The sun reaches its peak in the sky above, bearing down with an intense glare, its rays mitigated by the shade gifted by the trees. I sit cross legged with my hands resting on in my lap, tapping at my legs idly as I gaze to the sky. We've been waiting on the outskirts of town for at least an hour now, the waiting's getting on my nerves, it's not as if I had other plans for today but being stuck around here for so long is irksome. Gerome paces back and forth, gazing past the treeline and into the deep woods before returning to his back and forth. It's strange to see the normally boisterous and high spirited man squirm like this, it's funny in its own way though.
"Jeez, don't tell your friend to be too hasty, I might break a leg if we move this along too fast." I say aloud in a mocking tone laced with sarcasm, sighing and leaning my head backwards, thudding it against the tree as I lay my legs outwards, grunting and stretching. Gerome mumbles under his breath and continues his pacing with a renewed vigour, moving himself faster with seemingly nervous energy.
"Never been so late, where are they?" My ears twitch as I pick up his muttering, which quickly turns into a barrage of incomprehensible blabbering in his foreign language, his fish smashing itself against a tree trunk with a frustrated but muffled scream, sounds like he's screaming behind closed lips. Never seen him so angry too, at least outwardly so, I don't imagine that he slips into his first language too much. I raise an eyebrow at the show of aggression, chuckling under my breath as he nurtures and rubs at his hand.
"Wood does kind of hurt Gerome, you probably shouldn't be trying to do that." I tease the man as I hop to my feet, stretching myself once more, my bones shouldn't be cracking as much as they do, but it's a pleasant feeling. I bite at the inside of my cheek as I look over to the pondering man, sighing as he continues to pace back and forth, it's almost getting on my nerves at this point with how little it does beyond wasting energy. I make my way up to the man and clasp a hand on his shoulder, I can feel him jump slightly beneath my grip, giving him what I hope to be a reassuring squeeze.
"What friends of yours are we waiting for, old man? Ya know, name, personality, that type of stuff, and take a seat too, it's not a good idea to go and strain yourself with worry and stress so much." I nudge my head towards a shaded spot at the base of a tree, squeezing at his shoulder once again. I'm trying to get the man to calm down, at least a little, even if I'm pissed that I've had my fucking time wasted waiting for his friend to appear, I already know that I'll have that lingering sense of guilt if I take it out on Gerome, or even show it to him. Gerome lets out an uncharacteristic heavy sigh, fingers rubbing at his temple before his shoulders sag. He does eventually resign himself to taking a seat at the base of a tree, I take a spot next on the tree next to him, leaning against it with crossed arms.
"Oy, Gerome is sorry about all this, young Zeke. We are waitings for friend named Valerie, another raised by old Mother, she is having friends of her own." He explains, still twisting his head and looking around, I assume he's doing it to be alert on the off chance that he notices any indication of their arrival. I nod along with him, another friend huh? Valerie, that's a strange name, probably another northern thing, hopefully his 'friends' don't bring trouble. It'll be interesting to meet him I suppose, I can only hope that it doesn't end up with something fucky happening, I've had enough excitement in or around human towns for the week, I just want a few days where I don't get kicked in the ass by others or by my own inability to handle myself. I wince and clutch at my head as the memory of Edwards' furious face passes in my mind, I get it, I already fucked up today. I don't need reminding.
"Hopefully they show up. Who's the old Mother you keep talking about? Can't remember if you told me about her honestly." I bite down the sour feeling in my throat and attempt to sound at least mostly neutral as I ask him the question. I see a small smile appear on Geromes face, a seemingly more genuine one than the grins that normally appear.
"Old Mother was mother to many, the north is chilly, cruel and harsh. Old Mother had dream of warmth, and gave it to many children as she could, many more than I can remember now. Gerome is old man, sadly." He chuckles sadly, voice filled with a type of melancholic tone as he looks to the sky, his smile turning sad. It sounds like the old mother he's talking about was someone who adopted him and others into her care, the north does sound pretty cold, how did she manage to feed so many kids as well as herself? Must've taken some determination, and a shitload of luck, what about those keidran from up north? I look over his mostly unfocused face, didn't think I'd see the old man reminiscing like this.
