Hunter's Perspective
After digging through the chest and finding many curiosities, I kept only a few as my own out of respect for the original owners. I had scavenged a locket with a tough seal on it, a small cardinal plush that was hand sewn (quite the strange find, it was my favorite), and a beautifully done sketch of the very same cardinal the plush had been modeled after. It seemed even though these people were struggling, they took time to enjoy nature. I suppose the cardinal population was bigger back then, for them to be able to draw a whole sketch of the species. Now cardinals are rare, because of one reason or another. I'm comforted by the idea that these people liked cardinals just as much as I do. It did remind me of Rascal not being here though, which saddened me. "What did you pick out?" I asked Ed to distract myself. Edric seemed to still be deciding, but he had somewhat of a selection in his hands.
"Well, the thing that caught my interest the most was a bag of jewelry made of leathered demon skins. I just find it strange because I know older history of the Isles didn't have jewelry like this, it must have been from whatever world the people in the diary came from." He observed and opened up the small bag, revealing a collection of golden and copper bedazzled earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. They were of a similar makeup to the locket I had found, so it backed up that this was their jewelry and not just stolen, along with Ed's observation. "I also found this fermented honey, you should really try it." Ed suggested to me and held out a tightly sealed jar of honey. "Wouldn't fermented mean alcoholic-?" I asked and Edric shrugged. "You won't know until you try it, but yeah I'm pretty sure fermented honey has alcohol in it." He said and looked closer at the bottle. "It smells really really good though, you can practically taste it through the jar." He commented and carefully unscrewed the lid. The scent hit my nose like a brick, it was heavily fermented and smelled like the sweetest liquid sugar. It also had that sting of alcohol, I could tell this jar had very expensive contents in it. Almost like liquid gold.
"Are you really going to drink that? Is it even safe to drink???" I asked worriedly and he shrugged it off thoughtlessly. "I'm going to try it because you only live once, and this stuff is calling to me." He stated and took a modest sip of a first taste. I did want to try it because it enticed me, but I knew better than to drink alcohol at such a young and impressionable age. Maybe because of how small of a dose Edric had consumed, it wouldn't hurt him. He pulled the jar away from his mouth and eagerly licked his lips. "Dude this stuff is so good! You need to try it-." He said before holding out the jar to me. I stared at the strange liquidy substance and rubbed my nose. "No thanks, the alcohol is so strong in that jar. You can keep going though, I won't stop you." I turned down the offer and lightly pushed the jar back over to him. "Ah, I better not. I just wanted to try it because no adults are going to stop me." He replied somewhat responsibly and closed the jar up, putting it with our collection of items.
"Now the question is, how are we going to bring all of this stuff back? I mean I could make a temporary bag of holding with a spell, but it'd drain most of my magic." He stated as a second-rate option and I shrugged. "As long as we fly high above, and you don't get overly tipsy because of your little joy-drink. Also- I just thought of this, isn't fermented honey just mead-?" I pointed out and Edric took a moment to think. "Oh... Hm, Yeah, I didn't think about that. That's a lot of alcohol- but I'll be fine, surely. Even if I do get tipsy, Ruru can handle it." He tried to reassure me, though it was definitely failing. "Right.. Just make that bag of holding or whatever and let's get on with it. I'm tired of being in this old, smelly, damp house, even if it is very interesting and historical." I sighed and Edric nodded, calming his goofy expression. He drew a careful circle in the air, a crackle being heard as the lit ring sparked with magic flowing from his fingertips. I watched in amazement as the ring came together and formed the top of a drawstring bag, and descended into a tiny little pouch.
However, as Ed opened up the bag, it stretched as much as he pulled on it. "Pretty nice hm?" He said and began dumping all sorts of things into the bag. Of course it was from our pile of collected stuff, but I didn't recognize everything he had picked out. It was so strange to see the bag never get full, as the contents fell into an abyss of never-ending darkness. "Now the number one rule of these bags is that you can't let yourself fall into it. If you do, you'll be trapped in the bag until someone pulls you out, or until the spell is uncast. However, if the spell is uncast, you also go with it, and die." He reminded me and stopped Ruru from jumping in. "Stop you silly little fox- I love you too much to see you in danger." Ed said and set Ruru back on the bed. "Let's get home, Hunter." He said with a smile and I looked at him. His face was warm and welcoming, yeah a little dorky and strange, but it was endearing. "Home?" I asked and he turned Ruru into a staff.
