Hello, yeah I'm back again. This is the only story I feel like working on in the Diablo section since I already have a plan for it all the way to the end. And I do realize that Zhon hasn't exactly been his peaceful self recently and that will change. Don't worry. ^_^

And chop down a tree with a herring? It can't be done! (Believe me, I tried it... Just kidding.) : |-
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When Zhon got back to town he found out that everyone had been sent to Fara's house to be healed. He walked over there with Liliah by his side looking from side to side as if the town made her feel clausterphobic. The sun that had been restored to it's normal burning power was now sinking low into the ground as the desert lands of Aranoch prepared for the night.

Meanwhile, Ki-Ki lay in Fara's bed with a huge fever. She had been the one who had been more injured than the others. Eudora was not far behind, but she wasn't gonna admit it. She insisted on leaving the home even though Fara had told her she needed rest. Wolf watched her travel into the night and turned and smiled weakly at Fara. She also sent him to bed as Dru helped her tend to her two remaining patients. She began to burn a stew in the hearth and turned to Dru who was tucking Wolf into bed.

Ki-Ki awoke at the smell of the stew, but was too weak to move so she simply continued to lay with her eyes close as Fara and Dru began to talk.

"I've thought a lot about you after you left." Fara began. Dru looked up surprised.

"You have?" He said in surprise.

"Yes, I've missed you." She said reaching toward him and squeezing his gloved hand. "You remember what you said to me before you left, right?" She questioned.

"What did I say?" Dru asked. But he knew. He was hoping she would forget.

"You said once you are through questing the world of Sanctuary, you would return for me and give up your sword."

He lowered his head and cast a side wards glance towards Ki-Ki's form. It was a subtle movement and Fara wasn't sure if she had seen the look or not. She herself looked over at Ki-Ki and then down at her folded hands.

"Have your plans changed?" She asked in a soft voice.

He looked down at the ground. "I don't know..." He shook his head. "No." He finally agreed. "They haven't."

She smiled in relief and walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "I look forward to the day you relinquish your sword to me." She murmured and went back to cooking at the hearth. Dru sat there nervous and was relieved as Zhon walked in with the young Panther woman, Liliah. He stood at Zhon's presence and looked warily at the panther woman.

"Greetings Fara." Zhon said. "How are they?" He immediately asked worried.

"Your assistant will be back on her feet in two days. The assassin will be ready to fight then as well. And your little Druid." She said joking. "He will be up by tomorrow."

As if he knew they were talking about him, Wolf woke up at that second and upon seeing the Magician got out of bed and ran over to him hugging him. But then he saw the cat woman.

She jumped back afraid and Zhon held his breath as Wolf studied the panther woman. He gingerly stepped towards her and barked, "Cat!" She jumped back and pressed herself against the wall.

"This is Liliah, Wolf." Zhon explained. Wolf nodded. "Lil!" He said excitably. Liliah's ears flickered at the noise. "Lil!" He said jumping up excitably. Unfortunately, he landed in a weird position and ended up on his rear.

"Back to bed with you, little Druid." Fara said sternly, but with care in her voice as she ushered him back to the other room where he was to reside.

"Bye Lil!" He waved to her and smiled goofily.

"Bye..." Liliah waved a little shyly.

"Zhon..." A horse voice called from Fara's bed. The three turned to Ki-Ki who was stirring in the bed. Zhon went over to her. "I'm sorry, Zhon honey." She said, her eyes half way opened in thin slits.

"Don't be sorry, Ki-Ki." Zhon said leaning over her.

Fara brought a healing potion to her lips, but she refused to drink it by turning her head to the other side. Then she passed out.

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Zhon walked groggily in the cool morning. It was the first time he was allowed to be by himself because Liliah had stayed by his side and had insisted on sleeping in his room. She almost acted like a mother protecting her kitten except for the fact that she was so young. He had managed to get out of her sight when he told her that he had to go to the bathroom. After a visit to the privy, he had managed to sneak off alone.

He walked happily adjusting his clothing against the cold chill of the morning. The bright sun blinded him as the bright orb peeked out of the horizon. He found himself walking towards Warriv's caravan. Warriv was already up and rummaging through his baggage. Eudora was no where in sight. Zhon had thought he had seen her walk into Atma's bar, but he wasn't sure. He waited in front of Warriv until Warriv saw him.

"Ah, greetings Magician! How's saving the world doing for you? Manage to get by without killing anything?"

The Magician gulped nervously and shook his head. Warriv shrugged. "I guess you kill some and you win some..." He said and then scratched his head wondering if what he said made sense. He started rummaging through his baggage again.

