(All rights belong to Yamane Ayano, except for my ideas that I use her characters for.)


~That Evening~

Val sat by the fire and watched the wind whistling through the leaves of the large oak and maple trees of the small forest they are camping in. He then heard a sound and felt slight movement in his lap. Val shifted his attention to the creature in his lap, a peacefully sleeping Rurka that wasn't on his current 'beware' list.

He was however, surprised when he noticed that Havi wasn't throwing hair raising glares his way. Havi had been doing it all day when Val had allowed Ruruka to rest on his shoulders the way they usually were. So why the sudden lack of glaring?

The curiosity of it had Val turning his attention once more from his previous focus to a new one. He saw Havi reading, and just admired how handsome Havi looked sitting there, peacefully, and quietly. His long white hair floated gently on the breeze around him, making him seem almost like one of those wise, gentle, caring, wizards that you could sometimes find in stories.

Val's thoughts left him blushing and he quickly looked away from Havi himself, and focused on the book Havi was holding. It was a black leather bound volume with silver and dark red decoratives, slightly thick, and probably a lot heavier than it looked. This information caused Val to pause in his observations. 'Wait! I don't recognize that book!'

After quite a few issues that Val has had to deal with when it came to Havi and 'borrowing' books, or taking them as 'payment', Val had decided to memorize what each book Havi owns looks like. And this one was a new addition. Val then searches the campsite for any new books, and he didn't have to look far. There was a pile of five other new books, sitting by Havi's right knee.

Val bit his lip as he studied the man sitting there across the fire with his books, enjoying the late afternoon, early evening. Val could feel his frustration and irritation rise as he grew very suspicious over where the books had come from. More than likely, they were from the library they visited that morning.

Val moved to lift Ruruka off his lap and set him on the ground so that he could stand up and confront Havi. However, before Val could make another move, there was the sound of someone crashing through the woods, approaching them at precarious speeds. Val jumped when someone came crashing through the brush, and nearly landed on top of him and Ruruka.

The young boy quickly righted himself and apologized profusely. He then turned his attention to Havi who had, by then, looked up from his reading with an annoyed expression unhidden on his face.

"What's the purpose of crashing through the woods like a wild animal and near attacking us like one?" Havi asked as he closed the book and then set it on top of the five other books and moved smoothly to place them in his bag, and out of sight. The boy didn't notice that the books were familiar to him.

"I'm here to request help from you, Halvir-sama. In the private library of the chief's family, six precious books have disappeared as if whisked away by magic, and the chief says that you are our only hope in finding them." The boy explained as he tried to catch his breath from running the mile and a half through the woods to reach their campsite. Val tried not to let his anger overtake him while they still had company.

~Val's Flashback~

I was getting very frustrated with how neither Havi nor I could find any information that might be able to help us figure out what the hell was going on with Ruruka. I'm sorry if I'm a little edgy and wanting to find out what's going on, when I get attacked by my rabbit!

Well, Havi and I had spent almost an hour and a half, coming up with nothing that might be able to help. I was about ready to scream or cut someone, or something, with my sword when one of the librarians noticed that we were having... difficulty.

"Is there any way I can help? I noticed that it seemed as if you weren't finding what you are looking for." She said gently, almost serene. That calmed me down a little, and made me take a deep breath. 'Good, now I don't feel like destroying something.'

"Yes, we are looking for books on rare animals. You see I have a pet that is of a special and rare breed, and he's acting oddly. I was trying to figure out what might be wrong so that I could fix the problem. Or it could even be that I don't know enough about his specie to properly take care of him." I explained as Havi stood behind me, still searching for books that might hold a magic recipe that called for rabbit anything.

"In that case, I think I know just where you'll find what you are looking for. Our chief's family owns a private library with special books and more valuable and rare books, perhaps, there you will find what you are looking for." From there, the librarian lead us to a door that was cast iron, and very heavily bolted in. As the petite woman opened the door, I admired the strength it must require for such a small body to seemingly easily move the heavy doors.

Havi and I both stepped into the private library and glanced around for a moment. I thanked the woman as I moved off to see if I could find what I was looking for. Havi, supposedly does the same, but I also knew that he'd probably still be looking for bunny stew recipes. I sighed and thought to myself as I started to search the new shelves. 'The information had better be worth it. I'm getting sick of being cooped up in here and searching endless shelves for information on a species I don't even know the name to.'

~End Flashback~


Authors Notes: Sorry! I was planing on posting this at the most, two days after the first chapter, but with parents, you never know what's going to happen. Thus the saying of my life for today: "Parents, you can't live with 'em, and yet, you can't live without 'em."

Please, please, review. I want to know what people think of my story, and if there are ways I can improve. I dream of becoming a real author, and I need some help to get their. Thanks! Have a good day.