Heir of the Dragon

Honestly Conrad wasn’t trying to blame him at all. Trevor wouldn’t have known at all, and not everyone does have such keen senses for magic either. Though from the reaction that the boy had, it looked as if maybe he was being too harsh in his explanation as well.

Though right now was at least ensuring the both of them survived at the  very least. Though he was thankful that Trevor was armed, sure the kid was young…but at least he did end up learning (albeit the hard way) that the boy wasn’t helpless at all.

He just had to attempt to dial down how protective he could be at the least…which was always the difficult part.

“I actually don’t know. I have never been able to peer into the contents of it before. Perhaps it could be a story, or….perhaps a challenge instead. Regardless, now that we’re in it, we just have to find some way to get out…considering there is always an end to every book as it is.”

Though it always helped to be prepared as well, he didn’t have a physical weapon on him, but he didn’t need it. Instead a pair of blades made of ice appeared in the air instead, floating beside him as he continued to take a good look around this place.

They could see each other fine, but despite that, there was a very dark aura around the place. The paths in front of them shrouded by a mist as if it was trying to obstruct their view of the way forward. It was hard to tell if they were inside a building or out in the woods with how the environment was. And yet…the floor beneath them felt hard..almost like the hardwood floor he had back home.

Really, all he knew was that this place felt very unnatural…there was no obvious source of light at all either. Something that even puzzled the vampire too, just what sort of place was this even?

Though he only paused in his observation of the surroundings when Trevor decided to bring up about that…

“I won’t…at least not without giving you proper warning either. But…we are going to have to watch each other’s backs here. I…will be counting on you as well.” He assured, trying to do his best to at least not treat Trevor like a little child anymore.

“We’ll get out when the book ends,” he muttered, looking around the darkness, “...won’t we?”

He wasn’t scared, not yet. But he was nervous. They couldn’t see anything, they had no idea where they were besides being in a book, they had no idea what they were up against, if they were even up against anything.

Peering around, Trevor couldn’t see much more than Conrad. Everywhere was the same unremarkable fog. He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t feel any breeze, he couldn’t smell anything. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing around them, minus the fog.

“Should we just...pick a direction and start walking?” Trevor asked. With a determined frown, he closed his eyes, spun around twice and a quarter, and pointed where he stopped. “Then let’s go that way!”

“Ah, yes, apologies. Arachnid is a scientific term used for spiders.” Albus explained, having momentarily lapsed in remembering that his friend was, in fact, still of school age. He nodded along as Trevor worked through the rest, mentioning other accounts of large spider creatures, and his guesses as to what might lurk in the caves below.

“Harpies and goblins are each concerning in their own rights, we will have to proceed with caution. While I believe this system is mostly monster free, we will still have to tread carefully.”

There was something a bit trite in how he construed his words, feeling the effects of the concept of overly-concerned guardian speech coming ‘full circle’.  The scholar contemplated to himself for a moment before continuing.

“Goodness, I’m starting to sound like the instructors I had when I was your age.” Albus chuckled lightly. “And I’m sure you’ll have your time at this as well someday. -It’s beyond description, coming full circle. Did you have any other concerns before we set out?”

Trevor nodded along as Albus said they should be careful, and to his credit, he seemed utterly sincere. Granted, his definition of careful might not be as careful as an adult would want it to be, but that was less by his own design and more by his youthful ignorance.

His head tilted at Albus’s commentary about going full circle, his expression adorable in its bemusement. But he didn’t ask, as from what Albus was saying, it was one of those you’ll get it when you’re older things. Normally he didn’t like getting that from people, but he made the exception for Albus, since Albus rarely did it to him.

Extremely Exhausted Starters

“What are you two doing collapsed over here?” Shanoa stepped around the tree trunk, looking down at the boys laying in the shade. Trevor and Albus were both sprawled out in the grass, flushed from the heat.

“Cooling off!” Trevor chirped in response. “We’ve been working hard so now it’s time for a break!”

“Working, or overworking?”

“We went a little overboard, sure...” Albus replied easily, “but we’re still alive, so shhh.”

