Let's go!
Chapter 21:
It was dark by the time Hei and co made it back to the Black Swan Tavern, only to find the doors locked and the inn-keeper, a miserly old woman fresh out of sympathy for then, shooing them away.
Apparently, word had travelled fast of an attack in the city, and the resultant patrols and security had heightened to insane levels. That, Hei could attest to as he had to dodge several patrols on the way.
They weren't suspects, but considering where they came from, and the fact of what Ruby was, it was better to play safe and avoid any sort of confrontations. Besides, everyone's muscles were burned out and floppy at this point. No amount of adrenaline would give him the strength needed to fight. Or even run away.
"You can't stay. You need to leave. Now," barked the inn-keeper, eyes darting around the dark street. A few lanterns, Dust and fire alike illuminated the deserted roads.
Hei made to protest and plead, but she was having none of it.
So, with reluctance, they departed.
"Where are we going to go now," hissed Roman. It was his turn to carry Ruby as Hei was exhausted. They all were.
The sound of soldiers approaching around the block, coupled by the glow of a lantern, could be heard.
Hei cursed.
There wasn't much else to do except run and bunker down somewhere on the street. And in this cold, that wasn't advisable.
The trio ducked into an alley while Hei took an embarrassing amount of time to think. He was tired.
As the soldiers passed by it was Neo that came up with a plan.
Tugging at Roman's jacket hem, she gesticulated wildly. Unfortunately, it was dark and hard to see what she was trying to communicate.
"What? Slow down Neo," exclaimed Roman.
Hei glanced up in confusion.
She signed at him furiously, pointing to the tavern, and then in to the distance.
Even Hei wasn't following. He said as much.
She facepalmed in frustration, before shooting them both an exasperated look.
She did some more signing, before mimicking holding Hei's weapon and shooting someone from above.
"What. Carter? What are you on about, Neo?" asked Roman.
Neo wanted to scream. Of all the people she would have expected to understand what she was saying, she would have expected Roman understand. As in the person that actually knew sign language.
She nodded her head while pointing to the Black Swan Tavern, willing to forgive Roman for his confusion. It was dark she supposed.
"The Inn? What about -? Oh. Carter's inn!" The bell went off in Roman's head, and Neo nodded vigorously.
It was a smart choice. Maybe.
Hearing another approaching patrol, Hei decided it was their best bet. There was a slight problem however.
"How are we supposed to get there, exactly? It's dark as fuck and there are more patrols than hairs on my head?" asked Roman.
The smug smirk Neo shot them told them all they needed to know.
The moon was at its zenith when they finally entered Carter's tavern.
It was pretty much in the exact same state that they left it as. Upturned chair and tables, broken glass, the odd flickering lantern, and several stone-cold corpses lying in so much blood that the entire floor was sticky.
Amongst all of that was someone they were all pleasantly surprised to see.
"It's Hei!" exclaimed a relieved Miltia.
Tony smiled smugly as he pushed himself off the bar-bench.
"I told you so. Hei's smart, and he knew to come here."
Hei barely acknowledged Tony's words, to engrossed in accounting for everyone in relief. Meanwhile, Neo silently raged that it was actually her idea to come here, and that Hei was too stupid to figure that out. Alas, no-one cared to pay heed to a mute's silent ramblings.
Scowling, she promised she would get revenge on Hei for this egregious betrayal.
"We couldn't find her," admitted DJ glumly, only for Hei to shake his head.
"It's okay. We did. How'd you get here?"
It was Melanie that answered.
"We had to call it quits when it started getting dark. When we returned to the inn, the streets were swarming with guards, and they were roughing people up, asking questions and entering homes by force."
That didn't sound good at all.
"That mangy old hag kicked us out," she growled. That lined up with Hei's experience.
"So, Tony got the idea to come here, as it was shelter and the one place you'd probably come to next."
"And I was right," he proudly exclaimed.
Even if he was the second oldest, his voice carried with it some childish excitement that practically begged approval.
Hei relented with a sigh.
"Good work, Tony."
"So, what happened anyways?" asked DJ.
"No freaking clue," answered Roman with a shake of his head.
"Red will probably have the answers, but she's out cold."
"Ugh. Great," groaned Melanie.
Hei cut in quickly.
"There were Grimm, and there were Huntsman. It was a mess when we got to her. We hightailed it out straight away once we got her. As for the rest? Well, we'll find out soon enough."
