It's rather soothing to talk to Edward, even if it's not about anything specific, his laidback smile puts my mind at ease with a lot of things, that's something to cherish. It warms my heart for him to actually trudge along over here too, I genuinely didn't expect it. He really didn't have to, but here he is.
I do wish he looked a bit more comfortable though.
"I ought to thank you again, Miss Anna. I promise to leave quickly, I don't wish to impose after all."
"It's not too much of a hassle, though I do wish that a certain someone told me that we'd be expecting a visitor." I can see Anna staring glance towards me out of the corner of my eye, my cheeks burning as I direct my attention to the cup in my hands, and the hot liquid that slides down my throat. I know she's just doing it to mess with me, that much I can tell at least, cause she doesn't exactly sound very upset.
That being said, she doesn't seem like she's entirely thrilled by it either, more accepting than anything else. The small smile on her face is polite, but it doesn't reach farther than that. Edward himself seems terse, but at least he's trying to converse a little, it's more than I could ask for. I'm surprised he likes tea though, always figured him more of a coffee person.
Does coffee exist here? If it does then I haven't seen it, or at least, I don't remember seeing it.
"How are you feeling at the moment, Anna? Are you feeling alright?" I ask her instead, smothering the immediate response with a throatful of tea. A chuckle slips past her lips, the edges of it twitching upwards.
"I'm alright kid, I'm not too old to keel over just yet." She replies after a moment, the woman raising her cup to her lips, taking sipping from it. It just so happens to conveniently hide that smile of hers too, go figure. I raise an eyebrow, but don't question further, even as she burns a hole into my face. "I don't suppose you have anything else you want to say, do you kid?"
"Of course not, what gives you that idea, Anna?"
"Hm.." She stares with squinting eyes and furrowed brows, but I can see the one sided smile of her rising despite it all. I know that she knows what I'm hinting at. That incident could've been a lot worse, but it worked out in the end.
My eyes flicker over to Edward for a moment, the man doesn't seem as awkward and uptight, and the smile on his face seems more relaxed than before. That's good, I like that, it's progress. I don't think these two know each other very well, if at all, Anna said something about her not being well known among the locals, right?
"To be truthful, you're not quite what I was expecting Miss Anna. nor did I expect you to be so cordial towards myself." Edward pipes up, breaking the silence. I can hear Anna's questioning hum, even if it's smothered by her cup, an eyebrow of her own raising. At least her stare's off of me now.
"Oh? What were you expecting then?" Anna leans forward, her eyebrow continuing to raise, the half smirk on her face widening. Edward pauses for a moment, lips pursed into a thin line that's quickly hidden behind another swig. I can't help but snicker a little, despite the little glare he gives me. It's absolutely adorable.
"I'm… not sure really, you're a lot more hospitable than I imagined is all, and for that I must thank you. I don't think you've the best opinion of me from whence we first met, and you've been polite despite that." He finally responds after a few moments longer, his emptied tea cup thudding against the wooden plate. Anna lets out a small sigh, her face looking a fair bit softer as she follows suit, a gentle smile on her face.
"I was far from pleased when I first heard of you for obvious reasons, but it seems as if you've changed since then, I do believe in second chances after all." The way she speaks, it almost sounds bittersweet, at least to me. He might not know why she's being lenient here, but I sure do. It makes my heart swell with… something, I'm not sure, but it's a pleasing feeling. Edward himself looks a bit more relaxed from it too, his body relaxing once more, almost slouching over the table. It's nice to see them getting along.
Ah, that reminds me actually.
"Hey Anna, do you need anything from town? I'm planning on going there soon enough myself." I ask the woman, laying my cup down. She hums to herself, a finger repressed to her chin, as if in thought.
"I don't think I need anything, thanks for asking though kid. I assume you want me to look after Mabel then?"
"If it's not too much of a hassle, I'd take her along myself, but, you know." I trail off, twisting my wrist alongside my words. After this mornin- well, I guess it's afternoon now, I don't exactly want her to be surrounded by humans. I should tell her that I'm going out, too, don't want her getting worried.
"I don't mind looking after her for a while, she's a darling after all." She answers, her smile turning a tad sad, eyes turning downwards. I trust her to take care of her, she's done as much for me, though I hope I'm not being a burden to her. Anna's eyes flashes with a mischievous glint, the sad look of her smile dissipating, just to be replaced with a more playful one. "At least one child stays out of trouble."
