A Meeting in the Rain


    <span style="font-weight:400">When Rain went on a quest to find presents for Lucus and Ise, as well as nt her new fourth bound coin, she didn’t expect to get stranded. Yet here she was.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She had already bought a super cool-looking dagger for Lucus with a wire-wrapped hilt and mottled bronze de and was searching for a gift for Ise when it started to rain. Far from bothering her, the rain had made the shopping even more exciting - that is, until the water started collecting into channels carved into the street and rushing down the city.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Now, every time she came across one of the rapidly moving streams, it got hard for her to breathe, and her heart started pounding; she could feel the water all around her crushing her and pulling her down as she drowned in the waterways under the city.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The water wasn’t enough to stop Rain, but it sure killed the fun of buying presents for her family. Every time she came across one of those evil things, it took her a few minutes to gather the courage to cross, and when she did, her shallow breathing and pounding heart made her feel like she was going to pass out.


    <span style="font-weight:400">By the third crossing, not all the water on her face came from the rain, a fact that Lon found amusing as he mocked her for her fear.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain was close to yet another stream and wishing that whoever she could feel following her would leave so she could just warp home, when she heard a voice in her head.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“Goddess! Goddess, please wait!”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain backed away from the stream and looked around for the caller.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Running down the street was a small - boy? - in a pretty blue skirt. He was maybe a few years older than Rain, with red shoulder-length hair. The boy sshed right through the small stream and came straight toward Rain.


    <span style="font-weight:400">What was going on? No one ever came near Rain if they could avoid her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you Rain?” the boy panted, cing his hands on his knees.


    <span style="font-weight:400">That caught Rain’s attention. Most people in the Crown Ring who knew about her, knew her as Raina due to Lady Estom.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, what do you want?” Rain asked, folding her arms and getting ready to act if something happened.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“I need you to save my family!”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">It was the same voice that called her goddess, and it wasn’ting from the boy in front of her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain put her back to a wall and looked around for the other person. Was she being attacked? She couldn’t think of another reason that people would track her down. Was this because of Svend?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Sorry to run you down. Swift-tail got excited when he heard a shopkeeper thinking about a creepy little girl.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain didn’t know what that meant other than that she was pretty sure she was being called creepy again. Still, the boy had been telling the truth and didn’t seem hostile.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Who’s Swift-tail?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The boy looked confused at that.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“He’s the uffter who''s been looking for you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Now, Rain was the one who was confused.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“You helped my mama evolve.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Evolve: that happened when some people read her books like Mr. Mirage and Ms. Wer. Rain’s eyes widened as she realized what an evolved uffter meant.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you here to get back at me for what I did?”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“What? No! I need you to save my family.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">That wasn’t what Rain would have expected. But if they were in trouble, then Rain owed it to them to help.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Do we need to go right now, or can it wait until tonight?”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, tonight! We don’t want that person who is following you to see.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Wait! You can tell someone is following me?”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“I could feel you worrying about it, so I looked for someone watching. I can feel their mind, but they’re too strong for me to read it from here.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain was shocked by that, this uffter could read minds! Already dozens of uses for that power were running through Rain’s head. Was this how she could hear him without actually hearing him?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You find out the creatures you experimented on are able to think, and instead of apologizing to them, you think of how to use them. You never cease to disgust me, Rain.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain winced at Lon’s rebuke.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll help you tonight, but first, who are you?” Rain asked, looking at the boy in a dress.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’m Runt. Swift-tail is my partner,” Runt said with a puffed-out chest.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain wasn’t really sure what to make of that, but he wasn’t a liar, and he didn’t seem to be a bad guy.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Can you help me with something, Runt?” Rain asked while kicking the ground.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Men like me are always supposed to help girls in need.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain didn’t quite get why he was bragging about being a man while he was dressed like a girl, but as long as he was willing to help, that was fine.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Can you help me get home then?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Why do you need help getting home?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Runt soundedpletely baffled by the request.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“The running water… It… scares me. If you hold my hand, I won’t be so scared when I step over.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain couldn’t force herself to look up; she could feel her ears going red from embarrassment. She was an evil ck sser who worked with the princes of darkness. She was so creepy and scary that others avoided her, yet here she was, asking a stranger for help because she was afraid of running water.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Swift-tail says I gotta do it, so okay. Give me your hand.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain stuck out her hand, still too ashamed to look up. That didn’t stop her from noting that Swift-tail was only talking to one of them at a time.


    <span style="font-weight:400">When a warm hand wrapped around hers, it broke her out of her downward thoughts. This boy was the fourth person to ever hold Rain’s hand; there was Ise, Lucus, Ms. White, and now Runt.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She hadn’t thought about what she was asking him to do because she was so focused on getting home.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain looked up at Runt and didn’t see any of the repulsion most people had around her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you not bothered by being around me?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Nope. Swift-tail says you’re a good person.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">That wasn’t the response Rain was expecting. Rain was a bad person; she hurt people, and she’d experimented on Swift-tails Mama. If he could read minds, he should know that. So why would he mislead Runt like this?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are these the things you’re afraid of crossing?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain nodded.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay. I’ll jump across and hold your hand while you cross.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">And just like that, Runt stepped over the rushing water while holding Rain’s hand.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain couldn’t ease her vicelike grip on his hand as she lept over the foot-and-a-half-wide stream.


    <span style="font-weight:400">That had been a lot easier than crossing them on her own.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Thanks.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Of course, it''s a man''s duty to help girls out.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The two of them walked silently for a while, repeating their routine for crossing whenever a stream got in the way until Rain couldn’t take the silence any longer. She wanted to be friends with Runt.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Um, I think your dress is cute.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">For some reason, Runt didn’t seem happy about thepliment. His face got all red.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“Stop making fun of my human.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">But she wasn’t. Rain wished people would call her cute. Why did Swift-tail think she was making fun of Runt?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not making fun of you; it''s a really pretty blue dress. I wish I had one like that.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain batted away a tendril from her cloak that started reaching out to eat Runt''s dress at her words.


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“Goddess, Lady Wervle makes him wear girly clothes. He’s very sensitive about the topic. Personally, I think more fur is better, but he doesn’t.”</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be mean!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What did you expect? You’re a horrible person who only knows how to hurt people.” Lon muttered from the side.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain needed to make this up to Runt. How could she be mean to someone who was nice to her? She fought to ignore the part of her that enjoyed seeing his ears turn red. Maybe she should tell him he has a pretty face? Nope, bad Rain.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Runt was silent for a long time until Rain heard him muttering under his breath.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll grow a beard; no one can call me girly then.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Hearing that immediately sent Rain’s mind to war over whether she should try tofort him or make him blush more. Before Rain could make another mistake, they arrived at the gates of Estom Manor.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Take this.” Rain said, pressing the old coin she had been nning to hide in the Crown Ring into Runt’s hands. “find an empty room to hide in tonight and put this coin on the floor. I’lle visit you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Ya, okay.” Runt said, looking a little off.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rain regretted embarrassing the boy when he’d helped her so much. She needed to be better. Still, it had been fun seeing him go red.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Runt took the coin and walked away without another word.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you for saving me.” Rain called to his retreating back. She was happy to see him stand a little straighter after that.