Night had begun to descend upon the city of Alcacia. The Southeastern gate facing the Great Vash Forest would normally be closed by this time yet it remained open.
"I went to the guild and they said the kids accepted a quest near the forest!" The beautiful blonde women's voice was full of worry.
"I understand Cynthia, but we gotta wait for our relief to come. We can't just leave the gate unguarded. I promise as soon as they get here I'll go look for them myself. Trust me." Aron keeps a calm demeanor as he puts a hand on her shoulder, trying his best to help her relax.
"I know, its just that they've never been this late before. What if something happened?"
"They're smart kids Cynthia, they know not to go too far in."
"But what about Reid! It's his first day here." Her eyes begin to water as she worries about the safety of her beloved kids.
"I wouldn't worry about him. The kid was able to make it through a monster attack all on his own, I'm confident he can get out of whatever trouble he finds himself in." As they're talking two more guards approach the gate from inside town. "Ah, perfect timing! Alright John lets start getting geared up."
One of the approaching guards calls out to Aron. "Hey, everything alright? The gates still up."
"Yeah, we got some kids that haven't come back yet. They're supposed to be at the edge of the forest so we're gonna do a quick search. Can you guys hold the gate 'til then?"
"Sure, heads up though, looks like you got someone coming." The new guard points down the road to a single figure dragging something behind them as they walk.
Aron, Cynthia and John all turn at the same time to take a look at this new figure. Cynthia's eyes go wide as she recognizes the novice hunter gear.
"Kids?" She asks to no one in particular.
She slowly begins to walk forward, wondering why there was only one figure. As she got close she finally realized that it was Reid... then she saw what he was dragging. Upon seeing the bloodied state of Lance and Anna she reactively brings her hands to her face and shrieks in horror.
The sound causes Aron to rush forward. "Cynthia? Are you-" He stops mid sentence as he sees the teens as well. "By the gods… What happened kid?"
Reid looks up to see two familiar faces. He fights through exhaustion to try and answer them. "They were attacked… by a shadow wolf… I did my best to bring them back… please save them." The boy could barely complete a sentence between his ragged breaths.
"Don't worry buddy we'll take care of this," Aron quickly looks over his shoulder, "John, give me a hand here!" The two men rush forward, gently grabbing one kid each. Aron looks over to Cynthia who is still in shock at the scene. "We'll run ahead and take these two to Ava's place, can you bring Reid over?"
"M-Mmmhmm." She answered, not quite able to make words yet.
"Alright lets go! You two, make sure they make it inside safely!" Aron begins running as he gives commands to the two new guards.
"Leave it to us."
With his party finally safe Reid begins to undo the ropes tying him to the improvised sled. The cloaks' underside was torn and tattered after the long journey.
As soon as the ropes came undone and he saw his mission was done, his legs gave out. Every ounce of exhaustion he'd been fighting caught up to him all at once. He landed on his butt, barely able to stop himself from falling to his back. He could hardly move a muscle at this point, having spent every bit of strength he had to bring them back safely.
"Reid! I'm so glad you're safe!"
He looked up to see Cynthia running over. She nearly bowled him over as he was wrapped in a warm embrace.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Cynthia asks while still embracing the boy.
That was all it took for the dam to finally burst and for tears to begin streaming down his face. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I-I-I tried but-"
"Shhhh." Cynthia whispered gently in his ear. "It's okay. You're safe now. All of you are going to be just fine. You don't need to worry anymore." She gently stroked his head while he continued to soak her shoulder in his tears.
After the tears finally subsided Reid backed up and began wiping his eyes. He could still feel her hand against his head, and against his ears. He realized he no longer had his head wrapping on. He quickly pulled away and covered the ears on his head. "D-Did you see them?"
She takes a moment to consider her response. "Yes, but you have nothing to worry about. I think they are both very cute."
Cynthia chose not to lie about what she had seen. Instead she did her best to be supportive, especially since she realized he might have a complex about his two sets of ears. She gently takes the scarf from around her neck and places it onto his head, covering them up. "Now lets get you over to the clinic as well. Can you stand?"
