Realizations
"So, why are we waiting, Jolrael-san," Tinuviel asked. Jolrael pointed at the mazoku laying on his back next to half a were-fox in human form.
"We're waiting for them," Jolrael said. "So are you really okay, Tinu?"
"Hmm?" Tinuviel asked as she jotted something down in her notebook. "Why shouldn't I be okay?"
"Because you were held hostage by mazoku for several days," Jolrael noted.
"That nice man was a mazoku?" Tinuviel asked, blinking. "Why that can't be, wouldn't he have killed us then?"
"Do you know what happened to the other people you were with?" Jolrael asked.
"Didn't they go to Zephilia?" Tinuviel asked, blinking.
"No, they didn't," Jol answered quietly. He scratched an itch, telekinetically since his arms were otherwise occupied.
"Well, then, did they come with us to Sairagg?" Tinuviel asked. "How did Kyrie and I get to Sairagg anyway? I've been trying to figure that out off and on for a while now." She jotted something else down in her notebook.
"That 'nice' mazoku brought you, teleporting," Jol said, getting close to actually being irritated with Tinu. "After he killed everyone else that was with you." That is what he had told the Elf Lord at any rate. Though Jol didn't mention he hadn't actually seen the massacre.
"They're...all...dead?" Tinu dropped her pencil and after a moment picked up again. "That's silly, if there was a battle then I would have heard..." Tinu recalled an explosion of some kind and falling. She had thought it had something to do with the chemicals she was pla...err...experimenting with. It had come from the wrong direction though, hadn't it."...something."
"Look at Sherra, that 'nice' man did that too her," Jol said. "He's almost killed Xina everytime they've run across each other, he kidnapped you once before. All this while he was still human"
"You're just...being silly," Tinuviel insisted, jotting something else down in her notebook. "If he was really that bad he could have just killed us."
"ink abou bay inu," Jolrael found talking with tongue pressed down mildly difficult.
"Bait? Why would he want bait?" Tinu asked. "Its not like we have anything of interest to a mazoku...except Xina's staff...which he took." Tinuviel paused and stared off for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Jolrael asked again. Tinuviel didn't respond right away, instead pointing towards the recovering pair.
"What's you're sister doing?" she asked. Jolrael turned around and caught his sister edging closer to the injured were-fox, curiousity plastered on her face. Tinuviel didn't even blink as the apparatus she had developed to help her investigation of Jolrael's power as ripped to pieces. It hadn't actually been designed to restrain Jol after all, and when he went for his sister it fell apart spectacularly.
"Kyrie, don't bother her," Jolrael started to lecture, Tinuviel let the conversation of siblings fade out as she considered some things, and watched the setting sun.
"That means we'll be moving soon," Tinuviel said idly to no one.
The pain of transformation was more than overshadowed by the pain that had been wracking her body over the last few hours. After it was over Sherra was going to start wondering why it should hurt so much, her mazoku body had suffered worse damage, but for the moment she was only relieved to note that the pain was beginning to subside. The healing process was accelerating, and she could feel the flesh knitting together, growing, returning to its proper mold.
As the pain reduced to the level that she could think again she was struggled to sit up and watched as her lower body grew back. There was an interesting, and extremely uncomfortable, feeling of pain that travelled downward as new flesh was being created.
~Oh, internal organs,~ Sherra considered as the process neared its finish. ~Nerves and such, never had those as a mazoku.~ Somebody was holding her and she twisted around to look up and saw Duofolger as she expected. The transformation came to an end and she looked down to see toes and wiggled them.
"Duofolger?" she asked as the pain subsided, then she let out a big breath.
"Yes, Sherra?" Duofolger was always close, that was the right way of things according to Sherra's normal way of thinking, even if he wasn't a sword anymore. But she remembered him confessing he loved her, when he thought she was dead. She didn't know how to deal with that.
"LET GO OF ME!!" So she didn't. She shrugged off the surprised mazoku and started stomping off into the woods. "I'm going hunting, DON'T follow me." The silvery-blue furred were-fox stomped off into the woods, not noticing Jolrael having turned himself and his sister away from her or Tinuviel staring at her in shock.
"Does she know that she has no clothes below her bellybutton," Tinuviel asked, a little shell-shocked.
"I did not look," Jolrael insisted.
"And what about you," Tinuviel glared at the still tired mazoku, other matters temporarily forgotten in the face of keeping the men in line.
"I've been her sword for six hundred years," Duofolger said.
"Did you look?" Tinuviel asked again.
"Look at what?" Kyrie asked. "What are all you talking about?"
"You're too young Kyrie-chan," Jolrael said tightly.
