I Think We're Alone Now [CLOSED]

Alison could not believe the humidity, or the heat. This was ridiculous! There had to be a tree somewhere. She needed to find some shade. She did! Mikhail was so much taller than her. She got a mischievous smile on her face and began to intentionally walk in the man's shadow. It worked for a while, at least until the sun was straight overhead and he could no longer provide her any cover. Alison whined a little, whimpering at the heat. She had so many ideas coming to her head on how to get cool.

"Mikhaaaiiil..." she walked behind him and placed her forehead against his back as they went forward, letting her arms hang and dangle loosely as she bent toward him, "It's sooo hooot... I wanna go swimming. You think we can find a lake? Or a river maybe?" She kept coming up with ideas that would seem amazing right now. Such as having ice cream in Varedia or being in the deep south with the snow. She brought up swimming in the cool ocean or enjoying some iced tea in a cool hotel room.

Of course, those teasing fantasies came to an end when Mikhail stopped and pointed something out down the road. Alison looked by placing her hands on his shoulder and pulling herself up to peek over his shoulder, lifting herself from the ground as she did so. This was completely unnecessary, but she did things like this all the time. She liked his height. It was fun. When she saw a young child laying in the middle of the road, Alison dropped to her feet and ran toward the kid without hesitation.

"Hey! Are you alright?" The woman came to a stop by sliding along the ground and dropping to her knees. She picked the child up into her arms and gently turned them over to see if they were alright. Seeing that he wasn't waking up, Alison placed the boy gently on his back and leaned down to listen to his heart. After a few seconds, she was able to make out a heart beat and sighed in relief. "Oh thank Rydia." she said, using her hands to brush the boys hair back, tapping his face to wake him up.

"Hey, young one... Wake up..." she kept speaking in a gentle voice.

Alison smiled at the young man as his eyes fluttered open. She wasn't trying to be hostile or anything, so the reaction she got was a little unexpected. "Hey! That was rude." she told him when her hand was smacked away. Still, she helped the boy to his feet as he stood up anyways. Alison didn't really even notice the accent; she was used to many of them, so it wasn't something that she paid much attention to. Where someone was from was not of high interest to her, just where they were going.

Alison's arms instantly went out when the boy fell, so she caught him. She sat him down quickly since he didn't seem to want to be touched and brought her hands back to herself. Even with his attitude, her smile never faded. As the young man and Mikhail talked, she just happily listened, but Mikhail decided she should be the one to talk to him. Alison actually disagreed. The young man would respond better to another man, even if Mikhail's mannerisms were something he'd ahve to get used to.

"Hey!" Alison reached out and grabbed the young man from under his chin, squeezing to fingers around his jaw, and forced him to look toward her, "I don't know who you think you are, but I suggest you learn a bit of respect, young man. Insulting anyone who's only intentions were to help you, since you were the one face down in the dirt, is not a good way to make friends. Besides that, that attitude is likely to get you killed if we were someone else. Change your attitude, kid. Understood?!"

Alison let his face go and stood up, pulling the young boy to his feet by the back of his shirt. She had a soft-spot for kids, yes, but that did not mean she was some push over when it came to them. She knew how to discipline and teach them a little bit of respect. In this case, she hoped he wasn't one of those young boys who were too far gone to be helped. "Now..." she dusted her hands off and put them on her hips, "Explain to me why exactly you are out here alone? And where exactly are your parents?"

Alison just ruffled the boys hair a bit, her motherly instincts sort of taking over. She felt bad for him. He didn't have anyone. Part of her wanted to turn to Mikhail and say "Let's keep him!", but he wasn't a puppy and she didn't know if she could fully protect and provide for a child. Before she got a chance to speak, Mikhail pulled her aside. She gave a quick warning sign to the boy to make sure he stayed still and then turned to Mikhail. As this man spoke, Alison's smile grew. It seemed he had a soft spot for kids like she did. No, wait. He had a soft spot for this kid and what the boy had been through.

"Alright." Alison nodded at Mikhail, gently patting the man's chest before walking back over to the boy. She placed a hand on the boys shoulder while talking to him. "We're gonna get you to Khul, okay? There, things will change a bit for you." she explained, pulling out a small cloth and wiping the young man's face off, "We don't you going into the Gladiatorial line of work, so we'll help you find a job that won't get you killed. Maybe when you're older you can get into that line of work, but for now it's safer if you get a normal job. I don't think Zakat will allow someone your age to fight anyways."

