Chapter 9

In which everyone meets again

The day started as any other in Heine would. The day was bright and sunny, the air warm and humid with the scent of the ocean and exotic flowers riding upon the breeze. Zaren woke as he would any other day; he bathed, he took his breakfast of toast and creamed cheese in the inn's restaurant, and then took a short jog out to the gazebo overlooking Lake Innadril to do some exercises.

An Orc Tyrant by the name of Kallina had arrived several days prior for the siege with his old friend Valimos and his girlfriend and a sultry Shilen Elder whom introduced herself as Maeve. Kallina would accompany him on his morning jog and exercises, but the two hadn't spoken more than a good morning greeting the few days they'd been in each others acquaintance. Zaren never was one for eloquent conversations, preferring a smile or a helping hand over flowery speeches. The day seemed as if it were going to be the same as it always was Zaren decided, as he sat on the edge of the fountain in Heine's square around noon, watching the tourists as they passed by. That is, until the first arrival.

"Zaren, report!" Ryonai barked as he and Shizuka rushed down the stairs behind the Gatekeeper gazebo towards him. Zaren jumped to his feet in surprise, not expecting Ryonai back already.

"An Orc Tyrant, Bladedancer and Shilen Elder have been the only ones to arrive so far." Zaren said, his eyes large. He reached up and tugged on a lock of his slicked down red hair nervously; talking with Ryonai always left him feeling awkward.

"That would be Kallina…but Terebel showed up with Vuylay? That's odd…" Ryonai said thoughtfully, putting a hand to his chin.

"Valimos, not Terebel." Zaren corrected politely. "And the Elder calls herself Maeve."

"Maeve? Who's that?" Ryonai puzzled, not recalling inviting someone by that name into his clan. "And Valimos went Bladedancer now? I swear that guy is never satisfied…" Valimos had shifted his career path several times since Ryonai had invited him into the clan. First he was an Abyss Walker, then a Shilen Knight. Now he seemed to be studying the Bladedancer martial arts. Ryonai hoped he'd stick with it this time, as he needed someone dependable with full knowledge of their class, not someone with very little knowledge of a lot of classes.

"Maeve is standing right behind you sir, you could ask her yourself." Zaren said, taking an unconscious step backwards. Maeve was an aging Elf, but she knew how to manipulate men simply with the air around her, not even her own race was spared from it. Zaren had caught onto it right away as she introduced herself, and had made sure he stood upwind of the intoxicating perfume she wore.

"Nice to meet you." Maeve purred as Ryonai spun around, surprised by her presence. His eyes widened as she stood closer to him than he found comfortable, and he grabbed Shizuka and shoved her between them as a shield. The woman had an aura of passion, one that not even Vuylay exuded, and he wanted to be as far away from it as he could without seeming rude.

Shizuka blinked curiously at the woman, who turned her sultry smile onto her. To Ryonai's surprise, Maeve drew in close to Shizuka and reached around her hip to pinch Shizuka's rear.

"Oh my!" Shizuka exclaimed, and then giggled. "You're very friendly!" Shocked, Ryonai pushed Shizuka behind him and glared down at the Dark Elf. Maeve didn't seem at all phased by the discomfort Ryonai was feeling in her presence and pressed seductively against his body.

"Maeve! DO YOU MIND?" Vlad exclaimed, blinking into existence inside of town. He put his hands on Maeve's shoulders and pulled her away from Ryonai. "He's my Clan Leader for Gran Kain's sake! Show some restraint, woman!"

"Why hello Vlad, I was wondering when you'd show up." Maeve said, turning and walking her fingers up Vlad's chest. His ears turned a dark shade of crimson with her teasing and he pushed her hand away. "I see you still have the stray following you around." She added, glancing over his shoulder to a glaring Emixia behind him.

"Yes, she's quite useful." Vlad stated dismissively, pushing her hand down again as she walked it up his chest once more. "Now will you please explain why you feel the need to seduce every male you happen upon?"

"Shall I show you?" Maeve chuckled low in her throat, moving in closer.

"Now stop that…" Vlad commanded, but his voice came out weak as if he were weary with fighting her.

"Maeve?" Terebel exclaimed as he, Narlafayn, Vuylay and Amari blinked into existence.

