Love is in the Water
by Dandragon Wolf
All characters, minus the ones I make up, do not belong to me
(although I must admit I wish they did), they belong to their
respective creators (you know who they are), I just write stories.
Enjoy. Some yaoi and yuri and male/female content (a little bit of
everything why not. Just covering my bases here). No lemons (never
any good lemons to be found when you need them. Besides, my wife
would kill me). This is the second story in the Sorcerer in the
Makai series.
There was a scuffle of arms and legs before gravity
reasserted itself. Gateau laughed as the dirt cleared and Chocolate
and Milphey were found piled on top of Carrot.
"Sister!" Tira complained.
Marron smiled slightly and looked up at the darkening sky. There was
an inn ahead and they headed for it. They managed to enter just
before it started to rain. Marron and Gateau went to haggle for their
rooms. Milphey, Carrot, Tira, and Chocolate followed, glancing about
the tavern. They had just reached the bar when a voice called out to
them.
"Milphey?" said the voice. "Milphey Yu?"
Milphey's head whipped around.
"Guava?" he said in disbelief.
Then a smile split his face.
"Guava!"
The hunters watched in astonishment as Milphey flew towards a man.
Milphey dropped on to the man's lap.
"Milphey." the man said with a smile.
"Guava." Milphey replied with a grin.
"Give me a kiss." Guava said.
Milphey shrieked in delight and gave Guava a long kiss on the lips.
"Save some of him for us, hey lad?" a woman called out with a grin.
"How are you kitten?" Guava asked.
"Great now." Milphey replied, snuggling against Guava's body.
"I missed you too kitten." Guava said with a chuckle, running his
hands through Milphey's hair.
"Milphey?" Tira said in a puzzled tone.
"Oh!"
Milphey looked up and waved the hunters over. They went over to
Milphey and Guava, who stood up as they approached. Guava was
slightly taller than Gateau but slim like Marron, though with more
muscles. He had short blue hair, green eyes and was very handsome. He
seemed to radiate a masculine sensuality.
"Guava, these are Carrot and Marron Glaces, Chocolate and Tira Misu,
and Gateau Mocha. This is Guava Nougat."
"Hello." Guava said with a charming smile.
He shook Gateau's hand firmly, and Carrot's quickly. He kissed Tira
and Chocolate's hands and they giggled in delight. Finally Guava
gently shook Marron's hand.
"Welcome to Silken." Guava said.
"Thank you." Tira replied with a shy smile.
"We're on our way to catch a sorcerer in Marchpane." Milphey informed.
"Marchpane? Would you like some help?" Guava offered.
"Yes please." Milphey said, grinning.
"Then you must stay with us for the night." Guava offered.
"Oh we couldn't put you out." Chocolate protested.
"Don't worry. There's more than enough room for everyone. And the
others will want to meet you. We don't often get to see other
sorcerer hunters. Please say you will come." Guava requested.
"Alright." Tira agreed.
"This way then." Guava said, offering the sisters his arms. Taking
his arms, they followed Guava to the mansion that he lived in.
"You live in this?" Chocolate said in awe.
Guava chuckled, a sensual sound.
"Only one fourth of this place belongs to us. The rest is a place
where poor people live. We only have one wing. The other wings are
for everyone." he explained.
"Oh. Wise." Tira commented.
"Thank you." Guava said with a slight tilt of the head. "Please
enter."
They entered the mansion to meet two women and two men.
"These are Papaya, Spice, Sugar, and Halvah." Guava introduced.
Papaya was a cute, purple haired, blue eyes girl of Marron's height.
Spice and Sugar were a pretty sister and brother, obviously twins,
with blond hair and grey eyes and were shorter than Tira. Halvah was
good looking with green hair and purple eyes and was as tall as
Chocolate.
"Welcome." Halvah said with a gravelly voice and big grin.
"Thank you." Marron said. "We shall only be staying for the night
however."
"They're going to Marchpane." Guava explained.
"Hello again Milphey." the twins said together.
"Hey Spice, Sugar." Milphey replied.
He looked at Papaya.
"Could this be little 'Paya?" he said in disbelief.
"Yes." Halvah said.
"It's been eight years." the twins said.
"Are you a hunter now?" Milphey asked.
"Yes." Papaya replied.
"Please join us for dinner." Guava invited.
"Thank you." Carrot said, drooling in advance.
They had a lovely dinner where Milphey told Carrot and the others how
he met Guava and his hunters. It was around the same time that
Milphey knew Onion and Apricot. Milphey had been flitting between
Onion and Apricot, Guava and the others, and another group.
Eventually, Milphey worked with Guava's group for a long time.
Papaya's mother, Persimmon, had died in a fight with a sorcerer eight
years ago.
After dinner, the hunters went to their rooms. Each of
Guava's group had a spare bed in their rooms. Tira went with Papaya,
Chocolate went with Spice, Gateau went with Sugar, and Carrot went
with Halvah. This left Marron and Milphey with Guava.
"I hope you won't mind." Guava said.
"It's alright." Marron assured.
"This way please." Guava said with a gently hand on Marron's back.
Marron suppressed the urge to shy away from Guava's hand. The
sensuality that Guava radiated was rather powerful and it affected
Marron in a way that confused him so he didn't want to be near it. He
was led to Guava's room and was offered a bed.
"May I ask you a personal question, Milphey?" Marron asked finally,
unable to contain his curiosity any longer.
"Yes." Milphey replied.
"You've known Guava for longer than you've told us, haven't you?"
Marron asked.
Milphey nodded.
"Guava was my first love." he said.
"Lover." Guava corrected.
"Lover." Milphey agreed.
"I see." Marron said. "Are you a Haz Knight as well?" he asked Guava.
"No." Guava replied with a warm smile. "I'm a Hab Knight."
"What's a Hab Knight?" Marron asked.
"I can't tell you." Guava replied. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I understand." Marron assured.
Guava smiled and touched Marron's shoulder.
"Thank you." the blue haired man said.
Marron smiled back though he wanted to shrink away from the hand.
"Time to sleep kitten." Guava said, turning to Milphey.
"Sleep?" Milphey said, pouting.
"Yes, sleep." Guava said firmly.
"Can we-?"
"No, we want to be courteous to Marron." Guava insisted.
"We could invite him to join us." Milphey said with a leer.
"Kitten." Guava said in a warning tone.
Marron blushed at Milphey's suggestion.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mi-"
"Get in bed kitten." Guava ordered.
Milphey quickly did so.
"Good night Marron." Guava said. "I apologise for Milphey."
"It's alright." Marron assured, his blush fading. "Good night."
The light went out. Marron heard a kissing noise before there was
only silence.
The next day the Hunters left for Marchpane with Guava. He
charmed all the Hunters. He complimented Tira and Chocolate. He
talked about pretty girls with Carrot. He traded work out secrets
with Gateau. And he spoke of serious matters with Marron. Marron
found that he was getting more comfortable with the sensuality that
Guava radiated. When they reached their campsite for the night,
everyone was thoroughly pleased with Guava. After dinner, the Hunters
began relaxing for the night. Marron was sitting against a tree when
Guava came up to him.
"May I sit here?" Guava asked.
"Of course." Marron said, shifting slightly as Guava sat down beside
him, close enough that Marron's shoulder touched Guava's arm.
"Could I see your hands please?" Guava asked.
"Do you read palms?" Marron asked, giving Guava his right hand.
"Something like that." Guava agreed, flattening Marron's hand on his
larger one. Guava gently stroked Marron's fingers and palm before
looking at the hand.
"Interesting." Guava said, running a finger along the lines of
Marron's palm. "May I see your other hand?"
Marron put his left hand next to his right. Guava repeated the
procedure with the other hand and then looked at them both.
"What is it?" Marron asked.
"You've got a very interesting life." Guava said. "You're only
sixteen yet you're older. You and your friends are connected in some
way that is greater than mere friendship. It's almost as if..."
He gently held Marron's hands in his.
"May I touch your face?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded. Guava placed three fingers on Marron's forehead, one
on his cheek, and a thumb under his jaw. After a few seconds, Guava
removed his hand and looked at Marron.
"You have a god inside you." Guava said.
"Yes." Marron confirmed. "How did you know?"
