Oh, don't mind me, just casually informing you guys that I'm currently experimenting with 3rd person pov for this chapter. Tell me what you guys think after you finish. Should I continue with it or go back to 1st person?
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Orario- Blue Pharmacy
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*Knock* *Knock*
Cain's finger twitched slightly when he heard the faint knocking coming from the front door.
Right now he's currently seated at the dinner table with his Familia as they were in the middle of breakfast that he had prepared earlier. The sun was in the midst of rising, lighting up the world with it's light. It's as if it were telling Orario to wake up from it's slumber with it's incandescent radiance. The birds were wide awake and in the midst of having an epic rap battle right outside their window to add to the atmosphere.
After encountering a heavily injured Gale Wind in the middle of the alley and subsequently saving her and hiding her in the Hostess of Fertility, Cain has been somewhat….tensed.
No, tense isn't the right word to use. It's more like he's body and mind is in a constant state of alertness, ready to spring into action at any given moment just in case something were to happen, but just relaxed enough that it won't affect his daily life. He's been in this state for nearly two days now, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
After all, you don't harbor a dangerous fugitive and expect that trouble wouldn't follow.
Frankly, he had been expecting his door to be kick down by a bunch of hooligans seeking the whereabouts of Gale Wind for a while now. It never happened….yet. He had even set some traps around the pharmacy for extra precaution too.
But when it became obvious that he was being a paranoid idiot and that no one is coming for him after waiting for an entire night, he removed them so no one accidentally steps on them. Honestly, he'd rather leave them in place but since there's a chance that his Familia or a customer might step on them by accident, they had to go.
He keep himself ready for a fight just in case though. Just because he's paranoid doesn't mean that the world isn't out to get him. It had proven itself to be his enemy before in the past after all.
Cain forces himself to relax before his Familia could pick up on his behavior and pretended to be curious at the knocking instead. "Oh? Who could it be this early in the morning?" Miach said, apparently having heard the knocking as Cain did. Naaza on the other hand, hadn't showed any reaction at all. Either that she didn't heard it or couldn't care less in her sleepy state. Considering that her race has superior hearing than Cain's, it's most likely the latter.
It also goes without saying that his Familia is made unaware of what had transpired that night. The less they know the better. Plausible deniability and all that.
"Good question. Just who could it be?" Cain let out in false curiosity. He look towards the clock on the wall and noted that it's barely six in the morning. He highly doubts that it's a customer as no one would come by this early to buy a potion.
Unless it's an emergency of course. In which case, they would be banging down the door and shouting for help instead of knocking politely. That leaves only two possibilities that he could think of right now. A) He was wrong about it not being a customer and they were well mannered enough to knock politely even when in an emergency. Or, B) Someone saw him carrying Gale away from the alley and tracked him down to find out where she is.
"I'll go get it." Cain offered quickly before Miach could and got up from his chair, his mind already working hard to think of scenarios just in case it turned into a fight right outside the front door. First and foremost is to lead the attacker away from his home so Naaza and Miach wouldn't be dragged into the fight. After that, well, he just hopes he has enough surprises in store to kill whoever it is before he or she could kill him.
"If it's the milkman, make sure he doesn't cheat you with spoiled milk. If it's a salesman, pretend you didn't see him." Naaza said sleepily, looking like she'd rather plant her face into her food than eat it with how she's barely sitting upright in her seat.
"I don't think any salesmen would work this early in the morning Naaza-chan." Cain replied with a small chuckle. "Also, drink your coffee before you bury your face in your food."
"Can't. Too hot." She muttered dishearteningly as she stared longingly at her still steaming cup of coffee.
Ah, so she's learning after all. Cain thought as he tried his best not to sound patronizing as he console her. "It's alright Naaza-chan, you can try blowing it to cool it down quicker." He told her, unable to keep the smirk off his face.
"I have a cup of very hot coffee and I'm not afraid to throw it." Naaza replied with a deadpan upon seeing Cain's smugness. Somehow he has a feeling that she's serious about it too. Sleepy Naaza can be scary sometimes.
"Please don't waste coffee like that Naaza. If you're unable to drink it then maybe you can give it to me instead?" Miach suggested with a hopeful expression as he eyed the mug of coffee on Naaza's side.
Naaza quickly drew her mug closer to her protectively. "No thanks. I'll be able to drink it once it cool off a bit." Naaza replied, eyeing our God with clear promise of swift retribution from her canines if he ever so touches her coffee.
