Another 7k chapter. Quick update. DB's chapter may not be posted tomorrow as my Commencement ceremony is tomorrow, as it is an all-day affair, so it will be uploaded Sunday. Sorry to those that follow both my DanMachi stories, if there are any...
ANYWAY, we have a Bell and Ais POV focus, they are small sections of this chapter. Considering the feedback I get, it would be best to incorporate it. And someone will have to forgive me for a detail in a scene closer to the bottom. I had to do it, and I know it'll irk you... just let me have this...
Oh, and I'm nipping this in the bud. I WILL NEVER WRITE INC**T EVER! That goes against all of my morals. I shiver thinking about it. So there will be no Axton x Ais BS. They are siblings, and that is all they ever will be. I only bring up how close their relationship is because, at one point, they only had each other.
Rant over, enjoy the chapter.
Oh, I almost forgot. I noticed 50 of you misclicked on that 'Follow Story' button... thank you.
As always:
"Speaking"
Personal Thoughts
*Ability/Spell*
...
I'm not weak! The white-haired rabbit, Bell, thought as he ran down the street from the Hostess. I don't want to believe that werewolf. What was his name again? Bete or something? I don't care. Bell ran down towards Babel, to the Dungeon, where he wanted—no, needed—to prove himself. He wanted to stand next to her, he wanted to be worthy of her, just like he said. As it stands now, he's not worthy of Ais Wallenstein, not yet.
She saved Bell's life, along with her... brother? Was it her brother? They looked similar enough to Bell, but it was weirder when he looked at Bell inside the pub. What was he trying to say? His eyes certainly expressed something in his gaze. It doesn't matter, the Dungeon was in Bell's sights and gripped his standard-issue Guild knife and ran inside, bypassing adventurers as he went.
Even as he ran, Bell could feel a gaze on him, but once he ducked into a crowd, the gaze faltered. Good, I need to be alone. I need to get stronger.
He ran headlong into the first floor, the walls a light blue. If it was supposed to be calming, it was doing the exact opposite. Bell dared the Dungeon to challenge him.
Crack!
As if on cue in response to his desire, the walls of the first floor opened up to Bell, and out crawled a Goblin. It had no weapon, but its claws were as deadly as ever. The Goblin launched itself at Bell immediately.
It mattered not for the white-haired rabbit, a dodge and a slash to the Goblin's chest, killed it instantly.
With that small confidence booster, he pushed along the Dungeon to the second floor, and then the third. Despite having made it to the fifth floor because of that incident that happened recently, he wasn't dumb enough to push that far in his emotionally vulnerable state.
The next few monsters were Kobolds, that ironically enough, looked like that ashen werewolf that Bell felt anger toward, which led to Bell's increased aggression and first wound of the night, and there were plenty to be had.
His memory blurred, only recalling the slaughter of monsters, the desire to be worthy, and the desire to be stronger.
The next thing he knew, he was basically on his last legs, his clothes shredded, one eye closed because of a scratch to the head above his right eye. His open eye barely caught a flash of gold and the flash of monster ashes. His grip on his knife never faltered, and he heard a jingle in his pouch.
"Who…" his words died on his tongue. Goddess Hestia is going to be upset, but I still must become stronger. This isn't something I can slack on… was his last thought as he succumbed to his wounds and passed out.
When he woke up next, he heard words from someone, apologizing to him, telling him that he was to be his obstacle for him to be worthy.
Who are you? Was Bell's only thought.
Let's backtrack to the point where Axton rushed outside of the Hostess of Fertility's main entrance.
The Sword Prince saw the boy run away, and instead of chasing him down and speaking to him like he wanted to, he chose to observe him. "Awaken, Tempest," Axton whispered and the wind of Ariel enveloped his form, making the street noticeably windier. He wanted to see this boy—Bell—and apologize for his behavior.
Talking about an adventurer like that is embarrassing and shameful enough, but to have that said adventurer in the same room even if it was unknowingly was even more so; but it is like being nailed to the cross and sacrificed to Goliath, bonus points to irony if their name was David.
Bell had rounded a corner and merged within a small crowd of adventurers and Axton lost sight of him. His short stature and Bell's short stature were a terrible combination for searching. So, when Axton heard that some white-haired kid barreled into the Dungeon, he was on edge.
Logically, Axton did the smartest thing he could do: Run after him. No armor, armed with only a dagger. Was this the smartest decision he could've made? Absolutely not; hypocritical if you asked him. Was he just going to let him throw his life away? Absolutely not. Was he going to get a lecture from Riveria in his near future? I'd rather not answer that. Is Amid going to wring Axton's neck if he gets injured? One hundred percent, cross his heart and gotta go fast.
