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(Madison POV)
After Pearl dealt with him, she cried in my arms as I held her, telling her it would be alright from now on. After some time, she fell asleep as I held her. I picked her up, and laid her robe over her to keep her warm. I carried her out of the jail, and told the guards to get someone else to watch the prisoners while I was away for a bit.
One of them ran inside, and another guard replaced him, as he took over my shift. I walked through the streets, carrying Pearl, drenched in his blood.
Some people gave me weird looks, and another guard even came up to me. He asked, "Is that kid dead?"
I then told him about what happened, and he understood. I kept out the torturing part, though. I then told him to go back to his post, and he listened.
I then kept walking to the orphanage, so I can lay Pearl down to rest. She's obviously not been getting enough sleep, the bags under her eyes are very obvious. But first, I'll have to clean off all of the blood.
-[The Orphanage]-
I brought her inside, and asked Rommel where the washroom was. He showed me where, but did not dare ask about what happened. It looks like he knew, though.
As I was cleaning Pearl up, I noticed many scars on her body. One on each of her arms, many on her back, and several large ones on her chest. She had one that looked like a stab wound over her heart…
After cleaning her, and getting her into her nightwear, I cleaned her clothing, and set them out to dry. She laid in her bed, and I changed the bandages on her eye. After I finished everything, I had to get back to work. I left her in Rommel's care.
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(Pearl POV)
I woke up in a bed… My room? Did… Did I fall asleep in Madison's arms? As I cried? How embarrassing…
I sat up, completely drained, emotionally and physically, and looked out of the window. It was sunset.
"It's over… It's finally over…"
I finally got what I wanted for all this time, but was it really worth it? The things he did, the damage he did to me, it won't ever leave. It will always be there. So much has happened, and a lot more is about to begin. The next school term starts in a week…
I'll have to prepare myself, and get the damn uniform.
*knock knock*
Rommel entered the room, he was holding something, something inside of a bag. I tiredly asked, "What… What is it?"
He smiled, then sat down on the edge of my bed. Rommel then said, "Here, I came to bring you this."
He handed me the bag, and I opened it to see it contained the school uniform. I then said, "Thank you…"
Rommel smiled and started petting my head for some reason. He looked content whilst doing it. Is this a fetish of his? Well, it sort of feels nice~... Wait, I'm a guy! Well, I was a guy. Eh, I don't care anyway. I don't mind the change now.
"Wait a moment, this is the male uniform."
I asked Rommel about it, and he responded, "I thought it would fit you better, since you are more like a guy with your tendencies and actions. And you never did seem to like skirts, and the such."
I then said, with a gentle smile on my tired face, "Thank you, this makes me feel a bit more comfortable."
Rommel smiled, and said, "And besides, I think it would look better on you. And the academy doesn't have a strict gender-based uniform policy." So, it's fine if I wear this? Good.
I then set it on my nightstand, and asked Rommel, "Did… Did Madison tell you what happened today?" Rommel responded, "No, I thought it would be better to hear it from you."
After hesitating to tell him, I said this, "Father… he was caught. Madison let me go into his cell, and I… I did things to him, things I wanted to do to him. I… I just did…"
I felt some guilt over torturing him, because what would I actually gain from that? Closure? I don't really feel any better from it…
Rommel then said, "I see…"
Rommel sat there whilst I told him everything. All I did, and all I'll do. He just listened to me. Through my tears, he held me.
He really is a good man. He'd make a great father.
…
He must really like beast people. Through the entirety of it, he was petting me and my ears. He touched my tail a few times, but I don't really mind it. Sure, they're sensitive as ever living shit, but it was fine during that moment. Some movements from his hands made me shiver a bit, but it kind of felt nice?
Am I gaining a new fetish…?
Anyway, Rommel told me to get some rest, and he brought me something to eat.
--
Morning… A new day— that was corny as shit.
