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She ran through the night in fear of pursuit. The rain poured down harshly, striking her face and washing away her tears as strong winds from the ongoing storm pushed her further back towards the shadow chasing her down. She was desperate and cold. Yet she dared not falter; her life was in danger. The shadow slowly gained on her as she became more and more exhausted. She ran through to a park and tripped over an exposed root, struggling to get up. However, the shadow was near, and she froze in fear. She didn't want to die. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and it felt as if it would explode any second. No no no no no, she thought frantically, I can't die like this! She quickly forced herself to move, every fiber in her being failing to cooperate. Eventually she found herself standing up once again and taking off, her pursuer now just yards away from her. She dodged through alleyways of the dark streets of the city in hopes of losing the one chasing her. Unfortunately, the shadow appeared to know those same streets as well, eventually cornering her in a dead end alley. Her body pressed against the wall, her mind screamed to find a means to escape but to no avail. The shadowy figure that had been chasing her this entire night had finally caught her. The downpour of rain drenched her shaking form, thunder roaring ahead made it seem impossible to cry for help. Even so, she felt she needed to try. After all it was the only thing she could do now: cry for help and pray that it comes. She opened her mouth to scream with whatever she had left as the shadow crept closer.

Her ears heard the sound of a song, before she fainted out of sheer exhaustion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Later on~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She awoke to the noise of rustling and warmth. Precious warmth. She sighed in content as the warmth seeped through her entire body and stretched due to its comforting charm. She scanned the place she was in, piecing together that she was in a room of some kind. It was white, with a few decorative designs all over. She was laying in a bed with all of her bruises and scrapes all patched up. She slowly sat up to look around this new place. Guess I'm dead, she wondered with a sigh.
"Ah! You're finally up! Good," a voice called out to her. With a start, she spun her head towards an open door where a girl stood. This girl wore a black sweater hoodie with the right sleeve torn off as well as dark blue jeans and sneakers. She had a short hair cut with bangs that shifted off towards the right, making her look similar to a certain male pop singer. This same girl walked over to her, a smile plastered on her face.
"What's your name?" the girl asked her, her voice a lot more gentle.
"...Layla," she replied softly, still trying to figure out what had happened.
"Layla. What a pretty name," the girl commented happily, "Mine's Blake. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too?" Layla was still confused about her situation. Am I alive or dead, she wondered to herself, I can't even tell anymore. Blake let out a chuckle of amusement. Despite the circumstances, Layla found Blake to be friendly despite such a mystery.
"I found you out cold last night and brought you into my room," Blake explained, as if reading Layla's thoughts, "I was the one that patched you up. If you need anything, just let me know, okay?"
"Um, sure Blake," Layla replied politely, "Where and how exactly did you find me anyway?"
"Your body was slumped on a wall in an alley close to my apartment," Blake continued to explain, "I heard a song for a little while, and then the next thing I knew I found you lying cold in the rain. What I wanna know is what happened to you?" Layla stayed silent for a while, trying to put her ordeal into words. All she could really remember was that she was chased around by that shadow, and felt that it was after her life. She tried her best to explain all of it to Blake, who nodded her head in understanding.

