+ Fallacy, a 100themes Challenge +
Sarehptar
Theme: 20, Vacation
Characters: Kharl, Aotsuki, Garfakcy
Pairing: None (but Aotsuki is a little flamer so...)
Warnings: Every warning in the book? Cursing, hints of slash (boyxboy) appreciation, cliche, retardedness, annoying OC, and the words "Red Light District"... Oh, and PMSing Garfakcy too. (God, I had so much fun writing this!)
Need to Know Info: 青月の夜, Aotsuki Noyoru is a Cloaks original character, the second in a set of Dragon Fighters who sole purpose seems to be in making Avis Rara's life as chaotic as possible. Ao-chan is a Faerie from a forest in Glaciosa. He's shy and generally helpless, but has a beserker side. "Once on the battlefield, I saw him tear a demon apart... with his bare teeth!"
Title Provider: Travel in Mind (See-Saw)
Travel in Mind, Around the Whole World, Oh Have You Ever Seen-?
Kharl rethought his entire plan the moment the city came into view. It was much too lively, much too populated… Whatever made him decide Draqueen would be a good place to relax, he most certainly could not remember. Nevertheless, going back to Arinas now would be more than wasteful, and at the very least, he owed himself a few hours freedom from Alchemy.
Avis Rara sighed heavily, limp blond hair staying resolutely flat despite the decent breeze. The Dragon capital was gleaming and full of happy shouting and bustling human beings. In the distance, he saw the castle rising like the majestic ruler it stood for. It hurt almost, to think Rath was somewhere inside those walls, so close and so completely out of his reach.
He put aside those thoughts determinately, shaking his head as a forceful reminder that he was here to be someone else for the day. The human being named Avis Rara cared no more for Rath than he cared for ants in the road. Kharl took a larger-than-normal step, to avoid crushing a line of scurrying black insects.
Belatedly, he wondered if he should have chosen slightly less conspicuous clothing—rejoicing in the fact that, for once, his hair did not limit the scope of his color scheme, he'd chosen a rather fancy cloak set, dyed almost garnet. The hem and collar were embroidered with delicate gold swirling patterns, and he'd embellished with heavy golden earrings that dangled and flashed in the bright sunlight. With Avis Rara's naturally delicate features and milk white skin, he probably seemed a very commanding presence. The Alchemist giggled quietly to himself as he drew glances from all types of people. Did he look like some errant prince, a little lost on his way to the castle to promote diplomacy and peace? The truth couldn't have been any more opposite…
"Oi, you little bastard!"
"I-I'm so sorry, please I'll—"
"You're going to have to pay for all of them!"
"B-But I can't aff—" Kharl blinked light eyes and watched the argument with unveiled interest. A small young man –no, he wasn't as young as he looked– trembled next to a collapsed cart of apples. His bare arms were already brimming with fruit, and he looked like he desperately wanted to put them all back in their basket and run away with his tail between his legs. His appearance was arresting, if nothing else. Though Draqueen was stunningly diverse, Avis had yet to see anyone who looked quite like the stuttering boy. His skin was a dark nut brown, too dark to blend well with the paler faces of the Dragon capital, and his frame was decidedly too delicate. That straight, navy blue hair and those gray eyes did not match any other coloring the Alchemist had seen in the city—but that was all secondary to what really caught Kharl's attention.
The boy was brimming with the Power of Virtue. Even having his senses weakened by the ash magic disguise could not fail to block out that energy, and there was unmistakably Faerie blood in his veins.
"I'm really, r-really sorry… I d-don't have so much m-money…" The vendor remained stern, cursing loudly. The boy bent to pick up more apples, though the pile he already carried seemed ready to burst free of him at any moment.
"I'll pay for you." Avis Rara bent down to pick a bruised fruit off the ground.
- X – X – X-
Gray eyes darted swiftly from the ground to the owner of the kind voice, and heavy lashes lifted widely in surprise. The stranger was clothed in garments fit for the Dragon Lord, smile shining as brightly as his golden adornments. Blond hair, mussed just enough to look human, reflected the light softly, framing the slope of his pale cheeks. Sky-blue eyes glimmered with apparent amusement, and a pale hand closed the distance between them. He looks like… an angel. Embarrassed to have even thought something so silly, the younger boy began hastily stuffing more apples into his arms, if only to occupy his eyes. Unfortunately, while there were quite a few fruit on the ground, the task of picking them all up was not able to keep him busy for long—especially since the strange blond man started to pick up the fallen apples too.
"How much will all this be?" His voice was soft and pleasant to listen too, with a smoothing quality that did not seem entirely natural. The vendor snarled a price and the young man almost dropped all the apples again: it was ridiculously high, even for so much damage. There was no way… The stranger in red reached into his sleeve and withdrew a heavy bag of gold. "This will cover it, right?"
