Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2015-04-26
Updated:
2016-06-20
Words:
18,845
Chapters:
7/?
Kudos:
20
Bookmarks:
1
Hits:
396

Wizards and Warriors

Summary:

Wake up, freshen up, eat breakfast, head down into the Summoner’s Hall to announce her presence to those who cared, leave the Hall, go to the Arena, battle, win, and avoid those who wanted to speak with her. Never in her daily schedule did it say, “Spend valuable time with Karl and his friends playing Wizards and Warriors."

Chapter 1: Why me?!

Chapter Text

Seria never wanted to play this stupid game- Karl and his friends had pressured her into it. She'd rather be doing anything else; training, participating in an Arena Battle, taking a long shower, or even standing out in the pouring rain. Anything but playing Karl’s stupid game. What was it called again? Wizards and Peasants? Warlocks and Dungeons? Seria didn’t know, and she didn’t care. The only thing that was stopping her from walking out the door and into the heavy downfall of water was the look Karl gave her everytime she stuck around for another turn. That, and the boys had handcuffed her left wrist to the sofa leg and tied up her shoelaces. With her free hand, she pushed up brown locks that fell into her face and repressed yet another sigh of discontent.

“Seria, it’s your turn. If you roll a 2 or a 7, you can add a point to your Attack stat. But, if you roll a 3, 5 or 9, you have to subtract 2 from your Defence stat. If you roll any other numbers, nothing happens,” Karl passed the pair of dice to Seria’s open hand.

With mock excitement, the brunette threw the dice down onto the game board and watched in boredom as they stopped on the numbers 2 and 5.

“Nice one, babe! Karl, add 1 to her Attack stat and move her piece seven spaces forward!” A boy with red hair and green eyes shouted.

What was his name again? Koy? Kilt? Kane? Seria knew little to nothing about the unfamiliar people surrounding her, as she opted to keep to herself after Arena Battles. Karl, of course, would have none of it, often making her socialize with friends and admirers of his. All she knew about the loud, red haired boy was that he was a sleazy, good for nothing slacker whose hands had the tendency to wander where they shouldn’t.

Shooting the boy a sharp glare, Seria turned around and threw Karl a glance of annoyance, only for it to be vanquished with his look of sheepish glee.

“Alright, Koit, that’s enough. I've already said that Seria is here of her own will, and the least you can do is keep your hands to yourself,” Karl stepped in when Seria’s glare at the other boy turned into a promise of death.

“Don't call me “babe”, either. Use what little of common sense and wit you have to respect that!” Seria huffed and blew her hair out of her face.

“Tch, such harsh words from such a beautiful maiden,” Koit said, waving his hands around dramatically.

“Maiden?!” Seria thought, her face flushed with anger.

Karl coughed to break the awkward tension. “Alright, Koit. Pass the dice, it’s my turn to roll. Lugina, I’m betting 5 of my Recovery stat that I’ll roll a 2, 4 or 8. Do you accept?”

“You’re a fool, Karl. The odds aren’t in your favor, so of course I’ll accept! It amuses me when you fail.” Lugina sneers.

Karl cupped the dice in his hands, shook them in the air, and let the dice fly onto the board. Everyone, except for Seria, held their breath as the dice skidded to stop, showing the numbers 3 and 6 on the faces.

Lugina laughed at Karl’s surprised expression. “I told you so, pretty boy! Never make a bet that you know you can’t win. Koit, give me that notepad! It’s time to make some changes.”

While Lugina scrubbed away at the notebook with an eraser, Seria took a wistful glance at the clock. She had arrived at 5 pm due to Karl’s non stop begging, and they had started playing at around 6:45. The slow but constant ticking of the clock’s hands reminded her that time hadn’t stopped and that she still had many more hours of suffering. It was only 8:30.

She used her free hand to useless pick at the chain of her handcuffs, but stopped once she noticed Koit’s perverted expression. Growling at him, she threw her head back onto the seat of the sofa and willed for time to move faster.

