The Traveling Party, Part 1
AN: This is where I start to have some fun with he plot.
Suffice to say, when Filo, the once gigantic Filoloal transformed into a naked little girl, Matthew and Raphtalia had more then a few questions. "EXPLAIN HOW MY BIRD TURNED INTO THIS SMALL LITTLE GIRL FAT MAN!" he yelled at the Slave trader as he hoisted the small man up by the front of his coat and shirt. The slave trader however looked unphased by the volume of the shield hero's voice and was instead focused on the large Filolial behind him who was watching the scene with glee while Raphtalia looked just as outraged as Matthew was.
"My good sir! You've truly won the proverbial jackpot! A Filolial Queen is one of the rarest breeds there is!" he said praisingly. Matthew letting him down on his feet.
"So you didn't plan on this?" he asked seriously.
The Slaver shook his head, "Oh no of course not! Queen Filolials are an exceedingly Rare breed, they can use magic to disguise themselves as normal members of a flock or as humans if need be." he explained as he walked around the shield hero to Filo who he looked over like a fine piece of merchandise as she transformed back into her human form, Matthew walked over and removed the green cape from his shoulders and draped it around the girl as Raphtalia stepped between the Slave Merchant and her, giving the shorter man a harsh, disapproving glare. The Demi Human's look didn't make his ever present grin disappear but he did back off, "However if you wish to tame your beast friend here, you'll need a special crest to do so." he explained.
Matt shot him a harsh look, "I'm not turning her into a slave." he replied.
"I think you misunderstand, unless you tame her, she can't be considered a party member and thus whatever experience she gains won't go to you." he explained, his grin still not faltering.
The shield hero shook his head, "Can't I just ask her to join my party? Like a normal person?" he asked.
The slave trader raised a finger, "Ah but there in lies the problem. She's a Filolial, despite her human appearance." he said as he looked to Filo. "There are adventurers who have animals who aid them in combat, however those are also owned by the adventures with a crest controlling them. Since your Filolial Queen is a beast such as that, you HAVE to apply a slave crest in order for her to join your party." he explained thoroughly.
Matthew clenched his teeth together, DAMNIT! he didn't want to make Filo a slave, looking at Raphtalia he gave her a unsure look. The Demi human looked down at Filo who didn't seem to so much as mind the talk of her becoming a slave. Compared to Raphtalia who when he first saw her, was scared out of her mind at the idea of being owned again. If I don't make her a slave, Raphtalia I don't get EXP from her. And we need as much as we can to prepare for the waves….fuck! he cursed.
Looking at Filo, he knelled onto his knee and looked her in the eyes, "Filo. What do you want?" he asked genuinely.
The girl tilted her head and hummed in thought, "Hmmmm….if I'm your slave, does that mean I get to stay with you?" she asked, her voice bubbling with curiosity.
Raphtalia and the Shield Hero shared a uncomfortable look, it didn't seem that she was fully grasping the concept. "Um…..well…I mean…..technically yes? But if you do you'll have to do everything I say, meaning you won't have a choice." he said, not wanting to mislead her into thinking that it was so simple.
Her blue eyes brightened, "Then I'll do it!" she said happily, Matt's warning falling on apparent deaf ears.
The Slave Merchant clapped his hands together excitedly, "Excellent! Now it's cost of five silvers for the ritual to bind her to you." he said, holding out his hand for payment which Matthew did with a sense of disbelief over what exactly was happening. "I'll be right back, have your Filolial be in her true form would you?" he asked as he walked off to get the proper ingredients for the cursed ink to work.
Matt stood up and walked over to the side and gestured Raphtalia over, the demi human took off his cape from Filo who turned into her bird form. Walking over, Raphtalia looked back over at Filo before turning back to Matthew who was still trying to process all of this, "…this is….I don't know what this is." he stated as he shook his head.
"Weird?" Raphtalia offered as she handed his cape back to him.
He shook his head, "No. Weird is you wanting another slave crest after getting rid of it. This is…" he trailed off, pressing his lips together as Raphtalia pouted at his slight criticism of her decision. "Do you think it's because she's a bird?" he asked.
The demi human crossed her arms and looked over as the Slave Merchant painted the crest on Filo's feathery chest carefully. "Maybe? I mean she clearly remembers everything from when we first got her so….it could be that she's mentally like a pet or something?" she theorized. The first thing Filo wanted when they found her in her human form was food, she didn't even ask why she was naked, or that she even recognized the difference between being naked and not. We're going to need to explain decency to her…..and table manners…..just manners in general really. she thought as the Slave Merchant guided her to a circle on the floor.
