Yeah! Here's the second chapter! Thanks to all those who have reviewed the last chapter! :DD Reviews help me know how my story is going so far, plus they make me happy.
DISCLAIMER: Okay, I'll say this one last time now, so read carefully! I own nothing in this fic except my SI character.
August 25 2012: CHAPTER TWO RE-WRITTEN
Welcome to Auldrant
Dear the little something that everyone knows as 'Life'. I'm going to begin this mental prayer of mine by thanking you for making me one of the lucky girls out there that has a home and a stable, well-off family that could get me the food, education, entertainment and the lessons on how to be a decent person I needed. I truly am grateful to you in that department and that will never change. Now, though while I appreciate you answering my earlier thoughts on giving me more excitement, this was NOT what I had in mind!
So because of that, screw you! If this is some kind of joke you're playing on me, it's not fucking funny!
We must have been quite the sight, just staring at each other with wide eyes. Both of us were not saying anything, as we both were waiting for the other to make the first move.
A dream. I was so convince that this was just a realistic dream that I was experiencing right now despite the convincing pain in my head. Pinching and twisting a patch of flesh on my arm, even going so far as to dig a nail into it, I was eventually forced to admit that yes… somehow… somehow the entire thing is real. I wasn't imagining that I'm in the middle of a very green forest with someone who was supposed to be a fictional character standing across from me, staring worriedly at how I'm abusing my left arm.
Resisting the urge to go over to Ion to touch his cheeks and prove to myself that he's indeed actually a real person made of flesh and blood like me, I bit my bottom lip and looked away as I stood up. I could give him an automatic apology and walk off towards a random direction.
"Miss? Wait!" I heard footsteps running up behind me as Fon Master Ion followed me from behind. "Where are you going?"
"Home," I found myself answering in all honesty. This is too crazy, but it can't be unsolvable, right? If somehow I found myself from Earth to… to Auldrant, then that must mean that there's a way back. Maybe if I found whatever that led from Earth to this forest and hop into it, I'll be back home, and pretend that none of this has ever happened.
"Where's that?" Ion asked. Dammit, I wanted him to go away. I didn't want to look at him. Seeing someone like him is only cold hard proof that all of this is real. If I accept him, then that would mean accepting this person and this place are all real. The entire damn game is real.
My mind was still dead set on refusing to accept what I have known a long time to be fictional as reality.
I shouldn't answer this kid- no, this illusion. I will not accept hi- it as real. I won't accept it, I refuse to accept it, I will never accept it, dammit!
"Miss?" it asked again, and… and… dammit, don't sound so worried. Don't sound so hurt. Don't keep following me as I walk away. You're not supposed to cause a tug at my heartstrings with your voice alone from how badly I'm treating you and… and… DAMN it all!
Against my better judgment, I felt my resolve breaking like glass into a hundred pieces as I stopped in place, sigh, and turn to face Ion. His wide leaf-green eyes that was filled with so much confusion and worry and warmth and a certain amount of innocence that made him look so so real and so so human felt like a strong punch to my defensive wall of doubt. It shouldn't be so effective, but somehow, it was hard enough to cause a dent in my wall and break a small part of it open for him to enter.
Dammit…
After quickly counting from one to ten just to make sure I stay calm, I took in a shaky breath, let it out as slowly, and then began to speak.
"I'm sorry," I apologized again, managing to make this one sound more genuine than the one I callously threw out before. "Um…"
I brought a hand up to my mouth as I quickly searched for an excuse to explain my behavior. Ugh, I shouldn't be explaining myself to him and I'll probably doubt it later, but… when Ion looked at me with those big eyes, and when I remembered that he was the one who helped me just moments earlier, I felt like I owe him an explanation, at the very least.
Screaming right into someone's face is not something to be proud of, after all. …Now that I thought about it, it's actually very embarrassing. I could only hope that I'm not blushing right now, though I probably am, if the light heat I felt on my face is any indication.
