[center][h1][color=8882be]𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖘[/color] [color=708090]&[/color] [color=8FBC8F]𝕳𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖆𝖍[/color][/h1][/center]

	
	Hannah sure did have a tiny hand. This made Boris smile, in a goofy kind of way, repeatedly glancing down at her walking by his side as they crossed the bridge into Sonarlis. 

To Boris’ dismay, though, his sweet admiration of the little girl soon turned to concern when they approached the end of the bridge. She had seen something. Her pace slowed. The secure look on her face from being under Boris’ care was suddenly gone, replaced by a paling of her skin and a scary widening of her eyes in direction of the nearby stables. 

Boris couldn’t blame her at all for being frightened. Gosh, those horses in the stable looked like something to be scared of for sure. 

“You don’t have to worry at all, Miss Hannah.” Boris assured with a gentle shake of her hand gloved in his. “Boris won’t let those horses hurt you - Nah-ah. No way in the world!” 

His words didn’t help. Hannah’s face scrunched, shaking her head as though she were approaching an ominous fate. Her feet came to a stop on the cobblestone road just off the bridge, and keeping her hand in his, Boris stopped alongside her. He was about to reassure her of her safety when – 

“Dad!” Her voice exited like a whispered scream. Her hand gripped in suspense to one of Boris’ fingers. Her other hand raised to point towards the stables, but then dropped listlessly to her side before fully extending. At the same time, Boris felt a curious sensation move through him. The sensation seemed to be entering him from the grip Hannah had on his finger. It was some sort of tingly energy that made Boris shiver, and for a moment, just for a moment, he could feel her tense anxieties. 

Boris was very confused. He looked to where Hannah had wanted to point, but there was no man at the stables. Nobody at all, actually. Just really scary looking horses. Surely none of those animals were her daddy, that couldn’t be right. He did his best to comfort her, providing a wide smile as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. 

“Gosh, Miss Hannah, you need to relax.” He took a second glance at the stables just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “I don’t see any dads there, nah-ah. I don’t see anyone except scary horses.” He poked his tongue through his lips a little for some extra careful thought, and asked; “Do you ride horses with your daddy? Heh. Maybe if you aren’t too scared, Miss Hannah and Boris can go on a horse ride together.” 

“No!” Hannah tugged hard on his finger as if trying to rope some intelligence out of him. “I saw him. He was with a lady and a cat.” Her narrowing stare became intense as she peered up at the muscular tower of a man. “…But now he’s not there.” Her voice faded to a ghostly whisper while the energy Boris felt from her dissipated. Her grip on his finger loosened. The blood appeared to drain from her face. She wanted to say more, but her jaw just jutted in silence. She was clearly too distraught to properly explain what had happened. Still, the tear that now welled in her eye provided the shimmering hope that maybe this giant man beside her would be smart enough to understand. 

He didn’t. He just stared dumbly at her. Vacant. Several quiet moments passed. 

“I sure am hungry.” He finally spoke. Smiled in his usual childlike manner. “You and me, Miss Hannah, we should go eat some delicious food. After that we can find your daddy. Don’t you worry [i]at all[/i]. Not even a bit.” 

Engulfing her hand in his once more, he gave her a firm yet gentle tug to get her walking again. She went along without resisting, forsaken and lost in the quiet turbulence of her thoughts. 

[hr]

	As the two of them walked farther into town, they were stopped by a guard that had just stepped out of Blackgale Inn. The guard was dressed in red armour and in the company of no other guards. He had halted Boris and Hannah with a swift raise of one hand. He gave a curios look to the girl, the man’s shirt she was wearing, then turned a suspicious eye to Boris while his other hand fastened to the hilt of the sword sheathed at his side. 

“I am Mardin, Chief Guard of Sonarlis!” He said, glancing back at the door of the Inn, then eyeballing the tip of Revel Yell protruding out from behind Boris’ back. “There is a very frightened man inside who claims to have been robbed of his shirt. We have no tolerance for thieves in Sonarlis. What business do you two have here?” Awaiting a response, he curling up one large nostril, gave a sharp sniff, and then flicked his thick fall of well-groomed snow white hair with a cavalier toss of his head. 

