OOC: Whoa, fanfic long post ahead! XD Should've put this in the history instead. >_>
IC:
It had taken two days to make the perfect sword. Yes; a lot of time was spent upon the weapon. Nome was glad with the ending results, but dared not to try it out. It was for the costumer.
Since Nome had no other job to work on at the time, he decided to do his secret side project. Although he was better at making weapons, he was not so bad with armor either. And that was what he was now working on. The armor appeared to be very small for his size, but he still continued with the work.
Night had come, and there was still no costumer. This was to be expected; he wasn't bustling with business in his life. Normally, it took three to five days before someone else would show their face to ask for some job to be done. The next morning, the man that had asked for the sword arrived. Nome happily handed it over and told of how he took care with every job he was given like he would his life; his usual speech to costumers, just so he could get them to either come back for more or tell others of his business.
But other than that one visit from that man, nothing else had happened. He trained for a little bit before returning to working on his side project for another few hours. The day had passed, and there was no one to work for.
When night had fallen, he was still working on the armor. That night, he finished the armor, and the weapon he had been making to go alongside it. They were two weapons; one was a sword, still much shorter than it should be. The other was a pair of gloves. The sword was missing something though.
The sword was a going to be a gift, but it was lacking. What it needed was a different sort of handle; one that would make holding it much easier. Sure, swords were always the same, but this one had to be special. He needed to find a way where it could all work out. Decided to fix this mistake later, he began to work on another project, also being armor.
He did not fall asleep until three in the morning. Claw had watched this, and she was a bit curious as to what Nome was up to. It was not always that he'd stay awake that late for absolutely no reason at all. He had a reason for everything he did; or, at least that was the way she thought of him. She had never seen him do anything without reason.
Putting this aside, she assumed her night guard duty.
The morning had come, and it looked as if the sun was going to be hitting Gazzleton hard that day. The day had dragged on like every other day. Slash took the guard at the front while Nome worked back in the workshop of his, not saying a word. Everything changed when the afternoon had hit.
Nome had worked on the sword, fixing the handle to a new direction. Yet, he was still very unsatisfied with its outcome. No matter; he would have to work with what he had at the time. He was ready now; he had been planning this for a while now.
He closed the shop early and promised himself that he would reopen it later, when he was done with what he had planned. Now, he stood inside his home and in the living room. Claw was waking from her sleep, having had enough already. She appeared ready to take on her shift, even though it was only a few hours away.
"Claw," said Nome, smiling. He had been preparing for what he was going to say. He was ready to tell her. "How would you like to help me with my training in the back?"
Nome had been sitting on his comfy living quarters seat. Like always, Claw had jumped onto his lap, but she did not feel tired at this time. That was why Nome found it right to ask her this. She cocked her head to the side. She appeared to not know what Nome had meant to say. So he decided to show her.
They were out in the back now, where Nome had many times trained. The place now had its fair share of training marks on it. Nome had tried to hide all of this by replanting trees and cleaning up the yard before. But now, if what he had planned would work, then all of this effort to train on mannequins and such would no longer be needed. He would be getting stronger with a real opponent.
Nome stood in his usual attire, except had an armored chest plate now, as well as some armor for his knees. They were of the light kind, so it still gave him some agility liberty. Slash watched from the sidelines, curious as to what was about to begin. On the opposite side of Nome was his opponent; Claw. She was wearing the chest plated armor Nome had been working on for so long now, and the much more sharpened claws he had made especially for Sneasel-kind.
Yes; Nome's new tactic of growing in his training was also Claw and Slash's new tactic at training. No longer did the two have to train as he would in certain times, and no longer would they have to fight each other (of course, unless they would have preferred this). They were now going to be pit against Nome.
Nome made sure that his weapon was of the cheapest of all practice swords as to not harm Claw.
So it now came to this; the air was still, and the two faced each other like true enemies would.
"Do not be afraid to strike me," said Nome. "Any chance you have; try and harm me. And I will do the same."
