I kinda rushed through this one, with all the characters to introduce and whatnot.

enjoy~

————-

Thomas Sven lifted his war bow and aimed it at the slime. “Hey Alice, check this out!” he said excitedly as he fired his arrow. It glowed a bright blue and careened through the field until it met with its target dead on.

Alice giggled. “Wow! I wish I was as skilled as you, Thomas,” she said wistfully. Her eyes scanned the area and rested on a slime. Foolishly, she raced towards it, gripping her field dagger intently in her fist. Little did she know that among the slimes, horned mushrooms resided there as well.

Fear filled Thomas’ young eyes as Alice met face to face with a horned mushroom. Her frail body shook as it approached her. Suddenly, a slime attacked the unexpecting rogue, knocking her to the ground. “ALICE, NO!”

Alice closed her blue eyes and her brow knit together in pain. Thomas fired numerous arrows at the monsters, making them flee into the dense woods. He took Alice’s trembling hands into his own, and whispered, “Stay here, Alice. I’m going to get help.”

“No… Thomas don’t leave me,” she pleaded desperately.

“I’ll be back, I promise.”

That was the last words she ever heard from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I wanna know every single thing about you,” Alice declared.

“Oh?” Jasper raised a brow in amusement.

“Starting with… your parents. What were they like?”

Sadness flickered across Jasper’s silver eyes and Alice immediately regretted asking the question. “They were… wonderful people, of course. Human. But when I was about 6 years old, they perished in a fire along with my home and everything else I knew. I was then taken in by a group scientists intent on bringing out the full potential in humans, and they… altered my genes, making me what I am today.”

“I see. Is that when you stopped aging?”

“I was about 14 at the time. I was angry, and I ran away to this world that you know so well. When we’re away from our own world for too long, we begin to age again.”

Alice nodded grimly as she realized there was much more to Jasper than meets the eye. “What’s your world like?”

“It’s… very different, to say the least. Everyone’s human, with the small exception of people like me, and no one knows who we are. Our leader, Richard, likes to keep it that way,” he grimaced. “The biggest difference, though, is that people there aren’t like you. They aren’t archers, or rogues, they’re just people.”

“Imagine that…”

“It’s quite lovely, though. Despite what it sounds like. Much less fighting,” Jasper sounded distracted, and he was looking up into the trees, his brow furrowed intently. He must have heard something, or seen something that Alice’s senses wouldn’t be able to pick out.

“What is it?” Alice asked hesitantly. Suddenly, Jasper grasped his asianic and pushed her out of the way, just as a steely dug into the ground where she was sitting, not a second ago. “Damn it!” he dashed toward the source of the threat, leaving Alice blinking in confusion.

Jasper broke into a sprint, giving into his senses. Once in a while, a star would stray from the attacker’s hiding place and Jasper would curse and fire arrows blindly in the general direction. He then realized that he was dealing with more than just one, and hurried back to where he left Alice.

“What’s going on?” she asked worriedly.

“No time to explain. Run!” Jasper yelled.

Alice got up on her feet and started to run, unable to match Jasper’s speed. Sighing in frustration, Jasper slung his asianic over his shoulder, swept Alice up into his arms and ran blindly in the direction of the town. Alice started to feel sick as they started to gain speed.

“I think you owe me an explanation,” Alice demanded stubbornly.

“I can’t be certain, but I think Richard sent them. They have reflexes beyond any human I’ve ever seen.”

“You don’t mean…”

Jasper didn’t answer as the unidentified figures were trailing close behind them. Unable to stifle her curiosity, Alice peered cautiously over Jasper’s shoulder. She was surprised to see that it was only three boys around her own age that worried Jasper so much. The youngest one, about 14, Alice guessed, had unruly dark hair that barely grazed his eyebrows. His tight fist held a geta, and the grim determination never left his wide, young eyes. Another one that seemed to be about the same age as herself, had wild black hair and his eyes had a firm but kind look to them. The one that held her attention, however, seemed the oldest out of the three, maybe 19 or 20. His dark hair was arranged in a casual metro style, but the most interesting thing about him were his mature, grey eyes. There was something mysterious and wary about them, like they had witnessed something terrible, and it was all so strangely familiar to Alice.

