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crowtrinkets · 3 years

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Asra and the Apprentice (during their rehabilitation) take a day trip. The events leave the Apprentice feeling insecure of their speech problems. At this point, the Apprentice can speak only a few words and can walk but does so with a cane. This is the said fic prompt that was keeping me awake at night lol.

Quick warning: Minor assault scene but nothing major or graphic

Word Count: 4560

AsraXGen Neutral Apprentice/Reader

My eyes flutter open as the sun shines through the window, shielding my eyes from the bright warm light, I sit up. I can hear Asra idly humming in the other room. He must’ve woken up early cause he knew how excited I am. Last night Asra asked me if I wanted to go to the beach. Although I could not physically voice my excitement I enthusiastically nodded telling him I would very much like to go. Ever since I awoke to Asra and Faust not too long ago, nearing a year, give or take, I have struggled to do basic tasks. Since then I have learned to walk, although I use a cane to keep me balanced. And I can speak a few words but I’m still struggling. Asra will read to me some days so I can expand my vocabulary until I can read and speak for myself. It's not easy but I’m eager to learn. I reach over and grab my cane to help me stand, Asra walks in and gives me a smile.

“Well good morning,”

“Hello,” I respond. I can pronounce good, but morning is what always gets me, so we opted that hello can be a place holder for many words. Good morning, hey look over here, welcome back and even goodbye sometimes. I remove the kettle from the stove and carefully pour the hot water into the cups preparing the morning tea Asra and I always have. Once I was strong enough to hold the kettle Asra was always conveniently away when I woke, so that I was the one to make the tea. We both grab our cups and Asra puts out his arm so I can steady myself as we walk to the table. Sitting down I take in the aroma of my drink.

“Tea,” I mumble to myself as I raise the cup to take a sip. Although my vocabulary is short I try to say the few words I can as often as possible as a way to practice.

“So are you sure you still want to go to the beach? The sand might be tricky for you to walk on,” Asra looks at me over the rim of his cup. Although he’s already dressed I can tell he would willingly change back into regular clothes and stay home.

“Asra,” I give him a glare. I spend the majority of my time upstairs alone and engaging in “physical therapy” as Asra calls it. It's boring and I hate it, I want to see more of the city but I can't leave without Asra. If I were to get lost I wouldn’t even be able to ask someone for directions.

“Okay, okay. Beach today it is,” He gives me a quick smile before looking into his cup smile disappearing into the empty mug. I scrunch my brows in worry but before I can call his name, getting his attention he starts. “I’m going to grab some things to bring with us, you go ahead and get dressed,” he then stands and leaves to find some beach-worthy supplies. After putting our cups in the sink, I grab my beach clothes and change behind the partition in the corner. Our home above the shop is small but Asra makes sure I have the privacy I need. Once I'm dressed I put on my cover-up and do up the buttons. I poke my head around the partition but my vision is blocked by.. straw? I hear Asra let out a giggle.

“I got you a hat, it’s a sunny day and we can't do with you getting a sunburn,” I fix the hat so it’s sitting properly on my head and give Asra a look. I’ve never burned while going out, although whether it is due to the fact that I simply don't burn or Asra mothering me I will never know. Asra picks up a bag and I can see a few items poking out. A blanket, a canteen, and what looks like to be some sandwiches. He probably prepared them while I was still asleep.

“Ready to go?” Asra gives me a smile. To which I respond with a nod.

—- As my apprentice and I steadily make our way down the stairs I can't help the impending nervousness that boils in me. Their hands are placed on both my shoulders as I walk in front of them. Their motor skills have improved immensely but walking is still sometimes a struggle for them. We sometimes go to the market but we can only ever be out for about an hour. This is why I make them stay home and do exercises to build their strength. But I could tell being home all day was getting to them. Large crowds make them nervous but one can only spend so long alone especially when they can barely speak or read for entertainment. My nerves begin to grow until I hear their quiet voice in my ear.

“Asra,” I look over my shoulder at them, flushing slightly when I realized we’ve reached the end of the stairs and have been standing there for an awkward amount of time.

