Here's chapter number two. P: Hopefully I'll be able to reel in some fans with this. xD Oh….

Also, it's harder to write fanfictions than I recall! I've been role playing for so long that it's freaking hard to get back into typing out this things. x.x So if I drag things out for too long then please tell me and point out my errors and such. Heaven knows that I need it….

Thirdly: There are quite a few spelling errors and all in this chapter because I wrote half of this chapter late at night and didn't proof read it. So they'll most likely be fixed soon because I'm a little anal about my writing.

Chapter Two: Subsequent Kindred

"Mirasaros? Nice to meet you." The Elvaan stretched his arms and let out a deep and heavy yawn. The Mithra watched him wearily, still sitting on the ground with her tail circled around her hips. After he was finished yawning he stretched a bit more and then waved to her, turning his torso in the other direction. "Well, g'night."

At first Mirasaros sat and watched him without a word. It was only when his body had slipped into the shadows that she realized with a start that, not only was he the only person who'd spoken to her since she'd arrived, he probably actually knew where the hell he was going. She gasped and leapt up, calling: "wa-waiiit!"

There was only silence. She couldn't even see him anymore. Not because he'd disappeared into the darkness- even then she'd been able to make him out- but because he'd turned around a corner. She waited a few seconds before groaning and sitting down on her ankles. 'I lost him.'

"Is there something that you need?"

Her ears and eyes flickered upward to see his frame peering out at her from the side of a building. Her tail perked and she hopped up, nodding slowly but with a sense of urgency. "Um… where are we?"

The Elvaan burst out laughing, an arm circling his stomach while he threw his head back. "Oh, you're another poor soul who's fallen victim to San d'Oria's streets. Trying to find the residential area?"

"Ah… sure." She answered, pushing some hair away from her face in a nervous jitter. He waved for her to come over and she jogged up to him. She noted that, with some extreme distaste, this Elvaan was… a lot taller than she was.

"Bit short for a Mithra aren't you?"

She made a short laugh in response, trying to hide her annoyance at his statement of the obvious. "Well you're a little taller than most Elvaan yourself…" she responded as her tail twitched, eyes watching as he chuckled and nodded. He said something about her having a good comeback before he turned around and started walking. She followed after him, letting out a sigh of relief at finally having some kind of location in this giant city.

"We're in the port." He stated and she acknowledged him with a small nod. It was only ten seconds later that she realized that he wouldn't have seen her do this since she was behind him, but at this point it was too late to speak. So instead she let herself sink into the silence. It was edgy at first but as time drew on she became more comfortable in it and was left alone with her own thoughts. While she focused on the back of his tunic her mind wandered to and fro from different thoughts. One of which was how much of a good idea it was to follow someone she'd met by tripping over. Tripping over someone who'd been lying down on the side of the street, no less. She had no idea why he'd been there… he didn't look crazy. Was he homeless? Well he didn't smell bad. His shoulder-length smooth black hair wasn't messy and despite having been asleep on the street his clothes were clean and reasonably wrinkle free.

A while had passed and Mira still didn't know where she was going. It was now that she was becoming more wary of the person whom she was entrusting herself to. For all she knew he could be leading her off into some dangerous location. As she grew further into these thoughts he stopped so suddenly that she almost ran into him.

"Well, we're here." She looked up at the back of his head and blinked, stepping around him and looking around. The buildings here did look different… more… house-y. "We're on Rolanberry Street, in case you're still confused."

"Thank you." Mira looked from house to house and then eventually at the streets and grass that surrounded them. Well, at least the Elvaan hadn't been leading her to her doom, but… she was still lost. "So we're on Rolanberry Street, and the gates to Ronfaure are…?"

"You'd turn around the way that we came and just be sure not to turn left at the fountain." The Elvaan walked around her and set his hands on his hips. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"I just came in here today," she admitted, averting her eyes and looking down at her feet while she touched the back of her neck. "I… I didn't know where to go, so I kind of got lost."