"I… I didn't mean to panic. It's just that-" immediately finding a good lie in my mind to use, I quickly grasped on to it and continued, "-you… you really remind me of someone I know. Someone who's… um… dead."
I suppose that's the half-truth, considering that he died later on in the game.
…The half-truth? Why won't I just tell him the truth? But then again, I could already imagine how THAT will turn out…
"Oh, I was just at my house back on a planet called Earth when I decided to play a game called Tales of the Abyss, which stars you and many others as the main fictional characters. By the way, do you want to know the other spoilers of the game other than the fact that you're going to die?"
…not something that could just be believed like that. As nice as Ion was, I don't think he'll appreciate me more or less saying that his life, action and even personality- among many others- were all predetermined, false and created just for the sake of entertainment. I know that if someone were to tell ME that, I would give them a hard slap and then scream at them for acting arrogant. Even if it's the truth, I'm not that cruel… even if I'm still trying to make sense of all this on top of the headache that still did not fade away.
I'm somehow in a fictional world with a fictional character in front of and talking to me. That kind of thing just shouldn't happen: it's all kinds of impossible! As it is, I don't know what is going the hell on here and how the hell it happened or even why it happened now to me. Even as I said all of that to Ion, I'm still wrapping my head around it all, and thus, our conversation still had that surreal feeling to me.
As I reached up to play with the ends of my hair with the hand that was over my mouth- a nervous habit of mine that I've never really gotten rid of- the worry that was on Ion's face faded away to be replaced with a look of relieved understanding as his posture relaxed.
"Oh, is that true?" he asked, smiling. "I'm so sorry for startling you, then. Oh!" Looking as if he just remembered something, Ion's free hand rose up, and it was then that I noticed for the first time that he was holding onto a pair of rimmed gold-colored glasses.
My glasses. One of the lens were, however, cracked. I'm not a blind person, and though I could still see things clearly, I do need glasses for far distances and for when I'm on the computer and playing games. If I'm sitting at the very back of a classroom, I won't be able to see the writing on the board, and plus, I usually squint at the typed writing on a computer screen. That's how bad my eyesight is without my glasses on.
As I accepted my glasses from him and stare down at them in dismay, Ion gave me a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry. I took them off from your face when I noticed they're broken. I hope I didn't offend you by taking them," he explained.
…
I could only stare at the young boy with my jaw slightly dropped, not believing what I just heard. Not only did he apologize for me screaming at him, but he's also apologizing for doing the sensible thing and taking off a pair of broken glasses from my face in order to avoid giving me the messed-up vision I would have should I keep them on. I'll be taking them off if I had the chance myself, so why was he acting like he's the guilty party? Does he honestly believe that he was in the wrong?
That… personality of his is going to make it more difficult for me to have a blasé attitude about him.
I decided to void my thoughts aloud. "You're apologizing? No, please don't. If anything, I'm the one who should be apologizing for scaring you… in which I already did."
As I folded up my glasses and placed them into my pocket, Ion asked another question. "Are you hurt?"
Am I? I gave myself a once over, just to make sure. Concluding that I wasn't hurt anywhere or have broken anything, I said, "No. I only have a minor headache. Don't worry about it."
"That's a relief." Ion was beaming now and, try as I might, I couldn't help but find the expression adorable on him. "I was worried that you were seriously injured when I found you lying unconscious here. Do you have business here in Cheagle Woods, too?"
Looks like I have no choice. I'm just going to go with the flow since it'll be much easier than struggling against my situation. I don't know what good that will do, but… that's what I'm about to do now. If I make up a lie and a backstory, I'll blend in with this world and stay safe without anyone asking me too many questions I'd rather not answer.
For now, I'll play along. While I'm at it, I'll keep my eyes peeled for the way back home, assuming its right here in Cheagle Woods.
Now… backstory… backstory... ah! I got one! Hopefully it's convincing enough to anyone I might have to tell it to.