Shanoa folded her arms, brows raising. “A little? You’re both laying here gasping for breath like you’ve just run from here to Oblivion Ridge and back.” It was hard to see, but there was the slightest smile curving her lips. “What exactly were you two doing?”

Albus gave her a smile. Trevor shook his head.

Shanoa tilted her head in a knowing manner. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the number of people that have been soaked by well-placed buckets of water and similar such things, would it?”

At this, Trevor pipped up with a grin, “But it’s so hot today, Shanoa! It’s just helping everyone stay cool!”

Of course maybe Trevor had not had experience with something like this occurring, which would explain about the confusion that the buy had upon one of his prior statements. “I know if there is a strong enough stimulus to force it upon me, namely from a source that is magical in nature, then yes it is possible. The fact that this did happen means that it had to of been a magical-based source to of forced me to actually ‘pass out’.” It was like the best way to explain it to the boy at the least.

But the matter right now was trying to explain just what happened to them. It wasn’t familiar to him either, but he still had a strong feeling on this. “I have not been here before, but given exactly what occurred and the magic that I feel, there is just one theory that I have.”

“…and that is I believe we are inside that book somehow. I imagine the magic that I do feel is the curse that is within the pages of it…though I cannot say for certain, as you are the first person who has ever opened that particular tome up, I have never been able to even get a small peek at the pages of it myself.”

Regardless of that, there was still the issue of trying to find their way out..or what sort of threats their new surroundings would bring. But regardless of what it was, he was going to at least keep the boy safe.

“Trevor…best to stay close if we explore this place…I..don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Sti--stimu--what?” Conrad. The boy is ten and has a lackluster education when it comes to the sciences. Use simpler words.

Thankfully he seemed to be following along. Magic did it. That was simple enough. Magic did what it wanted and God knew Trevor had no idea how or why. Maybe he’d ask Sypha when he got out of here.

“Din’ mean to open it, it slipped when I was handing it to you...” Trevor grumbled, shoulders slumping. Conrad wasn’t blaming him, except that he was. Or at least, it felt like he was. At least the vampire wasn’t mad at him, but it still felt like he was saying that Trevor had done something wrong.

“What kind of book is this? Is it a story? Do we just wait for the story to end and jump out?” Trevor slowly began to push himself to his feet as he asked the questions. He swayed a bit, but that seemed to be just the effect of standing after that little magical black out he’d just had. His eyes were bright, his breathing calm, and his hands steady. He was, for all intents and purposes, fine.

He was also drawing his cross. Lost in a strange place, with Conrad concerned about something nasty happening? That meant he should be armed, just in case. Though, on that note...

“Please don’t pick me up without asking first.”

Trevor Belmont is 100% adorable. If i could snug you, I would. Forever.

Tagged by: @albusofecclesia sorta

The last game Julius remembered playing before going off to fight (and consecutively losing all of his memories) was Pokémon Silver, on a yellow Gameboy Colour. He played it until the battery drained and he was stuck for three more hours on a train moving through Romania. 

Unfortunately, the Gameboy was destroyed in the battle. Even if it wasn’t, there wouldn’t have been anyone to retrieve it. 

Right now, he was playing on a dark blue Gameboy Advance (SP), the title screen for Pokémon Ruby waiting patiently to be interacted with. “Yeah, sure.” He pushed the thing into the kid’s hands, sitting back on the bench to crane his neck and watch the screen over Trevor’s head. “You played any of the new games? I haven’t been keeping-up. What are there? More than fourteen generations?” 

Trevor fumbled with the Gameboy, but managed not to drop it. He turned it over in his hands for a moment before hitting the button. He shook his head in answer to the question. “No, I haven’t. I don’t get to play things like this much.”

Trevor jolted a bit at being addressed. He was expecting a chiding, because it was rude to lean over a stranger’s shoulder and just...watch whatever they were doing. Instead he was being offered a chance to try.

There was a nod in approval to Trevor’s torch-crafting approach, and silence that followed as Albus listened to the lad continue to expressively discuss his own survival skills.

