[Thunder]

Nabias, a town that was usually one of the most peaceful in all of Evelon, was not untouched by the war raging across the continent. Day in and day out, thousands of Purine soldiers marched through the streets on their way to the front lines and the jungle, stopping by at stores and inns to restock their supplies and replenish their energy. The quiet buzz of daily life had totally given way to the rumblings of war. And along with those rumblings came a certain warlord who held a great deal of interest in the fighting.

Armatas Karhartt di Telos, the Blazing Lord of the glorious nation of Telos, found himself in Nabias shortly after failing a particular mission issued to him by the Purines. It was a rather sour experience for him. He had been called on to guard the Interrogation Center from Imperialist infiltrators, and one man, a ninja who used the most mind boggling illusory techniques ever, managed to knock him out and slip past him. The Purine leaders who assigned him to the job were not pleased. The lord failed to receive the awards he would have gotten upon success. But his life was more important than anything the Purines could want. In truth, he took no sides during the war and simply served whatever faction that would propel his own goals forward.

This time around, Armatas was en route to a Purine base deep in the Tengel Rainforest. He had done a lot of travel on foot and was exhausted despite his great endurance. The entire area surrounding Nabias was dreadfully hot and humid, even more so during the summer, and it made walking around unpleasant. He was ready to find a decent place to stay and stop for the day. In a place like this, there were a few cozy hotels that could lodge a fair number of guests, but there were few fancy establishments, unlike in the cities. It was somewhat disappointing for a lord accustomed to a lavish life.

Armatas's travel partner, too, was completely drained, and throughout the day, the thirteen year old page had constantly voiced his complaints. The boy was much less picky about staying overnight somewhere, and every time the two of them passed by a hotel unsuited to the Blazing Lord's tastes, he let out another whimper.

"M-my lord!" the page stammered, just barely holding onto the parcels he had to lug over their arduous trip. "Look, there's a inn up ahead that seems nice..."

"Nice?" Armatas snapped, glaring a single blue eye at his servant. "There's a hole in the ceiling of that building, you imbecile! Do you want to get rained on when a storm comes through?"

Flinching at the harsh words, the page shut his mouth. Though his arms and legs were killing him, Armatas killing him would be much worse and much more permanent. He grudgingly followed the lord onwards, glancing with longing at all the people who were sitting down and resting throughout town.

[Jaykobell]

The ongoing Purine and Imperial war wasn't the only thing that was merciless. Nabias wasn't very far from a few select forests; thick barriers that seemingly hosted nothing but wildlife. The truth was that, over a handful of decades, more and more clans of ninjas had started cropping up inside those forests. While they mostly kept to themselves, the majority didn't hesitate to visit the neighboring towns that were close to those forests.

They didn't visit to kill or to steal from the villagers, but rather to get accustomed to the modern lifestyle that was slowly developing throughout the continents. They were now so common that the majority didn't bother to cover their faces when they visited, and some were even common visitors in town. Some shopkeepers had become friends with those ninjas, and it wasn't alarming, nor surprising, to see a ninja or two roaming around town.

"Daddy, how about this one?"

The black-clad ninja grumbled when the girl asked her question in that little slow, high-pitched voice of hers. He ran a gloved hand through his short hair as he sighed. "Stop pointing them out," he snapped at the child, his patience quickly running out. "I'll know when we find a good hotel."

Judging from his response, no one would probably guess that the two were father and daughter. Not only was he relatively uncaring and impatient towards the girl, but they shared very little resemblance apart from their emerald green eyes. Where he had short black hair, she had shoulder-length blonde hair; his black-and-green suit was a stark contrast to her white, beige and white suit. The resemblance stopped at the fact they were both dressed as ninjas.

The girl looked down when her father complained at her words, but she didn't voice her disappointment. It had been a few months since her life had been completely turned upside-down, with the untimely death of her mother and the discovery of her father. As a child born to a horrible mistake, she'd grown up with a mother who hadn't harbored a lot of love for her, and she was now in the care of a father who didn't even know that she'd been born at all. Despite his rough character, however, her father had been good enough to her. His words were sharp, but his actions sometimes contradicted the harsh words that he said. She did her best to stay in his good graces, since her mother was gone, along with her original ninja family. Whereas the Purines and the Imperials faced a war, the ninja families of the forests faced a war within themselves, with bigger, stronger families literally exterminating the smaller ones.

That was why they were looking for a hotel this late at night. Her father didn't live with a family: his own clan had forced him into self-imposed exile over a decade earlier. Living in the forest on their own didn't attract a lot of attention to them specifically, but a few ninjas wanted her father's head on a silver plater — for many good reasons. That being said, he could defend himself just fine: his family specialized in crafting poisons and dangerous tonics. The problem was in the child, who, being only eight years old, couldn't defend herself yet. Since the two offered to do jobs here and there in exchange for money, they could afford to stay the night over in hotels, where it was safer for both of them.

