The Djinni Pacts [CLOSED]

[Lucio]

[Note: this topic takes place before The Twilight Sun Also Rises]

The expanse above was its usual hue, looking as if someone had set fire to the sky so as to watch it burn away slowly. This flame was weakest in the center, the spot right above any person’s head no matter which way they moved, and grew stronger as one’s eyes followed it down to the horizon. The hottest area was, of course, the sun; even then, it only emitted a tepid warmth. One might wonder whether this perpetual twilight was of a sunset or a sunrise--were the people of this town resigned to chasing towards a meaningless end, or were they cursed to forever expect a dawn which would never come?

This problem seemed not to concern most of the world’s inhabitants, who went about their normal day and fulfilled their recurring schedules. There was nothing of interest to any of them--not even each other. Ignoring their neighbors, their peers, and only paying enough attention to move around them. It wasn’t people they saw, it wasn’t human beings similar to themselves; they were obstacles, hindrances, in the way of destinations both physical and psychological. The crowd moved around, through, and with everyone, but never in harmony--like animals who crawled over and shoved aside one another to get to tear apart at the same carcass. But perhaps even that would be more exciting for the boy to watch.

He stood on the side of the bricked road, leaning against a house whose colors mimicked that of the sky. His life was monotonous, his world colorless--red and orange might as well have been black and white. That wasn’t to say he was unhappy, as he was extremely grateful for a life he knew to be more fortunate than those of others. But there was an emptiness inside of him, a void that made his smiles hollow and his laughs without music. He felt he was doing no better than watching a recording on loop; the townsfolk in front of him were indistinguishable in both expression and action. Deciding he could glean nothing further, he stepped out into the crowd.

His back twitched in discomfort as he walked forward; believing it to be due to his lengthy leaning, Lucio stretched his torso backwards and then twisted it from side to side. A ecstatic crack reverberated throughout his body, relieving much of its previous soreness. He continued on making his way downtown, walking fast. Faces passed and flashed by, although he took little notice of them. He was too focused on his destination: the post office, where he expected a package to be waiting for him. His parents had a mailbox there in addition to the one in front of their home for extra security. They didn’t exactly trust the mechanical birds in handling their letters, although Lucio himself saw no problem with it.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it, and he didn’t mind the longer walk...it helped to keep in shape, especially if Heartless sightings were low. There wasn't much for him to do aside from the daily grind of chores and work. He had thought previously about enrolling in university, but as he had spent so much of his life in school already he saw little point in any more. Besides, he made enough money with his part-time job at the bookstore, although he supposed that he should seek a more stable career. Not many intrigued him, unfortunately--the only thing he seemed to enjoy was taking out the dark creatures that plagued the town, and the rush of exhilaration that came with it, but one could hardly make a living from monster hunting.

“Which one is it… ?” Lucio stepped inside of the post office, scanning the rows of lockers down the hall. He had a terrible memory for this sort of thing, and usually spent around 30 minutes to an hour just looking for the right one. Fortunately, it had only been a week or so before his last visit, so he vaguely recalled the correct number. “Three...twenty...nine.” The young man unhinged his keyring off of his waist, the various keys clanging together from the sudden movement. He struggled to fit the mail key into the slot, resulting in it slipping from his fingers and crashing onto the floor below. Silently, he laughed at his clumsiness.

“K-k-k-key….key...” Lucio looked up to a female standing no further than two feet away from himself. She looked to be a little younger than himself, and was most likely still in high school. She was a brunette, with hazel eyes matching her ponytail. The most striking thing about the girl, however, was her flame colored tee--when he looked at it, it was almost as if it was actually on fire, dancing back and forth elegantly. Like a moth to a flame, Lucio felt drawn to to her and had to force his eyes away.

“Oh--oh yeah,” he replied, briefly kneeling down to pick up his keys. He gave an awkward smile and nodded in acknowledgement. “Erm, thanks.”

