Chapter 13: Learning Curve

Really sorry this chapter is late. I've been really busy with life and school stuff so I didn't get much time to write. I should be good for the next little while though since I'm back to just uni and no exams for the moment.

Kauris Azuri: Thanks for the kind words. It doesn't feel great begging for reviews but it's really hard to tell what's good or bad with my own writing while editing. I'm going to have to get a beta reader. I'll revisit my writing a few days-weeks later then I see stuff that I think I can improve or stuff that I don't really like but be not really sure on how to change it exactly. I also notice that I have a lot of fluff for dialogue that doesn't serve to advance the plot or develop characters at all. The main thing is I don't talk the way I have my characters talk and neither do my friends or family. Sometimes I look at my dialogue and I wonder if that's how people would actually talk.

Guest reviewer: I wouldn't worry about Tora being gone for long. I feel like I'm one of the few people who likes Tora's character. Except when he's horny of course. That trope can be thrown into the garbage along with most characters they're attached to *cough* Mineta.

…

Nia awoke with her head on Brandon's shoulder. She had a moment of panic before deciding it wasn't worth it to move from her comfortable position. If he woke up right now, she decided to pretend to be asleep. Though maybe it would be real sleep. The combined warmth of Dromarch and Brandon as well as the soft rhythmic breathing from the large cat was slowly lulling her back to the comforting embrace of sleep.

No one else was awake yet either, their soft snores ringing through the campsite. Nothing too unusual for her since she was used to waking up earlier than everyone else anyways.

Ugh. She did have to get up.

… But did she really?

It wouldn't kill her to let Brandon get up first and actually get stuff done instead of her. And thinking of which, she felt him stirring next to her and she immediately snapped her eyes shut. She felt him jerk in surprise, then relax a moment later. Seemed he felt the same as her.

Brandon sighed a moment later and gently moved Nia slightly so she wouldn't fall over and got up. He stretched and wandered off, probably to get some food.

Nia waited a few minutes before getting up herself. She yawned, still wanting to sleep more. She felt her back pop a few times with a stretch. Ouch, she needed to not sleep like that anymore.

"Morning!" Brandon called. Nia looked up to see Brandon setting up a cooking setup on top of Gramps' back. Gramps was unsurprisingly still asleep.

"Mornin'," Nia yawned. "You're up early."

"Uh… yeah. Sure. Don't tell Dromarch but it's because his fur is prickly and it's hard to actually get to sleep when you're not tired."

Nia snorted, "yeah, same here. His fur's murder on sensitive skin."

"Which you have?"

"I'm a delicate lady."

"You?" Brandon raised an eyebrow, "I'd sooner believe Rex could fly. You're literally able to carry my armor which weighs a ton."

"That's muscle density you twat. How the hell does that have anythin' to do with skin?"

"Muscle density? That's a load of bull. As if any non Driver could ever achieve something like that."

"What, you think I'm jokin' you? You want to bet?"

"Huh?"

Nia clambered up to Brandon and flexed arm. "Feel it."

Brandon took a step back, "uh, that's kind of a weird thing to ask of me…"

"No. I worked hard to achieve this. You don't get to throw out the excuse of not bein' a Driver."

"What? I'm not saying that. I'm saying it's not physically possible for a non Driver like me to lift that thing. Literally impossible. You obviously still have to work out to be able to get stronger."

"Oh," Nia deflated. "I thought…" She thought he was like everyone else before. That she only had what she had because of her status. Because of who her parents were.

"Eh, you just misunderstood what I said. Don't sweat it."

"Yeah. I guess… I…" She took in a breath.

"You?"

"I never finished my story did I?"

"Huh?" Brandon looked confused, "oh, you mean before Vandham interrupted us? I don't know, it sounded like you were kind of done."

"Well I didn't elaborate on it more. I'm not sure you're quite aware of how nobles live."

Brandon shook his head, "nope. No such thing in my world. At least in my time period. There were in the past but obviously we would only have recounts of those people and they'd be incredibly biased as well. There were incredibly rich people though. They're probably similar in nature but I'd assume they act differently."

