๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐.๐.๐.
Everything is still and quiet save for the several sounds that the nocturnal animals around let off and the quiet sounds of a person's ragged breathing while stealthily running across the little town. The only thing moving at a fast pace in the middle of the otherwise tranquil and serene surrounding is that person. And as the darkness of the night and the brightness of the day starts to fight for the dominance of the sky, a raven-haired male reaches the edge of their little town. He attempts to climb out of the wall that surrounds the whole town.
His bags were already thrown out as soon as he reached the place a little while ago. He slips again after a few attempts to climb up. "๐ข๐ต, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป." he lowly growls, frustrated that he might be caught anytime soon. Not long then, he succeeded in climbing up and was already by the top of the wall ready to jump out to ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฎ he so longed for. And so, he jumped, with a soft thud as a cat has jumped instead of a person, he succeeded. He is now ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ. He hurries in collecting his things and then he stealthily runs to the nearest road there is.
He intends to go off somewhere, anywhere. Anywhere but back in that town surrounded by walls. And by the time a vehicle passed by his current location a couple of hundred metres away from the walls, the sky was already bright, and the raven-haired male was nervously shuffling on his feet and fidgeting his hands. By this time, the village where he came from was already eaten by the bright light of the day. Some people are already awake while others are about to, he knows it. He knows everyone back there like the back of his hand and that is what worries him the most. He worries that his escape might have broken off at home and everyone was already searching for him everywhere. And so he quickly called for the approaching car to halt.
"๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป." The driver greeted upon stopping in front of him, the window by the driver's seat wounded down, the raven-haired male smiled and nervously greeted back the stranger. "๐-๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐. ๐-๐ ๐-๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ?" he said unsure, silently pleading in his head that the stranger would agree. "๐-๐ ๐ด-๐ด๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ. ๐โฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บโฆ ๐-๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐ป." he lied. He has never been downtown, he has never been anywhere, but the town surrounded by walls that he lived in all of his life. The driver of the car agreed to give him a ride to the downtown part of the city since he was going there too, "๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต." the raven-haired male had thought to himself. It was when the car was a good few miles far from where he came from, that his breathing regularised.
He was awoken by the loud noise of the crowd outside the car, only then realising that he had fallen asleep. By the position of the sun, he could roughly tell that in about a couple of hours it would be noon already. He thanked the driver for the lift, wishing him well before exiting the vehicle.
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป the sign reads. He told the good Samaritan, who gave him a ride earlier, to drop him off the main road downtown resulting in him standing in the middle of a place he did not really know. The raven-haired male was in the centre of Acheron now, he only heard of it from relatives and neighbours that visit the centre every now and then. The place is bustling in the late hours of the morning. People rush, whether brisk walking, running, or cycling, from one place to the other. He noticed that everything is done at a fast pace, something he really enjoys compared to the place he was born in.
He strolls around, observing the people all over the place. Doe eyes scanning around, noting everything and anything that may come in handy all while he was in a place he was unfamiliar to. Downtown Acheron is similar yet not to their town, ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข, he noted. Though there are a lot more people and buildings downtown, Calla has some of the important establishments too.
He decided to go to a coffee shop near the area he ended up walking to and grab breakfast there. On the way there though, he bumped into someone who looked familiar. And upon searching his own memory, he remembered that someone was an older childhood neighbour who he heard had run away from Calla a long time ago. "๐๐๐ต๐ฒ?" the other asked when they noticed him. "๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐?" he hesitated before nodding to answer the other's inquiry. "๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต?" the other queried, slightly nervous about what they might get as an answer. The younger male shuffled on his feet uneasily.
"๐... ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐." the younger answered, sighing.
It took about a couple of minutes for his statement to sink into the other's mind, allowing the younger male to take in the older's appearance. The older is just like everyone else back in Calla, the only thing that tells him the older had been here in Downtown was the piercings in his earlobes and the other colours in his hair camouflaging the unusual colour it naturally had. The other took a shuddering breath before muttering a series of curses, "๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ? ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ." he then said panicking slightly. The younger lad had widened his pleading eyes while looking at the other.
"๐-๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ถ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ถ, ๐-๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป-๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐? ๐ฃ-๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ. ๐ฃ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ-๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฏ-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐. ๐-๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฒ-๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐. ๐- ๐ท๐๐๐โฆ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ." he then replied letting out a heavy sigh after, thinking that he could at least tick off that one goal before surrendering and allowing the older to drag him back to their little town.
The otherโ Deweiโ then took a shuddering breath and thought to himself. "๐๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ. ๐๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐, ๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐." but looking at the other's pleading desperate yet determined eyes, he knew this would be the only time Ashe would ever step foot outside the town's thick surrounding walls. He knew that once Ashe goes back to Calla, he will be strictly watched over because of this stunt of his. He took in another gulp of air, "๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐'๐น๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ." he then said with finality to his voice.
Ashe's face lit up after hearing that. He glanced up at the other and said his gratitude, overly thankful that he was allowed to stay even if it was just for a few days. "๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐. ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ผ." This statement from Dewei brought a somewhat eerie atmosphere to their conversation.
"๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด. ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐, ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ, ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ. ๐๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐." shivers run down his spine upon hearing what Dewei uttered.