The blinding light fades as the pair walk into it, giving way to a sight that most would never dream to see in their own lifetimes. The two were now in a large, busy street, filled with small stores and stands, selling wares that range from fruits to clothes and even furniture.
The street was sort of medieval in design, and there were all kinds of banners and flags along the buildings. Some structures had alleyways, just like the one that they had come out of, some bigger or smaller, and some even had rooms built into them.
And then there were the people. People dressed in the same style as Lisa, and they were everywhere, in large amounts. He could tell just by the way they dressed, that some were obviously more wealthy or poorer than others, with a few individuals even covered in tattered cloth and revealing clothing, probably not by choice.
He was speechless. Julius tried his best to keep looking around for answers, but every time he moved his gaze to a different part of the street, nothing but more questions would flood his mind.
[Lisa]: "You okay? Your gripping my hand really tight."
[Julius]: "O-oh, sorry."
Moving his attention back to her, he hadn't realized that he was practically crushing her hand, the confusion and mixed feelings were proving too much for him, he was thoroughly overwhelmed.
[Julius]: "Where...where are we?"
His voiced was filled with genuine confusion and emotion. He still had no idea how he ended up here, and with countless more questions filling his mind, he is only sent further into disbelief.
[Lisa]: "What? Do you really not know this place? We're in The kingdom of Cataphrania, the magic capital."
[Julius]: "M-magic capital?"
Lisa hums in agreement and points upwards behind her. Following where she's pointing, his breath is again taken away from him.
In the near distance, connecting to the part of the town they are in, is a colossal sized castle, a palace, made of white bricks that shine as if it were made of the heavens itself.
The huge structures sight cause Julius to fall to his knees, looking up at it in awe, his hand dropping out of hers.
[Lisa]: "J! What happened? Are you okay?"
[Julius]: "I...This cant be real."
Lisa now kneeling in front of him, placing her hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded.
[Lisa]: "J? Can you hear me? Your really worrying me now."
[Julius]: "I need... i need to find a phone somewhere."
[Lisa]: "Again, i don't know what that is."
He takes a moment to gather all of his racing thoughts. He knows he needs to calm down, and that there must be a logical explanation to all of this.
[Julius]: "Can you take me to a hotel or something? There should be one around here somewhere."
[Lisa]: "A...hotel? I'm sorry, but i don't know what that is."
[Julius]: "You don't know about that either? Its like a temporary place to stay. Your given a room to sleep in for a few nights."
[Lisa]: "You mean an Inn? I'm not sure where your getting these funny words from, but you seem to be really worked up about this, so ill take you there, if it will ease your mind."
She hates seeing how despairing he looks on the ground like that, and people are starting to stare at them. To say he looks out of place is an understatement. Julius's clothes are completely different from everyone around him, drawing unwanted attention to him.
He wears light blue pants and a matching shirt, very plain, and resembling that of a hospital patient gown. The cloth is breathable, and freeing, but offers very little fashion flair.
He looks up at Lisa who has her hand reached out for him, offering to pick him up off his knees, which he grabs onto, and she lifts him back onto his feet with a soft groan.
[Julius]: "Thanks, Lisa. Even though I'm a stranger, you've helped me so much."
Lisa's cheeks flush a subtle pink shade at his words, causing her to get a little defensive and louder.
[Lisa]: "Its no problem at all, I'm just helping someone who clearly needs it."
She looks him up and down, committing his strange appearance to her memory.
[Lisa]: "You really don't look like your from around here. Can i ask where your really from? Ive never seen clothes like that, and you have no idea what the magic capital was, ive never met someone as clueless as you before."
[Julius]: "Oh, well... I'm from America."
She puts her hand up to her chin and looks up at him as if in thought.
[Lisa]: "Hmm. Ive never heard of that place, ill have to show you a map and have you point it out to me."
[Julius]: "You've never heard of America?"
[Lisa]: "Nope! Come on, the Inn is this way."
She reaches out her hand again, a silent invitation to hold it as they start to walk again. She does so while looking at the ground, trying her best to hide her red face.
Julius smirks and chuckles playfully, taking her hand and once again interlocking their fingers, which gets another gasp out of Lisa.
[Julius]: "Your pretty clingy, aren't you."
[Lisa]: "Wahh-! Don't say things like that! I just want to make sure you don't wander off, That's all!"
He finds her defensive personality and excuses incredibly cute, to the point where all he can do is smile and hold her hand tighter.
They walk down the large street, weaving between the crowds. Julius takes all the chances he can get looking at the stores and stands that are selling their wares.
Books. Clothes. Foods such as bread and fruits. All of which are nothing like anything he had ever seen before.
[Lisa]: "Here, This is the place."
