06-06-2018, 02:33 AM
I stare at the empty table for a moment, then sigh and get to my feet, shaking my head slightly. These New Babylonian Primes are certainly an odd bunch. First Marisa took off with that Ricter guy, then Shantotto had left with a seemingly timid woman in a plain robe… that girl hadn’t given her name, so it could be that she wasn’t a contender herself, but simply a Secondary? The doctor’s apprentice, perhaps?
Next, Victor headed away, seemingly not even having noticed that half the group was already gone by this point, so distracted he had been by something or other. He instructed his daughter to keep the group under control, then left. Valerie had managed to stay calm for all of five seconds or so… just long enough for Erik to begin to relax, then she darted off.
I admit, I that got a grin out of me. The nobleman lunged up out of his seat and darted after her without a backwards glance, calling out her name and practically begging her to stop, as the little girl disappeared into a heaving crowd which happened to be passing by just outside the library’s door at that moment. Cursing, the noble shoved his way into the press as best he could. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he was worried that his boss would be pissed at him if he allowed one of the event’s… less morally upstanding participants, to get their hands on her.
In the highly likely event that the girl was just a Secondary whom he had summoned himself, she wouldn’t even be coming back from the dead if anything happened. So yeah, Erik would probably be totally fucked if he let her get hurt on his watch… I suppose one of the perks of being a low-ranking member of the club is that I’m not trusted with anything as important (yet still exceedingly dull) as minding other people’s children.
That said, after a few moments of sitting alone it occurs to me that I have literally nothing else to do anyway… hence why I get up with a sigh. Leaving the library, the throng has lessened somewhat, so I’m able to slip through the crowd with relative ease. It also doesn’t prove that great a challenge to locate the noble and his charge, since it isn’t long before I hear the little girl’s voice as she calls out for her father.
Following the sound, I quickly locate and approach the hyperactive girl and her harried-looking minder, “How’s childcare duty suiting you, nobleman?”
I ask the question as innocently I can, doing an admirable job—if I do say so myself—of not laughing or smirking at how stressed-out he seems, as we follow along behind Valerie, more focused on looking out for anyone who might do her harm than on where exactly it is that we’re going. He glares at me and speaks sarcastically, apparently having no trouble seeing through my facade, “I’m just dandy.”
This time I do smirk. Before I can reply, though, Valerie has headed through a doorway which a quick glance to the side at a sign on the wall tells me is the ‘Barracks’. We start to head through after her and immediately draw up short at the sound of a loud, feminine moan from behind one of the doors.
“Huh? What was-?” the child begins, but the noble—his face ashen—doesn’t even give her time to finish her question.
“No!” he barks, hauling her roughly back out and slamming the door the door shut. The last thing I see before the entrance is closed in a glum-looking red-headed man, sitting on the floor outside the room from which the all-too-audible noise originated. Odd, that.
Back home, where I lived, group intercourse was hardly uncommon… that’s just what happens when the vast majority of a population are both polygamous and pansexual, I guess… but I have seen plenty of other places and cultures during the wars in which I fought, so I know that not everyone shares our enlightened outlook. If I had to guess then I’d say their little group must have decided to take turns and he’s moody because he drew the short straw and so had to wait a bit.
“Forget you heard that!” the noble barks, dragging Valerie away so she can’t try and get back inside, “Don’t even think about it!”
“But-!”
“No buts!” there’s a surprising harshness in his tone, and it seems to get through to her. Pouting sullenly, she stops complaining, and when he releases her, she makes no attempt to head back into the forbidden zone. He speaks again, more gently this time, “Let’s go somewhere else, Valerie. You can always see your father again when he’s done.”
“Done?” she asks, looking at him in confusion.
“Ah, uh,” he stammers slightly. I look across at him as well, then grin after a second as I realise what he means. After hearing someone loudly having sex in a public sleeping area, he has automatically assumed it to be his boss. Oh yeah, I was certainly correct earlier, these Nippurians are a weird bunch to be sure, “I mean, when he’s done roaming around the facility here… I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.”
“Right...” she says uncertainty, then waves towards another door, “let’s try this one!”
Together, Erik and I look over at the plaque bearing the room’s name… this one is the Dojo & Gym. Plenty of ways for a young kid to get hurt in here, of course, but at least the noble won’t have to worry about mentally scarring her by letting her watch some horny couple going at it.
We follow her in quickly, and realise she’s stopped just beyond the entrance and is staring up at two men sparring with swords in a square-shaped fighting ring. One of them wears a uniform similar to that of the Nippurian Guards, minus the overcoat, in place of which he has on a sleeveless shirt. Given his presence here in the tournament, I'd imagine that this can be no average guard, but must be their captain—Kanda—whom Gilgamesh had mentioned in passing to me once before. The other is clad in gorgeous, golden platemail.
Both men wear expressions of intense focus as their blades clash against one another. Their swings, parries and thrusts almost two fast for my eyes to follow… there’s no question that these two are far better combattants than I could ever hope to be. Their fight is like a dance. A form of art. My heart sings as I gaze upon the God-King of Nippur in rapturous awe. I clasp my hands before my chest, as if in prayer, muttering softly, almost to myself, “My king...”