I roll my eyes, the warmth in my cheeks stirring once more as Anna laughs, the bastard beside me even joining in in it. The both of them are little shits, and I'm not a fucking kid dammit!
"You can go up ahead if you want to, Edward, I'll catch up soon enough." I turn my sights over to the man as I stand upwards, chair legs grinding against the floor. He gives me a nod before standing up himself, looking over towards the woman.
"I'll see you outside. Thank you again, Miss Anna, I hope you have a peaceful night tonight." He says to her with the nod of his head, lingering for a moment before standing upright. Anna's small smile seems to twitch upwards as she titters, chin resting in her palm.
"Quite the polite man, aren't you? I wish you the same though, give my regards to your uncle. Go on now though, I'll be seeing you later kid." She sends me a sidelong glance at the end of it, one that I resist the urge to huff at. God dammit woman.
I give Edward a small half wave before turning away, moving over to our room. It still feels weird to refer to this as 'our' room, but I'll get over it. I twist the knob and bring myself inside, neck twisting to look over the bed. It looks like she's taken my words to heart, given the fact that there's three paper wrappers that line the foot of the bed. A mound of cloth sits in the middle of the bed, the rest of it stripped bare. My cloak rests with the rest of my belongings, wrapped up into a green ball.
I can't help but smile a little at the sight, slowly making my way over to the bed, can't risk the kid waking up after all. The fox's small body lays amidst the mound, covered on all sides by the blankets and sheets alike, curled up into a small ball. Just like a fox, and god it's adorable. I resist the urge to squeal at the sight as much as I want to do so, I really don't want to wake her when she's like this. She looks so small, so comfortable, the girl's bushy tail pressing against her chest, arms wrapped around it like a pillow of its own.
She looks so at peace, and I'd feel awful if I woke her up like this, but I wouldn't want her to worry if I let. I hum to myself, silently of course, the warmth in my chest spreading throughout the rest of my limbs. God, it's such a cute sight. I don't want to wake her up, don't want her to be worried and don't want Edward to wait around too much for me.
Ah, you know what? I'll leave her to sleep and come back later, that sounds like a good enough idea for now. Anna's more than willing to look after her if she wakes up before I get back, that much I know. What if I surprise her with something, too? Maybe food, maybe something else, just something as a gift.
I probably have money for it, I just don't know what specifically. My lips twitch upwards as she stirs, a soft sigh escaping her lips before she returns to rest. God bless this kid. My fingers brush against her head, softly scratching it, a soft sigh coming from her lips. She wriggles a little, but remains asleep despite it all, ears twitching as I dig my fingers behind them. I wish I could stay longer, but I don't want to risk waking her up.
It's hard to pull my eyes off of her, but I drag myself away from her eventually, leaning down to pick up the cloak and unraveling it with a forceful shake. It unfurls from the force, the green cloth of it soothes my heart. Warmth flows over me as I throw it over my shoulders. I'm not sure why it's still warm, but I'm not going to complain about it, odds are that it won't last very long. I hope that this is somewhat waterproof, assuming that the rain's going to pick itself up again, can't exactly predict the thing
The gloves come next, the pair a snug fit for my hands, clenching and unclenching my hands into fists as I look over them. A comforting gift, something to cherish.
The bag comes last, gripping it and throwing it over my shoulders, resting against my side. The soft jingling of coins catches my attention, muffled through the cloth of the bag and the sacks that'd contain them, but audible nonetheless. I really should check how much money I have before spending too much, I'll have time for that later. I double check that it's sealed shut, I don't think that it'd do me any good if water got in. Maybe I should've put my cloak over the bag, but it's a bit late at this point, unless I want to waste more of Edwards time.
I don't think I need anything else, not my sword nor my shield. Ah, wait a second. I dig my hands into my pockets and fish through them, fingers gripping around cold stone before I yank it out. It glows a dull blue, the light inside flickering ever so often. So it doesn't carry over into reality, huh? That's good to know.
I pocket the rock before sneaking out of the room, relaxing as the door clicks shut behind me, hand resting atop my bag, gripping it lightly.
"How's Mabel doing?" Anna calls out to me while I move across the room, claws scratching against wood as I come to a stop.
"She's asleep at the moment, I would've woken her up, but I didn't have the heart, you know?" I respond with a shrug, and an awkward feeling grin. She gives me a warm smile, chuckling as she waves a hand, the other still clutching the cup.
