Inside of a secluded, pyramid-shaped structure composed of long reddish fabrics, there lied a yellowish textile acting as the flooring for the infrastracture where an array of sleeping bags were spreadt out, folded and neatly organized.
The young man with the slightly messy black hair and amber-coloured irises sat motionlessly on a wooden bench situated at the center of the structure beside a wooden pole that supported the inside by extending all the way to the top and to the bottom of the bench, piercing and implanting itself deep beneath the grassy flooring.
He stared absentmindedly towards the opening of the structure; a human-sized gap where a few soldiers would ocassionally pass by, giving him a slight glance before squinting at his presence, their stoic faces transitioning into one consisting of furrowed eyebrows followed by a click of tongue.
Though the young man noticed, he did not turn his head nor his eyes towards the guards; that pushed the fabric aside and checked through the opening, only focusing on the scenery behind them.
. . .
After several minutes of silence and awkward looking, a female guard took a peek inside, and only then the young man turned his eyes away from the pale blue sky and towards the face of the checker.
"..? Okay Safe." — She whispered, heaving a sigh.
"..Hey." — Only for the young man's voice to suddenly make her flinch.
She lowered her helmet and turned around.
Though.. before she could take the first step,
"..Stop." — the young man stated raspily, making her flinch again in her greaves.
In a trembling demeanour with sweat proliferating on her face, she slowly and shakily turned her head around, eyes squinted with her cheeks slightly puffed, accompanied by a faint pink coloration.
"wha..wha..wha..what is.. it..?" — She asked, eyes darting everywhere.
The young man paused and stared at her for a few moments before opening his mouth once more;
"..Can't I at least go out?"
"oh..! out..! yeah out.. out huh..? out hm.." To which she placed an index finger above her chin while her eyes proceeded to still roam aimlessly everywhere.
Afterwards, she closed her eyes, and formed an X-shaped gesture using her armoured arms, voice rising into an unusually high pitch.
"no..no..!! you cannot..!"
. . .
With an unimpressed expression, the young man paused and wondered; "What is up with this girl?" — he then attempted to raise up his wrists towards his eye level and tilt his head slightly to the left before allowing his voice to flow again.
"I'm already binded see? I cannot do something terrible while in here.."
"..i.." — the girl paused, gazing at the young man and the green-coloured strings wrapped around the both of his wrists.
"..is..is that..so?" — she inquired, to which the young man nodded with a soft smile.
"..you..you could break it.. and kill all of us you know..?" — She lowered her head and gazed upwards at the boy, mindlessly tapping her index fingers together.
The boy sneered secretely, before a soft, lime-coloured glow lit up at the center of the green-coloured strings.
"It is enchanted by Magic see..?"
— The girl's eyes widened partially.
"I have no aptitude for any sort of magic, simply put.. I'm a bum. Therefore there exists really no need to stuff me in here right?"
"..but..—"
"And hey, there is a lot of guards here, including you, what can a lone man with no aptitude for magic do against all of you?"
"true..however..—"
"And! I'm more of a laid back, easygoing person. I know I broke some sort of law established by your higher ups, and since I have a sense of responsibility, I figured I would be.. no no no! less than those criminals if I flee, I'm not a cancer to society..!!" The boy stated, expressions more animated than usual.
"..I suppose so.." The lass mumbled.
"..thanks for understanding." - The boy scratched a side of his cheek.
"this girl is quite gullible isn't she?"
- The boy thought
.
.
.
"STOP LYING."
— An abrupt, low pitched yet feminine voice echoed inside of the structure, causing the young man to flinch and refocus his eyes back towards the lass—
Whom is now more.. intimidating? Her chin is tilted slightly upwards as she looked at the young man, face somewhat obscured by the shadows causing her purplish-eyes to appear gleaming while maintaining a perfectly aligned posture.
"I feel no magic in that string. And even if it did have any, such a glow wouldn't just remain at the center of the object, but rather proliferate until every single corner has been enveloped before promptly disappearing."
— The girl stated, nervousness gone in the drop of a hat.
"And you said you were someone with a sense of responsibility? Do know that oftentimes, criminals here are either thrown to the monsters or imprisoned for life? I'm sorry but there shall be no in-between."
— The boy's eyes remained locked in with the girl's now half-opened pair which were now devoid of any shine, only consisting of a deep, purple iris that held the same gravity akin to that of staring at the void. The fluids on the boy's face became prevalent, the smile on his face devolving into a clenched curl signifying intense nervousness.
"I don't know who you are.. but You dare lie on my face..?"
- The girl entered the tent and began to slowly make her way towards the sitting young man, which stared up at those void-like eyes, her standing stature towering against the him.
"You might need some disciplining."
