#methin around | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dakarimainink · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER 1: Bullet Wound

WARNING: 18+, violence, blood, language

Characters: F!OC, River Ward, M!OC

Wordcount: 5,1K

Note: Not betad, all mistakes are my own

Ch2

Masterlist

The sweet sickly smell seeped into Aria’s nostrils as she descended the basement stairs. Her hands were firmly wrapped around her m10 Lexington, her finger resting at the side of the trigger. Her jaw was strained as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she descended into. She wasn’t sure if the smell came from the humidity dripping down the concrete walls or if someone had been smoking a lot of Methin. Either way, it was a disgusting odour to have around her as she was trying to focus on finding clues to their investigation.

River had gotten the better place to look; second floor. She had lost the rock-paper-scissor game one to two and was quite pissed off when he smirked at her loss. She had cursed under her breath as she stomped towards the door leading downstairs.

The hallway was narrow and she tried her best not to bump into anything, she couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to get rid of the smell, it was bad enough the way it was clinging to her clothes in the air.

With her booted foot, she shoved the first door open. It creaked heavily before the metal hit the wall behind it. She scanned the room before stepping inside. It was mostly empty, except for a torn and dirty mattress in the corner with some used needles next to it. It was dripping liquid from the roof; Aria wasn’t interested in finding out what it was and turned out of the room.

She continued down the hallway, checking room after room for something not belonging there. She had a feeling they probably wouldn’t find much, but the tip was fresh and they had thrown themselves into River’s truck before speeding their way over to this abandoned building.

It had been a long time since their last tip, most of them were dead ends, but for Aria, she had promised not to stop until the people responsible for the XBD production stopped.

Aria stopped when she noted some disturbance on the floor outside one of the rooms. The door was cracked open and she furrowed her brows at the sight. She walked silently over to the door and as slowly as she could, pushed the door open. The room was empty and darker than the other rooms, due to no window letting in moonlight.

She hesitated at first, not wanting to walk inside, but she had a job to do, and god damn if she would let an empty room in the basement of an abandoned building stop her from finding anything valuable.

She pulled out her flashlight and lit up the room in front of her. A glint shimmering on the floor in the middle of the room caught her attention. She walked over to it; her eyes fixated on the small object in front of her. She bent down and picked up the small round object. She turned it over and realised it was a pin with the face of Mayor Lucius Rhyne. Her nose wrinkled at the sight, a useless mayor who lived in luxury while his people starved. She shook her head and dropped the pin to the floor.

She heard shuffling behind her and immediately turned around. Her eyes couldn’t register what it was before a knife was forced through her shoulder. She let out a scream and lifted her gun to fire a bullet, but her assailant reacted before she could fire and knocked the gun out of her grip. The gun scraped across the filthy floor. The knife was pulled out and into the side of her chest. She gasped in pain as the electric sting shot through her body.

She fisted her hand and with as much force she could muster punched him in the jaw. He lost his footing and stumbled to the side. Her foot met his chest and the person smashed into the wall with a crack. With a beat of a moment, she pulled the knife out with a wheeze. Her clothes were soaking up the blood pouring out of her stab wounds, the warm liquid sent shivers down her spine.

The rush of adrenaline ran through her veins and she pounced forward with her fingers tight around the handle. The blade sunk into the assailant’s throat and quickly went out again, the black liquid spewing out of the wound. The person gurgled out a grunt with the impact. She followed with multiple stabs to their stomach. Again and again and again, until the grip around the handle were slipping up because of all the blood on her hand.

They punched her in the face, the contact so hard she fell over to the side. With the moment of space, the figure jumped to the side, towards her gun on the floor. Her eyes widened at the sight as she heard the click of loading the gun. At the skip of her heartbeat, she threw the knife towards the person kneeling on the floor. Two shots were fired and for a moment, she felt like she could see the projectiles slowly fly towards her.

Silence.

She stood frozen on her knees; her eyes locked on the figure slumped down on the ground – the blood pooling beneath their lifeless body with the handle of the knife sticking out of their forehead. She swallowed thickly, feeling the copper taste at the back of her throat. She lowered her head and placed a shaky hand on her abdomen. She pressed her fingers to her soaked clothes, feeling around her skin until an unknown hole were sensed in her flesh. A shock of pain shot through her body and her teeth turned to ice. She gasped and bent forward, leaning on her hand as drool hung down her mouth.

