We finished our meal and went to the room we shared for some privacy.
It used to be my space alone, but since the others were all adults when the time came to put Pelit and Rimel somewhere, it made sense to share the large room.
Three not so comfortable beds and large table we used to play cards and sometimes eat out meals were the only things inside.
The boys were orphans, relics left from the last war that swept up their home nation. They bounced around from home to uncaring home, from foster parents to uncaring foster parents until the Captain found them.
Captain Roche Deran was a hard man who fought overseas as part of a mercenary group of renegade magicans for decades before settling down the mountains for his quest to find inner peace.
He was a genle man who enjoyed nature, the smell of lavender, and left behind a thousand broken hearts.
He was a sceptical man who no longer put faith into government bodies to protect the public and decided to do it himself. .. in the most remote way possible.
He was all of these but his main characteristics .. he was a kind man.
Eventually, he made captain of the Control..
It wasn't exactly hard. No one wanted the gig. It came with all the responsibilities and a bunch of other headaches, I'm sure.
But thanks to his selfless nature, I found a home here, he let everyone stay who wanted a little peace and quiet .. or just had nowhere else to go. Or unlucky enough that they couldn't run away from him.
Inside our room, I plopped down my bed and waited for the others to do the same.
I removed the seal, and soon, his voice filled the room.
< Brat! ...
It was weird listening to the man's voice.
< .. a favour, of course! .. Listen, I know we haven't been on the best of terms since .. you know .. but all the same, you're my only family as much as I'm yours...and what's family for if not for asking favours?
My head started to ache .. and realised it wasn't just weird hearing his voice but annoying as well.
" The man is insufferable .. " I noted.
" He is a genius. "
" A legend. "
I ignored my friends, closed my eyes, and listened to the rest.
< .. on a more serious note .. I need your help, kid ..I'm afraid I have to tell you the rest in person, be arriving at the end of ..
Me burning that letter was the winning choice, it turns out ..
< .. I will let you know exactly once, I'm inside the country ... ... ...
I thought for a second it was the end, but there was more.
< ... I know you have no reason or even need to meet me. I couldn't be there for you when you needed me .. I'm an old man, kid .. our mistakes haunt us more intently, and I need you to help me with them. And maybe .. it will do you some good. Remember..Noblesse obliges. >
On the bottom of his initials, M.A.
The silence was broken by Pelit.
" What the hell is bobless obglide? " He asked wide-eyed.
Rimel, seeing me lost in thought, took over.
" Noblesse Obliges.. it's a French phrase meaning nobility..
It's a phrase my father enjoyed using.
To help those in need is an obligation, not a chore .. he used to say. It's all fun and games until you die during that imaginary obligation dragging your family into it, leaving your kid behind to fend for himself.
I didn't notice how long my friends had been staring at me but was grateful for letting me alone with my thoughts.
" Will you meet the man? " asked Pelit in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
" .. I don't know. "
I didn't lie. I was lost in a sea of unsettling emotions and memories. I remembered my uncle from my childhood. He taught me a lot and never pushed me towards anything I didn't want ..
Yet he never asked anything from me.
I was 14 when I left home, the fighting was dying down in our country, straight after my father's funeral. I jumped through that portal, fully knowing I might never see it again .. got lucky and got picked up by Captain Roche and not some crime ring.
My uncle found me almost immediately, I let him know I was safe and my intentions to stay, for a few months, we did kept in touch for a while but at some point I stopped reading his letters, and they stopped coming.
He reminded me of things I came to forget.
" If you do go .. we can go with you. " Rim offered.
Pelit was quick to add his bit.
" Absolutely .. as your best friend, it's my ..
" Blamblamblam .. I thought we agreed to have a special 3-way best friend scenario.. what .. what the hell happened? "
" We just said it to make you feel better. You were really mopey back in the day. " Pelit explained sitting beside him.
I smiled, listening to them.
Looking outside the window, seeing the familiar scene, I decided to go and see him, hear him out at least. Wasn't particularly interested, but .. did feel a little nostalgic.
I mean .. What's the worst it can lead to?
———
The month of July was represented by a lot of things in society, such as a piece of Ruby, some pretentiously named flowers I can't be bothered to remember, the useless zodiacs signs Cancer and Leo .. and the agonising feeling of melting slowly away drip by drip.
I was on night duty, which was only slightly cooler than an oven.
Despite my words, I preferred it.
Walking around the forest at night filled with deadly beast might frighten some .. but enough repetition creates experience, the enemy of all conventional fears.
I spotted a beautiful glowing butterfly looking thing in the distance, tumbling ungraciously through the air towards me.
Now I said thing, because I knew it wasn't an actual bug that everyone loved even though it looked the creepiest of them all.
.. it was a form of message used by the Border Control.
I let it fly inside arms length and squashed it, getting immense satisfaction.
"" Come home, dude, there's another letter for you.. getting popular. ""
Rimel's voice broke through the nights silence.
Boy, I do feel popular.
Maybe it was my uncle changing the date at the last second? We were supposed to meet in 2 days near some town hidden inside the national park at the base of the mountains.
Inside the Taj, I ran into a few patrolling coworker, they werenmaking eyes at me .. probably thinking I'm shrieking my responsibility and calling it a night.
I'll be shocked if some Justice Warrior doesn't report me to Cap by tomorrow morning.
As I walked past the identical rooms on both sides .. the sounds of snoring were lunacy! How is this allowed!?
To my surprise, both my roommates were up.
" What is this letter business? " I asked, closing the door behind me.
They were both on my bed as the owl sitting on our table made eyes at me. Rim examined the letter.
" Well .. it's not your uncle .. the Lyceeys uses different paper and the ink of course is diff..
" Just give it .. " I asked a little weary.
As I unsealed, the letter couldn't stop thinking .. Rim sure knows a lot of useless trivia.
Indeed the letter was clearly addressed to me .. and it was definitely not sent by my uncle. For one, it had a weak and unfamiliar magic signature.
< Don't trust the professor ..
A friend. >
" Well, that was weird. " I said as the letter turned to ashes in my hand.
The guys looked fidgety after hearing it.
" Does she .. mean your uncle, mate? " asked Rim.
" I have a better question .. " Pelit lifted his hand. " .. Can you tell if a girl is hot by just her voice? "
Both excellent questions. They were on roll..
" One .. yes, I mean, who else? Two .. my money on .. yes .. although it is risky. " I shook my head.
" Believing the message? " asked Rim.
" No .. the hot girl by just her voice thing .. " I answered.
Walked over, waving them away, and sat down on my bed, then laying flat.
This cryptic little liability was exactly what was missing.
" I say don't believe anyone .. thoughts? "
For once, Pelit said something smart.
" I'm going to ignore it. " I said, sitting up.
" 100% .. "
" I don't know it sounds kinda interesting.. "
With both of their approval, sort of ..
I returned to my job before tomorrow's report turned out to be accurate.