Hello there.
Miss me? Forgot about me?
All of the above?
Can't say I blame ya. The story was put to the sidelines with how I am entering my final year of my undergraduate.
But fright not!
I will not abandon this piece no matter how busy I am!
Shoutout to the p[ople in my discord for helping me with ideas on what to do for the story as it continued.
Enough talking!
Enjoy the story.
{}
*Crash*
The calm rhythm of the waves filled the air at the beach shore. The used-to-be dark city of Sal Viento was now used to the light of the moon and stars shining down on them directly. The residents even slept a lot later now. Later in their regards but it an achievement. Day after day, the people of the lonely city would slowly come out of their houses when it was dark, something that was thought suicidal by them, and raise their heads to look at what was making the dark a bit bearable for them now.
They were awed when their eyes first laid on a large body of light in the middle of the dark sky. They were so mesmerized at the sight of it they got a bit braver as they would stay up later and later with each passing day.
First, it was a minute or two.
Then it was a few hours.
Now?
They stayed up until it was midnight.
The reason?
They just wanted to look at the heaven above them and marvel at the celestial bodies that lit up the darkness they feared. This was important for one and one thing alone.
The people of this lonely city found something that they lost.
The desire to want something.
They wanted to see the beautiful night sky.
They wanted to see the light above them.
They wanted something.
The people that used to not even had the will to live now had a desire for something.
Looking up to the sky to marvel at the clear night.
Although it was something that was so simple, it was an immense step forward from what they were before this. Dario quickly got accustomed to this sudden change of behaviour of the residents o the city he was in charge of.
His apprentice?
Irene was still trying to wrap her head around how the people of the city changed. She was still not used to seeing people walking about at night as she patrolled the city. Houses that would usually be pitch dark at night were now lit up, helping her illuminate her path.
It was so… different from how it was a few weeks ago. And Irene knew when all of this started.
"Ah! I'm so sorry, Mister Njord!"
"It's fine, your foot is not that heavy. I barely felt a thing."
The combination of an amused voice with a distressed one filled the quiet beach of Sal Viento. Turning back her attention to those noises, Irene's eyes watched the girl flusteredly try to correct her foot with the other person, a man, who was making sure the young girl did not fall on the sand by holding on her hands with his own.
Irene's eyes narrowed slightly on the man in particular.
This was the new assignment that was given to her by Maestro.
To oversee the cause of the city's current situation.
Even though they did not have any proof that indicated this assumption of theirs was true or not, both she and Maestro knew that this man had something to do with the sudden shift of attitude of the residents.
A man suddenly appear and all of a sudden the whole city became livelier and the beach became safer?
It was like all of their problems had disappeared as soon as he appeared.
You have to forgive them for being suspicious of this figure named Njord.
That man was now Irene's responsibility in keeping tabs on him. They were not that naive to think this man did not have something to do with all of these changes that were happening to this dead silent town of theirs.
But there was a catch.
The same man that they suspected of doing something that might endanger the city was now teaching a child how to dance.
Irene was still a bit confused about how they got here.
No… She was downright clueless about how to view this man.
It all started when Irene first announced her being Njord's personal warden for as long as he stayed near the city. Finding him to tell this news was not hard to do. She knew where she could find that man.
At the beach shore.
That man barely leaves that place. Anyone that was near the beach could catch a glimpse of his figure facing the large body of water.
So it was no surprise to her, when her foot first touched the sandy floor, it did not take long for her to find him.
With the sun gone from the sky, the moon's glow fell onto the quiet beach. And from what little time she had known the man one time was for sure.
Where there was the moon, he was not far from it.
And true to this fact, she saw him, rugged clothes and all.
His back faced her as Irene slowly approached him. Njord's seemed to not realize she was there. Or maybe, he did not care. Irene did not know but what she did know was that there were a few things that made the man be entranced.
The moon and ocean were the two of them.
But he quickly came back to his senses.
It might be because he heard her footsteps slowly coming closer to him.
Njord turned his back to the ocean and focused his attention on her instead. His eyes were the first thing that she saw.
So gentle and calm. It was like each eye was a portal to the depths of the ocean that he love to get lost admiring it. Irene was still not used to how his eyes were when he stared at her.
Or anyone in fact now that she realized.
But like the ocean, those eyes… Irene felt that was more to them. She just could not place a finger on what that thing was.
Hearing him greet her snapped her out of those thoughts.
