Post by Yurei Avalon on Nov 12, 2005 12:26:07 GMT -5
I just got bored and felt like writing a bit lately and i'm sort of making this up as I go along, which unusual for me. I haven't named it yet and I don't know where it's going, but maybe some feedback will give me an idea to shove my muse in. So feel free to post in here even if it's not done yet folks 
And rick, you're welcome to post, but if you're going to just say "I hate it" at least come up with a new, original I hate it line please.
I do not own zoids or claim ownership of them, nor am I making money off of this. I do however claim ownership over the original characters created by me as well as the general plot. If I should come into possession of zoids someday, expect lots and lots of re-releases of OJR kits
1) This story does not religiously follow either the anime or the battle story. As for the timeline, it could probably be set in Genesis although there is no set timeline or continuity. While not technically an AU, i'm not sure at this time what sort of military/political forces will be involved.
2) The term “wild zoids” in this story is referring to small, unmanned zoids which are the ancestors if you will of modern zoids, going with the Zoids Bible in the fact that humans took wild zoid cores and put them into larger, man made machines which they evolved over time. These wild zoids have no cockpits or weapons and a sort of primitive intelligence. I think that's how the bible sums it up anyway.
3) The term “stray zoids” refers to manmade zoids that have been abandoned, lost or forgotten over time. These zoids may wander about like sleepers from the anime and attack people, or merely watch the world go by. Some may have higher levels of intelligence than others, but in any case these should not be confused with “wild zoids”.
Prologue:
Out of the mists, out of time it came, ever pressing forward in a relentless quest. The steady, metalloid footsteps were muffled by the fog which obscured the zoid from both sight and hearing, a shapeless thing of wonder in the luminescent predawn. Every now and then an advancing ray from the sun would flash across a hint of gold, only to be swallowed up by paint the deepest shade of ebony. The zoid was most certainly at home in this environment, indeed it was designed for just such a purpose.
It gave no notice, nor even any indication that it noticed the small village as it passed, but surely it was aware of the village’s presence, even if they knew nothing of it. The only things out to greet it were the trails of smoke leaving the chimneys of early rising farmers, and the occasional crow of a rooster. In short, the observer passed by unseen and seemingly uncaring of the little world’s existence.
Whatever its purpose, it passed on through the fields and paddies of the hard working community leaving only the faintest traces of its passing. Vanishing into the woods soundlessly it might have been the end of it, with little more worth remarking upon had it not encountered something it was not expecting. The zoid moved a fairly short distance into the woods before coming to a stop, the cockpit quietly sliding open while a figure disembarked, apparently with some business in this area.
Said business concerned a small shrine and a mound in a small clearing in the woods, which were reached after a short walk from the zoid on no existing trail, but rather one the figure seemed to make on their own. After an undeterminable length of time the figure rose from where it knelt, and slowly returned to the zoid, the mighty metallic beast silently turning away as if it too were paying its respects.
The two departed from the forest unmolested, and were starting across the fields once more, only bypassing the village in its direct route. Stopping on a small rise both zoid and rider turned to look down on the little village nestled snugly there, as if longing to go down but afraid to do so. Then, as one they both spun around, looking back up towards the woods where they had come from. A pair of young eyes looked down the fields at them, while a burning pair of emerald optics stared back.
Aaron had just finished gathering the last of his bundle of kindling for the night’s fire, pondering what his mother was going to make and was heading back home when he saw it. A dark shape slipping out of the woods in unhurried, graceful bounds until it paused on a rise overlooking the village. Dropping his bundle of wood unconsciously he started to backpedal away down the slope and towards the village as the massive, black and gold head turned towards him, boring through him with smoldering green eyes.
And just as suddenly it was gone, vanishing from sight as a thick patch of fog rolled over the dewy fields. Gaping he waited until an early morning breeze pushed away the intrusive fog, only to see that the zoid was indeed gone, vanished from sight in an instant. Without another thought he turned and fled towards the village, bleating out warning cries all the way.
* * * *
“So you say it looked like a big, black dog?” The twelve year old who spotted the zoid that morning, Aaron, nodded vigorously.
“Only sleeker Grampa! And pointier!”
“Hmmm… Well, it wasn’t a wild zoid obviously. But the real question is, was it a stray or a piloted zoid? And more importantly, where did it go? Zoids don’t just vanish into thin air. To the naked eye perhaps, but it had to have gone somewhere.”
