Atop of a hill, Billy looked down upon the city. The blackened city ravaged by industry and war. The city that was his home. Disgust coursed through him as he gazed downwards. Viel wasn't supposed to be like this, nothing was ever supposed to be like this. No one could ever want it that way, yet it still was. He despised every little centimeter of this place, yet it was home and there was no where else to go. Looking down, Billy pledged to himself that he would change this, change it all and make a home worth living in.

With the sound of a yell, Billy snapped out of his daze. He realized that he was still clutching the moldy loaf of bread to his chest, and he kicked off into a run. Stealing was one of the only ways he could manage to feed himself these days, and though he regretted the action it was something that he had to do to survive. The stall owner hadn't bothered to fetch the police, they wouldn't intervene unless something happened to one of the nobles. Billy's short legs didn't propel him at a very fast rate, but his strength made up for that. He was almost to the abandoned building that he could slip through to lose this guy, Billy knew the city inside and out. As he entered the alleyway where the entrance to the building was, he turned to blow a raspberry at the man. He didn't mind stealing from him too much, he was the stingiest and greediest commoner Billy had ever met. But he could beat someone like no tomorrow. Turning himself, he realized something. The entrance was boarded up.

The beating that followed was slow and painful, and he would feel it for a long time. Not able to even summon the strength to stand, Billy curled up in a ball in the wet alleyway, cold, hungry, and shaking. This was how the world is, but someday it would be different. Some day children wouldn't be forced to labor in factories, or steal for a living. Some day everyone would be safe. But that day was not today, and for now the suffering would continue, day by day. Billy sobbed silently into his hands as it started to rain.

"(Is he gone?)" Ceil poked his head out of his hiding spot, and took a look around. The alley was dank as usual, and his nostrils were filled the same familiar smell. This was his 'home...' Well, temporary home as he put it. Ceil longed for a better life, and an end to all this sadness and depression. As he poked his head out, he heard the familiar grumbling of a gruff guy. He quickly retracted his head back into his 'home,' and waited for the familiar man to pass on by. The man was a butcher he had been robbing to keep himself full each day, and the man was not excited to be losing revenue in times like these. After a while, the grumbling faded away, as he heard water splashing in the alley way. Ceil poked his head out, the coast clear for the time being. Ceil let out a soft sigh as he stepped out into the opening, pulling something out of his bag.

"This chunk o' meat should last be a couple of days if I eat it wisely," Ceil mumbled as he inspected the meat, before shoving it back in his bag. He then walked down the alley, making a small splashing sound heard when he stepped into the puddles. "I hope to figure out how to fix all this one day, and help these people get out of their mess, instead of contributing to it." After a few seconds, he made it to the opening of the alley, and quietly watched as the people passed on by, before slipping into the crowd himself. Ceil quickly pulled his goggles down onto his face and put his hat back on to avoid being recognized by anyone in the crowd.

As he began walking, he heard a tiny pap on the top of his hat. As he silently looked up, rain speedly dripped onto his face. "This day keeps getting better and better," Ceil grumbles to himself, as he continues to push his way through the crowd. "Wonder what's next, a maiden having to be saved from some lowly crooks?" He quietly chuckled to himself, thinking something like that would never happen in his lifetime. "(If something like that happened, maybe I could make a little money if that happened... Grateful maiden tips me, I rob the thieves, and gain more money from the thieves.)"

"Miss me, miss me, now your gonna kill me. It's as simple as can be."

Jinx sang lowly to herself, her face hidden by her hat. But, her purple eyes stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She lived here. In this building. It wasn't a home just.....a place where she hid. When all the horrors of reality came crashing down hard onto her. She finally moved her gaze to her surroundings. The place was old but, sturdy. It looked like it could fall apart any minute but, it never did. It was quiet. The outside world was quiet and then loud. It never stayed at one. It was bad. Very bad.

She then heard noises coming from outside. The alley near her home. She was scared. The bad people may be coming. She brought her knees to her chest and curled into a fetal position. Whimpering sounds escaping her as she rocked back and forth. The noises went on for a while but, they stopped. And it then started to rain. When the noises stopped she looked up and around her. She slowly got up, trying to be quiet.