Claw nodded, and the agreement was put into action. The stare down only lasted for a few more seconds before Slash shouted his cry, and began the match for the two.
Claw had taken what Nome said to heart, and stayed true with a good aim with trying to claw him down; Nome used his practice sword as a shield for each hit that was being given. He was forced to move backwards as Claw continued to slash several times, not hitting Nome at all.
Then something Nome was not expecting happened. Claw had used her little sneak attack, disappearing from her own armor to appear behind Nome, and struck him at the back.
Nome staggered for a bit and tripped over the fallen armor. Yes, of course. He had forgotten of Claw's attack; the one for enemies only. And it appeared as though she could not take her armor with her when she used her sneak attack. Nome frowned on this; if any attack would be effective, it would be through using her attack, but how was she supposed to be on the defensive side without her armor?
"Let us try this again," said Nome. No smile here; his smiles were a one time only deal. If you were not a costumer, you would not see a smile.
Several minutes later, Claw was again suited up. They were ready for battle again, when Nome stopped it before it had even begun. "Wait," he said. He studied Claw over as she crossed her arms, waiting. "Can you try to use that sneak attack again? And when you do, can you try and take your armor with you?"
She understood perfectly. Whether she could do it or not was an entire different story. The rest of the day was spent trying to get her to do the task of transporting her armor with her as she snuck behind someone. All she could do though was take the sharper clawed gloves; not the armor.
"That will do for today," said Nome. Claw was startled for a moment. She shook it off quickly, and in a few mumbles of her own language, she removed the gloves and shook off the wetness that had shaped on her claws. "Tommorrow," Continued Nome, "We will work on your battle skills, Slash. I have your armor nearly complete."
Slash gave an approving. All three of them left the yard as the darkening sky crept by. It was now about time for Claw's night shift.
Sleep had never felt so good before. He awoke refreshed. His breakfast was a quick meal. Slash and Claw's meals were just as they had always been. After the feeding was done, Slash followed Nome to the workshop. Again, he would play guard as Nome worked on the back to get his armor done.
But, making Slash's armor proved to be an even harder task. Even though he had been doing fine the day before, it just did not seem as if the armor would work for him. He could imagine Slash in the armor, but he could not imagine Slash being comfortable in the armor. A few quick fixes did it fast, and it appeared much better just the way it was. Yet, he would not be able to tell if it would be comfortable or not. He would just have to ask Slash when he wore it.
The evening could have not been any more anticipating than it was that night. All three of them were waiting for what was to come; both Claw and Slash could not hold in their excitement, though Claw did a good impression of trying to hide it.
Food was served so that they could be better conserved through the mini-battle that would come. Then, the time came, and the three now were at the back. Nome helped Slash into the armor, which just did not seem right in color (though that did not matter when it came to protection). Slash gave no protests in the armor, and did seem to fit properly. Nope; it was just in Nome's mind of the armor not fitting.
"Slash, are you ready to begin?"
Slash nodded, bringing claws together to show that he was ready to inflict pain. Nome could not think of an extra weapon that Slash could handle; it just did not come to mind that he could hold anything. Yet, how could he imagine Claw holding something when she had the same types of two fingered claws?
It didn't matter; what mattered was the outcome of this new match. Now it was Claw's turn to start the match with her signature screech. And the two were at each other.
Slash was slightly bigger and not as fast, so it was much easier this time around. But Nome did not want easy; he wanted hard. He wanted to have a tough time when fighting Slash.
Then, he was struck in the side. A claw of Slash had punctured him at his side. The battle was stopped, and Nome touched where he had been swiped. There was a light patch of blood as a piece of his clothes had been ripped, leaving a light scar behind on his skin.
"You could have done better than this one here," remarked Nome. "You could have hurt me more than you did just now; come on; attack me like your enemy!"
It was only to taunt; that way, he could get the best out of Slash to be attacked with. And it worked; Slash had seemed to gotten harder on him. The battle had gone out longer than it had with Claw, with only one flaw; the armor limited the ability to dig for Slash. He tried once, but the armor's weight and general formation was just not allowing him to do it.