"She sounds like she was a wonderful person, Gerome. She's not around anymore, is she?" He sighs and looks down from the sky, slowly nodding before looking up to me, there's a morning feeling behind his eyes.
"She was, da, she was." He replies simply and morosely, turning silent afterwards. We're both quiet for a while, before he chuckles suddenly, hopping to his feet.
"Oi, look at Gerome, all saddened, Mother kept family safe through the mess, can't be letting her down now, da?" He forces a happier looking smile on his face, standing up straighter. He's trying to force himself to look presentable, more like the way he normally seems.
"Gerome, there isn't anything wrong with being sad over a lost loved one, it's only human after all. How did your mother look after you and others anyways?" I continue to ask him, I try to give him some reassurance too, I don't remember if I've lost anyone, but I can at least feel for the man.
"Old Mother was good friends with many many keidrans, coats fluffier than anything humans can be making here! They very friendly with old Mother, and very friendly with the rest too, all helping make sure there's food for all, and warmth." Hm, makes' sense that they'd band together to take care of each other, and the young ones too. How long ago would this have happened, I wonder. Sounds like a 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' type of relationship between the groups, if the keidrans were made to live in the frozen north, then they'd definitely be fluffy beyond belief. A part of me really wants to see how they'd look.
"I see. You brought up keidrans a bit ago when I mentioned Eric, I assume that's why you hold them in such a high regard then?" Gerome nods in response as he closes his eyes, letting out a relaxed sigh, his lips twitching upwards. I bite the insides of my cheek as I slump onto the ground, releasing my own breath.
"For what it's worth, Eric at least seems kind enough to his slaves. But that doesn't make the slavery of their kind not a disgusting blot on the world, I just don't understand it." It's a relief to know that there's someone else who shares the same view as me in this world, not even Edward has that, and he's meant to be my best friend here. Tsk, don't act like you didn't fuck up Zeke, he might have issues but you're not free of your own mistakes.
"Da, is very bad, old Mother would have heart attack if she saw any of it." He chuckles sadly. The silence afterwards is at least not unpleasant, though I feel my mind stray back to Edward. Stupid fucker, and stupid me too. I hope he's okay, I really really hope so, I'd never forgive myself if he ends up hurt cause I made him mad. He does have a better hold over himself than me, at least, maybe that'll make a difference. Pfeh, there's no point in worrying about it now, or caring about much of anything. Just apologize to him when you get the chance, idiot. Gerome suddenly pushes himself to his feet, I quickly follow suit as I follow his line of sight. A single lady sauntering down the hill, leather boots crushing the sticks and leaves beneath her.
Black pants hug at her legs with a brown coat hanging loosely over her shoulders, left wide open to expose a plain creamy white shirt, straps holding the chest of it together, not too dissimilar to how buttons would work honestly. Her face is tanned a deeper colour than what's normal here, smattered lightly with a black dusting sticking to the skin, stringy looking black hair done up in what looks like a hastily done ponytail, her deep blue eyes lazily staring in front of herself as she fingers the hilt of her sword, a curved one at that. Looks like a cutlass of some kind, judging by the hilt and the gentle curve towards the tip of the blade, she's giving off a very pirate-esque type feeling from how she looks. I guess pirates do exist here, at least in some aspect.
"Young Zeke, please don't be saying too much for you, just be keeping eyes out for Gerome, da?" He whispers harshly to me, and with little warning makes his way to approach her, his sober expression wiped clean and replaced with a friendlier one. The lady eyes light up as she notices Gerome and I approach, a playful glint in her eye as she looks over the both of us, a small but smug looking smile forming on her face. I don't know her angle, or her capabilities, and Gerome seemed awfully forceful behind staying silent. Fine by me really, I don't want to talk to begin with, more I keep my mouth shut the less of a chance that something fucks up.
