This chapter is completely from my friend Birdy and her yami, Bennu's POVs.
She is co-authoring the story with me, so whenever you see something from her POV, she wrote it!
"Ow ow ow ow..." "Oh, be quiet, Birdy. My head's killing me too, but you don't hear me whining about it." I shot a Look at my yami, Bennu, who was sitting several feet from me with her arms crossed. We both were currently in a narrow alley that was flanked by tall sandstone walls, with a thin band of the blue, blue sky overhead.
I had no idea where we were. Last time I'd been conscious, I was sitting in Flicker's room minding my own business. Flicker was messing with some hieroglyphics, and Bennu and Ahmose (my and Flicker's yamis, respectively) were in the next room talking about... whatever ancient Egyptian spirits talk about. Flicker starts chanting something, gets pissed, kicks her bedpost, and then I suddenly black out. Who knows how long later I wake up in the back of some hot alley with a throbbing headache and an extremely cross yami.
"I told Flicker not to go fiddling around with ancient magical spells. But would she listen? Nooo." "Feh. They're both stubborn. Flicker's messing with magic again, I tell her," Bennu complained. Then, changing her voice into a mocking version of Ahmose's, she said, "'Oh, she knows how to handle herself. She's my hikari after all,' she says." Bennu snorted. "Stupid overconfident high priestesses."
I continued rubbing my temples as the pain slowly subsided. "So, do you know where we are?" "Can't you tell?" After a moment of silence, she said quietly, "Ancient Egypt, in the city of the Pharaoh." She gazed up longingly. "I can tell... the smell of the air... the blue of the sky... and the hint of magic on the breeze." She turned back to face me as I stared dumbfounded. "Righty then," I said cheerily after a moment's silence, clambering to my feet and dusting the sand off the seat of my baggy pants. "If your head's feeling better, I suggest we go find our friends. Shall we?" Bennu gracefully rose and shook out her long black cloak. "Lets," she said, and lead the way towards the end of the long alley. I grinned and trotted after my darker half. This could be fun after all. Or not.
---- It turned out to be the 'or not.' When we left the alleyway and came into the bright sunlight of a busy marketplace, we had to shield our eyes, which had been accustomed to the dusky half-light of the alley. While we stood their waiting for our eyes to adjust, something else caught out attention. My only warning was a loud yelp from Bennu before I felt my own arms being yanked behind my back painfully, and a faint pressure against my throat. "I wouldn't yell if I were you," a quiet voice hissed in my ear. "All I have to do is press a little and you'll be saying hello to Anubis." My eyes darted down to confirm that yes, there was a bright dagger being held against my jugular vein. I didn't dare move my head, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a tan boy with a wicked face, wild pale lavender hair and equally wild purple eyes. He was the one holding the knife (but not my arms), and judging by his face, he wasn't kidding about the dagger thing. I kept my mouth shut. "I'm sorry," a soft voice behind me said meekly. I assumed this was the person holding my hands behind my back. "But Bakura said I'd get no nookie if I didn't do this..." "Ryou!" the wild-eyed boy barked. "I told you! No talking to hostages!" The hands holding my arms winced.
I blinked, then looked over to my left at Bennu. She was in a situation as bad as mine, only with her she was being restrained by only one person. He looked like an old photograph. His long hair was a pale gold, his skin a light dusky brown, his violet eyes just as pale. In contrast to his washed out appearance was his ornamental and ostentatious gold jewelry, glinting in the too-bright sun. Not ornamental, however, was the gold dagger he held at my yami's throat. /Bennu! You going to be alright?/ She glanced at me, and a very slight smirk graced her lips. I knew that smirk. //You underestimate me, hikari.// Hoo boy. Her attacker had stepped in it now. As quick as lightning, she pulled one of her hands from his grasp. He looked shocked, and she took advantage of his moment of surprise. Grabbing the arm that held the knife, she yelled something incoherent and flipped him over her shoulder. He hit the ground with a dull thud. Bakura yelled "Malik!" and Ryou gasped, and I followed Bennu's lead, wrenching my arms away from Ryou. I jumped away from them, and by a stroke of luck managed to take Bakura's dagger from him. I brandished it and slowly backed up to were my yami stood with her foot planted on the Malik's chest. He glared up hatefully.