He fixed everyone a firm look as he glanced around slowly.
"All we can do at this point is lay low, lick our wounds, and try to wait the heat out."
"And then what, Hei?" demanded Melanie, hands on her hips.
He met her frown with a raised eyebrow.
"What do we do? We have nowhere to go. We have no money. We have no allies or resources to pull from."
"She's right," nodded DJ.
"And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be caught in here with a bunch of bodies while there's Hunters and Huntsmen out there," he added nervously.
Hei glanced down at the corpses littering the floor and the blood everywhere.
"And even if we could leave, where would we go?" came Miltia's voice.
All good questions. And none with easy answers.
Hei ran a hand through his hair as he let out a sigh. He seemed to be doing that a lot.
The fatigue was catching up, and the adrenaline had worn off. Everyone had been awake for a good thirty hours straight at this point.
"Why do we have to leave?" frowned Roman, and everyone shot him a questioning look.
"Uh, because we're back on the run again?" retorted Melanie with an incredulous expression.
"Are we? Hei's right. We just need to hunker down for a little bit and let the Huntsman have their adventure, and then things will calm down. In the mean time, we already have shelter, and we have food. And money. We have opportunities even!"
Tony sighed, shaking his head with exasperation.
"Roman, what are you even on about?"
"Uh hello?! I'm talking about the freaking pub we're standing in right now?!" he exclaimed, arms flying wildly as he gestured all around them.
Hei looked up at him.
"Those Huntsmen are too busy dealing with those gangbangers and the Grimm. I doubt they even know about Ruby, and they were probably too busy dealing with creepy skull-face. Right Hei?"
Hei grunted out a likely affirmation.
"So," he continued, everyone now listening to him more carefully. "That means they probably don't even know about us. No. Scratch that. They don't. We didn't interfere with them or get caught up with the Hunters. So that means we're probably pretty damn safe, actually."
"Except for the fact there's a damned Grimm-Whisperer that was sighted out there," retorted Melanie.
"Ah! They saw Grimm," reminded Roman with a finger in the air.
"They saw Grimm with silver accents, Roman," breathed Hei, rubbing his eyes blearily.
"Yeah, but they don't know who summoned the Grimm is what I'm saying. Besides, didn't you say Carter said those Westenders were Grimm fanatics anyways? All about worshipping them?"
Hei nodded with a frown.
"Right, well I can believe that with the way they were dressed. No, what that means, people, is that the Huntsmen will probably assume that they summoned the Grimm, or whatever. They don't know about us."
Hei had to admit Roman was most likely right. But without knowing Ruby's side of what transpired and who witnessed what, it was hard to say.
"That means we don't need to run," continued Roman.
"If anything, we've found our perfect home," he rapped his knuckles on a nearby table, the wood echoing the noise throughout the tavern.
The twins shared a thoughtful look, while Tony looked contemplative.
It was Hei that spoke up.
"Even still, how do you propose we provide for ourselves?"
"Come on Hei," scoffed Roman.
"You're the smart one, boss. It's a pub. That means they already have money. And more importantly! Booze."
Hei froze. It made sense actually. As loathe as he was to admit, Roman might actually be onto something.
"What, so you can get drunk on top for your smoking Roman?" snarked Melanie.
"No, you idiot. This place sells liquor. We have this place now. So now we sell liquor. Boom. Easy money solved."
Hei stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"You know, that might not actually be a bad idea, Roman."
Roman smirked, leaning onto one of the tables behind him.
"See. Even Hei approves."
"It's less I approve, and more it makes sense," he corrected.
"It would definitely take care of our lack of money," agreed Tony. "Besides, it's not like he's gonna be giving us any trouble for it," he gestured disdainfully to where Carter was still lying.
"So, no more on the run and other horrible shit?" asked Melanie hopefully.
"Maybe. We still need to keep our heads down, and I need to speak to Ruby to get a clear idea of what happened when she was gone," said Hei.
"In the mean-time, let's get rid of these bodies so if the Garrison does come knocking they won't immediately go to arms."
Roman raised an eyebrow.
"Um. Where are we supposed to dump 'em Hei? The streets?!"
Hei fixed him an unimpressed look. Roman paid no heed and continued.
"In case you forgot about the hundred patrols –"
"Roman."
"Yes Hei?"
