Lux Adair's Story

“Says the boy who bolted at the first sign of trouble back in Central Park. And for the record,” Skylar said sweetly in response to Harper’s earlier remark as she slid into one of the chairs at the table. “You did deserve it.”

She felt the grumbling in her stomach growing louder as Haru described all the food, the smells alone making her mouth water.
Free food and free beer? And it was completely legal? Skylar was beginning to think that this alone made up for the pure chaos that the tavern offered. Maybe if she got drunk enough she’d be able to ignore the noise and stench of the place.

An awkward sort of silence had fallen over the group, the tension making Skylar slightly uncomfortable.

“Alright, I know this is lame but we might as well get to know each other if we’re going to be spending so much time together,” She said suddenly, running a hand through her hair. “Anyway, um. I’m Skylar. I’m originally from Florida but I’m studying communications at New York University…” She trailed off, hoping that someone else would hopefully join in and she wouldn’t feel like a huge dumbass.

Allowing her gaze to flicker over to Skylar, the brunette gave off what seemed to be a soft smile. "I'm Lux. I was born in Cincinnati, but my family moved to Buffalo. I'm still in high school and I'm looking at going to college in New York City." She commented, sympathizing with the girl for trying to make a valiant effort on breaking the ice that seemed to have covered the warrior's table.

However, the idea of the food and the smell that lingered in the air was making Lux start to chew a little on the inside of her lip. She heard what was her own stomach growl before letting out a sigh. It was hard to tell how hungry she was until she fully realized it! And it was also the description of all the types of food here on Aires that made her hungrier just thinking about the similarities. Perhaps this place wasn't so bad once you got past the fact that it did not rely on technology like her world did.

Harper scoffed at Haru's words. "Please," he said, leaning back in his seat, hands behind his head. He had to fight the urge to put his feet on the table and compromised by propping one foot up against his other knee in the stereotypical '4' position men liked to sit in. "I haven't been 17 in 5 years." Besides, how strong could beer be? It wasn't like hard liquor.

He shrugged at Skylar's comment, "Hey, if I had run faster sooner, some other pearl-wearing sucker would be here instead of me. So, really, you guys are stuck with me because I wasn't more of an asshole."

He snorted at the introduction, and added at the end of Skylar's, "Yeah, she's trying to become a professional liar. Believe me, you don't need to go to school for that."

As more and more people introduced theirselves (mainly herselves) Harper realized that he was correct: most of these people still lived with their parents. Or were just starting college. Either way, all were younger than him.

"Sheesh," he said, "I can't believe the world is supposed to get saved by a bunch of teenagers."

Jason had been unusually quiet for himself, but these people wouldn't know that since he just met them. The place they were staying was way different than anything he'd ever seen, but, hey, this was a different world after all. It reminded him of a book series he read once. Wheel of Time or something like that? Eh, doesn't matter.

At the mention of food, Jason realized how hungry he actually was, and was eager enough to follow the others to the tavern. The smell of the food, and the descriptions Haru gave had his mouth watering... but for him, the beer was a definite no go. Being one of those people who quickly adapts and feels comfortable around new people, Jason didn't even notice the awkward atmosphere around the table until on of the girls, Skylar, she said, introduced herself, and he noticed the others uncomfortable expressions or postures. Two other girls, Lux and Autumn, followed up.

But, of course, that annoying guy... I think it's Harper or something? just had to make more stupid comments. He shook his head and sighed, a little annoyed. "Hey, lighten up, dude. Your attitude sucks. We're all stuck here whether you like it or not, so just deal with it. Like the adult you so proudly claim to be."

He turned towards the others and gave a small smile. "Jason Carter. Grew up in Music City, AKA, Nashville, Tennessee. Do to some... circumstances, I've been live'n on my own for the past two years. Came to New York to check out a scholarship opportunity, and luckily I'm able to stay with a family friend." He remembered the reason he'd gone out anyways and ended up at the park, turning a little red, "I, uh, kind'a got lost and ended up at Central Park, so, yeah, but kind'a glad I ended up there. This is all pretty interesting."

Autumn rolled her eyes at Harper’s remark. Was he trying to be a jerk? She made a mental note not to be bothered by anything he said. If anything, he was probably just trying to get a rise out of everyone. How long would he last like this? If he continued to be so rude, she couldn’t imagine him staying around very long.

