The sun starts to wake up, sending a dim light in a world still covered in shadows. Such early hours and there's already dozens of people jumping,climbing and swinging around, their red cloths wave through the wind, a common sight since a Flarer is always ready to help
Meanwhile,far away from the bustling of the main routes inside and between the districts of Cloudhaven,the silence of a inhabited and dangerous zone is broken by the sobs of a kid and the laughter of a young girl
"Haha,next time you try something like that," says Seven,laughing while she hangs from a balcony while holding a sobbing child "You tell me or one of the adults, capiche?" the boy nods between sobs,his arms trembling as he tightens the grip on Seven's arm
he threatens to look down,but Seven speaks before it could happen "Hey, Tiro, why arent you looking at me? Am i that ugly?" the boy smiles weakly,but as he sees rocks and pebbles falling and never Hearing the landing,he reminds his situation,the weak smile wavers and his eyes shut closed,too exhausted and tired to cry
"I know you only have eyes for Firn,Tiro,and i apreciate your loyalty,but am i Not worthy of a chance?" she teases more and smiles to him
As she feels her hand slipping from the wet plataform and Tiro slidding down her arm,she adjusts herself "Hey" she says, calmly
He slowly opens his eyes,meeting Seven's Rainbow Gaze,her eyes were gentle and confident "eyes on the rainbow,ok?" Tiro's breath easen as his arms trembling slows,he knew Seven would save him,she always did and for that, fear was irrational
The wind was cold,the air humid,the smells of wet concrete and vines remembering Seven why her hand was Slipping from the concrete,the sky still being a cloudy from yesterday's storm
The balcony crumbling sounded like a scold about how they shouldnt be playing here,and it only became louder as the seconds passed
the creacking making cold sweat form and drip from Seven's brow,her arm trembling from the effort 'Come on, Seven. Think' she thinks to herself while her smile and cocky/playfull demeanor never falters,even as more and more concrete pieces fell from the balcony
Failing wasnt a option for Seven and today was no different,she went through worse and yet,wasnt stupid enough to minimize the situation,she knew that one wrong move could End with her death,or worse,Tiro getting hurt 'And Gearhead would bring me back just to kill me again' she thinks and chuckles to herself,making Tiro raise a brow "A Joke? Right now? Really?" She laugh out loud as her grips tighten,the scold bringing her back to the matter at hand "Sorry Sorry,It wasnt on purpose"
This was the moment of truth,Seven knew there were lots of ways to get out of this situation and Only few would leave Tiro unscatched tho
Then,a idea popped on her mind and she Smirks "No,dont even think about it" says Tiro,adjusting his grip on Seven's arm "What? I havent even Said anything yet," she answers, feigning innocence
"i know that face Seven,everyone in Red Flare does,you just had a Impossibly stupid idea," he says, Rolling his eyes
"That might be true, but being Impossible doesnt Mean i cant make it," she says chuckling
"We are both this close of falling to our deaths, and you are laughing?" He says, outraged
She laughs louder "of course, there's no better time to laugh then on Death's face,we have to make sure they lady knows she isnt taking us soon" she says,her Voice wasnt cocky anymore,but determined and confident "we are Flarers Tiro,there's Nothing we cant do"
Tiro was scared,his hands trembling as he made everything he could to not slip,griping harder and harder by the Second to the point of his nails leaving a mark on Seven's arm and yet,he Trusted Seven enough to be sure she wouldnt allow his death
With that,she releases the balcony "Hold tight Tiro,this is our tickets" she says,smilling determined
he wanted to scream,to cry,to panick but he didnt,he swallowed the tears and kept a brave face,trusting Seven with all his being
