-The Puppet-
[ It has been three years since the incident involving the heir to the clan and the cursed child. Suprising everyone with her desire to make the boy her servant, unrest began to spread slowly over the years, causing a slow but very steady strain on the clan as a whole as superstition and fear began to outweigh reason.
It wasnt completely unfounded however; Finding the boy almost immediately sparked a streak of disobedience and carelessness by the heir, sneaking off with him to tour the Outer Castle or hide from her tutors. After realizing the boy was unable to understand speech, she began to labor on ways to communicate with him, eventually realizing that he attempted communication through a series of hums, facial expressions, and varied tooth clicks.
Eventually taking the time to learn how to speak with him rather than teach him how to speak with her, she became the only person able to do so, even finding that his method of communication was both faster and was more enjoyable. After exploring most of the Outer Castle, Alinore realized that much of their home itself went unused or forgotten, and began travelling through forgotten corridors and lost labs to search for information and places to make her own for her self studies and playtime. ]
Twirling about in her usual fashion while the boy dusted off the table for her in an old musty room filled with old notes and strange tubes, Alinore was in an even better mood than usual. Today was the day she was going to test her new magic that she found in this very same room out, and she was quite eager to get started. After he finished dusting the table thoroughly, the boy hopped onto it wordlessly and waited while Alinore walked over to a stack of papers with her own notebook in hand and began reviewing them.
Finally satisfied with herself, she walked around the table behind the boy and pulled the collar of his rags down a bit, inspecting his neck. Unable to keep herself contained any longer, she began to focus her aether into her fingertips and pointed them at the boys shoulders, smiling smugly to herself when she saw his limbs immediately become limp. "If you resist at all it will only hurt you, so dont struggle okay?" After conveying that to him she began to intensify the flow of Aether in her hand, watching the changes develop as she went along. According to the notes she found in this room, the occupants had been attempting to develop binding magic that allowed the caster advanced control of their limbs-and possibly even their own flow of aether if perfected properly.
The process itself was made extremely complex, involving a multiple layered spell that required fast monitering and shifting, spread in differing degrees over multiple limbs-assuming you wanted to control more than one. The process required syncronizing the casters aether flow with the aether within the target, then forcing their body to move to your will in a process requiring a series of very acute and precise lightning magic within the bind, allowing control.
Simply casting that many spells at once required a certain kind of talent with magic, but exerting that much control over so many spells sustained for any extended amount of time was nearly impossible to do properly. Further, the final goal of the spell was to eventually exert control over the targets aether, something that seemed even more impossible when faced with the fact that the caster would already be burdened with the strain of maintaining all of the spells already in place; controlling the flow and manipulation of anothers aether on top of that was deemed completely impossible to mass produce even if mastered, and so the spell was scrapped along with all of the notes with it. Alinore was not interested in mass production however. It did become apparent very quickly however that the spell was going very wrong.
The boy immediately began to twist his arms and arch his back in ways undesired. Â His face immediately contorted into pain as be began to scream and writhe about as Alinore watched with an impatient interest. Adjusting her aether did not fix the issue either, only adding to his screams as the boy began to froth at the mouth, a reaction Alinore took notice of. "I told you not to resist. If you keep trying to escape the pain will only worsen." Increasing the amount of focus she put into the procedure as she gathered her data, the boys eyes began to roll into the back of his head, a faint flash coming from beneath his bangs as they disappeared into the back of his eyelids. Completely entranced in her workings now, she attempted to move his limbs to her will, only to see his contortions increase to extreme degrees, all things she took note of. Taking a moment while he writhed and screamed to write down notes of her own, she was shocked to suddenly have her aether tethers cut-or more accurately ripped-from their hold. Returning her attention to the boy she saw him sitting upward on the table, a strange glow to his eyes beneath his bangs, a low growl escaping his lips. Jumping from the table he approached her and grabbed her arm firmly, then fell limp.
The next moment the glow was gone, and the boy began looking about the room with his usual lost stare. The entire sequence of events had caught Alinore off guard. To her knowledge, the boy was supposed to be a reject of the clan, one who could not do any magic at all, which ironically made him a great living body to test new spells on. If he could not create magice however, then what did he just do to cut her tethers? Further, what was that glow just now if he could not manipulate aether? The questions piled in quick succession, but the overall importance of the situation was not lost on her. "...My experiment was a failure. I dont want to learn this magic anymore." Turning to pat the boy on the head, she grabbed her notes and skipped toward the exit, eager to test the next spell.
[And so things continued this way for another nine days.]
-The Mad Thief and Odd Witch-
The man climbed and scrambled up the chains with agile yet crude reflexes, nearly losing his balance here and there, and dropping to a crawl whenever the wind caused the chains to so much as sway. Catching himself as he nearly fell, he kicked himself off of the large chain and grasped onto the corner of a castle wall, staring at the shadow floating above him with a mixture of jealousy and happiness. "You aint gonna help me get up there at all are you?" He asked in the midst of an insane laugh. The shadow didnt reply, only turned to face him with a blank expression. Upon closer inspection, the shadow was a floating woman, cloaked in a deep red robe that made her appear like a badly made scarecrow. "Dan," she started with a monotone voice, "Ive already started the spell. You should stop playing around." Nearly falling off of the edge as he found himself onto a small balcony near her, he found himself laughing at her idea of his nearly dying multiple times in a short span of time him "playing around."
Looking up towards his objective, he couldnt help his excitement boiling over. Dan, or "Crazy Dan" as he was often called, was a leader of a small group of mostly likeminded bandits. They enjoyed stealing and plundering and not living in only one place, but above all they enjoyed the challenges associated with them. Before Dans eyes was the challenge of his lifetime; A floating Castle over the perilous desert filled with Sandwyrms and storms and heat, protected by a legion of giant adamantoise below it. The castle was said to be filled with untold riches and unheard of knowledge, but all of which was horded by its inhabitants-a castle of demons. These demons would only come down to the world below at certain times, and even then it was only to add more demons to their ranks more than anything. Such a challenge was perfect for Dan. Getting caught in this abyss of death would surely mean his own, so he had to get in and out quickly and quietly with as many riches as possible. At his wits end as to how to do so after finally managing to catch the damn moving castle, his friend suddenly presented him with a map she earned from a merchant who claimed to have recieved audience with the demons himself once, and made from his memory. In exchange for allowing her to tag along, she would share the map.
"Why DID you want to come with me anyway Red?" he asked as he picked a lock, once again recieving no answers in return. Glancing towards her every once in a while as he made his way to his objective, he couldnt help but to think on their relationship. Red appeared before him suddenly one day as he was pillaging a village. Already finding it odd that anyone would choose to cower in a burning alley caught his attention, but upon approaching her she demanded that he gave her food.
 She then followed him everywhere he went like a hound. Unlike everyone else in his group, she seems to be the only one who shows no interest in anyone else-or anything else, which is why her wanting to come along struck him as so suspicious. Throwing the thought into the back of his mind he found himself inside of a room, oddly decorated and silent. Looking towards his map, he realized that he had made it to his objective. "Now....wheres....the loot?" Looking around the room with his greedy eyes, Dan could hardly see anything of value, taking a moment to scan the room again, he froze in place when he noticed that a thick blanket was moving slowly. Unsheathing his blade immediately he shot a look of irritation at Red. "You bloody idiot that map was WRONG! We are smack dab in a demons room!" Surveying the room calmly, Red spoke quietly as her eyes rested on the blankets. "Dan, the map was to point to the most valuable treasure in the castle.
