Ranulf sat up in a tree overlooking the surrounding forest and the small path they'd cleared for walking and stuff. Yune knows… this had been a strange day. Actually, the whole past week had been weird. He shook his head at the thought, not even sure where to begin with it… First the birds had out of the blue announced they needed to be escorted to Crimea because some brigands wanted their heads. Apparently some crackpot rumor had gotten around that heron feathers made good pain killers when ground up and made into a tea. Yuck. The things beorc could think up… So naturally Ike had jumped right up and offered to escort them; mercenary crew and all that. Which was good, the birds were good people, discounting Naesala. Ranulf didn't mind helping them out. But that was before things got weird.
Right before they were all off about to leave and actually do the escorting, poof! Ike was gone. Disappeared into the night. Last time anyone had seen him was dinner, and after that Ike had said he'd be going into the woods to train a bit, which wasn't out of the ordinary for the beorc. And Ranulf suspected that what the blue haired kid was doing was visiting his Father's grave. He may be a big guy, but he still hadn't hit 20 yet. He was a kit as far as Ranulf was concerned. Anyways, Ike didn't come back. That morning they'd found his bed unslept in and all his traveling gear still on his peg. If he'd gone somewhere, he'd gone practically empty handed. He'd only have had the basic convoy bag on him and whatever junk he'd been too lazy to empty out of it with him. They searched the woods, nothing. They searched the other tents. Nothing. They'd questioned anyone who might know anything. Nothing. Ike was gone. Like a breath on the wind. Then the bickering had started. On gods the bickering.
Naturally everyone split into three groups: those who wanted to find Ike, those who wanted to stick to the plan and escort the birds and those who were indifferent. Ranulf was, admittedly, indifferent. He had a feeling that the two problems were one and the same. Ike had probably been taken out by people who wanted to take the birds. Whoever these people were, they obviously thought that removing the head would kill the body, and Ranulf had an even bigger suspicion that people wanted the herons for more reasons than 'magic healing feathers', and the appearance of this Pit kid only affirmed those fears. Though how it all went together was beyond him for the moment. Hmm…
"Ranulf, are you up there?" Hmm? Ranulfs thoughts were broken by the sound of a particularly moody brandeds voice: Soren.
"For the moment, yes." Ranulf called down to the mage, Soren was standing at the base of his tree, "I can come down if you like."
"No. Stay up there. Keep watch." The mage replied, choosing instead to lean against the tree in that moody way of his, arms crossed and everything.
"All right, whatever suits you." Ranulf said, holding his hand over his brow in an effort to see farther.
"What do you make of the heron boy?" Soren asked then, getting right to the point as always. Ranulf kept himself from snorting with bemusement, Soren wasn't one for casual conversation, ever.
"What do I make of him?" Ranulf said thoughtfully, scratching an ear, "Well, that's… that."
He paused, gathering his thoughts, "I don't like it." He finally said, "Herons just don't turn up after 50 years." He stopped himself then and corrected himself, "On a regular basis. Leanne was already a miracle. Miracles don't happen more than once."
"That was my thought as well." Soren replied, Ranulf could picture his little eyes darting side to side, deep in hyper-suspicious beorc thought, "Assuming of course he even is a heron."
"That. That is the real question isn't it when you get down to the thick of it. The kid may look like a heron but he uses weapons like a beorc and hurts like a hawk or raven." Ranulf said with a tut-tut, remembering Titanias vivid description of how the kid just pulled out an enchanted bow and nailed the bandit dead.
"Is it possible that he's from a different tribe?" Soren asked, and that's when Ranulf knew that he and the branded had come to the same conclusion.
"To be honest Soren, I don't think the kids a laguz. He doesn't smell right and he talked like he didn't know we could transform… and well, even if he'd lost his memories, well, he'd know. I don't know how to explain it but it's like we've got another body inside us that's always fighting for attention you know? Every tribe is like that. If that kid can't feel that… he's not a laguz. I don't know what he is, but he's no laguz."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Soren sighed, "I figured you would be the only one who would know; you or Naesala that is. And I'm not asking that beady-eyed creep anything. He'd just try to use it against me and wouldn't give me a straight answer."
"And the herons are too busy being happy that they aren't extinct to think straight," Ranulf added shaking his head.
"Exactly."
They were silent for a time, and finally it was Ranulf who asked,
"Do you think the kid has anything to do with Ike's disappearing?"
"His appearance is all too conveniently timed- it seems…"
"Possible?"
"Possible." Soren affirmed.
"Well that settles it. We gotta keep an eye on the hatchling- especially since he's probably a plant. Besides, who ever heard of a heron naming their kid something so basic as Pit? I mean-"
"What about my name being basic?"
Oh gods no, was the exact thought that flew through Ranulfs mind as the hatchlings bright and chipper voice interrupted his spiel. "Pit! What a surprise! What are you doing here?" Ranulf asked, putting on a light tone.