Butchering a saying aside, Axton followed him into the Dungeon but kept his distance and his eyes off him. He seemed to fidget whenever they passed over him. All Axton heard was the battle cries of Bell and the screams of monsters who were foolish enough to get in the raging rabbit's way. These cries were not of a coherent adventurer. No, he was riding on the adrenaline and instincts of one. Axton noted that they were sloppy, but that was to be expected.
However, it was no surprise that Bell would eventually take hits. There was a code that didn't allow Axton to interfere. This code was the Adventurer's Code. It was an oral code, passed down from generation to generation. Think of it as an old wives' tale that's actually true. There were many rules, upwards of twenty-something or so, but one of the most important ones lied within the first five.
"Do not steal an adventurer's adventure or the quarry that they lay claim to," Axton whispered. That was quite literally the only thing that prevented Axton from helping. While it was clear that Bell 'claimed' the monsters in the area, the excelia or experience would be negligible to Axton. Letting Bell kill them was fine, as he was only keeping an eye on him. If he was to interfere, it would wound his own pride, but also the adventurer in question. This rule was usually dubbed 'The Double-Edged Sword' and it made sense. However, to placate this, the very next rule was to save any adventurer who had gone too far. Right now, it was getting very close. Bell had wounds all over, blood dripping down his form, on the verge of passing out.
The Sword Prince swore he heard Bell mumble something like having to be 'worthy'. At first, Axton didn't understand. Then a moment later, his own words back at the Hostess hit him: They would have to get approval from at least me, and actually Riveria too.
Bell was looking for approval. Little did Bell know, he was well on his way to obtaining it.
With Ariel still active, Axton could no longer sit on the sidelines and intercepted a Goblin that aimed for Bell's exposed back, their claws ready to sink into his exposed flesh, ending his life. The idiot ran in here without armor. Granted, I did too, but I can handle myself on the third floor with ease. That was not arrogance, but confidence. Axton was still wary of the Dungeon, no matter the floor. One can never be truly at ease. The narrow pathways oftentimes lead to a rude surprise if one is caught off guard. Even so, Axton was impressed that Bell pushed himself down to the third floor; though he did traverse the fifth floor and almost died.
The Goblin disappeared when a wind-infused dagger pierced its magic stone. Bell whirled around to make eye contact with Axton. The Prince couldn't hide his mouth gaping open as the wounds on Bell were worse than he originally thought. Sheathing the dagger, picking up the stone, and accurately tossing it in Bell's pouch, he reached out and caught the boy before he hit the ground. "Great, now I have to find his deity and I can't read the Gods' language." What Axton was referring to was his status. Like all Familias, they have a symbol. Ganesha was an elephant, Loki a clown with its tongue out, and so on. If Axton knew how to pick the lock, he could find them, but that wasn't the case.
Bell was clearly out of it. He saw the blond hair and whispered, "Ais?"
"Wrong sibling," Axton replied clipped, not worried about the blood on him, but now using Ariel to propel himself forward. In the midst of him moving, he came up with a better idea. Since he didn't know Bell's deity, there really was one place he could go… Dian Cecht's and hope Amid was up. Axton wasn't carrying any potions, and if he was, he would have administered it to him tout suite. No sense in letting his injuries linger, but alas, no potions.
A realization struck Axton. He agreed with Riveria about no going into the Dungeon, and what was he doing?
He was in the Dungeon… that's a lecture waiting to happen. I'll be lucky to have no burn marks...
Bell deliriously continued to try and ask questions and when Axton replied, he kept his answers short and to the point, purely because the silence was getting to him too. There was no real point in answering questions from a delirious stupid boy. Even so, there was one specific reason, on a list of at least five, that Axton decided to help him.
He reminded Axton of Ais in her dark days. A time where he wished he wised up sooner than he did. So, after speeding out of the Dungeon, surprising some late-night dungeon crawlers, he barreled his way up the street to the clinic. Thankfully, he caught Amid before she left to retire for the night. "Amid!" he shouted.
The Doctor paused and turned to the sound of Axton's voice, and she was about to reprimand him, but once she saw him approach with someone unconscious in his arms, she immediately unlocked the door. "Next time I post a request, you owe me, Prince," she said firmly as she gestured him inside.
