In one swift motion, Imuru jolted up awake. His eyes darted around the room, momentarily disoriented. He rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes, exhaled deeply, and relaxed.
"I fell asleep, so I was that tired?" Imuru thought contentedly, a broad smile across his face. A low malicious growl from behind his office door caught his attention.
He tilted his head, only one thought and creature came to mind. "Forcent?..." He sat back up, and listened intently.
"Cunning wolf!!! You may have fooled the boy, but not me, I can see through your tricks," someone aggressively said, failing at the attempt of keeping their voice low. Imuru picked up immediately who it was.
Arken growled at the top of his lungs. "And now, your cheap tricks won't work against me, up this close."
Forcent sighed, a rested face on full display. "You're strange, Dark Devider, very strange," He calmly commented.
Arken crossed his arms and scoffed. "Now remember, as long as you're here, I am your superior. Understand?" He raised his head, confidence in his attitude.
The Ennom expressed no reactions toward Arken and his words. "I refuse. You're a weak Dark Devider. In my books, I'm your superior," Forcent bluntly replied.
Intriguingly for himself, Imuru found the conversation a step in the right direction. Arken's being aggressive, rightfully so, and Forcent kept up his calm behavior, proving it wasn't just for show.
"Arken, Forcent, can you two come in?" Imuru requested, a passive smile forming on his face.
Arken was first to make his entrance, rushing up to Imuru's desk, followed suit by the disinterested Forcent.
"That Ennom!" Arken aggressively pointed at Forcent. "Cannot be trusted! I say we get rid of him, and keep the more useful human lady."
Imuru glanced at Forcent. Imuru remained quiet, the tapping of his fingers on his desk, the only audible noise. "Right… Now that I think about it, should I get their opinions on this personally? Roll made it clear, what their opinions are already… Hm," He thought, thoughtfully.
Working out his thoughts, Imuru spoke to address Arken's concerns. "If Forcent causes trouble I'll deal with it. I brought him here, so whatever Forcent does is my responsibility. I'll accept the consequences head on."
Arken narrowed his eyes, and growled. "Is that so? Then fine. I shall allow the Ennom to stay for the time being."
"You?" Imuru thought, perplexed. "Honestly, why bother?" Having no interest in challenging Arken's view, Imuru carried on the conversation.
"Well I heard you guys speak, it was a start. Hopefully in the future, you'll both get to know each other better," Imuru said gleefully, having faith in both of them being capable of forming a friendship.
Arken gave Forcent a look, and chuckled underneath his breath. Forcent didn't once acknowledge Arken here, and just kept his attention glued on Imuru.
"Great, great." Imuru murmured, trying to ignore the clear tension between the two. "So, how about our injured friends? Got any update on how they're doing?" Imuru curiously inquired.
"They left early in a rush," Arken replied. "Also, this new human woman, why's she here, will she be staying?"
"Mm. You mean Yosho?" Imuru murmured. "Yeah. She's one of us now, you could say." This made him recall his first meeting with her, trying to be careful. "I should watch out for her… Just in case. Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, she was a bit strange before. Well. Whatever, it's worth it."
A wide grin formed on Arken's face. "Good. Now I can prove those losses were a mere flunk." He turned and raced on, with a burning eagerness.
Imuru didn't know what to make of this, but he didn't like it, untrustful of Arken, especially regarding his antiques. "Pardon Arken." Imuru got up from his seat. "He's a bit of a handful."
"I can see. Also suicidal," Forcent replied, not a hint of emotion on display.
Imuru was taken aback by this comment, but just played it off with a little laugh, like it didn't bother him. "Right. Individuals like us, have to keep it cool. And hey look you're doing well."
In response to that statement, Forcent just gave a light growl. Imuru shrugged his shoulders. "Are not." Imuru carried himself from around his desk, and beckoned Forcent to tag along with him.
They walked along through the hallway, to the front door. Gently, he slid the door open, to be greeted immediately by a breath of cool, crispy breeze, and the dazzling daylight.
He stood there for a moment taking it all in. "Forcent, I'm heading over to the village. Are you coming?" Imuru inquired.