"Come on..." Alison put the cloth back in her bag and laid her arm around the boys shoulder. She guided him along down the path they had been taking. After a few minutes, she remembered something. "Oh... Ack." she said and pulled out a bottle of water, giving it to the boy. It was warm, so as he went to take it, it suddenly rapidly cooled off. As it happened, the bottle glowed a pale blue. "There, drink up." Alison told him. When she looked to Mikhail again and then back to the boy, she giggled happily, "One big happy family is what we look like. A damn good looking one too."

Alison was surprised by Mikhail's words. For one, he needed to look at himself. He walked around wanting to find someone to beat him in battle. What kind of life is that? Sure, she accepted it and decided to travel with him, but it was still completely against the same advice he had just given the boy. So when he said it, Alison leaned forward with an eyebrow raised and just stared up at him with a semi-dull face, "Ever thinking about taking your own advice on that subject?"

In truth, Alison had forgotten that she could do that. She did it for the boy almost automatically. When she got the glare from Mikhail, she looked away sheepishly. She felt a little guilty about it, but not that much. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." she said, holding her hands up, "If I had remembered before now, I would have cooled us both down." Alison just giggled at it. It was an honest mistake. She was kind of surprised that he hadn't reminded her, but it seemed he only just barely remembered now too.

Upon reaching Khul, Alison looked around like a tourist would. This was one of the cities she hadn't been too, at least from what she could remember. She still kept the boy close, making sure to have an arm around his shoulder the entire time they walked. When Mikhail spoke up, Alison was pulled from her tourist behavior and looked toward him. "Hm... I assumed working at a store would be the best for someone his age..." Alison said and looked down to the boy, "Any ideas? And no Gladiators."

"Oh... How silly. Do you have a name, young man?" Alison tilted her head at him, realizing she hadn't even introduced herself either, "I'm Alison. The big scary guy is Mikhail. If you be mean to me, he'll eat you." Although this was a lie, an obvious one, this was something that Alison did a lot. It was just playful and she liked picking on Mikhail for some of his odd mannerisms. He was scary to children, so saying something like that in this world was kind of funny. "So no more slapping my hand away."

Alison was surprised by the boys sudden running. She almost couldn't keep up with him. As he moved through to the back of some shop, she stopped for a moment when people said for the boy to. Glancing to Mikhail worriedly, Alison pushed passed the rest like Edward did and hurried along to find him smacking a bowl down. "Jirany?" Alison tilted her head and repeated. Well, we found a talent for the boy. How the hell could he smell that? Alison took a sniff and couldn't tell that it was Jirany. As the cook confirmed, Alison looked to Edward with a sweet smile, "Looks like you found your talent there, Edward. That's a real good nose you got there." She said, tapping a finger on his nose.

"He's my son." Alison said with an emphasis on my. She shot a rather intimidating glare toward Edward and then glanced to Mikhail. She'd blast them both if they said anything to disagree with her. She motioned for the cook to follow her and stepped away with him. After a few moments of conversation, the cook and Alison were both happy. Alison hurried back toward Edward and pulled him along, motioning for Mikhail to follow. Once they were out of hearing range, Alison looked down to Edward with a smile. "Don't freak out over it. I know I'm not your Mom, okay?" Alison told him, brushing his hair back, "But I'd rather people not think you were alone in the city."

"Young people often get taken advantage of, especially if others believe that you won't have anyone looking for you." Alison said all this in a low tone, just for Mikhail and Edward to hear. Any time anyone else got too close, she stopped talking and waited for them to back the fuck off. Once they did, she'd look back to Edward and continue. "I know you want to be independent and do your own thing, but..." she pulled out a small piece of paper with a strange symbol on it, "If you ever need anything, just take write my name on this... It's Alison Chase, okay? Spelled like... This." She pulled out a second piece of paper and wrote her name on it so he'd know exactly how to do it.

After that, she placed the first piece of paper with the rune on his lower left arm. Taking her thumb and pressing it against her canine tooth hard enough to cut, she slid the bit of blood along the paper. It glowed for a moment and then seemed to seep into Edward's skin. The rune glowed for a moment before disappearing to everyone but Alison and Edward himself. Another rune matching it also appeared on the same spot on Alison's arm. "No one can see it but us, okay?" she told him and then made sure he saw the one on her arm, "If you write my name on it, this will begin to glow and it will lead me to where you are. It's sort of like a tracker... Now, just be careful and do your job well."

