Read this first: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1018528963/ The scent of warm apple cider floated through the sunlit streets as Alain and his friends walked through the streets - well, he would call them friends, Star would see them as temporary acquaintances- they all looked around at the autumn leaves that now covered Alain’s home country, Frenloden. They had come back from Avri to get his friend, and had been on the trail of something big, he just knew it. But unfortunately, one of Avri’s high council; Victory Wise, had knocked them off it, so they decided they would be needing a lot more help, to which Alain suggested his good friend Alara. Now, they were taking a day to rest by Aceroda’s request, as they had been going nonstop for weeks on end. “Ugh, I’m sooo tired. Can we get some food? Please?” Aceroda groaned, and shortly after her stomach made the same complaint. “Yeah! Lunch was ages ago, and I think your stomach agrees.” Noki giggled in agreement. Star rolled her eyes, “Surely you two can survive a little longer before-” As she prepared to stop this train of thought, a low growl coming from herself interrupted her. Alain chuckled at the three of them, but felt the same way. After a bit of deliberation, they decided to stop at a local restaurant. As they sat down among the chatter of loyal patrons, something interesting pricked at his ear, “Have you heard about the man in the posters around town?” A gruff old human inquired “What about them? There's wanted posters up all the time, par for the course of living in the big city Gramps.” A younger boy avowed “No, this one is strange. I remember seeing him before, he was thought to have died after murderin’ somebody a few years back. I know he was dead, I saw the darned body!” Alain’s stomach shifted uncomfortably, it couldn’t possibly be… he thought to himself. There was just no way that he could be alive, not after what happened. He decided to take a walk, getting fresh air would ease his mind. The sky had turned dark, littered with stars, and without the sun lighting the streets it became cold. He looked around, and the darker corners now seemed like something would pop out at him at any moment, the feeling he had gotten earlier had not gone away, it was almost like fear and disgust and anxiety all wrapped in one tangled ball of yarn. Eventually he came to a board, it had advertisements, events, lost persons, bounties, and wanted posters all over it. But one was pinned dead center, and Alain froze in place, the fur along his arms and slender tail stood on end, this poster was the one those men were talking about, he knew it had been after only a few seconds of listening in. The poster had a brown picture of a fox with dark fur, and bright eyes, and though it was not in color, those green eyes stared through Alain like a spear piercing through his soul. It read; “WANTED.” “Hauth Jemire. REWARD: 20,000 DAPITS, DEAD OR ALIVE.” He didn’t understand how this could be possible, how he was still alive. His brother had died 6 years ago, he had been there when it happened, he was the one who did it. He was the one who made sure that he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. But somehow, some way, Hauth’s picture was up here and now, but why? Why did it have to be now, just when Alain thought he was getting better, he had finally made new friends, and even though he’d never tell her, he even liked Aceroda. The frozen feeling began to wear off, and a new one took its place, a hot feeling bubbling up to the surface telling him to run, and run he did. The group set up camp just outside of the city in a small clearing, Alain’s thoughts were in a tangled mess as he sat inside his tent with Venture and Noki. He kept thinking about it, he needed answers, for himself, and for her; for Lillian. Lillian had been his fiancee, the love of his life. Six years ago they had sat together eating, not knowing what would unfold the next day. Alain still remembered the feeling of absolute horror as he watched what happened. He still remembered the cold feeling and the blood rushing through his veins as he struck down his brother, the one who had just murdered the one who had inspired his life, his writing, the way he stood tall knowing that she loved him. Now that was gone, he had put that in the past, he moved on, but now he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing if his brother was still alive. “Alain!” A loud shout broke through his thoughts. “Oh, yes?” He poked his head out of his tent to see who had hollered for him, to which he came to be about three inches from Aceroda’s face. He drew back quickly, falling back flustered. “Why did you have to be that close to the door?!” Aceroda chuckled,
“It’s more fun that way, obviously,” she turned and walked to the camp fire, “Star needs to talk to you! So move your tail.” He walked past the tents to where Star stood alone against a tree, “So what do you need? Aceroda said you wanted me.” He questioned. “I just noticed you looked kinda scattered earlier, I just was wondering if you’re okay.” She noted, tilting her head to the side a bit. “Oh, it’s nothing really, I was just thinking about something. I’m right as rain!” He reassured her with a smile on his face, it was part of why he was such a great showman, he could easily lie about things like this. Star nodded, seeming a bit unconvinced, “Okay… If you need to talk or have something on your mind just let me know.” And with that they both walked back over to everyone else sitting by the fire. That night Alain woke up in a cold sweat, he couldn’t go back to sleep, and he didn’t want to wake the others, so he went out past camp. He found himself walking to a place he had not been to in a long time, though it was one he had frequently been. On the way he had found some flowers, he picked them and held them in a bundle as he walked past old and new gravestones, each step heavier than the last. He reached her, and gently removed the old wilted flowers and replaced them with the new ones he had picked. “Lillian, my love, I don’t know how, but he is alive. I failed yet again, and I don’t know what to do. I want answers, I want him to answer for his crimes, to pay his due to what he took. I thought I had brought you justice. But I didn’t… I couldn’t even do that.” He took his hat off and wept quietly with his head in his hands. The wind began to stir, and it felt warmer and lighter, and a bright figure stood in front of him, she patted his head gently, and he looked up. It was her, Lillian was standing there in front of him, she was different though, it was like she glowed and was made of smoke. But she was as beautiful as the day she had left him. “Alain, dear. Please don’t cry” she smiled softly as she wiped the tears from his cheeks. He stood up and held her face in his hands, “But, how, how are you here?” “It’s a long story, you look tired…” “I tried Lillian, I tried, I don’t know how he-” “It’s not your fault. You aren’t responsible for what he did, and you couldn’t have done anything, not then.” She paused for a moment, looking at his somber face, “But now, you can choose to let go, you should choose to let go. You have suffered through this enough, and you have a new life now, new friends, and new foes; big ones. Your friends need you Alain, I’m gone now, but they're not. You should make sure it stays that way.” Alain thought for a minute. He couldn’t let go, could he? Lillain backed away and smiled, “I have to go now. I love you Alain, but don’t look back, keep moving forward” She began to fade away and the wind blew through, chilly but fresh. She was gone. He walked back to camp, and the group had already packed everything up. “Come on Alain, we’ve been waiting on you!” Aceroda hollered at him. If he left now, he would be leaving Lillain behind and Hauth alive and free. But he would also be letting his friends down if he stayed, and they needed him now. He thought about this as he put his things in his pack and strapped it to himself, he looked to the direction of the graveyard. “You coming?” Star nagged. He breathed in the cool morning air. “Yes.” End. This is an AU to the actual story, which will be released in the far future, as I intend to write a short novel on.
