Around the words 4 - Neos' world

A few weeks later, Neos had finally found the orb he'd been looking for, with the help of Michela, Maverick and Karl. He couldn't stop inspecting it from every angle, very excited. "I can't wait to show this to my master ! By the way..." he looked around the campfire, at his friends. "What do you plan on doing, if I'm going back to my homeworld ?"

Michela hummed, looking at the way the orb shone at the light of the fireplace. "I'd come with you. I didn't really have the time of see your world, when I came around last time, and I am curious to visit it. If you don't mind me, that's it", she added with a smile and a raised brow.

Maverick looked at his feet. He had come to really like his new friends during that trip, and he didn't look all that happy when confronted with the thought of them leaving and he having to go back to his isolated life. He looked at Karl. "Well... if you all are going, I would like to... to come too", he muttered.

"I'll be coming too, if that's possible," Karl said with a bright smile to all of them, before he looked back at Maverick.

Neos chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, I guess we're all going then. Do you want time to say goodbye to this world before we leave, though ? I can't guarantee you we will come back."

Michela grinned. "I won't be missing it. The rain, the vampire illness... nah. I'll much appreciate it when we'll all be away from this stinky place - no offense", she added quickly looking at Maverick and Karl.

Maverick smiled. "No problem. I'll be glad not to be a renegade anymore!" He sighed, looking around. "And besides, the only place I'd miss is one I can't go back to. So, yeah, bye world", he said, awkwardly patting the ground he was sitting on.

Karl smiled, and looked at Neos and Michela. "I already told Cathy and her familly goodbye for good. I don't have anything else tying me to that world, if we're all going.

"Then let's pack up our tents, and go now," Neos said, sounding resolute. "That way we'll be able to sleep at the castle, in a comfy bed," he said with a deep, dreamy sigh.

Michela made a scene of wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "I almost can't even remember how proper furniture looks like... it has been a thousand years..."
Maverick whistled. "A bed? I've never slept on one! I totally want to try!" They both got up and packed their own things. Which weren't much. "Oh, so you live in a castle, Neos?" Maverick asked, curious.

"Along with the other students, yes. We have a whole aisle dedicated to students in magic, and magicians. That's the West aisle," he said with a proud smile. "In the East aisle, there are the knights, and knights-to-be. Magicians and knights are very important in the country in which we live, that's why we all live so close to our monarch."

"Interesting!" Maverick mused out loud, finishing to pack his things. "And can anyone become a magician or a knight?"
Michela closed her backpack and put her hands in her pockets. "...wait, are you sure it won't be a problem for the three of us to stay in the castle? I mean, we are outsiders after all." She seemed doubtful.

"Nope," replied Neos to Maverick, not without pride. "You have to pass a test for both beforehand. You can access to basic training sessions before that, but if you have no glimpse of talent for the one you're applying for, you don't get chosen as a student." He looked at Michela then. "Don't worry, we'll all go into my room for the first night, there should be extra space, since my comrades are all travelling through worlds as well !"

Maverick nodded, "It seems quite logical to me. I guess it is like being a warrior or a shaman for my tribe..." He thought out loud, losing himself in reflections. Michela smiled to Neos. "Everyone looking for specific artifacts, like you?"

"More like magical objects. But a specific artefact like this one is big", said Neos with a proud smile. "I'll probably graduate as soon as my master sees it !"

"Cool!" Michela patted his back. "Well, it seems as everyone is ready." She looked at Maverick and Karl to verify that they had packed everything, and received an affirmative nod. "Shall we?", she asked with a broad smile.

Neos nodded. "Alright. Everybody get prepared to follow me, whatever happens." With his bag on his back, he took a secure stance, and began moving his arms to create a hole into space. A hole that leaded directly to the world of the In-Betweens, where air was as thick as water, and where all worlds joined. He made sure everyone was ready before he stepped inside the opening.

Michela stepped in right after him, feeling terribly sticky already because of that watery-like air. She continuously kept an eye on Maverick and Karl, which were walking behind her and seemed to like that ambience just as much as she did.

Since he was a being made of stone and mud-like textures, Karl didn't like how the In-Betweens felt. However, he kept throwing interested glances at everything in sight.
Neos kept leading the way, along a narrow path. Since they were by foot, they were forced to follow the few roads of the In-Betweens, and yet, it felt reassuring enough that way. Because the further from its borders, the more the creatures floating mid-air looked odd.
A cold shiver ran down Neos' spine when he heard the familiar, yet no less creepy howl that came from way down below, where it was too dark to see anything. He started to walk faster.

"... what the fuck was that." Michela hissed through her teeth, hugging herself. She glanced below with furrowed eyebrows and walked faster to keep up with Neos. No kidding, if another odd sound came to her ears in that weird ass place she was more than ready to yell it to shut up already.
Maverick was too busy keeping his eyes glued to Michela's back and praying that they arrived soon to worry about howls.

"Hush," replied Neos a bit harshly, as if he knew perfectly where that noise came from. Thankfully, it wasn't much longer before he found what he came for, and grabbed the sides of a new hole in front of them, gesturing for them to walk through it.

Michela hurried through the hole, breathing in deeply as she finally set foot in the new world. She flinched, making a face at how the wet air of the In-Betweens still stuck to her hair and skin. Maverick passed through too, shaking himself as clean as he could, just as his animal form would've done. "Well, that was... something", he said nervously.

Karl made an odd face when he finally stepped out of there. "Urgh. I didn't think I'd say this one day, but I'd like not to do that again."
"Oh come on, stop complaining," joked Neos as he finally stepped out of the hole himself, and closed it. "At least look,  the place looks nice !"
And indeed, they had arrived not far from a gigantic castle in the mountains, with a great view of the surrounding area. They could even see the sea from there.

Michela put her hands in her pockets and whistled. "Woah. This place sure is big!" She looked at the sea with a smile. Yeah, the view was really pretty.
Maverick's mouth was open in a silent 'ooooh'. "I've never seen a place like this...", he said, full of awe.

"That's where I live. "Pretty neat, uh ?" Neos asked them proudly, before he lead the way. "Come on, let's get to the castle before we catch a cold."

Michela followed him, hands still in her pockets. "Ah, sure, damn me. I could catch pneumonia and die. Again." She snickered. "Well, not all of us are as 'lucky' as you, you know", Maverick whined walking behind her, trying to heat up his hands by breathing on them.

"We'll get a shower soon, don't worry", Neos told them with a smile as he lead the way to the castle. When he got there, he greeted the guards, showed them a pendant he was wearing, and they smiled at him as they opened the way.
"The masters are all asleep, you'll have to keep your friends in your room if you want to stay," one of them warned him."
"I know, I know." Neos gestured for everyone to follow them, then took them to the West aisle, and then on a specific floor where his room was. The whole castle was neatly decorated, with great tentures and paintings showing off magicians at work.
His appartments were more modest. He shared them with a lot of other students, so there was a main living room, with many small bedrooms linked to it. He brought them to his bedroom, in which there were two large single beds.
"Alright, there's the bathroom down the corridor, and we can sleep there two by two until next morning, if everyone is ok with it !"

Michela nodded, letting her backpack down near a bed and raising a hand. "I call dibs on the bathroom. Someone has any objection? No? 'kaythanksbye!" She ran away swiftly, and closed the bathroom's door behind her shoulders. It was so fast that Maverick didn't even have the time to say 'but'. He sighed, then put his stuff on the ground, and sat near it. "I have no problems with sharing a bed", he said then with a smile.

"Good," Neos said as he stretched. "Because you'll be sleeping with Karl again." He then sighed deeply, as he gave the room a warm look. "Feels good to be home."