Hope you liked last chapter. This time, a few unexpected happenings and
some wacky events, enjoy!
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Lili flew high above Zephyr, watching him run below her as she shifted with the winds tensely. He needed the exercise, but something other than the fact that he wasn't flying wasn't right.
'Hey Zephyr?' asked Lili telepathically, shifting nervously.
'Yeah Lili?'
'Send out a full radar.'
'Why?'
1 'I just have a feeling.'
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A pair of eyes watched the two figures below her, one flying through the trees at a low altitude and the other running along below it. She planned her next move carefully, thinking she knew what she was doing. 'Damn halfsie,' thought the monster to her self. 'Your kind hurt my friend, and for that I will kill you.'
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Lili waited, tense and nervous as she watched the trees with careful eyes. 'Find anything, Z?' she asked at last, glad that they could communicate without anyone else hearing.
'Something's moving in the trees to our right. I'll keep an 'eye' on it. If what ever it is doesn't attack, we won't bother it,' replied Zephyr.
'Stop so the others can catch up,' advised Lili as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. 'It's safer with-' She was cut short as she swerved to the right to avoid the pink blur that appeared out of nowhere.
'How many are there?' asked Lili as she quickly righted herself in the air and drew her sword.
'Just a lone pixie who looks like she wants our heads on a silver platter,' replied Zephyr as he dodged a lighting bolt that was thrown at him on the ground, forcing him farther away from Lili. Somehow he knew it was meant to frighten him off and not kill him, and with his wings shrunk he looked just like any other Tiger who just happened to be extremely large.
"Sonic beam!" cried the pixie, aiming her attack as Lili. Lili quickly pulled out a few disks and let them fly at the beam, watching them dissipate it into nothing ness. 'Thank goodness for Jack and his alloy,' thought Lili as she watched the pixie hesitantly.
"Stand down, pixie!" yelled Lili as she pulled out some disks. "Me and my friend have no quarrel with you."
"Unlikely," smirked the pixie as she powered up another attack. "Fireball!"
Lili flew one way, Zephyr stepped the other, letting it pass between them calmly. "We don't want to hurt you, just let us pass!" growled Zephyr as he remained on the ground, wings hidden.
"Why? So you can kill more of my kind or turn them into others like yourself? Poor tiger, you probably don't remember not being a slave for a halfsie, do you?" sneered the pixie. Her hands crackled with energy as she pointed them at Lili. "Lightning!"
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Allen looked up in time to see a lightning bolt explode in the air from his position in the tree. "Guys, Lili's in trouble!" he yelled to those on the ground below, leaping from tree to tree as quickly as he could.
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'See if you can stun her, Z' said Lili telepathically. 'I don't want to hurt the pixie, just put her out long enough for us to get away.'
"Lilianne! Zephyr! Are you guys ok?" yelled Genki as he came into view. The pixie took advantage of her target's split attention and threw a fireball at Lili, hitting her squarely on the shoulder.
"AAAAhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Lili as she feel to the ground, landing hard on her back and knocking the wind from her lungs.
"Good riddance, halfsie," said the pixie cruelly a she flew low so she couldn't miss, powering up another attack, "This one's for-"
She was interrupted by Genki ramming into her, throwing her attack just inches above Lili's head. He got up quickly, drawing his dagger as he looked at the pixie for the first time. Genki's eyes got real big, his face turning red. "Pixie?" he asked warily, "Is that you?"
"Genki?" Pixie paused, her eyes flashing with anger as she recognized him. "What are you doing with this baddie?"
"Get it through your thick skull, crazy pixie," grunted Lili as she rose to her feet and assessed the damaged she had done. "I'm not you enemy!"
"Pixie! Calm down! Lili's not one of them!" cried Genki as he sheathed his blade, trying to get her to understand.
"She's one of those humans creations, and they're all evil," growled Pixie as another fireball appeared in her hands.
Holly calmly stepped in between Lili and Pixie, talking softly to Pixie. "She's not like them," she said gently, "She's on our side." Looking over Pixie's shoulder she added. "Where's Blue? I don't see him any where."
"He's with Claw," replied Pixie shortly, not talking her eyes off of Lili and still holding the fireball at the ready.
"Pixie, Lili's with us. She's my cousin, and I can't let you hurt her. So if you'll put that fireball away before anyone gets hurt."
"Your cousin? But she's part monster!"
"Not by choice! And yes, I am his older cousin."
Pixie let the fireball die in her hands, still watching Lili suspiciously. "Her kind has attacked me before," she snarled angrily.
"I'm stronger than any you've faced before," said Lili coolly, hoping to leave Zephyr out of it. "If I wanted you dead that is what you'd be at this moment."
'That was real reassuring,' rebuked Zephyr to her only as he sat beside her quietly.
'Well she DID try to kill me,' defended Lili, scratching him behind the ear.
"Do you have a place where we can ALL stay for the night?" asked Genki, quickly changing the subject as the others gathered around. "No one can be left out in the cold."
"Yeah," relented Pixie, not happy with having Lili around, but willing to help her friends. "Just keep the halfsie away from me."
"Try sixth-sie," muttered Lili under her breath as she walked at the back of the group, Zephyr and Allen at her side. They were the only two had heard her say it, and both smiled slightly as they related to what she said.
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An icy jell stood motionless among the trees, watching as his Master had told him to. He heard some thing moving through the brush to his right, and who ever it was wasn't trying to hide their movements in the least bit. The jell-breed slid silently to where he was between the sound and the direction it was headed.
He let out a high-pitched whistled, letting it ring for a few minutes. "It's me, Frost!" yelled a voice from the direction the sound was coming. "And those with me are friends."
Frost smiled slightly, being a Jell of few emotions, and replied, "It's good to see you in one piece, Miss Pixie. Claw was getting worried when you didn't some home a few days ago."
"When have I ever come back in more than one piece?" joked Pixie, her mood lightening considerably. Frost just shrugged and looked over the large group behind her, noting the young Jell that was by himself and the human and tiger that seem set apart from the rest. Lili had shrunk her wings and hid them with her coat, while Zephyr's were still hidden. None could tell that they were anything out of the norm.
"Claw!" yelled Pixie when they were in sight of some caves. "We're back!" A mew came scampering out of the caves; it's large green eyes twinkling merrily.
"Miss Pixie!" she cried, happily, leaping onto Pixie's shoulder. "I am so glad to see you!" Turning around to the others she added, "And who are all these folks?"
"Some old friends, you can get to know them later," replied Pixie, motioning for the other so follow her into the cave. It was fairly plain with a fire n the middle and some old rugs scattered around to sit on.
