August Intruder [SOL Progression Fantasy]

Patience watched him from a distance. Even without looking, Melmarc could feel her eyes on him. The few times he met her gaze, she had an expression that he could not quite place. She didn't look pissed but she was definitely not happy.

As for Pelumi, she stood next to him quietly. She looked confused by what he had done to Devin. Her test had been at the hands of Eleanor, the girl that Ark had defeated. Apart from a broken nose, she'd sustained no damage from Ark. Rae had healed her up very quickly.

Then she'd administered the rest of the test.

While Pelumi had not won her fight, she'd been given the chance to show what she was capable of, summoning two creatures to fight by her side. One had been a blue knight while the other had been something similar to a lion.

Eleanor had dealt with them easily before dealing with Pelumi. Unlike Devin, Eleanor was gentler. She simply won instead of going out of her way to crush her opponent.

From watching Pelumi's test, Melmarc knew where her weaknesses were. She was powerless without her summoned assistants. Some physical training as well as close combat training would do her a lot of good.

Right now, they all stood, crowded up in an open room. For some reason it was spacious enough to contain them without their bodies being forced to touch each other but small enough that it still felt tight.

The walls were painted white with tear marks of black—a color scheme that was beginning to get on Melmarc's nerves. As for the tiles beneath their feet, they were reflective black.

"You really went crazy on him, didn't you?" Ark joked, smiling easily.

Melmarc groaned. At the time he was facing Devin, he had understood what he had been doing, in fact, he was in complete agreement with it. Now, though, it felt embarrassing.

He had been a monster. Devin had deserved what he had gotten, Melmarc had no disagreement with that. It was just embarrassing to know that he had done all that in front of a group of people.

Even as they were making their way here, a few people had walked over to pat him on the arm and thank him. They wanted him to know that they were all happy with what he had done.

"Oh, why the long face," Ark chuckled, a hand on Melmarc's back. "Fame is good. They love you."

Melmarc shot him a scathing look. It didn't last a fraction of a second before he sighed in defeat and Ark laughed a little. Ark was enjoying everything a little too much.

"Thank you," Melmarc said after a moment.

Ark shrugged. "You already said that. Besides, he would've survived without me."

"Would he?" Melmarc said. After all, while he had experience fighting larger opponents from his time in the portal, it was less about defeating them and more about killing them.

"Yep," Ark said without hesitation. Then he leaned in and whispered, "You weren't trying to kill him, Mel. You were trying to hurt and punish him." He returned to a normal posture, and with a nonchalant voice, finished by saying, "That's okay in my book."

"So why did you stop him?" Pelumi asked. "I'm not saying I understand what happened or anything, I'm just curious. Why? If you believe what you're saying, then why?"

"Because of this." Ark gestured at Melmarc. "Imagine just how much sulking I would have to deal with if I hadn't stopped him. Mel is kind at heart, but he always does what he has to do, no matter what. Unfortunately, he gets to retreat into his mind once he's done it all."

The girl Ark had been flirting with in the amphitheater had attached herself to them, making a little group. Her name was Izumi, an Asian name on a very American looking girl. If Melmarc remembered her fight properly, she was supposed to be an [Elementalist] with a focus on water.

He wondered if she would diversify as she grew or if she would focus on water.

She leaned in now, deciding to join the conversation. "What about you?" she asked.

All three of them looked at her.

"What about me?" Ark asked, as if the question had already been answered.

"If your scary brother is…" she paused, looked at Melmarc. "No offense."

Melmarc shrugged. It was appalling to now be known as the scary brother when it had been the other way around before he and Ark had become Gifted, but he understood where she was coming from.

"He's fine," Ark said casually, but Melmarc heard something in his voice. "Just don't call him that again."

Izumi nodded. If she noted anything not casual about his tone, she did not show it.

"So if he's kind and good, what are you?" she asked.

Ark blessed her with a charismatic grin. "The sexy brother."