"What are you looking for?" Zhon asked. Warriv looked up guiltily. "Um... my mother's ring. I seemed to have lost it. It's not very valuable. More of a sentimental thing if you know what I mean."

"Oh." Zhon answered. Then after an awkward silence he said, "So... how are you and Eudora?"

Warriv straighten up at the question. "Fine!" He practically yelled and then stretched his arm to the back of his head uncomfortably. "I mean..." He said apologizing. "Why do you ask?"

Zhon, confused by the outburst simply answered, "Just curious."

Warriv sighed. "Actually we got in a fight last night. Sometimes I don't understand that woman. She acts so happy one moment and so depressed the next. I don't even know what I said that made her so angry. All I know is that I slept alone last night." He said smiling weakly at his small attempt at humor.

"Oh." Zhon answered not really interested in the relationship between Warriv and Eudora anyway. But Warriv looked as if he wanted to ask him something. He stepped closer to the magician.

"I have something to ask you..." Warriv said obviously uncomfortable. "I don't really know how to go about doing this but..." He hesitated.

"IwannaaskEudoratomarryme." He said at once.

"What?" Zhon asked. All he heard was the words "Eudora" and "marry."

"I wanna ask her to wed me." Warriv clarified now very nervous and uncomfortable. "And I don't know how to go about doing that." He continued.

Zhon, now beginning to get as uncomfortable as Warriv shifted nervously wondering why this man was telling him this.

"Um..." Zhon began.

"I don't know if I should do it over dinner or wait till afterward or if I should ask her in the morning or how I should ask her. If I should casually mention it or just blunt out ask her..." Warriv said pondering. "Should I wait or should I ask her as soon as possible? What if she doesn't want to marry me? What if she thinks I'm not the right man to be a husband to her? Does she want children? Will she want to live in a cottage or a place in a city? I just don't know... I know I want to marry her, but I want her to be happy... and I want her to live with me... as my wife..." He trailed off.

"Warriv?" Zhon began. Warriv looked over at the Magician his eyes pleading for assistance. "I think it is great that you want to marry Eudora." He said gulping wondering why anyone would want to marry the moody assassin.

"But seeing as I never asked someone to marry me before..." He said day dreaming of Charsi... "And I am not exactly an expert when it comes to woman and..." He paused and looked at Warriv shocked. "Why are you asking me anyway?" He wondered.

Warriv shrugged. "You seemed to be the right person to ask. And besides you know more than you say you do. I trust you not only to rid the world of evil, but also to be considerate and caring to those around you. You are a Magician after all, capable of accomplishing great things. Heh, you already have." He said patting the Magician on the back. "But about my problem? What should I do?" He asked getting back to his ordeal.

Just then Liliah ran up to him and pranced onto him playfully. Warriv looked on amused. Zhon just blushed embarrassed at the playful Panther woman who was crawling all over him.

"There you are Magician." She purred. "You thought you could escape me." She said laughing almost sassily.

"And who is this?" Warriv asked his ordeal forgotten.

"This is a panther woman." Zhon said feeling like he was explaining to Warriv about another species. "Her name's Liliah. I picked her up when I was fighting the Claw Vipers in their temple along with the leader of her tribe, Bloodwitch."

"Wow, it sounds like you had quite an adventure." Warriv added. "Along with all your others." He winked. Liliah studied the Caravan master and hid her face behind Zhon shyly.

Just then Atma hustled up to the Magician. "Magician!" She called waving to him from afar. "Just the person I wanted to see." Her eyes were no longer red and it looked like she hadn't been crying like she had been ever since he had come to Lut Gholein.

"I was wondering about where the little druid child came from and I think I found out some about his parents..." She stopped once she saw the Panther woman.

"I see you picked up another one." She said surprised. Liliah blinked and looked from Warriv to Zhon to Atma almost oblivious that they were talking about her.

"You said you figured out who the druid's parents were?" Warriv asked breaking the silence.

"Yes." She said seriously. "A druid family was traveling to this very city about two months ago. They were related to one of the villagers here. I remember her speaking of it before."

"Great, then we'll just ask her." Zhon said cheerfully.

"No." Atma said sadly. "She died of a sickness a month ago."

"Oh."

"But I've been looking through her journals and she never mentioned a child but she was sure that her cousin was pregnant the last time she spoke to her."

"When was that."

"According to her journals she last saw her druid cousin a year after her wedding and that was 7 years ago. Wolf looks to be about that age so it makes sense that her cousin is his mother."