Julius looks at the Stone and wooden building that lies before him. There is a large sign next to the hefty door, but her cant read a single letter of it. Its a strange language that he couldn't recognize no matter how hard he tried.
The pair enter the building, and go right up to the man at the desk.
[Julius]: "Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry to trouble you but i really need to use a phone right now."
[Inn Keeper]: "A what?"
[Julius]: "A phone. Do you have one i could use? I don't have any money, but ill do anything just to use it, please."
[Inn Keeper]: "Sorry, but i have no idea what your talking about. If your not interested in a room, then i suggest you leave, your in the wrong place."
Sensing the slowly rising irritation in his voice and judgemental looks, which are most likely from his outfit, Julius backs off a bit, still in disbelief.
[Julius]: "You cant be serious."
Taking a few steps back, he finds himself back on the all familiar feeling of the ground, specifically, on his knees.
He cant believe it all, Hes in a strange kingdom that he has never heard of, the people are dressed strangely and speak a strange, unheard of language, and there's no phones here.
Julius's breath start to get heavy and loud, his eyes widen and he brings his hand up to his mouth as he starts to panic.
[Lisa]: "J, it's okay, I'm sure we can find you a--"
Lisa is cut off by Julius jumping off of his knees and turning around, running towards the door, and slipping his hand out of her grip.
[Lisa]: "A-ah. Hey! Come back! Wait!"
He barges out of the door, his vision spinning as he looks around, his hearing distorted and his breathing hindered.
Julius takes off in a random direction, running through the street, crashing through the crowds, knocking over a few people as he does so.
[Julius]: "I-I'M SORRY!"
He shouts as he continues to run. He finds an alleyway to sprint into, wanting to get away from the crowd that only serves to heighten his disorientation.
Approaching one the doors in the alleyway, he rams it open, taking one step inside while still holding the door handle, and sees a small bar inside, filled with shady looking people, some of which appear to be demi-humans, with features of lizards and wolves.
His condition worsens as he sees them, his eyes widening even further as she slams the door shut and runs further into the alley.
[Julius]: "W-what the fuck was that! Animal people? This cant be happening, This has to be a sick fever dream or something."
He eventually runs out of breath, his vision still blurred and spinning as he struggles to keep his balance. As he leans against the cold brick wall of the alley, he sees a blur of people approaching him.
As his vision starts to clear up again, and his world stops spinning, just slightly, he gets a better look at the people slowly walking towards him.
Its three guys in cloaks and ragged cloth covering their noses and mouths. Judging by their figures, They appear to be no older than 17.
[Julius]: "Hello? I-i cant help you, im sorry."
[???]: "Hm? Help us?"
[???]: "I think he's makin' fun of ya, bro."
[Julius]: "Huh? no no I'm not, I'm just...I'm in bad shape right now, I'm sorry."
One of the three men reaches into his cloak, pulling out a strangely shaped blade.
Julius's breath catches in his throat as he sees the man pull out a knife.
[Julius]: "H-ah, wait a minute... I didn't mean to offend you or anything, please, just listen to me."
The man in the middle of the group, the one holding the blade, looks Julius up and down, as if scanning him for anything.
[???]: "Your dressed pretty funnily, man. I'm sure you've got something worth value on you, don't ya."
[Julius]: "Wha-... No, i have nothing. What are you doing?"
The man approaches him with the knife pointed at him, causing Julius to step back, tripping and landing on his ass on the ground.
[???]: "Come on, show us what ya got!"
[Julius]: "Nothing! I have nothing, i promise you!"
Julius's eyes are filled with terror now, fearing that his life will end here, in this filthy alley by the hands of some pathetic thugs. He keeps trying to crawl away, then he hears one of the kids in the back speak again.
[???]: "Just cut him up bro, if he doesn't want to give you anything, just take it from him."
[???]: "Are you sure? We could get in trouble if someone sees us."
[???]: "Just fuckin' do it, hes getting away at this rate!"
The man with the blade hurries his pace, approaching Julius, and prepares to stab him with it.
Julius covers his face with his arms, frantically trying to plead to them and tell them that he really doesn't have anything on him.
[Julius]: "WAIT! STOP, PLEASE!"
The man winds up the attack, but is cut off as a loud whistling noise flies down the alleyway, hitting the thugs hand, and bursting into flames.
[???]: "GAAHHH- AHHHH!"
The man drops the blade, which falls into a high pitched clattering noise as it hits the ground, but is overshadowed by the mans loud screams and erratic movements as he tries to put out the fire that has suddenly exploded on his arm.
[???]: "O-oh shit! Its a fuckin' sorcerer! Run this way Bro!"
The two other men try their best to put out the fire on the main thug as they all run off, the agonizing screams fading out as they run off, sometimes tripping over.
