Lucas groaned as he sat up and faced the morning sun. The rays of light peeked through the forest's foliage. Now that it was daytime, Lucas noticed that there were much less trees surrounding the area than he once thought. The young man heard his stomach growl dully, so he decided that it was time to find something to eat.
"Jalen, Sophia. Wake up! What do you guys want to eat?"
"Agh, I don't want to eat! Just let me sleep," Sophia grumbled.
"Too bad." Lucas threw some sticks and leaves at his companions. "You're getting up now."
"Mm... Can we have bagels?" Jalen asked while rubbing his eyelids.
"Sure. I think I saw a bagel tree back there yesterday."
"Oh. Whoops."
"We can try to find some rabbits and eggs," Lucas suggested. "No bagels, though."
He stood up and began scanning the trees for any bird nests. As he walked by each tower of wood and leaves, he tried working out his legs into springing into their usual fully-awake bounce. Unfortunately, that just ended up in him tripping over a tree root.
"AH-!"
Lucas tumbled into a bush. Thorns pricked him all over and wrecked his already soiled clothing. Everything except his left shoulder got scratched up. Lucas once thought that holding onto a shoulder plate from his time in the military was just him being stupid and sentimental, but it turned out to be a little useful. The plate's rusty and dull colour on top of some worn-out leather hardly made it the flashiest part of Wanumonian armour, but it was the one thing that didn't make the Lyrin Desert's heat any harder to endure.
"BAHAHA!! I- I'm sorry! That was just-" Sophia paused to breath. "- really pathetic..."
"Lucas...," Jalen said.
"I'm fine!" Lucas crawled out of the bush. Amazingly enough, when he emerged from the prickly shrub, he wasn't met with more acres of wood.
Lucas stood up and brushed himself off. Behind him was a densely-packed forest of green and brown, but ahead of him was an endless stretch of yellow brushing at the bright blue skyline. It wasn't a blinding yellow; it was a soft, warm shade being radiated from stalks of wheat. The wisps of golden grains swayed gently in the wind and tickled at Lucas' bare ankles. Lucas felt like he could simply close his eyes and let the warmth of the field consume him. He hadn't felt tranquility like this since... he couldn't even remember anymore.
"Lucas!" Jalen called out again, disturbing the peace.
"Not now," Lucas grumbled while removing the meagre remains of his boots.
Careful not to trample too much wheat, Lucas placed his feet in the rich, loamy soil. It wasn't scalding like the sands of the Lyrin Desert, and it wasn't like it was threatening to pull him in and swallow him whole into a freezing abyss like the waters of the Stygian Sea. It was comfortable and comforting, and he simply let his feet sink into an embrace he had never felt before.
Lucas lifted one foot and brought it forward. Before it sunk into the dirt completely like the other one, Lucas leapt up into the air. He did it again and again until he was leaping throughout the expanse of the field, away from the forest. The shadows being cast to the ground where tree roots gripped onto faded far away. All that was left was Lucas, the field, and a sky that was too blue.
"Lucas!"
Jalen's voice faded far away. All that was left was Lucas, the field, and a sky that was too blue.
"Oh, no. He's about to run into th-"
Sophia's cry faded far away. All that was left was Lucas, the field, a sky that was too blue, and hey, is that a wall-?
Yeah, it was a wall.
And it was a wall that Lucas had just run into.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
"I tried to tell him..."
"I think some seawater is clogging up one of his ears. He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say either."
"Nah, I think that was by choice."
"Wha-?"
The amount of times Lucas had lost consciousness within the past week was just sad. He should probably see how he stacked up against Linkin once they met up again at the end of the month.
"Thanks for checking on him for us," Lucas heard Jalen say.
"No problem," an unfamiliar voice said. "We need to be prepared for accidents and such here on the Yellow Plains."
Lucas decided to finally open his eyes. He seemed to be in some sort of building made of stone. Off to the side, there was a stone oven, and some baking utensils covered in flour were strewn across the counter. A circular baking tray was hung up on the wall next to shelves holding up wooden bowls. The room he was in was illuminated by the wide-open window, giving view to acres and acres of crops swaying in the light breeze.
