Author's Preface
Leaving the unnervingly long dungeon, Cairo stepped out into the plaza, immediately swarmed by a mob of moving people scampering towards the residential buildings as night drew closer.
A small scruffy child by his side. His big beady eyes twitching around as he tried his hardest to hide his own face.
Cairo could hear the murmuring of the crowd move like a wave, growing loud and quiet in a cascading rhythm as they passed him. Conversations that he could not make out, in a foreign language.
"These Fae? Looks different from what I head."
Most heard of them. Forest imps that went by another name — changelings. They would often take the form of bipedal creatures while creating communities. Who knew there was a whole outcove of them here. Wherever, he was.
A masked child bumped into Cairo, ricocheting off him like a brick wall, landing with no auditory sound.
Locking eyes with the one-eyed man in front of him, his gaze wavered.
"yrros, m'I—"
Before he could finish, Cairo picked up the kid, tilting his head as he stared daggers into him. Suddenly, the entire crowd stopped moving. Their gazes pressed into Cairo.
Cairo clicked his tongue.
"What're yall lookin at?!"
Nico pulled on Cairo's leg, urging him to put the kid down:
"T-they're really protective...Sir, you should put him down."
Cairo gently let the kid down, patting his shoulders while the group of Fae slowly lowered their guard.
Something strange about them. Picking up the kid, and even patting his shoulder. They felt completely empty like nothing was there.
'Wierdo Fae...'
Cairo's footsteps steamed as he walked away, visible imprints on the stone making a clear path. The children looked in awe as he walked away, their fear washed away and replaced with an ill-seated admiration.
Eventually, Cairo wandered into the oh so familiar maze-like alleyways that crept and spiraled around the town plaza. Nico at his side like an accessory that he barely acknowledged.
He had enough, he was walking around for who knows how long only to have no clue where the weed-head was. His cold grey eyes darted around the alleyway he was in — a barrel of cooking oil sat.
Slowly, his body temperature grew, his hands glowing an amber hue.
If he couldn't find her. If she would just try to keep his blade...Then he'd burn everything here down...Every last building if it meant bringing that blade back.
At least, that's what he wanted. But the damn kid was tailing him like a lost puppy. So instead, he settled on something a bit more controlled.
"Yo, take some cover."
Nico opened his mouth to protest, but quickly did as he was told as he met the sharp grey eyes of Cairo. His body instinctively limping back behind the closest alley corner.
Cairo took one of his waist pouches off. The miniature leather satchel completely emptied by Yuna.
He clicked his tongue as he filled it with oil, hurling it into the air with all his might. The leather pack reaching ten meters above the highest rooftop. Then a burning pebble collided with it.
A blinding white flash.
A deep bone rattling and guttural BOOM .
Glass burst open into a violent storm of dust shooting in every which direction. A maelstrom of burning oil springing around like a firework in the twilight sky.
Cairo's steps burned into the sides of the buildings as he climbed up. Forming little divots in the stone wall. His white hair wisped into a flickering embers, flowing with the wind as he pulled himself onto the first terraced-layer.
"YOU WEED-HEADED BITCH! COME OUT HERE!"
Suddenly, with a hiss a small serpentine creature warped around him. Looking down, there were several — a congregation of eels, constricting his arms and legs like a boa in heat.
Slowly steam began rolling off his body, the creatures peeling off in a frenzy of blackened flesh.
A feathered cloak spoke from the alley Cairo just came out of. Dian's voice escaping the wisps of the hood:
"Oh dear...You'll get wrinkles scowling that much."
Cairo flicked his head towards the voice behind him, at the foot of the mountain of rubble. A short man with brown skin sitting on a floating platform of eels. His white robe had a sliver of flame on it, quickly extinguished by an eel smothering it with its mouth.
Dian spoke, eels wisping into existence at his feet:
"How do you do...Stain of Musashi?"
Cairo tore an eel off his leg, letting it squirm into a charred mess in his hands. His voice already annoyed:
"And you are?"
———————
Naren shook his head atop the terraced white rooftop as Cairo's shout sent him awry. The noise finally settled letting Naren open his eyes. Only to be met with a cannon of a straight digging right into his nose.
Rolling back, Naren caught himself on his heels, holding onto his nose. A warm slick liquid filling his hands.
