Fire Child By LadyPrin

Disclaimer Applies.

Thanks to DeadGirl'sPoem337, Shinomu (I sure hope your favorite character makes an appearence soon! A new one will enter in the next chapter, maybe that one's your fav?), and Fenris (I'm playing this little game with myself that I started for no particular reason. I'm making myself write each chapter as within 3 pages long, by my word document program. Of course when I add the 'Thanks to' part some becomes 4 pages, but it's how I unconciously started it. I may or may not break from the pattern, we'll see. -).

Oh, and MizzChocolate, are you going to bounce around from one story/poem of mine to another of mine just to write flaming reviews with bad language in them? If so from now on know you're going to be ignored. I can't delete you from my story reviews, but I can ignore you. Oh, you probably already know you need to clean up your language, but hey, I'll consider myself ignored. -

Chapter Four

"Whose turn is it to change the baby this time?" Eagle quietly asked to the group with a growing smirk.

Ferio was gathering up the dishes from that night's meal, but he paused long enough to grin at Ascot who was sitting by the campfire trying to sew up something.


"I do believe it's Ascot's turn." Ferio announced, and Ascot's head jerked up. "I did it last time, and besides I'm busy!"

Ascot grumbled quietly as he sat the fabric down on the ground beside him and got up.

Ferio laughed quietly as he left the campsite to wash the dishes in the nearby stream beyond the trees.

"Don't be too upset Ascot." Eagle told him as he handed the baby over to him with a smile. "I'm sure our little Hikaru appreciates it."

They had found out her name was Hikaru when they had gone through their bags the first time looking for something to feed her. It was on the sheet of parchment detailing their instructions on how to feed her, bath her, change her diaper and anything else the writer thought might come up.

Ascot had found a few yards of fabric in one of the bags, and since he was the one of the three who knew how to sew and sew good he had started work on making a couple new outfits for Hikaru so she wouldn't have to wear the same thing for the whole journey.

They'd left the palace three days ago, but though the horses were fast they had not yet made it to the halfway point. So it would be at least four more days before the end of the journey, and that's if their luck held out.

"The things I do for my Kingdom." Ascot muttered as he set to work.

Hikaru smiled up at him and made little happy gurgling sounds. Ascot soon couldn't help the affectionate smile that spread across his face. Hikaru seemed to have that effect on all of them, and they couldn't help but be happy when Hikaru was happy, which seemed to be always. She brightened up the journey even if she was only a baby.

Her crimson eyes were bright and alert when Ascot finished, and wrapped her up in a dark red blanket to keep her warm.

Ferio was back and was standing by the horses, packing the dishes away in a bag.

Ascot gave Hikaru over to Eagle and was about to sit back down when Hikaru did something that she hadn't done the entire journey.

She started to fuss and she had a frown on her angelic features.

"She's upset over something." Eagle stated worriedly, as he tried to calm her down with quiet shushes.

Hikaru's eyes were wondering all over the place, and then they finally settled on a patch of trees across from Eagle. She tried to snuggle closer to Eagle, away from the trees.

By now all three men were alerted.

Ferio grabbed his huge sword that was leaning against one of the trees that a horse was tied to. Eagle stood up and while cradling Hikaru in one arm, pulled from his hip strap a laser gun. Ascot quickly piled the cloth all together in one bundle by the fire pit and readied his left hand, for the jewel on his glove was his weapon.

After a moment of silent tension spent staring at the trees, Hikaru gave one short sharp wail that startled them all, and then the source of her fear appeared.

It was a monster that resembled a giant crab, all black, and had one burning eye on its forehead.

Ferio was the first to lung at it and with one swipe of his giant sword he cleaved the monster in half, killing it instantly.

He grinned triumphantly, but was stunned to see five more coming swiftly out of the forest, taking the fallen one's place. They all could see the burning eyes of more in the further darkness of the trees.

With a quick glance at each other they communicated the message that they had to go to plan B.

With a quick nod, Eagle turned and ran into the forest in the opposite direction of the crab like creatures. As he ran he heard Ascot cry out the words needed to call his friends and fighting companions.

"Spirit Beasts, I Summon Thee!"

Eagle kept running, thanking Cephiro that Hikaru remained silent.

After a few minutes Eagle had to stop to breath, and it was then he heard something running right behind him.


He turned sharply, his gun aimed straight for whatever was after him, but he hesitated. Good thing too, as it was Ascot who burst forth sitting in the hand of one of his many friends. A nice beast that looked more like a wingless humanoid bird than anything.

Eagle quickly holstered his gun, and was quickly swiped up by the other hand of the beast.

It took off running again through the trees, incredibly silent for its size.

The plan was simple.

If confronted in a battle with multiple assailants with an emanate 'fight until you're exhausted than get killed' outcome, whichever one held Hikaru would run off into the woods with her, away from the battle. The other two would fight together for a while. If no sign of an end were near, one of them would break off from the battle and rush to join the other and Hikaru. That way, one could distract the enemy while the others got away, and there would still be at least two protectors for the Fire Child.

Though the others felt terrible about it, Ferio was the one to stay behind this time. They took comfort in knowing that he could handle himself in battle better than most soldiers, and probably stood the best chance of winning a seemingly unwinable battle.

They ran swiftly through the trees, and soon the sounds of Ferio and the battle were no longer hearable to them.