"We just need to find these two druids and return Wolf to him." Zhon speculated. "In the meantime I guess I'll have to look after him." He said feeling responsible for the druid child.

"Are you talking about the wolf-human?" Liliah asked.

"Yes." Zhon nodded. "His name is Wolf. You two met last night, remember?"

"How did that go?" Warriv wondered humorously. "He didn't chase her up a tree did he?"

"NO!" Liliah answered huffily.

"Knowing that kind hearted boy, he would most likely disprove the theory that dogs chase cats." Atma said in a motherly voice. "He reminds me so much of my own son. They would have been the same age..." She said a tear forming in her eye.

The tears began to fall faster and even though Zhon knew it was wrong, he couldn't help at become annoyed at the woman's balling. Warriv and Liliah seemed to feel the same way as Warriv stepped away and Liliah's ears flattened at the sound. She got something out of her pocket and handed it to Atma.

Atma looked down and realized that the Panther woman was offering her a hanker-chief. She took it almost shocked. "Thank you... " She choked and wiped her tears. Liliah smiled content and pulled Zhon away.

"Let's go adventuring together!" She said spunkily. "What should we do today? Have you been given any quests?" She asked.

"No, I think today should be a day of rest since most of my party were injured yesterday." He answered seriously. She crinkled her nose in disappointment.

Zhon walked up to Fara's station in the center of town. "How is Ki-Ki?" He asked worriedly.

"She is recuperating better than I expected." Fara said stiffly. "Dru and Wolf are back at my house with her if you would like to go see her."

"Thank you Fara." Zhon said to the former Paladin.

"I thank you Magician." She said. "If there is anything I can do to help you I would be more than happy to help. I used to be a Paladin you know." She continued. Zhon nodded. "And I was gonna be married to Drusabon actually." She gossiped.

'Better not let Ki-Ki hear that.' Zhon thought.

"I was surprised to see him traveling with you but I thank you for bringing him back safely."

Zhon just stood there not knowing what to say. Liliah stood behind him staring at the woman curiously.

"Was there something else you wanted?" Fara asked seeing him still there.

"Um... yes." Zhon decided. "I was wondering if I could take a look at your wares."

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Ki-Ki now sat up in bed while Dru poured her some stew. Wolf played in the corner of a room with a stick and various other materials he had found. Surprisingly this kept him entertained as he pretended the stick was Zhon. A small rock became himself. A feather was Ki-Ki. A cup was Dru and a fork was Eudora. He entertained himself by pretending they were fighting evil.

Dru looked over at the boy, smiling as the stick shot out magic and the cup slashed with an imaginary sword at imaginary enemies.

He walked over to Ki-Ki with a bowl and a spoon. Scooping some of the contents into the spoon he brought it over to Ki-Ki's mouth. She looked at him almost angrily and turned her head. Surprised by her actions he again tried to get the woman to eat but she refused.

"Come on Ki-Ki." He said trying not to get frustrated. "Fara said this will help you regain your strength."

"Is that all you say now?" Ki-Ki spat.

"What?" Dru asked confused.

"Fara says this and Fara says that... "

"She is the only one in this town who knows enough about healing..." Dru mentioned practically.

"I don't care!" Ki-Ki said and stubbornly turned away from him. Wolf looked up from his play at the two adults. "You were gonna come back for her anyway, weren't you?" She asked spitefully.

Dru shocked that she knew about that, was taken aback and speechless. Wolf whimpered at her yelling, but she ignored him.

"Ki-Ki... I..."

She threw back the covers and got out of bed. "Don't talk to me Dru!" She barked. She got out of bed.

"Ki-Ki you need your rest!" Dru argued putting his arms in front of her. She glared at him angrily. He pulled his arms back and let her walk past.

"Why would I want to stay in HER house anyway?" She said stressing the "her." Zhon walked in with Liliah just then as Ki-Ki rushed past.

"Ki-Ki?" Zhon said surprised to see her up already. She didn't even look at him and rushed past angrily. He looked at Dru and Dru sat down sighing.

"What happened?" Zhon wondered. Dru shrugged. "I don't know... I... she..." For once the Paladin was at a loss of words. He began to murmur a prayer, which was the only thing he could think of to do.

Zhon frowned wondering why everyone seemed to be fighting...

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There wasn't much action in this chapter mostly "relationship" problems. Man this is getting to be like a soap opera and I never planned it to be like that... Ok, maybe I did from the very beginning. Hee hee hee.

So leave a review or you shall have to answer to a very, very moody female...

Just kidding. ^_^

Unless... you think I am moody...

Never mind. I'm shutting up now. @_@