Disclaimer: As usual. don't own them.Squaresoft and Disney do *sigh*
Warning: Shonen ai... eventually... *threatens fic* You hear me, you'll be shonen ai. uhm. OC's, not Mary Sue though, at least I'm not making em on purpose if they are there Gomen ne... AU.doesn't follow the game storyline whatsoever.
PG-13 for now cuz of language. might have to go up later.. Might get a little gory I dunno yet ^^;;;; I'm surprised this fic writes itself as quick as it does.
Please R&R.. more constructive criticism please!! I need to know if it sucks and if yes where?? I can only make it better if I know what to change. If you like it tell me too k? Thankies ^^
Setting Sail
Part 3 (Getting stronger)
~*~*~
The next time Riku opened his eyes he found himself inside a hut like building, huddled into thick furs. He blinked groggily, trying to figure out just were he was. He sat up slowly and groaned, a massive headache hammering in his skull.
"Shhhh, stay down. You've been running a fever for a few days now. It broke yesterday morning, but you're still not up top."
Riku blinked and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Gentle green cat-eyes were fixed on him as the woman who had spoken to him wrung out a cloth and placed it on his forehead. It felt good, the cool against his hot skin.
"My name is Corral." She said in the same gentle voice, answering an unvoiced question.
Riku sighed and settled back into the fur. "Sora, is he alright?" His sea green gaze fixed on her, demanding an answer.
Catlike ears twitched as Corral's expression became curious. "Sora, is that the other boys name?"
Riku nodded, eyes never leaving her.
She smiled. "Yes, he had delirious dreams until early this morning. I managed to get his temperature down and I'm hoping he'll wake up in a matter of two or three days. So don't worry your pretty head about it, Riku, and just concentrate on healing. If it calms you down, I'll let you know that he's sleeping right at the other end of the room."
Riku frowned. "How do you know my name?"
Corral chuckled. "Like I said, Sora had delirious dreams, some really vivid. He kept calling for Riku and Kairi. I believe Kairi is a girls name, and since you're obviously not a girl I figured you'd be Riku."
"I see." Riku yawned, feeling sleepy again. He frowned. All he did lately was sleep.
Corral didn't seem to be bothered by that at all. "Rest, your body is still weak. Especially if the story about how you arrived here is true. Sleep will replenish the reserves that you have used up. Not to mention your friend will need you when he wakes up, and I mean fully functional."
Riku frowned again. "What do you mean?"
But she had already left his bedside, leaving him with nothing but questions. Pondering on what was going to happen, now that they actually had managed to find a new world, Riku fell asleep again.
~*~*~
The next two days Riku was allowed to move a little with Corral's supervision. His movements were a little sluggish at first, but not longer than a day and he had most of his agility back, if not his strength. Corral had fed him with a bitter tasting broth for the first day and now he felt ready to tackle whatever the day would throw at him.
Right now he was sitting in the single window of Corral's front room, watching the littlest children play. Corral stood in the door smiling. "Up and about already? Must mean that you're feeling much better?"
Riku smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah? And I changed the cloth just a little while ago."
Corral blinked and felt the cloth on Sora's forehead. It was cool. A white eyebrow raised inquisitively at Riku. "You sure take care of your little friend. Looks like I won't be needed anymore."
Riku shrugged and fixed his gaze on the outside again. "I was up early this morning and had nothing better to do."
The woman laughed and brushed some hair out of her face. "You keep telling yourself that. In any case, I need to go out for a while. I can trust you to watch his condition?"
Riku looked at her as she stood smirking, hand on her hips as if challenging him to start a verbal fight with her. He simply nodded. It wouldn't be much of a change for him. Riku had been conscious towards Sora's condition for the last few days, aware of every odd breath the boy took. He had lost Kairi already, he didn't want to loose Sora too. Corral's promise that the Sora was on his way to full recovery didn't calm him one bit, especially since the boy hadn't woken up yet.
A gentle touch on his shoulder made him look up at Corral who smiled down at him. Her eyes were gentle and expressed a lot of sympathy. "I know you worry still, but there's nothing we can do but wait until he wakes up."
Riku smiled a little and nodded, somehow the woman always knew what to say.
Then suddenly her expression became mischievous. "Let's hope he wakes soon... if it's just for MY sanity's sake, cuz your endless worrying is driving me crazy."