"Didn't the guards at the gate give you a map?" He asked as he looked down at her in confusion, eyes trying to meld out how she looked. But with the darkness, her black hair and the fact that she was taking a sudden interest in the street he just couldn't see her properly.

"I didn't see the guards at the gate. I came into San d'Oria in a merchant's wagon this morning."

"Aaah…" He scratched his head and looked upward towards the stars and moon. "Wait, do you mean to tell me that you've been wandering around this city- have you been lost for the entire day?" He waited for a response but her lack of one and the way that her ears were slowly flattening down told him that his assumption was right. He let out some kind of a groan of sympathy for her, pressing resting his palm against his forehead. "Okay then… do you have a Mog House?"

"A what?"

"I'll take that as a no." He set his hands on his hips and looked down at her, sighing. The Mithra's soft golden eyes finally lifted up and connected with his dark black ones. "Where're you staying, Mira?"

Him saying her name, and already having it shortened, sounded a little strange. "I wasn't able to plan that far."

"Well," he scratched the side of his head for the second time since she'd been with him. He was silent for about ten seconds while he studied the young Mithra girl in front of him. Then, after some well-done thinking, he jerked his head in a direction. "C'mon. Mikii'd kill me if I left a stray kitten out in the streets when it's pitch-black out." She remained still and just watched him, unsure of what she should do. "C'mon, Elvaan can't bite." Without looking at her he waved his hand and she ran up behind him. "Tomorrow you should find your new Mog House. It's a room, free of charge, to adventurers and they come with their own Moogles."

"Free? Why's it…?"

"I'm lying a little bit. You can have your own room just as long as you do a few missions for the kingdom." He answered with a chuckle, walking up to one of the stairs and stepping up. He searched his pockets for about twenty seconds before finally pulling out a key. He let out a soft mutter of success before unlocking his door and stepping inside. "Mikii, I brought a guest."

"You didn't- oh!" A small, plump Tarutaru with a messy mop of light brown hair rounded the table and blinked at the Mithra standing in the doorway. Mira blinked and rubbed her fingers together before stepping into the warm home. She shut the door behind herself, her tail never stopping its back and forth motion. "You never told me that you had a girlfriend."

"Wha- a what?" Mira's eyes grew wide and she looked between the Tarutaru and the Elvaan in panic. The man laughed at her reaction and immediately shook his head.

"Not my girlfriend." He corrected as he pulled a chair out and sat down to start untying his shoes. "Her name is Mirasaros and she's one day fresh in San d'Oria and got herself lost. So she'll be sleeping here for the night."

"Uh… huh." The Tarutaru raised an eyebrow and stared doubtfully at the back of his head before sighing and shaking her own. "It's your house. Mirasaros, right? My name is Mikii; I'm a friend of Glowatoke's. I'm from Windurst." She hobbled over and lifted her hand up for the Mithra to shake. Mirasaros, despite her lack of height, still had to lean over and bend her legs to reach her. "I'm paying my rent here by doing some cooking, so I'll just stick another piece of bread in the oven. You sit tight."

"Don't use another black mage spell," Glowatoke warned as he tossed his shoes off into a corner. "My Moogle was whining about the mess you made last time." Mikii grunted and chucked something at the elf's head. The harmless carrot never hit its target as it was intercepted by his hand. He simply reached up, caught it, and then stuck it into his mouth to eat. "You can sit wherever y'like. Are y'cold? There's a fire." He smiled at her in a silent urge to move from her frozen spot next to the door. She murmured a thank you before walking over to the fire and sitting down. The warmth was more than welcome. As she sat she looked around the space she was in. There was the door, of course. Then there was the table that was placed in the center of the room with two windows. One window, which was currently closed by curtains, was on the same wall as the door was and had a small chest of drawers with various plants and festival ornaments on it. Opposite of that was the fire place where she herself was seated that had a festival ornament set near it along with iron rods used to stab the coals of a fire with. Then, to the far right side of the room was the kitchen where a Tarutaru was using a bench to walk to and fro from the stove and to the oven. There was a tiny window that sat high up above the kitchen. Then there was a second door that was in the direct opposite of the kitchen, but it was closed so she couldn't what was behind it. And there were various festival ornaments sitting around the room, almost as if he hadn't been sure where else to put them.

