Happy to Meetcha!

Ewan was far from a first choice, despite his magic ability and familiarity with the terrain. But when the intended team disappeared, as well as the backup team and the backup of the backup team.. there were precious few options left than letting this overeager moppet give it a go. At the very least they didn’t let him go at it alone, hiring someone to protect him.

…he wished they picked a better conversation partner though.

“Oh! There it is! Look!” Irritation was quickly forgotten as finally they found what they were looking for. A short distance away, close enough to be seen in the mist, was a large gate surrounded my stone walls. “That has to be the place, right? How many other villages would they build at this altitude?”

Walking closer, the boy’s face scrunched slightly as an odd scent assaulted his nostrils. “Yeesh, you’d expect the wind to carry away the smells here…” It wasn’t bad enough to be downright foul but… it wasn’t exactly pleasant either. “Huh?”

The size and sturdiness of the walls implied a closed community of some sort. At the very least, they probably wanted to keep outsiders away. But if that were the case why would the gate be open like this? It didn’t help that the structure was covered in dark stains, some black and some a reddish shade of brown….

Despite walking ahead for most of the journey, this time the boy found himself taking several steps back until he was standing firmly beside his companion. “Uh… just so you know, I’m not scared. This is just.. caution. Better not to rush ahead too far, you know? Ahaha….” Ignoring the fact that “rushing” was most of what he’d been doing this entire trip.

“If you don’t slow down, you might fall and hurt yourself, or worse.” The warnings were for naught, as the boy would have charged ahead and ignored him regardless, he suspected - but it was fine, in the end. His stride was longer and stronger, and no matter the boy’s determination to get himself lost just as much as the previous expeditions had, Raven was too watchful a chaperone to allow it.

“Careful,” he repeated, and the smell had truly begun to set in at this point, and Raven nearly gagged at it, a wrinkle forming in the bridge of his nose. The scent was nearly familiar, something that could have nestled itself in his memory if he allowed it, but in what manner he could not quite put his finger on.

He didn’t comment when the boy came to his side, simply glanced down for what little reassurance the commiseration could provide, and slowed his pace. A hand came to rest on the hilt of his sword, and his steps grew more cautious.

The stone was neatly kept enough to imply that there was a community within the walls, but his mind screamed at the dissonance, the suffocating silence. He wasn’t sure what he might have expected when they arrived, but the eerie quiet dampened and swallowed by fog wasn’t it.

“There’s…” A frown, beetling his brow. “No one here. This is the only place for…miles.”

His boots hit the cobbled stone path - as well kept as the walls - and from his right, a distance incalculable, he heard the sound of a pebble dancing across the street. Raven stiffened, narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly a horrible chill runs down the boy’s spine as the heavy silence is broken by the sound of a little pebble. For a brief moment, he wants to get his hopes up. That everything is fine and there are people living here.

If only it were that simple. From a distance, close enough to see a shape in the mist but too far to truly discern any features, a humanoid figure shambles forward before suddenly stopping.

“W-What… what the heck is that….?” Ewan says in a low whisper, pointing towards the unsettling figure. Suddenly its neck twists, and two red lights glow where the eyes would probably be. It’s staring at them, the offensive scent only becoming worse and worse.

Suddenly it doesn’t feel as quiet anymore, the way he can now hear his heart beating a mile a minute.

The figure stares for a moment longer.

It’s lovely, for sure. But also dreadfully boring.

Having spent the morning reading in a nice spot where the sun shines through the open windows, Ewan could practically feel himself falling asleep. It’s been getting to the point where even magic formulas aren’t exciting the way they usually are.

After a yawn and a lazy stretch, the boy finally decides to get up and return the book. Hopefully he could think of something fun to do when on his way there..

Unfortunately the short walk is just as uneventful as everything else. After babydoll eye-ing his way out of a late return fee, he’s about to leave when..

“Huh?”

He catches a glimpse of a familiar color. That grey… greenish… whatever shade. (Seriously, it feels like every time Ewan sees him his hair is a different color).

