Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the Original characters that appear. There is no attempt at making money here so please do not sue me.
As Allen held the young girl in his arms Lavi took from him the book and stuffed rabbit. They were quiet as Timcampy appeared before them, Koumi's voice telling them to head to the camp outside the borders of the town. The Finders were there to help them, a little to late now though. As they approached Aurelia began to stir. She had been pulled from a sinking, cold darkness by gentle hands. They were warm and filled with life and when she opened her eyes she met striking amber and then they closed only to open and the scenery gone. She was awake now in Allen's arms.
"What's goin' on?" she murmurs, temporarily forgetting the events and for the moment this was fine.
"We're heading to the camp where the Finder's are. They're here to help us and brief us on what is going on. Don't worry though; they'll help us also find a place for you!" Lavi's voice was cheerful and Aurelia nodded, curled up in Allen's arms and closed her eyes.
Everything felt right at that moment. She felt protected and safe and /loved/.
~'Of course you would. He is ours Aurelia. Our Allen.'~
"We're here," Allen announced and jolted Aurelia who was placed down and steadied her. "Don't worry at all, I promise you it will be fine!" He assures and Aurelia could only nod as she tried to place this empty feeling deep inside of her. The shock had worn off before hand but now she was just left with the sinking feeling of being alone in the world. It wouldn't be to bad, she could easily find a new town and settle there. She had planned for this, they both had. After their father left and it was just the two of them well...there was not much they could do. Alone they could not really support themselves, but if they moved to a new area they could start over.
Now she would have to start over on her own. The camp was set up close to the edge of town and there was little room for talk as a man in similar dress to Allen arrived.
"What exactly happened, Allen? Who is she and what about the innocence?" Roger asked. Lavi by this point had still been holding the items, but Aurelia herself was hiding behind the white haired teen. Oh look more people, just great, what would more monsters appear now? Damn it why did she help them? She was starting to regret even thinking of being at that train station that night. Seriously!
Not even a night of peace and so much had happened. Why did they attack her house? What did her family do? What if it was the town or even God punishing her for her sacrilege? So many thoughts buzzing and she groaned, holding her head. Damn it...
"Aurelia here helped us find a place to stay the night. Everything was fine, however early in the morning we had to leave the inn, due to some problems involving not being able to pay. We eventually found the small house in which Aurelia lived in. While I had gone with the young one into town on request of her mother Lavi and Kanda stayed behind to help around the house. There was no innocence there, however. As the sun began to set and we headed back Level Fours began attacking. They had surrounded the house. Her mother is dead and she has no known families," As he finished he watched as Lavi presented both the book and rabbit.
"These are the only she brought, however I think we keep her. Although she may be a burden now, she has very good skills in other areas. She's able to pinpoint sounds, when she was leading us to the inn I noticed how she would pick up on sounds, she also has a very keen sense of awareness, as it is when she first saw us she was cautious, and of us all was able to react accordingly to our personalities. She's got some talent."
Kanda, of course, just snorted and watched as Roger flipped through the book. The pictures seemed harmless at first but as they continued on became much darker. Frightening almost in its simplistic fashion were the details. He snapped it shut and looked resolute. Yet even he could see that her staying in this town would do no good. Just the way she reacted to the area. She was not being cautious due to them she was being cautious because she didn't want to be discovered, she wanted to stay low key. He understood that need. This event brought her into the light and she didn't want that it seemed. The rabbit was odd though and as Aurelia reached for it saw a brief glow, unseen by the others. The creature pulled roughly from Roger's arms. The poor man was shocked, not expecting the sudden action and dropped the book, which had fallen to reveal a drawing.
A piano.
Odd, that piano looked /real/ familiar.
"I promise she will not be a burden," Allen finally said, "If we could keep her until we could find her a place to live, I think that would be fine, right?"
"Yeah, the town is ready to lynch her really, if you could see half the looks she was given on her way to the inn..."
"I suppose we will talk to Koumi. What else happened? How did the fight with the Akuma go? How many were there?" Roger asked, allowing the two medics to look over the three men and Aurelia. As they explained the fight Roger led both Kanda and Lavi away along with Allen. They had to report to Koumi after all.
Alone now Aurelia held the rabbit close to her chest and hiccupped. A small sob, pushed back came unbidden and despite her best efforts she started to cry. It wasn't that she wanted too, she wanted very much to pretend the death did not affect her but it did. As much as she pretended to be independent, she was not and so this was the scene Allen returned to: A young Aurelia crouched to the ground hugging her rabbit tightly and doing her best to not cry. The depression was rolling waves and it felt so pitiful. Painful. He knew this feeling and he feared that if this continued in the Earl would find them and he was in no state to fight the fucked up Noah.
