— Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap...AAHHHHHH! Can't look back, she's 100% following me, I can feel it in my bones, she's right behind me, she knows my smell, that animal!
After she ran away from home, Serena got into the forest without following the road to lose her mother as quickly as she could.
— But, damnit, I don't know where to go now...I should just...
"Groaannn"
— Come on, this is no time to get hungry, belly!
"Roaaaaar!"
Realizing on the last second, Serena dodged an attack that came from her side.
She looked at the place the attack came from.
— A cross-wolf, huh? It's too soon for you to be hunt...ah, I think me being here is a...uhm...thre?...no...tre?...danger for you.
Looking closely, a small den lied behind the one-eyed, wolf monster.
Serena looked around — Ok, seems like I lost her. — She raised her hands — Look, I'm in a hurry, so if you're good, I'm good, ok?
The wolf's cross-shaped iris grew, it's body glowed blue, and spheres made of water surrounded its neck.
— Come on, I don't have time for this...
The wolf leapd towards Serena, and the spheres, one after the other, were launched at the girl with speed that no normal person would be able to dodge, but Serena, jumping up to a tree branch, dodged the them.
— Yeah, sorry about this, but I'm in a hurry.
She sprung herself towards the wolf, delivering a kick to its neck, killing the beast in one move.
— I shouldn't leave it here, the aura will turn bad...well, might as well get the eye for the Guild.
Serena got near the body, took out a small knife from her waist and carved out the wolf's eye.
— Monsters are so nice, carving them leaves no mess at all, unlike normal animal...
With her finger, she drew a circle on the ground, within the circle, she drew a hexagram, and on each point that touched the circle, a pebble was placed.
— Now for the wolf. — She circled the wolf's body with six pebbles
— And the eye goes here.
With the eye within the hexagram, Serena's hands started glowing as she chanted.
"What is of earth, go back to her, what is of sea, go back to him, what is of air, go back to be free, and what is mine, so let it be."
The pebbles, wolf and eye all shone bright, and all but the eye disappear.
— Ok, gotta go now... — She said as she stored the eye on her purse and started running— But, damn, I'm really lost, huh...but if I keep going in one direction, I'll get out...maybe...
So finally, after 30 minutes of being lost, she reached the road that cut the forest and got to the outskirts of the city of Salman.
— What the hell is happening? Why are there so many carts at the gate?
She got near the pedestrians' gate.
— Also full of people...welp, might as well... — She slithered her way through the crowd, getting to the front, where the two guards were gesturing defensively towards a short woman wearing a yellow and black canotier.
— But I have to get inside, that guard needs to be recompensated!
— No matter how many times you say that, all we are asking is for your patience, we also don't know what's happening, but we were ordered to have noone entering the city without previous authorization.
— Good morning, Serena Merlah, the Adventurers' Guild.
— Oh, you're still alive Serena? You can go, have a great day!
As Serena was starting to go through the gate, her hair was pulled.
— Woah! What?
— How can this one go through and I can't?
Now on the ground, Serena was forced to look at the woman who was screaming and pointing at her.
Her crinoline, like the rest of her outfit is yellow and black, contrasting heavily with her silk white skin and deep red eyes and hair.
— I told you that I have to find a guard, she's a woman and has pink hair, I just need to see her, then I'll go away!
Both guards looked at the woman's feet — Yeah, you owe her, the guard with pink hair, huh?
— Yes! How many times do I have to repeat myself so it goes through your thick skulls?
— I mean, sure, you owe a person with pink hair, right?
— Yes!
— And did you look down?
— Why would I...
Her already white skin somehow got even more white.
— So...whatever you owe me, I don't need it. — Serena got up and dusted the dirt off herself — I'm in a hurry, so I'm going.
— No, wait, I'm sorry, please, let me repa...
As the woman screamed at Serena, she got further and further away, ignoring her pleas.
— I just have to get my payment from the guild to get a carriage to take me to Strair...or maybe the capital? Dammit, I can't think right, but I gotta hurry and catch up to them.
As she finished blurting those words, she had already arrived infront of the Guild.
She pushed the closed doors.
— What the...nobody's here?
The reception desk had no one, the tables had drinks half full, and as she entered further into the building, she saw the request tables even had some money sitting on them.
— Ok, maybe something serious is going on... — She mumbled as she swiftly took some of the money.
A creak from the floor above made her jump.
— Uncle Sieg's here?
She rushed upstairs, arriving at a door with a plaque that read "Guild Master Siegfried. Please knock first."
Without knocking, she opened the door, and facing away from her was the hulking Sigfried's back.
— Hi, Serena, as always you just barge in.
— Yeah, uncle Sieg, looks like there's trouble right now, huh...
— And?
— And...uhm...I'm sure you're having a hard time now but...
— Yes, I am.
— ...
— ...
— ...
— Ok, that's enough. — Siegfried stretched his arms, and a loud crack came from his back. — Let's cut to the chase, here's your payment.
— Yeah, thanks...soooo...yeah, bye.
— Goodbye, Serena. — He heard her footsteps going away, then the door closing, then the steps started fading, until there was silence, and with a heavy sigh he gripped his forehead — That...Idiot...