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 Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 8:45 pm
table of contents
1. SOLO - Mourning
2. PRP - Shooting the breeze
3. PRP - Restaurants and Rendezvous
4. ORP - Be Still
5. PRP - We're a Long Way from Mishkan
6. MISSION PART ONE
7. MISSION PART TWO
8. SOLO - I'll Keep It
9. SOLO - First Meeting
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 8:46 pm
Mourning
The wound was deep.
Scarlet sat on her bed, Carnelian’s bow in her lap. Her nimble, slender fingers gently slid across the polished wood and took in the rounded grooves of the limbs before gliding their way down the grip. Outside, she heard the usual clatter of horse hooves trotting through the streets while citizens bustled from shop to shop. The grandfather clock in the hallway of her empty house rang, the low grumbles echoing one after the other until she vaguely realized it was noon.
She continued to stroke her weapon and announced to no one in particular, “Carnelian would have scolded me for skipping training.”
Scarlet held the grip tightly as she carefully adjusted the bow’s position. Tentatively, she pulled back the string with two of her fingers. The thin string stretched and groaned softly as she forced it to go as far as it could. Focus returned to her eyes as she pictured herself snugly fitting an arrow between her fingers and balancing it just right. Her movements were unusually careful and slow, like a sloth’s. If today had been a usual day, she would have laughed and casually placed the arrow and launched it in seconds. Normally, Scarlet was too frivolous, too carefree to pay meticulous attention to her archery skills. But today was not normal. Today, Carnelian was dead.
Her breath hitched as her concentration broke. Fingers twitched and released the string, humming as it vibrated back and forth. Frowning, Scarlet stared at the wall in front of her, imagining an arrow head deeply embedded in the wood. She wasn’t afraid to admit it: archery was not her strong point. Rather, her talents involved skills like running, escaping, dodging. The infantry would have suited Scarlet more, but that would have meant leaving Carnelian all by himself in the cavalry. Against her better judgment, she opted to follow him into the cavalry and tightened her choke hold on him even more.
Scarlet sat up and walked over to her vanity. She gently set the bow on the table before staring at her reflection. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she scrutinized the dark shadows under her eyes. Slowly, Scarlet’s gaze traveled to her disheveled hair. A hand tentatively reached up to smooth down the stray strands. She reached out to press her palm against the mirror and dropped it, letting the oils on her skin smear the mirror. Sigh.
She closed her eyes and covered her face with both hands. What am I doing, wasting my life away inside the house? Blinking back oncoming tears, Scarlet weaved her fingers through her hair to pull apart the tangles. She cleared her throat.
“Mother, I’m going out for a bit.” No one answered. Scarlet called out again. “Mother?” Still nothing. She tentatively peered outside, glancing in both directions before stepping out. Shuffling into the kitchen, she found a note filled with her mother’s neat cursive: Went out for groceries. I’ll be back soon.
Scarlet reread the message.Went out. Her eyes inched towards the window as she heard the usual chatter of townspeople and the clacks and creaks of hooves and carriage wheels. How long had it been since she last heard the amiable noise of the town? She searched for a calendar, letters, anything that would hint at the current date. A pile of letters sprawled across the dinner table caught Scarlet’s eye. Tentative hands reached out for the papers.
I am sorry to inform you that your son did not…
…I’m afraid Scarlet barely leaves her room…
…It’s been about a week now…
She couldn’t help but laugh at herself. She had managed to hole herself up for about a week? Her lips pulled into a tight frown as she delicately returned the letters to its original location. Scarlet sighed. She walked over to the sink and lightly splashed her face with water. Catching her reflection in the water, she forced herself to grin uneasily. Mope time was over.
Scarlet headed for the door, but as she grasped the knob she paused. She turned her head towards her room. Treading softly, she retreated back into her room and grasped the bow on the table. She brought the weapon to eye-level. It would be alright to bring it with her, right? Scarlet could just find a secluded place to practice archery—assuming she could rummage up some arrows. Personally, she did not own any arrows because she had never been too fond of archery; it had been Carnelian’s niche, not hers. Her gaze bore through the walls, knowing full well that Carnelian’s room was on the other side.
Her steps were slow and measured as she exited the room and stood outside the door to Carnelian’s. She kept her gaze downcast as she knocked, her knuckles rapping against the polished wood. It was a fact that no one occupied the bedroom, but old habits die hard.
