The One Who Got Away - SitS Sequel (ON HOLD)

Chapter Two - A Not-So-Pleasant Meeting

"Well."

Zane stared at the woman before him. She was wearing a hooded, mahogany cloak that went down to her waist; the hood was down, revealing chin-length, platinum blonde hair that curled around the edges of a face reminiscent of porcelain, with stormy, ocean-gray eyes, eyes that twinkled like brief flashes of lightning in a large stormcloud. As Zane's gaze traveled downwards, he noticed how the edges of the cloak were lined with cream-colored fur—like the hood—before moving on to glance at her forest green pants, then her coffee brown boots. In her hands, the woman held an ivory-colored bow engraved with abstract, swirling lines; the woman had cocked an arrow, aiming at the ground for the moment—a wise precaution, in Zane's opinion.

"If you're done checking me out, mind me sitting down here for a chat?" The woman asked, hands on her hips. Zane gestured to a small boulder, and she sat down on the rock rather dramatically, still holding her bow as it sat, the arrow still cocked, in her lap. "Thanks. My name's Oliva. What's yours?"

Zane looked at Oliva, surprised at how easily she gave out her name, before reminding himself that she probably wasn't on the run like he was.

"Well?" Oliva asked, startling Zane out of his thoughts. He looked at her confused, before voicing said confusion with a simple, "huh?"

"What's your name?" Oliva reiterated the question, sounding slightly exasperated. "I told you mine, so it's only fair that you tell me yours. It's not like I'm going to turn you in or anything, even if you are some dangerous criminal or whatever."

"Oh." Zane looked to Shadow and Perki, as if to ask them for advice. Shadow made a face that showed he clearly didn't care, while Perki tilted her head curiously. Those birds could be awfully expressive for a pair of... well, birds.

Coming to a decision, Zane mentally reminded himself to stick to the alias he had in mind. The particular alias Zane had in mind—as awkward as it was—somehow proved to work, even though Aphmau made it up on the spot in one of her letters, and Zane decided it'd be easier to stick to one fake name. Taking a deep breath, Zane answered Oliva's question.

"My name is Uhm."

Silence filled the clearing. Zane cringed internally; he clearly shouldn't have used such a stupid name. It was over, he was done, his capture and subsequent death sentence were imminent, he was dead, and—

"That's... wow. That's not a name I've heard before, but it's not the strangest thing I've heard, either. I... don't know what to say." Oliva finally reacted, causing Zane to release the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Oh, sorry." Oliva said, noticing Zane's slightly overdramatic sigh of relief. "Guess I gave you a heart attack there, didn't I? Should've reacted sooner. You okay?"

"I'll live." Zane replied curtly.

Oliva looked him up and down, and for a second—a single, terrifying second—Zane swore he saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes. But then it was gone, and Zane began to doubt it was ever there at all.

"Not much of a talker, are you? That's okay. I mean, when I saw you here, I thought maybe I could have a nice chat, try to talk to someone to reassure myself that I'm not losing my mind, but I guess I kind of just intruded in on you without asking, and that's fairly rude." Oliva rambled, before trailing off and shutting up.

"I'm not against taking some time to chat." Zane pointed out, if only to fix the crestfallen look Oliva wore.

"You're not?" She asked, her eyes sparkling a little. "Well then! From one wandering vagabond to another—you're not some camper or something, right? Of course not, I've yet to see a camper gut a fish properly, you clearly know what you're doing—how are things? Been to any towns lately? Heard any interesting news or gossip?" Oliva steamrolled on, asking and answering a question mid-sentence before asking more questions. Looking at Zane expectantly, she beamed at Zane, waiting for his answer.

Zane was reasonably overwhelmed for a moment, before finally answering, with less speed than Oliva, but more thought put into the answers. "Yes, I'm pretty much a vagabond, things have been sort of strange lately, I was at a town last month, and have you ever heard of the criminal called, 'Zane Ro'Meave'?"

Oliva's cheery expression vanished instantly, her jaw dropping a little in surprise before she answered, her voice uncertain as she stared at the ground. "Y-yeah, I've heard of him. I've heard there's a bounty on his head. Is... Is that true?"

Zane really shouldn't have said it, but for some arbitrary reason he said it anyway. Maybe he really was seeking human interaction, maybe he liked the thrill of talking about himself as if he was someone else, but whatever it was, Zane said it, and quickly came to regret it.

"True as the sky is blue. Forty-five emeralds, double if he's brought in alive."

That had torn it. Oliva's face became as stormy as her eyes, and without a word, she stood up and left the clearing, tears at the corners of her eyes.

Zane sat there, shocked, before he stood up, leaving everything behind but his satchel. He didn't know why, but he felt he should try to right whatever wrong he just did. He could just imagine Aphmau's face if he told her he'd made a girl cry without understanding why. Pausing for a moment, Zane looked around, before Perki flew down, chirping softly. Trusting the magenta bird in front of him, Zane followed Perki.

He should at least try to right this one wrong.

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And it's Oliva! Anyone who's read Feeding My Good Side should recognize her, and if you recognized the other FMGS reference I made, then congratulations! Cookie for you!

Also, please comment, I love reading what you guys put down, and sometimes you guys post the most hilarious things that just make my day. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!