"Hello Gerome, my little deary, it is such a pleasure to see you once again, it feels like it's been oh so long~ Who's your little friend here, hm?" Her voice its a silky smooth, but with a sense of hardiness beneath it, looking up to me with her smirk and half lidded eyes. She's trying to pry some information out of you Zeke, keep your mouth shut. I don't answer her, instead focusing on looking her down as I rest a hand on the hilt of my sword. I'm not here because I want to be here lady, I'm here out of obligation, just do your business and don't talk to me.
"Oi, miss Valerie, don't be doing such japeings with young Zeke here, is only here because of myself, da? Do you have what we are needings?" Gerome quickly butts in, pulling the pirate ladys attention away from me. So this pirate looking bitch is Valerie huh? I wonder if she was brought up alongside himself and the mother he's been talking about. She doesn't speak like Gerome in the slightest, she sounds a lot more rugged than most women around here. Valerie lets out a small huff, her thick lips pouting as she crosses her arms under her chest.
"Awh, why do you have to be such a fun killer Gerome? I'm just trying to be friendly, nothing wrong with that~ And I do, of course it's not on me right now, bringing it so close to a town with such a heavy Templar influence would be rather unwise. I'm so sorry, but you'll hafta follow myself to our little makeshift encampment." Her tone of voice is anything but apologetic as she gives the both of us a smug look, her full lips selling the mockingly superior look. I squint my eyes and look into her own as she looks over myself, it's an almost uncomfortable leering, what's she planning? Gerome groans and rubs his hands over his face, covering his lips. I can imagine that he doesn't want to show that he's none too pleased about it.
"Doing so much walkings is a pain on Geromes back, I'm thinkings you do this intentionally, Valerie." He half heartedly accuses the lady with a humourless sounding chuckle, Valerie responding with a more heartier chortling, a hand raised to her lips as she continues to stare. Why she's keeping her eyelids half open is beyond me, I don't trust this bitch as far as I can throw her. Then again, I did throw that magi brother pretty far that one time, what was his name again? I think it was Nat, a strange name for a strange brother. I feel my blood flare up and boil as I remember them, tsk, maybe I'm not completely over it all. A part of me hopes that they're doing alright though, not too unlike the hope for Edward too, such a weak feeling. God dammit Zeke.
"Awh, such a poor old man~ You could always just leave your little bodyguard here to take it in your place, don't worry, I'll be easy on him~" She giggles as she looks up to me, giving me a wink. I let out a heated huff and clench my hand over the hilt of my sword, squinting and glaring the girl down. I'm really not in the mood for this, lady. I bite my tongue though, an awkward silence permeating the air around us, her smug twitching downwards every so often. She finally relents, sighing and dropping her attitude, replaced with a more steely expression as she places her hands on her hips.
"Jeez, no wonder you picked this fuzzball up, he's about as fun as you old man. Cmon, I'll take you to your little 'package', no tricks, unless you try something yourself." Despite her aboutface, she still continues to look over me, her eyes squinting briefly. I continue to grasp at my handle, staring unblinkingly back at her. Does she know who I am, does she recognise me? She does, doesn't she? Shit, this is going to be an issue.
"Hm, speaking of you fuzzball, have we ever met before? You seem awfully familiar after all." She asks in a surprisingly level headed tone, her eyebrow raised.
"Can't say I know you, Valerie." I reply simply, giving her a shrug, it's a truth in its own way. Delight dances behind her eyes as she grins proudly.
"Ahah! So the giant does speak, that's always good to note." She cheers triumphantly, I sigh and rub at the bridge of my nose, god I hate today with a burning passion. Gerome clears his throat, bringing both of our attention to him.
"Am sorry to be interrupting, but do be leading the way miss Valerie." Gerome finally speaks up with a feeling of finality in his tone, his hand gesturing towards the top of the hill. Valerie rolls her eyes and twists, marching her way up the hill, motioning with a hand to follow. I look at Gerome out of the side of my eye, he hesitates but he finally starts to follow the girl, following him myself by his side. I sigh and rub at the temple of my skull, at least the pants on the chick gives a nice view if nothing else.