"One of my gifts is that I can sense certain things about certain
people." Guava explained.
"What things?" Marron asked, intrigued.
"It depends on the person." Guava replied.
"Interesting." Marron commented.
"Yes, you are." Guava replied with a teasing smile.
Marron smiled back shyly.
"Can you sense my future?" he asked.
"Some of it." Guava replied. "But I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"So that I won't ruin my life." Marron said understandingly.
"Exactly."
"Hey, are you trying to seduce my brother?" Carrot said, appearing
suddenly with a teasing smile.
"But of course." Guava replied with a matching grin as he lifted
Marron's hands up and kissed them before releasing them and winking
at Carrot.
Carrot laughed at Guava's antics.
"I was reading his palm." Guava explained.
"Could you read mine?" Carrot asked eagerly.
"Sure." Guava agreed, taking Carrot's hands and looking at them.
"Ah."
"What?" Carrot asked.
"You will know many pretty girls." Guava said.
"And?" Carrot asked, breathless with anticipation.
"You will end up with one great beauty in the end." Guava finished.
Carrot pouted.
"Only one?" he complained, then shrugged. "Oh well, one's better than
none. Thanks."
"No problem."
The two grinned and Carrot went off. Marron smiled.
"Will that really happen?" he asked.
"Yes. Nothing he can do will change that." Guava replied.
"I see." Marron said, nodding.
Guava pulled a small stringed instrument out of his pocket.
"What's that?" Marron asked.
"I don't know what it's called." Guava replied. "It was a gift from
Big Mama. I was hoping you could tell me what it was."
"I don't think I've ever seen it. What does it sound like?"
"Shall I play something?"
"Please."
Guava began to play and hum. Everyone was lulled by the music. Marron
felt that he recognised the tune somehow. It seemed to tug at his
memory.
Marron woke slowly with a crick in his neck. He opened his
eyes and realised that his head was resting on a shoulder. He lifted
his head slowly, wincing at the crick.
"Good morning." came Guava's voice.
"Good morning." Marron replied, trying to get his neck to function
properly.
"Let me." Guava said, reaching over and placing a hand around
Marron's neck. Guava's fingers pressed gently against Marron's neck
and suddenly the crick was gone.
"Thank you." Marron said with a smile.
"You're welcome."
"I'm sorry about sleeping on you."
"It's alright." Guava replied, gesturing with amusement at Milphey,
who was curled up with his head in Guava's lap.
Marron smiled.
"He's so much quieter with you around." he noted.
"Well, kitten is rather special." Guava said.
"Do you love him?" Marron asked curiously.
"In a way." Guava replied. "We're not in love with each other but we
do love each other."
Marron nodded understandingly.
"I see." he said.
"Mmm." came Milphey's voice.
They looked down to see Milphey blinking sleepily at them.
"Good morning." Milphey said. "Do I get a good morning kiss?"
Guava grinned.
"Well, kitten. If you get up fast enough, I'll give you one." he
promised.
Milphey sat up and closed his eyes eagerly. Guava leaned forward and
kissed Milphey deeply. Marron blushed slightly at the intensity of
the kiss. The two parted and Milphey grinned.
"You should let Guava give you a morning kiss, Marron." he said.
"They're soo good."
Marron's blush deepened and he ducked his head.
"Kitten." Guava scolded.He reached over and tilted Marron's face up.
Golden eyes met green ones as Guava's fingers caressed Marron's chin so
slightly that if felt like a piece of hair that brushed by.
"I'm sorry." Guava said. "Milphey's just-"
"It's alright." Marron assured. "I understand."
Guava smiled and dropped his hand back to his side. The others had
awoken as well. Marron, Chocolate, and Tira dragged Carrot off to the
nearby river. Milphey and Gateau went to get some more firewood and
food while Guava started up a fire. Suddenly Tira, in her other
outfit, came running up.
"Marron's in trouble!" she said frantically.
Guava nodded and ran with her to the riverbank. There they found a
soaked Carrot and a frantic Chocolate, also in her other outfit.
"Where is he?" Guava demanded.
"He got swept downstream." Chocolate said. "We can't reach him."
"There!" Tira said, pointing to a faint blob down the fast flowing
river.
Guava kicked off his shoes and went into the water. It was as if the
water was helping Guava along as he swam towards Marron. Marron
barely noticed Guava as he struggled to stay afloat in the freezing
mountain river. Guava reached the flailing Marron and wrapped a long
arm around Marron's chest.
"I got you." Guava shouted into Marron's ear to be heard.
Marron smiled weakly and relaxed himself. Guava headed for the shore.
Carrot, Tira, and Chocolate, ran up to Guava as he came out carrying
a shivering Marron.
"Is he okay?" Tira asked.
"He will be once he's out of wet clothes." Guava said, untying
Marron's belt.
"Good idea." Carrot said, then sneezed.
"You too." Guava suggested. "Go on ahead, get him to the fire."
He started unbuttoning Marron's shirt, unhindered by Marron's feeble
attempts to stop him.
"Don't fight me Marron, you'll freeze." Guava said, peeling off
Marron's clothes.
Guava removed his own dry shirt and put it on Marron. Cradling the
smaller man in one arm, Guava picked up the wet clothes and headed
back to the camp. Gateau was stoking the fire and Carrot was wrapped
up in a blanket while Tira was hanging up his clothes. Chocolate
handed Guava a blanket, which he swathed Marron in. Guava sat close
to the fire and set Marron on his lap. Marron was still shivering.
"Kitten." Guava said.
"Yes." Milphey said, coming over to them, stick in hand. Milphey set
the stick on fire and held it out to Guava. Tira gasped in surprise
as Guava thrust both hands into the flames. After about fifteen
seconds, Guava withdrew his hands, which glowed slightly.
"Thank you kitten." he said as he began to rub his hands along
Marron's skin briskly.
Gradually, Marron's shivering lessened. Guava heated his own body and
then began using his hands to dry Marron's hair.
"Thank you." Marron said quietly.
"You're welcome." Guava replied. "You can sleep now. It's safe."
Marron nodded and stopped fighting the urge to sleep. His head fell
against Guava's chest and he slept.
"Guava, how did you do that?" Tira asked, coming to sit next to him.
"Ah, well, you could say it's a part of me." Guava replied as Gateau,
Chocolate, and Carrot sat across the fire from him.
"What do you mean?" Chocolate asked, curious now.
"I'm not fully human." Guava replied.
"You're not?" Gateau said in surprise.
"My father was half human, half fire spirit. My mother was half water
spirit and half forest spirit. I'm a mix of all those."
They looked at him in disbelief.
"Is that why you're completely dry and not burned?" Tira asked.
Guava smiled at her.
"Yes. I can control anything containing water, fire, or plant life
that I am in direct contact with or it's in direct contact with me."
he explained.
Milphey held out the stick and Guava put his hand in. He withdrew his
hand and the others gaped as they saw the flame dancing on the back
of his hand.
"Wow, that's cool." Carrot said with a grin.
Guava grinned back.
"But I couldn't give that flame to you and let you play with it like
a sorcerer could."
"Is Marron going to be okay?" Chocolate asked.
Guava nodded.
"He just needs to sleep as his body recovers. I'm keeping him warm."
he said as he made the flame disappear.
"Thank you." Tira said, leaning over and kissing Guava on the cheek.
Chocolate, Carrot, and Gateau went to prepare breakfast. Tira then
blushed and stood up to move away. Guava caught Tira's arm.
"Tira." he said gently.
She turned to face him with red cheeks.
"Thank you." he said.
"Thank you for saving Marron." she replied.
"Do you love him?" Guava asked.
"As a brother." she replied.
"But your heart is set on another." Guava understood.
Tira nodded.
"I think I know who." Guava said. "May I see your hands?"
She held out her hands and he ran his fingers across them.
"I thought so." he said.
"What?" she asked.
"You will marry someone you love. Who it is, I can't tell you." he
replied.
"Can I hope?" she asked.
"You can always hope." he replied.
She smiled at him and went to help the others with breakfast.
"Careful." Milphey warned.
"I will be." Guava replied.
