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Ranboo's shoulders slumped of boredom, glaring at their guide, while occasionally staring down at his phone, hidden near the back pocket of the student in front of him. Birds whistled through the trees, the distant sound of a river and canopies drizzling water from its source. The skies were gray in threat of rain, the sun barely casting a single ray since it rose.
He'd ducked himself into the crowd as much as he could, their back hunched, and barely register what his teacher is saying as the crowd moves forward, and he follows from the back.
He frowns at the messages displayed on their phone, an annoyance, but also a shred of emptiness in his responses.
Aimsey
( it can't be THAT bad )
( we are walking miles just to get to the city )
( it really can )
( maybe you should've done
the school work after all )
Ranboo groaned, lighting pepping his feet on the stone path in place as the teacher's words became foreign to their ears. They bit at their bottom lip anxiously, watching them, then he looked at his surroundings. There were still leaves on the trees, birds humming like they were taking note of the lesson, and a few nests stop the trees. Along there they saw a small stone path that was windy and stopped mid-way, stones barely close to the other.
And that sparked an idea in his head feeling like a small light bulb blinked in his head. He looked at the guide's mouth move, seeming so slow and dragged out. Then a hand was lifted like a small signal, a gesture to follow along, and Ranboo froze in place, going stiff as the crowd which covered him was now twisting to a separate path to the left. Ranboo took a hesitant step the opposite way, feeling sweat bead down his temple as his focus amps up.
They took one step. Then another, and then... They ran away. Surprisingly, their footsteps did not distract from the many other children. He giggled at how easy it was, how the adrenaline spiked once they dashed and how he felt like the wind itself hopping from stone to stone.
They giggled like some madman going through the clearing to a forest and slowed down as their sudden high dissolved into nothing and they were left in the middle of it, huffing out air with a smug look on their face as he pulled his phone out from his pocket, tapping on the call icon with Aimsey's profile.
It rings once, twice, thrice, fri— Aimsey picks up. Once they pick up, there is immediate sound in their ears, words being spoken through the phone with the barely noticeable static crackle of sound from the beginning of the call.
"—ow, Ran." Aimsey started, Ranboo grinning from ear to ear behind the mask at the knowing tone he'd had. He walked aimlessly as this conversation began.
"Yes, Aimsey?" He talked holding back a giggle, obvious humor in his voice and the same was for xem.
"Are you allowed to have your phone out?" She asked, Ranboo mentally seeing the quirk in her brow as she talked.
He spun slightly, almost like a ballerina or a little kid, and that made wind pick up over the phone, his smile not faltering. It was obvious they were having fun with this. "I mean, I guess I could when my teachers aren't around," Ranboo said.
There was a pause after, nothing was heard over the line, and Ran stood patient.
There was a large breath intake, and then he asked, "Ran, where are you?"
".. Now, don't freak out—"
"Oh my god," Aimsey sounds like she's muffled in between their hands.
"It's really not too bad—"
"Don't tell me you walked away, please," Aimee groaned, silence following. The silence stood long enough for them to hear the others breathing. And then, "Ran?"
"So..."
"Jesus christ," Panic lined xyr voice, making him tone down the humor he felt.
"Listen, I'm fine, there's a path— I can catch up—"
"But they don't know where you are Ran— our mums will be worried sick about you—"
"I won't be gone that long I promise," He even held out a pinky as Aimee's panic stilled with worry instead, a long sigh coming across the phone.
"You owe me so fucking much for how many times you've nearly given me a heart attack. You will be the death of me, actually," Aimsey said, a small chime of a bell over the phone.
"It's okay, Aimsey, I'll be fine. I wanted to do something here anyway," Ranboo shrugged, moving along to go further from the path.
He switched to his gps, rechecking if he'd gotten the time and place right and he looked through the notes he'd made on their phone. There lay almost undecipherable writing and strange symbols along with pictures you'd think a child would make. They knew if people saw they'd just think he was crazy, but it didn't matter, he was on his way to the first bit of evidence he'd find proof for his 'personal' project.
A key, was what it was called, though these hints had a pattern of never actually revealing the words of an item literally. Meaning; this may not be an actual key but it may just be something to use as such. To gain access to a facility, to unlock new information, or make more questions, who knows what the notes trail would contain, he just hoped it wasn't some monster guarding a chest or... something.
"What could possibly be out there for you?" Star asked, Ranboo's brows furrowing in thought, searching for some kind of excuse.
Quiet.
"You better not piss while I'm talking to you," Aimsey warned and he chuckled slightly.
"That's just gross Aimsey,"
"You knew what you were doing there, don't act so innocent," Aimsey accused and they made an inaudible motion of zipping their mouth shut.
As Ran went through the forest he met cut trees and some open areas with fewer stumps and more space. Going under another branch, they denied the possibility that they might have been lost after twisting and turning and the blur of the adrenaline rush they'd quickly forgotten the path to.
It's fine. In horror movies, their phone battery is 10 percent usually because a dumb blonde was hogging their storage with pictures. Or they just tripped and left the phone on the ground.
Thank God it isn't a horror movie then. Not only because his phone was 80 percent. And not only did he have phone signal. But he wasn't blonde. At least not for now, anyway.
