Radiance

A Gift

|Sabre|

A sharp knock sounds at the door, waking me up abruptly. I sit up and sigh, rubbing my eyes. Ugh... What is it this time?

"For once, you are awake without me having to startle you awake." Shadow's voice sounds in my mind and I groggily come to the same realization. Who was waking me up this early? The only one I could think of was-

"Oi, bird brain, you awake?" I hear Lucas call through the door and chuckle. Of course. He always woke up earlier than Tewtiy and I. With a sigh, I shift the covers off of me and yawn. I think for the past two mornings, Lucas has come in to wake me up. Usually to ask about something that involved us hanging out together. It's been kinda nice. He, Tewtiy, and I all have been catching up a lot. "Yes, Come in!" I call and the door opens, showing off the blonde-haired man with his striking light blue eyes. Lucas had on his new set of clothes again, showing he was ready for the day.

My friend has a grin on as he steps into the room and shuts the door behind him. "Hey Sabs. How was the land of dreams?" Lucas jokes as he comes over to sit by my sleepy self. I yawn and shrug. I hadn't actually had a real dream in a long time, which was very odd. "Eh. No dreams. Haven't had one in a while." I say as I rub my neck, sighing. Lucas nods and lays back on my bed, resting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. "Ah, makes sense." He lets out a relaxed breath and a thought pops into my head.

"Hey, Lucas?"

"Hm?"

The blonde peeps open an eye at me and I sigh. "How uh... How's my dad? Do you know?" He pauses for a moment to think then chuckles. "He's actually doing pretty fair for his job. At least from what I've heard. The royal army has increased in size, no wars have happened with the neighboring countries, and he's been working pretty hard. That's at least what I've heard from the runners. I'd ask Ryan if he knows more." His voice fills the flowery space and I feel a bit relieved. My dad was okay... He was living on. It gave me some solace to hear that he was okay. I let out a relieved sigh, then absentmindedly start to comb through my hair with my fingers.

Lucas sits up, then rests his hand on my shoulder. "Was worried about him?" He says, prompting me to nod. It had been so long since I last saw my dad, but I missed him a lot. Lucas nods. "Ah."

We sit in silence for a bit before I actually decide to turn and grab the brush from my nightstand beside my scarf and blindfold. I run it through my long hair, feeling a lot of snags as I made a pass through. I must have winced because before I knew it, Lucas had the brush and was gently brushing my hair. His hands were gentle, making me wonder how he knew how to brush like this. Regardless, I just sit there and let him work. It was better than having me struggle with it.

He finishes after a bit, then sets the brush down on the bed and gathers up my hair. "Here, grab your tie." He says and I reach to grab my hair tie from the table. I guess he also wanted to tie back my hair for me. I mean... Regardless if we were literally in our mid-20's, it was nice to have help with basic things like hair management. I hand back the tie and he styles my hair a bit before he tied my hair. "There we go." Lucas says as I turn around to look at him. "Thanks Lucas. It's a bit annoying sometimes to brush my own hair." My friend just chuckles and nods in agreement. I think he had to deal with Ryan's hair on occasion. Wasn't sure though.

He hands me back the brush, then stretches. "So, want to head back out on the town? See what all this kingdom has to offer?" Lucas asks, looking at me with a relaxed look. With a shrug, I glance out the window, the first rays of sunshine falling through the iridescent inner curtains while the rest was blocked out by the heavier outer curtains. "Well, I don't exactly have anything planned for today, so I think it's all good." My eyes trail back over to my friend who nods, then stands up. "Alright, I'll go wake up Tewtiy to see if he wants to come along, to allow you time to change." I nod my head in understandment as my friend made his way back over to the door, his footsteps soft on the flooring. My eyes watch him as he leaves, then I turn to grab my blindfold off of my nightstand.

The past few days really had been kind of... quiet. I was wondering what gave me that feeling. I know a lot had happened but... Some of my memory was a bit blurry. Last I recall, I had just got back with Ryan and Lucas, then started feeling off. But that's it.