"Now I'll warn you missy, this might sting a bit so I'm going to put you inside a barrier so you don't lash out." he said as he finished the crest on the floor, a cylindrical barrier trapping the Fililoial in an enclosed space. Matthew stepped forward but Raphtalia put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"With how big she is in her bird form Matthew? I don't think you can comfort her while he does this." she reasoned with a sympathetic look. She knew first hand that it was painful to get a slave crest bonded to you, but it was thankfully only temporary. As they watched their new companion trash about side the barrier, it was evident that merchant wasn't wrong in his assessment, if she hadn't been inside she would have trashed the entire room with how she threw herself against the barrier. Thankfully it was short lived and soon enough in the corner of his vision, Matthew saw Filo's name below Raphtalia's in his HUD with her at level 19, ten levels below Raphtalia's with his own being only a level below her's.
As Filo transformed back into her human form, Raphtalia wrapped her up decently in Matt's cloak to contain her modesty, "Are you ok Filo? I know it hurts." Raphtalia asked with concern for the younger girl as she touched the spot on her chest where the crest was now at.
"I'm fine….but it stung a lot." she wined, more out of complaint then pain. She looked up at Raphtalia with curious eyes, "Do you have a crest too Raphtalia?" she asked curiously. Raphtalia smiled kindly at her companion and nodded, "Ooh! Can I see?" she asked, causing Raphtalia's tail to stick up and a snort to be heard.
Raphtalia whirled her head around to Matthew who was covering his mouth in amusement, her face warmed up as she pouted at him. Smiling at her, he turned to Filo, "Ask her again later Filo. Now since you were a big girl and got your crest, how about we celebrate?" he poised.
"Ice cream! Ice Cream!" Filo clapped as Matthew paid the vendor for the trio of treats he had bought for himelf, Fio, and Raphtalia, the last of whom said she wouldn't mind having some despite the way her tail was wagging when he mentioned it. Handing the cone of Neapolitan ice cram to Filo, she licked the ice cream happily a he handed the vanilla scoops to her while he took his own chocolate cone.
"Careful Filo, I'm not buying another if you drop it." he warned lightly as the little girl rushed ahead of them down the street. Looking at his cone he smiled to himself, Well it's not soft served but I'm not complaining. he thought as he licked the chocolate. He was surprised to find the vendor selling the frozen milk, let alone in multiple flavors. Glancing over to Raphtalia as she walked beside him, he watched as her tea red eyes looked at the treat like a gift from heaven before licking it and making pleasant humm.
She turned and saw him watching her, "What? Am I eating it wrong?" she asked.
He smiled and shook his head, "No your fine. You just remind me of me when I was younger." he said amusingly as he looked ahead to Filo who was happily eating her treat. "My dad would take me and my brother out for ice cream once in a while." he recalled softly with a forlorn look.
Raphtalia empty hand reached out and clasped his arm softly, looking over she gave him a small smile. "He did it when he wanted you to feel better too." she reasoned.
He smiled, "Yeah….first time was when I got shot for the flu." he said before shivering, "I fricking HATE needles." he emphasized. Raphtalia recoiled internally as well, he had described that some medicine that people got was injected into them through a thin but sharp object that injected it into someone's body. "I mean it's not becoming a slave obviously…." he trailed off bitterly.
The demi human looked at Filo, "Well she doesn't seem to mind….or care for that matter." she offered up.
"That doesn't make it better." he replied as he took a bite of his ice cream. "I mean it's one thing if she was an animal. But she's a girl." he replied.
The brunette sighed, "Yeah your not wrong. I mean she may behave like a Filolial but still." she agreed.
"All done!" Filo said before eating the cone and chewing it in her mouth, gulping it down she beamed at the Shield Hero and his sword. "Where are we going master?" she asked.
Matt winced a little at that title, "Filo, just call me Matt. And we're going to a friend's place to see if he has something we need." he explained as he licked his treat. The time it took to Edhard's shop was enough for Raphtalia and him to finish their ice creams off as well. Entering the armory, Matt smiled as he saw his trusted friend behind the counter with a sub on top of it. Man I gotta think about getting some ingredients together. "Hey Edhard, good to see you." he greeted warmly to the blacksmith who smiled back.
"Matthew, Raphtalia. Oh! Whose this?" he asked looking down at Filo before his brow raised in curiosity, "Another slave? I'm a little surprised to be honest." he said as Matthew approached the counter with Raphtalia and Filo beside him. He reached over and shook his hand firmly.
