Gusting through the Lanes

The city of Elze met the breaking dawn that greeted the new day, showering the land with a slow, but warming ray as the darkness slowly receded. Heroes Lane, in particular, was the first to feel the warmth, as the open area of the park made it possible for the early break to cover the land. The Protector was the only shelter that still provided the cool shade.

At the edge of the city's green park, a green clad woman was stretching herself before her jog. Dressed in a green track suit, the self-proclaimed "proud ginger" had just finished her stretching routine, before putting on green earbuds and tightening the laces of her shoes. When she made sure that everything was perfect, she played a song in the background as she started sprinting.

With the clear lanes thanks to the early weekdays, Lyralei jogged through with no hitch, enjoying the one kind of solitude she would embrace. The only type of people that would greet her were the homeless, people returning from the grave shift, or other rather peculiar early risers. She paid them no attention, though, for she was focused in her own thoughts.

Despite her fit physique, Lyralei seldom jogged unless she needed to work something out on her own, and this particular problem involved her introverted roommate. She's been putting all her energy in not only getting Traxex to "loosen up", but also to get closer with said roommate; but Lyralei feels like all her efforts are falling short. She was exhausted just thinking of her "failures".

While her mind was somewhere else, Lyralei failed to notice the pebbles on the ground, sending her tripping down on the ground. She braced her fall with her elbows, taking the time to catch her breath before getting herself back up. But she was surprised when a gloved hand appeared in front of her face, looking up to see a man clad in red and black, top heavy with a vest that did little to cover the scars that were laden across his torso. His face was even more scarred than the rest of his body. A soft, somewhat sinister smile formed as their eyes met contact.

Before Lyralei could say anything, the man grabbed her hand and pulled body her up. "Oh my, that must have been a terrible fall." He said, his voice sounding mashed with different tones. Lyralei could only guess that the man was speaking with a voice box.

Although deeply annoyed, she took off her earbuds and put on her brightest smile, giving the man a word of gratitude. "Thanks, but I really have to get going. Can't stop my momentum!"

"Oh, of course! Pardon me." He sidestepped, giving room for Lyralei, but he grabbed her arm before she could run off. "May I know your name?"

"What? Why?" Lyralei asked incredulously.

"Why, I would just love to get to know the lovely leaf that blew by." The man chuckled, and Lyralei could've swore that his voice sounded like a woman's.

"Charming." Lyralei replied sarcastically. "What are you, a poet?"

"A poet. Also a painter. And a writer. A musician. Even an actor." The man took out his wallet and drew a card from it. "I am just a humble artist that wants to be acknowledge by the world for my talents." With the card in his hand, he offered it to Lyralei.

"What an admirable goal." She said, but before she could take the card, someone crashed into her, bringing her into a tight hug.

"Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Lyralei turned to face who tackled here, and was surprised to see a lithe woman with hair as bright as the sun, putting hers to shame. Wearing a lime green tanktop and blue jeans, the woman turned to face the man. "I'm sorry I have to cut your meeting short, Nevermore, but I must take my friend and leave."

"Oh, by all means, don't let me hold you ladies back." Just as they were about to leave, Lyralei gasped as she felt the man's hand touching, feeling her hair. He gave her hair a whiff, letting out a breath of ecstasy. "Hm, I guess gingers do have souls…" The man gave a deep chuckle as they further distanced themselves from him.

When they were a safe distance from him, Lyralei's tackler breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close." She told Lyralei.

"What the hell was that?! Who was he?!" Lyralei demanded, still disturbed at what had just transpired. Then her eyes fell on the other woman's form. "Who are you?!"

"I, am the person that just saved your tight ass." Putting her hand on Lyralei's shoulder, she continued. "I'm also a vet."

The vet looked around the park, still weary of her surroundings. Lyralei could only glare at her, more annoyed that the vet wasn't answering her first questions. When the vet's eyes fell on Lyralei, a look of surprise replaced her relief. "What's wrong?" she asked with genuine concern.

"What's wrong? You still haven't told me what the hell just happened!" she bursted, the vet jerking away. "And who the hell was that guy?!"

"Look, calm down, and I'll explain everything. As much as I can." She waited for Lyralei to cool down, which didn't take too long. "Better?" Lyralei nodded, signaling the vet to go on about her explanation. "Look, red, you don't want to get involved with that guy. There's a lot of talk that talented people "disappear" when they come into contact with him."