"I was on my way to, um, Grand Chokmah," I lied, staring straight at Ion's forehead so I won't have to look into his eyes. "On the way there, somewhere close to here, I got mugged by a bandit. He caught me when I wasn't paying much attention, and kept me at knife-point. Told me he wouldn't hurt me unless I give him everything I had. And, well… I was scared, so I did."
The story I made up would explain why I don't have any traveling gear, supplies and weapon with me. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head in nervousness. "Then… as soon as I handed everything over and he let his guard down, I just ran like hell. I didn't want to risk him killing me, so, um… yeah. Ah… but since I don't have a map…"
"You just ran towards a random direction, and ended up here?" Ion guessed, tilting his head to the side.
When I looked at him more properly, he seemed to be taking everything in. I can't believe he actually believed my story, considering how quickly it was made up on the spot. But then again… didn't Anise once complain about Ion being naïve in the game? Even though I should take it as my good fortune, I actually felt bad for lying to him. He's too good of a kid, really.
"Yeah. I guess I tripped and landed on my head, knocking myself out. Yeah, that's… pretty much what happened. Pretty embarrassing, huh?" I finished, letting out a shaky breath and attempting to look embarrassed with a wane smile.
For all I know, there could be many loopholes in my backstory, but it's really the best one I got at the moment. I bet that if I met someone like, say, Jade first… he would see straight through my lie, and would know straight off that I'm hiding something. Well, too late to change it now. It'll be suspicious if Ion told him one story and I then gave him another… assuming if I'll still be around then, of course. Still, maybe it'd be best if I thought more about my backstory if I wanted to make it believable.
…Speaking of that, I don't have a weapon. What should I do if we encounter any monsters? I stared warily at our surrounding, hoping against all odds that we don't stumble across any.
"My… my weapons were also in my bag when I handed it over to that thief," I said in a low voice. "I don't know what to do if we get into a fight with a monster."
Ion's eyebrows flew up, before looking over to the rest of the forest as if trying to figure out what to do now that he has an unarmed female with him. I can't believe I have to rely on him for protection, but… what else can be done? His artes were powerful, but casting even one would cause him to fall over in fatigue.
Shit… maybe I should grab a tree branch and some stones or something, just so I don't feel useless and actually have a little better chance at defending myself. I think I'll forgive myself if I had to use Ion as a human shield for myself and he ended up getting hurt as a result for my own sake. He had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment.
"Well…" Ion started to say. "I definitely can't let you go all by yourself, especially since you don't have a weapon. I'll do my best to look after you, and take you to Engeve; the closest town here. It's the best I can do, so will that be okay?"
He looked over to me again, looking somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I need to do something here first. Would it be too much trouble if I ask you to come with me for a while? I promise it won't take too long."
I shook my head, smiling reassuringly at him. "It's no problem. It would be wrong if I just ask you to take me there, only for you to come all the way back here soon after you drop me off. I don't want to waste your time. It's fine, really. Just point out a sturdy-looking tree branch to me, and I'll cope somehow."
Ion shot me a grateful look. "Oh, thank you very much. Because I really wanted to know what the cheagles here are doing, and why they were stealing food from Engeve."
I'm not supposed to know this, aren't I? I'm supposed to be a lost traveler who just recently got mugged, so I better stick to my role. I made myself look confused as Ion started to lead me further into the forest. "Stealing food? What do you mean?"
"Recently, the people of Engeve had gotten some of their food supply stolen," Ion explained, holding his rod in front of him. As I walked next to him, the first thing I immediately noticed that Ion and I were almost the same height, with him being only an inch taller than me. That's kind of shocking. How old was he again? Fifteen? Even though I'm older than him by being seventeen-years-old, I'm at the often considered short height of five-foot-three. Hey, it's an Asian chick thing, alright? I'm Thai!
When I was about to pass any, I scooped up as many stones as I could hold in one hand. Since we could get attacked at any time by monsters, I'm feeling rather uneasy about our walk. Hopefully, a stone to the face would be enough to faze them and buy us enough time to outrun them.
