Raven and Fuwa moved swiftly through the smoke-filled streets, the wood used in the city was surprisingly very dried, well, not like anyone was doing any kind of maintenance around here, thus the docks caught really fast on fire, and as they ran from the fire, many dockworkers and townsfolk alike ran towards the fire in order to stop the flames from spreading. The distant shouts and clash of weapons faded into chaotic background noise as the two girls weaved through narrow alleyways, sticking to the shadows to avoid any unwanted attention. Raven's heart pounded in her chest, her mind still racing from the sudden turn of events, this was too much for her. She glanced at Fuwa, who was keeping pace with surprising ease despite the armor she wore.
"This way" Raven urged, spotting a sign that she was looking for, the universal sign for a tavern, be it a run-down place that as other buildings here, but it was a place to catch their breath and take a rest while they can come up with a plan. The wooden sign creaked with the faint image of a spilled mug.
"Are you familiar with this place?" Asked Fuwa as they were making a dash towards the place.
"Nay" Raven said "Arrived here probably under an hour ago!"
They slipped inside, and the door closed behind them with a soft creak, cutting off the noise of the chaos outside. The interior was dimly lit, smoky, and filled with the murmur of hushed conversations. The patrons... mostly rough-looking sailors, bounty hunters, and travelers with questionable pasts... barely looked up at the new arrivals, too engrossed in their own problems to care about two strangers. None cared about both of them being here, which was a good sign.
Raven led Fuwa to a secluded corner booth, hidden behind a pillar and half-shielded by tattered curtains. They sat down, both still catching their breath, and for a moment neither spoke, just processing the whirlwind of the last few minutes. Raven glanced at Fuwa, who was absently adjusting her scarf, her fierce red eyes finally showing a hint of weariness.
"You sure know how to make an entrance" Raven said with a smirk, though there was no malice in her tone, even if she knew she was the culprit behind all what had happened "But seriously, who is the jerk who had the idea to use a fire spell in a place like this"
Fuwa chuckled, her smile strained but genuine "I guess this wasn't the quiet arrival I'd hoped for" She glanced down, her fingers brushing against one of the red ribbons in her hair.
Raven leaned back, her tail flicking lazily as she tried to make sense of what had just happened, her plans had never backfired so bad in her entire life, but thanks to that fortune she managed to steal a piece of their merchandise, and she met the girl in front of her "You've got to be careful around places like this. One wrong step, and suddenly you're in the middle of someone else's mess" She paused, a smile that invited trouble spread on her lips, staring at the green coin she'd caught earlier, turning it over in her fingers "And apparently, I've got a knack for finding trouble"
"Well I got entangled in your trouble it seems" She said putting a hand on her face, Fuwa's body moved on her own at the moment, she didn't think about what she did until she was running for the tavern with the cat "Anyway, have you seen those masked guys in other places?"
"Yuh" Said Raven without hiding it "Back at the Dungeon City"
This caught the attention of the blue-haired girl, she looked at Raven directly in the eye.
"You have been in the Dungeon City?" She said with a shine in her eyes.
'Ah... of course...' Thought Raven 'She would be here to head to the dungeon'
Suddenly something darker clouded Fuwa, in her mind she connected two things, if the guys who caused this problem were here and also in the dungeon city this could be something more important than what the eye meets.
"I come from that place actually" Said Raven "I took the wrong caravan and ended up here today" She was talking about it as if it was some kind of funny anecdote.
This took Fuwa by surprise, but she had said that she had arrived shortly before her, so it made sense, also she noticed how casual was Raven about making this kind of mistake, if she was her old self and were lost in a city like his she would be panicking. She cleared her throat and then focused on the matters at hand.
"Look, I don't trust you, not fully at least" Admitted Fuwa "But you seem like the most decent person in this nest of snakes.
"Thank you" Said Raven placing her hands behind her back.
"And I think if we stick together then we can get out of this problem alive" Concluded Fuwa, it sounded simple but it was complicated to trust someone out of the blue "For now let's form a party, is that okay with you? Don't get your hopes up, this is temporary"
"Okay~" Answered Raven, in her mind the cat was thinking about the best course of action... but she had to wait until other players made their move first, it wasn't her turn to move yet.
[Fuwa lvl2 has invited you to join a party]
[A party has been detected, Fuwa lvl2, Raven lvl2]
"Anything I should know?" Asked Fuwa looking at Raven.
"I can heal you and place a shield, also I'm skilled with my dagger" Said Raven hiding her real class, Fuwa eyes opened wide, she knew healers were scarce and usually considered a luxury, she wasn't hoping to find one soon, it would also explain why it was so easy to move the cat even if both were level 2 "What about you"
"I can defend myself with my fists, I'm good at martial arts" She said proudly.
A girl that worked at the place came near them and asked if they wanted anything, Raven just asked for a seafood soup, and Fuwa just wanted some bread and water, the girl looked at them as if they were heretics, but Raven had enough drink yesterday. They weren't revealing their status, but with this, they knew enough of each other to be able to work together.
A young boy opened the door of the tavern, he was very exalted, most of the clients turned to look at him.
"The council of captains have been called! This is serious news!" The boy said exalted, he was spreading the news.
Then he sprinted back, probably to keep spreading the news, both girls looked at each other confused but the other clients seemed scared about it, it seemed like something like this hadn't happened in many years, when the girl came to their table with what they had ordered she looked at both girls and said.
"Poor lil canaries like you, being in this city in times like this" They returned the glances between them and then looked back at the waitress "This mean the city is going to war" Then she left back to the bar to talk with the owner of the tavern.
Both of them looked at each other.
"Let's help them out" Said Fuwa.
"Let's get the hell out of here" Said Raven.
Both of them need to work on their newly formed team synergy.