"What's with this damn weather?" a curious girl wondered aloud.
"Not sure, Hanaette," Nattia guessed, "Stormy weather isn't very usual around here. It's strange." She sat up on her bed to look out the window. Clouds poured down rain and lightning alike.
"Hell yeah it is. It's as if the gods are pissed at something! Say, Natty, you wanna go somewhere today?"
"Go where? With the weather, the only place to stay is the dorm."
"Ughhh. This little room is boring, though."
"No where else to go..." A loud banter was heard in the hall, though it was distant. "What's that about? Do you hear that?"
"I hear it. Sounds like bastards are making noise. C'mon, Natty, let's check it out!"
"I don't like that name..."
"C'mon!"
Both girls put on their shoes and walked out of their dorm room. Down the hall, there seemed to be some boys trying to get into the girls' dorms.
"Oi, assholes!" a girl down the hall yelled, "No boys in here!"
"B-but something's happening!" a boy cried, "Something really bad is happening! We were told by teachers to tell everyone!"
"Then tell!" Hanaette commanded, rushing down the hall to meet the crazy lads.
"Uh, um," one boy stuttered, frightened by the Hanaette's intimidating demeanor, "Th-the teachers told us to keep everyone in their rooms! Something bad is happening in town, and people are fighting each other!"
"Fighting each other?" Nattia questioned, panting a bit from the rush down the hall.
"Yes! Aelveil's army has attacked the city, and even some peasants seem to be trying to storm through the market and housing districts! They look like they're coming for this district!"
"Whoa, whoa, crazy boy," a girl hushed, "Are you serious?"
"That's what the teachers told us," another boy whimpered.
"Alright, lads," Hanaette began, "Go back to your rooms. We'll reveal the message to everyone."
"Stay safe, fellow students," Nattia farewelled.
"Aye, miss," the boy replied, "Everyone should try to stay safe."
Once the boys were gone, Nattia and Hanaette relayed the message and fled to their room. A tad surprised, they both slumped onto their beds.
"Well, Natty," Hanaette sighed, "What the fuck."
"I... suppose I should agree," Nattia sighed in turn.
"You should."
"But... well, I don't."
"What?"
"Well, don't get me wrong!" Nattia stood up and faced her roommate. "I mean, it's only a matter of time when the Nigon rebel..."
"Nigon? What makes you think this is Nigon-related?"
"Well, why else would peasants revolt, accompanied by the Aelveil army? Mind you, Aelveil is very supportive of Nigon's rights."
"But it's not about Nigon, ya dink! The system is about peasants versus nobles!"
"And Magon are automatically nobles."
"How'd you know that, Natty?"
"My mother and brother are Nigon. I'm from the farm near the forest and Aelveil border."
"Oh... shit, you're from Aelveil?!"
"No, not at all. I'm from Eslientia, been here all my life, but my great grandfather is from Aelveil."
"So is your place haunted?"
"Eh?"
"People always say that the Flau Farm is haunted! Spirits in the barn and all."
"Ah, well... I don't think so..."
"Ugh, boring."
"Well, anyways, Nigon are usually lowly. I know this because I know many-a Nigon friends."
"And would they storm a town owned by a Magon just because the owner's a Magon?"
"Ah... well, maybe. The Barking Knights and maybe some vendors in the market district."
"We've got dissenters even in town?! Damnit, we're in trouble, huh, Natty?"
"I, well... I don't think I should be here. Maybe I should go home."
"Take me with you!"
"Eh?"
"If you're leaving this place, take me with you! C'mon, Natty, I'm too young to die today!"835Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6MIQAnGoY
"Are they killing people? I don't think it's that serious..."
"Aw, poor, innocent Natty, of course they are! They have a fucking army!"
"Um, well then. Sure, Hanaette, you can come... I suppose..."
"Alright! Let's sneak out before some teachers notice!"
Rising from her bed, Hanaette rushed to gather her items, insisting Nattia to do the same. Much to Hanaette's dismay, Nattia suggested that since the uniforms symbolize the Academy, they shouldn't go out in them, leaving them with cotton clothing that is much too thin to protect them from the rain. Also to Nattia's suggestion, they should not use magic so as not to make them the odd two out. They should try to be as Nigon as possible until they reach the town's edge. Thus, no protection from the rain is apparent.
This strategy was also to the dismay of the spirits trying to protect the girl. As they were apparitions, they could not protect anyone from physical ailments, but only magical ones. And to make it worse, if the adept administrators were around, they would easily catch sight of a cluster of spirits following a girl, alerting them of her presence. So, sadly, oh-so sadly, the spirits kept their distance, all sparse from each other. Nevertheless, of course, they stood vigilant, following the Freir-blooded girl out into the rain.
