This is before the fall of wall Maria, I have a basic view of where I want this story to go, but really it can go anywhere!
So please read and review and tell me what you think!
"Alright squirt, I really have to go now"
An older man chuckled as he looked down at the young girl clinging to his leg as if her life depended on it. A woman that looked around her mid thirties watched the exchange, a smile lighting up her face. After a minute or so of watching the man try to pry the little 8 year old off of his leg she finally decided to step in.
"Come on Mia, daddy has to go to work"
At the sound of the woman's voice, Mia looked over at her, sky blue eyes wide and colored with mischief.
"But mommy" she whined, drawing out the y on the end.
The woman looked at the young girl for a few moments longer before a bright idea came to mind and her smile grew even bigger.
"How about I show you how to make some cake, and then we can make some before daddy and Kitsune get home, just for them!?"
Immediately Mia's face lit up, and without thinking about it, unlatched herself from her fathers leg.
"Yeahhhh, lets make cake for daddy and big sister!" She screamed out of pure happiness, while running right past her mother and into the kitchen.
At the sight of this, both mother and father couldn't contain their laughter, and let it ring through the small household.
After a second or so they both found their bearings and paused. The man took a short few steps forward and enveloped the woman in a quick hug, followed by a peck on the forehead.
"I love you Sora."
Sora snuggled deeper into the hug, burying her face into the mans chest and inhaling deeply before replying.
"Love you to Misuke" she replied in just barley over a whisper.
The lovely couple stayed as just that, embracing each other, until an impatient call sounded from the kitchen.
"MOMA! COME ON!"
The mother could only sigh in response, letting herself out of the embrace.
"Might as well, have a good trip, tell Kit that I give her good wishes as well!" She chimed, all the while gently urging him to the door with her hands.
"Alright then, good luck with that little bundle of energy!" Misuke said, right before he closed the door behind him.
With nothing else to distract him, he took in the beautiful landscape.
The little family lived on a small farm, located in a valley of hills. Trees dotted the land every 30 meters give or take, under the trees was beautiful green grass, not to long due to the cows and horses that moved in small groups around the fenced in planes. A small red barn sits a short walk away from the house. The sun was well in the sky, due to it being mid-afternoon, as the man makes his way down a well trodden path to the red building.
In front of the barn a supply wagon sat, the wooden wheels worn with age and use. Sun bleached leather stretched over the wooden supports to cover the materials inside. Attached to the wagon by sturdy leather harnesses were 2 horses. One of the creatures was an almost solid black, only the left front hoof had a white mark on it, coming all the way up to the knee, abruptly stopping there. To it's left stood a mare of a very dark bay, a little white star sat right in between its eyes.
To the left of the wagon, tied to a fence post was a palomino stallion, a unique placing of white on his face made it look almost as if he were wearing a mask, and if only to make him stand out more, piercing blue eyes topped it all off.
"SHIT!"
CRASH!
At the sound the man snapped his head toward the barn, and made his way over. Nothing about him even looked like he was worried, not even the smile that graced his face when the interior of the barn came in to view. For face down on the ground lay a young girl, around 16. Misuke could only chuckle as a string of curses flooded from the girls mouth as she took her time in standing.
Turning around, almost all frustration disappeared at the sight of the man behind her as she smiled herself. She wore only a small teal tank top and some rugged jeans. Holes could be seen in places, and worn black boots covered her feet. Her long white hair was tied into a high ponytail and beautiful violet eyes sparkled in excitement.
"Ya need some help Kit? You seem to be havin' a bit of trouble there?"
At this Kit, or Kitsune, raised her head indignantly.
"Nope! I'm fine! I mean come on, it's not like anything at all happened!" She said with a shrug of her shoulders and a giant smile on her face.
The man only laughs harder.
When he finally stops with a great breath he finally wheezes out the words
"Alright, what ever you say!"
At this Kitsune turns around and continues toward her original destination.
"Oh, yeah, if I were you, I'd check and make sure that I got everything for ya." She says, while motioning to the wagon behind her with a thumb over her shoulder.
"You crack me up." Misuke replies while shaking his head. But deciding it'd be for the best, he listened and shuffled toward the cart.
While he was doing that Kitsune made her way out of the barn, in her hands was a black western style saddle and a matching bridle lay over the saddle horn. Making her way to the only horse yet to be tacked she slung the heavy tack over the railing next to the stallion.
Stepping over the trailing straps she adjusted the sky blue saddle pad placed on his back before picking up the tack and slinging it over the pad. Flipping straps over the side she took the bridle into her hands and skillfully slid the bit into his mouth, easing the rest of it over his ears.
