Village of Gath, Mistrial, 12pm
99 walked to the boys room with a smile on his face, however the minute he put his hand on the door knob and opened it. His smile never wavering.
"Hay kiddo, I have a surprise for you." 99 said.
The boy looked up from the small toy car that was no longer than a finger and no wider than two fingers put together. His smile radiated with joy then the usual emptiness he saw in him. The boy hugged 99 tightly which caused something to slither back further behind the door. The boy took notice of the form that hid behind the door.
The girl looked at him with judging eyes, her skeptical gaze went up and down as if scanning him. And only one thought came to her mind when she overheard adults from the village.
"Monster," she thought.
However her eyes widened at that, her mother taught her better than that. To never judge a book by a cover or what others say at first. She looked down in shame but thankfully the boy didn't notice her action of regret as he looked to 99.
"What's going on 99?" He asked.
He chuckled at the question.
"Well we have a guest, Neo, come on out here." 99 stated.
The boy's eyes saw a girl about his age slowly walk out into the door frame. She had a dirty dress and smelled foul, yet to the boy he couldn't smell the stench she radiated, and didn't care for how dirty her pink sundress was. Despite her not making eye contact, he could tell she was shy as a mouse. Her cat ears topped her head and her heterochromia robbed him of his breath.
"Hi," he said shyly.
She looks at him then looks away, she then makes a hand sign which raises an eyebrow in genuine confusion while tilting his head. Which made his breath hitch a little in panic.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend!" He said quickly.
She pulls back a little in surprise and gives an understanding smile. She then puts a finger to her lips to ponder. Then as if a light bulb appeared over her head she ran to a bookshelf looking for something which confused the boy even more. 99 couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She then pull f out a notebook that wasn't used and tried looking for something else. She then picked up a brown pencil and started writing in it and she then showed what was on the first page.
"My name is Neopolitan, it's nice to meet you. 99 told me a lot about you, sorry about not responding, I'm mute."
She then tried to shyly hide behind the notebook as the boy read it.
"Oh, that explains one thing, but what happened to your family?" He asked.
Her eyes went to the side before looking at the floor. Her legs started to move as her feet would sometimes lift up one by the heel and twist it side to side. The boy looked away too.
"I'm sorry for asking." He says lowly.
She nods then shyly looks to 99 and writes again in the book.
"Hay 99, is there any food? I'm hungry."
"Oh, we got some snacks, there not much though."
The boy ran to a trunk with a lock and started twisting the nob from left to right as Neo watched intently. Keeping her eye on where the arrow in red was stopping on and the rotations it takes. Then the lock popped open and the boy took out three small packet of fruit flavored gummys. However he pulled out the box which was sadly empty and his smile turned upside down and his eyes looked on in sadness.
"Where out…"
99 could only chuckle as he walked over to the boy and closed the lid to the trunk and locked it.
"It's ok, I'll find more, but for now let's eat kids."
He sits down along with the boy and he waves for Neo to join them. The boy passed out the packets of food and they started to dig in. However, as 99 opened up his he saw as Neo and the boy shyly ate. Both of them taking chances to steal a look from one another. He then looked down at his and narrowed at the packet. Though he then sighs as he opened his and held it out to the kids.
"I had some earlier anyway." 99 stated.
The boy and Neo looked at one another and then hesitantly looked at 99. Before slowly taking it and splitting it down the middle between themselves but the boy only took three of the ten gummys. Leaving the rest to Neo. She was surprised by the boys actions but thought it to be just a guy thing from what she learned from her mother when her parents fell on very hard times and food was scarce. She hated it as she glared internally at the gummys. She hated the rationing of food.
And she hated that others had to starve themselves just so she could get something in her hungry stomach. But if it's one thing her mother has said. It was to never question a man who's doing his best to feed his family yet is the one that is starving the most. That there is honor in what he's doing and that it should be uplifted as something worth honoring.
Call her mother old fashioned bit what use was her father if he was starving himself to death! She didn't care that she was starving, she wanted her father to not kill himself for her sake or any others for that matter! But she couldn't help it as she ate gummies. Her ears twitched lowly as she sighs finally getting something decent in her stomach. They then throw away the trash and 99 looks at the kids.
"I'm going out and trying to find some more food. For the week, behave ok?"
The two children nod as he leaves. The boy looks around the room and looked back at the small cars. He then picked up the toys.
"Wanna play race?" The boy asked shyly.
The girl nodded in reply and the boy's ears perked up in excitement as he held out the cars and she picked one. Both sitting on the floor and moving the cars and laughing.
"This is the most fun I have had in years." She thought.
She took a good look at the boy playing with her. She felt disgusted with herself for thinking he was a monster. Yet in just a short time, she saw him as nothing more than any kid like her.
Much earlier
Neopolitan woke up to a odd feeling, she rubbed her eyes as she tried to gauge her surroundings. She was in her room. A dream. She used her hands and the creek of light from the door to navigate her dark room. As she reached the door she heard the faint shouts of he father and someone else that was familiar.
"I can… keep…farm…"
"Why!?...devil's lettuce...money!...warlord!"
She could barely keep up with what they where saying. So she made her way down the stairs. Keep note of her steps and which floor boards she placed her wight on. Her hands tightly gripped the rail as she continues her decent below. She placed her grip firmly on the wooden ball at the end of the rail. Stepping into the first floor floor boards. Lightly sliding her feet and testing her legs weight on each one she moved to.
