It took them until midnight to reach the ruins that stuck from the ground. They had had to stop several times when Theron hadn't reacted quickly enough to pull Felicia back, a whine leaving her each time Felicia hit the ground with a dull thud, groans of pain the only indication that she was sill conscious.
Theron sighed as Felicia once more slid, her torso colliding roughly with the ground below. Aminia groaned in frustration and jumped from the saddle, landing lithely as she walked towards her now unconscious friend. Wrapping her arms under Felicia's armpits she hauled her back over the saddle like a sack, no longer having the energy to place her in the saddle properly as she guided the horses through the toppled buildings. Theron's ears twitched almost constantly, eyes snapping from one shadow to another as she walked. Aminia stopped at the first stable looking building, tethering the horses to a rusted metal railing by a boarded up window. She turned to Theron who continued to scan the abandoned street, her gaze locking momentarily on metal husk of a car before moving on, 'Hey, Theron?'
Almost instantly the Hunter snapped to attention, appraising Aminia with a questioning glance. 'Can you stay out here with the horses tonight? Make sure they don't get killed by something?'
Theron nodded before placing herself a few steps from the creatures, settling herself down to rest, crest flaring momentarily as she shifted to get into a comfortable position. Aminia couldn't help but smile under the gas mask as she watched the Hunter. Shaking her head she dragged Felicia from the saddle and into the building, dropping her unceremoniously on the ground before going back out to collect the saddle bags. Boarding up the building she set up the air filters, pulling down her gas mask with a relieved sigh as the light went from red to green. Stretching she sat Felicia up against a wall before lowering her mask as well. Her eyes twitched fitfully under their lids, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Aminia gingerly lifted the blood encrusted shirt to expose the darkened bandages. Aminia gritted her teeth, making a mental note to change them once Felicia had woken up.
Aminia looked up from from her PPD as the first droplets of rain hit the ground. They made a hollow sound on the decrepit roof of the building as they fell. Aminia shuddered and listened as the rain began to fall heavier, the soft sizzling sound accompanying it as the acidic rain began to eat at their surroundings. Felicia groaned, capturing Aminia's attention as she tried to sit up straighter, flinching as her movements caused the stitches to stretch. Aminia rushed over and helped her friend before pulling the saddle bags closer and rummaging through them, pulling out the first aid kit. Felicia sighed but pulled up her shirt, aiding Aminia in removing the bandage, constantly flinching as the course material pulled at the wound. A hiss left her as the wound was finally exposed, the muscles surrounding it twitching fitfully as Aminia reached out to touch it gingerly.
Aminia sighed and set about cleaning it, sending apologetic glances at Felicia before placing the gauze over the site, pressing down on it slightly as she re-bandaged it. Satisfied with her work, Aminia packed away the first aid kit, throwing a tube of food towards Felicia along with a water canteen, watching from the corner of her eye as her friend dug into the meal with almost comical enthusiasm.
'So what's on that file that I got shot for?'
Aminia looked up from the ground to see Felicia settling herself against the wall, using her jacket to pad her back. She shrugged, pulling up the arm that had the PPD wrapped around it, 'Haven't had a look yet.'
Her fingers danced across the interface momentarily before a projected screen flickered to life, a collection of files popping up and covering the space. Felicia watched as Aminia's free hand reached up to re-arrange the files, dragging them across the holographic interface. Once she was happy with her work she began to read through them, her face draining slightly of colour as she went through the files that only confirmed the story that Felicia had told her what seemed like a lifetime ago. She finally came across a map, a couple of taps allowing the image to dominate the entire screen. She rotated the screen to allow Felicia to view it better. Felicia's heart dropped into her stomach as she took it in. She knew that this task would be large, but this was just getting ridiculous.
Eight red dots flashed on the global map, scattered across it on what seemed like random points on the map. Two points rested in the middle of the ocean while the other six lay scattered across the continents. Felicia groaned as she looked at it, muttering under her breath, 'Well this is going to be fun...'
Aminia frowned, 'What are they?'
'The dispensers that will set loose the bacterium... It's how they will "purify" the planet.'
If possible, Aminia's face paled even further, swallowing past the lump in her throat, 'And how are we supposed to destroy these things?'
Felicia shrugged, 'We'll figure it out.'
'Yeah, and while we're at it, why don't we grow wings! Even if we do figure out how to destroy them, then what? We can hit-' she turned to consult the map '-two before we would have to travel to another continent!'