"I'll tell her where you are, if you don't get back before she wakes up. Move along now, don't want to waste time, do you?" I grin and nod, hand raised to a mock salute before rushing out of the room. A blast of cold hits me in the face as I fling the door open, gritting my teeth and pushing through it, closing the door shut behind me.
A shiver runs up my spine, hand moving from my bag to my chest to clutch at my cloak, hoping to keep some warmth within. Fucking cold, what a pain in the ass. Edward hums and twists his neck to face me, the man leaning against the post, a hand already clutching at his shield.
"Sorry for making you wait." I mumble an apology to the man, a grimace pushing its way onto my face as I look onward, the soft drizzle of rain still splattering against the dirt. Ah, of course the rains picked up again, why wouldn't it.
"It's fine, you don't look very happy though." I huff at his comment, reaching to my neck and flipping up my hood, ears twitching as they're forced in, it's a snug fit.
"I don't like rain." The bastard has the gall to snicker, one that gets a rightful glare from me. There's a small smile on his face, very small indeed.
"You don't have to come." He nudges his head towards the door.
"I want to." I respond shortly, I know I don't have to go, but I want to, and that's the difference. He seems to realise it though, the edge of his lips twisting further upwards.
"I figured, it's very you." He says with the roll of his eyes, pushing himself off of the wooden beam, rolling the shoulder of his shield arm. That's what, the second time someone said that to me, the first being Adrian? I still don't know what that means,but I guess it doesn't matter. I haven't heard from the parasite in a while, I hope he's doing okay. "Let's get going then, Fuzz."
"Right behind you." I mutter underneath my breath, following the man as he steps off of the porch, shield raised above his head to block the oncoming rain. I feel myself blanch as my paws stick into the mud, a disgusted shiver running up my spine. "I wish I had shoes, this feels gross."
"You don't have any?"
"You think they'd have stuff that'd fit me?" He hums and shrugs, boots sinking into the mud. Do basitins or keidrans even wear shoes, or is that solely a human thing here? Hell if I know, I wish there was the option at least. As much as I loathe the feeling, it's not all awful, I enjoy spending time with the man. The water slides off of my cloak and hood, paws sinking into the earth as I push myself to his side instead as we trek, up the hill and towards the town.
It's a silent journey, the sound of rain filling the air between us, but it's not an uncomfortable silence. I avoid the waterlogged sinkholes that litter the dirt road, thankfully there's almost always a pathway around it all. There's not exactly many who travel this path to begin with, I'd imagine.
...I'm not sure why I feel worried about Anna being so cut off from others in terms of distance, she can handle herself. Am I just worried for her, is it just general paranoia, or is this feeling exacerbated because Mabel's there?
"So uh, how's the keidran?" Edward's sudden question catches me off guard, my neck twisting to face the man. Even if my vision's half obscured by my hood, I can still see the way his face contorts ever so slightly. It almost looks like he's forcing himself to ask the question.
"Mabel? She's fine, I guess. She's been eating and sleeping well, so that's good right? It's not like I know much about kids, but it seems like it's going alright." I respond after a moment, an eyebrow raised as I continue to stare, plodding my way through the mud. He gives a short nod in response, before returning to silence. I didn't think he'd actually care about her. Ah, wait a second, I'm a fucking idiot. "You know you don't have to pretend to care, right?"
I don't expect him to flip his opinion on keidrans within a good week of me taking her in, after all. He sighs, lips pursed into a thin line, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"I guess I don't, but it feels strange is all. I'm not really sure how to handle all this." He says with a sigh and pursed lips, eyes shifting downwards along with his unburdened arm, his shield still raised above his skull. He really does look torn, and my heart loathes the sight. I nudge myself closer to his side and raise a hand, clasping it on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. I ignore the annoyed sound that comes from him, it's amusing to hear, and kind of cute.
"Hey." I whisper to the man, his eyes shifting upwards towards me instead of the dirt, my lips twitching into a soft smile. "It's alright to be confused, I can't imagine why you loathe keidran so much, but I won't hate you for it. Maybe you feel like I should, maybe I should in general, but I don't."
It's a strange little friendship, isn't it? Based on a strange beginning that luckily turned into something better than it should've been, something that I'd reluctantly thank his uncle for and nothing more. His lips curl upwards, albeit just barely, the look on his face still a downcast one.
"I never told you why, did I?"
"Do you want to?"
"Not particularly."