“Ah sorry, I was a little lost in thought” I move out of the way so they can walk ahead of me out the door. I follow behind silently.

“Friend okay?” Faust pokes her head from my bag and looks up at me. I give her a short nod and turn around to lock the door of our shop.

“Ok, time to find a gondola,” I turn to walk toward the town square where most of the gondola drivers park but I feel a hand grip my arm stopping me in my tracks.

“Walk?” My apprentice gives me a confused look. I thought I told them last night but I guess it slipped my mind.

“Well, walking on sand is hard enough and I didn't want you to tire yourself out before we got there so taking a gondola most of the way makes sense,” they scrunch their eyebrows and I see their bottom lip poke out slightly. They’re pouting, I could so easily tease them but opt not to.

“Walk!” They wave their cane in the air slightly, signifying they can walk just fine with their cane. But that doesn’t convince me otherwise, I worry they’ll get too tired and we’ll have to take a gondola anyways. I rub my hand on the back on my neck and think for a second.

“How about we take a ride there, but on the way back we can walk, sound good?” They scrunch their nose as they think about my proposition, making a grunted thinking noise before they huff in finality. They give me a distinguished nod acting as though they were not just pouting a second ago.

“Ok, sounds good to me,” they give me a smile and we walk towards the town square. I find a gondola man and drop a few miscellaneous shiny items in their hand, then requesting they take us to the East Docs. The ride is peaceful and quiet, Faust makes her way around my shoulders so she can watch the sights go by just as my apprentice is. Their wide eyes scanning everything we pass by with awe. The East Docs and beach areas are used the most so the lingering ash from the Lazaret was cleaned up, unlike Ash Beach. The east beaches are small but people usually stay away because it's so close to the south end. Hopefully, my apprentice and I can enjoy a peaceful day alone.

Once we reach our destination and exit the gondola my apprentice's face lights up, I rarely see their genuine smile, and when I do it's always a treat. We approach the shore and I scan the area. There are only a few people here, perfect beach day scenario. I see my apprentice step onto the sand and wobble a little, leaning on their cane for stability and I reach out and grab their arm to help. They give me an embarrassed look, it takes every muscle in my body not to make an I told you so face. We back onto the cobblestone and I place my bag down, removing Faust from my shoulders and placing her onto my apprentice's shoulder. Both of them tilt their heads in confusion. I crouch down slightly my back facing my apprentice.

“Get on, I’ll carry you,” I hear a short squeak come from their mouth but before long I feel them climb onto my back. Arms around my neck and legs around my sides, I place my hands on their legs to hold them up. Once I know they're secure I stand up straight feeling them cling to me for dear life, retrieving my bag I waltz out onto the sand carrying my oh-so-precious cargo. —- The last thing I expected out of today was to be on Asra's back. I also did not expect the sand to be so slippery and full of rocks making it hard to balance let alone walk on. I was silently praying thanks that Asra offered to carry me, maybe for more reason than just the one. I'm used to being in such close quarters with him but being on his back I’m realizing how good he smells. He smells like the tea we had this morning and sage with a hint of cinnamon. It’s almost addicting. I poke my head out from his right and I look around. We’re actually at the beach! My heart flutters in excitement as we near closer to the shore.

“Getting excited are we?” I suck in my breath flushing, oh dear, Asra must be able to feel my heart thumping on his back. I nod slowly, the brim of my hat dancing on top of Asra's fluffy curls. He stops walking and looks around. “This spot seems good.” He crouches down again allowing me to climb off his back, his scent leaving with him. I angle my cane to help me standstill as I observe the shore. Asra reaches into his bag and pulls out the blanket, spreading it out onto the ground. Taking my hand he helps me sit and promptly plops himself down next to me. We both let out a sigh as we look out onto the horizon. Asra reaches into his bag and pulls out two sandwiches handing one to me. I put my cane behind us and open my sandwich taking a bite. We sit in silence eating and drinking in our view of the Vesuvian shores. After swallowing my last bite, I lay down on the blanket and stretch my arms above my head. My hand swipes over something other than sand though. I grab it to get a better look, it's a seashell. Or at least part of one, its broken in half but it’s still beautiful regardless. The brown stripes running across remind me of a ribbon I saw once in the market place.

