The cold air brushed against my skin; I was sitting on the roof of a block of flats, a still-warm burrito in my hand. "Mmm, tasty," said the man sitting beside me; we'd been tasked with keeping watch because, as it happened, we had keen senses.
"Of course, my food choices can never go wrong," I replied before taking a bite of the burrito, "By the way, I'm curious about what those two are discussing inside."
We looked towards the entrance of a bar; inside, Alice and Holmes were already waiting for Gilles to arrive. "You said you never saw Gilles come through the front door, yet he just suddenly appeared in here?" Alice confirmed with Humpty, who was wiping a glass in his hand.
Humpty nodded and Holmes glanced around at the patrons—still no sign of that blue-bearded man. "If I had abilities like his, I would do the same—time efficiency is crucial" said Holmes.
Back outside, our burritos were gone—I licked my finger, which still had traces of burrito sauce on it. "How long have you known Alice?" the man struck up a conversation; I glanced at him before resting my hands on the concrete I was sitting on.
"Half a year," I replied, and the memory of the first time I met her made me feel both nostalgic and annoyed—she'd given such an irritating first impression. "But for some reason, it feels like ages."
Hearing that, Robin smiled wryly, "I can understand; I sometimes feel that way too when I'm with Marian." The name slipped out of his mouth unintentionally.
"Marian, is it?" I repeated, turning towards him. "You said I look like her—just how much do I look like her?" I asked, just as a strong night breeze blew open the hood of my jacket.
Robin fell silent for a moment and looked down at the road below us; I'd probably just reopened an old wound and I should've apologised straight away—but before I could say anything, she replied, "Exactly the same."
"Oh? Is that so?" I sighed before pulling my hood back over my face; I didn't want him to keep thinking I was his dead ex-fiancée just because he'd seen my face.
"You remind me of someone too," I said, and that immediately caught his attention.
"Really? Who?"
"My neighbour."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
My echo followed immediately as his echoed out—I was actually lying; I don't have a neighbour who looks like him, and even if I did, it wasn't important.
We stared at each other before Robin laughed, realising my intention. "I thought you were a stiff, cold girl, but it turns out you're quite funny" he said, interspersed with his laughter.
"By the way, we haven't properly introduced ourselves, have we?" He sat sideways towards me now. "My name's Robin Loxley, but I'm usually called Robin Hood. Nice to meet you" he held out his hand.
"What's the point of introducing ourselves now?" I wondered, as none of this mattered to me. I then realised why he was doing this, "You're really running out of things to talk about, aren't you?"
"Just do it!" Robin insisted.
I sighed and took his hand. "Just call me Red." Upon hearing my name, he seemed to suddenly remember something.
"I've always been curious—is your name really just 'Red'?" That was a question I often heard. What's wrong with that name, anyway? I think it's cool.
I shook my head, "Of course not, my full name is—" before I could finish, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye—a man with a striking blue beard.
I turned and saw the man chasing a little girl. "That girl..." She was the same girl Holmes and Alice had asked about yesterday.
Her red scarf made me recognise her straight away. "Red, that girl's in danger," Robin said, already preparing to jump, but leaping down from this height could kill us both instantly.
From his equipment belt, he pulled out a grappling hook, but there was only one, whilst there were two of us here now—Robin looked at Gilles, who was teaching the girl, whilst racking his brains over how we could both get down safely.
But really, it's easy, "Robin, carry me down—can you do it?" My suggestion left Robin stunned, as if I'd said the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"Technically, I can, but are you sure?"
"That girl's going to be kidnapped, and who knows what Gilles will do to her!" We couldn't afford to hesitate.
My arms wrapped around Robin's neck and shoulders from the side, then his arms supported my body so I wouldn't fall. We ran and leapt down, Robin quickly firing his grappling hook and securing it to one of the balconies.
He swung us across, and I could feel the strong wind hitting us, before our feet finally touched the ground without a scratch. I released my grip instantly and saw Gilles opening a door in the middle of the road, forcing the girl named Clara inside.
After they went in, the door remained open, and I immediately ran through, followed by Robin from behind. "Wait, Red! That's like a trap—!" Before he could finish speaking, I'd already gone in, forcing him to follow.