HOLD IT!

Before you read this any further, it is highly recommended that you read the original Requiem for an Adventurer, and the story set between it and this one, The Letter. If you have not done so for either, it's likely you'll find yourself more than a little lost on some of the plot points and motivations that occur or are brought up.

As an additional disclaimer, just as its predecessor, this story contains a number of themes and elements not suitable for younger readers or those turned off by darkfics. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

If you have already read the aforementioned preceding stories, feel free to go on.

If anything comes across as inaccurate during Season 2 (The Librarian's true name, for instance), keep in mind that this is a completely separate universe conceived and written well before its' premiere.

jdubbam Presents

In Association with Newgame+LD

Requiem II: Shattered Connections

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

- Jane Howard

- Prologue: The Wildboy -

Trolberg

24 Years In The Past - Evening

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the city usually this... proactive?"

A blue-haired man gave a slight chuckle in response to the question. Perched on the top of his shoulders was his son, Tobias who inherited his father's hair color, though at a darker shade of blue. Accompanying them both was the man's wife.

"Depends on how you define the term. If you ask me, far from it. But that's what makes this such a special occasion."

Occupying the surrounding streets were floats, performers, and many a buzzing family, three signs that could only ever point to one thing - the day of Trolberg's storied, yearly Bird Parade. The three, having been living in a cabin in the wilderness built by Tobias' grandfather, had decided to come and see it for themselves.

"What do you think, sweetie?" Tobias's mum asked.

"I wouldn't say a lot of things stack up with the wilderness... but I'd have to say this comes pretty close." Tobias replied, amazed by the amount of work and excitement he was witnessing.

"Heh. And to think you had your reservations." Tobias's dad quipped.

"I had them for a reason, you know." Tobias joked back, laughing as his father ruffled his hair playfully.

"You know, the parade doesn't start until a few more hours. Why don't we look around in the meantime?" Tobias's mum suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Tobias's dad said as he placed his son down.

As the three went off to traverse Trolberg, they were forced to wade through the increasingly busy crowd. Being eleven years of age, Tobias was obviously quite shorter than his parents, so it was a bit more difficult for him to see through a large crowd. The reason he had even gotten on his dad's shoulders was so that he could get a better view of the preparations.

The thing was, this was the first experience Tobias even had being around so many people - something that would prove to throw him off course.

Going around a corner, Tobias got the feeling that he had already been to it. But he was in for a much greater shock when he turned around, expecting to see his parents and ask them whether or not they were headed in the right way…

...only to find that they were nowhere to be seen. Tobias didn't know exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line, he had been separated from his parents.

Panic briefly enveloped the boy's mind, but he tried to keep calm. Hopefully, his parents had to have noticed that he was gone by now. Going off of that, it was also likely they were just as worried, going around asking anyone if they had seen him.

So by that logic… if he went around asking anyone if they had seen his parents, surely one of them would be kind enough to lead him to enough. And it wasn't like he or his father were particularly hard to miss once you caught a glimpse of them - they both had blue hair, after all.

Unfortunately for Tobias, he was not accustomed to socializing or talking with people he didn't know. When he would attempt to ask anyone, he felt strangely intimidated, and was unable to spit it out.

As the minutes passed, Tobias decided the next best thing to do was to go back to the last he remembered before he realized that they were seperated.

Heading back, the abundant parade floats filled the corner of his eye, though he opted not to let himself get distracted. But the moment he did, the amber light suddenly darkened. An ominous humming sound came from that direction.

Ominous… but harmonious.

"Alright. Just a quick look, but that's it." Tobias thought to himself as he went to the source of the humming.

Tobias arrived at the source as soon as he had heard it. Oh, he had heard it.

But he most certainly didn't believe it.

In front of him and the crowd, a float was passing by - one which was the work of the esteemed Sparrow Scouts, which his mom told him about.

Even without much knowledge of the city, the fact that it was intermittently dimming and brightening was concerning. Was this normal? If it was, how did anyone in it even manage to get around?

