Not So Hollo

I had finally reached the town of Benjamin and was currently camping out in a small but suitable cave a half hour walk to the city. I doubt anyone would come here for fear of an Aiza attack. Tomorrow I would go to town to retrieve some supplies I would need to "fix" Little Runt. "I can't have you playing around with me and drop dead 'cuz your deadly slobber got into my paper cut, now can I?" Runt was growing quickly, as expected. He had already learned not to snap at my fingers when I fed him but at least his poison wouldn't develop for at least two more weeks.

I had singed my hair a while ago when fighting a fire type Aiza, so it was time for a hair cut. I took the dagger I had made of the tooth loosed from the first VE I had killed. Ironic that I'd be using it in nearly the same place I had acquired it. I gathered my hair in a tight ponytail and ran the sharpened bone swiftly through my hair. Runt perked his ears up from chewing an overly large stick at the strange sound of hair being cut. I gathered the stray clump of what used to be my smooth silver hair into a bag to sell later. I refuse to be wasteful.

"Come 'ere Runt. Let's walk", I made sure to check Beasty's reins were secured to a tree before gathering the still chubby Runt and walking a few minutes to a distilled but clean pond. Runt settled into his favorite position of being wrapped around my shoulders. It made me look manly, but also I liked the beating of his little heart next to mine. The temperature has been dropping lately and poor Runt hasn't had his first molting for a thicker set of scales.

I set Runt down as he made little yipping noises at his reflection. "Time for touch-ups." Looking into my reflection I noticed that although my hair was cut rather boyishly it would help me blend into the town as I walked in. A male traveler would not be very noticeable compared to a woman traveler especially with Runt making me look even more manly. Although there was nothing I could do about my face or breasts. I looked again at my reflection. I had a small nose and two large eyes of strange colors. I had an eye of dark purple and an autumn colored eye. The strangest thing was the contrast to my hazel colored skin and stark white hair. In conclusion, I was just not normal looking.

Runt was trying the vanquish his reflection in fierce little nips. I scooted closer to him without disturbing his focus. He would tap the water's surface with his bites but would not submerge anymore than a centimeter of his lip into the cold water. Just as he made for another attack, I stretched my hand out stealthily and dunked his face into the water. "SCREE! whiiiim...", Runt ran into my side for protection. He whimpered as his ego deflated dramatically. "Aww, poor you! Hahaha", I laughed softly before snatching up a nearby twig. I made the twig jump all over my chest and face and fell onto my back. "Oh No! Help me Runt! This...twig...can't...beat it! Aaaah!", I made a show of being attacked by the twig to get Runt's attention.

Runt's little body mustered up all the speed he had to latch onto the stick with a strange swiftness. He hopped away from me and made animalistic and violent noises of the twig's demise. Growling and drooling he stepped back from the stick while marking it with some dirt. "Woah boy. You're a quick one aren't cha?", I was genuinely surprised that he would be so protective of me. He scurried over to me and sniffed me to check for injuries. "It's okay boy. Really! You...you're too cute you know that?" Runt just climbed into my lap to snuggle. "Yeah you know that." I smiled.

The next morning I set out for Benjamin. Runt was restless as I made my way through the rubble and debris of the outskirts of the town. I had gotten in through the front gate and inner wall but I had yet to hit the market where the majority of people were at this time of day when I saw some bullies along the way. They had cornered some poor kid in a typical dark alley but maybe the kid deserved it. You can never tell who the bad guys are these days. I leaned up against the wall and just watched.

"Hey kid. Just hand over the goods and your money then we'll leave you alone", the big leader guy said. You could tell he was in charge by the way the two smaller men just acted like parrots and smiled. The two followers weren't very bright, all they did was repeat something they thought was funny and cackle. They looked like skinny rats. Not everyone could be as successful as others in this broken world. That doesn't give them the right to take what other people worked hard for.

The boy said, "Listen guys. You don't want to do this. This is all the food me and my father have for this week an-", but he was cut off by the leader yelling, "YOU listen. I DON'T care about you and your daddy". He said evilly. I saw the boy look toward the end of the alley. I could tell he noticed me by the way his eyes widened a little. I whispered to Runt , "Stay down, 'kay?".

"Aaaaw, lookin' for ya papa lil' boy. kahahahaha!", the rats said. I walked behind the alley and climbed silently over the building for a better perspective. It was short and crumbly but I didn't want to misfire and kill somebody, so it would have to do. I drew an arrow when I saw the boy and the leader struggling over the bag. "HEY! Give that back! You don't deserve-". *SMACK* Leader guy punched kid and sent him sprawling. Poor guy, I just really hoped he wouldn't cry. "You could've done it the easy way kid," Leader guy said.

"Yeah haha. The easy way", the parrots echoed.

"Oh shut up, both of you", I whispered angrily. I aimed for the bag the leader held and I made my shot. The arrow fell swiftly upon the bag, pinning it firmly against the wall. Reinforced arrows made of armored Aiza bones and phoenix resilient feathers were an excellent pair. I hopped down behind the boy with a muted thud. "Why don't you boys go home before someone gets hurt", I tried to say this as firmly as I could to avoid unnecessary violence. The voice would come out if things got too heated. I pulled back my hood to reveal my strangeness. Their eyes went from 'nothing can hold me back' to 'please don't hurt me' in two seconds flat. True story.

The big bad bullies left promptly with the usual terrified expressions. They knew me by the rumors that spread about "The Ghost". I had hired some drunkard to spread it around the other night. I won't be bothered by criminals and I may be able to strike a deal here; although, it is really close to the Tower. I had made a deal with a few towns that were having an especially tough time dealing with Aiza and helped them out anonymously. Of course I did this for a little cash. I was building up quite a reputation and I'm not sure I liked it. Ever since I slayed the VE, I've become "The Ghost".

As the thieves retreated I blocked out the harsh words and evil nicknames. Its not like I haven't heard them before. Glancing at the boy, I caught his eyes staring at my barely pronounced breasts. Typical boys.

'You should have killed them.' I ignored the voice. It had gotten weaker as I grew mentally stronger but it still had not completely left me. When my will had been weak, the voice had made me do terrible things to people. Sometimes when I got too angry I would black out and wake up in a pool of blood. The blood was almost always another persons or Aiza's. I would not let that happen again.

I glanced at the boy once more and caught his eyes. There was something off about him. Something different. He looked normal. Brown hair that fell onto his forehead in loose curls. Average height and face. Then what was I so paranoid about? 'You should have killed them. They were bad people....I know you can hear me. Why can't we talk like we used to?', the voice insisted upon my attention to no avail. Stupid murderous voice. I pulled up my hood and stalked over to my arrow.

The boys spoke softly, "H-hey...um, thanks for you know...saving me". I didn't feel like talking. I just wanted to come and go. This town is just a rest stop till I get to the western sea. I pulled my arrow out of the wall and started to walk out of the alley. Runt stirred slightly. "Hey! Wait." I placed my arrow back into its quiver. Runt woke up from his light slumber.

"Make it snappy kid, I got things to do." I was hoping to hit the market while the bargaining was low and the people were busy.

"Oh. Okay, I-well...what's your name? A-and why did you save me?" It was kid of funny how his voice cracked. I made him nervous. Good.

"Hollo is my name, and for the record I didn't save you. I wasn't here at all, got it kid?" I continued and blended in with the shadows. I made my way quickly through deserted alleys to watch the kid. 'That was rude Hollo. You could've been more polite to him', the voice taunted me. "Shut up!" I whispered harshly. Although I better make sure he gets home safely.