"Yeah well. As a noble's daughter… I had certain expectations. I had to study for hours, but nothin' I'd consider useful now. How to hold a spoon, or which kind of knife to use where. I was drilled for ages on manners and conduct. Whenever I interacted with anyone else, there was a certain air to it. I said before that my sister was an expert at subtle jabs, yeah? That kind of shite was necessary when interactin' with other nobles. Whenever I talked to anyone even slightly below my 'status,' the insinuation was always that I never did anythin' to earn my position."

"Yeah, okay. Makes sense. Uh…" His eyes widened in a bit of panic, probably realizing how it sounded as it came out, "I meant-"

Nia snorted, "I know what you mean there. I keep forgettin' that you're kinda weird."

"I'd be insulted if that came from anyone else."

"And I'd accuse you of bein' a masochist with that line if it was from anyone else."

"So that would make you a sadist then?" Brandon joked.

"If that's what you're into, sure." Nia smirked.

Brandon shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face, "maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Who knows."

"Mmh, and I'm not willin' to find out," Nia said.

"You wound my heart, milady."

"Hey you two!" Brandon and Nia both swiveled their heads in the direction of Rex's voice, "if you're done flirting, can we get some food? I'm starving down here."

Brandon laughed, "you got it. Breakfast is coming right up."

"This is some good grub," Vandham complimented, "you're a good cook."

"Thanks, but it's hard to go wrong when you cook everything in copious amounts of oil. It's not healthy though, not by a long shot."

"I'll keep that in mind," Vandham laughed, "though I suppose that means I won't hire you as a chef then."

"I'm sure I'll survive."

"Made of some stern stuff aintcha?"

"Some of the sternest stuff around."

Vandham nodded, "good. Make sure to carry that attitude with you. It'll serve you well."

Brandon shrugged. Maybe it would. Honestly his attitude at the moment was more annoyed at himself for not paying attention to Gramps the last night while the doctor worked. Apparently he had gone back home to Garfont over the night having done the work. He guessed it was fine since Gramps did look much better at least, though he still likely wouldn't be able to fly for a while.

Nia had made him lower his guard again. It was frankly ridiculous that was possible. He had been trained both to pay full attention to his surroundings and notice everything as well as to not get distracted by minor irritants. Though if Nia heard him refer to her as a 'minor irritant' she might blow a fuse.

"Hm, not as talkative huh?"

"Apparently only Nia's tongue can pry his jaw open at this point," Rex said snidely. He then snickered as both Brandon and Nia started shouting at him.

"Your jokes need work," Brandon scowled.

"I think they're pretty good myself," Rex grinned.

"I'm not talking about their quality," Brandon growled, "I'm talking about timing."

"The timing was plenty good."

"Yeah, except jokes aren't good if only you find them funny."

"I appreciated your joke, master Rex," Dromarch said.

"Dromarch, don't encourage the bastard," Nia snarled, "he's not a good comedian."

"I'm unappreciated in my time," Rex sighed as he shook his head.

Brandon rolled his eyes at the phrase, "Rex, you're not an artist."

"Gasp! Are you saying that comedians aren't artists."

"No. I'm saying that you specifically are not an artist and pretending to be offended is not a defense."

"Fine then," Rex sighed, "I suppose my talents will continue to go unappreciated."

"I think the world'll be better off that way," Nia said to which Rex stuck his tongue out at, "at any rate, before Rex stuck his foot in his mouth…"

"I did no such thing."

"Anyways," Brandon continued, "yeah, I'm not super talkative… normally," he added when Nia raised an eyebrow. "This stupid Gormotti just brings out the worst in me."

"I'm stupid am I?" Nia snorted, "says the one who's conceded defeat everytime we argue."

"What? I have not."

"Yes you ha-"

"And off they go," Rex laughed, causing Nia to snap her jaw shut. "Aw, don't let me stop you."

"No," Nia shook her head, "you've ruined the moment."

"You lot," Vandham shook his head, "I can't tell if you're just messing around or genuinely insulting each other."

"A mix of both I think," Nia said, "it's what I'm used to at any rate."

"Right," Vandham chuckled, "you Gormotti tend to be a feisty bunch."

"And you would know how?"

