The next morning, Li woke to the smell of eggs and meatrolls. Yawning,
he sat up, lazily rubbing at his eyes.
"Well, good morning!" Sakura said cheerfully.
Turning, Li saw the princess hovering over a small fire. In her hands she held a plate of meatrolls and freshly cooked eggs while in her other, a spatula regularly poked at the food above the flames.
"Morning. Where did you get those?" he asked, pointing at the eggs.
"Zia found them in a nest a little way down the stream," Sakura replied, tilting her head towards where the Kreetal sat, grooming herself.
Looking around, Li saw Meilin and Kero still lay fast asleep. Standing, he arched his back before walking to where the food sat. Grabbing a meatroll, he took a bite, chewing carefully to test the flavor. Sakura giggled, resting her cheek on her hand, amused with watching him.
"Well? Is it satisfactory to your liking?"
Li closed his eyes dramatically, chewing slowly. "Mmmm. I don't know," he replied teasingly.
"Oh really?" Sakura returned, taking his bait.
"Mmm hmm. It's hard to tell. I've tasted some really exquisite gourmet food before, you know."
"Very well," Sakura replied nonchalantly. Before Li could protest, Sakura swiped the remainder of the meatroll from his hand. "If you don't think it's worthy enough for you to eat, then I'll just take it back."
"Hey, wait!" Li exclaimed. "Hey, I was just joking! Give me back my meatroll!"
Sakura smirked, tossing the roll into his hand. "You're such a baby."
Popping the meatroll into his mouth, Li grinned boyishly. "I'm no baby. I just get hungry when I wake up in the morning."
"Right," Sakura echoed sarcastically, smiling.
A low groan indicated Kero's awakening. Slowly, the guardian came to life, hovering slowly towards where Sakura was, sniffing the air warily.
"Is that. food?" he asked, eyes snapping open.
Suddenly without warning, Kero dived into the plate, scarfing down half the meatrolls before Sakura could pull him away.
"Kero!" she scolded, holding him in front of her face. "Other people have to eat, too, you know!"
"Well, yeah," Kero muttered guiltily, wings drooping, "but. I didn't mean. well, I'm just hungry, that's all."
"So are the rest of us, Kero!"
Li smirked, forcing Kero to glare back at him. Sakura, noticing the silent battle between the two, rapped both of them on the back of their heads.
"You two stop it," she scolded. "Li, you go wake Meilin. Kero, you help me heat up some more meatrolls."
Solemnly, the two went off, not wanting to further upset the princess. Minutes later, the three teenagers, guardian and Kreetal sat scattered around the fire, cheerfully eating the food Sakura had prepared. Kero smiled, hold up an end of a yellowfruit.
"This is great, Princess!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"It's okay," Meilin muttered. Li nudged her stomach with his elbow. "Ow!"
Standing up, Sakura leaned over Zia and grabbed a bathing sheet and a dry towel.
"I'm going to go wash up real fast," she announced, walking downstream. "I'll be right back." Zia, from her seat next to Li, whistled, blinking out and back in on Sakura's shoulder. The princess smiled.
"Are you going to scrub my back?" she whispered.
The Kreetal nodded, squeaking to emphasize the motion. Giggling, Sakura walked until she found a quiet, secluded spot hidden from view by the trees. Quickly, she stripped herself and wrapped the bathing sheet around her body, slipping quietly into the warm water.
"Mmmm, this feels good," she whispered to herself.
A splash behind her indicated Zia's entrance. The Kreetal swam in circles around her, using her tail to propel her forward.
Sakura laughed. "What are you doing, silly?"
Zia popped her head above the surface, chirping that she would like to play a little.
"Come on, Zi. We had better make this quick so we can get going again."
Squeaking her disappointment, the Kreetal winked out, reappearing a second later with a wash scrub in her mouth. Swimming to her front, she deposited the scrub into Sakura's hands before disappearing again, this time returning with a small bar of soap. Rubbing these together, Sakura managed to produce a thick lather with which she scrubbed herself vigorously.
As she bathed, Zia resumed her swimming, darting around the stream bottom like she was born in it. To Sakura's delight, she even leapt out of the water several times, flipping in the air like she was a dolphin.
Soon, Sakura had washed to her satisfaction. Allowing Zia to return the items to their proper storage place, Sakura began to swim to the shore.
***
Elsewhere, Li was throwing a bucket of water over the fire when he felt it. Looking up abruptly, he narrowed his eyes over the surface of the water. Kero found himself doing the same.
"What is it?" Meilin asked, recognizing Li's expression.
Li remained silent, still staring at the calm water.
"I sense something," Kero said quietly.
