Dawn- An age of Darkness

The spirit was hugging me much tighter than usual and with her chest a bit bigger than usual- the feeling wasn't so bad but-

"Is something wrong? I haven't heard from you for over a week but now you suddenly-"

This place was quite dark and I couldn't see. I couldn't hear any sound: I could just feel her. And for some reason she smelled citrusy.

"Your life is in danger. I cannot foresee the end of tomorrow in your future." She hugged me slightly tighter, it was almost as though she was afraid on my behalf.

I chuckled. "Really, you could see the future?"

The fact that she couldn't see tomorrow's future and what it meant, hadn't quite occurred to me yet.

"Yes, and your future for tomorrow is blank. I'm afraid you might die."

The way she casually said that almost sounded like she didn't really care all that much. 

"Die?"

I had my curse on full throttle and as Alisa said, me dying for the next three months or so was impossible. Meaning her thinking or prediction was also impossible. 

But it did make me feel weird and even gave me shivers. 

"And it would appear you will lose important people from your life tomorrow; betrayals also bear a high probability."

I was asleep and I shouldn't have been feeling cold but- the blood from my face drained. Me getting hurt was one thing but what about my friends and- "How credible is your future sight?"

"I rarely get visions. After I became this- I- I'm not sure."

I started to shiver slightly. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

And- "WHOAH!"

Too bright. Apparently, someone just stole my blanket!

"You know, you were the one who asked for the training, so you should at least make it in time?" I heard Alisa's voice but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

It was too bright. 

It took me a second but- when I opened my eyes both Ve and Alisa were in the room. Biteria was back in her girl form and she was hugging me tight, still asleep.

"You're already late and you didn't even try to get up early," Ve said.

Wait, wasn't I supposed to be meeting that guy in some sort of back alley before sunrise?

Sigh- it was definitely not before sunrise that was for sure. My head hurt- I definitely needed more sleep. Lately, maybe even becoming half dead didn't seem that bad. At least I wouldn't be sleep deprived.

Wait, the hell did I just think!

"Anyway, get fresh and let's leave after breakfast. We're already late, might as well make the guy wait a bit." Alisa dropped the blanket near the edge of the bed after folding it nicely.

"We were also supposed to meet Dick after breakfast too."

So far, not the best start to this day.

The spirit's warning was on the back of my mind and I was very much aware of it. 'Let's make sure these three aren't near me today, at least.'

***

I got fresh and went for the back alley before breakfast: I told the three, I'd be back before dinner. 

It was late, but I could still make it- or so I hoped. But the back alley was kind of hard to find. There were apparently a lot of back alleys in this town. And they were all over the town.

So, running around in my armor was already proving to be more draining than my morning sessions with Ve.

After roughly wasting an hour or so, I became really, really hungry and went into a small street stall.

I was pretty much alone. The other three were back at the inn. I made a grand plan of not returning and meeting them the whole day. They were definitely against me hanging out with the guy all day without them but that was just an excuse and I didn't know how long my training with Travador would last anyway.

If I was away from them then trouble wouldn't find them- or so I naively believed. I knew this was childish and pointless but, I had to start somewhere. I didn't yet know what would happen for things to go south. And the spirit also mentioned something about betrayal. I didn't think Alisa or Biteria would betray me. The chances of Dick and Ve betraying me were also low. But just because they were low and just because I didn't think they would betray me, didn't mean they wouldn't. I never thought that bratty elf would betray me either- but he had. It was impossible to predict these things so the best I could do was be careful and-

"Young man…" 

"Oii! Hey!"

"Young MAN!" 

Someone shoved a stick of hot meat in my face. 

It smelled great but it almost burned my tongue and lips. 

I took it out and ouch, did it hurt!

"What was that for!?"

"Pay attention, kid. I have other customers to tend to." Apparently, it was the owner of the stall. The guy took the money from me and went over to his stove.

Booming business.

I guess I zoned out.

I ate the meat, drank some water and again started the search. Again, nothing.

Just where the hell was the guy? But what if he got bored and left and I already passed that place?

Argh!

"You know, you have some nerve walking around looking sad, when I had to legit wait there all day!" 

Before I knew it, someone dragged me inside an alleyway.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who that someone was. Well, he certainly was angry.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"That's my line you damn rascal. I didn't even have breakfast for you!" Travador spat on the floor. 

He wasn't just angry, he was furious. 

"You think I did?"

He came over and sniffed me. "Pretty much."

That was very inappropriate but I didn't bother saying it out loud.

Well, he certainly wasn't wrong. "Look, I'm sorry but I've been searching for you for a while. You never really said which back alley, I've been going all over town looking for you."

"Fine, apology accepted just don't ever be late. And it's the north gate alley, remember the name well."

He was a lot more reasonable than I thought. "Alright."

He clicked his tongue. "Now, tell me where you got your stuff from. I'm famished!" Wow, he didn't care about being late and all that stuff anymore. 

Screw training, we were going for food first- or so he commanded.