Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, DO NOT own Ragnarok Online. This is the property of Master Lee-Myoung Jin and Gravity Corporation. pRO belongs to its publisher Level Up! HOWEVER I do own anything within my sorry account, which means my character, is seriously mine and the character names I will use here are actually real people in the Philippine Odin Server. I'll have to give credit to them later on and I might mention some guilds, which are very much famous in our locale.

Okaay...don't look at me about the late, late, late update. (points at the bitch named Mental Block). But while I have nothing to do, and Juno is expected to arrive by September still, might as well anticipate the patch.

Nothin exciting, just wanna beat Ragnar to his number of chapters...meeep meeep!

Oh, and by the way, I'd rate this a PG-18 if there ever was one, cursing is evident in here...

Chapter 11: First Encounter

The wonderful aroma of vegetable stew wafted slowly across the cabin, bringing a painful groan in Tiger's stomach.

Stew?

In here?

Sitting up from his sleep, Tiger scanned the room from where the scent was coming from. True enough, the soft boiling of a warm soup in a clay pot was bubbling cheerily as he noticed his brother sitting by the corner, chopping some firewood.

Eyes met.

"Good morning, brother..."

"...yeah, good morning I guess..."

Byakko would have replied back, but somehow bit back the need to respond, tears and pain evident in his eyes. He slowly went back to his work and hid his eyes under his platinum locks of hair.

More silence...

"Y' made this, Byakko?" Tiger remarked as he sniffed the pot. "It smells good, y'know..."

Byakko said nothing, except for tears cascading slowly in his cheeks. Stifling cries of pain evident beneath every abated breath.

Tiger sat at his side, this time worry and anger hinting in his voice.

"Damnit, tell me what's wrong with ya! You keep on bringing up this sentimental mode of yours and I'll puke just like..." Tiger got cut off with a simple question.

"I'm useless, aren't I?"

Tiger dropped his jaw, stunned and a bit shocked. He never expected such a question from him; heck he expected HE was the useless one around here.

"No...you're not. Helpless, you are, but definitely not useless..."

"It's always me that gets both of us into trouble. And I always have to rely on you to get me out of it...I am so pathetic..." Tears flowed freely this time, moistening Byakko's acolyte get-up.

A loud slap.

Tiger's hand flew and hit Byakko's cheek straight and hard.

"What's wrong with you? Why do ya keep on thinking like that, huh?!?! So what if ya gets us into trouble, we both manage to get the hell outta it! And don't even come near the thought that ya aren't doing any good! Cuz' if you aren't here with me, I mighta as well wound up dead or helpless in the streets!"

Byakko turned his face to him, wide-mouthed in shock, yet still wanting to hear what he wanted to say.

"You have the experience to live in this cruel world, Byakko. And I have still yet to develop any trust for an outsider. You're the only one I can cling to ya' know. Without you, I am nothing in this world. And wasn't it your wish that separated us from the same body that imprisoned our spirits?"

He nodded in a short reply, as Tiger closed on him to give him a hug.

"Call it whatever ya' want, but I have the duty and obligation to protect ya. And only Odin knows that you are one hell of a crybaby when it comes to yer' emotions. So stop moaning like a Yoyo and give me that smile of yers I always like..." Tiger chuckled, ruffling the hair of his brother.

"I am not!"

"Oh yes, you are!"

"Says who?"

"Don't need to. Yer' showin' it."

"Argh! I concede on this round..." Byakko blew his hair in frustration, as he neared and took the pot off the bonfire.

Tiger snorted an amused growl. "Glad you did. If not, we would have had an endless quarrel."

"And Tiger..."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for what you said."

Tiger just gave his the squinty-eyes look as he took the bowl of soup Byakko handed to him. Both ate quietly, not noticing that the blizzard outside somehow had cleared...

A few minutes passed by before a screeching noise made itself known.

"Awww, f..." Tiger retorted when an unusually large gust of wind blew the cabin away, snow and wind madly flying all around them. The fire blew itself out as three very large shadows came from within sight.

Byakko cursed the weather for providing zero-visibility, but nevertheless held up on his own, taking his side with Tiger. He himself started to wonder what or who was approaching them. Both can easily recognize scents of different creatures, man, beast or demon otherwise, but those had the vaguest of scents...

They smelled like the mountain water and snow, like flesh and blood...

The wind suddenly died down, the snow falling lightly in powder. The three shadows revealed themselves to the brothers.

"Cripes..." Tiger got one word out of his mouth.

"Master Byakko and Tiger, I presume?"

The cold voice swept across the landscape as both finally saw whom it was. Both lowered their defensive stances and went forward to greet the visitor.

"Garm...of the tribe of Hatii..." Byakko ran his hand across the icy wolf's mane.

The wolf's accompanying Hatiis dropped to their knees as Garm nodded in affirmation. He favored the brothers with a favorable glare.

"If I may be so bold, I ask of both of you to assist us towards the Toy Factory. Master Rudolph is expecting both of you since yesterday..."