"The back room where the trap door is."
"O-oh. You mean in the sewers…."
"No Roman, they are patrolling everywhere! If they are serious, they'll probably send people down there too. Keep the bodies up top. Find something to wrap them in and then get a bucket for all the blood."
Glynda was growing frustrated, and despite the wealth of stamina the other Huntsmen and Huntresses under her command her possessed, she could sense their fatigue.
The lack of results thus far was the contributing factor.
Her team had been at the search for well over twelve hours. It was already past midnight and they still hadn't turned up any clues.
There hadn't even been any Grimm or rogue Hunters to at least vent her frustrations out on. The local Hunters and city guards had taken care of that ages ago.
And there were no leads, either. The Wall Commander was useless and had nothing of value to share. There weren't any survivors amongst the attackers to interrogate. The Royal Guardsmen had massacred them. A report would later, hopefully, be compiled based on the evidence left behind to generate some information for them to go off of later. But that would be a while yet. And right now, somewhere in these buildings, streets and sewers, was a Grimm Whisperer. Unless the cursed thing had already fled the city.
The City Guard was supposed to have already barricaded and locked all entry and exit points in the city by now, but word took time to spread. Then there was the matter of competency. Ugh. She despised having to work with such useless slackers who cared for nothing but the weekly pay they received.
It was times like this where she wished she was in Atlas. They were much more technologically advanced. When she went with Ozpin on an annual meeting trip, she got the opportunity to see what new advancements were being made.
One of particular note that stood out, although it was still under development, was the creation of a device capable of long-range communication.
It incorporated a mixture of Dust and the Arcane, coupled with some weird technological contraption.
Whether it worked or not, she ruefully wished that she had something to communicate back to Ozpin with. Whether it be an update on any leads to search for this Grimm-Whisperer, or a means to speed up locking down the city further.
Most guards and Hunters she had encountered were already on alert and doing traffic checks and searching buildings and homes. For all the good it would do. There was way too much ground to cover in too short a period of time.
There were a few lax guards, however, that had to be firmly reprimanded for dereliction of duty. Those frustrated her to no end.
"Do you have anything?" she called towards Mr Daichi, mountain of a man that he was. He was moving out of an alley to report to her.
From what little she knew she understood he came from a line of Huntsman indebted to House Adel, and acted as their bodyguards. He had a son, Yatsuhashi, who was already being trained as a warrior.
"Nothing," he shook his head.
Damn. Not a single cursed lead. There wasn't even a blood trail to follow.
At this rate, they were going to turn up nothing, and the Grimm-Whisperer was going to escape. "Any trail we would have had will be cold by now. We'll loop up with the others and focus on locking down the city exits. We'll try and narrow down whether or not anyone suspicious has left lately, or if there have been any further incidents."
"So, we're not going to search for the Grimm-Whisperer?" he asked, confused.
"Glynda's right. Er, Miss Goodwitch I mean." The huntress speaking flushed as she caught Glynda's irritated glare.
"We don't have any proper leads, so we're just burning away time and resources."
Glynda was quick to correct her, however.
"We are not giving up the search. I still want patrols searching. We just need to close the net in on the city. If the General has done his part and locked every entry point in a timely matter, then we should be able to at the very least keep the Grimm Whisperer trapped in the city."
Another Huntsman spoke up, worry evident in his voice.
"Is that really a good idea, though?"
Glynda raised an eyebrow, and he elaborated.
"If we keep the Grimm-Whisperer trapped in the city, then don't we run the risk of them lashing out when they become cornered?"
Glynda frowned.
"Nothing's to stop them from acting out again as it is right now. And frankly, it is in our best interests to catch it as soon as we can. Otherwise we will have another incident on our hands."
The walk back was sombre, and internally, Glynda hoped that Ozpin had somehow managed to generate a lead. Something, anything.
Ozpin ran a hand through his hair as he listened to Glynda's report. A report that only served to irritate him. Not at her performance, but at the lack of leads.
"…And so the trail will go cold," he groused under his breath.
"Sir?"
"Nothing," he replied, louder.
He cast a glance outside his office window and down into the city below.
The sun was just starting to rise, the first rays breaching over the tops of the white walls of the outer perimeter. The buildings below, with their rustic red rooftops, seemed to subtly glow. The layers of snow and ice below reflected the city lamps and the lanterns of patrols moving.
