I sigh tensely as I plant myself onto the stone wall, looking out to the shimmering sea, the waves slowly washing against the docks. It's a cool night, right? It feels like it, but my mind seems so hazy and dulled, the sea salt smell that washes over my senses mixes with the chill of the night, there's an odd crispness in the air. Tsk, it seems to be a cold and silent night thankfully, akin to the last time I was down here at least. I'm grateful for that at least, the haze in my mind growing heavier with worry as I groan and slouch, rubbing at my face. What the hell's the plan Zeke? What are you doing with that girl? Mabel, that's her name right? It's a pretty name for a pretty and young girl, what do you actually plan on doing with her? Do you want to be some big goddamn hero to her, a paragon of heroic good that you joked about before being thrown into this place? Is that why you're treating her like she's made of fragile glass?
I groan again as an ache pulses through my head, gripping and rubbing at my temple. I have no idea what I'm doing, not a solid idea anyways. I know what I want to do for the future, I want to give her a proper life, at least the potential for one, a slave in name but not in heart. I won't be like the others that I've seen or that she could've had, not even close. I don't know what she's been through, the girl shakes like leaves in the wind desperately dangling onto a branch for a semblance of stability, her claws digging into my skin, albeit ever so slightly. Desperately.
Do you think you can just 'fix' her problems Zeke? Who's to say that whats happened to her is something that can be fixed? What if you just make things worse, for yourself and for her because of your arrogance?
Another problem onto the pile, at least I willed myself to undertake this one. I rub at my arm, tugging my glove off and flexing my hand and fingers in the moonlight, eyes closely examining the way they curl and curve. It looks so normal, at least as normal as it usually does. And yet, I was flinging fucking magic around willy nilly without a care in the world just today. Fucking magic, such a foreign concept and one that was straight up impossible back home. There's a small part of me that's giddy, excited to use and abuse it, is that normal? Perhaps there's other basitins who can use magic that's immune to the mental decay that Anna said would happen?
Immune, Zeke? You've been talking to yourself mentally for a good while, don't you think that'd fall under mental degradation? At least a little bit?
Mn, I suppose so, but who's to say that others don't talk to themselves every once in a while? I don't think that's unhealthy at least. Maybe I'm not immune, then, maybe it's just a slow process, thorough and absolute. Yeah, that sounds like it'd make sense, I think. I know fuck all about magic, let alone how it affects a god damned basitin. I should talk to Anna about it when I get back to her though, maybe she'd like to meet Mabel? I feel like I've gotten off topic, what was I thinking about? Fuck, there goes that train of thought, I mumble under my breath as I pull my glove back on, a poor defense against the cold, but it's not like anything I'd do would make much of a difference.
"Hiya." A soft and gentle voice abruptly ends the thoughts stewing in my mind, yelping and pushing away from the source. I breathe a deep sigh and rest a hand on my chest, trying to soothe my rapidly beating heart.
"Miss Lucy, do you mind not doing that? I don't feel as if it's good for my health." I gently scold the lady with a frown, huffing lightly as she giggles, looking up to me with a coy smile as she dangles her legs off of the edge.
"Nice to meetcha again too, fuzzy. How are ya feeling?" She asks with a head tilt, her eyes half lidded and unwavering. I raise an eyebrow, squirming lightly as she continues to stare, rubbing at the back of my neck.
"Truthfully? Concerned, and worried, about a lot of things really. Nothing I can't handle though, why do you ask Miss Lucy?" I answer her question, slipping one of my own in the end. She hums and continues to stare, breathing a soft sigh of relief as she finally turns her sight to the sea, the lady finally blinking.
"You know why I'm asking ya fuzzy, it's nice to see you being more you, ya know?" She shoots me a childish grin. I blink, scratching at the back of my head.
"Uh, I guess? Actually, no I don't. I have no clue on what you mean Lucy." She responds with a giggle, the grin fading to a more gentle smile. It's a small one, it's an almost melancholic and sad smile as she faces the sea.
"You're quite a bit dull, aren't cha? No offense." She responds unhelpfully, giggling again as I roll my eyes, leaning back and facing towards the sea with her.
"You can't say 'no offense' and just not expect people to be offended, Miss Lucy… None taken though, I've heard that a lot recently."
"From yourself, or from others?"