Before Riku could fight it she had him in a headlock and was giving him a nuggy. "ACK!"
She laughed at his squirming and let go of him as fast as she had grabbed him. "Cheer up! Your gloomy face is not going to help him. I have a carving knife in that chest over there and there's plenty of wood around, comes with living in a forest." And with a final wink she was gone.
Riku blinked at the door. He couldn't understand how some adults never seemed to grow up. He shook his head, it really wasn't his problem. Sora on the other hand was.
Riku knew exactly how the boy would react upon waking up. Seeing Riku alive, he would think Kairi was fine too. It was Riku's job to explain to him that she wasn't here.
As if on cue Sora groaned and turned his head, eyes slowly opening. Riku hopped out of his seat in the window and sat down besides Sora. Dark blue eyes focused on him and the boy opened his mouth, but nothing but a croak came out.
Riku chuckled and handed Sora a cup. "You've been out for quite a while. Drink this, it will help your voice."
Sora nodded and tried to sit up. With Riku's help he managed and soon he drank the water in greedy gulps. Riku watched his long time friend with wide eyes. "Slow down or you'll-"
Sora started coughing, doubling over and gasping for breath.
Riku grimaced. "Or you'll choke."
Sora looked up at him and grinned weakly, still coughing a little. "Gomen ne, Riku."
The silvery haired boy shook his head. "Are you feeling okay?"
Sora nodded. "A little sore but otherwise fine.... uhm.... where are we?"
Riku shrugged. "This village is called 'Evergreen' by the people that live here. We were both washed ashore here after the storm. Corral, the woman who lives here, is some sort of a healer. She took care of us."
Blue eyes shone with hope. "Kairi..."
Riku could feel his face fall. 'Here it goes...' He swallowed. "Sora, Kairi isn't here. They were looking for her... but they found nothing. We're lucky that it was both of us and not just one who got washed ashore here and..."
Riku's heart ached as he saw Sora's eyes fill with tears. "Sora, I'm sorry..."
Suddenly the boy buried his face against Riku's chest, hot tears running down his cheeks. Riku stared down at his friend with wide eyes. He hadn't quite expected that. He slowly patted Sora's back, felling awkward and a faint blush covered his face.
Riku blinked. Why the hell was he blushing? He had comforted Sora before. True, the situations had been different, but Sora usually was very tactile when in pain, no matter if physically or emotionally. Riku on the other hand was usually quiet and withdrawn, more so when he was hurting.
It took Sora a little to calm down. Kairi had been his best friend, almost as close as Riku, and thinking that she was gone.... it tore his heart apart. Luckily Riku was still with him. Sora had the distinct hunch that if both had been taken from him... he wouldn't be able to go on.
"Looks like our promise was broken even before we reached a new world."
Riku looked down at Sora, a fake smile pasted on the younger teens face. He sighed. "Not yet Sora, I'm still with you. I won't leave you alone."
Sora nodded. The fact that Kairi was gone still hurt, more than he cared to admit, but the fact that he wasn't all alone helped a little. "Thank you Riku."
Riku nodded and straightened a little. Sora stared at his friend, eyes strangely absent. "Whatcha thinking about?"
Sora blinked. "Huh? Oh? I was just wondering what to do, now that we found a different world. What now Riku?"
That question startled Riku. He hadn't thought about what to do. His major concern had been Sora as he waited for the boy to wake up. His musing had never gone beyond that moment.
The other problem was that he had never imagined that they would reach the other worlds by being washed ashore after almost drowning in a storm. In his dreams they had always set foot on new grounds with confidence. All three of them. Sora, him, and Kairi. Somehow, with Kairi gone... it felt like something truly important was missing.
On impulse he pulled Sora close and held on tight, sea green eyes filled with sadness. "I don't know Sora... I don't know."
~*~*~
The days passed quickly as the two boys trained to regain their body strength and stamina. Corral had given them a quick, and what she called shortened, inside on 'Evergreen' and the people who lived there.
Two tribes had joined together in this place, in a fight to preserve what they called their home. A lush, tropical like forest.
One of them were the Cougero, cat like humans, which had adapted some of the feline skills as well as some of their physical traits. Some of those were claws, tails and ears, but not every Cougero had the same traits.