This was something that Nome decided to pick on. The last twenty minutes of the training was spent on trying to get Slash to dig with the armor, with no such luck. They were just going to have to try another day.
The next day, he had gotten a costumer. He had to spend most of it working on the man's new pair of freshly made double swords; two swords that appeared to be one, until they were easily disjointed from the middle.
Proving to be a slightly hard task, it had taken most of the day. There was no training that night, but the next day, the training continued. This went on for the next few days as Nome and his two companions grew stronger and stronger each day. By the end of the week, Claw had learned how to use her sneak attack to also take several objects. Nome had started small, and eventually had her taking much larger objects such as baskets. But what was still the trouble was transporting with the armor; she could be holding it and do it, yet she could not do so while she was wearing the armor.
The story was almost the same for Slash. It was plainly and simply put that he could not dig with the armor on. He had to remove it in order to dig. But that was not why they were training; Nome kept saying that he would not give up on Slash, and one of these days, Slash was going to be able to dig with full armor.
But that would have to be put off to another day; the night came quickly.
The next day and the following week were very similar, with only minimal costumers coming and going. Every ounce of free time Nome had, he would dedicate to training. He was learning a lot himself. As two weeks passed, he had learned a few defensive tips from Slash as well as agility tactics from Claw. They themselves were getting very good at training sessions.
Three weeks had passed. Even though the small soft blows were growing increasingly harder and more was learned from mistakes, Nome could not get Claw to use her sneak attack with armor on or have Slash dig in full suit.
None of this would slow training, but it definitely would get Nome irritated. He was sure that Claw could move the armor with herself; she was doing it with small things; why not with things on her? And he was positive that Slash could dig effectively with armor; couldn't be any harder than pulling himself under with the heavy quills on his back.
They had to start small; this was virtue. But patience was running out, and Nome found himself more irritated as he worked on his job as blacksmith status.
Night arrived like every other night. Nome yawned while Claw readied herself for her night shift, stretching and all the necessities. Nome passed her not much as saying a word until he reached the door, saying in a firm and uncaring tone, "Good night Claw."
He was on his bed again, covering himself. It had been blazing hot during the day, yet now at night time, it was as if a cold front had just come by. Maybe one had, maybe one had not. But it was cold that night, and Nome found himself pulling the covers higher than usual.
His dreams were of the training sessions. He dreamed that he got to a certain strength that was far greater than that of a knight, and that Claw and Slash had fixed the flaws they had with armor. It was a good dream, and he could only hope that it was implemented in real life. Seeing it while awake would be a much better sight than asleep.
He awakened. It was still around the dark hours.
What was a better decision was to stay in bed, so he decided to try and get some more sleep. He was still tired. He closed his eyes, nearly entering his dream again. When he heard the grunting cry of Claw.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes. There was nothing out of his window. Maybe it was at a much earlier state in the morning; either way, now that he was awake, he did not want to go to sleep. He left his bedside and began to shuffle for his regular clothing.
He had it on quickly and soon found himself making his way to the kitchen, where he would have breakfast. It was just like any other morning, except the sun was not out yet.
Another grunt was heard, this time nearer. Slash awoke from his slumber and lazily entered the room, wondering what was going on. Another grunt. It was outside. It did not sound nice. It sounded…peculiar.
There was a pan by his side. He picked it up, making his way to the door outside. He opened it slightly…
In a swift movement, a man in black burst through the front, ready to strike. The pan came hard on the man's head, and he fell to the floor hard.
What was happening was serious. Something was going on out there; Nome had to find out what. "Claw? Claw!" he called out for her in hopes that she would answer, but there was no returning gesture of any sort. Then, a limping body of the Sneasel entered the house. She was harmed and hurt.
Slash awakened quickly and was ready to fight. Nome was by Claw's side and tried to find any sort of wound. It was on her leg; she had been slashed by something sharp. It could have been a claw, but that didn't seem likely the way it was made.
Slash pushed Nome away in great timing; he thrust his claw right into the stomach of the man that was about to strike at his master. Nome could not believe that he had not noticed the man sneak up on him.