That night Mirasaros had slept on the rug in front of the fire. She'd curled up like a cat, facing the flames but with her hair covering her eyes. The rug was incredibly comfortable and she probably wouldn't have been able to tell that she hadn't been asleep on the floor if she hadn't known.

When she woke up the room was still pitch-black and even the embers of the fire had long since burned out. She sat up, very slowly, and looked down groggily to find that she'd been covered up by a blanket. She frowned and ran her fingers over the warm fabric of the blanket before drawing her legs up to her chest and placing her chin on her knees. She remained there for about five minutes, taking the time to wake up since she had the luxury to do so. Her hair was certainly going to be a mess. She could already sense that the ribbons in her hair had gotten knotted up without even having to touch them.

She folded the blanket and set it down on the rug. With that done she checked to be sure that she had everything before standing up and going over to the door. She hesitated for a second before giving up and pulling her wallet out. She had… five gil? Well, that would have to do. She set the money down on the table and then walked out the door.

Even outside the sky was still dark. But her instincts told her that the first morning light would appear in half an hour and within half or the next hour the sun would peer up from the horizon. Mirasaros smoothed her hair down and took a step off of the small four-stepped staircase that connected Glowatoke's door to the street. Her hand was still set on the rail as she looked back and forth down the road. Her fingers wrapped anxiously around the rail before she sighed and released the cold metal. She turned around and carefully reopened the door, sliding in and returning to her spot in front of the fire place.

She'd sat down with her knees drawn up to her chest and her forehead resting against them. By the time an hour had passed by she'd fallen into semi-half sleep and hadn't even noticed when someone had walked up to her.

"Hey," a small hand touching hers and a soft voice made Mira jump. Her head snapped up and zeroed in on a Tarutaru standing right in front of her. The Mithra blinked, an ear performing some kind of a spasm-out twitch. "Are you sick?"

"Huh? Oh, um, no, I'm… I'm not." Mirasaros pressed the back of her hand to her forehead as if she were checking to be sure that she was correct about her assumption. She dropped her hand a moment later once she'd released where it had gone and set it obediently back to her lap.

"Are you sure?" Mikii leaned over and touched her forehead just to check for herself. "Icky, you're freezing-wheezing."

"G'morning." The opening of a door paired with a heavy yawn signaled that the owner of the home was up. Mira looked over and saw that, even though he was clearly tired, he'd already gotten himself dressed in his tunic and long slacks. "Hm? Something going on here?"

"Nn-nn." Mikii shook her head and pulled away from Mira, hobbling over to the blanket that had been folded and set neatly on the rug. She picked it up and shook it out before tossing it on Mira's back. "Keep that on. You feel like a corpse that's been left out in the snow." She dusted her hands off and then marched off to where the stove was. There were already ingredients for making breakfast set out. Some meat and eggs along with some fruit presumably for making juice. Mira hadn't remembered seeing that last night… had Mikii already done all of that without her noticing?

"Alright then, Mirasaros," Glowatoke pulled a chair out and sat down at the table. "What are you here for? Job? Joining the knights? Adventuring?" She nodded at the last suggestion and he nodded back thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck. "A thief? No? That's interesting… red mage? Warrior?" She nodded again while she turned herself around to face him. "Well, you'll need to get a map of the city or else you'll get hopelessly lost. They constructed the streets of the city like a maze in order to confuse enemy invaders in the event that there was a breach in the walls. The citizens here manage fine. It's really not that hard to find your way around once you know your way, but most of the time newcomers have their map in-hand. You'll need to get a Mog House too, but…" he tilted his head back thoughtfully as the sound of something sizzling from the kitchen filled the room. Mirasaros could already smell the bacon from across the room and she found that her tail was twitching eagerly in anticipation. Glowatoke leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin while his eyes closed. After some odd seconds ticked by she started to wonder if he'd fallen asleep or simply forgotten her question. When he sat up and looked back down at her he crossed his legs by setting his ankle on top of his knee. "They don't loan out rooms to anyone who asks for them. You'll have to prove that you're just not another homeless trying to find a warm spot to sleep for the night."