“That is an absolutely impressive skill set, The scholar praised, admittedly quite surprised at first. Though the more he pondered on it, the more he realized how much it made sense considering how stuck-in-time the Brotherhood order was. To them, a lot of those skills were everyday happenstances; at least in his opinion. 

Taking a draught from his water skin, he put it aside and deliberated a moment on the troll question as he prodded at the small fire with a stick.  “I’m not entirely sure, but I do believe it’s further north from here that cave trolls wander. Around here, that area I mentioned, it’s large arachnid beasts instead.” As he paused, a light shudder went through him despite his best efforts to quell the impulse.  “…I’m not sure which is worse. The trolls, from the accounts I have heard, are a bit shocking. In the literal sense. If we do come across any hostile ones, watch that you don’t get yourself electrocuted via your weapon. But I’m sure we’ll have some kind of warning before that.”

Another poke at the fire before he spoke again, “What else have you heard about deep caves, and what do you expect we might find in these ones? I’m expecting a lot of ‘wet’, and mud… and perhaps the odd long-forgotten item left behind by some wayward traveler some years ago.”

Trevor flushed and grinned at the praise. It didn’t feel impressive to Trevor, but if Albus thought so, he wasn’t going to protest. He liked that Albus thought something he did was impressive! It meant he was doing good.

He listened intently to Albus’s answer. Cave trolls he’d heard of before, though he was unaware of the fact that he and Albus were thinking of different things when they heard those words. But as for the other thing... “What’s an arachnid?” He’d never heard that word before. Apparently it wasn’t something nice, considering Albus had shuddered. But maybe he was being dramatic? Sometimes Albus did that.

He considered about caves. And then shuddered, very obviously, even as he made the sort of half-disgusted-half-terrified face that only a child could manage. “Some of the older boys talk about big spiders. Taller than a man.” He shuddered again. Trevor hated spiders, in which hate was synonymous with fear. But he would never admit to the fear, especially of the little ones. Just the hate.

There was a small sigh of relief once it sounded like Trevor was at least alive and awake. Though it was apparent that the kid seemed to have had a lot of a rougher time with this as opposed to him.

“Are you hurt at all, Trevor?” He first asked, still remaining by the kid’s side as he began to try and sit up. Only to see Trevor opting to lay back down again.

Still, he wasn’t going to leave the kid’s side as the other seemed to still be intent on laying down. Letting him have the time needed as Conrad made sure to keep himself aware of the possibility of anything coming close. “I cannot say for certain what happened. I passed out as well when you opened that book. But…the magic that this place reeks of seem to be the same that was coming from the tome. Though…I don’t see it anywhere around here.”

He paused for a moment at the least, not wanting to overwhelm the boy too quickly, plus it wasn’t like he was certain on this either. “I have…a theory as to what happened. But…if that theory is true then I honestly don’t know what we are going to have to do to fix this.”

“Uhhh...I don’t think so...” Trevor didn’t feel like he was hurt anywhere. There was no wetness from blood or throb of bruises. “My head aches. Like I hit something. And everything’s all spiny.”

Whatever had happened, it had made him feel ill. Already it was slipping away, however, and he was recovering. A good thing, considering he had no idea how safe they might or might not have been.

After another moment of lying on the ground, he tried to push himself up again. This time, there was far less spinning involved. He managed to get upright, at least, though he didn’t attempt to stand. Instead he eyed his surroundings. This was not Conrad’s library.

“Vampires can pass out?” Trevor sounded confused. He knew they slept with the sun, but he didn’t think they could be knocked out. “I didn’t know that.”

A soft, grateful smile appeared as Albus reached to take a couple of pieces of the offered dried fruit. More curious than hungry, he studied the colour and texture of the mystery fruit pieces before timidly taking half a bite of one. Not bad. Some sugar was in order to make it less horrid to his palate, but such was a luxury and not a necessity. Ah well.

