04-03-2016, 04:27 PM
Blood, blood. There was. So. Much. Blood.
Of course there was, with a beast this mighty, with feet that large, to command jaws that had such immense strength. Even in his haze of white fire, Gildarts could taste it on his tongue, he could feel the excess energy warring inside him, wishing to be let out with the next blow of his fist. War. Destruction. Power.
Blood.
Gildarts could no longer see the lump of mashed scales nor the movement of his own fists as he pounded into the raw meat. The beast’s throat had been broken, and Gildarts had no idea in his fit of destruction whether or not it was still alive. There was a throbbing in his head, and Gildarts vaguely heard two distinct slicing motions, as well as the collapse of a large corpse.
The orc was here now, good, he would not have to fight alone. Bad, he would have to share the prey receiving this far from unwarranted demolition. Whompt’s gleaming battle axe reminded Gildarts that he did not have to fight alone, it also reminded him, slowly, of the curved arch of death. A scythe. Suddenly it all flooded back to Gildarts and the power still flashing in light around his body, wavered and subsided.
Gildarts found his thoughts pulled to the action that had just occurred. Whompt had cut off it’s head. Then it’s tail. Gildarts only now noticed that his arms had frozen in one final punch delivered to the creature. Blood was everywhere. Black, hardened from its original bright crimson. How long...? He could only guess.
“Oi, don’t tell me I’m gonna have to put you down too,” the orc had meant it as a joke, but with his blood spattered blade propped high up on the tall being’s shoulder, Gildarts had felt like the beast would not have hesitated.
The wizard shook himself out of it, and now it was the pain, that took its chance to come rushing back to him. The Prime fell to one knee, and did all he could do not to collapse on himself completely, meanwhile the ninja rushed to Gildarts side, almost out of protection after hearing what the orc had said.
“Well, where is it?” the orc asked the boy. Whompt was quite smart, and it seemed he had realized the boy’s powers of observation were greater than they could have guessed.
“Where is... What? Where were you the entire battle?! We needed you, we nearly died...” the boy was pleading, though he was an apprentice, there was something about the suspicion in his voice that was true. This allegation, however, did not sit well with Whompt, whose menacing tusks grew close to the boy.
“I was flung back nearly a thousun’ meters by that ruddy beast, you outta be lucky I didn’t take long’r than I did or...” the orc’s eyes fell on the other prime. His companion, with strength more notable than any prime he had met before, who had lost control and was now covered in blood. Some of it Gildarts’ own blood, and the rest, well, from the beast he had beaten to near death.
It had seemed that the orc had come back just in time for the end festivities. How convenient, was the perspective the ninja took on it, as he scented deception in the orc’s eyes, “Ye’ outta be lucky th’ I did come back, it was me own choice to come ‘ere in the first place, don’ be ungra’ful to yer elders, kid.”
The orc had a point, but it tasted bland and stale, like it had been an excuse prepared ahead of time, rather than one that was truthful and that the boy’s words had been actually taken as a disrespect.
“Hmph,” the boy strode off and began searching in the mess of flesh for what he knew to be the orgosynth, a parasite that lived inside man and creature alike, hopping from host to host until it found its way into someone particularly special, “Shouldn’t it be in here?”
Whompt growled, “Yer’ wastin’ yer time.”
“The... Creature hasn’t been in the dragon for half of the battle,” Gildarts’ protesting lungs made the struggle of speech much more difficult than the simple flavor of fatigue after a battle.
“WHAT?!” the boy exclaimed, aghast by the mage’s observation. Meanwhile, the orc did not seem surprised. He scoffed to himself and took a guiltless seat on the side of one of the many broken trees. Nekui’s eyes were bulging with curiosity and tainted with a little fright, “How do you know?”
“Because... I fought something intelligent at the beginning, and by the time I was in the rock, the dragon had once again been reduced to a mindless beast,” the wizard clutched his side, and now took the time to notice just how many parts of his body had slivers of skin taken, or deep gashes embedded on the sides and all over his muscle-toned flesh.
Now, the orc was looking at his fellow Prime with beady, intrigued eyes. There was something hidden behind their gaze, something vindictive and aggressive, though perhaps that had simply been the creature’s demeanor all along,“Wow...” Nekui the ninja muttered, “Hey Gildarts, you shouldn’t be-” But the wounded wizard was already teetering off-balance.
A dark curtain had fallen over the Prime’s eyes. Probably, one might look back on it, from oxygen deprivation. Gildarts did not wake up from his fatigue induced coma for what seemed to be a very long time.