Fuck. Her mind felt empty except for this one word. There were still life in her, compared to the other person in front of her, but the difference was small; perhaps just a few breathes more.

She laid down on her side before rolling over to her back. She coughed, making her whole body cramp in agony.

She heard distant footsteps approached her. “Aria?” River called out, but she couldn’t answer him. She could only breathe and try not to choke on her own spit and blood as she laid on the filthy ground.

“Aria.” He exclaimed and rushed over to her trembling body. His eyes scanned her from top to toe, brows low and eyes grave. “Aria, talk to me.” He pressed his hand on the bullet wound.

Her lips parted, but no words followed. She placed her hand over his hand and she fought to keep her eyes open.

His eyes turned bright blue and as he spoke, the words drowned out when Aria lost her consciousness.

~~~

“Multiple stab wounds and a bullet wound. Outer and internal bleeding. 69|39 mmHG and dropping. Administer fluids and…”

Aria…

~~~

“You’ll be fine, Aria. You’ll be fine.”

My little butterfly…

~~~

“How is she? Can I stay with her?”

“She is stable but critical. We will keep her under close observation and we’ll let you know if there are any changes.”

Do not shed tears…

~~~

“I’m sorry Aria, I should have been there.”

Because you’ll be fine…

~~~

Eyelids closed; she could see the light penetrate her thin flesh. The warmth of the sun kissed her sensitive skin. As she slowly drifted towards consciousness, she became aware of her body. It started in her toes and fingertips, slightly wiggling them to know they still functioned before the numb feeling in her muscles faded away and she took a deep breath. As she inhaled through her parted lips, she squinted, noticing a staring figure sitting beside her.

She closed her eyes as she felt burning in her eyeballs. As she scrunched her nose, she heard shuffling next to her, then the light faded and the warmth that once enveloped her cheeks were gone. After a quiet moment she opened her eyes slowly and a faded smile painted her chapped lips when she recognised the buzzcut man sitting next to her.

River let out a breath so low, it sounded like he hadn’t been breathing since they played rock-paper-scissors in the decrepit building. He took her hand and gently squeezed it, his warm touch sending tingles down her spine. He lowered his head and placed his forehead to their entangled fingers. He murmured under his breath, but Aria didn’t catch a single word.

She was glad she wasn’t alone, that River had been there when she woke up. It was an underlying fear when she finally had been aware she was still alive, that she would wake up alone with no one to be there to explain what happened. But she didn’t need explanation because she remembered everything. From the sweet lingering smell, the dripping walls, the person assaulting her, the knife, the blood and the silence. What she needed was just someone to sit there next to her, just to let her know she was safe.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was shaking and she glanced over at him. He had raised his head and watched her intently.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. That’s when she realised her mouth was dry and when she swallowed, she swallowed nothing but thick air. She looked around her and saw the glass of water with a thin straw in it next to her bed. She stared at it and River caught on quickly. He picked up the glass and placed the straw between her frail lips. She sucked up the clear liquid, it burned as it ran down her throat. Water had never felt so great in her whole life.

She carefully smacked her lips and ran her tongue around in her mouth. “I feel like shit, to be honest.”

River chuckled at her words. They both smiled at each other, Aria’s a little weaker than his, as her fragile lips strained against her movement. She could feel her skin wanted to break any moment.

He squeezed her hand again. “I am glad you are okay. You had me worried for quite a while there.”

Her brows furrowed. “A while? How long have I been out?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, uhm… for three days.” He admitted.

Her lips parted and eyes sank. She couldn’t believe she had been gone for three whole days, lying in this bed doing absolutely nothing. She didn’t think the injuries were that bad, at least from what she remembered.

“Listen, Aria.” He interrupted her thoughts. “I need to get back to the station. You stay here and rest up, alright?”

She looked up at him. “What happened to the person?”

“Dead. We got a chip from him that might be connected to the illegal BD production, but it was badly damaged during your fight. We are trying to recover whatever we can from it.”

Great, not only had she wasted three days in a hospital, she might have also ruined the only thing that might get them further in the case. She cursed herself multiple times in her head. She should have never driven that knife in his neck, it was obviously where the chip was. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

River stood up and let go of her hand. “I’ll let the nurse know you’re awake. I’ll come back later tonight.” He grabbed his brown coat and slid into it.

