AN: No, I don't own a thing except for my hero and any twisting of canon storyline I can come up with{tries to look innocent}. Anyway this is a hero x Tomix pairing{eventually} no matter how Akiye sees herself. This could exist in the same universe as my previous Dragonfable saga as they are derived from the same character but as twin souls. Warning, that is not etched in stone and may be subject to change as each story should be considered as one-shots that are ongoing in the same fashion as my previous saga{posted originally under another name but is my own work now under a new name}-as the muse strikes me like before. So constructive criticism is always welcome while flames will be used to burn my marshmallows as I like them pretty much in the same fashion as those ornery fire imps-BLACK! hehe...enjoy. ~k~

Ravenloss...Another Beginning

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Akiye sighed heavily in relief as she gave in to her weakened knees, sliding down onto her seat beside the portal. She let her head fall forward in her weariness. "Talk about an impossible place to find."

The Rogue shuddered as she saw moving shadows and gloomy sticky webs hanging from the ruins. "Scratch that...make that an impossibly creepy place to find."

"Nice way to speak of someone's home."

A dark brown ponytail swished across dark blue shoulder plates as the girl's head snapped up to fix eyes as blue as the skies-he had almost forgotten the hue of-blinked at him in apparent shock. "TOMIX!"

White eyebrows furrowed together as a purple replacement pinky reached up to unplug his ears. "Not too loud! I don't think all of Lore or the Chaosweavers heard ya...speaking of which, it would be a very bad idea if they did. Course they probably already know you're here, Rogue, since they're always watching."

Consternation shadowed his topaz eyes along with his long, white bangs as he actually saw tears gather in the corner of her own. "So you're that afraid of spiders...that's great so who are you and who sent you?"

Sniffling, the Rogue brushed away her tears with the tips of her fingers that were left uncovered by her black gloves. "Just some dust in my eyes...there's not much that I am scared of, by the way—not to say that I have a love for things that have entirely too many legs and eyes..."

Even so, she shuddered then stood in order to brush away said dust from her aqua-marine blue jumpsuit that ended at her knees with a slit along with a strange white powder off the darker blue trim. Apparently, it was some ploy to reorder her emotions or something as there wasn't even a hint of the previous moisture in now even bluer eyes as she offered a small smile. "Anyway, I'm Akiye and I—actually, I don't remember who sent me...exactly...just that I'm here to help you."

And to find a way to change things without becoming a kid again—can't believe I agreed to reface those creepy bugs again tho. This time alone...I'm so sorry Ezura.

"-iye...Akiye!" Annoyance along with that awful lack of recognition resided on the han-

"Sorry—Sorry!" Akiye tried to laugh it off even as she abruptly dropped her hand from the object hidden within the valley under her tightly fitted top as if burned—even so a light flush seemed to burn her tanned cheeks. "Too much sun and getting twisted around...still not used to Falconreach."

"So you're a Nube."

She huffed at the disappointed, uninterested tone within his low, cooled voice then waved her hands. "No, not at all juuuussst...okay okay I admit it! I am somewhat sorta just a little bit directionally-geographically impaired."

"Great a Rogue that gets turned around easily...even better."

"I have a navigator." This time, a deep annoyance of her own replaced her obvious nervousness. "It just doesn't always work is all."

"In other words, you didn't have enough gold for one that works right so you probably went with one some enemy dropped or maybe you even took it off of some dead adventurer."

At this accusation, her face turned completely red all the way down what he could see of her neck and even her ears just before blowing her top. He stepped back from the angry jab at his chest. "Hey, that hurt!"

"First off: I don't like your tone or your attitude! Second: Gold isn't all that easy to come by when you're just starting out! Third: I am NOT starting out or I wouldn't have even been able to find you yet! Fourth!"

Akiye panted for a bit as she struggled to process her thoughts before continuing; anger leaving so suddenly it left her feeling deflated. "Well anyway I'm not the type of person to loot graves OR the fallen...even if I do identify as a rogue. You just don't know me yet is all."

She pushed him back into a stagnant pool then turned her back on him even as her shoulders trembled with her pent up emotions. "Truth is, I'm not sure I can be here right now, Tomix, but I jumped through a lot of hoops and passed a lot of questionable nighttime characters to get here and I'm just—done."

"I sense there's more to it than that." Tomix ventured as he now felt bad for taking his bad temper out on this strange rogue. The apology within his tone earned him a wary glance over the slight shoulder. He shrugged.

"What? I am a Soulweaver which means I have a connection to souls."

That small smile returned before she looked away once more to study the purple portal she had literally stumbled across. "That was pretty lame yaknow."

"We can't all have stunning comebacks, Akiye."

Her snort was soft as she scuffed the gray underground floor with her worn black boots. "So...I know that I'm not the hero you're looking for, but I am more than capable of helping you out with you're little...bug...problem."

"Oh they're more than just a 'little bug' problem."

The Rogue flinched at the strange skittering sound she heard from the rather large shadows that still seemed to move. "Yeah I figured as much considering the 'luck' I've been experiencing lately."

Akiye took another deep breath then turned back to him with suspiciously bright eyes. "But that is what I'm here for and I'll stay as long as I am needed. That is why I'm here, after all, to help."

"That is what you hero types do." He held up his hand to stop the words she had opened her mouth to deliver. "Yeah yeah...you're not a hero."

A secret smile touched her lips then before blooming into her first true smile in quite some time. "I do what I can."

And I will do all I can to save you...Tomix.

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To be continued

*NOTE: Akiye means autumn painting{at least according to a Kanji Tattoo site I found-nice source in any case}