"I took a look around in their food storage, and I found a tuft of fur that belongs to a cheagle, so I believe they're the ones responsible for all the thefts that occurred. I came here to find out why they're doing all this: they have more than enough plans and grass to eat here."
I nodded to show that I understood, even though I already know what's going on over at Engeve right about now. Ah, but I need to stick to my story, so I need to pretend that I didn't know anything at all.
"I'm sorry, I believe I didn't get your name yet," Ion said. "I'm Ion, the Fon master of the order of Lorelei."
"I'm Samantha Loy," I said, giving him a smile. "But call me Sam for short if you want."
The sound of rustling in the foliage behind us caught our attention, and I saw Ion tensing up from his place next to me as we both turned to look over our shoulders. The sound of growls reached my ears, and I pulled one of the stones I picked up with my other hand. I held with a fist so tight that my knuckles turned white, and my arm tensed in preparation to throw.
"Wolves," Ion murmured, clutching his rod even tighter when three grey-furred, black-stripped wolves slowly came out from the bushes ahead of us, their sharp canines barred at us with saliva dripping from the roof of their mouths.
I felt my heart start to beat faster at the sight of them, and I found myself start to breathe even faster as well. Inside, I was already panicking.
Oh god, oh god, these are monsters, real live monsters that could rip my apart and probably even eat me alive, oh god, I never fought before, we're gonna die, oh god I only have stones to back me up, what should we do-!?
"D-Do you think… we could o-outrun them… or something…?" I stammered quietly and pathetically to Ion, whose leaf-green eyes were narrowed at the creatures in front of us. No point in pretending, we're both out of our league here.
"I think-" before he could even finish his sentence, I shrieked when one of the wolves had already performed a flying leap towards us, quickly throwing a stone straight at its face in midair and causing it to yelp and crash against the floor we both were previously standing on had we not backpedaled. I threw another stone at the wolf before us, and luck seemed to be on my side today as it caught the blasted thing right in the eye.
"GO! Fuck GO!" I then screamed as I grabbed Ion by the shoulder while the wolf was momentarily fazed, spinning him around and started pulling him along by the arm as I bolted from the area. Though stumbling only once, he quickly picked up the pace and started to run alongside me. Behind us, I could hear ferocious barking and guttural growls as well as swift feet padding against the ground as the wolves gave chase. I did not dare turn around to see how far they were, only running as hard as I could while having a tight hold on Ion's arm enough to probably cut the blood circulation short. As Ion struggled to keep up with my quick speed, I found myself extremely grateful that I often took runs often back home as my main form of exercise, since it will probably be the thing that could save our lives today.
As we burst out into a wide circular clearing, Ion had accidentally tripped over a loose tree root and fell forward with a short cry, inadvertently pulling me back with him since I still had a grip on his arm. As I fell back first to the ground next to Ion- causing a shot of pain to run up my spine-, the stones I had been holding onto in my free had fell out and scattered across the forest ground, rolling away from reach.
"You okay!?" I asked urgently as I pushed myself back up, the panic still obvious in my voice even to my own ears. If only I had a damn weapon to fend the wolves off with at least!
As he pushed his upper body from the ground, Ion nodded in answer to my question, panting a bit from the run. Just as he managed to sit up on his knees, a wolf suddenly jumped out from the foliage we just came from. Both Ion and I ducked down low on the ground as soon as we saw it leap, but the wolf only flew clear over our heads to land effortlessly on the other side: blocking our escape route that way. Soon, the two other wolves arrived as well, seemingly grinning in victory at the meal before them.
Yes… it's over. Not even an hour since I woke up and found myself away from home, and I'm already about to die. Well, I guess this is goodbye. If only I had a chance to say my last words to my family, but now… looks like my last words will be in the form of pained screams as the wolves rip my limbs apart with their sharp canines.
Just as I thought I was about to cry, I heard Ion's determined and fearless voice from his place by my side. "Looks like I have no choice. You might want to close your eyes, as this is going to be rather bright."
I looked over at him with wide eyes. "What?" What is he talking about?