The village elder seemed to be at a loss for the moment. Going by the description of the boy, it seemed most likely that it was some sort of wolf or dog type. That in itself wasn’t too unusual, as they had a few resident stray canine zoids that occasionally came poking around near the outskirts of the forest, sometimes raising a ruckus in the fields. But this zoid apparently had been disinterested in the village, instead wandering up in the forest. But why would anyone go up there? There wasn’t anything but trees, birds and other assorted small animals. Unless… Something nagged at the back of the old man’s mind, something he couldn’t quite remember but felt he ought to.
While he was an elder of the village he wasn’t the eldest among them, and he felt that whatever it was that was up in those woods was something that had probably happened when he was young. One of the older members of the village might remember though, and he would have probably gone off to ask then had not a rather sudden disturbance rocked the small village.
Joining the gathering crowd outside he was both shocked and dismayed to find a small hut already in flaming ruins while the eldest among them and unofficial leader of the village, Tiede was standing at the head of the murmuring mass demanding answers. Two zoids loomed menacingly high over the small mass of people, who watched on fearfully as Tiede bantered with them. Drawn by the commotion meanwhile Aaron was huddled next to his grandfather’s leg as he looked on in awe at the two command wolves threatening to menace their village.
Just barely he could hear the ongoing argument over the steady humming of the villagers anxiously crowding in behind.
“…we have already told you there is no such zoid here! Our village is small, clearly you can see for yourself that there are no zoids here, there never have been!”
Apparently the command wolf pilots didn’t believe it, or they just didn’t care because an instant later the apparent leader of the pair, sporting a command wolf with a long range cannon leveled said armament on the nearest hut.
“I told you old man, we know it’s in this area, stop lying to us or we’ll raze this stinking village to the ground! Now tell us where the shadow fox and its pilot are hiding.”
Shadow fox? The old man was rather weak in the knees then, suddenly remembering his grandson’s description of the zoid he saw that morning. Black dog… Apparently Aaron remembered it too, but not for the same reasons as his grandfather. He had no idea what a shadow fox was, but how many zoids did this village see in a year? One, two maybe? The timing of the mysterious zoid clearly spoke volumes.
Before the youth could speak up the old man clamped a hand over his mouth and started edging backwards with him. If they said nothing, perhaps the two rogue pilots would give up and leave when they realized there really was nothing there. If anyone mentioned the fact that they saw a zoid this morning they were doomed surely, those men wouldn’t believe them if they said they saw it only pass through.
The sun crept higher in the sky while the tempers of the two men seemed to flare rapidly as their patience ran out. The leader in his IT wolf pulled the trigger and another house disappeared in a ball of flames. The villagers silently hoped they might leave it at that and go, but then the second command wolf, sporting a pair of basic cannons turned itself to face the crowd they realized with mounting horror that they were really aiming to destroy them and their village.
“Now you maggots can all beg for your lives while you watch your village burn.”
A few hysterical screams broke out while the lead command wolf howled and the second one leisurely advanced on the crowd.
“… You know, for being so foul yourself, you really don’t have a right to be throwing names around.”
A voice rang out from somewhere, although nothing presented itself immediately to their eyes. The two pilots obviously heard it though and their zoids swung about, furiously searching back and forth for the speaker.
“Where the hell are you? We’re going to finish what we started before!”
“What, getting your faces beaten into the ground? Fine by me.”
The amiable voice seemed almost amused. Something suddenly blurred into view from out behind the two command wolves at the nearest tree line although neither zoid noticed it yet. Well, until they noticed the rapt attention the villagers were paying behind them with their utterly awed looks. Spinning about the two wolves charged for the shadow fox that was already eating up the distance with its great, bounding strides.
The fox continued down the slope without falter, claws starting to glow eerily. The two wolves meanwhile were unloading on the fox, which ignored the shots, even despite the fact that one long range cannon shot plowed into its left shoulder, shredding the armor and making it stumble briefly.
The lucky shot wasn’t enough to bring the fox down nor impede its progress, and a moment later the fox pilot screamed in sheer terror as a pair of golden claws slammed down on the neck of his zoid, mere meters from the cockpit as the fox slammed the wolf into the ground. Teeth closed around the remaining structure of the neck and twisted, once, twice until the flailing wolf went limp, shuddering to a halt as the life drained out of it, immobilized and frozen form the lack of a ZCC.
