"Ah, Miss?"
"Miriage," I pronounced my last name for the lady as I handed her my application form.
The school hall was a mess of people all around my age and from all over the place. I swear every time I saw a set of ears on someone's head it made my heart leap. Faunus weren't all that were here though, there was teenagers from every region of Vale that I could see. It was funny too because for once I wasn't the star of attention because of my rough exterior. There were kids all punked out with piercings and street clothing. Still, none of them had a tattoo as visible as my bird which I rubbed lovingly.
"Okay Miss Miriage, I see you have your applications in order," she said flipping each page.
"So what's next?" I asked, nervously glancing at all the people around me. The crowd was getting on my nerve and making me anxious.
"Well, we'll have the written exam tomorrow to see where everyone is at. Then a few days after that we'll have the practical examinations," she said in a very polite accent, fitting for a core city of Vale. "We have quite a few applicants this year so things will be lively."
"Yeah, lively," I repeated her.
"Oh wait, it says here on your application that you're from Atlas?" she asked causing alarms to sound in my head.
"Y-yes, is that a problem?" I stammered.
"Not at all. It's just that it's so very far away. You must've had to travel a long ways to get here."
"Yeah," I chuckled weakly, "Yeah I did. It was a perilous journey."
"Well we are glad to have you here. I wish you luck with your tests in the coming days," she said smiling.
"Thank you," I said, curtly leaving her desk.
Basher yelped excitedly, jumping on my leg. I shook him off and caused him to go sliding a few feet.
"Get off you dumb idiot. I told you and Spira to wait at the hotel room but oh did you listen? No! You two had to follow me into a school where they train people to hunt Grimm," I said walking through the crowd towards the exit.
The dumb, fat Ursi was waddling backward staring up at me and opening up a path not with his behind but by the sheer terror that white dumbass instilled in all the other applicants. He just yelped happily like nothing was wrong.
"Don't you get it you stupid thing," I said, putting a foot on his face and using his ass to open the door. "You are Grimm. GRIMM! People here kill Grimm. You Grimm. Grimm bad. People no like Grimm. People make Hunters and Huntresses. Hunters and Huntresses kill Grimm. This school makes Hunters and Huntresses. Does that make it through your thick skull?" I said forcefully as we made our way into the market district outside of the school.
Bash just kept smiling, wagging his stupid tail, and barking cheerily.
"Gods why did I even bother saving you," I sighed. "Spira here is the only smart one."
At that Spira came down from the sky and landed on my shoulder, looking regal as ever. She stretched her wings, purposely shoving them into my face before folding them behind her.
"To think I saved you two with Andy," uttering her name aloud made me freeze in place on the sidewalk.
Suddenly I felt very cold even though it was a warm summer day in Vale. My pets sensed my teetering mental state and ran to my aid but I held out a hand to stop them.
"No, I'm fine. It's not a flashback just… memories. Harmless, old memories, of our promise," I said softly remembering that late morning back at the facility.
I continued to walk until we found a nice café where I ordered a cappuccino, a sandwich, and some pastries. Sitting inside next to a large glass window I sipped on my drink while Basher sat in the chair opposite me and Spira perched on the backrest.
"How long has it been?" I asked to no one in particular. "How long has it been since the facility? How long has it been since I met her? Gods it seems like an eternity."
Basher dug into a pastry in front of him as Spira watched the skies outside, probably imagining the wind rustling her feathers.
"I went to the facility when I was 10, maybe 11. Then I met her and then I left just after my birthday at 17 or so. Or was I 16?" I rubbed the shaved side of my head vigorously trying to remember. "Time flew by. Or more like I didn't keep track of it cause of her. So maybe I was sixteen. We've spent almost a year by ourselves and I turned 17. So that makes what? Five years at the facility, tops?" I continued to speak aloud.
Mindlessly I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out her photo. It had a few cringles in it and some wear and tear around the edges but for the most part it was still intact. Her face hadn't changed, hadn't aged a day, still staring up back at me. That small smile that I knew intimately blessed her face.