"Oh n-no! D-don't do that, d-don't…" He tried to stop the transaction, but his hands were quite full and his voice was much too quiet. "Y-you really shouldn't—" The stranger smiled again, disarming any argument he had been trying to make. Calmly, as if they had known each other years, the older man led him away, dumping the apples off on people walking by as he went.
"Why," he murmured in a voice that was less appealing than before, and quite a bit more interested, "is a Faerie stirring up trouble in a Draqueen market?"
"I-I wasn't! I d-didn't mean—" The stranger chuckled pleasantly in reply. "Uh… I… My name is A-Aotsuki Noyoru. W-What is your name?" It was too forward, and he regretted asking a moment after the words had escaped him.
"Avis Rara," the older man offered without hesitation, and Aotsuki repeated it in his mind several times. It was a strange name, one that did not quite fit the man beside him.
"T-Thank you very much for p-paying for me…"
"I do expect to be repaid." There was a mischievous note in the blond's voice now, and a happy smirk behind that. The younger man twitched—suddenly wandering off with an all-too-friendly stranger didn't seem like the wisest of decisions. "Do you know this city well?" The question came completely unexpected, and Aotsuki missed a step in surprise.
"I… I s-suppose so, R-Rara-san."
"If you will show me around, I will consider your debt paid." The idea of spending the day with such a... Aotsuki couldn't quite find the right words to describe the stranger, though a plethora of adjectives from 'mysterious' to 'overly generous' and 'abnormal' would have worked just fine.
"R-Rara-san wants me to be h-his guide?" Though the richly dressed man did not bother to look in his direction, Aotsuki could see a vivid smile.
"If you find my company objectionable, I suppose I'd manage on my own…"
"N-No! I m-meant…" The faerie sighed, giving up on his exuberant denial in favor of starting over. "What does Rara-san want to see?" The blond paused to think, lifting a delicate pale hand and tapping his lower lip.
"What is here to see?" He muttered finally, light eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled in heavy thought.
"Well, there is…"
- X – X – X-
The Alchemist laughed freely, a clear and happy sound that stunned even him. The Faerie grinned shyly too, finishing his tale with a flourish that sent another gale of giggles through the disguised demon.
"You can't be serious…"
"I am! I r-really am! I was all like 'T-Touch my f-flowers and I'll k-kill you!'"
"Did you stutter like that when you said it?"
"S-Stop making fun of me Rara-san!" The blue-haired boy almost choked on his spoon as he flailed, but the Alchemist didn't halt his slow and steady devouring of apple-flavored ice cream.
"This is quite sweet. But it doesn't taste like cream at all."
"That type is made mainly from real fruit. H-Have you really never had it Rara-san?" The blond nodded slowly in answer, spoon bobbing comically in time. "You hadn't seen a pet shop before either… or a discothèque… or a Red-light District…" The Faerie's face flushed as scarlet as a tomato, remembering what adventures he's saved his shockingly naïve new friend from. "Do you come from a faraway country?"
The Alchemist's face grew suddenly solemn, and a little wistful. "It's not like here at all. It's very… isolated." The navy-haired boy was about to say that sounded nice, but he wondered if that was not the reply Avis wanted.
"NO STOP!" a woman shouted across the street, and both the young men turned to see what was happening. A gang of boys had surrounded a jewelry saleswoman, tucking bracelets and wares into their pockets without a moment's hesitation.
"Stuff it lady. You don't need all this junk." She moved to jerk his hands away from her table, but was restrained none-too-kindly by his companions. Another two stood guard, glaring murder at anyone who stopped to stare at what was happening.
"She's being robbed," the disguised demon muttered and blinked in confusion, "and no one is helping her."
"T-Those guys look really strong. They'd probably b-beat up anyone who tried to h-help…" The gray-eyed Faerie fidgeted in his seat, wringing his napkin furiously. Light blue eyes regarded him slowly for a second, a little displeasure showing in them and stabbing the younger boy almost painfully. Then, with movements that seemed almost too fast for a human being, Avis Rara stood up, set his spoon down with a solid clatter, and vaulted over the low café fence.
"I would appreciate your immediate disappearance." Avis Rara's voice was low as he approached the thugs, dangerously so, and some edge of practiced violence and allure in it sent shivers down the Faerie's spine. What is this feeling… like demon energy… Navy blue hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
"You would appreciate what?" The leader straightened to his full height, two inches taller than Kharl's assumed form, and smirked coldly. "Na, look at this pretty boy! You think you can stop me? What are you going to do, smother me with that cloak of yours?" The Alchemist scowled, stiffening. At his sides, claws grew and were hidden again quickly.
"So then asking you politely to desist would be pointless?" He smiled a falsely bright grin and blinked slowly.
"He's screwing with us," one of the boys hissed, brown eyes narrowing in unconcealed rage.
"Just turn around, go back to your pansy over there," the Faerie squawked indignantly from across the street, "and mind your own damn business… before I make it so you can't even mind that."