Corral described them as very social and understanding but also as fierce and very protective. They had always lived in the forest and would rather die than giving up their home.
The other tribe were the Menrock, normal humans that lived in the forest and paid it the respect it deserved as a part of nature. They were the only humans that the Cougero had ever accepted as theirs. Unlike so many, the Menrock actually were one with nature.
No one knew much about their culture. The Menrock were rather secretive and most of their time was spent in small groups, mostly only with their own. But there were always exceptions from the norm and some choose to live with the Cougero more than with their own.
When Riku had asked about the tattoos Corral had just shrugged. All she knew was that every Menrock got them at the age of five. She guessed that was the time the tribe decided it to be save to accept the child into their society and slowly set them on the path to become an adult. But that was only a theory.
Sora and Riku had accepted that and gone about their own business. It hadn't taken them long to run into Raja and Kitsuna again. Sora was more than just happy when Kitsuna gave him his amulet back, and Riku smiled at his friends delighted face. Both hadn't laughed lately, and he had missed the happy sparkle in the boys eyes.
Meeting Temoko again hadn't been quite that easy. She liked Sora well enough, and soon started calling him little brother. Riku on the other hand.... The teen was lucky if he got something less aggressive then a growl out of her.
But even though Temoko proved to be a useful ally. She offered to spar with them so they could regain their strength quicker. They had agreed quickly, figuring a new sparring partner would offer a new challenge. And a challenge she was.
Even though the victories were evenly divided between the three of them each of them learned quickly not to underestimate each other. On her first match against Sora, Temoko had suffered a great loss in almost no time. Sora, while not very strong was really quick and agile, ducking every blow Temoko sent at him. Then he had used that same speed to send the girl crashing to the ground, practice sword right at her throat.
Riku hadn't been that lucky and his fight with Temoko taught him never to underestimate an opponent. Though the girl didn't look it, she was very strong for her built and Riku had quickly found himself swordless on the ground, Temoko towering over him, gloating.
That's how their daily lives seemed to become. Wake up, eat, train, eat, train some more, eat, back to bed. Not exactly what the two boys had hoped for, but for the time being there was nothing else for them to do.
~*~*~
Riku grinned at Sora as the boy brushed some dirt off his pants. He had just won a match, as usual and he felt good about it. Sora had gotten stronger than he had been back on Destiny Island and, with every passing day, it became harder for Riku to defeat him easily .
Sora muttered a soft curse under his breath and Riku started to laugh. "Oh, come Sora. Don't be a sore looser."
Sora frowned. "Easy for you to say, you always win."
"Hey, you managed to beat me two days ago." Riku pointed out.
Sora pouted. "Yeah, after Temoko managed to whack your arm hard enough. Even you can't fight when you're in pain. No one can."
Riku shrugged, not feeling like denying the truth. Temoko walked up to them and ruffled Sora's hair. "Don't be that way little brother. Your problem is the practice swords. With your fighting style they are no use to you."
Riku raised an eyebrow at her. "When will you stop calling him little brother? he's a year older than you."
Temoko blew a raspberry at Riku. "I can call it whatever I want, and there's no way you can stop me."
Riku grinned. "Betcha I can."
"Is that a challenge?" She asked, crossing her arms, grinning daringly.
"You bet." He answered, raising his wooden sword.
Temoko shook her head. "Not this time friend. Let's make this a little more of a workout."
Riku blinked at her as she walked away. "Nani? HEY!"
Temoko came back with mean smirk on her lips. "Oh calm down, you cry louder than a trapped panther. From now on we'll start using these." She tossed something at Riku.
"What are you ugh.... Damn, this is heavy!" Riku blinked down at the sword in his hand.
Temoko laughed. "Of course. Only an idiot believes real weapons are as light as wooden swords."
Riku growled. She always seemed to find a way to insult him. Fine, if she wanted a beating so bad, he'd give it to her. He had lost his fear of hitting this girl ever since their first fight.
Sora on the other hand made sure to get as far away from the two as he could. He had learned the hard way that getting in between them when they were in THIS particular mood came close to suicide. Luckily he had gotten away with a swollen jaw and a stinging ego. That day he decided that an angry Temoko was just as bad as an angry Riku, the girl just tended to punch way sooner than his long time friend did.
