Tenkuu no Ryuugekitai - Ryuu no Shinzou no Kodou

Black wings, black feathers... Can I trust you? A hand was reaching out to him...
'Aah!' Gatti sat up with a start, then cried out as the sharp pain in his ribs flared up in a fury. Easing himself back down, Gatti clutched at his side and whimpered quietly as he waited for the ache to die off. After walking around so much that day, his bruised ribs were starting to act up. Oh, it hurt so much!

'Gatti?' he heard Shanti whisper from the foot of his bed. Gatti had grown used to the smaller boy being at his bedside every night. Shanti would never tell him why he wouldn't leave; Gatti just assumed he was scared of being left alone again. Through clenched teeth, the grey-eyed Dragon Slayer replied,

'I'm... alright. I had- ah... another dream.' He blinked back the involuntary tears that were forming in his eyes. 'It hurts...' his voice cracked as he tried not to cry. He felt Shanti move from the foot of his bed to his side.

'Ssh,' The Highlander spoke to him reassuringly. 'It will go away soon,' Gatti nodded slightly, wincing as a fresh wave of pain coursed through his upper body. He clenched a fist, then felt a tear roll down his temple.

Stupid. Men don't cry! he berated himself even as a choked sob escaped his lips. Suddenly, he felt hands wrap around his own, holding it tightly. In shock he realized it was Shanti.

'Don't get yourself worked up. Settle down,' he could hear the other saying. 'It's alright, just breathe in and out,' Gatti, still surprised, did as he was told. Soon the pain died down, and he relaxed. There was a pause, then he felt Shanti let go of his hand quickly. He was sure the other was blushing. 'I... I'm sorry,' When Gatti didn't reply, the other cursed himself quietly and went to move away. Before he could stop himself, Gatti reached out and stopped the Highlander by grabbing his hand. Shanti slowly sat back down.

Why? Gatti didn't understand why he had done that. He felt strangely at peace when the other was near.
It's got to have something to do with my dreams. He had told Shanti about his dreams, so the Highlander did know about them. What Gatti didn't tell the other, though, was that he was sure the dreams were trying to tell him something. Something about Shanti.
He's got to be hiding something, I'm sure of it. Gatti thought as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep.
But what?

*****

'Rise and shine, boys! We're going on a field-trip!' Guimel proclaimed joyfully as he opened the curtains, letting sunlight spill into the room. Shanti made an annoyed sound and covered his eyes, while Gatti blinked as his eyes became accustomed to the light.

'Do you never knock?' Shanti grumbled. Rubbing his eyes he glanced sleepily around, looking for Guimel's accomplice. Dante, inevitably, was standing in the doorway.

'I get to see her!' he was saying with a huge grin on his face. 'I get to see her today! Today!!'

'His girlfriend,' Gatti explained to the confused Shanti. 'Mikyla.'

'Excuse me,' Guimel stood tapping his foot. 'We're supposed to be in the hanger in exactly one hour, so you'd better hurry up and get into uniform.' He glanced at Shanti. 'Since you never seem to take yours off, you can help Gatti.' Shanti made a face at him, which he ignored. 'I'll meet you back here in a half-hour.' With that, the fluffy-haired Guimel walked out of the room, dragging a love-struck Dante after him.

'Righto, then.' Shanti craned his neck to try and get rid of the cramp in it. 'I'll get your jacket.' He stood up and stretched.

'Shanti... about what happened,' Gatti started to say. Shanti turned and looked at him with a strange expression in his eyes, causing Gatti to stop.

'I'll get your jacket.' the Highlander repeated with a such a tone Gatti decided not to press. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. With a sigh, the ash-blond Dragon Slayer swung his legs off the side of the bed and went to put on his uniform pants, thinking about how Shanti had looked at him so. He might have been imagining it, but the other boy looked like he was blushing. After a few minutes, Shanti returned balancing a bowl of water, a towel, Gatti's jacket and a brush in his hands. 'There we go.' he said, dropping everything onto the bed but the water, which he set down on the table. Picking up the brush, Shanti began to work on the tangled mess on his head, offering no more words to Gatti. Both cleaned themselves up in relative silence until Guimel reappeared.

'Almost ready?' he asked. Gatti finished zipping up his jacket and nodded. 'Well, then. Let's go!'

*****

'He's coming today! Today!!' Mikyla seemed to float around the room as she changed sheets on Migel's bed. Migel, set up on a chair in the far corner, rolled his eyes. He had been listening to Mikyla's incessant rambling-on since he had woken up that morning. Mikyla caught his look and stuck her tongue out at him. 'You're probably jealous 'cause no one's coming to visit you.' She immediately regretted her words when she saw the pained expression that came over his grey-green eyes. Walking over to him, Mikyla knelt down and looked repentant.
'I'm sorry, Migel.' The boy shrugged, avoiding her gaze. 'I know you miss your home.' Mikyla brightened as an idea came to her. 'Maybe Dante can help you! I'll ask him when he comes to visit today.' Breaking into a grin, she gave Migel's hand a reassuring pat and went back to changing his sheets.