He gave me a smile that's probably meant to be reassuring. "Don't worry. This won't hurt you because I already have you marked."
Marked? What?
…Wait. Isn't that a term in what one of the books in the game use when referring to friendly fire?
Just as I realized what he was about to do, Ion closed his eyes in what seemed like concentration as the wolves started to walk purposely towards us.
Ion then raised his free hand up in the air above his head, the palm of his hand holding onto what seemed to be a bright glowing ball of energy that seemed to get bigger with each heartbeat. Ion allowed the ball of energy in his raised hand to glow stronger for a second longer, and I watched mesmerized as bright runes surrounded the both us as well as the wolves. Just as the wolves launched themselves at us, Ion slammed his hand along with the ball of energy down onto the rune-inscribed ground beneath us.
When he did, a bright wall of glowing energy then enshrouded everything that happened to be inside the rune, and I squeezed my eyes shut in the fear that I might go blind from this spell. As I kept my eyes closed, I heard the wolves howl in pain before suddenly getting cut off as a sound that is similar to a miniature explosion followed… and everything was eerily silent once more.
I slowly opened my eyes, and I gaped at the areas where the wolves once stood just seconds earlier. They were no longer there, with the only thing left in their places and the sign that they had ever existed in the first place were small, smoky craters. Holy crap… that… was…
"It… it's done…" Ion said quietly, sounding a bit out of it.
"Geez… wow, Ion…" I breathed as he stood up, and I did the same as well when I noticed that he's wobbling. Ion took a shaky step forward, but then abruptly leaned to the side and looked upwards-
"Watch out!" I exclaimed in alarm, my eyes widening as my arms quickly shot out to catch Ion by the shoulders as he started to fall backwards, allowing him to lean against me. I then allowed myself to sit again so Ion could lay down and take moment's rest to get back some of his wasted energy. "…Ion… thanks."
Even in his exhausted state, Ion still managed to give a smile that more or less screamed 'no problem' to me. Despite that, I was more worried at how pale his face had become when he had a healthy fairness to his skin prior to using his Daathic Fonic artes.
"I'm… going to assume you don't have any orange gels or anything with you at the moment?" I asked, already fearing the most likely answer that's to come out of his mouth… assuming he had the strength for even that.
It seemed that he doesn't however, for the green-haired boy only weakly shook his head in response as he closed his eyes and continued to breathe heavily.
"Thought I didn't need them," he managed to get out. "They're… all with A- my guardian…"
For the love of- how can you be so naïve!? Thankfully, I didn't say that aloud, but I did bite my lip in frustration at the kid for being so ill-prepared for a dangerous trip alone. It's unsurprising though, considering his character. But still, it's annoying especially when his health was at stake.
I wasn't sure if my thoughts reflected across my face or if Ion's just a good guesser, but he shook his head again. "I'm okay. Just give me a minute to recuperate?" I believe him, because he's already sounding a bit better. And I don't know why he worded his sentence into a question as if he needed my permission to rest or not, considering that he's technically a much higher rank than I am in this world. Still, I gave him a nod to let him know that he could rest as long as he needed.
"HEY!" A young male's voice suddenly called out as the sound of rushing footsteps rushed towards us. My eyes widened immediately when I recognized that voice… and the scene that was about to occur. Sure enough, my assumptions were proven to be correct when two certain people arrived at the scene, identical looks of panic and worry on their faces.
One of them was a beautiful and slender woman with a large bust made more prominent by the tight attire she wore. Her straight light-brown hair reached all the way to her lower waist and covering one of her blue eyes completely. She wore a sleeveless dark-brown, high-collared dress that reached to her knees, though the 'skirt' was cut up all the way up to her thighs in slits that seemed like a 'swallow-tail' design to me: probably so that she could run around more easily in it. Three pale-yellow vertical lines at the centre of her dress ran from the collar to the very bottom, making the dress seem to have the design of a violin. She wore matching gloves and boots that both ended with white tips, and long dark red socks that went past her knees, which were both wrapped with garter belts holding her throwing knives. In her right hand, she carries a staff with a sharp blade at the tip, which reminded me somewhat of a spear.