With the bridle in place she reached a hand under the steed bringing the girth around and tightening it around his stomach. She fiddled with the straps for another 2 minutes before giving the stallion a firm pat on the neck.
"Me and Echo are ready, you?" She said before glancing over at the wagon only to find her father already sitting in the driver seat.
Seeing this Kitsune could only scoff in annoyance.
"I've been ready for a while now." Misuke says, a smugness was detectable in his tone.
"Whatever" Kitsune mumbles while giving him a playful glare.
Putting her foot in the stirrup, she hoisted herself into the saddle atop the magnificent steed, taking a moment to adjust herself before clicking her tongue. At the noise Echo slowly backs away from the post. With a gentle tug on the reins they're on the road following behind the wagon that has already moved ahead.
The next hour or so was traveled in silence with nothing but bird calls and the sound of the clicking feet of the horses to listen to. Kitsune watched as the scenery changed from plains, to forest, to city and the chatter of birds changed to people.
"Hey dad, I just thought of something." She said as she urged Echo closer to the wagon.
"What's up?" Came his faint reply.
"I have no idea where we're going." Kitsune stated rather bluntly while looking at the man expectantly.
"Oh, haha! That's right, I never told you!" He replied.
"Well, the scouting legion just got back from another expedition and they need me to check their horses shoes, I thought you would like to come. That's why we won't be back home for a couple days." He explained as if going to the scouting regiment and caring for their horses was something everyone did.
Misuke worked as a farrier. Now, there are a good number of farriers in wall Maria, so what gives him the privilege to care for the scouting legions horses? It's simple, he and commander Erwin are great friends. They've know each other since children and practically grew up together. Every other month he would go to the scouting HQ and tend to the horses shoes.
Kitsune's eyes widened in realization and her mouth moved up and down, as if trying to form words. A few seconds passed before she spoke again.
"Of course I would like to come! I can't believe your finally taking me!" She exclaimed while abandoning the reins and tossing her hands into the air.
A hearty chuckle escaped Misuke's lips as he watched the surprised girls reaction to the news.
"Yes I'm taking you, and if you wanna go again then be good, got it?" His tone was dead serious by the end of the question.
"Yes sir!"
The rest of the trip was traveled in silence as the busy village faded into the distance and they walked through open plains once again.
***30 minutes later***
After traveling on the plains for a good chunk of time, clusters of buildings finally came into view.
People, presumably soldiers, buzzed around the paths quickly moving from one building to another. Standing but a few meters in front of us were four people, all dawning the military uniform and proudly wearing the wings of freedom on their back. One man had blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Another man with black hair and emerald eyes stood behind him. Standing right next to him to his left was a woman with short chestnut brown hair and hazelnut colored eyes.
In front of the group was a woman who was acting like a three year old at the moment. She was jumping up and down rapidly waving her hands. Messy brown hair was pulled into a bun at the back of her head and glasses covered her eyes.
"LOOK! ITS MISUKE! MISUKE IS HERE!" She shouted, sounding like a madman before taking off at top speed to meet the wagon before it even gets to the rest of the group. Kitsune could practically feel the exasperation coming off the soldiers from here before they made their way to us as well, albeit a lot slower.
As if knowing what would happen Misuke halted the horses and attempted to get out of the drivers seat, but apparently took to long. Before Kitsune could even register it the woman was already crushing the poor man in a bear hug.
"Ooooooohhhh it's so good to see you again! I can't believe I missed you last time!" She shouted, not caring that she was in his ear.
Kitsune could only watch in wonder as her fathers face slowly turned blue. His mouth moved a little bit, mumbling something she couldn't hear, but most likely something along the lines of 'can't breath'
"Ooohhh, sorry!" She shouted again, letting him go as if he were on fire. The moment her arms moved Misuke could only lean on the back of the seat and take in greedy gulps of air.
"Nah... it's ok... Hanji, I just... wasn't ready for that one." He breathed just loud enough for Kitsune and the soldiers that have just reached the wagon to hear.
"Ease off on the greetings Hanji." Said the blonde haired man. Now that he's closer Kitsune could see that he was really tall, at least 6 feet. There was an air of command around him that could only belong to someone of high rank in the military. His icy blue eyes looked like they could pierce stone if wished.
"Ahhhh, I'm sorry Erwin! I couldn't resist myself!" Hanji exclaimed as she jumped off the wagon, not even bothering to use the steps. Misuke, who had now caught his breath, only chuckled.
"As energetic as ever I see."
Erwin could only sigh in response.
Kitsune watched the exchange silently from atop her mount. Everything seemed to be going good for her, and then Hanji's eyes strayed her direction. As soon as she made her way over, Kitsune had a feeling she was screwed.
