007 - Division

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Song of the Chapter: Pushed Away - Tristam & Rogue (Dubstep)

(Phantom's POV)

They've been gone for four days. I'll admit, I'm still pretty mad at them. Things are heating up around here, and it's only a matter of time before rivalries explode.

Noisestorm won't let Rogue leave, for good reasons, but they both get into fights almost every hour. The other artists avoid them as much as possible. I can't believe anyone hadn't been hit by Rogue's sword yet. He talks with a lot of wild hand gestures and almost never puts the blade down.

On the fourth day, I sit at the fire, the most I do these days, and mutter, "I'm cold."

In response, Noisestorm throws his hoodie at me, hitting me in the face and scaring me out of my mind.

I squeak embarrassingly and angrily wad up his hoodie to throw it back. "I don't want yours, I want mine."

He catches it as I chuck it and then tosses it back to me. "Don't complain."

I want to complain, but he's right. It's not going to help anything. With a sigh, I unfold the hoodie and pull it over my head. It's a little too big, but it is pretty warm. "Thanks," I call, kind of awkwardly.

He just snorts in response. He's in a bad mood. He must've just had another argument with Rogue.

Shaking my head, I stand back up and stare into the forest. Rogue won't stop talking about that girl in the forest. He's nuts. But still, out of curiosity, I find myself wandering toward the trees. Maybe I'll just take a look. I'll only be an hour. It's not like they'd notice I'm gone. I stuff my hands into the pockets of Noisestorm's hoodie and leave the safety of our camp.

In the dying sunlight, the forest is a lot creepier than it is in the day time, or even in the moonlight. At this time of day, I can't tell what's a shadow or what's something I can really trip over. Still, I'm silent in the forest, and that gives me a little comfort, even though I'm wearing blue and can probably be seen pretty easily.

I'm about to turn back, having found nothing, when something catches my eye. It's a crumpled ball of paper, buried under a pile of leaves. It's damp and rips a little when I unfold it. There's a pencil sketch on the inside that's hard to make out, but the more I stare at it, the more I recognize the shapes. There's a sword here, a helmet there, and the whole thing roughly looks like a person. Something in the middle seems almost familiar...

And then it hits me. I know that logo. It's on the shirt Rogue wears under his jacket. This isn't some guy, this is a picture of Rogue. Someone drew him. I fold it back up and shove it into my pocket. He might not be completely accurate, but Rogue found someone out here, or someone found him. I spin around to run back and tell the others, but I hear something that makes me pause.

I can hear someone crying. Confused, I follow the sound to the river, where I see -

"You've got to be kidding me," I mutter under my breath.

There's a girl there. A girl with a fuzzy beanie hat, golden brown hair, wearing a grey skirt, and carrying a violin case. Exactly like Rogue described.

I'm going to be honest. I feel like a complete idiot.

She looks up at the sound of my voice and jumps when she sees me. Her face is red and streaked with tears. "Wh-who are you?" she asks timidly.

For some reason, I can only stand here staring at her. It takes a moment, but finally I can speak again. I have to help her. "I'm Phantom," I say softly, moving to kneel next to her. "Are you lost?"

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