Julius is pushed hard against the wall, in awe and disbelief at what had happened, looking to his left at where the sound had come from. He saw Lisa, who ran over to him, kneeling down next to him, somewhat inspecting him for wounds.
[Julius]: "Lisa? W-what was..."
[Lisa]: "I told you already didn't i? Your in the magic capital. Your bound to run into someone who can use it, dummy."
Despite her bashful words, her face shows nothing but worry and concern. After coming to the conclusion that he had no injuries, she lightly punched him in the shoulder, giving him no time to question her about the sudden small explosion of fire.
[Lisa]: "DON'T YOU DARE RUN OFF LIKE THAT J! I WAS WORRIED YOU KNOW!"
[Julius]: "I-...I know, I'm sorry.I just...my body moved on its own, i was so panicked, my head was spinning, and my heart felt like it was going to burst."
[Lisa]: "You-... I...Hmph! Your lucky i like you so much. I forgive you, but don't you dare do that again!"
She crosses her arms angrily, but with a relieved look on her face.
[Julius]: "How did you know where i was?"
[Lisa]: "Well, it wasn't hard. I just followed the trail of chaos you left while barging through everyone. No one got hurt thankfully, but it was still very reckless."
Julius looks downwards, facing the ground, with a face of guilt and defeat, Rubbing the back of his neck.
[Julius]: "Right. Sorry About that. Thank you for saving me, Lisa."
Lisa's face shifts to a softer tone as she lets out a sigh. She sits down against the wall next to him, looking up and leaning her head against the stone bricks.
[Lisa]: "Its not a problem, those guys had it coming anyway."
His eyes don't leave her as she sits down next to him, noticing her soft tone of voice as she spoke.
He starts to accept that he has no way of communicating with his family right now, his eyes start to feel more wet at the thought.
Lisa looks at him slightly, noticing the sadness in his eyes and face.
[Lisa]: "Julius."
[Julius]: "Hn-...Yeah?"
[Lisa]: "I know you have a lot on your mind. But i cant help but see sadness in your eyes whenever i look at you. I know i confuse you, by not knowing a lot of things you talk about. But...please..tell me. Whats going on?"
He looks at her directly, staring into her eyes trying to find any sort of malice or ill-intent. But he sees nothing but genuine concern. His gaze returns to the ground again, and tears start to form in his eyes, some already falling down his face.
[Julius]: "I'm sick, Lisa. I have an illness, an incurable one. The last thing i remember, was my parents, sitting next to the bed that i lied in. They were crying. I couldn't make out the words they were saying, but it seemed to hurt them. I fell asleep. And then i was here."
Lisa listens intently and caring, taking in every detail of his story. Her face softens further into expression of understanding and comfort. She places her hand on his leg, resting it there softly, noticing how his tears start to pick up when she does so.
[Lisa]: "Julius... I-"
[Julius]: "And now I'm in this place. I'm so confused. This huge kingdom, filled with strange animal people, and..and...magic? I'm so...I'm so confused, Lisa. Am i dreaming all of this? Am i dead? Did i die Lisa?"
Lisa doesn't get angry that he cut her off, instead just offering to listen to him fully, and pausing slightly before speaking. Her voice is soft and caring.
[Lisa]: "Your not dead, J. I don't know what happened to you, to end up here. Your clothes are strange, and i have no idea what those places are that you said you came from. But....I want to help you, J. I can see that look in your eyes. The look of a broken and lonely person. I know it all too well."
Julius turns his gaze to her, tears streaming down his face. His eyes widen at her words. Even though shes confused, and had only just met him, she knows his pain, and wants to help him and understand him.
[Julius]: "---"
[Lisa]: "You don't need to say anything, J. Just know that I'm here for you, I'm sure we will find answers to all your questions in time. We will figure this out toge-hn-Gyaaahh!"
She jolts suddenly in shock as he suddenly Wraps his arms around her, crying into her shoulder as he holds her tight.
[Lisa]: "H-h-hey....You s-shouldn't go pouncing at a young girl like this in public, people m-might get the wrong idea."
Her face burns hot and adopts a bright red shade, the heat spreading down her neck. Despite the embarrassment, she slowly leans into the hug, wrapping her arms around him too, comforting him.
[Julius]: "I'm sorry. I should have asked."
He says with his voice full of emotion, tears still streaming down his face, dampening her cloak at the area his face occupies.
She holds him tighter, not intending to let go anytime soon.
[Lisa]: "No, its okay. You can keep holding me, if it brings you comfort at least, just... don't get too used to it."
[Julius]: "Thank you, Lisa. I have so many questions. But I'm so glad i have you to help me, that you care for me."
