Through much trouble, Seven eventually managed to get Rey to cover up.
"No matter what!" Seven scolded him, not knowing where he found the balls to even yell at Rey, "Don't take off your hood. EVER."
Rey stared at him nonchalantly and said, ". . . It can't be that bad-"
"-You don't understand! They will hunt you down. You'll be used for things so unimaginable that death is your only hope! Please, as someone who has traveled with you for the last month, I beg you, please keep your hood on at all times!"
". . . ."
Not hearing Rey's reply, Seven can only cry, 'They both came here seeking death, didn't they?!'
As they continued walking, it wasn't very long before the silhouette of the Gates of Tevalon appeared before them. There was only a little bit more time before they made it to the city. With this little time left, Seven figured he could keep talking.
"So," Seven began as he recalled Rey's story, "About that swordsman . . . Did he survive?"
Rey eyed him, disbelievingly. Was Seven even listening to him?!
"Leon is that swordsman," Rey replied.
"Oh,"
. . . .
Immediately, Seven's eyes bulged open. He stared back and forth between Rey and Leon, confused as hell. There was no way Leon was that swordsman. The swordsman was someone who was supposed to be incredibly strong, not some lifeless doll!
"A-are you sure?"
"You don't believe me?" Rey glowered.
"N-n-No! It's not that . . . It's just . . . It's . . . Yea, there's no way,"
"It doesn't matter,"
Seven cried for the millionth time that day, 'You're not even gonna try to convince me?!'
Well, at least he knows who Leon is now. Or at least he knows who Leon is to Rey. Someone Rey believes he has to save in order to return the favor but now, Seven wonders why Leon has changed. If Leon was a swordsman like Rey said he was, why had he turned to . . . this? And actually, why does Rey even want to return the favor? Don't friends just willingly want to spend time together?
Seven's nosy, he wants to know. But he was afraid that if he asked, Rey might do something dramatic again, so he reluctantly refrained himself.
Abruptly, Seven's collar was snatched, and he was soon dragged through the bushes of the forest.
Seven fumbled and squealed along the way before he was finally dumped onto safety of the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Seven cried and pointed back towards the Gates of Tevalon, "The gate is that way,"
"I know," Rey replied.
"Then why-"
Rustle.
As if in slow motion, a piece of paper slowly fell in front of Seven's eyes. The contents clearly revealed a horrible thing.
"No," Seven muttered, "NO!"
He grabbed the flying paper and looked it over once more, hoping that he saw wrong.
The piece of paper was no other than a wanted poster of a hooded man, obviously Rey. But that's not what bothered Seven, it was the little drawing of himself on the right hand corner, letting the world know that he's an accomplice to a wanted man. And actually, where was Leon?! Why isn't he on this poster?!
And moreover, this was his first time seeing this wanted poster! What could they have done to be criminals?! He only remembered helping the people they came across and killing off hordes of monsters.
"I was hoping to get to Tevalon before these wanted posters got there," Rey said, "Looks like we were too late,"
Seven slowly looked up at Rey, dumbfounded, "You knew there were wanted posters of us?"
Rey nodded as if it was nothing new, "Before we left your little city, they were hanging wanted posters of me. But I guess somewhere along the way, they added you,"
". . . And you didn't think to tell me?"
Rey shrugged, "I'm telling you now,"
Seven cried, "How am I gonna get home?!"
"That's why I said we were too late-"
"-Even if we are late, someone will know it's me! I will die! I'm a criminal!!" Seven pointed at the large words on the bottom, "It says dead, I'm wanted as dead man! How am I going to clear my name?!"
"It says dead or alive-"
"-Why are we criminals?! What did we do-"
Whack!
"Stop yelling at me,"
Seven stared incredulously at Rey, ". . . Did you just hit me?"
Rey responded with a dark look.
. . . .
As if he was receiving punishment, Seven properly sat on his knees and kept his head held low.
Rey then took out a cloak from his inventory and threw it at Seven, "Wear it,"
Though Seven cried internally, he silently accepted the cloak and wore it like he was told.
'This is it,' Seven wept, 'I am now a criminal on the run,'
He knew he shouldn't have helped them that day! He should have kept minding his own business! Oh, how he wishes he could turn back time!
"We'll clear your name," Rey's voice echoed.
Seven raised his head with glistening hope in his eyes, "Really?!"