"We'll still need to keep the city under lockdown, but… without any more activity, it won't be long until we'll be forced to relax the restrictions."
The entire city of Vale was under complete lockdown, with strict curfews enforced. All entry and exit gates were heavily manned and anyone wanting to enter was scrutinised heavily. Anyone that wanted to leave, even for business or emergency purposes, was refused.
"So there's been no activity near the gates then?"
He shook his head in response. "No."
Glynda pursed her lips.
"Then that means the Grimm Whisperer is still most definitely within the city."
"Not necessarily," corrected Ozpin.
"The sewers and their channels lead out of the city and aren't manned. And it is possible for the walls to be scaled."
Glynda scoffed, only to realise who she was speaking to and correct herself immediately.
"With all due respect sir, those walls are near impossible to climb."
Ozpin frowned.
"The Wall Commander reported that there was an Arcanist on the scene. If our Grimm Whisperer was working with them, then anything is possible."
"And what if they are one and the same?"
That was a troubling thought.
"Then our problems have just multiplied."
He refused to elaborate. Instead he leaned back and said.
"Apparently, the wall wasn't the only location attacked yesterday."
"I know," sighed Glynda.
"Apparently, several stragglers from the terrorists pushed through the Market District and were causing chaos. Fortunately there were no Grimm there, but the casualties were… high."
"Terrorists?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Is that what we're calling them?"
Glynda scowled.
"What else are we supposed to call them? They appeared and made it clear they wanted to sow fear and death."
"Hmm. Well they succeeded there it would seem. But that wasn't the location I was referring to."
It was Glynda's turn to raise an eyebrow in question. She pulled out a chair on the opposite side of Ozpin's desk and sat down. He explained.
"Former Councillor Powderman's home was burnt down, and he along with his staff are listed as missing."
"That is… tragic," she conceded. It was no secret that she had no love for the Council, especially after the latest debacle with Saint, but even she could express empathy.
"It is being investigated as suspicious. There might be a link between our 'terrorists' and the former councillor."
"How so?" Glynda was perplexed.
"I say might with emphasis. We have no information to work off of yet, but if he was attacked by them, the next question becomes whether it was opportunistic, or if it was targeted."
"Are we certain that he was attacked by this group at all, and it wasn't just a case of a misplaced candle, or vandalism? Or something else?"
Ozpin scoffed.
"Please, Glynda. I hired you because I know you are smarter than that. It is coincidental the attack occurred on the same day. Too much so for me to ignore. Unfortunately," he sighed, removing his glasses to wipe the lenses. "We have been effectively barred from the investigation and finding out what even happened. It is being considered an internal affair."
"Is it?"
Ozpin paused, looking up to meet her eyes.
"For now, yes. Hopefully, we will get some answers over the coming days, but for now our hands are full with trying to deal with this fiasco."
Glynda lowered her eyes in contemplation.
Exhaling sharply, she finally spoke.
"Indeed. Were there any other leads that popped up on your end by chance?" She hoped that with a preliminary investigation into the attack that something would be unearthed.
"If you are asking for anything that would lead to an immediate result, then I regret to say no. But," he added before Glynda could open her mouth.
"We did find some interesting evidence left behind at the Inner Wall. It will, however, take a while before we can get some conclusive results."
That piqued Glynda's interest, and she raised an eyebrow. Ozpin elaborated, adorning his glasses again.
"A weapon was found at the scene of the attack that was imbued with Aura using Arcane technology. A type of sword believed to belong to our mystery rogue Arcanist. It's not registered with our own Huntsmen internally that we know of so far, so it is most likely external. Whether it was stolen from one of our own in the Kingdom at some point, or came from a foreign Kingdom is still up in the air. For all we know it could even be an unregistered custom project."
That was certainly an interesting lead. Aura infused weapons were regulated, or at least attempts were made to as unlike a regular sword, they could bypass a Hunter's Aura with considerable ease. It would still be dependent on the type of weapon, how much force was exerted, and even how resilient the victim's own aura was. But it would certainly go a long in explaining how so many Hunters were killed the other day, and why two Huntsmen even were now dead.
If the weapon in question was used by a trained practitioner, then it would give them a considerable edge.
Ozpin was also correct. If they could identify where the weapon came from originally, then they might be able to find out who it belonged to. Even if it was stolen, it was still a pretty significant lead.
