Daisy walked down the streets Mont Lillie, enjoying her freedom. Not many people were out this time of morning, being work hours for most. But this was Daisy's day off, and she decided to enjoy it
A member of the Stormguard did not get a proper vacation, but a day off maybe once every year if they were good or at least had good connections. Catherine had liked Kestrel, and Kestrel liked Daisy and that's how she got a day off. She wasn't the best of the Stormguard, but that didn't matter to some of its members. She needed a day of rest once and a while, so she got it.
She liked how she looked today. She'd been given an allowance of sorts for this day out, and she had spent most of it on some decent street clothes since the uniform of the Stormguard—even the off-duty one—would attract undue attention. She'd bought a black jacket and sweater with a red skirt and black boots. She'd also gotten a large purse if only to carry her uniform in. Her clothes along with her sunglasses made her think that she looked fabulous.
Of course looking fabulous meant nothing if you didn't have anything to do, so she went to a place Marelde recommended to her. She looked at the sign of the tea shop and it read "Yarn Garden" which seemed a comforting enough name for a tea shop. She went inside, trying to think of a good blend to order.
In the end she ordered green tea since she couldn't think of anything else, and after she got her cup of tea, she went outside. In the middle of the shop was a garden with tables and chairs for people to sit at. She went to a small table with only two chairs and sat down.
The extraneous chair made Daisy feel uncomfortable. She feared someone was going to take that as an indicator that they should sit there. She didn't particularly want company especially since it would be fleeting. Only her friends in the Stormguard would be friends for more than today, and none of them were here. She almost felt like destroying the chair, but the tea shop wouldn't like that and she wouldn't do anything people didn't like unless she was under orders.
As Daisy sipped her tea, her fears came true. A man walked over to her table. He was tall, muscular, had a nice chin, a clean shaven face, a tan, and brown hair. He didn't have a teacup but he did gesture to the empty chair and asked, "Would you mind if I sat down?"
She was afraid. This man was a random element and a possible threat. She didn't want company today, especially since she wouldn't be able to keep it. He was rather attractive, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from getting rid of him. "I would mind. Please leave."
The man frowned. "You sound nervous. Am I making you nervous?"
While Daisy had been taught never to let her enemies know her weaknesses, she was going to admit this. She felt safe since she had a certain safety device with her that she knew how to use well. She staked her safety on a fold-up, Halcyon infused sword kept on her back underneath her clothes. Amie suggested she carry it, and she had taken the advice. She said to the man, "Yes, and I'd rather you go."
The man bowed and said, "Then I shall take my leave of you." As he left, Daisy thought he was awfully polite. The Stormqueen's teaching had led her to believe that men were dumb, rough, overbearing, and inferior. Perhaps there was an exception to the rule every now and again, and perhaps that had been him. But she didn't want to waste her time or his seeing as how she would probably not see him again after today.
After she had sipped the last of her tea, she heard some clatter in the tea shop. After that was some shouting and some crying. She did not want to hear such things, and while she felt as though she should interfere, she had no right, no authority, and no orders to interfere in what could be a domestic dispute. She began to hope that the situation would resolve itself for the better, but as she heard a gunshot she realized that wasn't so.
She jumped from her chair and headed indoors, reaching for her sword and pulling off her sunglasses as she did. As she burst in the door, she saw five armed and masked men in the shop. They were either robbers or murderers or both, and she didn't care which. To harm a subject of the Stormqueen was unlawful except by those tasked with keeping the peace, and now she would keep it.
She drew her sword just as one of the thugs took notice of her. She cut him in half with an easy stroke of her blade before he could even point his pistol at her. She then jumped away from him, dodging a bullet from one of them, and slicing another man's spine. She then looked to another of the gunmen and grabbed his hair, pulling his head down with her superior strength and training into a table. They were little threat to Stormguard.
She was unaware of one man's approach until she was being tackled into a wall. "One," she groaned after being smashed into the drywall and leaving a dent. Her head beat and there might have been some bruising, but they would get no blood from a Stormguard. She slashed her opponent's leg and as he fell she stabbed him in the chest.
She staggered as she stood up, her balanced not what it was. She leaned against a chair to get her bearings. The last gunman was pointing his pistol right at her and was well out of sword range. His hand didn't shake; he would kill her if she didn't act fast.
She considered picking up a gun from one of her felled opponents, but she would have to move considerably to get one. She didn't feel well and most likely had a concussion so any large amount of movement would be difficult. She was still Stormguard though, and she wouldn't die like this.
She acted on impulse and threw her sword at the gunman. He dodged out of the way of the blade and stumbled against a chair back. He probably hadn't expected the chair, and as he was disoriented by it, Daisy had enough time to get to a gun.
She dived onto the ground and grabbed a pistol from one of the corpses. She then aimed like Kestrel had taught her to and squeezed the trigger. The last man slammed into the ground and moved no more. The justice of the Stormqueen was carried out.
Daisy tried to stand again, but her bruises and her head didn't want her to. She defied them and got up anyway. She staggered to where her sword lay and picked it up. She'd have to clean it later. She then looked to the woman behind the counter who had given her tea and said, "The Stormguard's apologies for the mess." Daisy left the woman in shock as she exited Yarn Garden.
When Daisy got back to the Stormguard's barracks in Mont Lillie, she had walked off most of her injuries. The Halcyon infused in her blood was enough to heal her bruises and concussion with time. As she walked in she was in the same condition as she left but with new clothes.
Kestrel was the first to greet her. She was cleaning her bow at present, and without looking up from it she asked, "How'd your day go?"
"Fine," Daisy replied.
"Did you like Yarn Garden?" Marelde asked.
"It was fine," Daisy replied. "Nice tea."
"Did you get butter?" Amie asked with her hands caught in a cat's cradle made of magical strings.
Daisy had forgotten Amie's request to get butter. It was common enough for a Stormguard meal to be dull and tasteless, but with a little butter their rations might have been vaguely palatable. And Daisy had forgotten it all so she told Amie ashamedly, "No I didn't."
Amie frowned as her cat's cradle disintegrated. "You didn't get butter?"
"I'll remember next time," Daisy said, trying to make up for it.
"There won't be a next time for a very long time," Amie said with cold anger.
"So you'll get another Stormguard to get your butter," Kestrel said. "Big deal." Amie scowled at Kestrel and summoned up a new cat's cradle. Kestrel then looked to Daisy and said, "You have a new mission."
Daisy stood at attention to receive it. "What is it, ma'am?"
"There's a Halcyon well that needs destroying," Kestrel said. "Are you up for it?"
Daisy did not argue with her orders and said, "As ever."
Alpha is one of my favorite Heroes in Vainglory, and I kinda wanted to write this to state what I thought the random things she said as glitches might have meant. I became invested in the character as soon as I heard her audio clips, and it's lead to this. I probably won't write any more Vainglory, so this is it. I hope you've enjoy and have a good day.
