because unlike the old man, Louise is at least nice to look at and has a sweet voice. It's to the point where I'm convinced my ears are on fire that Louise finally stops her rant. After a few moment of awkward silence with me looking anywhere but towards Louise, my face is suddenly covered with bits of clothing. In fact, it's the very ones that I washed yesterday. I look up with an arched brow in which Louise responds by spreading her arms out. There's another moment of silence until Louise impatiently snaps.
"Well? What are you just standing around for? Aren't you going to dress me?"
Oh, the nerve of this girl. Oh well, might as well bring her back down to earth.
"Oh, so that's what you're implying. Are you sure? I might accidentally touch places where I shouldn't…" I trailed off, wriggling my eyebrows. In a flash, a book is thrown at my face, which I quickly dodge with a grin. Louise now sports a red face and I notice with amusement that she's covering her upper body with her arms.
"Y-Y-you pig! How dare you imply such a thing with your master! You should know your place as a commoner!"
Hearing this, I immediately frown. I don't really have a problem with being called a commoner but the way she says it really ticks me off. She's too full of pride to realise that without the so-called commoners, she probably wouldn't be able to survive for another day. Now, I can honestly say that I don't really care about how the social status thing works in this world but the attitudes that these nobles have irritates me to no end.
"Look L-master. I don't mind how you treat me or others because frankly, that's none of my business. However, for your sake, I will say this. You're too full of pride. If you take a moment to take it down a notch or two, you'll probably find that half the people you hate so much are more bearable than you think. You're spoilt like the other noble brats in this school and your attitude sucks. What I'm trying to say is that even if you have no magical ability, as long as you just drop your pride, no one's going to ridicule you as long as I'm around."
I realize that I'm being rather hypocritical but something about Louise just strikes close to home. She pulls me in a way that I can't comprehend. I wait for another flying projectile and an angry dismissal of my speech but none comes,
Instead, I am pleasantly surprised to find Louise seriously taking my words into account. After a moment, she silently picks up her clothes and starts to dress herself. I give her my best proud grin. It's been a while since I've cared about anyone so I'm alarmed to find how much I actually care about the girl despite only knowing her for half a day. It's a feeling I'm strangely familiar with, though I recall no such events that could involve this sensation.
"Louise-" I begin, only to be automatically corrected.
"Master."
Damn, I guess I was pushing my luck. Still, I know that things like pride takes a long time to tone down so I'm not too bothered.
"Fine. Master, I was wondering what I should expect for today."
Louise nods, satisfied with my use of her approved term.
"Very well. Today is the void day so classes are cancelled to allow the mages to get acquainted with their familiars. But first, we must eat breakfast."
We walk in a comfortable silence with me trailing slightly behind. I always wanted to be someone's bodyguard so I'm grasping a chance to experience how it might feel like because being a familiar is basically the same thing; or at least, that's how I think. Suddenly, Louise stops walking, causing me to bump into her. I brace myself for the surely coming onslaught of insults but none comes. I see tense muscles and I curiously follow her gaze to see what it is that she's focused on. I have an inkling of an idea but I like to think that seeing is believing.
I follow her gaze to meet the ones of a certain redhead. It's Kirche. Surprise, surprise. Who would have guessed?
Like yesterday, the silent blue-haired girl is behind her, still reading a book; though I'm sure this time it's a different one. The girl moves fast.
Kirche bounces over with the blue-haired girl automatically following without once looking up from her book. I admit it's pretty impressive.
"Good morning Louise! And…" I can tell Kirche is being overly cheerful just to annoy Louise. She looks at me expectantly and I realize that at this point, I'm supposed to supply my name.
"It's Eris. Don't tell me your name because I already know it."
Kirche gives me that same look from yesterday. She snaps out of her stupor and attempts to regain composure.
"Well, I shall tell you anyway. My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst and this is my best friend Tabitha," she says, gesturing towards the blue-haired girl. Tabitha nods which I'm guessing is her way of saying hi.
"That's a long name you've got there. Hope you don't mind if I shorten it to Kirche because I'm going to go ahead and do exactly that; whether you like it or not," I say, earning more disbelieving looks from Louise, Kirche herself and some passers-by whom had witnessed the event. I hope they seriously get over this habit soon because it's really starting get on my nerves. Tabitha though, has been un-moving throughout all this and I am eternally grateful that at least one person isn't full of themselves.
