Chapter 5
"Let me go! I can't leave Father now! No! Stop!" Duo and Cathy glanced at her in defeat. She had not realized that she no longer had anywhere else to go. Suddenly, Relena spun and kneed Trowa in the stomach and tripped Quatre she was running back towards the village.
"Relena!" yelled Cathy as the she made to take off after her, but an arm shot out to stop her. Cathy glanced at Heero and then stared worriedly after her friend. Suddenly, Relena stopped running, as if the whole world had caught up to her now. Slowly, she collapsed, letting out a heart-wrenching cry. Duo turned his head away as Cathy's vision began to blur with tears.
"She's realized there's nothing she can do. It's completely out of her control," said Natria quietly. Without a word, Heero began to walk up to Relena. The heat of the desert made a watery vision of her figure. His throat tightened. At that very moment, she looked like a desert princess. Finally, he stopped in front of her only to stare down at her bowed head coldly. Relena looked up with tears running down her pained face. Her eyes held so much pain, it ripped at Heero to see it. The only way to relieve it was… Heero raised his gun to point it at her forehead. She closed her eyes waiting. When nothing happened she looked up.
"Please…" she begged when she saw his hesitation. Why couldn't he do it? Why? She had even asked him. "I want to be with my mother." Still… nothing Relena stood achingly and walked towards Heero. She reached up and took the tip of the weapon and placed it at her heart. "Please," she begged yet again with tears in her eyes. He couldn't do it. Heero yanked his gun back and stepped away quickly. Relena's own eyes became dull with confusion. Heero began to walk away, but stopped for a moment.
"Your mother would have wanted you to live. Come on we have a long way to go." She stared at his back as he walked away.
It took a day and a half for them to finally reach the Dead Soul tribe. Lucrezia was greeted with a few waves and nods. The looks quickly turned to the four new arrivals, eyeing them contemptuously. Duo's world seemed to narrow to just walking. That was all he could do. His life was not his own. Earlier, Relena had asked him what they were. Refugees, wanderers, or prisoners. He simply didn't care.
They made their way to a large shack near the middle of the village. Heero entered as the others waited outside. For a long time there was no sound and then raised voices could be heard. Suddenly, the door of the small flew open and a large man loomed in its place. His eyes scanned the small crowd that had gathered outside. Finally, his gaze landed on the White Banshee tribesmen. He stormed closer and examined the banished. Cathy cringed away, right into Quatre, who placed his hands on her shoulders to support her. She quickly recovered her balance and stood next to Relena, who was staring defiantly at his large man. His eyes were the same as Heero's. Prussian and calculatingly cold… a predator stocking its prey. Suddenly, the intense gaze was broken by Heero jumping in. His own eyes met his father's.
"Why did you bring those barbarians?" screamed his father.
"They were our key to safety," replied Heero simply.
"You could have killed them on the way here!"
"You told us to avoid bloodshed at all costs!"
"I never told you to bring them here!" Heero glared up at his father.
"Did I have any other choice… Father?" Mr. Yuy only stood silently, but finally spun away.
"They will live as outcasts here, or they may leave, either way, they'll starve." At that last statement the rest of the tribe turned away and continued on with whatever they were doing before. Hesitantly, Hilde, Natria, Quatre, and Trowa turned away and walked off in various directions. Joshua chose that moment to begin to cry. Trowa glanced over his shoulder an caught a glimpse of Cathy cuddling her baby brother. Tears misted her eyes as she watched Trowa leave.
"Relena, I…" Lucrezia was stopped by Relena's shaking head.
"Don't say anything. Leave it as it is. Just go." Lucrezia wanted to say more, but by the doomed looks on their faces, she decided to follow Relena's directions. Slowly, Lucrezia turned off in the same direction as the others. Heero remained, but he too began to walk away.
"Hey, wait a minute!" yelled Duo. Heero stopped and glanced over at Relena, who was only staring down at the ground. Her hair shielded her eyes from his view.
"What about us?" cried Duo.
"What about you?" asked Heero indifferently.
"Isn't there somewhere you can put us up?"
"It's not my problem." Heero turned away.
"It damn well is your problem! You brought us here!"
