The rest of the day had been a nervous one for the Ronins. Everyone was on edge all day, but there was no further sign of the Dark Ronins.
"We'll get the dishes, Cye," Kawai said, reaching out to snatch a plate from him. "Right, guys?" She said, her eyes traveling over her friends.
"I'll help Kawai," Junichi blurted out, standing up.
"I'll help, too," Reia said, eager to have a task to fulfill.
"Really, it's OK, I can handle it," Cye assured Kawai, trying to take the plate back.
"Remove him," She said, pointing at Cye.
"Come on, Cye," Kento said, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Live a little, you can't do the dishes all the time..."
Casting a rueful glance back at the kitchen, Cye reluctantly left with Kento.
"Come on, let's play some hoops," Kento said, opening a closet door and pulling out a basketball.
From her position at the sink, Reia could see Cye and Kento at the basketball court that she vaguely remembered Sage and Ryo bragging about having built themselves. She knew she was staring, but she didn't care. Cye's every move caught her attention, every agile dodge from Kento's blocking, his graceful moves when he attempted a shot. Never mind that Kento was creaming him, it was fun to watch.
"REIA!" Kawai's impatient voice jolted her out of her day dream.
"What?" She asked in an annoyed tone of voice, glaring at Kawai.
"You OK? You've been washing that fork for the last ten minutes," Kawai quipped. Pulling back a curtain, she looked out the window and saw Kento and Cye at the basketball court. A knowing smile spread across her face.
"Junichi, luv, could you get Lys's sorry rear in here, please?" Kawai asked.
"Huh?" Junichi stammered, trying not to seem to surprised that Kawai had spoken to him.
"I need Lys's help. You're free," Kawai said with a smile as Junichi shuffled out of the kitchen. "That's a sweetie!" She called, waving at him.
"I think he likes you," Reia said, glancing at Junichi's retreating form.
"Junichi?" Kawai exclaimed in shock. "No way!"
"I dunno," Reia said, looking down at the sink, although she wanted to look out the window.
"He's one of those tough guy types," Kawai said, almost wistfully, "And you know, with his music and all, he has no time for girls..." Kawai paused. "Hey! You said that just so I'd forget about why I sent him out of the kitchen!"
Lys appeared at the doorway, looking frustrated. "What is it, Kawai?" She snapped.
"Come here, it's gossip time," Kawai said, grinning.
"Oooh," Lys squealed, running to the sink.
Reia couldn't help it, she was staring out the window again.
"You like him, don'tcha?" Said Kawai.
"What?" Reia exclaimed, dropping the plate she was holding with a large splash.
"How much do you dig Cye?" Lys asked, her tone on the serious edge.
"Totally," Reia sighed after a lengthy pause.
"Yeah, a project!" Kawai said under her breath.
"WHAT?" Reia squealed. Kawai only beamed.
"No way!" Reia protested.
"Second to Lys, you are the shyest girl with the guys I know," Kawai said.
"Let us play matchmaker," Lys begged. "Kawai set me up with Kasukio and look how well it turned out!..."
"No," Reia said adamantly.
"I think their game's finishing up... yeah, Cye's heading for the lake. GO, now!" Kawai urged her, pushing her towards the door.
"I don't know..." Reia whimpered, butterflies forming in her stomach.
"We're rooting for you!" Lys said, practically jumping up and down.
"The Ronin Warrior of Love is never wrong about a match," Kawai added proudly as Reia slunk out the door.
Cye made his way down to the lake slowly, a little sore from his workout. Since Kento won, he had first dibs at the bathroom. Cye didn't care, he liked swimming at the lake, even if the water was a little cold.
When he reached the end of the wooden swimming dock Kento had helped him build a few months back, he paused and just sat there, staring at the lapping water, enjoying being there. His thoughts drifted to Reia. They had been tending to drift there lately.
"Cye..." A soft feminine voice said behind him. He jumped and goose bumps traveled up his arms. Turning, Cye found Reia standing at the other end of the dock. The breeze stirred her hair and the fabrics of her jeans and shirt.
"Ah... hi," Cye croaked, too surprised to speak. Reia strolled over to the end of the dock.
"Can I sit down?" She asked.
"Yeah," Cye answered, moving over. Reia sat down and dangled her legs over the side in the same manner as him.
