”Not… necessarily… it’s just that he’s found someone more worthy of my job than myself and he’s trying to kick me out from my position…” the Knight answered, slowly raising to his straight position.
”It’s just life after death I guess…”
"That's… that's not right." She held out her hand to help him up. "He just wants to replace you because he found someone better? Why don't you just leave, then, if your master keeps doing that?"
(How could I forget, Merry Christmas everybody!!!)
Matthew wasn’t expecting such a question to come to him this early on.
”That… I’m afraid I could not answer that… not until you meet her that is” the Knight answered, limping gradually down the hall towards where his friend was supposed to be at.
”Now—“ the man in the pavilion started as he sat down and poured tea for both himself and Hinata.
”—I’m aware that you are friends with Matthew, which is already unfortunate as it is, but that you’ve also sustained quite a friendship with him. Unfortunately—“ the man took a sip of his tea before setting the cup down ”—he’s going to be salvaged soon…” the man gave a suspiciously sinister smile.
”Now, what I mean by that is that we’re replacing him with a new and better Knight as he lacks the capability to be… critical… with his actions” the man said, putting a clear emphasis on the word ‘critical’.
”I’ve got to tell you first, by having this salvaging action take place, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Matthew will be… dead or gone or whatever like that. It just means we’re having someone replace him and his job as the Dimensional Zookeeper… see? It’s wonderful don’t you think?” the man said the last part with a natural smile.
Hinata listened, a perfect poker face keeping anyone from knowing how she was feeling. More than anything, she was concerned- especially when the man have a sinister smile. She held her tea in both hands, not drinking any yet.
"Then what exactly does it mean for Matthew?" She asked when he had finished. "What happens to him now?"
The man took another sip of his tea and set the cup down, letting out a soft sigh.
”We haven’t decided yet but… for me… I might extract his Aura to feed the newcomer, I think that’d be beneficial to them. Oh, but of course, Matthew will most likely die in the process but I could only care less, he’s getting scrapped anyways so what’s left for me to care, right?” the man said apathetically as he took another sip of tea before setting the cup down and refilling it.
(Oh yeah! It is today! Haha I'm smart, guys. Merry Christmas to you too!)
As he moved ahead a little ways, Adara muttered, "Her?" in confusion, then hurried after him. She almost asked if he wanted her help, with all the limping, but thought better of it. She certainly wouldn't want anyone to offer help.
As he moved down the hall, Matthew eventually was able to sustain his straight posture. His pain was likely gone at that point. He started back towards the hall with his natural speed.
Upon coming across a sliding door, he opened it and turned the lights on.
”You can wait outside if you want, I just need to get something first” he said before walking in.
(Head inside the room?)
(Wait outside?)
"I'll wait." She sighed and leaned against the wall, picking at her nails while she waited. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she let a fire dance along her open palm, grinning. It felt so good to get her flame back. When she closed her palm it vanished, and she tapped her foot impatiently.
As Adara waited outside, a humanoid figure walked into the same she was in. He was a tall figure, around 6’4” or something. He wore a crimson colored coat, one which was long enough to reach his kneecaps. He had a pair of dark skinny ripped jeans on alongside a leather pair of shoes. He was also smoking a cigarette while playing with a dark red flame which formed on his palms. His hair was a bit messy as it gave off a shiny, jewelry vibe of something similar to a Ruby. One last thing to note about the figure was the fact that he had red, demon-like horns coming out of his head. He stopped near Adara and without turning to face her, asked:
”Who’s in the room?” his voice was raspy, a bit hard to understand.
She ignored his appearance, going back to studying her nails. "No clue. Honestly, Ive been here for a day and I have no idea where anything is or who anything is, so you probably shouldn't ask me."
The demon-humanoid figure turned slowly to face her and shrugged, peering into the room.
”Ah, Mat” the figure muttered just quietly before walking down the hall where he was headed.
Soon, Matthew would come out of the room. He turned off the lights then closed the door. In his hand, he had a small wooden box.
”Alright, he should be up ahead now” the Knight said, leading the way.
The man took another sip of his tea and set the cup down, letting out a soft sigh.
”We haven’t decided yet but… for me… I might extract his Aura to feed the newcomer, I think that’d be beneficial to them. Oh, but of course, Matthew will most likely die in the process but I could only care less, he’s getting scrapped anyways so what’s left for me to care, right?” the man said apathetically as he took another sip of tea before setting the cup down and refilling it.
Hinata had finally taken a sip of her tea, crossing her legs and setting the cup down in her lap. When the man said Matthew would probably if he had his way, her group tightened on the cup, easily shattering. And not into large pieces; no, it was in hundreds of pieces, the hot liquid spilling into her lap and a shared cutting her hand. The wound closed quickly however, and she was unbothered by the tea on her legs.
"Dreadfully sorry," she said, no sincerity behind her words. She had hair a mind to do that to the man, to just wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze until his brain popped out like a pimple core.
"What is that?" Adara asked, nodding her head at the box. She didn't say anything about the guy who had passed. He had seemed unimportant, and already, her mind had forgotten him for the moment.
The Viscount mentally noted down Hinata’s actions as he waved his hand around again, creating a small image of the four foxes, the amber Maine-Coon, and a… parrot? From the looks of it, these were all of Matthew’s ‘pets’.
