The Cosmic Cycle
Chapter 5
Finally, a moment's respite!
Several Hours Later…
"-ould you cut it out Troy? He's trying to sleep!"
"I just want to see if he's as good as you say he is."
…?
"By drawing on him in his sleep?!"
"That's the idea."
The sound of children trying and failing to argue quietly brought him back from dreamless slumber. Cracking one of his eyes open slightly revealed blue wallpaper and a window that showed the beautiful afternoon sky; clear of all but a few clouds. Quietly flipping himself over, Jonas found himself staring into part of the night-side table that was blocking his view of the door, which lead out into the hallway of the inn he was currently resting at. His wings hung over the lip of the bed, giving off a gentle glow
The mayor and people of the town had happily given him a place to sleep and recover from his fatigue, refusing all the while from taking his 'Lien'; what he assumed to be the towns primary source of currency instead of the gold, silver, and copper coins he carried on hand. He would have teleported himself home instead, but he had shattered his magic mirror during his fight with the Lunatic Cultist when he believed him to be dead. Bugger shot it right out of his hand and destroyed the thing.
Reality came calling when the kids were attempting to pick the lock of his door. Smirking slightly until he forced his face into a neutral expression, Jonas closed his eyes and pretended to sleep; leaving his eyes opened only slightly so he wouldn't get busted.
The jangling continued for a couple of minutes until the lock finally turned, and the door opened slightly, letting a small amount of light in through the crack. The black haired boy peeked through the opening, getting a lay of the land. Bandages wrapped around his head, making the man frown for a second before returning it to its un-emotive expression. The boy smirked when he found him still 'alseep' he slowly opened the door, cringing slightly when the old door gave out a few squeaks in protest, clearly not having been oiled for a while until he had enough space to slip inside the room. Troy peered around the entirety of the room for a few minutes, and smiled in satisfaction.
"And he didn't even prepare for an ambush." He muttered while rolling his eyes. Jonas did everything he could not to smile and give himself away to the other two children who slowly creeped into the room. Lily gave him a heated glare in retaliation. "So much for being an amazing fighter."
He inwardly raised an eyebrow at his insult. It was true he wasn't exactly awake to see the fight, not to mention that if Coral's reaction was any indication, then magic appeared to be nothing more than a fantasy here; wherever here was anyway. Still, he didn't like to be called a fake.
"U-umm, could we not do this? It really doesn't seem like a good idea." The smaller girl standing next to Lily whispered nervously, her hazel eyes repeatedly looking towards him while gripping Lily's sweater. Small pointed ears drooped down, almost meshing in perfectly to her short blonde hair that it was nearly impossible to make out, and a long tail that matched the color of her hair. A set of overalls were worn over colorful blue and white sneakers that seemed to have been drawn upon, and a half-covered orange-red t-shirt.
[Vermillion Sensor]
(Faunus)
Health:
64/64
"What's wrong Vermi, are ya scared?" Troy asked playfully with an amused glint in his eyes. A heated glare from Lily quickly made him turn back towards the winged man while her little sister stood behind her, tightly clenching the fabric of her sweater.
"D-do we really w-want to play a prank on the one who saved everyone from a really strong Grimm all on his own though? W-what if he gets mad?" The little girl's voice wavered.
Jonas mentally winced. Exuberant minds tend to wander in both the most glorious and horrid places; and the last thing he wanted was for her, or any other, to wander into darker territory when it came to him.
With Troy being intent on drawing on him though, it presented him a wonderful opportunity to both eliminate that way of thinking, and get a little bit of payback.
The kid drew closer to him, pulling out a black marker and removing the top. Ever so slowly, he reached out toward his face. The man resisted the smile that attempted to force itself onto his face as the boy began to sweat; and his hand trembling. Ever so slowly the marker inched toward him, stopping centimeters from his forehead. The boy gulped loudly and pushed forwa-
"BOO!" Jonas opened his eyes wide and shouted into the room, making the children scream in response. He tripped over his own feet, and would've fell to the ground had the warrior not grabbed him with his magic; keeping a hold of him by his wrists and ankles. Hardy laughter filled the room, and the kids stood there – or floating in the case of one individual – holding a hand over their chests while wheezing loudly as Jonas sat himself up, and wrapped his hands around his stomach. One of his tendrils hung over his shoulder as he started to cough. "O-oh god, your reactions we're priceless!"
"W-what the-?! How long were you awake?!" The boy half yelled, glowering at him.
"Since you two started arguing in front of my door." He replied cheekily, a large smirk on his face. "Something you might not have thought of kid, but I'm a really light sleeper, considering what I deal with on a daily basis."
"Well, whoop-de-fricking-doo, good for you." Troy grumbled as he stayed afloat in the air, his brows furrowed in an attempt to look intimidating, yet failing due to the blush on his cheeks. "Can you put me down? As much fun as this is, I'd rather not be held against my will."
A large smirk grew on his face as he cocked an eyebrow towards the kid. "Oh don't worry, I will. Just need to dish out your punishment before I do." Jonas looked toward him with an evil gleam in his eyes; his smirk turning slightly feral. Troy paled and started to sweat; looking as if he was inwardly cursing himself for his stupidity. All of a sudden, his shoes flew off his feet, and the man's tendrils bent towards him, wiggling at the tips. Realizing the situation he was in with wide eyes, he struggled against his magical binds in a vain effort to escape him, but there was no longer a way to escape his wrath. The tendrils flew towards him…
…And the room filled with laughter.
"S-s-stop!" Troy burst out laughing, his body movements becoming frantic as the warriors wings found purchase beneath his armpits and feet. Jonas cackled wickedly as his prey pitifully tried to escape him, making the smug grin on his face grow all the larger. "L-let me go! Please! I-I-I'm gonna pee myself!"
"Hey Lily." The man said, grabbing her attention. The girls took a few steps away from him with pale faces as sweat dripped passed their brows. He chuckled slightly to that but waved them off. "Relax; I know you two weren't exactly in cahoots with him on this." Both Lily and Vermillion slumped forward, giving out an audible sigh that made him snicker to himself.
"So… What do you want then?" She responded hesitantly, and leaned away from him when she saw the evil smile growing on his face.
"You know where this guy's most ticklish?"
"D-don't you d-dare!" He said in between laughing fits. The girl looked between him and the man still sitting on the bed, a small smirk slowly adorning her face.
"…He's ticklish behind the knees."
