Falling Into Oslo

For the Weak

-KATE POV-
"CAPTAIN, YOU FILTHY WOMANIZER!" My eyes fly open to see a large fist break through the ceiling. I react by pulling myself and someone else off the bed with me, and I'm under them. It's kinda hard to breathe. A pair of the brightest, purest green eyes look down on me; they look like they're laughing, smiling.
"Yo, Kate!" Meliodas smiles. What was he doing in the bed I was sleeping... Why was he in bed with me?! Did he drug me?! My head screams. So I scream and shove him off. Then, like a lady, I kick him where anyone scared and flustered would kick a guy: where the sun don't shine. Meliodas' face twists into one of pain and his knees knock together as he falls onto the ground.
"I-I'm so sorry! I just-I got scared- are-are you okay? Do I need to get ice-"
"You... can kick... really damn hard.." He groans, standing up. I smile despite my fear.
"Yeah, this one time I kicked my friend Vanessa's ex-boyfriend Adam in the shin really hard 'cause I saw him making out with another one of my friends-" I stop smiling. Like Vanessa and Brian, my brain laughs at me. I stare at the ground, shuffling around.
"What's wrong? Do you have to pee? The bathroom is- "I cut Meliodas off with a bitter, cold laugh and look up, a cruel smile on my face.
"No. Just remembered something," I say and turn around and strut out of the room. Behind me I hear the Giant girl, Diane, say something about Captain not being a filthy womanizer.  I continue my walk downstairs  with a small smile on my face. They're like my old friends.
"Hello, Kate! Are you hungry?" A silver haired girl asks. I nod, smiling wider.
"Yeah, thanks... Ellie?" I wince as I guess at the name. I'm always good with names but today my memory is foggy. Really foggy.
"Elizabeth, but my sisters call me Ellie... it reminds me of them so you can call me that!" She grins as Elizabeth puts a plate of glorious food down. Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and hash browns. My mouth starts to water. Like a waterfall.
"Thanks!" I say and shove a piece of bacon in my mouth. She nods with a small smile and leans on the counter. "So, is it- You're done?!" She yells, her hands flying to her mouth. I smile at her and nod.
"That was the best meal I've ever had, thanks, Ellie," it feels good to say someone's name like they're a friend you've known for a long time. I put my elbows on the table and lean on my fists.
"How long was I out for?" I ask Elizabeth as she washes the plate.
"Just since 4:00 yesterday, so not long considering it's 8:12 now," she smiles and starts to dry the plate. These people are so nice... but I need to know who they are.
"Um, if I may ask... who are you guys?" I question, trying my best to keep my curiosity in check. Elizabeth sets the plate down.
"We're the Seven Deadly Sins," a voice laughs behind me. I turn on the stool to see a man with white hair and bright red eyes staring at me. I quirk my brows in confusion.
"Who?" I ask. The man looks like someone just slapped him.
"The squadron of Holy Knights framed of trying to overthrow the kingdom, some of the most powerful people of all time! The Grizzly Sin of Sloth, the Serpent Sin of Envy? The Dragon Sin of Wrath?! The Fox Sin of Greed?!" He lists off, his voice reaching a climax. I simply shake my head, more lost than I've ever been in math. And that's saying something.
"Not even the Goat Sin of Lust? The Boar Sin of Gluttony? None of us?" He asks timidly. I shake my head again.
"Well, can I know what sin you are? Or, even just your name?" I laugh. The man looks up from the floor, taking his head out of his hand. He gives me a fanged smile.
"I'm Ban, the Fox Sin of Greed. Nice to meet ya, kid!" He grins, sticking out his hand, and I shake it with a smile. I turn around and get up, leaping over the counter to help Elizabeth clean up, but I don't feel any rubbing of my bracelet. My bracelet, silver with a few rose gold charms embedded with all the gemstones in it, is gone. And I panic.
"Where'd it go? Where did it go?!" I check both wrists frantically, and I look at every inch of the dirt covered floor of the tavern. Nothing. "It's gone," I mumble, slumping against the wall in defeat. "I lost my last part of my home," I sniff. No! No crying, Kate! It makes you weak and you've cried enough! I think, shaking a imaginary finger at myself in shame. I sigh and close my eyes, willing the tears to go. Suddenly, I hear a little tinkle in front of me and my eyes blink open.
"You mean this pretty thing?" Ban asks, a cruel smile on his face. My face turns red and I stand up snatching the bracelet from him.
"You. Little. Asshole!" I yell, and punch him square in the jaw, his head turning 90 degrees to the right. He just laughs.
"You've gotta good punch, kid!" He bellows, and in a blur, I'm sent flying against the wall.
