Side Story 1 - Lara Meets Aiden

Lara hummed as she walked through the crowd, her hands harmlessly tucked in her fatigue pockets.

She was in her combat uniform for the Pierce Military Academy, made up of fatigue pants, a grey top, and similarly dull accessories. The only splash of color in her attire was her recently bleached blonde hair that she had tied up in a ponytail. Blonde wasn’t her natural hair color, but it was the color that made her feel most like herself. Red was a close second, but that was reserved for the arena, as Jane Phoenix. Sometimes she did jet black. It all depended on her mood.

Her mood recently was fairly mellow and contemplative. Occasionally, murderous. Hence, blonde.

“Uh oh,” Stella said drily, catching up to her after stopping to grab a free sample of something. “What are you plotting?”

“Not plotting,” Lara lied. “Just thinking of a rumor I heard.”

“What rumor?” Stella asked, while her eyes flitted around the crowd roaming the busy square. She was on the lookout, not for anything particular, she just had to constantly be on the lookout. Firebringers frequently faced attempts on their lives, and even out in the open field, enjoying the Interschool Fun Fair being held in Capital City Centre, someone tucked in some corner somewhere could be planning to kill her.

The smell of cotton candy and corn dogs wafted in the breeze as music mixed in with childish laughter and the excited chatter of teenage voices.Crowds of people mingled, teen joy and angst melding in the air, hands being held, conversations being had, and shy looks being thrown over shoulders.

Technically, only five schools were in attendance today, but it felt like more, simply because some students' families came along and had brought their children too. There was no one checking people in at the gate, and bodies were everywhere. Lara didn’t typically mind crowds, but even she was getting claustrophobic and did feel somewhat paranoid that at any moment, there could be a red dot on her head ready to take her out. And Lara was relatively a nobody.

She could only imagine how Stella felt.

Nevertheless, the other girl walked with confidence, her red hair tied in a loose bun at the top of her head, her gaze unflinching. People stared as she walked, drawn by the confidence she oozed, and also because, well, she looked like a Firebringer.

Only Lara could tell how nervous she was inside. Stella was likely anticipating another assassination attempt, thanks to the Waterbridge fiasco, and this was the perfect place for an assailant to hide in plain sight. If they could take out the Firebringer heir and get away with it, they would cement their villainy in infamy forevermore.

A lot of bad guys wanted that. Being Stella’s friend also kind of made her a target, but Lara was very much used to being a target. She’d been placed in dangerous situations since she was a child, and as such, she'd made good friends with danger. She knew what to do when chaos reigned. Even outnumbered, she'd learned how to fight her way out of impossible situations and win with the least amount of bruises necessary.

And the only way anyone was getting to Stella was through her.

Despite her caution, Lara wanted her friend to relax, so she sighed dramatically. “I don’t know if I should tell you about the rumor. You’re going to tell me it’s stupid.”

“So? I think a lot of what you say is stupid.”

“That’s because your mind is too small to perceive my brilliance.”

“Your brilliance usually gets you, and me sometimes, in trouble,” Stella sniffed the air, then her eyes practically glazed over when she spotted the honeyed pretzel stand. She grabbed Lara’s hand and started in that direction. Lara had no choice but to follow.

“What’s the rumor?” Stella asked after ordering a pretzel.

“Do you know a guy who goes to your school? Aaron Something-foot?”

Stella paused and frowned. “You mean Aiden Sparrowfoot?”

“Yeah, him. He’s like a mage, right?”

“Yeah. Everyone at school says he’s supposed to be the most powerful Archmage we’ve seen in generations.” Distaste touched her expression. “I think it’s a lot of hype, but whatever. It's not my business. But the guy is too arrogant for his own good.”

"I see." Lara didn’t care about his general personality. She went to a military academy and most of the guys there thought they were hot shit too. She only cared about one thing. “I heard he can make pocket dimensions. Is that true?”

Lara half-expected Stella to laugh in her face. Creating pocket dimensions was such a divine yet ancient arcane art that it might as well have been a fairy tale, even in the mana-rich District 9.