 If there isnt treasure in here, but living things, what do you suppose that means?" Dan only blinked in response, his face slowly understanding. "You...want me to kidnap a demon? Kehehehe....youre crazier than I am arent you?" Giving him a slight smile as she looked on, Red's entire expression suddenly shifted into one of pain and panic. "SHIT, the spell was detected already! The scaled one is coming, Dan we have to leave now!" Dan, still in shock from Reds sudden and previously never before seen stream of expression and communication found himself unable to respond properly.
"Scaled one? They got dragons now? Whatre you goin on abou--" His words were cut off as Red violently slapped him & grabbed his shirt, bringing her face close to his. "Listen to me you little dipshit, I dont feel like dying today, and we dont have the time to entertain any of your fucking questions. Grab what we came here for and I'll get us out of here before we get turned into ornaments or something. Still in quite a shock from the turn of events, Dan decided that Red clearly knew more about what was going on than he did, and simply grabbed the blankets and balled them up as much as possible, as quickly as possible, then stuffed it into the sack he expected to carry all of his treasure in.
With Red suddenly grabbing his arm, he found himself wrapped in her robe, and with a pull and a shift, like a shadow into the night they were gone.
-The World Below-
[ Alinore awoke from her deep sleep to find herself surrounded by strange dirty tall men and women, all staring and peering at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement. It didnt take long for her to grasp the situation. In the midst of her analysis of the situation, she found herself overcome with a plethora of emotions boiling up inside of her like bubbles in water, all bursting at the same time. At the height of her emotion, she found herself crying, holding on to the slowly waking boy cradled in her arms with all her might, the shrieking and tears earning her the ire of one of the men watching her. ]
"Hey there," the tall gray elezen man started with an unfriendly glare glinting in his eyes, his grizzled beard and hair along with his dirty tattered clothes and assortment of blades decorating his sides betraying his wellspoken words and tone, "You dont have anything to be cross about yet, so I suggest you quickly but a plug on those waterworks before I give you a reason to use them in earnest." He finished his statement with a threatening brandish of his blade against a scar on his cheek and a possibly intended to seem threatening ruffling of  his hair, but he found himself ignored completely as Alinore continued to cry, much to his chagrin.
Refusing to be ignored he roughly picked the girl up by her hair and stuck the point of his dagger against her cheek, trying in vain to gain the girls attention as she continued crying. While he failed to aquire Alinores attention properly, being suddenly dropped onto the ground in the middle of stirring certainly earned the boys attention. At first staring with confused wonder at the absolute shift in surroundings from the night before, and realizing that his arms were bound, he perked his ears and cocked his head around attentively when he heard the sound of crying nearby. Seeing Alinore being held by the hair with a sharp object stuck onto her face was all he needed to see. Suddenly overcome with the memories of his years of being pushed around abused and bullied by those around him, he found he couldnt stand seeing Alinore treated the same. The feeling was confusing to him, alien even. Being bullied by everyone usually filled him with a sense of fear and defeat, and in his constant confusion of the happenings around him, he began to accept them as normal things that were meant to happen to him. Alinore was a different case altogether; She took the time to learn to speak with him, she played with him, and she never bullied him without a reason that she didnt explain before doing it.
 Seeing Alinore treated that way made something in the pit of his stomach tighten, his fists clench, and a new feeling that scared him began to flare up inside of him like an explosion. He knew he had to do something to stop the man bullying Alinore, but his arms were bound, he had no weapon, and he was much taller. Feeling his thoughts race, the boys frustration began to mount and his frantic racing thoughts began to take over. Refusing to think any further, he lunged at the man with all the strength his little legs could muster, and opened his mouth with an animalistic howl, sinking his sharp teeth deep into the mans forearm, and with everything he could yanked his head around until he felt a rip, coincidentally landing a kick into the mans groin while trying to pull away, seeing to the two of them falling into a heap on the ground, Alinore landing with a look of suprise on her knees nearby.
The surrounding bandits began to laugh and jeer at the Elezen crumpled over on the ground in pain, some throwing rocks at him. "Oi Lazarus, you gettin' your arse kicked by a kid?" squealed one half doubled over laughing. "I dunno why he's actin like his jewels are hurt, I dont remember them being much to worry over!" howled a female in the crowd. With the crowds insults getting continually more insulting, Lazarus hopped to his feet in a rage, the boy kicking a small ways away and sitting on his heels. "Im gonna kill you, you insufferable little brat!" He started, "...And my jewels are PLENTY to worry over! LOADS even!" Finishing his statement while the laughter rose higher, he threw the dagger in his hand into the boys shoulder, drawing two thin swords from his hips and lunging in. Feeling the dagger sink into his shoulder hurt the boy a great deal, but his desire to stop the mans bullying seemed to make him forget how to feel pain properly, the feeling almost an afterthought as he lunged forward again, earning a deep stab into his arm. Screaming out in pain as he was repelled, he barely moved out of the way of a second stab, lunging again at the mans now bleeding arm and sinking his teeth back in, ripping the red flesh away with his teeth while the man fell to his knee and clutched it, howling expletives and obsceneties.
His rage and embarrassment at their breaking point, Lazarus lunged at the boy and kicked him in the stomach with all his might while the boy lunged blindly at him a third time, slashing the boys exposed back while he fell to the ground. Still unsatisfied with the boy coughing up and gagging in the dirt, he began to stab the boy in his dagger wound, twisting it while his stomped him in frustration. After a few minutes of venting his frustrations, he turned the boy over and pointed the blade at his throat, only to be stopped by a sudden impact to the side of his head, knocking him into a nearby tent while all the laughter ceased.
"The Hells you think you doin to my money-I mean-a kid!" Dan asked while resting his rather large sword on his shoulder, his mouth twisted into an annoyed frown. "What am I-ugh I cant bloody believe this!" Lazarus stammered back as he struggled to clamber to his feet, his dizzyness and injured arm proving to make such actions impossible. "I was just trying to shut the little brat over there up and that...that BRAT decided I looked like a decent breakfast!" Lazarus threw a dagger at the boy again and displayed the now hanging bits of flesh and healthy stream of blood seeping from his wound, only to be met with a dagger reflected into his thigh and hearty laugh from Dan at his resulting scream after impact.
Turning towards the boy, Dan lifted him off of the ground and brought him extremely close to his face, a glare sparking from his eyes into the boys, along with the stench of bad breath that seemed to be a mixture of warm booze and rotten eggs. "So you thought it'd be a good idea to take a chomp out of my mate there didja? Didnt care one wit about hurtin him?" "Hey Dan," cut in one of the men in the crowd, "Im pretty sure you just hurt Laz'rus way more than the kid did." "Shut up you!" Dan shot back, pointing towards the source of the voice with a filthy looking sword. "Now where was I....Oh yeah! You cant just go hurtin my men like that see? Youre a HOSTAGE, get that? You aint s'posed to do anything but cower on the ground and make my money, understand?" Finishing his statement with the most evil grin he could muster, he was met with absolute silence. Finding himself irritated by the lack of an answer, he clenched a fist and hit the boy across the side of his head. "UNDERSTAND!?" The boy remained silent, spitting the bits of flesh and blood in his mouth into Dans face, prompting him to drop him onto the ground startled.