"Bit of column A, bit of column B."
"Speaking to yourself, fuzzy?"
"It happens occasionally, not that I have much control over it."
"Explains why you didn't hear me, I was trying to get your attention before I surprised ya."
"Ah, truly? My apologies then miss, I was thinking, thinking quite a lot really."
"You're a lot different than when I met ya this morning, less tense, less almost hostile. That's what I meant by 'you being more you', ya know?"
"That, hm, that does make a bit more sense actually, now that you put it that way. I do want to say sorry for how I acted, it was far from kind after all."
"Pfah, don't worry bout it, I've heard far worse, built up thick skin from life. You musta had a fair bit goin through your mind to act like that though."
"That's one way to put it, there's a lot more going through my head right now to be truthful. I feel like I can handle it a bit better though, I think I said that."
"You did, actually, do you have short term memory loss or somethin? It's common for old people after all."
"I, what? I'm not that old! I'm twenty, I think. Probably twenty-something"
"You think?"
"Shoot me, Lucy."
"I would, but I don't imagine that Edward would enjoy having to lug you around again~"
"I don't think he would, either. That reminds me, what the fuck were you doing looking over me with Edward that day anyways?"
"I was curious, duh, dontcha know what curiosity is?"
"I know what curiosity is Lucy, I don't know why you're so curious about me, specifically."
"Aw, is little Zekey concerned?"
"Yes, actually, immensely."
"Eheheheh, dontcha worry, I don't wanna hurt ya, you're just a... puzzle, I guess."
"A puzzle?"
"An amnesiac basitin who acts very unlike any basitin I've ever had the displeasure of meeting? That within itself is something I wanna poke around in."
"Ich, I've heard that I'd be a bad basitin, don't remind me"
"Does that bother ya much fuzzy?"
"I don't think so, not really. Sure, at least a little bit of me wants to remember what that island's like, to remember my upbringing. If I knew how they would act, I'd like to at least try to act more normal for once, but I don't know what their normal is meant to be, other than from what I've learnt in books and others. Hell, I dunno what's meant to be normal around here." Let's not get into the fact that past you was a Templar who relished in the fact that you were a prick, huh Zeke? No need to spill your guts about that any more than you already have, it's almost attention seeking with how bad you regurgitate that shit.
"Mhm mhm, I understand. Does it really matter though? That you don't remember your past I mean."
"Part of me thinks it does, part of me thinks it's best to forget about it all. But, if there's anything I could do to fix what I've done, I'd love to have the chance to do something about it." I grit my teeth and rub at my temple, the passing visage of Ashfords disgusted and distraught face passes through my mind. Is there something I can do to fix that mess? Would he forgive me for what I've done? Do you really think you deserve forgiveness?
"And what of the memories that could be dragged up from remembering it? Do you think that it'd be a smart idea to try to do that?"
"Ah, you seem to be mistaken, I don't generally think Miss Lucy, I'm very bad at it. Good or bad, it's something that I've done, and trying to act as if I didn't is just shameful of me." She titters, a soft airy sound with a coy smile on her face, kicking her dangling legs off of the wall childishly. She's so… strange, maybe it was a bit of an overreaction to be so frightened of her, but she is rather off putting. If I knew nothing else about her, I'd think she's just a young childish wannabe scholar in training from her looks alone.
"Eheheh, you're quite odd, Zeke." I chuckle alongside her light tittering, a comfortable silence imbued in the salty air that surrounds us. It's rather comforting, actually, soothing on the mind and soul. She's a surprisingly nice outlet for all this mess.
"...How do you know I'm an amnesiac? Did I tell you?"
"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't.."
"Right, I don't think I want to know."
"Now you're getting it Zekey~ Also, what's up with you?" The concerned shiver that runs down my spine turns into a confused jolt, raising an eyebrow to her.
"I think I've already talked about that, Lucy, what do you mean?" She huffs and flails her arms around animatedly, a pout on her face.
"No no, not that you dummy! The whole magicy stuff that's around ya, it's kinda weird." She irritatedly details, her face crumpled into a grumpy look as she rests her flailing hands. I blink, once, twice, feeling the cogs in my mind twist and turn as I only just understand that question.
"Wat." How did she notice? Did she see me use magic or some shit?
