The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023

68| The Uprising And The Orphans

Every couple of months some moron decides to play hero and ignore the sanctions and break the rules but the Orphans have only ever been dispatched twice. The first guy was a guy named Orag who was wanted in twelve Capitals for a list of crimes so long they rolled out on the floor. And now, the Red Fox, a woman unlike anyone Arden has ever known.

On one hand she has been reported saving civilians from tragedies like the building that burnt down a week ago and then on the other she's a conniving threat that tried blowing up the Royal Council.

Rumour has it that Augustine shouldered most of the blast but Arden's has never been particularly fond of rumours and would rather hear the truth coming from the horse's mouth.

As of now they know nothing about her, she's a ghost, a whisper around every corner, but in his experience even those can be killed. It just means you have to give a little more effort to hunting them down.

Arden raises his left suppression bracelet to his mouth whilst perched high up on top of a building, watching over the crowds below like the gargoyle statue a few metres away. "I'm in section four, still no sign of her."

"No sign of her in section two either so, either she has cold feet, or the intel was wrong." Elijah replies, leaning against a marble pillar with his back.

"The intel is never wrong. You know that."

"Do I?" Elijah mutters, ignoring the way that Alia keeps glancing over at him nervously. "Just...be safe."

Arden decides to patrol one of the other areas since nothing here seems out of the ordinary, leaping and diving from building to building, flexing muscles unused for some time as he gradually gets back into the swing of things.

The most interesting thing about her, and the reason she gained such popularity so soon, is her ability to use various kinds of elemental magic. Eyewitnesses have reported her using several different elements, mostly metal but also fire, air and even a nature enchantment here and there.

"Do you want to go see a movie?"

Elijah's question throws Arden off, throwing his timing off and almost causing him to slip off the edge of a building. "Now isn't really a good time."

"That technically wasn't a no though...right?"

Isla checks through the sewer system for any backup escape routes the Fox might be thinking of taking, raising her flashlight down the tunnel so that she can get a better look once she arrives at an intersection. "I would like to remind everyone that there are other people using this frequency."

Elijah scoffs. "Oh please, it isn't like I'm threatening to tie him up and have my way with him."

"I see you have a lot on your mind."

Before the two of them can go any further with their teasing match, Arden spots someone running through the crowd, a man bolting with a purse in his hand. The woman shouting after him further up the road confirms his suspicion. "I have a robbery in this section."

Alia looks around at the increase of Fox masks showing up in some of the stalls, her heart sinking in her chest. "Leave it. That isn't our mission."

Arden can see Valkyrie Corp soldiers running after the robber but there is no way they are going to catch him. He almost moves on before seeing a flash of red so bold that it's hard to ignore. "It is now. Looks like she's going after our thief."

Alia and Elijah start sprinting like Olympic athletes, having trouble getting through the dense crowds of the shopping district. "We're four minutes away, keep her there."

Arden chants before leaping off the building nose first, creating an ice slide that safely gets him to the ground, following in hot pursuit.

He finally gets a visual after sprinting at full speed for what feels like two minutes, unfortunately arriving mere seconds after the altercation between the Fox and the thief has already gone down.

The Fox runs at him but when she gets close, she uses a quick spell belonging to the Air Faction to propel herself into the air and over the crowd, running as soon as she lands on her feet.

"Why do they always run?"

Arden can hear voices screaming at him down both of his suppression bracelets but his brain barely registers it as sound as his mind has already latched onto her and only her.

She turns the corner of the street heading in the direction of section two. "Elijah, she's coming your way, on route to the church."

The fox spins around and throws her hand up to Arden, sending a blast of fire towards him. "Ignium!"

Arden uses the ice as a shield, jumping into the blast with the shield protecting him.

"Scutum glacies!"

All these people around are making this much more difficult. They just stand around and watch which puts them in danger if one of their spells gets out of control. Instead of his usually aggressive attacks he will have to fight defensively to make sure no one gets hurt.

"Would you quit chasing me? I've got a lot to do and so little time!" she shouts.

Although he can understand her clearly, he knows she must have an encrypted rune on the inside of her mask that keeps her true voice hidden. "You're too great of a threat."

"The Supreme is denying the people of the gifts they were born with but I'm the threat? Figures."

"I don't speak for her, but I do know the devastation that channelling can cause first hand."

"Of course you do, little wolf. But who do you think put you in those situations in the first place?"

Arden tries not to let it show on his face but his interest in her just piqued further. "How are you using different kinds of magic?"

The Fox wiggles her fingers in the air, tilting her head as she slowly backs up. "A friend of mine. He knows a lot of stuff about everyone and everything. Including you and I."

"What," Arden stutters as a sharp pain forces its way to the front of his brain with the blurry image of a shadow. "What are you talking about?"

"Spoilers Arden. They're for me to know and you to find out."

Her distraction works and he has just enough time to raise his ice shield before a metal bin slams into him. He gets thrown through the window of a shop as his ice shatters into thousands of shards.

Afterwards. Elijah runs around the corner and sees Arden's body laying down, sprinting over to him with Alia who canvases the area but finds nothing.

"Arden?" Elijah whispers, cupping Arden's head with both hands, trying his best to be gentle before the desperation settles in and he shakes a little harder. "Arden, open your eyes. Come on, open your eyes for me."

Ardeneyes flutter open softly with specs of crushed ice and snow gently hazing down on them, fighting against his dizziness to ask a question. "Did you catch her?"

"No, we didn't even see her." Elijah utters, rests his forehead against Arden's with a sigh of relief, closing his eyes to steady his fluttering heart. "You scared me for a second there."

Arden covers Elijah's hands to get his attention, looking him directly in the eyes. "She called me little wolf."

"She did what?"

"She called me...little wolf."