Spirit of the Crystal Shard (HKitten and J)

It was well dark when Lady Adalheid tried to walk nonchalantly across the inner courtyard of Stronburg castle. As the king's chief seer and sorceress, Lady Adalheid was a common site in around the castle, but that night she wanted to go unnoticed. The lady pulled the hood of her cloak lower over her face as she approached the forge.

The forge was an open structure and even on such a chilly autumn night, the air rolling out from it was hot enough to cause Lady Adalheid to sweat. Or perhaps it came from her nervousness... The lady's eyes narrowed and she frowned when she saw the figure who was still working at the forge.

The youth was stripped to the waist, as usual. The light of fire and torches danced across his lean, strong body as Brand hammered a glowing bar of white hot steel. His blond hair was tied into a very short tail and his eyes, which Adalheid knew to be green, were fixed upon the metal he was working.

But Brand worked the metal with more than a mere hammer. The sorceress had seen how the metal seemed to shape itself according to the young smith's will. She had seen how the sparks that struck him did not burn his flesh, and even as she watched that night, Adalheid saw Brand reheat the cooling metal with a single, glowing breath.

Though the teen didn't know it, Lady Adalheid hated him. She hated him because his weapons and armor had done more to aid the King than all her spells and potions. She hated him because the king valued Brand more than he valued her. She hated him for the ease with which the orphan used his magic. Brand could fashion a magic blade in a day, where Adalheid would need more than a year to enchant a sword, and she would need someone else to fashion it first.

But most of all, she hated Brand for rejecting her advances. Adalheid had thought that she could win him as an ally and resource by inviting him into her bed, but the boy had been oblivious of her advances. When she became more open about her intentions, Brand had politely turned her down. She had not let her true feelings show, but on that day, Lady Adalheid decided to be rid of Brand once and for all.

But Brand wasn't human. That much was obvious from his strong natural magic and how his body was impervious to fire. Simply killing him might be very dangerous, and perhaps impossible for the sorceress. Instead, she fashioned a very special doom for the hated object of her envy.

"Master Brand?" she said sweetly. The boy turned to see who was speaking to him, a look of mild surprise on his expressive face.

"Good evening, Lady Adalheid," he said politely with a bow and a slight smile. Brand quenched the metal he had been working. Then, he gave his unexpected guest his full attention. "How can I be of service, my lady?"

"I was about to make a potion for the king's nephew, Lord Heinrich, but I found that the leg has broken off of the cauldron I need to use. Heinrich is very ill, so I need to make the potion as soon as possible. Could you please come to my rooms and repair the cauldron for me?"

"Oh course, my lady," Brand answered. He grabbed a few tools and followed the sorceress back to her quarters. The lady wove a simple spell to allow the two of them to go unnoticed as they went into the keep.

When they reached the lady's outer room, she pointed the cauldron out to Brand, being careful to slip behind him. When Brand crouched to examine it, Adalheid stuck him with a sharpened quill. The sleep potion took effect almost instantly, and Brand collapsed to the floor. A mere mortal would be put to sleep for hours, but Adalheid didn't trust it to work so well on the mysterious youth.

"Now," the sorceress called out. Then, Sir Jurgen stepped out of hiding in her bedchamber. Not all men were as immune to her wiles as Brand had been. Lady Adalheid pulled a sheet off of a large, crystal box that rested on her sturdiest work table. She inserted a small, bronze key and opened the box's lid. "Pick him up and get him into the box. Hurry!" the lady whispered urgently.

The big, strong knight lifted the youth easily enough and placed him inside the coffin like box. Then, his lover closed the lid and locked it once more. When she did so, the enchanted crystal absorbed the boy's life essence, causing the box to glow like a small sun for a few moments. When the light faded, not even dust remained where Brand's body had been.

"It's done?" The knight asked. The sorceress picked up Brand's hammer and struck the box again and again, smashing it to pieces.

"Now it's done," she said with hateful satisfaction.

The streets were fairly busy today in the Saturday Market, bursting with life and deafening with sound. People were haggling over prices and objects for things they probably donâ??t need, since the place was mainly for knickknacks that no one really cares for. At least, thatâ??s what he had always thought. But even if the stuff they sold could be considered junk, Noah found himself at the market every other Saturday, just searching through the booths and wasting his time away while he enjoyed the day off of school. At the age of sixteen, the dark redhead boy was living alone in the city, having his parents send home money every month. Though it was strange for a teenager to live alone like that, his parents couldnâ??t pass up the opportunity of the new job in the other city. However, since Noah had already started school at his new High School, they figured they would allow him to stay back in this city and provide for him.

His friends would often say he â??had it madeâ??, but really, Noah sometimes felt lonely in his house. He wasnâ??t the type to randomly invite people over, since that would be a bad idea to have a lot of people around, but of the few friends he did invite, they were not always available. Today, the crystalline blue eyed teen though, was going to be the day that he brought some junk to cheer himself up of that thought. However, there was a lot of junk to filter through, so he continued to shuffle through booth after booth until the late afternoon. It wasnâ??t until he ran into a jewelry booth did he realize heâ??d been pass this same one the last eight times.

