The days were exhausting, and the nights were long and unmistakably boring. With nothing to do but to write and drink, Nathaniel constantly worried about Sarah and the date there were supposed to go to tomorrow! Now he had no way to communicate with her and reschedule or cancel, "I'll figure out something tomorrow!" he muttered to himself extremely exhausted and collapsed on a chair, gin bottle in hand with a black notebook and a special pen in hand. He involuntarily began writing.
Nathaniel's Journal #156
November 14,
I have decided to write on a new journal out of sheer boredom and frustration, but I am keeping the old count just for fun. Becoming a harbinger is not as great as I thought and it is a constant loop of trainings and becoming tough while ignoring or rather say….suppressing my own feelings and emotions by drinking myself to sleep every night. Glad that with the Temhos living literally within me, my organs are healed the next morning, so I don't have over-thinking thoughts about my health anymore.
Despite of that, the mornings are not any better. I almost always wake up frustrated. It is like I am always behind my trainings and that I should have started years earlier but then again, I have just become a harbinger…how the hell was I supposed to begin training without the Temhos?! These are the questions that roam my mind without end every morning as Daniel and I train every day with heartless instructors who seem careless and oblivious towards us. It is like all of them have been trained to have an enigmatic look on their face and show no emotions or compassion and Daniel? Well truth be told…. I feel him slipping away from my grasp by each passing hour.
He seems cold…. much colder than usual as if he is trying to carry a burden. He never wanted this life; I know that for sure, but the Temhos' bargain includes him too. I can see the fear in his eyes that he might one day lose his eternal battle with the beast within and become a monster, losing all touch with his humanity. We don't have drinks together anymore and he mostly evades my open invitation to hang out…I haven't felt this lost in a long time and without his aid I am going to fall into darkness eventually. But I do not fear it because I was literally born to be a monster for as a wise man once said men don't fear steel and bullets, men fear monsters! And so, I am the necessary evil, the Devil incarnate to roam the world and bring about peace and prosperity…come to think of it just putting these words together sounded a little poetic.
Regardless, the future and the trainings are hard and so ever frustrating and I don't seem to improve as fast as I want to. My impatience seems to get the best of me every time! The days are lonely and exhausting, and the nights are even lonelier as I stare out the window of my trailer to a crescent moon surrounded by clouds. It is somewhat romantic ---he took a sip from his glass and contemplated the view out the window. He truly felt lonely and longed for Sarah's touch but to his dismay, he had no choice but to wait for tomorrow. He had to find a way to communicate with her and cancel their date and so with endless thoughts in his mind, he continued to write----in hopes of brighter future in which me and my brother have somehow mastered this deity. This is the Devilishly handsome, Supreme Lord Nathaniel signing out!
********
The next day things were going as usual, when Nathaniel noticed his watch, it was half an hour before his date with Sarah. He and his brother had been training the whole day, but his mind was not present, he did everything like a programmed robot and managed to pass his masters expectations.
Back in Vienna Sarah was really taking her time and preparing for the date. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and she missed him quite a bit. It took her several minutes to choose the dress she was to wear, "De, de, de, de didi, should I wear the red one…no too provocative, the yellow one then…I don't like the flower in the middle somehow----the black one?! Oh, he loves the color black more than anything…I could give it a try but what if he thinks I am wearing it for my grandfather?!" she held it against herself noticing its length, "Ohh it is too short for a funeral perfect…sorry grandpa!" She said, covering her face in embarrassment "I just like him a little too much! I can't help it I promise I will make it up to you once we meet again." She whispered as she stared deep at a frame with a picture of her and her grandparents.
Meanwhile Nathaniel was trying his best to find a way to contact her and stop her from going "Darn it…it is almost time, and I can't seem to find a way to call her…there must be something. I don't want to lose her over this pitiful feud with the covenant." As he kept strolling the front yards of the manor, he noticed an attractive member of the covenant taking a smoking break. She kept looking at him with a smile "Bingo!...I need to stop using that word after what happened last time. Anyhow, I am sure I can convince her to lend me her phone for a little text message after I managed to seduce her…how long is that going to take? 10? 20 minutes? I am taking bets on that." He said with a smirk as he approached her.
Sarah on the other hand had already left her apartment and was taking a cab to arrive earlier. She knew Nathaniel was almost always punctual and really hated to be stood up for too long. After a few minutes a cab picked her up and drove her to the Café at the appointed hour all the while she thought she is going to meet her beloved Nathaniel very soon.