"Good, you got away yourself," Bennu said. She grinned and cricked her neck, and I noticed a shallow cut on her throat. "You alright?" I pointed at the wound. She felt her neck, and looked at the blood on her fingers. "Oh, it's okay. The blade just nicked me. Now," she said, staring down at Malik. "Will you let us go peacefully?" She leaned in closer. "Or must we negotiate again?" He said nothing for a moment, but then softly growled, "Fine. Just let me up, and I won't attack you." Bennu considered for a moment, then lifted her foot off. The blonde climbed to his feet, and walked back over to join the other two. The huddled together, whispering something. "Fine," I heard Malik mutter finally. They turned to face us. "You can be lookouts for us. But if we get caught..." he trailed off and licked his blade, which had a little of Bennu's blood still on it. I shuddered. Bakura made a little dissatisfied noise. "Go stand over there by the fruit seller's stand, and keep a lookout." He pointed. "Now." Bennu twitched and didn't move. "He said go," Malik said, raising his voice a little. My yami still didn't move. I moved a little closer to the stand, then turned. /C'mon,/ I thought urgently, tugging on her sleeve. /You can wail on them later./ She snorted in contempt, and with no small hateful glance, she turned on her heel and stomped after me. As they walked past, Bakura stopped across from me, staring. I winced a little when he suddenly thrust out his hand. "Knife," he said bluntly. I still held his weapon in my right hand. My hopes fell, I'd been hoping he'd forget about it and I'd be able to keep it for protection. Sullenly I placed the gold knife in his hand, my fingers brushing his palm. It was warm. His eyes met mine for a split second. I blinked, and he closed his hand around it and stalked off. We stood under the shade of the awning as the boys disappeared into the throng of people at the market. I watched them all go by, wondering angrily why no one noticed two girls being attacked. Maybe they did and didn't care, like in most big cities even in the present. But still.
Bennu stared off to the other side of the marketplace. I followed her gaze to see the three across the people-filled road, milling about a stand selling jewelry. We watched in silence as I debated if this went against my morals or not. Suddenly, Bennu started yelling in one of her many fake voices; this time she used one like a small girl's voice. "Guard! Guard! There's thieves at the gold stand! Guard!" They looked up in horror. However, they didn't look at us, which meant they didn't recognize Bennu's voice. The guard was well trained, however, and after a moment they spotted the three suspicious boys and began running towards them. "Dammit!" I heard Bakura hiss loudly before he stared to run, Malik following in hot pursuit. Ryou hesitated for a moment, then ran after them. The guard came pelting after them. They bolted past us, not once glancing our way, and continued heading down the street until they disappeared from sight.
We both stared after. "You should seriously take up a career in voice acting," I said appreciatively. "I say we follow them. Come on, let's go." Bennu said, glancing after the fleeing boys. She stared off without another glance at me. "God, I hate when she does this," I growled. But of course I went and followed her. Stupid, stupid Birdy.
---- --Bennu POV-- Gradually the marketplace crowd thinned. Or maybe we made it thin- we weren't exactly a normal sight. In a sea of simple white linens, I wore black clothing and a long cloak. Birdy was even more bizarre looking, what with her hooded indigo shirt and baggy tan pants that apparently are worn by boys in her time. People got out of our way readily, which gave us a wide berth. We finally came out to what must be the main road of the city, considering it's width. There was no sign of the boys who attacked us, but that could have meant they had been captured. Served them right.
