"Okay…"

He started as he looked down at the piece of parchment in his hand , which was a little crinkled up in texture after having been folded and opened every now and then by his restless hands as large orbs looked at the cursive inked contents.

"So this time I need to get all these things…"

Reading the list to himself softly , he nodded his head in understanding before once again pocketing the paper into the clothing of his trousers , alongside the pouch of currency that had been given to him for the needs that he was issued to go and purchase or collect.

Which really wasn't anything much actually now that he had read over it ; just the basics like the women always needed , A bottle of milk , flour , eggs , breads and the like. Not really unusual as these were usually the things that he would be sent out for. However there was one task given to him on the piece of parchment that was a bit different to the rest and which did make him curious when he heard of it told to him.

'I need to collect a dress from the tailor too.'

Which he didn't actually know where it was in the market square , but like all the other things that he hadn't known , a stone-faced lady actually went out of her way to draw little symbols on the papers he would be given that correspond with the signage used in the necessary markets.

For the tailor , the drawing used to depict where he would have to go was a spool with a lingering thread and needle. As long as he kept his eyes open for that drawing (which he could remark was done with shocking accuracy to what he'd see) , then he'd have no problem getting his task fulfilled.

Just like with all the others he had been delegated and had been able to complete with these little supplements given to make his time in the market less hectic than it already could be.

And this help he got was given by none other than the chocolate haired stone-faced lady, Irose. A very quiet woman usually , however with the exception when she spoke there seemed to be such a strange stiffness towards him that seemed unnatural for her (if he had to admit). Because the way she spoke with every other stone-faced lady , she was almost as hushed as a mouse or just tumbling over her words as if she was always unsure of what to say.

Her behaviour reminded him of when he would suddenly be caught out of nowhere and swept into something like an interrogation from the more harsh stone faced ladies , bumbling and wide eyed , as if she was always in a state of anxiety or frailty. Or confusion.

Which made him wonder,

Why would that be if that's the case?

Her behaviour certainly came off the most odd compared to the other 3 if he was honest. With one of them being a avid sadist who's actions looked to be decided purely by her whims , another being focused on nothing more than herself and putting weird colours on her face and making her hair shiny and the last one just always having her wrinkly features always scrunched with some form of contempt and her cynic speech paired alongside which never tried to lighten…

Compared to them ,

The brunette's personality and mannerisms seemed so different.

Almost out of place.

Whether that was due to the fact that she was one of the younger looking stone faced ladies (probably even the youngest) , or just due to her being like that naturally he didn't know. But he did note the fact that she was one who wasn't that troublesome for him despite what she was meant to be perceived as. Simply just interacting with him when time called and there would be barely much to those encounters , like a ghost passing and popping up really if he had to describe them. But then there were other times recently that she actually was a bit of a help to him , which he found surprising.

Such as when he would be reading his books , and she was present to see him struggling , she would quickly look over and give him the sounded pronunciation or meaning of the word he was focusing on trying to understand before going back to whatever she was doing and it seemed the interaction never took place.

Which was weird , but he didn't question why as it seemed like something he wasn't meant to ask about in the first place.

He just needed to let it happen.

He was grateful though that Irose did help him read better with those tidbits of help she would give.

Though then again he also did receive something similar from the stone-faced lady with the bandages too , but with her , whatever help she gave came with a sharp comment alongside. Admittedly , she did more in terms of helping him comprehend what he would be reading and actually teaching him things compared to Irose , but she'd always look unimpressed or irritated by the end of it.

Which wasn't weird as this was Mika and he knew her to be like that.

Cold yet so easy to temper.

But he was confused as to whether those sort of reactions would come forth because of him or what he was doing.

Either way though , it was probably best not to think too much into it as he already had the bad habit of getting whisked into his thoughts with no warning. And seeing that he was expected home soon anyway since the days were still getting dark soon , he needed to start making a proper move to town.

And get to the stalls before they would close for the day. As it was still colder even with the advent of spring and that did mean they did end their services earlier than normal and then 'other things' would start to take precedence.

But what those 'other things' were , he didn't know and nor was he allowed to find out as there was the strict ruling on him to get back before sundown and he didn't want to risk what punishment could have been in store if he failed to follow.

Especially not after things were finally looking up for him.