“No…..” the teenager stepped forward shakily, her eyebrows scrunched up and her mouth in a pursed frown. She lifted an arm up as if to touch the boy, but refrained from doing so. “No….key? No...key...no...keys...no keys….nokey....nokeynokeynokeynokeynos!!!” The girl’s breath rapidly increased with each word and tears began to well up in her eyes. She moved her head back and forth, her entire body shuddering as she fell to the knees.

“A-are you okay?” Lucio wasn’t sure if the stranger was mentally stable, nor how he would be able to help out. It seemed she was having a mental breakdown of sorts, triggered when he dropped his keys--perhaps she had some sort of trauma that was related to them. Hurriedly, the twenty-year-old knelt down beside her and lifted up his keychain. “Look, I have my keys! I have my keys--they’re okay. See?”

The girl looked up, blinking several times at the mass of silver and gold in the other’s hands. She brushed her fingers against them, only to recoil instantly against the cold touch. Lucio nodded at her, to let her know it was okay. She tried again, wrapping her digits around the keys and tightening them in her fist. Her peer was still holding onto the keyring itself, his hand resting against her own. It seemed to calm her down, and her breathing eventually normalized.

Lucio smiled. “I told you, they’re okay. I’m, uh--my name’s Lucio. Sorry for the scare. I, uh...I’m kind of clumsy. Well, really clumsy. But I’ll, um. I’ll be more careful next time.” As he spoke, the Twilight Town native couldn’t help but stare at the girl’s face. He knew that he was trying to ease her, but there was something...He couldn’t help but feel comforted when he looked at her. She was...she was warm. She felt like how he would feel when around his mother or father. Like home. Strange, considering they’d only just met. “What’s, um….what’s your name?”

When Lucio told her his name, the teen’s eyes narrowed in confusion, as if she were expecting to hear something else. Still, she didn’t have much time to ponder that point, as she was expected soon give her own. “A-a-alina,” she stammered. “Alina. Lu-cio...you...wish? You have...wish?” This time, she stared at him unblinkingly, and looked as if her very life depended on his answer.

“Uh, um, a wish?” The question was sudden, and appeared to have no relevance to anything that was going on. However, the boy felt it was wrong to just dismiss it, and it might be significant in helping her through whatever her trauma was. “I don’t really think about wishes...I guess I want to travel the other worlds. You know, beyond Twilight Town. To see more. To do more. As much as I love it here...I mean, there’s only so much. Is--is that...does that make sense?”

Alina nodded, then smiled. “I...help. Just...contract. Pact. Okay? Key--no, Lu-cio?”

“Uh, help? I guess…I don’t know how you’d do that...but, er, you don’t really need to make a contract or anything. I’ll, uh, I’ll just take your word for it. Alina, right? I’ll um...I guess I’ll see you around or something. Uh, thanks. And sorry for dropping my keys again.” He slowly slid his keys out from the girl’s fist, carefully clipping them back on his waist before standing up again. With one final nod, he turned around and began to exit the post office.

“No!” Alina’s eyes widened as the boy began to leave, and quickly ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his hand and turned him around, pleadingly staring into his silver eyes. “Pact....please. Please...for...me…” She gripped his hands tightly, refusing to let him go.

“Um, sure. If it’s that important, I guess. Let’s, uh...make a pact?”

Smiling in relief, the young girl placed his hands on either side of the boy’s face. “Thanks,” she breathed, as she closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips. It took him by surprise, petrifying him--a stranger, giving him his first kiss. And yet, that would not be the most surprising event, as Alina suddenly burst into flames. Lucio tried to separate himself, but found that he was unable to control his body. The blaze began to swirl and wrap around his own body, the heat creeping into every crevice of his soul. He wondered what he had gotten himself into and, more than that, if he was going to die. It didn’t scare him. He wondered why; he was about to die, but there wasn’t an ounce of fear in him. As he thought about it, he realized he didn’t feel any pain either. He didn’t feel anything. The only thing he could sense was--

Darkness.