Still, teenagers probably weren’t what Autumn would choose if she had a world to save. “I’m sure we’ll do fine.” She smiled hopefully, though she wasn’t quite sure if she believed her statement. She couldn’t even move when the cyclopean first attacked at the park. If that trend continued, she just knew she wouldn’t be alive for very long. If that was the case, she had to face her fears. Fast. The thought of having to fight those monstrosities left an unsettling pit in her stomach.

Harper raised his eyebrows at the southern kid's comment. "I am dealing with it," he said, and then grinned, "Right now I'm dealing with it by complaining. And in a few minutes I'll be dealing with it by eating, getting smashed, and hopefully getting laid, like the adult I am.

He leaned back some more, balancing on the two back legs of his chair and musing at the ceiling. "You know, they did some sort of study where if you complain and whine and bitch about all the bad stuff, it leaves your system and you end up more clear-headed on the inside."

He wasn't sure if this was true or not, but it sounded legitimate to him. "It's like burping," he explained further with a wave of his hand, "If you don't let it out, the gas inverts and you end up with the shits."

The southern kid introduced himself as Jason, and when he mentioned he was from Tennessee, Harper snapped his fingers and pointed in his direction with an excited "Called it!"

Harper grew more excited by the end of his intro, since he himself was involved in it. "Yeah, this guy asked me for directions," he said, "And, you know, I told him exactly where to go, but I guess he doesn't know his right from his left. You know, actually, it's hard to get lost in New York City, at least in the Manhattan part, because everything goes by numbers. Like, 32nd comes before 33rd and after 31st. It's great."

He snorted at Autumn's hopeful comment. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll do fine too, once we get our food and drinks," he said sarcastically, sitting forward with a heavy 'thud' from the chair, "But seriously, where's the food? Do we just order or do they bring it to us, or what?" He raised an eyebrow at Haru's direction.

Harper held up his hands as Skylar snapped at him, "Hey, I'm not saying I'm better than you. I didn't even want to save the world, remember?" He leaned forward on the table and held out a finger, "There's only one thing I'm competitive in, and that's swimming."

He snorted at Skylar's liar comment, though. "That's funny. I don't have a great memory, but if I recall correctly, you said you wanted to work in PR for companies, specifically to cover up for them when they screw up, amirite? That's pretty much the closest you can get to professional lying, besides lawyers."

And then the blonde guy spoke...Harper's eyes widened and he laughed loudly. Guffawed, more like...he even clapped his hands. "Dude, I have a god-damned P-H-D in assholery," Harper finally answered, still giggling, "And I didn't need to go to college for it, let me tell you."

Before he could, Autumn interrupted, apparently wanting to diffuse the energy. Still, she had a point. "I bet you're right," he said, still grinning from the blonde's comment. "I don't know what you're talking about with the calm stuff, though. I'm calm as a cucumber. It's these guys who don't know how to take a joke."

Jason, turning red, was about to say something in response to explain why he kept getting lost in New York, but then the blond boy commented. It kind of took him off guard, so there was a split second where he completely froze, and could almost hear an audible switch in his mind and an unwanted visualization. Now he was really just trying to hold in his laugh. Harper's response to the blond almost pushed him over the edge, so he covered his face with his hand and pressed his other arm into his stomach, trying to get his composure back. Even after one of the girls spoke about calming down and getting food and rest, he was still struggling to hold it in, but recovered... sort of, and let out a breath.

"Rest. Yeah. Rest would be good."

Jason, feeling way more carefree, still not fully recovered, smiled when he heard another girl introduce herself as Aria, "Hey. Kind'a like Arya from those Eragon books, huh? Definitely an awesome name. Mine's kind'a boring, but," he shrugged, "eh, who cares?" There were suddenly lots of questions he wanted to ask people on his hype, but they were too muddled in his mind to get one out verbally, so he shook his head, leaning back into the chair.

Suddenly remembering something Haru mentioned, asked, "Did Haru say one of you had a talent for reading tarot cards? How does that work?" He'd always been curious about that, but never enough to look into it for himself.

"You'd be surprised," Harper replied to Skylar's quip. She hadn't exactly called him stupid, so he had no reason to be offended. Besides, the beer finally arrived.