"Excuse me, Miss Claw," said Allen formally, "But would you mind telling an unlearned young man how you got your name?"
"Not at all," replied Claw, flexing one paw gently. 5 claws, at least an inch longer than normal with a pinkish look to them, appeared. "These lovely slashers of mine are longer than any I know of and permanently dyed pink from ridding myself of enemies."
Holly shuddered slightly when she heard this, causing the mew to look in her direction. "Don't think badly of Claw, Holly," said Pixie softly. "It's my fault she's a killer to those she's against. Before you and Genki defeated me, she led a troop of Mews, Bowwows and Eared Mews in my army. I named her 'Claw' for obvious reasons, and she and Frost found me and Blue after the Phoenix resurrected them because we're all they remember before that."
Claw bounded from Pixie's shoulder to Holly's, snuggling against her neck. "I am as gentle as a kitten o those who are my friends, and any friend of Miss Pixie is a friend of mine," purred Claw as she settled herself there. Holly let her, noticing how soft and warm the cat-monster's body was.
"Um, Pixie?" asked Genki after awhile.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Where's Big Blue?" Genki had voiced the question many in their group had wanted to ask for quite some time, and all leaned forward to hear Pixie's response.
She had stiffened slightly, and waited for a few minutes before answering. "Blues. not feeling well," she said at long last, getting up as she did. Those of the original group plus Lili followed her into one of the connecting cave, the rest staying behind silently.
Big Blue lay on a palette of brush, a couple of blankets thrown over his limp form. Beads of sweat rolled down the ice-rock monster's face, and he tossed and turned constantly in his restless sleep.
"We were attacked by a troop of those halfsies," started Pixie, shooting venomous glances in Lili's direction. "A poison stinger from some breed of worm that had been altered struck Blue. A week later he was asleep with a high fever and none of us have been able to wake him up since. We can only hope he's able to get out of it himself, because we're powerless to help him."
Lili listened carefully and did some calculations. Worm poison was strong, and amplified by DNA alteration without medical help when entering the system.that monster would be lucky if he lived for another week with out help she decided. And she and Zephyr maybe able to give that help.
'Genki,' she said in her cousin's mind quickly. 'That guy will die without help, and Zephyr and I may be able to save him. But that Pixie isn't going to trust me, so if you want him to live you'd better do some fast thinking.'
Genki did, and as they filed out of the side cave he said, "Pixie? Do you think you could do me a favor?"
"Sure kid. What is it?" asked Pixie automatically.
"We need your help scouting out this area for a few days, ok? If it works out, we may start a resistance base here." Genki tried his best to sound as convincing as possible, and added a boyish grin for good measure.
"What's she and her lackey doing?" asked Pixie, jerking her thumb at Lili.
"Lili and Zephyr will be on another mission, which they'll be for leaving soon. We'll meet up with them eventually, though," replied Genki, shooting a look at Lili.
"And they'll be gone in a few minutes?"
"As soon as they grab their stuff," replied Genki, glancing at Lili again.
Pixie thought about it for a minute. "Fine," she said, voice heavy from exhaustion.
Lili and Zephyr grabbed their stuff and headed out of the caves. "Take care guys," called Holly after them as they took off into the night.
"Don't waste your breath, Holly," reproached Pixie. "No halfsies is worth it."
'But that, Pixie,' thought Holly to herself as she watched them leave, 'Is where you're wrong.'
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Lili watched over the ledge as the group passed below her and Zephyr, unaware of their presence. Frost and Claw would be expecting them; Genki had been able to convince them that this was for the best. Holly and Allen were also in on the whole secret, and had promised not to say a word to anyone.
The left their hiding spot as soon as they felt it was safe, quickly going back to the cave as fast as possible. Lili immediately went to work, using her power to probe Blue's body. He was worse off than she thought.
"Zephyr, go tell Claw to bring us our food here," said Lili quickly, "We're going to be here awhile."
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Pixie did her part in the group, showing them what they wanted to see and helping out with the work. But often during meals or breaks she sat dejectedly by herself and didn't say much to anyone.
"I wish we could head back early for her sake," whispered Holly to Genki one night by the fire.
"I know," whispered Genki back as he put his arm around her shoulders. "But I promised Lili a week, and until then she'll just have to wait."
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Lili sat wearily against the wall, stretching her cramped legs. At first it had appeared that her small amounts of healing power and syrups were working, but that night his fever had risen again and they had come exceedingly close to losing him just before dawn.
"Lili, we don't have nay more options," Zephyr reminded her softly. "If we don't we'll lose him for sure."
"I may lose you in the process!" argued Lili.
"And I you. But we must try to save this Golem."
Lili sighed and nodded. "Go get Claw and Frost," she sighed, getting up slowly. "They need to know what's going on."
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Claw watched, tail flicking nervously as Zephyr and Lili knelt by Big Blue, Lili placing her hands on his head and Zephyr his paws on her back. Zephyr began to glow green, the glow passing onto Lili who let it mix with her own dark blue glow. He then fainted dead away, leaving Lili to do the rest of the work.
She let the glow, representing her healing power, surround Blue and absorb into him, dispelling all foreign substances in the body as it went. She continued to feed her and Zephyr's power into Big Blue for almost and hour before passing out herself from sheer exhaustion.
Frost and Claw silently dragged Lili and Zephyr to a separate cave with beds as they had requested, tucking them in snuggly. Big Blue they recovered as well before retiring to the large cave.
"Well, Claw," sighed Frost, his brow wrinkled with worry, "I guess all we can do now is wait."
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Pixie flew ahead quickly, leading the group hastily back to her caves. She really wanted to go check up on Blue, and had been worried sick about him for days. "Claw!" she yelled when she was close enough, "Frost! I'm back!"
"We're over here, Miss Pixie," shouted Frost from off to their right; near the rocks Blue had liked to sit on. Pixie rounded the boulders that hid them from view and stopped in shock as she spotted Big Blue outside with Claw and Frost eating a picnic.
"Blue! You're ok!" cried Pixie as she flew to give her long time friend a hug.
"Yes.Pixie." replied Big Blue slowly, still being weak, "The poison.is gone."
"Quite, Blue," reprimanded Claw gently. "You're still fairly weak. Though in better shape then Miss Lili. She's still out cold with that tiger fella."
Pixie froze where she was, turning to face Genki, fangs bared and eyes blazing as he hid behind Holly and hoped to goodness she wouldn't explode. Luck was certainly not with him that day.