"Y-you traITOR!" Troy cried out; his voice raising a few octaves when the tentacles met their targets. The boy's eyes started to water
"My my, aren't you ticklish!" He chuckled. The sounds of laughter made him smile sincerely, looking at the sisters and giving them a wink. Lily broke out in a blush, head tipping forward slightly as her fingers started to poke one another. Vermillion was giving him a large smile that went from ear to ear; her eyes shining in the afternoon light.
It looked like his mission was successful.
A flurry of footsteps alerted him to another incoming presence. He wore a small smirk as the door suddenly slammed open. The sisters jumped as Coral barreled into the room with her face scrunched up in a snarl with her spear leveled; her helm looking lopsided as if she placed it on in a hurry. Iris trailed in behind her with a worried expression; probably hearing the sounds of her son. Both of which faded nearly instantly as they're minds finally registered what was occurring. The spears tip lowered to the ground as the soldier let out a frustrated sigh, while iris lifted a hand to her face to hide the smile growing on her lips.
"Hey there!" Jonas greeted them jovially all while bearing a face of innocence.
"…What did you do?" Coral questioned with a raised eyebrow; a scowl placed firmly on her facial features.
"Nothing whatsoever. I just found this little one attempting to draw on my face with permanent marker in my sleep." He grinned in response, lifting the item in question in front of Coral between his fingers. He had grabbed it from the boy when he dropped the article, though if the expression the sisters were giving him was any indication they didn't notice. "All I'm doing is giving him part one of his punishment."
"…Okay, I'll bite." She groaned, her head in her hand again; though he didn't miss the corners of her mouth curving upward, though only slightly. "What's part two?"
"You haven't already guessed?" The man twirled the marker between his fingers with a gleam in his eyes. He looked towards the other occupants. "I'm thinking panda; are you thinking panda?"
Minutes Later…
A chorus of laughter could be heard on the main floor as the man used the bathroom that was adjoined to his temporary living quarters. Much to his eternal enjoyment, and the boys utter humiliation, Vermillion went out while he was styling his face like the aforementioned bear; coming back with a white wig that the boy was forced to wear as retribution. It was actually quite funny to hear in whispers from Lily that her little sister could hold such a grudge over the boy. Apparently, they had an ongoing war between each other that had lasted for almost two years; and evidently, most of the village ended up in the crossfire.
She didn't go into too many specifics of how bad it got, but it seemingly escalated to the point of colored glue, worms, and feathers ending up in places where they shouldn't have been
'Seriously, how did they manage to make it explode all the way to the church bells?' Jonas thought with interest. It couldn't have been magic, if what corals reaction to his proclamation told him.
His face creased a bit in worry, but banished those thoughts for the time being. He would wait until he asked around to confirm his suspicions. Until then, he had more important things to worry about right now.
It had become apparent that there was a stigma against the Faunus population, and a significant one if it made a child question the value of his own life. He also saw some signs of this that came from a small amount of the local population. It wasn't anything quite extreme, but enough to garner his attention all the same.
The occurrence took place when he was on his way to the town's local inn, which was located close to the edge of the town. Considering the size of the village it wasn't all that odd that there was only one tavern, though admittedly, it was a rather large building; looking like it was able to house a few dozen travelers at a time, with a bar down on the main floor large enough to accommodate as much. He hadn't had the chance to get a bit to eat, but from what he could smell, the cooks could make some delectable aromas come from the kitchen.
But, he was getting off topic.
He had stayed behind to fix the damage he caused in his fight; which didn't take all that long to fix considering the basic materials for the houses and cobblestone flooring of the plaza was already there. Afterwards he was led by the mayor and the two women he had met, passed the group of shocked villagers who saw him at work. It hadn't happened then due to their surprised personage, but rather when he met up with Coral's group on the way to the inn.
They had crossed each other again when he was a few houses away from the building; with Lily and a still unconscious Troy riding his dragon, which was strange enough if one put the spines that ran down his back into consideration. Though his partner was met with stares of fear and awe at the sight of him, he had noticed that a few of them were glaring at the children. Whether or not this was from envy, he didn't know, but better to keep an idea of the possibilities; considering he was in unknown territory.
He didn't know how this country acted towards its people. Hell, for all he knew, he was forcing himself to see the worst case scenario. It was possible that a few of them were worried about Troy, since more than a few of them had heard his declaration back in the plaza. Or maybe they wanted to take a ride on the dragon themselves. It wasn't anything major so it didn't stand out that much, but with the way he lived for the last ten years, noticing the small stuff was life and death for him. A small stare in their direction had their eyes looking in any other direction except his, only further increasing his concern. He had let it go at the time, but kept note of it nonetheless in case he needed to plan around it.
The man shook his head as he focused back on his menial task, removing his gloves and pulling up his sleeves to get a better look at his arms, and winced at the purple coloring that decorated them. In all honesty, considering what he had to do to save them, it wasn't really all that big a deal. A little bruising on his arms and temporarily excruciating pain in exchange for saving the townspeople was a choice he'd take any day of the week.
Someone without a decent knowledge on a low-end healing factor would probably find it odd that he had any remaining injuries at all, but having had the damned thing for ten years made him pretty intimate with the concept. While it did heal most of the damage done, the muscle and skin tissue still remained. So some of the damage would still be seeable for the next few days; whereas the injuries that were dealt with from his half-destroyed stomach had to be completely remade, thus leaving no signs.
Removing his coat, pocketing his scale mail and taking off his shirt, he found his body had formed some light bruises on his back; a testament to how much damage his body could take. It was mildly amusing that the worst of his wounds were the ones he inflicted on himself, intentionally or not.
The man dealt with his business and clothed himself again, armor included, and fixed what bedhead he had obtained during his delightful nap. Making sure he didn't leave anything in the room, Jonas passed the threshold of the door that led to his room, closing it gently. He walked through a decently sized hallway at a slow pace, passing a dozen rooms before making his way to the stairs. Upon making it halfway down them, the right wall opened up into the entirety of the main floor. A decently sized bar was placed in the far corner, and multiple round tables placed all around the room numbering at least a couple dozen, with four chairs placed at each.
Most of which were filled with the people he had saved. One of them took notice of him, letting out a shout and pointing towards him. Before he knew it, after a few seconds the sound of cheers had spread around the room like a wave. He gave a sheepish smile as he walked down the rest of the stairs, giving a small wave while scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. There was the rare occasion that he was treated like this in the past, though most often it was to garner favor with the guy that slaughtered demons and monsters. It wasn't always the case, far from it, but it happened often enough that it was usually what he assumed was the purpose whenever it happened.
