SadCoffeeSkeleton

  “Alright everyone, you only have to go from this side to the other, simple enough I reckon.“ Said the guild leader, just before taking a swig from his fsk.

  Simple enough?! The wall almost reached the ceiling! It must’ve been at least forty feet up! Or perhaps his mind was pying tricks on Luca; after all, he never was good with heights.

  To top it off, the wall looked just like a natural cave wall would, with its indents and outcrops being made of natural rock that looked unreliable; how did they get such a structure inside the fortress? Luca was close to giving in and just chucking away any new weird thing to magic.

  “G-Guild Leader! That’s fucking nuts! How the fuck are we gonna go up such a thing!? We could fall!“ Said some wise soul.

  “Don’t.“

  Slowly but surely, everybody began walking towards the wall, and even slower did some decide to begin climbing it. The nervous rookie from Dryleave looked down and pressed his foot onto the floor, which was now padded both on the brick arena and the grass. It could probably cushion a fall from a couple of feet, but would it be effective with the height the challenge before him presented?

  “I don’t think it’s that bad, right?“ The words of the tall blue woman Luca met the day before made him look at her in disbelief as she spoke to her brother. En, however, instead of answering, simply walked forward and began climbing it, Towa following closely; in the back of his mind, the rookie remembered them mentioning at some point living in a mountain, and he wished to have that kind of advantage.

  Shit, he thought, as he reached up and grabbed one of the holes in the thick wall; he tested the resistance of the rock by pulling, and after seeing it not immediately give in, he reached to grab another one with his other hand. Finally going up a little, the first thing that bothered him was the feeling of the small stones digging into his fingers; the second and more troublesome, though, was the immediate effort he had to do to not fall. Luca was strong, yes, but heavy as well, and the ck of experience climbing made it difficult for him to stay steady on the wall. Nevertheless, he pushed himself and, almost jumping, grabbed one of the rocks sticking out.

  Looking up as he slowly made his way over, Luca saw the figure of En advancing much faster than his figure would suggest, the blonde elf woman also quite ahead, and he also thought he saw the dracon woman a bit behind the elf, but he was tired and was forced to press his forehead against the wall, his neck straining from looking up even if it was a short time. In his mind he remembered his sister climbing trees, and him scolding her for doing such a thing, knowing it would worry their mother, if he had only been just the slightest bit more disobedient himself.

  “Rex your shoulders!“ Breathing heavier than a minute ago, Luca’s gaze followed the voice that gave him advice, only to see Towa, who was quite a bit further back than her brother.

  “Huh?“

  “Rex your shoulders a bit more, not too much since you probably don’t want to fall, eh? Haha!“ The horned blue woman spoke without a hint of tiredness or effort; she was perched on the wall as if born there.

  “Oh, y-yeah, okay.“

  “DON’T LOOK DOWN!!!“ The words made Luca’s head shoot up and face forward; he was just checking his footing was correct before rexing, but clearly he had made some wrong ideas on how to do everything at height.

  “A-Alright, alright.“ He was scared, not about failing but about falling; he knew the floor was padded and all, but how good would that be at protecting him? He shook his head and did a couple of deep breaths, slowly making his way upwards, trying very hard to follow the advice Towa was giving him.

  “That’s better! Keep it up, uuh… human!“

  “Luca.“

  “Shit, I was gonna say it; I should've gone for it.“ Luca chuckled at her comment. Slowly but surely, he was able to pass her; when noticing she wasn’t moving, Luca’s eyes discreetly drifted to her. He noticed she had just stopped, looking at something on the ground. Following her gaze, the only thing he saw was the guild leader taking another swig off his special fsk while he looked around.

  “He’s something else, huh?“ She asked.

  “In what way?“

  “You know…“ Answered Towa, a hint of bashfulness in her voice. Luca’s first impression of the guild leader was a strong one; he seemed like a powerful man, able to defeat any enemy he would encounter, and willing to silence any that would oppose him. But seeing him now was a different story; his eyes were half-lidded, his hair and beard were messier, and his voice was certainly less imposing than the one he put on the day before. Was he drunk?