Unfortunately, Ozpin was right in that would take time to find out. A significant amount of time. It could be months before a lead turned up. And that was of no help right now.
Finally, Glynda broached.
"How are the Winchesters?"
Ozpin leaned back into his chair.
"Henry isn't taking it too well, what with the loss of two of his sons. His third, Artemis, is alive, but in critical condition. He was struck by the weapon we confiscated, so the aura has contaminated his and is making his recovery much slower. It will be a while before he can fight again."
Glynda shuddered.
"On the flip side, I was hoping to speak to Henry shortly, and see if he can help generate some leads of his own."
"How so?" she asked.
"He is a Winchester. His ties and connections, while unsavoury, might prove quite useful. Especially since what limited evidence we have gathered so far points to possible criminal elements and connections involved if our autopsies of the attackers indicate anything. If he can ask around, we might turn up something useful."
Glynda despised having to associate with any criminal elements, let alone someone who openly colluded with them. But even she could recognise their use.
"I suppose it is worth a shot. At least it will be faster than trying to track the origin of the weapon used."
"It's a khopesh," said Ozpin suddenly.
"A rather unique weapon. Not many people employ them as they can be rather difficult to use."
"Well. Hopefully that will narrow things down," nodded Glynda, filing that tidbit away.
"Hopefully," agreed Ozpin.
Come mid-morning and she was standing with Ozpin inside of the Royal Palace's hospital wing.
Ozpin stood patiently to the side of an occupied bed. The bed in question contained Artemis Winchester, with heavy bandages on his neck, head and torso.
He lay unmoving while a grieving woman, his spouse most likely, lie buried sobbing into his chest. A plain dress with minimalist embroidery and fluffy fur-lined jacket for warmth was adorned. Her brown hair was tied back in a bun, but was showing signs of coming undone after what would be hours of grief and tears.
To the side, Henry could be seen reprimanding a young boy with brown hair, roughly six or seven years old who was struggling to hold back tears.
"Get rid of those tears. You're no woman. You're a Winchester, you hear? Cardin! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Glynda felt as awkward as she suspected Ozpin must have, though he did a far better job in maintaining his composure.
"B-but, papa?" whimpered Cardin with a tearful hiccup.
"You want to be a Huntsman, like your dad? Then you have to be strong, and learn to toughen up. The world is too cruel a place to allow weakness to thrive. That's why he is in the state he is. A cripple!"
"B-but dad's not weak! Right?"
Henry regarded Cardin with tight lips curled down.
"He's alive, and that's all that matters. So he has some modicum of strength. Though the same cannot be said – " "HENRY!" snapped the woman finally.
"He's your grandson for god's sake! He nearly just lost his father, like I nearly lost my husband. That's your son you are talking about."
Henry's eyes snapped to her, hardening.
"Do not talk to me with that tone. Artemis was weak. I already have lost two of my sons to weakness. I will not lose my only grandson either."
The woman shot him a sad and disgusted look with a small shake of her head, before turning her gaze to Ozpin.
"And I suppose you want to talk to him about sending more mothers sons off to their deaths. Right, Headmaster?" She jutted her chin balefully to him, resentment smouldering in her eyes.
Ozpin stepped forward, ignoring her vitriol.
"I assure you, I place great value in all of the lives under my care. What happened yesterday was a tragedy, and one I hope to prevent from ever occurring again. But… you are correct that I must speak to Henry right now. It is urgent, and cannot wait." He shot Henry a glance, only for the man to scoff.
"Can't you see we're grieving right now?"
Ozpin pursed his lips slightly. It hardly seems like you are.
"This cannot wait, unfortunately. It pertains to the attack yesterday."
"Then find the General?! Alexander is more than keen enough to go waving his dick around right now! I'm sure he'd be happy to have you stroke him off even!"
Ozpin closed his eyes, a slight frown marring his face as he exhaled purposefully through his nose.
"I can see you are upset right now." Henry grunted in concurrence.
"What your family has gone through is very distressing. However, yours is not the only one grieving right now. We need to talk. And then we need to get to work. So what happened to your sons doesn't happen to anyone else."
Henry scowled before forcefully pushing himself up to stand.
He made to leave, but stopped to address Cardin.
"You are a Winchester. Act like it. Be strong. And do not give in to weakness."
Ozpin gestured for the door with an incline of his head, and Henry followed. That didn't stop him from sending a condescending glare his way.
