Lance Crown and the True Friend

Mash blinked tiredly as the cool light of the moon blanketed him, like a blanket of creampuffs…

It's been a long time since he's been this tired, and he knew exactly why. For the first time in his life, he's run out of creampuffs.

Now, Mash wouldn't call himself an addict, but if he didn't sink his teeth onto a baked ball of happiness he might not make it to the morning!

Mash didn't feel like he was going through withdrawal, not that he would know what that was like. Instead, he felt a little drowsy as he stared into the slowly dying light of their makeshift camp. The embers of a once great fire fascinated him and thankfully got his mind off the rumbling in his stomach. Just the way they lit up and died down made him unable to look away. The heat reminded him of the heat of the oven as he took out a fresh batch of cream-

Slap "I think I'm dying."

Daut looked over from the log he was lounging on, "What makes ya say that?"

"I feel light-headed, my stomach feels weird, and my mouth keeps leaking."

Both Daut and Lance looked at each other, then nodded. "He ran out of creampuffs didn't he?" "I do believe you're right."

Mash groaned, "What do I do?"

"Here's an idea." Daut rose from his tree trunk seat, making his way over to Mash.

Outstretching his palm towards the sky Daut told Mash to, "Focus on the pretty lights." And out from his palm came sparkles, reminiscent of the ones that came from fireworks.

"Ooooh!" Mash was instantly mesmerized, the campfire had nothing on this!

Unbeknownst to Mash, Lance came from behind and started massaging Mash's scalp. "It's been a long day, why don't you take a rest?"

Despite the tenderness of the act and the relaxing effect it had on him, Mash was instantly suspicious. "W-what is this, some kind of plan to steal all my creampuffs?"

Both of Mash's friends looked at each other and shrugged. They continued their assault of kindness and lulled Mash to sleep.

Right as he was about to pass out, Mash slurred in his sleep. "I never… sleep… without… cre-"

"Shh, just dream about the creampuffs."

"Allow me." Lance pulled out his wand and started to massage Mash using small gravity waves.

Daut saw this and found it bullshit! "How the hell…?"

"Don't ask."

MSHL

Minutes passed, Mash's breathing seemed to be subtle and stable. His head comfortably resting on a nearby log with his student uniform covering his sleeping body.

The two students with opposite hair colors breathed soft sighs of relief, they were worried they would've had to deal with a Mash on creampuff-withdrawal. Thankfully Mash seemed to not be as addicted as they previously thought. Hopefully, probably.

Daut shook off his hands, using his palms as makeshift sparklers was surprisingly painful. What kind of idiot doesn't know that setting off hot, miniature explosions in their bare hands would hurt? It was Daut, he was the idiot. "Man, that took way too long. I give my full respect to Mash's dad, how he put him to sleep every night is a secret I wanna know!"

Lance shushed Daut, "Be quiet! You can gush about Mr. Burnedead later."

Daut, in response to this, acted with the utmost maturity and stuck his tongue out.

Of course, Lance rolled his eyes at his childish behavior, before continuing on. "One of us needs to keep watch, who knows what kinds of magical creatures exist in this world."

Daut raised an eyebrow, "'This world'?

"It's just a theory of mine."

"Oh c'mon, do ya ever listen to yourself? How the hell did some random magic portal send us to another world, nobody's that powerful."

"That portal also changed color and became increasingly unstable, something tampered with it."

"I don't know, those bandit bastards were pretty surprised to see us."

Lance shrugged, "It's only a theory, I'll work on it."

Daut nodded, still finding the other world theory hard to believe. Honestly, stating bullshit like that without evidence is just stupid. And here I thought Lance was supposed to be the smart one! Hah!... wait a minute, that weird magic barrier I had earlier. I never used that before! No basic magic could conjure passive protection as strong as that, I only got it after we woke up at that bandit camp. Could it be…?

Shaking his head, Daut pushed all those thoughts away. He wasn't enough of a nerd to figure all that stuff out. He'll leave the critical thinking to Lance. "You do that, I'll take the first shift."

Lance frowned, he had planned on taking the 'burden' of keeping watch. Asking Daut was nothing more than a formality. This way, he can work on his poetry some more! It's been approximately 24 hours since he last wrote something in his poem book, his longest time ever being away from his papers. "No, don't bother yourself. I'll take it."

Daut scowled, what was with this guy? Shouldn't he be glad that Daut's taking such a selfless action to help him? This wasn't good, Daut planned on using the alone time to take care of his wand. It's been a while since he'd given it a good-!

Oh yeah, it's broken…

Damnit! His perfect excuse, ruined! Hmm, he still has some other stuff to sort out. Might as well stick to his original plan, just with some changes. "Didn't ya hear me? I said I'll do it."

"I heard you just fine, I just didn't listen. I'm more than happy to take the night watch off of your shoulders"

"Oh, I bet ya would be!" Daut growled, "What's got ya so impatient anyway? What're ya plannin'?"

"I'll retort using the correct way of saying sentences; what are you planning on doing?"

Daut looked away, "Just taking care of some stuff."

"What a coincidence, so am I."

