Edward and I left the barracks a while ago, and since has been just slowly walking back to the Inn, my stomach does kind of want food after all, and something that isn't beef jerky is always welcome. The sun began setting long ago, half way its descent into the horizon, turns out we were in there for quite a while, watching the fights were enjoyable but god I stayed away from betting on them, it was tempting to do so, especially when Eddy was accurate on most of the fights, but we decided otherwise. Gus was, to my surprise, a key ringleader in the betting, maybe I should've seen it coming though, he's a very interesting captain, unprofessional and extremely welcoming. He gave us his well wishes as we left though, along with telling Edward to visit more often to catch up some more, giving him a noogie to mess with him before we scampered off.
"So Eddy, when are we meant to be leaving?" I ask him, smiling as the wind rushes over my face, it's oddly windy this afternoon, whatever signs on the surrounding buildings sway in the strong wind. I shiver and wrap my cloak around me, I tried to put my hood over before but it's blown over by the wind repeatedly, so it's a bust there, at least the cloak's warm enough, god bless the thickness of the thing, I'd have thought my fur would've been able to warm myself enough today but I guess not. Edward himself seems to be able to handle the cold well enough himself though.
"We leave early tomorrow morning, Gerome and Vector should be outside the town hall awaiting for us, I'd love to kick you awake but I don't believe the Innkeeper would give me a spare key, and we are not sharing a room." He sounds a lot more.. light hearted, or happier than I remember, even when he tries to be flat toned and stuff, I'd like to imagine that has something to do with me.
His smug and elated sneer looks down on me, caught in the act, his hand already on his hilt, I can imagine his disgusting delight cross over his helmet covered eyes.
..yeah, I'd like to think he's less disdainful of my existence, I guess I gotta thank his uncle for this job. The sound of fingers clicking knock me out of my thoughts, I shake my head and look upwards, Edward was the one trying to get my attention I guess
"You listening? You zoned out again, are you feeling okay?" His brows furrow as he tilts his head, he actually sounds concerned over me. I rub at my face and look to him, giving him a smile and a dismissive wave.
"Me? I'm feeling fine, just thinking is all" He rolls his eyes, elbow nudging my arm.
"Right, if you say so. Don't think too much or you'll hurt yourself." I stick my tongue out to him, rolling my eyes in return as he laughs to himself. I hum to myself, the only sounds around is our steps and the disrupting wind.
"..Hey, why did your uncle put us on this mission together? You didn't seem too excited over it, and I don't remember if I've asked you that before." I question him again. He doesn't respond immediately, instead he looks away and scratches at his chin.
"He found out about uh, initial meeting if you recall it, turns out he's quite close friends with Gerome, who heard about it later, and neither of them quite liked it. To be honest I didn't like having my leg scratched up, but it's no hard feelings. Needless to say, Uncle yelled at me for it before deciding to put us both on the job when we went to the Inn, to "teach me to better myself", his words." He seem looks kind of awkward as he mentions the first time we met, makes sense, it's not the best first meeting obviously.
"Hm, I guess that makes sense, you got a new friend out of it, so clearly your uncles a smart man," I flash him a grin before laughing, he himself rolling his eyes. I hum to myself, wait a second, didn't Gerome use cash to bribe the guard? "Have you ever patrolled around that area, though? Who even told you bout it? Cause I sure as hell wasn't meant to be there."
"Er, I was actually covering for another guard who was away that day, some related family issue I believe. I got a tip from a concerned citizen about a keidran, you, running around the sketchy parts of town." He replies, he looks a little bit confused at the question, but shrugs and looks away, continuing the walk back to the Inn, it has been a longish day after all, and if he wants my ass to get up early then it's best to have an early night. I nod myself and follow alongside him, I guess that makes some sense, I guess the snitch didn't know what I was, and given how close they are to the forrest wolf border, their worry is warranted. Turned out for the best thankfully.
A revolting scent disturbs my thoughts, my nose crinkling as I look upwards and around, covering my nose as I look for whatever the hell the smell's coming from. It's so sickening, I almost want to puke from it. I feel Edward gripping my shoulder as I lurch forward, covering my mouth as I feel my lungs heave from the foul-smelling odour, where the hell did it come from? Shouldn't I have smelled this sooner?