”If that time does come, though, these will have to go with Matthew as well… their souls are all linked together, meaning that if Matthew were to… well, die, these entities will also follow him. I don’t make the rules here, I’m just saying that he will more likely be dead than not” the Viscount claimed, waving his hand again and causing the image to disappear.
”Well, that’s all I have to say. I just need to warn you about our situation right now. That’s for you to get over it—“ the man took a sip of his tea ”—Matthew’s upcoming last farewell that is”
”Oh, it’s something I need that scientist friend of mine to examine. It’s not mine, actually. I found this during a mission and thought that I’d have him take a look at it” the Knight claimed as they would pass by a hall of many, many doors, all of which were labeled differently.
Hinata listened, barely noting the parrot sure to her forcing herself not to burst out on ironic laughter. Of course the others would die too. She needed to get it out there to blow off some steam, quite literally. She brushed her hands over her pants, the tea evaporating.
"I see," she finally said. She stood, still managing to hold onto her poker face. She'd need to talk to the foxes about their plan.
The viscount wasn’t fazed by Hinata’s actions, he just sat there.
Ichika who was waiting outside the pavilion turned to her as she walked towards him.
”So uh… two questions. How did I get here? And what did you talk to him about?” the draconian asked.
"Then why'd you put it in there? Why didn't you just leave it in your room or something?" She asked.
The gardener looked over at Kye, his face similar to that of the butler; covered in red spider lilies. The only difference being that the gardener’s attire was blue and not green like the first butler and it seemed like every time Kye blinked, the blue butler-like figure stayed… until Kye would have taken a breather or two.
Every time he exhaled, the figure disappeared and reappears again every time he inhaled.
Same case for the green butler, the blue butler started to guide Kye somewhere.
Kye took a slow breath after catching up to the first figure. He looked between the two figures, then started to follow the second one. He was starting to get more and more curious. This was the same reason he'd started really exploring caves. Something kept catching his attention and sparking his curiosity. He was kind of enjoying this.
”That’s the storage room per say. We aren’t entirely sure as to who decided that it would be that room but everyone uses that room nowadays” the Knight shrugged as he said it, coming across a room that was labeled The Examination Lab.
Matthew knocked the door once and opened it. In the room was a tall and thin figure wearing a metallic crow mask.
”Heya Chris” Matthew said as the figure raised his hand in a waving way, looking at the pile of papers that was in his hand.
As the blue suited figure walked across the field, they disappeared with every exhalation Kye preformed. Soon, they guided Kye to a open field.
In the middle of the field, three wooden chests were present. The suited figure moved behind the middle chest and raised their hand to their chest, raising their index finger before using their other hand to gesture at the chests. They were trying to communicate that Kye will be able to open one of these chests.
(Open the left one?)
(Open the middle one?)
(Open the right one?)
As the blue suited figure walked across the field, they disappeared with every exhalation Kye preformed. Soon, they guided Kye to a open field.
In the middle of the field, three wooden chests were present. The suited figure moved behind the middle chest and raised their hand to their chest, raising their index finger before using their other hand to gesture at the chests. They were trying to communicate that Kye will be able to open one of these chests.(Open the left one?)
(Open the middle one?)
(Open the right one?)
Kye looked at the three chests, carefully inspecting each one. He slowly walked up to the chests and then walked around them, coming to a stop in front of the one on the right. He glanced at the figure one more time, before reaching down to open it.
Opening the right chest, Kye would be met with a Sapphire carved in the shape of an eyeball. The jewelry was picked up by the blue butler-like figure and was handed silently to Kye. The figure picked out a paper note with the words: ”Take this piece of jewel with you, you will find it helpful deeper into the Gardens” written on it.
Soon, the blue butler figurine would step out of Kye’s way and in front of the visitor should be another butler figure. But this was not the case as no such thing as a butler figure stood in front of Kye.
From the first two butlers, it seemed like Kye had to do something with his remaining five senses in order to see the figures…
(Curl up your tongue, taste your own saliva?)
(Cover your ears, block all hearing?)
(Reach out with your hand, try to touch the invisible figure?)
The viscount wasn’t fazed by Hinata’s actions, he just sat there.
Ichika who was waiting outside the pavilion turned to her as she walked towards him.
”So uh… two questions. How did I get here? And what did you talk to him about?” the draconian asked.
"You're the one who flew me here," Hinata said plainly. She took off her jacket, tying it around her waist. Her back was exposed now, revealing her wings tattoo. She paused before answering his second question.
"Matthew, " she said, not elaborating. She closed her eyes, focusing. Her wings popped out, and she flapped them once, preparing to leave.
The draconian’s eyes flashed once, nodding when he sensed something coming from Hinata.
”I can take you to Shinrin and Rakurai if you’d like me to. I know where they often are at this time” the Knight stated, his wings sprouting from his back. He lifted himself from his standing position, waiting to see if Hinata was going to follow him or not.
Hinata nodded, lifting off as well.
"Okay then," she said, noting the flash. She had a feeling she knew what it meant, but she didn't really care right at that moment.
(I’ll be disappearing for a bit now, the plane’s coming~ See you all again once I’ve landed in China :D)