#silvertheredhairedstranger

-

“What do you mean it’s flawed?! My plan is perfect.” Titus leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, as if that would prove it. Across from him, Sphintus just sighed, and a small collection of generals listening in stifled their groans.

“Fine, whatever,” Sphintus told him, turning his head away from the other. “Go for it,then.”

“Hmm.” Titus nodded and suddenly leaned forward in his seat, stretched somewhat over the table, and banged his fists against the wood, eyes sparkling. “I will. And it’s going to work so well, and by the end everyone will be happy.”

“As long as Muu doesn’t tell them the point of all this, at least,” he said, turning his gaze to the entryway where the general’s red hair could be seen peeking out. He came forward sheepishly, rubbing his head, and a glimmer of rukh beside him just let him know how he was caught.

“No no, I’ll try not to interfere,” he told the magi.

“Good.” Titus clapped his hands together. “Then let’s get to inviting them! The king of Heliohapt and the chancellor of Magnostadt.”

-

Day one hadn’t been anything memorable, since Yamuraiha had arrived first by a bit of time and spent it wandering around the city. Sharrkan had shown up around dusk, and almost immediately retired.

What was interesting was day two, when the pair caught sight of each other at mealtime. It was . . a mix of events Titus was still frazzled about. Lots of blushing and shouting and admiring and . . the two, being annoyed at each other? What a relationship.

Not the one he was going for, though. And it was like this most of the day. Bantering and some happy moments and then back to bickering.

Day three. That would be the day for sure.

-

It hadn’t turned out well at all and Titus decided he was done sulking. There was still time left.

He left the room in a whirlwind, leaving Sphintus alone and confused, and hurried to one of the gardens. The two had a sort of rivalry going that he’d hoped to take advantage of, and as it turned out, was actively going on. The magi hid himself in some shrubbery and sat down to watch.

“I did have a new spell I wanted to test, I guess . .” Yamuraiha hummed in thought. “Not that you’d be interested.”

Beside her, Sharrkan shrugged, the action quite off-putting. His fingers meddled with the cover of his sword, needing something to do. (They hadn’t allowed him to bring his snakes into the palace. Upon questioning why the other Heliohapt native got to have the privilege, he was told ‘Sphintus is a stay-in here in Reim. Plus, he’s my healer. I’m quite worried about what he would do should I try and take her away.’

‘Her?’

'Yes. Her. Her name is Kukulklan.’

Damn Carmens and their damn female snakes.)

At least it kept weight off of his shoulders. “Nah. Let’s see it,” he told her, stepping back. 

Glancing over for proof of genuineity, she was pleasantly shocked to see he actually looked a bit interested. So she expanded her staff to full form (downsizing had become a needed asset when traveling became popular) and put it in front of her form, closing her eyes to concentrate.

It turned out to be a bubble. A bigger bubble that generated smaller, livelier bubbles the more magoi was pushed into it. Titus was enthralled. And then he had an idea.

Sharrkan reached out to tap one, scrunching up his face when it bounced off and continued floating. “The hell?”

“They do pop, it just requires a bit of force,” Yamu told him, still focusing on the bubble. “Try punching one.”

He did that and it erupted into even smaller bubbles, these easily bursting in the light breeze. “Wow.”

Wow indeed. And it was about to get more so. Titus closed his eyes and let he flow of rukh around him envelop, twist, and then . . sent a spurt straight into Yamuraiha’s staff, the bigger bubble immediately churning out smaller ones faster, filling the area. 

“Oh!” Yamu tightened her grip on her staff, not expecting the burst, but a smile formed on her face nonetheless. 

“Wh-This is amazing!” Sharrkan spun towards her. “You’re amazing, Yam! Look at this!”

When their eyes met, they both realized each wore a proud smile.

Titus fistbumped the grass beneath, excited. This was the first step.

-

They actually sat in a royal booth. Titus thought he’d have to disguise himself to sit in the stands, but the two were all for having enough space to move around. So they had a stand to the side of the arena, and Titus had a front row seat to the two lightly shoving her as they watched the match below, pressed up against the rails.

“If we had a regular match now, I’d so win,” Yamuraiha boasted, nudging Sharrkan. He flipped his head towards her, eyes screwing up. 

“Are you assuming I’m nothing without a metal vessel? My sword skill is still impeccable.”

“Ah? But without a help from a Djinn, could it beat my magic?”

“Damn right, I could beat your magic only armed with a stone.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really!” He flicked his vision away suddenly to the match below. “Whoa. Did-Did you see that jump? That one’s incredible!”

She crossed her arms and turned her attention back to the match. “Hmm . . Oh. Yes, that is impressive.”

They stood like that, gazes hardened and eyes trained on the fight below. After a minute, Yamu sighed and dropped her arms.

“With or without a metal vessel, you are pretty good with a sword,” she mumbled.

Titus internally cheered as Sharrkan looked back at her, surprise on his face. The conversation was more light from there. Another score.

-

“How did I get stuck playing matchmaker to the two most oblivious people in the world,” Titus groaned. “Marga, they’re so in love but they can’t see it in each other! What am I gonna do?”

Marga hummed in his lap, red pigtails swaying slightly. She twisted, poking Titus in the cheek, causing the other to flinch back. “Silly,” she pouted, cheeks inflated. “Just tell them.”

“It . . ” He sighed. “It’s not that easy.”

“Then I’ll tell them,” she told him, eyes lighting up. “Or, one of them. I wanna see the bubbles you mentioned that Miss Yamu can make! I’ll just tell her.”

Apparently it was that simple. Explained, that is.

-

Nope. It was that simple, regardless. Titus just didn’t have a spine. Marga stood proudly beside him as he saw the two world leaders off, hands interlocked and looking just a bit more happy in each other’s presence. Marga ran forward and the envoy seemed to tangle, Titus suddenly finding himself in a small crowd. A tug on his arm made him look up.

Yamuraiha stood in front of him, a smirk on her lips. “Thank you,” she told him. “You’re the reason we’re even together now.”

“What?” Titus was honestly baffled, but he played the part of innocence well. “Why do you think I had anything to do with this?”

“Well . .”  She released his sleeve, slightly moving back. “As a magician, I know the bounds to my own magic. My bubble wouldn’t just spout off a huge burst of magoi like that.” She winked. “Better luck next time.”

And with that, she left the magi standing there, stunned, and left for her own country. Sphintus came up to him sometime later that day.

“So I heard your master plan was taken over.”

He groaned, shoving his face into the nearest wall. “It’s not my fault Marga’s adorable enough to pull anything off! At least they’re together now, right?”

“Mhmm. This actually came in, for you.” He held up a scrap of parchment.

Titus hesitantly took it, unfolding it carefully. He blanched when he saw the writing.

The wedding’s gonna be in Reim too, okay? Please be a good host!