Gareth’s lips seemed to move but make no noise as Stefan cut through his own barrier for what couldn’t have been less than the 300th time in at least two hours. Stefan didn’t know how much time had passed, because he wasn’t focused on keeping it.
Blink. Spread hands. Lunge forward. Slice. Back up.
Blink. Spread hands. Lunge forward. Slice. Back up.
Blink. Spread hands. Lunge forward. Slice. Back up.
Blink. Spread hands. Lunge forward. Slice. Back up.
Blink. Spread hands. Lunge forward. Sli—
A barrier five times as more powerful impeded Stefan’s no longer endless sequence, causing his sword to vibrate, and his hands to tingle.
“I said that’s enough, Stefan!” Gareth snarled, his words finally making their way into Stefan’s skull. “Anymore and you’ll drop the floor senseless. Strength comes with responsibility, and that start with being responsible for yourself.”
Still, the boy’s hands remained gripping onto the hilt of sword, even though his arms trembled from the vibrations caused by the barrier. Gareth smacked it out of his grasp, before taking it up in his own hands. Using one hand to hold its hilt along with two fingers and the thumb of the other to steady the end of the blade, he slammed it perpendicularly against his armored knee, causing it to shatter.
“That was my sword!” Stefan cried, his senses returning to him. “How could you do that?”
“If you’re exhausted in the middle of a battle by putting so many barriers one after the other… it won’t be just your sword that breaks.” Gareth cautioned him.
Don’t push yourself too hard, a voice repeated in his head.
I forgot. I can’t fight later if I shatter now.
“You’re right,” Stefan finally conceded. “The Anbieter will hook me up with one later, I guess.”
Later that evening, the combat and medic divisions of the Black Shield reconvened at the communal hall to have supper together. Looking for a place to sit, Stefan spotted Leon surrounded on all sides by his fellow medics, who all attempted to make small talk with him, but his responses to them were all shorter than the questions that prompted them.
“Man, this meal sure is something after sitting around in that field hospital all day.” A male medic said in Leon’s presence.
“I guess so.” Leon shrugged.
“It’s so nice to be here with our friends again after everything we’ve had to see.” A female medic noted.
“Yep.” Leon simply agreed.
He’s having a tough time right now, Stefan wondered. If I sat next to him, he’d feel a little better. We haven’t spoken in ages.
Stefan found himself a spot next to Leon, placing his plate and utensils in front of him to make his intention to remain there known.
“You’ve been training hard, haven’t you?” Leon asked while his gaze remained at the meal before him.
“H-How can you tell?” Stefan asked. He hadn’t even said a word to him, nor did he appear visibly exhausted.
“I can feel it.” Leon said. A glint of light from his ring’s Utrium gemstone told Stefan what Leon’s lips could not.
He can sense my mental and physical state through the ring.
“How could I… how could I not work hard?” Stefan asked. “So long as those extraterrestrial freaks keep walking on our world… until I know my family’s safe… why should I stop?”
It’s like I can feel his, too.
“Yeah, you tell ‘em, Stef!” the male medic nearest Leon cheered.
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“I couldn’t agree more!” the female one said.
“W-Who are you guys?” Stefan flinched, surprised to know that people were eavesdropping on his conversation with his gloomy friend. “Who told you two my name?”
“Our pal Meinrad has mentioned you once or twice. You know, the guy who saved you back in Marius?” the male medic, who was 17 years old at most, said.
“Well, yeah,” Stefan mumbled. “There’s no way I could forget that. But why has he mentioned me? I’m not close to him at all.”
“The guy thinks you and him are alike,” the female, who was the same age as her male counterpart noted. “Honestly, I can’t really see it. But you do seem like a promising warrior, if I say so myself.”
“Regardless of what we think of each other…” Leon butted in. “We have the same goal. We have to prevent more people from dying. Isn’t that why we’re all here?”
“Yeah,” Stefan agreed. “You’re right.”
“Then let’s keep at it,” Leon affirmed to himself. “I know you will, Stefan.”
“You finished yet, Detlef?” the girl asked her friend, who she was obviously much more acquainted with than Leon.
The boy looked down at his plate which was empty save for some negligible scraps baked into it. He nodded.
“We’re in the medics’ quarters, if you ever need us,” he said, getting to his feet after his companion. “I’m Detlef Feldt, by the way, and this one here with the brown hair and freckles is Klaudia Nordskov.”