  “Like… powerful?“

  “I mean cool, I mean strong or…“

  “Hot?“

  “SHHH!! Be quiet, you idiot!“ Luca rolled his eyes; he never understood what women saw in guys that were a mess. At one point in his youth that bothered him, the point in which Lana and her friends would drool over some rugged guy that they saw traveling across their nd; now, much older of course, he knew it was the confidence they perceived, and he couldn’t really bme any of them for it. Besides, he himself now felt like a mess, so perhaps he should just get some confidence instead of just sulking on it. Why did it bother him so much? “But yeah… don’t you agree?“

  “Uuuh.“ Looking at him once more, Luca noticed his eyes blinking one after the other; someone being drunk at eleven in the morning didn’t quite scream attractiveness at him. “... In an unemployed uncle way maybe.“ His comment made Towa chuckle.

  “What does that even mean?“

  “I don’t know! I’m tired and pissed at this wall.“

  After a bit more chatting and some other advice from the horned woman, she went forward, and Luca was alone again. Looking up, he saw the red brother and noticed how, instead of almost jumping from one crevice to another, the quiet man stretched and pulled himself into the next position. Luca imitated it, and immediately he noticed the advantage; his hands hurt less, and though it took him longer to find a path suitable for this technique and he still took a big effort in staying, he felt a surge in confidence at the improvement. However, he was among the st ones of the rookies, and in the back of his head, he could hear his sister rushing him to get to the other side faster even if it wasn’t a race, as she was used to doing.

  And so little by little, Luca made his way toward the top of the climbing wall, only wishing to make it there fast and for the descent to be easier.

  “Calm down, honey; everyone else also wants to check.“

  Lana was done responding; she stood crossing her arms, looking as the line moved slowly.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen this many people want to check their mail in my life. And today of all days, suddenly, everyone has a letter.“

  “The burning season is at its peak; people will want to know how their loved ones are doing.“

  The young woman tapped her foot on the ground, her brow furrowed and her patience running thin. Yesterday didn’t feel real, and today barely did; her life now was missing a piece, her very soul broken after a chunk was ripped out violently. The only comfort she had was a letter a day, which a certain someone SWORE to write, and now she couldn’t even do it because of the people her family had helped all their lives being in the way.

  “I don’t know why we can’t just skip the line; it’ll be less than a second.“

  “They just got here before us.“

  “Yeah, because they aren’t dehydrated or malnourished, because we helped; they only got here so early because they live nearby. After all we’ve done.“

  “We help because we need to, Lana. If they didn’t need help, who knows where we’d be, certainly not in a house with four walls.“ Lana rolled her eyes, an act her mother didn’t see as she was standing behind her. “And also, they’d find their way without us; what we do isn’t a necessity for these people.“

  “Yeah.“ Lana scoffed. “I’d like to see old Miss Tarren get her food crate at her age.“

  “If that’s how you see it, should we let the farmers pass us?“ Her mother did bring up a good point, but the irritated woman decided to just stay silent, despite really wanting to say something, even if she had nothing to say. “Exactly, so just be patient and hold on; there’s only a couple people in the front. We’ll get to the mailbox in a minute.“

  How many times did Lana spend time away from her brother? Certainly not more than twenty, more than fifteen? She held back a sob and sniffed; she didn’t see how this could be done, how she’d be okay without Luca being there; and even after all that, when he left, she still didn’t… She had to come to terms with it still; she still had to figure out exactly what to say or how she felt. It was something she couldn’t keep all her life, regrettably so; Lana damned that half-foot man Luca spoke of… if only she had had just a little more time.

  Finally their turn came; both she and her mother stepped up to the community mailbox, where the mayor was giving away people’s letters and packages that arrived there, as it was the second day of the week; every other day they’d be able to get it themselves. Before the mayor asked about how their day had been, congratuted them about Luca’s opportunity (like so many others ignorantly did), or simply said hello, Lana’s mother interjected.

  “We have a letter from Zenith City! HURRY!“ Her voice was panicked, and it seemed to come out louder than she intended, but instead of shying away from her outburst, the older woman simply stared into the mayor’s eyes, who, after a second, finally gave them a lone letter that rested upon their slot.

  Walking back to the house, both women stayed silent; Lana gnced at her mother, who was clutching the letter towards her chest with both arms with a bnk expression. Guilt filled Lana’s mind, guilt and yearning; the yearning could wait, however.

