Chapter 29: Filler 2
(Spirit's P.O.V.)
My sword was propped up on my legs as I kept the flint gliding along its metal edge, further honing the lethality that it possessed in a skilled Basitin's hold. When I slid the sharpening stone down the length of the blade, I caught sight of my reflection, and it was one of the many I had seen throughout the entire night. The emotions I was still dealing with were mostly sadness and a remote feeling of despair in my heart, but I couldn't let something as simple and foolish as emotions be what kept me from my tasks, so I just continued to sharpen the sword in my grip. Bringing the stone back to the hilt of the sword, I let it rest there briefly as I began to let my body relax from the tiredness I was currently feeling. I had stayed up all night on guard duty, and it was starting to take its toll on my body and mind as I did my best to keep my senses alert. My heart may have been cracked, but I was foolish to think that a mere human could fill a role as a mate for a mighty Basitin. But for a human, he seems so different than all the other ones… the way he talks, how he acts… how he smells. I let a smile cross my muzzle, but only briefly as I frowned and shook my head in a vain attempt to rid my mind of that devilish thought. I growled slightly as I quickly slid the stone over the sword in my lap; quickly enough that I caused sparks to fly off the end of it and onto the wooden deck. He is a human, and there is no further discussion needed to know he is off limits… even if he is a male that is handsome, despite the lack of fur. The way he expresses his emotions… h-how he observes everything that his eyes s- AUGH!
I let out a quiet and mournful groan as I felt my cheeks warming up slightly, and it was with great relief when I heard someone else approaching. I grabbed my flint and stuck it inside one of the pouches along the side of my armor just as the male Basitin that was to relieve me came around the corner with a tray on another tray came closer. He nodded towards me as I stood up and sheathed my sword, and when he bent down and set the trays beside the door, he looked at me and said, "Orders have changed, and our passengers are to remain in their quarters for the duration of the journey… the captain has requested that you report back here again at nightfall."
After he was finished, I nodded before walking off to go to the mess hall, and I kept my shoulders square as I walked away. I made sure I walked straight without any kind of sway in my step as I continued down the hallway. The way I walked also had to do with my sword; I didn't want to possibly dull it from unneeded jostling from a short walk. After I grab something to eat from the mess hall, I can go and catch some sleep before I'm required to report in for guard duty again. Hopefully this boat trip doesn't take as long as the other ones usually do; I don't know how much my stomach can handle from all the swaying…
(Mike's P.O.V.)
Walking through the human town, I felt slightly nervous from a few of the threatening glares I was receiving, but I wanted to further enhance my common. When the store came within sight, I smiled slightly as I sped up my pace, keeping on alert in case a human tried to get too close. While I still had many of my mana crystals, I only knew a few defensive spells against the vast majority of offensive spells that humans were known to use.
Opening the door to the shop, I eagerly stepped in and closed the door behind me so that the shop keeper wouldn't get too upset. Turning around, I saw an elderly human sitting behind a counter with a curious gaze directed towards me as I walked towards him. I was walking towards him as I looked both ways in the shop, and as I stopped in front of his counter, I looked up at him and asked, "Do you teach kiedran common?"
The old man nodded his head slowly as he said, "for a price, yes I do… what do you wish to learn?"
I grabbed my coin purse from my bag and took out some silver and a gold coin, and I said, "I'm looking to learn the more hard words of common." I set the coins down on the countertop, and I added, "And more fight magic and defend me magic…"
The old man chuckled, and as he swiped the coins up and looked them over, he said, "Well now… I guess I can teach you some of the more advanced subjects in those fields of expertise…"
With that, the old man jerked his shoulder in one direction, and I began to follow him to the back of his store while he snatched and grabbed books along the way…
My mind was hurting as I walked down the dirt path towards the port city of Va' Halla. The old man had done a good job of teaching me common, but he moved the knowledge into my mind magically so as to speed up the process. I could now speak common as flawlessly as a kiedran born into slavery, but I was feeling the pain after undergoing such a procedure and lesson as the one the old man had used. I placed my hand up to the side of my head as I winced, and I closed my eyes to try and banish the pain; yet instead of relief, all I saw was the countless words scrolling across my mind's eye. Sentences, phrases, words, slang, and lots of old literature was pouring through my mind, and it just wouldn't settle down the entire time I was walking. He had said this way was guaranteed to work with such a faster result, but now all I feel is pain…
The sound of a gurgling stream reached my ears, and I decided now would be as good as any time to stop, rest, and eat. Pulling a knife from my cloak, I bent down and snatched a branch from the ground and began to sharpen the end as I walked towards the sound of running water. I could feel it in the air, the moist smell of water, but also the resonating force of something was shaking the ground while I kept walking; I also heard the sound of what must've been rushing wind
Walking around a bend of tree's, I stopped and looked over a dozen feet and saw a waterfall; it wasn't huge, but it was still big. I looked back downstream, and it was only sunset, so I still had plenty of time to finish getting set up for the night. Shaking my head, I slid my knife back into my bag and dropped it onto the ground. I walked over to the thick stream, and I walked downstream until it was shallow enough to not cause me to fall down from a swift current. I walked into the stream as I held my spear down, and I narrowed my eyes as I scanned the water for any fish that happened to swim near me.