Louise, however, looks torn between scolding me for my rude behavior towards a noble and snorting because the said noble happens to be her sworn enemy. She settles for the latter which she immediately tries to smother. Surprisingly though, once Kirche gets over her initial shock, she throws her head back and laughs heartily. Even Tabitha seems disturbed by her friend's reaction; disturbed enough to look up from her book and stare at the redhead for few seconds before burrowing her head back into her book.
Louise also seems startled, if her wide eyes are anything to go by.
Kirche soon comes down from her high and subsides into giggles. She links her arm with mine (much to the chagrin of Louise) and pulls me towards the dining hall. She and Louise start bickering noisily with Tabitha occasionally interfering to prevent any explosions from happening. In this warm atmosphere, I almost let my guard down a little bit. It's a good thing that I've had enough experience to not be naïve enough to think that anything like this can last because if my life's any example, nothing good lasts in the world. It's a fact of life and I have no other choice but to accept it.
"No." The rejection is blunt and to the point.
Kirche pouts and crosses her arm.
"Aww…please? She's still a human," she protests, pointing a finger at me. I'm glad that she acknowledges me a human. I bask in this satisfaction because this is probably one of the rare times that I'll be referred to as a human. The guard, however, apparently disagrees. The bastard.
"I'm afraid I can't let her in. Human though she may be, the fact still remains that she is Miss Valliere's familiar. And you know the rules about familiars in the dining hall-they are not allowed in. She must join the others familiars in the court yard behind the building."
Kirche huffs, her earlier sex appeal didn't work so I'm guessing it's still taking a toll on her ego. Louise for the most part seems to agree with the guard while Tabitha remained silent. I decide it's best to put an end to this conversation so I raise my hands in defeat.
"It's fine. I'll just go outside and wait until master finishes her breakfast. I'm not that hungry anyway."
Reluctantly, Kirche bids goodbye and disappears into the dining hall, once again bickering with Louise. Those two just doesn't know when to stop. I feel Tabitha's pain. I seriously wonder how she manages to stay sane hanging out with such people. Whatever the trick is, I have to get her to teach me it because I'll definitely need a lot of control around them two.
When I reach the court yard, my eyes are immediately greeted with sights of strange animals and beasts. One of them being a floating eyeball. How creepy is that? I even spot some giant insects and a red crocodile. At least that's what they look like to me.
In the corner of the court yard sitting by itself is a humongous blue dragon. It has wings. It is huge. It's a freaking dragon! That is pretty cool. So with that one-tracked mind-set, I approach the creature fearlessly and pat it on the head. Thankfully, it responds positively, playfully nudging my hand. I grin and tickle its head, eliciting a rumbling noise from the dragon.
"Hey, dragon. You're a pretty cool fellow aren't ya?"
At this, the dragon nudges my hand more insistently; as if agreeing with my question.
"Are you a boy?"
It makes a displeased sound, almost scoffing at the idea. I've got to admit, it's intelligent.
"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. You seem lonely. Why are you sitting by yourself?"
The dragon droops its head, conveying its sadness. I pat its head reassuringly.
"Yeah, I know the feeling. Still, we've got to be strong for our masters, don't we?"
It grunts and grabs me by my clothes with its mouth and starts jiggling me around. My vision becomes blurry but I don't mind one bit. In fact, I laugh out loud joyfully. I haven't had so much fun in years. Suddenly, there's a grumbling sound and I'm back on the ground, stumbling to gain balance. I turn and look at the dragon. There's another grumbling sound and I realize it's coming from the said dragon. Realization dawns upon me.
"You're hungry, aren't you?"
It nudges me forward and I get the hint.
"Alright, alright. I'll get you some food. In the meantime, stay here and behave yourself okay?" I command, receiving a blank look and a terse moment of silence. I smirk.
