Work Text:
In all honesty, it started off weird. It was weird now and it was weird at the very beginning as well, Ren is very sure in this regard.
Now, Ren's not exactly famous for his kind nature, so he has no problems at all stating, 'Cale Henituse is an odd person.' He didn't, of course. Not because he thought about it and realized it might sound rude, more like, Cale is the academy's beloved, golden healer and he can't exactly defend himself if every single one of the students and teachers started jumping at him.
So Ren kept it to himself, but he always thinks about it. Cale Henituse is really, really weird.
It started like this. It was a bright morning. Some already had their classes, some are waiting for their classes to start, some are doing whatever normal students do in the academy. Ren's own faculty started at eight, but he didn't feel like rotting in his dorm so he went to the academy early to do some stretches instead.
There in the public space, he met one redhead that's slowly and steadily becoming the principal's favorite student by the sheer amount of pride he brings to the academy (unintentionally, which Ren finds slightly funny).
Who was he talking about? Cale Henituse. A cat-like, lazy young master who out of nowhere started talking to him.
…hm? Hold on. Started talking to him? So Cale wasn't silent and only responding when he had to, but instead started a conversation on his own initiative?
Yeah, Ren was curious about that too.
"You're that support student." Was Cale's first words to him.
There are two things. First, he's correct that Ren is a support-type student. This academy is a hunter academy. People with special abilities enter here and study how to use their powers to the fullest before graduating and working as the most valuable worker a country can have, a hunter. Considering a country's safety is based on these hunters' willingness to work, it's pretty obvious why they're important. Ren's support-type just meant that he's not exactly for combat, but buffs allies so that they hit harder, which is less valuable, but nevertheless has usage.
Second. What's with the wording? Why that support student instead of a support student? Has Cale met him before? When? Ren would've remembered, right? It's hard to ignore someone like Cale, no matter how hard you try.
From the floor, Ren silently blinked his eyes at the other.
Cale tilted his head at him, "I'm Cale Henituse."
Doesn't everyone know that? "I know that."
"You do?" Cale seemed strangely intrigued, "What's your name?"
"Ren." He offered, "Is there anything I could help you with?"
"You'd help me?"
Ren felt like they're talking in completely different languages, "…yes." He stopped short of making it sound like a question.
Cale hums, walking closer to his seated position to loom over him, "I've been rather curious of support students."
Ren blinked up at him, feeling slightly wary.
The young master sat with his knees folded to his chest then, eyes never leaving Ren as he continued, "Would you mind using your abilities on me?"
Ren doesn't submit easily, but he doesn't find a reason to say no to such a simple request. He doesn't bother questioning others because he could figure it out himself. This time however, he can't figure out why Cale didn't just ask the support type students who followed him around like little ducklings. Still, he doesn't ask.
Despite his offensive buffing that makes chopping down monsters a lot easier, his ability comes with the strange trait of forming into small humanoid like blobs that hovers around the target person, in this case, Cale. He doesn't… do anything, exactly, just following his ability's creation with his eyes.
"You buff sword masters, right?" Cale says after a while.
"Anything with a sharp edge." Ren corrects. A knife would work, a spear, a scythe, it doesn't matter. Not that Cale could use it, considering he's a healer and all of that.
"I can use the sword." The other points at himself uselessly.
Ren, not unlike Cale earlier, tilted his head. It's not odd that healers can defend themselves, of course. It's just… why would they, when they're arguably the most valuable member of the team? There's so many offensive fighter hunters popping up every year, but when else do you get a healer this precious?
"Is it possible to make me a damage dealer?"
A slow blink, "You… want to be a damage dealer?"
Cale hums, "Just a thought."
Well… Ren could, but his buffs only are targeted towards one person. Why would you need a damage dealing healer when you can just… buff your actual damage dealer?
"For when there's no offensive hunters present, surely?" Suddenly, Ren felt a bit worried. It's not a secret Cale brings trouble his way, and whenever he approaches someone, 99% he dragged them alongside his trouble and they usually ended up being in his little group. Ren is not at all amused by the thought.