Based on that experience he decided to be judge. "Well, since you both agree to the fight, let get started." he announced from a safe seat on a rock. "Ready..."
Both Riku and Temoko assumed fighting stances, Riku holding his sword in front of him, Temoko raising her lance. Sora had to admit that they both looked cool, standing ready like that. "Fight!"
~*~*~
"AGH! Corral! Damn that stings!" Riku yelled and wrestled his arm out of the healers grasp. Carefully he rubbed his fingers along the sore edge glaring at the woman.
Corral on her part glared back at Riku with equal force. "Stop whining like a pup! These wounds have to be taken care of."
Riku muttered but reluctantly held out his arm again. Corral picked up a wet cloth at started cleaning the blood of, making the teen wince. The healer smacked him with the pinkish stained cloth over the head, like she had done so many times before this since she had started cleaning Riku's wounds. "That's what you get for fighting with Temoko. And with real weapons no less."
The silver-haired teen muttered under his breath and Sora tried to smile disarmingly. "Well, see it this way. At least she didn't kill you."
Riku huffed. "The fight was unfair. She knew how to use her weapon properly. I never fought with a real sword before."
"Yes, you seemed to move a little awkward..." Sora mused, thinking back to the fight, which Riku had lost horribly. "I'm not looking forward to my turn tomorrow."
"Don't worry little brother, you know I'd never hurt you."
Everybody turned around at the new voice from the door. There stood Temoko, grinning at them. Corral raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Came to apologize. You cut poor Riku quite a bit."
Riku made a face. The way Corral had said that.... it gave the impression that he was a wuss.
A snort was Temoko's answer. "Like hell I will. Not my fault he fights like a girl."
Obviously that was not the answer that Corral had been waiting for. Within the blink of an eye she was onto Temoko with her horrifying washcloth of doom. Temoko ducked, but it wasn't providing exactly the best cover and she surrendered. "ACK! Okay! OKAY! I'm sorry...SORRY!"
Riku and Sora just stared at the picture, jaws ajar. It seemed that even Temoko would back off when confronted by an angry Corral. They were still gaping when Corral let off of Temoko smiling. "See, wasn't that hard."
Temoko muttered something under her breath but nodded, before looking at Riku and Sora. "Now... for the real reason why I was here..." she glanced at Corral before continuing. "Old Lady Marbo wants to see you."
"Old Lady Who?" Sora blinked confused.
Corral frowned. "Old Lady Marbo huh? She's our seer. Wonder why she's taking an interest in you two now."
Temoko shrugged. "Heaven would fall on us if I knew. The old lady is one big riddle to me."
"Is it bad that she wants to talk to us?" Riku asked, slightly worried.
Corral shrugged and grinned. "With her you never know. Even we don't understand her, and she's the oldest Cougero in the tribe."
"Oh great, that calms me so much." Riku said rolling his eyes.
Temoko shook his head. "Corral is trying to tell you that there's no way to know what she wants from you, unless you go talk to her. Stop being a worrywart."
Riku glared at her. "Better a worrywart then reckless. Only a fool acts without thinking."
Temoko smirked. "Oh, then you don't think a lot now do you? Because I have yet to meet a greater fool then you."
Sora sweatdropped and tried to ignore his two friends bickering, it wasn't like he could stop them. But inside he agreed with Riku. He too was worried about the meeting with Old Lady Marbo. What could she want of them?
~*~*~
Not long later Riku and Sora stood in Old Lady Marbo's hut, not one bit less nervous than before. Quite the opposite.
Even though the woman was visibly old, something about her made the two teens feel awed and a little afraid. Her silver-gray hair hung in one long braid over her shoulder, cat ears tilted forward and very attentive. Her eyes were closed and her pose relaxed as if at total peace with the world. To say it in one word, she almost seemed like a higher being.
"Step forward you two, don't keep me waiting." Her voice was deep and demanding, but an endless patience was also evident. She opened her eyes and a sky-blue gaze fixed on the two.
When she deemed Sora and Riku close enough, she leaned forward, her eyes growing cold. "I have seen the things you bring, and you are not welcomed here."
~*~*~
A.N.: Sorry I'm leaving off like this.. But I gotta decide what to do now cuz.frankly I have no clue.. Hmmmm *ponders* Well. I'll figure it out. I hope.. Ashita Mata!!!
