Disclaimer: The Vision of Escaflowne belongs to Studio Sunrise. The Nya'torians, Ayseth of the Fanelian guard, and my imagination belong to me.

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Chapter 7: Beginning

Van shoved aside sharp bramble with an exasperated sigh. They had been trampling through the forests of Fanelia for over an hour now, and the only thing that had kept him from flying over the treetops and leaving the forest that way was that the majority of the troupé was incapable of flight.

He muttered a curse under his breath as a low branch scraped his bare chest. Kirra, who had appointed herself leader, had assigned him and Muniya, the only members of the party who could fly, the duty of taking to the sky every now and then to scan the area for dragons—they were, after all, in the great beasts' territory. But to avoid having to constantly remove his shirt whenever Kirra ordered them to take flight, he had simply stuffed the garment in his pants pocket, and thus exposed his skin to the sharp claws of the wilderness.

A cold hand touched his backside, and he flinched. "You ought to take care of yourself more, Van," Hitomi's gentle voice wafted through his ears. "Look at you! Not even watching where you're going…letting the wildneress tear at your skin… Doesn't this hurt?" She poked one of the long scratches that decorated his back. He reached behind him, grabbed hold of her hand, and placed it at her side.

"If you keep poking at it, it'll hurt," he told her, glancing over his shoulder at her. She sighed and moved until she was beside him. "Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine."

Hitomi growled. "Yeah, that's what you said when you merged yourself with Escaflowne and nearly got yourself killed. Stupid." She scrambled over the rocks, muttering a curse when she stubbed her toe. She cast an envious eye on Merle, who was hopping over the rocks as though they were trampolines. If only she were able to do that…

Suddenly, Nyoka let out a loud, very spitty hiss. It took Van a moment to realize that it was a warning. He looked at the dragon-boy, who was staring at something to their right, his tongue flicking out his mouth, his tail switching the air behind him. There was a loud screech as his long claws raked the rock upon which he was perched. His golden eyes were now mere slits, and the stripes on his face seemed to bulge from the skin, like veins popping. He let out another low hiss, and his entire body straightened; his tail shot straight out behind him without warning, almost smacking Urufu, who was standing behind him, in the face.

"We are being watched," Nyoka said, his voice so spitty that it was hard to comprehend his speech. His tail resumed its flicking, and the stripes in his face receded to their normality. He turned to the king. "What are they like, your dragons?" he asked.

"Like that, perhaps?" Urufu said calmly, one furry hand pointing to a spot behind them. As one, they all whirled around, and came face-to-face with an enormous golden land dragon. Van let out a vulgar curse, and unsheathed his sword. I was hoping we would be able to avoid them, period, he thought. No such luck. He made sure Hitomi was behind them, before adopting a defensive stance.

Nyoka positioned himself in front of the entire group, his body spread out on the rocks like a lizard. His forked tongue lolled out of his mouth, as he spat and hissed at the enemy. He aimed the end of his tail at the dragon, who blinked. Its chest began to glow, and it opened its mouth.

"Duck!" Van screamed, nearly shoving Hitomi to the ground. He heard crashes and the scattering of leaves as the rest of the party collapsed on all fours, and just in time: A fireball flew over their heads, nearly singing the fur off the end of Merle's upright tail. The cat-girl shrieked and curled into a fetal position.

"You could have warned us that your dragons were fire-breathing dragons, king!" Kirra called out rudely, her tone clipped and agitated.

Van turned his head to glare at her. "What else would they be, water-spouting?" he retorted. She was riding on the edge of his temper. Even the ruffian crew of the Crusade would have treated him with more respect than that, and they respected just about no one.

But Kirra was not listening to him. On her hands and knees, to avoid the waves of fire that shot over their heads, she had crawled over to Merle and yanked on her tail. The pink-haired girl shrieked and bolted upright, nearly hitting her head on a boulder. Van felt a surge of protective anger, and gritted his teeth. Only Hitomi's firm grip on his arm kept him from losing his temper altogether and lashing out at the black cat-girl.

"You insisted on coming with us," Kirra snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Quit hiding like a baby and make use of yourself, damn it."

An ear-deafening roar broke through the argument, as the dragon reared on its hind legs, its chest glowing. Van uttered a low growl. Once a dragon starts to chase you, you either have to defeat it or be eaten. No one can outrun a determined, angry dragon, even with the world's fastest Guymelef. Subconsciously he pushed down on Hitomi's head, shoving her face into the ground. Only when she mumbled a protest and clawed at him did he release her with murmured apologies.

"Your Majesty." Urufu's gruff voice said next to his ear. "What is the typical strategy for defeating one of your world's dragons?"

