"There you are!" energy beams from her even after sprinting the span of the city. She goes near him and taps the shoulder pads of his armor.
"Chroma."
"Chroma."
"Chroma."
No response. She moves closer to him and messes with his short crimson hair. Nothing.
"Oh well", she thought and just sat beside him.
"He IS sometimes like this." She stares at him in the eyes, only to see a dark abyss within those scarlet pupils.
"What is this guy even thinking?" she thought. Her eyes move towards the view in front of them. It was the culmination of all the fiery rivers and tributaries. It was the Tear of the Lovers, appropriately called because of the "Father" and "Mother" volcano, endlessly flowing into Lake Crima, where the capital got its name.
"Oh yeah…" This was probably the last day for a while that she'll be embraced by the warm hug of the steam and smoke and the guidance of the light it provides. It finally started to sink into Celosia.
"Ahh." It was only then that it striked her that that was what he thought.
"Celosia." It seems like he's back.
"Hmm?"
"Do you remember falling here?"
"After all that waiting, that's the first thing you say to me… of course I do, sheesh."
"Hahaha, you were staring at those fierycanths so much that you fell! You could've just bought one at the market!" Chroma can't stop laughing that he's tearing up.
"Hmph! As if you didn't fall at that long ass stairs at your home that time!"
"It was your fault! You tripped me!"
Both cackle at their banter.
"There was also that time where you got chased by a wolf. Also that day when Cherry and Marcus first came here. And also our first day at the Oracle with the master and so, so much more memories of this city."
Chroma's face started to become more and more solemn as his ramble goes on, "That's why I'm so scared, Celosia. Can't you see I'm shaking?" Celosia touches his hands and indeed, it is.
Celosia stands up and widely opens her arms toward the city, "You are Chroma Cremeria Scarlet, prince of the Crimson Empire! This city and the land beyond will be yours! And you're scared?"
She faces and points the tip of her wheeler at his face, "And with 'Favi', we're gonna meet the people that YOU will soon rule! Oh, they will be so disappointed with a whiny king!"
He looks absolutely dumbfounded at Celosia's heated stupidity, "Uhhh… I'm not even the heir apparent, remember?"
"I don't care, you pussy! Heir apparatus or whatever prince thing you are!" Celosia suddenly chants, "Art of Red: 3" and with a kick, a sweeping flame moves toward Chroma but he immediately dodges it with a jump.
"Hey! What the hell?! Are you looking for a fight?!"
"Maybe I am."
Only the music of the whirling wind enters the ears of the youngsters with their arms tense, posture solid, and senses sharpened to prepare for any sudden movement the enemy makes while their minds are calculating the precise move they must make at the exact mome-
"Grggrg."
Celosia's stomach growls so loudly that Chroma's got jealous and also growled back.
"After that training, yeah…"
They falter from their intense staredown, "We need to eat."
"Then let's go back and buy something on the marke-"
His lips was shut by her finger and she naughtily whispers , "Follow me." Reluctantly, he follows while wondering why she has that huge mischievous smile. Eventually, they arrive in one of the farms in the range and they sneak towards one of its windows.
"This is Mr. Farmer's home! Are we bloody stealing again?!" says Chroma with a whisper-y scream. It was a standard house for a large commoner family of the capital, a single-story brick house that had a entrance hall that led to an atrium with various doors that led to several rooms. Fortunately, only Mr. Farmer lives here, making him an easy target for the thieves.
"Celosia! We're rich! Why the hell are we doing this?!"
"It's fun! Besides, it's our families that gave him this home in the first place!" she says as she scans the perimeter to find that no one's there.
"See the barn door over there? It's open. He's likely there. Now's our chance. Think of this as collecting the tax."
Chroma sighs and enters the open courtyard with Celosia leading. They checked each door with quick, tiptoed steps until they hit their jackpot. It was the storage room, a cold, damp room with a large cabinet, full with various jars filled with wine. Beside that are barrels, some filled with pickled fruits, and others meat that were smoked and salted. Near the far end of the room are fish tanks with live shrimps and crabs. Lastly, in the middle of the room are leftover breads and cheese in a small round table with a single leg with smooth, intricate design. The delinquent lass proceeds to grab a single jar and one of the leftover bread and proceeds to indulge herself. The spilled drops of wine and breadcrumbs on her armor is particularly noteworthy to the reluctant Chroma.
"Y'r nwht gong to et?" she says barely understandable because of the bread stuffed in her mouth.
He sighs and proceeds to eat the leftovers with tremendous guilt written over his face.
"I suppose this is delicious."
"The stomach has spoken!"
They proceeded to eat to their heart's content.
"Ahhh! This is the life…" she says as she rubs her tummy.
"It's a bit strange though. Did you even notice how long we've been here? Mr. Farmer would be scolding us around this time."
"Let's go check out the barn then," she immediately proceeds to rush to the direction of the barn, a rectangular two story building with an elevated middle section and a large wooden door in the front. The closer they got to the barn, the louder they heard the screams of the livestock. Celosia opens the barn door and then just stands there.
"Hey, don't open it for long or he'll catch us," Chroma approaches Celosia and then she closes the door, quickly grabs Chroma's arms and runs away as fast as she can.
"Hey, what the hell?" dragging him until they hear the barn door collapse, creating debris that inevitably hit their backs, tripping them.
The dust from the destruction covers the barn.
"Chroma, get ready."
"W-What happened? Hey! What did you even see?"
"…Mr. Farmer is dead."