It was unfair, he knew as much; and not all of them did so with that purpose in mind, but it was an existence that happened enough to make him adapt to it and automatically believe it to be the intended goal.
Of course, it was still better than the treatment he got a hell of a lot more often; which usually involved a lot of screaming, fire and pitchforks.
Though the villages he passed through didn't have taverns this advanced, what with the fridge placed underneath the over and under-bar; something that hadn't appeared at any point during his travel's whenever he stayed in a town for the night. He travelled everywhere on Terraria. Even made a map that listed all the areas and biomes that he visited; though it did become partially moot when he created the GPS that he carried in his inventory since it automatically updated where he's been.
"Ahh, Good Afternoon my boy!" The voice of the mayor carried over the din, silencing almost all present. Shifting his eyes through the crowd, he found the old man at one of the tables closest to the bars front door, and walked at an easy stride toward him. "Had a good rest, I hope?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." He grinned. "Would've slept in more, but I was interrupted by a prankster."
"Ah yes, young Troy." He murmured with a raised eyebrow, a hand placed under his chin in thought. "I noticed he came out with a wig on his head. I take it that was you're doing?"
The smirk that grew on his face was answer enough. Alvis guffawed, making said smirk turn into an embarrassed grin.
"Also drew a panda on his face with the marker he tried to use on me."
"A true sense of humor! I take it that was what the wig was for?"
"Well, it wasn't really my idea. Lily's little sister, at least I assume that's her little sister-" Jonas added hastily. Didn't want to give too many of his abilities away. "-Went out and grabbed the wig while I was creating face art."
"Ahh, another battle of the dangerous duo." He muttered as his brows furrowed. "Another game will soon commence no doubt."
"Yeah, Lily gave me the story on the two of them. Still reeling from the worm and feather incident."
The old man shuddered. "Those were dark times."
"I'll take your word for it if that's your reaction." He winced. A tapping on his shoulder alerted him to the presence of a young woman with short brown hair and small brown eyes that framed her face. She had an hourglass figure, and wore a taupe uniform which consisted of a dress shirt and pants with brown shoes. A small and simple name tag with the name 'Ember' adorned on her petite chest; which would've made it hard to tell her gender, were it not for her eyes and body shape. "Oh, hello. Do you need something?"
"That's what I should be asking you." Ember giggled, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Is there anything you'd like?"
"Oh, apologies, I don't have any cash on me at the moment."
"And we wouldn't want it anyway." She chided gently with a smile. "It's the least we can do for you since you saved us from that Beringel."
Jonas stared at her in silence for several seconds, making her furrow her brows in concern. It washed away when a small, yet appreciative smile propped up on his face.
The moment, however, was abruptly cut off by his stomach demanding sustenance; growling loudly enough that several tables could hear him. His eyes widened and a light blush dusted his cheeks, and Ember and Alvis quietly chuckled while those within range burst into hardy laughter.
"I take it you want some food?"
"My traitorous stomach agrees with you." He deadpanned, a smirk growing as the woman laughed. "What do you have for food and drinks?"
"For food we have T-bone steak with a side of lightly salted fries, sliced pork roast with potatoes boiled in pork broth and topped with assorted spices, spaghetti and meatballs topped with parmesan cheese, and pizza." She listed off. "For drinks we have rum, vodka, scotch, beer, gin, whisky, and a few other kinds if you're looking to get drunk. For non-alcoholic beverages we have orange and grape soda, as well as some fruity-"
"Did you say grape soda?" The woman and old man jumped from how serious his voice became, his eyes staring directly into the waitress's eyes. A shiver ran up her spine and nodded quickly, feeling as if the man was staring into her soul. A large smile grew on his face. "I'll take spaghetti with parmesan, and grape pop in the largest glass you can give me."
They stopped for a couple seconds and sighed loudly, the lady leveling a glare at him.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I know." He grinned half smugly, half apologetically. "Been a really long time since I've had soda of any nature though, let alone grape."
Ember made a small 'Ahh' of understanding, writing down his order on a small notepad; grabbing a pen from the pocket on her right shoulder before wandering towards what he believed to be the kitchen. Alvis looked ready to start talking again, only to be interrupted by the group of Huntsmen; including the two he had yet formally introduce himself to. Even Arun had come; though he was out of his armor, and wore a white muscle shirt with lightweight green pants. His arms were wrapped in proper bandages now. He looked pale, and had Coral supporting him slightly from one side. He looked to be light-headed from the blood he lost.
"So this is the lad who saved ya then?" Magnus half hollered in a thick Scottish accent, patting Coral on the back hard enough for her to pitch forward slightly with a grunt. Her helmet, slightly loosened, pitched forward enough for the man to see locks of light blue hair; an unusual color by his standards, but considering the world he was on…
"Yes, he is…" She growled curtly, staring daggers at the large man, who simply laughed it off. Jonas leaned back slightly; knowing the wrath of a woman if you piss one off enough. He would know; he still had a few bruises, though not to the extent Darryl had.
Guy was a human punching bag for how much of a poor flirt and a damn pervert he was. Considering he wasn't dead yet, the only thing he could imagine killing him would be dropping him in a monster infested forest or something with little to no ammo.
Reality came to bite him via the beefy man giving him a hardy slap on his back, nearly making his face meet the table.
"Names Magnus Ström. I'm one of the Huntsmen of North Waters." He announced loudly with a toothy smile. He turned slightly and pointed to his teammates. "This here's Midori Fujita, the one missing an arm is Arun Phan-
"Magnus…" Coral warned.
"-And you've already met the ever-pleasant Coral Fortier of course." He ended cheekily. Jonas was about ready to vacate the table when the huntress' face turned a deep purple while a fire burned in her eyes.
"Ehh… A pleasure to meet all of you." Jonas stuttered slightly. He shook it off and gave a smile in return. "I'm Jonas Everblue."
Midori took a few steps ahead of his team and bowed, speaking with a Chinese brogue. "My thanks for defending our people from the Grimm in our absence."
He waved him off. "Trust me when I say that you helped me by keeping that horde of Beowolves off my back, it allowed me to keep my eyes focused solely on the Beringel. What you did was no less important."
"…How did you know we were fighting Beowolves?" Magnus asked while staring at him intently. Jonas flexed his wings at him in response.
