CHAPTER 2
The Train
"I will call your bet and raise it a centon," Fernandina called out as she dropped a few more gold coins onto the lot. So far the lot was up to about 20 centons, and Fernandina was running down to her last coin.
"Are you sure? I don't want to see your face when you lose," Riven said boldly over the muffled clatter of train wheels. She put the rest of her money on the pile and shuffled her cards around in her black gloved hand eager to place them on display. "I wonder what I should do with the winnings. Maybe I could buy a new coat, or some books. Surely you wouldn't have any need for the money anyway," she teased, balancing herself on the edge of her seat. Riven looked into the eye of her sister, which glared out from underneath her golden armored helmet. "on the count of three," she called as the two sisters readied their hands. Their chairs reeked of enticement as the two girls sent eager glares at each other. "One."
"Two," Fernandina followed squirming a bit in her massive armor. Her cards gleamed in her golden gauntlets with the destruction of her sister's game.
"Three!" they both called out together. Riven threw her cards down on the table to reveal a straight. Fernandina's hands were carefully placed down on the table as a straight flush showed itself one card at a time. It seemed like every card was a slap to Riven's face as her sister grabbed the pile of loot. She gave out a loud moan as her head fell to the table. "I thought I had you there!" Her choppy white hair fell down around her face.
Fernandina gave a small chuckle as she pocketed the money in a leather pouch at her side. "I guess cards is just like sparring, sister. I always come out on top."
"Not without a few dirty moves, you don't!" Riven's muffled voice called out from the table. As the two sisters bickered back and forth on the matter of games, money, and cards, the train bounded towards Midtown Central Station, away from their country home of Arrington. The passengers on the train were travelling for hours on the rickety track and were quite relieved when they heard the whistle cry out, warning them of their approaching destination. Midtown barreled into view with its wide, tall buildings. Fernandina gaped out the window at the site of the city. Neither of the girls ever been to a large city before, not to mention Midtown itself. When the city started to tower over the train, it was quickly whisked away by the station's cover.
Riven moaned as she was awaken from her nap by her grey eyed sister. She slowly massaged her face and ruffled her white hair, just to get up and shuffle along with all of the other passengers out of the train. Her little sister clanked down the steps in her chunky golden armor, towering over all of the other people in the station. Everyone gave strange stares at her, but thought nothing of it. Riven hobbled down the station after her, her stature belittled by the massive suit. A small suitcase was clutched in her hands.
The station was cluttered with people and luggage making it hard for anyone to get anywhere. Riven waddled down the way with an elbow in her ribs and someone's suitcase in her ear. She grumbled to herself as a case whipped around and smacked her in the back of the head. Fernandina walked through the station with no trouble, as everyone parted away for her huge figure. A suppressed giggle left her mouth as she looked back at the trouble her sister was getting into. Somehow she managed to get her long green coat caught on the back of a luggage trolley, hanging her a foot off the ground. "Sister, stop hanging around!" Fernandina laughed and pulled her off with a swift movement of her arm. Riven grumbled as she brushed the dust off of her coat, resituating it on her back. As she bent down to grab her bag, she noticed that it simply wasn't there anymore. Stifled yelps and screams came from the crowd around them as a dirty man started to make off in a rush, throwing people off to the side. In his hand he flung around a jet black suitcase. Her suitcase.
"HEY!" she yelled after him, forcing her heavy legs into a sprint. The crowd was rapidly parting from the race. The thief ran off to the south corridor as Riven and her sister pursued him. Several times the man tried to stop them by throwing obstacles, sometimes even people, in their way. Fernandina gracefully hurdled over the obstacles, even in her bulky armor, while Riven tripped and stumbled over a few overturned suit cases. They chased the man all the way through the station, catching the sight of a few military and police officers. Riven picked up her speed as they started to get towards the exit. She was nearly on top of him. Her hand was barely touching the tails of his coat, when the man swung her suitcase around towards her head. Her head dropped ducking under the brick, but her feet stumbled a bit, tripping over each other. The man gave her a sly grin as he raced away with her bag. As Riven fell towards the ground, she punched her hands together and hit the ground. A large grin was born on her face as purple electric started to spark with the morphing ground. A large wall protruded from the ground right in front of the man. His body slammed into the slab of earth and he fell to the floor, tossing the suitcase across the way. Riven tackled the man as Fernandina raced up to her to help. Fernandina pried her sister off the thief and placed one of her heavy boots on the dazed man's chest pinning him there.
"Riven, couldn't you have taken him down without defacing the station? Look at the mess you made!" Fernandina scolded him. They looked over their shoulders to see overturned luggage and confused and battered people. Riven merely shrugged it off. With a pound of her fists and a flash of electricity, she put the station floor back to its original form.
"It's not like we did anything wrong. What are they going to do, arrest us for tipping over a few suitcases?" she huffed. Right behind her, she heard someone clear their throat loudly. Riven jumped in the air and spun around to see the chest of a tall black haired officer. His blue military uniform was adorned with medals and pins, while his black eyes glared down at her.
"You two, Come with me," the man's deep voice commanded. He grabbed the girl by the shoulder and escorted her out of the station, while a couple officers dealt with the grumpy thief, who didn't like being on the short end of the stick.
Okay CH2 done! yay!. Next up CH2 part B! can't have just one POV in this situation now can we? Fernandina is not hollow! Just wanted to make that clear. You will find out why she wears armor in later chapters, but I just don't want flames. Yet again I want to say this is not a direct plot or character connection to the manga. Though the character resemble and act (to a point) like the ones in the books they are not. this will become more clear in the later chapters.