Anima, Affilation and Affection [Alex/Emily C Support]

[Alex]

Pushing open the door to the bath house, Alex stepped outside into the sunlight, holding his cloak and boots in his right arm and his tome in his hand. He sat himself on one of the steps leading up to the entrance of the bath house and, setting down his cloak and tome, began to put his boots back on. The bath house had certainly been a new experience for Alex, and he didn't remember having done it at any time before. At the same time, however, he wasn't sure whether it was an enjoyable one. Although the waters were the perfect temperature, making it tempting for him to spend hours soaking in there, Alex felt severely overexposed without some kind of garment on even though there was no one outside of Emily's group sharing the bath with him. Thinking of Emily, Alex gave yet another sigh of relief that the baths weren't of the mixed variety.

Having fully dressed himself, Alex picked up his tome and began reading through it, starting at a page he had folded earlier. He'd already memorised a few pages worth of magical runes, and if he tried to cast a spell hard enough, could feel the magic from those pages channelling through him. However, having only learnt a few pages, Alex wasn't able to complete a spell from memory yet. Despite this, he remained optimistic; Containing only basic magic, the tome wasn't thick, and Alex predicted that, with dedication and commitment, he could probably be able to cast the spells inside within about a month or so. With this goal in mind, Alex continued to read, cover and test himself on the tome's runes.

[Deleted]

The baths were well heated and the minerals in the water was good for the skin. All in all it was quite the enjoyable experience; plus it offered her a chance to get to know Aria a bit better and Alex to speak with Ventus. Emily hoped for the two boys of the group to start getting to know each other better, she enjoyed talking to Alex on the road but he seemed a bit too much like a lost puppy to her.

The girl had left her armor plating and weapons inside the building and walked about in her hauberk and battle dress. Her golden hair was let down to fall where it may and she walked about the premises. The building was lined with all sorts of vibrant flowers, and the well tended garden called to it all manner of insects and small birds to her delight. She must have made two rounds about the building when she found Alex sitting on the entrance's stairs.

She observed him at practice. For having lost all memory he certainly was being diligent in his training, or perhaps it is all because he lost his memory he was trying so hard. Emily found herself smiling and decided to make her presence known. Stepping down two steps she popped a squat and sat next to Alex. Wrapping her hands around one leg she leaned back with a exhale and supported herself.

"You know, I love to read books. Tales of the great heroes and saints, even the tragedies of good men fallen to evil. There is a certain beauty to books and the written language. Magic tomes though. I tried that once and only once." Emily laughed to herself. "I wanted to learn the monk's light magic but, I ended up burning the abbot's hair off. Head, eyebrows, and mustache." Emily made motions to imitate his reaction, she looked like a monkey or, something odd.

"He never got mad at me, but that made me decide to never use magic again, it seemed to unpredictable." She looked back to Alex's tome. "But you, its just natural. Think you're a prodigy? Or does your body just remember things instinctively?" Emily was impressed by those that could use magic, but there was always a modicum of jealousy that she was abhorrent at masking. She had once gone so far as to crack her sister's mend staffs intentionally so they would not be so effective. That story of pettiness however was better reserved for another time.

[Alex]

Alex look around with a start when he heard Emily sigh. He had been so deep in concentration that he hadn't even notice her approach him. In fact, Alex ripped himself out of his practices so quickly that he felt a jolt of magic run up his arm, something akin to an electric shock. It was rather painful, but Alex ignored it for now; It would go away soon, and it's not like there was anything he could do for it anyway. Instead, he focused his attention on Emily. Having never seen her like this before, Alex found Emily to have a kind of innocence in her when she was dressed simply for the sake of being dressed rather than for battle.

While listening to Emily, Alex felt kind of sorry for her. Despite his limited recorded interaction with people, he was very good at reading them and deciphering problems or influences in their speech, as if it was something he had learned somewhere before. He could tell that something about what Emily was saying was hurting her, but she also didn't want to talk about it. Alex decided to try and address the issue with tact.

"I'm not a prodigy. I'm only working on weak magic and it's not like I've only got a portion of the tome in my head. I guess maybe I've only forgotten events in my life rather than the experience that came with them, so I probably just remember what I knew about magic somewhere deep down." Alex stopped and considered. "Actually, it's really clear to me; How I use magic, I mean. I think I heard somewhere once that some people can use magic, but can't really define it. If you like, I could teach you what I know about understanding magic, then maybe you'd have a better time with it?"

