The Splishiest Splashiest Child

Arthur was on his way out from a tavern. The food wasn't particularly good in any sense of the word. The fish was tough, overcooked and definitely not fresh. The fries were salvageable, but only with truckloads of ketchup and salt. Overall, his stomach felt queasy and it was miserable out. Not so much as it had been earlier, when it was pouring, but now everything was damp and the air was heady with various intoxicating earthy smells. They were all overwhelming with his slayer senses, something Arthur thought he would never get used to. All he had to do now was get to the train station in order to return to the room he had rented in Magnolia. It wasn't a cheap rental, and he was sure there was some kind of punishment for skipping town and not paying his rent. He wasn't a thief though, so he'd be certain to make it back by the end of the week when the in scheduled their collection day. It was interesting, why Arthur was still even staying there, when getting a real apartment would be cheaper in every sense of the word. Turning a corner, he almost bumped into a group of random strangers as he made his haste towards the station. He wouldn't be late by any stretch of the imagination, nor even come close to missing the train, but Arthur wasn't the type of man who liked to take chances like that.

On his way to the station, Arthur saw something he found deeply troubling. A young blonde girl was just playing and splashing around in a few roadside puddles. Wagons and carriages passed her by, too close to comfort. Looking around frantically, the paladin saw no parents frantically running after their child to try and sweep them into safety away from the dangerous road. Except, as Arthur stood and watched the danger unfold, nobody came to the child's aid, nor where there any sedentary figures watching her in the first place. A pit formed at the pit of his stomach, suddenly very concerned for the child's welfare. Unable to just stand by anymore, he approached the girl. Not caring about looking weird or anything of the sort, he got down on his knees to reach her eye level. Kindly and patiently, he smiled at her.

"Hi there, do you know where your parents are? It's not very safe to play in the middle of the road even if the puddles are really fun. How about you come over with me on the side of the road and I can help you find your parents." Careful to keep his distance, Arthur motioned for her to follow him onto the sidewalk of the road.

WC: 455 TWC: 728

Arthur's concern was immediately validated as the small child told him that her parents were missing and unavailable to tend to her and take her away from the dangerous situation. And not only that, but she had no clue where the Luna person was, and so it's not like he could have brought her to them. This was starting to get a little nerve-wracking very quickly. What was he even supposed to do now that she had nobody to look after her? Arthur couldn't just leave her alone for whoever knew what would happen, it would go against every single one of his morals and ethics. And not only that, apparently this Luna person had told the kid to come out here for who the hell knew what reason. If he got to meet said person, he'd have a very intense chat with them about child endangerment and its legal repercussions. At least it seemed like the child was still quite spirited, making up stories about how they fought a dragon and punched them. It was probably just a dragonfly that she swatted, but he wasn't going to correct a child playing pretend, it was generally a bad look to do so. And the girl had said something about Sabertooth? Were her parents mages, then? It could explain why they weren't available, but it wasn't an excuse to just dump a child in a busy street, because Arthur was sure there had to be at least a few people who would look out or babysit for parents in need.

Arthur gave a friendly smile to the small good. He did his best to be reassuring to her that she would be okay and that he'd help her find her parents if she had any clue where they were in the first place. He'd also need to find Luna and give her a piece of his mind and potentially refer her to the Rune Knights if needed.

"Yeah, you killed a dragon? You must have been very brave to do that you know. I've killed dragons before too! That's awfully specific for you to know about Wyverns, are you a fan of dragons? I feel like you like dragons. Wait, don-" Arthur was cut off as the girl went to jump into a puddle. Water splashed up into the air as the girl brought her face to the splash of water. Arthur cringed as he saw the girl open her mouth, thinking she was going to drink the dirty puddle water. Instead, Arthur was taken aback when the young girl infused dark magic into the water and splashed it over his now-wet face. Droplets forming in his beard, Arthur stared gaping as the dark magic stung at his skin. Arthur's magic threatened to lash out at the presence of god slayer magic. It was wrong, how could a girl know god slayer magic? Who could have taught a kid such a thing? Anger pulsed through his veins as his mind scoured itself for what he should do next without showing the girl that he was upset or worried.

"Sure, I'll play with you! That's some interesting magic you have there. I have magic too, I can make things really bright, it's like I have the sun right here!"  Conjuring a ball of magic in his hand, Arthur sent it up into the air and watched it dissolve in a shower of radiant sparkles. The kid showed him her a purple guild tattoo, and Arthur raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Wow, they let you join a guild? That's so cool! I'm in a guild too, you know."

A flash of shock flashed over Arthur's face as he watched a car plow through the large puddle she was playing in. And her name was Mei apparently, from how she described herself in the third person. Arthur jumped after Mei as she ran out into the middle of the street for no reason, right in front of the car that had splashed her. Quickly getting ready to throw up a shield, Arthur shouted in shock as the girl was hit by the magical car. But then apparently she wasn't, as she held the car in her comically tiny arms and smashed it back down into the pavement. Arthur cringed as he heard the car's inhabitants screaming in terror. As the couple complied with the tyrant child's request, the girl went to go play in her puddle.

"Okay so obviously you know how to use magic. Do you want me to bring you back to your guild?"

WC: 732 GWP: 1908