I Just Want A Quiet Life... (SilverDragonsBlood)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Um..." said a small voice from beside Meri. "That would be mine..."

A small... person was sitting at the end of the booth, crammed between Meri and the wall. The person quickly took the sandwich and began to eat.

"Man," said Hildegarde. "This is what, the eighth time they almost forgot to bring you your food?" She shook her head. "I'll have another talk with them when we're done here."

"It's fine. I don't want to be a pain."

Hildegarde's expression became genuinely soft. "Terry, you're not a pain." She smirked. "I wouldn't buy you lunch every day if I thought that." Looking back at Meri, Hildegarde smiled. "How would you like to get paid for only saying you use your powers?"

[Celegwen]

Meri quickly moved to the other end of the booth, her mouth opening slightly. How didn't I see him? She asked herself. Must have some kind of cloaking spell on him or something.

It wasn't the time for that. She was having a discussion with one of the most powerful people she had ever met. It wasn't time to get distracted. Just like that, the boy at the end of the table vanished from her mind as quickly as he had appeared.

"You mean you would actually pay me to not use my power?" This was definitely new to Meri, who only came across people who wanted to pay her to use magic. "I don't understand; what would you get out of it?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Throwing one last smile Terrence's way, Hildegarde turned back to Meri. "Well." she began. "What matters more? You being able to kill anything, or people believing that I have somebody who can kill anything?"

Hildegarde didn't wait for an answer. "You could be lying out of your ass, and it literally wouldn't matter- enough people in this restaurant overheard you say it. Rumors will spread, and soon enough "Lady Hildegarde has a new Friend who murders everything" will be common knowledge."

Hildegarde smirked. "Do you follow me?"

[Celegwen]

Meri looked around, realizing that Hildegarde was right. It was clear that several people were consciously trying not to look their way. She did have a good point, though. There was no use in having a power if people didn't believe in it... Maybe belief really was more important.

She smirked, leaning forward with a slight nod. "I'd be a fool to turn you down. Hell, there's no downside." Meri thought for a moment. "I'd still be able to do my job, right? I'm absolutely in, but I enjoy my life as it is. I don't mean any disrespect; just trying to understand exactly what happens when I sign on to follow you."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde frowned. "That really depends on what your job is." She scratched her head. "I mean, if you work as a fence or something than no. That would damage my Friend's business." The pink clad woman rested her arms on the table. "Unless you're the one person in this city who doesn't run some kind of side hustle, I'm afraid you will need to make sacrifices."

[Celegwen]

Meri smiled, shaking her head. "My business is completely innocent," she said. Talking about her job was one of the few things that really brought a light to her eyes. "I'm a midwife. Plain and simple. You have my word."

What her word was worth to Hildegarde was a different question. Either way, it was true. She had nothing else really going on. "That's why I wear this." Meri lifted her gloved left hand. "The glove was created with life magic, so it prevents accidents with my own magic. As long as I can still do my job as a midwife, I'm in."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Pffft!" Hildegarde snorted. "Oh, alright, that's actually perfect- you can keep an eye on my other midwife for me." She outstretched her hand to shake Meri's. "Welcome aboard, Friend."

[Celegwen]

~ One Month Later ~

Meri gently placed a crying baby into the new mother's arms. She smiled, looking at the other midwife in the room. "Meri," Taiga's voice said in the girl's mind. She excused herself briefly. "Meri, I need to talk to you about Hildegarde."

"Tai, I'm busy at the moment," Meri said. "Can it wait?"

"No! You said you know Hildegarde, right? Well, her younger brother, Eckhart..."

Meri listened to what Taiga had to say, before rushing back into the room. She washed the blood off of her, apologized, and told them that she had an emergency to take care of.

Running all the way to Hildegarde's apartment building, Meri found the woman's home and burst through the door with wide eyes. "Hildegarde, I need to talk to you," she said urgently and breathlessly. "It's about your brother."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde sat at her desk, mulling over a report Taza had written up. "So those Soot Wolf guys won't let us get a foothold in Arca, huh?" She crossed her arms and frowned. "Well, we'll see about that."

Hildegarde stood up, stretching her arms above her head. It was the little things like this that got to her- the small stuff like reports and signing things. The act of lifting a pen to paper was eerily good at taking the wind from her sails, she much preferred action.

It was then that her newest tag-along, Meri, burst through the door. Hildegarde's jaw dropped. "Oh no..."

"What? Did the dragon get him? Spit it out, bitch!"

[Celegwen]

Meri felt her heart racing. "The dragon? What? No!" Meri shook her head, knitting her brows together with a frown.

"He's okay, from what I heard," she prefaced. "My sister just contacted me. She met your brother at the site of an overturned carriage in Serendipity. She said that she and Eckhart were chased by some assassin who called herself 'Wasp.' I know my sister; she's very powerful and knows very powerful people. She said this assassin was the best she'd ever seen."

Pausing for breath, she continued. "She said that Wasp almost killed your brother. Ignatius was able to take her down, but he didn't kill her because some guy who called himself 'Spider' stopped him. Apparently Spider knows about you. From what she told me, sounds like another gang.

"She said when she left, Eckhart was on the mend. He had a wood plank in his side and a dagger in his back. Both from this Wasp woman. She said that the assassin turns rocks into explosives with her breath."

Meri shifted nervously, unsure of how Hildegarde would react.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde stared blankly at the woman. When Meri had finished speaking, she sighed, walked to her liquor cabinet, and removed a bottle of Essyrnian brandy. She looked at the bottle with a strange mixture of fear and sadness.