"Then don't speak a word about it, unless you're absolutely sure." I made the mistake of overstepping my boundaries and prodded where I shouldn't have once. I wouldn't want to lose my first friend from here cause of my fuck up. My grip on my shoulder remains firm for a few moments longer, squeezing once more before letting go. To my surprise, the man chuckles, an amused look in his eyes.
"You really are an oddity, you know that?"
"I might've heard that once or twice, I don't think I react like a lot of people around here either."
"I can't imagine why." I roll my eyes and whack the man's arm with the back of a hand, purposely digging my knuckles into him. He chuckles louder, smiling wide with glinting eyes, one filled with that confident pride. I can't help but return the smile, turning away to focus on the walk. He's my friend for a reason, despite his flaws. Maybe it's naive to think of it like that, but I'll do it regardless.
Silence reigns the rest of the remaining walk, the only sound that disrupts it being the sound of the rain, and whatever grunts the man makes when he changes his shield arm, from one to another. It's a comfortable silence at least, and the sign to the town eventually comes into view, as ruined and ineligible as ever. I wonder if they'd ever change or fix the thing, but I don't think that this place gets much traffic. Hell, I don't think that this place is on the map, oddly enough.
"I suppose we ought to split up soon, huh?" Edward pipes up as we march down the hill, my teeth gritted as I borderline slide down the thing. Fucking mud, pain in the ass, going up this piece of shit is gonna be a pain too.
"Yeah, I suppose so." I reply with a hum, eyes staring towards the encroaching village. The walk felt oddly short, time flies I guess. "Odds are that we'll bump into each other, depending on what happens. You've probably left a good enough impression on Anna to be let in, assuming that she's home."
"Do you think so?"
"Maybe, you sucked up to her pretty hard." He scoffs and rolls his eyes at the remark, but he still has that small smile on his face. It was nice to see them getting along, however short it might've been. I don't think Edward has many to talk to outside of his work as a guard.
"...hey, Fuzz?"
"Hm?" I look to the man out of the corner of my eyes, ears twitching beneath the hood. He pauses for a moment, a pensive look on his face, his lips twisting into a frown.
"Have you given an answer to Uncle about joining the guard yet?" He asks after a while, his head still looking straight ahead.
"I haven't yet, no." I answer truthfully, shaking my head as I do so. I don't think I've seen him since the last time honestly, I haven't exactly been thrilled at the thought of seeing him again either, the thought still rubs me the wrong way. "I'm still undecided, sorry."
"Don't worry about it, just wondering." He gives me a smile as he turns to face me, a tired looking one at that. "Besides, he's more than likely to hire you to fulfil a task regardless, he's not above doing that if he's looking for a particular skill."
I nod along with him as he speaks, humming to myself. That doesn't sound surprising, although, I can't help but wonder if he can do that too often or not. I don't know how money here works, does he have that much funding to hire what's basically mercenaries? Wait, am I considered a mercenary? All that aside, at least I can ask him something that I've been wondering for a while.
"Hey Edhead, what's your opinion on your uncle anyways? You seem to think pretty highly of him and all." He seems surprised by the question, but he recovers quickly, a hand raised to rub against his chin in thought.
"I do look up to him, him and Father both, for differing reasons. He's… well, he's rather different than my Father, especially with how they go about things. He has his own sense of pride, however skewered and odd it might be, and he's more than willing to bend and push a few things if he thinks that it'd help out with reaching his end goal, within reason of course. Granted, I'm not entirely sure what he considers a crossed line or not, he keeps to himself about that. He and Father used to butt heads a lot when they were younger because of that apparently, which doesn't surprise me too much." He seems all too happy to answer the question, a small smile taking its place on his face as he speaks. That sounds about right, given what I do know about his uncle. That smile contorts a little bit at the end though into a frown, staring with a furrowed brow into the mud. "That being said, he does things I don't agree with, but I love him nonetheless, he's family after all."
Despite it all, he still smiles at the end, a fond and honest smile, one that warms my heart. It really is better than the scowl that sometimes butts its head in. The warmth turns cold as I think to myself, though. He really does seem to love his uncle, despite how much I dislike the man. Does he know that he was more than willing to use information about his past as a bait, should I tell him?
"There's certain bits of my family that I'm not willing to talk about, but Uncle and Father isn't one of those, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Are you just curious, or did something happen?" He asks, head tilting to the side. Well, I've been meaning to bring it up to him, and this is as good a time as any, right? Might as well rip the bandaid.
