"Ranko."
The redhead looked up and smiled sheepishly in thanks, accepting a cup of... what seemed to be some kind of soup... from Adynna, a tall but thin brunette girl almost her age. Her new friend grinned back and settled down beside the redhead.
Ranko mentally sighed wearily after sipping the broth-like food. It hadn't taken long after leaving the Vyann compound for her to realize that she was in bigger trouble than she previously thought.
She had quickly discovered that she wasn't on Earth for one thing, the two moons in the sky had convinced her of that. And that the redhead was now in a futuristic city where it was near impossible to get anything unless you possessed a registered ID... or so Adynna had patiently managed to communicate to her new friend. That she didn't possess one was a miracle and gift in the brunette's eyes.
Some things were the same--which was how they had met. There had been a gang surrounding the young girl, some posessing metallic limbs or other bionics, and most were grinning evilly. By the girl's fearful eyes the dirty redhead instinctively knew that this was going to end badly for the slender girl. Short tempered by hunger and frustration, she had laid out half the gand before they even registered her presense. When they did, bionics or not, it didn't matter and the rest were swiftly knocked out. Adynna had gaped for all of three seconds before grabbing the indignant redhead and escaping with her before a patrol found them.
Once in a safe place, Adynna found out that Ranko didn't know the local language and so began a slow information exchange. It seemed that Adynna was a thief and that the gang had been annoyed that she had worked in their turf without getting a take. That she was more than a little awed by Ranko's skill and power and grateful became evident when she offered the starving girl food. When she found out that Ranko had no ID on record the thief thought her a godsend. Apparently being so practically made the redhead invisible for most detection systems in the city as everyone had an ID--except Ranko.
Why this was so didn't help the martial artist's mood. Apparently there was a powerful Duke ruling the country she was in and he was something of a jerk apparently. Not caring too much about the nation he ruled and restricting most of the freedoms of the people. This was helped by the ID system and most could not sneak around without being very, very sneaky. If you didn't have an ID, though, you could walk into a store and walk out with pockets buldging without so much as anyone complaining as everyone 'knew' this was impossible.
She had already carefully done so several times, combining her natural stealth with the lack of ID, in order to help Adynna out and because her stomache was protesting a lack of food. Given the constant patrols and general depression of the place she didn't feel much guilt doing so. She had also had to 'convince' some morons that she could defend herself quite well, much to Adynna's mirth.
There was still a lot she had to find out but one thing was for sure--she didn't like this place at all. Adynna and her were also forming a fast yet powerful friendship, much to the surprise of both, and whatever else she did she would help her friend get out of this dirty hole. The redhead felt that the brunette wouldn't mind in the least.
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(Posted Thu, 11 Mar 2004 10:59)
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