Pride(7)

"!?"

Sorren peaked his eyes opened, but what should have been his body being impaled only revealed the utter shocking sight of seeing a large root being impaled instead.

"H-huh?"

Sorren gaped in shock at the large roots that stood above him. Porter also was confused. 'W-what the hell is this now"

The ground made a quaking roar to answer Porter's question of annoyance. it shook and trembled. The massive tremors cause Porter to lose his hold on the boy, making him drop to the ground below.

More large roots burst from the ground, they swung through the air like mighty pillars of earth bunching together in a cell of branches.

" WHAT NO! WHO THE HELL IS THIS NOW"

As Porter thrashed and swiped he was further restricted. Sorren watched as Porter was encased at every side until he was completely sealed in a cocoon of roots.

"W-whose" His eyes trailed along the thick roots that smelled of strong soil from deep underground, they looked ancient. Sorren had never seen such large roots before.

" Rotten kids making a mess of my yard" Sorren flinched at the fierce voice that sounded of an old lady. It was filled to the brim with anger.

Sorren turned and gazed at a frail old lady who was a hunchback, she had a large wooden staff that was decorated with hanging paper charms. Her hair was a powdery white her eyes an intense

Blue eyes that seemed as if they could cut through metal.

Riza who was bombarded with ice chunks finally relaxed her guard once the assault had ceased. She slowly lowered her arms and caught sight of the old lady.

'That's!?'

Riza stared in awe at the old woman.

'Josephina Ironwill, one of the elders of the Capital villages and one of the oldest people in the kingdom' To think she's actually showing herself here. She was a well-known and respected person in the past for her hand in Rune technology, but now she sort of keeps herself cooped in her home nowadays.

'W-well we did kinda mess up her front yard...m-maybe she wouldn't be too angry if I told her it was self-defense?' Riza was terrified of what could possibly transpire. She knew of the elder's nickname.

The old lady slammed her staff on the ground in annoyance, her eyes gazing around the entirety of the surroundings.

"Busted machinery, blasted fire, EVEN MY FLOWERS BURNED TO A CRISP" at that Riza gulped.

"BLASTED BRATS WEN I GET MY HANDS ON YA IMMA CRUSH YA FLAT YOU ROTTEN WORMS" She stamped her feet swinging her staff wildly.

Riza slowly backed away, but Josaphina turned her head immediately in her direction. "WAS IT YOU, YOU AH HOUND AINT YA, YA THINK YOU CAN COME AND BUST UP MY YARD ALL YA WANTS HUH!?!"

*SMACK* *SMACK*

Repeatedly Riza was whacked on the head with her staff.

"ACK W-WAIT ACK!!" Riza shielded her head as much as she could. Just as the rumors foretold, she completely ignored the clear signs of a battle and only focused on other things. Her iron will was truly formidable!

Sorren watched the spectacle with confused eyes, but he immediately snapped out of it when he spotted Jean lying there. "JEAN" Sorren ran to the old lady and clung to her.

"WHA!?" Josephina raised her staff and was about to hit the rude brat in the head.

"PLEASE SAVE JEAN, YOU CAN SAVE EM RIGHT PLEASE" Sorren begged with tears in his eyes. The old lady paused and she gazed at where the boy pointed.

"..."

She made her way to Jean's body and checked his pulse. "Always the troublesome brat" she mumbled to herself. She snatched a golden charm from the top of her staff.

"W-Wait there's no way that it will work-"

"SHUT IT YA BRAT"

"??"

Josephina planted the charm directly on top of Jeans bloodied wound.

"Restoration" She chanted the activation cue and a bright golden light enveloped Jean. Sorren stared at Jean's ugly wound slowly closed up, even his punctured organs were restoring themselves. His cold and clammy skin was restored to its full vigor of warmth and vitality.

"B-but how?"

"Kids these days don't understand the true essence of runes and how they function" The old lady watched as Jean was healed completely.

"WHERE THE HELLS IS THE REST OF YA HOUND BRATS"

Riza flinched "a-ah they should be here soon um…" just in time, more people in yellow uniforms came forward and surveyed the area.

" Riza Plough hound 626, we received your message for help" A burly man stepped forward. He had chiseled features, his skin was fair and he had a long black beard that curled at the tip.

Riza saluted. However, her expression was one of shock.

"Captain legion sir"

'Why is he here?"

The hounds had various forms of hierarchy. While segments like the overseers and the enforcers are spread in groups, they each have their own captains of each group. Of course, there is one that's above the captains for them. For the intel hounds, there is only one head who runs all the intel corps, this is because all info hounds run on one accord, not by groups.

Captain legion surveyed the area and spotted the old lady. He bowed his head. "Elder Josephina, I greet you humbly."

"Hmph, showed up a mighty late huh brat, now my yard and parts of my village have been laid to waste."

Legion bowed his head at the elder's harsh scoldings.

"We apologize, we have no excuse. We will repay you for any repercussions our hounds have committed"

"Hmph, good riddance. Take this here boy and get em treated"

Elder Josahina gestured to Jean who was breathing softly. Legion nodded "WE GOT WOUNDED, UNITS TAKE THEM IN FOR TREATMENT. INVESTIGATION SQUAD COMMENCE OPERATIONS TAKE HOLD OF THE SUSPECT AND IMMEDIATELY PUT HIM INTO THE DUNGEONS"

"YES SIR!!!!"