Warning: Shonen ai... eventually... *threatens fic* You hear me, you'll be shonen ai. uhm. OC's, not Mary Sue though, at least I'm not making em on purpose if they are there Gomen ne... AU.doesn't follow the game storyline whatsoever.
PG-13 for now cuz of language. might have to go up later.. Might get a little gory I dunno yet ^^;;;; I'm surprised this fic writes itself as quick as it does.
Please R&R.. more constructive criticism please!! I need to know if it sucks and if yes where?? I can only make it better if I know what to change. If you like it tell me too k? Thankies ^^
Setting Sail
Part 3 (Getting stronger)
~*~*~
The next time Riku opened his eyes he found himself inside a hut like building, huddled into thick furs. He blinked groggily, trying to figure out just were he was. He sat up slowly and groaned, a massive headache hammering in his skull.
"Shhhh, stay down. You've been running a fever for a few days now. It broke yesterday morning, but you're still not up top."
Riku blinked and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Gentle green cat-eyes were fixed on him as the woman who had spoken to him wrung out a cloth and placed it on his forehead. It felt good, the cool against his hot skin.
"My name is Corral." She said in the same gentle voice, answering an unvoiced question.
Riku sighed and settled back into the fur. "Sora, is he alright?" His sea green gaze fixed on her, demanding an answer.
Catlike ears twitched as Corral's expression became curious. "Sora, is that the other boys name?"
Riku nodded, eyes never leaving her.
She smiled. "Yes, he had delirious dreams until early this morning. I managed to get his temperature down and I'm hoping he'll wake up in a matter of two or three days. So don't worry your pretty head about it, Riku, and just concentrate on healing. If it calms you down, I'll let you know that he's sleeping right at the other end of the room."
Riku frowned. "How do you know my name?"
Corral chuckled. "Like I said, Sora had delirious dreams, some really vivid. He kept calling for Riku and Kairi. I believe Kairi is a girls name, and since you're obviously not a girl I figured you'd be Riku."
"I see." Riku yawned, feeling sleepy again. He frowned. All he did lately was sleep.
Corral didn't seem to be bothered by that at all. "Rest, your body is still weak. Especially if the story about how you arrived here is true. Sleep will replenish the reserves that you have used up. Not to mention your friend will need you when he wakes up, and I mean fully functional."
Riku frowned again. "What do you mean?"
But she had already left his bedside, leaving him with nothing but questions. Pondering on what was going to happen, now that they actually had managed to find a new world, Riku fell asleep again.
~*~*~
The next two days Riku was allowed to move a little with Corral's supervision. His movements were a little sluggish at first, but not longer than a day and he had most of his agility back, if not his strength. Corral had fed him with a bitter tasting broth for the first day and now he felt ready to tackle whatever the day would throw at him.
Right now he was sitting in the single window of Corral's front room, watching the littlest children play. Corral stood in the door smiling. "Up and about already? Must mean that you're feeling much better?"
Riku smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah? And I changed the cloth just a little while ago."
Corral blinked and felt the cloth on Sora's forehead. It was cool. A white eyebrow raised inquisitively at Riku. "You sure take care of your little friend. Looks like I won't be needed anymore."
Riku shrugged and fixed his gaze on the outside again. "I was up early this morning and had nothing better to do."
The woman laughed and brushed some hair out of her face. "You keep telling yourself that. In any case, I need to go out for a while. I can trust you to watch his condition?"
Riku looked at her as she stood smirking, hand on her hips as if challenging him to start a verbal fight with her. He simply nodded. It wouldn't be much of a change for him. Riku had been conscious towards Sora's condition for the last few days, aware of every odd breath the boy took. He had lost Kairi already, he didn't want to loose Sora too. Corral's promise that the Sora was on his way to full recovery didn't calm him one bit, especially since the boy hadn't woken up yet.
A gentle touch on his shoulder made him look up at Corral who smiled down at him. Her eyes were gentle and expressed a lot of sympathy. "I know you worry still, but there's nothing we can do but wait until he wakes up."
Riku smiled a little and nodded, somehow the woman always knew what to say.
Then suddenly her expression became mischievous. "Let's hope he wakes soon... if it's just for MY sanity's sake, cuz your endless worrying is driving me crazy."