Miach turns to look at Cain with a hopeful expression, silently asking him if he could finally release him from the curse of no caffeine that he had inflicted upon him. Cain however, didn't notice it at all as he had already left to greet whoever's at the door. Miach deflates with a sigh and went back to eating his breakfast with a gloomy air hanging around him.
The knocking came again while Cain was walking towards the door, his head going through the list of possibilities on who it could be on the other side.
Now that he had taken some time to think properly, he realized that it's entirely possible that the person outside might not be an enemy. There a chance that it could be someone he, Naaza or Miach knows instead. He knows for sure that it couldn't be his friends since they're either still asleep at this time or have things of their own to do in the morning. Unless of course, something has came up and they came to get me knowing that I'd be awake at this time. Cain's brows furrow in concern as he thought of that.
Cain's thoughts went to a certain elf that he had helped not long ago. Could it be that she had finally woken up? He mused. After seeing the state that her body was in, it wasn't surprising to learn that she fell into a coma so that her body could recuperate. There were concerns being voiced by the girls at the pub when the elf hadn't woken up after an entire day. But in the end, they realize that there's nothing they could really do except to wait and hope that the elf actually wakes up.
Cain let out a small sigh as he reached the door and pull out his dagger from his sleeve, holding it in a reverse grip in preparation to strike. Just because there's a chance that it couldn't be an enemy doesn't mean he shouldn't be prepared just in case it actually is. Why take the risk? He didn't survive for so long back in his old world by being so careless after all.
He uses his free hand to open the door just a tiny bit so he can see through the gap, bracing his feet against the floor just in case the person outside tried to knock the door open and send him flying.
As it turns out, all that preparation was utterly unneeded as the person standing on the other side of the door was someone that he recognize and definitely not a threat. Unless of course, it's someone who can disguise themselves as someone else.
Damn it paranoia! Stop making things hard for me. Cain thought as he sheath his dagger back to it's hiding spot. He open the door fully to greet the person outside with a wide smile. "Amid-san. Fancy seeing you here so early."
Standing right before Cain was none other than Naaza's friend/not friend and tutor in the mystical art of alchemy, Amid Teasanare, member of Dian Cecht Familia and currently a doctor in training.
Amid is a beautiful girl that's the same age as Cain with long silver hair and purple eyes. Her face is perfectly smooth and delicate, causing most people to describe her looks to be like an elaborate doll's, much to her embarrassment and dismay as many of the females in her Familia wanted to dress her up because of it. She's currently wearing a long purple one piece dress with long sleeves and a pair of brown boots. She's also holding onto a bag in her hand that she uses to bring the ingredients over for Naaza to practice with.
By the way, the members of Dian Cecht Familia also have their own work uniform to wear at their store. Since this is probably a casual visit, Amid's not wearing it right now.
"Musashi-san, good morning. I hope you don't mind me visiting this early." Amid greeted him with a small bow.
"No, not at all." Cain said, discreetly scanning the person before him for any signs of her being fake in a disguise. Nothing about her seemed off and his gut feeling hadn't warn him not to trust her or anything. Since he can't find anything wrong with the girl, he suppose she's in the clear. "Come on in then, you can tell me why you're at our doorstep at this hour once you're settled inside." Cain gesture for her to enter and move away from the door so she could come inside. After she did so, Cain peeked his head out the door for a moment and scanned the surroundings for anything suspicious. Finding none, he nodded to himself and lock the door behind him before leading Amid to where the rest of his Familia is at.
Upon reached the kitchen entrance, Amid saw that they were still in the middle of breakfast. "Ah! Did I arrive too early?" She said with a bit of an embarrass flush on her cheeks.
"It's fine. It's not like you can't be here or anything." Cain reassures her with a small chuckle. "By the way, have you eaten yet? I'll whip something up real quick if you haven't. We can't have you go hungry while you're in our humble adobe after all."
"There's no need for that, I've eaten already." Amid quickly informs him as she follows him into the kitchen.
"Oh, so it's Amid. Welcome, welcome. What brings you here so early in the morning? You usually drop by after nine." Miach asked the girl without any of his usual energy.
"Good morning Miach-san and thank you for having me. I'm here because Naaza-san asked me to come earlier during my next visit and told me that it would be alright to arrive at this hour."