  “Ma I’m… I’m sorry. You miss him too, I know.“ She said as they both arrived at their home. “It’s just… I’ve only ever known life with him. And now he’s just… so far away, and we have no clue when we’ll see him again…“ As Lana entered the house, she felt her mother’s hand on her cheek, who wiped away a tear with her thumb and stared lovingly at her, slightly watery-eyed. This action made the young woman want to cry and cuddle into a ball, but instead she took a deep breath and looked determined at her. “But he’ll be back, he swore so. We’ll be fine! I-I’ll be strong!“

  “My little girl…“ Said her mother, with a sigh. “You’ve always been strong. I can’t remember a day where you didn’t do everything in your power to get everything we needed. No desperation, no loss of faith…“ Gently, Miranda’s hands pulled down her daughter’s head, and with her bending over slightly and following her actions, her mother was able to pce a caring kiss on Lana’s forehead. A second ter, after wiping their tears, both women stood side by side and read the letter.

  Dearest Mother and Sister,

  I am well; I arrived yesterday and began a tour of the instaltions at dawn. I've talked with the Zenith’s university director, and she has given me some motivation to do my best. I’ve met a couple of people, and I already would say they are friends of mine.

  Last night was difficult; I found myself saddened by not having you two there so I could say goodnight to you. The wall is on the other side of my bed, and the room has no windows and is completely dark at night. And though now I have a very modern washroom, and the door on my new closet doesn’t get stuck when I open it, I find it difficult to find something good about this ginormous pce.

  But fret not, for just when night seems it’s darkest does the memory of the sun warm one’s heart the most. I remember the few travels to the far river we used to do, the little walks we took at the end of the burning season, when the sky was clear at dawn but the air was fresh, and the times we’d py rain games in Lana’s room whenever the smallest storm you’d ever id eyes upon covered the sky above our house.

  These memories, this life that I’ve lived, the parts you two were in; I find strength in that, to do what I must, and to make my oath come true.

  I’ll be okay. I’ll come back.

  With love

  Luca

  A few moments of silence passed; no words needed to be said as Miranda handed her daughter the letter and began walking towards the kitchen.

  “Well, that’s that.“ Said the mother of the house as she put on her apron, sneakily wiping away the few tears that would’ve rolled otherwise. “Tell me, honey, does beef sound good for lunch? There’s a lot of it, and we have to compensate for the steak devourer now that he’s gone.“ She smirked at her own comment, in the back of her mind worrying about the fact that she didn’t know if her son would be eating well. The few seconds that followed didn’t carry an answer with them. “Lana? Honey?“

  “Huh? Y-Yeah! Yeah, sounds great, Ma.“ The daughter of the house still contempted the letter; her mother simply smiled and proceeded with the cooking.

  Lana ran her fingers through the words; she noticed the jab at her fear of storms and his brother's attempt at comedy that came with it. But she also noticed the line of the night and the memory of the sun.

  Almost a decade ago… almost a decade ago when she came up with that line, they fantasized about her favorite legend, Carmel ‘The High Tide,’ the pirate princess. Her brother wasn’t too fond of her stories, but he still expanded them with her when she asked. And that line she said passing by, not thinking much of it. But Luca was astonished; he fell in love with that small line. He praised Lana, asking her where she read it, whom she heard speak it, and he praised her even more when he heard she came up with it on her own. It was from that moment that Lana knew she couldn’t part with the idea of daydreaming, of thinking epic tales and continuing legends of old… And even 10 years ter, Luca seemed to also enjoy it, at least the memory of it… of them spending time together.

  Fuck, it hurt. It hurt so much; she knew it was weak, that she had to be better and grow up and be mature. She curled her fingers in her t-shirt and clenched her teeth; Lana herself refused to cry, not wanting to worry her mother, she was an adult, she had been for some years. She had to endure the pain for her family. If she did her mother would have to comfort her for it, and she had enough problems already. And her being clingy wouldn't be the death of her, she'd get over it...

  With a shaky breath, she calmed her nerves, ignoring her thoughts as she pced the slightly wrinkled letter on the table, then released her grip on her clothes and patted them until the wrinkles were mostly gone.

