Inside the hut now sat three people, Appia, Bingwen, and Angelo. The thick silence ruminated the room while Appia wore a sour irritated face. Neither Bingwen or Angelo wanted to speak first. Angelo unconsciously kept moving his leg and fidgeting with his fingers. He hated the silence. On the other side, Angelo thought, "I just want to get this done and over with. I really hope I didn't just dig my own grave by volunteering to become friends with this guy. Lillian's 'oh so great magnificent reward' must make me rich or have some kind of huge title!"
After a while of internal conflict he decided to speak, "AHEM. So now that we're all here haha. How about we start the mission?" Appia was about to speak before Bingwen agreed, "The sooner this mission is completed, the better. Appia, how about you hand over the goods. We mustn't keep Master Einar and Ms.Vondri waiting, right?"
Appia completely changed her attitude and said, "Oh no, we shouldn't, we mustn't! Here, this is a map you will exchange for the documents. Before you get there you must arrive at a specific location. I trust you know where." Bingwen nodded, he was quite relieved she had refrained herself from scolding Angelo for his behavior. Maybe the new job made her more patient.
Appia continued, "I also trust that Bow will cooperate with young master Bingwen?"
Angelo responded, "Absolutely young miss! Your brother is in great hands! You'll see we'll be back in a jiffy!"
Bingwen put the map in his bag and stood, "If you are all packed up and ready to go, we should start our journey," he said. Angelo shot up and said, "I've already packed my stuff in my bag here. So, I'm ready when you are!"
Appia raised her hand, "Wait! Let me teleport you! If only I was able to teleport you both directly to the city; I would tag along for a couple more moments. But all I can do is go to the outskirts of the town. Please, it'll save you time which will allow you to come back to the mansion quicker."
"That's not a bad idea. I'd appreciate it very much," said Bingwen. Appia's smile radiated, "it's absolutely no trouble! Since Angelo here caused quite a stir when he first arrived, it would also be best if he wasn't seen again. Here I mean."
Angelo under his mask rolled his eyes and coughed, "Of course." Appia turned at him with daggers in her eyes. Angelo thought to himself, "I'm sure if I didn't have a mask, Appia would've lost it haha."
Appia quickly pushed her brother aside to give him a few silent words, "Hey Bigwen, before father gave me the order for delivery. Mother had arrived for dinner and mother really kept talking about how this Angelo guy was actually personally trained by fifth council member Ichtaka Tototl. He and father have been having discussions and arguing over him. It wasn't clear why they argued because father would change the subject each time it was brought up. I even heard from my mother privately that council member Keahi even approves of him. It seems he has a lot of favor among the council members. Be careful won't you."
Bingwen whispered back, "Appia, you mustn't be nosy meddling in these affairs. Imagine what our father would say if he heard you right now."
"But. But, mother told me herself! And besides you just called Griffith father again-"
Bingwen interrupted her, "Okay, okay that's enough. We should get going now." Even though Appia thinks of Angelo as a fool, she can't stop thinking about her mother's words, 'Angelo is a distinguished young man… has his priorities straight… loyal… calm… respectful blah blah blah!' It honestly filled her with envy.
At this point whenever the siblings talked, it would appear that if there were a third person in the room they'd be left completely nonexistent. Angelo let his thoughts run wild after hearing what she last said. Later he was summoned out of his own world when Appia shook him by the arm. He was completely horrified when she raised her voice which cut like a knife, "Hey! You better protect my brother with your life! If anything comes to happen to him you will be held accountable!"
"Yes mam! You can count on me!" He replied. He was freaked out when she nearly resembled her mother. "As they say, light travels faster than sound. They might appear bright before they speak. And that is one of my worst fears" Angelo thought .
Bingwen just shook his head and said, "Come on Appia, I won't say a thing about you teleporting us half way. Okay?" Appia walked towards them and placed each of her hands on each of the men's shoulders. Without any warning they were out in the open. Angelo gasped, nearly losing his footing. Goosebumps formed all over his body and he felt sick to his stomach. He reached out to hold on to someone but Appia looked at him with a smirk.
