The Abandoned Genius

Do You Hold Grudges?

 The crescent moon peeking out of the passing clouds sent chilling winds over the Howling Vilelands as the night continued on in the desolate land. All seemed calm as the monstrous creatures known as fiends had temporarily retreated to think up a new strategy and the Braves of the Six Flowers had taken shelter in the Bud of Eternity to recuperate after the traumatic events that had befallen them.

One of the fiends' commanders, Tgurneu, had called its subordinates back after it had admitted defeat to its latest battle with the Six Braves. It couldn't ignore the frustration of being outsmarted by Mora Chester, one of the Six Braves and head of the All Heavens Temple, after such a carefully made out plan had been lying in wait for the past three years. It thought it came up with the best strategy to force Mora into killing one of her comrades. It was unfortunate to find out that the Saint of Mountains had found a way around the yeti-appearing fiend's scheme. However, that only fueled its interest even further as it bit into a tasty fig treat.

In the Bud of Eternity, the safe haven that fiends could not enter, most of the Six Braves had called it a night and were resting comfortably around the warm fire that Fremy Speeddraw, one of the Six Braves and Saint of Gunpowder, had conjured up by burning some gunpowder. Despite the small fire pit, Fremy's power over gunpowder could keep the fire burning at a stronger rate to keep the rest of her team toasty.

Adlet Mayer, the Six Braves' appointed leader and self proclaimed strongest man in the world, kept close to the Bud of Eternity's border. He kept his eyes peeled to the quiet mountains drenched in darkness for any sign of the fiends or surprise attack. He glanced over his shoulder to check on his teammates, seeing fragments of the cave that was illuminated by the fire. With everything silent, Adlet dropped his shoulders and let out a large sigh as if he had been holding it in for hours like a balloon.

He had a pounding headache sending shudders through his skull as he reflected over everything that happened. While he had made some headway towards investigating the fiends and this mysterious Tgurneu, the whole ordeal with the traitor and Seventh Brave among his group was wearing him down. He may have been able to prove that Mora wasn't the seventh, however not without major damage being done first. It wouldn't come as a surprise to him if the rest of the Braves were serious about wanting her head after they defeat the Evil God instead of their anger towards her being in the moment only.

He thought about Mora's daughter, Shenira. She must be waiting up all night for Mora to come home right now. The poor little girl was purely a victim in all of this. How would she feel if her mother never returned from this mission to save the world. After all, Shenira had been in so much pain for the past three years, never even fully understanding the situation, and Mora had fought so hard just to save her. Then his mind wandered to everything that happened with Hans.

"Meow, yer neck gonna start hurtin' if ya keep yer head down like that." Adlet's attention snapped out of his wonders as he quickly looked over his shoulder in alert. As if on cue, Hans Humpty, the strangest among the Braves, came stumbling out of the cave towards the redheaded man. It only further convinced Adlet how creepy this man was when he suddenly showed up at the exact moment he began thinking about him. Hans tilted his head to the side suspiciously with a wide grin, his dark hair covering his eyes, making his thoughts impossible to read. "What, did I interrupt some sick fantasy of you and Fremy?"

Adlet sighed once more, ignoring the man's usual eccentricities. "No, I was just thinking."

"What abeowt?" Hans asked, taking care in kneeling down to sit beside his teammate. Adlet took into account how shaky Hans still was on his feet.

"Nothing you don't already know," Adlet replied with a shrug. He reaches his arms over his head to release some tension in his muscles with a much needed stretch. "I was just going over everything that happened tonight."

"Meow," Hans mumbled, shuffling his body to find a comfortable position. "Didya come to any answers?" Adlet shook his head.

"Nothing yet. I think I'm going to wait and see how things play out for now." Adlet answered. Since Hans was deeply involved in their most recent event, not to mention how well the two of them apparently get along, it seemed easy for the young man to be so honest with him.

Hans nodded his head quietly as if to agree. Adlet had noticed that Hans wasn't talking very much since Mora's intentions and motives had come to light. He wasn't surprised, nor did he blame Hans for being angry, as unusual as it was for the feline-like man. He finally looked towards his left shoulder where Hans was sitting and eyed the freshly treated gash that had split Hans's neck open. He was sitting in a slump and lacked his usual spirit, despite how morbid it was. It upset Adlet to see him like that, twisting his stomach into a sense of guilt. He spoke up once more without stopping to think about it. "How are you feeling?"

Hans stared back into Adlet's red eyes in a glare, his piercing yellow eyes burning a hole through him. However, it didn't seem to carry any malicious intent, but rather came off as an exhausted gaze. Hans sighed in defeat, the breath sounding more like a hiss.

"It's a crappy feelin'," Hans began, averting his gaze when his yellow eyes peeked out of hiding from behind his disheveled hair. "My body is numb and I can't meowve right. I've never felt this tired before." His right hand hovers over his neck, his claws avoiding the actual injury. "My neck feels like it's still gushin' a pool of blood, my left hand still hurts like meow, and I'm not likin' how just breathin' is stabbin' my lungs."

"Are you angry?" Adlet asked. He rested his arms over his legs to lean forward, his gaze focused on Hans.

"No." He shakes his head.