The hounds commenced their orders and spread out. The investigation squad scanned the area and talked with witnesses. Jean's body was lifted up via a levitation device and was taken elsewhere. The rest of the hounds were taking Porter into custody.

Legion after issuing his orders gestured to Riza. "Plough go get yourself treated and come to the darkroom afterward. I'd like a full report of this entire situation"

"Yes sir!!"

"No I don't want to" Sorren refused any help from the other hounds.

"Aaaah, the kids refusing any help at all" one hound stated. "Yea the other two aren't even repsondin to us." The duo scratched their heads.

"Sorren, you need to be looked at" Riza called. Sorren turned his head and saw Riza.

"AH"

He quickly ran to her and clung to her leg. Riza picked him up and carried him. Callie and Cale were also carried by other hounds albeit with difficulty.

"EEEEH!?"

"THAT ICE QUEEN ACTUALLY IS LIKED BY CHILDREN!?"

"WHAT ARE THE ODD EH"

Riza's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. 'I'll knock their heads later'

This signified the long battle that had transpired. Sorren and his siblings were given proper treatment for their injuries, and Jean was finally stabilized, though he lost a lot of blood. Had the hounds not gotten there sooner, there would not have been anything that could be done to save Jean.

*****************************

Sorren was resting in a bed of soft cotton. He and his siblings were taken to the farthest edge of Lo'ven village where a treatment center lies. He had some scrapes along with his hands and knees, a sprained ankle, and a slight concussion, but all those were pretty much healed easily. His siblings had a few scrapes and bruises and were healed as well.

They were all taken into a pretty large room that was used for patients who were recovering. Sorren gazed out the window and stared at the castle that peaked slightly in the far distance over the large wall. White curtains blew gently in the wind, it smelled of a fresh clean scent, soothing for the mind. His siblings lay asleep beside him, not wanting to leave his side.

*Knock* *Knock*

"U-um yes?"

The door opened, revealing Riza who was in an entirely new uniform. She had a small bandage on her face but the rest of her body was otherwise fully healed.

"Mrs Riza!" Sorren jumped up but immediately quieted down upon realizing his siblings were still deeply asleep.

"How do you feel?"

Riza settled down in a nearby chair. She gazed at Sorren. The boy refused to talk with any other person, not even the healers and only asked about Jean or Riza.

'It's obvious he wouldn't trust another hound after this incident' The boy and his family had been through enough.

"U-um better? They used some sort of stone on me"

Riza nodded.

"Um…."

"You're still wondering what will happen regarding Jean and this incident?"

Sorren nodded. Sorren knew that what had occurred was definitely out of the ordinary. He hoped with all his heart that Jean wouldn't be punished. He also hoped that that disgusting bastard would definitely get his punishment.

"The verdict is still in the dark, but there is no doubt that Porter will be tried and possibly executed."

Upon investigation, Evidence was found that he was the one that killed one of his subordinates by way of magic, not an arrow as he claimed. There were also more crimes pitted against him thanks to this situation.

'He was so hellbent on the intel bead, he didn't even realize I never had any information to send to the hounds, to begin with, it was all an elaborate bluff on my part' Riza from the start knew she was at a major disadvantage regarding the situation, but she was so shocked regarding Jean's condition she lost a bit of her rationale.

'It's a good thing I caught myself beforehand'

"Whether the punishment is light or harsh I'm not sure, jean did kill an officialized hound." AT that, Sorren's head hung down. He gripped the bed sheets tightly.

Riza flinched.

"B-but he may not get punished so harshly, afterall it was for self-defense and more information is coming in so.." Riza waved her hands quickly to appease the solemn boy.

Sorren nodded. He felt a bit relieved at that. That meant he wouldn't lose Jean at all.

"I know you've been through a lot but…." Sorren looked at her confused.

"There is someone-"

"AGGH YA DARN BRATS ARE TALKIN TOO MUCH"

*BANG*

Riza and Sorren flinched grandly at the bold intruder. It was the village elder of Lo'ven village Josephina ironwill.

"OI YA BRAT GET YER BUTT GOIN." she stormed her way to the bed and poked at Sorren's forehead.

"U-UH!?"

Riza sighed in resignation."Sorry Sorren, but someone would like to-"

"A NOBLES HERE TO SEE YA NOW GIT"

Sorren and his siblings were guided through the halls. Rows of doors on both sides trailed backward slowly and at the very end of the hall lay a double-doored entrance. It stood imposingly at the farthest back.

When the doors opened. Sorren was met with a tall man who wore an expensive vest and tailcoat. His hair was a light chestnut brown, thin eyes that seemed as if they were closed. He smiled warmly.

The elder Josephina and Riza both bowed simultaneously. Sorren flinched and followed suit.

"Hm. you must be my darling nephew...yes?"

Sorren froze in shock.

********************************************

Name: Porter Machin

Age: 27

Status: unknown

Home: Unknown

Magic core size: Medium

Affinity: Water, Ice

Info: Porter used to be the childhood friend of both Riza and Jean. Though he lacked any talent for the sword and combat, he was very gifted with magic and was hailed as a genius talent. His reasons for joining the hounds are unknown.