"Well, I mean my home of course, but it'll be your home too." He explained and closed the bag of holding. "Come on then Hunter, we're finally leaving." He said and took my hand, bringing me back into the living room. "I'm glad we're leaving, that basement thing scared me." I said with a bit of a smile. I didn't like expressing my emotions, I was taught not to. But being with Edric helps me to relax because of how gentle and carefree he is. I wonder if he acts like this in front of everyone, that would be brave. "Edric, do you always act so nice like this? To everyone?" I asked out of curiosity as I carefully got onto his Palisman's staff. Edric made sure I was secure and checked if the bags were secure on the staff. "I'm not usually this way, being one-on-one is a lot easier on me because I don't have to be as afraid of making a fool of myself or being judged. I guess you could say I have some social anxiety, but doesn't everyone?" He asked rhetorically. I shrugged and leaned on him for support as he magically opened the door and started to fly out. I decided to reply anyways.
"Willow said that social anxiety isn't normal if you think about it all the time. She said as an example that the human is very outgoing, brave, and reckless a little, but she sometimes gets nervous about outside opinions. But most of the time she's in this weird bliss where she doesn't care. I wish I could be like that." I told him and he tilted his head. "Hm, I guess you're right about that. But I can't imagine a life without such anxiety." He replied and I held onto him tightly as he flew up high into the clouds. It was still early in the morning, and the sun was still gentle with its rays. I rested my head on the Blight Boy's shoulder and closed my eyes, taking a breath of fresh air. "What's the first thing you're doing when we get home?" Edric asked as an attempt at small-talk. I thought about it for a moment before answering confidently. "Checking to see if the human is there to bother me. Then I'm going to take a long warm bath." I told him and his chest shook as he laughed. "I don't blame you, the human can be overwhelming. But also, we have a jacuzzi if you're interested." He suggested to me and I contemplated it. That did sound nice, I've never actually been in one before. Maybe I can try it out.
"Don't you sit in a jacuzzi with other people?" I asked and opened my eyes slightly. "Usually, but you can use it on your own if you want." He told me assuringly and I nodded. "Well it sounds like something you're supposed to enjoy together, from what I've heard. So would you join me?" I requested while feeling a bit nervous. I didn't want to seem weird. "Sure, we can do that. Also, that alcohol is kicking in- I feel a little woozy." He notified me and I yawned. "If you need me to switch places with you, just tell me." I told the pine-haired boy and took a breath of his scent. He smelled like books and weird potions that went wrong. He also smelled faintly of his own body odor, which may be natural but still was unappealing. Most of the ride was silence and reflection, aside from the occasional question or strange topic of interest. As we neared the mansion Edric called home, both of us noticed what seemed to be his mother storming out. "Sheesh, I wonder what got her bra in a knot." I remarked off-handedly. Edric seemed amused by my words, but still concerned about the situation.
"Mom almost never does that, I hope she doesn't come back." He spat heartlessly as he landed on his balcony. I understood what might have caused such hate, but I still felt bad that he had such a relationship with his mom. I carefully got off of Ruru once we were stable and helped him to unpack the bags off of the staff. Ruru turned back into a playful little fox and scratched at the glass doors of Edric's balcony eagerly. "Alright, alright, calm down Ruru." He sighed and pulled out a key ring from his pocket, unlocking the transparent doors for his little Palisman. I helped to carry our collected belongings into his room and almost flew out of my skin when the door slammed open. "Oh my god you're okay!" A female voice exclaimed. I watched as a very similar looking female twin raced over to Edric and hugged him tightly. "Where did you go idiot!?" She asked angrily and Edric crossed his arms whole staring sassily. "I was out with the Golden Guard." He stated, dragging me into the mix.
