Trash: Chapter 145 I'm The Fool, At Least I Hope I Am (Patreon)

Chapter 145

I’m The Fool, At Least I Hope I Am

As it turns out Junior’s Crow Moth, the Skill, is not that powerful, at least not yet. While it had caused the main engine to malfunction, the backup engine was fine, meaning that ultimately worked out for me, as it meant the last few miles to school were slow and relaxing. Meaning I had no residual traces of dizziness or nausea by the time we arrived.

What had begun as Junior being worried about losing his spot on our team, ended up with me realizing that we could use this jinx flinging Skill, if we planned accordingly. Honestly, I liked the idea of having a walking, talking bad-luck-flinger on my team, which could make things far more interesting, if used correctly. Above all, it gave us options to work with that might otherwise be out of our reach for most teams.

The only problem is how to use Junior’s Skill on command, and this was something we would have to work with him on.

“Don’t worry, everything is safe for now,” A Royal Order of Watcher captain called out. Her rank was easily noticeable, displayed for all to see on her ample chest area. A rather unfortunate placement for rank, as it directed male attention to a spot that most might not want to be focused on so intently. Then again, maybe people knew that most males would be drawn to look there first, and thus made it conveniently placed so many younger males instantly saw and recognized the danger of leering for too long. A quick glance back at Junior showed that he was doing exactly what I expected, staring at her rank.  Though the drool forming at the side of his wide-open mouth suggested that his addition to my team would be a bit to get used to. Fortunately, the Captain didn’t seem to notice Junior, or she had much more pressing things to worry about with a train that was riding exceptionally slowly towards the University.

“I take it you are the healer candidate, Catarine Bloom?” The Captain asked, staring at me directly. Looking up at her eyes, I saw that she had a faint bluish glow to her eyes, a sign that she was actively using a perception Skill on me.

I nodded.

“Very good, as you are a healer candidate, during times of limited capability, we are obligated to provide a guard to watch over you and ensure your travel is secure to your final destination. However, currently you are only a candidate and not a true Healer at this time, meaning that we do not have to provide any resources for you at all. That said, your status has been confirmed by higher ups, meaning that we have to provide some level of protection for you. With that said, we also have a Royal Order of Watcher candidate who is also heading to Unity University,” The female captain spoke, her words coming at a slow measured pace as if making sure each word hits its mark before moving on to the next part. I wonder if there was some sort of teaching Skill in play to help her convey her points so simply.

As she spoke, she pointed to a fully cloaked and hooded person at the far end of the rail car that we are in. Looking at the person, it almost seemed like they took a long stick with a triangle on top and flung a drape over it and called it a guard.

“Is that an acceptable compromise at this time?” The Captain asked.

Realizing it was likely either this candidate in training or nothing, I felt it wouldn’t hurt. While nodding lightly I replied, “sounds fine.”

There was a slight bristle at my comment. Only after speaking did I realize that I likely missed some form of military etiquette. I could almost see the evaluative gaze in her eyes, debating whether she should correct me or not. For a moment, I wanted her to tell me, so I didn’t make the same mistake again, but couldn’t quite figure out how. Then before I knew it, she continued.

“Very well, this is Watcher Candidate Mossey—” The Captain began but was instantly cut off by my sudden outburst.

“Mousey?” I asked, then turning my head to look past the Captain, I looked once more at the sickly thin ghost like Watcher guard and realized, that it was Mousey, at least his overall frame. Chuckling slightly, the captain fought through a laugh, before continuing her speech.

“Ahem, he will be your guard and personal escort to Unity University. If any problems arise, please let him handle them on your behalf,” The Captain continued. Hearing her speak, I felt a wave of relief washing over me, as I hoped he knew what to expect once we arrived. For I was still in the dark as to what to expect, well other than being a Healer subjected me to being seen as a higher category of student.

“Thank you,” I replied, and meant it. Seeing my reaction, the captain seemed to relax her posture a bit and then spoke in a seemingly confidential tone.

“If he gives you any problems, you come directly to me, Captain Delthorne. I will be his supervising officer while at Unity University, and I will make sure to correct any deficiencies observed.” She spoke in a low menacing tone that carried to the back of the car, where I could see Mousey all but tremble from under his robes. Gentle vibrations of fabric rolled and rippled as he tried to and failed to maintain his perfect posture. The best part, that was not an Intimidation Skill, at least not one that I could detect, but rather just her overall posture and bearing that seemed to suggest messing with her was a bad idea. Seeing the Captain and her overall mannerisms, I knew who I wanted to be when I finally grew up.