Coming to District 9, Lara had learned early on that not all magic was special. In District 8, magic was rare, so even people who could do card tricks got decent fanfare. Oh, how she used to love those card mages when she was young, the ones at the carnival who put on magic shows. They added a bit of whimsy to her otherwise dark life.

District 9 had many times more mages than District 8 had and so card mages here were nothing special. There were people here making fireballs in their palms, people who could cause earthquakes and sink entire buildings. That was crazy magic and that was super cool.

At least that was what Lara had thought at first.

When she began to meet and interact with those mages, most of them [Heroes], she swiftly realized one thing.

A lot of magic-users kinda sucked as humans and powerful magic did not make them unbeatable.

She got disillusioned with the whole magic thing real quick, smacked in the face with the reality of it. [Heroes] were nothing like they were shown to be on the screen. They were advertised as honorable, brave, and good. But really, they were just like everyone else. They were just people with power, who frequently abused it, and faced no repercussions. A familiar pattern for Lara. They were not unlike the folks she’d almost worked for back in the Krawlin.

Aiden Sparrowfoot would probably be like them, too, but given that she’d never heard of anyone in modern times who could create a pocket dimension, she was still interested in knowing more about him. She had, however, expected the rumors to be more fiction than fact.

Except Stella wasn’t dismissing it outright. Instead, she frowned deeper in thought and shrugged. “Maybe.”

Lara raised an eyebrow, gaping. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Maybe he can. Who knows with that guy?”

“You don’t sound like you like him very much.”

Stella tried to shrug casually, but she didn’t quite hide her dislike. “I don’t know him that well, but what I do know is that he’s very smug and dismissive, probably because the association thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread. My parents invited him to visit the Fae Planet with them, and another time to attend a gala they were hosting, but both times, he gave them a big fat no. But guess what he was doing last week? Coming out of Vacek's office, after a two-hour meeting, all smiles. Obviously, he has something against my family and he's going to join the Vacek faction once he's in the association."

“Hmm,” Lara said, but she avoided elaborating or stepping on that landmine. Stella often complained about her parents’ fights with this Vacek guy, and Lara tried to be a supportive friend, but more often than not, she found herself silently taking Vacek's side. He seemed to be the only one willing to take a stand against the injustice of [Heroes] hurting those they sought to protect. He made sure they got punished when they stepped out of line and that was a good thing in Lara's book.

Stella’s parents were nice people, but they were soft on [Heroes] and thought all [Heroes] were as honorable as they were. They fundamentally thought that most [Heroes] tried their best to do the right thing but only failed due to circumstances, not out of the desire to flagrantly abuse their powers.

Lara knew better. She knew enough about powerful people to know that a lot of them hungered to use that power for evil.

Mentioning that would lead to a fight though and Lara didn’t want to ruin her best friend’s day.

They got the pretzel and headed to a quieter spot, near the pier and across the Capital City Library. As they crossed the courtyard that linked the library to the field, she spotted Cecilia Horan leaning against a building surrounded by bigger military kids.

Cece now went to the Soul Research Academy in Mayfern, but used to be Lara’s neighbor when she first moved here from District 8. They were both immigrants and also went to middle school together, and rode the bus together, so they'd formed a casual friendship.

Before Cece had left for the Research academy, Cece’s mother had cried the entire night and begged Lara to look out for Cece, even though Lara’s school and dorms were quite a way away from her. Franca Horan was scared that Cece would get bullied in her new school.

She was right to be scared because that was exactly what happened.

Lara said she would look out for her, because it was the right thing to do, and also because the woman made the best apple pie she’d ever tasted. But sometimes, she found herself regretting that promise.

It was hard to protect someone who would do absolutely nothing to protect themselves.

Or maybe that's my screwed up empathy talking.

Lara reminded herself that not everyone had the luxury of learning how to fight. Some were never given the tools. And some people were beaten down so often, they feared getting back up.

Right now, the mousy girl had her back against the wall, curling into herself while a group of kids circled her with mocking looks on their faces. They taunted her, occasionally reaching out the shove her into the wall. She said nothing, did nothing. The leader of the gang was in the center, and he had platinum blonde hair, kinda like Lara’s, except uglier to match his ugly soul.