"You lied to me?!" snarled Pixie, looking like she was going to kill Genki. Those who had no idea what was going on backed off, hoping not to get involved.
Holly tried to reason with Pixie, having been good friends with her for several years. "We didn't lie. She met us here as planned and went on a special mission to save Blue's life."
"But the resistance base?" demanded Pixie.
"A possibility," supplied Allen. "My home village is near here and some fear attack."
"Still you." For once in her life, Pixie was at a loss for words.
"Master Pixie.are you not glad.that I am well?" asked Big Blue kindly.
"It's not that, Blue!" exclaimed Pixie. "They tricked me."
"I'm sorry Pixie. It was the only way," apologized Genki, still hidden behind Holly. He peaked his head over Holly's shoulder slowly. "Blue would've died."
Pixie calmed down, and allowed Big Blue to lead her in to the caves. 'Who knows,' she thought as Claw cuddled on her shoulder. 'Maybe that halfsies not half bad.'
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Zephyr opened his eyes, throat paper dry with thirst and stomach rumbling and grumbling loudly. "Look who's awake," said a voice near by.
"Water." gasped Zephyr, struggling to rise. He watched Allen pour water from a pitcher in a bowl and set it before him, watching the dog master lap it up greedily. "Thanks." Allen then sat a plate of cold meat before and Zephyr and watched silently as it disappeared as well. "How long have I been out?" asked Zephyr when he had eaten his fill.
"2 or 3 days," replied Allen, settling back down in his chair by an extra mat for him to sleep on. "Lili's still out and should be for another few days." Zephyr sat silently, waiting for the lecture to come, but it never did.
"You mean you're not going to carp at me for risking my life?" asked Zephyr dryly after awhile.
"No. I'll save that for Lilianne."
"Allen."
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Pixie and Blue sat out under the stars, happy to be together again. "I thought you were gone fore good, Blue," whispered Pixie as they looked at the celestial beings above them. She laughed at herself as tears threatened to spill down her face. "Look at me. The Powerful General Pixie reduced to crying over nothing."
"That may be so," said Big Blue slowly, letting her lean against him. "But I like you better this way, it shows you learned how to care."
"The kid is rubbing off on me," admitted Pixie ruefully.
"Then you will accept his cousin?" asked Big Blue.
"I'll have to go and apologize to her, I wasn't exactly nice to her while you were sick," replied Pixie wryly; She hated admitting she was wrong.
"Despite that she and her partner put their lives on the line to save mine, and regardless of the fact that she is part monster she is a good person. I think she at least deserves credit for that."
"I get the point, Blue," interrupted Pixie. "I'll do what I have to do."
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~3 days later~
Allen woke up suddenly, something disturbing his peaceful dream. He glanced over at Lili's bed, seeing her sitting up with some food and water, Zephyr lying at her feet.
"You used a healing purge, didn't you?" asked Allen as he rolled out of bed, pulling on some pants and his boots.
"What of it?"
"You're daft, Lilianne Sakura." He got up and walked over to her bed.
"It was the only choice," replied Lili subtly.
"You could've drained your life force," rebuked Allen.
"I knew the risk," retorted Lili, getting annoyed. "One of my kind tried to kill him, I had to."
"You're not one of them," said Allen lividly. "It wasn't your wrong to right."
"Allen, I am one of them and you know it," she replied, "I had to save that monster to make up for the rest they kill."
"You don't have to try to save the world."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" asked Lili ruthlessly.
"I am your friend."
"You're a full human," Lili sighed spitefully. "You don't know what it's like to know that you were created for evil and all those like you are."
"You're not evil, Lili!" insisted Allen fervently. "Any who truly knew you would say that."
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Pixie walked coolly down the tunnel that lead to Lili and Zephyr's chamber, hoping Allen had already gotten up and gone out for breakfast. A few yards from the door, she heard voices arguing loudly. Slipping into a nook where she couldn't be seen, Pixie listened silently to what was being said.
"I have to keep fighting," argued someone.
'Must be Lili,' thought Pixie as she continued to listen.
"Even when it could mean your life?" asked someone else, obviously a male.
"Damn, he's still in there,' thought Pixie with a frown, but remaining silent.
"It almost has before, this wasn't any different," countered Lili.
"Don't act like your life is worthless, Lili," sighed Allen.
"Might as well be," said Lili dryly. "I'm a walking freak. 5 monsters and a human thrown into one being where the human just happens to be in control. I don't even have a real species, Allen, because I'm six in one."
"So you're special, everyone's unique."
"I wouldn't call having scales and fur unique," retorted Lili, leaving as she did. She passed by Pixie without noticing her, growling under her breath. Pixie waited to see if she could hear anything else, the whole conversation having been very educational.
"Now the big question is, do I go after her or not?" said Allen thoughtfully.
"Don't Allen," snorted Zephyr from where he had laid silently on the floor. He rarely interfered when those two got into a fight. "It'll only make her more upset."
"At least she doesn't want to kill me yet," said Allen cheerfully.
"I wonder why not, Mr. 'I just use every opportunity to make her hate me'. You knew she'd be easily irritated after being out for almost a week."
"Must've slipped my mind," replied Allen absently, shrugging his shoulders. He sauntered out of the room, passing the unnoticed Pixie as Lili had and headed outside.
"If you even have one," muttered Zephyr after the retreating youth. He stopped and sniffed the air silently. 'We have a spy, do we?' he thought to himself, 'It's that Pixie. There was really nothing of importance said so I might as well go see what she thinks.'
Zephyr walked up next to the nook in the wall where Pixie stood motionless, hoping her would pass by as the others had. "You do know it's impolite to eavesdrop, Miss Pixie," said Zephyr calmly as he sat facing her hiding spot.
Pixie's jaw fell open. "But how did you."
"I could smell you once I was close enough," answered Zephyr, knowing she still thought he was a regular tiger who just happened to be blind.
"Do Lili and Allen do that a lot?" asked Pixie, changing the subject quickly.
"Only every week or so. Allen will apologize and they'll be best of friends into he picks another fight with her. What are you doing down here though? Coming to check on Lili?"
"Hmph. Why would I care about some halfsie?" asked Pixie defensively.
"I never said you did. But not all 'halfsies' are bad, you know," objected Zephyr gently.
"How would you know? Lili's just one of hundreds," asked Pixie sarcastically.
"That may be true," admitted Zephyr as he unhid his wings, "But I think 2 is more than 1 and I certainly am one of them." He walked away, leaving a dumb struck Pixie in his wake.
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Lili sat in a tall tree with thick branches good for sitting on just a few hundred yards from the caves, nibbling some bread that Zephyr had brought her. Pixie watched her with guarded interest, not noticing Genki approach her until he tapped on her shoulder.
