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Patch sat outside of Tiviscan. He was mainly waiting for Erner, the two of them had some things planned with Barver and Wren, but he was also looking for some solace, sitting on a bench near the base of the statue that once was Erbo Monash, where he killed the Hamelyn Piper, and where he almost died.
This week has been a lot for him, it hasn’t been this chaotic ever since Patch got reacquainted at Hamelyn and basically died. He was just settling down when he found out about his new powers, he was incredibly happy that his Piping was back, but still.
“Brightwater, I thought you were at Hamelyn.” A tall figure sat next to him, making him jump. Upon looking, it was Lord Drevis.
“Ah, yeah, just waiting for Erner, we have plans,” Patch said quickly, a bit embarrassed at how hard he jumped.
“I see.” Drevis had sat a respectable distance away, on the other side of the bench, but the man’s much taller form still made him a bit anxious. “I was wondering why a lone dragon was flying so close to Tiviscan, should’ve known it was Barver. That’s your friends name, yes?”
“Yeah, Barver,” Patch mumbled, fidgeting with his hands. “How are you and the rest of the Eight doing?” he finally allowed himself to look up at Lord Drevis.
“Well, shortly after everything settled we had a meetup. It was nice seeing some of my old friends again,” Drevis replied calmly, Patch interally winced.
Drevis was one of the four surviving in the Legendary Eight, Hinkleman, Kellenfas, and Throne died during their journey, and Ural Casimir, or Yemas De Frenn, was murdered shortly after Patch escaped from Tiviscan dungeons.
“That’s good,” Patch said after a bit.
“You know it’s going to be quite a bit before Fortis Whitlock comes back from his outing.” Drevis looked down at him, Patch was surprised to see sympathy in his eyes.
“Uh—” Patch quickly looked down at his hands once more, “—yeah, I know.”
“Just taking a break? I’m sure that your journey was quite long. I hope you know that you and your friends are welcome inside Tiviscan castle whenever you’d wish,” Drevis said softly.
“Thank you, Lord Drevis,” He replied hesitantly, looking at Drevis from the corner of his eyes.
The two of them sat in silence for a little bit, Patch slowly relaxed, his gaze moving from his fidgeting hands to the spot he killed the Hamelyn Piper.
“I… feel bad,” Patch mumbled after a bit, eyes still locked on the spot, he remembered the man’s screams, the smell of burning, his own pain, everything. It was like it was ingrained his his head, forever making him feel like he was still there.
“About what?” Drevis inquired softly, looking at Patch with those oh-so patient eyes.
It made Patch want to cry then and there, but he didn’t.
“Killing him, the Hamelyn Piper,” Patch’s voice sounded off in his own ears, he’s hardly talked about how he felt on the matter, it felt weird to finally talk about it.
Drevis was silent, so he continued, “he hurt me, he hurt my sister, my family, my would-be friends, my town… but I’m still so confused about it, I—” he swallowed hard, “—I feel bad about it.”
Patch looked up at Drevis, “is that bad?”
After a second, Drevis replied, “of course not, Patch. Feeling bad after killing someone is completely normal, no matter who they were. For someone so young, you shouldn’t have had to anyway.” Drevis had a sureness in his voice that Patch hardly heard in other adults. “I’m sorry you had to do that, and I’m sorry you had to go through that, no child should ever have that burden.” Drevis put a hand on Patch’s shoulder. “Are you still planning on being a musician?”
Patch perked up at that, “I got my Piping back, actually.” He smiled up at Drevis.
“Really? I thought Brother Tobias said your Piping wouldn’t return.” Drevis smiled back down at him.
“Alia was right too, I have weird abilities and stuff.” Patch pulled the wooden Pipe out of his bag. It felt wrong to play an Obsidiac Pipe after learning what Obsidiac is made out of, so he had made a new one once Barver came to Hamelyn.
“You might wanna back up,” Patch warned lightly, as his newfound powers were rather erratic, and he waited for Drevis to go to the other side of the bench before playing.
Patch put the Pipe up to his mouth, he decided to play The Lift, it was his default Song, and the only Song he knew he could control well.
He heard Drevis gasp in shock, and as he opened his eyes he saw the usual sight: colors danced where he aimed the Song, brilliant golds and shades of blue Patch has never seen before, until he found out about his new abilities, of course. The ants that he was aiming at glowed a large variety of colors.
He then took his mouth away from the Pipe, and instead of letting it fade, he let out a sharp whistle, and the Song dispersed quickly.
“That’s amazing Patch. Are you thinking of coming back to Tiviscan anytime soon?” Drevis looked carefully at Patch, as if he was studying him.
“I’ll have to think about it.” He turned back to face Drevis, raising a brow at his expression. “What-” Patch was interrupted by the sound of Barver’s voice.
“Hey Patch! Me and Wren are going to get lunch if you want to come!” Barver called, Patch looked over at the figure of his friend hovering across the clearing, Wren on his back.
“Sure, I’ll come with you!” Patch called back, it’s probably better for him to get away from this spot anyway, too many bad memories. “Bye, Lord Drevis, thanks for letting me rant to you,”
“Anytime, Brightwater.” The two smiled at each other before Patch turned to his friends and walked away, getting on Barver’s back behind Wren.
“What was that about?” Wren asked, helping Patch secure his bag to Barver’s harness.
“He was just wondering who was flying around the castle, I believe,” Patch replied calmly, smiling to himself.
Barver soon took off, they’d return soon.