Alistair :"Whenever someone's about to sneeze, I make sure to say "bless you" right before they sneeze so it goes away completely."
Miquella :"Your spot in hell is guaranteed, you know that?"
--------------------------
Alistair struck in the dead of the night. After summoning his spectral wolves, he instructed them to move stealthily, and started the hunt together with them. Taking out the soldiers one by one, swiftly and quickly. The last few soldiers who were guarding an entrance going down noticed them thanks to their wolves smelling the blood, however, they were the only ones left.
And Alistair, with the help of the wolves, laid waste to them as well. Although he suffered a few wounds, the Flask of Crimson Tears took care of them. Instantly healing the wounds and recovering his strength.
"Alright! That went a lot smoother than I thought!" He smiled, happy for both the success and the gains. Not only did he get a lot of runes, the soldiers equipment, especially the Godrick Knight's equipment, map fragment, the Storm Stomp ash of war, Whetstone Knife, and most important than all, the flail, which could be said to be the reason he invaded this place.
[Runes: 321 -> 1,083
Godrick Knight Set
Partisan
Gilded Greatshield
Map Fragment
Ash of War: Storm Stomp
Whetstone Knife
Flail]
"Why is the flail so important?" Miquella asked :"Aren't your other weapons better? Or is it a personal taste?"
Alistair smiled :"None of the above. It's because this weapon can cause bleed. And you'll see why that's important later on."
He smiled at the wolves, who were sitting beside him obediently and smiling :"Thanks a lot for the help guys. Couldn't have done it without you."
"Woof!" They barked in unison, coming up to him to nuzzle and lick him excitedly. Alistair laughed as he petted them, their tongues feeling ticklish :"I love you guys too."
After playing with them for a while, they returned to the grey box of ashes. Miquella was smiling throughout the play :"They're a lively bunch."
"They sure are. By the way, I thought of something while fighting with them. What if..." He hummed curiously, earning Miquella's curiosity in doing so :"What is it?"
"Can I summon you?"
"W-what?" The question took him by surprise.
"The Spirit Calling Bell allows me to summon the souls of those who haven't returned to the Erdtree into the physical world if I have their soul, AKA their ashes. Although I don't have your ashes, I have your soul. So maybe I can summon you into the physical world."
"It's... definitely worth a try." Miquella was happy about the idea, but surpassed it. Thinking it too easy and too good to be true. After all, his motto was etched into him across the years. "If it's too good to be true, then it probably is."
It even happened when he thought everything was finished and his plan spanning decades would finally bear fruit. But alas, look at his condition now. But he would be lying if he wasn't hopeful for it to work.
Alistair took out the Spirit Calling Bell, and after a deep breath, began to shake it. He immediately felt the depletion of his FP, before he felt Miquella's absence in his mind and looked to see him suddenly beside him. They were both stunned.
Miquella's surprise was normal. After all, he had steeled himself, believing that stepping into the physical world would take a long, long time. Months at least, years or even decades at most. The best plan he had in mind was to go to Mohgwyn Palace, where he thought they could transfer his soul into that body. But look at him now. Physical, and not even translucent like how a summoned spirit should be. He was in his normal body.
Alistair's reason for surprise wasn't very... wholesome. He was stunned, not because of the idea working :'Damn, bro is gorgeous.' Miquella was in his early teens, about 13, but he was so beautiful that he left him stunned. From the shape of his features, it was obvious he wasn't going the handsome path, but the beautiful path. And damn, his golden hair seemed to shine, giving him a holy halo of hair.
'His age isn't on the clock. That's enough for me.' He smirked. Yes, officer, right here. Miquella was young body wise, but Alistair wasn't old either. He was 17 himself, so only a difference of 4 years. Mental wise however? Miquella was the one who needed to be put in jail if he got any ideas for Alistair.
He crossed his arms, smirking at the bewildered and amazed Miquella :"Well well well, ain't that something? Seems like you owe me one, Miq." Although separate now, the connection connecting them was still there. Not only could he see Miquella's happiness, he could also feel it. It affected him, making him happy as well.
"Yeah, you're right. I do owe you one." Miquella smiled happily, before raising an amused eyebrow :"Also... Miq?"
Alistair shrugged :"Just a little nickname. We're gonna be partners for a very long time, after all. Do you dislike it?"
Miquella smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes :"Yes, I do. Don't call me that again. It's stupid." But unlike what he thought (or hoped), Alistair's smile only widened :"Perfect, I like annoying my friends. Hope you don't get used to that nickname too soon."
Miquella glared lightly, flaring his nose in annoyance :"Oh, amazing. What happened to that polite boy behavior?"
"That's for strangers only, pal!" He received the Leonardo DiCaprio smile :"You just got upgraded to friend status, so prepare for a lot of weirdness."
"Fuuu... perfect." His shoulders slumped in defeat. Miquella could only pray for his mental health continuing on :"Oh, boy..." The noiret (guy with black hair) snickered, annoying him further.