Tiger stood up in front of the large beast.

"Rudolph being...lemme' guess, Windstorm Knight?" Tiger raised an eyebrow to the wolf, much to the amusement of Garm.

"How receptive, Master Tiger. Few have recognized my master's real name..."

Tiger winked an eye at his brother. "It pays to listen to Christmas songs." Byakko only gave a snort as a reply.

Garm's tone suddenly became serious.

"We must make haste, young Masters. My master grows impatient with each passing second. I advise you to ride amongst my tribe." he said, motioning for his two companions. Byakko and Tiger boldly sat into their backs as the rode like the wind across the frozen, snowy tundra that was Lutie.

"Soooo...you're the brothers I have been expecting...."

Windstorm ran an examining eye at both of them, his gaze fluidly going up and down both of them. Both felt uncomfortable, and Tiger would have given an arm to bash the lecherous MVP had not Byakko given him the "eye".

"You're gonna be the next MVPs?"

Both nodded at him, surprised by the skeptical look Windstorm gave both of them. They were even more surprised when Windstorm rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach and laughing off, looking as if his nose would have rolled off from the intensity of the laughter. His sword and shield fell noisily on his side as he rolled off to la-la land.

To which both brothers looked irritated and annoyed.

"THAT'S IT! I have the right mind to bash that silly nose off of your snout, ya mangy horned reindeer reject!" Tiger snarled as Byakko restrained his brother.

"Whoa! Down boy! Down! Sir Knight, my apologies about my brother..." Byakko said in frustration but was abruptly cut short upon the maddening glint that Windstorm developed after hearing the comment.

"Oh, a smart mouthed boy do we have here? Well then, I would like to bash that appalling goody-goody face of yours, but I would like to settle for your brother instead..."Windstorm smiled at Byakko, who stared in shock as is Tiger.

"Wha...Wha? Fuck you, red nose! It's me that'll pummel ya to bits an' pieces! You're a fuckin coward ye' are!" Tiger began struggling again at his brother's hold.

"Hmph! Simpering fool, I do realize that. However, I do know it will hurt you more if I hit on your brother would you? Besides, you're not my type anyhow..." Windstorm smirked, amused at Tiger's reaction.

Byakko relented on letting go Tiger, who stared wide-mouthed at him as he started the painful walk towards Windstorm. The reindeer raised a quizzical frosted eyebrow as the boy came a foot away from him...

And gave him the hardest kick right where Windstorm's you-know-what should have been.

Byakko looked at him, thoroughly disgusted. "That's for your yaoi thoughts, you over-active, frost-covered, mangy, hornball! My brother's right, I have the mind not only to pummel your nose, which by the way looks 5 sizes bigger than where your balls should be, but also you your prick of a snout which would look like a rotten cucumber once I am through with you! By Odin, I swear if all the MVP's acted like you do, I'd content myself with being a human..."

"Passed!" Windstorm grinned a silly smile as he waved a hand and a piece of parchment flew towards him. He deftly signed the piece of paper and after doing so, the glowing parchment vanished into thin air.

"What was that all about?" Tiger finally mouthed out, much to Byakko's agreement with him.

"It means both of you passed my test, silly." Windstorm chuckled, still amused by the brother's mode of suspension and disbelief.

"My test was about your ethics. At first glance, I knew Tiger was going to pass my test, but I had doubts on Byakko, who felt more soft spoken. If he went my way, he would have failed." He explained, sensing the brothers still didn't get it.

Windstorm frowned." I wanted to see how you would assess the situation. Tiger would go to it head on, and fight with all he can. Byakko would look carefully at first, and then rush into the heat of battle. Although Tiger possessed the common quality of an MVP's way of battle, I found my curiosity quipped by Byakko. I am...let us say..."interested" to find out when you two would become MVP's."

"Uhhh...thanks?"

"You're welcome." Windstorm chuckled.

"You're weird." Tiger quipped.

"I might be, but truth in all. I am not a yaoi fan, and Byakko, try not to make it a habit of kicking people's balls when you get pissed. My underside is still ringing from the kick you gave me. Those steel-plated boots are hard you know."

"I'm sorry.." Byakko blushed in embarrassment. Tiger laughed at his brother.

"I think you two deserve a rest, you have until 2 days before the respawning of Mistress, in the meantime, stay here and enjoy. The Cookies and Cruisers will attend to your needs. I have to attend to some minor business..."

"Oh and by the way," he threw a necklace with a vial as a pendant." Here is the relic that Lord Sakray prescribed...I'll see ya when I can" Windstorm Knight grinned, vanishing with the wind as his cloak flew by.

[Received Water of Efreet 1-ea]

"So, Byakko...let's rest for awhile?" Tiger asked him.

"Might as well." Byakko grinned foolishly.

Argh! The other fics I'm reading is getting to me! Now to face the horrible bitch that is Mental Block again. Ugh, I hate hetero. And sowee, no Myashka and Shadow yet, I'm still pukin' at the at the horrible thoughts when I wrote it...