She walked to the window stealthily before looking through the paint-splattered window. She could barely see and that is what she enjoyed. She liked the dark. He was comforting and nice. Never left her alone. She didn't like being alone. After looking around she couldn't see anything. So, she walked backwards till she was in the corner of the room. She slide down the wall before moving her knees to her chest. She then wrapped her arms around them before burying her head in them. She then sang to herself.

"Oh, I miss my mister so."

Selena pushed her chest around the streets as it started to rain. Dodging the various glares everyone has on her, she dashed to an alley, luckily having a roof to keep out the rain. She settled down in a corner out of sight from windows or doors, fortunately the chest has a lock with the key she wears as a necklace which would keep out any thieves, at least any thief who wouldn't resort to brute force. She relived the events that led up to this point and quietly cried, remembering Richard's command not to yell so that she doesn't get recognized. She pulled her coat close to her and her hat down.

"This is...home? Where is home now? What am I supposed to do?" She thought to herself as the rain kept pouring down, people running to shelter, while puddles splash and metallic noises echo throughout the streets. "What is this place? All I know is that...well, I don't know..." she thought with teary eyes "How am I going to survive when I don't even know what the world looks like outside of my house until today." She looked into her chest and found her two loaves of bread. She tore off a small piece and ate it.

"Why would Richard want to give me all his stuff? He knows I can't survive on my own, he knows I didn't believe in the plan in the first place. I don't know why he has so much faith in me, but I know I shouldn't let all his faith go to waste. Tomorrow, I'm going to have start a new life. I don't know what that life will bring me, probably some not-nice things, but I'll try to make the best of it. Try." She locked her chest, tucked the key under her shirt, and sat down, leaning on it, as she watched time tick by.

Pierrot was hefting two large slabs of limestone on his shoulders, his arms wrapped around around them to keep them from toppling and breaking. He filtered his way through the crowds of people that were heading to their homes or gutters where they lived, he dumped his pieces into a thresher machine and turned it, the large mechanical gears turning a shaft covered in what only could be described as scythes at breakneck speeds. he started to push his slabs into the machine, thier jostling teeth chattering, as the last slab went in he brought his hand too close to the blade and cut himself.

"damn it!" he cried in pain, Pierrot brought his finger to his mouth and sucked the coppery tasting crimson. He shut the machine off and looked around, apparently all the workers had left when he was crumbling the limestone. He clutched his fingers and started to walk across the quarry to the factory building. It was a large steel structure, it's roof was pointed like that of a cathedral but instead of stained glass windows there was soot laiden glass and instead of buttresses there were blackened smokestacks. As he reached the large doors it started to rain, the droplets stinging his skin from the speed of their fall and acidity it had developed because of the pollution in the air from all the smoke and gases. He hurried out of sizzling rain and into the rusted interior of the factory block, all was quiet in the cavernous structure, the only sound being the background drone of the rain hitting the roof.

Pierrot strolled to the farside of the factory and stopped at some scaffolding, he proceeded to climb it, one hand after the other, clinging on to the rungs of the industrial jungle gym. When he reached the top he stood on the creaky wooden platform from where he dis his surmmons and admired the scale of the building as he usually did when he had time to himself, 'we can build all this stuff,' he thought to himself 'but not a single thing that can stop this war?'. With a sigh he retreated further into the maze of catwalks until he reached his place of dwelling. The far corner of the building was cramped because it was right up against the slanted roof of the factory, it would have been small for an adult but it fit Pierrot like a glove. He slipped into the crevice and took off his overalls and boots, so that he was sitting on the wooden floor in felt trousers and his shirt, he rolled up his overalls and put them on the floor, resting his head on them shortly to make a crude pillow. His stomach grumbled when he closed his eyes, a deep primal grumble showing he was hungry but there was nothing to eat, absolutely nothing.