She wanted to protest, he saw it, but deep down they both knew he was right. She needed the rest, not only physically, but mentally as well. She had gone through a near death experience that would probably send most people to their grave, but she had fought to stay alive, and god damn if it hadn’t paid off.

He walked out of the room in his usual alpha walk, shoulders wide and back slightly bent forward. As soon as he left, the room felt cold and empty. She looked towards the window, staring at the sliver of sunlight peeking through the curtains.

Her muscles were tired, she could feel they didn’t want to move. She felt weak, just like when she was a little girl. She felt her hand tremble, she fisted it and shook her head. No. She pulled out the IV in her hand and everything else that was attached to her body. Fuck this. She pulled the duvet off and slid out of bed.

Her knees buckled beneath her and she caught herself on the edge of the bed. Her jaw strained as she pushed herself up, forcing her knees to hold up. Come on you useless woman, stand up. She cursed at herself until she finally managed to stand straight up. A proud gasp left her lips and she eyed the brown leather bag standing by the wall. She dragged her legs over and opened it, finding a fresh set of clothes. Thank you, River.

She zipped up her black ankle boots when a woman entered her room. Her surprised gasp made Aria look over her shoulder.

“What are you doing out of bed?” She rushed over to her.

Aria furrowed her brows. “Because I am leaving.” She replied and straightened up. She noted the name tag on the woman’s white scrubs. Ada. She was lost for words. “I want you to discharge me immediately and get me a taxi to the NCPD station in Little China.” She picked up the bag and placed it on the bed. She searched through it and pulled out her Sacramento green bomber jacket and her credchip.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you go.” Ada had finally managed to speak up. “You’re in no condition to be discharged.”

Aria let out a sigh. “Let me get this straight, you’re intending to keep detained in this hospital, to keep me here against my will? A cop?” Ada’s eyes widened. “I am allowed to leave whenever I choose. So to make this as easy as possible, discharge me and get me a taxi.” She held her breath for a moment. She didn’t mean to sound so angry, but she had no patience to discuss this with her. “I have wasted enough time here already.” Her voice was low as her eyes sunk to the bag on the bed.

Ada nodded and scurried out of the room. Aria let out a deep sigh, feeling her body was straining to keep her up. She knew it was a bad idea to leave, but she couldn’t stay here while River was out there working. They had been working on this together since day one, not once had they been separated since she first started and she wasn’t going to let it happen after all this time. Fuck the pain. She grabbed the bag and walked out of the room.

The elevator doors opened up and the office space opened up before Aria. It was mostly full, colleagues sitting at their designated desks discussing, writing, drinking coffee and trying their hardest to solve their cases. In the middle, she saw River sitting at his desk, bent over some documents while rubbing his forehead.

She walked forward and heads turned as they noted her presence, wide eyes and gaping mouths. They all had heard about what happened to her. Their prying eyes made Aria feel small and she wanted to tell them off, but since most of her co-workers were staring, she thought it wise to just let them gape and move on.

She stopped next to River and he looked up. “Aria? What are you doing here?” He was as shocked as everyone else.

“I’m working here, am I not?”

He gaped wider and scanned her face. She was somewhat surprised by his reaction, she thought at least he would praise her for getting out of the hospital so soon, but then again, he might think her stupid for doing so as well.

“Aria Reyes.” A booming voice resonated from the end of the room. All heads turned towards the wide man standing in the doorframe. “My office immediately.” All heads turned towards Aria and she gulped.

Shit.

The door closed automatically behind her and she walked over to the commissioner’s desk. He sat in his leather chair; eyes drilled into her as she stood still in front of him. The silence lingered and she didn’t know if she should say something or just let him talk whenever he was ready. She noticed the twitch in his left eye and it was a sign he was pissed off. Last time she saw that twitch, was when her colleague Marcus Lambert drove a truck full of equipment for the NCPD into the Del Coronado Bay outside Heywood. Rumour has it he was fired and went into therapy after the ear-ringing shouting he got.

“Aria.” His voice startled her and her eyes snapped straight to his gaze. “Sit down.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. She stepped up and sat down, the faux leather squealing beneath her weight. Something glinted in her vision and noted his desk name plate in black, Sam Cole. She shifted in the chair to stop the reflection of light from blinding her.