"You..you really want to get chopped into little bits dont you?" Pointing his blade at the boy, Dan was startled to see him immediately lung at it, biting at the ends despite the edge cutting into the sides of his mouth. "He doesnt understand you!" Having observed the situation long enough, Alinore jumped behind the boy and placed her bound wrists over his head and into his neck to restrain him, cradling him into a half hug, half chokehold. "Im the only one who can speak to him, he doesnt understand anyone else. He just wants to protect me is all." Dan took a moment to think, looking first to the adorable girl with tears in her eyes and what looked like a rabbid dog in her arms, then to Lazarus screaming and rolling on the ground. "You sayin he did all that without understandin a word of whats going on?" Looking down at the boy, Alinore nodded slowly.
"Huh..." Still thinking the situation over, Dan nearly hopped out of his skin when he felt a familiar cold hand tap the base of his neck. "Gods damn you Red I told you not to do that!" Looking to the children on the ground and ignoring Dan, her eyes rested and lingered on Alinore for a long and awkward silence, Alinore staring back almost as if in a trance. "Dan," Red began, "Im in agreement with your current train of thought." Staring into his confused face for a minute, she continued on, pointing at the children. "You wanted to take the boy for yourself didnt you? After all, if they are treasure then its possible that the longer they are missing the more valuable they will become. Ive taken an interest in the girl, and returning them later is something like an investment. " Dan stared at Red with disbelief and confusion.
Something about Red had always felt off to him, but very recently her speech has increased to more than two or three times a day. Rarely she would do what she did just now, and somehow guess exactly what he was thinking, but never has she elaborated on what he was thinking so specifically, usually warning him against or encouraging him to follow through with his thoughts. "Well...the kid has got some guts in him, thats for sure. Anyone who would jump into a situation armed with nothing BUT their teeth is someone Id welcome without too much thinking involved; I like him." Kneeling down to the boys level and staring into his eyes, he addressed Alinore. "You said he cant understand a word we say but you can talk to him right?"
Upon seeing Alinores nod, he continued, "Then tell him this: If he doesnt want anything bad to happen to you two then he has to work to make sure we dont hurt you. If he dont work hard enough, then bad things are going to happen to the both of ya." Â Raising his brow at Alinore's somewhat musical translation, he recieved a glare of understanding from the boy. Hopping to his feet with a chipper grin, Dan turned and began walking off, stopping near the now unconscious Lazarus and lifting him onto his shoulder with relative ease. Handing him off to someone with medical supplies to tend to him, Dan returned to the children and addressed Alinore again. "So...I havent had a chance to get aquainted with you two yet. Im Dan, what should I call you two?" Alinore opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by a wave of Red's hand. "Before we get to that, I want an answer. Why are you letting us keep you restrained?" At this, Alinore tilted her head for a moment, confused. "I dont know what your manners are like here, and I thought it might be rude to just destroy these ropes after you all went through so much trouble to tie them. Its ok if I take them off?" Upon seeing Red's nod, Alinore simply cupped her hands and opened them quickly, the ropes being cut cleanly down the middle as if done by a blade as a result.
Taking a moment to stand and dust herself off, Alinore placed her hand on her chest and smiled widely, half ignoring Dans dumbfounded expression. "My name is Alinore Abigor, eight years old. Nice to meet you Red and Dan." Upon hearing her name Reds face glowed into a smile, and she returned with a bow. "My name is Elise Voireparte, but this...man..has bestowed me with the name Red." Snapping back to his senses after seeing hearing Red do something unbelievable yet again, he tried to compose himself. "So...youre telling me the kid is a witch? Gods today is just full of suprises-no mistake that aaaaallll you Red Im not touching that." Half ignoring Alinore's frown he let his gaze drift back towards the boy, jabbing a thumb in his direction. "So whats his name anyway?" he said in an attempt to focus on the things he was interested in. "He doesnt have a name," Alinore replied quickly and as-a-matter-of-factly before continuing, Â "He is considered a criminal for some reason." Upon hearing this information, Dan practically began dancing with joy. "So he aint afraid to fight, he dont got any name, and he already has criminal status? I think I love this kid-we are gonna get along nicely!" Smiling to the boy while biting his lower lip and putting an arm around the boys shoulder, his actions were rewarded with a chomp to his ear. Instead of smashing the boy like he wished to, he suppressed the overwhelming desire to make the boy a kabob and picked him up high in the air, still smiling. "Well, I think we oughta get your scrapes and cuts looked at too eh? Im looking forward to my time with ya, kid."
[The next four months passed in a bit of a blur. Having been given the sole responsibility to keep up their safety, the boy was made to learn to fight-under tutelage of Lazarus no less. Suprisingly to everyone but Dan, the boy proved to have a knack for fighting with swords, and within four months, he was able to fend off the group that initially was simply beating on him for fun and calling it lessons. Alinore was whisked off whenever she wasnt playing translator for the boy by Red, and their activities were mostly kept a secret. What was apparent was that they became quite close rather quickly. After having his time with the children, Dan began to get bored, and decided to take them along with a very specific raid. Using Red as a reference, he aimed to find the merchant that sold her the map and have his "revenge" for the lack of actual loot in his map.]
-The Raid-
[Dan found the source of his aims, and travelled with his group and after arriving at their village went in personally. Demanding the man by name and stating his intent to kill him, he gave everyone til nightfall. If the man was not produced, then he would return and raze everything to the ground. When nightfall came and the man did not appear, Dan stayed true to his word and sent his horde into the village, watching from the outskirts as chaos and havoc unfolded before him.]
The boy had become used to similar sights by this point. In the four months he spent around Dan, he had witnessed his rather random streaks of destruction and thievery both many times already. Standing on the outside looking in as usual, he decided to unsheath his sword and study how the light from the flames danced on his blade rather than listen to the screams. Catching Dans eye, he twitched his ears as he heard him speak towards the men sitting nearby, each turning their eyes towards the boy with grins that made him uncomfortable. Barely catching Alinore speaking worriedly towards Dan he couldnt find the time to react as he was scooped up and carried towards the village.
Inside the village was a horror scene. People getting impaled, lit on fire, running and screaming, being dragged or begging on their knees. It was the first time the boy saw it up close, but what bothered him the most was the smell. He didnt realize the scent was blood, he simply believed the scent was something unpleasant and wished to be away from it. Being carried towards a house not yet lit on fire, his uneasiness began to rise.
Having been pushed into a nearby closet, the girl and her little brother were told not to move. Feeling uneasy, the lalafell obeyed. Her brother however, had other plans in mind. Running out of the closet into the open room, he was greeted with the sight of his parents in a bloody heap on the floor. Flying into a rage, he lunged at them only to be cut down very much the same way. As the little girl crawled out of the closet onto the scene, she could do little else but cry as they laughed and teased at her. "Oi," Started one, "That ones a girl too aint she?" All eyes centered on her as they observed her. "Yunno what, I think she is. Cint killed the last one--EY, get the kid in here!"
While the small crowd around her began to buzz and shift the girls focus was taken when her brother began to stir, coughing up blood and groaning. "Mika!" She squeaked while crawling to him, grasping his hand in some strange attempt to drag him back. "Dona?" he groaned back, half conscious. She was so caught in her current stream of despairing events that she did not even realize that the crew had returned with a small boy in tow, pushing him towards her with a blade in his hand. "Alright kid, do your thing." said one of the men with a crooked smile, prodding the boys back to signal him forward. Instead of moving forward, the boy locked his eyes onto Dona's, pushing the bangs up onto his head to get a clear look at them.
