Back again! Updates will be more infrequent very quickly, because learning is important (ugh). I do have a good idea of what shall be coming in the next few chapters, however.

RECAP:
- The free bounty hunters and pirates are now on Rela. Arthur managed to get through checkpoints with the help of his older brother, Colin.
- A Union ship passed over the resistance base on Nyma, but found nothing. Lukas, after accidentally controlling Kari with his mental abilities, has run off.
- Feliks, Tori, Gilbert and Roderich are all still prisoners of the rebels.
- Lovino and Feliciano have befriended Vash. Lovino is aware that Vash is an assassin, and does not completely trust him, as the other man also seems to know more than he lets on.

CHARACTERS (not all appear, but all are mentioned, so):
Vladimir Popescu: Romania
Kristian Alekseev: Bulgaria
Nelia Domingo: Peru
Aija Galante: Female Latvia
Ismeta Disdarevic: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Fun fact: people in Romania rarely/never drink cold things. It is believed to be unhealthy. As a result, everything they drink is either room temperature or hot. Ice for drinks is also expensive in Romania for this reason.

please review! it fills the dark, bottomless chasm in my soul!

Resistance Headquarters,
Draak-Zafi Forra, Nyma
7th Maarch

Kari managed to hunt him down, though it took her a good day to do so. She supposed, having the ability to sense her presence as he did made for a pretty good way to avoid someone. Since he had run off the day before, she had been walking massive, looping trails through the forest, almost walking out of it's boundaries multiple times. To no avail. Lukas Bondevik, she had learned, was an evasive creature. It had taken her a good ten minutes for her body to respond to her will after Lukas had shouted at her, and she knew – from the horrified, guilty look that had been on his face as he bolted off – that it was this which was getting to him so much.

She didn't mind, at all. Had she not promised Yao that she would help him hone his gifts if necessary? Anything that would help him get stronger, she was happy to do. In any case, it wasn't like she was angry at him for using his abilities on her. She had realised that it was this which must have made him act so strangely after the near-miss with the Union ship, which she was ashamed of herself for not understanding earlier. Kari couldn't be angry with him over it; he was like a little brother to her, even now.

It must have taken almost twenty sets of unintentionally misleading directions and potential sightings for her to find him. Tricky and evasive as he may be, her own stubbornness and determination were stronger. He was down near the target range, seemingly watching Kristian and Vladimir mess around while trying to hit the targets.

The pair were doing all sorts of stupid things in their attempts to hit the targets. Kari watched as Kristian, who had both hands tied back behind his back, attempted to fire a pistol with his feet while seated. The gun slipped as he fired it, and the bullet ricocheted off the ground. Vladimir swore loudly and ducked, hand over his head. Kristian began looking around wildly for the bullet. After a moment in which neither of them was accidentally shot, they slowly exchanged a look before dissolving into peals of laughter. Kari rolled her eyes. It was good for those two that Tino wasn't nearby. Though Vlad was a good head taller than the blonde, Tino was their very best sniper, and could be damn intimidating when he wanted to be, especially over gun safety. Smirking, she silently pulled her own revolver out from her belt and carefully fired it about an inch or two above Kristian's head. The Iramese boy gave a violent start and promptly fell on his face. When Vlad spotted Kari, he keeled over with laughter again, ignoring the disgruntled swearing from Kristian, who seemed to be unable to get back to his feet. Vlad waved as Kari raised an eyebrow reproachfully.

"I don't think that counts as proper gun safety!" she shouted to them. Vlad grinned again.

"My deepest apologies," the 20-year-old said, as he picked Kristian up by the collar like some disobedient puppy, "we will make sure to do so in the future." he gave her a lazy salute, before marching off the target range, dragging Kristian along behind him.

To her surprise, Lukas hadn't immediately vanished upon witnessing this display, and remained seated where he was, frowning. He ducked his head further, eyes on the targets, when she approached. She cocked her head to the side, raised an eyebrow accusingly, and put her hands on her hips.

"May I ask why you've been avoiding me all day?" he was silent. "Lukas?" he gritted his teeth, and she frowned. "Lukas. Look at me."

"You know why." He murmured, voice so quiet that she had lean further toward him to hear it. She frowned.

"No, I don't, really." She snapped. He sighed, finally looking up and meeting her eyes.

"I…I accidentally let everyone in." he murmured. "And it got to me so much that when I yelled at you…" he trailed off. Kari sat down next to him.