Cale shot him a lazy smile, one that makes one shiver instead of feeling warm all over, "Maybe."
Before Ren could ponder about it deeply, Cale stood up and gave him a slight wave, "I was just curious, don't worry about it."
Nobody ever said that Cale's good at comforting people, so Ren worried about it for the days afterwards.
The red haired did nothing crazy of the sort. It was honestly a bit jarring. He went back to his usual self where they kind of begrudgingly acknowledge (Ren) one another or give a small nod (Cale) in passing. Then came the practical lessons. The fun kind. The ones where students are dumped into a man-made dungeon and rack up points either by beating up monsters or searching for a golden stick scattered throughout or stealing those from someone else.
Teaming seems to be a great idea, up until you realize you have to share points with one another. As a support type, Ren should team up with someone else, but honestly?
He's not really well known for anything. His buffing is maybe above average and his written exam scores are pretty high, but he's quiet and kept to himself, so barely anyone knows him. As such, he's wandering around the forest on his own.
It's okay if he doesn't get a good score here, he supposes. His written exams are good enough that his practicals kind of don't matter. Since when does he care about his class placement anyways? He can be ranked first or the last and he won't feel a change at all. It just doesn't matter to him.
The readings he'd done on monster behaviors and forest layouts got him here, an overall quiet place. There's some smaller monsters wandering around, but the ones Ren sees are those who won't attack unless provoked. He's mostly undisturbed here.
So he sat down and waited.
Of course the universe never lets him have an easy rest.
Ren heard footsteps and looked back before he thought about it.
It's him.
Cale Henituse.
The noble didn't seem surprised to be caught, calm eyes blinking at him and head tilting in slight thought. His idea of a greeting was as absurd as always. "Alone?"
Ren calmed down when he realised it was a fellow student, eyes noting down Cale's rather pristine appearance and the lack of golden sticks. Knowing him however, students probably will give him instead of taking it from him. What's he doing here without his friends?
It's rude not to respond, so he did, "Yes."
"It's pretty quiet around here." The other looked around, a hand on his hip while his other hand stuffed a necklace to his pocket. His healing item, wasn't it? A silver necklace with a small ruby. It's a rather simple item for someone like Cale's caliber, but it's not just jewelry, it's an item that boosts healing. Cale doesn't need it, but it makes his healing abilities more effective. Still, it's a rather iconic part of Cale. It's hard to not be in awe when your healer prays for your health with hands clasped on a silver chain with a ruby near his lips after all.
"It is."
Cale raised an eyebrow at him, which Ren ignored. He knows he's replying awfully but he doesn't really know what to say either. Does Cale make a habit of talking to random people like this? If so, he must be a lot more extroverted than Ren thought.
"Are you not going for points?" Cale walked closer, now standing beside the seated Ren on the floor. He's not looking at Ren, choosing to let his eyes wander around the dog shaped monster who has a fluorescent nose walking past them a few meters away. Ren remembers that they're blind and has a rather awful hearing, which is why he doesn't bother shushing the other. They can leave nasty scars though, their nails are rather sharp. They make good daggers, expensive ones at that.
Ren snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Cale's stare at the side of his face, finding the other had raised an eyebrow at him. Cale's face is stoic as always, except Ren got a feeling he's distantly amused. It's… good that he's not offended that Ren was distracted?
"No." He says slowly.
A hum, "Why?"
Why so curious? "I have no offensive abilities."
Cale's perceptive enough to piece together himself why he doesn't team up with someone who does.
Something cold touches his cheek.
Ah.
No wonder people praised Cale left and right. His healing felt warm, like a loving embrace. Ren lightly touched the wound on his cheek he got from accidentally smacking over a rather sharp branch on his way here, finding it gone. A smooth skin in just a second… he's not called a healer prodigy for nothing.
