"Look, this is what we should do. I'll sneak down when the overseers are asleep right before they wake up, since around then they've got all of their things ready, and if I get caught, they'll realize it's near enough time to wake up. I'll only get minor whipping, though being in their changing room will seem a bit weird."
"You're going to go into their locker room why?" inquired Alexalyn, beginning to doubt her plan almost immediately as the words flowed from the younger Archer's lips.
"To disguise as one of them, of course! We'll be able to get out easily if I pretend to be an overseer, and take you along with me, say, for tests and stuff in the castle. I heard we're getting transferred there by Peco to be seen for um, I think it was…examinations!"
"You do know that all of the overseers are twenty-one; they're miles too tall for you to fit into their clothing."
"No problem! There's a new overseer girl, Cassie, I think her name is, that just arrived. She's twenty-one, but she's only a few inches taller than me. Besides, if I can't reach her clothes, then I can pick someone else's outfit and just fib that they didn't have my size currently, and were ordering me one that fit."
"I don't know," Alexalyn sighed. "I mean, why don't I do this?"
"They know you're nearly sixteen, don't they?"
"No."
"Well, different clothes might make you look differently. It might reveal your actual age, you know? So, just stay in your regular clothes-"
"Not like I have anything else to wear until I become a Dancer," she breathed, though a tinge of glitter seemed to leap into her eyes. "Then I'll be someone great…"
"Just don't worry about it!" She giggled. "We'll be fine! And then we'll be out of this place forever! Just bring your bag, and put all of your stuff in it, and get that Priest friend of yours to say it has medicine and stuff in it. There won't be a problem if she gives them a note with her signature saying it's true."
"You've got a point, I have to admit. But will it work?" Raising her wrist to her forehead, she wiped globs of sweat from the skin, wiping it onto a faint pink handkerchief before sponging her face. "There are a lot of risks."
"Sure! Just have all your things packed by tomorrow morning, and I'll have mine packed, too. I don't have anything other than my Bow and my money, anyway."
"…Well…"
"Risks are always there, you know, Alexie! We have to get through 'em to get what we really want; out of Mary Gale Orphanage forever!"
"Keep your voice down, Chayce," she laughed sweetly, patting the girl on the head. "Okay, you've convinced me. But, just be careful, okay?"
"Promise!"
And so it began, Chayce currently tiptoeing down the hallway towards the girls changing room for the overseers, stealthily slipping past small windows on doors to avoid being spotted.
Opening the door slowly, she closed it behind her faintly, and looked towards the twenty or so six foot lockers, all painted a royal blue. However, the paint had begun to chip away, revealing darkened grey under the coats. There were a few stalls off to one side, shadowed by dark blue shower curtains, though only two or three, so that meant obviously the staff were close enough to each other that they didn't mind having to change in front of one another.
Studying each locker carefully for any sort of paper that would tell which was Cassie's, she sighed in annoyance as each locker came up with a blank; nothing.
The only one that could come close was a small C scarred into the top of the locker, which she could barely just see. Then again, C could stand for anything; it didn't mean Cassie. It could have meant Cory, Caitlin, Cayla, anything.
But, it was worth a shot, wasn't it?
Somehow, whether fate had determined it or not, the lock that held the locker closed was unlocked, hanging limply there as she quietly removed it, setting it on the floor and opening the holder with a push of the latch, pulling it open.
Inside, was a single pure white Game Master's dress; completely average, with no extras or alternations to the original outfit. Light blue socks with faded brown boots lie on the bottom, the dress itself with all of the belts and such hanging from a hanger off a hook.
Silently removing the clothing, she quickly made her way to one of the stalls, just incase someone happened to come in while she was undressing. Striping her Archer's attire off, as well as her socks and boots, and slipping on the dress, she sighed in relief as the clothes fit her perfectly.
Pulling on the socks and boots, and tying the laces, she froze, scarcely breathing as a scream broke through the air, out in the locker area.
"Someone's been in my locker! Someone's gotten into it!"
Quick, heavier footsteps filed in immediately afterwards.
"Cassie?"
"What-LEON! THIS IS THE GIRL'S ROOM! OUT!"
"Whoa, calm down-OW! OW! OW! Whoa, watch it! Not there! Hon, calm down!" The overseer just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the girl, who was clad in only her undergarments, explaining why she was so flustered and embarrassed.
"It's not like I haven't seen you like this before, Cassie."