"Wha- Zeke? What's wrong? Are you sick?" His voice is filled with a concerned and on edge tone, I feel his arm wrap around my shoulders, gripping lightly as he hauls me off towards a wall, sliding myself down it into a sitting position. The smell refuses to subside or relent in its aggression, and with gritting teeth and a somersaulting stomach I look up towards Edward, feeling my face wince in pain and disgust.
"C-can't you fucking smell that? It smells like a mound of corp-" I feel a motion deep in my throat, an 'urk' barely leaving my mouth before I smother cover my mouth with my hands, swallowing down the bile, "Corpses, it smells like death, can't you smell any of it?"
His bewildered expression is the only response I get from him, I groan aloud and force myself to my feet, steadying myself on the wall and dragging myself to my feet. I feel my legs shake stubbornly despite the attempt to keep them still, my vision blurs as I try to look forward, but I continue to force myself to a standing position.
"I-I'll be fine, lets keep going." Even speaking feels like a chore, like there's a flame in my throat burning it down. Edward doesn't look remotely convinced, his face and eyes are smudged with worry and confusion.
"Zeke, you look terribly unwell, lets just go back to the Inn." His voice is firm and tense, even through my blured vision I can see his eyes darting up and down my body, his hand pressing against my forehead. I scoff and whap at his hand, giving him a crooked smile, I should follow his advice, and I have a solid thought on what's around that corner..
"Edward, I'll be fine to walk a little longer, but you can drag me back to the Inn as soon as I collapse again, okay?" I try to pursuade him with a throaty voice, and he looks torn for a moment before he pinches at the bridge of his nose.
"Stubborn furry bastard, fine, but if I get a whiff of you going off again I'll drag you kicking and screaming to the Inn." Is his demand, seems reasonable enough. I give him a thumbs up and a wincing smile, but I continue the walk along the path, Edward following close to my side with his arms tensed. It's comforting in a way, he'll catch me if I fall again. The smell hasn't faded by any sense, but it's definitely lessened in a way, or just dulled my senses, my normally pristine eyesight is still blurred and feels like its burning, as does my chest. The walk is tense, my ears flopping against the back of my neck as I lug my legs along the dirt road, god it's an effort, but I'll manage.
As we turn the corner though, my blurred sight is assaulted by bright lights, as is my ears by a cacophonous rush of triumphant yelling. It doesn't upset my stomach at least, but I feel a whine escape my throat as I cover my ears as best as I can, eyes squinting in the bright flickering of the torches lit up across the dirt, a gaggle of humans littering around the place, I think this is the town centre area? It's hard to tell, and rubbing at my eyes to remove the blur only helps a small amount.
"..huh, I didn't think that they'd be doing it here of all places." Edwards voice is low and unfeeling, what does he mean by that? The feeling in my lodged deep within my chest fills me with an uncomfortable chill, I truly hope it's not what I think it to be. My vision finally clears after a few more aggressive swipes with my gloved hands, I can see the moisture alongside the edge of the leather. Every nerve screams at me as I try to look up towards the clump of humans, but I force myself to look regardless. The humans are circled around those damned fucking cages from yesterday, there's more guards placed around too, I feel myself freeze, and breath hitch, the jittering of my nerves jumping around, I can't see whoever's being presented and sold into those mongrels, perhaps that's for the best. I feel Edwards hand grasp at my shoulder, squeezing slowly.
"Zeke? Is everything alright? Do you smell those animals or something? I guess they wouldn't smell the best." His voice seems so far away, as does the rest of him, even his grip feels numb. Animals, Edward? Am I an animal too? My teeth grits as a shaky hand lays on the hilt of my sword, clutching around it, I'm so so close, I can do it, the guards wouldn't suspect a damn thi-
"Zeke." Edwards cold and steely voice brings me back to the present, his hand is wrapped around my wrist. I turn around and look at his face, it's as cold as his voice, eyes are void of emotion and lip pursed intensely, though I can see him glaring over my face. Like a switch, I suddenly feel the rest of my body once again, my breaths of air is heavy and I can feel the fur around my neck and face standing on end, as if jolted with electricity, bile deep in my throat and chest, I can still feel the seething hate boil within my veins and smothering my thoughts. Perhaps its fortunate, but before I could move myself, I feel my legs buckle and give way, his arms managing to grab me under armpits and hoisting me up, linking my arm over his shoulder. My breath continues to shudder as I look towards him, his eyes giving way to some concern.