"I like the way you think," I say and with that, I head towards the dining hall once again. I'm nearly inside the building when I spot a large basket of clothes with a pair of legs. It wobbles left to right, the pair of feet underneath attempting to gain central balance. I rush over to the basket, knowing that sooner or later, it will tip over. I reach forward and take half of the pile, revealing a short black haired girl in a maid outfit. At this moment, something clicks in my brain and causes me to freeze. She reminds me of the misty girl I saw just before landing on the grass. Damn, this is so confusing. What does this all mean? Before I can contemplate though, the girl snaps me out of my daze.
"Ah, thank you very much," she says; her voice soft and flowing, so different from Louise.
"Nah, don't mention it. Ummm… what's your name?" I ask. The girl smiles at me and it's creepily similar to the aforementioned misty girl.
"It's Siesta Miss…"
"Just call me Eris. I don't like all the formal crap."
"In that case, Eris-san; thank you for helping me. I would have fallen had you not come and rescued me."
I frown at the 'Eris-san' but the Siesta looks like the type of girl whose naturally polite so I leave the subject for now.
"Like I said, don't mention it. I'll help you carry it back to where-ever you're heading."
Siesta smiles at me gratefully. On the way, she tells me about various things ranging from gossips, names, directions and layout of the school. In return, I tell her some jokes from Earth. One example being: 'What's the difference between a teacher and a book? – you can shut a book.' Personally, I think all of the jokes are lame but Siesta seems to like it so whatever.
Not too soon, we arrive at the destination with me bidding her a goodbye then heading for the kitchen; Siesta's clear directions at the forefront of my mind.
By the time I get back to the dragon, breakfast is already over, judging from the steady flow of mages coming outside to collect their familiars. Louise, Kirche and Tabitha are still nowhere in sight so I'm guessing either they're still eating breakfast or Louise and Kirche are too busy arguing. I sit down next to the dragon and start eating a piece of apple-pie left over from breakfast while feeding the dragon a large piece of meat.
In the middle of our meal, I hear two loud voices trying to overlap each other. I sigh, immediately recognising those voices. Sure enough, I spot Louise and Kirche butting heads while heading towards me and the dragon. Tabitha, as usual, is absorbed in her book so I'm surprised when she looks up and glances at the dragon, then me.
"Thank you," she says. It's the first time I'm hearing her voice. It's soft and quiet, like I expected from someone who is usually so stoic. As if sensing the atmosphere, Louise and Kirche abruptly stop their bickering to stare at Tabitha.
I scratch my head. "For what?"
Tabitha looks towards the dragon who is currently being restless for some reason.
"For feeding my familiar Sylphid," she answers. OH. I get it. The dragon-Sylphid- is Tabitha's familiar. Everything makes perfect sense.
"Come on, Eris. Let's go to the main field," Louise interrupts my realization moment and drags me off by my neck collar. Kirche and Tabitha follow with the red croc and Sylphid.
By the time we get to the main field, there are many tables laid out with tea sets and snacks. A lot of them are already filled with a mage and their familiar although I doubt the blond girl and her frog really needs a whole table for themselves. Louise goes ahead and sits on a chair with an unoccupied table and irritably gestures for me to do the same. For some reason, Kirche follows my example and Tabitha being Tabitha, follows Kirche's.
Just as I'm wondering what they're doing on our table; as if reading my mind, Louise voices it out.
"What are you guys doing on our table?" she grits out, a vein pulsing on her forehead. Kirche grins, as if she was waiting for the question.
"Where does it say that this is your table? I'm technically allowed to sit here if I want. I just want to talk to Eris and get to know her." This is apparently the wrong answer because if anything, Louise looks more annoyed than ever. But all of a sudden, she deflates like a tired balloon.
"You know what? Do whatever you want. I'm too tired to argue with you right now."
Kirche smiles smugly. I am just proud of Louise for coming out as the better person by letting Kirche win this argument in favour of peace-something I really need right now. We talk, Kirche doing the majority of the talking with Tabitha occasionally quipping in. It is a while later before the question finally arises.
"Where are you from, Eris?" asks Louise. All eyes turn on me, with the exception of Tabitha's.
"Promise you won't laugh when I tell you?"
There is a round of agreements. I breathe in. Time for the big revelation.
"I'm from a different world. A world far away and extremely different from this one. A world with only one moon."
This time, Tabitha joins in with the staring.