"Something in the water," Li added.
"In the water?" Meilin repeated, watching the ripples flowing in the water where a leaf had fallen onto the surface from an old, overhanging tree. Li and Kero watched as well.
Suddenly, the ripples grew larger, as if a large rock had been dropped into the stream. With great speed, they flowed from the center, the intervals between each growing smaller as each ripple was produced. Suddenly, the reason behind the creation of the ripples slowly emerged.
Meilin gasped, taking a step back. Li whispered several words softly, quickly squeezing the hilt of his sword as it appeared in his hand. Kero flew above them both, watching the strange new figure through narrowed eyes.
Though the thing looked nothing like Li or Meilin, it appeared too human in shape and form to really be described as a creature. Her entire body was a deep shade of blue, all four or five feet of her. She looked almost like a little girl, with her wide, blue eyes and long, rippling hair. Large, bat-like ears sat on either side of her head, flicking back and forth. Viciously sharp teeth protruded from her mouth as her lips parted, a high-pitched hiss erupting the air.
"What the heck is that?" Li demanded.
"Is it a water sprite?" Meilin whispered.
Kero shook his head firmly. "No. No water sprite I've ever seen looks anything like that. They're much smaller, and extremely shy."
"He's right," Li agreed. "That thing's not natural, whatever it is."
As the thing's hiss grew louder, it slowly waded towards them, sharp claws unsheathed at them. Li crouched low, sword in front of him, prepared to attack. The strange girl-creature leaned down as well, ready to leap at them when suddenly her ears twitched and her head turned downstream.
Surprised, Li and Kero watched her carefully, muscles tense and ready should they need to be used at a moment's notice. Meilin stared wide- eyes at the being, shivering behind Li's tall figure.
Slowly, the girl twisted her eyes towards the trio and hissed wildly as she sank into the water from which she came, bubbles erupting from around her. Amazed, Li slowly lowered his sword as the last tips of her hair vanished. As he watched, however, he saw the bubbles still spurting from the same spot, but now moving. They were heading downstream towards where the girl had looked before. Downstream towards.
Not far away, a splash and a giggle was heard.
Li's eyes widened. "Sakura!"
***
"Zia, stop that!" Sakura ordered, unable to resist laughing at the Kreetal's antics. The creature, for sport, had Sakura's bar of soap clenched in her teeth and was darting around the surface of the water like a dolphin. Sakura, herself, stood on the riverbank, one hand holding onto the towel around her body and the other planted on her hip. "Now, come on. You know we don't have that much time to waste! You were supposed to have put that soap away!"
Zia popped her head out of the water, staring at her mistress with wide eyes, and with the soap still in her mouth, tried to chirp her desire to stay.
Sakura shook her head. "Zia, I'm not going in there after you. Not after I just got myself all good and dry!"
Sakura's mind flooded with images of Zia jumping and playing in the water. Sakura smiled sympathetically and shook her head once again. "I know you want to play, but we really need to go. We have to go find the sorcerer, remember?" Zia looked down in guilt, suddenly remembering their mission. "I'm sorry, but this isn't the time. Maybe later, okay?"
Head perking again, Zia vanished and reappeared on Sakura's shoulder, soap gone and ready to go.
Sakura grinned, rubbing the Kreetal's head with her index finger. "Good girl, thanks." Zia turned to lick the princess's cheek gently. She giggled. "Alright, that's enough, that tickles!"
"Sakura!"
Sakura looked up to see Li and Keroberos (the larger form) racing toward her, Meilin lagging behind. She tilted her head to one side, confused. "Hey, guys. What's the matter?"
Li opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly took in Sakura's towel and "clothes-less-ness". Face burning, he skidded to a stop and spun around, not able to speak a word. Sakura, still confused, turned instead to her guardian.
"Keroberos, what's going on?"
"Sakura! Get away from the-"
"Ahhh! Kero!"
Li, forgetting his momentary discomfiture, spun around, drawing his sword at the same time. "Sakura!"
Li's eyes widened. The water creature stood with her arms at the princess's throat, grinning wickedly. Li's grip on his sword hilt grew tighter as he noticed Sakura's pale color- the result of a severe lack of air.
The princess's hands were at her neck, desperately trying to remove the creature's suffocating grip from her throat. However, her lack of oxygen left her beginning to feel light-headed and faint. All too quickly, her eyelids began to flutter.
"Sakura! Don't close your eyes! You have to stay awake!" Li shouted, trying to use the volume of his voice to jolt the princess awake.
"Li," she strained, her voice incredibly weak. "I.. can't.."
"Sakura, please!" Kero pleaded.
"Let go of her!" Li commanded of the water creature, holding his sword out threateningly.
