Longer chapter because I felt like it and wanted to use a section of writing I had done before :3
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|Lucas|
"Ow..." I feel the words escape my mouth as a cold rag stung against the wounds across my stomach. It burned for a moment before ebbing away into a soft pain in the background. Hold up- WHERE AM I?!
I snap my eyes open as quickly as I could, then hiss in pain as a torch shone into my eyes and the pain in my stomach worsened for a moment. Lights danced in my eyes as I shut them and let out a slow breath. Wait- Am I dying? Is that why I feel like I'm in absolute pain?
No.
No, I'm not dying. I just feel like I am.
A cold rag presses to my forehead and as if it was the cure to my pain, I sag into it, sighing.
"He's awake for sure... We should tell Grace or the Leaders he is. Should I go get a guard and go or do you want to?" An unfamiliar, smooth voice meets my ears, accompanied by another. Both were soft and gentle, almost like a breeze through the tree leaves on a warm summer day, but more calm and at ease.
"I'll get a guard, just make sure the non-steve doesn't reopen his wounds or we'll have a lot harder time getting them to close properly." I hear rustling of clothes to indicate a man standing up, then footsteps on a wooden floor to cross the room and a creaky door opening and closing.
I manage to peek my eyes open enough to see a figure fill my vision: Tall, with a thin physique and a gentle aura about him. He had been watching his partner leave out the door, then lets out a sigh. Though... Wait, he has green hair?? How common is that??? I... I must have just realized that so many of the people here don't have normal colored hair or attire colors. They all seem to be very bright and full, almost like the colors you would see in a shimmering rainbow after a storm. This... It's not what I'm used to seeing.
After a moment, the man turns back around to me and freezes. I meet his eyes: brilliant green ones that shone like gems. Carefully after a few minutes of silence, he lifts the cloth from my forehead and dips it back into the basin beside the bed. He preoccupies himself with that for a moment before I decide to try and talk.
"How... How long have I been out for?" My voice is raspy, even to my own ears, and the man starts and turns to look at me. He opens his mouth a bit, then looks back to the basin.
"Sorry... Didn't... mean to startle you..." I manage out as he sighs and gives a small smile.
"It's alright. It's just my first time seeing a non Steve... much less having to heal one." He seems to be still on edge, so I decide to try and lighten the mood a bit.
"Yeah, that's reasonable. I still feel like I'm dying, but it comes with the deal of being alive and taking a swipe at the stomach." I chuckle and he half smiles with a vague chuckle.
"I... guess."
I want to sit up, yet I know that would be a bad idea already due to just talking causing me pain in my stomach. I let out a small groan and sigh. What a welcome to this world I guess. Getting injured on my first day here. Though... I haven't really had time to process everything properly.
To start off the list, my longtime friend who both I and Tewtiy thought was dead or in the hands of the Undying, is actually alive. Tewtiy dragged me off to the portal ruins that we all thought was only a pathway to a small pocket dimension of ruins and is actually capable of connecting to an entire world. Then I found myself in an entire kingdom of a civilization to which Sabre is around here.
Speaking of which. Where is he and Tewtiy?!
I start to pinch at the comforters of the bed under me as a sudden anxiety and sensory overload was starting to get to me.
Any number of things could have happened- is Sabre hurt? Is Tewtiy locked away? Am I actually dead and it seems like I'm not? Wait-
I look down at my clothes as best as I could. Or at least- at a certain lack of a shirt and my pants not being the same I had been wearing earlier. Oh great... I had ruined my clothes.
The door flings open but is caught before it slams against the wall. I flick my eyes over in time to see Tewtiy run over, startling the green haired man who had been watching me.
"Lucas!" He quickly places the back of his hand against my forehead to feel for my temp and I chuckle. There's some of that Older Brother factor that he used to show all the time to Sabre and I.
"Thank the galaxies you are alright! I was worried about you..." A look of relief floods his face as he looks down with a silent, "Thank the Reapers,".
"Heh... Just feel like I'm dying Tewtiy. I'll be fine." I meet Tewtiy's eyes as he lets out a sigh and looks back up at me.
