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Storm growled in frustration, and struggled to keep her eyes open. She looked up and saw with relief that a few people had stopped the thief and were asking him something. After a while the thief pushed one of them away and started to run again, before one of the passersby, a red dragon-born, grabbed him and forced him... |
Suddenly Storm noticed a shadow over her and painfully turned her head to see a half-elf standing over her. He had dirty blond hair and wore a brown cloaked robe over a simple white shirt. |
He was holding some sort of red potion, which he quickly took the cork off of and held over the cut in Storm’s side before stopping. Storm opened her eyes to see him staring at her, surprise and confusion creeping over his face. Before Storm could react though, he shook himself and started to dribble the potion of Stor... |
Storm gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as the red liquid made contact with her skin, seeping through her fur. It fizzed and seeped into the wound. |
It stung, but after a minute, Storm couldn’t feel anything there anymore. She opened her eyes to see that the wound had completely closed up, leaving nothing but a large, but thin scar, and red spots on her fur where the blood had stained it. |
she thought. Slowly, Storm got stumbled up from the ground and faced the man in front of her. He looked about a few years older than Storm and smiled when she got up. |
"Are you all right?" he asked quickly. |
"What- who are you?" Storm asked, putting her hand on her dagger defensively. The half-elf stepped back, looking surprised. |
"I’m sorry, I promise, I’m not dangerous. I just thought - I’m sorry you just look a lot like someone I used to know..." |
Suddenly he stopped, staring down at Storm's arm. No - not her arm, her hand, specifically the ring on her finger. The shiny golden ring was engraved with her family crest, "Drgon," on the inside, and was all she had left of them. She treasured it above all else. |
Storm touched it self-consciously as she remembered the day she got it when their father had gathered her and her brothers together to give them. |
"You three are old enough now, and I think it’s time I gave you something," Storm remembered him saying. |
"Now, these are very special, and I need you to look after them with great care." And then he’d handed them each a little gold ring, each with their matching family crest. |
"These will guide you and keep you together, no matter how far apart," he’d said. Storm remembered how excited she’d been at the sight of her first treasure. She had always been very careful with it, even now and when she’d started lying in the city. |
But with all the commotion that day, Storm had to admit, she had forgotten about it a little. Now she looked down at it, gleaming in the sunlight, and back up at the half-elf. His dark green eyes met hers and Storm swore there was something familiar about them, besides them being the same color as hers. He glanced down... |
"Storm?" he said softly. "Is that |
"Storm?" he said softly. "Is that |
" He stepped back stumbling. |
"Who’s asking?" Storm said, growling. "And how do you know my-" She stopped as the half-elf raised his right hand and showed her the small golden ring on his finger, with a small dragon imprinted on one side. It was identical to hers. Storm felt the breath close in her throat as she realized. |
"Elvos?" she said in a hushed voice. Elvos nodded slowly, a smile growing on his face. |
"Elvos!" Storm leaped on him and they tumbled to the ground, rolling until they collapsed in a giant heap of laughter, just like when they were kids. |
"I thought you were dead!" Storm laughed. |
"So did I!" Elvos said. "I mean- I thought the barbarians got you! What are you doing here?" |
"What am I doing here?" Storm repeated, surprised. "I live here! What are |
doing here?" Elvos looked at her and confusion slowly started to creep along his face. He stood up and Storm did too. |
"Storm, I live just a few blocks from here. I work at the hospital up the street." Storm stared at him, and looked to where he had pointed as everything slowly started to come together in her head. |
"All this time." She said in a hushed voice. "And I never knew." She looked back up at Elvos who had a nervous expression on his face as if waiting for her to yell at him. |
"Elvos I-" She started but was interrupted by a commanding voice behind her. |
"Excuse me." Storm turned around to see a human woman standing there. She had brown skin and a short black bob. She wore a fancy coat and shoes and held a clipboard in one hand. |
"Sorry to break up the reunion, but you’re gonna have to pay for that." Storm stared at her, confused. |
"Pay for what?" she asked. The woman scoffed as if it should be obvious, and took a step closer to Storm. |
"Uh, the potion. Those aren’t exactly cheap you know." |
Storm turned to Elvos with a questioning look. |
"Elvos, what is she talking about?" Elvos had a nervous look and sheepishly took out the empty potion bottle. There were still a few drops inside, but not enough to be worth anything. |