“Koit, take your pathetic eyes off of Seria and roll the damn dice. I’m not gonna sit here and watch you mentally strip her. We don’t have all day, you know.” Lugina lazily remarked, tossing the notepad back into Karl’s lap.

“Whatever, Lugina. I can tell she secretly loves it.” Koit smirked and threw the dice onto the board.

Karl barely stopped Seria from ripping out Koit’s throat. He sighed in defeat. “Who’s idea was it to handcuff her to the sofa? Besides, Koit, I’m not restraining her the next time you make an unwanted remark. If she manages to break the cuffs and tear you a new one, I’ll stand back and watch.”

“Glad to know where your allegiance lies, man.” Koit moved his piece three steps forward and tossed the dice to Karl, who gave them to Seria.

She threw the dice down and rolled her eyes as the boys scrambled to record the turn.

“Alright, Seria, you currently stand at a diversion in your path. To your left is a forest and you can dimly see a light on the other side. To your right is an entrance to a dark maze, where treasures and untold riches await you if you manage to reach the end. But be warned, you’re not alone. So, if you roll a 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10, you traverse into the forest. If you roll a 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11, you continue on into the maze. If you somehow happen to roll a 12, nothing happens and we skip your turn for 3 turns.” Karl read the instructions from the manual.

Silently hoping the universe will be kind to her just this once, the brunette shot the dice onto the playing board. With a disappointed sigh, she watched the dice form a 6 and a 5, just a mere number away from silence for 3 turns.

“Ok, Seria, you’ve traveled into the maze. Please roll again to decide your fate,”

She did so without complaint, wanting to get things over with. With Lugina scribbling away at the notepad, Karl saying things that had absolutely no meaning to her, and Koit making stupid passes at her whenever he could, Seria started to wonder if this was really the highlight of her life. Despite the countless Arena matches she’s participated in throughout the years, the occasional quest into the Agni region, and the Trials that the Summoner’s Research Lab wanted her to try, she couldn’t disagree that her life had gotten a little boring.

Wake up, freshen up, eat breakfast, head down into the Summoner’s Hall to announce her presence to those who cared, leave the Hall, go to the Arena, battle, win, and avoid those who wanted to speak with her. Never in her daily schedule did it say, “Spend valuable time with Karl and his friends playing Wizards and Warriors.”

The storm outside only grew stronger, as if beckoning the universe to stop this game and let nature continue peacefully. Lugina was currently punching Koit and accusing him of cheating, and Karl, as always, was trying to play peacemaker and prevent any future fights. The room was in a state of disaster. The game pieces were scattered everywhere, and the board was…somewhere. Seria raised an eyebrow as Lugina elbowed Karl in the ribs, causing him to stumble back into Koit, who fell face first into a pile of game pieces.

“Come play Wizards and Warriors with us,” Karl had said. “It’ll be fun!” He said. Seria sighed, this was really getting out of hand. At this rate, the Head Summoner would charge Lugina for assault, possibly throw him in prison, and then the Demon Hunters would lose their leader, even as pathetic as he was.

Lightning struck the nearby lamp post, causing it to explode in a display of red hot sparks and burning metal. The boys paid it no mind, instead focusing more on their petty feud that started because Koit had moved his piece one too many spaces.

Seria swore that she saw a stray bolt of lightning illuminate the far corner of the living room and disappear into the carpet. If she weren’t handcuffed to the sofa leg, she might’ve jumped up onto the sofa and glared disapprovingly at the three young adults that were acting like 5 year olds, but for now, she would have to settle with glaring from ground level.

As if on cue, all the lights in the complex went out, causing a small shriek of fright from Koit.

“You’re afraid of the dark?” Lugina asked, making himself comfortable on the recliner away from Karl.

“No! Of course not! It just startled me, that’s all.” Koit breathed out a shaky sigh.

“And you call yourself a summoner!” Lugina laughed.

“Not just any summoner! I’m a level 35, class Contender summoner! You should have more respect, Lugina!” Koit boasted.