Van eyed dragon's heart and fire pouches. Inside of there lied a drag-energist, and once that was removed, the body of the dragon would vanish. He narrowed his eyes. "You must cut out the energist that lies between its fire pouches, near its heart," he said quietly, almost under his breath. At the wolf's confused look, he sighed and said, "Cut its underside, the belly. That's where the dragon is soft. A sword won't work on its scales."

Suddenly, Nyoka clambered onto a scorched boulder, his tail erect. His eyes were mere golden slits, his pupils so narrow that they were almost invisible. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and let loose a loud, deafening dragon's roar that seemed more befitting for the enormous beast in front of them than for someone of his stature. The dragon stared at him unblinkingly, before responding with another blast of fire. Nyoka toppled off the rock just in time to avoid being cooked. But to Van's surprise, there were no traces of annoyance or anger on his face: he looked perfectly calm, as if he considered this situation the equivalent to a leisurely stroll in the park.

"How can he remain so calm?" Hitomi murmured, voicing his thoughts.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. His stomach sinking with forboding, Van peered over the rocks, only to have his suspicions justified: the dragon was loping toward them awkwardly, wobbling from side to side, its tail swaying back and forth in sync with its movement. Its mouth was wide open, revealing a row of enormous sharp teeth and a slimy, glistening tongue. Van took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword.

There was a flash of blue and black, and suddenly Nyoka was perched on another rock a few meters away, his tail end facing the dragon. The tip of his tail was aimed at the dragon's fire pouches. Nyoka's eyes glowed green and he bared green-tinged fangs. Suddenly, a shot of thick black liquid shot out from his tail and collided with the dragon's fire pouches, just as they started to glow. The dragon let out an ear-breaking screech that echoed throughout the forest, sending the birds crashing out of the treetops.

The dragon's entire stomach seemed to fall apart from the inside out, and the creature collapsed in on itself with a series of disgusting swelching sounds that made faces turn green. Hands clapped over mouths to force down the contents of the stomach; even strong-willed, hard-headed Kirra turned her head away. Muniya's white face turned pine green, and she crouched, her wings folded around her.

A soft sizzling sound encouraged Van to look up, and he was relieved to find that the dragon had vanished. Nyoka stared at the hallows in the ground where it had trampled, and the blue spots on the rocks and tree trunks that were its blood. Van sighed and slid his sword back into its sheath. He helped Hitomi rise to shaking knees, one arm wrapped firmly around her midriff to support her weight. She leaned heavily on his shoulder, her breath short.

"Are you all right?" he whispered softly, stroking her hair. She nodded briefly, before burying her face in his chest, seeking comfort in the warmth of his strong body.

Merle bounded over and latched onto Van's free arm, keeping him from wrapping both arms around Hitomi like he would have wanted to. He sighed and placed a hand on Merle's shoulder, as the feline sought comfort by nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder.

"Van-sama…what just happened?" Merle asked childishly.

Urufu inadvertently answered her question by inquiring Nyoka, "Since when did your poison turn black? I thought it was green."

Nyoka turned his tail over in his hand, his face still impassive. "It…was…" he said quietly, his speech interrupted by his forked tongue, which consistently flicked in and out of his mouth. He flexed his tail and bent it so the triangular tip was pointing toward the sky. He eyed it curiously, watching the sunlight bounce off the glossy scales. "Changed…it has… Perhaps… Arhsvu…yur arhsvu ug trqyoard, ug aoxstfd, dmelrd emf frehpmd saolr," he finished to himself, his voice barely audible, let alone intelligible. Van looked at the Nya'torians expectantly, but no one offered any translation.

"That's rude," Merle muttered, bristled. "At least they should translate for us, right, Van-sama?"

Van shook his head. "Do not worry about it," he said, his voice more firm that he had intended.

Kirra rose to her feet awkwardly, and Van noticed she was limping. But she did not show any signs of her suffering in her face; rather, her expression was that of impatience and annoyance. "Are there many dragons in this forest, Your Majesty?" She turned to Van. Although her words were out of respect, her tone was harsh and rude.

Van resisted the childish temptation to fire back an insult at her. Instead, he gazed thoughtfully at the clear, cloudless dome overhead. "If you know what to look for," he said quietly, his eyes closed, "you stand a small chance of surviving. What you saw back there—" he jerked his chin back at the spot where the dragon's corpse had lain "—was a tiny sample of the masters of this forest."

Kirra snorted in annoyance. Hitomi clenched and unclenched her fists. She had finally lost it. This feline's attitude had to go. Pulling out of Van's warm embrace, she marched up to the cat-girl and smacked her on the ear, earning a loud yowl of protest and a low, threatening hiss.

