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Chapter 2 – The Flame Archer
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes Hilary awoke to the inviting smells of cooking. Yawning she peered out to the cave's entrance over Dragoon's back were the sun streamed in momentarily blinding her eyes before adjusting to the light.
"Morning," she greeted putting her cloak on, announcing her consciousness as she made her way of to the fire to see if she could help with breakfast.
"Morning," he replied cheerily. "You woke up at a good time breakfast is nearly ready." He informed.
"Need help?" she offered.
"Nah, I'm almost done."
"Um," Hilary stared not sure how to word her request. "Um, I was wondering if we could fly by my village and see if there are any survivors."
Tyson sighed; he had been expecting her to ask something along those lines.
"That's not a good idea. The army most definitely will have spies lurking around just waiting for you to come back." Tyson reasoned removing some meat off the fire and putting it in a bowl.
"But I'm the town's healer! It's my duty to help any survivors!" she explained in desperation.
He could see her point about it being her duty, being a samurai his life revolved around his duty to serve his master but then again she hadn't seen the ruins of her village. When he had flown across no buildings stood they had all been burnt down to the ground, just a big field resembling a charcoal desert. No wonder he could have seen the smoke so far away, the intensity of the flames most have been astounding. It was nothing short of a miracle that the forest didn't go up in smoke too. Luckily though the village was surrounded with fields and it wasn't very windy so the fire was just isolated to the village. Whoever this army was they definitely knew what they were doing, they just reeked of professionalism. Anyway it wasn't wise to risk Hilary getting caught by going back when they didn't know why the army wanted her so badly and alive for that matter.
"Hilary," the softness of his tone and the grim expression on his face told her what ever he was about to say it wasn't going to be good. "Look I flew over your village last night and nothing was left; everything was burnt to the ground. If they stayed in the village they would have been killed by the fire. If there were any survivors they would have fled through the forest to hide, not stay at the village so going back will be pointless." He reasoned realistically.
"So what do you propose we do then?" she asked defeated though he was right, her fellow villagers wouldn't hang around they would probably make their way to another village.
"I was thinking of going back home so you could see your aunt and cousin and together try and figure out why they were after you. If they wanted you so bad that they destroyed your entire village, I don't think they'll give up too easily in finding you. If the army is as professional as I think it is they'll be dispatching troops in all the villages nearby yours and all main roads. If we set out after breakfast, Dragoon can cover distance much quicker than horses and should be able to make camp by night fall on the other side of the ranges far from this area." He stated clearly, like it had been rehearsed, obviously he had thought it through last night and this morning a couple times in his head. "Is that alright with you?" he checked.
"Not really, but I guess I don'," she replied annoyed and defeated seeing the logic in his words.
"Here eat up we have a long to of travelling ahead of us. Oh and it's a good idea to go to the toilet before we head off." He informed handing her a bowl of rice, meat and a bit of bread.
"Thanks," she replied softly. She wasn't really that hungry but seeing as she didn't eat last night she had to eat something so she didn't fall ill or lose her strength. Tyson scoffed his down rapidly, washed it down and then started to prepare for today's trip. Putting out the fire he then proceeded to make it look like they had never camped here, by the time he was finished Hilary had forced the last of her breakfast down her throat and went outside to relieve herself. When she got back Tyson was fixing his pack to his back, ready to leave.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" he asked.
"Not really but my neighbour Wyatt use to double me up on his horse," she answered curiously, weren't they riding a dragon though Tyson seemed to answer her thoughts in her next reply.
"When you were on the horse did you find your legs got really sore from sitting in the same position?" he questioned.
"Yeah and when I hoped of I couldn't walk right." She replied grimacing at the memory.
"Well prepare for that." He enlightened with a small grin.
"Great…" she stated unenthusiastically, "looking forward to it."
"I knew you would. Don't worry you get use to it, it doesn't even bother me anymore." He reassured. "Want a boost up." He offered.
"Yes please, I always had to climb the fence to get on the horse." She accepted eagerly.