"Your uncle offered to tell me why you hate keidran and I've hated him ever since." I answer blunt and plainly. He blinks, mouth opening ever so slightly before shutting, brows knitting together.
"What?" I guess I should've probably built up to that instead of just blurting it out, but it's a bit late for that.
"Yeah, I didn't take the offer obviously, turns out that it was just a 'test', so I don't think he was going to tell me. I'm still pissed though." I elaborate, ignoring the smoldering anger that stirs in my chest. God, that still pisses me off. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't think of a good time to bring it up, bringing it up to ruin the mood when we're having a good time, it didn't sit right with me."
My lips droop to a frown as I look into the dirt, a pang of pain lancing through my chest. God, I really should've mentioned it sooner, huh? Fuck me I guess, I hope he isn't too angry with me. A hiss of air catches my attention, sight turning back up to the man, his spare hand pinching the bridge of his nose, sighing through gritted teeth.
"That does sound like something he'd do, bloody schemi-I'm going to talk to him after this, I had to go back there anyways, so I might as well." He lets out another sigh, his tense body deflating, though the anger on his face still remains. Tense air lingers for a few moments before he smiles, it's a small and forced looking one, but it's something. "I'm not angry with you or anything, either, I appreciate that you didn't take him up on the offer."
"Fuck no, who the hell do you think I am?"
"You're a bit of a dunce."
"Hey!" I feel my lips just out into a pout, the bastard of a man chuckling before raising his hand and planting it atop my head. I pause, warmth emanating from his hand as he presses it down onto my scalp, ruffling my hair.
"Thank you." He says after a moment, a warm smile on his face as he pulls his hand away, the spot feeling oddly cold as he does so. "I'll see you around, Fuzz."
I blink and idly wave a hand, the man turning and waltzing off, likely back to the barracks in all honesty. I stand in the rain, processing little exchange there.
Remnants of warmth flows from where he's touched, gentle and loving, running underneath my scalp and down the rest of my body. I'm sure he's ruffled my hair to mess with it before, but it seems… different this time, warmer, I don't know why.
Wait, I'm here for a reason, aren't I? I shake my head and bring my focus back into the present, walking off to the town center, hopefully there's people who've set up shop there.
The feeling still lingers. I like it.
…
Maybe it wasn't the best idea to try to go shopping on a day where it's fucking raining, looking back on it. On one hand, there's less humans around, it seems like some haven't decided to roam about, even if the rain's just above a drizzle. On the other hand, I'm in the rain, and it's getting heavier over time
My mood's not completely ruined at least, heh. There's still stalls that are laid out and about in the town center at least, so I might as well try to see if they've gotten anything useful.
'You pick the worst times to do things.'
I suppress a yelp that threatens to force itself out of my throat, gritting my teeth and sucking in deep breaths. You fucking prick, nearly made me shit myself.
'It's not my fault that you're inattentive.'
Bah, always a critic, aren't you? It's nice to see you too parasite, how are you feeling? I haven't heard from you in a while, I was almost worried.
'How kind of you. I think I'm okay. I've just been doing a lot of thinking, it hasn't led to any answers though, potential or otherwise.'
I told you already, didn't I? Best thing to do is to wait and see, and deal with it when it comes.
'You have no idea how much I loathe the thought of that. But, ich, I guess we have to.'
Come on, it'll be fine, probably.
'You fill me with confidence.'
You'll be there to help me out, won't you?
'Naturally, someone has to beat you in the head when you're being a dumbass, the only other person that'd do that would be Edward.'
I can't help but smile a little as he speaks his name, heart filling with a soft warmth. He's a good man, isn't he? I like him a bunch.
'I noticed.'
The hell is that meant to mean, huh?
"Hiya!"
"Gah!" I yelp, jumping away from the shrill noise that tears me from my thoughts, arms raised to my chest defensively.
'Fuck, the bitch got me scared for a moment.'
"Jesus Christ, how long have you been standing there?" I question the little mage, slowly dropping my arms to my sides, trying to still my beating heart. Lucy stands in front of me with a cocky smile, hazel eyes staring into mine, clad in a plain brown cloak. Her deep brown hair cascades down the sides of her head, partially obscuring her face, pale skin almost glowing in the dimming light. She looks a bit different from before, a lot nicer actually, not that I'd tell her it myself.
'God, you're a fucking weirdo.'
