The Two Puzzle Pieces (Joscarl)

Enlightenment??

Aesop did not meet Joseph the next day. Or the next. or 2 days after. Or a week after. Aesop started to get annoyed with how he was going to find Joseph, and it had almost been 1 season since he last saw him. Instead, the most frequent hunter he would deal with was the new "Fool's Gold" hunter. He hated his abilities and hated how his pickaxe would always hurt when he hit him. This hunter seemed to have no emotions and no remorse, and it was evident that they were just there to win the game. Aesop would sigh every time he knew that the hunter was Norton, but he also knew he couldn't help it because of his traumatic past. 

Aesop not seeing Joseph for a long time was very suspicious. Did anyone tell this to the owner of the manor or something? No, that couldn't be right. there were 28 hunter in total, but Joseph was nowhere to be found. Of course, the chances of a certain hunter could be rare, but Joseph was one of the most common hunters, right?

After Aesop's last straw he decided to do a final match before giving up and going to ask Eli to borrow Brooke to send the letter for him in secret. Once it was time, Aesop walked to the match room, and plopped himself down onto the old dusty chairs that all the survivors sat in. As he plopped himself down, a cloud of dust rose up from the cushion, causing Aesop to cough from all the dust. He was never very strong, but he longed to be as strong as Ganji or William someday so he could fend for himself and be more cool. 

After a minute or so, Helena, Ganji, and Eli walked into the room and greeted Aesop while sitting down. Speak of the devil. Aesop greeted them back too, and started to fiddle with his makeup kit while he waited for the others and the hunter to get ready. The peeper came onto the table and motioned if the survivors wanted anything, but Aesop refused. However, Eli asked for an acorn cake, Ganji asked for Curry Pilaf, and Helena asked for a cookie. Once everyone was done, they were all ready and started the match. 

Once Aesop opened his eyes, he found himself at the Sacred Heart Hospital. This place made him strangely at ease, and the abandoned atmosphere made him feel alone. He rushed to the nearest cipher to decode, but he found a bouquet of flowers on the way. They were all pink roses in a tall, white vase, and they looked beautiful. Who do these flowers belong to? I've never seen anyone with a flower skill. If it was someone new, everyone would have been told the news, and they would have a week's rest before joining the games. Aesop racked his memory for any news of a new hunter or survivor, but his mind was blank. He stood there, contemplating, and crows started to circle in on Aesop. As the crows rushed in, Aesop started panicking and ran to the nearest cipher. Before Aesop could even start to decode, and the hunter was on him. The hunter instantly teleported, and Aesop barely had any time to run away. He was only a few meters away from the cipher when the hunter was about to hit him, until the hunter stopped in his tracks and slowly put his weapon down. Aesop heard a sword being sheathed. Aesop was in shock. 

When Aesop turned around, he saw Joseph, but in white clothes with a wine stain on the shoulder piece and untied hair. Aesop instantly turned as red as the wine stain on Joseph's outfit and stumbled onto the ground. 

"Oh my! Are you okay Aesop?" Joseph said in a worried tone

Aesop sat up and rubbed his head, still dizzy from the fall. He saw stars, and after a while rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't imagining things about the hunter in front of him. 

"I think I'll be fine, I've seen worse." Aesop groggily said

Joseph stayed with Aesop until he was better, but it was almost the end of the match, so Joseph admitted defeat. When Aesop was sitting on the floor, he kept talking to Joseph, and gave him the letter. Joseph read the letter right then and there, and agreed to meet him at the given time. Aesop waited for everyone to exit before going, insisting that he was fine and he was just doing some things since his makeup box was really messed up. Nobody could argue about that. Once Aesop was back in the manor, there were some whispers, but they weren't bad, so he shook it off. The only thing he cared about now was that he managed to talk to Joseph. 

However, there was only one thing that was stuck in Aesop's mind. It was the fact about how handsome Joseph looked in that costume. He looked so dainty but handsome. Everything about that costume was amazing to Aesop, but it also showed how much of an alcoholic Joseph was at the same time. Every detail, from the untied hair to the slightly bigger eyes made him look better than he ever did before. Aesop couldn't get the picture of Joseph out of his mind.

No, we're literally still strangers. This is weird. I've never fallen in love before, especially with a man. This man is literally supposed to be my enemy. Stop. I don't even know him that well yet. I've only arrived here for less than a year, this isn't right. 

All these thoughts swirled in Aesop's mind, preventing him from sleeping, but he still tried to sleep nonetheless, and once the thoughts were extinguished, he fell asleep and slept peacefully, unlike every other night that he was here at the manor. 

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PHEW! that was kind of a lot, and I don't know why the paragraphs were so long in this one. In the end I got kinda lazy but I think you get the point. This chapter was about 950 words ( I think)  and also, thank you for still keeping me in the top 10 ranks in the joscarl tag! even though many people have not plowed through my entire story, it still is popular (Idk why) and If you have stuck along with me since the beginning, I cannot say how grateful I am to have readers who stick with me (even though the book is not completed) 

The production of this book will probably slow down a little because I want to focus on other things in life, but I will keep this book in mind and keep it as a hobby to do when I'm bored. TYSM AGAIN FOR READING!!