* Band Practice

*

Thanks to my lack of armour, it was now possible for me to run significantly faster and—therefore—farther, without stopping to catch my breath. Meaning that at least one of my staminas had improved from my last life. And, because of this, I ended up on the other side of the main campus, at the edge of one of the more distant of the five schools of education before I even thought of slowing my dash from the thinly veiled fetish of Maren’s big bovine boobies.

Only once I was sure I had made it far enough away did I finally stop to take a breath and look back to see if I had been followed. After a few moments of careful observation, I determined that the coast was clear. And, other than a pair of animated magical robes that seemed to be getting into a fight with a tree branch, I was alone.

That was when the sound of music caught my ears from a nearby side street. It was an interesting collaboration of instruments that slowly shifted from a well-composed symphony into a discordant wail. Screams erupted moments later, and I watched as several First Years ran away with cries for help.

“Well,” I sighed before revealing a smug smile as I gripped my staff. “If I’m not hitting the gym, then I guess it’s time to hit some baddies.”

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t make it thirty feet before all hell broke loose.

A nearby tent ripped open with a start, and a clockwork creature the size of a child came barrelling towards me.

Shocked, I stepped back with a shout as the little mechanical beast raised its sharpened cymbal and chopped at the trunk of my body. With a sickening squelch, the instrument sliced into my stomach before a second, blunted mallet struck my chest.

The blow took my breath away as I fell to my knees and looked down over the waterfall of blood that poured from my body. As it painted the cobblestone road, I began to panic. My attempted assault had not gone according to plan.

Shifting my gaze up, I watched as the automaton lifted its musical weapons for a second round of strikes at my head. My very short life in this world flashed before my eyes, quickly returning to reality as an arrow pinged off the machine’s head and momentarily distracting it.

“Crap!” A gender-ambiguous voice called out. “Hey, don’t die, kid.”

“Really?” I yelled out to the distant figure who stood in the middle of the road with their long bow nocked. “Why don’t you worry about hitting—”

My world went dark with a clang.

—ooo—

I was standing in front of a window. The reflection of my eyes revealed joy as I stared at the drum set before me.

All my friends were learning to play instruments, and I had wanted to join them. We had talked about starting a band together. They were just childish dreams, but if I could be the drummer, I would be able to participate.

“Hurry up, Tahvin,” Mom said from several feet ahead of me. “Keep up.”

“Mom, can I have a drum set?”

“A what?” She walked back, looking at the window and the instrument beyond. “You want that?”

I had gotten top marks in my class for the third year in a row, and my parents were planning on rewarding me. Hopeful, I brought this up and pointed to the instrument with a smile.

“And then, Kris, Phil, Car—”

“No.” She hissed, taking my hand as she ripped me away. “No son of mine is going to be a penniless artist relying on someone else. We’ll buy you a new set of golf clubs so you can begin weekend practices to pair with your tennis ones. When you’re rich, you’ll thank us—”

“But mom!”

“No arguing!” She continued, yanking me towards the sporting store.

—ooo—

“Gyah!” I awoke with a start, a mixture of cola and blood overwhelming my taste buds.

My body shook feverishly at the dream, my hands shaking uncontrollably. While this one had not been as bad as some of the others, it felt like another piece of the dopamine dam had broken free. I couldn’t help but wonder how many it would take before the entire thing collapsed and my memories returned to me in a flash flood of torment. Though, based on this most recent one, I also wondered how many I had been holding onto since childhood that really served no purpose in my adult life.

Musical trauma. I thought to myself briefly as I clenched my trembling hand into a fist. Yeah, yeah—sure, mommy didn’t let me play the drums. God, some of these dreams are so whiny!

Beginning to stir from my prone position, I grabbed at the healed gash on my gut before rubbing at my dented skull where a throbbing headache had begun to spread from. With a glance up, I stared at a limp leather helmet that barely covered a sun-tanned androgynous face and pointed, elven ears. Big green eyes looked down at me, and I felt my heart begin to race in a way I hadn’t felt in what seemed to be years.