He downed the entire thing (a bit strong, but it reminded him of whiskey in taste...really creamy) in one go and watched Autumn display the tarot cards, not entirely disinterested. The cards, at the very least, had interesting designs on them. He wondered if one could play poker with them. Or gin. Speaking of gin...

As if on cue, Haru explained how to order food. Almost immediately, Harper leaned back again, scanning. When he saw a pretty barmaid he called her over with a wave, flashing his best smile. "Hey, I'm new here," he said when she came over, "What do you recommend?"

Her words were accented, and he wasn't entirely sure what she said, but he continued grinning and nodded his head. "Great, I'll have that then. Oh, and can I get another one of these?" he pointed to his empty tankard. "Thanks."

The barmaid left and he sat forward again in time to hear talks of doing a reading. While he wasn't a particularly future-thinking man, he supposed a reading could be interesting. After all, if he got something like 'dies in seven days' he'd know to go all out in the carpe diem department.

"Do one for me!" Harper exclaimed, still smiling. He leaned forward, elbows on the wood. His ears felt warm, but other than that the alcohol wasn't taking much effect yet.

Haru rolled his eyes as Harper deliberately ordered another beer despite his advice. He didn’t care if he got something else but that house beer, that just wasn’t for him. Or any of the earthlings for that matter. But he wasn't going to take it away.

“That for me, man?” He hummed as he sat back in his chair and chewed on an unlit cigar. Honestly all of them were kind of idiots. Skylar didn’t have to call them stupid directly to see that. But he wasn't going to say anything, at least until it was time to get to business. If anything, his off hands approach was a good way of seeing what was wrong with them all.

Tallyho slid her way through a crowd of burly men who hovered over a table of gold and liquor.

Two men were seated face to face. One was very rough-looking—thick red beard, a wart under his right eye, broad, thick freckled shoulders, and a body just as large and strong. But his face seemed troubled. He looked ill, and he hissed as the man before him gulped down his last shot.

The other was a little lankier, but he was breaded for sure, and perhaps even a little older than the man he faced. One of his eyes were blue from blindness while the other was slightly crooked. As he finished his last shot, she wiped his beard, and spooned all of the gold from the redhead’s side, to his own. The crowd erupted into cheers and grunts.

“What are you playing? I want to play,” Tallyho said bluntly. She never considered herself a dainty person, but compared to the gruff voices of the barmen, and their hard stares when she announced her desire to play, she certainly fit the part. She tried to reestablish her poker face.

“You?” The redhead man burst into a gravelly chuckle, “You ain’t nothing but a little daisy!”

Another man chimed in, “yeah, you here with yer papa? Yer man?”

“He certainly ain’t doin’ a good job of keepin’ her in place, whoever he is,” the black bearded man huffed.

They erupted with laughter.

Tallyho’s face flushed scarlet with anger. She hated these bar types—loved the bars—but hated the sounds and smells of drunk men when she had to deal with them first hand.

As they laughed she balled up her fist and slammed it against the table. The glasses shook and the room grew quiet—but in an amused way. Some even began to chime into the silence with a patronizing, “oooooooooh”.

“I ain’t got no Pa and I aint got no man—so let me play,” she said. Her voice was firm.

The redhead man closed his eyes, raised his brows and held up his palms, “alrighty! Go on, play. But don’t expect noneofus’ to be kind to ye and get yer caretaker after yer wasted.”

As he moved away from the seat, Tallyho sat down, and struggled to scoot her seat up to the table. A few men whispered crass jokes. But the blonde focused on the black bearded man, whose face was relaxed.

“He used to be the drunkard,” he whispered loudly, “that is before he built up such a tolerance.”

Tallyho waved him off. The barmaid came around and cleared the table, replacing them with fresh rounds of shots for each competitor.

Tallyho eyed the gold on his side of the table. She was ready.

Haru took note of the situation. He was disturbed by two things, one that Tallyho was currently the most likely to get into a bar fight, and two, that the others probably didn't even notice, or care, that their comrade left the group.
He was also a little depressed by the group's tendency to fight, Harper's role as an attention whore, and some of their overly optimistic attitudes. It wasn't like Aires was a game....

He chuckled.

