Chapter Text
The Violet Corvus
Chapter 1
Her eyes opened, she blinked, “ugh it's still dark out.” she grumbled. “But what even is sleep anyways?” Restless nights and uncomfortable beds, this was normal for her, it’s better than sleeping on the ground, but not by much at this place. Riley got up, her dark curly hair in a bushelled mess, she went and looked out the window, wow it’s early. A few lights were on but no one was out and about just yet, it's a small town, nothing much to look at, but they have a general store which looks promising. Maybe she could find something to help her sleep. “Now’s as good a time as any to get up I guess.” she thought. Riley started to move around and get ready.
It was cold out this morning, she ran through the woods carrying a bag full of rocks, it's good for increasing stamina to use something that weighs more than your normal gear, it makes it easier to carry and do day to day things with, like killing monsters and going after bounties. Being a Raven has its ups and downs. But getting to name her own prices every now and then was a big plus, as well as the cute girls she got to meet along the way. But unfortunately it did mean that she never really got to stay in the same place more than a few nights, or with the same people. She ran until the sun came up, then headed back towards town.
She was walking down the main road, more people were out now, but it was a small town so it still wasn’t a lot of people. Ahead of her she noticed a cute girl, a little shorter than Riley and she had gorgeous brunette hair that went past her shoulders. She was carrying a big box and a lot of bags, how she was even walking with all that was nothing short of a miracle. She was about to fall over when Riley ran up and grabbed the bags that were falling. “Hey can i give you a hand?” Riley asked. The girl replied and said “oh yes thank you, that was a close one.” with an exhausted yet delightful voice. “Where are you headed with all this stuff?” Riley inquired. “Oh I work at the general store, I'm delivering these supplies to the local inn.” the girl replied. “Well what a coincidence, I was headed there myself. My name is Riley by the way.” The girl replied “it’s nice to meet you Riley, I’m Ali. What brings you to the grandiose city of Glosten?” She gestured sarcastically. “Oh, I'm just passing through.” Riley said “I'm headed east for a bounty I'm working.” Ali’s eyes lit up “You’re a Raven? That's so cool, you must have all sorts of awesome stories and adventures!” she said excitedly, the exhaustion in her voice was gone now. Riley looked surprised, “Well I’ve had a few interesting jobs, but nothing super extraordinary. I just try to help people where I can and make some money along the way. People aren't usually this enthusiastic about it though.”. Ali looked forward and said “Well I just always wanted to do more, I feel like I'm wasting my potential here when I could be out exploring and meeting all new people.” she looked back and Riley and smiled, “Plus most visitors we get aren't as cute as you.”. Riley looked away to hide the redness growing in her cheeks. “Oh gosh, I hope that wasn't too weird or awkward, I’m sorry.” Ali said now embarrassed. Riley looked back at Ali, smiled and said “Not at all, i was kind of thinking that most vendors aren't as cute as you either.” Ali’s entire face turned red and it was her turn to look away all flustered. Riley started laughing and Ali joined in. Not fully paying attention to where she was going, Ali accidentally walked into a guy and dropped the box on his foot.