/Hey, look! There's Flicker!/ I started at the sound of my hikari's mind voice, and she pointed off to the right. I followed the path of her finger. Flicker and Ahmose were indeed there- along with several other people. One was a tall imposing boy with brown hair, wearing the garments of a high priest. The other was shorter but with the same impressive air about him, his red, black and gold hair spiky and his clothing opulent. My eyes widened as I realized it was the Pharaoh, Yami. I didn't tell Birdy- she didn't need to know. The two were talking to our friends, but they were out of the range of my hearing. I ducked behind the corner we had just came past, gently pulling her back. Birdy stared at me. /What are you doing? Let's just go get them./ She started to go around the corner, but I grabbed the hood of her shirt and pulled her back. I let go, and she turned and glared at me. /Don't do that! You'll rip it!/ she fumed. /How'd you feel if I did that to your cloak, huh?!/ I glared right back. //You idiot. Just stay back here until we find out who those two are.// She sighed quietly, muttered something uncomplimentary and peeked around again. We both paused as we watched our friends and the two boys. They appeared to be having a reunion. An affectionate one. A very, very affectionate one. We paused and watched them fair molest each other in public. /...wow. They're completely shameless./ //Indeed.//
The brunette whom Ahmose was smothering said something to the crowd before he was cut off... by Ahmose. I made a face. Flicker and the Pharaoh appeared to be talking about something. After a moment, he spoke to the priest, and then they all turned and walked down the road in the opposite direction away from us. "Argh, they're leaving!" Birdy whipped back around the corner, and after a moment I ducked back as well. She looked at me plaintively. "Should we follow them?" I considered for a moment. "No," I said finally. Then I smiled at her, and got to my feet. "We shall make a more grand entrance." "You and your grand entrances," I heard her grumble, but it was soon followed by footsteps. I just grinned.
---- --Birdy's POV-- After a while of sneaking, we managed to follow the group to what I assumed was the palace. It was a huge, impressive place, grandly silhouetted against the fading light. And of course it came with huge, impressive walls. We stared upward at the stone walls that were ten feet tall at least. "Well, this is fun." "Be quiet." I inclined my head at her. "Well, since you point blank refuse to go in the gates like a logical person, this is our only way in. Unless you have a better idea, we have to climb the wall. Somehow." "In fact, I do have a better idea." Bennu crouched down and muttered something as her cape fluttered around her. Then she suddenly sprang up- way up. She landed lightly on the top of the wall, and stared down at me smugly. "Stupid magicians," I muttered. I was a complete klutz with magic, so unless I'd like to blow up the wall, it'd be wiser for me to find a non-magical way to get up there. I glanced around, and blinked as my eyes landed on something useful. "Well that's overly convenient." Set up against the wall to my right was a row of closed stalls, perhaps a little offshoot of the marketplace we'd been in earlier. Each was covered in a colorful awning. /Presuming I can get up there, those might be of use,/ I told Bennu. //You can,// she replied, walking easily along the narrow wall. //This stall over here has a ladder you could use. If you can climb on the tops and jump, I can probably get your hand.//
I spotted the ladder stuck between two stalls and took it out, leaning it against the first one. I climbed up and gingerly stepped onto the fabric cover. Thankfully it didn't rip, so I put my full weight on it and started jumping. It was kind of like a trampoline. Only not. Within a few leaps I was almost within reach of the top of the wall. Well, this is almost- Suddenly there was a loud ripping noise as the striped fabric gave way. I fell through to the empty stall below, letting out a loud yelp on the way. However, I landed without taking any major damage besides a severely bruised ego. I glared up at Bennu, who was bent over double with barely suppressed laughter at my expense. "Oh, yes. It's hoo-fucking-larious," I muttered, dusting myself off. //If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Bird.// I glared at her. She was still trying to suppress laughter. Cricking my neck and knuckles, I set the ladder up against the next stall and repeated the process. This time I was more cautious. But this awning was apparently made of stronger stuff then it's neighbor and after a few bounces I had almost reached her hand again. "Hah!" I (quietly) cried in triumph- Bennu had caught my hand. She tried to pull me up in one motion, but that failed. My cry of victory turned into one of terror as we both toppled over the edge of the wall into the palace lawns. I sat up carefully. Luckily, we had fallen onto lush grass- if it had been stone, we probably both would have broken our skulls. As it was, my headache was threatening to reappear and various limbs felt bruised. "Hey, you okay?" I whispered to the pile of black fabric lying beside me that was my yami. "Besides my dignity? Yes," she whispered back, flipping her cloak back over her head. She looked cross. "My arm hurts a lot, but I'm fairly sure it's not broken." "Good."
We had made it in. Now to find Flicker and Ahmose. As if reading my thoughts (which she probably could do, mind you), Bennu pointed. "I can sense them," she said. "They're that way." She got up and stared off, following her own path. I got up, wincing at my aching limbs as I followed after. All I seem to be doing today is falling, getting back up and following Bennu. Oh, well. It could be worse. I could be in math class.
