The Land of Dawn (ML Fanfic)

35. what is not and is

Moskov was pulling the strands of his shoulder length hair in utter distress. He failed miserably. He was planning to raid the assassin's quarters,  when someone accidentally spotted his phantom silhoutte.

He was not expecting that someone would come aside from him. He was mad of himself for being reckless and too lax. He was also annoyed by that ninja guy who appeared out of nowhere and disrupted his plan.

He also knew that ninja guy from before. If he was correct, the ninja's name was Hayabusa. He almost lost his quiscent spear when he and Hayabusa battled on top of a cliff. It was an obvious win for the ninja back then. He had a shadow ability by which he can flee the fighting scene without being spotted nor harmed.

And he can plant blows and jabs upon Moskov without him being able to prepare himself. Hayabusa was that powerful. Although Moskov's first skill allowed him to move swiftly from certain distances, he was no match for the ninja's stealthy skills.

And that was why he surrendered and left the fighting scene they had before. But now, having been able to see the ninja guy after some time, he felt that he can already beat him this time. He has undergone rigorous trainings and he knew, it improved him, his skills and his powers.

Shaking his head, he made his way back to the Moldox cave where Alice was waiting, with shoulders hung low and a heavy heart.

Not satisfying Alice's request, he settled for a heap of wild berries and a somewhat heavy wild boar. He was willing to feed Alice even when he haven't found any food to feed himself.

He was planning to steal mana shots at the quarters to somewhat help both he and Alice with their strength and stamina.

He didn't understand why he has drastically changed when he met Alice. He never ever settled his personal interests and needs for second best; he was always his own priority and now, it seems that everything has fallen far from where they used to.

Alice's needs were more essential to him; her comfort and welfare has been his top concern. And he cannot name not even a single reason as to why things have came to this point.

His thoughts went back to Alice. She was greedy, self-liberating, impatient and obnoxiously demanding but Moskov found himself extremely drawn to her.

Even he himself can only name a few of Alice's good qualities and the remaining are all negatives. But she was the perfect being for Moskov, he thought so himself.

Despite being dark and greedy, Moskov has made observations and found out that Alice was just like any other woman out there. She has mannerisms not even she herself can notice and only he, did. She was also surprisingly sweet at times.

And even in her animosity, she never forgets to check if Moskov was okay. On the days that they were away from each other, Alice constantly appeared in Moskov's dreams; checking up on him, asking if he was doing fine and swell.

Although, most of the time Alice may seem unbearable and moody, she has good qualities in her. At times when Moskov looks close or perhaps when he'll look too close, he can see pain in Alice's eyes.

He can see all the hatred that has summed up in her heart that it turned her into something, someone she never expected herself to become.

He saw pain in her eyes, the kind of pain that has long gone passed, long gone drifted away with the sands of time and yet the kind that's never really forgotten.

Alice was just a scarred, pained victim that never got out of her past. That's how Moskov saw her. And he never really was interested in helping her, saving her because he knew he needed saving too.

How can he save a soul when he couldn't save himself?

It just disappointed him how souls can be so cruel and how they tend to ramble and judge others for being so cruel when in fact, their words, let alone their actions can drive people to become cruel.

Words are especially powerful when they are said by those who you hold dear. And Moskov can clearly remember when his father told him that he was no good, that he was meant for nothing, that he was best left for dead.

Back then, he vowed to never give that kind of pain to anyone else, but he realized that the only way to get back to his father is to give the same word, or treat others the same way he was treated.

And that's how he became who he is.

His spear quiscent, discreet-- a mirror of its owner who was once pained from the intensity of the world and its demands; its silence speaking a hundredfold.

When he got back to the Moldox cave, he saw Alice fast asleep at the farthest corner of the cave, in a crevice that was devoid of light from the outside.

He inched the distance between him and the sleeping female mage, determined to wake her up. But as he got close to her, he saw that she was in a deep sleep-- her chest calmly rising and collapsing in between short deep breaths.

He saw that she was in state of calmness, a state where Alice isn't often found (because she was always moody and bloodthirsty.)

So he decided not to wake her up. While Alice slept, Moskov went to another corner and set up a fire to cook the wild boar. Alice could easily suck the blood out of the dead boar but he wanted her to have a properly cooked meal.

He lit up a match and tossed it on a pile of wood. He tossed and turned the boar until he was satisfied that it was cooked.

A few minutes later, he saw Alice wake up from her nap and she went to Moskov's side.

"Is this all you have for me?" Alice asked, catching him off guard due to the question's utter arrogancy.

"Yes, love. I'm sorry though. I could capture more next time." He replied, his pride reduced to pieces.

Alice only turned her back and walked towards the opening of the cave. Moskov's eyes widened.

"Where are you going? Don't you go out or you'll hurt yourself!" He shouted, eager to convince Alice to return to his side.

"I should've gotten food for myself. You are disappointing. What you've caught isn't even enough for one person. And why are you cooking it? Don't you know that I can consumr that with just a flick of a thumb?" She shouted, furious of him.

He was taken aback by her utter arrogancy. She was being extra mean today, he thought.

"I'm sorry. Things have gotten messy out there. Don't worry, I picked up wild berries for you. I know these are your favorite. Please don't be mad." He explained, determined to redeem himself and his lover.

Alice just rolled her eyes as she flung herself out of the cave, with the heat of the sun little by little scalding her skin.

Moskov could only let out a sigh as he followed her outside. He knew he would go through this kind of situation often but he was ready.

Because all she has is him. And all he has is himself.