Both girls rushed out of the building, the heavy rain concealing them from nearby administrators who rushed about preparing to defend the Academy and palace. They rushed into the training fields and towards the high wall. Nearing the edge of the Academy perimeter, they were stopped by stray spells.
"What the hell?!" Hanaette screamed. "They can't've reached this district by now, could they've?!"
"No!" Nattia observed, "Look, some students are running, too!" There were some Westerners running from administrators, the spells all being shot from the latter.
"By the gods, the teachers are trying to kill them!"
"Let's run, Hanaette!"
The girls ran as fast as they could through the mud and to the wall. There, Nattia used an orb spell to levitate both of them over the wall.
"We made it!" Hanaette rejoiced.
"Help us!" a girl's cry was heard. "Help! They shot Malro! Help!"
Nattia ran to where the Westerners were struggling to get over the wall. She used another orb spell to let the others down, then went atop the wall herself. At the top of the wall, she saw two students limping towards the wall, one student supporting the other. She used most of her strength to make another orb spell to bring the two over to the top of the wall. Together, the three of them jumped into their fellow students' arms below. Hanaette and the Westerners started using heal spells on the two injured Western students.
"Praise the gods!" a Westerner girl cried, "Thank you so much!"
"Getting me into this, Natty," Hanaette yelled over the rain, "You've got some guts and chivalry!"
"Let's get out of here, gods damnit!" a boy with a blindfold screamed, "Who cares about healing us, let's just run before the teachers or peasants kill us!"
"Aye!" several Westerners agreed.
Now with eight in their group, they all headed to the north side of the town.
"Westerners, damnit!" Hanaette screamed, "Take off your uniforms! You're compromising the whole group!"
"Aye, smart tactic!" one boy replied. The group stopped shortly to tend to their uniforms.
After a small bit, their uniforms were chucked to the side of the road as they ran. Now they were all shivering from the cold rain, but they ran on.
One of the members suggested, "Let's cross the bridge and go through the market district instead of near the palace!" Most nodding in agreement, they ran to the bridge.
Once effectively over the bridge, they all found shelter under the roof of a small shop. No one else seemed to be inside the building.
"This b-better be a t-tailor shop..." one Westerner wished.
"Aye, Ek," another sighed, "By the way, Scentral folk, thank you for helping us. We surely would have died back there."
"You're very welcome," Nattia responded, "But I must ask, why did the teachers attack you?"
"Suppose they wouldn't want us to leave the Academy grounds," one girl muttered.
"You serious?" Hanaette gasped, "They'd attack us rather than letting us escape with our lives?"
"You're a very ignorant one, then," the blind boy said, "The teachers are there to corrupt our minds, not to protect us."
"Exactly," a noble-looking boy agreed heartily, "And by the way, I'm Davo. The blind one is Malro, the chattering one looking for clothes is Ek, this girl is Amaliva, that one Imillia, and this man here is Keko."
"Good to meet you," Nattia politely complimented, "My name is Nattia."
"And I'm Hanaette," the respective girl gave in, "Born Scentral, right here in Eslientia."
"Then you might be trouble..." Davo grumbled.
"Oi, love," Amaliva scolded, "No picking fights right off the bat."
"Fucking dink," Hanaette growled at Davo.
"Oh?" Davo taunted, "Am I the one that was served everything on a damn silver plate, eh?!"
"Shut the fuck up, you fucking—"
"Both of you be quiet, please!" Imillia hushed, "Do you hear that?" Sounds of catapults, horses, and men alike were heard in the distance.
"The screams of battle..." Keko uttered.
"Alright!" Ek squealed in delight, "Found clothes! So, everyone, this is a cobbler's shop, but he has clothes here! So get dressed!"
"C'mon, pretty boy," Hanaette taunted Davo again, "Girls can go first. That means you."
Davo growled in return, but Amaliva stopped him with a squeeze on his shoulder. Everyone got up from their positions and started dressing in more appropriate clothing, consisting of trousers, skirts, coats, and other articles of clothing. They all felt more comfortable, but their wet undergarments still bothered them.
"Damn cotton," Ek mumbled, "Always easy to get soaked."
"If you want, Ek," Malro purred, "You can always take off your undergarments."
"Tsk," Amaliva put in, "These two, always making things awkward."
"At least they didn't wear gowns like Imillia did," Davo commented.
"Aye, poor Imillia," Keko nodded, "Are you fine now, Imillia?"
"Yes, Keko," Imillia blushed, "I'm fine now, no need to worry." The two 'mutual' friends smiled at each other.
"Poor girl," Davo whispered.
"I feel worse for the dense boy," Amaliva whispered in reply.
"So, uh," Malro stumbled, "No one is going to be concerned about how Ek and I were shot by spells?"
