Erec and Enide got back to the encampment in one piece. The entire ride back was quiet. It was rather hard to converse when the car barreled over the wasteland in the dark. That feeling of her lips barely brushing his kept playing over in his head.
When they returned, they barely had a second to breathe before Yniol started yelling at her. She signaled for Erec to run off, and he did. Didn’t feel right to listen to her get chewed out by her father, and he didn’t want to risk putting himself next on that list. He did his best to stay away from the light of the bonfires and sneak back to his bed.
“There you are,” Boldwick called from the building doorway. The Master Knight crossed his arms and frowned. “Got your axe. Think you forgot a couple of things, though. Care to tell me what’s missing? You know, when you decided to sneak away from the camp?”
“Uh.” Erec rubbed the back of his head, and his gut sank.
“Here’s a hint,” Boldwick tapped the radio on his side. “And then there’s another thing you should always have on you during a wasteland trek. Keeps monsters from stabbing you and leaving you bleeding out. Wanna tell me what that life-saving device is?”
“…Yeah, I’m sorry. I should’ve got my Armor, and something to communicate. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Technically, he had VAL. But it was… It is a little questionable whether or not the machine would reveal itself to the other Knights should something have gone wrong. Though, part of him was confident he could handle a lot of things without his Armor.
“You weren’t thinking with your head. Goddess, help me. It’s the same story with every young man,” Boldwick rubbed his eyes. “Listen, I don’t expect you to be a paragon of reasoning, especially when it comes to trying to show off to girls. But have a bit of common fucking sense, alright? Next time you want to run off with a girl for some alone time, bring more than a damn axe.”
“…You know I was off with Enide?”
Boldwick rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t see you two making eyes at each other for the last couple of days, I’m sure just listening to your friend's gossip would’ve outed you on that.”
“Annoyed but not angry. Out of all the things I’d have expected to come out of cooperating with an outside group, you falling for a wastelander wasn’t on the list. But, upon further consideration, my feelings on the subject have changed. It’s just the type of boneheaded thing that might be a blessing in disguise. The Pendragons don’t appear irritated. If anything, they seem to have taken it with a bit of humor. Young love is as endless as the road, or so they say.”
“I’m not falling for a wastelander. We’re certainly not in love.” Erec said, feeling as if he had to contest the fact. Whether it was to Boldwick or for himself, he didn’t know who the words were for.
“Next time. Armor. Communication. Tell someone else other than just Garin; try a Knight in charge, maybe?” He waved off Erec’s second round of attempts to deny the love affair.
Knowing he was getting nowhere was extremely aggravating, but Erec dropped the issue. Considering the mistake, he’d gotten off lightly. And it appeared that if Boldwick hadn’t been too hung up on what he was doing, which meant that there had to be something bigger on his mind.
“We’ll be working with the Pendragons tomorrow. Split into two, backed up by their number. Be prepared since there’s likely to be a lot of fighting. You’ll be with my group, and we’ll be checking three sites. I suggest you keep the drinking to a minimum and get plenty of rest since it’ll be a long day. When we find this vault, we’ll be going inside, as soon as possible.” Boldwick clapped him on the shoulder. “Now go, I’d say enjoy yourself, but I suspect you already have.”
With that, the Master Knight walked off, leaving Erec to look at his feet.
He hardly had a minute alone until Garin ambushed and dragged him off; in short order, he brought Erec to a small room previously serving as his bedroom while sick. Now, it was empty. Aside from Colin, who was tinkering with a piece of chalk and glyphs on the ground.
“Ah, so he’s returned.” Colin looked over his shoulder before making another mark. Munchy sat next to the half-formed glyph, his whiskers twitching as he looked at Erec. “Deeper in with the wastelanders. Seeing the disgrace of a Count is a tragic thing.”
“Pfft,” Garin shook his head. “Disgrace of a Count, huh? So, how does ‘disgraced duke’s heir’ ring to your ears?”
Colin’s face turned a bit red, and he drew another line on the ground, only, the chalk snapped as he did so.
“So, how’d it go? You two a thing?” Garin asked with a lopsided grin.
“By the Goddess, we talked. That’s all.” Erec lied, shaking his head. “What in the name of hell is Colin doing?”
“Hush. I’m trying to concentrate. I’ve been thinking, since our time with the Stag. All those annoying adjustments we did to Glyphs had a result I couldn’t have predicted. Though it was supremely irritating at the time, upon reflection, I found that it helped me keep calm with all of the chaos going around.” He picked up the broken piece of chalk and tossed it against the far wall. “As things are quite frustrating now, this is calming.”
