Coran's 'guardian' had been an angry drunk when they arrived home. They didn't leave the house until well-past noon the next day due to the pain that shot through them every time they moved. Their only motivation to get up was that maybe Julius could help. The kindly old man claimed that he travelled about, helping people, right? Surely he could help them. Coran carried their Lightning tome with them, stepping into the inn cautiously. They walked up to the front desk somewhat nervously, trying not to wince with every step.

"I-is J-Julius here?" They stuttered. The person shook her head.

"He left this morning. Think he was headed to Ylisse? If you run you can probably catch him. Old fella's always leavin way earlier than he needs to cuz he knows he'll get side-tracked along the way." Coran nodded and mumble their thanks before dashing out the door. "Y'know, I don't think any of us'll be seein that kid again anytime soon..."

Their next stop was the bookstore, to find a map. After figuring out which direction they needed to go, they ran as far as their thin, six year old legs could take them. Before even twenty minutes had passed, they were finding it hard to breathe, but there was still no sign of Sage Julius. Coran saw a family Juilius had assisted in his short time there, and asked through their stutter if they knew where he was. The family answered, stating that he should be nearing the station soon, where he would be getting on a carriage and leaving the country.

Coran ran. They ran as fast and far as their small legs had ever taken them, and even though they tripped over their feet several times, still, they ran. Sweat trickled down their face, though they couldn't remember having drank water anytime recently what with the drought much of Plegia was suffering. The last thing they remembered before collapsing was seeing the station.

As luck would have it, Julius had decided to take a short walk before his carriage ride. 'To stretch my legs' he said. Upon exiting the small, stone building, he saw a figure on the ground, dressed in rags. He recognized them as the child he met just the previous day, and quickly brought them inside the station, forgetting about his stroll. They were breathing heavily, and their skin was burning up. Though he hadn't noticed how thin they were the previous night, he was certainly noticing it then. Julius discovered a multitude of fresh bruises, and even a few deep cuts that would likely leave scars. He thanked the gods he had his staff with him.

Coran woke up a bit later, without the aching pain they had come to expect. They blinked in confusion, sitting up slowly. Their skin felt unbearably hot. A flask of water was placed in their hands, and they looked up in confusion. The kind, wrinkled pale face of Sage Julius hung above them, and they slowly began to drink the water. As soon as the cool liquid hit their parched throat, they began to gulp it down like someone dying of dehydration. Most people in Plegia seemed to be dying of dehydration as of late. After a long silence, Julius spoke.

"Where did those injuries come from?" His voice was slow, patient and kind as it always was.

"My f-f-father..." They mumbled. "Please don't s-send me b-back there."

"I wouldn't dream of it."
Julius handed them what looked like a sandwich. Though it was a little beat-up, Coran knew it was more than they had eaten in the past couple of days. They ate it as slowly as they could manage, not wanting to seem like a ravenous beast. After they finished, they wiped the sandwiches remains off their face with the back of their hand.

"Weren't you s-supposed to be l-leaving?"

"My job is to help people, isn't it? I think you needed my help."

"I'm s-sorry if you m-missed your carriage..." The Sage didn't respond to their apology.

"How would you like to come with me?" He asked, holding a book Coran recognized as their mother's. "I have a feeling you'll enjoy yourself."

"I..." Julius handed them the Lightning tome. "I-I'd l-love to."

And with that, Coran began their new life.


Word Count: 718

In which Coran begins their new life.

SO! I'd like to say I'm sorry for being WAY late updating this so sorry ;v; Casual reminder that the poll I talked about last time is still open!

I also realized I messed up on the link to the Robin customizer, but that's no longer important as I've updated the cover photo of this fic to be a drawing of Coran as a Sage! If you're on mobile and can't see the cover image, I suppose you can just... go google (Robin customizer) and it should be the first link? It's not too hard to find, and if you just go back to chapter one you can see the settings you need to make Coran!

Anyways, now that that's out of the way, I'm going to post the next chapter in apology for this being so late!

In a few minutes: Coran learns that they're on their way to meet someone they haven't seen in years.