After breakfast, they continued on their journey to Marchpane with
Guava carrying Marron, despite Gateau's offers to help. Marron woke
up before they stopped for lunch. Guava continued to carry Marron
until they stopped. Marron donned, with Carrot's help, his now dry
clothes. The younger brother was still a little weak but determined
to get over the fact. Marron slowly made his way over to Guava, who
gestured for him to have a seat. Marron slowly sat down and accepted
food from Chocolate.
"Thank you for, ah, warming me up." Marron said, blushing slightly at
the memory of Guava's hands on his skin.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been unclothed in front of
anyone and no one had every touched his whole body before. The
thought discomfited him quite a bit. Guava chuckled slightly. Marron
glanced at him questioningly.
"You seem to blush a lot around me." Guava commented.
This caused Marron to blush again.
"Something I said?" Guava asked.
Marron shook his head.
"Well?" Guava prodded gently.
"Well, it's just that you-you're so...physical." Marron managed,
finally realising why it bother him.
Guava looked puzzled.
"Physical?" he repeated.
"You're always touching people." Marron said with another blush.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Guava apologised.
"It's alright." Marron hastily assured. "It's not your fault, it's my
problem. I'm just not used to being touched."
"I can tell." Guava said softly.
Marron blushed again.
"Now Marron." Guava said seriously. "Although I find it absolutely
adorable when you blush, you can't keep doing it all the time. You
have to learn to control it."
Marron glanced up at Guava and nodded briefly. Then Marron noticed
Guava's lips twitching. Marron blushed furiously at this.
"Guava." he complained mildly.
Guava chuckled and placed a hand on Marron's shoulder.
"I'm sorry Marron." Guava apologised.
"It's alright." the black haired man replied. "You are right about
the blushing though."
"May I try and help you get over your problem?" Guava requested.
"I couldn't think of anyone better." Marron replied.
"I could." Guava said.
"Who?" Marron asked.
"Milphey." Guava replied with a teasing grin.
"Milphey? But he'd? Marron blushed furiously at the thought of what
Milphey might do.
Guava chuckled and Marron managed at tentative grin.
"That's better." Guava said, squeezing the smaller man's shoulder.
Marron's smile broadened slightly."
"Getting there." Guava said.
"Thank you." Marron said.
"Ah, anything to get a beautiful smile on that beautiful face." Guava
said, brushing a finger against Marron's chin.
This caused a definite blush.
"I'm sorry, that was unfair." Guava apologised.
Marron nodded and ate his lunch.
They reached the outskirts of Marchpane by nightfall. They
decided to get the sorcerer now, before you could be alerted. They
split up into three groups and took off into the city, each reaching
the sorcerer's house from a different place.
The sorcerer had been expecting them after all. Carrot,
Chocolate, and Marron had each fallen into a trap. The sorcerer was
smart, each trap was different and designed for a maximum amount of
surprise. Gateau and Guava had been ahead of Carrot when the first
trap had been sprung. Carrot gaped in fear as the spiked roof fell
upon him. Gateau reached over and yanked Carrot out of the way with
such strength that Carrot literally flew into Guava. The section of
the roof crashed to the ground.
"Thanks Gateau." Carrot said, panting.
"No problem." Gateau replied with an easy smile.
"You're bleeding." Guava noted.
He ripped a piece of material from his shirt and bound Carrot's
wound.
"Let's go." Carrot said. "This guy's been prepared for far too long.
Chocolate was lucky, Milphey's feather deflected the arrow
meant for her leg. Marron, however, was quite the opposite. Tira had
been slightly ahead of Marron when they heard a click. Marron
immediately pulled Tira out of the way but his foot was suddenly
trapped. Marron cried out in pain as a small bomb exploded about his
foot.
"Marron!" Tira exclaimed in surprise and worry.
She immediately went over and examined his foot. She carefully
extracted his foot from the trap, which set off another bomb. Marron
yelped and collapsed. Tira jerked her fingers away and cried out as
her hand was burned. She went over and looked at the bloody mess that
was Marron's foot.
"Heal yourself first." Marron instructed through gritted teeth.
"But your foot-"
"You know you can't heal others that well when you're hurt yourself."
Marron interrupted.
Tira nodded and began healing her hand.
Carrot was wrong, the sorcerer hadn't been expecting them.
Unless you counted on letting your enemies find you prancing around
in a yellow tutu. The sorcerer recovered quickly, however, and began
firing bombs at Carrot, Guava, Gateau, Chocolate, and Milphey.
"I didn't expect such large rats to set off my traps." the sorcerer
sneered as he threw another bomb at the hunters.
"Guava, find Marron and Tira." Milphey ordered.
Guava nodded and ran out of the room. The others focused on the
sorcerer. Chocolate's wire couldn't hurt the bombs and Gateau
couldn't get close enough to hurt the sorcerer.
Tira was working on Marron's foot when she heard a voice
calling their names.
"Over here!" Tira called out.
Guava appeared and ran over to them, skirting the trap.
"Are you okay?" Guava asked.
"Almost done." Tira replied.
She finished and Marron's foot changed from a bloody pulp to a
slightly bloody, raw looking mess.
"How does it feel?" she asked.
"It burns." Marron replied, calmer now. "But it doesn't hurt as
much."
"We have to go help the others." Guava said. "This sorcerer has
strange powers."
"Marron shouldn't walk on that foot." Tira said.
Guava shrugged and picked Marron up.
"Come on." Guava said as he took off.
Tira followed quickly. They reached the archway to the room where the
others were fighting. Tira ran in to help. Guava set Marron down.
"How is your foot?" Guava asked.
"It burns still." Marron replied.
"Still? Alright."
Guava spit into his hands and placed them on the ground, closing his
eyes briefly. Then he gently took Marron's foot in his hands. Marron
gasped in surprise as the burning subsided suddenly. Carrot came
running over.
"Are you alright Marron?" Carrot asked.
"Yes brother." Marron replied as Guava removed his hands.
Guava quickly sketched out an idea to the brothers, who nodded their
agreement.
"Are you ready?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded as Guava helped him up.
"Don't let him put any weight on that foot yet." Guava told Carrot,
who supported his brother.
"Let's rock and roll." Carrot joked.
Guava grinned and stepped out. The sorcerer glanced at Guava briefly,
turned his attention back to the others, and then suddenly glanced
back at Guava. Keeping his shield of bombs in place, the sorcerer
stared at Guava nervously. The others stared in surprise as well.
In his arms and on his shoulders were dozens of rats. Guava slowly
approached the sorcerer.
"What do you think you're doing?" the sorcerer demanded.
"Walking." Guava replied.
"Well, don't come any closer." the sorcerer commanded.
"Why not?" Guava asked, looking puzzled.
"Because you're with them." the sorcerer replied with a snort.
"No I'm not." Guava said. "They forced me here."
"Liar." the sorcerer accused. "Stay away."
He started to sound slightly panicky.
"What's wrong?" Guava asked, still puzzled.
"Keep away." the sorcerer yelped as Guava drew closer.
The sorcerer threw a bomb at Guava, who managed to dodge it. The
sorcerer threw another, panicking as Guava closed in on him. This
continued until Guava neared the shield. The sorcerer cried out in
fear and threw the entire shield at Guava, losing all semblance of
bravery. Chocolate used her wire to quickly slice off the sorcerer's
head. They couldn't help Guava because of all the bombs. They waited
anxiously until the bombs stopped.
"Guava." Tira called out worriedly.
The smoke cleared and they found Guava sitting on the floor, bleeding
from both arms and a hand.
"Are you alright?" Tira asked, looking at his wounds.
Guava smiled wryly.
"A few more bombs than I expected." he said.
"Guava." came Carrot's voice.
Both Glaces brothers came over with worried expressions on their
faces. Carrot eased Marron down beside Guava.
"Help my brother first Tira." Marron requested as he examined Guava's
wounds.
Tira nodded and checked on Carrot's arm. Milphey, Gateau, and
Chocolate went to scout the rest of the castle. Marron began healing
Guava's arms.
"Good job Marron." Guava complimented. "Those rats were so real I
think I felt them."
"If I had known you were going to do something that stupid, I
wouldn't have helped you." Marron replied.
Guava chuckled and Tira and Carrot laughed. Marron looked at them,
puzzled.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You just said Guava was stupid." Tira said between laughs.
Marron froze suddenly and then blushed as he realised what he had
said.
"I'm sorry." he apologised.