"Can you run?"
"I can, Amaliva, but—"
"Then you can follow us. The battle is raging outside, and we have little time."
"Oi, Westies," Hanaette ushered, "We leaving now, or taking care of the wet underwear problem?"
"No time, honey, let's go."
"Honey?"
"She does it all the time, dog," Davo informed, "But a mutt like you doesn't deserve it."
"Shut it, Davo," Amaliva rasped, "Lest you want a red cheek for the rest of your life."
"Sorry, sorry," Davo scoffed in sarcasm.
"Let's go, please?" Imillia pleaded. To her whimpering face, everyone nodded to each other and fled the scene, back into the pouring rain.
The group ran and ran, until they might be able to reach the edge of the besieged town. Even with adequate clothing, it seemed, the rain was still too harsh for them to bare. Eventually they had to settle down under anther building's roof, ruined by battle. From the small building, they could see some of the ruin around them, and the battle, wherever it was, was definitely close, its sounds booming with the rain and thunder.
"I'm cold as hell," Davo moaned.
"Aye, same here, love," Amaliva coincided, "Let's all stay here for a bit? Dry some clothes..."
Ek turned to the girl with a bewildered face, "Are you suggesting for us to strip back to the damned cotton underwear, Amaliva?"
"What else would we do?"
"Keep running?"
"I thought a man like you would enjoy flaunting himself half-naked."
"Now, now," Hanaette muttered, "Why don't we pull ourselves together and think of a way out of this? It seems that the battle is close, but we don't know if it's coming our way or leaving in another direction..."
"Well," Nattia began to suggest, "We can go and find some better shelter. Maybe also find which way is north, and perhaps even some weapons to defend ourselves. I myself am very novice in magic."
"We Westerners are good with healing," Malro stated, "But not much else, so weapons would be nice."
"We're not exactly knights, though," Ek commented, "So how do we defend ourselves?"
"Shelter is the first priority, definitely," Davo said, "We can think about weapons later. And why must we go north?"
"She has a farm up there, twit," Hanaette hissed, "It's only smart to go there, where everything's relatively safe."
"While I disagree with her dissent," Amaliva admitted, "I have to agree that we need a safe place to stay. This town will likely be looted, and I don't know anyone here in County Eslientia, so it's best to stick with the farmer girl."
"Alright, I'll go with that call," Malro confessed, "But will the farm have enough to house us all?"
"Good question," Nattia complimented, "But I'm not sure. We might have enough to house all of you for a week or two at most."
"Good enough," Keko said, "A few weeks' supply can get us on the road to the West."
"And who says we'll all head westward?" Ek sassed.
"Well, I mean... that where our homes are, right?"
"Oh... yeah. I guess it's a good idea to travel together, being Westerners, the lot of us."
"Good insight, you two," Malro commented, "But what's our plan right now? The spot where I got hit kind of aches, and it seems no one's going anywhere anytime soon, hm? So who wants to heal Keko and me? Anybody?"
"Right, sorry 'bout that, honey," Amaliva apologized, "While Davo and I heal these two up, can someone find some proper raincoats? And someone else should look for a good spot for us to nap in. This roof is letting in too much water."
"I can look for shelter," Nattia suggested. She took out into the rain to find a suitable spot to rest.
"I'll go with her," Hanaette said in turn, jogging beside Nattia in the rain.
"I guess Imillia and I can look for rain gear," Ek notified. He motioned for Imillia to follow, and the two went from building to building looking for any coats, headgear, or boots.
"And that leaves us in this shabby place, eh?" Keko concluded.
"Aye," Davo nodded.
"Say, Davo, love," Amaliva started, "Let's try some spells that don't have that initial burn, hm?" Davo nodded his head in understanding, and the two began their work.
After some time elapsed, the group found themselves together again. The thunderstorm still poured down with earnest, not showing any signs of stopping for a long while. While the group shivered in their new shelter, they noticed a flood beginning to form. Davo in particular cursed the gods and rushed everyone to the second floor of another building that was intact after the battle.
They debated warily amongst themselves, unsure of what to do or where to go while the storm continued. Amaliva, Davo, Keko, and Malro all agreed that staying was the best option, but Ek and Imillia were especially afraid of what might occur while staying stranded in the building, and Nattia wanted to be home, while Hanaette just wanted to be safe. In the end, they concluded that they would stay in the building until the flooding let up some, then they would travel through the forest and shortcut to Nattia's farm, where there were many irrigation canals and trenches that would limit flooding.
And so the group of eight rested for a few hours, wet, cold, and scared, while the sounds of war raged near the river. They had much in common with their thoughts, craving safety and warmth.
One single, great question floated in their minds: Oh, just when will the storm come to an end?
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