"..Edward, get me out, get me out of here, please." I beg the man, the racket in my skull forces my head to throb in pain. He doesn't respond beyond a nod, he tugs at my limp body once more before dragging most of my body weight away, I try my best to limp along with his strides at least. The rest of the walk, well, the dragging is a dead quiet beyond my raggedy breaths, Edward's face is set in determination and doesn't speak a word, it's difficult to keep my head up to even try to examine him for too long. It feels like it's been hours, at least I'm regaining feeling in my legs, little by little anyways, I can feel my toes and feet, upwards to my calves, I can walk that little bit better as Edward drags me around, it must be tough to carry me.
We finally arrive to the Inn, the front of it is cleared of anyone around thankfully, though even through the walls and windows I can hear the murmuring of the people inside it. We reach the steps at long last, I slip myself off of his shoulders and take a seat on them, leaning against the posts next to them in a lazily and grabbing at my legs, massaging up and down my calves to try to more feeling to them back. The throbbing in my skulls since left, as well as the disgusting stench of the poor keidran, gods, I've met keidrans before and they don't smell nearly as awful, is it because of how they're treated and kept in those cages to suffer and rot? I shake my head and grit my teeth, maybe the pain in my skull hasn't completely dissipated. My ears flicker as I hear him move in front of me, looking up and seeing him kneeling on a knee, his brow is furrowed again, eyes looking over my face with an impassive mask on his face.
"What the fuck was that Zeke?" He asks in a harsh whisper, his eyes flickering towards the Inns door before looking back towards me. I plant my face in my hands and rub myself down, trying my best to shake off the lingering sense of dread, why do I react like that to the slaves? The previous me sure as hell didn't give a toss about it.
"How can you stand it, Edward? How can you stand seeing them like that? It's inhumane, there's fucking children in there being sold to do who knows what to complete degenerates, evne if the adults are void of reasoning now, they shouldn't be forced to lose their lives because of humans. Slavery, it's such a disgusting trade, especially to them!" I can barely keep my own voice a whisper, still reaching a muffled screaming towards the end at him. His face drops the lifeless expression, lips twisting downwards as he looks bemused.
"What? Zeke, they're just keidran, they're animals, they're use as slaves for a reason." It's almost disgusting to hear the words from him, I feel my face turning into a grimace. His face.. he doesn't seem angry about them, his eyes has a hint of contempt sure, but he seems mostly confused. Does he actually think they don't have thoughts of their own?
"Animals? Animals!? Edward, they're people dammit, have you ever spoke to one? Sure, they cant speak Human, but they can learn it, they still have thoughts and feelings god dammit, why don't you know about that? You actually have memories of them, am I an animal, Eddy boy? I'm a furred bastard too, do you think I should be shackled with the rest of them?" Each word only fuels the anger in my chest further, the burning twisting and turning inside my chest. Edward only looks further confused, as well as torn, lips twisting further downwards into a fierce frown.
"You talked to them? Never mind that, of course you're not an animal, you're actually a human, kind of anyways. You're different from them at least, so of course it's different." He responds, hands up to his chest and flailing lightly. He actually believes that? I can't see any sense of deceit in his voice, I can hear the malice when he speaks of the keidran, but he truly doesn't think of them as capable of thought? I 'tsk' to myself under my breath, trying my best to heave myself to my feet, Edwards hand tries to help to steady myself, but I reach up and whap his hand away.
"Don't touch me, I can handle myself just fine." I wrap my cloak around me and shoot him a scornful glare, turning away and limping myself up the stairs. At least I can walk the rest of the way, I think I still have the keys in my bag, too.
"Ze-" Edwards call is shut off as I shut the door behind me. I groan and rub my face as I continue to trudge my body through the floor, whoevers inside seems keenly focused on whatever their activities are. I look up towards the counter and groan once more, of course its the old fart, still in his dirty clothes from last night too. His equally dirty mug sneers as I approach him.
