Guarding All Guard Like

[Ren Caverly]

It was about noon at Lamia Scale. Ren was feeling less than social, not that this was any sort of surprise. She had recently met a very intimidating woman who proved not entirely awful. Of course, women were less likely to be awful than men. The men were scarier. Kade, for example, he was pretty scary. She bit her lip and tugged at her hoodie sleeves when she saw him walking over to her. She had recently done a job for him, and apparently that meant he should start making conversation with her. Or at least making note of her when he saw her. She really wished he didn’t.

“Hey Ren, having a good day today?” he asked her. She had been sitting at a table in the far corner of the main room and he walked right over to sit across from her. She knew he was friendly, but she really didn’t understand his desire to say anything to her. Maybe she could have understood, if it were anyone but her, but she still would wish he wouldn’t do it. Ren did not answer him with words, instead giving a small nod and pulling her glass of water closer. “Well that’s good. I wanted to thank you for bringing back that crate for me.” You already thanked me… “I know I already thanked you, but I just wanted to remind you that you are appreciated.”

[Ren Caverly]

“Um…. Okay…” she said cautiously, shifting a little in her discomfort.

“So I know how you like helping people.”

Ren eyed him. A cautious arch in her eyebrow appeared, but she couldn’t let her guard down. No, he couldn’t be trusted. No one could be trusted, at least not by Ren. She wasn’t capable of it, and yet here she was in a guild. A home full of strangers she ought to trust, just like Kade. Yes, she liked helping people, but what exactly did that matter to him?

“And I know of just the guy who could use your help!” Oh…. “Gorge! He’s got a job he needs handled tonight, and I know how you love being up at night,” he said. She fidgeted again in her seat, finishing her glass of water, “So this would be perfect for you.”

Admittedly, a job at night, for someone in the guild, that would be perfect for her. Maybe it would even keep her from needing the usual exchange of money. She didn’t like the need for money. She just wanted to help people. Kade might have said some more, but one of his friends started calling his name, and when it appeared he might invite them over Ren mumbled a comment, something about thanking him and checking it out, and then made a hasty exit. She didn’t want to use her spells to fight, but she did have the impulse to use a spell to hide in that big room.

[Ren Caverly]

Ren slunk off immediately. Had she been thinking about her legs she would have somehow fallen out of her seat and onto the floor. She would have drawn all kinds of attention to herself and Kade would have done something horrible, like ask if she needed help. Ren was a pale girl, and turning all of those shades of red did not seem appealing. She didn’t think about her limbs though, she didn’t think about the details. All Ren thought about in those moments was escape, and hiding, and because of that she was able to slip away unnoticed. She had a strange aura to her that helped her seem to fade into the background. Fading into shadows was her thing, so it made sense.

She pulled her hood up over her face to hide a little bit more. Although she was safe in the solitude, she knew at any time someone could walk past her. Normally it wasn’t such a big concern, but with Kade deciding it was his job to socializing with her on a regular basis, it became a source of anxiety. It shouldn’t have been. She should be comfortable with it, but she didn’t understand. When people with strong personalities talked to the girl it overwhelmed her. She knew she couldn’t keep up, so in a sense she shut down, and yet here she was walking off to talk to someone she knew had a strong personality, and ask if she could help him. Thanks to Kade, of course.

[Ren Caverly]

She walked down the hallway slowly, listening as the sounds from the large room behind her seemed to fade away. It was a soft sound as things became slowly hushed. Like a loud wind dying away into a gentle whisper, or a downpour turning to a gentle sprinkle. The silence went hand in hand with the night, and she found both so much preferable. The bright sun, in the midst of people, loud and chaotic, that had been her life at school before she was cast out, and it brought her nothing but pain. Well, it gave her an education, but she could do that on her own. It was hard to look on the bright side when your happiness lay in the shadows, and hard to be truly happy when you had been taught that your gift was something unappealing. When things were beautiful you took them out and showed the world, but Ren used her power more often than not to simply slink away, as she was doing now.

She hadn’t always been this way, but a girl could only handle so much before it broke her. Ren hadn’t exactly had a support system to fall back on. She’d been told to hide what she had, never taught to use it, and then been hidden away when things proved difficult. She couldn’t help herself but to hide.