"Aaaand who might you be!" Hanji asked, just loud enough to catch the attention of everyone around them. Kitsune could feel the eyes of Erwin and the two yet to be named soldiers boring into her, waiting for an answer as well as the officially crazy woman.
"Oh, that's my daughter, Kitsune." Misuke said, answering for the poor girl who was frozen under everyone's stare.
At the news Hanji's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before letting out an inhumanly loud squeal. She took off towards the girl and without any trouble at all, hopped on the horses rump right behind the saddle. Kitsune felt arms snake around her waist only seconds before she was fighting for air.
She didn't notice the soldiers warning Hanji, or Echo shifting uncomfortably under the new weight. Most importantly she didn't notice the reins in her hands as they darted backwards in a feeble attempt to get the woman off.
With the violent jerk of the reins, the only message the horse got was to rear, and rear he did.
Screams erupted from the two women's mouths as they toppled off the back of the horse, only one sounded truly afraid, the other was just surprise. A cloud of dust rose from where they landed and from behind Echo as he skittered away. When the dust settled and the two women were in view Misuke couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed, he clutched his stomach and laughed shamelessly. The two soldiers from behind Erwin rushed over to the two women without missing a beat.
"Squad leader Hanji! Ms. Kitsune! Are you okay?!" They both shouted simultaneously, real concern lacing their voices. When they reached the lump of tangled flesh on the ground the young male went to work with prying Hanji's loosened arms off of Kitsune and the female crouching beside him.
"I'm good, thanks for your concern, but I had a nice cushion." The white haired girl mumbled before helping the man loosen the crazy woman's grip. When said grip failed to loosen an idea came to mind. Moving her hand to Hanji's wrist she grabbed a tiny amount of skin between her nails and started to squeeze. The reaction was almost instantaneous. Hanji's arms shot out and she shoved the teenager off of her before jumping to her own feet holding the abused piece of skin.
"Yeeeouch! SON OF A, That hurt!" The woman screamed jumping from one foot to the other. The man next to Kitsune shot up from his crouched position and went to aid his precious squad leader. The woman on the other hand stood up much more calmly and offered a hand to the overturned girl. Without much of a thought Kitsune accepted the help and in a split second she was back on her feet.
She muttered a quick 'thank you' before turning to retrieve her horse without waiting for a reply. Echo only moved a few feet away and was now munching on some grass on the side of the path, at the sound of footsteps he raised his large head, not at all fazed by what just happened. Kitsune took his reins in hand before leading him back to the others.
All chatter from before dissipated with the arrival of the girl and the two soldiers fell in line behind Erwin as he turned and motioned for us to follow. With a flick of the reins the wagon was moving slowly behind and deciding that it would be easier to simply lead the stallion, Kitsune followed in foot. Hanji was walking casually next to Erwin, noticeably rubbing her wrist every few seconds.
After walking about 5 minutes past buildings and ducking from curious eyes, they arrived at a very large building that smelling strongly of horses. Kitsune could only imagine the amount of animals that could fit inside those walls, and quickly realized why she won't be home for a few days. The wagon stopped just next to the entrance of the building and from behind Kitsune could see Misuke hop off the side. He made a quick motion for her to come to the front and then made his way up without waiting for an answer. Without hesitation Kitsune followed right after him.
When she got in view of the interior of the barn, it took all her strength to not openly gape at it. So many stalls lined the walls that she couldn't count them all, but there were at least 100 in this one barn, an she was positive there were more. Groups of soldiers went down the rows with shovels and barrels full of dung.
Shaking her attention away from the stables she focused on the end of the conversation happening in front of her.
"Okay, that works, where do you want our horses?" Misuke's gruff voice asked.
"My soldiers will take care of that, you two will be going to your rooms." Erwin answered as he motioned with his hands for the 2 soldiers behind him to come forward. Immediately following command, they made their way to the two mares hooked to the wagon, and started working on the straps. He looked at Kitsune and her steed before turning and looking at the group closest to us working on the stalls.
"Conner!" He shouted. Almost instantly a young boy with curly brown hair froze for a heartbeat then made his way over to Erwin, quickly saluting in front of him.
"Sir!"
"I want you to take this horse, untack it, and put it in an empty stall, then return to duty." Erwin order while pointing to Echo.
"Yes sir!" The boy answered before saluting again and making his way over, taking quick, light steps.
Deciding now would be the best time to do it Kitsune turned toward her horse and rubbed his neck.
"You be a good boy, okay? I'll see you soon. Love you Echo." She muttered before standing on her toes and kissing him on the cheek.
Now done she turned towards the boy and gave him the reins.
"Thank you ..."
"James, James Conner." He said with a bright smile before holding out his right hand. "It's nice too meet you.."