"What do you mean? Is he a serial killer?" Lyralei questioned, now eager to find out what the man truly was.

The vet shook her head and shrugged. "I'm not sure of it myself. But, from what I've gathered, is that this man, Nevermore, is affiliated with the Angelo family."

"Angelo family? You mean that crime boss?" Lyralei asked, with the vet nodding in response. "Ugh, that's disgusting." Lyralei said, her face contorting as the words left her mouth. But then she suddenly turned to the vet. "You seemed to really know who he was, though. When you pulled me out." She saw the vet fidget around where she stood. "Why are you acting dumb?"

The vet sighed defeatedly. "Alright, you got me." She responded with her arms in the air. "I've been in contact with him, yes. But he doesn't remember me. At all." She grabbed hold of Lyralei's shoulders, pinning the ginger on the spot. "Look, just trust me. Don't ever think of going near him."

With apprehension, Lyralei took the vet's advice with a nod, although she was still weary with the help she got from a complete stranger. "Well, thanks, I guess…" Lyralei brushed the dust and dirt off of her, but she realized that the vet was still staring at her. "What?"

A sad sigh escaped the vet's lips. "I'm just glad he didn't take another person with him."

Seeing the vet set her rear on the grass, Lyralei's thoughts were no longer on her problems, but on what the vet was implicating. So, with her curiosity getting the better of her, she joined the vet on the ground.

"How come you know so much about him?" she asked the vet.

"I told you, red. I've been in contact with him." Guilt flashed before the vet's eyes. "Actually, more so with the Angelo family. I was in their leash for years. I'm just glad I don't have to put up with them anymore."

"How come you've never been this artist' victim?"

The vet shrugged. "I guess I just don't interest him."

Lyralei didn't respond, as she couldn't think of a way to shift the topic. Luckily for her, the vet took the initiative, standing up and giving Lyralei one last wave goodbye. "Be careful, red. Oh, if you have any pets, you can bring them to me! I work at the zoo!" she said, before running off into the distance.

Lyralei could only look on in awe, still finding the last half hour of her life hard to believe. With the vet's warning in mind, her thoughts came back to her original problems, and her initial intention on why she was jogging in the first place. So she got up, put her earbuds back on, and jogged on.

As time flew by, she realized that she was nearing a third of her intended route, opting to rest for a brief second, leaning on a nearby tree under its shade. At that moment she regretted not bringing some form of nourishment to sustain herself. She looked around the park, hoping to find some street vendor that could help her out, but her eyes fell on something even better.

Two sophomores that just so happened to be Lanaya's friends were sparring, but as she focused on them, she realized that in actuality, one of them was teaching the other the basics of self defense. The masked one was helping his friend up, looking beaten and battered from the exertion. She made her way towards them, with one particular goal in mind.

"Hey guys!" both Yurnero and Jah'rakal turning to face the person that greeted them. "You're Lanaya's friends, right?"

"Yeah. Who the hell are you?" Jah'rakal responded with venom, wincing as he felt pain in his abdomen.

"She's a senior, Jah'rakal. You ought to know that." Yurnero warned his friend.

"Why would I know that? It's not like she's the most important person in my life." Jah'rakal laid himself on the ground, oblivious to the glare that Lyralei gave him.

She shook the negative emotions off of her, and turned to face the more sensible of the two. "I see you two have been working out." Her eyes darted around the area, looking for something. "Did you come prepared?"

"Prepared for what?" Yurnero asked, still confused at what the senior was hinting at.

Lyralei sighed, rolling her eyes at her failed attempt in subtlety. "Do you have any water?"

"Oh…" Yurnero went to his bag and pulled out an unopened bottle of water, throwing it at the senior. "We have extras. You can take it."

"Thanks, kouhai-kun!" Lyralei smiled inwardly when she saw the masked sophomore flinch, before turning around and continuing her run with the newly acquired bottle in her hands.

The rest of her jog went by with no hitch or complication, although it did nothing to soothe her problems, as every second she spent thinking about it made her jog become a burden to her, as even though her body was accustomed to the exertion, her mind was the one that's getting exhausted. It was no surprise that she was now laying on the grass, staring up at the sky as the sun slowly rose. The only thing that made her jog bearable as of the moment was the lack of people in the park, courtesy of the weekday.