"I see, ah… how do I do that?"

Strangely the corners of the Elvaan's dark-skinned lips swirled upward into a clearly visible smile. "You'll need to perform a few missions for the kingdom."

"You'll go out into Ronfaure and fight against an orc." The Galka told her in a clear but somewhat annoyed tone, his arms folded over his chest while he looked down at her. His skin was a sheer pale white, typical of all Galka, while his shortly cropped hair was a dark chestnut brown. He had a heard as well, which was properly trimmed and smoothed even though it looked like his hair was rather course. He rubbed a spot on his armor as if checking to see if there were any scratches or dents there. "If you don't get ripped in half and taken back to their camp for kitten stew, kill it and bring the orc's axe back as proof that you somehow managed not to die. Now get going." He gestured toward the gate that connected the outside woods of Ronfaure to the inside of San d'Oria. Mirasaros looked at him and scratched the back of her neck with the expression that she had a question. Before she could actually say anything, though, he growled at her. "Would you move already?"

She blinked at him and then took a large step back, eyes going back to the gate. Somebody had stuck constipation poison into his tea this morning. Well, either way, she wasn't going to let him sour up her entire day. If she wanted a place to sleep tonight then she was going to have to go and complete the mission. With these thoughts firmly in place she jumped over the steps and sped out of gate. For some reason the passage was oddly long, but quickly Mira saw green forming passed the walls that surrounded her.

The Mithra's steps slowed as the walls pulled away fully to reveal the forest. The woods, although they weren't dense, were filled with trees. She'd been traveling through these woods for quite a while yesterday but hadn't bothered to look outside to see it. She'd been inside of that wagon for most of her trip and she was regretting it right now. The trees stretched high up with thick branches spreading out to suck in as much sunlight as possible. The grass was thick and a dark green color, showing that the forests of Ronfaure didn't suffer from any lack of rain or other ailments that might inflict damage on the plants. The wind was gentle, shifting lightly through the leaves and passing by her for just a moment to touch her arm before whisking off to continue on its own journey.

'These woods… Ronfaure.' She blinked and hung onto these words, eyes moving but her tail and ears completely still. This place was far from what she'd been used to. She walked up to the point where the stones that paved San d'Oria road met the grass and dirt and looked down. There was a dirt trail that ran a bit to her let, made naturally by people frequently using it. She stretched her leg out and rubbed a toe affectionately against the dirt, listening to clicking of someone's heavy metal armor as they walked past her. She hardly noticed them. Her mind and heart was in a completely different place.

After some odd minutes of standing there mutely she took in a deep breath and stepped out. Half of her feet were bare so she could feel the grass underneath her feet and literally purred out loud. Her skin prickled pleasantly as she walked on the grass, tall ears catching the various sounds that came to her. The earth then dipped down into a hill and she came to a stop to look down it. There were several long-tailed hares along with a carrion worm that was poking its head out of the dirt to gather up sunlight and air. She looked down at the sword that she had strapped to her belt and pulled it off. She held it out, testing its weight and then giving it an experimental swing. The edge looked a little… dull, but it was the piece of equipment that she'd received. So she'd have to suffer with the damned thing for now.

The Mithra then sped down the hill, her legs easily carrying her off and conforming to the hidden uneven surface that her feet met. Despite moving so quickly she was surprisingly light on her feet. She ducked down, hunter instincts pushing through as she narrowed her target down to a worm who was basking in the sunlight.

