Pinkamena and Maud walked into the bustling guild hall, a sack of money strapped to Maud's belt. The two looked around to see the usual thing. Thunderlane was flirting with the cloud sisters, who were going head over heels for the act. She rolled her eyes at the stupidity these sky bound were displaying. Various people were about the hall either scanning the job board, eating dinner, or getting a drink from the bar. 'A drink actually sounds good right now.' Pinkie nodded to herself and walked over to the bar followed by Maud.
The two sisters took their seats and Pinkamena ordered a mug of hard cider. Not long after, a muscular blonde bounty hunter came over and took a seat. "One mug of cider." She said blankly to the bartender in her usual country accent. The bartender nodded and turned to get her drink. She gave a sideways glance to Pinkamena and sighed. "How'd the job go, Pie?"
Pinkamena shrugged, "the usual. How about yours, Apple?"
The woman shrugged, "usual." The bartender slammed a drink onto the counter and she picked it up, taking a drink from it. "Thanks, Berry."
"No problem, Applejack." The woman said. She wore a simple purple shirt with a couple bunches of grapes sewn onto the pocket.
Her real name was Jacquelyn but everyone just called her by her nickname 'Applejack'. It was just easier for everyone that way and she never seemed to care. Then again, the only thing she ever showed love to was her partner in crime, Winona. That dog never left her side. Pinkamena smirked and took a drink from her mug. Applejack was the only other bounty hunter in this place she actually considered as a friend. Term used loosely, friends weren't an everyday thing anymore and hadn't been for some time. In this world, 'friends with benefits' was about the closest you got. Partner worked to.
"So, what job are you going after next?" She asked, noticing the scroll in the country woman's hand.
"Some creatures in the Everfree Forest are causin' trouble again." She sighed and tapped the counter. "Winona and ah leave t'morrow mornin' ta go an' kill em."
The pink haired Earth Dweller nodded and took another drink from her mug. "Sounds tedious. What are you dealing with?"
"Usual. Manticores an' those blasted Timberwolves. It's been sittin' up there fer a while though. Might as well get it outta the way, not like anyone else here is gonna bother." Applejack shrugged and leaned a hand down to pet her beloved dog.
"No one else is crazy enough to go in there, except for Maud and myself that is." Pinkamena pointed out.
"It really ain't that bad once ya know what the hell yer doin'."
"People are idiots. Enough said."
"Ain't that the truth." Applejack sighed, "ah'll talk with ya later." She turned back to her drink, dumping her head back and pouring it's remaining content down her throat. The blonde stood up and left the bar, closely followed by her furry partner.
Pinkamena nodded and turned back to her drink. "Maud, what should our next job be?"
"I'm not sure... We can take a look in the morning. For now, lets just get some sleep." The young woman said as she gazed into her own drink.
'Always the voice of reason.' Pinkamena thought as she slowly nodded. "Alright, sounds good." The two finished their drinks and got up from the bar, heading to the living quarters of the guild hall. Bounty hunters often times didn't have a home because of how busy they were so the guild would give them a place to sleep, granted they were doing jobs.
Pinkamena and her sister had known many hunters to be kicked from the guild for thinking they could have a place to sleep without working for it. Over the years, Pinkamena had seen only two reasons that anyone was crazy enough to lead this kind of life. They wanted the money, or they wanted revenge. She was one of the bounty hunters that did it for a purpose, had an actual reason to do it beyond the money.
Maud looked at her sister knowingly. "Another mental rant?"
"Yes..." She said after a long moment of silence. "It just drives me crazy that people do this for money and nothing more. Like that's all that matters!" Pinkamena slammed a balled up fist on the wall and closed her eyes, letting out an angry sigh. She let herself calm down for a moment and walked over to one of the beds. "Let's just get some sleep."
Maud nodded and the two girls removed their armor. Pinkamena was left in a dull pink shirt and her underwear and maud in her dull purple one with underwear as well. They climbed into their designated beds and closed their eyes, quickly falling asleep.
Morning came by soon enough, waking the two girls with sunlight that poured into the room through the few small windows. Pinkamena yawned deeply and sat up in bed, groggily rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She threw the worn, brown covers off of her and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. 'Another day, another job.' She got out of bed and quickly got her pants and armor on.
Maud awoke shortly after to see her sister trying to strap her chest plate on and got out of bed. She stepped up to her sister and started doing the straps, seeing her tense up at the sudden outside contact. "Relax, it's just me." She stated calmly as she tightened the straps.
