Outside, the storm was howling. Worse than earlier, Sarazar had informed the Dragon Lord that there might even be numerous tornadoes. Ruwalk was oblivious to all this.
He was asleep.
Alfeegi had left him, quietly. Although it was two in the morning, he heard the racket and decided he had to help. He got up, made sure Ruwalk was still asleep, and tucked the blankets around him. He stroked his lover's cheek and gently kissed his forehead before departing, shutting the door softly behind him. Outside, he composed himself, throwing his hair into order roughly, and straightening his jacket by yanking on the lapels. He assumed an almost arrogant stance and went hurridly down the hall, his heels clipping over the din.
A few more halls and two flights of stairs, and he reached the main area being used as a shelter. All lights were on, people were bustling everywhere; it was loud. Tetheus spotted the white officer and walked over to him.
"The Lord wants to speak to you."
Alfeegi found Lykouleon, who was trying to understand the art of serving soup to more than one person at a time. Normally, Alfeegi would have gone ballistic over the huge mess the Lord was making, but given the circumstances, it made no difference. He wasn't in the bitching mood anyways.
"My Lord?" he finally spoke up. "You wished to speak to me?"
"Could you come over here?" Lykouleon called over a particularly large crash of thunder, which sent the younger children into hysterical fits. "I can't abandon my soup."
A tiny sweatdrop accompanied the Dragon Officer as he walked behind the table to the Dragon Lord.
"I've sent out some more Dragon Fighters to town. I don't want to endanger anyone again, but........." The ladle hovered in mid-air.
"You need me out there?" Alfeegi asked, noting that the rain was pounding even the tough castle roof.
".........Yes........."
Alfeegi nodded, looking around the crowded room. "Just to get the civilians out then?"
Lykouleon nodded. "I'll send Tetheus with you." Then, a bit more quietly, "How's Ruwalk?"
"Asleep."
The blond looked to be thinking for a second, probably whether or not to awaken the yellow officer. Before he could come to a conclusion, Alfeegi had already bowed and walked off to get a small group of other Dragon Fighters to come with him. "Alfeegi!" Lykouleon tried yelling over the din. "Alfeegi, wait--!!"
But the aqua haired man became lost in the crowd, making his way out of the castle and into the storm.
--------
He had, of course, been out in the earlier storm, but not very much. Now, compared to the last storm, this storm was a –hurricane.- It made the first storm seem like a summer thunderstorm. Alfeegi had gotten soaked by wind-driven rain the second he stepped out the castle door, and found the wind was already so strong, he had to grab onto things so as not be carried off.
"Dammit," muttered one of the Fighters, "It's two a.m. I should be asleep."
"You have duties," Alfeegi snapped. "Now come on. Where's Officer Tetheus?"
"What?"
"Where's Tetheus?!"
Tetheus appeared with his group of Fighters. Unlike the rest of them, he seemed unmoved by the elements, as stoic as ever.
"What do we do, Captain?" a Fighter asked him.
"Go into town and save survivors," Tetheus answered. He didn't need to yell; his voice was strong and deep enough to hear over the noise.
"Get into town?!" screeched a younger Dragon Fighter. "We can't even walk alone out here, much less –save- anybody!"
"We'll just have to try, now won't we?" Alfeegi snapped back, starting to get pissed off. God, when had their Fighters become so damn –wimpy?-
They were able to finally get into town, after what seemed like an eternity of gripping and dragging and pulling and catching people who were about to pull a Mary Poppins. Upon arriving, they saw that some of the townspeople were already gathered in a fairly strong house, and they also discovered five Fighters had already died. That dragged Alfeegi's spirits down somewhat, standing in a place where the wind didn't reach, dripping wet.
He felt a tug on his jacket. He looked down to see a little girl with bright red hair and large eyes, blinking up at him. "Will you find my mommy and daddy?" she asked, eyes brimming with tears.
The man blinked, shocked. "O—of course," he stammered, wondering what the hell else he was supposed to say besides that. Certainly not "well they may be dead already." "Of course we will."
