Upon arrival at the West Gate, Auriel was just in time to see a large crowd of armed personnel exiting the gates. From the distance she recognized Rami, and ran up to him, walking alongside.

“Hey, Rami!”

“Hey hey! Are you joining at the last minute?”

“Not quite. I’m looking for someone. Seen any suspicious hooded people lately?”

She held up her hand to estimate her height. “About this tall? Skinny? Stranger type that has probably never been here before?”

“Uh… no? I mean, as far as I’m aware, it’s mostly locals on this job, except for the Egerian security.”

“Of course,” she sighed, “it’d be way too easy. Never mind then.”

“You can still join up, you know. I can wait for you to get a packed bag, and we’ll walk to the site.”

“No no, you go on ahead,” she insisted. “I’ll sit this one out.”

Shrugging, Rami picked up his bag. “Aight, suit yourself.”

Disappointed, Auriel slowly walked back through the West District, out of ideas. Bumping into someone in front of her brought her back to reality, and she recognized him.

“Be careful of where you’re- Oh, Ellie?” said a surprised Roland.

“Ah. Hey.”

“Hey hey.”

A short moment passed awkwardly. A guarded Auriel folded her arms, as Roland cleared his throat to break the silence.

“So uh, you busy?”

“Maybe. Not really, I guess.”

“Right. Uh. Listen, mind if we go to the hillside? Need to show you something.”

“Is this going to take long?” she questioned. “I was going to head back and help out Ms. Maia.”

“Won’t take too long, I promise.”

“Alright then.”

The two arrived at a grassy hill in the northwest, overlooking the nearby plateau. They sat on the soft grass as the sun began to set once more, lighting the sky in a warm orange glow. A flock of birds passed on their way north, seeming to shine in the evening sun.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” observed Roland, gesturing to the sky as he spoke.

“Is this what you were gonna show me?”

“In a manner of speaking. When people see a relaxing view like this, they’re more amenable to the conversation.”

“Okay.”

Taking his time, he looked her in the eyes, meeting them with sincerity.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you. I know you can handle yourself, but I still get worried.”

“Between you and Ms. Maia, I’ve got enough worrying for a lifetime.”

“As long as you know,” he chuckled. “So, you looked a bit lost today. What happened?”

She hugged her knees as she formed her words.

“It’s… complicated. It all started when I met an interesting person a few days ago.”

“Made a new friend?”

“Not exactly. She was a bit rude and very dramatic, but was nice to the kids.”

“I see,” nodded Roland. “Did something happen?”

“Well… kind of. Not sure how to explain it.”

“Try your best.”

She shuffled on the grass, stretching out her legs, and grasping the ground.

“Sooooo, I think she might be a wielder of some sort. She had a magical orb, and when I touched it, I felt a rush of energy that gave me some strange visions."

Cupping her hands, she imagined the orb within them.

"It was unsettling.”

“That’s quite something,” he responded, stroking his chin. “Did the visions mean anything to you?”

“Not really, didn’t seem familiar. What’s on my mind though, is that I sensed the energy coming from it.”

“Does that mean...?”

“I can’t say for sure,” she said as she hugged her knees and squeezed her hands together. “It’s like… there’s a spark, and finding her would be the first step to figuring out the answer for sure.”

“Well you'll have to be careful, but know that I do support you,” Roland replied, patting her on the back.

He walked down the hill, while Auriel stayed behind, enamored by the evening rays’ loving embrace of the horizon. The light made her eyes appear to be the joining of the twilight sky and a still vibrant turquoise beach, her pupils contracting and expanding like soft waves lapping upon the shoreline.

~X~

While the fading sunlight left the windows of the jailhouse, two guards arrived to move the prisoners back to their main cells. They lined them up for shackling, but Cannibal Tiger sat in the center, crossed legged and with eyes closed, meditating. Annoyed at the apparent disrespect, one guard confronted him.

“Hey, are you deaf? I don’t care who you are, get up and move!”

The guard grabbed Cannibal Tiger’s collars when he suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed the guard’s arms. The jewel in Cannibal Tiger’s chest activated, and his body grew to its original size. He tightened his grip on the guard until he cried in pain, then tossed him into the cell door and faced the other with a nefarious look on his face.

The guard stepped backward as he prepared to run, but was knocked over the head in a surprise hit by Sano. He felt pulled to the side and saw Cannibal Tiger walk over him before he finally lost consciousness.

“I broke this out of the stash, boss!” stated Sano as he handed the gauntlets to his leader.

“Good work.”

“I’ve got one more thing!” Reaching into his mouth, he pulled a crystal from a gap space where one of his teeth used to be. “I saved this one just in case!”

“Uh, thanks.”

He ripped Sano’s shirt to wipe it clean. Placing the crystal in one of his gauntlets’ compartments, he activated it, causing an aura to appear following the gauntlet’s claws. Sano and the corrupt guard looked on in awe.

“Now, let’s have some fun!”

~End of Chapter~

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