At around 8 in the night, a few patrol apprentices started making intermittent appearances in the hub. Castiel was too busy cultivating to notice it. Half an hour later, small scale commotions started at various parts of the hub. He had to stop cultivating to understand what was happening. Just as he looked up, a woman's soothing voice echoed in his head.
Attention everyone! There is a D level fugitive on the run. There is no credible threat to the general public as of yet. The city patrol is here for your safety. Please remain calm.
The commotion somewhat abated. In the human empire, fugitives are leveled based on the crimes they have committed. Their threat level is also graded similarly, D being the lowest and A being the highest. Since there was no threat, they were probably searching for him. He didn’t get nervous, he couldn’t get nervous. This confirmed one thing for him though, at least one person of the Zechariah family is his enemy. He went back to cultivating. A few minutes later, he felt a prickling presence in front of him.
“Please stand up, sir.” He saw a patrol apprentice looming over him.
“Am I under arrest?” He asked calmly with a baritone voice. Now was the time for make or break.
“No sir, but it would help if you were cooperative. I do not want to have to escalate the situation further.” The apprentice replied calmly but a little more forcefully. The conversation here had already attracted the bystanders.
“What are you doing bud, just get it over with.” A young adult sitting next to him exclaimed. He had blue hair and pitch blue eyes, even blue attire. It’s like he was declaring his love with the color blue. This person didn’t know that the person sitting next to him was just a child.
Castiel didn’t think it was worth it to antagonize the apprentice any further. He slowly stood up to disarm the apprentice and proactively removed his hat.
“Bro!!!! You are so handsome. Why the suspicious hat? Let the world enjoy your sunshine. Let me introduce myself. I am Leonardo Mercer. You can call me Leo. Let’s be friends.” Before the apprentice could get a word in, the chirpy young adult jumped up. In one go, he introduced himself and forcefully shook Castiel’s hands. Neither the apprentice, nor Castiel could do anything to stop him. He couldn’t even move his hand out of the way even though he wanted to. It’s like the world automatically made way for this so-called Leonardo Mercer.
Castiel was too stunned to react.
“Sir, let me finish my business first.” A few seconds later, the apprentice finally reacted.
“Sorry sorry, go ahead.” Leo put his hands up to show restraint and sat down but it felt like he would jump up at any moment.
“Sir, please show me your ID.” The apprentice asked Castiel. He produced his new fake ID without further ado. The apprentice carefully inspected it before giving it back to him.
“Mr. Gray, I don’t see any address on your ID.”
“Never stayed in a place too long to call home.”
“Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Gray. You can continue whatever you were doing. Have a safe journey.” The apprentice left the area since the current Castiel didn’t have any resemblance to his old self except for the black hair which is quite common already. After the apprentice left, Leo started chirping again.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Come on man, it’s so rude to not engage. You behave like an old man.”
Honestly, Castiel was getting a little irritated. People with water element affinities, which he assumed Leo was, were usually known for their calm nature. He couldn’t imagine which hole this Leo jumped out of. He would have made a good combination with Mei though.
“Apologies Mr. Mercer. I have a private problem which is occupying my mind right now. But we could absolutely be friends.” Castiel didn’t really want to be friends. But he felt this guy was quite powerful. No need to go against his wishes and add trouble. He was going to start his life anew in two days anyway.
“Call me Leo. I understand. Even I have a problem pestering me right now. I ran away from home to avoid a marriage. Now my whole family is searching for me frantically. Hopefully, they don’t search the hubs of various cities. It is quite beneath them.” Leo was oblivious to everything. He just started yapping away. Castiel didn’t feel he could escape this conversation anytime soon.
“Where are you headed to? Maybe we are headed the same way?”
“#1 city, Atlantis. You?” Castiel gradually accepted the circumstances. And Leo was not a bad companion anyway.
“Me too!!!” Leo jumped up again. -He probably died by butt-immolation in his last life.- Castiel thought.
“I am going back actually. My family will never think I will hide under their noses. I am so smart. Hahahaha.”
“If you keep getting excited this way, I don’t think your family will take long to find you. These bystanders already know most of your life story.” Castiel quipped while looking around.
Leo gulped. His eyes darted around to see a few people looking away hastily. He placed his left index finger on his lips and wiped his neck with right index finger to shush the crowd.
“After I have escaped this calamity, you can come to my family to find me. I will show you around the city.” He was back to his usual self but a little quieted down.
“How will I find your family?” Castiel humored him.
“Just ask anyone about the Mercer family, they will tell you.” Leo replied proudly.
-I knew it. He is powerful. His family is powerful enough to be known to the whole of the capital of a large principality.- He thought.
Time passed as they chatted. Well, as Leo chatted. It was already closing boarding time. He heard the same womanly soothing voice in his head.
Attention all passengers. Boarding has started for Airbus 10034. Please queue in section number 203.
“Let’s go bro. It’s our turn.” Leo jumped again. He dragged Castiel by the elbows to the aforementioned section. He still didn’t have a response to Leo’s enthusiasm. And he still couldn’t escape his clutches. It’s like whenever Leo wants to do something, Castiel has to follow along like a puppet. Even though Mei was powerful, she didn’t make Castiel feel that way.
.
Airbus 10034 was a humongous cylindrical structure with tapered ends. It opened its jaws for passengers to enter. Castiel and Leo entered it slowly in a queue. They went through a curtain to be welcomed into a large open area. It looked like the area was used for dining or some other activities. Beyond the dining area were neatly arranged chairs that could be unfolded into beds. The chairs were stacked like shelves up to ten floors high like a movie theater. On the left and right of the open area were numerous doors that were possibly entries to VIP rooms. The rooms made up five floors. There were stairs at the start of the open room to access the upper floors. The whole structure was illuminated by expensive chandeliers.
It took half an hour for all the passengers to board and somewhat settle down. After a while, Castiel heard an authoritative voice echoing in the airbus.
Welcome to Oceania Transportation Services. The airbus will take off in five minutes. If you are a mortal, please fasten your seatbelt. Let’s hope we have a wonderful journey.
.
Ten minutes after the plane’s take off.
Leo dragged Castiel to a food counter to introduce him to some delicacies. He didn’t let him pay anything. Honestly, Leo was growing on him. Suddenly, there was a blaring siren. -What now?- Castiel thought.