“I’m coming in.” The door softly creaked as it swung open to reveal her young brother’s room, crisp and organized as always. A surprising smile graced Scarlet’s lips as she ambled around, hands brushing the top of his desk. She flipped her hand over, the tips covered in a thin film of dust. Her smile grew. It had been a week and already the room was coated in dust? She would need to rectify that, but not now.
Scarlet opened the first drawer carefully. She pursed her lips. Carnelian’s clothes were still there, folded neatly and devoid of wrinkles. She quickly shuffled through the rest of the drawers, but found no hint of arrows—not surprising, but still. Frowning, Scarlet spun around and searched the room for possible hiding places. Carnelian had never been fond of leaving weapons out in the open. “Too easy for an intruder to get their hands on it” or “Someone could accidentally step on it.”
She folded her arms and pondered until her gaze slowly made its way to his bed. Scarlet walked over, kneeled down, and looked beneath. She groped through the darkness until her hands reached an arrow holder. Scarlet grasped the strap and pulled it out. Curiously, she poked the arrow heads to test their sharpness. There weren’t that many arrows, but they were enough.
She slung the holder over her shoulder and hurried next door to retrieve her bow.
Once she got to the front door, she paused again as her hand grasped the knob. Outside she could hear children’s laughter mingling with the familiar voices of familiar adults. Scarlet breathed in deeply as she pushed the door open and stepped out.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:05 pm
Shooting the breeze // Wickwright, Hopkin
Scarlet finds herself in Shyregoad and as she practices archery, nearly hits Wickwright and encounters her first Plague since the death of her brother.
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:16 pm
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:17 pm
Be Still
In which Scarlet is summoned to Helios and finds herself surrounded by Grimms and Plagues. She begins to wonder if her bow is indeed diseased with the plague.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:07 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:26 pm
MISSION PART ONE
The gentle touch of her mother’s hand was a familiar sensation. Her hands were rough from years of farm work, but its leathery texture were still a comfort to Scarlet as they slowly pulled her out from the depths of sleep. Scarlet only just barely managed to grasp the words her mother whispered in her ear before a letter was presented to her. The younger woman hummed softly before a tired hand reached out for the envelope while her mother’s footsteps began to drift away. Sleepy eyes managed to catch a flicker of the elder woman’s billowing skirt, a faded shade of blue. Her attention lingered on the door for another second before she turned toward the letter in her hands. Sighing, Scarlet sat up in bed before she gingerly opened the envelope, which was quickly discarded in favor of the parchment held inside. She scanned the contents of the letter and her lips curled into a tiny smile. “Mother. I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to be gone for a while.”
When she arrived, the guild quarter was a familiar sight. Her hood covered her messy red hair, but as Scarlet raised her head to stare at the flag, one hand reached up to slowly pull the hood down. It was as large as she had remembered it to be and the high, smooth walls were not unfamiliar too. Scarlet’s boots clacked against the ground as she approached the gate entrance. She smiled and half-nodded to the guards while briefly brandishing her letter. Someone stepped out to offer her something, causing her to stop mid-step. “Hm?” She stretched out a hand to take it and let the cloth unfold. The woman hummed when she realized it was an outfit. The letter had said something about that. She still hummed when she slipped into a private place to switch clothes. One hand gripped her bag while the other grabbed the strap that held her bow.
There was already an officer waiting patiently for her when she walked out. She curiously looked him over. He was somewhat young, maybe in his early thirties, but his brows were deeply furrowed and his forehead filled with wrinkles as he stared at a paper in his hands. A frown was etched onto his face and he wasted no time in jumping into the first part of the competition.
“Who do we serve?”
Scarlet quirked an eyebrow at him. “Obviously, we serve the Plague Doc—“ His incredulous gaze made Scarlet press her lips together and decide to stop joking. “The Emperor.” The officer gave her another look as if it to say That’s more like it. and looked down at the paper again.
“Who is the General?”
“Sir Kunze.”
“Name all of the ranks.”
“Private. Corporal. Lieutenant. Captain. Commander. General.”
Scarlet relaxed her shoulders. The woman let her bag softly drop to the ground so she could fold her arms across her chest. A calm grin played on her lips while she waited for the officer to speak the next question. Her brother had been a member of the Imperial Guard, and she had obsessed over her brother and his actions day and night for as long as she could recall. These questions were hardly difficult. The officer continued to drill her with questions, but the placid smile on her face never wavered. He seemed to nod with approval at the end of the session before he put away the paper. “It’s time for the next part of the evaluation.”