Seeing that we were all quiet, she broke her gaze from me and looked at the rest of my team. Her glowing blue eyes clearly evaluating them as well. Though I could tell she was not impressed by what she saw, as her face dropped slightly as she looked at the others, and seemed to shake her head in mild disgust.

“Hopefully the rest of you, will eventually prove yourself worthy of the position you now find yourself in,” the Captain said. Her tone staring at Junior the most, though rather than crumpling from the weight of that glare, Junior seemed to be emboldened by the attention as his eyes seemed to dilate wide, as if he too had found her interesting.

Without waiting for a reply, the captain turned around and left the car, a look of mild disdain still etched to her face. Heading to the back of the train car, she paused next to Mousey and seemed to whisper into his ear. A gesture that would normally seem intimate, given how close she was, but the sudden tension and almost imperceptible micro flinches being performed by Mousey led me to believe the words were not as sweet as I might imagine.

“Affirmative, ma’am,” Mousey shrieked out, his hand forming a salute, while his voice cracked from the stress he was now facing.

With that, she left the cabin, at which point, Mousey sealed the connecting door shut behind her. Leaving us all alone in a suddenly all too quiet cabin car. Realizing that we now had a chance to talk, I turned back to face the others, and that’s when I realized both Lucia and Junior were still staring at the sealed door without a window, as if their gazes could somehow pierce metal and view the retreating back of the captain.

“I think I’m in love,” Junior began, the first to speak.

I was about to chide him, but then Lucia made that almost impossible, as she doubled down on the sentiment. “Me too.”

Realizing that both people across from me were apparently smitten, I turned left and looked at Luna. A sense of fear rising in me as I find myself asking, “do you like her?”

“I mean, she is pretty, but I already have eyes for someone else,” Luna replies, staring deeply into my eyes. Feeling her gaze upon me, I can almost sense her intent, but I find myself wanting her to speak my thoughts into action. I find myself forcing the words to be spoken, as I ask.

“Who do you like?”

“Someone who is a fool, if she doesn’t already know,” Luna replies, her words playful as she smiles while staring directly into my eyes.

I almost want to push, but that’s when Lucia provides more context. “It’s a good thing you don’t have feelings for our captain here, as you would have to be reassigned.”

“What?” I ask, while turning to face Lucia, who has an exasperated look on her face.

“It’s well known that relationships in the University are frowned upon but accepted, so long as they are not between members of the same team.” Lucia responds, her words laced with knowledge.

“Wait, how do you know this?” Junior asks, we haven’t even gotten our materials yet.

“Madame Bloom told us before we left,” Lucia responds as if it should be obvious.

“Oh, that’s good,” Junior replies, looking instantly relieved by the comment.

“Wait, what’s good?” Lucia asks.

“I was just afraid you all would see me and be instantly attracted to my cooking skills, which would make it all messy by having to break your hearts one by one. This is best,” Junior replied, his features almost hiding the faint smile that was threatening to break free at any moment.

Seeing him, I just shake my head as I realize what he was hoping for. “Let me guess, you were trying to get your Crow Mouth to work?”

Junior’s face broke as a look of a kid who had their hand caught in the cookie jar flashed on his face.  “Well, I was hoping it would.”

At that, the three other members of his team just shook our heads at him, as he realized he might have gone a bit too far. Though I did still wonder, if he would be able to pull of something like that in the future.

I was about to say something, to let him know that this type of activity would not be accepted against fellow teammates in the future, but I was cut off by a sudden chime of pipes ringing out, letting us know that we were nearing our destination.

“Prepare for departures, prepare for departures,” a well-dressed man in a moderately well-made suit shouted, coming in from the far end of the car, the one towards the engine and continued to walk past us as he went past Mousey and into the next cars. His movements are never hindered by the movement of our vehicle. Seeing him walk so casually, I felt a smidge of jealousy at his graceful movements, as he didn’t seem bothered by the movement at all.

As he left, I turned to face Junior, forcing every ounce of Acting into my tone as I wanted it known that use of Skills, especially jinxing type Skills against teammates would not be tolerated.

“We will talk about your use of Skills against fellow teammates when we get settled!” I stated, holding up one finger in the air, and letting a surge of intimidation roll out from me. I could almost feel the manifestation of a Skill, but it never got acknowledged due to my Free Slots already being filled.

“Roger,” Junior replied, as he visibly shrank in on himself, realizing he might have gone a bit too far. Seeing his current state, I relaxed some of the anger I had been presenting and finally relaxed a bit. Then I gave him the three words that let him know, he was granted temporary amnesty.

“We’ll talk later,” and we would. For now, we had to gather our stuff, and get off the train, so we could see what this famed university was all about.