Thus, this chapter has been cleaned up and edited, so expect the quality to just go downhill after this. XD Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory 2. In this and all future chapters, I do not claim that I own any of these characters.
Lifeless
Chapter 1: Spring 2 Year 1- Pleased To Make Your Acquaintance
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Jake loved this time of day. The clear sky, the brilliant color of the sun rising in the east, the birds fluttering and starting to peep out of their nests.
Which, really, was an unusual thing considering how he hated most everything else. But the early morning hours were a tranquil, quiet time; where the only sounds were the wildlife waking up to start the day. No noisy humans buzzing about, just him and nature, as it should be.
He was an elf, after all. Being an elf, he was very much attuned to the land around him, feeling what it felt, knowing the damage those humans did to it every day.
Although, the land had been different this morning. It seemed like nature was holding its breath, coiling up in anticipation for something. This sense of something approaching was actually the reason he was up so early, besides his normal early-bird habits. It wasn’t a bad feeling, really… just odd. Like the land was expecting something exciting to happen, at any moment.
As he arrived at Cherry Blossom Square on his usual route to the The Sharper Edge Blacksmithing, the feeling only intensified. Whatever it was the land was anticipating, it was going to happen here. He just knew it. He glanced around, quickly scanning the square for anything odd. All seemed… normal. The cherry blossoms were just opening in the morning sun, and soft petals littered the ground in their usual way. There was a breeze that rustled the trees, but it wasn’t particularly strong.
How… strange.
He would have to discuss it with Cecilia later on. Surely she will notice the strange anticipation in the air, wouldn’t she? Maybe something during the day would give him an answer.
But, for now, there was nothing but to continue his stroll, off for another day of blacksmith training with Tanya. Sure, he hated humans, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take advantage of their knowledge, right?
.~.~.~.~.
Jake stood up from his stool and stretched, rolling his shoulders to loosen those muscles that had grown tight during his day’s work of pounding steel in front of the blazing heart of the furnace before him. He exhaled sharply, pulling at his collar, feeling the dampness of his sweat drenching his turtleneck. A bath would be nice. But, not before going to see Cecilia. Besides walking her home from working at that overweight rich human’s over-extravagant mansion as he usually did, he did have this morning to discuss with her.
Despite the fact that the excited tension he could feel had dissipated since that morning, it still bothered him. It was… peculiar. Not something he could describe. It was similar to the sense of impending doom he often felt before a large storm, but… it wasn’t bad. Just the opposite, in fact. And it was irritating him with its mysteriousness.
He had not even noticed he was walking before he heard Cecilia’s voice calling to him.
“There you are, Jake. You’re late.” She smiled, looking pretty in her usual work attire. He frowned. Okay, he had not just admitted he liked seeing Cecilia dressed as a maid. No, he most certainly did not. He simply shrugged his shoulders at her, having no explanation for his tardiness.
Cecilia sighed as they began walking. But her depression at his silence didn’t last long, as she filled the space between them with her own words, like she usually did.
“Oh, Jake! Did you hear about this morning?” She piped up, flashing that pretty grin at him again. Her eyes danced with excitement, like she had this big juicy secret dancing around her head that she just had to get out.
“What about this morning?” He humored her, mind wandering back to his experience in the square again.
“A man came to town today.” She replied, grin growing wider. “His name is Kyle.”
Jake snorted. “So what? A lot of people come through this town, it’s a port. What, is he staying at the inn?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Or is there something particularly special about his human?” he spat, looking away. He had better not been flirting with Cecilia, he threatened internally.
She sighed. “No, he is not staying at the inn. His living arrangements are a bit more permanent than that. He is taking over Douglas’ farm." Jake raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more.
"Rosalind heard from Max, who heard from Julia, who heard from Roy that Mana and Douglas were taking someone to the farm. She dragged me over there today to go check it out." She giggled. "We ended up hiding in the bushes watching him clean out the field there for most of the day."
"You spied on the new human." He shook his head in disbelief, grumbling as they walked in the door to the inn.
"Well... yes, we did." Cecilia admitted, flushing deep red. She shyly brought her hands to her face in an attempt to cover her blush.