That was what she spent doing for the majority of the day. Even though her main mission was to find an orc, eliminate it and bring back its axe as proof she had much more to do than that. Most of which being finding various bits and pieces of loot that fiends and other creatures picked up or had. The day passed on by and Mira was finding that she was glad that Glowatoke had lent her his map and had shown her a few different ways to use the small knife that she had. She looked at her map frequently so that she could keep track of exactly where she was going. She saw a few other fellow rookies such as herself, along with a blond Hume who was sitting in front of a pond, fishing. Around noon she'd stopped to eat and then returned to her task of finding an orc to defeat. Hours passed by and Mira noted that if she didn't return soon that it would get dark. She could just travel back but she could remember the warnings in her mind about how it was a bad idea for her to stay out after the sun had set.

Today, though, she would risk it. It grew darker faster than usual thanks to the trees and the mountains that Mira knew separated west and east Ronfaure. She looked around for shelter along the river and found a straw hat washed up on the river bank. She looked at it and nudged it experimentally before picking it up and sticking it on her head. It wasn't much, but it was good for safe keeping… and maybe money. Afterwards she'd climbed up a tree so that she could get some rest. If her guesses were right an orc would appear. She could find one, defeat it, take its axe and then hide back in a tree until the sun rose. It wasn't really the most comfortable or elaborate plan ever but if it worked she didn't care. She would be willing to spend a night out in the darkness if it meant being able to sleep in a bed the next.

Something that she hadn't planned for, though, was the number of creatures that began creeping out. She was aware that more monsters came out once night fell, but she hadn't expected it to happen to close to San d'Oria. She bit down on her lip but kept her distance from the fiends up on a branch, waiting for the sounds of an orc to alert her of their presence. An hour passed before she heard anything of the sort. Most of them had been false alerts but she heard something… definite. She could hear it now, but there was something odd about it. It was almost as if they were chanting. She'd slid out from her hiding spot in the tree and then carefully treaded her way to where the sounds led her. Then, through the thick branches and tree stumps she smelled burning wood and meet. Her eyes picked up on it seconds later and several orcs standing or walking around a fire. Whatever chanting she'd heard either hadn't been from them or she'd somehow misheard. Either way there was one thing for certain: there were too many for her to go after, especially with the stumpy thing called a sword that she had.

And it didn't go… quite well.

She didn't know how or even why but as she pulled herself back to hide farther behind the tree she was using as a hiding spot an orc grunted and turned to face directly at her. The others followed in suit, tiny beading eyes locking onto where she was before running forward with their weapons raised. She felt a stinging in her veins, the familiar sensation of magic seeping through her skin and poisoning her insides. She hissed and instead of standing to make a fight took off running. Being a Mithra she easily outran them, not to mention that her sight was also superior in the dark. But there was one thing that they had that she didn't, and that was a mental map. She didn't have time to pull out her map and look at it and as minutes passed she found herself facing a cliff. Her ears swerved, tail moving urgently while she looked around. The orcs emerged from the brush moments later and came rushing at her with their weapons raised. Mirasaros whirled around and raised her sword up in order to block an incoming strike. This was not going as she had intended.

She pushed the weapon up and, in a single swift strike, knocked the orc over. The axe it had been holding bounced off into the brush, something that her eyes didn't catch. She looked instead to her next attacker, ducking to avoid a cut at her neck. She pressed her fists against the ground as leverage before pushing herself up and kicking at their stomach. She rolled away a moment later, sucking air between her teeth as the poison made her eyesight spin. She stood up and brought her arms up for protection, swaying as the poison made her head grow unnaturally light. Then she was punched, arms taking the blow, and was knocked onto her back.

"Tachi- Enpi!"

