Norbert looked to Luck. "You're going to say something in that tone of voice and then just disappear on me in a stream of golden motes of light?" Norbert berated her, clasping onto her hand.
Luck looked towards Norbert, a strange smile on her face as he saw her start to disappear in front of him. Shaking his head, he let her go, taking his hand off her own as he saw her rise to the heavens in the corner of his eye.
Looking back, I saw a little note written on a scrap piece of paper, written on it saying in flowing cursive, "I wasn't planning but when you said..."
Norbert carefully folded the paper and placed it into his jacket, an annoyed smile on his face at what he had caused himself. Feeling a peck on his neck and a tail wrap around himself, Norbert brought his hand up to his shoulders, patting both of his companions, who were currently resting on his shoulder.
"Sorry about that; I did not forget about you too at the moment," Norbert said to both of them, surprised that he was so used to their weight on his shoulders, the two of them playing around while he went about his life.
Remembering what Dobert had said earlier, Norbert turned to the fox on his shoulder. "And don't you have some explaining to do? A friend said you helped them out with translating this little guy." Norbert said, pointing to the speckled bird on his other shoulder.
Receiving a trill of annoyance and a peck on his neck from the bird, Norbert turned to her. "Well, I might be able to, but others don't have the same kind of grasp on Drotha. And before you start, yes, I know that Traveller can. And calling you guy meant to be neither male nor female, so you stop it." Norbert added, holding up his hand to stop any more disagreements from the bird, not seeing any other ways the little guy could poke its head at him.
Norbert returned to the point of conversation, being the fox on his other shoulder and staring down at the creature for several moments, hoping to make it budge and communicate better than Obsius.
But as he continued to stare, with no effect on the creature and starting to feel embarrassed that he was making a fool of himself by his actions, Norbert slowly stopped. I realised he had no clue how to get under the white pelt.
Shaking his head, Norbert picked the fox up, looking into its eyes as theirs looked back into his. "You do you," Norbert said whimsically, bopping his forehead on the fox's snout.
Feeling it wriggle out of his grasp, Norbert loosened his grip, the fox dropping to his lap before hopping down and trotting off.
Norbert spun his body around so he was lying on the fountain's rim, one leg draped over the side and on the ground, as the other was straight out, resting as well. Obsius fluttered as Norbert moved, resting again on his right-bent knee.
Norbert turned his face to look at the fox as it continued to walk away from him, following where the priest had walked away.
Norbert turned to Obsius, the bird staring at him, almost waiting for him to start talking again, knowing he would. Shaking his head and rested it on the fountain, the cold stone moving up and pressing against it.
Moving his shoulders about, dislodging the hood, he bundled it up and used it as a cushion against the stone underneath him. Opening his mouth to say something, Norbert closed it again, the thought running out of his brain before he could say it.
Closing his eyes, Norbert let his breath slow down, basking in the presence of the sun coming out through the clouds and warming his entire body up.
***
Hearing the footsteps again, coming steadily louder, roused Norbert from his slumber. Opening his eyes and looking around, he sees Obsius now moved to the crook of his neck, bundled up and slowly rising and falling. Smiling fondly at the little bird who still followed him through his whimsical and random actions.
The sound of the footsteps still rising from the right caught his attention and the reason that woke him from his slumber. Seeing it was the same priest as before walking towards him, Norbert stayed in the same position, letting him come the remainder of the way.
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"It's unusual for a god to meet another champion like this." Grosly said to Norbert.
He closed his eyes, did not care for the god in his presence, and felt that he wasn't showing his power or aura like the others did in the presence of everyone, causing a commotion.
"That it is, but nobody ever expected you to do the work yourself," Norbert said to the god.
"That would be too grand of a gesture. I'm just the delivery boy, here for your delivery and a bit of a chat as payment," Grosly said, dropping the package down with a thunck. The candies tossed about as they hit the fountain's rim.
The sound roused the bird from its slumber as it started to slowly get up, looking about itself before taking off, landing on top of the fountain, perching on the depiction's shoulder.
