"One two-four-"
"Ha!" Neil went in for a left jab to Klein's mid-section, as his older brother blocked with pads that were tightly tied onto his hands. He ducked just in time to dodge a hook coming from Klein, as the brothers would circle each other while doing the same sequence.
"What're they doing?" Laila was eating one of Neil's sandwiches as she sat next to Amari. Her fellow demihuman sifted through Neil's satchel, bringing out a piece of paper. Laila read through texts which had a list of things to buy, before reaching the bottom. "What is this?"
A small list was shown, with different sets of numbers that confused Laila.
"Mister Klein and Neil wrote those down for their training, they call it 'boxing'." Amari took a sandwich as well, joyfully taking a bite as the brothers continued their sparring. She'd soon be up next, making sure to have a little snack before she learns how to 'box'.
"Ha- BREUHGh!" Neil felt the pad slam onto his face, dropping to the ground as Klein reeled back his left hand.
"Sorry, did I hit you too hard?" Klein went down to help his brother back up, who looked really dazed from that last blow to the head. It was just a light tap from Klein, and somehow that managed to knock him to the floor. Lifting him back up, Neil quickly shook his head in assurance, despite his rocking.
"No no, I'm totally fine... You just hit... Really hard..."
"Whaaat? That was just a light tap. Besides, I said '1-2-3' not '1-2-4'." Taking off his mitts, his brother began to stretch while trying to adjust himself. Neil was wiping pieces of grass from his legs, with Klein coming up to him and flicking pieces of grass from his face.
"Alright, break time everybody!" Klein said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation for the breakfast he packed for everyone. As the two joined Amari and Laila, the latter displeased about going next.
"Do I really have to go through with your 'boxing' too?"
"I'm not forcing you, but its better to actually know self-defense if you get jumped in the streets."
"He's right, you can never be too careful when it comes to strangers," Neil added in the conversation, unstrapping his hands as he came to sit down between the two.
"Maybe next time, I have to see the Adventurers Guild and I don't want to be a sweaty mess when I see them..." Going back to eating her sandwich, Neil decided to turn to Amari who was also eating one. Upon closer observation, he noticed there was a bit of fish meat he didn't put in there.
"Is that tuna I see?"
"O-Oh, well uh... I kinda borrowed it from your pantry..."
"So you stole our food-" Klein felt a hand bonk him on the head, as he clutched it in pain at his brother's sudden chop. Neil turned back with a sharp glare, with Amari handing Laila a small towel as she began to sweat in-place. Klein blurred swears as he reached into the satchel as well, pulling out a bottle of water to drink as he was feeling light-headed. Gulping down its entirety, he turned his attention back to Laila, who immediately paled as she quickly knelt down.
"I APOLOGISE! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!" Neil nodded to Laila in approval, taking out another sandwich and handing it to her with a smile. She hastily began to eat again, trying not to lock eyes with Klein who was behind her staring daggers. Scoffing at the gesture, Klein went back to eating his food while the three decided to talk.
"Just let me know if you want to use some of our food first, we just like to conserve some of our stuff..." Neil said, taking out a few wooden cups and glass cups from his satchel. He tipped himself a cup of unknown liquor as he continued, "Even though it doesn't last long." Laila turned to Amari who nodded in agreement, smiling back as the three went back to eating their sandwiches.
"That reminds me! Mister Klein, have you made any progress about getting home?" Amari decided to ask Klein, who dejectedly shook his head. Using his one free hand, he sifted it through his bag before taking out scripts. While wiping his forehead with his elbow, he showed the papers to them.
"None whatsoever, I've only found old teleportation spells. Some done by some deity named 'Zho' a god of travel, complex stuff..."
"More complex than lightning magic? It seems like you just did hand signs with symbols on your glove."
"It's not just that." Klein and Neil turned to the mage, as Laila had chimed in on the conversation. Scooting over to Klein, the three watched as she pointed to markings on the script he held. "Magic is also a part of your life essence, so whenever you use it-"
"It takes a bit of your soul?"
"You are correct, that's why mages like myself train to have the strength to withstand the sheer destructive powers of them..." Laila finished her explanation, reaching into Neil's satchel for another delicious tuna sandwich. Klein turned back to Neil who seemed confused.
"Just don't use too much, or else you'll get fatigued and die from exhaustion..." Getting back up, Klein felt pain spread throughout his left side. Falling to his knees, Neil and the others watched him fall to the floor as he began to choke.
"Wh-What's happening to him?!"
"Gr-uh ha-...gh-Ohh...!" Klein tried to speak but to no avail, his vision blurring as Neil rushed to his brothers' side. His eyes went dim as the three surrounded him, with Klein struggling to move as he shut down internally. He couldn't feel anything, his whole body was convulsing as his vision went black.
"K..LE..I...."
...
"He'll have to stay with me for a few hours."
"A few hours?" Neil was stunned at the sheer time it'd take to try and discover what happened to him. From his perspective, it could've been a heart attack or stroke caused by fatigue. Neil rubbed his face trying to contain his frustrations, he had hoped that it wasn't anything Florence had been doing to him.
After all, she's been mixing other blood with his own.
