THE ARCHAIC SKY

CHAPTER: THE TALES OF THE ETERNAL PAST

"banish? that's dramatic, all i did was follow the wishes of the other reapers"

"that's not fair, they barely know how to control themselves too" Haru's gaze finally falls on a book that she has yet to put back. He picks it up and for a moment Amara saw life in his eyes. A sharp spark appears, staying for a while as he examined the book. "I used to love this book"

"Oh?"

"My father used to read it to me, I wanted to become an adventurer back then" he began. "a stupid ambition, honestly, seeing as I used to be easily frightened and hesitant" Amara tilted her head, allowing him to continue. "Even my brother would dismiss my dream" as if reading the look on her face in a flash, he quickly explained. "But he was a good brother, helping me and protecting me, well until he returned to the stars at least"

"...and then? What became of your dream?"

"An adventurer? Really... I was a young nobleman's son, it was a stupid dream for me to have" he scoffed, throwing her the book.

"Then what made you this way?" Amara asked instead, throwing the book to her desk for her to read when she returned.

"I fled from home, from my monotonous life with just a short sword and a dozen loafs of bread in my bag" he scoffed a laugh as if it was stupid enough to say. "I got lost and was chased by a daemon like beast, a miasma and fell into a world under this world"

Amara's eyes flashed a sudden interest that even he had noticed. "It was an odd world, it was most likely the abyss, but I met someone there. A hag of a woman who kept trying to make me stir trouble. Three months I spent time learning from her, passing through the abyss with her, training with her, the miasmas were hard enough to deal with as it was, but that woman would defeat me nearly daily with only one hand on her sword... When I returned home, my family said it had only been three days since my disappearance, yet the sword in my hand already rusted"

"Then?" Amara jumped off the table and brushed his hair slightly as he leaned against the opposite table.

"Then I got bored of this world, I tried finding the abyss again but it was as if that crack in the word mended itself. I tried finding a new mentor to continue teaching me, but when I finally found one, I managed to piss him off so much with my brawls and chaos and fatal conflicts that he just let me be conscripted to the seikatsu..." he frowned. "That old man was no good anyways"

"...what about your family? what did they think of your conscription" his frown disappeared quickly. A honeyed smile that was painting on in a rush replaced it.

"it's just a story, ojou-chan, no need to look too deeply into it! you can't possibly think I fell into the abyss and trained with an abyss axis sword woman, can you?" Amara frowned slightly, every bit of his story was true, she could tell from the spark in his eyes that was now gone.

That was odd. It was a story she didn't hear before. Why was this Haru more open? Does he want her trust that badly?

Amara sighed, playing along. "If you have more stories to entertain me with, be sure to pass it on to the next herald, I have no time for your plays" she said "come on, the train would arrive any minute now" she spun on her heel and went to leave him behind in the library. "Frey, get my luggage"

"Here you go, nee-... chan" Frey reappeared as his human form with her bags at hand. He eyes a narrowed look at Haru who glares at Frey instead. "Narrenprinz" Amara, thought smiling, happy at the fact that he finally spoke her fatherland's language that she so painstakingly drilled into his mind, shook her head.

"Haru... this is Frey.... My little bro- er... familiar"

His cold gaze disappears, a warm smile on his face again as he rushed after Amara. "Of course, he is, a herald would be even more complete would a familiar would she not? Like a pet"