"For a while, you get reaaaaally distracted, ya know?" She answers with a soft giggle, a mischievous light dancing behind her eyes and a smug little grin on her lips. "I wonder what by, do ya got somethin you wanna share, Fuzzy~?"
"Not particularly." My reply comes out a bit gruffer than I mean to. She pouts, a soft whine coming from the girl as she clasps her hands behind her back.
"Awh, not even me?"
'Fuck no.'
"Nope." Her pout deepens for a moment before quickly fading entirely, replaced with that smug grin of hers. Come on, if she's gonna try to hit me with the sad act, then she needs to try a little harder than that. "What are you doing here anyways? Are you still following me around?"
"Do you really think that I follow you that much?" She holds a hand to her chest, feigned insult clear on her face. I raise an eyebrow and stare at the lady, fingers tapping against my cloak. Come on, really? She drops the act quick enough, scoffing as she rolls her eyes. "Come on, I'm not that weird. I was just walkin around and enjoying the weather, I've always liked the rain after all."
"You like this weather?" I keep my eyebrow raised as I look about us, cloth covered humans walking about, covered heads dipped low. It doesn't seem like people around here particularly enjoy the rain too much, that's something I can relate to at least.
"Duh, it's why I'm out here, why are you here, hm?" She leans in closer, looking up to me with half lidded eyes. Pushy girl, isn't she?
"I'm looking for food, something that'd last for a while, mostly just for the kid."
"Ah, I see…" She hums to herself, a finger raised to her chin, as if in thought. "Well, I just came back from that Vector person, he's got a buncha stuff! Ya could always ask him if he's got stuff, even if he's a bit stuffy."
"Vector, not Gerome?" I haven't really heard from him in a while, the man keeps to himself a fair bit.
"Yup!" My ears twitch underneath my hood as she pops the 'p', it's almost painfully shrill. I feel like she does it on purpose, honestly. "Apparently he's out doing somethin with the guards, I dunno."
She sounds rather nonchalant about it all, but I guess that's to be expected. She sways back and forth, hands clasped behind her back with a smug grin on her face. Gerome's doing something with the guard, huh? That's not surprising either, I wonder what he's doing.
"I'll uh, probably go talk to him then. Didn't you have to wait around for Gerome to set something up a bit ago? What'd you end up getting?" I didn't exactly ask at the time, but I was curious I guess. What'd she want again, something related to magic? Her grin widens, a girlish giggle coming from her as she continues to sway.
"A girls gotta have her secrets, ya know? There's no fun in just saying it outright." I roll my eyes, her giggles filling the air. Alright, I'm not gonna get anything out of her. "I'm just gunna keep walkin about though, thanks for the chat Fuzzy~"
She waltzes past me, a pep in her step as she basically skips away, hair sashaying along with her movements. Wait a second, I still have things I wanna say!
"Hey, hold up for a sec." I call out to the lady, her questioning hum audible above the din of the rain as she turns around.
"Mn? What's up Fuzzy?" She asks with the tilt of the head, her smile lingering even still.
"I told Anna that you might be able to help her with a few things, so if you ever have the spare time, you should head over to hers." She hums again, a finger raised to her chin, again.
"Hm, alright! She's a nice lady, so I'll be free to help out, especially if we're doing magic stuff. Do ya need anything else, or am I free to go?" Her smile is a teasing one, but I do need her around for something else.
"You can, uh, check my magic core and stuff, right? Something like that?" I rub the back of my neck as I quiz her, lips pursed into a thin line. I'm remembering that right, right? She giggles but nods, skipping closer to me.
"Yup! Do ya want me to double check that or somethin?" I nod as she stops in front of me, blue wisps already flaking off of her arms.
"No, actually. I might've made a small mistake when I was helping out Anna with something, magic stuff."
"How small are we talkin here, do I have to amputate something of yours? Can I do it anyways?"
"Fuck no!" A shiver runs up my spine as I step away from the lady, her incessant giggling doesn't exactly help my concern either. "I just want you to check out my arm to see if you can see something wrong, I tried to use magic through it a bit earlier and, well, it didn't feel the best.
Another shiver runs up my spine as the memory resurfaces, my fingers twitching for a moment before I hold out my arm to her.
'This feels like a bad idea, a terrible idea.'
I ignore the ghost, the mage's hand wrapping around my wrist and pulling me closer. A numbing, tingling feeling travels up and down my arm, her humming echoing in my ears.