"Elaborate. Now." She said. He looked at her. She sighed. "I'm not angry at you at all Lukas, if that's what you think. I don't think I ever could be. I just want to understand this better. I know about your gifts, but I didn't exactly get a formal education on them, just a few notes in a textbook every now and then. So go on. Give me all that you know." He was silent again, but began to speak before she could prompt him again.

"Well, basically, the royal families of Daerna, Syhvva and Fynkn have always been distinguished from normal civilians by the presence of gifts. The royal family of each has two; traditionally one corresponding to an element, and another that is in some way linked to the mind or body. On Fynkn, these abilities are referred to as the lahjöf." He sighed before continuing, speaking very much like he was reciting some lesson he'd had drilled into him dozens of times.

"The lahjöf of the Fynknian royal family are the Vesi and the Sjeltanker. Sjeltanker allows the user to manipulate any and all aspects of a person's mind, and the Vesi allows the user to manipulate water in all it's forms." He rested his head on his arms. "In me, both are apparently far more powerful than is normally seen, according to some military researcher, which leaves me far more susceptible to losing control. That's what happened yesterday. I accidentally opened my mind to everyone else's emotions and thoughts." He finished with a huff. Kari nodded. Some of this she already knew, but other parts were new information. It was interesting to hear, in any case. She looked closely at him.

"So what's the problem? You've used your gifts before, haven't you?" Lukas hesitated, before nodding.

"Yes…but—"

"But what?" she interrupted, "You made me stand still for a few minutes, big deal. How is that different to using your Sjeltanker on someone else?"

"Because they were strangers who I didn't really know! You're my friend! I mean, I'd never use it on Emilia." Kari stared at him for a moment, feeling deeply touched, before she swung an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. He squirmed in her embrace for a moment before giving in and relaxing into it.

"Why is everyone being so sentimental and lovey recently? I mean, first Nelia, and now you." Kari laughed, ignoring how her curiosity had been peaked by his comment about Nelia. She punched him gently in the arm.

"Shut up."

Kari couldn't quite find herself caring enough about Yao's warning that night to not sit with Lukas at dinner. They were yet to do so, and the past week she had continued to sit with her normal crowd, all the while keeping her eye on Lukas discreetly. His most usual dinner companions had been Emilia, Tino and Nelia, as far as she had seen, though the first two in particular. As glad as she was to see him making friends – and Tino was a great place to start, she knew that from personal experience – she figured that it wouldn't hurt to let him sit with her. Besides, then she could establish him as some sort of Fynknian trainee, thus making it less suspicious if she were to spend time with him.

So, she hauled him into the massive, covered area which encompassed their mess hall to sit with her. To her surprise, Vlad joined the two of them not long after they had sat down, dragging his tray of food with him. He grinned at Kari, winking mischievously. She rolled her eyes at him. No doubt, he was here to hopefully discourage her from telling Tino about his and Kristian's reckless behaviour earlier. Not even a moment later, her suspicions were confirmed when he leaned across the table, puppy-dog eyes on full display.

"Now Kari, I know we can have our differences," he began, ignoring her eye-roll, "but I know that we are both equally devoted to this cause," Kari sighed and folded her arms, "and I believe that, should you betray my trust, I will not be able to serve this cause to the best of my ability." He placed a hand over his heart, feigning melodrama. Kari stared back at him, unimpressed. She leaned forward slightly, smirking.

"And why is that?" Vlad paused, before throwing on a charming smile, eyes crinkling in apparent distress.

"Well, you see, my darling Kari, in the past I have been reprimanded for acting in what has been dubbed an inappropriate manner near the target range,"

"Because you deconstructed one of them to make pipe bombs." She interrupted.

"—And I have been accused of spending too much time there, "

"Because you skipped out on teaching subordinates to get drunk and start throwing nails and screws at the bullseyes." She interrupted again.

"And some people think that my abilities do not even lie with shooting,"

"Because you're a detonation technician, not a sniper, and you shaved part of Aija's hair off once." She sighed and shook her head. "Vlad, just get on with it."

"Okay, fine," he leaned forward, gesturing sharply with his hands, "Tino's created a point system for non-snipers using the target range. If we fuck up enough, we're banned from it. We've only got ten strikes, and I've managed to accumulate about eight. Using guns without permission adds another two. If you tell him, I'll get banned from using it." Kari shrugged.

