Chapter Text
She opened her eyes.
In front of her was a two story house. One she had never seen before yet she got a sense of familiarity from it. All of a sudden her legs began to move on their own as if she was a puppet on strings and she began to slowly approach the door. It was like she was watching a movie from the characters point of view. After standing there for a couple of seconds, the door opened revealing a familiar figure behind it.
‘Papa?’ She thought. He looked… different than normal. The scruff on his face was cleaner and his eyes looked less tired. He wore familiar clothing with his signature blue jacket, his hair tied in its usual ponytail. His mouth moved but the only thing she heard were muddled words, like he was speaking underwater. Suddenly a figure walked out from behind him.
‘Mama?’ Her eyes widened at her mother’s appearance. Her long waist length hair that she had grown used to seeing was cut short, not even reaching past her shoulders. She wore a loose red shirt and jeans But even if her appearance was one that she wasn’t familiar with, she could tell it was her. It was almost jarring. The only memories she currently had of her mother were of her laying in that hospital bed after all. Seeing her move around and about left her speechless.
Once again her body began to move on its own as she walked through the front door. Her mom was talking to her, not that she could understand her muffled voice. Her attention shifted towards the slice of cake her mother held before it was promptly handed to her as the three of them walked deeper into the house. Her body took a seat by the table and began to slowly eat. Unfortunately sharing this body’s sight didn’t extend to taste too. Her mom and dad were conversing with her, not that she could hear what they were saying.
Were these her memories? Before she lost them?
She heard a new voice call out as her head turned towards to the left where two figures entered the room that completely shattered that previous idea. The two people who entered were… her and her brother? The birthday hats strapped to their heads grabbed her attention, as well as the joyful expression on their… well… just her face really. Although the birthday hat combined with her brother’s neutral expression made for quite the funny sight. But it became clear to her what exactly was going on here. It was their birthday…
But… if she was there. Then whose point of view was this?
A flash of white and blue rushed towards her. The ‘Kiana’ before her wore a sparkling blue dress with a shiny tiara adorning her head. Her brother wore… well… pretty plain and boring clothes in comparison: a simple orange and black hoodie with sweatpants. With a cheery smile ‘Kiana’ grabbed one of her hands in both of hers and began to drag her off to another room, their brother following at a slower pace. As she was dragged throughout the house, she found them running through the hall where a singular mirror laid against the wall.
And as they ran past it, it was like time began to slow down as she saw her reflection.
Instead of smooth white hair she had a full mane of untamed purple hair that was as long as she was tall. But what really caught her attention were her eyes. Familiar golden crosshair shaped eyes.
A lone blue eye snapped open as Kiana shot up from her bed, her breathing short and rapid. She briefly rubbed her eye before laying back down, staring at the ceiling.
What was that? Who was that? She’d seen plenty of pictures of their family, and never before had she seen that purple haired girl before. Kiana raised her hand, gently placing it on her bandaged eye. That girl… had the same eyes as her.
She laid back down yet didn’t fall asleep for some time. Despite all of that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew that girl somehow.
"........"
Unbeknownst to Kiana, her tenant was NOT happy. If she had a face or body she’d be at the very least recoiling in disgust and she could feel her nonexistent stomach turning at the sight in front of her.
A wide smile was on her host’s face as she readied her bat, eyebrows slightly furrowed in concentration. A couple yards away stood Siegfried, ball in hand as he got ready to throw. Further away was Kevin, wearing his slightly oversized baseball mit.
With one of her eyes wrapped up, her depth perception was slightly off causing her to miss most of the pitches. But stubbornness and Kaslanas go hand in hand, and Kiana was no exception.
Raising the ball, Siegfried held it in the air before giving it a firm throw. Kiana held her breath as her eye tracked the ball to the best of its ability.
It got closer. And closer. And then…
Kiana swung. A loud ‘clink’ rang out and a wide smile broke out onto her face. There was a proud smile on their father’s face as he whistled in awe as the ball soared through the air.
Kiana let out a cheer as she pretended to run the bases with her arms raised in the air, Siegfried chuckling the whole way. First base. Second base. Third base. Home b- a soft ‘thunk’ behind them caused both of them to freeze in place. Turning their heads, behind them stood Kevin. His mitt raised to the sky and in it, the baseball.
“Kevin!” Kiana comically shouted as she raised her fists in mock anger. Kevin felt a tug at the side of his mouth before quickly fighting it off.