"Do you not notice it? I'm a lil sensitive to magic stuff, but I can still feel it from you." She explains again, a curious look on her face as she hums, squinting her eyes to look over me. That explains very little, it also sounds like bullshit.
"Hold up, you can feel magic from me?" I'm not buying that, it seems stupid as hell. Then again, you can smell slaves from half a town away Zeke, at least being able to detect magic has applicable uses over just being fucking weird.
Hey, it helped me find Mabel right? There's some merit in that right? Mabel's important.
"Hey, Zekey, you listening?" A voice and the clicking of fingers in front of me yank me from the internal discussion in my mind, blinking and shaking my head clear. Shit, did I zone out for that long?
"Sorry, lost in my thoughts again, what did you say?" I say awkwardly, rubbing at the back of my neck while the girl huffs, looking down on me. Well, not physically, she has to look up to look me in the face. It's kind of cute.
"Yeesh, I'm not that boring. It's something that some mages can do, being able to detect magic that's in use or the magical capability of some people. Unless it's masked super well, stronger magic are generally more noticeable."
"...Huh, I think I understand some of this."
"You're not that dull Zekey."
"On the contrary, miss Lucy. How long have you been able to feel, ugh, magic coming from me?" I fail to properly bite back the small vehement bile from my throat, fucking magic, just more thing that's wrong with me. God dammit. Less hate more time paying attention though, Zeke
"Well, I kinda felt it when I met ya at the warehouse, I didn't really have the chance to confirm my suspicion until now though. When'd that start to be a thing anyways? I didn't feel it from you when we first met, and magic potential doesn't normally just appear." She asks curiously, her head tilted to the side as she restarts her dangling kicks. I tsk and click my tongue, mulling the thoughts in my mind over in my mind, I gotta think of what words to say and what to leave out, don't want her to think I'm more mad than I already present myself to be.
"Well, I didn't have any feeling for magic before coming here. I only figured out that magic affected me differently when I was zapped by Alex, the Templar I was fighting, resistant to magic my ass. So yeah, I think it was after that, maybe being stuck in the Templar tower for a night could've done something too? I dunno, maybe being so close to so much left over magical energy from the mana mines and the mana storage did something else to me, I sure as fuck had a headache for the night I was there." Lucy cups her chin with a hand, nodding and humming all the while, a curious yet delighted look held within her eyes.
"So you can use magic now cause of that?"
"Lucy, I'm kind of spitballing potential ideas, I have no fucking clue how the hell I can just use magic.
"Well, it's pretty cool!"
"What? That's it? Pretty cool? Aren't basitins meant to be completely unable to use magic, it's unnatural right?"
"Eeehhhhh, I dunno much about how basitins work beyond your blood, not like that's a good example to begin with. Buuuuuuut, I have heard rumours about some Templar basitins!" My ears twitch as she giggles, a small smug smile on her face. Do you think it's a good idea to ignore the 'beyond your blood' part, Zeke?
"Rumours? What type of rumours?" More or less to be truthful, I've kind of accepted her eccentricity, and if she knows about more basitins who're in the same position as myself then I'd like to know. She tittlers again, a hand daintily raised to cover her mouth.
"Ohohoh, do I have your interest, Zekey~?" I huff as she continues her smuggish giggling, the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile visible past her hand. She wants something Zeke, what does she want?
"What do you want from me, Lucy? You know I want to know anything I can, if it at all relates to helping me in some way." She drops her hand, revealing her ever widening smirk as she rises to her feet, lightly skipping her way to me, bending over ever so slightly.
"I want you..~" She trails off, looking into my eyes as she rests a hand on my cheek, fingertips ever so slightly pressing into my furred face. I blink once, then twice, looking up to her with half lidded eyes and pursed lips, I hope she understands the flat expression on my face.
"You want me, to..?" I trail off the question as I raise an eyebrow, returning her stare with a glare of my own. She's silent for a few moments, the mask of hers cracking before she huffidly sighs, a pout on her face as she crosses her arms. At least she steps away from me
"Aw, phooey, you aint fun to tease. Basically, I wantcha to be my apprentice, along with a guinea pig but that's neither here nor there." She explains, my eyebrow raising further as she takes a seat.
