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Fire Candle didn’t think much of sitting down to eat at another Earth dining establishment with no money to pay for his meal. He was pretty sure that Lonely Wolf guy couldn’t be working here too, but it would be pretty embarrassing to run into him again right away and be subjected to another round of scolding about this world's "rules".
As he cleaned his bowl and pushed back in his chair, he caught the eye of another one of the establishment’s patrons by chance. Their eyes didn’t flick away immediately like those of most other humans. They didn’t seem to feel any shame at being caught staring. Instead their gaze slowly tracked down his body, in curiosity or judgement, he couldn’t tell. They met his eyes again for a brief moment, an amused smile playing at the corner of their mouth before they turned away.
Fire Candle’s cheeks were burning all of a sudden. What the hell was all that about? Were they mocking him? Some random human? Unnerved, he stood up abruptly, his chair colliding with the one behind it with a loud clatter. The human sitting behind him in said chair yelped in protest. Fire Candle ignored him. He strode towards the door, paying no mind to the hostess as she began to object about his leaving without payment, until a voice cut in that silenced her complaint and stopped him in his tracks.
“I’ll pay for this gentleman’s order, if you don’t mind.”
The human that had looked at him so oddly was standing in front of the hostess, wallet in hand, seeming completely nonplussed. For some reason, this irritated him.
“Hey, what’s t—” before he could get through another word, the human’s hand clamped down over his mouth, muffling him.
Fire Candle fumed, but the human paying for his meal directed a severe look at him, silencing any further attempts he might have made to challenge them. Once the transaction was complete, they smiled politely at the hostess, wishing her a pleasant evening, before seizing his arm in a shockingly strong grip and hauling him bodily out of the restaurant.
They were halfway down the street before Fire Candle realized his mouth was no longer covered, and before it occurred to him that he had no idea where this human was taking him.
“HEY! What the hell!?”
The human ignored him, tugging him down a quiet side street and into a deserted public park, and Fire Candle allowed this to happen, utterly flabbergasted. They let go of his arm and gestured towards a nearby bench.
“You can sit there if you like, but wait here a moment. I need to go to that convenience store on the corner.”
Facing each other in the fading light of evening, Fire Candle now noticed that this human had lighter hair and eyes than most others in this land. They were also slightly shorter than him, about eye level with his nose. Why should someone like this be so unsettling to him?
He scoffed. “Why should I?”
The human raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Well, I did pay for your dinner. The least you can do is wait for a moment while I get bandages and disinfectant for your…” they trailed off, gesturing to their own face.
His cheeks burned again. Okay, he was definitely scraped up from his last battle with the Gozyugers, but that didn’t mean he needed some human taking pity on him!
Perhaps anticipating an argument, the human beat him to the punch.
“Just…” an exasperated sigh as they pinched the bridge of their nose. “Sit tight for a moment, please. once I've bandaged you up, you can go and forget this ever happened, if you want.”
They stepped back, then turned and started briskly back down the path out of the park, heading towards the fluorescent glow of the nearby convenience store. Fire Candle sat down on the bench.
This was strange. In fact, this had to be one of the strangest things that had ever happened to him. Stranger even than his impromptu competition with Lonely Wolf at the butler café. He didn’t know what to make of any of it. He thought about getting up and leaving, summoning a portal back to No One World and dismissing the whole evening as bizarre happenstance, but curiosity kept him pinned to the spot. He wanted—no, he needed answers. He crossed his arms, determined to extract those answers from the human when they returned.
The minutes ticked by as Fire Candle simmered in frustrated silence, until he heard the crunch of gravel underfoot and looked up to see the human making their way back up the path to the bench where he sat. They locked eyes, and the human lifted the plastic shopping bag they carried in greeting.
“You actually waited!” they smiled at him, evidently pleasantly surprised. The change in their mood was perplexing. Why were they happy to see him there?
The human sat down beside him on the bench, setting the bag down between them and taking out several small packages one by one. They ripped open one packet and gingerly extracted a moist, slightly sharp smelling tissue. Fire Candle leaned away instinctively. The human inhaled slowly, as though preparing themself for something.
“This might sting a little…” they reached toward him, and he leaned even further back in response, batting their extended hand away.
