A wise sage once said, "Some people are like clouds, when they disappear, it's a brighter day." If Will Valdis was there when the sage said this, he'd have thought they were referring to Rizaneth Wolfe.
So, where did the two "friends" meet? That's quite simple. These two grew up together in a place called Sky City. During their younger days, Riza acted more like a tomboy and bullied all the boys, Will included. When they both attended the military academy, Riza would have been Will's commander, had it not been for a certain incident. The said incident forced the academy to expel her, shattering her dreams of being a military figurehead.
However, despite Will being an army commander, Riza still bullied him. Currently, when she hit his back, she had plastered a small paper which read: "I'm a simpleton". Of course, Will didn't know this. After all, he didn't have eyes at the back of his head.
"Don't be so uptight. How have you been doing? It's been a long time since we last hung out. What do you say I treat you to a beer at the pub?" responded Riza.
"I'm quite busy! Unlike some people, I don't have the liberty to be lazing around!"
"Still angry about what happened last time?" Riza chuckled as she asked this.
More black lines showed up on Will's face. He responded harshly, "You cheated on that bet! Everyone knows that! Anyway, what do you want? Last time you got me into a lot of trouble!"
"I need a very small favour from you. This is part of my mission from Lord Saedis. Speaking of Lord Saedis, he was looking for you earlier. He said something about wine. I wasn't paying attention very much."
"As usual, you never pay attention!"
"Ah, it doesn't matter. You should pay him a visit to find out what it was about."
"Is that all?"
"Oh, right, the mission! When the elders from the Southern Water tribe come to ask you for anything, you should refuse. Make sure you ask for a letter of approval with Lord Saedis's seal when they come to ask for something. I just need you to delay them for a few days. I need to go somewhere for an investigation."
"You said Lord Saedis sent you on this mission?"
"Yes. Any problems?"
"Umm … not specifically. Okay then. However, you'll owe me after this!"
Riza chuckled before replying, "Don't worry. I pay all my debts!"
Somehow, Will wasn't satisfied when he heard this. In fact, he was more worried about what would happen if he ever looked for her to settle this issue. After Riza left, Will decided to pay Lord Saedis a visit. The problem with Riza was that she was too playful. It was difficult to know when she was joking and when she was serious.
As Will was leaving the barracks, the soldiers noticed the note on his back and started giggling like little girls. Will yelled at them, but no one stepped forward to tell him about the note. So, just like that, he left for Lord Saedis's mansion.
He arrived at the mansion a few minutes later, and after talking to the butler, he went towards the study. The butler had told him that his lord was in there. Poor Bastian couldn't keep himself from laughing when he saw the note on the commander's back.
Will knocked on the door, and he was told to come in. "Lord Saedis, you were looking for me?" he said, as he went in.
"Who t- … Oh, did you speak to Riza?"
"Yes sir, she said you were looking for me about a matter of wine …" Will did not finish the sentence, as he noticed black lines growing on his lord's face. That's when he realized that he had been pranked yet again! He coughed awkwardly, before saying, "I apologize for disturbing you, Lord Saedis. I will take my leave."
"I don't blame you, so don't worry about it. Riza is getting out of line. I guess she needs some more discipline! It seems expelling her from the academy wasn't enough! Hmpf!" Saedis grumbled.
Will bowed slightly, and he turned to leave. That was when Saedis saw the note plastered on the commander's back. Black lines grew on his face, and with a slight laugh, he called Will.
"Yes milord", Will came in running when he heard Saedis call him.
"Get rid of the paper on your back. And make sure she doesn't prank you like this ever again!" commanded Saedis.
Will scrambled to remove the paper, and when he saw what was written on it, his face turned red. "Yes milord!" and with that, he left.
Saedis smiled after Will had left. 'It seems she's going back to her old playful self. Oh well, I hope she doesn't mess up this mission. It might be my ticket out of this place!' he thought.
The distance between the Southern Water and Earth tribes is not that big. While using a carriage, it simply takes a few hours to cover it. The road that goes to Sky City from the Southern Water tribe passes through the Southern Earth tribe, and it goes around the rocky outcrop. The road is usually busy, with merchants going from the Southern Water tribe to Sky City. Therefore, there will be a lot of carriages moving around.
Using this to her advantage, Riza hitchhiked one of the carriages and headed towards the Southern Earth tribe. She was so excited about her journey, that she couldn't sit still. Not only was she looking forward to meeting new people, she also anticipated meeting the zombie that had made the elders of the Southern Water tribe restless. Of course, she knew that stealth was the best tactic to use in this scenario. However, that didn't stop her from anticipating the meeting. In fact, it even made her more excited.
None of the merchants could understand what made her so excited about visiting some small tribe in the middle of nowhere. What they didn't know was that her visit would mark the beginning of a very interesting story. And this story would take place in this small tribe in the middle of nowhere.