Chapter Text
Virgil did not need to sleep, but they made camp when it grew dark anyways, setting one of the blessed swords into the ground by its point, the faint glow of magic hanging in the air like fireflies. Armor clinking as they lowered themselves to sit by it, they didn’t turn when they finally spoke.
“You have followed me for quite some time. State your business.”
Behind them, the brush rustled as their erstwhile follower stepped into the dim light. Virgil’s hand remained on the ground, making no effort to reach for the sword sheathed at their side.
“Sit by the light. Let me have a look at your face while I decide what to do with you.”
Leaves and twigs crunched underfoot as they did so, taking a seat across from the knight, the sword plunged into the earth between them. All the while, Virgil did not move their head, giving the impression a statue was underneath the burnished armor.
“Are you lost, child?”
She seemed to curl inward, pulling her knees up to her chest, feet caked with loam, sticks tangled in her dark hair, and wide, bright eyes studying the knight in turn. “Uh-huh… I’ve never been here before.”
“Do you think I know the way?”
“Well, you looked like you knew where you were going… and I haven’t seen anyone else in this forest…” Her eyes drifted down to the sun emblem on their chest plate, “Are you lost?”
“I was never going to any place in particular.” A pause. “Are you not afraid of me, child?”
Her gaze went up to their featureless helmet, “…Should I be?”
“That depends. Do you owe a debt?”
“No—well, I don’t think so…” Her brow furrowed as she appeared to think it over closely, “…Maybe Mama and Papa did something…” Suddenly, she shivered, curling even smaller and scooting closer to the sword as if it were the comforting warmth of a fire, “There was a really scary lady—she grabbed me and was really mad at Mama and Papa… she was—she was…” Covering her eyes, she fell quiet, shoulders shaking.
Virgil regarded her, silent and impassive at the young girl across from them.
Finally, they broke the silence, voice measured and calm as it always had been, “If you wish to continue to follow me, then you are free to do so. Do not mistake it for companionship, child. If you fall behind, I will not wait for you.”
Slowly, she lowered her hands, gaze searching, looking for their eyes. Even if she couldn’t find them, she nodded, managing to smile, “Thank you! My name’s Megumi.”
“Go to sleep, child. I continue moving in the morning.”
If Virgil was surprised when she awoke as they drew the sword from the ground, they did not show it, letting the weapon disappear in their hand without stopping. She yawned, quickly standing and running to catch up with their longer strides. Evidently she remembered their words from the night before, and did not complain about the pace, instead yawning more as they followed the knight over roots and down animal trails. Even if it was day, the sunlight was weak, the trees stretching far above them blocking the rays of light, and the branches swayed in the wind, carrying the sounds of unseen animals.
Unbothered by it all, Virgil’s steps only slowed when they were forced to move carefully over overgrown roots and outcroppings of rocks, continuing in a straight line through the wilderness.
It was difficult to tell how much time had passed when they finally stopped by a shallow creek, tilting their head like a bird of prey, focusing on something unseen in the air. Breathing heavily, Megumi knelt by the water and cupped her hands to bring something to mouth, drinking greedily. “You should have some too!” She called to the knight, letting her hands rest in the clear water, “Since you’ve been walking in all of that armor!”
“I do not need to.” They answered curtly, still looking away, not even casting a glance over, and after another minute, started walking again. Gulping down another handful of water quickly, Megumi ran after them, trailing just close enough that she could reach out and grab the oddly pristine cape, if she wanted to.
“How did you get here?” She suddenly asked, the ground leveling out and letting her walk more easily, “Did you get here like me?” With their back to her, she couldn’t tell if they made any motion that they heard her, so, with a frown on her small face, she tried again.
“Did you get get here like me? Like did you—did you shut your eyes really hard and everything goes whoosh? And then you open them and you’re in a place you’ve never seen before?”
No answer.
Quickening her steps, Megumi brushed past their cape to walk beside them, looking up at their hidden face.
“Because that’s what happened to me! The scary lady had me and was gonna’ hurt me but then everything went whoosh and my ears popped and then I was in a new place!”
No answer.
Her frown turned into a pout, and she reached up to grab their cape. With a casual flick of their arm, Virgil easily avoided her grasp.
“Mama says its rude to ignore people when they ask you a question!”
“I said this was not an invitation for companionship, child.” Virgil’s voice did not change to show any annoyance, and they did not move faster in an attempt to lose her, but it was a tone that also cut off arguments against it.