“Mmph, yes, a lantern will help.” He said thoughtfully, deliberating something in silence for a moment. “…Might have to fashion another torch. Have you any practice in that? -And on that note, I’m curious what else you have learned about survival in nature. We’ve covered academic and combat in the past, but we’ve not really be out against the elements at length together yet, have we?”

Trevor munched on his little meal without any regard for the taste. He was used to this sort of fare, to an extent, and more to the point, he was hungry. As long as the nice lady in the kitchens hadn’t tried to slip in some string beans (she hadn’t), he would eat pretty much whatever he was given.

“Um, one time we went to the shoreline and explored some! When you were my size!” That was clearly a dear memory, from the way Trevor brightened just at mentioning it. “But I don’t think we did much survival there? It was still fun, though!”

He considered the question. “A torch? You have to find a sizable branch, and wrap it with some cloth that’s been soaked with oil, right? And then you light it like any other fire. I think that’s how it goes?” He looked to Albus for confirmation.

Survival, now... “I know how to start a fire and build a shelter and set some traps for food! And some plants that I can eat, and some I shouldn’t ever eat because then I’ll get sick. And I can skin and cook what I catch! Um, mostly.” He had a bit of trouble with that bit, in all honesty. Getting the knife to do just what he wanted it to was harder than it looked, and he had an unfortunate habit of burning things when he tried to cook. Nothing that practice wouldn’t fix.

“And I can read a map and use a compass some! I’m still trying to learn all the stars, though. Those are hard.” He also had plenty of practice navigating by landmarks, though he didn’t think to mention that. It didn’t really occur to him that that was what he was doing.

Tagged by: @albusofecclesia​ Tagging:

She froze when she spotted the monsters that were roaming the ground; they were not too far from the boy. And like she, they had taken note of his form but unlike her. Their intentions were the intent to kill and mutilate the boy. “Come here, Come to me!” She gasps, her feet switching to a faster tempo in her attempts to reach him before the monsters did. Sypha watched as a reptilian monster lunged for the boy; Sypha’s hands reached out swiftly as she manages it to grab him before he could be harmed. Yet before she could blast the hideous monster away; she was sent flying when its tail came whipping into her side sending her into a nearby wall.

A cry emanated from her lips as she crashed into the tree; she fell down into the brush to the forest’s floor. Wincing, she staggered slowly to her feet enduring the pain that coursed through her form. Her eyes take in the child once more; she could not let this boy get hurt. Even if she died in the process; she could not let him be another victim. Lifting a hand she began to conjure up magic to eliminate these monsters. Sypha blasted the monster that had pinned the boy to the ground; she proceeded to pierce it with shards of ice into the next building. Sypha made her way to the child; reaching for her him she took him into her hold. Her arms twined around him; she looks down at the boy.

A gasp escaped her at the sight of his features? She stepped back in shock her arm rising in front of her chest. Could she be seeing correctly? This boy, his face, his eyes. It was like… A chill ran up her spine as she gasps. “T-Trevor?”

Trevor hadn’t heard or seen the woman before she had grabbed him and started pulling. He was a bit preoccupied with the monsters that were trying to eat him, after all. They were very big, and just a bit scary, and he was bite-sized and probably tasty looking. Monster-slaying weapon or not, the boy was not going to win, and he knew it.

Which is why he reacted so badly when something grabbed him by the scruff and yanked. With a yelp, he twisted, ripping himself free from her grasp--which both saved him from getting smacked around and let him see the woman getting smacked into a tree. Then she started with the magic, which stunned him enough that he didn’t struggle out of her embrace, though when she started gaping at him and said his name, he came back to himself.

“How do you--” know my name, was what he was going to say, but he never got to finish the question. Another creature landed behind the woman, fire crackling in its mouth. With a cry of alarm--and fear, though he’d later deny it--Trevor twisted and sent the chain of his cross flying, striking the beast across the shoulder. The thing shrieked and twisted, its shot firing wildly off into the night sky. Another swing at it swelled and exploded. Trevor’s arms rose up out of instinct to cover his face, and he curled in on himself, shuddering a bit. When the flames faded, all trace of the creature was gone.

The woman was still there, though.