  “Mother, would you mind if I rested in my room till lunch?” She usually liked to help in the kitchen, but she felt like she needed to get her thoughts in order once more. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to do that too much now that she was alone.

  “Of course, honey.” Lana sighed in relief and walked back to her room. “I love you!” Her mother excimed, making the young woman smile, walk to Miranda, and kiss her cheek, before finally retiring to her room.

  “Love you too, Ma.” She wasn’t truly alone, was she? She had to cherish what she had. She had to be strong; she’d be strong for her, for her mother, and for him. After all, he was being strong for them, and she wasn't about to let him best her on this.

  Luca panted, looking down from the top of the wall; a few people were already on the ground, but that was a luxury he didn’t have. No, he was at the very top of the stone wall, looking down. And even here he could tell that approximately halfway through on the way down, there weren't any more crevices, any anymore spots to support oneself on. Another person grumbled and compined quietly as he passed him, going back to the side of the wall they had to climb to descend from there.

  It was the first training, and yet the teacher already pulled the trap question card?! Luca was annoyed; he was tired, but he was mostly scared.

  He started to descend, hoping there was some kind of trick; he held onto the stone with his bruised hands; he couldn’t tell if his fingers were bleeding or not, but they sure felt like they were bleeding. Looking down, he saw the small group of people slowly joining; he saw the siblings, of course, and the elf girl, though he didn’t see the dracon. His mind got occupied with something. When did Preston get there?

  Luca hadn’t seen him get up the wall, and it seemed improbable he rushed past Luca without him noticing. How did he get there?!

  ”Focus, focus…” Luca breathed deep the best he could before he slowly continued descending. Sadly, once down to the point where the crevices ended, he was at the end of his rope. Limbs trembling slightly, breathing uncontrolble, sweating… Could he even go back up? What a stupid way to die, first day at Zenith at a trap question of a first training. And what a stupid training, by the way. Why did that drunk add that? What did this exercise prove? That they should give up? That halfway through there was no way of getting out? Luca could hear the people on the ground, giggling and catching their breath…

  …

  … Was it a trust thing?

  “Uh, TOWA!” Yelled Luca, his voice a bit more shaky than he’d intended. He heard the murmur of the people on the ground as they looked up at him; a couple giggled.

  “You are going the wrong way, Luca! You got this; just go the other way and go down the same way, y-”

  “DID YOU DROP DOWN?!” He asked, as he got even lower, pretending to hang from the crevices where his feet were.

  “Huh? Oh! YEAH! I dropped!” She said, taking a couple of steps forward from the crowd. “Why? You gonna drop? The floor is padded, but…”

  “Can you catch me?” He asked, his voice already wavering; he managed to hang from the crevices, which, unexpectedly for Luca, was worse.

  “I- what?!” She took a step back. “W-Well, I guess? But are you su-”

  It was too much; Luca felt his fingers slide off the sharp rock.

  “TOWA!” He yelled, as if he needed confirmation to drop and wasn’t seconds away from it happening anyways.

  “O-Okay, yeah!! Yeah, I can catch you!” She yelled, a hint of nervousness in her voice that contradicted her usual braveness. A reason for worry, to be sure, but beggars can’t be choosers, and Luca was pretty close to begging.

  “O-Okay! I-I…” He wanted to count down to get ready; he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the falling aspect, but his body had other pns.

  He felt the stone scrape against his fingertips as he slid off, no doubt a result of the tiredness and the sweating combined. He suddenly started grasping at the wall, trying to hold onto it with everything he had, but his arms fell just short as he began falling. The air breaking against his ears and his hair blowing upwards, he braced himself for being grabbed, closing his eyes shut; he wanted to trust Towa, but the panic welled up inside him anyways; difficult to keep calm while falling from the highest he’s ever fallen. He heard voices, directions? They sounded panicked, but before he had time to process it, he felt himself getting tackled, the change in direction making him nauseous immediately.

  One would think they’d feel better after falling once they hit the ground, and though Luca was grateful for not being squished, the nausea, making the room spin and turning his stomach upside down, made it hard to focus on saying thank you.