“A coping mechanism. He’s nervous about the drug trip.” Garin shrugged. “Or, you know, making himself an enemy of the church, probably pissing off his father. Though that part isn’t new.”
“Quiet!” Colin dropped the chalk and shook both of his hands. The source of thɪs content is novęlfire.net
“…Oh no.” Erec let out a deep breath. “Why would you ever agree to join us on that? You know that if Dame Morgana’s ritual does what she says it does, you’ll end up like me.”
Colin didn’t respond. Instead, the duke’s son crouched near his half-completed glyph, glaring at the work.
“He’s doing it for the same reason I am. Maybe not as selfless, though. I don’t suspect he’s doing it to stay by our side. More so that he can feel like he’s special. Can’t blame him; hard not to look around at everyone and think you’re not doing enough to pull your weight.” Garin said.
Erec sat down against the wall, only for his friend to join him. For the next half hour, they watched Colin work on his glyph. Garin kept pressing Erec for the intimate details about his ‘date’ with Enide, which was a bit of a bullshit title for the whole thing. It wasn’t a date. He was very clear about that, but Garin ignored it anyway.
As much as he’d have liked to keep details to himself, his friend tripped him up and pried for more information than he wanted to give. Not that he thought he couldn’t share, but… With such unresolved tension between him and Enide, he didn’t want to call it out and make anything too much of a reality to ignore. So, for the rest of their chat, Garin played a game of sussing out secrets until Colin got fed up with both of them and stormed off.
Garin went off after him, leaving Erec alone in the room.
[Colin normally uses fire and ice glyphs, correct?]
“Yeah,” Erec rubbed his head, feeling wrung out from the conversations with his friend. “Those are the type that he tends to focus on.”
[Why does that glyph appear to interact with electricity?]
— -☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —
“Told you we’d be together,” Enide twirled around Erec; that gun hung over her shoulder as if it were nothing. “Though, think I like you a bit better not covered in all that steel. Where’s the fun when you’re wandering around like a tank.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Erec’s eyes scanned around them. Boldwick led their group and was about a block ahead. The Pendragons shuffled about, anxious and a bit trigger-happy, but they hadn’t shot anything yet. But the day was young. If that were their intent, there’d be plenty of time for finding silly fights to drag everyone into.
Even if they didn’t find a fight, Erec was sure one would come to them, eventually.
“Just stand behind me if a monster appears.” He said.
“My Knight in shining armor.”
“Doesn’t have the nickname of hero for nothing,” Garin snickered to the side, only for Enide to give him a not-so-hidden thumbs up. “But really, this guy’s an absolute monster on the battlefield. I know I told you that story about him killing the Stag, but I don’t think I can truly describe what it’s like to see him work; kind of terrifying, another part relieving, but I guess maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get the chance.”
“He promised me I would.”
“I promised no such thing,” Erec’s mind went back to the night before, her sly little grin yanking his attention away. He couldn’t afford to be this distracted on a mission, not with everything around them. Not with so much at risk. Once he got in a fight, then that attention would slip away, but doing it before the right moment wasn’t good. Not with her around. Or the rest of the Pendragons, for that matter.
“You do realize you two don’t have a very favorable future together, don’t you?” Olivia asked, her eyes as observant as his. “Unless this is some dalliance, it’d be difficult for you to enter the Kingdom were you to get serious. But you don’t strike as the type with that intent.”
“Dalliance?” Enide snickered. “We’re nothing but friends. Jealous he gets along better with a stranger than you? I don’t care much for you saying I have a ‘type’ since I don’t know you, stranger.”
“Sir Erec and I have a fine relationship. We’re dormmates, after all.”
“Oh—wait, that’s right. Tell me, what’s it like living with him?” Enide shifted gears, brushing aside the insult with ease.
At this, Olivia’s tone perked up. “Well, he spends a lot of time alone in his room. Nearly as much as Colin, which I can only assume is a symptom of a lack of socialization as a child. When he’s outside of it, he’s a diligent worker, though, from the rumors I’d heard, he’s been rather inept running his estate. Do you happen to have any background in courtly affairs? Perhaps you can give him some pointers.”
“Ma’am, I shoot guns and kill monsters.” Enide, for once, seemed baffled. “Where the hell do you think we are?”
“I thought as much.” Olivia looked away from her, earning a glower from Enide.
“Look lively! First target is coming up!” Boldwick shouted, interrupting the conversation. Erec pulled his axe off his back, tightening his grip. If Enide wanted him to show her who he was deep down, then let it be on the battlefield. Nowhere else felt quite as much like home.