"Oi mutt, you didn't give back th-"
"Shut your trap, I'm sleeping another night, I'll pay you in the morning, understand?" I snap at the small man tersely, looking down on him. He seems confused, as well as shocked, but his opening and closing gap of a mouth is an appropriate enough answer to me. I stiffly take my business up the stairs and head towards the room, rummaging through my bag and forcing the door open with the key before shoving it back in my bag, closing the door in the meanwhile. I sigh to myself and toss most of my belongings astrew the floor near the bed, flopping myself on top of it. The bed smells of stale something, but at least it's warm. I've been groaning a lot recently, I can't really stop myself from doing it again as I run my hands over my face, sighing into them. You stupid, stupid, stupid man Edward. I'm glad he was able to pull me away from the mess, and I should thank him for that, but fuck he's dense...
I need to apologise to him tomorrow, or at least sock him in the arm and he can sock me back, that'll probably count, right? Ich, he's an asshole, but I don't think he's one for no reason. I asked him before why he hated keidran, didn't I? I don't think he wanted to talk about it then, nor would he want to talk about it now either, but maybe that's why he considers them below a human? It's still awful regardless, that much is inexcusable.
..Do I still consider him a friend? I think I do, I'd like to hope that the reason that he hates them is at least one that warrants it, could I convince him to not be like that? Deh, don't think that way Zeke, you can't just magically change how a person thinks out of the blue. He said I was different from them though, surely that means something? What a bloody mess. I run my hands through my hair and sigh again, resting my head atop the pillow, I'll just try to sleep.
Attempting to sleep tonight was a painful and mentally arduous task, plenty of time is spent twisting and turning in the bed, a longing hole on my chest is a cold reminder of the worry in my mind. Actually falling asleep is a kindness, but its constantly disrupted by an abrupt waking, growling and smothering my face with the pillow accomplishes little too. It feels like I've been in this damned bed for ages, slipping in and out of a semi-comfortable sleep into the cold real world. I finally grumble and sigh to myself, hopping out of the damned bed. I'll go outside to check to see if its morning or not, I'll make my way to the town hall church, thing, whatever it's officially called around here. I slip on my clothes and gather my belongings, slowly opening the door and taking a peek out. There's no one else around and my ears don't hear anything.
I take a slow and steady step out of the door, looking left and right before slipping out, closing the door with an equal slyness, locking it behind me with the key. I tip toe myself down the hall and stairs, making sure to try to avoid whatever creaking noise I can make, reaching the bottom of the stairs shortly. The first floor is void of customers, and there's a soft quiet atmosphere around here, a stark contrast compared to the rest of the day. I softly walk towards the counter, dropping off the key there, I won't be needing it now anyways. There's no one tending it either, I guess the old man went off somewhere, less problem dealing with him I suppose. I also place some silver on top of the keys too, not too sure if it's the required amount or not, but he didn't technically give me a price for the night, so he can deal with it. Not like I did much else around, I left the room in good shape too. I'm gonna miss the younger bartender though, he was cool, got a bit of a flat feeling from him, but at least he was politely nice rather than his old man.
I slip out the front door, the cool air washing over my skin, it's almost reinvigorating actually, though I still shiver in its chill, wrapping my cloak around me once again for the warmth. I look around the street as I walk down the steps, there's no one else around, no Edward either. I sigh to myself, letting go of a breathe I didn't realise I was holding, I'll deal with our little issue later this morning when we meet at the town hall. I look towards the sky, it's still dark, but the light seeps through it regardless, so I assume it's extremely early morning. Now that's something I wanted, I can probably beat Edward there and tease him bout it, that'll break the ice right?
I look around the street, scratching at my head. Where is it from here to the town hall again? I wrack my brain around for a bit, tapping at my temple. Oh! That's right, I gotta move to the right of the Inn when facing away from it, I'll just follow whatever's stuck in my head to make my way there. It's a cold and lonely walk, there's no miscellaneous sounds from and wildlife like the woods, there's no sounds of the citizens around here either, it's just very quiet and barren. It's almost unnerving, but it's not atypical given the current time. If I was a parent having to deal with kids at some ungodly hour, I'd be pretty damned pissed. At least it's not too windy to keep my hood over, that sure helps with the chill, and keeping my thoughts focused. I'm worried about how to talk to Edward, should I be confrontational? Emotional maybe? I don't think he'd like a swing at the arm straight up very much, if it'd work to begin, so there should be some context and well meaning behind that at least. I don't think either would work very well, he has his own problems and past, and it doesn't make him any less of a friend to me.
