stories in the dark | tharja
It had been nearly a week since the russet haired Mage found himself in this strange, sinister city. Those few days had been spent in the library, or sitting out on the grounds of the school yard with a borrowed text in hand. And it was over the past day or two that he had befriended a stray cat that frequented his favorite reading tree. It appeared that the tree was the stray's home, and Ricken was merely a visitor to the area. Yes, despite the cold, suffocating atmosphere of this forsaken land, Ricken had managed to befriend another animal, much like his time in Ylisse.
On one particular afternoon, the cloud became overcast, the rumbling of thunder beginning to reverberate in the sky above. His brown eyes lifted up from the pages of an ancient text, and flickered over to the lazing cat beside him.
"Shoot, it's going to rain..." he sighed as he stood up with the text clutched to his chest. Another glance was spared towards the cat. "Well.. there was never any rule about having an animal in the apartment."
In no time at all, Ricken was back at the apartment, a book in one hand and a new pet in the other. Eyes sparkled with this small pleasure in life, and it was difficult for him to do anything but smile. As leather boots tapped against the tiled floor of the lobby, the faint hum of an elevator descending and opening it's doors reached his ears. It seemed that someone had called the elevator down, and just in time, too! His pace quickened as he sprinted towards the elevator,
"Hold the doors!" he managed to yell. Now it was a mad dash to make it inside. The Mage would never have been the star member of a school team, but he had still managed to make it within the lift before the doors could close on him.
"Hey, thanks! I really appreciate that!" Ricken beams up at the one before him, his naive disposition assuming the best from others.
Oh, but if only he realized just who was sharing the elevator with him.