Gee, Noahâ?¦direction senselessâ?¦ he scold himself, before deciding to take a look at this booth since he was there. The teen wasnâ??t exactly thinking he should be a jewelry item, but they didnâ??t look too bad. Nothing extremely fancy and girly like he was trying to avoid.

â??Have you found something youâ??d like?â? the stand owner asked, some strange and old man. The sun was â??at its peekâ?? at the moment, shining direction down over them. It made this old man look like he was hollow or something, with less muscles and pale skin to cover him.

Just seeing that irked him slightly, but he just faced the jewelry again to focus on the merchandise. â??Noâ?¦well, what about this one?â? the teen finally asked after a few minutes. He picked up a small necklace, a small pendent that looked like part of a broken crystal, wrapped around strangely tough string, and all tied together with some weird leather for the necklace part. The crystal was barely visible though, since the string wrapping around it was basically covering every inch. Strange, why would someone sell a covered up crystal?

â??Ah, yes! That one is rather old. Said it came from the very Stronburg Castle itself. The crystal is supposed to have magic trapped withinâ?¦and whoever frees this magic, owns itâ?¦but be warned, once bound cannot be unbound, for this magic bind to you and stay with you. You will not be rid of it until youâ??ve found all of the shards, young ladâ?¦â?

Noah stared at the man as if he was crazy.

â??Eight bucks.â? that was his one and only offer. The necklace itself looked kind of cool, but he wasnâ??t going to buy into some stupid â??mythâ?? that old geezers make up to get their junk to be sold. After a good ten minutes of bartering about the price, it was sold to him at seven dollars and eight-nine cents. Ugh, this thing isnâ??t even worth that hassleâ?¦ Noah thought to himself, before heading out of the market area. Obviously, he shouldnâ??t be buying anymore junk and waste his time, so the teen decided to just go home and watch a movie.

Once he was home after a short bus ride, he stuck in some random comedy and grabbed for a few snacks. â??No, letâ??s see if youâ??re even realâ?¦â? Noah didnâ??t really believe he brought crystalâ??perhaps fake, plastic junk, but not the real thing. While he unraveled the string that bound the crystal, he found that it was rather knotted on one end, so he attempted to use his teeth. Tugging at it while trying not to break the necklace, he pulled the knot and string free, but ended up nicking himself on his lower lip. â??AH! Shoot, thatâ??s sharpâ?¦â? the teen complained, feeling blood well up from his cut.

The crystal had a good drop or two of his blood where it had cut him, and while he licked his bottom lip of the blood and stared at the necklace, it began to glow a strange, blue hue.

[Phew, that took me longer than I thought to do it. xD *spent a chunk of the morning* Hope it's alright it was a long introduction for my character...kind of got carried away~]

Brand felt something... How long had it been since he felt... anything? His scattered, sleepy mind tried to focus on what he was feeling. He tried to understand what it was. It feels... good, the youth thought. Yes, good is the right word... warm.

It was then that Brand realized how terribly cold he was. He hadn't noticed the cold before, but now he knew that he needed the warmth. He had to embrace it, and draw it in.

A blue, glowing cloud emerged from the shard and began to coalesce in front of Noah. Slowly, a human shaped silhouette appeared within the thickening cloud. Then, the cloud seemed to be absorbed into it, finally revealing a blond youth who was about Noah's age. He wore tan trousers and a small gold charm on a leather cord around his neck. There were tattoos up his left arm and he looked surprised.

Brand's memories came back to him now that he wasn't trapped in the strange limbo that had held him. He had been in the castle, working late. The Lady Adalheid had come to ask his help. He had gone to her quarters... and that was all. Brand gasped and put his hand to his chest. The powerful, blazing furnace that had existed inside his heart as far back as Brand could remember was now only a feeble spark. When he was small, Brand had sometimes wished to be human like the other orphans and foundlings, but now he felt a terrible emptiness where his inhuman power had once filled him.

Now, Brand stood before a handsome youth he didn't recognize, though he did feel a strange connection to him. The other teen's clothes were unfamiliar, but clean and well fitting. The room was unfamiliar as well, but clean and lavishly furnished with well crafted furniture. There was even a magical looking stone that revealed people and carried their words into the room.

Brand didn't understand the language at first, but he touched the charm around his neck, and the magical gift given him by his king allowed the youth to understand. He looked back to the other youth. Clearly the handsome redhead was a wizard or a powerful noble to have such a home and a magical wonder at his command. Brand fell to one knee and bowed his head.

"My lord," he said respectfully. "I do not know how I came to be here. If I am intruding, please pardon me. I meant no trespass. I am lost. I don't remember how I came here, or what place this is."