Clasping his arms on the side of her hips he instructed "Okay on three jump up, one, two, three..." And on three lifted her up and placed her on the back of Dragoon were she automatically gripped the sides of the dragon's back for balance. Shifting her left leg over with a little difficultly as she was wearing a dress she slowly brought it over so she was sitting on the dragon like you would a horse. Bunching the skirt of the dress in the middle so her knickers wouldn't show she felt the cool scales of the dragon against her bare legs. Tyson then put a hand against Dragoon and used it to push him up on to of him and in one swift movement landing on his back, legs neatly straddled on each side. Putting an arm firmly around Hilary's waist he pulled her closer, her back brushing against his chest, to secure her so she wouldn't slip off mid-flight, his other hand then gripped one of Dragoon's horns like the previous night.
"Ready," he asked.
"Ready," she replied with a little nod and not even a second after the word had came out of her mouth they were already thirty feet in the air causing her to shriek in surprise and fastened one hand onto his thigh and the other onto his arm circling her waist. Once she had registered she was quite safe she removed her hand from his upper thighs in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed in a pretty pink.
"Not as ready as you thought hey?" he taunted with a smile. Eyeing a creek on the ground, she chose not to dignify it with a response.
It had seem ages ago since they had stopped for lunch and had gotten the opportunity to eat, relieve themselves and stretch their cramped legs when in reality it had been less than an hour. Her bare inner thighs, being exposed to the dragon's scales, were sore and blistering and constantly felt as if they were on fire. She found herself questioning why females never wore pants and the stupidity of it, after all it was just cloth sewn up a little differently. As soon as she got to her aunt's she would make it her mission to steal a pair of Kenny's pants with really thick material.
Taking her mind of her throbbing thighs she thought about engaging Tyson in a conversation again. The last time she did they ended up playing a rather unsuccessful game of eye spy. Tyson had gone first spying something that started with 'W'. She had said everything! White, wagon, weir, water, waist, weapon, weather, west, wilderness and every time Tyson would reply with a cheery, "no." Eventually she gave up in frustration were he replied with, "wind." How on earth could you see wind? It was invisible! His pitiful defence was you could see the wind when it blew a leaf! Vowing never to play eye spy with Tyson again she asked the question that had been plaguing her mind for the last half hour.
"How much longer until we are there?" she asked in exasperation like a small child.
"See those mountains up ahead," he pointed out at which she nodded. "Well as soon as we are over them we'll set up camp for the night."
"Really!" she exclaimed excitedly, her eyes lightening up at the thought of finally being able to walk around.
"Yep, actually we've been pretty lucky that the winds blowing in our direction." He stated.
"How come?" she chirped, her mood suddenly gleeful.
"Well it makes us travel faster. It's the same as paddling a boat with the current; it's much easier than going against the current. Besides your lips get chapped going against the wind." He stated, rubbing his moistening his lips at the thought. "Sometimes you get really lucky and find an air stream."
"An air stream?" she pondered out loud. She had never heard of one of those before.
"You've probably never heard of it before but it's like a stream of fast moving air. Going with the wind is like going with a weak current but an air stream is like going with rapids. If you can journey in one of those you can travel at extraordinarily high speeds." He informed.
"How fast can they go?" she inquired curious.
"I'm not sure really but it's faster than anything I've ever seen." He replied.
"Wow it must be really fast then. Are there any near here?" She asked interested, searching the air around her. If they could ride an air stream they would be able to make camp in no time.
"Don't really know as they constantly change their position. They're kind of like the weather, really unpredictable, though you need to be really high up to find them, higher than this that's for sure."
"But we're already over a hundred feet in the air!" she cried in disbelief, her idea of riding the air stream crumbling to dust.
"It's just how it works, the higher up you are the stronger the winds are or something like that." He theorised. Looking down he hungrily eyed an orchard of citrus trees, quickly scanning the area to make sure no one was around. "Would you like some oranges for dinner?" Tyson asked in a polite tone.
Oranges! She absolutely loved oranges! Oranges were a rare treat in her village, as were watermelons, as they had to be sent from miles away as none grew in the valley her village was located in. "Yes please!" she answered happily.
"Down we go then Dragoon!" Tyson commanded the dragon and all of a sudden they were out of the clouds and in a field of orange trees flying slowly between the rows of trees. What he said next absolutely floored her.