A sigh left the Guardian as she shrugged once more, hand clutching her wound as the movement aggravated it, 'I don't know, we'll think of something. Let's just take this one step at a time okay?'
Aminia nodded stiffly, 'Alright... next question... which one do we hit first?'
Felicia raised her hand to point at one of the two dots that sat in the water, 'That's where Neried is. It's probably the easiest to reach, plus, Max has family there, they could help us get into the city.'
'Alright... But before we go gallivanting off anywhere you need to rest and let yourself heal... at least enough so you don't fall from your saddle constantly-' Felicia grimaced at this, '-And we need to stop somewhere to get supplies.' She sighed, 'Arion's out of the question I'm guessing?'
Felicia nodded, 'Dryad isn't far from here, I know a Guardian there that could help us out.'
Aminia forced a small smile onto her face before getting up and stretching, the interface vanishing with a momentary flicker, 'Ok. Now rest, the sooner you can heal up, the better.'
Felicia settled herself onto the ground, using her jacket as a pillow before closing her eyes, 'You should get some rest too.' And with that, she allowed herself to slip asleep.
'Are you sure you're ready for this? You should rest a bit longer.' Despite her protests, Aminia knew she was fighting a losing battle as she watched Felicia hoist herself up into the saddle with a pained grunt. Settling herself into the saddle Felicia clutched her side, gritting her teeth against the pulsating pain that radiated from the stitches. Turning to her friend she was suddenly grateful for the gas mask that hid her pained grimace, 'See? I'm fine! We've been here too long as it is, we're almost out of rations.'
Aminia sighed, throwing her hands up into the air in defeat as she mounted her own horse, 'Alright. You win, but we're taking it slow. You hear?'
'Yes mum,' Felicia rolled her eyes as she urged her horse into an easy trot. She took a deep breath, looking about the toppled and ancient buildings as they passed through the abandoned city. After three days of being cooped up inside and fussed over by Aminia she was more than happy to grin and bear the pain if it meant they started moving. Besides, every day spent lazing about was a day that Talbot got closer to being able to put his plan into motion.
They spent the day in comfortable silence, watching as Theron raced over the landscape, stopping and doubling back when she'd moved too far away from the pair. The Hunter had a bounce in her gait, obviously as pleased as Felicia to be on the move again. The occasional chirp or playful growl from the Hunter rose above the steady beat of the horses' hooves on the cracked earth. By the time that the sun had started to sink below the horizon the group had settled in the shade of a large, misshapen boulder. Felicia gingerly slid from the saddle, her muscles sore from the constant aggravation of her wound. She refused to give Aminia the satisfaction of noticing her discomfort and set about pulling out their shelter for the night. They tethered the horses to the shelter before entering the rather cramped metal tent and set about going to sleep after a rather small meal while Theron settled herself down beside the entrance, a low warning growl leaving the Hunter as another dared come too close.
Over the following days their travelling speed slowly increased until they were galloping across the countryside, the horses necks straining as if they believed that by stretching them they could somehow run faster. The days were mostly silent, any conversation mainly centred around what would happen once they reached Dryad and what provisions they needed and if they even had enough money on them to cover the costs. The nights were punctured by yawned goodnight's and the noises from Theron and the horses. During the week and a half that they spent travelling they were attacked on two occasions, luckily escaping with the worst injury being a shallow gauge in Felicia's horse's flank which she'd stitched up and bandaged swiftly.
Around midday on the tenth day of travelling the looming walls of Dryad came into view. Felicia and Aminia grinned at each other, the only evidence being the way their eyes lit up and the ghosts of laugh lines became visible in the corner of their eyes. Urging the horses forward they watched as the walls became larger and more defined with every passing moment. Felicia turned to see Theron slow down, before sitting like an obedient dog awaiting its owner. She maintained this posture long enough to relay the message that she would wait for them before bounding off, leaping into air and twisting to catch a bird-like Hunter in her jaws and lithely landing back on her feet. Felicia chuckled, returning her attention to the city before them.
They slowed to a stop far enough back from the walls so that those stationed on top of them would be able to see them. There was commotion atop the wall before a small door beside the massive gates opened, a single person stepping out to greet them. The rifle in his hands was held stiffly, ready to be pulled up and fired at the drop of a hat. He eyed them for a moment before his gravelly voice rang out, 'Who are you and why are you here?'