"Um, I used hospital supplies to save you, and at the hospital, you have to -" he started, but the woman interrupted him once again and turned to Storm. She started scribbling things down on her clipboard as she spoke to her. |
"There will also be a hospital staff fine, a potion use fine, an employee fine, a hospital stay fine,-" This continued until Storm thought she had listed just about every fine possible. |
" - and your total comes to 125 gold pieces." |
"What?! That’s way too much! This is ridiculous, and can’t you see we’re in the middle of something here?" Storm answered, gesturing to Elvos. |
"Hey-hey, it’s alright, just calm down," Elvos said to Storm, before turning to the woman. |
"I’d like to get rid of her fines, please," Elvos said. The woman hesitated before simply nodding and turning and walking away. |
"You can do that?" Storm asked. |
"Yeah, I’m one of the main chiefs in the hospital, and I have the power to do that, although we’re not allowed to that often." Elvos turned back to Storm. "Would you like to catch up over dinner? I know this great place." |
"But isn’t it a bit early?" Storm asked. Elvos shrugged. |
"Well, then we can have it early," he said and smiled. Storm |
pretty hungry. She had worked up quite an appetite over the action that had just taken place. |
"Hello?" Storm heard a small voice and looked around, expecting to see someone, but no one was there except Elvos. She turned to him. |
"Did you say something?" She asked. Elvos turned to look at her and shook his head. |
"No, why?" he asked. |
"I don’t know I thought I just heard-" |
"Anyone there?" Storm’s head shot down to the source of the sound as the small voice returned before a confused look started to grow on her face. The source of the sound almost seemed like it was coming from... the ring? Storm stared down at it before tentatively bringing it up to her face. |
"Um, he-hello?" she said slowly. She waited for a moment before the voice came again: "Who is this?" Now Storm could tell it was coming from the ring. The voice was quiet, but clear, and the ring gave a very small, soft glow with the sound. |
?" Storm asked. A hesitation and then a firm voice came through the ring. |
"My name is Adren. What’s yours?" A soft gasp escaped Elvos’s mouth and he froze. Adren was the name of their other brother, besides Elvos. The one that Storm had thought, like Elvos, had died on that fateful day, 8 years ago. |
"Are you a half-elf?" Storm asked. |
"Yes," the voice answered. "How did you know that?" |
"Because my name is Storm, and right now I’m with Elvos." A moment passed without another sound from the ring, and then a loud clattering, and the voice sounded again, louder, as though Adren, if it was him, had brought the ring up right to his face. |
"What?! Storm? And Elvos? Like gray tabaxi and blond-haired half-elf Storm and Elvos?" |
"Yes." Storm responded, her voice choking. "Adren? Is that you?" |
"Yes, it is! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is happening. I mean, I knew you might still be alive but I didn’t think..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "We have to meet up somewhere," he said excitedly. "It’s been way too long since I’ve seen you guys." |
"Same here." Storm said. She wondered if her smile could lift her into the air. She had never expected to see her brothers again, let alone find and meet them both again on the same day. "Elvos knows this place, a restaurant." She turned to him. "Elvos, who had been standing still staring the whole time, suddenly shook... |
"Yes, of course." He held his ring up to his mouth and started speaking slowly. "Adren?" Adren responded after a moment and the pair had their little excited conversation among themselves. Storm had never seen Elvos so happy when they were kids. |
Eventually, Elvos turned to Storm with a huge smile on his face. |
"I told him where it was, and he said he’d meet us there as quickly as he could." |
So Storm and Elvos walked over to the restaurant, about a block away, and Storm could tell why Elvos had recommended it. |
It was a tall, tan building, with two stories. Wood lined the edges of the walls, windows, and the double doors out in front. They were standing open, made of dark oak, and each had a small, round, silver handle on the front. The second floor had a balcony lined by a short wooden railing, where a waiter was hustling ac... |
Standing outside, close to the doors was a tall half-elf. He was wearing light silver armor, and a leather belt, which he was fiddling with nervously. |
"Is that... Adren?" Storm asked, staring in his direction. Elvos nodded slowly. |
"I think so," he said quietly. Adren glanced around and spotted them after a moment. He stared, eyes wide, before walking up to Storm. He stopped a few feet away before speaking. |
"Um, hello, are you... Storm?" he asked hesitantly. |
"Yes," Storm replied. "And this is Elvos." Adren gasped softly and reached out to Storm but didn't touch her. |
"You-You’re- You’re alive?" he said softly. "You’re alive. And you’re here!" He ran up to Elvos, throwing his arms around him in an embrace. |
"I can’t believe it. And... Storm." Adren said, turning to her. "You look just the same as you did the day..." his voice trailed off as he looked down at his leather boots. "But... older, of course," he said looking back up. |
