Only Friend (1)

The young man moved through the busy streets with speed and precision, not paying attention to the heat of the sun while making sure to avoid the stalls and people in his way in the process. The pedestrians on the street scrambled to get out of the way, least they get caught up in the confrontation.

The man in possession of the gold filled bag panicked at the sight of the reduced distance between the two, causing him to trip and fall over a bag of apples in his way. The bag of gold jewelry spilled onto the streets, drawing occasional glances of greed and voracity from the crowd. However, their attention quickly shifted away as the pursuer caught up to the fallen man, prompting everyone to resume their respective activities in haste.

The man tried to get up from the fall and run away once again but was kicked in the stomach by the young man, before being subjected to a ruthless beating, causing him to trash and squirm all over the ground in agony.

Elias observed the unfolding events with a hint of amusement and curiosity, then made his way towards the scene after witnessing the young man's apologies to the affected stall owners and his effort to gather the spilled jewelry.

"Don't you think you beat him up a bit too much Damian?"

Startled, the young man jumped in fright, inadvertently letting go of both the bag of jewelry and the suspicious looking individual, granting the latter another opportunity to flee. However, before he could make his escape, Elias seized him by the collar, expertly maneuvering him over his shoulder and firmly restraining him on the ground, pinning his arms beneath his knee. Damian, as Elias knew him, maintained a startled expression throughout the ordeal, eventually scratching his cheek in awkwardness.

"Haha… I don't think you have the right to complain after this." The young man replied with an amused look, pointing to Elias's knee which was across the man's arms. "You didn't even ask me for the details before flipping him over like that, in my opinion your approach was much worse than mine."

Elias simply looked up at him with a straight face and chuckled, standing up from his previous position and handing the man, who was still groaning in pain, back to Damian.

"I simply trusted you, my friend, enough to know that you must have had a reason for doing what you did. Besides, by looking at the man's body language and facial expression, even my 10 year old sister would be able to figure out that he had just commited a crime."

Damian responded with a casual shrug before taking the unconscious man from Elias and gathering the scattered jewelry from the floor.

"Yeah, yeah okay… now I feel like the dumb one for even asking you that in the first place."

The disturbance on the street had caught the notice of nearby security officials, and after handing the man over to them and providing an explanation of the situation, Damian received commendation and a reassuring pat on the back. He was instructed to have the rightful owner of the jewelry come by the station with proper proof of ownership to claim it. Damian then made his way back to Elias while stretching his arms and legs.

"Why were you even chasing after him anyway? Didn't your act as the 'Slums Lawman' end in the lower district?"

Damian had unintentionally earned the moniker, the slums lawman, for his renowned efforts in crime prevention and maintaining safety within the lower district of the city. This area which was neglected by law enforcement due to its dilapidated facilities, high disease rates, and widespread poverty, became a hotbed for criminal activity. Inhabitants, desperate to improve their living conditions, resorted to theft and violence and the overral lack of security oversight allowed crime to flourish, relegating the lower district to a marginalized area within the city.

Damian had taken it upon himself over the years to combat the rate of crime happening across the lower district, as his parents were victims to a gang clash that had happened when he was just 10 years of age. Since then, Damian had become somewhat of a vigilante, fighting against the surging tide of crime and earning himself the nickname, the Slums Lawman, in the process. It was a title Damian took great pride in, as it showed that his efforts were bearing fruit.

Damian scratched his hair in mild embarrassment after hearing his friend refer to him by his popular moniker while playing with the tape on his arms. "Well it's not my fault… he robbed the jewelry store I worked at today. The owner lady is nice, plus I felt like I might get a few extra Oirs as a reward for saving the shop from a loss, so I figured why not.

"Besides, I can't just turn my back on a crime when it happens in front of me like that, it would bug me way too much."

Elias smiled and playfully hit Damian in the shoulder, causing him to let out an exaggerated yelp. "I didn't forget about that 'Mr just' … Isn't that how we eventually became friends?"

After Father Bernard's death, Elias became quite reserved as a child and didn't seem to get along much with kids his age due to the emotional scar the death of his guardian had left on him. This led to him getting picked on and ridiculed by the kids he used to play with, as they didn't understand why he suddenly got cold and distant towards them. Elias, who was always more mature for his age and understood the feelings of his former friends, didn't have the energy or zeal to deal with the situation and just let them have their way. He got ostracized and alienated by the kids and it almost resulted in outright bullying until Damian stepped up.

