"HAH!" Liada lets out triumphantly as Vadei waddles away from her barrier. Her nose is clutched tightly as she slowly regains her bearings.
"Not fair..." she complains soon after before she drops down and stares at her fingers.
"Quit complaining." I tell her as I move to pick her up. Ignoring her aggressive reaction and staring her down as she glares at me.
"Not so rough!" she demands as one of her glowing nails is shoved into my face. And, I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I stared at her magic. It was so weak... What purpose was there in me trying to help it improve?
She was weak and always has been, and I could not help Lari with weak people. Not even Liada, with that divine trinket of hers was a particularly skilled fighter. I was watching the pair go at it because of that! Liada needs a careful eye on her, as otherwise...
"Alright, you go wait over there." I tell Vadei before I nearly throw her that way. Yet, despite how she reacted, I only gave her a guiding claw. It was not an attempt to actually throw her... Then, when my attention returned to Liada, I cocked a fist back.
"Eh? WAIT!" Liada screamed as she clearly wasn't expecting me to take over. And, that just made my point stronger. If this was enough to catch her off guard, me merely taking up a position... Then I could hold nothing but dread for how useless she would be...
When it came to saving Lari, I needed the best. People who could be at their very peak with or without help. The news did come quick. I had been given a glimpse into how that 'help' failed.
"Keep it up." I end up telling Liada once I realised she brought her barrier down. Not only was that just a stupid move. I could not allow such behaviour to be encouraged. My experience has taught me much, and a shield needed to be kept up!
"I'm tired..." she lied.
"KEEP IT UP!" I roar furiously before forcing her to do so. Enveloping myself in an arcane fireball which my aggressive breathing blew away afterwards.
"NIN!" Vadei snaps from behind me.
I turn towards her, watching as she flinches slightly, "Get back to it." I tell her. Walking past her before sitting down by a target we made prior. Then, with a sudden wave of tiredness, I leaned against it. Cracking it slightly as I forced my body against it.
"Nin... I don't think this is going to work out..." Liada points out as she moves closer to me. Yet, rather than looking her in the eye like I usually did. I stared at those large, curved, big toe-claws of hers. They tapped when she was nervous.
But, what did she have to be nervous about...?
"What's not going to work out!?" I ask her with snort. And she backs away with a harsh scrape.
"I'm not learning anything... You're just having me put up walls and..."
"And what? Your power is to make walls is it not? Making walls is clearly what this power of yours is for!" I tell her as I start to get up.
"No, do not talk to us like that!" Vadei growls as she asserts herself with a finger.
"I WILL WHEN IT IS CLEAR YOU TWO THINK BEING ABLE TO PROTECT YOURSELF IS SOME HALF-HEARTED AFFAIR!" I roar at her whilst also suddenly approaching her. And, it was amusing, in a cruel way to watch her flinch back. For that assertiveness to go away. And, then, I just walked off and left the room and then the building.
I collapsed onto a bench and impatiently tapped one of my feet. Staring longingly at the hospital before I started to become miserable. How could that man have failed!? I have heard the rumours!
How powerful these people were meant to be. How they conquered the world and ruined countries on their own! These were meant to be the elite of the elite! Beyond that of even the Valkinvar who I once saw as the strongest!
So how could he have failed...? Why did this now fall upon me to protect Lari...? It made no sense in the slightest... First Seigunfrei shows me that scar of his, and now that!
Tiyanat may have been trying to hide it for some reason. But I knew all about it. The school even made a point of saying how some classes had to be suspended due to shortages... That man was so powerful he made the school blackout...
A school dedicated to magic, the very best of these kinds of schools! And this Smiling Jhurack, the one who wanted me... He beat that man... He wanted to clearly fight me, and I was nothing in comparison to his previous opponent...
"Are you alright?" Vadei asked me as she sat down next to me. She was clearly on edge, but, her intentions were clearly pure. Why else would she bring around her tail for me? Even if I did not receive the offering of my own volition...
"I'm sorry, it's just..."
"You don't need to explain that. I do not need to be smart to figure it out."
"It's not even just that, we've been through so much and somehow, we all still don't know really how to fight..." I explain to her. And, to some extent, I was lying, it really was just about Lari. I would not have been so pushy about it otherwise. It was also true, I still did not know how to fight.