She pushed herself up, leaning with her arms to see the few people that were around; the acclaimed Guard Captain sitting on one of the park benches with a red hooded man standing in front of her. Both of them were having a heated conversation, moderated by a man with a red scarf and a scar down his eye.

During this, Lyralei heard the cries of an old man coming from somewhere not too far from where she was. Feeling that she couldn't deal with her internal problems as of the moment, she decided on making her way towards the cries, hoping it would keep her mind off of things.

Finding the source wasn't too hard, as the cries led her to a frail looking old man dressed in a white jacket and beige slacks. He was pushing a white bicycle next to him, with the basket attached to it holding bottles of odd, glowing water.

"Do you need some help, mister?" Lyralei offered.

The old man turned to face her, a bright smile forming on his face. "Oh, I'd be delighted with the help, young lady." He mouthed his relief to the skies, before facing Lyralei again. "I am looking for my older sister. She has been in this park since the night before."

"Do you know any specific place that she might be?"

The old man shook his head. "No. If I did, I wouldn't be in this situation." The old man looked agitated, as a thought came to him. "I really need to find her right away."

Lyralei giggled, seeing the old man's agitation and being unaccustomed to such a sight. "Alright, mister. What does she look like?"

"She's dressed in a blue colored priestess' robes."

With the description she needed, Lyralei set off to find the old man's older sister. But such a feat was easier said than done, as despite the fact that it was easier to single out the few that were in Heroes Lane that morning, it also meant that it was easy to see that the person the old man was looking for just so happened to be nowhere in the vicinity.

Because of that, her search took longer than she expected, ending up sitting on a small dock with her feet soaking in the park's lake. Her lack of success lead to her already dismal mood to plummet further. She looked at her feet under the water, finding some minor joy in splashing her feet around.

She sighed dejectedly, feeling lower than she wanted on this early morning. "I shouldn't have jogged." She said, voicing her thoughts to no one in particular.

"Is something the matter, dear?" she heard an airy voice call out behind her. Lyralei turned to her side to see the person join her on the dock.

Lyralei's eyes widened in awe, seeing a woman looking as ethereal as her voice; alabaster skin and hair reaching her waist as white as snow emphasizing how youthful she looked. The woman was dressed in an odd looking aqua-colored robe, with a thin material that shouldn't cover much, but Lyralei couldn't see anything underneath. Her blue, almost glowing eyes conveyed an age backed with wisdom, as she looked at Lyralei with understanding.

"You seem to be troubled, child." The woman asked again. "Is there anything I can do?"

Lyralei shook her head. "No, I don't think there is. But thank you for your concern."

Lyralei was about to get up, when the woman's warm hand touched her shoulder. "Please. I can still provide an ear; it pains me to see someone so distressed."

Lyralei smiled at the strange woman's kindness, and sat herself back down. They sat next to each other in silence, as the woman waited for Lyralei to let out her grievances to the world. And with a sigh, Lyralei began her little story.

"For the past few months, I've been trying to get close with my roommate. Making plans for the both of us, getting to know her; understand her, and just generally trying to get her to open up to everyone as well. But…" Lyralei let out a sad sigh. "it feels like I've just hit a brick wall. It's hard to get her around, and it feels like I'm just making her hate me."

"So, with these things in my head, I went for a jog this morning so I could settle them down, but I ended up not getting anything accomplished. I tried doing other things when it didn't pan out, like helping this old man find his older sister; which, by the way, sounds totally weird," the woman giggled at Lyralei's side comment. "but, even this isn't getting me anywhere."

Lyralei looked at the woman, getting sympathy from the woman's eyes. "I guess, it just sucks. I just wanted to settle things down; didn't expect it all to just go to shit, you know?"

"I think you need to give your friend a chance to respond." The woman held Lyralei's hand with both of hers, warming Lyralei with her touch. "She might be overwhelmed by your advances, but I'm sure she appreciates them. Maybe, if you go and give her some time, she can appear out of nowhere and finally repay you in kind."

Lyralei could only look into the woman's eyes, a relieved smile on her face as she felt the weight finally lifted off her shoulders, just from talking with the woman. "If only. Traxex's been very closed off since I don't know when. But thank you for your kind words, miss…"

"Io." The woman answered with a smile. "Priestess Io."

"Priestess?" the woman nodded. "Oh, the old woman I'm looking for is supposed to be a priestess. Have you seen someone like her?"

