Anima: And the first two OCs will be introduced here! Did I say two? Yes! TWO.
Certain actions OC's do, does not mean they're going to be an antagonist. So don't worry, panic or let a funky emotion rile you up, just because your OC may be seen or accused of doing something bad. Also if you see your OC but they don't join the party don't worry, they'll definitely make another appearance or two, or maybe even come back forever!
We have the basic meet and greets for the main OCs but we want to put some thought into side-OCs and we have quite a few, so I'm not sure how long arrangements will take on that. On the other hand, we'll do our best to speed things up, and everyone's OCs that were sent in looks amazing! I'm so excited to incorporate you all into this story and thanks for being understanding.
Road to Hamel Docks. 8:00
"I'm sorry, did you say mission?" Nero emphasized.
Eir continued walking, "Did I stutter?"
Nero didn't follow her for a while as he was trying to wrap his head around what was going on. This was not a part of his plan. He was going to get the note with his only lead back, and book it out of here. "I'm a free man now, y'know. I didn't agree to be a part of any missions." He began walking to catch up to her.
"I hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly free yet." She tells him, causing him to frown. "You're still considered Hamel's prisoner and a criminal to the world. I have authorization to shoot you if it comes to it."
Nero scratches the back of his neck, "Thanks, I feel so much better now knowing that tid bit of information."
Eir shrugs not really caring about how the Renegade feels. She only requested for him as a partner because he can hold his own in a fight, and may be able to point out the thief if they come across him. Ezer also asked her to thank him before they left Feita, and she'd feel bad letting the boy's 'hero' rot away in a jail cell. "If you work with me on this mission and we get results, the higher-ups might just let you go."
"You know I could just run away at any moment, right?" He places his hands on his head as they continue walking towards the docks.
To his dismay her response was a nod along with, "You could. It's something you're quite good at that I learned from our skirmishes."
"Tch." Nero clicks his tongue and turns his head away from her.
Eir begins again, "I have a feeling you won't though because our job has to do with that thief you fought earlier in Feita. There's a chance we'll run into him during this mission, and you seemed mighty interested in that sheet of paper we found in his belongings." She looked and made eyes contact with him.
Nero slightly narrowed his eyes at her, 'She's sharper than I thought.'
"This is just a guess on my end, but perhaps there's a connection between you and the thief?" Eir asked though not expecting an answer. She knew she was getting a little bit personal and pushing the boundaries a bit.
Nero's arms dropped from his head and his fists clutched tightly at the thought of his target.
Eir noticed the change in his demeanor and stopped walking to fully face him.
"Yeah… there's a damn connection alright. I'm sure of it." Nero seethed out through clenched teeth.
There was an odd silence before Eir had the courage to speak up again. She could feel the anger radiating off of him, but along with it there was some sort of sadness. There was definitely some goal Nero had, but whatever it could be was truly something she would be left to ponder. The only thing keeping her from seeing him as a murderous criminal were his actions that helped Albaer and Ezer. "I'm sorry… that was a stupid and obvious question." She mustn't forget that Nero is still human. He has a past like her. It was easy to tell that harsh memories were brought up by the question.
Nero took a deep breath to calm himself, "It's fine… So you're saying if I follow you I'm sure to run into that bastard again?"
"Not follow. Work. You're going to work with me." She said surprising him. Eir smirked at his reaction, "I don't want you to be following me around while I pull all the weight in this mission. You better do your share or else in my report I'll make sure you stay in prison for making me do all the work."
Nero cracked a smile at those words, "Heh. Alright then Captain, where're we headed first?"
"Sergeant." She quickly corrected him. "It's Sergeant Eir Repins. Not Captain. I'm sure it'll be a pleasure working with you too Thunderous Renegade."
"It's Nero."
The two came to a mutual agreement and nodded at the other.
Eir opened her hand in front of him at the same time Nero brought a fist out and there was an awkward moment when neither knew what to do.
"Do you… not know how to shake hands?"
"I thought this was a fist bump sort of situation."
Two Days Later
Velder, Docks. 9:00
The dark indigo-haired figure stepped off of the boat stretching her arms into the air, "We've finally arrived in Velder Kingdom!"
