Stolen Pendant

"I never dreamed that I'd be hunting for a fox, especially not one that's on fire." Yumiko, who was with the others searching for a fire fox, claimed. "The fox is not what we're searching for. We're looking for that girl who we met earlier." Explained by Ayuka.

Tim continued to look around while keeping his arms crossed behind his back. His necklace was jingling around his neck. "How difficult can it be to find a fox? It may be on fire, but that doesn't make it exceptional." He was cut off by Alina before he could finish. "It is unique. There is only one fire fox in the entire globe. Other foxes tend to be common or ferocious creatures that can be found almost anywhere."

Tim's eyes began to squint, sweat started to trickle down his forehead, and he appeared to be troubled by the fire fox's rarity. "How difficult can it be to locate a fire fox on *this* island, really? I don't think of it leaving the island. The fox is on fire, and the sea is of water." Tim looked around the area.

"That girl might be here, but I'm not sure it's around the city," Ayuka explained, at which point it struck once more. Another shape emerged from the shadows, speeding through the rooftops, but it too was gone in an instant.

Her eyes tightened even more. "That's not a fabrication. There's someone there, but I can't feel their pressure, and as soon as I catch a glimpse of them, they're gone." Ayuka pondered before turning to face Alina and calling out to her. "Tell me something, Alina. Other than Raoul and Natan, are there any other bounty hunters?"

Ayuka's question puzzled Alina, and for a brief while, she wondered why she asked it. "Not that we are aware of. There were only those four bounty hunters. Both Raoul and the two men I defeated before were Vanguard members. So, Raoul is the only one left." Ayuka was once again on Alina's mind as she continued.

Nothing made sense to her, so she held her chin in an attempt to discover an explanation. "Am I losing my mind? That silhouette has now appeared three times. That must be it; I must be sleep deprived." She muttered. Ralphie was able to discern that something was upsetting her, but he made an effort to be calm.

"Why do you ask that, then? Is there anything important we need to know?" Yumiko said, trying to get some answers. "It's just... I feel like there's someone else around Winterpeak that none of us might know. I felt like I've seen a humane silhouette jumping across the rooftops, but every time I tried to see where it would go, it vanished."

Her explanation wasn't enough to suffice for the others, but they accepted that there could possibly be another bounty hunter or somebody else running around Winterpeak.

Tim was confused and didn't understand much, but something felt odd, and the moment he blinked twice, he sensed a strange pressure.

Something moved around, and the sudden current of wind past them. It made them cover their faces with their arms. Yumiko called out, "What's with these random wind currents?!"

Tim firmly kept his stability on the ground and spotted a black silhouette dashing in front of him. "What the...?" he wondered, noticing that the necklace around his neck disappeared.

"Hey!" he became serious, and without thinking, he chased down the black silhouette into the linear street. "Come back!" others heard him, but none noticed him running away.

"Tim? Hey! You there?! What's going on?!" shouted Ayuka. Nobody answered, and she couldn't look to see what had occurred because of the strong gust.

The gust stopped in the next few seconds, and everybody turned behind where Tim was supposed to stand, but when they turned, he was gone. "What the hell?! Tim! Where'd you go?!" Ayuka shouted, looking around. "Don't tell me he ran off again!" Kou believed, irritated.

"He was behind me this whole time! He shouldn't be able to disappear so fast!" Yumiko claimed, embarrassed and worried. "For god's sake! He just won't stay still! He gets sidetracked by everything! He has too much curiosity for his own good!" angrily shouted Ayuka.

Tim was speeding through the streets, seeing a silhouette that took his necklace running around faster than he could ever. "They're so fast! How am I supposed to catch up?!" he wondered.

He noticed the silhouette leaping in the air and on top of the rooftop. "Hey! Wait up! Give me back my necklace!" but that shadow didn't stop running away.

