Fantasy Arcadia (Saracen_Rue&AbsoluteWhisper)

[Saracen_Rue]

 

[Saracen_Rue]

Aiden Crowley - The Hunter - #9f2b2b

The morning had been anything but eventful, if Aiden had to be honest. Between waking up later than she originally had planned. No fault of her own of course, but rather thanks to a certain group of troublesome gremlins that seemed to have somehow managed to find themselves in her good graces so she says anyway, and thus ending up living with Aiden in her rather arguably small and cramped one floor apartment on the southside of town in Arcadia. It wasn't terrible, if she had to admit. It had more than enough room for just herself, especially seeing as how she had rarely ever been home no less than three years ago. Preferring to spend more time away from the town, within the woods. It was where she had felt more at home in years than any town ever had. Yet here she was, working a part time job as seemingly the only real decent mechanic in the town, let alone her proper work, as a contracted Hunter. If anyone had asked Aiden four years ago if she ever envisioned living in a small town, nevermind being the apparent guardian of five children, the eldest barely being fifteen, and spending more time fixing old beat up cars every other day because of local drunks and the inability to drive, she would have laughed in their face. She was a Hunter, that was all the life she had ever known. In the very literal sense, so it just made logical reasoning for it to be all she did. Not like she hated it. The job paid well enough, nevermind making some extra cash on the side with random jobs here and there? Life was fine enough in Arcadia. She didn't have to be around people unless she absolutely had to, and even then it was scarce. People knew who she was. They knew her reputation as being less than delightful, to put it lightly. Which only made it easier for her in the end. Less things keeping her tied down, she could remain independent, and then came along one by one those damned children-

The sound of something shattering managed to snap Aiden out of her sleep deprived thoughts as she sat up abruptly at the kitchen island. Looking around, her eyes quickly landing on the reason responsible for the noise. A tired sigh escaped her lips as Aiden rubbed her forehead, already feeling a headache coming along.

"I'm not mad, just make sure to clean it up before you forget." she started, putting extra emphasis on the last word. Aiden knew all too well that the individual in question had a tendency to 'forget' certain things. Especially chores or cleaning up messes. "The last thing we need is someone stepping on broken glass, Rory." she grumbled at the red haired girl who wore the expression of a deer caught in headlights. A shattered drinking glass by her feet on the floor.

"Yeah, I will." she mumbled, giving a small nod. Clearly not fully awake yet either, seeing as she let out a yawn of her own, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What time is it now anyway?" Aiden asked, taking a sip of the now room temperature coffee that was in the mug she had firmly held in her hands. She apparently had been awake a lot longer than she realized by this point, if the barely drinkable coffee was anything to say about it. A clearly displeased look etched on her face, eyebrows gnitted together.

Rory paused while in the middle of picking up the broken glass, a large piece already in her other palm, "Uh..." she looked down at the watch on her arm, "Quarter passed ten?" she gave a shrug, going back to picking up the remnants of the broken glass.

"Shit-" Aiden cursed, scrambling to her feet as she downed the coffee. She'd have to get a fresh cup while on her walk. "I'm already late, great-" she mumbled, gathering her things together as she slipped in her jacket. It was only the early beginning of spring anyway. It would take a few more weeks for the weather to even begin to warm up. But she'd manage, she always did.

"Where are you going?" another voice sounded as another figure turned the corner into the kitchen. This time it was a young boy, who couldn't have been much older than nine years old, if Aiden had to venture a guess. Not everyone knew exactly how old they were, the downside of collecting orphans, it seemed.

Aiden looked over her shoulder, situating her backpack on her shoulder, "I have another contract I picked up over the past few days. Won't be gone very long." she gave a small nod.

"But you always say that-" the young boy sad, a small look of disapointment on his face.

"All I'm doing is meeting my contact in town, getting more information. I'll be gone a few hours at most, I promise." she gave him a shadow of a smile, accompanied with a small nod. Looking at Rory, "Make sure Toby gets breakfast before I get back this time?" she gave the girl in question a knowing look. The last time Aiden told her that, it was another one of those things that Rory seemed to forget, more often than not. Such a statement only resorted in an annoyed look from Rory, and a still somewhat pleading look from Toby.

"I'll be back before dinner, if not with dinner." she called out, "Behave yourselves."

---

The walk from the apartment to the location she was given to meet the contact, had been brief enough. It allowed her to pick up a proper fresh cup of coffee from one of the local places in Arcadia. It always seemed to have some of the best coffee and scones. It never seemed to be entirely busy, but the people that worked there never gave her any hassle. And considering they were fae folk, who seemed to not always cause trouble, at least in her opinion, then they weren't on her radar of concern, until given a reason to be. Like a few specific people in this damned town seemed to be. Whether it was the pack of biker werewolves, or the rather literal mafia vampires that roamed the streets at night. The latter of which Aiden hated the most, and wasn't shy of showing her disdain for them. Not like they could have done much anyway. The Hunters had a pact with most of the Witches in town, a backup counter measure incase any of the supernatural tried to take the various Hunter Clans out.

Aiden passed by a few other stores on her way, but none of them exactly caught her eye nor her complete interest. She wasn't exactly the shopping type anyway. Minimalism at its finest, if she were to be honest. It was only when she arrived at her destination that she took a moment to pause. Realizing that it took her to one of the local bars, if one could even call it that, really. It was more of a tavern, in all honesty. From its over all decoir and setting, let alone lighting. It was on the more rustic side of things, but still kept a sense of that quirkiness that Arcadia had. But not only that, it was one of the few taverns in town that had a second level to it. The 'tavern' aspect on the main floor, for the general public to occupy, and the undergound floor was where it housed the Hunter's Guild. It wasn't the one that Aiden had found herself allianced to, but a Hunter was welcomed nonetheless. No matter who they worked for.

Aiden made her way inside, immediately scanning and scoping out the general layout. If this was some sort of setup, which wouldn't have been the first time, she would have wanted to be on even playing field here. Not at a disadvantage. She gave a small nod to the bartender, who was busy with a few other patrons at the main bar. It was busier than Aiden would have expected, considering it wasn't even noon yet. But considering what sort of town it was, and the people that called it home? She couldn't judge, nor would she. Not wanting to bring immediate attention to herself, Aiden made her way towards one of the farther back booths of the establishment. Allowing her to get a few view of the place, taking everything in. Doorways, corridoors. How many entrances and exists did it have? Were there back rooms? If so, how many? What purpose did they serve, and how many people were truly in this one building. Especially counting the ones that Aiden couldn't see? She tried to not let that get the better of her currently. She had a task at hand, speak with whoever the contact was, gather more information, and see the contract through until completion. It was simple, and she had done this dozens, if not hundreds of times by now. What was the worst that could happen, anyway? ​