Out of nowhere, Lucas felt an imprudent finger poke his forehead. He looked up to be met with glasses-framed chestnut brown eyes. "I think the wall-blind idiot is awake now."
Lucas swatted that person away and sat up. He found that there was only two people in the room he didn't know: The person who poked him and a yellow plaid-clad man also in glasses.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," Sophia jeered.
"Ha, ha." Lucas held out his hand to the man in yellow. "I'm Lucas."
"I'm William." William shook Lucas' hand. "But you can just call me Will."
"And you can just call me Pine," said the other stranger. "Do you want some bread? I told Will not to bake so much, but here we are." They gestured to the messy kitchen.
"Hey, it ended up working out in the end. Look at all our new guests."
"Do you not have many people pass by here?" Jalen asked.
Pine shook their head. "It's for the best. Don't want some military ass-hats coming by, seeing how everyone here is Gifted."
Lucas smiled tightly at "military ass-hats", but after hearing "everyone here is Gifted", he look to Jalen. "Did the scales not start glowing?"
"They did! That's what I was trying to tell you!"
"Oh."
"You guys must be pretty far away from other people, then," Sophia said to their hosts.
"Yeah, we usually just send Will to teleport to a town a few hundred kilometres away from here if we need anything the farm can't provide."
"You can teleport?" Jalen asked Will.
"Only to places I know of and have yellow. Which is pretty convenient here."
"You must really love yellow."
"Funny you should say that..."
Someone knocked on the door. "Pine? Will? Are you in there?"
"I'll get that," Pine said. They opened the door for a young woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. In her arms was a basket she was sifting through.
"Brody finally got off his lazy bum and finished up the cream cheese. Seeing how it took him forever to make it, it'll probably go bad soon, so..." The woman finally looked up and saw the newcomers. "Oh. Hello, new people! I'm Claire."
"I'm Jalen."
"Sophia."
"Lucas."
"Nice to meet all of you! How long will you guys be staying here?" Claire asked.
The trio all gave each other a blank look. Just a while ago, their goal was to keep moving once the sun was up again. However, the reason for their nomadic lifestyle was to find more Gifted's for Vaessen's cause. Pine mentioned that everyone in the Yellow Plains was Gifted, so...
"How long would it take for us to become a nuisance?" Lucas asked.
"Trust me, you can't possibly be worse than Brody," Claire assured the group. "You could stay with us forever and we wouldn't mind."
"Well, maybe not forever...," Jalen murmured.
"But you will be staying with us, right?" Will asked.
"I mean, it's not like we have anywhere else to go."
"Then it's settled!" Claire clapped her hands together. "I'll get Brody to make us some steak, Will and I will set up the tables, and Pine will lead you to where you'll be staying. We'll have a makeshift banquet in your honour."
Three stomachs running on some raw squirrel meat growled at the sound of that.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
Jalen, Lucas, and Sophia trailed behind Pine as they led them through a narrow path in the field of wheat. Sophia skipped ahead of Jalen and Lucas to catch up with Pine.
"Pwede ba magsalita ng Tagalog?" she asked.
"Aw, man. My Tagalog sucks. Sorry."
"Oh. Okay." Sophia hopped over a rock. "What's your Gift?"
Lucas looked at the scales in Jalen's pocket for a clue. For the first time, Lucas saw lots of yellow, but there was some blue, green, and red in the mix. He wondered if those three colours were present because of him, Jalen, and Sophia or if they were because of other Gifteds in the Yellow Plains. Lucas also wondered if he saw traces of pink in there as well.
"I can set things on fire," Pine replied with a mischievous smile.
"Really?"
"Yup! Wanna see?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Jalen stared at the crops.
"Calm down. I've gotten better at controlling it."
"Even putting it out?"
"...No."
"Speaking of fire, how are you not burning in that cloak, Pine?" Lucas added on.
"Oh, this old thing?" Pine flapped around the fraying, black fabric a bit. "I don't know. The weather is always pleasant here no matter what you're wearing."
"Huh. Interesting."
"We're all really excited you're here. It's just felt really empty here lately. The house you guys will be staying at has been vacant ever since..." Pine trailed off.
"Ever since... what?"