[Ren Caverly]

Well maybe she could still help someone out. She didn’t think she had ever met Gorge, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help him. She liked to help people. She could help a complete stranger sometimes easier than the people she knew. It sounded slightly odd to admit, but if she helped a stranger they couldn’t hurt her later. People she knew would see what she was capable of and then say things. They said incorrect things, like that’s cool, or wow, you should do that more often. She didn’t know why he’d said that, but she had quickly run away after having been pushed into doing things. She knew Gorge was in the library, so if she was lucky he would have a very simple task for her, one that wouldn’t require any magic.

As she walked into the library, the petite young woman remembered the reason she avoided this room. It was so familiar, and so nice, but it reminded her of her room. It was quiet and kept apart from the noise of the rest of the guild hall. It almost made her remember being told to study in her bedroom away from people, or more so she remembered, but she didn’t feel it. Instead of the feeling of guilt and confinement she felt a confusing freedom. The room was so large, and even with books everywhere, it felt like she could move freely. She inhaled, the smell of paper and book spines was so pleasant. It was soothing, and that disarmed her usual state of unease. Ren reached her hand out to touch one of the books, just above her eye line. As she reached up she allowed the thick fabric of her sleeve to fall back a few inches, revealing her thin pale fingers. The rough feeling of the old book felt nice, and she remembered all the hours spent with a book in her lap.

[Ren Caverly]

“Hello,” a fairly neutral voice called from behind her. It was almost friendly, but mostly neutral, and Ren jumped. Her hand jerked forward in her surprised and she managed to accidentally knock a few books off the shelf. One hit her in the head but then she grabbed it. She flailed about, managing to grab each book in a strange display of what could almost be described as grace. She had four books in her arms by the end of this and was grateful for the slight shadow of her hood to cover up the blush in her cheeks.

“H-hi, Sir…” she said meekly. She lifted her head slightly to look at him. She had seen the man before, and immediately recognized him as Gorge. His red eyes stared down at her, but they seemed more surprised than judgmental, which she appreciated. Red was a polite little girl, and she knew he was important, so she would never show him disrespect. Her own brown eyes wandered up to his spiky orange hair. The same feeling hit her, even now, as it had when she first saw him. She simply didn’t understand. She didn’t find anything wrong with his appearance, but if she had such a bold appearance she would do everything to hide. It went against her nature, and she wondered how people could do that.

[Ren Caverly]

“Hello, what are you doing in here, besides knocking over things?” he asked, stepping closer to her and taking the books from her hands and slowly placing them back on the shelves. He didn’t know who she was, which didn’t surprise her at all.

“I’m, er, m-my name is Ren,” she offered awkwardly. He arched an eyebrow at her. She realized he hadn’t asked for her name, and now he didn’t just think she was clumsy, she was dense. Great. Just great. “I mean… and I was told you needed someone to h-help you with something.”

It would have made sense for him to question his. It would have made sense for him to think the clumsy, awkward, hooded, stuttering girl in front of him was not up to the task that he had. If it had been stacking papers, she still probably looked incompetent, and yet he smiled.

“Perfect! I have to leave tonight, and I need someone to guard the library. We have very important scrolls here and it is crucial that no one takes them. Do you understand?” he asked, his voice very serious and authoritative. A wide-eyed Ren just nodded. She was perfectly comfortable nodding, and not having to speak, but when he seemed to pause, as if expecting words from her, she knew she had to say something.

[Ren Caverly]

“Is, um, is there any reason someone might come tonight?”

“Well because I am away, of course,” he said, making it sound so obvious. She nodded again, although she didn’t really understand, “It isn’t a secret that I will be away for the night,” he started to explain, Oh? It isn’t? thought the girl who lived under a social rock, “I am going to Oak Town to speak to the Magic Council, and cannot return until the following afternoon. You know what this means, of course,” he said. She didn’t. She nodded slowly anyway, “it means that anyone who pays any attention will know I am not here to keep an eye on things. That is unacceptable. I’m very important, and as such I must sometimes leave. So it will be up to you to watch things here.”

Ren nodded again, “So you just want me to guard the library?” she asked, wanting to make sure she understood him correctly. It was nothing new for Ren to misunderstand people, especially ones who just kept talking, even while assuming she already would understand. She wasn’t really fond of asking questions, even with her misunderstandings being such a common occurrence. The man looked at her, as if scrutinizing. She felt her shoulders come forward as she shrunk some into herself. Something else entirely familiar and entirely unwelcome.

