Mystis sat quietly outside of Spencer's office, rubbing their hands together while trying to process everything that happened. They shivered lightly, a combination of a slight chill in the building as well as their nerves. Mystis recalled the memory of seeing the beings of shadow, one humanoid and the other a towering beast, only to cause them to shake even more uncontrollably.
“Hey, Mysty!” Shisen shouted, holding a steaming mug in each hand. He held one forward as Mystis looked from the mug up to Shisen's face. “You look like you could use this, so umm... take it.” Mystis smiled softly, gently taking the warm mug and looking inside, spying a creamy red soup within.
“Th-thank you,” Mystis spoke, their voice cracking as they took a sip. “Wh-what is this?”
“It's tomato soup,” Shisen said with a slight laugh, take a long sip from his own mug. “My mother would make it for me all the time when it would get cold outside.” Shisen gave another sip as Mystis looked back to their mug, giving another sip as they warmed lightly.
“It is really good...” Mystis said, licking off their upper lip. The two sat quietly, sipping their soup while Mystis fidgeted with their fingers over the mug. “S-so were you...”
“How are...” Shisen and Mystis spoke at the same time, both stopping themselves. “Go ahead,” Shisen finished, giving Mystis a soft nod. Mystis smirked slightly as they turned away slightly.
“D-did you get everyone out from Rhalgr's?” Mystis asked. Shisen smiled, looking from Mystis to the door to Spencer's office.
“We got a lot of people out,” Shisen responded. “Due to the nature of things, we couldn't save everyone, but we did manage to save a substantial amount.” Shisen looked back to Mystis, letting out a soft laugh as he quickly looked down to his empty mug. “It was thanks to you that we could do so, with you taking out that cannon. A lot more people would've died had you not taken charge of things in the canyon. Mystis' eyes snapped open, their hair frazzling slightly from under their cap. Mystis took a long sip of the soup to hide their growing smile and blushing cheeks.
“Th-th-thank-k you!” Mystis stammered into their mug. “I-I just d-did what came natural L-Lieutenant.” Shisen let out a chuckle as he stood to his feet and walked over to Mystis. Shisen held out his hand, as Mystis quickly finished the last of their soup.
“You can just call me Aki, if you wish,” he said, as Mystis looked up to him. They gave a soft nod, lowering the now empty mug from their lips and handing it over to Shisen. Mystis sucked on their upper lip, cleaning it of the last traces of soup.
“Thank you Lieu... A-Aki, it was very good.” Mystis closed their eyes, letting the warmth of the soup radiate through their body.
“Hmm...” Shisen let out as he looked at the empty mug Mystis had handed over. He looped the mug over his other thumb, holding both mugs with one hand, as he lightly ruffled Mystis' hat. The beret fell onto Mystis' lap, as the ruffles caused Mystis to wobble slightly, trying to gather their balance.
“H-hey! What was that f--” Mystis started as Shisen held their hand out again. Mystis looked at the hand held out before them. Mystis blushed as they looked up at Shisen's face.
“Come on, gotta chat with Leo,” Shisen said with a laugh.
“Leo?” Mystis asked, gripping hold of Shisen's hand as they were pulled up to their feet. “The... commander?” Shisen gave a snarky nod as he motioned to the door with his head.
Mystis and Shisen walked into the office, as Commander Spencer looked over his reports from the conflict. The two saluted, and stood at rest as Spencer set the papers down.
“You requested to see us Leo?” Shisen asked informally. Spencer stood from his desk and walked over to see Mystis.
“I did,” Spencer started as he held his hands up before Mystis. “May I? Just need to do a few examinations.” Mystis glanced over to Shisen, and then back to the commander, giving a simple nod. Spencer slowly reached in pulling down Mystis' lower eyelids, and slowly rotating their head around. Spencer looked into Mystis' eyes, judging the look of them silently. “You wrote in your report that you came across two beings of shadow, yes? Look down please.”
“Y-yes...” Mystis replied, not quite sure what Spencer was looking for. “It... sucked out the life from the soldiers I was commanding... I... was scared the same would happen to me as well.”
“Mmm...” Spencer hummed as he turned Mystis' head to the side, looking into their ears. “I see... Aki, you said it looked like a dark haze covering Mystis? Open you eyes wide.”
“Aye, it was this hazy black mist swirling around,” Shisen replied, watching the examination, curious as well to what Spencer was hoping to find. Leo stared silently into Mystis' emerald eyes, before softly letting go.
“I see, well, you look fine, seems you weren't affected by it. Did you feel anything when the mist was covering you?”
“It was... painful, like my whole body was on fire,” Mystis explained. “Like... this shadow... or whatever was on me, was trying to burn and burrow into me. And...” Mystis took a deep breath. “... after the... Keter, the smaller being called the larger one, the pain started to subside, but didn't fully vanish until Lieutenant Shisen arrived.” Spencer hummed softly, considering what Mystis has told to him.
“Interesting, I hope that this can somehow help us soon,” Spencer replied as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “You both should make some preparations to travel, we're heading to Gridania. We were requested to speak with some of the leaders there.”
“We?” Mystis asked. “All three of us? Not just the two of you?” Mystis watched as Spencer froze for a moment, as he flashed a calming glance over to Mystis.
“That's right, the three of us. Not just because you're under my wing, but you've become a lot more important to these events than I think you realize.”
(First Chapter) (Previous Chapter) (Next Chapter)
(Side Story) (Other Tales)