Â
To everyone else's eyes, they appeared to be the same, to the boy however, the girl was quite strange to behold. Dona was heterochromatic, her deep pink and purple eyes reflecting into his almost like a plea for help. What was most peculiar to him though, was the fact that her eyes had defined pupils down the center, something he had never before witnessed in his old home. "Whatre ye waitin for!?" screeched in one of the men behind the boy, hitting him aside his head. "Yer a man aincha!? Well git on in there, we dont have all night to burn a village down you know!" "I dunno if 'e understands us," chimed in a bald man with a scar on his head, "Dan said somefin about him singin to talk or summat." Earning a collective groan from the onlookers, one of the men began screaming next to the boys ear and pointing to Dona, instructing him to perform obscenities.
Wiggling his ears in response to the loud sounds near him, the boy kept his eyes transfixed on Dona, moving them only slightly to study the boy bleeding on the ground next to her. Having reached the end of his patience, the man screaming at him finally kicked him in the back, forcing him to topple on top of Dona. His face closer to hers now, the boy could feel the terrified shivers vibrating on her every breath. His face hardening, he began to feel the now familiar sensation of something boiling inside of him. Only this time, it felt even hotter, more compelling. Rising to his feet, he turned his back to Dona and began walking away.
-The Raid Pt. 2-
Dona watched the boy get up wordlessly and walk away, as if not interested. Before she could even allow herself to wonder why, the same man that kicked the boy onto her had already began angrily rapping into the boy, kicking him in the stomach. Or at least thats what Dona thought he did at first. It was apparent a moment later that his intent was not met with success, as his foot had apparently been caught on something-the boy blocked the attack with the sharp edge of his blade.Â
Before anyone could react properly to his resistance, he was already upon them like a storm, cutting through the mans foot and driving his blade into the chest of another to his left, he jumped and descended upon another, biting into his cheek and toppling onto the ground with him. Taking the distracted opportunity to steal the mans sword, he deflected a thrust to his chest and charged in, slashing the aggressors waist before turning and immediately crouching to the ground, receiving a graze across his back from a thrust.
Using his lower stance to close the distance, he returned his injury with a series of three thrusts into the mans stomach, only stopping when he received a heavy bash across the head with the broad end of an axe, his lightweight body being knocked into a nearby cabinet, the wood crashing in a pile on top of him. "Gods, that kid was always nuts. Always had a funny feelin about him." A rather burlish man who had been watching the exchange rested his axe into the wooden floor and took a puff of his cigar, turning away. "Didnt think he had it in him to actually kill any of us though...color me impressed. " Â Still puffing his cigar, he approached Dona shivering on the floor as her last glimmer of hope was smashed into the remains of her home. "He bit me damn cheek!" Moaned one of the men still breathing, "And he stole my sword! I need to kill something small and cuddly now, so let me get the girl."
As she stared on almost listlessly as she had given up hope, Dona did not notice the wood in the corner shifting. In fact, by the time anyone noticed, it was already too late. The boy emerged from the wood slowly, grabbing onto a large piece with his free hand. Seeing a chance, he lunged from the pile and drove a wooden stake deep into the mans throat, twisting his body against the dying mans shoulders in a half roll before descending upon his previous attacker, slashing his arm before falling clumsily to the ground, jumping away on all fours to avoid the subsequent swing from the axe. For a few moments Dona forgot that she was in a situation where she would most likely die.
She forgot that her brother was in critical condition, and she had forgotten that her parents were lying among a now rising collection of bodies dead. For a few moments her complete attention was on the boy with glowing eyes and smoke billowing from his mouth like a chimney, smiling down an opponent clearly much bigger  charging at him as if he had already won. The next moment the boy had run between the mans legs and thrust his blade into the mans groin, effectively downing him. Not yet done with his onslaught, the boy proceeded to run around the room collecting all of the blades, running back to the man each time to thrust one into a different part of his body. Seemingly unconvinced, or perhaps unsatisfied that the fight was over, he began biting the man as hard as he could in various places, ripping off flesh here and there and roaring at the top of his lungs, the smoke still puffing out his mouth in a constant stream giving him the appearance of a monster denied its meal.
After what felt like an eternity passed, the boy finally finished his rampage, the smoke billowing from his mouth ceased as if a hallucination. Not saying a word as he stepped off of the remains, he simply looked to Dona and outstretched his hand, now dirtied with mud and blood. Looking to her brother bleeding on the floor, Dona continued to cry. Seeing the object of her stress, the Boy picked up Mika and lifted him onto his shoulder, outstretching his free hand again, this time grabbing Dona's arm, he led them out of the house, back towards the group.
-Welcome to the Family-
The events of the night before had more or less become a soupy mud in Dona's brain. After the boy had saved her and dragged her out of the house, he plopped Mika in front of a person wearing a red cloak and did something, after which she took him away. After that...Dona was not sure if what she witnessed was actual interaction or a comedy routine. The boy went up to whom she presumed was the leader of the bandits laying waste to her home and pointed at her, hitting his chest and sticking out his bottom lip. After this was a series of grunts and pounds that any onlooker would believe was a cross between wrestling and eating, after which the strange man introduced himself as Dan, and said that the boy had just pledged to take responsibility for her brother and herself, so in essence....they now belonged to him. The shock of losing everything she had known, the uncertainty of her brothers well being, and on top of that being made to become a servant of someone whom she didnt even really know was too much of a shock for the girl, and she began to wonder if she were really awake or not. Her ponderings, however, were brought to a grinding halt as a beautiful lalafell girl walked into the tent, her joyful smile melting something within Dona that should could not identify.
"So youre awake huh?" asked Alinore cheerfully, "Im Alinore Abigor. Its nice to meet you." Finishing her statement with a slight bow of her head, she held a silent smile while tilting her head. While the girl seemed nice enough, something about her smile made Dona feel uneasy, and not wanting her already complicated life to get even more confusing, she opted to answer as politely and quickly as possible, her anxiety taking over. "I-Im D-D-Donatella Fontanella."
Dona has always been a shy person, and with the current events stacked onto her mind in such a way she couldnt even make heads or tails of things anymore, rocketting her fears to new heights. Blushing as she finished her statement, Dona nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the boy from the night before walk into the tent, half convinced that he was going to eat her or something. To her suprise however, he did not direct a word towards her at all, instead humming towards Alinore while casting short glances at her, Alinore replying with similar sing song like noises. After a few minutes, the boy walked past Dona, prompting her to jump again, and grabbed a blade from the little patch of straws that Dona had been sleeping next to. Watching him leave with a mixture of terror and curiousity, Dona addressed Alinore.
"W-who i-i-is that?" she asked bashfully. "Hes the one who saved you yesterday. You dont remember?" Nodding her head intensely as if attempting to shake the events of the night before from her brain, Dona continued. "B-but who is he? I-I havent heard his n-n-n-name yet." At this, Alinore tilted her head as if she had just heard something ridiculous.
"He doesnt have a name. Never had one because he did something bad." Confused by her statement, Dona summoned her courage and delved deeper. "T-then what do you call him? How d-do you t-talk to him?" Wiggling her ears at her questions, Alinore turned and stared at Dona a very long time, her smile slowly fading. "He doesnt need a name. He cant understand a word you say to him anyway, Im the only one who can speak to him. You should worry less about him and more about how you can be of use around here. I understand that he brought you back but if he has no reason to keep you safe anymore...." Alinore smiled again, her sharp teeth glinting slightly as she left the tent. "If I really wanted to I could mope about it all day if I wanted," she thought, "Or I can just do whatever it takes right now. I only need to focus on being useful to that boy and keeping my brother safe. I can do this!" Slapping herself on the cheeks, Dona stood up shakily and left the tent, squinting her eyes against the sunlight.
                                 To be continued...
