Rain woke from a nearly sleepless night. He assumed it was morning because he could hardly sleep in after five a.m. but being as there was no natural light he really had no way to tell. Jinx was still out cold and for some reason Rain got the feeling that he was sleeping better here than he had at any of the safe houses.
"I suppose he really does think of this place as his true home." Rain sighed gloomily. After all, Jinx was his best friend and soon he would come down here and disappear into the old world. For the time being Rain didn't indulge in his morning training mostly because his mind was consumed with the fact that he was about to lose his first and best friend. He wished more than anything that he could convince him not to leave but he knew that Jinx's heart was already buried down here so far from the comfort of the back alleys and dark taverns.
Rain looked out the window of the large building they found shelter in. He watched the witch lights as he began to call them flicker in the darkness like stars in an eternal night sky. "It is beautiful down here." He said with a sigh. "You're right…" Jinx said with a yawn as he stretched his body and got up. "There are many beautiful places up there. But none of them can compare to this sight." Jinx smiled in admiration of the lights against the dark. "Come on we got a lot of places to go and only a few days to get there." He smiled as the two rolled up their mats and packed up for the night.
The two walked through the massive city as Jinx showed Rain how to get in and out of the tunnels to the outside and where everything was located in the map he gave him. After a few days the two got back towards the ladder leading up to the first entrance. Rain looked back at all the marvelous witch lights twinkling in the distance. "Hey Jinx. What do I tell everyone when you're gone?" He asked quietly.
Jinx sighed for a moment before speaking. "Nothing. I'll just disappear." He said softly into the darkness before looking back at Rain. "Come on let's get home."
Once they were back in the streets filled with sunlight the two moved into the shadows and without a word to each other they moved back towards vice 13. As they were skulking down the alleyways Jinx pulled Rain into the shadows and a pair guards passed by. The two guards were clearly drunk as they hobbled forward but with jinx being only a little over a month away from being an adult he didn't want to risk getting picked up. Besides, even if they did only hold him for a few nights he'd been to the pits before and he had no intention of going back.
Rain watched the two guards until they stumbled out of sight. A shiver ran down his spine after Jinx had pulled him into the shadows. He'd never been to the pits but he's heard the stories. After the two guards left Rain and Jinx became cautious and it took them most of the day to reach the safehouse.
The others were already sprawled out for the night getting ready to sleep when the two came in. "Hey yous both back!" Blades was sitting up taking the first shift by the door. "Yeh, anythin happen while we's out?" Jinx asked smoothly flowing back into his street speech as if he'd been practicing for that moment. "Nah, Maron's been keepin us lowkey ya know. Only hitting one mark'days jus enough to keep us fed since ya left. Sure she'll be glad ta see ya alive n'all though. 'Specially you." He grinned pointing at Rain making his face turn blistering red.
Jinx nearly died laughing when he saw Rain's face. "It's not funny… I don't even know why she would care…" Rain tried to protest but it was no secret to any of them that Rain fancied Maron and the only one who didn't realize she fancied him was Rain. About that time they could hear footsteps coming from down the hall. "Blades, what's happenin?" A calm melodious voice rang out in Rain's ears as he turned his head to see Maron coming out.
"It's Jinx and Rain, they finally back." Blades said. Maron however didn't look impressed. In fact she looked angry. But Rain couldn't hold back his smile after seeing her. "Oh so yous back. You two idiots realize yous been gone fer near a week now right? Ya told me you'd be back in three days Jinx!" She said pointing sternly at Jinx. On the inside she was sighing in relief. None of the others knew where the two had disappeared to only that they would be gone for a few weeks. "Bloody bones. Idiots! Both of you!" She spat out before either of them could raise a defense then she quickly turned away and walked back down the hall. "Maron! Wait we can exp…" Rain didn't get to finish his statement because Jinx put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "She'll calm down mate.
The next day everyone was asking where the pair had run off to but Rain kept his word and didnt let the secret slip. Maron also calmed down after she learned that the two were safe and not rotting in the pits like she feared. Though she wouldn't admit to that even if she was the one being questioned in the pits. But life had pretty much gone back to the way it had been. The only real difference was that Jinx had started being a lot less attentive to everyone and became a lot quieter.
