Lost again

Mission No. 2

They turned into the stables to be met with a familiar tear-stained face. Pin swung their leg over Joey's back to land on the floor and run into their mother's arms.

"Hey, Pin what's wrong?" Her strong grip calmed them as she ran her fingers through their hair.

"We were approached by Lana on our way here." Kace piped up when Pin didn't answer, not wanting them to get into trouble.

"Oh, hon, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with her." She let go of them and led Joey to his stable, taking off his bridle and fur rug on the way.

"I didn't have to." She looked at them confused. So Pin decided to clarify. "Kace dealt with her for me and she left us alone after.

"Thank you, Kace." She genuinely smiled.

"It's no problem. Mischief handled themself fine." The same look of confusion appeared on her face at the nickname. Pin started laughing while dealing with the tired horse in the stable.

"Mischief?"

"Yeah, it seems to fit them pretty well." She agreed and laughed a little at the silly alias. "You two head inside, Your mother is waiting to speak to the both of you." The last part was directed at Pin.

They headed back round to the house to meet Matilda, sitting at the table with her head in her hands. She looked up to greet them with a small attempt of a smile.

"You must be Kace." She shook his hand and guided Pin behind her so she could assess whether this boy was safe to be around. She trusted their judgment but not other people and always wanted to check who they were spending time with.

"Sorry" Pin mouthed behind her. This was what they were afraid of, Isabelle had been fine but this was to be expected from the soldier that stood in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" She had that same accusatory tone that had presented inPin's voices only that morning.

Guess I know where they got it from then. "Mischief asked me to help find the manuscripts. They were hurting and I wanted to help." She smirked at the nickname just as everyone else had done but didn't question it.

"Good, we will need all the help we can get as the station has allowed me a week off of work to find it and we aren't getting any help from them either."

"Wait, what!" Pin stepped forward. "That's not fair. That book holds historic and religious value, not to mention how much someone could sell it for if they wanted to." It was all getting too much for them and all of the feelings were becoming overwhelming. Kace walked up behind them and wrapped his arms around their torso. They turned around to face him and buried their head in his chest while he tried to comfort them.

Matilda watched them both silently approving Pin's choice in befriending the boy. "Pin, I know this isn't the most ideal of situations but trust me, we will find it."

"You don't know that. They took it last night, it could be near the other side of the region by now." Pin spit the words out like a foul-tasting venom. It stung their mum because she knew it was true. The longer they waited to find the book, the harder it would be. They pulled away from Kace insisting that they were okay. They walked into the next room.

After a few minutes, they walked out again in a different shirt, still white but three-quarter length sleeves and some kind of leather cuff around their forearms. A beige sleeveless cardigan that fell to their mid-thigh. Their layers of clothing were tied in at the waist with a small scarf that had a grey zigzag pattern across it; it was covering a braided belt with a utility pouch hanging off of it.

"No, not again." She walked up to them and started to try and empty the pouch hanging off their waist.

"I'm confused, is anyone going to explain?" Kace watched them fight over control of the buckle which Pin won.

"I am going to find that book, with or without their help." Pin looked at Kace, who was still confused, and realized that the situation couldn't be explained by that one sentence. "This isn't the first time I've had to go looking for something like this. About a year ago now,"

They were interrupted by their mother, "Pin, you sure about this?" She watched them nod as they continued.

"About a year ago, I was given a task by the head guard after being seen training with mum." They paused for a second and motion for Kace to sit down. This story was a long one. "I was asked to follow and befriend someone who caused trouble in the village and a couple of others too. She stole relics from The East River Temple and conned people from the same village. I was asked because I am young, no one expects a kid to be a traitor to a group like theirs."

"What happened?" Kace looked at them as their hands brushed over their face and into their hair pulling it out of their face for a brief moment.

"The mission went south when they got found out. Luckily the relic they were sent to retrieve was later found in the Black Market. , but his person wasn't carrying out just one person jobs. She was part of an elite bandit group. Luckily, Pin got out of there before any serious damage could be done and she was arrested, along with most of the high-ranking members, but that does not mean they made it out unscathed." Matilda added after realizing it was painful for them to remember.