My Angel-Yogscast fanfiction

Chapter 18: Accouter

Accouter: clothe or equip in something noticeable or impressive.

Carys/Mia's PoV

The whole of Kim's base erupts with shouting and screaming. Duncan and Martyn are the loaded of them all, of course. It seems my spell on Duncan has worked well, almost too well. He's adamant that I should go to fight; I've filled his head with reasons and well thought out points. Fortunately, Lewis and Simon don't particularly object to the idea. Even Kim is growing on the idea. Martyn, however, he's still determined that I should stay behind. There's little point to his screaming; eventually he'll be overruled and I'll be going with him. None the less, I haven't been permitted to be in the war room until the dispute is resolved. Occasionally, Araquiel comes down to update me on how things are going. So, for the time being, I study my spell book.
I slam the book shut as I hear the door open. The arguing is still louder than a thousand weeping babies so I turn quickly to investigate who has appeared. A timid Toby stands in the doorway. Finally, he has regained all of his health. I can't help but feel a small amount of guilt for using him, perhaps I wouldn't have done it if I knew how much it was going to hurt him. None the less, what's done is done. I give Toby a small nod and he takes a few steps into the room. He pulls out a chair a few meters away from me and sits down with a huff. For a moment, we sit in silence together. But only for a moment,
"They've still arguing." He sighs,
"Yes, I suppose they've yet to reach a conclusion." I confirm, glancing up to the source of the racket,
"I guess Martyn really doesn't want you to get hurt." Toby laughs,
"So it seems. Not that I can particularly see why; it's not like he's known me for very long. Besides, I've volunteered to go, it's not like I, being forced." I complain,
"Because... he cares about you. He wants to protect the people he cares about...everyone does." Toby shrugs, "I mean, Martyn's my best friend and I'd do anything to make sure he's okay." I remain silent and play with my thumbs, "just remember, Mia, he just wants you safe because he really l... wants everything to turn out right."
"I understand." I mutter. My head drops, no longer able to look at Toby. What's he's saying makes perfect sense and I can certainly relate. I remember a time when I'd anything to protect someone that I really cared about. But this is necessary. I have to do this...I really have to.
Our conversation is interrupted by Martyn bursting into the room. He rage in his eyes burns like a comet hurtling towards the planet. He storms over to me and grabs my arm. I freeze at his shift in temperament. Swiftly, he drags me out of the room while my feet struggle to keep up with his pace. I'm brought into the war room, everyone is sat on the edge of their seats with varying expressions. Martyn sits me down but remands stood next to me, his eyes narrow.
"Martyn, I think you need to calm down." I whisper to him, placing my hand on his, "you're hurting me." I remain calm and my statement begins to sink in. Within moments, his grip on me loosens and he takes a step away from me.
"Can everyone look at Mia for a second." Martyn instructs, the rooms stares fall upon me and a lump forms in my throat. "This is the girl you want to send to her death. She doesn't even know any of you; she owes us nothing. But you still demand that she goes to fight in a battle she isn't equipped for. She doesn't want this war, she's told me a thousand times! " Martyn declares.
"That's not what we want, Martyn, and you know that." Lewis defends, "look, Mia, do you want to come with us tomorrow or not?" He asks.
I look up to Martyn and hold eye contact with him, "yes." I say, speaking more to Martyn than Lewis. I watch the despair grow on his face and then a half nod,
"Fine." He mutters. I grip his hand and give it a tight squeeze before mouthing a 'thank you' to him. I watch as he shuffles out of the room, hands in him pockets. Instantly, I run after him. He won't even look back at me.
"Martyn." I call. I grab his arms, turn him and pull him into an embrace. I feel the warmth of his arms around me and my head on his shoulder. The growing warmth in his cheeks tickles my forehead and for a moment we simply stay there. I don't jump away or reject the sensation. I just stay there are and feel it.
"Mia..." Lewis calls as he opens the door. Martyn retracts and steps away, "oh sorry, Mate." He apologises, raising his hands.
"I'll um...I'll see you later I guess..." Martyn mutters as he shuffles away. I feel a sharp pain in my chest as he disappears. Lewis brushes my hand with his and I instantly jerk away,
"I have something to show you." He explains. Lewis leads me out of Kim's tower and into the small tower. I wince as the villagers all turn and stare at me. My pace quickens in order to save me from exposure. Lewis, however is none the wiser to my shift. We remain silent as we walk through the streets. Passing multiple building, I glance through the windows to inspect what Kim has created. Each building in unique yet uniform, outstanding while ordinary. Eventually, Lewis stops outside a small red cottage. The front face of the building is curved while the rest is simply rectangular. The walls have been detailed with shimmering golden glow stone. The door slides open and I am lead inside. The walls are covered in sketches and doodles on rough paper. Chunks of metal lay on the floor like discarded rag dolls. Furnaces cover the edge of one wall in particular and a small hole filled with lava illuminates a sign reading 'incinerator'. Then, on the back wall, a piece of red cloth covers a stand of some kind.
"Martyn and I thought it would be best that you have a little more...protection. So we designed you something." He introduced, ripping of the fabric to reveal my own set of armour. The shiny black metal set stands before me. A darker blue metal details the edge of the armour from the chest, around the opposite hip. The suit it made of of different parts: the main torso; legs; boots and gloves. Clearly, they have drawn inspiration from my tattoos as on the right waist and leg, pearly white stripes stand out slightly. Most of the detailing focuses on the right and what will be my left.
"Wow." I gasp, staring at the suit,
"Now, you may have noticed that not all of you would be covered with this suit so, I have made an under suit out of a relatively flexible metal. It's the same colour as your skin so you won't even be able to tell it's on." Lewis explains, "in a way, it's a prototype of something I've been working on for a few years. I modelled the design around the concept of what I'd like to make in the future but made a few adjustments for your personality." 

I approach the gloves and slip one onto my hand. "How very peculiar." I mutter. The glove fits and moves almost like fabric yet remains as protective as metal.

"I'm pretty proud of it actually, so don't break it." Lewis teases, he glances at the suit and then back to me, "Yes, those colours will go nicely. I'm just glad Martyn didn't request green and blue; I'm saving that combo for my finished masterpiece."

"And I'm not worthy of that!" I laugh, practically already knowing the answer,

"It's not like that, Mia. I just want to save it for someone who really deserves it y'know? You're not exactly well-trained and don't strike me as someone who would even want to be. I can't quite explain who I'm looking for but I'll know it when I meet them." I explains, looking far off into a distant future. "But, first I'll actually have to make the thing." 

It's strange, in a way, watching him make plans for the future. Everyone here does it. They act like there's not a very tangible chance they could die or this war could ruin them. It's just... the current issue, so trivial and nondescript. They put so much hope in the future. I did that once.