Valyone

Naru watch a bard played a harp, creating a lovely flow of music and song. She would have loved to stay there the whole day just listening to him, but she saw something she needed to attend to. A large gathering of people were surrounding something and cheering. Curiosity took the better of her and so she went to see what was going on. Naru would soon regret doing so, but also glad she did. In the middle of the crowd were two people fighting, one a woman and another a very large man. At the mere sight of it she almost yelled at them to stop, but even she knew the woman was going to win just by the looks of both of them.

Not really knowing what held her in that spot, she just watched the fight. She didn't smile, clap, cheer, or even moved Naru just watched with awe if even that. They were both taking hard hits and she just wanted to go and help both of them, but running in might cause her to be injured. Not until the woman knocked the man down and she heard a loud crack did she run on to the 'arena.' Instinctively she ran up to the woman and said, "Oh my, you broke your arm. Let me help you," Naru placed her hands over the woman's arm and let off a bright light. Healing the cuts and bruises on her would take only seconds but a broken arm would take days or even weeks to heal even with her powers.

"I'm sorry if I take away the thrill of the fight but fighting with a broken bone would not be fair, I would still advise you to not fight. My healing powers can only make your arm move with minimum pain but not make it fully healed." She looked up and smiled at her, "At least don't use your arm to cave his chest in will you?"

Miranda just stared at the girl in surprise. There were lots of loud complaints from the crowd at her having a personal healer.

"You better get out before you get hurt," Miranda silently whispered to the girl. The girl didn't move though, just stood there letting a white light over her arm. She gave a quick glance to the man she was fighting who was standing back up and looked like a bull ready to charge. The girl said something, but Miranda ignored her, quickly pushing the naive girl back into the crowd. She had only a split second to think of a way to knock the oaf back down or she would be. The thought did come to her. She bent down and when the man was in the right spot, about a foot away from her, she lifted him up over her head throwing him down on the other side of her. She did this in a perfect arch. When he was down she delivered the final blow, punching him in the middle of his face with her right arm having his head smack down on the ground. He was then unconscious.

Silence filled the area, then cheering screams filled the air, even those who were yelling against her to win were cheering. The organizer shot down and held her arm in the air with such pride you would've thought they knew each other. After a long period of the organizer showing Miranda off and mass amounts of cheering, Miranda walked over to him and took the bag of money, her prize, from his belt and her bag that was full of armor from the stage.

She saw the caring girl still in the audience and walked over to her. Taking out her prize money, pulling out a small handful of gold pieces.

"Here," Miranda said holding out her hand the remains of her thrilled smile still ghosting on her face, "You deserve it. Healing like that, doesn't come cheap. Trust me, you've earned it".

Naru was shocked as she was pushed out of the way, soon realizing that it was to get her out of the fight. She felt glad that the woman would try to protect her but slightly annoyed that she was pushed. Not really something she liked. Almost Naru thought that she had messed this person up and she would lose because she wouldn't be able to react in time. To her relief it wasn't so and she watched as this woman lifted the man over her entire body and then throw him to the ground. Letting a small squeak of joy she caught her sell and settled down with a smile.

The cheers almost deafened her and she was on the brink of yelling with them. After the celebrations this woman approached her again with a hand full of gold coins which she offered to her.

"Oh no, you earned all of that, besides I cheated and fixed your arm. Although I'm glad you beat him, he could have injured me badly the way he was coming at you. Let's just call it even and if you want me to, I could stay around you and heal your arm until it's fully healed then we could talk about a price." Of course she was joking about the money, helping someone recover can't be repaid in currency but rather in friendship or something close to it.

"You would have to be around me for a few days until your arm would be in fit fighting shape, much shorter than it would take to fix itself naturally. So, what do you say?"

"Alright, but I'm buying you a drink no matter what you say...," Miranda said looking back at the guy who was still knocked out, "...in celebration. Also you helping me, that wasn't cheating, that's why I like these street fights, absolutely no rules," she smiled and grabbed the upper part of the girls arm pulling her to the nearest pub, The Drunken Oak.

"I'm Randy by the way," Miranda said as they entered. She turned to the bartender and having to yell over the noise ordered them two beers. When the bartender brought them their drinks Miranda set down two gold coins in payment. "So tell me about yourself chérie. What's your name? Why are you here?" she asked taking a big swig of beer, letting the liquid flow down her throat as blood from her nose and other cuts as well flowed from their place, but she ignored the pain as if nothing had happened.

Others stared at them, mostly at Miranda because of how she was covered in cuts, bruises, and dirt and probably didn't smell all too nice, but she ignored them like she ignored the piercing pain. There were also a couple guys who were checking both of them out, intensely and not very subtly either. This made Miranda's eyes harden, but she tried to make them as soft as possible as she listened in to what this kind and ignorant girl had to say.