Yeah, Alison had one hell of a soft spot for children. For one, the mark wouldn't just glow, it'd burn her until he was no longer in need of her help. Sure, it wouldn't actually scar her, but she'd feel the pain. The more scared or worried he was, the more she'd feel. For two, who the hell knows how many of these things she's actually got all over her body? Once everything was settled, Alison threw another "Take care of my boy." at the cook, who promised to do so. Alison waved to Edward and then walked out back to the street with Mikhail, "Well, that was eventful. Where would you like to go now?" Alison smiled up at him, looping an arm with his as they began walking down the street.

"I can cool you off if you want me to." Alison smiled widely and poked his tummy, "Soak you with a bit of ice cold water. I think the ladies around here wouldn't mind the scene." Alison stuck her tongue playfully at him. Yeah, she could pretend all she wanted. She was the one that wouldn't mind seeing a bit of that. He was hot, you can't blame her. "But yes, Lemonade sounds good... I'm not entirely up for much else." Alison leaned her head toward him, laying it on his shoulder. This was another thing he'd have gotten used to over their time together. She did it when she was tired or worn out.

As the two made it to the carts, Alison actually chose an ice tea with lemon. It wasn't something she got often, but this is what she preferred. The two sat down at a street side table and began to relax. Alison looked around at the city, taking in what she could of it when Mikhail caught her attention. She glanced off, set her tea down, and rubbed the back of her head, "Honestly... I'm kind of surprised that you hadn't asked before now... You know, you can ask me questions like that when you want."

"Well, honestly... I don't remember exactly what happened... or, well... what I did." Alison wrapped her hand around her neck, sort of rubbing along the scar, "From what I was told, though... I..." Her expression softened and she kept staring at the table. She looked sad, disappointed, and happy all at once. It was like she didn't know what to feel about it. "I tried... killing myself." she finished and glanced up to him, "I don't know why... or what could have happened to make me hit that point, but... it definitely happened. From what I was told, my brother found me... and pulled me down."

"Mikhail... Shut up." Alison had fallen into silence as he began his judgmental lecture. Her head had slumped forward, her bangs covering her eyes. As he continued, she gripped the seat beneath her tighter and tighter. There was a moment she actually felt the wood crack under the pressure of her grasp. When he finally ended his lecture, she spoke. Yes, she told him to shut up. Her tone was not harsh or soft. She was speaking out of disappointment. And when she finally raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes, Mikhail would be able to see it. It wasn't in herself, but in him.

"You'd think... after every single thing that I've accepted about you, that you'd be able to accept that about me." Alison stood up and tossed her drink in a nearby trashcan, "Apparently, I am never allowed the same consideration that I give other people. I'm going for a walk." Alison didn't even look at him. She just shook her head and walked off, but he would be able to tell that he had pissed her off. It was something very hard for anyone to do, but he had actually done it. That subject was sensitive for her. That should have been obvious. She trusted him with it and he threw it  back in her face.

Alison's initial instinct was to pull her shoulder away from his hand and continue walking, but his first reply made her stop. She did not turn back to him, yet. She stood there silent and listened to him again. It was what Alison did, she listened. That was something he probably would have realized about her. She listened well and remembered anything he told her. And what he was telling her now was bitter sweet. She wasn't sure how to react to the information she had just been given and it was obvious that he didn't understand why she had an issue with the way he handled this.

"You don't get it." she said and pulled her shoulder away from him now. Alison turned toward him and glared at Mikhail in actual anger. "I. Don't. Remember." she said harshly through clenched teeth. She held her arms down at her sides, clenching her fists very tightly. "You remember everything that happened to you, I don't. You remember the deaths of your family members, I don't." she wrapped her right hand firmly around her own throat, "I carry a scar that tells me that I wanted to die, yet I don't remember why. I see this thing every damn day, asking myself 'What the fuck did I even do?'"

"My sister killed herself... I don't know why, how, or when... My Dad died... I don't know how, why, or when. I apparently had someone who cared enough about me to teach me how to fight... I don't remember their name, their face, how I met them... All of this, I don't remember and I don't know that either... It's just gone.  Yeah, I tried to kill myself... I don't know why." Alison's expression was almost explainable. It was a mixture of disappointment, regret, anger, and confusion. All of these things practically overwhelmed her on a daily basis; Not many understood how she could smile.