Within that instant someone wielding a long curved sword ran forward, slashing at several orc. If the orc didn't fall immediately they took off- running. She sat up and lowered her weapon, although not fully, to look at who was there. It was a Hume. Blond. His hair was pulled back into a thin, floppy bun that rested on the middle-lower part of his head. Wasn't that typical of those who hailed from the east? He watched the monsters leave and waited until the sounds of them running died away before looking down at her. Through the moonlight that was allowed in this small space she could see his eyes. They were blue, but much lighter and gray. It was as if she were looking at dark steel. "Th-thank you."

"Mm. You dropped this." He shook his sword before sheathing it and grabbing the straw hat that was on the ground. He walked over and looked down at her before sitting on an ankle and holding it out. She blinked first at him and then the straw hat. She'd completely forgotten that she'd been wearing it in the first place. Hesitantly she reached out and grabbed it, only to set it back down beside her and slowly sit up. "It's not typical for Mithra to run around with orcs at their heels while wearing a straw hat."

"It's not mine…" she muttered back, jabbing her sword back into its rightful spot on her belt. She heard him take in a deep breath before he reached over and picked it up to get a better look at it. He made some kind of a happy "ah" noise before sticking it back onto his head.

"Hmm." Despite the weapon that the man carried he was wearing only a simple tunic. There was no armor or any other indication that was threatening about him. "Cats running wild in the middle of the forest are bound to get someone's attention, 'specially mine." He reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around her arm, shaking his finger at her when she flinched. "Don't move. Now I've got… hm, something…" he released her and sat down, pulling a bag that he was carrying off of his bag and opening it. He ruffled through the contents and she watched, tensely, sitting up and watching him. He noticed this and paused to look at her over his sharp cheekbones. "You don't need to stare. I'm just looking for some ointment and bandages."

"Oh."

"I don't know about here but where I come from its customary for people to help the injured. So," he looked back down at his bag and pulled a small jar out and continued searching for something else. "You know, sit tight."

She did so, finally letting her eyes tear away from the stranger and going down to her arm. It was bleeding and there were actually holes in her arm. The orc that had hit her in the arm must have been wearing knuckles. She trailed her fingers over the injury, looking up when she heard the strings of the bag being pulled to shut the opening. The Hume scooted over closed, grabbing her arm again and holding it up. He pulled off the top of his jar and rubbed some green paste onto his fingers before applying it to her injured skin. The stinging was powerful but she kept herself still and merely opted for sitting and watching him, her free hand latching onto the grass in a reflex of tension. Once the man was finished he picked up his bandages and wrapped her arm up, actually taking some extra time to tie the ends of it into a bow. He stared at it with lowered eyelids, smiled, and then put everything away into his bag. He looked up at her as if to say something but then looked away just as quickly before standing up. She did the same, only to nearly fall over as another wave of vertigo knocked her off of her feet. He caught her before she fell and steadied her. "Ay, be careful." He waited until he was sure she wasn't going to topple over before letting go. She opened her mouth to say something but it snapped shut as soon as she spotted the familiar outline of an orc's axe underneath a bush. She walked over and got down on her hands and knees, reaching in and pulling out the axe. Oh, thank Altana- if she'd gotten herself into that entire mess without at least this she would've been miserable.

"Mission."

"What?"

"You. On a mission, I mean." He cleared his throat and then folded his arms over his chest. "Hunting orc." She nodded and stood up, slower this time, looking down at the axe and then up towards the sky. "Too late to go to San d'Oria now. They shut their gates after nightfall unless it's an emergency or they know your face well enough. Sleep outside." He sighed before he sat down with his back up against the cliff.

The next morning the pair walked back to San d'Oria. Kryv was the Hume's name, she'd learned, and through some sheer irony it had turned out that the straw hat she'd found had been his. She'd also recognized him in the early morning light. He'd been the very same person she'd seen fishing when she had been wandering around searching for orc near ponds.

An hour later the tree line came to a stop and the gates of the Elvaan kingdom came into her view. She let out a sigh of relief and sped up, Kryv coming up behind her at a less enthusiastic pace. She ran through and past a guard and up to a door. She banged on it, loudly, and not a moment later was greeted by the Galka from yesterday. He'd looked serious but upon seeing her he just looked down-right annoyed.