"It's…..another long story." he said before he noticed the blacksmith looking down and saw Filo eyeing the sub sandwich with a hungry look. "Hey, Filo. You just ate." he said firmly.
Edhard waved him off, "It's fine, you can have a bite if you want little lady." he offered, holding out the sub to Filo. Her eyes widened and she grinned before turning into her Filolial form in a puff of smoke, shocking Edhard as he dropped his sub back onto the counter and looked up at the massive bird with Matt's now shredded cape across it's feathers.
Her head dipped down to try and eat the sub, "Filo!" Matt shouted harshly, making her stop, "No! He said a bite. In your human form. Not the whole thing!" he said, his hands on his hips and giving her a disapproving gaz. The large bird pouted at her master's disapproval.
Raphtalia frowned as she looked at the remains of Mattew's cloak, "Filo, you shredded Matthew's cape." she said dejectedly.
Filo turned her head and saw the damage done and let out a whine, "I'm sorry Master! Filo didn't mean to do that." she apologized.
The shield her hero shrugged, "It's fine Filo, you didn't know that would happen, it was an accident." he said as he pushed off the remains of his cloak and turned to a still surprised Edhard. "So…..yeah, long story." he said before going into explaining everything that happened with Filo. The blacksmith crossed his arms and like aways listened to Matthew, "-so now we have a new companion." he finished as Filo slowly walked around the shop and inspected the various things on sale.
"Geeze I thought Fililoal Queens were just some old wives' tale." he said as he watched the large bird gently tap her beak against one of his display armors. "If your hoping I have something for her, I'm sorry I don't know how to make anything for animal companions." he explained.
Raphtalia shook her head, "Actually we're wondering if you have any clothes that won't shred when she transforms." she said, the balled up remains of Matt's cape in her hands that she gathered up. "If she shreds every piece of clothing we give her then we'll run out of money faster then we can make it. And we have to imagine that there's some sort of clothing species who transform wear." she explained as Matthew had to her.
Edhard shook his head, "Sorry but I don't carry anything like that." he regretfully said, "You might want to try a dress maker. There's one a few blocks away actually. But in the meantime-" he knelt down behind the counter and pulled out a pink cloth, as he unfolded it Raphtalia and Matthew saw it was a pink dress, "-you can use this, another customer left it. And you can't have her walking around naked or in her Filolial form in town." he explained.
Matthew took the dress and nodded in agreement, Plus who knows who will try and take Filo if they learn she's a queen…..so to speak. he thought as the watched the bird take a sword's scabbard between her beak and lift it up. "Filo, don't. You don't know whose touched that." he scolded, the filolial letting go and dropping the sword as Raphtalia let out a sigh. God things were never this bad with Raphtalia. he thought, recalling how well behave Raphtalia was when she was Filo's age. Granted she was terrified of him because she thought he would hurt her. He turned back to the backsmith, "Thanks Edhard. How much I owe you?" he asked.
The man chuckled, "It's on the house, besides I think your gonna need to save up some cash with your new party member. I remember hearing tales that Queen Filolials could eat enough for a village's worth." he said. Matthew let out a tired sigh, he could tell that he wasn't exaggerating.
"Isn't she just the cutest little angel?" the dressmaker praised Filo as she looked the smaller girl over. The dressmaker looked to be around Raphtalia and Matthew's age with long pink dress underneath an beige apron with a few threads, needles, and othe tools for fitting and making dresses inside the pockets. Her blonde hair was tied back into a bun with a pair of glasses over her eyes, "Oh well with these wings on her back who knows, maybe she is an angel?" she asked Raphtalia cheerfully.
The demi human let out an awkward laugh, despite her human form Filo's wings didn't make her al that subtle. The bubbily Filolial turned to Matthew who was adjusting the new cape that the dressmaker had repaired for him onto his armor. "Master am I really cute?" she asked with pride in her voice.
Matthew's lips twitched, "Cute or not, it's not how you look Filo, it's how you act that counts." he replied. His thoughts went to Myne, while he hated the very ground that she walked on she was admittedly attractive, however it didn't matter if she was a god of beauty she was an utter bitch. "Besides, there's an old saying Filo, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'" he quoted. However seeing the young girl tilt her head questionably to him he felt he needed to dumb it down, "It means everyone has their idea of what's cute." he clarified.
"Ok but am I cute?" Filo asked, completely ignoring what he was trying to impart onto her. Raphtalia pitched the bridge of her nose at the younger girl's demeanor. She thought what Matthew said was actually very sweet and profound, but maybe a little too thoughtful for someone so young.
