"Okay, now that's not funny." I-No had just walked into a highly radioactive part of the forest, done a complete about-face, walked out, and now itched horribly all over as a side effect of her standard protective spell. Dizzy, on the other hand, and much to the witch's chagrin, had damn near fallen over laughing, though she had recovered rather quickly when reminded that there was a rather large, angry being somewhere out there, and they didn't know how keen its hearing was.

The two had walked around the dangerous spot, I-No using her now limited supply of magical abilities to detect safe passage through the area. Finally, the two exhausted women found a 'safe' area. Well, safe as in surrounded by deadly radiation except for two small pathways that they virtually had to squeeze through sideways without being burned.

Dizzy sat with her knees against her chest, her tail curled around her for added warmth. I-No simply lounged on her side, ignoring the dead pine needles jabbing her bare shoulders. Between the two, I-No had started a small fire using some kindling and some dead wood that had been easily broken off of the nearby trees. Magic supplied the required incendiary action, and the merry little blaze was soon warming both up.

Dizzy perked up slightly as she warmed up, her tail twitching much like a happy cat's would. I-No hid a smile at the strange action of the young hybrid's myriad components, then returned to re-tuning her guitar, which had been pretty viciously detuned in the fight with the inhuman troll earlier. A twinge across her back reminded her just how badly she had been hurt, but she ignored it, as the wounds had already scabbed over.

"Umm... I-No?" Dizzy looked worried, which was only a step up from the usual look of concern that was always on her face.

"Yeah?" I-No paused in her tuning long enough to strike a chord, then grimaced at the sour note.

"When were you going to tell me about your wounds? I have some cloth that could be used to bind them."

"Don't worry about it. I heal quickly. Any other questions?" I-No smiled slightly to take the sting out of her denial of assistance, and Dizzy, feeling more confident for some reason, smiled back.

"Lots. Do you want to ask me some too? I used to do that with May all the time." I-No's quiet laugh echoed through the trees, and she nodded.

"Fine. I'll go first. Why does your tail just go ahead and eat things? Does it have a separate digestive system altogether, or is it just instinct?"

Dizzy looked at her tail for a few seconds, playing with the little yellow bow at the end until she answered. "I have no idea. I do know that it does not have a separate digestive system, much to my discomfort."

"Ouch." I-No had to wince, especially after she remembered the rather sizeable chunk of oak the tail had been forced to disgorge earlier.

"Really. Well, here's my first question to you: What's with the guitar?" Dizzy let her tail go back to its contented twitching, relaxing slightly.

"What, Marlene here? Had her since I was a child; named her after my mom. Not much else to say, other than the fact that she's damn near invulnerable. Okay, number two. What did your parents really name you? Dizzy sounds more like a nickname than anything else."

Dizzy nodded, looking up at the night skies for a few seconds. "Yeah. I was called that because I couldn't keep my balance for a while; I was always running around to see everything, and every time, I got dizzy, fell down, and so on. My real name... was Lily."

I-No nodded, finishing the tuning on her guitar. "Nice name. Seems to fit you."

"Thanks. So, same question for you, same reason." Dizzy smiled at the unexpected praise, even though it was for something as mundane as a name.

I-No shivered for a few seconds, though it was not from the cool night air. "I... forgot my name."

"Really?" Dizzy was sceptical. She had caught the hesitation, and was now ready to pounce on it.

"No, not really. It... brings up a lot of bad memories, okay? Can you pick a different question?"

Dizzy nodded, seeing how much discomfort the subject was bringing to the witch. "Okay. Well, where'd you learn those spells? I've never seen anything like it, and I think I've encountered every type of magic known."

I-No smiled, though there was no happiness behind it. "I was born with it. I think, safely, that I am the world's only natural magic user, as well as the only one to use sound instead of the elements or ki energies. So, as a side effect, singing really can kill when I'm around."

Dizzy smiled slightly, failing miserably to resist an urge to needle her companion. "Only if the person's tone-deaf, huh?"

I-No grinned, ignoring the jibe. "Well, let's continue onwards. What are the names of your two friends there, and why are they always glaring at me?"

Dizzy blushed slightly, embarrassed at the comment. "Well, their names are Necros and Undine. And, they're glaring at you because they tend to be protective of me. I think they really haven't forgiven you for launching me off of the Mayship the first time we met."

I-No nodded, then looked at Undine, who had manifested again. "Well, tell them I'm sorry for launching you like that. I've... sorta changed in the last while."

Dizzy nodded, her eyes losing focus for a few seconds before she blushed again, right before she slapped her black wing. "Big meanie. Rude too. Well, I won't repeat what Necros said, so I think we should head for the next question."

"Okay, though I have to admit curiosity towards just how inventive he is in his array of swearing." I-No lay on her stomach, stretching out slightly so she could better sense just how bad her injuries were.

"Umm... well... that is..." Dizzy had turned an extremely bright shade of red, and was looking into the fire as she did so.

"Well, spit it out! We don't have all night, y'know."

"Eheh... How can you fight in something so skimpy? I mean, every time I look at you fighting, you're almost falling out of your top."

I-No paused, looked at the fiercely blushing hybrid, and broke into a fit of giggles. After recovering from the laughing fit, she sat up, continuing to chuckle. "This? Don't worry about it. When I was younger, I used to be a bit of an exhibitionist. Still am, but my clothes are a side effect of my youth. Just so you know; yes, this is a yank-away top."

Dizzy just blushed, completely embarrassed by the frank talk about something she really didn't understand. However, instead of saying anything the next time she opened her mouth, all that emerged was a rather monstrous yawn, soon echoed by I-No. "Looks like we're both exhausted. Get some sleep Dizzy. I'll wake you up in say, four hours? I do think we should take watches."

Dizzy, nodding slightly, curled up into a ball, facing the small fire. "Don't worry too much. Undine and Necros will wake me up pretty fast if there's anything."

I-No nodded, looking up at the stars above, and letting the light glimmer off of her opalescent eyes. "G'night."

Dizzy dropped off to sleep almost instantly, exhausted from all that had happened. I-No, instead of taking Dizzy's advice and letting the young hybrid's two guardians look out for anything, continued to look up at the stars, one hand reaching behind her to touch the most painful of her wounds. Quietly, she whispered the strongest incantation she could muster through the pain, touching the bloody furrow that had been gouged into her.

For a split second, her hand glowed a pale blue, before transferring the glow to her wound. Almost instantly, the large wound healed, flesh regrowing and knitting together at a pace that was only matched by gears or genetic aberrations. However, unlike gears, who only experienced a mild itching when they healed, true magical healing was nothing if not brutal. I-No's body contorted under the wave of agony as her flesh remoulded itself, and only her sheer willpower prevented her from crying out in pain.

After almost ten seconds, the healing energies abandoned her, leaving I-No exhausted, sore, and quite willing to crawl into a hole somewhere and sleep off the residual effects of the painful spell. Instead, she sat up, gingerly leaning against a tree, and quietly brushed her tears away from her face. Relaxing slightly, she looked up at the sky, seeing only glimmering stars, and possible futures.

On the opposite side of the fire, a pair of red eyes watched, concerned.