Well-Nigh

[Seance]

Upon hearing from an innkeeper that a particular school is located in this country, Sean had traveled far than he can even think of. Distance is an objective matter to him, all he focuses on is where that Anthony Reinhardt is rumored to be, then he will get there.

It took Sean months, and now he has finally arrived in Ianne, the country he's been told his target lives in. He didn't took into account of where he is in specific right now, but the boy is intent in finding someone that can tell him where the school is right this instant.

The training ground is large, but somehow, rather empty. Probably it's because it's a weekday and its peak hour, where most people are off to get lunch. After walking around a type of terrain area, Celeste, the owl spirit who rests on Sean's shoulder, crooned as if to notify the boy something.

Sure enough, a few ways away, Sean could see a figure of a man. Glad that he found someone, the child made his way towards this figure in hopes that that person is familiar with the general direction of this country.

When he's close enough, and by close in Sean's head it's about 10 feet away, the little boy spoke to gain the man's attention, "Excuse me. Do you know of a school near here?"

[Tag Evan]

[Evan]

Evan entered the training grounds early in the morning as he liked to get an early start. He did various form warm ups in the empty space for about an hour or so then tackled the obstacle course a number of times before. After hours of training, Evan spotted the area of the sky the sun was and assumed it must be around noon.

He headed towards a tree where he had hung his bag that held water and food and sat down to eat and drink and rest. When he had finished, he pulled out a book and began to read. As he finished one chapter and was about to go onto the next, he head a young voice speak up near him. He looked over at the young boy and let out a breath of air as he placed the bookmark into his book and stood up.

Evan faced the boy, standing tall, with his usual serious look about him. "The only school in these parts is DD. It's situated beyond Mount Rei and the forests that surround it." As he looked at the boy, he figured this boy was probably not much of a fighter and added in, "I am a teacher there. I can escort you there if you wish. Are you looking to sign in as a student?" He finally inquired about the boy's intentions.

Although Evan may look at times intimidating and overly serious and uninterested, he has no problem with spending his time to help others, especially those younger than himself. He rather enjoys being a teacher despite a few of his students sometimes wanting to run out of the classroom in fear of his strong and serious manner. Inside, he's really kind to all of his students and tries to help them all with efficiency to the best of his abilities.

[Seance]

Sean would almost, almost smile at the given information. Finally, after 2 years of traveling, he's finally getting closer to his promise. "Can you point to me where this Mount Rei is?" His monotone voice broke slightly with a higher pitch due to the excitement bubbling inside him, but managed to keep his expression rather poised.

When this man began offering to accompany him to the school, Sean's arched brows creased down. He analyzed the man's words slowly, scrutinizing if he's joking, then responded "No, I'm not registering. I'm looking for a person."

Recalling that the man introduced himself as a teacher, Sean then remembered what Kida said about that particular person he's looking for; Anthony Reinhardt is a teacher according to her. The boy looked back at the man with the purple ears, he must have at least heard of that man, "Do you know a teacher by the name of Anthony Reinhardt?"

He stated out the question clearly, using the most authoritative tone he could manage. Actually, Sean looked like a mirror image of how Evan seemed right now; solemn and serious. He has certainly grown from when he first took a step into the world, although his face and physique has yet shown the effects of the growth, his mind certainly has matured more.

"I need to meet him."

[Evan]

As he was asked to point the boy to the direction of Mount Rei, Evan turned slightly and outstretched his arm to point in a south-western direction. "It's a ways beyond here, through the forests, past a couple of villages. If you reach a fort instead, you've gone too far east. There is a crater near the center of the forest, so be careful of where you walk." He then turned back to look at the boy with a serious expression. "There are dangerous creatures roaming these forests, so I would be ill of conscience if I let you walk through alone."

He faced the boy and listened in a calm and serious manner to the boy's intention of finding DD and as soon as that man's name escaped the boy's lips, he instantly regretted stating the directions just now. Evan slowly took in a deep breath and released a heavy sigh and brought his hand up to place over his forehead.