The man who had tried to hurt him was equally dressed as the one he had hit over the head with a pan. This was an attack.
"Slash, attack whoever comes for Claw. I'm going for my sword!"
He rushed out of the room. He knew he would need the item soon. He did not realize how soon enough. He had his blade in a matter of seconds and was reaching for his armored pads. He was not sure whether he would have enough time to put them on, but he felt safer knowing that they were still in an accessible place.
He made his way back to the kitchen. Slash was still protecting Claw.
Quickly, he picked up Claw. She tried to push away; Nome knew she had enough strength to walk, but to fight was another thing entirely. And it looked as if that was what they were about to do. He was not going to risk losing her; he had to get her to a healer of some sort.
There was a rustling behind him. He turned around quickly. And there stood a man, dressed as the other two were. This one had a weapon at hand; a sword. He looked ready to strike.
And that was his first act; Nome had to drop Claw to the floor as he was almost pierced by the man's thrust of his sword. They both crashed to the counter, where their swords tangled themselves with many pots and pans. There was a pan on the floor; Nome stomped his feet on the handle, and it swung high, hitting the sword that was about to slice him.
It was enough of a distraction to push the sword away with his own blade. They fought to the end of the counter. At the very end, Nome dropped his sword. He backed away as the man tried to slice him, tripping over the table. But he used this to his advantage; he rolled over the top and made sure to pull it down when he fell of the other end, creating a small barricade between them two. Then, he pushed the light table towards the man, who tripped over the force of the push.
"Now Slash!" shouted Nome.
Reacting quickly, Slash groped a fighting stance and jumped right at the man's face, ready to slash.
An unforeseen dagger was pulled out, nearly jabbing Slash on the neck. Slash moved away, only able to get one scratch over the man's face. Since that didn't work, there was only one other option. Luckily for Nome, he had stood while Slash tried to make his move. Now, he just kicked the man over the head.
There was an explosion from somewhere else in the room, and the living quarters was ignited. The fire burst and was about to burst into the kitchen. Quickly, both Slash and Nome jumped over the overturned table and hid with Claw as the fire erupted all over the room.
"Move to the door; we have to get out of here!"
In a matter of seconds, Nome was able to carry Claw as he and Slash made their way out of the burning house. Once outside, Nome turned back to see what had caused this. But there was nothing but a burning house; his house. Just like his parent's house.
He felt on his chest. His pendant was still there, safe. But his business; his home. That was not safe. It was burning in a blazing fire, and he was not sure how it had all started.
Questions were swimming in his mind, but he knew that the main priority he had was to get away from the house. He turned around one last time. With Slash by his side, they both left the burning house and into the darkness. When they would return, and if they would return, was still to be determined.
--
Sunlight was the main component that had awoken Nome. He opened his eyes slightly, shaking away the sleep from his eyes. He was in one of Gazzleton's lonely alleys. Slash and Claw were by his side. Nome had expected to see Claw taking the watch for a moment, but forgot that she was hurt. She was by his side, asleep against him. Slash was taking over the watch. It seemed as if he had been doing so the entire night.
Yawning, Nome shook Claw awake. She awoke quickly and shook herself. It more or less looked as if she was trying to shake away the pain of the night.
That night…the night before…he was not sure what had happened. He was not sure why there were people looking for him. He had done nothing wrong; he was sure of it. He tried to remember everything that had happened in the past days, the past months, even the past years. But nothing came to mind.
Though, the breaking and entering was a familiar tactic. It was possibly the same used on his family when he was young…
Could these people possibly be the ones who had taken the lives of his parents when he was young? Why would they come back for him? No; they could not be the very same people. The people who had attacked when he was young were nomads. These were more like assassins. Yet, why assassins? He was no one special. He made a living like everyone else.
He could not stay there thinking of it for long; he had to move on. He motioned for Claw and Slash to follow him, and he led the way out of the alley and into the more crowded areas of town. Questions still buzzing, he made his way to a market place. He planned on getting nothing; just passing through.