"You've met her before? Were you one of her many lovers?" Vlad asked without hesitation. Maeve stopped teasing Vlad to stare at Terebel in disbelief. Narlafayn turned a wide-eyed stare onto Terebel, and he paled.

"NO." Terebel bellowed, making everyone jump around him. He stared at Vlad in horror as if he had suggested that Terebel murder a puppy for the fun of it.

"Oh, I know that look. She must've tried to corrupt you with her Dark Elf mindset as well, eh?" Vlad deduced.

"You could say that…" Terebel agreed, shutting his eyes into a thin line.

"It was a little while before I met you; I raised him for five years as a favor to his mother and grandfather." Maeve said hastily, peeling herself from Vlad's side. Terebel blinked out of his look of horror into one of confusion.

"My grandfather?" he echoed. "You're that old?" He frowned and crossed his eyes slightly as he puzzled over what she'd said. "Who is my grandfather anyway? I don't even know that…"

"Vuylay-sama!" Shizuka suddenly exclaimed, throwing herself onto Vuylay, who stiffened at Shizuka's touch. "I've been so worried about you! How are you doing?" she squealed, hugging Vuylay tightly.

"I was fine until I got here." Vuylay mumbled. She glanced over Shizuka's pink head to look at Ryonai, who tensed under her glance and looked away, his face red with a blush. Vuylay looked away as well with a frown, her jaw clenched as if she were holding back tears.

Still holding onto Vuylay, Shizuka raised her head enough to look over the Elder's shoulder. Some feet behind her stood Amari, talking in a low voice with Zaren. He glanced over at her as she stared at him, and tilted his head slightly in puzzlement. Shizuka's face darkened into an almost sinister grin, and Amari froze, a shiver passing through him. A shiver of fear or something else however, is something only Amari would know, and never share with anyone else. Shizuka's face returned to its ditzy demeanor a moment later and she stood up.

"Yay, we're all here! Let's go party!" she exclaimed, throwing a fist into the air.

"Not quite, we're still missing the rabbit, Gatz, the raccoon and the expendables in our clan, not to mention the entirety of the alliance we're teaming up with." Vlad said professionally, trying to extract himself from Maeve whom was attempting to tease him again. Emixia continued to glare, and it occurred to everyone around them that Maeve was only trying to make the half-Orc jealous, nothing more.

"I'll go show everyone to the inn." Zaren offered, leading the way towards the building Ryonai had rented out for his clan. Amari, Vuylay, Narlafayn, Terebel and Maeve followed after him, all but one eager to take a hot bath and get some much-needed sleep before the siege.

"I came up with this new battle plan…" Vlad began, pulling out a new piece of parchment. "It won't win us the castle, but we'll survive and it'll put a big enough dent in their forces to make them fear us." He stopped talking as Ryonai frowned at him, and sighed heavily. "Oh boy, you haven't heard yet, have you." He said, shaking his head.

"Why would I want a new battle plan, the first one we came up with is perfect. And what haven't I heard?" Ryonai asked in irritation. The siege was tomorrow, why was Vlad trying to change things on him now?

"Greetings Ryonai!" Inderhoven called as he and several other bodies popped into being by the Gatekeeper's gazebo. They filed down the stairs towards him, and Inderhoven shook Ryonai's hand firmly. "Knights of the Forgotten Order at your service!" he said good-naturedly. Ryonai blinked and moved slightly to peer around Inderhoven's side. Behind him stood eleven people, all looking at him expectantly.

"That can't be everyone." Ryonai said, chuckling. "Nice joke Inder." Inderhoven shifted uneasily and glanced away from him. When no one joined in his chuckling, Ryonai stopped, the smile frozen on his face. "What's going on Inder, where's the rest of your clan?"

"They left for a larger alliance." Leon answered for him. "It's good to see you again Ryonai, it's been years. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Ryonai stared at his old classmate with large eyes, not believing what he was hearing.

"Hey, it's ok, we still have this many people, right?" Inder said cheerfully, putting his arm around his elfin girlfriend. Ryonai turned his bewildered glare onto him, trying very hard to keep his temper in check.

