Green Team

Apophis struggled in the man's grip, trying to fight him off. But it was no use, his hands were bound by a pair of blue handcuffs that seemed to block his magic and the effects of the sleeping drug still hadn't worn off, making him slightly sluggish in movement. The man easily restrained him.

Another man, this one not wearing a mask and revealing his flat blonde hair and gray eyes, stuck a metal key into a lock and pulled a door open. Apophis was roughly pushed into the room and landed on the floor with a thump. He could hear the two men cackling behind him. The one without the mask on stepped forwards and grabbed the bald mans hands, typing a code in on the handcuffs before easily sliding them off his wrists.

With the restraints off, Apophis instantly prepared to launch an attack at his enemies, laughing silently about their idiocy. Who the hell unties their captive anyway?

"Don't bother, this room is magic proof."

Apophis froze and looked over his shoulder, seeing two little feet sticking out of the shadows. While his head was turned, the two men slammed the door shut, leaving the room in complete darkness. Save for a petite candle in the corner.

Apophis slowly walked towards the feet and watched as the girl began to come into view. She had long, curly strawberry blonde hair that was layered with light blue and purple highlights. The silken locks laid splayed out on the floor around her waist. She had a pretty face that was tinted with a faint tan and her eyes were silver, rainbow flecks dancing in the orbs.

Even though they must've been very beautiful at one time, her eyes were now unsettling as they flickered with no emotion, staying dull and lifeless.

'Is this what being here does to a person?' Apophis asked himself.

He wasn't stupid, he knew where he was. 'The Game'. That stupid tournament set up by a dark guild. A member of his guild had participated in it the year before and had been one of the lucky winners. But, he wasn't really lucky. He may have won, but whatever happened during the tournament must have been horrible. He killed himself two weeks after his return.

The girl lifted her gaze from the floor and look at the red eyed man with those horrible dead eyes. He involuntarily shivered.

"So you're my partner?" Her voice was flat. "Nice to meet you."

Her line of sight returned to the floor, watching a woodlouse scuttled across the stone surface. Apophis looked back at the closed door and gritted his teeth. Did they expect him to fight alongside this little girl? She had to be no more than – what? 16? He clenched his hands into tight fists. Well, if they thought he was going to cooperate with her, they were wrong. She could die for all he cared, just as long as he lived.

He was only going to look out for himself.

She hadn't spoke since that first day and he hadn't tried to start a conversation. He really didn't care much. But as he lay awake in bed one night – or day, whatever the hell time it was – he could hear soft sobbing from her bed on the other side of the room. He ignored it, of course and squeezed his eyes shut. But she didn't stop – she just kept sniffling and hiccupping.

Apophis groaned and sat up, looking over at her bed and barely making out her shaking form in the dim light.

"Oi, you ok?" He called, hoping he wouldn't have to do anything more.

"I-I'm fine" Apophis watched the silhouettes of her hands hurriedly rub the tears from her eyes. He felt a sharp pang in his heart but chose to ignore the feeling.

'She said she's fine'

There was bread by the door when Apophis awoke the next morning and he went a picked up the two rolls. He looked over at his partner. She was sitting in the same corner as when he had first arrived.

"Hey, you going to eat?"

She didn't answer. That was to be expected though, she hardly ever uttered a word. Apophis looked down at the cooked dough in his hand. She hadn't eaten at all – everyday she would just leave her bread and not take one single bite.

'She's going to kill herself if she keeps doing this'

Without thinking about what he was doing, Apophis walked over to her corner and knelt down in front of her. He thrust the bread under her nose and watched as she let her gaze trail down to it.

"Eat." It wasn't a question – he wasn't giving her the chance to say no – it was an order.

The girl looked at Apophis and for a moment he thought he saw emotion dance in her silver eyes, but the moment was fleeting. Timidly, she reached out her hand and took the bread from him, raising it to her lips to take a small bite.

Apophis smiled.

Day by day, he had been getting her to eat more – even talk more. He didn't exactly know why he bothered, but something told him it was the right thing to do. He had learned that her name was Autumn, although he had yet to determine her last and middle names. She was 16. She had no parents, she had no siblings. She in turn had learnt that his full name was Apophis Serpentenes and he was 27 years old. He used snake magic and his favourite food was smoked beef.

He still heard her cry at night, but he always forgot about it by the next day. He had watched as emotion slowly dripped back into her eyes. She seemed almost happy when he talked about himself and he had even witnessed the faint ghost of a smile play on her chapped lips at one point.

That made him happy – more than he would care to share.

He woke as he was gently shaken and looked up to see a teary Autumn looking down at him. He rubbed his eyes and she knelt down next to him.

"A-Apophis…" She whispered, stuttering slightly. "I had a nightmare."

'A nightmare? Is that what she cries about every night?'

He slowly sat up and looked down at her. She was trembling and there were red tracks on her cheeks from previous tears.

"What do you want me to do about it Autumn?" He asked, his voice laced with sleep.

"C-can I sleep in your bed with you?"

Apophis was surprised – very surprised. Had she just asked to sleep in his bed with him? He suddenly felt like a parent – you know, when their kids are scared and ask to sleep with them. Hesitantly, Apophis nodded his head and shuffled over, letting the small girl crawl under the sheet. They lay side by side for a moment, both wide awake.

"I dreamt I was on the streets again" Autumn suddenly said, startling Apophis slightly and making him look towards her. "It was scary. I was alone."

Small tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Then I was back with them, the thieves I used to live with. They would make me do their dirty work and beat me if I done something wrong." She paused and sniffled. "Then, I was back here. I just want to be somewhere safe for once"

Apophis didn't know what to say, so instead, he stiffly wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders and pulled her into his chest, cradling her small body in his arms. He felt uncomfortable, him not really being the sentimental caring type and all, but he relaxed slightly when he felt her wrap her arms around his waist and cry into his shirt.

He was suddenly feeling – protective? Like and older brother.

"Shh, Autumn. It's ok." He soothed. "I'm not going to let you feel lonely ever again."

Ok, so it's a bit all over the place, I know, these sorts of chapters will be like that :( Anywho, this is only meant to be a rough outline of the beginning of their friendship it's not meant to be anything too deep. If they survive (Which will be up to you, but more on that later...) I will dwell more into their pasts and develop their characters more.

See you next time! Bye!