And then, with a scream of rage, she flung the bottle at the wall behind her, shattering it. She stared at the broken glass furiously, breathing heavily.

Finally, Hildegarde took a deep breath. She returned her gaze to Meri, as if daring her to comment. Finally, she spoke. "Where did this happen?"

[Celegwen]

The girl jumped slightly when Hildegarde's shockingly calm demeanor switched so suddenly. Meri already knew better than to say anything. When someone, especially someone like Hildegarde, was unstable, better to just let them do their thing!

"I, um... She said in Serendipity." Meri tucked her hair behind her ears, glancing at the shattered glass. "On the road to Maestaso? No, it was Maestoso. She said the guy had a gryphon, though. They could be based anywhere."

She let a moment of silence pass. "I'm sorry about your brother. It sounded like Ignatius got there just in time."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde's mind began to race. "Maestoso is the capital of Tiral, which is in the southwestern part of the country. That means that Eckhart didn't head back home like I asked him too." The young woman's eyes shifted around the room. "The Soot Wolves are in Serendipity, but they aren't bug themed..." Hildegarde's breathing grew sharp. "Damnit, I need control!"

Hildegarde looked at Meri, growing more visibly shaken with each passing moment. "Is Ignatius still with him? If he is, I want Eckhart brought back here. I won't feel safe unless he's here with me."

Hildegarde then turned to Terrence, who was nervously playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Terry, get Taza. I think we found that Fly person she complains about."

[Celegwen]

Meri saw Terrence and knitted her brows. His presence no longer shocked her, but it was still baffling how he was able to go unnoticed every single time.

"No," she said. "My sister left after Ignatius did." Meri felt a little helpless, watching Hildegarde stress over her brother's safety. "How much does Taza know about this person? Has she actually met them?"

She's too emotional, Meri thought to herself, biting her lip. You're smart! Please, don't do anything you'll regret.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde sat back down in her seat, burying her head in her hands. "Iggy." she said. "Iggy, Iggy, Iggy. What the fuck were you thinking?" The gang leader shut her eyes tightly. "Why would you leave him there? He could die!"

She looked up, slowly shaking her head. "No, they've never met. All we know is that somebody in Adela who goes by that name makes it very hard to do business there." Hildegarde took a deep breath. "It's the best lead we have..."

[Celegwen]

With a frown, Meri shook her head. "How would they even have known about your brother, though? Let alone where he is?" She couldn't help but feel like something wasn't quite adding up. "Plus, if they're in Adela, why would they go after him in Serendipity? That's not their land."

She understood where Hildegarde was coming from, but it was strange seeing the strong woman practically crippled by her brother's injury.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"No, no, you don't get it!" Hildegarde said frantically, shaking her head. "You don't get it at all! This is about me! They're hurting him because they want to hurt me!" She stood up and began to pace back and forth. "This is all because of me. Nobody would want Eckhart for him, it has to be for me, it-"

"Hildegarde!" Taza had arrived, and immediately walked over to hug the smaller girl. "Hildegarde, Tommy told me everything. It's going to be okay."

Hildegarde didn't return the hug, and stood with he arms hanging limply at her side. "Meri. What were the other bugs? Spider and Hornet? We need to find them before they go after him again..."

[Celegwen]

Meri thought for a second. "No, uh, it was wasp. Spider and Wasp."

She frowned, getting chills on her arms. She found it kind of creepy how they used bugs' names. Meri felt awful for Hildegarde; not pity, but empathy. The pain and helplessness the woman must've been feeling was unimaginable, especially for someone who was so accustomed to being in complete control.

"How do we even begin to find him or them?" She asked. "By the time anyone was able to get to Eckhart, he'd be long gone. And Adela's huge! What would you do to find people who use bug code names? How can you find either one of them?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Hildegarde didn't waste a second. "Terrence! Go find Addie and have her send you to Ketra. Hang around the bad part of town, see if you can't find any info on groups with bug themed names. Make reports every three days through the meeting place, at the usual spot."

The younger boy nodded quickly. "Right away Lady Hildegarde!" he said, cheeks tinged pink. "I'll find them, you can count on it."

The boy seemed to vanish, and Hildegarde gave a slight smile. "I love how he never questions me."

"Um..." said Taza. "We don't even know if Fly is based in Ketra. You could be sending Timothy on a wild goose chase."

Hildegarde shook her head. "I believe in him." She turned to Meri. "You have people in Serendipity right? Tell them to keep an eye out for my brother, alright? Preferably keep him in one place if they find him. Can you do that?"

[Celegwen]

"Lacey, Elysia," Meri whispered into her hand. "I need you to keep a watch for a blond boy with nervous energy. Possibly with bloodstains on his clothes."

"Got it," Lacey said.

"I know him!" Elysia said eagerly. Meri's eyes widened slightly, and she dropped her hand to her side. "Yeah! I know him! I wanted to pet his cat."

The girl shook her head, glancing briefly at Hildegarde. "Elysia, what cat? No, hold on. Where'd you see him?"

"Before Taiga left for Hyoite, I saw him. His name's Eckhart. I gave him bread and cheese before I left."

Meri sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She pursed her lips and turned away from the blonde woman. "I don't care that you fed him! Just... Can you get him? Please, Elysia. This is important."

"I'm on my way to Connlaoth," she said. "Sorry, Meri."

She looked at Hildegarde with a light shrug. "One of them said she'll keep an eye out. The other said she saw him when my other sister did, but she's on her way to Connlaoth. He's probably gone already, anyway. I'm sorry. There's nothing else they can do."