Yes the gods had changed things for the better in his case , but that didn't mean he could all of a sudden become reckless in behaviour , as that would be like he was ungrateful to his blessings wouldn't it?

If he just did whatever instead of trying to preserve them?

With that thought in mind , he did start making his way towards the town square he came to visit a lot more frequently now. First with the stone faced ladies and now through his own ability as they entrusted him enough to do these tasks for him.

And with the amount of times he made the journey by now , he felt that he knew a decent amount of it enough that he could actually walk from his home with his eyes closed. With each turn and bump on the road , and the sounds that accompanied practically memorised in his muscles and senses , he practically knew the route enough that he could walk it in his sleep!

And to be honest that was probably a good thing given how his vision was partially obscured anyway with the hood that he had to wear at all times due to orders. Though he still didn't understand why that was the case , Mika was vehement in making sure he followed that through with no question even if he was outside now , going as far to threaten him if he didn't. Which obviously showed there was something significant about doing this , but once again he was left in the dark why.

Both logically and almost visually now too.

With his eyes just able to peer out from underneath the shadows of the headwear , he took note of the small changes that he had been noticing over time with the months passing as he walked on. The winds had gotten a slight bit warmer , the grass was starting to look less iced and more green , the buds he had been witnessing were slowly starting to pop through their brilliant colours once again , spouting about everywhere and making the muted and cool world something vibrant again.

And more animals and life in general was beginning to come out of hiding once again.

It was a sight that he truly couldn't get enough of.

Though he couldn't take as much time to marvel at the surroundings as he would like , especially since this was one of the times he had permission to explore beyond where he had been allowed , with the glances he could steal and salvage , he took so in full measure and relished them regardless.

These little observations and changes he would note , it all in turn would spurn his ever curious mind like always , making him wonder how such occurred and where all the colours would go and how they would come back and the like. Simply questioning all he'd come across and how it all connected with one another , or if it did really.

Because he realised that was his way of making sense of the world ultimately.

Finding small fragments of the truth here and there and trying to put them together like some sort of puzzle , hoping to see the bigger picture in the end despite having been left in the dark. Though of course it might have been the case that not everything fit in one puzzle , or they had smaller puzzles in the midst of something bigger , but simply trying to understand those relations thrilled him and he didn't know why his mind only craved for what knowledge he could find to satiate that curiosity.

Whether that be through what he saw , heard or thought.

It all was something he couldn't help but take into consideration and think about what was outlined through these details.

That being said though…

The course of nature wasn't the only thing his mind had taken note of during his time outside and when visiting the city. But rather also the lack of human life in general , really meaning the kids he had usually seen before.

They…

They still weren't anywhere around much to his knowledge. He had barely seen a single young soul since permission for him to be out of the house more had been granted. Why would that be the case? Was it possible that they had gotten somewhere else to play now or something? Or maybe they could have been busy still and would come out later?

Nothing had happened to any of them, right?

He hoped that wasn't the case as even though he might not have known any of them personally , it would have been distressing to hear that those whom he had remembered to be full of life and joy could have had that stripped away from them through the cause of hurt or worse.

And he especially knew that pain.

Both from himself and who he knew.

That's why it was only natural for him not to wish it upon anyone. Whether known to him or not , it was the human thing and it was right in his eyes. Both from where his heart aligned and also from the character he idolized in his favourite book , whom he had learned more of now and was starting to truly understand the depth of his humanity and altruism.

There was no doubt that this man was someone he really aspired to be like now.

Both because of who he was and what he was to the people.

But of course , before that unrelated train of thought could side track him , he really did not want anything to have happened. And hoped that whatever fears and paranoia slipped such thoughts into his mind were simply just that and nothing more.

Besides…

Even with the lack of human companionship he had currently , it didn't mean he was alone completely. That fluffy thing he had met not too long back actually started to reappear to him every now and then. It seemed to like him from what he could gage from their interactions.

Somehow coming beside him , rolling around and showing it's tummy to him which he imagine wanted him to scratch it in response , brushing up against his legs and making cheerful noises as they spent time with one another , simply playing with what they could find (whether that be thorough a makeshift toy with a long and firm blade of grass or stalk or the like).

The creature seemed to have such an attachment to him that even when he would go home , he found that sometimes it would be outside his window , meowing for his attention and trying to jump and perch itself up onto the outer ledge , but it was too high for it's size.

