#warlic

Refer to this post for context.

Warlic

The Blue Mage wasn't one for crowds, but having a little hustle and bustle is good for your health. Warlic wasn't thinking about his well-being much these days, but his Hero convinced him to come back to Battleon with them. They needed someone to join their supply run, and the others were purposely tied up in other chores.

There must have been a holiday or some sort of event that brought so many people out that day. It wasn't hard to breathe, but Warlic walked closer to his Hero.

He waited for them to rest their head on his shoulder, but they didn't.

A pang of guilty disappointment flashed in Warlic's chest. He's been getting a lot of those, ever since he began researching the flames.

Suddenly, the Hero linked arms with Warlic and guided him to the entrance of a market that just opened.

"See? If we just teleported, we would have missed this completely." His Hero pointedly kept their arms linked, and waved at a clerk. The shopkeeper's eyes practically popped out of their skull, seeing the Blue Mage and the Champion of the Alliance together like that.

While his Hero discussed the intimidating list Lady Celestia wrote with a clerk who was barely listening, Warlic noticed a box on the candy shelf.

He didn't second-guess, and summoned the gummies into his hands.

"Look, your favorites." Warlic offered the sweets to his Hero. They tilted their head, reading the label.

"They are?"

Warlic's heart fell into his stomach.

This Hero had never eaten these before. It was the Dragonlord who liked them. No…was it the Captain? Did they even have the right tools to make candies like these in the Chosen's timeline or…

"Warlic, did I say something wrong?" This Hero began to worry, seeing how pale the Blue Mage had become.

Long before any of this started, when Chaos reigned, Warlic convinced himself that he stopped caring. That he didn't yearn for mundane days, shopping for groceries with the Hero he adored. 

But, this is a new World, and they were a different Hero.

Warlic blinked, and found himself back in his study, alone. 

He had panicked, and abandoned that Hero. It was just a supply run, but disappearing without warning was rude and hurtful. The old Warlics would have never done that…or rather, they had grown enough to be present in their loved ones' lives without ruining them.