"When I first flew to the plaza I heard the sounds of explosions coming from you're RPG Warhammer, so I followed the sound since the plaza was pretty much empty. Found you guys taking on the Beowolves there. Made sure you guys were handling yourselves okay before I flew back to act as the final line of defense for the church. Glad I did, too."
"In either case, we appreciate the help you gave us; going to great lengths to help me, the children and our people." Arun praised him with a tired tone. "No words could properly express my gratitude."
"The thoughts appreciated, but… Should you be walking around right now?" Concern brushed Jonas's features.
"He's quite right, my boy; you don't look so good." Alvis scolded him, standing and pulling out a chair for him. "Take a seat before you fall over!"
"Doctor Malandra currently has me on painkillers, so I'm a little bit tipsy at the moment." He grinned lightly. The bald man let out a relieved sigh as he sat, leaning back on the seat with his eyes closed. His voice became melancholic as he spoke again. "I suspect I'll be sitting on the sidelines from now on though. Now that I've lost my arm, I can no longer work as a Huntsman."
"Don't talk like that." Coral replied quietly, trying to hide the strings of sadness that colored her voice. "We could always pool our Lien together to buy you an artificial limb."
The warriors hearing perked at the end of her sentence. That was a thing here?!
'Oh, I GOTTA figure out how to make one!'
"Lass is right brother. Can't imagine you being anything but a hunter." Magnus agreed. "Just doesn't seem like your thing."
"I don't have much choice." He replied sternly, staring them down with deep blue eyes. "You know as well as I do how much they cost. Our monthly salaries combined would not come anywhere close to covering the cost, and even if it did, I wouldn't allow you to do such a thing."
"But-!"
"Mind if I interrupt?" Jonas cut them off before they could really get into arguing. Present company stared at him with quizzical expressions; with exception to Coral, who gave him her undivided attention. "This may not be as much of a problem as you think."
"How so, Jonas?" The mayor asked him in confusion. "Unless you are able to make prosthetics yourself, I cannot see a way to easily solve this conundrum."
"Oh no! I wish I knew honestly, cause that sounds awesome." Jonas chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I intend on simply growing the arm back."
The table went quiet. Everyone present was staring at him with wide eyes. Even the surrounding tables that had been listening in on their conversation went silent; all of which were gawking at him.
"A… A-are you serious?!" Lily popped up between him and Arun shouting. Everyone at the table jumped at her sudden appearance. Looking around revealed Troy, Vermillion, and Iris following behind them; all of which were staring at him slack-jawed.
"Yeah, pretty much." He nodded mutely. Seriously, where the hell was everyone popping up from?!
"THAT'S SO COOL!" She yelled, hopping up and down in place.
"How do you intend on doing that, though?" Troy asked, eyeing him warily. "Some demonic looking ritual? Will he have to give up his soul for his arm?!"
"Not really." He replied lazily, pulling off his Charm from his wrist. "All he really needs is this."
"That thing?" Coral muttered, staring at it intensely. "I thought it was a fashion accessory…"
"Well, it can double as that, but there's a little more to it than looks." Jonas explained poorly. "Though I will do this first."
Sitting up straight in his chair, his free hand hovered over the item as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. To the astonishment of the surrounding group of people, a thick corona of blue surrounded his body, and slowly made its way towards the trinket from both of his hands; turning purple and white from each hand respectively. He opened his eyes, and the people who could see them gasped, as they had turned blue and white again.
"Thou shall become my tether...
And thou shall become my sight...
My guide within the shadows…
To lead me to the light."
He spoke in another language, his voice echoing loudly. The building crowd stood in silent awe at the spectacle; watching as light purple runic scrawl slowly etched itself on the inside of the bracelet. Even those in the kitchen had come to watch.
Eventually, the light faded from his body, and his eyes returned to their normal hue. Only when everything returned to normal did he see the large audience he accumulated. He smiled sheepishly. Maybe he should have done this in private?
"What. The heck. Was that?" Coral asked, emphasizing her words.
Jonas looked towards her in concern. They didn't know magic; that much he understood, but surely there must have been tomes explaining the language he spoke just now!
"Do you mean the magic that was running from my body to the trinket, or the different language I was speaking?"
"Both!" She shouted in reply, slamming her hands down on the table. "You keep calling yourself a magician, but magic is nothing more than a fairytale! And I've never even heard of a dialect like that before in my life!"
Though he didn't show it, the man mentally quailed; going from worried and into a slight panic at this information.
Bad enough that magic was considered a story, but he figured that he at least might be able to prove that it existed through one of the books that they might have had; excluding story books anyway. Hell, he had even hoped that someone might have read it and recognized the runes. But if they don't know anything…
This is bad.
Really, really bad.
"Magic is real, Coral. You saw me use it after all."
"For all I knew, that was your semblance!" Coral replied curtly.
…Wait, what?
"…Semblance?" He questioned. "What do you mean?"
"W-wait, seriously?" she stuttered, eyes wide in exasperation. "You really don't know what a semblance is?"
"…For me semblance just refers to something similar by my textbook definition."
Her eye twitched as she stared at him; looking as if she were staring at a toddler who asked what certain buttons on the remote did, only to finally let out a sigh.
"I don't know what to make of all this, anymore." She replied in a monotonous tone, cupping her face in her hands and slumping forward.
"I did tell you I wasn't from around here." He apologized wryly, getting a small grunt in response.
"Are you referring to this country by chance?" Alvis cut in, finally freeing himself from his shock.
"From this world apparently." Coral stated bluntly. A glass shattered from the revelation; silence again spreading throughout the room.
"How…?" The old man petered off. Jonas grinned, spreading his tendrils.
"Did the glowing tentacle wings not give me away?" He snickered. This was just too hilarious. It probably wasn't the time for it, but their reactions made it hard to ignore.
"Were getting off track here." Coral snapped at both of them, letting out a tired sigh at the sight of them sweating. "I'm assuming from your lack of knowledge on semblances that you don't know what Aura is either?"
"Probably not by your definition, no."
"Is it weird that I find it mind-boggling that were even talking about this?" Troy half whispered to Lily. A light smack on the back of his head from Iris and a well-placed glare shut him up quickly enough.
"Thank you Iris." She grumbled, sending her an appreciative glance before looking back at him. "Look, for us, Aura is considered the 'Power of the Soul'. When one has theirs unlocked, it protects one from harm, and can heal most wounds one can accrue in battle. They also enhance the strength and speed; though to what degree is dependent on the person in particular, and how skilled they are at wielding their aura. It's also what's used to activate Dust- the crystals you saw me using when we were fighting the Death Stalker.