The problem was that it was getting increasingly difficult to find a nice room. If they didn't stop midday to hunt for a hotel, the chances of them finding a nice room for the night visibly decreased every minute. The war was going strong, and many civilians and soldiers alike took refuge in the hotels nearby.

The only hotels that were usually left at this time were the more high-end ones, where a night could cost a few hundreds of keystones. Yes, their overnight packages usually included free room service, access to the pool and the gym, including a few free movies and breakfast in the morning. The problem was that he didn't use nearly half of what they offered, and neither did the child. It felt like a waste to spend so much money for things he wouldn't even use.

An hour or two into their search, however, no good hotel had cropped up. The sky was already pitch-black, with just a few stars peeking through the thick rainclouds. At that rate, they'd get caught in the rain, and that was something he wanted to avoid. Admittedly, it sounded nice to get a bit of cold rain in this unbearable summer heat, but summer nights could be unforgiving. If they got drenched as the night rolled around, the colder nighttime weather might earn them a cold, if nothing worse.

As their search continued, the child became gradually exhausted. Being younger and smaller, her endurance wasn't exactly on par with that of her father, and the child slowly started to fall behind. Regardless of that, she didn't voice anything; she wasn't the type to complain, instead letting her mind wander off to think about other things. If she paid attention to other things and if she let her mind wander, she was bound to forget about her aching feet and her heavy body. That was the plan, anyway.

As they continued to search, the father did eventually start noticing that his daughter was gradually falling behind. There were times when he had to stop so she could catch up to him, and it became clear that they had to find a good hotel quickly.

He eventually settled for one of the fancier hotels. Although they cost more keystones, he could probably save a little by getting a room with a king or queen bed, where the one bed would be big enough for both him and the child. Getting breakfast in the morning was also something he could look forward to.

After finalizing the bill and everything with the receptionist at one of the fancier hotels, the two settled comfortably in their room for the night. It didn't take long for the child to fall asleep, exhausted from the day's work and the walking they'd done to find a good hotel. The father was tired, himself, having spent the majority of his day crafting tonics. Taking care of the child also did a number on his energy, and it didn't take long for him, too, to fall asleep. For now, they would enjoy a good night's rest in a comfortable bed; in the morning, they could enjoy some breakfast before going back to work.

[Thunder]

Just as Nicolau thought he was going to faint from the strain on his body, Armatas stopped and pointed at a rather fancy hotel just a few yards away. The building looked very new compared to the structures surrounding it. "I suppose we shall stay there," the lord remarked. "Let's just pray that their service is as good as their exterior."

The page's heart leaped in relief as they walked through the hotel doors. Finally, he could set down all the stuff he was carrying. He slumped against the wall as Armatas booked a room for the two of them. Once the preparations were complete, he begged for the assistance of a bell boy, who readily helped them transport their belongings to their room on the third floor. It was a very cozy space with two separate single beds, a clean bathroom, a television, and a window overlooking the town. There were other services elsewhere in the hotel, like a pool and a gym, but all they needed was a place to rest.

"Happy now?" Armatas growled at Nicolau. The lord, glad to get out of the heat, removed his furred cape and robes, leaving him in a thin black shirt.

"Y-yes, my lord," Nicolau stammered. He wasn't wearing nearly as much as his superior and couldn't imagine how Armatas managed to walk so far in those heavy clothes.

"I'm going to take a shower. You go ahead and do whatever. But don't fall asleep sweaty, you hear me? Take a rinse after I finish. I don't want my page looking like a mess and stinking to high heaven."

Once they were both clean and in their sleeping clothes, they turned off the lights and settled in their beds. The mattresses and blankets were incredibly comfortable, though they couldn't beat what they had back at Armatas's castle in Telos. The Blazing Lord fell asleep first, snoring lightly as he dreamed of future conquests. Nicolau listened to the sounds of the town outside for a while, wondering how the war was going, and began to slumber shortly after. Never had a good night's rest felt so wonderful.

[Jaykobell]

Considering the two of them were used to living in the forest, sleeping in a real bed was something the child could never truly describe. The softness of the mattress and of the bed sheets was something out of this world. Whereas she had to turn and shuffle all night when she slept in the forest with her father, whenever she had the opportunity to sleep in a bed, her body and mind simply shut off automatically. She enjoyed the chance to sleep in a real bed, and she was grateful for her father's ability to pay for this. She knew how hard he worked and how much time he spent day and night to gather up enough money for them both to live. Her mother had faced similar struggles, and so that was why the child did her best not to complain when they had to sleep outside in the forest.

