Adora (On Hold)

Chapter One

WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF VIRATHIA

The banner draped around the city gate almost looked like it had forced itself to be there. Erin sighed to herself. Almost every kingdom greeted the incoming like that. Well, whatever; she was only there to prod for information anyway. She was a mercenary and an info broker after all. Putting her hood down and taking the dramatic step into the city that she had prepared herself to go to for months, she entered the Kingdom of Virathia for the first time. 

"Ah, greetings! Where are you from?" The girl at the visitor's center smiled at Erin, almost looking mass-produced. The visitor's center was one of the only buildings that wasn't built on a treetop, as the city's crowning pleasure was ensuring that it preserved nature's grace by compromising with its natural state. They did kill a lot of trees, but that wasn't written in the history books.

"Just..out of town. Don't really feel like saying." Erin cursed herself for sounding so awkward. 

"Oh, alright? Are you planning on becoming a citizen or are you just visiting?"

"Just visiting" Once I get paid, of course..

"That's fine. Well, if you need anything, just ask! We know everything about this place!"

Erin nodded in response, grabbing a map of the city for herself. Feeling a bit hungry, she immediately gravitated to the city's bustling center, filled with local shops and markets. Legends had been spoken of the great projects that the kingdom had taken to build an entire city square into the vast treetops like the rest of the city. It was a truly glorious sight to behold.

 After looking around for a while, Erin had gotten exhausted. She was picky; so it wasn't the easiest thing for her to find a place that looked appealing. Sitting on a bench, she sighed as she watched the passerby in motion.

"You look lonely." A youthful voice piped up from behind her.

"Wha--" 

"Hi there!" The face of a young dark elf loomed above Erin, smiling a mischievous smile. "I'm Onyx! What's your name? You looked lonely so I decided to talk to you! I'm also alone but I'm also never alone! Did I mention that I'm a rock? Anyway--"

"I'm not lonely, mind you..I'm just a traveler." Erin interrupted Onyx. She didn't know how much of that voice she would have to deal with.

"That sounds like something my grandmother would have said. But you're young and pretty and you have cat ears! And you're not a boulder." Onyx giggles at her own comment.

Erin hadn't expected a compliment. "Well, uh.."

"I know! What if we stick together? I can teach you society skills...or whatever you call them!"

"I...travel a lot. I don't know if you'd be able to keep up." That was a lie. She had only just moved from her home because it had been overrun. Plus, the implications of adventuring with a child who didn't even look like she had hit puberty yet scared her. 

"It's okay; I always have energy to use! Plus, I don't have anyone else to stick by!"

"What about parents..?" 

"Parents? Rocks need no parents!" The words came out so casually that Erin started to wonder if the child was in denial. But she decided not to push it.

"Alright then..."

"Is that a yes!?" Onyx's smile widened to supernatural lengths.

"S-sure..why not..? Just don't get yourself killed on me, okay?" Erin didn't want to get put on trial for negligence.

"Yay!!" Onyx jumped up and fist-bumped the air. "So what do you do for a living?"

"Me? I'm just..a mercenary."

"So you like hunt people down and stuff? My grandma did that! She rolled down a hill to chase a guy in a cowboy hat!"

"Interesting.." Erin decided to not question it.

"Hey, are you hungry? I know this AMAZING place where we can eat stuff! It's a sandwich shop and the lady there is really pretty!" Erin had to put a hand on Onyx's shoulder to keep her from vibrating into the next dimension. How can one person have so much energy?

"Lead the way, I guess.."

"Yay!" Onyx jumped up once more and sped off in a direction. Thankfully, her tiny legs could only take her there so quickly, but it took quite a bit for Erin to keep up. They ran their first steps on their long journey together, though only one of them expected it to turn out that way.