..
The small journey was thankfully uneventful, Valerie twisting her head every to check on the both of us before returning to her steady marching. Gerome himself was oddly silent during the trek, the only noise being the sounds of the forest. I can't help but feel slightly freer in this place, away from a town, the sounds of nature feels… I'm not sure how to exactly feel about it beyond a warmth in my heart, it truly is freeing to be out here again, though there's something on my mind, it's more distracting than the wind rushing over my face.
"Psst, Gerome," I whisper to the old man, keeping my voice extra low as I glare at the back of Valeries head, keeping an eye on her. I don't want her to notice that we're speaking behind her back, there's no indication so far, perhaps the wind's carrying the noise away. "I don't trust this chick, for the record."
Gerome hums and nods lightly, wincing slightly and quickly rubbing at one of his thighs. I guess the old man is actually old, go figure.
"Da, that is smartest decision, young Zeke." He replies in an assuring manner, his eyes flicking up to the mentioned girl.
"The second we get what you need, we're getting out of here, right?"
"Da." The exchange and plan between us is quick and to the point, solidified with a nod before returning to our silence, the wind dying soon afterwards. Perhaps we did our little scheming just on time. I shiver and run my hands over my arms, fuck, back to being a cold bastard again I guess.
"We're here, this way." Valerie suddenly calls out, motioning with a hand to follow her as she dips in between the trees, disappearing from view. I share a look with Gerome, raising an eyebrow, but I follow suit, taking the lead and dipping in between the trees. I make my way through the arms of branches, shrubbery and other greenery before pushing my way into an open field. I look over it as Gerome appears behind me, sounds like he's winded from the little off road trekking there, poor man. The small clearing is overshadowed by the dark canopy of the trees, residing in a cool darkness, a small river flowing through at the edge of the area with a few tents placed next to it. Valerie lets out a happy sigh as she raises her arms up, stretching with a satisfied grunt as she looks to us, a wide grin on her face.
"Tadaa, our little hidey hole! Nice and out of the way, I don't think anyone knows where this is, maybe the keidrans do, but who cares about 'em?" She shrugs and makes her way to a tent, darting into it. I raise an eyebrow as I look at Gerome, his face morphed into one of distaste as he reluctantly starts to move after the chick. Seems that Valerie doesn't have the same care for keidrans, I don't think that she was raised with Gerome if that's the case. I wonder, how did these two meet anyways? And why is she here specifically? I shake the questions in my head away and follow them into the tent, the air is stuffy, it smells strange but familiar, a single lantern placed upon a small wooden desk. Valerie continues to stretch as she leans back into the chair, the wood creaking as she does so. Gerome stands upright with crossed arms, his face blank. What sort of place is this? Who has time for this? Wooden crates litter the rest of the room in the tent, at least they're sealed together properly.
"Welcome to my little humble abode for the next while, it's not too much sadly, but what can ya do about it?" Valerie declares as she throws her feet onto the table, her smug smile returning.
"Gerome remembering a time where you had a little more than this, miss Valerie." Gerome speaks up as he looks around the tent with a raised eyebrow. Valeries grin falters as she waves a hand dismissively.
"Eeeeehhhh, it was mighty unfortunate, I'll tell you that much old man."
"So your marauderings didn't turn out too swell, da?"
"I wouldn't call it that, I prefer to call it 'eventually voluntary removal of products', for the greater good of course, and it was very profitable! It was less profitable to bet on the dice." The small banter between them continues. Marauding, huh? So she was a pirate, a pirate without a ship that she lost due to gambling, I feel like that's ironic in some way.
"Awh, you didn't even tell your furry friend here about me old man? Very well, I'll introduce myself!" She suddenly declares, bringing me out of my thoughts. She clears her throat with a cough before standing upright, planting a boot on the table with another on her chair as she poses, a hand to her chest with her smug grin still intact, looking down to me with a glint behind her eyes.
