Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

The words on the book’s pages had begun to blur. Ren rubbed his eyes in an attempt to put the scribbles back together, but it was all for not. It had been three days since they had discovered that Ivy’s pull on men was muted by being around Zero. They felt it was safe to assume that it had something to do with his devil blood, and so every book with even the possible mention of devils had to be scoured thoroughly at least twice over.

He looked at the others around the table. Ivy was asleep, her head laying on her folded arms, a small trail of drool running from the corner of her mouth onto the book below. Zero sat next to her, viewing the book he held in front of him with static eyes. If not for small twitches now and then, Ren would suspect he had died in that position. Sakura, however, was manic as she tore through book after book, pages flying past her fingers. Her breathing was erratic and getting faster and louder. The angel propped his chin in his hand and waited for the inevitable blow up.

It didn’t take long.

“There’s nothing here!” she screamed, all polite courtesy flying out the window. The other patrons glared furiously at the noisy table, but quickly averted their attention back to their own studies once noticing the various weapons in their possession. The final book in her pile was slammed onto the table, jerking Ivy and Zero back to the land of the living. “How is there nothing?! Don’t you devils write or keep record of anything?!” Her anger radiated towards the only devil around.

Zero closed his book and set it down calmly. “I don’t really know what devils do. I’m sorry that I can’t help you with that.”

Sakura glared at the white haired boy, as if expecting something more than just his tired expression. Nothing more came from him and she collapsed on the table, exhausted.

“Why is there nothing?” she whined, her face pressed against the hard surface, her ears flattening in defeat. “It’s all just accounts of devil attacks, but no actual explanation of what happened or of any magic they were able to use or hinder in others. It’s been almost two weeks of nothing.”

Ren looked back at his book and flipped through the pages a ways back. He set it down and pushed it across the table into the top of the fox’s head. She sat up and examined it.

“There’s a town called Astern that had a devil destroy nearly all of it about 50 years ago,” the man explained, pointing to the section. “Apparently the town center keeps records on devils. I’m not sure how extensive it’s going to be, but it’s the best we’ve got at this point.”

Sakura’s face exceedingly brightened as she read the brief mention of the town. Her head snapped up and she looked at the man, barely containing her excitement. “Do you know where it is?”

He considered pushing his luck to antagonize the demon, but it had been years since he had last seen her so thrilled and eager. “It’s south of Wei Wen. It’ll be a seven day journey with best of circumstances.”

“We can do that. We can totally do that. Right?”

Ren smiled, feeling a semblance of normal returning. “Right.”

“Okay!” the demon started to gather the books to return. “It’s getting late but we still have time to get supplies if we split up. We’ll stay one more night and head out at first light.”

After turning the books in, Sakura quickly jotted down what they would need for the journey. She tore it into three sections and handed off two of them. “Get what’s on the list and whatever else you think we need. We’ll meet back up at the inn afterwards.”

Ivy lit up upon receiving her own list. “Really?!” she gasped.

“Get what’s on the list,” the woman instructed. “And then back to the room. No wandering off. Pay attention to those around you and don’t be too stubborn to put your cloak back on.” She looked at Zero. “Watch her like a hawk.”

He nodded as Ivy grabbed his hand and pulled him off before the fox could change her mind. The girl had been basically floating on clouds the last few days not having to wear the cloak as long as Zero was close by. It had been like a dream for the girl, to actually be able to live her life free of the stifling confines of the heavy fabric. It was something she had always hoped for but never dared think possible.

Ren watched them walk off and looked at his own list. “Why does Zero get a buddy?”

“Because he’s useful,” Sakura quipped, spinning on her heels and walking off. “Don’t take all day. We need to prep for tomorrow.” The vixen only made it down the street before turning back around, an exasperated groan rumbling from her throat. “I may not be able to smell you with that damn stone you have but I can still hear you stomping around.” She watched the angel, unimpressed with his newest antic, as he made his way up to her moping and appearing miserable. “I know you can be quieter than that.”

“I’m scared of the city,” he claimed pathetically. “What if someone takes me? Does horrible things to me?”

The woman looked up at him towering above her, angels not exactly being known for their slight stature, and Ren was tall even by their lofty standards. On top of that, the sword on his back wasn’t exactly a blaring invitation for possible kidnappers to seize the opportunity. “I’m willing to take that risk.”

“I don’t know my way around,” he tried a different tactic. “I’ll get lost.”

“I’m sure you’ll find your way back,” she countered.

“I don’t have any money.”

“I’ll give you some.”

“I’m just gonna follow you around,” he admitted, his distressed pout morphing into a devious smirk. “I can’t read this mess anyways.”

Sakura shook her head and snatched the list from his hand. There would be no getting rid of him now, and she would only waste more time by trying. “Lets go.”

They gathered the supplies they needed and returned to the inn around nightfall to find Zero and Ivy having already returned, sitting on the floor of the girls’ room organizing their bounty. The group set to packing and preparing for their journey, deciding on who would take what and how much.

“Have you ever been to where we’re going, Ren?” Ivy asked as he handed her a package of dried fruits.

“Not Astern but I’ve been to Wei Wen quite a bit,” the man replied, rummaging through a pile of food for the girl to carry in her pack.

“With The Guard?” she asked with interest. “Did you get to go to a lot of places?”

“I did. Some places better than others. How about you, Little One? I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of places. What was your favorite?”

“Hollis,” she piped without a second thought. “Sakura says it’s a…” her voice lowered with the offensive word. “Shit hole... but I think that’s just mean. I like it there.”

“That’s because it is a shit hole,” Sakura scowled, sticking her tongue out at Ivy in response to the girl sticking hers out at the fox first.

“It kind of is a shit hole,” Ren agreed with the demon. “But I kind of like it, too.”

“When was the last time you were there?” the girl asked. “We only go when we need to see Maggie.”

“When I had Maggie make me another stone.” He held up his bracelet while ignoring Sakura’s heated glare. “But I’d go back every now and then to see if Sakura had shown up, and to visit Raz’s grave.”

Sakura’s glare dropped, her annoyance disintegrating as she slowly made her way off of the floor. “It’s late,” she spoke carefully, not trusting her voice. “We should call it a night.”

Ren watched as she went to the door and opened it. He sighed and rose to his feet. “Come on, Zero.”

The devil wished Ivy a good night and made his way out of the room. The angel followed, looking at the demon who refused to look back. He stopped before exiting and grabbed her free hand. Sakura flinched but didn’t pull it away.

“You can talk to me,” he said softly. “You don’t have to be alone with this. I’m not going anywhere this time.”

“I’m tired,” she muttered and pulled her hand from his. “Good night, Ren.”

The man looked at her sadly. “You know, you’re not the only one who lost him.”

The woman nodded and closed the door behind him. Without a word she climbed into bed and covered herself tightly with the blankets.

Ivy was the last to leave the floor, and she put out the lamps before crawling in behind the woman. She laid there for some time listening to the fox’s breathing, debating whether or not to say something.

“Do you love Ren?” she finally asked, barely above a whisper. She wasn’t expecting an answer and she didn’t receive one. “He told me that he loves you, but I think that’s pretty obvious. I think you love him, too. You always told me to be honest. You should be honest, too.”

There was only the sound of the night engulfing the room, and the girl knew there would be nothing more. Ivy wrapped her arms around the woman, resting her head against her back. “I love you, Sakura.”

Sakura grabbed the girl’s hand, emeralds shining against the darkness, and held on with everything she had. “I love you, Ivy.”