"You're all being idiots." the defector from Kyna's team, Iwan, said from the doorway of the guest bedroom, his arms crossed as he watched the three members of Team Phi of the Three Winged Guild suit up and prepare to retrieve their fourth member.
"Trust me, I know." Alphonse muttered as he polished his glasses and set them back on his nose, taking his sweet time.
"What do you suggest we do?" Hiro snapped, voice sharper than it ever was before.
Alphonse slowly pushed up his glasses, taking in the dark circles around Hiro's eyes, wishing he could force him to lie back down and forget about being a hero for five fucking minutes.
Discomforted by Alphonse's stare, Hiro looked down at the staff in his hands, "sorry."
"We," Suzie started strongly, looking between Alphonse and Iwan, "will not abandon Kelsi, nor this town."
"Are you sure your friend is in danger?" Eli asked, peeking around the stranger into the room, his arms crossed and his foot tapping anxiously. "She could just be hiding?"
Suzie shook her head without even looking his way as she adjusted the strap on her breastplate. "I called for her. She has good hearing. If she was anywhere in the village she would've heard me."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lifting her chin slowly as her chest expanded as much as it could in her armor. When she opened her eyes, she checked on Alphonse, then Hiro, then turned to face the half-blocked doorway.
Iwan sighed and rolled his eyes, "if you wanna fight a battle you can't win, I can't stop you. I already did my due diligence by warning you."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Suzie pu a hand on his shoulder as she passed by him, "thank you."
He pressed himself back into the doorframe, jaw tightening, he might have looked away if Suzie didn't leave too quick for it to matter."
Alphonse and Hiro followed her out of Eli's house, towards the edge of the woods. Suddenly, she stopped and gasped, "Kelsi!" she broke out into a loud, clanging run. Hiro and Alphonse didn't notice Kelsi until Suzie had already thrown her arms around her.
"Hiro, Alphonse! Hey!" Out of the trees after Kelsi came a familiar tan face. Blaze waved, a big bright smile on her face. On her heels was a lot less happy looking Alyss. Someone whistled, pulling the boys' attention upwards, to where Luce was sitting perched in a branch, waving down at them.
Hiro's shoulders slumped as the tension left him, replaced once more with his exhaustion. He barely managed to hold his hand up long enough to wave back at Luce before it fell to his side again. Alphonse moved his hand from the hilt of his sword to his hip and asked, "what are you guys doing here?"
"We were passing by on the other side of the woods when we met Ferynn and…" Blaze jerked her thumb behind her and looked back over her shoulder, "huh?" She spun around in a circle, "Ferynn? Where'd you go?"
After a beat of silence, a young, dejected voice said, "… here."
A boy with short white hair, wearing white robes was clinging upside down to a low branch of the same tree Luce was in. Alyss rolled her eyes, her whole head rolling with them as she trudged over to him, "I got ya, kid." She reached up to him, her arms just long enough to support his head and shoulders, guiding him to land on his feet. He tried to land gracefully with her help, but his feet slipped out from under him and he landed hard on his butt. Pale face flushed bright red, he took Alyss' offered hand to stand up then partially hid behind her. Alyss rolled her eyes again an put her hands on her hips, "anyways we ran into Ferynn who was fleeing from Heroes Rock Guild members after witnessing a murder."
Holding onto Alyss' forearm for dear life, Ferynn leaned around her and declared, "the liars and murderers must be punished!"
Suzie stopped embracing Kelsi and pulled back slightly, one hand still on Kelsi's arm, "we certainly agree on that."
Blaze shouldered in next to Kelsi, "team up?" she asked, face open and bright.
Suzie smiled back and offered a hand to shake, "team up."