Harper watched passively as she did Jason's. He didn't believe in this sort of stuff (in fact, he didn't really believe in anything spiritual), but it was still kind of cool. The pictures in particular were the most interesting part.

He only commented once during Jason's ("Haha, you got the fool") and then once again after ("Wasn't there a movie called "The Tower"? It was like the first big disaster movie or something") but was overall fairly civil. He leaned forward when it was his turn, smiling expectantly.

Had anyone been playing particularly close attention to his face, they might have noticed the furrowing of his eyebrows as the first card was flipped and explained, as well as a slight frown of his lips. However, none of these changes lasted very long, as Harper quickly dismissed the first card as coincidence. Besides, he wasn't struggling that badly with money. Although if he was stuck here for too long, that might be a different story.

The next card just confused him. Harper didn't care much about honor, but how could winning not be good for you? Then again, his dad had won many cases as a lawyer, and not all of them were morally good wins, either.

The future card looked the most badass. He almost laughed when she said it was Death, considering the Ring joke he had made to himself. When she explained it though, he hmmphed out of interest.

He leaned back when Autumn reshuffled the cards. "The first card was pretty close," Harper answered, "The second one confused me and the third one...well, everyone changes, whether they like it or not." His second beer arrived and he took a drink.

"To be honest, I don't really believe in anything like that," he said, putting down his mug, "It seems like something my sister would be into, though. She used to be really big in those...oh, what are they called," he mimicked opening and closing something with his thumbs and index fingers, "You fold them out of paper and you have to pick a color and a number and they spell it out to say your fortune or something like that..."

Harper shrugged at Autumn's further explanation. "Eh. I do a lot of things that end of biting me in the ass later," he said, taking another swig of his beer, "I'm more of a man of the present. Live in the moment, carpe diem. You know. Dead Poet's Society stuff."

Finger catchers sounded familiar, but Harper's food arrived at that moment. "Thanks!" he said, catching the eye of the barmaid--the same one who had taken his order, he noticed--and smiled again, sending a wink her way before turning back to his food.

He half-listened to Autumn as he surveyed his food. There was a lot of yellow, bread looking stuff, but when he tasted it he realized it was just like a corndog, without the meat. There was also a bowl with what looked like a chicken pot pie, but probably with some sort of twist. On the side were corn cobs and a different sort of bread, in a roll. Harper wasn't a picky eater, and he dug in.

"Mmf!" he grunted with a point when Aria mentioned fortune tellers, mouth full of the hot interior of the pot pie. He swallowed before speaking, "I think my sister called them something else, though...Finger catcher is really close. It's like.....something-catcher...fortune catcher? Augh, I don't remember." He turned back to his food, but continued talking (to no one in particular), table manners still intact,

"Anyways, my sister would make her's really detailed. Like, first you had to pick a number, and she'd count. And then you had to pick a color and she'd spell it. And then you had to pick another color, and she'd open the flap and make you pick top or bottom, and then make you pick one of three numbers and then she would read out the specific fortune she had written for that. She had like fifty different fortunes written in that thing and it was almost impossible to get the same one twice. Some of them actually happened, too. Like, you know how kids are all about bubble gum? She had written this one fortune saying 'the next thing you'll put in your mouth will be gum' and it worked on like ten different people."

He laughed at the memory, breaking apart one of the rolls. "She's a smart kid. She just got into LaGuardia High School, you know the one for the performing arts? It's one of those high schools you have to do an entrance exam for or some crazy shit like that. Really prestigious stuff. A lot of famous people went there. She plays cello, so that's how she got in." Which reminded him of that one guy who went missing...the one with all the tough attitude. Harper could have sworn he'd seen him before...maybe he went to the same school? He decided to ask him next time he saw him.

As soon as the commotion started up, Harper didn't bother turning around. He'd been in enough bars, and bar fights, to recognize the growing noise, and immediately wolfed down the rest of his food, downing his second beer as well. He stood up and started jamming the more portable stuff--bread, rolls, and the corn cobs--into his pockets, wrapping them hastily in napkins first, but realized that one of his rolls was missing...he specifically remembered only eating one of the wheat rolls, out of three that had been provided, but he'd only put one in his pocket...where was the other--

Before he could accuse anyone, someone pushed into him from behind, shoving him hard against the wooden table. "HEY!" he shouted angrily, spinning around and shoving the person who had no doubt pushed him first, "WATCH it, ASSHOLE!"

