Dark. Slimy. Gross! Pommel would have screamed, if not for the fact that she was worried about getting this-this thingâs spit in her mouth! Flailing about, she couldnât get enough traction to make a decent cut as the tongue began wrapping around and pinning her by the waist, attempting to drag her deeper into the pit of its belly. Reaching her arms out, Pommel attempted to grab hold of something, anything to save her.
âPlease, someoneâĻ!âSuddenly, there was light, the slimy insides parting way and tearing at the seams as they were sliced to ribbons, yet none of the slices strayed too close to Pommel, eventually leaving her unscathed as a hand reached to her, taking hold just above her hips and pulling her up and free of the now limp tongue. Shaking the gunk from her hair and eyes, she was met with the face of her idol, her brow and mouth intensely firm, but her eyes reflecting the worry hidden behind it all.
"And who said you were useless?" Her saviour spoke. Pommel stared back to Wynter, whose expression had changed slightly. Gone was the fierce warrior, replaced instead by a silent determination and knowing wisdom. Slowly, Wynter released Pommel, letting her ease onto her feet before turning back to face the monsters, striding forward a few paces before stopping, her back to the young mage. As the light of her magic faded, returning a number of her weapons from whence they came, the few sparkles remaining silhouetted Cold Steel, forever burning the memory into Pommelâs mind.
"We all have our starting points. We can't expect to be great just from the start.â Cold Steel spoke, a moment of clarity and peace amongst the chaos of the battle. Time seemed to hang a moment as Pommel continued to stare at her back, mesmerised in thought, before just like that, she darted forward, launching back into combat with some more monsters. All the while, Pommel sat, watching the fight. But somehow, it was different from before. Like she was seeing it in a completely different light. As the last of the beasts near them fell, Wynter rested her spear to the ground, a soft and far gentler smile crossing her face as she turned to Pommel.
"I think you helped more than you realize. I'm certain Zane couldn't handle this on his own, thus you had brought both yourself and me into this job." Pommel blinked, realising that once again, she was being addressed. Tentatively, she raised a hand to speak, but stopped herself. As kind as Wynterâs words were, Pommel could only see them as an attempt to alleviate the guilt she was feeling. It had never been her intention to have things be like this, and she couldnât take credit for such an idiotic mistake that sheâd made. In some respects, this was worse than a lecture. Here she was, listening to her idol give her pity and sympathy, almost as if she hadnât earned the right to hear the harsh truths.
Looking to the right, she could see Zane still enjoying himself, tackling monsters with all the strength and valour of a hero. Would she ever be on the level of these people? Could she ever compete with them? Or was she to be doomed to the mediocrity and failure like today had brought her? Looking down to her reflection in the ice, she looked like a mess. Her hair was slimy, dulled and tangled. Her clothes were disheveled and torn. She had minor bruises and cuts all over, and worst of all: It was obvious that sheâd been crying. This was what Wynter saw. She wasnât anything special. She wasnât strong.
âĻ
âĻAnd yet.
âĻ
âĻPommel smiled. Smiled to the girl staring back at her in the reflection. Giving her the smile she needed to keep going, replaying the words in her head once more.
"We all have our starting pointsâĻ "âĻWe can't expect to be great just from the start.â She finished, getting up and standing tall once more.
She wasnât great. She was terrible, a horrible mess. But that wasnât always going to be the case. She could be great. Slowly, steadily, she cleaned the slime from her outfit, looking back up to Wynter with her own determination. She wasnât as good as Wynter or Zane. But deep down in her heart, she knew she could be. This was going to be her start. And when she finishedâĻ Well, maybe she wouldnât have to force that smile in the reflection.
As her resolve kicked in, it almost seemed as if Wynter could sense it, moving over to Pommel and standing before her.
"If you want, I can teach you how to fight, since I notice you use blades on your arms" Wynter had glanced down to the girl briefly, before scanning the room for more threats. When her face returned back to Pommel, sheâd be greeted with what was possible the most heart-warming of expressions. Tearful, but this time in joy, Pommel could only stammer in flustered joy, her blades reverting to hands as she fiddled her fingers.
âI-Hama-wh-ahâĻthe..buh- they..ahhm..uh-hah-â Pommel had no way to formulate her words correctly, and instead seemed to be lost in adorable girlish embarrassment. Finally, she managed to take a deep breath, her face completely scarlet as she tightly gripped her hands to stop fidgeting, looking down from Wynter so as not to lose her focus again. Then, through a cracked voice, she finally managed to get enough of sound bite together that it made sense.
âYes.â She squeaked out, barely audible more than a whisper. For a moment, Pommel hesitated, knowing she needed far more strength than that to truly communicate how she felt. She needed to show her conviction to Wynter. Taking another deep breath, she dived into Wynter, nearly taking her off her feet as she hugged her.
âYes! Yes! Iâd love that!â Pommel was laughing now, her smile from ear to ear as she grinned, teeth bared in genuine happiness. Unfortunately for Wynter, this had the unintended consequence of Pommel getting the slimy Gorgirog juices all over her Masamune armour, but alas, at least Pommel was happy.