“Hang on,” Lara said, leaning down to pick up a stone off the cobbled path. She had her academy-issued gun tucked into her holster, but she'd get in trouble for using it against a fellow student, even if she tried her best not to kill them. The stone would have to do the trick.

She tossed it in her hand a couple of times, while her eyes locked on the target. Lara never missed her mark. She was the best sharpshooter in her grade, and in another life, in District 8, she’d been one of the top child assassins, heading for a cushy and profitable career with the Emperor’s guard or the Krawlin. But she didn’t want that. Even as an eight-year-old, she knew it felt wrong.

It wasn’t the killing people part that bugged her the most. It was the part where she had no say in who or what she killed.

Most standard human aversion to killing had been scorched out of her before she was old enough to know what a conscience was. She also didn't develop normal empathy like most people did, and she had to work harder to recover it. She still didn’t process things right all the time.

But she knew killing good people felt bad, and killing bad people felt good. So, she wanted to only kill bad people.

Like the four larger idiots picking on a smaller girl.

She swung her hand back and threw the rock as hard as she could. Satisfaction bloomed when it hit its target, cracking the back of the leader’s head.

“Fuck!” He flinched, and his hand went up to the spot.

He spun around in anger, and Lara smiled.

Was he going to pick a fight with her? She hoped so.

Sometimes, though she hated to admit it, Lara missed the excitement of being a child assassin, planning and sneaking around to take out a target, using your wits and your strength against a superior human, battling one-on-one, and experiencing adrenaline from either winning or almost being beaten. That was what she joined the AFC for: to scratch that itch.

However, the AFC was an expensive sport, and if one didn’t have the right sponsors, they were doomed. She needed a sponsor, and she needed to win her next match to impress them.

Hence, why she needed Aiden Sparrowfoot.

“What the hell, Lara?” the blonde bastard whose name she never bothered to learn snarled at her. "What's your problem?"

“Your ugly face is my problem,” Lara said. “Get lost and don’t let me catch you bugging her again.”

His face reddened, and his eyes flickered from her to Stella and back. He wasn't an idiot. Between the two of them, they could eviscerate him and his entire gang in seconds, humiliating them in front of all five schools in attendance. It was in their best interest to retreat.

“Let’s get out of here,” he grumbled and they left. Cece’s eyes met Lara’s, and Lara held her gaze. Are you okay? she mouthed.

The other girl swallowed and nodded her thanks. Lara nodded back, giving a friendly smile. But as Cece walked away, her smile dropped and she felt vaguely bothered.

She just wished Cece would try to fight back, at least a little. At the very least, she should take Lara up on her offer for self-defense classes. Lara had told Cece that she only had to break someone’s teeth once, and badly enough, to get them to stop bothering her. Cece, though, was scared of violence.

Lara didn't understand her, but she tried to sympathize anyway. It was just a difficult and frustrating position to take.

After some more walking, Stella and Lara finally found a quiet set of tables overlooking the ocean next to the Capital City Library. The sun was setting, and on a nice day like this, the library was probably empty except for the figure that was going down the marble steps.

Stella gestured to them with her chin. “Speaking of Aiden Sparrowfoot…there he is right now.”

“Oh.” At the name, Lara focused on the slender figure, who became clearer the closer he got.

Aiden Sparrowfoot.

He wasn’t dressed for the fair. He was wearing his mage's uniform, a robe, and formal wear with a haphazard tie at his nape. He walked with a slight hunch, but that might be because his bespectacled eyes were glued to the book he was reading.

Reading while walking at the same time? Lara clucked her tongue. Not a good idea.

Lara mischieviously wanted to chuck a rock in front of him, just to show him how bad of an idea it was. Then when he fell, she would catch him in her arms princess-style.

Nevertheless, she tamped down the urge. No tripping people especially down stairs. He could hit his head or break his neck and die, and if there was one thing Lara hated it was killing people by accident.

“I’m gonna talk to him,” Lara murmured to Stella.

“You can try, but I don’t think he’ll talk to you.”

“Oh yeah? You underestimate my charisma, dear friend. Watch this.”

