Cole Konrad's Story

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Sute wandered through the forest, not truly lost but with no where to go, she didn't want to stay in one place long. The wanderlust she felt was powerful and made her go places she had only read about in the secret books she had stolen. Not that she minded, seeing something and reading about it was very different, she had learned very quickly. Life outside of Gar was easier, not by much, but it was fun at times, not needing to run from witch hunters. Sometimes, she even smiled as the other country was lively and happy around her.

A rustle in the grass had her kneeling quickly, her eyes darting around the area. Living in that dreadful country made her hyper aware of everything and wary of everyone. Creeping forward, her eyes locked onto a strange looking male, who seemed to be talking to himself. Tilting her head, she slipped closer to the other human, keeping Zelig's hood up and hiding her presence in the grass.

The male suddenly got up off the ground and started walking away from the nearest village. Zelig whispered that she should help the male before he gets himself killed or worse. He egged her on to do the right thing for someone else for once. She mentally snorted at the idea of a demon, especially hers, advocating helping others and being kind. Said demon countered with the fact that allowing him to die would be like killing an innocent animal without reason.

The witch glared but resigned, knowing the demon was right, for once. She continued to sneak around the boy, watching him curiously. It didn't seem that he was a native to the area or even Taakeira. His clothes too different, his aura too innocent. It was almost endearing and adorable to the hardened renegade witch. Zelig snickered at the thought, a bit too loudly for Sute's liking, however. Sute froze to see if the male turned to face her. She may've been in the taller grasses but if one looked hard enough, they could easily find her.

---

Sute glared at the strange boy and slowly stood. Zelig twitched and began to morph into a large black crow, chuckling as he did so. The bird fluttered his wings, looking at his bonded and gave a birdy grin. "He's spotted you, my dear. Let's go introduce yourself!" The demon laughed, as Sute glared at him. She didn't want to, but if she wanted to help the male escape the forest, she knew she had to. Looking back at the male, she gave a soundless sigh and began to walk over.

"You found us, human child! And we have come hither, so what is it you require?" Zelig asked, tilting his bird head in question. Sute looked at the demon in confusion before rolling her eyes. She never tried to understand the demon or his weird speak patterns. Her hand rested on the rippling form, as the shadow swirled but kept a solid form. It twitched and squirmed under her fingers, as the crow shifted, watching the human boy.

After several minutes of her sitting there, waiting for the boy to stop staring at her and respond in some way, she pushed herself up from the bench and gave him a glare. Shockingly, her speech impediment did not appear, and she felt oddly brave, in some odd way.

"It is very rude to stare, and even more rude to offer help to someone, and then not act upon that offer and completely ignore a person's questions," she snapped. Winsley gave him a scowl, turned, and walked away from him, her jaw clenched in anger.

It completely astounded her as to how rude and inconsiderate some people could be to others. What and annoying little ... She scowled further, her anger evident and her irritation prominent on her face.

She stifled a sigh and reached into the pocket of her skirt, where she removed a small wallet and flipped it open. Nothing inside of it had changed; she still had her gift cards to various stores - Cold Stone, Burger King, Wet Seal -, and she also had her library cards and her driver's license. She opened the part with her cash inside of it, and found that that, though, had changed. The bills were now changed to what she would imagine was Kalistos's currency, adding a bonus to her. At least she had money to buy food, water, and perhaps eventually a place to stay.

She stumbled to the side and caught herself on a wall, as someone large and burly slammed into her, nearly knocking her completely off of her feet. She tucked her wallet back into her skirt and looked over at the man that had bumped into her, her eyes wide.

The man glared at her and slowly began to move in her direction, causing her to take several steps back in order to avoid coming into contact with him again. A chill swept across her skin, goosebumps rising, and her blood ran cold.

"Stay away," she whispered, instantly recognizing the man's motives, due to the threatening aura he gave off.

He chuckled and narrowed his eyes at her. "Now why would I do that?" he asked quietly, snickering a little.

She clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists. "Let's just say, I tried to warn you," she said in a soft growl.

