A/N: Yo~ okay, here's the next chapter. And like I said, this one'll be a filler. So yeah~ expect this to be short.
Okay, one-day writing skills, GO!
Warning and Disclaimer... y'know...
Enjoy~
Chronicles of the Drowned City
C.11: A Fleeting Respite...
"Hmm..."
"...?"
"...I think your good," said Cia, whilst smiling,"you just need some rest. Have you been staying up late?"
"No, not really...," said Yuki, as he got up. Cia pouted.
"Not so much as a "thank you"?"
"...Thanks." Yuki was never really one to thank people. It never really did suit him. Cia sighed.
Right outside of the inn's glass windows, the sky is grey, pouring. The ground and buildings alike are soaked, and sometimes the rain would come in so hard, people would have a hard time seeing, like when your in the middle of a misty ravine, or fog-clouded roads. The dailiy activity in Armoroad, for once, has come to a sudden stop.
Cia meanwhile, has been playing "doctor" for almost a whole day now. She's been doing a good job at it though.
Being their resident monk, and medic, she decided that since they've been going in and out of the Labyrinth for a while now, this would be a good time to do a little check up. Who knows what kind of things the Labyrinth can do to you, right?
"Cia!" called a cheerful voice, before Adisa came in, completely soaked, carrying a bag of supplies. See, while Cia was busy checking up on the others, Adisa decided to go out, do the dirty work, and bring in some supplies. Rudollf's eyes lit up.
"Got what I asked ya to buy?"
"Nope." Adisa then walked into the room, putting her things down. "Just some medicine, and some food." Rudollf sighed. Why, oh, why did he not just go out there himself to get some drinks?
Oh wait. Cia prohibited him to. He's got a pretty nasty cold, and signs of a fever.
"ACHOO!"
"Whoa there! Here," said Cia, as she proceeded to give Rudollf a tissue. He gladly took it, and blew out the contents of his nose.
"My-ahem, Adisa, you should get changed... We are going to resume our explorations tomorrow, and we wouldn't want you getting sick."
"I know. I'll go now~," Adisa then grabbed her clean, dry clothes. She then went into the bathroom. Before closing the door fully, she peeked out. "No peeking!" She said, with a threatning glare, before closing the door completely shut, several clicking noises ringing in the air before it stopped. How many locks are on that door...?
In another room (no, not their cheap, yet horribe and stinky bunk), sat a lone ninja, playing around with fresh animal parts. Before the rain started, she managed to gather some animal parts, legs, heads, eyes, tongue, you name it. It's all there.
She hacked, cut, and pieced together different parts. Still not satisfied, she cut up the mix of fish and frog she just did, and pieced it together with a Lynx's fur. Still not satisfied, she mixed it further, into a more complex, "unique" form.
Hearing the muffled sounds of knives tairing into flesh (yes, she uses multiple knives), Zakharia, who was standing close to the small room, ran out of there. She headed to the rooftops of the inn, eyes on the glass window, ears acting as her sight as she listened intently, and only to the sound of water clashing against the ground.
She really wanted to go outside. It was like a safe haven for her. More so, because it's easier for her to communicate with the stars outside. Especially on high places. She stared, facing forward, but her mind and ears are somewhere else. No longer are they hearing the sounds of rain and rumbling thunder. She wants to talk to her long-time friends.
Heinrich, meanwhile, thought that it would be a good time to update his little journal. He wrote down about what has transpired so far, how the explorations are going, and even wrote small notes of the things they've found so far in the Labyrinth.
"H-Hey, um... has anyone seen my pet sheep...?"
Everyone turned to Guad, then shrugged. Guad's heart sank. Oh no.
He then ran out of the room, heading towards the small room Chitose is in right now. If she touches even a single lock of fur on his pet...
He then reached the room, jerking the door open, hard. What greeted him is the grotesque sight that always accompanied Chitose whenever she had animal parts with her. No maggots, sure, but bodyparts everywhere, and a girl in the middle, blood smeared all over her. How can it not get worse than that?
"If your looking for the sheep, then no, it's not here," she said blandly. Guad sighed, more to relief than annoyance. He then ran out, heading to who knows where, searching for his lost sheep.
He then came into the lobby of the inn, where he saw a girl there, wearing tribal looking clothes. In front of her is Guad's sheep, looking happy and prancing around merrily in front of her. The girl noticed him as she looked up. The sheep did so as well, noticing that his master is there, looking at it. It pranced some more before running up to Guad. The girl followed.
"You... this sheep... you keep?" the girl's speaking is indeed crude, but the Farmer understood what she said.
"Y-Yeah, that's right. So... uh... who are you?" asked Guad, that question being the first thing that came to mind.
"Me...? ...Ribu."
"Ribu"? Well, should be easy enough to remember, even if he didn't ask for a name. Guad nodded before holding out his hand,"Ok... I'm Guad. Nice to meet you."
Ribu looked at the hand, confused. What is he doing?
She just points to Guad's hand, while still looking at it.