Seeing the odds no longer in its favor the second command wolf charged, thinking to catch the shadow fox off guard while it was still entangled with the body of his partner’s zoid. Almost leisurely a pair of beam saws, the only apparent modification to the fox unfolded themselves and began to glow while the remaining command wolf sprang. Instinctively the shadow fox seemed to duck, pulling its head and damaged shoulder out of the way while the wolf sprang at it, aiming to rake it with its claws.
A paw did manage to hit too, screeching horribly as it dragged along the metal of the fox’s back, until something flashed and the wolf kept flying in its planned pounce over the fox… and came crashing to the ground in two pieces. Completely beheaded by the pair of saws, the neck of the zoid was a mess of angry, sparking internals. Folding up the pair of saws once more the fox stopped by each zoid to examine its handiwork, and then looked towards the villagers.
At first it was greeted by a hushed, stunned silence. Then an angry murmuring followed, buzzing like a hive of angry bees until the fox approached them. Instantly the villagers shut up, fearing a repeat of last time. The fox only stopped though, a dozen meters or so away from the backpedaling crowd and popped open its cockpit. A figure stood, shading their eyes with one hand against the sun as they scanned the crowd.
“Is everyone alright?”
The people looked on bewildered, gaping up at the zoid and its pilot while Tiede tried to get a hold of himself.
“.. What?”
Sighing audibly, as if tired with the whole ordeal the fox pilot called down to them again.
“I asked if everyone was alright. Is anyone hurt?”
Voices raced through the crowd as people called out names, awaiting responses and finally checking in and making confirmations with the leader until he at last nodded in the pilot’s direction.
“It would seem that everyone is alright. Luckily most people were out working in the fields when they attacked the houses.”
Nodding the figure suddenly jumped, landing beside the fox’s foot gracefully. After a brief, affectionate pat to the zoid the figure strode forward, hands pocketed to meet Tiede and the rest of the villagers. Quite expectedly, the villagers watched the approaching figure closely, wary of the stranger. Strangers in the village of Madai were rare, and it didn’t help the stranger’s cause any that they were the apparent reason their village had been attacked.
Stopping a few feet away from the headman, it was now quite apparent that their instigator and rescuer was a woman. Flashing them her warmest, most genuine smile she pulled out her hands and offered them to the silent crowd, palms up.
“Good afternoon. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
Tiede was the leader because he was the best diplomat amongst them among other things, and while he generally wasn’t as foreboding to outsiders as the rest of the villagers his thick eyebrows were still pulled together in a thoughtful frown.
“And what might your name be stranger?” He didn’t seem prepared to say another word until he got a suitable response.
Smiling blithely and pocketing her hands in a manner that was entirely casual she shrugged. “Where I’m from it’s considered polite to offer your own name before asking someone theirs.”
Tiede seemed mildly impressed by this, the eyebrows starting to unknot a little and relax. “Fair enough. My name is Tiede. Yours..?”
“You can call me Yurei.”
The suspicious look was back again. “Is that not your real name?”
She shrugged again, as if trying to ward off the suspicion. “If I said it was, would you believe me?”
She had him there and they both knew it. He wasn’t likely to trust whatever she said yet. “Alright then Miss? Is it Miss?” She nodded. “Alright then Miss, may I inquire as to what brings you to our rather secluded village?”
The smile seemed to vanish slightly, as if doubt was clouding it before it reappeared and she smiled, albeit thinly this time.
“I was paying my respects to… an old friend.”
She nodded once in the direction of the forest. Recognition seemed to filter into the headman’s eyes after a few moments and he smiled them, warmly and truly as he clasped her arm.
“Aaah you should have said so. I apologize for our rudeness.”
She clasped his offered hand and shook it firmly, faint relief as well as something else hiding behind her gaze. “That was a long time ago; I didn’t think anyone would remember it.”
Something prickled up on the back of the old man’s neck, but he was distracted then from his thoughts when Aaron wriggled against him. He’d been keeping his hand over the boy’s mouth still this whole time. Apologizing quietly and releasing him he turned his attention back, only to find that their exchange had mostly finished and the headman and stranger were walking through the village to examine the damage done by the men
“I’m very sorry about this Tiede, I thought I lost those two clowns about thirty kilometers back. Didn’t realize they’d doubled back on me. May I pay you for the damages or at least let me help with the repairs?”