Behind her another figure slinked off the boat, dragging his feet and yawning. "It's about damn time."
Eir tilted her head, "Not a fan of ships?"
Nero waved her off in correction, "More like not a fan of cramped spaces." He placed his hands on his hips and began stretching to crack his back, "So what's next?"
Eir pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper, "The officials made us a copy of the map, but they basically just want us to run around checking on the towns until the El Energy Levels go up where it's safe enough to leave alone. Once they're done with counter-measure preparations we're supposed to meet up with the High Magician in Elder." She held the map out.
After plucking it from her hands Nero unrolled it to look at Velder Capital. "This 20 here, is that supposed to be the Energy level? How're we supposed to tell when it goes up?"
Eir put a hand on her hip and tapped her finger at him, "Fu, fu~ You underestimate me." She dug through the satchel on her belt before pulling out a circular, compass-like object. "High Magician Aisha handed it to me before we left. She said this is what she used for her research. Until they're able to come up with something more automatic we're to head over to the El Crystals and measure the El Energy surrounding it."
Nero folded the map and placed it inside his sweatshirt. He crossed his arms, "And I'm also going to assume you know where the El Crystals are in this city."
Eir suddenly stiffened in response and Nero raised an eyebrow. Her shoulders slumped forward and she hung her head in shame before finally responding, "I… I forgot to ask…" She began mumbling things under her breath.
With a sigh Nero began walking in a random direction, "Where are you headed?" Eir asked while jogging to catch up to him.
"To ask around for any sightings of any shady looking guys." Nero replied, Eir tilted her head and Nero sighed once more before stopping to explain, "If we can find the thief we can follow him to the Crystals."
"At that point we might as well just apprehend him." Eir pointed out.
Nero placed his hands into his pockets and continued walking, "That works too, but either way we've found the Crystals and the enemy, right? What's that saying? Kill two Phorus with one stone?"
Eir put her hand under her chin, "I guess it works… But I feel like I'm forgetting something important…" She looked up to say something but after realizing how far ahead Nero had gotten ahead of her, she hurried to catch up.
(Meanwhile at the training grounds in Velder Palace, a bird with a letter lands on a red-haired Lord Knight's hand. He opens the letter and smiles, "Looks like they've arrived…" Suddenly he tilts his head in a questioning manner as he remembers something, "I wonder if they know where the Crystal is?" He shruggs off the thought, "Eeh. They could just come find me and ask if they're having issues. It's here in the Palace anyways.")
Velder, Commercial Area 1. 10:00
Along the white cobblestone the two travelers walked into the commercial district. During the years of the demon invasion this area along with the rest of Velder had been overtaken by demons and the Kingdom was nothing more than a burning mass filled with death and destruction. If one looked hard enough they could find cracks in the buildings around them that dated back to those days. Some buildings had to be completely demolished and built again from the ground up. And the green and blue shingles on many of the roofs had to be remade and replaced, but they shined brilliantly against the sunlight as if to remind the people of peace and hope in this new time.
Hanging from the street lamps were festive flags bearing the Velder Emblem back from the liberation and re-capture of Velder Capital. Both the people and city itself were lively and brilliant during the time of celebration and still are to this day. They stood tall and proud in the wake of its restoration.
Though even among the peace and happiness there always seemed to be something going on.
Eir stopped as her ears picked up a faint sound, "Do you hear that?" She asked Nero who was ahead of her. He stopped to listen but shook his head in response. "It sounds like… a fight?"
Nero nodded. That's all they needed to pinpoint the location of the thief. Wherever there's an uproar, there's bound to be someone suspicious. He knew best from experience after all…
The two quickly headed in the direction of the clamor with Eir leading the way.
They arrived to find a light crowd gathering in the center of a small commerce district, but the people were looking on and surrounding the entrance to one of the buildings. Eir and Nero weaved through the people and made their way to the front expecting to find a familiar hooded figure, but alas… finding the hooded figure wouldn't be as easy as they had hoped.