"I am Captain Valerie Aegir, the rightful captain of the ship Lady Luck! She's just temporarily under someone elses command, until I get her back." She announces with an almost mocking royal air around her, still looking down on my as her eyes wander over my face. I cross my arms, mimicking Gerome as I stare back to her, an eyebrow raised. She holds the likely artificial mood for a few moments longer before sighing, the feeling in the air dropping along with it as she reseats herself, properly this time.
"By the gods, you both have sticks up your ass, guess I should've expected it outta you though. You fuzzy bastards are always a pain in the ass to try to talk to." She grumbles as she fumbles around with something on behind the desk, just out of view, pulling her hand up and shoving a metal flask to her face, unscrewing the lid and wrapping her lips around it, throwing her head back and chugging away. Gerome coughs uncomfortably as she does so, and I can only just stare at her. Jesus, I almost feel sorry for the chick, pirate or not, it's a big blow to lose your shit. Still, something did catch my attention there.
"Judging from that, I assume that you've ran into my kind before Valerie?" I ask her as I continue to eye her chugging form, she eventually tears the flask from her lips and wipes away the liquid dripping from her mouth, tightening the lid and tossing it back into her desk.
"Eh? Course I have, never met a race fulla such pricks before. I mean, sure I was tryna temporarily 'borrow' some stuff from your docks, but I didn't need to be run off like that, ya know? Never liked you things 'cause of that," She slurs her speech as her eyes wander lazily before she quickly shakes her head, rubbing her hands over her face. "Phew, that went right through me, been a while since I've had that."
Tsk, she really is a fucking pirate. I'm not entirely sure why, but her admitting that she tried to yoink shit from the basitin island rubs me the wrong way, the fur on the back of my neck bristling. I mightn't remember the place, but I guess it's still important to me, at least in the back of my mind. Thinking of pirates, actually, doesn't a captain normally have a crew, or did she lose that too? Wouldn't be a surprise.
"Miss Valerie, we are being here for a reason." Gerome pipes up with another cough, his eyes staring at her intently. She groans and sighs, moving her arms and rummaging through another part of her desk.
"Right, right, you can never let me have my fun can you? Gimme a sec." She grumbles aloud as she focuses on the task at hand. The only sound that fills her room is her muttering and the clacking of her, throwing around whatever's in that desk. Only makes me wonder how she got all of this set up, it really would be a lot of time.
"Fuckin- There it is, here you go old man." She pulls away from the desk and sloppily throws a pouch at Gerome. It flies through the air, and I reach out a hand to catch it before it smacks into him, quickly passing it off to him as I eyeball the somewhat tipsy ex-captain, who shrugs nonchalantly with a smile.
"Oops, sorry about that old man, I just don't know my strength sometimes." For some reason, she finds that hysterical, tittering away as she leans backwards in her chair with a gleeful grin. She's really rubbing the wrong way now, fucking weird woman. My ears twitch as there's a thudding from outside, twisting and gripping my hilt. The tent flap suddenly flies open as I jump out of the way of the hulking blur, dragging Gerome alongside me as the thing flies towards Valerie with a grunt, leaning over the desk and dragging her upwards, crushing her in what seems to look like a hug.
"Lady Boss! You're back!" The giggling giant of a man squeals aloud, a dopey grin on his strangely disfigured face as he rubs it against the top of her head, light blonde coloured hair sticking out and backwards, sticky with sweat as his stocky arms clenching around her chest and neck. Valeries face is one of surprise as she coughs and gags, her hand slapping at the mans' biceps.
"F-fucking let go, you dolt!" She barely manages to choke out, continuing her ineffective slapping. I give Gerome a confused look, who gives me his own puzzled look in return, who the fuck is this? The giant seems to take a few seconds to process the demand, his beady black coloured eyes are unfocused and I can imagine the gears in his head slowly turning, his mouth gaping slightly. Jesus Christ, this man's slow isn't he?