Getting a small nod of understanding from Jonas, she continued. "When their Aura is unlocked, they also gain a special ability; commonly referred to as a Semblance. It differs from person to person; but the more common ones are supernatural strength, increased speed or durability, to being able to levitate objects at will. There's no way of actually figuring out what it is other than coming across it by accident though. Some people don't figure out their special ability until far later on, and other find out almost instantly."
"Interesting…" He said under his breath. "Can everyone unlock their Aura? Including myself?"
"You should be able to." She nodded. "You may be an alien, but you're still a living being just like the rest of us. All you need is the training and willpower to have it manifest. Of course, you could have someone who's well trained in Aura to unlock it, but understand that having someone do that is… rather intimate." Coral petered off with a light blush.
"Ahh, I got ya." He smiled. Looking around, he found over a dozen stares all focused on him. A small laugh passed his lips as he looked back at them. "I get the feeling the ever-growing audience want me to explain magic."
A 'Damn right!' sounded from the back of the room, making most present laugh.
"To put things into perspective then…" He started, his face taking on a serious visage. "If Aura is considered the 'Power of the Soul', then magic is best considered the 'Power of the World'."
"Really?" Vermillion quietly asked. Turning to look, he found her standing a couple feet away from him; right next to Lily.
"Indeed." He nodded with a small smile while ruffling her hair lightly. "Most habitable worlds are considered 'Nexus Worlds' due to them being within close proximity to 'Nexus Points'. It's the very foundation from which most life comes from; or, at the very least, helps it along. It's not always the case mind you, but it's the most common factor in habitable worlds in the universe. "
"…Is your world the same then?" Coral inquired hesitantly.
"Possibly. I wouldn't really know since I was pulled from my home-world when I was young. Still don't know who or what did that, either." Jonas shrugged in response. He ignored the sympathetic looks and kept going. "The world I hail from is called 'Earth'. We came about from a series of events that had a one in seven hundred quintillion chance of actually occurring that brought life to our world, and gave it the necessary ingredients to help it flourish. As far as I know we have no such thing; though it's just as easily possible that we forgot how to use it. I can't say for sure until I'm able to return home someday."
"Anyway, we've gotten off track. It's from these points that one is able to use magic; though magic within itself is so much more." Snapping his fingers, eight runic circles with varying colors spawned behind him; each baring a different symbol. He smirked at the hushed whispers he heard. "The eight you see here are the primary forms of magic: Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Water, Arcane, Light, and Darkness. There's also innumerable others that exist by combining two or more of the primary magic's, but I won't bother listing those right now."
"Astounding…" Alvis whispered as the glyphs faded. The huntsmen nodded in agreement.
"If I may?" Midori looked for confirmation. Jonas nodded for him to continue. "From what Coral told us, you are able to pull things out of an invisible space at will. Is this another form of magic?"
"In all honesty, I don't believe so." He replied, rubbing his chin. "It still works even if I exhaust my magic."
"What're ya able to carry in it?" Magnus asked.
"Perceivably anything." He smirked. "I'm a veritable walking arsenal."
"What'cha got?" Magnus grinned.
"Secret."
"Aww~, don't be like that lad!"
"Enough of that, Magnus." Alvis admonished before bringing his attention back to the apparent alien in the room. "So how do you know if we have one of these 'Nexus Points' dear boy?"
"If you didn't, my mana pool wouldn't have recharged after I fought the Death Stalker."
"Can you clarify?" He petitioned. "I'm afraid were missing vital information."
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to stop here for the time being and get a bite to eat." Jonas replied, getting whines and groans from his audience who slowly dispersed after that announcement. He held out the bracelet to Arun. "In the meantime put this on."
"…What is it?"
"It's known as the 'Charm of Myths'; an item I created from the 'Band of Regeneration' and a 'Philosopher's Stone'. It can regrow organs and limbs."
"And you're sure it works?" Coral questioned.
"Considering it grew back my half-melted stomach, I'd think so."
"Wait, WHAT!?"
A few men and women spewed the contents of their drinks onto their tables or other people. Several others fell to the floor in surprise to his bluntness. His group stared at him with hanging jaws and sweaty faces; daring not to believe him.
"…Wanna see?" Jonas winked playfully, lifting up the edge of his jacket, armor and shirt and revealing a patch of bone white skin that stood out next to tanned, maimed skin.
"Oh my god." She gurgled, turning green. "How the hell did you melt half you're stomach?!"
"Story for another time." He replied, much to her frustration. "Point is it works and you should use it if you want your arm back."
Arun grabbed it in his hand, staring at the trinket.
"…What was that chant for, by chance?" He asked.
"That was just me placing a form of sensory magic on it." Jonas stated. "Wherever it is, I'll know."
"I see…" He muttered. After several seconds of quiet contemplation he looked at the magician. "Should I do anything else beforehand?"
Jonas looked upward in thought for a couple moments. "Well… You might want to get yourself hooked up to a blood bag. And you can't really wear bandages over the wound as it regenerates, so you'll probably bleed a bit; though the trinket should deal with that easily enough. To stymie any possible infections, I'd recommend keeping your arm in a cylinder of water laced with a small amount of alcohol to keep it clean while it does its thing."
"Alright."
"And for the love of god, try not to move too much while it regenerates. It'll take longer if you do."
"Duly noted." The bald man chuckled, ambling to his feet. Coral stood close by in case he lost his footing.
"I'll make sure he follows your directions." She said plainly. "Just in case the drugs are affecting his memory."
"I'm not that bad Coral." He groused.
"I'll be the judge of that." The cent-garde expressed bluntly, walking off with him.
Watching them exit the building, he noticed that the Iris and the children had vanished. Did she take decide to move the children when he started talking about regenerating limbs and organs?
He and the mayor sat at the table in silence. Alvis looked to be digesting all the information he was given, his head bowed in thought. Maybe he overloaded him with what he said? Should he have stopped sooner?
A few minutes passed before his food finally got to his table. A large plate of spaghetti sat in front of him; draped in over half a dozen meatballs, and absolutely covered in cheese. But what grabbed his attention was his drink. He grabbed it with shaking hands, pulling it close to him and simply sat there in awe; on the brink of breaking into tears.
It was beautiful. Held in a stein glass was litre and a half of his long lost, favorite carbonated drink. That beautiful purple shade, and the smell that called to him like a siren, reminding him of days long gone; promising him that everything would be okay.
Wordlessly, he lifted the glassware to his mouth…
…And all was right with the world.
