Chapter Text
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Fate decided to have their first encounter in the Hollow, which wasn’t ideal. At least not for Lighter and Wise. The fact that they had to deal with an ethereal attack was even more unideal.
Having to run with all his non-existent physical prowess, then smacked into the air, and tumbled on the ground into Billy was not what Wise signed up for when he agreed to come to the Outer Ring. When he thought it was over for him and Billy, a motor vehicle shot through the air and stopped before them.
Wise was already feeling a little woozy when he hit the ground earlier, so he wasn’t quite paying attention to what the lady on the motor was saying. He only managed to catch that she acknowledged Billy as “Brother” and him as “Proxy”. Then he caught a glimpse of a red scarf whisking by and the ethereal was knocked back.
Hearing the person who had just arrived called Billy “Brother” as well, Wise was certain that these people knew Billy and they were here to help. He had been trying very hard to stay alert as they were still in the presence of the beast, but since reinforcements had arrived, he unconsciously relaxed.
The fight took a while to finish and the moment it ended, Wise blacked out. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already setting. He sat up and looked around, curious about where all the plants around him came from. Before he could start asking questions, his sister’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Brother, how are you feeling? Are you hurt?”
Wise was glad to see his sister again and wanted to reassure her that he was fine when he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He winced in pain while trying to move his arm again. ‘Looks like my arm couldn’t escape the impact from the tumble just now.’ Not hearing any response from her brother, Belle decided to check by herself when suddenly, the man wearing the red scarf appeared beside her.
“Looks like it’s broken.” The man said while staring at Wise’s arm in his sunglasses.
“Broken?! Oh no! Is there a doctor around? Can it be healed?” Belle had always wanted nothing more for her brother to be healthy and safe. But now, hearing that his arm was broken filled her with anxiety. Wise, who always had his sister as his priority, saw her anxious state. He quickly lifted his uninjured arm and rubbed her cheek with his hand, thumbing off the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, it’ll heal. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
Wise then looked up at the man in front of him. “Sorry, uh…”
“Lighter.”
“Yes. Sorry, Lighter. Do you know how long it would take for my arm to heal?” Wise wasn’t sure whether this was a permanent or temporary injury, but he didn’t want Belle to worry too much, so he could only trouble Lighter to play along with him. Lighter stared at Wise for a while before averting his eyes (or sunglasses).
“It will most likely take 6 months, but considering your physique, you might need longer.”
Lighter turned back to Wise, sunglasses meeting with eyes.
“It won’t be forever.”
Wise’s eyes widened before he smiled softly at Lighter. “I see. Thanks, Lighter. I appreciate it.” Wise turned back to Belle, reassuring her that he would be okay. If Wise were to look back at Lighter again, he would find the latter pushing his sunglasses up awkwardly with a red face hiding behind his red scarf.
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