Noah was just staring at the blue glow as it held some mystical power. It was strange at how beautiful the crystal was and it lured him into just wanting to clutch at it and hold it forever. It was then that some strange smoke starts to slip out from the shard. In his shock, the teen dropped the crystal onto the ground and watched as the smoke formed into some weird cloud, which then began to form into a person. Just the idea that this was happening was too much and he took another step back. When he was younger, the redhead had loved the idea of magic. He embraced it and often times, would pretend he had magical powers. Like superheros or mystical creatures.

So it wasn’t too much of a shock for him to be seeing this, really. He had seen it happen a million times in some weird magic show and trick shop. But this was the first time it had occurred in his house. The boy in front of him just stared at him like he was some stranger; but of course, it wasn’t like they had ever met. This blonde was shocked to see his surroundings, and before he could speak to say ‘welcome?’, this person bowed before him.

For a moment, Noah was lost at the words and he glanced around as if to look for someone else behind him. When he found no one, he pointed at himself as if asking ‘me?’. “Um…what? Dude, that’s not funny…I mean, it was cool and all, the whole magic trick and the poofy thing…” he made some weird hand motions into the air around him as if he had smoke around his body as well and did a small jump in imitating how he just ‘appeared’. Once he was done demonstrating, he just shrugged. “Yeah…so, what you did was cool, but really. The necklace was barely eight bucks…you didn’t have to go through all that trouble just to make me fall for it.” the redhead chuckled, giving this blonde teen a smile.

“Oh, I’m Noah, by the way. I go to Perin High School? What about you? You’re like…what, seventeen, eighteen? Oh, man, please don’t be one of my upperclassmen.” how awkward would that be? He wanted to make a good impression on his classmates, but if some of them were as crazy as this guy, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to meet the rest of them. Noah was about to speak again, when he realized that this guy had crazy tattoos—real tattoos—up his left arm. Was this guy some gangster? This can’t be good…what if he beats me up for not cheering for his trick? he slightly panicked.

Brand was confused. The other youth had traded eight bucks... male deer for a necklace. Clearly in addition to being a wealthy lord, the redhead had to be a very skilled hunter if he considered eight deer to be a paltry price. Brand didn't know anything about a necklace, but he knew what a school was. Maybe a high school was the local name for a place where the magical arts were taught.

"I am Brand the smith, my Lord Noah," Brand said respectfully. I am in my sixteenth year. The youth suddenly realized that he was barefoot and bare chested, and feared that he might have given Lord Noah offense. Maybe that's why he seems so ill at ease? Please pardon my half naked state, my lord. I was working in the forge before I... Suddenly, the room seemed to be spinning. Brand's limbs felt like they were made of lead, and when he tried to stand, he toppled over onto his back. Brand groaned. "I feel so... tired," he said weakly before passing out.

Noah raised an eyebrow at this strange fellow, wondering what he was talking about the entire time. The blonde’s name was apparently Brand—like a brand-name?—and he was the same age as the redhead was this year. So they were in the same year? That was strange, because he could have sworn he had never met Brand before, or even seen him once. Now Noah wasn’t the geekiest of students, but he wasn’t what one would consider a ‘popular’ student either. But he did get around and he would have at least remembered this boy’s face.

“Yeah, I don’t really care if you’re dressed like--.” before he was able to finish his sentence, blue eyes widened as Brand suddenly toppled over and passed out. He panicked and rushed over to the blonde, gently turning him over onto his back to check his pulse in case the other teen had just died or something. “Whoa, dude…this is not cool…” he muttered, glancing around as if looking for help. Who was he looking for, he wondered. It wasn’t like anyone else lived in the house with him, since his parents were away for now.

With a small sigh, Noah wrapped his arms under Brand’s armpits and attempted to drag the other male up and to the couch. The key word was attempt. The redhead really wished he had taken weightlifting class, because this dude was all muscles and was rather heavy because of that. He bit his bottom lip and dragged Brand until he finally reached the edge of the couch. Oh my god, what is with this dude…no one’s this buff and acts like some medieval freak… he groaned, basically dragging bit by bit of the other boy onto the couch. Noah firmly believed that only the geeks and weirdoes of his school were the ones that dressed up and played pranks on people they didn’t know in medieval garb, but he supposed he was wrong.

Sighing again, he realized that this other boy was out cold; any normal person would have woken up after that horrible rug burn he must have caused on Brand’s back from all the dragging. Sitting down at the edge of the couch and next to the blonde’s side, he reached out a hand and smacked the other teen’s chest a few times. Brand was definitely filled out, making him a bit jealous at that. The redhead firmly told himself that he was going to the gym tomorrow. He needed more exercise. “Hey, Brand. Wake up. Really, this isn’t funny. You’re not some homeless guy are you?” he asked out loud to no one really.

Rug burn was caused by friction heat, but since Brand was immune to heat and fire, he didn't get a rug burn. He did feel something smacking his chest. Brand woke, but he still felt weak. The fire in his heart still a tiny candle flame.

"I'm sorry. I feel so tired," Brand said. "Homeless? No, I'm an orphan, but I have a home. I am part of the household of King Wolfgar. I live in Stronburg Castle, where I work in the forge for my king." Brand groaned and his hand moved to his chest again. "I feel like the fire inside me has all but gone out."

