PROTECT

Almathea got three pairs of clothes while Zingel got two pairs of trousers and three shirts.

Zingel was the most excited out of the three. "Wear. Wear. Wear." He kept on muttering underneath his breath.

Evy gave him a small smile and tip-toed to pat his head. Since she was so short, her hand paused in the air for a few seconds before she awkwardly patted the area just below his shoulder. Zingel turned to look at her, a smile still on his face. "As long as you're happy." Evy smiled up at him.

He bent his head and rubbed his hair onto her still outstretched palm, "Zingel happy. Very happy."

Almathea still did not understand why watching their interactions felt very awkward. She had just walked in from the changing room. The clothes that she had chosen to wear were a little on the dark side. It was a pair of trousers that were dark brown in color. A brown jacket covered her green undershirt and she had a brown hat covering her pale blue tresses. The clothes were comfortable and easy to move in.

Evy's clothes were of the same design, however, her undershirt was a brighter purple color. Zingel's own undershirt was a dark shade of blue that almost looked black.

After Evy paid the shopkeeper, the trio left the shop. Zingel had taken the backpack off of Almathea's shoulders and had strapped it onto his back as they walked.

"Shall we go to the guild next?" Evy turned and asked Almathea. The latter had no qualms. Using Evy's superior method of searching for things, they arrived at a large building a few minutes later.

The building exterior was painted white, and a wooden board hung at the opening. There were a few people standing outside the door speaking in hush tones. Almathea immediately recognized them as the ones who were seated next to them during dinner the previous night. The girl was not among them.

However, Almathea did not move to speak to them as she felt a little nervous. However, in Evy's eyes, she looked a little bit cold instead. Therefore, Evy walked forward and patted one of the taller men's arms. "Excuse me, is this the guild?"

The man turned, and almost immediately, he sneered. "Why would a little girl like you be looking for the guild? Are ya lost?" He stood almost two heads over Evy who was already unnaturally short. His skin was pale and his eyes were a dark blue color. A scar ran down his cheek and disappeared under his chin. His cheeks were gaunt, and there was a light red stain next to his left eye.

Evy shook her head politely, "No. I have business in the guild."

This caused the men to break out in laughter, "What would a child be needing in the guild. It ain't no place for a pretty little girl like you." One of the darker-skinned men spoke up. He had a smirk on his face, and his eyes seemed to tilt up in an uncomfortable way. Although he had no scars on his face, his arms were covered in scars that disappeared underneath his clothes.

Evy glanced up at them, anger bubbling up in her stomach. However, she took in a deep breath to calm herself. She was, after all, quite short. "I found the guild." She turned to the two children who were with her.

Zingel, although he did not quite understand what was happening, easily noticed the hostility that the people had to the nice-smelling Evy. He growled, and, without warning, a pair of light gray ears popped up at the top of his head.

Almathea, who was standing next to him, was the first to notice the anomaly. Surprised, she pulled the hat that was on her head off and shoved it down his own head. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

She had a strong feeling that something would go wrong if they realized that he could morph into a tiger.

Luckily, the men did not notice anything abnormal. However, they were bent on not allowing Evy into the building. With their tall builds that towered over her, it almost looked like they were bullying a little child.

The shortest of the three men laughed, "Little girl, even if you really are of age, do you think that the guild will allow you to sign even though you're surely wea…"

This time, Almathea was unable to hold Zingel back in time, before he had shot out from her grasp. However, just as sudden as that was, Almathea found her body moving forward.

At that moment, three things happened in simultaneous motion. The first thing that happened, was that the short man who was speaking placed his hand on Evy's shoulder, and pressed down hard. The second thing that happened was Zingel shooting forward. His fingertips extended into claws and he raised them, ready to slash down at the man who had placed his fingers on Evy.

The third thing that happened shocked everyone, which caused even Zingel, the one who was going to try and protect Evy, to become stunned and unable to move.

Evy raised her hand and wrapped it around the wrist of the man who had placed his palm on her shoulder. "How dare you," she pressed hard, until they heard something crunch, "place your hand on me!"

With one swift motion, she had flipped the man behind her, over her shoulder. He landed on his back, causing a large crack to sound around them. Zingel, whose nails had already retracted back into his fingers, shuddered and went to hide behind Almathea.

Almathea on the other hand was frozen in shock as she stared at Evy. One of her eyebrows was raised, and the hand that Zingel held behind her shook ever so slightly. Even then, when Evy turned back to them, she was unable to hide her surprise.

However, in anyone else's eyes, the slightly raised brow seemed more like she was asking Evy if that was the best that she could do when dealing with trash like the man before him.

This was a unique trait with members of Almathea's family, from her father to her elder brother, although she did not know of it. Their faces would seem to be frozen stiff no matter what they did. Thus, even if they were surprised, or shocked, or angry, it would not show on their faces, unless someone really understood them.

Therefore, at this moment, the interpretation that Evy got when she turned to look at her two companions, was that Almathea was mocking her for not taking care of the insect sooner. However, Zingel was peeking over Almathea's shoulder.

This was quite the comical sight, considering the fact that Zingel was much taller than Almathea was. Therefore, he had to bend his knees down slightly in order to hide his whole body from Evy.