At least, not like everyone else could. Vapooliar was swift and brutal with her fists and could be around you for kicks. Even Seigunfrei knew how to manipulate his momentum to bring you down. I only ever beat him through the savagery I put up in that magic-suppressing room...
I guess, to some extent, it was a know-how in the art of fighting. But, not to the degree that counted. To think about prior thoughts about the 'help.' He must've been a master of such skill he would need lifetimes to teach the nuance of it all...
"Well, why do we need to know how to fight?"
I then slam my fist, "What happened to Lari? What happened to your home? To Tobaballe!?" I ask her with wide-eyes. How could she ask such a stupid question!?
"Nin, I just meant we should be avoiding these sorts of things, is all!" she tries to clarify.
"But we can't! We could not travel without being attacked! I could learn without being under threat of death! Everywhere is a reason we need to know how to fight!" I remind her. I'm sure I could bring up more reasons, but I chose to stick to things she could easily get.
"I'm sorry..." she says quietly before she gets up and leaves. And just like that, an attempt to smooth things out went nowhere. Yet, I was thankful for that in a rather peculiar manner. If she felt the need to go, it meant I was right about this path.
I just needed to find people who were able to stand up for themselves! Vadei wanted to avoid fighting because she knew she was weak! I was stronger than her, so the burden of protecting fell upon me! And, clearly, I could get stronger.
After all, how it all was before I even set foot in that hauler... I was just some man who struggled to lift a statue! Now, look at me! I climbed this mountain and shattered stone!
If Smiling Jhurack wanted to create a warning in regards to his strength... Then I would just find the means to gain such strength! And I knew several people who could help with that! Some I knew well, others I had only briefly fought with!
Unfortunately, however, Vapooliar was completely off-the-table... What happened in the Inter-House made it clear how she felt about me. I just wished it wasn't over something so inconsistent. Yet, there was someone greater than her that I could speak to!
The people who also came from Lari's home had been swarming the hospital! All to see the legendary warrior as he licked his wounds! Our dorm had become popular too, just so they could see that thing... I could only assume it was the status symbol aspect of it all that made it popular.
It was just a mouth otherwise...
So, with that in mind, I started to move toward the hospital. Only to walk into a barrier that could've only been made by Liada. Yet, when I turned to face her, to demand an answer. She just glared and walked back inside.
"Better..." I condescendingly remark under my breath as that solved one of her issues. She could project the barrier further beyond than before. Yet, thinking about what I said to her, I looked back at where she was. Could I take it from her...?
However, the moment I thought that my bracelet suddenly burned me. So, taking the hint, I brushed away the idea and went back to my route. It was a shame too, walls made could make a cage. A cage from which I could then rend that helpless killer apart!
Unfortunately, it was just going to be a fantasy for me. The only choice I had was to head towards the hospitalised warrior. To get him to teach me anything, something! To lend some of his power if it was possible!
He was the one who was told about the situation! It was from him that Tiyanat first learned about Jhurack's interest in me. He had it all! Technique, knowledge, all that I would need!
I could only pray that I could get any of this, though. That man came to her to protect her, unlike Lari. It meant he was subservient to the mist-intentioned girl. He would follow requests to keep me in the dark...
And I just could not have that! I needed everything I could get, everyone! If he was not able to fight anymore, then I would take what I can! He would fight on in spirit!
Right...? His pride surely would not allow for it to end the way it did? To lose to some killer that prowled dark alleys... Surely I could goad something!?
So, before I walked into the hospital, I tried to calm myself. I would not convince anyone of this kind of stuff with openly displayed rashness. Thankfully, I had my mask and everything on! It would be hidden as well as suppressed!
"Why are you here?" the blue-eyed man asked me. At first, I looked at the way his sand-coloured hair turned bright blue towards the end. But, I was quick to remember my reason for being here. And he wanted to know it too.
"To speak to you about Smiling Jhurack." I answer, growling ever so slightly upon saying that vile thing.
"You are Nin, then?" he asks, to which I nod.