"Oh ho? Any particular reason why my little sister would specifically request that?" Cain asked as he smirked at the girl in question. Naaza refuses to make eye contact with him and stared firmly at her plate while sipping her coffee silently.
"Impatience most likely. We were getting to an interesting part during our last lesson but ran out of time before we could go over it. Naaza-san became very upset because of that and asked if I could come earlier next time so we would have more time for our next lesson." Amid explained with a soft smile.
"I see….thanks for being so accommodating Amid-san. I know that Naaza-chan can be a real handful sometimes but I'm glad that she has you for a friend." Cain said, ignoring the low growl coming from the dining table.
"It's really not a bother. Naaza-san has been very good friend and I do rather enjoy the time that we've spent together." Amid said while offering me a slight smile. While not as proficient as Syr in reading others, Cain could at least tell that Amid actually meant what she had said based on how sincere she sounds.
Cain knows that she isn't the only one to feel that way too. Despite her complains, Naaza actually enjoys these little potion making sessions with Amid even though she hasn't specifically said anything. He could tell that much from watching them both getting excited over something when working together and debating feverishly about it.
Cain smiled and nodded, feeling glad that Amid is her friend. With her coming around whenever she could, he didn't have to worry about Naaza always being lonely while he's out. She didn't have much in the friend department because she rarely leaves the shop and the scant few that she did have rarely make time to visit her. "Well, take a seat. There's no need to stay standing while waiting for us to finish." Cain told Amid as he gesture for her to pick a chair.
Realizing that Amid is waiting for her to finish, Naaza started picking up the pace and began shoving food into her mouth so she could finish quicker. "Naaza-chan, don't rush. Take your time and chew properly so you don't choke." Cain chided her with a disapproving frown when he noticed what she was doing. "I'm sure Amid-san wouldn't mind waiting for a bit, right?" I ask the silver haired girl as she was pulling up a chair right next to Naaza.
"It's fine. I'm not in a rush or anything and I'd rather not be the cause of someone choking on their food if I could help it." Amid said as place her bag on the table and sat down, shooting Naaza a teasing smirk as she did so. Naaza glared at the silver haired girl but the angry look that she was going for was greatly diminished by how stuffed her cheeks are.
While this was going on, Cain positioned himself silently behind Amid. "Well then," he began, causing his guest to jerk slightly with a soft 'eep' because she wasn't expecting him to be behind her. "Since you're properly seated and all, I have a question of great importance to ask you, and I want you to answer it with your upmost honesty. Can you do that Amid?" Cain asked while staring into her eyes, dropping the honorific to convey the seriousness of the matter.
Still recovering from the fright Cain had given her, Amid wasn't all that prepared when he asked her his question. "Y-yes?" She replied with a small squeak, though her answer came out sounding more like a question instead.
"Coffee or Tea?" Cain asked her seriously, prompting Naaza to lift up one of her ears to pay attention to their conversation.
It took a moment for Amid to process what he had asked her but when she did, she gave the most eloquent of replies that he had ever heard from her. "Bwah?" She let out as she look at Cain with confusion plastered onto her expression.
"Coffee or tea, which one do you prefer to drink?" he ask her again, smirk slightly at the cute face that she's making.
"Erm, coffee?"
Cain's smile died at her answer and he started pouting slightly instead. Naaza was just smiling smugly at him, oozing an aura of superiority from her smugness. Amid was looking between both of them, confused as to what's going on while Miach is still gloomily eating his breakfast.
Cain shamble off towards the cupboard whilst hanging his head in defeat. He pick an unused cup reserved for guests and started pouring Amid her preferred drink. "So, how would you like your coffee Amid-san?"
"Ah! It's alright Musashi-san. There's no need to go out of your way to make me something to drink." Amid quickly said after finally realizing what his earlier question was for.
"Nonsense. You're our guest right now so it's only proper for us to serve you something to drink at the very least. Besides, I've already poured the coffee down, so if you refuse, I'll have to toss it down the sink and that would be a waste. So, sugar, milk, cream or do you prefer it as it is?"
Realizing that Cain isn't going to let her off without giving her a drink, she conceded reluctantly. "Milk please." She told him, her voice almost pouty.
"I want some coffee too." Cain heard Miach mutter sadly, sounding and looking like a man going through a withdrawal.
Cain sigh at the melancholy of his God's voice and pick his mug from the cupboard and proceeded to pour some for him too. He felt that Miach had been punished enough so there's no need to deny him his caffeine any longer.
