Payback

Author's note: For maiki.


I wonder if Fayt or Nel would conjure up some ice. I sure could use some now.

The heat was not as unbearable as it was outside, but Cliff was still more than just a little bothered by it. How can anyone live in a place like this? he wondered as he watched the rabbit-like creature--Vanilla; Cliff simply could not help but immediately think of a nice, cold tub of icecream upon hearing the creature's name--working at the small forge, busy working on the Ring of Disintegration the party required.

A forge.

Indoors.

And outdoors just happened to be the Urssa Lava Caves.

Cliff found himself wondering if all the inventors on the planet were crazy. Anyone had to be at least a few sandwiches short of a picnic to live in place like this, he mused, absent-mindedly tugging down the zipper of his vest further down before he wiped off the beads of sweat on his neck.

The unfamiliar sound of the zipper must have gotten Albel's attention, for the swordsman looked up from where he sat at the table. Cliff took no notice of it, until he realised some moments later that Albel was still looking at him.

"What?" Cliff asked.

Albel scowled, as if annoyed that he was caught staring. "Why do you have those tattoos on your neck?" he asked, somewhat grudgingly.

"Huh? What tattoos?" Cliff said, puzzled. "Oh, you mean these lines on my neck? They're not tattoos. I was born with 'em."

"A birthmark?"

Cliff shrugged. "Something like that. All Klausians have 'em," he said, at the same time wondering just what had possessed Albel to actually make conversation. A decent conversation, in fact; one that did not have the words 'fool', 'maggot' or 'worm' at the end of each sentence.

It must be the heat. It had to be.

Albel threw a quick glance at Maria and Fayt before he frowned.

"They don't have these marks. They're not Klausians," Cliff explained.

Albel snorted. "How ridiculous."

Okay, so much for decent conversation.

"Ridiculous? Hey pal, there's nothing ridiculous about it. At least I'm not the one running around with pigtails."

The anger burning in Albel's eyes when he glared at Cliff was far hotter than anything the Urssa Lava Caves and its fiery inhabitants had to offer. "Pigtails?" he snarled.

"Yeah, what else would you call those things trailing from your head?"

"They are not pigtails!"

"Well, they sure look like 'em to me!"

"Then you are obviously a fool and blind," Albel growled as he stood, eyes menacing.

Oops.

"Why are you two snarling at each other?" Fayt interrupted, blissfully unaware of their conversation. "Come on, we've got the ring. Let's go."

Cliff mentally noted that he owed Fayt a favour. He followed the blue-haired young man and the rest of the party out the door, and hid a grin when he heard Albel muttering under his breath. "Pigtails indeed!" grumbled the swordsman.

Consider it payback for all those times you flashed that thigh, Albel.

Pigtails indeed.