She followed the light to the kitchen/dining room in which another door lay cracked open. The shouting was a little louder, the occupance unaware that while keeping there shouting to a minimum. They had still caught the interest of the young girl. She had her eye look through not daring to touch the door. Her curiosity peaked when she noticed two armed men infront of her father and a third person between them seems it be the man talking to him.
"I don't need your protection or your help Roman! The Farm is doing just fine on its own."
"Brother, I don't want to argue I just want to help you and my niece at least live comfortably. It's the least I'm trying to do!" The man identified as Roman let out.
"Oh so now you care because I didn't waste my life being a brut of the street and the seller of drugs! Both of which are illegal and can get our family farming land confiscated because oh gee. MISTRAL DOESN'T LIKE FAUNUS ROMAN! IF I LET YOU GIVE ANY HELP IN THE SLIGHTEST MISTRAL INSPECTORS WILL CONFISCATE OUR FAMILY LAND! AND I FOR ONE AM NOT GOING BACK TO THAT ACCURSED CITY THAT WE LIVED IN AS BOYS!" Her father replied
"Father and uncle Roman are arguing again…" She thought.
"You'll go bankrupt by the end of the month brother I'm trying to help you!"
"I don't need your help!"
"What your gonna abandoned me now?"
"YOU ABANDONED US FIRST REMEMBER!"
She felt her heart sink in sadness at that. She heard a sigh and a chair move quietly. A sound of paper dropped to hard wood.
"That's 500,000. Pay off the next five months mortgage...use the rest as needed...neo always wanted that Chronicles of Narnia box set.."
Her uncle then turn towards the door to leave. She gasped a she tried to get away. Only for her trip on her feet and fall. She looked up to see her uncle in a white trench coat with a black sweater underneath. A black pair of pants and gloves adorned his hands and legs. Leastly leather shoes and a black brawler hat in his hands, surprise in his eyes. Yet he lets a small smile come to his face and out stretches a hand. She nervously takes it and is pulled up gently.
"I know that look." He says.
She pouts cutely as if she wasn't spying on the argument.
"Don't give me that look, go on go to your dad. I'm sure he'll explain the... mutual disagreement." Roman said as he then walked away with the two armed scary men.
She then walked into the kitchen and saw a large stack of Lien, and her father eyeing it with disgust. She carefully walked into the kitchen. Holding onto the door frame as if it was a safety rail.
"Pappa?" She mouthed.
He didn't stop staring at the money on the table. Yet he let out a tired grown, putting his hands behind his back to get his back to pop back into place due to the intense labor he had done during the day. His eyes then settled on his daughter. Her heterochromia in his eyes as he looked at the brown hair from his side of the family and the pink side from his wife's. Yet a smile plastered on his lips as he held out his arms to receive a hug from Neo. She jumped into his arms as she rubbed his face into his chest. Looking up she mouthed.
"You where arguing with uncle Roman again?"
He let out a sigh.
"Yes we where. Again. Don't worry about it sweetheart." He said patting her head.
She nods as she sees the morning sun shine through the window.
"I love you my little Ice cream cone." Her father whispered as she got up to put her back to bed
She yawns a she mouths.
"Love you to Pappa."
Village of Morgue, Mistral, 6am
Neo woke up underneath the dumpster she slept under the night prior. Slowly getting out from under it she looked around and saw the road and a sign at the end of the village. She ran down the road to stay ahead of her purser's, people gave her odd stares due to her heterochromia and not caring that the road had a sign "village of Gath". And she didn't look back.
The sun was out bright by 8. As she walked looking about for berry bushes and other plants that she could scaveng by the road. However her ears heard the splashing of water. Her curiosity getting the best of her by following the sound of water. She then got to the edge of the Forest where there was a village in the distance. And a old man washing small cloths in the rivers. His hunchback making it difficult to balance on the shore line from the rivers strong currents. Half of his face sagged and looked aged while the other half looked old but looked like a warm person. It reminded her of her father with his old battered rustic face.
However her ears twitched as he put the wet clothes into a basket but his eyes caught her across the rivers his eyes lit up with warmth like that of a grandfather and despite half of his face being sagged to the left. His smile radiated love of a father.
"Well hello there little one. What are you doing out here all alone by yourself?" He asked.
She didn't respond and quickly hid behind a tree. This made the old man raise an eyebrow.
"There's no need to be afraid, come the village is clos we can calm your parents if your lost from the phone." He called out.
She didn't respond nor get out of her hiding place. Her breaths increased in pace and air intake as she was thinking about running. A sigh escaped his lips as the old man felt lost. He didn't want to leave the girl behind in the forest alone. But on the other hand he had just realized he looked suspicious as well given the circumstances of him being alone by a river as well with a "convenient village" near by. Not to mention she seems to be hiding because her parents taught her "stranger danger" from the looks of things.
He didn't blame her or her parents if she had any. But he didn't know how to come across as Genuine to her.
"My name's 99, what might yours be?" He asked.
She was shocked that the old man had a number for a name. She slowly peaked out from her cover to see the man putting the last of the wet clothes into A basket. The minute he turned around the girl was slowly making her away across the river, stepping into rocks that didn't have moss. Once across she looked up at him and mouthed.
"You better be telling the truth." Neo said.
Keeping a distance from 99. He chuckled at her response.
"Very well." He smiled.
They then walked to the village and soon enough she walked by his side. Keeping a eye on him as he went into a building connected to the road by the bridge of the original path she was walking.
"Welcome to Gath." 99 said.