[Deleted]

Emily watched as Alex jumped when she made herself known. She offered a wordless apology and let him speak. So, if what Alex said was true she had either quite hit the mark that his body remembers magic even though he does not or he was saying he has selective memory loss. If that is the case what else does he remember? She was under the impression all his knowledge of the world was locked away too. Most curious.

"That must be horribly frustrating; not to mention inconvenient to remember everything except what made you who you are. No better than a hommonculi, if you have a mind for the stories. Created with skills and aged bodies but no story or childhoods to bear the claim for it. Just built into their being. She narrowed her eyes at Alex playfully being as serious and 'hard' as she could. Standing she crossed her arms and tilted her head back for emphasis. "If you are a hommonculi, that is sacrilege blasphemy and I will have no choice but to strike you down!"

An offer to teach her magic? It was a tempting one for certain but... she was better suited to her spear than that. If she was being honest with herself she never felt she was suited to combat as a whole. She was much better with written words and catalogs. The sort of things you did not need on the fields of battle. Wait, did magic have a use other than fighting? She had never seen it used so.

"I'm not well suited to it, but I suppose the more I know of it, the more I could understand my opponents." There she went again, making it a tool of battle. Who could blame her? Did anyone ever consider it for other means?

[Alex]

Listening to Emily speak, Alex found that she used a wide and often confusing vocabulary, but he could see her good intentions and humoured her, giving a kind of weak smile. "I try not to dwell too much on my lost memory. Sometimes I'm not even sure if I actually want it back...Those dreams I told you about earlier. I think that that's me trying to remember things. I don't know how much of it's true but...I really think I'm better off not knowing." Realising he was being sombre and dramatic, Alex decided to find a positive in his situation. "Besides, this is me now! Even if I can't remember what life used to be like, that just means I get to go through it all over again."

Feeling somewhat proud that Emily had confidence enough in him to help her learn the fundamentals of magic, Alex quickly got to his feet, about to make arrangements. Then he stopped. "Um, actually, it's probably best if we sit down." Once they had both sat down, Alex opened his Trinity tome. "Something I do remember about tomes is that the runes in them are almost identical to the letters of ancient scriptures, so you shouldn't have a hard time understanding them. Would you like to take this?" Alex placed the tome in Emily's open hands. "Now, when using magic, you need to hold the tome in your weaker hand to leave your dominant hand free to cast spells." Alex couldn't help but feel kind of excited about actually being helpful to someone. Since he'd started tagging along with Emily, he felt like he'd done nothing but act as some needy child. Now he could finally contribute something.

[Deleted]

"Well, it has only been a day and a half so, saying you don't dwell on your lost memories is not saying very much." She winked at him. "Still, I suppose it is a good way to live your life going forward." Emily sat again and laid down on the patio with her legs bent onto the stairs.

He has dreams of his lost past? Memories locked within himself coming to the fore once more. Not any simple memories though, they are all ones that haunt his sleep with nightmares. "You know, I know what it's like to have dreams like yours. Well, maybe not exactly like yours but a little bit like yours." Emily rolled her body to her side that avoided looking directly at Alex. It would be best if she avoided talking any deeper about her dreams. Most took her for a fool at best and delusional lunatic at worst when she claimed them from powers above her.

The topic returned to magic in short order and Emily rolled back to see Alex fumble about before sitting again; to this she sat up once more. Would she like to take this? She supposed so, considering she had the book before she could give a proper answer. "Well, I guess I would like to take it then." She jested.

Reading the runes or understanding the basics was not the problem that pressed Emily. In truth it was something else. Something that perhaps she herself did not understand. It was a fear of magic. A fear of what it allowed her to do on a whim, and how its power corrupted far too many souls. Even the most recent siege was brought about by such means.

Emily held out her left hand and uttered the words in the book. The combination, of all her internal conflicts and external preparedness, or lack thereof, culminated in what would become a defining moment in her short career in magic. As she uttered the final syllables of the first spell sparks began to shower from her fingers, at first only a few but promptly it grew out of control and a lightning crack burst forth rising vertically from her palm and exploding into the overhanging terrace and back down, crashing into the book, setting it aflame and electricity coursing through Emily's body.

It was not a lethal exposure but it was enough to cause intense pain and render Emily unconscious. Less Alex noticed the signs of the ill performed spell he likely suffered from it as well. Emily's arm was now fractured from the energies but nothing that would not heal in time.

[Alex]

Alex was initially worried when he saw Emily's attempt at a spell go magnificently wrong, but he proceeded to completely panic when he saw Emily lying unconscious. "Emily? EMILY?!" He knelt on the steps and leant over her, his hands above her shoulders. At first he thought to shake her, but then he realised that wouldn't do any good. Worse, it could hurt her even more. "Emily, please wake up. Please. I didn't think you'd had such a hard time with it in the past, I swear I'll never make you do it again, just please wake up!" It was at this point that Alex lack of memory started to warp his perception of the situation. He began thinking he had killed her by pushing her to far.