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Read and Review! Birdy would like feedback!
She is co-authoring the story with me, so whenever you see something from her POV, she wrote it!
"Ow ow ow ow..." "Oh, be quiet, Birdy. My head's killing me too, but you don't hear me whining about it." I shot a Look at my yami, Bennu, who was sitting several feet from me with her arms crossed. We both were currently in a narrow alley that was flanked by tall sandstone walls, with a thin band of the blue, blue sky overhead.
I had no idea where we were. Last time I'd been conscious, I was sitting in Flicker's room minding my own business. Flicker was messing with some hieroglyphics, and Bennu and Ahmose (my and Flicker's yamis, respectively) were in the next room talking about... whatever ancient Egyptian spirits talk about. Flicker starts chanting something, gets pissed, kicks her bedpost, and then I suddenly black out. Who knows how long later I wake up in the back of some hot alley with a throbbing headache and an extremely cross yami.
"I told Flicker not to go fiddling around with ancient magical spells. But would she listen? Nooo." "Feh. They're both stubborn. Flicker's messing with magic again, I tell her," Bennu complained. Then, changing her voice into a mocking version of Ahmose's, she said, "'Oh, she knows how to handle herself. She's my hikari after all,' she says." Bennu snorted. "Stupid overconfident high priestesses."
I continued rubbing my temples as the pain slowly subsided. "So, do you know where we are?" "Can't you tell?" After a moment of silence, she said quietly, "Ancient Egypt, in the city of the Pharaoh." She gazed up longingly. "I can tell... the smell of the air... the blue of the sky... and the hint of magic on the breeze." She turned back to face me as I stared dumbfounded. "Righty then," I said cheerily after a moment's silence, clambering to my feet and dusting the sand off the seat of my baggy pants. "If your head's feeling better, I suggest we go find our friends. Shall we?" Bennu gracefully rose and shook out her long black cloak. "Lets," she said, and lead the way towards the end of the long alley. I grinned and trotted after my darker half. This could be fun after all. Or not.
---- It turned out to be the 'or not.' When we left the alleyway and came into the bright sunlight of a busy marketplace, we had to shield our eyes, which had been accustomed to the dusky half-light of the alley. While we stood their waiting for our eyes to adjust, something else caught out attention. My only warning was a loud yelp from Bennu before I felt my own arms being yanked behind my back painfully, and a faint pressure against my throat. "I wouldn't yell if I were you," a quiet voice hissed in my ear. "All I have to do is press a little and you'll be saying hello to Anubis." My eyes darted down to confirm that yes, there was a bright dagger being held against my jugular vein. I didn't dare move my head, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a tan boy with a wicked face, wild pale lavender hair and equally wild purple eyes. He was the one holding the knife (but not my arms), and judging by his face, he wasn't kidding about the dagger thing. I kept my mouth shut. "I'm sorry," a soft voice behind me said meekly. I assumed this was the person holding my hands behind my back. "But Bakura said I'd get no nookie if I didn't do this..." "Ryou!" the wild-eyed boy barked. "I told you! No talking to hostages!" The hands holding my arms winced.
I blinked, then looked over to my left at Bennu. She was in a situation as bad as mine, only with her she was being restrained by only one person. He looked like an old photograph. His long hair was a pale gold, his skin a light dusky brown, his violet eyes just as pale. In contrast to his washed out appearance was his ornamental and ostentatious gold jewelry, glinting in the too-bright sun. Not ornamental, however, was the gold dagger he held at my yami's throat. /Bennu! You going to be alright?/ She glanced at me, and a very slight smirk graced her lips. I knew that smirk. //You underestimate me, hikari.// Hoo boy. Her attacker had stepped in it now. As quick as lightning, she pulled one of her hands from his grasp. He looked shocked, and she took advantage of his moment of surprise. Grabbing the arm that held the knife, she yelled something incoherent and flipped him over her shoulder. He hit the ground with a dull thud. Bakura yelled "Malik!" and Ryou gasped, and I followed Bennu's lead, wrenching my arms away from Ryou. I jumped away from them, and by a stroke of luck managed to take Bakura's dagger from him. I brandished it and slowly backed up to were my yami stood with her foot planted on the Malik's chest. He glared up hatefully.