“Found a seashell?” Asra leans over observing my find. I nod and hand it to him. “Yknow we can go look for some more, ahh I don't know if I can carry you and look for seashells at the same time though,” I flush at the thought, I can imagine how ridiculous it would look. “I am also not fond of leaving you alone to go look for some myself...” Asra trails off when an idea strikes me.

“Faust,” I say looking at her as she pokes her head from the sand. Asra looks to her and then me and nods.

“Alright,” he pulls Faust from the sand and holds her up to his face so she can look at him while he speaks. “Ok Faust, I'm giving you an important task, stay here with MC while I look for seashells, protect them from harm,” I chuckle at Asra's theatrics as he hands Faust to me. What could possibly be dangerous about a beach? Asra gets up and jogs down to the shore and I wave as he leaves.

Once Asra leaves I undo my cover-up to let the sun hit my skin, setting it to the side and watching Faust turn it into her bed. I begin to scan the beach, there aren't many people here. I see a small family, two parents, and two children. They run about the shore squealing with excitement. I find myself thinking about family and whether I have one when I feel a headache creep up on me. I shake my head trying to will the pain away. Asra taught me to meditate when I feel a headache coming but sometimes they get too intense and I need Asra's help, and he’s not here right now. I look around the beach again trying to distract my thoughts until my eyes fall upon an island in the distance. I’ve heard people talk about this island, the name escapes me but I know people are scared of it. I can't remember why though. I continue to stare at this island, feeling utterly enamored with it, almost like I can't take my eyes off of it. My headache starts to slowly crawl up the nape of my neck but I can't manage to look away.

“Hey! I'm talking to you!” The voice breaks me from my trance and I look up at the man standing above me. I don’t recognize him. He’s standing very close to me, and he doesn’t seem to be dressed for the beach so what is he doing here?

“H-hello,” I stutter out. He has a nasty look on his face. Something about this man makes me uncomfortable.

“So you can talk, What's a pretty thing like you doing alone here?” He bends down slightly leaning over me even more. My heart starts to pound as I realize, he wants to talk with me. But I can't, I start to frantically look around for Asra until I see him. He’s further down the beach leaning in the water digging in the sand.

“Asra,” I try to shout but my voice is hoarse and quiet.

“Asra?” The man follows my eyes and sees Asra in the distance. “Oh, what is he your boyfriend? Well, he's not a very good one for leaving you all alone,” the man crouches down to my level getting closer to me. “Why don't you ditch him and come with me?” I lean away from the man and slowly shake my head. “What you’re too good for me or something?” The man's voice starts to become more hostile as he leans closer to me. I continue to lean away trying to will my voice into appearing, if I could speak I would tell this man to leave, but I can't and he isn't leaving me alone. I need help. Suddenly he grips my shoulder.

“C’mon can't you speak or something? Don't you know you have to answer someone when they ask you a question?” His grip on my shoulder becomes tighter and it starts to hurt the panic in me starts to swell and I act suddenly.

“No!” I scream and shove him away from me sending him onto his back. The man quickly scrambles to his feet and looks down at me once again. His face is red and his breathing is harsh and heaving.

“Little shit!” In that moment he kicks sand into my face. I start spluttering wiping the sand from my eyes. I feel something cool and silky run over my leg and I hear a scream. I manage to open my eyes and see the man thrashing at Faust who is wrapped around the man's leg, squeezing. My heart starts to race, this man could hurt Faust, my friend, and more importantly Asra's friend. I grab my cane from behind me and sit upon my knees swinging my cane at the man nailing him in the side.

“NO!” I yell once again, I’ve never said that word but my fear trumped any other emotions at that moment. The man falls onto the ground.

—- The waves are cool as they wash over my legs. I’ve managed to find quite a few seashells I'm sure my apprentice will love. I pick up a purple one and place it in my pocket. I look around at the ground again and see possibly the biggest seashell I've seen so far. It's similar to the one they found, white with brown stripes. I'm sure they’d love a complete version. I lean down to grab it but the wave beats me to it bringing it away with the current. At that moment I think I hear something.