It wasn’t fear or panic. Nor was it lustful attraction or sexual hunger. At first sight, it felt like it was—

“Hey, you okay, kid?” The elf asked as they focused their concerned look on me.

“I-Is the battle over?” I mumbled, shaking the forgotten feeling from my mind as I began to push myself up.

“No, we’re still in the—” The elf's eyes suddenly rolled back into their head as they fell quiet and collapsed limply onto me.

“Ouf—crap!” I coughed as their body collapsed against mine.

With a ruckus of whirring cogs and a hiss of steam, I watched as a small automaton musician climbed into view on the elf’s back. Its head spun like a robot needing an exorcism, and I feared it might spew hot oil over me at any moment.

“Crap, crap, crap!” I cried out as it raised its cymbal high, preparing to bring it down on my head.

Wincing for a blow that never came, I peeked a single eye open to see an arrow appear from the corner of my vision and pierce through the machine's knee. Within an instant, it lost its ability to stand and toppled to the side before clattering noisily to the ground. I twisted my head, following the arrow's path to where I saw a second, much smaller, figure emerging from the shadows behind a stack of boxes.

“Aesandoral!” This being, a small-statured Groundling, called out from the shadows.

I watched as they revealed themselves moments before another automaton jumped within their reach and began clobbering them.

Why would you leave cover to yell? I thought, shifting under the elf’s weight as the automaton at my side whirred and hissed. That’s roguing one-oh-one! Get hidden, stay hidden! And what kind of fuggin' name is Ace-ann-dor-el for that matter? How do you even spell that?!

“Fuggin’—doesn’t anyone—grr!” I grumbled audibly as I pushed the body of the elf, Aesandoral, off me.

I quickly realized that the little bit of weightlifting I had been doing was indeed paying off as I easily hoisted the figure up and tossed them to the side. As I did, I felt the warm liquid of their blood coating my hands, quickly realizing that they were more than just knocked out. They were dying.

Wait, why aren’t you teleporting? I panicked internally, looking over their body and finding that the back of their head had taken the blow. You should be teleporting, right? That’s the bit after all! I should be the only one with—wait, do you have a defunct card, too?

Withdrawing a healing potion from my bag, I popped the cork and poured it into the elf’s mouth. It splashed messily, drenching as much of their nostrils and armour as the inside of their mouth. I stared at them for a moment, knowing that enough had passed their lips to at least somewhat work before realizing that the lack of recovery meant that I had once again pulled another syrupless bottle out.

Goddamn it, Phyllis! I thought, swearing that I heard her distant cackle on the wind.

So, after inadvertently waterboarding the elf with the first potion, I withdrew a second and drained the elixir more carefully. Beside me, the murderous robot had finally begun to right itself, turning its ire my direction once more. Unable to keep watch over the unconscious figure any longer, I plucked my staff from the ground and slammed it into the barely functioning watchwork. I pierced its brass skull, watching as the light drained from its eyes before its flailing body ceased moving.

At that moment, the elf coughed wildly as they awoke, causing me to release a deep sigh of relief.

“I hate getting hit—” Aesandoral wimpered pathetically, pushing themself up and ripping the leather helmet from their head. “The archer shouldn’t be the meat shield.”

I turned to look at the person, realizing quickly that ‘they’ were in fact a ‘she’ and that she was beautiful.

Holy shit…

My heart began to race as I inspected her face once again through a new lens. It was as though I was eyeing the centrefold model for a particular gentleman's magazine for the first time. Short brown hair, big green eyes, pointed elf ears, glowing skin, and the body of a dancer. I could barely contain my excitement as my racing heart sped faster with every passing moment I stared at her.

Then I heard the other figure in the shadows, struggling for their life. I turned and watched the remaining automaton striking my second saviour once more.