He lowered his hand again and looked back at the boy as he said he needed to meet Anthony. "I know him." He finally said, a twinge of annoying pulling an eyebrow in slightly. "I have also regretted every year I have known him. Having known him from childhood, that is of course a very long time."

"Anthony is a disgrace of a teacher and of a man. He mercilessly flirts with innocent young female students and is constantly causing so many people, including myself, trouble. He is not a man you want to know." Although Evan knew he could not force this boy to abandon his quest for Anthony, he hoped his words of warning might cause him to at least rethink his inquiry.

"For as long as I've known him, he's been a womanizer who cares nothing for responsibility of any kind nor for the feelings or emotions of others. All he cares about are his own selfish desire for fun and amusement, even at the cost of anguish to those around him." He let out another heavy sigh and glanced to the side. "He has been following me around since we were young and, to my annoyance, actually attained a position as a teacher at DD due to his inborn talent in telepathy and telekinesis."

He looked back at the boy with a serious look, trying to push hold his expression from showing his full annoyance with Anthony. "I sincerely urge you to reconsider your quest for this man. He is not a friend to others, not even a decent person to be acquainted with." Evan finished off, hoping something of what he said made some kind of impact on the boy.

[Seance]

Although his face lacks any expression whatsoever, inside Sean is practically jumping. Now he has directions, specific ones at that, and he trusts Celeste to keep the instructions on how to get there in mind. He tries to remember each and every word this man told him, it's crucial that he does. It's his whole mission, after all.

'Forests, then villages.. Good, I can ask for more specific directions from the people there.. ' As he thought so, he looked upwards to the sky for a while to determine if he can make it before nightfall, and completely missed Evan's offer to escort him. It might take him long, since the man had not provided him with the distance. And while Sean was considering all of this factors, the man suddenly declared that he certainly knew Anthony Reinhardt.

The smallest speck of surprise is present in the young boy's face. He stood quietly in the distance as he heard more about the father he never knew, it wasn't a surprise to him that this man also hated that person.
...Everyone he met who knows Anthony Reinhardt exhibits hatred towards him.
Evan is more generous of providing more in-depth information than any rest of the people Sean have met, and the boy is deeply gratified by the gesture, no matter how horrible said information is. ...Now he knows why Anthony can so easily left Sean's mother like that.

"I see.." Sean only but responds after the man had finished. He kept still for a moment, mostly using the silence given to converse with Celeste on his right shoulder in quiet whispers. When Evan spoke again did Sean turned his attention forward back to the man, and at his words, the boy grows quiet. It took him a while to figure out what to exactly say as a reply...

This man grows with his father, and is possibly one of the few people who knew the man in essence. Celeste crooned, agreeing with Sean's thought, and just like that, the boy opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but I have been searching for this man for years. I NEED. To MEET him." He phased his words with utter definiteness. "I have no care how he behaves and how indecent you claimed he is." Sean is serious, he's been through far enough, and he needed to keep his promise. There's a time limit within that particular promise too, so he doesn't like to waste his time. The child then stares at Evan for a moment, contemplating if its wise to let him know.

Slowly, he took a few steps closer to the man, and as he looked up to meet his eyes did Sean stated the truth behind his whole being. "...My name is Seance Reinhardt. I have promised my mother I would bring Anthony Reinhardt back home, in hope that she could settle things with him......so she would stop hating me."

[Evan]

Evan listened to the boy again as he explained his situation and introduced himself. He wanted to protest again but felt a sort of pity for the boy who felt like he was being hated so by his own mother. Evan never really knew his parents but he had felt the sting of jealousy now and then seeing children with loving parents passing by the orphanage.

Evan placed a hand to the side of his forehead and let out a sigh as he closed his eyes then looked at the boy again and lowered his arm. "If you're that serious," he began, watching the boy with his straight face still, "I will take you to him."

"My name is Evan Archen. I hope that you will not regret your decision to meet with him." He said then turned to the side, his head facing away in the direction of the school. "If you are ready," he looked back at the boy, "we may start walking."

[Seance]

Sean's face is as straight and steely as a stone, his green eyes intent on getting past all the obstacles standing in his way. Nobody would suspect that inside, he's breaking. He's breaking like fragile twigs being stepped on the burden he's carrying.