Forcent stared ahead, his expression flat. "I'd rather not. You've yet to decide what to do with me? You'll avoid unnecessary questions," Forcent replied, his voice monotone.
Imuru blinked rapidly, surprised Forcent's already giving him advice. "Ow. T-Thank you. Well… I meant it when I said I'll accept responsibility for you." He cleared his throat. "Alright then.While I'm gone you're the man of the house, or wolf."
A loud crash of sorts grabbed hold of Imuru's attention. He walked on outside, and faced the direction of the village. "Now, I wonder what that may be? I don't wanna guess, nor do I have," Imuru thought, a knowing expression on his face.
Imuru sighed, and traded on along. As he traveled the path, the village in sight, the sound of grunts, and loud crashes became more audible.
Imuru's expression fell into one of annoyance momentarily. Not particularly interested in having any damages done to anything the Dark Deviders are working on, so he hurried himself, to shut the drama down.
Pretty soon, he spotted a female Dark Devider rushing down the path in his direction. The moment she laid her eyes on him, her expression brightened.
She promptly came to a stop in front of him. "Forgive me, Lord Imuru," She began, pausing momentarily to catch her breath. "I'm Yot, I've been sen—" She shook her rapidly, dropping the formality. "We urgently need your assistance sir," She exclaimed in panic.
Yot is a voluptuous female Dark Devider, standing at 6'0ft. She has the cool choral-like skin color as other fellow Deviders, accompanied by her shoulder length twintail, and curious natured black eyes.
Imuru gave Yot a nod and beckoned her to hurry along. "Thank you, Yot. I'll take care of it," He reassured her, on their approach.
On one side, a crowd of Deviders helplessly stood, watching Arken confront the woman Yosho. Arken attempted and failed countless times in landing a single blow against Yosho.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "Such tactics. I'm clearly superior, but she refuses to engage in combat," Arken thought, trying to read her movements, so he could get close enough to at least force her to fight.
Arken managed to calm himself. "As you all can see, she's already tiring out. She may be a bit quicker, but lacks the capabilities to strike back," Arken addressed the crowd of Deviders. "Now, any questions?"
Someone in the crowd hesitantly raised their hand, to which Arken gave him the go ahead to ask his question. The Devider cleared his throat. "S-Sir, wasn't she beating you before?"
Another one spoke up immediately. "Also, wasn't it a bit mean to attack Sir. Roll like that? What if the Great Demon Lord gets here? he'll probably be angry at you," A small female Devider commented.
Arken glared at them, before he burst out laughing. He straightened himself and crossed his arms across his chest. "You worry about the Demon Lord?" He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Then, as you clearly see, there's a big difference between us."
He returned his attention to Yosho. "This woman on the other hand. I've merely allowed her to win, you see, to build confidence. It wouldn't be fair to just beat her on the spot. HA!!! Where's the fun in that?!"
The Dark Deviders all seemed defeated, realizing nothing they say would ever even begin to bother someone like Arken. Soon a disruption came from the back, and the Deviders parted, allowing a special individual to freely pass through, all their expressions lightened up.
Imuru took immediate notice of Arken, Yosho, and a Devider side hole, in a structure. Imuru curiously pointed the hole out, and he received the unfortunate information from Yot that Roll was inside, his condition unknown.
Arken took notice of Imuru, but still had no interest in letting up on his attempt of beating Yosho. Before he had the chance to rush at her again, Imuru grabbed ahold of his arm, placing him in a firm grip.
Looking down at Imuru, he received a stern gaze that humbled him immediately. Imuru released him from his grasp, and headed off over to Yosho. Arken scoffed at Imuru's pretentious behavior on full display again.
Imuru sighed. "Please pardon Arken. He has a penchant for this, but I'm trying to deal with it." He looked back at Arken momentarily. "But really… He's uncontrollable," Imuru thought.
"Dear, you need not to worry. He's quite amusing and vibrant," Yosho expressed contentedly, her passive smile unwavering.
This calmed Imuru. He smiled, thankful for her calm and passive nature. "I'll need to seriously consider a way to handle his behavior… But how?"