“Hey, are you okay?” I quickly asked the girl at my feet.

The small, distant figure was dealt two more hard hits in the time it took the elf to look up at me.

“You healed me?” She responded.

“Y—yeah?!” I replied, confused by her non-panicked demeanour at the near-death experience and her friend currently being pummeled less than thirty feet away.

Turning my gaze back down to Aesandoral, I watched her reach for the bow at her side, even though her gaze was locked with mine. Her cheeks were flushed with colour as she suddenly and shyly looked away from me. My heart raced even faster.

Focus! Someone is dying!

“Could you shoot that guy, please?” I coughed, trying to control my building excitement as I turned my attention to the final threat.

Pointing out, I felt a familiar, exciting energy pooling in my chest. Whether it had been from the elf or the excitement of battle, it filled me with a giddy anticipation. Suddenly, it raced down my arm to the tips of my fingers as I fired a radiant beam of energy forth towards the enemy. The liquid light splashed against the distant watchwork monster standing over the dangerously battered, but still conscious, second saviour.

The body of cogs and mechanisms hobbled momentarily after being struck until finally toppling to the ground, lifeless.

“Oh, whoops,” I muttered, looking at my hand. “A little bit of pre-magic came out. I guess I’m getting better at incantationless casting.”

“Thank you.” The weakened second figure said as their short form pushed themselves up and hobbled over to us.

Pulling back the hood, a delicate porcelain face with jet black hair looked at me through focused, silvery, diamond-clear eyes. Even with the bruise already forming around her eye and the red of her blood trailing down her forehead and cheek, she looked remarkably beautiful. Again, my heart began to race—

Double holy shit! What is this? Campus model shoot day?  If I’m not careful, I’m going to shoot again, too.

I watched as she approached and quickly punched Aesandoral in the hip.

“Aesandoral, are you okay?” She questioned quickly while looking even more battered than her friend.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Sharzin. Thanks.”

Shar-zin? I thought, trying to conceal my confusion. Like, char but with an 's'? And zin, like, that little invader with the adorable companion? What kind of name is THAT?! These names are ridiculous! Though...that one does seem familiar for some reason.

“Did you forget your student I-D again?!” The smaller girl, Sharzin, lectured. “You-You could have died!"

“Well, I didn’t know I’d be fighting today, Sharzin.” Aesandoral huffed, slipping the bow onto her back. "And where were you in class?"

I watched for a moment as the two began to bicker.

Attempting to calm my racing heart, I examined them closely. There was a moment as I watched the two talk when I realized something.

Nope. I have no fugging idea who these girls are.

Touching on every character in my story world would have been impossible, true, but these two beautiful coeds were wholly unfamiliar to me. They weren't even familiar as friends or family of side characters. They weren't important enough to the main story to be side-side characters. Examining their faces and bodies briefly—and lecherously—I found that a groundling and an elf pair wasn’t immediately activating any of my lore memories. They were essentially props in a world of heroes and villains.

I wonder if...no— I began to think before shunning the idea.

Snapping out of my daydream, I realized that while chatting with them wouldn’t jeopardize the story in any meaningful way, there was also no reason to stand around for that. And as much as I wouldn’t have minded being the meat between their buns, I doubted a pair of college girls would see a high schooler as anything more than kid-brother material.

“Excuse me.” I finally said, giving them a kind nod. “I’m off now. Great fight, keep up with your—umm—training? Schooling? The world is dangerous out there!”

“Oh, okay.” Aesandoral stammered as she turned from Sharzin, surprised that I had spoken. “Bye, kid.”

And, with that, I rushed away from the pair, delving deeper into the Luminant Dichotomy Campus. Gleaming buildings grew in height around me with every step I moved farther into this school ground of magical law and order. Lush gardens expanded around every corner I moved past, and just when I thought I had gained enough distance on the cutie-coupling, my stomach began to growl.