Ah, Rudeg. She's a spit-fire when she wants to be. But how did she get on the team in the first place? Why does Kesi hang around her?

Maybe there's more to Rudeg than meets the eye . . . maybe.

"Thief!"

I cringed as I heard footsteps behind me. I had been spotted! I held the bag of bread closer to me as I picked up my own pace. I ran for a while, the footfalls never seeming to get any farther away. Eventually I reached an alleyway and immediately ran into the alleyway.

I realized my mistake too late. It was a dead-end! I had no time to waste, any second now the stall owner was going to walk into this alleyway! Okay, there are a large number of boxes in the corner there. Maybe if I climb them, I can get to the roofs!

"Over there!"

I cringed as I heard the footsteps get closer. I had to hurry! I sprinted towards the boxes and immediately began climbing them, desperately trying to get to the rooftop. For just a moment, it looks like I may get away. But as one of my hands touches the rooftop I feel a large, rough hand grab the back of my shirt and yank me right off of the boxes.

The man tosses me to the ground and some of the bread tumbles out of the bag. When I try to grab it someone stomps on my hand, getting me to scream out in pain. Still I held the bag tightly to my chest, trying desperately to keep at least one piece of bread. But as I got up - the person's foot having gotten off of my arm - strong arms soon grab the bag. There's no way I'm going to be able to keep him from taking the bag! "Please no! I haven't eaten in days, I need food! PLEASE!"

All my cries earned me was a slap to the face. As the bag was taken out of my hands, a hand went around my throat and I was hoisted into the air. I gulped as I looked at the man holding me, he was the scariest looking person I had ever seen before. The man nodded to another person, the other person being the second-scariest looking person I had ever seen before, and that one looked at a thin man who stood at the entrance to the alleyway. "How do you want him punished?"

The thin man grinned cruelly as he turned to leave. "He doesn't leave this alleyway alive."

I paled as the two men chuckled, and soon I was flying towards the boxes. When I slammed into the stacks of boxes, they fell over, and soon I was covered in heavy crates. Normally it would have taken me minutes to get out, or else I may even have needed help from someone else, but fear is a powerful motivator. The boxes almost seemed to move of their own accord as I got up. I shivered in fear as the two scary men slowly walked closer, cruel smiles on their faces.

I gulped, there was no choice. I immediately turned around and got on all fours. "Stay back!"

The men began to laugh, but the laughter immediately died down as I transformed. In mere moments I was a giant crested porcupine, and I immediately spread out my quills. I inwardly sighed in relief when I heard one of the men panic. "OH GOD HE'S A PORCUPINE +ANIMA! RUN BEFORE HE FIRES HIS QUILLS AT US!"

I heard one man run away, clearly in a panic. But I was surprised when the other one simply shook his head. "Fires his . . . you dumbass, a porcupine can't fire their quills. Thank god for that. Alright, let's see here . . . how to kill a porcup-ugh!"

I flinched as I heard a body hit the ground. I wanted to know what was going on, but I couldn't look behind myself unless I bundled my quills again. There was no way to tell if this was just a trick, and that they wanted me to lower my quills!

It was only when I heard a girl's chuckle that my curiosity overpowered my fear. I lowered my quills, and the instant I saw the girl I turned back to my human form. The girl had really dark skin, to the point that it was almost pitch-black. Her white hair was parted down her back, and combined with the large skunk tail that protruded from her clothing, made it obvious that she was a skunk +Anima.

At her feet was the man, now bleeding from a wound on the back of his head. Even though I saw the girl holding a bloodied dagger . . . she had just saved my life. I thanked her, and she asked if I had anywhere to go. When I told her no, she delighted me by telling me I could go with her.

When morning came, Kesi sleepily opened his eyes. Well, that was a nice memory. That had been years ago, that was how he and Rudeg became friends. So much had happened through the years, but the two of them remained friends.

Kesi smiled when he saw that Rudeg was up, her hands together in prayer as she prayed to her gods. Kesi soon joined her, getting Rudeg to smile. "Wise one, we thank you for this day. May you fill our day with fortune, may you allow us to bring our wrath upon our enemies. Wise one, give us the strength to do what we alone cannot."

Both Rudeg and Kesi then tapped their +Anima mark, signifying the end of the prayer. Once it was over, Rudeg smiled at Kesi. "Good morning, Kesi. Beautiful day so far."