..Doesn't make him any less of a friend? Jesus, it sounds weird to ask myself that question, but I think it's important to do so, I do think I consider him a friend, his hatred for the keidran is a cause of something after all, I'll give him his chance. Hell, I gave those Magi Brothers a chance to explain themselves, and they nearly killed me beforehand. What was their names again? Zen and Nat? Something like that. I guess their objective makes sense, they were meant to kill those Templars, and I was working with them, doesn't that mean that they should've killed me too? I know I certainly did work with the Templars, without a doubt in my mind, so why did he decide to just let up when he could've kept pushing? I hum to myself as I continue to stamp across the dirt floor, I think I'm coming up to the town hall or town centre first, but I got time. Zen seemed... awfully protective of his brother, maybe he didn't want him to get hurt? I did toss him over a river after all. Maybe I'll run into them again in my own time, hopefully on better terms. God, I hope I don't run into them before we finish this job, especially with Edward, I don't wanna know how he'd react to them.
I reach the town centre, familiar wagons being loaded up with stock from lethargic guards, I can imagine their muttering and complaining about being up so early. I make my way towards them, I can't seem to find any of the others here, I'd have thought that Gerome would've been here first. There is one guard who seems content with with whatever work he's done, sipping at an opaque mug in his hands, I tap his shoulder plate to get his attention.
"Hey, is anyone else here yet?" I ask him, he hums in response and turns around, half lidded eyes lazily looking at me while he takes another chug of his mug. He slurps at the thing quite loudly before lowering it, blinking a few times. I stand there and wait for him to actually, well, reply, raising an eyebrow towards him. Does he actually realise I'm here?
"You're that Zeke person, right? You're here waaaay too early man, we're just loading up for Gerome and whoever the other guy is, no one else is here." His voice is a slow drawl, and he finishes his sentence with another slurp of his mug, a lazy smile on his face. I guess I am here a little bit early in the end, doesn't surprise me.
"Well, thanks for the help I guess. What are you drinking though?" I ask him again, my head tilting. He chugs at the damned cup again before answering.
"Morning coffee, haven't you had some before?" He replies with his own question. I blink, there's coffee here? I guess there is tea, but it's still coffee. We're both silent for a few moments longer, before he motions with his cup towards me. "Do you wanna take a swig? Don't get your spit in it and I don't really mind."
It's a surprising offer, but I do nod and take the cup from him, cupping it with my hands, its warm and pleasant because of it. Looking inside of it, there's not the brown milky colour I expected, but rather something closer to a black looking sludge. I feel my tongue stick out in disgust, blanching at the sight for a few seconds before raising the cup to my lips, taking a quick gulp from it. It runs down my throat and I feel instant regret from swallowing the damn thing, it tastes sour, vile and thick, my hands clench the sides of the cup containing the offending liquid. I feel my cheeks bloat with a barely suppressed cough and shove the thing back into the mans hands, putting my own on my knees and coughing out my lungs. Dear god that tasted rancid.
"Er, guess you aren't much of a coffee person then." The guard says, unhelpfully patting at my back as I continue to raggedly cough. It takes a while, but I finally manage to stop myself from losing the rest of my lungs. I take in multiple deep breaths before standing up straight, looking the guard in the eyes.
"No, I don't think I am, thank you though." I say flatly, the guard grinning and laughing to himself before taking another chug at the cursed mug, walking away to converse with other idling people. I blink once, then twice, looking down and flexing my hands, it did wake me up a fair bit, though I'm not sure if that's from the coffee itself or the choking. I spend the next while sitting around, there's not much to be done, and the guards seem to be finished with their job, although..
I look towards the town hall building, even in the dim morning light those stained glass windows seem rather pretty. I stand up and stretch before walking over to the main door, the guards give me a small look over before looking forwards once again, pushing the door and entering the hall. It's still as empty as last time I came in, though I can still see Levi at the foot of the stage, I can see his head already facing my direction as the doors close behind me.
