Elliot was in the predicament of a lifetime, not many could say they've been in his shoes. Many less could probably be said to have survived this type of ordeal… that last thought wasn’t helping. He couldn’t help but feel blessed to have found a place with people so quickly, however.

If he was stuck in that forest, even if it was a normal one he didn’t think he’d survive it, and by the words of caution from the old man, he didn’t even entertain the idea that he would have made it. Really, if he didn’t know better he’d almost believe this was all planned out.

…That couldn’t have been it, though.

While Elliot was considering his future career choices, he was eating as much cheese as his stomach could handle. Unfortunately, the girl took his request for the cheese to heart and left with all the fruit...and thought that sucked it didn’t really matter right now.

He had to figure out how to defend himself. The old man seemed extremely powerful but Elliot was sure a gun or something could still take him down… err, not that he was considering assassinating the guy. Elliot was more of a peace and love type of man, or more accurately a cry and hide type that liked to cower behind others.

It was why he was so experienced in making others empathize with him, honestly. It was very hard for Elliot himself to feel guilt, but when it came to convincing others he had trained hard to react accordingly, to very mixed results. Unfortunately this worked better with people he’d known for a long time, so he'd probably have to make friends first.

Haha…

Damn, that was gonna be a problem, huh?

He… was never really the same as the other kids… no not that he was mature or a lone wolf or anything, but that he was particularly dumb in anything that required anything more than common sense and intuition. He had failed at even completing high school math, getting by because he became very close to the teachers.

However, he excelled at reading and history, which seemed to be unique. But how could it be? All you had to do was remember the things you saw with your big ol’ eyeballs. And all you had to do for reading was get where they were coming from, see how it’s like to be inside their shoes…

Only, that was hard to do in real life.

Elliot had experienced enough in life to realize how humans reacted to certain things. How being too serious ended up being detrimental, and how easily people are to just pass things off as accidents if you act like there was no care in the world.

He made plenty of friends at work this way, and he was getting by just fine before this whole ordeal happened. Now he was left back at zero, in a world that seemed about ready to tear him apart, no less.

All that could wait until he had some proper shut-eye, and he did just that. As Elliot snuggled into the bed that was rather comfy and cool against his burning head, he couldn’t help but feel that things would be alright. He ignored the fact that his fever could kill him in his sleep and just assumed his compatriots would be there when he falls under.

The events happening were so outrageous he even forgot about his horrible sleeping habit, which allowed him to rest peacefully for the first time in maybe a year.

As if.

Dark, damp, cold, a boy no older than eight wakes up in a cold cellar, he tries to stand but feels a horrible stabbing pain coming from every part of his being. He looks at his body and realizes in horror that it was twisted, terribly morphed into some work of art, with his legs specifically shifted monstrously... His feet were gone, so were his fingers, on the rest of his body were strange symbols all intersecting and synergizing cut into his skin. He was producing blood in such a large amount he doubted it was natural, he was so fixated on himself that he didn’t notice the circle around him absorbing the blood falling out of him, only to siphon the energy back into him.

Filling him with tainted energy that made him feel stronger and stronger, the energy caused black bile to escape his throat. Yet, even in the pain and disgust, his heart beat with excitement. He knew something amazing was coming, something bigger than himself. He wished he were to be alive to see it, but this alone was precious enough.

Elliot didn’t wake up after this dream

_

Tiffany was left to take care of Elliot, at first she resisted helping the punk who attacked her when they were alone. but there was something about being able to take care of someone’s needs completely that had rubbed her the right way.

Stolen story; please report.

She started looking forward to waking up in the mornings and spending her time around his bed. Cleaning, feeding, and replacing his clothes were extremely therapeutic to her. It also helped that she was free from doing any labor until he was better. Though she could tell her teacher was starting to get worried.

3 days was a long time for someone to be in such a state. He barely reacted to anything done to him, only gulping down his water and soup and frowning whenever he got poked by Tiffany as a form of entertainment.

He was looking even more lean than before he got here… Though it was kinda nice to look at… Ah!

She realized where her thoughts were leading and hit Elliot on his stomach as if he was at fault for it. Either way, even if he was going to stay like this for a long time it’d just mean she’d still have him all to herself! She chuckled, wondering if this was how it felt to have a baby… maybe if he was lighter. She pulled her golden hair back and tied it into a ponytail, it was time for his supper, and she didn’t want to get it on her again.