Nathaniel, however, had his hands full with the covenant lady whom he managed to charm so ever smoothly as usual "You know if you ever come to Vienna during the weekend, you really need to give me a call! A night out with the Devil's son is a night to be remembered for a lifetime! That is if you remember anything in the first place…"
"Oh will you do bad things to me, Mr. King?" she said teasingly.
"Only with your consent and when you are not too drunk to blame it on the alcohol." He winked, his trademark smirk on his face.
He casually gazed at his watch again, "Now you want my number on your phone or are you going to keep playing hard to get?"
"Well, I don't know…you are fire and who want to play with fire!" she said teasingly again.
"Oh trrrrrrust me you'll love it, I can promise you that! I would offer you a little refund but that would be more than redundant!"
She thought hesitantly for a few seconds and handed over her phone, "Fine, I guess I can have some fun away from the covenant's boring lifestyle and pointless research, here you go handsome." Nathaniel tilted his head down as his eyes turned red while he entered Sarah's number and wrote about a made-up convention he had to attend to so very unpredictably.
Sarah had already taken a seat at the Café, waiting anxiously for Nathaniel only to be shocked when she checked the messages from her phone. "Why is the number unknown?!" Her eyes opened wide in sadness.
Deep down he knew this was bad. The text message was obviously not enough to make it up to her, but it was way better than standing her up with zero excuses. And so frustrated and angry, he continued his day by training next to his brother. Daniel was growing so ever distant from him. He felt as if he was losing everything in life all at once. "They say everything in life comes with a price! Who would have thought that I would begin to lose it all at once…I'm probably over-reacting, my emotions are heightened!" he muttered and continued his trainings regardless of how he felt.
Sarah came home in utter confusion and sadness. I really wanted to see Nathaniel so bad and he simply sent me a message from a burner phone to cancel our date? Who am I really dating? Did I do something wrong? Was he already tired of me and was moving on to other women? Oh God what if this was his plan all along…maybe that's what he does with all the girls in his life. That's it! He makes them like him---like a lot and then sleeps with them and later comes up with dumb excuses to never see them again….is it over? Why was this sweet dream so short…what's with the awful ending?!? She thought endlessly, the questions roamed her mind, tormenting her to a point which she couldn't take it anymore, so she grabbed a bottle of white wine and began drinking it from the bottle while slowly and unenthusiastically taking her clothes off in front of the mirror. The more she stared into her own reflection the more confusion fogged her mind. The tears began pouring down her pretty blue eyes.
"Why am I so dumb?! I should have known from the start, once a player always a player…he never wanted anything serious." She said to herself, crying while dialing her best friend's number to talk, surely she could help her to cope with the current situation.
At the end of the day, exhausted as always, the two walked to their trailers. But Daniel stood outside of his, as if he was waiting for someone; noticed Nathaniel casually looking back at him when suddenly Daniela appeared with a bottle of wine and three glasses in a basket, "Hey Nathaniel! Join us for a glass! I promise we won't go too far." He laughed unenthusiastically mocking her little comments and walked straight inside his trailer, shutting the door loudly.
"Boy he is not in a good mood! Something must have terribly gone wrong today." Daniela gazed at Daniel who's eyes were narrowed in deep thoughts, focused on his brother's trailer, "Was he always, umm---" she hesitated to come up with the right word.
"A dick?!" he completed her sentence with a smile. He sighed, looked at the skies and said, "Believe it or not, my brother was actually a very sweet guy, even though, according to him, our mom was very cruel to him, he never gave up on the love of a woman."
"Really!?" her eyes opened wide, anxiously waiting for him to open up a bit more.
"Yep, it only takes a little tiny event in life, that one person who got away for a man or a woman to never be the same. To never trust or love again. To walk around crushing anyone's heart who dares come close to you."
Nathaniel was the center of attention at Andrea's house, everyone kept laughing at his silly comments and whenever he was done with his beer, there was someone from the crowd that would hand him one. All was well until Pia and Gary walked in the party. Everyone turned around and looked at Nathaniel for a reaction. He was surprisingly ignoring her pretending not to have noticed her. The two of them just went into the kitchen to get some booze.
"That went way better than I anticipated!" Said David relieved from Nathaniel's calm reaction "Do not start the celebrations yet; he is using his ego to hold his emotions back…it is a matter of minutes before that prick Gerald leaves her side for some drugs and then shit will hit the fan…" Daniel said uneasily taking sip after sip from his beer bottle, preparing himself for the inevitable trouble.