The two had stopped in front of the second cottage destroyed; the family was already working on finding anything salvageable in the wreckage. He looked at her and nodded once.
“We don’t want your money, but you’re welcome to help with the repairs if you’d like, one less back working on the rebuilding means one more back out working in the fields.”
“Alright, it’s the least I can do. Jack could clear away the rubble quickly enough so that we could start rebuilding by tomorrow.”
He looked mildly surprised at that, but she was quick to explain.
“Zoids are large after all; it’s quite easy for me to remove large amounts of debris in a short time compared to a human team.”
“You’re quite close to your fox aren’t you?” She nodded her affirmation, and then stopped.
“Oi I almost forgot! I need to go take care of those guys first before I start working, I’ll be back in a few minutes alright?”
He watched rather aghast as she dug out a gun from somewhere and flicked the safety off as she turned to head back up the hill towards the downed command wolves.
“You’re not going to hurt them are you?” He seemed mildly concerned, although he really didn’t have the power to stop her otherwise.
Pausing she snorted and smiled wryly at him. “Not nearly as much as they deserve, I’m just bringing it along in case they decide to misbehave.” He watched her retreating form stop long enough at the fox to grab what appeared to be a coil of rope, and then kept going to deal with the defeated pilots.
Watching her Tiede could only shake his head. He should have known that eventually, the world would find them again. All things came back full circle; it had been proven time and time again. Aaron and his grandfather had guiltily crept up to the headman and were waiting to be acknowledged, which they soon were with a nod.
“Please forgive me leader, I thought that if I said anything about Aaron seeing the zoid this morning they would have-“
“It’s alright Jacob, there’s nothing you could have done. It wouldn’t have changed a thing. Some people are just bullies in this world and don’t care about other peoples’ suffering.”
He was silent a moment, and then asked rather fearfully, “Do you think things will change now?”
The headman merely nodded, his back still to them. Sighing quietly grandfather and grandson wandered off back towards their cottage they shared along with Aaron’s parents.
Tiede meanwhile was watching the figure up on the hill subdue the two pilots. “Take care… won’t you?”
And rick, you're welcome to post, but if you're going to just say "I hate it" at least come up with a new, original I hate it line please.
Disclaimer:
I do not own zoids or claim ownership of them, nor am I making money off of this. I do however claim ownership over the original characters created by me as well as the general plot. If I should come into possession of zoids someday, expect lots and lots of re-releases of OJR kits
Author’s Notes:
1) This story does not religiously follow either the anime or the battle story. As for the timeline, it could probably be set in Genesis although there is no set timeline or continuity. While not technically an AU, i'm not sure at this time what sort of military/political forces will be involved.
2) The term “wild zoids” in this story is referring to small, unmanned zoids which are the ancestors if you will of modern zoids, going with the Zoids Bible in the fact that humans took wild zoid cores and put them into larger, man made machines which they evolved over time. These wild zoids have no cockpits or weapons and a sort of primitive intelligence. I think that's how the bible sums it up anyway.
3) The term “stray zoids” refers to manmade zoids that have been abandoned, lost or forgotten over time. These zoids may wander about like sleepers from the anime and attack people, or merely watch the world go by. Some may have higher levels of intelligence than others, but in any case these should not be confused with “wild zoids”.
Prologue:
Out of the mists, out of time it came, ever pressing forward in a relentless quest. The steady, metalloid footsteps were muffled by the fog which obscured the zoid from both sight and hearing, a shapeless thing of wonder in the luminescent predawn. Every now and then an advancing ray from the sun would flash across a hint of gold, only to be swallowed up by paint the deepest shade of ebony. The zoid was most certainly at home in this environment, indeed it was designed for just such a purpose.
It gave no notice, nor even any indication that it noticed the small village as it passed, but surely it was aware of the village’s presence, even if they knew nothing of it. The only things out to greet it were the trails of smoke leaving the chimneys of early rising farmers, and the occasional crow of a rooster. In short, the observer passed by unseen and seemingly uncaring of the little world’s existence.