"I wonder what she's doing now, eh Bash? Maybe she's still at that damn facility. She chose to stay there so she probably is. That dumb fox, never could understand what was going on in her mind," I scoffed. "Hehe, hey Bash," I said scowling, "remember when her underwear was wrapped around your head and you…"
I stopped, a tear numbly running down my cheek.
"What the…" I muttered then realized how much I was rambling. "Stupid fox," I mumbled, shoving the photo back into my jacket pocket. "She's gone. Gone forever. This, becoming a Huntress, it's all for me now," I said firmly to convince myself.
Spira's head turned and looked at me over her shoulder. She sang out only a few Grimm notes, her voice echoing in my head.
So why come here then?
Cutting through the crowds I escaped the claustrophobia of being around so many people. They were all seething with strife coming out of the Beacon exams like me. Some of them were beaming, probably acing the test and going through it like a breeze. For me and the others it was hellish.
I spent days in the library studying and researching as much as I could about the test but in the end it didn't feel like it helped. Every question seemed like it was in another language altogether. There were some easy ones to start but then they got hard. Things started to ask about kingdom laws, not just from Vale but from all over Remnant. I knew a good handful of the Atlas ones but so many of them seemed like I was just throwing out a guess. Then they started to ask about Grim, species, habits, where they live, how they act, what they eat, how they fight, just everything they could. I tried to think as much about my pets to use as a reference to answer the test. It didn't help too much, they weren't normal Grim. The next section was entirely on fighting, tactics, and the like. I thought it'd be a breeze but they started to delve into teamwork and theory which I had no idea about. I only knew how to fight for myself and by myself.
The last section was by far the hardest. It was a free answer portion devoted all to the test taker's personal life and views. I answered as truthfully as I could but purposely censored some questions. There were things that I wasn't going to tell anyone. Things no one needed to know, except for her. I didn't want to remember or have someone else see what my past was like, how I wasn't a normal teenage girl, and my time at the facility. All my answers left out the facility, my training, and her.
I walked back out on town, enjoying the Vale day. My Grim companions were either back at my hotel room or someone else. It worried me but I knew Spira could take care of herself and was more than able to keep the idiot Basher out of trouble. Still, I got some curious glances for again obvious reasons.
My destination wasn't far but it did take a little while to find. The sign over the shop read 'From Dust til Dawn' beneath it a banner that said 'Newly Reopened'. I stepped inside to see an old man behind the counter, greeting me. Greeting him back I awkwardly walked around the shop, looking for the ammo section. Upon finding it I was amazed at its selection. There were dozens upon dozens of different kinds of dust. Not only that, but there were combinations of your basic dust too! What I had seen as a kid in Atlas and at the facility was nothing compared to the stocked shelves here in Vale. I gleefully perused the shelves, going through pistol, submachine gun, sniper rifle, even cannon sized rounds until I found the correct caliber for my shotgun.
Smiling, I walked back up to the front counter and put a dozen boxes of shotgun shells on it, each box holding 25 shells and each box a different type of dust.
"That will be 600 Lien," the old man croaked.
"600?!" I exclaimed, almost dropping my wallet.
"Yes. It's 50 Lien per box ma'am," he said a little frightened by my sudden yelling.
Despairingly I looked down into my wallet. I only had 800 Lien left. It seemed like a lot but I had to make that last through at least the practical exams, paying for my hotel room and for food not to mention any other emergency that came up. Sadly I took two boxes from the stack of twelve and pushed them towards the old man.
"Just… these two please," I said dejectedly.
He cheerfully took the 100 Lien I gave him and bagged my newly purchased ammo. I wished so much that I could afford all those boxes but I was poor and broke. The two boxes would just have to do for the practical exams and augment my small stash of ammo that I had with me. It would just make fighting or doing whatever I had to do for the tests that much harder. I hoped that all they made me do was fight.
"Uh, Miss?" said a lady behind the front desk of the government office I had just walked into.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You're going to have to leave your uhm… pets outside. They aren't allowed inside the building," she said eyeing Basher and Spira.