"Just grab them off the tree as we go past," he instructed, removing his arm from around her wast as he picked oranges of the branches, putting them in his pack.
"You're stealing them?" she cried incredulously her cheerful mood gone in an instance. Wasn't he a samurai? All honourable and righteous, fighting evil, protecting the weak. Then again she thought Tyson wasn't you're stereotypical samurai, thinking about how he dropped her in mid air for his own amusement. The memory only heightened her current displeasure with him for thieving.
"I prefer not to call it that." He replied continuing to pick the oranges, his body language showing no indication that he felt any guilt for the crime he was committing.
"Oh, then what do you call it then?" she asked astringently.
"What comes around goes around. I help them when they're in trouble and they help me whenever I am in need of something." He explained nonchalantly.
"I can't believe you! And you being a samurai makes the whole thing worse!" she cried in shocked.
"Why?" he asked casually, still picking oranges.
"You should know better!" She yelled, her tone resembling a mother scolding her child. If it wasn't for the position they were seated in preventing them from eye contact Hilary would have been glaring daggers at him.
"Please," he drawled, unswayed by her words. "And you haven't stolen something before?"
"Of course not!" she answered, insulted by his statement.
"I don't know what's your problem I'm only picking a few oranges it's not like I am making off with there live savings." He defended.
"It doesn't matter how invaluable it is, it's the principle!" she yelled back at him.
"Come off it I've bet you've at least picked one flower, if you are all about 'principles' that's technically murder." He reasoned logically.
"No it's not!" she rebutted, admitting her guilt unconsciously for murdering a flower.
"Yes it is! How would you feel is someone came along and picked your head off your body?" he asked pausing from picking oranges to poke her in the side.
"That's different." She stated tetchily.
"And while you were murdering that poor, innocent flower did you ever stop to think that some one might have owned that field? Because that would be classified as thieving too you know." He stated with a slight air of arrogance. How on Earth did he turn the conversation around to make her out to be the bad guy? "You know you're such a hypocrite," he stated as he sealed his bag up and motioned to Dragoon to continue on their journey. Dragoon snorted at his passengers' bickering as he began his ascent.
"Hypocrite!" she cried indignantly almost mortally offended. "I at least have morals," she asserted in a refined manner. Hilary wanted off the dragon, arguing with someone sitting behind you with there arm locked around your waist so you were unable to see their face was anything but comfortable but considering how he had dropped her the previous night when she wanted off she refrained from asking.
"If you have morals then you should be more respectful to your saviour." He argued back. For all the trouble she was worth maybe he should let that army have her he thought, of course he was not stupid enough to voice his thoughts to a raging female. Her only reply to his statement was a throaty scoff which clearly disagreed with what he said.
The remainder of their journey was uncomfortable yet this word didn't seem to justify the situation enough. The air around them was an atmosphere of crackling electricity and tense silence. Dragoon seemed to have felt it too as he flew faster than before as if wanting to camp as quickly as possible so these two got a little time away from each other before one or both of them did something regrettable. After what felt like hours for the three of them, they finally crossed the mountain range and made camp about an hour or so from sunset near a relatively unknown hot spring, both Tyson and Hilary were more than relieved to have some quality time apart. While their tempers had cooled down neither wanted to be the first to initiate a conversation in the end it was Tyson who was the first to break the stony wall of silence.
"I'm going to collect some firewood for dinner. There's a hot spring nearby which Dragoon will lead you to so you can have a bath. Don't be too long as dinner will be ready soon." He informed in a level tone, his eyes which were slightly narrowed were unreadable.
"Okay," Hilary replied acknowledging him briefly to show she heard his words but her tone was terse, indicating that she was far from forgiving him. Turning to Dragoon she started following him on the almost non-existent path that led to the springs.
That Tyson was going to be the death of her. The way he took those oranges without the smallest tinge of guilt frustrated her to no end. It was as if he had a right to take those oranges like as if he was an emperor or something. Who on earth taught him his ethics? Weasels? Then again weasels probably had more morals then him. Arriving at the hot springs she tested the temperature with her toes. Perfect. With her hands on the skirt of her dress ready to yank it off over her head, she turned her head to find Dragoon curled lazily on the ground with his eyes on her, watching her causing her body to freeze. Sure he might be some kind of mystical beast with no special interest in humans including ones that would need to be naked to take a bath but he was still male and she felt uncomfortable peeling her clothes off under his intense gaze.