Cain place their drinks in front of them. Amid accepted hers with a polite thank you while Miach was surprise to find Cain placing his mug in front of him. He stared at it for a moment as if he couldn't believe what he's seeing before he turn to Cain, looking as though he's asking him for permission.
Cain simply nodded and gesture for him to go ahead. Miach immediately guzzled the drink down in an instant. The only reason why he hasn't scorched his entire mouth and throat was because Cain had the foresight to drop a few ice cubes into it first to chill it. Miach lean his body back against his chair and his entire body visibly relaxes as he let out a content sigh. "Ah, sweet caffeine." He murmured with a look of absolute bliss on his face, looking lost to the world.
Cain decide to give him a moment to savor it and focus his attention elsewhere. He saw that Amid and Naaza had already began talking about potion ingredients and the many ways to use them. He honestly had no clue what they're talking about but they seem to be having fun so he decided to leave them alone while he finish up his food.
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After finishing breakfast, Naaza was quick to clean up and place tableware into the sink. "I'm going to get everything ready. Nii-san, please help me wash the dishes. I'll return the favor by doing them tonight." She blurted out and ran off to the back of the shop. Cain merely quirked an amused eyebrow at Naaza's retreating figure before getting up from his seat and taking his stuff with him to the sink.
"So, what will you girls be making do today? You said you've reached an interesting part last time you were here so I'm guessing it has something to do with it right?" Cain ask Amid, who was still seated at the table while he started cleaning the dishes.
"Yes. I'm going to be teaching Naaza-san how to make a high potion today." Amid informed him.
"Ooo, a high potion. Going for the advance stuff already I see. That's pretty fast for only half a year of learning." Cain commented while feeling impressed by the speed of their progress. If he recalled correctly, high potions are something that requires a lot of skill and needs to be made with meticulous care. One small mistake would render it into something else entirely. Not exactly the cheapest thing to make either as all the ingredients needed are the high quality ones.
"Yes. Naaza has shown great promise when it comes to potion making." Amid said with a small smile.
"Heh. My little sister is pretty amazing isn't she? I'm really proud of her." Cain said with a bit of pride in his voice.
"Yes she is. It won't be long before she learns everything I have to offer." Amid replied naturally, causing Cain to frown slightly when he detected something off in her tone. Cain didn't know if he's just imagining it but Amid seemed kind of sad when she said that.
"Amid," Miach suddenly spoke up, causing both of them to look at him. "Even if you have nothing more to teach Naaza, you're still free to visit any time you want." He told her with a kind smile.
Wait, could it be that she was thinking that her time together with Naazawould come to an end once she had taught Naaza everything that she knew? Is that why she sounded so sad? Cain thought as he read into what Miach had said. His gaze flicker back to Amid, noting that she looked a bit surprised.
"I don't want to impose on you all anymore than I have to." Amid quickly replied, looking rather reluctant. From the way she had said it, it sounded like she didn't want to trouble us with her presence.
Honestly this girl, she's just too considerate even after being around us for so long. Cain thought with another frown and began wondering if he should say something to help change her mind. She is Naaza's friend after all and he didn't want her to think that she's being a nuisance by being around. He also couldn't help but wonder if her reluctance stems from the fact that her God was the reason why their Familia is in such dire situation.
But to his pleasant surprise, he didn't have to say anything at all as someone else did it for him. "It's fine." Naaza said, having returned at some point and heard what they were talking about. "You can visit whenever you want, I don't mind at all and… I would miss you if you suddenly stopped coming." She muttered, trying to hide the blush appearing on her face by turning away. Amid look at Naaza with surprise etched on her features. Looks like she didn't expect her to say that at all and frankly, neither did Cain.
The surprised expression on Amid's face soon turn into one of happiness as she smiled at Naaza. "I see. Then I would be glad to come by even after I have nothing left to teach you." Somehow, she seemed just a bit more relaxed in Cain eyes.
"The workstation is ready so we can start at any time." Naaza said to Amid quickly in order to change the topic, still with a bit of redness on her cheeks. The silver haired girl nodded and stood up from her seat, taking her bag with her.
"They grow up so fast." Cain said to no one in particular with a sniffle as he pretend to wipe a tear from his eye. And to think that just a few months ago Naaza can't even stand being in the presence of Amid without a buffer known as Miach.