He's 10 years old, and only now could he feel how heavy this feeling is. It didn't feel this painful back then, possibly because he doesn't quite understand the severity of the situation he's in, he was too focused on finding this man who had destroyed his life, by simply bringing him to life.

Sean's clenched fists are shivering violently. '...Does she even love me..? Will her perception changes when I bring him home..?' It's...so painful, and the worst thing about it is there's nothing he could do about it besides being a slave of love itself.

There is nothing for him.

Sean quickly turned his gaze away from the man, suddenly feeling the stings of tears threatening to leave his eyes. 'Hold it up.. I've barely even embrace the truth yet, I was just touching it....' He reminded himself with his lower lip quivering. Celeste crooned softly on his shoulder, inching closer to his face gently.

Sadly, he can't feel her soft feathers.
He never can feel what it's like to have comfort.

His head was down for a while, and the little boy tried his very hard to contain himself from breaking. So...very...hard... In response to Evan's agreement to take him to his father, Sean only nodded, still facing downwards.

Evan's assertion that he hopes Sean would not regret his decision pricked the little boy where it really hurts.
...Is this even worth it?
'There is nothing else...that I could do.. I'm only grasping to any thread of hope, even if I'm only imagining it to exist...'

"Let's go."

His voice is strong, despite how his entire inner being being crushed to pieces. Tilting his chin back up, the tears all had disappeared and there is only fierce hope on his expression. He can only rely on hope now.

Anthony Reinhardt is his only hope right now.

[Evan]

Evan looked at the young boy's determined face as he had lifted his chin up again. A slight concerned look held in Evan's eyes for the boy. He felt sorry for Seance, being the son of such an irresponsible man and even feeling hated by his own mothers because of that man.

He clenched his fists and his eyebrows turned into a bit of a glare as he turned away to collect his stuff and threw his back over his shoulders. He made plans in his head to beat Anthony senseless for being so irresponsible as he began to walk, expecting Seance to walk along with him now.

"I don't know how easy it may be to get him to go all the way back with you, Seance." He said after a bit, then subsequently though, 'If you want, I would gladly knock the bastard unconscious and drop him off with you.' At least then, he hoped, Anthony might not be able to so easily trace his way back to DD. Perhaps Evan could even enjoy a while of peace without the nuisance there to bother him.

His eyes lowered slightly as he thought differently again. He wondered how Anthony might act around Seance and his mother. The last thing he would want for this young boy is to experience even more pain from that irresponsible father of his.

He wondered if there was something else he might be able to do to help them, even if it meant for him to have to remain around Anthony even longer just to keep him there with those two. After all, it seemed as though Anthony never really left the general area that Evan was in. He didn't know why Anthony stuck to him so much, but the fact that he did made Evan wonder if maybe Anthony would stick around if he was there as well.

He glanced over at the boy as they were already well into the forest and kept up his pace. He walked a little bit fast but slower than his normal pace because he worried how fast the boy was able to steadily walk.

[Seance]

Once the man had packed up and began to walk, Sean followed obediently behind him. Perhaps the long walk could calm him down of his inner storm. Sean had to jog a bit in the beginning of the walk, to keep his body moving more so as to not pay any attention his mind is pulling him into.

His head tilted up a bit once Evan had asked him a question, he had pondered a long while during his travel how to exactly get a full grown man back to the mountain his mother is living in, and came up with a few plans.

"I will talk to him in doing what I ask. If he doesn't comply, then I suppose I will have to wait a few years till I'm strong enough to drag him back." He answered, suddenly bringing one hand out of his cloak to stare at his fingers, almost as if counting.

"...I have 5 years left.." he whispered under his breath, as if to remind himself of something important. 'That means, by 15, I must be taller than him and stronger than him..' He was beginning to plan to drink more milk and eat only healthy food that can make him grow faster and stronger by the time he's 15.

"If by force doesn't work," Sean spoke up, his mind going in all sorts of directions as he planned multiple things at once, "Then I suppose I might have to make a deal with him, and promise something that he wants more than anything, so he would have to go back with me."

