Me: So here is chapter 2! For a while, I was pondering whether I should make the chapters longer (5000+ words) but I think I'll keep them from between 2000-5000 words. That way, I'll be able to make cliffhangers!
Genis: So you say... but I highly doubt it'll do any better than what you already tried...
Me: *Smacks Genis silly* Anyway, there's a time skip since last chapter~!
Genis: Augh! Why am I the target of abuse? I thought that was Zelos' role!
Zelos: Shut up you brat.
Genis: Ugh. Whatever already... yirriru doesn't own anything.
EDIT: I'm probably going to stop with these introductions since I'm so awkward at making them. Hahahaha...
Chapter 2: You can't be serious, right?
"Could things get any more irritating than they already are?" A silver haired boy groaned, stalking down a dirt pathway. He wore a black and blue outfit. The upper shirt he wore was blue with a black trim that had slits on the sleeves and was slightly baggy. Under that, he wore a black tank top. His pants were also blue with a black trim.
It was a relatively hot day, not to mention that his boss had forced him to go to the Iselia Human Ranch. There wasn't really anything in particular that bothered him since he would actually be able to work once in his life. Frowning, he approached the gates. They towered over him, probably six meters and were quite sturdy. Genis' light blue eye traced the gates before resting on the cliff that was adjacent to it. Somehow, the setup of this ranch bothered him but he shrugged it off. He wasted enough time checking out the ranch. Genis then walked forward and pounded on the gate and peered through the metal bars. A low ranking desian soon appeared.
"You! What are you doing? The ranch is off limits to you and your inferior beings residing in Iselia. Get lost!"
"Pardon?" Genis raised his eyebrow, frowning.
"You heard me, beat it kid."
"I have business with Grand Cardinal Forcystus."
"You gotta be kidding me. Like what?" The desian laughed, not taking Genis seriously.
"Are those ears of your only for decoration? I have business with the Grand Cardinal, not you." Genis scoffed. This was going nowhere. Forcystus was probably waiting, if not taking his regular naps when he thought no one was watching. Why did the desian think he was from that village filled with humans?
"Why you-"
Genis leaped backwards, out of the range of the desians saber. He groaned before leaping once more out of the way of the blade. The lower ranking desian troops were easy to bait, which definitely wasn't a good thing. Genis groaned again as he saw more troops bustling out the gates to see what was going on. Great, he definitely screwed up. Of all days to shut off the teleporter, why did Forcystus pick today? As of the moment, he had very few options. A) He beat up Forcystus' troops and get his butt whipped by the cardinal, B)He ran away and not get anything done, C) He try to reason with the angry mob or D)He run through the entire ranch like a convict, hoping not to get seriously injured. He didn't really like his options, but he decided to settle for option C before doing option A. As Genis opened his mouth to attempt reasoning with the angry mob, a blur of red smashed one of the desians that was going to slash Genis from behind.
"Are you okay?" A voice grunted. Genis turned to see a boy a few years older than he was. He had spiky brown hair and wore a lot of red. He didn't seem like the average person you'd come across in a normal town, but Genis would soon find out that this boy wasn't quite normal at all.
"What the-? What in the world are you doing? I-" Genis yelled.
"-could handle this myself? Yeah right." The boy rolled his eyes before focusing on the other desians surrounding them.
"That wasn't what I was going to say but, yes, I CAN handle this by myself. I-"
"No way! How can you handle fighting a mob of desians if you're that SCRAWNY, not to mention that you fight with a kendama! How can you protect yourself?"
"That was rather rude AND I don't need your help! Just go away, human!"
"Dwarven Vow #2, Never abandon someone in need!"
"What in the world are YOU talking about? You're the one that's in need of a brain and new ears!"
Bickering with the red clad swordsman was going nowhere, just like Genis' previous conversation. More desians flooded out the gates, which didn't help Genis' situation at all. Genis groaned. He had to retreat before things could get messy. He rushed towards the cliff and leaped. Shouts could be heard from behind him, but he paid no mind to it. Getting away from the confusion was his only option since that boy interrupted him. At this rate, he doubt Forcystus would be glad to see him. He probably would check the surveillance and see how much trouble he caused.
As he landed, Genis sighed. A soft thud sounded behind him. He then whipped around to face that not-so-bright boy clad in red. Great.