...
A weight of a ton of bricks crushed against the Prime’s horizontal body. Immediately, his instinct, still tracing the tail ends of won battle, caused him to bolt up, his eyes burst open like fireworks that had laid dormant until their moment to shine in an explosive blaze of light. Meanwhile, there was a heavy thumping in his chest, Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud... It was so strong, so loud in the wizard’s ears, he was nearly nauseous, and despite all this, the stubborn man began to stand. As his torso came past his knees, a woozy feeling overcame his ankles, and his knees began to wobble.
Gildarts grunted, one that alerted whoever was stirring outside of his tent. It was Nekui, the boy ninja had removed his balaclava and underneath the shade of the fabric, to Gil’s surprise, there was a bright and youthful smile. Immediately the boy’s arms wrapped around the Prime, “Gildarts! I thought you were dead! Thank goodness...”
The boy started to ramble on about a few things, which Gildarts heard and the ringing in his ears allowed him to tune out the majority of the fluff. Information, however, sifted in and was welcome. Instead of sleeping for weeks on end, the Prime had only been out a day and a half, this shouldn’t surprise him though, because he was no longer as weak as he once had been when he had arrived in the Omniverse. Then there was the matter of the village, its inhabitants were safe, and had been rejoicing at the slaying of the giant dinosaur which he had been credited with. Since then, they had been celebrating non-stop, as ninjas did, but with the custom sharing of a feast and ale.
“I am glad that your village has more or less recovered.” Gildarts offered with wholehearted sincerity, “Where’s...” What was his name? Empty thoughts rattled in his mind, he had only known the companion for a short amount of time, less than a night, battled by his side, but Gildarts had never been one for such specifics such as names or appearances. As it stands, if Natsu, a boy he had watched turn into a man, were before him, the oblivious prime would more or less identify a pineapple that looked more akin to the dragonslayer, rather than matching his actual face to the name. Even still, Gildarts didn’t have to complete his sentence for Nekui to know the question the Prime asked.
A grim shadow fell on the hollow contours of the ninja’s face, “Oh the orc, he stayed a bit for the festivities, and seemed content that you were still breathing, and has since moved on. He left this morning.”
“G-ahh, what time is it now?” he struggled again, and was pinned back effortlessly against the pillow by the boy’s index finger. Gildarts looked outside the crack of the tent, it was mid-afternoon, meanwhile the boy ninja insisted.
“You must rest some more, you’re not in top condition, and the forest has many horrors, especially if you were to travel through the night.” Nekui was concerned and seemed he wanted to spend time with the Prime that had saved his village, or at least delivered vengeance on the creature that had destroyed it. The secondary also seemed to want to make Gildarts feel at home, welcomed, and free. This however would never be achieved, for Gildarts was a nomad of air and sea, he traveled far and wide, and searched for battles to better himself, and those he encountered, like this very boy.
Gildarts blinked, only once, as if warnings like this did not apply to him, especially where he came from and to those who knew of his name and formidable reputation. People wouldn’t really bother, however, Gildarts did note that the Omniverse was almost a level up from the world of magic which he had come from. Magnolia and the way the magic shimmered practically in the air, made him feel a bit nostalgic, but not enough to convince the Prime to stay. Instead, he began gathering his things, which he saw had been set beside his chair.
The kitten was not inside his back, and he remarked on this. Nekui nodded, “She’s in our makeshift dining hall, we served her milk in a saucer and she’s really drinking it up.”
An elbow was gestured in Gildarts’ direction, but the pun fell over his head so blatantly, it made the boy laugh, “Gildarts, you’re something else.”
A slow smile grew as Gildarts, still drowsy, as they ventured across the makeshift camp. Smells of fresh food loitered near his nose, people stopped to greet and thank the Prime, who offered a modest greeting and continued on his way. He had seen almost the entire hamlet before making it inside the food hall, which was one large tent full of the taste of food that made his stomach ache.
“Piqui!” Gildarts said as he spotted the exceed’s quivering ears, she was nibbling on a piece of fish and lapping her chops, her eyes were shaped like the gentle arch of a rainbow. When she caught sight of Gildarts, her joy, while it remained in her eyes, had turned to concern for the not-so-responsible wizard.
Gildarts had been cleaned up, one of the elders or doctors of the village had even bandaged his wounds, and the Prime, who had once been covered nearly head to two in blood, was now dressed in clean clothes that resembled his old ones -he also found himself wearing a shirt, which was quite uncomfortable for the shirtless marauder- and appeared glossy and glistening, despite having just battled a monster that surely weighed over a ton and had been a heck of a feat to defeat.
