Shifters

The Truth...Well...Sort Of!

"Well how long are you going to keep me waiting?" asked Joana slowly getting irritated, "who are you and why was that wretched thing after you?"

'D-did that really just happen?' the boy wondered, staring downwards blankly as he attempted to process the recent happenings.

Noticing his lack of awareness, Joana snapped her fingers aggressively forcefully breaking his stupor. Eyes drifting upward slowly, he soon met Joana's expectant gaze with his own, uncertain of how he should proceed. After what felt like an eternity, he took a few shallow breaths before recounting his previous experiences in somewhat full detail. Despite his desire to be candid however, he found himself unable to mention any of the events surrounding the ring's existence. Amidst his hesitant recollection, Joana, who now leaned against the opposite wall a few feet away, quietly listened to his story expressionlessly.

"-and that's when you saved me from that thing," Josh concluded, "which brings us to where we are now."

"Well, that's quite the story," Joana replied after a momentary clearing of her throat, "however, that doesn't explain why that Looper was after you."

"Looper?" Josh replied confusedly, "What are you-"

"The thing that was after you," Joana replied, cutting in abruptly, "That's what they're called."

"They," Josh responded, "Are you telling me there are more of those things? Oh, and to answer your earlier question," he fired off quickly, "Before these past few days, I'm pretty sure I've never seen this Looper of yours in my life, nor do I know why it's after me. Honestly, it sort of just...showed up!"

"Interesting," she said slowly.

Crossing over to the far side of the bed, Joana seated herself as she continued her observation of the boy. She'd often prided herself as a great judge of character, however, the person before her seemed almost unreadable. Aside from this unforeseen occurrence, everything about this mission seemed to bother her. Whether it was the bad feeling she'd felt at the start of their assault or the capture of her team or the sudden blockage of her abilities back in the vault and now the inexplicable appearance of an unknown boy from the artefact she was sent to procure, Joana felt certain that there was something she was missing. Not to mention the odd dreams she'd been having as of late.

'What if he's a spy,' she wondered, expression hardening as she stared coldly at him, 'No,' she said, halting her sudden bloodlust, 'The Order may be meticulous in their planning but this is too much of a stretch. Besides, their enemies had no way of knowing the exact contents of their mission.'

The more she gave the matter some thought was the more she realized how foolhardy the idea was, 'Not to mention, he'd be dead meat had I not saved him from that Looper. Of all the void creatures, it just had to be a Looper.'

"Hello, Joana?" Josh called out, waving her hand in front of her face, "Are you still with me?"

'When did he get so close?' Joana flinched.

"Sorry," she apologized, snapping out of her stupor, "It seems my mind drifted off for a bit. Can you repeat what you just said?"

Casting an uncertain look as he prepared himself to speak, Josh inquired, "What exactly is a Looper and why is one after me?"

The moment he'd spoken, Joana's mind reverted to the hazy portions of her younger years.

"As a child," she began, "the older generations would tell tales of creatures from the old and forgotten days in order to ensure that we'd be respectful of the beings that lurked in the darkness. Amongst the various lore there was a particularly frightening being known as a Looper. I can't say for certain what the extent of their abilities were, however, their reputation was anything but pleasant. In the past era, monarchs of powerful empires would spend years of resources in order to hunt and capture these beings as wardens for their prisons."