I sighed. It had been like this every day and almost every place I went to. People just didn't like my pets. They were dumb, idiotic, loyal, lovable, and wrong colored but they still looked like Grimm. Hell if I brought them into the wrong building they might force me to register them as pets. That would be a monster in itself.
"Spira," I said turning to her, "please take the idiot and go wait outside. Somewhere… quiet."
She just huffed a sigh, having to leave her nice human perch. Sometimes I wondered if she thought she owned me or maybe that she cared for me more than I thought. Landing on Basher's back she rode him like a chariot out the front door.
I scowled at the lady as I past her and walked through the maze of hallways.
It turned out that the practical exams were months after the written tests, stretched out due to the overflow of applications. My meager bank called my pocket wouldn't last that long with what I had saved. I had to get back to work and I only knew one way to make money, by taking bounties and contracts.
Here at Vale's government building for its central police, people like me could come in and look up the contracts that they were offering. The main problem was of course the paperwork. I had to have a license to chase bounties officially and have access to the higher paying jobs. That took time to apply for so I was confined to the lower paying jobs and there weren't many. Between the police, the military, Hunters and Huntresses, and all the students at Beacon there were hardly any jobs available.
I went and stood at the holoscreen off to the side of the police headquarters, scrolling through the contracts. There were security jobs, escort jobs, which weren't my thing because they were a long and consuming engagement to get paid. Then there were the various missing item contracts or just plain out contracts from a mystery book, all more suited for a detective. I was looking for specific jobs, the hit jobs, things like going after criminals, Grimm, or the like for reward.
Finally, after about half an hour of searching I found one. A local gang had been terrorizing the citizens of Vale. The report read that they were a new group that had just appeared on the scene and were making an impression with robberies, attacks, a few bank heists and even some kidnappings. It paid for the capture and arrest of any and all gang members with the inclusion of their leader and any stolen goods. The job was perfect. I quickly reserved the contract before anyone else could and recorded the request number, taking it to the police officer sitting at the front desk.
"Here, I want this job," I told him plainly.
"Oh Skye, welcome back, sure just give me a second," he said.
Usually most people would stare back at me aghast or plain out deny me. The thing was that I had been frequenting the station so much that the officers here began to know me, or at least become familiar with my name. After the first couple of jobs they stop trying to derail my efforts seeing that I was capable of taking care of myself.
"Ah another arrest contract eh Skye?" asked the older officer as he came back, handing me a holopad to sign.
I took the paid and scribbled out my signature. "Yeah, it's what I'm good at and I figure, it'll be good practice for Beacon."
"Oh so you finally are going to that school eh? Well congrats. Ya know I woulda gone when I was a kid but my parents didn't like it and the tests were so hard. They really stressed combat schooling and the like. I'm kinda envious of you Skye," he said grinning.
"There's nothing of me you should be envious off," I said, handing him back the holopad and walking out of the station.
My pets were waiting for me outside. They had made friends with some local kids, those idiots, and were playing along with them. I thought I almost heard Spira cackle as they threw the curled up Basher back and forth from each other like a ball. Bash was shrieking with every toss, unable to unravel from his shell from fear. I thanked the kids for looking after my pets before taking them back, Basher tearfully thankful to be saved from his fear of heights.
"Oh shuddap!" I told him, kicking him softly in his armored hide. "We got work to do. You want to eat meat?"
At the word 'meat' Basher stopped whining and looked at me ravenously, licking his lips and drooling instantly.
"Oh good I have your attention you tiny idiot," I laughed.
I pulled out the holopad from the station and scrolled down the page. It listed all known members, their background, and their crimes. Rereading the contract bounty made me cringe, it was only rewarding 500 Lien but at least it was enough to survive for another few weeks. I finally got to what I looking for and found a list of known hideouts. It listed a few clubs they frequented and said their base of operations to be an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. That would be the place to start.