"Deal," Axton agreed instantly, knowing that he'd probably owe her a favor. He didn't want to be on her bad side after all. She's scary enough, but Axton will never tell her that.
So, he spent the next hour helping Amid prep him and clean up his wounds, knowing that they can get infected if left untreated. Plenty of adventurers have died this way and Axton wasn't going to let this happen to him. "What happened?" Amid had Axton set Bell on a bed. The Doctor had to cut his shirt off, as it was basically in tatters. Axton made a mental note to get him more clothes, as an apology.
"Myself and Ais happened to save him when we came back from our expedition. Long story, not enough time, and then we were celebrating said expedition at the Hostess. Bete, being Bete, decided to bring it up while he was in the room and proceeded to bash on him. He ran off, don't worry I paid Mia for him, and I decided to follow him. This absolute mad lad runs into the Dungeon with no armor and starts killing monsters. I saved him just now from getting clawed by a Goblin because he had already taken a few hits before I got there," Axton summed it up as best as he could, but Amid noticed his eyes took a slightly darker turn.
"What have I told you about that?" Amid asked. Axton knew she wasn't referring to Bell right now.
The Sword Prince looked away, clearly uncomfortable how the conversation shifted to him, and let the record show that he does not need medical assistance. Even so, Amid was going through the motions, all while glancing at Axton, waiting patiently for an answer.
"You realize that you need to not hold on to that guilt I know you feel. It was the same as sev-"
"Don't you dare go there," Axton snarled, which Amid took in stride. She knew that attempting to bring it up would result in this reaction.
The Doctor sighed, pulling her attention away from Axton and now to Bell, "Well thankfully, his wounds aren't deep enough to cause infection, but with the sheer number of them, he was bound to fall victim to shock and blood loss. Let me go get a potion that can heal the wounds. Can you do me the favor of cleaning around the wounds?" Amid handed him a towel and a small bucket of water.
The blond sighed, visibly and mentally calmer now, "Yeah. I'm sorry I-"
"No, I'm sorry that I brought it up…" Amid stated, holding up a hand to stop him. "It was rude of me to attack that angle, knowing it still causes you grief. Please forgive me." Dea Saint then bowed at him.
"Amid… please stand up straight and save the patient," Axton said, exhausted from this ordeal, and a little embarrassed. The good Doctor disappeared behind the counter of the clinic and Axton began cleaning Bell's wounds. "Now, I know you went in there to clear your mind, but that was the stupidest decision you could have made, Bell." Gently cleaning his side, "I don't even know if you're awake or are faking sleep, but I want to apologize to you about Bete. He's an absolute ass, and that's the way he is, but don't take his words too personally." He paused, "Well, try not to take them personally…" He was pretty sure Bell took them super personally, like down to his soul personally. "Anyway, I wanted to actually talk to you at the Hostess, but with the commotion, I never got the chance. I tried to get Mia to get you out of there, but then I had to open my big mouth and say you had to be worthy…" Axton paused in his work, inspecting to make sure none of the wounds were bleeding, or at least made sure that they weren't. "While that condition applies to you, just know that if you try to woo my sister, I will be the obstacle in your path," but also the one to guide you.
After all, he's never seen Ais blush like that. Normally, his sister blushes when she accidentally does something she shouldn't but blushing when Bell ran away, that was cause for investigation, but he never had the time. Obviously. Amid, at that moment, returned with a potion and gently coaxed the loosely lucid Bell to drink it. Right before his eyes, the wounds gently closed.
Now to make matters worse: "Do you know who his deity is?"
Axton made a face that was akin to a grimace, which Amid took as a no. "Well, he can rest here tonight, but I will be billing Loki for this."
"That's fair, but bill me since I was the one who brought him here," Axton argued. It would be a little unfair for Loki to have to deal with a medical charge yet no one was injured enough to warrant a clinic visit.
Amid rounded to the other side of the bed and gently rested a hand on Axton's cheek, surprising him, making him jump. Her second hand encompassed his other cheek, holding his face in her hands. They're soft, despite the work she does… No, now's not the time for this! She stared him down for a minute, then two before she sighed, "Come to me when you would like to talk about it."
Without context, her words were hard to understand, but to Axton, he knew what she was offering. After all, Amid was the one who healed Axton after the incident. He gently covered her hand with his, an intimate moment between the two, but they were not together. Merely two people who suffered the same thing, attempting to cope with the trauma.
It's not uncommon for people to bond under such pretenses, but Axton swears he'll be teased to the end of oblivion if his familia found out he was getting 'too friendly' with the Saint. Two Amazonian women came to mind almost immediately.