"Let's go," Rey said, "We're sneaking in,"
"Committing a criminal act right away?!" Seven wailed, "How is this gonna clear my name?!"
Whack!
The walls of Tevalon were tall and grand with guards heavily patrolling both at the top and bottom of the walls. he main entrance was where the guards were mostly located, keeping watch of who was coming in and out of the city.
Rey and Seven strolled away from the city gates and stayed hidden in the forest, looking for a safe area to cross. They found an area in the denser part of the forest where the vines grew up onto the wall. It seems that this part of the forest wasn't all that dangerous, seeing as there was only one guard keeping watch in the watchtower.
"You think we can make it up there unnoticed?" Seven asked as he skeptically observed the guard patrolling above.
As if on cue, Rey had thrown a pebble at the unsuspecting guard and knocked him out cold.
"Oh," Seven then poked at the vines crawling up the walls, ". . . And what if we fall?"
Without saying anything, Rey clutched onto Seven's collar and threw him high into the sky. Seven was so shocked that he didn't even have the time to scream. The next thing he knew was that he was lying next to the knocked out guard. And he couldn't even scream then, because he was too scared to wake the guard up.
Not even a second later, Rey landed softly while holding Leon in his arms. Seven wanted to scream at him, berate him for the extreme shock that he just went through, but he refrained from doing so. He didn't want to get whacked again.
"Let's go," Rey was about to walk down the stairs, but Seven stopped him.
"Don't you think we should cover Leon up too?" Seven asked as he pointed at the wanted poster hanging on the watchtower, "He's with you all the time, but he's not on any wanted poster. Don't you think that's kinda weird?"
". . . ."
Now that Rey thought about it, he's never seen a wanted poster of Leon.
Ever.
Even from when they were being chased down. It was always just him that they were after, but never Leon who was always helping him.
It is kind of weird now that he's thinking about it. Even Seven has a little picture of himself on the wanted poster. So why not Leon?
Rey stared intently at Leon, remembering what he said back then: 'This is a book. It's all a book,'
He still didn't understand what Leon meant by that. Everything felt real to him. Everything he went through, suffered and enjoyed, it was all real to him. But it was this 'everything' that drove Leon mad, so he could only accept that Leon was telling somewhat of a truth.
Rey hoped that one day Leon would clearly explain everything to him. But for now, he would rather trust Leon's words than disregard what Leon believed.
Seven hasn't received a response for a while now, so he decided to count the clouds as he waited for Rey's next move. But then he saw shadows wrapping themselves around Leon and turning into a pitch black cloak.
Seven was stunned, "You know magic?"
Rey nodded, "I'm a mage,"
"I thought you were a swordsman,"
"I am, for now,"
Seven poked at the shadowy cloak, realizing that it wasn't physical but had a more smoky and wispy texture. But despite its' smoky nature, you couldn't even see through to Leon's face or body. He was completely hidden in the darkness.
He turned to Rey, "Shouldn't you be the one wearing this?"
"Let's go," Rey said, disregarding Seven's advice.
Seven didn't let it bother him too much, knowing that there'll be more of this to come.
They walked down the wall and into the bustling city unnoticed. Along the way, Seven had already seen more than a hundred wanted posters and was getting more jittery as the seconds ticked by. He was afraid of getting noticed or caught, thinking that people already knew that he was the wanted criminal under this cloak.
They made it to a busy pub and sat in a quiet corner. Rey easily ordered drinks and food as if there was nothing to be afraid of, but Seven's gotten so jittery that it almost made them look suspicious. As if they weren't looking suspicious enough.
"If you're looking to get caught, then you're doing it right," Rey chided.
"I-I'm not," Seven stuttered, "What if they know it's us?"
"They will if you keep acting like this,"
"Don't you know any relaxing spells or something? Something that'll calm me down?"
"I'm a dark mage, not some priest or healer,"
"R-right . . ."
Seven was quiet all the way until their food was served. As he ate, he silently watched as Rey fed Leon. It normal to see it now than before. Before, he was baffled by how much Rey treated Leon. He did everything for him and yet Leon couldn't even eat for himself.
Once, Seven even offered to help, but that ended very quickly. Leon didn't even open his mouth. And even when Seven stuffed the food in, the food just lay still in Leon's mouth, neither chewed nor swallowed. He concluded that Rey must've done something to make Leon eat only from his hands. If not, why would Leon's body automatically react to Rey and no one else? Seven was not going to ask, he didn't want to know the answer. But he was absolutely sure it had something to do with Rey.
