-Acerbus Invictus : Infinitum-
As the gaudy noises pierced the air, whimsical colors began their ascent as they danced throughout the sky, lighting up the city with shimmers and screeches of laughter. It was difficult to focus on the information bestowed to Acerbus by the book as he carefully scanned each page as if there was lingering soul within it, a sentient being. Of course, the uproar of the jubilation among the crowd kept him from truly discerning the knowledge at hand, especially with his friends and younger sister clamoring in sync with the crowd.
Using his free arm, he brought it up to the parchment and with a flick of his wrist, went onward to the next piece. The young mans nose wrinkled for a bit, perking up every time a slight portion of smoke passed. As his eyes darted over each page, when suddenly he was betwixt by another flashing shimmer in the sky. His head shot up momentarily to catch some of the lingering sparks that spun and spat in the atmosphere before beginning their downward spiral back to the earthen below. Letting out a short huff, which went unnoticed as the resonating celebrations were conjoined with his very breath.
Pushing his spectacles up, Acerbus returned his dull gaze back to the book. It was about the geographical locations on this very planet, mainly talking about what adventurers and professional explorers took note of, along with any wildlife encompassing the area, vegetation, etc. While it was a fascinating book, he was certain that this would never truly be his destiny, oh no. The wonders and whimsy of the world would be left to others who pursued each area, seeking wisdom to herald to those encompassing this world. As he began reading about the area known as Rexicorg and its mysteries, two blue eyes appeared in front of Acerbus, the young man barely coming to a halt as his pupils constricted themselves. The sulking shadow of his tome seemed to express its surprise through becoming thin, while allowing dancing shades of purple to emanate from their shoulders.
"Aaaace, why are you diving into books when you could be taking in the sights," the cheery voice shot, frowning as her lips quivered with her deep blue eyes displaying worry. As Acerbus stared at his sister, Novus, he tilted his head quizzically, as if puzzled by an immensely new discovery that he couldn't register. "Novus," his airy voice joined with the crowd, being soft and cool to a frigid degree. "They may of given us time off, b-"
"They've given us time off, and this is how you choose to spend it? I mean, it's great that you're a hardworking student, but shouldn't you be having some... you know... 'fun' for once instead if studying? I mean we don't even have to attend classes today!" As the girl retorted with a pout, his mouth drooped faintly as he put his book marker in and gently let the leather come to a close. Shrugging his arms, the teen used his free hand to adjust his glasses as his head shot upwards at the sky, with each crackle and simmer filling the air as the crowd continued gleefully chattering, and letting out rounds of cacophonous giggles.
"Novus," Acerbus spoke as he lowered his head back to eye level, noticing a frown coming from a person within the group of five. "She" was crossing her arms as she glowered at Acerbus, tapping the side of "her" arm as "she" mouthed a few words to Acerbus before resuming their jovial behavior once more. "Worried I might be overworking myself, eh?" As the boy thought to himself, he stared back at Novus who appeared to be dying for a response from her older brother. After swiftly coming up with a way to resolve this conundrum, the teen resumed his previous, unwavering tone within his voice.
"Novus, I am relaxing through reading this book! It's all abo... er, but," Acerbus stopped mid-sentence, his neutral expression fading with a hidden smirk. He blinked as he prepared his next solid move, as if this was a game of chess and he needed to make the correct move, lest the young man caused his own downfall. Acerbus was lucky to not drone on, otherwise he would of spoke all night over this noise about the summary over every section he examined, every piece of knowledge absorbed, and specific tidbits that he himself found unnecessary or inaccurate. ... but, I'll observe the explosions as the chemicals within each missile coexist together for a brief moment before creating such a spectacular view... with turbulent noise to deafen those about."
As the boy gave his spiel, Novus' eyes lit up, displaying a canny joyfulness that her brother would possibly intake soon enough. The young man clasped at the book in his arms as he cradled it, before letting his left arm descend, bouncing on the side of his hip. The group resumed their travels as they all became enamored with the sights. Identifying each explosion that rose into the sky, it was an interesting treat for Acerbus. As they spoke, Bellus set himself up for a pun as the pretty man talked about the fireworks.
"Well, I mean, a lot of work was undertook crafting them... I mean, you can't make this an explosive night without some flare!"
