We're Kids?!

Truth Will Be Upon Us

"Zeal, Gowther and I are heading out for supplies!" Guila called out as she held both children's hands, a basket looped under the crook of her arm. She stood in the doorway of the Boar Hat, dressed in her tavern uniform and looking ever so much like the doting woman she was. 

Gowther was stood to her right, his eyes filled with curiosity as he poked Zeal in the face, Zeal was on the knight's left and frowned slightly at Gowther's poking, the look in the doll's eyes unnerving him.

"Alright, just be careful!"

Jericho was the only one to hear Guila's call, the rest of the adults and children preoccupied with the upkeep of the bar. Since the first stop of their journey was this place, all persons who were part of this crusade were awaiting something to happen. So all the kids were all split up to follow an adult about, the mini-adults each under the charge of a responsible and hardworking senior. That way not too much could go wayward.

As always, Jericho was in charge of Ban, which meant she still had her hands pretty full. Between clearing up after the kids, looking after the little wisecrack known as the Fox Sin and checking supplies and performing other little tasks, the knight found that perhaps refusing this particular mission would've actually been better than accepting it. Jericho especially felt as much when Ban went out of his way to bother her, the boy always throwing things at her or choosing when he heard her or not.

Damn that selective hearing. It was getting to the point where Jericho was considering a kid swap, the knight especially keen on having one of the more behaved kids under her charge. A kid like Elizabeth or even King, though he was a pretty sour and mopey child. At least if she had to be in charge of one of those children Jericho would know they'd keep themselves out of trouble.

However trading kids would mean breaking her promise to Elaine, well sort of promise, to make sure that doing things this way would be better than whatever way Elaine found.

So that left Jericho stuck with Ban.

"Bye!"

A chorus of goodbyes rang about the tavern, each of the children suddenly appearing behind Jericho. Tiny feet raced down the stairs, a sea of children seeming to materialize from nothing but thin air. An array of tiny faces popped out from the empty space: blonde, silver, brown, blue and auburn hair creating their own little rainbow as they waved towards the lucky kids who got to go outside. 

Hawk even came to say his own little departure quote, the pig snorting out that they'd better pick up something that made decent scraps as he was tired of eating leftover cookies.

As a result Guila was glad to leave the bustling atmosphere of the Boar Hat, a small sigh escaping as she stepped out into the cool, open air of the outside world.

It was now around midday, the sun shining its brilliant hues down on the pleasant hills of the nearby village. People were out on the fields, working away at perfecting their crop for the late summer to autumn harvest, while many villagers were simply strolling along the ambient lanes made out of the dirt and rolling terrain of the land. 

Up above, the sky was a perfect baby blue. A few fluffy white clouds that looked like goddess wings gently floated among the space, none hinting to the slightest chance of rain. 

Emerald trees rustled musically in the light breeze, their dark trunks melding into a wooden wall as they ran across the natural paths in regular intervals. Golden strands of climbing grass stretched towards the trees, while other plants bloomed sweet smelling flowers that had long formed into fruit. Some of these fruits had already ripened in the summer sun, their once green appearances turning into a succulent red or blushing pink.