"What luck you have, woman! For today I'll let you off the hook," Arken proclaimed with confidence, stepping away.
Imuru watched him briefly with mild exasperation. "Ahem!" Imuru promptly made it clear he wasn't down with Arken. He planted his hands on his hips. "You're not down here."
Yosho nodded in agreement. "I would also appreciate it if you refrain from referring to me as 'woman'" Yosho politely requested.
Without a single hint of emotion or care, Arken looked dead at her. "Woman," He replied, in a purposeful mocking tone. Just daring her to do something about it.
Yosho amusingly shrugged at this, and tilted her head up away with her eyes open for the first time since the start of this whole situation. An almost childish like musing expression plastered on her face.
Imuru shook his head at the bickering, albeit finding Yosho's reaction to Arken's words fun in a sense, especially since he hadn't seen her like this before. He planned to deal with this after, an awaiting crowd still standing around waiting to be released. "My apologies to you all. You're now free to go."
"Also. One more thing to note: I will not stand by any confrontation that leads to anyone's harm in my village, unless stated otherwise. If there's an issue, come to me," Imuru addressed them in an articulate voice.
The Dark Deviders soaked in Imuru's words intently. They all gave each other a quick glance, and all pleasantly bowed, dispersing a second after.
"Great. They have better things to do." Imuru returned his attention to Arken. "Now you. Go get Roll and apologize," Imuru ordered, in a monotone voice.
"Apologize!?" Arken repeated, bemusement prevalent in his voice. "He's a Dark Devider. He doesn't need an apology."
Imuru gave only a slight tilt of his head to Arken's answer, a blank expression rested on his face, nor a thought in mind to comment on Arken's reply.
Arken noticed Imuru's displeasure. It took him a moment, but he finally gave in. "Fine. I'll assist him, only," Arken said reluctantly. As he headed over to the structure he sent Roll through.
Imuru kept a keen eye on him, through the process, for Roll's sake. Arken went inside, and fetched the disoriented Roll from the debris. He carried him outside, hoisted Roll up, and particularly displayed him to Imuru.
It was clearly disrespectful, but Imuru let it go, seeing this as a start. "Okay. Good." Imuru retrieved Roll from Arken's grasp. He assisted him since he's incapable of standing at the moment. "Well thank you. As for my final request. You're gonna assist in the clean up of this whole mess," Imuru said, gesturing with his hand for Arken to look around.
"Uh?" Arken's face contorted into one of absolute disgust, appalled by the idea. "I'm a warrior not a maid," He replied firmly.
"Well, thank you Arken!" Imuru exclaimed, passive aggressively, leaving with Yosho and refusing to hear anything Arken had to say.
Yot stood around watching the whole ordeal. She didn't stay in Arken's presence for long, innocently tagging along behind Imuru.
A few short minutes in, and Roll is finally capable of carrying himself without assistance from Imuru. "Forgive me Lord Imuru," Roll murmured, his head held low in disappointment, of himself.
"No, no, no. There's no need to apologize," Imuru frantically assured Roll. "Arken's just hard to handle."
"I tried to stop his assault on Lady Yosho… But it didn't go over too well with him," Roll expressed gloomy.
Imuru patted Roll on the back. "I'm personally just glad you're okay. You did a good job so far, keep it up."
Hearing those kind words from Imuru, lightened Roll's mood up instantaneously, a small smile even creased his lips. "I will. Yes I will," Roll mused reassuringly to himself.
He halted abruptly. "Thank you, Lord Imuru. I'll excuse myself. I promise I'll try to get a grip of Arken's behavior." He bowed. "My apologies again for the disruption."
Imuru smiled, genuinely pleased Roll's trying his best, but yet somewhat sadden, as he doubted Arken would ever listen or accept orders from Roll.
A particular thought piqued his interest. "The others are much gentler compared to Arken, after what they've been through, it's understandable. But, why not him?" Imuru mused. "That's… Something to appreciate about him. Only if he could control his aggression."
Not wanting to disturb Imuru any longer, Roll took his leave, ready to swiftly integrate back into his role, so he can check up on the Deviders' progress on their projects.