BingWen thought that was a little too cruel and held him steady, "Are you alright?" Angelo took deep breaths and nodded, "I'm fine, but maybe next time you can give me a warning?" Appia rolled her eyes, "there won't be a next time. Brother, be careful out there. I heard they're cunning like the fox demons." BingWen nodded, "I'll be careful. You should head back, I'll see you back at Neil mansion." Appia wanted to give her brother a hug but instead gave a nod and disappeared. BingWen turned around and said, "My deepest apologies, my sister wasn't in a good mood today. By the way, where are your things?"
"I think I set them down for a second…" answered Angelo."
"Oh."
Angelo scratched his head all embarrassed, "Also I believe we got off on the wrong foot. I apologize for the commotion I caused outside the tent."
Bingwen replied, not really knowing what to say, "No worries…"
"Heh Do you perhaps know which direction to go?" Asked Angelo. Bingwen nodded, turned northeast, and pointed, "of course I do." Bingwen started walking when Angelo suggested, "It'll be faster if I just fly us there." His smile instantly faded when BingWen replied, "No… I mean, the pixies won't allow for that."
Angelo was taken aback, "are the pixies expanding their territory? Are they pixies around here? Have you met one before?" Bingwen replied, "Of course I have. I even made an agreement with their leader not too long ago. It was my previous assignment."
"An agreement?!? With their leader!? What kind of agreement? I've heard they're extremely capricious and deceitful!" Bingwen turned to him and shrugged, "Not all of them are. The agreement we came across allows me and several people to travel here with no complications."
Angelo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't help but ask, "Did they specifically ask that no one flies over this land?" BingWen chuckled, "I promised that I'd shoot down anyone who dared to fly in my presence. And offered them little trinkets. Which they happily accepted. The only reason why we accepted this deal is because rarely anyone from COPPESS flies. Except you of course. But they were specific at which level we cannot fly." Angelo was relieved and asked, "so, at what level can we fly?"
Bingwen said, "a little over the clouds."
"…"
Angelo swallowed, he was dumbfounded although still quite grateful he found out before disaster struck. Literally. He thought, "welp.. that's one plan down the drain. How else can I leave a good impact on him? Usually everyone loves to fly…"
After a while, it began to become awfully quiet. He quickly began to think up different conversation starters that would win his favor. 'Okay, think! What kind of things could peak his interest? I need him to get him to willingly talk to me! This is too much! Why did I volunteer for this! Oh wait, I don't exactly have to win his favor. I can have fun with this, but just in case. Firstly I need to get to know him better. I like his hair, I'll start with that.'
"Ahem, your hair…" Bingwen halted as soon as he heard Angelo mention "hair" and immediately attributed it to his engagement. "I mean, your hair is very long… how long-"
Bingwen cut him off, "What about you, how long have you been engaged?"
"Six months. Gasp! Oh no, wait I didn't mean it like that! I just wanted to compliment the look. I'm sorry- no wait no! I'm sorry. I promise I had good intentions." After realizing he had probably offended him and dug his own grave, he was ready to fall onto his knees and cling on his thighs. He had completely forgotten about a certain incident that happened to BingWen in his teen years. They say that he gets ticked off when people mention his hair even if it's for a complement.
In actuality Bingwen didn't want to hear anything related to his engagement. He was actually punished for it when he talked to Griffith about it. Practically giving him a discomforting effect so, he walked away annoyed.
Who knows how fast time passed. It felt like they weren't going to get anywhere soon. Angelo scolded himself with every fiber of his being. But he was still too curious to keep himself from asking, "So, do you like doing these missions? Are you given the choice to choose whether or not to complete them? What would happen if you said no? If you were to leave COPESS what would you do?"
Bingwen paused as Angelo's thoughts quickly started screaming, "Why did you have to ask that! This guy is one of the most loyal and most trusted 2ks to have ever existed! This guy is so perfect he could even become part of the FUCKING COUNCIL! Oh no, I'm dead meat aren't I?"