“You have to send the ball farther too, not just higher.” Kevin told her as he tossed the ball back to his father, Kiana with a pout on her face nodded at her brother’s advice. A sudden grunt of pain from their father immediately drew their attention. They quickly rushed to his side as he took a knee, cradling his right arm to his chest. Moments passed as the two of them watched helplessly as their father fought back the pain. Their father eventually let out a ragged exhale, the pain finally subsiding.
“Sorry you two.” Their father started, taking several slow deep breaths before he managed to finally stand. “But I think that's it for me for today.”
“That’s fine papa!” Kiana told him. Although a smile was on her face, Siegfried could tell that she was disheartened by their baseball time being cut short. He quickly placed his hand on both their heads before ruffling their hair.
Kiana couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across her face. Her tenant felt sick.
“How bout the two of you clean up?” Siegfried suggested. Seeing the confused look on his kids he elaborated with a smile. “We’re going into town for dinner tonight.”
WIth that Kiana immediately darted into the house as Kevin followed suit. Right before Kevin entered the house he paused, standing in the front doorway.
“Thanks dad.” He spoke, getting Siegfried’s attention as his father turned to face him. Kevin elaborated. “For… Kiana.”
His father smiled somberly. “I just wish it didn’t take me so long. If Cecilia saw how I was treating her…” he trailed off. There was a moment of silence between them.
“I think she’d be happy too.” Kevin softly spoke.
“...yeah.” His father agreed quietly. When the time came and he would eventually see his first daughter once more, he hoped she wouldn’t be too upset and could forgive him with how he had acted.
“KEVIN!” Kiana shouted from inside the house. “Come on, hurry up!” Kevin gave one last look to his father before entering the house. Leaving Siegfried alone in the snow with nothing but his thoughts.
He let out a sigh as he stared out to the darkening sky.
“Wow…” Kiana muttered in awe as the three of them walked through town with stars in her eyes as she took in the sight. With the night starting to roll in, the town’s street and decorative lights were on. The lights combined with the light snowfall and light sheet of snow covering the buildings, streets, and sidewalks made the small village look like a scene right out of a fairy tale.
Kiana giggled as she jumped and twirled with her arms out wide, immersing herself in the almost magical scene before her. Siegfried chuckled at her antics while Kevin allowed a faint smile to grace his face. The three of them continued their walk through town, the two of kids following their father until they found themselves in front of the entrance to a small restaurant amidst the bustling town.
Siegfried opened the door, causing a small bell to ring out as they entered. Stepping inside revealed a warm and cozy interior with a heavenly aroma in the air. The restaurant was small, very small. It consisted of one large room with an single L-shaped counter surrounding an open kitchen with several chairs placed along it. While this put a limit on the number of customers allowed to eat at a singular moment, it also allowed them to see the chef at work.
In the kitchen was a single elderly man of Asian descent who despite his age was working the kitchen with impressive speed.
“Kendo-san!” Siegfried waved at the chef.
“San?” Kiana muttered to her brother.
“Later.” He replied. Looks like he’d have to add honorifics to her lessons.
“Siegfried-san? It’s been years since I last saw you!” The shop owner greeted them, his back still towards them.
“I’m surprised you still remember me.”
“Ha! How could I forget one of the two people who saved my life!” The elderly man exclaimed as he set his equipment aside before turning to face him. Despite the many wrinkles that adorned his face, there was still a sense of youthful energy as he moved about in the kitchen. His eyes immediately locked onto the two children by his sides before widening. “Are they….”
“Yup.” Siegfried knelt down, his arms holding them close to his side. “This is my son, Kevin and my daughter, Kiana.” He ruffled their hair as he finished introducing them. The chef gave them a warm smile that turned concerned as he saw the bandage wrapping Kiana’s eye.
“What happened there? Your eye okay?” He asked softly.
“Uhh…” Kiana looked at him blankly before turning to her brother and father for help. She began to sweat a little, incapable of coming up with an answer. Luckily for her Siegfried came to her rescue.
“She hurt herself playing in the woods,” he lied smoothly, patting her on the head, “wasn’t looking where she was going and almost poked her eye out. She just needs to let it rest for a bit.”
“I see. Try to be more careful next time, okay? Trust this old man in that your eyes are pretty important.” He said with a chuckle, earning a nod from Kiana. He turned his attention back to Siegfried, “ Ah, can’t believe it almost slipped my mind, where’s Cecilia-san at?”