She gulped when he glared down at her. She could see he was straining himself from not screaming at her. She folded her hands in her lap and sat quietly, awaiting his next words.

His teeth were clenched. “How are you feeling?”

His question came as a surprise. She thought she came here to be scolded, not asked about her health.

“I am fine.” She answered carefully and shifted in her seat. “And you?”

He intertwined his fingers together on the desk surface. “Let me tell you, Aria.” His voice was not a good sign to this. “I haven’t taken a shower in four days, I have everyone’s shit up to my ears, we have insufficient funding, we are understaffed, underpaid, outgunned, too many people are murdered in this god forsaken city and recently I almost lost one of my best investigators due to them not having the mandatory implants to even be a police officer.”

His tick had worsened and all Aria could think of was running out of there. It was a ticking time bomb, set to explode any second.

Aria replied with probably the worst question one could give in this situation. “I am your best investigator?”

He slammed his palms on the metal surface, making her whole body jerk. “Aria.” His voice vibrated off the walls. He let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in his chair. “Why won’t you get the implants?”

She glowered at him. “It wouldn’t have stopped their assault on me.”

“No, but it would have saved you a bullet wound.” He barked. His whole body was tense and the air between them was thick. Aria felt small where she sat.

He rose to his feet and walked over to the window; his hands connected behind his back. He looked out on the streets below. “Aria, you and River are probably the only good cops left in this dump. As far as I know, neither of you take bribes or turn a blind eye, which is exactly why I can’t afford to lose either of you.” He seemed calm, but she knew there were resentment simmering at the back.

He turned and looked at her. His silvery hair glistened in the sunlight. She thought he had greyed faster the last few years, probably because of all the stress, as he wasn’t that old; probably late thirties or early forties. Since she thought about it, she couldn’t remember if they had even celebrated his birthday at all.

He shook his head while he approached her and sat down on the edge of his desk. “I’ll ask you again, why won’t you get the implants?”

She moved her head from side to side with her eyes downcast. “I am not going to have this discussion with you again, Sam. It won’t change my mind about it.” She lowered her head, afraid to look up at him. “If you’re so against it, why did you even hire me in the first place?”

He reached forward and titled her head up. The physical touch of his metal fingers caught them both by surprise. “Because when you first stepped into this office, I knew you would make a difference in this city. Your presence would have a huge impact on everyone and everything.” He stopped and scanned her face. “Because I believed in you. And I still do.”

He removed his hand, but his touch still lingered. She had never seen him like this before, almost vulnerable. “I want you to take some time off, okay? Go home and recover.”

“But…”

“No.” He interrupted her. “If I see you here before the end of the week, you will hear it.” He stood up and walked around to his chair again. He sat down and looked at her. “You may go.”

With a sigh, she stood up and walked towards the door. It automatically slid open and she cursed at it for not being able to slam it after her. She walked down the path between the desks and River met her halfway.

“What happened?” He asked worried.

“I was told to go home and recover. I am not allowed here until next week.” She was disappointed.

He nodded thoughtfully. She walked past him, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. “We’re still having our weekly cooking and movie night tomorrow, right?”

She smiled at him. “Of course, I am expecting a pretty good meal tomorrow. Feels like I haven’t eating in weeks.” She chuckled and he smiled at her. “See you tomorrow, River.” She slid her hands in her jacket pockets and walked towards the elevator. His eyes stayed at her until the elevator doors closed.

Aria walked up the concrete stairs leading up to her apartment floor. Several people were scattered around, smoking, talking and drinking. She kept her head low, trying desperately not to catch anyone’s attention. She didn’t mind her apartment complex or the people living there but thinking about conversing with the half drunken or drugged people sent unpleasant shivers down her back.

She walked down the hallway towards her apartment. “Aria.” She stopped in her tracks when she heard her name being called out behind her. She let out a sigh and turned around to greet the person.

It was her neighbour Harry Fraser; a short and skinny man who lived on pay-check to pay-check. He slicked his greasy and thin hair back. “Hey Harry.” She was in no mood to talk to anyone. “What’s up?”

“The ceiling.” He snickered and pointed up. Aria didn’t laugh and just looked at him expressionless. “Boy, you look like shit.”