Matthew pursed his lips together, "Does it really matter what I think?" he tried. Filo nodded, "Ugh. Fine. You're…seven out of ten on the cuteness scale." he said finally, making Filo puff out her cheeks while the dressmaker pouted.
"Now that's mean of a father!" she replied.
Matthew and Raphtalia froze, she….she didn't think that…they both looked at one another, Rapahtalia's face heating up before he shook his head, "Woah! No! Nononono! I'm not her dad, I'm too young to be a dad!" he denied. Kids of his own was the absolute last thing on his mind! He dated before he came here but that was before either he was trapped here or the fate of an entire civilization rested on his shoulders! Me getting laid is so far down the list of priorities that it's hopeful to call it a pipe dream.
Filo looked more confused then hurt by his denial, "I'm not your daughter? Then what am I?" she asked.
Technically speaking your my Pet. He thought dryly, "I'm your…." he glanced over at Raphtalia who seemed just as interested as to what his response would be. …why do I feel like I'm on thin ice? "….caretaker." he responded, his eyes not leaving Raphtalia's. Of which seemed to think on the answer before nodding at the sense that made.
I guess he would be considered that. Better then saying he's her owner or something. she thought.
"What about Raphtalia?" Filo asked.
Raphtalia felt her heart jump at the question she was almost afraid to know the answer to. "Raphtalia? Well she's my partner." he said with a smirk before looking over to the demi human whose throat was suddenly dry. She smiled bashfully and locked her hands behind her back as she looked away while her tail swished behind her happily.
Matt noticed her reaction and smiled, "Anyway, we're here to see if you can give us some magical clothes that transform with their wearer." he explained to the dressmaker.
The dressmaker cupped her chin, "Well I could do that with some magic thread but I can't make any of that. You might want to try the witch down the road." she instructed.
Stupid goddamn fetchquest bullshit. Matt grumbled to himself as Filo pulled their cart away from the capitol. The witch had tried to help to her credit, but the magic crystal of her thread maker was depleted of magic energy and she couldn't get a replacement for it. And without the magic crystal, there was no way that they could get the magic thread. And so on and so forth, There's a reason most MMO's are annoying and tedious, and it's this. This is the reason why. Matt thought as he leaned back in his seat of the carriage, in the back, Raphtalia was doing better with her motion sickness thanks to some medicine they got from the herbalist while they were in town, and Filo was happily pulling the cart along despite not having any clothes…..oh her human form he meant.
Alright. Alright, don't get frustrated. I'm bound to find one eventually if I keep my ears open in towns. he thought. Due to Myne's attempt to screw over Lute Village, Matt and Raphtalia both decided it might be best to avoid the village for a little while and try exploring further out. Last thing he wanted was to make those people's lives harder just because he was around, Raphtalia was saddened by the prospect of not seeing her friends for a while, but she understood.
Filo didn't seem to care at all as long as she pulled her cart. "How you holding up back there Raphtalia?" he asked, looking his shoulder to see his companion in the back, holding the underside of the wooden seat with one hand for steadiness.
The racoon girl flashed him an reassuring look, "I'm fine Matthew. That medicine you got me really helped, thank you." she said gratefully.
"No problem. I had to get the same thing first time I flew." he assured.
Filo's head turned back as she awed at her master, "Master you've flown? How? I haven't seen wings on you." she asked childishly.
Raphtalia smiled in amusement as Matt turned to the large bird, "Well Filo back home we have these great big machines that can take off into the sky that we ride inside." he explained happily. Truth be told he loved telling Raphtalia about his home just to see the reactions he'd get from her, with Filo around it gave him another chance to see it.
"What? A big machine? How big?" she asked.
Matt cupped his chin, "Let me think…about what…..250 feet long? So…..ok see down the road? That brush?" he asked as he pointed ahead, Filo looked at the distance. "About three times as long as that." he instructed.
Filo squaked in disbelief, "EHH?! But how can something that big fly?"
"Well it has large wings which have these smaller machines that makes air shoot through it at high speeds. So it takes off from the ground." he explained as he used his one arm with the shield to simulate a runway while his other hand acted as the plane and 'took off'. Filo's eyes seemed to twinkle in wonder at his demonstration, "It's kind of a pain though. It took us like two hours to get ready because we needed to be searched, then we had to grab some food, needed to find our plane." he said, thinking of all the frustrations that came with his first time flying.
Raphtalia's head tilted, "Why did they search you?" she asked innocently.