It was after long talks with the girl did they finally get her to see past the notion that Amid's from the Familia that ruined theirs. They talked about how she shouldn't hate someone from a certain Familia just because their god did something that warrant their displeasure. Hate the God, not his followers as Cain would say, unless they did something to make you hate them too of course. It took a lot of convincing but it was worth it to see these two getting along so well now.
"Indeed they do." Miach replied with a warm smile. "Well then, I think it's about time for me to open the shop." He said as he stood up from his seat with his 4th cup of coffee in hand. "You girls have fun, and don't make too much of a mess alright?" He told them as he walk out of the kitchen.
"Yes Miach-sama." Naaza replied with a small nod as she watch him go.
"We'll be sure to clean up afterwards Miach-san." Amid told the God respectfully before walking towards where Naaza is waiting.
"Well then, since you two are going to be busy for the whole day, I guess we won't be spending time together today like we've planned right?" Cain said as he return his attention to the dishes.
"Ah! That's right…." Naaza muttered out in realization, sounding a bit concern and disappointed.
"Could it be that you both had other plans in mind for today?" Amid asked.
"We do actually. But we can do that any other day so you don't have to worry about anything Amid-san. I'm sure I can find something to keep myself entertained, so go have fun don't worry about little ol' me."
"Okay." Naaza nodded but still looked a bit uneasy. "Please remember to keep out of trouble as well Nii-san." Naaza reminded him.
Cain pretended not to hear that and continued on with his work.
After a moment of silence from the male, Naaza realized that he's ignoring her. "Nii-san." Naaza's voice came out warningly.
"Hmm? Did you say something Naaza-chan?" Cain questioned innocently, turning his head around to look at her with a smirk on his face.
"Don't make me bring out the water spray." She threatened.
"You wouldn't!" Cain gasped in horror.
"You know I would." Naaza narrow her eyes at him, taking out a small bottle of water spray that she kept hidden around somewhere for times like these. To this day, Cain still has no idea where she hides them. He's been trying to find them for months but never had any luck in locating them.
"Fine~ Nii-san promise not to get himself into any trouble." Cain told her with a fake sniffle. What he left unsaid was that trouble might find him instead. With how his luck has been recently, he wouldn't be surprised if it actually did.
"A water spray?" Amid asked incredulously.
"Yes, a water spray. Amid-san, if you ever find yourself alone with Nii-san for whatever reason and he's being childish or starts misbehaving, just use a water spray on him. It'll make him behave without fail." Naaza informed the silver haired girl with a complete deadpan.
"That…. sounds rather silly."
"It is." Naaza admitted unabashedly as she return the bottle in her hand to wherever she pulled it out from. "He would hiss at me and shrink away from the water like a cat."
Amid let out an amused giggle at the mental image Naaza had given her before changing the subject to something less weird. "If I may ask, what were you both originally planning to do?"
"We were planning on heading over to the Training Hall so Nii-san can continue practicing with a bow. He's still learning and I'm there to teach him what I can." Naaza informed her.
"Oh? I never knew Cain-san uses a bow."
"It's a recent thing actually. You should've seen him in action, he keeps hitting himself more than the target." Naaza said with a smile, clearly amused by the memories of his failures. That little devil.
"Hey! I've been making progress!" Cain said as he point the spoon that he was in the middle of washing at her. "I'll have you know that I can actually hit the target more than once already." he told her as he tried flicking the water from the spoon at her. Unfortunately, the distance between them was too far and his efforts did nothing except wetting the floor.
"And how many times did you did hit yourself in the process? Naaza shot back.
"...twice the amount compared to the times I've actually hit the target." he admitted begrudgingly.
"How is that even possible?" Amid ask the question that had been on everyone's minds ever since Cain manage to hit himself for the first time.
""We don't know."" Cain and Naaza both answered her flatly at the same time. Their timing was in a complete sync due to the number of times they had been asked that question by Adventurers who were there to witness said feat.
"Since we're on the subject, be serious with me Naaza-chan, have I actually improved at all?" Cain asked her with a bit of anxiety in his heart. Though he didn't show or say it, he's starting to feel very disheartened due to his poor performance in the range. He can't tell if he had actually gotten better at using the bow or not as there isn't any other beginners like him at the range that he can use as a reference. Sure he can hit his targets more often now but he still misses a lot when trying to hit them.
"Of course you have Nii-san." Naaza reassures him. "You were a lot better than when you first started out two days ago. Your uncanny ability to hit yourself aside, you're actually doing a lot better than other beginners who had just started out."