*Cra-koom!*Pommel jumped a bit at the loud noise, turning to spot the source. Tracing the smooshed spider in the wall, and the new figure she didnât recognise walking away, eventually her eyes landed on the girl a bit across the room.
âHuuhh!â As Pommel sharply inhaled, Wynter could feel the trembling from the girl's arms as she blinked, confirming that she was really seeing who she thought she was. T-this couldnât be possible! It was really her! The celestial wolf herself?! What in the world would she be doing here if-Wait, was she here on her own mission to eradicate the monsters? Pommel sighed in admiration, Wynter temporarily forgotten as she gushed over the new arrival, playing back information from Sorcererâs Weekly in her head. She was even prettier in person! A heavenly body to match her celestial nature! Oh my gosh was that her bow?! Eeeee! This was so exciting! She was meeting another of her idols in the same day! Gosh, if that dork Zane wasnât here and she could have Jazz, Candice and Magpie around sheâd be in heaven!
Making ga-ga noises, Pommelâs earlier trauma was all but forgotten as she turned to Wynter excitedly, pretending like Rin hadnât already noticed them and hurriedly trying to fix her hair and outfit.
âH-how do I look? Is my hair good? What about my dress?â Baffling Cold Steel with her questions, Pommel eventually got a hold of herself long enough to make her way over to Rin, sparkles once again in her eyes as she asked her question.
âA-are you THE Rin?â She moved in even closer. Surprisingly, she seemed a lot shorter than what Sorcererâs weekly made her out to be, not much taller than Pommel herself. As Rin barely managed to get out her answer, she grabbed hold of both her hands, pulling them up in front of her.
âY-youâre amazing! C-can I have an autograph? I-is it true you accepted most eligible bachelorette award from Sorcererâs weekly?!â Pommel pushed in, barely giving the girl a chance to answer her somewhat pushy questions, as well as completely preventing the girl access to her bow and arrow in her excessive excitement. Eyes catching sight of a glint on her outfit, Pommel continued her barrage of questions.
âOh my gosh, are those the spirit keys?! Was that a spirit just now?! Can I meet one? Wait, were you here for a mission? If itâs to do with the monsters we can all work together!â Barely pausing for breath, and probably intimately invading Rinâs private space, Pommel was so excited she would barely register Rinâs body language, nor her surroundings.
Suddenly, the worst day in the world had become the best day ever.
Slick paused a moment as he felt tender arms wrap around him, along with two bouncy buddies pressed against his chest. Was it warm in here, or was it just him? Doing his best to retain his cool composure (After all, heâd chosen the name âSlickâ for a reason), the affectionate hug was just a bit too much for the poor (See: Lucky) guy. Stumbling a bit, he looked away from Magpie, hiding his slight embarrassment as he scratched his head. Hoo-boy, Mary really did know how to push his buttons. Swallowing, he noted Warrenâs lecherous and unabashed appreciation of Maryâs â Ahem -âDerriereâ. It was so crass the way that boy acted, but then again, heâd been the same in his youth.
"Have fun, okay?" Magpie added sweetly, reminding Slick of just what it was that she was hugging him for. That was enough to bring his thoughts back into line, as he was heading off on his own. Like usual.
âYeahâĻ Yeah, you too Mags.â Slick stated slowly, before remembering himself.
âI mean, with goodbyes like that, I should head out more often, am I right?â Hiding his earlier thoughts behind jovial laughter, he shrugged free of Maryâs grip, heading past the noticeboard and the twins on the way out.
âYou take care too Warren.â He stated simply with a two fingered wave over his shoulder.
That was supposed to be his goodbye line, but he was briefly stopped by Vernon, the man just done with his lecture from Mavis. With a practiced smoothness that the two had rehearsed a hundred times, Vernon slipped Slick another piece of paper, one of the newest jobs that had come in.
âThis the latest one?â Slick asked, standing beside the man briefly. âYeah, the only copies are in my records. They didnât even reach the board with me around.â Vernon replied, smirking in spite of himself.
Slick nodded, patting him on the shoulder.
âI owe you one pal.â He stated simply, continuing on the way past. Without a momentâs hesitation, he tossed the job into the lit fireplace, letting it go up in flames. Some secrets were better left buried. With that taken care of, Slick needed to head down to the station, his job just out past Eloria. Seemed some archaeologists had discovered a set of trapped ruins with a rare artifact hidden deep inside. In this case, they needed a wizard to navigate the dungeon and recover the treasure. With his perception and grace, it was the perfect opportunity for an easy job, as avoiding or disarming the dangers of the temple should be easy for him.
Unlike a certain princess, Slick was not so lucky as to catch the train immediately, instead taking a seat on one of the benches to wait for the next train. Adjusting his cuffs and glancing about to see if anyone was around, he pulled out a small coin, and began running it through his fingers as he waited.