Sneakily taking note of how cute she looked when embarrassed, Jake rolled his eyes, his arms crossed as he tapped his foot on the floor. "Whatever," he said, sighing for the umpteenth time that day. "I'm going to go take a bath." He headed for the door, before stopping halfway through it. "Oh yeah. Did you notice anything... odd, this morning?"
"Yes, now that you mention it..." she said thoughtfully, before replying; "Maybe it was because of Kyle? That's the only thing that I can think of that happened today." Jake groaned, scrunching up his face in distaste at the mention of the human man again.
Cecilia frowned at him. "I wish you would quit the 'I hate humans' thing. Humans aren't inherently bad. And the people in town are nice. You would get along a lot better with everyone if you would just stop being so stubbornly intolerant," she huffed. Jake snorted indignantly again.
"Sorry, but that's one wish I can't grant you." Jake responded dryly, shutting the door behind himself.
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"Welcome!" Julia greeted as the door to the bath house opened with a chime.
"Hn." Jake grunted, fishing in his pockets for coins to place in her outstretched hand. He pulled at his turtleneck again, the heat and steam from the baths getting to him. It wasn't as hot as the forge, no, but that heat was contained and something that could be avoided. Not the bath house - the heat and steam encased and engulfed all who entered in its own personal bear hug. Whether the hug was enjoyed or not was up to the individual. Sometimes he wondered how Julia could stand being in there all day, but he could admit that it felt nice after being out in the chilly night-time spring air.
"Okay, have a nice bath!" Julia smiled, money in hand, and headed toward the counter as Jake took a step toward the male bath. "Oh, wait a second, Jake."
"What?" he huffed, sounding irritable.
"Just so you know, there's someone in the bath right now."
"Who?"
Julia shrugged, then smiled again, waggling an eyebrow. "I don't know him, he just came into town. I heard about Douglas and Mana taking him to Misty Farm earlier today. He said his name was Kyle when he came in."
Jake furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the entrance to the men's bath. The guy Cecilia was talking about was in here, eh? Well, he didn't sense anything particularly strange... which meant that chances were what he and Cecilia had experienced that morning had to be related to something else. Either that, or he was losing his touch...
Deciding on the former, he strode for the door.
"Huh? Wait, Jake? Where are you going?" Julia sputtered. "Aren't you going to go take a bath?"
"Later. I don't bathe with humans." he replied sourly, grabbing the handle to the door.
"Hey! You know that's not true! I know you used to bathe with Max all the time when you were little!" Julia protested, earning a particularly piercing glare from Jake. She was undeterred, however. Putting her hands on her hips, she continued, "Stop being such a dick and get your ass over there."
Jake snorted, and opened his mouth to snap a harsh comment back before another voice came from the opposite side of the room.
"Is everything okay out here?" Jake turned, and in the doorway to the men's bath stood a young man, about 20 years of age. He was fully dressed in baggy blue shorts with white zigzags down the sides, a white short-sleeved turtleneck with blue trim on the sleeves, and a beige leather chest plate. His auburn hair was wet and rumpled under a towel draped over his head and what looked like a blue and white headband was slung over his shoulder. The man's chocolate eyes darted worriedly between Jake and Julia, he had to admit: there was something... different about him. It wasn't blatantly obvious; Jake was sure it was only something an elf could pick up. It was interwoven into him, its subtle nuances seeping out through his movements, through those eyes. He seemed... natural. Rooted to the land. He was strange for a human, that was for sure.
But of course, different so he seemed, he was still a human.
"Yes, I was just leaving." Jake snapped, turning back to open the door.
"If you were going to take a bath, don't let me get in your way. I'm done, you can go ahead." Kyle gestured, stepping out of the archway and up to a still-glaring Jake. "I don't think we've met yet. I'm Kyle." He held out his hand, waiting for Jake to take it.
"Jake." he responded simply, ignoring the hand and opening the door. "Don't talk to me again, human." He walked off, letting the door slam behind him.
"Oh jeez." Julia sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose as Kyle watched the door close inquisitively, his hand falling back to his side. "I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be apologizing for him, but I'm sorry about that. Jake has... never been every sociable."
"That's alright..." Kyle responded absentmindedly, eyes still on the door. How... peculiar.
.~.~.~.~.
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