The mage is about to approach him with a sly grin, messing with the crown prince of Frelia always being a sure fire way to get some excitement in his day. But he stops, just before speaking up.

Did Innes…. Get smaller?

Not just in body size, it feels as if everything got teenier. From the chubbier cheeks to the softer eyes, everything suggests that this boy is not the prickly prince he knows and loves(?).

This could mean just one thing. And before he realizes what he’s doing, his thought becomes a spoken out sentence.

“No way… Innes has an illegitimate child?!”

He strolled the town, explored the shops, and even managed to be let into the academy. In fact, they seemed to know him, though not without a strange second look. Oh, how the word of Frelia must spread! It delighted Innes to no end.

In the end, Innes found himself at an impressive library. Impressive for an academy, he supposed. From the spines discussing the history of Fódlan, Faerghus, Adrestia, and Leicester, Innes could only assume that he was... in one of those four places. He supposed that didn't narrow it down at all. He grabbed one of the books, a heavy tome on Leicester, before settling down at a desk.

He didn't count how much time had passed, only that time kept passing. He had gotten about a quarter of the way through the book before he heard his name.

"I- excuse me?!" His voice rose in pitch, the sound breaking as it had been doing as of late. Innes sat his hand at the base of his throat, as if willing his voice to go deeper and stay there. It meant he was becoming a man, but he'd quite like to simply be there, now.

More importantly, mullet-boy’s reaction tells Ewan a few things. As he gets a closer look the theory of secret child becomes less likely. Unless Innes somehow discovered the power of mitosis, the resemblance is a little too similar to suggest parent and child. Secondly, “I” have no illegitimate heirs, the boy says.

“Hold on, hold on! You’re telling me… you are Innes?” Red eyes widen, a hand going to his mouth in surprise. The kid considers himself to be Innes. This opens up new possibilities.

A) Innes somehow shrunk down in size.

B) Innes somehow traveled through time.

Both seem kind of insane, but at this point that shouldn’t surprise him. This monastery seems like a hub for weird happenings. Was it built on a cursed burial site or something?

“Innes is built like a palm tree though! And he’s really scowly and mean and kind of a weirdo. But you’re so small and cute!” He gives the teeny Innes a poke on the cheek, watching with fascination as what he assumes to be remnants of baby fat squish slightly under his index finger.

Never mind the fact they’re probably around the same age, when you spend most of your time around older people you start to consider yourself as more mature as well.

Word of strange orbs appearing throughout the monastery was traveling like wildfire through the student body. Strange objects of any origin are a concern but this one is magical in nature and that makes Ephraim more wary than usual.

There's no point in ignoring the danger when it's right in front of him and especially when he knows someone skilled in arcane arts. A few someones, actually, and he will get both of their opinions if he can.

Ewan is closest and it's been sometime since he's seen the boy. And if he knows him, he hasn't eaten at all today, so he brings with him some fruits and cheeses for his appetite. The boy really needs to look after himself more.

The first place he tries is his dormitory. He had worried Ewan might not be there, but as he approaches he hears a loud bang of sorts that rattles the doors all the way down the hall. Ephraim wishes he could say it's the last thing he expects to hear coming out of Ewan's dormitory. It's only when he knocks and gets no answer that he starts to worry.

"Ewan!?" He jiggles the knob but the door doesn't give. Another call is met with silence and he decides to take matters into his own hands. He sets aside the basket, backs away from the door, and then charges at it full force. Another sends him crashing through, the door hanging lopsided on its hinges in his wake, and him almost stumbling into the red head crumpled on the floor.

Ephraim falls to his knees and turns him over. "Ewan! Answer me!"

...But his features are distinctly older and he's taller and he's wearing different clothes. It's as if he's Ewan but a decade older.

Then it hits him. The flesh colored shape has teal on top, but not on the bottom. Suddenly his vision clears.