“NO!” I stop in my tracks. That wasn’t who I thought it was... was it? No, it wasn’t MC they haven’t been able to pronounce their own name let alone “no”. When they get annoyed they usually say my name in an annoyed tone. I look back at the sand trying to find the shell the wave washed away but then I hear Faust’s voice.

“Friend! Help!” I whip my head around and scan for our spot and I see it. My dear, shy, friendly apprentice, swinging their cane? Onto a man? Are they beating a man up? Panic swells in me and I race up the beach. I can hear them yelling and sobbing “no” as they whack the screaming man senseless, Faust unravels from the man's leg and approaches me, I grab her placing her on my shoulders, and approach the scene.

“Hey, hey!” I grab their cane mid-swing and they flinch facing me. The moment their eyes meet mine however they relax, their eyes red from crying and their breath heaving from swinging. I ignore the man groaning on the ground and keep my apprentice's attention. “What happened,” tears swell their eyes and their voice comes out croaking.

“Faust.... Asra” they point to the man's leg and then point out to where I was standing. Their breathing is heavy and their voice is hoarse. My heart aches to see them so distressed. They grab their shoulder mimic someone tightening their grip. They then grab sand and point to their face with their other hand. I don't know what happened but I think I understand, I hand Faust back to them and look at the man who has now recovered and stands. I glare at him and he stumbles back slightly.

“Don’t you know when someone says no it means no? Get out of here before I call the attention of the guards,” there are no guards in sight but the notion strikes fear in the man who leaves without a word. I crouch down and catch my apprentice by the hand, the moment we meet eyes the tears start flowing, I pull them into an embrace and rub their back shushing comforts into their ear. I watch the man approach the street and flick magic his way, causing him to trip into a large burly man walking in the street. I think he still needs to learn his lesson. I look back at my apprentice pulling away before witnessing the man's unruly fate. They sniffle and look down at Faust who is wrapped around their hand.

“Faust,” they give her chin scratches and look up at me.

“You’re safe now, well maybe you were never in danger, who knew you could swing that cane so hard, maybe you don't need as much physical therapy as much as I thought you did” a snort comes out of them and they try to hide their laughter behind their hand. “Let's go home now” my apprentice nods back at me grabbing my hand as I help them to their feet.

—- Asra folds up the blanket and packs our belongings as I button my coverup. I recount the events that just happened. I may have been able to defend myself but this never would’ve happened if I could just tell that man to piss off. I feel the lump in my throat return. Squeezing the handle of my cane in my hand as I try to bite back my tears.

“All packed up” Asra's voice catches me off guard. He lightly places his hand on my arm and gives me a warm smile. “Hey, you didn't do anything wrong, that man had it coming it was unfortunate he had to face the wrath of MC the mighty warrior equipped with a cane and a fearless snake," Faust pokes her head out from my should and bleps her tongue out at me. I smile at Asra's encouraging words, but I don’t think he understands why I'm really upset. He leans down again so I can climb onto his back and he walks back to the streets setting me down once were on stable ground. Faust climbs from my shoulders and onto Asra's as I walk close to the docs looking for a gondola.

“Hey, I said we could walk home didn't I?” Asra smiles at me reminding me of our deal from this morning. I nod and follow him towards our shop. Our trek back home is quiet, it’s usually quiet due to my lack of speech ability, but it’s especially quiet as we walk along the cobblestone streets. The afternoon sun still illuminates the streets but it slowly falls behind the buildings as we go through the city.

“So you learned a new word today,” Asra catches my attention. Yea I guess I did, and with this new word comes me repeating it whenever possible so it sticks in my brain. I take a deep breath and stop in my tracks. Asra gives me a confused look.

“NOOO-” I yell as loud it as I can. My new word. Asra jumps and puts his hand over my mouth trying to stifle his laughter”

“Mc, please! People are gonna think you're being attacked” he whispers, laughing between words.