"Apprentice? You want me to learn magic with you?" I don't mean to sound so full of disbelief, it only clicks with me how bad that sounds when an almost insulted look forms on her face, her pout only deepening.
"Hey, I'm not that bad of a teacher, meanie, I won't tell ya anything then." She says with a huff, turning her nose up and away from me. I sigh to myself and rub at my temple, fucking, weirdo.
"Okay, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean to insult you, I'm just surprised by the offer is all, and confused."
"Well, you are an interesting specimen Zekey, and it'd be nice to write down in my notes!" Her eyes light up with a curious light, a bright smile beaming on her face as she looks to me, tapping her fingers on the stone. Ah, she's a scholar right? Despite her off putting nature, she's probably jumping at the chance to take someone under her wing for anything, let alone magic. Despite how dangerous it could be to keep using magic, there's a feeling of excitement in my chest, a light twitch of my lip. Right, what's the worst that could happen? Despite the whole mental degradation thing, that's not at all important, right Zeke?
"Ah fuck it, sure." I throw my hands in the air as I succumb to the desire, this is gonna bite my ass super fucking hard, I can feel it. Lucy squeals with excitement, quickly subduing it with a cough, though her strange smile still shines bright on her face. You know, I never noticed how much she sticks out from the darkness that surrounds us, it's almost funny to look at.
"Great, yes! Ya made a good choice fuzzy, when'd you last use magic anyways? If you're super new to it, it could take a lot outta you." She continues to excitedly tap against the stone as she leans in, she's almost restless.
"Well, I used it… mid morning I think? I feel okay actually, hell, it felt good when I used it."
"Good? Whatcha mean by that?" She implores with a head tilt, shuffling ever so slightly closer. I bite at the inside of my cheek, scratching at my chin. Fuck, how did it feel again?
"It felt… weird, honestly, weird and unnatural. Like something was tingling and wiggling around inside my skull. Shit, how do I explain this without sounding like a nutcase? It felt like something inside begging for release, begging to be let out, so I just did it. It didn't kill them, at least I hope not, but I wanted them to fuck off, so it pusehd them away." My throat closes up as I finish myself off, coughing to try to force it clear. Fuck, that felt so awkward to say, how does that make me seem.
"Mhm mhm, that's strange but interesting…" She trails off, humming and cupping her hand in a hand.
"...do you have any idea what that means? Is that normal for people? Or is it different for whoever uses magic?"
"Nope! Never heard of it before, but magic is an interesting thing after all, so much to learn and see and do! Anyways, other than the weird feeling of using it, it kinda sounds like you forced your magic to work out of need rather than want. It shows that you can use it when pushed to do so, but it might need a bit more training to manipulate it." She explains, her voice taking a strange almost teacher sounding tone as she does so. She's taking the student thing rather seriously, thank the heavens for it. That begs a question though, one that I don't recall being answered by that book…
"What is magic anyways? How does it work? Where does it come from? I know it comes from crystals that's embedded within the earth, but how is it formed?" I try to keep a level tone as I question her, but the glee in my cold chest ignites again. Fucking magic! Genuine magic, things like fireballs and lightning, it's so fucking cool! It also could have and probably will kill you Zeke, pay attention to the girl. She clears her throat, raising her head high with a proud smile on her face as she stands.
"Magic is the manipulation of mana to perform a feat that would be normally inhumanly possible, things like fireballs and stuff. Each person has a different capability of manipulating magic, they can be better at it through training, but some are just naturally stronger than others. For humans it's mostly templars that can draw from the towers that you see here, keidrans need to rely on crystals that contain pure mana. Granted, humans can use mana crystals, but magic is more oft used by Templars who're trained to do so. Mana crystals come from the earth beneath us, they're a natural grown kinda thing, I forgot how they're created exactly. Higher quality mana crystals last longer and are typically stronger, lower quality ones crack preeeeeetty easily. They can kinda recharge after they're used, but it's not quite the same." She speaks clearly and just a pitch below loud, such a long winded explanation for magic, but it's better than a vague mess that leaves me with more questions than answers. I stare at the small… teacher I guess is the right word for her, for now anyways, she's certainly carrying herself like one, her back straight as she leans back and forth. It's almost like she's trying to stop herself from pacing off of the wall, that'd be awkward. Also funny.