With that, she struck out with her leg, her foot coming into contact with the surprised man's side. He let out a choked sound and stumbled to the side, before launching in her direction, his meaty palms up and stretched out to grab her. She ducked under and out of his grasp, threw herself in his direction, and tackled him from the waist - and directly into the marketplace.

Rolling off of him, Winsley flipped up mid-roll and spun around to face the man again, cracking her neck in the process. "Fifteen years of jujitsu, kung fu, and other various forms of karate, makes me determined to not allow an overweight sleaze-bag like you overcome me," she snarled.

The man pushed himself up, a lot more slowly and in more of stumble then she had, before fixing a glare on her and clenching his hands. As soon as he was up, he threw himself at her again, which only earned him a quick knee to the groin. He doubled over in pain, his hands protecting the 'family jewels', and she kicked out her leg once more, her foot slamming into the side of his head. He flew in the direction of a tomato cart and crashed into it, his howl of pain now gone due to his unconscious state.

"You pick a fight with the wrong Italian girl, ingannare," she muttered, her eyes narrowed.

Just then, something hard came into contact with her back, knocking her to the ground. The wind slammed out of her body, and she felt her arms restrained behind her back. "Lay still or face the consequences," somebody ordered in her ear.

The cold metal of the cuffs were shocking against the soft skin of her wrists.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look, that man attacked me. I'm not lying! He cornered me in the alleyway, and for all I knew was going to kill me, so I defended myself. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because for some odd reason, nothing about you checks out, little girl. I've also never heard your accent before, in my entire life, and you do not have the coloring of any race of people I have ever met. Your ID is not one that anyone here has ever seen before, nor have we ever heard of any of the stores or the library that you have cards to. Now, I will give you one last chance. Who are you and where did you come from?"

"I'm telling you the truth! My name is Winsley, and I'm from Ghaliar. My mother and father are merchants at the local marketplace there. They sell bread. Why is that so hard to believe?" she asked, her expression sincere. "I was here traveling with my brother, and we were separated when we entered town. I was looking for him in the marketplace when that man slammed into me. He cornered me in the alleyway, I defended myself, and then you idiotas tackled and brought me here," she snapped.

The woman threw her hands in the air, her frustration evident. "Foreigners ..." she muttered, rubbing at her temples. Her partner, a young male only a few years older then Winsley, offered her a kind smile and slid a glass of ice-cold water across the table they sat at. "Here. Ignore her, she's been stressed lately and is taking it out on you. You hungry? I can run and get you something to eat," he offered.

Winsley began to shake her head, for she accepted the water and nodded a little. "I am a bit hungry ..." she murmured. The man smiled and looked over at his partner. "Can you run and get her some food? I'll stay here and watch her," he offered. His partner sighed, glared at the two for a moment, before she turned and left the small interrogation from.

Winsley shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked down at her water glass.

Cole ... Alessandra ... Where are you when I need you the most ...?

---

Sute blinked at the boy, who was quite forward. Shaking his hand carefully, she noticed how similar their hands were in size but not in texture. Hers were much rougher and scarred. Suddenly feeling a tad more self conscious, she slid her hand back and let it twist in the fabrics that covered her legs. Never had someone, let alone a male, influence her that much. She must be spending too much time alone and it's affecting her mentally. Yes, that was it.

"Ah! Well, that makes them easy to find, my dear boy! Messy red hair and pink hair, not all too common in Taakeira, but you never know, human child. But I will need a safer place to search. Shall we head back to the city and take it from there? Sute, we have the coins to buy a room or two no?" The girl flicked the coin purse and a nice jingle followed. "Excellent! Now all we'll want to do now is head back!" Sute nodded in agreement before she twitched at a rustle in the bush. Looking at Cole, she could only imagine how little he knew of fighting. Never one to underestimate but she didn't like innocents getting hurt. She was an innocent at one point, scorned for something she couldn't help. Her need not only fight but protect the strange boy for now, grew.

