She walked through in those dim lights, making sure not to break that ice. Yet worried as she was, the knocking of her shoes was the only sound that erupted that heavenly peace. She walked carelessly, ignoring the isles. She did so until she reached the final isle and she saw his face drowned into that book. As he sat down at that wooden table and chair, with his eyes and senses completely bewitched by that book.
"Did you find something?"
She asked him.
"No not yet!"
He said, annoyed.
Another spell of silence continued. As he lowered his attention to the book again and she started to ramble on the final shelf of books.
"I got it!"
He suddenly shouted.
The man sitting just beside shushed him as he did. The man was clad in a white long coat with a giant star on its shoulders. The coat and that white trouser he wore, had golden intrications on them.
"I am sorry"
He bowed to that middle aged gloomy looking man. As he rushed to her and soon enough they disappeared from his sight.
The middle aged sighed as they left. His dead cold eyes, burdened with dark circles begged to rest. Yet that man just shook his head, as if refusing to fall into that temptation.
Yet he was still so tired that as he eased his back on that chair, he dosed off.
People came around that area and sat on the on chairs arranged on the table beside his'.
Roughly five minutes had passed when that man, down as a corpse suddenly stood up like a zombie. People got surprised as he did.
"Oh Sorry!"
He bowed infront of them as he staggered on ahead.
"Oh are you leaving already?"
The librarian asked as the man reached reception.
"Yeah, got more work!"
He replied.
"Take care then, Captain!"
The librarian said with a smile on his face.
"Thanks. You take care aswell!"
He replied as he opened the door to the library and left.
——————
After Ana and Riley got out of the library, thier faces clouded with worries, Riley proposed that they should track the thieves that tried to rob them and somehow hope to get closer to Steve.
As theu walked, gazes fixated on the path. They noticed a man brutally beat down his wife on the street.
"YOU GOT NO MONEY? HUH??"
That man shouted.
A crowd started to grow around them as Ana and Riley went closer. Yet to their surprise no one in the crowd wanted to help the poor woman.
"Jump on her ass!"
One of the people in the crowd as they all laughed.
"Lets just go!"
Riley tried to stop Anastasia as she got upset by that. Yet she wasn't just upset she was enraged by that man.
"Krustallos!"
Anastasia shouted as she threw an Ice crystal at him that froze his wrist.
That middle aged man with freckles on his and a rough beard glared at the crowd as his wrist froze.
"WHO DID THIS??"
He shouted. As he finally diverted his attention from beating his wife to the crowd.
The people murmured amounhst themselves as if getting scarwd from that man.
"I did it!"
Anastasia proclaimed.
The man's rage got fueled as he saw Anastasia stand there proudly after freezing his wrist.
"Huh.... What are you doing girl? Do you wanna get buried alive... Huh??"
He shouted as he firecly walked towards Anastasia.
The crowd got excited upon hearing the man. As he walked straight up to her. With his left hand, he tried to slap Anastasia, yet she blocked him with his arm and overpowered her.
The man got shocked and scared as she did.
"Why are you beating that woman huh?"
She asked, firecely.
"You must be new little girl. THIS IS THE USUAL!! EVERYONE BEAT THEIR WOMEN LIKE THAT WHY SHOULD I BE THE ONE TO GET PUNISHED!!!"
The man suddenly ravaged.
As the man spoke, the standing audience favored the man.
"Release the man!!"
"Everyone beats these sluts!!"
"The shouldn't be born!!"
Even the women in the crowd had no will protect their honor infront of those misogynistic men.
As she heard the chants of the crowd, she got baffled for a moment.
From the moment the two had entered the country, everyone there seemed to have no morality or concern for anyone whatsoever.
As the situation dragged on, Rikey who had quietly watched up to this moment grabbed Ama from her arm.
"Let's go, I told you it's no use!"
He said as he tried to move her.
"Leave me!"
She suddenly blurted.
As Riley looked into her eyes, he got scared aswell. For the eyes in which he had looked, was not the usual starry cheerful ones. There was a certain rumble in those eys that pushed him away subconsciously.
Then suddenly that man tried to hit her with his frozen wrist. Yet as he did, he was blocked again. Enraged he looked at her and shivers ran down his spine. For her breath had changed. Those starry blue eyes had chanhed their color, they were white as ice now, even that gaze, that was rich with warmth had nothing but freezing cold in them. As she exhaled, a freezing haze came out of her breath.
The arm that she had suppressed of that man's suddenly started to get freezed. Panic gripped the whole crwed asthey started to scurry.
"Witch"
They labeled her, for which she didn't care. All she cared for was that man's pride and arrogance with which he brutally beat his wife.
The man started to scream in agony and pain as he started to get freezed.
The woman, the beaten woman, whose pride had been stolen infront of everybody, whose clothes were all ragged and torn and dusted upon by that vile man's boots. Whose body was battered and bruised all over.
That woman still came over, begging and crying she wept down on the ground asking for Anastasia to spare her beast of a man.
A sudden and subconscious tear ran across Anastasia's left cheek as she sae the woman beg for her life. With her gaze fixated on the woman, she finally left the man's arm. Half man, half ice, the man scurried away in fear.