Next, Victor headed away, seemingly not even having noticed that half the group was already gone by this point, so distracted he had been by something or other. He instructed his daughter to keep the group under control, then left. Valerie had managed to stay calm for all of five seconds or so… just long enough for Erik to begin to relax, then she darted off.
I admit, I that got a grin out of me. The nobleman lunged up out of his seat and darted after her without a backwards glance, calling out her name and practically begging her to stop, as the little girl disappeared into a heaving crowd which happened to be passing by just outside the library’s door at that moment. Cursing, the noble shoved his way into the press as best he could. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he was worried that his boss would be pissed at him if he allowed one of the event’s… less morally upstanding participants, to get their hands on her.
In the highly likely event that the girl was just a Secondary whom he had summoned himself, she wouldn’t even be coming back from the dead if anything happened. So yeah, Erik would probably be totally fucked if he let her get hurt on his watch… I suppose one of the perks of being a low-ranking member of the club is that I’m not trusted with anything as important (yet still exceedingly dull) as minding other people’s children.
That said, after a few moments of sitting alone it occurs to me that I have literally nothing else to do anyway… hence why I get up with a sigh. Leaving the library, the throng has lessened somewhat, so I’m able to slip through the crowd with relative ease. It also doesn’t prove that great a challenge to locate the noble and his charge, since it isn’t long before I hear the little girl’s voice as she calls out for her father.
Following the sound, I quickly locate and approach the hyperactive girl and her harried-looking minder, “How’s childcare duty suiting you, nobleman?”
I ask the question as innocently I can, doing an admirable job—if I do say so myself—of not laughing or smirking at how stressed-out he seems, as we follow along behind Valerie, more focused on looking out for anyone who might do her harm than on where exactly it is that we’re going. He glares at me and speaks sarcastically, apparently having no trouble seeing through my facade, “I’m just dandy.”
This time I do smirk. Before I can reply, though, Valerie has headed through a doorway which a quick glance to the side at a sign on the wall tells me is the ‘Barracks’. We start to head through after her and immediately draw up short at the sound of a loud, feminine moan from behind one of the doors.
“Huh? What was-?” the child begins, but the noble—his face ashen—doesn’t even give her time to finish her question.
“No!” he barks, hauling her roughly back out and slamming the door the door shut. The last thing I see before the entrance is closed in a glum-looking red-headed man, sitting on the floor outside the room from which the all-too-audible noise originated. Odd, that.
Back home, where I lived, group intercourse was hardly uncommon… that’s just what happens when the vast majority of a population are both polygamous and pansexual, I guess… but I have seen plenty of other places and cultures during the wars in which I fought, so I know that not everyone shares our enlightened outlook. If I had to guess then I’d say their little group must have decided to take turns and he’s moody because he drew the short straw and so had to wait a bit.
“Forget you heard that!” the noble barks, dragging Valerie away so she can’t try and get back inside, “Don’t even think about it!”
“But-!”
“No buts!” there’s a surprising harshness in his tone, and it seems to get through to her. Pouting sullenly, she stops complaining, and when he releases her, she makes no attempt to head back into the forbidden zone. He speaks again, more gently this time, “Let’s go somewhere else, Valerie. You can always see your father again when he’s done.”
“Done?” she asks, looking at him in confusion.
“Ah, uh,” he stammers slightly. I look across at him as well, then grin after a second as I realise what he means. After hearing someone loudly having sex in a public sleeping area, he has automatically assumed it to be his boss. Oh yeah, I was certainly correct earlier, these Nippurians are a weird bunch to be sure, “I mean, when he’s done roaming around the facility here… I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.”
“Right...” she says uncertainty, then waves towards another door, “let’s try this one!”
Together, Erik and I look over at the plaque bearing the room’s name… this one is the Dojo & Gym. Plenty of ways for a young kid to get hurt in here, of course, but at least the noble won’t have to worry about mentally scarring her by letting her watch some horny couple going at it.
We follow her in quickly, and realise she’s stopped just beyond the entrance and is staring up at two men sparring with swords in a square-shaped fighting ring. One of them wears a uniform similar to that of the Nippurian Guards, minus the overcoat, in place of which he has on a sleeveless shirt. Given his presence here in the tournament, I'd imagine that this can be no average guard, but must be their captain—Kanda—whom Gilgamesh had mentioned in passing to me once before. The other is clad in gorgeous, golden platemail.
Both men wear expressions of intense focus as their blades clash against one another. Their swings, parries and thrusts almost two fast for my eyes to follow… there’s no question that these two are far better combattants than I could ever hope to be. Their fight is like a dance. A form of art. My heart sings as I gaze upon the God-King of Nippur in rapturous awe. I clasp my hands before my chest, as if in prayer, muttering softly, almost to myself, “My king...”
![[Image: Ahana_Sig_V3.png]](https://image.ibb.co/bAZXiJ/Ahana_Sig_V3.png)