"No, it is NOT ok." Ryonai spat, his voice rising. He raised his hands as if he were going to strangle someone, and then clenched his fists. He put one hand to his forehead and took even, measured breaths as he grasped his temper. "I need…to go think." He said in a hard voice, stepping around the group in front of him and walking towards the stairs leading to the Gatekeeper's gazebo.

"I'll go see if people are in the inn." Koyori murmured as soon as she, Gatz, Sharmin and Tithania materialized in Heine. A pained look crossed Gatz's face and he watched as she hurried away. He swallowed hard and glanced between her and Sharmin, another war of conflicting emotions going on inside of him.

"You should see what's wrong." Sharmin said nervously, feeling slightly jealous and awkward for a reason she couldn't identify. Why was it suddenly so hard for her to act normal around him? Was she that uneasy still about the amount of time that had passed? Gatz sighed heavily as if weary, and nodded once before taking up a fast pace to catch up with the fast departing Prophet.

Ryonai froze mid-step as Sharmin spoke, his eyes large. To his utter disbelief, his old friend stood just a few feet away from him, watching as Gatz hurried off after Koyori. He couldn't believe his eyes, she was back!

He closed the space between them quickly and caught her in a crushing hug before she could really see who had grabbed her. Sharmin blinked in disbelief as she realized it was Ryonai holding onto her in a similar hug that Gatz had given her upon seeing her again.

"Fish face." Was all he said. This was enough for Sharmin to hear from her old friend and enemy, and she smiled warmly as she lifted her arms to hug him back.

"Horse mouth." She responded in a soft voice. Like Gatz, Ryonai's muscles had developed, but he kept his chestnut hair in the same style and length it had always been. He pulled away from her to look at her through lowered eyelids, and for a second time Sharmin felt as if she was going to be kissed. She stiffened as Ryonai's face moved closer to hers, but yelped when instead of kissing, he took both hands to pinch and pull her cheeks out as far as they would go. Sharmin jerked away from him with a glare, rubbing the two red spots that popped up. "What was that for?" she asked angrily. Ryonai glanced over his shoulder before giving her a cocky smile and jerked his thumb behind him.

"To get his attention." He said with a smirk. Sharmin frowned and stood on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder. Her blood ran cold as Vlad wandered curiously up the stairs. He paused as he reached the top, a wide grin breaking out on his face.

"Well what'dya know! It's the one that bleeds well!" Vlad exclaimed, pointy canines showing. "Great! Now we have an extra distraction for the siege! I can write better battle plans!" Sharmin paled as Vlad crouched to the ground with a piece of parchment and pulled out a pencil. He began scribbling vigorously as if suddenly inspired by seeing her again. "Hmm…I wonder where you can find Ant nobles this far south?"

Ryonai grinned at Sharmin again and grabbed her arm, all previous anger forgotten in the joy of his old teasing subject returning. He'd long since grown out of teasing maliciously, but he did enjoy giving her a hard time. He toted her over to the railing preventing people from falling down into the lowered center of the city and waved his hand at the group of Forgotten Order people.

"Hey Leon! Look who's back!" he shouted. Sharmin let out a strange high-pitched noise and he could feel her arm tense under his grip. Leon turned curiously at his voice, and then froze as he noticed Sharmin standing next to Ryonai.

"Ryonai, no!" Sharmin hissed, trembling again. It wasn't so much of fear at seeing Leon again as it was for Gatz, but nervousness at seeing her object of crush again. This was the real deal, not some look alike. Seeing that Leon was too struck with shock to move, Ryonai's grin grew broader and he toted Sharmin behind him as he walked back down to the square. He brought Sharmin around to stand in front of him, his hands on her shoulders to keep her from running.

"Look, she's finally catching up to us." Ryonai said, patting her shoulder guards. Leon fell onto Sharmin in a hug, relief at her well being openly showing. He pulled away quickly a second later and cleared his throat, giving Sharmin a nervous smile.

"I'm glad you're well." He said formally, and Sharmin's smile turned nervous. After getting such a warm reception from Gatz and Ryonai, a sudden formal one threw her off guard. "Have you been back long? Where did you go?" he asked eagerly, the formality dropping a bit. Sharmin grinned broadly and let out a short giggle, the shock of seeing him wearing away into an overwhelmed nervousness.