Pine put on an unsettling smile. "Oh, nothing. Forget I said anything."
While they were talking, the path opened up to a larger road that winded perpendicular to the one they were on. A cow walked by and mooed in boredom. Maybe it was going to be the one that Brody guy was going to turn into steak.
"This way!"
Pine took them to another small path on the other side of the road. The walk there was longer. In fact, Lucas was pretty sure he could see where the wheat ended and canola flowers started. Once canola came into view, so did a modest cottage. It was smaller than Pine and Will's bakery, but it wouldn't be hard to comfortably fit three people.
"Oh, by the way, the couch can only fit one person and there's only one bed." On that abrupt note, Pine ran off.
"Uh..."
"Dibs on the couch!" Sophia exclaimed.
"What?"
"No!"
"I'm not sharing a bed with him!" Lucas and Jalen hollered simultaneously. They pushed each other aside as they scrambled to catch up with Sophia.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
"So, who got the couch?"
"Me," Sophia gloated.
"Nice," Pine said while pouring her a glass of berry juice.
Six people were seated around a circular table in front of Pine and Will's bakery. On Lucas' left was Jalen, then Sophia was left of Jalen, Pine to Sophia, Will to Pine, a man with golden brown hair whom Lucas learned was Brody was next to Pine, Claire was next to Brody, and Lucas was next to Claire. Claire stood up and raised her glass.
"To Lucas, Jalen, and Sophia. Cheers!"
"Cheers!" everyone repeated. Well, everyone except for...
"I don't understand why all three of us have to stay in one with only one bed. I think I saw another house near ours in the canola field. Can't one of us be moved there?" Jalen suggested.
Lucas shot Jalen a look. Their hosts were already gifting them with a place to stay and steak. How could he possibly be demanding for more in a situation like this?
"What? It's an innocent question."
"It's occupied," Will said.
"By whom?"
No one responded as they all dug into their plates. Lucas cut into his steak and its clear, slightly pink juice spilled onto his plate. The shade reminded him of the scales in Jalen's pocket.
Wait, what am I talking about? There aren't any pink scales in Jalen's pocket.
Brody pushed a bowl of gravy toward Lucas. "You should try it. It's my uncle's recipe."
"Really?" Lucas poured some onto his plate.
Brody wheezed. "I'm kidding! He would never. My uncle hates me."
"Nobody asked," Claire said.
Brody gave her a pout before returning to his food. He poked at his steak in boredom with his knife, and a piece of it stuck to the blade. Brody tried shaking it off, but it just ended up being launched in Pine's direction.
"Whoops."
"Why you...!" Pine threw an asparagus back at him.
Brody tried blocking it with his arm, but some of the gravy on the asparagus got on his sleeve. He glowered and tossed a piece of bread at them. Soon enough, Brody and Pine were clearing off their plates by waging war with each other.
Claire rubbed her forehead. "Guys, please don't play with your food. The farm can only provide us with so much-"
Claire was cut off by Lucas pressing his entire plat up against her face. He let go of it and let it fall onto her lap, but bits of steak and the tips of asparagus refused to slide of Claire's stunned expression.
Slowly, Claire reached for a napkin on the table. Suddenly, her hands changed their route and grabbed the bowl of gravy.
"Oh, no-!"
Lucas hopped out of his seat, but some of the gravy still managed to get on his legs.
"FOOD FIGHT!" Sophia shrieked.
Instantly, food was being hurled across the field. All categories of the food groups were sent flying and soiled everyone's clothing. Not that any of them cared. Everyone was too busy with ganging up on Jalen who had sought out cover in the wheat field.
However once Jalen was completely pummelled, Will realized his unfair advantage and began teleporting all over the place. He was cruel enough to teleport just a few metres away from his original spot and laughed at his assailant's frustration. But that got boring quickly, so he went back to playing normally.
Soon enough, the table was out of food. Everyone had no choice but to scatter and find the scraps lying on the ground. In a rush to pick up the food, dirt got thrown, too. Eventually, everyone decided to use these brand-new and easily accessible weapons called, "No! It's getting stuck underneath finger nails- Screw you, Brody!"
