'Scarlet Strings Of Destiny.'
Night Five...
She awoke to several loud pounding sounds, and a terrible metallic stench and taste, her nose, and mouth, feeling as if it was on fire...
Brave let out a small groan as she set up. Her head felt like it was going to burst making her let out another hiss. She looked around a large frown on her face. Everything hurt so much.
She was in the shared room her and the other kids all shared, all of them crammed onto one bed. It was pitch black in this room having no windows and yet she could see perfectly clear. Like the light was on. No not just that. Within this pitch black room of darkness Braves eyes ached as if it was to bright.
"My head feels so..." Brave groaned as her ears, nose, and eyes, began to ring, shake, and twitch... It was hard to think straight and that pounding sound and metal smell echoed out again and again. "God what is that smell? And that noise..." Brave groaned. "It hurts so much... Why is it so bright..." Even in the pitch black darkness she could see the clock at the end of the wall. It read '12:05' meaning it was just pass midnight. "I feel like I'm going to... Ah..."
'Focus...'
"W... What?" Brave squeezed her eyes shut and was shocked when she could still somehow see with them closed. It was like it was so bright even with them squeezed she was seeing the light of the pitch black room. And that horrible pounding sound came back again and again, as well as the stench of metal... "M... Make it stop..."
'Focus... Follow the heat...'
Brave felt a weird sensation go over her. Like a heat and as she focused on it the weird feeling vanished. The pounding sound was gone, the metal smell was gone, and the room was pitch black again... Everything slowly calmed back down as she shook her head. She didn't notice but for the flicker of a second a white aura seemed to form around her.
"What... What's going on..." Her stomach felt a bit weird as she quietly got out of bed careful not to wake the others who luckily hadn't heard her groaning. Her body seemed to be settling back down from whatever it was that was happening to her. Her body felt calmer as the pain slowly vanished and she stepped out into the hallway... "I need a drink..." She groaned. She stepped past Sister Leena's room and came to a stop.
A small frown slipped onto Brave's face. Quiet muttering could be heard from the inside of the room as two people chatted back and forth. The walls had always been to thick to make out any noise that was always coming from the other sides. Despite that though Brave could hear something. It was quiet though.
"W... What are they saying?" Her frown grew wider as she pressed her ear up to the wall. That weird sensation began to come back as her ears started to ring once again. It was like hearing a hundred gunshots explode as the sound seemed to twist around and then all at once the sound slowly settled back down and she could hear the two people talking...
"What do we do about this?" The voice of Leena asked.
"There's nothing we can do..." This one was Father Darvin. "We knew that this could happen. Black informed us that the nodes could open... Ever since she was young she could see the Blanks. I had hoped that this was as far as it would go but it seems that was a foolish hope... The worst case scenario is indeed happening..."
"But-"
"I already tried to get ahold of Heaven. They informed me an Agent was in the area... He should be dealing with the Mares in the area and he will be here to pick her up... It was just a few E Class. If he's not here by this morning, than I feel as if Brave should stay in the city tomorrow... It'll be safer there with the many people."
A pair of sighs could be heard from the inside. "Okay..." Sister Leena said. "What about the other issues..."
"The other issues?"
"Yeah..." Sister Leena said. "Don't play dumb... Our bills aren't doing to well... This village isn't going to last..."
"Oh that..."
"We were in the middle of finishing most of the crops before all the men were called away... There's a delivery boat at the Docks which will be leaving tomorrow. I think we should take the crops to them make some extra Bells?"
"We could try but that cart is so heavy... Carrying it back and forth would take more than twelve hours... It's one thing to walk from this village to that school, it's another to carry a massive cart full of fruits, and vegetables, from there and back... I mean Brave has to wake up at 3 A.M just to get to school at 8 A.M and once she gets back it's almost night..."
"Right... And it's bad to walk around at night... Especially now..."
"Right..."
Brave pulled away from the wall at a slow pace. Her mind was racing as she tried to process what she had just heard...
"What the hell is going on..." She frowned.
Meanwhile...
A few hours later and Cliff Williams was finally able to rest after his battle with the 'thing' he had been fighting. The one who almost looked like a human... He looked pretty banged up and exhausted seemingly fighting for hours on end...
"D... Damn it..." Williams hissed pressing his back to a tree. His blade was sheathed and a hand was on his side which had blood dripping down it. He shook his head letting out a hiss. "That damn Mare..."
The snow all around him was stained dark red, and that strange monster man he had fought was nowhere to be seen now...