The creature, well aware of the threat, bared her teeth and hissed, holding out a clawed finger to the helpless girl's neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"No!" Li yelled, prepared to step forward.
"Drop your sword!"
Li glanced at the guardian, believing he misunderstood him. "What!?"
Kero, eyes unwavering, repeated slowly, "Right now, we are in no position to hold any authority over that.. thing,.. so just drop your sword."
"But-"
"Do it!" Kero snapped.
Li frowned, glancing back and forth between the golden beast and the princess, still not wanting to abandon his instincts that told him to fight. Realizing this, Kero took another approach.
"Look.. the longer you wait.. the longer Sakura suffers.."
Li cringed, looking back at the strange creature's unwilling captive. The girl was growing fainter by the second, appearing as if she would fall unconscious at any time. With a sigh and a great effort, Li, not dropping his guard, tossed his sword to the side, eyes locked on the creature.
"There!" he said, aloud. "Now, release Sakura!"
The water being's wicked grin merely grew as she removed one hand and used the other to hold Sakura above the ground, the princess still trying vainly to loosen the grip. Holding her precariously over the water's edge, the creature watched Li, eyes narrowed, almost as if she were daring him to make another move.
Li's muscles tensed and his nerves flared. He didn't know what to do. If he tried to help, he didn't doubt the creature would snap Sakura's neck in two. If he stayed there, however, the procession toward death would only be delayed as the poor princess choked.
The young man never felt so helpless in all his life. And, finally being exposed to the feeling of vulnerability, he wanted more than anything in the world to be in Sakura's place. To sacrifice himself for her life to continue seemed to be the only option.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.
"Let the girl, go!"
**** Heykyra13: Well? Whatcha think? I know, this may not be all that great, but bare with me.. I don't think I've really touched this since summer.. even worse, I typed a majority of this at least two or three years ago..
Anyway, summary for what I think will end up happening next (I think I might do next chapter summaries at the end, if I can remember ^_^!)
Sakura gets rescued by a mysterious man and a familiar friend. He tells very little about himself, but that's not the ONLY reason Li doesn't like him. His advice sends them in the right direction, but his mysterious puzzles both Kero and Li, leaving dense little Sakura skipping merrily away... does any of that make sense?... GOOD! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO! MWAHAHAHAHA... and for Bonnie-san... tink-a- link..tink-a-link!.. hee..
"Well, good morning!" Sakura said cheerfully.
Turning, Li saw the princess hovering over a small fire. In her hands she held a plate of meatrolls and freshly cooked eggs while in her other, a spatula regularly poked at the food above the flames.
"Morning. Where did you get those?" he asked, pointing at the eggs.
"Zia found them in a nest a little way down the stream," Sakura replied, tilting her head towards where the Kreetal sat, grooming herself.
Looking around, Li saw Meilin and Kero still lay fast asleep. Standing, he arched his back before walking to where the food sat. Grabbing a meatroll, he took a bite, chewing carefully to test the flavor. Sakura giggled, resting her cheek on her hand, amused with watching him.
"Well? Is it satisfactory to your liking?"
Li closed his eyes dramatically, chewing slowly. "Mmmm. I don't know," he replied teasingly.
"Oh really?" Sakura returned, taking his bait.
"Mmm hmm. It's hard to tell. I've tasted some really exquisite gourmet food before, you know."
"Very well," Sakura replied nonchalantly. Before Li could protest, Sakura swiped the remainder of the meatroll from his hand. "If you don't think it's worthy enough for you to eat, then I'll just take it back."
"Hey, wait!" Li exclaimed. "Hey, I was just joking! Give me back my meatroll!"
Sakura smirked, tossing the roll into his hand. "You're such a baby."
Popping the meatroll into his mouth, Li grinned boyishly. "I'm no baby. I just get hungry when I wake up in the morning."
"Right," Sakura echoed sarcastically, smiling.
A low groan indicated Kero's awakening. Slowly, the guardian came to life, hovering slowly towards where Sakura was, sniffing the air warily.
"Is that. food?" he asked, eyes snapping open.
Suddenly without warning, Kero dived into the plate, scarfing down half the meatrolls before Sakura could pull him away.
"Kero!" she scolded, holding him in front of her face. "Other people have to eat, too, you know!"
"Well, yeah," Kero muttered guiltily, wings drooping, "but. I didn't mean. well, I'm just hungry, that's all."
"So are the rest of us, Kero!"
Li smirked, forcing Kero to glare back at him. Sakura, noticing the silent battle between the two, rapped both of them on the back of their heads.
"You two stop it," she scolded. "Li, you go wake Meilin. Kero, you help me heat up some more meatrolls."