Siegfried froze for a second before clearing his throat. “Cecilia… she uh.. isn’t feeling well at the moment, she’s at home resting.”
“Mm. Well make sure you bring her next time!”. In the blink of an eye he threw on an apron and turned towards them. “Now then, what can I get you guys?” He said with an eye closing smile.
It wouldn’t take long before 3 large bowls were placed in front of the hungry trio. With a thank you from all three of them, Kendo left the kitchen, entering the back room.
“That's… a lot of noodles.” Kiana muttered in in both shock and awe. In front of her was the largest bowl of ramen she had ever seen.
“Trust me, once you start eating, you won’t be able to stop until the entire bowl is empty.” Her father told her with a grin on his face, she turned to her brother to see him staring intently at the bowl in front of him, almost looking like he was in a trance. Well… it definitely looked different than the instant ramen they had at home.
Her father watched as she and her brother picked up several noodles with their chopsticks. Unbeknownst to her, even her tenant watched on in anticipation. The both of them placed the noodles in their mouths and with a loud slurp began to chew… and chew… and chew. Both of their eyes widened with each bite. It didn’t take long before the two of them began diving into their meal with gusto. Siegfried watched with amusement before quickly diving into his own meals.
It wouldn’t take long for their bowls to wind up empty.
“That was so good!” Kiana exclaimed, patting her stomach. “So much better than that instant stuff at home.” Kevin’s eyebrow twitched as he gave her a look, one she was oblivious to.
Kendo and Siegfried laughed loudly. “I’ve been to places around the world, and nothing beats Kendo-san’s ramen.” Her father confidently proclaimed.
“You flatter me Siegfried-san.” The chef replied, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Siegfried dug into his pocket before pulling out his wallet.“Ah don’t worry about that Siegfried-san. It's in the house.” He told him to Siegfried’s shock.
“What? Are you sure?” Siegfried asked, his wallet remained in his hands.
“Siegfried-san.” The chef spoke as he began to reminisce. “15 years ago you and Cecilia-san saved my life. I owe you two more than I could ever repay.” He gave their father a smile that was promptly returned before something caught the chef’s attention. “Please excuse me for a moment.” With a bow, he retreated to the back of the restaurant.
Kiana hopped off her chair and began walking around the restaurant, observing the many pictures of customers that adorned the wall. She stopped at one of the pictures in particular, staring at the familiar face in it.
“Mom?”
In the picture was their mother, smiling beautifully for the camera as she sat at the restaurant’s counter. Next to her on the table was a shocking amount of ramen bowls stacked on one another. On closer inspection she could see their father in the picture too, his face planted onto the table in what seemed like defeat with a smaller stack of bowls by his side.
“Your mother and I visited this place during a mission a while back.” Her father spoke, gaining her attention. He and Kevin stood up from their seats and walked over to Kiana, he took a knee in between her and Kevin and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “There was an emperor class Honkai beast causing trouble and me and your mother got assigned to take it out.”
And so Siegfried began to tell them the tales of he and their mother’s fight against the rampaging beast. How they had arrived just as the beast was approaching the town, the fight that ensued, and the ramen eating contest that followed after. Kevin and Kiana listened to their father’s story with interest, the latter completely enthralled by her father’s tale of he and their mother’s heroism.
A heartwarming moment between a father and his kids.
And yet not a single person in that restaurant noticed the single glowing red eye peering through the window.
The family of three left the restaurant, satisfied and with full stomachs as they continued their walk through town making their way back home. A large smile was plastered on Kiana’s face as she sat on her father’s shoulders, letting her see over the large crowd of people. Kevin was perfectly fine with simply walking by his father’s side, slightly embarrassed as his gloved hand was held tightly by his father’s.
The streets were crowded as many were exiting the nearby buildings, either heading to the nearest bar to drink, heading towards their own homes, or simply taking a stroll in this wonderful night.
Amidst the bustling crowd a single individual stood completely still, watching them.
A hooded black cloak concealed their entire body allowing only 2 discerning features to be seen. The first was the umbrella they held, opened above their head protecting them from the light snowfall. The second was their ‘face’. If it could even be called that. For what laid under their hood was a solid gray mask with black markings that ran across the left side of it. The mask had but a single hole on the right side of it, allowing their single red right eye to shine through.