When they made it to the front of the spectacle Eir sighed and dropped her shoulders in disappointment, while Nero crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. "Maybe I'll stop by for a drink once they're finished with whatever." He commented at the scene before them. The building the commotion was happening outside just so happened to be the bar, and the uproar was just a typical fight of the drunks.
"Ye think yer sooo tough- *hiccup* h-huuuhh?" A dark haired drunk manages to slur out at the other lighter haired man stumbling across from him.
The lighter haired man shakily brought his fists up, "Actuaaally- *hiccup* Y-Yeee… I doooo… *hiccup* C-Come at *hiccup* me!" He messily says through hiccups.
The darker haired man comes at him and grabs him by the shoulders and the other does the same as they wrestle each other to the ground. Stumbling and falling all around to get the other pinned downed.
Eir was about to step in and stop them before they ended up hurting anyone else, but Nero promptly stopped her as he noticed another figure beginning to approach them. Eir followed his gaze towards the other person whose black combat boots had stepped up to the two drunks.
"Hey, hey. What's all the ruckus about?" A dark haired brunette speaks out.
His hair was messy and spikey, but he had a thin, long ponytail tied in the back. It was easy to tell he was different from the other civilians from his clothing. Emblazed on his jacket, reaching to his waist, was a flame design, along with a Velder Knight Patch stitched onto his left shoulder. Orange and red fabric swept out from under his jacket reaching his knees, in which Eir assumed he had another coat underneath. The coat was left open though to reveal dark gray jeans with several belts around his waist.
Underneath the red headband with the words 'HELLFIRE' scratched onto it were eyes with great spirit and fight in them. He had on a friendly smile when approaching the two ruckus doers.
"Thank goodness a Knight's here to end this trouble." Around the two travelers some whispers passed through the citizens around them, and Nero took care to remember the name.
"Isn't that the kid who trained under former Red Knight Captain Penensio after the demon invasion?"
"Woah, 'Kenshiro' is here to stop this fight?"
From the whispers Nero became slightly interested in this 'Kenshiro' character.
"The bar is a place to relax, get drinks, have fun, and wash away your worries." The guy called 'Kenshiro' said. "The two of you should just call it even, shake hands, and head home to rest. You both have had a little too much to drink today." He calmly tried to get them to stop, but unfortunately this just turned their drunken rage and confusion onto him.
The light-haired drunk let go of the dark-haired one, "Wut're youuu t-talking- *hiccup* about?" He began walking over to the Knight, "D-Do you knoooow- *hiccup* who… who I… am? *hiccup*"
The dark-haired one followed up with the light-haired one, "Y-Yeee… *hiccup* You try'in t-to *hiccup* start… a fight?" He confusedly said.
"Taaake… this!" The dark haired one wound up his arm and threw a punch.
Immediately 'Kenshiro' back-stepped to dodge. His demeanor had changed in an instant, and in a swift-movement stepped forward again towards the attacker. The attacker's eyes were wide as he was unable to comprehend the Knight's speed and in a split second took an upper-cut punch in his gut. The force was enough to pull his feet off the ground.
Thinking there was an opening from his enemy-turned-friend getting punched, the light-haired drunk stumbled towards 'Kenshiro' and threw his fist at him. 'Kenshiro' easily dodged to the side as the dark-haired drunk crumpled to the ground. He then kneed the light-haired guy quickly causing him to double over and then the Knight threw a left-hook into his cheek. The skirmish took less than a minute.
The knight let out a slow sigh before looking to his left fist. His eyes widened slightly and he shook his hand out, "Damn, I was trying not to use it that round either." He whispered to himself. He turned back to the crowd, "Alright. The situation is under control. Please continue with your daily activities." He smiled.
"He's good." Nero commented on his fighting, "And it looks like he's got a few tricks up his sleeves." He smirked as he remembered seeing a small, red flame dance on the Knight's fist before he shook it away.
Eir rolled her eyes at his statement, already knowing Nero was looking for a fight. She looked back at 'Kenshiro' and would admit he had a lot of skill. If it came down to it, he would be a difficult opponent. She stiffened though when she noticed his gaze lingering in their general direction a little longer than normal.
'Shit. How could I forget Nero has a damn wanted poster?!' Eir scolded herself.
