"What are you?"
Not a "who are you," a "what are you?"
And that question was directed at me.
The girl walked down from the hill. The appearance of the girl was starting to clear up.
"I never seen someone defeat a thick ass snake that quickly."
The shadow that was covering her appearance finally disappeared.
'Woah..' My eyes sparkled, noticing who the beautiful girl was in front of me.
The girl had beautiful, brown skin that matched so well with those golden-brown eyes that held a balance of determination and boldness. Her hair was a set of long braids that was a mixed of black and red—adoring the ends of each braid with golden rings that would beamed off the sun's rays.
'This girl's strength is admirable…'
The way she held the hilt of that claymore so carelessly; like she wasn't affected by the weight of it. Her steps were confident and swift, her eyes were only locked onto me, a target for her and her only.
'She's so… beautiful.'
The girl bent down to me, having one of her hands in her gray hoodie pocket. She raised an eyebrow with suspicion.
"And you look awfully young too. Are you a toddler?" She asked.
I blinked. Even up close, she is prettier.
"Oh. No, I'm not." I managed to get out. I stood up, fixing my hair to look at least appealing. "I'm fifteen."
That seemed to make the girl's interest piqued. She hummed with the end of her two-toned lips lifting up into a smirk.
"You lying?" She asked. "You seem way younger."
I get that a lot.
"Why would I need to lie about that?"
I was genuinely curious about why people would always assume I'm lying about my age. I mean, sure I'm young, but not that young. The girl laughed heartily in response.
"Huhhh…okay, I like you." She said, nodding in approval. I didn't know what I did, but it made me feel a bit welcomed.
"Jolene." She said, holding out her hand almost dramatically like an actor.
I shook her hand, her palm smooth with the right amount of firm.
"Mahina."
"Maaaheeeeenaaaaa.." She dragged on my name, favoring the taste of it.
"Yes. Mahina."
"And those two?" She asked, jerking her head down to Phoenix and Kairos.
Kairos placed his hand on his furry chest with bravo. "Well, if you must know, I am known as—"
"He's Kairos." I cut him off before anything came out of his stupid mouth. I pointed at Phoenix.
"She's Phoenix."
Jolene gently patted Phoenix's head, letting out a long "aw." Kairos's seemed a bit irritated that the attention wasn't on him now.
"A baby kitten out in the wild like this. Surprised she even managed to live this long." Jolene said. Both Kairos and her shot daggers at each other.
But, I was caught off guard on what she called Phoenix.
'Kitten…'
"Hmph, Mahina?" Kairos called out, his tone clearly agitated. "A word."
'I knew this day would've come sooner or later."
Kairos pulled me by my leg (which really didn't do anything.) I bent down with my eyes still locked on Jolene. Kairos snapped two of his claws together to get my attention.
"Mahina, you're really going to trust her that easily?" Kairos asked with genuine concern.
"I don't see why not." I said, taking a few glances at Jolene before giving my full, undivided attention to Kairos.
"Are you this dumb?!" He whisper-yelled. "We cannot afford gaining new allies. What if she's a spy and knows that we're guides, huh? You know that's something we can't let others find out about our identities…it's strictly forbidden."
'Well, I remembered I mentioned to Gia that if she had an answer for me about the missions I was receiving. Made sense when she wasn't aware of what I was talking about.'
"If you make it too obvious then she'll start to suspect something." I replied, not really seeing what the big deal was.
Kairos groaned. He stretched out his eyelids in a frustrated manner.
"I've been in this area longer than you. Trust me, I haven't seen one breathing thing but creatures and Tiers!" Kairos glanced at Jolene, "just how did she know we'd be here? Did she write that paper because she KNEW someone would be here?"
I scoffed. "I think you're reading too much into this."
Judging by Kairos, that was also an interesting characteristic of him. He only trusted me when I identified as a phenomenon; me sending my mission requests through permission proved that. However, when it comes to another species that aren't phenomenons like us, or guides, then he'll refuse to trust them unless they prove that he can. It's a great tactic that he's being cautious…
…I just don't think right now is the time for that.
I smiled softly. I patted Kairos on the head, making him jump in response. I think he can already tell what I'm trying to say, my expression gave it all; It'll be okay. Trust me.
Besides, I'm positive about this.
Kairos stared at me when I started to walk away. His eyes gazed down at the grass, sighing with disappointment. Kairos was worried about my safety—his attitude and expression just gave it away. He can only sigh in defeat; knowing he can't do anything.
Ding!
-A MESSAGE SENT BY THE PHENOMENON, MAHINA-
"Don't hesitate to point out anything suspicious."
Kairos blinked innocently at the message above him. I know what I was doing was quite selfish, given the fact I only gotten her name, but I'll come up a plan of some sort if things go north.
"Hey, Jolene?" I called out, getting her attention.
I wanted Kairos to just be silent for now. Kairos catches up to me, hiding behind my leg as he glared intensely at Jolene.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." Jolene replied with a nonchalant demeanor.
"Were you the one who wrote that paper inside of the ditch?" I asked, not realizing my tone was coming off a bit cautious than I wanted it.
I guess Kairos just made nervous about her now. Second-guessing your own decisions was a pain.
"Well, duh." Jolene shrugged. "I had to find out a way to get close to you."
Jolene pointed at me with her claymore. The claymore had a sliver blade with dents on the sides, the hilt had a colorful scheme mixed of shades of different types of dark blue with golden streaks to top it off. A pretty combo-color choice. It reminded me of the deep sea.
"I stood there and watched you fight that A-Tier. And I'm honestly? I'm impressed. Me and my older sister really thought you were going to give up because of the lack of resources and props, but when you started to beat that snake's ass up, we changed our minds."
Jolene turned on her heel to walk up to me. I let out a soft grunt when the tip of her finger lifted up my head with a wide smile that showed her little baby fangs. Jolene's hand then went onto my shoulder, leaving me a bit nervous and confused.
"And I've decided that it was time for a new partner."