As the teen made his way through the crowd, he noticed something strange, but nothing out of the ordinary. A young girl (Selena) was ferrying around some sort of chest, and then dashed into a alley way. She looked to him as if she was afraid of something from first glance... Well, to him anyways. "What the... Is she delivering something to someone," Ciel asked himself as he watched her enter the alley. "Maybe if I helped her, I could earn some money."

"(I wonder what the heck is in that chest though)" he thought to himself as he made his way into the alley, stealthly as he could. Ciel hid behind any object he could find, whether it was a barrel, or a broken cart. "(I know for a fact that there are no people living in the alleys besides me and a couple of distraught animals... So what's the point of her going down here?)" As he continued down the alley way, he hid in the shadows, obscuring the girls view from him.

"(Ok... Just walk up to her, and try not to be rude,)" Ciel let out a soft breath of air as he pushed himself out of the shadows. He then began walking toward her, and was visible to the girl. "(I hope this doesn't end badly, because she kind of looks scared to me.)" Ciel silently moved his goggles to the top of his hat, and spoke to the girl.

"Hey, are you alright," the urchin asked. His face didn't churn with emotion, and his words were seemingly bland. "Because you kind of look lost to me," Ciel said, continuing on. "Do you need any help?" He stared at her with his dull hazel eyes, awaiting her response.

"Do you need any help?"

Selena looked up to see a tall young man looking at her. "Crap! I'm caught! Err...remember, do not make a habit of saying 'crap' whatever that is." she thought to herself.

"I-" She said before cutting herself off "I must go with caution about what I'm going to say here. That face, that...voice, is just...I can't describe it...not frowning like Master Dos- err...'father's,' but not friendly either like Richard's. It like it's missing in both, like it's its own thing. Point is I can't really see if I can trust this guy, sure he looks rather weak...but...you never know."

Selena took more than just a few seconds to think of a reply. "I gotta be careful, but I can't just ignore him, I'll have to think up an answer now because ignoring is bad." She quickly glanced at her chest "Even if I say the wrong thing, my stuff should be fine. Even then, I'm just going to lie, just in case."

"No." She said with a slight hint of hesitation, "No, I...think I'll be-" "No, I can't lie, he just doesn't look like someone Master -there it is again- father would know, so I'll just trust him a bit...just a little bit, if I don't feel safe, I could just take out the knife and run, right? Just be a little more honest, just a bit."

"...actually I could use some...assistance...I'm kinda new to this city and I might need some help knowing the whereabouts of...pretty much everything." Selena said. "Once again, if I don't feel safe, just take out the knife and run."

With a start, Billy realized that he was crying. Disgust rippled through him and snapped him out of his daze. He was being a ninny, he couldn't just lie around and feel sorry for himself, he had to take initiative and do something about it! Stubbornly, Billy forced his aching body off the ground and to his knees, groaning in pain. Raising his right hand up to his face, he gingerly felt along it. His left eye was swollen shut and the right was blackened, and couple nasty bruises covered his cheeks. Feeling along the ridge of his nose, Billy realized that it was broken. His nose had been broken a few times before, so no biggie. Bracing himself, Billy pushed himself to his feet. Nothing seemed to be broken, but his ribs felt bruised. This wasn't going to be fun.

Billy sat huddled in a doorway, chewing greedily on the small slice of raw pork fat that he'd managed to scavenge out of a pile of filth. He was sure to get sick the next day, but it would assuage the pain of hunger for a little while. He didn't have the energy to snatch another meal at the moment, so this had to do.. The doorway provided partial protection from the rain, and Billy pulled up his knees to his chest and laid back. Was this his life now? Without a home and scavenging to survive?

"(New, huh... I don't buy it... A random kid wouldn't be dragging around some chest without a brother or parent with them, especially in this type of city,)" Ceil thought to himself, quietly contemplating the situation. He took a look at the chest, eyeing it quietly. Ceil then turned his head back to the girl, gazing at her with uncertainty before speaking again.