"Jonas, are you alright?" The distant voice of the mayor brought him out of his reverie, and suddenly he was back in the Inn.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied.
"But… You're crying, my boy."
Jonas blinked, wiping one of his eyes, and finding that he indeed had tears running down his cheeks. He chuckled wryly.
"Don't mind it." The man smiled. "Just… reminded myself of better days I suppose."
"I see." He nodded, his eyes gleaming in understanding.
Brought back to reality, he dug into his food, and found that the cooks were good in their field of choice. Often, when he hunkered down in other towns, the food he was served was rather chewy. Maybe they weren't as advanced technologically as his world was, but with the aid of magic, it should have helped make better cuisine for themselves as well as travelers.
This food, on the other hand, was incredibly well made. They knew not to add too much of any of the ingredients; keeping it pleasing on most people's palates. It wasn't as good as the food he made personally – He had to have some pride in his cooking! – But their confections were nothing to sneeze at.
In no time at all he devoured his plate, letting out a gratified hum.
"Good food, I take?" Alvis chuckled.
"Definitely."
"Jolly good then! It's always a delight to see a foreigner enjoy our humble little town's cuisine!"
"Frankly, I'm amazed this town isn't popular for its food." Jonas stated, giving his waitress a wink when she came to grab his empty dish, and snickered when her cheeks flushed. Turning to look towards the old man, Alvis was surprised to find the young man giving him a semi-serious stare. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Very well." Alvis nodded. "What do you want to know?"
"From what I understand, Grimm appear when there's a large amount of negative emotions in an area. Is that correct?"
"Indeed. The stronger the negativity the more of them in the area that will likely sense it."
"If that's the case, then what happened to cause such a large amount of them to come here?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. The old man hesitated for a couple seconds before letting out a deep sigh.
"How to explain…" He trailed off, thinking deeply. "Something you have to understand Jonas, is that not all is right with the world."
"In what regard?"
"Regarding equal rights between Humans and Faunus." He answered sadly. "Despite them almost always being with us, some Humans still discriminate; treating them as wild animals that need to be tamed, or exploit them for their own benefit. In my opinion, it's because of these practices that the Faunus people do not have equal rights; for continued use as cheap labor. It's also because of this that organizations like 'The White Fang' exist."
"The White Fang?"
"Another time, dear boy. What's important is that the actions of Humankind in general have caused some of the conflicts we see today; most of which befall the Faunus. It's also the cause of those Grimm appearing."
'Thought as much.' He contemplated crossly. "Does it have something to do with their treatment?"
The mayor slumped slightly in his seat, sighing and wearily rubbing his eyes.
"…Our fair town is one of many expansion efforts made by our kingdom, in order to lessen the ever-growing population in our main cities. They base them in areas that are safe enough to inhabit, but there is always an element of risk-"
"Due to the Grimm, right?" Jonas guessed.
"Quite right, yes." He nodded. "We receive Lien – that is our currency in case you haven't been told – on a monthly basis from the kingdom, along with supplies and other materials we need in order to live and combat the Grimm. We still work mind you, just in a capacity that helps make the land become more fertile and livable, thus making the kingdom send more people. We ourselves have expanded once already, though not as much as others would due to being a frontier town."
"Those who don't work within the village often find jobs working in the dust mines. Often, whenever an area with a high dust count is found, villages are set up close by; both to try and expand their influence, and to aid in its operations. However…" Alvis sighed, looking at him. "Most of these mines are owned by the Schnee Dust Company."
"…I take it by your tone of voice that they aren't looked upon favorably here." He stated
"No, they aren't." A new voice chimed in harshly. Coral walked up behind him, with Midori following along. Both took the remaining seats. She looked at Jonas with a hint of worry. "Is that charm supposed to make his stump hurt?"
"Sweetie, its growing new muscles, bones, veins, and most importantly nerves; there really isn't a way around that." The man deadpanned. Pink dusted her cheeks in response, having the grace to look embarrassed.
"What will he need to do afterwards?"
"His arm from the new flesh down needs to be exercised." Jonas replied. "It'll essentially have the strength of a newborn, so he needs to get it in shape; even more so considering his profession."
"Magnus has a weight set he can use; it will be no problem."
"Good." He said, relieved, before looking back at her. "Magnus stayed behind to give him company?"
"Just in case something goes wrong." She clarified. "We don't know you enough to figure out if you're telling the truth, so he's on standby if that trinket does anything it shouldn't."
"Understandable." He affirmed. "Now, what exactly did this group do to get such a bad reputation?"
"They're highly questionable treatment of their labor forces." She spat in disgust, leaning on the table with her hand cupping her chin. "Because Faunus aren't given the same civil rights like Humans have, they often work long grueling hours in questionable conditions for little pay. It's why they're often picked for such roles."
"…Alvis said this shared a relation to the Grimm invading." Jonas voiced. He had a good idea of what happened, but he didn't want to believe it.
"…The manager of one of the mines close by is, for all intents and purposes, considered more related to a Grimm than a Human with his treatment of his miners." Midori finally broke into the conversation. "He has no problem making his employees work several hours of overtime in horrid working conditions to meet his quota. More than one Faunus there has ended up in the medical center or, more often then we like to admit, sent home with limbs missing."
…
His clenched hand, hidden under the table shook as his mind registered what she was saying.
The fact that any living being is forced into such situations was abhorrent to him. His people went through it back in the day, and a great many lives were lost due to overexertion from just trying to earn a good paycheck for their families. It was why the minimum wage laws were introduced; in order to avoid other such incidents.
"How long have they been treated like this, exactly?" He asked quietly, grabbing his drink to help soothe his nerves. Coral flinched, and Midori's eyes twitched from how sharp his voice was.
"…Since long ago, before recorded history." Alvis lamented. "Back then, they were considered no different from the Grimm, and were either chased out of villages or hunted down and killed."
"They aren't treated like that anymore." Coral added hastily. "Often, all they face is what we talked about and very rarely kidnapped and thrown into the Mistralian Black Market to work as slaves for nobles."
His steins handle started to crack in his grip, though he didn't notice. Jonas spoke, voice sounding hollow, his eyes tightly closed.
"I'm assuming with their daily treatment that such a thing wasn't the cause of the Grimm invasion you've just suffered from. If that is the case, then what caused such turmoil that brought a horde so large?"
"A couple dozen workers, some of which were from North Waters, were mining down one of the older shafts. It… it collapsed due to the wooden support beams having rotted from being there so long without being replaced." Coral choked.
