Soul Spark

13 - Three Little Ducklings, p2

“Right, so I’ve had this idea for a while.” Katya said, throwing the deck of cards on the table in their comfy living room. It was a little late, and the guys were tired, but Katya insisted on showing them her new craft. Katya carefully did something absolutely unimaginable - she split the deck.

“This game is played in two.” Katya said. “Who wants to be my partner?”

“I’m too tired. I don’t feel like doing this...” Reiner complained.

“It’s just a fucking card game!” Katya yelled. “Stop crying. Are you always gonna be such a crybaby, hm?!”

“I’ll partner up with you.” Nightseer said. “Come on, explain the rules of your card game. I’ll play a round before I get some sleep.”

“She was the first one I met. Technically, she’s the first person I’ve ever known.”

“Alrighty!” Katya said. “So uh...well, uhm...I...first, you gotta...lemme think. Reiner, stop looking at me with murderous intent, I can’t think properly.”

“You don’t know the rules?!” Reiner asked, almost insulted. “How do you make your own card game and not know the rules?!”

“How do you become the fool five times in a row, you idiot? You big stupid idiot?!” Katya yelled. “Anyhow!” She clapped her hands, watching the table carefully. “First, you place the deck in a way so it faces down. Got it? Then, you take the top card.”

“Okay.” Nightseer said. He got the six of diamonds. He placed it down, waiting for Katya’s next move.

“My soul expression is strange, Reiner’s is a little basic, but Katya’s soul expression is the most unique one out there. I mean really? A giant mech?”

“I win!” Katya said, as she got the ace of diamonds. She placed it on top of Nightseer’s card, flipped the two cards, and put them on her side of the table.

“And that’s it?”

“No, this is just one round.” Katya said.

“Well, you said it yourself.” Nightseer said. “I said I’d play one round, I did. Eh, better luck next time.” He stood up. “Sorry, I’m really, really tired.”

“You...” Katya got visibly sad. “You betrayed me.”

“Alright, I’m joking.” Nightseer sat back down. He grabbed his tea mug and sipped some of the hot stuff inside. “What now?”

“Now we do it again.” Katya said. She got her card down - the queen of spades. Nightseer got his, and it was the king of diamonds. Chapters fırst released on novel-fire.net

“Ah, damn it.” Nightseer said. “They’re not the same suite.”

“The suit doesn’t matter, only the type does.” Katya said. “In this case, damn it...the king takes the queen.”

“What happens if we have the same card?” Nightseer asked. The air conditioner was a little loud, but they were used to it.

“Who is Lady Aizawa? Why is she so strong, and what is her real goal?”

“Then we both put a card on top of our cards, but we put it face down so we don’t know what it is. And we play another pair of cards on top of them. The winner takes everything on the table.” Katya explained. “It creates a fun element where you don’t know what you’ll win or lose!”

“It also makes the game playable and balanced.” Reiner said. “The aces are the highest cards, this adds a way to get the aces from your opponents. This...actually sounds like the perfect game to kill time.

“Wait, so...how long is this gonna last?” Nightseer asked. “What’s the condition for winning?”

“How long are we going to stay in this little paradise? We’re soldiers, right? When are we getting deployed?”

“Until one of us has the full deck.” Katya smiled, as if she didn’t just do something outrageous and doom Nightseer to sleepless night. “Whoever gets the full deck, wins.”

“Well! Thank you for introducing me to it, I’ll hit the bed now.” Reiner said, standing up and leaving. “My eyes are begging for mercy and my brain is about to carry out an impeachment of consciousness. Good night!”

“Have a good one.” Nightseer said. “I...don’t know if I can play the full game, maybe I can play a few more card exchanges-”

“It’s okay.” Katya’s mood changed a little bit, she looked like she was concerned. “You can also go if you’d like.”

Nightseer didn’t respond with anything. He just sat there, in silence, and he felt like he needed to stay there in silence with her. He felt that Katya was scared of something.

“Something on your mind?” Nightseer asked. “You look like you’re thinking about something. That’s...odd.”

“She was the second one to wake up. I was the first one to wake up, I woke up right after the warning, according to Aizawa, when she was checking up on me. That’s...important, right?”

“Hah, good one.” Katya chuckled, but she was still sad. “I’m just thinking about stuff, it’s...it’s alright. I’m not gonna bother anyone with it.”

“Hey, we’re friends, right?” Nightseer asked. “You can talk about the stuff that’s on your mind. I don’t have a problem listening to it, and neither does Reiner.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Nightseer said. “That’s what friends are for, right? Come on, you’re the most manga brained out of the three of us, you should know best about the power of friendship.”

“We’re friends, but we only know one another.”

