Julius emerges from his room's ensuite, having needed to relieve himself in the middle of the night-- it seems the drinks Muriel had been sliding his way over the entirety of his dinner had come back to cause trouble for him, forcing him out of the bed he had already grown so happy to inhabit.
[Julius]: "Mh... Seems like I still have a long time until sunrise. Does time even work the same here anyway? I'll have to ask Lawrence in the morning."
He rubs his eye with the back of his hand, slowly dragging himself back to bed, until a sound that emanates from down the hall catches his attention, stopping him in the center of the room, where a soft fur carpet resides, his bare feet sinking into it as his ears perk up to try and catch anymore sounds.
[Julius]: "A door closing? Someone must be up, maybe I should check... Hm, nah... None of my business anyway, it's probably just Lawrence."
He stood there for what felt like an eternity trying to differentiate any other sounds, and only when he turns back to the bed, he hears another, and then another, footsteps now, just outside the door.
[Julius]: "At this hour though? I guess it wouldn't hurt to check..."
The soft footsteps, barely audible now, glide across the floor just outside his room, fading out down the hall, and with a soft click, Julius creaks open his door, peaking his head out to check both directions.
The manor's hallways are dark, only made visible by the moonlight shining through the countless windows along the opposite wall to his room. His attention is drawn to a soft, orange light, shining out from one of the hallways, slowly fading as it gets further away.
[Julius]: "What the-..."
Now standing in the hall, still in his white robes given to him the night before, he quietly shuts the door, and follows the light that continues to fade around the corner.
Given that it's the middle of the night, he tries his best to be silent, slowly closing in on the orange light. Its glow casts dancing shadows along the walls that he chases after, finally reaching the corner and stepping out into the manor's bend.
[Julius]: "Is someone... There?"
The new corridor is empty, the orange glow just out of sight, continuing its unknown path downstairs, and he chases once more, trying to catch up to its source.
Silently pacing down the stairs like a cat, he blindly follows the shadows flickering across the walls through room after room, finally seeing it disappear into a dead end near the manor's back entrance.
[Julius]: "Got you!"
Practically leaping into the room, he finally finds the source of the flickering light. Floating just a few inches from the floor in the middle of the small room, is a flame, small, yet constant, drawing him closer to inspect it, beckoning him despite the confusion its mere existence causes.
[Julius]: "What? This looks like one of-"
"Following me, huh?"
A voice from behind, causing him to snap around, and find himself face to face with Lisa, who is hanging upside down from the doorways overhang, startling him.
[Julius]: "W-Wahh!"
He falls back, crashing onto the ground where the flame had just lied, dispersed into thin air right before he landed on it.
Lisa jumps down from the over-hang and brings a finger to her lips as she tries to stifle her laugh, clearly amused by scaring him.
[Lisa]: "Hey, be careful, you'll wake everyone."
[Julius]: "Ah- right!"
His hands shoot up to his mouth to cover it, long after the noise had already burst out of him. She hold her palm up in front of her, the dust inhabiting the air above her hand melting instantly as another flame bursts into existence, lighting up the small room.
Surrounding them, are countless crates of varying sizes, filled with everyday equipment, bags of dirt, gardening supplies, and all covered top to bottom in dust. The room was likely used by Lawrence to store all his groundskeeping tools.
[Julius]: "A-Anyway... What are you doing awake?"
[Lisa]: "Couldn't sleep, Like usual... I like to go outside at night, lie on the grass stare at the stars, it helps me relax and think."
[Julius]: "So it must have been you I heard walking past my door."
[Lisa]: "Mmhm. Oh! I didn't wake you did I?"
[Julius]: "Nah, I was already awake."
She lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief, and Julius finally picks himself up off the floor. He brushes the dust off his yukata.
[Julius]: "Jeez, I hope I didn't get any dirt on this white cloth. Or is it silk?"
[Lisa]: "You're fine, besides we have hundreds of those anyway."
[Julius]: "I guess I should have expected that much."
[Lisa]: "Well, since you're up, how about you come out and look at the stars with me? It'll be fun!"
[Julius]: "You sure it's okay? Does Muriel know that you go out this late?"
She nods vigorously, her blonde hair just shy of catching in her own flames, and she skips over to the glass door, flipping the lock with a loud click, and swinging it open, letting a strong draft of wind blow past them before dying down.
[Lisa]: "Come on, I'll show you the best spot where you can see all the pretty stars!"
[Julius]: "I haven't seen the back of the manor yet, I'll trust you to guide us."