It was a long time before either of them spoke. "I... I'm really glad you weren't hurt this afternoon... at the dojo," Reia finally staring out at the lake and not him.
"Uh... me, too," Cye replied, mentally slapping himself. ~ 'Me, too'??? Very slick, Torrent... ~ He chided himself in his mind.
"I.. I mean, I'm glad no one was seriously hurt, but I..." Reia took a deep breath; this was going to be hard to say. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," She finished, a single tear trickling down each side of her face. It took just about every fiber of his self control to keep Cye from just pulling her into his arms to comfort her and assure her everything was going to be OK.
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, Cye... the truth of the matter is, it wasn't really you I was avoiding, it was my own feelings..."
"Reia-"
"Hear me out, Cye. I... Dear God, I hope I don't totally screw everything up, but... Cye, I think I'm falling in love with you." Her voice had dropped to a barely audible level at the end.
Another lengthy, unbearable pause.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Reia finally asked.
"Well, I would put my arms around you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit sticky," Cye replied. "I probably don't smell so good, either..."
"Well... I don't care about that," Reia replied, lying.
Cye stood up suddenly and began to un-tuck his tee shirt from his sweat pants.
"Woah," Reia gasped, nearly falling off the dock. "What are you doing?"
"I came down here to swim. Now you can join me," Cye replied, kicking off his sweat pants. He had dark blue boxers on underneath, or swim trunks, she didn't know one from the other.
"I... I don't know, Cye," Reia stammered as Cye pulled off his shirt. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks when she saw him then; his bared muscular body. Cye smiled at her, making her blush brighter as he jumped into the water.
"The water's great, join me!" He called from the water.
"I don't know," Reia repeated, eyes darting from his pile of clothes back to him in the water.
"Come on," Cye urged her, slapping the water.
"I don't have a swim suit," She protested.
"Jump in with your clothes on, then," Cye said.
"No way," Reia sniffed, dismissing that thought with a wave of her hands.
"Then take off your clothes," Cye murmured.
"What?" Reia gasped, not quite sure she had heard him right.
"Swim in your underwear," Cye continued. "It works for me, why not you? Well, I mean, you aren't having female problems or anything right now, are you?"
Reia laughed and slapped her forehead, and turned away. Cye's heart sank, thinking she was going to walk away. She just stood there, her back turned to him. She laughed and turned around again, then turned away.
"What is it?" Cye asked, a little impatiently.
"I can't believe this," Reia grumbled as she kicked her shoes off. "I can not believe that I am actually going to do this..." She pulled her shirt out from her jeans and unbuckled her belt, pulling it off slowly. It took her a moment to unsnap her jeans since her hands were shaking.
"You don't have to if you don't want to, Reia," Cye called from the water.
"But I do," Reia replied, and it was true. Sure, she was more scared now than she could remember ever being, but she was sure there was some time she had been more scared. Like maybe the first time she used her armor, that had been pretty scary.
Reia slowly slid her blue jeans of her long, slender legs and folded them up in a neat pile next to Cye's clothes. She smiled shyly at Cye, wondering if she should go ahead and remove her shirt as well. After a moments consideration she slowly rolled the black tank top off, leaving her wearing only her sky blue sports bra and panties of the matching color.
She tip toed over to the edge of the water... and realized Cye was no where to be seen.
"Where are you?... Cye?..." Reia got down on her hands and knees and leaned out over the water. "Cye?"
Suddenly there was a spray of water under her, and strong hands grabbed both of her arms. Reia didn't even have time for a shriek of surprise as Cye pulled her head over heels into the water.
Once there, she discovered he had lied; the water was cold.
"Damn you!" Reia squeaked, glaring at him. "This water is frigid! Now what?"
"Well, I suppose, I could ah... I mean, that is to say, we could..." Cye stuttered nervously. He wasn't like Sage, this was a new thing to him, and it scared the heck out of him.
Reia draped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close to him with a sigh.
"Do... this..." Cye finished as he brought his mouth down to cover hers with a warm kiss.
"Lovely night," Sage observed, pulling back a curtain. Sage, Rowen, Kawai, Lys, Ryo, and Mia were assembled in the living room. Kayura was holed up in her room, Kento was taking a shower, and Kasukio, Xanthe, and Junichi were presumably in the rec room shooting pool.