Matt inhailed sharply through his teeth, Oooooooh yeeeeaaahhhhh. he winced. "Um….well…..you know how there are bandits and that on the road? Well sometimes they'll try and get on the plane and…make it go somewhere else." he said, trying to be vague as possible. I am not factually prepared to get into what terrorism is to medieval society. he thought dryly as Raphtalia seemed unconviced. "Look it's…complicated. There's a lot of good in my world but…..a lot of Bad."
Raphtalia frowned, "Like that sickness you told me about?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yeah…..exactly like that." he said sadly.
Matthew loved history. It wasn't always the mot interesting but he loved learning about past events in school and at home, but it also painted human history in a pretty bad light. All the Wars, the persecution that people faced due to their race, the evils of the world that went unanswered for political reasons, even smaller scale events that could be just as terrifying like Jack the Ripper or the Night Stalker criminals. Hey it's not like this place is perfect. I mean Christ the whole 'Waves' thing might be better handled back home then here with our militaries. he thought.
As he thought however, Filo stopped, "Master look!" Matt looked down the road to see a few figures shamble out of the forest to the left. Raphtalia shifted forward and looked over his shoulder, in the road were remainders of the undead from the last Wave. Pulling the wagon off to the side of the road, Raphtalia hopped out of the carriage and readied her sword as Matthew unhooked Filo from the carriage and the three quickly began working at clearing out the small horde of zombies.
Raphtalia's sword easily sliced through a handful of them in the blink of an eye, while Filo's swipes of her talons kicked them apart. Matthew meanwhile raised his shield and blocked the axe of one of the undead, "Man it figures, I finally get to fight zombies and they're not even the right kind." he said dryly as swung his shield upward at the base of the zombie's skull and made it's head snap back before switching to his Chimera shield and blocking an attack. The twin golden snakes that intertwined on the shield shot off and bit into the sides of the Zombie's head.
Hearing a loud 'CRUNCH' behind him, he looked back to see Filo land on the one he knocked over and was pecking it's head off it's shoulders,"mmmh! Yummy!" Filo hummed as Matt gave a more…..disturbed glance.
He turned back to the zombie that his shield poisoned and noticed it was still moving, "Alright then, poison doesn't work on undead enemies." he said before bashing it aside with his shield and seeing Raphtalia was slicing through one as one raised it's mace behind her. Rushing over, he lifted his shield and blocked the mace. Raphtalia turned around and circled around the Shield Hero to slice through the zombie's chest, making it fall apart dead….again. "Really glad these guys don't follow the 'destroy the brain' rule." he said dryly as he looked around to see the small group had already been dispatched.
He also noticed the increase to his and his party's XP in the corner of his peripheral, "Alight then, gross part. We gotta take these guys apart for materials to-" he stated as he turned around to see Filo eating one of them. "….do that….with my shield." he finished with a slghtly green face.
Raphtalia blanched as Filo turned to them curiously, "What?" she asked the two.
Raphtalia shook her head, "Nothing just…..save some for the Shield Filo." he decided as she sheathed her sword. Turning to Matthew, she noticed him looking in the direction the zombies came from, "Is something wrong Matthew?" she asked.
He looked back at her, "We're pretty far from Lute Village right?" he asked. Raphtalia nodded as he looked down at the monsters, they were pretty much the exact same that the two had faced during the Wave, "How'd these guys get this far out here then? I mean I'd thought the army would go through after the Wave was over and take care of stragglers." he explained.
Raphtalia frowned at the mention of the army, but she shook her head, "It could be that they missed them. It was a small group after all." she reasoned, tilting her head at him slightly. "Why, do you think there might be more?" she asked with concern.
Matt looked to the thicket and put his fingers in his mouth before blowing out a loud whistle which made his companion flinch slightly with her ears. He gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry." he said before scanning the small forest for any sign of more Zombies, or any other monsters that could be drawn to them. "Well doesn't look like it. They'd be coming this way if there were." he answered.
Raphtalia gave him a confused look, "But how do you know that?"
Matt shrugged, "Zombies are attracted to loud noises." he said simply as it were one of the most simple things in the world.
Raphtalia stared at him, "Matthew…..do you have Zombie monsters back in your world?" she asked.
"What? No. I mean we got a ton of Zombie movies. And TV shows." he admitted, "And in them, Zombies are just attracted to loud noises." he said with a shrug.
The demi human looked at him like he had grown a second head, "But…..why?"
"Well it means there's prey around so they can bite people and make more zombies." he said with a shrug. Raphtalia stared at him, "I mean…..that's how it works, here it might be different because of magic and stuff. And most zombie stuff I've seen is based off viral infections." he explained casually.
Raphtalia blinked a few times, "You…..you know a lot about Zombies Matthew." she settled on as the Shield hero made his way back to their cart with her beside him.