He gestured for the woman to follow him, which she obliged. She was brought to a stand filled with weapons. “Take a weapon. It does not matter which order you pick them, but you will eventually be tested on all of them,” he informed Scarlet as she ran her fingers over the weapons before taking out the longsword. Scarlet wasn’t fond of the longsword, so it was most likely better to get it out of the way. She glanced at the blade, then at the young lad that stepped out to face her with a similar sword.
“Ah, that’s right. This is going to be a duel,” she mused as she slowly moved into position. “Three duels, I assume? How tiring.”
To say Scarlet didn’t know how to use a longsword was an understatement. Long blades simply weren’t her strong point. She was a thin, nimble woman. She wasn’t strong. She didn’t have the strength to drive the blade in deep enough. Scarlet clicked her tongue before she ducked to avoid the man’s swing. Her leg lunged out in a sweep to knock him over and she moved to drive her blade down into his arm, but he had already rolled out of the way. Eyes narrowed. Her tongue clicked again before she wildly swung the sword again.
“Stop.” The look on the first officer’s face was not impressed, that was for sure.
There was a tiny smile on her face before it turned into a frown. Scarlet exchanged the sword for a dagger. She examined it. Humming a song to herself as she stepped back into position, the messy-haired woman seemed more confident when she lunged for the lad again. Her steps were light and her thrusts quick. The frustration that had once plagued her face the previous duel had disappeared, now replaced with calm concentration as she nicked at the man’s uniform. Scarlet smiled. Both of them were slightly out of breath by the time the officer called out again, “Stop.”
A grin tugged at her lips when she finally picked up the bow. She wasn’t feeling too confident in her shots—when had she ever shot her target?—but it was familiar. Scarlet ran a hand over the handle. This bow was different from her own. She idly wondered how this would affect her duel as she walked back to her usual position and pulled back the string. Scarlet loaded an arrow and let it fly.
It hit.
The duel continued. While the occasional arrow was flung around, it was more about hand-to-hand combat to prevent the other archer from pulling the string. She heard the officer’s inevitable, “Stop” when she had pinned the private to the ground with the bow at his neck.
Smiling, Scarlet stood up and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face before picking up the final weapon. An arquebus. The officer led her to a target as she examined the gun in her hands. “One shot, right?” she confirmed as she stood sideways. She stretched out her gun and eyed the target. One moment. Two moments. Scarlet pulled the trigger.
Almost center. Pretty good. Scarlet smiled and handed the arquebus back to the officer.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:32 pm
MISSION PART TWO
After a good night’s rest, Scarlet was back at headquarters. She donned the uniform they had bestowed her yesterday, but the red-haired woman still stubbornly donned her signature crimson cloak. The young woman held her head high as she stood within the building and let the officers scrutinize her. Thin lips curled into a tiny smile as Scarlet laid her eyes on the officer who had evaluated her yesterday. Behind him was a group of three officers.
“A pleasure to see you again.”
The man glanced at her before looking back at the parchment in his grasp. With a usual frown tugging on his lips, he answered curtly, “Yes.”
Scarlet laughed softly before the soldier coughed, demanding her silence. He waited a beat before reading off from the beige paper. “Together with Private Thomas Smith, Private Will Brewer, and Private Robert Chandler, you will capture the criminal known as Richard Cordner. He is a man who appears to be in his young twenties with curly, dark hair and blue eyes. Richard is wanted for arson and the smuggling of fake goods. He is presumed to still be in Ashcroft. You are given three days to find and capture him. You must return at the end of the third day or be excused from the Imperial Guard.”
Lips pressed into a thin line, Scarlet stared at the officer. “You think you could give that to us?” Slowly, the man put down the parchment and gave the redheaded woman a look. She laughed quietly and raised her arms. “I’ll take that as a no.” The officer nodded his head, gave Scarlet a wary look, then turned around and walked off. The others were left in silence until she slowly turned toward the other three men.
“Sooo….” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Who’s the leader?”
The three privates stared back at her. After a moment of awkwardly staring at each other—Scarlet supposed they were speaking through mind somehow, somehow—one of them finally piped up. “I’m guessin’ it’s a bit of a revolutionary idea, but ain’t it supposed to be you? Since this is your test.”
“Just try not to lead us into a horrible disaster,” mumbled Robert. Thomas promptly elbowed him in the side.
Will glared at him. “Robert, cut it.”