He was smiling.
Smiling as he waited for her to reply to him. Even when she was interrupting him, her arrival did not bother him in the slightest.
In fact, he seemed to enjoy seeing people meeting him.
Irene did not waste time for both of them by beating around the bush and dropping the news of her being assigned to be Njord's acting guard.
She expected that he would burst out shouting at this news.
To demand to give him a good reason why he was being treated like a criminal.
But no such thing ever happened.
To her surprise, something that Njord did regularly by now she realized, the thin smile that he had did not falter. Rather it seemed to grow when he heard her making Irene's mind blank. She was dumbfounded long enough for her not realizing the sound of footsteps coming closer to them.
When the young Anita shouted Njord's name excitedly, it almost gave Irene a heart attack. Luckily she managed to hide it well enough so the child did not see.
Sadly, it was not good enough to trick Njord as he let out a humorous chuckle, low enough so that only she could hear.
Irene, not letting Njord get any satisfaction, guided her eyes to the newcomer.
Anita.
The most sane person in the city. This also made her the most abnormal. A child that manages to still have some glimmer of light in her eyes even when the environment around her was trying its best to snuff it out of existence.
However, ever since a few days now, the dull light that was in her eyes seemed to glow even brighter now. The culprit for that was also this very man.
Njord.
A man was covered from head to toe with mysteries.
Where Njord was, Anita was not far behind.
After the child greeted both of them, Anita went to her now daily routine these past few days.
Bugging Njord in teaching her anything. Without fail, Anita would beg the man in teaching her anything and Irene truly meant anything. With how isolated the city was from the rest of the world, Irene did not blame the girl.
And Njord's reaction to this?
Without missing a beat, he will teach the child about anything that he seemed fit at the time.
The sky? Anita now knew why the sky was so blue in the morning.
The sea? Njord thought her that even when the sea was literacy a large body of water, ironically it was also the largest desert on the planet.
Culture? The man gave a university-level lecture on Iberian culture to a child. Said child even understood him!
No matter what topic it was, Njord was like an endless stream of knowledge and all of it went to Anita. With Irene, always at arms-length to them, she also learns a lot from the man.
The current political situation of the countries on Terra, every major religion in each country.
He even thought about how the sun even came to be.
No matter what topic, Njord seemed to know it.
That was why, Njord was teaching Anita dancing.
Waltz. That was what Njord was teaching the child at the moment.
Although Irene was not that knowledgeable regarding the dance, she had heard about it relating to grand ceremonies where two people danced in a ballroom. With how Irene was brought up, she did not really have a chance of learning these things.
Luckily for her, Njord gave her and Anita a rundown on what the dance was. Based on what he told them, the waltz is a ballroom and folk dance. It is normally performed in a closed position, with the partners facing each other and holding each other's hands. The waltz is characterized by its smooth, flowing movements and its graceful "rise and fall" action.
First hearing this, Anita wanted to learn how to waltz. And Njord being him compiled to the girl's wish.
So here they were, Njord teaching Anita how to waltz while Irene was on the side, intriguingly watching them do so. With his hands on each of hers, Njord guided Anita to a simple rhythm. Nothing too complex. They were simply swaying side to side.
But there was a problem.
Waltz was normally done with two people not far apart by height. With how Njord could easily be three times Anita's height, teaching her to waltz came with some…
"Sorry!"
Difficulties.
For what felt like the thousandth time, Anita's foot landed on Njord. It seemed that even with Anita's seemingly endless talents, hand eyes coordination was not on that list.
It did not help that the height difference between the two of them was too large.
Although Njord did not mind his feet being abused, the embarrassment of continuously messing up was too much for poor Anita. With each blunder that she did, her face glowed slightly brighter.
And with how much those blunders were, Irene was confident that Anita's face could easily replace the moon above them with how red it was.
This was something that Njord seemed to also notice with how he was chuckling, making the already red face of hers redder. In the hope of keeping some sense of dignity, Anita lowered her head to hide her bright face from Njord.
Seeing that Anita was at her limit, Njord thought that he need to have a different approach to this lesson. Suddenly stopping, he got the attention of both of his companies.
"It seems that I am doing something wrong," Smiling at her, Njord mused and he lowered the girl's hands, "I forgot to consider your height."
Anita did not rebut his claim. It was not that he was wrong. But it still did not stop Anita to feel a bit disappointed.
