Rune Knight Applicant: James Hill

The current young man sitting at the edge of his seat was a stark contrast to his usual confident self. Head downcast, right leg shaking as he kept tapping his feet on the ground, hands clasped together and continuously tightening and loosening his grip, James Hill was an anxious mess. He was currently sitting in the waiting area by the Rune Knight headquarters’ reception area. Occasionally he would quickly look up whenever he heard approaching footsteps, and when he saw that it was just the Rune Knights going in and out of the building, he would let out a sigh of relief.

It was funny. Here he was, waiting for an audience with a senior officer so that he could put in his application to join the Rune Knights. Yet, he was relieved when he saw those approaching or passing by weren’t any of the senior officers. The Rune Knights headquarters weren’t a strange place to James, having been here all the time, especially the waiting area, where he would sometimes be sitting here for most of the night when he was way younger. He would be waiting for his mother to get off work, and regardless of how long he had to wait, the younger James had never been angry at his mom.

While he would keep looking up whenever he heard someone approaching, James would also look towards the side door where the Rune Knights would exit from the restricted areas, reminiscing of the times when his mother would unreservedly and happily hug him tightly whenever she saw him waiting for her out there. Sometimes there would be treats for him, which would spread his grin even wider.

As those thoughts began flooding his mind, the dark-haired youth began to regain his confidence, drawing strength from the memories of his mother and how much she had inspired him. His hands separated and James brought his right hand up to his left shoulder, touching the tattoo beneath the sleeve of his long-sleeved navy shirt. A faint smile would appear on his face as he found his state of mind refreshed.

Confidence restored and will burning again, James finally assumed a more relaxed position as he adjusted his seat and leaned back into the one-seater, arms crossed across his chest.

[380 words]

While he was no longer looking at the ground the whole time now, but still fidgeting slightly from the anxiety of the wait, James would occasionally look at the reception counter and the staff entrance beside it. It didn’t take any more additional time when he heard the door open and looked towards the staff entrance instinctively again, only to have his eyes widen and jaw drop slightly. Despite the unenthusiastic and exhausted appearance, James would never fail to recognize one of the two members that had revitalized the Rune Knights. He had heard of the grand stories about the man and woman, who was also a married couple, that had brought back the Rune Knight up from near ruin to what they were today.

“You, you, you’re Director Ragnos,” James managed to blurt out despite the already clear as day introduction offered when the director walked over to him. And then he realized he was still sitting down when the Director of the Rune Knights loomed over him.

James shot up from his seat immediately, and quickly shook the offered hand and withdrew it, arms pinned down tightly to his side. “I’m James, James Hill, sir.”

All of the confidence he from before was gone, for James was as anxious as he could be. He merely nodded when the director pointed towards the hall, and allowed the man to move ahead first while he followed behind him.

“Yes, sir. Putting my age aside, I’m here to enlist because…” was all James could say, slightly faltering as memories began pouring into his mind again when he tried to give his answer. However, the very same memories that had caused him to stumble verbally for a bit was also giving him the strength and conviction to go ahead with his goal despite what Mythal had indicated.

“Yes, sir. I’m here to enlist because I want to serve. I want to continue the legacy of someone extremely important to me and also to fulfill my promise to her. I have never viewed this job as an easy way out or an easy pay. The war is also a main reason for my application, I want to do my part in ending this conflict, no matter how small my part may be,” James blurted out as his nerves finally steeled, allowing him to reply the man in a determined voice.

James smiled wryly with only one side of his mouth as Mythal insisted that he changed the way he was being addressed. Mythal was definitely out of the question, James was definitely not going to think he was on equal footing with the freaking Director of the Rune Knights. And since “sir” was also explicitly banned, James didn’t have too much of a choice. Yup, he definitely didn’t have any other choice in terms of he would address his would-be superior.

“Alright boss,” was James’ reply to the man’s request to not address him as sir. He was aware of Mythal looking back at him, studying his body language as he spoke and that made him slightly more self-conscious but there was nothing he could do about it. James could only hope that whatever impression the man had of him was positive.

James entered the room as per Mythal’s instruction. It was a mid-sized room, enough to cater to a rectangle table that can seat at least three people on each side and with plenty of space for moving around. James took a seat on the side of the table that was closest to the door, pulling out chair in the middle before sitting back down. His nerves had slightly calmed down, showing in the way he sit. As always, his right leg was crossed over his left thigh, right calf resting on the top of the left knee while his right knee was left to hang loosely with a gap between both thighs. His hands were rested on his thighs, fingers clasped loosely. He sat with a straight back, waiting for the Director to sit down opposite him.

“But you need those people on the front lines though. As long as you keep a nice and tight leash on them,” James commented.

“It’s my mum. She was a Rune Knight, in the Combat Corps. Took me in when I was a baby when she didn’t have any business adopting a kid and raised me up singlehandedly. Ever since young, she would tell me all about the Rune Knights, how you and the Field Marshall had brought a long-awaited renewal to the organization for the better, the feats of other Rune Knights. She was my role model, and I think it’s the only way I can keep this link I have with her intact.”

“She was about to participate in the war too… but she never got the chance to aid the right cause.”

James took a deep breath when he finished, before quickly sorting out himself and then looked at the Director again with a smile on his face.

“May I know what’s the application process to join the Rune Knights like? I’ve asked around and it seems like it just differs from recruit to recruit, depending largely on who they were interviewed by. Some have even told me they just walked up to the reception counter, said they wanted to join and really joined just like that.”

[499 words]
[Total WC: 2132 words]