He learned that the creature was called a 'cat' , though how he had found this out wasn't exactly the nicest way. What had happened was the cat was meowing beside his window, it's voice shrill and singing with the night but one of the stone faced ladies didn't take a liking to that.

Simply put they told the cat to 'shut up' , and from the nasal tone he could infer it was the one who put colours on her face. And the way she told it to shut up wasn't exactly tasteful either…

But that being said the cat did quieten down for a bit and walked away elsewhere until coming back later and beginning the same behaviour again until said lady actually chased it away.

Though it shouldn't have been something of a laughing matter , the fact he saw that the lady with the colours had been so irritated by the small thing , but then when she went to face it there was practically a look of fear in her eyes and she tried to maintain a large distance from it.

With how her pinned hair had went in a mess and she started to jump about like she was walking on hot coal when it tried to come near her , trying to shoo it away with her frantic hands as the cat seemed to take no offence to her actions and simply minded it's own business before licking itself to the woman's horror. And with how he knew that woman to be , he couldn't help but find the scene amusing and had to stifle a bout of laughter from watching her reactions.

Like how could someone be so scared of something that small and cute?

Especially someone who thought so highly of themselves and looked down at everything like it was dirt?

That being said though , the cat was eventually chased away by one of the other stone-faced ladies , notably the oldest one who didn't show the same fear towards it. But it still came here and there to give it's greetings for the night to him after a day spent together.

And that was something better than nothing honestly. Because at least he had some form of companionship he desired , even if it wasn't exactly human at the moment. Though of course he would have liked it if the cat could do more like a human such as speaking as at the end of the day it was mainly him speaking to it , which he didn't dislike or anything but it did make him feel rather lonely still.

Though of course that wasn't in the capabilities of the cat so he get disheartened for nothing. At Least it was there for him and it held a form of friendship towards him like he did with it. And their bond seemed to grow even with the absence of words so that was another thing to be thankful for.

'Maybe I'll give it a name…'

He thought to himself as he neared the changing scenery of the green and earthen roads that were converting into cobble and stone once again. Considering he had been calling the cat 'it' for so many days now , it didn't feel as respectful and frankly was practically rude. Though yes it could be argued that since it wasn't human there was no need for it to have an identity , with the companionship that it had given it , it felt wrong not to acknowledge that in some way and solidify their bond properly.

And what better way was to do that then give a name that would be from his own choosing?

That would show how special that being was to him then wouldn't it?

Giving something he could call it's own and use it in a way to connect himself to the creature in a way that words or actions couldn't do the same.

The thought of that started to make his heart warm.

'Yeah! I'll definitely try and think of something!'

Though of course this would be his first time actually naming something , and because of that he didn't know what name to give something like that as he didn't want to give it something it wouldn't like. Or didn't suit it. But that would probably have to be something he thought more about at some other time when he wouldn't be occupied as he could hear he was beginning to approach the entrance of town now.

Just like always the sound of non stop buzz , regardless of what time he would come , that was the energy that emitted from not even the heart of the capital. Just simply the outskirts were enough to suck one into the animation that truly existed just beyond the towering walls that kept out the peaceful and serene outside world.

And as expected , the guards whom were lined alongside were as razor sharp and stone faced as ever. Giving nothing more than a mere glance to those who walked past , him included. And to be honest he got a longer look most likely or from more guards alike than anyone. With the way he could feel their eyes simply burn into him , even with his visage not meeting theirs.

And not just these guards , but other guards he had come across too.

Guards that he noticed were still doing walks around where he lived , closing in between the distance of the route to the capital's entrance and that which he was allowed to walk around and even beyond that. There was no lack of seeing them when he would be out , every few hours making their rounds , talking something between one another , which he didn't really pay attention to as either he would be too far or he'd be occupied with the cat.

But also they would also shoot glares at him , specifically one guard in general. One guard that he remembered from their first encounter when the man looked him dead in the face and his eyes just remained blazing as ever since the first time he saw them. Cold on the outside but he felt like there was something boiling underneath with how this guy seemed to look at him especially.

With how much he realised he saw him doing the rounds near his house and towards the capital , he assumed that this weird guard in particular was the one delegated to this certain task. And some others he also witnessed him taking part in as he recognised that same guard also being one who came to their house alongside those 'weird' men to go to his mother's room , but he had no idea exactly what he did but he didn't seem to be there for the same reason as those other ones.

