While his initial snoozing has been the most pleasant Shizuru has experienced in his journey so far, not the same can be said to his waking, as the frantic calling of his name by the Usor Neviah Kingsley implied that something terrible had occurred while he slept. Nevertheless, the common desire of man to snuggle back to sleep crept to Shizuru's mind and he intended to ignore the Usor-- he is a Usor after all-- until Neviah mentioned that Mirano Suri had been abducted.
Almost in an instant, Shizuru shot up with a yell; his voice cracking as it still bears the hint of drowsiness, which he promptly vanquished with a big clear of his throat as he reiterated his exclamation.
"What?!"
Maybe it was his dreadful morning look-- his wavy locks tend to point everywhere after a night of tossing and turning-- that had Neviah's worried expression turning grimmer; the Usor shifting his eyes to the side while his furrowed brows furrowed even deeper as he repeated his statement from earlier:
"M-Mirano had been kidnapped..."
The lingering tone had given Shizuru a hunch that there was more to the event and his initial distrust of the Usor had annoyed him some more. Messing his dark locks in an attempt to clear his head, Shizuru scanned the area, laying his eyes on everything but Neviah's face. He noticed a few of Mirano's blades beside his knapsack, making his frown even deeper. Aside from the connecting rope on their wrists broken and Neviah's sopping wet appearance, nothing seemed to be out of place; at least not in their general camp site.
"Tell me what happened."
Neviah Kingsley could have sworn his jaw must have locked in place upon hearing Shizuru's tone. It should have stayed tightly shut if he wished, so as to not incur the wrath of the Digma; whose physical prowess he had witnessed the night before, but the thought of the events he was about to share made him wonder if it was more bearable to take a beating for staying silent rather than having his life ended for telling everything.
"The truth, please."
It must have been a lifetime of silence that passed as Neviah pondered on his choice that Shizuru prompted such a statement. Nevertheless, the silence of the sentence has made Neviah gasp for air. Looking up to the Digma, he found him looking over the far side of the forest, his expression placid, yet Neviah took notice of his tightly-balled fists resting on his lap.
With a gulp, Neviah settled across Shizuru and began recounting the events that occurred that early morning.
---
The day had not yet begun when Neviah awoke, but even with his early rising, Mirano Suri seemed to be already up and about. Neviah noticed his presence much later, when he began wiping his face, and he found him lounging above him; by the sturdy branch of the tree where Neviah had laid down to sleep. The similar sensation as when he first met the mysterious young man with bleeding sclera kicked in at recognizing his presence above him. It was not as intimidating as it was the first time, but it was equally surprising, even though Mirano's attention was not fully on him at the moment.
"Good morning," Neviah greeted. His trembling voice must have given away his initial discomfort, though Mirano returned the gesture with a small smile.
Gently tugging the rope connecting their wrists, Mirano seemed to have reminded the Usor of the predicament he was currently in, though not in the way the rope around his torso did so.
"Will you be able to move around with this?" Mirano asked.
The concern is almost laughable for Neviah. He had reiterated this point last night to Mirano, and it was definitely disregarded. He showed his open palms to him; even flailing both of his lanky arms in front of Mirano.
"I'll be fine. I can release myself if I wish to,"
"True, but you did not... at least all this time that Shizuru was asleep." Mirano's gaze shifted knowingly to the curled figure of Shizuru snoozing by the dead log.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The obvious statement had visibly struck Neviah, as his expression contorted to the point that he wished to vanish to oblivion. Instead, all he had mustered was a whimper of defeat. Many people would have taken advantage of this showmance of weakness, so when Mirano invited him for a short walk in the surrounding woods while taking off the rope connecting Neviah to Shizuru, Neviah was equally perplexed. Nevertheless, he joined the mysterious child and tread in the dimly lit area.
At first, there was only silence between the two of them. Neviah has been conscious that he was aware of Mirano at this point in their stroll, as it has been a mystery to him how he had overlooked his presence; which had ultimately led to his capture.
This endeavor might have given him a strange physical appearance; which Neviah thought would be masked by the surrounding darkness, but upon hearing Mirano chuckle and comment on his "constipated" look, the urge to disappear intensified.