If they weren't so focused on making sure Aimsey heard his voice as a small reassurance, maybe they'd have noticed the small prints of red over bark and the ground. But then the faintest sound of a gasp was caught and they stopped in their tracks, flinching. He didn't move as his pupils checked both left and right.
"Ran?" He jumped dropping the phone to the ground. He heaved quickly, chest rising and falling at the not-so-sudden scare. So he straightened themself up and swiftly picked the phone from the ground. When they faced the screen to his face though, a dark red was covering the upper half of the phone like a lens was added.
His eyes widened as he went back to a frozen statue. Aimsey was talking but he could only stare at the thick liquid on his phone.
"I'll um..." They gulped, "I'll call you back,"
"What's going on?" He sounded worried of course at the random switch of tone.
"It's just um..." He peered over another tree, a path of red— no, blood following and dwindling down it in strays. He sucked in a harsh breath, "I'll call you in a bit." And with that, they hung up with no further complaints.
They put their phone in a back pocket, reaching into the other and grabbing their pocket knife. Walking slowly, so as to not make a sound, over to where there was less blood spread. With cautious footing, they managed to stay vigilant and watch each corner and not miss a step. They saw a clearing, which would have been fine if there wasn't a person there. His breath hitched, weapon behind his back, eyes wide at the small being in front of them. The rustle of a leaf at their stop must've been enough to cause the person to stir. The person's head whipped back to them, and his eyes locked with overgrown black hair that he'd assume was covering their face.
Their hair went to their shoulders, messy and left undone and they wore something that seemed the serve the purpose of a dress. It was white and stopped below their knees, short-sleeved showing wrapped bandages around both arms. What concerned him the most was the blood that littered their knees and clothes and hands. It wasn't their blood. And what made him stop from running away was their size, the shake in their shoulders, the bruises on their legs. They looked defenseless. Cold.
And worst of all it was a child.
The long eye contact broke when the wind blew over their face, making his eyes flutter and the child shiver violently as they hugged themself. Ranboo took one step forward, the child looking back up and backing away. He considered if he'd be doing this, he'd have to do it smart. "Hey, It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," Ranboo said softly, putting his knife away and keeping his voice down. The kid stayed still, watching each and every move he made like reading a book.
When he was nearly in front of them, he crouched down to get to their level, making them move away again in fear and he mentally hit himself. "Hey hey hey, It's okay, It's okay," He repeated, holding a hand out.
They backed away.
Ranboo looked away awkwardly. "Crap, uh..." They dug through the pockets of their jeans, hoping for some type of miracle. Then their hand settled on some wrapper and he pulled it out curiously. A tiny Hersheys bar. Okay. They stared at the item in his hand with interest and Ran unwrapped the small piece of candy, breaking it in two. "Here," He said with an outstretched hand.
The person crawled up slowly, warily, hands unclenched and reaching slowly to the chocolate. During that time a small piece of paper slipped from their hands and they'd caught a glance of what was written on it just before it turned over on the grass. The kid grabbed the candy before he knew it and devoured it like they were starved. Jesus.
He didn't need to be some genius to know that it'd been through a lot. If the blood didn't tell a story, the clothes and the fact she had no shoes said it all. Maybe they were running away? Could someone have tried to hurt them? Did he hurt someone? He was cut from his thoughts after the child coughed, looking up at him with confusion. "Um..." He passed her another Hershey and this time they took it gently though stuffing it in his mouth rather fast. "Crumb," He started, catching their attention immediately. "Will you tell me what happened?" He asked quietly. Crumb simply stared, tilting it's head. "Okay, uh... What happened to your parents? Guardians?" His shoulders hiked at the word 'Guardians'. Eyes wide, shaking their head back and forth and starting to back away again but Ran placed a gentle grip on their shoulders.
"It's okay, it's okay, breath, you won't go back, I won't make you," Ranboo reassured her, pulling out another thing from his pocket. That seemed to work as a highly successful distraction for Crumb, taking it gratefully and biting into it. Though it didn't budge with the wrapper still around it so he opened it and he tried again. This time as Crumb bit, her face scrunched at the taste, spitting it out and throwing the snack he'd given him.
Ranboo huffed with amusement, bringing both their hands to their sides and shifting to ease the ache in their feet. "How about this, Crumb, I have an idea," He perked up and Crumb listened. "We find someplace to get you warm and then find some actual food for you to eat?" He offered, rising to his height and holding a hand out for them.
Crumb grabbed their hand, though getting up proved to be difficult as she found herself swaying on their legs, making it hang onto Ran's waist in an unintentional hug. His hands flew up in surprise but part of him warmed at the gesture despite the circumstances. Ran pulled their red hoodie from around his waist, helping pull it over their head. It was big on it, which was the main Idea since it would cover the blood that stained the shirt under it.
Without further instruction, she hopped on his back once he bent down. As he walked, Crumb simply observed their surroundings while holding onto the only thing that brought it warmth. They brought their phone to their ear as they dialed, a whole new anxiety festering in his stomach. It rang once, twice, and then—
"Ran? What the hell happened?" Aimsey asked, fear in stars voice.
"Aimsey, uh..." They took a deep breath, shaking out their nerves. "How long until you're on break?" He asked.
"Wha— huh? It's in 2 hours, why?" Xey asked with more confusion than worry.
He jumped up, helping Crumb adjust slightly, feeling it slip down, and focused on keeping them up rather than sliding down. "Tell them It's an emergency,"