She side-hugs Tiro with her left arm,then grabs a gun on her bag,not any gun, but a grapling hook, aiming at a lose pipe on the wall "Come on Gearhead,im counting on you" She shoots it,the hook and the rope flies fastly exactly where she wanted, it wraps the pipe,holding tight "Gearhead,you crazy Elder" Seven smiles as she saw his idea working Fine... Until the rope ends... She looks at it,the hook and the rope was stuck on the pipe,but not on the gun,she sighs "always forgeting the details,huh?" she shrugs,still on free fall "well,it is what it is,Any suggestions on what we should do now Tiro?" She looks at Tiro,who was crying his eyes out and screaming till his throat couldnt take it anymore "Fair point" she says,tucking the now useless gun back at her bag "im going to talk about this with Gearhead later"
Seeing the rooftop of a smaller building,Seven has her chance,she uses the wall of the building to get impulse,throws Tiro up,lands on the rooftop rolling and jumps to catch Tiro before he falls, he's still yelling and crying
"Hey Tiro" she says smilling,but he kept screaming "Hey Tiro" he kept crying,she flicks his forehead so he Opens his eyes,his gaze meets Seven's "See? We are not falling anymore" tears starts building up on his eyes,he hugs Seven tightly as tears streams down his face "Hey Hey,not so tight" she says smilling weakly,that landing... It hurt a little but she hides it with a reasuring smile while patting his Head
Back at Red Flare
After a few minutes of Seven Climbing and swinging while carrying a sobbing,apologizing and guilty kid on her back,she arrives back at Red Flare,with a jump she lands on top of Gearhead's Workshop,she knocks on the roof "Knock, Knock, you crazy cog brain." she says,smiling "Come in," a Harsh Voice, forged by old age, answers
She hops down from the roof. "i have a delivery for the worst Blacksmith around. Would that be you?" She says,teasing
"Wrong address, kid. That would be Clockwise. His clocks never says the right hour," he says in a raspy tone,his back turned to her
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Yeah Yeah, anyways, here's your delivery" Tiro lets go of her and looks at Gearhead "Uncle!" Hearing the kid's Voice makes him jolt around "Tiro!" He says, surprised
Tiro hugs Gearhead tightly. The Old man doesnt hug back—he wasnt the type to show feelings,—but he does pat his head "Heh,and here i thought i had escaped from you,little pest" Tiro sniffles,trying not to cry as he puts on a big, genuine, smile "Not today,old man"
Gearhead signalizes for Seven to sit as he does it himself, his workshop bustling with half-finished inventios and slightly hot due to his forge. The noise outside is a nice reminder on where they are,footsteps and voices flew throughout The air,every now and then someone landing on the roof with a faint 'sorry' or appearing on the window,kids bustling around giggling and the smell of fresh home made food... Ah,this was Red Flare
"So Seven,how did you find this stupid kid? The patrols were looking for him during all morning"
"Well,i know im Not as good as the adults,so i dont try to bê and Only focus on what i know i can do and i do know the kids around better then they do themselfs" she says, shruging "Tiro Said that he wanted to prove he could train on the crumble and was going to prove it, after that, it was easy to say he was going to one of the abandoned areas, it took me a few hours to find him, but i arrived at time to save the featherless bird"
Gearhead only nods "Good,i will tell Hern about that,im sure that ends your weekly quota" she smiles "im sure as well,but i wont stop just because i finished it,the more people i save,the more i can call myself 'Lady Rainbow,the hero of the Flarers'" she says holding back a laugh,that was so stupid that she almost couldnt finish the sentence or hold it back as she burst laughing out loud
Gearhead shakes his head and sighs "You kids... Cant you be serious for over two minutes?" "Two whole minutes? No can do,old Man" she says, with a shrug, while chuckling
"Well,thanks for taking care of my nephew Seven,really" he says, sincerily "Hey,why the seriousness? Im just doing my job and helping as much as possible,its not like im a actual hero or anything like that" she says, scratching the back of her neck, blushing slightly, she wasnt good at receiving compliments
"Oh" she jolts up "i just remembered" she places the broken grapling hook on the table "this things works well enough" Gearhead raises a eyebrow "does it? It was only on test phase,not supposed to be used yet" "Hm... That explains what happened" "what do you mean with 'what happened'?" "Well..."