"That's not my problem, and you were acting stupidly this afternoon. Did you two even think about how you could have hurt yourselves? Or someone else?" she shook her head. "Besides, you aren't a sniper; you make bombs and explosives. Why is it so important to hang around the target range?" Kari stared Vlad down as he picked at the fraying fabric of his gloves. Black and white, striped harlequin-style, they were a constant of his outfit. He sighed.

"I just don't wanna get banned from somewhere which is so fun to hang out at." He insisted. Kari rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit. You just want to be given as many opportunities as possible to make out with Kristian behind buildings." Vlad looked like he was going to argue that statement for a moment, before sighing and deflating, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, yes, that too."

Kari had to try not to grin in triumph. Everyone who wasn't blind or stupid knew that they were a thing. The only problem was Ismeta Dizdarevic, an Iramese girl who was within their tight-knit group of friends. Kristian had been the first person to really reach out to her when she had arrived at the resistance, and she had slowly but surely fallen for him since.

Everyone within their friendship group knew, and Ismeta was just too nice for anyone to want to break the hard news to her. Vlad himself was a close friend of hers, and obviously didn't want to hurt her in such a way. As Kari knew, Vlad had been one of the first people to discover Ismeta's attraction to Kristian. And, it made sense for Vlad to want to hang out near the target range. Ismeta was a medic, and such, never went there unless some sort of freak accident happened (which was rare in itself). It was probably one of the few places that the two could spend time together without fear that she would stumble across them.

Kari sighed, leaning back and gazing at the tarpaulin ceiling as if in deep thought. She looked Vlad in the eyes, throwing her hands up dramatically.

"Okay, fine, I won't tell Tino, but try to keep from accidentally killing someone again, yes?" Vlad nodded vigorously.

"Yes ma'am." He said, looking surprisingly serious as he clasped his hands together. "I promise."

Lukas, who had been looking between the two with interest as the conversation progressed, raised an eyebrow. "Okay, can someone fill me in? I'm confused." He shook his head at Vlad. "Not about you not almost killing people again. I saw you two shooting this afternoon." He blinked. "Why is the target range so important." Vlad locked his hands together.

"Good segue, actually." He said, jabbing a finger at Lukas. "Who are you?" Kari laughed.

"This is Lukas Christensen." She explained. "He's a relatively new recruit. I decided to help the poor little shit out a bit. He's not much for socialising." Vlad's hands flew to his heart again.

"A plight I can relate to!" he exclaimed, grinning as he lowered his hands to the table and leant forward, as if conspiring with him. "I was an awkward youngster in the past as well, don't you worry."

"You're still an awkward youngster." Kari remarked. Vlad sent her an affronted look.

"Hey! I'm twenty years old, I don't think you can really call me a youngster anymore." Kari smirked.

"Well I'm 23, which makes you younger than me. Therefore, from my point of view, you're a youngster." Vlad scoffed, sipping from the bottle he had brought with him; likely holding black coffee. Vlad was unique like that; he loved coffee, but he only really seemed to drink it at room temperature. Hell, the guy also refused to drink anything with ice in it. Everyone knew; never offer Vlad a cold drink, because it would be rejected in the nicest way possible. But, Kari supposed, everyone was entitled to their preferences.

"I don't think you can argue with that, Vlad." A new voice said from Kari's left. She turned, smiling when she saw Kristian sliding into the seat next to Vlad. The two sat close, arms pressed together. Vlad's entire face seemed to light up when Kristian appeared, all signs of irritation – both real and exaggerated – vanishing to the corners of his mind. Kristian beamed at him, and for a second, the two were so cute Kari was at danger of 'aww'-ing them, when he turned back to her. "I suppose that makes me the equivalent of a foetus in your eyes then?" Kari shook her head.

"That's a bit of a stretch," she said, smirking, "Lukas here is about foetus-level. I'd say you're more pre-conception." Kristian winced.

"Ouch." Vlad laughed at his boyfriend's facial expression, wrapping his arm around Kristian's narrow shoulders.

"Aww, don't let Kari get to you." He chuckled. "She's a cruel vixen all right." Kari stuck her tongue out at him, and Vlad returned it in kind. Kristian rolled his eyes, and Lukas turned to him, shaking his head at Vlad.

"You poor thing." he said sympathetically. Kristian nodded, face resting halfway between exasperation and fondness.