Pinkamena visibly calmed down and let out a sigh of relief as the paranoia passed. "Sorry... I thought you were- You know..." She cut herself off, now wanting to state her fears.
The purple haired young woman nodded, "I know." She stated, grimacing at the memory. Maud hated the reminders as much as her sister did but what pained her more was the emotional and mental affects it had on the girl.
Night terrors were a constant thing for the pink haired girl but she had been doing a little better just this past year. She stood still as Maud tightened the last strap and thanked her sister before grabbing her knee and shoulder pads and getting them on. "Thanks. Sleep well?"
"Yes. How about you?" Maud tried to mask the concern best she could but it didn't go unnoticed by the young bounty hunter.
"I slept fine... No nightmares last night." Pinkamena added, knowing the routine well enough to know that would be the next question.
Maud nodded satisfied and got her clothes and armor on. Once the two were dressed, they headed into the main hall and sat down at the bar to order breakfast before they went looking for the next job.
Pinkamena impatiently tapped the counter with a finger and sighed. "I'll go check out the job board for something simple. Wind down after the last job." It was something they did so that they could keep busy and still be able to 'rest' between major jobs.
"No, choose a serious one. That last job was child's play compared to what it was made out to be." Maud said.
"True, no resting period needed for a few run of the mill bandits." She walked over to the job board and scanned the many parchment papers tacked up to the board. 'Let's see...' Pinkamena saw the usual. A few lost item bounties, a few burglaries, some lost pet ones but what really caught her eye was a missing person case. She stared at it for a bit before snatching it from the board and going back over to her place at the bar as a bowl of gruel was set in front of her. She set the paper down between her and her sister and poured some cream, sugar and cinnamon into the mushy cereal before stirring it all together.
Maud took a bite of her grits and glanced at the paper. "Missing person file huh? Interesting, those only come around about maybe once a month."
"Yup. They bring in good money though, enough to live off of for a month at least. We need to get our equipment fixed and replaced soon anyway. That will cover the costs." Pinkamena reasoned.
The silver haired young woman nodded, "Yes it will, but I'm saying that there have already been two others just this past month."
Her eyes widened for only a second before she recomposed herself. "This is the third one?"
She nodded and nonchalantly took a bite of her food as she said, "check the job logs if you don't believe me. Applejack took care of one of them and Bon Bon took care of the other."
Pinkamena sighed. If it was in the job logs then there was no denying it. After anyone accepted a job they had to record it in the log book with the day they accepted it and then record it again the day they completed it and their profits for the job. If you went through the book you'd find that at least twice per page, a job was marked incomplete. More often than not it was because the person who accepted it had died. Depending on how good of a hunter they were, there was something held in their honor. If they were one of the greats, there would be a feast. If they weren't all that great, friends toasted to them and went on with life.
This reminded the girl that she needed to go and sign it up and she dropped her spoon in the steaming bowl of mush, getting to her feet. She walked over to the book and grabbed the quill at the side, dipping it into the ink and going to the next empty line as she quickly, but neatly, scribbled down her and Maud's names and the job they were taking. She then wrote down the reward upon completion and today's date under 'date accepted'. Once all this was done, she set the quill down and walked back over to her sister, taking a seat. "We're signed up now as officially having accepted the job." Maud gave her a silent nod as she sat back down, remembering the few times where an incomplete job really was a loss.
There were only two occasions where anyone was truly mourning the loss, both times it was because a great died. Even then though, it was only the ones that knew them that would. Pinkamena wasn't around when the first one died but the second one... She shook her head. This was no time to get distracted. "No, if you say it's there, it's there." She bit her lip nervously as she scanned the job. "Hey, do you think those other two and this one are connected somehow?"
Maud thought for a second and shrugged.
The pink haired girl sighed and nodded as she turned her full attention to her breakfast, devouring it greedily. It wasn't to much longer before they had finished breakfast and were off, scroll in hand, to the address written on the bottom. As they walked she mulled over what little detail was written on the scroll, a tad wary as to what could possibly have led a simple farmer to post up a job. Usually the guard handle things like a missing kid. Their egos prevent them from sending these jobs in the direction of the guilds until all other options were exhausted.
They had a bit of a love-hate relationship. Loved what the other did, didn't quite agree with how they went about it. She took into account that very little was posted up on the job, so the guy at least had a brain. Typically, a job is given only the necessities to get the job accepted. That usually boiled down to how much the one under contract would get paid, and what the job was. This one was slightly more detailed with a picture and a down payment price. If this guy was willing to do down payment, the person must be important. With that in mind, she turned her gaze to the photograph taped crudely to the scroll.