Scarlet stood back and watched the trio quietly bicker amongst themselves. Once she had her fill of petty arguing, she called out. “Well, if you don’t mind someone like me leading you, then how about we start heading toward town?” She picked up her bag and slung the straps over her shoulder. Then she puckered her lips. “Arson and smuggling, huh? Quite an interesting combination, don’t you think?”
While she didn’t know if it was against regulations, she opted to don her cloak over the uniform they guard had given her. It was a security blanket of sorts. Plus, how many criminals would flee at the sight of a cloaked woman in red than a woman in uniform? She threw up her hood to hide the flames of red hair. “Well then,” began Scarlet, turning around to face the three privates. “The first order of business is to find out where this Richard Cordner is, correct? So let’s start gathering some info, places where he could be or people who know him.”
They continued to stare at Scarlet, expecting her to continue speaking. She raised an eyebrow at them then waved them off with one hand. “So, that means we should split up and ask around the town, unless one of you three happens to know any leads?”
Robert notably threw her a glare until Thomas elbowed him again and pulled him out of the woman’s sight. Will nodded curtly before he walked in the opposite direction of the other two privates. She smiled contently before turning her head forward again and weaving through the busy crowd. It was busier than what she was used to, but Ashcroft was Imperial Guard headquarters. Of course it would be a busy town.
Scarlet should have been dutifully sticking to the task at hand, but instead the young woman found herself calmly walking from one vendor to the next with a playful smile on her lips. She pulled the hood tighter over her head when she heard a particular vendor cry out about his lost rings. “Oh my, were you looking for these perhaps~?” she murmured while she pocketed a couple of rings into her bag. “I guess my fingers just slipped!”
She continued to walk through the streets. Sometimes she stopped to stare at the objects in the shop windows and other times she leaned over to speak with someone. “Do you know Richard Cordner?” But they always gave her a peculiar look, so she smiled politely and continued on her way. When she looked it began to grow dark. Scarlet frowned. She looked back down to keep walking.
Her boots scuffled against the ground until she stopped in front of a particular man. Scarlet paused to take in his raggedy appearance, but his worn clothes hadn’t caught her eye. It was the look on his face, the way he stood. It felt a bit different from the usual poor townsperson. Narrowed eyes peered at the stranger. “Do you know Richard Cordner?” she inquired in a quiet voice.
A knowing grin graced his lips as he lifted the brim of his hat. “You’ll find ‘im a couple streets down. He likes to come late at night, so wait just a few more hours.”
Scarlet smiled. “I’m a bit busy tonight, so I’ll come tomorrow.”
He nodded. “I’ll let ‘im know.”
She nodded and turned around. As she tugged at the edge of her hood, she smiled. I’m quite lucky today. Wonder what the other boys found?
***
As she ambled down the semi-familiar street in the dead of night, Scarlet watched her breaths as they come out of her mouth in wispy strands. She peered beneath her hood and spotted the man from yesterday. Lips stretched into a slow smile while she picked up the pace. “Hello again,” she greeted with a nod.
“You came after all,” the man noted with a wry grin.
Scarlet chuckled. “When I say I’ll do something, I’ll definitely do it.”
The man leaned against the wall and lazily crossed his arms. Then he jabbed his thumb into the alleyway. “He’s in there.”
She nodded before walking into the darkness. “Richard Cordner?”
“That’s me.” A figure stepped out, an arm raised.
Scarlet stopped, leaned forward slightly try and get a better look at the stranger hiding within the shadows. His hair was curly and certainly dark despite the night darkness. She lifted her hood slightly to catch the flash of pale blue in the moonlight. The woman smiled easily. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cordner.”
He shifted and sighed impatiently. “What’s your business?”
She chuckled and slowly took out her bow from beneath her cloak. “I just need you to come with us, sir.” There was the comforting sound of multiple footsteps and even a grumbled “Robert” and “Will, get him!” Unsurprisingly, the criminal attempted to flee but she raced forward to reach for his shirt. Once she grasped a fistful of fabric, she tugged forward. Richard stumbled and she tugged again until he tumbled to the ground.
“Running didn’t do you much good, huh?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 7:23 pm
I'll Keep It
The trip back home was slow. For reasons Scarlet could not fathom—or perhaps she did not want to acknowledge them—she found herself ambling through the dirt roads that wound through Mishkan. Absentmindedly she tugged at the edge of her hood while she looked up at the sky. She hummed softly as she took in the cloudless blue. She would have kept walking; she should have kept walking, but instead she ambled to a nearby tree nestled by the road and laid down. Scarlet kept the cloak wrapped around her body as she pressed her back against the tree, the rough patches of bark prickling her. She didn’t mind. She kept her lips twisted into a small, satisfied smile. The young woman leaned back gently until the back of her head bumped against the tree trunk.