"Mister Njord…"
Not even needing to hear the rest of the sentence, he already knew what she wanted.
"Again Anita, there might be a way to increase your weight using magic but I will not take the risk of you not growing up normally again," Njord chuckled.
It seemed that the subject of Njord teaching her to grow higher was something often brought up. Not like he minded it, it was endearing.
Anita's shoulders slumped further upon hearing this.
"So what are we going to do?" The girl asked.
Seeing how determined Anita was, Njord smiled as he hummed. He racked his head to try to come up with a good solution.
On the sideline, Irene watched all of it from a good distance. This was a normal thing that she would do by now. With how many days she had been watching the two of them interact, Irene managed to catch some habit that Njord would do oftentimes.
Such as how he was lightly humming while he filled his right ear, the one that had some scars on it. This normally means that he was thinking about something.
After a while, how face light lit up. He must have figured something up.
What Irene did not expect to happen next was for him to move his focus on her.
"Hey, Irene," He called her, "Can you teach Anita by being the lead instead?"
With a dumbfounded expression, Irene pointed her finger to herself, "Me?"
Maybe she had misheard him.
"Yeah, you," Njord chuckled at how confused she was now, "Who else is there other than you now with us? I don't see anyone."
So, her ears were not playing tricks on her. Good to know.
"Forgive me for disappointing but I cannot really do that," She sighed as she folded her arms around herself.
This made Njord raise a brow, "Why so? Do you not want to help Anit-?"
Not giving the man a chance even to start, Irene butted in, "Oh no you don't," She glared at the man, "You are not using the Anita card on me."
Yes. This man used a child to manipulate Irene into doing whatever he wanted.
And it worked! When a child with teary eyes stared at you expectedly, no matter who you were, you could not say no.
Irene was a prime example of that.
Truly, with how the man acted so benevolent, Njord could be a scoundrel when he liked to.
It looked like she dodged a bullet because Anita was ready to pull out her weapons on her at any minute just now. Those damn sad puppy eyes.
Enjoying how Irene was acting now, Njord let out a soft laugh from his mouth, "So why can't you?"
Also curious about her answer, Anita stared at her. Irene sighed defeatedly, seeing that she would not get out of this without explaining herself.
Irene moved her head away from them finding the sea more interesting than them, "I don't really know how…"
This made the other two raise a brow.
"Waltzing, you mean?" Wanting to confirm what he was hearing, Njord asked, "Really? You?"
"What with that tone of yours?" Irene glared dagger towards the unfortunate man. But, like always, her glares did nothing but amused the man.
"In my defence, you look like the type of woman to be interested in waltz dancing," Njord explained unashamedly.
"Sadly your guess was wrong," Although she knew glaring did nothing to him, it did not stop her from doing it though, "My upbringing did not really allow me the chance in learning dancing. I am more interested in swordwork than dance work."
Not bothered by the harsh reply, Njord hummed as he continue where he left off in figuring out what to do with today's session.
A light bulb seemed to appear over his head as his expression brightened.
"Why don't I teach you first?"
"Huh…?"
That came out of nowhere.
"Yeah, I teach you. With your height different not that far compared with me and Anita, I think that should work," Njord explained while shrugging his shoulders, "Then you can teach Anita later."
"Huh…?"
Although already explaining himself, Irene was still at a loss at what Njord just said. Before she had time to adjust to her shock, Njord already held out his hand towards her, and invitation to dance with him.
"What are doing…?" Maybe acting like a fool can…
"Offering you to dance, of course," He mused, "What else would I do?"
"…"
She often forgets even if his abundance of knowledge about the world there was one thing that Njord was not good with.
He could be dense as a brick when it comes to human interactions. Or at least, act like so because no matter how hard she tried to communicate with him that she did not want to be close to him, Njord would still consistently interact with her.
"Come on now, Irene," Njord's amused voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "My hand is starting to get lonely here."
Sadly, his humour was not shared with his acquaintances, evidenced by how he was getting glared at, "You listen here Mister. I did not-."
"Miss Irene."
Hearing the childish voice in her ears made the poor teen stiffen.
(You-! You plan this!)
Although not wanting to face the source of the voice, Irene still made herself landed her eyes on the said thing.
As she dreaded, she saw them.
(Those damn sad eyes!)
"You won't…" While holding her hands close to her chest and aiming her two deadly weapons, Anita's voice seemed to be filled with sadness as she said those two words to Irene.