"Kitsune Tomoe" she said before shaking his hand. When they released the others hand Kitsune watched as he led Echo into the large barn.
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, whipping her head around she found it was only her father.
"Ya ready to go squirt? I'm gonna show you where your room is." He said. At his words Kitsune couldn't help but feel a twinge of panic go through her, and her unspoken question must've shown on her face.
"Yeah, we won't be rooming together, you'll be staying in the woman's dorm and I the men's." He said a frown gracing his face.
"But you'll be rooming with someone, so they can help you find your way around, I'll be seeing you at meals and when I'm working 'cause we will be meeting here after breakfast. Okay?"
All panic ceased after she realized that she'll still be with him most of the day. All she hoped now was that her roommate was nice.
"Okay, that's fine. So what will we be doing the rest of the day after finding our rooms?" She questioned as they started moving towards the wagon, grabbed a bag of belongings each and then started away from the stable.
"After our rooms we will eat supper and then go to bed. In the morning I'll see you at breakfast then we'll go to the stables, okay?" He said without looking at her as they walked.
"That's fine with me." She answered surly.
The rest of the trip was walked in silence, and in about 5 minutes they stopped in front of a large building.
"Your room should be number 345 on the third floor." He said, breaking the silence. They looked at each other for a few heartbeats before embracing one another in a long hug. "Be good, okay?" He whispered. "I will." Kitsune said before breaking the hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow, kay squirt?" He said just before turning around and making his way to god knows where.
"Alright, love you!" She shouted while turning towards the doors and hearing a faint, 'love ya' before pushing her way inside.
Fresh cool air greeted her arrival as she sighed in relief at getting out of the hot air of July.
Deciding that finding the stairs was the first thing she needed to do, she listened to her gut and went down the left hallway of the first level. The bottoms of her boots clicked on the stone floor as she walked in silence. Torches flickered in between every door and shadows danced across walls and the floor.
Finally making it to the end of the hallway she found her goal and looked at the spiral staircase in front of her before making her assent. A window was placed on every story showing the sun as it started to set and the sky was set on fire by the last of the suns rays for the day.
After making it to the third story, Kitsune moved swiftly down the hall, carefully reading each sign as she passed it. Numbers started at 350 and went down the further down the hall you went though, due to her number being close to 350, Kitsune had no need to go further down as she stood in front of the door to the room she would be staying in for the next week.
Finding the strength she needed, she quickly knocked on the door before she lost it. There was a shuffling from inside and a quick 'hold on'. Only a few heartbeats after did the door open reveling a young girl, about 17, with shoulder length black hair and sky blue eyes. She was an average height, 5 '4, if guessed, and still wore the military uniform, only boots were missing.
"Hello?" She asked, shaking the other girl from her thoughts.
"Oh, hi. Um, I was told I'd be rooming with you?" Kitsune stated, completely unsure about this until recognition showed on the girls features and she opened the door wider, beckoning the other in.
"Oh yeah! Kitsune right?" She asked as she turned around and retreated into the room. Taking this as an invitation Kitsune followed her, closing the door behind herself and taking on the room. It was a small thing, very tidy though. There were two beds, one placed on each side and a nightstand next to each. A single dresser sat on the wall next to the door and a window was right in the middle of the back wall.
"Yeah, Kitsune Tomoe, and you are." The white haired girl asked, gaining more confidence with each step. Deciding to go to the bed with nothing on it she sat down, relishing the feeling of the pressure leaving her feet before she took her own boots off and set them next to the bed.
"Cora Atsuke! Nice to meet you!" She said right before plopping down on her own bed. A short silence followed the introductions as the two just looked at each other.
Cora's eyes strayed to the bag on the bed next to Kitsune and she smiled.
"Why don't you put your stuff away, then we can go eat." She suggested before getting up and grabbing her boots.
"Y-yeah, that works." Kitsune mumbled as she grabbed the fairly small bag and put everything in the respectful drawer in the nightstand. By the time She had her own boots on Cora was already at the door pulling it open.
"Just follow me kay?" Cora said as she glanced back. Blue eyes met violet and without needing to hear an answer, the silent exchange was ended as Cora turned away and made it to the hallway.
Supper passed by without any trouble at all, everyone welcomed Kitsune and friends were made. She settled in fairly quickly and the timid person they met was quickly washed away, confidence taking place.
Nights claws soon took away the daylight and a days work took its toll on the people as they lay their heads to rest. Soon the halls were quiet, and the bodies still, only to rise with the sun tomorrow.
That was long! 4,092 words, whew!
So basically this chapter was an introduction chapter! Get to know the characters a little before they die ya know?!
Let me know what you think, if I get good reviews, this might turn out to be a good story that I continue, so this was a test run really.
REVIEW! I NEED THEM!