"Yes, I am, and I believe you were told something that concerned me a great deal..." I say as I slowly applied pressure to a nearby ornament. I barely made a dent in it, however. This room was strange in that it all felt heavy.
Being near this wound-covered man was scary...
"Technically, I was not. Lady Tiyanat Sl'Ayiysab was the one who made that conclusion. However, given how you have come before me with a clear, need-for-blood driven intent. I can see why." he says in a rather plain tone. Not one I was really expecting from someone with his reputation.
"Then we can skip most of the point-making..." I say as I move closer to him. The adrenaline that his aura made pump allowed me to work up the courage for now. However, if that calm tone of his changed, I would be like how Vadei was so little time ago...
"Lady Tiyanat Sl'Ayiysab made it clear to me that I was not to tell you about this. On her honour, I cannot aid you. Even if what she has asked of me is pointless now. Her intent remains the same regardless." he tells me, and that made me furious.
"You were brought here to save Lari, no!? THEN HELP ME!" I growl at first before I roar at him. Yet, as was always the case, he had no reason to be scared. But, I quickly became so when he suddenly got out of the bed. Despite how severe his wounds still were, he made a point of approaching me.
I was cowering before him yet held my ground, "If the Lord Sl'Ayiysab so asks it, I shall." he tells me before he returns to bed. Either because he was done making his point or the doctors were rushing on by.
"Right..." I meekly muttered before I left, a cold sweat soaking my flesh and carapace. Just in time before Suhurlodst's security forces came on by to remove me. Likely regardless of if I caused any issues or not. And even after I had left, as was the usual custom, I was continuously surveyed.
Then, once there was some distance between me and the hospital. I sat down and thought on what I had been told. I could get help from him if the circumstances were different...? If Lari's and Tiyanat's father agreed to it...
If that was the case, then I needed to find Tiyanat and speak to her. I needed to put forward a case! Perhaps there was something I could exploit!? Something she would bend over backwards to help accomplish!?
But where was she? I haven't been paying much attention to anyone recently... I've tried to put down that nagging feeling at the back of my mind, but nothing worked. The only solution was to embrace it to the fullest extent.
I suppose I could start with the dorm, if not, Omb was always an option. The two were close, no? I know Omb tutored Tiyanat on something likely magic related. Regardless, though, he would make a good lead if I could not find her.
So, I quickly got up and sped off back to our dorm in the hopes I could catch her. I wasn't sure if I should be patient or hectic, though. Lari seems to be safe in a strange way, but, I have no idea what will happen to her. This Smiling Jhurack was very much so a madman...
That made it clear I should be patient then, no? Just, lounge about and wait for Tiyanat to appear? I could give it a try... It would at the very least throw off the idea I was going against my prior word.
However, hindsight made me callous towards those words. How could they have been the good decision, the right decision? Our friend was in danger and she needed our help! Surely they could understand that, right?
Even if it might mean my death...
But, how could they even argue such a point? Einervaene surged across the mountains to save me from Salahma... Even if it could mean her death too, Vadei has fought by my side before! Even Liada made a point that her magic would be used to help me as much as it could...
So clearly, there was nothing truly wrong with what I was going to do! The only thing that had changed was that it was Lari's life at stake and mine! But what good was my life if the one I loved was like that? It was already meaningless without her, so why would it not go back to that...?
"Dammit... Gods damn everything..." I curse quietly, but still with a voice full of frustration. Then, once I finally got to the dorm again. I found myself staring at a mirror. And, taking note of my aggressive posture, I tried to relax it.
Even as I felt hidden tears roll down my cheeks...
"Nin, would you mind helping me with something?" Einervaene asked as she came in holding a few small things.
"O-Okay." I say as I quickly remember how I had to keep away suspicions.
"Thank you!" she says, beaming a bright smile at me before she brought me along with her. And, what I saw was interesting because it was such a grand assortment. It might've been related to how she liked to sew, but, there were so many things here. I could not figure it out at all.
"You want me to wear it...?" I ask as I linger my gaze by some clothes.
"No, just need someone to carry it."
"I see- Wait?" I question too late as it was soon all dumped into my arms. And, she looked up at me with a smug grin.
"Follow." she teasingly told me as she gestured for me with a wiggling finger.
"Can I know where we are going?"
