Sounds came out of Lily's mouth, Norbert not understanding anything. He just knew one thing, that he was in deep trouble. As Lily continued to talk, Norbert heard around him; the voices slowly died down until the only sound he could hear was Lily continuing to talk to him. He slowly scooted himself into a sitting position, knowing there would be a conversation about what had happened.
As the rant continued, Norbert, not understanding anything she was saying, finally stopped. Breathed in and was silent, still spinning the pendant around her finger. With a stop, she caught the pendant as it swung into her hand, holding it, raised it to her face, and looked within.
As she stared at the pendant, quiet Norbert assumed in thought he stared back at her, not knowing what to say or how he could defuse the situation. Lily tossed the pendant to Norbert, who caught it out of the air, slipping it over his head, feeling the comfortable weight on his chest again.
"Quite frankly, you should not be in this bed. Either because of being kicked out or dead." Lily said, knowing that Norbert could understand the words. She let it sink in. Gulping, Norbert looked at her, thinking about what to say next; slowly, he opened his mouth, stopping when Lily raised her hand. Norbert closed his mouth again.
"You have received many spotlights on you due to the capabilities that you have shown." Lily's words were slow and deliberate, feeling like a judge's gavel striking wood to be his doom.
"As your physical capabilities are astounding, your mental fortitude breaks most people. However, as you may have realised in your combat training, you just did it is atrocious. To the point of being brain dead." Lily sighed before continuing, "Now, Norbert, hopefully, with your head cleared, you can figure out what you did wrong. What was the first thing you were told of being in the scout?"
Norbert looked at her, "It's for someone like me with no magic or literacy?" Norbert asked, remembering the interviewer person he had met with the crystal ball.
"For you, maybe, but what about what I said in the first lesson?" Lily responded, not wanting to answer Norbert.
Norbert opened his mouth to answer, thinking about the rules needed for beasts found and how it … Norbert slowly opened his mouth. "Not expected to fight," Norbert said weakly, knowing the error that had occurred.
Thinking back after the first time he took it and the swing he made in retaliation, the fact that it held no damage afterwards was his sign just to run. Knowing he had enough left in the tank to run for the rest of the day and the night if needed, he could.
As Norbert sat there, thinking about what would happen, would he be kicked out, adding more to his fee? Norbert did not know. Looking up, Norbert waited to see if Lily had anything else to say.
"Now, if that were all, we would have just slapped you on the wrist, and you would already be back there. It gets a bit messier with what happened next." Lily said, standing up and turning around. "But for that, we will need to talk in a more secure location" Walking to the curtain, she opened it, reaching around and presenting his pack. "Get your clothes on post haste. I'll be waiting out there," She said, pointing back outside again.
Dropping the pack down, she left, closing the curtain behind her. With her leaving, Norbert felt the conversation around the medical wing pick up again. Norbert looked around, picking Obsius from his head and placing him beside the pillow before picking the blankets off.
Feeling the cold air hit him, Norbert quickly went and changed. Seeing his scout clothes on top, he put them all on. He even did not damage the leathers, not knowing where he might need to go next.
Once dressed, Norbert picked up Obsius again, placing him on his head, watching the room for hopefully the last time. Norbert confirmed that nothing important was left behind and exited the room, moving the curtain with his hand.
Looking down, Norbert saw Lily look up at him; with a nod, she stepped away, not saying a word. Norbert followed, their steps echoing out of the floor, the nurses and staff around them stepping out of the way, all with grim faces.
With dread rising, Norbert followed until the end of the hallway, stopping once more in front of the doors. Reaching, she pulled out a card and operated the machine, the swirling smoke again appearing as she stepped in. Norbert stepped through, feeling his body pull as it always does.
Stepping out the other side, confirming that Obsius was still on his head, receiving a peck in disturbing him, Norbert looked to where they were.
Seeing Lily up ahead, Norbert rushed after her; glancing to the side, Norbert saw more different types of people than he had ever seen. Their size was strange, limbs elongated on some, and others looked more animal than person.
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Staring into all of them, Norbert just zoned them out, thinking only about the back in front of him and trying not to lose it in the crowd. Catching up, Norbert silently followed her; the crowd slowly died down as people went into doors on the side.
Stopping suddenly, Norbert slightly bumped into her. Stepping back quickly, Norbert looked at the door. The door, being taller and broader than average and made of wooden slats, saw nails and metal strips connecting the door.
Lily opened the door and stepped through; Norbert held the door open with his arm as she continued into the room. Turning around, Norbert quietly closed the door, his hand leaving the brass door handle with its extended and leafed edges, slightly caressing his hand as Norbert turned around to look in the room.
Lily sat at a wooden desk with papers piled on her chair behind her desk. Looking around, Norbert saw a chair sitting next to it; unlike Lilys with some cushions and an armrest, the one now empty in front was just a plain, wooden chair with a standard backing.