She didn’t know how long he had thought they were friends, at least not close enough to insult each other jokingly. She didn’t mind him, he was a generally nice guy who was pretty good at making coffee, but that was about it. He was right though, not only did she look like shit, but she also felt like it too. She played along with his joke.

“I could say the same about you.” She forced a smirk on her lips, her skin cracking up.

He cackled out and dragged his bony fingers through his hair again. “God, you’re so funny Aria.” He cleared his throat. “Listen, I could uhm… I could use some help. I have a credchip I would need unlocked.” He fished in the pocket of his grey joggers and pulled out a yellow credchip. He handed it over and she took it.

She didn’t ask why or where it came from, because they both knew he stole it and needed the money inside.

“Fine, I’ll get it back to you later today.” She turned around and walked down the hallway. She heard him thank her as she made her way to her apartment. She pulled out her key card and scanned it by the door. It opened up with a sigh and she stepped inside the comfort of her home.

She dragged her feet across the floor and fell down on the bed with a thud. Her muscles groaned as they finally got to relax. She had no idea how tired and worn out she was, how hard her body had fought the last few days.

The sheets felt soft against her skin and she crawled further in, dragging her body till her head hit the pillow. She let out a moan as her eyelids felt heavy. She inhaled deeply and it smelled fresh. She opened her eyes and suddenly noticed her sheets were new. Last time she slept in her bed, they were black, but now they were white. River? She thought and couldn’t help but smile. She inhaled again with closed eyes. River.

She sat up in bed, forcing her body to not just lay down again. She shook her limbs before getting out of bed and trudged over to her corner desk. She pulled off her jacket and hung it on her chair before sitting down. She slotted the chip into her computer and begun tapping on her keyboard. “Let’s see how strong your lock is then.” She mumbled to herself.

It took Aria three minutes to unlock the chip and inside were 13.000 Eurodollars. Seems like you hit a jackpot, Harry. She scanned through the chip, making sure there were no malware hiding when Harry would eventually take it all out. After a quick scan with nothing detected, she ejected the chip and placed it on her desk.

She looked around her apartment and realised it could use some tidying. Harry’s chip could wait for now. She got out of the chair and begun picking up scattered clothing and empty beer cans. She cleaned out her fridge and scrubbed her shower, all while feeling her body groan in protest. It was still too early to go to bed even though the sun was about to set.

She paused for a moment and looked out her window. The neon lights begun to pop out as the sun disappeared behind the towering buildings. The truest element of Night City finally came out and was the reason she fell in love with the place. From far away, it was the city that birthed several legends, but if you scraped on the surface and dove into middle, you would find nothing but guns, drugs, money, power and corruption.

Aria picked up the credchip and walked out of her apartment. She ambled her way down the hallway but stopped when she saw three men exit Harry’s apartment. One of them were carrying a katana and another one wearing a kabuki half-mask.

Tyger Claws? What are they doing here? She leaned on the wall and carefully watched as they walked away. She had a bad feeling about it as she approached Harry’s apartment.

The door to his apartment opened automatically and her eyes immediately snapped to Harry’s body writhing in agony on the ground. Her heart sank as he groaned in pain.

“Please, I am sorry. I will get you the money, please.” He begged with blood running down his nose.

Aria stepped inside and knelt down next to him. “Harry, it’s me, Aria.” She spoke softly and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

He squinted up at her and shame washed over him. She furrowed her brows and assisted him in sitting up. He had several cuts and bruises on his face, numerous drops and splatters of blood were scattered across his clothes and apartment.

He opened his mouth to say something, but stayed silent, down casting his eyes in shame. “I am scared, Aria.”

Her heart sank at his words. “Harry, what happened?” She could imagine what happened, but the reason behind it was unknown to her. She sat frozen, waiting for him to answer her.

His lips trembled before he managed to find his voice. “I am in deep shit, Aria.” He admitted and pulled his knees up. “I am in such deep shit.” He shook his head and tightened his hold around his legs.

Her lips parted followed by a hushed sigh. “Harry, let me call a paramedic and the police.”

“No, no police, please.” He met her gaze with wide eyes. “I know you’re a part of the police, but I trust you.”

Her shoulders lowered and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Harry…”

“I uh… I…” He stammered, struggling to speak clearly.

She squeezed his shoulder once. “You don’t have to tell me anything, Harry.”

“I should, because I am afraid that next time you pass this door, I might not be here.”