“Nope. No way. Whatever that is, I don’t want it!”
The human frowned. The stubborn set of their jaw suggested they weren't about to give up easily.
“Come on! I'm not gonna hurt you, but I have to clean these scrapes before I bandage them. This is just a disinfectant wipe!” they waved it in front of his face for emphasis.
Fire Candle grimaced, but didn’t move any further away. The human took the opportunity to dab delicately at the scrape on his cheekbone.
“OW!” he squawked, grabbing their wrist. They hadn’t been lying, it did sting.
“Don’t be a baby!” they admonished, struggling against his grip. “Let go already, and sit still so I can work properly!”
“Why?” he sneered, squeezing their captive wrist, “I'm not some weak human like you. It’d take a lot more than a few scratches to put out my fire.”
The human straightened up, looking him directly in the eyes. This close, he could see that their eyes were a warm golden brown that seemed to glow like embers in the light of the setting sun.
“I know that,” they lifted their chin defiantly, “and I also know that you should know better than to say that humans are weak. You’re all banged up like this because of a human, am I right?”
There was no fear in their tone, just unyielding self-assurance. They knew they were right somehow, and he knew that denying it would make him look even more pathetic. A few moments of tense silence followed, but their gaze never wavered. Was every human he met going to be this stubborn?
“Fine!” he grit out, releasing his grip on their wrist and crossing his arms. “Do what you want, since I do owe you for the meal. But after this, we’re square.”
The human grinned, pleased with their small victory, and set about cleaning and bandaging his wounds, ignoring every huff and hiss of disapproval. Once they had gently smoothed the last of the bandages onto his face, they sat back and admired their handiwork.
“There, that looks much better! How does it feel?”
He blinked, taken aback by their concern, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “It feels okay, I guess. like I said, I'm not human so I heal pretty fast.”
The human nodded. “Fair enough.” They stood up and stretched. “Well, it’s getting late, and we’re square now, like we agreed. so I'll be going.” They picked up their shopping bag and stepped past him to leave.
Reacting on impulse, Fire Candle grabbed their wrist. He didn’t understand why, but the prospect of them leaving so abruptly felt wrong. Like he might come to regret it if he didn’t at least ask them a few of the questions on his mind.
“Just like that? Really?” he let slip, before he could stop himself.
“Is there… something else?” the human raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “I thought you couldn’t wait to get away from me.”
“Who are you?” he finally asked, unable to keep the astonishment that they were teasing him out of his tone.
“Me? I'm Vesper. Like you, not from around here. Unlike you, just passing through.”
Not from around here? Like him? Almost every word of their answer had left him with even more questions. Humans weren’t supposed to be like this! In Fire Candle’s mind, they could be sorted into two distinct categories: Those that faded into the background and could be safely ignored, mere set dressing for Queen Tega June’s grand ambitions, and those who were worthy opponents, like the Universe Warriors and the Gozyugers (and Gozyu Wolf in particular). This human didn’t seem to slot neatly into either category, and he felt completely off-balance as a result.
A gentle poke to his forehead snapped him out of his rumination. “Hey, are you okay? That wasn’t supposed to be a stumper, but I can almost see the smoke coming out of your ears.”
He swatted half-heartedly at their hand. “What do you mean ‘like me’ and ‘not from here’? You are human, right?” He squinted suspiciously at them, as if doing so might reveal their inhuman nature if they were in disguise.
“Sure am,” they laughed, “just not from this country, or this world for that matter. I travel a lot for work. any other burning questions, Bridan General Fire Candle?”
Hearing his name from their lips was like a bolt of lightning. His eyes snapped back up to meet theirs. “How do you know who I am? I'm pretty sure we haven’t met before.”
The human stifled another laugh, which was infuriating. “Knowing things like that is part of my job, and besides, you haven’t exactly been subtle.” That was true, he supposed, but they were dodging the question. For all he knew they could be a Universe Warrior using underhanded tactics to lull him into a false sense of security. They could even be spying on him for the Gozyugers.
His grip on their wrist tightened. “Have you been following me? What is your job, actually?”