Lugina and Karl looked at each other, an unimpressed expression coloring both faces. “You’ve got to be kidding me..” Lugina trailed off.

“Come on, let’s put everything up before anyone else gets hurt,” Karl motioned to the stray pieces littering the ground.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not getting the ones stuck to his face, though. You can do that.”

“Feh, and here I thought we were actually getting somewhere with our friendship,” Karl mocked.

“Please, the only “friendship” we’ll ever have is making fun of Koit.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Koit whipped his head up from the corner he was hiding in.

“You were meant to,” Lugina responded, folding the board into fourths and setting it on top of the kitchen counter.

Loud thunder caused the entire house to shake and flower pots to fall from their stands. Koit, who was currently in “duck and cover” position, whimpered when the broken glass fell close to his foot.

“Tell me again, Koit. Who the hell is in your squad?” Lugina heaved him up from his position.

“Um.. Selena, Lancia, Aisha, Cyborg Lilith, and Uda,” Koit looked at Lugina, confusion written on his face. “Why do you ask?”

Lugina stared him directly in the eye. “How the fuck do Selena and Uda put up with all your shit?!” He dropped the whimpering boy back onto the ground and stomped away.

“Karl, I’m taking the guest bedroom. Leave me alone for the rest of the night and part of tomorrow morning. If he’s,” Lugina gestured to Koit, “not gone by the time I wake up, I’ll send his squad a resignation form.”

Karl widened his eyes, and Seria sat up straighter, listening intently. “You can’t do that, Lugina! Only the Head Summoners can remove units from a summoner’s squad!” Karl protested.

“He’s right, Lugina. Get it through your thick, mossy headed skull that the world doesn’t revolve around your commands.” Seria responded boredly, nodding her thanks to Karl, who had the decency to remove her handcuffs.

Standing up and popping joints when she stretched, Seria gave a 180 degrees sweep of the room. Every inch of the room was covered in darkness, and the only noise was coming from the ravaging storm outside, Koit’s pitiful whimpering and Lugina steaming in his corner.

“I’ll take the couch. Seria, there’s a blow up mattress in the left corridor. I’m afraid that you and Koit will have to share a bed, do you mind?” Karl said, pointing to the west.

“Yes, Karl. Yes, I do mind. Have you forgotten what had just happened in the last 20 minutes?! I’m not about to share a bed with the same pervert of a summoner that had tried to make passes at me! I’m taking the floor. He can have the damn bed.”

Seria marched over to the far side of the room, where the lightning struck 10 minutes ago. Not caring that she had no blanket or pillow to rest her head on, Seria fell into a tense sleep that only lasted for a few brief moments before she was woken up.

Light streamed through every open crevasse that the foundation had to offer. Sitting up and rubbing her aching head, the brunette tried to look around at her surroundings as much as she could with her vision weakening every few seconds. She blamed it on Lugina’s idiocy and herself for sleeping without a pillow.

Standing up on wobbly feet, Seria was greeted with a ceiling that was too close to her head for comfort and a light at the end of the white tunnel. Slowly walking towards it, the light soon gave way to lush green trees and tall, rocky mountains. A small town dotted the horizon, bustling ships sailing in and out of their docks, and large groups of people that resembled colonies of ants bustled in and out of various buildings.

The midday sun beat down on Seria’s shoulders, threatening to burn the fair skin and cause it to peel in an unattractive way. The clothing she had on did nothing to protect her from the sun’s harmful rays. She wore a navy blue tunic with white sleeves, black pants, a simple leather belt, sheepskin boots and a short bastard sword attached to her belt.

The fact that most of the clothing was composed of dark colors and more suited for colder climates, Seria began her short trek into the town below, only to nearly trip and fall over a tattered brown bag that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She did a double take. The bag wasn’t there when she had arrive a few minutes ago, was it? Maybe that joke that Lugina sneered at her about old age was finally taking its toll. Rolling her eyes at the possibility of that happening, Seria bent down, retrieved the bag and swung it around her shoulders, opting to not waste more time by exploring its contents. That could wait until she got to the town and found some shade.