"Um… could you please turn around?" she asked timidly. If Dragoon had eyebrows he certainly would have one of them raised in confusion, didn't his master tell him to watch her and make sure nothing happens?
Maybe he couldn't understand her, she thought with a frown on her face, but then again he could understand Tyson's words and they were the same language. Then again those two had such a close bond that the two seemed to be almost psychically connected. Maybe she was looking into this too much and he just hadn't heard her.
"Excuse me, Dragoon, could you please turn around so I can get undressed?" She requested her voice more pronounced and louder than before only to be met with the same puzzled expression. He had to have heard her that time, was he scared if he didn't keep an eye on her she would die on him or something?
"Look you don't need to watch me in case I drown or as this water isn't even deep and if something tries to attack me I can guarantee you I'll scream. Okay?" She reasoned, a big grin crossing her face as the dragon turned around to face the barely there path. Removing her articles of clothing quickly to shorten the time her bare skin had contact with the chilly air whilst all the time keeping a wary eye on Dragoon, she hopped in the hot spring, moaning softly thanks to the water's soothing powers relaxing her aching muscles. Now this was heaven! Resting on a coincidental rock formation that doubled as a seat she wanted to fall asleep for at least a day, however she couldn't rest, not until she no longer smelt of the foul stenches of dirt and sweat. Sucking a deep breathe in she sunk underwater, only to pop back up to start scrubbing vigorously at her hair. Correction, wet hay, it felt nothing like the soft hair she once possessed.
She sunk again underneath the water to get more water through her locks, this time however when she surfaced for a breath she felt a huge energy level nearby. No two, she realised as she concentrated on the energy levels around her. One was Dragoon which was the one she sensed when that army was chasing her but the other one she had no idea of who it was. Could she sense the presence of dragons? Concentrating harder she realised the energy level was located above her, somewhere up the mountain and in close proximity to her. Looking up the mountain's rocky slope she could see nothing but jagged boulders hiding the dragon from view. It looked like a safe place to nest so maybe it was nesting up there, that is of course if dragons nest, she thought.
Then some not so pretty thoughts came to her mind, if she could sense dragons was that why the army was after her? Dragoon, from her knowledge of animals was one of the most powerful creatures to exist, perhaps the army wanted her to sense out dragons so they could catch them and use them for there own purposes. On the other hand that dragon could have a master and was out to attack them or monitoring their movements otherwise she figured he would have announced himself long ago. Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning. She was naked and if that dragon had a master and was watching her bathe then…
"Dragoon!" she called in a low, panicked whisper so not to alert the possible peeping tom that she knew of their presence, all the while careful not to raise her body from out of the water. The alarm in her voice immediately brought the dragon to his feet, staring at her with anticipation. "There's a dragon up the mountain!" she informed apprehensively nodding her head in the direction of the energy level.
Dragoon didn't need to be told twice, in less than a second he was in the air and scouring the rocks. When he let out a loud, mighty roar, Hilary nearly wet herself in fright, scrunching her eyes shut she pressed her body against the rocks in an attempt to hide and shield herself from the potential onslaught of two beasts. Despite the warmth of the hot spring her body shivered involuntarily.
"Hilary, are you alright?" Tyson asked his voice brimming with concern. Opening her eyes they briefly met with Tyson's to which she nodded in response to his question. Tyson had his sword whipped out and posed ready for battle their previous dispute forgotten. With the sunset's rays of light highlighting his profile and the wind combing his hair he reminded Hilary of some sort of hero one would imagine in a tale and she hoped that he not only looked the part but had some hero characteristics to his persona, for their sakes.
Sticking two fingers in his mouth, Tyson let out a loud calling whistle immediately summoning Dragoon to his side and not a second after the dragon had touched the ground a red blur swooped down landing in front of the path's entrance. With Dragoon standing in front of her, as if guarding her, she couldn't make out what the red blur looked like but one thing was certain, it definitely wasn't a dragon. It had two feet instead of four and the resembled the feet of an eagle. Its feet were huge! If that thing was a bird it was definitely a giant of the feathered species. A thud interrupted the silence as a pair of recently polished pair of brown leather boots made contact with the ground. So the creature did have a master.