Megumi blinked in confusion, “Why not? We’re walking together, why can’t we talk?” When Virgil did not reply again, she let out a small breath. “How did you do that with the sword? Like, make it disappear like that?” She jumped over a small depression in the dirt to avoid stepping on a group of growing mushrooms, “Why did you need that one? You’ve already got a sword right there!”
Her voice echoed around the trees, not discouraged by the lack of response from the knight.
“How did that sword make that light? It was so pretty! Do you have a lot of swords? Why do you need so many of them?”
When the forest around them darkened, she was breathing heavily again, having fallen a step behind but still determinedly following them. Without preamble, Virgil stopped short beside a gnarled and ancient tree, almost making Megumi trip into them.
In one motion that spoke of practice many times before, Virgil drew the same sword out of thin air, the glow of its magic already appearing as it came into being. Collapsing onto the ground, a smile grew across Megumi’s face as she watched the lights in the air, only looking over when Virgil once again plunged the sword into the ground. The knight took a seat on the ground, and if they were as winded as she was from the trek, she couldn’t hear it or see it.
“Aren’t you tired?” She asked, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaning back, “Or—oh! Are you like my Papa? Papa’s a vampire!”
“No, I am not.” Barely a change in their voice and barely a shift in their body to show they were paying attention to her, “Again, child, this was not an offer of companionship.”
“You can call me by my name, not just ‘child’.” Megumi said with a frown, “…What’s your name? You never said it.”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Because I told you mine! It’s polite!”
When Virgil didn’t answer, silence fell over the makeshift camp. Megumi was about to speak, but her words were swallowed up in a yawn.
“Go to sleep, child. I start moving in the morning.”
Just as the day before, Virgil awoke without a word, leaving Megumi to hurry after them as they continued walking through the forest, appearing to follow a trail that only they could see. And just as before, Megumi kept asking questions, attempting to coax an answer, not matter how small, from the knight; from how long they had been walking through the forest to what their favorite color was.
Continuing to mirror the day before, Virgil was silent, only pausing when they passed a creek or a pool, letting Megumi drink while they gauged something unseen.
Night fell, Virgil would set the blessed sword in the ground, ignore more of Megumi’s questions, and bid her good night.
“Go to sleep, child. I start moving in the morning.”
Eventually, Megumi ran out of questions she could think of to ask the knight, and she circled back around in her talking to herself.
“How strong are you?”
“Why do you ask, child?”
She froze, blinking in wide-eyed surprise at the knight, who had drawn the sword at their side to slice through a thick tangle of thorny vines. Shaking her head to dispel the shock, Megumi carefully stepped in the footprints left by the knight’s larger feet, avoiding the fallen thorns, “Well… you’re covered in armor… and you have that magic sword…”
“I’m sure you will discover that does not make one special.”
Taking an extra large step to avoid a clump of the cut up plant, she wobbled, almost falling over until she grabbed the long cape, somehow still free of dirt and damage from the forest. Regaining her balance, she jumped over another mess of the vines, one hand keeping a firm grip on the fabric.
“You’re also all alone—aren’t you scared being all by yourself?”
“I am not. I have not been scared in a very long time.” Virgil paused in their work, lowering their sword to look back at her, “Is your mind on your pursuer?”
Biting her lip, she nodded, “She was… so scary—I had never seen anyone so angry!”
“Are you afraid that she might find me, now that you have met me?”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt!”
They passed through the thick brush, and Virgil sheathed their sword. Realizing what she had done without thinking, Megumi let go of their cape.
“I mean, even if—even if you don’t want to talk to me and stuff, I still don’t want you to get hurt.”
Instead of continuing forward, Virgil turned around to face her, properly regarding her for the first time since the first night.
“…You are very kind to think like that.”
“Thank you…”
“What do you want in exchange?”
Taken by surprise again, she blinked once, twice, before managing to stutter an answer, “H-Huh? Want?”
“Yes. What is it? How much gold?”
“I-I don’t! There’s nothing! Being kind doesn’t mean I want money!”
At her words, Virgil tilted their head to the side, studying her silently. Finally, they turned from her, facing away once again, and started walking.
“Come along. I will not wait if you lag behind.”
Jolted out of her confusion, Megumi hurried to do as they said, reaching out with her hand to take ahold of their cape again.