"It's alright." Guava said, still chuckling.
Tira finished with Carrot and helped Marron with Guava. Soon Guava
was mostly healed.
"Do you think the two of you can stay unhurt long enough for us to
get the others?" Tira teased.
Marron nodded.
"I'll try." Guava promised. "But it's hard with such a tempting
beauty nearby." he added with a mock-leer.
Carrot laughed and Marron blushed. Tira and Carrot went off to find
the others.
"How did you know that he was afraid of rats?" Marron asked.
"Well, he wasn't confident that we'd fall into the traps, he was
genuinely surprised to see us. And he said he didn't expect such
large rats." Guava replied, sitting up. "How's your foot?"
"It's much better now, thank you." Marron replied. "But next time,
please don't do something so risky."
"Why Marron, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you cared."
Marron glanced at Guava in surprise and then smiled when he realised
Guava was kidding.
"Thank you for healing me Marron." Guava said, leaning over and
giving Marron a kiss on the cheek.
Marron went bright red and ducked his head.
"I'm sorry Marron." Guava said.
Marron's hair swayed as he shook his head.
"It's alright." he said.
"Are you sure?" Guava asked, sensing something wasn't all right.
Marron nodded again.
"Marron." Guava persisted gently.
He was rewarded, and surprised, as Marron put a hand on Guava's leg.
Marron lifted his head up and looked into Guava's green eyes. Marron
opened his mouth to say something when Carrot came bounding in,
followed by the others.
"The place is clean." Carrot reported. "Let's get out of here. I'm
sure that town is full of grateful, and pretty, girls all dying to
thank their saviours." he added with a grin.
"I think that Guava and I need to rest, brother." Marron said.
"Right." Gateau chimed it. "I'll help Marron." he added with a sly
look.
"I'll help my brother." Carrot said quickly, going over and helping
Marron up.
The hunters, Guava, and Milphey left the castle and were given
a free room from the local inn in thanks. They left Marron and Guava in
the room to go get food. Guava pulled a chair up next to Marron's bed
and they started playing a game involving poetry.
"Carrot seems quite protective of you." Guava commented as they
played go-fish.
"Only around Gateau." Marron replied.
"Is Gateau after you?"
"Unfortunately."
"I can't say I blame him. You have the kind of beauty that attracts
everyone."
"You attract people as well." Marron pointed out mildly.
"Not in the same way though."
"Oh, I don't know. I'd say you're rather handsome." Marron commented.
Guava looked at Marron in surprise. Marron gazed back calmly. Then
Guava noticed the twitch at the corner of Marron's mouth. Guava made
a face. Marron broke down and started laughing. Guava grinned.
Eventually Marron calmed down and smiled at Guava.
"Congratulations. You accepted a compliment, and gave one, without
blushing."
"Thank you." Marron said.
"What were you going to say to me at the castle?" Guava asked.
Marron looked like he was going to blush again, but stopped himself.
"Well?" Guava prodded, tugging on Marron's hand.
"I was going to say, 'the next time you do that, I won't blush'."
Marron said quietly.
Guava grinned at the statement.
"You assumed that I would kiss you again?" he said, arching an
eyebrow.
"It seemed to fit your character." Marron replied.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Guava said.
A serving maid came in with water and some bandages.
"My father suggested that I change your bandages." she said, putting
the water and bandages down.
"Oh, we don't want to trouble you. We'll do it ourselves." Marron
said.
The maid looked uncertain. Guava took her hand and kissed it.
"Thank you, lovely lady." he said sensually.
The maid blushed.
"You're welcome." she said before ducking out.
Marron looked at Guava in mild amusement.
"You're almost as bad as my brother." Marron said.
"Nonsense." Guava replied. "I'm ten times worse."
Marron laughed.
"Sit so that I can change your bandages." he instructed.
Guava sat next to Marron, who began unwinding the old bandages.
"Next time you plan on getting bombed, be sure to at least let us
know so that we can prepare." Marron mock-grumbled.
"Yes father." Guava teased, dropping a quick kiss on Marron's head.
Marron swatted Guava away irritably.
"Don't do that." he commanded.
Guava sat still as Marron finished changing the bandages.
"Shall I fix your foot now?" Guava asked.
"If you think you're able too." Marron replied.
"Just watch me work my magic." Guava replied with a grin.
He put Marron's foot on his lap and stuck his hand into the water. He
applied his hand to Marron's foot. Marron sighed happily.
"Better?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded as he helped Guava rewrap the bandages. There was
another knock on the door.
"Come in." Guava called out.
The maid ducked in.
"I was wondering if you needed some help sirs." she said shyly.
"Thank you, my dear, but we've just finished." Guava replied with a
charming smile.
"But you've barely bandaged the wounds." the maid protested, going
over to them.
"Ah, but you must let burn wounds breathe." Guava said, taking her
hand and gently stroking it. "Otherwise they will scar and pucker
horribly instead of being as soft as your lovely skin."
The maid smiled and blushed.
"But thank you for all you have done."
He gave her hand a lingering kiss. She giggled and left.
"And that, Marron." Guava said. "Is how you charm a lady."
"Really?" Marron said, arching an eyebrow. "I thought you just wanted
someone to warm your bed tonight."
"You have a dirty mind." Guava scolded.
"You have no idea." Marron agreed.
"Be careful." Guava said.
Marron looked at him quizzically. Guava threw an arm around Marron's
shoulder and pulled him close.
"Remember, I'm just like your brother. Only I don't care whether
you're male or female." Guava said suggestively.
He whispered something into Marron's ear. Marron turned beet red and
edged away from Guava, who laughed.
"Relax Marron, I was just teasing." he assured, returning to his
chair.
Marron's colour faded slowly as they resumed their game. The others
came back with a lot of food, gifts from the townspeople. They had
just started eating when a puff of smoke appeared. It dissipated to
reveal Daughter.
"Hey everybody!" she said cheerfully, holding out the ball as Big
Mama appeared.
"Hello Big Mama." Tira said.
"I'm glad to see that everyone's alright. Congratulations on a job
well done." Big Mama said. "Hello Guava."
"Hello my lady." Guava replied with a bow.
"Guava!" Daughter shrieked happily and she flew into his embrace.
He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.
"How's my Daughter?" he asked.
"It's good to see you again." Daughter replied.
"I have a new job for you." Big Mama said. "I know it's too soon
after but it's urgent. In Doughnut there's a sorcerer who's fooled
the people into thinking that he's not a sorcerer and that all
sorcerers are to be destroyed. This includes Eastern sorcerers, so no
magic Marron."
Marron nodded.
"Good luck." Big Mama said.
"Bye." Daughter said, parting from Guava.
They disappeared. Carrot groaned.
"More work."
"Don't worry brother, you won't be doing a lot of work." Marron
soothed.
"Can I ask you a question Guava?" Chocolate said suddenly.
Guava nodded.
"How come the bombs hurt you? I mean, you can control fire."
"Bombs aren't completely made out of fire." Guava said. "Some of the
bombs exploded before I could touch the spark which is why I got
injured."
Chocolate nodded understandingly.
"When should we leave?" Gateau asked.
"An hour?" Tira suggested.
"An hour?!" Carrot protested. "We just had breakfast. We haven't
slept yet. I'm tired."
"Well, we could take two hours I suppose." Tira relented.
"And we need to get some clothes for Marron." Chocolate added with a
smile.
Marron looked startled.
"Clothes?" he repeated.
"Of course, everyone will know that you're a sorcerer in those
robes." Chocolate said.
"But-"
"No buts. Get some rest. We'll be back soon." Tira said.
"At least let me keep my pants." Marron begged.
"Why Marron." Guava began. "You do have a di-"
"Shut up Guava." Marron said absently.
Before the others could be too shocked by Marron's rudeness, Guava
went into action.
"Yes father." he said, kissing the top of Marron's head.
Marron sighed and swatted at Guava. The others relaxed but Milphey
narrowed his eyes at Guava. Chocolate and Tira left. Guava collapsed
on the bed next to Marron's.
"Wake me in two hours kitten." he said.
Milphey nodded as he snuggled next to Guava. Marron lay down as well.
Gateau eyed the remaining two beds and then glanced over at Marron.