Boris didn’t give an immediate response to Mardin, instead looking down at Hannah with a cockeyed expression. It may have been the guards’ confrontational presence that caused a change in the girl, although Boris didn’t really know how or why this was the case, all he knew is that he was feeling that strange energy seeping into his body from Hannah’s hand again. Her previously haunted countenance was quickly becoming one of intense rigor as colour returned to her face. He could sense her emotions. Volatile frustration and rage towards the guard. So raw, basic… and scary. Boris didn’t really know what to do about this. He’d never really shared a little girls feelings before, and so he decided that maybe just replying to the guard was the best thing he could do in that moment. 

“My name is Boris,” He replied with a mischievous smirk. “And this is Miss. Hannah. She needed new clothes so Boris took them. I sure do hope that man is okay.” Boris paused, sucking in one corner of his mouth to remember the other question Mardin had asked. 

Mardin pompously scowled, though lightly, a tad perplexed by Boris’ simpleton admittance. He strengthened the grip on the hilt of his sword.
 
Recalling the other question, Boris forced an expression of seriousness, saying; “We have important business here, Mr. Mardin, we are looking for Miss. Hannah’s da –“

“Boris is my uncle!” Hannah interrupted in a sharp, rasped voice, her grated tempo rising with each word. A short gust of wind swept by, leaving in its wake the forming of a whirlwind picking up the dust from the cobblestone road nearby. The column of spiralling dust intensified in stages, growing with the elevating strength of each ensuing word – “I needed clothes! The man would not give me his [i]shirt[/i]!!” 

Mardin took a step back as now the girls intensifying voice was becoming bitter. His white hair flopped down over his forehead. His scowling perplexity changed to that of wide-eyed fear at the phenomenon taking place. 

Though the whirlwind wasn’t seen from Boris’ line of sight, he was no less stunned at Hannah’s outburst. This wasn’t the girl he had met a little while ago. His eyes bulged like a mullet, mouth tight shut. Her hand started to heat in his grip, but he didn’t let her go.   

“We want to eat!” She continued. Her eyes flashed a glow of neon green. “We are hungry!!” 

Mardin’s mouth dropped open. He took another step back, too scared to draw his sword while the coiling whirlwind expanded to several meters in height. A crack popped open in the cobblestone in front of him. Boris remained confounded, overwhelmed by the turmoil of emotions and increasing hunger that he seemed to be sharing with the girl. Revel Yell, the Dragonbone on Boris’ back, began to shine with a turquoise aura. 

“I do not want to hurt you!” Her near screaming, gravelled voice now sounded like grating metal as the crack in front of Mardin extended several centimetres and the whirling mass of dust behind her began to howl. “Move out of our way, NOW!” 

The earth jumped at Hannah’s last word, causing Mardin and Boris to bounce slightly from the ground, but as their feet touched down the whirlwind collapsed. The airborne dust swept away in another fleeting gust of wind, and the vibrant, turquoise aura of Revel Yell vanished like someone had flipped the off switch. In an instant all was calm as the severity of Hannah’s glare subsided to a sinister, brooding heaviness that shaded her complexion and sinking eyes with tones of ashen grey.  

Mardin looked sick. The grip on the hilt of his sword became flaccid. His eyes were turned and watching down the road to where the dust had faded in the distance. Boris was a little light headed, swaying slightly as the emotions from Hannah fled his system and the heated touch of her hand faded. Like Mardin, he still couldn’t find words to express. He just stared bug-eyed at the guard while Hannah parted her lips to release a final statement in a forlorn and rasped, whispered tone.

“Please go away…” 

His hand finally falling away from the hilt of his sword, Mardin turned his disparaged mien to Boris in an attempt at respite to re-establish a posture of authority. With a deep breath, he inflated his chest with a roll-back of his shoulders, eyes almost bleeding with concentration in his effort not to look at the girl. 

“We have no problem here.” Mardin’s voice was compromised by subtle trembling, lips shivering like he’d developed a chill. “You can purchase clothing at the general store…. Enjoy your stay.” He poised in a suspended moment of deep contemplation, maybe considering more to say, but in the end he just turned and walked away. 

“Well okay then, Mr. Mardin.” Was all Boris finally had to say. He waited till the guard was a small distance down the road before looking with peculiar, childlike fascination down at Hannah. She raised her eyes to meet his. 

“I don’t feel good.” She told him softly. Having now completely reverted to her former, vulnerable self, she gripped the front of her shirt and pressing her small fist against her belly.