Is that what his name is? Dante? I knew someone named that. Migel tilted his head to one side as he watched Mikyla.
Lucky guy, this Dante,

*****

After Dilandau had finished his brief run-through of their 'field-trip', all the Dragon Slayers climbed into their guymelefs. Shanti helped Gatti into his, and slipped him a small package.
'I sneaked these from the medic's room. If your ribs start hurting you again, just take one.' With a quick, faint smile, he jumped away and went into his own. Gatti took a glance into the package and saw a number of small, white pills. He had a feeling he knew why Shanti had to sneak them out of a medic's room... 'Gatti? Can ye hear me?' a voice crackled over the intercom.

'I hear you. Switch to a different line, though.' There was a slight click, then the voice came again.

'Better?'

'Yes. Use this line if you want to talk to me; otherwise everyone else can hear you.'

'Righto.' There was a slight pause, then, 'This... is very, very spiffy.' Before Gatti could ask what 'spiffy' meant, the giant door to the hanger slid open. Dilandau's red Alseides was first to drop out the opening, followed by the other guymelefs until at last it was Gatti's turn. As he fell from the opening, he quickly switched to the flying mode of his guymelef. There was a sound of changing gears and metal hitting metal as the legs of the Alseides melded together for the more aerodynamic mode. The burners kicked in and soon he was soaring through the sky behind the other guymelefs. Shanti's Alseides unit pulled up beside him.
'I'm not going tae be starin' at ye're backside the whole trip!' his voice crackled over the intercom. Gatti smiled as he could hear the exhilarated tone of the Highlander's voice. Making himself comfortable in his cocoon of gears and liquid metal, Gatti rose into formation with the rest of the Dragon Slayers. As they neared a forest, Dilandau's guymelef dropped down.

'I don't want anybody seeing us. We'll land and walk the rest of the way with the Stealth Cloaks.'

'Sir,' Shesta's voice timidly came over the general line. 'The canopy is too thick to land.' Dilandau's red Alseides swerved up and knocked into Shesta's. The blue guymelef did a complete turn in the air and dropped as the pilot frantically sought to upright himself.

'Then we'll just have to clear a path,' Dilandau said. A small burst of flame shot out of the guymelef's arm.

'Please, Master Dilandau... Lord Folken said that we weren't to destroy the landscape unnecessarily. Lord Folken will be very angry if you do.' Gatti had to admire Shesta. The short blond boy might seem weak in appearance, but no one else would dare to stand up to Dilandau as much as he did. The red guymelef knocked into Shesta again, but kept a steady altitude above the forest canopy.
For hours the sixteen Alseides flew, like large spectres in the sky. Dilandau had decided to take an alternate route to avoid any possible inhabited place, since they couldn't use their Stealth Cloaks while in flying mode. This meant the journey would take longer than expected. By the time Dilandau had reached the clearing he had selected, it was mid-afternoon. After getting settled, there would only be a few more hours of daylight.

'We'll stay here the night and begin tomorrow morning. Start setting up if you want anything to sleep on.' Dilandau said when everyone had landed. 'Make sure you hide your guymelefs. The last thing we need is uninvited guests.' The Dragon Slayers arranged themselves in a circle around the clearing. Moments later, the Slayers were covering the cockpits with leaves and branches, then climbing down trees to pile more foliage along the feet of the huge machines. Gatti noticed Shanti was in a good mood when he saw the thin boy make a little flag out of a leaf and twig and place it at the very top of his pile.
For the rest of the afternoon, the boys set out gathering wood for a fire and clearing up a space to sleep. When all the work was done, everyone gathered in their own groups and talked while awaiting orders. Shanti stood with Gatti, Guimel, Shesta, and Dalet. Glancing around, he noticed someone missing.

'Where's Dante?' Shesta scratched the back of his head.

'I don't think he landed with us. I'm pretty sure he left when we were still flying and went towards Freid. That's where his girlfriend lives,' he said. Guimel nodded to confirm.

'He told me he'd be back early in the morning. Then he rambled on and on about seeing his girlfriend, so I shut off that line.' He rolled his eyes and said, in imitation of Dante, 'Today, today! I get to see her today!' With a disgusted sigh, Guimel muttered. 'Spare me.'

'Oh, poor Guimel's all lonely now,' Dalet said with a mischievous smirk, giving Guimel a knowing wink. Guimel gave the brown-haired Slayer a sweet smile.