Brand saw a small, dull looking knife lying on the low table close by. He picked it up and held it near his mouth. The blond youth drew a deep breath and exhaled fiery, blue mist that heated the metal to white hotness. Then, he shaped the metal with his fingers and his power, making it as sharp as a razor. Brand frowned weakly. At his full power, he could have imbued the knife with magical sharpness and strength.

"You see? I can barely work the metal now... what has happened to me? Where am I, Lord Noah?"

When Brand finally woke up, the redhead sighed in relief. It wasn’t like he was actually worried over a stranger, but it was rather concerning when a person just faints in one’s house after playing a trick on said person. Noah parted his lips to greet the other male back to the land of the conscious, when he heard Brand speak about something like a fire inside of him. The teen raised an eyebrow and was about to make a rude comment about how strangers shouldn’t speak of sexual ‘fires’ within them to each other. Before he was able to, however, Brand gently moved to grab the mail opener and looked like he was about to eat it.

“Whoa, wait, you can’t…” but his words died in his throat as he stared at what the other boy was doing. Blue flame, actual flame like a torch, was flowing out of the blonde’s lips as if he was some human cross with a machine. “What…” Noah blinked hard and started to inch back and away from the other boy. He was sitting right next to Brand and saw it with his own eyes. There was no way that was a trick, was it? Perhaps it was, but it was so real! “How did you do that?!”

The teen glanced back and forth from eyes to lips, wondering what Brand’s secret was. Magic? That was just stuff in books and games, wasn’t it? He was sure this was all a trick, but at the moment, he felt so amazed at this trick, he was memorized. His fingers dug into the blonde’s abdomen unconsciously, having not removed it in the first place. Even though he might have been scratching at the other teen, he was too spellbound by the ‘magic’ to care about things other than the trick to blowing blue flames that molded the metal object.

Brand felt Noah's fingers press into his abs. It actually felt sort of nice to have this other youth's hand on his bare body. Brand had always known that he wasn't as attracted to girls as he was to boys, but he had never had a chance to find out how good another boy's hands could feel on his body. The young smith groaned softly and the hand not holding a cooling piece of metal moved to touch the hand Noah had pressed to his abs.

"It's the fire inside me," Brand moved to tap his chest, but in his groggy state, he forgot that he was holding Noah's hand. He drew the other teen's hand over his smooth skin and hard muscles to place it over his heart. "Like the heart of a volcano... long as I remember... But now it's almost gone. Like it's been taken from me. Brand's green eyes met the crystal blue eyes of the other teen. "Where am I, Lord Noah? How did I get here? What's happening to me?" The worry Brand felt was written over his face.

The teen glanced up into Brand’s eyes when the other male started to speak. He barely felt the hand on his own because he was too distracted, but when it moved and took his hand with it, he flushed red as he felt the heart beat under his palm. His hand twitched slightly, as if about to move completely away, before he heard the small voice from the other male. “Um…Brand…I’m just Noah. You’re…” crazy and delusional “…well, you came from that thing…” Noah used his free hand to point at the small crystal on the ground, still connected to the string that made it a necklace.

If Brand had truly came from that necklace instead of this being all some really weird magic trick, then what did that mean? The redhead wasn’t some princess that needed someone to rescue him and drag him away into a fairy tale life, so that whole idea was thrown out of his mind. Then again, they were both males, so that wouldn’t have worked anyways. “What are you doing here? I mean…you look like someone from a book or game. Like you were from ‘medieval times’.” the teen actually chuckled, smiling as he turned to face Brand again and slightly blushing with his hand on the other male’s chest still. The skin was very warm, despite this ‘fire’ being gone, and it was smooth to the touch. Muscles rippled under his palm, even just from normal patterns of breathing. It was obvious that Brand was an impressive boy for his age back from wherever he came from, and no doubt he would be here.

Brand didn't understand how he might seem to be from a game, and he didn't know what ‘medieval times’ were, but he had seen books and a herald had even taught him to read.

"A book?" Brand asked. "It may be so. The king once ordered that the tomes of the royal library be searched for mention of something like me. He hoped to better understand my gifts, but I do not think he ever found another like me." Brand really liked the way the other teen's hand felt on his skin, but he wondered if he had accidentally forced Noah to keep his hand on his body. Brand let go to see what Noah would do.

"You say I came from that little shard of crystal?" Brand could see that it looked like a broken piece of something larger. "Do you know where it came from, Lor... Noah?" Brand felt so drawn to the redhead. He had never felt so attracted to somebody. Brand didn't know of the mystic link forged by Noah's blood. He only knew that he wanted to touch the other youth back and feel his bare skin under his hands. Brand sat the now cool letter opener on the table and reached up to set his hand Noah's shoulder. "Are there more pieces? Maybe my fire is in them?"