His concern proved correct as the Scouts on the float platform suddenly began to panic.

"Cut the power! CUT THE POWER!" Cried one of the scouts.

"I'm trying!" Another one, up top, cried back. A high pitched whining sound began to fill the air, but the scout up top managed to turn off the power in just the nick of time. But the power cord was a bit uncooperative getting out, so when she finally yanked it out, she began to lose balance. "Whoa!"

"Oh god!" Tobias cried, starting to run toward the float to try and aid in any way he could, shortly before noticing that the hapless scout was about to fall right off.

The instant he saw her, he immediately changed course, hoping beyond hope the years he had spent with his dad in the wilderness would pay off at a crucial situation such as this.

Back at the float, the scout tried to regain her balance, but it did her no good as her alarmed mind caused her to lose control over her stability. Tobias watched as she fell off the platform, gasps and yells from the crowd, as well as a heart-pounding scream from the scout following suit.

It was at this point where he kicked into overdrive. If he was just fast enough… no, this wasn't an "if". He had to be fast enough!

Time itself appeared to slow to a crawl as he leapt forward in a desperate attempt to catch her. And then…

…

…

Beep… Beep… Beep…

He could hardly remember what just happened. Everything was a blur.

The one thing Tobias was aware of was that he had been looking for his parents. There was a float…

...a float…

The float! THAT GIRL!

He remembered now, but that didn't quell the thought that was now brimming in his head. Was she alright? Did he even manage to catch her when she fell?!

And… where was he now?

Beep… Beep… Beep…

And what was with that beeping?

Trolberg Clinic

Night

"He's waking up!" A familiar voice said.

When his eyes finally came open, he saw his dad's tearful, yet relieved face. "Tobias!"

"DAD!" He cried, trying to get up and reach for him, but he almost immediately collapsed backward. His left arm couldn't support him for whatever reason. He winced at the stinging that it brought him.

"Wh-what happened?" Tobias asked, dumbfounded by his condition and surroundings.

"We came as soon as we heard!" His mother answered. "The Sparrow Scout's float had nearly gone out of control."

"Well… yeah, I saw it, but how did I end up here?"

"A girl had fallen off the top of the float while they were trying to regain control. They told us that you had caught her… but you ended up awfully straining your left arm."

"Is… she okay?" Tobias inquired, no longer seeming to be concerned about his arm.

"She actually wanted you to see for yourself." His father replied.

"What do you mean?"

Before either of his parents could answer, the door to the room opened.

"Am I intruding?" A brunette-haired girl at the door inquired.

"No, not at all!" Tobias' mum said gingerly. "We were actually waiting for you to arrive."

"Oh, thank you." The girl said. Entering the room, she was quick to introduce herself. "I'm Johanna, if you were wondering."

"You're free to come in, Johanna." Tobias's dad said.

Before she could do so, a doctor had arrived as well. He instructed Tobias's parents to leave the room briefly, wanting to discuss a matter with them in private.

"Johanna, could you be so kind to look after Tobias for a moment?" Tobias's father asked.

"Gladly."

With that, the children were now left to themselves.

But much to their respective surprise… they couldn't exactly work up the drive to say anything to the other. And it wasn't like there wasn't anything to say, either - which made it feel all the more dumbfounding to them.

For Tobias, he had never interacted with anyone around his age before, let alone a girl - at least, not to this extent.

"So… you're that girl who fell. Right?" He asked in a rather impulsive move to end the silence.

"...Yeah, I was…" True to Tobias's fears, she didn't like or want to think back to that terrifying free-falling sensation. Part of him was unsure whether to apologize or kick himself for making such a bullheaded statement.

"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you were-"

"You don't have to apologize for anything." Johanna interrupted. "I wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for you."

"Oh. Well, it is an adventurer's duty to look out for others whenever they can."

"... adventurer?" Johanna repeated in confusion.

"Erm... I… should have mentioned this earlier, but… I'm… not from around here." Tobias said in-between pauses, blushing slightly.

"You aren't?"

"Y-yeah. I was born in the wilderness. Much of my family was."

