Wandering the City:
Nero and Ares found themselves wandering the Imperial Capital. The sights and sounds of the bustling city was almost too much for the two boys to take in. the machines of industry burned into the night as smoke looked over the city like a black plume of smoke. Cars drove past them, honking their horns as they wandered off the main roads and onto the stone sidewalks.
Everything looked so nice and clean. Stores were stocked not with the basic goods of survival, like so many others up north, but with toys, dresses, suits and all other matters that only high society could afford.
Nero did not know how to feel about it, but considering that every now and then, he saw a store advertising rifles and pistols for commercial or self defense use, along with restocking ammo for soldiers who wished for more training with their personal weapons, he was sure that much of the city still did not forget about the honor and duty that was expected of them by the Emperor.
Some parts of the streets were cordoned off so to prevent damage. Behind the barriers was paintings on the black road.
And each painting reminded Nero of home.
Some showed a starlit night just like the one that would come tonight. Others showed a house on a hill with the sun shining brightly.And the one that Nero and Ares saw was a smiling family, sitting beneath an oak tree. But all of them captured the beauty of the countryside.
Ares stopped at one of the flower shops near the Art you were standing by, staring into the window with longing eyes.
"What's wrong?" Nero asked as he stood next to his brother.
"The Lavender is in bloom right now." He said quietly. "We should mail some to mom and tell her we are okay?"
Nero sighed, it was a weary one, one that made him think back and regret leaving without saying goodbye.
"Yeah… we should." Nero said, and both boys walked into the store, the bell ringing.
"Hello." The man behind the counter was a short stout man with plump cheeks and a long flowing black beard. He wore a green shirt, brown pants and an apron over both. "How may I help you?"
"Do you do deliveries?" Ares asked.
"Depends on where they're going?" The owner replied."Though it will cost a little extra anyway."
"Can you send a bouquet of flowers to Greenfield, Address 243 on Saltstrung street?" Ares asked.
"Greenfield…" The owner did clicked his teeth and tongue as if he was trying to remember something. "That's in Newbury right?"
"It is sir." Nero replied.
The owner gave a smile. "That will be twenty marks."
Twenty Marks! "You think you can lower the price a little more?" Ares asked.
"Listen kids, I have to keep these flowers fresh for the week long train ride for these to get there?" The man stated. "So don't try and bargain with me like I'm some country bumpkin in the middle of the sticks, I have customers to serve and money to make." The man replied.
It was than you saw the cracked and broken radio that as behind him,it looked busted, with many of the parts strewn besides it, a screwdriver risting on the shelf. "What about if we fix your radio?"
The man's eyes widened, before he turned back to face it. "That old piece of crap? Hasn't worked for two weeks, I'm just going to buy a new one."
"Perhaps we could save you some money if we fixed it?" Nero replied.
The man looked absolutely shocked. "Kid, if you can fix that radio, consider that order done for free."
Nero turned to his brother. "Do you want to do it, or shall I?"
Ares shrugged. "I don't know, we should let fate decide?"
"Fine." Nero replied, holding out his hand. "Best of three?"
The man was visibly confused, when Nero glanced at him for a brief moment. "Sure." Ares replied.
The two boys hands shook up and down three times before finally Nero's hand became a fist, and his brother was a flat hand.
Nero's eyes narrowed, and the hands shook up and down again. This time, Nero's flat hand was against Ares' two fingers.
"Aww." Nero groaned. "Best out of five?"
"No." Ares replied.
The owner of the store looked perplexed at the whole affair. "What are you two, alchemists?"
Ares did not answer, only pulling out some chalk from his pocket. "Aww, I'm going to get my hands all dusty."
"I could always do it for you?" Nero started with a cheery smile.
"Bite me bro." Ares shot back.
Soon the transmutation circle was made, the symbols of iron, steel, sand, glass, tin, silver and gold were drawn within the circle. Nero picked up all the parts and pieces of the radio he could see and put them gently down onto the center of the circle.
"Is this all the parts of the radio sir?" Nero asked the owner of the store. "Because if we are missing one thing, this will fail and break down your radio into its base components."
The man nodded. "That's everything."
Ares nodded, before placing his hands over his chest in a prayer position, before placing his hands down onto the circle.
Energy released, blue lightning came from the circle and shot upward, and the circle was engulfed in light.
A moment later, the light subsided and the radio was all put together, as if it was brand new.
"There… Plug it in and see if it works?" Ares stated to the owner.
The owner did indeed plugged in the radio, and the radio sprang to light with music.
"It worked!" The man said. "You two did it."
Ares scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I did. Now, could you deliver the flowers to that address please?"
The man smiled. "Of course." he bent down and handed over a slip of paper and a pencil. "Just put the address here and I will send them as soon as I can."
"Thank you." Ares and Nero said at the same time.
"You fixed my radio, probably saved me 300 marks, the least I can do." The man replied.
The boys than quickly left the store.
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The Statue in the park was of General Julian Sextius Flavius, the man who brought victory to the Unification Wars against the Clans of Newbury and Folklands, waging a devastating campaign of revenge for the death of the fifth army when they went in to pacify and incorporate the lands into the Empire's Territory. Widely considered the greatest statue of Garlen Marbleborn, it is a testament to his skill as an artist and a sculpture that he captured such life like features on both the man himself, and of his horse .
As boys who grew up in Newbury, Nero and Ares were surprised that the man even had a statue.
But too many Schwarzen nationalists were running amok in the universities, saying that the man's methods were the only way that the continent could be united.
Gently forgetting the fact that the empire executed him for killing civilians.
Ares just looked at it with disgust. "Wanna be good men of the Shire and Vandalize that basterds statue?"
Do you vandalize the statue?:
[]Yes
[]No
If you do not, what do you?:
[]Spar: It's been awhile since you got some exercise. And fighting in the dark is good for keeping on your toes.
[]Telegram Mom: You need to tell her that you and Ares are Alright. And hopefully, apologize to her.
[]Go back to Barry's: you need to get a lot of rest tonight.
AN: Enjoy.
Please Vote.
