Okay, I finally decided to put up the next part. Sorry it took so long, though I doubt many people noticed that it hadn't moved on for a while now. Anyway, same disclaimers apply as before.
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"Tell me, what exactly do you think you're doing?"
Hiko raised her head and glared at the blue Kyrii with flashing cerulean eyes. He ignored the look, still regarding her with arms crossed over his chest, leaning against a tree. Just as he had when they first met. The only real difference was the fact that the outline of a small paw was imprinted on the side of his face in the form of a faint, purpling bruise, one that was barely noticeable.
"I'm waiting for this poor Gelert to wake up," she replied crisply, averting her gaze back down to the unconscious lupine. "You know, the one whose leg you kinda broke…?"
"I can see that, but why? He and his companions would have killed you in a heartbeat if I had not intervened on your behalf."
…A decision I am seriously beginning to regret, he added silently.
"They wouldn't have killed me."
The Kyrii arched a disbelieving eyebrow at her.
"Oh?"
"They were… they were just trying to get supplies… If they had beaten me – which they wouldn't have!" insisted Hiko quickly, "– they would have just taken my stuff and left. That's all they wanted!"
"Oh, really?" the Kyrii inquired, a slight smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. "You don't think that they wouldn't have thought to butcher you for nourishment as well? For meat is extremely difficult to find out in the wilderness, and…"
"Stop it! That's just plain stupid!" howled Hiko, glaring at him again.
"Is it?" he challenged quietly.
"Look, okay, okay, they were thieves, I can see that," she conceded. "And not of the 'Robin Lupe' kind, either. But killing another Neopet so they could eat them…? That's ridiculous!"
"Why? Lupes do it to Chias all the time."
"……"
"What? No protestation that 'that's different'? No outraged defense of one side or the other?" the Kyrii prodded, watching her face intently with glittering tan eyes.
"…I've never seen that happen," Hiko said suddenly, voice unusually low and subdued. "I've only seen a Lupe try to tear up a Chia plushie, and that was only one time… and even then, I stopped him before he could do much damage to it."
"So… sheltered as well as naïve," the Kyrii observed dryly under his breath.
Hiko stiffened with anger, paws clenching into trembling fists at her side. Part of her desperately wanted to lunge at the smirking Neopet and smack him across the other cheek as well, and possibly just keep hitting him until he shut up… But at the same time, she glanced over at the still sleeping Gelert and the dry crack of his leg snapping echoed dimly in her folded back ears.
He wouldn't do the same thing to me… right?
Part of her scoffed at the thought, but at the same time, Hiko relaxed her paws and let them hang by her sides. One wrapped gently around the hilt of her Sword of Domar… just as a precaution, of course. After all, the rest of the Gelerts might return for their fallen comrade…
The blue Kyrii noticed how she fingered her blade, and his smirk twisted slightly into a knowing smile.
Ahh… Perhaps she isn't quite so naïve at that…
"Despite what you think, I can take care of myself just fine, thank you," said Hiko after a short pause. "You don't have to stick around here just to look after me…"
"And whoever said I was staying to look after you, kiddo? I'm more interested in that pup you're insisting on helping…"
"Haven't you done enough to him?!" hissed Hiko, glaring at him again.
The blue Kyrii appeared unshaken by her accusing expression, and returned her gaze calmly with cool tan eyes.
"Would you rather his deception had worked? He is the one who was attempting to lure you off your guard in the first place…"
"What?"
Hiko stared over at the sleeping Gelert in surprise, as if noticing for the first time that the lupine's fur was a pale mint green: the same as the one she had met originally. In the confusion of the following assault and the shock of seeing the Kyrii snap somebody's leg, the Skunk Usul had failed to recognize that simple fact.
"That…doesn't prove anything. Green's a common fur color for Gelerts," she said, shaking her head.
Then Hiko realized something with a start, and jerked with surprise.
"You mean you…you were watching the whole time?!?" she blurted, staring at the blue-furred Kyrii.