"Oh! Sorry lady boss!" He shouts and borderline tosses her back onto the desk, her rump thudding against the wood as he scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. Valerie groans and rubs herself down while she hops from the desk, glaring upwards to the man and tapping her foot against the ground.
"We've talked about this, remember? Stop forgetting this shit, it's irritating."
"S-sorry lady boss, I'm just glad you're back! Last time you left, a lotta people got super upset bout it and left." He blurts out as he continues to grins with a carefree attitude. Valerie lets out an aggravated sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezing shut as her eyebrows furrows.
"Yes, I'm well aware of what happened last time, I was there in the end. Tsk, I need more drinks." She grumbles as she hops her way back to her seat, fumbling around and dragging out a larger flask, at least she sips at it instead of chugging it down. She finishes herself and plops it onto the table, holding her head up with a hand as she looks between us and the giant.
"Old man, fuzzy bastard, meet Claude. Claude, meet these stiffs." She abruptly and shortly introduces us both. Claude, as his name turns out to be, looks between the both of us, scratching at his head.
"Those are bad names, who's who?" I sigh to myself and pinch my nose, Gerome chuckling good naturedly as he pats my shoulder. There's a part of me that finds his dullness almost endearing, but most of myself is just annoyed.
"My name's Zeke, the other person here is Gerome, do you understand?" I try to explain to the man, slowly and steadily, gesturing to myself and to Gerome, I feel like it's needed. Claude looks between the two of us, a small 'o' shaping on his lips, he doesn't even have a full set of teeth in his mouth, just bits and pieces, but he eventually responds.
"Oh! I get it, those were just funny nicknames boss lady made right? Boss lady is very funny." He continues to smile gleefully as he responds. The grin on his face is… Strange, it's not false or insincere by any means, but it's a little bit empty nonetheless. Despite his thickness, I don't feel anything negative from him, just a little bit impressionable. I bite at my cheek as I look over the man, I shouldn't be complacent about him, stay on your toes Zeke.
"I'm shocked this didn't go worse, but I'll take it. Anyways, you have what you need old man, not get outta here." The lady slurs as she shoos us away with a hand, continuing to down her bottle. My nose crinkles, there's definitely something strange in this room though, some smell, it's distracting. I look over Claude again, moving up to him and examining him a bit closer, there's something familiar about this man, too. The room remains silent, though I can hear Gerome shuffling behind me.
"Young Zeke? What are you doings?" He questions me, though I don't respond. I squint my eyes as I look up to the giant. He's wearing little, bare chest revealed for any to see, a leather belt holding cloth down between his legs as his poorly stitched shorts barely hang on together. There's no weapon on the man, I don't see a way for him to hide one, his shoulder guard is made of hide and bits of metal, held on himself by a leather strap. There's something about this man that seems so god damn familiar.
"Do we know each other by any chance, Claude?" I quiz the man, talking that little bit slower for him as I tilt my head. He looks confused again, his eyes unfocusing once more, and it takes a bit for him to recorrect himself, a flash of recognition in his eyes.
"Oh, boss man! I didn't realise it was you!" He roars in an excited manner, his arms wrapping around my chest as he pulls me up, his arms tightening around my body as he does so. I grit my teeth as I feel my back crack, it's painful as fuck, but I bite back the shouts forming in my throat as I tap at his arms.
"A-alright, let go now Claude." I choke out, ignoring Valeries drunken giggling, I can see her flushed face grinning hysterically out of the corner of my eye. Claude eventually releases me from his grip, groaning as I straighten my back, my bones popping as I do so. Jesus Christ, the man looks and can snap me in half, fuck!
"Sorry boss man! I know you talked about that before, like boss lady did, but I didn't think I'd see you again, where'd you go?"
"Tsk, wish I could say, I don't exactly remember much of anything, though I figured you'd know who I was in some way." Claude actually looks disappointed at that, his eyes turning downcast with a frown on his thin lips. .