“Gildarts!” the exceed squeaked and the two embraced. He rubbed her behind the ears, which made her purr with delight, “What took you so long, are you okay? You took down that big bad guy like pow-pow, pow-pow!” her paws balled into little fists as she simulated the gestures that if he did them in his very room, could very well activate a magical blizzard and send the whole room sky high. He did his best to keep a good pokerface as his mind dared him not to think about this possibility, and the three talked until they heard the carnivorous growling of the Prime’s stomach.
Nekui smiled pridefully, “You must be famished, here, sit down and eat!”
...
The wizard wracked up a good sized stack of plates before his sitting bones finally rested idle in his chair. Piqui’s moon-sized eyes showed curiosity in Gildarts, who, while Nekui was talking, found his eyes quite absent, staring off in the distance as though consumed by another, more dangerous thought. Of course danger to this man, was his seduction.
Nekui continued his conversation, and Gildarts and Piqui prodded his words at the right spots, until finally, the mighty Prime was ready to stand. And in turn, ready to go. The lively expression on Nekui’s face fell, almost pleadingly as he looked at Gildarts lead his way out, “You don’t have to go, do you? You can stay as long as you want in order to regain your strength.”
“The offer is appreciated, however I find when I stay in one place too long, I wear out my welcome. The hospitality your village has given to me, is appreciated, here, take this, and rebuild your village to be large and thriving once more.” the Prime held a hefty sack of gold out to the boy, who had extended his hands unknowingly before protesting.
“I couldn’t-”
Gildarts saw himself in the boy, young and free as he once had been. The Prime stooped down to sit on one knee, and placed his hand once more, on the boy’s shoulder, “Your village may need this later too, and do not discredit yourself, you fought hard, the scars of your fight still show on your hands, but they will never leave your heart. Take this as a reward and fill your Sensei’s shoes.”
Nekui’s eyes widened, Gildarts had noticed the bandages sprouting from underneath his black gloves. Gloves the boy had been careful not to promote, itch, or show any agitation, in fact, he had hidden it from the man he had admired, so as to not shoe weakness. The Prime seemed as though he looked at the boy’s extended hands, and instead opted to put the pouch of heavy gold in the boy’s pocket, and better still, for he nearly doubled over at the sudden brick in his trousers.
Tears welled up in Nekui’s eyes, who, after waving good-bye to Gildarts, and watching his cape disappear along the path, brought the money immediately to the chieftain who was second in command.
“This, this will rebuild the entire village, and we can finally have more than enough housing for everyone, our feud with the Menchi will be over, and we can finally live a peaceful life...” The woman gasped, a feeling of immeasurable fulfillment overtook her, and after hearing the story of generosity, she demanded to know where this Prime was now, so that she could thank him herself.
“He has left, he is searching for three things now. The mercenary orc who left him this morning, the malefactor beast that had evaded his capture last night...” Nekui informed.
“And the third thing?” the woman’s low voice inquired, almost hoping that the answer would not be given, for perhaps it would be best to remain that of a mystery, for even now, the possibilities grew in her mind with a flourish of vibrant imagination.
“The third thing, is something that Gildarts will never find, because it cannot be attained. Even by a man as great as he...” the boy’s eyes looked a bit distant now, “Since he can’t look the one place he will find it, and that is, within himself.”
The boy reflected on the courage the Prime had given him, a gift, greater than any he had ever received, and one that would last him the rest of his life. In this treasure, the legendary Prime had bestowed his own greatness, Nekui cherished the steely sensation on his shoulder, like a pat on his back from that of a paternal figure he had never known. It was true, the boy was an orphan, but he was a ninja, and the deeply embedded sense of community never left him. Nor would the weightlessness of the Prime’s confidence in him, for courage was one thing that summoned strength rather than depleted it. This invincible feeling of triumph and pride would dissipate, however its source would never be far from his mind. Of that, the ninja was sure.
The woman was silent now, pondering this and that of the Prime’s charitable character. At least she had a name to remember him by, though the woman wished she had seen his face, she imagined it vividly resplendent and donned in a smile that could only be full of life. The calm soundlessness in the air buzzed with the gentle fervor of invisible life, and it did not matter if the boy ever answered her question, because it had taken her only a single moment to found her own answer.