"Whatever! I don't need your permission!" Daut roared as the campfire's kindling reached another turning point, launching a higher than normal flame into the air. Illuminating Daut and Lance's stubborn faces. "I'm taking the night shift, try and stop me!"

Lance felt his eye twitching at the sight of the stubborn, beat-red ox in front of him. "Fine then, we'll both stay awake. Making the two of us sleep deprived!"

"Well good! 'Cause sleep is for the weak anyway."

"Hmph."

"Harumph."

The two contrasting boys turned away from each other, crossing their arms in mutual indignation for each other. Lance got busy by opening up his jacket cloak and taking out his personal poem book. While Daut angrily got his pocket-sized wand cleaning kit out and quickly opened it up to inspect the two broken pieces of his wand.

Eyes softening at the sight of his beloved prized possession now defiled in such a way, Daut waived a hefty sigh as he began to brush off the dirt in between the spikes. It may be broken beyond repair, but that was no reason for it to be filthy. Say what you will about Daut Barret, but he is surprisingly domestically competent. He might also be bored, whichever answer is the best.

Humming a soft tune to himself, Daut gingerly turned the top half of his wand around as he got the dirt in the little curves of the spikes. Lance looked over from his poems to see that Daut has his own wand cleaning kit? Where in the nine-hells did he get that? Did he bring it with him? Is that something people like him do?

Daut noticed Lance staring at him with those creepy half-lidded eyes of his and barked out, "What?"

Lance jerked back, "Nothing, I just noticed your wand kit."

Daut looked down at his little box filled with miniature cleaning accessories, brow furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Could I…" Lance swallowed, forcing himself to also swallow his pride. "...borrow it after you're finished using it?"

...Daut smirked, "What was that?"

Lance looked away, knowing where he was going with this. "You heard me."

"I have bad hearing, say it again."

Lance took a deep breath, calling upon all the etiquette lessons the ones he disowned made him attend. "Would you please, grant me permission to use your wand-cleaning kit?"

Cupping his ear in his hands, Daut delivered the final blow. "Who're ya talkin' to?"

"...please, Daut?"

Daut paused, taken aback by his sincerity. The stuck-up pretty boy never said his name before without it being an insult.

"Ya sure, in a minute."

Lance nodded in thanks, not trusting his voice to not ruin the goodwill in an instinctual high-class insult.

A moment later, Daut set his tiny tools down to inspect his work. The wood was oiled and freshly shined, his spikes brushed and immaculate, and the tip was sharpened. You never know when you need to establish dominance by shanking the biggest guy around with a wand.

Not that he's speaking from experience, but in the very unlikely case he'll need to establish his dominance, Daut will be ready.

He packed up his kit and passed it over to the patiently waiting Lance. "Many thanks."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Dutifully getting to work, Lance got set on oiling his Magnolia wand. He frowned at the number of marks and scratches that littered the once pristine item. He might have to sand it off, which is a double-edged sword in of itself.

If the scars on the wood are shallow enough, then sanding them down is a simple affair with no structural damage being done. However, if you haven't cleaned your wand in a long time, the damage builds up to the point where sanding it does even more damage. One might even damage the core of a wand with enough sanding, causing the entire stave to become useless.

Growling in frustration, Lance wiped his wand down. He can't risk losing his wand, he doubts he'll be able to get a replacement if his theory proves to have merit.

The night continued, both in comfortable silence. Until Daut opened his mouth.

"Is it important?"

Lance looked up from his work, "Hmm?"

Daut looked down at the two pieces of his once-great wand, "Is that wand important?"

Lance was silent, he didn't want to explain everything. Keeping to himself has done him good ever since he left that place. Sharing his life story would only prompt a pity party, something he's had enough of.

Even so…"Yes, it is."

Daut nodded, "I get ya."

Thinking the conversation is over, Lance went to keep working-

"My big-sis gave it to me."

"What?"

"For my 11th birthday, said it'll fit me," Daut smirked, if only for a second. "After that she got sick."

Lance swallowed, "I understand."

"She was always stubborn, more than anyone I knew."

"Daut, you don't have to."

"Too bad, I want to. Now, where was I…? Oh yeah, took like five years for her body to give out. But her mind was as sharp as ever, enough to give me a verbal ass-kicking whenever I messed up."

Lance stayed silent throughout all of his remembrances, he had a feeling he needed this.

"I came home every day to tell her my day, even the most boring bits. After I finished, she would always ask me if I got a friend. Someone who would get angry for me. I hated always saying no, her face just kept falling every time. Tried lying, never worked. Always pissed my pants when she got mad." He chuckled, wiping his manly tears before continuing.

"She never stopped fighting, it was so cool and terrifying at the same time. Why the hell did she have to get hurt? I hugged her all the time, just wishing she could hug me back… last year, I hugged her for the last time."

He sniffled, holding back. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop once he started.

"Damn, it's been a while since I talked this much." Daut's voice kept getting rougher as he talked, "Lance, I just want ya to know that I don't really hate ya. Just your looks."

"I've been meaning to ask, why do you hate handsome people?"

