Chapter Text
Night falls gloomily, red scatters the stage and audience. Painting the sight with unsettling intensity. Artful being the one standing on stage—knew he did this. He did it out of an outburst, now feeling guilty for what he had done. All because civilians didn’t appreciate his magic and booed him off with banana peels. Civilians lay dead on the floor, but one managed to send a help signal to alert others before ultimately dying.
Artful, now fearing for the worst, he flees from the scene. He doesn’t want to think about what will happen to him if he gets captured. Most certainly, he'll face execution.
He kept running away from the city until he was tired. So he lay down in the forest next to a tree, giving him some closure, yet he had his guard up. Thoughts in his head ran wild; fortunately, he was able to fall asleep soon after.
The sun had risen, birds chirping, though something was approaching Artful’s.
Metallic smell lingers in the air, leaves rustle in the bush—a stick then cracks nearby. Awoken by the noise, Artful got up with his wand in hand, ready to fend off whoever was approaching.
A yellow-headed man with a turtleneck sweater with a sword in his chest appeared out of the bush. Startled by how he’s alive and almost zombie-like. Artful was scared—maybe the government had come for him. Sweat ran down his face, and suddenly the yellow man spoke.
“Pardon me, didn’t mean to scare you there. I was looking for someone who had stabbed me with a sword.” They exchange glances up and down—his right hand hovering over the sword, dripping excessive blood from his chest.
“Apologies, I should’ve introduced myself sooner—my name’s Mequot.” his other hand reached out for a handshake.
“Ah, It’s alright. The name’s Artful, I think you know who I am, right?” They grab their hand to shake, a greeting gesture.
“I think you’re mistaken, this is the first time we’ve met,” he lets out a friendly smile.
Surprised by his words, even though he’s popular in the area where he lives.
“I see, you’re also covered in blood as well. May I ask what had happened?” As soon as he asked Artful, unpleasant memories began flooding in. Tears ran down his stream as if he’d just relived his nightmare.
“Goodness.. is everything alright, Artful?” Mequot, worried about the man, settled Artful down.
“It’s nothing.. it’s not even my blood to begin with,h” looking at his clothes with a drenched look on his face.
Mequot pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and then handed it to Artful.
“Thanks, Mequot. I really appreciated that.” Artful wiped away his tears with the handkerchief that Mequot had just given him.
Looking at the situation they were in. He decided not to push further.
Mequot, sitting next to Artful, offers to get him a new pair of clothes in exchange for helping him find his perpetrator.
In a flick of a moment, they were teleported somewhere far from where they were originally at. Lushous land of green surrounded by towers and strange buildings. Artful, confused, not knowing what’s going on. He sees a yellow slicked back hair man with formal attire, a red and black pattern suit perfectly with sand colored pants floating midair with a cube in his hand.
“Thank you for teleporting us here, Devesto! You’ve got my message on time,” Mequot raising his hand to wave at the floating man.
“Who’s this fellow you got there, Mequot?” The man looked down, curious as to why he had brought a person along with him.
“Oh, this good sir is Artful. We just met a while ago, and could you perhaps have spare casual clothing?”
The floating man then descended down facing both Artful and Mequot.
“Alright,” Devesto extended his hand. Out of nowhere, a red shirt with long black pants appeared in his hand, folded neatly.
Artful gently grabbed the clothing from Devesto's hand without much thought.
“Now what’s your reason for coming here with Mequot?”
“Let’s say I’m a wanted criminal and I have nowhere else to stay,” he answered nervously.
“Hm, I’m also a wanted criminal—I guess we have something in common. I’ll let you stay temporarily for now,” his hand pointing to a clear area of grass, then suddenly a small house appeared out of thin air.
“You’ll be staying in that house for as long as I feel like it.”
Artful thanked both Mequot and Devesto for letting him have shelter under some circumstances.