Reid puts his hands on his knees and pushes them into the ground. His worn out legs shake as he barely manages to get to his feet. "Yeah… Lets go!" He says through gritted teeth.
"Well that won't do." She turns around and sinks down onto one knee, offering her back to the exhausted boy. "Don't be shy, hop on!"
"What! Ms. Cynthia! I can't do that, I'm way to old to be getting piggy back rides!" Reid's face reddens with embarrassment.
Cynthia looks back with a pout on her face. "Don't be stubborn! Either hop on now, or I'll carry you there like a baby." Her face let Reid know she was completely serious.
"F-Fine." He quickly complies as she begins to carry him through town, the red never left his cheeks the whole way.
⁘⁘⁘⁘
Cynthia and Reid sit anxiously on the Ava clinic's hardwood bench. The waiting room was quiet and spacious, occupied only by themselves and a single tall, well built man on the bench next to them. His official looking attire indicated he was a high ranking man. He maintained a calm professional demeanor as he looked over towards another patients room. In contrast, Reid squirmed non-stop in his battered hunters garb, unable to contain his nerves. Cynthia tried her best to comfort him, but she was just barely holding it together herself.
Finally the door in front of them swings open as Aron and a woman dressed in a bloodied white coat walk out of the door. The woman walks over to Reid's couch with a calm smile on her face.
"Good news is that they are both going to make it and they won't have any lasting injuries. The worst they'll have is a scar on the young woman's back. Now young man, I heard you were the one who brought them in?"
Reid answers hesitantly. "Yes."
"Really? Well, I thought you'd be a bit older to be honest, but either way you did an excellent job taking care of them. I guarantee they wouldn't have made it without your efforts. If you ever want to retire as a hunter, I'd be glad to take you in as an apprentice." She told him with a wide smile on her face. Then she looked over at Cynthia. "Now, about the payment. Thankfully their wounds were well treated before they made it here, but with two patients needing blood restoring magic and 'cure ailments' being cast the total will come to 40,000 tiss."
Cynthia's face drains of color as she begins to worry about how the orphanage can pay such a bill. "I see… Thank you Ava, for keeping them safe. As long as the kids are safe we can figure the rest out later." She tries to put everyone else at ease but the heavy look on her face shows her true thoughts.
"Hey, bring out that crystal I grabbed. According to the guide, a crystal like that should be worth enough to cover the bill twice over."
Reid's eyes went wide as he began rummaging through his bag.
"No, it's in your pocket"
With that word of advice he finally finds the crystal and holds it out in front of him. "If I exchange this we should be able to pay for everything right?"
Everyone's mouth dropped as they stared at the ominously glowing black crystal. Amidst the silence the well dressed man stood from his seat and casually walked over to them.
"Well now, I don't believe we've met young man. My name is Barboda Denose, Vice Guildmaster for the Alcacia branch. This monster core you're holding, did it happen to come from a shadow wolf?" His voice was deep and imposing, yet not aggressive. The kind of voice that was filled with the authority of his position.
"Y-Yes. How did you know?"
"I'm here to get information regarding a quest to hunt down an unusual shadow wolf. On that note, could you please tell me what happened to your group? Don't leave out any details."
"W-What should I do Amadeus?" Reid thinks in panic.
"Just tell the truth. I don't see any reason to lie, and it would probably only hurt you in the long run, especially if he's formally investigating the situation."
And so Reid begins his story, about how they were looking for Gilded Lily's, how they smelled blood and how they were deeper in the forest than they should have been. He told them everything. About the dead hunter, the wolf, how he defeated it, his friends injuries, and how he treated them. Everything. He ended the story by showing him the dead hunters' guild card. "I figured the least I could do was bring this back to the guild, in case anyone was looking for them."
"I'll take that." Barboda took the card and gave it a good look. "Might I see your card as well?"