"Laila, could you take Amari out for breakfast?" Neil turned to Amari who had an uncertain look on her face. Laila nodded as she tapped Amari's shoulder, who smiled in reassurance as they both went to the door. The mage of light gave one last glance to Neil, who quietly thanked her as they walked out the door.
It slowly shut, as Neil went to sit by Klein's unconscious body.
"I gave Klein a flask this morning before you left for training." Neil winced when he heard that, glaring at Florence as she made her way to the table with a few potions. Using a small knife, she imbued it with green magic.
"At least give my brother a day or two! He'll die at this rate!" Neil stood up in anger, his hands clutching one side of the table. Florence didn't seem to bother, briefly glancing up at him before going back to her spell. Pulling out a potion with her free hand, Florence lowered the knife down to Klein's chest before a hand grabbed her wrist.
"A-Are you even listening to me?!" Neil was now just genuinely upset at her, the two locking eyes once again. He was speechless, barely getting out his attempted shout towards the alchemist who pulled away.
"I am, and you two still want to leave this world... Am I right?" Florence said, cutting a line across Klein's chest before tipping blue liquids from her flask into the open cut. Neil looked at her in shock, his expression shifting from anger to confusion as he shook his head.
"I don't understand what your talking about! We do want to leave, but it's not like we've got any leads!" Neil threw his hands into the air, falling back down onto the chair behind him as Florence checked the wound. Klein's breathing had stabilized, slowly breathing as the two watched him move around.
"I've only known leads of this 'alternate universes' business in storybooks. Your brother explains that to me as well as other things from your world..." Florence tapped Klein's chin as she said this, ignoring the slight smile from his face as Neil kept watch of his brother. The two were on both sides of the table, staring at each other as Neil crossed his arms.
"So... You honestly don't know if there's a way back for us?"
"I don't," Florence answered immediately, staring back at Neil as he looked into her eyes. Everything, from her posture to her expression, said that she had no clue. But she could be lying, as Neil couldn't meet her gaze any longer. Leaning forward to his brother, he held Klein's shoulder in silence.
Maybe there was no hope of getting home.
No... I'm sure there has to be something... Neil's heart ached as memories came flooding back to him, specifically moments from his childhood. The times he'd spend play-fighting with his brother, how they used to be so competitive as kids. Another moment, when they both stayed up late to watch kung-fu movies together as Neil loved them as much as Klein.
Stop it! Thinking about it is only going to make things worse... Neil sighed as he moved his chair closer to the table, now being right next to his brother while Florence watched him. Florence could tell that he was anxious about his brother's condition, both hands-on Klein's right shoulder not looking away from him.
Klein began to groan, slowly waking up to see Neil and Florence staring down at him. He jumped in shock at the two being so close, startled as he raised his hands while quickly shifting backward. He felt his ass slip off the table, falling off as the two watched his blunder. Florence let out a light chuckle, walking to the side of the room picking up some medicinal herbs as Klein rubbed his ass in annoyance.
"God that hurt..."
"You feeling okay?" Neil asked as Klein got up from the wooden floor. Flexing his arms and stretching his legs, Klein groggily smiled as he seemed ok. He sat back onto the table as Florence came around behind him, a bit unnerving to Neil when she pulled out a needle.
"Hold still..."
"Sure." Neil watched Florence gently pressed her body against Klein's, the latter closing his eyes when the needle was slowly inserted into his left arm. He was starting to feel uncomfortable as Florence flicked down her monocle to get a closer look, as a purple liquid was injected into his veins.
"Klein, are you okay?" Klein nodded in response to Neil's question, tilting his head up as Florence brought her hand up in tandem. Closing it around his neck, she took the needle out and began muttering words to herself. With one finger she began rubbing the wound, sweat coming off her brow as Florence was lightly squeezing his brother's neck.
"What happened to me?" Klein asked, looking to Neil for answers. He wasn't too sure what it might've been, as Neil shook his head.
"I dunno, but it has something to do with what she gave you this morning." Klein frowned, glancing back to Florence who seemed preoccupied with fixing him. It was to be expected that something could go wrong, especially since he was the only one visiting Florence for these experiments.
"Klein you don't have to put up with this alone," Klein turned to Neil who was sitting in front of him, leaning forward with a worried expression on his face. "I can take over, clearly this is a sign that something's gone wrong," Neil said, letting the last few words could be heard clearly.
"Neil, we've talked about this already. I'm not just doing this because of you two, we've got a chance to learn magic and get ahead in case something happens..." Neil wanted to talk, but Klein raised his hand to stop him. Shaking his head, Klein sighed as he let his head droop down, his eyes closing as well.
"You're not taking this seriously."
"I am-"
"YOU COULD'VE DIED!" Florence had already stepped back, as Neil had charged forward to his brother. Grabbing him by his shirt, Klein managed to stop himself from being lifted into the air. The two locked eyes, with Klein being more surprised at his brother's change in demeanor.
"You know how it feels to see my brother spaz out right in front of me?!" Neil shouted, his voice rising with every word he spoke. Klein kept quiet, still staring at his brother with widened eyes as he continued. "It fucking hurts, I didn't know what to do... I don't want to lose you, not like this!" A tear ran down Neil's right eye, his grip tightening as he started to choke up.
"Neil-"
B O O M !