"I know a ton about movie and fictional monsters. I used to watch Horror movies all the time back home." he said with a fond smile as they approached Filo who was eating more remains. "Scariest thing I've probably seen is The Thing."
"What thing?" Filo asked.
"No it's called The Thing." he shook his head, "It's a monster that can shapeshift into people." he decided to explain simply. "Anyway leave some for my Shield filo, we burned all the ones at Lute Village so I didn't really get a chance to absorb anything or get a new Shield." he said as he knelt down and picked up a severed hand to feed to the shield.
Raphtalia shook her head, "I don't know if I quite know what your talking about." she said with a small smile.
Matt waved it off, "Never mind, it's not important. Let's just clean up and head to the nearest town." he decided.
After Filo feasted on the Zombies and Matt fed the leftovers, of which there were few, to his shield, he found that he unlocked the Undead Shield which was a round shield with a skull on the face of it. It's passive skill granted him a resistance to poison of all types. the active skill it possessed was interesting in that any monster he killed by his own hand could be reanimated as long as they were a lower level than him. There's a 60 second time limit but still that's handy. But only if it counts Raphtalia and Filo's kills. I'll have to test it out next chance we get. he thought as the cart was puled down the road to a small village.
Smoke from a large blacksmith's chimney could be seen as they approached, "Ok now Filo this is very important. You can't speak to anyone in town in your Filolial form. Ok?" he asked.
Filo's head turned back to him. "But why Master Matt?" she asked.
"Well…..your a rare type of Filolial, if you start talking then people might try and steal you away." he explained, the bird seemed to be slightly scared, "But it's alright! It's just until we get into town. Once you're in the sable, you can change back into your human form, get dressed, and your all set." he said, putting her at ease.
Filo nodded and made a 'zipping' gesture with her wing as they approached the village gate where a pair of guards were. A few towns people entered and exited the village on foot, however unlike Lute there didn't seem to be a toll to enter. "Excuse me, is this-" he glanced down at the folded map in his one hand, "-Minos Village?" he asked the guard.
He nodded as the other looked over the large Filolial and the carriage's driver, "It is, are you a traveler or a settler?" he asked.
"Traveler. Me and my companion in the back." he said, Raphtalia poking her head out of the carriage. "Is there an Inn here or somewhere close by we can lodge at?" he asked politely.
Before the guard could answer, the other one walked over to his side and whispered something that Matt couldn't hear, however Raphtalia could. 'Look at what's on his arm.' he whispered. The other guard looked and his gaze became sharper, "Sorry, but there's no room at the Inn." he replied suddenly. Matt's welcoming and polite smile vanished as he felt the shift in the guard's tone.
"Ok then, well do you know somewhere-" he began.
"No." the guard replied bluntly, Raphtalia's eyes glared with anger at the guard which he noticed. "I think your pet needs to calm down." he spat out.
Matt felt his jaw tighten and his hands clench the reins more, he pulled them off to the side to make Filo turn and left without a word. As they rolled away, Raphtalia glared at the guards spitefully out the back of the carriage, "Let it go Raphtalia." she turned back to the front of the carriage and saw Matt looking at her with a tired look. It only made her angrier, how could they still treat Matthew like this?! After all he's done! After all that's BEEN done to him?!
"It's not right." she replied plainly.
Matt glanced back to see the disheartened expression carved on her face, her ears flattening against her head. He took a breath, "Yeah…but….that's life. It's not always fair Raphtalia." he said sadly as Filo continued to pull the cart. Raphtalia glanced up at the Shield Hero, "Look, fact is that unless I find a way to clear my name? That's not gonna change. And even then no one in power would give me a chance to state my case." he said rather bluntly.
Raphtalia's frown deepened as her hands balled in frustration, "Look, I don't like it either. But that's just how things are." he replied.
The demi human felt her anger give way to disappointment, the rest of the ride was quiet as the shield hero drove the cart away from the village.
The party found a spot to camp off the main road just as the sun was beginning to set.
Setting up a fire and two small cauldrons for dinner, Matt got to work as Raphtalia tended the fire. While they were in the capitol, Matt had spent some money he gotten from selling herbs to the apothecary and bought some ingredients for some real food. Dropping the cut up tomatoes into the one cauldron, he looked over at the other which was filled with water and now bubbling. Taking out a bundle of noodles from a bag, he broke them apart and dropped them into the pot.
Raphtalia watched him work with interest, Matthew had told her that he once worked at a restaurant in his old world but she had a hard time picturing him in the role until now. "Do you need a hand Matthew?" she asked as he stirred the noodles.