"Hm, odd, it doesn't feel any different than before…" She trails off, the intensity of her staring only increasing as she falls silent. It's odd to see her so serious, a far cry from how she usually is, but she is in her natural habitat, isn't she? Hm, maybe pain doesn't pass from dream into reality, but why would the opposite be true then? Dim blue light flows off of her, deepening into a darker blue as it digs into my arm. Something squirms in my gut, an uncomfortable feeling, a niggling in the back of my skull echoing alongside it.
"I think we should sto- shit!"
'Fuck!'
Pain jolts through my arm, wrenching it free from the mages grasp, ignoring her own yelping as I cradle my arm. My jaw tightens, teeth grinding against teeth as I force my way through the pain, looking down to it with blurred vision. Blue wisps spark off of me, arm jittering unnaturally while my fingers twitch. It hurts, god it hurts, it feels as if the inside of my bone's been set alight. I squeeze my eyes shut, air hissing through gritted teeth.
It burns and burns and burns.
It stops as suddenly as it started, leaving nothing but a gross chill.
I open my eyes, blinking away the blur that plagues my vision. Blue wisps still fling themselves off of me, though neither that nor the jitter seem nearly as aggressive. It just feels numb, and disgusting.
'N-n-never again, what the fuck was that?'
I look up from my twitching arm and around myself, the scant few humans around stare with judging eyes, whispering in a hushed tone to one another. The throbbing of my heart echoes in my ears, pounding in my skull. Stop looking at me.
"What are you looking at? Piss off." I try to keep my tone with the crowd level, but it comes out closer to a guttural growl. They continue to whisper amongst themselves before finally, thankfully, moving on. I sigh to myself, looking back down to my arm, trying to force some movement from it. My fingers twitch, although it's still numb, at least it works.
"That was, definitely something, hm…" I look back up to the mage as she speaks, her face contorted into an inquisitive expression.
"We're not doing that again." I state, pressing my arm to my chest as she approaches.
"That's a shame, but not a surprise, it was a rather unique thing to see. I can't say I've seen a reaction like that before" She seems more curious than anything else, but that should be expected at this point. She hums to herself, the gaze of her half lidded eyes looking up and down my body. "You're quite the oddity, aren't you Zeke?"
I take in a deep breath and hold it on. One, two, three. Exhale. Stay polite at least, keep your tone as level as possible.
"That's a good enough term for me. Thanks for checking it out, but I feel like it might be best to go about our day."
"Awh, okay." She pouts, but recovers quickly enough, giving a brisk way and a wink. "Might wanna not use that arm though, I dunno what's up with you, but I don't want you blowing it up or anything, at least do it when I'm around."
"I'll see you later, Lucy." She huffs and swivels around, sauntering off with a hop and a skip, bloody weirdo. Another sigh escapes my lips as I look back down, curling and uncurling my fingers, at least the feeling inside it's recovering, slow as it may be.
Adrian, are you there?
..Adrian?
'I-I-I'm here, you fuck, just, stop talking so loud.'
What happened in there, what happened to you? Are you alright?
'I-I'm fine, I think, jittery. Like I've been zapped with f-fucking lightning, but it'll pass eventually. I d-don't know what happened, b-but it felt… It felt fucking weird.'
Are you going to be okay?
'I'm f-fine, I think, just give me some time to put myself together again'
I guess we'll just have to-
'I think she knows.'
What do you mean you think she knows? I stand upright, heart thundering in my chest as I look around us. She's long gone, as is the crowd that once looked upon us. I need to keep moving, standing around like this would only bring more attention.
'I don't know, but her magic brushed against me, I could fucking feel it.'
Don't you feel things anyways?
'Not like that, feeling things through you is something I'm used to, this is completely different.'
Tch, what a fucking mess. Do you think she might've done that on purpose? She's always been an inquisitive mage, she's probably had suspicions of her own for a while, god knows that she's already too interested in prying into me. I brush past the crowd, ignoring their cries as I do so. Just get to the fountain Zeke, Vector's there.
'I don't know. I do know that we should never do that again.'
No shit. Guess using that arm for magic's out of the question for now, hell, it could be permanent.
The fountain's not too far off at least, and if the humans around care about what happened, then they sure as shit don't show it. I breathe a sigh of relief as I finally force my way out of the crowd. God I loathe the feeling.
