Guardian | wataru
Returning to District Alpha that evening was a little more eventful than usual. Hajime hadn’t had long to get used to this new living area, but so far the most excitement had been seeing a Pariah shuffle by in silence. Noise carried through the narrow corridors today, leading him warily from the lit tube marking the entrance toward whatever was causing the din. It didn’t take long, even at a cautious speed.
Peering around the end of one hallway, he found several figures spaced out in the next. He recognized the disjointed creatures as a handful of the Pariah, now lurching viciously in the direction of someone else. The more human mannerisms of their target placed them as something different, and from appearance they were a rider he hadn’t seen before. Closer to him were a pair of kids, one boy kneeling beside another sitting on the ground.
With little at his disposal to assist the rider, he focused on the children. Gesturing in their direction caught the eye of the kneeling boy. “Come this way,” he said just loudly enough for them to hear. As they scrambled out of danger, he saw that his suspicion was correct: the sitting boy was holding a wounded arm.
Hajime ushered the two safely behind him. After one more glance back at the fight, he turned to them and knelt down. “Don’t worry. We’ll protect you,” he told the boys quickly, trying his best to reassure the one already crying. His gut feeling was that even if the rider technically wasn’t working with him, they were working toward the same goal.
@lordkiva