Whatever its purpose, it passed on through the fields and paddies of the hard working community leaving only the faintest traces of its passing. Vanishing into the woods soundlessly it might have been the end of it, with little more worth remarking upon had it not encountered something it was not expecting. The zoid moved a fairly short distance into the woods before coming to a stop, the cockpit quietly sliding open while a figure disembarked, apparently with some business in this area.
Said business concerned a small shrine and a mound in a small clearing in the woods, which were reached after a short walk from the zoid on no existing trail, but rather one the figure seemed to make on their own. After an undeterminable length of time the figure rose from where it knelt, and slowly returned to the zoid, the mighty metallic beast silently turning away as if it too were paying its respects.
The two departed from the forest unmolested, and were starting across the fields once more, only bypassing the village in its direct route. Stopping on a small rise both zoid and rider turned to look down on the little village nestled snugly there, as if longing to go down but afraid to do so. Then, as one they both spun around, looking back up towards the woods where they had come from. A pair of young eyes looked down the fields at them, while a burning pair of emerald optics stared back.
Chapter 1
Aaron had just finished gathering the last of his bundle of kindling for the night’s fire, pondering what his mother was going to make and was heading back home when he saw it. A dark shape slipping out of the woods in unhurried, graceful bounds until it paused on a rise overlooking the village. Dropping his bundle of wood unconsciously he started to backpedal away down the slope and towards the village as the massive, black and gold head turned towards him, boring through him with smoldering green eyes.
And just as suddenly it was gone, vanishing from sight as a thick patch of fog rolled over the dewy fields. Gaping he waited until an early morning breeze pushed away the intrusive fog, only to see that the zoid was indeed gone, vanished from sight in an instant. Without another thought he turned and fled towards the village, bleating out warning cries all the way.
* * * *
“So you say it looked like a big, black dog?” The twelve year old who spotted the zoid that morning, Aaron, nodded vigorously.
“Only sleeker Grampa! And pointier!”
“Hmmm… Well, it wasn’t a wild zoid obviously. But the real question is, was it a stray or a piloted zoid? And more importantly, where did it go? Zoids don’t just vanish into thin air. To the naked eye perhaps, but it had to have gone somewhere.”
The village elder seemed to be at a loss for the moment. Going by the description of the boy, it seemed most likely that it was some sort of wolf or dog type. That in itself wasn’t too unusual, as they had a few resident stray canine zoids that occasionally came poking around near the outskirts of the forest, sometimes raising a ruckus in the fields. But this zoid apparently had been disinterested in the village, instead wandering up in the forest. But why would anyone go up there? There wasn’t anything but trees, birds and other assorted small animals. Unless… Something nagged at the back of the old man’s mind, something he couldn’t quite remember but felt he ought to.
While he was an elder of the village he wasn’t the eldest among them, and he felt that whatever it was that was up in those woods was something that had probably happened when he was young. One of the older members of the village might remember though, and he would have probably gone off to ask then had not a rather sudden disturbance rocked the small village.
Joining the gathering crowd outside he was both shocked and dismayed to find a small hut already in flaming ruins while the eldest among them and unofficial leader of the village, Tiede was standing at the head of the murmuring mass demanding answers. Two zoids loomed menacingly high over the small mass of people, who watched on fearfully as Tiede bantered with them. Drawn by the commotion meanwhile Aaron was huddled next to his grandfather’s leg as he looked on in awe at the two command wolves threatening to menace their village.
Just barely he could hear the ongoing argument over the steady humming of the villagers anxiously crowding in behind.
“…we have already told you there is no such zoid here! Our village is small, clearly you can see for yourself that there are no zoids here, there never have been!”
Apparently the command wolf pilots didn’t believe it, or they just didn’t care because an instant later the apparent leader of the pair, sporting a command wolf with a long range cannon leveled said armament on the nearest hut.
“I told you old man, we know it’s in this area, stop lying to us or we’ll raze this stinking village to the ground! Now tell us where the shadow fox and its pilot are hiding.”
Shadow fox? The old man was rather weak in the knees then, suddenly remembering his grandson’s description of the zoid he saw that morning. Black dog… Apparently Aaron remembered it too, but not for the same reasons as his grandfather. He had no idea what a shadow fox was, but how many zoids did this village see in a year? One, two maybe? The timing of the mysterious zoid clearly spoke volumes.
