2 A Close Encounter of the Cute Kind

It was dark save for the uncountable twinkles that could be seen through the leaves overhead. and despite the darkness, it wasn't especially quiet. A low rumble could be heard on occasion, even accompaniedby a noise reminiscent of a goose here and there, but it couldn't be thunder. No the sky was too clear for that and the second noise was just too bizarre.

Ren sat up calm but also confused. He looked around found that perhaps it really wasn't so dark. Not too far away adjacent to a stone path, what looked like yellow light trapped inside metal casing spread light on the path below it. After dismissing his surroundings as safe he began to check his body. He felt normal, or what he assumed was normal but he did find something peculiar. He was dressed in what looked like tattered leather garments and he had two empty ovularly cylindrical cases of wood that were open on top where it attached to his belt. When he stood up he found that the clothing and boots he wore were entirely to large on him.

'Hm.....I wonder why I'm wearing this.'

Then more thoughts occurred to him like: Where am I? How did I get here? Am I forgetting something?

He, infact, was forgetting everything. Everything that is except his name. Only his given name though, Ren, no family name. He remembered nothing of anything before just a few moments ago. The only thing he knew was his name and to follow his instincts.

After a short time of looking about himself he decided he would get nowhere if he didn't move. You might think, 'well duh.' but for one without any memory or even something to go off of it was a rather astute decision. Ren began walking forward, in the direction he faced upon waking up as a matter of fact.

Before losing his memory and, well, basically everything else, Ren was always the quiet type. His ability to enter a room was unmatched even by most top teir assassins who were normally aided by magic. Now, on the other hand, he made loud, and unsteady progress. The now oversized boots he wore, along with the too-big leather armour, made him appear quite clumsy and ridiculous. Of course this didn't occur to himself but should an outside party see this, ah what a sight to behold.

It wasn't long before the relative quiet of the night was broken by a new sound. Rens sensitive ears could hear a muffled sound, something familiar to him and his subconscious. The sound of a child crying, subdued like they were struggling to keep from doing it in the first place. It was something that had nothing to do with him, but he felt like he'd been there before, hidden somewhere away from prying eyes letting his feelings run free. However he had no recollection of this. Shaking his head he stopped.

'I should just let it be...' his mind told him. Logic told him that only trouble would come from helping. But he couldn't shake his conscious. 'No, I should at least see whats wrong.'

Making up his mind he began again, walking this time toward the sound of a distressed child.

What Ren presumed to be a forest was incredibly sparse for how lush the greenery was and he was also surprised to find what looked like a cobbled shelter. But no, it looked to purposeful for that. Truly he couldn't make heads or tales of the strange half-sphere in front of him it had large holes in it and was placed in a boxed off sand pit adjacent to a metal structure of bars he could only assume was still being constructed and a latter leading to the top of a metal ramp. The muffled noises came from inside the half-sphere and so it became his new destination. Despite Ren's awkward and noisy gait due to the much too large armour he wore, the child gave no indication of noticing his presence until he spoke, his head looming in through one of the many openings.

"Excuse me little one, is something the matter?"

It was with a jolt that seemed to cut off the sobs for the time being, that the child looked up. Their expression was filled with fear having been startled so, and Ren's disheveled apearance didn't help being covered in dirt and dried blood. Even so, Ren put what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face, though it seemed to prompt a shiver from the youngling inside, and asked again.

"Are you alright?"

The child, perhaps from fear or maybe even surprise, silently nodded their head. And this action puzzled Ren.

"If you're alright, then what would cause you to cry like this?" Ren began to take in the child's apearance. He had never seen clothes such as adorned the child and really couldn't tell what gender they were. Of course it didn't really matter to him either way. In his inspection he noticed a fair amount of dirt covering the hands and clothes leading Ren to assume that they had been playing here. Judging by the way they youngster held themselves about the knees with both arms, and their stature, he figured they must barely be out and about in the world. The child had large green eyes, short cropped golden hair, and a dainty nose. Their dirty apparel consisted of two parts, top and bottom. The top had short sleeves, the chest adorned with a flower design, and the bottom was also cropped short on the legs as well. It looked rather cold considering the time of night.

The child finally spoke in an unsteady and quiet voice. "I lost my mommy..."

Ren lamented, 'Lost. Hm, there isn't a lot I can do here. It's not like I know where I am either....'

After a brief pause to think Ren asked, "What does your mother look like?" Even with a child's description he might be able to find who it was. after all from what he could tell he was out rather far from anywhere. There couldn't be too many motherly figures around could there be?

The child had lost their sense of danger very quickly even despite the odd state of Ren. "Are you going to help me find my mommy?" The two green orbs that were their eyes became round and sparkled with hope. Ren was no match for the cute puppy eyes and quickly broke down.

"Of course! I'll see you reunited with your mother even if I die!" He said rather dramatically. Inside he was unsure of course considering his own predicament but he felt that 'it couldn't be that hard, could it?'

The child quickly stood up and brushed at the dirt on their behind, failing miserably to be rid of it. However they didn't seem to mind really. "You promise?" they asked looking up at him one last time.

"Promise." Ren replied giving another "reassuring" smile. This time though it was met by words of thanks.

"Thank you mister." Their mood improved considerably it seemed, the youngster came out of their hiding spot to stand in front of Ren. "I lost my mommy when we went to the store. She was talking to the man with the apron on and so I went outside to wait and thats when it happened. I saw a cute little kitty and..."

The child went on to explain that they had wanted to pet the cat they had seen, Ren was puzzled by the term but dismissed it as unimportant, and it ended up running away. Without thinking they gave chase and followed it here to a place called "the park". When they lost sight of the cat, the child realized their mistake and didn't know what to do, opting to stay here until their mother had found them.

Ren let out a sigh but then couldn't help but laugh to himself, 'Oh how innocent. And incredibly cute. I can't believe I almost left them here...'

It was also explained that their "Mommy" looked just like them but "more beautifuler" with long hair and "big boobies". Ren felt somewhat awkward trying to imagine what the little girl described but tried anyways to no avail.

'Oh whatever....' He thought to himself. "How about I walk with you and we can go find your mother. With little legs like yours you couldn't have gone far from where she was. Perhaps she is waiting for you?" He offered his hand to the child.

"Thanks again mister." They took his hand and even were smiling now.

Ren nodded. "Of course. And you can call me Ren. What about you? You have a name don't you?"

"Ok Ren, my name is Delphine, but my friends call me Delly. Mommy always says girls should have pretty names if they're pretty like me. She says I'm so pretty I might get snatched up by strangers....." Delphine continued to talk, quickly becoming comfortable like children do. Meanwhile Ren was considering the repercussions of his actions.

'I guess I don't count as a stranger then do I...?' He thought as the two walked off to find Delphine's Mother.