The Affinities

Ariana walked in the village with everyone else- as silent as ever. She grabbed Jo's hand and whispered "Don't worry. I'll stay with you,"

 

Jo nodded at Ariana's quiet promise and pointed further down the road, "The inn should house us for a while. They don't charge too much...at least...I don't think so." She led them down the hill and into the village completely. Inhaling the familiar scent of bread, pumpkin pie and the almost over powering scent of fire, Jo yawned and stretched. A few elderly folks hustling and bustling down the road with arms filled with food stopped for a moment and stared at her. Their whispers almost going unnoticed by Jo's sensitive ears. "You see that? That girl looks just like in the story. You think it came back to destroy our home again?" Jo frowned, did they just call her 'it'? As if she was a monster?

 

Jellal remained silent when they reached the village. This was the start of when he'd have to hide his true identity. judging by the way the elderly folk were talking, humans were all the same. Monster's with a lust for magical blood to be spilt. He would win the wager no problem if things turned out how he thought they would. In the meantime, He needed to rest. He walked over to the inn, rented a room with the small amount of money he had been carrying, and proceeded inside.

 

As Keel continued to make his way through the town, he just barely managed to over hear the elderly folks conversation. Some welcome. He thought to himself as he continued to towards the inn.

 

Ulrich listened to Jo and nodded. Before he could reply, a few elderly people passed by, staring at Jo as they talked. Those stares were reminiscent to him, though they weren't looking at him. He couldn't hear them, but he knew the gist of what was going through their minds. He frowned for a moment before turning to Jo and smiling wide. "Home... remember that home isn't where you're born or forced to stay. Home is where the heart is. That's what it means to be human. And we're every bit human as they are, so don't forget," Ulrich told her brightly. Before he would even let Jo reply, he already made his way towards Keel. "So... what's up with you?" He asked him, smiling that lazy smile.

 

Maddie let out a huge gale of breath as she finally reached the top of the hill with the others, sweat dripping down her forehead as she gripped the sparkling stone Jo had gave to her tightly. Although it looked really pretty, Maddie had been wondering if the stone had other uses, like perhaps to amplify it's owners power if they shared the same affinity. A buzz of excitement jolted up her spine as she eagerly caught up with the others as they entered the village, putting all the possibilities in the far depths of her mind for her to ponder over at a later time. As she reached the centre point of the little group, she couldn't help but notice that every person that passed them or vice versa seemed to have their eyes glued to them, as if they were in some kind of freak show. The unrelenting stares made her nervous. She really hated it when it happened, not that it happened too much in the orphanage since she was "the same" as all the others there, however being in the presence of so many mortals all of a sudden started to bring about her paranoia.

 

Haley kept up a bright smile but walked up beside Jo, she spoke clearly but quietly, loud enough so Jo and the others could hear her but quiet enough that the people watching them couldn't. "Not much? Um, last time I checked we had no money, ziltch. Unless one of you has enough to pay for us all, we have a problem. If you do please enlighten me, I would love to be wrong this instance." She looked at the ones who hadn't been living in the Orphanage, she didn't expect the ones who had been living there to have any. They simply had no need to carry money around with them, the little they did have, they kept very safe somewhere that probably hadn't been able to retrieve it from in the chaos. She clutched onto her bag straps as she glanced at the people watching them.

"Is it normal for them to stare at strangers like this? Or is it that obvious that we're you know? I suppose a big group of kids randomly walking into a village isn't that normal, we need to work on standing out less." She said quietly to them. She did not like them being the centre of attention and she felt a little powerless to stop the gazes. They were not circus freaks, half of them were children. The comments being whispered, that carried on the wind to her ears, unsettled her even more though her smile never faultered.

 

"Nothing much." Keel replied to Ulrich. As he listen to what Haley said an idea popped into his head, granted they couldn't do it given there current situation and the fact that their already being look at like freak of nature. Well they weren't normal, but none of them and two heads or anything that obviously stuck out between them.