"Oh, so you're from outside the city then," Ceil said, speaking dully to the girl. "That's very interesting.... Why don't you tell me what's going on outside the city, because I haven't gotten any news from my father lately. Could you please tell me what's going on outside?" He stared at her for a second, his eyes seemingly had a spark, before going back to the same mundane eyes that they were a few moments ago.

"(If she is lying, then I might of scared her.... I'll tear off a piece of meat and give it to her... Although I should save it for myself.)" He tapped his knuckle on the chest, and whistled a tune softly awaiting her answer. As he whistled, he looked upwards, the rain and felt the drops fall on his face. The hazel eyes stared at the dark clouds, and he quietly uttered something to himself before turning his view back to the girl.

"Out of the city?! Nonononononononono! That's not the reaction I wanted! Ok, ok, don't panic, don't panic. I can explain this...somehow, or should I come clean? No, I'm not going to come clean, that's bad, but he doesn't seem to be a...bad...guy...just a part of the story, and maybe something good can happen, but the looks of this make that possibility unlikely."

Selena thought to herself before thinking of a response, as she did, she heard the young man tap on her chest as he whistles a melody. Selena started to feel a bit nervous "Don't panic, that chest is locked and can't be destroyed by bare hands...it can't...right? Though I'm curious to know what that melody is."

"Well...I'll just say I haven't seen or heard about...anywhere...until today..." Selena said to the boy.

"That IS a common situation for everyone right? Riiiiiight? If not, please make it so at least it's buyable...no, I regret saying that story, now I can't take it back, he'll remember that, and that story will be the end of me, actually, please just go away...just go away...the knife! I could- no, grabbing the knife would make it worse with his hand on the chest, just go away."

She added in a softer and more stuttered voice "I know that's a rather...weird situation...but I don't feel like...explaining about it right now...I understand if you...can't or...don't want to help me..."

As he heard the girls story, a small smirk forms on his face. Ciel stifles a giggle, realizing that she isn't telling him the truth. "Missy, let me tell you one thing," Ciel says, his voice still filled with no emotion. "You are a terrible liar. You don't really hear of any new travellers coming in because of the war..." Ciel removed his hand from the chest, and shoved it into his bag. After a few seconds, he produced a chunk of meat he totally bought from the butcher.

"But still, its kind of surprising... Even the simplest of people know there's a war going on outside the walls of the city... I mean, why would anyone travel during a friggin' war," the boy spoke, trying to rip a piece off from the meat. "Theres only one thing you need help with Missy, and thats learning how to come up with a better lie. Anyways, why are you ferrying around that chest," Ciel said, his eyes directly focusing on the chest. "That's just making you a target for theft in troubled times like these... Also, be glad I'm one of those nice thieves who can spare a bit," he said, dropping his smirk, and averting his eyes from the chest.

In a few seconds a part of the meat tore off, and Ciel shoved his hand out. "Here, you might need this... I might of torn a bit too much off, but I'll be ok." In his hand he was holding out a part of the meat he tore. "Hey Missy, what's your name, and where do you really come from," Ciel asked, partially smiling a little. The tone of his voice was seemingly a lot friendlier than it was earlier.

Disgust splayed across Billy's features as he looked up to see the beginning of a military parade, a blatant show of power. Teria, the country which Viel was the capital, has been warring against the northern powers for years on end, a losing battle. The war was being fought over resources and land, each army set on assimilating the other power into their lands. It was all a battle of greed. Teria's power has been rising over the last year, and soon they'd even surpass the north in terms of power. Rage enveloped Billy as he watched one of the cruel, legged war machines flung out its claw and smacked aside a woman standing in its path, her form crumpling against the wall. How the hell could the citizens just stand by and watch this happen to their own people? How could he?

The rock flung from Billy's hand before he realized it, flying towards the open pod of the leading war machine. Billy had positioned himself on top of the gallows in the square of the town, allowing him to stand at roughly the height of the war machines. As the rock smashed into the man's head, his body slumped and slipped out of the pilot's chair. Oops, that wasn't supposed to happen... Silence spread across the square and no one dared make a move, too dumbstruck at what Billy had just done. He was still aching and injured from the earlier beating, but at the moment he felt nothing except for cold fear. That wouldn't stop him though, not now. Putting his hands up and spread wide, Billy faced the parade and started to speak.