They had barely entered the hallway and shut the door behind them before Henry erupted.
"You have no right to barge in on me with my family, let alone dictate to me in front of them!"
Ozpin weathered the man's anger with practiced ease.
"I'm afraid I have no choice. We have a potential lead on the attackers."
Henry faltered.
"Wait – what?"
Ozpin continued.
"The attackers have been identified by various gang tattooes. Many of them appear to be from rival gangs."
"And?"
"The fact that they were working together is what is so uncharacteristic, and frankly, concerning."
Henry looked unimpressed as Ozpin spoke.
"What's worse is many of them had an active Aura, if the reports are to be believed. Or at the very least, a latent Aura."
"And what, you think someone unlocked it for them?"
"All I'm suggesting is there are too many things not adding up. And it's making me uneasy."
"You're being paranoid, Ozpin," scoffed Henry.
"Two dead Huntsman and a third crippled beg to differ."
It was a low blow, and yet Ozpin showed no remorse, even as Henry looked ready to murder him on the spot.
"And what exactly do you want from me then Ozpin? I assume you pulled me out not to just rant your suspicions to me."
"I recall there being an incident several months ago with another, newer gang that entered Vale. A group that attacked a Hunter Garrison and resulted in the Crown needing to intervene."
Henry's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before hardening.
"Aye. Unfortunately. There was an incident with a new gang that showed up."
"Good." Ozpin's tone brokered no argument.
"Then you will understand why I need you to use your connections to find out more about this new group. Where they come from, how they even entered Vale, and why they decided to attack us."
Henry frowned.
"You seem certain it's this group, even though they were all killed ages ago."
"Witnesses reported the attackers arriving from the City West and passing through before they attacked. Considering the clothing and indiscriminate violence matches the report compiled months ago, I suspect there is more to the puzzle that we are missing."
He sighed, running a hand through his grey hair.
"Unfortunately, deploying Huntsmen and Hunters to interrogate criminals will take too much time and hassle, especially with the city on high alert. If you used your assets to ask around, we could generate faster leads."
Henry shook his head.
"I thought you were already chasing a lead," he shot Glynda a questioning look, and she took that as her opportunity to speak.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have any substantial information to go off of at the time, and so our search for the Grimm Whisperer has yielded… negligible results." Her words left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"We are hoping that if you can unearth any possible leads, then we can act more quickly while there is still a trail to follow. With the city on lockdown, and no further reported incidents, it is strongly probable that our Grimm-Whisperer is still in the city. Just in hiding."
Henry stared at them, unmoving. Finally, he spoke.
"I will have my people ask around and try to coax any information we find out. Now, if that is all, leave me alone with my family."
Ozpin bowed his head.
"That is all we ask for. Though, I would encourage you to use post haste. The sooner we can get a strong lead, the sooner we can apprehend your sons murderers."
"We will see," Henry harrumphed with a sneer before turning away and opening the door into the room with Artemis.
The door slammed in his face, and Glynda raised a questioning eyebrow to him. He shrugged.
"Well. It went better than I expected."
She just stared at him.
"Come now. Henry might be unscrupulous, but he is a man of his word. I trust he will deliver. For now, let us look and see if we can find anything else."
Glynda could only nod silently as the Headmaster strode off.
When Ruby woke up it was inside a musky-smelling room with cracked walls and a single flickering lantern casting a dull azure light.
Every muscle in her body ached, and she felt nauseous.
She groaned as she struggled to sit upright, only to find her arms and hands were abnormally stiff.
That was when she noticed the bandages wrapped tightly around them.
"Sorry about the bandages, kid, but we don't have any Aura-shards lying around, so you're going to have to heal the old-fashioned way," came Hei's voice.
She craned her head to look at him.
He was sat adjacent from her on a wooden crate, leaning heavily into his knees with his weird weapon resting in his hands.
"Hei…?"
He looked at her with a tired expression. If the bags under his eyes were evident, then he'd been awake for far longer than any person had the right to be.
His hair was dishevelled, and he had a rather thick layer of stubble emerging from his face.
"Easy kid. I'll fill you in later about some important stuff."
"What happened? Where am I?"
Her voice came out groggy.
Hei put on a smile, as strained and tired as it was.
"Welcome. To your new home, Ruby. Our new home."
Next chapter: Monday 26th August