Alison could tell by the way he sighed that he understood where she was coming from now, at least to a degree. He could never fully understand, not many could. As he pulled his hand away, Alison glanced away and was ready to walk off again. She was not expecting to be pulled into a hug, but she was. Her eyes widened. She gasped and her cheeks turned slightly red. He was hugging her? That was new, very new. It was also completely unexpected. He was trying to comfort her, but after about number four on that list of emotions he was giving out, Alison had a moment of 'come on now' happen in her brain. And when that ended, his embrace tightened around her. Finally, Alison found herself returning that embrace, hugging him right back and experiencing this feeling of just wanting to be closer and closer to him. He admitted that he didn't understand her and she appreciated that, but he wanted to?

Alison tilted her head upwards to look at him, though she did not lift it from his chest. She didn't want to let go. He was surprising her with everything he was saying and it was all wonderful. He even had her heart racing, something else that was quite new. Is all of this what he thought of her? A few semi-negative things, but nothing was actually bad, and the rest was nice. And then he swore something that, in her mind, would mess up his entire goals. She was silent, stunned at him for a few moments. Everything had to register in her mind, to process, and then become available for redistribution! It was all going so slow. "I..." Alison attempted to talk, but froze up on herself, "Mikhail... Thank you." Alison pulled herself as close as she possibly could to him. Though she thought it might not mean much to him, this embrace meant a lot to her. She wouldn't have done it like this otherwise.

"And I promise to do what I can to find the person that can beat you up! Though, I still think I can." Alison smiled widely up to him and then poked at his tummy multiple times, as if she were punching him. She giggled happily and quickly wiped a tear from her eye, having let one squeeze out. "So, come on!" Alison slid her hand in his and gently pulled him along, "Let's get going."

A nice calm walk was what Alison needed to clear her head. She kept her drink up, so she could take a sip and listen to Mikhail's explanation of the architecture around here. Alison only noticed the commotion because Mikhail did. She looked forward to see what was happening, but was a little too short. She heard the loud, "FOR THE ANIMALS", but was unsure of what was happening. She heard the rumble start as people began to scatter. "Mikh-!" Alison was suddenly pulled along through the panicking crowds, but this was very difficult. She had a hard time regaining her footing before Mikhail stopped and turned toward the stampeding beasts. Alison stood behind Mikhail, eyes wide as she watched people being run over, mauled, or run through by these large animals. In her own panic, Alison tripped as a large bull-like creature ended up jumping over her. That was luck.

Alison raised her head from the ground and looked around. When her eyes came across Mikhail, he was being overwhelmed by one of the stranger creatures of Aurora. This creature had large thick horns and was about to thrust one of them through Mikhail. "NO!" Alison screamed in desperation and a gust of powerful wind just shot forward from her hand and knocked the creature on his side. Alison blinked a couple times and looked to her hand. "I am such an air-head!" she said very, very, very angrily at herself as she stood up. Another large beast was charging at Mikhail, so she jumped toward him and wrapped her arms around his chest. A she did this, whirls of wind moved around her body. She pushed off the ground as the beast got close enough and the two glided over it. As they landed, Alison placed Mikhail on his feet and stepped away from him as her energy shifted.

Snap, crackle, pop. Her body began pulsing with waves of electricity before she suddenly darted off to the left. She ran up to a large bison-like creature and slammed her fist into it's side. The beast was hit with a large amount of pressure and a charge of high voltage electricity was shot through it's body. The thing was sent flying back toward where this stampede had started from. Alison continued this process until six other animals were sent back, all unconscious by the time they reached their destination. After the final one, she hurried over to Mikhail's side to make sure he was okay. Her energy calmed down as the town around began to calm down. Many of the animals were being rounded up while the man who started this all was arrested. Alison slid along the ground as she reached Mikhail and immediately began examining his body in a huge panic and tears in her eyes to see if he was okay.

"Are you hurt? Y-Y-You're o-okay, right?!"

No. Wait, no? He wasn't okay!? She looked to left leg and arm. Alison grabbed her hair and shook her head angrily, but the anger was at herself. "Shit, shit, shit! I'm sorry, I'm so-..." She froze when he thanked her and looked up to him in surprise. Wasn't this her fault? If she hadn't fallen, she could have done something earlier. She should have reacted quicker. She should have been smarter. Damn it, she should have remembered that she had the ability to fight! That was one of those things she constantly forgot because she didn't remember that she learned it. She's got the muscle memory for it, but actually had to remember that the skill existed. She stayed silent, unsure of how to respond to his thanks. When he asked for a doctor, she nodded and moved to leave and find one for him.