Before the youth could speak up the old man clamped a hand over his mouth and started edging backwards with him. If they said nothing, perhaps the two rogue pilots would give up and leave when they realized there really was nothing there. If anyone mentioned the fact that they saw a zoid this morning they were doomed surely, those men wouldn’t believe them if they said they saw it only pass through.
The sun crept higher in the sky while the tempers of the two men seemed to flare rapidly as their patience ran out. The leader in his IT wolf pulled the trigger and another house disappeared in a ball of flames. The villagers silently hoped they might leave it at that and go, but then the second command wolf, sporting a pair of basic cannons turned itself to face the crowd they realized with mounting horror that they were really aiming to destroy them and their village.
“Now you maggots can all beg for your lives while you watch your village burn.”
A few hysterical screams broke out while the lead command wolf howled and the second one leisurely advanced on the crowd.
“… You know, for being so foul yourself, you really don’t have a right to be throwing names around.”
A voice rang out from somewhere, although nothing presented itself immediately to their eyes. The two pilots obviously heard it though and their zoids swung about, furiously searching back and forth for the speaker.
“Where the hell are you? We’re going to finish what we started before!”
“What, getting your faces beaten into the ground? Fine by me.”
The amiable voice seemed almost amused. Something suddenly blurred into view from out behind the two command wolves at the nearest tree line although neither zoid noticed it yet. Well, until they noticed the rapt attention the villagers were paying behind them with their utterly awed looks. Spinning about the two wolves charged for the shadow fox that was already eating up the distance with its great, bounding strides.
The fox continued down the slope without falter, claws starting to glow eerily. The two wolves meanwhile were unloading on the fox, which ignored the shots, even despite the fact that one long range cannon shot plowed into its left shoulder, shredding the armor and making it stumble briefly.
The lucky shot wasn’t enough to bring the fox down nor impede its progress, and a moment later the fox pilot screamed in sheer terror as a pair of golden claws slammed down on the neck of his zoid, mere meters from the cockpit as the fox slammed the wolf into the ground. Teeth closed around the remaining structure of the neck and twisted, once, twice until the flailing wolf went limp, shuddering to a halt as the life drained out of it, immobilized and frozen form the lack of a ZCC.
Seeing the odds no longer in its favor the second command wolf charged, thinking to catch the shadow fox off guard while it was still entangled with the body of his partner’s zoid. Almost leisurely a pair of beam saws, the only apparent modification to the fox unfolded themselves and began to glow while the remaining command wolf sprang. Instinctively the shadow fox seemed to duck, pulling its head and damaged shoulder out of the way while the wolf sprang at it, aiming to rake it with its claws.
A paw did manage to hit too, screeching horribly as it dragged along the metal of the fox’s back, until something flashed and the wolf kept flying in its planned pounce over the fox… and came crashing to the ground in two pieces. Completely beheaded by the pair of saws, the neck of the zoid was a mess of angry, sparking internals. Folding up the pair of saws once more the fox stopped by each zoid to examine its handiwork, and then looked towards the villagers.
At first it was greeted by a hushed, stunned silence. Then an angry murmuring followed, buzzing like a hive of angry bees until the fox approached them. Instantly the villagers shut up, fearing a repeat of last time. The fox only stopped though, a dozen meters or so away from the backpedaling crowd and popped open its cockpit. A figure stood, shading their eyes with one hand against the sun as they scanned the crowd.
“Is everyone alright?”
The people looked on bewildered, gaping up at the zoid and its pilot while Tiede tried to get a hold of himself.
“.. What?”
Sighing audibly, as if tired with the whole ordeal the fox pilot called down to them again.
“I asked if everyone was alright. Is anyone hurt?”
Voices raced through the crowd as people called out names, awaiting responses and finally checking in and making confirmations with the leader until he at last nodded in the pilot’s direction.
“It would seem that everyone is alright. Luckily most people were out working in the fields when they attacked the houses.”
Nodding the figure suddenly jumped, landing beside the fox’s foot gracefully. After a brief, affectionate pat to the zoid the figure strode forward, hands pocketed to meet Tiede and the rest of the villagers. Quite expectedly, the villagers watched the approaching figure closely, wary of the stranger. Strangers in the village of Madai were rare, and it didn’t help the stranger’s cause any that they were the apparent reason their village had been attacked.