"Um, sure." He hesitantly removed the guild card from his necklace and handed it over.
"Thank you." He looks over the information with a bit of surprise. "You're a G rank? Did you just register?"
"Yes sir. I just registered today."
"Today? Hell of a first day…" The man takes a second to think. "Tell you what," He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of 10,000 tiss coins. He hands four over to Ava. "Think of this as a down payment for that crystal, we can subtract from your earnings when you bring it in."
"R-Really?!" Reid says excitedly.
"Of course, and if it's not too much trouble can you come by the guild tomorrow?"
"Sure, I don't mind but…" Reid pauses to look at the door. "I would like to be here when they wake up."
Ava speaks up on behalf of the boy. "Oh, it shouldn't be a long wait. They'll only be asleep for a couple more days, a week tops."
Cynthia chimes in as well. "And I think you should be sleeping as well, Reid. I know you have to be tired after everything that happened." She chides the boy before turning to the guardsman. "Can you walk him home Aron? I'm going to stay here with them."
"Fine, but don't push yourself too hard." Aron answers after a long sigh.
Barboda changes his approach. "In that case, how about you stop by the guild after they awake. Just come in and ask for me by name, I'll be sure to let the receptionists know that you're coming. Does that sound fair?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, then rest well young warrior."
With that Aron and Reid make their exit.
"Now that he's gone, Ava can you give me a detailed report of all the treatment he provided to those two?" Barboda asks calmly.
"That shouldn't be a problem, do you want it in the same report as the other patient?"
"If you could."
His interest in the boy worried her greatly, so Cynthia hesitantly speaks up on his behalf. "Um, Mr. Barboda… is Reid in some kind of trouble? I don't think he did anything wrong, but you wouldn't need to see him again if it was just for your report, right?"
Barboda answers with a calm smile. "Oh no, he's not in trouble, not at all. In fact it's more of the opposite. You could say I'm just interested in a promising new hunter."
⁘⁘⁘⁘
The sun pokes through the drawn curtains of Reid's room. The bright light tempted him to wake, but he stubbornly refused. It wasn't until a tiny finger began poking his cheek that his consciousness began to stir.
"MMhhh. Just a bit longer." He said, unwilling to lift his eyes.
"No way!" "Nuh-uh!" Two identical young voices start yelling at him in unison. They continue to poke and pester him until he's finally fully awake.
Reid slowly opens his eyes and begins to sit up in the bed. His sore body screams at him to lay back down, but he pushes through. "Good morning you two."
Faerie ignores his greeting and moves right on to interrogating him. "What happened yesterday? Where are Lance and Anna?" The twins had been asleep by the time Reid made it back to the orphanage.
Faeth chimes in as well. "Yeah, nobody is telling us, so you better fess up Mister." She says with a pout on her face.
"Alright calm down. I'll tell you what happened." He takes a deep breath while thinking of a way to tell the story to the young kids. "After we went to the guild and I registered as a hunter, we decided to go on a quest. Unfortunately we ran into a big mean monster. We beat it but they ended up getting hurt." His story ends up getting cut off by Faeth.
"Lancey and Anna got hurt!" She cries out with little tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"It's okay, its okay." He reassures her the best he can. "They got healed up good as new, but they were super tired after. They just need a few more days to rest and get better before they come back. And don't worry, Cynthia is with them, so they won't be lonely when they wake up."
Faeth sniffles a bit as Faerie asks Reid in a sad tone, "Can we go see them?"
"I don't know. I think you should ask Mary first, but I want to go see them too, so lets ask together."
"Okay." Faerie answers while looking down. "Also Mary wanted us to come and wake you up. She said it's time for lunch and that you'd better miss two meals in a row. Her voice was really scary so please hurry up and change."
"Yeah, and take a bath while your at it. You stink!" Faeth added on while holding her nose and pointing at a water bucket by the door.
Reid had been too exhausted to notice the night before, but with all the sweat, blood, and grime on his body he reeked. "Good point, tell Mary I'll be right down after I clean up."