She then cracked both of her knuckles, the solemn gaze of hers never once leaving the now diverted look of the youth.
"dat..dat..er.." — the youth mumbled.
"What the hell..? Why.. is she like this?"
"What?" - She leaned in on the youth, though visibly shorter than he, her presence towered like an insurmountable mountain over his shaky hill-like demeanour.
"em..er..well..zoo..ids.."
"If I say something wrong I will be walking out of here in a casket!!"
-
"ehem..well..I'm akshually..ehem!" - He coughed before putting up a soft smile while a drop of sweat slid down his pale cheek.
"I suppose there will be no need for that!"
.
.
*CRACK.* — "Hi..Hieee..!!!!"
"And why exactly is that?"
"you.. you see...My body is..achy.. or hurty.. for some reason.. i can't feel my organs so... i might die if you harm..me? i seriously need medical attention..." — The youth diverted his gaze, putting up soft sparkles in his eyes trying to resemble that of a puppy.
"..."
"Did it work..?"
.
.
.
.
*CRACK*
"Hieeeeeee!!! I'm so Dead..!!"
"You.."
"..Wait..did it work?"
"Why.. you..!"
"Nope, it was a good life.
Mom, Dad wherever your are. I'm coming home."
— The youth smiled and closed his eyes after tilting his head upwards, during of which all of the blood escaped from his already pale face.
.
.
The girl's arms then launched from her sides and all the way towards his collar, gripping it tightly before violently shaking the poor young man.
"youyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyou
youyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyou
youyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyouyou
youyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"awawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawaawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawa.."
"WHY DIDN't you say so..?"
— The previously, low-pitched iceness of the girl's intonation slowly devolved into a soft, mellow mid-pitch voice, replacing the crushing pressure with..
"We can't have that.. y'know."
Warmth. Her voice was of the right level of volume for it to soothe the young man's nerves and easily melt all of his worries away.
"..Wha..?"
The young man slowly opened his eyes, presenting him a world that was spinning in circles.
"Awawawaa.."
With a quick shake of his head, the spinning halted and she locked eyes with the girl, whom is just inches away from his face.
"Oops..?"
"..Dummy."
The girl's similarly coloured countenance resembled that of a serene landscape after a recent snowfall, the purplish irises amidst her corneas resembled a glowing polaris refusing to yield despite being surrounded by the overwhelming darkness. In other words, gazing at her face was akin to that of lying down on a soft, snowy blanket though delivering no chill but solely warmth as you stare at the void, only to be met with a pair of purple distant, yet ever-so-near suns, acting as some sort of guide in this unending gloominess.
"..What.. is this." — The young man looked away, a soft blush on his face. — "Is this what they call.. —
"Come with me.. I'll take you to the medic..." With a worried expression, she stood up and headed for the entrance, swiftly taking a 180° glance outside before heaving a relieving sigh and beckoning the young man to come closer.
—..adorable?"
The girl blinked upon seeing the youth staring at her in a daze, mouth slightly hanging open with a drop of saliva peeking out from the blackness of it.
"He..Hey..! A..are you okay?"
With a simple blink and a quick shake of his head, the youth managed to regain his control over himself.
"Yea..Yeas! I am.. fayn."
"Do..you need help?"
"No..Nou..I'm allrayt."
"I..I need to look cool..!"
— After attempting to stand up, he was slammed in the face with overwhelming dizziness, causing him to hit a protruding rock on the floor and stumble over.
"Come on..!"
"Huh!?" — The girl rushed in. "Watch out!"
*Poofed!*
"oww..."
*Tap.*
"Hey..Hey mister..? You alright?"
After his vision had returned, he found himself cradled on the girl's arms, his head resting atop her armoured forearm as she gazed down at him, expression transitioning into a full-blown worry.
The young man found it rather difficult to look into her eyes as the mounds on her breastplate were larger than his field of view.
"..I..I'm.. fine." — The young man raised his hand, doing a thumbs-up gesture. To which, the girl heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness."
— She smiled. To describe would be otherwise difficult; The sun that permeated through the holes of the infrastructure complimented the shine of her comforting glee, the rays bouncing off her porcelain-like skin akin to that of an untouchable crystal, such miniscule factors made any observer conclude that her beauty is simply ecstatic to gaze at. How could a girl of this caliber wear such an armour when she deserves an extravagant dress? How could a lady of this level fight in the battlefield when she belongs to a royall ball? How could a lass of this quality be holding a spear when she could be holding a golden staff? Those thoughts circled through the boy's head like a hurricane of unanswered life's greatest mysteries.
"Heyheyheyheyhey mister."
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
"Mistermistermister~"
"wakey wakey."
The young man quickly broke off his daze and abruptly sat up, making the girl flinch.
