Andrew Gallager.
That was the name of the man who had lost his life to General Painite. It was a part of the report which the police had filed after Howl's incident with the short haired woman with the Cockney accent. It was the name of the soul which he now held in his hands. This starseed no longer had a body to go back to, and the lad had long acknowledged that it was his own fault that any of this had happened.
Andrew Gallager's starseed was now Howl Wickham's responsibility.
Not being the sort to stay idle once he had the proper actions in mind, the teal-haired lad had gone to a local trinket shop and purchased an ornate box. Some might have accused it of being tacky with all of the gold adorning it, but Howl felt that this box would be quite suitable for the task he was going to attend to. It was reasonably heavy too, which was an added bonus. After paying for the box, he hailed a cab and requested to be driven to the lake. Franz, when he was alive, had gushed a few times about going to the lake with his girlfriend at the time. Perhaps it was a romantic place to go, however, Howl was going alone and not planning anything romantic in the least.
The weather was still reasonable enough for people to go camping about the lake. He could tell by all of the activity going on at the water when he arrived to his destination. Some people were still crazy enough to go swimming (something which always got his stomach tied up in knots), others had set up some sort of campfire and were sitting around. In all honesty, Howl felt out of place by being so close to the water. He definitely looked out of place with how dressed up he was. It didn't help that he had been out looking for a job just before this whole ordeal had occurred.
With the box under his arm, he began to walk past the crowds. Every so often a random peer would call in his direction, joking about how formal he seemed. One of the boys even called out to him "Are you going to a funeral?!" He laughed it up, but that stranger would never realize how accurate his joke had actually been.
Under normal circumstances, the lad would have remained on the beaten path, keeping to the places where people were supposed to be. Yet, once there was a way for him to get off of the path, he was off into the wilderness (so to speak). The task he needed to tend to was not one meant for other people to watch. Once he felt he was out of the eye of the public, he opened the box to take a look at the item he had placed inside of it.
The starseed that now rest in the container was glowing quite dimly. In a low tone, the lad reassured the stone "...you will soon be at rest, Mr. Gallager." With that, he closed the box. Howl's heart felt heavy as he remained there for several moments, just seeming to look over the top of what would essentially be Mr. Gallager's coffin.
It had been his fault that this man was now dead. A weaker person would have found any excuse to dodge the blame. Many might have blamed General Painite if they had been in a similar situation. However, Howl's words had obvious prodded the dragon into acting. Had he kept his mouth shut, the man wouldn't have been victimized for some cruel game to try and pin the teal-haired boy as a senshi.
As he walked to the edge of the lake, the boy couldn't help but feel nauseous. Logically, he could tell himself that being at the edge of a lake was not dangerous. There was relatively no risk at all in such a simple action. However, his mind kept drifting to the what if of the situation. What if he fell into the lake? Howl was not a swimmer. Ever since he had nearly drowned as a child, he'd always feel anxious near any sort of body of water. Swimming parties were something he always missed out on. Lakes, even trips to man-made beaches were never something he could stomach. The feeling was ingrained, something that would not go away with a simple snap of his fingers.
Yet, it was his responsibility. No amount of sickness in his stomach could change this fact. Though his knees felt quite weak, he leaned forward, then tossed the box into the lake as best as he could. Howl Wickham had never been known for having a strong throwing arm. It seemed satisfactory enough though, for the box soon enough was sinking below the surface of the water.
"...please rest in peace, Mr. Gallager, and please accept my humble apologies..."
The boy closed his eyes and left a moment of silence. In that moment, he couldn't help but still feel some sort of responsibility for the whole thing. No, maybe it was a feeling which had swept over him when watching the wedding of the Prince of England. Perhaps a more accurate term for the feeling was duty. It simply did not feel like he could just sit by idly and watch anymore. He could have prevented all of this, and now he not only wanted to, but he needed to prevent it from happening again.
Though his eyes were closed, something seemed to almost glimmer into view. It was as if someone had turned on a bright flashlight into his eyes. Daring to open his eyes just a crack, he saw that the light was as bright as he suspected. It was white and seemed to be dancing about an object floating in front of him.
"...is... is that a feather?" Being the sort to control his baser urges, it felt strange to him that his hand was reaching out almost against his better judgments. The moment that his fingers brushed the soft downy of the feather, his fingers glowed of a gold light that began to drift down over his hand. As the light passed over his whole body, the clothing which he wore changed.
With the simple feather at his newly gloved hand, the teal haired fellow couldn't help but feel off kilter slightly. He had not been wearing any long earrings today, but now he had two earrings hanging down. Removing a glove so he could maintain a certain sensitivity, he touched one with his fingers. It wasn't a smooth gemstone, but rather something a bit coarser. He also noticed that his hair had been in a low ponytail, but now it was certainly in a more familiar place up high. Reaching up, he touched the edge of two items sticking in his ponytail, eventually plucking one of the items out so he could get a better look.
"...seashells...?" It wasn't nearly as elegant as the golden sticks he usually wore, but it wasn't as if he could complain. He was now Nysa, Page of Neptune. And now, he was finally truly able to do something about the goings on in the city.
