Searching Chapter 5: Storm

AN: Well, its been a good bit since I last updated, but I am back now! Enjoy! :)

I opened my eye, staring up at the light blue sky...it was hard to see, with all the clouds...looks like there will be a storm soon.

I blinked tiredly...what was I doing again?

Oh, I was in a cave, right? And there were those spiders...

I realized there a girl humming a little ways off. It sounded nice, whatever it was she was humming.

I remembered my mum singing to me...it was a blizzard and I was on her lap, wrapped in a blanket, while she hummed...

"What happened to her?"

I opened my eye in shock, turning my head to see a blond, curly haired girl wearing a white gown like outfit with light brown boots, on her knees picking flowers a little ways off.

"Say what?" I asked drowsily, sitting up.

"What happened to your mum?" She asked, looking up at me.

"How did you...?"

"You didn't mean to say all that out loud?" She asked with a giggle.

I...had been talking out loud? I could feel my face heat up a little, and I let myself fall back on the ground with a sigh.

"I don't really know...she died...that's really all I can tell you." I told her, staring at the clouds above.

"Oh?" She asked, going back to picking flowers.

"I've lost my memory..." I told her.

"Oh...sorry for your lost."

"Its fine...I'm working on finding some friends of mine right now..."

"If you've lost your memory, how do you remember them? Or did you get them after you've lost it?" The girl asked.

I smiled a little. "They were before I lost my memory. But...I don't know. Its not like I know there names or the way they look. I just know I need to find them."

"That's sweet." The girl mumbled, before humming again.

I began getting lost in thought, feeling so...at peace. Everything here was so beautiful. The flowers that were scattered in the deep green colored grass, the sun shining through the clouds everyone once in a while, the humming, the blue, almost clear colored lake a little ways off to my right...

Wait...hadn't I fell in the lake? Wasn't I...unconscious?

I sat up quickly, noticing that my cloths were drenched.

"Did you give me mouth-to-mouth!?" I shrieked, staring at the girl, who, now since I thought about it, looked wet herself.

"What!? No way, I just pulled you out! But you were breathing just fine and everything, so you didn't need it!" The girl quickly yelled, staring at me, her face a pink tent.

I sighed in relief. I didn't need two people to give me mouth-to-mouth in the same day. I stood up then, looking up at the mountain I had been in.

"You don't look like a typical traveler. Are you a mercenary?" The girl asked, staring up at me.

A mercenary

I froze at the question.

We were walking through a messy looking town, people glaring at us. "Mercenary." Someone spat, saying it with such disgust.

"You people are a disgrace." A woman said, holding a glare on us. But we ignored all the comments and continued walking. We were nothing but mercenaries...just trying to get by...

"Its a simple question. Are you?" The girl asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned around, staring at the girl and wondering if she would care if I was. Wait, why should I? I don't know her. I don't care what she thinks. I don't care about what anyone thinks. That was one thing I was sure I knew about myself.

"I...I think so..." I mumbled, looking away from her.

"Hmm." The girl stood up, walking over to me. "Well, if that's the case, mind taking on a mission for me?"

I looked up at her, a bit relieved and completely shocked. "It...depends on what it is. I have people I'm looking for, you know."

She smiled. "I know. But considering you have no idea where your going, I think it'll only help. Look, it really does look like a storms coming, but there were spiders around here, and probably tons of other monsters, and I need to go home. Think you can guide and protect me?"

I thought about it for a moment. She needs to get home...so it must be a town and it had to be pretty close by. I didn't see why not. It wasn't like there was a certain place in particular I had to go to. Plus it might be where my friends are at.

I crossed my arms, shifting feet. "What's the town called?"

"Calla City." The girl answered.

I tilted my head...it didn't sound familiar. But that really didn't matter. I didn't have anywhere else to go to.

"fine, I'll guide you home. How do we get there from here?"

"Oh, its just a bit north of here." She responded, before starting to walk. I followed behind her, and kept my eye out, in case any monsters were nearby.

"So, what's your name?" The girl asked me.

"Uh, Yurick...I think." I told her, my words slightly rushed.

"Ah, I see. My name is Fate." The girl told me, glancing at me for a moment before looking ahead again, to where we were walking.

"Hm...nice name." I told her, glancing around to make sure no monsters were nearby.

"Thanks!" Fate said, giggling a little. We fell into silence then, and she began humming again.

I walked a bit faster, so we were walking side by side, and I stared at her. At the moment, she didn't even seem to notice me. Like she was off in her own little world.

She seemed so...peaceful...and happy. Her skin was almost sickly pale, and her hair color was a pale blond, while her eyes were a crystal blue bright color. She was like an...an angel.

"Do you have questions?" Fate asked, glancing at me for a moment.

"No...er, well, actually...how old are you?" I asked, looking to my left, away from her.

"Mmh, sixteen. Today's my birthday, actually." She told me, looking up a the thick, dark clouds.

"Oh, really?" I asked, feeling like maybe I should wish her a happy birthday or something. But no, that would be awkward, wouldn't it be?

Fate nodded, and went back to humming.

"Why do you keep humming that song? Not that I mind it..."

"Because...the last time I hummed it was years ago, on this very day."

I stared at her curiously. I didn't really understand what she meant, but I didn't ask anything else. Instead I decided to keep my eyes peeled for monsters.

Then I felt something wet hit my face. I touched it, and looked down at my finger...was it water? I felt more wet things hitting my face-oh. It was raining now.

"We might catch a cold from walking in the rain like this." I told Fate, who just laughed. "It'll be fine!"

"Maybe we should rest underneath a tree and wait for the storm to pass." I suggested.

"No, no. It'll only get worse. Soon it'll start lightning and thundering, and the wind will pick up a lot." Fate explained. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "How far are we away from your town?"

"Err, pretty far away, but we might be able to get there before the storm hits!" Fate told me optimistically.

And, as she said, the weather got much worse. Rain hitting us hard every second, thunder collapsing, along with a flash of light, and the wind was really strong, blowing our hair into our faces. Not to mention it was crazy dark and cold.

"Okay, that's it!" I told her, grabbing her shoulder roughly and turning her around to look at me. "We are not traveling in this weather!"

"We'll be there soon!" Fate whined.

"No, its too dangerous! We can barely see where we're going!"

"So what do you suggest we do!?"

"We rest." I told her, grabbing her wrist a pulling her to one of the nearby trees. Then I sat down, pulling her down with me, and leaned against the tree.

"Yurick...I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Fate whispered, her head laying against my chest.

"Don't worry about it. Its my job as a mercenary, remember?" I told her, closing my eye tiredly.

And so, listening to the rain fall around us, and the thunder clapping loudly in the distance, Fate and I fell asleep, my arm around her and her leaning on me.