“I guess that’s true.” Katya said. “I’m just...scared. I don’t know about the past, and that’s okay, I’m fine with things as they are now, but I’m scared of the future.” Her eyes sparked up a little while spilling her emotions. “I mean, did you listen to her talk? She described it as if we were going to war.”

“Well, we will be going to war at some point, probably.” Nightseer said. “Explains all the training we’re getting, all the focus on politics...”

“But isn’t war scary?” Katya asked. “I can’t imagine what it’s like. It’s really scary in the movies, and...imagine being somewhere where you can die. Dying is scary...”

“Well, we’re soulfuls.” Nightseer said. “Wars probably look way different for us. More similar to the manga fights with superpowers, honestly.”

“That’s true. Makes it look a little less depressing, honestly.” Katya said. “I don’t know. I’m probably just overthinking about stuff.”

“I’m doing the same.” Nightseer said. “I’m thinking about a lot of things.”

“Like what the truth behind all of this is. Like why Lady Aizawa needs soldiers, and why she chose us specifically.”

“I’m beginning to doubt anything and everything around me, but I don’t want to doubt Katya or Reiner. They’re genuine people just like me. They’re in the same shoes as I am. And they’re the people I might just live the rest of my life with or die next to.”

“No matter how many questions are raised, I kinda like it here. Mostly because of them.”

This text was taken from NovelFire. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Doesn’t your head hurt from thinking?” Katya asked. “Well, thinking too much, I mean?”

“Not really.” Nightseer said.

“Mine hurts a little...”

“Then you should probably go to sleep yourself. Lack of sleep is a pretty common cause for headaches.” Nightseer said, getting up. “I’m going to sleep myself. See ya.”

“Right, see ya, Nighty.” Katya smiled. “And thanks for this conversation. I calmed down a little bit.”

“I’m...relieved to hear that.”

“Mhm.” Katya looked like her usual self now. “Because if we’re gonna go to war, I know that I’m gonna have someone reliable like you guys watching over me!”

...

“Reiner you idiot, why didn’t you turn the stove off?!”

“You told me forty minutes!” Reiner yelled back. The morning was fresh, and their anger and loud tones were even fresher. The pan they used to cook in was filled with a strange black substance that exerted a putrid smell.

“I said fourteen!” Katya said, hiding her face out of second hand embarrassment. “Do you ever try to listen to what I say?”

“What’s going on?” Nightseer asked, walking in. He was greeted with the smell of death from the bottom most pits of hell. “What...who did this?!”

“I had a strange dream yesterday. Something strange was happening, but I couldn’t make out what exactly.”

“The deaf guy!” Katya said, pointing at Reiner. “He burnt the food and ruined the room!”

“Open all the windows.” Nightseer immediately assumed command. “Get some fresh air in here or we’re gonna die.”

“Oh come on, I didn’t poison-”

“Don’t you smell this shit?” Nightseer said. It was a bit surprising, since he rarely ever swore. “Just open the window, it’ll be fine after a bit. We can go outside in the meantime.”

“I can go outside in the meantime.” Katya said. “I’m gonna go and walk in the garden while you two suffer for your sins. Bye-bye!” She ran off.

“Come on, Reiner, let’s go.” Nightseer said. “Let’s get some fresh air while this place becomes habitable again. ”

“Nah, I’m staying.” Reiner said. “I’m atoning for my sins...”

A few moments later, he went straight for the door.

“I can atone later. I can’t fucking breathe here...”

The garden they had was small but very pretty. It looked even too pretty, but it didn’t bother or alert them as much. The flowers were mostly purple, with small lilacs and lavender flowers being the predominant majority. The fresh air seemed like a blessing to them. They walked around and stumbled upon Katya, who was lying in the grass.

“Pretending you’re a tree?” Reiner asked. “What are you gonna do if a dog comes up to you and-”

“Shut it.” Katya said. “This is...really nice. I love it here. The grass feels so nice.”

“It probably feels even better if it’s raining.” Nightseer said. “Just imagine.”

“It probably feels like being waterboarded.” Reiner commented.

“Nah. The rain isn’t harmful like that.” Nightseer said. He came up to Katya and laid down next to her. “This...does feel nice.”

“I know, right?!” Katya cheered. “It feels amazing.”

“Let me give it a shot.” Reiner said, lying down as well. “Oh wow, this...why did you guys describe it as something orgasmic? It’s just...okay, that’s all.”

“Be nice to him, it’s his first time touching grass.” Katya nudged Nightseer, and the latter lightly laughed.

“Hey look, Nightseer predicted the weather.” Reiner said, pointing at the sky. “Look at that big-ass cloud. It’s gonna be raining soon for sure.”

“Nighty, you like rainy weather?” Katya asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s cool.” Nightseer replied. “I like it. It’s calm, in a way. It’s really nice and the air smells amazing after it rains.”

“The last part is true.”

