Bracken breathed a sigh of relief as she finally wandered away from the castle.
She'd never been so sick of one room in her life! And better yet, she hadn't called in on Leander's end of their deal!
Bonus!
"Hey, Bracken! Haven't seen you in a while." Turning her gaze she finally realised that Trey had been trying to get her attention. She'd only just got passed the outfitters so she hadn't expected anyone to notice her so soon.
"Hey, Trey. How's it going?" She asked casually as she scoped the place out for anyone that might take her back to Evan.
"It's been good, good. But hey, how've you been? I've been worried stiff about you!" He grinned as she narrowed her eyes at Phorkys passing by where Nu Bi was working on a sword.
"I'm fine, Trey, but look, I gotta go. I'm not meant to be out here yet…" She hurriedly told him as she began to back away towards to door of the outfitters. He laughed a little at that.
"Alright. Well c'ya later!" Like lightning she raced through the door as if the guard was hunting her down.
It wasn't as if she wasn't allowed out of the castle for the moment… She had special permission after all…
But Roland was meant to go with her.
It wasn't that she didn't like Roland, it was more the fact that she was wasting daylight waiting for him to finish his overly long winded lectures that he was still giving to Leander. Besides, Evan had given her the all clear…
Indirectly, but the all clear none the less.
"Bracken?" The engineer was brought back to her sense as Fai Do called out to her. Turning around to face something other than the door, she smiled in greeting.
"Hi." Bracken wandered over to the spare barrel she always liked to sit on during breaks before taking up her perch once more. "I can't stay unfortunately but how's this place been without me?" She asked casually as the canine smiled at her and set the armour he'd been working on down.
"It's been a little quiet without you just hoping in every so often but we've been managing." He paused as he took a seat on the crate adjacent to her. "How's the injuries?" He tilted his head, seeming concerned.
"I'm getting there. If Leander would stop trying to poison me with his new medicines I might just make a full recovery." She joked light-heartedly.
"That's great news! So, what brings you here today? King Evan already told us that you wouldn't be able to work for a while, so…" He trailed curiously as she smiled again.
"Well, Evan let me out the castle so that I can oversee some repairs to my leg. Think you can handle fixing a literal limb?" Bracken smirked at the nervous look he sent her.
"I-it's broken?" Fai Do rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Yeah. The accident gave it quite a few dents here and there and it hasn't been doing much for my balance. Relax…" She smiled reassuringly. "I'll walk you through it." Pausing she corrected herself. "Or, I guess… I'll talk you through it." He just gulped a little at that.
"So, what will I need to do?" He tried to get his head in gear with the amount of trust she was putting in him.
"Well, you already have all of the materials so…" Bracken paused as he glanced away awkwardly. "Hey, why don't we get Nu Bi to help? Two heads are better than one, right?" He nodded hastily with a grateful smile on his face. Pulling out her Leafbook, she quickly sent a message to Nu Bi whilst listing off the items Fai Do would need for the repairs.
Once the two boys had gathered everything they needed, Bracken rolled up her trouser leg, revealing the prosthetic beneath. She noted with amusement how they seemed to awkwardly turn away out of respect. It only took about a minute before she had removed the limb and the boys turned back around. Holding it delicately in both hands, she handed it over to the two.
"Now you be careful. That means more to me than you can imagine." She stated in a bout of seriousness the boys had never seen her use before.
This was gonna be a real challenge for them.
Bracken laughed internally at Fai Do and Nu Bi's nervousness as she critically tested the movements of her repaired leg. It felt comfortable once again and the metal didn't feel too sharp or out of place anymore…
The balancing issues had been fixed as well.
All in all… it wasn't a bad job. She should probably tell them before they explode with anxiety. Glancing away from her metal limb, she turned her attention back to the boys with a smile.
"Nice job, you two." She praised them, their faces lighting up with the encouragement.
"I-it's not uncomfortable?" Nu Bi asked just to make sure. Bracken chuckled at him, knowing Nu Bi was in no way an outfitter but had tried his best regardless.
"It' brilliant, Nu Bi." She smiled wider as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "Thank you both so much!" Her gratefulness was stronger than what the boys seemed to have ever expected and they glowed with pride.
"It's our pleasure, Bracken!" Fai Do seemed not to notice that he'd puffed his chest out a little.