[ It has been three years since the incident involving the heir to the clan and the cursed child. Suprising everyone with her desire to make the boy her servant, unrest began to spread slowly over the years, causing a slow but very steady strain on the clan as a whole as superstition and fear began to outweigh reason.
It wasnt completely unfounded however; Finding the boy almost immediately sparked a streak of disobedience and carelessness by the heir, sneaking off with him to tour the Outer Castle or hide from her tutors. After realizing the boy was unable to understand speech, she began to labor on ways to communicate with him, eventually realizing that he attempted communication through a series of hums, facial expressions, and varied tooth clicks.
Eventually taking the time to learn how to speak with him rather than teach him how to speak with her, she became the only person able to do so, even finding that his method of communication was both faster and was more enjoyable. After exploring most of the Outer Castle, Alinore realized that much of their home itself went unused or forgotten, and began travelling through forgotten corridors and lost labs to search for information and places to make her own for her self studies and playtime. ]
Twirling about in her usual fashion while the boy dusted off the table for her in an old musty room filled with old notes and strange tubes, Alinore was in an even better mood than usual. Today was the day she was going to test her new magic that she found in this very same room out, and she was quite eager to get started. After he finished dusting the table thoroughly, the boy hopped onto it wordlessly and waited while Alinore walked over to a stack of papers with her own notebook in hand and began reviewing them.
Finally satisfied with herself, she walked around the table behind the boy and pulled the collar of his rags down a bit, inspecting his neck. Unable to keep herself contained any longer, she began to focus her aether into her fingertips and pointed them at the boys shoulders, smiling smugly to herself when she saw his limbs immediately become limp. "If you resist at all it will only hurt you, so dont struggle okay?" After conveying that to him she began to intensify the flow of Aether in her hand, watching the changes develop as she went along. According to the notes she found in this room, the occupants had been attempting to develop binding magic that allowed the caster advanced control of their limbs-and possibly even their own flow of aether if perfected properly.
The process itself was made extremely complex, involving a multiple layered spell that required fast monitering and shifting, spread in differing degrees over multiple limbs-assuming you wanted to control more than one. The process required syncronizing the casters aether flow with the aether within the target, then forcing their body to move to your will in a process requiring a series of very acute and precise lightning magic within the bind, allowing control.
Simply casting that many spells at once required a certain kind of talent with magic, but exerting that much control over so many spells sustained for any extended amount of time was nearly impossible to do properly. Further, the final goal of the spell was to eventually exert control over the targets aether, something that seemed even more impossible when faced with the fact that the caster would already be burdened with the strain of maintaining all of the spells already in place; controlling the flow and manipulation of anothers aether on top of that was deemed completely impossible to mass produce even if mastered, and so the spell was scrapped along with all of the notes with it. Alinore was not interested in mass production however. It did become apparent very quickly however that the spell was going very wrong.
The boy immediately began to twist his arms and arch his back in ways undesired. Â His face immediately contorted into pain as be began to scream and writhe about as Alinore watched with an impatient interest. Adjusting her aether did not fix the issue either, only adding to his screams as the boy began to froth at the mouth, a reaction Alinore took notice of. "I told you not to resist. If you keep trying to escape the pain will only worsen." Increasing the amount of focus she put into the procedure as she gathered her data, the boys eyes began to roll into the back of his head, a faint flash coming from beneath his bangs as they disappeared into the back of his eyelids. Completely entranced in her workings now, she attempted to move his limbs to her will, only to see his contortions increase to extreme degrees, all things she took note of. Taking a moment while he writhed and screamed to write down notes of her own, she was shocked to suddenly have her aether tethers cut-or more accurately ripped-from their hold. Returning her attention to the boy she saw him sitting upward on the table, a strange glow to his eyes beneath his bangs, a low growl escaping his lips. Jumping from the table he approached her and grabbed her arm firmly, then fell limp.
The next moment the glow was gone, and the boy began looking about the room with his usual lost stare. The entire sequence of events had caught Alinore off guard. To her knowledge, the boy was supposed to be a reject of the clan, one who could not do any magic at all, which ironically made him a great living body to test new spells on. If he could not create magice however, then what did he just do to cut her tethers? Further, what was that glow just now if he could not manipulate aether? The questions piled in quick succession, but the overall importance of the situation was not lost on her. "...My experiment was a failure. I dont want to learn this magic anymore." Turning to pat the boy on the head, she grabbed her notes and skipped toward the exit, eager to test the next spell.
[And so things continued this way for another nine days.]
-The Mad Thief and Odd Witch-
The man climbed and scrambled up the chains with agile yet crude reflexes, nearly losing his balance here and there, and dropping to a crawl whenever the wind caused the chains to so much as sway. Catching himself as he nearly fell, he kicked himself off of the large chain and grasped onto the corner of a castle wall, staring at the shadow floating above him with a mixture of jealousy and happiness. "You aint gonna help me get up there at all are you?" He asked in the midst of an insane laugh. The shadow didnt reply, only turned to face him with a blank expression. Upon closer inspection, the shadow was a floating woman, cloaked in a deep red robe that made her appear like a badly made scarecrow. "Dan," she started with a monotone voice, "Ive already started the spell. You should stop playing around." Nearly falling off of the edge as he found himself onto a small balcony near her, he found himself laughing at her idea of his nearly dying multiple times in a short span of time him "playing around."
Looking up towards his objective, he couldnt help his excitement boiling over. Dan, or "Crazy Dan" as he was often called, was a leader of a small group of mostly likeminded bandits. They enjoyed stealing and plundering and not living in only one place, but above all they enjoyed the challenges associated with them. Before Dans eyes was the challenge of his lifetime; A floating Castle over the perilous desert filled with Sandwyrms and storms and heat, protected by a legion of giant adamantoise below it. The castle was said to be filled with untold riches and unheard of knowledge, but all of which was horded by its inhabitants-a castle of demons. These demons would only come down to the world below at certain times, and even then it was only to add more demons to their ranks more than anything. Such a challenge was perfect for Dan. Getting caught in this abyss of death would surely mean his own, so he had to get in and out quickly and quietly with as many riches as possible. At his wits end as to how to do so after finally managing to catch the damn moving castle, his friend suddenly presented him with a map she earned from a merchant who claimed to have recieved audience with the demons himself once, and made from his memory. In exchange for allowing her to tag along, she would share the map.
"Why DID you want to come with me anyway Red?" he asked as he picked a lock, once again recieving no answers in return. Glancing towards her every once in a while as he made his way to his objective, he couldnt help but to think on their relationship. Red appeared before him suddenly one day as he was pillaging a village. Already finding it odd that anyone would choose to cower in a burning alley caught his attention, but upon approaching her she demanded that he gave her food.
 She then followed him everywhere he went like a hound. Unlike everyone else in his group, she seems to be the only one who shows no interest in anyone else-or anything else, which is why her wanting to come along struck him as so suspicious. Throwing the thought into the back of his mind he found himself inside of a room, oddly decorated and silent. Looking towards his map, he realized that he had made it to his objective. "Now....wheres....the loot?" Looking around the room with his greedy eyes, Dan could hardly see anything of value, taking a moment to scan the room again, he froze in place when he noticed that a thick blanket was moving slowly. Unsheathing his blade immediately he shot a look of irritation at Red. "You bloody idiot that map was WRONG! We are smack dab in a demons room!" Surveying the room calmly, Red spoke quietly as her eyes rested on the blankets. "Dan, the map was to point to the most valuable treasure in the castle.
