Ooggle: A new chapter, eh? About time!
Briana: Oh, shut it! I've been way too busy with school to post this chapter...
Ooggle: Oh well... I can still say 'finally', right?
Briana: ...
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Lot and Ward looked at Dieck and Thany, the young pegasus knight, in disbelief...
'What the heck...?!' Ward thought to himself.
"Uh. Um..." Lot stuttered. "Bro, is this..."
Dieck's head tilted slightly.
"...A joke?"
"Yeah, seriously!" Ward spat out before anyone else could speak. "You can't honestly mean that this little brat is part or our group!"
Thany's eyes widened slightly at the fighter's words.
"Her name's Thany!" Dieck replied defensively.
"So what?! A brat is still a brat, no matter what her name is!"
The pegasus knight looked at the two older men in sadness. The mercenary noticed her frown, and looked at her apologetically.
"...Thany, would you mind going in one of the tents?" he spoke in a soft voice. "I'll be with you shortly."
"...Yes..."
He watched her slowly walk toward one of the tents. After she entered it, his attention turned to the two fighters, his eyes filled with anger.Lot found himself unable to say anything. Ward, however, muttered some words under his breath.
"I am very ticked off at you two!" Dieck growled. "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"
"I'm... Sorry..." Lot frowned.
"And you, Ward?"
The fighter didn't say anything.
"Ward?"
"...Bro..." he finally muttered with his head facing the ground, before looking up and facing Dieck angerly. "Why did you allow a little girl to join our group?!"
"That's enough of this 'little girl' crap!"
"But- - -"
Dieck sighed in impatience.
"...Incase you didn't know, Ilia has a poor economy. Therefore, it's citizens live as mercenaries, accepting low pay..."
"So, you hired her because of her ambition?..." Lot asked.
The older man became silent.
"...Or was it... sympathy?"
"What?!" Ward gasped.
"...That's it." the mercenary nodded.
"Whoa! Hold on a minute!" the brown-haired fighter waved his hands in the air in a confused manner. "You mean it was Bro's... soft side?!"
"Now listen, you..."
-
Meanwhile, in one of the tents, Thany lay on her stomach, trying to fight back her tears as she wrote a letter...
Big Sister Yuno,
How are you? I'm glad to say that I managed to find the mercenary group who hired me without much trouble. Getting to the Western Isles wasn't as hard as I expected... Must be because my pegasus is in good shape. So is my lance. But don't worry; I still have the red gem you gave me just incase I need to sell it for money!
...But, I can't say if accepting this job was worth it or not. The leader seems nice enough, but... The other members of the mercenaries seem to hate me... Sure, I'm going to try to stay positive, but- - -
"Thany?" Dieck interrupted her as he entered the tent.
The girl gasped as she quickly hid the letter to her oldest sister.
"M-Mr. Dieck?!"
"Are you alright?" he questioned as he sat next to her.
"Y-yes! I'm fine! I- - -" She replied, trying to smile.
"You don't have to lie. I can tell you're upset." he broke in, looking at her with sympathy.
She remained quiet, but nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry about what Ward and Lot said." he continued. "They didn't really mean it, though."
"Really?" Thany continued to look up at him, excitement returning in her high-pitched voice.
"Yeah. Actually, I bet it'll just take a day or two, and they'll love you."
"That's great!"
"Yeah, well..." he tried not to laugh. "Don't get too excited. We're going to be busy training tomorrow, and you'll need you're sleep."
"Okay." She answered, followed by a yawn. "I am pretty tired, after all. So, what tent am I staying in?"
"This one. I doubt Ward and Lot would want you in their tent."
"Yeah, you're probably right..."
"But, you see..."
The young girl's head titled slightly, waiting for him to continue..
"There...are only two tents here... So that means- - -"
"Are you serious?!" she cried in embarrassment, her face bright red. "We're going to sleep in the same tent?!"
"...I guess so..." The mercenary nodded, trying to ignore her energetic reaction. "You better not snore."
"Oh! Don't worry! I'm not bad with snoring!" she laughed. "Well..." she smiled as she covered her body with the nearest blanket, trying to cast away her recent thoughts. "Good night!"
"Heh heh... Good night, Thany."
He couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. He normally wasn't so kind to young girls, though, so he couldn't understand why he was so nice to her... Maybe Ward was right... Maybe...
"Dieck..." her tired voice interrupted his thoughts.
"...What now?"
"...Thank you for accepting me..."
"...Don't get cocky, kid..." he tried sounding harsh, but she could tell he didn't mean any harm...
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Briana: Well, there's the second chapter! Please review, and hope that I won't be too busy to do the next chapter!
Ooggle: Yeah, review!