"You think you're so brave, eh? Walking aroun' in yer killing machines? They make you feel good about all this, somehow justifying all of this?" Billy gestured around to the starving, oppressed crowds all around. "All of this is justified by the power you're fighting over with the north, right? Well the truth is, none of ya are any better than those in the north, you're all scum!" What the hell was he doing? He was going to get himself killed! "Well we ain't gonna take this anymore, ya hear? None of us are! Ya think you can keep subjugating your own citizens without consequences, eh? Well not for long! Sooner or later yer sins will catch up ta ya, and that day your power will be destroyed!" No one joined in, none bold enough to stand up to the army. Billy was alone.

A bullet rippled from one of the war machines, zipping past Billy's ear and missing by centimeters. He'd just commit treason, and now it was time to get out of there before he was hung from the gallows that he was standing on. More bullets whizzed by as Billy jumped from the gallows, fleeing into the narrow alleys. Only the foot soldiers could follow from here, but they were still a huge threat. He could already hear the footsteps pounding on the wet ground behind him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he sped up, barely noticing two teenagers on the road, a boy and a girl, the girl tugging along a chest of some kind. (Selena and Ciel) Tripping over the chest, Billy would fly forward and onto the ground, catching himself with his hands. He couldn't stop now, he thought, pulling himself to his feet, and he tore his gaze from the two and kept going, the soldiers close on his heels. His only advantage here was that he knew the city better than them, and he'd have to use that the best he could. Winding in and out of the twisting alleys, Billy heard the footsteps fade behind him. Breathing heavily, he ducked into a doorway and forced open the door of an obviously abandoned building, only falling to the ground once he was sure the door was locked and there was no one pursuing him. This was real trouble he was in now.

Selena chuckled "He called me a terrible liar, that's actually pretty funny. Well, he won't believe me, not really a good thing, but that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Though I should be a little more wary about what I'm going to say from now on. Might as well play along with his accusation and not tell him anything, at least for now."

"You caught me." She said with a hint of sarcasm, or at least what Selena thought was sarcasm anyway. Then she realized what the boy was saying. "A war?! Those things are actually real?! I thought...oh no..."

Selena's mind started to go into panic mode again "Why didn't Richard tell me that any of- oh wait...he did, though that was when the war wasn't as bad as the TV made it out to be before we left. I thought he was just fooling around with me, and I'd only have to worry about Master Dosett. I guess I was wrong...I'm so dumb...I just realized now that Richard decided to drive me to my aunt at the other end of the city in the middle of a war just to keep me safe from Master Dosett. I gotta thank him sometime for doing that for me, but no, I'm caught in an alley by a guy who labels me a liar. At this rate, there's nothing left for me. I'm going to die. Might as well come clean, or at least, as clean as this guy thinks I am, which probably isn't very clean at all."

Selena looks up to see him offer her a piece of meat with a surprisingly friendlier smile. She tilted her head down and said

"No thanks." She sighed before continuing. "You want me to come clean? Well I'm going to say that I'm going to be honest as I can here. You be the judge of whether or not I'm actually being telling the truth. So here goes. Pay attention."

"My name is Selena. I was working as a slave for my...'father' for as long as I remember, I was never allowed to come outside. Ever. Until one day, a man snuck into my house when Master Dosett was at work, said his name was Richard and he was a friend of my mom. He told me that my mom was killed by Master- ...err...my father...and he raised me as a slave simply because I was born a girl, odd, I know. It was weird at first, having another grown-up come into my life being the opposite of the first one you've known for how long, but I got used to it. He told me that he was making an escape plan to smuggle me out of my house when I turned 14 and I was going to be living with my aunt from then on. Fast forward to this morning, Richard was driving me, the plan finally set in motion, when...his car broke down, and we both noticed that Master Dosett's car is chasing us. Luckily, they were a little far off, just enough distance to buy us enough time time for Richard to tell me to get this chest you've been asking about from his trunk and run with it. The chest has a lot of stuff in it, stuff to keep me going for a little bit, then I'd have to learn to survive in this world, all on my own. I never knew there is a war, well I did, but I thought it was all made up from the TV Master Dosett keeps watching from when he's not at work, and there is to it. That's me...that's all I have to say...no cover-ups, nothing."