"Forgive me, I don't feel like leaving just yet." Kharl took a purposefully intimidating step forward, crossing pale arms defiantly.
"Bastard!" The boy lunged.
Kharl anticipated the blade before it was even unsheathed and waited almost patiently for a strike—that never came. A nut brown fist shattered the thug's face.
The tall thief's body slammed into the ground with a sickening smack, and blood bloomed from a clearly broken nose. He did not get up. There was a collective gasp, and then all the hoodlums' eyes landed firmly on Aotsuki.
"Get him!" There was a flurry of fists and feet and Kharl stepped back warily. There had been something distinctly different about the Faerie, who had just struck a human being: his gray eyes had been hard as stone, his normally soft demeanor had been darkened by the heady desire to damage… The blond false-human watched as what had been a common theft became an all out street brawl—and then he watched as Aotsuki caused serious bodily harm to every single one of the thieves. Looking at the Faerie boy's strangely sharp and brutal attacks, Kharl almost pitied the thugs. There was a devilish smile on the navy-haired boy's face, and his steel eyes danced with violence.
The last thief fell, leaving the stiffened gray-eyed victor and a frightened audience of bystanders in silence. For a moment, the smaller boy simply stood there, panting heavily and smirking, and then all fire seeped out of his stance. He lifted two bloody hands to his cheeks.
"O-Oh my God, w-what have I done?!"
- X – X – X-
"I-I only wanted to p-protect Rara-san… It's a-always this way…"
"This happens often?"
"N-No! I mean y-yes, but…" the Faerie stuttered uncontrollably, allowing the blond to bandage his hand, where he'd split two of his knuckles. He hung his head finally; a noise that sounded very much like a dejected whimper wormed its way free. "T-This is why I left the forest… Faeries don't feel b-bloodlust!"
"The Water Dragon Knight has a fairly excitable temper too, from what I've heard," Kharl smiled gently.
"Lord R-Rune is…" The Alchemist only half listened as Aotsuki rambled on about the wonders of his Faerie Prince, which could have been easily summed up by something simple like: 'I'm not worthy of kissing the ground he walks on!'
"B-But I did think that… I thought, maybe I could join the Dragon Tribe too! I could be a Dragon Fighter and help protect Lord Rune!"
"So why weren't you in the castle instead of out here, knocking over apple carts in the city?"
"I-I…" His deep brown cheeks colored quickly and his voice crawled out as an embarrassed whisper, "when I got here, and I saw how…"
"Majestic," Kharl supplied, unable to keep the grin off his face.
"Y-Yes! How majestic the c-castle was… I g-got scared and…"
"Gave up." The navy blue-haired boy sighed heavily in reply, dropping his head into his crossed arms.
"Why are you so afraid of other people? With the… uh, skill… you just exhibited, you would certainly do well among the Dragon Fighters." Kharl settled back into his chair.
"But what if—" Aotsuki began, losing his voice when a cold expression swept across Avis's face.
"I used to think that way too. 'But what if I fail', or 'but what if I make a mistake'… But you can't spend every day rethinking your choices. We may make mistakes if we rush in. But I think it's better," and Avis's smile was wavering and wan, "to at least try. If I'd never tried, I'd be even more miserable." There was a seriousness in his words that frightened Aotsuki, and there was a deep sadness in his light-blue eyes that hurt to look at.
- X – X – X-
The sunset struck him softly, setting the red and gold of his outfit aflame. "I'm sorry," the blond murmured after a moment, and stood. "I have to go. My servant doesn't know I left, and he's going to be quite furious with me."
"A-Ah, Rara-san!" The boy watched his new acquaintance take a few backward steps, "You're leaving?! W-Wait…"
"I really must go." A sudden image of Garfakcy's vicious glare sent chills down the Alchemist's spine.
"W-will I ever see y-you again?" The Faerie determinately avoided thinking about how that sounded. Avis offered him a hollow grin.
"Probably not." And then he was gone, just as swiftly as he had come.
"Sayonara, Rara-san." For a long time, the blue-haired boy sat still at their café table. If I'd never tried, I'd be even more miserable. He tossed down his napkin suddenly and ran toward the golden castle, shining in the sunset.
- X – X – X-
"MASTER KHARL, WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"
"Maa Garfakcy, I was taking a vacation." The Alchemist grinned brightly, enjoying the feeling of being back in his own body.
"What?!" The maid's voice was scalding enough to burn ice cubes.
"You said I should take a break, so I did." The youkai knew enough to start running then, and the human came charging after, brandishing his dripping mop like a sword. "It was quite relaxing! Avis Rara had a lovely day!"
"What about my vacation?!"
Next up, Theme 21: Fortitude
"I'm going to numb you to stop the pain," Avis explains.
"If only you could." The Dragon laughs once, wry and cold.