"Sure, now, I better get back before someone sends a search party. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you this late at night, Amid, especially on a Saturday," Axton apologized.
The Doctor merely shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips, "Think nothing of it, this is my job after all. Just be glad Martha and Bernadette aren't here because they would tease you for being sappy."
"Like you're one to talk," Axton shot back half-heartedly. He went to the entrance, "I'll be on the lookout for his deity tomorrow and I'll bring them straight here, okay?"
"That's fine, good night Pri-Axton."
"Good night, Airmid," Axton replied, using Amid's full first name. The Sword Prince raced back to the Hostess and hoped he didn't miss much. As he was running back, he noticed the blood on him and quickly tried to rinse it out, but knew it was fruitless. Then, as he thought about what happened just now, he became angry. Angrier than he's been in a while. Bete almost inadvertently killed an adventurer… well, I better calm myself before I enter.
A pause.
"Fat chance!" he said aloud. Thankfully, no one else heard Axton talking to himself.
Which leads us back to where we left off.
The Loki Familia arrived home from the Hostess a couple of hours after Axton had said he was going home. However, they were in for a rude awakening.
"Did you see the Sword Prince come home?" Finn asked the current guards, everyone was already ahead of him. He didn't want to worry Ais.
The guard looked to his companion, "No, we haven't, Captain. We asked the last shift if they've seen him, but they didn't either."
The Pallum bit his thumb, to see if there was trouble. It ached a tad, so it should be minor, but therein lies a problem. If this was about the Sword Prince, then this could turn into something greater.
Riveria noticed her Captain hanging back, and waited at the door, one eye closed. When Finn was done speaking with the guards, he walked up to the High Elf. "So?"
"He's not here, and from the sounds of it, he didn't plan on coming home tonight."
Riveria rubbed her temples, "Do you think Loki knew he was lying?"
Finn thought for a minute, "No, I believe he was telling the truth, but something must have happened when he left for that period of time. Now, he might be cooling off, not wanting to make a scene."
As the two entered Twilight Manor, Ais was waiting, a little fidgety. They continued their conversation regardless, "Shall we go search for him or warn Ganesha Familia?"
The child-like Captain shook his head, "We'll let Shakti rest tonight, there's no need. We can search for him tomorrow. That means you're not allowed to leave, Ais. Your brother can handle himself. If he wants to not come home tonight, I think we can let him. Furthermore, that goes for the rest of you, consider that an order."
As it stood, Lefiya, Tione, and Tiona all peered around the corner, a little upset as well. Lefiya was confused as well as upset. Why was she caring? The elf stood next to Ais, "Miss Ais, let's retire for the night."
Ais didn't hear her, as she was staring blankly out the door, wondering where he could've gone.
Lefiya couldn't get her to move and she couldn't even if she wanted to. Where are you, Axton? The elf found herself questioning him. What happened?
Ais stared at the door for another hour before she moved away to her room. Even Loki threatening to grope her wasn't enough to get her to care. Loki quickly backed off when she was about to achieve her goal, noticing the dejected, longing look. She was battling an emotion she couldn't quite describe.
"Ais," Loki said, trying to get the young girl's attention. The blonde-haired golden-eyed girl did not even acknowledge Loki, but the vermillion-haired Goddess spoke anyway. "Axton is your brother, and you know as well as I do that he can handle himself," Loki didn't like remembering it, but about half a decade or so ago… The Goddess grimaced, the thought was ruining her buzz.
"I want to go look for him…" Ais finally said, the emotion swirling in her chest. It wasn't anger, that one she knew well. Well enough that her own wind turns black when she focuses on that thing. What is this emotion? Why do I feel this way? What am I feeling? Ais constantly questioned herself, her emotions constantly in flux, not knowing which was what and what was which. Her fists clenched, giving her slight pain.
Trickster opened her eyes fully and regarded Ais. Biting her lip, she went for it. She jostled the girl by the shoulders and brought her into a hug. "I know, but you'd know what he'd say if he found out you were looking for him."
Ais mulled it over and gently hugged her Goddess back, "You say anything, I'll stab you…" her voice was quiet, but the threat was real. She knew that Loki was happy that Ais's funbags were pressing into Loki's flat boarded chest.
Loki laughed, "Never change, Ais, never change."
The Sword Princess had a moment to reflect, and thankfully, her brain connected the dots. I'm concerned for my brother! Ais allowed herself a small smile for figuring out an emotion. Now, I wonder if I can get the full story from him when he gets back...