An hour or so later I sat on a rooftop across the street from the warehouse. The sun was falling from the sky but there was still plenty of daylight left. I decided that going head into the building wasn't the best plan. Sure I could survive it and take out everyone inside easily but the problem was that I needed to arrest them all and the gang leader for the best cash out. The more of them I arrested and the more stolen property I could get returned meant more that I could get paid as a possible bonus. So I sat, gazing at the run down building and taking note of everyone who entered or exited from the building.
Basher had already fell asleep beside me. I picked up his limp body and put him in my lap, the fat ass surprisingly soft. He twitched and squirmed as I pet his belly, probably dreaming about getting bigger or eating more food. Spira yawned as she stood on the roof's edge.
"Hey don't you start that with me you sad excuse for an owl," I laughed.
It was funny, I thought as I let my mind wander from the warehouse. My pets were probably the closest any human being has ever been to Grimm. Hell I was maybe the only person on the planet to know Grimm in this way. Bash and Spira were always seeking warmth. They'd nestle into my body to bathe in the heat from my body but then at other times they'd be protecting me from the cold. Like they preferred being warm but frigid temperatures didn't bother them. Sometimes their bodies would be cold to the touch and then they'd be as warm as a heater. It was almost the same with food, they could eat a mountain or have a single morsel and be fine for a week. Then they had that sixth or seventh sense. I had named in their Grimm Sense. It was almost like clairvoyance or telepathy, they could sense the world around them with unbelievable clarity feeling it rather than seeing or hearing it.
One thing was certain, they were made to survive. Basher might not be as intelligent but still he made up for it in sheer tenacity with how his body was made. I think Spira's charm and brains also made up for his stupidity.
Speaking of the Grimm, she cawed warningly as she tapped her talon on the metal gutter of the roof. I shook myself from my daydream and quickly scanned the street below, spotting the gang leader. He obviously tried to dress, I would say, high class but his scumbag character shone through the khaki pants and dress shirt. His button up rested awkwardly over the back of his belt, a tell-tale sign of a pistol. I watched attentively as he strode into the warehouse, checking up and down the street cautiously.
"Well, at least he's wary," I mumbled, waking up Basher ruefully, "it'll make this a little more challenge and I'll get some more practice in."
I thumbed the keypad on my case, it was coded for my fingerprint and DNA only so no one else could access it. The matte black sides split at the seams, unfolding to reveal a contraption of black steel and armor laying within its lids. I stepped into two flat slots specifically sized for my feet, awakening the slumbering metal beast that I lugged around with me. My combat exoskeleton rose like a zombie from the grave, crawling up my legs and torso. It's inner framework, the guts, motors, and skeleton wrapped around me first. They linked with the leg braces I already had on before latching onto their counterparts that clambered up the backside of my body. The armor followed, pulled up by the framework it was attached to. It covered the metal guts and my own flesh ones snuggly with inches of combat hardened plates. I heard the whine of motorized screws and the snap of locking mechanisms as everything secured into place. Within seconds I was fully encased from head to toe, layers of armor plating protecting me, dozens of sensors enhancing the battlefield, monitors flashing in my eyes, and my weapons at my cold armored fingertips. I was a hulking mass of destruction.
"The Coffin seems to be performing well," I said, using the nickname I had coined for my combat exoskeleton. It seemed fitting as it was a metal prison for my body, a kind of morbid resting place if I ever died in battle.
A clunk resounded from my foot as a flashing light appeared on a side screen next to my visor, showing a flat schematic of my armor and its status. Basher had welcomed my armored self with his usual idiocy, head butting my boot.
"Hey!" I chided him, squatting down to pick up my shotgun. "I can't be like you. I don't have natural armor that grows and sticks to me."
The little Ursi looked up at me confused, tilting his head. Spira just sighed.
"Your back you idiot," I said, tapping one of his black armor plates. When he still didn't get it I picked him up one handed by only one piece of his armor, it obviously part of his skin as he rose up with his legs flailing madly. "See?"
With that I put him down, he instantly went to scratch at the plate I had picked him up by.
"Well, it's time to earn some money," I mumbled to myself.
