White Strings

Episode 7 - Familiar

Skyr followed the two ever since they entered the temple gates in the morning the next day. Manus' heir had his weird pets around him, as usual, and Skyr could smell him all the way from his watching spot. He was taken by surprise when he received the news that Sir Falant had sent a familiar for his son, and one from Manus too. But after a little research, Skyr felt a little bad for treating the new familiar the way he did.

A daughter of a Manus slave, sent almost like a hostage to help Kaon in exchange for her mother's life. At least Kaon wasn't as merciless as his father, and it seemed like he made her feel a little more welcome after their unpleasant encounter. A Gown descent, was it? A neutral bloodline with a rich culture and traditions, Lumen held respect for them.

Skyr watched Kaon leave her at the hands of a trainer. Skyr worked hard to prepare for his own adult trial and knew that his father always had eyes on his progress, but he felt inclined to apologize to the newcomer. He waited patiently as Kaon left to attend his own training, and then looked back to the familiar training session that started.

She showed the coach some moves she knew, Skyr could tell she was imitating a dagger technique. Her moves were quick and well practiced, but quite impractical and odd. She seemed like an aspiring fighter that had no one to guide her, and had gained quite the bad habits on the way.

Skyr erased the smile from his face, reminding himself that it was not nice to ridicule someone that wasn't as fortunate as to be provided with guidance like his own. He cleared his throat and then decided to finally leave his spot and approach the newcomer.

Silk felt embarrassed to her core as she knew from the trainer's expression that she was making many mistakes. She knew that already, she didn't need anyone to tell her that she didn't know what she was doing. Her shame, however, grew even more when she turned around to see Skyr waiting outside the arena.

"Sir," the trainer said and stepped down, letting Skyr take his spot.

"What.. What do you want?" Silk cursed herself in her mind for stuttering.

"I came here to apologize for our encounter yesterday," he cut right to the chase. "I was rude."

"I see," Silk replied slowly, confused by the unexpected apology.

"I am Skyr, from the Lumen bloodline," he continued with a polite smile.

"I..." Silk struggled to calm her breathing. She wasn't sure what to say so she decided to just copy Skyr. "I am Silk from the Gown bloodline."

"I don't normally greet newcomers personally, but after such an unpleasant experience that you didn't deserve, I had to come in person. I hope you will forgive me for my rudeness."

"It's fine," Silk said quickly. She didn't enjoy feeling like a wronged victim, especially when the one apologizing felt so patronizing.

"Kaon is not that bad for a Manus, so I am sure you will be fine."

"He is alright," Silk replied.

"I hope you find the temple welcoming, I believe we will see each other when our courses overlap." Skyr bowed slightly and bid her farewell. "Take care."

Silk watched Skyr step off the arena and leave. She wasn't sure what to think of that little encounter, but it sure was quite weird. It was obvious that Skyr didn't like the Manus bloodline and that his rude behavior was not actually targeted towards her, but Silk still felt off. And what if she was from Manus? Was deciding someone's likeability from their bloodline alone not bad in itself?

"Let's continue our evaluation." Silk heard the trainer say, and she turned to face him again.

"I think you have seen enough to know I don't know anything," Silk replied bitterly. "Showing you more won't make any difference."