Chapter Text
Day after day, week after week, the Sage of Truth did the same exact thing every single day.
Wake up (if he slept),
do work,
teach his class,
do more work
and more work,
go home.
The only thing he really looked forward to was seeing his Recluse every evening. He could easily tell how much Truthless Recluse hated him, but he didn't care. In fact, he even came on his own a few weeks ago! The Recluse had told him to get some rest, maybe that meant he cared about him?
I'm letting my silly fantasies get to my head again, why would he care? Any cookie would have pointed out how terrible I looked if they had seen me.
The Sage began getting used to the routine. Of course he never knew what his students would get up to, but other than that, nothing really changed. He was once again carrying a pile of papers to hand out to his students, nearly tripping over a doorstop on his way to class. Another thing that had become part of Sage's routine was overthinking. Thoughts raced through his head each night, some positive, most negative. It was mostly his mind telling him he messed up that day, everyone probably hates him, and other things he couldn't recall.
That day in particular, the thoughts only got worse, every wrong move causing even stronger urges to return to his old methods of silencing his mind. It sickened and tired him. His students didn't notice many changes, which was good in his opinion, as it wasn't professional to make your own personal struggles get in the way of his job.
There had been some tension between two students the other day so strong the entire class was silent and staring at the former pair of best friends. He knew something would eventually happen, but he didn't expect it to happen in his own class. When he heard students yelling and crashing coming from his class, he dropped his papers and ran.
There were the same two students throwing punches, some students urging them on, others standing on the other side of the room, avoiding the crowd. Sage immediately jumped in, trying his best to separate the two. Most students backed away, not wanting to interfere.
One of the students in the fight stared at the Sage with such rage in his eyes it made him shudder. Once the student turned to him, he yelled "Get your hands off me, you son of a bitch!" and punched him in the head so hard hell, hitting his head on one of the desks. They continued screaming and hitting, completely unfazed by the cookie with blood running down his nose struggling to stand as he laid on the ground.
That was when one of the stronger students who was earlier standing on the side stepped in, restraining the most adrenaline-high cookie by pinning his arm behind him and holding him on the ground. He heard them cursing, but the Sage was too shaken to yell at them for their rude language. A girl helped him up, even after he insisted he didn't need help. Once he was able to stand on his two feet without falling over, he ordered them to go to the principal's office immediately, and they eventually did after a few other students stood up to volunteer to force them. Once everything was somewhat calm again, the Sage of Truth took his seat.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked, gaze on a younger boy who had a footprint shaped bruise forming on his face. "Maple Syrup was stepped on, but other than that we're fine. How about you, sir?" Lemon Pudding stated, also taking a seat on a desk. "I'll be fine." Sage said, grabbing a tissue to wipe his bleeding nose.
The class sat in silence, tension still in the air. It had been a long time since Sage had witnessed a class fight of that severity. “I think your sleeve tore.” A student mentioned, gesturing towards Sage’s arm. He looked at his arm and internally panicked, instantly hiding his wrist under his desk. “You’re right. I’ll change when I get home.” He began, trying to sound casual. “Feel free to do whatever, just be quiet.”. The class complied without another word. Meanwhile the Sage attempted to make a temporary fix for his ripping sleeve by using safety pins he kept in his desk. The last thing he wanted was for someone to glance over at his wrist and make this shitty day even worse.
By the end of the day, the Sage of Truth was exhausted. Though, he was excited to see his Recluse! Their conversations shifted from just talking about world knowledge to actually sharing stuff about each other! The Sage grabbed some things from home, before setting on his journey up the peak. As the seasons changed from autumn to winter, the peak was even colder than usual. If he wasn't able to fly, he would have been trudging through the knee-deep snow. Once the familiar shadow of the Truthless Recluse's house was within view, Sage was able to spot the cookie through the window, as if he was waiting for him. The thought itself brought Sage the happiness he had yearned for the entire week.
"Hello!" Sage yelled, throwing on a cheery voice the moment the door opened. Truthless Recluse gave a curt nod, face not displaying any sign of emotion. He held the door open for the other cookie. "So, my Recluse, what have you been doing recently?" Sage asked as they gazed around the rooms, genuinely curious. "Not much. I did travel to a nearby kingdom to collect some herbs for a few days, but other than that I've just been here. How about you?"
"Just teaching my students. I did take a hit from one of my students today, haha, some cookies really can be aggressive sometimes." The Recluse didn't seem to find how that was funny. "Are you unharmed?" He asked, stopping to take a better look at Sage's face. "Of course I am, don't worry about me, my dear!".
A few hours pass, as the two sit down for tea. The tea itself barely gets touched, as the pair is too invested in conversation to remember. That was until the Recluse seemed to notice Sage's ripped sleeve. "Your sleeve." He doesn't think before grabbing Sage's sleeve. His fingers tightened on the cuts from the night before, making Sage flinch and cry out. Truthless Recluse didn't seem to understand why he was in pain, until he looked at his arm. Cuts. Too many cuts to count, all in one straight line. This can't have been an accident, did Sage- oh.
Truthless Recluse looked at Sage with such a horrified look on his face. "Did you..."
Sage's thoughts immediately started racing.
Why didn't I just sew it?
I'm so stupid.
He's going to hate me now, the one cookie I'm living for is going to hate me.
I need to leave, now.
Without thinking twice, the Sage jumped out of his seat and ran out of the house, not looking back. He used his mana to teleport home, knowing how much it would waste. By the time he smelt the familiar blueberry scent of his home, tears had already filled his eyes. Laying in his bed, he thought for a bit.
Life is painful,
most of my students dislike me,
and now Truthless Recluse hates me.
Why should I even live?
The next morning, after a sleepless night, Sage decided that these will be his last days on Earthbread.