I leapt down off the five story building I was on. The drop would've broken a normal person's legs instantly. Inside my armor Coffin the joints hummed almost gleefully as they absorbed the shock of my landing, the decaying street crackling under my weight. My legs exploded with force as I jumped again, leaping the two stories up onto the roof of the warehouse. There was the sound of movement inside the warehouse. The helmet of my suit shot out and pieced together over my head on my command. Its thermal sensors showed about a dozen people running about inside the building below me in bright orange, obviously aware of something going on. It didn't matter though because I crashed through a skylight, dropping to the ground with the broken fragments of glass.
The men closest to me shielded their faces from the shards of shattered glass while a few fell onto the ground from the quake of my armored chassis landing on the floor. They mostly looked astonished at some freak of nature, some kind of metal hulk, appearing from the sky. My helmet visor cut through the cloud of dust and debris, outlining targets under a second. Twelve outlines were distinctly listed on my visor. The leader's outline flashed red in my HUD, he was in the depth of the warehouse flanked by two of his goonies.
"Hi boys!" I said in my helmet, my voice projected outside through external speakers on my armor.
Flashes lit up the room as gunfire erupted from all around me. I got to work.
An hour later I stomped into the police headquarters, still encased in my armor, escorting the dozen gang members through the halls. The officer at the desk stared aghast at my armor and then at the bloodied bounties that I had wrangled in. They were all still alive but some had been pretty seriously hurt by some well-placed punches and shots during the firefight. I turned them all in to the officers on duty, standing in the lobby waiting for them to fill out the paperwork and get my paycheck. I didn't bother taking off my armor or sitting, I would've crushed the benches under my weight and taking it off would've been a hassle.
"Uhm, Skye?"
"Hmmm yeah?" I responded, distracted by the scraps on my armor from the fight.
"Here you go. 600 Lien for you bounty."
"600?!" I exclaimed causing the officer to jump. It was somewhat intimidating when I got mad and was dressed in layers of metal. "But what about the other eleven gang members I brought in and all their stolen goods at the warehouse?!"
"W-well Skye, it only adds up to 600 because you aren't a licensed bounty hunter," he stammered.
"Fine," I said taking the small wade of bills from the man.
I stalked out of the police headquarters seething. The pay was enough for another few weeks but I was expecting more. Living in Vale was becoming a real pain in the ass.
The groups of people lingering in the twilight outside parted in front of my armor, fearing becoming pancakes under my feet.
"Alright Basher, Spira. Appears we'll get to eat for…" my voice trailed off as a flashback overcame my vision.
I saw her orange hair topped with those two pointed ears. She was walking away from me. She looked, felt so real I couldn't believe my eyes.
"A-Andy!" I shouted and as she turned her hair shrouded her eyes but her sweet smile burst through.
Then in a second, she was gone, faded into the crowd.
"Bash, Spira, let's go," I mumbled.
I shot awake in my hotel bed, a cold sweat covering my body. Throwing the covers off me, and Basher too in the process, I tried to get up only to realize that I had taken off my leg braces. I could feel the oncoming attack in my mind. It was only inches away from breaking me. I tried to get to my bag and my things to calm down but it was too late.
Tonight my worst flashback came to haunt me.
He used her hands and held me down with minimal strength, my legs useless without my braces on. I tried to shield my face as he rained down fists. I felt my bones break and my body bruise as he kept punching my helpless form. All the time I heard him laugh with her laugh.
Somehow I managed to roll off my bed, still feeling the storm of hits battering my back. I crawled over to my bag, fumbling with the zipper to get it open. It tore apart and flung items everywhere as I frantically tried to search it. Finally I found my flask filled with liquor.
I dragged myself to the nearest wall and sat myself up against it. My body trembled, still hearing him laugh and seeing him. Somehow I managed to uncap the flask's top with my shaking fingers, the strong aroma of my alcohol stinging my nose.
As I was about to raise it to my lips and dump its contents into my stomach Basher ran out from under the sheets that I had thrown onto the floor. He tackled my stomach making me grunt before he threw his fat butt onto my arm.
"Basher… you idiot!" I screamed frantically trying to shake him off my arm, alcohol sloshing everywhere. "Let go! Let go!"