"Hm, I see. I can kind of understand that, it still seems so strange, bloody magic. What of basitins then? Why can't they use magic?" I sit cross legged as I look up to her, the girl humming and putting a finger on her lips as she smirks.
"An awfully convenient question Zekey! I was just boutta get into that, it has something to do with the juuuicy gossip I've heard about." She beckons me forward with a hand, her smirk widening as I lean into her, her hand softly cupping behind my ear with soft breaths.
"Any basitin can use magic, Zekey, Templars have been teaching em." She whispers softly into my ear before pulling away, clasping her hands behind her back with a giggle, whether it's from the feeling of my face morphing into a confused expression or if she finds the situation funny in some way, I can't tell.
"Course, that's not everything I know, but a lady's gotta have her secrets~" She says in a coy tone, smug smirk still on her face.
"...wait, what? When the fuck did this become a thing? Aren't their brains still fucked from using it?" I hiss back to her, the cogs in my brain finally clicking in place. I swear I recall Anna saying something along those lines once upon a time, it feels so long ago.
"Yep! Something bout their heads can't process magic very well, the length on how long it takes to happen from basitin to basitin, but the end result is always permanent mental damage. I dunno why that is, but that's why it's so interesting!" The way she sounds almost cheerey as she says it rubs me the wrong way, a frown forming in my face as I look up to her. This fucker!
"And you knew of this, is that why you want to teach me magic? Despite the fact that it will fuck me over?" I almost growl, the hair on the back of my neck bristling as I furrow my brows. The girl shrugs nonchalantly, a faux innocent smile on her face.
"Yeah, duh. I'm a scholar, I like to research things, do you know how many basitins I can use to learn? Zero! Sure the Templars mighta jotted some stuff down, but it's not like they're gonna cough up their dirty little secrets, it's funner this way too. I did say I was gonna use you as a guinea pig, it's just a part of the deal." She's so fucking calm about this, both in tune but disconnected from the conversation, what the fuck is up with her?
You heard her Zeke, she wants to use you as a fucking lab rat until you're braindead, what happens after that huh? She's nothing but trouble, lets get the fuck away from her!
…But, what if? What if there's some way to work around that mental degeneration? Perhaps basitins can't mentally comprehend magic due to their upbringing and race? We might be physically basitins, but we're so fucking far removed from them that we're more or less foreigners.
Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you're some special bastard? You might've been human once upon a time, but you're sure as fuck not one right now are you? You're not going to be immune because you wish it to be, you're arguably more mentally fragile than the rest of them, you know that. You even suggested that it might be slow, thorough and absolute, those are your very words.
But it's magic, magic's so fucking cool! And if it's solely from doing magic, then we might be able to work around it, it's not as if we'll be constantly doing it anyways. And it could help us learn more too.
Are you listening to yourself? You want to risk potential complete brain decay from using magic and banking on the possibility that not abusing it constantly might put us in the clear? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you think Lucy here is trying to do this out of the kindness of her heart? We're a lab rat blood container to her, nothing more and nothing less.
"..You know, you really don't have to do this." Her voice pulls me from my conflicting thoughts, blinking them away as I look up to her again. The smirk from her face since wiped away and replaced with a cold grave expression, her blank eyes blinking slowly
"Huh?"
"Listen, Zeke. I know I'm not the most… approachable person here, I don't mean to seem so cold and aloof with the dangers that would probably arise from it all. I'm fully aware that it looks like I'm just using you, and I am honestly, but I don't want to hurt hurt you despite it. Hands on research is the best way to handle things, and I know it from experience. I know it's a lot to ask of you, and ya shouldn't feel bad for declining it. Please feel free to, I won't blame ya." She ends her sombre explanation with a small soft smile, though it feels hollow to look at with her otherwise grim tone. I sigh and rub at my temple, squeezing my eyes shut, only cracking it slightly to look back up to her.
Please don't tell me you're seriously considering it now, just because she's being open about it doesn't mean that she's going to not use you. Her ideas and plans are laid clear to us, and we should back away dammit. Just because someone tells us that they don't want to hurt us by shivving us with a knife doesn't mean that it's going to magically not hurt.