"Things were looking pretty bad up there. Good thing I finished off the guys who saw both of our faces!" He smiled.
"Don't talk to me. I don't need want to be associated with some human." Genis turned away, hoping that the swordsman would leave him be.
"Why did you go to the human ranch anyway?"
"..."
"Did you know about the non-aggression treaty Iselia has with ranch? To me, it doesn't appear that you do though, seeing that I haven't seen your face before."
"..."
"By the way, my name is Lloyd! Nice to meet 'cha!"
"..."
"You look a bit younger than me... do you live nearby?"
"..."
"What kind of hobbies do you have? And why do you fight with a kendama?"
"..."
"You look similar to my teacher. Are you-"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"
"-...eh? What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? I want to know why you're bothering me and why you keep questioning me even though I already told you I don't want to talk to you!"
"... 'cuz I was curious and I want to be friends with you?"
"Friends? With YOU? No thanks. Leave me alone and stop following me."
"Wow. You're really uptight. Sheesh. But we're probably heading in the same direction anyway. At least tell me why you don't like me. I have the right to know that at least don't I?"
Genis turned towards the human boy and locked his azure eyes with curious chestnut ones. He might as well confront him and give him a reason, otherwise he'd be tailed across Sylvarant.
"One, I hate humans. Two, you're annoying. Three, you treated me like a defenseless puppy and thought I couldn't protect myself."
"Oh, sorry 'bout that. You looked like you were having trouble."
Genis twitched. He wasn't having any trouble at all. He just didn't want to injure Forcystus' men since he knew there would be consequences for doing so.
"You're heading towards Triet aren't you?"
"...and if I am?"
"Alright. I'm gonna walk with you till we get to the outskirts of Iselia. There might be monsters on the way, so travelling together is better than by oneself!"
"Whatever. Do what you want." Genis grunted.
Lloyd grinned before running after the short half elf.
It was late evening.
Genis had left Lloyd hours ago and was relatively happy about it. His mind wandered as he tried to figure out what actions he should take next. Even though he was heading towards Triet to retrieve some supplies that was accidentally sent there, he didn't want to travel back from there to the Iselia Human Ranch. Pondering a moment, Genis figured that it'd be wise to stay in Iselia then go to the ranch since he would eventually end up going to Triet. Sighing, Genis turned towards Iselia. He didn't like going to human infested towns but he had no other choice.
When Genis arrived in Iselia, it was relatively quiet, besides the children that were still playing. Genis smiled, seeing how Iselia had an 'earthy' feel to it. The village guard stopped the half elf for a moment, then nodded. Perhaps he mistaken Genis for an elf. There was no way that a human wouldn't hate on a half elf when he seen him. As Genis walked further in, he saw a face he rather have not seen.
Kratos.
The russet haired 'mercenary' didn't seem to notice the small half elf. He was chatting with what looked like the mayor of Iselia and an old woman. Guessing from the information that Yggdrasill had told him about the chosen's journey, he assumed that the old woman is related to the chosen.
"Better get out of here before Kratos notices me." Genis murmured, but collided with a passerby and fell to the ground.
"Ouch!" Oh no. That voice...
"Hmm? Oh! Hey, you're that guy from the forest!" Lloyd grinned.
"So, you decided to come to Iselia to rest or something? I'd hate to break it to you but the inn was filled when I checked it out. Why don't you come with me to my dad's place? We should have room where I live!"
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll just camp out somewhere else."
"Aww, come on. It shouldn't be that bad should it? Dad's a kind guy."
Genis opened his mouth to object but decided not to. No point in arguing. Looking at Lloyd, he sighed.
"Fine. But don't get too friendly with me or I'll burn you to a crisp."
"Alright! Before we go, can we visit Colette? I almost forgot to give her her birthday prese- What the-! It broke!" The brunet exclaimed. He looked crestfallen for a moment, but then turned to Genis with a determined look.
"Colette is going off on her journey tomorrow, so I'll just fix up the necklace tonight and give it to her tomorrow!"
"Um, okay." Lloyd then dragged Genis in the direction of his house in the Iselia forest.
At Dirk's house, Lloyd began fixing his charm for the girl named Colette, who happened to visit Lloyd that night with Kratos. Apparently, Lloyd was planning to go on the journey with Colette, Kratos and a person named Raine. For Genis, he didn't want to be seen by Kratos for many reasons.