"Uh. Lord Imuru." A prompted realization sat in on Imuru. "Wow," He muttered, eyes wide open. "That's a huge sign of respect right? Lord."
Imuru took a brief stroll around, as he mused on some implications. The Dark Deviders have worked hard since they got here, clearing out most of the debris from what Imuru could see, and proving yet again that Roll is a spectacular leader, having things move along so smoothly.
He paused as he saw a weathered portrait in the arms of a Devider. He didn't want to stop him in the middle of his work, but knew the figure seemed familiar to the one he saw the first time he got here.
Imuru turned abruptly to Yot. "Where is he taking that?" He curiously inquired.
The question nearly passed over her head, her gaze tightly fixed on Imuru, completely infatuated. "Oh." She straightened herself. "To the storeroom, Lord Imuru," Yot swiftly replied.
"Thank you." Imuru held his chin, a contemplative expression playing on his face. "If I were to guess, that may have been the previous leader. Didn't get much from the last one… Mm. That one seems worse," He thoughtfully mused. "Know where it is, if ever needed."
He gently moved a part of his hair over his right ear. "So, Yot. Everyone here goes along with that Lord thing, huh?" Imuru nonchalantly inquired, in a heavily disinterested tone.
Yot processed Imuru's words for a moment, before she dared to speak. "Yes sir. Do you not like it?" She worriedly asked, distress prevalent in her voice. "I'll let the others know immediately."
Imuru threw his hands up in a stopping gesture. "Nope! No! No need!" Imuru promptly assured her. "It's okay. Forget about it."
"Um. Okay." Yot nodded, surprised by what seemed to be an instant change of emotion, but brushed it off.
Creeping up from behind, Arken laid an easy hand on Imuru's shoulder. Imuru's heart sank, and his expression flattened. He took a moment to gather himself, along with trying his best to not look as annoyed as possible, he faced the Devider.
The Dark Devider smugly locked eyes with Imuru's soulless gaze. This spooked Arken enough for him to remove his hand, but he made sure to quickly regain his composure.
He stood ahead of the trio, puffed out his chest, head titled high. "Ah, I see you're enjoying sightseeing?" Arken said, amused.
This amusement perplexed Imuru, momentarily. "Arken, didn't I ask you to do something?" Imuru inquired.
Arken shrugged this off. "They're already taking care of it," He replied, nonchalantly waving a dismissive hand at Imuru.
Imuru's eyes narrowed, his gaze intense. Arken sneakily peeked back at Imuru from the corners of his eyes, for a split second.
"As you can see, we're working hard on making this place our home, For the time being…" Arken proudly expressed.
"WELLl!!!" Imuru exclaimed, releasing some of that pent up frustration. "Since you're here… Being, You. Care to cue me in on your people a bit?" Imuru walked up to his side.
"Hmph." Arken shut his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. To Imuru's surprise, Arken rendered himself to an eerie silence.
"Oh!" Seeing Arken tight-lipped made Imuru cross his arms. "Okay. Fine I see." He shrugged his shoulders, a cutesy expression on his face, as he slid closer to Arken. "You know… It's a pity, there's still an Ennom problem… Gosh, he really disliked Deviders? Hmph. Oh, well."
Arken grumbled. It took him a moment, but with a heavy sigh he came around. "Us Deviders are eternally youthful in appearance. The oldest of us is five hundred and sixty-five years old. And that's all you get."
"Eh!" Imuru's is left wide eyed, and mouth agape. "He's just gonna leave it at that. Wait, I shouldn't be greedy?" He thought.
Yosho cleared her throat. "If I may?" She requested, to which Imuru gave a simple nod to speak her mind.
"Brilliant! I can add that most Deviders have that aggressive tendency. Example: Arken." She gestured towards the annoyed Devider. "No one's quite sure how long they can live… Because they usually lose their lives in combat. And of course you can't approach a species like this callously."
"Thank you Yosho," Imuru said, flashing her a smile. "So, that aggression does help. Despite the fact I believe they might have been through heavy losses quite often. They're clearly doing just fine, to not change their attitude," Imuru mused. "So good on them."