The punch landed him back first on the table, dishes clattering. Familiar stars flashed behind his eyelids, and he could feel his cheek swelling, as well as some blood in his mouth.

Now he was really pissed. When his head stopped spinning he reared his legs towards him and kicked his assailant in the side, knocking him over. Jumping off the table, he grabbed his chair, rotated it so that he was holding the legs, and punched it at the guy's face when he tried to stand up, knocking him out for good.

Briefly he looked behind him, seeing quite a few of his supposed team members still sitting there. Autumn just looked flat-out terrified. He rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh before shouting at them, "If you guys want out, then you better haul ass and make a conga line behind me quick, because I'm not gonna wait forever!"

Turning back around he hefted the chair in front of him and started plowing forward through the madness towards the back exit.

“Ahh… sh—“

Haru paced back and forth for a few seconds.

“Okay.. No Gwen, no Tallyho, Lillian’s got Dorian… Kyle’s there, no Skylar, Harper, Aria, check, check. Jason? No Jason. Falke, yes. Autumn, yes. No Lux. Okay. I’m going to go back in there and get the others. Please, just stay right here. This bar fight definitely wasn’t a part of my plan.”

And with that, the cat guardian went through the door. Once inside, he squinted through the chaos to search for the missing warriors. He called their names multiple times in hopes of getting their attention.



Tallyho struggled to hold her bag.

“I think that they would be fine. As long as they listen to Haru,” she hummed.

When Gwen offered what Tallyho assumed to be an indirect request for her name, the blonde obliged.

“Tallyho Abel,” she said. She didn’t offer much else; instead she stared at the alley floor. Though she looked uncomfortable, she really wasn’t. The silence humbled the excitement of the night and pushed her into a reflective state.

“I’m not at fault if I won the money on a fair deal, am I?”

The question wasn’t so much for Gwen as it was for the moment. She did feel a little bad about her victory starting the fight. But she couldn’t tell if it was really all her fault or not.

Then Gwen asked a question about Eastwards.

“Eastwards? It’s sort of a rude saying,” Tallyho said as she drew circles in the dirt with her toes. “It refers to people out in the East, people from Nomansland, Eastern Isle, and Ira, you know?” she paused, “No… you don’t know. I forgot.”

After a moment of silence she began to speak again.

“You look like you come from there, Eastern Isle I mean. They probably said that because of how you look. They don’t really know about Earth and Earth people.”

Tallyho dropped the bag before her own toes.

“Hey,” she said, “did you eat? I didn’t get to eat my soup cause of the game and the riot. All that beer I had is making me a little dizzy. I know a place that makes little sweets at late hours like this—lady’s nice—would you like to come?”

She picked the bag up again, “my treat.”

She didn’t really smile when she offered the invitation, but her voice certainly wasn’t as sharp as it had been for the past few hours. In fact, she was pretty exhausted.

The fight that had broken out was one sure of a whirlwind. Lux could barely keep to the one side, dodging the blows thrown her way intentionally or not. This was not the way she was expecting to have her day! Not to mention the fact that she had lost the others of her team in the sudden outburst. A squeak or two left the female at constant intervals, actually hitting a hand out of her way or so. All she wanted was to enjoy her food, not get caught up in this mess! An irritated screech left Lux as she ducked once more, throwing a punch towards the bloke stupid, or drunk, enough to swing her way.

That was knocked aside, sending the girl to the floor. Groaning as she got up, she was about to lunge before she caught wind of her name. Looking around bewildered, the brunette was knocked aside like a rag doll once more. Barely getting up again, the female ducked and ran her way past the best she could. "Haru?!" The brunette called out herself over the noise, trying to edge her way towards the ginger that had brought them in here.

"Haru??!!!"

Jason blinked when Autumn finished his reading, thinking "Wow... That's accurate. Very accurate. I really don't like the last card though..." And didn't really pay attention to Harper's reading. Then just as the Aria girl was about to get her own reading done, chaos broke out as he heard a loud bang.