Hands slightly rough from years of working at the farm reached up to tug her hood until it fell onto her shoulders. She closed one eye as she readjusted herself to the slight increase in brightness. Then Scarlet let both eyes close and let out a long sigh. Her shoulders fell and she laced her fingers together before placing her hands into her lap. At first she kept her mind clear, but the longer she kept her eyes shut the easier it became for her thoughts to drift.
How had her examination gone? It was a natural question to pose to oneself when she had a moment to think on her own. She had been unable to watch her brother’s test, so she could not compare herself to her deceased sibling, but perhaps it was for the best. He still left an empty space in her heart. Scarlet instinctively reached for her chest, grasping at the area where she thought her heart resided. But it was also natural to doubt her skills. Was she as skilled as she perceived to be? Or maybe she was not as up to snuff as she hoped? She didn’t know, but she wanted to know.
Shhhh. Take it easy. You’ll know in due time. Have patience. It was her mother’s voice. Scarlet laughed a single, soft laugh. She shifted in her seat slightly and she could feel the bow pressed to her back. Scarlet paused. An eye cracked open slightly before reluctant fingers untwined themselves and Scarlet reached back to grab the weapon. The polished wood was smooth and cool against her skin, just like always. She held the handle with both hands tightly before she reached out to idly pluck the string. It vibrated and gave out a low hum. Soft happiness filled her face, from the way her eyes crinkled slightly to the small smile dancing on her lips to the warm glow in her eyes. Yet the happiness disappeared as she remembered her fateful meeting with the emperor.
He claimed that she carried a Plague with her, but the only thing she could assume was the bow. It had even been separated from her during the meeting. Her brows furrowed as she ran a hand down the bow while she gave it a sorrowful look. Scarlet disliked Plagues. She didn’t know if it was deep enough to call it hate, but she definitely didn’t like them either. She could tolerate their current existence because they could possibly cure the disease someday, but she didn’t want to associate herself with one. At least, not on purpose.
Scarlet shook her head and she stood back up. She had had enough of her pondering and swimming in her thoughts, brief as it had been. The woman walked away from the tree and then turned around. She groped around her quiver for an arrow. Scarlet grasped it gently as she notched it slowly and with extra care. Once the arrow was in place, she lifted her bow toward the tree and cocked her head as she attempted to imagine a painted target on the trunk. She closed one eye and focused on a particular spot. Grimacing, Scarlet pulled the string back even farther before she finally released.
The arrow flew and in seconds the head embedded itself into the wood—at least, that was what Scarlet expected to happen, but instead the opposite occurred. The arrow whizzed past the tree completely and landed in the grass. It took the woman a few moments of befuddled silence to take in the unharmed tree and the black speck of an arrow planted in the green. She scowled and trudged toward the arrow, her eyelids drooping as she glared at it. For the longest time she had often wondered if she was not cut out for archery, but the examination had proven the redhead wrong. As soon as she switched out her bow for another, her skills appeared to shoot up dramatically. She was able to actually hit her intended targets.
Scarlet bent down and pulled out the arrow to deposit it into her quiver. The bow still clutched in her hand, she eyed it suspiciously. This bow was not normal, that was now evident to her. She should have dropped the weapon, abandoned it and search out a new one for her to utilize, but she had already grown attached it.
This is Carnelian’s bow.
Her grip on it loosened and it almost seemed she would actually let go, let it plop into the grass and find a new owner while she walked away, but instead she held it again and re-attached it to its strap so that it was now secured to her back once more. She habitually tugged at her hood once more as she stepped back onto the trail and continued her trip toward home. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her or the bow, but she refused to treat it like trash. Carnelian would have thought the same thing, right? It was the bow he had been through many things with. It was imbued with too many memories for Scarlet to let go at the drop of a coin.
She smiled and looked up at the sky.
“Looks sunny.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:28 pm
First Meeting
She had loved the bow deeply. It didn’t matter if outsiders considered her affection for it to be eccentric because Scarlet already knew. Treating the weapon with such care despite her mediocre talent was uncalled for, and just a few whispers and murmurs from those who knew her well was enough to send almost anyone scurrying away from the dusty-haired woman. Who wanted to converse with a woman still obsessed with her deceased sibling? In retrospect, Scarlet probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk with herself either, but it was a step too late to turn back. She was completely and irrevocably attached to the last remnant of her brother.
