________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Onyx’s eyes opened a sliver as he began to stir, making out only blurred shapes and hues of the world surrounding him. The past few days had been tiresome in their length and requirements. A slew of agonizing tasks had been forced upon his subpar physique, jobs which usually belonged to men whose stomachs he could fit inside of. The boy’s jaw unhinged to eminate an yawn plagued with exhaustion and rose from the rigid surface he was resting on. He began to look around in a disgruntled manner, trying to make out the skewed images his eyes were perceiving. As his senses began to hone themselves, he already recognized the all too familiar rhythmic bumps the wagon rolled over. With a quick glance to his side he realized it was pitch black out, behind them was the remainder of the formation. An ocean- well, that’s an overexagerration, moreso a
pond of tan covers fashioned from hide. The boy rubbed his temples to wake up more before checking up on his acquainted comrades. He knew each of them to certain extents, the whole lot of them was quite the mismatched conglomerate of dissimilarity. Onyx himself wasn’t sure where the emperor conjured up such a plan, yet the results were without a doubt in his favor. Unfortunately, the white-haired youth wasn’t a member of the category which willingly took up arms against the rebellion, religiously chanting Deacon’s name.
Aside from the soldiers, he was of the vast minority among the combatants organized in this one central point. Given his small physique, he was surprisingly compact, only allowing him to meager a small portion of the wagon’s seating to himself. There was nothing worse than sleeping upright, on such an uncomfortable surface as wood at that. With the smidget of breathing room he had, Onyx squeezed an arm behind his back to rub out the kinks which had taken form during his slumber,
”Good evening, everybody…” He greeted in a sheepish voice, his usual exuberant temperance was nowhere to be seen.
”Wonder how long I was out for? Hope I didn’t snore, wouldn’t want any of you slicing me in half…” The boy haphazardly joked with a sliver of a smile on his face.
In all honesty, all of the individuals gathered within the confined space were intimidating to immeasurable extents. Each of them harnessed abilities which propelled themselves upwards into the highest echelon of battle. And where each faltered, another could cover for their deficiencies. Of course, Onyx didn’t instantly take to the military life with ease. He was still acclimating himself to the whole concept of living with others, having spent a majority of the past years in a solitary manner. The thief would have never dreamt of winding up here, as an individual serving the emperor, bearing the wings of justice and freedom. If only he hadn’t attempted to stea-
procure edible government property, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. Now that he thought back on it, the cache of gleaming weapons surrounding the crates of food and the guard with only a portion of the intelligence of the equine ushering the transport should have been foreboding signs. But one thing led to another. There was an intense chase, leaps of valor, pitiful failures, and cries for mercy. In the end, the white-haired thief was given the option to turn a new leaf. The boy expected something far less extravagant, yet rather than a daily course of menial tasks, he was conscripted into this certain sect. But rather than causing issues and refusing to come to terms with reality, the youth decided to make the best of it.
Onyx lurched forward as the wagon came to an abrupt halt. His grasp barely got a hold of the canvas. Without a doubt his mind was firing on all cylinders at this point, his gaze darted to the opening at the front of the wagon. Indeed, the flow of travel had come to a complete stop, and all forces were ordered to dismount. The boy let out a sigh of relief as he stretched out once more. He gained a stable footing on the transport’s creaking wooden floors and proceeded towards the rear,
”Hm, guess its time to secure some sustenance and-” Onyx was too busy running his mouth to notice where his feet were. He was cut off mid-sentence as the tips of his shoes became stuck on the rim of the wagon, instantly forcing him off balance. In one fluent transition, his expression changed from passiveness, to surprise, and finally nonchalance. As he fell forward into the open air, the youth swiftly tucked in his legs and rolled forward with finesse, landing on the ground with grace.
”-a tent just for ourselves! Though I think the soldiers already have one set out.” The boy glanced around before setting his sights upon a tent designated for the group, which he quickly sped off to. After finding himself a ration of bread he proceeded to the tent, hoping that some of his comrades were already present. The boy poked in through the entrance and greeted those who were present.
”That trip was pretty painful. I think I’m going to have sores in my neck for weeks to come.” Onyx complained before taking a bite out of his food,
”Guess we’re almost there, right?”@Solace
Member