It was a smiling little girl that wore a bright yellow dress and had her amber hair done up in a loose braid down her back, tied back with a brown hair tie and what looked like a burn mark on her left arm. The scar is what attracted Pinkamena's attention first, curious as to how the girl obtained it. She seemed to be a very happy young child. It wasn't unlike how she remembered herself being years back. Smiling face, bubbly personality, endless energy. That is what this picture reflected anyway. "Maud, you think this girl is his daughter?" She asked suddenly.
The older woman tapped her chin, keeping the vacant expression plastered on her face as she shrugged. "Probably. It would make perfect sense given the situation, and the fact that this job scroll was hastily done makes him seem desperate to get this girl back."
Pinkamena nodded. "You're right, I guess we'll know for sure soon enough."
The two walked in silence from there on, ignoring the curious, frightened and even angry stares they got from the citizens out and about as they passed. They'd grown used to the looks over the years, learning from their young mentor that it was normal. The women had taken this advice to heart and quickly learned to ignore the looks they often got. Walking side by side, indifferent looks on their face, the two made their way through the town and to the outskirts, where they veered off down a beaten path.
Leaving the bustle of the small town, the smell of fertilizer filled the air and the houses became fields and barns. They'd left the small village behind and it had opened up to vast amounts of farmland, this town's main source of income. Pinkamena drank in the surroundings of farm life and let its familiarity sink in, though her experience was a bit different. She looked over to see that Maud was having a similar reaction and smiled a little as she allowed herself a few minutes to dwell on it.
Her fantasizing came to an end when she stopped at the fence of a horse ranch, the familiar sounds of neighing and whinnying surrounding her. A light brown pony mare with a long white mane and tail strutted up to her and shoved its large muzzle into her face and snorted at her. "Hey!" She shoved the creature's face away only to have it defiantly shove it back at her and snort louder as it sniffed her. She glared at the pony and was about to shove it away when a whistle rang out.
"Over here Daisy, come on!" Pinkamena noticed it as a man's voice and sighed internally as the beast turned its head in the direction of the noise and trotted away and disappeared into a barn. A few minutes later a young man walked out, brown hair slicked back and skin shiny from the sweat that also drenched his button up caramel colored shirt. He had a hammer in one hand and a horseshoe in the other as he moved up an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Sorry about her, she's friendly." The country accent was there for sure, but nowhere near as thick as Applejack's she noted to herself. "So, what can I do ya... For..." She noticed his emerald green eyes trail to the scroll in her hand and the weapons at their sides. Realization struck him like a bag of bricks but relief at the same time. "Gimme a sec to put these away, I just finished up." With that, he turned and went into the barn.
Pinkamena looked silently at her sister, whose now vacant gaze glanced at her in an unspoken conversation. They were officially at work now, and that meant absolutely no funny business. It was only a few more minutes before the young man came back out with a towel around his neck, rubbing the worst of the sweat off his face. "Come on, let's talk inside."
The two followed the rancher down the dirt road to a farmhouse further down the beaten path. She noticed that not only were there horses, but a chicken coop and a small field for growing crops, probably just to live off of and not for any form of profit. He opened the door to the house to let the two girls in and followed behind them. The young man motioned to the couch and walked into the kitchen. "I'll be back in a minute or two."
They looked at each other and then went to take a seat. She noted the homey feeling of the small house despite the fact that the family was fairly poor. The furniture was all worn and broken in and there were only a couple spare shoes lined on the wall near the door. The windows only had simple wooden shutters to protect them from the elements and she assumed that the cellar door was out back. Some coats were hanging up in a small nook in the wall and in front of them was a simple wooden table.
The man came back out with an older woman and a tray with drinks on it. He set the tray on the table and sat down in a chair on Pinkamena's right while the older woman sat down in the rocking chair. "So, we finally got a response on that job. We can't thank you enough for coming down."
Maud nodded silently and Pinkamena set the scroll on the table. "Let's get down to business. Tell us a bit about this kid. What's her relation to you, how long has she been missing, where was she last seen." She got right to the point, prepared to discuss everything and then get to work. "Before all that though, lets get the basics out of the way. What is her name? What is your name?"