After Seven explained what happens, Gearhead seems mad "YOU DID WHAT!?" Seven tries to laugh it off "Hey,no need to get mad,everything went right,no one got hurt and i discovered what was wrong with your equipment,id call that a victory" she says, trying to dismiss her resklessness. But Gearhead wasnt mad at her, he was worried, he knew Seven would Only reveal she's hurt when on the verge of death or worse, he knew she was hurt even if only a bit. He didnt wanted to say it out loud tho,the kids around, including Tiro, saw Seven as a invincible local hero who never got hurt, calling on her lie would be bad and Only make Tiro even more guilty, he grabs the broken gadget and places it aside "... Ok,i will fix the gun and send you the new prototype when finished, but next time, you test the damn thing before jumping off buildings" "it was a balcony, And i didnt jumped off, just released it" "..." He massages his Temple, this kid... He sighs "Tiro,go make us some tea ok? You both deserve it" the kid,who was sitten besides Gearhead perks up "Okie!" He stands up and hops down through a Trapdoor, Seven raises a eyebrow "and here i thought i knew the kids,i never see him that exciting on School... The only time i saw him that perked up was when i promised to let him watch me train on the bubbles" Gearhead nods "you didnt knew the kid's passion is making meals and drinks, did you? He doesnt admit it, not to me or to himself, since he's a Flarer 'and Flarers are bold and brave, they jump from falling buildings, fix whole bridges alone and save those in need' is what he says"
Seven is surprised "wow,i never... But there's Nothing wrong in being a cook, Rebecca is a Red Flare and a cook" she says,trying to ask more without seeming intrusive "You are right, but its hard for the kids to not try to embrance their Color, you know? They all see you as inspiration, so does Tiro, he doesnt want to dissapoint you"
Her eyes go wide "dissapoint me? He could never, i dont care if he cant do the bubble path or make a safe free fall, i will be proud of them as long as they are trying, no matter what" Gearhead nods "i know kid, and so does the rest of the Flarers, no one here preasures the kids but themselfs, its hard for him, he wants to be like you and he's trying, he thinks he doesnt have time to improve his dishes,since every time he's cooking he could be climbing" Seven is silent for a second "Can i do anything to help?" Gearhead looks at her "you can, but wont, its a natural process for the kids when growing up, even with the possibility of help, its better if he realises it by himself" Seven nods "you are right, sorry for intruding" "no prob kid"
That talk made Seven remember a few things she just brushed off in the past,like seeing Tiro asking Rebecca the recipe for her Turnip soup,her home made apple buns and when she noticed he was a bit more excited then usual when he gave her cookies that supposedly "Silvia made for her",was it always clear?
"Well" Seven stands up and streatches "Give my apologizes to Tiro, i wont be able to taste his tea today, im almost late for the bubble course training" Gearhead only nods "Bye bye cog brain" she jumps through the window, Gearhead shakes his head and sighs "this kid..." A faint smile in his face
Outside,she lands on a pipe and starts jumping her way to the bubble sector,pipe to pipe,vine to vine and roof to roof,between jumps, swings and mid air flips and spins,she liked to throw some cool tricks to not get rusty,especially when she noticed some of the kids watching
And as always when she passed by the urban zone of Red Flare,people Called out for her, and as always,she answered, she knew every single Flarer and non-Flarer that lived in the district and made sure to always call them by their names
"Seven! Seven! When will you teach me backflips?" Said a kid,trying to run by her side "Only after you learn how to do a Tourniquet Pedro,so pay attention to Layla's classes" Seven says,her breath steady. The kid grumbles as he's left behind by Seven's Speed
"Seven, my dear, can you come here a bit? I think Robbie is sick" a woman calls on her, she climbs the walls, entering by the Balcony's door "Robbie is sick? Why you think that,Ms. Trey?" She asks,looking at the Fox "oh,i have no Idea dear,she just doesnt run around or jump through the balconies,its been a month now and im starting to get nervous about it" Seven knees near the Fox, scratching behind her ear and her belly,when she notices... "Hellie,you dont have to worry, she's not sick" she says,smilling tenderly "No? Then why is she so calm and quiet?" Hellie asks,confused "Why,i doubt you went outside much when you were carrying Lilo and Lila inside you" she says laughing "inside me? But what that has to do with... Oh" she realizes and Seven stands up "Robbie is pregnant,give her more attention until she gives birth" she says, still smilling "Oh,of course,i had no idea,thank you dear" Seven waves and jumps from the balcony "Put my name on one of them" her Voice fades as she lands and resume to her path "You lewd girl" Hellie says to the Fox,who just turns her head away,offended
As she jumps away,she sees a wrench falling,she catches it mid air and throws it towards who let it fall "Be more careful Bartholomew,next time the abyss Will eat it" she says,smilling "thanks Seven,you are a life saver" he waves to her,she averts her gaze,blushing a bit
"Seven!" Calls a feminine voice that makes Seven perks up instantly,she turns to look already knowing who it was "Layla!" She lands near the woman and hugs her, Layla pats her head "You coming to class later? I made apple pie today" she says,smilling "Really?! I wouldnt lose it for anything,count me in,It will be the First thing i will do after the bubble course" she says leaving the hug and smilling widely "No,you have to take a bath First" she says calmly yet commanding, Seven grumbles "ugh,ok ok, i will bath, happy?" She says,feigning annoyance, Layla squeezes her cheek "Of course,how couldnt i be happy with one of my Girls?" Seven blushes a lot now, Layla was the closest she had from a real Mother "now Go,you have a course to finish and people to make cry,go beat'em girl!" "Sir yes sir!" With that,she jumpes away,after a few minutes,she could already see the bubbles piercing the sky,it was time