"Want to go for a run on the beach, Rowen?" He asked.
Kawai and Lys looked at each other nervously.
"Sure, that might be nice," Rowen said, putting his book down.
"NO!" Kawai and Lys shrieked suddenly.
"Uh... why not?" Sage asked, looking at them as if they had gone crazy.
"You'll get sand in your shoes," Lys exclaimed, wincing as soon as the words came out of her mouth and Kawai gave her a dirty look.
"Wouldn't the forest be a better place for a run?" Kawai supplied.
"I always run there. The beach might be a good change of pace," Sage said in a dismissive manner.
"But..." Lys whined.
"You guys really don't have to go down to the beach..." Kawai said, sounding desperate.
"What is with you two, why don't you want us going down to the lake?" Rowen asked, more suspicious than ever.
"Well... it's just..." Kawai and Lys looked at each other, searching for answers in one another's eyes.
"Hey, guys, where's Cye?" Kento asked from the stairs.
"He's not in his room?" Ryo asked.
"No... What, you mean he didn't come back from the lake yet?" Kento asked.
"That lake?!" Sage exclaimed, looking at Lys and Kawai.
"Yeah, he went down to take a dip after our game," Kento explained. "Why?"
"Hey, where's Reia, Kawai?" Xanthe asked, coming into the living room, holding a deck of playing cards in his hand. "I wanted to return her cards to her..."
All eyes turned to Lys and Kawai, who were both blushing now.
"Spill your guts, girls," Sage said, leaning close to Kawai, his gray blue eyes drilling into her ice blue ones.
Reia sighed and went limp in Cye's arms, dropping backwards and exposing her throat to him as his kisses strayed down to her neck and shoulders while she ran her fingers through his thick auburn hair. She could hear his ragged breathing in her ear when he pulled her back for another embrace, and she ran her hands from his shoulder down to his chest, scratching him lightly with her nails along the way.
Cye could hear Reia take in a sharp breath when he slowly began to move his hands around on her hips, the bring them up, with his finger tips exploring the lower part of her rib cage, while his thumb rubbed the waist line of her underwear. He let his kisses stray down farther, to the hollow of her collarbone as her grip on his shoulders tightened until she nearly drew blood.
They floated like that for awhile, either kissing or exploring each other as innocently as possible, making sure they could keep their desires in check. Or sometimes Reia and Cye remained motionless, just holding each other and reveling in the simple joy of being together.
It was during one of those moments that Cye broke their silence. "Reia... God help me, I think I'm falling in love with you..." He whispered in her ear.
"Cye, I-" Reia started to say as they leaned towards each other for another kiss, but the night air was shattered by another voice.
"How very touching. Or should I say disgusting?" The smallest disturbance appeared over the water, causing ripples on it's otherwise glassy surface. The air around Cye and Reia suddenly seemed colder; he instinctively pulled her closer to him for both protection and warmth.
A dark blue shadow appeared over the water and melted into the thin, almost wraithlike form of a woman. Her skin was dead white, and her eyes were one cloudy yellow, with no whites. She wore blood red body armor with a long black cloak that swirled in the chilly air around them, without the aid of a breeze. Her long black hair fell in several braids, like dreadlocks, to her waist. Cye could see barely see the edge of a crossbow peeking out at her side.
"Greetings, little Ronins, I am Persephone, the Dark Ronin Warrior of Death!" Reia wasn't sure she liked the little accent Persephone had placed on the word 'death' nor the way Persephone licked her lips when she said it.
A dark purple shadow appeared next to Persephone, and another woman appeared. She was small, but not skin and bones, just small. She wore her dark brown hair tied up in several braided loops, the excess falling in thick pig tails to her shoulders. She was clad entirely in purple, from her body armor, to her cloak, to the mask she was wearing.
"We seem to have arrived just in time. I am Kaori, Lord Arcane's Dark Ronin of Suspicion," Kaori said. Cye and Reia were both surprised. By the sound of her voice, she couldn't have been much older than them!
"It appears we arrived just in time," Persephone said, drawing out her crossbow and pointing it at Cye and Reia.
"At least their last moments in this world will have been happy ones!" Kaori's velvety laugh filled the night air as a long bo staff appeared in her outstretched hand...