"I can’t believe it’s you either." Storm said. Adren laughed softly and put his arm around her. |
"Cmon. This place has |
best steak." He led her inside where a small bell jingled as they pushed open the oak doors, and a human walked over to them dressed in a blue apron. She had brown skin and short, curly black hair. |
"Hello, table for three?" she asked. Storm nodded and she led them up the stairs to the second floor, where most tables were open. The waitress led them over to a small table against the wall where they sat down. She handed them each a small menu and walked over to another table. |
Storm looked around, instinctively surveying the people around her. There were a couple of dwarves sitting at a table, drinking big mugs of beer and laughing. A half-orc sat talking with a red tiefling, and Storm even spotted a black feathered kenku sitting at a table by herself. But one, in particular, caught her eye.... |
An elf with a black hood covering his face sat at a table alone in the corner. Storm squinted at him, and when he quickly snatched a glance at her, she saw that his eyes were yellow, and his pupils slit like a snake. |
Storm spotted something shiny in his bag and directed her gaze to it. It was a small shard of mirror, as big as her hand, practically identical to the one she stole from the elf. She took it out, comparing it to his before the man glanced over, saw it in her hand, and looked away quickly. |
Storm stared suspiciously but started to talk with her brothers as they did, slipping the shard of mirror back into her bag. She told them all about her life and they told them all about theirs. |
Turns out, Adren had fled to the mountains before later making his way to the edge of the city where he started and now owned a blacksmith shop. Elvos had hidden in the woods near the village and waited out the attack. Once it was over, he also came to the city and worked at the hospital down the street from Storm’s sh... |
"All this time... and I never knew," Elvos said softly. "You were so close, and I didn’t know." Just then the waitress came around and took their order. Storm ordered a steak, taking Ander’s suggestion, and the waitress quickly scribbled it down on a little notepad and left. |
Storm was just starting to ask Elvos a question when she saw the strange elf get up and walk toward them. Storm tensed, putting her hand on her dagger, but the elf just walked by them. Storm relaxed, thinking he was simply leaving, but she quickly changed her mind as the elf swiftly pulled a small silver dagger out of ... |
Storm gasped, ducking just barely in time. She felt the dagger graze her fur and then heard it as it thunked into the wall beside her. Storm looked back at the elf, but he was running away down the stairs. |
"Storm!" Storm turned to see Elvos staring worryingly at her. "Are you all right?" |
"Yes, I’m fine. But..." Storm turned to the dagger again, and finally noticed it was pinning a small white note to the wall. She removed the dagger, leaving a small indent in the wall, and looked at the note. It read in thick black letters: |
YOU HAVE MY SON’S MIRROR. HOW? |
Storm stared quizzically at it, before remembering how the elf had looked when he saw her holding the shard of mirror. |
He’s the elf’s father, |
But why do they both have matching shards? |
She narrowed her eyes, thinking when Adren leaned over the table to look at her. |
"Umm... what’s that?" he asked, confused. Storm looked over at him and back at the note. |
"I’m... not sure." she tucked the note quickly into her bag and looked up again. |
When she heard marching, she was just starting to talk to Adren and Elvos again. She looked over at the stairs to see about a dozen guards walking toward them. They wore silver armor over red cloth and held sharp metal spears. They walked in a perfect line, and stopped next to Storm and her brother’s tables, banging th... |
The soldier in front, their leader, Storm guessed, pointed down at Storm, staring at her questioningly. |
"Are you Storm?" he asked in a stern voice. Storm hesitated before saying anything. She knew that multiple people knew her as a thief, but she had never expected the news to reach the ears of the palace, let alone have them come here for her. |
"Who’s that?" Storm asked, trying to sound confused. She knew they were here to arrest her, she was smarter than them. She knew not to admit it was her. Her time on the streets taught her that. |
Elvos leaned over the table to whisper to her. "Um, Storm? Who are they? Why are they looking for you?" Storm shook her head vigorously, trying to tell him not to use her name, but it was too late. The guard's eyes widened and he made a grab for Storm, but she moved to the side out of his reach. |
"Storm, by order of the king, you are under arrest." |
Storm stared at the guard in surprise, but was quickly snapped back to the real world as he reached for her again. Years of living on the streets and learning to defend herself had prepared her for this, and she shot back out of the way. |
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