And to be honest…

With the more he came across that one guard's face , the comparison to stoniness and intensity he felt between him and the lady with bandages got stronger. As he did not just come across like her but he actually kind of looked like her too!

With extremely dark hair , pale skin of the same tone and lightness , looking close to the same age , having that same intense gaze , sharp look and very alike features.

They really did seem to resemble each other in some way.

But then again he could have been thinking too much about it and trying to connect things which might not have made sense. And either way he had spent a lot of time just lost in his thoughts just arriving at the marketplace. Now that he was about to set foot and be whisked into that bumbling chaos again , he needed to have his head cleared of all those sort of thoughts and be focused on the task at hand.

Taking a sigh , he took out the pocketed paper he had and unfolded the piece before skimming through the list again and looking up briefly whilst he did so to find which sign drawn correlated with what shop he needed to go to. And doing so he subconsciously started to choose which stall would probably be best for him to start off with in terms of how busy they were so he could finish his errands swiftly.

'The milk stall doesn't seem to be too busy…'

And with that he started to walk in the direction of the small establishment that was set up on the side of the square , with bottles of creamy white milk being lined up both on tables and around the stall and having more of them being added to decorate the look as it seemed the last stock had depleted enough.

In his hand were the paper bags of the shopping that he had successfully sourced and paid for as he travelled to and fro from the marketplace , trying not to get his little body swept away in the current as he was coming close to finishing his list. All that was left now was to collect some breads from the bakery after the troubles he had at the tailor.

It wasn't really ideal , but when he finally found the establishment amongst the swarm of customers , when he went to go and purchase the order that had been told of him , to his dismay the woman running the shop had told him that the dress still hadn't been finished due to the high amount of orders and it would have to be collected at a later date.

Of course that was anything but ideal in this situation , and he'd probably get an earful when he'd come back but there was no point arguing it now as there wasn't anything he could do to make the order finished and the stone faced ladies would just have had to understand that , and hopefully if they did , then they wouldn't give too much hell for a problem he simply had no control over.

Though in hindsight , he should have probably asked for specification what date the dress would be ready by. Due to being so thrown off guard by the outcome , he had forgotten to chase the details that would have been smart to know , and the woman was already getting irritated by him by the minute so he left her alone with the failure that happened in mind.

It really was not a favourable outcome , but he'd just have to explain that to them when he would get home.

Besides it's not like he was lying or anything , not that he would have thought to do or try in this or any case. And not because it was wrong and he would get punished if found out , but he simply did not possess the capability of doing such. He did not possess the ability to tell a solid lie convincingly.

Because his ears would give him away , becoming flushed at the top or his lips would turn with an awkward smile that he could not keep back even if he tried. And he just felt like he couldn't look someone in the eye and tell them something he knew or thought to be wholly untrue because it just didn't sit right with him.

He didn't know why that was the case , but it's something that most of the stone-faced ladies knew he couldn't fake on impulse (except for the old one who didn't give pardon to anything , fake or not.).

But putting that thought aside , it was probably best not to think too much about this little muck up and get everything else done as needed so damage control would be applied.

Because of that , he had now gotten in line for the bakery like he had been taught and gotten his pouch of currency ready again to make the payment as expected , when the line of customers in front of him slowly started to steal his attention.

"Mommy!"

"I want this!"

Squealed a girl smaller than him with her hair in twin tails as she held the hand of her parent's , pointing at one of the bakery's desserts on display as her face brightened up with the more she looked at the treat. His eyes glanced over at what was of interest , it seemed to be a sort of twisted bread that was dotted with round and dark things , very different to what he usually knew and tasted but he couldn't deny it looked nice.

However before he could even try to get lost into a reverie again , the sound of that woman's mother's voice broke him out of what attention that treat had taken from him as the mother and child continued to converse.

"Sweetie, you know having too much of these isn't good for you."

The woman gently scolded the young girl . who was visibly disheartened by the response and started to pout with her cheeks puffed up and her lip quivering as she looked up at the woman in desperation.

"Please Mommy?"

The little girl tried to plead again , showing no will to back down yet as her face remained as innocently crumpled as ever , making the woman release a sigh as if she was going to rebuttal with her daughter's antic's but then another voice came into the picture.