Lisa giggles happily as he follows her outside, softly dragging the door shut behind him. He turns back around, only to get his breath taken away by the gigantic garden laid out before him.
There were hedges as tall as some buildings, bright green grass and flower fields over the entire yard, showered over with bushes and trimmed hedge sculptures alike.
[Julius]: "Woah... This place is huge! How do even maintain all this?"
Lisa has to stop just to allow Julius to catch up, his attention being dragged to something else every few seconds. She lets out an amused chuckle as Julius gently glides his hand over the soft leaves of one of the hedges.
[Lisa]: "Lawrence likes to garden, it's his favorite thing to do. If he isn't with mom, he's out here tending to his life-consuming hobby. Really, I mean life-consuming. I burnt some of his hydrangeas once by accident, and he hasn't let me near then since. Like, come on, that was over 2 years ago!"
[Julius]: "He seems like quite the passionate person. I never would have guessed he'd have such a... Gentle hobby, when I first saw him."
[Lisa]: "Yeah, well... He can be quite scary at times, so try to be on his good side, heehee."
[Julius]: "I'll definitely keep it in mind. Don't touch Mr. Lawrence's hydrangeas."
Lisa lets out a bubbly chuckle, still guiding him through the garden of vibrant flowers and corridors of hedges, past the flowing fountain in the center of the manor's back yard.
She leads him up some stone stairs, framed by tall trees on either side, opening up to several path ways, one of them leading them straight to a mound of grass, open to the moonlight and serving as a secluded spot with a perfect view of the night sky, where the trees part, and weeds refuse to grow.
[Julius]: "It's freezing out here."
The winds chill gnawed at his skin-- despite there only being a brisk of wind, the night time air was frigid in Meriddia.
[Lisa]: "Is it? I guess I've never really noticed."
[Julius]: "Sure, if I had fire powers I'd never be cold again too."
[Lisa]: "Heehee, sounds like someone's jealous."
[Julius]: "...Only a little."
Lisa pointed her hands at Julius, the same look appearing in her eyes as the one she gets when casting her sorcery, and for a second, Julius instinctively inches back with a nervous smile.
[Julius]: "Hey, what are you-..."
He stops his worried question as the air around him heats up, and almost instantly, the cold stops reaching him, scared away by Lisa's control over heat.
[Lisa]: "Pretty cool, right?"
[Julius]: "It's very cool! So it isn't just fire you can control?"
[Lisa]: "Well, magic comes in many forms, you can think of attunements as something like clay. You can mold it into countless different shapes and forms, but at the end of the day, its still made entirely of clay. I dunno, I guess that's just how I think of it."
[Julius]: "That's very helpful actually. I guess I am jealous, heh."
The circular patch of clean grass beckoned him closer with its enticing comfort, easily winning the battle against his hesitation as to keep his yukata from staining with dirt.
Striding past him, Lisa practically collapses down onto the grass, her limps splayed out as if to soak in as much of the moonlight as her lithe body would allow.
[Lisa]: "Umph. What are you waiting for, come sit!"
Without another second of contemplating, he gracefully seats himself onto the ground with a strained huff, eventually throwing away his preservation for the clothes he wears as he lies on his back to gaze upon the sky.
[Julius]: "...The stars here are so much prettier than back home. They seem so bright from here."
[Lisa]: "Everything I learn about where you're from just makes it sound more boring."
[Julius]: "I suppose so."
They both share a laugh as they take in the sky, soaking in the array of stars-- yet despite the abundance of captivating lights above them, none could compare to the glowing pearl that peaks out from the clouds. The moon.
It was a familiar, comforting presence that Julius found in many things here, yet just like all the other similarities between his home and Meriddia, it was like an enhanced version of his own; Brighter, more captivating, all the same yet somehow so much prettier.
[Lisa]: "Are you drooling?"
[Julius]: "Huh? Ah-! No, of course not."
He babbles as he wipes his mouth surprising speed, clearly giving away any hope of convincing her, only proving to get another laugh to shoot out of her at the sight.
[Lisa]: "It's okay, I take it as a compliment, I told you I knew a spot. Isn't it so pretty? I find this is the best hour to stargaze."
[Julius]: "I'm glad I tagged along. But, are you not worried at all about being out here on your own? You said you do this often."
[Lisa]: "Nope. The manor has walls further out, but beyond that, Lawrence has his own kind of barrier made with his magic. It alerts him if anything touches it, so we're super duper safe, trust me!"
The prospect of a magical barrier both eased Julius's mind, and concerned him further, practically confirming to him that there were threats in the forest to be worried about.