"No-! I-! It's not like-" Fumbling with her words, Irene failed to explain herself.
She knew that that scoundrel, Njord was having a blast seeing her like this. If it was not because there was Anita, her Saber had something to say to the man.
(I-Is that a tear!)
But it seemed that Irene had more pressing issues that she need to do now.
Killing that scoundrel can wait.
With the hope to calm the child down, Irene gave in and took Njord's hand in hers, "S-See! I am about to waltz!" She hastily said to Anita, "Don't cry!"
Instantly, Anita's face brightened up, "You're the best Miss Irene!"
Hearing this, Irene breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Hmph."
Irene shouted her head up and glare at a smug expression of the cause of all of her stress.
"You…"
"Me?"
Irene give nothing to just smacked his smug expression off of his damn face.
This man just drives her mad!
"Just… Just start the cursed lesson…" Defeatedly, Irene said to Njord.
With Irene facing him, she did notice Anita giving Njord a thumbs-up behind her back.
Njord smiled, "My pleasure," With that, he held out his hand that had Irene's out to his side, "For starter, as the lead, in our case me, I need to hold your hand like a violin. Like so. Got it?"
Irene stared at their hands and nodded, "Yes."
"Great. Now we need to have some space from each other," To demonstrate it, Njord took a small step back away from her, "Get that?"
Another nod, "Yes."
"Okay. Held out your left arm. Just straight to the side," He instructed.
"Like this?"
"Perfect," Njord smiled as he looked at her, "Can I touch you?"
"Excuse you…?"
Seeing that Irene was confused, he explained, "I am about to place my right hand onto your shoulder blade, behind your back."
It seemed that it was enough, "Ah. Go on then."
With a nod, Njord place his hand just above Irene's shoulder blade, "Place your hand just above my shoulder."
"L-Like this?" While her hand was on his frame, Irene hesitantly asked him.
"You're doing amazing," He complimented her. Then Njord raised his left hand a bit higher and held her right hand firmly in it, "So this is how we hold each other when waltzing."
"I see…"
Satisfied from hearing this, Njord nodded at her, "So the dance is quite simple. We are just moving in a square motion," He then gestured towards Irene's leg, "So with your right leg, move a step back."
With great caution, Irene did what he told, "L-Like so?" She took a step back.
Njord followed her by taking a step forward, "Yes. And I followed like this. That is the first step," He smiled at Irene, "Ready for steps two and three?"
"I think so…?"
"So using your left leg moves to the side," He instructed, "After that pulled your other leg closer together with each other."
"Left and together." Seemingly now focused, Irene muttered as she followed.
Njord did not point out how engrossed she was but mirror her action.
"Great job. You almost halfway there," Njord praised.
"Don't ridicule me…" Somehow, Irene mistook his praising as him making fun of her.
"I am being serious here. You quite good at it," Njord chuckled, "Now you just need to do what I just did and for me vice versa."
"Pardon?"
"Rather than you going back left together, you do what I just did, front right together. 1,2,3 and 1,2,3," He explained patiently to her, "Get it?"
"Ah…"
"Ready?"
"Hm."
"Okay and 1…"
Irene took a step back. Njord
"... 2…"
Move to the left…
"3…"
Met her feet together.
Everything was going as planned.
"And 1…"
Now Njord took a step back. Seeing her cue, Irene steps forward…
"Tw-."
And her foot landed on Njord's.
"..."
"... M-My apologies."
"See! It's harder than its looks!" Anita took this chance and exclaimed loudly, "I was not doing that on purpose!"
Irene was not lowering her head to cover up her embarrassment! She was just starting at the blunder that she just did to not repeat it!
She swore!
Irene knew that Njord would tease her like nothing before after this-
"No worries. Just can't be good on your very first time," He said.
Irene raised her head to show her confused expression to him, "Is that so…?"
"And surprising enough, you're oddly lighter than Anita was." He noted as he looked down on his still-stepped foot, "Speaking on which, how long are you going to step on me? Not to kink shame but I am not into that."
"O-oh! Pardon me!" After being called out, Irene hastily moved her foot off.
"Again?" Unbothered by what just happened, Njord offered.
Although she was surprised by how unbothered he was, Irene snapped back to reality and nodded firmly at him, "After you."