Carrot caught the glance and frowned.
by Dandragon Wolf
All characters, minus the ones I make up, do not belong to me
(although I must admit I wish they did), they belong to their
respective creators (you know who they are), I just write stories.
Enjoy. Some yaoi and yuri and male/female content (a little bit of
everything why not. Just covering my bases here). No lemons (never
any good lemons to be found when you need them. Besides, my wife
would kill me). This is the second story in the Sorcerer in the
Makai series.
There was a scuffle of arms and legs before gravity
reasserted itself. Gateau laughed as the dirt cleared and Chocolate
and Milphey were found piled on top of Carrot.
"Sister!" Tira complained.
Marron smiled slightly and looked up at the darkening sky. There was
an inn ahead and they headed for it. They managed to enter just
before it started to rain. Marron and Gateau went to haggle for their
rooms. Milphey, Carrot, Tira, and Chocolate followed, glancing about
the tavern. They had just reached the bar when a voice called out to
them.
"Milphey?" said the voice. "Milphey Yu?"
Milphey's head whipped around.
"Guava?" he said in disbelief.
Then a smile split his face.
"Guava!"
The hunters watched in astonishment as Milphey flew towards a man.
Milphey dropped on to the man's lap.
"Milphey." the man said with a smile.
"Guava." Milphey replied with a grin.
"Give me a kiss." Guava said.
Milphey shrieked in delight and gave Guava a long kiss on the lips.
"Save some of him for us, hey lad?" a woman called out with a grin.
"How are you kitten?" Guava asked.
"Great now." Milphey replied, snuggling against Guava's body.
"I missed you too kitten." Guava said with a chuckle, running his
hands through Milphey's hair.
"Milphey?" Tira said in a puzzled tone.
"Oh!"
Milphey looked up and waved the hunters over. They went over to
Milphey and Guava, who stood up as they approached. Guava was
slightly taller than Gateau but slim like Marron, though with more
muscles. He had short blue hair, green eyes and was very handsome. He
seemed to radiate a masculine sensuality.
"Guava, these are Carrot and Marron Glaces, Chocolate and Tira Misu,
and Gateau Mocha. This is Guava Nougat."
"Hello." Guava said with a charming smile.
He shook Gateau's hand firmly, and Carrot's quickly. He kissed Tira
and Chocolate's hands and they giggled in delight. Finally Guava
gently shook Marron's hand.
"Welcome to Silken." Guava said.
"Thank you." Tira replied with a shy smile.
"We're on our way to catch a sorcerer in Marchpane." Milphey informed.
"Marchpane? Would you like some help?" Guava offered.
"Yes please." Milphey said, grinning.
"Then you must stay with us for the night." Guava offered.
"Oh we couldn't put you out." Chocolate protested.
"Don't worry. There's more than enough room for everyone. And the
others will want to meet you. We don't often get to see other
sorcerer hunters. Please say you will come." Guava requested.
"Alright." Tira agreed.
"This way then." Guava said, offering the sisters his arms. Taking
his arms, they followed Guava to the mansion that he lived in.
"You live in this?" Chocolate said in awe.
Guava chuckled, a sensual sound.
"Only one fourth of this place belongs to us. The rest is a place
where poor people live. We only have one wing. The other wings are
for everyone." he explained.
"Oh. Wise." Tira commented.
"Thank you." Guava said with a slight tilt of the head. "Please
enter."
They entered the mansion to meet two women and two men.
"These are Papaya, Spice, Sugar, and Halvah." Guava introduced.
Papaya was a cute, purple haired, blue eyes girl of Marron's height.
Spice and Sugar were a pretty sister and brother, obviously twins,
with blond hair and grey eyes and were shorter than Tira. Halvah was
good looking with green hair and purple eyes and was as tall as
Chocolate.
"Welcome." Halvah said with a gravelly voice and big grin.
"Thank you." Marron said. "We shall only be staying for the night
however."
"They're going to Marchpane." Guava explained.
"Hello again Milphey." the twins said together.
"Hey Spice, Sugar." Milphey replied.
He looked at Papaya.
"Could this be little 'Paya?" he said in disbelief.
"Yes." Halvah said.
"It's been eight years." the twins said.
"Are you a hunter now?" Milphey asked.
"Yes." Papaya replied.
"Please join us for dinner." Guava invited.
"Thank you." Carrot said, drooling in advance.
They had a lovely dinner where Milphey told Carrot and the others how
he met Guava and his hunters. It was around the same time that
Milphey knew Onion and Apricot. Milphey had been flitting between
Onion and Apricot, Guava and the others, and another group.
Eventually, Milphey worked with Guava's group for a long time.
Papaya's mother, Persimmon, had died in a fight with a sorcerer eight
years ago.
After dinner, the hunters went to their rooms. Each of
Guava's group had a spare bed in their rooms. Tira went with Papaya,
Chocolate went with Spice, Gateau went with Sugar, and Carrot went
with Halvah. This left Marron and Milphey with Guava.
"I hope you won't mind." Guava said.
"It's alright." Marron assured.
"This way please." Guava said with a gently hand on Marron's back.
Marron suppressed the urge to shy away from Guava's hand. The
sensuality that Guava radiated was rather powerful and it affected
Marron in a way that confused him so he didn't want to be near it. He
was led to Guava's room and was offered a bed.
"May I ask you a personal question, Milphey?" Marron asked finally,
unable to contain his curiosity any longer.
"Yes." Milphey replied.
"You've known Guava for longer than you've told us, haven't you?"
Marron asked.
Milphey nodded.
"Guava was my first love." he said.
"Lover." Guava corrected.
"Lover." Milphey agreed.
"I see." Marron said. "Are you a Haz Knight as well?" he asked Guava.
"No." Guava replied with a warm smile. "I'm a Hab Knight."
"What's a Hab Knight?" Marron asked.
"I can't tell you." Guava replied. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I understand." Marron assured.
Guava smiled and touched Marron's shoulder.
"Thank you." the blue haired man said.
Marron smiled back though he wanted to shrink away from the hand.
"Time to sleep kitten." Guava said, turning to Milphey.
"Sleep?" Milphey said, pouting.
"Yes, sleep." Guava said firmly.
"Can we-?"
"No, we want to be courteous to Marron." Guava insisted.
"We could invite him to join us." Milphey said with a leer.
"Kitten." Guava said in a warning tone.
Marron blushed at Milphey's suggestion.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mi-"
"Get in bed kitten." Guava ordered.
Milphey quickly did so.
"Good night Marron." Guava said. "I apologise for Milphey."
"It's alright." Marron assured, his blush fading. "Good night."
The light went out. Marron heard a kissing noise before there was
only silence.
The next day the Hunters left for Marchpane with Guava. He
charmed all the Hunters. He complimented Tira and Chocolate. He
talked about pretty girls with Carrot. He traded work out secrets
with Gateau. And he spoke of serious matters with Marron. Marron
found that he was getting more comfortable with the sensuality that
Guava radiated. When they reached their campsite for the night,
everyone was thoroughly pleased with Guava. After dinner, the Hunters
began relaxing for the night. Marron was sitting against a tree when
Guava came up to him.
"May I sit here?" Guava asked.
"Of course." Marron said, shifting slightly as Guava sat down beside
him, close enough that Marron's shoulder touched Guava's arm.
"Could I see your hands please?" Guava asked.
"Do you read palms?" Marron asked, giving Guava his right hand.
"Something like that." Guava agreed, flattening Marron's hand on his
larger one. Guava gently stroked Marron's fingers and palm before
looking at the hand.
"Interesting." Guava said, running a finger along the lines of
Marron's palm. "May I see your other hand?"
Marron put his left hand next to his right. Guava repeated the
procedure with the other hand and then looked at them both.
"What is it?" Marron asked.
"You've got a very interesting life." Guava said. "You're only
sixteen yet you're older. You and your friends are connected in some
way that is greater than mere friendship. It's almost as if..."
He gently held Marron's hands in his.
"May I touch your face?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded. Guava placed three fingers on Marron's forehead, one
on his cheek, and a thumb under his jaw. After a few seconds, Guava
removed his hand and looked at Marron.
"You have a god inside you." Guava said.
"Yes." Marron confirmed. "How did you know?"
"One of my gifts is that I can sense certain things about certain
people." Guava explained.
