Really Annoying Bouncing Bug

Opening his eyes, Lauri squinted against the bright sun streaming down from the ceiling directly into his eyes. About to bring a hand up to cover his eyes, something moved, stepping in front of the light, casting a shadow over Lauri's face. 

It didn't even take a second for Lauri to recognise the person in front of him.

"Master Laurence!" Jumping up from the altar, Lauri wrapped his arms around his master's chest.

Smiling, Laurence's eyebrows raised as Lauri tightly hugged him. "Hey, hey, what's wrong, kid?" Laurence frowned as his apprentice began to sob.

Choking on his feelings, Lauri pressed his face into Laurence's chest. "I thought, I thought I would never see you again…"

Shaking his head, Laurence's frown lifted into an easy-going smile. "Ssh, ssh." Putting one of his mighty hands on Lauri's head, Laurence gently stroked his head. "You did good, Lauri. I was starting to get a little worried as you were gone for five days, just as I was about to come and find you I saw a bright light coming from the ground and well, a couple of minutes later here we are." Patting Lauri's head, Laurence gently pulled the boy back.

"You did it, you passed your trial." Looking around, Laurence frowned. "You know, this room has stood for over one thousand years. I remember coming here a year after my soul core created itself." Laurence frowned a little harder. "I was hoping I'd get to see the big bug again but," Looking at Caretaker's corpse. Laurence sighed. "I suppose not."

"Caretaker."

Blinking, Laurence returned his gaze to Lauri who was wiping the last of his tears with what remained of his sleeve. "What was that, Lauri?"

Licking his lips, Lauri looked at the ground. "Its name, its name is… was Caretaker."

Squinting, Laurence tilted his head. "How do you know that, Lauri? The only way you could know that would be if you killed the thing, and no offence, but you'd never be able to kill it at your level."

Hiccuping, Lauri covered his mouth. "C- Can we- get out of- here." In a quiet tone, Lauri quietly whispered. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Okay, okay. Come on," Turning around, Laurence knelt on one knee. He turned his head, casting a smile back at Lauri. "Grab on, Lauri, we'll leave the way I came in. Should be quick enough."

'How he came in? But I thought he found this place from the light the altar gave off?'

Taking a few steps forward, Lauri wrapped his arms around Laurence's neck. "Um, quick question, Laurence. How did you get in here if not through the way I did?"

As Laurence stood up, Lauri was easily lifted off his feet. He clung a bit tighter to his master's neck. Not that the giant seemed to notice a difference.

"How else," Laurence smirked, tilting his head up slightly. 

'Oh no.'

Laurence bent his legs. 

'Don't say it.'

A soft light wrapped itself around Laurence's legs. "Up."

'Bastard…'

Straightening his legs, Laurence jumped – in the same moment, Lauri shut his eyes – shooting into the air. Cracks were left in the white floor from where he was standing moments ago. The two flew upwards.

After a few moments, Lauri felt their momentum slow, just before they ran out of all momentum Laurence grabbed onto the side of the crack in the ceiling. His fingers sank into the stone like it was made of clay.

Kicking his feet into the stone, Laurence looked over his shoulder with a laugh. "You can open your eyes, Lauri, we're safe."

'Safe… There's nothing safe about being around you!'

Opening his eyes, Lauri squeaked as he looked down. Looking down easily one hundred feet below them, Lauri could see the shattered remains of the statue lying crumbled on the floor.

"Why would you tell me it's safe to open my eyes!"

Beginning to ascend, Laurence laughed again. "Because you are! Well, you are as long as you don't let go. You're not planning on letting go, are you, Lauri?"

"Why would I let go!" Shaking as he shouted, Lauri froze. Tightening his arms around Laurence's neck, he also wrapped his legs around Laurence's waist. "I just escaped that hellhole, why would I go back."

Pulling out a chunk of the stone as he removed his hand, Laurence tossed it aside. "A hellhole huh, well we've got some time before we reach the surface. Why not fill me in on what happened during your trial?"

Sighing, Lauri took a deep breath. "Well, let me think, it all started to go wrong after I kicked a stone into the dark…"

***

Lying on the grass next to a giant crack in the earth, Lauri was finishing off telling his master about the events of his trial.

"And then I crawled onto the altar and I guess it began to glow." Frowning, he looked at Laurence, who was sat cross-legged next to him. "So… How'd I do?"

Chewing on his cheek, Laurence smiled. "You reached the end, as far as I'm concerned, you did outstandingly good. And you received an Awakened Title. Good job, Lauri, it's hard to argue with those results."

Pouting, Lauri looked away. "It's easy to argue with that. I spent the entire time running away from one problem just to run into another. I died, for crying out loud! And to top it all off, that voice… Even it called me a coward."

Laurence shrugged. "What's the problem with being called a coward? It called me a coward when I did my trial all those many years ago."

Hearing this, Lauri sat up in shock. "You? It called you a coward?" Tilting his head to the side, Lauri could hardly believe what he was hearing. "But, but it's you?" Gesturing to Laurence's sacred body, Lauri shook his head.

Tilting his head up, Laurence put his hands on his hips. "I wasn't always the badass I am, you know. Once upon a time, I was just like you, weak, feeble."

"Hey!" Lauri cried.

Laurence stuck his tongue out to answer Lauri's cry. "Heck, I was scared of everything. But even though I survived my trial in the end, sure I ran from everything. I even lost my knife whilst fighting this, really annoying bouncing bug." Biting his lip, Laurence flicked a stone into the crack beside them. "Little shit."

Hearing this, Lauri couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing this, Laurence blinked. "Wh- what? What's that reaction for?"

Dropping back onto the grass, Lauri put a hand on his chest as he laughed. "It was called a Bouncing Bother, the bug that bounced around, its name was Bouncing Bother."

Squinting, Laurence rolled his eyes. "Oh right, I forgot you mentioned you killed one."

After a minute, Lauri's laugh stopped as he began to frown. "I… I'm sorry I let my knife break."

Laurence shrugged, "There's no need to apologise about that. I didn't expect the knife to last long anyway."

Scratching the back of his neck, Lauri asked. "Why? You had that little faith in me or something?"

"Remember how I said I lost my knife whilst fighting that bug?"

Lauri nodded.

"That's because I dropped it and ran away. Now no more wasting time. I wanna see these Imprints you got."