Chapter 1
'Raining again, huh?' Thought a teen as he sat against the wall of an alleyway in Vale and true to his thoughts it is raining. The teen looked to be around 16 years old and around 6 feet tall with messy white hair that reached the end of his neck and covered his eyes. He is wearing a dark grey tattered cloak that reached the ground, which was open showing that his upper body was covered in white bandages as well as his arms, a pair of torn black jeans, and grey steel-toed boots. Leaning up against the wall next to him was a silver cane about 3-feet tall with a curved handle. The teen pulled out his wallet only to find that it was empty. 'Empty. No surprise their. I need to get some money for Amber. Hopefully she won't ask how I got the money.' The teen thought before he slowly stood up and grabbed his cane with his right hand.
He started walking out of the alleyway with a noticeable limp in his right leg. He continued walking down the road until he spotted a girl running through the rain. She looked to be around 15 years old and she was wearing a black blouse, a black corset with red lacing, a skirt with red trimmings, and a red hooded cloak with the hood up covering her face. The teen continued to walk down the road until the girl in red bumped into him.
"Oh I am so sorry for that. I wasn't watching where I was going." She said a little frantically. The teen chuckled a little before replying.
"Don't worry."
"Are you sure?" Asked the girl when she noticed the teens cane.
"Yes." The teen said before walking away.
"Okay then, bye mister." The girl said before she continued on her way. The teen looked back to see if the girl had left before holding out his left hand to reveal a red pouch. The same one the girl was wearing before. He opened it up to reveal some .50 caliber rounds and magazines and a couple of Lien as well. 'Perfect. Just enough to last us for a month.' The teen thought before storing the pouch in his cloak and walking away.
After a few hours of walking the teen arrived in front of an old abandoned building was three stories tall but only the first floor was intact, the other two looked like they could fall apart at the slightest touch. He walked in before turning on the lights and hanging his soaked cloak near the door. He looked around his current home and found nothing out of the ordinary, the interior walls, except the bathroom walls, are still gone, the two mattresses are still in the corner, the couch and TV are still against the wall, and the kitchen is still their, mostly. 'I wonder where Amb-' The teens thoughts were interrupted when a small purple blur crashed into the teen knocking him over.
"Big Bro Cerin! Your back!" The purple blur turned out to be a small girl. She is about 3' 4" tall with short purple hair, amber eyes, a pair of purple amber tipped fox ears, and two purple amber tipped fox tails. She is wearing white shorts, a black T-shirt with a white fox on it, and grey sneakers.
"Sorry I was late Amber. I got caught up at work." The newly identified Cerin said as he petted Amber's head causing the girl to pout.
"Stop doing that." Amber said while knocking Cerin's hand away and fixing her hair. Cerin chuckled before picking Amber up off of his chest and setting her down before slowly standing up with the help of his cane. After getting up, Cerin limped over to the couch and layed down before grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. Amber followed Cerin, climbed into his lap, and joined him in watching the TV.
"There's nothing to watch. Do you want anything to eat, amber?" Asked Cerin as he continued to flip through the channels. When he received no reply he looked over at Amber to find that she had fallen asleep on in his lap. Cerin sighed before picking Amber up in his left arm and grabbing his cane with his right. He stood up before carrying Amber over to one of the mattresses in the corner. He laid her down and covered her with a blanket before limping over to another corner of the house. He pulled out his scroll before dialing a number and waiting.
"It's Cerin. How long?" He asked.
" …"
"More time? I'm living on borrowed time."
" …" Cerin let out a sigh.
"How much?" He asked while rubbing his eyes.
" …"
"Not time, but money?"
" …"
"How much?"
" …"
"That much?" He raised his voice slightly causing Amber to mumble something in her sleep before she settled down.
" …"
"Nothing else?"
" …"
"Okay." He finished before ending the call and putting his scroll away. He suddenly started coughing violently and covered his mouth. When he stopped coughing he looked at his hand to see that their was some blood on it. 'Borrowed time indeed.' He thought while wiping the blood off of his hand before pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He stood there in the silence, smoking the cancer stick while occasionally puffing out a small cloud of smoke.
After finishing off the cig he pulled out his pulled out his scroll again before calling a person who he never expected to talk to again. One of his old teachers.
"It's Cerin."
" …"
"You know I wouldn't call unless I need to."
" …"
"I need help."
" …"
"What's the catch? You wouldn't do this for free." Cerin's voice turned serious now.
" …" Cerin let out a sigh while rubbing his eyes.
" Fine. We'll go."
" …"
"When does the bullhead leave?"
" …"
" See you then, Old Man." Cerin said before hanging up. He put his scroll away before looking down at his right hand, that still had some flecks of blood on it, before clenching his fist and letting out a sigh. He wiped his hand against his jeans before limping over to the other mattress, picking up the last blanket, and laying down. He used his cane to reach up and turn off the lights before closing his eyes and falling asleep.