Maybe we can come to an understanding, then? I'm talking to you, to me, that means we're already aware of ourselves right? We're still ourselves, that means we can look after eachother! Er, ourselves, same thing kind of. My head hurts from trying to think of how to say that, shit. Let's try to be more aware of how we think then, and if it starts to affect us too much we'll stop.
This is stupid, you're stupid, but I can't physically stop you from leaping off of a damned cliff now can I? I'll smuggly tell you that I'm right before we turn into a vegetable at least.
So, do we have an agreement then?
Tsk, what do you think?
I smile grimly and release the hold on my head, sending a determined nod towards the still surprisingly unsmiling scholar.
"We have a deal, miss Lucy." I finally answer her with a resolute tone, reaching my hand out to her. She doesn't react, not immediately anyways, her blank eyes continuing to slowly blink. It seems to finally hit her, those flat eyes lighting up with a flash of glee as she smiles wide, taking my hand with both of hers. They feel so small, so gentle and fragile as they wrap around my hand, yanking it up and down.
"Yes yes! Thank ya Zekey, I promise I ya won't regret it!" She almost squeaks with how gleefully she shouts, shuffling excitedly on the wall. I roll my eyes, my lips twitching upwards as I curl my hand around one of hers, the yanking swiftly dying down into a more regular handshake before she pulls away. Her eyes almost twinkle as she stares at me, a smile still printed on her face, it's kind of creepy.
You have no idea what you're doing, but I won't stop you, I just hope it doesn't bite us in the ass later on from this weirdo.
"So, uh, where do we go from here Lucy?" I ask the girl, scratching at the back of my head awkwardly, the question seems to pull her out of her strange staring.
"Oh right! Now, stronger and larger mana crystals allow the caster to, ya know, cast stronger spells because it can handle it better. Sure crystals can be left to recharge,and when I say 'its not the same', I mean that they're extremely unstable in comparison to beforehand. I also worry that they're gunna explode when I use em, so I try not to. Now, you have seen mana crystals before right? Ya know what they look like?"
"Yeah, I've seen some keidrans use magic after all, and I've seen them lying around. They're just blue gems, aren't they?"
"Yep yep! That's more or less what they are, you can kinda judge the strength of a crystal from its looks. If it's tiny and fragile looking, it isn't gunna last long. Can you show me the crystal you used?" She asks excitedly, a head tilt complementing the curious smil. I blink and smile awkwardly, rubbing at the back of my neck again. Fuck, how do I explain this?
"I, uh, kind of didn't use one?" The answer sounds more like a question coming from my mouth, lips pursed as I shrug. She raises an eyebrow and hums, resting her chin in a hand as she squints over me.
You know, you could've just lied Zeke, it's not hard to do so. Probably would've avoided this awkward looking situation.
"Hm, how very strange…" She trails off and hums once more, her fingers tapping against her cheek.
"...Maybe I kind of sapped the excess magic from the Templar tower, which let me use it as a one off?" I suggest with another shrug, it's a possible asspull. Then again, maybe you were connected to a tower when you were a Templar yourself? It's possible.
"I dunno, maybe? Your type of magic seems to be resting very latently, basically dormant currently, it's rather strange. Still interesting, but I can't imagine that you'd be able to muster up the magic to do anything much with it, correct?"
"I guess so, there's nothing indicating that I can, no weird magic wiggling in my brain. Do you, uh, have a crystal yourself? I assume you wanted to ask me for it so I could try to do something magical."
"Kinda, I really just wanted to see the quality of the gem you used, buuuuut getting you to put it into action was a part of the plan." She reaches around and fondles with a hipsack latched onto her sides, rummaging through it lazily with a hand. When'd that get there? Did I just gloss over it in a daze? She hums to herself while she purses her lips, letting out a triumphant sound as she pulls a small glowing gem. It hums and pulsates in an oddly enticing way, my stare lingering on the thing. It's a shiny blue crystal that'd fit nicely in the palm of my hand, it doesn't take my attention away as much as the ones that Gerome grabbed from Valerie, though.
"..Should I be careful with it? How do I know if too much energy is, you know, too much?" I ask her, apprehension in my voice as I push myself on two feet, curling my stiff fingers to bash away the cold.
