Ford’s sleep had been deep and dreamless, and it felt like it had been barely a second between settling down and his eyes opening again. Had Felt not been kicking his side as she awkwardly laid sprawled out over the floor of the Loothouse, he’d have thought no time had passed at all. He felt the time, however, as he tried to sit up, his head resting on the ground as he grunted from the aching in his back. His body was exhausted from sleeping without a blanket on the wood floorboards, and as he made a second effort, his knees felt the tension of trying to bend so he could sit up, pushing Felt unceremoniously to the floor next to him as he looked in her direction.
He frowned, concerned with how soundly the girl slept. She was so used to uncomfortable surfaces that this was no problem to her. For him, who at least had the tactile memory of a real mattress behind his back, he couldn’t imagine what life she’d have had. He was grateful to Rom, who slept curled up like a boulder behind his counter, for giving them the spot with a roof over their heads after seeing the state Felt’s former residence was in now, but he still felt bad for the girl, and his hand moved to rub the side of her head.
A smile crept onto her sleeping face, and her hands balled into fists and bent into her body as she leaned into the touch. Initially, he’d been hesitant after hearing about her profession, but after hearing her explanation, he had to accept that it was all the choice she really had. Sell other people’s stuff, or herself. If it were up to him, he knew what option he’d pick. He could hardly fault her, and with little choice already, he’d decided to help her with her job later that day.
He didn’t know if he was the type of person to want to do something for a stranger like that, but it felt like the natural thing to do, and he had no intention of antagonizing the person he saw as his savior. Knowing nothing of the world before waking up here, all he could tell is that she brought him to safety, regardless of her claims that she was only paying him back the favor.
A breath left her mouth, and he lifted his hand off her head, letting her stir naturally as she opened her cherry eyes, rolling onto her back to look up at him, a tired smile on her face that was interrupted with a yawn as she arched her back, stretching on her side. She went about what presumably were her usual wakeup exercises, before coming to the realization that he was watching the whole thing, and she froze, her eyes snapping fully open as she sat up in a hurry, her knees on the floor and hands planted firmly on her thighs. “You didn’t see anything!” she shouted, her loud voice carrying in the small space.
The old man woke with a start at the noise, his hand raising to grasp the massive club leaning on the counter next to him as he stared forward. “Wuzzat?” he called, his hoarse voice booming, before he calmed down, his head lowering to his usual hunch as he hummed. “Little brat, don’t go trying to give me a heart attack. I may look like this, but I’m not ready to become a spirit just yet!”
Felt’s mouth clamped shut, and when she next spoke, her voice was meeker, glaring at Ford as he poorly hid his laugh. “Sorry, Old Man Rom! I’m just not used to waking up here and got startled!”
Rom blinked several times, a slow motion as his tired brain processed her statement, before he grumbled, using the club to bring himself to a standing position with a slight wobble as he stretched his legs. “Well, you two can get out now, I’ve got to prepare for that ‘big job’ you’ve got. You’ll probably just use this place as a stage for your deals like you always do.”
Felt grinned, standing up and running her hands along her clothes to clear them of dust as she faced Ford, her annoyed expression passing as she extended a hand to him. “Thanks, I know I can count on your big body to protect me. We should do our own stuff, then. The half-devil’s not supposed to be there for a few hours, but we still should be in place. Ford, do you think you can do that thing you did before?”
Ford blinked, confused by the statement, and took her hand and let her help him stand with surprising strength given her size. “I don’t really know what you mean, I haven’t done anything special since I woke up…”
She stared at him, a deer in the headlights look in her eyes before she held her gloved hands to her cheeks, rapidly shaking her head and stepping back before pointing at him as she had done several times before, again accompanied by the green light that by now he had figured out was some form of magic, whether she consciously was doing it or not. “Right! There’s no way you’re a normal person or you’d be dead, so you definitely have some trick you can do. You’re going to be a distraction, so do whatever seems natural to you. If you think of something that might be from your past, then use it, it could be useful as long as it’s not too obvious. I’ll do my part when I’m ready.”
Seeing her, the youngest person he had yet met, speak with such a commanding tone was a funny sight, but he saw no reason to crack a joke when she was actually being serious, so he simply nodded, reaching to hold her pointer finger in his fist, and when she tilted her head at the motion, he grinned.
“Let the thief show her guts, and stay out of her way. Got it.” He held up his fist to his heart, humming before lowering his hand. “I’ll be following your example, so it better be a good one, oh Master.”
Felt’s face scrunched up, startled by the honorific, but as she realized he was just mocking her, she gave a determined expression, pulling her hand away from his grip and crossing her arms over her flat chest. “Yeah, yeah. I don’t need some apprentice following me around, so you’d better find something interesting to jolt your memory. I can’t afford to feed another person for too long.”
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The city’s market district was very different from the quiet and heavy atmosphere of the Poor District, the narrow streets packed with people going about their day in the noontime rush of a sale sparked by some holiday. In the midst of the busy action of families rushing around and sales being made, it was easy for unusual people to blend into the crowd.
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It was one of the few times that Emilia was able to be out and about without feeling the stares of people on the back of her head, kneeling with her hands on her knees to look at the produce in a vegetable stand. Her purple eyes darted around, and she rambled about the prices under her breath as the lizardman shopkeeper looked on with disinterest.
“Miss, if you’re going to buy something, then do it. You’re holding up the line.” he said, his arms crossed and fingers tapping on his elbow, and his voice startled her, causing her to stand straight with a squeak.