He did not bother to answer, instead simply continuing to lean against the tree and watch her quietly. Hiko felt her cheeks burn faintly with fury: she had watched her entire struggle, beginning to end. Who knew how much longer he'd been spying on her beforehand…
Dimly, she heard the Kyrii mutter something, and she blinked wide blue eyes at him, curious.
"What did you just say…?"
"…His pack has caused some trouble around here before," he repeated calmly. "Ever since the Gelerts had their looks changed, a bunch ended up turning wild. It's a definite problem," the Kyrii added. "It's seriously upsetting the balance out here."
Again Hiko blinked, not quite understanding.
"The…balance?"
The blue Kyrii gazed at her for a long moment, then nodded slightly, more to himself than to her.
"Wild pets are not exactly uncommon around here," he explained. "A few new faces arrive almost every day. Many of them are refugees from the pound, ones who didn't want to wait for new owners or end their days alone. Others fled directly from their owners, rather than get taken to the pound or ignored in favor of their former masters' other pets. And some of them… some just wanted to take control of some aspect of their lives. To find new companions… new friends that understood them… that would be loyal…"
"…Hmm…" Hiko sighed, casting another glance toward the sleeping, green-furred lupine.
"Normally, it's rare for a bunch of one type of Neopet to show up out here at any one time. There might be a group of two, three or even four who belonged to the same negligent owner and escaped together, or a pair that joined together to get out of the pound, but usually, they're not all the same species. The only time real floods might occur is when something happens to the species itself… like 'evolution'…"
"Or a makeover," Hiko commented.
"Right. That's when a lot of unsatisfied and upset people are apt to disown their former pets, despising the changes. Ideally, that would be great news for those who actually like the new look: they could flock to the pound and find one there to adopt, possibly already trained, painted, and everything else by their previous master."
The Kyrii shook his head, cobalt bangs shading his narrowed tan eyes as he went on, "Of course, it's not that simple. Most people would rather get a new, fresh Neopet, one they can say has always been their own. They like having control over everything."
"But if they wanted a certain color, couldn't they just buy a paintbrush and…?"
"That wouldn't let them name their new Neopet whatever they wanted, though," pointed out the Kyrii. "Names are important to most humans, and they can spend hours, even days in advance, deciding on what they might want to name their new friend before picking them out. …Maybe if they could change the name of a Neopet they adopt, too, it would help out…"
Hiko was silent, looking at the Kyrii sadly.
"However, such speculation is useless at this time. The problem remains: all of these Gelerts are prowling around, angered by their former masters' abandonment of them, and taking it out on those who cross paths with them. While it isn't a problem for the stronger, swifter wild Neopets, the weaker ones have suffered a great deal…"
"So…you do care about others, then," the Skunk Usul said softly.
"Not in the sense you are likely thinking, rookie. I am more concerned with how the Gelerts' actions affect those who survive as well. From what I have seen, those canines are becoming too settled into the role of taking whatever they wish. The fact that they ambushed a traveler, albeit one such as yourself that is so obviously easy prey–"
"Hey!" Hiko cried, temper flaring again.
"–Signals that they've become too overconfident in their abilities. This time, you were lucky enough to survive long enough for a more experienced warrior to handle the situation."
"I was doing just fine until you showed up," pouted the Skunk Usul, crossing her arms over her armored chest.
"You were also fortunate enough to be at least somewhat equipped for a battle," the Kyrii went on smoothly, eyeing her outfit as he did.
That's at least one credit in this child's favor: her armor helped save her life. Pity she doesn't appear to realize that…
"But, there's no guarantee that the next one will be so lucky," he continued. Narrowing his tan eyes at his companion, he prodded, "Think about it for a while. The next one they attack could be anything, anyone. A peaceful pet who has never entered the Battledome in their life. A child who wandered too far from its master to play. Anyone."
"Th-they couldn't–"
"Couldn't get away with it for long. Exactly. Neopians will start to wonder what's behind all the disappearances, and investigate. And then…"
He trailed off, letting a heavy silence fall over them.
"…And then?" Hiko prodded.