Tim found it difficult to move through the streets because of the crowds while the shadow continued to hop across the rooftops. Although he had to weave between them, doing so slowed him down. "I'm gonna lose them!" Tim saw that the shadow had leaped the gap between the two houses, but he was now facing a dead end. He was compelled to round the corner and sprint up the snowy stairs since the homes obstructed his way ahead.

He could see the silhouette in the distance, which caused him trouble catching up. "That necklace is important! I need it back!" Tim shouted. He took a turn left of the stairs, and citizens around him were throwing perplexed gazes.

As he ran, he observed the shadow move behind a house and into a street that he couldn't access without turning around the buildings. "I can't let it get away!"

He raised his arms behind his back and yelled. He let forth orange flames that lifted him into the air and gave him the momentum he needed to jump onto the roof. It frightened nearby residents.

When Tim reached the roof, he rolled on it and peered over the side, "Where did they go?" he observed a figure in black running behind the right corner and asked. He jumped the opening, slipped his feet on the snow, and sprinted along the roofs while exclaiming, "There!"

He continued tracking the person, never stopping.

Tim observed that it sprinted around the corner and would eventually run into him. He fell in front of the person after descending the roof and entering the street. He whipped his arm from behind and fired a fireball, yelling, "Give that back!"

Without hesitation, the individual started to wall jump between the two buildings, reaching the tops of the roofs. One of the wheel carts was damaged by Tim's fire blast, which exploded and destroyed food. "Damn it!"

He swung around and scurried among the others, barely keeping up with him. Tim was furious, but that didn't stop him from pursuing the offender despite his shaking mouth.

"Have you ever seen a fox on fire, by any chance?" A girl asked, "I'm afraid not. I apologize, miss." The young woman moaned with concern. "It's alright. I'm grateful. I'll search elsewhere." She left the market by moving away. "Flare... Where are you? I'm worried." She told herself. She came around the corner with her arms hanging next to her hips.

Tim was just in front of her as she peered to the side. Tim couldn't stop as their surprised eyes widened. They collided, rolling in the middle of the pavement. The girl briefly felt weight on top of her due to their impact, which caused the snow to bounce around.

"Ow, ow, ow..." She slowly opened her eyes. She noticed Tim's head leaning past her right shoulder. "Ow, that hurt." He called, scratching the back of his head and slowly pulling his torso back.

They exchanged confused glances as they contemplated their next move. The girl spotted Tim's arm holding her left arm to the ground as they both blinked their eyes in perplexity. "Hey... It's you." Tim said, remembering the girl. "You're that girl who was searching for Flare, right?"

"U-Um... Yeah, that's me." She claimed.

Tim noticed that he was sitting on top of her waist, feeling awkward. "Oh, sorry!" he stood up. "Here, let me help." He extended his arm for her to grasp, then supported her in standing.

She shook her head to get the snow out of her hair and swept it off her clothing.

"A-Anyway... Why were you in such a rush?" she asked, confused.

Tim blinked open his eyes, maintaining a carefree demeanor. "I was looking for someone. I need the get back my pendant that they stole from me. It's important. Really, it is. But after I ran into you, they fled." He appeared dissatisfied and possibly even irritated. "Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't want to stop you." Tim smiled as she called. "It's okay. They would escape from me regardless. It was my fault, but I'll get by. But, I still need to track them down and get back my pendant."

The girl saw people coming up to them. "Um... you might have angered some people... I think." Tim looked behind him and was shocked to see how many people appeared to be upset with him. One yelled, "You've destroyed my market," and the other, "You've broken my pots."

"You better pay for the damage!" they said, charging at him with all their vigor. Then he shrieked, "Crap! Come on, let's go!" he urged, grabbing the girl's wrist. "Whoa! Why me?!" she inquired, puzzled.

He yelled, "Because I was looking for you too!" After a moment of doubt, she noticed how tensely Tim was dragging her along. The two of them soon began fleeing from the enraged crowd when the girl screamed, "Whoa! Not so rough!"

To be continued...