"Would you have preferred I killed you?" Relena's fists clenched in anger and despair. Then the reminder of her mother's face came to her, smiling and laughing. Her eyes were stinging.
"I don't know! Maybe you should have!"
"That could be arranged."
"Fine!" The tears poured down Relena's face and littering the ground like diamonds.
"Stop it! Duo it doesn't matter anymore. Not to him at least. Only we can get through this." Her eyes glittered with the moisture as she looked up to stare at Heero in the face.
"We can leave if we want." Heero merely shrugged and Relena's stance stiffened. "We won't though." Duo's jaw dropped and Cathy stopped paying attention to Joshua.
"What? Are you crazy?! I…" cried Duo.
"He brought us here, therefore we will have to stay. I'm not running from this. Besides where else is there to go?" Duo saw her point and nodded hesitantly.
"Do you have a garbage heap?" she asked Heero. He nodded blankly. "Will you please take us there?"
"Just find it yourself." With that, Heero walked away. The idea of finding the garbage wasn't hard. A trail of garbage made is way out of the village.
Relena immediately began to dig through it and pull out old clothes and clothe that some had stupidly thrown away because of smells. Duo and Cathy's noses wrinkled when they caught a whiff.
"I'll wash them," assured Relena. She continued to find various items they needed. Relena made a needle out of an old rusty nail. Duo somehow constructed a shovel out of old junk. He only grinned at Cathy and Relena's question looks.
"This'll be our new home. You'll see. Relena nodded in understanding and began to dig more. By the time they had gathered enough items Relena led the way back towards the village. As they made their way through the middle of the crowds, all began to stare at them. Out of nowhere a rock flew and hit Relena in the shoulder. She nearly lost her grip on the old material, but she quickly recovered and kept going. Cathy and Duo followed hesitantly behind. Suddenly another rock flew and struck Cathy in the back and then flew another. A roar of hate filled the people who only wished to drive away these intruders.
Lucrezia shoved her way through the crowd and stood protectively over her friends. Duo looked up when the onslaught stopped suddenly.
"Stop it!" yelled Lucrezia.
"Drive the barbarians out!" someone screamed. At this point, Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Natria, and Hilde had run out a small house, try9ing to see what was causing all the commotion. Trowa's eyes narrowed when he saw the trickle of blood dripping from a cut on Cathy's cheek.
"Leave them alone," cried Lucrezia.
"They've turned you on us!"
"No! They… they helped me…"
"Get rid of them!" Angrier yells followed, but they quickly died down as Mr. Yuy stepped forward.
"I apologize for my son who has brought these heathens into our community. So to pay for this punishment, he will have to accompany them in and around the village from sunrise to sunset! Trowa Barton shall as well."
"What did I do?" yelled Trowa from the doorway.
"If you hadn't dared Lucrezia this wouldn't have happened!" Trowa was immediately silent. Mr. Yuy turned back to the crowd.
"Just ignore the intruders and consider them as a shame to my son until said otherwise." The villagers nodded agreeing upon this and began to walk away with hateful glances at the White Banshee tribesmen.
"Heero! Trowa! Come here." Heero and Trowa walked up slowly and glared over at their considered enemies. "You will accompany them until the shadow of that pole hits our house." With that Mr. Yuy stormed away. The young people were left in silence. Finally, Heero and Trowa made a move to leave, but Relena headed off in another. Heero glared back at her.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
"To find a place to stay," Relena retorted.
"I'm not going there."
"That's too bad, because I'm going this way. Come on Duo, Cathy." Relena began to walk off in another direction. Duo and Cathy glanced at each other and followed their friend. Rolling their eyes, Heero and Trowa followed as well, figured there was nothing else to do.
Duo weakened easily, leaving Cathy and Relena to do most of the digging. After reaching a small distance from the outside of the village. Duo had explained a method of making a home for them. Relena and Cathy quickly understood and set to work. Heero and Trowa watched with mild interest as they all traded off the shovel. As the sun was right over them, they had dug a pathway into the ground and had begun to dig out a large hold into the dirt. It was softer below the hard dry surface. At the time, Relena stood and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was staring up at the sun, checking the time when Duo reached around and took the shovel from her. She gave him an annoyed glare.
"Duo, you just stopped an hour ago. I still have a little while left to do."