“Your majesty! Have you finally decided to remove that hideous mustache?!” Crimson eyes fully open, distinct star-shaped pupils suggest familiarity. However, wide-eyed innocence was replaced with the shine of wisdom. His voice too, a far cry from its usual squeaky cadence. “Wait.. Have you gotten younger?”

It only just hit him that besides the mustache, his majesty also lacks the beginning onset of wrinkles in his face. More revelations happen as he realizes he’s not even in his own chambers anymore. While looking around he stands up, as if he never even lost consciousness. “Is this.. the academy? Wow, it’s been years since! But why are we even here in the first place?”

It seems like one thing that never went away is the fact his brain ran a mile a minute. That said, where the boy struggles with processing all the information that his brain naturally picks up, this young man is quick to realize what’s happening here.

It’s lovely, for sure. But also dreadfully boring.

Having spent the morning reading in a nice spot where the sun shines through the open windows, Ewan could practically feel himself falling asleep. It’s been getting to the point where even magic formulas aren’t exciting the way they usually are.

After a yawn and a lazy stretch, the boy finally decides to get up and return the book. Hopefully he could think of something fun to do when on his way there..

Unfortunately the short walk is just as uneventful as everything else. After babydoll eye-ing his way out of a late return fee, he’s about to leave when..

“Huh?”

He catches a glimpse of a familiar color. That grey… greenish… whatever shade. (Seriously, it feels like every time Ewan sees him his hair is a different color).

The mage is about to approach him with a sly grin, messing with the crown prince of Frelia always being a sure fire way to get some excitement in his day. But he stops, just before speaking up.

Did Innes…. Get smaller?

Not just in body size, it feels as if everything got teenier. From the chubbier cheeks to the softer eyes, everything suggests that this boy is not the prickly prince he knows and loves(?).

This could mean just one thing. And before he realizes what he’s doing, his thought becomes a spoken out sentence.

“No way… Innes has an illegitimate child?!”

Making sure that those who can spare the attention to listen to her are not a toe out of line, Sanaki casts a quiet Fire, as precisely as she can manage. With a sizzle and a burst of light, the five onlookers and the refreshments table are enclosed in a ring of ash.

"This is the neutral zone," she declares. All proper conflicts should have one, after all. "Step out if you wish to involve yourself directly. And I hope the combatants understand that if they violate the zone's sanctity, retrubution will be brutal," her eyes glow gold for a moment, "and swift."

'Understood' is conveyed through compliance.

Most of these faces he recognizes. There is familiarity when he looks at both Rowan and Innes, an itch in the back of his skull that only deepens with Sanaki's commentary. First punch, and Bruno pulls his lips into a thin line, but he tries to soften it at the murmurs from the beverage table.

In the end? It only took a glance at Innes’ snotty face and condescending tone for all that worry and low morale to evaporate into thin air. All those eyes watching them like it was some spar session at the training grounds didn’t matter, whatever sliver of embarrassment he might have felt at some point no longer mattered either.

The young king grit his teeth. “Nobles like you are pathetic because you do nothing but dress up like a doll and talk like you’re better than everyone!" Reaching the limit of his patience- or rather feeling like whatever threads of logic that had been holding him back had crumbled to dust, Rowan advanced towards Innes with the strongest right hook he could muster- straight to the archer’s jaw.

“If you don’t want your clothes dirty then go sit in a shelf and gather dust! You're just decoration!”

Innes holds his jaw for a few moments, stung. He works the muscles until the pain begins to fade. He can collect himself. He can patch up his ego and scrape his dignity off the floor. He can laugh and say look, look at how low the boy stoops.

He can do that.

Or he can grab Rowan by his shoulders and slam him against a wall.

He sounded a little too pleased with himself explaining this. Was this a genuine compliment? Or one of those “having strong friends makes me look better” things?

Nevertheless, this was probably the nicest thing he’s said about Innes in a while. But the boy doubted he would overhear him. Since, you know, he’s too busy having a friendly conversation with blondie over there.

And the telltale sound of fist meeting stomach made him point towards them. “See? See? What did I say?”