"Look," she pulled the axe off of her belt and presented it to him with both hands. "I got it."

"I was looking forward to having some of that food," he muttered out of irritation before he grabbed it and looked down to inspect it. "Alright, it's legit. You passed. Here is your flimsy piece of paper," he pulled something out of his pouch and handed it to her. "Now leave." Did she leave? No, she didn't. She accepted the paper but instead of moving or saying something she just stood there and stared at it blindly with a strait face. "What? Is there something wrong?" Her eyes lifted up from the page and, slowly, she smiled. It was tiny at first but it spread out across her entire face, ears lifted, back strait and the tail that was too long for her body wagging. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"I'm happy."

"You're insane." He corrected with a grunt before stepping back and shutting the door in her face.

"Congratulations Mirasaros." Kryv told her with a small, light hearted chuckle. She turned around and rubbed her thumbs against the paper, ears flattening. "Got to go back home now." He waved and then walked off, going through the arches that were used as the gateways between the main street and the gate to merge with the crowd. She watched him go before running off herself, intent on showing Glowatoke, if he was home, that she was not dead and that she had, in fact, completed the mission. Even she had had a little help while doing it.

She found his house after getting lost a total of three times. Even with the map Glowatoke had loaned to her she was still accidentally going down the streets. Eventually she found her way back, hesitating to check and be sure she was at the right spot before walking up and knocking on the door. She didn't think that she would stay again another night here, but any way she looked at it she still had to give the guy his map.

"Hey! There you are," an exasperated Mikii answered the door (how Mirasaros wasn't sure, the doorknob had to be just out of Tarutaru's reach) and waved her arms. "We thought that you'd gotten gobbled up by an orc!"

"No," she smiled with let out a mixture of a sigh and a quiet laugh as she pulled the maps out and presented them. "Can you, ah, give these to Glowatoke and tell them him thank you for me?"

"Nope. You can tell him yourself."

"Bu-?"

"Like I'm going to let you hop off into the streets. You're like what, less than five feet tall? You're gonna trip and then those giants are going to be stomping all over you and then you'll turn into a Mithra pancake." Mira looked back in disbelief and found that she couldn't even verbally respond. Mikii gave her some time to answer but when nothing came she tugged on her arm. Mira followed inside in a semi-stupor and the Tarutaru shut the door, sighing. "You should have come back. They lock up the gates after its dark and all sorts of monsters show up in Ronfaure." She climbed onto a chair and pointed for Mira to sit in the one beside hers.

"Why were you worrried?"

"Why?" Mikii's lower eyelid twitching before she began unwrapping the makeshift bandage that had been put on her arm. "Well, there are a lot of reasons for it… you don't meet somebody, wish them good-luck for a two hour journey and then not think about it when they don't show up for the entire day." She rubbed her hands together and leaned back and forth on her hips before her palms glowed faintly. "Especially when they're a little midgety Mithra who has an abnormally long tail. There, all better." She smiled at her own work and looked back at Mira. "See, I fixed your arm up. And your hair is all messed up. You didn't get into too much trouble did you?"

Mirasaros looked at her arm, lifted it, flexed it, and then experimentally touched the spot where she'd been hurt. It was as if it had never been there. "Um," her tail fell off of her lap and landed on the floor with a dull thud. "I got the mission finished?"

"You're very reassuring." Mikii giggled before sitting down and then sliding off of the chair. She walked over to the kitchen and started pulling out various ingredients and setting them out on the counter. Mira watched her, hand still gripping her newly healed arm, and then finally spoke up.

"Do you need any help?"

"If you could come over here and get some fire crystals from the cabinet way up there," Mikii pointed at a shelf that was too high for her to reach. "It'd make my job a whee bit easier."

And there you have it, the end of chapter two.

Sorry if it's all a little boring… but… I'm slowly getting the hang of this again. –laughs-

Please review.

Cryptic….