"My wife was Gormotti," Vandham said, "real ball of fire she was."

Was, Brandon noted. Probably died a while ago then if he could talk this freely. Then again, that probably had more to do with mentality and strength of will. There was such a disconnect between Alrest and Earth and yet it was only the threat of an Artifice that let him open up a bit more. Though that was purely out of his sense of duty necessitating it.

"Oh… uh, I'm sorry." Nia said, looking suddenly unsure of herself.

"Heh, don't worry about it," Vandham crossed his arms, "you didn't know. But yeah, real fiery one she was."

Yeah, no matter how long it's been though, it was painfully obvious it still hurt. Though, no matter who you were, that kind of pain would probably last until the end. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him did regret sticking with Rex in that moment where he was stabbed through the back. Everything worked out in the end but that was easy to say now with Rex having been literally resurrected. He honestly still wasn't quite sure how that was, the only thing he could really think of is that technically there was still some blood flow to his brain so while he was technically dead, his brain was still savable.

Vandham glanced around, clearly sensing the drop in mood, "but hey, don't let me get you down."

"Hah, thanks for that." Brandon rolled his eyes.

"Sorry about that," Vandham said, looking remarkably unapologetic.

"Yeah, I… are you alright?"

"Huh?" Vandham wiped at his eyes, "yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

"You sure? We can give you a moment if you need it."

"Naw, I'm alright really." Vandham grinned.

"If you're sure." Brandon frowned. He hadn't made him out to be the sensitive type, though maybe he should have given how insightful Vandham had been earlier. He couldn't really take anything about Vandham at face value it seemed. But that had quickly been proving true for nearly everyone he's met so far.

"The man says he's alright," Nia said, "leave him be."

"It's perfectly fine. You're a good kid."

"Kid?" Brandon bristled.

"Hah! With that reaction, you definitely are one."

"Ugh… it's not that. I haven't been called 'kid' in a long time. Been a long time since I've felt like a kid as well." Most of his life honestly. He spent most of his childhood studying, then most of his adolescence fighting. He felt more like a kid now than he ever had before.

"You want me to call you kid then?" Nia grinned.

"You're barely a year older than me. You don't get to call me kid unless you want me to call you grandma."

"Hey," she shrugged, "if you're into that."

"I guess you're into kids then."

"Urk. Touche."

"Le gasp, did you just admit defeat?"

"Hardly," Nia rolled her eyes, "I just acknowledge that you've managed to land a blow."

"Harsh words milady. Surely I've dealt more than just a blow there."

"Barely more than a scratch if I'm bein' honest."

"Right, because you're the most reliable source of information on that."

"Meh, I can heal any wound you inflict."

"Ugh. Stupid overpowered powers."

"Excuse me? I'll have you know that I'm a fully trained medic even without Dromarch's support. I can still patch up any superficial wounds quite easily even without usin' any of my p- Driver arts."

"Well that's good to know."

"Good to know? Is tha-"

Brandon held up a hand, "before you start bitching about gratitude, I am extremely grateful to you. I doubt we'd be alive now if it weren't for you. So thank you."

Any anger seemed to leave Nia's body as she deflated a bit. "I… uh. Yeah, you're welcome."

Brandon chortled, "also Gramps would have had my head if I didn't say that."

"Indeed I would," a deep voice joined their conversation.

"Gramps!" Both Brandon and Rex jumped up and ran over to their Titan guardian, "how are you feeling?"

"Much better now. I assume I have you to thank for that," he said, nodding his head in Vandham's direction.

"Ah, don't sweat it. I hardly did any work there. It was all our resident Titan doctor's handiwork."

"Hm. Now then, I assume you were waiting for me to wake up before doing anything else."

"Yeah," Brandon said, "though I'm honestly not too sure what to do from here. The passageway through the Urayan Titan's gullet is a bit narrow for you. We were planning to go up to the capital though…"

Gramps sighed, "and I suppose you want me to go up there and wait to pick you up."

Brandon winced, "yeah… I don't mean to make you seem like a glorified taxi service but I don't think there's much other option."

"No. I suppose not. Very well. I'll do as you ask. But you'd better not keep me waiting too long."

