Chapter 2: Engels and Brawns

"huh? what's that? a light? is it morning already?"

A half asleep Xander ponder as he struggle to open his eyes.

He feels heavy and he could feel pain all over his body.

"huh?"

"Am I dead?"

"What happened?"

He remember earlier, he and Ezekiel bid their goodbye to Xena and then...

"Ezekiel!!"

He bolt upright.

"ugh..."

The extreme headache took over and he struggle to look around him.

He is lying in a bed.

He was wearing a different clothes.

He look at his left and saw a window where he can see greeneries like the

one he had back at his house.

Then, in front of him was a blank wall, painted white.

Finally, on his right is a door and he saw his sword tilted next to his bed.

"ah!"

He remembered the the Fugere attacking him. Then an Engel came.

Is he at the capital?

Engels live in the capital.

He feel really confused when the door opens.

"huh?am i back?"

He got out of bed, picked his sword and stood up slowly walking towards the

door and saw an open space with table and chairs.

He saw the lady sipping her coffee and then she smiled.

"bringing that useless piece of metal aren't gonna help you to fight

monsters like those. It's as good as diving from a cliff."

"Sit down and have some coffee"

He sat next to her and hesitantly sip the coffee.

"tsk. it's none of your business. I just borrowed this so i have to

return this."

He answered averting his eyes.

"So obedient."

The girl chuckles as she sips her coffee.

"you have a pretty good recovery and stamina, it had just been five

days"

"Five days?!"

He slammed his palms at the table so hard the cups spilled its content. He

look at his arms full of scars and scratches.

"Oh my god! it took me five days to recover??!"

"Ezekiel?! What happened to him? I'm too late.!!

Damn it!!"

He thought to himself as he clenched his fist and grit his teeth.

"I should have also died"

Then he turned to the girl and said

"What happened?!"He asked.

"Don't worry, he's safe now. Oh! There he is."

He traced the line of sight of the girl and saw Ezekiel holding a pot and

coming to the table to join them.

"Calm down Xander. You are being rude to our savior."

As he saw Ezekiel walking towards them, he slumped back on his chair losing

all his strength and wiping his eyes excessively trying to hide his tears.

Ezekiel reached the table and tap Xander's shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry lady Yuri for his outburst, he is always like this."

Ezekiel laughs gently as he lay down the pot on the table.

"Oi! what are you saying! You can't blame me. I'm having a hard time

understanding all this and I feel so relieved!"

He answered wiping his face.

Yuri laughs as he watch the two banters.

"Felling nostalgic?" and gentle voice said which can't be heard by

the two bantering.

"Not really, It's just refreshing to see a totally reversed character

setting here" She also responded without uttering a single word from her

lips although she smiled.

The two stopped fighting and looked at Yuri.

"Huh?You think we are comedians or something huh?!" said Xander.

"Not really. I just find it funny"

"A soft spoken blacksmith and a crybaby swordsman"

"What swordsman, I don't even know how to hold a sword. I just swing it

like an axe" Xander replied looking away feeling pained and guilty.

"wow, there is no limit to your rudeness when you speak"

Ezekiel laughs nervously at the side while the two exchange their words.

"Good for you being special and all" Xander replied all of a

sudden then bolt up.

"Let's go home Ezekiel. I bet Xena would be surprised if we showed up

earlier than expected."

"But Xander..."

"What?"

"Our rendezvous time with Xena will be this evening, we can't mess that

up." Ezekiel explained.

A confused Xander look back at Ezekiel then turn to Yuri then Back to

Ezekiel.

"What? aren't we supposedly in the capital. That's where Engel like her

live right?"

"E-ehem!"

Yuri cut their conversation and got their attention.

"please sit down Xander whatever and let's have a very... long

talk"

He sighed and resigned back to his seat.

Yuri went back into sipping her coffee while the other two started eating

but Xander cannot contain all his questions anymore.

"So where are we?"

"Impatient, aren't we?"

"First off, I don't have any obligations to answer your questions, I'm

not some kind of a heroine who happened to be there at the crime scene and save

the hero in his almost death situation." She said while sipping on her

coffee.

"you are lying through your teeth Yuri" a voice in her head said.

"Your face doesn't really match your personality" Yuri added

brushing aside the comment she heard.

"Then why did you helped us?" Ezekiel butt in to lessen the

tension.

Yuri looked at them straight and put down her cup.

"I'll answer any questions that coincide with what I want and I'll do

the questioning here."

She reveal the leaves that Xander picked up that time that surprised both

Xander and Ezekiel.

"First question. What are you gonna do with this Lagundi Leaves?"

"What lagundi? Isn't it obvious, it's an herb that would cure Ezekiel

so-" Xander stopped talking and realized something.

"isn't it the thing that cured Ezekiel? How did you do it? Do you have

healing magic? How did you find us? why are you in this forsaken realm? Why an

Engel like you is in this place?!! Why did you help us Brawns?"

Xander continuously asked the questions demanding the answers to clear all

his confusions.

"Engels and Brawns, what a silly category." a voice of a man as he

chuckles.