Before Riku could fight it she had him in a headlock and was giving him a nuggy. "ACK!"
She laughed at his squirming and let go of him as fast as she had grabbed him. "Cheer up! Your gloomy face is not going to help him. I have a carving knife in that chest over there and there's plenty of wood around, comes with living in a forest." And with a final wink she was gone.
Riku blinked at the door. He couldn't understand how some adults never seemed to grow up. He shook his head, it really wasn't his problem. Sora on the other hand was.
Riku knew exactly how the boy would react upon waking up. Seeing Riku alive, he would think Kairi was fine too. It was Riku's job to explain to him that she wasn't here.
As if on cue Sora groaned and turned his head, eyes slowly opening. Riku hopped out of his seat in the window and sat down besides Sora. Dark blue eyes focused on him and the boy opened his mouth, but nothing but a croak came out.
Riku chuckled and handed Sora a cup. "You've been out for quite a while. Drink this, it will help your voice."
Sora nodded and tried to sit up. With Riku's help he managed and soon he drank the water in greedy gulps. Riku watched his long time friend with wide eyes. "Slow down or you'll-"
Sora started coughing, doubling over and gasping for breath.
Riku grimaced. "Or you'll choke."
Sora looked up at him and grinned weakly, still coughing a little. "Gomen ne, Riku."
The silvery haired boy shook his head. "Are you feeling okay?"
Sora nodded. "A little sore but otherwise fine.... uhm.... where are we?"
Riku shrugged. "This village is called 'Evergreen' by the people that live here. We were both washed ashore here after the storm. Corral, the woman who lives here, is some sort of a healer. She took care of us."
Blue eyes shone with hope. "Kairi..."
Riku could feel his face fall. 'Here it goes...' He swallowed. "Sora, Kairi isn't here. They were looking for her... but they found nothing. We're lucky that it was both of us and not just one who got washed ashore here and..."
Riku's heart ached as he saw Sora's eyes fill with tears. "Sora, I'm sorry..."
Suddenly the boy buried his face against Riku's chest, hot tears running down his cheeks. Riku stared down at his friend with wide eyes. He hadn't quite expected that. He slowly patted Sora's back, felling awkward and a faint blush covered his face.
Riku blinked. Why the hell was he blushing? He had comforted Sora before. True, the situations had been different, but Sora usually was very tactile when in pain, no matter if physically or emotionally. Riku on the other hand was usually quiet and withdrawn, more so when he was hurting.
It took Sora a little to calm down. Kairi had been his best friend, almost as close as Riku, and thinking that she was gone.... it tore his heart apart. Luckily Riku was still with him. Sora had the distinct hunch that if both had been taken from him... he wouldn't be able to go on.
"Looks like our promise was broken even before we reached a new world."
Riku looked down at Sora, a fake smile pasted on the younger teens face. He sighed. "Not yet Sora, I'm still with you. I won't leave you alone."
Sora nodded. The fact that Kairi was gone still hurt, more than he cared to admit, but the fact that he wasn't all alone helped a little. "Thank you Riku."
Riku nodded and straightened a little. Sora stared at his friend, eyes strangely absent. "Whatcha thinking about?"
Sora blinked. "Huh? Oh? I was just wondering what to do, now that we found a different world. What now Riku?"
That question startled Riku. He hadn't thought about what to do. His major concern had been Sora as he waited for the boy to wake up. His musing had never gone beyond that moment.
The other problem was that he had never imagined that they would reach the other worlds by being washed ashore after almost drowning in a storm. In his dreams they had always set foot on new grounds with confidence. All three of them. Sora, him, and Kairi. Somehow, with Kairi gone... it felt like something truly important was missing.
On impulse he pulled Sora close and held on tight, sea green eyes filled with sadness. "I don't know Sora... I don't know."
~*~*~
The days passed quickly as the two boys trained to regain their body strength and stamina. Corral had given them a quick, and what she called shortened, inside on 'Evergreen' and the people who lived there.
Two tribes had joined together in this place, in a fight to preserve what they called their home. A lush, tropical like forest.
One of them were the Cougero, cat like humans, which had adapted some of the feline skills as well as some of their physical traits. Some of those were claws, tails and ears, but not every Cougero had the same traits.