When she did notice him, he said, "Pixie I'm really sorry."
"Genki, don't apologize," interrupted Pixie. "It's my fault you even have to."
"We shouldn't have tricked you."
"I should've trusted you."
"Then you're not angry?"
"Course not, kid. Though I can't exactly call you 'kid' any more, can I?"
"Guess not, Pixie. But you're sure you're not angry with us?" Genki regarded with the same brotherly love he regarded Lili with and it would hurt him if she were upset with him.
"Nah. I do have a question, though. How much is your cousin like you?"
"A lot. They used to say I was her shadow. She taught me how to blade and made sure I didn't turn into a spoiled brat by my parents. Though she's a bit more mellow than I and has a bit of a temper at times we're quite alike," admitted Genki.
"So she'll accept my apology?"
"She won't reject it, if that's what you mean."
"And she won't get mushy on me?"
"Like I said, she's more mellowed out than I am. Probably not, though."
"Then I guess I have no excuse not to."
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Lili sat quietly up in the tree, resting her energy and filling the reserves that had been drained by Big Blue's healing. A couple hours later, Lili heard someone clambering up the tree. She looked down and saw Holly determinedly testing her fear of heights. She smiled, and waited for her younger friend to finish her task.
"Hey Holly, what can I do for you?"
"Just wanted to see how you are."
Lili chuckled lightly, smiling as she did. "I'm ok. Still pretty weak but it'll pass. Now, from what I remember of what Genki said, you're not too fond of heights. So why don't you tell me why you really climbed up here?"
Holly colored slightly, knowing she had been caught. "About the other day.thanks.for saving me."
"Forget about it. I hade to, Genki would've killed me if I hadn't."
"Yeah, and about what you said that night."
"I don't lie," cut in Lili. "Even when I tease. What I said was true, take it was you will. Though I don't see why he wouldn't like you, you're one of the sweetest people I know."
Holly suddenly become very interested in the hem of her shirt and as she hoped Lili wouldn't notice the red that was creeping up her face. Lili bit back the laughter that threatened to burst out, not wanting to embarrass Holly any more than she already had.
Genki strolled up to the bottom of the tree, watching the two females he cared about most in the world talk as he had once imagined above him. "Holly? Lili? Can I come up or is this a private conversation?" he called, grinning.
"Speak of the devil." murmured Lili so only Holly could hear. "You got something else you wanted to talk about or can he join us?"
"Let him up," replied Holly.
"Get your sorry carcass up here before I have to come and drag you up," shouted Lili gruffly.
Genki laughed, knowing his cousin was only teasing. "My sorry carcass, huh?" he called back, climbing up swiftly.
"Yeah, your sorry carcass." Genki popped up nest to his cousin, smiling kindheartedly. "C'mere, you," she pulled him into a one armed hug before she lifted herself onto another branch, telling Genki to stay by Holly.
"What were you two talking about?" asked Genki when he was settled.
"Nothing really. Just some girl talk," replied Lili lightly, watching Holly turn a few shade of pink.
"Girl talk, huh? You weren't talking about me where you?" replied Genki mysteriously.
Holly was now a dark pink as Lili rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Genki," she sad flatly.
Genki laughed, not noticing Holly's bright red blush as she sat there silently. "I just wanted to say hi to my favorite cousin, see how you were doing."
"Correction, Genki. I'm your only cousin. But thanks anyways." They all talked for a while, discussing Holly and Genki's original adventures and the new ones they were having this time around.
After a while, Holly got dizzy and had to climb down. "What are you doing, moron, go after her," chastised Lili when Genki stayed in the tree with her. "And send Zephyr to me while you're at it."
Zephyr came quickly, landing on her branch gently. "What do you need Lili?" he asked.
"Could you get me my bag and maybe something to eat?" asked Lili sweetly. Zephyr nodded and flew away quickly without saying a word.
He came back a few minutes later, bag in mouth and a package of food Holly had given him in his paws. She scratched him lovingly behind the ears while she ate a sandwich, the lupine draped over her lap. Lili then pulled out a thread and some needles, going over every inch of Zephyr's harness carefully and stitching up every tear or rip she saw.
"Fixing my harness?" asked Zephyr, not being bale to see what she was doing.
"Yep, it's got some ripped seams and such from all those fights and I need it to be reliable. We don't want one of our friends falling to their death and going splat on the ground because the handle ripped off," explained Lili.
"Gee, thanks for the graphic description."
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The sun had long since set, and Zephyr was playing with the pups in the cave while Lili continued to mend her gear on her branch. She could see Golem, Ojo, and Frost talking on one side of the fire; and on the other sat Genki, Holly, Tiger, Storm, Claw, Big Blue, and Hare laughing over some story from years passed.
She didn't see Pixie at first, but finally spotted her in the shadows approaching the tree. Lili waited for her to glide up and land silently on the branch behind her before saying, "What can I do for you, Miss Pixie?"
"How did you."
"I'm a halfsie, remember?" cut in Lili, her voice holding a note of hardness.
"Lilianne."
"Call me Lil or Lili. Lilianne sounds to formal," interrupted Lili again.
"Lil, I owe you an apology," said Pixie grudgingly.
"You owe me nothing. Your actions were a result of what those like me had done to you. I don't blame you for what you did."
"That doesn't make it right," insisted Pixie, "Beside, you saved Blue's life."
"I had to. I made a promise a long time ago to reverse what that moron has done," said Lili bitterly, causing Pixie to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She noticed Lili was patching something and decided o change the subject quickly.
"What's that?" she asked, motioning to the cloth she was holding.
"It's what I where under my blue tank top. It's similar to the one you where," replied Lili, holding up the patched top into the light.
"What happened to it?"
"The needles tore it up pretty bad," replied Lili, kicking herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
"What needles?" asked Pixie, getting interested.
"Oh, never mind," said Lili, shrugging absently as she quickly came up with something to change the subject. "You'd better get back to the other before they notice you're gone."
Pixie nodded, turning to go. She glanced back over her shoulder, saying, "Thanks, Lili. You're alright for a halfsie."
"Don't mention it. Ever." Lili waited for her to get back into the shadows before she whistled for Zephyr, thinking about what had just happened. 'What do you know,' she said to herself. 'I just made a friend of one of my greatest enemies.'
*********~~~~~~~~~~~~~*********~~~~~~~~~~~~**********
Hello, everyone. Hope you enjoyed this installment, I know I know the action is coming but in between the high points you have to have some filler, right? Please be kind and review, I won't force you to but it is Christmas and consider it your present to me, k?