Of course there was, with a beast this mighty, with feet that large, to command jaws that had such immense strength. Even in his haze of white fire, Gildarts could taste it on his tongue, he could feel the excess energy warring inside him, wishing to be let out with the next blow of his fist. War. Destruction. Power.
Blood.
Gildarts could no longer see the lump of mashed scales nor the movement of his own fists as he pounded into the raw meat. The beast’s throat had been broken, and Gildarts had no idea in his fit of destruction whether or not it was still alive. There was a throbbing in his head, and Gildarts vaguely heard two distinct slicing motions, as well as the collapse of a large corpse.
The orc was here now, good, he would not have to fight alone. Bad, he would have to share the prey receiving this far from unwarranted demolition. Whompt’s gleaming battle axe reminded Gildarts that he did not have to fight alone, it also reminded him, slowly, of the curved arch of death. A scythe. Suddenly it all flooded back to Gildarts and the power still flashing in light around his body, wavered and subsided.
Gildarts found his thoughts pulled to the action that had just occurred. Whompt had cut off it’s head. Then it’s tail. Gildarts only now noticed that his arms had frozen in one final punch delivered to the creature. Blood was everywhere. Black, hardened from its original bright crimson. How long...? He could only guess.
“Oi, don’t tell me I’m gonna have to put you down too,” the orc had meant it as a joke, but with his blood spattered blade propped high up on the tall being’s shoulder, Gildarts had felt like the beast would not have hesitated.
The wizard shook himself out of it, and now it was the pain, that took its chance to come rushing back to him. The Prime fell to one knee, and did all he could do not to collapse on himself completely, meanwhile the ninja rushed to Gildarts side, almost out of protection after hearing what the orc had said.
“Well, where is it?” the orc asked the boy. Whompt was quite smart, and it seemed he had realized the boy’s powers of observation were greater than they could have guessed.
“Where is... What? Where were you the entire battle?! We needed you, we nearly died...” the boy was pleading, though he was an apprentice, there was something about the suspicion in his voice that was true. This allegation, however, did not sit well with Whompt, whose menacing tusks grew close to the boy.
“I was flung back nearly a thousun’ meters by that ruddy beast, you outta be lucky I didn’t take long’r than I did or...” the orc’s eyes fell on the other prime. His companion, with strength more notable than any prime he had met before, who had lost control and was now covered in blood. Some of it Gildarts’ own blood, and the rest, well, from the beast he had beaten to near death.
It had seemed that the orc had come back just in time for the end festivities. How convenient, was the perspective the ninja took on it, as he scented deception in the orc’s eyes, “Ye’ outta be lucky th’ I did come back, it was me own choice to come ‘ere in the first place, don’ be ungra’ful to yer elders, kid.”
The orc had a point, but it tasted bland and stale, like it had been an excuse prepared ahead of time, rather than one that was truthful and that the boy’s words had been actually taken as a disrespect.
“Hmph,” the boy strode off and began searching in the mess of flesh for what he knew to be the orgosynth, a parasite that lived inside man and creature alike, hopping from host to host until it found its way into someone particularly special, “Shouldn’t it be in here?”
Whompt growled, “Yer’ wastin’ yer time.”
“The... Creature hasn’t been in the dragon for half of the battle,” Gildarts’ protesting lungs made the struggle of speech much more difficult than the simple flavor of fatigue after a battle.
“WHAT?!” the boy exclaimed, aghast by the mage’s observation. Meanwhile, the orc did not seem surprised. He scoffed to himself and took a guiltless seat on the side of one of the many broken trees. Nekui’s eyes were bulging with curiosity and tainted with a little fright, “How do you know?”
“Because... I fought something intelligent at the beginning, and by the time I was in the rock, the dragon had once again been reduced to a mindless beast,” the wizard clutched his side, and now took the time to notice just how many parts of his body had slivers of skin taken, or deep gashes embedded on the sides and all over his muscle-toned flesh.
Now, the orc was looking at his fellow Prime with beady, intrigued eyes. There was something hidden behind their gaze, something vindictive and aggressive, though perhaps that had simply been the creature’s demeanor all along,“Wow...” Nekui the ninja muttered, “Hey Gildarts, you shouldn’t be-” But the wounded wizard was already teetering off-balance.
A dark curtain had fallen over the Prime’s eyes. Probably, one might look back on it, from oxygen deprivation. Gildarts did not wake up from his fatigue induced coma for what seemed to be a very long time.
...
