Oh boy I'm quite rusty at this, so bare with me as I pick things up again. But I'm really excited to start writing again, and I hope I can bring something interesting to you.
Without further ado, here we go!
Following a heartfelt goodbye to Ruijerd, our duo trudges through thick heavy mud. A bittersweet feeling ebbs between them: They're finally home.
The vibrant and intricate buildings that once paved the streets of Fittoa had been reduced to rubble - and pale white tents now sat in their place.
Eris' eyes were still puffy from sobbing, but as she rode through the remains of her home, she made out the unmistakable figure of Ghislaine.
"Ghislaine!" Eris darted into Ghislaine's (very) muscular arms.
"Lady Eris! I'm glad you're alright," noticing the young warlock that accompanied her, "and you too Rudeus."
The three exchanged pleasantries at the sight of one another, until interrupted by the harbinger of death. "Lady Eris..." Alphonse starts.
Eris' mood only continued to worsen following the news of her parents demise. She had mentally prepared herself for the thought of her loved ones passing, but there was still a string of hope she kept alive whilst travelling. That string had been severed; it drained her mentally.
Back in Rudeus' tent at night, he mulled over his thoughts with a cup of wine in his hand.
To think Lord Sauros had been executed for no reason. Damn noble cowards...
Rudy had come across many corrupt nobles during his travels, and they had one thing in common: Fear. They always feared what they couldn't understand or control. But then again, aren't all humans like that? Would people fear him if they knew his true capabilities? These thoughts eventually led to him recalling the Orsted encounter last week. Impulsively, Rudeus began clutching his heart-
I suppose that's what fear feels like...
Footsteps aroused Rudy's attention. It was Eris, she entered his tent with a cold rationality, "Good evening, Rudeus." Still equipped with her adventuring outfit.
"Eris... Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine. I had anticipated something like this."
"... What will you do now?" The boy asked, unsure how to speak to someone who had just lost everything. "About Alphonse." He tagged on.
"It doesn't matter. I'm all alone now. Plus, I turned fifteen the other day. What a terrible present."
The thought had completely slipped Rudy's mind, "Oh! Um... Is it too late for me to get you a present?"
"A family... Be my family."
"As in brother and sister?"
"I don't care what label you put on it... I'd like you to sleep with me." There was no hint of embarrassment, Eris had clearly reached her limit. She needed something to take her mind off the situation.
The Hell is that supposed to mean... Obviously I'd love nothing more than to jump at her right now, but I can't: She must just be reeling from the pain. I'll just try to deflect it for now.
"That promise we made was for when I turned fifteen."
She poised herself for an attack and jumped Rudeus, pushing him down on the bed, "What does it matter?" She could feel something begin to prod her, "This means you're aroused right?"
"Yeah."
"And you've been ogling me this entire time."
"Yeah."
"And you're still saying 'no'?"
"..."
"Listen, Rudeus. My mother taught me this, but it's super embarrassing, so I'm only going to do it once." She leans in to his ear, and whispers "I want to be your little kitty, meow."
Rudeus had caved, his defensive stance crumbled - leaving him putty in Eris' hands. But before things got interesting, a bright light shot through the cracks in the stone floor. Illuminating the room.
The duo were taken aback by the sudden mystical intervention, quickly, the two huddled together - frightened it may be another mana disaster.
Unfortunately, they were right.
Rudeus found himself in the familiar white mind palace. "What the hell is this?" He aggressively asks the Man-God.
"Yes, I must say this is quite the conundrum. Entirely out of my calculations." The Man-God scratches his chin and stomps around.
"You mean to say you have no idea what is going on?"
"It does appear so. I can't see what your future holds or where you're being sent. I suspect one of the other Gods is intervening in your destiny."
"Some help you are: Useless God."
"Hey now, no need to be so meannn! You'll hurt my feelings. The place you're going to stinks of the Ancient-God; he's been gone for some time now so there's not much I know about him." The white palace begins to crumble. "Be aware Rudeus, do not-" Much like an old TV, it flickers in and out of existence before scratching away entirely.
Squawking snaps Rudeus back to consciousness. He diverted what little energy he had to his core to search for signs of Eris. Fortunately, he spotted her quickly, she seemed okay - she was propped up by some palm trees.