Another set of rushed feet come from the hall and dart over to Tewtiy's side. He about wrapped his arms around me before settling on resting his arms on the bed. A worried set of Blue and faded Emerald eyes meets mine as Tewtiy shifts back a bit to allow space. Next thing I knew, I was being suffocated in a hug by a silently sobbing Sabre.
His body shook as he had his arms at my sides on the bed in a sort of half hug. His face was tucked away in my left shoulder as I lift my arms as far as I could, without reopening wounds, and hug my friend back. He stays there for a moment with my hand rubbing his back a little.
Lord of Lightning... Is this real? Am I really hugging my friend after I thought he was dead for so long? It felt so surreal...
Yet...
Here I was.
I let a small shaky breath escape my mouth as I feel Tewtiy place his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently from the side.
We were all together again after so many years... So many trials and sleepless nights... It almost felt like it wasn't supposed to be.
I wince as sharp pain radiates from my stomach and causes me to exhale sharply. Sabre quickly pulls back as he looks at me frantically with a worried expression before I manage out a small, "I'm fine, just a small wave of pain." Before he eased a bit. With a quickness, he pulled out what appeared to be a black covered notebook with gold edging from a pack at his side, then started writing in it with a charcoal pencil. He finishes writing after a moment, then holds it for me to see and taps a section of the page where there was writing.
"Are you sure you're okay?? That didn't sound good." He has a worried look on his face as I become aware of the presence of other people in the room. The Green man quickly stands off to the side as I note a Clock masked man with silver armor, A Red haired man with a red coat, A green haired man with what appeared to be a turtle shell helmet in his hand, and that Violet man from before.
I nod to Sabre, chuckling lightly to avoid thinking about the shooting pain in my stomach.
"I'm alright... Like I said, Just residual pain from my wounds." I glance back over at Tewtiy who had been dead quiet, then look at the other men in the room. I recognized three of them. The Violet man, who I believe was named Violet Leader, the Red haired man, and the Clock masked man who named himself as, Time. Time has a bit of a tired look in his eyes, which gave me the indication that he had a hard time sleeping last night. Or- earlier? Nobody had told me how long I'd been out for yet which was starting to get me a bit worked up.
Sabre wipes his eyes and sighs, Tewtiy gently resting his hand on Sabre's shoulder as he did.
"How is he doing?" I catch the Green haired man with the turtle shell helmet ask my caretaker, then sigh and look back at me. I preoccupy myself with looking around at the room, my eyes now adjusted to it as I listened in.
"He's healing, thankfully. It took a couple tries... Healing a non Steve is really different from healing a Steve, but we managed to clean and wrap his wounds finally. Just need to give his body time to adjust to the medicine and our healing. It nearly rejected our powers, but we managed to find the cause and avoid it a bit so his body wouldn't attack our attempts to heal and stitch together the wounds." My caretaker murmurs softly while I account the red haired man and Violet Leader talking with the other Green haired man who had returned and Sabre scribbling away in his notebook. Wait... Sabre was able to talk before, what happened?
Sabre shifts so he's sitting beside me on the bed, then shows me the notebook.
How are you feeling?
I sigh and shift to move my arm and rub my neck.
"Horrible. Mainly because of my stomach, but that's it. What happened to your voice though," I ask Sabre and meet his eyes then just stare up at the ceiling for a moment. Something seemed off... Did I just forget something?
Soft scribbling sounds come from my right as he writes his response, leaving me to glance at Tewtiy who seemed zoned out for a second with his eyes closed. Sabre taps my shoulder gently, then shows me the book again.
I lost my voice from screaming a couple days ago, so Time gave me this notebook so I could communicate. Tewtiy's idea at first. I'm still recovering from it, but don't plan to talk until the end of the week in order to play it safe.
Couple days...? Wait-
HAVE I BEEN OUT FOR SEVERAL DAYS-?!
I nearly bolt upright, but Tewtiy quickly places his hand on my chest to keep me down. Everybody looks at me startled as I feel myself breathing hard.
"Lucas- Stay down! You shouldn't sit up because of your wounds, díotaé!" He hisses the last word under his breath as he furrows his expression into concern. With little resistance, I go limp on the bed and close my eyes.
I... Had been out for several days... What had I missed?! Had anything else major happened that somebody got injured or killed??