That was the name of the man who had lost his life to General Painite. It was a part of the report which the police had filed after Howl's incident with the short haired woman with the Cockney accent. It was the name of the soul which he now held in his hands. This starseed no longer had a body to go back to, and the lad had long acknowledged that it was his own fault that any of this had happened.
Andrew Gallager's starseed was now Howl Wickham's responsibility.
Not being the sort to stay idle once he had the proper actions in mind, the teal-haired lad had gone to a local trinket shop and purchased an ornate box. Some might have accused it of being tacky with all of the gold adorning it, but Howl felt that this box would be quite suitable for the task he was going to attend to. It was reasonably heavy too, which was an added bonus. After paying for the box, he hailed a cab and requested to be driven to the lake. Franz, when he was alive, had gushed a few times about going to the lake with his girlfriend at the time. Perhaps it was a romantic place to go, however, Howl was going alone and not planning anything romantic in the least.
The weather was still reasonable enough for people to go camping about the lake. He could tell by all of the activity going on at the water when he arrived to his destination. Some people were still crazy enough to go swimming (something which always got his stomach tied up in knots), others had set up some sort of campfire and were sitting around. In all honesty, Howl felt out of place by being so close to the water. He definitely looked out of place with how dressed up he was. It didn't help that he had been out looking for a job just before this whole ordeal had occurred.
With the box under his arm, he began to walk past the crowds. Every so often a random peer would call in his direction, joking about how formal he seemed. One of the boys even called out to him "Are you going to a funeral?!" He laughed it up, but that stranger would never realize how accurate his joke had actually been.
Under normal circumstances, the lad would have remained on the beaten path, keeping to the places where people were supposed to be. Yet, once there was a way for him to get off of the path, he was off into the wilderness (so to speak). The task he needed to tend to was not one meant for other people to watch. Once he felt he was out of the eye of the public, he opened the box to take a look at the item he had placed inside of it.
The starseed that now rest in the container was glowing quite dimly. In a low tone, the lad reassured the stone "...you will soon be at rest, Mr. Gallager." With that, he closed the box. Howl's heart felt heavy as he remained there for several moments, just seeming to look over the top of what would essentially be Mr. Gallager's coffin.
It had been his fault that this man was now dead. A weaker person would have found any excuse to dodge the blame. Many might have blamed General Painite if they had been in a similar situation. However, Howl's words had obvious prodded the dragon into acting. Had he kept his mouth shut, the man wouldn't have been victimized for some cruel game to try and pin the teal-haired boy as a senshi.
As he walked to the edge of the lake, the boy couldn't help but feel nauseous. Logically, he could tell himself that being at the edge of a lake was not dangerous. There was relatively no risk at all in such a simple action. However, his mind kept drifting to the what if of the situation. What if he fell into the lake? Howl was not a swimmer. Ever since he had nearly drowned as a child, he'd always feel anxious near any sort of body of water. Swimming parties were something he always missed out on. Lakes, even trips to man-made beaches were never something he could stomach. The feeling was ingrained, something that would not go away with a simple snap of his fingers.
Yet, it was his responsibility. No amount of sickness in his stomach could change this fact. Though his knees felt quite weak, he leaned forward, then tossed the box into the lake as best as he could. Howl Wickham had never been known for having a strong throwing arm. It seemed satisfactory enough though, for the box soon enough was sinking below the surface of the water.
"...please rest in peace, Mr. Gallager, and please accept my humble apologies..."
The boy closed his eyes and left a moment of silence. In that moment, he couldn't help but still feel some sort of responsibility for the whole thing. No, maybe it was a feeling which had swept over him when watching the wedding of the Prince of England. Perhaps a more accurate term for the feeling was duty. It simply did not feel like he could just sit by idly and watch anymore. He could have prevented all of this, and now he not only wanted to, but he needed to prevent it from happening again.
Though his eyes were closed, something seemed to almost glimmer into view. It was as if someone had turned on a bright flashlight into his eyes. Daring to open his eyes just a crack, he saw that the light was as bright as he suspected. It was white and seemed to be dancing about an object floating in front of him.
"...is... is that a feather?" Being the sort to control his baser urges, it felt strange to him that his hand was reaching out almost against his better judgments. The moment that his fingers brushed the soft downy of the feather, his fingers glowed of a gold light that began to drift down over his hand. As the light passed over his whole body, the clothing which he wore changed.
With the simple feather at his newly gloved hand, the teal haired fellow couldn't help but feel off kilter slightly. He had not been wearing any long earrings today, but now he had two earrings hanging down. Removing a glove so he could maintain a certain sensitivity, he touched one with his fingers. It wasn't a smooth gemstone, but rather something a bit coarser. He also noticed that his hair had been in a low ponytail, but now it was certainly in a more familiar place up high. Reaching up, he touched the edge of two items sticking in his ponytail, eventually plucking one of the items out so he could get a better look.
"...seashells...?" It wasn't nearly as elegant as the golden sticks he usually wore, but it wasn't as if he could complain. He was now Nysa, Page of Neptune. And now, he was finally truly able to do something about the goings on in the city.