Corral described them as very social and understanding but also as fierce and very protective. They had always lived in the forest and would rather die than giving up their home.
The other tribe were the Menrock, normal humans that lived in the forest and paid it the respect it deserved as a part of nature. They were the only humans that the Cougero had ever accepted as theirs. Unlike so many, the Menrock actually were one with nature.
No one knew much about their culture. The Menrock were rather secretive and most of their time was spent in small groups, mostly only with their own. But there were always exceptions from the norm and some choose to live with the Cougero more than with their own.
When Riku had asked about the tattoos Corral had just shrugged. All she knew was that every Menrock got them at the age of five. She guessed that was the time the tribe decided it to be save to accept the child into their society and slowly set them on the path to become an adult. But that was only a theory.
Sora and Riku had accepted that and gone about their own business. It hadn't taken them long to run into Raja and Kitsuna again. Sora was more than just happy when Kitsuna gave him his amulet back, and Riku smiled at his friends delighted face. Both hadn't laughed lately, and he had missed the happy sparkle in the boys eyes.
Meeting Temoko again hadn't been quite that easy. She liked Sora well enough, and soon started calling him little brother. Riku on the other hand.... The teen was lucky if he got something less aggressive then a growl out of her.
But even though Temoko proved to be a useful ally. She offered to spar with them so they could regain their strength quicker. They had agreed quickly, figuring a new sparring partner would offer a new challenge. And a challenge she was.
Even though the victories were evenly divided between the three of them each of them learned quickly not to underestimate each other. On her first match against Sora, Temoko had suffered a great loss in almost no time. Sora, while not very strong was really quick and agile, ducking every blow Temoko sent at him. Then he had used that same speed to send the girl crashing to the ground, practice sword right at her throat.
Riku hadn't been that lucky and his fight with Temoko taught him never to underestimate an opponent. Though the girl didn't look it, she was very strong for her built and Riku had quickly found himself swordless on the ground, Temoko towering over him, gloating.
That's how their daily lives seemed to become. Wake up, eat, train, eat, train some more, eat, back to bed. Not exactly what the two boys had hoped for, but for the time being there was nothing else for them to do.
~*~*~
Riku grinned at Sora as the boy brushed some dirt off his pants. He had just won a match, as usual and he felt good about it. Sora had gotten stronger than he had been back on Destiny Island and, with every passing day, it became harder for Riku to defeat him easily .
Sora muttered a soft curse under his breath and Riku started to laugh. "Oh, come Sora. Don't be a sore looser."
Sora frowned. "Easy for you to say, you always win."
"Hey, you managed to beat me two days ago." Riku pointed out.
Sora pouted. "Yeah, after Temoko managed to whack your arm hard enough. Even you can't fight when you're in pain. No one can."
Riku shrugged, not feeling like denying the truth. Temoko walked up to them and ruffled Sora's hair. "Don't be that way little brother. Your problem is the practice swords. With your fighting style they are no use to you."
Riku raised an eyebrow at her. "When will you stop calling him little brother? he's a year older than you."
Temoko blew a raspberry at Riku. "I can call it whatever I want, and there's no way you can stop me."
Riku grinned. "Betcha I can."
"Is that a challenge?" She asked, crossing her arms, grinning daringly.
"You bet." He answered, raising his wooden sword.
Temoko shook her head. "Not this time friend. Let's make this a little more of a workout."
Riku blinked at her as she walked away. "Nani? HEY!"
Temoko came back with mean smirk on her lips. "Oh calm down, you cry louder than a trapped panther. From now on we'll start using these." She tossed something at Riku.
"What are you ugh.... Damn, this is heavy!" Riku blinked down at the sword in his hand.
Temoko laughed. "Of course. Only an idiot believes real weapons are as light as wooden swords."
Riku growled. She always seemed to find a way to insult him. Fine, if she wanted a beating so bad, he'd give it to her. He had lost his fear of hitting this girl ever since their first fight.
Sora on the other hand made sure to get as far away from the two as he could. He had learned the hard way that getting in between them when they were in THIS particular mood came close to suicide. Luckily he had gotten away with a swollen jaw and a stinging ego. That day he decided that an angry Temoko was just as bad as an angry Riku, the girl just tended to punch way sooner than his long time friend did.