The other person was a lean male with green eyes, and long bright-red hair that reached all the way down to his tailbone. His bangs were spiky and nearly fell into his face. He wore a white coat with orange trimmings that exposes much of his stomach- showing off his six-pack abs- and he seemed to be wearing a black shirt or something underneath it. He wore black pants with brown, fingerless gloves that were wrapped around his wrists with a belt that was a lighter brown in color. Behind his waist, a sword's sheath was attached there; probably with help from his belt. Dark-red boots finished the entire outfit off.
Tear Grants and Luke fon Fabre: the main heroine and hero of the game respectively as well as future lovers.
As soon as they were right in front of us, after passing me a glance of curiosity, Tear immediately knelt down right in front of me to examine Ion's physical state. Her hands were out in a manner that showed that she's more than ready to heal if necessary.
"Hey, are you okay?" Luke asked with a frown. He was looking back and forth between Ion and I, as if wary that we're both going to faint from trauma or something. Or maybe he looked wary because of the way I'm staring at him and Tear, engraining their profiles deep into my mind even more so now that I was seeing them in the flesh instead of behind a television screen as pixels. I suppose I was in awe… starstruck even, I suppose. Who wouldn't be? I'm in the presence of two future heroes of the world here.
The full reality of my situation returned in full force now that I've met the two of them. Once again, like my meeting with Ion earlier, everything felt so surreal again. The pain I've gotten while here… from my headache, from my abuse on my own arm, from the fall I took earlier with Ion… all of those were telling me that no, I'm still not in a state of sleep where I'm dreaming this all up. This is all real, all so damn real, and I better believe it and accept it.
I almost didn't want to. I shouldn't accept it. But… with all the proof shown to me earlier… and with all the proof that were right in front of me now… do I have any reason to continue denying all this? Should I just accept it all after all? Continuing to deny it would be the same as lying to myself, wouldn't it?
Either way, my first priority is to find the way back home in this stupid forest. I need to continue to play along. I turned my attention back to Ion as he started to shift.
"I-I'm fine," Ion answered as he stood up with some help from both Tear and I. "I just used too strong a Daathic fonic arte…"
"Don't strain yourself," I told him quietly, letting go of his shoulders when I was sure he wasn't about to trip anytime soon. Though his energy was back, he still looked rather pale. Best to continue to keep at least one eye on him.
"Don't worry, I won't," Ion promised with a soft chuckle. "Thanks for your concern, though." It was then that Ion had finally gotten a good look at the two new arrivals. "Oh, you're the two from Engeve yesterday…"
"I'm Luke," Luke said in introduction. He didn't hold a hand out in the customary handshake like I'm used to see most people do, but kept them by his sides. I guess nobles in this world bow to each other in greeting? Or was Luke just that arrogant? Or was he just unused to doing it?
"Luke," Ion repeated, before giving the redhead a smile of agreement, "…that means 'light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian. That's a nice name."
From the way his face quickly went red, it was as if someone had swiped a blush of red powder at it. "Yeah, well-" clearly in an attempt to switch the attention from himself, he quickly looked over to me and pointed in an almost accusatory manner, "-who's the chick? Another one of those guardians of yours?"
Seeing as I still couldn't believe the hero of the game was talking to me, I quickly took in a deep breath and answered. "I'm Samantha."
Flicking his eyes over to the rest of my body, Luke raised an eyebrow at me. "You dress weird. Did you come from underground or something?" he asked with clear distaste.
…The awe I mentioned earlier when I met Luke and Tear? Yeah, it's gone now. It gave me a wave goodbye before jumping straight out of the window and running straight for the hills, leaving me alone with just my feelings of embarrassment and annoyance.
