"G-gah…!"
I stumble back against the wall opposite of the bathroom sink, my reflection in the mirror shocking me.
'W-was that…!?'
I pant a bit, gripping my shirt as I step back up to it, inspecting my face further.
Black. What I assumed to be my Infusion, is black. It's moving too, it seems to even be flickering like an actual flame on the side of my face.
"It's… here."
I swallow nervously as I pry at my skin around the mark, trying to stretch it out as if I could get a better view of it.
'This is… my Infusion?'
I felt my lips twitch with a hint of a smile forming.
I had been waiting for my Infusion… I mean what kid wouldn't be excited for it? It means I can utilize and feel mana now…
'Though, black…? Why was the color of my Infusion pitch black? I haven't heard of an Infusion being just black.'
'A dark color? Sure. A bright one? That's usually the most common.'
...
'But just… pitch black?'
I grin a bit to myself.
'I must be special.'
That has to be the answer.
The ticking of the clock above me nearly matches the speed at which the water drips from the faucet of the sink.
I feel like the world has slowed down.
"Now I just need to figure out how it works… or what it even is."
Cognitive? Emotional…? Physical? Elemental?
I lean closer to the mirror and gaze at my mark intensely.
Pitch black, towering flame… on my face.
"Above my neck… Sorcerer class?"
'Huh, okay.'
I don't quite wanna use it just yet… especially in this cramped tavern on the second floor.
Or maybe I just didn't know how to.
…
I head back to my room for the night, nearly passing out after changing my clothes for a second time. The last set was drenched in sweat again.
The morning light of the sun beams from the curtain above my bed, highlighting the dust in the air of my room.
I don't feel sick anymore, but just… tired.
Do I need to change out of the Infusion Preparation class now? Did I technically graduate?
I blink a few times and lean up out of bed, planting my feet on the floor with a stretch.
'Ugh, my head is spinning.'
I get out of bed and yawn as I step to the side to get some day-clothes out of my closet.
The same thing I usually wear.
A loose, black hand-me-down blouse from some kid who used to live in this room, brown trousers and matching dark-colored boots.
I tap my shoes against the floor, fitting them on my foot further.
I sigh and lean down to the mirror sitting on my desk next to the bed.
My hair's gotten longer, but that's not what I'm focused on.
The mark.
Using my hands, I gently touch it along the side of my face. It feels just like the rest of my body, like normal skin, except… maybe a bit warmer.
"Feels so… alien."
Is this really my Infusion? I was excited when I first saw it, but aren't they supposed to reflect who I am in some way…?
A black flame. It starts from the left side of my face at the line of my jaw, and moves up past my cheekbone, through the bag under my left eye, and stops just below my eyebrow.
'How does this… represent me-'
Tak tak.
"Morning, wake up." An older sounding voice calls.
A knock at my room's door, and then the measured footsteps of someone walking off.
Kain doing his morning routine of making sure everyone's awake.
'Ah, yeah.'
I clear my throat and step outside my room.
Immediately, I can hear the chatter of morning customers downstairs. A bunch of the other kids up here on the second floor are waking up and going through their own morning routine.
The sun shines through the windows along the ends of the hall, casting a golden light along the wooden walls and shining against a few of the materials that reflect it.
The other kids move up and down the hall, and the bathroom already has a small line forming. Like me, they're all orphans who didn't have anywhere to live in Tenna, our town.
'Though it'd be more accurate to call it a city…'
Kain took a majority of the kids into his tavern, which used to be a lodging area. We live here, and in return, we work for him.
Once we get old enough, around thirteen or fourteen, he starts to pay us a decent amount.
He's a pretty good guy, just kinda old and grouchy.
I walk across the hallway and head downstairs and into the main floor of the tavern. I only get a couple 'good mornings' and a few double-take glances from the others.
Entering the main dining hall, it's already bustling with customers. Mostly people ordering breakfast, some water or coffee, or some washed up Chasers in the corner downing booze…
'Ugh.'
I scowl a bit and turn left, heading into the kitchen.
The kitchen is much like the rest of the building, wooden planks making up the foundation on the floor, leading into a sturdier material in the walls that I don't quite know the name of.
A couple of sinks across from each other, ovens lining the far back wall, a hallway next to the ovens that leads to the storage room and freezer.
A counter in the center of the kitchen lined with cupboards and cabinets that hold spices, dishes, and other ingredients like fruits.
A few kids are making the orders of breakfast they received, seeing me and waving a small,
'good morning', I just wave back with an attempt of a smile
I notice a few stares from a couple, and even someone sitting at the table closest to the kitchen."Fault, you got your mark." A girl with brunette hair and green eyes in front of me smiles a bit.
I offer a little smile back and nod, "Uhh, yeah, last night. I've been sick the past few days, so it was my mark… uh… forming."
I glance away a bit and walk by her.
'I don't know her name…'
I didn't get a couple of steps away before I stop and turn back to her, "Uhm… have you seen Kain anywhere?"
She shrugs, about to go back to waiting for tables, "I think he went to go sleep in his room after waking everyone up."
My eye twitches as I cover up my irritation with a weak smile, "I… I see, thanks, uhh…"
Shit.
She only grins and walks out of the kitchen, chuckling.
I sigh and head back out of the kitchen and into the morning tavern.
'Now that I think about it… I haven't seen Hale anywhere.'
I only continue walking outside and open the door, the small bell ringing as I do so.
Stepping out into the open sun, I take in a breath of fresh air and head outside the tavern.
Tenna is nice in the mornings, it gets just the right amount of sunlight, it's never too hot or cold, the dew from nightly residue smells as good as usual too.
I take hardly three steps down from the steps up to the tavern before-
"Ack-" I bump into someone.
"Hm? Fault?"
I look up slowly, rubbing the bridge of my nose that just crunched against his shoulder.
"Lake?" Dark blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a toothy grin that smiles back at me.
"One and only." He ruffles my hair as I grunt and step back.
"I see you got your Infusion, buddy, congrats." He somehow grins wider.
"Oh, uh… yeah." I nod, fixing my way-messed up hair now.
Though, I guess it wasn't really 'fixed' to begin with…
"I was gonna head down to City Hall later today and show off mine, just got it last week after figuring out what it does." He points toward the center of Tenna.
"You should show up, it'll blow your mind." He mimics fireworks with his fingers.
"Uhm…"
"Thanks!"
He pats my shoulder a bit too hard and heads inside the tavern.
"I didn't say I'd go…"
I watch his leaving back as he goes into the tavern.
'So he got his infusion pretty recently too, huh…'
I feel a small curve of my lip as I suddenly want to go see what mine does…
I want to.
I want to experiment with it.
My smile forms into a little grin, and I get a few awkward glances as people start to scramble inside the tavern next to me.
'I think I'll go after all.'