He turned his head to see that a table had been flipped, and almost immediately, fists were being thrown. Having seen many bar fights with his friends back in Tennessee, Jason was happy enough to jump up to follow when Harper spoke. He didn't want to get caught in this. Of course, luck isn't always on his side. As he started to follow the others, a punch slammed into the back of his head, causing him to stumble to the ground, a shock of pain exploding behind his eyes. He forced himself up a bit disoriented, and barley had time to dodge as a fist came at his face, knocking him into someone else. He pushed away whoever he bumped into and made a run for it, trying to maneuver his way through the crowd, which was hard to do.

His head was pounding with every step, and he was getting pretty damn annoyed getting bumped around. It was making him dizzy. Then he heard someone call out his name, and his head whipped up for him to see Haru, causing his head to spin. He also heard another name. Lux? And ten a female voice yell "Haru??!!!" He glanced over, slower this time, still trying not to get hit, and saw one of the girls from his group caught in the fray.

"Crap.." He had to get them both out, so he pushed his way towards her. When he was almost an arms length away, someone punched him in the side of the face. He stumbled back into someone, far beyond annoyed now, and then jumped forward swinging hard at the guy he assumed punched him and shouted, "Get the hell out of my fuck'n way!!!" and was able to grab Lux's wrist. He quickly started to force his way through the people, pulling Lex behind him as he roughly pushed his way through towards Haru. One guy tried to rush him, but Jason swung his arm as hard as he could, knocking the man off his feet.
"Lucky the guy was already drunk."

By the time he got there, his head was spinning and his ears were ringing, and he was about ready to freaking kill someone.

As Autumn began doing readings for Jason and Harper Skylar found herself beginning to zone out, slowly nursing the beer Haru had ordered for her. She might have talked a big game but in all honesty she wasn’t really a fan of alcohol, the way it muddled her thoughts and made her head heavy. While she may have had a high tolerance for pain, she was a lightweight when it came to drinking, her small stature not helping in that department.

One couldn’t hurt though, and everyone else was drinking. Besides, once she got over how strong it was, it was actually pretty good, serving as a distraction from the crowded pub.

The sounds of a bar fight erupting from across the room snapped Skylar out of her thoughts, her light eyes widening at the chaos. Squinting, she thought she could make out Tallyho in the distance and she vaguely remembered the blonde excusing herself from the group earlier.

What happened next seemed to happen in a blur, the fight getting worse as the sounds of drunken men shouting and glasses breaking filling the air. The rest of the month warriors scattered, leaving Skylar alone and slightly buzzed, a combination that didn't mix very well.

Skylar liked to be in control, liked to know exactly what was going to happen. Suddenly the events from the day hit her hard, her mind going into overdrive as she felt an anxious feeling starting to settle in the pit of her stomach.

She knew she had to get out of there, as quickly and injure free as possible. However, her plans didn't work out as well as she had hoped, drunken men stumbling over her as she tried to hurry out. She was starting to feel extremely claustrophobic, her heart racing as she felt her chest tighten. She felt an elbow collide with her face, another knocking her in the side.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.

Moments later she burst out of the pub, her breaths shallow as she let herself slump to the ground. The night air was cool against her skin, a drastic change from the musty smell inside the pub. She hadn’t felt this way in months, she thought that she had gotten over it…

Looking up she saw the rest of the warriors, save for Tallyho and Gwen. The others seemed to be battered as well, some more so than others. Feeling slightly lightheaded, she wiped her face with the back of her hand only to realize that her nose was bleeding.

“I’m going to be sick.” Skylar mumbled as she watched Harper spit his tooth into his hand, her cheeks flushing.

Haru didn’t get much of a chance to go in and help the three warriors he managed to catch in the skirmish. In fact, the other two, Gwen and Tallyho, weren’t even in the room. He groaned, the idea of having to go look for two teen-aged girls in the middle of the night after a bar fight was one of the least attractive idea’s he could fathom at the moment.

The setup kind of reminded him of those Lifetime Network movies he watched when he took brief trips to earth. Nonetheless, he was impressed with the Jason boy and his hands-on attempt at saving his comrade. While Harper had given the other’s a heads up, his approach wasn’t nearly as potent to the cat guardian just because the “I don’t care about any of you” front he put up since the cyclopean attack hadn’t really washed off.