"Leon!" Tithania's voice came, interrupting Sharmin. A warm smile on her face, Tithania closed the distance between them with long strides, and reached out to take one of Leon's hands in hers. The familiarity she displayed chilled Sharmin's mood immediately, and her smile melted away.

"Tithania! Wow…this is really a day for seeing people again." Leon said, a different kind of smile on his face as he faced the Dark Elf. Sharmin suddenly got the distinct impression that the world had faded away for Leon as he spoke with the Archer, and she swallowed hard against sudden tightness in her throat.

"Well other than a few extras from my clan, it seems we're all here." Ryonai stated, drawing everyone's attention towards him. He talked from behind Shizuka, and had his arms over her shoulders and chin on her head as if she were propping him up. "Let's get to the inn, get you guys someplace to stay for the night, and try to figure out how we're going to fix our number problem."

"I thought you were angry?" Vlad asked, wandering back down the stairs towards them. He had the end of his pencil in his mouth and was nibbling on it in thought. The parchment he held in front of him was scribbled with swirls that were unrecognizable to everyone but Vlad. Ryonai made a 'pfft' noise and waved his hand, dismissing Vlad's claim.

"My punching bag made it back to reality ok, so I'm doing great now." He said, grinning pointedly at Sharmin. She turned an annoyed glare upon him, and he winked at her.

"Since when am I your punching bag?" she demanded, ignoring his attempt at getting away with teasing her by a flirty motion. He returned her look of annoyance and stuck his tongue out at her. She stuck hers out in response as he slipped an arm around Shizuka's waist to lead her towards the inn. Just as he had planned, she followed after him, still glaring, and her reunion with Leon forgotten for the moment. Behind her, Leon still spoke with Tithania, his face shining in an expression he'd never seen on his old classmate before. You'd better tell her soon, man. Ryonai thought, pressing his lips into a thin line. You've kept her waiting too long; you need to end this so she can grow.

The night passed by quickly, there were happy reunions and alcohol-fueled arguments later on between the members of Haibane and Forgotten Order. Ryonai and Vlad disappeared to a corner of the tavern with a slightly intoxicated Inderhoven in an attempt at hammering out a new course of action. Terebel retired early to his room, still weak and exhausted. The rest sat and chattered amongst themselves, some getting along, some not.

Junk Pixie had latched onto Narlafayn upon seeing her again; happily proclaiming to the entire inn that she was now charging twenty thousand adena for a panty flash from her. This earned a few nervous chuckles and an angry swat on the back of the head from Narlafayn, and Junk Pixie's newest business venture was laid to rest before it had begun.

"Having fun?" Shizuka asked Amari cheerfully as she weaved her way through the tavern towards him. Amari paused mid-sip from his wine and looked at her warily. She sat down in the chair opposite of his at the table and smiled at him warmly. There was a strange scent about her aura that reminded Amari of someone, but he could not recall who.

"If by fun you mean having the weight of being the only spell caster available for the siege, then yes. I'm having a blast." He answered flatly, placing his cup on the table. "I had hoped for some time to myself to meditate, so if you'll excuse me, I wish to retire." With a curt nod he stood from the table and brushed sawdust from the back of his dark green robes. Shizuka reached out and grabbed his wrist, beaming up at him with an air headed expression. Again a waft of the strange scent filled his nostrils and he winced slightly.

"I would like to be friends with you." Shizuka stated bluntly with a grin. Amari frowned, finding malice in her words although he couldn't explain why.

"Yes well, you'll have to wait in line." He said coolly, and shook free of her hand. "Good evening." He hurried towards the stairs leading to the rooms without a backwards glance. Shizuka shoved her lower lip out childishly as he disappeared and flung herself back into her seat.

"Meanie." She pouted, rolling a salt shaker on the table with one finger. She grinned a second later, at something only she knew, and stood to stretch. "Time for bed! It's going to be busy for awhile!" she sang to herself. Holding her hands out slightly like a child, she pranced through the tavern over to Ryonai, pecked his cheek, and then pranced up the stairs. No time to waste, she had nothing but busy nights ahead of her!