"The trip's at least a week of walking," Vandham chimed in, "just for reference. We are far out into the countryside here."

"Of course it is. I assume you have the docking fee? I won't be able to dock here for free like at Gormott."

"Right," Brandon said as he clambered up to their shack. He rummaged around with his finances and counted out the exact amount. He put it into a sack before securing it to Gramps' side. He locked up and hopped off. "There. That should be it. I guess just tell them to take the bag."

Gramps nodded, "I'll see you soon."

"Well here we are!" Vandham waved an arm, "Garfont village. It ain't much but it's home."

"It's very… open," Brandon commented.

"Yeah. We live as a community around here. Money isn't really a thing here as long as you pitch in and help out. Of course we still need it when interacting with the rest of Uraya but for the most part, we don't have much use for it."

"So it's one of those, everyone knows everyone type places?" Brandon asked, "small town vibes?"

"Yeah. We're a tight knit community and we take in all sorts. Those Drivers over there. They're refugees we picked up from the Gormotti war ten years ago. They've grown up and dedicated their lives to helping others displaced by war. The kids over there were recently saved by them on Gormott from a ruined village caught in the crossfire between Urayan and Ardanian forces."

"You don't have to butter me up," Brandon said, "I can glean most of that from looking around."

"Sorry about that. It's hard not to brag sometimes. We do good work here."

"I can see that. I'm impressed, genuinely."

"Seein' is believin' right?" Nia commented. "And I wouldn't have believed this a few weeks ago if I'm bein' honest."

"We do our best." Vandham laughed, "alright. Boys! Get some grub together. We're feeding our guests until their stomachs explode!"

"Yes sir!"

The area of town they were in sprung to life as people moved around to get food ready. Vandham guided them over to a cluster of benches and tables arranged outside a kitchen that only had a tent stall as shelter. It was odd to see at first but it occurred to Brandon that they were inside the Titan and within a smaller area of the Titan at that so weather would be practically non-existent.

In fact, it was actually a bit too warm for him. It was not lost on him that the nation that had people speaking with Australian accents was also hot and humid.

Alrest felt so foreign to him, and yet when he felt like he was slowly getting used to it, it threw him a curveball like this. You'd think that it would be something nice and familiar but in a way, this was even weirder than the talking animals like Dromarch. At least there wasn't a haunting sense of normalcy with Dromarch. No, it was the fact that everyone spoke English with real world accents that threw him off. That nearly every single crop or fruit that existed on Earth existed on Alrest but just in slightly different forms threw him off.

Everything screamed to him that this world was unnatural. And it may very well be that it was unnatural, created by the Architect if the old Alrestian religion was to be believed. It was what the Praetorium preached at any rate, and while he wasn't exactly a believer, it was hard to not see that there was a lot of Alrest that seemed constructed by someone of his world.

"Oi," Brandon felt Nia elbow his stomach, "you alright?"

Brandon wheezed. "Not after that, no."

"Good," Nia snickered, "better than you lookin' into space feelin' sorry for yourself."

"Don't derive pleasure from my pain, you sadist."

"Y'know, I never actually denied it before." She grinned… well… sadistically.

Brandon backed up a step, "okay, you know what? I am decidedly not into that."

"Oh?" Nia stepped forward, "afraid?"

"Ahem," Dromarch cleared his throat. Brandon noticed Vandham tell Rex something, presumably a joke made at his expense if Rex's laugh afterwards was any indication. "My lady, you are not exactly alone here."

"Get a room you two!" Rex catcalled.

Nia rolled her eyes, "yeah, if you think I'd get a room with this guy in a million years, you'd be delusional."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't make that jab already."

"Well look who's developed some thick skin."

"Yeah… I don't think that's supposed to be a good thing. That implies I'm in an environment where I would need to develop it." He pulled up a chair and sat down. Rex, Pyra, and Vandham sat down at another table, engrossed in their own conversation. Dromarch, not really able to sit down on a chair, simply sat on the ground next to the table

"Well then I'm preparin' you for the real world. After all, not everyone is so nice as me."

"Scary. Not sure I like the real world then."

"Well you're goin' to have to like it, whether you like it or not."