Nero made complete eye contact with the 'Kenshiro' character and held it.
"We have to go." Eir said quickly. She ushered Nero out of the large crowd, that had formed, and out of sight.
Velder, Residential Area 7. 10:30
"Hmm~ Hummm, Hmmm~ Hm, hm, hum, humm~" A light melody echoes from the humming of a young girl down the alley way. The sound of coins clinking together in a small pouch is heard as it's tossed up and down by the short, light brown haired girl.
She cheered while walking down the alley, "Today was a big catch!" She smiled at the thought of how happy the others would be with what she brought back. She knew the back alleys of Velder city like the back of her hand, and was taking a shortcut back to her "base of operations". However, she stopped short of her course when she heard something interesting happening a little past the outside of an alley entrance.
"Alright 1,200 ED for the information and bottle of refined Elweiser you've got." A male voice spoke.
"What?! Wait a sec. You can't just decide on your own like that. Especially when this money is for us to share." A female's voice spoke in response. There was a pause before she spoke again. Judging by how her tone changed slightly she was talking to a third party, "I'm sorry for my friend here. Please ignore his request. We'll do 500 ED for the information and that's all."
The young girl poked her head out of the alley to see what was going on. A little ways from her she recognized the private stall in the Residential Area which belonged to an old liar who was known for being an 'information broker' and seller of 'refined' alcohol without license. Standing in front of the stall was a dark-haired man with the tips tinted red wearing a black and red sleeveless hoodie, who had full sleeve tattoos on his arms. He was arguing with a dark indigo haired woman wearing a dark grey, long sleeved light jacket. Hanging over it was a dusty brown sleeveless coat connected in the front with two strips of fabric with buttons. Mounted on her back was a large sniper rifle.
"Oi, oi. Isn't that rude of you? After the man went ahead and told us about his secret stash?" The tattooed guy said.
It was obvious the other lady was getting slightly annoyed by his behavior as she turned him around and pushed his head down so that she could whisper something the older man couldn't hear. The young girl however, quietly moved closer to hear what they were talking about.
"This money was given to us by Prince Seiker for the mission. It should only be used when necessary for provisions and sometimes information. We can't spend it recklessly!" She harshly whispered to him
The eyes on the young girl, eavesdropping on them, lit up with excitement at hearing that, 'One more heist shouldn't hurt.' She thought to herself.
The young girl stepped out of her hiding spot to reveal herself, "Hey, what're you guys doing over there?" She waves, catching their attention. She walks up to them and begins to act friendly, "We should head back! Everyone's waiting for us."
The two looked at her surprised before looking at each other. "Do you…?" They pointed at one another and said at the same time. "No." They both shook their heads at each other.
The old man was taken aback and stuttered upon recognizing her, "Y-You!" He looked at his two 'customers'. "Y-You two are in cahoots with her? Get out! I'm not selling anything to you two!" He says before grabbing his things and heading inside his house. He promptly shut the door behind him and clicked the lock into place.
The two 'customers' looked at the girl for an explanation. "You guys shouldn't have listened to the old man over there." She explains, "He's known for lying about his information." She shrugs.
Eir studied the girl whose shoulder length hair was layered and messy, "Thanks, I guess." she scratched the back of her head. "For stopping us from getting swindled." She was a little skeptical of the whole thing, but it was a young girl so she didn't think she had any bad intentions.
"No problem!" The young girl smiled, "I overheard, and you guys are looking for information? If there's anything strange going on in this city I'm usually one to know about it."
At her words Nero took the initiative to ask, "Really? Well, we're looking for a guy, hooded and suspicious."
The girl in the black and white sleeveless V-neck placed her hand under her chin and hummed as if in thought. "Ah yes… just like the hundred other guys in this town," She said sarcastically, "but I think I may know who you're talking about."
Nero sighed. He didn't know if she was telling the truth or not, but they didn't have much of a lead to go off of anyways, "Alright then, where did you last see him?"
The young girl shook her finger at him, "No information here is free, but you both seem like responsible people so I'll make a deal with you guys. If you can best me at poker I'll tell you, but if you lose I get all of your money." She held her hand out for the deal to be made.