Far out south of Imuru's home, Eld-onone stood ideally. Stoic, yet oozing a soothing calm effect from his presence. The area around, had gentle wind cruising through, ruffling the leaves of the trees, added with the mellifluous chirping of birds.
"Hey Eld!" An approaching voice gleefully called out. Unevenly, Le-va-none raced over his wings intensely buzzing.
Even though he was hasting, Le-va-none managed to land in front of Eld-onone with grace. "I did it! I'm finished!" Le-va-none exclaimed, throwing his hands up in excitement.
"The request?" Eld-onone asked right away, his voice monotone and stoic demeanor unchanging.
This shattered Le-va-none's enthusiasm. His hands fell to his. "She said it wasn't her," Le-va-none replied, crossing his arms and pouting, he looked off. "Not like we don't have better things to do."
He didn't pout for too long, his expression beaming once again. Le-va-none stuck a finger out, and moved it in a circular motion to form a screen.
"What do they call someone that watches another without their knowledge?" Eld-onone said. A simple question he put out there, not really to be answered.
"Someone who cares deeply for another," Le-va-none replied, riveted on what's through the screen of his.
"It's fine. Like we have to worry about anything," Le-va-none murmured. his tone climbing the slope of being sinister. He directed his gaze at Eld-onone, as it glowed a sharp gold, frost like patterns expressed throughout.
From above, unnoticed by anyone. Le-va-none descended from a portal. He took a quick glance around the area, taking in every detail and development made so far.
Le-va-none smiled, and raced down to Imuru, his arms wide open. No one took notice of him, until he had Imuru in his arms. He swooped Imuru a little off his feet, slowing down once the wide eyed shaken Imuru feet caught solid ground.
Arken was first to rush at Le-va-none, stopped mere inches away only due to Imuru. A few Deviders in the vicinity instantly stopped what they were doing.
"Le?" Imuru murmured, still surprised. He watched closely as the enthusiastic fairy released him from its embrace.
"Are you okay, Lord Imuru?" Yot asked, her fist clenched, and expression hardened, as she glared Le-va-none down.
Yosho calmly eyed the fairy, an unreadable expression playing on her face, for only a moment. Once she was satisfied, her eyes closed and her passive expression returned.
Imuru smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm fine, I'm fine everyone!" He promptly exclaimed, addressing all in the vicinity, who may have been concerned.
"Yot, if you'll excuse me." Imuru grabbed ahold of Le-va-none's hand and hastily led him away from the village to his home, sensing impending ruckus.
On the porch of Imuru's home, the group sat on their heels with their knees bent and feet tucked underneath.
"So, here. This is Le-va-none, my…" Imuru paused momentarily. "He's Le-va-none," He murmured, unable to grasp the words he wanted at the moment.
"Well, here. Ask him anything," Imuru said, trying to get them engaged.
"May I ask the reason for your visit?" Yosho inquired. "You can refrain from answering if it's too personal."
"Nah." Le-va-none waived his hand dismissively. "I'm just a mere visitor, nothing more!" He exclaimed callously.
Yosho nodded contentedly, a quiet relief expressed throughout her demeanor. Arken, uncomfortably, stared at Le-va-none, sensing there's something Le-va-none's not telling.
Le-va-none took notice of the Dark Devider's distrust. He placed a gentle finger on his lips contemplative… His mood lifted once he gained an idea on how to solve this.
"You got me… We're more," Le-va-none said, his hand held up in defeat. He moseyed up to Imuru, and put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm his mother," Le-va-none said, a hand on his chest and his tone low and gentle.
Arken immediately jumped to his feet, a fist held up. "Ah! I knew it!" He said triumphantly, "My eyes see everything."
Whilst Arken celebrated, Yosho was left gobsmacked. She had her eyes open, but narrowed, now distrustful, as she promptly leaned forward.
"Well that didn't work!" Imuru and Le-va-none thought in unison, Yosho's eyes darting from one to another.