Rain had to admit that being the leader of this group seemed like it was a pretty good deal on the outside but he also found that it was really a lonely way to live. Even if he decided to go to the Dragons Den after he turned 16 there was just no way for him to be certain he would ever find Jinx and Maze or anyone for that matter. If he was being totally honest he wasn't sure he'd ever want to go there. He sighed for a moment.
Just like that the days passed in the blink of an eye and one night Rain sat up. "So you're really going..." He said softly so as not to wake the others. "Yeah, I'm an adult now. if I got get caught on the streets I won't just be in the pits for a day or two anymore. In fact I may never see the light of day again." Jinx replied with a sad smile on his face as he finished packing the rest of his stuff and moved towards the door. Since everyone was off high alert after the two came back there was no reason for a watch and he could just slip out and no one would know until it was too late. Rain followed him to the door in silence. But just as Jinx opened it up to the night sky he spoke. "Make sure you find her." He said calmly as a strange feeling that couldn't be described as sadness but wasn't happiness gripped his heart. Jinx smiled back at him and then melted into the night.
Rain stood there by the door for a long time. wrestling with this melancholy melody playing in his heart. Suddenly someone spoke from behind him. "So he really did choose you." Her voice was soft yet harsh as if she was sad and angry at the same time and couldn't decide which emotion was taking over her heart. Rain jumped a bit and turned to see Maron with tears running down her face.
"Maron... I..." Rain was startled seeing her cry he wasn't sure though whether it was because she lost her friend or because she wasn't going to be the next leader. He had no idea what to say to her but what happened next put him at an even deeper loss for words. Maron with tears in her eyes took out a small knife from god only knows where. "Wait what are you..?" Before he could finish his question she dropped to one knee and cut open her palm. "I Maron Underdog pledge my allegiance to Rain Alister, the new Dragon Lord. My blade is his to command and my coin comes from his pocket. I will loyally defend the turf he commands alongside the rest of his crew." As she spoke she pressed her bleeding palm to her chest.
Rain had no idea what to do in the situation but it didn't really matter because before he could think of anything to say she got up and walked back through the halls to go to sleep. To say the least Rain was perplexed he had never pledged his allegiance to Jinx in such a manner and he had no idea why she had done that for him. Rain found it difficult to sleep that night so when everyone woke up he was already awake and silently training his body as he did most mornings.
It didn't take long for everyone to learn that Jinx had left during the night and everyone was chattering about it at breakfast. Hearing the noise Rain realized everyone was awake and stowed his sword. The moment he walked into the room their voices died. Everyone but Maron was staring at him before just as Maron had done last night they split their palms and fell to their knees to pledge their loyalty to him.
Rain was startled but didn't say anything at first at least not until everyone had stood up with a small blood stain on their shirts. They all gazed at him expectantly but he had no idea what to say. "There's no need to worry too much.. It'll be the same as when Jinx was here..." He said trying to calm everyone's minds. He went and sat down in a corner when Maron came to sit beside him. She had red streaks on her face where she had clearly been crying but he decided not to say anything about it.
"Why did everyone suddenly pledge their loyalty to me?" He asked quietly so no one would hear. "Because I did. They all saw the bloodstain. They know what happened. It's not like it should be that suprising you pledged to Jinx the same as us." She responded with a distracted tone. "Actually I didn't... I didn't even know that was a thing..." He said quietly. "Figures Jinx lied about it." She said but wouldn't talk about it anymore. "Anyway.. Theres something you should know." She sounded off as she spoke but Rain didn't feel like bringing it up.
"Wait why would we need to prepare for a fight?" Rain quickly asked. "The Rucks'r gonna find out about Jinx soon enough and when they do they'll try to move into our turf. After all we gots much better marks this side of the city what with the markets being round here n'all." She said cautiously. As Rain massaged his head. First he loses his best friend then everyone swears their loyalty to him and now he has to prepare for a bitter war with a rival he's never met. Could this day get any worse? He shook off the thought and spoke after a long time. "Okay. let's get ready for the day. We'll worry about the Rucks when they come. For now let's keep food in our mouths."