So when the large warboar crashed through the leaves, she quickly tackled Cole out of the way, a soft and quiet growl escaping her usually silent lips. Getting off him, she glared at the snorting animal and raised one hand. A dark, sickly essence filled her hand, slithering off and down her arm. A fear magic that she used often to escape when killing wasn't an option. Zelig only watched calmly from her shoulder and she evaded the boar's second charge and slammed her hand onto the snout and eyes of the beast, barely missing the large set of quad horns. The monster squealed and bucked trying to remove a phantom menace. Spotting their chance to flee, she grabbed Cole by the hand and began to run towards the city, mentally cursing the gods that she had to use magic in front of a person who could tell someone from Gar, even if he had no idea that he held that power.

---

Sute didn't stop until they were at the forest's edge. She stared into the dark leaves and sighed. She was glad the boar was uninjured. It really was a powerful creature. Hurting something like that wouldn't be easy or fun for her. Zelig, however was looking at Cole curiously.

"Well, human child, aren't you curious? On what Sute did that is. I can see you want to know, all humans have a need to know after all. It's in your blood to be curious." The demon asked, morphing from a bird to his form as a cloak. Sute flipped the hood up and looked at Cole. Her eyes were searching, questioning. Her ice-blue eyes met his and she looked vulnerable for a second. Then she tugged on his hand and began walking.

As she led him, she loosened her hand enough that if he let go, he would drop her hand, but it still held his. She hadn't held anyone's hand since she was very little and her drunken father was teaching her how to walk. Ever since then, she's never needed to grasp another's hand so readily. She frowned wondering what that meant for her.

As they neared the city gates, she reluctantly released his hand and entered the city. "Well, human child. This is Kalistos, a city of beauty and grace. Just don't hang around at night, hehehe..." Zelig chuckled darkly as Sute led them through the crowds. The markets were in full swing, filled with people, that stopped at looked at the strange boy behind her.

"Hm... Cole, we'll need to find you new clothing... You stick out a tad too much, child, can't have that." Zelig made the cloak fluff out a bit before settling again. Sute looked over at a stall selling men's apparel. Leaving Cole in a safe and easily seen place, her fingers traced over different clothes, picking out matching, well made articles. Pulling out a coin purse, she handed the man a couple coins, who counted them and nodded. Walking back over to her ward, she held out the clothes. "Look, we come baring more gifts for you. No need to thank us."

Cole ran with Sute and Zelig all the way till they reached the edge of the forest, seeing at the distance a large city, which he thought was probably Kalistos. Cole stopped when Sute stopped and catches his breath from the running, he turned around and saw that the boar was not chasing them and than he looked back at Zelig when he said: "Well, human child, aren't you curious? On what Sute did that is. I can see you want to know, all humans have a need to know after all. It's in your blood to be curious."
Cole smiled and nodded, admitting to what Zelig just said of his feelings. He was indeed curious to what she did, it seems like magic to him, but he wasn't going to prejudice anything until it was clear. "Well....Yes, I am curious. However, you did just helped us escaped the boar who probably was going to hurt us, so I will defiantly won't judge you...". He looked at Sute's eyes and gave her his reassured smile and took her hand and started walking along with her towards the city. He didn't released her hand until they reached the city gates. Zelig spoke again, "Well, human child. This is Kalistos, a city of beauty and grace. Just don't hang around at night, hehehe..."
Cole's eyes becomes wide and he sighs, he looked around and just thought how is he gonna find his friends. He walked with Sute and Zelig morphed as a cloak on her back, but most people stared at him strangely than Sute. He looked at himself and noticed his clothes are very different than the rest of the crowd. And like that, Sute and Zelig read his mind, "Hm... Cole, we'll need to find you new clothing... You stick out a tad too much, child, can't have that." He smirks and nods, than he watched Sute walked to clothing stall, he watched her picked some clothes and pays the seller. Cole was so happy he met someone so nice, he will defiantly remember Sute and Zelig even after he will find his friends. Sute will become his friend too.
"Look, we come baring more gifts for you. No need to thank us."
Cole was amazed and took the clothes gratefully. "Yes, but still, thank you for all the help. I will remember you if you need any favors later...". Than he went to an ally and quickly changed his clothes and when he comes out, he looks like most of the boys in this city. He really felt like he was in a costume for a medieval times, Was he in the past? . He shakes his head and heads back to Sute, "I guess I need to find some sort of authority figure, maybe he will help me find my friends if they have seen them...Do you know of a place like that?".