Her hand soothingly caresses his back, bringing him solitude, and a safe zone from the strange and confusing world he finds himself in. Its as if everything else fades away.
[Lisa]: "I might not be able to help with things about where your from, or how you got here, But i want to try and answer your questions. So please...Ask away."
He considers her offer, thinking deeply for a moment about what to ask first.
[Julius]: "I...i want to know about magic. Can everyone use it? How does it work?"
[Lisa]: "Your really are clueless then, huh. Well, everyone has the ability to use magic, but not everyone can actually handle it. It requires a lot of mana control and a body that can hold it without exhausting itself, which isn't common."
[Julius]: "Mana? A body that can hold it?"
[Lisa]: "Yes. Mana is an invisible energy that Sorcerers use to conjure spells. Its in everything. The ground, the air, And the atmosphere. Those are all the main sources of mana. And the part about the body holding it.... The energy that is required to store mana in the body takes a toll on a person if their body isn't suited for it. That part is random, but it can be trained through extensive use of mana."
All this new information invading his brain, It all overwhelms him. But its all starting to become believable, especially after her demonstration before.
[Julius]: "I see. So then...Would i be able to use magic?"
[Lisa]: "Well, that depends on a few things i suppose. But i don't doubt it."
[Julius]: "Really? That's...Almost exciting actually. But i want to know what happened first. About how i ended up here."
Her comforting words and embrace dry up his teary eyes. But he still doesn't want to let go just yet.
[Julius]: "Lisa. Could you tell me more about yourself? Where do you come from? Why are you so happy to help me?"
She pauses for a while in silence, before speaking in a more serious tone.
[Lisa]: "I want to help you, because...You look so lonely."
His eyes widen at her words, taken by surprise.
[Julius]: "Lonely?"
[Lisa]: "Uh huh. Its painful to see such an expression on someones face you know. And now that I'm getting to know you, i think i just kind of like you. I'm helping you because i want to."
[Julius]: "I see. Thank you Lisa. It means so much to me. I couldn't ask for a better companion than you."
Smiling at her, his arms still slightly wrapped around her. The sight of his smile sends another blush through her face, but she has no way of hiding it, being this close to him.
Julius chuckles at the sight of her faces red hue, and embarrassment.
[Julius]: "Your so cute, Lisa."
[Lisa]: "Uwaa! Don't tease me J! Just because I'm hugging you right now, that doesn't give you the right to say those things!"
[Julius]: "I mean it Lisa. I'm not trying to tease you, although i am enjoying it."
[Lisa]: "Mmh. Whatever."
She looks to the side, pouting, but he knows that she loves his attention. Hes always had a good eye for peoples emotions, he can just sense them, even if only slightly.
[Julius]: "You still haven't told me about where you come from, Lisa."
[Lisa]: "O-oh, right...I'm kind of....well....ashamed of my background."
[Julius]: "Don't worry Lisa, there's nothing to worry about with me, okay? I'm not here to judge you. Besides, My background is about as shameful as it gets."
She looks at him, into his eyes, searching for malice. Once she sees none, she softens her guard and continues.
[Lisa]: "My father... is a wealthy nobleman. He had an affair with a woman from the merchant trade, that's my mother. When his wife found out about her, she went psycho on him, made him cut off all contact with my mother. But with my mothers high ranking status in the merchant business, we live a good upper-middle class life."
[Julius]: "I see. So you only have one parent? I'm sorry to hear that."
[Lisa]: "Mmh, don't be. From what I've heard, he was an asshole anyway."
Julius chuckles softly at her explicit words. Causing her to blush a little more.
[Lisa]: "W-what is it?"
[Julius]: "Should a girl your age be using such language, Lisa?"
[Lisa]: "H-hey! I'm not that young. I can say what i want, Hmph!"
She pouts once more, which is met with Julius's hand on her head, petting her. She almost loses it at his sudden touch of affection.
[Lisa]: "GAAH!-"
[Julius]: "Your adorable, I swear."
This causes her face to turn far more red than before, she tries her best to hide her face within his chest. He holds her close, feeling at peace in the quiet alleyway, only filled with the muffled sounds of the street life.
His embrace on her tightens, feeling how hot she is from getting all flustered, its as if she had a fever. Just to make sure she wasn't actually sick, he placed his hand on her forehead, moving her silky blonde bangs out of the way, revealing her whole face as he feels her temperature.
Lisa's eyes widen and she gasps from the sudden closeness, along with his affectionate actions.
[Julius]: "Nope, no fever. You must just be that flustered, Do i really have that effect on you?"
[Lisa]: "HN-GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"
Her adorable noises of embarrassment echo through the alley as they rest on the ground, Lisa sitting in his lap, while he laughs.
---