He watched as the other blonde appeared to have been thinking about whatever he was thinking about. This guy was really weird. He realized that even though there was a slim possibility that Brand really was some mystical being like he had dreamed of meeting when he was a kid, Noah was really buying into this stuff. The spark of amazement was back, reminding him of when he use to firmly believe that there was or use to be magic out there. Noah even believed for a moment that Brand was some heroic figure that had been betrayed by those he had trusted the most, and now he was on a journey to recover his lost…heat?

Whoa, Noah, what are you think? Is that even…logical? he pondered, glancing down at Brand’s chest, where his hand was still resting. Blushing slightly at that, he gently pulled his hand back and placed it on his lap. “Uh, sorry…” the redhead muttered, glancing anywhere but the blonde yet finding that it was hard to ignore the hand on his shoulder. Flesh that emitted so much heat and warmth seemed to mold against his shoulder and he actually thought it would have been painful for Brand to move his hand away form him. “More? But you’re so warm already…” he found himself muttering, before realizing what he said and clearing his throat.

“I mean, well. This old man sold it to me. The market is still open for another few hours…” the teen glanced up at the clock and saw that it was only four thirty in the afternoon. The market would close at eight o’clock, so they still had plenty of time. “Would you like to go see him? Maybe he has the answers to what you’re…looking for?” Noah felt a bit silly stating that, but it was true. That place that Brand had mentioned was something that the old man had mentioned as well. Standing up, he felt a strange sort of chill take over him when he suddenly broke free of the other’s grasp. Brand’s hand on him felt like it was his source of heat, so when he lost that source, the redhead felt strangely cold without it.

But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Shaking that off of his mind, he moved over to the fallen crystal and grabbed for it. “Um…do you want to borrow a jacket or something? I think I have one I can lend for you that might fit.” he muttered, placing the necklace on as he moved towards the closet. There were a lot of jackets that were probably too small for a male that was that buff, so he grabbed for one of his older ones, before he had lost a few pounds due to exercise. This should do… he mentally nodded, before turning around to hand this to Brand.

Brand sighed softly with a feeling of loss when Noah took his hand away. The blond didn't quite know why, but he knew he longed to stay in contact with Noah. Brand wondered if it was just attraction, but he had been attracted to others before, and he'd never felt such a need for contact.

"Sorry? But why?" Brand said with a confused frown as he sat up, leaving his hand on Noah's shoulder. He still felt weak, but somehow, being able to touch Noah, even through the annoying barrier of his shirt, made Brand feel better. "You haven't done anything to wrong me." Brand almost groaned from the feeling of loss when Noah pulled away from his hand.

When Noah mentioned how warm he was, Brand's face took an expression of grief.

"The fire inside my heart is a part of me. There were times I wished I didn't have it, so I could be like the others, but I never knew how empty I would feel." Then, Noah spoke of the man he had bought the necklace from and Brand felt a surge of hope. "Yes, please take me to this merchant." Brand stood and reached into one of his pockets. He hadn't expected to need money when he went to work at the forge that night, but he had a few coins, three of silver and two of gold. "Will he accept coin or does he only barter?" Brand asked, remembering how Noah had said he traded eight deer for the necklace. "I have very little though."

Brand looked at the offered jacket with wonder. He had never seen material like the garment was made of, and the inside soft like silk.

"Such a wondrous garment is fit for a king, not a commoner like me," Brand said. "Are you sure you want me to wear it, Noah?" he asked, remembering to not call the other teen 'my lord'. Brand ached to reach out and touch Noah, but he fought against the feeling. He didn't want to offend the unusual noble.

The teen raised an eyebrow at Brand and then looked at the jacket he was holding. “Eh…what? Its fake silk…I mean, I think it’s fake. This thing was only sixteen bucks when I got it and it’s usually like, twenty-five or so.” Noah shrugged, shoving the jacket into the blonde’s hands. “Put it on, we better go before they clothes.”

He quickly moved towards the door where he slipped on his sneakers, before seeing how strangely lost this guy was. For a magical being, Brand was certainly one strange person. If he saw magic during his ‘time’, then why was he so amazed at what was around him? Just flickers of things that could potentially pretend to be magical, but weren’t really. He rolled his blue eyes and stepped back towards Brand, before grasping the other teen’s hand. He aided the other male by placing the jacket “fit for a king” onto the blonde, zipped it up like a mother tending to a child, before grasping the edge of the sleeve and dragged the other teen outside.

It was already five by the time they got out of the house. By Noah’s clock, that was at least 25 minutes longer than it should have taken. With just a few hours left of the market being opened, he walked in brisk strides towards its direction. He lived in a fairly close area to the city’s inner area, so it was only going to take a good thirty minute walk. While they traveled, he just kept his fingers gripped at the sleeve. It was as if he was afraid Brand would run off at any spark of distraction and cause him to chase after him. In a sense, the redhead was excited that Brand had entered his life, because a small part of him really wanted this to be real. The small part of wishing that he was right, that there was magic in the world, was jumping in joy at just the thought that the blonde was truly magical.

“So…um…” he realized that they had been walking in absolute silence. “What did you say you did? Back at your um…home?” Noah tried to picture what Brand’s world must have been like. He was so into the whole magical being idea that he didn’t even think of the possibility that it wasn’t real at the moment.

