Rogue. (IN REVISION)

17

Leo's face lit up and headed out the front door, "Where is she? Take me to her." He said eagerly. Hawk led him to the Axe-Dune where Venner was trying to take the needle shackles off her wrists, "AH!" She winced. Venner shook his head, he had never seen a contraption like this. He tried again and she tried not to pull away from the piercing pain.

"You keep doing that and her hands will be sliced off." He spoke up protectively. His deep voice shot through her and she swiftly turned around to see her father before her. Her eyes widened with affectionate fondness only a well-loved daughter could have. They stared at each other for a moment before Leo embraced her, she found her family.

"Dad." She buried her face in his shoulder. For the first time Venner noticed a genuine white smile across her face and the sight alone warmed his heart. He quietly backed away to let the two talk and walked over to Hawk.

Leo looked down at the needle shackles and, took her hands in his, "Now how did you even get in this predicament Little Wisp?" He asks inspecting the contraption slowly pulling off the shackles a she hissed in pain.

"I didn't plan on being a slave for a day." She looked down at her father working meticulously, taking the needles out one by one as she spoke, "I was following this damn wolf that stole our food-"

Leo chuckled and pulled out another spike, of course she would do something as rash as stealing back her food from a wild animal. It didn't surprise him. Fallon looked at him and stood still as he took the spikes from her wrists. She felt no pain, not when her father was around. His touch was still gentle and protective, knowing how to carefully tend to his child still.

"Still putting yourself in ridiculous situations hm?" He asked.

"I found you, didn't I?

Leo had finally removed the shackles from her wrists which looked perforated, red blood dripping from her pale skin. He wrapped her wrists with his sleeve, tying it firmly. "I'll clean the wounds when I get to the compound."

"Compound?" She asked. "Is mom there?" Leo fell silent, he wished she didn't ask. Fallon seemed to freeze in place, "Where's mom?"

Leo met her green eyes, "She was taken by Tazmerian Priests when she refused to submit to them, she's been enslaved." The look on his face made her heart drop, to see his daughter almost fall into the same fate as her mother did must have scared him deeply. "I've been searching for her ever since."

Fallon bit her bottom lip, sighing and blocking out the pain of the loss of her mother. Leo finished wrapping her wrists snugly and took a good look at his daughter's face. She was a woman now and she looked just like her mother, the same green eyes and alabaster locks that he so fondly remembered. He couldn't resist the fatherly instinct to cup her cheeks just to see if she were real. Indeed, she was, and it filled his heart with joy, "My Little Wisp. "His thumbs stroked her cheekbones. Venner and Hawk came back to the two who had content expressions on their faces. Leo looked straight at Venner, meeting his eyes, "Thank you for taking care for Fallon and getting her out of there."

The deep voice of Leo shook his chest, humbling him and he simply nodded. Venner took a good look at Leo, this man was her father. The red headed man stood with authority and Venner almost shrunk back under his gaze. His whole aura demanded respect without him saying a word. Hawk smirked at Venner's reaction, it was clear that Venner was intimidated by Leo's whole demeanor.

Leo said nothing in reaction to the awkward reaction that Venner had towards him he just simply nodded, "Come with me, I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

They loaded into the Axe-Dune and Leo led them to a massive, gated area where walls were erected and surrounding the slab of land. They approached a large gate and Leo spoke to the man guarding it, the gates soon opened and they drove on through. There were countless people walking around talking to one another, suddenly Derelict transformed into a community of people going about their day working and conversing with each other. It was a sight to see since Derelict seemed to be hardly populated until now. This was the haven for Derelict.