"What in the name of your god do you think you're—"

"I'm doing what I would do to anyone else who dared to treat their host with such disrespect," Hitomi interrupted, her eyes flashing angrily. "For a member of a royal court, you sure as hell don't know any manners." She narrowed her eyes. "Or are your parents too busy to take the time to teach you any?" she added slyly.

From the look of shock in Kirra's eyes, she had hit the jackpot. The cat-girl did not respect, but averted her gaze, her arms folded defiantly across her chest. She glanced sideways at Hitomi briefly.

"Do not speak as if you know," she snapped.

Hitomi allowed a tiny, annoying smile to spread on her face; this girl deserved to be agitated. "Oh, but perhaps I do," she said mysteriously, before pivoting on her heels and turning away. She did not look back at Kirra, but if she had, she would have noticed an unrecognizable glaze pass over those elegant emerald marbles.

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The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. After Hitomi's outburst, Kirra had remained silent except to ask Van where he thought it would be safe to spend the night. Her tone was so polite and sincere that Van hesitated had hesitated in answering and stared at her, unable to believe that she could be so earnest.

Their campsite was a small hill high up on the mountain, in a field surrounded by trees and boulders. The troupé had decided it would be safest to sleep against the boulders, in case they should be attacked in the middle of the night. After an argument, it had been decided that it would be safe to light a tiny fire at sunset, as long as it was out by the time the sun went down; the last thing they wanted was to attract any nighttime visitors that would otherwise leave them in peace.

Everything is so complicated; life itself has suddenly become a giant puzzle, Van thought, as he gazed upward at the sky. He lay sprawled out on the grass a few yards from the campsite, his eyes on the Mystic Moon. Its brilliant light bounced off the leaves, giving them a glossy shimmer. A gentle breeze whizzed by, ruffling the feathers of his outstretched wings. Van sighed, relaxed, and let his eyes drift shut. The wind seeping through the depths of his messy hair and brushing over his scalp was a soothing feeling, and one he enjoyed very much.

"Van?" Hitomi's gentle voice only added to the sudden pleasure of the evening, and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself gazing into beautiful seas of murky green-gray. She was kneeling over him, her the outline of the Mystic Moon behind her, giving her face a mysteriously beautiful shadow.

"Hmm?" Van murmured absently, as she sank to the grass beside him, her arms flopping at her sides like limp rags. The moonlight reflecting off her face, giving her skin an even glossier shine than that of the treetops; it was mesmerizing. Van swallowed hard. Seeing her beauty in all its splendor painfully reminded him of how easy it would be to lose her…

"Van?" Hitomi's voice and gaze were that of concern. "Van, are you all right?" She hefted her weight onto one elbow and gazed worriedly at him, her brows knitted together.

The tips of his wing tickled her cheek as he leaned toward her, unable to control himself. She remained perfectly still as his lips softly brushed hers. He deepened the kiss, and she leaned into it, wrapping one arm around his neck. In turn, his own arm snaked around her waist. He released her only when the need for air began to make itself known.

"Van…?" Hitomi stared at him, her eyes wide. Van's face turned crimson when his mind finally awakened and regained control of his body, and he turned away quickly, unable to look into her eyes any longer.

"You're very beautiful," he whispered, tracing patters in the grass with his finger. "Very, very beautiful. Too beautiful…to lose…" He trailed off as tears pricked at his eyes, and cursed mentally. "Hitomi…" His voice cracked, much to his horror. "Hitomi…I don't think I can bare to lose you…lose another person…I love. I don't think I can lose anyone…anymore."

He heard the soft rustling of blades of grass, and felt her arms circle around his torso, dodging between his wings. One warm finger gently stroked the fluffy base of his wings, and he shivered as a sharp chill of pleasure shot up his back. Her breath tickled his backside as she spoke.

"Faith, Van… Hold onto your faith…"

Faith…

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To Be Continued…

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It seems my cursed writer's block is finally, if slowly, lifting its weight off my shoulders. This chapter came out in less than a month! (And it's longer than the others, I think.) In any case, I thank everyone for their patience. It was worth it, was it not? ^_~

Wink57CS: (Very interesting penname, by the way.) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed that kiss. And thank you for the many, many compliments…my head is still spinning from so much praise in one review. As for Nyoka and his speech…perhaps his resemblance to Yoda was intentional…? ^_~

fallen-dark-angel: Ah, your many hours of crossing your fingers (and maybe even your toes) have finally paid off, have they not? Is this what you have been looking forward to? ^_^ And of course I forgive you for not reviewing. You were patient with me when I took a month to update… I am in no position to complain. (lol)