The soldier's face twisted at the thought of agreeing to such a horrible deal, "Thanks, but I think it's best if we checked elsewhere." Eir turned to her comrade, "C'mon Nero, it's not worth it."
Nero ignores her words and smirks, "Alright, deal." He shakes the girl's hand. "Does the 12-year-old know how to play poker?" He asks wanting it to be a fair game.
The girl huffs, "I'm 15, but yes." She gives him a smirk back, "I'm quite proficient at it." She then pulls out a stack of cards.
Eir face palms as the two find an empty wooden bench in the area to play on, "What an idiot…" She grumbles.
The young girl and Nero sat across from each other on a wooden picnic bench set up off to the side against one of the residential houses. Both had a mischievous smile on their faces. Eir stood at the end of the table so she could over-see the game.
Nero placed his cards out onto the table, with a victory smirk on his face, "Full house."
The young brunette's smile seemed to grow and fanned her cards down onto the wood, "Straight flush." She winked.
Eir's mouth was agape, "You've got to be kidding me." She placed her face into her hands in shame at how this turned out.
Nero on the other hand couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Damn! I thought I had you for good."
The brunette held her hand out, "Money, if you'd please."
Nero looked at Eir, as he wasn't the one holding the ED given to them. The soldier frowned, she didn't want to hand it over, but she's not one to go back on her word, 'Though it was more so Nero's word than mine.' She sighed, pulled out the pouch, and placed it into the waiting hand.
The girl gave a toothy grin when she felt the weight of the large pouch, "It was great doing business with you two!" She gave a salute and trotted off.
Nero stood up from his seat watching as the girl walked off with all their money, "Well… at least we weren't swindled by that old man."
Eir still quite exasperated, sarcastically replied, "Yes, because getting cheated by a 14-year old is so much better."
"She's 15."
"Shut up."
Velder, Impoverished District. 11:00
Out of place from the scenery surrounding her, the spirited trickster happily walked down the dark alley ways. She still has a little ways to go before reaching her destination, but she was in no rush. Not especially with the big haul she managed to snag today. She thought back to the two recent suckers she managed to win money from. She snickered thinking about how they might've been the weirdest duo she's ever taken from. From everyone she's tricked, stolen, or gambled from… no one was ever amazed by her skill. They were always fuming, and accusing her of cheating and lying. She doesn't usually cheat… That's a lie. She does tend to cheat when it benefits her. However that last game she didn't cheat at all against that stranger!
Almost catching her off guard, some figures stepped out of the shadows in front of her, and blocked her path. She stops as 4 figures tower over her, and her eyes slowly look behind her as more footsteps make their way out. Some more blocked her path backwards. My! She was in quite a pickle now. She was thinking to herself.
"Hey! Remember us?" A female voice said with a growl at the end from behind the trickster.
A guy, in front of her, just a head taller than her with a slight build to him walked towards her, "You cheated from us this morning near the noble district…" He bent down to be eye level with her and smiled wickedly, "We've come to take back what's ours plus interest from the thief." Everyone around him laughed darkly, and he stood back up so he could sneer down at her, "Now… you can-" He had no time to finished his demand as the young girl's leg shot up at his chin, knocking his head upwards. He stumbled backwards while holding his chin in his hand and stabilizing himself.
The young girl held her cheery smile, "I'm sorry, but you win some, you lose some… and you guys just so happened to lose a lot."
The guy grinded his teeth together in frustration, "Get her!" He shouted.
A large guy ran at her with his hands open and ready to crush her. Light on her feet, the girl jumped just as he was about to grab her. She used his head as a vault and kicked off of him and his head soon met with the pavement. She flipped in the air and threw cards out at an oncoming attacker from behind. When landing, she bent her knees and placed her hands on the ground to steady herself. She lifted one of her hands, and with the flick of her wrist a bunch of playing cards were fanned out in her grip.
The short haired girl let out a little laugh as she was losing stamina. She managed to take out a few more of these morons, but the last few proved to be a little more slippery and draining on her stamina.