[Julius]: "Hm. How strong exactly is Lawrence? He can do some pretty crazy stuff."
[Lisa]: "You'd have to ask my mom. He spars with me a lot, but I've never seen him actually try, so I wouldn't have a clue. What I do know, is that he's more than strong enough to protect us from anyone coming to cause trouble, that's why we don't have any guards!"
Letting out a bemused hum, Julius tilts his head back to the sky, once again soaking in its beauty as the two lie side by side on the grass. The air is peaceful, with a soft draft of wind that gently sways the trees around them.
The chirping of various birds and insects are heard all around them, and with the soft strands of greenery he lies on easily accepting his weight like natures own pillow, he feels truly at peace for the first time since he had woken.
[Julius]: "I could fall asleep out here."
[Lisa]: "It's peaceful, right? It helps clear my head to just lie down and look up at the sky. I like to count the stars and their patterns."
[Julius]: "Patterns?"
She points up at the sky, guiding his attention to the subtle yet clear bundles of stars that light the night sky. There were several bunches that caught his eye, but none of them were familiar, as if the sky itself was totally off from his own.
[Lisa]: "Yup! Look here. This group is called 'Astraea's eye', because it looks like an iris. It's named after an old children's tale. Oh, and this one, this is my favorite! Himeko's staff. You can see the shape of a magical staff used by the queen that named it over a thousand years ago."
[Julius]: "Why is it your favorite?"
[Lisa]: "Well, to be honest-- It's only my favorite because of Queen Himeko. She was a fire sorcerer, like me! Countless stories that I read growing up were written by her, and they're all just so perfect! She writes about her encounters with real life dragons! And how she became her countries first female ruler."
[Julius]: "She sounds like quite the remarkable person... hang on, did you say dragons? Dragons exist here?"
[Lisa]: "Nothing to worry about, they all went extinct a long time ago."
[Julius]: "Right, that's a relief... What were they like? In your stories?"
Her eyes lit up almost as bright as the stars above them as she thought about his question, recalling the countless, sleepless nights she spent reading books about dragons and their old existence, all written by the great Himeko of course.
[Lisa]: "They were super cool! Some where small, some where huge, but they were all extremely beautiful. They had colorful scales and fur, and their shiny hide was said to reflect the sun, casting dancing rainbows along the ground below them! Dragons were considered to be masters of sorcery, and very intelligent."
[Julius]: "They could use magic? That's... Terrifying to think about. You sure they're gone?!"
[Lisa]: "Absolutely sure. Well, there was one that was fought about five years ago now. But that's a special case, I dunno much about it, but I'm sure Lawrence would tell you all about it!"
[Julius]: "Ah, I think I'll be better off not adding magical dragons to my long list of worries right now."
[Lisa]: "Good call, heehee."
The two share a lingering laugh as they continue to stargaze, eventually falling quiet, a silence long yet still comfortable.
[Lisa]: "Thank you... for coming out here with me."
[Julius]: "Why wouldn't I?"
[Lisa]: "I dunno, just... I'm not used to having someone around who isn't family."
The voice of Lisa Astoria was loud and full of spark, but at this moment under the moonlit sanctuary, that spark was gone. Her tone was lower, softer, almost melancholic.
[Julius]: "You don't have friends that come over? Or to go visit?"
[Lisa]: "Besides from Lucille and Lawrence, I don't have any friends. And they're more like... family, I guess."
[Julius]: "You don't? But you're fun, you're adventurous, I feel like you'd get along great with anyone."
[Lisa]: "Well, I do... But it's not really my choice. It's my mom, she's really protective of me and she doesn't exactly trust easy."
[Julius]: "She seems like she trusts me, she probably wouldn't have let me stay with you guys otherwise."
[Lisa]: "It seems like that, but trust me, she'll be watching you. Mom's smarter than she looks, and she's been in the whole merchant deal for a really~ long time. She's very paranoid... That's why she never lets me make friends... Especially from Cataphrania."
[Julius]: "So the whole day I've been here, she was just trying to see if she can trust me. I guess that's understandable, even more so from such a wealthy woman like her. Still, I'm sorry to hear that. Cataphrania... Why specifically from there?"
She lets out a long sigh, keeping her eyes up at the sky, as if distracting herself from the emotions she'd rather not acknowledge that slowly build up within her chest.
Julius maintains his focus solely on her, concerned with the lack of fire in her voice that usually bursts out at any given time.
[Lisa]: "Because dad's from there."
[Julius]: "Your dad? I mean, I had wondered... Sorry, I guess I didn't want to assume anything..."