Melmarc and Pelumi watched Izumi pause for a moment just to check Ark out with her eyes. If he was a meal and her eyes were mouths, he'd be devoured.

Pelumi looked aghast but Melmarc had nothing but a sigh to give. Girls fawning over Ark wasn't new to him. It wasn't that he was significantly finer than Melmarc. If he remembered correctly, it had something to do with being confident and seemingly dangerous. Apparently, how you carried yourself affected how people looked at you.

"Can't argue with that," Izumi told Ark in a sultry voice. "But on a more serious note, which brother are you."

"The executioner," Ark answered in a suddenly serious voice. "We're all good until you start making my brother uncomfortable."

"Baby brother," Melmarc said for reasons unknown to him. 'Baby brother' was what Ark liked to call him back in their former school.

Ark shrugged. "I don't think adding 'baby' will make anyone see you as anything less than a threat, Mel."

Melmarc wasn't sure if that's what his mind had been going for, but Ark was right. Even Pelumi was looking at him differently now.

"True," she said. "I used to think you were just a big teddy bear."

Melmarc looked down at her. Their close proximity emphasized the height difference. He wasn't sure if she was up to five feet and eight inches tall.

"And now?" he asked.

She shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "You're like a big fluffy bear. Cute and cuddly. Makes it very easy to forget that you're still a bear."

"So… you're not afraid of me?"

Pelumi cocked the most sarcastic brow, then pinched him in the side.

"Ow, ow, ow," Melmarc protested, making Ark laugh.

She proceeded to raise her hand at him in a threatening manner.

"Ma fuen," she said in a threatening tone.

With the height and size difference between the two of them, it was more than clear that she could do him no harm, still, just for the fun of it, he moved away from her.

"I swear you're too big to hit," she said in the end, dropping her hand. "But to answer your question, no. I'm not afraid of you."

Melmarc waited for a moment, surprised when there was no dissonance.

He looked at Ark confused. "I don't get it."

"Me either," Ark said with a shrug. "Chioma wasn't scared of me despite everything."

Ark paused. "Freda?"

"Yep." Ark nodded. "Not once, not even when I got into fights. Sometimes she'd just stand in front of me as if I dare not touch her."

Izumi leaned into the conversation again. "Who's Freda?"

"His ex," Melmarc answered.

"And Chioma?" Pelumi asked, pronouncing the name without any stress.

"His ex," he answered. "Same girl."

Izumi looked at Ark. "You miss her?"

"Can't say I do," he answered. "She was nice, but not everything lasts forever."

Melmarc felt a touch of pain from Izumi. It wasn't anything deep, just a small longing. It was a pain she wanted to be rid of. An emotional pain.

Was there an ex she wished she could not miss the way Ark didn't miss Chioma?

Ark gave her a smile. He must've seen what Melmarc had felt on her face because he said, "A day will come when they become a memory, a fun memory, but just a memory. That longing will be gone. It just takes longer for good people."

Izumi looked down and away, her blond hair covered her expression as she said, "I hope so."

They lulled into an awkward silence after that. It didn't last before the door to the next test opened. A woman in a tight fitting business skirt that stopped just below her knee and a white tee shirt stepped out.

"Tar'arkna Lockwood," she announced, just as she had been doing for all the intakes that had gone in before them. "We're ready for you."

Ark gave Melmarc a mock salute before he started pushing his way through the crowd. "Wish me luck."

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"Good luck," Izumi said. "But I don't think you'll need it."

Ark was all smiles until he disappeared through the door.

Once he was gone, Izumi turned to Melmarc.

"Does your brother have a type?" she asked, unabashed.

Pelumi's jaw dropped.

Melmarc was not new to this.

He smiled at her. "He does not."

"I'm confused." Izumi's eyes narrowed. "Is he like some kind of womanizer?"

"Nope," he answered. "Ark is all about personality."

Dissonant.

Melmarc rolled his eyes mentally. Oh shut up.