"We'll get the dishes, Cye," Kawai said, reaching out to snatch a plate from him. "Right, guys?" She said, her eyes traveling over her friends.
"I'll help Kawai," Junichi blurted out, standing up.
"I'll help, too," Reia said, eager to have a task to fulfill.
"Really, it's OK, I can handle it," Cye assured Kawai, trying to take the plate back.
"Remove him," She said, pointing at Cye.
"Come on, Cye," Kento said, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Live a little, you can't do the dishes all the time..."
Casting a rueful glance back at the kitchen, Cye reluctantly left with Kento.
"Come on, let's play some hoops," Kento said, opening a closet door and pulling out a basketball.
From her position at the sink, Reia could see Cye and Kento at the basketball court that she vaguely remembered Sage and Ryo bragging about having built themselves. She knew she was staring, but she didn't care. Cye's every move caught her attention, every agile dodge from Kento's blocking, his graceful moves when he attempted a shot. Never mind that Kento was creaming him, it was fun to watch.
"REIA!" Kawai's impatient voice jolted her out of her day dream.
"What?" She asked in an annoyed tone of voice, glaring at Kawai.
"You OK? You've been washing that fork for the last ten minutes," Kawai quipped. Pulling back a curtain, she looked out the window and saw Kento and Cye at the basketball court. A knowing smile spread across her face.
"Junichi, luv, could you get Lys's sorry rear in here, please?" Kawai asked.
"Huh?" Junichi stammered, trying not to seem to surprised that Kawai had spoken to him.
"I need Lys's help. You're free," Kawai said with a smile as Junichi shuffled out of the kitchen. "That's a sweetie!" She called, waving at him.
"I think he likes you," Reia said, glancing at Junichi's retreating form.
"Junichi?" Kawai exclaimed in shock. "No way!"
"I dunno," Reia said, looking down at the sink, although she wanted to look out the window.
"He's one of those tough guy types," Kawai said, almost wistfully, "And you know, with his music and all, he has no time for girls..." Kawai paused. "Hey! You said that just so I'd forget about why I sent him out of the kitchen!"
Lys appeared at the doorway, looking frustrated. "What is it, Kawai?" She snapped.
"Come here, it's gossip time," Kawai said, grinning.
"Oooh," Lys squealed, running to the sink.
Reia couldn't help it, she was staring out the window again.
"You like him, don'tcha?" Said Kawai.
"What?" Reia exclaimed, dropping the plate she was holding with a large splash.
"How much do you dig Cye?" Lys asked, her tone on the serious edge.
"Totally," Reia sighed after a lengthy pause.
"Yeah, a project!" Kawai said under her breath.
"WHAT?" Reia squealed. Kawai only beamed.
"No way!" Reia protested.
"Second to Lys, you are the shyest girl with the guys I know," Kawai said.
"Let us play matchmaker," Lys begged. "Kawai set me up with Kasukio and look how well it turned out!..."
"No," Reia said adamantly.
"I think their game's finishing up... yeah, Cye's heading for the lake. GO, now!" Kawai urged her, pushing her towards the door.
"I don't know..." Reia whimpered, butterflies forming in her stomach.
"We're rooting for you!" Lys said, practically jumping up and down.
"The Ronin Warrior of Love is never wrong about a match," Kawai added proudly as Reia slunk out the door.
Cye made his way down to the lake slowly, a little sore from his workout. Since Kento won, he had first dibs at the bathroom. Cye didn't care, he liked swimming at the lake, even if the water was a little cold.
When he reached the end of the wooden swimming dock Kento had helped him build a few months back, he paused and just sat there, staring at the lapping water, enjoying being there. His thoughts drifted to Reia. They had been tending to drift there lately.
"Cye..." A soft feminine voice said behind him. He jumped and goose bumps traveled up his arms. Turning, Cye found Reia standing at the other end of the dock. The breeze stirred her hair and the fabrics of her jeans and shirt.
"Ah... hi," Cye croaked, too surprised to speak. Reia strolled over to the end of the dock.
"Can I sit down?" She asked.
"Yeah," Cye answered, moving over. Reia sat down and dangled her legs over the side in the same manner as him.