 

Ulrich's shoulders slumped, head hanging low, at the reminder of how poor they were and at Keel's detached personality. He feigned heartbreak with a great gasp and a long sigh. Boy, he sure doesn't talk much... and on top of that, I'm flat broke... he thought with much melancholy. The melodramatic earth-user lifted his head weakly, looking to and fro. The curious, and some times frightened looks on the faces of the people made him feel nervous. Granted, they didn't know who they were, but they seemed incredibly superstitious and were wary of a bunch of kids... kids roaming the world without adult supervision, aside from Andrew, was uncanny and did raise suspicion. Damn... he thought. Ulrich drew in a deep breath and said, rather loudly, "We're lost! I told you we shouldn't have taken that right back at the fork, Andrew!" He said, putting on a bit of a play as he turned to yell at Andrew angrily. If there was anything beneath his sleeves, it was the guilt card. "Not only are we broke, but we have nowhere to sleep tonight. We're only kids, man! We can't work! Not to mention we're all orphans, our families killed and slaughtered by those rogue wizards! You're the oldest out of the bunch, so it's your fault for not getting a map!"

 

Ariana couldn't help but smirk at Ulrich yelling at Andrew. If that Ulrich was something, it was be a great actor. "Yea, Andrew!" Ariana shouted for good measure. "It's all YOUR fault,"

 

Keel was a bit confused about what was going on around him. All he could tell was Ulrich was yelling and Andrew and Ariana was side with Ulrich. Hopefully this won't turn out horrible, especially with that temper of his. Keel thought as he watch what they were doing unfold.

 

Jo watched a few of the stares leave them with a pitying shake of their heads and sighed. "WELL WELL WELL, IF IT AIN'T LITTLE JO! OI, I AIN'T SEEN YOU IN...WHAT...A LONG TIME, GIRLY. YOU SURE DID GROW UP FAST!" Jo jumped neary out of her boots and flinched as a giant hand came down on her head, only to ruffle her hair with such gentelness she couldn't help but feel the warmth. Gancing up, Jo's red eyes widened, "Barkeep! You're...alive?" He lifted his hand and examined himself, "IF I WASN'T, WOULD I BE A GHOST? AWW, JO YOU ALWAYS KNOW HOW TO MAKE ME LAUGH AND CRY AT THE SAME TIME." he bellowed quite loudly, "NOW NOW, DID I HEAR YOU KIDS ARE ORPHANS? JO I BELIEVE, BUT BROKE ORPHANS NONE THE LESS. SURELY YOU GOT A PLACE TO STAY." Jo weakly grinned, "No actually...my friends..." she nervously glanced at them all as if it wasn't okay to call them her friends, "And I are traveling. I suppose we're trying to play the sympathy card." And it was working. A few elderly folk had hesitated in their steps, their hands reaching for their wallets. Barkeep, or otherwisely known as Berry, clapped his hands. "NOW DON'T YOU WORRY YOUR HEADS ABOUT NOTHIN'. I'D DO ANYTHING FOR JO. STAY HOWEVER LONG YOU WANT. OH, AND WHEN YOU GET HUNGRY, STOP BY THE BAR AND I'LL TREAT YOU ALL TO DINNER." Gratefully watching the large man barrel his way into the inn and start demanding rooms, Jo couldn't believe he was alright. She hadn't thought anyone had survived the fire.