"That thing was strong... And it got away..." He let out another hiss of pain slowly sliding down the tree and falling into a sitting position. "It did some real damage to me... Still I can't afford to sit around like this right now... I need to hurry up and find that new Imp... If they are just starting to awaken than it's only a matter of time before the Mares smell their scent... This was the last thing I was expecting when I was sent out here God damn it... I'm suppose to be relaxing at that damn woman's new school, not out here on missions..."
Light trailed down from above as the sun began to rise up shining down on the forest below. The light appearing finally allowed the man to lower his guard as he let out a thankful sigh and nodded his head. Birds could be heard chirping as the forest was finally waking up... The Mares would be sleeping once more...
"But for now..." Williams said bowing his head. He reached into his pocket pulling out a small necklace with a small green gem in it. His finger traced over the gem as a light green light seemed to slowly cover his body as his eyes shut. "For now I need to get some sleep... I gotta heal... As soon as I'm back up I need to find the New Blood... A Human must be activating their Aura Nodes by accident. And I have a pretty good idea who it is..."
Meanwhile Back At The Village...
Sister Leena let out a sigh as she placed the last box in the large wagon that was outside of their home and Church. She turned when she heard the doors slowly push open, and a certain brown haired girl walked out.
"Oh hi Brave?" Sister Leena said giving a small smile when she saw the girl. "You're up early. It's only Eight A.M and you don't have school today. You normally sleep in until well past lunch time. Are you feeling any better?"
"Y... Yeah..." Brave nodded. It wasn't a lie. Once she had gotten back to sleep her body calmed back down. That metal stench was gone, and so was the popping, and beating sound. Her eyes were no longer seeing light in a pitch black room and her body seemed to have settled back down. "I'm sorry if I scared you all..."
"Oh you're fine." Sister Leena smiled.
"W... What are you doing with that?" Brave asked even though she knew the answer.
Next to Sister Leena was a large wagon filled with fruits, vegetables, random jewelry, boxes of items, sugar, pretty much anything they could trade off for money. The wagon was old looking and looked pretty heavy... "O... Oh this? I'm going to be running a quick trip into the city. We need to go today or else we'll miss the shipping."
"Oh why don't I-"
"Big Sis!" A pair of voice cried out making Brave look back into the Church as the two twins jumped out of the house and tackled her into a hug making Brave let out a quiet yelp as she fell back and crashed into the floor.
"Chase! Max!" Lumo hissed running out after them. "Don't do that!"
"Nah it's fine." Brave laughed hugging both boys. "I'm all better now. Better than ever in fact." She nodded. Both boys let out louder laughs hugging her tighter as Lumo just frowned and shook her head as she stared at the girl.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep!"
"Are you actually better or are you just putting on a brave, pun intended, face?" The group looked up seeing Irene, holding the small baby Luna. "Because if you're lying I'm gonna punch you." She nodded. Luna let out a bunch of random coo's and cries as Irene nodded. "Luna's gonna punch you as well."
Brave let out a nervous laugh as she scratched her chin. "I'm feeling a lot better I swear."
"Right..."
Lumo looked past Brave staring at the barrel. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Oh yeah." Sister Leena nodded. "I'm going to be heading to the city."
"I don't think that's safe." Lumo frowned. "I mean it's gonna be cutting it close to being night by the time you arrive... I mean that thing's heavy and it's snowing pretty heavily also... That's like a ten hour trip, at least... Maybe eleven or even twelve..."
"I don't really have a choice..." Sister Leena sighed shaking her head. "We only have today... We won't make it another month without enough Bells..."
"I can go." Brave said.
"No-"
"Actually." Everyone stopped when they heard Father Darvin's voice. "I don't think that is a bad idea."
"But Father-"
"Brave you are doing better?" Father Darvin nodded. "I've seen what you've gone through before. You should be back to normal right now. You're also far stronger than this old man, or Sister Leena, and you're even stronger than Irene. If anyone could arrive in time it's you..." He chuckled.
"Yeah see!" Brave smiled.
"But promise me one thing..." Father Darvin hummed. "If you arrive and it's to late to come back you'll stay in the city."
"I will so can I go?" Brave nodded.
"I want to go to then." Lumo frowned.
"No. You get to tired on the walk up there, and Brave can't pull the cart with you and the supplies."
Lumo frowned folding her arms up. "I still don't think she should be moving around right now..."
"I'll be fine." Brave smiled. "I promise."
"...F... Fine..."
