There is a lot about me you don't know -Tales of Arcadia ENG

1- Stop Thinking

WARNING: I REPEAT. FUTURE JLAIRXIE(JIM X CLAIRE X DOUXIE POLY) IMPLIED.
It's going to be very, very far away in this work though, since Slow Burn is my second name lol

TRACK 1

You are a stranger here, why have you come?Why have you come?

Lift me higher, let me look at the sun. Look at the sun.

And once I hear them clearly, say

Who, who are you really? And where are you going?

(Who are you really - Mikky Ekko)

***********

When Merlin returned from his trip to the GDT Store and the research of his Apprentice, Claire and Jim, having gotten over the joy of seeing Toby after far too long, were absolutely shocked.

Benoit's waiter. Excluding Steve, who certainly could not have been the wizard in question, there was only him. There could be no misunderstanding.

His black, raven-wing-like hair was always tinged with that dark blue shade on the tips. They were always short and messy, but perhaps longer than before, if only slightly. Or, again, maybe it was just an impression. It had been a while since they had seen him. And honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. They didn't know him that well enough to be sure of it-Jim didn't even like him as a person. Maybe it was jealousy due to the instant effect he had had on Claire from the first moment she saw him. Maybe it was something else. But that wasn't important either. Not with the Arcane Order and the Green Knight on their tail.

He had a half smile stretched across his face and... a black winged cat with glasses just over his shoulder? That seemed like a hallucination. A heavy hallucination to say the least. Not that they hadn't seen worse, of course, but still the feeling of the bizarre was not to be underestimated.

Much of the boy's attention-none of them remembered his name-was focused on his Master. He had seen them, but unlike Steve, who had instantly demanded attention like a Golden Retriever puppy, he had remained silent. He had stood behind the other Sorcerer as if waiting for him to say something, his arms resting at his sides, his back stiff, and his head vaguely tilted

It was strange to know that he was the Amulet maker's Apprentice. Of the strongest Sorcerer of them all. Jim did not know exactly what he would expect. Perhaps someone more adult, more rigid... more like Merlin himself. Not a young emo punk with a choker, a skull necklace, a set of earrings decorating his ears, black gloves cut off at the tip of his fingers, and black nail polish. He did not look like the kind of person the old man would appreciate. Quite the opposite.

Claire, on the other hand, however, surprised by the discovery, remembered the Battle of the Bands very well. She remembered how he had given her thumbs up when she had been on stage wearing her armor, trying to warn the city of the oncoming danger. She had seen it as a gesture of moral support for the performance back in the day, but now she could not help but ask herself questions.

Had he been aware of the situation? Of all of it or only part of it? And if only a part, how much? Had he also known about it at their first meeting? Was that why he had approached her? But if it was because of that, why had he neither done nor said anything about it? He hadn't done anything against Morgana Le Fay either; she in turn was Merlin's apprentice. So why?

Everything was driven out of her mind rather quickly, somewhat like the shock in that of the Trollhunter. What they had to do erased them little by little. They both knew that there were more important things going on. They had been dancing to that bizarre rhythm long enough to know when it was best to avoid distraction. They could not afford to think about futile things.