The young man nodded, "I'm Caramel Johnson, and this is our mother, Delilah. The girl in the photo is my kid sister, Charolette. She'd been acting weird for a few weeks before finally disappearing a month ago. We had contacted the guard to help us look for her but they ended the search two weeks ago and said there was no point and that it was hopeless. Guards were needed for more important things than finding a lost kid." He got angrier as he spoke, clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He was clearly unsatisfied with the whole situation.
Delilah placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him comfortingly. "Calm down and tell them what they need to know, young man."
He sighed and nodded, unclenching his hands as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "It started about a month ago, she'd just come home from school..."
A young girl came skipping joyfully down the path with a beaming smile on her face and a half eaten apple in her hand. A simple brown book-bag clung to her back and a pair of brown boots kicked up dirt on the road. Caramel looked up from his work when he heard her joyous humming and smiled as he stood up, hauling a large hay bale into the cart. He grunted as he set it down and dusted his hands off, closing the cart. She bounded up to him and beamed, "hey caramel!" She said excitedly as se jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, propping her butt up with his hands as he looked at the young girl with a friendly smile, chuckling. "Hey buttercup, how was school?"
The girl giggled at the use of her nickname and beamed, "school was great, I made a new friend today! He's really cool."
Caramel eyed his sister with a playful glare, "he? Do I need to punch some boy trying to hook up with my little sister?" He wouldn't admit it, but he was half serious.
"Caramel!" The girl exclaimed, giggling. "It's not like that!"
"Not yet." He finalized with a teasing smirk.
Charolette glared playfully and released his neck, sliding out of his hold and dropping to the ground. "Whatever, mister jealous." She teased.
He mocked sarcastic shock and placed a hand on his chest. "Who, me? I never!..."
They glanced at each other and burst into laughter, tears squeaking out of their eyes and running down their faces. When they finally calmed down, he placed a hand on her back and guided her towards the house. "Come on, mom made cookies for the snack today." Her eyes lit up at the mention of cookies and she took off down the road towards the house.
Pinkamena cocked an eyebrow at him, "I'm not seeing the problem here. This sounds like a normal, happy kid who made a friend."
He sighed and shook his head. "That was just the beginning of it. Ever since she met this mystery friend, she started acting weird. Let me finish up for you. You see, it wasn't to noticeable at first but after a few days..."
Charolette walked down the road with a rather calm expression on her face and any trace of her usual excited demeanor was all but non existent now. She shouldered her backpack and her usual frilly yellow dress was replaced with a simple cream colored shirt and jeans. She usually didn't wear her work clothes for around the farm to school but it was a bit different today, and she was tired just that morning. Caramel was worried about her, and it was evident in his tone when she quietly passed him.
"Hey buttercup, how was school?" He asked, trying to hide his worry.
It brought hope to him when she perked up at the nickname but it didn't last long as when she turned to him with her big smile and opened her mouth, it quickly shut again as she lost the spark. His heart sank when she gave him a warm smile and answered, "school was fine." Why was she calm? She was always eager to tell him about her day. Why was she calm?
He nodded and forced a smile. "So, how's your new friend?"
"He's fine."
Fine. That was all she said now. Fine.
"How about your other friends? How are they?"
She shrugged. "They don't talk to me anymore, they're jealous of him. I don't want to talk to them anymore, they're mean."
Caramel almost did a double take as he dropped the hay bale in his hand and gaped at her. "What? But they've been your best friends since kindergarten."
She shrugged again. "They changed." With that, Charolette turned back to the path and walked away. Just like that.
He glanced down at the bale of hay at his feet; trying to process what he'd just heard. His little sister just dumped her best friends from childhood because they got jealous of her new friend? That was not his sister who just said it. Her friends always welcomed newcomers with open arms, he knew of more than one person off the top of his head that his little sister had befriended that her friends accepted immediately into the group. They even had an initiation ritual for all they welcomed.
Cautiously, he leaned down and grabbed the hay bale, hefting it into the cart and going up to the drivers seat, patting the horse's neck and grabbing the reigns as he led it towards the barn. What was wrong with his little sister? He heard a whinny and looked at the light brown pony named Daisy as she nudged his shoulder and looked into his eyes. She could sense his distress and he knew it, smiling solemnly when she nuzzled his cheek and nibbled at a loose strand of hair.
He chuckled and rubbed her nose, placing his forehead on hers. "I know girl, I'm worried to." The horse huffed and hung her head, continuing her slow trudge down the path. Charolette was her best friend, so he knew she was just as worried as him.