Brave took the barrel and quickly began dragging it behind her. Its old age was seen instantly as the wheels didn't even move and she literally dragged it behind her through the dirt leaving a mini trail behind her. They all watched her go and pretty soon Irene took Luna and the two boys back into the church as well as dragging Lumo behind her.
"Father... Was that really wise?" Sister Leena asked with a frown on her face.
"Brave will only arrive at the last moment... She'll be safe inside the city... I fear what would happen once night falls and she's here... The member from Heaven should have already arrived... The Mare's will start picking up her scent now that the process is done... It's out of our hands now... I put my trust in God and believe he will guide our Brave on the right path..." The man let out a hum as he watched Brave leave. For a moment a thought went through his mind...
'I'll be trusting my daughter with you... After the Death of her mother... I fear she could awaken 'it' which would put her in danger... Darvin... Please keep her safe.'
Father Darvin let out a sigh. "Old friend. You sure were an idiot. You know as well as I do what the Imp world will do when they notice her having aura. Rather she has 'it' or not a war is coming and a war must be fought with soldiers. I fear it's only a matter of time before she is dragged into this damn world I fought so hard to escape..."
Sometime Later Brave waved as the ship slowly took off from the docks. "Phew... Made it back just in time." She sighed turning away from the docks. The sun was beginning to set by now casting the large city in a darkness. Brave walked back towards the exit of the city. "I guess I should be heading back now shouldn't I-"
"Ms. Larison?"
Brave stopped in her tracks and turned around finding the Teacher from her school. "Oh Teacher?"
"What are you doing here?" He sighed folding his arms.
"I had to deliver some things at the last second Sir. I'm gonna be walking back now."
He let out another sigh as he checked his watch. "No... It's late. To dangerous."
"Why?" Brave frowned. "I've walked up and down the mountain plenty of times. I can do it with my eyes closed now."
"Well... Let's just say there are some dangerous animals on the mountain and leave it at that."
Brave gave a small frown as she folded her arms. "Well I did promise Father I would find a place to sleep here if it got to late. I don't have any Bells to pay for an Inn though?"
The Teacher let out a heavy sigh and sipped some of his coffee. "I got a couch you can sleep on."
"Uh..."
"I got some candy to."
"Please don't."
"Come on." The Teacher let out another yawn. "You can sleep at my place until the morning."
"Well these are a lot of red flags, but I'm literally to exhausted to care..."
"That's the best kind of exhaustion."
Meanwhile...
"Yes, yes I'm coming." Sister Leena sighed walking out of her room and heading to the front of the Church. "Who could that be... It's way to late for a visitor..." Her hand slowly unlocked the door as she pulled it open. "Hello how may I-"
Her kind smile faded when she saw past the door. The wall around their little village was torn down, and several houses had been shattered. It would have been impossible for her to not hear them all collapsing and yet she, as well as everyone else heard nothing... Bodies lined the floor of the village all laid out among each other.
And standing at the entrance with a small smile on his face was Tik... His clothing was soaked in his own blood and his nose had been sliced clean off by now but he still had a large grin on his face.
"Why hello there my dear Sister." He said giving a large grin as he took his top hat off and gave a bow. Behind him several dark shadowy figures could be seen moving around as he looked back up with a small glint in his eyes. "May I come in-"
A white aura exploded off of Leena as she jumped back making Tik give a wicked smirk as he jumped at her reaching at her throat with his hand. Just before he could reach it though a hand grabbed his wrist squeezing down on it. Father Darvin stood having suddenly appeared.
"No." Was all the old man said shaking his head. "Lets not do this here. We can go outside."
Tik gave a grin before ripping his hand out of Darvins. "Fine by me."
Darvin frowned as he stared at the man. "Damn you... She's not here. I assume you can tell that right?"
"Of course I can. But Unlike the other Mares I'm not here for food. After all I'm an Alpha. I've already evolved. You moved the New Blood to a city to keep her safe knowing one of your kind would have her stay with them to keep the other Mares away from her and keep the kids here safe since she wouldn't be here. It was a good plan but sadly I came for you. After all you're Darvin. You used to be a powerful Wake. I'm not here for food I'm just here to fight." He laughed.
Darvin gritted his teeth as he held his hand out. "Leena."
"R... Right." Leena closed her eyes and placed her hands together in a prayer as her white aura changed into a silver color and she suddenly morphed into a slick black metal greatsword which Darvin grabbed.
Tik's eyes lit up. "Oh my. To think that cute little nun was a Transfiguration type huh. That must pare well with you since you're an Improvement type-"
"Enough talk. Follow me. I know a field where we can have our battle." Darvin said walking past the Mare. "We'll battle there..."