'And if there was such an invasion… oh god.'
Jonas felt his blood freeze. He didn't have to guess if his eyes had shifted again under his eyelids.
"He left them there." He said, more of a statement than a question.
"…Yes." The mayor quietly answered.
*Cr-Cr-Cr-Crunch!*
Alvis jumped in his seat, while Coral stared at him with tear-filled eyes and no small amount of fear; the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Even the more wizened goers of the Inn stopped dead, staring directly at him as their instincts sent out danger signals.
A thin, blue corona surrounded his body as he trembled, holding the former handle of his mug in his fist; most of it now crushed into glass powder. His hair and any part of his coat-tails that weren't held down flew gently in a non-existent breeze.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time. Ever since the warrior realized its existence, he bottled it up inside himself. The last thing he wanted was to lash out and injure, or god forbid kill someone accidentally. That didn't make it any less difficult to ignore though. It was always there, running under the surface.
How long had it been since he felt this unyielding rage?
The screeching of chairs brought his mind back to reality. He took several deep breaths. With each exhale the glow lessened, before it eventually faded after the final breath, and his hair and jacket settled. His hand unclenched, letting the powder fall to the table like sand. Jonas opened his eyes only when he was sure he got himself under control.
His eyes registered how both the hunters of the table jumped out of their chairs, standing close to the distraught mayor in case he needed to be shielded from a possible attack. Jonas belatedly noticed how conversations at other tables had died down in response; confusion etched in their faces.
"Apologies for that, I usually don't let my anger control myself like it did just now." He expressed with a drained smile. "Hearing about their horrid treatment set me off I suppose."
Small nods came in response after several moments. Eventually, both Midori and Coral slowly returned to their seats.
"If you don't mind my asking though, why did he leave them there? Wouldn't it have been more beneficial for him to keep them alive?"
"One would think, but from what I heard from one of our own, it was due to the old section of the mine having a significantly lower count of dust crystals per square foot." Coral grumbled.
'Does he have a personal end goal in getting rid of them?' He thought before shaking his head. 'Doesn't seem like it. What he's done is no doubt cruel, but considering the treatment they go through on a daily basis something like this wasn't too far-fetched; unusual, sure, but not all that strange. And it wasn't just happening here if what they said was true, so it doesn't sound like corruption at any one digging site, nor did it seem to end at middle management if it was this out of control. It looks like it goes all the way to the top.'
"Jonas my boy, are you still there?" Alvis called out in concern.
"Yes, apologies, just putting the pieces together here." He replied quickly. A small idea was forming in his mind. "Can you tell me who owns the Schnee Dust Company?"
"Oh! Um… that would be Jacques Schnee." The mayor hesitated for a second. "He is the president and CEO."
"And who runs this mining operation where the incident took place?"
"That would be Edrick Blaec."
"Jonas… What are you planning?" Midori asked, eyeing him worriedly.
"Nothing too crazy, I assure you." He grinned in response.
"So you're not planning on killing anyone?" Coral questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Not really. Doing so wouldn't solve the problem, not to mention it would make me the bad guy. No, what I have planned is much worse."
"…Which is?"
"Allow me to answer that with another question." Jonas gave a toothy smile. Coral found it frightening with the gears turning in his head. "What's the state of technology for this world?"
"Well… we have scrolls to communicate over long distances,-" Oh, so that's what they are! "-television, and computers, so I'd say were pretty far along. We tried going into space once, but dust doesn't work outside our atmosphere."
"Do you have cameras?"
"Yes, we have them; both in scrolls, and used for security and the like."
"Perfect." His smile grew, looking menacing to the rest of the table. Coral finally caught on to what he was planning.
"No, Jonas, this isn't 'Perfect'; what you're planning is dangerous!" She yelled. "The Grimm are one thing, but the people down there are something else entirely! Most of the guards are brutal and borderline sadistic!"
"Then it's a good thing I have more than one trick up my sleeve." He smirked. "Have a few spells that could get me around the compound in a jiffy, not to mention a potion that's perfect for sneaking."
"You're intending on breaking into the mining complex." Alvis declared, face paling.
"Mostly their administrative building." He shrugged. "All I intend on doing is getting some dirt on them from their cameras, and seeing the background of the manager and security guards. I imagine that if I can find enough dirt that spreads through the management and security of the mining op then I can hold it against Jacques, though I want to look through their international database and add to it if I can."
"You're insane!" Coral shouted.
"I'm not going on a massacre in revenge love. If I do it right I can be in and out without being noticed. And on the remote chance I do get spotted somewhere along the line then I can simply knock them out with a sleep spell and hide them in a janitor's closet or something."
Coral sputtered, trying and failing to come up with anything that could sway him from going. It was only when she noticed the steely look in his eyes that he wouldn't move on this. He was going through with it with or without their help.
She sighed a long sigh and stood from the table, walking towards him.
"What are yo-"
"Just shut up for a second." She snapped, placing her hands on his cheek and chest. "If you're doing this, then I'd rather you survive it long enough to get back here and get destroyed by me afterwards."
"…Say what now?"
"I'm unlocking your Aura." Jonas' eyes widened, not expecting her acting this way.
"Uh… D-didn't you say unlocking ones Aura was something intimate?" He mentally swore at himself for stuttering. Coral let out a small nod, cheeks flushing.
"Yes, now shut up." She growled quietly. After a few deep breaths she closed her eyes, and her pink aura surrounded her body.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.
Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all.
Infinite in distance and unbound by death,
I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
Thinking back on it, those words sounded like a beautiful poem of reincarnation.
Too bad he felt like he got socked in the stomach by a Devourer.
Cyan lighting started to arc around his body, making Coral flinch back before she got electrocuted. All conversations in the room stopped at the spectacle; the only sound remaining being the electricity cracking every now and then. Jonas cradled his belly, his lips pulled back in a snarl.
"Back up." He grunted in pain. "Back up NOW."
The tables quickly vacated as people either ran for the door, or got as far away from him as possible. What felt like an inferno built up in his stomach as the intervals between lightning cracks grew shorter. His blue corona came back in full force, slowly growing larger until a cyan layer of equal size appeared underneath it. The chair he sat on splintered into pieces, and the table abruptly flew away from him. He collapsed to the floor in a heap, his body screaming in agony. One of his hands clawed at the wooden floor, leaving deep gashes.
Then his vision went white.