After letting out another amused hum, Njord started his lesson again, "And 1,2,3…"
After bracing herself for what was to come, Irene followed as Anita watched.
So with that, on the sandy beach side, under the glow of the moon, three figures could be seen. Two were dancing, although one was much more flustered in their movement while the other more elegant and one other figure admiring them just close enough to not disturb them.
Sounds of a person counting numbers and waves crashing on the shore. Oftentimes, you could hear the sound of a foot being stepped followed by someone apologizing.
After a while, the counting stopped but the two figures kept dancing.
Then the counting was replaced with something else.
"Hmmm~."
Humming.
It was soft and gentle but the winds and waves did not drown it out with their noises. As a matter of fact, it seemed they were enchanting it instead, combining them with it, making it sound more… Something.
Where was the humming coming from?
It was from the mouth of the larger figure.
As Njord guided Irene in their dance, he stopped guiding her after seeing that she became more confident. So he hummed instead.
Anita who was sitting on the sandy floor, swayed her head from side to side, enjoying him humming to a simple tone.
And for the person that was dancing alongside him?
To say she was entrance was an understatement.
After blunder and blunder, Irene seemingly got a hang of the dance that was called waltz. Even Njord agreed with her as he stopped counting for her.
At first, she thought that was the end of their lesson but all of a sudden he did something.
He started to hum.
In all honesty, his hum's melody was simple and quite repetitive but in a way it was calming and meditative in a certain way. The sound of the waves and winds seemed to create harmony with his hums. Hearing the sound they produced made Irene feel a sense of warmth, ironic of her being on a beach dead of night.
She should not be relaxed around this man.
She had the responsibility of watching over him so that he does not cause any harm.
She had her duties.
She knew this.
She was aware of this.
And yet…
Irene let her body be whisked away but him.
So here they were, two figures dancing while another was enjoying the sight of it…
…
While another watches them from afar with an amused expression.
{}
His body felt weightless like he was drifting on a calm body of water. However, he could not feel anything.
What was he doing before?
Hah… he remembered.
He thought Irene how to waltz to teach Anita. However, he was too caught in the moment and danced with her until a sun slowly peep into the night sky. Seeing how late it was for him, he said his goodbyes to them and left.
But not before promising Anita to teach her something that she could learn.
Then he left. In a literal sense, he poofed out of existence.
(So that would mean…)
Njord opened his eyes.
He saw nothing.
Not black…
Nor white…
Just nothing.
(Yeah… I'm here… So that also means-)
Then a sound.
(I'm here too! Yo! I thought you already forgot about me!)
A vein could be seen visible popping on his head.
(Get out of my head, you fucker!)
("Where was the gentleman that waltz around with a girl in his arms?)
"And don't whisper in my ear!"
Njord snapped his head to the side.
Before he was in nothing, now he was in something.
As far as his eyes could comprehend, Njord was staring at something that would be called heaven for most people. Vast greenery that was filled with various types of flowers with thousands of different colours. The wind around him gentle breeze past him as he took in where he was now.
The voidless space around him just a few seconds ago was now gone.
The weightlessness that he felt was replaced with him now feeling that he was standing on something instead. He raised his head and was greeted with a clear vibrant blue sky that did not have a single cloud in it.
"Njord! Wake up!"
A shout snapped out from him admiring the scene. His annoyance also comes back.
"You…"
The man that he aim his irks at only smirked at him. It was the only thing that Njord could see on their body, after all the rest was being hidden by a white cloak.
"So? Have fun with your little dance session you had with your pretty little things?" The man smirked, "Because not many things can make you hum."
His smirk grew.
"Maybe Skadi-"
*Crash*
Flower petals, of different colours, flew up into the air. The hooded man glanced to his side, where most of them came from and chuckled.
Amongst the field of flowers, the two were in, a large body of ice formed could be seen just an inch from where the cloaked man stood. It was in an oddly black colour.
After he was done admiring the damaged ground, he glanced back to the only person responsible for causing it.
"Ice seemed to be your go-to then. I thought it was fire and lightning with how flashy those two are. But you do you. You even got better," The man praised. He then hummed, "But… what would those girls say if they see the expression on your face now?"
Njord could be seen holding out his hand lazily. A black frosty mist was oozing out from his body and mouth. And for his expression…
The void that he was in just had more life than his face.