"What things?" Marron asked, intrigued.
"It depends on the person." Guava replied.
"Interesting." Marron commented.
"Yes, you are." Guava replied with a teasing smile.
Marron smiled back shyly.
"Can you sense my future?" he asked.
"Some of it." Guava replied. "But I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"So that I won't ruin my life." Marron said understandingly.
"Exactly."
"Hey, are you trying to seduce my brother?" Carrot said, appearing
suddenly with a teasing smile.
"But of course." Guava replied with a matching grin as he lifted
Marron's hands up and kissed them before releasing them and winking
at Carrot.
Carrot laughed at Guava's antics.
"I was reading his palm." Guava explained.
"Could you read mine?" Carrot asked eagerly.
"Sure." Guava agreed, taking Carrot's hands and looking at them.
"Ah."
"What?" Carrot asked.
"You will know many pretty girls." Guava said.
"And?" Carrot asked, breathless with anticipation.
"You will end up with one great beauty in the end." Guava finished.
Carrot pouted.
"Only one?" he complained, then shrugged. "Oh well, one's better than
none. Thanks."
"No problem."
The two grinned and Carrot went off. Marron smiled.
"Will that really happen?" he asked.
"Yes. Nothing he can do will change that." Guava replied.
"I see." Marron said, nodding.
Guava pulled a small stringed instrument out of his pocket.
"What's that?" Marron asked.
"I don't know what it's called." Guava replied. "It was a gift from
Big Mama. I was hoping you could tell me what it was."
"I don't think I've ever seen it. What does it sound like?"
"Shall I play something?"
"Please."
Guava began to play and hum. Everyone was lulled by the music. Marron
felt that he recognised the tune somehow. It seemed to tug at his
memory.
Marron woke slowly with a crick in his neck. He opened his
eyes and realised that his head was resting on a shoulder. He lifted
his head slowly, wincing at the crick.
"Good morning." came Guava's voice.
"Good morning." Marron replied, trying to get his neck to function
properly.
"Let me." Guava said, reaching over and placing a hand around
Marron's neck. Guava's fingers pressed gently against Marron's neck
and suddenly the crick was gone.
"Thank you." Marron said with a smile.
"You're welcome."
"I'm sorry about sleeping on you."
"It's alright." Guava replied, gesturing with amusement at Milphey,
who was curled up with his head in Guava's lap.
Marron smiled.
"He's so much quieter with you around." he noted.
"Well, kitten is rather special." Guava said.
"Do you love him?" Marron asked curiously.
"In a way." Guava replied. "We're not in love with each other but we
do love each other."
Marron nodded understandingly.
"I see." he said.
"Mmm." came Milphey's voice.
They looked down to see Milphey blinking sleepily at them.
"Good morning." Milphey said. "Do I get a good morning kiss?"
Guava grinned.
"Well, kitten. If you get up fast enough, I'll give you one." he
promised.
Milphey sat up and closed his eyes eagerly. Guava leaned forward and
kissed Milphey deeply. Marron blushed slightly at the intensity of
the kiss. The two parted and Milphey grinned.
"You should let Guava give you a morning kiss, Marron." he said.
"They're soo good."
Marron's blush deepened and he ducked his head.
"Kitten." Guava scolded.He reached over and tilted Marron's face up.
Golden eyes met green ones as Guava's fingers caressed Marron's chin so
slightly that if felt like a piece of hair that brushed by.
"I'm sorry." Guava said. "Milphey's just-"
"It's alright." Marron assured. "I understand."
Guava smiled and dropped his hand back to his side. The others had
awoken as well. Marron, Chocolate, and Tira dragged Carrot off to the
nearby river. Milphey and Gateau went to get some more firewood and
food while Guava started up a fire. Suddenly Tira, in her other
outfit, came running up.
"Marron's in trouble!" she said frantically.
Guava nodded and ran with her to the riverbank. There they found a
soaked Carrot and a frantic Chocolate, also in her other outfit.
"Where is he?" Guava demanded.
"He got swept downstream." Chocolate said. "We can't reach him."
"There!" Tira said, pointing to a faint blob down the fast flowing
river.
Guava kicked off his shoes and went into the water. It was as if the
water was helping Guava along as he swam towards Marron. Marron
barely noticed Guava as he struggled to stay afloat in the freezing
mountain river. Guava reached the flailing Marron and wrapped a long
arm around Marron's chest.
"I got you." Guava shouted into Marron's ear to be heard.
Marron smiled weakly and relaxed himself. Guava headed for the shore.
Carrot, Tira, and Chocolate, ran up to Guava as he came out carrying
a shivering Marron.
"Is he okay?" Tira asked.
"He will be once he's out of wet clothes." Guava said, untying
Marron's belt.
"Good idea." Carrot said, then sneezed.
"You too." Guava suggested. "Go on ahead, get him to the fire."
He started unbuttoning Marron's shirt, unhindered by Marron's feeble
attempts to stop him.
"Don't fight me Marron, you'll freeze." Guava said, peeling off
Marron's clothes.
Guava removed his own dry shirt and put it on Marron. Cradling the
smaller man in one arm, Guava picked up the wet clothes and headed
back to the camp. Gateau was stoking the fire and Carrot was wrapped
up in a blanket while Tira was hanging up his clothes. Chocolate
handed Guava a blanket, which he swathed Marron in. Guava sat close
to the fire and set Marron on his lap. Marron was still shivering.
"Kitten." Guava said.
"Yes." Milphey said, coming over to them, stick in hand. Milphey set
the stick on fire and held it out to Guava. Tira gasped in surprise
as Guava thrust both hands into the flames. After about fifteen
seconds, Guava withdrew his hands, which glowed slightly.
"Thank you kitten." he said as he began to rub his hands along
Marron's skin briskly.
Gradually, Marron's shivering lessened. Guava heated his own body and
then began using his hands to dry Marron's hair.
"Thank you." Marron said quietly.
"You're welcome." Guava replied. "You can sleep now. It's safe."
Marron nodded and stopped fighting the urge to sleep. His head fell
against Guava's chest and he slept.
"Guava, how did you do that?" Tira asked, coming to sit next to him.
"Ah, well, you could say it's a part of me." Guava replied as Gateau,
Chocolate, and Carrot sat across the fire from him.
"What do you mean?" Chocolate asked, curious now.
"I'm not fully human." Guava replied.
"You're not?" Gateau said in surprise.
"My father was half human, half fire spirit. My mother was half water
spirit and half forest spirit. I'm a mix of all those."
They looked at him in disbelief.
"Is that why you're completely dry and not burned?" Tira asked.
Guava smiled at her.
"Yes. I can control anything containing water, fire, or plant life
that I am in direct contact with or it's in direct contact with me."
he explained.
Milphey held out the stick and Guava put his hand in. He withdrew his
hand and the others gaped as they saw the flame dancing on the back
of his hand.
"Wow, that's cool." Carrot said with a grin.
Guava grinned back.
"But I couldn't give that flame to you and let you play with it like
a sorcerer could."
"Is Marron going to be okay?" Chocolate asked.
Guava nodded.
"He just needs to sleep as his body recovers. I'm keeping him warm."
he said as he made the flame disappear.
"Thank you." Tira said, leaning over and kissing Guava on the cheek.
Chocolate, Carrot, and Gateau went to prepare breakfast. Tira then
blushed and stood up to move away. Guava caught Tira's arm.
"Tira." he said gently.
She turned to face him with red cheeks.
"Thank you." he said.
"Thank you for saving Marron." she replied.
"Do you love him?" Guava asked.
"As a brother." she replied.
"But your heart is set on another." Guava understood.
Tira nodded.
"I think I know who." Guava said. "May I see your hands?"
She held out her hands and he ran his fingers across them.
"I thought so." he said.
"What?" she asked.
"You will marry someone you love. Who it is, I can't tell you." he
replied.
"Can I hope?" she asked.
"You can always hope." he replied.
She smiled at him and went to help the others with breakfast.
"Careful." Milphey warned.
"I will be." Guava replied.