[Ren Caverly]

“Absolutely,” he said. So it was settled, right? Ren could just wander around the library and keep unsavory characters from messing anything up. Good. Apparently they weren’t done just yet. Gorge was looking her up and down, “Do you have any friends you want to keep you company?”

Ren’s brown eyes grew large. She shook her head side to side, slowly, and then much quicker, before looking down to the ground. Gorge apparently misinterpreted this action.

“Well then I am sure I can get someone else to help you. I am very important in the guild,” he reminded her.

Ren’s cheeks turned pink, “N-No, th-that’s fine. I r-rather work on my own, sir…” she told him, her voice hardly travelling the short distance between her lips and his ears. He arched an eyebrow and then snapped his fingers, seeming suddenly, and confusingly pleased.

“Ah, you’re that girl.”

“Wh-what girl?” Ren asked weakly. Did that mean he knew who she was? She hoped he didn’t. Unfortunately his response was a quick description of a girl who slunk around and didn’t like interacting with the other guild members, “I… uh… guess that’s accurate…” she said, chewing on her bottom lip almost to the point of pain. Pain was nothing, awkwardness was key, and she definitely had that last part down.

[Ren Caverly]

Ren was embarrassed, and uncomfortable, but it was nothing new. Gorge seemed to accept that she was capable of taking on the job. After all, it wasn’t guaranteed that someone would come cause any problems, this was just a precaution. It was a weak job, and she was a competent wizard, right? She had wanted to shrug when he asked that, shrug or shrink, but instead she had nodded. She was pleased when he left. It was much quieter alone.

It occurred to Ren that she might have to worry about other people coming into the library. It was a large place after all, and that meant she could easily encounter other guild members. Her plan was to stick to the back and just keep an eye on people. If she recognized someone from her guild she wouldn’t have to worry about them, but anyone else meant she actually had to interact. Ren was not a fan of interacting. Well, sometimes, but definitely not today.

She pulled her sleeves down over her finger tips as she snuggled into a shadowy corner. It was almost like a blanket, in that it was her comfort zone, but that was not quite enough. She coated herself in a tangible shadow, making herself appear practically invisible with the use of one of her spells. A bit of illusionary magic for the girl who was practically invisible socially never hurt right?

[Shadow Veil(10 MP). 140 MP remaining]

[Ren Caverly]

The calm of the setting was soothing, like the darkness. Ren was contradictory upon first glance. She enjoyed the night, and the dark, but she disliked being alone at night, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep. It made sense upon really digging to the core of how the girl worked, but on the surface she didn’t make sense. Like being eighteen years old, having a hard life, and not being able to trust people. For some people those would work out to being a very serious and cold person, but for Ren she just acted like a timid child cowering in a corner. Luckily at the moment she was not cowering in the corner, she was just lying there.

Sleep did not distract Ren tonight. She had what appeared to be an endless supply of books, but she did not turn to them. Although she did enjoy reading, tonight was a job to guard something. She respected Gorge and although he didn’t seem to think there would really be any problem, she was going to give him her attention. Or more so she would give the library itself her attention. Besides, she enjoyed the silence. The lights were out and she was in her comfortable spot. She shifted slightly in her spot, missing the nice calm air of the library. The feeling of lasting peace, the undisturbed air.

[Ren Caverly]

Ren’s eyes opened quickly, and she blinked, scanning the room. Something wasn’t right. It was missing that soothing feature of a safe night. She knew safe and unsafe. She knew disturbed and undisturbed, and she knew the feeling this library had been able to give her for the last several hours. Something about it was off, and that made the hair on her arms stand on end, even in the comfort of her soft hoodie sleeves.

Living on the streets made a girl somewhat alert, what with always having to be aware of the people around who might hurt or take advantage of her. Those people were approximately every single person. She knew that wasn’t entirely accurate, but it felt that way. Right now she knew that it was highly possible it was just an animal, or another guild member. It was possible that one of them might be in the area, and that was what was throwing off the atmosphere. All she had to do was check.

Ren lifted up out of her corner, getting to her feet without a problem. Another one of Ren’s quirks. If she paid attention to what she was doing, she usually stumbled and fell, but she had something innate in her that allowed her to be her own form of graceful, just as long as she didn’t actually think about it.

[Ren Caverly]

Her Mary-Janes moved across the floor without a sound, her eyes were almost closed. It wasn’t that she saw anything amiss, she just felt it. She took a few steps toward the doors. No. It wasn’t that direction. Something was wrong elsewhere, but she decided to check the doors anyway. If they were open she would know someone was in here. It was a logical conclusion, right? She wasn’t exactly a master detective.