"Really?" Cain replied, sounding rather skeptical.
"Mn." Naaza nodded, showing a small smile on her face. "You really need to lower your expectations Nii-san, you've only been using a bow for three days after all. People don't just pick it up and suddenly become proficient with it. They spent a long time practicing just to be able to use it properly. Then they spent an even longer time to master it. I know what you are going through right now Nii-san, I was like you once after all...sans the hitting yourself part of course. I think that's something only you can achieve."
Cain lets out an exasperated groan in return because she keeps bringing it up. "You're not going to let me live that down aren't you?"
"Nope." She replied cheekily, radiating an aura of smugness that seem to permeate the air like a child that she is. "But seriously Nii-san, stop fretting about it. You're doing just great right now and you're improving way faster then any other beginners out there. A bit unnaturally fast but that just shows that you have talent. If you keep it up, you'll eventually be able to use a bow properly against real monsters after a few more days. Once we get you used to moving targets of course. Unlike at the range, real targets don't stay still for you hit them."
Unbeknownst to Naaza, Cain is actually quite familiar with the concept of leading targets as well as the execution. Still, there's no need for him to mention it to her as it'll raise questions that he's not comfortable with answering. At any rate, Naaza's encouragement did made him feel better somewhat about his piss poor performance with the bow. "Thanks Naaza-chan. I was honestly starting to think that I'm just not cut out for it." he told her with a slight smile, feeling a bit more optimistic about his future career as an archer now. "You don't mind continuing being my teacher until I'm capable of using a bow properly do you?"
"Of course not. At this point I'm already entirely invested in getting your skills up to par. I don't want you to hit yourself with a real arrow while you're in the Dungeon after all."
"I can only pray that it doesn't come to that. I'm know for a fact that you won't let me live that down too if that ever happen." Cain said wryly, causing Naaza to smirk mischievously at him.
"I'll train you hard so that it doesn't come to that. No promises though. You might actually hit yourself a couple of times before you finally get the hang of it."
"Yeah, yeah, no need to stay here and keep making fun of my unique archery skills. Go and make your potions already, you're burning daylight." Cain rolled his eyes at her and shooed her off. Naaza giggled slightly before turning around and drag Amid off to the back of the shop where the potion station is.
Cain could hear their voices slowly disappearing into the distance and he turn his attention back to the dishes. It took a few minutes for him to finish up and once he did, he took the time to think about what he should do with his newfound free time.
Well, one thing for certain is that I'm definitely not spending it idly lazying around at home. Might as well head outside to see if anything interesting is happening. He thought to himself before he started moving.
Before he left, he wanted to inform the girls as well as his God that he would be gone so he made his way to the potion room first. Cain approach the room and push open the door, revealing a large room with shelves on the sides filled with various ingredients. In the middle of the room is a large cauldron and next to it is a table where the two girls are currently huddled at.
There were some plants and roots placed on top of the table and Amid was busy explaining to Naaza just what they are and their general uses. Naaza was listening to Amid's explanations with rapt attention, so engrossed with what she's being taught she failed to noticed Cain walking up behind her. But to be fair, she has a hard time realizing that he's around even if she had been paying attention due to his skill being active all the time.
Seeing that his little sister is distracted, Cain decided to do the most bastardy thing a brother could do and proceed to ruffle her hair affectionately once he's within reach. The Chienthrope let out a startled yelp, causing Amid to jump slightly in shock as well, before turning her head around to glare weakly at Cain with his hand still on top of her head. The desire to get his hand off to avoid further embarrassment in front of Amid and the desire to keep his hand there to continue patting her was visibly warring inside those half-lidded eyes of hers. "Nii-san, what have I told you about sneaking around again." She growls and Cain noticed that she made no mention of the head rubbing that he's currently giving her.
Cain let out a chuckle at her reaction and remove his hand from her head. "Sorry about that." He apologized, though everyone present knew that he really didn't meant it. "I thought I should drop by and let you know that I'll be heading out before I leave."
Knowing that it's his inability to sit still acting up again, Naaza nodded in acknowledgment. "Where will you be going then?" Naaza asked curiously.
"I don't know yet." He told her honestly as he look out towards the window. "Well, it looks like it's going to be a nice day today. I guess I'll just wander around the city until something comes up I guess." he said as he stare into the cloudless sky. Then, his eyes narrowed sharply at something that he saw in the distance.