As anticipated, after a few beers while Nathaniel tried his best not to look back at the new, couple kissing; Gary left the kitchen and walked into the drug room.
Feeling vulnerable and alone, Pia walked into the back yard. Everyone turned to her, changing focus from her and Nathaniel, he watched her go outside. Everyone knnew they were going to watch the most dramatic break-up of the year. As chilling winds blew her way, giving her goosebumps, she rubbed her shoulders and lighted a cigarette.
Nathaniel looked at her for a while and clutched his hands, he couldn't resist the temptation of talking to her anymore so he strode to the back yard for a smoke, pretending not to have notice her. He was quite intoxicated and was really struggling to stand still. Then as their eyes met, he could no longer hold back the emotional turmoil he had been going through for weeks.
"Pia, can we talk…I am not going to convince you to stay or any of that bullshit…I just want to know why?!"
"Leave me alone Nathaniel! There is nothing left for us to talk about…it is over." She said covering the side of his face with her hand, avoiding eye contact, struggling to stop herself from weeping.
"Just like that?!! You are clearly weeping and still you dare deny me the answers…what did I do to deserve this?! I gave you everything!! I gave you my love, money, time, hell I gave up my flesh and blood, my own brother because you didn't like the influence he was having on me…what else did you want?!" cried Nathaniel hopelessly.
"Oh don't blame me for your dysfunctional relationship with Daniel…you know damn well he was distancing himself from you because of his rising popularity. He could no longer be seen with his awkward brother and his junky girlfriend." She said angrily not looking him in the eyes, her hands shaking.
"That is not my main point, baby! I tried my best to make you happy and this is what I get in return!? Was all the beautiful time we spent together not enough?! Was my eternal love for you not enough?!?!?" Yelled Nathaniel from the top of his lungs.
Pia dropped the cigarette in her hands and covered her face, "Please don't hurt me…you were becoming too controlling…I wanted to do drugs and smoke weed whenever I felt like without you controlling me so much and no matter how fucked up I am, you always find a way to forgive me! Our feelings are not mutual. You love me and I---I just never loved you!" she screamed and wept as she strode away.
Everyone stared at Nathaniel and a fleeing Pia. A panicked Daniel rushed outside, "I took my eyes off you for just a minute, and you managed to create the most dramatic scene of the school year…what happened?!"
"Ohhh, nothing that would permanently scar your glorified reputation, brother!" he growled, grinding his teeth.
"Seriously, what happened?! Did you hit her or something!?"
"No, of course not! I love that-----girl…I just screamed at her and Pia being Pia panicked and fled." He said out loud, before his anger slowly turned to sorrow, "It doesn't matter she is forever lost to me…" he murmured looking to the floor.
"Ok, good! Now come inside; let's have a few drinks and talk about it." Daniel held the door open for him relieved that nothing too dramatic had taken place.
"Aright but only the good stuff" muttered Nathaniel in a very saddened state while trying his best not to cry.
They strolled back inside, Nathaniel's expression was fully numb. After a few drinks Daniel held Jessica in his arms and began talking to his friends with Nathaniel by his side. He thought they were all having a good time but after a couple of minutes he realized that Nathaniel was no longer by his side. Shocked and stressed he took his hands off Jessica and began looking around for his brother.
"Hey where, umm, where did Nathaniel go?!"
"Oh he said he needed to use the restroom, why are you so-----" David said casually looking at his face which instantly turned red with rage.
"David you idiot!! You know he is not going to use the rest room, oh God he is going to kill himself."
He quickly rushed up the stairs and searched inside every single room he could think of…maybe he finally gave up and decided to do some hard-core drug---he would surely overdose. He thought to himself as he was trying to figure out a way to find Nathaniel quicker, he began to catastrophize the situation. Daniel's mind panicked and thought of some of the worst-case scenarios possible.
He opened the door to one room, a picture appeared in his mind with his brother in the middle---a noose on his neck pushing the chair underneath his feet but when he did open the door the room was empty---simply a guest room with no one in it.
Daniel continued his search, going into different rooms, asking people around about his brother. He opened the door to yet another room and went to the bathroom imagining seeing his brother at the corner of the bathroom passed out with a syringe in his hands but as he opened the door, it was yet again empty.
He continued to stride in the hallways while people stared at him wondering what was going on---"What is he looking for?" said one of the guys at the hallway, "I think he is looking for Nathaniel or rather say his corpse. The guy probably already finished the job." said another guy chuckling a little.