The following morning, Genis awoke by the sound of the birds singing. Groggy and exhausted, he glanced around. Lloyd was splayed all over his bed, snoring and murmuring something about Colette, but Genis didn't want to know. Yawning, Genis decided to exit the house before the human woke up. Downstairs, the dwarf was nowhere to be seen. The half elf boy sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't have to deal with any more interactions for a while. Grabbing his belongings, Genis exited Dirk's house and headed towards the Iselia Human Ranch once more.
"Who's there?" A gruff voice asked.
"Genis."
"Hmph, come in."
The gates leading into the Iselia Human Ranch opening, this time without trouble.
As one of the desians led Genis to Forcystus' office, Genis sighed. Honestly, he had no clue why he was sent to this ranch. He spent a lot of time in the Asgard Human Ranch and at a base near Triet. As Genis entered Forcystus' office, he noted that the man he was suppose to visit wasn't even there. Genis had to stop himself from smashing his head into the desk near him. When he peered at the desk, he saw a note.
To Genis.
If you are reading this letter at this very moment, you can probably tell that I am not there. I have gone to punish those insolent inferior beings of Iselia for killing my troops the previous day. I would also like to apologize for the behaviour of my troops. I will be back later today. As for the reason you were sent here, it was to get to know your superiors. Other than that, there is nothing else to discuss. You do not have to wait for me to return. I had my men ready a teleport back to Welgaia. Lord Yuan has a job for you.
-Grand Cardinal Forcystus
"Wow." Genis sighed, trying to rub away an incoming headache. Returning to the hallway, he glanced around. The inside of this ranch appeared the same as the one near Luin. Finding nothing in particular that interest him, Genis had one of the desian troops lead him to the teleporter. After saying a small thanks to the troop, Genis teleported away.
Arriving at Welgaia, Genis glanced around. Yuan wasn't in the vicinity. Genis stretched, feeling stiff. Perhaps now would be a good chance for him to check out Welgaia and "search" for Lord Yuan. Although he's been to many places around Sylvarant, he hasn't been brought to Welgaia often. Maybe it was because he wasn't in a high enough position to go there often or that he was "too young". Although he had been excited to visit Welgaia, there wasn't much too see. Everything was white and the place felt too... still. Even though there were angels floating around, they barely responded, not to mention they felt lifeless. Their stares sent chills down Genis' spine. Not wanting to spend more time near the angels, Genis hasten his search for Lord Yuan.
"Genis."
The young half elf ceased his search. Turning to his left, he saw a half elf with long turquoise hair put into a ponytail. He wore a cloak as usual.
"Oh, f- Lord Yuan. I heard you have a job for me?" The young half elf murmured, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Lord Yuan always seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Hmm, yes, I have a job for you. Come with me. This should be discussed away from... curious ears." Yuan's emerald eyes seemed to focus on something in one of the windows in Welgaia, narrowing with irritation.
"Yes."
Yuan spun away, indicating that he would be going to his office in the base near Triet. Genis felt a small smile urging its way to his face but smothered the feeling. He then quickly followed after Yuan into the teleporter.
"Wait, you mean..."
"Yes, I want you become Lloyd Irving's companion. From what I heard, he will be travelling with the chosen's group."
"You can't mean the Lloyd with brown spiky hair and is dressed in red... right?" Genis could feel himself twitching.
"Oh good, it seems that you've already met him. That makes things much more easier. You know what to do."
"I understand." Genis felt his shoulders sag, his excitement instantly killed.
"Good. Make sure to report to me anything of importance. Don't let the others catch on."
"...Okay." Genis sighed, but soon felt his spirit return.
"I'll let you know when I join his group. Cya!" Genis grinned before rushing out the door.
"..." Yuan stared at where the young half elf was once standing, although he was long gone.
"Genis..." The cerulean haired half elf sighed. Looking at the monitor in front of him, he glanced at the profile pictures of the chosen's group. He could only hope that Yggdrasill wouldn't catch onto his ploy.
Genis: Hey, I thought I was taken in by desians.
Me: Taken in but remember, Yuan is part of Cruxis and stuff - but I'll add more about you later.
Genis: …
Lloyd: Alright! Genis gets to join us on the journey! At least we get to be friends still!
Genis: Haha, I guess that's what I like about you Lloyd.
Lloyd: Thanks for reading!