Adora (On Hold)

Chapter Two

Erin nearly collapsed in front of Onyx as they slowed down, arriving in front of a small building. They had climbed several steps to get to this place, which was comfortably perched on the canopy of the tree it had been built on.

"What took you so long?" Onyx said as Erin trudged up the final step. "I've been waiting here for hours!"

"We just got here.." Erin heaved. Despite her lack of energy compared to the child, she was still young enough to keep up. 

"Whatever. Let's just go inside." She barged through the entrance, causing the entirety of the two people within the shop to redirect their sights onto their new guests. 

Erin sighed, holding a hand to her face as she entered, Onyx having rushed in before her, busying herself with the silverware on a table. 

A girl was standing at the counter, cheerfully cleaning. She had a kind of fake smile on her face, like she wanted to be mad at the child rummaging around in her shop but didn't really care enough to cause a scene. She had a bit of a short stature, the white apron covering her civilian clothing appearing a bit large for her. Her clothing was dirtied, bits and pieces of food likely having been dropped or smeared on it. The girl's hair was oddly neat despite the rest of her body being clearly messy, and there were clear distinctions of budding muscle on her biceps. The last thing Erin took note of was the small name tag on her chest, the letters C H L O E being plastered on like a child's art project. What does that say...?

 Erin, on the other hand, simply ignored this and ordered a sandwich for herself, most likely the first one she could say by name.

Chloe nodded, rushing to the back to make her food. I guess she's glad to get at least some business out of this encounter..

She returned in a flash, handing Erin a neatly wrapped bundle. It seemed too neat for a cheap sandwich to a customer in charge of a child turning the place inside out. Shrugging, Erin sat down at a nearby table to eat in relative peace.

"Your kid is, like, running wild over there.." a nonchalant voice resounded softly from an eerily close proximity. Erin could feel the hair on her head standing up in response.

"Whoa, dude, sorry about that.." the voice echoed. Erin looked behind her to spot a man, barely, if at all, past his teens, looking over with an expression that would convey to any sane person that he had just finished smoking something. "I'm Xann, I guess..what  about you, my man?"

"...Erin..." Was everyone in this city as bonkers as the two she had met so far? 

"Oh, awesome name, man! Hey, where are you from; I haven't seen you around."

"I'm from..a town nearby." Her voice gradually got softer as her answers continued. 

"That's pretty cool...hey, if you ever need me, I'll be right here, man. That bow on your back? I bet we'd be a cool squad for a quest or something." Xann went back to whatever drugs he was doing earlier.

Onyx, after being driven away from the silverware from driving Chloe nearly insane, went up to Erin in a sulking manner. "I can't climb on the tables anymore.." she whined. 

Erin held back a slight laugh. "You shouldn't be climbing on tables in the first place."

"Yeah, but --" Onyx was cut off by the sound of something crashing against the side of the building. 

"What the --" Erin rushed outside to see what had happened.

Within viewing distance was a city square that had erupted into chaos. Shops were torn down, a crowd had scattered into an anarchic mess. A flash of red pierced from the calming dust cloud that had loomed over the scene, sending Erin's heart into a frenzy.  Maybe there's some action in this place after all..