AN: I've been wanting to do a 50 theme challenge for a while, so here we go. I hope I actually manage to finish this, haha.
1. Introduction
"This is stupid." A little girl. The fancy dress looks, feels, wrong on her. Her hands are scarred in a way no noblewoman's should be, her knees scrapped from running and tripping that she shouldn't be doing.
"This is stupid." She says again. But then, there's a flash of brown and gray fur, a rustle in the bushes, and she gasps, excitement evident. She races after the creature, but it's too fast, she can just barely keep up. She loses it, and growls in frustration.
She stands still now, angrily regarding the shrubbery around her, as if it could tell her where her pet had gone. Then another rustle, and she immediately races towards it. She spots the animal hiding behind a bush, and she pounces on it. But she misses, and when she lands on the ground on the other side, her dress has another tear in it and she has two new cuts and a whole lot of dirt all over. Laying there, flat on her stomach, she buries her face in her arms and almost screams in frustration. But then, someone chuckles. Someone close. It's a warm, comforting sound. She looks up. A boy. Navy blue hair tied back in a loose, and very short, ponytail. Unlike her, he looks perfectly natural in his fancy clothes, and everything about him screams cleanliness, order. Control. Her very opposite. Cradled in his hands, a squirrel. She gasps, and opens her mouth, but before she can accuse him of stealing her pet, he holds it out to her. She closes her mouth stupidly, then reaches out and scoops up the bundle of fur in her own hands. It squeaks and nuzzles into her hand.
Then, the boy is turning. Leaving.
"Wait!" Crying out, she stands, too quickly. Red hair, once braided but long since come loose, flares in a wind that's hardly there. She reaches out, stumbles, falls again and just barely catches herself. "What's your name?"
A pause. Then,
"Ronan."