Fighting like Children

Walking out of the school, Carmin was pleasantly greeted by a lovely sunny day. Usually he'd just go home after school and start studying, but today was something special. He was feeling pretty drained mentally and physically and the sun usually did a wonder on that for him, so he decided he'd stay and sit on a bench by the school. Even the people walking by wouldn't be able to ruin perfect weather like this. They rarely ever tried to talk to him anyway.

And so, he walked over to a bench a little ways out from the school, where there were fewer people around, and lifted his backpack and then himself onto the seat. He was still in his school uniform, but he didn't have to worry about getting hot or anything so it didn't really matter much.

Once he was settled, he unzipped his backpack and began rustling around inside. He'd shoved a bunch of notebooks and a textbook on top so he ended up having a little difficulty with the task. But after removing some books and reaching way down, he'd managed to yank the book out. And after haphazardly shoving everything back into the bag, he finally opened the book to where his bookmark was. He then slid the bookmark into his pocket and began reading. It was a book about some wizard who'd set out to stop a fight between two dragons. Not his usual type of story, but the writer was talented enough to keep him hooked.

@Keen @GrimRPer

Not even two pages in, Carmin was already getting bothered by someone. He brought the book down and looked up, quickly going from annoyed to shocked. He barely moved, watching as the little kid went and introduced themself to him then asked what he was reading.

It took Carmin a second to gather himself from the initial shock and regain his cool. Where most people loved butterflies, Carmin had a bit of a complicated relationship with them. They would often follow him around and try to drink from his flowers, but that wasn't the worst of it. Butterflies were especially bad because they'd lay eggs on his leaves. The eggs themselves were gross to think about, but then they'd hatch into bloodthirsty caterpillars who would eat him bald if he let them. The idea of a giant butterfly was something of his nightmares, but luckily this kid seemed to be some sort of fantasy creature as opposed to a giant butterfly. Though the wings on their back left him somewhat unsettled.

"Um, hi." Carmin looked around for their parents, but had little luck. There didn't seem to be anybody around that looked like them. He didn't even understand part of what the kid had told him. What in the world was a monarch of a daunus court? Probably some make believe title they'd given themself. He didn't bother introducing himself, quickly answering the question so that the kid would move on and leave him alone. "It's a book called rage. You probably wouldn't like it, it isn't really meant for children." With that, Carmin was sure the child would leave him to his book.

Thousands of years old? Was that the truth or was she making that up. Carmin was caught off guard with that one. The thought was kind of ridiculous, but at the same time it really wasn't. He'd seen some crazy things and they literally had butterfly wings. Come to think of it, the way they spoke, and their posture earlier was also a bit of an indicator too. The condition was common enough that they had a whole system in place for it.

He may have considered apologizing had it not been for their next remark. You're a child too. The words hit him like daggers. He shut his book the instant they left Ebvion's mouth, not even bothering to bookmark his page, looking up with a light green blushed face. There were few things that could set him off as much as calling him a kid. His voice was clearly holding back some anger "I'm eighteen. Basically an adult." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then carefully pulled out a piece of ID, an MSD card. "I've got a bracelet, and this card to prove it." He held the card in front of their face. "Where's yours?"

When the wings started flapping the first time, Carmin flinched, it seemed that he'd made this stranger a little upset. They didn't have a card? They weren't an adult? But then at the same time they were thousands of years older than him? This was all a little much for him to wrap his head around.

When she mentioned that he looked like a child again, Carmin couldn't help but hop off the bench and clench his fists. He put effort into making himself look mature, he couldn't stand hearing how ineffective it all was. "Well-" Carmin was completely broken from thought when he suddenly felt uneasy. It was like the ground was suddenly on an angle. Before he could regain his thought, he lost his balance and fell sideways.

It didn't hurt one bit, but it was embarrassing. He got up on his hands and knees, looking quite flustered. He was upset, and it made him say things he normally wouldn't. "Well you certainly don't seem too mature right now. You look like you're about to take off with those ridiculous wings."

Carmin was about to stand up and say something really mean. But then, he just sort of didn't. He was going to tell Ebvion that they looked like they were about to cry, maybe mention that it was something a child would do. But the urge to do so just up and left. He really was being too spiteful. He had a lot of troubles built up and was using this kid as an outlet. Even if they really were thousands of years old, it was wrong. So, he just stood up, still light green in the face, kind of disoriented and unsure of what he was feeling. He wasn't too sure what was going on with him.

That's when a taller girl showed up and asked what had happened. "Uh" Normally Carmin might have told them that it didn't concern her, but he felt less hostile than usual. So instead, he just told her. "I was sitting here minding my own business, reading a book, when this butterfly monster showed up and started bugging me, then called me-" Carmin took a deep breath, clearly annoyed by this part in particular. "A child, said I looked like one and then knocked me over with some weird power and started laughing." Carmin managed to stay pretty calm while he explained the story, though there were still remnants of fire in his voice. Still, to say that his explanation of the story wasn't biased would be a total lie. He didn't have any proof that Ebvion was the one to make him fall over, and he'd clearly left out some bits that painted him in a negative light. His explanation wouldn't explain how Ebvion would be on the verge of tears.