…

Ark looked around at the room. He wasn't sure what exactly they thought they were going for, but the vibrant flowers and the red highlights definitely didn't give him any sense of comfort and trust. With bean bag chairs and one responsible couch that he could lie down on along with two office chairs for single individuals, the whole thing just looked like they were trying too hard to cater to a teenager.

The problem was it would most likely appeal to some edgy teenager.

The only thing that didn't look as if it was trying too much were the walls. They were a simple beige.

"Not to your liking?" the woman who had called him in asked, locking the door behind her.

Ark shrugged. "Can't say it is."

He turned only to be handed a piece of paper. He cocked a brow as he looked at it.

A consent form?

Gently, he turned the raised brow on the woman. "I'm not much for reading. Is it possible to get the summarized version?"

The woman said nothing.

"Or," he continued. "If it's a legal trust thing, we can get my brother to read it and tell me what it is. Any works for me."

The lady looked up from him to a point over his shoulder. Ark turned back and was surprised to find a man probably in his fifties sitting on one of the office chairs.

He hadn't heard, sensed or felt the man come in.

That's impressive.

As for the man, he nodded to the woman.

"My name is doctor Deborah," she said to Ark. "I am a psychologist and an [Empath]. The form currently in your hand, if signed, will be you giving us permission to monitor his psychological state for the duration of this session. If you read this portion," she leaned in a trailed a finger along a sentence at the bottom of the paper, "it says that should you wish to at any point in time, you can request the aid of a government sanctioned and employed [Telepath] to audit the events about to take place to confirm that no unethical or illegal actions have been performed."

That was interesting enough.

Ark nodded slowly. "And who foots the bills for this government sanctioned [Telepath]?"

"Upon conclusion of the audit, the school will foot the bill," Doctor Deborah answered. "And this request can be made anytime between now and the resignation of your life from this world."

Ark paused. That's a very office friendly way of saying my death.

But, as Melmarc liked to say, when dealing with business folk, it is never safe to leave things to assumption.

"So, until my death," he clarified.

Doctor Deborah nodded. "That is correct."

"I see."

He took the pen she held out to him and skimmed the contract to the best of his ability, which was so poor that Melmarc would tear him a new one if he found out, and put it to paper.

"What happens if I refuse to sign it?"

It was the man who answered, his voice warm and fatherly, yet gravelly, as if he'd spent most of his life shouting at people.

"Since this is a portion of the tests that cannot be skipped," he said, "then we will move you over to the interview session where you will be advised on a selection of other schools you can attend."

"Interesting," Ark muttered, signing. "I always thought that you cannot enter into a contract with minors."

He handed the pen and paper to the lady.

"There are certain contracts that are binding with minors," Doctor Deborah said, gesturing to the options of seats available to him.

Ark walked over to the couch and sat on the arm rest.

"One of which," she continued without batting an eye, "is a contract with a Gifted and contracts entered to for educational necessities."

Ark looked from the middle-aged man to the woman. "So, has the whole looking into my head process begun?"

"It has," the man answered.

"And I take it you are the one poking around?"

The man nodded. "I am."

"And she," Ark pointed at Doctor Deborah, "reads my body movement and emotions?"

"You are quite the detailed one," the man said, instead of answering.

Ark smiled. "I get it from my brother. He gets these answers with a glance. He's not really good with people but he's great at observing them. He sees and learns, but I have to ask questions."

"We could lie to you," Deborah offered.

"You could," Ark agreed. "But I would not advise doing that with my brother. He hates liars."

The woman took the office seat that was in front of the man. Seated, she clasped her hands together on her lap.

"You have quite the obsession with your younger brother," she said.

Ark shrugged. "I think older brother just tend to be like that. They look out for their younger brothers and sort of dote on them when they are not looking while bashing them while they're in the room. It's a dynamic thing."

The man smiled fondly. "Not always."

Ark tried to see if he could figure out if the man was tinkering with his mind.

"He hasn't started," Deborah said, reading his expression. "Are you ready to start now?"