Passing a window on her way toward the front doors Ren saw a window. She noticed that it was closed, but something about the lighting distracted her. She looked at it for a moment. One window had a nice shine from the moonlight outside, but the other seemed non-reflective. She took a few steps closer before realizing the reason that it wasn’t reflective. A large hole had been cut out, and she bit her lip. Not good. Not good. Not good. Reeeeeen. Not good. People don’t just cut holes in windows when they want to check out a library book. Not good, oh dear… What if someone took something!? Gorge will be so disappointed! Oh no, oh no, she thought frantically. Her hands reached up and pushed her hood back as she ran her fingers through her short hair. She was a frantic mess in seconds, nearly in tears, until she finally heard something.

[Ren Caverly]

“Is that them? Good! Gimme here!”

“No. You give it here.”

“No. I’m keeping them. Shut up.”

Ren heard three voices, and they seemed to be coming from the same direction, between her and the door. She bit her lip a little harder, but her desire to cry vanished. She looked around frantically, but as with a surprising number of Ren’s traits, she couldn’t accomplish anything when she thought about it hard enough. Self-defeating through and through.

The men rounded the corner. They had on all black, presumably to blend in with their dark surroundings, and had on masks. They appeared to be adults, which automatically made them taller and stronger looking than the tiny blond girl standing between them and their exit. This really was the only viable exit. They could turn around and go through a door leading to a guild full of other wizards, who were no doubt far more competent than the stunned girl in front of them, but that was a horrible idea, and all four of them knew it.

“Move,” one of the men said. She looked a little closer. He was the one slightly in the back of the three. He had what appeared to be scrolls. Oh no, oh no, oh no…. this is bad, Ren… very bad. She bit her lip harder, knowing Gorge would be so mad. She stood still.

[Ren Caverly]

“Fine, I’ll get you to move,” one of them said, stepping toward Ren. She didn’t pose any sort of threat really. She hadn’t even spoken, but that wasn’t surprising for Ren. It looked like he hoped she would back off but when she didn’t he took what looked like warning steps. One. Two. Still standing there? Three. Four. She just watched him, and the other two men. When this one got close enough he tried to reach over and grab her, but she sidestepped a few feet away. He looked angry and in a moment his hand lit ablaze.

Ren’s eyes grew wide, not because the fire magic, but because she realized she was in a fight now. She stumbled backwards until her back hit the wall. The man threw a punch at her, but Ren ducked to the side. Another punch was thrown, but her back wasn’t to the wall this time and she basically fell backwards to avoid him. She was on her back and when she tried to scramble to her feet and run away she felt a hand around her ankle. Ren let out a pained scream before kicking as hard as she could against the arm of the man.

[Ren Caverly]

Ren was released and jumped back, yelping a little again as the burned skin and singed edges of her tights continued to hurt. She couldn’t walk like that, but she noticed the men seemed to be heading toward the window, planning to leave while she was distracted, and that was worse than the pain in her leg.

She scrambled over to the window, her hands pressed against the window sill, her leg throbbing in pain worse than anything she remembered. She was no fighter, but she promised Gorge she would do this, and the fear of disappointing anyone was worse than the fear of these men.

“Move,” one of the men snapped again. Ren shook her head quickly, and the man from earlier, apparently greatly annoyed by this, ran toward her. Ren knew she didn’t have time to move, so suddenly a fluctuating wave of shadows went up in front of her. The man stopped just short of running into her shield. Although Ren was protected behind her very own magic, between the enemies and the window, she was also trapped. Her magic was not meant to be offensive, and she was fine with that, but these men were suddenly much more hostile.

[Shadow Shield(10 MP). 130 Remaining]

[Ren Caverly]

As two of the men closed in on Ren her heart started pounding. The blood in her ears blocked out the pain on her skin. It was the pounding on her shield though that pushed her to move. The dark aura protecting her seemed to rush to the floor like a crashing wave and darkness and then evaporate at the floor. She ran forward to avoid another punch. The men seemed to have expected her to sit there until they broke her out, like a terrified little animal, so one punched through the air before he could stop, and stumbled forward.