“Ow god damn it!” he yelled out pulling his foot away. “Oh no I’m so sorry, I didn't see you.” Ali apologized, picking the box up quickly. “Watch where you’re going stupid!” He barked at Ali. “Hey dude it was an accident, she said she was sorry, calm down.” Riley said setting down the bags she was carrying. “Don’t you tell me what to do! Do you know who I am?” He growled. “No and I really don't care, you should keep walking.” Riley stated very calmly just now realizing her sword was still in her room at the inn. The man knocked the box out of Ali’s hands and it fell to the ground breaking and spilling all the goods onto the road, “Oops, sorry, it’s just an accident.” he said mockingly. At that moment he felt his arm bending in a way it shouldn't, he shrieked in pain as Riley held his arm tightly behind his back and brought him to his knees. “You need to apologize and be on your way.” “Go fuck yourself!” he said while grinding his teeth in pain. “Fine then, have it your way” Riley said and pulled harder until she could feel the crack in his arm as she broke it. She let him go and he tumbled to the ground crying, he scrambled to get his feet and yelled something along the lines of “you’ll pay for this” as he ran away, it was kind of hard to tell with all the blubbering to be honest. She looked at Ali who was in disbelief and also tearing up realizing all the goods spilled onto the road. “Oh gods I'm sorry, I went too far, are you ok?” Riley asked, concerned she just traumatized this poor girl. “I’m ok, I’m just worried about what’s going to happen now. That was the mayor's son Byron, he usually starts trouble and we just have to deal with it, or else he makes our lives even harder. Plus now all this food is ruined.” Ali said, fighting back tears. Riley felt terrible, she started gathering up the goods from the broken box, anything that was still usable anyways. “Hey, everything will be ok. I’ll take these things to the inn, why don't you go back to the store and tell the owner what happened? I'll stop by later and reimburse them for the lost goods. I'm in town for a few days, maybe I can help out a little.” Riley said with a warm smile trying her best to cheer Ali up. Ali smiled and nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, “Thank you. If there's anything you need while you’re here just let me know.” Riley picked up the bags and headed to the inn.
Riley arrived at the inn and delivered the goods and explained what happened, The innkeeper thanked her and luckily wasn't too upset. She went to her room and laid down on the bed, if you could call it a bed, thinking about what happened with Ali. She started blushing again thinking about when Ali called her cute, ugh but that was just like, a friendly thing right? Riley had heard lots of people call each other cute in non romantic ways. She had herself convinced Ali was just being nice, she seemed really friendly and sweet, but she’s so pretty. “Gods what am I doing?” Riley thought, “I'm reading too much into this, besides I can't stay here anyways. I’ve got to keep moving towards Kant. Ugh but why cant i stop thinking about this girl?” Riley dragged her hands over her face in frustration. She decided laying around overthinking wouldn’t solve anything so she got up and grabbed her gear. Light armor always worked best for her, being able to move around was more important than heavy plating. Leather arm braces and pads on her legs, a small metal plate for her chest wish had the image of a Raven etched in, and lightweight shoulder pauldrons. She grabbed her sword, it was a shortsword with dual edges and a nice grip, probably about a third of the weight of the bag of rocks she ran with earlier. She fastened it securely on her back and left the inn starting towards the general store.
The store wasn't very big, but they had a better selection than some of the ones Riley had been to. She walked in and approached the counter, the owner was an older lady, greying hair and reading glasses, short but stout, she had obviously been here a long time and done a lot of the work herself. The owner looked up, “Hi there, how can i help you today?”. “Hi, I was looking for Ali, I wanted to check and see if she’s ok.” Riley said. The owner's eyes widened, “Ahhh you must be Riley. Ali hasn't stopped talking about you since she got back from the delivery, she’s out back moving some boxes. I’m Agnes, I heard you gave the Mayors boy Byron quite the time.”