There was someone at the opposite end of the street who should have no business loitering around at this area of the city. Change of plans then. He thought to himself grimly before his attention was suddenly wrench back to the girls as Amid started speaking to him.
"Since you are free right now, do you want to learn how to brew potions alongside Naaza-san, Musashi-san?" Amid offered, presumably out of goodwill or just wanting the three of them to spent time together.
Cain considered her offer for a moment but what he saw earlier was still at the forefront of his mind so he could only shake his head regrettably. While it might be an interesting experience to actually watch the girls in action, there's something more important that he needs to do right now. Besides, if he were to join in and tried to make potions with them, all he'll accomplish is make things more complicated for them.
"Thanks for the offer Amid but I think it's best if you leave me out of potion making. I've tried before and it was horrible I tell you. We've spent days cleaning up the messes that I left behind from my attempts." Cain said with a grimace, causing Naaza to visibly blench. She's no doubt recalling the catastrophic disasters that came with Cain's attempts at potion brewing.
"It couldn't be that bad could it?" Amid sounded very doubtful at Cain's words. "From my experience, failing to brew a potion would only lead to a bad batch that could be sold cheaply or simply dispose of by draining it down the sink."
Cain let out a humorless laugh that seem to surprise the silver haired girl. "Oh Amid, that's because it's you who's making it. I've tried making potions a total of three times before I gave up completely. The end results were that it's either poisonous, explosive or some kind of harmful substance that's capable of melting through the cauldron. I'm actually very afraid that if I tried the forth time, it might be a combination of all three." Cain informed her with a shudder, the memories of cleaning up all those messing came washing past him like a cold wave.
"It was everywhere. How did it even manage cover the entire room like that?" Naaza muttered to herself quietly with a haunted look. It looks like she's experiencing some PTSD flashback of the explosive one judging by what she's saying. It was not easy cleaning liquid out of the ceiling and every cavity that it manage to fill itself in, that's for sure. She's just lucky she wasn't there for the third one.
"How is that even possible?" Amid asked in disbelief.
""We don't know."" Naaza and Cain both replied flatly to her question. Everyone in the Familia had asked that question before and they still don't have a definitive answer for had what happened to this day.
"If I may ask, just what kind of potion were you trying to make? The first one specifically."
"….A healing one." Cain replied with a look of shame on his features.
Amid looked rather dumbstruck by his answer. Her experience and knowledge of potion brewing all told her what she was just told is highly improbable. "You did follow the recipe right?" She asked tentatively.
"Down to the letter."
Amid's brain seem to hurt just a bit at Cain's admission. Just how is it possible for something meant for healing turned into something poisonous? Even if you were to muck up the brewing process, the worse you'll get is some colored liquid that does nothing. Amid's mind was working hard trying to figure out the mystery, trying to see if she could replicate what Cain had said in her own mind using her library of alchemy knowledge stored there.
Sure she could make poisons if she ever wanted to, but managing to make them while trying to make a healing potion? That is something that she had never heard of.
In the end, she realized that couldn't figure it out on her own and let out a defeated sigh. She'll have to ask her God about it when she get back. Still feeling rather curious, she chose to ask about the other potions at the risk of her brain hurting more. "And what were the other two potions that you've tried to make?"
"….they're the same." Cain muttered quietly.
"Erm...excuse me?" Amid let out, wondering if she had misheard what Cain had said. She could've sworn that she heard him said that all three of his attempts were the suppose to be the same thing.
"They're all the same. I've only ever tried making healing potions." Cain said, this time more clearly.
"...You managed to get three different results...while trying to make the same thing?" Amid reiterated.
"Yep." Cain nodded.
"And is everything done while following the same recipe? Did you try to change it in any way?"
"No, everything was done exactly as what was written on the recipe."
Amid put both hands up to her temple and began massaging them. Then she proceed to cover her face with her hands and took a deep breath. Once she's done with that she clasp both of her hands together and pointed them at Cain. "How?" She asked simply, curiosity and intrigue clearly showing on her doll like face. She knows Cain well enough from Naaza to know that he's not lying to her. According to Naaza, Cain doesn't lie, at least not fully. He just leaves important things out or doesn't correct you when you come to a wrong conclusion on your own.
""We don't know."" Naaza and Cain both replied with a perfect deadpan. Cain wanted to know that himself but since the only was for him to investigate was by making more potions, you can't blame him for leaving that mystery unsolved.