At least, not in her hair.

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Hannah was pissed… Why did they have to care for a dirty liar? Sure he may have understood her master’s greatness, but that just made it all the more devastating when he tried to run. Didn’t he know who they were? What they were taught in order to live and thrive in this area? She was surprised he was as old as he was, not because of his looks, but because of how dormant his mana had seemed.

Like that of a baby’s, even children had wild and unrestrained auras due to their growth and lack of training. It usually led to impurities and habits forming in their bodies… making it better for a child to start their training as a mage as early as possible. She used to come around to check up on him and Tiffany, but Tiffany quickly put a stop to that, saying that the patient needed “absolute peace and quiet.”

She didn’t know how to feel about leaving Tiffany with the person who allegedly assaulted her, but since the victim herself didn’t mind, Hannah just brushed it off. She could hardly call a shove assault either way. Either way, while Tiffany was taking care of Elliot, Hannah could be saying the same to master Gerald.

He seemed stressed about the bastard, heaven knows why considering it wasn’t their fault in the first place. If that stupid guard held back a bit the idiot wouldn’t have been in a coma in the first place...

Gah!

She missed talking to Hannah…

all this alone time had her focusing on all her problems, and led her to more and more negative thoughts. She promised that she would treat Hannah nicer as soon as they started going back to their normal routine.

She’d even console her if the idiot died or something.

________________

Odd, it was the only way he could describe it. The elder felt the subtle shift in Elliot mana. Why he was changing he didn’t know. It was as if this kid was finally coming into himself. He didn’t know whether this was good or bad. He was starting to doubt the he was just an exiled and unwanted baby. He had no idea what was to come, but he knew one thing. He chuckled, placing a hand on the boy’s head.

“I’m going to make this kid my disciple if it’s the last thing I do.”

Elliot awoke, refreshed for once… that’s weird. He looked around to see if there were any signs of the group, but he was still alone. “They must really respect privacy...” He muttered to himself. Before getting up and realizing in horror that his privacy was utterly ignored in the worst way possible!

His clothes were gone and all he was left in was a loose-fitting robe and a pair of white pants… loose fitting? When did he lose all his… chunkiness? He almost looked malnourished, that wasn’t good at all. Weird, despite his looks he still felt light...his movements before seemed jerky and sluggish while it felt as if he finally came out of water… “What did they do to me?”

That was his first thought. His second thought was to start doing as many pushups as he could, he didn’t know if this was temporary after all and he wanted to crush his personal record. He thought against the second one since there was a chance that he would peak at this point and never get past it once whatever drug they’d put in him dissapeared. He brushed his hand against his hair, only to find it thicker and longer… His eyesight was better too, able to see small details even in the darkness of the room…

What was going on?

He realized at that point that the door was opened and the blonde-haired girl was peeking at him from the outside. He stepped closer to her in my kindest demeanor, no sense in making her hate me any more than she already does. “Um, were you the one who changed me in my sleep? There was really no need to do that! I… I could have gotten changed on my own, you know? Um… can you get my regular clothes back?”

She shook her head no at him, and it caused him to just about strangle her. He reminded himself mentally that she could probably take him on all on her own if it came down to it, and it bummed him out just a bit. She responded before he became despondent, however. “I… you were asleep for a very long time… we were scared you might get bed sores so we regularly removed your clothes and cleaned you. I don’t know where your clothes are a-at the moment so please don’t get mad...”

He instantly forgave her in his head, and his opinion of her went up three notches. Although he was a bit worried at the remark. “Could you please tell me your name? I don’t want to keep referring to you as the blonde one in my head after all.” He laughed as the girl tilted her head in confusion, only for her eyes to brighten up. In a happier tone she responded back to him.

“My name is Tiffany! My friend is called Hannah! We both work and study under the tutelage of master Gerald!” Elliot finally got the information he was looking for. “How long was I out anyways? I feel like I’ve been hibernating for a week!” He laughed again, stretching his bones and stiff muscles, it wasn’t until Elliot turned around and saw the cringing face of the girl in front of him that he realized something was wrong.

“Um… a-about that.”