"Aurelia, you need to stop crying. i know it's hard, but listen to me you have to stop. If you let this continue on people will take advantage of you and use you. Aurelia listen to me. You need to get over her death soon. I know its harsh but crying will not bring her back," he said pulling her into his arms, holding her. "I know what it feels like to lose your only parent… but you need to be strong. I am not saying to smile and bear it but you need to realize that by displaying this side of you people will take advantage of this to twist your mind."
He left out the part about the Earl, best she didn't know after all someone like her would be better off in an orphanage with a kind sister or someone to look after her and not get involved in such a war. Aurelia sighed and calmed down as he held her, a warm feeling spreading through her body as she hummed gently. The soothing sound of his heart beat made her feel safe. The rabbit which was still clutched to her chest had begun to pulse again with the same warm his innocence often gave him. Odd. As he held her he smiled some, doing his best to calm her. Yes. If he could calm her then the Earl would not find them…yet he had this feeling even if they were to hide he would know. They always knew. This thought both frightened him and annoyed him. No matter.
Lavi was off on his own, allowing Kanda to take over. His eye caught sight of Allen with the new charge. He was curious now as to how she would react. Really the idea was just interesting. To see her mature from such a sight would be truly insightful. He saw how Allen had turned out as a result of something similar and now he wondered if Aurelia would follow the same footsteps. To say he didn't care was an understatement: No one should deal with that but as a book keeper he could not help but notice small changes. The finer details, if you will. She was a new puzzle and unlike Kanda or Allen would find a her challenge. Yes. This was a very good thing. He would also like to say he finds her rather cute and hey she's old enough to flirt back right?
As soon as the sobs subsided Aurelia spoke, her voice was hoarse.
"You can let go now…"
"Are you alright now?"
She thought about it and then allowed the lullaby to play itself on loop. Her mother told her once that it was a god luck charm, that by thinking of it all her pain would go away. She frowned and looked up. She was watching over her now.
"Yes…I just need time. I know she is watching me now…I know she will protect me. Mother…she always told me to stand strong matter what and I will. I may not be strong now but I will…I will do my best to continue on."
Allen smiled then, finding it endearing that she would take such a path. She was already on her way to becoming a strong woman.
"Come on Allen, we're going to get ready to leave. Koumi said to bring the girl, we'll keep her until we find her a new home…however if she has innocence or can sync he said we will have to make her into an excorcist, no exceptions." Lavi said in a serious tone, which caused Aurelia to frown heavily.
Did that mean she would have to experience that again? No…it just…she really didn't think she could handle seeing such…creatures and she shuttered at the thought.
"Allen, Lavi and Kanda it's to go, the train will be leaving soon. You and your new charge will be taken back to headquarters, we will be staying behind to clean up this mess. Be safe."
As the four departed Aurelia glanced down at the ground before turning around and picking up the book before speed walking to catch up to the three men. What exactly would happen now?
~'Don't worry, you just need to remain calm. It will be fine. He'll protect you.'~
To this Aurelia glanced over to Allen and smiled gently. Yes, he would protect her and soon enough she would be able to protect herself…still the thought of who that voiced belong to bugged her, yet for the life of her she could not really be bothered. Not now anyway.
A/n: Oh by the way, the plot will begin to take a new turn. This means that certain events will be re-written. Chapters 5-10 will no longer be following close to their counterparts. As stated this story is to be the original storyline that was ignored in favor of Musician's Host. As such I have been slowly re-working the plot in the original story World of Gray to it's more beginning stages. This includes Chiyone being more of a secondary character and not having much of a role other then acting as a "conscious". The storybook for those who have not figured it out are the dreams of Aurelia that she had of Chiyone in Musician's Host. However that story is just that: A dream. However parallels will be heavy due to their closeness in plot elements.
So therefore if you read the older version and notice that things are out of sync or seem to not match up this is why.
I will, also, be taking down the older version after the rest of the chapters are re-written. I am still looking for a beta to bounce ideas from and so if you are interested please do PM me!
Anyway feedback would be loved, and I promise to have 5 and 6 up soon! Sorry it is taking so long, life has left me little time to work on this. Oh and happy Thanksgiving even if I'm a day late!