Seeing Jason, Skylar and Lux plowing towards the door, he did the next best thing he could do to help, and held it open for them. Once they were all out, he gave a heavy sigh and made a slow pace around the side of the building, gesturing for the group to follow.

“Well it looks like they aren’t in there,” he huffed, “follow me and let’s get you guys set up back at the inn. Considering some of your conditions… I don’t think you should be out any longer. I’ll go find Gwen and Tallyho.”


Tallyho considered what Gwen said, but she gave a shrug.

“Well what should I expect from him? Yes he is my guardian, but he is also the only guardian here… So I guess he’s you guy’s guardian too. One soul saved above eleven doesn’t seem like a fair trade. I think he’s just focused on the group as a whole.”

She noticed a change in Gwen’s body language as she reacted to the eastward comment.

“Well if it makes you feel any better, Solace isn’t a very global place. I mean… They confine the native Solacians to conservation camps. The law puts a heavy hand on nomadic caravans, too. There are nicer places than this big corn field if you ask me.”

The blonde hoisted her bag over her shoulder.

“I mean…”

Tallyho really wanted food.

“I guess we could go back... But I don’t know. I’m not big on being in debt to others. Anyway, I’ll walk you back if you’re scared. People in Tabbard don’t generally pick at me outside of the taverns,” she hummed as she rolled her eyes at the buildings beyond the alley.

“Come on, let’s go to the inn,” her words were both sharp and blunt at once. She didn’t pause to secure Gwen’s approval to leave. The blonde figured that she would follow if she really wanted to go back.

Tallyho was only five steps out of the alley when she caught sight of Haru emerging from the side of the bar, and he definitely saw her.

Tallyho glanced back at Gwen.

“That was easy right?”



Upon entering the inn, Haru sent the group upstairs before proceeding to ask the desk girl for gauze. Tallyho hiked up the flight, and then dropped her bag of money before her little bed in the corner. Another day was under her belt. It wasn’t the easiest, but she definitely reaped some benefits. But, looking at some of the others, it didn’t seem like they got what they wanted.

She supposed she did feel a little bad. Sure some of them treated her a little rudely back on earth, and sure she got herself chased by the cyclopean to save them and received absolutely no thanks, but when her misfortunes were weighed against those of her “teammates”, well things just didn’t look to good for them.

The portal to Aires—the one that they were all forced into—led her home, while it led the others to a strange new world. The bar fight left her with a little money, while it left the others with bruises. The inn was a major improvement to where she had been sleeping before, but for the others it was a severe downgrade, a place devoid of family.



Moments later, the thumps of Haru’s fine, metal-soled shoes could be heard from below. The cat guardian rose through the door on the floor with a roll of gauze clenched in his fist.

“If you have an open cut, wrap it up,” he began as he paced the room, “Harper, put some gauze in your mouth for that tooth.” He tossed the roll to him first before sitting down on the foot of a bed. He chose a bed near the center, one that was a prime location for speaking to everyone around him.

“If I’m sitting on your bed,” he said, “I’m not going to sleep in it. I’ll get up in a minute. But I want to have a little talk with you guys. You have all been chosen. It was destiny, and there is no way to get out of it. You are the Month Warriors, you were always the Month Warriors, and you will always be the Month Warriors. I am a guardian, this was my destiny. I don’t want to be here anymore than you do, so understand that. But I am here to protect you and help you get the job done. So don’t resist me.”

He readjusted his position to a more relaxed informal pose.

“There, now that we’re past the magic shit, the prophesy crap, and all of the fancy little bells and whistles, let’s get real. Let’s talk about survival. When shit goes down, you need to be there to help each other. I don’t care if you were just punched, cursed , and spit on by your fellow warrior, if they are in immediate danger, you had better do what you can to save their asses. My biggest concern with this group is your lack of cooperation with each other. Shall I run through the problems of the night? The little tarot card thing was cute, but it was definitely overshadowed by you guy’s tendency to rag on each other and argue. Two. There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of you saw Tallyho get up and leave the table. When you see your teammate go off alone in an unsafe environment, the first thing any of you should do is try to go with them.”

The redhead then got a long, hard look at Tallyho.

