"Hey!"
Kir was surprised by Kordia’s sudden shout.
Her recalled that as a special student of the Academy, one of her duties would have been interceding in conflicts amongst students - a role that had expanded greatly now that dueling was banned.
There were no obvious students chasing Bailey, but the gaggle was so distant, no one paid attention to her.
"I’ll take point," Kir offered.
"I’ll bring up the rear."
They’d managed a bit of training in their free ti, and Kir was surprised by Kordia’s tactical improvent since becoming a special student. Having that status, which ca with the right to decide her own schedule and take any fifth or lower-level course she wanted, and the conflicts she’d had to diate, made her more decisive and tactically minded.
Kir knew it was because she was trying to make up for Rainier’s injury, and he tried to encourage and train with her to that effect... when they weren’t engaged in more pleasurable activities.
In a flash, Kir drew power into his legs, easily surpassing the group to stop in front of Bailey, who bounced off his shield a mont later.
The group of youths were also surprised, but one of them tried to grab Bailey and Kir slamd a shield between them and his student. A couple of them bumped into it, having tried to follow the first youth’s lead.
"What is going on here?" Kir looked down, offering Bailey a hand.
"This blooder took our friend!" soone called out.
"I did not!" Bailey shouted back.
Kir noticed now that all of the youths were ard with sticks, knives, or other improvised weapons.
"Mr. Black," Kir grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to a stand before he could resist, letting him go just as quickly.
Kordia arrived. "Four hundred?" she called out.
"Yes," Kir replied. On Ayther, circles were delineated into four hundred degrees, which matched their calendar sowhat.
In short order, Kordia generated a shield that completely encircled the group, while Kir and Bailey remained on the other side.
Seeing this, the youths started to take on more nervous sounds, clearly having bitten off more than they could chew. A few tried to kick or strike the shield, only to receive a warning glare as Kordia narrowed her eyes, stepping around her shield until she joined Kir.
"Mr. Black?"
"I didn’t do it!" Bailey raised his voice.
"Liar!" "Bailout!" "Give Nab back!"
"SILENCE!" Kir amplified his voice. Once he had it, he spoke normally. "I’m giving you the first chance to explain, Bailey."
"My- Their boss is missing. They think I did it, but I can’t just abduct people when I’m at school."
"And who are they?"
"Just so gang I used to run with."
"We’re the Outers!" the tallest youth, a deerkin with white antlers that dangled with bits of colorful cloth shouted. "You bailed on us, Bailey."
"These kids think they’re pretty clever, don’t they?" Kiryu said sadly.
"They’re clearly poor. Don’t make dislike you more."
"I respect the poor for surviving. I’m just saying, they could be more creative with their insults."
Kordia cleared her throat. "Why would they accuse you of this, Bailey?"
"Because last ti I showed up... Nab and I had a fight," he replied.
"What did you do?"
"Kordia-"
"I tried to give her coin!" Bailey said, more for the gang than for Kir and Kordia. "I’m always tryin’ to give her coin, and she’s always bein’ a damn wall about it. I’d never hurt her!"
"We don’t need your damn coin!" "Nab ain’t your kept girl!" A couple of youths shouted and Kir silenced them with a glare.
"Bailey, what does Nab look like?"
"She’s human, well, quarter elf, maybe. It’s not like we could find out. She’s about my age, brown skin with white hair. Keeps it short." He took a breath. "She dresses... okayish. Not fancy, just good clothes. Oh, and sotis she wears things in her hair. Flowers and stuff."
"Snitch!" One of the little ones shouted.
This one, Kir ignored. "Do you have any idea where she could have gone?"
Bailey shook his head.
"Thank you Bailey, you can go if you-"
"I’m staying!" Bailey interrupted. "If Nab’s in trouble, I’m staying. I owe her that."
"Kid’s in love," Kiryu said.
"I think so too."
Kir nodded his respect, not wanting to test if Bailey was still in a cutting mood by patting him on the shoulder. Mostly because he wanted to give Bailey a chance to show his good side.
"I’ll ask them a few questions, and then we’ll start the search."
Bailey nodded and stepped aside, and Kir approached the group.
"Outers, yes? Is there soone you want to speak for you?"
"Huh?" "What’s that an?" "Is he asking us to snitch?"
"I’ll do it," the deerkin from earlier said.