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Lili flew high above Zephyr, watching him run below her as she shifted with the winds tensely. He needed the exercise, but something other than the fact that he wasn't flying wasn't right.
'Hey Zephyr?' asked Lili telepathically, shifting nervously.
'Yeah Lili?'
'Send out a full radar.'
'Why?'
1 'I just have a feeling.'
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
A pair of eyes watched the two figures below her, one flying through the trees at a low altitude and the other running along below it. She planned her next move carefully, thinking she knew what she was doing. 'Damn halfsie,' thought the monster to her self. 'Your kind hurt my friend, and for that I will kill you.'
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili waited, tense and nervous as she watched the trees with careful eyes. 'Find anything, Z?' she asked at last, glad that they could communicate without anyone else hearing.
'Something's moving in the trees to our right. I'll keep an 'eye' on it. If what ever it is doesn't attack, we won't bother it,' replied Zephyr.
'Stop so the others can catch up,' advised Lili as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. 'It's safer with-' She was cut short as she swerved to the right to avoid the pink blur that appeared out of nowhere.
'How many are there?' asked Lili as she quickly righted herself in the air and drew her sword.
'Just a lone pixie who looks like she wants our heads on a silver platter,' replied Zephyr as he dodged a lighting bolt that was thrown at him on the ground, forcing him farther away from Lili. Somehow he knew it was meant to frighten him off and not kill him, and with his wings shrunk he looked just like any other Tiger who just happened to be extremely large.
"Sonic beam!" cried the pixie, aiming her attack as Lili. Lili quickly pulled out a few disks and let them fly at the beam, watching them dissipate it into nothing ness. 'Thank goodness for Jack and his alloy,' thought Lili as she watched the pixie hesitantly.
"Stand down, pixie!" yelled Lili as she pulled out some disks. "Me and my friend have no quarrel with you."
"Unlikely," smirked the pixie as she powered up another attack. "Fireball!"
Lili flew one way, Zephyr stepped the other, letting it pass between them calmly. "We don't want to hurt you, just let us pass!" growled Zephyr as he remained on the ground, wings hidden.
"Why? So you can kill more of my kind or turn them into others like yourself? Poor tiger, you probably don't remember not being a slave for a halfsie, do you?" sneered the pixie. Her hands crackled with energy as she pointed them at Lili. "Lightning!"
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Allen looked up in time to see a lightning bolt explode in the air from his position in the tree. "Guys, Lili's in trouble!" he yelled to those on the ground below, leaping from tree to tree as quickly as he could.
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'See if you can stun her, Z' said Lili telepathically. 'I don't want to hurt the pixie, just put her out long enough for us to get away.'
"Lilianne! Zephyr! Are you guys ok?" yelled Genki as he came into view. The pixie took advantage of her target's split attention and threw a fireball at Lili, hitting her squarely on the shoulder.
"AAAAhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Lili as she feel to the ground, landing hard on her back and knocking the wind from her lungs.
"Good riddance, halfsie," said the pixie cruelly a she flew low so she couldn't miss, powering up another attack, "This one's for-"
She was interrupted by Genki ramming into her, throwing her attack just inches above Lili's head. He got up quickly, drawing his dagger as he looked at the pixie for the first time. Genki's eyes got real big, his face turning red. "Pixie?" he asked warily, "Is that you?"
"Genki?" Pixie paused, her eyes flashing with anger as she recognized him. "What are you doing with this baddie?"
"Get it through your thick skull, crazy pixie," grunted Lili as she rose to her feet and assessed the damaged she had done. "I'm not you enemy!"
"Pixie! Calm down! Lili's not one of them!" cried Genki as he sheathed his blade, trying to get her to understand.
"She's one of those humans creations, and they're all evil," growled Pixie as another fireball appeared in her hands.
Holly calmly stepped in between Lili and Pixie, talking softly to Pixie. "She's not like them," she said gently, "She's on our side." Looking over Pixie's shoulder she added. "Where's Blue? I don't see him any where."
"He's with Claw," replied Pixie shortly, not talking her eyes off of Lili and still holding the fireball at the ready.
"Pixie, Lili's with us. She's my cousin, and I can't let you hurt her. So if you'll put that fireball away before anyone gets hurt."
"Your cousin? But she's part monster!"
"Not by choice! And yes, I am his older cousin."
Pixie let the fireball die in her hands, still watching Lili suspiciously. "Her kind has attacked me before," she snarled angrily.
"I'm stronger than any you've faced before," said Lili coolly, hoping to leave Zephyr out of it. "If I wanted you dead that is what you'd be at this moment."
'That was real reassuring,' rebuked Zephyr to her only as he sat beside her quietly.
'Well she DID try to kill me,' defended Lili, scratching him behind the ear.
"Do you have a place where we can ALL stay for the night?" asked Genki, quickly changing the subject as the others gathered around. "No one can be left out in the cold."
"Yeah," relented Pixie, not happy with having Lili around, but willing to help her friends. "Just keep the halfsie away from me."
"Try sixth-sie," muttered Lili under her breath as she walked at the back of the group, Zephyr and Allen at her side. They were the only two had heard her say it, and both smiled slightly as they related to what she said.
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An icy jell stood motionless among the trees, watching as his Master had told him to. He heard some thing moving through the brush to his right, and who ever it was wasn't trying to hide their movements in the least bit. The jell-breed slid silently to where he was between the sound and the direction it was headed.
He let out a high-pitched whistled, letting it ring for a few minutes. "It's me, Frost!" yelled a voice from the direction the sound was coming. "And those with me are friends."
Frost smiled slightly, being a Jell of few emotions, and replied, "It's good to see you in one piece, Miss Pixie. Claw was getting worried when you didn't some home a few days ago."
"When have I ever come back in more than one piece?" joked Pixie, her mood lightening considerably. Frost just shrugged and looked over the large group behind her, noting the young Jell that was by himself and the human and tiger that seem set apart from the rest. Lili had shrunk her wings and hid them with her coat, while Zephyr's were still hidden. None could tell that they were anything out of the norm.
"Claw!" yelled Pixie when they were in sight of some caves. "We're back!" A mew came scampering out of the caves; it's large green eyes twinkling merrily.
"Miss Pixie!" she cried, happily, leaping onto Pixie's shoulder. "I am so glad to see you!" Turning around to the others she added, "And who are all these folks?"
"Some old friends, you can get to know them later," replied Pixie, motioning for the other so follow her into the cave. It was fairly plain with a fire n the middle and some old rugs scattered around to sit on.