Jasper cursed under his breath, and it snapped Alice back to reality.

“We can’t keep running forever,” Alice declared, but Jasper persisted. “I can’t take all three of them. We’ve got no choice until we come up with a better plan.”

As if someone had sensed Jasper’s hope, a brilliant arrow composed completely of holy magic shot past them. Alice gasped in surprise as Jasper slowed himself to a halt. She could read the surprise in his composed face as well. He put Alice on the ground gently, and his hair windblown from running. “Run.” Behind him, three new unidentified figures were fighting with the attackers.

“But you…” Alice said.

“I’ll find you, I promise,” he assured her. “I’ve gotta help these people! Meet me… meet me where the cloud meets the sky.”

Alice nodded hesitantly, and started to race toward the town against her better judgement. She had always been a fast runner, but she’d never faced these kind of circumstances before. Darkness nearing, Alice ran into the first in she spotted. As she wandered in, she couldn’t help but wonder about the source of the attackers, and the random people who showed up to help. Worry clutched her heart as she thought of Jasper and the familiar boy she’d seen. My, what a day. she thought as she sauntered up to the front desk.

“Orbis Heaven Inn, where the cloud meets the sky. How may I help you today?”

Alice stood motionless, for it took a while to register what she’d heard in her head.

“Miss?” the woman prompted, uncertain.

“Oh! A room for tonight, please,” she smiled to herself.

“Room 285,” the woman said, handing Alice a worn-out brass key. Alice took the key gratefully and smiled warmly at the woman. Oh Jasper, she thought.

Once she arrived at her room, she immediately slipped under the covers and dozed into a light sleep. “Thomas Sven, was that you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Alice awoke, the sun was just about to rise. Something in her subconscious had put the pieces together while she slept.

Something I wasn‘t supposed to know… Richard… The familiar ranger…

It was getting there, but she wasn’t quite finished yet. Unable to go back to sleep, she groomed her unkempt hair, straightened out her outfit, and headed for the hotel lobby.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Alice exclaimed as she stumbled into someone. The unsuspecting person, still not fully awake from his slumber, dropped his bag, contents spilling all over the floor. Alice hastily gathered all of his belongings and looked up to return them, and found herself staring into the deepest pair of green eyes she’d ever seen.

“No worries, I wasn’t exactly watching where I was going, either,” he brushed his hair from his eyes and grinned.

Alice was at a loss for words as the stranger refilled his bag with the contents she was clutching in her arms. “M-my name’s Alice Parker, sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Silicon Strenia, at your service,” he bowed jokingly. “I’ve gotta get going now, see ya around.”

I’m not sure you will, Alice thought bitterly as she walked into the lobby.

“Alice, love!” it was Jasper. “I knew you’d figure it out!”

Alice smiled in relief as she bounded into Jasper’s waiting arms, but quickly pulled away when she noticed the three people behind him.

Sensing her discomfort, Jasper turned around to introduce them, but realized he did not know their names. “This is…”

“William Achute,” the oldest one finished, and Alice nodded in silent recognition. He had brown dishevelled hair that almost covered his wise blue eyes. In his hand, he held an exquisite staff, that confirmed that he was indeed wise.

The warrior standing beside William wielded a Sparta, and his unruly hair was tucked away under a bandana that displayed a white maple leaf logo. “I’m Zhlink Sleyin.”

The youngest of them, however, remained silent. Her casual outfit contrasted with her striking hairstyle. It was black and just longer than shoulder length with a white streak down her left side, and Alice couldn’t help but stare. Her defiant pale-blue eyes challenged Alice to ask her what her name was.

“Hi, I’m Alice Parker,” she started. “What’s your-”

“Skria,” she interrupted. “Just Skria.”