SOL

SOL- Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

"Was there anything unusual to report, Elassen?" Captain Kole said, eyes bound to the paperwork in front if him.

"Nothing unusual, sir." Rayna answered.

Rayna stood with her hands behind her back, spine straight as an arrow, when speaking to her captain. While she was considered to be one of the most promising young Enforcers in the Sentrails, her relationship with her superior officer could be considered difficult, at best.

As she stood in his familiar office, a plain room, each wall a mossy-green color, with a magenta carpet at his desk, mostly obscured by procrastinated paperwork, her mind raced back to the strange, rose-red haired, young man.

"Although I did meet someone out in the woods, sir." Rayna said hesitantly.

The Captain finally looked up from his desk and gave her a skeptical look.

"You met someone in those?" He said, equally as skeptical as his expression.

"Yes, sir. A young man most likely in his early twenties. He had a long, black coat, and rose-red hair."

Captain Kole's eyes slowly widened and pursed his lips. He quickly started sifting through the piles of paper on his desk, until he finally pulled out a rumpled, gray flyer, studying it like his life depended on it. "Come here, Elassen."

Rayna stepped forward, concerned by what he might show her. Captain Kole held the flyer up to her. "Did he look like this?"

Rayna looked over the flyer for a moment, thinking it was a bounty flyer, but it wasn't- it was a warning flyer. She then realized that the person on the flyer was the same young man she had encountered earlier while on her patrol. She took the flyer, surprised to see him on a warning flyer, of all things.

"WARNING: IF THIS MAN IS SPOTTED DO NOT ENGAGE- VOLATILE AND DANGEROUS."

Rayna knew there was something odd about him, but volatile and dangerous? She couldn't see that; he was much too calm and collected. She also took a moment to get a good look at him. Their encounter was too brief and fast for her take in his appearance, all she could see were his dark eyes and large sword.

Looking at him now, even if it is simply a drawing of him, he somehow seemed younger, almost boyish, though his eyes every bit as intense as in person. His clothing was quite perplexing as well. His coat came to his knees and was decorated in white lining and silver buttons. His pants were slim and light grey, and were tucked into a pair of well-designed black that came just above his ankles. He looked like he came from royalty, something no criminal in the Sentrails could ever look like. The exception to that was his left arm, which was bound in a pure white sleeve covering his coat's sleeve, and stopped just below his shoulder; a strange black symbol engraved into the top of it.

While examining the flyer, Rayna realized something else she found strange.

"His name isn't on here." She said.

"No, it's not." The Captain said. "I received that from a Castral messenger a few weeks ago. I have no idea who he is. The messenger didn't say. I figured if they're looking for him, then it's no business of mine and they can handle it."

"Sir, if I saw this person, are you going to report it?"

Captain Kole gave a dismissive snort.

"No way in all hell I'm speaking to those arrogant brutes. You look unharmed. If you weren't then I'd report him, but that's not the case."

Rayna felt uneasy about letting a man wanted by Castra to go unreported. Their reputation is as merciless as it is brutal. Still, she felt good hearing her Captain say he would speak to them if this person had harmed her.

"Is that all, Elassen?" His eyes again fixed on his desk.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Dismissed."

The wind outside Kole's building made her hair stand on end. As uneasy as she felt, all Rayna could do was brush off the encounter and tend to her own duties. Given that the Enforcers were simply a makeshift army in the center of Talton, and Castra an imperial empire, delving any deeper would by risky and foolish. Still, the look in that young man's eyes stuck in her mind, as if they had been burned in, and that was all Rayna could see, until she felt a hard slap on the back of her neck.

"RAYNA!" A happy voice boomed. "There you are, Honey."

Rayne turned to see Gin, her friend and comrade through training. She smiled as he shook her neck.

"Hey Gin." She said weakly. Gin's face scrunched in concern.

"What's wrong? Kole drill you again? You look sick."

Rayna shook his hand off of herself.

"I'm fine. Just tired, I guess. Nothing serious."

Gin did not look convinced. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm free for a while. Go get some rest, hon. I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind seeing you." Rayne brushed off his hand and shook her head.

"No." She exclaimed. "I have duties. I will carry them out. It's my job."

Gin put his hands on both her shoulders and gripped them firmly, bending down to put his face near hers.

"Halstor will survive a few hours." Gin said tenderly. "I'm an enforcer too, Hon. Go get some rest. I'm sure nothing will change in the meantime."

Rayna looked into his brown eyes, again flashing to the young man's eyes from earlier. She shuddered and exhaled slowly.

"Alright," She said quietly. "I'll go rest. I'll see you later. Just please make sure the Captain won't chew me out for this."

Gin smiled and put his hand to his heart.

"Thank you." She chuckled.

"I'll see you tonight." He said and walked towards Captian Kole's building.

Again, Rayna sighed and looked up at the sky that was beginning to darken, wondering what her father's advice would be in this situation. A skirmish with a criminal is one thing, but a Castral fugitive is something wholly different.

It is dangerous, yet Rayna could still only see his eyes...