"Uh. That's not a good thing. I'd like it if the world was a nicer place." Brandon crossed his arms.

"Yeah," Nia said, imitating Brandon, "this place is a one in a billion."

"I… feel kind of ashamed that I was so skeptical. I honestly wasn't expecting something like this. I… I don't know. I was expecting a place that was maybe better but not something quite like this." He leaned back to let the waiter place down several heaping plates of food.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's weird. I don't know how a community like this exists. And maybe this place is hidin' somethin' sinister under the surface. But I really don't know."

Brandon snorted as he dug in.

"What's so funny?"

"It's interesting is all," Brandon shrugged, "I can't help but think of Earth. What the people of Earth would call this place, at least in terms of their economy, is a socialist town. I'm not going to break down my entire world's history right now, but historically, socialism was closely tied to communism, a form of government. Communism, while good on paper, ultimately never worked out because of how inherently selfish people are, and would always spawn dictatorships and the people would suffer. But on such a small scale as this with someone genuinely kind hearted in charge, it seems like it's working."

"Hm. I got about half of that," Nia said.

"Yeah? I hope you don't ever ask me for a proper lecture on anything then. Your two brain cells might struggle to keep up."

"Wha- I'll have you know that I have more than two brain cells. I have three."

Brandon blinked, then started laughing, "so you can poke fun at yourself."

"Yeah, I'm just full of surprises."

"Indeed, my lady is a woman of many hidden traits," Dromarch said.

"But seriously. I'd like to learn more about your world at some point." Nia said.

Brandon sighed, "a lot of my world's history is painted with blood. I'm desensitized to it but it might not be so easy to listen to as an outsider."

"Alrest isn't so pretty either," Nia pointed out, "Mor Ardain and Uraya are on the brink of war again even though their last war was barely fifty years ago. Thousands died durin' the Gormotti war ten years ago. Thousands more died durin' the Gormotti rebellion a few years after the fact. And that's not even goin' back a hundred years."

"Okay, I'm not about to have a competition on who's had a worse history. But you've seen…" He coughed, "well you know. Let's just say that those had precursors to them."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's bad. Not that it all was though. There were some incredible things that people did," he smiled sadly, "I mean, we've been to space! How incredible is that? We explored to the furthest reaches of both our planet and our solar system."

"You've been to space?"

"Yeah, I've been personally. It's so weird. There's no gravity so stuff just floats around. No gravity on you either so a lot of newcomers have a tendency to get sick. You also grow a few centimeters since there's no gravity compressing your spine. Some of our more advanced ships have artificial gravity but it's finicky at best so most of our ships were built for atmospheric flight."

"Interestin'."

"You have no idea what I'm talking about huh."

"No…" Nia denied, "I got most of that."

"I'm sure you have my lady," Dromarch chuckled.

"Hm," Brandon said, moving on from that interaction, "I actually wonder how the educational system of Alrest is. I've never checked it out, though I probably should have."

Nia shrugged, "well I wouldn't know. I was taught by private tutors my whole life. Never really experienced the public education system."

"What exactly were you taught?"

"Blegh. All noble shite. If you're askin' whether I learned any maths or science, then no. I learned a lot of grammar and speech though. Not that I use much of that now."

"You can say that again."

"Oi, you don't get to make fun of the way I talk when you speak like a self congratulating intellectual douchebag half the time."

"What? How do I speak like an intellectual douche?"

"You just do. Back me up here Dromarch."

"I'm afraid I am going to have to agree with my lady here, master Brandon."

"Huh… okay then. Message received. I shall strive to communicate more in a method that is befitting of commoners."

Nia rolled her eyes and flicked Brandon's forehead, "you speak like that and I'll have your mouth glued shut. That's how the nobles speak and I want to rip their tongues out whenever I hear them speak."

"Whoa, a little aggressive there milady."

"You'd be the same if you grew up in that environment." Nia accused.

"No doubt about that." Brandon laughed, "I find people like that insufferable. If I actually talk like I'm patronizing you, I'm sorry."

"You had better be," Nia smirked, "perhaps you should prostrate yourself and grovel a bit."

"Uh, not going to do that."