He wouldn't though and kept his paws on my wrist. Spira swooped in then and took the flask in her talons, snatching it out of my hand.
"Spira you dumb… duck!" I shrieked as the second wave of flashbacks began to hit, painting the walls and floor around me in blood. "No… No! Stop it! Help! Help!"
I fell onto the floor and wrapped my arms around me, shaking uncontrollably. Basher wept as he crawled into my arms and began to lick my tear ridden face. Spira returned and wrapped us all in her wings, her Grimm lullaby quickly filling my ears. I laid like that in the middle of the night for a long time before the flashback slowly faded.
Drying my tears I pet a weeping Basher, "Hey Bash, I'm okay. I'm okay." I said it more to reassure myself if anything.
Spira cawed then, tucking her wings back behind her and she hopped to stand in front of me.
"Spira, I didn't forget about you," I said scratching her chin, "thank you for you lullaby. It always helps. Can you guys grab my leg braces please?"
They both obliged and brought me my braces which with a yell I attached to my legs. Stretching them out I went to wear my flask laid and picked it up and capped it. It had been months since I had had a drink. The flashback tonight was so terrorizing that I couldn't think of anything except alcohol to ease my pain. Until tonight I hadn't had a flashback like that in a handful of weeks. It was unnerving how it all hit me at once.
Basher came up and rubbed against my leg as Spira landed on my shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah guys… I'm okay. Sorry for waking you up and everything. Ugh and I needed a good night's rest for the tests tomorrow," I sighed rubbing my face.
Tomorrow, or today if it was past midnight already, was the practical tests for Beacon. From what I had gleaned at the library and asking around it involved more combat and skills related tests. Unlike the exams I was excited for this and had tuned my armor and cleaned my shotgun the day before. I had been training for the past couple weeks, using the odd freelance jobs that the police gave out as practice while also earning some cash.
I needed to sleep but I didn't feel like trying after that ordeal. Double checking all my gear only took a minute so I put on some coffee while I fished out a couple pieces of raw meat to feed my pets. As they devoured their treats I flopped onto the bed, my hair fanning out behind me along with my arms.
"I guess I just grew a little too comfortable with all… this," I said to no one in particular. "The work, the tests, living, I must've gotten used to it all. Of course the stupid flashbacks come to remind me of…" my voice trailed off as I shuddered, remembering the attack and the reasons why. "Ugh… I need to get some fresh air," I mumbled, getting up and putting on my clothes.
As I grabbed my jacket and opened the door I asked over my shoulder, "You two coming?"
With one big gulp, both my pets finished their pieces of meat. Basher ran over, specks of his food stuck in his teeth and around his mouth.
"Bash. Clean your mouth."
We walked out of my hotel room and into the night, Bash hobbling along as he cleaned his maw with one paw. He ran into a few walls and corners, that idiot not paying attention.
It was still dark outside. The sky hadn't began to turn its purplish black, a sign that the sun was about to broach the horizon. Vale was kept alight despite that by ornate lanterns and street lamps that hung off curved arms from buildings or street poles. They gave the roads a warm feel but made the shadows into ghastly shapes. Those didn't bother me though, I had more nightmarish things to haunt me.
I roamed around aimlessly with no destination in mind. I was familiar with this part of the city for it had been the area that I had stayed in for the past few months. The stores, cafes, and restaurants knew me after I frequented them so much. It was hard to mistake a girl with a shaved head, tattoos, and two very Grim-like pets that followed her around constantly. Naturally they took a while to warm up to me, something that I was still awkward with. Interacting with other people was never really my strong point. I was used to scientist and guards who didn't care about me and then… and then… my one and only fox eared friend.
Instantly I felt taken away by images and thoughts of the facility and her. They blanketed my senses, especially my vision as I relived pleasant memories. Immersed in them so much I ran into a street pole.
"Ow! Ah, gods that hurt! Now I know what that feels like Basher," I hissed as he cocked his head up at me. "Yes you, idiot," I gave him a nudge with my foot.
Spira landed on my head and pecked at me with her beak.