It was a long time before either of them spoke. "I... I'm really glad you weren't hurt this afternoon... at the dojo," Reia finally staring out at the lake and not him.
"Uh... me, too," Cye replied, mentally slapping himself. ~ 'Me, too'??? Very slick, Torrent... ~ He chided himself in his mind.
"I.. I mean, I'm glad no one was seriously hurt, but I..." Reia took a deep breath; this was going to be hard to say. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," She finished, a single tear trickling down each side of her face. It took just about every fiber of his self control to keep Cye from just pulling her into his arms to comfort her and assure her everything was going to be OK.
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, Cye... the truth of the matter is, it wasn't really you I was avoiding, it was my own feelings..."
"Reia-"
"Hear me out, Cye. I... Dear God, I hope I don't totally screw everything up, but... Cye, I think I'm falling in love with you." Her voice had dropped to a barely audible level at the end.
Another lengthy, unbearable pause.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Reia finally asked.
"Well, I would put my arms around you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit sticky," Cye replied. "I probably don't smell so good, either..."
"Well... I don't care about that," Reia replied, lying.
Cye stood up suddenly and began to un-tuck his tee shirt from his sweat pants.
"Woah," Reia gasped, nearly falling off the dock. "What are you doing?"
"I came down here to swim. Now you can join me," Cye replied, kicking off his sweat pants. He had dark blue boxers on underneath, or swim trunks, she didn't know one from the other.
"I... I don't know, Cye," Reia stammered as Cye pulled off his shirt. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks when she saw him then; his bared muscular body. Cye smiled at her, making her blush brighter as he jumped into the water.
"The water's great, join me!" He called from the water.
"I don't know," Reia repeated, eyes darting from his pile of clothes back to him in the water.
"Come on," Cye urged her, slapping the water.
"I don't have a swim suit," She protested.
"Jump in with your clothes on, then," Cye said.
"No way," Reia sniffed, dismissing that thought with a wave of her hands.
"Then take off your clothes," Cye murmured.
"What?" Reia gasped, not quite sure she had heard him right.
"Swim in your underwear," Cye continued. "It works for me, why not you? Well, I mean, you aren't having female problems or anything right now, are you?"
Reia laughed and slapped her forehead, and turned away. Cye's heart sank, thinking she was going to walk away. She just stood there, her back turned to him. She laughed and turned around again, then turned away.
"What is it?" Cye asked, a little impatiently.
"I can't believe this," Reia grumbled as she kicked her shoes off. "I can not believe that I am actually going to do this..." She pulled her shirt out from her jeans and unbuckled her belt, pulling it off slowly. It took her a moment to unsnap her jeans since her hands were shaking.
"You don't have to if you don't want to, Reia," Cye called from the water.
"But I do," Reia replied, and it was true. Sure, she was more scared now than she could remember ever being, but she was sure there was some time she had been more scared. Like maybe the first time she used her armor, that had been pretty scary.
Reia slowly slid her blue jeans of her long, slender legs and folded them up in a neat pile next to Cye's clothes. She smiled shyly at Cye, wondering if she should go ahead and remove her shirt as well. After a moments consideration she slowly rolled the black tank top off, leaving her wearing only her sky blue sports bra and panties of the matching color.
She tip toed over to the edge of the water... and realized Cye was no where to be seen.
"Where are you?... Cye?..." Reia got down on her hands and knees and leaned out over the water. "Cye?"
Suddenly there was a spray of water under her, and strong hands grabbed both of her arms. Reia didn't even have time for a shriek of surprise as Cye pulled her head over heels into the water.
Once there, she discovered he had lied; the water was cold.
"Damn you!" Reia squeaked, glaring at him. "This water is frigid! Now what?"
"Well, I suppose, I could ah... I mean, that is to say, we could..." Cye stuttered nervously. He wasn't like Sage, this was a new thing to him, and it scared the heck out of him.
Reia draped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close to him with a sigh.
"Do... this..." Cye finished as he brought his mouth down to cover hers with a warm kiss.
"Lovely night," Sage observed, pulling back a curtain. Sage, Rowen, Kawai, Lys, Ryo, and Mia were assembled in the living room. Kayura was holed up in her room, Kento was taking a shower, and Kasukio, Xanthe, and Junichi were presumably in the rec room shooting pool.