He chastised the actions of the kids and calmly explained to them why what they were doing was bad and insensitive to Elias's situation. The kids, being as innocent as kids usually were, eventually realized the error of their ways and apologized to Elias, asking for his forgiveness and making it up to him in numerous ways. But seemingly due to their guilty conscience, the kids couldn't bring themselves to reconcile their friendship with Elias, feeling like they had done too much for it to be repaired. Not like Elias cared all that much about it anyway. In the end, Damian became Elias's self proclaimed best friend out of pity for his situation, and they had eventually grown into a genuine healthy friendship of 5-6 years.

Damian slowly nodded his head while smiling in recollection. "That is true… I like to think that maybe if I didn't step up that day, you might have ended up as a teenager with no friends today, none at all!"

Elias's mouth twitched as he once again hit Damian on his side out of annoyance, causing him to recoil back in pain. The sight of him teasing him like that was oddly familiar, it reminded him of his cursed twin brother!

After Damian had collected himself, Elias remembered something he said before which had sparked his interest.

"You said you were working at a jewelry store today? Since when did you get a new job? It's quite hard to find a part-time position at a jewelers, especially in Pilsbrough."

Damian straightened up and responded to his friends inquiry with a casual smile. "Well normally that would be the case, but a lady I helped out sometime ago helped me secure a position in a jewelry store as a full time employee for a week.

"Since that fell in line with my scheduled trip to Estica for the Apostolic Assessment, I hurriedly took her up on the offer. The pay is good and like I said before, the store owner is very nice, she even pays for my lunch sometimes."

The Apostolic Assessment refers to a series of tests held by the White Helm Academy of Estica, in order to determine if an individual is suitable to become a Disciple or an Apostle of any of the Orthodox Church denominations. The Academy, which was founded by the Early Day Saint, Aronne Vinchi in conjunction with the kingdoms and churches at the start of the current New Testament Calendar, uses a vast array of tests to put apostolic candidates onto their appropriate paths, and uses the assessment to welcome in more candidates each year. People from different works of life participate in the assessment because it is seen as a life changing opportunity for people of lower socioeconomic classes, as successfully becoming a Disciple or Apostle would lead to an instant change in the living standards of such a person.

Elias rubbed his chin out of curiosity, the part of better pay obviously drawing his interest. "How much better is the pay?"

Damian had a proud expression on his face as Elias asked the question, making it obvious that the pay was indeed quite good. "You wouldn't believe it… I get payed 150 Oirs every hour and because I told the owner that I would be staying for just a week and really needed the money, she allowed me to pick up a double shift and didn't employ another person.

"So basically, I work a 12 hour shift instead of the usual 6 hour one, which means I earn about 1 Nel, 800 Oirs every day!"

"1 Nel, 800 Oirs a day? Are you kidding me?" Elias was clearly shocked at Damian's revelation, that was no small amount!

It was worth mentioning that Sister Marie, an esteemed Disciple and Reverend Sister of the Grace Church, earned approximately 30 to 40 Nel per month. Even the standard salary for civilian clerks and receptionists in the city was capped at around 40 Nel, 500 Oirs monthly. Considering Damian's salary for the 7 days of his employment, it amounted to an impressive 12 Nel, 600 Oirs, potentially reaching 50 Nel, 400 Oirs for a full month's work! Add to that Damian's mention of his employer occasionally covering his lunch expenses from her own pocket, the offer was truly beyond generous!

Elias kept looking at Damian with an incredulous expression, causing his face to flush with embarrassment. "I know it is a lot and I'm honestly grateful to the owner for the opportunity. Normally she pays 115-120 Oirs per hour, but after hearing about my situation during the interview, she increased it to the current rate of 150 Oirs and even offered me the chance to work both shifts, which I heard she never does.

"She said she saw it as her chance to contribute to the growth of a future Paladin, which caused me to get quite nervous since I wouldn't be able to show my face around her shop again if I end up failing the assessment haha…"

The Paladins were the official titles given to the Apostles of the Ordinance Church, which represent law, order and justice within the 3 kingdoms. Their principles resonated deeply with Damian's character and life long aspirations, which caused a lot of people, Elias included, to accept the possibility of him becoming a Paladin, if he did end up passing the Apostolic Assessment of the prestigious academy.

After noticing the nervousness on Damian's face, Elias dispelled any type of envy he had concerning his friend's high salary and patted him on the back as a form of encouragement. "Don't beat yourself up too much about it and just take life as it comes. Even if you don't pass and become a Paladin, what about it? At most people would show annoyance and disappointment… but aren't we already used to that anyway?

"Remember Damian, you are a son orphaned by the woes of crime and I am a son orphaned by the hands of the world… disappointment has followed us all through our lives and will be with us all through it as well. Do not let the sweet taste of expectation become a leash that holds you back my friend."

Elias paused for a moment before proceeding, a slight hint of melancholy hidden within his voice.

"I know all too well about how bitter that can become… "