Hills

It had taken Sic around twenty minutes to jog to the coffee shop. He noticed the tables and chairs immediately. They seemed very out of place. The buildings around this small cafe were grey and lifeless, but the cafe itself was dark and menacing.

He never thought he would describe a cafe like that, but here he was.

He opened the door and walked in. The sun shined through the windows of the cafe, but that was all the lighting that was inside. Where the sun couldn't reach, was simply darkness.

While he looked around, he didn't notice anyone inside. He walked up to the front desk and peered into the interior.

As he did, he heard a voice behind him.

"What're you up to, being so nosy?"

He quickly turned around, and summoned his knife.

He tried to find where the voice had come from, but it took him awhile.

Looking into one of the corners that was filled with darkness, he saw someone sitting there. He was wearing only black, and blended into the darkness with ease.

No wonder Sic had missed him.

"I'm just... trying to get a coffee for a friend. You wouldn't know where the workers went, would you?"

The boy laughed.

"There hasn't been workers here for years. However, I do have some expertise in the area of coffee making, so I'll help you."

Sic watched in horror as the darkness seemed to materialize and move. The boy revealed his face that was covered by a hoodie. It was pale, he had dark eyes that seemed to never end, and he had a bone-chilling smile on his face

"So, what'll it be today? I can make any and all coffee."

Sic gulped

'This guy is horribly suspicious. Does he not know how scary it is for someone to be sitting in a dark cafe waiting for people to walk in?'

Sic just had to hope master didn't send him to his death.

"Uh.. I'll take a.. extra extra creamer.."

The boy smiled.

"Coming right up!"

He walked into the back and started to work. It only took him about 5 minutes to finish making it.

When he brought it out, Sic noticed that it was absolutely filled to the brim. The slightest breeze could have spilt it.

"Don't you think that's too much?"

The boy nodded his head.

"You'll be okay. You know what they say, more is always better!"

He laughed.

Sic was less enthusiastic about that 'joke' than the boy was.

"Do you guys have any lids?"

He shook his head.

"Nope, couldn't find any."

Sic sighed

"Okay, thank you"

Sic picked up the cup and tried his best not to spill any.

It was about a single step later when some of it spilt on the floor. Mentally face palming, he cursed.

'I hope she won't mind a little less today.'

Sic opened the door and headed back towards his master. As much as he tried, he kept spilling more and more. He didn't realize it before, but there were a significant amount of hills and bumps in the floor that screwed him over even more. By the time he made it to Master, over half the cup had been spilt.

"Here you go. Your coffee "

She took it and looked into the cup.

"Well, this is not nearly enough. I'm quite disappointed with the fact you spilt so much on your way here."

Sic scowled

"What!?"

She closed her eyes.

"This is unacceptable. I'll need you to go back and get me a new cup. I don't want a single drop to be spilt."

Sic crushed the cup in his hands.

"This is bullshit!"

She opened her eyes and looked at him

"As much as you might not believe it, this will play a big role in your training. I might have joked about it before, but you're free to leave whenever you want. I can't stop you."

He was ready to walk away, but something stopped him. He didn't understand why, but the thought of leaving made him even more angry. He couldn't let her win, no matter what.

"Fine, I'll go get another cup"

She smiled

"Thank you"

He dropped the cup and walked all the way back to the cafe.

When he walked in, he noticed the boy was playing poker...

By himself.

And losing?

Sic studied the cards and could confirm that he was somehow losing at poker playing by himself.

'How does one even play poker by yourself?'

He noticed Sic walked in and stood up.

"Welcome back! Let me guess, you need another coffee?"

Sic nodded his head.

"How'd you know?"

The boy smiled, wide enough to make Sic uncomfortable.

"I have my ways."

He walked into the back and whipped up another coffee.

"Here you go! I hope you enjoy!"

Sic grabbed the coffee and slowly walked out, careful to not let a single drop spill.

As he opened the door, the wind caused some of it to pour out of the cup. It was only a tiny bit, so Sic thought he would be safe.

As he walked, he tripped over a rock he was sure wasn't there before, and spilt even more.

'This is going to be hell'

And that it was.

***

At this point, the sun had gone down. Sic had failed 8 times, and was horribly tired.

His Master was still sitting under the tree, looking very unbothered.

"Seems like we're done for today. Get some rest, we'll continue tomorrow."

Sic simply nodded and started to walk home. This was probably the most mentally taxing thing he's ever done. The focus required to make sure not even a drop of it spills was too much for Sic to comprehend. Not only that, but on his final attempt today, he had only spilt a miniscule amount, and she still noticed!

He was ready to go home and sleep. He walked as he continued to contemplate whether or not he should quit this training. He wasn't necessarily learning anything, and it was incredibly time consuming. They had started early in the morning, and ended late after the sun had gone down. Walking across the entire park was the most time consuming part, of course. He couldn't just rush though, that caused the coffee to spill even more.

Even thinking about what happened today hurt his brain.

There was still the mystery of that boy inside the cafe. He looked around Sic's age, but something was off about him. Whenever Sic was around him, he couldn't help but feel suspicious of him.

'I mean, who chills inside a dark corner of a cafe waiting for people to walk inside looking for coffee? Maybe he knows Master?'

There was a chance, but why wouldn't Master tell him about the boy? She also referenced multiple people being inside the cafe.

The thinking took him all the way back to the bar. He walked in and saw Veil finishing up her cleaning.

She noticed his return and waved

"Hi Sic! How was training today?"

Sic could only groan

"Yikes. That bad, huh?"

He nodded his head and walked up the stairs towards his room.

Opening the door, he threw himself onto his bed and fell asleep immediately.

His last thought was about how bad tomorrow would be. However, he didn't know how long his training would actually take.

Not until weeks later, that is.