"Son? I didn't expect to see you so early this morning, is there an issue?" His voice is croaky, and echoes throughout the hall. I make my way towards him, I feel a compulsion to ask him about what to do with Edward, but I'd like to think I have it in the bag, at least as a plan, and I have a more pressing question to ask.
"Father Levi, I need your help with something, something's on my mind." I reply to him, I try to keep my strides long and brisk as I move towards him, looking around the hall, double checking to see if there really isn't anyone else around, I have no idea who the emerald eyed lady is, but she seemed powerful from a political standpoint, there's no telling who she has her claws in, and I'd like to imagine Levi is a safe haven.
"Of course, Son, what is it? Your mind does seem rather preoccupied." I finally reach the elder, stopping dead in my tracks in front of him. I still check around, no one else is here, before looking him dead in the face.
"Father Levi, do you know any green eyed mayor? A female one specifically?" I finally ask him. His face is a blank slate, and I can imagine the gears running in his head, though he doesn't reply. "I had a dream, a memory Levi! I remembered a town, and I remembered her very well, do you know her? And why I would remember her?"
There's a longing feeling in my chest as I speak of her, too, were we close? Partners maybe? She seemed overly friendly in a flirtatious way in the memory, maybe that's who she is normally though? Levi himself stands still, like a statue, I can see his fist clench and his eyes squint. It's.. off putting to see it from a man of the cloth.
"Levi? Are you oka-" He reaches towards my shoulder, not quickly by any means, but in an hasty older figure type of way, and the grip on my shoulder is one that belies his old age too, its a tight and firm grip.
"Son, I do know of her, she is a very dangerous woman, as scheming as she is gorgeous, I dare not speak her name even here. Whatever memory you have of her is equally dangerous to remember too, whatever your amnesiac condition may be. I do not recommend looking for her, nor attempt to have her find you, do you understand Zeke?" His voice is a low and screeching whisper, it's off putting to hear it from the man. I finally remind myself to actually respond to him, though words fail me, I nod my head to him. He looks me in his eyes, as if looking into my soul with his clouded vision before he lets go of me, I can almost feel the imprint of his hand through my cloak.
"You've my apologies, Son, perhaps I reacted a bit violently there, but she is not one to be trifled with. Whatever connection you have to her is your own, and I don't mean to say that you should never remember them, but, surely you understand, correct?" He ends himself with an almost pleading tone, his eyes looking up to mine with a begging vision behind it. I nod to him once again, clasping my hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly.
"I understand, Levi, I'm sorry if I've brought up any unsavoury memories of her myself, but it's still my memories. I'll try my best to keep myself safe if she's that dangerous, but thank you again."
The remainder of my time there is short lived, merely wishing farewells to each other before leaving the hall, stepping outside into the cold air once again. God, his reaction to her though, is she truly that dangerous? We seemed so close, was it a part of her manipulation? It's not as if that's beyond anyones reach around here, maybe I'm too hopeful to think that she was genuine with me, or past Zeke anyways. I feel like we react and think differently enough to separate us both.
A small cough catches my attention as I walk close to the wagons, and I swirl my head around, Edward stands in full plate armour, his helmet stuffed under his armpit. I squint lightly as I look into his eyes, he can't seem to match mine, instead he looks towards the ground. I turn around and cross my arms, an eyebrow raised.
"Zeke.." He looks almost choked up and confused to as what to say, scratching at the back of his neck. I roll my eyes and rub at the bridge of my nose, moving myself close to him and resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Edward, I think you're an asshole, but whatever reason you have to hate them, as much as I dislike it myself, I can't hate you for it, know what I mean?" He breaths a sigh of relief, a small smile on his face as he looks upwards finally. I pull my hand away from him and hold it between us. "So, shake and friends then?"
Given by his clasp of his hand in mine as well as his rolling eyes, I think he accepts it. I smile wide and bring him in, wrapping my spare arm around his back and giving him a small hug, his little yelp of surprise is a funny one, but he responds in kind.
"Next time you compare me to a keidran though, I'm gonna get you drunk enough to bed one." His sound of complete revulsion, him jumping away with a pale and disgusted face is hysterical, and laughing at him is cathartic enough. I feel a warmth in my chest, smothering away the chill of the morn.