Stern Algorithm
The Irish Tree
princess
Hitman
Rabidporcupine
Duoya
mattmanganon
Creative Chaos
Hedgehawk
shylarah{ Nightmare at The Museum: Part 1 }
< Collab between Zane Wulfe @Ryteb Pymeroce & Helena Brighthart @baraquiel >
Zane entered the cafeteria, and was once again overwhelmed by the myriad of scents that permeated the air. Honestly, he despised restaurants, preferring to cook himself in a less busy environment. After facing off against the Lady for the time he did though, he lacks the energy to cook a proper meal. Not paying attention, he slumped down at a table next to a short girl with pink hair. She had the scent of minerals on her, though it was overpowered by the smell of prey. Rabbit ancestry perhaps? Either way he slumped down, studying the menu as well as he could despite the issue of being practically blind.
”Would ye recommend any good meat dishes, I cannae read the menu.”
At first, Helena ignored the boy's question with the idea that he was talking to someone else. But when she glanced at him, she realized he was talking to her when she looked around and saw nobody else close to him than her. He was the first one to actually talk to Helena in her time at staying at the academy, and she was so stoked to make some new friends.
Helena stood from her table and leaned in over the boy's soldier to read the menu to him once she also realized he had poor eyesight. "Oh, uh, well they have an assortment of food here. There are roasted pork, chicken, and beef, fried chicken and fried spare ribs, beef stew, pork chops...". She continued reading all the meat food in the menu, hoping that one of them would suit the boy's taste.
”Well, Roast Beef with a side of ribs is always a welcome meal after exerting yourself.” Zane remarked, ”Thanks for that, I left my glasses back at my room because I was sparring. Trust me, glass in your eyes is excruciating. Where are my manners, I'm Zane scion of clan Wulfe.”
Now he had recovered more of his fatigue, he did notice the more subtle scents. A hint of expensive perfumes and soap marked her as nobility, plus she had the natural bearing of one. That combined with the mineral smell was familiar, but he couldn't remember why.
Now that Helena moved closer to him, she could really notice that he was a very serious-looking boy with his spiky air and this aura that he emanated. She could not understand why, but everything about him spelled out 'dangerous' for her. Not to mention those eyes of his, it is like they can peer right into your soul. Helena has never met anyone like him at the kingdom, which made her even more eager to get to know about him and the differences in their beliefs
Helena beamed at him and curtsied a little. "I am delighted to meet you, Sir Zane. I am Helena Brighthart, princess of the kingdom of-". She paused, eyes widening when she realized she almost told the name of her kingdom. She had to remind herself that Zane was not a mortal human, and she was here to learn if her kind still had a place in the modern world. Besides, even though Zane was scaring her just a bit, something in her gut told her that she could trust him.
She cleared her throat and once again smiled at him. "Pardon me, kingdom of Clartellus. Allow me to carry my food and put it on your table so we can eat together. Excuse me," she said as she picked up her plate full of food and her glass of water and settled it on Zane's table before sitting beside him. "You say you are a scion of your clan? Is sparring your hobby, or is it something everyone in your clan must do?".
”Oh, the clan has been involved in mercenary work since before a unified England.” Zane replied, giving a small smile as he privately processed the information. Smell of minerals, nobility, kingdom of Clartellus. Ah, a Carbuncle. He remembered Odin telling him about them as a cautionary tale. They went into hiding before the Veil, so it is odd to see one in public. ”My people are natural predators, though we do try to temper our baser instincts. From your tone, I assume you are from a more peaceful realm?”
"Yes, I do," Helena said with a smile. She did not know why, but that nagging thought at the back of her head could not go away, especially when she told him they were 'natural predators'. Because of her lack of knowledge of the outside world, Helena did not realize she was talking to a Lycan, one of the creatures of mystics and magics that the Carbuncles before were afraid of because of their ruthless, predatory nature, along with Carbuncles being one of their favorite prey.
But being the kind-heart princess that she was, Helena decided to just ignore that nagging thought. "We live in a place where everyone got along with each other. If we ever had misunderstandings, we only settle them through peaceful talk. If it does not work, we would settle the bout in a joust. But I suppose your kin settle misunderstandings in actual fights?"
”Sounds... dull.” Zane remarked, not unkindly, ”Honestly I prefer violence. It's much more honest. Though for fragile gems like yourself, talking might be better.” Sure this was a juvenile dig, but there was something about her that made him want to tease her. Probably the way she looked like a rabbit in front of a wolf.
Digging into his meal, Zane thought about the advantages teaming up with a Carbuncle could have. Their light magic was quite diverse and would be helpful at range. Plus Carbuncles were naturally small which made decent infiltrators.
”Hey, do you want to go on a mission together?”
"Wha-?". Helena inclined her head and squinted a bit at Zane. Once she realized he was just teasing her, she giggled. It felt so refreshing talking to someone that did not refer to her as 'Princess' or 'Your Highness'. "It is easy for you to say, sir. And excuse you, I am not a fragile gem. I am a lustrous diamond," she said to him with a smirk and an eyebrow raised.
She ate his meal along with him, and she was very impressed from the taste of these foreign food. She made a mental note to go back here later for some snacks. Helena looked at Zane with a curious glance after he said something. "A mission? Oh my, how exciting! I am in! I want to go and pick a mission right away, but I also want to finish our food first," Helena said with a shy smile.