“I’m sorry! I got caught up thinking…” the silver-haired half-elf explained in the high-pitched way she normally spoke, before she reached to grab a few things to set in the bag she carried on her shoulder and dig for her coins, quickly counting them out to hand to the shopkeeper. “I won’t hold you up, it was my fault!” she said, bowing apologetically, and the lizardman harrumphed as he checked the amount, before waving her off.
“You’ll scare away my other customers if you stay around, so just get lost.” he stated, and she flinched, before giving a small nod as she turned away. Behind her, the shopkeeper narrowed his eyes at the next in line, looking over the boy’s tattered clothes. “Sorry, kid, but I don’t serve humans. Better luck somewhere else.”
Ford blinked, before shaking his head and smiling. “Oh, I’m with her.” he said, pointing to Emilia, who stopped in her step and turned to look at him with confusion, though the shopkeeper simply grumbled, already turning to the next in line after Ford moved aside.
“Who are you? I don’t know you.” Emilia asked, and Ford laughed, setting his hand on the back of his head.
“You looked pretty, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least say hi.” he responded, and she narrowed her eyes, her hand moving to twirl her hair in her fingers.
“I doubt that’s the truth. What are you really after?” she asked, her voice low, and the air around her sparkled as a few lesser spirits twinkled into existence, though they did little besides float around in the air. “Nobody comes up to a half-devil without a real reason.”
“Half-devil? I’ve heard that term before, but aren’t you just an elf?” he asked, tilting his head, and she stepped back, a few people looking in her direction at the statement.
“Are you an idiot?” she asked, her hand balling into a fist. “Flattery won’t make me trust you. Leave me alone.” With a huff, she turned away, but she froze in place as Ford moved to grab her shoulder, a smirk on his face.
“I’m telling the truth, I have no idea what a half-devil even is. I don’t remember much of anything, really. Is there something wrong with being an elf?”
She grit her teeth, before she whirled around, her hand moving to grab his wrist and push his arm away from her, a hard look in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter what I am, you’re being pushy. Leave me alone-” Her eyes widened as she jumped back, her hands raising defensively as a thin sheet of crystalline ice formed in the air in front of her. “Puck, you didn’t have to shout!” she complained, as a small fuzzy creature materialized atop her head.
“That guy’s not normal, Lia.” the creature stated, glaring at Ford, who looked between it and the girl. “You, what are you? If you try to hurt her, I’ll get involved!”
“I’m not really sure what you mean, but I’m not an enemy.” Ford responded, raising his hands up, and he narrowed his eyes, opening his palms to face forward. “I don’t even remember my own name! But, I still have magic, so don’t attack me for no reason or I’ll defend myself!”
He said it as a bluff, but he did feel like he knew what he was doing. He had so naturally gotten into a similar stance to Emilia’s, and it felt like he really could cast something. He grinned as he noticed Felt standing in the entrance to a nearby alleyway, her legs bent as she prepared to pounce.
“Puck, we shouldn’t make a scene! Let’s just leave!” Emilia said with a worried tone, though the cat wasn’t having it, raising a paw and producing shards of ice in the air that oriented themselves forward. By now, the crowd had moved to give them space, the shopkeeper shouting at them from his stall with a fist in the air.
“He smells like the Witch.” Puck stated, and Emilia’s eyes widened, looking up at him before turning her attention back to Ford.
“A Cultist?” she asked under her breath, her face furrowing in a frown. “Then in that case...El Huma!” The ice shards moved forward, picking up speed in the air as Ford jumped back, looking down with surprise at his easy footing.
“Hey, I don’t want to fight you! That’s really dangerous, you know!” he said, bending his back to lower his stance. “That could have killed someone!”
“Witch Cultists are scum who shouldn’t be allowed out in public.” Puck said, and Emilia nodded, repeating the spell as Ford glanced at Felt, who watched the unfolding fight with an intense expression in her eyes. The little thief was hardly a fighter even with her Divine Protection, so he’d have to find a way out himself, and given how the people around them were just standing and watching, they weren’t going to be of any help.
Think! I’m sure I have some sort of magic! He racked his brain for any sort of helpful memory, before he blinked, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts before closing his hands together, pointing his index fingers at her. “Take your magic back! Dragon’s Breath!”
“Watch out!” Puck shouted, and Emilia jumped back, but nothing happened, and Ford smirked as he lowered his hands, laughing as he kicked off the ground to start running in the opposite direction.
“I was bluffing!” he called, and Emilia was about to cast her magic again before she felt the strap of her bag tug her shoulder, and she glanced to her side to find Felt grinning, her tongue out as she held the elf’s jeweled insignia in her gloved hand, before she was cast forward with a burst of green wind.
“Thanks for the present!” the blonde called, rushing off into the crowd alongside Ford, leaving Emilia on her own, unable to follow as the people filled into the space again.
“Thieves!” Emilia shouted, though with their trail gone, she was painfully aware that she now was standing on her own, shouting at the crowd with her magic active, so she dropped her hands, letting it dissipate as she stomped forward with her hands balled into fists. “Are there any guards here?!” she called out.
“There is.” came a voice, and the girl turned her attention to someone standing nearby, a woman clad in a dark purple dress that held a half-eaten appa in her hand. She briefly glanced up at Puck, but quickly lost interest in the spirit and turned her attention back to the girl. “I know that kid, I can guide you to her if you’d like…”
“Thank you!” Emilia responded, delivering a quick bow to the woman. “Are you a guard?”
“I’m as capable as one.” the woman replied, a devious smirk on her face. “She can’t get far away from me.”