. “Oh yeah, I’ve dealt with so many assholes like that, the only thing they understand is blunt force.” Riley said, looking down a little regretful. “Well you’re not wrong. But a word of caution, you may want to leave town soon, the mayor is just as big an ass as Byron and wont react kindly to this sort of thing. As much as I’d like to see him learn a good lesson, it's best to avoid any more fights here.” Agnes said. “I understand, I'll be leaving soon. I’m headed east first thing in the morning.” Riley replied, picking up the massive hint that Agnes was giving. “It’s for the best. But in the meantime what can I get you? Anything special you need for your journey?” Agnes asked. Riley put a bag of coins on the table, “ This should cover everything, including the goods that got ruined earlier. I mainly just need some food, leather wraps, a flint and steel, and maybe something to help me sleep.” At that moment Ali walked in. “Hey Agnes I got all the boxes organized and…” she stopped as she noticed Riley. “Oh hi! I didn't expect to see you so soon.” Ali looked flustered. “Oh, well I wanted to stop by and see if you were alright. I hope I didn't scare you earlier.” Riley looked embarrassed. “Oh no, not at all.” Ali looked cheerful, “You were so cool, the way you took Byron down was amazing. I generally try to avoid him, but I’m really glad you were there, maybe next time he’ll think twice about treating people like that.”. Agnes came over with the supplies Riley had asked for and set them on the counter, “Yes but it’s best not to cause too much trouble, you’ll be leaving soon won't you dear?” Agnes gave Riley a very determined look that Riley knew not to ignore. “Yeah I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.” Riley said disappointingly. Ali looked sad, “But I thought you said you were gonna be here for a few days?”. “I was, but I have to head east towards Kant, I have a bounty there I need to take care of, and I don't want to cause any issues for you here.” Riley replied. “Oh I’ve always wanted to go there, I’ve heard so many stories about the beautiful Kantian mountains and the rivers that run through there. Maybe I could go with you.” Ali stated. Riley’s heart leapt, she honestly loved the thought, Ali was so sweet and had this warmth about her. But one look in Agnes’s direction and she felt the daggers being thrown at her by this old woman's gaze. She was torn, then again she had only just met this girl, wouldn’t that be moving too fast? Plus, Riley’s life wasn't exactly glamorous, the opposite actually, she didn't want that for Ali, or for anyone. Maybe she was just being selfish. “It’s a long walk there and I honestly haven't traveled with anyone in quite some time, plus my job isn't exactly friendly. It would probably be best if I went alone.” Riley felt a pain in her chest worse than any wound she had ever felt when the smile was erased from Ali’s face. Riley looked at Agnes and the shop owner gave her a nod. “It’s ok, I'd probably end up getting in your way anyways.” Ali sniffled and went to stock a shelf. Riley stuffed the supplies in her bag, thanked Agnes and walked out, her head down the entire time, she couldn't bring herself to look at Ali as she left. Riley couldn't explain it but there was just something about this girl. She had been attracted to lots of cute girls before but, this...this felt different. Ugh she was overthinking again.
Riley stepped out of the shop and down the steps to find a group of 5 men staring her down in the middle of the street. “Well shit.” she thought. The man in the middle stepped forward, “You! Raven, what do you think you’re doing here?” The man growled. “Honestly, thinking about what I'm gonna eat later, you guys have any recommendations?” Riley knew this would only escalate things but she was not in a good mood and didn't care. "Oh you think you're funny huh? You won't be so damn smug when we're done with you. You think you can come into my town, hurt my boy and get away with it? Nah, I've heard about you Raven's, you may be quick and put up a good fight but numbers always win. You're gonna pay for what you did to Byron." The mayor said gesturing at his gang of half drunken buffoons. "Meat pies!" Riley exclaimed. The mayor looked confused, "What?" He asked. "Meat pies, that's what I'm gonna eat tonight, wow it's been forever since I've had a good one." Riley stated unphased by the growing anger from the men. "Damn it I've had enough of this, get her!" He yelled. The first two goons moved towards her as Riley drew her sword. The first one had a shortsword similar to hers but in much worse shape, he ran at her and she parried his attack and slid past him to stop the incoming second attacker, a large man with an axe. She pivoted her foot and spun around knocking the axe guy into the first, sending them tumbling to the ground. She didn't want to kill these guys but she did need to keep moving if she was gonna win 1 on 5. She was skilled but what the mayor said was true she could be outnumbered, if she wasn't careful. The third mountain of meat stepped up with a long hammer and swung it around with a bit more speed than Riley was comfortable with. She barely ducked in time and slammed the flat side of her sword