Ark adjusted, still sitting on the armrest. "I was born ready."

The man snorted in amusement. "Weren't we all."

[Donovan Talinat would like access to you mind.]

[Grant access]

[Y/N?]

Yes, Ark thought in response.

"Oof," the man muttered. "That's quite the livid mind."

Ark smiled. "Thank you."

"And is that another presence I sense?" the man asked, curious. "Do you own a familiar?"

"Something like that. But it should be in my record. I would be happy if you stayed away from his part of the mind, though." Ark sighed dramatically. "Alas, while I signed your contract, he did not."

Deborah made a thoughtful sound. "Not a lot of people think of their familiars as individuals of their own."

"They do…" Ark's voice trailed off as a man walked into the room, stepping right through the wall.

He was tall with a face held in a frown. Ark cocked his head to the side to look at him. The man's expression reminded him of what it looked like to be kicked in the balls.

Looking back at the others he raised a brow.

"Don't mind me," the new guest said, "I'm just here to observe."

Ark ignored him and looked to the man and woman. "Something I should know?"

"Mr. Callum here is a high ranking Delver," Deborah answered. "And we have recently been informed that he would like to sit in on these interviews. Often times Delvers sponsor a child's entire time in the school."

"I'm on a scholarship, though," Ark pointed out.

"Yes, you are," the old man answered. "Will his presence be a problem? If yes, we can ask him to leave politely."

Ark gave it a thought then shrugged. "Will I have to answer his questions?"

"Only if you want to."

"Then he can stay."

If the man was offended in any way, the constant look of pain on his face made it difficult to tell. Ark deemed him to be of no consequence.

"Our first question is about your mentorship program," Deborah said. "How did you feel about your mentor?"

"Fun guy," Ark answered easily. "Would definitely recommend."

Deborah nodded in that way therapists tend to do. They may think it makes you believe that they are listening, but it often just looks empty, as if they couldn't care less about the answer and just needed to put up a façade.

"You are also recorded to have fought against a bull, if I'm not mistaken," she said.

Ark nodded. "I suplexed a bull."

"Why?" Mr. Callum asked.

Ark looked at him and gave him a friendly smile. He returned his attention to Deborah without answering him. The older man barely concealed a snicker.

"Why?" Deborah asked.

Ark had been asked this question a few times after he'd suplexed the bull. People who had seen it wanted to know why he had chosen to suplex the bull while trying to subdue it.

The answer was always the same.

"Because I could."

Deborah crossed her leg. She looked back at the middle-aged man and he nodded.

"Moving on," she said. "You assisted with a Chaos Run, during which you were recorded to have gone missing for a while, and by a while I mean two days, what was that about?"

Spitfire, can I lend you some memories?

Spitfire gave no answer, but Ark sensed a reluctant resignation from it.

Thanks.

To Deborah, he said, "What happens if I don't want to talk about it?"

"If you don't feel willing to say it due to some traumatic experience, then you could simply think of it and my colleague would garner the answer. But I would advise you to try and use your words. It helps with things like this."

Ark shook his head. "That's not it. I just don't want to share. It is personal but not necessarily illegal… I think."

Deborah looked at Donovan, the middle-aged man.

"Please don't try to pry," Ark said politely. "I know that I signed the consent form, but prying would lead to a deep-rooted existence of distrust towards the entire school."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to, could I?" the man said with a smile. "Right now, for some reason, there's no memory there. Is it a trick? A skill?"

"I just like my private things private," Ark answered.

"Which means that you remember it but have found a way to lock it away from prying eyes." He looked more impressed than anything else. "Is this related to your familiar?"

"It's not a skill, just a trick I picked up."

Sharing memories with Spitfire was a fun little thing he'd picked up during his time with the demon. He liked it.

"Alright, then," Deborah said. "Final question."

Ark nodded.

"How did you get your scar?" she asked. "The psych evaluation said that you came back from your missing period with it, yet you didn't seem overly bothered by it."