"What were you doing, making babies?" She scoffed and my face exploded with color. "W-wh- no! N-no way!" I quickly denied her assumption as the two twins laughed. I felt even hotter in the face out of embarrassment. "I see how it is! You went out with your new boyfriend and got all kissy kissy instead." She suggested as a silly theory to tease me more. I didn't want to take the bait, so I simply stared at the ground with a red face. "No, I was flying him back to the castle when the rain hit us, so we took shelter and had to wait it out for the night. Now we're back here because I convinced him to stay." Edric explained to his giggling sister. "Ah, well regardless mother and father are furious, so you better get ready for some grounding." She warned and Edric sighed. I could tell he wanted to say something resentful about his punishers. "Whatever- just go tell them we're back before it gets any worse." He told his nefarious sister. She reminded me a lot of Ruru in some ways, but y'know, human. I wonder if her Palisman is like Ed as well.
I watched as she skipped out to go report her brother's return. Edric eagerly closed the door behind her and tiredly sighed in a deep manner. He must really not like living here most of the time. "Maybe I could talk to your parents." I suggested as he slumped against the door and pulled his knees up to his chest. He spoke into his knees as he replied. "Sorry Hunter, but even your status isn't going to save me from a royal grade grounding." He said with clear distress and impending doom in his voice. I sat down beside him and leaned on him. "It's okay, I'll still try. Even if it's useless." I assured him and slowly wrapped an arm around the stressed out boy. He leaned into my awkward embrace and developed it into a hug. I wasn't used to hugs, or much physical contact at all, so this was a bit strange. Still, I allowed it because he needed the comfort. I hesitantly returned the hug and lightly rubbed his back. "You must get grounded a lot hm?" I asked. He simply nodded and hugged me tighter.
"Sorry if I'm acting all clingy, I just sorta wanted to hug." He apologized, though it wasn't necessary. "It's ok." I dismissed it and heard the door start to open. Edric pulled away from my grip and got up to face the adult approaching his location. The door slowly opened to reveal his ever-tired father with dark rings under his eyes and messy clothing. He was hunched over strangely and seemed like he needed a break. He stared at his son and then looked over at me, seemingly wondering why I was on the floor. I quickly brought myself to my feet and dusted off my clothes, standing beside Edric. I forced myself to hold out my hand and put on a smile. "Hello sir, I'm the Golden Guard, and I'm very grateful for you allowing me to stay in your residence." I thanked him formally as his gaze fixed on my hand. He didn't shake it, but waited for me to pull it away and rest it. "Yes, that's all good and fine, but did you really have to take my son for a joyride in the woods?" He said tiredly and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Um- Well it wasn't a joyride, I lost my staff and I needed a quick way to get back to the castle. But the rain delayed us to where we had to take shelter for the night, and then Edric convinced me to stay here for a while. If that's okay with you of course." I added, acting like a perfect innocent little angel that was humble. I hated being raised that way, but Belos wouldn't allow me to behave any other way. Mr. Blight looked at the two of us for a few moments, thinking of what to do. "Edric, seeming as you left without telling anybody, you're still grounded because you worried your mother, but because it was for a good cause, it's only a light grounding. That means no going outside." The very tired man told his increasingly upset son. Ed seemed surprised by this turn of events, but still didn't seem happy. He just kept a neutral, almost pissed expression as he responded. "Thank you father." He spoke without a hint of genuineness. The older male continued to stare down the fiery little spirit before gently patting his shoulder. "More like your mother every day." He mumbled as he left. I could tell by Edric's sour reaction that the comment was a bad one.
He locked the door an tossed himself onto his fluffy, fancy bed and buried himself in the super comfy sheets. I joined him in a much less dramatic way and watched as he tossed around recklessly. He needs a de-stressor of some sort. Maybe I could distract him. "... Hey Ed, ever heard of the mute that couldn't speak?" I asked as he turned over to face me. "Uhh.. No?" He said without any amusement. He was annoyed still, and rightfully so I suppose. "Me neither." I said with a terrible grin. His expression contorted as he processed the joke. It was definitely not the best joke, but it still made him laugh. Probably at how stupid it is. "I've got one for you too." He told me and I smiled. "Yeah? What is it?" I asked as he got excited. "So a flock of crows is called a murder right? Then what would you call a flock of guards?" He posed the question comedically, though I didn't understand the joke yet. "I'm not sure, what would you call it?" I asked with a bit of awkward concern. "An execution." He said with a flat face. I stared back with a look of confusion as to how that was funny. I guess he likes dark humor.