"Zekey, if you manage to blow up a fresh mana crystal that's of kinda good quality, I'd be impressed. Simply put, it doesn't exactly feel like you can muster the power to do it, go oooooon and take it already!" She rolls her eyes as she excitedly pushes on, dangling the thing between her finger tips. I reach over and lightly pinch it out of her grasp, stepping away from her and rolling it between the palm of my hands. Even through my gloves, I can feel a tingling sense of what feels like electricity pulsing through it, small warm shocks tingling at my skin. It feels odd, but a sense of fascination runs through my brain, my lips twitching upwards as I clench it in a palm. Fucking magic!
"So, what should I be doing?" I question my now apparent mentor as I look up to her, an oddly mirthful expression on her face replaced with a more serious one.
"Well, you feel it right? The pulse of energy inside it? That's the mana held in the crystal, and using it is just molding that energy to your bidding. You said you pushed some men over last time you used it right? Why don't you try to use magic to push my pouch over?" She unties the sack at her side and places it where I was once seated, hopping off of the wall and skipping to my side, a decent breadth of distance between us at least.
"Doesn't matter what type of magic you use, just don't like, blow it are things I like in there." She warns, giggling cheeky afterwards as she leans against a nearby barrel. Right, here we go. Any ideas on how to use this thing?
Why are you asking me? We're each other, we can't know anything the other doesn't.
I'm open for possible theories is all, it's not like Lucy here's told us how to 'mold the energy to do our bidding'.
We could ask her, but where's the fun in that right?
I chuckle underneath my breath, I make me laugh, focusing on the crystal in hand as I close my eyes. Mold the energy right? There's a decent bit of 'energy' in this thing, I feel it swirling around my hand and body, my head tingling with the sensation. It feels cold, but oh so welcoming, the way I can feel it running across my skin even underneath my cloak. We gotta push the pouch over right? I can't imagine that it'd be nice to go searching for the thing. I slowly open my eyes, a small tinge of blue lathered over my vision, I hold the crystal close to my chest and reach out with the other, a relaxed surge of blue crossing over my arm.
"Push." I demand simply with a furrowed brow, the glow of blue in my vision flaring up with the command. There's a flash of very light blue that thwaps itself against the pouch, the cloth shaping around the attack before being shoved off of the wall, the dull thud from it fading into the night.
"There ya go! Coulda done with less of the waiting, but ya got it decently well. How'd it feel Zekey?" Lucy asks me, subduing a small jolt of surprise and a yelp. Jesus christ, I forgot she was there. Too caught up with myself I guess.
"My apologies, can't exactly say I had any precise idea on what I was doing to be honest. And it felt… good I guess. Can't explain it much more than that really." I reply with a shrug, still clenching at the crystal in my hand, a bolt of excitement running through my veins. I just willingly used magic, holy shit. Sure I did it before, but that was in the rush of the moment, I used my conscious will to do that!
"Well, ya got it in the end didn't ya?" She replies with a childish grin, humming to herself again as she skips over to the wall, jumping up and over the thing and disappearing behind it. I'm surprised she made that jump, she is kinda small.
"Everything's in shape too, good goin Zekey." She congratulates with a grin as she rises into view, dangling the pouch in her hand again before latching it onto her hip once more. I roll my eyes, but I can't stop the lip twitching. I guess it's nice to be congratulated.
"Thank you, miss Lucy. Do you ah, want this back?" I hold out my hand to her, unclenching it and offering her crystal back. She hums, but shakes her head.
"Nah, I got a few of my own, think of that as a gift from little old me to you, a welcoming present for being my apprentice and all~" She rejects the offer with a smirk, clasping her hands together. I give her a nod and a smile, clenching my hand around it and bringing it back to me.
"Seems like you ain't too bad with wind, I dunno if I'm surprised or not. Do ya think you can use other types of elemental magic?" She huffs as she plants herself back onto the wall, I look down to the gem and hum to myself, rolling it between my fingertips.
"Hm, maybe? Do you have any ideas in mind?"
"Weeeeell, I did mention fireballs before, why don't you try igniting a flame in the air? It might take a bit outta ya, but it's useful." She offers, to which I nod back at her. Edward mentioned using fire to light up camps when he didn't have any flint right? It should be the same idea.
Alright Zeke, back to focusing, how does fire feel? It's hot and it burns, it sears the skin of those it touches, but it brings comfort to others when used correctly, right? I breathe a deep breath and swirl my fingers in the air, a swirl of ash following the tip of it.