Daniel turned around enraged and grabbed the guy by his T-shirt, pushing him against the wall, "You say another word about my brother and I will rip your tongue out and feed it to the pigeons, you hear me?!"
"Su—re-sure---ee man I don't mean no harm I was just having a little laugh"
"Yeah, I am not deaf, I don't like jokes at my brother's expense!" growled Daniel as he pushed the guy harder against the wall.
"Com—e—come on man I was just joking if—ifff you are looking for him I think he went to the rooftop---Andrea's parents have a little terrace up there between the two roofs.
"Darn it---Never thought he would go this far." He muttered and let the guy go and ask for the direction to the terrace. He strode as fast as he could, doing the cross and hoping that it was not too late. He barged in to the terrace but it was too dark to see anything. He turned on the light switch but the light bulb was out. He wondered around before he noticed the little fire coming from Nathaniel's cigarette, he stood on the edge of the terrace---right passed the fences looking desperately down at the back yard.
"Nathaniel---what the hell do you think you are doing?!?! Get back here, NOW!!!"
"Ohh, what for, Daniel?! So I can continue my miserable life and live another day? Nah man I am good. I had enough for a lifetime." He muttered. Daniel began to take a few steps towards him, "Nah-ah, tough guy you take another step and I swear to God I will dive down and bash my head against the tiles down there----now there is no coming back from that nah-ah no how---ahhh imagine the peace….at long last, where have you been all my life?!!"
"You are really going to end it all for that little girl?!?! Is she really worth it, brother?!! Look at me hey!! LOOK AT ME DAMN IT!!" Yelled Daniel angrily.
"It is not about her, little brother! it was never about that bitch----it is the final realization that I can never be truly loved by a woman…I am so needy, nice and caring that I make every woman want to puke within a 3 miles radius----it is no use, I was born into this chaotic world and right from the very get go I wanted to find my---soul-mate to no use….I am cursed…remember how our mother always complained about raising me---she called me the Devil's son for keeping her awake every single night." Nathaniel turned his back and took one last puff from his cigarette.
"Really?! These are going to be your last words before you jump off?! Come on now, you can do better than that, hot stuff!" shouted Daniel in an attempt to distract him so he could get closer and pull him back.
"What?! Did you expect me to have rehearsed something from Shakespeare instead?! Sorry, didn't think I would sink to such a low point when I---when I saw her get into Gerald's car and leave the party from atop here…that last scene really got to me. There is no coming back from that one…she finally managed to fully break me…" he muttered as he stared at his cigarette, threw it off the terrace and began contemplating the height he was going to dive into. As he took position to jump, he was pulled back by his brother who held him on the floor with his hands on Nathaniel's T-shirt "You are not doing this tonight, or any other night, you hear me???"
"Just did, you idiot. I am damaged goods…I can never be truly happy in this life, now let go of me and let me finish this."
"No, this is not happening! Not on my watch!" growled Daniel, holding him tight while Peter and David entered the terrace and watched the two brothers in shock "Goodness, this is----this is terrible!! Why didn't you tell me anything earlier, Daniel?!"
"Oh come on, it is ok. I came here just in time…besides you were really busy with Anja and there was nothing I couldn't handle myself." Daniel said confidently with a tight smile.
"For crying out loud, that was not worth my best friend's life. I knew things were bad but for him to try and commit suicide is a whole new low---what the heck is the matter with you Nate?!"
"You shut up! I already have enough people—hic---on my back complaining about my actions…I don't need more people added to this collection."
As they were talking, Andrea came with a cordless lamp in hand and a lot of people soon after followed him to the terrace to have some fun.
"Great…just what I needed." Said Nathaniel who continued to lay on the floor while Daniel quickly got off of him and began looking for Jessica who was among the crowd "Baby---baby what---what happened!?"
"Nothing….I took care of it. Everything is fine now, my love. I just—I just need to look after Nathaniel a tiny bit extra…that's all."
"I will stay by your side babe." She said as she kissed him on the lips and he put his hands on her hips they both looked at Nathaniel who was clearly sad, trying really hard not to burst into tears as he got off the floor and headed once again towards the edge of the terrace but was quickly stopped by David and Peter "It is ok---I am not going to try that again…at least not tonight…you guys can relax." He muttered as he quietly began weeping in the corner.
"Poor thing, how could that cruel girl do that to him?!"