“I can just lay here, just have my mouth open and drink the rain water too.” Reiner yawned, just as a raindrop fell into his mouth. “Oh wow, it already started.”

“Do you know how dirty rain water is?” Katya asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“How is it dirty?” Reiner asked. “It comes straight from the sky. There’s no way it can be dirty. It’s like, the cleanest source ever.”

“Yeah but, isn’t there like, a ton of dust and smoke and bad stuff in between the cloud and your mouth?” Katya asked. “Just think about it. You’re gonna be drinking someone’s factory smoke.”

“Katya’s right.” Nightseer said. “If you wanna drink something, just go get a drink. It’s genuinely not that difficult.”

“It is when you’ve already laid down.” Reiner said. “Hey, this rain isn’t even that bad. It’s like...chill. Like, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah. It’s calm.” Nightseer said. “I like it.”

“It sounds soothing.” Katya said. “I don’t wanna go back inside anymore. This feels really nice. My clothes are getting wet though.”

“Just throw them in the washing machine later, I’ll be using it anyway.” Reiner said. “Same with Night. You can toss your clothes in there as well.”

“You sure it’s a good idea to mix all of our clothes?” Nightseer asked.

“Shit, you’re right.” Reiner said. “Then dibs on using it first.”

“I think being without clothes is easier for you than for me.” Katya said. “You know, just saying.”

“First Katya, then Reiner, lastly me.” Nightseer. “Who agrees?”

“I do.” Katya said, raising her hand. “The majority vote has passed!”

“Sure thing, whatever.” Reiner said, smiling a little.

“Hey...” Katya said. “How do you guys think we’re gonna perform in battle?”

“We have a dungeon party.” Reiner said. “Me as a damage dealer with sharpness, Katya as a tank or swarm killer with LV1, and Nightseer as a support with perception and duelist potential.”

“Sounds fairly accurate to how I think our battles are gonna go.” Nightseer said. “Sounds kinda exciting.”

“Hey, Night, aren’t you scared of dying?” Reiner asked.

“I think everyone is.” Nightseer replied. “Are you? Surely there’s a reason you brought this topic up.”

“I’m scared, man.” Reiner said. “I really don’t wanna die. I feel like life just has so much to offer and so much is gonna happen, that if I die, I’ll miss out on everything and never get another chance.”

“I don’t want any of you guys to die.” Katya said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to take it.”

“Death is pretty bad.” Nightseer said. “But I don’t think it’ll happen to us. As long as we’re all careful and keep helping each other up, I don’t think we’re gonna die.”

“This is why I’m scared of war.” Katya said. “It’s gonna feel so empty if one of us goes to the other side, I don’t think it’ll ever be the same anymore.”

“I’m scared of what happens after death.” Reiner said. “I don’t wanna end up in hell or reincarnated as a mosquito.”

“I don’t really want to think about it.” Nightseer said. The raindrops fell on his face, but he had the luxury of not needing to keep his eyes somewhat closed so as to not get raindrops inside them. He couldn’t see the sky clearly, but he could feel every bit of the comforting rain. The sun had long hidden behind the clouds, but now, it began to shine through their thick gray veil. It looked really beautiful.

“I don’t wanna lose any of you guys, that’s for sure.” Nightseer said, with a smile. “We’re gonna go a long way, and if we are to go out, we’re gonna go out with a bang.”

“We were three people that had lost their identities.”

“You think the smell is gone by now?” Reiner asked. “The wet clothes are kinda annoying me already.”

“Probably. We could get up and go check.”

“We found comfort in each other.”

“Nighty, come, let’s go.” Katya said, extending her hand as she stood up first. After helping him out, she grunted. “You’re pretty heavy...”

“My bad.” Nightseer said. “Your bad too, you’re the one feeding me until my stomach is about to explode.”

“We found ourselves in each other.”

“You guys are gonna get me up too?” Reiner asked. “I don’t want to succumb to my sloth.”

“This is your atonement for the stove incident.” Nightseer replied, laughing.

“I don’t know who I was, or if I even was something before this. But I know that I want to keep this.”

“If this is a dream, I want it to never end.”

They all went back inside the house. Aizawa watched them, and took notes in the black book.

...

The three had finished sorting their laundry and changing their clothes when Aizawa entered the room.

“Lady Aizawa.” Nightseer greeted her. “We didn’t have time to prepare for your visit-”

“There’s no need to. As a matter of fact, there’s no need to think about this settlement anymore.” Aizawa said. “I have arranged our new base of operations. We will be moving there tomorrow.”

“We’re just gonna...leave this place?” Katya asked.

“Yes.” Aizawa said. “Don’t worry, the castle will have all the necessary facilities.”

“The castle?!” Katya exclaimed in excitement. Aizawa smiled and left the room.

“The only concern left...” Nightseer thought. “Is Lady Aizawa.”