They eventually arrive at a nearby clearing and from their location, they were able to make out the outline of the serene waters of a nearby pond. Mirano had made his way towards the water and Neviah followed suit. At first, he simply watched as Mirano stooped down by the banks to wash his face like a small raccoon. Neviah's train of thought, which still traveled back to the fact that there is something uncanny about Mirano and it had interfered with his success, weighed the possibility of pushing him to the water or sabotaging him and Shizuru while at their most vulnerable moments. After all, he has both of his hands free, his charm rests undisturbed around his neck, and his spell book is just within...
Had there been anybody else to listen, they might mistake Neviah's sudden shriek as that of a tiny squirrel. Hopefully, Mirano was the only one there to witness it, as he procured in one of his hands the notebook Neviah had used the night before. Neviah reflexively reached for the leather notebook in Mirano's hand, but he stepped aside as Neviah lunged forward and inevitably landed on the shallow waters.
With a flail of his hands, Neviah sat up, expecting a wave of insulting laughter to ring across the area. Instead, his ears were assaulted with a wave of yelling and explosions; along with a multitude of chanting and the release of spells; many of which had emitted a dim green glow. His view had not properly settled by the time he crawled out of the water, but his hand brushed over his spell book sprawled on the soft ground-- he had acquired the item so long ago that he can quickly recognize its weathered skin cover-- and took it, attempting to cast a spell to help break out the ruckus. With one swipe of his palm over his eyes, Neviah's worried eyes darted once from his book to the pandemonium in front of him and the last thing he saw was the unconscious Mirano being carried away by cloaked individuals deep to the eastern woods.
---
Shizuru had listened to the entirety of Neviah's narration; all of which had happened shortly after the sun had risen. Truly, it was a most unusual way to begin the day. He glanced back to the Usor, whose gaze is now averting from his. Wonderful, he thought as the series of losses he had incurred in a short period of time flashed before his eyes: Pan's journal, then Mirano... worse, he is stuck with a Usor whose presence Shizuru has concluded to be the source of all this misfortune.
Groaning loudly as he stood up, Shizuru looked towards the direction of the pond, his tensed fists finally relaxing as he began clearing his sleeping bag.
"W-What's the plan now?" Neviah's voice was trembling as he watched Shizuru.
"I'll look for Mirano, obviously!" Shizuru snapped, his voice almost growling.
"Without even any other clues to his whereabouts?" Neviah exclaimed as he stood up.
There was something familiar about the cloaked people who kidnapped Mirano. Neviah recognized several of the Sorcerers' insignia and wished to impart these details to Shizuru, but before he could utter another word, his eyesight trembled immensely, as if he had placed his head inside a large bell and somebody struck it powerfully. His hearing and consciousness soon followed in the distortion and Neviah's sight soon turned white. Not again, the Usor thought with a whimper. But alas, it is beyond his abilities to control such an occasionally terrible phenomenon.
There was some truth to the Usor's words. Even if Shizuru did find any clues to Mirano's whereabouts in the pond area, it will take him an eternity to search for him alone. The annoyance had not settled in Shizuru's mind yet when he watched Neviah fall face down on the ground after having just stood up. It's a funny occurrence, if there wasn't any ominous white glow coming from Neviah's eyes and mouth when it happened.
Frantic at the unusual happening, Shizuru raced to Neviah's side, taking his head on his arms as the Usor violently trembled, his limbs shaking to the point that Shizuru had been hit a couple of times. Despite the uncertainty of the situation, Shizuru tried his best to keep Neviah's limbs down, even when Neviah began to speak:
"B-Bearer of Flaskalf... pe-perish in the d-d-arkness..!"
With a grueling and ear-wrenching shriek, Neviah lost all consciousness, leaving Shizuru gasping heavily at the conclusion of a most unusual seizure. Out of concern, Shizuru reaches on his pocket for the ornate hilt, his jaw tight at what seems to be the revelation of a prophecy.
"Jusiados*, Halli." the Digma whispered out of concern.
---
To be Continued...
*Jusiados (slang) Dig.,: "This is not happening."