Daut chuckled, "I didn't really have much to do before Easton, just kept walking around town. Did some people-watching, probably shouldn't have. Always seeing those happy bastards just pissed me off! Them, with their happy families and stupid pretty faces, hugging without a care in the world. Why did they get to be happy? I was the same as them, why couldn't I have the same things? I just-" His voice cracked, "I wanted to hug my family too! I wanted to smile at them, and give them gifts! I-I wanted to…"

"I wanted to be happy…"

Panting for breath, Daut held his chest. Feeling his heart thumping, filled with adrenaline. He forced himself to calm down, he continued.

"Over time, I started to get the stupid idea that the only way to be happy was to have a family. So, like the idiot I was, I went off to find myself a girlfriend." He smirked at Lance, "Ya can guess how well that went."

"My sis told me to never doubt because even in a world of deceit, there will always be someone who won't betray your trust. That once in a lifetime friend."

He smiled at Lance, momentarily blinding him by the sheer happiness of Daut's smile. "I just never thought I'd get four once-in-a-lifetime friends! Oh! If only sis can see me now!" Daut threw his head up and laughed, full of cheer and victory. Lance never heard any forced laughter or false jubilancy, Daut was simply happy.

Is this how much he cherishes us, even me? Lance simply studied the content look on Daut's face, there was no tensed muscle, barely contained rage or even a scowl. Stuck in another world, and he's only glad he's here with his friends.

Lance looked away, unable to look anymore. "Idiot, I never wanted your life story."

"Well ya got it, whatcha gonna do about it?"

"Simple." He held up his Magnolia wand, "This was part of a set, I've had this one since I was a child. My sister got the other one, she was never the greatest at magic."

"Okay? I can see why that wand would be important if you've had it since childhood."

"That's not all, soon this wand will be the only one left of the set."

Daut looked confused until it dawned on him. "Oh… oh crap I- What was she like?"

"Not like that!" Lance snapped, "She'll live, just without her magic."

"Oh thank god, wait? How will she live in peace? The Bureau will… oh."

Lance nodded, "It's why I'm so driven to become the next Divine Visionary, the sooner I win, the sooner her safety is guaranteed."

"So all this time, you didn't just have a sister-complex?"

"Don't make me kill you."

MSHL

Having shared their respective backstories, Daut and Lance fell into a much more comfortable state of being. It felt like a weight being lifted off of their shoulders, leaving them to breathe easier.

Laying on their backs, the cool grass offered them comfort along with the fading fireplace. Looking up at the clear sky, they saw something completely unexpected; the moon. Only it wasn't the same moon they were accustomed to, this moon had a large chunk missing from its celestial body.

Basically, the moon looked like a giant creampuff with a bite taken out of it.

"It sucks that Mash is missing out on this. Think he would've laughed when he saw this?"

"I feel he would be jealous that someone beat him to the punch."

"Heh, punch. Didn't know you could make jokes."

"It was purely a coincidence."

"This is why you're boring."

"I prefer that."

"...Looks like you were right."

"I'm not surprised."

"Tch, smug bastard."

"Blub…"

"The hell did ya say?"

"That wasn't me."

They both looked at each other, before slowly turning to look at the sleeping body of Mash. "Blah blah, hmm?"

"Looks like our resident musclehead is waking up."

Daut clicked his tongue, "Damn it, it's too early."

"Quickly, we must return him back to his eternal slumber."

"How the hell are we gonna do that?"

"I have a feeling our previous tricks won't work like last time."

"I'll ask again, what's the plan?"

Lance, for once in his life, looked out of his depth. "I… suppose we can try to lull him back to sleep?"

"Really?" Daut deadpanned, "Does he look like a baby to you?"

"I used to do the same for my little sister, do you have a better idea?"

"Fine, fine." To Lance's surprise, Daut pulled out a violin from his cloak. It showed signs of wear and his hands were extremely comfortable and familiar with their placement on the instrument. "Let's start."

"Where in the…?"

"Don't ask."

Lance shook his head, questions later. He could hear Mash stirring, and he didn't want to deal with a hungry casual building destroyer. "Give me a low note."

Nodding, Daut started playing a long and continuous low tune.

Lance cleared his throat, getting his voice ready. He hasn't sung for his sister in a long time, but he tends to vocalize his poems when he's sure he's alone. He could do this with his two friends listening in.

"Oh, how your kind words move this frigid heart~"

"I only wish to know how this could all start~"

"Before you came, I wished to tear it all apart~"

"I remember your smile every time we part~"

They continued the supposed lullaby, keeping up their crescendo, reaching higher and higher peaks until the highest point of the song was reached.

Daut's violin thrummed with passion, perfectly complimenting the low and slow vocals of Lance.

Their eyes were closed, focused solely on their sound. Strums and vocals mixing into a peaceful lullaby.

With a softly smiling Mash as their only audience, the pair allowed their creativity to flow long into the night.

They all passed out when the final note was sung when the last string was strummed. Content in their lives and friendship.

All was quiet in the forest, the gentle crickets following them into the good night.

Until Lance woke up screaming.

MSHL

I split this up into two parts. Enjoy!