"I never thought you were the type to spy on bathing women, Hiwatari but then again it does fit into your shadowy disposition quite nicely I must say." Tyson baited wanting nothing more to get underneath Hiwatari's skin and cause him to prickle. Ever since he betrayed him and his family, Tyson hated him with a passion and the fact that he had perved on Hilary infuriated him to no end. One thing Tyson was sure of and that was it was no coincidence he was here, that was for sure. Hilary on the other hand gaped in shock; Tyson was on a name basis with this pervert!
"Spare me of your words Granger; I have no romantic interests for your courtesan." The cold, silky male voice hailed Hiwatari enlightened with rancour. Hilary welded her jaws together in rage, mirroring the same anger Tyson had in his eyes; did he just call her a prostitute? That peeping Tom! How dare he call her a courtesan when he was the one spying on her bathe! She didn't dare give him a piece of her mind, not wanting to attract any more attention in her state of undress.
"Are you implying then that you have some kind of interest in her?" Tyson demanded his voice dripping with malice.
"Who wouldn't when she has a thousand yen on her head?" he replied his voice cool and confident like a shifty merchant. Hilary's eyes widened, forgetting being called a prostitute for the time being. She was worth a thousand yen? Just how bad did this army want her to fork out that kind of money?
"And why would a guy like you need money? You're grandfather is a lord, an extremely rich lord." Tyson questioned in suspicion.
"Good question. Let's just say my interest in her is one of curiosity."
"Elaborate?" he demanded.
"I was hoping you would tell me, or her, I'm really not too picky." He asked casually.
"Tell you what?" Tyson snapped in frustration.
"Well obviously you don't know, so I'll be taking the girl then." He stated and in a flash had his bow raised, an arrow aimed directly at Tyson's neck. "Are you going to save him Dragoon and leave the girl vulnerable or are you going to protect the girl and leave your master to die?" he asked, pulling his string tighter on his bow and without any indication let the string lose.
Using his tail, Dragoon swiftly blocked the arrow which barely dinted his scales and then advanced on Hiwatari preventing him from shooting another arrow, swiping the bow out of his arm. The giant red bird obviously wasn't one to stand back in the scenery and took advantage of Tyson's unprotected exposure, removing him from his sword with a flap of its wings. The two were locked in a standstill, if Dragoon made a move on Hiwatari, the red bird would reciprocate with an attack on Tyson. Hilary felt powerless, both sides seemed to be easily matched; they could be here for hours before someone gave up and it was almost dark. If this stranger was as stubborn as Tyson they would probably be here for days and there was no way that she was going to get out of the spring with all them there. Seeing no obvious solution to the situation she turned her attention to the bird.
Getting a good look at the bird, its shiny red feathers and its long red tail feathers similar to a peacocks, she realised it was indeed a phoenix, another mystical creature she thought only existed in myths. According to the stories the dragon and the phoenix were often depicted together as blissful lovers or mortal enemies. Obviously these two were the later of the two, they looked anything but lovers with their death glares. Next she looked over at the man dubbed Hiwatari who was pinned to the ground by Dragoon and was stunned to find that he was extremely good looking, perhaps the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on. He was so good looking that she felt lucky he was spying on her for a moment. Shaking the thought out as quickly as it came in disgust she applied her mind to the situation in front of her.
Hiwatari had an interest in her. Did he know that she could sense dragons and now also phoenixes? Maybe he was a soldier of the army that was after her? Comprehending that he was the only one that could answer her questions, Hilary set out a way to interrogate him in the end deciding to start on simple niceties then lead up to the more serious questions.
"Excuse me what was your name?" she asked her head only visible from the springs.
"Tell me yours first," he stipulated never taking his eyes off the looming Dragoon. Tyson strained his ears making sure not to miss out on a single detail of this conversation.
"Hilary Tatibana." She gave with a little smile.
"Hiwatari, Kai" he replied in monotone.
"So Kai, can you tell me why there's a thousand yen on my head." She asked her voice friendly and just a little bit ditzy since men always seemed to like the dumb ones.
