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[indent][indent][indent]Zestasia had never felt more useless than right now, as he stood by while Pythia defended him and herself against malum’s assault. 

He stood back, trying to convince himself that he was there for more than moral support. He tried to convince himself that he was helpless, but the truth was, he was of no help at all. All he could do was watch her charge head-on, fighting the malum on equal footing. It was incredible really, to see that Pythia truly was a gifted magi. He stepped back so he didn’t get caught in the way, especially when no more than a few seconds after he did, the malum went for a strike and Pythia answered with a lightning bolt.

He shielded his eyes from the brightness caused when the bolt exploded with the ground.

It was incredible and almost awe-inspiring how she continued to fight, whereas Zestasia was only able to watch, do nothing but spectate. It added on to just how weak he was in comparison. And that was a bitter pill that he had to swallow.

In his moment of self-doubt, which was only internal because Zestasia [i]always[/i] put on a brave front, he zoned back in only to see the malum magi shoot something at Pythia. As it exploded, the blonde boy shielded his eyes as he tried to stand his ground until the smoke cleared. When it did, he watched with a genuine terror on his face as Pythia was on the ground, seemingly unmoving.

The worry was lessened when Etoile rushed to her side and Zes stood over, watching with concerned blue eyes. He tried not to over-worry, but he just stood there as all of this was happening. He understood that she was protecting him, but he really did feel like a damn moron. Maybe all of the things she said about him since they first met were true? Maybe he wasn’t as strong as Anatoli thought he was.

The thought of disappointing the man who taught him everything. Not just about how to properly use ether, but how to never let the self-doubts and anger that came from it and the trauma of losing his entire village. That thought made time stand still for Zestasia because he didn’t want to lose anyone else. He lose his master and thought he lost his brother until he found him again. Pythia might have been a mouthy little redhead who thought very little of him, but she still defended him from the person who, quite frankly, wanted to kill him. That made him kind of open his eyes.

He shook his head, zoning back in as he saw that Pythia was fine, though it seems her anger was still very much around. And Etoile was by her side, clearly concerned.

[color=daa520][i]Etoile…[/i][/color] 

He gave Pythia a smile, showing a non-verbal relief that she seemed to be okay. 

He couldn’t help but glare at her for a moment. Maybe his rationale was flawed because she had been their ally since the very beginning, but he couldn’t let go of the fact that she was an Inquisitor. The memories of his village going up in smoke because of them still haunted him when he slept and even more so when his master was taken away. He tried not to cling to the anger, but when it was right next to him, he was blinded almost.

But it was Etoile. Up until the moment he found this little piece of information out, she had been someone that fought with them, ran away from the enemy with them. She even pointed out that the sun came to say hello to him. 

[color=daa520]“So…”[/color] He awkwardly spoke, looking at Etoile, biting his lip, [color=daa520]“I guess I should apologize, huh?”[/color] He didn’t know why he was laughing, but awkwardness tended to bring that out in him and he forced himself to stop. [color=daa520]“I mean, I’m sorry for, uh, you know implying that you were going to kill us and everything.”[/color] He just looked her dead in the eyes as he gave the world’s worst apology ever.[/indent][/indent][/indent][/color]