"Could it be some kind of skill or development ability?" Amid wondered.
Cain shook his head. "Last I checked, I only have one skill and you only get a development ability after level two."
"That's true..." Amid nodded thoughtfully.
"Anyway, I should be going now. Oh, and do remember to clean up once you're done." Cain reminded the girls before he started walking off.
"Okay, we will. Have a safe trip Nii-san." Naaza said as she gave him a lazy wave.
"Goodbye Musashi-san." Amid said politely with a small nod before turning around to grill Naaza for more details of Cain's potion brewing attempts.
Cain made it to the back door and shouted out to Miach that he was leaving so he would know he wouldn't be present in the shop. "Miach-sama! I'm off!"
"Have a safe trip." Hearing his reply, Cain walk right outside and closed the door. He made sure to lock the door tight before he left to where he last spotted the figure.
The one that he had seen earlier was still there when he had arrived. In fact, he hadn't even moved an inch. He was just there, sitting on the side of the street, not even being seen by the people that's currently walking pass him.
No, that's not right. It's more like the pedestrian chose not to see him and allow his image to be erased from their memories. After all, who would pay more than a passing glace to a mere beggar on the street. People might give them money or acknowledge their existence once they're in sight but once they're no longer in your vision, you just tend to forget about them. And that easily forgettable trait that they have is something of an advantage for them. It made them the perfect agents for that guy's needs.
Cain made a show to notice the beggar as he walk pass him like a normal person. Then he stopped walking and pull out some Valis from his pocket and went over to give it to him. He bend over closely to put the Valis into his cup that he's holding out and that was when the beggar spoke in a quiet whisper. "Your package is ready."
Cain made no show that he had heard him, nor did the beggar did anything to suggest that he had spoken anything other than the thank you when the coins landed into his cup.
Cain simply stood back up and walk away, eyes looking towards east side of the city. With his destination set, his made his way towards it with a purposeful gait, melting into the bustling crowd with relative ease.
-0-
First off, I apologize for the long wait as well as not having a lot to show for this chapter. I've been….rather busy to be honest. *Cough*videogames*Cough*
As for the other reason, it's because I'm having a bad case of writer's block that caused my muse to pack up and leave. I'm very bad at conversations. Every time I wrote to the part where characters had to talk, my mind just went quiet and I keep drawing blanks for dialogues.
It's always the conversation part that kills my muse. I just can't write a decent dialogue for the life of me. Maybe it has something to do with how unsociable I am. I don't really like talking all that much and didn't get a lot of practice with it.
I have no idea how conversations should flow. Things like how conversations should start and end, how to make them flow naturally instead of being forced are just hard for me. I ended up thinking that I'm just wasting my time just staring at the screen without anything to show for and it resulted in me procrastinating even more by playing video games instead. Help or advise would be very much appreciated if you have anything to offer this lowly writer about his dialogue problems.
Funny thing is, this chapter originally had over 15k words written on it that I could upload at any time once I fill in the many blanks it has. But sadly, I couldn't as those blanks are, you've guessed it, dialogues. In the end, I decided to just upload this segment to show that I'm still alive and also because I wanted to upload something before the year ends….which I've failed to do so apparently, seeing that it's 2020 now. Oh well, at least I've tried.
But! Good new is, despite being unable to write anything, I haven't been idle at all. Playing video games aside, I've been coming up with ideas and plots for this story. Instead of this being just a plot bunny that I've been winging so far, I now have something that resembles a plot line to follow.
Sure there's a lot of hole that still need to be filled but at least I know where to go with this. Now if only interesting games would stop releasing so I could focus on writing for once. I'm being bombarded by unexpected new releases and now I have a list of games piling up that I haven't finished yet.
Speaking of games, I've recently finish playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and I got a plot bunny for it. Not sure if I'm going to write it yet since it's just something I've thought up on the fly. Then again, all my stories started out that way. Anyway, here's the basic summary for anyone curious.
[Have you ever gone to sleep and woke up in a completely different dimension? In the body of Galen Marek no less? Then the Spanish inquisition showed up while I was still getting my bearings and I found myself on the run with this Cal guy. Good news: I have force powers. Bad news: I have no idea how to use them. I also don't have a lightsaber of my own. Double bad news: The Second Sister seem to have made it her life's mission to kill me after I accidentally smack her on the ass during our fight. It was a pretty tight ass.]
Welp, that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you all a happy new year.