"Stop whining and just let me do this!" Duo began to shovel once again. The small hole had now turned into a door leading into more of a small hole. But cramped as well and a pile of dirt had accumulated outside the door. Cathy saw this and carefully placed the sleeping baby in Relena's arms and proceeded to pull out dirt out of the doorway. Trowa had realized what was happening and watched closely. He had heard that the White Banshee had a method of making homes with only a shovel and a specific herb that had appeared right after the global disaster. He was now seeing this legendary method. He saw and remembered every method they were using.
Finally, Duo came out of the hole.
"Cathy, you better get going if you want to be back by sunset."
"Fine. Relena, take care of Joshua would you?"
"Sure." Cathy turned and began to walk in the direction they had come from earlier.
"Where is she going?" growled Heero.
"To get some herbs."
"Trowa, you better go with her." Trowa was gone right away.
"You know we would like some privacy," glared Relena.
"You heard Father." She merely rolled her eyes and rocked Joshua lovingly. Heero's heart twinged at the sight.
"Relena, would you be able to help me pull out the dirt and pack it?" Relena nodded and stood. It was then she remembered Joshua and eyed Heero, who was giving her a warning glare. She ignored it and lightly placed the baby in Heero's unwilling arms. Smiling sweetly, she turned around and joined Duo. Heero's eyes followed her with a glare of annoyance, then he turned his eyes to the little baby in his arms and his eyes softened. The baby's luminous blue-green eyes shined up at him curiously. It was as if their eyes had melded. They were not of different in tribes. The young was looking at the knowing. The baby seemed to grin up at Heero for a moment and Heero felt a strange protectiveness for the child. The small spell that was weaving its way around them was broken suddenly by a squeal from Joshua and a whoosh of loud air. The smell reached Heero's nose and his face wrinkled in protest. Relena turned at the sound smiled wryly. Taking her time, Relena dusted off her hands and walked towards Heero. Smiling, she lifted Joshua away from Heero. A bucket of water had been brought and Relena used some of it to wash Joshua. She put up Joshua's wet pants to dry in the sun and returned the baby to Heero's arm, who hesitantly received him. Relena was smiling slightly and returned to her earlier work. Duo had only glanced to see what Relena was doing, but quickly returned to removing the dirt. After a few more minutes of the sound of a shovel and haggard breathing, Relena glanced up and smiled when she saw Joshua attempt to stuff his slobbery fist into Heero's face, who stealthily avoided the onslaught.
"A little spit never hurt anyone," smiled Relena as she leaned on a packed wall of dirt. Heero didn't even respond to her. He was too busy trying to avoid another ball of slobber. Smirking, Relena took a handful of dry dirt and knelt next to Heero and Joshua. Smiling warmly at the baby, she rubbed the dirt all over the fist, and then returned to packing. Heero was confused for a moment and then saw what Relena had done. With the heat, the dirt dried up the slobber by absorbing it and then crumbling off. When Joshua saw something more interesting, Heero's gaze returned to the two White Banshee tribesmen. Then his eyes remained on Relena. She felt his gaze and looked up, flipped her hair and returned to her work.
When Cathy realized that young man, Trowa, was following her, she quickened her pace. He didn't seem bothered by this because he caught up quickly. She glared at him, giving the message that she didn't want him there. When he only kept walking along her side she sighed and shook her head.
"I'm not going to run for it you know."
"I know. It's not sunset yet." She rolled her eyes.
"You could stay with the others."
"You're going through the village." It was then Cathy noticed she was receiving angry glares. She held her head high and ignored the hostilities. As if remembering, the villagers ignored them as they passed Cathy mentally relaxed.
"What herb are you looking for?"
"There isn't a name for it."
"Maybe you ought to make one for it if others are going to use it in the future."
"We are of White Banshee, no one in your village will use it and the method has only been told of, since the leader's family died in a collapsing dug out. That's what made him go crazy. He wouldn't permit us to make them anymore, but the adults told us the method in every detail so if we should ever need it…" Cathy trailed away sadly. She no longer belonged to White Banshee. She was homeless. But she was building a home!… It wasn't a home… it was only a mimic of it. At her sudden sadness, Trowa immediately saw her thoughts. To Cathy's surprise, Trowa stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at his hand and then at his face. It was like a mask had been taken off and his sympathy showed through. The sympathy made tears come to her eyes. She hated sympathy. If she hadn't left her tribe she wouldn't be accepting it right now. If she were back at the tribe right now, where everyone was mourning and wouldn't give her any. Those damn tears. One slipped down her cheek, then another, and soon the floodgate was opened. The sorrow was going to swamp her.