He can't pull Rowan away from this, in the end he will have to make his own choice and Darios can't so easily interfere. As he stands and quietly guides Lianna to the beverage table, he hopes she understands his reasonings as to why.

"As the empress says," he speaks with a heavy tone for the other onlookers to hear. "We just happen to be here."

If someone else stepped in, he'd scruff them. There's no telling how much worse the issue would become if left to fester.

Innes could ignore all other voices; the chatter of the court is normal for a man like Innes. Ewan, however, has a certain voice that Innes cannot ignore. He looks over, only to find Ewan, Darios, Sanaki, Bruno, and that boy's sister. None of it is important.

"Only pigs and the despondent resort to fistfighting," Innes says, "and I am neither. Go on, lay your hands on me, and prove me right. You are more angered by me than I could ever be by you."

Would he react differently if eyes weren't on him? No, he very much doubts it.

“Boy he’s definitely getting punched.” Ewan said through a wheezing laugh. Innes had such a way with words. If “a way with words” meant an uncanny talent to spike people’s cortisol levels. He was really funny about it too.

Looking around, he assumed nobody else was quite as familiar with the man as he was, so he decided to give a little info. “But Innes’ buttcheeks are permanently glued on that high horse, I don’t think even a punch would knock him off.”

She was coming over because she had spotten Darios after Rowan had walked away from her. Lianna's frustration at her brother hadn't faded yet, and was apparently to grow more. Her brother was being petty, that was what she was hearing. Still, she could only sigh in defeat at this point, Rowan had stopped listening to her the moment he got it into his head that Innes had told her.

Completely disregarding that maybe she had SEEN what he did.

"I am so sorry my brother is causing a scene..." she sighed. "I swear he knows better."

There are voices coming from the hallway around the staff room. Specifically, the spare one — inconvenient enough such that most faculty inherently avoid it in their day-to-day. But given the sudden disappearance of all the padlocks, Bruno is already pulling a face: it must be attendees, most likely students, who are trying to find their way in—

He turns the corner, and it is not. He blinks as his frown dissipates, the question in his eyes obscured as his gaze finds Darios first, Sanaki second, and an unfamiliar face third.

"Greetings." A little clipped and awkward. It sounds like more of a question than it is a statement.

He isn't surprised when he ends up in a room with that boy again. He would cross his arms, but the dampness on his chest is already too disgusting. Instead, his arms are at his side, hands balled into fists.

That’s funny.

“Hehe, I knew sticking around him was going to be entertaining.” It was only a matter of time before Innes would inevitably upset someone, after all. That was his true ultimate talent and for it to lead to someone kersplooshing their nose over his clothes? Even funnier.

“Gee it sure is boring around here…”

“…..”

“….what? What is it, ASHE?”

“Golly, I don’t know, EWAN, I just feel like someone should’ve said something just now!”

“I think I know what you mean. Anyway, do you feel weird too or is it just me?”

“Oh boy, I know what you mean! These cool costumes sure are something, huh?”

[ TXT ] : why are you still awake?

[ TXT ] : hey, where did you go?

[ TXT ] : it's getting bad again.

[ TXT ] : guess i'll just sit in bed. alone. by myself.

[ TXT ] : you can't ignore me forever.

[ TXT ] : i can't stop thinking about you.

[ TXT ] : just saw i called you last night. how'd that go?

[ TXT ] : i really need someone right now.

[ TXT ] : we need to make plans asap.

[ TXT ] : have you seen the news?

[ TXT ] : you were blackout drunk.

[ TXT ] : testing to see if you blocked my number...

[ TXT ] : do you know anything about doing stitches?

[ TXT ] : just please let me know you're okay.

[ TXT ] : did you forget we had plans?

[ TXT ] : i know you see my messages, your read receipts are on.

[ TXT ] : meet me at [ location ], it's important.

[ TXT ] : do you need comfort, to vent, or a solution?

[ TXT ] : is there anything i should bring?

[ TXT ] : call me. please, it's important.

[ TXT ] : i can't sleep.

[ TXT ] : have you eaten today?