Kesi smiled as he nodded. The two of them spent some time making light conversation. Kesi had long since learned what topics would get Rudeg's scary side to appear, but so long as he didn't bring up one of those topics Rudeg was a lot of fun to talk too.

The two of them talked about many things, but eventually Edreg and Dancing Shadow got up as well. Kesi cringed as Edreg immediately approached one of the 'bad' topics. "You know, you two could wake us up so we could get on the road sooner. There's no telling how far behind Zacyr we are now."

Rudeg soon confirmed it with a cruel smile. Kesi cringed as Rudeg began to speak, using her more menacing voice. "Patience, Edreg. First of all, we could always get a slave that would wake us up sooner. Maybe if we got one, you'd realize just how useful one with six arms could have. You know, one that has silver hair that stands out in the forest. That way, if they try to escape it wouldn't be hard to find them. The slave could even have red eyes to appear intimidating to whatever enemies we get. Rope is always a good item to have, so if the slave could make rope for us that would be a bonus. Maybe one that's male, since men tend to be known for brawn instead of brains. I'm just throwing out suggestions on what would make a good slave, not actually-"

Kesi almost grinned as Edreg snarled at Rudeg. "I know who you are talking about! And the answer is no! We are killing him, and that is final!"

Rudeg frowned at Edreg, but didn't say anything. Soon the group was on the move, and Kesi was surprised when Edreg let Rudeg lead. It was only when Edreg began whispering to Kesi that Kesi realized why Edreg was letting Rudeg lead the group down the path. Well, the side of the path at least. Rudeg still hated walking down the path. "Kesi, how do you do it?"

Kesi cocked his head, getting Edreg to sigh. "How do you talk to her? She's fucking crazy!"

Kesi simply smiled. "She and I have been friends for a while, so we understand each other well. You just have to know what subjects not to bring up. She truly does believe she's doing the right thing, and won't be persuaded otherwise."

Edreg shuddered, but didn't ask anything more. Kesi himself didn't push the issue, mainly because he preferred to be silent. For quite some time, the group walked in silence. Kesi was about to ask Rudeg a question when a shadow suddenly passed over him, getting him to look up.

There was a crow flying above them. No, that wasn't right. Was that . . . "Hey Rudeg?"

He heard Rudeg give a 'hmm?', so he nodded up to the sky. "Is that a +Anima?"

That got everyone's attention. They all watched as the +Anima flew off into the distance, soon surprising them when it collided with a huge kite. Kesi was worried for the safety of the crow +Anima, but Edreg just wrote it off and had the group continue on their way.

A lot of time passed before they finally left the plains. Kesi was really surprised to find that the mountain was really close to the plains, and by the time that they finally stopped for a rest. As they did, Kesi noticed Rudeg looking up at the sky. "It's going to rain, pretty badly too. Should we find cover or should we just tough it out?"

Kesi looked over at Edreg, who looked to be in thought. "Tough it out. I'm not afraid of a little water."

Rudeg nodded, looking as if she approved of Edreg's answer. "Alright. Should we find food then?"

Edreg nodded. "Rudeg, berries. Kesi, fish. Dancing Shadow and I will find live game. If anyone finds Zacyr, he's mine . . . actually Rudeg, how about you go with Kesi?"

Rudeg frowned, but didn't argue with it. Soon Kesi and Rudeg were traveling together through the forest, and Rudeg lightly cursed. "Damn it, how stupid does he think I am? This is only being done because he's afraid I'll get to Zacyr before he can!"

Kesi lightly smiled at Rudeg's anger. "I find it strange that someone so dead-set on killing his opponent still seems to care for his opponent's peace of mind. I wonder . . . if push comes to shove, would he actually be able to live with himself if he killed Zacyr?"

Rudeg grinned at Kesi. "Edreg may be a pansy sometimes, but to be fair he hasn't been a +Anima for as long as we have. I think he would live just fine. Still, that's kind of what I'm worried about. I hate leaving Edreg out of my sight because I'm worried he will get his 'revenge'. It's a hollow victory if all that's left of your opponent is a corpse."

Both Kesi and Rudeg looked up as rain began to fall. "Huh, faster than I thought it would show up."

Kesi nodded. However, the two of them focused when they saw a small stream not too far off in the distance. The stream was rather close to the mountain, although it ran perpendicular to it at this point. Both Kesi and Rudeg went over to the stream, and after Kesi went into his +Anima form so Rudeg could pluck off a few quills, the two of them got ready to fish. When Kesi saw a large silhouette underwater, he immediately aimed for it. He could only grin as he felt the quill hit the target, but he was surprised when the quill was yanked right out of his hands.