"Yeah! We're happy to help!" Nu Bi beamed with cheer. Bracken hopped from one foot to the other before deciding she'd spent a little too much time indoors lately.
"Well, I'm sorry to cut this short but I want to go out for a while before Roland and Batu hunt me down." They laughed a little at her as she slipped her boots back on and made for the door.
"C'ya!"
"Bye!" They called after her as she began to wander around the kingdom. The sun was just beginning to set as her pent up restlessness over the past few days began to get the best of her. Deciding enough was enough she hurriedly made her way to the city gates.
Luckily the night guards weren't on duty yet…
Bracken took a deep breath before finally letting her instincts take flight. The engineer's speed began to skyrocket as she found herself racing through the gates and through the Heartland fields.
She laughed as her heart soared and she sprang through the grass blades with ease, not paying any attention to where she was going. Somewhere in her mind she registered the small burning in her side but who cares?
Freedom!
This was the best!
She hadn't even noticed she'd been cheering until the sound managed to penetrate the wind whistling in her ears. Her laughter didn't die though. Instead it grew stronger as she pushed her legs to run faster.
She just kept running and running, adoring the adrenaline rush that poured throughout her being from being bedridden for what felt like a lifetime!
The roaring of dragons in the distance, the screech of manticores as the whamsters watched her run fuelled the fire in her heart as she bounded through the countryside. Who cared how silly she looked? Roland was gonna lock her up again after this anyway…
In her moments of carefree glee she didn't notice the sound of her name being called from a distance. A shadow suddenly engulfed her form before her confused gaze met the creature that cast it.
A forest guardian.
In her hyped mindscape she narrowly evaded the arm that slammed down towards her. Should probably have been paying attention…
Breathing heavily she summoned her gun with her weapons ring before firing several shots at the flying monstrosity, only for it to swing its arm and send back peddling a few steps to escape the blow. Consequently, her momentum sent her toppling over into an awkward heap on the ground.
Oh please no…
Was she really gonna die to this?!
The thing began to spin like a saw blade as it drew closer, the adrenaline could only do so much now…
Shuffling backwards, she found herself against a short cliff face. The creature was upon her in an instant, ready to slice her in half in a moment's notice.
"I'm should have listened to Roland!" She realised with a start as her doom closed in. Closing her eyes, she summoned her best hammer to try and block the oncoming pain…
That never came…?
A blast erupted above her head, sending the thing flying away from her, most definitely defeated in a pile of smoking rubble.
"Are you alright?" Bracken's breathlessness echoed in her ears as the adrenaline wore off and the pain in her side erupted like a volcano. She cringed as her hand gripped her side. A hand landing on her shoulder and a figure kneeling in front of her brought her attention to the one that spoke a few moments ago. Bracken blinked blankly at the dogfolk in front of her.
With the sun set directly behind her, it gave the woman an almost god-like halo of light around her short lavender hair and tall pointed ears. The white fur of her saviour's face shone almost red in the dying light, the shade refusing to give dissimilar treatment to the lilac patch that covered her right eye. Speaking of eyes, the deep hazel gaze of the dogfolk seemed rather familiar as it awaited an answer from her.
"M-Min Ti?" Bracken tilted her head questioningly as she racked her brain for the identity of the mystery person. The woman in question, nodded in affirmation as she seemed to scan her for injuries.
"That's me." She stated coolly as Bracken's mind caught up with the events that had been happening.
"Uh… Thanks for saving me back there." Min Ti just nodded in acknowledgement as she stepped back to offer the engineer a hand up. Bracken gratefully took the offer as she carefully pulled herself back onto her feet. "Thanks." She paused. "Again." Min Ti just shook her head in dismissal.
"You're not supposed to be out here." The dogfolk stated as she indicated for her to follow her back to the kingdom. "King Evan will be wondering where you are." She commented as Bracken ever so slowly hobbled after her.
"Do you know if Roland knows I'm gone?" The engineer asked worriedly.
"No. I've been hunting all day." It was then that Bracken noticed the pack Min Ti carried on her back beneath her yellow cape.
"Yeah? You bring much back?" She asked, more as a formality then of curious nature. The pack seemed stuffed after all.
"I brought back what I could." They fell into silence as they walked closer to their destination.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Bracken mentioned in passing but just received a noise of affirmation as a response. The engineer sighed in resignation.
This was gonna be a long walk…
And Roland was gonna be waiting for her…
Oh joy…
