Storm Raider

Chapter 3: Market place

"Wake up, little one. The world awaits. You are the future. Go make something great!" Exclaimed the mystical leaf man that danced on her side table. "Wake up, little one. The world awaits-"

Nicole dug her fingers into her pillow, still in the void between sleep and awake. She chucked it at the leaf man. In a flash, everything on the table either tipped over or sprawled all over the floor.

"You don't have to be rude about it." The muffled voice said. Nicole groaned as she whipped her legs over her bed and stretched.

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After watching him struggle for a little over a minute, Nicole pulled the leaf man from underneath the fluffy trap.

"Ah, yes." He began. "That's much better. Thank you, madam."

"Why do I still have you?" She asked herself.

" Excusez moi?" He raised his leafy eyebrow. "I, myself, think I am very useful. Do you think I'm a child's toy that you can just outgrow and cast away in disposal? Ha! I will have you know-" Nicole pressed the button on his back to turn him off and reset things on the table. She placed her pillow in its spot and arranged her bed.

Turning to examine herself through her vanity mirror, Nicole frowned as she combed a hand through her hair. It was a dark curly tangled mess. With a sigh, she began combing it out in frustration.

The end product consisted of a messy bun with strands in the front falling free of restraints.

"Good enough," Nicole said with a shrug. Hairstyling wasn't her thing, but she didn't really care anyways.

Making her way down the steps, Nicole was greeted by the abundant rays of sunlight let in from the windows, and the smells of sugar muffins and Roscal bacon. Two, of her favorite things.

She hurried into the kitchen bright-eyed and pleasantly helped herself to the ravishing tastes. It took Nicole a few minutes until she noticed the note on the fridge.

Carefully, she slipped the small piece of paper from underneath the magnet, and read its contents in silence. She felt something rubbing against her leg.

Looking down, Nicole was met by two big sparkling blue eyes staring up at her. She smiled a bit as she bent down to the scratch behind the animal's ears.

"Hey, little guy. Didn't see you yesterday." She said to it. Not it, but him. He was him. They learned that the hard way, but that's not important right now. "Where'd you go off to?"

The only reply he gave was a lick of his paws and a nestling against her leg. They weren't quite sure what he was, but when he first appeared, there was no showing him out.

You see, he was no ordinary creature. This particular animal had the figure of a kitten accompanied by the features of feathered wings and little antlers growing out of his head like those of a young deer. His fur coat had a cyan-colored hue, and scale-like tuffs lining his back like that of a dragon. Head to tail.

"It looks like Dad's not coming home till tomorrow evening." Nicole folded the note as the animal weaved through her legs, climbing up onto the table. He cocked his head at her.

"Important work-related stuff, I guess. C'mon," She grabbed her healer's bag and satchel, holding it open for the creature to crawl in.

He looked at it judgmentally.

" You know you can't stay here. Plus having you out in the open might cause a little commotion." She patted the satchel with a grin." Saves us a lot of trouble." The creature rolled his eyes and hopped in.

Nicole grabbed her cloak. " Right, then." She said as she headed out the door.

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The road to the Healer's hall wasn't too far, but with the busy streets and the busier markets, getting there took a while.

"Get your cabbages here! Tomatoes, carrots, and sweet sweet cabbages!"

" Clothing from past the Ontarian Sea! Blouse of silk, embroidered with gold!"

"Fresh apples! Get your fresh apples here! Only 6 gold pieces!"

"6 gold pieces? You cheat! It was only 3 pieces yesterday!"

Nicole pushed her way past people trying to get through. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her side and looked down to her right.

"Excuse me, miss. Could you please spare a few silver pieces?" A little girl asked. She had brown skin and matching big brown eyes. Her hair was dark and fell to her feet. She looked a little dirty. Nicole squatted down to her height.

"How much do you need?" She asked. The girl gasped delightfully and took her hand, leading her to a shelf with crates of food. The owner of the store instantly directed his gaze at the girl with a scowl.

"Beggars, I thought I told you to get out of here! I ain't running a charity food bank. Ya need cash." He rubbed his fingers together, making the sign for money.

The girl half hid behind Nicole, holding on to her leg.

"I have money," Nicole spoke. She ran a hand through the girl's hair. The man looked from the girl to Nicole and back again. His face showed no sign of approval.

"You are willing to pay for the beggar girl?"

"Of course. She's just a child."

The girl collected a loaf of bread and two apples from the crate and held them to her chest.

"That's 20 pieces. 6 in gold, 14 in silver." The clerk muttered, he didn't take his eyes off the girl.

"Must the prices be so high?"

"You want the food or not?" He crossed his arms getting impatient. Nicole sighed then dug into her pouch, slapping the money onto the counter.

"We'll be on our way." As Nicole turned away with the girl, she could hear the pieces jingling in the Clerks hands loudly.

"You be careful who you help out here on the streets, girly. Not everyone is as innocent as they seem." His words were laced with malice, and as much as she wanted to ignore them, she couldn't take his warning lightly. Nicole rubbed the girl's shoulder, staring into the distance to distract her mind.