He looked over and smile gratefully at her, "Just keep an eye on the sauce for me? Once it starts to bubble it should be hot enough." he said, his companion nodding eagerly as she scooted over to the other pot and watched as the tomatoes and water mixed together. Mark smiled a he turned his attention back to the noodles, after being rejected by the guards at the gate of the town he wanted to do something special as a way to apologize for being denied. Here's hoping that I make it right, I miss having an oven to set the heat for. he thought as he tossed a stick into the fire to keep it going.
If he had access to a kitchen he could make much more easier and just as tasty food, but with so little supplies he decided to make do with what they had.
He looked over to Filo, in her human form as she took a nap inside the bed of the cart, she had been pulling them along all day and she had earned the rest. Speaking of which. "You can relax if you want Raphtalia, this isn't that hands on a recipe. It's mostly just checking to see if it's done." he offered.
His sword looked up from the pot and smiled with a shake of her head, "Thank you Matthew but I'm fine." she said before grabbing a ladle and stirring the pot, "And I'm not exactly in the mood to study right now. Maybe later though." she said, knowing that she needed to keep up her progress on learning to read. Matt had picked up on his reading fairly easily with his prior knowledge of how language was structured but she still needed to work on it.
And Matt was insistent that she learn how to read and write herself as he couldn't always be around to read for her. Which she completely understood, it still didn't make it a little frustrating at times. "Maybe you should look into a hobby? Something you do to relax?" Matt suggested as he put the lid back down on the pot and sat down on the grass.
Raphtalia's tail lifted up at the idea, "Like a sort of skill?" she asked.
The human man shook his head with an amused smile, "No, I mean like something you do for fun. Like how you used to play with that ball." he explained.
Raphtalia's cheeks warmed at the memory of him buying that ball for her despite saying she didn't want one in order to not get in trouble. But instead Matt was kind and bought her one to play with anyway. "Um…..what do you do?" she asked.
Matt laid down against the grass, folding his hands behind his head as he looked up to the still blue sky, "Well, I used to read in my downtime." he said, making Rapthalia's smile drop for a second which made him smirk, "But I also listened to music, played games with friends, stuff like that."
"Music?" Raphtalia asked with a tilt of her head.
Matt sat up and gave her a questionable look until he realized that she probably thought that he meant having musicians around to play for him. "No, not like that it's…." an idea suddenly crossed his mind. "I can actually show you." he said before reaching to a pouch on his belt that he put special care into keeping safe. Reaching inside, he pulled out the one possession he had managed to keep before Myne stole his belongings, his phone.
Raphtalia's interest peaked when she laid her eyes on the small rectangular device. Standing up she walked over and watched as Matt turned the device on and smiled, sitting down beside him he saw the awed look out the corner of his eye in amusement. "In my world we can store music on these to play whenever we want." he said as he opened the screen and he tapped where he had his music. "Let's see….." his thumb scrolled down the screen with familiarity as Raphtalia watched in engagement.
She knew that Matthew's world was far more advanced then this one, but she didn't have any idea it was like this. "It's like a crustal…..square."
Matt opened and closed his mouth before shrugging, "Technically not Untrue." he admitted before pulling up the songs he had saved. The problem was he didn't know what type of music Raphtalia would like, Well let's see what I got from back in the day….AC/DC? No. The Beatles? Hmmmm maybe? She might not be able to tell what the lyrics are. Elton John, maybe…..Oh! Yeah! Perfect.
Pressing play, Raphtalia's eyes widened as she heard music come from the small device.
'Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong?
You know it's gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together'
Raphtalia's ears stood alert and looked at the device with wide eyes as she listened to the music that came out. Matt smiled as he saw her reaction, "This was one of my favorites growing up. Used to listen to it all the time." he said fondly as he walked over to the pot to check on the noodles.
The demi human turned to the Shield Hero, "This is your music?" she asked, whatever she expected wasn't this and Matt couldn't blame her, there was probably nothing that came remotely close to the sound of this type of arrangement. He snorted and nodded, amused by the surprise in her voice.
"Yeah, some of it. There's dozens of different types of music back home." he said fondly as he went to check on the noodles. Opening the lid he smiled when he saw that they were finished, "Alright! We got some good grub." he said happily as he grabbed a bowl and scooped some of the noodles out and then added the sauce to it and stirred. Raphtlia watched him prepare the food curiously before he handed the bowl to her. Looking down at it she didn't know what exactly to make of the noodles. "Best way to eat it is to spool it around your fork, like this." he said, the demi human looking up and watched him as he twisted his fork to gather some of the noodles before eating it.