"I don't know." The priestess answered. "I'm the only priestess here in this park." A dejected look replaced Lyralei's hopeful expression, and the priestess noticed it. "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure things will work out."

Before Lyralei could respond, the sound of a bicycle's bell ringing near them caught their attention, the both of them turning their heads to see the old man Lyralei talked to earlier. He was making his way towards them, Lyralei already thinking of an apology.

"I'm sorry, mister, I couldn't fi…" Lyralei was cut off by the old man.

"Io!" the old man got off his bicycle and moved towards the priestess, bringing her into a hug. "I have been looking everywhere."

"Oh, younger brother. You're always such a worry wart." The priestess replied, returning the hug.

The old man turned to a flabbergasted Lyralei, her jaw on the ground in shock. "Thank you for finding her, Lyralei. Your help is greatly appreciated for all eternity."

"Uh, you're welcome…" a nervous laugh escaped her lips, but she furrowed her brows when something crossed her mind. "Wait… how do you know my name?" she asked the old man.

Both the old man and the young-looking priestess looked at each other, a knowing smile on their faces. They looked back at Lyralei. "That, is a question that has no answer, Lyralei." The priestess said cryptically.

She giggled at the face Lyralei was giving them. Seeing this as well, the old man took one of the bottles on his bicycle, handing it to Lyralei. "This will give you clarity of the mind."

"Ugh, thanks…"

"No, thank you." the old man got back on his bicycle, motioning the priestess to join him. "Come, Io. Nessaj will surely have a word or two for us."

"Ah, yes." The priestess got on the back of the bicycle. "Our oldest brother is known for his sternness." She looked at Lyralei before they left. "Remember, Lyralei. Give her some time, and soon she will show you the her gratitude for your advances." Lyralei slowly nodded at the priestess' words. "Good. Now, let's go, Ezalor. We shan't keep our brother waiting."

Lyralei sat at the dock, her eyes still locked on the retreating figures on the bicycle, the shock not yet leaving her system yet. But, with renewed vigor she got from the priestess' words, and a sip from the old man's bottle of water, she got up and took her path again, finishing her route to get the rest of her day started. Although her initial problems weren't resolved, she finished the rest of her jog in high spirits, hopeful of what could possibly happen in the near future.

Now it was reaching midday, with Lyralei resting on a park bench, finishing the drink she got before. She took off her shoes and her jacket, embracing the wind as if it was a long lost sister. She was in her own little world; to the point that she did not notice someone had joined her on the bench.

"Hey Lyralei…" Lyralei's eyes flashed open in surprise, turning her head to greet a certain introverted roommate. "Are you alright?"

"Traxex? What are you doing here?" she asked disbelievingly.

A blush formed on Traxex's face, turning her gaze away from her roommate. "Lanaya told me that you went jogging before dawn. And I know, that you only jog when there's something troubling you."

Lyralei felt her heart flutter, not expecting Traxex to knew of the little fact about her.

"So, what's wrong?" Traxex asked again with concern.

Lyralei wiped her eyes of the few tears that managed to break way. "Nothing. Not anymore." She said, earning a relieved smile from Traxex. Standing up, she had a new plan in mind. "Come! Let's get some breakfast!"

"Breakfast? It's past 11." Traxex rebutted.

"Fine, let's get some brunch! Pleeeaasse?" Lyralei begged, drawing out the words. Although hesitating, Traxex nodded with a smile. "Yay! Let's get some food, Tra-chan!"

"Oh, no. Don't call me that." Traxex complained.

"Nope." Lyralei responded, pulling Traxex off of the bench and wrapping their arms together.

"Aw, Lyralei, you stink!"

"That's the smell of my morning jog! It'll wear out soon enough."

And so, with Lyralei's jog ending better than she could ever hope for, she brought the protesting Traxex along with her for the brunch she had agreed on. Through this, she silently thanked the priestess for her clairvoyance, hoping to find her again, if only just to thank her.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

back, with more!

first of, i'd like to give a shout out to the Knight in Blackest Armor for the concept of Io (and Enigma, but we'll get to that in a later chapter.) thanks dude! i owe you one!

and, surprise surprise, this chapter lacks any of our protagonists (barring an in name only cameo from Lanaya), focusing instead on our extroverted senior.

hope you guys enjoyed it!