What the hell am I doing here? Axton asked himself as he sat atop the Eastern Wall at night. Having left the Hostess for the second time only half an hour ago, he couldn't bring himself back to Twilight Manor yet. As for where he was now, this was a place where Axton could be just himself. There were no other worries, everything faded away, and he could be left alone. His emotions could flow freely even if he couldn't describe them. It was a miracle that Shakti didn't see him. He's made the poor Captain of the Ganesha Familia worry enough in the past.
"I thought I'd find you up here," Axton heard the very voice of that Captain. The Sword Prince turned his head around to see Shakti Varma, Ankusha, looking at him with a small smirk, she probably just made some valis tonight by just him being here. Her azure hair and eye color mixed perfectly with the orange outfit she had on. He didn't respond. "So, what are you up here for this time? You normally come up here when something's weighing heavily on your mind."
She has seen this behavior from Axton before.
Despite the numerous times she's told him that this place was off-limits, he always came back. The elder woman realized he used this section of the wall to wash away his worries. However, Shakti does have slight maternal instincts and has pulled him out of the rain, the snow, and the heat to avoid hypothermia and heat stroke respectfully.
"It was to stop me from absolutely annihilating Bete because he almost caused a second-hand death."
"Oh really?" The tone shifted to 'you better tell me' and Shakti was not leaving without an explanation. So, he did, every detail he could remember was laid out for the Elephant God's Captain.
"So you see, I'm here so I don't flip my top on him," Axton stated after he was done speaking what was plaguing him.
What he didn't expect was for the elder woman to start laughing. Axton frowned, this was not what he was expecting. "You told him t-that he h-had to be w-worthy!" Shakti found this hilarious but quickly calmed herself. "Well, I don't condone knocking his lights out, and I find the worthy comment to be adorable from someone like you, I do think you should speak to him and tell the grumpy puppy that."
Axton pouted at being called 'adorable' but the pout he currently sported solidified that fact. Rolling his eyes, "He's never going to be worthy of my sister, so it'll be a lost cause."
"Oh?" Shakti raised an eyebrow, "And just who do you think is worthy of the Princess?" There was a teasing tone to the Captain's words.
One that Axton grinned at, "That's for me to know and for her to figure out herself. I'm not going to force her into an unwanted relationship, but I just need her to open up on her emotions." Shakti nodded along, knowing how air-headed Ais can be. The Ganesha Captain remembered when she was called the Doll Princess because of her constant neutral facial expression. He was often called the Giddy Prince because he always had a small smile or was laughing about something.
Times change.
The two lapsed in silence for quite a while, and Shakti didn't have anything better to do, she was bored and heard some whispers that the Prince was in the area. So, she had investigated. It turned out fruitful, in her humble opinion, considering where she was now.
"I better head home. I can only imagine that lecture I'm going to get tonight," Axton finally said, seeing the faintest wisps of dawn. He realized that he was out here all night. He turned to Shakti, "I'm sorry to have kept you awake all night."
"Think nothing of it, I'm used to this. Tomorrow is my day off anyway. I hope Lady Riveria doesn't thrash you too hard," Shakti waved her hand, dismissing his apology.
"It's not her I'm worried about," Axton admitted.
"Well… who is it?" Shakti had to admit, his answer piqued her curiosity.
"Ais. Her staring at me is a lecture itself. She's going to demand a spar, and me wanting to make her happy, will agree. Thanks, Auntie Shakti," he mumbled under his breath.
"A Royalty spar, hmm? I'd pay to see that," Shakti whispered to herself. By the time she turned, Axton was gone, as he most likely leaped over the wall. She sighed before understanding dawned on her. "What have I told you about jumping down from this height?!"
Axton snickered when he heard Shakti's yell, and continued on his way home. Calling Shakti 'Auntie' was simply because that's how he sees her. While she is an adventurer in her own right, she seems to just radiate that 'family' vibe that he craves. Considering the familiar tones they took with one another, it's not out of the question that they've had some deep discussions. Axton is only sixteen, so his experiences pale in comparison to hers, but it was only one horrifying experience that brought them to this level.
Now, while he wanted to stick around longer, and while he wanted to go check on Bell, he'd better check in on his Familia. No doubt they were worried, even if they didn't outwardly show it. Well… he doesn't know who was going to worry first. It could be Riveria, or Finn, or Ais, or Lefiya, surprisingly. Axton frowned. Why was he thinking of her now?