"But I don't-" Naru couldn't tell this new girl, Randy, that she doesn't drink. Well, I guess I am going to the Drunken Oak, she thought. What could she do, it was like she was being forced into it and she isn't one to turn down a kind gesture even if it conflicted with her own morals. Not her best quality to be quite frank, it has gotten her into a lot of sticky situations.

Following Miranda into the Drunken Oak she sat down with her. This place seemed like pretty much every other tavern Naru had been in, but maybe the others thought it was different. Listening to Miranda's questions she couldn't help but wave her hand over Randy's face to heal her nose and stop it from bleeding. Then she answered the previously mentioned questions.

"Nice to meet you Randy, my name is Naru. I am a traveling healer if you could not tell, I wander around healing those who need it and help in any other way I can. It's pretty lonely, but it also brings me to places like this. I had come here because the town I was just in mentioned a festival coming up. I couldn't help myself, I always loved parties. Festivals are just big parties with a common thing for everyone to celebrate. The togetherness is so intoxicating," Naru couldn't help but think of the fighting that just happened. "At least when there isn't fighting, but even after that there's so much joy coming from everyone. Maybe not the loser, but like I've always been taught, 'The joy of many outweigh the joy of few.' Not the best thing to teach because the joy of everyone is as equally or more important."

Naru's attention was grabbed by a man staring in their direction, he had long hair and looked stunning. Her attention was then transferred over to a very impolite man with little manners. She was repulsed by the mere sound of him, the sight of him would be included but she could only see his back side. Her imagination did not stop her from thinking what he looked like on the front, it was not a pretty thought. Snapping out of her own little world she asked Miranda, "What about you? You could not have just come here to fight could you?"

Keezheekoni looked in awe at the two girls in front of her, one with long, wispy, black hair and very violent looking, the other was young, she almost seemed to glow silver as she passed out onto the ground.

Everything else seemed to be a blur, all she could see were shadows forming around the angry tavern costumers in her peripheral vision. She pushed the the other girl aside as she fell beside the younger girl. 'She's just unconscious,' Keezheekoni thought to herself as she checked the vitals. Being a Wizard she could heal a little bit, but nothing major like a what White Mage could do. She bent over the girl, strategically placing one of her hands over the girl's heart, the other over her head.

"Navitas transmitto," Keezheekoni whispered. She felt a sudden exhaustion come over her as her energy in a pale light, that if you looked closely enough you could see small thread like strings connecting Keezheekoni's hands to the girl, transitioned to the girl. Feeling as though she would soon pass out as well, Keezheekoni broke the connection. It was all she could do with the knowledge she possessed, but it was enough to awaken the girl, she hoped.

Ayta walked with a slow, but powerful pace. She wasn't in her best mood right now, this day the sun felt more forceful than usual, piercing her back and making things bright and blurred. She felt more comfortable with darkness, there she could be a bit more relaxed. She had walked for many days now, it was a while since she had been in a town. The last one was a disappointment, there were no training spots, good equipment or anything.

Ayta let her eyes scan the area when she felt shadows cooling her thoughts. She cold see trees stretching proudly, and she knew that there was a town nearby. Forests didn't flourish this way without a source of energy. Walking faster, she saw big gates replacing the trees that looked tiny in comparison. Normal towns did not possess this kind of defence. She was about to advance, when she felt a special gust of wind passing by her. She knew there was a reason for it. She looked in the direction it had blown from, and noticed something stuck in some bushes. On closer inspection, it was some kind of small pocket ticket or something. She let it slip into her sleeve, and walked towards the locked gates. There were two men there, glaring at her when they noticed her. Ayta could see in their eyes that they would not just let anyone in. One of the guards said in a demanding voice: "Pass, please." They must be exhausted, to not show much courtesy. Ayta glanced at her sleeve, and quietly flipped the pass in front of the man's face. "You may pass."

Those were quite some huge gates that they opened for her, and she now understood why. This was not a town- it was a city. Her head pulsated by the constant babel that rung through people's mouths. But.. even though it was a city, it felt a bit awkward to have this much activity here. There.. must be some kind of special event here today. She thought. She sighed, and kept walking. Suddenly the letters "The Drunken Oak" flashed by her. She had to look one more time. Drunken Oak? Seriously? The name told her that the place probably was a bar. Her stomach preached its quiet complaints, and the second she reached for the handle a bunch of people emerged from the place. She quickly dodged to the side to not get in the way, and she could feel her hair stand up in her neck. They looked angry, so she figured she would avoid any trouble. She moved further away, and sat on an old bench. She could still see the bar, but she let her eyes rest on a weird mechanical thingie that moved back and forth like in some kind of ritualistic dance or something.