Angelo seemed to keep digging his own grave at this point so he looked around for one to jump in. He thought, "This guy's gonna think I'm a REBEL or something!" Bingwen quickly turned around with his head tilted and slowly walked towards him. The suspense was killing Angelo, with a panic he said, "You know what? You don't have to answer. Haha, I am filled with bliss to have been chosen to go on this mission with you that I just wanted to… uuuum get to know your opinion. To get to know you." Bingwen became puzzled, he tilted his head back, then in a stump he asked, "what?"
Angelo told the truth when he explained, "W-well… Everyone looks up to you and talks about you as this brave and mysterious 2k that can accomplish anything thrown at him. I've heard all these great things, I even wanted to meet you someday, and now that I'm given the chance to, I almost blew it. The truth is, I would like to get to know you for who YOU are and not what everyone says about you."
Bingwen loosened his shoulders. He never would've guessed anyone would say something like this to him. Angelo was the very first person to say such a thing to him. To shake off his surprise he said, "We should already be close to the city. When we arrive, we should get something to eat. I sure haven't packed any food." Bingwen turned around again to begin walking. Angelo sighed a breath of relief and, like a shadow, he quickly followed right after him.
Soon enough, they finally arrived in town. It was a fairly big town with around 200 in population. BingWen seems to have already been here before. He walked in a lazy manner; in reality, everything about him seemed carefree, lazy, or aloof. If Angelo were to see Bingwen's face, he'd probably have a "I don't care" face a, "don't give a single care about the world face". Angelo himself had a mask and knows the meaning behind it. He wondered and imagined what Bingwen's face would look like. From the most minuscule detail to the most important features of the face. He scolded himself for thinking about this. It felt forbidden and inappropriate.
Suddenly, Bingwen came to an abrupt stop. He turned his head towards a cozy inn. Bingwen said, "This is the place. Let's go inside." Angelo nodded, before following him inside. Bingwen, familiar with the place, confidently called for a table. Once they both sat in their places, Angelo asked, "So, what kinds of food are you into? Spicy, sweet, salty, bitter?..." Bingwen felt awkward. No one had ever asked questions about things he liked, which caught him off guard. The window they sat next to had a beautiful view of a garden. He looked at the tree right outside. It was so close to the window that if you tried to reach for it, you'd be able to touch it if you had long arms. There were pastel pink flowers growing from it. With the day star's light coating it, anyone would be fully hypnotized with its beauty.
Bingwen said with his head looking out the window, "I prefer salty over spicy. I'm not appreciative regarding bitter foods. They are simple, yet don't get too much recognition from this one."
Angelo stared in awe at the person in front of him, 'Wow. No wonder why people think this guy is intimidating. His words are like one's from an experienced literature even to the tone. Man even his name screams this! But I have a feeling he's faking it.' He came out of his little thought bubble and spoke, "Really, I also like salty foods, but I prefer spicy." Angelo said.
Bingwen really didn't feel like eating since he had basically chugged copious amounts of tea earlier, "You should order something. I won't eat, I'll-"
Angelo interrupted, "Did I really arrive so late that you already ate a whole breakfast?"
"No, it's just that I wish to check up on something here."
Angelo began to get nervous of him leaving, "Alright, just don't take long. I promised your sister that I'd protect you with my life."
"There's no need to worry, I'm just gonna retrieve a certain note from the kitchen. Maybe I should just order from there."
"No, wait! How about we call a waiter and we'll ask for the note here while we also order, from here? It feels like you'll draw too much attention if you go to them. We should instead stay here and act like any other customer."
Bingwen was astonished that he was sent to someone like him. He was glad but he also needed to take a leak, "I like your thinking, usually I am alone when I am assigned missions that I never really stop to sit for a while."
Angelo was truly curious of how he handled missions that he asked, "So, is that how you operate?"
"Of course, in and out fast. I never stop much for accommodations."
Angelo didn't take time to notice how thin Bingwen appeared to be, until now. Angelo pondered, 'Maybe he even skips meals when he's out. Does anyone even check up on him when he's gone for too long? Or would his father ever even call anyone? Maybe it's good I volunteered,' Angelo felt the urge to at least see Bingwen eat a single loaf of bread or a cup of tea. "Please stay and eat with me, converse, and rest with me. I'll even tell you about myself."
Bingwen raised his hand for a waiter, "Let's order first."
