"I pray to Lady Bleu of the Primordial Witches, I ask for freedom but not greed, I ask for love but not lust, I ask for strength but not wrath, I ask for kindness but not envy".
Audrey Mirlo— The middle child of the Mirlo family.
She intertwined her fingers together as she looked down, her eyes closed, praying to the sky.
Her arms shaking from the repeated abuse.
Hoshimi stood from the side, one hand in the pocket of his tan cargo pants, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at the girl before him. His black hair blew in the wind from the open window and his glowing violet eyes narrowed.
Humans are pitiful creatures, they pray to a greater power to hope for a better outcome, a better situation and to feel a sense of connection to something greater than themselves.
They hope instead of doing anything for themselves.
[But in a situation like her's, I can understand it]
The wooden floors creaked under the sound of her footsteps as she walked past him, bags under her eyes as she looked down at the ground.
Her blonde hair was disheveled as if she didn't dry her hair properly, she didn't look forwards, her eyes looked into the endless abyss.
The bright lights beamed into Hoshimi's eyes.
Her shoulders were slouched, her breath slow but shaky and her eyes had not a single drop of mana, not a single sign of her soul flickering.
Hoshimi walked up to her, "Hey, are you okay"?
He gave her his hand, staring into her eyes with his warm pupils.
Audrey held her arms, rubbing her fingers against the reddish wound in her arm, she clenched her teeth.
Her voice came out soft and quiet, "I'm fine".
Her breathing sped up.
"Can you please".
"Stop looking at me like that".
She looked towards him.
"Your stare is sharp".
"My fault".
A soft smile ran across his face.
"I wonder, what's your name"?
"It's Audrey". She stared at his feet, she didn't look at his face like she wasn't supposed to. "Audrey Mirlo, the middle child and the second in line for the prime minister role".
"You can call me Hoshimi, you can say I have a dream. A dream that all witches have, to be able to live like a human for once".
[She is just like Neila…..broken. A witch who was ostracized]
"Don't you wanna be a prime minister"?
"This world, it hates me. No matter what I do, I'm punished for it".
She gripped her hair, pulling on it as she spoke in a serious tone.
"You think I don't want power? Of course I want to change the world, I'm treated like a peasant"!
He looked at her with a soft smile.
[Why did Reina ask me to be wary of her? Even I can tell by just a glance, she is in no shape to commit a murder]
"Come with me".
Hoshimi gave his hand out towards her.
Audrey stared at his splayed out hand like it was an outstretched sword coming straight off his body.
Her fingers twitched towards.him but she immediately pulled back.
"Come with you where"? Her voice was stern, "He's going to find me either way, Adrian is going to catch me, he's not going to let me go".
She held herself in her arms, looking away from his face, her cheeks flushed as her entire body started shaking.
[She wants to be held, she wants another person to comfort her, it's a little too early for this but this is exactly what she needs]
"Come here".
He walked up to Audrey, placing his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.
Audrey flinched, her messy blonde hair covered her face, her arms pulled back.
Her cheeks started to flush, her eyes widened as they started to moist, tears dripping down her face.
[She wants to feel a human touch, she wants empathy and someone to care for her. Might as well aid her, and find more about their relationship in the process]
She started to cry as she clawed away at his shoulder, leaving red marks on his skin.
She pressed her head against his chest.
The sound of her cry was ugly, terrible to listen to, but it was genuine.
Straight from the soul.
"There you go, let everything out".
Hoshimi smiled as he caressed her hair, ignoring the pain from the clawing of his shoulders.
He felt everything, the rhythm of her breathing, the slight sway in her movements and the cold feeling of her tears dampening his shirt.
Audrey's sobs slowed, but the tremors in her arms didn't. Her breath was shaky like she was putting her all into trying to breathe.
"I'm sorry". She muttered softly, her voice almost broke again, "I shouldn't be doing this".
Hoshimi tilted his head slightly, still holding her.
"Why not"?
"I mean, this is the first time we've met, I just learned your name a couple minutes ago and I'm already crying in your arms". Her nails dug into her own arms. "Isn't this going a little too fast? This must be uncomfortable for you".
"Of course it is, but I can't stand seeing such a pretty woman be in such pain by herself".
Hoshimi moved her hair off her face.
Her breath caught onto itself when his fingers slightly brushed her cheek, the faintest warmth spread throughout her body.
She blinked at him with a gentle look, her lashes still wet.
"You don't even know me".
Hoshimi stood right beside her.
"But I knew someone just like you, I'm just trying to be by your side, even if I barely know anything about you. I want to help you".
"I don't trust you but I want to". She hated how much she wanted to believe in him, she hated the way his words charmed her. "People like you don't appear from thin air, I can tell that you want something from me".