There was some laughter that was elicited from the group, along with face palms served afterwords as Acerbus completed his puns with a completely stoic demeanor. This was going to be a curious night, indeed.
Eventually, the crowd became thicker than a fog, unwillingly segregating some of the group members. Acerbus couldn't discern friend from a random stranger as he pushed his way against the current of shuffling bodies, going one way before altering the route he was traveling. Soon, it was more than a gaggle of people who turned it into a labyrinth that shifted and twisted consistently. Grunting as he traversed passed each person who bumped him, Acerbus' mood became sour after his night of spending time with some friends was stolen from him... by a bunch of people with their bodies in tow, but disembodied faces.
"At this rate, I'll never locate my companions... what a night this is - set down my literature for ten minutes to quietly follow Novus, Bellus, and the others!... Ugh..." The shadow behind him didn't flicker as much as the shades of purple died down. Acerbus was frustrated, and his furrowed eyebrows and the staunch way he moved gave weight to that thought. Frowning, the boy rolled his eyes as he decided to look around as myriads of people laughed in tandem with the fireworks.
As he walked on by, he barely managed to pick up the wails of two people, but couldn't tell if they were struggling to speak over the explosions in the air, or were actually bickering. To Acerbus, it was no skin off his nose as he moved forward... before the crowd decided to violently attempt to push the teen to the side. He was able to resist the attempts, but it could of been a tinge bit easier.
As he moved on forward, he caught a glimpse... Of... Fei butting heads with a tattooed girl who had the delicate appearance of looking around the same age as the haughty red-head. Acerbus did not enjoy the presence of the Princess with a cliche temper tantrum, especially since she shot her mouth off. The only thing he saw her lacking in were proper manners, especially with interactions the teen saw her undertake. The only thing he really held with some reverence was he abilities, but other than integrity and character?
"What integrity and character," he thought to himself as he squinted at the red-head getting fired up to a ridiculous degree (heh). The discussion was way too heated for his tastes as he cringed a bit at her as she shouted at the chick, calling her a miscreant child as she stood on a bed of flowers. Acerbus could interpret the situation for himself as it appeared the tattooed girl was tending to the bed of flowers... The boy wanted to speak with the terrible red-head out of sheer irritation for such contempt towards another human, but held his tongue. The girl would retaliate with her heritage, which obviously trounced all sound logic in the process. Staring daggers at the red-head, he kept walking...
Before noticing that the Princess was traversing in his direction. He clenched his teeth as he attempted to move forward in hopes of getting away from the girl faster, but the flow was more in her favor as she was moving at a better pace than of him temporarily from what he made out. Eventually, he found himself adjacent to the flame. He was roaming in his head, deciding to gamble his chances between actually attempting to have any sort of meaningful conversation (and by meaningful, speak up about her unfavorable actions), or keep looking forward, averting any attention given to the brat.
Acerbus kept his eyes forward as he clenched his book, frowning as he stared over the top of a woman's head, his lips sealed tighter than before. The boy opted to try and procure more knowledge, but decided against it, seeing as he would not find his sister or friend who was in a frilly dress. Acerbus gave his eyes a work out as they darted around the vicinity, which still lacked anyone he knew... or, anyone friendly he knew.
In the end, Acerbus ended up looking straight at Fei... who was now beside him... excellent, this was a situation he totally wanted to be in. At most, he felt the need to criticize Fei on her horrid reaction to an unfamiliar chick... that, and he probably couldn't escape her grasp since he was eyeing her for longer than two minutes. Sighing, the teen fidgeted for a bit before calling her out on such a disgraceful recourse.
"Definitely going to show signs of remorse within the next twenty-four hours..."
"..."
"... you do realize that was a rather presumptuous stance you adopted when assaulting that girl with your silver tongue Fei," Acerbus said, contempt lingering on his very throat as he kept his neutral appearance, as well as tone. He frowned, heralding displeasure all while using it as a way to endure what she was going to attempt to throw at him next. To him this was an uneventful evening, filled to the brim with horrid decisions, mainly on his part.
"... Yeah, this is definitely not one of my intelligent endeavors... Should of just stayed quiet, like I usually do with my companions..."
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