"Oh not much. I was bored out of my mind in that camp. Would you believe they tried to feed me eggplant? I hate eggplant! And I guess I'm not supposed to ask about Shinon's targeting system, and if it has to use the touchpad or anything." The 'heron' kid said, swinging up on the tree branch Ranulf was sitting on and coming to sit beside him.
"Touchpad…?" Ranulf asked slowly, completely at a loss. Where do you even begin with this kid?
"Yea, you know. Well, I guess you don't know. It's not important really. Anyways, Titania said I have too much 'bounds' of energy or whatever and that I should come over here and help you keep watch for the hunting party or whatever."
"Did she now." Soren snickered darkly, Ranulf folded his ears back in agitation as he saw the dark mage prepare to take his leave.
"Yea. She did. She thought I could help." Pit said coldly. Dang, Ranulf thought to himself, if Pit already hates Soren, he's gonna find he's bitten off more than he can chew.
"And you'll be a great help I'm sure," Ranulf said abruptly, before Soren could make any sort of snide comment.
"So what's going on? Mario-hair didn't really give me too much details outside of 'hunting party'. What're they hunting? Monsters? Bears? Really big bear monsters? Monsters with ept bears- or or-" Pit started prattling and Ranulf was starting to wonder if this kid had an off button.
"They're looking for a friend." He replied seriously, looking out across the horizon.
"A friend? Who?" Pit was suddenly very serious, sobered apparently, by Ranulf's concern.
"Ike. He's our leader." Soren replied curtly.
"Ike huh? Sounds kinda familiar.. hm… super smash..? Nah. I got nothing. What happened to him? Why's he missing?" The 'heron' boy asked in all seriousness.
"Well, we don't know." Ranulf said delicately, "He just disappeared a few nights ago… we don't know where he went."
"A few nights ago?" Pit said then, and Ranulf saw the boys eyes widen and a flicker of hope ignited in him.
"Do you remember something Pit? Do you know what happened?"
"To him? Huh? Nah… I just… well, it's funny but I guess I really only remember back to a few nights ago," Pit laughed then, but Ranulf had a feeling it was one of those laughs intended to hide pain. This kid was broken.
"No kidding." Soren muttered, getting up to go again, in that passive aggressive there's-something-I-want-to-say sort of way. Did Ranulf feel like encouraging the branded? He could be a real pain sometimes. May as well.
"Soren, isn't it funny he only remembers that much?" Ranulf said, playing dumb and pretending he hadn't noticed Soren's extreme passive-aggressive mode.
"I would find it funny if I believed half the nonsense that came out of his mouth." The mage retorted.
"Hey!" Ranulf felt Pit start to rise and immediately clamped a hand down on his shoulder. Flightless or not, birds didn't do well against wind magic.
"Soren that was uncalled for." Ranulf said carefully, watching Pit's face for a reaction.
"I merely stated what I thought on the matter." Soren shot back.
"Well then you should know that I'm not full of nonsense! I'm just- I'm just… ugh! Your really annoying you know that? And you should know that eyeliner isn't for your forehead! It's for your eyes!"
Oh Yune. Ranulf braced himself to jump out of the tree.
"How dare you. How dare you little freak of nature!" Soren roared. Ranulf felt a wind pick up. Yup, time to jump.
"What? You upset that your mommy didn't teach you to do your makeup properly?" Pit snickered, arms crossed.
STHACK!
Ranulf jumped just as the tree snapped in two- pulling Pit down behind him, wind rising wildly around the wind mage.
"I can't believe I thought you might not be a laguz- but clearly you're just as hateful and wicked as all the rest you winged mongrel!" Soren roared, wind spiraling around him.
"Soren calm down- he doesn't know what it means!" Ranulf shouted over the wind, "If he did he'd be calling you much worse names."
"What? What did I do? What's it mean?" Pit demanded, pulling his bow out of nowhere, "And why the heck did he split a tree over it?"
"You ignorant little freak!" Soren burst then, wind hurtling towards the kid. Nope. Ranulf leapt between them, transforming in mid-air and getting hit full frontal by the wind-spell.
"Ooompth!" He hit the ground skidding along before finally crashing into a tree; returning to humanoid form on impact.
"Ranulf!" Both boys ran over to help him up.
"Ranulf I- I didn't mean too- I mean…" Soren began stammering away excuses in his left ear, Pit saying much the same in his other.
"I'm all right. Now calm down." He said getting to his feet on his own for emphasis.
"Now both of you. Apologize. Soren, as we've discussed Pit isn't a laguz. He doesn't know laguz ways. Pit, do not antagonize wind mages when you're a bird. All right?" Ranulf looked between the two of them expectantly, arms crossed.
"Wait I'm not a-" Pit began when a shout interrupted him.
"We're back! Is stew on?" A loud female voice, Mia no doubt, called out. The hunting party was back and Ranulf could already sense that they had failed. Ike was not with them.
END CHAPTER.
Ranulf tho.
Hey all, if your still with us, it's still going.
Lots and lots of Soren hates Pit and vice versa drama to look forward too :3
Woo?