Solemnly, the two went off, not wanting to further upset the princess. Minutes later, the three teenagers, guardian and Kreetal sat scattered around the fire, cheerfully eating the food Sakura had prepared. Kero smiled, hold up an end of a yellowfruit.
"This is great, Princess!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"It's okay," Meilin muttered. Li nudged her stomach with his elbow. "Ow!"
Standing up, Sakura leaned over Zia and grabbed a bathing sheet and a dry towel.
"I'm going to go wash up real fast," she announced, walking downstream. "I'll be right back." Zia, from her seat next to Li, whistled, blinking out and back in on Sakura's shoulder. The princess smiled.
"Are you going to scrub my back?" she whispered.
The Kreetal nodded, squeaking to emphasize the motion. Giggling, Sakura walked until she found a quiet, secluded spot hidden from view by the trees. Quickly, she stripped herself and wrapped the bathing sheet around her body, slipping quietly into the warm water.
"Mmmm, this feels good," she whispered to herself.
A splash behind her indicated Zia's entrance. The Kreetal swam in circles around her, using her tail to propel her forward.
Sakura laughed. "What are you doing, silly?"
Zia popped her head above the surface, chirping that she would like to play a little.
"Come on, Zi. We had better make this quick so we can get going again."
Squeaking her disappointment, the Kreetal winked out, reappearing a second later with a wash scrub in her mouth. Swimming to her front, she deposited the scrub into Sakura's hands before disappearing again, this time returning with a small bar of soap. Rubbing these together, Sakura managed to produce a thick lather with which she scrubbed herself vigorously.
As she bathed, Zia resumed her swimming, darting around the stream bottom like she was born in it. To Sakura's delight, she even leapt out of the water several times, flipping in the air like she was a dolphin.
Soon, Sakura had washed to her satisfaction. Allowing Zia to return the items to their proper storage place, Sakura began to swim to the shore.
***
Elsewhere, Li was throwing a bucket of water over the fire when he felt it. Looking up abruptly, he narrowed his eyes over the surface of the water. Kero found himself doing the same.
"What is it?" Meilin asked, recognizing Li's expression.
Li remained silent, still staring at the calm water.
"I sense something," Kero said quietly.
"Something in the water," Li added.
"In the water?" Meilin repeated, watching the ripples flowing in the water where a leaf had fallen onto the surface from an old, overhanging tree. Li and Kero watched as well.
Suddenly, the ripples grew larger, as if a large rock had been dropped into the stream. With great speed, they flowed from the center, the intervals between each growing smaller as each ripple was produced. Suddenly, the reason behind the creation of the ripples slowly emerged.
Meilin gasped, taking a step back. Li whispered several words softly, quickly squeezing the hilt of his sword as it appeared in his hand. Kero flew above them both, watching the strange new figure through narrowed eyes.
Though the thing looked nothing like Li or Meilin, it appeared too human in shape and form to really be described as a creature. Her entire body was a deep shade of blue, all four or five feet of her. She looked almost like a little girl, with her wide, blue eyes and long, rippling hair. Large, bat-like ears sat on either side of her head, flicking back and forth. Viciously sharp teeth protruded from her mouth as her lips parted, a high-pitched hiss erupting the air.
"What the heck is that?" Li demanded.
"Is it a water sprite?" Meilin whispered.
Kero shook his head firmly. "No. No water sprite I've ever seen looks anything like that. They're much smaller, and extremely shy."
"He's right," Li agreed. "That thing's not natural, whatever it is."
As the thing's hiss grew louder, it slowly waded towards them, sharp claws unsheathed at them. Li crouched low, sword in front of him, prepared to attack. The strange girl-creature leaned down as well, ready to leap at them when suddenly her ears twitched and her head turned downstream.
Surprised, Li and Kero watched her carefully, muscles tense and ready should they need to be used at a moment's notice. Meilin stared wide- eyes at the being, shivering behind Li's tall figure.
Slowly, the girl twisted her eyes towards the trio and hissed wildly as she sank into the water from which she came, bubbles erupting from around her. Amazed, Li slowly lowered his sword as the last tips of her hair vanished. As he watched, however, he saw the bubbles still spurting from the same spot, but now moving. They were heading downstream towards where the girl had looked before. Downstream towards.
Not far away, a splash and a giggle was heard.
Li's eyes widened. "Sakura!"
***
"Zia, stop that!" Sakura ordered, unable to resist laughing at the Kreetal's antics. The creature, for sport, had Sakura's bar of soap clenched in her teeth and was darting around the surface of the water like a dolphin. Sakura, herself, stood on the riverbank, one hand holding onto the towel around her body and the other planted on her hip. "Now, come on. You know we don't have that much time to waste! You were supposed to have put that soap away!"