"Excuse me, Miss Claw," said Allen formally, "But would you mind telling an unlearned young man how you got your name?"
"Not at all," replied Claw, flexing one paw gently. 5 claws, at least an inch longer than normal with a pinkish look to them, appeared. "These lovely slashers of mine are longer than any I know of and permanently dyed pink from ridding myself of enemies."
Holly shuddered slightly when she heard this, causing the mew to look in her direction. "Don't think badly of Claw, Holly," said Pixie softly. "It's my fault she's a killer to those she's against. Before you and Genki defeated me, she led a troop of Mews, Bowwows and Eared Mews in my army. I named her 'Claw' for obvious reasons, and she and Frost found me and Blue after the Phoenix resurrected them because we're all they remember before that."
Claw bounded from Pixie's shoulder to Holly's, snuggling against her neck. "I am as gentle as a kitten o those who are my friends, and any friend of Miss Pixie is a friend of mine," purred Claw as she settled herself there. Holly let her, noticing how soft and warm the cat-monster's body was.
"Um, Pixie?" asked Genki after awhile.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Where's Big Blue?" Genki had voiced the question many in their group had wanted to ask for quite some time, and all leaned forward to hear Pixie's response.
She had stiffened slightly, and waited for a few minutes before answering. "Blues. not feeling well," she said at long last, getting up as she did. Those of the original group plus Lili followed her into one of the connecting cave, the rest staying behind silently.
Big Blue lay on a palette of brush, a couple of blankets thrown over his limp form. Beads of sweat rolled down the ice-rock monster's face, and he tossed and turned constantly in his restless sleep.
"We were attacked by a troop of those halfsies," started Pixie, shooting venomous glances in Lili's direction. "A poison stinger from some breed of worm that had been altered struck Blue. A week later he was asleep with a high fever and none of us have been able to wake him up since. We can only hope he's able to get out of it himself, because we're powerless to help him."
Lili listened carefully and did some calculations. Worm poison was strong, and amplified by DNA alteration without medical help when entering the system.that monster would be lucky if he lived for another week with out help she decided. And she and Zephyr maybe able to give that help.
'Genki,' she said in her cousin's mind quickly. 'That guy will die without help, and Zephyr and I may be able to save him. But that Pixie isn't going to trust me, so if you want him to live you'd better do some fast thinking.'
Genki did, and as they filed out of the side cave he said, "Pixie? Do you think you could do me a favor?"
"Sure kid. What is it?" asked Pixie automatically.
"We need your help scouting out this area for a few days, ok? If it works out, we may start a resistance base here." Genki tried his best to sound as convincing as possible, and added a boyish grin for good measure.
"What's she and her lackey doing?" asked Pixie, jerking her thumb at Lili.
"Lili and Zephyr will be on another mission, which they'll be for leaving soon. We'll meet up with them eventually, though," replied Genki, shooting a look at Lili.
"And they'll be gone in a few minutes?"
"As soon as they grab their stuff," replied Genki, glancing at Lili again.
Pixie thought about it for a minute. "Fine," she said, voice heavy from exhaustion.
Lili and Zephyr grabbed their stuff and headed out of the caves. "Take care guys," called Holly after them as they took off into the night.
"Don't waste your breath, Holly," reproached Pixie. "No halfsies is worth it."
'But that, Pixie,' thought Holly to herself as she watched them leave, 'Is where you're wrong.'
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Lili watched over the ledge as the group passed below her and Zephyr, unaware of their presence. Frost and Claw would be expecting them; Genki had been able to convince them that this was for the best. Holly and Allen were also in on the whole secret, and had promised not to say a word to anyone.
The left their hiding spot as soon as they felt it was safe, quickly going back to the cave as fast as possible. Lili immediately went to work, using her power to probe Blue's body. He was worse off than she thought.
"Zephyr, go tell Claw to bring us our food here," said Lili quickly, "We're going to be here awhile."
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Pixie did her part in the group, showing them what they wanted to see and helping out with the work. But often during meals or breaks she sat dejectedly by herself and didn't say much to anyone.
"I wish we could head back early for her sake," whispered Holly to Genki one night by the fire.
"I know," whispered Genki back as he put his arm around her shoulders. "But I promised Lili a week, and until then she'll just have to wait."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili sat wearily against the wall, stretching her cramped legs. At first it had appeared that her small amounts of healing power and syrups were working, but that night his fever had risen again and they had come exceedingly close to losing him just before dawn.
"Lili, we don't have nay more options," Zephyr reminded her softly. "If we don't we'll lose him for sure."
"I may lose you in the process!" argued Lili.
"And I you. But we must try to save this Golem."
Lili sighed and nodded. "Go get Claw and Frost," she sighed, getting up slowly. "They need to know what's going on."
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Claw watched, tail flicking nervously as Zephyr and Lili knelt by Big Blue, Lili placing her hands on his head and Zephyr his paws on her back. Zephyr began to glow green, the glow passing onto Lili who let it mix with her own dark blue glow. He then fainted dead away, leaving Lili to do the rest of the work.
She let the glow, representing her healing power, surround Blue and absorb into him, dispelling all foreign substances in the body as it went. She continued to feed her and Zephyr's power into Big Blue for almost and hour before passing out herself from sheer exhaustion.
Frost and Claw silently dragged Lili and Zephyr to a separate cave with beds as they had requested, tucking them in snuggly. Big Blue they recovered as well before retiring to the large cave.
"Well, Claw," sighed Frost, his brow wrinkled with worry, "I guess all we can do now is wait."
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Pixie flew ahead quickly, leading the group hastily back to her caves. She really wanted to go check up on Blue, and had been worried sick about him for days. "Claw!" she yelled when she was close enough, "Frost! I'm back!"
"We're over here, Miss Pixie," shouted Frost from off to their right; near the rocks Blue had liked to sit on. Pixie rounded the boulders that hid them from view and stopped in shock as she spotted Big Blue outside with Claw and Frost eating a picnic.
"Blue! You're ok!" cried Pixie as she flew to give her long time friend a hug.
"Yes.Pixie." replied Big Blue slowly, still being weak, "The poison.is gone."
"Quite, Blue," reprimanded Claw gently. "You're still fairly weak. Though in better shape then Miss Lili. She's still out cold with that tiger fella."
Pixie froze where she was, turning to face Genki, fangs bared and eyes blazing as he hid behind Holly and hoped to goodness she wouldn't explode. Luck was certainly not with him that day.
"You lied to me?!" snarled Pixie, looking like she was going to kill Genki. Those who had no idea what was going on backed off, hoping not to get involved.