That would mean Sean must understand his father to know what interests the man, and that means he has to at least stay with him for a while. As the little boy thought of this, his pace slows down to his usual one.

He didn't even noticed that they're entering a forest by now, and then Sean tripped his foot by a thick root of a tree. He didn't let a sound of surprise out of his mouth, and the only noise he makes is some quick shuffling of his feet on some dry leaves to steady himself. Celeste left his shoulders for a short while to hover above him until the boy managed to balance himself and returned her position on his shoulder.

"How long do you suppose till we reached there?" That sudden trip awaken him that he's not alone now, so he might as well uses the company to benefit him and ask as much information as he needed.

[Evan]

Evan watched the boy beside him with a cold stare as he explained what he would try to bring Anthony back with him. Five years? He thought as he looked over at the young boy and let out a quiet breath of air. Will something bad happen to his mother by that time? He thought as he faced forward again.

Evan noticed the boy stumble but catch himself without making much of a sound aside from his footsteps. Interesting... He thought to himself as he looked back over to the young boy. Evan glanced forward again as Seance asked him how long it might take. "A couple of days at the most." Evan replied in a blank tone. "That is, assuming we don't run into any trouble or have to take any extra detours." Evan glanced over at the boy again, thinking it would be best if they slept within the village that lay about halfway into the forest rather than in the middle of the woods.

"Seance..." He began again after a short pause, looking forward again. "If you have trouble making Anthony return with you, you need only ask and I will help you." He said after thinking over a few times what this offer would mean for himself.

[Seance]

Sean nodded at Evan's given information of how long it would take them to reach the school. "Couple of days.." he repeated Evan's words quietly, but stating that out to the empty space on his left shoulder to communicate with Celeste.

His eyebrows creased a bit at the possibility that they might run into some kind of trouble on the way, but Sean doesn't respond. He certainly had gotten into a number of problems on his way here alone, but somehow, things always turns okay for him in the end to escape unscathed.

They walked some more in silence before Evan suddenly offered to help him with getting his father back home. At this, the little boy looked up at the man, quite startled by his proposal. Slowly, his shocked expression died down into a frown, "Why? I can't afford to repay you with anything. By what I understand, he's a complete nuisance to you, so why would you want to be affiliated with him any longer?"

Hearing a 10-year-old speaking like this could startle anyone. It startled Sean too the first time this happens, but he's grown used to speaking out big words he himself has no clue what they even meant. Words just kept popping at the back of his head when he doesn't know how to describe something, and it flows out of his mouth without much of a second thought.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful to you, but I need to do all I can to not let myself or him be a burden on anyone.. He..." Sean paused, feeling a bitter smack deep within him before even saying it out loud. "He's...my father. He's..supposed to be...my responsbility. ...My mother is...my responsibility too."

It's quite shocking to see how his mind works; it's the complete opposite of how a normal person would see the normal familial relationship as. The boy is actually taking everything onto himself when he's not even old enough to be handling such things.

"Thank you...for the offer. I will try to handle this...myself," he ended quietly, doubting his own capabilities, but at the same time needed to depend on himself despite his lack of power. The child was silent for a moment, before shakily said, "You... You're the first person, who gives me...hope...in this world. .....I like this feeling. ..Thank you."

[Evan]

If Evan was one to crack smiles, even slight ones, he would have at Seance's reply to his offer. He glanced over at the boy, a slightly concerned look behind his eyes again as he thought about the boy's responses.

"Anthony is indeed a nuisance... However, if it is to push him to do what is right to atone for a past mistake, that is, leaving your mother... I would be willing to assist." Evan said, expanding on what he meant by mistake so that Seance would not think Evan was talking about him as being a mistake of a child.

Evan's eyes held a slightly deeper concern for the boy, his stoic face holding almost a melancholic air as he thought about this boy who felt he had to hold responsibility over his parents. He had such a hard burden placed on him and Evan especially felt sorry for the boy knowing that the father he searches for is the most perverted and overdramatic and childish person Evan had ever met.