"He is so cute, why would Pia leave him for that smelly Gerald guy!" said the two girls who were Nathaniel's secret admirers, standing right next to Daniel.
Daniel let Jessica go and approached his weeping brother at the corner "How are you holding up?"
"How do you think I am holding? I won't be able to love anyone for a long time if not ever. Without it, this life is---so empty, so meaningless. The realization that I will probably never truly be loved by a woman is killing me and there is nothing I can do…life has truly lost all meaning to me…and my heart aches so freaking much." He muttered as he rubbed his chest and wept quietly trying his best not to let anyone see him in that state.
Daniel stared at his brother with utter sadness…there was nothing he could do but to hand over a napkin for him to clean his eyes and nose with "All will be alright, I promise!"
"Stop lying to me and to yourself…nothing will be alright, not anymore. Just let me be Daniel please, I promise I won't attempt anything stupid—I just—I—I really need to be alone."
He looked at the two girls still looking at his brother and so he left Nathaniel's side and began talking to them, convincing them that his brother was down to do something crazy at which point they began giggling and approaching him as one of them could no longer resist, she put her hands on his cheeks turning his face around and deeply stared into his eyes, she began to kiss him.
The two took turns to make out with him and after a few minutes, they took him downstairs into one of the guestroom for some privacy. "Well, at least that's one problem we got through with for tonight." Daniel said as he grabbed Jessica, brought her into his arms and kissed her forehead while he took a sip from his beer bottle.
"So, he never fell in love again?" Daniela said sadly looking at Daniel.
"Nope, he has had trust issues ever since." He mumbled taking a last sip from his wine glass. "Maybe things could change now that you are the harbingers!" she said excitingly.
"Yeah, but to what use? So many years of suffering alone and becoming bitter, I doubt he can ever truly be happy with a woman." He sighed and put the glass on the floor, "I did try to convince him to give love another try but…he seems too far gone."
"That's life Daniel, it is an endless cycle of suffering." He stared back at her with a genuine smile, "You me lady are a very cunning and smart woman, I dare say the smartest I have ever seen."
She giggled a little, "Not sure if I should take it as a compliment or a sexist insult." Daniel opened his mouth in shock and laughed simultaneously, "You see us men can no longer compliment women without coming off as sexist!" they both laughed, Nathaniel saw them having a good time, closed the shutters and went to sleep.
********
A few days passed. At the manor, Daniel kept exercising every day right after the daily trainings. He also kept a journal to himself to keep track of all of their activities, trainings and other matters that went on throughout the manor.
Eventually, one morning the two were surprised to find that that day's training was canceled and instead they were going to be taught how to attend a very formal almost ritual-like ball in which they would dress up, dance and dine like gentlemen. "Oh great, as if the training were not pleasant enough, now we have to practice for a ball?! What's next, you gonna teach us ballet dance too?!" Said a very annoyed and frustrated Nathaniel, coffee in hand with his left hand clutched.
"Morning to you too chuckle heads, as you can see today's training is different and has, partially, nothing to do with the Temhos. Today we shall train you boys for the upcoming ball which is held in your honor by the guild of the Scarlett sun." Guthullu said calmly introducing them to their instructor for the day, "Hi boys! I am Meghan. I will teach you everything you need to know on how to attend a ball, the dress code, the dance, the table mannerism and so on."
Nathaniel rolled his eyes, chugged down what remained of his coffee and began angrily trudging towards the little shades, "Freakingtastic, that is all I needed after this pointless training, to properly attend a ball. Even saying it out loud sounds ridiculous."
"You will love it Nathaniel, it will be a ball to be remembered for a lifetime. The fancy suits, the unending champagne bottles finely poured into fancy glasses, the prestigious dances you will grow to love it." Guthullu held the shades for him to get inside while handing him over some tuxedos to try.
Daniel stood still crossed his arms and turned to Guthullu with a mocking smile, "I highly doubt that my brother will ever like attending a ball."
"See, Daniel gets me every time. Could you at least confirm the presence of hot women in there? I could really use their attention after being stuck with you guys here for what feels to be years…"
Guthullu and Alonso looked at each other with a sinister smile and turned to him, "Oh child, you don't want to mess around with any of those hot women. All of them are highly trained assassins who could kill you in a million different ways before you were able to even look at them for longer than a second."
For several hours, the Kings practiced the ball dance, table manners and how to approach a lady, "If I have to do this dance one more time I swear I am going to murder one of our mentors in the most gruesome way imaginable." Nathaniel whispered to Daniel, almost out of his mind from the dance and all the formalities required for a ball.