Once he came to this conclusion, Alex stopped caring about anything else around him. He'd only known Emily for about 36 hours at most, but she was the only person he'd really spent any time with; She had become everything to him in that short amount of ours. Hers was the first bond and most important he had ever formed since waking up without his memory, and now it was gone. Not only did Alex think he had killed someone, he also believed he was alone again. He couldn't hold back any longer. He hugged Emily against chest and, resting his chin on her head, wept and made sharp intakes of breath. The day had passed quickly and it was dusk now. There was no one around to see this strange 17 year old mage-to-be reduced to a bawling child, and no one to help Emily.

[Deleted]

It was less than a minute but it likely seemed more akin to thirty for the young pupil. Emily was dazed and confused as she slipped back into consciousness. What was this feeling? It seemed like her chest cavity was going to collapse in on itself at any moment. Breathing was difficult and her mind and heart began to race and panic in confusion.

She noticed another sensation return; this one was touch. Something hard was baring upon her head. It was not painful per se but it certainly was uncomfortable. She then took notice that she must have been sweating as beads of moisture trickled down her face. Wait, no, they were falling onto her and then trickling. Rain?

After agonizingly numb moments Emily managed to crack open her eyes once more barely making out the sight of her comrade. Alex? Everything suddenly made sense again as she recalled the lightning bolt. Alex was holding her tightly and crying. She wanted to let him know she was okay. She moved to gently place her left hand to his face to comfort him but was met with a nasty surprise.

Her arm surged in unspeakable agony. Burns aside her bones were fractured and movement was well beyond her at this point; or at least for the one arm. The rest of her body lashed out in a violent spasm that only served to cause her arm more pain. She cried out and pushed Alex off of her before forcing her voice to silence.

"I'm okay!" she insisted. Hiding her agony the best she could she looked around and noticed Alex's tome. It was clearly made of sterner stuff than she had ever expected, but the black mark was, she suspected, unlikely to come out of it. "Your book just got a bit more character." She jested.

Emily would not look weak in front of the others, she would not look weak in front of anyone. Shakily she forced herself to stand and found herself against the rail, it holding her up more than her own legs. She forced her breathing to level over several shaking breaths. Looking down at her hand she moved her fingers ever so slightly. The pain was back and fierce but she bit her lip a bared it.

"Okay," She began strained. "Now, we have a new reason to get to the church. I could use a healer." The burns could be mended with a staff, the fracturing perhaps not.

[Alex]

Upon realising that Emily was not in fact dead and he had severely overreacted, Alex turned a deep red. Completely paralysed by embarrassment, he was unable to do anything and so continued to hold onto Emily for a few moments more. Then, as he was slowly releasing Emily, Alex began to make strange embarrassed noises. Once Emily was completely clear of Alex, he simply pulled up the collar of his cloak over his face.

After a few more moments of embarrassed noises, Alex had regained slight composure. "I am so sorry..." He said to Emily over his embrace, as if he had broken something precious of hers. Then he remembered she had become unconscious because of him. "My Gods, I am so sorry." He said again, this time apologising for hurting her.
"I'm okay!" She insisted.

Picking up his tome, Alex replied "I really don't think this is the most important thing right now. Obviously you're right, we should go and get you a healer. Do you know where the nearest church is?" As they began to make their way down the street, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. Alex was still a deep red and was now so hot from all his blushing that he had to remove his cloak, revealing a simple off-white shirt with sleeves which reached down just past his elbows. He couldn't help but feel Emily looking at him to take note of this new detail, but tried to pretend he didn't know it was happening. After a little more walking, Alex finally spoke "So, you're, um, not gonna tell anyone about this, are you?" It didn't seem possible, but as he spoke, Alex's blush managed to go a shade deeper.

[Deleted]

Alex made a strange and strained sort of noise. Emily found her face scrunching in concern at his sound. Despite her own pains she found herself wondering if he too was hurt somewhere. Or, maybe he had gas...

What was he apologizing for? She's the one that tried to use magic. "It is not your fault. This is entirely my own doing. Do not worry about it. Besides, I'm fine." No sooner had she spoken did a particularly strong throb course through her arm and she screamed in pain again. "Okay, not too fine but I will manage."

The two began to head for the church, "The church is usually in the center of the town, that way anyone can find it with ease, and all travel the same distance to get there. It's a very smart idea if you ask me." Emily hissed through her teeth suddenly. "I will not lie to you, this really hurts." She said it as though it were not obvious already. As though it were some sort of secret.