"To one of the workshops in Mechanical House." she answers.
"And they could not have helped because?"
"They are helping me with something, it's the least I can do so I can give them time to work on it."
"And 'it' is?"
"Outfit changes, gear, that sort of stuff." she answers with a smile that had some mania mixed in. Was she learning a new spell? Or was Rose influencing her that much to the point of changing her thought process? I hoped it was the first thing that came to mind...
A new spell could help, it meant Einervaene was growing. She would be able to hold her own and help me. She was probably stronger than me anyway. So that sold her well even without this recent development.
"Can I ask you a question, Einervaene?" I then ask as I started to slow down. My thoughts then return to the greater topic at hand. One that has sown itself into such a vast field in my head.
"You've done that already." she jokes with a soft giggle as she gives me her full attention.
"Back when we were travelling to Tobaballe, why did you come to save me when Lari did not?" I ask her, and, the sentence stung in such a strange way. For me to acknowledge that the one I loved so much did not come for me that one time... She made it clear she regretted that choice, but still...
Was I trying so hard for a woman that did not love me back...? That couldn't have possibly been the case. Because only a few weeks later or however long it was between events. Lari then chased after me even as I tried to distance myself from her...
It confused me, but, I was willing to believe it was just a mistake. As Lari said after we got back thanks to Einervaene. It was just a mistake. Even she could get scared after all.
"I'm your friend, aren't I? Friends help each other." she answers after a long pause of thought. And she put up an excellent point, friends did help each other...
"So is Lari, yet, she stayed on the airship. And, I am inclined to believe Vadei would've to under different circumstances."
"But she came, that is all that matters!" Einervaene tells me with a suddenly harsher tone.
"I suppose... But, why did you do it? My other friend did nothing, but you did..."
"Because I... I..." she starts to say before something starts to drag her down. She started speaking and then I got nothing at all from her.
"Because there was something more to it." I comment idly as I bring up my bracelet. We were both already aware of its effects on the mind. How it seemed to amplify positive thoughts about another to extreme degrees.
"Yes..." Einervaene admits uncomfortably before she seems to turn.
"I'm not taking your stuff if you just walk off like that." I say, thinking it might stop her.
"That's fine, I can just take it myself..." she admits with sudden tears.
"So what is this something more?" I ask her as I take ahold of her and move her closer. Not into a hug, just by the shoulder to stop her walking away.
"You already know..." she tells me, choking on her words as she did so. And, I knew what she was on about without her having to say a thing. That moment in that town before we even got to the Anvil-Peak. She admitted her feelings much in the same way I did with Lari.
Or rather, she admitted the feelings this bracelet encouraged and amplified...
"So if you did that because you loved me, why do you get in the way of me wanting to help Lari?" I couldn't help but ask her despite knowing how this ruined my plan.
"Why do I need to explain why I don't want you to die!?" she nearly screams in frustration.
"You were willing to risk your life for the one you loved, why can't I do the same?" I ask her, and that set her off.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU GET HURT! BECAUSE IT IS A CRIME!? BECAUSE TIYANAT HAS ALREADY ADMITTED HELP IS ON THE WAY!?" she screamed at me as her magic lashed out around her. And I slowly backed away so I did not get caught in the lightning as much as I would have otherwise. However, despite all the reasons she continued to list of, I couldn't help but notice a trend...
"Because you hate the fact I will never feel the same way about you..." I spat out at her as I figured it out. She was so into the idea of me not helping Lari because she hated her! She envied what she got and never could! Despite knowing full well that these feelings of her were never real!
Whatever the case, my mask was suddenly scorched, and she was furious, "Why can't you love me...?" she asks before she runs off crying. And, I watched her with a glare, not even responding to the electric slap I got.
"Back to my plan, then." I dismissively snorted as I turned back towards the dorm. I abandoned her stuff as in her own words, she could do it herself. And, I started to walk around in order to find the other two. However, I could hear neither as I walked about.
Their rooms were empty and the kitchen smelled of nothing freshly made. So that could've only meant that neither of them were here. An annoying setback, but one I was easily able to overcome. So I sat down and waited for either of them to walk through the door.
Hopefully, it would be Tiyanat...