Zelig laughed when the boy thanked them needlessly and told them that they had favors from him. The demon honestly wanted to know how the child got here in the first place. One whiff was all he needed to tell that they had been brought here by magic. But who's... Or maybe what's...

"I guess I need to find some sort of authority figure, maybe he will help me find my friends if they have seen them...Do you know of a place like that?"

Sute blanched at the thought of finding an officer to help them but looked at Zelig for help. The shadow talked for her so if he had an idea, she'd follow through, for the most part.

"Ah, well... I particularly don't like to use authority for anything other than catching criminals..." The shadow shuddered violently at the thought. The knights here reminded them both of the ones from Gar and did almost anything to avoid them. "How about I use a very special power, the one I was referring to earlier." Sute looked at her shadow in mild disbelief but led the foreign boy into the alley none the less. She hoped that her friend and guide knew what he was doing, showing the boy more of their secrets. The shadow, now just a single black tendril, slithered down her arm and touched the shadows that masked the alley for view. Sute twitched as he pulled slightly on her spine but was still once again, watching the boy's reactions.

"Come forth my brethren and hear my call. I am searching for two very different people, females of the human species. One with wild red hair like flames and the other with pink, like a jewel. I command you to do my bidding and locate them. Then report back to me. Do not harm them, though." Zelig's voice was heard echoing in the darkness as the shadows began to stir around them. They rose slightly, wiggling fingers that danced slightly before the flattened again, spreading out past the alley and onto the streets. No one noticed when their shadow moved differently than they did or when they seemed to look for something.

"Phew..." Zelig sighed as he regained his snake form. "I swear they can be so rebellious at times..." Sute only shook her head and leaned against the wall of a building, her eyes following the movements of the shadows. A couple stopped at certain places before they continued. "Honestly, Cole-human, if your friend's hairstyles were average, this would be quite harder!" The snake hissed, giving a lopsided grin to the boy. "Now, why don't you tell an old shadow how you ended up here? You certainly aren't native."

Cole was looking at Sute's eyes mostly, he was so glad he met her and she is willing to help him. He can't just leave now and try find his friends on his own, he will be so lost. He listened to Zelig, "How about I use a very special power, the one I was referring to earlier." . Cole looked very confused but nodded, "Alright....", as he followed Sute down the ally.
He watched some shadow like tendril trailed down Sute's arm and touched the ground. Cole's eyes were big as he watched in amazement, he couldn't believe his eyes. He thought that perhaps it is not just The Past he entered to, it defiently not the past in his world. He didn't much listened in school, but he defiently didn't hear of Kalistos city ever was built in the history books.

"Come forth my brethren and hear my call. I am searching for two very different people, females of the human species. One with wild red hair like flames and the other with pink, like a jewel. I command you to do my bidding and locate them. Then report back to me. Do not harm them, though." . He listened to the words and watched the magic is happenning and the shadows flew through the ally in search of his friends. He turned his head to Sute and Zelig as they finished. "Ok, wow, I am not sure exactly what you did....but if it will help than thank you".

"Honestly, Cole-human, if your friend's hairstyles were average, this would be quite harder!" Cole smiled and nodded to the again transformed snake, "Well....yes, I guess I am lucky they have unique hair....". He looked at the shadows and than back to Sute and the snake. He thought guess I need to wait now... . "Now, why don't you tell an old shadow how you ended up here? You certainly aren't native." . Cole sigh and nodded again, "Well....yes, me and my two friends are not from here, and also I think not from any city here.... me and my friends just followed a map we thought it was a treasure map. We entered a cave and inside there was a big jewel!". He showed in his hands how big it was, "But than it flashed a big light and we all fell unconcious and handed up here...well, I hope they handed up here too....".

Winsley kept her gaze on the young girl for several moments, but turned it over to 'Martin' - if that was really his name - as he responded to Alis's question. She flicked a glance back to the girl and the tall man, before looking over at Alis, and then 'Martin'.