A bit of hope came back into those big eyes. She squeezed her teddy bear harder. It was falling apart—missing an eye, loose stitches—but she still loved it, and as of now it seemed her only comfort in a room full of strangers.
"You're so wimpy, Kitchel!" came a sudden loud voice. Alfeegi, blinked, seeing the young boy who had just spoken. He had a smirk on his face, and his large eyes hid behind his green hair.
The little girl suddenly became not-so-sweet, turning on her heel and putting her hands on her hips. "I am NOT a wimp, Thats!" she said in an angry voice.
"Then why're you carrying around a teddy bear, -baby?-"
"I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"You bitch!"
The Dragon Officers and Fighters stared unblinkingly, watching the two go at it, yelling profanities back and forth as if they were sailors. "I think......... It's time we began," Tetheus said, clearing his throat and heading for the door. Alfeegi nodded absentmindedly and followed.
The wind hit him again full blast. He had already forgotten its strength, and the shock almost knocked him over. He gripped the side of the building to keep himself up. Tetheus was already ordering the Fighters where to search, so he too began on his way.
He slipped on the wet ground beneath him.
----------
Ruwalk woke up at about three in the morning. He noticed Alfeegi was gone, and immediately bolted up and out of bed. He went downstairs and found Lykouleon, still working the soup kitchen.
"Ruwalk, you're up," the blond blinked. He looked tired and disheveled.
"Yes, I am. Where's Alfeegi?"
A Fighter took over Lykouleon's post. The Dragon Lord walked off, as if he hadn't heard the question.
"Lykouleon!"
He turned, seeing the look in his friend's eyes. "You didn't," Ruwalk whispered. "You didn't send him out, did you?"
"I was going to tell him to wake you up, but he was gone before I could say anything!" Lykouleon protested.
"You still gave him the order to go out there, didn't you?!" Ruwalk said, almost accusingly. Lykouleon winced, but it was almost unnoticeable. The other noticed it, of course; he'd known the blonde for too long not to. "You did........."
"Ruwalk, you need to understand, we have to do this, we all have to do something!" Lykouleon said. "You were asleep, and I needed some Officers out there! Tetheus went out there too, so I didn't single him out!"
"Oh, right, I was asleep and Kaistern's –dead- because of my own –stupidity.- So you didn't want me out there endangering anybody else. So instead, -you- endangered them!"
The accusations hit Lykouleon one after another. There was venom in Ruwalk's voice, but also weariness, regret. "That's not true," he murmured. "Ru, I trust you. I wish you did the same for me." He sighed. "It wasn't your fault, dumbass. And I need Officers out there to control things. There were only two left, and I needed them both out. I'm not trying to kill Alfeegi. God, I wish you'd fucking –trust- me once in a while!"
There was silence for a while. Ruwalk awkwardly looped his arms around his best friend. "'M sorry," he murmured in a muffled voice against Lykouleon.
"S'ok, you big baby."
"Bite me."
"Why are you so worried, anyways?"
Ruwalk blushed. "About what?"
"About Alfeegi, baka."
"Well, I......... I'm just worried, is all!" He pulled away and looked away, blushing.
"Riiight," the blond said, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Of course."
"Oh, shut up. I'm going out," Ruwalk said, pulling on boots and a jacket.
"Just to get away from me, huh?" Lykouleon sweatdropped. "Ah well. Be careful, baka."
"Baka yourself," Ruwalk called over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him. Inside, Lykouleon shook his head and walked off.
------------------
A/N:
or pull a Parker...... "And you thought this trick only worked for British nannies!" xD!
Anyways... sorry, no kaistern here,......... :p And, gasp, Alfeegi slipped! Not exactly a cliffie, I know. Thats & kitchel there cause it was fun- & word keeps wanting it as "that's," so I keep having to fix it......... ;;;
I need reviews, people, or else I don' write chappies... although akisawana's stalking me.... O.o;; ja.
END OF CH. 4 then.........