Her heart ached. She knew exactly what he meant and even though they weren’t close, he was still her neighbour who made her coffee when she was down. They had shared short stories with one another, him mostly as Aria wasn’t a sharer.

“Listen, I have an addiction. A pretty bad addiction.” He begun and looked away from her. “I have a gambling addiction.” He chewed on his inner cheek. “Sometimes I run out of money and… Well, the owner of the establishment is kind enough to loan me some money.”

Aria covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a gasp. He should have known better, never loan from Tyger Claws, because if you don’t pay back the money, they sure as hell make sure you pay in other ways.

“Harry…”

“I know, I know.” He interrupted her and sighed deeply. “Just… if I go missing, promise to look for me. I don’t want to rot in an abandoned building or container. Find me and burry me, anywhere, even a dumpster, but just burry my body, please.” His voice was at the brink of breaking.

Aria lowered her head and slowly shook her head. “I will look for you, Harry.” She promised. She roamed her hand in the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the credchip. “Here, it’s unlocked with no malware.”

He glanced at it. “No, you take it. It’s not gonna help me.”

She held it closer to him. “Just take it. Maybe it will buy you some more time.”

He reluctantly took it and offered her a smile. She stood up and pulled him up with her. He wiped the stained blood on his face away and nodded.

“Thank you, Aria. I am glad you’re my neighbour.”

“Take care, okay?” She walked towards the door and left his apartment.

She went straight into the shower at her apartment and carefully cleaned herself up. The warm water felt delicious against her tired body, like a cleansing from above. She almost fell asleep as she leaned her hands against the wall and just let the water run. She stepped out and changed her bandages before getting into bed. Falling asleep almost immediately.

(Want to be tagged? Let me know :D)

#cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 #river ward #female original character #female oc #male original character #male oc #writing #fanfiction #AO3

7 notes · View notes

silavut-the-wizard · 3 years

Text

Silavut the Wizard, Chapter 8

Now for the next exciting chapter in the adventures of Silavut the Wizard. Where he learns to fight!

A New Skill

After the encounter at the forest, Silavut a newfound sense of worth. As he continued wandering, he pondered if there was any place for him. Every town or village he went through seemed to have no need or want of a wizard. This didn’t stop him from continuing practicing, though. He knew some day he would get the chance to prove himself, he just wished it were sooner than later.

Some of the folk he met while traveling he found were actually survivors of the catastrophe at Eldren. There were those who recognized him, who also knew his parents, saying they could see his mother and father in him and were sorry for his loss. He returned the condolences for any lost family and friends of theirs. He felt guilty for what happened and they told him it wasn’t his fault, but they didn’t know the truth of what actually happened and he couldn’t bear to tell them, though he knew he should. Others didn’t recognize him at all, and he was OK with that; sometimes people from the same place stayed strangers.

With a new look on life, he also began thinking about learning new skills. Vorin had once told him that additional skills are always a blessing to have, even if they’re not necessary. Besides wizardry, he thought about other skills he may want to add to his repertoire. In the next place he came to, he would have to ask around.

A few days later, he came upon a quaint village where he could hear sounds of yelling and laughter. As he entered the village, people turned to look at him. There were looks of suspicion, curiosity, even animosity. A stranger, a newcomer, was unheard of here. Trying to ignore the looks, he continued on. Nearing the village square, he saw what the commotion was about. Some people were sparring in an open arena. Off to the side he saw others practicing fighting styles.

Then he heard a body hit the ground with a grunt. He turned back to see one of the sparring men had been knocked down. A cheer went up through the crowd while there were a few jeers. Silavut thought, This is a skill I need to learn: fighting. Wonder if they do swords as well, or anything else…? The man was helped to his feet and two new people entered the arena.

He felt a pair of eyes on him and he turned around to see an elderly woman staring straight at him. She beckoned for him to follow. Without a word, she turned and strode off. After a brief moment’s hesitation and bewilderment, Silavut hurried to follow, nearly tripping in the process.

As he followed her, he realized he shouldn’t be too hasty to trust. Should he trust her? Maybe she had nefarious plans for him. Once again, curiosity got the better of him and he continued to follow her. She led him to a small cabin that was well furnished.

She turned and looked at him as he entered. “You stay here. No pay, but you fight. You look like strong boy.” Her speech was very peculiar. He had never heard anyone talk like that.