The ringleader, whose chin was damaged earlier, tried to attack her again but he ended up with a card to his face and a bloody nose. A thug rushed at her with a knife in hand, and she dodged to the side, but an older woman was ready for her and whipped her leg at the young girl. The girl shut her eyes and prepared for impact, but after a while she felt nothing and opened her eyes.
In front of her stood a familiar black and red haired man. He held the chain of a kusarigama, and tangled within it was the leg of the woman.
"I do hope I proved more of challenge at poker than these guys." Nero smirked before letting the woman's leg untangle causing her to lose balance. He then hit her over the head with the handle of his kusarigama, and with such force that the lady had passed out.
The guy with the knife swung at Nero, but before the blade came even close to him a loud shot rang out. The sound of the knife clattering against the cobblestone followed, and the man stumbled backwards while clutching his bleeding hand and groaning in agony.
Nero and the girl both turned their heads in the direction to find the familiar soldier standing with her handgun pointed towards the thug. She sighed and allowed her hands to fall to her sides, and Nero gave her a light salute in thanks.
The man with the bloody nose became frightened at the sight of these two outsiders, and while holding his broken nose in hand, scurried away. His other lackey with the bleeding hand followed, and leaving behind their fallen comrades passed out on the ground.
Eir walked towards the two, "Jeez… We came to get our money back, not to get into a fight." She rubbed the back of her head.
Nero nodded at her words, "Yeah, but now that that's over…" He turned to the young girl, "we propose a re-match." He stated and crossed his arms with a smirk.
The young girl stared at them in awe. They wanted their money back just like those thugs from before, but instead of getting it by force… they want a rematch? She couldn't help but laugh at them, causing them to look at her with confusion.
"Even if we did have a re-match I'd still win." She said as a matter of fact. "And what would I win out of that? I have what I want from you guys and nothing more."
Nero moved his hands onto his sides and let out a frustrated sigh with a shake of his head. He wasn't mad at the young girl, but at himself for losing the game and not thinking this through. He looked to Eir, but she just brought her empty hands up and shook her head. There wasn't much she could do at that point either, they'd just have to continue their mission without ED, or make some along the way.
"But…" The girl started again, "I suppose I can give you guys advice for helping me out back there." This caught their attention. "You were looking for a strange hooded man, no?" She waited for a nod in response before continuing. "I saw a cowled person tip-toeing about near the Palace this morning."
Eir processed the information, "If it was this morning then we might already be too late."
"It couldn't hurt to still check it out." Nero advised her before turning back to the brunette, "What's the quickest way to the Palace?"
The cheerful girl smiled, happy to be of help, "There's actually a shortcut through these alleys. I'm headed in a similar direction, so you can follow me until we reach the cross."
Eir smiles kindly at the girl. Though she may have been the one to rob them of their money, she was just trying to survive, and she knows when her thanks are due. No wonder Nero wasn't too mad about losing in poker to her, "We'd gladly welcome the guide. Thank you…?" Eir's eyebrows went upwards as she realized they never caught the girl's name.
"Danna Fez! Queen of Cash." She jokes with a curtsy.
Eir laughs and plays along, "It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty." She places her hand over her chest and bows, "Sergeant Eir Repins, reporting." Danna grins at her as Eir straightens back up, "and this no-good hooligan is Nero." She introduces nonchalantly.
Nero lifts his hand up with a slight wave, "Even if we're not betting anything I still want that rematch." The edge of his mouth goes up into a slight grin.
"Oh? So you can lose again?" Danna teases walking up to him, "I'll admit you're pretty good, but I was only going easy on you."
He crosses his arm, "Oh really? Heh. We'll have to see about that in the next game." He challenges.
Eir rolls her eyes, "Alright you two. You guys can play another game after we've finished our task we need to do here. Danna, lead the way." She gestures in a forwarding manner, and the cheerful girl begins walking.
During their walk, there was small talk between Danna and Nero about their card playing lives, and occasionally trying to rope Eir into it to talk about hers. After a few minutes Danna noticed a landmark and began to walk a little faster, "Three more blocks down we'll come to the cross section where you guys are going to want to take a…" She trailed off and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were focused one something farther off but high enough where she can see it above the buildings surrounding them. Eir and Nero followed her gaze and their eyes widened at what they saw.