I stabbed down, aiming slightly in front of the fish, and I twisted my staff out of the water; and out came a fish with a hole in its side. Ignoring its flopping motion, I turned back to the stream, and quickly stabbed down just as another fish bolted. Before it escaped, I managed to spear it through its tail, and I slammed the spear into the sandy bottom as I unsheathed my claws and swiped the fish out of the water. Pulling my spear out of the water, I saw the fish's tail was still attached to the end, but I just got out of the water and stabbed the spear into the moist dirt. I won't need that anymore, and if I keep it; humans will just view me as a hostile kiedran…
Grabbing the two fish, I walked back to the place I had set my bag, but I stopped as one of the fishes began to flop around in my paws. When it stopped, I returned to walking over, and as I set them down next to my bag, I returned to the forest, and I began to gather dry branches. With all these new spells… I can finally do things that other humans learn right away… but even then; I won't be able to fight and win against a Templar. But at least now I won't have to take so much time trying to start a fire from flints and sticks… I can just create a fire.
Ah, here we go… now, I just need to wait until the fisheye pops out until the entire fish is ready to be eaten. I licked my chops as I grabbed my bag and started to look through it. I smiled as I took out a small journal I had bought from the old man, and I grabbed a pencil from in the bag as well. While I wait for the fish to cook, I can just do a little bit of writing while I had the time…
Dear Journal,
It has been an interesting day for me today indeed; I had learned all the common I should need, even if it was given to me in the most painful way. The magic I have learned today should make travelling all that easier, but it is only going to go so far should I have a run-in with the Templar. The walk to Va' Halla seems to be going good so far, but I'm not sure if my luck will hold out; it has a way of abandoning me when I seem to need it most. I'm only going to this human port city, because I wish to find that human that gave me the coin needed to start off my life as a skilled mage. I can never repay him, but I wish to travel with him so that I might be able to learn more from his strange world; I have never heard or seen of such a place in all of Mekkia. The buildings were metal, like swords, but they were so much taller than anything humans here have made. They move around in these metal monsters that are so loud, and smell so bad. And the one time I saw a metal bird higher in the sky moving at a slow pace, but how could something that high up possibly move at the speed at which it was? Whatever all those things were, I just hope I can find that human that lived there, so he can explain it to me…
Shutting my journal, I looked down at it, and quickly placed it in my bag so that I wouldn't lose it so early in my ownership of it. I sighed lightly, and I reached up and scratched my muzzle as an itch came to me, but I sneezed soon afterwards. That shop was really dusty and smelly… I hope I can stop sneezing every hour already…
A.N.: I know it has been a while, but I need everyone to understand that I have been dealing with Writers block, so I won't be ditching this story just yet. Expect 5 chapters before this story finally comes to an end.
RoWnAnNiEuWoUdT1: I try to remain canon at all times possible, so Trace won't bump into Sam at all this story; remember how all the Basitin generals were killed? Well, this story had them all there, so that is why they won't bump into each other. Congrats on your new profile by the way.
RT86: I messed up when I wrote that part, I didn't know how to write it; every time I broke up, it was the girls doing. And life is harsh, so that was the best I could come up with.
3-D Jak: I understood it, but I was serious about which ones I would write out first, just after this, I'm going to try and work on a single story only until writer block passes by. I think this is the first chapter for any of my multi-chapter stories I have posted this month…
RezValkron: More emotional opportunities will come later on, so no worry there. This chapter is a disappointment to me, but I'm hoping next chapter will be much better… I hate writing short chapters like this.