Wait… Fight? “Sorry, but I don’t know—”

She quickly cut him off. “You learn. Tomorrow. Be at training early.” Then she left without another word.

Well, guess I’ll be learning after all, he thought. Left to his own devices, he got settled and started mulling things over. One thing was nagging at him now. The old woman spoke in broken phrases and had an odd accent he had never heard before. Did she speak another language? If so, what was it? Or did she just have a hard time with talking? He then heard someone passing outside his new current, temporary residence. Except it wasn’t common language.

He quickly hopped up and out the door to try and hear it before they got too far away. Unfortunately he could only hear them talking, not the language. Then he thought about the sparring arena and headed that way. Maybe some of the townsfolk would be speaking their language. Sure enough, as he got closer, he could hear it.

He caught snippets here and there. “…genthin hetrebist weret… endrosa yune pleknor vanse… methinal craviv… einjesk omlatip habinaj yktek noi…” Of course, he could understand none of it. Unfortunately wizardry does not grant one immediate understanding of languages. Glancing around, he caught people looking at him again. Though less hostile. Maybe the old woman had said something to them, told them he was there to take part in the fights.

One curious little girl came over and looked up at him. “Endal mesit unen?” He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders to try and indicate he didn’t understand.

A stout man came over and looked down at the girl. “Troki shal nektha menwe.” He then turned his attention to Silavut. “My apologies. She does not speak common. Not many here do. She asked if you were here to fight. I explained you do not speak our tongue.”

Silavut smiled. “Thank you. I was not aware of any other languages as I have not met any who speak them. I grew up in a place far away from here. I’m…a traveler. The old woman said I could stay in the cabin there, but I would have to learn to fight. I have very few skills outside of a certain art, and I’ve recently been thinking I should learn new skills, so learning to fight would be great. Except I’m not sure about actually participating in the fights here.”

The man laughed. “You will do fine. Don’t worry about the others; I saw them looking at you. The old woman told them you’re her guest. She sees something in you. They know to stay away from people she has chosen. Though we fighters don’t care who comes and goes, so long as there’s no trouble.”

“Great. So, what is your language called?”

“No one knows any more. We only know the language itself, not what it’s called. The origins and name of our tongue have been lost to time and no records have ever been kept.”

“I see. That’s a shame. Well, thank you for your hospitality. I shall retire now.”

“Then good night, newcomer. Don’t be late for training.”

Silavut nodded and headed back to his cabin. He heard the man and girl talking in their language as they parted ways. Getting ready for bed, he wondered if there was a spell to make one understand languages. Then Vorin’s warning popped into his head about not using the spell book. He sighed and closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

The next morning, he was suddenly awakened by a frantic pounding at his door. Without waiting for an answer the stout man he met the day before barged in. “Hey! Come on! You’re late! Get dressed. Here.” He threw Silavut an armload of training gear. “Put that on and get to the training ground. Quickly!” He then ran out, practically slamming the door, leaving Silavut in a panicked state to get ready as quickly as possible. After several minutes of fiddling with the various straps and buckles, he was finally ready. He dashed out the door and just barely made it to the training ground with seconds to spare before the training started. The old woman sternly gazed at Silavut and shook a stick at him, and he gave a sheepish smile and shrugged.

The training began and he could barely keep up. They went through various stances and styles. Though his wizardly memory was nothing to shake a stick at, it didn’t help keep up with physical activities. By the time they were able to take a break, Silavut was breathing heavily and sweating up a storm while the rest were barely winded and only had a sheen of perspiration.

The stout man came up to him and asked if he was OK. Silavut nodded and said he just needed to rest. The man laughed and said, “That’s impossible. Only breaks, no rest during training. Time to go.” He got up to rejoin the others and motioned for Silavut to do the same. Silavut didn’t think training to fight would be this hard.

This went on for several weeks. Towards the end of training, Silavut was practically a fighting machine. He had perfected all the forms and styles and had even put his own spin on them. The trainer was impressed. The old woman even more so. He lived up to her expectations and then some. The townsfolk who were initially hostile now had full respect for him.

It was time for him to spar, to prove himself in a real fight.

#Silavut the Wizard #Chapter 8 #A New Skill

3 notes · View notes