There is a ruby pressed against his cheek, and when Ren looked up at Cale, the other dropped the necklace from the hand that was holding it close to his cheek instead of retracting it.
Ren caught it, of course. It's a valuable item and it's Cale's item which makes its value tripled. The chain is cold to the touch on his hands. His mouth opened to ask why he bothered to waste mana on such a small injury and why didn't he take back his necklace, but Cale spoke before he did, standing up from his crouched position earlier to heal his measly scratch.
"It has protection abilities on its own, which works as long as you have mana." The other's reddish brown eyes reveal nothing, locking to his own easily despite doing something so confusing, "I can be a damage dealer, but I'm not sure about protecting, so you can hold to that in the meanwhile."
First off, what a young master thing to do to immediately think he's going to accept the sudden proposal of being teammates.
Secondly.
What.
.
.
.
His pointer finger tingles from where it touched Ren's cheek.
Cale brushed it curiously with his thumb, briefly wondering what's wrong with it before he stopped walking because Ren did in front of him from leading the way.
"A Glassback Mourner." Ren whispers. A ghost-like deer that probably ran away from a horror genre story. Its pitch black eyes are trained somewhere far away, meaning they haven't yet been discovered since it should glow blue when alert. "Twenty points, since it's a B-class monster."
'I could take that down.' Cale thought simply, "Do you want it?"
Ren thought for a bit with a hand on his chin, "Their antlers have mana disguising capabilities, which makes us hidden for the most part, so it'll be useful if we want to cross areas with densely packed monsters since they usually sense mana first instead of actually seeing with their eyes." Though some monsters could do both, but it's not the norm. Mana sensing is a lot more reliable than good eyesight in this world, after all.
"Hm." The young master simply says, "Okay."
And there he goes forward.
Ren blinked, somehow still not used to Cale doing the offensive work. Still, he dutifully chants a blessing to the other, watching the way the back of Cale's head glows as a translucent halo forms. His ability manifests strangely holy despite not being a saint, but Ren had stopped asking things when it doesn't really matter.
It… doesn't look odd on him, though. The other always had such a saintly reputation. Ren's not sure if he's an actual saint or not, since saints are basically people whose abilities are blessed by gods instead of being hereditary, but his reputation does make it seem like he's one. The halo frames him beautifully, strangely fitting. Too fitting. It's always annoying to have abilities that form so obviously, but just this once Ren doesn't think it's too bad.
He stopped fiddling with the ruby of the necklace he's wearing when Cale appeared in front of him once again. At his stare, Cale raised a hand that had two antlers of the Glassback Mourner, glowing unnaturally as it was earlier.
The young master isn't bothered by cutting up animals? Ren's impressed. He inspected the antlers on Cale's hands before nodding, "They're in good condition, thank you. You did a great job."
The redhead seemed to perk up at that, eyebrows raising in surprise before he averted his gaze, "Thanks."
'Does he like compliments?' Ren noted it down. It's good to be in the good graces of someone like Cale, even if he doesn't need to be.
"Then, with this we can go south instead, which will shorten our journey." Ren pulled down his sleeve, covering half of his hand with it before he brought it up to Cale's cheek to wipe out the dripping, blue colored blood. Cale received it without a blink, nodding instead when he's done.
"Alright."
And with that, they racked up a whopping two hundred thirty one points. Half of it is Cale's effort in demolishing monsters, half of it because Ren discovered golden sticks on their way.
Though, Ren's not opposed to giving Cale more since he's the one doing the heavy lifting. He wouldn't get this much points without Cale after all, and the necklace on his neck saved him of a wound or two, though Cale did an admirable job at protecting despite what he said before.
When he proposed it though, Cale only raised an eyebrow, "You get a hundred and sixteen." And walked away just like that.
Ren gaped at his figure who disappeared when he entered the healing tent back in the safe zone, probably to sleep off his exhaustion instead of actual injuries. He hasn't even taken back his necklace yet.
"Huh?" Ren has never felt this confused ever in his life.