The night flew by in the blink of an eye. As soon as the sun started shining through the curtains, the child awoke from the light. Sleeping a whole night through without turning for hours and without waking up every few hours did wonders on her energy. She noticed the difference as she got up from the bed and stretched, feeling her body tense and crack as it did every morning, but this time relaxing after the fact. It was an amazing feeling, and she was ready to tackle the day headfirst.

The same couldn't be said of her father, however, who was still sleeping. She debated waking him up, but after looking at the clock, she figured her father wouldn't appreciate getting woken up at around seven thirty in the morning. He worked a lot harder than she did, so he typically slept more than her. They had the room until noon, and that much she knew; maybe she could just practice her skills and wait until her father woke up.

That was when her stomach started rumbling, and she frowned a little when she felt that uncomfortable feeling brought on by an empty stomach. The receptionist had mentioned that they had breakfast included in their stay, and eating sounded like a good idea right about now. Any normal child would've waited for their parent to wake up, but she wasn't going to wait for her father to wake up. She was hungry now, and not to mention, her father would probably come down later. He wouldn't panic if he didn't see her in the room with him, either. So why wait?

The child got dressed before leaving the room to go eat breakfast. It was easy enough to reach the elevator and then go down to the lobby, but she had no idea where to go from there. A quick trip to the reception area got the receptionist to explain the directions to her, and before long, the child had found the room she needed.

Breakfast was being held in a large room filled with round tables all around, with cushioned chairs that did look rather expensive. Each table had a small center piece to give them a nice feel, and surrounding them were large counters of various breakfast foods. From eggs to toasts to crepes, the hotel seemed to have everything and anything to make anyone happy. Even those who didn't fancy breakfast could find something they enjoyed from this selection; even the kids weren't excluded, with little cereal bowls and small portions being available.

There were already a few people picking their food, but the room was still relatively empty at this time of the day. The child saw her opportunity there, where she could basically go and choose whatever she wanted. No risk of running out, and no chance of people taking all the space to the counters.

It sounded like a beautiful idea in theory, but applying it didn't work out as well as she'd expected. While she'd managed to pick herself a nice little plate of eggs and toast, there came a problem when she tried to get a small cup of yogourt.

She'd managed to get the yogourt just fine, but of course, in order to make the experience even better, a lot of toppings were available, such as fruits and oatmeal, amongst many others. She was specifically after the oatmeal, but she was just inches too short to reach it. She was only about four feet tall, and so reaching anything on the counter had been a bit of a challenge. This time, however, the oatmeal was too far from the edge of the counter for her to reach it. She'd tried to stretch her arm as much as possible, putting her weight on the tips of her toes, but that wasn't enough. She'd tried jumping just a little to try to give herself the boost she needed, but that hadn't worked, either.

In the end, she had to settle for plain yogourt, with no toppings. It was disappointing, since she knew she wouldn't get to eat this again for a long time. Still, next time she got a chance to eat it, she would be older and thus, taller. For the time being, she decided to eat what she had already, sitting down at a table on her own. She decided to sit in a table closer to the window, where it wasn't as crowded and not too much in the middle of the room.

[Thunder]

At around seven AM, Nicolau roused from his sleep. His eyes slowly opened to sunlight drifting in through the window, and he let out a great, satisfied yawn into his pillow. Rolling out of the sheets, he headed into the bathroom to take care of his morning routine and to change into some fresh, simple page clothes. They were nothing compared to the garments Armatas wore. Completely gray and made of decently soft fabric, they were more practical than pretty, yet also so much better than anything he had in his closet back in the day.

His lord was still sleeping when he was done, so Nicolau took one of the two room keys the receptionist gave them and headed out of the room to fetch some breakfast. He hadn't eaten anything since crashing at the hotel, and his stomach was growling at a rather embarrassing volume. It took a bit of time to find the dining area, but when he did, the boy was impressed at the variety of foods scattered around. He felt a craving for waffles, so he headed over to the waffle maker and poured in some batter. As the machine did its work, Nicolau went to grab some scrambled eggs, milk, and a banana too.

Once he gathered all his food, he glanced around at the room, looking for a place to sit. His amber gaze ended up falling on a curious sight. There was a little girl sitting all by herself next to a window, eating her meal contently. Nicolau frowned. Was this child really all alone? Where were her parents? Feeling concerned, he decided to approach her, hoping that she wouldn't be too terrified of a stranger like him.

"Hello," he greeted softly. "Um, are you...lost?" He immediately regretted his choice of words and shook his head, blushing slightly. "Er, I mean, are your parents with you?"