Felicia was the one who answered, 'I'm Felicia Thorn, a Guardian from Arion, this is my friend Aminia Tanwen. We're here to see Hilda Barlow.'
The man's eyes narrowed before calling out, 'Were there more of you?'
'No.'
'It's pretty stupid to travel on your own like that!'
Felicia chuckled, on any other occasion she would have heartily agreed with that statement, but instead she asked, 'May we enter the city?'
The man was silent for a long moment, eyes locking on the Guardian jacket that Felicia wore before nodding. He disappeared through the door and before long the gates started to swing inward, grinding to a halt when the gap was large enough for the horses to enter one at a time. Once inside the gates slammed shut and they were surrounded by people. The man that had confronted them outside strode up and nodded towards Felicia, 'Harrier Barlow should be at the Guardian Tower, do you need directions?'
Shaking her head Felicia smiled under the mask, 'I've been there before, thank you.'
With that they moved through the streets, Aminia looking about eagerly as they moved through crowds in the streets, the cries of vendors bragging about their wares ringing out above the babble of the city's citizens. The Guardian Tower loomed above the other buildings, the glass exterior glinting almost harshly in the sunlight. She had to nudge Aminia several times during their trip to make sure that the woman didn't wander off on her own to explore the city or stop to ask the shopkeeper how much that engraved wooden table in window costed because it would look absolutely stunning in her apartment.
When they finally arrived at the tower they tethered their horses to the hitching post beside the building that had a large plaque reading 'VISITORS' above it. As they approached the doors they could see the mass of people that mulled about inside, trainees running around on errands, fully fledged Guardians standing in small groups talking or making a more leisurely pace as they went about their own jobs. Nobody paid them any heed as they walked from the pressurisation cabin, gas masks hanging loosely around their necks. Aminia's steps seemed to drag as she stared in awe at the ceiling, the metal covered in intricate murals dedicated to Hunters and Guardians alike, the images broken only by the lights that filled the space with a fluorescent glow, glinting off the metal floor. She pulled herself out of her admiration as she noticed Felicia already talking to the woman behind the table at reception. She almost skidded to a halt beside her friend, catching the end of the conversation, 'And congratulations on your promotion to Harrier, I hope you enjoy your time here in Dryad.' The woman behind the counter had a large smile on her face as Felicia thanked her once more before heading towards the elevators, glancing over her shoulder briefly to make sure that Aminia was following.
The sound of clashing metal rang out as they walked down the hallway several floors above, the glass walls revealing Guardians training in hand to hand combat. Felicia turned as the glass doors slid open and entered the room. Within it a woman slightly shorter than Aminia sparred with a burly male, the metal poles they wielded clashing against each other with loud ringing sounds. Felicia leaned casually against the glass wall, watching as the woman who had a large scar running down the side of her face dodged an attack before swinging the pole around to catch the man at the back of his knees and knocking him flat on his back. The pole swung around again before resting, almost gently, against the man's neck, the woman's entire body coiled, ready for the next attack.
The man chuckled, his own weapon falling to the ground, making a soft ringing noise as he held his hands open in surrender. The woman instantly relaxed, taking a step back and holding out a hand towards the man, helping him to his feet. Beside Aminia, Felicia was grinning, walking over towards the woman and clapping her over the shoulder, 'Nice job there Hilda!'
Hilda turned her attention from her sparring partner to give an equally large grin in return, the scar making it look slightly lopsided, 'Well look what the Hunters dragged back! Never thought I'd see you again Fel, especially not this soon.'
The laugh that left Felicia was tight, her smile the slightest twitch of her lips as she shrugged, 'Shit happened... and now here I am. Hey, if you have a moment, I have a couple favours to ask you.'
Hilda raised an eyebrow, arms crossed across her chest. Despite the curiosity that shone in her eyes, she didn't press the issue and simply nodded, 'Sure, if you come with me you two can make yourself comfortable back at my place.'
Felicia grinned and looked over her shoulder towards Aminia who stood awkwardly by the door, trying to look like she fit in with the straight-backed Guardians that surrounded them, 'And we can do introductions once we get there. How does that sound?'
'Sounds great, follow me.'