Standing up from my bed, I go over to the little upright closet that is set up against the wall near the door, then open it. Inside lay my hoodie and jeans, having been washed by a guard who had noticed it needed to be. A small package lay beside my jeans on the interior drawers. It was covered in a brown paper and was about the length of my forearm. Confused on how it got there, I pick it up and turn it over, noticing a small note attached to a string that kept the parcel together.

"Hey Sabre. I didn't get the chance to give this to you when I came back from my dimension, so here! I know you don't have that much different clothes, so I made you some. Thought it might bring back some positive memories." - Time

My eyes trail over the words and I can't help but sigh and smile. I guess Time was always trying to keep an eye out for me. I appreciated it. Slipping the note out of the string, I carefully undo the package until a sight caught my eyes.

A silk olive-green jacket, embroidered with dark green thread of a winged figure with a blindfold, flying high above a forest, sat on top. I pull it out, gazing in wonder at the intricate design. It was gorgeous and soft to the touch. I look at it a moment longer before I look and pull out an ashen grey turtleneck cutoff with a lighter grey vest. Both were soft, probably to avoid chaffing skin. Under these two, was finally a pair of jeans that I could instantly tell were large. Maybe by choice, considering this entire outfit seemed suited for warmer weather. Much better since the Violet kingdom had been very warm these past days.

It takes me a bit, but I finally change into the attire and go to glance in the mirror. What I saw in the mirror reflected how I felt. I looked comfy, felt comfy, and was at a perfect temperature. Dang... I need to thank Time for this outfit later. He did an amazing job with putting it together! How'd he even have the time to- Actually, no, I know how now. Duh. 

I pause after a moment, then look back at the package and realize I had forgotten something. I grab the black pieces, then slide them over my arms, realizing they were fingerless gloves that reached up my forearm. Huh. Neat. They actually really tie the look together. 

I finish gazing at myself in the mirror, then smile. Definitely need to thank Time later.

"Hm. Have to say, doesn't fit me much, but looks better on you." Shadow's voice echos in my head and I feel his presence on my left. I turn to look over at him. He had on the look I had now, but in greys and blacks. I definitely could see what he meant and the frown on his face reflected it. "Well, maybe I can find some outfits that fit you more. How about that?" I mumble to him, which makes him nod. "Yes." After that, he fades from view, probably back into my mind, and I turn to close the closet then go to grab my scarf from my nightstand. I happen to glance over to the door, then notice that it was left ajar. Huh... Lucas must have done that for me. I smile at the thought, then head over to the ajar door and open it to head out. The halls were quiet as it was the early morning hours, so not many were up. I start down the hall, winding my way through to the main entrance to wait for Lucas and Tewtiy. I think I was going to be waiting here a while, so I decided to go sit on one of the seats in the entrance of the place.

---

|????|

Great. What was I going to do now?

I watched carefully from a rooftop, using a spyglass to help me track the movement of Sabre and his two new companions. I had to think carefully on my next actions. The one Ally I thought was powerful enough to deal with all of these idiots got easily dispatched with by those two non-steves. Just my luck. So now, I have to plan carefully on what to do. Cause if it was learned that I was the one who brought back Hex, I was screwed.

The group of three weaves through the crowd of stalls, making it a bit hard to track. After a bit, I sigh and close my spyglass then put it back in my pack. I'll figure it out soon. I had until that foolish idiot's funeral procession to make a plan.

Carefully, I look at where the guards were, making sure none was looking my way, then flip up the hood on the white and grey cloak and hop down from the rooftop. It wouldn't be much of an issue for me to get out of town. My disguise made everyone think I was a Colorless Guard. It worked, but I hated the meaning behind the armor. Ugh. Seems like things come full circle again and again. I walk down the alley, then move some crates I had shifted, then see the ruby red staff. Heh.

I think it's time I settled the score.