"dis.." - He mumbled.
"hm..?"
"..dis..medik you spik of.." - with wobbly words, the youth looked back with furrowed brows and a mouth that is being forcibly stopped from grinning like an idiot.
"...?"
"we..where..is it.." — Unable to maintain eye contact, he could only cover his victorious, goofy grin and look away, face overwhelmed with a soft pinkish glow.
"..!!" — She lit up. "..The..then..! Follow me!"
...
Underneath the pale-blue blanket where hundreds of silver-lined clouds were cruising through, there was the young man, sitting atop an old wooden box, facing another armoured woman with visible wrinkles on her face.
After giving the youth a look with a raised eyebrow, she heaved a sigh before raising her hand above his head and closing her eyes.
"..[Mulakh.].."
Then, a green-coloured hue, emanated from her hand which eventually covered the youth. After a few seconds of enveloping him, the green coloured slime-like substance slowly rose up to disappear and be absorbed by the palm where it originated from.
"There.." - With an audibly exhausted voice, she retracted her hand.
"Do you feel better..?" — She asked, packing a few set of tools that were lying beside her.
"..We..well.." - The youth looked at his hands.
"I don't.. feel any..different..?"
"..I'm feeling better than ever!"
— The youth grinned and exclaimed accompanied by the cheerful swing of his arm and the soft, happy claps of the smiling girl at the back.
"Heh.. wonderful." — She snarked, catching the youth off-guard.
"Whoever does not believe enough won't be, anyway." — She added, finishing the retrieval of her tools.
"..? whoever.. does not believe? What do you mean..?" — The young man asked, to which earned him a look and another heave of sigh.
"...RoyalMagic, or Noble Magic in other words."
"..?" — The youth squinted his eyes.
"..Noble magic..? Have I heard of that before..?"
The youth lowered his head before placing an index finger above his chin.
"Maybe it wasn't in the Academica archives?"
He then began to bore holes through the ground with his staring.
"Maybe I just missed it..? No.. that's impossible.. I've read through that at least 7 times.."
— Taking notice of his act. The medic remarked; "It would be best if you don't think about it too hard." - Earning her a raised eyebrow from the boy.
"What..why?"
- She paused, taking a moment to look around before opening her mouth.
"..Those Nobles, pitiful old bastards saying that if you think, you don't believe."
"Isn't that.. a bit contradictory?"
The medic's eyes lit up.
"Exactly! It is! Thinking and Believing can coexist, I know about that since my Mother and Father never stopped repeating it to me, ever since I was a child. To which, I'm really thankful they did.. I ain't like those brainded fuckers blindy following this ludicrousness."
When she stopped, the young man paused, attempting to open his mouth but somehow couldn't, only settling for a momentarily gaze at her.
"..This..Mother and Father you speak of.. are they still with you?"
— She scoffed, releasing a held-back chuckle.
"Neither. None in this town has a complete family. Probably dead due to some disease, conflict, monster stampedes, starvation, despair.. suicide and many more..! It never ends in this shithole of a town."
The young man's expression softened into a small smile.
"Seems like you got a lot on your plate.."
She scoffed again.
"Figuratively?" — She scoffed. "I would rather die. But Literally? Oh boy, not only I wish for that, we all seek for just a piece of REAL bread to be served to us every now and then."
They both share a chuckle, while the girl in the back stared at them two, dumbfounded.
"So yeah, these nobles ain't shit. just empty promises, corruption and falsification, the inner demon never leaves the stomachs of these fatasses...—
"YOU AGAIN..!?"
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU BEFORE..!?"
—..Ah! speak of the devil. Quite Literally."
- They all turned towards the direction of the yell, where a familliar militia was bowing before a finely-dressed man of chubby stature, a kept moustache and a permed hair.
"You good for nothing!"
*Smack!*
"I should demote you to a toilet cleaner!"
*Slap!*
"Sir Hamilvan.." — The girl muttered, looking helplessly as she watched one of the militias be assaulted with the noble's scoldings.
"..Shit.. Hamilvan's getting his ass handed to him again."
"If this happens again you moron!!"
*Smack!*
"I'll chage your job into manure cleaner..!! Go it!?"
*Slap!*
With a spit landing on Hamilvan's helmet, the noble muttered out an insult before walking away, escorted by a pair of heavily-armoured individuals.
"ye..Yes sir."
The medic, after seeing the noble walk away, looked back at the dumbfounded young man.
"See that..? Those are the so-called saviours given to us by the empire."
"Horrible.." — The youth muttered.
"It is indeed...hm? Come to think of it, I still don't know your name.. What's your name? mysterious offender?"
.
The youth blinked before abruptly opening his mouth.
.
"Calestro."