Her intrigue peaking by the minute, Johanna stepped closer to Tobias. "What's it like out there?"

"You… actually want to know?" Tobias blushed.

"Yeah!" Johanna replied excitedly. The affliction in her voice was enough to convince Tobias to not mince any words, even if he didn't have much of a clue on where to start. The boy gave a confident, assuring smile as he began with only four words.

"You have no idea."

Though it had really been several minutes in actuality, Johanna felt as if she could listen for hours. She had learned so much; not only about the life of the boy who saved hers, but also the world beyond Trolberg and the majesty and mystery within it… more than infrequent life-threatening experiences aside, which had gotten Johanna pondering.

"Do you ever feel like your life is… dangerous?"

"My dad's always kept me relatively safe from really going in over my head. He's always told me that there's a difference between being brave and being foolish. I guess you could say I'm still easing into it." Tobias said as he looked at his arm.

"I don't think you had any other options. And besides… I'd say what you did back there was the bravest thing anyone could've done." Johanna said reassuringly.

"Y-you really think so?" Tobias asked.

"Of course! After you had caught me, I was the first one to notice that you weren't moving. I know that you had to get somewhere fast. So I went to the Raven Leader, and, well… you probably get the picture by now."

Tobias was shocked to hear those words. The girl whose life he had saved had essentially saved his in return.

"...thank you." He muttered humbly.

"As a Sparrow Scout, I have my own duties as well. To be trustworthy, useful, and helpful to others. To be a friend to all people, animals, and spirits, to never be a snob, to be courageous, to do a good thing, everyday, to smile, and to whistle, and to keep and uphold the Sparrow Scout law." Johanna finished.

"That's… certainly a lot of duties." Tobias quipped awkwardly. "N-not they aren't good ones to have! It's just… y'know… they're a lot."

He felt like he was going to implode from embarrassment, though the feeling was mitigated by Johanna chuckling playfully.

Tobias's parents could be seen through the window of the door, approaching the room alongside the doctor. The boy couldn't have been more grateful for their arrival.

The three adults entered the room, wanting to tell Tobias about their discussion together.

"Well, we've got some good news and bad news." The doctor began. "Getting the bad news out of the way: it doesn't look like you'll be going back to your… smokehouse-"

"Cabin." Tobias's dad corrected. The doctor glared irritably at him in return.

"...as I was saying, we've come to an agreement that it'd be in your best physical interest to remain in this clinic while your arm fully heals. On the flip slide, it should only be a few weeks at most until it does so." He explained before turning to Tobias's father. "I can only suggest that you don't give him any ideas. Not any more than you probably already have, at least."

"Touché."

The doctor sighed to himself as he exited the room. He didn't know for the life of himself how anyone could think the wilderness would be an ideal place to raise a family.

"I'll make sure that 'smokehouse' of ours stays put while your father stays with you." His mom explained.

"You're looking after it all by yourself?" Tobias asked, now cautious.

"Don't worry about me, either. I've learned more than my fair share of skills." She replied, glancing confidently and lovingly at his father, and vice versa.

"I should probably be heading home myself." Johanna announced. "I couldn't bear to make my parents even more worried sick than they already were. Oh, and... one last thing…"

Tobias watched as Johanna walked up on the right of his bedside. He had no idea what she was going to do. Was she going to thank him one last time? Perhaps-

*SMOOCH!*

For a moment, Tobias's thoughts and surroundings became nothing but mere circumstances as he felt a pair of lips making brief contact with his right cheek.

"Thanks for everything… again." Johanna commented. Tobias's cheeks were as red as beets from the kiss of gratitude. "I'll check in on you whenever I can. Take care!" Johanna added as she left.

Tobias pretty much fainted by this time. His parents were quite stunned by what had happened as well - but they also seemed to be very amused.

Truly, it had been a night they wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

To Be Continued in Chapter 1: The Omen

Story Concept by jdubbam

Written by jdubbam and Newgame+LD

Based on "Hilda" by Luke Pearson