"Good, you got away yourself," Bennu said. She grinned and cricked her neck, and I noticed a shallow cut on her throat. "You alright?" I pointed at the wound. She felt her neck, and looked at the blood on her fingers. "Oh, it's okay. The blade just nicked me. Now," she said, staring down at Malik. "Will you let us go peacefully?" She leaned in closer. "Or must we negotiate again?" He said nothing for a moment, but then softly growled, "Fine. Just let me up, and I won't attack you." Bennu considered for a moment, then lifted her foot off. The blonde climbed to his feet, and walked back over to join the other two. The huddled together, whispering something. "Fine," I heard Malik mutter finally. They turned to face us. "You can be lookouts for us. But if we get caught..." he trailed off and licked his blade, which had a little of Bennu's blood still on it. I shuddered. Bakura made a little dissatisfied noise. "Go stand over there by the fruit seller's stand, and keep a lookout." He pointed. "Now." Bennu twitched and didn't move. "He said go," Malik said, raising his voice a little. My yami still didn't move. I moved a little closer to the stand, then turned. /C'mon,/ I thought urgently, tugging on her sleeve. /You can wail on them later./ She snorted in contempt, and with no small hateful glance, she turned on her heel and stomped after me. As they walked past, Bakura stopped across from me, staring. I winced a little when he suddenly thrust out his hand. "Knife," he said bluntly. I still held his weapon in my right hand. My hopes fell, I'd been hoping he'd forget about it and I'd be able to keep it for protection. Sullenly I placed the gold knife in his hand, my fingers brushing his palm. It was warm. His eyes met mine for a split second. I blinked, and he closed his hand around it and stalked off. We stood under the shade of the awning as the boys disappeared into the throng of people at the market. I watched them all go by, wondering angrily why no one noticed two girls being attacked. Maybe they did and didn't care, like in most big cities even in the present. But still.
Bennu stared off to the other side of the marketplace. I followed her gaze to see the three across the people-filled road, milling about a stand selling jewelry. We watched in silence as I debated if this went against my morals or not. Suddenly, Bennu started yelling in one of her many fake voices; this time she used one like a small girl's voice. "Guard! Guard! There's thieves at the gold stand! Guard!" They looked up in horror. However, they didn't look at us, which meant they didn't recognize Bennu's voice. The guard was well trained, however, and after a moment they spotted the three suspicious boys and began running towards them. "Dammit!" I heard Bakura hiss loudly before he stared to run, Malik following in hot pursuit. Ryou hesitated for a moment, then ran after them. The guard came pelting after them. They bolted past us, not once glancing our way, and continued heading down the street until they disappeared from sight.
We both stared after. "You should seriously take up a career in voice acting," I said appreciatively. "I say we follow them. Come on, let's go." Bennu said, glancing after the fleeing boys. She stared off without another glance at me. "God, I hate when she does this," I growled. But of course I went and followed her. Stupid, stupid Birdy.
---- --Bennu POV-- Gradually the marketplace crowd thinned. Or maybe we made it thin- we weren't exactly a normal sight. In a sea of simple white linens, I wore black clothing and a long cloak. Birdy was even more bizarre looking, what with her hooded indigo shirt and baggy tan pants that apparently are worn by boys in her time. People got out of our way readily, which gave us a wide berth. We finally came out to what must be the main road of the city, considering it's width. There was no sign of the boys who attacked us, but that could have meant they had been captured. Served them right.
