Evening, the other twin of twilight - the vanguard for the dark of night, harbringer of the moon, ever on it's fixed cycle of victory and defeat - in the daily war of day and night. This time round, the set time for it's victory showed it's prowess in letting darkness conquer the dusk, Lu and Szlick rode throughout the crippling dark, Szlick was trodding on a horse while the tireless Lu on his bare feet as he set his horse free not long after their departure. For a Null-man don't tire nor succumbed to mundane fatigue and horse riding was an embarrassingly attempt which his unwordly strenght failed to grasp, he planned a straight marathon to Guards-hold, however, he wasn't alone in his journey back home - the tireless long run home met a bottleneck, Szlick's horse neighed weary, it's mouth flaps with each heavy-shaky breathe, believably so since midnight highlighted it's wonderful piece, it's beautiful decor, the luminous full moon.
"I don't think Neighly here can take much more of this.... marathon" Szlick gently tapping the sides of the weary horse.
"Neighly? that's a lame ass name bro" replied Lu, the ever fit - his feet was electric, still on the pace without moving a step.
"I can dance and get moving maybe almost all the way.. but unlike you, us other rippers tire with heavy use of our magic you know" Szlick now mounting off of the horse, which heavily fell,free of it's weight, it laid on the road, it's nosetrils as though stectched out for the excess air it snorted out, the horse's weary eyes stared angry and annoyed at the hyper-active Lu, "Neighly I understand you" Szlick sympathized, gently rubbing it's neck,
"Stop staring at me Neighly, Jeesh horses these days" said Lu, who had stopped his restless legs to a halt, he had not shed even the slightest of sweat, nay he does not sweat.
Szlick stood and looked around and luckily there he found - a sign, 'Dara and Lala Veng'.
"Veng? must be one of the old tongues."
He took many steps a little further besides the road - behind the sign, a sunken valley he found, there - he felt relief in finding a settlement, even more so of the stream flowing near the fields, and a familiar patch of raised land with a tree and a chair - a bench like swing hanging from it's branch.
"Lu! a village."
"Meh!! skip it." Lu shrugging him off, his gaze was fox on an intense stare off with the horse.
"What? I thought you liked the hots and eats."
"I do but, Let's sleep outside?!"
Then Szlick wondered, 'Oh yeah! He was a child all alone in the forest.'
"Whelp! You the boss." he said.
"But at least bring the horse, there's some horse food crops things down there and a river,...we'll leave some deins behind."
"What?why?? I'm the boss, right Neighly?" Lu bickered at Szlick, not for the task but of the command.
"You're still the boss..." Szlick said - looking slightly annoyed "like babysitting a kid or something." he quietly voiced his slight irritation.
"The boss does the commanding and stuff. But since I'm the good boss, I'll allow a vote for who will carry the horse" Lu declared.
"Haaa!" Szlick with a sigh and a slight heavy tap on the forehead.
"Okay but hurry up Neighly's crossing over."
Behind the scene, the horse's spirit slowly raised up to the stars.
"A vote for all of us, even Neighly, Yeah! I am that kind.. hahaha! but I get two votes since I'm the boss." Lu sprang up with a victory sign.
"Andddd if it's a draw, the boss lose." said Szlick, eyeing Neighly, giving the horse a nod, which the horse reciprocated.
"... " Lu remained quiet and at place.
"Are you thinking?" bickered Szlick.
Lu nodded.
"What's there to think about???"
Lu put his finger on his lip shushing Szlick.
"HURRY UP, THE STALLION OF DEATH IS COMING FOR NEIGHLY!!!!!"
"O.K! lets go"
"Finally"
"Raised your right hand to vote for me and left for Szlick."
A short moment later.
Lu then carried Neighly down the valley.
In the vote, Neighly in all his withering might raised his left resulting in a draw.
With a red face of disappointment and shame, Lu carried the weary horse, all the while Szlick laughed at the boss.
The midnight air was with a chilling breeze, Lu and Szlick sat at the swinging bench, much like the old men in the village, in their younger days.
"Are we friends?" a sudden awkward question from Lu
"I don't know? !" replied Szlick, slightly uncomfortable.
"We're friends."
"You're like this dictator or something."
"I never had a human friend, except for that old guy."
"Sometimes I don't even know what we do or are, it's funny actually." Szlick chuckled.
"Yeah, nah! we're definitely friends, Old Nux said you'll meet friends someday."
"Then I guess we are."
"Lemme tell you something Szlick."
"Oookay go on!?"
"What is fear? and how do I feel it?"
Szlick turned and he saw the genuine face of wonder from Lu - who gazed high at the pitch black sky, like his eyes are begging to be among it's colour's brethren.
"Fear? it's something of a choice sometimes it's not,It's hard to say, it's just a silly but humane emotion, you'll just feel it someday."