Norbert, now no longer having a reason to be lying down, sat up, placing either foot on each side of the sack as he opened it up, taking two out as he looked to the side, making sure he couldn't see the god.
Changing his vision to magic, Norbert inspected the two, seeing that they both had a slightly different feeling than what he remembered from the candies he received from the Pink Pair.
Plopping them both back into the sack, Norbert looked back at the god; the fact he was still there and hadn't walked off meant something. Turning to the side, he saw Luck still not appearing but assumed she was watching over him, like he was sure she usually did.
"I know of another Grosly. Is it common for children to be named after gods?" Norbert asked aloud, the first thing coming to mind when he heard the name.
"Depending on the culture, it's a thing that sometimes happens. Parents want their child to grow up a certain way, have a certain role model." The god stated, shrugging his shoulders with the explanation.
Norbert remembers the scout he once saw, chuckling at the stark difference in personality and way of life, "For the one I know, that plan didn't work out too well."
"Plans like that usually don't work out to well. Wrong god to follow if that's your intention." Grosly said, half pointing up to the fountain behind Norbert.
Leaning backward, she sees the water fountain depiction of Luck and remembers what she can sometimes do: "But even for her, it's not a true fortune."
"When one god's domain brushes against another, peculiarities happen," Grosly said.
Norbert looked at the god of alchemy. "Are you normally like this, with half-quips meant to make people think in circles?" Norbert questioned.
"Comes with the domain; as I said earlier, weird things happen when they brush against others," Grosly replied.
Norbert nodded, not wanting to continue down this train of thought with the god. "Any other reason why you're here talking?" Norbert asked.
"Curious to see who helped out my champion from their little struggle," Grosly said, moving about and sitting beside Norbert on the fountain.
Shrugging his shoulders, Norbert thought back to the Italian boy he helped out long ago, his sense of time now all skewed of what should be long ago as he has been thrown from one outcome to another with very little time for rest.
"How is Bartholomew doing, by the way?" Norbert asked, remembering the Italian boy with the attitude and how he was trapped in both worlds. Norbert was happy something like that had never happened to him.
"Surprised you remember his name. Strange boy, that one. Carving out his corner of the world, not similar to you at all." Grosly said, the god physically jabbing Norbert in the ribs, causing him to jump slightly.
"What you mean not similar. I have my …" Norbert sat there, feeling dumbfounded as he realised what the god was referring to.
Not having a team or even a start of a team like Sally has, nor the start of some business or empire like he was sure Elizabeth had started making with her casinos, or whatever she could have created first way back when.
"You're saying I'm doing this strangely?" Norbert asked.
"Wacky is a more appropriate word. A wacky man following a wacky path and champion to a wacky god." Grosly slaps Norbert’s back at the end of the declaration.
Thinking over his path, Norbert had a question regarding the tournament: "How many other champions are there?"
The god instantly bristled up under the question. Norbert waved it away, not wanting to hear a fake answer if it wouldn't be provided.
"No need. I'll take from your previous experience that some people are there—and even more, just looking from the sidelines," Norbert said.
He stared out of the corner of his eye, not hearing any comment or body movement, asking if he was right. I'm happy that at least the other champions wouldn't know about him if some strange agreement hadn't been met beforehand.
Norbert did not continue the conversation, wondering what the god would do. As if reading his mind, the god slowly stood up, and Norbert heard the joints cracking as he stood up to his full height.
The robes were perfectly still even though the wind started to pick up slightly; Norbert watched the man go, a shimmer appearing around him as a smell wafter out, causing his nose to wiggle about.
With not even a word of goodbye or farewell, the god just walked away, like how he came about. The fog around him was growing thicker, and Norbert felt like he heard a crack of glass shattering on the ground.
Standing up in surprise, only to see the fog had lifted, people started to walk about, and this section of the temple district didn't seem so quiet anymore.
Reaching down between his feet, opening up the bag once more, Norbert looked inside, confirming its contents.
With a sad sigh, he now had no more reason to stay in Alasium.