"Of course, I look..." Duofolger was interrupted when a stick whapped him in the head. He looked up irritably. "Was that supposed to hurt?"
"How odd," Tinuviel considered this, it was an interesting distraction from other things. "Let me try something else."
"Like wha...." Duofolger watched nervously as Tinuviel walked over to where Jolrael's back was turned and drew out his sword.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" Duofolger and Jolrael shouted simultaneously.
"Well, maybe this will hurt him," Tinuviel said matter of factly. Jolrael took the sword from Tinuviel quickly. "How does it work anyway, I never got a complete examination of it." She didn't seem at all concerned with how easily he had taken the sword.
"Tinuviel..." Jolrael sighed. ~She had been doing so well too.~
"I think the edge is only one dimensional," Tinu rattled on. "Maybe that's why it cuts through anything...could I see the scabbard please?"
"I think we should get started after Sherra comes back," Jolrael said as he tried to maneuver to keep Tinu away from his sword again. "So get some more rest."
"Are you giving orders?" Duofolger asked.
"Got a better idea?" Jol answered. "Tinu, please no, its not a toy!"
"Just let me look at for a moment," Tinu insisted. "I'm sure I can figure it out."
"Can I play too?" Kyrie put in.
Sherra looked around nervously as she took another chunk from the leg in her hand. Of course, it was a bear's leg, she idly wondered if she should hunt other things as well, but for now she was just hungry. The regeneration process had left her that way, very hungry, though she had been living with that for a while now. This time it he was actually feeling better after each meal. The bear was almost stripped clean already and she was idly checking the air for anything else that smelled appetizing.
"Is that a deer over there?" she asked without turning around. When no answer came she got irritated. "Duofolger, I asked....oh wait, left him at camp." She stood up, sighed wistfully, and noted the blood marring her silver-blue fur. "I wonder if he took a look...what am I saying he's mazoku, of course he looked, pervert...." she paused and narrowed her eyes as the last stripped bone of bear hit the ground.
"How could he embarrass me like that?" Sherra growled to herself before she settled into a new hunt. Several minutes later she was devouring a moose and considering things. "I guess it was somewhat sweet, hmm, I wonder if THAT'S why he got annoyed whenever I was chasing some guy. Or the running commentary about..scratch that...DURING...my sex life. He was JEALOUS?"
She considered this a little longer, feeling more uncomfortable in each passing moment without the mazoku in close proximity. It had been a long time since she had been without him. He was a fixture in her life, and well, imagining him not there was...quite a bit more than difficult. She frowned briefly, using some mouse bones to pick her teeeth. She didn't know about having an intimate relationship though. Sharing everything, like she did with Duofolger. Relying implicitly on each other, like she and Duofolger did.
She frowned again, this wasn't going the direction she thought it would. Then, of couse, there was the question of sleeping together, well he was cute in his humanoid form, such wonderfully cold colors. All that silver, blue and pale gray, it reminded her of home. Sherra began to wonder if the idea had merit, or maybe if the relationship were already there.
"He'd better have taken a look," she muttered through her teeth. She wasn't quite so hungry, and now she was getting sleepy. "Time...*yawn*...to go back." She glanced down and frowned. "But lets see if I can find something in one of those houses first."
"DUOFOLGER!!" the mazoku in question cringed as the familiar, if a little more bestial, voice called out. They are all soon presented the image of Sherra walking into camp in an over-sized tunic that reached down to her knees.
"You're overreacting again," the former sword reminded her.
~He's STILL treating me like a kid after everything else?~ Sherra blinked, walked over to the mazoku, yawned, and hit him. "Stop treating me like a kid!"
"When you..." Sherra hit him again.
"And that's for embarrassing me!" Sherra snapped. Then she hit the bored looking mazoku again, if she really wanted to hurt him, he knew she would have used the claws. "And that's for never telling me why you got upset with me chasing after guys." She yawned again, pausing in her tirade, then her face returned to a fierce pose. "And this is for...err...whatever!"
Expecting another ineffectual thumping, Duofolger, and evertbody else was surprised when the werefox just suddenly leaned down and kissed the mazoku. After perhaps a minute she settled down on the surprised winter-demon's lap and wrapped her arms around him.
"Now carry me so I can sleep while we travel," Sherra said wearily before falling dead asleep and starting to snore contentedly against the mazoku.
"Did anybody understand that?" Tinu and Jolrael shook their heads.
"Duo-san," Kyrie scratched her head. "Your girlfriend is weird."
"And very loud." Jolrael noted as the snoring started.
"Should we leave now?" Tinuviel asked, staring at the rather, odd werefox. First she was hungry, now she's sleeping. I wonder if this has anything to do with her healing.
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