"I have, unintentionally, been a bit like a babysitter of sorts towards Anthony for a long time. When it comes to his unruly or indecent behaviours, I have taken on the responsibility of apologizing for him and scolding him." Evan explained in his blank tone of voice. "As much as I tend to despise the man, I also have been around him the longest. Because of this, I am one of the few that are able to really handle him."

[Seance]

A deep sigh escaped Sean's breath in hearing Evan's answer. "Why do you care about someone else's mistake?" It just didn't make sense in the little boy's mind, the only connection he's able to make between this man and his father is that they've known each other for a very long time.

Though then, Evan had answered his question by stating that he had been taking care of Anthony's messes since young. At this, Sean looked sideways, his eyes glancing over to the owl spirit beside him. As blank as Evan's voice tone sounded like, Sean could almost tell he didn't sound too pleased of what fate had done to his life.

"...If you were given a choice to trade your life with mine, would you do it?" Sean suddenly questioned seriously, his green eyes are sharp as he looked up at the man. He sped up his steps so they're walking side by side now, just so he could take a look of how Evan's face must have looked like.

"Celeste said... you should really stop feeling so responsible of stupid people."

[Evan]

Evan was caught feeling rather curious towards this boy's question of trading lives. He had never really thought of wishing for someone else's life instead of his own as such wishes did not follow his philosophies on life.

"I have never considered the thought of trading lives with another. You only have this one life to live and it is your own and no body else's. It is up to you to decide how you wish to live it, how you wish to make amends with your past and how you wish to be in the future. I think that the very idea of wishing to trade your life with someone else's only limits yourself in turning your life into something you feel proud of."

As he spoke, Evan faced forward again, still making his way through the forests. His face remained blank as he took occasional glances to the boy again to make sure he was keeping up. "Celeste?" Evan questioned, not really certain who the boy was referring to, especially seeing as the statement Seance made sounded like this Celeste was there with them.

If Evan was the type to laugh in response to such blatantly true statements, this was one he certainly would laugh at. He simply looked at Seance with a straight face, taking in the sentence that he regarded as truth then faced forward again.

"What you say is truth... however, when I see people doing things they should not be doing, I find myself becoming annoyed with them. Especially when it involves Anthony's level of stupidity and perversion towards others, I cannot simply leave him alone."

[Seance]

Sean's objetive to even bring up the odd topic of trading lives is merely because he wanted to know how this man's trail of thoughts is like. He doesn't care of Evan's final conclusion at all, he just liked to listen the reason behind it.

He got his wish, Evan laid out his whole life philosophy for him. Sean stared up at this man with his eyes wider than any of the times before. He noticed how Evan took sideway glances at him once in a while, and when Sean finally caught his eyes, he opened his lips.

"You're noble." He said simply, having no idea what that word even meant, but he believes whatever Celeste is saying about this man is good. "Thank you for providing you life philosophy to a 10-year-old." Although his voice sounds monotonous, Sean has certainly gained respect of this man by ten fold, perhaps even beginning to adore him.

"...It must be nice to be able to decide how to live your life..." He started quietly, looking forward then down in order not to trip himself again. "I have already pledged my life to my mother. Her wishes are my wishes.....because my emotions would not afford otherwise." He could hear Celeste hooting in a frenzy beside him, but Sean can't take back his words of honesty, even if Celeste dislike it.

"Celeste said I'm a slave of my emotions. She said she hoped I would outgrow it soon." Sean stated with such a monotonous voice, it's like there's no youth inside his child-like body at all. At the question of Celeste, Sean genuinely lets his face contorted into a rather surprised expression.

The little boy was so used of the owl's presence, he often forgot that she's just an imaginary friend and others cannot see or hear her. "Celeste is.....my friend. She's...a white owl, and she's...right here.." He touched a blank space on his left shoulder. "She is...my imaginary friend."

At Evan's response of Sean's one-liner, Sean repeated what he said earlier, but adding another word to stress it. "You're too noble." But there is certainly nothing wrong with whatever this positive trait is, Sean thought. "Or my father is just very obnoxious." Again, he has no idea what it even meant.