After breakfast, they continued on their journey to Marchpane with
Guava carrying Marron, despite Gateau's offers to help. Marron woke
up before they stopped for lunch. Guava continued to carry Marron
until they stopped. Marron donned, with Carrot's help, his now dry
clothes. The younger brother was still a little weak but determined
to get over the fact. Marron slowly made his way over to Guava, who
gestured for him to have a seat. Marron slowly sat down and accepted
food from Chocolate.
"Thank you for, ah, warming me up." Marron said, blushing slightly at
the memory of Guava's hands on his skin.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been unclothed in front of
anyone and no one had every touched his whole body before. The
thought discomfited him quite a bit. Guava chuckled slightly. Marron
glanced at him questioningly.
"You seem to blush a lot around me." Guava commented.
This caused Marron to blush again.
"Something I said?" Guava asked.
Marron shook his head.
"Well?" Guava prodded gently.
"Well, it's just that you-you're so...physical." Marron managed,
finally realising why it bother him.
Guava looked puzzled.
"Physical?" he repeated.
"You're always touching people." Marron said with another blush.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Guava apologised.
"It's alright." Marron hastily assured. "It's not your fault, it's my
problem. I'm just not used to being touched."
"I can tell." Guava said softly.
Marron blushed again.
"Now Marron." Guava said seriously. "Although I find it absolutely
adorable when you blush, you can't keep doing it all the time. You
have to learn to control it."
Marron glanced up at Guava and nodded briefly. Then Marron noticed
Guava's lips twitching. Marron blushed furiously at this.
"Guava." he complained mildly.
Guava chuckled and placed a hand on Marron's shoulder.
"I'm sorry Marron." Guava apologised.
"It's alright." the black haired man replied. "You are right about
the blushing though."
"May I try and help you get over your problem?" Guava requested.
"I couldn't think of anyone better." Marron replied.
"I could." Guava said.
"Who?" Marron asked.
"Milphey." Guava replied with a teasing grin.
"Milphey? But he'd? Marron blushed furiously at the thought of what
Milphey might do.
Guava chuckled and Marron managed at tentative grin.
"That's better." Guava said, squeezing the smaller man's shoulder.
Marron's smile broadened slightly."
"Getting there." Guava said.
"Thank you." Marron said.
"Ah, anything to get a beautiful smile on that beautiful face." Guava
said, brushing a finger against Marron's chin.
This caused a definite blush.
"I'm sorry, that was unfair." Guava apologised.
Marron nodded and ate his lunch.
They reached the outskirts of Marchpane by nightfall. They
decided to get the sorcerer now, before you could be alerted. They
split up into three groups and took off into the city, each reaching
the sorcerer's house from a different place.
The sorcerer had been expecting them after all. Carrot,
Chocolate, and Marron had each fallen into a trap. The sorcerer was
smart, each trap was different and designed for a maximum amount of
surprise. Gateau and Guava had been ahead of Carrot when the first
trap had been sprung. Carrot gaped in fear as the spiked roof fell
upon him. Gateau reached over and yanked Carrot out of the way with
such strength that Carrot literally flew into Guava. The section of
the roof crashed to the ground.
"Thanks Gateau." Carrot said, panting.
"No problem." Gateau replied with an easy smile.
"You're bleeding." Guava noted.
He ripped a piece of material from his shirt and bound Carrot's
wound.
"Let's go." Carrot said. "This guy's been prepared for far too long.
Chocolate was lucky, Milphey's feather deflected the arrow
meant for her leg. Marron, however, was quite the opposite. Tira had
been slightly ahead of Marron when they heard a click. Marron
immediately pulled Tira out of the way but his foot was suddenly
trapped. Marron cried out in pain as a small bomb exploded about his
foot.
"Marron!" Tira exclaimed in surprise and worry.
She immediately went over and examined his foot. She carefully
extracted his foot from the trap, which set off another bomb. Marron
yelped and collapsed. Tira jerked her fingers away and cried out as
her hand was burned. She went over and looked at the bloody mess that
was Marron's foot.
"Heal yourself first." Marron instructed through gritted teeth.
"But your foot-"
"You know you can't heal others that well when you're hurt yourself."
Marron interrupted.
Tira nodded and began healing her hand.
Carrot was wrong, the sorcerer hadn't been expecting them.
Unless you counted on letting your enemies find you prancing around
in a yellow tutu. The sorcerer recovered quickly, however, and began
firing bombs at Carrot, Guava, Gateau, Chocolate, and Milphey.
"I didn't expect such large rats to set off my traps." the sorcerer
sneered as he threw another bomb at the hunters.
"Guava, find Marron and Tira." Milphey ordered.
Guava nodded and ran out of the room. The others focused on the
sorcerer. Chocolate's wire couldn't hurt the bombs and Gateau
couldn't get close enough to hurt the sorcerer.
Tira was working on Marron's foot when she heard a voice
calling their names.
"Over here!" Tira called out.
Guava appeared and ran over to them, skirting the trap.
"Are you okay?" Guava asked.
"Almost done." Tira replied.
She finished and Marron's foot changed from a bloody pulp to a
slightly bloody, raw looking mess.
"How does it feel?" she asked.
"It burns." Marron replied, calmer now. "But it doesn't hurt as
much."
"We have to go help the others." Guava said. "This sorcerer has
strange powers."
"Marron shouldn't walk on that foot." Tira said.
Guava shrugged and picked Marron up.
"Come on." Guava said as he took off.
Tira followed quickly. They reached the archway to the room where the
others were fighting. Tira ran in to help. Guava set Marron down.
"How is your foot?" Guava asked.
"It burns still." Marron replied.
"Still? Alright."
Guava spit into his hands and placed them on the ground, closing his
eyes briefly. Then he gently took Marron's foot in his hands. Marron
gasped in surprise as the burning subsided suddenly. Carrot came
running over.
"Are you alright Marron?" Carrot asked.
"Yes brother." Marron replied as Guava removed his hands.
Guava quickly sketched out an idea to the brothers, who nodded their
agreement.
"Are you ready?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded as Guava helped him up.
"Don't let him put any weight on that foot yet." Guava told Carrot,
who supported his brother.
"Let's rock and roll." Carrot joked.
Guava grinned and stepped out. The sorcerer glanced at Guava briefly,
turned his attention back to the others, and then suddenly glanced
back at Guava. Keeping his shield of bombs in place, the sorcerer
stared at Guava nervously. The others stared in surprise as well.
In his arms and on his shoulders were dozens of rats. Guava slowly
approached the sorcerer.
"What do you think you're doing?" the sorcerer demanded.
"Walking." Guava replied.
"Well, don't come any closer." the sorcerer commanded.
"Why not?" Guava asked, looking puzzled.
"Because you're with them." the sorcerer replied with a snort.
"No I'm not." Guava said. "They forced me here."
"Liar." the sorcerer accused. "Stay away."
He started to sound slightly panicky.
"What's wrong?" Guava asked, still puzzled.
"Keep away." the sorcerer yelped as Guava drew closer.
The sorcerer threw a bomb at Guava, who managed to dodge it. The
sorcerer threw another, panicking as Guava closed in on him. This
continued until Guava neared the shield. The sorcerer cried out in
fear and threw the entire shield at Guava, losing all semblance of
bravery. Chocolate used her wire to quickly slice off the sorcerer's
head. They couldn't help Guava because of all the bombs. They waited
anxiously until the bombs stopped.
"Guava." Tira called out worriedly.
The smoke cleared and they found Guava sitting on the floor, bleeding
from both arms and a hand.
"Are you alright?" Tira asked, looking at his wounds.
Guava smiled wryly.
"A few more bombs than I expected." he said.
"Guava." came Carrot's voice.
Both Glaces brothers came over with worried expressions on their
faces. Carrot eased Marron down beside Guava.
"Help my brother first Tira." Marron requested as he examined Guava's
wounds.
Tira nodded and checked on Carrot's arm. Milphey, Gateau, and
Chocolate went to scout the rest of the castle. Marron began healing
Guava's arms.
"Good job Marron." Guava complimented. "Those rats were so real I
think I felt them."
"If I had known you were going to do something that stupid, I
wouldn't have helped you." Marron replied.
Guava chuckled and Tira and Carrot laughed. Marron looked at them,
puzzled.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You just said Guava was stupid." Tira said between laughs.
Marron froze suddenly and then blushed as he realised what he had
said.
"I'm sorry." he apologised.