"You bastard…"
"Oh come on! You still haven't given me a name still!?" The man exclaimed disappointedly, unbothered how he was nearly skewered by ice just now, "Look, Njord. Buddy. I gave you a name. You gave me one. There was a memo, Njord. There was a memo."
"Get her name out of your damn mouth," Njord said, "Who said you can say it?"
The man pointed his finger, "Now you're changing the subject! Where is the facade that you had with those girls!?" He accused, "Typical Njord! You damn womanizer! Come on! It's just a name! It has been months!"
Njord stared at the free-spirited person in front of him. After a while, he let out an exhausted sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose to lessen the headache, "You won't drop this…?"
"Nuh-uh," He cheekily answered with a higher pitch in their voice.
"The fuck you mean nuh uh…" Njord was already at his final straw dealing with the entity, "Fine… Just don't bring this topic up every time you drag me here."
"So lay it on me," The man was now curious, "What atrocious name will you give this poor god."
"Don't test me. I will name you Tom."
"Zipping up."
So what felt like the umpteenth time by now, Njord sighed. Why did he even bother to deal with this thing…?
"I will free you,"
(A promise is a promise after all. Deal with it.)
Sighing again for one more time, Njord glanced at the cloaked man in front of him.
(A name? For a being that is not really a being. A whole one in his case. A thing that lacks something. He's not anything… He's nothing…)
Before Njord could think further, something annoying snapped him away from his thoughts.
"Oooh," The man exclaimed, "You have something in mind. What is it? Tell me. Tell me. Tell-"
To prevent him from getting even more annoying than how he already was, Njord butted in.
"Nott," Njord blankly said.
"Not what…?" It seem the figure was now confused.
"Your name. Nott. Sort for nothing, seeing that is what you are," Njord seemed to get a bit of enjoyment when seeing how unprepared the entity was, "You don't need to thank me."
"..." The figure was speechless. And for the first time since that meeting, it was his turn to sigh. The now-named Nott, let his face fall into his palm in disappointment, "Of course, that's my name. You're the person that thought of Mira because it was shortened from Miracle."
"Fuck you," Njord scowled, "And for the record, she seemed to like it."
"...You can literally name her Ass-Hoe and she would be delighted," Nott stared at him like he was an idiot. Then he lightly slapped his own forehead "Ah! I almost forgot you did not know that she was that cat."
"Fuck you."
"You named me goddamn Nott!"
"But you are a Nott!"
"What's that supposed to even mean!?"
"!"
"!"
So they threw insult after insult to each in a place that people would have called heaven if they ever see it. A scene that was not really suited to what they were doing.
But they did not care.
"Aaa…"
"Aaaa…"
After a long session that both of them did not take track of, the two idiots were left breathless.
The first that spoke up that was not an insult was the cloaked one.
"Ignoring your horrible taste in names-."
In a sense.
"Fuck off."
"You are really good at acting. I didn't even know it was even you on that beach," Nott smirked at Njord, "So my question at the start still stands…"
"What would those girls say if they saw you as you now?"
"..." Njord knew the man in front of him won't stop asking him that so he rather deal with it now. He stood up straight again and looked at Nott blankly, "They won't."
"Ah! The classic," Nott snapped his finger, "Lie until they die."
"..." Njord did not have anything to rebuke against Nott's claim.
"Although it was fun, let's get to the meaty and greasy of things, shall we, " Nott started to walk closer to Njord.
"Did you finish with them?" Glad the conversation was directed in a different direction, Njord asked.
When he closed enough Nott placed a hand on Njord's shoulder.
"The vessels?" From the side of his eyes, Nott smugly smirked at him, "I did some… tweaks on them."
"Tweaks?" Njord's eyes narrowed and turned to the man, "Explain."
With how the man was gleefully smiling at him, he was more than happy to do so.
"So here's the thing," Nott chuckled, "Remembered when I told you how the vessels will be an extension of your soul, meaning those vessels will be you?"
"Yes…?" Njord was not following him.
"Well, good news, I finished making them." Nott smiled innocently.
"And the bad news…?" Njord was not excited in finding out what that was.
"I lose control of them," Nott exclaimed.
"What…?"
"Someone cut my connection with them before I can put your soul into them." Then he looked disappointed at the black expression that he was receiving, "What what with this boring-"
Njord lunged at Nott and choked his neck
"What!?"
"There it is!"
"What do you mean you- a being close to god, mind you!- lose control of something he made!?"
While being choked, NOT raised a finger.