Gosh, what a weird town. Ayta noticed a poster that advertised something that she didn't care about, but she noticed the name "Crystilania", written in big, bold letters. That must be what this city was called.

Miranda sighed at the lack of fighting that went on before jumping up on the bar counter and grabbing a broken glass of beer and downing it quickly. When she was done she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"So what, you're just going to start bossing us around because we're different?" Miranda asked the ninja. She lounged back on the broken glass, food, and spilled drinks as if she were the Queen of Sheba. She started eating some of the destroyed food, finding it surprisingly delicious besides it's disgusting look. She felt annoyed by this strange guy taking charge of five random people who didn't even know each other. It's one thing if they were a group, but as Miranda looked around at the people that had stayed, one would easily tell they were definitely not a group. They stood around awkwardly and and at a safe distance from everyone else. The girl with the monkey was even staring at the ground and acting like she didn't hear anything that was happening.

Miranda internally snorted and rolled her eyes, 'Yeah, this is going to be an interesting interaction,' she thought. And this was the only reason she had stayed. She would've left like the others, but she was interested in why this guy was so bossy and why he wanted to take five strangers and most likely turn them into a group, or at least that's what she interrupted from the way he acted. 'Bossy wanna-be demon,' she thought as she looked back to the guy.

Keezheekoni stood up, giving an internal sigh of relief as she noticed that people had left...well not everyone. Five or so people still stood around. She lifted Cha from the ground, lifting him to her shoulder where he took his usual spot. She was careful to keep track of how he reacted to the few left over people, and if it was a trap. He just sat, his tail wrapped around her neck like usual, and scratched his head. Seeing this she stood where she was knowing that currently there was no danger, but she kept ready because things could change for the worse and fast.

The people who stayed was a young girl with pale skin and hair, but unusual amber eyes, the girl who she had helped with the energy spell. The deadly looking woman who had stepped in front of her and the crowd. A guy who looked to be a little older than her who had a spear and looked to be the owner of the fiend that was bugging Cha, mainly because the fiend had walked back to him and was now looking a little scared by his legs. A kind looking woman with short dirty blond hair and black streaks in beautiful silk robes. And the "demon" guy with white hair who seemed to be the one who had scared everyone away.

She backed up a little ways, till her back hit the wall that was closest to the back door, that still hung open to the back alley. Her bag hung over her left shoulder lifelessly like a wet filthy rag. Her arms protectively wrapped around her staff that was leaning at a slight angle as it was taller than her, her right hand gripped the middle of it tightly the skin on her knuckles turning white. Her golded hued eyes flickered to everyone's face in a perfect pattern as she watched for someone to speak and give a reason why she, along with the others, were still there.

Jacobs eyes turned normal and he responded to Miranda. "That's right, do you have a problem with that?!?" Jacob then started to explain to everyone why he had done what he had done. He wanted to built a group to save villages and cities like this from fiends but mainly he wanted to find out the cause of why the fiends have increased. "Who's with me?"

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Chrim listened to this man as he spoke what his goal were and why he needed everyone. "I'm in!" Chrim said and raised his hand before slowly taking it down again after he had made his point of where he stood in thhe conversation. He allways had like adventure and this wass one he didn't want to miss.

Miranda glared down at the ninja, 'Of course, this makes total sense now. He just wants to take random strangers and create a group out of the blue,' she thought nastily. She rolled her eyes.

"Why did you choose us, because of the fight thing? That seems pretty thoughtless to me," she said out loud, her voice threatening, "Besides why should we trust you? Why should we," she gestured to the whole group, "let you boss us around?" Her glare deepened, she didn't like this guy at all, of course she hated anybody who tried to boss her around and had since she was a kid.

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Keezheekoni watched the ninja's mouth intently. He didn't talk too fast so she caught every word clearly, and when he started explaining why he wanted to make a group her eyes widened. 'A group? With other people? What if this is just a trap by her adopted parents? What if all these people were in on it?' these thoughts ran through her mind racing, causing her anxiety to build up.

Cha, sensing that Keezheekoni was scared, became defensive. He noticed her eyes on the ninja and let out a loud angry screech before leaping off her shoulder and towards the ninja. He swung on the ceiling above and dropped down on his head beginning to pound hard on it and bite his ears, all the while screeching in anger.

Keezheekoni's hand stretched out, "Cha-tima!" she yelled trying to get him to stop. She ran towards Cha and his poor victim and proceeded to try and pull him off, with little success as Cha kept jumping out of her reach or moving to the other side of the ninja's head.