The docks were not just docks, while there was always activity, explaining why the first houses where people lived were out of reach of the shouting and calling out. There were bakeries here and other stores, mostly for items that people would need to buy before they would leave on their trips to fight, but Alice was sure they were more in a civil war than outside, so they would only be to protect their borders as she was sure that the emperor would want. Everyone was welcome, was perhaps something that he had said but he wouldn’t want a random other army showing up in his country, she was sure of that, perhaps the warships were also there to protect and help fleeing citizens come to Fiore save. Alice had no idea, the three of them, her companions Hecate and Jupiter stared at the area around them and wondered where they should go now. The quest that they had for themselves, to find the culprits behind a new trauma, had made no entrance and no one knew them nor where they would be found. Where Bart had pointed them to the barracks of the knights, a place where they had searched before and Lord Reign had never seen people like that. Reign had been her last option, as the lord of the town she would expect that he knew many and if there were such issues, which were unknown to him, than he might have a database of the people that lived here, stored in a lacrima or so. But unfortunately there were no answers and even though Reign left after the reconstructions to find something out, the hope that Alice had felt when she arrived had dismissed into a now nagging feeling about the question why she couldn’t let it go. She ordered some food at the restaurant where they were but kept staring outside, ”If you want, we can go home today? It might be a long trip but if we are quick we arrive in three days.” Alice nodded but she wasn’t entirely sure if she could take it yet, no answers, which meant perhaps that there was a new enemy or it had been her sister who had tried her to quit because of such harassment, but she had no idea if Lacie would be capable of doing something like that and it made her sigh. They would have to have food first before they would make a decision, so that wouldn’t be for another hour if she could stretch it enough. Jupiter had not said anything but it seemed as if he didn’t want to go either. Perhaps she had not been wrong and had he been searching for something himself, she looked at him but he seemed to be nodding off, or perhaps locked in thoughts, she looked at Hecate who seemed to ignore, perhaps they had a fight without Alice noticing? That would be a bit pathetic from her as their friend.



Wordcount: 500/1000

But it was also giving them their own privacy as they deserved, they were humans now too and she had always tried to give them their space as the animal companions that she found them for and she didn’t plan to say anything more about it. She looked left and out of the window while the waiter brought their food, which was for her an easy pasta salad, something similar for Hecate and another meal for Jupiter. She started to eat slowly and ignored their hushed whispers, they would call out her name when they needed her. When she was almost done with her salad, she noticed someone with a fishing rod moving outside in the dark, more to the water and the docks, ”Someone’s going to fish now, alone.”, Hecate immediately turned her head to the window too, Alice noticed within the corner of her eye, ”That could be dangerous.” Alice stood up and placed the right amount of jewels on the tables and hurried outside, followed by Hecate and a soft cursing Jupiter, who didn’t like water because of the effect he could have on it. ”Where do you plan to go at this hour?” Alice called out to the person with the fishing rod, the young man stopped and turned around to look at her, ”Fishing what else?”, so Alice explained that it might be dangerous to go out alone in the dark, no one would miss him if something happened until the next morning. Which gave him a cocky grin as if to say that nothing would go wrong, ”Well come along than.” Alice turned to look at Hecate who nodded, she could use her ice powers in this case and the two walked to the boy introducing himself as Jacob Fischer and they would hop along in the small row boat he had. Jupiter said he would remain on the docks so he wouldn’t do something accidentally and Alice doubt it would happen but she let him do whatever he wanted. So they would go into the open ocean and listen to guy brag about the excellent bait and that he would catch the best fish in the whole ocean... that was a bit too much and Alice and Hecate already regret their decision. They would drop the bait and look around and wait for Jacob to catch something. It was quite a struggle for Jacob to reel the fish in that Hecate started to help him and Alice stood up, trying her very best to catch her balance and not fall into the water, why a rowboat of all things! When the fish jumped out of the water, she quickly moved her hand to activate her vulpecula spell and help Jacob thus get the fish in as it stopped struggling. With a satisfied fisherman, Jacob rowed back and dropped Hecate and Alice back at the docks, he paid them and left to show some friends probably the fish. There was one problem: Jupiter wasn’t here.



Wordcount: 1001/1000