Gold Region was considered the crowning achievement of the fight between monsters and humans. A land where cities were mostly free of monster attacks, and Ilias Kreuz patrolled and protect the citizens.
Still, Gold was a large country, and Ilias Kreuz mostly focused their attention on the western half near important port cities and trading depots. The eastern part was in the same position as most other cities in Sentora.
One such city was Loach, pronounced low-sh for some Ilias-forsaken reason. Nestled in the cradle of the mountains separating the region from Plansect Forest, it was in a very safe location geographically, though politically, it was in the worst possible place.
This far from Grangold, at the very edge of the nation's border, the government had next to no power, and the mayoral structure was nonexistent. It was a lawless town, ruled by gangs and criminals.
Still, in its own way, it was as equal as Grand Noah was in terms of monsters and humans. Life in Loach didn't stop for anyone, no matter the species, so everyone had the same troubles. Some worked together, some were enemies, some stayed out of the fighting and just tried to survive as best they could. That was just how life was.
~~~In Loach, South District~~~
"S-Stop, please!" cried a thin man, scooting backwards away from the cloaked figure in front of him. He froze and looked back as he found his back hitting a wall, and the man whose anger he'd invoked bent over onto a knee, staring at him with a frown.
"Isn't that what that child was saying to you a few minutes ago?" he asked, holding up the now-empty dango stick he carried in one hand. "You didn't stop then, so please tell me, why should I stop now?"
"She's a succubus, it doesn't matter!" the man argued, before his eyes widened in surprise as his attacker pointed the dango stick down, driving it firmly into his leg and causing him to shriek in pain, his hands instinctively wrapping around the wound as he struggled to focus, blood forming on his pants where the stick had entered his skin.
"That was the wrong answer." he said calmly, grabbing the tip of the stick and pulling it up, before pushing it back into the wound, causing the man to wince and shout as the wood stick splintered inside his leg. "Succubus or not, she's a child. If you're going to be a predator, at least target people who have a chance of fighting back."
He stood up, turning away from the man and walking to the subject of the conversation, who was huddled in a corner, her clothes torn to shreds. An unavoidable fate, but at least he'd made it there in time to stop anything worse from happening.
The man reached up to his collar to pull the cloak he wore off, draping it over her body, and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. It was understandable, trauma was species-blind. He smiled down at her, holding a hand on her head gently. "What's your name?" he asked.
"M-Mincu-" she said, and he shook his head to cut her off.
"Not your species. Your name. Mine's Andrew."
She blinked in surprise, looking down at the ground. "C-Chelia…" she said quietly, and he nodded.
"Well, Chelia, let's get out of here." he said, holding his hand out and standing. The girl hesitated for several seconds, before accepting the offer, letting him pull her up a standing position as she pulled the cloak around her with her other hand, shivering where she stood.
"W-What about that guy?" she asked, looking at the man who now was more focused on trying to get rid of the dango stick than on the two, and Andrew smiled.
"Let Ilias decide what to do with him." he replied. "Or Alipheese. Whichever one he follows."
"Shouldn't we help him?" she asked, and he laughed.
"You of all people should have no sympathy for trash like that. People who prey on children are scum, regardless of who they may be. Let him lie there. He'll probably get away somehow, I don't really care." He started walking, pulling her along as he left the alleyway, sighing as he looked up at the darkening sky. "I suppose I should head back eventually, shouldn't I…" Hee blinked, before shaking his head and turning to her as they walked down the street, void of people other than the two. "Where are you parents?" he asked, and she shook her head sadly, wiping the tears from her eyes with the cloak.
He sighed, looking forward. "An orphan then...Then I'll take you with me. I know a place that can help you. Can't have you living on the streets after someone nearly got to you, huh?"
"Mister, why are you so nice to me?" she asked. "If I'm a succu-"
He cut her off quickly, tapping her forehead with the hand not holding hers. "Don't finish that sentence. I don't care if you're a mincubus, a succubus, or human. You're a child who needs help, that's all there is to it."
She went silent as they walked, the silence reigning for several minutes before he stopped in front of a stand, still open despite the hour...Then again, the fact that there were several weapons lining the walls behind the storeowner made it clear that the guy was not to be messed with.
The storeowner was sitting at a chair, reading a newspaper seemingly without a care in the world. He had good reason, despite this being a basic takoyaki stand, the guy was clearly built for a fight. He was taller than Andrew, and much more muscular. Still, when he noticed the man waiting at the stand, his intimidating appearance quickly dropped as he smiled, lowering the paper and standing up to walk to the display.
"Been a while, hasn't it?" he asked, before he turned his head, noticing the girl at his side. "Found another one, huh? I swear, you're just a magnet for trouble…"
"Twelve pieces, please. Whatever is good right now. I'm kind of in a rush." Andrew replied, and the man chuckled as he set to work making the order.
"Straight to business, as usual." he said. "You know someone's been following you, right?"
He nodded, twitching his head to the side in a nearly imperceptible motion, making it clear he saw the hooded person sitting on a bench across the street from them, barely noticeable in the dim light, but to his eyes, it was clear as day. "I'll handle him when Chelia's eaten."
The storeowner smiled, handing him two trays, each with six pieces of the food, and Andrew handed him the exact change without needing to be told...He came here enough that he had memorized the prices. He waved to the man, who simply went back to his chair as the two turned away.
"Here, eat." he said, handing one of the trays to the child, who blinked in surprise. "Don't question it. Get your strength up, that's all I'll tell you to do. I have to go talk to our stalker over there." With that, he left the girl standing in the middle of the street, watching him as he walked over to the hooded figure...before handing the second tray to him.
"You know wearing a hood doesn't make you look cool, right, Yorrin?" he asked as the figure stiffened, before laughing and pulling the hood off, revealing the innocent-looking fact of a man several years younger than him. The man gratefully accepted the offering of takoyaki as ANdrew reached into his pocket, taking out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth. Rahter than using a lighter, he simply raised a finger to the tip of the smoke, a small flame igniting on the tip of his fingernail and lighting the cigarette, before he extinguished it and lowered his hand. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he inhaled the smoke, and the boy laughed.
"And you don't look cool wasting your fire on such mundane things as smoking." he replied. "Honestly, every human in the city would kill to get that magic, yet you use it for trivial garbage."
Andrew smirked, pulling the cigarette out with a hand to exhale. "We all have our vices. You've got Fui to handle your tension for you. Let me have my smokes."
"Who is he?" Chelia asked, walking to the two. Her tray was already nearly empty, only one ball remaining...Clearly she had been hungrier than she let on. Andrew turned to her and sighed, shaking his head and returning the cigarette to his mouth.
"Yorrin. He's like my annoying little brother." he replied, and the other boy made a faux offended expression, holding a hand to his heart.
"We haven't seen you in three days and the first thing you do is insult me?" he asked, though clearly he didn't really mind. "Honestly, you're such a stone cold dragon, aren't you?"
"I don't like that name." he replied. "I'm Andrew. I'm human. I don't like being reminded of my parentage."
"Oh, come on. What normal human would be able to use fire magic?" Yorrin replied logically. "You should wear it with pride."
"Pride doesn't mean jack in a world like this one." he replied, sitting down on the bench next to the man and patting the empty space next to him, which Chelia took. "How are things going at Frances?"
"As good as it ever is. Fui had to punish that roper girl we found recently because she was trapping the others."
"How long did she get frozen for?" he asked, and Yorrin shrugged.
"Ropers can handle a lot, so probably a while. She's still stone, maybe you can convince her to return her back to normal when we get back."