"That's not the point!" She crossed her arms across her chest, blocking it from view. "Someone's been snooping around! Is this some sort of test they give the new overseers? Because it's not funny! It's like the freshmen class of Game Master schooling all over again, with those seniors always forcing me to do things! Those girls, they just make me want to-"
"No, this isn't one of those. You didn't lock your locker, did you? I don't know any of the overseers who would have done such a thing, though. They don't sneak around and steal things from fellow workers." His white and gold robes of the male Game Master's outfit fluttered slightly as he pressed a palm to his forehead to think. "When were you here last?"
"Only ten minutes ago! I woke up early, and came in to get changed, but I forgot my locker combination, so I went back to go get it from my little slip of paper with the numbers on it, and now the locker is opened and my clothes are missing! And who knows what else!" She sniffled pathetically, the piece of paper fluttering in her hand almost to show as if it were proof.
"There there, Cassie, it's all right," the older male cooed, patting her head like she were about five. "We've got more spares." Walking towards the back of the changing room as Cassie followed him with her gaze, not her legs, she watched as he opened up a large cabinet in the back, fetching out another small dress size, with shoes and socks to go with, and all of the belts and things that went with it.
"Here you go. We ran out of larges, though, if that's your size-not that you are or anything!" he quickly recovered, seeing her stern look. "So, here."
"Wow, thanks Leon!" Embracing him, she took the clothes and made her way into a stall, passing the one the little Archer was hidden in.
Hearing a rustling as Chayce shuffled her feet accidentally, Cassie raised an eyebrow, pausing in front of the stall.
"Is anyone in there?"
"No."
"Oh, well okay then-"
"Um, Cassie, that means someone is in there. They just responded."
"…Oh. Well, don't be shy, come on out, then."
"Um, no thank you."
"Aw, come on, I'm new. I need to meet more people."
They're going to keep bugging me until I come out! Well, maybe if I come out, they'll notice I'm just another Overseer and ignore me! And then the plan will follow out as planned!
"Um…well, okay." Chayce pushed the curtains away, and stepped cautiously outside, fixing her hair with prodding fingers, pulling loose her ponytail that laid on her shoulder to somehow mask her identity, her bangs shadowing her eyes as of now, arms wrapped around her middle as her head pointed downwards.
"Hey there! Another Overseer! Is something wrong? Your hair is in your face, you know. Unless it's usually like that; I'm new, you know. I don't know anything about anyone; kind of like a clean slate, ready to be filled with information!" she beamed, taking a step towards Chayce.
However, before she could react, Cassie had grabbed her chin, forcing her to bring her head up. "There! Now I can see you better-…Wait a minute…that's MY dress! What are you doing with it!"
"Cassie?"
"Leon! Do you know this person?"
As Chayce began to giggle and struggle, Leon raised an eyebrow. "Um…That's not an Overseer, hon. Chayce Adalwolfa, Amberlyn Malory's pest. Apparently, she's quite a back talker, and a class A troublemaker for the others. Only last night, she was put under punishment for bringing a weapon into the arena."
"But I didn't bring one in! That Sniper was really weird!"
"So you are Adalwolfa. You just admitted it. You're in deep trouble for entering a restricted area. But, we can't do anything now with you. We'll report you to your Overseer, Malory, and once the transfer to the King is finished, you will be punished. Right now, we haven't got time; not even for you to change your clothes and send you back to your dorm. We've decided to wake everyone up extra early to get a head start before the traffic really starts picking up; even if it's a maze of hell right now."
Grabbing hold of her shoulder, Leon pulled Chayce away, looking towards Cassie at the doorway right before he left the locker room.
"Hurry it up, Cassie; we've got a big day ahead. And welcome to Mary Gale Orphanage; The Bitter Stranger of Prontera, they call us. Or Rune-Midgard in all."
…
"So, you got caught, then?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry, Alexalyn. I didn't know they were getting up earlier than usual." With a wince and a puzzled look from each of the other orphans at why an 'Overseer' (or they thought was one due to clothing) was being handcuffed, the other link attaching to a large Peco's leg, Chayce shuffled closer to the bird.
"It's all right. I didn't think we'd make it, anyway. You do stick out with Game Master clothes on, though." Running an eye over the small girl, the older Archer smiled, giving a low cough and stumbling forward as the Peco suddenly stomped its foot forward, eager to begin, causing her Poporing hat to shift, shadowing her face.
"Think these Pecos are well trained?"
"Why? I'm sure they are; they're obviously Crusader and Knight mounts. They look like pedigree stock."
"Then why is ours acting so oddly?" Alexalyn shrugged, watching for a moment as the Peco tossed its head, letting out a loud crow and beginning to shake rapidly, clawed feet screeching against the cobbles like that of a bull about to charge.