  “Holy shit! I got you! I actually got you!” Excimed Towa, relieved, a little too relieved for Luca’s fear to shake off of his bones. “Did you see that? I’m the best!! I-I learned that if you grab something like, horizontally as they fall, they don’t crush! An-And I did it right! Hahahaha!!” She was giddy, hugging Luca’s back in her arms and kicking her feet, herself being in her brother’s arms as he caught her. “I just learned that like st week! Oh gods! Did you see that, En?! はいはい、落ち着きなはれ、深呼吸しなさい、トワ、深呼吸やで. You okay, Luca? Are you listening to me?”

  Luca was listening; he wasn’t exactly processing the words he was hearing, but he was paying attention. The room was spinning around more and more, and he couldn’t hide the sound as he felt his stomach trying to regurgitate its contents. A collective “Ewwwww” spread around the crowd as Luca stumbled forward, Towa letting go. He tried his hardest to keep breakfast inside as he doubled over and closed his eyes, which didn’t make it better, but if he failed, Luca didn’t want to look at the barf.

  He could hear voices, muffled, before he heard one really close to him, filled with disdain, with a mocking tone. Slowly he began settling down; as he recognized Preston’s voice in his ear, he turned and opened his eyes to look at him.

  “...d, and wouldn’t you believe it, ol’ chap, I just happened to be right! Isn’t that just the darndest thing? Now, even if I didn’t take th-”

  “How? H-ow did you get down…?” Asked Luca, gagging in the middle as the threat wasn’t completely gone.

  “I already told you, silly. I just walked around the wall.” There was clear pride in his voice.

  “B-But, but- ah…” Luca closed his eyes again, tears pricking at the corners as he suppressed another gag, his stomach screaming bloody murder. “... H-He said we had to climb, h-he said-”

  “I said you had to get to the other side.” The voice of the guild leader rang out, booming as it was the day before. “And only one of you saw the easy solution, the best solution. In the dungeon, you either minimize risks, or you take too many of them.”

  Some protests sprang up; people who climbed fast argued that they avoided the risks, others that this type of problem wouldn’t happen with a magic user nearby.

  “...” Luca panted softly, straightening slowly and tilting his head back, the sun filtering through the openings in the ceiling and hitting his closed eyelids. “... Fair enough…” Mumbled Luca, as the leader rectified the crowd, Preston turned to him, slightly surprised. “Y-You made the right call… smart.” If at any point anyone thought Preston couldn’t look even more smug, they were wrong, as he had just beaten a brand new record exactly at that moment.

  “Shut up, all of you. There’s always risks; you gotta avoid them. It’s brave and smart to overcome them; it’s always better to avoid them.” Said the leader, not angry, not disappointed, just matter-of-factly, they were wrong; he and Preston were right. “Case in point, those two.” He pointed at Luca and Preston, the former opening his teary eyes, and the tter putting his hands behind his back. “One barely moved a muscle; the other failed the one rule of not falling; both had the same result. Now come on, everyone; if you can stand, you are climbing again as punishment.” He ordered, as everyone begrudgingly agreed, the leader approached the pair. “You, Tarnul, you can take your break already.” Preston nodded and walked off. “And you, little Kreaspell, go sit over there and breathe.”

  “...” Panting and swallowing some saliva, Luca walked off before saying under his breath, his voice shaky like his knees. “I-I… I didn’t fall…” Domanhua turned; he seemed more sober than before—not too much, but more than before. He looked at Luca like he looked at everything, as if it didn’t have to do with him. “... I dropped.”

  “You still would’ve hit the ground if the on-”

  “But I didn’t.” Luca turned his face to look at the guild leader, searching for some sort of confirmation that his act wasn’t totally idiotic. After a few seconds, he saw something akin to a smile under his messy beard.

  “... But you didn’t…” He repeated, before nodding and walking off.

  Finally, Luca sat down, resting against a wall as he caught his breath slowly, holding his head in his hand. Slowly, the turmoil in his body stopped, his stomach settling and his breathing evening out. And by the end, he cleared his mind as best he could, resting his pained fingers on his p. Alternatively, the rest of the crowd begrudgingly climbed the wall once more to the best of their efforts. The colorful siblings effortlessly, the rest to different degrees of difficulty, all the same as before. Except this time, like the day before, the eyes of Eleandra, the elf with blonde hair, kept shifting to Luca’s resting form while she climbed.