"Want to go for a run on the beach, Rowen?" He asked.
Kawai and Lys looked at each other nervously.
"Sure, that might be nice," Rowen said, putting his book down.
"NO!" Kawai and Lys shrieked suddenly.
"Uh... why not?" Sage asked, looking at them as if they had gone crazy.
"You'll get sand in your shoes," Lys exclaimed, wincing as soon as the words came out of her mouth and Kawai gave her a dirty look.
"Wouldn't the forest be a better place for a run?" Kawai supplied.
"I always run there. The beach might be a good change of pace," Sage said in a dismissive manner.
"But..." Lys whined.
"You guys really don't have to go down to the beach..." Kawai said, sounding desperate.
"What is with you two, why don't you want us going down to the lake?" Rowen asked, more suspicious than ever.
"Well... it's just..." Kawai and Lys looked at each other, searching for answers in one another's eyes.
"Hey, guys, where's Cye?" Kento asked from the stairs.
"He's not in his room?" Ryo asked.
"No... What, you mean he didn't come back from the lake yet?" Kento asked.
"That lake?!" Sage exclaimed, looking at Lys and Kawai.
"Yeah, he went down to take a dip after our game," Kento explained. "Why?"
"Hey, where's Reia, Kawai?" Xanthe asked, coming into the living room, holding a deck of playing cards in his hand. "I wanted to return her cards to her..."
All eyes turned to Lys and Kawai, who were both blushing now.
"Spill your guts, girls," Sage said, leaning close to Kawai, his gray blue eyes drilling into her ice blue ones.
Reia sighed and went limp in Cye's arms, dropping backwards and exposing her throat to him as his kisses strayed down to her neck and shoulders while she ran her fingers through his thick auburn hair. She could hear his ragged breathing in her ear when he pulled her back for another embrace, and she ran her hands from his shoulder down to his chest, scratching him lightly with her nails along the way.
Cye could hear Reia take in a sharp breath when he slowly began to move his hands around on her hips, the bring them up, with his finger tips exploring the lower part of her rib cage, while his thumb rubbed the waist line of her underwear. He let his kisses stray down farther, to the hollow of her collarbone as her grip on his shoulders tightened until she nearly drew blood.
They floated like that for awhile, either kissing or exploring each other as innocently as possible, making sure they could keep their desires in check. Or sometimes Reia and Cye remained motionless, just holding each other and reveling in the simple joy of being together.
It was during one of those moments that Cye broke their silence. "Reia... God help me, I think I'm falling in love with you..." He whispered in her ear.
"Cye, I-" Reia started to say as they leaned towards each other for another kiss, but the night air was shattered by another voice.
"How very touching. Or should I say disgusting?" The smallest disturbance appeared over the water, causing ripples on it's otherwise glassy surface. The air around Cye and Reia suddenly seemed colder; he instinctively pulled her closer to him for both protection and warmth.
A dark blue shadow appeared over the water and melted into the thin, almost wraithlike form of a woman. Her skin was dead white, and her eyes were one cloudy yellow, with no whites. She wore blood red body armor with a long black cloak that swirled in the chilly air around them, without the aid of a breeze. Her long black hair fell in several braids, like dreadlocks, to her waist. Cye could see barely see the edge of a crossbow peeking out at her side.
"Greetings, little Ronins, I am Persephone, the Dark Ronin Warrior of Death!" Reia wasn't sure she liked the little accent Persephone had placed on the word 'death' nor the way Persephone licked her lips when she said it.
A dark purple shadow appeared next to Persephone, and another woman appeared. She was small, but not skin and bones, just small. She wore her dark brown hair tied up in several braided loops, the excess falling in thick pig tails to her shoulders. She was clad entirely in purple, from her body armor, to her cloak, to the mask she was wearing.
"We seem to have arrived just in time. I am Kaori, Lord Arcane's Dark Ronin of Suspicion," Kaori said. Cye and Reia were both surprised. By the sound of her voice, she couldn't have been much older than them!
"It appears we arrived just in time," Persephone said, drawing out her crossbow and pointing it at Cye and Reia.
"At least their last moments in this world will have been happy ones!" Kaori's velvety laugh filled the night air as a long bo staff appeared in her outstretched hand...