“You. I don’t know what you did with your life yesterday. But today, you are in my fucking care, so you don’t can’t reckless. Because of your little drinking stunt, your teammates got their faces smashed in. You all might be eighteen or well above, but with me, you’re kids. How old am I? Like… One thousand and three? Hell, I don’t know, I’m immortal. But my point is, don’t screw with gambling because you aren’t an adult, and all those men had to do tonight was slit your pretty little throat and you’d be down. But you know that, don’t you? By the way, you’re not going to get everyone beat up then keep your gambling money. Tomorrow, we are going to Malboro to get you guys some new clothes and equipment and I was going to pay for it all. But now you’re going to help me out and make a nice donation. “

The redhead stood up, and walked towards Tallyho’s bed before picking up her bag. The girl made a lunge for him but the stillness of his glare kept her seated.

“Now, I’m not going to leave you all with a cloud over your heads. I’d like to commend those of you who promoted civil social interaction at the table. And Jason, good job on helping Lux. Falke, thank you for helping Autumn. Now, if you need me, I’ll be on the second floor. My room is the one right next to the stairway. Good night and heed my warning. Tomorrow it’s all business.”

Harper had carried the chair all the way up to the attic, and had just put it down when Haru tossed what looked like gauze to him. Oh, it is gauze... he thought as he unraveled a piece, Wait, they have gauze here?

As Haru talked some nonsense about destiny (another thing Harper didn't believe in) while sitting on what might actually be his bed, he handed the gauze to the person next to him, motioning for them to 'pass it around' to whoever else needed it, and then stuffed the gauze in the hole where his tooth used to be, closing his mouth and biting down to keep it in place.

He rolled his eyes when Haru started criticizing them, leaning against the back of the chair. He didn't even notice Tallyho had left. Frankly, he didn't care all that much either. He knew he wouldn't want anyone following him all over the place if he decided to leave a group. Finding out that it was actually Tallyho, however, that set off the bar fight soured his opinion, but, then again, he wouldn't have this chair otherwise.

He rolled his eyes once more at the kids comment. He wondered, if they were all in their 30s, would he continue to talk to them so demeaningly? Maybe everyone else here was a kid, but Harper was definitely an adult. Even if he might act otherwise.

When Harper realized he hadn't been included with the others for helping, he almost opened his mouth in protest. Feeling the gauze start to slip prompted him to keep his mouth shut, and he snorted instead. No mention for him helping out three other people get out of the bar? He narrowed his eyes as Haru walked out, and picked up his chair to place it next to the head of his bed as a nightstand. Well, then. It wasn't like he had done that for Haru's approval anyways. And it wasn't his fault not all of them could follow behind him. Besides, he had only done it so that they would frickin' yell at him about it the next day.

Whatever. He shrugged, and then winced from the pain coming out of his cheek. Did they have any ice here? Or maybe cold water? He left the room, heading downstairs and pulling out the gauze as he reached the desk. The girl seemed sympathetic, but ice apparently wasn't in season for everybody else. Cold water was a yes, though, since it was night and the well water was bound to be chilled. After being instructed to where the washroom and well was, and given an extra bucket, Harper thanked the girl with a closed smile and headed outside, replacing the gauze upside down.

True to the desk girl's word, the water was very cold. Frigid almost. He only took two trips, not intending to take a bath himself. Taking the towel from the washroom, he wetted it with the icy water and pressed it against his cheek. He winced, but immediately relaxed, enjoying the cold sensation against his hot skin. He redrenched the towel whenever the heat in his skin returned, and continued this procedure until it was finally numb with cold.

He sat in the washroom, contemplative as he wrung the towel. Tomorrow, Haru had mentioned they would get clothes...yet Harper had a feeling they would be on the road a lot. His own shirt smelled of food from when he had collided onto the table. They really should have given us a warning or something, he thought as he pulled off his shirt and dunked it into the cold water, Give us some time to pack a fucking suitcase. At this thought he undressed entirely, adding the Speedo he wore as underwear to the tub before pulling his jeans back on. His pants had been washed a couple days ago, and the material itself could last a while without needing washing. He'd need to find a safe place to put all the food, though. He didn't know if rats was a problem here.

He hummed to himself as he hand-washed his clothes, a task that reminded him of Boston-home (although there he had used a sink). Time toooooo say Goooodbyeeee~ he sang mentally along with the tune as he scrubbed the beer stains from the back of his shirt.