Holly tried to reason with Pixie, having been good friends with her for several years. "We didn't lie. She met us here as planned and went on a special mission to save Blue's life."
"But the resistance base?" demanded Pixie.
"A possibility," supplied Allen. "My home village is near here and some fear attack."
"Still you." For once in her life, Pixie was at a loss for words.
"Master Pixie.are you not glad.that I am well?" asked Big Blue kindly.
"It's not that, Blue!" exclaimed Pixie. "They tricked me."
"I'm sorry Pixie. It was the only way," apologized Genki, still hidden behind Holly. He peaked his head over Holly's shoulder slowly. "Blue would've died."
Pixie calmed down, and allowed Big Blue to lead her in to the caves. 'Who knows,' she thought as Claw cuddled on her shoulder. 'Maybe that halfsies not half bad.'
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Zephyr opened his eyes, throat paper dry with thirst and stomach rumbling and grumbling loudly. "Look who's awake," said a voice near by.
"Water." gasped Zephyr, struggling to rise. He watched Allen pour water from a pitcher in a bowl and set it before him, watching the dog master lap it up greedily. "Thanks." Allen then sat a plate of cold meat before and Zephyr and watched silently as it disappeared as well. "How long have I been out?" asked Zephyr when he had eaten his fill.
"2 or 3 days," replied Allen, settling back down in his chair by an extra mat for him to sleep on. "Lili's still out and should be for another few days." Zephyr sat silently, waiting for the lecture to come, but it never did.
"You mean you're not going to carp at me for risking my life?" asked Zephyr dryly after awhile.
"No. I'll save that for Lilianne."
"Allen."
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Pixie and Blue sat out under the stars, happy to be together again. "I thought you were gone fore good, Blue," whispered Pixie as they looked at the celestial beings above them. She laughed at herself as tears threatened to spill down her face. "Look at me. The Powerful General Pixie reduced to crying over nothing."
"That may be so," said Big Blue slowly, letting her lean against him. "But I like you better this way, it shows you learned how to care."
"The kid is rubbing off on me," admitted Pixie ruefully.
"Then you will accept his cousin?" asked Big Blue.
"I'll have to go and apologize to her, I wasn't exactly nice to her while you were sick," replied Pixie wryly; She hated admitting she was wrong.
"Despite that she and her partner put their lives on the line to save mine, and regardless of the fact that she is part monster she is a good person. I think she at least deserves credit for that."
"I get the point, Blue," interrupted Pixie. "I'll do what I have to do."
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~3 days later~
Allen woke up suddenly, something disturbing his peaceful dream. He glanced over at Lili's bed, seeing her sitting up with some food and water, Zephyr lying at her feet.
"You used a healing purge, didn't you?" asked Allen as he rolled out of bed, pulling on some pants and his boots.
"What of it?"
"You're daft, Lilianne Sakura." He got up and walked over to her bed.
"It was the only choice," replied Lili subtly.
"You could've drained your life force," rebuked Allen.
"I knew the risk," retorted Lili, getting annoyed. "One of my kind tried to kill him, I had to."
"You're not one of them," said Allen lividly. "It wasn't your wrong to right."
"Allen, I am one of them and you know it," she replied, "I had to save that monster to make up for the rest they kill."
"You don't have to try to save the world."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" asked Lili ruthlessly.
"I am your friend."
"You're a full human," Lili sighed spitefully. "You don't know what it's like to know that you were created for evil and all those like you are."
"You're not evil, Lili!" insisted Allen fervently. "Any who truly knew you would say that."
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Pixie walked coolly down the tunnel that lead to Lili and Zephyr's chamber, hoping Allen had already gotten up and gone out for breakfast. A few yards from the door, she heard voices arguing loudly. Slipping into a nook where she couldn't be seen, Pixie listened silently to what was being said.
"I have to keep fighting," argued someone.
'Must be Lili,' thought Pixie as she continued to listen.
"Even when it could mean your life?" asked someone else, obviously a male.
"Damn, he's still in there,' thought Pixie with a frown, but remaining silent.
"It almost has before, this wasn't any different," countered Lili.
"Don't act like your life is worthless, Lili," sighed Allen.
"Might as well be," said Lili dryly. "I'm a walking freak. 5 monsters and a human thrown into one being where the human just happens to be in control. I don't even have a real species, Allen, because I'm six in one."
"So you're special, everyone's unique."
"I wouldn't call having scales and fur unique," retorted Lili, leaving as she did. She passed by Pixie without noticing her, growling under her breath. Pixie waited to see if she could hear anything else, the whole conversation having been very educational.
"Now the big question is, do I go after her or not?" said Allen thoughtfully.
"Don't Allen," snorted Zephyr from where he had laid silently on the floor. He rarely interfered when those two got into a fight. "It'll only make her more upset."
"At least she doesn't want to kill me yet," said Allen cheerfully.
"I wonder why not, Mr. 'I just use every opportunity to make her hate me'. You knew she'd be easily irritated after being out for almost a week."
"Must've slipped my mind," replied Allen absently, shrugging his shoulders. He sauntered out of the room, passing the unnoticed Pixie as Lili had and headed outside.
"If you even have one," muttered Zephyr after the retreating youth. He stopped and sniffed the air silently. 'We have a spy, do we?' he thought to himself, 'It's that Pixie. There was really nothing of importance said so I might as well go see what she thinks.'
Zephyr walked up next to the nook in the wall where Pixie stood motionless, hoping her would pass by as the others had. "You do know it's impolite to eavesdrop, Miss Pixie," said Zephyr calmly as he sat facing her hiding spot.
Pixie's jaw fell open. "But how did you."
"I could smell you once I was close enough," answered Zephyr, knowing she still thought he was a regular tiger who just happened to be blind.
"Do Lili and Allen do that a lot?" asked Pixie, changing the subject quickly.
"Only every week or so. Allen will apologize and they'll be best of friends into he picks another fight with her. What are you doing down here though? Coming to check on Lili?"
"Hmph. Why would I care about some halfsie?" asked Pixie defensively.
"I never said you did. But not all 'halfsies' are bad, you know," objected Zephyr gently.
"How would you know? Lili's just one of hundreds," asked Pixie sarcastically.
"That may be true," admitted Zephyr as he unhid his wings, "But I think 2 is more than 1 and I certainly am one of them." He walked away, leaving a dumb struck Pixie in his wake.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili sat in a tall tree with thick branches good for sitting on just a few hundred yards from the caves, nibbling some bread that Zephyr had brought her. Pixie watched her with guarded interest, not noticing Genki approach her until he tapped on her shoulder.