"It is hard," he sighed, "Intelligent conversation is just impossible, you know?" he looked down, feigning sorrow. Vlad was staring at him, looking offended. Lukas patted Kristian's hand, obviously trying not to laugh.

"Hey!" Vlad blurted out. Kristian dissolved into giggles, almost immediately causing Vlad to lose his anger as he became occupied with observing how unfairly cute his boyfriend had suddenly become. Kari rolled her eyes, as did Lukas, and the two turned their attention back to their neglected meals. Lukas poked at his before placing his fork down. It was cold anyway. Once Kristian had stopped laughing, and Vlad had stopped staring, the Iramese boy grinned, before offering his hand to Lukas.

"Kristian Alekseev." Blinking a little in surprise, Lukas took it.

"Lukas Christensen." He said, the alias flowing out smoothly. Vlad grinned.

"Vladimir Popescu, though I go by Vlad to most people, as you probably heard from Kari." Lukas nodded. He eyed Vlad.

"I never had my question answered, now that I think of it." He said. "About why you love the target range so much."

With Kristian sitting next to him now, it seemed a more embarrassing topic. Vlad flushed pink.

"You know, I'm sure I can explain that later." He said, scratching the back of his neck. Lukas raised an eyebrow, gaze flickering between Vlad and Kristian.

"Your boyfriend's a weak shit." He commented. Vlad inhaled part of his coffee, Kari's mouth fell open, and Kristian dissolved into laughter again, slapping the table in amusement. Vlad lowered his bottle, staring at Lukas. There was a beat of silence as Kristian's laughter died down, before Vlad reached across the table, seized his hand and shook it vigorously.

"You. Kid. I like you." He said, pointing at Lukas' face as a smile began breaking out over his face. He turned to Kari. "No wonder you're helping out the kid, he's as blunt and snappy as you." Lukas shrugged, not looking even slightly offended, as someone else might've.

"Like attracts like." He said simply. Vlad's grin extended even further.

"What sort of division are you in?" he inquired. "Like, are you a pilot, mechanic, sniper? Something else?" Lukas looked a little caught off guard by the question.

"I don't know that I really have a division yet." He said, shrugging. Kari jumped in.

"He's getting training from Nelia, so I would say combat related stuff." Vlad's eyes widened at her statement.

"Nelia? Oh, you poor cunt." He said sympathetically. "I'm guessing she's been making you learn to dislocate your joints?" Lukas grimaced, rubbing at his shoulder, saying nothing. Vlad cackled. "I mean, it's kind of a compliment to you, though. Nelia only takes on fighters who are already very skilled." He half-raised his bottle to his lips, before pausing and placing it on the table again. "Say, do you know anything about bombs and explosives?" Lukas blinked.

"Um, no, not really."

Vlad grinned. "Would you like to?" Lukas looked taken aback, before he nodded slowly. Vlad beamed. "Brilliant! Just come by the detonations tent whenever Nelia frees you from her torture sessions, and I can teach you some stuff." Lukas nodded again, a genuine smile stretching across his face.

"Uh, okay, yeah." Vlad grinned again, before standing up and shoving his tray out of his way.

"I can see dessert approaching." He said, eyes fixed on the food bar. Kristian rolled his eyes, ignoring his boyfriend as he practically sprinted to it, but also smiled at Lukas.

"I can also teach you some shooting tips, though I'll warn you, Tino is a much better teacher than me." Lukas laughed a little, nodding.

"Yeah, I'd like to, thanks." He murmured. Kristian smiled again, though his happy expression fell away, replaced by something more sombre as he watched a teenage girl enter the mess hall. Kari followed his gaze, wincing in sympathy.

"Ah, Ismeta." The girl had already seen Vlad, and had approached him, no doubt asking where Kristian was. Before Kristian could even ask, Kari was speaking. "I'll tell her that you weren't feeling well." She said. Kristian gave her a grateful look.

"Thanks. And I'm serious, Lukas, come down to the range again and I'll show you how to shoot." Lukas nodded, lifting a hand in farewell as the Iramese boy hurriedly exited the mess hall. Kari shook her head.

"Look at you, making friends so fast." She said, smiling at him before mussing up his hair. He had hated it as a child, and clearly still hated it now, as he dodged her hand. "I'm so proud." She said dramatically. Lukas rolled his eyes before rising to his feet, though he did look rather happier now than he had when they'd arrived.