Anastasia slowly crouched down as the woman wouldn't stop crying, she brushed her hand onto the woman's bruised amd swolled red cheeks. Her heart was overflowing with concern and compassion for that poor broken woman. Ana hughed her. As she cried her heart out like a child infront of her mother.
The women in the crowd froze there as the men demeaned and left.
Anastasia softly brushed her hair as she cried on her shoulders.
"I'm here for you!"
She quietly whispered into the woman's ear.
As the woman calmed down, he invited Anastasia and Riley into her small house.
As the both went inside, they saw a small living room, with a broken table at the centre and bottles of alcohol scattered all over the room. The walls though painted neatly yet were scribbled upon and by drops of blood. There was a mat on the floor, that had joles in it was dusty all over.
After coming inside, the woman quickly tied her hair and begam to arrange those scattered items.
As Anastasia saw her, she helped aswell. She even ordered a stubborn, uninterested Riley to help throw out the trash aswell.
Soon enough, at the time of Dusk, by the efforts of the three, The house, including the Kitchen, The living room, the bed room and the toilet was finally cleaned.
Riley layed down the ground with his legs stretched, as he was huffed out completely from those house chores.
Finally the woman brought some food.
The three ate the dinner together as Anastasia finally got to hear the woman laugh brightly.
"So... Seeing that your husband was leech drunkard. You were the one who worked right?"
Anastasia inquired as she ate.
"Yes, I work as a bartender in the close bar but that alone was nearly not enough to put food on the table".
She replied.
"Then how did you manage all that?"
Ana said.
"There is a gang. Well its actually based in Biscow but sometimes Their leader, comes here aswell. That man is a gentleman and very kind. He has very long beautiful hair. His Golden hair dazzle in the eyes. That man, he gives me money and usually he is the one who comes to ward my husband off when he is on a rampage like that."
She explained.
"What is the name of that gang?"
Riley suddenly showed an interest.
"Ohh.. Its Pacedillos. Whenever he meets me he is usually dressed in a green capelat and and a fur hood. Yet that man looks so depressed. Whenever he looks at me, his eyes, it looks to me like he has some secrets he cant share. Like he is suffering from something alone. Well.... Sorry for ramblimg on and on. Why dont you two stay here for the night. You two look like travellers."
She added.
"Uhhh.. No we cant. Our carriage and horse are parked outside the library."
Riley argued.
"You can just bring the carriage and the horse here. No worries no one would steal your horse if you bring it outside the gate. They'd all just think that its the horse of the drunkard."
She joked about it.
——————
As the gloom had spread across the skies, darkening everything, his shining long golden hair were the only light that the middle aged man followed.
"You're late this month!"
The man with long golden hair said.
"Cmon! Cut me some slack yknow! I am not as young as you think of me to be. Hibino".
That middle aged man complained.
The middle aged man followed Hibino to a park. Both of them sat on a swing under a blinking light.
"Huhh.... Youth is good isn't it. If you become this old like me, there is no fun in life anymore."
The middle aged man continued.
Hibino stayed quiet, as if angry at the middle aged man.
"So why are you so gloomy today? Don't tell me you didn't get to see her today!"
The middle aged man said.
"No its not that. I plan to visit Marika tomorrow morning."
Hibino replied.
"Then what has gotten you all grumpy huh?"
He inquired.
"No matter how much i try to forget it all. Everything comes rushing back."
Hibino said.
The middle aged man, who seemed exhausted for all that chit chat, suddenly got shocked after listening to Hibino.
"Steve Solmoneus, The new entrée on the Red list? He is gone through it aswell."
Hibino added.
The more Hibino talked, the more the middel aged man's eyes opened and widened.
He laughed as furrows appeared on his forehead.
"Oh here you go laughing again!"
Hibino complained.
Yet even after Hibino's complaint, The middle aged man's laughter just grew louder. For he started to laugh like a maniac, his eyes, that were so exhausted, even after laughing all that much, Those eyes remained empty. Finally that man calmed down.
"Sorry you had to see this!"
He said as he stood up.
"What are you going to do now?"
Hibino inquired, still seated on the swing.
"I dont know. Today i ran into some kids in the library. I did recognize them but it seemed that thy were dealing with the same problems as me. That kid was rambling on about "7:26". As if learning a lesson."
He said.
"And why are you telling me this?"
Hibino asked.
"Heh.. I dont know. My brain is a mess. Here, this month's change."
The middle aged man said, as he threw a bag filled with orbs towards Hibino.
As the middle aged man went out of the park, Hibino finally got up from the swing.
"Captain!"
He shouted.
"What?"
The middle aged man replied as he turned back.
"Thank you!"
Hibino said as he laughed.
As the Captain saw Hibino smile, he chuckled aswell before waving his hands and disappearing into the gloom.
************
Tips:
The Pacedillos have seven members:
— Hibino Franz (Earth)(1st Evo Master).
— Sadem Bonaparte (Water)(1st Evo Master).
— Guillia (Fire)(1st Evo Master).
— Xyrock (Wind)(1st Evo).
— Hohenhiem Bowen (Fire)(1st Evo Master).
— Lisa (Water)(1st Evo).
— Heather (Water)(1st Evo).