When she did notice him, he said, "Pixie I'm really sorry."
"Genki, don't apologize," interrupted Pixie. "It's my fault you even have to."
"We shouldn't have tricked you."
"I should've trusted you."
"Then you're not angry?"
"Course not, kid. Though I can't exactly call you 'kid' any more, can I?"
"Guess not, Pixie. But you're sure you're not angry with us?" Genki regarded with the same brotherly love he regarded Lili with and it would hurt him if she were upset with him.
"Nah. I do have a question, though. How much is your cousin like you?"
"A lot. They used to say I was her shadow. She taught me how to blade and made sure I didn't turn into a spoiled brat by my parents. Though she's a bit more mellow than I and has a bit of a temper at times we're quite alike," admitted Genki.
"So she'll accept my apology?"
"She won't reject it, if that's what you mean."
"And she won't get mushy on me?"
"Like I said, she's more mellowed out than I am. Probably not, though."
"Then I guess I have no excuse not to."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Lili sat quietly up in the tree, resting her energy and filling the reserves that had been drained by Big Blue's healing. A couple hours later, Lili heard someone clambering up the tree. She looked down and saw Holly determinedly testing her fear of heights. She smiled, and waited for her younger friend to finish her task.
"Hey Holly, what can I do for you?"
"Just wanted to see how you are."
Lili chuckled lightly, smiling as she did. "I'm ok. Still pretty weak but it'll pass. Now, from what I remember of what Genki said, you're not too fond of heights. So why don't you tell me why you really climbed up here?"
Holly colored slightly, knowing she had been caught. "About the other day.thanks.for saving me."
"Forget about it. I hade to, Genki would've killed me if I hadn't."
"Yeah, and about what you said that night."
"I don't lie," cut in Lili. "Even when I tease. What I said was true, take it was you will. Though I don't see why he wouldn't like you, you're one of the sweetest people I know."
Holly suddenly become very interested in the hem of her shirt and as she hoped Lili wouldn't notice the red that was creeping up her face. Lili bit back the laughter that threatened to burst out, not wanting to embarrass Holly any more than she already had.
Genki strolled up to the bottom of the tree, watching the two females he cared about most in the world talk as he had once imagined above him. "Holly? Lili? Can I come up or is this a private conversation?" he called, grinning.
"Speak of the devil." murmured Lili so only Holly could hear. "You got something else you wanted to talk about or can he join us?"
"Let him up," replied Holly.
"Get your sorry carcass up here before I have to come and drag you up," shouted Lili gruffly.
Genki laughed, knowing his cousin was only teasing. "My sorry carcass, huh?" he called back, climbing up swiftly.
"Yeah, your sorry carcass." Genki popped up nest to his cousin, smiling kindheartedly. "C'mere, you," she pulled him into a one armed hug before she lifted herself onto another branch, telling Genki to stay by Holly.
"What were you two talking about?" asked Genki when he was settled.
"Nothing really. Just some girl talk," replied Lili lightly, watching Holly turn a few shade of pink.
"Girl talk, huh? You weren't talking about me where you?" replied Genki mysteriously.
Holly was now a dark pink as Lili rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Genki," she sad flatly.
Genki laughed, not noticing Holly's bright red blush as she sat there silently. "I just wanted to say hi to my favorite cousin, see how you were doing."
"Correction, Genki. I'm your only cousin. But thanks anyways." They all talked for a while, discussing Holly and Genki's original adventures and the new ones they were having this time around.
After a while, Holly got dizzy and had to climb down. "What are you doing, moron, go after her," chastised Lili when Genki stayed in the tree with her. "And send Zephyr to me while you're at it."
Zephyr came quickly, landing on her branch gently. "What do you need Lili?" he asked.
"Could you get me my bag and maybe something to eat?" asked Lili sweetly. Zephyr nodded and flew away quickly without saying a word.
He came back a few minutes later, bag in mouth and a package of food Holly had given him in his paws. She scratched him lovingly behind the ears while she ate a sandwich, the lupine draped over her lap. Lili then pulled out a thread and some needles, going over every inch of Zephyr's harness carefully and stitching up every tear or rip she saw.
"Fixing my harness?" asked Zephyr, not being bale to see what she was doing.
"Yep, it's got some ripped seams and such from all those fights and I need it to be reliable. We don't want one of our friends falling to their death and going splat on the ground because the handle ripped off," explained Lili.
"Gee, thanks for the graphic description."
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
The sun had long since set, and Zephyr was playing with the pups in the cave while Lili continued to mend her gear on her branch. She could see Golem, Ojo, and Frost talking on one side of the fire; and on the other sat Genki, Holly, Tiger, Storm, Claw, Big Blue, and Hare laughing over some story from years passed.
She didn't see Pixie at first, but finally spotted her in the shadows approaching the tree. Lili waited for her to glide up and land silently on the branch behind her before saying, "What can I do for you, Miss Pixie?"
"How did you."
"I'm a halfsie, remember?" cut in Lili, her voice holding a note of hardness.
"Lilianne."
"Call me Lil or Lili. Lilianne sounds to formal," interrupted Lili again.
"Lil, I owe you an apology," said Pixie grudgingly.
"You owe me nothing. Your actions were a result of what those like me had done to you. I don't blame you for what you did."
"That doesn't make it right," insisted Pixie, "Beside, you saved Blue's life."
"I had to. I made a promise a long time ago to reverse what that moron has done," said Lili bitterly, causing Pixie to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She noticed Lili was patching something and decided o change the subject quickly.
"What's that?" she asked, motioning to the cloth she was holding.
"It's what I where under my blue tank top. It's similar to the one you where," replied Lili, holding up the patched top into the light.
"What happened to it?"
"The needles tore it up pretty bad," replied Lili, kicking herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
"What needles?" asked Pixie, getting interested.
"Oh, never mind," said Lili, shrugging absently as she quickly came up with something to change the subject. "You'd better get back to the other before they notice you're gone."
Pixie nodded, turning to go. She glanced back over her shoulder, saying, "Thanks, Lili. You're alright for a halfsie."
"Don't mention it. Ever." Lili waited for her to get back into the shadows before she whistled for Zephyr, thinking about what had just happened. 'What do you know,' she said to herself. 'I just made a friend of one of my greatest enemies.'
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Hello, everyone. Hope you enjoyed this installment, I know I know the action is coming but in between the high points you have to have some filler, right? Please be kind and review, I won't force you to but it is Christmas and consider it your present to me, k?