"Ban! Stop it, she's not like you!" I hear Elizabeth scream, but everything is spinning, and my ears are filled with the sound of bells. I look down even though black dots cloud my vision and I see my bracelet clutched in my hand the little zodiac signs linking with the chain, with each matching months gemstone in each sign. I slide it on and stand up, feeling something wet run down the side of my lip. It drips into my mouth, leaving a metallic taste on my tongue. Blood. A small stream runs from my right temple diagonally down my cheek. I spit out some red tainted saliva and smile. None of my friends liked fighting. But I do. I study Ban: he's got a lean figure, so he's fast and his muscles show through his shirt so he's obviously much stronger than me. I laugh at my odds. I have a zero percent chance of winning this, but I spread my feet apart and put my hands up. My vision focused on the tall man in front of me: I'm short so I can throw the punch up instead of down which is weaker. That should give me some advantage. Ban grins from across the room, and I smirk back. We both know I can't win this. Ban launched himself at me, trying to hit my head with a punch, but I dodge and hit his stomach. He doesn't respond by bending over like I thought, he instead punches me again in the side and I'm sent flying, silver dots dancing to unheard music in front of my eyes. He's way to strong. I get up and run at him, and I pull my fist back. He dodges my punch, but with my left hand, I grab his collar and sweep his feet out from under him. He hits the backs of my knees bringing me down as well. He rolls on top of me, and suddenly, I can't see anything. I can't hear anything. I can't feel anything. Then, the pressure on my chest is gone. I can see again, but my ears are ringing. My body is still numb.
"What the hell did you just do, Ban?!" Someone yells. My voice won't work. I try to tell them I'm fine, that I started it (though I didn't) and I start to push myself up as my senses begin to come back.
"See! The girl's fine, she's getting up! She's quite tough, Captain," Ban's smug voice calls, a smirk on his face. I smile as I get back up, sending him a thumbs up. As soon as I'm on my feet though, my knees give out and I crumple to the floor.
"Ow..." I laugh, though it comes out more like a dog's sad whine.
"Kate! What did he do?!" I look up to Meliodas hovering over me, worry and anger burning in his eyes. I give him a weak smile.
"He stole my bracelet from home, so I punched him. One thing led to another and here we are after our little friendly scuffle," I steal a glance at Ban, who is already slamming down a pint of beer at 8:30 in the morning.
"Wow, already at the alcohol eh, Ban?" I giggle once again trying to stand. The world tilts from left to right as I try to stay balanced. I almost fall over until a warm arm is wrapped around my waist and my arm is draped over someone's shoulder. I look over to see Meliodas holding me up, and I try to shake him off. I've been in worst states before and I've made it home. Although, I may not get home for a while.
"Get off, Meliodas! I'm fine, see?" I say, smiling. He just narrows his eyes and tugs me towards the stairs, but I stop walking.
"She's stubborn as a bull, Captain. If I hadn't knocked out her senses, she may have hurt herself," Ban calls from his seat at a wooden table, already getting a refill on his beer from Elizabeth.
"Kate, get back in bed," Meliodas commands and tries yet again to tug me up the stairs, but I lean the other way.
"I'm fine! I've had worse done to me before!" I wave him off, taking my arm off his shoulder and stumble to the door, opening it and welcoming the fresh, clean air. It doesn't smell like anywhere I've been: it smells pure, and green. It smells... alive. No smoke has ever touched the treetops, no chemicals have ever tainted the air. It's the lushest place as well, the trees higher than skyscrapers, the plants greener than a polished emerald. And then, the air pushes me back. The ground shakes. And the trees leap off the ground like someone scared them, separating from their trunks.
"What the hell?!" I scream, backing up a few steps before running back inside. I slam the door open, and Ban, Meliodas, and Elizabeth all turn towards me, surprise written on their faces.
"A-a whole forest! It-it's gone!" I point out the door, panting. Ban laughs and sips his drink. Only then, do I realize how utterly insane I sound. I continue. "No really! One minute, it's all there! And the next thing I know, the trees are leaping up like someone kicked their ass!" I yell. Ban just laughs harder, even slapping his knee like a hillbilly.
"Yeah, so?" Meliodas says simply. I stare, bug eyed at him.
"Yeah, so?! A whole damn forest just got taken out and all you can say is yeah, so?! What about all the animals, what if there were people living there that died?!" I screamed. My friends told me off all the time for taking things to seriously, for being too thoughtful and not having enough fun. But it's just who I am. So I slapped Meliodas. The sound echoed through the empty tavern, and the only other noise was Ban laughing.
"Don't be so insensitive," I growled and walked out the door.
"Holy Knights," Meliodas called. I turned around in my tracks.
"What?"
"Holy Knights. They were probably clearing land for a new settlement. They don't really care who they hurt in the process of making new towns. Even after that damned Holy War," he muttered, slamming a fist on the table. I was angry. And sad. And homesick. And scared. So I ran out the door and and sprinted as far away as I could until I fell, and I choked on the dust as I cried. Everything was too much. This has gotta be a dream, I thought, so I slapped my red tear stained face. Didn't wake up. I slapped myself again. And again. And again. I rolled down the rocky hill.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I sobbed, tugging at my hair and curling into a ball at the foot of the hill. My body shook with cold and body racking sobs; I felt weak. Weak for crying, weak for wanting Brian and Vanessa here, weak and fragile. Crying is for the weak. It's for the people who can't handle their life, for those who whine about their problems hoping someone will come and fix them. But, that's not going to happen. So I stood up, wiped my tears and headed back to bed.