Lucas and Pine made a truce and repurposed the table into a base. Unfortunately, the alliance crumbled in a heartbreaking betrayal after Sophia offered Lucas the couch in exchange for teaming up with her. Lucas ended up receiving his karma after he found out Sophia was lying.
The battle of the Yellow Plains lasted until the sun bid its farewell. After that, they all took turns going to the one-person "bathhouse" in the dark.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
Everyone said "goodnight" and started heading off to their respective houses. Sophia, Jalen, and Lucas decided to take a little self-directed tour of their new place. The first thing on their list was a quick scan of the exterior.
Unlike Will and Pine's house, the house was made of both wood and stone, giving it a bit of a modern look. During their small walk around the place noticed that Pine was right; even if the clothes he was given were really thin, he was still comfortable in them while walking around in the dead of night.
"WAH-!" Sophia screamed. Suddenly, she disappeared from sight.
"Sophia?! Where did you go?" Lucas exclamied.
"I'm fine!" The top of Sophia's head popped into view. "Some idiot just decided to put a giant hole here."
"A giant hole?"
"Lucas, look." Jalen pointed to a few spots in the ground. The longer Lucas looked, the more holes he could make out in the light of the full moon.
"Uh, a little help here, guys?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."
After Lucas pulled Sophia out, the trio decided to restrict their tour to the inside only. Inside, a window let in the moon's soft, white light, illuminating the single couch, table, and four chairs in the room. Sophia yawned and face-planted onto the sofa after muttering, "G'night." Now it was just Lucas and Jalen.
When they entered the single bedroom, the floor creaked after every third step or so. Lucas furrowed his brows in annoyance and hurried over to the bed. The bed, Lucas ended up discovering, was built with only one occupant in mind. Separating himself from Jalen with a pillow would be impossible. For a while, the two of them just lied there, for the uncomfortable air was just too thick to fall asleep.
"So... if a known murderer came to your house, asking where your friend was, would you tell them?" Jalen asked.
He was probably going to turn this into some lecture about ethics. In most cases, Lucas would groan and tell him to shut up, but maybe a little philosophy lesson would ease the tension in the room.
"No. Of course not. The killer is obviously asking so they can kill my friend. I don't want my friend to die."
"My friend."
Who would that friend be in this hypothetical situation? Lucas' parents cut him off from all the other kids in his community in order for him to "focus on the greatness ahead of him". His relationships with Sarnia, Adam, Luigi, and Mera decayed that day in the dungeons. After that, it was just a blur of distinct Gifts and personalities before moving onto the next landscape. Funnily enough, you could say that the only constant in Lucas' new life was Jalen.
Jalen was their when Linkin got kidnapped, he was worried for Lucas' life in the Lyrin Jungle, and he fought at Lucas' side against the Jorvik in the Stygian Sea. Even up to now, he was still there by Lucas, blabbing on about the most ridiculous yet provocative things.
"Something something... Immanuel Kant... something something... utilitarianism... something something... wouldn't be responsible for their death because... words."
Lucas nodded along as Jalen ranted even if he didn't understand a single word that was coming out of his mouth. Jalen's hands made some aggressive gestures with his hands, and the twinkle of enthusiasm in his eyes shone brighter than any of the stars shining through their window. His passion bled past the need for comprehensible words, for Lucas could simply understand Jalen deep within his bones.
"...but that's just my opinion," Jalen concluded.
"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't tell a known murderer where you were," Lucas said.
"What?"
"Hm?
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
"Okay..."
"..."
"..."
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Lucas rolled over and shut his eyes tight. This would be the first time Lucas would be able to sleep in a proper bed in ages.
...
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................
...
Creak.
...
Creak, creak...
.....
...Creeeeeaa-
"Who the heck are you?!" Jalen cried.
Lucas sat up to see man with glasses and curly brown hair also in the room, removing the wooden boards from the floor.
"Oh. Hi. I'm James. I live next door." He pulled a few papers from the floor. "Sorry to disturb your sleep, but someone needs to crack this case."
"What case?" Lucas asked.
"Why, the disappearance of the man who used to live here, of course: Enoch King."
---
A/N
AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!!! DUN DUN DUNNNNNN
Anyways, I'm bad at outros...
Bye.