Selena just sat there leaning against her chest, trying her hardest not to cry over the fact that she had just spilled her entire life story on a stranger.

"This is it, I'm going to die. There's nothing left to do but wait."

Ceil just stood there, dumbfounded at the situation. You really couldn't tell whether he was surprised over the story, or surprised over the fact the girl actually told him something that was most likely believable. "..... I honestly can't tell if you're lying or tellin' the truth Missy, er Selena," Ceil said, not knowing what to make of the girls story. "It's a strange story, but its pretty saddening, and yet... I kind of believe it."

Ceil rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about the story she told. "(I honestly didn't expect her to up it, and tell me who she was and possibly her story... The name I can believe, but the story sounds... Sort of fabricated. Nobody tells a total stranger their story, but...)" Ceil studies the girl, and how she acted after she told the story. "(I don't think Miss Selena here is lying.)"

"But Selena, let me tell you one thing," the boy said, staring directly at her. "You trusted a stranger with your story, which isn't either a smart idea, considering what this city is like during this time." Ceil shoved the ripped piece of meat back into his bag, before continuing. "However, since you were most likely being honest with me, I'll be honest with you - My name is Ceil Etym, and I've been living on the streets for five years"

"I was born to a family of engineers who went out of business five years ago since they failed to make ends meet. They realized that they needed to leave this place to find another job... I know they could of worked in the factories, but they were pretty prideful of their abilities, and feeled they shouldn't stoop so low. Anyways, they couldn't afford to take me along with them, which I found completely understandable. I was heart-broken, yes, but eventually I learned to cope with it." The boy took in the air around him before continuing on. "And that's my story. Its strange how I decided to trust a person I barely know with my story, but when you were being honest with me, I decided to be honest with you."

"(The name she spoke of... Dosett... It sounds pretty familiar, where have I heard that name,)" Ceil thought to himself, turning his gaze away from Selena. "(Hmm... Eh, it's probably nothing.)" Ceil quickly looked at her again, before speaking. "Anyways, we need to find a place for you to dump your stuff.... I mean like a base, because hauling around that chest isn't going to help you at the moment. Also, standing around with a pretty face like that, someone could try and put you back into slavery... So maybe we should go find an abandoned building of sorts."

It would of been easier to invite her to live with him in his secret home, but it honestly would barely fit them both. Throw in a chest, and now you have to find a roof for your head because that's just giving away where Ceil lived. Ceil also had a feeling she wouldn't exactly dump her stuff, so he came up with the conclusion to find an abandoned building to live in... And maybe he could live with her, since he was sick of living under a bunch of apartments. Either way, he decided he was going to help her, even if she refused his help.

"...I knew it was a bad idea to do that...but the good news is...I'm not dead! Ha ha!" Selena thought while she produced a laughter that either sounded forced or nervous. "The other good thing is that I can confirm that this guy...Ceil, is not a bad guy...for the most part..."

"At least you have parents who love you." "I don't actually know what love is, or should be, but that feels like a fitting thing to say." She thought about Ceil's idea of moving somewhere else other than the alley they both are in. "I'd object to this idea...but seeing as Ceil knows this city more than I do, I should accept his offer. Actually no, correction: he knows the city much more than I do, and pretty much everything else."

"Looking for an abandoned building...sounds like nice idea...then I could figure out what to do from there." "I guess the sooner I can park this chest away, the better" "Yeah...let's go." Selena added.