A short time later the trio were entering Hilda's apartment, Hilda throwing her jacket over the back of a couch which already housed a collection of half-clean dishes and a glass tablet that was opened on a Guardian report. Hilda stretched, 'Make yourself at home, I'll just take a quick shower. Don't mind the mess, I haven't had much time to clean up after myself lately. Just shove it onto the floor or the coffee table, I'll deal with it later.'
She walked away, picking up a discarded article of clothing on her way into the hallway, whistling nonsensically to herself as she went. Aminia wasted no time moving one of the piles of dishes out of her way, dumping it unceremoniously onto the coffee table and settled herself on the couch, looking about the cluttered apartment. Collections of family photos hung on the walls and flickered from their holographic projectors on just about every surface within the room. Felicia looked about, making a slow round of the room, picking up one of the photos, a small smile tugging at her lips as she looked at it. It showed a young, scar-less Hilda shortly before she joined the Guardian academy. Two people that Felicia assumed were her parents had their arms around her shoulders, large, yet worried smiles on their faces as Hilda held up the brown band with the Dryad Guardian symbol stitched into the fabric. Placing it gently back into its place before continuing her survey of the room. Like most Guardian's homes that Felicia had been within it was sparsely furnished, making it easier to vacate should the Guardian die out in the field. And when they did perish it was their comrades job to move all their belongings. For this reason many Guardians had few personal possessions, trying to make the task easier and less emotional than it normally would be for their fellow Guardians.
The comfortable silence that had descended between Aminia and Felicia was broken as Aminia spoke up, 'So what are you planning on telling her?'
Felicia turned to face her friend's curious gaze, 'Enough to get her to help. I don't want to get too many more people involved, who knows who is Talbot's side.'
'Are you sure we can trust her? Even with that little?'
'Of course. She saved my life. I got to know her quite well on my way back to Arion.'
Aminia still looked sceptical but said no more on the subject, leaning back into the cushions and crossing her legs as they waited for the sound of rushing water to stop and Hilda to rejoin them in the main room.
They didn't wait long and soon Hilda was walking in barefoot in a pair of jeans and baggy top, the once-fluffy towel wrapped around her head. She smiled between them and plopped down on the opposite side of the couch to Aminia, tucking her right leg under her left and resting her arm on the back of the couch, 'So? How can I help you?'
Felicia smiled and sat herself into an armchair that sat to the side of the couch and quickly set about introducing Aminia and Hilda officially before launching into her story, 'We just need some help getting some supplies on our way to the coast. We recently stumbled across some information-' She spotted Aminia raising an eyebrow at stumbled, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, '-that suggests that something... bad is going down in Nereid. We're hoping to stop it.'
Hilda looked between them, eyebrow raised in speculation, 'Why not just contact the leaders of Nereid and let them deal with whatever it is? And why not go straight to Paxton and then? I'm sure that your Guardian director would be very interested in this...'
Felicia sighed, she knew this was coming. But she couldn't tell Hilda the whole truth. She had already put Aminia and Max's lives at risk as well as her own. She couldn't put Hilda at risk, not after the short amount of time that they had known each other, 'Hilda, please believe me when I say that I can't tell you everything. There are too many risks involved. Also believe me when I say that if we could go and confide in them we would have. But I believe they're in on it.' Felicia of course failed to mention the fact that she had already attempted to tell Norman Paxton of the threat and had been shut down, with an overly insistent attempt at convincing her that everything she had heard was a heat-induced hallucination. She swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat at the memory, she somehow doubted that she would be welcome back into the city. If her fears were correct and Paxton was working for Talbot, there was probably a hit out on her that would stretch to the other cities the longer they failed to capture her.
Hilda leaned back slightly, a frown marring her features and looked between them. Her gaze finally settled on Felicia, 'What have you gotten yourself into?'
She managed to force a smile, pushing the fear-addled thoughts of her possible death aside and chuckled half-heartedly, 'I wish I knew Hilda. What I do know is that we have to do this. Please, please help us out. We aren't the enemy in this.'
She sighed, shoulders slumping from their previously rigid position, 'If you make me regret helping you, it's me you'll have to worry about, not Paxton.'
The chuckle that left Felicia was more genuine this time, shoulders shaking slightly from the effort to keep it at a chuckle, 'Thank you.'
Aminia grinned, white teeth a stark contrast from her skin as she herself spoke up, 'We'll try our best no to disappoint you.'
Hilda nodded, pulling the towel off her head and ruffling her still damp hair, 'Alright, you got a list of what you need?'