Just a minute earlier the men would have gladly made a run for it out the window, now that it was unguarded, but now they seemed to have other priorities. Her eyes shifted from one man to the other, knowing the third was somewhere around here, just out of view. She wasn’t sure what to do. She was not a tactician, she wasn’t a fighter, and she was pretty sure she wasn’t intelligent enough to think her way out of this. Everything was bad news and as she contemplated how horribly doomed she was, the two men charged the little girl.

[Ren Caverly]

Ren swung her left shoulder back, just missing a punch from one man, her right shoulder swinging forward, missing another punch probably meant to knock her to the ground. The men stopped when they got ahold of their momentum and went back to swinging. Ren kept moving, tripping and stumbling about every so often, but always at a moment to bring her out of harm’s way. The clumsy display seemed like pure luck and that only aggravated the men more. While their movements really were getting sloppier, Ren’s body was doing exactly what it needed to do to avoid taking another blow. She wasn’t thinking, just moving.

Finally when the men came at her from exactly opposite sides, she cast another spell. The space that had contained Ren was immediately engulfed in shadows. The area became almost too dark to see, and while the girl knew exactly what was happening, the two men attacking her could not see, and had not been expecting this. Ren jumped to one side, still hidden by her magic, but the two men managed to hit each other with the flame palm spells when there was no longer a Ren between them. Her spell faded with the two men temporarily dazed, laying on the floor, and Ren standing a few feet away eyeing them cautiously.

[Shadow Veil(10 MP). 120 Remaining]

[Ren Caverly]

While the two men were stunned on the floor, the last man was looking at the window again. The idea that Ren was actually formidable never crossed her mind. She just knew the man was contemplating running for it. Immediately Ren’s shadow stretched and shot out from her feet. She could see the scrolls she was supposed to be defending, and they were still in the hands of that man. She couldn’t fight him, she couldn’t run at him, but she had to get them away.

In the dark and the confusion the man didn’t notice anything until the shadow knocked into her hand. He was pushed back slightly and his grip on the scrolls was broken. He dropped them and the shadow immediately grabbed them and raced up to a high bookshelf. It placed them safely there before shooting back to Ren and going innate.

Ren was momentarily pleased with herself. It seemed like a fairly clever idea, in retrospect. It had been pure impulse and necessity in action, but she was pleased now that the scrolls were safe. That was short lived as she heard the swearing of the nearby robber. He charged and her and she put up her arms in self-defense and surprise. Her shadow gauntlet appeared on her right arm, blocking the blow from the fire palm and throwing it back at the attacker. He let out another yell, this time in pain, as he was knocked away with the force of her spell and the power of his.

[Shadow Hand(30 MP, Overcharged). 90 Remaining]
[Shadow Gauntlet(10 MP). 80 Remaining]

[Ren Caverly]

Ren stared at the man. She knew she had the spells, but she didn’t fight. Really having to defend herself was shocking, and she wasn’t sure if it was more surprising for her or for the robber. As soon as he got to his feet he seemed to have stopped caring about the scrolls, or any sort of loot. He ran and jumped out of the window, not stopping for anything. Ren’s eyes moved to the other men, seeing them start to come to, but her attention veered slightly off when she heard a noise.

It might have been a sigh, or just some other noise, but whatever it was was enough to alert Ren’s attention to Kade’s presence. Her eyes got wide and her face turned a brighter red, already nearer that shade from her exertion. While she stared at Kade the two remaining robbers got to their feet. Ren didn’t exactly pose a very obvious threat, and even less so with her back turned, staring at the intrigued looking man nearby. However it wasn’t just Ren now, the girl who had just somehow clumsily bested all three robbers had a friend. Well, he wasn’t her friend, but that was how the statement worked.

[Ren Caverly]

Sticking around under those circumstances was apparently highly unappealing, and the two robbers also ran to the window to make their escape. Ren was busy staring at Kade, unsure how long he had been there and what exactly he was thinking. There was a part of Ren that was intelligent, a part that had been alone a long time and had been forced to learn on her own, but had never for a second slacked off. Ren was clever, and aware, albeit not so much of herself. Ren was also a young woman who had been alone on the streets for a long time, and had people time and again show that they could not be trusted. She knew that there was a reason she did not trust everyone she met. Unfortunately it went past that, and she could not trust even the people who showed good intentions toward her. Kade was one of those people who had shown a consistent friendly attitude toward Ren, but she was incapable of trust. Not just trusting him, but trust in general. Right now she didn’t trust him who reasons beyond her inability to do so with anyone. Right now she was feeling suspicious, and she didn’t take her eyes off him once they returned there, and she watched as he walked over toward her.

