AN EPIPHANY ；mashle

thirteen ；a tool

and for whatever reason, a sense of pride bubbled within you. whether it was pride over him, or pride over you, you had the mildest look of achievement glistening in your eyes.

"you spoke... on your own." you muttered, unable to believe your ears.

"did i..." he sounded just as surprised as you were.

typically, he would have been a stammering mess by then. but you, you made conversing seem so natural, on or off paper. his words simply slipped out of his mouth. full, proper words.

"i've never... spoken to females without becoming a stuttering mess. yet you made it seem like we were having an ordinary conversation." abyss muttered, his words holding slight resistance to be let out.

"i'm honoured." you half-joked. truth be told, you did feel quite special after hearing that crucial piece of information from him.

'i'll have to get used to this.' abyss thought to himself, momentarily eyeing your subtly cheerful disposition.

"we'll be late." he took a deep breath before picking up his pace.

your mood soon deflated, coming to a realisation that abyss had higher priorities than to have a longer conversation. sucking your unfavourable situation up, you picked up your pace as well, matching speeds with the hasty third-year.

(...)

"she's here, lord abel." abyss pushed open the thick doors. there were five students that knelt before the first fang, and abel was cradling the doll as per usual.

the scene was a first for you, given that you've never made an appearance to the rest of the magia lupus until then. each and every student that knelt before their leader seemed to bear a strong sense of respect towards him. however, you saw no need to lower yourself to their level.

"forgive me, lord abel. i've tried speaking to her beforehand of what she must do, but it seems that..." the masked student's words trailed off as abel raised a hand, halting his sentence.

"i find myself rather intrigued." abel's words were spoken with amusement. not from your defiance to show respect, but simply from the fact that you had managed to draw words out of abyss.

"you needn't kneel for as long as you entertain me. but the second i see you unfit for your position..." he muttered, assuming you understood his message.

"consequences prevail with each action. i know that very well." despite the fact that you were more or less treading on glass shards, you were well aware of what may come of you if you were to stumble in your steps.

consequences of actions, you were more than familiar with those terms. they were practically embedded into your subconsciousness due to the desert cane, orter mádl. he who had lectured you so much over the laws and what follows if you were to bend them again, he who burnt those very words into your head. you let out a small 'tch' at the unpleasant memories of his endless earfuls.

"the entertained becomes the entertainer... ironic."

you heard a familiar someone whisper under his breath. your eyes trailed to the speaker, ever so slightly widening.

you hadn't expected to see him here... after all these years.

wirth mádl, an old friend of yours, a boy who could reach the essence of talent. to think that he would be here, you could only imagine how much he had grown since you last saw him a full decade ago.