[ TXT ] : you are always going to be my priority.

[ TXT ] : i haven't seen you around in awhile.

[ TXT ] : i had a dream about you last night.

[ TXT ] : the names are gonna get mean if you don't text me back.

[ TXT ] : at the risk of sounding cliche, what are you wearing?

[ TXT ] : just say the word and i'll drop everything.

[ TXT ] : do you seriously not remember?

[ TXT ] : come to the front door.

[ TXT ] : have you been drinking?

[ TXT ] : how do you feel after last night?

[ TXT ] : are you up? please be up.

[ TXT ] : you looked beautiful today.

[ TXT ] : i have so much to tell you.

[ TXT ] : no one's heard from you. are you okay?

[ TXT ] : who is this?

[ TXT ] : are you taking care of yourself?

[ TXT ] : thought i'd reach out and see how you're doing.

[ TXT ] : i miss the taste of your lips.

[ TXT ] : that kiss was really nice.

[ TXT ] : stop acting so high and mighty.

[ TXT ] : i left my [ item ] at your place.

[ TXT ] : are we still fighting?

[ TXT ] : i need help and i can't go to the hospital.

[ TXT ] : are you thinking about me too?

[ TXT ] : call me, i wanna hear your voice.

[ TXT ] : i don't want to talk to you.

[ TXT ] : what do you have to lose?

[ TXT ] : you don't have to ask, i'm already on my way.

[ TXT ] : i want to take a nap on you.

[ TXT ] : even if you called 6 months later at 3am, i'd answer.

[ TXT ] : what's my name in your phone?

[ TXT ] : how's trying to forget about me going?

[ TXT ] : i have nobody else to ask.

[ TXT ] : what do you mean you're at the hospital??

[ TXT ] : sorry, i think you have the wrong number.

[ TXT ] : good morning! you up yet?

[ TXT ] : do i sense sarcasm in your tone?

[ TXT ] : you start your day at 2pm?

[ TXT ] : you need MY help?

[ TXT ] : stop texting me.

[ TXT ] : i'll leave that up to your imagination.

[ TXT ] : are you asking me to sneak out?

[ TXT ] : when will i see you again?

[ TXT ] : if you come over, i'll order us a pizza.

[ TXT ] : are we ever going to talk about it?

[ TXT ] : can you come get me out of here?

[ TXT ] : you mean like ... a BODY - body?

[ TXT ] : it's just been one thing after another lately.

[ TXT ] : forgiving and forgetting is harder than it sounds.

[ TXT ] : i want your legs wrapped around my head.

[ TXT ] : call me when you wake up.

[ TXT ] : what are you doing that's more important than me?

Ewan was far from a first choice, despite his magic ability and familiarity with the terrain. But when the intended team disappeared, as well as the backup team and the backup of the backup team.. there were precious few options left than letting this overeager moppet give it a go. At the very least they didn’t let him go at it alone, hiring someone to protect him.

…he wished they picked a better conversation partner though.

“Oh! There it is! Look!” Irritation was quickly forgotten as finally they found what they were looking for. A short distance away, close enough to be seen in the mist, was a large gate surrounded my stone walls. “That has to be the place, right? How many other villages would they build at this altitude?”

Walking closer, the boy’s face scrunched slightly as an odd scent assaulted his nostrils. “Yeesh, you’d expect the wind to carry away the smells here…” It wasn’t bad enough to be downright foul but… it wasn’t exactly pleasant either. “Huh?”

The size and sturdiness of the walls implied a closed community of some sort. At the very least, they probably wanted to keep outsiders away. But if that were the case why would the gate be open like this? It didn’t help that the structure was covered in dark stains, some black and some a reddish shade of brown….

Despite walking ahead for most of the journey, this time the boy found himself taking several steps back until he was standing firmly beside his companion. “Uh… just so you know, I’m not scared. This is just.. caution. Better not to rush ahead too far, you know? Ahaha….” Ignoring the fact that “rushing” was most of what he’d been doing this entire trip.