[Lisa]: "It's fine, I've never even met my dad. And whenever I ask mom about him, she just gets defensive and brushes it off, calling him a coward. I guess I just got tired of wondering about it and decided not to worry myself with him. If mom hates him, then I know she has a good reason for it, and I'm with her every step of the way."
[Julius]: "I see... I'm sorry to hear that. Some parents can be really difficult, huh..."
[Lisa]: "Yeah... But, anyway, I'm glad you joined me too, I hope mom lets you stay."
Hearing the light start to flicker back to life in her voice, Julius offers her a warm smile, caring and genuine, just like he always was.
[Julius]: "Of course. I know what it's like to be lonely, so if you'd have me, I'd love to be your friend."
[Lisa]: "Really?! Even after you go home!?"
[Julius]: "Definitely. I'll write you lots of letters too, you'll be overwhelmed."
[Lisa]: "Heehee, I look forward to it."
His smile was wide and bright, mimicking Lisa's own giddy smile before her mind wanders back to something he had said.
[Lisa]: "Do you... Have any friends, Julee? Besides me, of course..."
[Julius]: "Ah, well... No, not really."
[Lisa]: "Why not?"
[Julius]: "... I've never had the chance to make them."
[Lisa]: "Never had the chance? Do you also have a crazy, rich mom?"
[Julius]: "Hah, no, nothing like that. I, well... I've been very sick pretty much my whole life. Even from my earliest memories, I've always been in and out of hospitals. I lived my life surrounded by doctors and nurses, and eventually, I was required to live in a hospital room, hooked up to a bunch of tubes and wires."
Lisa looked over at him with a worried and empathetic expression, listening as best she can, wondering if he's okay now, hoping, practically praying. Amidst her concern, she felt a growing connection to him, knowing that he too had grown up isolated. Lonely.
[Julius]: "I always used to look out my window at the field, watching all the kids play soccer outside, running around and laughing together, all while I rotted away in my bed inside. I always wanted to join them, at least talk to one of them... But I held myself back. What would I talk to them about, I always asked myself. I knew I could never even hope to join them in their games, my body would give out not even five minutes in. I only ever had my parents and my cousin, but she was a lot younger than me, so its not like she could understand me much."
[Lisa]: "Julee..."
[Julius]: "I never blamed her for that though... She still cared about me a lot. She actually surprised me one day. After noticing that I kept looking out the window of my hospital room at the boys playing soccer, she had brought me a ball when she visited next. Hah, I tried to explain to her that I couldn't get up and kick it around like the other boys could, but damn she was persistent-- Ended up throwing at me, forcing me to throw it back and forth around the hospital. It got me out of bed at least, even if it was brief."
[Lisa]: "It doesn't sound like a cold or flu... What are you sick with?"
[Julius]: "From what I've already heard and seen, I doubt you have it here. It's complicated, but... I had an abnormal growth on my brain, one that as slowly killing me. I grew up being told I only had a few years to live, and yet I just kept going. The doctors were so shocked with how long I lived past their expectations, and here I am, still standing at nineteen. It's funny actually... I've felt great ever since waking up here, no problems at all..."
[Lisa]: "A growth? You're right, I don't think I've heard of that kind of sickness before. Sounds yucky."
[Julius]: "Heh... I guess it is."
The two share a long stretch of silence as the clouds start to fade in, covering the stars, signaling that it's time to get back to life's habits again.
[Lisa]: "I never knew how much better it is to stargaze with someone else. Lawrence and Lucille never want to, always too 'busy' they say, hmph."
She pouts dramatically with her arms tightly crossed in exaggerated frustration, the old Lisa returning after the emotional moments prior.
[Julius]: "It's been great, thanks for bringing me along. Even if I did kinda just follow you out here, heh."
[Lisa]: "And I'll do it again!"
[Julius]: "I look forward to it."
Lisa shoots up, straightening her skirt as she brushes off any grass or dirt left behind from their rest on the floor. She's joined quickly by Julius, who repeats her actions before following her back down the stone path, and through Lawrence's labyrinth of a garden.
The flowers form a rainbow of colors, each a different species of flora, in various shapes and sizes, yet all equally as breath taking.
[Lisa]: "Which one catches your eye?"
[Julius]: "Hard to say, they're all so pretty, it's too difficult to choose just one."
[Lisa]: "Meheh~, I'm sure Lawrence would be delighted to hear that."
The stone pavement beneath Julius's feet felt cold, yet somehow magical, as if he was standing upon ground that had seen a lot of history and sorcery over the span of its long lifetime.
