𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 || 𝐙𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐱 𝐅! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐂𝟏𝟕

➨ Zora had little—nearly zero—idea where the hideout was, so the walk back nearly took a whole hour. Even then, no complaints left your mouth since you weren't in the mood for arguing with him, or anybody for that matter. So you kept positive remarks throughout the hour-long goose chase.

When you got back, everything was in ruins. It appeared like their hideout was in pieces in a clearing of a deep forest. You were told that the Eye of the Midnight Sun came and basically tore everything down and dipped. Coincidentally, their hideout was also the giant mechanical bull you saw standing around which was being controlled by some guy with an extremely horrible blue bedhead.

Since you and Zora were late to the party, you were cued in by Yami since everybody else had gone off on some mission to find his pets; magical beasts. The bedhead guy was called Henry, and he was taking suggestions for how to rebuild the hideout since he forgot what it looked like. He gave you a piece of paper to suggest something, but you respectfully declined it.

Yami inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and waved Zora off. "Okay Mr. Mask, go help look for my pets and I'm gonna talk to the new recruit."

"Um, no." Zora let out a laugh as if the suggestion was insane. "I'm not pet control. Let the kids handle it. I'm gonna get a much needed nap in."

In response to that, Yami puffed the plume in his direction which made him start coughing and fanning it away from his face. Which also was enough to get him out of the makeshift room. With that Yami scrubs a hand over his face and looks at you with a lifted brow. "You got any different clothes?"

You looked down at yourself. No Golden Dawn cape but since part of that uniform was to wear the standard royal looking under attire, that's what remained. "Yeah, but not with me. And it doesn't look like I'm gonna be able to go back and get them."

He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Guess I can arrange someone to grab 'em because this," he gestures to your attire, "isn't gonna work. Anyway, you should know that we don't do things in a prissy and clean way around here. We're misfits, freaks, weirdos, the list can go on depending on who you ask."

"That doesn't bother me. And by that description I guess I'll fit right in."

"Yeah well I always figured you weren't really the typical golden child." He crosses his arms and leans back. Maybe he wanted you to sit too, so you did, at the opposite end.

Captain Yami was the other one besides Vangeance to raise his hand at the entrance exams. Anybody would have chosen to be on the best squad in the kingdom, that's just how it is. You only made it through half a year with one squad before getting booted to the next. There's nowhere else to go after this but a kick in the ass right out of the knights.

"Listen, I won't ask you to explain anything you're on trial for, frankly, it's not my business. But if you want to go back, you have to play their game. So with that, all I want is a yes or a no. Did you really kill a man?"

Your body runs cold and you rub your fingers together. It's never black and white with something like this. Actually, everything seemed so gray you didn't know how to pick it apart.

You did the act, yes. It was in self defense.

Or, you didn't do the act, because the attack you used isn't a killing move. It was the elven magic that did something to you. Still self defense.

Still, that way can still be twisted. Somebody could argue that no elf would've killed one of their own.

If that's the case, what the hell happened?

But in the end... you felt like Yami was one person you wouldn't mind coming clean to. "I think I did."

"You think?"