Lara walked away with Stella's wolf whistle at her back. She took the stairs two at a time until she was right in front of him, yet the boy didn’t see her, almost walking right into her. It wasn’t till the edge of his book bumped into her forehead that he looked down and jumped back in shock.

He was taller than her, but then everyone was taller than her. He also had brown hair that would look better longer, and intelligent features.

Lara looked into his eyes for a second. What color were they? Green? Hazel? Cute. Plus he had dark lashes which were also very pretty.

Focus, Lara.

“Hello,” she said, giving him her brightest smile, which made him look a tad wary. “I’m Lara. You’re Aiden?”

“Yes?” He said it like it was a question.

“Great to meet you, Aiden. Someone told me you’re researching pocket dimensions.”

He pushed up his glasses. “No, I’m researching the limits of teleportation and possible subversion of those limits with dungeons using Rand’s theorems and Fenwick’s coefficient.”

“Mmm. Fascinating,” Lara said. “My question is, can you make a pocket dimension where time moves faster in there than out here? That way, I can train for a whole week, and only an hour would have passed in the real world?”

“What?” His eyebrows crumpled up. He shook his head. "Why would you want that?"

“Because I have a match against Marcus Waller.”

He stared at her blankly.

“You know, big annoying AFC fighter? They call him The Impenetrable Wall.”

There was still no thread of recognition on his face. He wasn’t a fan of the AFC then. Shame.

“Long story short, I need to be like five times faster than I already am for the match, and the only way I can do that in enough time is with the pocket dimension. Can you make one?”

“No,” he said, like she was stupid. “No one can make pocket dimensions anymore.”

His lip twitched a little with that last statement. Lara didn't know him well enough to say that was a tell-tale sign of a lie, but it was certainly something.

She sidled up to him, put her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a flirtatious look. She wasn't the best flirt, but she could try. "Oh, come on. Big, strong mage like you. People say you’re going to be the most powerful archmage in centuries. Surely, you can make me a teeny-tiny, little pocket dimension.”

"No." He stepped back so her hand fell. “I cannot.”

He attempted to side-step her, but she stepped in his way.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Once again, he tried to step past her, but she got in his way.

“Name your price," she said. "I can get you practically anything. Credits, gold.” She hesitated and raised an eyebrow. “Uppers?”

He looked pretty straight-laced but he might be the type to indulge in those stimulants that made people hopped up all day. He could probably use it to read more books.

He gave her a scandalized look. “You have access to illegal drugs?”

She held up her hand. “If you want some, then yes. If not, then no.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want anything from you. And even if I did, it would be a waste of time. I don't know how to make a pocket dimension like that.”

“Oh, but you do know how to make some pocket dimensions, right?”

The lip corner twitched again. “No.”

Now, Lara was sure that was a lie. Cool.

On the bright side, she now knew he could make the pocket dimensions. On the not-so-bright side, he didn't want to help her. Her charm was failing her, damn it. She was probably rusty, or maybe she was clumsy from staring too long into those pretty eyes.

Whatever it was, she had to figure out how to make him change his mind but didn’t want to annoy him in the process. She needed to figure out what he wanted and offer that to him.

I need to observe him more.

“Alright,” she said, stepping aside. “Sorry for taking up more of your time.”

He nodded briskly and walked away, glancing at her over his shoulder at the base of the steps. He then went over to take a seat on an empty table near the pier, opening up his giant book to read once more.

Lara went to rejoin Stella who who smiled triumphantly. “Crashed and burned, didn’t you?”

“For now.” She admitted defeat but kept her gaze on Aiden Sparrowfoot, observing. “But just because you lost a battle doesn’t mean you lose the war.”

“Yeah, right. Look, friend, you know I’ll usually bet good money on you in any situation, but this is one war you're not gonna win. I don’t think you can get that guy to do what you want.”

“We’ll see about that.” She held up a finger gun, and pointed right at him, using her thumb to lock in her metaphorical bullseye. He looked up and caught her watching, frowning deeply. She grinned and gave him a brief finger wave, which he returned awkwardly, and got back to his book.

“I’m going to get you, Aiden Sparrowfoot,” she murmured. “One way or another.”