"Aw, it's okay boss, I didn't expect you to remember me anyways."
"Hey, I don't remember anything, at least nothing specific. For what it's worth, I'm glad that I remembered enough of you to ask you about it, something about you is memorable enough for that." That certainly reinvigorates the man, a jolly grin replacing his frown.
"Yay! Well, not yay, boss man not remembering stuff is very not yay, but I'm glad you remember me." I'm not sure why, but the way he talks, despite how deep it is, it's so childish in its own way. I don't try to stop the small smile forming on my face as I reach up and give the man a reassuring pat on his shoulder. I should be feeling more careful about this, just wandering into a man that just so happens to know me is so fucking unlikely to be of natural causes, but there's a spark of glee in my chest, it's a figure of my past that doesnt loathe my existence. Pfeh, the way he smells is disgusting, why is it affecting me so much? It's so familiar, and dreadful.
"Heh, you're okay Claude, I like you enough already."
"You're very different from last time boss man, but I like the difference." I really shouldn't be letting my guard down around a stranger, but he's so dim witted in thought but so bright in personality, it kind of makes up for itself in a way. Valeries cough brings me out of the unexpected conversation with the brute, an agitated look on her face.
"Alright, who the fuck are you meant to be?" She suddenly demands in a forceful tone, her grip on the flask tightening as she continues to eyeball me.
"Keep it easy lady. I wasn't exactly lying when I said that I couldn't say that I knew you, I don't exactly remember anything. Amnesia, ya know? There's a few pieces that I can put together, but I kind of trusted my gut feeling on this." I try to calmly explain to the woman, though her look doesn't falter. At least she's not trying to break her hand on the metal anymore.
"Ugh, fuck, maybe Claude brought you up some time and that's why I remember you. I don't care, I'm not boozed up enough" She finally groans aloud, throwing her head back and chugging at the thing. She's gonna have a killer headache later, most likely anyways.
"Alright, back to beforehand. How did we meet Claude?" I turn and face the man, asking him simply. He blinks and scratches at his cheek, jaw hanging loosely.
"Uuuhhh… I think the scary lady made you work with me, I dunno." He apologises, a frown forming on his face. I hum in thought and rub my hand over my chin, scary lady? He must mean the emerald lady, whatever her name may be.
"I think I know who you're talking about, that emerald eyed lady? Do you know her name?"
"Her name isn't My Lady? I thought it was, you always called her that," He scratches his head in confusion. "Is it like what lady boss meant by calling you old man?"
"What the f- Yeah, exactly like that Claude." I bite my tongue to stop my imminent verbal lashing, gritting my teeth. He's so fucking stupid, but I don't have it in my heart to hold him to it, face turning from frown to his dopey grin once again. There's still that blasted fucking smell though, what in the ever living fuck is it? It's on the verge of revolting now, I thought that I'd have been used to it, but at this rate I might just lose my stomach instead.
"Hey old man, do you have what I want? Eye for an eye, after all." Valerie pipes up in a slurred and irritated tone, her fingers tapping against the wooden beneath her hands. Gerome remains silent, quickly reaching down and running his hands through one of his many pockets, pulling out a pouch and tossing it towards her. She fumbles with it as she catches it mid air, eventually letting out a small cheer as she clenches her fist around the thing, dropping it onto her desk afterwards. So, these two were doing a trade deal then huh? Hm..
"Hey Gerome, what's in that pouch of yours anyways?" I prod at the man as I stand by his side, his lips purse for a few moments. Part of me hoped that moving away from Claude would've stopped at least some of the smell, but I can almost feel it fucking swirl around me, my throat clenching as my skull burns, by the fucking gods, I need to get out of here.