“Uh, yeah. I guess I’ll see you later.” Stefan muttered. Detlef gave a warm smile before taking his leave, while the auburn-haired boy’s friend simply waved as she walked away.
“They’re good people,” Leon said after some time of pause. “I can work with them just fine, but… I can’t imagine myself truly calling them my friends.”
“It’s only been a few weeks. I’m sure it’ll happen someday.” Stefan reassured the still grieving boy.
“So long as I can do my work without distractions.” Leon affirmed.
--
Still donning the leather training armor he’d been wearing since that morning; Stefan dragged his feet towards his and Leon’s barracks. Days of hauling brick and mortar through the streets of Marius, hours of trying so hard to forget the carnage and tragedy he had never prepared to witness, minutes and minutes of attempting to figure out where and what had happened to his family—he would never admit it, but they beat down on him hard. Maybe a night of rest at the Black Shield base would alleviate some of the troubles.
He hung his armor up in the room’s tiny closet, which he also used to change into a set of clothing for bedtime. He sat on the edge of his bed and let himself fall back, before reorienting his body so that it was completely on top of the mattress.
“Hey there, Stefan.” a masculine, warm voice said.
Stefan jumped up, his heart jumping fast against his chest. Only Leon should’ve been in that room, and that voice did not belong to him. His eyes zipped up and down across and around the room, probing to find the source of the voice. It had come from Leon’s bed, but no one was on top of it. Rather, the person who called out to Stefan laid below the bed, peaking his head out from underneath.
“Holy shit, Meinrad?” Stefan said in astonishment but had calmed down upon seeing his face. Still, his presence in his room was unwarranted. “What the hell are you doing in mine and Leon’s room like this?”
The older youth pulled himself out from under, before climbing up onto Leon’s bed.
“Some things happened,” Meinrad said. “Me being assigned to this room with you turned out to be one of them?”
“B-But this is Leon’s room!” Stefan argued.
“Leon isn’t your bodyguard though, is he?” Meinrad smiled.
“My… bodyguard? What do you mean, bodyguard?”
“Oh, the Anbieter hasn’t told you? Well, you do remember how you disobeyed his order to stay with Company C, made me come get you?”
“I, uh… yeah,” Stefan said with embarrassment. “So he’s making you watch over me, then.”
“That’s punishment, in his eyes at least. But I don’t see it that way, and I’m sure you won’t, either.”
I like his attitude, Stefan remarked mentally. He doesn’t stay fixed on the bad sides of things.
“Just don’t stop me from slicing an Angel in two if one’s in front of me, alright?” Stefan said with an awkward chuckle.
“Don’t make me have to stop you, Stefan.” Meinrad laughed. Despite his rugged, manly appearance and stature, he was quite possibly the most lighthearted person at the Black Shield. Physically, he resembled a version of Gareth that was younger, but emotionally they were at opposite ends.
“Where’ll Leon go?” Stefan asked as Meinrad’s mouth returned to a static smile.
“With the other medics, of course. Not sure why he stayed in this room for so long, but I guess you’re that nice of a guy to be around.” he answered.
“I haven’t been called a nice guy in a while,” Stefan said, remembering the last time he had been called anything like that. “Not since… I helped our elderly neighbour bring in some firewood… it was just before the storm…”
“Firewood… back where I’m from, we hardly had any of that. It was mostly driftwood that would come in from down the coast. Sometimes, the occasional trader from down under would bring along fresh timber.” Meinrad said in reminiscence.
“You didn’t grow up near a forest? What kind of place is that, you’re definitely from the north!” Stefan said in amusement.
“The Glacial Lands,” Meinrad answered. “Harsh place, but very loving people.”
Although the aforementioned region was also a part of northern Yeupis, its geography was drastically different. Snow remained on the ground year-round, where only white was found as far as the eye could see. Vegetation was almost completely non-existent save for some kinds of hardy mosses, and the diet of the locals consisted mostly of seafood and meat. Despite making up the northernmost third of northern Yeupis, which in turn made up about two-thirds of the entire continent, only five villages were located in it—amounting to a total population of no more than 2500 people.
“I’ve heard about that,” Stefan said. “My mother wanted me to see the entire north… one day I’ll make it a plan to go there.”
“Once we take back our independence, I’d be more than happy to show you around.” Meinrad said.