It's nearing dusk, and Adelbert is at the camp's edge, chopping wood. He has volunteered for the task every day for the past month; he's been using it as a way to help him clear his head since he was a boy. It was better, he reasoned, to keep busy than to sit back and allow himself to think.
Not that there was a shortage of work to do. Even though crops and villages had been almost fully recovered, the camp was turning into something of a pilgrimage site. Day in and day out groups of people came and went, each one with stories sadder than the one before. They all made a beeline for the Shinou.
At the thought of the god-turned-man, he briefly wonders if unceremoniously removing the alarm on Proper-Eating-and-Sleeping-Organizing-kun had been such a good idea. Anissina's inventions, he recalled, were always on the verge of useless, but at least this one had been inspired by good intentions. The Shinou never got a moment's peace and it was starting to show on his face now that Anissina wasn't around to force him to rest. No wonder he
( ... )
It takes him rather longer than he expected to find the other man. There always seem to be more problems, more crisises and more pleas for him to intervene. The soldiers that remain don't even try to keep them back any more.
Time and past that he was gone, Aki thinks, before they start to use him as crutch. He grew out of the belief that he could fix everything a thousand years before.
He hears the axe before he sees Adelbert and he pauses by the tent as the wood goes flying in two neat chunks. He smiles and coughs to announce his presence.
Adelbert pauses for only a brief instant when the smooth, cultured voice echoes in his mind. Having mental conversations is peculiar, but to his surprise, he's been getting used to it. He rests his axe on his shoulder and calmly tosses the chunks of firewood into a nearby pile.
"No," he says finally. He turns and looks at the slightly taller man expectantly, wondering why he has come. Maybe he was tired of being asked to rescue cats from trees and the like.
Aki moves forward, smile fading a little. He waves a hand at the firewood. ::I almost feel guilt for disturbing you but I thought you might wish to know that the last of the villages is repaired.::
He sits on the stump, yawning and beyond grateful to be away from the need to be perfect. ::I...am no longer needful here; the opinions of the local folk to the contrary. I intend to return to Blood Pledge Castle and I come to ask if you wish to join me in the journey.::
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Not that there was a shortage of work to do. Even though crops and villages had been almost fully recovered, the camp was turning into something of a pilgrimage site. Day in and day out groups of people came and went, each one with stories sadder than the one before. They all made a beeline for the Shinou.
At the thought of the god-turned-man, he briefly wonders if unceremoniously removing the alarm on Proper-Eating-and-Sleeping-Organizing-kun had been such a good idea. Anissina's inventions, he recalled, were always on the verge of useless, but at least this one had been inspired by good intentions. The Shinou never got a moment's peace and it was starting to show on his face now that Anissina wasn't around to force him to rest. No wonder he ( ... )
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Time and past that he was gone, Aki thinks, before they start to use him as crutch. He grew out of the belief that he could fix everything a thousand years before.
He hears the axe before he sees Adelbert and he pauses by the tent as the wood goes flying in two neat chunks. He smiles and coughs to announce his presence.
::Do I intrude?::
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"No," he says finally. He turns and looks at the slightly taller man expectantly, wondering why he has come. Maybe he was tired of being asked to rescue cats from trees and the like.
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He sits on the stump, yawning and beyond grateful to be away from the need to be perfect. ::I...am no longer needful here; the opinions of the local folk to the contrary. I intend to return to Blood Pledge Castle and I come to ask if you wish to join me in the journey.::
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