Underneath an arch made from two trees, Megumi watched curiously as they drew the sword from the air and stabbed it into the ground, making its light fall around them.
“It is a blessed sword.” This time, Virgil’s voice seemed quieter, more hushed than usual, “The light is a ward it creates to protect from evil.”
Letting out a small sound of amazement, Megumi pulled her legs up to her chest, comfortably resting her chin on her knees, “Is it so you don’t get attacked while you’re sleeping?”
“I do not like being disturbed, although I do not sleep.” They settled down opposite of her, “You should get some sleep. I start moving again in the morning.”
Even if her eyelids felt heavier, Megumi tried to stay awake long enough to ask one more question.
“Hey… what’s your name?” The tail end, however, trailed off as she lost the battle against sleep, slumping to the ground in a tight ball as her breathing evened out.
“My name is Virgil.”
The forest began to thin, although when the sky suddenly broke open and let loose heavy rains, Megumi almost wished they were still back in the deeper woods so the ceiling of branches would shield them. Standing on one of the exposed tree roots to avoid setting foot into the deep mud, she watched Virgil pull their hood over their helmet, the drops of rain making a constant, soft patter against their exposed armor. Without a word, they suddenly stepped closer, holding up one side of their cape with a hand to create a cover for her.
“Come along. I will not stop if you fall ill from this rain.”
Jumping onto firmer ground beside them, Megumi smiled brightly, “Okay! But what about you? You’re all in armor! Aren’t you worried about getting sick?”
“I do not get sick. Watch your step, the mud is thick off of the trail.”
Even while they were side by side, Megumi noticed they never came close to stepping on her much smaller bare feet, and hummed cheerfully.
“We should reach the foothills by tonight, provided the rain does not flood this part of the forest.” Despite the dreary weather or how they were holding up their cape for her, their voice was dry and unaffected, as if they were reading something as uninteresting as a newspaper.
The foothills led up to a mountain range, but Virgil paid it no mind, leading her to a cave in the rocks to keep them out of the wind and rain. Even so, the blade of the blessed sword easily slid into the rock, filling the small space with its cool light. This time, Virgil sat next to her, their gaze resting on the sword in the stone floor, letting her wrap their cape around herself like a blanket.
“Megumi.”
Letting out a squeak of surprise, she grinned, “You said my name!”
“Indeed. You had asked if I had arrived at the forest in the same manner as you had.”
She nodded.
“I did. You asked about the blessed sword I summoned; that is my form of magic. As many blades will answer me as I need them.”
Another small nod.
“You asked me what my name was. I am called Virgil.”
With happiness across her face, and she pulled the cape tighter around herself, “It’s nice to meet you, Virgil! It’s a nice name.”
“I suppose it is.” They sounded unusually bemused, “You’d best get some sleep, Megumi. I will let you know when it’s time to move again in the morning.”
It was still raining when she woke up. If anything, it had started raining harder, making small streams of water run off of the rocks, turning the dirt of the forest floor into thick mud. Virgil had not moved, and Megumi almost thought they had fallen asleep over the course of the night and missed daybreak.
“Megumi. I have a question for you.” Their voice brought her to wakefulness, and she sat up, swaying slightly as she rubbed the drowsiness from her eyes. They were still facing the sword in the ground, and their words were almost swallowed up by the sound of the rain outside.
“The one chasing you… You said you were afraid of her?”
Megumi nodded slowly, “I… I never saw anyone so angry. And so angry at other people.” The fury in the steely gaze of the warrior was burned into her memory, a constant reminder of the danger that was following her.
With one hand, Virgil reached down to a hidden piece of their armor and withdrew a knife from its hiding place. It was not ornate by any means, the most detailed part of it being the black sun on its pommel, while the blade was as white as bone, unmarked and untarnished. They easily flipped it in the air, catching it by the blade and holding the grip out to her.
“Take this. It is an old friend of mine.”
In contrast to their own stillness, her hands were trembling slightly. Virgil watched as her fingers curled around it.
“You must only use this once. If she catches you, use it to escape, and then run. Run to as many places as you need to.”
“Isn’t… isn’t this important to you, if its your old friend?”
“Its purpose is more so.” Virgil’s larger, armored hands covered hers, “When it is used, I will be able to find it again, no matter how far.”
“Are you—are you going to fight her? What if you get hurt?”
“I am very strong. And I am not afraid.” They drew their hands away, leaving her to hold the knife, “Here. My payment for your kindness.”