 

Ulrich slammed his hands to his ears at the sudden appearance of Berry. The man was loud, louder than Ulrich's shouting. "Ack!" he yelped, collapsing to the ground from sudden shock and surprise of the large man. Good God! The man's a giant! Hell, he may even be Zeus himself! Such large hands he has, grandma! He thought to himself in surprise. He brought himself back up and shook his head. The conversation ended quickly, much to Ulrich's pleasure and he sighed. "My God, Jo!" He exclaimed, obviously horrified by the man. "How do you know that titan?!" Ulrich asked, glancing around in case any more people like Berry appeared. The man was loud, jolly, and as large as a bear! Ulrich felt horrified, and he had faced an entire military division by himself. Oh, look, he thought cheerily as he analyzed their surroundings. We're getting paid for our performance! The ironic thought amused him as he ran up to the elderly folks staring at them, pulling out their wallets. "Pardon me," he said, trying to sound as ashamed as possible. "I don't mean to be rude, and I hate asking this, but may we have some money? At least enough to get us to the next city so we may be in a decent orphanage. At least, for the children. My eighteenth birthday is only a month away and the youngest are nowhere near as old as I am. It would be gracious of you wonderful people to donate to us. It would go towards a very noble cause."

 

Jo was about to grab Ulrich's shoulder and give him a good beating for hassling the people. She hesitated when an elderly grandmother held out a hundred for him. "Oh, it's not doing little old me any good sitting here. Take it, young man. You're very brave for taking care of such a large group of children. You have a gentle spirit, I can tell." Jo frowned, a gentle spirit... Shaking her head she poked him in the side, "Hey, what do you think you're doing? These people work hard for their money. After all, they used to get enough hassle from bandits." The old lady gave her a curious look, "Have you been here before it was destroyed, young lady?" "Um...well...Berry was too...and he...we..." She didn't know how to explain. She wasn't even an adult yet and Berry was a large enough man to hold his own and rebuild a town. It wasn't that long ago...why is everyone treating it like it was a hundred years ago...

 

"Wow, just wow." Keel said under his breath as he watch Barry leave. He'd never seen someone that huge before. He was about to ask Jo about him until he saw Ulrich getting money from a old lady. "Once again wow."

 

Ulrich turned to Jo and looked wounded. "Why, Jo!" He exclaimed, exaggerating the words. "You know we're too young to do anything on our own," Ulrich remarked, giving her a sly wink, away from the old woman's view. "I apologize... she knows it's a shameful act," Ulrich said sadly, turning towards the old woman, frowning. "I was unaware of your plight, and it would be disgraceful to take your money," he went on, bowing low with respect. "But this is a dilemma... is there any way I can earn this money instead? I would not mind to do a day or two of labor for such a sweet, soft-hearted woman such as yourself. Perhaps you need your garden tended to? Or any other assistance?" Ulrich smiled at her, though his eyes were filled with pain and guilt. These emotions were, surprisingly, genuine. It did harm him to do this to people, but there really was no other way...

 

Keel didn't know if Ulrich was acting or being sincere, but whatever it was he sure was putting alot of feeling into it.

 

The elderly lady chuckled in such a delicate manner and pointed to a nice villa covered in vines. "If you want to earn the money, I could have you do a bit of housework. After my hubby died, I'm afraid I'm all alone in that big old house." She touched a weathered finger to her chin, "Oh, there is something...the entire town would pay you for...but I cannot ask this of you." A terrible feeling developed in Jo's gut. "Then don't ask." she said curtly. "Oh, but it's so simple...aye...you're right lass. I cannot ask it of a bunch of children. That cave is a graveyard..." As she thought, the lady wasn't as nice as she suspected. "We'll just take the money you're offering and leave you be." she growled, snatching the money from her hands and tugging on Ulrich's sleeve.

 

"Wonder what Haley's going to say about this." Keel said once Jo had taken the money from the old lady.

 

Ulrich felt a sense of foreboding, turning to look at Jo and staring back at the old woman. The earth user remained firm as Jo tugged at him, an inner flame in his eyes as he noticed a challenge. "The entire town would pay us to... go to a cave? What, there some kind of ghost?" He asked, his face serious. Ulrich turned to Jo, staring at her. "Jo," he said softly. "It's not nice to take money without helping people." Ulrich shook his head and glanced at the old woman. "I'll be at your place tomorrow to do some yard work, early in the morning... the break of dawn. It would be nice to get some exercise in, anyway." He said cheerily, smiling again. "Is that alright with you, Miss?"