Like a ghost they stood there amidst the sea of people with not a single person seeming to notice their presence. All except one.
Suddenly aware of the feeling of being watched, ice blue eyes widened before snapping towards the crowd of people, darting left and right, trying to locate the source of that feeling to no avail. After all, there was nothing there.
“Something the matter, Kevin?” His father asked, an eyebrow raised in concerned, even his sister gave him a questioning look at his sudden behavior.
“...It was nothing. Sorry. I thought I saw something.” He excused before the three of them continued home. Looking back once more before letting himself be led away by his father.
In a nearby alleyway, the masked individual lurked as they watched the trio leave.
“The Enlightened One was correct. Our Sire is here. Reborn.” They spoke to themself. Considering who had given him the information and location, perhaps it was foolish to have questioned the information to begin with. After all, his foresight was always correct.
With that they turned around and walked further down the alleyway, disappearing into the night.
Kiana was brushing her teeth as she prepared for bed. As she dried her hands she turned to the mirror, she almost jumped in shock at her reflection. Gone was her lone blue eye and in its place was a menacing golden glow. With the frown that adorned her mirror’s face, Kiana could tell she wasn’t happy at all.
“So… it seems like you and Sie-... your old man are on better terms now. All buddy buddy. Isn’t that right?” She spat out, earning a confused look from Kiana.
“I guess?” Kiana hesitantly responded, still confused at her tone.
“If I were you I wouldn’t have forgiven him so easily. Especially after what he put you through.” She argued, crossing her arms in the mirror.
“He said he was sorry… and that he’d do better.” Kiana told her. “I trust him.”
“You trust him?” Her reflection scoffed, her eyebrow was raised as she spoke with an unbelieving tone that soon turned to rage. Glaring directly at her host, piercing yellow eyes met blue. “How on earth could you possibly trust him after all the hurt he put you through?!”
“Well… I trust Kevin. And he trusts father.” Her host reasoned, not that it did anything to help calm her down. Kevin this. Kevin that. It seemed like the ultimate answer whenever her host was troubled with absolutely anything. And it infuriated her to no end. The ugliness that was envy slowly began to bubble up within her. If only she had someone like that back then. Someone to look after her. To tell her and make sure everything was alright.
Well… there was someone. Someone who attempted to reach out to her and treat her like family. But that someone was currently stuck in a hospital bed. And somewhere deep down, she knew that it was her actions that led to Cecilia getting hurt. B-but it wasn’t her fault! Really it wasn’t. It was Schicksal’s! If they hadn’t taken her, if they hadn’t hurt her and her friends with those cruel experiments, none of that would’ve ever happened.
At least that was what she convinced herself and her anger soon fizzled out, quickly replaced with something bitter.
“He hurt you.” She pushed further as she looked down, no longer able to meet her eye to eye. ‘He hurt me’. Was what she wanted to say, remembering their fight in the forest as that man turned beast cut off her arm and ripped her cores out.
“But I forgive him.” She was speechless at her host’s response. “Well… maybe not yet. But he’s willing to try to make it up to me. So I’m willing to forgive. Or at least try to. Because I know it’d make mom sad if she knew we were fighting.”
When Kiana looked back at the mirror again she was gone, her reflection back to normal. Kiana continued to get ready for bed as her tenant began to ponder. Could she… could she make it up to Cecilia. And… could she make up with Sieg- she quickly cut off that line of thought. Enough of that! A question for another time.
Kiana climbed into her bed and tucked herself in, telling her brother goodnight before closing her eyes, letting sleep claim her.
Hours passed as Kevin opened his eyes and with a tired sigh he rubbed his eyes before sitting up. Seems as though this was going to be another sleepless night. Reaching over to his nightstand he turned on a miniature lamp. Its light was bright enough to let him see what was in front of him, but not bright enough to disturb his sister’s sleep.
Opening the bottom drawer he reached in and took out his journal. Flipping to the next blank page he began to let his mind wander, simply writing whatever came to mind. It was therapeutic. Kevin was never one to openly talk about these kinds of things with others, so being able to write it down, to get it off his chest, for nobody to see but himself… it helped.
Even lighter stuff such as writing about what he did during the day helped.
Eventually the pen would stop moving as Kevin closed the book, placing it back in the drawer before turning off the lamp light. Laying back down on his bed he took a deep breath, before slowly exhaling through his nose, his eyes closing once more, hoping to at least get a little bit of rest.