I...
I need to calm down. I'm not doing myself any good by stressing myself out to the point where I reopen any wounds.
A wet cloth gets pressed to my forehead again to which I open my eyes a bit.
Tewtiy had taken the cloth from the basin and placed it on my forehead. I let out a slow breath, feeling some of my worry and anxiety leaving my body from the coolness of the cloth.
"Apologies, but I'm going to go check on somebody." I hear a voice murmur, then watch as Time nods to the Red Hair, Violet leader, and the Green Haired man with the turtle shell, then leaves the room. The door clicks behind him and I notice Sabre seemed a bit anxious and worried.
I reach out to touch his arm. He starts a bit, but then looks back to be with a bit of a more relaxed look. Sabre didn't deserve any hardships. Yet trouble always seemed to follow him.
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-7 years ago-
Storming again... Ja'lāna.
I dart through the rain as it was pelting my face, trying to get home as quickly as I could. Lightning streaks across the sky, lighting up the dark terrain around me as my boots squelch through soaked grass and mud. I had been out on a visit to Dropsy for some more medical supplies and hadn't anticipated this storm. Luckily I had my cloak with so I didn't have to fully deal with the rain soaking me.
The wind roars around me as I make it to the plains right before the forest of my home. I smile, a bit relieved at the familiar terrain. But as I reach a clearer section, I knew I was in trouble before it happened.
A bright flash streaks down from the sky and fills my vision. It arcs down and towards me. It felt like I had been ran over by a horse as I get knocked to my back, gasping to try and breathe. I look up at the sky with wide eyes, trying to process what had just happened.
I had been struck by lightning.
Reality hits me hard as I feel the pressing weight of not being able to breathe press down on my chest again. I cough to try and force myself to breathe again as the edges of my sight start to turn black.
Am I really gonna die out here...? After so much has happened...?
I feel tears start to fill my eyes as I try to cough again.
No. I'm not gonna let myself die out here.
With a defiance in my mind, I raise my fist and hit my chest, sparking myself to breathe again. A rush of wet and cold air fills my lungs as I cough and flip to my side on the soaked grass underneath me. I stay there for a moment, feeling the grass under my fingers as I felt alive. Quickly darting my eyes around, I make sure I was alone. Yet out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glint of silvery pearl on my body. It was... Armor...?
I blink several times in confusion, then it disappears, like it had never been there...
Shaking my head to bring myself back to reality, I quickly stand up and start to dash back home again. It didn't occur to me to question what had just happened to me. All I felt was the need to get home.
I open my eyes, the sound of the crackling fire and rain mixing together in a calming ambiance.
That memory again...
I hear Tewtiy sigh to my right, having been visiting tonight to make sure I was alright. He always was worrying about me, but for good reasons. Could never be too careful in this world.
I take a sip of my cooling coffee I had made myself and Tewtiy, then sigh. Coffee at this late at night wasn't the best, but it would help keep me alert for anything else that would come out of the forest to come and harm me.
Out of nowhere, lightning strikes and creates a loud roar of thunder. Ryan jumps at it, but I just sit there, not phased by it.
"Freaking galaxy of reapers- was not expecting that... How did you not jump at that Lucas?! That was almost right outside your window!" Ryan exclaims and I laugh at his surprise.
"I've discovered some things since you last visited, Tewtiy." I say as I decide to do something. Since it was on my mind... I might as well show him. With a half smile on my face as I stand up, I walk to the front door and open it.
"You better not be going out there with this downpour Lucas... Especially when that lightning hit so close." Ryan says cautiously and stands up to follow me, his armor chinking gently under his cloak. To his disappointment, I was intending on heading outside into the downpour. I step out onto my porch, feeling the coolness of the air that came with the rain, hit my face.
"Lucas... Why, just why? It's not gonna be my fault if you get si-" Ryan starts with a note of disappointment, but I cut him of with holding my hand up. I walk over to be standing at the edge of the porch, just under the overhang, then look up at the sky.
"You may want to plug your ears right quick," I say with a chuckle and loosen my shoulders. What came next was always loud to other's ears and never my own anymore.