Late in the evening, they were informed that this was the end of their training and that they were free to finally leave the manor of the seven saints. The two exchanged a look and shook their head, they could not believe it, they had survived this ridiculous training cycle. Nathaniel was so happy he almost jumped up the air but Daniel put his hands on his forearms and stopped him before their mentors approached them one last time.
"Well, boys! I guess this is goodbye for now---that's if you manage to stay out of trouble at the Guild's mansion." Guthullu said with a wicked smile standing right in front of the manor house entrance.
"What do you mean by that?" said an exhausted Daniel.
"What I actually mean is that if you fail and cause any trouble at the ball then upon arrival back to Austria you shall be driven directly here where you will be trained further more----an extension of three months I may add."
"THREE MONTHS?!" the two said simultaneously. "As Nathaniel always says, fingers crossed, it won't come to pass." He laughed in an evil tone, "You may leave now!"
They walked away from him and towards the van, "Finally, it is show time! A few more days in that camp and I would have literally died of boredom." Whispered Nathaniel to his brother with a huge sense of relief and freedom almost skipping to the van.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but for the first time in years, I agree with you. Not to mention that you were the one who signed up for this crap and not me. I didn't want anything to do with all these shenanigans." Said Daniel with a bit of a sarcasm in his voice he was really looking forward to see Lea, after all they had not been separated for this long since they got together and he yearned for her embrace.
Nathaniel on the other hand was thinking about ways he had to make it up to Sarah. He never cared enough about a woman in his life to apologize and ask for her forgiveness so find a way to make Sarah forgive him as going to be quite the challenge---he thought to himself as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "So, what is it going to be, brother? Any special plans with your gal?" he said with a smirk on his face, in his usual cocky tone as they fastened their seatbelts.
"Not that it's any of your business but yes; I have planned a romantic dinner at a very prestigious restaurant in town." said Daniel with a resentful look towards him wishing he could get away from him sooner.
Noticing his resentful look and his cold tone Nathaniel looked out the window for a second and carelessly said, "hmmmm, you're growing soft Daniel! That is not good; remember what our mentors told us, I cannot carry this burden alone and if you don't participate and preform your duties well then, I shall fall to the darkness. Too much negligent from your side brother and I shall fall prey to the endless whispers of the beast, succumb to its seductive madness and, naturally, be overwhelmed by it." He warned, changing focus from the window and his brother.
"Yes, I know the consequences, but can we please just give it a rest for a few days?! I really need to relax and get back to my normal life before we keep going deeper into this nightmarish dungeon you have dragged us into! I can't believe that we only have a few days off before we have to attend that ball, it is too soon for another task..." Said Daniel closing his eyes and trying to take a nap.
"You and me both, I'm not ready nor in a mood for it. What were our mentors thinking? They are literally sending us to the lion's den, a place full of people experts at eviscerating us in mere seconds. Besides why do we have to acquaint ourselves with our worst enemies?" he cried, trying to bond with him.
"The hell do I know brother; either way I'm just glad we get a few days to spend on ourselves. So, tell me are you going to introduce us to the girl you are seeing any time soon? You have been really grumpy for the past few days and that can only mean one thing, there is a challenge and a heart to be conquered!" Daniel talked teasingly.
"Oh please, not a snowball chance in hell. We have barely gone to 2 dates and thanks to this training tournament, I haven't been able to make any more progress. Who knows, maybe she moved on…" he said with a wink.
"Don't be so negative. After all it seems that this one is a keeper. I can feel that you guys were meant to be…at least for a few months." He chuckled, playfully bunching Nathaniel.
"You really don't have any comedic timing, do you? Needless to say, you are not even remotely funny; no wonder I'm the incredibly sarcastic one in the family because you sure as hell are the driest person on the planet." Nathaniel grabbed his backpack and shuffled his hand inside it for a while. Daniel noticed him take out several books, "Please don't tell me you stole more books from those freaks!"
"Nope, this time I used legal ways and actually borrowed them."
"Jesus, what for?" he rolled his eyes.
"To learn more about the deity literally living within our souls! Any more stupid questions?"
"As if training for the past few weeks has not been enough, you need to learn more?"
"Yep, as the old Persian poet goes, learn from the cradle to the grave. It is never too much to learn more about this thing and master its powers even in broad daylight." Nathaniel opened the door to the van, got off with a smirk and headed home.