"Damn you!" she yelled. They were nearly out of the village but a villager or two still saw this. Trowa's hand tightened on her shoulder, but she yanked away. With lightening speed he grabbed both of her shoulders again and dragged her against him. His arms held her tightly against his unyielding chest. It was an embrace she was surely never to forget. Her tears fell hard and fast. The villagers witnessing this suddenly felt their hearts sadden at the young woman's heart wrenching sobs, but they all quickly turned away.
"Trowa heard Cathy mumbling something.
"Cathy?" Her sobs were harder.
"Mama…" she cried. Her tears were hot and searing on Trowa's bare chest. Swiftly, he picked up Cathy and began to walk in the direction they were headed before. She didn't resist but continued to cry. Finally, Trowa stopped. He didn't know how long they had been walking. His arms held on tightly to the young outcast. Cathy looked up as if she had just found they had moved. Her eyes met with Trowa's, holding pent up pain. Hesitantly, he lowered his lips so they were close to her own. She inhaled quickly. His lips let out small gusts of breath, sweeping over her face. Her eyes fluttered shut. Finally his lips descended and began to kiss her wet cheeks, sipping up her tears. They delicately ran over the bridge of her nose, the other cheek, her forehead and finally her lips. It was a light caress at first, then more intense. Her breath stopped completely. He was careful and Cathy responded to his caring acts. They parted for air and stared at one another for long moments that spanned the universe's own time. Letting out a sigh of surrender, Trowa took her lips once again, except more fiercely this time. Cathy couldn't help but cling to him. His lips were magic. This… this was what made all of it livable. This made it a little less painful.
Their embrace of lips and souls melded together a life long struggle and a promise of eternal happiness. There were no tribes, or hostilities… only each other and their eternal embrace.
"Let me go! I can't leave Father now! No! Stop!" Duo and Cathy glanced at her in defeat. She had not realized that she no longer had anywhere else to go. Suddenly, Relena spun and kneed Trowa in the stomach and tripped Quatre she was running back towards the village.
"Relena!" yelled Cathy as the she made to take off after her, but an arm shot out to stop her. Cathy glanced at Heero and then stared worriedly after her friend. Suddenly, Relena stopped running, as if the whole world had caught up to her now. Slowly, she collapsed, letting out a heart-wrenching cry. Duo turned his head away as Cathy's vision began to blur with tears.
"She's realized there's nothing she can do. It's completely out of her control," said Natria quietly. Without a word, Heero began to walk up to Relena. The heat of the desert made a watery vision of her figure. His throat tightened. At that very moment, she looked like a desert princess. Finally, he stopped in front of her only to stare down at her bowed head coldly. Relena looked up with tears running down her pained face. Her eyes held so much pain, it ripped at Heero to see it. The only way to relieve it was… Heero raised his gun to point it at her forehead. She closed her eyes waiting. When nothing happened she looked up.
"Please…" she begged when she saw his hesitation. Why couldn't he do it? Why? She had even asked him. "I want to be with my mother." Still… nothing Relena stood achingly and walked towards Heero. She reached up and took the tip of the weapon and placed it at her heart. "Please," she begged yet again with tears in her eyes. He couldn't do it. Heero yanked his gun back and stepped away quickly. Relena's own eyes became dull with confusion. Heero began to walk away, but stopped for a moment.
"Your mother would have wanted you to live. Come on we have a long way to go." She stared at his back as he walked away.
It took a day and a half for them to finally reach the Dead Soul tribe. Lucrezia was greeted with a few waves and nods. The looks quickly turned to the four new arrivals, eyeing them contemptuously. Duo's world seemed to narrow to just walking. That was all he could do. His life was not his own. Earlier, Relena had asked him what they were. Refugees, wanderers, or prisoners. He simply didn't care.
