Chapter 35: Blasphemy!
"Attention!"
The sound of Sergeant Lucien’s voice echoed through the uncompleted building.
And yes, Sergeant.
In a quick, fluent motion, the cadets standing in front of Lucien stood at attention, straightening their posture.
And the cadets in question?
Sergeant Lucien narrowed his eyes, gazing at them.
One of them was a small boy who had black hair, blue eyes, and an expectant but equally serious facial expression as he stood at attention with his hands tucked behind his waist. Michael was his name, and he was dressed in a large brown t-shirt and shorts of the same color. Not very soldier-like.
Scoffing, Lucien gazed at the other cadet.
Shorter than Michael, with deep purple hair that fell back over her shoulders, amethyst eyes, and a brilliant smile on her face, as if enjoying the whole thing. This was Amira, dressed in a long, tattered gown. She was also not quite soldier-like.
But the sight of her smile did warm Lucien’s heart, and he smiled. And dropped the whole soldier act.
"Are you all ready?"
"There’s only two of us, Luci..."
"Are you all ready?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Staring at their subtly nervous expressions, Lucien winced.
"You’ll both make fine soldiers." He began walking toward the large backpack at one corner, fully loaded with all their things. "But let’s just go, alright?"
Mikky and Mira audibly let out soft breaths as they both dropped the attention stance and walked toward Lucien.
They’d argued earlier when Lucien told them about the soldiers in the big cities and how their training was hard and rigorous.
Some form of nonsensical debate had sparked between the three of them. And it led to Sergeant Lucien showing them just how hard being a soldier was.
Well, that was now by the way.
As Lucien made sure, once more, that the backpack was tightly closed, he hefted it, slinging it on his shoulders.
The familiar weight on his back and shoulders grounded him, and he smiled brightly, gazing skyward.
The cloud-hidden sun was already out, shining down on a gloomy world.
But the gloominess didn’t faze Lucien one bit as he looked down at his camo-watch. The one that belonged to a Sultra.
The place they were all heading to was one devoid of this gloominess after all.
Softly, Mikky tugged on Lucien’s shirt, eliciting a gaze from the young, emerald-eyed man, who raised a brow.
"Where are we going this time, Luci?"
Lucien smiled brightly, ruffling Michael’s hair.
"This time, we’re going somewhere really far away."
Mikky held onto Lucien’s outstretched hand, gasping softly.
"MORE walking, Luci?"
Lucien’s eyes widened.
"Uh, no, it’s–"
"Luci, if it’s really far, it means we’ll have to walk longer than we did to get here! How are we even gonna do–"
"Shush, kid." Lucien placed a finger on Mikky’s lips, smiling. "I told you both to trust me. I have a plan."
Narrowed blue eyes dug into an emerald pair, looking a bit skeptical.
Lucien raised a brow.
Michael sighed.
"Fine."
Lucien removed his finger from Mikky’s lips, patting the boy’s hair as he stood straight, surveying the room to find–
He saw her.
"Amira!"
The girl stood shyly and alone in one corner, gazing at the duo with a glint in her purple eyes and a small pout in her cheeks.
She still didn’t feel much comfortable around Lucien, and that was understandable. Like Mikky, what she needed was time, consistent care and availability.
Plus, Lucien had held back using Nurturing Gaze on her. He didn’t want to see a list he knew would be heartbreaking yet. He wasn’t sure if he could stomach it, even with his [Mental Fortitude]. What he’d learned about Mikky still shook him at times when he saw the boy smile innocently as if nothing was wrong.
He knew the things that plagued Mikky. And they weren’t things he could heal miraculously or magically. They were wounds that only time could melt away. And so, that formula was always on Lucien’s mind: consistent care and availability.
Amira smiled brightly the moment she heard Lucien call her, and she nodded.
Lucien returned her smile, walking toward her, Mikky following suit.
As he reached her, he outstretched a hand to touch her hair. She flinched slightly, causing Lucien to hesitate.
But he still patted her purple hair anyway.
"We’re going to get you some new clothes, Mira. Can I call you Mira?"
Saying that, the girl looked up at Lucien with widened eyes. But then she looked down, seemingly shrinking.
"I don’t know," she said in a small voice. "No one calls me that. The only one that did is now..."
"Hm?"
"She’s dead. My mom. They killed her and kidnapped me, and..."
Lucien immediately crouched and pulled her into his embrace.
Amira seemed surprised and a bit shaken by the sudden act; she even tried to oppose, Lucien could tell. But after a while, she just let him hold her. And she didn’t push him away like the first time.
Progress.
"Things will be better now, Mira," he whispered into her ear.
The small girl nodded, her eyes shut tightly.
Only when she opened her eyes, and Lucien saw her smile, did he free her from his hug of absolute rehabilitation.
And just then, Mikky decided to give her his own hug.
Amira smiled, hugging Mikky back. And they tapped each other’s backs.
"You’re hungry, aren’t you?" Mikky whispered into her ear.
Amira nodded.
Mikky nodded back.
"Same." He paused. "Fried rice?"
Amira paused for a second. Then she nodded.
Mikky freed her from his hug, then looked toward Lucien.
"Breakfast."
Lucien blinked, orienting himself.
And then he smiled.
"Right. Breakfast." He cleared his throat. "First things first, breakfast, then we find our way to a market to get foodstuffs and clothes, and then we find somewhere to freshen up and dress properly, then we’re off on our journey."
Mikky nodded, doing that thing where he caressed an invisible long beard.
"But how are we going to find the market?"
Amira nodded.
"Or breakfast. I... we don’t know our way around here."
Lucien grinned, willing his system-map into existence. And only he could see it, of course.
"You don’t need to worry about that," Lucien said. "All you need to worry about is choosing the breakfast you’ll eat. Fried rice is not going to be the only thing we eat all the time!"
Mikky’s facial expression turned sour, and he gasped.
"Blasphemy!"
Amira’s brows scrunched.
"That’s sad."
"Blasphemy!"
Lucien sighed, ignoring the duo as he walked toward the entrance of the building, preparing to leave forever.
They followed behind him, with Mikky still yelling: "Blasphemy!"
Luci shook his head.
’Another word he learned from Lector?’