He woke up startled, the thumping of drums and the loud blare of brass throwing him from his sleep -and almost off the ledge he slept on, he yawned and smacked his lips, leaning forward he looked through the window to see a large military procession. Troops marched in single file, the brass of their steamrifles glinting in the headlights of the giant steel walkers of the mechanized cavalry, Peirrot stared at them indifferently, he knew they were bad but what could he do to stop the war? He jumper down from his perch onto some sacfold and climbed his way down, retrieving his satchel from a peg by the large gates.
"let's go for a walk shall we?" he mumbled to himself, pushing past the wrought iron gates into the cobbled streets of Viel, he followed behind the parade, however at some distance -he didn't want a face full of scalding steam from one of the walker's exhaust ports.
They neared the center of town when the procession slowed, as they neared the square of the city a walker at the edge of the formation smacked a woman who was in the way and sent her end over end through the air, like throwing a rag doll. He rushed to where the woman lay, in a crumpled head leaning on a wall and kneeled next to her. She was a young lady possibly in her twenties, her face was covered in small circular burns, 'she must have worked at a lead smeltery' he thought to himself, the small burn marks evidence that the metal spat at her, Pierrot shook his head and checked her nose to see if she was breathing. It was shallow, and it was ragged but it was a breath none the less, he was going to pick her up and find her a clinic when a voice called out behind him.
"Boy! Don't touch that woman!", Peirrot turned around to see a masked officer, "Move child!" he barked, pushing Pierrot aside, he bent down and pushed the woman's ribs, she shrieked in pain and started to sob hysterically.
"How will I work?!" she cried to know one in particular, "How can I look after momma?! How?! How?! Ho-."
BANG.
Peirrot found himself coated in blood, the lead factor woman's blood, he started to quake and turned to face the officer his eyes wide in shock. The officer was already walking away, blowing the steam from his pistol and reholstered it, the man couldn't have been calmer strolling away, 'cruel bast- idiot', he leaned over the woman's corpse and with a shaky hands closed her eye lids, wiping her tear stained cheek dry as he retracted his hand, he was going to shout at the comissar bit something else took his attention. Gun shots echoed through the streets ahead of him, Pierrot's head snap to the side to see what was going on, a boy, slightly older than him was running away from a group of armed soldiers that were firing at him, sending wafts of steam into the air as their lead tried to hit the child. Pierrot went flying down the road as the soldiers chased the other urchin, he elbowed his way through the crowd and into the back streets, keeping the military men in view. He was panting heavily and wheezing with every breath, the years of working in the quarry and inhaling dust and furnace fumes showing their consequence when he ran.
The soldiers had gotten ahead of him and by the time he reached them they were standing around and scratching their heads -which was strange because they were wearing helmets.
"Fan out!" called the one that looked to be in charge, "we'll find 'im yet." and they did, filtering through the streets. Pierrot saw the child duck into a crumbling house and shut the door behind him, loud enough for one of the soldiers to hear. The masked troop crept towards the door, his steps noiseless as he approached the house. 'No.' Pierrot told himself. He bolted past the man and stood infront of the door, his arms out stretched to stop the soldier reaching around him, then he felt the cool metal barrel of his gun pressed against his head. He turned to look at the man holding the gun to his skull.
"If you kill me," Pierrot began, staring the man down, "I will be in heaven. And when you die and you will. You will burn in Hell.

"Well Missy, parents don't have to be blood related to be a parent... Thats what a 'guardian' is called, I believe," he said in response to the girls sadness. "Say, didn't this Richard fellow care for you? If he did, that means he did love you like a daughter, and that means you had a parent of sorts that cared for you," Ceil said as he grabbed ahold of the chest. "I'll push this for you, come on, let's go Missy, stay close," he said, as he began leaving the alley.

"Ok, so there are a lot of abandoned buildings out here, however some of them are worn and torn out, and wouldn't even be able to house a mouse if it stepped in," Ceil said as he walked through the crowd, pushing the chest. "We need to find the perfect building, one that isn't going to fall apart the second someone steps in." As he was talking to Selena, he heard a bullet shot from somewhere. ".... That ain't a good sign, come on, lets go," Ceil says, noticing a kid in front of a woman. "(Poor child must of lost his mother... The soldiers here are assholes.)"