"Oh, that?" Ark chuckled. "Scars are a part of life if you're a combat Gifted. One of the creatures that came out of the Chaos Run ran me through while I was trying to get civilians away. I survived because in certain circumstance, I heal fast."

"Like how you have no burn marks even after your plane fiasco?" the man asked.

"Exactly." Ark wiggled his brows at him. "Awesome healing factors."

With that he got up and stretched.

"That was shorter than I expected," he muttered, then yawned. "Which way do I follow out."

"Out?" Deborah asked.

"Uhuh," Ark nodded. "You said that it was the last question. I assume I'm free to go."

She looked back at the old man, and he nodded.

Getting up from her chair, she gestured in the direction of one of the walls. "Just walk through there."

"Thank you."

Without wasting much time, he walked towards the wall, stopping when he was there. He looked back at them.

"How do I know when the whole mind thing has ended?" he asked.

"Your interface will let you know the moment you leave the room," Donovan said without looking at him.

"Thanks. And before I forget, you guys are nice enough, so I'll give you this one for free. Be careful with my brother, Melmarc Lockwood."

The old man looked at him now. "Why is that?"

"You see that trick where I hid my thoughts from you?"

"Yes."

"Well, I learnt it from growing up with him. While mine is intentional, his is like his heart beating. He is not intentionally powerful. He's just… powerful. But don't tell him I said that since he doesn't know."

Ark was gone before they could get an answer.

Good, he thought, stepping out into a hallway.

If he continued to drive home that Melmarc was powerful, maybe his [Faker] class would be completely overlooked when making a decision on him. By hook or by crook, he would play any part he had to play to make sure Melmarc made it all the way through. Even if it meant leveraging his scholarship.

He was scouted so it had to mean something.

It's just what older brothers do, after all.

Besides, he didn't give two fiddlesticks what school he ended up in. The top five schools were as acceptable to him as the bottom school, in his opinion. Melmarc was the one with an obsession with the top five schools.

For all Ark cared, he could be home schooled and still be happy. With a shrug, he started down the hallway.

If Melmarc wasn't attending Fallen High, then he wasn't.

…

"Arrogant kid," Deborah commented in her professional experience.

Donovan's response was a smile. "I was in his head. It's not arrogance but confidence."

"I liked him," Mr. Callum said. "If he wasn't on a scholarship, I would've considered sponsoring him. That's the kind of moxy that makes a great Delver."

Deborah gave him a look. "Moxy?"

"Spunk," he said. "Pizazz. Whatever you want to call it. My main problem is that I just can't shake the feeling that I'm supposed to know the kid."

"Ever seen him before?" Donovan asked.

Callum shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe he has one of those familiar faces."

"Could he be under some kind of spell designed to hide him from you? Or maybe you are under some kind mental illusion."

"Not possible," Callum said. "When you get to be like me, you come to realize what can and cannot affect you."

"Confidence or arrogance?" Deborah asked.

"Neither. It's as factual as the sun in the sky." Callum folded his arms over his chest and looked around. "Can I get a table?"

One materialized from the ground behind him and he leaned against it. Slowly, the rest of the room began to change color. Red turned green. A punk theme turned into something more nature-like. The seats remained, though.

Callum took it all in with an impressed smile. "You've got to love high ranked [Crafter]s."

"Who's the next child?" Deborah asked.

Donovan was thoughtful for a while. "Who do you have in mind?"

"I say we bring in the brother. They've already been making waves the entire test."

A thoughtful sound slipped from Donovan's throat. "I agree. But we should be careful."

"Why?"

"Because our dear Tar'arkna genuinely believes that his younger brother could be a threat to us if we get on his bad side."

Callum gave him an odd look. "Brotherly love or playing games?"

"Neither," Donovan answered. "It's as factual as the sun in the sky."

Deborah got up and headed over to the door. Opening it, she stepped out into the room of children. Silence met her arrival and her words seemed to echo a little too loudly.

"Melmarc Lockwood."