I began by stretching my body, making sure I felt good. My hair was in ruffles, same for my tail. I spent around 5 minutes just brushing it all out. Thanks a lot, Rommel.
I think I'll go visit Mister Smith today. It's been a few months, after all.
As I was changing my clothes, I looked at all of the scars on my body. While they might harbour some bad memories, I think they make me look cooler. Like a warrior that had survived many battles, many wars.
Hmm… Have I gotten taller? My robe fits me a bit better now, although it still is friggin' huge on me.
<
Ooh, nice! Now I'm not as much of a midget… Yeah, as if. I'm still shorter than the average child at my age. Well, I'm technically 17, but I'm physically 10, with the height that's even worse.
I took another look at myself in the mirror, and despite showing plenty of emotion, my eyes still looked empty. Just looking at them reminds me…
Fuck. Stop thinking about it… I quickly finished changing to try and keep my mind off of sensitive subjects, then said, "Anyway, it's time I go see Mister Jack."
--
I exited the orphanage, making my way down the street, eating something I had prepared for breakfast. It tasted pretty decent.
{It was a simple sandwich.}
I kept walking, passing by the few people that were always on the way I took. A kid wearing a shirt with the academy's symbol, a male, walked by me. I studied him, and saw that he is an upcoming second-year student, height of 5'5", age 14. He had dark brown hair, short cut, and green eyes, very pretty.
He must have sensed something wrong, because when he saw me, he stopped walking, and stared at me. I kept walking on forwards, avoiding him. He then said, "Wait, beast."
Oh, God. Is he about to be that stereotypical bitch-boy character that hates other races? I turned around to face him, and he stared at me.
He then asked me, "What's with the bandages?"
Is he just curious?
I then said, "What's it to ya?" Like I was from Jersey. He responded with nothing, but he kept up his gaze of curiosity. I then sighed, wanting him to just leave me alone, and I removed the mana bandages I made.
The kid just stared at my eye, then he asked, "What happened?"
I, just wanting to get done with this interaction, answered, "Monsters."
He smirked, then said, "I bet it was some weak ass monster." And then he walked away. What a fuckin' douche!
I put the mana bandages back on by absorbing the mana, and just recreating them where they were. I then kept on my way to Mister Jack's smithing shop, thinking about that douchebag kid, and how he pisses me off. Hey, we'll both be in school together, so maybe I'll get a chance to kick his ass if we do sparring! But, I would like to keep most of my power and abilities hidden from others. I don't like being the centre of attention.
--
I finally got to the shop, and Mister Jack was going around his weapons on display, making sure they were in the best quality.
I walked into the shop, and he saw me. He looked at me for a second, and then seemed to recognise who I was. He then said, "Pearl, was it?" I nodded my head. He then said, "It's been a while… Have you been well?"
I then answered, "I've been… Fine. Just fine." That didn't sound convincing at all… He smiled at me, he didn't look convinced at all from my statement.
He then asked, "I saw that a beastman with similar hair was caught and jailed yesterday. I saw you through the crowd, seething with bloodlust… The kid that… No, forget it, nevermind."
He stopped while he was ahead. I then told him, "Please, don't ask anything regarding it. Anyway, I came to look around, see if you have made anything new."
Jack smiled and then brought me over to the main counter, and told me to wait there. He then went into the back and brought out a blade that was unfinished. He set it down, and he let me study its features. It looked higher quality, around the same as his prized scythe.
He then said, "Can you tell what is different about it?" I then gave it one look, and studied it with all of my might.
<
Yeah.
I then looked at it, and said, "It contains 0.7% mithril…?"
Jack smiled and said, "Bingo! But, how were you able to tell the amount? Only I should know… Wait, do you have the [Appraisal] skill?"
Shit, I've been found out. I then told him I did, and he told me, "Be careful with who you tell, [Appraisal] is a quite rare skill!"
We then spent a few hours talking about weapons, aspirations, and smithing. Overall, we had some fun talking to each other.