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Her eyelids felt heavy, making her realize that she was lifting them to keep her eyes open. Her blinks grew slower and stronger. Staying awake during the train journey was proving to be a difficult task. Although Riri was a naturally anxious person when excited, at that moment she wasn't feeling the usual itching on her skin.
The swinging effect of the wagon in her body was relaxing. The comfort she felt from being seated on the soft benches only helped her to be lulled into a meditative state, bringing her closer to sleep. Her pero ears already were lowered on her head — both for the lack of different sounds on the train and for the state she found herself in.
In her lap, Hitotsuyanagi could feel her pink tail fur prickling the palm of her hands. Because it was a known feeling, she didn't feel the desire to move them from there. Being the only person on that wagon, there was no other scent that she could pick on besides her own… and the smell of her drink that she had taken shortly after the trip had started.
Riri didn't even realize that her eyes were already closed. Her attention was slowly disintegrating; between the constant noise of rails (that advanced towards the next stop), the tacit and pleasant movement of the train (which made her even more comfortable) and the familiar scent (so similar to that of her nest), she was losing consciousness. Allowing herself, not with intention, to be cradled in a deep sleep…
[—]
She was running. She didn't remember why, though she felt like she should know. The air seemed rarefied. However, Hitotsuyanagi was sure that it was fresh. She felt her lungs burning, her legs throbbing and her feet aching. All her rosy irises could see was moss green and navy blue with gray dots.
Adrenaline weighed on her fast paced heartbeat. Fear coiled around her heart, squeezing it inside her chest. Riri was being followed. She didn't remember what it was, though she suspected it was a being made of originum. Those lozenge stones were very similar to her own. It was fast, however she managed to see it on the surface of the animal — the ruby glow of it was hard to ignore in that darkness.
After all, that was a warning. And she didn't want to die there.
And she wouldn't, since that was the beginning of her most beloved dream. Well, not really… actually, it was a memory. It remained as one of her favorites, though. For, just like in the comics, a heroine comes to save the damsel!
Hitotsuyanagi tripped over one of the various roots sticking out of the soil. The trees in that forest seemed to wish for her ending. However, when she thought she was truly about to lose her life, she suddenly emerged to save her.
Her pero ears lifted up, alert, as she heard the metallic sound resounding. Surprised that she wouldn't be devoured that exact minute, she opened her eyelids. Her rosy irises passed between the trunks and bushes until they stopped on the unknown girl in front of her.
The long back strands of hair appeared like they joined the shadows of the night, contrasting with her milky skin. From the few fragments she could get of the other's face, it could be seen a cocky smile gracing her thin lips. The way she moved was controlled, but, even so, Hitotsuyanagi felt that the stranger was not really taking the fight seriously.
The pero felt her heart throb, heavy, once more. As she observed the unknown girl battling the… originum monster, the safer she felt. She swallowed the urge to shout in support of the girl, not wishing to disturb her service. Now and then, a shiver would roam her skin — the reason why she felt it, she now didn't know to say.
When the stranger thrusted her sword on the body of the creature, thus ending the fight, Riri realized that she was probably a mercenary. Breathing deep, she decided right on that moment that she would become one; if one day she could meet again her savior, or who knows, fight by her side… she would do anything for that to happen!
Her line of thought was cut off when she felt the weight of the amethysts irises on hee person. The girl was observing her, looking a little surprised.
“I thought you had already escaped.” Her voice was low, melodious. Her heart skipped a beat, then sped up with intensity. Hitotsuyanagi wasn't even aware to feel embarrassment for her blunder.
“Thank you for saving my life”, was what she said, feeling the necessity to thank her tickling her throat and tongue. Even if she had tried, she wouldn't have been able to keep her words inside her mouth. “May you tell me your name?”
The (probable) mercenary leaned her head to the side, seeming to be trying to analyze Riri. Despite being stared with vigor, she didn't back down. As much as her cheeks were warm, the pero wasn't going to let go of not knowing that information. She must know for whom she needed to search when she got out of the orphanage.
“Shirai,” the girl said, suddenly. The rustle of the leaves caused by the wind marked a small pause before she added, “Shirai Yuyu.”
[—]
Hitotsuyanagi scrunched her nose, a sign that she was waking up. Her eyelids twitched once, two, three times before she slowly opened them. Rosy irises, still half hazy, surveyed the surroundings without really seeing it. Lost between dream and reality, the only thing that she felt was the warmth on her chest.
A noise made her ears prick up. The pero looked in the direction of the door, noticing that it was now open. One of the attendants of the train was there, watching her with curiosity.
“Just passing by to tell you that the next station is already yours.” The elafia said, using a gentle tone. Riri nodded, still processing the fact that she was awake and what she just heard.
“Thanks” Was what she managed to answer, sounding groggy from sleep. She saw the ears of the other flicker once. A sympathetic smile was directed her way, a gesture that reflected automatically on her face.
The attendant let an affirmative sound escape, something that she only captured because she had an acute audition, and closed the door again.
Hitotsuyanagi rubbed one of her eyes, still out of it. She remembered that, after receiving the name of the mercenary, a rumble had resounded through the forest. Yuyu has ordered her to run towards a safe place, not waiting to see if she would be heard before racing back into the trees.
It was a brief moment, however, only that one was enough to help the pero to decide her future. As complicated as it had been to find which company her idol was employed, it hadn't been impossible. That was why she was on that wagon now — there was so little left before Riri could see Shirai again…
She could feel a tingle on her skin, that nervous demand in her body to want to move. Now that she was more awake, it wasn't unlikely that she would end up anxious. She was already imagining (various) possible scenarios of how her reunion with the mercenary would be. Would the other remember her…? She couldn't even manage to introduce herself to the mercenary — a fact that didn't fail to make her frustrated.
Passing her thumb between the fur of her tail, the pero tried to let out a little of her energy that was gradually building inside her chest. Independent of how things turned out, she suspected everything would be fine. Not only would this be the start of her future as a young adult, it would also be the beginning of her journey as a mercenary.
Fortunately Riri wasn't the type to need a divine sign to not worry about what was to come. However, if she was, she wouldn't have to look much to feel reassured about what destiny had saved for her. After all, with such a beautiful dream, it was hard to think that she would not be able to reach her objective.