Hillside Journey

"So, Japolo," Tiara asked, "How much further is it? We've been walking for the entire morning, yet still no sign of the cave? You said about an hour at the most, one half north and one half east." Her temper had begun to flare, causing a little spring of fear in the team. No one had ever seen Tiara this mad before.

"I don't know. I think the Mihan Demons are trying to flood my senses. It is almost as if they block any energy of the stone from getting through. I believe they want to stop us, so we don't acquire it. But they don't know us too well. You at least would search until hell froze over in order to find the stone," her Partner stated. He knew her too well, Tiara wasn't about to let a few demons stop her from her mission. Heck, even the Throne of Yord one worked out successfully, even though she'd bent the rules a bit to do it.

Tiara replied, "You bet I would. Nothing'll ever stop me. Those beasts don't know what they've gotten themselves into. They don't realize who exactly they're fighting. Besides, if things get to hairy, I have the power of Ultima on my side. And while I'm fighting like that, Lena and Leon are also here to back us up. So there's no way that we can lose. Now then, let's go. Even if it is the long way, we'll find it."

So they continued onwards. When noon hit, Lena took out the picnic lunch she'd packed. In the days when they were kids, Sara had been the best cook, followed closely by Lena. Tiara was always all thumbs in the kitchen, she'd rather fight her way through something. So it was usually one of the other two to do the preparations for picnics the girls would go on. Without Sara around, this task fell solely on Lena.

Leon set out a large blanket for his Princess to put their lunch on. Then, the four humans and one ferret began chomping down on their food. Japolo had an apple, while the others enjoyed hot soup and sandwiches The soup had been cooked back at the cabin, and kept warm by a special pot that Sienna had lying around. Inside it, soup and other foods could remain at the set temperature for weeks without fear.

Leon smiled. "I must say Miss Lena, you have really outdone yourself this time. This soup is the best I have tasted from you in all the time I have served you." Under her breath, Tiara muttered something to the extent of, "Suck up," but nobody heard her. Although her following giggles made both her Partners stare at her like something was wrong. Not that Tiara noticed, she was too intent on eating her food to see it.

When lunch was finished, they began to go onwards once more. Japolo was still trying his best to get a whiff of the stone's energy, but to no avail. However, he did succeed in finding where the energy of the Mihan was at its most potent. That could very well be where the stone was hidden, so they headed to it.

"Miss Tiara," Graham inquired, "Might I speak with you for a moment? Just the two of us?" There was a sense of urgency in his voice. Even his words about Kagetsu some months back hadn't been this rushed. She knew something had to be up, and only she could find out exactly what was going on here.

"Ok Graham, what's on your mind? Is it something to do with the battle we are about to face? I know it seems impossible, but we have to think positive. Then again, telling you that won't do anything. You don't care about the odds, only that you are protecting me. I'm grateful, Graham," Tiara told him, as a blush began to cover her face. She had no idea what was going on, why was she feeling this way now?

Graham informed her, "It is about my situation, me coming back from the dead like that. I know you came for me, to bring me back, but do I really deserve this second chance you have so graciously given me Tiara? You could have refused the mission, this was more of a request than an order. It was dangerous there, the demons had come to stop you. And you faced them all for me. I never wanted you to go to such dangerous lengths for me, your life is much more important. So why did you risk it all just to save me?"

Tiara looked at him, amazed at his worry. "First of all Graham, you're more than my Partner. You are my friend, and friends always do that for one another. I mean, risk their lives to save the other one. It is plain impossible to go to the Land of the Dead without the Elder's consent. Second, I felt like I had to at least see you one more time in order to make up for the fight we had. You dying without us being able to sort out what happened made me feel empty inside. And third, which is the least important, I would have been in more danger if I didn't go. If I refused, I'd have to buy time for another one of the girls to take the test to become a Divine Sorceress. Basically, it would be suicide. I stood a better chance at saving you."

"Well, I thank you Tiara," Graham said, "Thank you for this body you gave me, the claw you made for my ruined arm, and this new life to fight by your side. I promise to never leave you again." He looked at her with his one good eye, and she began to smile a little bit at him. At last, they were completely over the meaningless fight that had divided them all those months ago. Now, Tiara was finally whole once more.

* * *

Finally, at around three PM, they arrived at the cave with the Varica Stone inside. Tiara ran forward in order to grab some. The red stone was stuck to the walls of the cave, and hard to budge. In the end, she called Graham over. Using his metal claw like a pick, the young man was able to pry the rock from the wall and hand it to Tiara. She stashed it away in her bag, so they wouldn't lose it on the return journey to the cabin. It would not do for them to return to Sienna's, only to find the object of their mission was missing.

"Well, no use staying around here any more. Let's go back. Then, at last, we can make the potion and this whole journey will be over," stated Tiara. Her voice was wistful, she knew what awaited her. Years and years of living in solitude, just studying her sorcery and trying to make a living. Meanwhile, Lena would get old and die peacefully, as would Kagetsu. Well, at least she'd still have Graham, Japolo, and Sara to talk to. It might just make the young girl's soul happy to know her friend would visit her for countless years to come, perhaps a few thousand. They knew Kagetsu's biggest worry would be what happened when they all died. Would Sara fall into sleep due to loneliness, and the Throne of Yord become what it once was?

Suddenly, a low growl was heard. When the team turned around, they saw Ryaions, Lions with the wings of Dragons. It appeared as if the Mihan had found out their little mission, and were here to fight with the team once more. Tiara and Lena held out their hands, it was time for the battle to begin once again.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Word…

Ryaions, you ask? Well, it means Ryu as in Dragon, Raion as in Lion. Again, much better than the lame-o names I used to make. It's so cool to know a foreign language.