Looking around, he saw opposite them where Lawrence grew his favorite flower, the hydrangeas, a wooden post next to them with a poorly drawn photo of Lisa, with the words 'no touching' beside it.
The back door clicks shut as they return to the warmth of the manor, Lisa's magic finally wearing off on Julius as she calls forth another flame in her palm to light their way.
[Lisa]: "Phew, keeping up such a low level of heat for that long was exhausting. At least I know I can definitely sleep now."
[Julius]: "I would think creating a full flame would be harder than just heat."
[Lisa]: "Nope. Fire comes natural, but it takes a lot more control over mana to keep it at a low temperature, especially for long periods of time."
[Julius]: "How interesting."
Walking out from the storage room behind Lisa, Julius is startled by a familiar, but scarily unexpected voice.
"Where have you two been?"
[Lisa]: "WAH!"
[Julius]: "G-Gahh!"
Leaning against the wall just beside the doorframe, shrouded by the room's barely lit shadows, is Lucille. Her arms are crossed and her eyes glare daggers into Julius specifically.
[Lisa]: "Lucille! It's just you. Don't scare us like that!"
[Julius]: "It's okay, I'm sure she didn't mean to. What are you doing up so late?"
[Lucille]: "Keeping an eye on you, just like Muriel told me to."
[Lisa]: "Ugh, I told you she was paranoid. We were just stargazing, like I do almost every night!"
[Lucille]: "It's late, go to bed, miss."
Lisa pouts as she drifts off, followed by the two behind them that spark with a tense aura. Lucille doesn't take her eyes off Julius as they track their way back to their rooms in the dark, Lucille's shoes making an echoing clicking noise throughout the halls with every step on the marble floor.
[Julius]: "I understand why you'd be suspicious of me, I mean, I am practically a stranger to you. One that you found on the ground in an alleyway, it's a perfectly good reason to have your cautions. But I promise you I have no ill intentions, I just need help trying to get home."
[Lucille]: "I'm sure."
Julius lets out an unsure hum to himself, his shoulders slumping slightly as if everything he had said just bounced right off her. Lucille lets off a powerful impression, a cold and calculated woman that gets right to the point, and it's clear already that she is very loyal to Muriel.
[Lisa]: "Why are you so harsh to him? You can take my word for it, he's a good person."
[Lucille]: "You're only young, dear, you don't know what men are like. Please take no offense from me following orders from Miss Muriel."
[Lisa]: "Hmm."
Their footsteps reach a halt as they reach Julius's room, and not wanting to provoke the already skeptical maid that hasn't stopped glaring at him since he arrived at the manor, he quickly swings the door open and steps inside, getting one last look at the two, Lisa already waving at him with her free hand.
[Lisa]: "Goodnight Julee!"
[Julius]: "Goodnight! And goodnight to you too, Lucille."
[Lucille]: "Mmhm."
His smile falters with disappointment that's almost expected as he closes the door, his back falling flat against it as he lets out a loud sigh that fills the room, hearing Lucille's signature footsteps fade away down the hall.
The room Muriel had assigned to him wasn't uncomfortable at all, but the imprint of unease left by Lucille lingered just a bit too long, already giving him a lasting impression and expectation of what's to come by living in the Astoria manor.
[Julius]: "Man... She really hates me. How long was she following me, I would have had to hear her shoes, right? She's surprising stealthy."
He lifts himself off from the door and slumps over to the bed, collapsing face first into it. The soft, familiar mattress swallowed him up, soothing the chill that had seeped its way into his bones, and providing him a solace akin to his very own bed back at home, a reminder of safety, and most definitely comfort-- but that's a given, considering there's more pillows than a tired Julius could even count on this one bed.
[Julius]: "Mmmh... I should probably try and win over Muriel in the morning, however the hell I could do that. Maybe I should try doing some work for her... Or get Yuri to talk her over, he seems pretty inviting to company. Ah, whatever, I'm too tired to think about all that right now, and this bed is already putting me to sleep. What material could this possibly be made of to be this soft..."
His thoughts drift off all too quickly, and in the room lit by the sliver of moonlight peeking through the windows, an atmosphere of peace quickly lulls him to sleep. He hadn't even pulled the covers over himself-- he didn't need to, the room was strangely warm despite the outside air hosting a chill that he had never felt in his home town, and yet somehow none of that mattered to him. He was content in his new home, albeit as temporary as it was.
There was plenty left to accomplish, and sure enough with it, a long journey to cross. But even with all those challenges ahead of him, right now... he was happy.
---