against his shin causing him to step back, this was what she needed, to keep him off balance. With a quick lunge she ran into him and used the but of her handle to upper cut him in the jaw sending him falling backwards, he won't miss a few teeth. The first two guys were back on their feet now and number 4 decided to join the party with what looked like a farmer's scythe. She knew she had to act fast and use her secret weapon if she was going to get out of this unscathed. She reached in her pouch and threw a handful of sand in the eyes of the scythe wielder, as he staggered back thing 1 and thing 2 came at her again. They weren't bad, the sword went low swinging to the right and the axe went high swinging to the left, they had done this before, luckily for Riley they must have done with with larger opponents, their swings were so wide she was able to jump backwards, her body horizontal in the air, in between both blades, while midair she kicked the axe wielders wrist causing him to lose his grip, the axe fell from his hand and gave the sword wielder a very close haircut. They both fell again and decided not to get back up this time. Riley went to the scythe wielder still trying to get the sand out of his eyes and she hit him with a right hook that sent him to the ground. The mayor was frozen, not knowing what to do. Riley sheathed her sword, and looked him square in the eye and said “Don’t ever make me come back here, if I ever catch wind that you or your shitbag son is causing any of these people issues, you won't be around to see the aftermath. Understand?” The mayor nodded with nothing to say. Riley started walking away, she might as well leave now before things get any worse.
The mayor snapped out the haze he was in, filled with nothing but rage, his ego was damaged, and that was the worst thing Riley could have done to him. He walked over and picked up the hammer from the giant that was using it and started to run at Riley. She turned around just in time to see him coming at her, he was too close, she couldn't dodge this. Right at that moment Ali stepped between them, she had watched the whole scene unfold from the shop. She threw her hands up and screamed for the mayor to stop. Everything went white for a second, Riley staggered back, not sure what just happened she tried opening her eyes, Ali stood there with a bright light between her and the mayor, Riley could make out a forcefield between them, shit, this was magic. Ali thrusted towards the mayor pushing him back onto the ground. The field dropped and Ali stepped back lightheaded, she started to fall and Riley caught her. Ali passed out for a moment, she looked drained. Riley looked at her stunned and worried, Ali’s eyes opened, “Hey there, that was amazing, are you ok?” Riley asked. “Oh hi, I saw you fighting all those guys and then he came after you, my body moved before I could even think about what was happening and then everything went kind of... blank.” Ali said in an exhausted voice. “You just used magic and saved my life, that’s what happened.” Riley said laughing and crying a little at the same time. Ali looked up at Riley and said “I don’t think I’ll be able to stay here anymore. I might have pissed off Agnes by running out to help.”. Riley started to cry full tears now, “Hey that's ok, you can come with me if you want. I’d love a little company for a change.” She put her hand on Ali's cheek. “So, i won’t get in your way?” Ali asked. “Pfft you’re gonna be in my way all the time, cause you’re so cute i won’t be able to focus.” Riley started laughing again. Ali reached up and kissed Riley, it felt like an eternity she never wanted to end, her lips were incredibly soft and though Riley was a fighter she embraced Ali with the most gentle touch. “C’mon, let’s get you out of here.” Riley said, helping Ali to her feet.
Agnes stepped out of the store and yelled and Riley and Ali, “You don’t know what you’re doing! Your place is here Ali, not with some degenerate flunkie!”. Her words were lost of them, they were too far away and too tired to care. Agnes shot the mayor an angry look. “Gods you’re useless.” She hissed at him.
They traveled a bit east of town, talking about everything that happened that day, Ali had never used magic before and couldn't quite get it to work again. Riley knew some people in Kant who were versed in the matter so she thought it’d be a good idea to continue on for her bounty and to help Ali as well. They had walked for quite some time and decided to set up camp before it got too late. Laying together near the fire Ali was fast asleep in Riley’s arms, she was adorable when she slept. Riley looked up at the sky really taking in the night air, she fell asleep with Ali in her arms. She didn’t wake up at all during the night, turns out she had found something at the store to help her sleep after all.