sw087: Something on the smaller towns after TLA and wanderer!Felix!

Alhafra. He doesn't know why he went here. He hated this damn town. Well… he hates the mayor, no, he's fashioned himself as a king now. The city or kingdom as the bloated gasbag seemed to prefer it be called, had expanded to reflect this, and was easily a rival for Kalay in terms of size. And size alone.

The quality left much to be wanted. While the central city, near the oaf's 'castle' the city flourished as any one would expect. Rich nobles, who had paid their way into high society lived lives of luxury and comfort. The less fortunate though, they were left to the hastily constructed slums surrounding it, streets and shacks and crude alleys stretched on like a maze. At least the stores seemed to be stocked with food and goods, so it seemed he wasn't completely holding out on whatever gain he received.

He leaned against the gated wall separating the higher class lives from the lower, watching as caravans laden with food and wares entered hourly, while only sparse wagons remained in the much more populated areas that did not deserve as much because they lacked the gold. It sickened him truly, if he didn't know better he would have killed the man as he had sworn to do twenty years ago.

But, taking him down would only result in another greedy noble taking his place, and all of it would likely effect those in need the most. He sighed, shaking his head in disgust as he begins to march away from the wall, hopefully never having to return to the city. It shall be its own downfall.

Then, a quake. Felix stumbled from the tremors and the surprise of such a centralised shock. He collapsed to the ground, just in time to see a young girl rush past him, Psynergy ablaze as she grabs his only bag of gold. He grumbled and hurried back to his feet, already prepared for the second quake the young girl had sent his way. Normally he would not have given chase, except for the fact that the bag of gold she had taken was his only one. Besides, he was curious about this young Adept.

She was fast, she had already rounded a corner quite a distance away before he was able to give chase. But, thankfully, Felix could still feel the lingering pulse of her Venus Psynergy in the earth, and could follow her. He gave chase, catching the raven haired girl disappearing around a corner whenever he rounded one. There was always a quake after each one, obviously in an attempt to throw him off.

The chase eventually came to a close as he turned into a dark alley, finding just a few pieces of wood constructed into some form of makeshift shelter. His heart took a dive, he had expected poverty, but nothing like this.

"You shouldn't steal." He said simply, stepping further into the alley.

"How else would I eat?" The small voice returned.

Felix did not have an answer. She was but a child, not much older than his nephew would be. She had no chance of obtaining a job or home in this city. Leaving it would probably result in her being eaten by some monsters.

He sat down a small ways away from the wooden construct, staring at it, "May I at least have some of my gold back?" He asked, producing an apple and some bread from under his cloak. Idly, he remembered when Jenna had offered the young boy bread in this very city all those years ago.

The girl's eyes peeked around the corner of her home, narrowing cautiously as she saw him with food. Slowly, she stepped out, her bare feet sinking into the dirt and mud of the alley as she gently gripped a small dagger. Felix smirked a little, she was clever at least. He took in her rag-covered form, his mind returning to his time in Prox when he was wrapped in the many discarded mismatched cloaks of Proxians to defend against the blizzards.

"Where are your parents? Guardians?" He questioned as she slowly approached, each step followed by a pause as she reassessed the situation.

She didn't answer, but Felix could clearly see the answer in her eyes. Rather than dwell on it anymore, he extended the apple out to the girl.

"You're aware you're an Adept, then?" He asked as she warily took the apple from his open palm. She nodded her affirmation, taking a bite of the succulent fruit and sitting down cross-legged in front of him, "I'm rather impressed. I was not capable of quakes at your age."

Her eyes went wide as she stared at him, and he responded by growing a ring of vines around the two of them.

"So you're-"

"Felix, a Venus Adept like you."

"Felix…" She said thoughtfully, "I've heard stories of you."

"Truly?" He played.

"Don't make fun of me. You saved the world, everyone knows of you." She snapped, to which Felix replied with an apologetic and curt nod, "Sorry." She finished, dropping the bag of gold back in between them, "I shouldn't steal from heroes… I thought you were just another merchant guard." Her eyes were still fixed on the large purse though, obviously sick to be parting with it.

Felix opened the bag and took a few of the coins, all that he would need for the next day or three, before closing it and handing it back to the girl. Her eyes went wide as he pushed the bag of gold into her small hands, her dagger falling to the ground.

"Keep it, you need it more than I." Her mouth was agape as he offered one of his seldom seen smiles. She swallowed and seemed to try to shake her head, though it amounted to nothing more than once to the left before returning to stare between him and the gold in her lap.

With that, Felix stood, happy in the knowledge that he had improved the little life for now. The thought gave him pause as he reached the mouth of the alley. For now. How long before that gold ran out? What if she fell ill? What if she was robbed? Gold could only provide so much for a girl as young as her.

Amelia smiled widely as she was carried on Felix's shoulders through the lands surrounding her old home, his backpack providing a comfy surface to lean back against. She hugged the ebony-haired man's head as she looked out over the surrounding fields, and silently whispered her thank you to him.

Meanwhile Felix wondered if this was how his sister and all the others felt when they carried their children with them.

Yeah… not really so much what happened the small town as it is me indulging myself. It did have wanderer!Felix though, right? That's good.
Anyhoo… hope you like it!