Natalie's P.O.V
I threw on my cloak as I waited for Jordan to get his. Once he did, the boss continued giving us instructions. "Okay, so this is what you'll do. Head to the market as you normally would. Keep an eye out for danger, and try your best to stay out of trouble. You'll need to walk there. Flying is too dangerous with all the patrols going on from both sides. Whatever you do, don't get caught by anyone - not even if they're from our side. I can't have my best workers dying on me, now can I?"

Something about the way he said that struck me as odd, but I ignored it. Jordan and I nodded, then turned and started walking towards the market. We walked in silence for a while, ducking behind boxes and crates every so often to make sure the coast was clear. After about half an hour, we made it to the market.

We immediately started looking for the supplies - Jordan looked for the stones while I went searching for copper. I had succeeded and was waiting for Jordan when I heard a shout. Instincts kicked in, and I ducked behind a wall, poking my head out to see what was happening.

Someone in a dark-colored cloak running away from something. And that something was a patrol of Fallen Devil officers. For some reason, I found myself wanting to go after them. Natalie, what is wrong with you? You can't just go after them! However, it was too late. I was already running out after the patrol.

??? P.O.V
Darn it! How long was it gonna be before I got them off my trail?! I had started pulling some pretty risky maneuvers: ducking under stalls, running through buildings, jumping over boxes - that had slowed them down, but I was still being chased. Before I could decided my next move, I felt myself being pulled behind something and being half-dragged away at a fast pace.

"What the-" "How fast can you run?" Wait...a female voice..? "P-pretty fast, why?" "Good. I'm saving your butt, so do exactly what I say, got it?" "Okay." We ran through the market, with me following the mystery girl's every move. She went right, and I went right. She ran behind a wall, and I ran behind a wall. This went on for a while, and eventually, we lost the patrol. We stayed behind the wall we were at, hidden from sight and to catch our breath.

I looked back at the girl who had saved me. "T-thanks." She pulled her hood down and looked up at me. "Don't go pulling that kind of stuff again. I don't want to risk myself saving some random guy on the street, okay?" I was a bit taken aback, but nodded slowly. "Okay..."

We stood in silence for a bit. Then she looked up at me again. "So have you met them yet?" Knowing what she was talking about, I shook my head and held up my hand. "Nah. Still single. You?" She didn't answer. In fact, she was staring at my hand with a shocked look. This confused me, of course. "Uh, Miss? Are you okay?"

In one swift motion, she grabbed my hand in her own and pulled me closer to her, causing the two of us to blush. I was about to pull away when I realized what she was doing. She was testing whether or not we were soulmates. And as I watched, our threads - or our thread, I should say - twisted and wrapped around us, trapping us in an awkward embrace.

Natalie's P.O.V
I felt my face heating up. This can not be happening right now. All I wanted was to get copper for swords! I stared at the person ahead of me, who was apparently my soulmate. His hood had come off when the thread wrapped around us, so his face was exposed. He had tan skin, wild brown hair that looked as though it hadn't been brushed for a while, and eyes that were a deep yellow color.

He stared at me as well, seemingly studying my facial features. Then he cleared his throat. "U-um...h-hi there, soulmate! H-how's it going?" I don't know why, but his voice made me blush again. "I-it's okay, I guess." There was another awkward silence. Then he said, "S-so! Um...m-mind telling me your name?"

"O-oh, uh...I-I'm Natalie..." He nodded. "Huh. That's a neat name." "W-well, it's alright, I suppose. What's your name?" "I-I'm Lucas." "Oh. Nice name." "Thanks." We were still stuck together. Our hands were intertwined and our bodies were pressed together while we stared into each other's eyes. Then - thank goodness - I heard Jordan. "Natalie? Where'd you go? We gotta get back to the forge!" I looked back up at Lucas and smiled slightly. "Th-that's my cue. I-I have to go."

He nodded. "Y-yeah, same. My mother will be missing me." With that, our thread unwrapped so we could move again. We pulled apart, still red from the encounter, and looked at each other. Then Lucas smiled. "You know, we didn't really get to know each other that well today. How about we meet somewhere?"

This peaked my interest. "Okay. Where should we meet?" "Hm...how about the hills that rise above the two territories? Will that work?" "Yeah. As for time, how does tomorrow at dusk work?" "Works for me." "NATALIE! Where did you go off to?!" I started panicking. "I-I'll see you tomorrow at dusk!" Quickly, I threw my hood back on and ran out from behind the wall, where Jordan was looking all around the market square for me.

Jordan's P.O.V
"I'm here, Jordan." I turned to where her voice had come from, and there she was, standing in front of me, clutching her bag. "There you are! Where have you been?!" "Long story. I'll tell you about it when we get back." I nodded and started walking out of the marketplace, Natalie trailing behind.

We had been walking for about twenty minutes when I noticed that Natalie looked sort of distant. So I tapped her shoulder. "Hey, Natalie? You okay?" "Hm? Oh. Yeah, I'm good." "No, you aren't. You look kind of distracted and...hold up."

I paused and pulled her hood off. "Your face is all red. What happened to you?" Natalie hesitated for a few moments. Then she sighed and looked at her feet. "Jordan...I met him." I cocked my head to the side, confused. "Met who?" She looked back up at me, her eyes shining slightly. "My soulmate."

And here we meet our male main character! Lucas will be showing up quite often now.