"Shame. I'd like to see you humbled a bit."

"Mmh, you really are a sadist."

"Call me whatever you'd like."

"Yeah? Then what about-"

"Boss! We've got an issue!" Brandon was cut off by a mercenary running over to Vandham. Whatever the issue was was discussed in hushed tones. Vandham nodded then stood up.

"Hey you lot. We've got an issue up near the Titan's blowhole. Interested in being a mercenary for a day?"

"Sure," Rex said, clearly trying not to seem too interested, "but uh, we don't work for free."

"Yeah don't worry kid," Vandham laughed, "I know you don't live in the village. You'll be paid like anyone else who works with us." He looked over to Brandon's table, "and you?"

"We'll tag along."

"Well alright then. I'll go grab some gear and I'll meet you all by the village gate."

"Sounds good."

"So how long is this trip going to take?" Nia heard Brandon ask, already panting from the rough incline the group had been climbing.

"A few more hours," Vandham responded, "it is all the way up near the top of the Titan."

Brandon groaned. "I hate this."

"You could do with more exercise," Rex said.

"I'm not even that unfit," Brandon whined, "you're all just ridiculous."

"Grow up you big baby," Nia rolled her eyes, "it's just a little hill."

"Little? Oh fuck off."

Nia raised an eyebrow, "language. There are children nearby."

"I hate you." Brandon frowned, "no, hate isn't a strong enough of a word. I abhor you. No, that's not quite right. I despise you. Ah, there we go."

"So many descriptive words for such a negative emotion," Nia tutted, "for shame."

Brandon's response was to flip her off, clearly still exhausted.

"Real mature."

"Hm, we can take a break in a moment here," Vandham announced, "there's a bit of an even patch of land coming up in about a hundred meters we can sit down at."

"Oh thank fuck," Brandon groaned. Huh, guess exhaustion really took off Brandon's filter, Nia mused to herself. Not that either of them really had a proper filter but Brandon did seem to try to limit his really harsh cussing to talking to her outside of Rex's hearing.

It took them only a few minutes more of climbing to reach the clearing, to which Brandon was extremely happy for all of two seconds before he noticed that the area had a few arduns. While they were herbivores and usually didn't bother humans, they were still protective of their young and could quite easily kill people if they weren't careful.

"Well that's unfortunate," Vandham said, "we're going to have to scare them away if we want to rest here. You all ready?"

Brandon swallowed. He was understandably the most nervous looking person out of their group. He was the only non-Driver and continued to struggle to keep up. His big armor that was meant to help him out had been sent along with Gramps on the assumption that they wouldn't encounter Torna on Uraya.

"Hey," Nia tapped Brandon, "don't worry, you'll be fine. Just let us take its attention."

Brandon nodded, "ready."

"Alright. Roc and I will draw the parents' attention. Rex and Pyra can join me. You three handle the baby. Our path up is straight ahead so shepard it to the path on the left."

"Got it."

"Hm, hey kid."

"Yeah?" Rex looked up.

"Do you know how to handle that anchor of yours?"

"Not for combat," Rex admitted, "I've never thought to use it like that."

"Give it here."

Rex unclipped the anchor from his wrist and handed it over.

"Right," Vandham aimed the anchor at the ardun, and fired, twisting the anchor in a weird motion that caused the weighted metal end to spin and land in such a position that Vandham could yank the anchor, tripping the large beast. He quickly retracted the anchor and tossed it back to Rex.

"Come on and give it a shot. Now move!"

…

Made some stuff up for Vandham. We do know that he had a kid at some point but we also know the kid is dead. It's also probably safe to assume that he had a wife and that his wife died as well. Beyond that, we know very little about his past so I've taken some liberties.

My google doc is starting to lag quite badly when I use command f to look for words. And this is with a fairly stout gaming laptop as well. A bit worried as to how bad it'll be when I'm nearly done with the story. I'm probably going to have to start a new doc for future parts of the story. The only reason why I haven't yet is because I want to see just how long the doc is when I'm done but I guess it'll be lagging too hard to actually see what the page count is at that point.

Put in a bit of a Gumball reference. I wonder if anyone spotted it.