 If there isnt treasure in here, but living things, what do you suppose that means?" Dan only blinked in response, his face slowly understanding. "You...want me to kidnap a demon? Kehehehe....youre crazier than I am arent you?" Giving him a slight smile as she looked on, Red's entire expression suddenly shifted into one of pain and panic. "SHIT, the spell was detected already! The scaled one is coming, Dan we have to leave now!" Dan, still in shock from Reds sudden and previously never before seen stream of expression and communication found himself unable to respond properly.
"Scaled one? They got dragons now? Whatre you goin on abou--" His words were cut off as Red violently slapped him & grabbed his shirt, bringing her face close to his. "Listen to me you little dipshit, I dont feel like dying today, and we dont have the time to entertain any of your fucking questions. Grab what we came here for and I'll get us out of here before we get turned into ornaments or something. Still in quite a shock from the turn of events, Dan decided that Red clearly knew more about what was going on than he did, and simply grabbed the blankets and balled them up as much as possible, as quickly as possible, then stuffed it into the sack he expected to carry all of his treasure in.
With Red suddenly grabbing his arm, he found himself wrapped in her robe, and with a pull and a shift, like a shadow into the night they were gone.
-The World Below-
[ Alinore awoke from her deep sleep to find herself surrounded by strange dirty tall men and women, all staring and peering at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement. It didnt take long for her to grasp the situation. In the midst of her analysis of the situation, she found herself overcome with a plethora of emotions boiling up inside of her like bubbles in water, all bursting at the same time. At the height of her emotion, she found herself crying, holding on to the slowly waking boy cradled in her arms with all her might, the shrieking and tears earning her the ire of one of the men watching her. ]
"Hey there," the tall gray elezen man started with an unfriendly glare glinting in his eyes, his grizzled beard and hair along with his dirty tattered clothes and assortment of blades decorating his sides betraying his wellspoken words and tone, "You dont have anything to be cross about yet, so I suggest you quickly but a plug on those waterworks before I give you a reason to use them in earnest." He finished his statement with a threatening brandish of his blade against a scar on his cheek and a possibly intended to seem threatening ruffling of  his hair, but he found himself ignored completely as Alinore continued to cry, much to his chagrin.
Refusing to be ignored he roughly picked the girl up by her hair and stuck the point of his dagger against her cheek, trying in vain to gain the girls attention as she continued crying. While he failed to aquire Alinores attention properly, being suddenly dropped onto the ground in the middle of stirring certainly earned the boys attention. At first staring with confused wonder at the absolute shift in surroundings from the night before, and realizing that his arms were bound, he perked his ears and cocked his head around attentively when he heard the sound of crying nearby. Seeing Alinore being held by the hair with a sharp object stuck onto her face was all he needed to see. Suddenly overcome with the memories of his years of being pushed around abused and bullied by those around him, he found he couldnt stand seeing Alinore treated the same. The feeling was confusing to him, alien even. Being bullied by everyone usually filled him with a sense of fear and defeat, and in his constant confusion of the happenings around him, he began to accept them as normal things that were meant to happen to him. Alinore was a different case altogether; She took the time to learn to speak with him, she played with him, and she never bullied him without a reason that she didnt explain before doing it.
 Seeing Alinore treated that way made something in the pit of his stomach tighten, his fists clench, and a new feeling that scared him began to flare up inside of him like an explosion. He knew he had to do something to stop the man bullying Alinore, but his arms were bound, he had no weapon, and he was much taller. Feeling his thoughts race, the boys frustration began to mount and his frantic racing thoughts began to take over. Refusing to think any further, he lunged at the man with all the strength his little legs could muster, and opened his mouth with an animalistic howl, sinking his sharp teeth deep into the mans forearm, and with everything he could yanked his head around until he felt a rip, coincidentally landing a kick into the mans groin while trying to pull away, seeing to the two of them falling into a heap on the ground, Alinore landing with a look of suprise on her knees nearby.
The surrounding bandits began to laugh and jeer at the Elezen crumpled over on the ground in pain, some throwing rocks at him. "Oi Lazarus, you gettin' your arse kicked by a kid?" squealed one half doubled over laughing. "I dunno why he's actin like his jewels are hurt, I dont remember them being much to worry over!" howled a female in the crowd. With the crowds insults getting continually more insulting, Lazarus hopped to his feet in a rage, the boy kicking a small ways away and sitting on his heels. "Im gonna kill you, you insufferable little brat!" He started, "...And my jewels are PLENTY to worry over! LOADS even!" Finishing his statement while the laughter rose higher, he threw the dagger in his hand into the boys shoulder, drawing two thin swords from his hips and lunging in. Feeling the dagger sink into his shoulder hurt the boy a great deal, but his desire to stop the mans bullying seemed to make him forget how to feel pain properly, the feeling almost an afterthought as he lunged forward again, earning a deep stab into his arm. Screaming out in pain as he was repelled, he barely moved out of the way of a second stab, lunging again at the mans now bleeding arm and sinking his teeth back in, ripping the red flesh away with his teeth while the man fell to his knee and clutched it, howling expletives and obsceneties.
His rage and embarrassment at their breaking point, Lazarus lunged at the boy and kicked him in the stomach with all his might while the boy lunged blindly at him a third time, slashing the boys exposed back while he fell to the ground. Still unsatisfied with the boy coughing up and gagging in the dirt, he began to stab the boy in his dagger wound, twisting it while his stomped him in frustration. After a few minutes of venting his frustrations, he turned the boy over and pointed the blade at his throat, only to be stopped by a sudden impact to the side of his head, knocking him into a nearby tent while all the laughter ceased.
"The Hells you think you doin to my money-I mean-a kid!" Dan asked while resting his rather large sword on his shoulder, his mouth twisted into an annoyed frown. "What am I-ugh I cant bloody believe this!" Lazarus stammered back as he struggled to clamber to his feet, his dizzyness and injured arm proving to make such actions impossible. "I was just trying to shut the little brat over there up and that...that BRAT decided I looked like a decent breakfast!" Lazarus threw a dagger at the boy again and displayed the now hanging bits of flesh and healthy stream of blood seeping from his wound, only to be met with a dagger reflected into his thigh and hearty laugh from Dan at his resulting scream after impact.
Turning towards the boy, Dan lifted him off of the ground and brought him extremely close to his face, a glare sparking from his eyes into the boys, along with the stench of bad breath that seemed to be a mixture of warm booze and rotten eggs. "So you thought it'd be a good idea to take a chomp out of my mate there didja? Didnt care one wit about hurtin him?" "Hey Dan," cut in one of the men in the crowd, "Im pretty sure you just hurt Laz'rus way more than the kid did." "Shut up you!" Dan shot back, pointing towards the source of the voice with a filthy looking sword. "Now where was I....Oh yeah! You cant just go hurtin my men like that see? Youre a HOSTAGE, get that? You aint s'posed to do anything but cower on the ground and make my money, understand?" Finishing his statement with the most evil grin he could muster, he was met with absolute silence. Finding himself irritated by the lack of an answer, he clenched a fist and hit the boy across the side of his head. "UNDERSTAND!?" The boy remained silent, spitting the bits of flesh and blood in his mouth into Dans face, prompting him to drop him onto the ground startled.