"Well, if it helps, you can stay with me for the rest of the weekend," Blake offered, "I would help you longer, but I have school. And I live alone here so no one will be able to care for you while I'm away."
"What school do you go to?" Layla asked curiously. Blake blinked in surprise, then face-palmed as she recalled the night she found Layla. At the time, Layla looked like she was wearing some sort of uniform. A white blouse underneath a black blazer trimmed with crimson red with a matching skirt and bow across her collar. That's the uniform of Cor Fortium High, Blake reduced mentally, the same school I go to.
"Cor Fortium High," Blake answered, turning away to walk towards the closet in the room. She opened the door and took out a pristine uniform herself. However, much to Layla's surprise, Blake had pulled out the male's uniform instead, replacing the bow with a sable tie, white blouse for white collared shirt, and black slacks for the skirt. "You must be wondering why I don't wear the female's uniform," Blake chuckled, watching Layla's surprised reaction, "I asked to wear this since I wasn't comfortable with the skirt. After a bit of back and forth, I managed to convince them. And that's why I have this instead. It's so much easier on me, honestly."
"I... see," Layla answered, still in awe. It was so convenient that the same person who saved her happened to have enrolled in the same school as her. How she never saw Blake before on the school grounds was quite mysterious though.
"And I assume you already know I attend the same school, since I'm not in my torn up uniform anymore," Layla spoke up, looking herself over. She was wearing a simple indigo tee and a pair of grey basketball shorts. She also breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized her own undergarments. Blake rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Well... um," Blake tried to find her words. This time, it was Layla who let out a tiny giggle. Blake sighed with a smile; it was good to see that Layla was feeling much better. From how everything looked last night, she wasn't sure if Layla would be able to smile in comfort anymore.
"Since we both go to the same school, and it's a Saturday today," Blake began, catching Layla's attention, "I was wondering if it would be okay for me to care for you here this weekend. I'll take you back to your dorm Sunday night, I promise."
"And how do you know I live in the dorms?" Layla questioned teasingly. Blake smirked, not wanting to back down.
"Checked your pockets on the inside of your skirt while you were out last night and found a badge to get into the building," she answered simply. Blake tried to keep a straight face before bursting into laughter as Layla blushed bright red.
"Blake!" Layla yelled outright as said girl continued to howl in laughter at her flustered state.
"Sorry, sorry! Relax, I looked at it after I switched you out of your uniform back up here," Blake quickly clarified, still struggling to stop laughing. She did eventually calm down and cleared her throat. "But in all seriousness, what do you say?" Blake asked again. Layla looked pensive for a bit. She didn't know where she was since it was dark that night, not to mention that Blake was the only one who knew how to get her back to her place in the dorms. It would make sense, but she didn't want to intrude just like this.
"Then I'll take you on that offer," Layla answered at last, to Blake's relief, "But just one condition: let me help you out around the house. It's the least I can do for you saving me then."
"Sure. Whatever floats your boat," Blake replied nonchalant.
"Great!" Layla shot up from the bed, immediately groaning in pain as her tired muscles screamed at her temporary ignorance to her current condition. Blake began laughing again, helping to ease Layla back to lying down again.
"Easy there, you eager beaver," Blake laughed, "You can start helping when you're feeling a lot better. Now just rest up; you're gonna need it."

Blake closed the door to her bedroom where Layla was resting quietly. She couldn't help but to recall back to how she found Layla in the first place. That song, Blake wondered, I wonder how she knows it? She remembered back to the time that it happened. She was just about to go to sleep when she felt a sharp pain on her right arm. It was a searing pain, and she knew exactly what it meant. The Calling, she thought to herself. It was something that she had learned to be the cause of the pain on her right arm. The bandages hid away a special tattoo placed on herself; something that was distinctive to what she was. Through the white bandages she could see the black glow of the tattoo, feeling its power moving swiftly throughout her body. She followed her instinct to a dark alley where she noticed a slumped over body of a girl with a shadow towering right above her.
"Back off, bud," Blake growled lowly, gaining the shadow's attention. It turned its body toward her and roared. "This must be one of those Ires that I've heard so much about," Blake hummed in amusement, readying herself. She was still in training to control her tattoo, but she knew she was more than capable of taking out an Ire. Ires were shadow-like figures that can't be seen normally. From what Blake was taught, there were only two types of people who could actually see and interact with Ires; the Guardians and the Knights. Guardians were like angels with heavenly voices as well as actual wings for the more high level ones. Although they aren't really suited for combat, they can summon weapons to use. Knights, on the other hand, were much more suited for combat, and were usually bound to a contract with a Guardian. The Guardian would summon a Knight by using the Knight's "song", a unique call for every individual Knight. Blake knew for a fact that the girl slumped against the wall behind the Ire was a Guardian, and since that Guardian knew her song, she must be of some importance to Blake. In no time, Blake made quick work of the Ire, reducing it into a pile of ash that was washed away in the rain.
"How interesting," Blake commented aloud as she approached the girl, "This one goes to my school. I should probably keep an eye on her. She could be the one I was looking for." Not wanting to play in the rain any longer, she picked the unconscious girl up into her arms and carried her back to her home.

This will be interesting indeed, Blake thought after reminiscing the entire night. She smiled, wondering about what would be happening next.