As Tear scolded him for his manners, I felt my face heat up as I self-consciously crossed my arms across my chest when I remembered what exactly it was I'm wearing. Out of all the times for these people to meet me, it just had to be on one of my 'dress down' days. As much as Luke had quickly gotten me irked with his blatant observation, I can't say that he was completely wrong on my current attire either. I had on a loose brown blouse that flared out below the bust line that covered much of my torso down to the waist. Along with that, I had on a pair of camouflage pants and my red indoor rubber sandals that had golden leaf designs in the interior, though no one would notice them unless I take my sandals off.
Not exactly something I would wear to go outside either seeing how unflattering it looked. But as usual, I didn't plan on going out when I was brought to this place, and hey- it's not like no one would see me, right? Oh, how I now regret that frame of thought. Well, it could be worse, I suppose. I could be wearing one of my cartoon T-shirts or a mini-skirt that showed off much of my legs. Though I felt only a little better at that thought, I still felt that I could somehow switch outfits right then and there.
"Please excuse him," Tear apologized to me. "He's not exactly the most kind of people."
"You're not so better off yourself," Luke retorted at the melodist, glaring at an innocent tree trunk some distance away with his arms crossed.
Tear let out a sigh before turning back to Ion, an air of polite formality now around her as she introduced herself. "I'm Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants. 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command."
I couldn't help but smile at that. "That greeting's quite a mouthful, don't you think?"
Tear faltered a bit at that, looking a little embarrassed. "Well… I believe that's the proper way to introduce myself to the Fon Master…"
I quickly waved a hand to reassure her. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm just joking, joking. Alright?"
Ion was staring at the melodist with wide eyes, looking pleasantly surprised. "Ah, you're Van's younger sister." Luke abruptly turned to face Tear with a look of shock at the revelation, his jaw hanging open. "I've heard of you. This is the first time we've met, isn't it?"
Still incredulous at what he just heard, Luke quickly cut in with a raised finger pointed at the melodist. "You're Master Van's sister!?" He glared at the female with accusing animosity, with a hint of disgust even. "Then what was with you trying to kill him!?" He demanded angrily, but Tear only looked away from his burning gaze.
Ion looked horrified at what he just heard, staring wide-eyed at Tear. "'Kill him…?" he repeated. Crossing my arms, I looked away to stare out at the forest as I waited for the conversation I know the lines to to end. This would be really like the game, won't it? If it went exactly as planned, then a cheagle would be coming out any moment now. I'm more curious to see what they look like instead of the conversation I've already seen and heard. I don't think I'll contribute much to it anyway. At least, not without looking suspicious.
"Sorry, it's nothing. Just something between us," Tear said as she tried to get to issue to drop. Luke would have none of it however.
"Don't try to avoid the question!" Luke ordered in a yell. "If you're his sister, why are you trying to kill him!?"
Oh, hello. What's that over there? Squinting- darn my eyesight- at a brush of bush in the distance up ahead as it rustled, I waited. I have a feeling that's exactly what I think it was. Come on…
"It's… I…" Tear hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.
I didn't meant to, I really didn't… but I had accidentally interrupted the trio's conversation when I couldn't help but let out a loud squeal at the sight of the yellow cheagle when it finally emerged from the bush, its bushy ears flipping up and down as it cocked its head this way and that at our direction.
The cheagle almost resembled a rabbit in most physical aspects, but still different. Its huge ears that popped u from either sides of its head looked quite poofy, and the tiny creature stood on its two white and tiny hind-legs. While most of its entire body was covered in light yellow fur, the tips of its bushy ears, its paws, feet and tummy were covered with white fur. They look a lot more cute in real life than I remember them being in the game.
"Gah, what's wrong with you?" I heard Luke demand angrily from behind me. I raised a finger to point it at the fluffy creature up ahead.
"It's a cheagle," I informed without turning around, still smiling in adoration at it. Yes, I like cute things, sue me. "It's soo cute…!"
"What?" I found myself stumbling when Luke abruptly pushed me aside from behind, stepping forward so he could see what I could see. I couldn't help but glare at him when I regained my balance, but he didn't even spare me a glance as his full attention was now on the yellow cheagle.