"You..you really want to get chopped into little bits dont you?" Pointing his blade at the boy, Dan was startled to see him immediately lung at it, biting at the ends despite the edge cutting into the sides of his mouth. "He doesnt understand you!" Having observed the situation long enough, Alinore jumped behind the boy and placed her bound wrists over his head and into his neck to restrain him, cradling him into a half hug, half chokehold. "Im the only one who can speak to him, he doesnt understand anyone else. He just wants to protect me is all." Dan took a moment to think, looking first to the adorable girl with tears in her eyes and what looked like a rabbid dog in her arms, then to Lazarus screaming and rolling on the ground. "You sayin he did all that without understandin a word of whats going on?" Looking down at the boy, Alinore nodded slowly.
"Huh..." Still thinking the situation over, Dan nearly hopped out of his skin when he felt a familiar cold hand tap the base of his neck. "Gods damn you Red I told you not to do that!" Looking to the children on the ground and ignoring Dan, her eyes rested and lingered on Alinore for a long and awkward silence, Alinore staring back almost as if in a trance. "Dan," Red began, "Im in agreement with your current train of thought." Staring into his confused face for a minute, she continued on, pointing at the children. "You wanted to take the boy for yourself didnt you? After all, if they are treasure then its possible that the longer they are missing the more valuable they will become. Ive taken an interest in the girl, and returning them later is something like an investment. " Dan stared at Red with disbelief and confusion.
Something about Red had always felt off to him, but very recently her speech has increased to more than two or three times a day. Rarely she would do what she did just now, and somehow guess exactly what he was thinking, but never has she elaborated on what he was thinking so specifically, usually warning him against or encouraging him to follow through with his thoughts. "Well...the kid has got some guts in him, thats for sure. Anyone who would jump into a situation armed with nothing BUT their teeth is someone Id welcome without too much thinking involved; I like him." Kneeling down to the boys level and staring into his eyes, he addressed Alinore. "You said he cant understand a word we say but you can talk to him right?"
Upon seeing Alinores nod, he continued, "Then tell him this: If he doesnt want anything bad to happen to you two then he has to work to make sure we dont hurt you. If he dont work hard enough, then bad things are going to happen to the both of ya." Â Raising his brow at Alinore's somewhat musical translation, he recieved a glare of understanding from the boy. Hopping to his feet with a chipper grin, Dan turned and began walking off, stopping near the now unconscious Lazarus and lifting him onto his shoulder with relative ease. Handing him off to someone with medical supplies to tend to him, Dan returned to the children and addressed Alinore again. "So...I havent had a chance to get aquainted with you two yet. Im Dan, what should I call you two?" Alinore opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by a wave of Red's hand. "Before we get to that, I want an answer. Why are you letting us keep you restrained?" At this, Alinore tilted her head for a moment, confused. "I dont know what your manners are like here, and I thought it might be rude to just destroy these ropes after you all went through so much trouble to tie them. Its ok if I take them off?" Upon seeing Red's nod, Alinore simply cupped her hands and opened them quickly, the ropes being cut cleanly down the middle as if done by a blade as a result.
Taking a moment to stand and dust herself off, Alinore placed her hand on her chest and smiled widely, half ignoring Dans dumbfounded expression. "My name is Alinore Abigor, eight years old. Nice to meet you Red and Dan." Upon hearing her name Reds face glowed into a smile, and she returned with a bow. "My name is Elise Voireparte, but this...man..has bestowed me with the name Red." Snapping back to his senses after seeing hearing Red do something unbelievable yet again, he tried to compose himself. "So...youre telling me the kid is a witch? Gods today is just full of suprises-no mistake that aaaaallll you Red Im not touching that." Half ignoring Alinore's frown he let his gaze drift back towards the boy, jabbing a thumb in his direction. "So whats his name anyway?" he said in an attempt to focus on the things he was interested in. "He doesnt have a name," Alinore replied quickly and as-a-matter-of-factly before continuing, Â "He is considered a criminal for some reason." Upon hearing this information, Dan practically began dancing with joy. "So he aint afraid to fight, he dont got any name, and he already has criminal status? I think I love this kid-we are gonna get along nicely!" Smiling to the boy while biting his lower lip and putting an arm around the boys shoulder, his actions were rewarded with a chomp to his ear. Instead of smashing the boy like he wished to, he suppressed the overwhelming desire to make the boy a kabob and picked him up high in the air, still smiling. "Well, I think we oughta get your scrapes and cuts looked at too eh? Im looking forward to my time with ya, kid."
[The next four months passed in a bit of a blur. Having been given the sole responsibility to keep up their safety, the boy was made to learn to fight-under tutelage of Lazarus no less. Suprisingly to everyone but Dan, the boy proved to have a knack for fighting with swords, and within four months, he was able to fend off the group that initially was simply beating on him for fun and calling it lessons. Alinore was whisked off whenever she wasnt playing translator for the boy by Red, and their activities were mostly kept a secret. What was apparent was that they became quite close rather quickly. After having his time with the children, Dan began to get bored, and decided to take them along with a very specific raid. Using Red as a reference, he aimed to find the merchant that sold her the map and have his "revenge" for the lack of actual loot in his map.]
-The Raid-
[Dan found the source of his aims, and travelled with his group and after arriving at their village went in personally. Demanding the man by name and stating his intent to kill him, he gave everyone til nightfall. If the man was not produced, then he would return and raze everything to the ground. When nightfall came and the man did not appear, Dan stayed true to his word and sent his horde into the village, watching from the outskirts as chaos and havoc unfolded before him.]
The boy had become used to similar sights by this point. In the four months he spent around Dan, he had witnessed his rather random streaks of destruction and thievery both many times already. Standing on the outside looking in as usual, he decided to unsheath his sword and study how the light from the flames danced on his blade rather than listen to the screams. Catching Dans eye, he twitched his ears as he heard him speak towards the men sitting nearby, each turning their eyes towards the boy with grins that made him uncomfortable. Barely catching Alinore speaking worriedly towards Dan he couldnt find the time to react as he was scooped up and carried towards the village.
Inside the village was a horror scene. People getting impaled, lit on fire, running and screaming, being dragged or begging on their knees. It was the first time the boy saw it up close, but what bothered him the most was the smell. He didnt realize the scent was blood, he simply believed the scent was something unpleasant and wished to be away from it. Being carried towards a house not yet lit on fire, his uneasiness began to rise.
Having been pushed into a nearby closet, the girl and her little brother were told not to move. Feeling uneasy, the lalafell obeyed. Her brother however, had other plans in mind. Running out of the closet into the open room, he was greeted with the sight of his parents in a bloody heap on the floor. Flying into a rage, he lunged at them only to be cut down very much the same way. As the little girl crawled out of the closet onto the scene, she could do little else but cry as they laughed and teased at her. "Oi," Started one, "That ones a girl too aint she?" All eyes centered on her as they observed her. "Yunno what, I think she is. Cint killed the last one--EY, get the kid in here!"
While the small crowd around her began to buzz and shift the girls focus was taken when her brother began to stir, coughing up blood and groaning. "Mika!" She squeaked while crawling to him, grasping his hand in some strange attempt to drag him back. "Dona?" he groaned back, half conscious. She was so caught in her current stream of despairing events that she did not even realize that the crew had returned with a small boy in tow, pushing him towards her with a blade in his hand. "Alright kid, do your thing." said one of the men with a crooked smile, prodding the boys back to signal him forward. Instead of moving forward, the boy locked his eyes onto Dona's, pushing the bangs up onto his head to get a clear look at them.