"Hey! Knock that off," I scowled shaking my head so that she had to spread her wings for balance. "You know how sharp your damn beak is?"
I turned and walked over to a nearby store, using its window as a mirror. In the iridescent orange light that emanated from the lamps I could clearly see myself. The girl before me looked rough, almost punkish but a hell of a lot better than the one who first ran away from the facility. Her jet black hair rushed down like a waterfall over her right side, streaming past her shoulder. The other side of her head was freshly shaved revealing that lark tattoo that was suspended in a perpetual dive toward her collarbone. Green glinting eyes stared back at me through dark slits of eyes. Despite my outlandish look I wasn't that poor beggar with overgrown and greasy hair nor with torn and holed clothes.
The girl in my reflection smiled back at me awkward as I rubbed the shaved side of my head, my little habit.
"Hello Skye," I said to my reflection, Spira studying me from her perch on my head while Basher was snarling at his own image.
Reaching up to pet my Nevermore I mumbled without thinking, "What would she say n-…"
The rest of my words were lost as my eyes focused beyond my mirror image and saw the display before me. Lined in tiered rows, like miniature steps that lead up to nowhere, were rings of all kinds. They were silver and gold and dark colored rings whose metal I couldn't name. Some had jewels or diamonds of varying sizes, as small as a grain of sand or as large and gaudy as a coin.
I chuckled to myself, "Why would anyone every want to buy one of these things?"
When I my eyes trailed up to the sign above the rings I froze.
"W-w-w-wedding bands?!"
I stood there frozen with my hands pressed against the glass and yet, I felt my face burning with heat and my insides squirming with fire. Numbly reaching inside my jacket pocket I extracted her picture which I always carried on me. Her orange hair framed her smiling face and her orange fox ears were like candles and toppings on a cake.
"Ahem…" I coughed rather forcefully, remembering all the times I had munched on them before to her dislike. But then the burning of my cheeks flared up as I glanced back up from her photo to the rings. My heart throbbed in my chest as the thoughts and images that were flashing through my head. Beginning to feel a tingle in my toes and fingers I snapped around so I faced the empty street, trying to catch the breath that had escaped me.
With the… strange images faded from my mind I slowly wheeled back around. Glancing very closely at the rings I read one of the price tags.
"That much Lien for a little ring?!" I exclaimed, quickly moving down the lines of rings to check other prices. "Oh dear… Wait… What the hell am I doing?" I asked myself, pushing away from the window display. "Why would I even imagine… No it isn't even possible… Hehe, who the hell knows where she is or… or… or even where she is right now! Ha! That's right! It's not like…. It's not like I'm ever… going… to see her… ever… again…" with that admittance I began to feel heavy with despair. "Not like she would even say… say… Argggghhh gods!" I said throwing up my hands and turning to trudge down the street back to my hotel room.
I went to shove my hands into my pockets but stopped before I crinkled the photo I still held in my hands. Staring at that face held me in place and with a confused and unexplainable reluctance I went back to the shop window. Scanning once more I looked for the cheapest ring.
Far to the right side of the window, almost hidden by the shadow of the window's edge was a small ring. It was a shining silver, devoid of diamonds and most of the other extravagant decorations of the other rings. Its only distinguishing feature was how it was engraved and weaved to look like two vines wrapping around each other. The edges of the ring were curved, following the waves of the vines giving it a unique form. Craning my head so I could see the tag that was laid inside the ring I cringed.
"1,000 Lien…"
Thinking about how much I had saved currently and what I made from various jobs and bounties I did each week my hopes dropped.
"I would have to starve and sleep in the streets again unless I could find a way to make more money…"
A loud and long yawn that sounded like a growl emanated from beside me. Basher flopped onto the ground, instantly asleep. Sighing I picked up his limp form and tried to roll him into his armored ball to no avail. I threw his large butt over my shoulder, his body unconsciously latching onto me with a gentle touch so his claws wouldn't pierce my skin. Spira stayed on my head as I turned away from the store finally.
"Maybe…" I mumbled as I walked back to my hotel.