Seven eyed Leon closely. It was still hard to believe that Leon was a swordsman. He looked and behaved nothing like a swordsman. If anything, Seven would sooner believe that Leon was some sort of young master from a noble family. Or maybe even a widow whose loved one died. Or at least a mentally-
BANG!
Rey's fist hit the table, eyes glaring at Seven.
Seven coughed and quickly looked away.
He must've been staring at Leon for a minute too long.
Looking was fine, but never staring.
Seven didn't understand why Rey would get mad at him when he was the one who was forcefully hired to help Leon. Seven should be allowed to stare at Leon, he needs to observe the guy in order to help him, right?! Maybe this is why Leon isn't getting any better!
Seven sighed and decided to break the silence, "Does Leon know any spells?"
"Some, but he's not very good at them,"
"Oh,"
Seven assumed that Leon wouldn't be, considering how Rey claimed that Leon was a swordsman. But Rey was a mage who knew swordsmanship, so it didn't hurt to ask.
However, even though Rey said that Leon wasn't very good at spells, Leon was already pretty advanced. He didn't have good control or know as much, but they were powerful enough to go against Rey.
"Don't you have any spells to help him?" Seven continued.
"I don't," Rey replied.
His own special ability was shadow manipulation. He could control and solidify the shadows around him. It was one of the many abilities born to those of demon descent. (It was also one of the most obvious reasons that revealed that Rey was a half-demon, but it wasn't Leon's job to point that out.) Then there were other miscellaneous spells that he learned at the academy, like warming himself up, flying, elemental attacks, etc.
Unlike demons, elves, and other beings who were born with special abilities and attributes and can only use specific spells that align with them, humans can learn from any range of spells as long as they have enough mana. Hence, Rey was able to obtain a variety of skills. He couldn't learn any sort of healing or support spells since he was still part demon. However, he was able to accept blessings from the gods and enchanted beings.
Now that he thinks about it, he never really asked the gods for help. He always received some sort of blessing somehow. Then again, it was always some sort of priestess who blessed him. Maybe he'll go ask them for help.
Through much trouble, Seven eventually managed to get Rey to cover up.
"No matter what!" Seven scolded him, not knowing where he found the balls to even yell at Rey, "Don't take off your hood. EVER."
Rey stared at him nonchalantly and said, ". . . It can't be that bad-"
"-You don't understand! They will hunt you down. You'll be used for things so unimaginable that death is your only hope! Please, as someone who has traveled with you for the last month, I beg you, please keep your hood on at all times!"
". . . ."
Not hearing Rey's reply, Seven can only cry, 'They both came here seeking death, didn't they?!'
As they continued walking, it wasn't very long before the silhouette of the Gates of Tevalon appeared before them. There was only a little bit more time before they made it to the city. With this little time left, Seven figured he could keep talking.
"So," Seven began as he recalled Rey's story, "About that swordsman . . . Did he survive?"
Rey eyed him, disbelievingly. Was Seven even listening to him?!
"Leon is that swordsman," Rey replied.
"Oh,"
. . . .
Immediately, Seven's eyes bulged open. He stared back and forth between Rey and Leon, confused as hell. There was no way Leon was that swordsman. The swordsman was someone who was supposed to be incredibly strong, not some lifeless doll!
"A-are you sure?"
"You don't believe me?" Rey glowered.
"N-n-No! It's not that . . . It's just . . . It's . . . Yea, there's no way,"
"It doesn't matter,"
Seven cried for the millionth time that day, 'You're not even gonna try to convince me?!'
Well, at least he knows who Leon is now. Or at least he knows who Leon is to Rey. Someone Rey believes he has to save in order to return the favor but now, Seven wonders why Leon has changed. If Leon was a swordsman like Rey said he was, why had he turned to . . . this? And actually, why does Rey even want to return the favor? Don't friends just willingly want to spend time together?
Seven's nosy, he wants to know. But he was afraid that if he asked, Rey might do something dramatic again, so he reluctantly refrained himself.
Abruptly, Seven's collar was snatched, and he was soon dragged through the bushes of the forest.
Seven fumbled and squealed along the way before he was finally dumped onto safety of the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Seven cried and pointed back towards the Gates of Tevalon, "The gate is that way,"
"I know," Rey replied.