/Hey, look! There's Flicker!/ I started at the sound of my hikari's mind voice, and she pointed off to the right. I followed the path of her finger. Flicker and Ahmose were indeed there- along with several other people. One was a tall imposing boy with brown hair, wearing the garments of a high priest. The other was shorter but with the same impressive air about him, his red, black and gold hair spiky and his clothing opulent. My eyes widened as I realized it was the Pharaoh, Yami. I didn't tell Birdy- she didn't need to know. The two were talking to our friends, but they were out of the range of my hearing. I ducked behind the corner we had just came past, gently pulling her back. Birdy stared at me. /What are you doing? Let's just go get them./ She started to go around the corner, but I grabbed the hood of her shirt and pulled her back. I let go, and she turned and glared at me. /Don't do that! You'll rip it!/ she fumed. /How'd you feel if I did that to your cloak, huh?!/ I glared right back. //You idiot. Just stay back here until we find out who those two are.// She sighed quietly, muttered something uncomplimentary and peeked around again. We both paused as we watched our friends and the two boys. They appeared to be having a reunion. An affectionate one. A very, very affectionate one. We paused and watched them fair molest each other in public. /...wow. They're completely shameless./ //Indeed.//
The brunette whom Ahmose was smothering said something to the crowd before he was cut off... by Ahmose. I made a face. Flicker and the Pharaoh appeared to be talking about something. After a moment, he spoke to the priest, and then they all turned and walked down the road in the opposite direction away from us. "Argh, they're leaving!" Birdy whipped back around the corner, and after a moment I ducked back as well. She looked at me plaintively. "Should we follow them?" I considered for a moment. "No," I said finally. Then I smiled at her, and got to my feet. "We shall make a more grand entrance." "You and your grand entrances," I heard her grumble, but it was soon followed by footsteps. I just grinned.
---- --Birdy's POV-- After a while of sneaking, we managed to follow the group to what I assumed was the palace. It was a huge, impressive place, grandly silhouetted against the fading light. And of course it came with huge, impressive walls. We stared upward at the stone walls that were ten feet tall at least. "Well, this is fun." "Be quiet." I inclined my head at her. "Well, since you point blank refuse to go in the gates like a logical person, this is our only way in. Unless you have a better idea, we have to climb the wall. Somehow." "In fact, I do have a better idea." Bennu crouched down and muttered something as her cape fluttered around her. Then she suddenly sprang up- way up. She landed lightly on the top of the wall, and stared down at me smugly. "Stupid magicians," I muttered. I was a complete klutz with magic, so unless I'd like to blow up the wall, it'd be wiser for me to find a non-magical way to get up there. I glanced around, and blinked as my eyes landed on something useful. "Well that's overly convenient." Set up against the wall to my right was a row of closed stalls, perhaps a little offshoot of the marketplace we'd been in earlier. Each was covered in a colorful awning. /Presuming I can get up there, those might be of use,/ I told Bennu. //You can,// she replied, walking easily along the narrow wall. //This stall over here has a ladder you could use. If you can climb on the tops and jump, I can probably get your hand.//
I spotted the ladder stuck between two stalls and took it out, leaning it against the first one. I climbed up and gingerly stepped onto the fabric cover. Thankfully it didn't rip, so I put my full weight on it and started jumping. It was kind of like a trampoline. Only not. Within a few leaps I was almost within reach of the top of the wall. Well, this is almost- Suddenly there was a loud ripping noise as the striped fabric gave way. I fell through to the empty stall below, letting out a loud yelp on the way. However, I landed without taking any major damage besides a severely bruised ego. I glared up at Bennu, who was bent over double with barely suppressed laughter at my expense. "Oh, yes. It's hoo-fucking-larious," I muttered, dusting myself off. //If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Bird.// I glared at her. She was still trying to suppress laughter. Cricking my neck and knuckles, I set the ladder up against the next stall and repeated the process. This time I was more cautious. But this awning was apparently made of stronger stuff then it's neighbor and after a few bounces I had almost reached her hand again. "Hah!" I (quietly) cried in triumph- Bennu had caught my hand. She tried to pull me up in one motion, but that failed. My cry of victory turned into one of terror as we both toppled over the edge of the wall into the palace lawns. I sat up carefully. Luckily, we had fallen onto lush grass- if it had been stone, we probably both would have broken our skulls. As it was, my headache was threatening to reappear and various limbs felt bruised. "Hey, you okay?" I whispered to the pile of black fabric lying beside me that was my yami. "Besides my dignity? Yes," she whispered back, flipping her cloak back over her head. She looked cross. "My arm hurts a lot, but I'm fairly sure it's not broken." "Good."
We had made it in. Now to find Flicker and Ahmose. As if reading my thoughts (which she probably could do, mind you), Bennu pointed. "I can sense them," she said. "They're that way." She got up and stared off, following her own path. I got up, wincing at my aching limbs as I followed after. All I seem to be doing today is falling, getting back up and following Bennu. Oh, well. It could be worse. I could be in math class.
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Read and Review! Birdy would like feedback!