Wait And See
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“Before he became the elder around here, Lennon used to be a raider back when he was living in Orna.” Beatrice had now summoned the strength to continue her story, with her back now braced against the wooden chair and a face full of resolve, she spoke slowly and concisely, recounting the conjoined intricacies that have led up to the current situation.
“He told me that he first met Owen around that time too, they were both training to become raiders, but it was a lot easier said than done in Owen’s case. Since his technique didn’t offer much in terms of combat, and because he could only heal himself and couldn’t use any other forms of magic, it made people start to look down on him. Apparently, the only times Owen ever got invited to join a party was to act as a human shield, so he slowly started to give up on being a raider. That’s why Lennon accepted him with open arms when he turned up one day saying he wanted to join the ranks of his mage unit.”
The room seemed unnaturally quiet right now, especially when considering the extravagant size it boasted. Instead of interrupting, the entirety of our focus was now being projected onto the woman now speaking at the helm of the round table. Even with the grim details being recounted right now there didn’t seem to be any sort of uneasiness emanating from anyone, not even Emma, a twelve-year-old child. Perhaps it's because they all knew deep down that such atrocities were commonplace in their reality, so for just this brief moment, nobody would say anything.
“Still, Owen wasn’t the only one my husband had spent time with in the capital. That’s also where he met Ulric and his sister Amaris, I’m told they’d even formed a party for quite some time. That party was eventually disbanded after Lennon came back here to settle down, but I don’t know much of what happened to Ulric after that, when Lennon asked for his help a year ago...he did mention joining some sect but that was pretty much it.”
After allowing the stiffness in the atmosphere to quietly dissipate, Oliver adjusted his glasses before finally commencing the discussion.
“Thanks Beatrice, I feel like I’ve gotten a better understanding of this whole situation now. If I’m remembering this correctly your husband was around level two, right?”
“Y-yes that's right.... why did you ask?” Her timid voice now edged on the line of intrigue and curiosity.
“It's nothing serious, I was just making a quick comparison in the back of my mind.” She stared at him, confusion subtly mellowing into her expression once she’d started to take note of the stern expression he now wore -
CLAP
Swiftly rising to her feet, Emma garnered the attention of everyone here with that abrasive gesture.
“Umm...S-Sir Oliver....” Her clenched fists were trembling as if to match the sway of her knee length dress, yet still she persisted with clattering teeth and her head hung low.
“....Emma was it? Oliver is fine.” Apparently, he’d already figured out what the young girl was trying to say, seeing her like this made him loosen his expression almost instinctively.
“Those guys...” tightening her own slender fists with each of her ragged breaths, she fervently tried to fend off the impending urges of her own emotions.
“Wi-Will you-”
“Yeah, I won’t let them hurt anyone else, Emma, you have my word.”
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She immediately lifted her head mere seconds after the man’s bold declaration, it was apparently enough to dispel al the angst she’d been feeling just moments ago. Though her eyes welled up for a brief instant, she managed to hold back her tears of gratitude -
“Thank You.....”
Emma had given her thanks with just about every ounce of sincerity she could muster, and yet Oliver couldn’t wholeheartedly accept it. Although he was trying to hide it, based on the slight shift in his demeanor it gave way for one to assume that he’d naturally understood the implication behind her noble request.
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“Ahem, so with that being said Beatrice, is it alright if we stay here for a bit? Just until we finish the repairs.”
“Of course, Julia, I wouldn’t mind at all. I’m sure these two would appreciate the company.”
Beatrice nonchalantly waved her hand, signaling her dismissal of such a trivial request.
“Ooh so Liam’s gonna be staying here?”
“Yeah, just for a little bit. Judging by your interactions the other day I'm sure you'll get along just fine, he’s even taking after you Emma.”
“Well, I’ve always wanted a little brother, so this is perfect~” She made her way over to me with a mischievous smile, before leaning in close to cement this new reality of mine.
“You should sleep in my room tonight; I’ve got a lot of stuff planned since I'm off today.”
“I want to see everything. That’s what friends do right?”
Her cheeks flushed red for an instant; my reply seems to have caught her off guard but given that reaction I must've been on the right track. She folder her slender arms as if to suppress the reddening of her own face before pointing a finger at me -
“That’s right but as long as you’re here you’re going to be my little brother, so that means you have to listen to everything I say.”
“....Really?”
“Hahahah!....looks like you’ve gotten yourself into a tight situation already Liam, but you’ll be living with Emma for a few days so try to follow her lead alright?”
I couldn’t understand the logic behind asking a child to lead another child, but I suppose this was just another aspect of human culture that I was yet to fully comprehend.
“Alright Emma, I’ll be your little brother.”
“That was fast...you really don’t hesitate, do you?”
“Hm? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Well...it is but I wanted to tease you a bit more before signing off on it.”
“Emma don’t take your teasing too far, remember he’s still only four years old.” Beatrice’s intervention wasn’t exactly warranted but then again it was something engrained in her very nature when it came to her child. She was actually very similar to Julia in that regard.
“I know mom, I’m just trying to figure out what triggers his reactions, he hardly ever smiles and usually just sits here with that blank look on his face.”
“Well...that is true, sometimes even I can’t really tell what’s going on in his little head.”
Julia’s words had caused Beatrice to throw me a curious glance, it seems I was now the focal point of this conversation. Emma had in fact been spot on in her deduction, even after four years I was still a far cry away from completely ridding myself of my old habits. The idea of having a body made of flesh and blood body was all but foreign to me, so constantly keeping track of the muscles comprising my face and managing them wasn’t something I’d mastered yet. Doing so would ultimately result in me delineating a portion of my consciousness to keep up the act, which was ironically even more tiring than just keeping a straight face, still it was something I'd have to master eventually – I did make a promise after all.
“I’m glad you all seem to be having a fun time but, I think we should get back to the issue at hand.” Finally rising from her seated position, Vreena joined Emma and the others in their peculiar stance, looming over me with hopeless curiosity in her narrowing eyes - “Liam, it's time to check your attributes.”