Â
To everyone else's eyes, they appeared to be the same, to the boy however, the girl was quite strange to behold. Dona was heterochromatic, her deep pink and purple eyes reflecting into his almost like a plea for help. What was most peculiar to him though, was the fact that her eyes had defined pupils down the center, something he had never before witnessed in his old home. "Whatre ye waitin for!?" screeched in one of the men behind the boy, hitting him aside his head. "Yer a man aincha!? Well git on in there, we dont have all night to burn a village down you know!" "I dunno if 'e understands us," chimed in a bald man with a scar on his head, "Dan said somefin about him singin to talk or summat." Earning a collective groan from the onlookers, one of the men began screaming next to the boys ear and pointing to Dona, instructing him to perform obscenities.
Wiggling his ears in response to the loud sounds near him, the boy kept his eyes transfixed on Dona, moving them only slightly to study the boy bleeding on the ground next to her. Having reached the end of his patience, the man screaming at him finally kicked him in the back, forcing him to topple on top of Dona. His face closer to hers now, the boy could feel the terrified shivers vibrating on her every breath. His face hardening, he began to feel the now familiar sensation of something boiling inside of him. Only this time, it felt even hotter, more compelling. Rising to his feet, he turned his back to Dona and began walking away.
-The Raid Pt. 2-
Dona watched the boy get up wordlessly and walk away, as if not interested. Before she could even allow herself to wonder why, the same man that kicked the boy onto her had already began angrily rapping into the boy, kicking him in the stomach. Or at least thats what Dona thought he did at first. It was apparent a moment later that his intent was not met with success, as his foot had apparently been caught on something-the boy blocked the attack with the sharp edge of his blade.Â
Before anyone could react properly to his resistance, he was already upon them like a storm, cutting through the mans foot and driving his blade into the chest of another to his left, he jumped and descended upon another, biting into his cheek and toppling onto the ground with him. Taking the distracted opportunity to steal the mans sword, he deflected a thrust to his chest and charged in, slashing the aggressors waist before turning and immediately crouching to the ground, receiving a graze across his back from a thrust.
Using his lower stance to close the distance, he returned his injury with a series of three thrusts into the mans stomach, only stopping when he received a heavy bash across the head with the broad end of an axe, his lightweight body being knocked into a nearby cabinet, the wood crashing in a pile on top of him. "Gods, that kid was always nuts. Always had a funny feelin about him." A rather burlish man who had been watching the exchange rested his axe into the wooden floor and took a puff of his cigar, turning away. "Didnt think he had it in him to actually kill any of us though...color me impressed. " Â Still puffing his cigar, he approached Dona shivering on the floor as her last glimmer of hope was smashed into the remains of her home. "He bit me damn cheek!" Moaned one of the men still breathing, "And he stole my sword! I need to kill something small and cuddly now, so let me get the girl."
As she stared on almost listlessly as she had given up hope, Dona did not notice the wood in the corner shifting. In fact, by the time anyone noticed, it was already too late. The boy emerged from the wood slowly, grabbing onto a large piece with his free hand. Seeing a chance, he lunged from the pile and drove a wooden stake deep into the mans throat, twisting his body against the dying mans shoulders in a half roll before descending upon his previous attacker, slashing his arm before falling clumsily to the ground, jumping away on all fours to avoid the subsequent swing from the axe. For a few moments Dona forgot that she was in a situation where she would most likely die.
She forgot that her brother was in critical condition, and she had forgotten that her parents were lying among a now rising collection of bodies dead. For a few moments her complete attention was on the boy with glowing eyes and smoke billowing from his mouth like a chimney, smiling down an opponent clearly much bigger  charging at him as if he had already won. The next moment the boy had run between the mans legs and thrust his blade into the mans groin, effectively downing him. Not yet done with his onslaught, the boy proceeded to run around the room collecting all of the blades, running back to the man each time to thrust one into a different part of his body. Seemingly unconvinced, or perhaps unsatisfied that the fight was over, he began biting the man as hard as he could in various places, ripping off flesh here and there and roaring at the top of his lungs, the smoke still puffing out his mouth in a constant stream giving him the appearance of a monster denied its meal.
After what felt like an eternity passed, the boy finally finished his rampage, the smoke billowing from his mouth ceased as if a hallucination. Not saying a word as he stepped off of the remains, he simply looked to Dona and outstretched his hand, now dirtied with mud and blood. Looking to her brother bleeding on the floor, Dona continued to cry. Seeing the object of her stress, the Boy picked up Mika and lifted him onto his shoulder, outstretching his free hand again, this time grabbing Dona's arm, he led them out of the house, back towards the group.
-Welcome to the Family-
The events of the night before had more or less become a soupy mud in Dona's brain. After the boy had saved her and dragged her out of the house, he plopped Mika in front of a person wearing a red cloak and did something, after which she took him away. After that...Dona was not sure if what she witnessed was actual interaction or a comedy routine. The boy went up to whom she presumed was the leader of the bandits laying waste to her home and pointed at her, hitting his chest and sticking out his bottom lip. After this was a series of grunts and pounds that any onlooker would believe was a cross between wrestling and eating, after which the strange man introduced himself as Dan, and said that the boy had just pledged to take responsibility for her brother and herself, so in essence....they now belonged to him. The shock of losing everything she had known, the uncertainty of her brothers well being, and on top of that being made to become a servant of someone whom she didnt even really know was too much of a shock for the girl, and she began to wonder if she were really awake or not. Her ponderings, however, were brought to a grinding halt as a beautiful lalafell girl walked into the tent, her joyful smile melting something within Dona that should could not identify.
"So youre awake huh?" asked Alinore cheerfully, "Im Alinore Abigor. Its nice to meet you." Finishing her statement with a slight bow of her head, she held a silent smile while tilting her head. While the girl seemed nice enough, something about her smile made Dona feel uneasy, and not wanting her already complicated life to get even more confusing, she opted to answer as politely and quickly as possible, her anxiety taking over. "I-Im D-D-Donatella Fontanella."
Dona has always been a shy person, and with the current events stacked onto her mind in such a way she couldnt even make heads or tails of things anymore, rocketting her fears to new heights. Blushing as she finished her statement, Dona nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the boy from the night before walk into the tent, half convinced that he was going to eat her or something. To her suprise however, he did not direct a word towards her at all, instead humming towards Alinore while casting short glances at her, Alinore replying with similar sing song like noises. After a few minutes, the boy walked past Dona, prompting her to jump again, and grabbed a blade from the little patch of straws that Dona had been sleeping next to. Watching him leave with a mixture of terror and curiousity, Dona addressed Alinore.
"W-who i-i-is that?" she asked bashfully. "Hes the one who saved you yesterday. You dont remember?" Nodding her head intensely as if attempting to shake the events of the night before from her brain, Dona continued. "B-but who is he? I-I havent heard his n-n-n-name yet." At this, Alinore tilted her head as if she had just heard something ridiculous.
"He doesnt have a name. Never had one because he did something bad." Confused by her statement, Dona summoned her courage and delved deeper. "T-then what do you call him? How d-do you t-talk to him?" Wiggling her ears at her questions, Alinore turned and stared at Dona a very long time, her smile slowly fading. "He doesnt need a name. He cant understand a word you say to him anyway, Im the only one who can speak to him. You should worry less about him and more about how you can be of use around here. I understand that he brought you back but if he has no reason to keep you safe anymore...." Alinore smiled again, her sharp teeth glinting slightly as she left the tent. "If I really wanted to I could mope about it all day if I wanted," she thought, "Or I can just do whatever it takes right now. I only need to focus on being useful to that boy and keeping my brother safe. I can do this!" Slapping herself on the cheeks, Dona stood up shakily and left the tent, squinting her eyes against the sunlight.
                                 To be continued...
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