The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"What the hell happened to you two? Did you fight or something?" Layla observes as she takes a look at our injuries.

"It certainly wasn't our plan to." I reply as Mari and I drop the groceries in the kitchen.

"Huh? Is that a claw mark?" Jack asks as he points to my shirt.

"Are the goblins back?" Sachi asks anxiously.

"No this is a lot more complicated than that." Mari replies her voice full of worry.

"Let me fix supper! We can talk all about it then!" Layla suggests as Mari and I nod our heads in agreement.

We all spend the next thirty minutes relaxing while Layla fixes her spicy stew. It's actually incredible that I basically have found a family now. While none of us are blood-related none of that even matters. We all rely on each other since we're the only people in this strange land that understand each other. The suppers we have every day are very special to me because I feel loved and respected here.

Kira can be strict and harsh at times but she pushes all of us to be better people while acknowledging that she isn't perfect herself. Jack ticks me off to no end sometimes but I appreciate his willingness to face things without fear. Sachi definitely comes off as quiet but she actually is an amazing listener that is always worried about our well-being. Layla is always ahead of the curve like Kira is, making sure that we're all prepared for anything to happen. And well… Mari. Mari is amazing just as she is, I just wish I could tell her that sometimes.

"CROW! You're spacing out again! Your food is going to get cold!" Mari shouts as she flicks my forehead.

"Sorry!" I answer as I slowly blow at the piping hot stew.

"So, what happened?" Layla asks.

"Well, we ran into werewolves today! Add that on the list of strange creatures in Goliath!" I affirm as I eat my stew.

"Werewolf? What is that?" Layla asks.

"In our old world, we called half-humans and half wolves werewolves. They even made a bunch of popular entertainment and media surrounding them." Mari asserts as she ties her hair up.

"Ah, you must be talking about Demiwolves! There are some Frodians that are born with this ability which enhances their sense of smell, increases their speed, doubles their strength. Basically, it's a Taqa boost. That's really weird though, they normally hunt at night and eat lesser creatures. It's very rare for Demiwolves to attack other Frodians." Layla suggests as she presses her fingers on her chin.

"Well, whatever that thing was it tried to kill an old lady who was walking home! If Mari and I weren't there… " I recall as I drink some water to combat the spice of the stew.

"At that point, I doubt it was trying to kill her for sustenance. If it was attacking her like that then it must've been personal." Layla replies confidently.

"Was there anything that stood out about the old lady?" Sachi asks.

"Not really… Although she was of nobility for sure." Mari clarifies as she eats her stew.

"Hmm, if money were the objective the demiwolf would have threatened her. The biggest clue we have so far is that it tried to kill her." Layla surmises.

"Before they left they said they call themselves Silver Fang. Does that ring any bells to any of you?" I ask as everyone looks stuck in their heads.

"Nada. None of the texts ever mentioned that before." Mari replies.

"Nope. Never head of them." Jack says.

"Me neither, they must be new. I know of some underground organizations but most of them steer clear of the capital." Layla remarks.

"Now that I think about it, I think I actually have heard that name before when I was training." Sachi claims as she finishes her stew.

"Really?" Mari asks.

"Yeah, there's this group of Frodians that seem to all be from the same village. They're all pretty close and they're pretty cool with all of the commoners in the school. As a matter of fact, they like to host a lot of parties during the weekend! I remember one of them mentioning Silver Fang but I don't remember what they exactly said about it." Sachi recalls as she drinks her cup of tea.

"Wow, we have quite the mystery on our hands." I acknowledge.

"And Kira's out of town for the week." Sachi reminds us.

"No matter, it's still up to us to remain vigilant and figure out what's going on! It doesn't seem too bad right now but as we saw with the goblin attacks we need to stay on top of it so it won't get out of hand." Layla asserts passionately.

"She's right, it may not be an official job or anything but we still should try to get to the bottom of it and inform Master Elyon with what's going on." I concur as everyone nods their head in agreement.

"Welp I'm heading to bed on that note. That stew really hit the spot, thanks for supper Layla!" Jack says as he retreats to his bed.

"Don't mention it don't forget we need some more firewood tomorrow!" Layla reminds Jack.

"Thanks Kira!" Jack jokes sarcastically.

"I'm going to pull an all-nighter at the library. See you guys in the morning!" Sachi announces as she walks out of the hideout.

"Wait up Sachi! I need some help studying for Vokgar's test! See you guys tomorrow!" Mari commands as she runs after Sachi.

"What are you going to do Crow?" Layla asks as she starts cleaning the dishes.

"Why don't you let me help you with that? That's a crap ton of dishes." I insist as I start cleaning the dishes too.

"Thanks, but you know you don't have to." Layla says.

"You and Kira have been working your butts off for our sake, the least I can do is help out when I can." I reply as I notice Layla cracks a small smile.

"Well, you aren't wrong about that. I'd be lying if I didn't say that you guys can be a massive headache. But… " Layla quips.

"But?" I ask.

"It's a headache I'm willing to deal with. I know I haven't been that open with all of you but I just wasn't sure that I could trust you guys yet. I'm sorry if I've been a little distant." Layla states as I can tell she's uncomfortable being vulnerable.

"It's fine, I can't blame you for being that way. In our old world, the only way to truly survive was to be build distance between people you didn't know well. That's what I used to think at least… " I reply as I scrub really hard on the dishes.

"The truth is Crow, I was an orphan just like you were growing up. Both of my parents died from a Colossi attack leaving me and my other siblings all on our own… " Layla sighs as I can tell this has been burdening her.

"I'm sorry to hear that… Do you know what happened to your siblings?" I ask.

"My older brother joined a guild but I lost contact with him because it was in another city. My older sister decided to work for an underground organization which was something I couldn't approve of. Adora knows what either of them is doing now." Layla explains her voice full of pain and regret.

"Damn… So how did you meet Kira?" I ask.

"I'd… I'd rather not talk about that right now." Layla replies as her whole mood changes instantly.

"Crap, I said too much! I'm sorry!" I apologize as I felt really bad.

"No! No! Don't apologize at all none of the stuff that happened to me was your fault. All the things that happened just happened. If there's one thing that Kira has taught me, it's to make decisions on how you want to live your life! She's the one that saw a poor orphan girl and taught her how to stand on her own two feet. I'm forever in her debt until the day I die!" Layla declares.

"I'm positive she'd disagree with you and go on some lecture about how you don't owe her anything!" I joke as both of us laugh.

"Haha, you're probably right! Sometimes I wonder if Adora knew all of this would happen the way it did? I can't imagine the rest of the masters trying to handle a rowdy bunch like you guys!" Layla laughs.

"Ugh, if Elmar was looking after us I think I'd ask Adora to send me back to my old world. Anything but that weirdo!" I reply as both of us continue to laugh really hard.

"Hey quit the comedy show! I'm tryna get some sleep here!" Jack complains as he covers his ears with his pillow.

With a brand new mystery on the horizon, it's really good to know that Layla is starting to trust us.. We have to figure out what Silver Fang is and hopefully put a stop to any more attacks.