A weight of a ton of bricks crushed against the Prime’s horizontal body. Immediately, his instinct, still tracing the tail ends of won battle, caused him to bolt up, his eyes burst open like fireworks that had laid dormant until their moment to shine in an explosive blaze of light. Meanwhile, there was a heavy thumping in his chest, Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud... It was so strong, so loud in the wizard’s ears, he was nearly nauseous, and despite all this, the stubborn man began to stand. As his torso came past his knees, a woozy feeling overcame his ankles, and his knees began to wobble.
Gildarts grunted, one that alerted whoever was stirring outside of his tent. It was Nekui, the boy ninja had removed his balaclava and underneath the shade of the fabric, to Gil’s surprise, there was a bright and youthful smile. Immediately the boy’s arms wrapped around the Prime, “Gildarts! I thought you were dead! Thank goodness...”
The boy started to ramble on about a few things, which Gildarts heard and the ringing in his ears allowed him to tune out the majority of the fluff. Information, however, sifted in and was welcome. Instead of sleeping for weeks on end, the Prime had only been out a day and a half, this shouldn’t surprise him though, because he was no longer as weak as he once had been when he had arrived in the Omniverse. Then there was the matter of the village, its inhabitants were safe, and had been rejoicing at the slaying of the giant dinosaur which he had been credited with. Since then, they had been celebrating non-stop, as ninjas did, but with the custom sharing of a feast and ale.
“I am glad that your village has more or less recovered.” Gildarts offered with wholehearted sincerity, “Where’s...” What was his name? Empty thoughts rattled in his mind, he had only known the companion for a short amount of time, less than a night, battled by his side, but Gildarts had never been one for such specifics such as names or appearances. As it stands, if Natsu, a boy he had watched turn into a man, were before him, the oblivious prime would more or less identify a pineapple that looked more akin to the dragonslayer, rather than matching his actual face to the name. Even still, Gildarts didn’t have to complete his sentence for Nekui to know the question the Prime asked.
A grim shadow fell on the hollow contours of the ninja’s face, “Oh the orc, he stayed a bit for the festivities, and seemed content that you were still breathing, and has since moved on. He left this morning.”
“G-ahh, what time is it now?” he struggled again, and was pinned back effortlessly against the pillow by the boy’s index finger. Gildarts looked outside the crack of the tent, it was mid-afternoon, meanwhile the boy ninja insisted.
“You must rest some more, you’re not in top condition, and the forest has many horrors, especially if you were to travel through the night.” Nekui was concerned and seemed he wanted to spend time with the Prime that had saved his village, or at least delivered vengeance on the creature that had destroyed it. The secondary also seemed to want to make Gildarts feel at home, welcomed, and free. This however would never be achieved, for Gildarts was a nomad of air and sea, he traveled far and wide, and searched for battles to better himself, and those he encountered, like this very boy.
Gildarts blinked, only once, as if warnings like this did not apply to him, especially where he came from and to those who knew of his name and formidable reputation. People wouldn’t really bother, however, Gildarts did note that the Omniverse was almost a level up from the world of magic which he had come from. Magnolia and the way the magic shimmered practically in the air, made him feel a bit nostalgic, but not enough to convince the Prime to stay. Instead, he began gathering his things, which he saw had been set beside his chair.
The kitten was not inside his back, and he remarked on this. Nekui nodded, “She’s in our makeshift dining hall, we served her milk in a saucer and she’s really drinking it up.”
An elbow was gestured in Gildarts’ direction, but the pun fell over his head so blatantly, it made the boy laugh, “Gildarts, you’re something else.”
A slow smile grew as Gildarts, still drowsy, as they ventured across the makeshift camp. Smells of fresh food loitered near his nose, people stopped to greet and thank the Prime, who offered a modest greeting and continued on his way. He had seen almost the entire hamlet before making it inside the food hall, which was one large tent full of the taste of food that made his stomach ache.
“Piqui!” Gildarts said as he spotted the exceed’s quivering ears, she was nibbling on a piece of fish and lapping her chops, her eyes were shaped like the gentle arch of a rainbow. When she caught sight of Gildarts, her joy, while it remained in her eyes, had turned to concern for the not-so-responsible wizard.
Gildarts had been cleaned up, one of the elders or doctors of the village had even bandaged his wounds, and the Prime, who had once been covered nearly head to two in blood, was now dressed in clean clothes that resembled his old ones -he also found himself wearing a shirt, which was quite uncomfortable for the shirtless marauder- and appeared glossy and glistening, despite having just battled a monster that surely weighed over a ton and had been a heck of a feat to defeat.
