* 脹相 .ᐟ

someone make him try a baja blast and visit an IMAX movie theater

knuckles cracked as he kicked at a small rock in his way, the mineral tumbling down the dirt - road — the silence of the ruined city was sickeningly eerie, echoes of the screams in his ears, smoke still rising from burnt - out flames. he'd never truly seen a world of beauty but not quite so much a world of destruction, not beyond his imaginations and the visions that conjures itself into his memories. skeptical gaze stared down the long path ahead of them, not a sign of break from the impending darkness that swallowed them whole the more they moved. “ i assume you mean this in a more ... metaphorical sense ? ” lips pursed in thought as he briefly glanced her way, and then the rotting graveyard of a town before them. “ it would apply here too. i'm not seeing anything we can use. ”

i'm not saying anything look away

“ you almost sound disappointed. ” there wasn't a particular tone when he spoke, perhaps a twinge of curiosity laced between the words but it was heavily muddied by the depths of octaves and the cloudiness of his monotony. still alive, but just barely — enough to keep moving and feel some form of frustration. he would find himself properly healed soon, though, so he shifted his focus towards the school field where he could see the other sorcerers standing about, conducting some form of training. it interested him enough to stay behind and watch, but not enough to participate. he was told it wouldn't be a fair match. cowards. seated over the small steps by the bleachers, tossing a baseball back and forth absentmindedly. out of the corner of his eye, he inspected her from head to toe, as if he'd discover something new about her this time around. “ though it doesn't necessarily count as still alive as it implies i never reached death. ” shoulders rolled as he let the baseball topple down the steps, dull sounds filling the gaps of their near - silence. “ we need our numbers, so ... good thing you are, too. ” he finally met her gaze. “ alive, i mean. ”

“ okay. ” this person is strange. that is the first thing that came to mind upon being in their presence, their existence so peculiar to him that he wasn't sure what to say or do most times. he wasn't oblivious though, having caught onto the energy that exuded from her like identifying a kindred spirit. not quite the same, but not quite so different. he could see how the others looked at them, how they seemed to dance along a shaky tight - rope. he'd yet to discern it a factor of fear or something else entirely, the same way one would treat nearly discovered weapon unchaperoned. and he'd still yet to understand whatever gravitational pull he'd felt towards her. he hadn't felt something like it before. had to have been a warning sign, but he wouldn't act on his offenses just yet. kitchen cabinet closes with a natural thud, the single overhead light illuminating their silhouettes in the night. he was pouring himself a bowl of cereal, milk in a separate glass. he heard it made a simple, easy snack. the random sensation had struck him as he attempted to sleep — hunger, he learned. how interesting. brows furrowed as he revisited her response. “ you weren't being serious. ” a question veiled as a statement. “ you don't look like someone who'd feel like ... roses and sunshine and glitter. ”

before him laid a graveyard that expanded so far beyond his imagination, building lights flickering and trembling with aftershocks, the flames still burning despite the hours passing. it was louder now, different than the screams of terror but rather screams of horror and grief, confusion among sorcerers and non - sorcerers alike. it echoed in his mind, reminiscent of the ache that swelled within him over the loss of his brothers, a phantom pain that had yet to dissipate. cursed spirit or human ? what part of his nature was driving such cruel suffering in the form of emotions ? “ what other perspective would that be ? ” perhaps he knew what she'd say, what they'd suggest. but he had no space for it. digits clung to the side of the thick material clothed over this vessel, this body — though, it was his now, wasn't it ? dark gaze fixed upon her, stepping over what must have been a pile of ashes. “ the order was already set. i won't let them execute my younger brother. ”