'I think someone's jealous because he couldn't get a girlfriend even if he did cut his prissy hair.'

'I seem to have gone temporarily deaf and didn't hear what you just said,' Dalet sniffed, twisting a strand of his chin-length hair around his fingers. Gatti noticed some other Slayers running towards a lake they had found near the clearing. Viole came towards them.

'Massa Dilandau said we could go take a swim! Said we all smell somethin' real bad.' With a grin, the tall Slayer left them and went running with the others. Guimel gave a whoop and went chasing after him, followed by Shesta, and a more composed Dalet. Gatti turned to talk to Shanti, but found the boy had disappeared into the trees. With a shrug, he walked after his fellow Slayers.

***

'Come in, the water's fine!' Guimel said, sending a splash in Gatti's direction, who had recently appeared. The Slayer calmly stepped out of the way of the water and began stripping down.

'Who's got the soap?' Shesta was asking as Gatti entered the water. It was surprisingly warm for being a freshwater lake. Some Dragon Slayers were playing keep-away with the soap, causing Shesta to splash around in an attempt to get it. Gatti moved away from them and sat down near a rock. The water lapped across his shoulders and he tried to relax by tuning out the cries of protest by Shesta and the laughs of the other Slayers, though to no avail. Suddenly a splash of water hit his face. Someone yelled an apology before throwing the soap to another Slayer. Gatti sighed and went back to shore, finding a towel and wiping off his face. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he picked up his folded uniform and went to go find a more peaceful part of the lake.

*****

Dante landed in a dense brush near the outskirts of the city of Freid. Leaving the cockpit, he hid the guymelef as well as he could with the thick surrounding of trees and shrubberies. He took a black cloak out of the bag he had brought him and wrapped it around his shoulders to hide his uniform. Satisfied that he would be able to get through the city without any trouble, he walked towards the front gate. A Freidan guard stopped him.

'Name.'

'Dante La-' No, he couldn't use his own name. To cover up his hesitation, he coughed. 'Excuse me.' Clearing his throat, he gave his reply. 'Dante Labariel. Of Asturia.' As the guard let him pass, Dante muttered an apology to Migel for using his name. Wandering down the street, he wondered if stealing his dead friend's name was bad luck.
This city is too big. he thought. From the front gate it would take an hour to reach Mikyla's place. Well, might as well start now. He walked and walked, stopping only to buy a bouquet of flowers from a merchant. As he neared the street Mikyla's house was on, he broke out into a big, silly grin. He was so close! The last few blocks, he started sprinting until he was only a few houses away, then slowed to catch his breath. Dante's grin widened as he caught sight of a figure standing outside a doorway.

Mikyla looked anxiously down the road.
He said he would be here today. Hearing footsteps behind her, she spun around and got the sun in her eyes. Putting her hand up to shield her eyes, she squinted and made out a cloaked figure who was now sprinting towards her.
'Mikyla!'

'Dante!!' With a delighted squeal she went running towards him, nearly pouncing on the Slayer as he gathered her into his arms.

'I missed you!' Dante hugged the girl close to him as she hugged him back. Mikyla then broke the embrace and looked at him with large, sparkling eyes.

'It's like a dream,' she said. Dante took her in his arms again, leaned forward and kissed her slowly.

'You're not dreaming. We're actually together!' Both grinned at each other and hugged again. 'I've missed you so much!' Dante held Mikyla for a moment longer before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. 'Shall we go inside?'

'Oh, yes!' Mikyla's dark eyes danced. 'You can meet my patient!' Hand in hand, the two made their way to the door.

*****

Gatti walked along the edge of the lake, moving far away from the rest of the Dragon Slayers. He needed time alone to gather his thoughts. He was getting close to figuring out what his dreams were telling him. Very close... Gatti paused as he heard a sound coming from the direction he was headed. As he neared the source, he realized it was someone singing a tune that was very familiar.
That's the song Shanti plays on his pipe... He didn't understand the words that were being sung; they were in a language he had never heard before. Slowing his pace, Gatti moved aside a shrubbery and entered a small clearing with a pool of water connected to the larger lake by a stream. Though the sun was beginning to set, beams of light shone through the canopy onto the pool. To his dismay, the singing had stopped. With a sigh, Gatti found a rock and sat down. Setting his uniform down, he noticed a bundle of black leather, blue armour, and a long roll of tan bandages. Another Dragon Slayer was here... Glancing over the still water, Gatti could see no one. Suddenly a figure burst from the water, taking a deep breath with its back to him. The soft, mystical sounding singing began again. Gatti blinked his grey eyes and stared. Long hair flowed from the top of the head and into the water, wet against the pale skin like red vino spilled on white cloth. Was it a water-spirit...? The Dragon Slayer felt himself slipping off the rock and his hand flew out to steady him, which caused a wave of pain to go through his body. Involuntary he gave a short, quick yelp.