They made their way to a large shack near the middle of the village. Heero entered as the others waited outside. For a long time there was no sound and then raised voices could be heard. Suddenly, the door of the small flew open and a large man loomed in its place. His eyes scanned the small crowd that had gathered outside. Finally, his gaze landed on the White Banshee tribesmen. He stormed closer and examined the banished. Cathy cringed away, right into Quatre, who placed his hands on her shoulders to support her. She quickly recovered her balance and stood next to Relena, who was staring defiantly at his large man. His eyes were the same as Heero's. Prussian and calculatingly cold… a predator stocking its prey. Suddenly, the intense gaze was broken by Heero jumping in. His own eyes met his father's.
"Why did you bring those barbarians?" screamed his father.
"They were our key to safety," replied Heero simply.
"You could have killed them on the way here!"
"You told us to avoid bloodshed at all costs!"
"I never told you to bring them here!" Heero glared up at his father.
"Did I have any other choice… Father?" Mr. Yuy only stood silently, but finally spun away.
"They will live as outcasts here, or they may leave, either way, they'll starve." At that last statement the rest of the tribe turned away and continued on with whatever they were doing before. Hesitantly, Hilde, Natria, Quatre, and Trowa turned away and walked off in various directions. Joshua chose that moment to begin to cry. Trowa glanced over his shoulder an caught a glimpse of Cathy cuddling her baby brother. Tears misted her eyes as she watched Trowa leave.
"Relena, I…" Lucrezia was stopped by Relena's shaking head.
"Don't say anything. Leave it as it is. Just go." Lucrezia wanted to say more, but by the doomed looks on their faces, she decided to follow Relena's directions. Slowly, Lucrezia turned off in the same direction as the others. Heero remained, but he too began to walk away.
"Hey, wait a minute!" yelled Duo. Heero stopped and glanced over at Relena, who was only staring down at the ground. Her hair shielded her eyes from his view.
"What about us?" cried Duo.
"What about you?" asked Heero indifferently.
"Isn't there somewhere you can put us up?"
"It's not my problem." Heero turned away.
"It damn well is your problem! You brought us here!"
"Would you have preferred I killed you?" Relena's fists clenched in anger and despair. Then the reminder of her mother's face came to her, smiling and laughing. Her eyes were stinging.
"I don't know! Maybe you should have!"
"That could be arranged."
"Fine!" The tears poured down Relena's face and littering the ground like diamonds.
"Stop it! Duo it doesn't matter anymore. Not to him at least. Only we can get through this." Her eyes glittered with the moisture as she looked up to stare at Heero in the face.
"We can leave if we want." Heero merely shrugged and Relena's stance stiffened. "We won't though." Duo's jaw dropped and Cathy stopped paying attention to Joshua.
"What? Are you crazy?! I…" cried Duo.
"He brought us here, therefore we will have to stay. I'm not running from this. Besides where else is there to go?" Duo saw her point and nodded hesitantly.
"Do you have a garbage heap?" she asked Heero. He nodded blankly. "Will you please take us there?"
"Just find it yourself." With that, Heero walked away. The idea of finding the garbage wasn't hard. A trail of garbage made is way out of the village.
Relena immediately began to dig through it and pull out old clothes and clothe that some had stupidly thrown away because of smells. Duo and Cathy's noses wrinkled when they caught a whiff.
"I'll wash them," assured Relena. She continued to find various items they needed. Relena made a needle out of an old rusty nail. Duo somehow constructed a shovel out of old junk. He only grinned at Cathy and Relena's question looks.
"This'll be our new home. You'll see. Relena nodded in understanding and began to dig more. By the time they had gathered enough items Relena led the way back towards the village. As they made their way through the middle of the crowds, all began to stare at them. Out of nowhere a rock flew and hit Relena in the shoulder. She nearly lost her grip on the old material, but she quickly recovered and kept going. Cathy and Duo followed hesitantly behind. Suddenly another rock flew and struck Cathy in the back and then flew another. A roar of hate filled the people who only wished to drive away these intruders.
Lucrezia shoved her way through the crowd and stood protectively over her friends. Duo looked up when the onslaught stopped suddenly.
"Stop it!" yelled Lucrezia.