‘Fenrir’s Fuckstick, this girl is adorable.’ thought Zane as he continued to chow down on his ribs. It was unique talking to Helena compared to his clan or other classmates. Mostly because he was on the physical course and most of them would rather punch than talk. She had this aura of innocence to her that made you want to protect her. ”So how about a simple investigation mission?” Zane asked, after finishing his rack of ribs, ”My eyes may suck but my nose is quite good. Add that to your obvious intellect and it'd be over before they know it. I mean what could possibly go wrong?” Later on, he'd be kicking himself for tempting fate.
Helena's eyes widened when Zane said that. "An investigation mission? That would be delightful! Oh my, we are going to solve mysteries and find clues. This is very much exciting!", the Carbuncle said giddily. She can't contain the excitement and happiness in her eyes. Finally, a task that has nothing to do with her being a princess. "Let us eat and gain the energy we need to complete our mission. Oh, most especially you, Zane. You just got back from a sparring session, and we cannot go on our mission if you have not had your rest yet," Helena said worryingly at Zane as she continued eating her fish fillet.
”Oh, I'll be fine my dear gemstone. ” Zane said, as he cut into a slice of roast beef, ”It's just burned calories. The Lady knows when to stop before I exhaust myself.” Despite not liking the public setting, the meat was exquisite. They rubbed it in a mix of herbs before boiling it for a short time to bring the flavours to the surface. Mustard in the gravy gave it just enough kick to be noticed next to the meat without overpowering it.
Helena's froze, fear creeping throughout her body. How did he know she was a carbuncle, or better yet, why did he call her his dear gemstone? She panicked for a bit before she tried to calm herself down. 'It is probably just a term of endearment in the modern times. Yes, that must be it! Unless...' Helena thought. "Uh S-Sir Zane, you might not know this but calling someone their 'gemstone' in my kingdom means claiming them as 'their beloved'. So... uh, I know you do not know this s-so... no w-worries. Unless you meant it, b-but I am sure that you don't because you didn't know what it means..." Helena was kicking herself on the inside. Way to make an awkward situation even more words.
She smiled a bit awkwardly at him as she felt her cheeks blush. "O-On a more serious note, it is good to know that you are fine, Sir Zane. If you say you are good to go then I believe you. I will look out for you, Sir Zane. That is a promise," Helena said to him with a smile that's less awkward this time before getting back to finish her meal.
Interesting, so gemstone was the word used for either fiancé or lover. It was adorable the way her face turned the colour of a ripe tomato when he used that term with her. The way she called him Sir was kind of annoying, if slightly endearing.
”Just Zane, my dear gemstone,” he grinned, tapping her on the nose, ”After all, we're all students here so we might maintain the pretence we are all equal... unless it's Glittersnatch. She's in a class of her own.” He wondered, would her head would explode first or would she faint?
"G-G-Glittersnatch? What d-does that... m-mean?", Helena stuttered in bewilderment. It would definitely be obvious to anyone who's looking that she's blushing so hard. She was raised in a very formal and proper household so Helena feared she might not completely understand Zane's words, but she had the feeling it was something naughty. Just thinking about it made a princess like Helena incredibly, and quite dramatically, shocked and flusttered. "J-Just Helena is f-fine, Sir Zane. I-I mean, Zane." She can't even look at the boy's eyes now that she's stuffing her mouth with food to stop herself from speaking.
Zane just laughed and returned to eating. The rest of the meal was interspaced with minor attempts to cause a blush in his companion. He grinned as he got her to cough when he asked about how good she was at handling poles.
And boy did she cough. A couple of people in the room even looked at Helena as she gulped down a full glass of water to stop herself from coughing. "I... I really don't know how to answer that q-question," she nervously said to Zane. Honestly, he will be the death of her. She just tried to maintain her composure until she finally finished her food and wiped her mouth in a regal way afterwards. "Well, glad that was done! I will wait for you to finish so you can lead the way to the mission room," she lied. She did memorize the map of the academy but like she thought before, this was a good way to further improve their friendship.
Zane finished soon after, not hindered by the manners drilled into nobility. He did use a napkin to wipe his face down, it didn't do to show a scruffy look. Rising from his seat, he offered his arm out for her to take. ”Please allow this Wulfe to lead the way, my sweet Helena.”
Helena blinked, clearly surprised at the sudden turn of events. For her, Zane was just full of surprises, and it made her really glad that she knew him. "I put my trust in you, oh handsome Zane," she said as she took his arm and stood up. She linked her arm around his, and she already felt how strong his arm was through his clothes from all that mercenary work he's been doing. "Lead the way," she said with a sweet smile.
The lycan led the carbuncle through the halls, taking in the various scents of the school. Strangely the artifical scents of civilisation was offset by the girl next to him. Once they reached the mission room he said, ”I'm good with anything you choose, my dear.”
She smiled at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. There were also multiple people in the room with them, each choosing from the variety of missions on display on the screens. Just by looking at them made Helena a bit sad, thinking that this many people were in dire need of help. She sighed sadly and looked on, before tapping Zane's arm to get his attention. "I found something that I think you'd like. It asks us to investigate the disappearance of a human man. The local police still has no idea about what happened to him so all legal investigations have been stopped. The man's wife still does not give up and claims her husband was... 'bewitched'." Helena looked back at Zane with worried eyes before continuing. "Latest report says a witness last seeing the victim at a museum in Washington, DC. Hm, where is this Washington, DC?", she wondered aloud.
”Oh, that's the capital of the USA.” Zane answered, pulling out his phone, ”See it's a few hundred miles away. I'll get my stuff together and meet you at the portal room” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked towards the door. As he reached the exit, he turned and said: ”By the way, I'm a Lycan.”