Moments passed before a singular eye opened, its golden iris looking at the figure that laid on the bed opposite to her before focusing her gaze towards the recently closed drawer. Her eye narrowed.
Her host didn’t get it. Siegfried and her brother didn’t really care for her. For them. They only saw her as a replacement for… oh. She felt a tug at the corners of her mouth, her mind began formulating a plan. Her host wouldn’t believe her so long as she continued to have this blind and completely unwavering faith in her brother. He was the pillar holding it all up. Well then, she’d just have to show her. Wouldn’t she.
Her eyes never left that drawer.
Her eyes opened, her blurry vision began to clear as her surroundings came into focus. She was in a large open building consisting of multiple open floors where she could see crowds of people moving about. Like last time, her body began to move on its own, turning around to face what seemed like a clothing store. But what caught her attention was her reflection in the store’s display glass.
It was the same girl as before, with long purple hair and golden eyes. She was wearing some sort of black uniform with a yellow tie.
“Sirin!” She heard a voice call her to her, unlike the muddled words from before this time she could hear loud and clear. ‘Sirin?’ She thought. Was that the name of this purple haired girl?
Once more her body began to move on its own, seemingly taking her along for a ride as she turned to face the newly approaching person.
‘Mama…’ Before her once again stood Cecilia, this time her hair back at its usual waist length. Behind her was a father, an exhausted look on his face as he carried multiple shopping bags, with those he couldn’t carry with his hands looped around his forearms. Sitting on his shoulders was a version of herself while her brother stood by his father’s side.
Her mother and father began to talk, not that she could understand what they were saying as their voices became muddled once more. Eventually Siegfried took a seat by a nearby bench, with the twins by his side. It was a comedic sight considering the mountain of shopping bags that surrounded them.
She watched on as her mom turned to face her, taking her hand and leading her into the nearby store. Inside the store was more outfits than she could even count. Cecilia vanished for a moment before reappearing with a myriad of outfits tucked in her arms.
Before she knew it she was pushed into a changing room, trying on more clothes than she even owned with Cecilia wearing an encouraging smile as she tried on outfit after outfit.
However all of a sudden, her surroundings shattered destroying not just her environment but seemingly reality itself, sending glass like shards scattering everywhere.
Before she knew it Cecilia had already lunged forward, pulling her into a protective embrace, shielding her. Protecting her.
And at that moment there was only one thought that ran through her mind.
‘Warm.’
Raiden Ryoma rubbed his temples as he stared at this week's list of demands. It had been months since the deal was struck and it seemed as though Cocolia’s demands were never ending.
The materials she had demanded were wide and varying, much so that even he couldn’t tell what she had planned to do with them. Not only that but she had demanded that the shipments be small less they attract the attention of the other members of Anti-Entropy.
He let out a tired sigh as he finished reading the list. This was the price he had to pay for his daughter to remain alive and happy. And he’d pay it a hundred times over if he needed to.
Part of him lamented at his decision, doing something like this under Welt, Tesla, and Einstein’s nose after all they had done for him and their history together. But he had no choice. This was the only way and Cocolia had bluntly told him that if he chose to go back on his word, he could expect Shicksal to show up at his doorstep for the Gem of Conquest.
‘I’m sorry. ’ For the most important person in his life, this was what needed to be done. Speaking of, he would be forever grateful that his daughter was now living how she did before her stigma awakened. Seeing her move about once more without any sign of struggle never failed to bring a smile to his tired face.
The Gem of Conquest had integrated into her body with almost frightening ease. The Raiden stigma granted her high Honkai resistance and combined with the nature of the stigma allowed her to be an almost perfect host to the Herrscher core. And in return, the Herrscher core inherently granted her the physical constitution necessary to survive the Raiden stigma.
However, despite how perfect everything had seemed to play out, there were some… differences when she awoke. She still loved to practice kendo whenever she could, but whenever she wasn’t, he found that she had developed a sudden interest in reading. Specifically math and science books.
A part of him was impressed that his daughter was engaging in such academics at such a young age. But he’d be lying if he wasn’t concerned, or at the very least curious, at this sudden development. The last change he noticed that was a bit more concerning was the fact that she-
His attention turned to the sound of his office door’s knob turning. It was only partially open when a familiar head peaked in.
“Otou-san?”