"Drive the barbarians out!" someone screamed. At this point, Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Natria, and Hilde had run out a small house, try9ing to see what was causing all the commotion. Trowa's eyes narrowed when he saw the trickle of blood dripping from a cut on Cathy's cheek.
"Leave them alone," cried Lucrezia.
"They've turned you on us!"
"No! They… they helped me…"
"Get rid of them!" Angrier yells followed, but they quickly died down as Mr. Yuy stepped forward.
"I apologize for my son who has brought these heathens into our community. So to pay for this punishment, he will have to accompany them in and around the village from sunrise to sunset! Trowa Barton shall as well."
"What did I do?" yelled Trowa from the doorway.
"If you hadn't dared Lucrezia this wouldn't have happened!" Trowa was immediately silent. Mr. Yuy turned back to the crowd.
"Just ignore the intruders and consider them as a shame to my son until said otherwise." The villagers nodded agreeing upon this and began to walk away with hateful glances at the White Banshee tribesmen.
"Heero! Trowa! Come here." Heero and Trowa walked up slowly and glared over at their considered enemies. "You will accompany them until the shadow of that pole hits our house." With that Mr. Yuy stormed away. The young people were left in silence. Finally, Heero and Trowa made a move to leave, but Relena headed off in another. Heero glared back at her.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
"To find a place to stay," Relena retorted.
"I'm not going there."
"That's too bad, because I'm going this way. Come on Duo, Cathy." Relena began to walk off in another direction. Duo and Cathy glanced at each other and followed their friend. Rolling their eyes, Heero and Trowa followed as well, figured there was nothing else to do.
Duo weakened easily, leaving Cathy and Relena to do most of the digging. After reaching a small distance from the outside of the village. Duo had explained a method of making a home for them. Relena and Cathy quickly understood and set to work. Heero and Trowa watched with mild interest as they all traded off the shovel. As the sun was right over them, they had dug a pathway into the ground and had begun to dig out a large hold into the dirt. It was softer below the hard dry surface. At the time, Relena stood and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was staring up at the sun, checking the time when Duo reached around and took the shovel from her. She gave him an annoyed glare.
"Duo, you just stopped an hour ago. I still have a little while left to do."
"Stop whining and just let me do this!" Duo began to shovel once again. The small hole had now turned into a door leading into more of a small hole. But cramped as well and a pile of dirt had accumulated outside the door. Cathy saw this and carefully placed the sleeping baby in Relena's arms and proceeded to pull out dirt out of the doorway. Trowa had realized what was happening and watched closely. He had heard that the White Banshee had a method of making homes with only a shovel and a specific herb that had appeared right after the global disaster. He was now seeing this legendary method. He saw and remembered every method they were using.
Finally, Duo came out of the hole.
"Cathy, you better get going if you want to be back by sunset."
"Fine. Relena, take care of Joshua would you?"
"Sure." Cathy turned and began to walk in the direction they had come from earlier.
"Where is she going?" growled Heero.
"To get some herbs."
"Trowa, you better go with her." Trowa was gone right away.
"You know we would like some privacy," glared Relena.
"You heard Father." She merely rolled her eyes and rocked Joshua lovingly. Heero's heart twinged at the sight.
"Relena, would you be able to help me pull out the dirt and pack it?" Relena nodded and stood. It was then she remembered Joshua and eyed Heero, who was giving her a warning glare. She ignored it and lightly placed the baby in Heero's unwilling arms. Smiling sweetly, she turned around and joined Duo. Heero's eyes followed her with a glare of annoyance, then he turned his eyes to the little baby in his arms and his eyes softened. The baby's luminous blue-green eyes shined up at him curiously. It was as if their eyes had melded. They were not of different in tribes. The young was looking at the knowing. The baby seemed to grin up at Heero for a moment and Heero felt a strange protectiveness for the child. The small spell that was weaving its way around them was broken suddenly by a squeal from Joshua and a whoosh of loud air. The smell reached Heero's nose and his face wrinkled in protest. Relena turned at the sound smiled wryly. Taking her time, Relena dusted off her hands and walked towards Heero. Smiling, she lifted Joshua away from Heero. A bucket of water had been brought and Relena used some of it to wash Joshua. She put up Joshua's wet pants to dry in the sun and returned the baby to Heero's arm, who hesitantly received him. Relena was smiling slightly and returned to her earlier work. Duo had only glanced to see what Relena was doing, but quickly returned to removing the dirt. After a few more minutes of the sound of a shovel and haggard breathing, Relena glanced up and smiled when she saw Joshua attempt to stuff his slobbery fist into Heero's face, who stealthily avoided the onslaught.