As he was pushing the chest away, he noticed the child pursue the soldiers. "What the... Is that kid crazy? Selena, follow me, we need to stop that kid before he does something to get himself killed," Ceil said, plowing through the crowd as fast as he could. Before he knew it he watched as the child follow a lone soldier into an alley. "(Oh this is going to end badly, unless I intervene,)" Ceil thought to himself.

"Missy," Ceil spoke to Selena as quickly as possible, "I'm going to try and lure that bastard away, look like your ignorant about the scene, and pretend you don't know me. Once the coast is clear, talk to that kid and see if everything is ok." As Sam spoke, he picked up a nearby stone which looked to be the size of his fist. "Also, take this just in case I get myself killed by this soldier..." Ceil handed his bag over to Selena, and began aiming his rock at the soldier.

Peirrot must have looked insane staring down the barrel of the soldier's pistol, steely eyed, without flinching. When he finished his sentence he could see the color drain from the soldier's face as his eyes widened in shock, 'he didn't expect that from a child' he thought to himself hoping that the man would put his gun down. Slowly the military man did, his hand shaking as he slipped his gun back into place by his side.
"I'm going to Hell anyway kid," he said forlornly, "but I don't want to hear god tell me I shot a child.", with that he turned around and walked down to where the group of soldiers were once and called out, "I can't find 'im, let's get back to the others!", the group of armed men converged and left the ally way.
Pierrot's heart was thumping in his chest as he slipped to the floor, 'I could have died!' he was screaming in his head, he started to hyperventilate and clutched at his chest.
"I could have died!" he wheezed, this time aloud, looking in all directions wide eyed to insure that the world around him was real. Slowly he got his bairings and calmed down, he knocked the door behind him with his head because he didn't have the metal strength to get up, "He's gone. You can cone out now." he called to the other urchin behind the door.

"...Richard being my parent...I guess I never thought of that, I mean, he had told me he was there because my mom told him to take care of me or something. Forgot how or why exactly he told me was there for, but I did enjoy his company. That is, until Master Dosett came back from work, only time of the day where I don't want him around, and I'm talking too much now. I'll stop."

She walked along with Ceil, listening about the abandoned houses that apparently peppered the city, until she too heard a gunshot. "He's right, even I know that's not a good sign. At all." and noticed a child following a dangerous looking man into an alley. Selena heard Ceil tell her to (in her own interpretation) to stay put until the man is gone and talk to the child as he gave her his bag.

"Umm...what's a bastard? Is that like crap? And be ignorant, is that like ignoring what's going on? Ooookay...Ceil, if you say so...actually no, before I do that..." She looked at her chest "I think I'll need something." She quickly dashed to her chest and opened it just wide enough to fit her hand in "Let's see, dress, dress, bread..aha! Hard leather thing!" She looked into the chest to make sure it was indeed, what she was looking for, and judging by how its glints in the light, it was. Selena quickly took it out, shoved it into the pocket of her coat and once again locked her chest shut. "I just hope that I don't have to use it. Now onto the ignoring part...how do you ignore something that is happening right now...umm...I'll just look at buildings and see which one is the best place to move into, yeah...oh, and don't forget that Ceil doesn't exist. Yeah, he doesn't exist. Until the guy is gone at least, he doesn't exist...yeah."

Selena then looked at the various buildings that surround her, trying to convincingly look like she was minding her own business.

As he saw the soldier turn away from the kid, he quickly dropped the rock, and whistled, watching as the soldier passed by him. "(Wow, that was completely unnecessary,)" Ceil thought to himself as he heard the soldiers go away. "... Ok, we should be good now Missy, we can drop the act," he said turning to her. "I almost did something unnecessary stupid, but, at least the kid is ok." Ceil took a look at the child, as he knocked on the door. "Hm? He pursued a soldier, and is now knocking on a door... What is going on?"

"Missy, lets go talk to the kid. I'll ferry the chest with us as we go to talk to the kid, sound good to you," he asked, grabbing the chest. He faintly heard the child say something to the door as he took ahold of the chest. Ceil quietly contemplated to himself before looking back at Selena, awaiting her response.