"Maybe it doesn't feel so well."
"Poor thing."
"Well, it's not really our problem. They wouldn't care if we got trampled, anyway."
"Or would they?"
"What do you mean by that? The Orphanage could care less about what happens to their orphans. We're just outcasts; see, everyone stares at us." Her gaze fell to the road, as a passing Priestess gave a rather astonished look, before quickly moving off down the street and stopping off at a shop, studying Maces handcrafted by a Mastersmith.
"Yeah, but we're the source of their income. Without us, they'd be broke."
"There's plenty more where we came from. Besides, they think of you as the troublemaker; they'd love to get rid of you if they could."
"That's not very nice," giggled Chayce, yelping as the Peco strained forward again, coming out of the single file line and nearly bumping into a Wizard passing by. Catching light of a faint purple in the bird's eyes, her brow creased into a frown. "Hey Alexalyn."
"Yes?"
"Do you see anything that looks weird in this guy's eyes?" Pulling her arm back, she caused the Peco to stumble, turning its head in their direction, as if asking for an explanation. Its violet eyes rippled in disgust, before tossing its head and standing erect.
"Did you see it? Did you? Did you?"
"I saw its eyes; they were black to me."
"Nuh uh, I saw purple. Like a dark shade of violet."
"Maybe the sun has gotten to your head; peco are born with black or red eyes. Never purple."
"…M-maybe."
"…So, when do we start going?"
"Most likely now. They seem to be straightening the line now," observed Alexalyn, straining to see above the heads of the towering creatures. "And the Overseers are coming into place to guide us."
"All right, you urchins! Move it!" screamed a plump woman in Crusader garb, taking the whip a Dancer handed to her and whipping it at the beginning of the long line, causing the leader to dance forward at a trot, the others naturally following the largest.
"Oh, we're moving."
"Oh goodie!"
"How is it good?"
"Well, the quicker we go there, the faster we get back."
"I'm not looking forward to whatever they do to us there." Her eyes strayed to the Dancer, who had just passed by, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she shook them away, burying her chin into her chest.
With a stumble, the Peco lurched forward, dragging Chayce and Alexalyn for a few paces before they straightened to their feet, the monster stepping out of line and crowing, blindly racing forth like a drunk man.
Soon, Chayce and Alexalyn were sprinting to keep up with the bird, which continuously crowded his own kind, trying to press forward. However, suddenly, a spear flew through the air, slamming mere inches away from the Pecos' feet. Startled, it bolted, the two Archers being hustled along with it, just fighting to keep upright as it turned down a street, out of sight from the exclaiming and screaming Overseers who had halted the line.
A few went off into different directions to search for the couple of Archers and stampeding Peco, but they knew there wasn't much of a chance of finding them at rush hour in Prontera City.
"Try and stay upright, Alexalyn!" called Chayce, seeing as she stumbled, her handcuff clinking against the chain, attached to Chayce's wrist. Her mind raced, as her eyes caught sight of the violet colour spreading, the aura spreading mostly from the soles of its claws.
The aura again!
"Alexalyn, look-"
However, a loose cobble knocked her off balance, swinging her forward at Chayce's feet, heading straight for the clawed feet of the domesticated foe.
Spotting the danger, Chayce desperately pulled back, trying to pull Alexalyn away. However, upon exiting the west exit of Prontera City and cruising through the fields at an increasing rate, she soon lost attention of the problem, trying to comprehend a way to stop the bird.
Though Alexalyn stopped the bird on her own. With a blood-curling scream, she was hurled in front of the bird's tracks, and was at the mercy of the claws, tearing thick shreds of clothing from her ribs and stomach, trampling the small figure.
Caught off guard, the Peco crowed, and suddenly fell flat on its side, causing Chayce to tumble as well, with a clank as the chain broke connecting Chayce and Alexalyn together.
Thankfully landing in the grass along with the Peco at her side, she groaned, sitting up, thankful that she had minor cuts and bruises. However, the Peco at her side had faired much better days; it had been stopped by a perfectly aimed Katar, cutting through the side of its bulky head, blood flowing finely through the wound and causing a puddle in the emerald clippings of grass, recently chewed by a group of Lunatics from the bite marks.
"Poor baby," cooed the Archer, suddenly feeling nauseous and turning away to avoid vomiting. The aura of it still glowed, slowly disappearing, and finally, vanished.
Gazing towards her friend to see how she was, she gasped, and suddenly screamed, "ALEXALYN!" upon spotting a shadowy figure kneeling beside her, running a hand over her ribs, where clothing had come off.