"Then they'll find all the wild Neopets out here. And since everyone will likely be upset by the disappearances and wanting to see their form of justice done, all the runaways they find will become the scapegoats. Captured, carted back to the pound, or worse… just because a few angry pups became too convinced of their invulnerability."
He paused, then fixed the stunned Hiko with a piercing look.
"That's why I snapped that one's leg," he told her firmly. "Not simply to keep those fools from teaching you a serious lesson about how costly being impulsive and overconfident can be. Hopefully, seeing what happened to their former comrade should be enough to dissuade at least a few of them…"
He ran one paw through his thick cobalt locks again, smoothing the long fur down. Hiko looked down at the ground for a few moments, then back up at him.
"What are you planning to do with him when he wakes up?" she asked.
The Kyrii flicked a sidelong glance at the Gelert's motionless figure: the green-furred canine appeared to have fallen asleep despite his injuries, but there was no way to be entirely certain…
…Of course, it's not like he can do a whole lot even if he does hear what's going to happen, he mused darkly, a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth.
"That depends on his own actions," he replied smoothly, keeping a discreet eye on the green Gelert as he spoke. "I want information on where his pack lives, where they rest and relax. If he guides me there of his own free will, I will do nothing more to harm him. However…"
He trailed off, allowing Hiko to come to the likely conclusion on her own. He couldn't help but notice that the Gelert's seemingly sleeping figure appeared to stiffen slightly where it lay, and a grim smile flickered over his pressed lips.
"You really expect him to betray…" Hiko blurted, furious.
"Who betrayed whom?" he shot back, having anticipated her protest. "When I broke his leg, did his so-called friends attempt to save him – or themselves?"
Again the skunk Usul lapsed into sullen silence, and the Kyrii knew his words had struck home. He watched as Hiko gripped one edge of her Forest Cloak tightly, wringing it in her paws, and noted that she was biting the inside of her lip as well.
She really doesn't know how to deal with things that challenge her view on life…
Shaking his head at her naivete, the blue Kyrii turned away from the campsite, waving his gloved paw dismissively at her over his shoulder.
"…Whatever. Have a nice night," he mumbled vaguely.
"Um, wait," Hiko said abruptly, reaching into her traveling pack and rummaging around. The Kyrii turned and glanced at her, and she asked, "Do you need anything to eat or something? 'Cause I have a lot of food supplies…"
"Save it. I can find my own food."
"Really? Don't you want even something like an apple or…"
"I can't stand apples," the Kyrii interrupted, a dark grimace twisting his face briefly. "And I would prefer that you leave me alone for the time being. Don't worry about the Gelert: I'll be close enough to pick him up later whenever he recovers."
Hiko glared at the blue Kyrii with narrowed sky blue eyes and hissed, "Look, I'm trying to find some way to repay you for jumping in earlier, alright? Don't make it harder than it already is…"
He gazed at her for a long moment, then shook his head slightly and smirked again, turning to face her.
"Please. There's no need for you to thank me… as I said, I wasn't trying to help you out back there. All I care about is getting rid of the Gelerts by any means necessary. That's all. If you truly want to thank me…"
"Yes?"
"…Then stay out of my way. Go back home to your family and friends or remain here and get yourself killed: it doesn't matter to me, so long as you stay out of my way. But if you interfere with me in any manner…"
He leaned in closer, and Hiko blinked, startled to realize that he had crossed the short distance between them without her even noticing. The Kyrii curved his neck just slightly, enough that his lips were right next to her ear as he whispered.
"Then I'll kill you."
He clamped his gloved paw down tightly on her shoulder, and Hiko gasped as she felt a mild electrical shock course down her side from the point of contact. The blue Kyrii gazed down into her wide blue eyes and smiled, tan eyes glittering faintly, then with a bound of movement he was gone, vanishing into the surrounding forest. Only Hiko's willpower kept her standing instead of sinking to her knees after he disappeared, and she gazed off blankly into the trees.
"…But… I still don't even know your name…" she murmured, a somewhat dazed expression on her face.
Behind her, the green Gelert opened one brown eye just a slit and glared at her turned back, then quickly shut it again before she could turn and see him.