Angelo was so ecstatic he could barely conceal his joy. His huge wings unconsciously moved. He hated how they moved on their own when he got overly excited or intrigued. He forced himself to be calm and he listen to Bingwen order.
They both happily ate their meal in peace. When they asked for the check and note they both quickly got out and left. In a dark alleyway they opened up the note which read:
To Griffith's son Bingwen and his plus one
If you received this message, it is because you stuck well to your end of the bargain. The location of this truce trade will take place at the tallest building in the city. This building has four floors. Let me remind you, that if we see more than two people, we will shoot sight. And the deal will be off. If you threaten us, we will take action upon you. We are not to be trifled with. We meet on the night of the full moon.
Both of them turned to each other. Angelo asked, "since the first full moon is tomorrow night then where will we stay tonight?" Bingwen assured, "It's okay COPESS has a place where we can stay tonight so here so there's no need to find an inn."
"Really!? How do we check in?"
"Well… I happen to have a spare key on me just in case this happens. We typically need permission to use it but I never run into any trouble."
"Wait! But would it be okay for me to spend the night? I mean because your father is the big man, and I'm just a simple guy." Bingwen automatically chuckled, "it's okay, I mean I never run into anyone when I spend the night in these places."
"Oh… are you sure? Is it because nobody wants to trouble you specifically???"
Bingwen waved his hand and shook his head, "I'm very sure." Angelo shrugged, "As you say boss."
As they walked along the sidewalk they stumbled across children who ran around and played. This neighborhood seemed to be a lively one. Angelo thought about how it'd be nice to actually live here. "Look over there, see that plain wall with wooden door? We're here," said Bingwen. Angelo, "…"
They both stood in front of the door before Bingwen reached in his pockets. Angelo waited awkwardly but patiently for him to open the door. He didn't have high hopes for the building. With an old key Bingwen carefully inserted it into the key hole before slightly turning it. "I should probably make new copies of the key no?" Angelo replied, "Yeah probably-" crack!
Bingwen and Angelo: "…" They both stood there staring blankly at the key and then the key hole and then right back at the key… Of course… After both of them sighed, Angelo asked, "so, what should we do now?" Bingwen turned to him and asked, "Can you open it from the other side?" Angelo gave him a salute and flew over the wall.
Angelo was quite surprised to see that even though the house was messy, it was in pretty good shape. He couldn't help but look around some more and saw that the plants had the appearance of being a thousand years old, all withered and barely hanging on by a thread. The trash cans also appeared quite full and parts of the grass were nearly withered and other patches felt overgrown. Bingwen called from the other side, "Is everything well over there?" Angelo quickly turned around and opened the door.
"Hehe sorry I couldn't help but look around… what a lovely home." Bingwen also looked around… maybe it would be a better case inside? They both entered the two story house and saw that it really wasn't much different from the outside. "Oof, what kind people were here before us! This… this is preposterous! Bingwen we really can't stay here can we?" "Do you have money?" Angelo sadly shook his head, "No…"
"How about you go on ahead and explore… I'll go find some things for us..." and with that Bingwen quickly walked away. Angelo was left alone to investigate how the situation was with the bedrooms. With tears in his eyes he quickly found out what the multiple foul odors were. Angelo with all his might screamed in pure horror, "Ahhh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Th-there's! Bingwen! Come back!"
Bingwen quickly ran back inside with brooms in his hands. "What is it! What's wrong?" Angelo stepped aside and with a trembling hand he pointed at a dead bird. Angelo couldn't bear it anymore and ran away. Bingwen had no choice but to take care of it. After he was done he called Angelo back. He wanted him to help him clean the place up a bit. He didn't like cleaning but also didn't like staying in a dirty environment. If he let this all be, he wouldn't be comfortable staying here.
Once Angelo came back he was taken aback seeing Bingwen sweeping. He couldn't imagine someone like Bingwen, who had high status, would take the initiative to clean. They spent the whole day cleaning up the place and talking until dawn. They both went to a restaurant a couple doors down which probably also belonged to COPESS, but still went anyway. They both ordered their food and chatted until the day star completely left them for the day.