"Oi, I guess there's no real harm." I blink in surprise at how quickly the man folds, I wasn't actually expecting that to work, but at least it'll sate my curiosity, if at the cost of my temper in this god forsaken room. He tears open the pouch and stuffs his hand into it, pulling out a bundle of gems, clear blue crystals between his fingers. They glow with an unnatural blue light that throbs and pulsates every so often, there's something alluring about them, the way they shine, I can't stop myself from staring into its depths. I can't pull myself away from it, the throbbing in my skull pulsates along with the gems itself, the smell and the draw of these fucking crystals, I can't pay attention, are people talking? What's going on? Come on Zeke, stop looking, you weird fuck. The sudden disappearance of the blue bundle pulls me back into reality, the heart in my chest thumping and pumping rapidly as I blink rapidly, trying to refocus my mind.
"Are you oka-"
"Yeah, sorry Gerome, I'm fine. Those are mana crystals right? What's so special about them?" I quickly cut him off, grunting as a surge of pain throbs through my head. Ignore the frown from him Zeke, you'll be okay, pay attention.
"Oy, they very strong mana crystals, is good for Gerome protection! No be needing young Zekes protection constantly, da?" He wipes the frown off of his face with a wide grin, strapping the pouch back to his belt. I guess that makes sense, never thought that he could use magic though.
...He basically grew up with keidrans Zeke, as far as you know they use a lot of magic, it's why they need the crystals, that makes a bit more sense. I hum and nod, I feel so dazed suddenly, with the pull of those crystals and the feel of the air here, something is off, something is wrong. The conversation that starts up with the rest of the group falls muted on my ears as I look towards the earth beneath us, squeezing my eyes shut. Why don't we follow the smell then Zeke? Surely that'll help us find the source of the problem, just ignore the bandit looking giant next to you.
That, is not a terrible idea actually. I slow my breathing and focus on the smell, ignore the abhorrent smell, just try to follow the trail. I slowly amble myself away from the group, their sounds that little less recognisable, keep following it Zeke. The pressure in my skull builds and builds as I try to focus myself more and more, it's so fucking hard to concentrate, where is it? What's the source, whats hiding in this fucking tent. The feel of my paw striking against wood pulls myself back to reality, standing above a simple crate.
"Boss man? Whatcha doing?" I hear Claude ask from behind me, the other two ceasing their chattering. I don't turn to face them, running my hands over the top of the crate, yanking at the edges of the lid. It doesn't budge, but there's definitely something in here, it's not heavy by any means, but there's movement. I grip the edges of it and shake it around a little, just very lightly.
My ears twitch and I feel my eyes dilate, my breath stopping abruptly in my chest as I look down to the crate.
That was a yelp.
There's someone in here.
There's a flood of something from my chest, heart beating rapidly once more as I draw my sword, ignoring the ruckus from behind myself. If it wont open by hand, I'll make this thing open. I lodge my sword into the crate, hacking and beating the shaft of my blade over the top of it, hurry up Zeke, hurry up, there's someone in here! I give it a final whack before I lodge the tip of my blade into the ground, gripping my hands over the destroyed top and yanking it out and away, bits and pieces flying into the air. I look down into the box past its destroyed lid, my breathing is heavy with the sickly stench in the air.
A small fox sits in the box, their white and brown fur is matted and sticking against themselves, golden eyes are watering, filled with fear as they look up to me, their face is soft and small but rather effeminate, her bottom lip wavering while she whimpers. She's wearing rags that barely cover her chest and lower self, her knees curled up to her chest as a tear drops from the side of her face. The room is deathly silent as she sobs, something that still manages to echo throughout the tent. My fists squeezes on the edge of the crate, cracking underneath my hands, teeth gritting while the blood in my veins fucking boil. There's a fucking fox slave here.
I pull myself away from the box with a growl in my chest, clutching my fist around the hilt as I yank it from the ground. I level the tip towards the offender, the fucking disgusting piece of filth in front of me, her eyes widening but otherwise remaining stock still behind the meagre defence of her table, the other two look blurred off to the sides.
"I will fucking tear you open."
Authors note:
The next chapter will be delayed due to visiting family, otherwise it will resume its normal update schedule. Have a good day.