"Then why-"
Rustle.
As if in slow motion, a piece of paper slowly fell in front of Seven's eyes. The contents clearly revealed a horrible thing.
"No," Seven muttered, "NO!"
He grabbed the flying paper and looked it over once more, hoping that he saw wrong.
The piece of paper was no other than a wanted poster of a hooded man, obviously Rey. But that's not what bothered Seven, it was the little drawing of himself on the right hand corner, letting the world know that he's an accomplice to a wanted man. And actually, where was Leon?! Why isn't he on this poster?!
And moreover, this was his first time seeing this wanted poster! What could they have done to be criminals?! He only remembered helping the people they came across and killing off hordes of monsters.
"I was hoping to get to Tevalon before these wanted posters got there," Rey said, "Looks like we were too late,"
Seven slowly looked up at Rey, dumbfounded, "You knew there were wanted posters of us?"
Rey nodded as if it was nothing new, "Before we left your little city, they were hanging wanted posters of me. But I guess somewhere along the way, they added you,"
". . . And you didn't think to tell me?"
Rey shrugged, "I'm telling you now,"
Seven cried, "How am I gonna get home?!"
"That's why I said we were too late-"
"-Even if we are late, someone will know it's me! I will die! I'm a criminal!!" Seven pointed at the large words on the bottom, "It says dead, I'm wanted as dead man! How am I going to clear my name?!"
"It says dead or alive-"
"-Why are we criminals?! What did we do-"
Whack!
"Stop yelling at me,"
Seven stared incredulously at Rey, ". . . Did you just hit me?"
Rey responded with a dark look.
. . . .
As if he was receiving punishment, Seven properly sat on his knees and kept his head held low.
Rey then took out a cloak from his inventory and threw it at Seven, "Wear it,"
Though Seven cried internally, he silently accepted the cloak and wore it like he was told.
'This is it,' Seven wept, 'I am now a criminal on the run,'
He knew he shouldn't have helped them that day! He should have kept minding his own business! Oh, how he wishes he could turn back time!
"We'll clear your name," Rey's voice echoed.
Seven raised his head with glistening hope in his eyes, "Really?!"
"Let's go," Rey said, "We're sneaking in,"
"Committing a criminal act right away?!" Seven wailed, "How is this gonna clear my name?!"
Whack!
The walls of Tevalon were tall and grand with guards heavily patrolling both at the top and bottom of the walls. he main entrance was where the guards were mostly located, keeping watch of who was coming in and out of the city.
Rey and Seven strolled away from the city gates and stayed hidden in the forest, looking for a safe area to cross. They found an area in the denser part of the forest where the vines grew up onto the wall. It seems that this part of the forest wasn't all that dangerous, seeing as there was only one guard keeping watch in the watchtower.
"You think we can make it up there unnoticed?" Seven asked as he skeptically observed the guard patrolling above.
As if on cue, Rey had thrown a pebble at the unsuspecting guard and knocked him out cold.
"Oh," Seven then poked at the vines crawling up the walls, ". . . And what if we fall?"
Without saying anything, Rey clutched onto Seven's collar and threw him high into the sky. Seven was so shocked that he didn't even have the time to scream. The next thing he knew was that he was lying next to the knocked out guard. And he couldn't even scream then, because he was too scared to wake the guard up.
Not even a second later, Rey landed softly while holding Leon in his arms. Seven wanted to scream at him, berate him for the extreme shock that he just went through, but he refrained from doing so. He didn't want to get whacked again.
"Let's go," Rey was about to walk down the stairs, but Seven stopped him.
"Don't you think we should cover Leon up too?" Seven asked as he pointed at the wanted poster hanging on the watchtower, "He's with you all the time, but he's not on any wanted poster. Don't you think that's kinda weird?"
". . . ."
Now that Rey thought about it, he's never seen a wanted poster of Leon.
Ever.
Even from when they were being chased down. It was always just him that they were after, but never Leon who was always helping him.
It is kind of weird now that he's thinking about it. Even Seven has a little picture of himself on the wanted poster. So why not Leon?
Rey stared intently at Leon, remembering what he said back then: 'This is a book. It's all a book,'
He still didn't understand what Leon meant by that. Everything felt real to him. Everything he went through, suffered and enjoyed, it was all real to him. But it was this 'everything' that drove Leon mad, so he could only accept that Leon was telling somewhat of a truth.