"A little spit never hurt anyone," smiled Relena as she leaned on a packed wall of dirt. Heero didn't even respond to her. He was too busy trying to avoid another ball of slobber. Smirking, Relena took a handful of dry dirt and knelt next to Heero and Joshua. Smiling warmly at the baby, she rubbed the dirt all over the fist, and then returned to packing. Heero was confused for a moment and then saw what Relena had done. With the heat, the dirt dried up the slobber by absorbing it and then crumbling off. When Joshua saw something more interesting, Heero's gaze returned to the two White Banshee tribesmen. Then his eyes remained on Relena. She felt his gaze and looked up, flipped her hair and returned to her work.
When Cathy realized that young man, Trowa, was following her, she quickened her pace. He didn't seem bothered by this because he caught up quickly. She glared at him, giving the message that she didn't want him there. When he only kept walking along her side she sighed and shook her head.
"I'm not going to run for it you know."
"I know. It's not sunset yet." She rolled her eyes.
"You could stay with the others."
"You're going through the village." It was then Cathy noticed she was receiving angry glares. She held her head high and ignored the hostilities. As if remembering, the villagers ignored them as they passed Cathy mentally relaxed.
"What herb are you looking for?"
"There isn't a name for it."
"Maybe you ought to make one for it if others are going to use it in the future."
"We are of White Banshee, no one in your village will use it and the method has only been told of, since the leader's family died in a collapsing dug out. That's what made him go crazy. He wouldn't permit us to make them anymore, but the adults told us the method in every detail so if we should ever need it…" Cathy trailed away sadly. She no longer belonged to White Banshee. She was homeless. But she was building a home!… It wasn't a home… it was only a mimic of it. At her sudden sadness, Trowa immediately saw her thoughts. To Cathy's surprise, Trowa stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at his hand and then at his face. It was like a mask had been taken off and his sympathy showed through. The sympathy made tears come to her eyes. She hated sympathy. If she hadn't left her tribe she wouldn't be accepting it right now. If she were back at the tribe right now, where everyone was mourning and wouldn't give her any. Those damn tears. One slipped down her cheek, then another, and soon the floodgate was opened. The sorrow was going to swamp her.
"Damn you!" she yelled. They were nearly out of the village but a villager or two still saw this. Trowa's hand tightened on her shoulder, but she yanked away. With lightening speed he grabbed both of her shoulders again and dragged her against him. His arms held her tightly against his unyielding chest. It was an embrace she was surely never to forget. Her tears fell hard and fast. The villagers witnessing this suddenly felt their hearts sadden at the young woman's heart wrenching sobs, but they all quickly turned away.
"Trowa heard Cathy mumbling something.
"Cathy?" Her sobs were harder.
"Mama…" she cried. Her tears were hot and searing on Trowa's bare chest. Swiftly, he picked up Cathy and began to walk in the direction they were headed before. She didn't resist but continued to cry. Finally, Trowa stopped. He didn't know how long they had been walking. His arms held on tightly to the young outcast. Cathy looked up as if she had just found they had moved. Her eyes met with Trowa's, holding pent up pain. Hesitantly, he lowered his lips so they were close to her own. She inhaled quickly. His lips let out small gusts of breath, sweeping over her face. Her eyes fluttered shut. Finally his lips descended and began to kiss her wet cheeks, sipping up her tears. They delicately ran over the bridge of her nose, the other cheek, her forehead and finally her lips. It was a light caress at first, then more intense. Her breath stopped completely. He was careful and Cathy responded to his caring acts. They parted for air and stared at one another for long moments that spanned the universe's own time. Letting out a sigh of surrender, Trowa took her lips once again, except more fiercely this time. Cathy couldn't help but cling to him. His lips were magic. This… this was what made all of it livable. This made it a little less painful.
Their embrace of lips and souls melded together a life long struggle and a promise of eternal happiness. There were no tribes, or hostilities… only each other and their eternal embrace.