Disregarding that thought, he focused on moving through the streets. Well... partially.
His mode of transport could have been better picked. He was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, mitigating the need for the streets. Since he wasn't wearing his armor or had all of his weapons, this made the journey easier.
Soon enough, Twilight Manor came into view, most of the lights off, giving it a haunted house vibe. Axton knew his penance was coming, so he landed in front of the gate. The guards were surprised to see him but opened the gate. The entrance was barren which only spelled that he was doomed.
As soon as he entered the darkened hallway, the light flicked on. Wincing at the sharp change in light, "You're seven hours past curfew." Riveria.
"You worried us, boy." Gareth.
"Little Princy!" Tiona.
"You made the Captain worry!" Tione.
"That's enough, Tione." Finn.
Two were missing, but that changed when Ais was in front of him, staring him down. Just as he predicted, she had Desperate at her side and Requiem in hand. She wanted to spar.
"Where's Bete?" Axton asked.
"In his room, sulking," Tiona said, smiling in glee. "Loki grilled him on what he said, so he's taken a lashing to his pride."
Ignoring Ais for a minute, he found himself searching for Lefiya. On the way back, a fleeting thought, he had to apologize for his actions. His intent towards Bete probably scared her. "I see, but I will say that I successfully prevented a second-hand murder. Shakti is aware."
Gareth laughed boisterously, severely confusing Axton, "Told you he'd go there, Riviera."
"Quiet," the High Elf snapped.
"You didn't place bets on me, did you? If you did, I want a cut since I was the subject of it," Axton chimed.
Finn eyed him, "I would like to hear about this. After you two sort yourselves out."
Staring ahead of him, Ais never let go of eye contact, her stare drilling him into the wall. Reaching a hand out, the message was received. Ais put Requiem in his hand and she turned, all but demanding he follow.
Fixing his weapon to his side, he followed his sister. The fact she hadn't spoken to him meant she was angry or concerned or worried or… the point's been made. In fact, she was probably frustrated with him. The clenching of her fist on Desperate was an obvious indicator. Her shoulders were tense, walking stiffly as a board.
As he passed the rest of the executives, they followed, wanting to witness this. A Royalty spar was unlike a normal spar. Much like their arguments, they fought like their lives depended on it. Therefore, they never happen unless two level sixes, i.e Finn/Gareth/Riveria, are present. They are the only three that can stop them. There were five hundred battles over the past eight years—this one upcoming would be five hundred—and the current record was one hundred and fifty-eight wins for Ais…
...and one hundred and fifty-eight wins for Axton.
Meaning that one hundred and eighty-three matches have ended in a draw. The last one to actually win in a Royalty spar was Axton, but only just, and that was after his adjustment period when he reached level five two and a half years ago. Otherwise, they've been drawing up to this point.
These occur with far more frequency than one would expect, as for consistency… that's another story.
Now, those draws may seem lackluster, but the number of times that the tide turned in each match was enough to keep Loki from drinking for all of about two days. Her personal record. Yeah… Loki's a drunkard. It gets even worse if one mentions her brother, Thor.
Back to the topic at hand, the two entered the courtyard, the very one Axton trained in this morning. Despite his muscles still being slightly sore, he was confident about holding his own.
Ais just simply stared at her brother. The ulterior reason she wanted to spar was that he said he owed her one and she wanted to know what was going on. He obviously wasn't the same when he left the Hostess and he was only gone for an hour and a half, and something happened. Then, after he left, he didn't come home until now.
The sparring was one way for both swordsman and swordswoman to express their emotions fully, with no barriers. They spoke with their weapons fluently, unlike speaking with words.
Raul and Aki had risen early today, and when they heard the executives pass by, the two of them immediately followed, getting context from Gareth. "Should we get the barricade?" Raul asked.
Gareth chuckled, "We might have to. She seemed upset last night, have everyone level three or below stay inside."
"Right!" Raul and Aki said in unison before running off and relaying the order. Finn nodded at the exchange. We'll make a leader out of him yet.
Back to the Wallenstein siblings, they were situated and they drew their weapons, dropping into their respective stances, "All out, or no magic?"
"No magic."
Axton spoke, Ais responded. The rules were set. Their personas now on, the Sword Princess and Sword Prince launched at each other with purpose.
Ais went for precision strikes with Desperate, aiming to pierce his skin enough to make him stop feeling the way he does. She was concerned last night and had stayed up the whole night waiting for him to come home. Her sibling intuition told her that this was the only way to get him to open up fully. While this would be outlandish from normal siblings, there's one thing that everyone forgets.