"I want to get closer to you, there's an important case as to why I am here. But after seeing you like this I couldn't help myself".
He gave her his hand.
"Come on, the sunset is only going to last so long".
Hoshimi hoisted her up into his arms, carrying her in his arms like a princess.
Audrey's breath hitched as her feet left the floor, she tensed.
"I can walk by myself, you know"?
"Your eyes tell me everything , you can't use mana for yourself, it's quicker this way".
He walked towards the balcony, feeling the cold wind brushing past.
Hoshimi jumped onto the roof in a single leap with extreme speed.
The world blurred around them as Hoshimi landed on the tiled roof with a soft thud. The evening air cut sharper up here, carrying the scent of rain-soaked stone and the faint tang of chimney smoke.
Hoshimi set her down gently, but her knees bent as if she has forgotten how to stand.
She stared softly at the brilliant light poking through the buildings.
"I'm rather jealous on how much freedom you have, I'll see you at Hex next year right"?
"Freedom? What is your definition of freedom? The moment we were born to be a witch, freedom isn't an option, it's a sacrifice".
"How much would you sacrifice for freedom"?
"Witches are defined by persecution, there are many who chose to defy the government and choose freedom, those who choose to change the system must be prepared to sacrifice their morality".
"Their morality? I would sacrifice every single part of me just for a sliver".
Audrey stared at the sunset with a soft look.
"Hey Hoshimi, are you good with magic"?
"I came from a family of non-witches so I don't have a technique, but I'm pretty good with basic magical skills".
Audrey wiped the leftover tears off her face.
"I won't stay like this forever".
She looked back at him, her shoulders slightly stiffened.
"I will change, that's why I want you to teach me magic".
"That's an answer that I wanted to hear".
[I at least hope that this girl manages to survive next year's entrance exam]
"Stand up, try to get a hit on me".
Audrey looked at him with a tired frown, her eyes slightly regaining its lost color.
"You're asking me to fight you"?
"Yea", Hoshimi said plainly. "It's just a simple duel, tell me young mistress Audrey, why is it that you want to learn magic"?
"I want to learn how to defend myself, how to control my mana and defend myself from Adrian".
Audrey's fingers twitched, a faint shimmer of mana sparking from her lips.
He stared at her calmly.
[This much output even with a damaged soul is impressive, I can't believe that she has a technique with a family full of humans, how did she even learn it?]
A sudden ringing filled his ears
A burst of sound.
The air shifted as the boom came out like a wave.
A prized technique of the Shaw family
Shot out like a scream, meant to completely blow away his eardrums.
A sound that echoed into the air.
The sound of crows flapping their wings
An energy collected at his ears
He calmly stared at her.
"Humans output two kinds of energy into the air, heat and mana. Unlike heat we are able to condense mana throughout parts of our body to strengthen them".
He pointed towards his ears.
"Right before your attack landed, in a split second, I collected all of the mana onto my ears, protecting my eardrums from your attack".
Hoshimi's eyes narrowed.
"By the way did you learn it from? Your technique, you have the technique from one of the four great families".
Audrey cracked her neck.
"I used to have a friend from the Shaw family, I was with her for about half my life, of course I would pick up her technique from there".
She immediately closed the distance, readying for a punch.
Hoshimi clasped his hands.
"Vigil Hexa".
Translucent hexagons started appearing around him like butterflies.
Audrey immediately launched a strike towards his face, completely ignoring the barriers but all she heard was the sound of glass shattering.
"Vigil Hexa is a technique from the Shaw family as well, but a few years ago it got leaked to the public". He held one of the floating hexagons in his hand like a disk.
"These are general spells which mean that you can use them no matter your mana type, each one of these hexagons can hone in on the strike before it happens and block a single physical attack but disintegrate in return".
"Do I need to like clasp my hands together"?
Hoshimi had one hand in his pocket as he looked from over his shoulder.
"Imagine your soul exiting your body and breaking up into panes of glass".
Audrey held her hands together, her fingers intertwining with each other, she closed her eyes as she started to focus.
Silence
"It's not working".
She spoke as if she were disappointed that nothing happened.
"Of course, treat magic like it's music". A glowing energy collected at his fingertips. "Each spell is like playing a song, it has its own tempo, a build, a release and a technique is a unique way to play the instrument".
"Are you really making that comparison"? Audrey raised her eyebrows. "How creative of you". Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she looked away from him. "How is that even supposed to help me"?
[She's using sarcasm as a defense mechanism, a way to ignore her pain]
"Say the words".
"Vigil Hexa".
"Audrey, you're saying it too fast".
"Vigil Hexa".
"Too slow, now".
Audrey's brows furrowed.
"Are you kidding me"?
Her hands clenched
She finally calmed herself down and let out a sigh.
[Vigil Hexa]