The ash suddenly explodes into a glorious flame, it ignites the air and brightens the dark around us. I grin and let out a prideful cheer as I look towards Lucy.
She's not there, no one is. There's no sight or smell of any living being around here. I let out a confused noise as I twist and turn my head, looking around the area. There's no one here.
There's no sound of the oceans waves crashing against the docks, there's no salty smell of the sea to be found. There's only the crackling of the fireball in my hand, and the smell of ash in the air. I chuckle nervously and wave my hand away, trying to dispel the fire from my hand. It doesn't budge.
I try to throw it, I try to take the energy back into myself, I try to dispel it in any way I can, but it doesn't budge. It doesn't yield. I yelp as it forces itself into my hand, my heart beating faster and faster by the moment as leather melts, the stench of burning hair and skin invades my nose as my throat clenches and chokes, the fire quickly running itself up against my arms as my clogged throat stifles the screams.
I fall to my knees as I try to find solace against the cold stone, praying to something with gritted teeth, the burning sensation flows through my veins, a heavy pressure igniting in my chest. The stone scrapes through my pants as I try to gasp for air as the flames lick against my fur, smoke encompassing and throttling my vision, the screams of thedamnedfillsmyearbreakingthesilenceasthewagonsaretorched-
"Zekey?" I scream and jump away from the noise, sweat dripping down my face as I breathe in shuddering breaths, my hands feel numb from the clenching. I throw my head to look around,everythings cold and calm again, I can hear the waves wash against the shore and the salt in the air.
What the fuck was that.
"Did ya zone out again? You've been doing that a fair bit." Lucy chirps up again, a dainty smile on her face as she kicks her legs against the wall. I steady my breaths and stand upright, unclenching my fists, they're so numb.
"I, sorry. What did you say again?" I try to keep a level voice as I soothe my thundering heart, my fingertips twitching. What the fuck just happened? Brain, can you answer that?
"Why dontcha try to use some fire? It ain't that hard after all, unless you try to put too much energy in it or something." I gulp down the frog in my throat as I bring my hand up, curling and uncurling my fingers. It feels slightly less numb.
"...I don't think I can miss Lucy, perhaps we can put it off for another day? It is rather late after all." I croak out the suggestion, at least I don't stumble over my words.
"Awh, fiiiiine, I guess it'll be okay. Get a lotta sleep though, okay?" She says with a faux pout, hopping off of the wall with a light grunt. She skips up to me and pats my arm softly, an equally soft smile on her face as she looks upwards. There's an awkward silence between us, her lips morphing into a slanted frown.
"That's your cue to say like, good night and stuff you dummy." She light heartedly chides, whapping my arm with a soft swing. I blink and recoil slightly, the touch sending a jolt through and up my arm.
"Ah sorry. Good night miss Lucy." I say awkwardly, she huffs again but nods softly. Seems that she's taken that at least.
"Good enough, see ya later Zekey~" She twists and skips off, humming a tune as she makes her way into the depths of the town again. I stand unblinkingly for a few moments before sighing, mashing my face into my hands as I groan aloud.
What the fuck was that? Was that real? Was that because of using magic? That can't be right, right?
How am I meant to know? I only know what you know, doofus.
Good load of help you are.
No need to get huffy, you little bastard, neither of us know what happened there. It felt so real, so terrifying, did our heart stop? We aren't actually burned are we?
I grumble to myself as I slip a hand free, running it over my arms, sliding them underneath my shirt and brushing over my chest. I rest it on my chest, just above my heart, a throbbing cold pulsating feeling answering that question.
We're fine, we're fine, physically anyways. Was that all a day dream? Just an awful daydream?
It's possible, but it's not like we've much to go on with it, let's just get back to Erics and sleep this off.
I hum to myself, nodding slowly, slipping the glove back on and shambling my way awkwardly up town. I can't stop the shivers running down my spine, nor my own hands from touching at my arms. Just another problem to add onto the pile I guess.
Speaking of problems, what about our specific problem huh? Can't say that it's a good thing that we're talking to ourselves like this.
Probably not, not much we can do about it though, right? I let out a long winded sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, lets just focus on getting back to Erics. Maybe I should read a bit before heading to bed, yeah, that sounds like an okay idea.