The Wallenstein siblings of the Loki Familia are not normal siblings.
Axton swiftly moved himself out of the way, bringing Requiem down on Ais's exposed shoulder. He figured out immediately how she was feeling, and as always, guilt racked his being. When was he going to stop being such a burden on everyone else?
The two of them were out to hurt one another, but it was the eye contact that entranced them, not their swordplay. Ais's golden orbs seemed to ask, What happened? What did you do?
Axton's golden-onyx orbs seemed to be in disbelief like he said, Did you not hear me say I prevented a second-hand murder? As for the second question, I sat on a wall for five hours after the fact. I didn't feel like coming home at the time. Axton grabbed her wrist in an attempt to get Desperate out of her hands.
Ais thought the same thing and tried to wrench Requiem from his. I see, but you couldn't have at least come home and tell us that?
They both won and lost that fight. This also hasn't been the first time that this has happened. Royalty has swapped weapons. The best part, they knew how to use each one in a decent manner, not enough to be considered proficient, but well enough to still be a force to be reckoned with.
Then, when their eyes stopped communicating, their swords picked up where they left off. Each clash of their swords was like watching a silent movie, only except they were hearing the sound after the action happened.
Most of the Familia was now very aware of what was taking place and most couldn't even catch up. The two were moving at such a fast pace that no one could tell who was winning.
"I can't see!" Tiona shouted, upset because of the aforementioned reason. Even though she was on the same level as them, they moved far faster than they should, like a fresh or mid-level six.
The clash of their swords once again stole the attention. If one was paying close enough attention, it was like give and take, where it seemed like Ais held the advantage, then it turned around where Axton had the advantage.
When Ais did, she was speaking with the sword, So why didn't you come home after the Hostess?! With each strike, it was like she was forceful in her words. Ais was determined to see what had his attention.
Axton had a very clear answer, I was saving his life! You know, the kid we saved?! He almost got himself killed because of our words! I hate making people feel that way! The two swapped weapons again, and the battle picked up its intensity.
The Princess continued to interrogate him with her eyes, So you went to the Dungeon? Her eyes narrowed into slits.
The Prince stared defiantly back into her eyes, Yeah, I did. To save him from thinking he was worthless! His attacks became slightly more aggressive, more so than normal, surprising Ais momentarily.
However, Ais countered Axton's swing of his hilt with a simple flick of the wrist, knocking his weapon into the air. What he did next surprised her, as he ran forward, grabbing Requiem with his outstretched right hand, bringing it down in a reverse grip, spinning like a top.
Spiral Slash.
The only reason that it didn't feel as effective was that he didn't have time to adjust the angle nor his grip. Ais barely had enough time to bring Desperate up to block. The two weapons clashed again, making a small sonic boom. The force of these Durandal weapons was something else entirely. Why did you bother with him?
Despite the calm nature of the fight described aside, they were actually jumping and leaping all over the courtyard. The entire area became the battleground. At first, they were in the middle, then they were on the wall, the air, then the floor again, or a mixture of all three. They did not idly fight. They fight, using anything and everything to their advantage.
Axton had an easy response to that, when he ran away, he made you blush! I want to get to know him. I can't if he's dead! In truth, there was more to that, but he didn't need to say it, Ais wouldn't understand the emotion that Bell had sparked in her.
The communication continued for a short time until the dust settled with a small crater, maybe a meder deep, but for Royalty who were about one hundred sixty-two celches and one hundred sixty celches tall—from the older sibling to the younger sibling respectfully—it was up to their chests.
What they saw was Ais's rapier to Axton's throat, some cheered for the outcome, but they saw Axton's smug smirk. He knew Ais has 'beaten' him, but there was a catch to her 'victory'.
Finn approached the battle and smirked himself. It was what they didn't see that had Axton in such a good mood. His longsword was right on Ais's left bosom, aka, above her heart.
In other words, a draw.
Making the record one hundred fifty-eight wins to one hundred and fifty-eight losses each and one hundred and eighty-four ties. "It's a draw, folks!"
Ais herself looked confused until she looked down. "Oh," she said under her breath.
"Do you understand why now?" Axton's voice was barely above a whisper.
Truthfully, she didn't, but that wasn't going to stop her. After all, she was curious about who the rabbit was. Those ruby-red eyes held emotions that Ais didn't know how to process. She wanted to find out. "Not entirely," she replied.