It wouldn’t have been an understatement to suggest Scarlet had a heart attack when she failed to feel the familiar touch of worn wood slip through her fingers when she stretched out her arm that morning. Perhaps she had misjudged where she had placed the weapon the night before, so she blindly grasped around the nightstand, but there was only wood and air. Eyes grew wide and she could’ve sworn she heard the bones in her neck crack as she stared at the stand. Nothing. Just a candle stand and flakes of melted wax.
“Lian?” Suddenly the dusty-haired woman was just a couple years younger, hair just a bit shorter and neater, still the kleptomaniac and protective sister of Carnelian Espostin, a soldier in the guard. She spoke quietly, uncertainly, like a puppy walking lost in the rain. Scarlet sat up to swing her legs over, bare feet grazing the icy floor. Sunlight shined through the dusty window so she could clearly see her shadow spread out across the floor and walls, but still no bow. She pursed her lips.
Scarlet hurried into a fresh blouse and skirt, but left her feet bare as she walked throughout the room. The bow couldn’t have gotten far. There was only room. Then again, a thief could have somehow broken in and escaped without waking her, but she found it difficult to wrap her head around the idea. As if she could have slept that heavily.
She looked under the bed first, but found only her meager luggage. Next she tried searching through the dresser, but as expected it was mostly empty save for a few scraps of clothing. Nothing. No sigh of her bow. No matter where she looked or how she searched, she couldn’t find it.
“Where is it?” she whispered, shuffling through the clothes in her bag. “Where is it?” Her voice grew soft. “Where is it?” Frustration. “WHERE IS IT?!” She banged a fist against the wall. She could only vaguely hope no one was occupying the inn room next to hers.
“I think you are not looking in quite the right place.”
She expected to find someone when she spun around, but found nothing. Eyebrows furrowed and she murmured, confused.
“Look down, if you could.”
Whatever spark of anger she had left had already disappeared by the time she lowered her gaze to the floor to stare at the tiny figure standing a few feet away from her. Scarlet paused before her initial reaction finally kicked in: she tried to kick it away. Was that a bug? But it was bigger and heavier than a bug. Gross! Lips twisted into a scowl as she took a cautious step back, but the sound of clattering wood confused her. Scarlet craned her neck forward until she realized it was less of a bug and more of a…plague. She narrowed her eyes, slowly bending down to wipe her foot with one hand.
The plague sighed, but said next to nothing as it opened a glowing red eye toward Scarlet. “If you could avoid kicking me again, that would be greatly appreciated.” Tendril fingers adjusted his cap before he struggled back to standing on his wooden stick legs.
“You.”
“Me.”
“You were my bow.”
“This is correct.”
She leaned down until her knees touched the ground. A hand tentatively reached for the tiny thing; he couldn’t be bigger than her hand. For a split second she pulled back her hand, but on second thought chose to press her hand to the floor with her palm up. At least he possessed enough intelligence to walk onto her hand.
“If you could give me a name that would be appreciated.”
Her first thought was to laugh, so she did. What kind of trick was God playing on her? This thing didn’t look a bit like her brother, so why did his low voice and speaking mannerisms remind her so much of Lian? She could easily crush him in the palm of her hand, but every time she tried to close her fingers around the plague, she found they wouldn’t move. Life was cruel.
“A name? Fine. Since you’re a bow, Archer should suit you just fine.” Such a simple, thoughtless name. She hadn’t even taken the time to mull over any other choices because it didn’t matter what she would call it. A remnant was still just a lonely reminder of the past. The fact that she could see her brother in him made it all the worse.
“Very well.” The plague barely moved, but Scarlet could see him nod his head slightly. Wordlessly, he ambled up her arm, causing the woman to stiffen until he had comfortably seated himself on her shoulder.
A huffy sigh as she stood up and moved to throw her cloak on. “You’ve certainly made yourself at home,” she noted dryly while coins jiggled in her hands.
“…” Only the sound of his wooden legs clacking together.
That was okay. Lian had never been much of a chatterbox either. It had been Scarlet’s job to do most of the talking. The hood went up as usual as she walked to the door, but hesitated when she felt the cloth move. Archer had adjusted it to further bury himself in its darkness. Clever.
“Well,” she began, moving slowly and awkwardly. “I guess I’ll have to buy a new bow now.”
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