Imuru gave Le-va-none a quizzical look. "Bad joke, Le," He thought through a weary sigh. Imuru cleared his throat, grabbed ahold of Le-va-none's hand, and took him from this situation, to avoid him digging a hole for himself.
"You haven't met Forcent have you? He's this mighty Ennom," Imuru said, pointing Forcent out, as they approached him.
"Oh! Wow! I see…" Le-va-none exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "You're really amazing, aren't you Imuru," He said, approaching Forcent, his tone devoid of any specific emotion, Imuru's used to, since there's none at all.
Le-va-none reached out a hand, only to be stopped by a sharp "No" from Imuru, which shaked him quite a bit.
"Don't do that, please," Imuru calmly requested, lowering his hand, his face panic stricken.
"Uh…. Sorry Imuru," Le-va-none replied, returning to Imuru's side, head held low in shame.
"S—Sorry," Imuru said hesitantly, ashamed of the tone he used. "I don't blame you… It's tempting," Imuru murmured, fiddling with his fingers.
Le-va-none rested his hands on his hips and took a deep breath in, a broad smile formed across his face. "Ya. You worry too much. Ya, know, you've done pretty well over here." He smirked and wrapped an arm around Imuru's shoulder. "I love you… But! What I'm about to say isn't because I do. Imuru You've really done quite well here."
Imuru locked eyes with Le-va-none, unsure of why he doubted Le-va-none's sincerity. The moment between them was ephemeral, Imuru breaking eye contact, suddenly and abruptly.
He scratched the back of his head, his own behavior being unclear to him. "He's… Kind. Doesn't have much that bothers him, huh?" Imuru thought, a quiet smile creased on his lips.
"Hey, so, what sort of mind skill are you controlling the Dark Deviders with?" Le-va-none whispered into Imuru's ear.
"Oh?!" Imuru looked at him puzzled. "Umm. None," Imuru replied, uncertainty in his voice. "I'm not even sure what you're talking about… Sorry."
"Hm. I was joking but' now that you've said that… Mmm." Le-va-none tilted his head, a hand on his hip, followed by a contemplative expression on his face. After a moment of silence, he waved over Yosho and Arken.
[[
[[-Skill Visibility-]]
In activation Le-va-none took a quick second to observe Yosho and Arken in search of a skill. He did the same to Forcent, only for something to draw in his interest more.
Le-va-none, placed his hands on his knees, and smiled. "Now, what trouble did you cause?" He thought amused.
"Well. I suppose, I didn't explain it," Le-va-none murmured nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I really only know the basics, honestly… Well, here I go."
He crossed his arms across his chest, a bravado of confidence playing through his demeanor. "So, they're three categories of Skills: Baseline, Complex and Awakened. Depending on which category of skill you're using would express the potency and complexity of said skill. All skills require Perivállon, basically formless energy, all around us in the air, nonliving and living."
Le-va-none paused briefly to give Imuru time to process what he had just said, until he was given the go ahead to continue by a nod. "Right. Important thing to note, there's typically an ability unique to an individual, that doesn't require the use of Perivállon, for example your spectacular flames. Got any of that?"
Imuru nodded through his uncertainty, trying to convince himself. "Yeah… Simple enough."
"Gr-Great. Umm, give me a moment," Le-va-none requested, scanning through his memory, for anything he might've missed.
Yosho diligently cleared her throat, a palm opened, requesting for her entrance in the conversation. Always appreciative of her opinion, Imuru allowed her to join without issue.
"Thank you. If our Lord needs assistance in the nature of skills, I may be able to assist. I have none myself, but I am quite knowledgeable on the subject," Yosho said in an articulate voice.
Le-va-none beamed with relief, expressed through excitement. He grabbed Yosho's hand, gratefully shaking it in appreciation. "Thank you!…" He turned to Imuru. "She's amazing isn't she?" He asked, a stream of dramatic tears flowing from his eyes.
"Y—Yeah, she's… incredible," Imuru murmured, a warm smile on his lips. "By some miracle, I stole her from her brother?" He thought jokingly to himself.
Le-va-none clasped his hands. "Now that's settled, for the rest of my time here I get to enjoy the company of my favorite person… My dare Imuru."