RE:volt! Chapter 8: Diamond in the Rough
"Boy." The old man said, raising his hand and signaling to the helpers to end the culling as he stood in front of Ark, his figure imposing on the little child who contrasted him. "Who taught you that stance?"
Shit. Ark hadn't realized it but when attacked his mind had defaulted to a veteran knife fighter's stance, putting on display to the Knight that Ark was knowledgeable about something he shouldn't have as a boy of his age and stature.
"No one sir." Ark lowered his head, acting as meek as possible. "It just felt… natural sir."
"Natural?" The man echoed, his leather boots shifting in the sand a bit at Ark's words. "Natural…."
Ark clenched his jaw, his hand slowly tightening around the handle of the dagger in his hand. Now that the knight was up close, Ark could feel the familiar pressure the man was emitting from his body. The same pressure that only a Mystic user was capable of.
Tier two… maybe three?
He had to revise his initial threat assessment of the man stroking his beard in front of him.
"Looks like we got a diamond in the rough." Bruno said, eyeing Ark like a wolf about to partake in a fresh meal. Suddenly his armored gauntlet was planted on Ark's head gripping his skull and forcing his head to look up.
The two locked eyes, Ark's face unable to hide his glare that made Bruno break into a wide wolfish smile that genuinely exuded happiness.
"Oh I like you. I see a killer in your eyes." Bruno said before cocking his armored gauntlet back and punching Ark directly in his face.
***
Smooth.
Was the first word Ark heard when he came to. The dragon giving him no room to even get his bearings before she laid into him.
Shut up. Ark sent back before taking stock of his situation.
Despite the pain emitting from his nose he laid still, keeping his breathing as close to resting as possible. He was on his back, laying down on something flat and hard. His hands weren't bound and neither were his feet but there was something wrapped around his head. From the sound of heavy breathing, there was someone nearby, not close enough to him, but definitely in the same building as him.
Ark slowly opened his eyes, his pupils gazing left and right, taking in the hovel he was in. The cracked ceiling, the yellowing panels, and the rotting beams that acted as supports for the filthy structure he lay in.
Barracks. Twelve kids. Ark quickly took in the children around him. Four of which he recognized, the two teens from the culling, and two boys that had been part of the crowd. He didn't know what happened to the other kids but he didn't want to know. Right now, his priority was to get appraised of his surroundings.
Shifting himself up, Ark observed the boy from the test doing push-ups as the girl watched from her bed sitting cross legged. Upon Ark rising, she shifted her eyes to him, the two making eye contact.
"You're awake!" A girl screamed nearby, appearing beside Ark with a happy look on her dark-skinned face. "Hi! Hi! I'm Eight! Welcome to the family!"
"Eight?" Ark said, touching his nose and grimacing.
Bastard broke my nose.
Heh.
"Yup that's my name! Although in a few days I'll be Nine instead!" The girl said, bouncing up and down, her brunnete hair jumping in every direction. "How's my bandaging? Did I do good? Did I do a good job? Do you like my bandages?"
"You did this?" Ark replied, narrowing his eyes at the overly excited brunette girl in rags.
"Yupyupyupyupyup!" Eight shot off in rapid succession. "Master Bruno told me to take care of you so IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII did it!"
The girl put her hands on her hips, proud of her own handy work.
"Right. Thank you." Ark replied, causing the girl to beam a wide smile as he turned his attention towards the pair of kids who had attempted to kill him.
I need to get them on my side.
This should be interesting. Ireliex smirked.
Ark rose from the wooden board that served as his bed and placed his dirty feet against the dirt floor. It seemed despite being a barracks the accommodations were somehow worse than the general slaves. Not that it really mattered, the calluses on his feet were more than enough to protect him from the elements, yet now he would have to worry about bugs and other critters sneaking up on him more frequently.
Walking through the barracks, Ark eyed the other children of various ages. Some were curled up on their beds, some were lounging about while some sat talking about techniques and maneuvers.
Ark swallowed, a moment of deja vu hitting him as he recounted his past life, his surroundings mirroring his former childhood almost perfectly. Despite this, he pressed on, placing foot in front of foot until he stood in front of the two teenagers, the alphas of the group.
"Hi, I'm-"
"Not interested." The girl interjected, cutting Ark off as she folded her arms and her red-haired friend glared at him.
"Right. Anyway to change that… Thirty-Four?" Ark said, remembering the girl's number from when the boy had yelled it.
The girl raised her brow.
"A brat like you? No." The red-haired girl said.
"Brat? You're barely older than me." Ark shot back.
'Get lost. We aren't interested." The boy said. Seeing the wall erected, Ark realized it would take time before he could convince these two to open up. Fortunately, all he had was time, but now he needed information.
"Fine." Ark shrugged before turning around, only to come face to face to Eight who was sucking on her thumb and following him. "Can I help you?"
"Nope!" Eight replied as Ark brushed past her. The girl spun on her heel, following closely behind Ark who began making his way to the exit. Judging from the light flooding in, it was still daytime, meaning curfew wasn't in place.
Ark approached the rotting double doors and abruptly stopped, causing Eight to bump into him.
"Oop." Eight let out.
"Are you going to follow me everywhere?" Ark spun and asked.
"Yup!" Eight replied unapologetically..
"Ok. Any reason why?"
"Master Bruno said I have to take care of you! So that means you're in my care and I'm the boss!" Eight said.
"Great…" Ark muttered, hanging his head low before turning his attention back to the double doors.