Brand was surprised when Noah put the jacket on him like a noble's valet and closed the front with a sort of fastener like Brand had never seen before. He stuffed his coins in one of the roomy jacket pockets just as Noah grabbed his wrist and led the blond youth out of the house.

Brand had never been led around by the hand, even as a small child, but where he might normally be offended, it felt to wonderful to be in contact with Noah to complain. Instead, Brand moved to take Noah's hand, sighing softly at how much better it felt to be in skin to skin contact again.

The blond teen had planned to examine the fastener of the jacket, but then he saw the land outside of Noah's home. It was clear that they were in a city of some sort, but not like any Brand had ever seen.

The streets were wide and paved with some material Brand didn't recognize. There were concrete walkways that must have cost a fortune in labor and materials to make. The gutters were clean and there was no stench of rotten garbage and bodily wastes.

In the streets there were metal wagons that were propelled by some unseen force. Most of the people Brand saw were dressed in rich garments like Noah, though he saw a few youths who wore ragged trousers, and rode on wheeled boards. Two were bare to the waist, making Brand think they must be commoners.

One of them had tattoos on his arms of a sort Brand didn't recognize and bits of metal pierced through his nipples. Brand wondered about their mystical purpose. Then, Noah asked Brand about his work.

"I am a smith," Brand said. "I work metal and fashion things for my king and his household. My fire helps me to make these things, especially arms and armor for my king's army. I also make small things, like jewelery when King Wolfgar bids me to so, or when I am allowed to take a commission for pay." Brand smiled at Noah. It felt so good to be holding his hand. "You are a scholar at this high school? Do you study magic there?"

The redhead realized after a moment that they were holding hands, while his mind still thinking that he was just leading the other boy around by the sleeve. It wasn’t as if it was a bad thing, but it was different. Brand’s hand was warm to the touch, despite the other boy claiming that his ‘heat’ was gone. When he glanced back, he realized that the blonde was staring at everything with large eyes, examining things he didn’t recognize. He was reminded of a child that was introduced to a new place the child had never been to before, enjoying the area like it was some exotic journey.

Noah found it somewhat cute for the blonde to be so amazed and he couldn’t help but smile. Even though he was thinking about taking his hand back, he didn’t want to distract Brand from his exploration, so he just allowed his friend—hopefully that’s what they were, since he did free him and all—to go about and explore with his eyes.

When he finally got an answer, he actually chuckled softly. Of course Brand was a smith, because with what he showed the redhead earlier, it was obviously a great skill the blonde had. He had never liked jewelry, but the sound of armor and weapons was rather fun to think about. Perhaps he could ask the other male to make something fun for him one day, if the blonde was going to stay in their world.

“Hm?” he asked, suddenly realizing that Brand was still speaking. “Oh, um..not really. We study book work and how to do things in our…well, my world. There is no magic in my world like yours, Brand.” Noah tried to explain. In his mind, he was trying to separate their worlds, because even though it might have been on the same land, they were completely two different timelines. “All that you see are just…advanced things. Yeah, like evolutions of what you use to have.” at least, to him it made sense, but he wondered if Brand understood.

As they spoke, he could see the market coming up. It was still somewhat busy, so his grip tightened on Brand’s hand—merely so that they didn’t lose each other, of course.

No magic? Evolutions? Brand didn't really understand. Then, he thought of it in terms of what he knew. The art of metal working had improved in the time Brand had been a smith. Likewise the art of building. Could the wonders of this land be... evolutions of art and philosophy? Brand wondered. But if that's the case...

"How long have I been trapped inside that crystal, Noah?" Brand asked softly. He felt Noah's grip on his hand tighten, and Brand squeezed back gratefully. He felt he needed the support of his new friend. If Brand had guessed right, his world and all he knew was gone. All he had now was Noah...

The teen heard the question and had to think about that. How long could have Brand been trapped in that crystal? If ‘modern day’ hadn’t recorded or found anything solid on it, then it had to be over thousands of years old. Even the Chinese people had documented their land and people back five thousand years, but there hadn’t been any mentions of magic. Anything that was thought to be magical had already been proven by science.

Feeling Brand’s hand squeeze his, he gave a small smile. The blonde was his age and looked so lost. If it had been him, he would have never left the spot he found himself in like a child; hoping that someone he knew would find him. However, Brand was rather strong about this and explored the place rather well with an open mind. “Well, I don’t really know for sure…I mean, no one in my world actually thinks magic is real.” he admitted, giving a small shrug. Noah knew that there was no way he should make the blonde a big deal to others as well, because that would mean that others were going to try to dissect the other boy.

Swallowing slightly at the horrible thought, he just tried to ignore it and reminded himself to just help this guy out. It was definitely going to prove to be a fun journey in helping him back to where he came from. Perhaps it would all end in one day when they find that old man; what if the old man knew how to send Brand back? Even if he found that kind of sad that he wouldn’t get to spend a little more time around magic, he knew that it wasn’t right to keep someone who was not of this time here. That was when he spotted the old man.