Rudy began to crawl towards the girl, pleading that she was okay. "Eris!" He called, choking slightly from dehydration.
The previously unconscious girl shot up, hardened by the demon content, she had trained to respond to threats immediately. Whilst she was mentally ready to defend herself, her body failed her; she collapsed immediately. "Rudeus."
The two had now confirmed that each other were alive and okay - following that relief, came a wave of despair for the mage.
Not again. We were so close! WE JUST GOT THERE! Again... Again? Again!? Again... I can't... We barely made it with Ruijerd. Where are we? Demon? Heaven? Milis? Human? Some other continent?
The feeling hadn't quite settled for Eris yet, nothing felt real after such a rollercoaster of a day. Instead, her basic survival instincts took over. Where could drinkable water be found? Food? Enemies nearby? Does she have a weapon? No, she left her weapon at the campsite.
Eris that took the initiative, climbing to her feet she strutted to Rudeus and helped pick him up. He was once again reminded that his primary mission was to keep her safe. He wasn't sure what happened, but it didn't appear to be like the same mana cataclysm that happened years ago. The light was different, smaller. Not an explosion, as much as a... Teleportation?
Were we teleported somewhere? Maybe we weren't caught in a mana disaster, but rather just teleported.
Hopefully his theory proved right, he hadn't the mental fortitude right now to spare for the Fittoa survivors if they had been displaced again too. Regardless, he needed to focus on getting his bearings in this unfamiliar land. The duo began to survey the surroundings.
The two appeared to be stranded on an icy-white sand beach, under a blazing sun. The tide flowed in with a smooth rhythm. If it hadn't been for such catastrophic circumstances, this would've been a lovely vacation spot.
Looking to the left they saw the beach stretch for a few hundred meters, where a near-vertical cliff shot up from the ground. The same could be said for the right. The two were in an alcove.
Okay, I'm parched, I need water. I'm sure Eris is in a similar situation. Can I make water... No, not possible right now, I must not have enough energy.
Before Rudeus could continue his deductions, Eris stomped her foot through the trunk of a palm tree, sending the whole thing crashing down. "Here." She coughs, twisting a coconut open with her bare hands, and throwing half to Rudeus.
That aura is no joke, huh.
The two embellished on a feast of coconuts. Refreshing and edible, it'll suffice for now. The water and meat helped the two collect their thoughts and calm down. Rudeus always tried to maintain a reasonable composure, but a setback of this level - where everything seemed hopeful for a minute, nearly sent him into a breakdown.
"Where are we Rudeus?" Eris asks, licking out the remaining part of the coconut.
"There are no obvious signs, it must be somewhere near the equator given how hot it is. Wherever it is, it's not near Fittoa. The sky was clouded and borderline thunder storming there."
A reasonable deduction, but I can't assume that we're even in the same time. Is time-travel possible? Everything I've read says it's not... But maybe another world? I'm getting ahead of myself, I should assume we're just on a remote island for now.
Eris was happy to finally have made it back to Ghislaine. However, a perverted part of her felt relieved that they had been teleported to this mysterious island. Back in Fittoa, she felt as if walls were closing down on her. Looking at her options:
1) Run away and forsake her region's people
2) Marry some scum-lord
Neither of them sounded appealing to the adventure-loving fanatic. Furthermore, she had just been informed that she had no surviving family. Why return to such an empty life?
"For now," Rudy pointed to a nearby cave entrance, "we can't scale those massive cliffs. Maybe we can search that cave to see if it leads up the island."
The two stand up, refueled and ready for what lies ahead.
Chapter End.
Quite a short chapter to start things off, we're just getting some of the juicy groundwork in for what should be a great time.
As always, I'd love to hear what you think for each chapter. I've got a rough idea for the story I want to tell, but a lot of the specifics are up in the air, so if you've got any spicy ideas - feel free to drop them my way :)
The story is going to start as a T-Rated story, but, depending on how things go it may change to M. I won't get graphic with any X-rated scenes, or gore, but to be on the safer side of things I may move it up. So, if you notice it randomly disappear from the list of stories, try seeing if it's on the M-section :)
Other than that, have a lovely day - and I will see you all, next time.