“Asra,” I muffle under his hand, poking him in the shoulder. We then hear feet rushing towards us.

“Guards!” Asra picks me uplifting me by the legs, practically throwing me over his shoulder, and my arms find his shoulders, anchoring me in place. He takes off running both of us giggling. Asra runs behind a building and sets me down, peeking around the corner to make sure we weren't followed. I don't understand why he ran, he simply could've explained the situation but I guess his mischievous nature got the best of him. He laughs between breaths. Turning to face me Asra puts his hands on his hips to scold me but his smiles betrays his stern persona.

“Why would you do that? You really are just attracting trouble wherever you go,” Asra's smile is warm. But he’s right. My inability to speak has now become a danger. If Asra could use magic to make me speak I would request it in an instant. But this is something I had to do for myself. I have to be determined and try my hardest. I fiddle with a loose button on my coverup, trying not to recount the panic that swelled in me because I couldn't ask the man to leave. Asra is now giving me a concerned look, I can see the sadness behind his eyes when he looks at me like that.

“I was only kidding MC, I don't think your THAT much of a trouble maker," his attempt at a joke makes the corners of my mouth upturn ever so slightly. "hey how about we get something to eat, maybe soooome” my heart flutters, is he gonna say what I think he is. He taps a finger to his chin pretending to ponder, smirking at the look I give him. “Pumpkin bread?” I nearly jump, nodding so quickly my head may roll off my shoulders. “Well then,” Asra puts his arm out for me to take “shall we?” I grab his arm and we walk toward the marketplace. —- My apprentice and I waltz through our neighborhood arms linked together, and I’m able to carry their weight and keep them balanced, so they rest their cane’s handle on their arm. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was utterly terrified when I saw the event that took place. I also would be lying if I said I wasn’t proud that they defended themself, especially Faust. When I left them alone I exaggerated my instructions to her but she knew there was a sense of seriousness in my speech. We approach the stand of our favorite baker.

“Well if it isn't Asra and- oh you look a little worse for wear,” I look at our appearance, I guess we do look a little disheveled after our day, scaring off creeps and running from guards. Especially my friend on my arm, sand coating parts of their skin from earlier in the day. Their face still a little puffy from all their crying.

“I think we’re deserving of some tea and pumpkin bread,” the baker gives me a knowing look and turns to fetch us our treats, my apprentice lets go on my arm and steadies their stance with their cane.

“Tea,” they nod and walk over to their usual seat. I sit on the stairs next to their stool. The baker approaches us with two cups and hands us our own respective drinks. I take a sniff of the warm brew. It smells of berries and mint. Taking a long sip I feel my whole body relax. I see my apprentice let the stiffness of their body ease from the corner of my eye as well. The baker returns with two loaves of our favorite pumpkin bread and leans on a table looking us up and down.

“Seems you visited the beaches? Fun day?” My apprentice tenses once again. Taking a slow bite of their bread and nodding slowly. I quickly think of ways to change the subject.

“Yes, ahh yes I actually found quite a few seashells if you’d like to see,” I stand and reach into my pockets pulling out all the shells I collected from the beach and placing them on the table for the baker to peruse. We converse back and forth trying to determine which shell belongs to which sea creature. I can see my apprentice from the corner of my eye, they continue to eat their bread in silence looking down. I can tell they don’t want to be asked about our day. I won't dare ask them to tell me what exactly happened today, but I feel that they are shaken up about more than just what happened. That's when I hear it though. Their small voice uttering something. The baker and I turn towards them in awe as they attempt to speak.

“Puh... pump... kin brrr... brrread,” they look up at us beaming eyes misty. Then they open their mouth again. “Thhh... hank.... yyy- yyyou” I look over at the baker, we come here often so he knows of my apprentice's situation, he wipes a stray tear from his eye and smiles back at them.

“You are very welcome,” the warmness in my heart flutters. Seeing them improve fills me with pride, and it brings me even more joy to see them smile, my dear, kind, friendly apprentice.

#the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana asra #the arcana faust #the arcana mc #the arcana fic #asra the magician #asra alnazar #crow writes

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