"Are you saying you don't know?" he answered with a question.
"I don't have a clue," she lied not wanting to tell him that she could sense phoenixes and dragons. "I don't even know which army is after me." She added deciding to end with a truth. She was met with a stony silence that made her anxious all over. Could he see straight through her words?
"That mark on your back. How did you get it?" he asked coldly breaking the silence.
"I'm not sure; I've had it since I was young. Why do you ask?" she enquired curiously pondering why he asked about her birthmark. Was he trying to soften her up so she might let something slip?
"I've got the same one in the same place." He informed his tone a tad lighter than before.
"But you can't it's a birthmark!" she reasoned logically and to Hilary's surprise he started to remove his shirt causing Dragoon to raise an aimed claw at his throat.
"I'm not trying to escape," he enlightened exasperatedly to the dragon and proceeded to take of his shirt revealing a well sculptured chest, showing Hilary the mark. The odd swirl that had a slightly darker pigment than the rest of the skin that was on his right shoulder mirrored hers exactly.
"You were branded with that mark when you were young." He explained calmly putting his shirt back on answering the question she was about to ask.
"So you were looking at me-" she started.
"-to make sure it was the same as mine. Yes." Kai finished bluntly.
"Is that why the army is after me?" she asked putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Not particularly but I would prefer to discuss that in private." He replied, making a gesture with his head towards Tyson.
"I don't think so," Tyson snapped speaking for the first time in a while.
"I think that Miss Tatibana can make up her own mind, Granger." He stated calmly challenging Tyson to say otherwise.
Tyson shut his mouth shut; Hiwatari had purposely pushed him unknowingly into a dead end. If he spoke otherwise Hilary, like any other woman, would tell him to shut his trap and that she could make up her own mind and then go with him to talk in private just to spite him.
"No, I trust Tyson, he can hear." She stated, in a way specifying her terms causing Tyson to beam in delight. She was definitely not your average girl! "You tell me everything you know and I'll tell you everything I know." She stipulated.
"I thought you said you had no idea why you had a thousand yen on your head?" Kai queried suspiciously.
"I lied," she replied boldly from the spring her voice losing its dumb tone to it. Tyson grinned, so he was right and he didn't even have to wait for more than a day for her to let the story slip. "Now withdraw your creatures from each other and we'll go back to the camp, okay?" she somewhat ordered. Tyson and Kai momentarily looked at each other and without saying it a truce for the time being was set in place.
"Dragoon,"
"Dranzer," they both said simultaneously recalling them to their respective partner's side then turned to Hilary looking at her with some sort of expectant look.
"Err right, you two start making your way to camp and I'll be right behind you just right after I get dressed." She stated a light blush tinting her cheeks. The two males started their way up the path, with Tyson in the lead with Kai following behind putting as much distance between them as possible, Dragoon and Dranzer flew overhead. Hilary sighed deeply, could her day be any more stressful? Rising her body out of the warm water, she shook her top half dry like a dog since she had no towel to dry herself on.
The last light of the day had almost been all consumed by the night which was probably why she slipped on a wet rock on her way out. Letting out a loud yelp, she landed hard outside of the spring on her hip and left hand immediately bringing tears to her eyes. Both of her shins and her left palm was grazed and stung so bad that it throbbed; she was going to be a kaleidoscope of bruises by tomorrow. Hearing the yelp Tyson sprinted back drawing his sword out, followed closely by Kai her had his bow and arrow set back to the hot spring were Hilary was still naked, fallen on the ground.
She sure wasn't going to forget this day too fast.
Yes I am saving author's notes until the end now. It looks so much neater don't you agree? Now that chapter was long! And originally I had set out to feature so much more in this chapter but that has been shifted into the next. Personally I am really proud of this story and I am hoping to squeeze everyone from the cast of beyblade into the plot.
Thanks to sexy-jess, Shiggity Shags, twincharm, Thomas O'Malley (kudos for pointing out my mistake, it's meant to be cousin), Calm Soul, Hutchy and xomi for your reviews! You guys rock!
Now I am dying to here what you guys think (especially if you liked it!) and what you think is going to happen! Constructive criticism is always welcomed! So go on then, review.