[Ren Caverly]

As Kade approached Ren his expression turned from curious to smiling. She narrowed her eyes at him, surveying him like a puzzle, looking at him distrustfully, in a way she had forgotten she could. He just kept on smiling.

“Ren! That was amazing! Wow. I mean… three guys? They all attacked you, right? Impressive,” he said, drawing out the first syllable of impressive a bit longer than normal. Her expression softened slightly, but she kept staring.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her tone quieter, and although she didn’t trust him, he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Breathe in, breathe out, hear him out… A part of her knew his magical potential was greater than hers. A part of her, in the back of her mind, inching its way forward, knew that whatever those random robbers had done, he was capable of much more. That part of her wondered his intentions, and was more scared than intimidated, but she reminded herself that she had no reason to actually distrust him.

“Well I heard you yell. I was going to just wander around. I guess I couldn’t sleep, maybe I subconsciously wanted to check on you,” he said, laughing a little at himself. “You know, friendly visit.”

[Ren Caverly]

Ren nodded, despite not thinking of him as a friend. Guildmate, for better or for worse. At least his point was valid. He had heard her yell, so he came to investigate. As the searing pain in her leg was a reminder of why she had yelled, she managed to clear her head. He wasn’t somehow involved in some master plot to steal things. He wasn’t there to make her look bad, she was well capable of that, he was just trying to be nice. He baffled her all the more, but at least she could relax slightly.

Although she didn’t like showing off her magic, she had to appreciate it. Her shadow stretched out and pulled the scrolls from the top of the off the bookshelf and she put out a hand to catch them as the shadow slid them into her fingers. The additional darkness then ran down her arm, dropped off, and ended up at her feet again, where it ought to be. She didn’t like showing people her “not pretty” magic, but right now it was necessary. Besides, it seemed he had already seen it.

In those moments Ren had a strange sense of adulthood. She was doing her job, she was in the moment, and not worrying about anything. She was as relaxed as she could be in that situation, the pain keeping her head clear of irrelevant concerns. It was a good moment, but of course Kade felt like then was a really good time to talk.

[Shadow Hand(15 MP). 65 Remaining]

[Ren Caverly]

“That’s really cool Ren! How come I never see you use your magic? That’s very useful,” the smiling man informed her. Ren’s face turned red again and the adulthood was gone. Her blush was no more awkward than her clumsy arms as she took the scrolls and stuffed them into her hoodie pockets awkwardly, as if they would suddenly be stolen from her fingertips.

“I, th-they, I… its n-not cool, I j-just….” she trailed off, sputtering horribly and unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Aw, of course it is. That was great!”

She knew he just wanted to be nice; it was in his nature, oddly enough. Unfortunately she felt all too awkward to be near him. She took a step backwards and managed to catch one leg on the other, sending her falling backward. Kade’s eyes went wide as the girl fell down. He seemed surprised for a moment, and then bent down and the concern in his voice made her realize it was something else.

“Your leg looks awful Ren, what happened? Did they do this?”

“Y-yes. C-can you just go to bed. I am fine. I will be fine.” He arched an eyebrow at her, apparently surprised by her insistence that he leave her be, when she was injured. She picked herself up to her feet and stood there, willing him to leave faster. He took his time, but in a few minutes he was thankfully gone.

[Ren Caverly]

With the room empty again Ren went and found a nice place to sit. She was limping because of the burn, but she knew she could handle that. The injury was secondary, the job came first. She had a vantage point where she could see the window in case anything else bad happened, but she was well out of view. When she felt calm enough she encased her leg in shadows and could feel the healing start.

The hours passed slowly as Ren continued healing herself, and kept her eyes on the window. The darkness faded into that awkward gray light. It was nice that the terrors of night were fading, but the sunlight meant people, and Ren had an uncomfortable relationship with that gray light that implied the upcoming dawn.

Unsurprisingly dawn did come, and Ren kept sitting there. The sun was fully out in the sky by the time the doors opened and Ren saw that familiar orange hair. She stood up and walked over to him, past the window, and feeling entirely too guilty about it.

“Good morning. How did last night go?” he asked, seeming friendly enough. She wasn’t even sure he remembered her name, but that was fine by her. His expression turned to surprise when she pulled the scrolls out of her hoodie for him.

[Shadow Stasis(30 MP overcharged). 35 Remaining]

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