Without rest, another barreling hook shot at him, this time Naren rolling forward, right through the ghostly figure. At least he should've gone through, but the man learned. Rematerializing and catching him right in his grasp.
Naren just barely jumped out before getting drawn into a life threatening bear hug. Now standing at the very edge of the terrace. In front of him, the hulking tyrant continued to size him up with a deadpan expression. Behind him a three story drop.
"What'd you think of calling it a tie big guy?"
Naren edged back, his heels kicking down loose rubble into the ground below him. He could definitely survive the fall, no question about it. But with how exhausted he was, it was basically a death wish if the gorilla here decided to jump on him.
Theron stared at him, no real thoughts behind his eyes. At least none that Naren could pin point. Even further behind him, The hooded woman was leaning on one hand, enjoying a glass of juice. The straw disappearing into her hood like everything else.
Vera beside her was panicking in her seat, a glass of water in front of her. Every time she tried getting him, the hooded woman would just pull her back in.
Naren licked his lips, cutting a yawn short. He tilted his head staring at the man before him. He'd really do anything to kill Naren. Running around and flailing at him like some absent minded machine.
'That could work.'
Naren assumed a boxers position. Except, he let his hands down, shaking them limp like dead weight.
"C'mere gorilla. I don't even need to punch you."
Theron charged at Naren, one hand extended back as his hip twisted, ready to spring into a devastating punch.
Fwoosh
The punch drove straight for Naren's face, only for Naren to disappear from view.
The curly headed boy ducked straight down, driving straight at Theron's abdomen, as if he were trying to exploit the man's fable once more. Except, this time, just like before, Theron rematerialized.
He dove right into Theron, getting dragged into a crushed squeeze. Naren gripped his feet on the stone floor under him, his muscles twitching. He squeezed and pushed, locking Theron into his grasp. Theron squeezing deeper and harder in the process, his expression shifting slightly as he noticed his body lifting off the ground.
Pushing off the ground, Naren leapt back. Holding Theron in his grasp, they both flipped over the building, right above the open alley below.
Naren twisted his head back, his gaze falling on the glass of juice. Vera close behind it, her arms raised in enthusiasm with a grin on her face.
In the next second, a pair of bare feet stood on the table right in front of the hooded woman. The boy grabbed the juice, chugging half of it down in a one gulp. He wiped his mouth, a tired look in his half closed eyes contradicting his erratic breathing.
"That's a job well done..."
Naren poured the remaining juice right atop the hooded woman as Vera's smile faded off her face.
"...Isn't that right princess."
Naren immediately began coughing, his throat ragged and coarse as an overwhelming level of spice over took him. He fell off the table, dropping the glass into several small splinters scattered about.
" COUGH ...What's in.. COUGH ...this."
Vera rushed to Naren offering him her water.
"Naren, are you alright!"
The hooded woman held in a muffled giggle. Her laughter almost escaping and bursting out. Only audible to Naren's ears.
"You're right my soldier."
The hood looked up, facing eye to shadow. An oversized white coat sleeve peered out of the cloak, patting Naren on the head.
"Good boy."
Naren continued coughing, trying to fan his mouth. But that didn't stop him from making a disgusted face and pulling away from her.
She continued:
"Such a great soldier, that I already have your second job."
Just then, a second, bigger explosion sounded. Naren immediately grabbing onto his ears trying to mediate the pain even a little.
A body crashed into the ground right atop Naren, flinging him back. Vera barely getting pulled away in time.
As the dust settled, a man stood up from atop Naren's stomach. A tall scruffed up, one-eyed man, staring sharply at the hooded woman with a fervor of malice in his grey eyes. He held a soot-covered child in his hands, his own body used to shield the boy.
Cairo dropped Nico atop Naren, walking off as the air around him crisped.
"There ya are. Weed-head."
Yuna stood up stretching, removing a hand-sized box and the wire it was connected to from her cloak. She took the two white buds and placed it in Vera's ears, patting her head, before turning to Naren.
"Here's your second job, soldier. Protect me."
Cairo took a step forward, but a foot wrapped around his legs from behind. He glanced back to see a familiar red-haired boy sitting on the ground behind him, holding Nico up by his collar.
"Yo. How bout we both kick her ass."