Before she did, Alison turned back toward him and leaned in, nuzzling her cheek gently against his. "Don't scare me like that again, please..." she said in a whisper and ran off to find a doctor. During her search, she had to regain her composure and lessen her nervousness. She was able to and within five minutes had a skilled doctor. The man was working on a woman with a scraped ankle and a skirt to short for anyone's own good, so his intentions weren't medical. That much was obvious. Alison grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him back. "You're going to help my friend now, okay?" she said as she pulled him up to Mikhail. Her tone was sweet, but there was this hint of a threat lurking within the aura that surrounded her. "Understood." the man cleared his throat, and began to help Mikhail.

Alison was pacing the entire time. She'd pace, look over the doctor's shoulder, pace again, and repeat the process over the next thirty minutes. Mikhail was giving pain medication and both of his broken limbs were wrapped in a quickly made splint. Out here away from the hospital, there wasn't much he could do besides this. "There. It will hold for now, but you'll need an actual doctor or healer to look at it very soon." the man explained to them, putting a lot of emphasis on the word 'very'. "B-But he'll be okay, right?" Alison asked, looking at Mikhail's arm and leg. The doctor chuckled and nodded, "Yes, he'll be fine. He just needs some rest and to take some time off of that leg." Alison nodded and thanked the doctor. She looked to Mikhail and smiled a bit, "Looks like we'll be in Khul for a bit."

The fact that he returned the nuzzle and didn't pull away was all she needed. Alison didn't care if it was awkward or not. She understood he had an odd way of not really expressing his emotions. Once the doctor did his damn job over flirting with some bimbo in the street, Alison felt much better. Once the doctor suggested it, Alison figured Mikhail would want to go to the hospital immediately. When they got there, she was upset on having to wait outside, but he had asked her to. When the door opened and she heard his voice, she tilted her head in confusion. He didn't need what? Alison blinked a couple times when she saw Mikhail strolling out in a wheelchair and then just giggled at him. "For once, I'm taller than you." she put her hands behind her back and bent over to be at eye level with him, "Well don't you look cute. I didn't think it was possible for you to get hurt. Let's not make it habit, okay?"

Alison was ready to walk off with him rolling  by himself, but he offered that job to her. She stopped mid-step, froze, looked to him, a light-bulb appeared over her head, and she smiled mischievously. "Sure!" she said and hurried up behind him, almost tripping in the process. She caught herself and calmly pushed him out of the hospital. She signed the few pieces of paperwork that the hospital needed and they were off! She kept it normal while they went down the road. She passed a hotel. She passed an inn. She passed a bed and breakfast too. She kept moving farther out until the street was almost empty and suddenly, "COMING THROUGH!" Alison started pushing him as fast as she could. She ended up using the air around her to speed the both of them up to. They were practically gliding along. When they had to turn, she used the air to keep him in place to, laughing hysterically as they flew around.

Finally, they came to a nice little inn away from the main areas of town and stopped. Alison was happier than a kid in a toy store at this point. She giggled and wrapped her arms around Mikhail's neck. She squeezed at first, but in fear of hurting him, she let go. "Sorry, sorry! That was just so fun!" she said and pushed him like a normal person up a small ramp and into the inn. The inn was quite nice and a woman at the front counter welcomed them. Alison asked for a room for two, but the woman frowned, "I'm sorry, but we only have single rooms or for a couple... Are you guys not?" Alison just blushed and stone-faced at the same time. "No, we are not," she said with an implied 'yet' going through her own mind, "We'll take it anyway. I don't want to be in the middle of town..." The woman nodded and offered the keys as Alison rented the room for three days at start.

Luckily, the room was on the first floor, so she was able to get Mikhail there. "Come on... Let's get you onto the bed. Don't you dare try and do it on your own. You'll end up hurting yourself more." Alison shot a playful glare towards Mikhail and helped him into the bed, "There we go... Just rest, alright?" Alison sat on the opposite end of the bed and began going through her things. She pulled out a book, her knitting needles, and a change of clothes for both her and Mikhail. "I'll probably take the first shower... I'm curious as to how you're going to bathe with that thing..." she said, pointing to his cast, "Any ideas?" She didn't remember ever having a cast. She didn't know how to deal with them.