"Yuri, it seems they doesn't know anything about Lagundi and Ezekiel's

sickness before" Another voice of a man can be heard inside Yuri's

thoughts.

"What are you going to do now Yuri?"Asked another.

Yuri brushed aside the questions inside his thoughts and decided to answer

Xander.

"It's funny that you thought it could cure him. You could just plant

these in your garden. You risked your lives for nothing if i hadn't come to

help you. This Lagundi is an herb, if that's how you call it, that can cure

coughs. But it's not enough to cure Ezekiel that time. Ezekiel had a flu.

Fatigue, colds, cough, those are the symptoms of a flu. Anyway, he's already

cured and back to health so you don't have to worry. Now, I'll be the one

asking questions."

"Why aren't you alienated about us? aren't you scared with us? Don't

you find us different from you?"

"huh?! What's that? All boastful and all. You are the only person who

live in that capital because you are special but don't look down on us!!"

Yuri seems baffled by Xander's response and about to answer when Ezekiel

speak.

"it's tiring the way this conversation goes on and on. Im Sorry lady

Yuri, Xander usually seems calm around me and Xena, my younger sister, but he's

always hot headed when it comes to other people." He said.

"Im sure you can see those walls altho i don't know why you dont seem

to know anything in this world."

"To us, this place is a forsaken realm where Fugeres live so we are

really surprised that someone like you is in here much less seems living here

all your life. Past that gate is our village which is within the Sun city. We

Brawns live there while you engels should be living in the capital"

"I hope that answer your questions and another thing!."Ezekiel

pause as he reached for the lagundi leaves.

"We didn't know that these are called lagundi and besides, it's

forbidden, including Xander's sword and a lot of things so basically, we are

dead if somebody found out about all these things. Our head will come rolling

so please keep it a secret from your friends in the capital, please?"

Ezekiel finished and smile.

Xander clenched his fist and said "I know we are not in the position to

ask, i know it really is risky but we dont have any way to know how to save

Ezekiel and we don't want to let him die yet. His parents and sister still want

to spend more time with him."

"there really is a lot of misplaced things on that statement."

another voice once again speak on Yuri's thoughts.

"We didn't bother to come past that gate and stayed quite because we

thought everything is alright now but look at these kids being miserable for a

simple flu."

"something is bothering me but i know Yuri knew about it so let her

handle things okay?" a gentle voice said.

"How do you know or distinguish an Engel and a Brawn when you see

one?" Yuri asked.

"I'm surprised with that question lady Yuri, why do you seem to see

Engels being some kind of a very different beings that doesn't belong in this

land."

"Brawns are like us. We live outside the capital, we are creatures that

sweat and requires a lot of nutrients to grow. we plow the fields and sweat. We

run and sweat. But Engels are different. They don't sweat or get tired when

they do the labor. They don't need much nutrients but they are a lot stronger.

Plus they have magic unlike us. They say they have wings and they can

fly."

Ezekiel continued to explain.

"tsk. Annoying creatures getting full of themselves"

Xander retort.

"That's what the rumor says, but we know they don't have wings. We know

that they are not that different. We don't know if it's true that they dont

sweat or what, it would be gross if we get interested on those details right?

They live in the capital and we brawns are not allowed in there. aside from

generals of each city. But we know their distinct features, pretty sparkling

eyes like the sky at night and pale skin that seems almost translucent."

Ezekiel finished talking and smiled an awkward smile as he can see Yuri's

intent look at them.

"oh my oh my, I don't like where this is going." a voice once

again speak in her head.

"what are we going to do? " another voice asked.

"and you are not weirded out?"Yuri once again asked Ezekiel and

Xander.

"nope, why would we. It's been like this since the beginning of

time? We Brawns and Engels have been co existing since then."

"well, i dont know if that's what you would call coexisting since you

live separately your distinctive life but you said you are not allowed in the

capital and the Engels only live in the capital, so how did you know Engels'

distinct physical features?"

"You talk as if you are not an Engel."

Xander said as he looked at her face

"Well since you are obediently answering my questions I'll answer that.

I am not. an. Engel." Yuri answered and smiled sweetly.

The other was dumbfounded and don't know how to answer.

"so, how did you really know?" Yuri asked again.

Before answering, Xander and Ezekiel looked at each other thinking if they

should answer a question from someone they don't know and denying that she is

an Engel and a possibly different entity, especially a Fugere that could attack

them any minute. They know Fugeres through hearsays and nobody really have gone

outside ever and encounter one so they think it's a possibility.

Ezekiel being the calmer one and the smarter, he's the one who answered.

"We told you about the generals right? The reason we have that gate

near our village in the first place despite the possible threats of Fugere is

that.."

Ezekiel paused while observing Yuri's response

"Our general is an Engel. An eccentric one to top it off. Although

everyone knew that in our city, she's not the one who do all the work and all.

It's her minister."

"what was the name of your general?"

Yuri asked.

"Gaia."

Upon hearing that, she resigned herself in her palms and shut her eyes as

hardly as she can hoping that she misheard it as she controls herself not to

show her shaking hands.

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