The silhouette came over by the shore, and Kesi was both shocked and horrified as he saw the one guy from Zacyr's team come out of the water, Kesi's quill embedded in his left leg. "Why . . . ouch! Why did you do that?"

Kesi could only blush as he quickly pulled the quill out of the boy's leg. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was a person! I just saw a large silhouette and aimed for it! I thought it was some huge fish or something!"

The boy looked rather surprised, but Rudeg spoke up. "Why the hell were you underwater? Forget that you can't breathe underwater or something?"

The boy grinned as jellyfish tentacles sprouted from his waist. "I can, actually. These tentacles come in handy when I'm fishing. Now if you'll ex-"

Kesi was surprised when Rudeg aimed the quill at the boy's face. "Kshtsi, was it? I don't normally use +Anima as hostages, but I think a hostage situation will get us a favorable position. But first, do you know where that six-armed human is?"

"What a coincidence"

Kesi paled as he saw the tips of a scorpion claw appear, one on his right and one on his left. As the claw came to rest on his neck, he saw Rudeg's eyes open wide. "NO NOT KESI! DON'T! You want me to stop threatening Kshtsi? Okay, I'll stop! Just don't hurt Kesi!"

Kesi felt Sarysi's claw stiffen for a moment, but as Rudeg dropped the quill Kesi felt Sarysi's claw slip away from his neck. "Got a soft spot for this kid here? I'm surprised, I had no idea you had a heart. Now get the fuck out of here."

Rudeg and Kesi nodded at each other, and were about to take off when they heard a growl. "No one threatens Kesi, not even you!"

Kesi turned around just in time to see Sarysi parry a blow from an enraged Edreg. The two groups stepped away from each other, and just as Kesi noticed that they had the numerical advantage the pretty girl in Zacyr's group appeared, standing next to Sarysi and Kshtsi.

"GO AWAY!"

Everyone jumped as they looked around, trying to find the source of the cry.

"GO FLY AWAY WITH THOSE WINGS!"

Oh! Okay, whoever it was they didn't appear to be yelling at them. The groups resumed their fighting stances again, but yet again stopped when they heard voices approaching.

"So you make your own rope? Fascinating. How does the rope get that white shine?"

"I use special fibers that are found only in a special forest plant. It resembles a flower, but has a few long strands that come from the middle of the petal that work amazingly for rope. What is more-huh?"

Kesi almost smiled as both Zacyr and Dancing Shadow walked out of the trees, clearly surprised to see the two groups there. Rudeg and Edreg both spoke at the same time. "Stop making friends with the enemy, Dancing Shadow!"

Kesi watched as Rudeg reached down to grab the quill off of the ground. Sarysi moved so fast . . . Kesi paled as Sarysi smashed her claws against Rudeg's side, sending her flying towards Dancing Shadow and Zacyr. Dancing Shadow evaded Rudeg's body, but Zacyr didn't. Rudeg and Zacyr were sent into a tumble by the force of the hit. The two of them slammed their heads against a tree, their now-unconscious forms falling into a tangled heap.

Kesi saw Edreg attempt to charge over towards where the two of them had landed, but Sarysi caught him and put him into a painful-looking hold. "I will not let you get near him!"

"KSHTSI, LOOK OUT!"

Kesi flinched at Tachine's voice, and before he could turn to see what caused the outburst Kshtsi's body slammed into Kesi. Kesi stumbled backwards from the hit, and both he and Kshtsi fell into the river. Kshtsi and Kesi tried to get back out, but they both paled as Mother Nature unleashed its fury.

A huge surge of water came down the side of the mountain, roaring its rage as it quickly swallowed up everything in its path. Kesi and Kshtsi were the only two that were outside of its path, and it was so sudden . . . there was no way their groups had gotten out of the way in time. Before Kesi could try to think through this, his head hit something hard and everything went black.

Well.

What the hell just happened? Here, let me explain.

This happens during volume 3, specifically during the Wings of the Wind part. They saw Cooro fly into Shad's kite, then later they heard Shad shout at Cooro to go away. Not long afterwards, the very same surge of water that destroyed the path down the mountain came roaring down the mountain, engulfing almost everyone.

Will they all get out alive? Will Zacyr's group (and possibly Edreg's) FINALLY interact with Cooro's group? Find out in the next chapter!