“Gildarts!” the exceed squeaked and the two embraced. He rubbed her behind the ears, which made her purr with delight, “What took you so long, are you okay? You took down that big bad guy like pow-pow, pow-pow!” her paws balled into little fists as she simulated the gestures that if he did them in his very room, could very well activate a magical blizzard and send the whole room sky high. He did his best to keep a good pokerface as his mind dared him not to think about this possibility, and the three talked until they heard the carnivorous growling of the Prime’s stomach.
Nekui smiled pridefully, “You must be famished, here, sit down and eat!”
...
The wizard wracked up a good sized stack of plates before his sitting bones finally rested idle in his chair. Piqui’s moon-sized eyes showed curiosity in Gildarts, who, while Nekui was talking, found his eyes quite absent, staring off in the distance as though consumed by another, more dangerous thought. Of course danger to this man, was his seduction.
Nekui continued his conversation, and Gildarts and Piqui prodded his words at the right spots, until finally, the mighty Prime was ready to stand. And in turn, ready to go. The lively expression on Nekui’s face fell, almost pleadingly as he looked at Gildarts lead his way out, “You don’t have to go, do you? You can stay as long as you want in order to regain your strength.”
“The offer is appreciated, however I find when I stay in one place too long, I wear out my welcome. The hospitality your village has given to me, is appreciated, here, take this, and rebuild your village to be large and thriving once more.” the Prime held a hefty sack of gold out to the boy, who had extended his hands unknowingly before protesting.
“I couldn’t-”
Gildarts saw himself in the boy, young and free as he once had been. The Prime stooped down to sit on one knee, and placed his hand once more, on the boy’s shoulder, “Your village may need this later too, and do not discredit yourself, you fought hard, the scars of your fight still show on your hands, but they will never leave your heart. Take this as a reward and fill your Sensei’s shoes.”
Nekui’s eyes widened, Gildarts had noticed the bandages sprouting from underneath his black gloves. Gloves the boy had been careful not to promote, itch, or show any agitation, in fact, he had hidden it from the man he had admired, so as to not shoe weakness. The Prime seemed as though he looked at the boy’s extended hands, and instead opted to put the pouch of heavy gold in the boy’s pocket, and better still, for he nearly doubled over at the sudden brick in his trousers.
Tears welled up in Nekui’s eyes, who, after waving good-bye to Gildarts, and watching his cape disappear along the path, brought the money immediately to the chieftain who was second in command.
“This, this will rebuild the entire village, and we can finally have more than enough housing for everyone, our feud with the Menchi will be over, and we can finally live a peaceful life...” The woman gasped, a feeling of immeasurable fulfillment overtook her, and after hearing the story of generosity, she demanded to know where this Prime was now, so that she could thank him herself.
“He has left, he is searching for three things now. The mercenary orc who left him this morning, the malefactor beast that had evaded his capture last night...” Nekui informed.
“And the third thing?” the woman’s low voice inquired, almost hoping that the answer would not be given, for perhaps it would be best to remain that of a mystery, for even now, the possibilities grew in her mind with a flourish of vibrant imagination.
“The third thing, is something that Gildarts will never find, because it cannot be attained. Even by a man as great as he...” the boy’s eyes looked a bit distant now, “Since he can’t look the one place he will find it, and that is, within himself.”
The boy reflected on the courage the Prime had given him, a gift, greater than any he had ever received, and one that would last him the rest of his life. In this treasure, the legendary Prime had bestowed his own greatness, Nekui cherished the steely sensation on his shoulder, like a pat on his back from that of a paternal figure he had never known. It was true, the boy was an orphan, but he was a ninja, and the deeply embedded sense of community never left him. Nor would the weightlessness of the Prime’s confidence in him, for courage was one thing that summoned strength rather than depleted it. This invincible feeling of triumph and pride would dissipate, however its source would never be far from his mind. Of that, the ninja was sure.
The woman was silent now, pondering this and that of the Prime’s charitable character. At least she had a name to remember him by, though the woman wished she had seen his face, she imagined it vividly resplendent and donned in a smile that could only be full of life. The calm soundlessness in the air buzzed with the gentle fervor of invisible life, and it did not matter if the boy ever answered her question, because it had taken her only a single moment to found her own answer.
![[Image: -Gildarts-fairy-tail-35651033-300-180.gif]](http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/35600000/-Gildarts-fairy-tail-35651033-300-180.gif)
"I have never met a strong person with an easy past." -Atticus