Lost and dammed Chapter 2
Disappearances
With a knock on the wooden door, Asta got up from bed and opened it. A messenger came to tell them that Lord Nyx had a mission for them ready. The dragonette geared up and flew towards the zaft. It's basically a board with all the necessary information. There were sightings of a small child wandering around the forest alone from a scouter. Asta and a few other guards were put on the mission to verify if the kid was ok. They came back after a quarter hour with nothing. They assumed the minor was either dead or sacrificed to the emlyns. After they came home, they took off their armor and put their swords in their holders on the wall. The headguard went to the kitchen to make themself dinner. The house was quiet, so they figured that Ansoni was probably taking a nap or at work. The tired person went upstairs to fetch a missing ingredient from the cabinet down the hall. When coming back, they noticed that the door to their room was open. They opened it wider and dropped the can of tomato soup onto the ground at the scene. The contents splattered on the wooden floor. Asta stood there in fear, staring at the empty room. The window was broken inward, and there were glass shards on the floor. Claw marks and blood was a bit everywhere. There were obvious signs of struggle in the room. The sheets and curtains were torn to shreds. The pink-haired dragonette turned into their dragon form and compared their talons to the size of the rips on the wall. They turned back into their hybrid form and just stood there on the verge of tears.
After a few moments, the guard rushed downstairs and packed a bag with essential survival supplies. Their spellbook, their purple gem, and few spell components, a wetstone, some nutrients, some water, and a few other things. Asta wasn't planning on going out for too long, just a few hours. They put on their armor uniform and slid their dual swords into their sheaths. They equipped themself with their bow and arrows before leaving the house. They flew down to the Lord's base and wrote down what had happened. The guard then flew into the forest.
Asta got their FFSFC when they graduated magic school. The Forever Forest Security Formation Certificate is the only legal pass to venture in the forever forest. It was essential for their guard career. However, it can only be used with a group of 2 to 5 buddies.
Despite knowing better, they entered the forest carefully yet quickly. Upon entering the deeper part of the forest, the red winged person heard a loud scream of pain in the distance. Thinking it might be the lost juvenile or their lover, their parental instincts kicked in and they flew towards the sound. Upon arriving closer, the headguard realized it was two complete strangers. An emo punk human and elf hybrid wearing a black crop top and small shorts with fishnet tights underneath with short black hair with a dark blue streak in it and a taller red winged person wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants with short blond hair and piercing red eyes. They looked like a dragonette but had slightly different features, the tail was different then their's. Asta climbed up a tree and hid in the leaves, watching them. The shorter one was laying on the ground, clutching their injured arm on the verge of tears. The muscular mystery was bent over them, worried sick and trying to find out what happened. Asta was suspicious of them but saw that the intruders didn't seem dangerous. They climbed down the tree slowly, still hesitating. Suddenly, the trained guard hear the low growl of an emlyn. Reacting to it, they turned towards it, armed themself with their bow and arrow, and shot it. The emlyn's dying scream attracted a many more. They were all surrounded in these creatures. The newcomers were terrifying of them but also about the fact that they were being watched by an armed person. A few dozen shots later, all the nearby emlyns were currently rotting on the leafy ground. The warrior wiped the blood of their face and turned to look at the strangers.
- Who are you? What are you doing in the forever forest? Are you formally trained to be here?
- I.. I just wanted to find my lost sibling, Ave. My name is Lesha and I came with my partner Cleo.
- I'm sorry if we intruded on any private territory.
Asta looked at them for a few seconds, trying to decipher their expressions. Feeling a sort of empathy, the guard opened their bag and performed a quick healing spell on Lesha's burnt hand. They smiled at their recovered hand and looked at Cleo, who was equally as surprised.
- Alright, you said you were searching for your sibling? Well, I'm searching for a kid, who I'm assuming is also Ave, and my spouse, Ansoni. Can we search together?
- I guess that could work.
Cleo replied to Asta. Suddenly, the ground and everything start shaking drastically. It was biggest earthquake they had seen in hundreds of years. Probably because it wasn't one. When it stopped, the veil protecting Shallowcrest went down. Someone had broken it permanently. Unfortunately, the backup veil went up, blocking every creature known to exist from passing. Asta saw this and ran to the wall. They started banging on it with their fist as tears started streaming down slowly.
- NO NO NO NO NO no no no... no... shit...