The happy hum he let out made her curious, mimicking his actions she tentatively ate the noodles, her eyes widened from the unexpected flavor, "Oh! That's good!" she said after chewing and swallowing. Matt smiled at his partner as he got another bowl for Filo.
"Hey Filo food is-" he said as he turned, only to see the little girl already up and waiting with a large smile and grabby hands. He shook his head before handed it to her, before she could dive into it however he held up a hand and offered a fork, "You need to learn proper table manners young lady." he lightly scolded, making the filolial pout at him before sitting down and trying to scoop the noodles up with a fork and slurp them down.
As Matt listened to the music as he ate, it was an older song but he couldn't very well give Raphtalia culture shock by blasting out rock and roll or something. He watched as the racoon girl's tail swung to the beat of the music. While it wasn't a night at an inn, it was still pretty nice.
Matt slept soundly in his sleeping bag as Raphtalia tended the fire of the camp, the demi human smiled at her companion's sleeping form. He had said that he was simply going to rest his eyes for a minute. However given the day they had, she thought he deserved to rest. The dinner he made for them had been delicious, and didn't last long between the three of them. She looked over to Filo was back asleep in the back of the cart. I know Filolials love pulling carts but this is a little ridiculous. she thought, shaking her head in slight amusement.
Turning her gaze back to Matthew, she watched him as he turned in his sleeping bag, her's was on the other side of the fire but she wasn't tired yet. Letting out a long breath before walking over to her bedroll where the language book they had bought laid atop up. Cracking it open to the last page she was on, she settled into a comfortable laying down position an began reading.
Matthew being able to read not only his own language, but her own had made her feel admittedly a little frustrated. But Matthew had been patient with her, telling her that it was more then fine to take a break when she felt it begin to get on her nerves, and telling her how he would become just as frustrated with his own studies back home. She let out a sigh as she read a sentence about the small pig going home with his brothers, Home…
Matthew hadn't asked for many details about her life before meeting him, and he was always open to her about his life back in his world that it felt…..unequal. But it wasn't that he expected anything in return for what he shared with her, but she felt like…..like….it was just….growing. The demi human swallowed and closed the book, trying to fight down the unsettling feeling in her chest when she heard a branch snap.
Getting onto her feet, her ears twitched as she heard something moving through the forest, something heavy, and metal? Grabbing her sword, she moved across the clearing they set themselves up in and snuck towards the tree line, taking cover behind one of the bushes as the rustling from the brush continued. "Are you sure they went this way?" a somewhat familiar voice asked.
"The wagon tracks led here. They should be sleeping by now or at least about to. We'll stay back here, wait until that fire goes out, and then get the Shield Hero." Raphtalia recogonized the voice, it was the guards from the village!
"What about the demi human and that filolial?" one of the guards asked.
"Take the bird. The girl….we'll have some fun with her."
Raphtalia felt her hair stand up on end, She was NO ONE's little plaything!
She gripped the sword tightly in her hand and leapt up into the trees above, skipping through the branches until she found the two guards. Only two? she thought, even more offended that they thought the two of them. Stepping off the branch she dropped down onto tone of the knights, slamming his face down to the hard ground! The other guard recoiled away from the demi human, her sword rising to the man's throat so that the tip of the blade was firmly against his throat.
"You're not going to say another word, your going to listen to me." Raphtalia said lowly, thinking back to their treatment of Matthew earlier. "You care going to take your friend, who I'm pretty sure is unconscious, back to your village and stay there. If you try and lie, tell people the shield hero did this to you two? Well…..I don't think anyone would believe you for one thing. And another-" she flicked her wrist slightly, nicking the man's throat and making him jump from the sting of pain, "I'll find you both and se the story straight. Understood?" she asked.
The knight nodded, she stepped off his companion, who was indeed out cold from her slamming his head to the ground, and watched them leave as fast as they came. She stayed on guard until she couldn't hear them anymore before sheathing her sword and making her way back to camp. Throwing another stick on the fire, she slipped into her sleeping back, as she prepared to rest however, she noticed the book she left beside her blankets.
With a tired sigh, she grabbed the book, and picked back up where she left off, not so much frustrated from earlier after blowing off some steam on those two stupid guards.
AN: Like I said this is where I get to have a little more fun with the story, there's a time gap in the middle of episode 6 where maybe a week or so passes before filo gets her clothes, so I figure I can be little creative and tell some original stories to fill the gap and change a couple things as well.
Anyway, thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up…well who knows at this rate….