“Ah, you came back! I will tell you, young man, that we have a no return policy in the market, remember?” the old man chuckled, shaking his head. “And bringing your boyfriend here won’t change that fact.”

Noah blushed and shook his head. “N-no! I mean, he’s not my boyfriend or anything…just friend? Look, I think he needs to talk to you about this crystal and where it came from.” the redhead gently tugged on Brand’s hand as if the other male was some child and he was getting the blonde to converse with this stranger.

Noah guided Brand to an old man working in a stall, much like some of the merchants of his own world. The man seemed unhappy to see Noah and spoke of a 'no return policy'. Noah had said that nobody here believed in magic, but a market that would not allow customers to return sounded like some sort of fairy magic, and Brand looked around for a moment to see if guards were coming to force Noah to leave.

It made Brand very happy to hear the old man call him Noah's 'boyfriend'. He very much wanted to be Noah's friend, but then he heard Noah hastily deny it, and Brand felt something like physical pain at the rejection. Then Noah said that Brand was his 'just friend'. It was a term that Brand didn't understand, but he would have to wait to ask Noah about it since Noah drew him forward to speak with the merchant.

"Sir, this shard you sold to my... just friend, do you have more from the same object? Do you know where we can find more?" The old man smiled at the blond youth for a moment. Then, he saw the gold charm that hung around his neck. He could only see part of it, because the jacket was partially zipped up, but it looked familiar somehow to the old man.

"What is that you're wearing around your neck?" the merchant asked. "Can I see it?" Brand grabbed the zipper and pulled down, doing the reverse of what Noah had done to close it, opening his jacket and fully revealing the charm. "That's the symbol of King Wolfgar..." the old man said. "Where did you get that?"

"It was a gift from my king," Brand answered. "It's not for sale." The old man looked from Brand to Noah.

"The crystal I sold you, did you bleed on it?" he asked.

Noah stared at the old man and for a moment, thought he was some pervert, as he reached over and grabbed for Brand. They were ‘kids’ compared to him! The redhead was about to reach over and stop the man, before he just unzipped the other male’s jacket and stared at his necklace. Oh, so that’s it…phew… he mentally sighed, thinking he had to save his new friend from being molested. That was not a way to make new friends in a new world that was for sure.

The old man just stared at it for a moment before he asked Brand about some King. The name sounded so magical to him, it was like some fairy tale. For a moment, Noah wished he could have been part of Brand’s world. As a child, he had always run around the house and pretended he was in some enchanted land, jumping the couches to pretend that he was jumping mountains. As he got older, those things died down for him and before he knew it, he completely forgot about wanting to learn about it.

And now here he was, faced with either a really bad trick, or a really fun adventure. His fingers gently held onto the blonde’s and even though he should have probably let go, he liked the warm feeling of the other man’s fingers against his. Perhaps he should have given a thought to it, because even though he knew that was something others would call ‘gay’, he never really labeled himself as such. Whatever person he planned to be with in the future would be a good person, but he had always pictured it to be a female. So I’m straight, aren’t I? he wondered. Noah was balancing between the ideas of having a small crush on this boy he just met, or it just being some fantasy he wanted to come true, because of the magic Brand had within him.

When he was addressed, he tilted his head and tried to think of the question. “Bleed? Um…yeah? I mean, this crystal is pretty sharp.” He pointed to the crystal around his neck. “I can see why you tied it up in that leather…” Noah shrugged slightly, not seeing the problem in that.

"So, it's true..." the old man said thoughtfully before he took a more shocked look at the blond boy and stepped away from him. "There really was some kind of... demon... trapped in the crystal." He looked at Noah. "You've bound him to you now. You own him now."

The old man went to his stored items and after a moment, he found a shard he hadn't had time to make into a necklace. He picked it up very carefully, not wanting to risk getting cut by what he now knew to be a genuine magical artifact. He carried it gently to show to Noah.

"This is the only other piece I have, lad," the old man said. The looked fearfully at the blond teen and how the two lads were still holding hands. "I know you need all the pieces to be free of... him, but be careful. He may get stronger as he gets more of his essence back. Are you sure you want to buy this shard?"

Brand frowned with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"I'm not a demon," he said, though his voice was a little uncertain. Brand didn't really know what he was, but he couldn't be a demon, could he? He had no desire to do evil or cause suffering for no more reason than to do so. He looked at Noah and squeezed his hand softly. "I'm not... I can't be..."

Standing there as if he felt lost, Noah just stared at the old man holding the piece of some more crystal shard. The man had said he ‘owned’ Brand like some animal. However, he also mentioned something about Brand being a demon. That made Noah raised his eyebrow and wonder if this guy was off his rockers. In his mind, he knew that couldn’t be true. There were many different magical users in the world, and just because one came from a shard of crystal, didn’t mean that the being was a demon. Brand was obviously not one, because the other teen had not done anything to harm him. If anything, he just followed him and looked like an adorably cute and lost male.