"Fine," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "But I still don't trust them," she snapped, turning back to 'Valencia' and 'Michael'. "I don't believe that you two are siblings, though. First of all, you really do need to improve your lying, 'Michael'," she said, doing air quotes around his name. "Second of all, a brother does not look at his sister in the way that you look at her. Perhaps a father, but not a brother. However, I will not challenge your story, nor do I believe that you shall challenge mine," she told him, rising from her seat. She turned to the male officer that had sat quietly in the room throughout their exchanges. "May I leave?" she asked him, her voice quiet. Receiving a slightly frazzled nod in return, Winsley turned and gripped Alessandra's arm, gently urging the girl up.

She turned back to the group. "My name is Winsley. Winsley Winters. I, too, am from Ghaliar, and I was traveling with my brother and good friend here, Alessandra, Alis for short, until we were separated. One thing happened, and then another thing happened ... To cut it short, a man attempted to assault, and for all I know, rape and kill, me, and I defended myself. Apparently kicking an elder man's ass is a crime here," she muttered the ending, grumbling slightly. "Excuse me for trying to keep from dying," she rolled her eyes.

Winsley shook her head. "However, I would like to be going now, with Alessandra. We need to find my brother as soon as possible. New clothes would be a grand idea, but I'm afraid that I haven't very much money," she murmured, removing her wallet from her skirt pocket and flipping it open. It was true; there definitely wasn't enough money for them to buy nourishment, a place to stay, and clothes. Let alone if anything else came up. A doctor, depending on the condition that Cole was in when they found him; transportation in order to find Cole; anything, really. She glanced over at Alessandra. "Alis, how much money do you have on you?"

((NOTE: Cole was only mentioned in this post, not actually interacted with))

---

Sute looked at Cole in wonder. Not from Taakeira at all? The boy was from another world. She had never heard of such a thing. Zelig on the other hand had and frowned slightly. "You're quite a story, child. Well, we'll help you to the best of our abilities! We have nothing better to do anyways so we'll just accompany you!" The snake hissed, pleased with himself. Sute glared at the snake but then huffed and gave Cole a half shrug. She wasn't totally against it.

One of the shadows returned, looking pleased for an unfeeling mass of magic. "Ah, we have results, come on then!" Zelig used his long body to take Sute's hand into Cole's. Sute looked back at the boy for an okay before she slowly led through the crowds into a very familiar building. Sute sighed and let Zelig turn into a cloak again. She had been detained here once because she had tried to stop a drunken fight. Though Zelig's loud and moronic mouth started it so she felt inclined to end it. Big mistake. She was blamed for it and held. She was released eventually but she hated it.

"Ah, they're in here!" Zelig cooed happily as they stood in a doorway. Many figures were inside, three females, one younger than the two and two males. She could see the bright pink and red hair so she knew they were in the right room. The shadow recognized the squire easily. After all, a shadow never forgets anything that may hurt its host. But the boy was low priority now. Sute reluctantly released Cole's hand and tucked in back under the cloak. Her voice was faint and slightly hoarse but only Cole could hear her, which is what she wanted.

"Go. I know you missed them." She whispered, pushing him into the room, though she stayed just outside the light of the doorway. She smiled gently before turning to walk towards the door. She'd wait elsewhere outside, she didn't want to be in the building longer than needed.

---

The man that had come with the younger girl honestly creeped Alessandra out a little, but the girl couldn't help but smile when he asked that her and Winsley befriend his little sister. While she was more than a little wary of strangers, especially in such a strange place, she knew the value of friendship and she didn't see anything threatening in the 12 year old little girl.

Winsley seemed to have a different opinion and was quick to let everyone know that she wasn't going to trust the people they had met as easily as Alis was. She tried to say something to her friend about being nice, but quickly quieted herself when the pink haired girl explained how she ended up in the prison.

"Winsley.. Alis gasped before throwing her arms around her friend, "I'm so sorry, are you okay? She asked, releasing her friend so she could check her arms and face for injury. Satisfied that her friend wasn't too badly hurt, Alessandra relaxed a bit, but still kept close to her.

"Alis, how much money do you have on you?" Winsley asked. Alis looked at her friend's wallet before pulling the single bill out of her back jeans pocket.