"What in god's name was last night all about?" he said it with hate in his voice; a rasp.
With no response, there was no need to go on about it. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how angry he was at the fact that it had happened. He stopped for a short while to ponder this. That was when he saw the sign.
It was a picture of himself. It was actually one he had back at his home. There was a reward for the capture of him. Nome's heart skipped a beat at this, realizing the magnitude of the situation. There was a large bounty for his head. The only information given of any sort of reason why he was dangerous was briefly explained, and it angered him. the sign said that he had been supplying a rogue who had killed a man of higher class. People were looking for him for supplying a weapon…for basically doing his job…that was why they were looking for him.
He took a glance left. He took a glance right.
"We must leave," he said to his companions.
Without a word, the three were gone again. Away from the center of one of the most crowded areas of town, trying to keep his face hidden, Nome walked. He felt eyes upon him.
He thought about what the sign had said. Then he thought about who he had been doing jobs for. He realized that there was only one person who looked suspicious enough to fit any sort of fact of him supplying anything. That traveler…the traveler must have been that rogue. And he had given him a weapon, and the weapon was used for fighting. Killing.
His sword was by his side, concealed in its case. He was lucky enough to leave with it.
Where was he to go now? He could not just leave Gazzleton. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more the idea began to make sense. HE sighed; he knew what the final verdict would be no matter what. Still, he kept walking.
He had no destination in his mind until he was halfway there. He moved a lot quicker now. He stopped further away from the main city, where he now found a very familiar sight. There it was; his home, burnt to the ground. There was nothing left of it.
Nome moved towards what was left of the house, his companions following behind him. There was nothing to be salvaged. At least, that was what he figured. But there was still hope; there was a section of the house that had not completely been burnt to the ground. Though it was bad, what he was looking for was found. It was the armor of his companions, as well as the custom weapons.
Claw neared her pair as Slash neared his. Nome stared at what they were to do on their own. He watched the two, as they both looked at each other. Then they turned to his direction. They knew what they were expected of Nome.
"We're leaving; we can't stay any longer," he said.
The verdict; place the armor; long journey ahead.
Minutes later, the three disappeared to the shadows of trees. If they were to leave Gazzleton undetected, then they needed to hide first. They needed to find a way to cross land without getting noticed. The wilderness was possibly the only option. Without any healers near by, it might appear impossible. But determination overruled, and they drew in further to the wild.
--
Weeks later, and several close encounters of being caught by what was seemingly known as the government of Fandavale, Nome and his companions finally exited the kingdoms boundaries. This put him at a very dangerous position. He could be caught and killed by just about anyone.
He carried the weapons and food items he had managed to scrimmage from stands when no one was looking. He had not found any information on how Fandavale faired with the rogue, but it was apparent for him that it was not going very well and that they were even more desperate now than ever. Their plots to capture him have reached an extreme dangerous point, and he had almost been caught several times. Slash had been caught once, but with the help of Claw, managed to escape.
Would they chase him when he was not in Fandavale? He was not sure.
Now, he walked on and on. There was no destination, as it would now seem to be for a long time. He walked blindly down a path covered by trees. It honestly felt more dangerous within the trees than when he would be on a road leading somewhere.
Night and day, night and day. They were always coming. Food was low, water was gone. Claw looked dehydrated, and eventually, collapsed. Nome had to carry her with all of her armor now, which acted extremely heavy, and he was still unsure of how far he had to travel before he saw any signs of settlements.
But when all hope seemed lost now, he found walls. The walls were blocking his way from the trees. He had obviously found something. He made it towards a road, and hesitated on moving on it. Finally, he managed to step foot on a location where he could be seen. Slash was by his side, in full armor and ready to strike.
A map hit him in his own mind. How far had he been running away from Fandavale? Which direction had he gone? Once he answered this, he couldn't help but skip a heart beat. Was he now in that one place? The place he had rarely spoke of, but admired all the same?
Had he entered the Sacred Lands?
A few more glances told him, "yes."