Emily gasped and placed her good hand to her face. "Ventus and Aria! We just left them behind, and Aria is a Cleric! Oh, how could I forget about that fact!?" Emily felt shamed. She was so concerned for herself over keeping the others together. She sighed, 'forgive me' She whispered.

"Hey, Alex, let us go back and retrieve our companions." She reached out her hand and clasped Alex's shoulder. "Sorry, we need to go back." Noticing his face beneath his hood her eyes widened. "Are you alright? Maybe you need healing too."

[Alex]

Despite Emily insisting that it wasn't his fault, Alex couldn't help but feel otherwise, especially with each scream of pain she gave off. "No, it's my fault. I was the one who suggested you have another try at using magic. I should have left the topic alone. Are you sure there's nothing I can do for you to help it?"

When the two realised that Ventus and Aria were still at the bath house, Alex couldn't help but feel perplexed. "Forgive you?" He asked "What for? You're in agony right now, I don't think anyone could blame you for forgetting a bit when you're in such a state. Besides, wouldn't they be able to do more for you at the church? Ventus and Aria have their own path to follow, and getting you safe and healed up is more important to me than that right now."

When Emily noticed Alex's face, he couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed. "Are you alright?" She asked him, her eyes widened. "I'm fine. I...uh..." He sighed. "When you were unconscious back outside the bath house, I thought I had killed you...which is why I started..." Alex coughed. "Anyway, I failed to show some restraint and I made a fool out of myself, but Emily, I...well..." Why was he having so much trouble talking right now? It was not as though Alex was talking to someone harsh or intimidating, and he knew he could trust Emily. He shook a little and tried again. "You're my only and dearest friend, Emily. I'm scared of losing you."

[Deleted]

There he went again, throwing himself the blame again. It was not his fault though; sure he prompted her to do it but it was not as though he controlled her. She was the one that decided to go through with it, in fact she went right for casting a spell without taking any sort of caution.

"No, it is not, I jumped at the opportunity recklessly. I brought this upon myself." Saying she was not at fault for leaving the others? He did not care about them? What was he saying? He meant well but Emily did not see it that way. It just sounded possessive and rude to her.

Before she could scold and chide him he suddenly carried on with how she was the most important person to him, that he could not stand to lose her. What was he saying? Too many thoughts were racing in her mind and she was left completely perplexed and a tad embarrassed herself. She felt flustered to the point of forgetting her pain a moment.

"I am NOT yours to lose Alex. I'm sorry, but right now, I am first among equals. Everyone of you has taken to following me. That means it is my responsibility, no, DUTY to ensure the safety and cohesion of each and everyone of you. Aria is a healer, and I will trust her, I refuse to leave the others behind!"

Emily shook her head, she was feeling a mixture of anger, sadness, and a bit of pride if she was honest about the last part. "I am glad you think of me as a friend, but... I have not even known you for two days! I understand you are suffering right now, but do not be so quick force this! I've seen how you look at Ventus. It saddens me, and now, I. I don't know!" She shook her head and looked straight up.

To be a beacon of light to help him was something she was extremely happy to be. Helping another was a good thing, but she was becoming an inhibitor for him. To say he did not care for the others and obsess over her? "It sickens me." She did not intend to speak that aloud but... once spoken words can not be undone.

[Alex]

Alex was taken aback by Emily's response. He fought hard to prevent the tears from welling up, but he knew deep down that Emily was right. It had only been a short amount of time that they had known each other and Alex had become extremely clingy. He didn't know what else to do, though. He had no aim or direction, no goal. He just wanted a friend. He checked his thoughts, pulling his hood over his head and lower his face to avoid anyone seeing his pain. This was the second time he had started crying today, and he needed to be better. He needed to grow up and be a young man, regardless of his lost childhood. "Of course." Alex said at last. "You're your own person. I apologise for sounding possessive of you. Do what you think you have to, but I'll stay by you for now. You still need help, even if it's only coming from me."

The pair walked slowly back to the bath house together, Alex keep pace with Emily so she could use him to support when feeling faint. Despite this, an icy silence filled the air. Alex held nothing against Emily, but remained deeply cut by what she had said. His head was filled with conflicting thoughts about what he should do next, but he eventually came to the conclusion that it'd be best for him to leave when no one would notice, though even that was a painful prospect for him. He was deeply fond of Emily and truly believed to be his closest friend in spite of the short time they had known each other, as if there was some kind of unspoken connection between them.

[Alex exit]