A tingling starts in my fingers and I move my hand to reach out to the rain. If I just felt around... There. Come to me. With a quick blinding flash, a warm sensation struck my hand forcefully and traveled up my arm, then spread itself throughout my body. With that warmth came a new weight on my body as the flash faded from my vision and I saw the darkness of the forest again.
I cast a glance over my shoulder at Ryan, who had his eyes open and looking at me in shock.
"Lucas- how did you- what?? I," Ryan trails off and I rub the back of my head. I didn't know how... But I could feel it through the storms. A spark that I felt out there and could now feel it inside me. It felt warm inside my chest, like holding a soft kitten who had snuggled away and was now asleep on your chest.
I look at my now pearlescant gauntleted hand and smile, the lightning tingling at my fingertips. I open and close my hand for a moment before Ryan finally snaps out of his shock.
"How in the galaxy of reapers- did you figure this out Lucas?!?!" Ryan exclaims shakily and manages to pull himself up against the doorway. I shake my head and go over to help Ryan stand straight, letting him get a better view of my pearlescant white and light blue armor that now covered my body. I take a moment to think of a response for my friend to calm him down a bit.
"Well... when I was out running back home in a storm after visiting Dropsy for something, lightning had struck me and I remember the armor on me for a moment. After that, I was curious on why I had that armor and how I wasn't dead. So with the next storm that rolled through, I experimented a bit to see if I could replicate what had happened and figure out that armor. I ended up sticking my hand out and calling out to that sensation I had felt before and had lightning strike me again, but the armor stayed on for longer that time," I say as calmly as I can to calm him down while Ryan just kept looking at me like I was straight up crazy.
"You- let yourself get struck by lightning?! Why- how," Ryan trails off and sighs, knowing he wouldn't be able to process the information at the moment anyways.
I motion for both of us to head back inside to the warm fire and Ryan nods silently, still appearing to be recovering from the fact that I had a lightning affinity and armor to go with it. Well... Not quite too sure if it's an affinity or not. Feels a little more different than an affinity. We head back over to the couches and Ryan flops down onto where he was sitting before.
I sit back down where I had been sitting before as I watch Ryan fly through the thoughts in his head.
"Lucas, have you- have you tested your abilities yet," Ryan asks softly and I nod, the singular burnt tree outside bearing witness to this. Still felt bad about scorching it- it was my favorite tree to sit under.
"Yeah, I have. But- Tewtiy, do you think that we all got affinities from that place? Like- is it possible that... Sabre has one as well?" I say quietly and rest my hand on the back of the couch I was sitting on earlier, the patterned black fabric rough under my fingers.
My blonde friend hums and places his chin in his fingers, rubbing his face a bit.
"I don't know... Wait-" Tewtiy trails off, then goes to grab something from my bookshelf. Odd- If there was something there, I would have read it already. "I don't think that we have affinities at base," He murmurs quietly.
The blonde goes and sits back down while flipping through the small red leather covered book. He stops at a page finally, then scans the page.
"Here- This actually may make sense," He murmurs, then starts to read aloud.
"Ages ago, magic was prevalent in the land. Almost anyone could bend the alchemaic elements to their will. However, as time progressed on, families learned how to turn their abilities into masteries that they taught their children and descendants. These practices and masteries, became known as a birthright. As birthrights became more known throughout families, they adapted and became more specific to the family bloodlines. With more and more families gaining birthrights, a city was collectively formed as a way to unite families through a common trait. Even the families who did not have a birthright moved to this magical city as a way to start a new life under the protection of the 'Blessed Families'."
Ryan stops reading, then it finally clicks.
"Ryan... I think my dad had this armor once..." I trail off and look at my hands as a vague memory of my dad wearing this armor came from my earliest memories. I had been four or five when it was storming and somebody broke into our house. The window was broken and something had streaked in through it that had caught my attention. My mom had gathered me into her arms, away from my father and the thief as bright light filled the main foyer and the fighting had started. I remember crying at the loud noise and whenever my dad got hurt.
My friend looks towards me, then looks down at his own hand.
"Have any idea what yours might be, Tewtiy?" I murmur as I look over at my friend. He shakes his head and sighs, then leans back his against the back of the couch.
"No... I don't know."