Stopping a few feet away from the headman, it was now quite apparent that their instigator and rescuer was a woman. Flashing them her warmest, most genuine smile she pulled out her hands and offered them to the silent crowd, palms up.
“Good afternoon. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
Tiede was the leader because he was the best diplomat amongst them among other things, and while he generally wasn’t as foreboding to outsiders as the rest of the villagers his thick eyebrows were still pulled together in a thoughtful frown.
“And what might your name be stranger?” He didn’t seem prepared to say another word until he got a suitable response.
Smiling blithely and pocketing her hands in a manner that was entirely casual she shrugged. “Where I’m from it’s considered polite to offer your own name before asking someone theirs.”
Tiede seemed mildly impressed by this, the eyebrows starting to unknot a little and relax. “Fair enough. My name is Tiede. Yours..?”
“You can call me Yurei.”
The suspicious look was back again. “Is that not your real name?”
She shrugged again, as if trying to ward off the suspicion. “If I said it was, would you believe me?”
She had him there and they both knew it. He wasn’t likely to trust whatever she said yet. “Alright then Miss? Is it Miss?” She nodded. “Alright then Miss, may I inquire as to what brings you to our rather secluded village?”
The smile seemed to vanish slightly, as if doubt was clouding it before it reappeared and she smiled, albeit thinly this time.
“I was paying my respects to… an old friend.”
She nodded once in the direction of the forest. Recognition seemed to filter into the headman’s eyes after a few moments and he smiled them, warmly and truly as he clasped her arm.
“Aaah you should have said so. I apologize for our rudeness.”
She clasped his offered hand and shook it firmly, faint relief as well as something else hiding behind her gaze. “That was a long time ago; I didn’t think anyone would remember it.”
Something prickled up on the back of the old man’s neck, but he was distracted then from his thoughts when Aaron wriggled against him. He’d been keeping his hand over the boy’s mouth still this whole time. Apologizing quietly and releasing him he turned his attention back, only to find that their exchange had mostly finished and the headman and stranger were walking through the village to examine the damage done by the men
“I’m very sorry about this Tiede, I thought I lost those two clowns about thirty kilometers back. Didn’t realize they’d doubled back on me. May I pay you for the damages or at least let me help with the repairs?”
The two had stopped in front of the second cottage destroyed; the family was already working on finding anything salvageable in the wreckage. He looked at her and nodded once.
“We don’t want your money, but you’re welcome to help with the repairs if you’d like, one less back working on the rebuilding means one more back out working in the fields.”
“Alright, it’s the least I can do. Jack could clear away the rubble quickly enough so that we could start rebuilding by tomorrow.”
He looked mildly surprised at that, but she was quick to explain.
“Zoids are large after all; it’s quite easy for me to remove large amounts of debris in a short time compared to a human team.”
“You’re quite close to your fox aren’t you?” She nodded her affirmation, and then stopped.
“Oi I almost forgot! I need to go take care of those guys first before I start working, I’ll be back in a few minutes alright?”
He watched rather aghast as she dug out a gun from somewhere and flicked the safety off as she turned to head back up the hill towards the downed command wolves.
“You’re not going to hurt them are you?” He seemed mildly concerned, although he really didn’t have the power to stop her otherwise.
Pausing she snorted and smiled wryly at him. “Not nearly as much as they deserve, I’m just bringing it along in case they decide to misbehave.” He watched her retreating form stop long enough at the fox to grab what appeared to be a coil of rope, and then kept going to deal with the defeated pilots.
Watching her Tiede could only shake his head. He should have known that eventually, the world would find them again. All things came back full circle; it had been proven time and time again. Aaron and his grandfather had guiltily crept up to the headman and were waiting to be acknowledged, which they soon were with a nod.
“Please forgive me leader, I thought that if I said anything about Aaron seeing the zoid this morning they would have-“
“It’s alright Jacob, there’s nothing you could have done. It wouldn’t have changed a thing. Some people are just bullies in this world and don’t care about other peoples’ suffering.”
He was silent a moment, and then asked rather fearfully, “Do you think things will change now?”
The headman merely nodded, his back still to them. Sighing quietly grandfather and grandson wandered off back towards their cottage they shared along with Aaron’s parents.
Tiede meanwhile was watching the figure up on the hill subdue the two pilots. “Take care… won’t you?”
)