Kale is the picture on the right :)
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Saraphine began to stir. Waking with thoughts about what an odd dream she had had that night. She had dreamt that the vagrant she had ran into had broken into her room. Why would she have dreamt of a vagrant? Why couldn't she stop thinking about him whilst on her date with Darren? Maybe she had a bit of a crush. No, no she would not have a crush on a vagrant. As if she wasn't weird enough already. She probably was stuck thinking about him because it was a major event, bumping into a dangerous person and all. Saraphine giggled to herself at how ridiculous she was for even considering that she had a crush on a vagrant.
"Look shes waking up." an unrecognizable voice put an abrupt stop to her laughter. Saraphine sat up quickly which was a bad decision as she became instantly dizzy and nauseus.
"Hey hey hey. Lay back down hun." Said a woman reaching out for her. Saraphine winced away.
"Where am I? Who are you people? Wha...wh.." Saraphine was completely overwhelmed as she looked about her. There were about five vagrant women surrounding her. So it hadn't been a dream. She had indeed been kidnapped. She looked up at the odd structures all around them. They towered above them and had green poofs at the top. They were the strangest buildings she had ever seen. "Am...am I in the sewers?" she asked. A couple of the women chuckled.
"No hun. You are in the woods. Our home. We only use the sewers to get in and out of Exopolis." the woman that had reached for her had replied. This woman seemed to be more on the elderly side. Older than any person she had ever seen in Exopolis. She must be at least sixty-five Saraphine thought. Her eyes looked kind and joyful. Her hair was a beautiful mixture of brown and silver. Saraphine then noticed that none of them had the red hair that had been forced on her.
"The woods...then those must be those things called trees I've heard of," Saraphine thought.
"But I don't understand. The King said you all live in the gutter and are viscious cannibals." Saraphine was perplexed. These people seemed nothing like the way they had been described to her throughout her childhood.
"Does it look like we are going to eat you dear?" the woman asked.
"Well, no. What am I doing here though? What do you all want with me?" Saraphine asked still on guard.
"That was my son Kale's fault I'm afraid. He came home and told us of how he had so rudly run you down in the street. Later that day we heard on the royal guard scanner just what they were planning to do with you. Kale couldn't stand to have your extermination on his hands so he performed a rescue of sorts. Although I doubt that you would call it such." the woman giggled. "I'm Peach by the way. What may we call you? I find it a little rude that I have been holding a conversation with you all without ever asking you your name."
"I'm Saraphine. I'm sorry. I just really don't understand this. What would the royal guard want with me? I've never done anything illegal. I try to stay under their radar as much as possible. I've only ever been in trouble for being too thin. And about the woods, I've always been told that all the woods were destroyed. That all the earth surrounding us was black and charred."
"There's just too much to explain right now Saraphine but we will explain everything to you in time. For now you need to relax, have some food, maybe take in the sites. You've had a long night." Peach gave her a warm grin.
"Is she up?" the familiar voice said approaching. Saraphine felt herself blush once she saw that the voice did indeed belong to the vagrant whom had run her down and kidnapped her.
"Yes Kale. Saraphine is up and well despite all of your little accidents." Peach shook her head playfully.
"Hey there. I'm really sorry about everything. I know you'll like it here. We'll make you feel at home I promise." Kale said with a tinge of guilt in his voice. The word home made tears well up in Saraphine's eyes.
"I'll never be able to go back will I?" Saraphine tried her best not to cry to no avail.
"I'm afraid not hun. They'll be watching for you." Peach wrapped her arms around her. Saraphine new that this was her life now. The last thing she wanted to do was to seem weak now. Saraphine choked back her tears.
"I'll be okay. I'm a quick learner." She attempted a laugh. It was a weak attempt.
"This ones a warrior Kale. She can handle all of this if anyone can." Peach seemed to always be smiling. "Now offer her an apple or some water Kale. She must be famished."
"Oh ya of course." Kale said running off. He returned not much long with a strange red ball in his hand. He handed it to Saraphine. She looked at it bewildered. "You eat it." Kale laughed with the same crooked smile he had given her on the street yesterday.
"This is it. You're going to poison me aren't you?" Saraphine sighed.
"What? No!" Kale laughed. "Here let me see." He grabbed the red ball from her and took a bite. Saraphine couldn't help but focus in hard on his lips as they closed in on the bite he had taken. He seemed to enjoy it and didn't drop dead. "It's an apple." Kale said tossing it to her. Saraphine examined the apple thing. It didn't look to risky she decided. She hesitantly took a bite. Juice spilled into her mouth. She was as delighted over the crunch it made as a child gets over their favorite cartoon coming on. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tried in her life. As she was soaking in all the flavor the gills on her neck started to beep to indicate that it was time they be replaced. Saraphine looked around frantically.
"Gills. I need gills. Please quick!" Saraphine's eyes widened.
"No you don't." Kale said watching her.
"Yes I do. I knew it! You're going to kill me through suffocation and then eat me. Oh no. Oh no. I'm going to die." Saraphine dropped to her knees as her gills gave out one last feeble beep.