When he realized that he was thinking of that about Brand, he blushed slightly and tried to think of something else aside from how cute he thought the blonde looked. Getting a good look at the other male, he also realized that Brand wasn’t considered the ‘cute and cuddly type. He had muscles that were rather defined and in comparison, Noah felt kind of…small to him. With his good looks, the redhead bet that Brand would be a guy all the girls would like and some guys would be jealous of. The only reason why Noah thought of him as cute, was because for such a ‘big and strong’ guy the blonde appeared, he was so innocent in this world.

Shaking his head, he tried to stop thinking about Brand’s looks and focused on the question. “Uh…yeah. I mean, he deserves to be free too, you know? Perhaps if he’s done, he could feel warmer.” he muttered, not knowing what he was saying as he pulled out some money and just gave the old man a twenty dollar bill. Grabbing for the shard, he felt it press against his cut and hissed. “Agh…darns…it still stings…” he muttered, before placing the shard into Brand’s palm. Now what was supposed to happen? Was this just a piece of it? Or were they done?

Would he be leaving? Noah found himself pouting, not wanting his new friend to go yet. They hadn't really gotten to talk, and even though it had been awkward before, he wanted to learn about Brand's world. The blonde was the personification of everything that he used to love as a child.

Brand watched as Noah handed the merchant a little piece of paper for the shard. It seemed a strange thing to barter with, but before he could ask about it, Noah had hurt his hand again and handed the crystal shard to Brand.

The crystal instantly started to glow blue and become hot in Brand's hand. Then, a stream of fiery blue mist poured out of the crystal and looped around to flow into Brand's chest. Brand felt dizzy as the energy began to fill him.

Then, the flow of mist ended. Brand could feel that some of the fire had returned inside him, but not all. Still, he smiled at Noah with pure joy. He impulsively turned to face his friend, standing close. Then, he grabbed Noah's other hand and pressed it over his heart.

"Some of my fire is back," Brand said, his green eyes twinkling with joy. "Can you feel it, Noah?" It felt so right to have Noah touching him. Surprisingly, the connection between him and Noah felt stronger too. Unknown to Brand, they were so closely connected now, that Brand's power was healing Noah's hand just from the skin to skin contact.

When the stream of something blue started to come out of the crystal in Brand’s hand, he almost wanted to take a step back. The mist was like some energy source that seeped into the other male, ‘renewing’ him in a sense. It was strange to see and he was almost certain that looked like it actually hurt. But for some reason, the blonde actually looked…healthier?...than before and he was smiling at the end of it.

His friend grabbed his hand and placed it over the other’s chest, allowing him to feel the heartbeat under it. The heart was rather strong, stronger than before when he had his hand resting on it back at the house, and he realized that this is probably what Brand had been talking about. This ‘heat’ inside of him that kept him strong. Does that mean he’s stronger now than he was before? Noah swallowed and wondered if that was a good thing. Sure, Brand didn’t seem like he would attack the redhead, but at the same time, anyone would be somewhat fearful of another person being a lot stronger than them.

He was so distracted by the feeling of the blonde’s heartbeat under his palm, that he didn’t even feel his cut get healed. The stinging stopped, but all he knew was that there was a warm and pounding heart under his other palm. For a moment, he was lost in the rhythm, and it almost felt as if they hearts began to beat as one. When someone cleared their throat—who, he didn’t know—he suddenly drew back his hand and blushed. “Ah…that’s great, Brand. Um…so, old man, what happens now?” he asked, manly to distract himself. “Does he get to go back home? Or…does he stay here?” Noah glanced slightly at the blonde and wondered what he Brand could do. A smith was not needed in the modern world, because they had machines and factors that had replaced those jobs. Brand had no where to go, so he would be left homeless…and that was dangerous for a guy who didn’t understand this new world he was in.

The merchant watched the two kids... well, kid and his pet demon, for a few seconds before he decided he'd better interrupt before they drove any potential customers off with their strange touching. He cleared his throat and frowned slightly at them. Then, the human boy asked him about what would happen now.

"If you want to be free of this de...er... your friend, you'll need to find enough pieces of the crystal to give him all his power back. I don't know where you'll find the rest... at least not for sure. I have an idea that might help, but information costs, same as everything else. He laughed a short, harsh bark of a laugh at Noah's next question.

"Go home? Not unless you got a time machine hid in your pocket, lad. The world your demon came from don't exist anymore. Even the old castle is just ruins now, and his old master has died and gone to dust."

Brand was crestfallen. Only Noah's hand in his gave the blond youth any comfort. His world was gone, and he didn't understand this new one, or his place in it. Then, he saw the look of fear in Noah's eyes, and Brand's heart seemed to break. He let go of Noah's hand and stepped back, instantly feeling a terrible sensation of loss. If even Noah was afraid of him and didn't trust him... if even Noah thought he was a demon, maybe it was true.

Brand knew then that he had nowhere left to go. He turned and ran through the market, not knowing where he was going and not caring. Without his only living friend, Brand didn't think it mattered.