Pinkamena leaned back against the couch, thinking seriously about what he'd just explained. "So, she started acting like this just a couple of days after meeting this guy?"
Caramel nodded, "yeah... She'd really worried me, and that wasn't even the worst of it before... Before..." He trailed off and hung his head, unable to finish the sentence. A tense silence filled the air around them for what seemed like ages before he spoke up again.
"Anyway, I better finish the story..." He sighed and dove back into the explanation.
It was an early Saturday morning and Caramel was setting the breakfast table while the smell of eggs and the sizzle and pop of bacon filled the room with a tempting aroma, causing his stomach to grumble and voice it's continued cry for food. Delilah chuckled as she pushed the eggs around the skillet. "Tame that beast, Caramel you'll be fed soon. In the meantime, go wake up sleepyhead when you finish setting the table."
Caramel rolled his eyes and laughed as he finished setting the last of the places up and nodded. "Yes mom, I'll be right back." He headed up to the stairs and walked up them, heading down the hall to her room. He noticed the door slightly ahar, she must've not closed it all the way last night.
He chuckled at the lump covered by bedsheets and walked up, grabbing the sheets and pulling them off. "Morning sleeping beauty!" He shouted loudly.
The girl shot up with a startled gaze that quickly twisted into a glare when her eyes settled on her brother. She snarled and plopped back into the bed, snatching the covers back up and rolling on her side, pulling the patchwork quilt up over her head a grumbling tiredly. He sighed and pulled the covers back down from her head and looking at her. "Hey, you feeling okay Buttercup?"
"Don't call me that." She deadpanned. "I'm to old for childish nicknames."
Caramel felt like she'd just driven a dagger through his heart with those words. "You'll always be my little Buttercup." He stated calmly, earning a more hardened glare.
"I said don't call me that!" She shouted as she sat up in the bed and grumbled as she slid out of it. Her white nightgown fell to her ankles as her feet hit the floor and she shoved him out of her room. "Get out so I can get dressed." She spat as she pushed him into the hall and slammed the door shut.
He winced as the door hit his head a little and sighed, heading down the stairs more than a little hurt by what she'd said. When he came back into the kitchen, Delilah was filling each plate up with the hearty breakfast and had poured some milk into each cup. He plopped down into a chair and sighed as he absently pushed the eggs around his plate. Delilah sat across from him and raised an eyebrow.
Caramel glanced up at her and sighed before looking back down when she spoke up. "What happened up there Caramel?" She said suddenly.
He took a bite of his eggs and let out yet another sigh. "She doesn't want me to use her nickname anymore, and she looks exhausted despite having gone to sleep early last night... I'm really worried about her. First she dumps her friends, then we get a note saying she's acting up in school and now she's acting like a little jerk." He spouted out.
Delilah nodded sadly, "I know, she's acting strangely. Maybe it'll pass soon."
"I hope so..."
The young man hung his head and his mom patted him on the back, looking up at Pinkamena and Maud. The pink haired bounty hunter was sitting up, waiting for the last bit of it. Delilah nodded, "she went to school on Monday and didn't come home. When we went to go find out, the school just said that a boy had recently dropped out Friday and they had no knowledge of her leaving the school early, or that she never made it home."
Pinkamena nodded, "and all that led you to the guild after the guards failed to locate her?" She got a nod in response and leaned back in her seat, pondering the information. The tension in the air was so thick, she could cut it with a butter knife. After a long moment of silence, she spoke up again.
"one thing is clear, and that's the fact that whoever this kid is, he's partly responsible for the disappearance. I think we can take it from here, thank you for the information." Pinkamena stood and stretched, glancing at her ever silent sibling. "Come on Maud, we need to get going." She walked over to Caramel and placed a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up at her she gave him a small, sympathetic smile. "We'll find your sister, I promise." She nodded to her sister and headed towards the door.
Maud nodded and stood up, following her sister out the door of the house and down the path towards the exit. "Our first move is the schoolhouse, I want to see what kind of information we can get from Charolette's old friends. They may know something important."
Her sister nodded curtly, "good idea."
As the two neared the gate, they heard footsteps pounding down the path. "Wait!"
She turned around upon hearing the new voice and raised an eyebrow when she saw Caramel come running down the path. He ground to a halt in front of her and Maud, breathing a bit heavily as he looked at them. When nothing was said, Pinkamena decided to break the silence.
"Well? What is it?"
Caramel gave Pinkamena a determined stare and clenched his fists. "I'm coming with you."
"What?!"