One from the man that was standing directly in front of him in the queue.

"Dear, it's okay."

"One more isn't going to hurt our little pumpkin."

The man in front said with a smile in his words before ruffling the girl's hair alongside as the woman gave into the father's doting and purchased the treat that was on display which made the small girl beam with victory and delight.

"Thanks Daddy!""

Her voice shone with gratitude and bliss , yet his ears didn't register them with that. Rather for some reason it pained him to hear this conversation going on and seeing that girl and her parents so happy and relaxed between each other.

Hearing those words , seeing those interactions and emotions , they made him feel weird.

As if the sight of such playing out before him actually was something that he didn't want to appreciate , in a way it almost kind of burned him to see that happen so closely. It wasn't the same pull he felt when looking at the birds , it felt a lot more vivid than that and for some reason murky as his eyes simply followed the family as they departed from the stall silently

Though before his attention could remain on them for any longer than it already had done so , the sound of gruffness came from in front of him , immediately breaking the clouds that were darkening his vision as he was brought back into the present.

"What do you want?"

The azure haired boy turned back in surprise , not aware it was his turn to order as he met the face of the impatient baker who was looking down at him , waiting for him to say his piece as he tapped his foot incessantly.

"O-Oh…"

He started , thickness having welled up in his throat without him even realising that he quickly swallowed down and took firmer hold of the paper and showed the list to the baker whilst pointing to the bread section and what was written beside it as that would be quicker than him trying to read it out.

"Could I have these please?"

He asked , feeling the impatience of the man beginning to temper but thankfully he had done nothing to act upon it and cause a scene. Simply giving a huff before giving a nod in assurance of the order as the bluenet was made to wait as his items were being sourced.

Though he didn't know how much time it would probably take , he knew he had to be patient and have the money at hand for the purchase when the order would be ready. And it was probably best if he would not get lost in another realm of thoughts again , especially not after his latest ones had him feeling so weird.

So the bluenet started to kick away at the stone ground against him , listening to how the hardness of his shoes met against the hardness of cobble , trying to abate his restlessness with what he could do without compromising his position in the line as he waited.

Though unknown to the young child , a group of eyes had started to watch him from not too far across the market square. Aside from the flowing fountain that depicted the reverent goddess's throne , stood a cluster of children of varied ages , some older than the bluenet and some younger. All exchanging mischievous glances between one another , sniggering to themselves as they seemed to eye him up specifically , taking note of his apparel and whispering between each other about it. Out of what it wasn't clear but their motions and focus did not remain unwitnessed as the boy froze up in weariness.

"Hmmmm?"

He didn't know why , but it felt like people were looking at him? And not like the usual look he was used to of irritation and annoyance but something more than that. Not like the burning gaze from the guard either , but something similar in liking yet something else.

His feet slowly stopped kicking the stone as he focused more on that feeling , small features beginning to knit together in confusion as he tilted his head in response to the direction of where he could feel this gaze coming from. Wondering who and why someone would be looking at him of all people in a place like this.

But to his surprise he couldn't pinpoint anyone specifically looking in his direction. They were either all too lost in their own business or had their backs turned his way so that made him even more baffled with what was going on.

'Huh?'

He was sure that someone had been looking at him though , that presence was too vivid to have been just a thing of his mind , but now seeing there wasn't anyone actually doing so , then maybe his imagination was stronger than he realised? But then he wouldn't have made himself feel something like that.

'Weird…'

His large golden brown orbs kept looking around curiously , having another scan of his surroundings to see if he could still find the one whom that gaze could have belonged to , but in the end he found nothing and turned his attention back to the bread stall and looked at the man getting his items ready.

Though as he did so , he felt it again.

And didn't take as long for him to turn again , but only to be greeted to that same sight which obfuscated him and he realised wasn't worth his time trying to comprehend. As he needed to get home soon anyway and he had been told to strictly only do what was needed from him in the marketplace , and that meant not engaging in anything other than that.

No wandering , no unnecessary interactions , no talking unnecessarily either.

And that probably included whatever was happening now. So he shouldn't have put mind to it in the first place.

"Ere'."