“Mei?” He questioned as his daughter entered the room. When she got close he promptly picked her up, setting her down on his lap.
“Sorry. Did I interrupt you?” She murmured. The guilty expression on her face quickly vanished when her father began to gently pat her head.
“It’s alright. I could honestly use the break.” He said with a small smile. “What’re you doing here?” He asked, earning an embarrassed look from his daughter as her eyes looked anywhere but in his direction.
“I… uh. I was trying to get to the library.” She muttered. Her father stared at her incredulously before a tired yet amused sigh escaped.
“Mei…” He began, “The library is on the opposite side of the house.” The last change that was a bit more concerning to him was the fact that his daughter had seemingly completely lost her sense of direction. It first came to his attention when he found her in the morning brushing her teeth at the kitchen sink. When he questioned what she was doing, she told him that she couldn’t find that bathroom and had somehow found herself in the kitchen, where she decided that it was a good enough place to brush her teeth. Despite the bathroom being quite literally across the hall from her bedroom.
He chalked it up to a one time thing, but more and more his daughter would find herself completely lost throughout their home. It got to the point where he had maids stationed at various ‘checkpoints’ throughout the house to double check on his daughter’s whereabouts and help her if she needed to get somewhere. It seems this time she somehow failed to come across one.
There was a moment of silence between the two. His daughter’s face turned red in embarrassment. Patting her on the head one more time, he pressed a button in the corner of his desk. A couple seconds passed before one of their maids entered the room with a bow.
With his daughter in hand, she gave him one last wave before she and the maid left his office and began heading towards the library. Hopefully successfully this time.
Once again he was alone. With a heavy sigh he picked up the tablet with Cocolia’s demands before signing it off.
If saving his daughter was a sin, then he’d gladly…
Cold and calculative amethyst eyes looked on as multiple drones continued their construction of her project. The hammering of metals and the sound of welding filled the warehouse.
A beep rang out from the tablet she kept in her hand. Holding it up, she tapped on the screen a few times before the large door behind her began to open.
Through the doors came several large trucks, each carrying a new shipment of materials from her new… benefactor . Once all the trucks were in, the doors behind them closed as mechs began to unload the materials, each of them following the commands given to them from her tablet.
Satisfied, she walked over to a nearby console, she stared at the multiple large monitors that adorned the wall. She closed her eyes as she began to remember. The day she first encountered the Honkai as its beasts ravaged Siberia, leaving less than a hundred survivors in their destruction. An event that she eventually had learned they called, the Second Eruption.
Despite rapidly climbing the ranks of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia still found herself a tier below the likes of Tesla, Einstein, and especially Welt. And with that came a limitation on information she was allowed to see.
Cocolia had tried in the past to look through Anti-Entropy’s files regarding the Second Eruption. Only to come up with nothing, and not for a lack of effort. All information regarding that time frame was kept under lock and key, accessible to only a handful of people. And she was willing to bet her life she could guess the identities of at least 3 of them. However, there was one thing she managed to learn, and from Ryoma himself no less. And that was during the war, they had gone to the moon. She didn’t know why or what for, but….
Looking back at her project she couldn’t help the smirk that made its way onto her face. If the others wouldn’t tell her what they found on the moon…
She’d just have to go see for herself.
“Squad Leader!”
“Report.”
“We’ve spotted a small town up ahead. No sight of the targets.”
“Lord Otto was right then. This is the location.” A woman spoke, her brown hair fluttering in the cold wind as pink eyes looked on ahead. Behind her followed the other members of her squad as they made their way up the snowy hill.
Upon reaching the summit the town came into view, its bright lights a stark contrast to its dark and snowy surroundings.
“We’ll leave our weapons here, don’t want to alarm any of the civilians or garner any unwanted attention.” She ordered as her and the rest of her squad took off the giant claymores strapped to their back, placing them on the ground or leaning them against nearby trees.
“Remember,” she called out. “We’re up against a Herrscher, if you see either of the targets inside the town, do not engage. If the Herrschers hiding there then we’ll rendezvous and figure out a way to draw it out. I don’t want any of the townsfolk being caught up in this.”
After commanding two of her members to stay and keep watch, she placed her hand on the shoulder of the remaining member. “You’re with me. We’re gonna do some scouting, "she said with a smile. The squad member nodded as she followed their squad leader down the hill and towards the town, her crimson red hair trailing behind her.