Zia popped her head out of the water, staring at her mistress with wide eyes, and with the soap still in her mouth, tried to chirp her desire to stay.
Sakura shook her head. "Zia, I'm not going in there after you. Not after I just got myself all good and dry!"
Sakura's mind flooded with images of Zia jumping and playing in the water. Sakura smiled sympathetically and shook her head once again. "I know you want to play, but we really need to go. We have to go find the sorcerer, remember?" Zia looked down in guilt, suddenly remembering their mission. "I'm sorry, but this isn't the time. Maybe later, okay?"
Head perking again, Zia vanished and reappeared on Sakura's shoulder, soap gone and ready to go.
Sakura grinned, rubbing the Kreetal's head with her index finger. "Good girl, thanks." Zia turned to lick the princess's cheek gently. She giggled. "Alright, that's enough, that tickles!"
"Sakura!"
Sakura looked up to see Li and Keroberos (the larger form) racing toward her, Meilin lagging behind. She tilted her head to one side, confused. "Hey, guys. What's the matter?"
Li opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly took in Sakura's towel and "clothes-less-ness". Face burning, he skidded to a stop and spun around, not able to speak a word. Sakura, still confused, turned instead to her guardian.
"Keroberos, what's going on?"
"Sakura! Get away from the-"
"Ahhh! Kero!"
Li, forgetting his momentary discomfiture, spun around, drawing his sword at the same time. "Sakura!"
Li's eyes widened. The water creature stood with her arms at the princess's throat, grinning wickedly. Li's grip on his sword hilt grew tighter as he noticed Sakura's pale color- the result of a severe lack of air.
The princess's hands were at her neck, desperately trying to remove the creature's suffocating grip from her throat. However, her lack of oxygen left her beginning to feel light-headed and faint. All too quickly, her eyelids began to flutter.
"Sakura! Don't close your eyes! You have to stay awake!" Li shouted, trying to use the volume of his voice to jolt the princess awake.
"Li," she strained, her voice incredibly weak. "I.. can't.."
"Sakura, please!" Kero pleaded.
"Let go of her!" Li commanded of the water creature, holding his sword out threateningly.
The creature, well aware of the threat, bared her teeth and hissed, holding out a clawed finger to the helpless girl's neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"No!" Li yelled, prepared to step forward.
"Drop your sword!"
Li glanced at the guardian, believing he misunderstood him. "What!?"
Kero, eyes unwavering, repeated slowly, "Right now, we are in no position to hold any authority over that.. thing,.. so just drop your sword."
"But-"
"Do it!" Kero snapped.
Li frowned, glancing back and forth between the golden beast and the princess, still not wanting to abandon his instincts that told him to fight. Realizing this, Kero took another approach.
"Look.. the longer you wait.. the longer Sakura suffers.."
Li cringed, looking back at the strange creature's unwilling captive. The girl was growing fainter by the second, appearing as if she would fall unconscious at any time. With a sigh and a great effort, Li, not dropping his guard, tossed his sword to the side, eyes locked on the creature.
"There!" he said, aloud. "Now, release Sakura!"
The water being's wicked grin merely grew as she removed one hand and used the other to hold Sakura above the ground, the princess still trying vainly to loosen the grip. Holding her precariously over the water's edge, the creature watched Li, eyes narrowed, almost as if she were daring him to make another move.
Li's muscles tensed and his nerves flared. He didn't know what to do. If he tried to help, he didn't doubt the creature would snap Sakura's neck in two. If he stayed there, however, the procession toward death would only be delayed as the poor princess choked.
The young man never felt so helpless in all his life. And, finally being exposed to the feeling of vulnerability, he wanted more than anything in the world to be in Sakura's place. To sacrifice himself for her life to continue seemed to be the only option.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.
"Let the girl, go!"
**** Heykyra13: Well? Whatcha think? I know, this may not be all that great, but bare with me.. I don't think I've really touched this since summer.. even worse, I typed a majority of this at least two or three years ago..
Anyway, summary for what I think will end up happening next (I think I might do next chapter summaries at the end, if I can remember ^_^!)
Sakura gets rescued by a mysterious man and a familiar friend. He tells very little about himself, but that's not the ONLY reason Li doesn't like him. His advice sends them in the right direction, but his mysterious puzzles both Kero and Li, leaving dense little Sakura skipping merrily away... does any of that make sense?... GOOD! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO! MWAHAHAHAHA... and for Bonnie-san... tink-a- link..tink-a-link!.. hee..