"Only a twenty," she sighed, handing it to Winsley. Then, she turned and looked at Martin, "Martin just got a bunch of money, though, we were going to use it to find a place to stay tonight before we found you."

The little girl spoke up to Winsley and Alessandra turned her attention to her, realizing by the hurt in the girl's eyes that her friend had offended her. She told them that neither her or her 'brother' was bad in any way and Alis couldn't deny the sincerity in the young girl's voice.

Finally, Alis stood up and curtsied to the girl, not knowing what else would be appropriate in the strange world. "I don't think you two are bad." She admitted, smiling at Valencia, "But I just found my friend again and if she doesn't trust you guys, then I'm staying with her. Winsley already introduced me but my name's Alessandra Lyra, people usually call me Alis, though. That's my friend, Martin, over there."

"Thank god! I've found you! I am so happy you are not harmed and well..."

Alis's eyes widened when she recognized the voice. She went to turn around to him but he got to her first, wrapping her in a big hug. She squeezed him back, laughing. "The three musketeers are back together! How did you find us, Cole?"

Martin's comment didn't really make things better; Alis was still unsure of what to think, Winsley was still spitting poison at Michael and Valencia, and Valencia was still grovelling for them to take her with them. Martin sat back and sighed; he wanted no part in the argument. Martin feared that it would never end until an effeminate young man burst in and wrapped his arms around Alis and Winsley. Martin assumed that he must be their friend, but he didn't look particularly strange; his clothes didn't scream for unwanted attention like those of Winsley and Alis did, and his hair, while oddly long, wasn't particularly strange. The young man turned to Martin, Valencia and Michael once he was out of the embrace.
"Hello, nice to meet you.
"Likewise." Martin smiled back, "It's good to see that the three of you have been reunited."

Martin didn't say much else, he thought it would be best to leave them to themselves at a time like this. However, he worried that Valencia would interrupt their reunion, so Martin decided that he would distract them for a while, and get a few questions of his own answered. He walked over to Valencia and Michael and began to speak.
"Who are you really?" Martin asked quietly but forcefully, making sure to let them know that he wouldn't buy any lies they might feed him, "By the Divines, you aren't siblings. You look nothing like each other! And what's this about another world? What do you know about them that nobody else does? Why are you so willing to help complete strangers; if they really are strangers to you? If you want me to, I'll stay quiet about the truth, but maybe if you'd been more honest Winsley would have trusted you."

The princess was still upset, but the girl named Alis assured her that she didn't think ill of them. This cheered her up a bit and she smiled, thanking her. Before another word could be put in though, a boy rushed in and embraced the two. She assumed this was the missing member of their trio as they had described it. Cole, as Alis confirmed. He then looked over at her, Micheal, and Martin and greeted them. "Hello Cole!" she said cheerily, her mood brightening again. "My name is Valencia and I'm here to help you."

Upon glancing behind him, she noticed that somebody was leaving. Whoever it was had successfully saved Cole from any trouble and guided him to his friends. So where were they going? She was about to speak up when Martin walked over to stand closer to her and Micheal.

Valencia was displeased with his lack of trust as well. She honestly couldn't tell him the whole truth if she wanted to, which had been fine up until now. There hadn't be an event of this size when they were traveling before. She had bothered a few people, yes, but none of them seemed to have the care to question them. "Why?" she whined softly as Micheal began to explain to the best of his abilities. His explanation of her innocent guess that these people were from a far off world, for their seemed no possible way that they were from some uncharted country, was on the ball. He also knew her well enough to say that she was a curious child, if not a benevolent one. Her position in Thania allowed her to help whom she wanted and most in her country did not shy away. She loved her people and they loved her and her family.

She nodded as Micheal finished. "I like adventure and traveling," she added. "I can see why you wouldn't trust us, as we are but strangers to you and to them. But every stranger has a tale to tell, and a quest to accomplish. I haven't found my quest yet, so I wish to help others fulfill theirs. Do you do the same?" She was curious to know more about him as well, as to why he had decided to help these girls as well when he could have easily walked away and discredited them as demons or insane.