Guad sighed. Looks like this girl doesn't understand human interaction all that well.
"You uh.. you shake it." He then grabbed Ribu's left and and started shaking it. "See? Like this."
Ribu got even more confused. What's the point of doing this?
She then sniffed the air, as she had been catching strange scents since she got here. Guad looked at her, before she sprinted off, headed towards...
Where Chitose is.
Guad chased after her.
Next thing he heard is a door being banged open, then some shouting in a language he can't understand.
" 'You! What are you doing to those animals?!' " Chitose didn't catch a thing the strange woman in front of her is saying.
"What? Sorry, I don't speak your language." Ribu grunted a bit.
"You... not do that... to.. animal!" She gritted. Chitose still looked at the girl, confused, but a slight mockery can be seen in her eyes if one would take a careful look.
"R-Ribu! C'mon, let's go!" said Guad as he dragged her away. He did not want anything to start.
They then reached the door to the Guild's bunk, Ribu still infuriated from the sight. How could someone do something like that?!
Guad could almost see tears brimming in the girl's eyes, her eyes red because of anger.
He knew what she's feeling right now. To be honest, Guad's also against Chitose's actions, but hey, it's what she likes to do, so who can stop her, right?
"H-Hey, it's okay... I'm sure those guys don't feel anything anymore," he said, trying his best to comfort her. Ribu only gave a small nod, wiping her face to get the tears out of the way. The door then opened, Rudollf standing behind it, a cheeky smile on his face.
" 'Ey, there, lass~ Found yerself a 'mate, eh?" a smack from a rake came from a now flustered Guad.
"N-No, of course not!"
"Ow! 'Ey, t'was just a joke, no need to hit me like that..."
"What's all this noise about...?"
Everyone turned to look at a very irritated Yuki, massaging his temples hard, eyes almost shut. He leaned against the doorframe, then took notice to the strange looking girl next to Guad.
"...You are?" The girl just went silent.
"He's asking for your name," explained Guad.
"Name...Ribu."
The Shogun raised an eyebrow at this. First of all, her way of speaking is quite crude. Not that he really minded that though. Second of all, the clothes he's wearing. He's never seen attire like that before.
"And... your from?" he asked again. Ribu, again, raised an eyebrow.
"He's asking about where you live. You know? Your home," Guad clarified.
"Home... me... not remember.."
"A case of amnesia?" asked a voice. Cia.
"Am..nesia?" repeated Ribu, completely confused over this new term.
"You don't know? It's when you have a sudden memory loss," explained Cia. She then took a second look of the girl.
Well... she looks indigenous. To where, though?
An awkward silence befell the room. Ribu then broke it.
"You... Guild?"
Everyone nodded, confused at the sudden question.
"Me.. join," she said,"me want to know... Labyrinth..."
In reflex, everyone's eyes turned to their now unnoficial leader, Heinrich. He sighed.
But from the looks of this girl, she seems to be classified as a Wildling. Yes, he did his homework a long time ago. She could help.
Besides, the more the merrier, eh?
"Fine, she can come." He then stood up, but then noticed that it's still pouring outside.
"Wait until the rain stops... besides, the Explorer's Guild is probably closed by now," said Yuki, still clutching his temples. Heinrich sighed. Maybe he'll sign her up tomorrow then. A bright smile spread across the girl's face before she sat down on the floor.
"Me...sleep here...?" Guad looked around. Nope, no more space for anyone here. Even Guad's suffocating already when he sleeps.
But, of course, he can't let her sleep on the floor.
"Well... maybe you can use-" but then, when his eyes trailed to where the girl is sitting on, she's already asleep, still in her seating position. Guad sighed. Oh well...
Zakharia walked towards the Guild's bunk. She's finished talking with the stars for now. They told her to not let the past hold her down, lest she will be killed.
That advise is helpful enough... hopefully.
When she reached the room, the first thing she noticed is that everyone is asleep. Her ears picked up snorring noises coming from some people. Then, her nose picked up something as well. A scent, but not the usual scent of the people around her. This one had a more... wild feel to it, more... natural, as if this person came directly from withing tree barks.
Turning to the direction of the scent, it got slightly sharper.
"Um... did I... miss anything?" No answer. Then, she felt someone pat her shoulder lightly.
"Nothing much. Just a new member." The voice then trailed off, footsteps getting farther, but the smell of animal blood still lingered.
Zakharia stood there, frozen for a second, before she snapped out of it and walked to her bit of the room before lying down, eyes fluttering shut, conciousness slipping as she quickly fell asleep, the skies still pouring outside, albeit a bit less intense now.
-To Be Continued-
A/N: Well... I ended up doing this in a week ^^;; *smacked*
Ahem, anyway, this ended up being an introduction chapter... I'm sorry if Ribu is so cliche... haha, I'm not really good at making characters ^^;;; *kicked*
Anyway, expect a rather late update because I'm working on a little something with my friends~ a story, actually, so yeah! Wish us luck! XD
And now I shall reply to RPs *creeps into Tumblr*