Based on that experience he decided to be judge. "Well, since you both agree to the fight, let get started." he announced from a safe seat on a rock. "Ready..."
Both Riku and Temoko assumed fighting stances, Riku holding his sword in front of him, Temoko raising her lance. Sora had to admit that they both looked cool, standing ready like that. "Fight!"
~*~*~
"AGH! Corral! Damn that stings!" Riku yelled and wrestled his arm out of the healers grasp. Carefully he rubbed his fingers along the sore edge glaring at the woman.
Corral on her part glared back at Riku with equal force. "Stop whining like a pup! These wounds have to be taken care of."
Riku muttered but reluctantly held out his arm again. Corral picked up a wet cloth at started cleaning the blood of, making the teen wince. The healer smacked him with the pinkish stained cloth over the head, like she had done so many times before this since she had started cleaning Riku's wounds. "That's what you get for fighting with Temoko. And with real weapons no less."
The silver-haired teen muttered under his breath and Sora tried to smile disarmingly. "Well, see it this way. At least she didn't kill you."
Riku huffed. "The fight was unfair. She knew how to use her weapon properly. I never fought with a real sword before."
"Yes, you seemed to move a little awkward..." Sora mused, thinking back to the fight, which Riku had lost horribly. "I'm not looking forward to my turn tomorrow."
"Don't worry little brother, you know I'd never hurt you."
Everybody turned around at the new voice from the door. There stood Temoko, grinning at them. Corral raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Came to apologize. You cut poor Riku quite a bit."
Riku made a face. The way Corral had said that.... it gave the impression that he was a wuss.
A snort was Temoko's answer. "Like hell I will. Not my fault he fights like a girl."
Obviously that was not the answer that Corral had been waiting for. Within the blink of an eye she was onto Temoko with her horrifying washcloth of doom. Temoko ducked, but it wasn't providing exactly the best cover and she surrendered. "ACK! Okay! OKAY! I'm sorry...SORRY!"
Riku and Sora just stared at the picture, jaws ajar. It seemed that even Temoko would back off when confronted by an angry Corral. They were still gaping when Corral let off of Temoko smiling. "See, wasn't that hard."
Temoko muttered something under her breath but nodded, before looking at Riku and Sora. "Now... for the real reason why I was here..." she glanced at Corral before continuing. "Old Lady Marbo wants to see you."
"Old Lady Who?" Sora blinked confused.
Corral frowned. "Old Lady Marbo huh? She's our seer. Wonder why she's taking an interest in you two now."
Temoko shrugged. "Heaven would fall on us if I knew. The old lady is one big riddle to me."
"Is it bad that she wants to talk to us?" Riku asked, slightly worried.
Corral shrugged and grinned. "With her you never know. Even we don't understand her, and she's the oldest Cougero in the tribe."
"Oh great, that calms me so much." Riku said rolling his eyes.
Temoko shook his head. "Corral is trying to tell you that there's no way to know what she wants from you, unless you go talk to her. Stop being a worrywart."
Riku glared at her. "Better a worrywart then reckless. Only a fool acts without thinking."
Temoko smirked. "Oh, then you don't think a lot now do you? Because I have yet to meet a greater fool then you."
Sora sweatdropped and tried to ignore his two friends bickering, it wasn't like he could stop them. But inside he agreed with Riku. He too was worried about the meeting with Old Lady Marbo. What could she want of them?
~*~*~
Not long later Riku and Sora stood in Old Lady Marbo's hut, not one bit less nervous than before. Quite the opposite.
Even though the woman was visibly old, something about her made the two teens feel awed and a little afraid. Her silver-gray hair hung in one long braid over her shoulder, cat ears tilted forward and very attentive. Her eyes were closed and her pose relaxed as if at total peace with the world. To say it in one word, she almost seemed like a higher being.
"Step forward you two, don't keep me waiting." Her voice was deep and demanding, but an endless patience was also evident. She opened her eyes and a sky-blue gaze fixed on the two.
When she deemed Sora and Riku close enough, she leaned forward, her eyes growing cold. "I have seen the things you bring, and you are not welcomed here."
~*~*~
A.N.: Sorry I'm leaving off like this.. But I gotta decide what to do now cuz.frankly I have no clue.. Hmmmm *ponders* Well. I'll figure it out. I hope.. Ashita Mata!!!