The gruff man returned , giving a bag brimming with all varieties of loaves and breads that were passed over on the stall as the pouch was taken in return. Emptying out the rest of the contents , the man took what was left in the pouch before passing the barren rag to the hooded child , who simply pocketed both the paper and fabric before taking a firm hold of the bags that were now enclosed between his two arms.

'Wow…There's quite a lot this time.'

Though that wasn't a problem for him weight wise , as he could actually lift a decent amount of things (more than probably you'd expect a kid of his size and age) with barely any struggle , but there was more mass this time. Enough that his arms were swamped and it didn't help that his limbs were only so enclosing for his frame.

'Okay that's everything then…'

Tightening his hold around the groceries so they wouldn't begin to slip as he made the walk back and made things more tedious. It didn't help though up to his chest he was drowning with shopping , but the smell of freshly baked bread that wafted to his nose and had him already salivating was enough to overwhelm any discomfort that everything pressed up him did.

The azure haired boy took a definite exhale as he started to make his journey back after this rather active day , from what he could see even through his hood the sky's tones were once again in the midst of darkening and the artificial lights beginning to shine , signifying nightfall that was soon to probably come and making it all the more urgent for him to get back.

'Ah…I probably won't be allowed to go out when I get home…'

He thought disheartened , knowing his curfew would approach with his arrival and sooner than usual with the days still being short. But at least when it would start getting warmer , the time out he had would also then get longer as the sun wouldn't go down as quickly.

'I wonder how the cat's been today too…'

As the bluenet was in the midst of his thoughts with his eyes in front and navigating out of the crowd which was enclosing him away from his exit , those mischievous stares had turned back on him once again.

With one of the owners of the questionable intent actually beginning to worm their way through , leaving their cluster behind as they watched on with identical smirks , watching their friend approaching the direction of the hooded boy ,( who in all honestly stuck out like a sore thumb) before a devious glint crossed their eyes in preparation for what was to come next.

'Has it been eating well or-'

He was cut from his train of thought as the balance of his leg in the midst of stride was swiped with no warning , causing his being to freeze and eyes to widen in sudden impact as he felt his body beginning to crash downwards rapidly.

A gasp choked his throat as he immediately retained balance through completing the step he was taking , feeling his being shake as it filtered out the remnants of the fall as the muscles of his body clenched tightly , holding the bags tightly to brace for the worst , but thankfully he was just able to catch himself before that could occur.

'How did that happen?'

Was there something in his way he wasn't paying attention to or something? Had it been one of his laces? Had something run in front of him and he stepped on it before he could realise? How did such a thing happen like that? He was being so careful not to bump into anything or anyone and stay clear of that which he could see in front of him.

Though as he was baffled by that mystery alone , a greater concern quickly crossed his mind as anxiety seized his being.

'The food!'

They had to still be intact right? They had to still be in good condition, didn't it? If they weren't he'd be in so much trouble , as if the thing with the dress wasn't bad enough , if the food also got ruined then he could only imagine what would have actually waited for him if he was to come back.

Coming to a halt , Jellal quickly inspected over the contents of his bag one by one , eyes frantic and looking over the items to see if there were any faults that could have been created with what happened or if anything tried to stain the state he had collected them in.

But with the more he looked over the groceries , his heart started to beat at a more relaxed pace , coming down from his rush as he could see nothing out of place or that was worrying. Which meant it was all safe and he had been able to preserve their state.

This time at least.

"It's…all good…"

'That cannot happen again!'

Releasing a deep exhale , he checked himself and his surroundings to see if anything was out of place. His laces were all done up well , and no stones of anything that seemed to have been of an issue or anything he could have accidentally tripped over.

So then why-

'Just forget it.'

'Focus on getting back!'

He once again continued to go enroute back to the home he knew was waiting for him. His fingers having tightened with more tenacity and his hold snuggly pulling the groceries into his chest and making his way with the utmost carefulness from the capital square , determined to finish his errands properly and bring back the items in one piece!

All the whilst as the hooded figure's being started to recede into the sea of people that it was lost in before disappearing completely , the snickering once against commenced between the cluster of young minds who had watched the event unfolded with wicked anticipation , already with their sights set on what could come forth next when that that hooded child would be within reach again.

Author's Note:

Just to quickly say , a lot of this chapter might seem like it was filled with unnecessary details , when in reality alot of them play towards a bigger plot that I will unveil soon so don't worry , it's not just waffle lol.