'Bwaa!' the figure spun around, saw Gatti, and quickly fell down into the water. 'Gatti! What are you doing??' This exclamation was followed by a couple words the Dragon Slayer had never heard before, but was sure were very colourful.

'I'm sorry!' he bowed his head apologetically. 'I didn't mean to spy on you. I heard this singing... I thought it was a spirit, or something.' He glanced up and saw the deadly look in Shanti's narrowed eyes.

'Never do that again,' the Highlander spat. Gatti lowered his sad eyes.

'I'm sorry, I really am...' He looked so pathetic, like a puppy who had just been punished. Shanti's expression softened.

'Did you want something?'

'Everyone else was too noisy for my liking at the lake, and I wanted to know where you had went off to. Can I join you?' At Shanti's nod, Gatti threw off his towel and moved into the water. 'Hey, it's warmer than the lake!' He settled down in the water with a content smile. 'This is what makes life worth living...' he proclaimed with a happy sigh, causing Shanti to smile faintly. Gatti spied a bar of soap nearby and went for it. Cleaning himself off, he looked at the other. 'Anyway, I wanted to talk to you.' The smile left the Highlander's face.

'About what?' Gatti stopped scrubbing.

'Please don't get defensive. You can talk to me, you know.' Shanti looked up him with a strange expression in his hazel eyes; a mix of sadness and fear.

'Can I...?' the Slayer began, but stopped. Gatti held his gaze.

'Can you what? What?' Gatti grabbed the other's shoulders and forced the Slayer to look at him. 'Tell me, please.' he said, his voice filled with frustration. 'Please.' There was a pause, then the Highlander whispered,

'Can I trust you?' Shocked, Gatti released his shoulders. The way he said it, the expression in his eyes... those green and gold flecked eyes... exactly like in his dreams... except now he wasn't dreaming. Now, like in his dreams, he would give his answer.

'Yes.' The pale hand reached out to him, touching his face. Gatti remained still, as if in a trance.

'Can you keep a secret..?' the Highlander slowly moved forward, closer to him. To Gatti, what happened next was a blur. He could remember feeling breath against his skin as the other hesitated...eyes closed...their lips brushed, then met in a soft kiss... Gatti had his eyes closed...he was kissing and being kissed... by... His eyes shot open. Oh, gods!
He broke the embrace and looked horrified at Shanti.

'What... what are you...' His hand went up to his mouth and he shakily touched his lips. Eyes wide, he stared at the other.

'Who - are - you...?'

*****

Mikyla finally got the door opened, only to be kissed again by Dante. She closed it and hugged him tightly.
'Now, come on. You can take me out to supper later.' she winked. The Dragon Slayer grinned and kissed her yet again. 'For now,' she pushed him gently away from her. 'You have to meet him.' Dante shrugged and nodded, as he followed Mikyla. After two steps, he swung her around and kissed her a third time. The girl gave him a stern look. 'There'll be plenty of time later, my dear.' Dante pouted.

'Alright, we'll meet this patient of yours,' he poked her lovingly. 'And then I take you out to the most expensive place we can find!' With a laugh, Mikyla nodded.

'Now come on, he's just down the hall here.' Grabbing his hand Mikyla led the Slayer down the hall to the room. She knocked on the door and opened it. 'Are you awake? I want you to meet someone,' she said, entering the room.

*****

'You said I could trust you.' Shanti said quietly.

'You can... but... what... what was...?' Gatti shook his head. 'Shanti, I...' He glanced back to Shanti, and his voice left him. The pale Dragon Slayer had stood up in the waist-high water, that red hair in streaks down the front of that pale body. Gatti's jaw dropped as he looked at what was in front of him.
Impossible!
And yet it made perfect sense. How could he not have noticed? But he had... Shanti's narrow shoulders... his thin frame... the way his hips moved when he walked, and now...
'My god,' Gatti mouth struggled to form the words that were screaming through his mind. His jaw worked and he voiced the words.

'Y...you're a girl.'

*****

Mikyla walked in, followed by Dante, who was preoccupied with kissing her neck. 'Stop it, you. I want you to meet Migel.' He looked up and glanced over at the bed for sake of appeasing his girlfriend. He was not prepared for what he saw.

'Oh, my god.'

Migel looked up from his book, and his eyes widened.
Oh, my god. The book fell from his hands and crashed to the floor.

'What? Dante, you're acting as if you've seen a ghost! What's wrong?' Dante did not hear Mikyla's voice as he stepped towards the other.

'You're... you're alive!'