Rey hoped that one day Leon would clearly explain everything to him. But for now, he would rather trust Leon's words than disregard what Leon believed.
Seven hasn't received a response for a while now, so he decided to count the clouds as he waited for Rey's next move. But then he saw shadows wrapping themselves around Leon and turning into a pitch black cloak.
Seven was stunned, "You know magic?"
Rey nodded, "I'm a mage,"
"I thought you were a swordsman,"
"I am, for now,"
Seven poked at the shadowy cloak, realizing that it wasn't physical but had a more smoky and wispy texture. But despite its' smoky nature, you couldn't even see through to Leon's face or body. He was completely hidden in the darkness.
He turned to Rey, "Shouldn't you be the one wearing this?"
"Let's go," Rey said, disregarding Seven's advice.
Seven didn't let it bother him too much, knowing that there'll be more of this to come.
They walked down the wall and into the bustling city unnoticed. Along the way, Seven had already seen more than a hundred wanted posters and was getting more jittery as the seconds ticked by. He was afraid of getting noticed or caught, thinking that people already knew that he was the wanted criminal under this cloak.
They made it to a busy pub and sat in a quiet corner. Rey easily ordered drinks and food as if there was nothing to be afraid of, but Seven's gotten so jittery that it almost made them look suspicious. As if they weren't looking suspicious enough.
"If you're looking to get caught, then you're doing it right," Rey chided.
"I-I'm not," Seven stuttered, "What if they know it's us?"
"They will if you keep acting like this,"
"Don't you know any relaxing spells or something? Something that'll calm me down?"
"I'm a dark mage, not some priest or healer,"
"R-right . . ."
Seven was quiet all the way until their food was served. As he ate, he silently watched as Rey fed Leon. It normal to see it now than before. Before, he was baffled by how much Rey treated Leon. He did everything for him and yet Leon couldn't even eat for himself.
Once, Seven even offered to help, but that ended very quickly. Leon didn't even open his mouth. And even when Seven stuffed the food in, the food just lay still in Leon's mouth, neither chewed nor swallowed. He concluded that Rey must've done something to make Leon eat only from his hands. If not, why would Leon's body automatically react to Rey and no one else? Seven was not going to ask, he didn't want to know the answer. But he was absolutely sure it had something to do with Rey.
Seven eyed Leon closely. It was still hard to believe that Leon was a swordsman. He looked and behaved nothing like a swordsman. If anything, Seven would sooner believe that Leon was some sort of young master from a noble family. Or maybe even a widow whose loved one died. Or at least a mentally-
BANG!
Rey's fist hit the table, eyes glaring at Seven.
Seven coughed and quickly looked away.
He must've been staring at Leon for a minute too long.
Looking was fine, but never staring.
Seven didn't understand why Rey would get mad at him when he was the one who was forcefully hired to help Leon. Seven should be allowed to stare at Leon, he needs to observe the guy in order to help him, right?! Maybe this is why Leon isn't getting any better!
Seven sighed and decided to break the silence, "Does Leon know any spells?"
"Some, but he's not very good at them,"
"Oh,"
Seven assumed that Leon wouldn't be, considering how Rey claimed that Leon was a swordsman. But Rey was a mage who knew swordsmanship, so it didn't hurt to ask.
However, even though Rey said that Leon wasn't very good at spells, Leon was already pretty advanced. He didn't have good control or know as much, but they were powerful enough to go against Rey.
"Don't you have any spells to help him?" Seven continued.
"I don't," Rey replied.
His own special ability was shadow manipulation. He could control and solidify the shadows around him. It was one of the many abilities born to those of demon descent. (It was also one of the most obvious reasons that revealed that Rey was a half-demon, but it wasn't Leon's job to point that out.) Then there were other miscellaneous spells that he learned at the academy, like warming himself up, flying, elemental attacks, etc.
Unlike demons, elves, and other beings who were born with special abilities and attributes and can only use specific spells that align with them, humans can learn from any range of spells as long as they have enough mana. Hence, Rey was able to obtain a variety of skills. He couldn't learn any sort of healing or support spells since he was still part demon. However, he was able to accept blessings from the gods and enchanted beings.
Now that he thinks about it, he never really asked the gods for help. He always received some sort of blessing somehow. Then again, it was always some sort of priestess who blessed him. Maybe he'll go ask them for help.
