Faust was sitting on the grass in the entrance outside of Corehold back against the wall, waiting for Klint to finally show up. They were supposed to head out, and it had already been ten minutes.
Truth is, Klint had been ready even before him...
However, some disagreements had occurred, and Faust's reaction to the information he was only just learning did not end well for Klint. In the end, he found himself buried in wood inside Corehold. Of course, he hadn't been hurt, but they had wasted time.
The impact tore Klint's clothes and got them filthy, so he had to change into fresh ones.
And the reason all that went down?
* * *
[Ten minutes earlier]
After learning that the 10th Heir of Victory was also in or near the Winter City, he could no longer hide his reaction. His shouts echoed through Corehold once again.
"What do you mean The 10th Heir is there too, Klint!?"
What angered him wasn't the information itself, but the priority it had been denied. Klint had come saying he owed him in the Winter City, but had saved the real, major news for later, a detail that was by no means something to be revealed as a joke.
Klint was only trying to calm him down, knowing full well that he wouldn't even allow him to speak.
"Easy, Faust, calm down. It's not that big a deal, you know… just chill… relax a little…"
Faust took deep breaths as Klint kept talking.
Faust seemed to have retained a bit of his sanity.
"Okay… okay. Let's look at this differently. How long has he been around?"
"About a month, I think."
"Hmm. And how long have you known?"
"About a month…"
Faust shoved Klint's hand off his shoulder, tilted his head up a bit, closed his eyes, and took a long, slow breath through his nose.
He stood up and started pacing the room in big, slow strides, four or five laps around.
Each of his words hit just as hard.
"So…"
"One month…"
"Thirty days…"
"Four weeks…"
"And I'm only hearing about it now…"
Cough-Cough!!...Cough-Cough!!
"Great! Isn't it!?"
He tucked his left hand behind his back and started waving his right like he was conducting an orchestra. Then he began humming this weird little tune as he walked straight toward Klint.
♪♪Dapbarab…Dararararam....♪♪
Klint had long understood what kind of situation it was yet had no idea what was about to happen...
"…? What are you doing, Faust? You losing it again? Want me to call Mike?"
Faust froze for a few seconds, head lolling to the side, arms dangling, staring down at Klint from above, empty, lifeless. He ran his tongue over his front teeth, clenched his jaw.
Klint stood up to talk some sense into him, hoping to get him to lift his head a little, but even then the height difference was still there…
"If you keep bending your neck like that it's bad for your spi—"
Before he could finish, Faust grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him to the floor.
Faust still didn't let him go...his hand was so big that even gripping the nape, it reached all the way to Klint's throat, cutting off his air.
Klint began begging for breath, but Faust saw it only as a form of punishment... a punishment not great, but the kind of punishment a father might give his son. What kind of father, you ask? A father like Faust. Faust knew very well that Klint wouldn't die or get hurt, his sole aim was to make it a moment worth remembering.
"F— Faust… S-stop… C-can't… b-breathe…"
Klint knew that he was trying to say wouldn't change anything, but in that moment, it was the best option worth trying.
After that, Faust dragged him out of the room...
The corridor leading to the stairs on the second floor appeared clearly cleaner and sturdier in its wood compared to Faust's room.
Faust, changed his grip to his hair and threw him into the middle of Corehold while standing next to the stairs
CRASH!~
After crashing face-first onto the floor, Klint slowly opened and closed his eyes, lifting his face from the ground to look at the ceiling. He hadn't felt pain… but it was definitely wasn't going to be remembered as a good moment in his memories.
Faust, shouted up from the stairs while also coming down step by step...
He knew Klint was okay, he knew from the start that he was going to be just fine.
"Don't act like you were dying or sum, Klint!!"
* * *
[Present]
Faust had sat on the green grass right outside, leaning his back against Corehold's old stone wall. The sun shone on his face one last time before the clouds covered it.
Grumbling sounds....
Faust never liked how sensitive people were about certain matters. He was especially more domineering toward men. Any weak move, physical or psychological, made by The Brothers around him would pierce him like a knife and anger him.
Faust was more than certain that Klint would start whining the moment he stepped outside.
He grimaced to himself, mimicking how Klint probably would react.
"wHy dID yoU dO tHaT?"
I just wish to have some peace, not grown up men whining in my ear.
All he wanted was for mistakes not to be repeated and for them to always be better than they were before.
Klint pushed open the big wooden double doors with both hands. They swung shut on their own behind him.
Creeeaaak…
Clack!
Faust coughed a little as Klint finally got out of Corehold.
Kh-Kh!... Kh-Kh!...
Klint hadn't noticed the detail, but Faust's mood had changed immediately after he coughed. Since he hadn't seen Faust's previous state, he assumed he had been like that ever since stepping outside.
He was still staring straight down at the floor, rigid but something had changed in him suddenly, the anger had passed, but now he looked like he'd lost his soul entirely. Those gray eyes was never exactly full of life yet looked even worse like that.
The shift in Faust's emotions were sudden, yes...but this? Even Klint noticed, it looked like he was traumatized...
"F-… Faust…? Hey, hold up a sec."
Klint crouched down next to him.
"You okay…?"
He understood that something was wrong with Faust.
He knew that most of the time, Faust made jokes or acted oppositely towards people.
Faust stood up. Klint rose too, still watching him curiously, not understanding what was wrong with Faust.
Faust turned his head, looking like a baby unaware of the world.
"Ah. Klint. No… Nothing. What? Yeah. I'm fine."
"If the job's bothering you that much, someone else can—"
Faust shouted, he couldn't let himself look weak...
"What? No! I'm good. I just need to stop by somewhere first. If that's cool with you."
Faust started to coughing a little right after finishing his sentence again...
Cough-Cough!... Cough-Cough!...
"Me? Uh? Yeah...Sure, sure, whatever you want. Also take care of yourself, you look sick and tired."
"Mhm... I'm fine. I'm leaving now. It'll take two hours."
Klint nodded in agreement.
Faust walked slowly into the forest and disappeared.
He got into the forest with eyes that scanned the surroundings, searching for something, looking for something. He had only one thought while also walking through the forest.
Maria…I must see you maria...now!