"First! Stopped the choking! In your words: I am not into that shit!" Nott shouted. It's hard to explain while being choked!
After considering it, Njord finally let go.
"Phew…" He said in relief.
"Second?" Njord said while tapping his leg.
Finally getting a semblance of his breath back, he smirked at Njord.
"Question: who can fuck around with my things?" he asked.
Njord raised a brow. He did not know what this thing was going on about but he might as well entertained him.
"Me?"
"Yes, you." Nott nodded then proceed to point at Njord's chest, "And what are you?"
"... A soul that you took from another world."
"A soul that I had an influence on before but good enough" Nott nodded, "So that means…"
"...!"
"You caught on fast."
Njord glared at him.
"Ian or Zhen. Who is it?" He demanded.
"A new one."
"I getting more lost here," He scratched his head in annoyance at how difficult he was being, "Just spit it out!"
"It's a soul that I made," He smirked.
"A soul… that you made? Njord lowered his head to think hard about what he just heard, "What does that mean-!"
"I want to go to your house!" A girl under a gentle snowfall exclaimed.
(No…)
"H-Hello," He answered a call after being forced by his mother and heard a familiar feminine voice that could be hard from it.
(Nonono!)
"So I want to be the first person that makes the aloof Ye's heart beat faster." The girl exclaimed after she confessed her feeling to him.
(Nonononononono!)
"Don't worry!" A girl proudly announced to him in front of a jewelry store, "Trust a girl to pick a gift."
(Nononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono!)
A hand grabbed onto his sleeve making him look at the owner of it, "You'll be the first to know!"
Ba-dumb.
(Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!)
Those bright blue eyes never fail to calm him down.
"I love you."
(FUC-!)
"Oi."
A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
… Since when was he on the ground?
Why was he holding his head?
Raising his head he saw Nott looming over him.
And there they were.
Those same eyes that he love were now staring at him.
And oh how he hated it.
"Don't have a breakdown now," He smiled, enjoying every second, "We need to have a contingency plan to deal with her."
He truly wanted to kill him.
But for now, an ice fist to the face should suffice.
"My face!"
Worth it.
{}
So there is the chapter.
In this chapter, I try to show the relationship of our trio. Njord, Anita and Irene.
I focused on the nativity and curiosity of Anita with how easily she befriended Njord and how she can trust him. Seeing how I used to be a kid that was not that extroverted in the past, I try to implement how I was back then/ Minus the cringe of course. I used my relationship with my uncle on how to wirt the relation Njord have with Aniat with me being the latter while my uncle was the former.
Jaq? How about your dad?
His my dad. I can't say for everyone, I have the normalest relationship with him. I love him, he loves me.
He's the cold but warm type of person. I just thought that Njord fit more of my uncle's character. warm out and inside. But also can punch a tooth in a man's mouth.
For Anita, her wanting to know more of the world seemed to fit her as she know near to nothing outside of Sal Viento and with Njord, she could learn everything she wanted.
The relationship between Anita and Irene is based on my sisters instead. The outgoing one with the serious one. On the sidelines, seeing them interact Is the best entertainment in the world so I thought I might have that in the story as well. A story that I like is a story I will write.
For Njord and Irene. Their relationship is more one-sided. As Njorf is open to being friends with her while she is still suspicious of him. No blame on her. I used Anita as a median between the two.
Nott!
I love writing about him. So random, so fun. I used him as a way to annoy Njord. He is the being who only lived to find enjoyment for himself. Njord was just the perfect thing for him to entertain him. Although I made it seems all-powerful. I try to put some restrictions on how he can interfere in the story. The relationship he shared with Njord is one that is similar to s brother which annoyed the younger one.
And Yue!
Her character, I have a lot in store for her. Her being a rouge soul that messed up both Njord's and Nott's plans is something that I really needed. Can't make everything follow what the two of them want.
So about the updates, like in past times, I won't promise it will be consistent. The only reason why I am posting one today is that I am on a semester break. Seeing how I ghosted all of you for so long, the least I can do was to give one chapter out. If I can give you some advice if you are not keen on waiting, join my discord. There I will update beta chapters and the people in there will act as my critics. See if it was good or not and now to improve it. I am quite active there.
I think that is all. It's quite late on my side of the globe so I think I should sleep now. So bye for now. and just to reassure you, I won't abandon this.
Discord: /3z2RtndKrP