Really, would it kill him to move to my side?
When the cheagle noticed us staring at it, it let out a tiny sound we could somehow manage to hear before hopping away.
"So they do live here! Come on, we're gonna catch that thing!" Luke declared, quickly forgetting about what he had been previously talking to Tear about.
"Hey, are you really going to hurt it?" I asked, but Luke had already ran off. "Hey!"
"I'm not gonna hurt it; I'm just going to grab it and hand it over to the villagers!" Luke yelled back as he continued to run.
Should I follow him? No, better yet: should I follow this group to the cheagle tree?
…Wait, why shouldn't I? There were more benefits in hanging out with the group than staying alone. For one thing, both Tear and Luke could protect me. Luke might not like it, but if I told the story I told Ion to them, I don't think Tear would want to leave me alone. I could cover more ground in Cheagle Woods with them as they'll be walking around in search for where the cheagles live. I could find the gateway or hole or whatever the hell it was that would lead me back home. I'll try to find a way to separate myself from the group if and when I do. The last thing I need was for them to follow me. …Huh… that sounded a little manipulative of me, but it can't be helped. I would rather be safe than play nice when it would only get me killed in the end.
With that in mind, I quickly ran after Luke before he could get his hands on the cheagle and strangle it or something. Being the victim of falsely accused theft, albeit unintentionally, I knew that Luke's still rather ticked about the fact that the real culprits were running around free here. There's no telling what he'll do once he gets his hands on one early, considering his temper, no matter what he says.
As I ran, I briefly looked over my shoulder and noticed that Tear and Ion had not yet followed us. They were still at the same spot where we left them, talking to each other still. Crap, the last thing we needed at this point is to be separated from them. Luke had yet to notice that they're still at the same spot we left them.
As I turned my head to face the front of me, I suddenly found myself bodily hitting into something. As I stumbled back, I was greeted with the familiar visage of black face of a fanged demonic monster with a detached jaw on a white background. The monster imprint on the back of Luke's white coat.
"Watch where you're going, cave girl!" Luke snapped as he turned to glare at me over his shoulder, his scowl deep.
"Sorry. But Tear and Ion are still back there," I said, trying to ignore the insulting nickname. I wanted to tell him that I already gave him my name, but if he's refusing to use it, I don't think I can convince him otherwise being the stubborn and arrogant person he was. Hopefully, he'll get bored of it soon enough.
"HEY!" Luke shouted over to the two that were left behind as loud as he could, so that he could project his voice all the way to where they were standing. I winced as his voice pierced through my eardrums, as I was standing right next to him. I quickly clapped my hands over my ears before he could shout again. "It's going to get away!"
I saw Tear and Ion exchanging a few more short words with each other before they started to walk towards us. Noticing that they were taking their time, Luke let out an agitated huff.
"Hurry up!" he whined, crossing his arms and tapping his feet impatiently. "If you two are not going to hurry up, I'll go ahead and leave you guys behind! And you!" Luke suddenly pushed me into the shoulder, causing me to stumble in place. Damn, he's stronger than I thought! "You're with Ion, right? So you're coming with us?"
"No, I'm… not with Ion," I admitted, rubbing the spot where he pushed me. "But I'm coming with you anyway. Hope you don't mind. I… have business here, too."
"Fine. Whatever. For now, just help me catch that cheagle and a few others if you want to be useful. I want to catch as many as I can. You can deal with your business later when we're done. That's an order." With that, Luke flicked a wrist dismissively at me just as Ion and Tear finally joined us. "It's about time you got here! I swear a turtle moves faster than you two!"
What am I getting myself deeper into…? Hopefully I'll be gone by the time they have to go to the liger queen's den.
Wow… I actually updated in a span of one day after my last chapter. Luckily to all you reading this, I had a lot of free time, so I started writing on the second chapter.
Don't forget to review on your way out and tell me what you think of the story so far! XDD Ciao, ciao~!