Thank god they seem to avoid this little place, I'm not sure why, but it's always quieter around here. Then again, knowing Gerome, it's probably this way for a very specific reason. A single stall stands beside the fountain, small and unassuming, one that I assume to be from the merchants. I rap my knuckles against the desk, edging away from the water that drips off of the roof.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" I call out, fingers idly drumming against the wood. There's a rumbling from inside, as well as the sound of something being shuffled about before a head pokes its way through a curtain. There's a stoic look on his pale face, deep brown eyes staring into mine.
"What want?" He questions, tone short and gruff. I must've come at a bad time, he doesn't look very happy with being disturbed. Or it could be because he had to deal with Lucy, which is understandable.
"I'm looking for meat that'd last a long while, do you uh, got anything back there?" I ask, an awkward feeling stirring in my chest. He's silent for a while, a long while, before slowly nodding.
"Mn, wait here." He disappears behind the curtain, the sound of him shuffling something around behind there, though his grumbling still audible. He pokes his head out after a few moments, his face as stony as ever. "How much do you need?"
I haven't actually thought about that. I purse my lips together and hum, she eats a fair bit, and I should eat sometimes, even if the feeling doesn't come up too much. I probably have a fair bit of coins around, right? Might as well buy a fair bit now.
"I'm not sure, how much is it for a few weeks worth?" He pauses for a moment, humming as he looks to the floor.
"Would say one gold, thirty silver. Why need so much?" He answers after a while. I have no idea if that's a lot or not, but I trust the man. Well, I trust Gerome, but I can't imagine that he'd scam me behind his back.
"The kid eats a lot." I reply with a shrug. The man's silent for a while, slowly nodding before disappearing once again.
'You're spending a fair bit on this kid, you should try to save your money for later, there'd be other things to buy.'
I know, I know. It's something I want to do now so I don't have to do it later. He reappears some time later, a small crate held in his grasp, the man walking up and planting it onto the desk.
"Plenty meat rations, should last for while." He speaks, lips pursed into a thin line. He looks… oddly hesitant, is something wrong? "How is fox?"
"Mabel? She's alright, I think, probably still asleep. Why do you ask?" This is, what, the third time someomes asked about her today? Once from Anna, that's understandable, once from Edward, that's less understandable, but Vector? I've never seen the man care about someone other than Gerome. He looks uncomfortable as hell, eyes occasionally flickering to anything else.
"...was curious, don't trust people here with keidran. Humans up north were trusted, once." He continues, lips dipping into a frown, stoic expression falling for a moment.
"Do I want to know what happened to them?" I assume that nothing good came of it.
"No. Look after fox." He shoves the crate towards me, a bit too forcefully. I look over the thing, filled to the brim with paper packets, probably filled with that jerky meat. I should probably get something else for the kid before I come back, too. "One gold, thirty silver. Don't get it wet, no refunds."
I shake my bag as dry as I can before placing it next to the crate, slipping off my glove and rummaging through it with a dried hand. Somehow the insides are dried, and I'd rather not ruin it by using a wet glove. It takes a while to drag the purse out, and then to count the coin, but I manage it anyways, shovelling the lot into the merchants awaiting hands.
"Halt!" The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, neck twisting around to face the newcomer. A guardsman stands a bit aways from me, upright and unmoving, a hand resting atop the hilt of his blade. Well, today's going just fantastic, isn't it? "You are Zeke, correct?"
"Yeah? What do you need from me?" I turn to face the guard, leaning against the desk while I stare. I don't like the guards here, dammit.
"Your presence is requested by the Captain, he is waiting in the barracks. Don't keep him waiting" The man marches off after he finishes speaking, no hesitation. I sigh to myself, mashing the palm of my bare hand against my face. I did say that I'd bump into Edward some time, but I didn't think that it'd be so soon, and from him.
"Fucking bastard of a man, I don't suppose you mind looking after this for a bit, right?" I ask the merchant as I twist around, packing everything up and throwing my bag over my shoulders, slipping the glove back on.
"Mn, will keep safe, come pick it up when done." He drags the crate back over to him and carries it away, past the curtain once again.
I'll be sure to, we do need to eat. I turn and march away from the stall, a sour taste already building in my throat.
'I wonder what you've fucked up.'
Hopefully nothing just yet, lets see what this bastard captain wants from me.
Authors note: I fucked up Vector's name throughout most of this chapter. I don't know how, but it's fixed now. No, I don't know how I managed it, sorry to the people that saw the fuck up though.