"I," he said, "am exhausted." Kari laughed. No doubt his fatigue stemmed from his running away from her since yesterday.

"Sleep well." She replied as he exited the mess hall, figure gradually being swallowed by the darkness in the forest beyond.

Szwicza District,
Bibesti, Rela,
7th Marrch

The message arrived at noon.

Vash, who had been relaxing in his apartment, had looked up in surprise when his Cell let out the noise which indicated that he had received a message. His brow creased. Whenever clients of his were requesting a job, they always came to him personally. The same went for financial transactions once he had done his part. They never messaged him; that left a potential trail which could one day result in a very long prison term for either him or his employer. No, this wasn't one of his usual jobs then. This was a client clearly interested in utilising his brain instead of his fists. A surprising change, but a welcome one.

He had operated as an information broker and arms dealer for years before his gift at murder was even discovered. But since he'd been taken on as the apprentice of an assassin, he had found his former profession was being less and less called upon. It was a shame, as the less dangerous and markedly non-violent job had been what allowed him to stay sane during his brutal training as an assassin. It had long been the calm part of his life which acted as a reprieve.

But in the past few years, his name had become synonymous with death, and his other services seemingly forgotten. For someone to ask this of him now was interesting. His eyes flickered across the top of the screen. Though it had been sent anonymously, their Cell's identification number was still visible at the top. He murmured the sequence under his breath, and scowled. Familiar, but not entirely welcome. He sighed, before quickly sending out a reply. Work was work, and he couldn't well afford to reject any of it.

Vash rose from his chair, knowing that he would have to tidy his apartment up a little before tomorrow, in any case, and warn Lovino and Feliciano that he would be getting visitors. He was under no illusion that his lies had worked on Lovino. The man was intelligent, and he definitely would have seen something amiss with Vash's explanations to them. It was why they got along so well. Vash could hardly stand for idiots, and he felt that Lovino was the same. Feliciano's naivete was not the same as stupidity, as Vash had personally witnessed the boy's desire to learn. Feliciano's ignorance was not intentional, and obviously unwelcome by even the boy himself. Vash could tell he was smart as well, just not as world-wise as Lovino.

Just as he knew they were under no illusion about his real profession, Vash himself was under no illusion that they were Jhobrasian. They were very convincing, yes, but no Jhobrasian had eyes as vibrant as theirs. Nor did they speak words with the certain tilt that the brothers did.

But, in Vash's mind, it made no difference if they were Syhvvanian or in fact Jhobrasian as they claimed. The need for secrecy was strong nowadays, and particularly for people like them. Vash was no great loyalist to the Union, and even if he had been, he would have remained silent anyway. It was their business, not his, and he could not, in good conscience, turn them in and take the responsibility for their lives away from them. He was an assassin, trusted to end people's lives. He didn't know that there were many people who would ever trust him with theirs.

At times, he was tempted to ask them further about their home. Syhvva was within this very system, yet Vash had never even been close to it. He had heard plenty; that it was beautiful, that the people were proud and fierce, that the climate was exquisite, etcetera. But he would not dare. Lovino may have been several years his junior, but death clung to him as it did to Vash. He did not fear him, but he was appropriately wary.

He knocked on their door, waiting only a moment before the man himself opened the door, eyes widening a little in surprise. Vash would always enjoy that. Even if he didn't already like the aspects of Lovino's personalities, his appearance would have been enough to attract him nonetheless. He often imagined what he would like with his actual hair colour, and what sort of red it would be. After thinking over such things, the black almost diminished Lovino's appearance. The sharp, pure amber shade which greeted Vash when they made eye contact made up for it, though.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will be receiving some visitors tomorrow, in the morning. I'm not sure how many there will be, but it will be a group." Lovino nodded. "You're still welcome to come in," Vash continued, "I just wanted to let you know."

"All right, thanks." He said, shooting Vash a small smile that, had he been a weaker man and, had he not already committed Lovino as a friend in his mind, would have made him almost literally pounce on him. He steeled himself. He had not sought companionship of that kind for a long time, and being faced with such an attractive man, who lived so nearby as Lovino did, was only reminding him of that fact. Vash nodded, pulling himself away from the doorframe. "Well, good afternoon, I suppose." The younger man murmured. Vash merely nodded again in response as Lovino closed the door.

Good afternoon to you as well, and may I pray that my impending visitors are not so observant as myself, your majesty.