"Am I not human?" Lu asked.
"Yeah Nah! but you're slowly being one."
Lu poured his life's questions one after another, "Those life like dreams? who were you in them?"
"Oh! the chain dreams?... Well.. I was someone called a rockstar or something, it was never clear but the ladies loved me and people love my singing and music... What about you?"
"I don't like my dream me,,, but two guys, a man and a woman, they were so good to me, Sometimes I get jealous of that weak dream me."
"Are those tears? Haha! These dreams are really something, huh?"
"Has anyone ever tried to find out why we have these dreams?" asked Lu yet again, 'strange' Szlick thought he was curious than ever.
"Well it's some talks I partially heard in a bar, there's some taboo stuff in this world, also a group called The eye?! or something tried to solve this mysteries, the dream phenomena thing maybe one of those, but they might have been some evil dudes, the world worked together to destroy those guys.... well that's all I know."
"It's a pain to know it all, I just want to meet those two people for real." said Lu, he sounded honest a genuine wish from the look of his eyes.
Two days now past, the duo finally reached Fun Inc., a safe return, no miracle for the two.
They now stood at the bridge for a gaze at their new building.
It was always a majestic sight, a one of a kind masterpiece of Huncho and Post, a slight remodelling of Lucy's design, a castle like two stories building of cobblestones and wood, on the left side a huge tree stood in conjunction with the building, -a top- the branch of the tree was a balcony of sorts, with it's leaves acting as roofs, it was a magical fairytale like castle.
"Lucy???" Lu called out.
"You're back!!" exclaimed Lucy, from the top balcony, she hurriedly ran down to greet the seemingly successful return of their guildsl's first hunt.
"So did we win?"
"Heck Yeah! Lu even killed a general."
"Why'd you always have to kill... it's always kill this.. kill that with you, you need to worry about your reputation you know?!.. you're like Knights now and no one wants a feared Knight in town."
"Why can't you be happy?! whatever, I'm going in." Lu, walked right in the house, his constant care free smile wasn't up for show.
Lucy looked back at the slightly lower than usual Lu.
"Did I say something wrong?" Lucy asked.
"Well... he stepped into the zone of thinking about something for once." said Szlick.
"Him? Damn it, I shouldn't have mothered him."
"Ohh! Look who's trying hard." Szlick teases Lucy.
"Shut up!" Lucy with her trademark 'hmph' and turning her head away from him and she saw the horse.
"You brought back a horse?" she asked Szlick.
"Yeah, the name's Neighly, Neighly say Hi!"
Neighly neighed a wavey greeting.
"We're heading in, do whatever horse stuff you do." Szlick said to the horse, Lucy find it strange - for a horse to have proper intelligence.
Inside the house, the once plain wooden floor in the main room was slightly improved, interiors were added, it looked proper but 'Extra' as Lu called it.
Szlick complimented Lucy on the new interiors, suddenly Lu popped up from the higher bedrooms floor, "Where's Sako?"
he asked Lucy.
Having heard her name, Lucy wondered,'He likes Sako more?' as usual her mind ran wild with imaginations all focused on the dream that Lu and Sako rowed off on a boat, leaving her behind whilst the two snickered at her who was in tears.
"LUCY!!!!!" yelled Lu,
Yet again without a thought,"Yes hon?" she answered, immediately realising what she had just blurted out, her face was all - bright red.
"Uhh! I'm just gonna leave" said Szlick,putting one foot slowly towards the door, an awkward situation.
"No, what? Where? I didn't say anything" Lucy panicked.
Lu jumped down from the floor and he asked, the panicking Lucy, "Where's Sako?"
"Sa-sako? she's at the Infirmary."
"Why?"
"S-she was assigned as a, as a se-secretary for a month."
"Why?"
"She was an assassin hired by Veradun."
"But she's my servant now, isn't she?"
"Yes, no, I don't know, why so worried about her, not like she can't defend herself." Lucy pouted.
"Jeesh!I've seen you so I wanna see her too, what's the fuzz?"
"Oh! Haha, well you can go meet her in the infirmary."
"Meh!! I'll just wait for her, when's she off from secretarying?"
"That's not even a word."
"Whatever LuLu."
'LuLu... cute!!' she thought, with yet a blush.
"Wait! umm... the thing is, she's forced to stay there for a month."
"What?"
"Well.. force may not be the right word but yeah, they forbid her to leave the infirmary for a month."
"Didn't you say something? What about the King?" Lu asked-he gave off an intense pressure, which bothered Lucy, the fragile clumsy manager heart beated fast from fear.
"Ca-calm do-wn." shakily, she barely spoke.
"Yeah?. They think they can fuck with us, huh?" Lu's words sounded like a declaration of war, the smile he worn then was not of kindness - it was of something else, something sinister.