"It's a rapist!"
No reply. The figure barely glanced up.
"…A-Alexalyn?"
I can't get up, she soon discovered, the link still bonding her and the Peco. But what about Alexalyn? She's in trouble! That man could kidnap her and take her away forever!
Upon noticing the man, obviously from his muscled arms and tall frame, though his back seemed a bit bulky, and his class was unknown from this range and the odd shadow casting from a tall oak tree, carefully cradle Alexalyn in his arms and throw her over his shoulder.
"Wait, Recene. There's another one, over there, by the fallen Peco."
…Wait, that's the voice of a girl! Yay! I'm going to be protected from the rapist!
Unless…she's working for him! NOOO!
Cocking his head at the female voice, his dark eyes followed the trail of blood, and stopped on Chayce, who lay, cowering, beside the corpse.
"Can you assist her, Raeka? This one is in horrid shape; I fear she may have broken a few ribs in her encounter with that blasted bird," he nearly hissed, his voice deep though sympathetic.
"Oh, well, sure." Suddenly, Chayce noticed another figure move towards her, and was slightly relieved that she was not lurking or evading her eyes, allowing herself to be fully seen, unlike the boy.
Chayce had to admit, the girl was incredibly pretty and fair; and a Sage, as well, at around the age of seventeen. Blonde curls fell to the small of her back, tied rather clumsily with a black rubber band a foot or so from the ends, creating a foot-long ponytail, though rather puffy and bouncy, and flowered out.
Upon her coming closer, Chayce could recognize her dark, glassy blue eyes, and small, light pink lips in a welcoming smile, one that meant no harm. Her clothing was relatively the original colouring, though a small jacket was tied around her hips, probably used to cover up her overly revealing top and bottoms, and a belt was secured around her waist, Chayce guessing it could be used for many things as it looked enormous and long and had been wrapped around the girls' tiny waist many, many times and buckled.
The thing that caught her attention, or maybe the who, was a small, black, drooping cat, lying upside down on the Sage girl's head, basking in the light rays of the sun, though the tail curled around one of the Angel Wing Ears protruding from the sides of her face, blush covering her pale cheeks.
A Drooping Kitty! I never see those! She must be really strong to have collected a cat plushie from a Loli in Niflheim!
"Hi there, little girl. Are you all right?" asked she sweetly, kneeling down to her height, an Arc Wand clasped with one hand, the other prodding the chain that held her to the Peco.
"Yep."
"Oh, good. Where are your parents?"
Chayce choked, but gave a wide grin. "I don't have any."
Looking utterly shocked, the Sage frowned. "Oh my, oh my! We must bring you home; you look positively thin, you poor little girl! And of course, that other girl. She doesn't look very well, either."
"Raeka."
"Yes, Recene?"
"Please kindly tell Chantelle to remove her claws from my scalp."
"But she's on my head-oh my Valkyrie, Chantelle, quit it!"
The drooping cat looked up cautiously, but gave a low meow, obeying and launching herself from the Assassin Cross male's head, and back onto her master's, letting a high purr flow from her fanged jaws as she rolled onto her back, legs kicking into the air.
"It-it's moving!" Chayce gaped. "They're not supposed to-"
"Chantelle is quite special," explained Raeka quietly, ignoring as the kitten rolled once more, pawing. "I'll explain it later if you like. But now isn't the time." Raising her wand over the chain, she murmured a few words, and a sharp pitch of lightning soared from the heavens, snapping it in two.
"You're free; I'll remove the cuff later. Just please, come along."
"Malik will not be pleased," came the male's reply, a silver Assassins' Mask covering his lips, yet not hindering his speech, as he shook his head once. "You know how he feels towards children-"
"I will deal with Malik later," she interrupted, ignoring the black haired boy, his long bangs masking his eyes as a single light blonde highlight running through the bangs was tossed to the side, red eyes revealed for a split second before the hair settled once more. A pair of Incubus horns curled from his skull, Dark Wings covering his ears below them."Now come on; that girl doesn't appear to have much time."
"Alexalyn! What's wrong with her?"
"Don't worry; I'm sure she will be all right." Her voice sounded strained, cracked, and forced, as was the smile as she held out her hand, French manicured fingernails glittering daintly in the morning's light. "We'll tend to her once we get home."
Taking her hand, she pulled herself up, and numbly moved along beside her, thoughts whirling through her mind, unaware of the sound of spluttering blood as the Assassin Cross removed his Katar from the corpse, sheathing it.
Home…I've never had one of those.
And at once, she felt envious.