[ERROR]
[SYSTEM FAILURE DETECTED]
[RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC]
[SCANNING…]
[0%]
[13%]
[39%]
[72%]
[SCAN COMPLETE]
[ALERT]
[NEW SUB-SYSTEM DETECTED]
[COMPILING NEW DATA…]
[0%]
[15%]
[38%]
[64%]
[89%]
[COMPILING COMPLETE]
[TESTING SUB-SYSTEM]
[TESTING…]
[TEST COMPLETE]
[NO ERRORS DETECTED]
[INITIATING SUB-SYSTEM]
[SUB-SYSTEM INITIATED]
[REBOOTING…]
'That's never happened before.' He growled inwardly. His ears rang as his vision came back to him at a snail's pace. The second time in less than twenty-four hours he ended up on the ground writhing in pain. He'd be more frightened if this wasn't as common of an occurrence for him.
If someone told him he had to do this again to gain more power, he'd kindly smack them in the jaw with the flat of Night's Edge and politely tell them to fuck off.
"-ue! Everblue, can you hear me?!" He heard Corals voice shouting at him. Looking towards her, he was surprised to find tears in her eyes, but his thoughts on that matter were dashed by the charred circle he and Coral were in the center of.
"Yeah, give me a minute." Jonas rasped, slowly turning over and pushing himself onto his knees; hands propping himself up. Coral stood next to him, a hand firmly holding his shoulder. "Okay, that was really unpleasant."
"I-it wasn't supposed to do that. Unlocking your aura makes you feel stronger, not whatever the hell that was!" She freaked out, making him look at her in slight befuddlement. She only just met him today, and already she worried about him to this degree. It was strange… but rather sweet.
"Easy love, I'm fine now." He said gently with a genuine smile, patting her hand in attempts to console her. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Slowly, he made his way back onto his feet. Taking a few deep ragged breaths until his breathing slowly evened out. Carefully at first, he felt around his body. Jonas did feel pretty good, all things considered. Even the aches from his arms had abated, much to his shock. He'd have to check to see if the bruising had faded, but all in all he felt as if he had slept uninterrupted for two days and had a nice soothing bath and massage. Not that he knew what a massage felt like anyway.
"Huh… even got rid of the bruises I had." He mumbled.
Surprised with what he found, he looked in the corner of his vison, and gawked.
Aura:
476/500
Health:
500/500
Mana:
200/200
Jonas stood there, blinking owlishly.
"Jonas?" Coral called, her nervous voice betraying the mask she put up. He jumped slightly and sighed, realizing he had stared into space again.
"Sorry about that, it's another special ability of mine." He answered calmly. "It lets me see my status – by which I mean my health and mana – in the form of numbers."
"…Wait, really?" She responded blankly.
"Yup. It kinda short-circuited it when you introduced Aura into my body." Jonas explained. Coral winced behind him. "It had to restart itself in order to properly adapt to the new power. I'm… actually better than I felt earlier."
"How do you mean?" She raised a lithe eyebrow.
"Well, when I woke up earlier I had bruises all across my arms and back from my fight with the Beringel, so I had a pretty decent ache going on; though I'm used to something like that after everything else I dealt with. Now though, all those aches and pains are pretty much gone." He turned to look at her. "What happened exactly?"
"W-well, when you told us to back off a blue aura started to surround you're body."
"Ahh, that was just my mana causing a physical manifestation. Nothing new there." He waved off.
"Is it normal for you to explode in a ball of blue flames?" She deadpanned
"…No." He sighed. "Anything else unusual?"
"Well, when your mana popped up it was blue, but it developed a second color."
'Okay, that's new.' He thought plainly. "Aura can have a physical manifestation as well, can't it?"
"Yes. I assumed as much myself." She nodded, a hand cupping her chin. "It seems likely that your Aura appeared along with your mana due to the immense pain you were suffering from; which is strange since it shouldn't have hurt."
"I feel better now if it's any consolation, not to mention that Aura popped up in my status. Don't know if it's me though, but it seems unusually large."
He scratched at his cheek while thinking. Having an idea, he turned to look at Coral. Maybe that glitched space where her Aura should be is fixed?
{Huntress}
[Coral Fortier]
Aura:
197/210
Health:
100/100
"Oh good, that is working now." He grinned.
"What's working?"
"Well, I just checked your status. Your Aura, as well as everyone else who has theirs unlocked, had nothing more than a jumble of text where it should have been. Now that I have my own it seemed to have corrected itself."
"Is that right?" She muttered with interest. "Do you know what my maximum aura is?"
"Two hundred and ten." Coral gave a smug smile.
"Not too bad."
"Don't get too into yourself." He smirked wryly. "Mine's five hundred."
"…That's just not fair!" She whined, pouting. "Why's yours so large!?"
"When you fight monsters from another world, then you can complain."
He laughed when she stuck her tongue out in a childish display. Good to know farting around a bit calmed her. Looking around, he frowned when he noticed everyone had left; probably evacuating when he was about to explode.
"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" Concern laced his tone. A small smile formed on her lips, and she shook her head.
"Everyone's fine. Those who couldn't vacate the building either hid in the kitchen or second floor."
A moment after he heard her response he visibly deflated. Another moment passed, and he thought his ears were betraying him.
"…Did you just giggle?" He stared at her with slight shock. Her face flushed red, and she started to sputter refusals much to his amusement. "Sweetie, that was adorable."
"Oh shut up." She replied quietly, flustered. She looked away from him and shouted. "It's safe to come out now!"
Only after half a minute did people flutter from various openings. Midori and the mayor had taken the lead, returning to the bar area first. Alvis looked him up and down for any changes, and was satisfied when he found none.
"Good to know you're alright dear boy!" He cheered. "For a moment, I had thought we lost you!"
"You and me both." He grinned, and looked toward Midori. "You doing alright? You were pretty close when my powers flipped out."
"It is fine; I was not harmed." He smiled gently, though his expression turned sheepish as he looked downward. "Though I fear more for what the workers of the establishment will do to you."
He paled slightly, and started to sweat as he turned towards the waitress that had served him. She caught sight of him looking at her, and grinned evilly; mouthing 'Are you going to pay for this' to him.
"…I'm suddenly glad I can repair the damage easily enough."
His three compatriots chuckled in response to that.
Time for a little announcement.
I've started a poll for how long it should take him to get to vale.
Was never a question of if, only when.
Link: Poll is over!
Voting ends in a week!
NOTE: I might have to break it if it means fleshing out the story.
This should get interesting.
Stay Sober!