Off in the distance a dark smoke was rising up towards the afternoon sun. Danna went into a full blown sprint in that direction not even turning to give them directions to the Palace. Not that they needed it at that point.
"Danna, wait!" Eir tried but her words were lost as the 15-year-old was focused on getting to her destination. Eir and Nero quickly took off after her. There was so much smoke gathering in that area that it was easy to tell it was not a little campfire made by some citizens. As they ran, they passed the cross-ways that Danna had told them about, but paid no mind to it. They were solely focused on following the girl to wherever the trouble was brewing at.
Upon exiting the maze of alleys they came to an area that was old, and overgrown with vegetation. The buildings were worn and breaking down, and one would think no one lived there. However that was not the case as a few people laid scattered about with others rushing to aid them, and the people hurrying to put out fires that were caught onto a few of the old houses.
Danna ran up to a trio she recognized. There, two children, looking to be no older than 9 and 12 years of age stood with an older lady checking them over for injuries. "Sister Ruhiel!"
The old lady looked up upon hearing her name, "Danna!" She stood up straighter as Danna approached.
"What happened?!" Danna asks breathless, but with worry filling her eyes. Eir and Nero behind her, and listening with concerned looks.
Ruhiel grabbed Danna by the arms, "Danna, it's dangerous here! You have to get help!" She said shaking the girl. "You have to go to the Palace and get help! Take these two with for their safety." She said as she ushered the two children behind her towards Danna.
"But what about the others?" Danna asks fervently, and her eyes scanning the surrounding area.
"Worry not, child! Before this happened, they said they would wait for you at your guys' secret base. And if it's as secret as its name, they should be safe enough!" Ruhiel has the two young ones grab Danna's hands. "I for one wasn't able to find any of you whenever you ran off there!" Even in this dire situation she said those words in an almost joking way.
"M'am, can you please explain to us what happened?" Eir stepped up to ask after realizing Danna's initial question wasn't answered.
Ruhiel looked at Eir and Nero quizzically before shaking her head, "I was a little far from the occurrence, but from what my old eyes could see, there was a man who was walking through this district before soldiers came running from the direction of the Palace and had him surrounded. The man raised his arms, and before I knew it everything was up in flames!" She gestured wildly, "If you're worried for your safety, you two best leave now! Take Danna and the children with you!"
The old lady turns to go help other people, but Nero still has questions, "What did he look like? The arsonist."
"I can't say I really know. It was hard to tell with the hood and all." She gestured to the top of her head.
Upon hearing that, Nero and Eir quickly asked the next question, "What direction?/What direction was he headed in?"
Ruhiel looked at them wide eyed before pointing to her left, "He was headed towards the abandoned warehouse last I saw."
Nero and Eir nod at that and begin running in that direction. Ruhiel turns again to go help other people, but is once again stopped, "Danna!" The young girl was still there, "What are you-?" Ruhiel is confused as Danna places the children's hands into Ruhiel's. Her head angled downwards so it was hard to tell what Danna was thinking or feeling. Seconds passed as she held the old woman's warm hands. The hands that had given her comfort and support through her tough times on the streets. After making sure the two children's were safely encased in them, Danna looked up at the old woman. A smile gracing her features before she lets go, allowing a cold and dreadful feeling to sink into her skin as she runs to catch up to Nero and Eir.
Pushing energy into her legs she's able to catch up to the two with ease.
Nero raised his eyebrows at her as she caught up to them, "Fancy seeing you here. Thought you were headed to the Palace to get help?"
She gave him a very light smile that quickly faded as a thought crossed her mind. Nero and Eir looked at her slightly worried, as the girl was usually bright and smiling. "I would, but... the abandoned warehouse is our secret hideout." She said, allowing Eir and Nero to fully grasp the situation and responsibility she felt.
They nodded and hurried towards it in hopes of making it there on time.
I had hoped to put all of Danna's meeting into one chapter but it looks like this is going to be a slight two part-er. Forgive me for the sloppy writing as I sacrificed details for time to get this out.
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Thanks again for whoever is reading this story, and have a wonderful day!