“Oh, for—” they didn’t finish their curse, instead, they sighed heavily and sat back down beside him on the park bench. “If I tell you, will you let go of me?”
Fire Candle considered this for a moment. Would he be able to tell if they were lying? He wasn’t sure, but his curiosity had yet to be satisfied, and for the moment he had them right where he wanted them. “That depends on your answer.”
The human crossed one leg over the other, giving him an impassive look. “I’m a Scribe for the Multiverse Archive. I observe and record events and battles that decide the fates of worlds. Before you ask, any intervention on my part is strictly prohibited.”
Well, that was something. He wasn’t entirely sure what any of it really meant, but he guessed that if they weren’t allowed to interfere in any battles, they couldn’t be a Universe Warrior, and they probably weren’t looking to get in his way. Momentarily appeased, he let go of their wrist.
“An archive is like a fancy library, right? Is that why your name is Whisper?”
“Not what I'm called!” the human spluttered indignantly, visibly reeling as Fire Candle cackled. “It’s Vesper. My name is Vesper.”
Now that was satisfying. Until now, he’d felt like the human had the upper hand in their encounter. It was good to know he’d found a way to rattle them. He decided right then to keep prodding at them, determined to see what other reactions he could provoke.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever! Y’know, having an audience might not be half bad. If you’re gonna be watching, make sure you’re getting my good side the next time I go head to head with Gozyu Wolf.”
The human just about choked in response, their face going almost as pink as Bouquet’s hair.
“You—! My job is to report the facts from as neutral a perspective as possible! I’m not gonna go out of my way just to make you look cool!”
He leaned toward them, eyebrows raised and grinning wickedly, relishing the way their eyes widened as he got too close for their comfort.
“I am pretty cool, huh?”
A hand hastily slapped over his mouth put an end to his boasting.
“Do you have selective hearing or something?! I’m beginning to regret doing you a favour!”
Getting under their skin like this was awfully fun. Determined not to let the human called Vesper have the final word, Fire Candle did the only thing he could think of to remove their hand from over his mouth, which was to lick a long wet stripe across their palm.
“OH, YUCK!” they screeched and jumped to their feet, wiping their hand aggressively on their pants. “Okay, interrogation officially over! if you’re not gonna behave, I'm really gonna leave this time!”
The way they were glowering at him, their earlier composure completely lost, was intoxicating. He might get some fight out of this one yet.
“Just one last thing,” he stroked his chin in mock thoughtfulness “if you’re not supposed to be interfering, why did you butt in like that back at the restaurant? Don’t tell me… you’re secretly a fan of mine!”
That last part was mostly a joke, but it had the desired effect.
“Are you DENSE?!” they shouted, stalking forward to loom over him where he sat and seizing his high collar with both hands. “You interrupted my dinner! And if you decide to start a brawl in a public place what do you think is gonna happen, huh?!” they shook him a little for emphasis. “The Gozyugers are gonna come running and then I'm gonna be working overtime, you bastard!”
Fire Candle let their words wash over him, not really paying that much attention to what they were saying. They were very close. He could feel the warm puffs of their breath on his face as they glared down at him. It was kind of hot. He was admiring the pretty shape of their scowling mouth when they seemed to realize something, then abruptly let go of him and hurriedly backed up a few steps.
“You’re absolutely insufferable, you know that?” their tone was biting, but they couldn’t seem to look directly at him when they said it, colour high in their cheeks. “I'm going for real this time. See if I ever do you a favour again!” they huffed, starting down the path leading past him and out of the park.
They got in a few steps before the sound of a clanging bell and a booming voice stopped them in their tracks.
“WINNER! Fire Candle!”
He could almost hear the snap of their last frayed nerve letting go.
“YOU’VE GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!” they shrieked, incensed, wheeling around to glare in his direction. “Number One at WHAT? Pissing me off?! Leave me out of this stupid competition!”
Fire Candle smirked and raised his hand in a mocking wave. Their eyes met for a moment and their jaw tensed, before they turned back around and made for the park exit again.
“I'll be seeing you around!” he called after them as they beat their hasty retreat, not at all discouraged when they ignored his final jab in favour of picking up their pace.
This clearly wasn’t over, and it was definitely going to be interesting.