"What’s your na?"
"Hornstab."
Kir raised an eyebrow. "What’s your real na?"
"I’m not telling you!"
Kir sighed. "Alright then, Hornstab." It should be ’Antlerstab’. "Tell your side of things. When did Nab go missing and what were the circumstances?"
"Circ-what?"
"What happened." Kordia translated.
"Oh. Well, we was getting ready to winter early because Nab said so. Cuz the sky. She was going to get raw stuff from a new druid house. Veg’ and grain and stuff, but she never ca back. We sent out runners, but she wasn’t at any druid house. Then Bailout shows up-"
"Don’t call that," Bailey growled. "I did more for the gang than you ever did!"
"You left us to starve!"
"I tried to change that!"
"Your bloody coin don’t an shit!"
"Boys!" Kir raised his voice, internally flinching at the knowledge he was about their ages. And definitely younger than Bailey, in terms of ti living on Ayther. "So your boss goes missing, and then Bailey arrived. What happened then?"
"He started acting all wallish," Hornstab continued.
"Because you accused as soon as I stepped in the door!" Bailey raised his voice.
"Bailey, please calm down. The information is more important than your feelings right now if we’re going to find her." To Hornstab he said, "Please continue."
"So yeah, he was wallish. All we wanted was to rough him up. Figure out where Nab went. ’Course he’s too ’good’ to use his magic on us, ’s why we keep beatin’ him away when he tries to co up to Nab. Everyone knows he got screamy with her. That’s why he keeps coming back."
"I- I did not!" Bailey blushed profusely.
"He’s a virgin... That explains so much," Kiryu contributed his psychoanalytic bit. "Rember when you were going to try to wait forever?"
"Piss off or it’s no more smoking for you."
Kir took the ensuing silence as an acknowledgnt of the seriousness Kir wanted to maintain.
"Did anyone see her?" Kordia asked, when Kir remained silent for his ’talk’ with Kiryu.
"We don’t go in those places. They only trust Nab," Hornstab answered.
Kir held his chin as a plan started to form. But he needed one last bit of information...
"Did Nab have much magic to her? As a mage or maven?"
"So," Horstab replied, "She didn’t have spooky blood shit like Bailout, but she could go forever with little spells. Got her so work as a water cutter, earnin’ the coin we needed."
"I tried to teach her so," Bailey added, before turning on Hornstab, "And I earn my coin having to learn from asshole teachers like this guy."
Kir frowned as Bailey jabbed a forefinger in his direction.
"You tried to drag her to that school you ditched us for! You just think you’re better than us but you just want her to play with your- your blood sausage!" A few youths giggled behind Hornstab.
"I’ll turn you into fucking blood sausage you bark chewing shit-"
"Boys!" You aren’t helping things by being at each others’ throats.
"I’m cold..." one child complained.
Flexing his power, Kir stretched the shield he’d made with Kordia into a do and started to warm the air, vibrating the molecules of air faster by exchanging energy from the top of the shield. The technique ca easily, especially since he and Kordia had compatible mana after she used his feathers as a catalyst for gaining two of her tails.
"I think I’ve heard enough to form a plan. I just need a map." He reached into his dinsional storage, swearing he had a map of the city sowhere...
"Here," Kordia said, pulling a map from her dinsional storage and handing it over. "Printers Guild gave us a bunch for the bus."
"Who are your runners?" Kir asked. No one raised their hands. "I need you to mark where the druid houses are. I won’t make kids wander around in the cold. People have been going missing in this district, and if Nab had a good degree of mana, including the ability to ’go forever’ with spells, then she might have been taken."
"Give it here, I can mark them," Hornstab said.
Kir looked at Kordia and they shared a nod before lowering the shield. No one ran, and Hornstab grabbed the map, pulling out a knife to poke holes in places where druid houses were-
"Excuse ," a woman’s voice said from behind. "Are you looking for missing folk? I could use so help with that."
The entire ti they’d been standing on one side of the street, passers-by had either stopped to stare and listen or hurried past, perhaps recognizing a gang conflict.
Kir and Kordia turned, but it was Kir who reacted with surprise at the sight of her.
His glamoured voice cracked with his own and the wolfish form he was wearing shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the winged demonkin holding a blue lamp by a stick.
"Morn?!"
"Have we t?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)