MA: 103. Theron's Procession

The first night without needing to put Rockie and Three Paw on guard arrived bittersweetly. The surviving members of Hearth Village surrounded a small bonfire made in homage to Theron.

There was a mandated curfew at this time of the night. The First Night was currently ongoing. Monsters were teeming beyond the walls.

Too many lights would attract unwanted attention and bring creatures to Aire like moths to a flame. Noise, tall structures, and flashy magic were strictly banned thirty minutes before the First Night arrived.

Curfew ended immediately at sunrise.

However, just for this night, the Green Rangers Association greenlit the funeral procession out of respect for Theron. He was also one of theirs, and his death was a great loss to their Branch.

“Theron was with us for a long time.” Snow whispered as she clasped onto the only piece left of him – a torn green cloth. “… I couldn’t… If I was just a little bit better at my job…”

“It’s ok Snow.” Her three closest friends comforted her in front of the warmth of the bonfire. “Theron… did he at least pass on painlessly?”

Snow paused for a moment. Her eyes became strained, narrowed, but eventually mellowed out as she whispered:

“He did.”

Another lie.

Red said as she took uncharacteristically small nibbles from a cube-shaped sweet.

What if she means Theron went on without regrets? Does that mean he went out painlessly? Humans are so attached to people they like. I wonder if there are humans who don’t want to love because they’ll end up hurt if they lose them.

She weighed the risk verses reward when it came to attachment.

A hand fell onto the fluffy patch of Rockie’s head.

“Kinda like if it’s worth eating you or letting you fatten up first.” She wrongfully concluded.

While the adults mourned, the children of the orphanage surrounded Three Paw. They adored the little wolf pup with restrained joy. Even children knew now wasn’t the time to laugh, scream and shout to their heart’s content.

On the bright side, I get to enjoy these sweets!

“Nom – Cough ack…” Red’s shoulders trembled, clasping her chest as she leaned forward.

“… Poor Red.”

“She used to go hunting with Mister Huntsman. I didn’t know she was holding it in.

N-No. I’m choking. Gah…

“Cough I… Cough Am choking up… Cough”

Talia shot Erick with a scathing look. Her eyes said: “Is this the devil you were talking about?”

The young man wore a wounded look. To them, Red was barely holding back her tears.

But to Red…

Suffocation

< The Condition of not being able to breathe. Commonly caused by a blocked airway >

< HP will gradually reduce >

I don’t need a lecture right now dummy! Rockie! Help meeeeee!

Rockie didn’t even notice what was happening right next to him. It gave her a small head tilt, as if to say: “What’s up?”

I’m gonna kill you…!

Just when her vision started to blur, a child ran into her from behind. It forced her to make one big, audible gulp.

An outline of a cube slipped down her throat.

“Gaaaah! That… was quick thinking. Heh. Which little one saved me?”

She turned and was greeted by a timid girl. Her hands shivered like she had touched something dangerous, and she flinched when her eyes met with Red’s.

“S-So… Sorry…”

“Heh. Finally, some respect. You just saved Aire’s number one huntress. Wait, I recognize you. You’re from the village.”

“T-That’s right…”

She was tiny, and this was coming from Red. The girl was much smaller than the rest despite being twelve years old, if she remembered correctly. She wouldn’t find it surprising if a tiny breeze managed to sweep the girl off her feet.

In fact, Red subconsciously blew hot air her way, as though expecting her to dance like a petal in the wind.

Not even minion sized. Barely fodder. I couldn’t imagine being that small.

Red silently gloated, folding her arms in superiority.

This girl was Lala, and she was the only orphaned child from Hearth Village. Her auburn hair was bundled into two giant buns on either side of her head. A pair of orange eyes were glued to the ground, refusing to meet with Red’s.

She looks like an animal. What’s with those big eyebrows? Reminds me of a racoon.

“Eyes up here.” Red grinned, causing the girl to shake.

“S-Sorry…”

She can’t hold in her reverence, huh? At least she understands.

Out of curiosity, Red checked her stats.

Lala

Soul Rank: Green | Affiliation: Hearth Village

LEVEL : 1     ORIGIN : Half Breed     HP : 30

ATT : 1     MAG ATT : 45     AGI : 2

Half Breed…? Not a human?

“I’m sorry.” The girl repeated again.

A hand reached out to touch those hair buns. Red suspected they were hiding something, and for some reason, the village were either hiding it…

Or they don’t know?

“Hey! Hands off Thrum!”

A squeaky, scalding voice called out.

Red looked up, expecting to find one of the adults.

But it wasn’t until a piece of scrunched up paper landed on her head that she realized that this voice came from another tiny thing.

“Lala! Did it hurt you? Grrr! Get away!”

“I-It’s not like that…”

If Lala reminded Red of a Racoon, then this other red-haired girl – Abby – was a rabid puppy in human form.

Red didn’t even feel insulted in the slightest.

Rather, she grinned with intrigue, causing Abby’s toothy growl to wavery as she stood in front of Lala defensively.

“Mentally strong minions, despite your size. You have potential. Mhm. Yes, I can see it now.” Red nodded to herself, and Three Paw barked in agreement. “Fear me. Respect me. Know me, because I am Fledgling Red!”

“… F-Fledgling…” The timid girl whispered somewhere between fascination and fear.

“Meaning she’s a fraud. Let’s head back and say goodbye to Arin before the Green Rangers takes him to Paradise tomorrow. Don’t waste our time on crazy Thrum.”

“Huh? Fraud–!? What’s that?” Red began to salivate. “Food? You got food?”

“I told you she’s crazy!” Abby frowned and dragged Lala away. “You wanna be adopted and taken into Paradise too, right Lala? You gotta always be clean! Like Arin! That’s why he’s gonna be gone tomorrow.”

“O-Ok…”

And just like that, Red was left alone. She didn’t know if Lala had intentionally saved her, or what her reason for approaching her was. It couldn’t be accidental, since Red was a good ten meters away from the rest of the children.

Lala sent glances from over her shoulder. She was clearly torn on something.

Might just be a big fan of mine~ Or a rival. Could be a rival. She has good MAG ATT for a small human. And a Half Breed… Agate. What’s a Half Breed?

Red reclaimed her seat on a log and took another cube-shaped sweet from a wooden platter.

Half Breed

< A race born from a human and a non-Demi-Human or Beastkin race. This includes Elves, magical species, and creatures of the Timeless Ruins. The frequency that the Timeless Ruins can be found in Emvita makes the Region hold the highest number of Half Breeds. They are considered mostly human… >

Mostly. Why’d you cut off? Surely, there’s more you can tell me. Fine. Be like that…

The night was still young. They had another few hours until they could rest. For now, Red ran an inventory and Skill a check.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day for her, because she would have to display her skills to the merchants if they wanted to get out of here.

Indeed, Red and Snow agreed to take on quests to build their reputation.

“We can’t stay here for too long…” Red whispered to herself. “But this place doesn’t seem all that bad.”

She smiled at the children, especially the boy called Arin.

This town was going to send him, an orphan with nothing to his name, to a place called Paradise.

Humans are so kind. Tell me another race that gives people an opportunity to become stronger. I’ll wait. Because wolves tear each other up for some scraps. Humans wouldn’t do that, even if they had only a crumb to share between themselves!

She assuredly smiled.