No furnishings or engravings on it, unlike the handle and the wooden desk with its flowing leaves and flowers around the edge. The four solid legs looked like trunks, their roots going into the wooden floor Norbert was standing on.
Looking around, Norbert once more looked at the chair, with its light pine-looking colour compared to the deep mahogany of the room. Looking around, Norbert saw a chair similar to Lily's in the back, just tucked away.
Gulping, Norbert stepped towards the chair, took his backpack off and sat down. Bringing his chair closer to the table, hearing it squeak on the ground, Norbert cringed slightly, looking up to see what Lily would say.
Looking back at him sat Lily, arms crossed in front of her face. With them now looking at each other, she unclenched her hands, resting one just above the desk. Watching the hand, Norbert saw circles appear of different colours.
Moving his eyes away from Lily, Norbert looked at the screen. Seeing the dry ground caked in dust, a single person facing off against a scharve, taking the brunt force of the tail whip. Realising who he was looking at was himself, who knows how long ago.
The recorded version whipped his hands on his pants before charging in, swiping at the beast's side. Looking down, Norbert saw it rush past, the recorded version of him turning around and being once more confronted. With it jumping, he remembered sliding on the ground, and a phantom pain shot up his arm as the knife dug into the scharve again.
Rubbing his shoulder, Norbert saw the beast continue, with him standing up and chasing after it. Seeing the wall appear, Lily moved her hand, the video stopping. "Now, this is where you should have run in the opposite direction. These types of moves have a long wind-up time and are mostly for defensive while they prepare and recover." She said, still looking straight at Norbert.
Angling himself to look straight at her, he nodded in recognition. "If you had sprinted away, it would have given you enough head start to escape. Now let's continue," she said as her hand moved, the recording playing again.
He dove headfirst into the dirt, the perspective moving above the circular wall, showing Norbert mid-air jumping onto the creature's head. With both legs secured around the head, Norbert saw his hand plunge into the head. Each strike causes dirt to spray out with the force of a garden hose. Each time it was about to stop, the dagger came down again, and another hole continued releasing. As Norbert was about to strike a third time, Norbert saw the scharves body change.
Rising, it brought its entire weight on its head, smashing into the ground. After the impact not able to see anything from the dirt it caused to rush into the air. Once it cleared, the scharve stood up on its hind legs; Norbert could see his body a beaten and crumpled mess, still somehow holding on.
Through the mist, as it cleared, Norbert saw his body, once more covered in purple veins, glowing brightly in the recording, making sunspots in some areas.
Still holding the knife, Norbert stabbed his hand down again; just as it came back up, the scharve smashed its head against the ground, trying to smash Norbert so hard he would be dislodged. But somehow, Norbert's body continued, the pattern repeating itself.
As the two continued smashing into each other, the once dry ground was now wet with blood, Norbert knew it was his own. After an eternity, the beast stopped, slowly turning to dirt and dust again, the metal cube now on the ground, with the dirt circle around them dropped to the ground.
With shaky steps, Norbert stood up, blood dribbling from the leather of his jacket and pants. Still holding the knife, Norbert started returning, picking up his discarded bag. Sometime within the fight, he started walking off into the distance.
The camera moved with him; moving her hand, Norbert saw the recorded version of him sped up his walking, the movement erratic. Realising it was sped up, Norebrt watched as he continued walking, slowly leaving a less bloody trail behind him until it was just his steps.
Without warning, his body dropped to the ground, resting and barely moving. The video disappeared before Lily moved her fingers and rested her hands on the armrests. "Thankfully, nobody saw how you looked afterwards and picked up and brought to the medical facilities you were shown. We gave you treatment which is how you are up and walking so quickly." Lily said, emphasising the word treatment. Judging by the tone, Norbert gulped, knowing he could have just repaired himself.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Lily asked Norbert, feeling the total weight of the question. Breathing out, Norbert weighed his options again to get out of there or continue and see where it took him.
Reaching down into his backpack Norbert reached into the pocket, pulling out a coin from Earth. Presenting saying, "Heads, I walk out of here, not tell you anything, tails, and I will tell you all I can." Norbert said, once more placing his trust in a total stranger. Lily started to open her mouth, but before a sound could be uttered, Norbert flicked it into the air, watching it spin.
As it came down again, Norbert caught it out of thin air, ideally once more, slapping it down on the back of his other hand. "This is what I do when faced with a difficult decision," Norbert said before removing his top hand and re-presenting the coin to the world.
On top, for all of its glory, sat heads.
"Well, stuff that for a joke, I'm going to tell you anyway," Norbert said, recounting his story.
"It all started when I fell through the air, looking out on a forest before me …."