"It's alright." Guava said, still chuckling.
Tira finished with Carrot and helped Marron with Guava. Soon Guava
was mostly healed.
"Do you think the two of you can stay unhurt long enough for us to
get the others?" Tira teased.
Marron nodded.
"I'll try." Guava promised. "But it's hard with such a tempting
beauty nearby." he added with a mock-leer.
Carrot laughed and Marron blushed. Tira and Carrot went off to find
the others.
"How did you know that he was afraid of rats?" Marron asked.
"Well, he wasn't confident that we'd fall into the traps, he was
genuinely surprised to see us. And he said he didn't expect such
large rats." Guava replied, sitting up. "How's your foot?"
"It's much better now, thank you." Marron replied. "But next time,
please don't do something so risky."
"Why Marron, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you cared."
Marron glanced at Guava in surprise and then smiled when he realised
Guava was kidding.
"Thank you for healing me Marron." Guava said, leaning over and
giving Marron a kiss on the cheek.
Marron went bright red and ducked his head.
"I'm sorry Marron." Guava said.
Marron's hair swayed as he shook his head.
"It's alright." he said.
"Are you sure?" Guava asked, sensing something wasn't all right.
Marron nodded again.
"Marron." Guava persisted gently.
He was rewarded, and surprised, as Marron put a hand on Guava's leg.
Marron lifted his head up and looked into Guava's green eyes. Marron
opened his mouth to say something when Carrot came bounding in,
followed by the others.
"The place is clean." Carrot reported. "Let's get out of here. I'm
sure that town is full of grateful, and pretty, girls all dying to
thank their saviours." he added with a grin.
"I think that Guava and I need to rest, brother." Marron said.
"Right." Gateau chimed it. "I'll help Marron." he added with a sly
look.
"I'll help my brother." Carrot said quickly, going over and helping
Marron up.
The hunters, Guava, and Milphey left the castle and were given
a free room from the local inn in thanks. They left Marron and Guava in
the room to go get food. Guava pulled a chair up next to Marron's bed
and they started playing a game involving poetry.
"Carrot seems quite protective of you." Guava commented as they
played go-fish.
"Only around Gateau." Marron replied.
"Is Gateau after you?"
"Unfortunately."
"I can't say I blame him. You have the kind of beauty that attracts
everyone."
"You attract people as well." Marron pointed out mildly.
"Not in the same way though."
"Oh, I don't know. I'd say you're rather handsome." Marron commented.
Guava looked at Marron in surprise. Marron gazed back calmly. Then
Guava noticed the twitch at the corner of Marron's mouth. Guava made
a face. Marron broke down and started laughing. Guava grinned.
Eventually Marron calmed down and smiled at Guava.
"Congratulations. You accepted a compliment, and gave one, without
blushing."
"Thank you." Marron said.
"What were you going to say to me at the castle?" Guava asked.
Marron looked like he was going to blush again, but stopped himself.
"Well?" Guava prodded, tugging on Marron's hand.
"I was going to say, 'the next time you do that, I won't blush'."
Marron said quietly.
Guava grinned at the statement.
"You assumed that I would kiss you again?" he said, arching an
eyebrow.
"It seemed to fit your character." Marron replied.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Guava said.
A serving maid came in with water and some bandages.
"My father suggested that I change your bandages." she said, putting
the water and bandages down.
"Oh, we don't want to trouble you. We'll do it ourselves." Marron
said.
The maid looked uncertain. Guava took her hand and kissed it.
"Thank you, lovely lady." he said sensually.
The maid blushed.
"You're welcome." she said before ducking out.
Marron looked at Guava in mild amusement.
"You're almost as bad as my brother." Marron said.
"Nonsense." Guava replied. "I'm ten times worse."
Marron laughed.
"Sit so that I can change your bandages." he instructed.
Guava sat next to Marron, who began unwinding the old bandages.
"Next time you plan on getting bombed, be sure to at least let us
know so that we can prepare." Marron mock-grumbled.
"Yes father." Guava teased, dropping a quick kiss on Marron's head.
Marron swatted Guava away irritably.
"Don't do that." he commanded.
Guava sat still as Marron finished changing the bandages.
"Shall I fix your foot now?" Guava asked.
"If you think you're able too." Marron replied.
"Just watch me work my magic." Guava replied with a grin.
He put Marron's foot on his lap and stuck his hand into the water. He
applied his hand to Marron's foot. Marron sighed happily.
"Better?" Guava asked.
Marron nodded as he helped Guava rewrap the bandages. There was
another knock on the door.
"Come in." Guava called out.
The maid ducked in.
"I was wondering if you needed some help sirs." she said shyly.
"Thank you, my dear, but we've just finished." Guava replied with a
charming smile.
"But you've barely bandaged the wounds." the maid protested, going
over to them.
"Ah, but you must let burn wounds breathe." Guava said, taking her
hand and gently stroking it. "Otherwise they will scar and pucker
horribly instead of being as soft as your lovely skin."
The maid smiled and blushed.
"But thank you for all you have done."
He gave her hand a lingering kiss. She giggled and left.
"And that, Marron." Guava said. "Is how you charm a lady."
"Really?" Marron said, arching an eyebrow. "I thought you just wanted
someone to warm your bed tonight."
"You have a dirty mind." Guava scolded.
"You have no idea." Marron agreed.
"Be careful." Guava said.
Marron looked at him quizzically. Guava threw an arm around Marron's
shoulder and pulled him close.
"Remember, I'm just like your brother. Only I don't care whether
you're male or female." Guava said suggestively.
He whispered something into Marron's ear. Marron turned beet red and
edged away from Guava, who laughed.
"Relax Marron, I was just teasing." he assured, returning to his
chair.
Marron's colour faded slowly as they resumed their game. The others
came back with a lot of food, gifts from the townspeople. They had
just started eating when a puff of smoke appeared. It dissipated to
reveal Daughter.
"Hey everybody!" she said cheerfully, holding out the ball as Big
Mama appeared.
"Hello Big Mama." Tira said.
"I'm glad to see that everyone's alright. Congratulations on a job
well done." Big Mama said. "Hello Guava."
"Hello my lady." Guava replied with a bow.
"Guava!" Daughter shrieked happily and she flew into his embrace.
He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.
"How's my Daughter?" he asked.
"It's good to see you again." Daughter replied.
"I have a new job for you." Big Mama said. "I know it's too soon
after but it's urgent. In Doughnut there's a sorcerer who's fooled
the people into thinking that he's not a sorcerer and that all
sorcerers are to be destroyed. This includes Eastern sorcerers, so no
magic Marron."
Marron nodded.
"Good luck." Big Mama said.
"Bye." Daughter said, parting from Guava.
They disappeared. Carrot groaned.
"More work."
"Don't worry brother, you won't be doing a lot of work." Marron
soothed.
"Can I ask you a question Guava?" Chocolate said suddenly.
Guava nodded.
"How come the bombs hurt you? I mean, you can control fire."
"Bombs aren't completely made out of fire." Guava said. "Some of the
bombs exploded before I could touch the spark which is why I got
injured."
Chocolate nodded understandingly.
"When should we leave?" Gateau asked.
"An hour?" Tira suggested.
"An hour?!" Carrot protested. "We just had breakfast. We haven't
slept yet. I'm tired."
"Well, we could take two hours I suppose." Tira relented.
"And we need to get some clothes for Marron." Chocolate added with a
smile.
Marron looked startled.
"Clothes?" he repeated.
"Of course, everyone will know that you're a sorcerer in those
robes." Chocolate said.
"But-"
"No buts. Get some rest. We'll be back soon." Tira said.
"At least let me keep my pants." Marron begged.
"Why Marron." Guava began. "You do have a di-"
"Shut up Guava." Marron said absently.
Before the others could be too shocked by Marron's rudeness, Guava
went into action.
"Yes father." he said, kissing the top of Marron's head.
Marron sighed and swatted at Guava. The others relaxed but Milphey
narrowed his eyes at Guava. Chocolate and Tira left. Guava collapsed
on the bed next to Marron's.
"Wake me in two hours kitten." he said.
Milphey nodded as he snuggled next to Guava. Marron lay down as well.
Gateau eyed the remaining two beds and then glanced over at Marron.
Carrot caught the glance and frowned.