Kindred Spirits

//Chapter 7: Purple Brass//

To say Dark Cacao was upset with the news of a bandit siege on the citadel would be a massive understatement. His rage could heard through the thick walls of the citadel with scarcely a space found to avoid it. When he eventually calmed down, he was immediately impressed with the determination and strength displayed by the watchers and warriors guarding the place. He decided to halt wall reinforcement on the treacherous slopes nearing the cliffs facing the licorice sea in order to allow the builders to repair what damages had occured to specific parts of the other side.

With the bandit threat dying down momentarily, you had another mostly free day. The second watcher was too busy with protection of the builders to bother giving you something and Caramel Arrow left earlier to visit her home at the Milk Village. Lucky for you, boredom would not soon set in as Affogato approaches you while you were wandering about. "Ah Y/N, My Dear. How are you this wonderful day, hm?" He asked, chipper today unlike usual. You cough and reply"Fine for the most part. I don't have anything to do, my watcher superiors are busy elsewhere." "Then I'm sure you'll not have trouble with my request. I have a batch of letters that need delivering to the various guard outposts near the citadel. It should not take more than a few hours." Affogato quickly segued into seamlessly, pulling out a small stack of black envelopes with his purple advisor's seal on them.

You think for a moment before grabbing the stack and saying "Sure thing, sir. I'll have it done in no time, it'll be like I never left the citadel. Just one question though. Is there any reason you can't go and do it yourself?" "Oh... Um... Let's just say that some of those guard posts are on mountainsides and... I had a bad experience with an avalanche on one of those when I was young. It's why I grew up without any real family at a young age." He replied, trying to avoid talking about his past too much. You shrug and quickly leave to go deliver the letters.

Indeed, the guard outposts were not hard to reach for a watcher like you. Rocks became climbing paths and frozen icicles became ladders to higher cliffs. Whenever you did deliver the letters, the recipient seemed enamored by what affogato has written down but could not reveal it. After all, unless by specific instruction from the advisor or the king, you were not to poke around for information in letters like these. Whatever the case, the letters were dropped off.

The final outpost was actually home to Orange Choco today. You gave him the letter personally, as it was his duty that day. "Thanks for the letter, Y/N. Glad to see you're not afraid to do what the king's right hand asks of you as well, that's loyalty in action." He said, shooting you a hopeful smirk in the process. You shoot him a finger gun gesture in response and state "You know it. Chain of command and all that. Catch up with you tomorrow for a few rounds of Komi after our patrols?" "Deal."

And you left, happy that with the knowledge the advisor's message had reached it's intended audience in a timely manner. But as you left, Orange Choco began to read the letter affogato had drafted up. The ideas on display inspired the young cookie. The supposed facts within caused moments of reflection on moments in the past. Whatever this affogato fellow was planning, he was in.

Returning to the citadel once more, Affogato was quick to greet you with "I see you were not lying when you said it would be done in due haste. I barely had time to properly prepare lunch before you came back." "It was no big thing. Then again, the weather decided to cooperate today, so it could've gotten worse. Not that it would've stopped me from delivering the letters anyway." You reply, quickly shaking off whatever snow you got on your uniform. "No wonder you're one of our up and coming watchers. Commitment and Loyalty are qualities that are just so hard to come by these days." Affogato noted, taking a moment to look upon his gloved hand. It was most intriguing once you took a moment to really look at it.

It was a deep matte black, likely as a sort of dye. If that was the case, only a few rare species of plant could provide that kind of deep beautiful color. The material itself was also a lovely smooth silk. Made only from the finest material that could be found. The glove itself was clearly tailormade for the advisor's hands as it fit him perfectly, neither loose nor tight. Truly, a reflection of how Affogato preferred to live.

Whatever the case, you bid the advisor farewell. "You're a great help Y/N, I'll call you if I need something done." He said as you walked up to the citadel walls to idly scan the nearby area. Eventually, Caramel Arrow came by as the day draws to a close. "Hey Y/N. How was your day?" She asked, taking a spot next to you. "Pretty good. Was doing some deliveries for the royal advisor, affogato I think his name was." You say with complete sincerity, which made what happened next confusing. Caramel Arrow's face instantly scrunched into a scowl and looked down. She comments "Of course he asks someone else to do his work for him. The minute I laid my eyes upon him, I thought that he's a back poking snake. Be careful around him, Y/N." "Alright, I'll watch out for anything. So far, he seems alright but you never know." You reply, wanting to give the advisor the benefit of the doubt.

Caramel Arrow only gave a concerned look before muttering something and running off. You couldn't figure out why she might've thought that affogato was a snake. He seemed to just want the best of this land, which was antithetical to self-interest.