Axton honestly expected to hear a 'No'. So, to know that she had a simple grasp on this made Axton feel at ease. "Good, because I am going to be one sore mother-"
"Finish that sentence and I will freeze you," Riveria said, knowing exactly what was about to leave her son—but not her son's—mouth.
"Have I not spoken the truth? She probably would've won if we kept it up," Axton gestured to Ais, who seemed surprised. "My muscles are on the verge of giving out. By sheer willpower am I standing. Remember, I trained very hard today, and then I saved the kid, so I'm running on steam here."
"I thought you had me a few times," Ais admitted softly. "It wasn't my swordsmanship, but we both seem to be on the same playing field. You've learned something new..."
"I have, but I need to practice it more, I missed some key marks that could've helped me," Axton said back.
Which in their terms, they needed to go on an adventure. They were both ready for it, as their latest status updates had shown. They've been ready for quite some time, but they were trying to maximize their stats as much as possible. It will help in the long run.
Finn looked at the two siblings before chuckling, "Well, now that that's settled, Axton, would you meet me in my office? I want to hear the full details."
"So do I," a voice came from the window above. Looking up, there was Loki with a gleeful grin, "Come on up."
"You were watching, Loki?" Axton questioned.
Their patron goddess scoffed, "Well yeah, it's entertaining to watch you two fight it out and have a conversation with swords instead of words. In fact, you might be the only two who can do that seamlessly. It's pretty fascinating."
Both siblings raised their eyebrows in surprise. They didn't expect Loki to figure out how their issues were usually resolved after a spar. Usually being the keyword. Sometimes it takes two… or three, but the absolute most was five… maybe six.
A guard rushed into the courtyard, getting everyone's attention, but the guard gawked at the condition of the area. Finn addressed them, "What's happening?"
"There is a very angry Goddess at the gates, demanding to see, and I quote so please don't shoot the messenger, 'Loki-no-Boobs' right away," the guard then flinched at the stare Loki gave them.
"So, besides that, what does loli big boobs want?"
"She's inquiring a-about her missing child, Lady Loki! She was directed here by the Saint!" The guard said.
Loki looked over to Axton, "Does this have to do with the second-hand and saving the kid thing?"
"Probably, if he's awake at Dian Cecht's, then I am more than willing to explain," Axton said, turning to Finn, "To your office?"
The Pallum nodded, "I shall join you in a moment. Loki, head there now." He turned to the guard, "Let her in and direct her to my office as well. Everyone else, let's clean this up so we can fix it later."
Multiple groans were had. Axton volunteered to help tomorrow when he wasn't on his last legs for today. After all, the damage was not as extensive as he thought, but it definitely was more than intended.
Axton then left the courtyard and headed inside. On his way, he almost ran into Lefiya. Literally. "Woah!" Except that it would have been his fault.
The reason being was because the young elf was leaning on the window sill above the courtyard, fast asleep. He just couldn't leave her there. Hopefully, Finn and Loki can wait just a minute. He gently picked her up bridal style, her head resting peacefully on his shoulder. Thankfully, her room was nearby. Her roommate wasn't here at the moment, so Axton took the small blessing for what it was. He managed to open the door as gently as possible and just as he was about to set her down, her hand clutched to his shirt.
Thankfully, Ariel is convenient for drying himself off and making him smell like a fresh autumn breeze. He hoped that she couldn't hear his heart beating like a drum though.
"Mmh, Miss Ais…" she murmured as Axton tried to not tighten his grip.
For some irritating reason, it bothered him that she was hung up on his sister.
After a little bit of a struggle, and her murmuring something that Axton couldn't quite catch, he got her into her bed and he quickly left before his heart broke out of his chest.
As he rushed over to Finn's office, his thoughts were all scrambled, but only one made his heart squeeze in his chest.
When the hell did Lefiya get so cute?
...
So besides a profound question from our dearest Axton, what were your opinions on the spar? Did you notice the reference I put in?
I know it was vague, but I cannot write incredibly detailed fights. This is practice for me. I wanted to convey that the siblings convey conversation far better with swords and fights rather than words. While Axton is better at words verbally, being a better conversationalist than Ais, they both struggle with their emotions, as I've already established.
With that, until next time.
Edit: Fixed a minor continuity error. When It says 'What the hell am I doing here?' I realized I had Axton leave the clinic, but he had left the Hostess the second time. The first was to chase after Bell, then he went to the clinic, came back to the Hostess and left again... I got be better at proofreading...