"But anyway, was it really that easy?" Alistair calmed down, tilting his head curiously :"Do you feel anything wrong? Do you have all senses? We didn't just pull your soul out, right?"
"No, I feel fine. And yes, I can feel touches too, so stop poking my cheek." (A/N: Which cheek? ಠಿ_ಠ)
But Alistair didn't seize. His cheek felt so soft, so squishy. Pokes turned into light pinches, then into pulls as he made Miquella's mouth into funny shapes, much to the blond's annoyance as the noiret chuckled :"Hahahaha, this is fun. But wow, you're really adorable, did I tell you that? Makes me wanna mess with you even more."
"Haaah, please keep it in moderation." Miquella sighed, gently grabbing his hands and pulling them away. Thankfully for him, the Tarnished relented. But he had to admit, he didn't dislike this side of Alistair's personality either.
His polite behavior was good company, but he could feel the boy forcing himself. And besides, with how long they were going to travel together, which was going to be a long while, he supposed laughs and passion were better than sadness and gloominess to have around. This cheerfulness felt nice. People wouldn't treat him like him at all, after all. It was like he was just a normal friend to him. He treated him like a normal person.
'...Hm? A normal person?' His eyes widened momentarily, before looking at Alistair and catching his attention. He saw him smiling, but nothing else. No light of worship in his eyes, no awe to his face, no amazement to his mood. It really was as if he was treating him like a normal person.
"Hey, Alistair?" He frowned, causing Alistair to quirk an eyebrow :"Do you know of my... gift?"
Alistair smirked :"You mean the one that makes people love you without you even doing anything? Yeah, I do. You are called the most terrifying demigod of them all because of it, after all."
"Right, right. So... how come you seem completely unaffected?"
"Ooh, you were asking because of that." His smirk grew smug :"Actually, I'm kinda completely immune to any and all mind based abilities. Yours messes with the mind, so yours is included."
"I see... I see." He muttered, but didn't seem disappointed. Instead, he seemed happy. It caught Alistair's curiosity :"Shouldn't you be... I don't know, frustrated that it doesn't work on me? It is kinda your only weapon, after all."
:"You are wrong about something." Miquella shook his head :"Although I call it a gift, it is as much of a curse as my un-aging body. It makes everybody love me, but it made forming relationships other than political ones impossible.
Other than family, everybody else would treat me like a god. Worship in their minds the second they would meet me. And growing up, I learned to act calmly, without showing much emotion. Because when I did, it only intensified the effect. It feels good, I'll admit, to be treated like that. But because of it, I had nobody who truly loved with genuine care. Only Godwyn and Malenia.
So now, when I've found someone else who treats me like a normal person..." He smiled at Alistair :"I'll admit, it feels good! If you were affected by my curse, I won't lie, and I hope you won't be offended by it, but I would instinctively treat you like a pawn. Treat you with care and smiles, but order you to do my bidding like one of my subjects.
But now, I know that I can treat you like a true partner. Someone I can rely on. Hahahaha, now I genuinely look forward to our days together. So I hope you can rely on me as well, like a normal relationship, instead of trying to do everything on my behalf like everybody else had done so in the past."
His beautiful smile got Alistair blushing a bit, but he returned it as he ruffled Miquella's hair softly :"Hahahaha you got it, my little pal! No need to worry about mind controlling me, so act however you want!"
"H-hey! Stop that! You're ruining my hair!" He tried to duck and push away Alistair's much larger hand :"Do you have any idea how long it takes to fix my hair!"
He flared his nose as he finally let go with a laugh. Covering his head in fear of another attack, Miquella glared up at him with a cute pout, but only saw him holding up a hand with a smile :"Genuine partners now?"
Miquella stared at his hand for a moment, before shaking it with a smile :"Genuine partners now." They shook hands with smiles, with intent, before he stilled their hands and glared with a smile :"But don't mess with my hair again. I'll let it pass this time, but I'll make you fix it if you mess it up again."
"Heh, don't threaten me with a good time."
"Alright then, you can have the responsibility of taking care of it."
"Alright, better for me. Your hair feels really good to the touch and I like playing with people's hair anyway."
"Alright, better for me too." Miquella smiled, before groaning :"Because believe me, taking care of it everyday is a serious hassle. You're genuinely helping me out a lot here."
"Hahahaha happy to hear that." Alistair chuckled in amusement, before they noticed Melina appearing again, but her hood already down and a bewildered look on her face :"How...? How in blazes is Miquella here with you? I only left to take care of a small business for a moment..."
The two looked at each other, before smirking at her confusion.
"I thought you said I'm the only one you can't affect."
"It doesn't have much effect on spirits. And in case you didn't know, those don't tend to talk."
"Aah, gotcha, gotcha."
"... So you two are just going to ignore me?" Melina glared.
"I don't think you can get along with her though. Not much, anyway."
"Yes, she's way too... aggressive in her speech. Forgetting about caring about me, I feel like she'll attack me suddenly if I say something wrong."
"Oh, yeah, she definitely feels like that."
Melina's face twitched, a vein making itself visible on her forehead :"I'll attack you now if you two don't quit it."