The Royal Capital of Lugunica was unlike any place Lacerta had ever seen.
The air, thick with the aroma of exotic foods, hummed with the energy of bustling crowds. Countless stands offered a plethora of interesting wares for what seemed like a pittance, and as far as his senses could tell, crime was minimal.
It all felt peaceful. Uncannily so.
For someone like Lacerta, whose memories were a shallow pool, the past was a blur of ruthless faces—bandits and killers who ensured he never slept with both eyes closed. This city was so drastically different that an involuntary tension coiled in his gut; his guard was up, even when there was no reason for it to be.
Vendor: ["The freshest appas in the capital, right here! They're cheap, too!"]
The vendor's shout cut through the noise. Lacerta expertly weaved through the throng of people until he stood before a plain-looking man at a wooden stall. Between them lay a pile of round, red fruit.
Lacerta: ["You said this was an 'appa'?"]
Vendor: ["Hah, what else would it be, kid? You want a bag? They're real cheap."]
A pang of hunger surfaced, but it came with a familiar, glaring problem. Lacerta fell silent.
The vendor's eyes softened in acknowledgement.
Vendor: ["...You broke, huh, kid?"]
He was. He knew civilized places didn't give things away for free. For a fleeting moment, he considered his options. He could snatch a bag and vanish into the crowd before the man even registered the theft. But the thought just felt wrong.
With a sigh, Lacerta turned to leave, but the vendor's voice stopped him.
Vendor: ["Hey, catch!"]
He did, his reflexes sharp. A single red appa rested in his palm. He looked up, and the vendor had already sat back down, arms folded.
Vendor: ["Free of charge, just this once. If you like 'em, maybe I'll see you around when you've got some coin in the future, yeah?"]
Blinking, Lacerta could only nod, unsure if that would ever be true.
Lacerta: ["Well... thanks?"]
Vendor: ["Don't mention it!"]
He took a bite as he walked away. It was incredibly juicy, with a crisp sweetness unlike any fruit he'd ever tasted.
Munching on the fruit, he laced his hands behind his head and stared up at the unfamiliar sky.
It's probably been long enough, right?Maybe purposefully losing Akigami and Frederica wasn't the best idea.
Then again, if Akigami truly wanted to keep an eye on him, he doubted he could have gotten away at all. Perhaps if he started wreaking havoc on the city as a distraction but something tells him that wouldn't be the best of ideas.
As far as experiences went, this certainly seemed like the far more peaceful option in comparison to Vollachia, or at least, so far. The air was clean, the people were… present, but not overwhelming, and the fruit had been surprisingly good.
Lacerta: ["Mmm... Time to find my way back."]
With a mutter, he tossed aside the core of the appa, the satisfying crunch echoing briefly in the quietening market square. He began to mentally retrace his steps, already picturing the path back to where Frederica and Akigami resided.
Until a voice, calm and clear, cut through the air behind him.
???: ["Pardon me, but there are designated receptacles for food waste."]
Lacerta froze. The voice had manifested directly behind him, yet his senses—honed to a razor's edge, capable of tracking a falling leaf in a storm—had registered nothing. No footsteps, no shift in the air, not even the whisper of a breath. It was as if the speaker had simply willed himself into existence.
He scanned the thinning crowd. Their gazes weren't on him, but on the figure behind him. Conversations had died, and people parted with a mixture of awe and deference, creating a small, reverent circle.
The person in question was a boy, most likely the same age as himself. He had striking crimson hair that blazed like a captured sunset, a stark contrast to the muted tones of the market. His sky-blue eyes sparkled with a confidence that bordered on recklessness, and though he was young, an undeniable aura emanated from him. It wasn't the polished sheen of nobility, but something more visceral, more raw… and, Lacerta found himself thinking with a jolt, it was frightening. A calm, crushing pressure that begged a primal question in Lacerta's mind:
...Was this truly a "person" standing before him?
He had never felt this way before. What was this unfamiliar sensation stirring within his body? It was a prickling unease, a sudden awareness of his own vulnerabilities that he hadn't experienced since… well, since he couldn't recall.
A storm of unfamiliar sensations churned within him—a cold knot of dread, a tremor of instinctual fear from within his gut as all of his instincts screamed for him to flee.
As the crimson-haired boy crouched to pick up the discarded appa core, Lacerta finally found his voice... and there was something he needed answered, a gnawing curiosity that suddenly outweighed any other concern.
Lacerta: ["Who... are you?"]
The boy blinked, his movement becoming a little slower as if caught slightly off guard by the directness of the question.
Then, a serene smile spread across his lips, and the intensity in his eyes softened, though it didn't disappear. The smile seemed to overwhelm Lacerta's stunned state, a disarmingly gentle counterpoint to the boy's powerful aura.
Thus, with a look that seemed to convey a sense of genuine relief, the boy spoke.
Lacerta: ["My apologies. I should have introduced myself right as I started speaking. My name is Reinhard van Astrea. But if that's too much for you, you can call me whatever you want instead."]
The name meant something here, Lacerta could tell by the way the crowd reacted. But that wasn't what seized him. It was the feeling, that strange spark, finally catching fire.
The confusion, the shock, the primal terror—they were all just kindling. What erupted from the ashes was a singular, blazing emotion he had never truly felt before, or at least, not to such a degree as it was flaring currently.
...Excitement!
The indifferent mask Lacerta habitually wore cracked, shattered by a wide, predatory grin. He took a single, deliberate step forward.
Lacerta: ["My name is Lacerta. Now... will you fight me, Reinhard?"]