SS-And the story keeps rolling along. ^^ Sorry, for the late-ness…the extreme late-ness. I had a lot of school related work to finish up.
Tym-Yea right-*muffled by a cookie*
SS-Don't start. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You dudes and dudettes are so nice! Now let's begin before I get sidetracked.
Tym-Uh huh, that happens a lot.
SS- _;;
~*~*~*~
Loving Legends
Chapter 4 – Returning home
Disclaimer: Please see the prologue.
~*~*~*~
"Kai, what the heck is going on?!" Tyson couldn't take it any longer. "And you better answer me buddy, the power thing already ticked me off." Kai turned away from him, picked up Mariah and walked towards him.
"Just get Emily and follow me." He whistled for Dranzer to come, they were leaving the forest. 'You have some things to tell me Rei, and I expect to hear them during our first lesson.'
"What? Come on, I expected a little more than that."
"Tyson, let's just get back home first. I'm sure Kai'll explain it all to us there." Kenny said as he tried to balance Emily on his back.
"Ugh…fine. Here, let me help you Chief." Steadying her, Tyson held onto her shoulders incase the shorter boy lost his balance.
"Thanks." They didn't say much on the way back, knowing that any further questions would only worsen Kai's mood.
~*~
It was now mid afternoon and the house was quiet. Kai, Tyson and Kenny had dropped off Mariah first, and then left Emily with the brunette. They prayed whatever spell Dragoon had placed on them had worked; otherwise they'd all be in for one heck of a morning.
Tyson didn't speak to Kai on the way back to their house or when they had entered. In fact, by the time Tyson had locked the front door, Kai was locking the door to his room, obviously not in a talkative mood.
"Sourpuss." He left for his own bedroom, exhausted and still slightly pissed at his 'friend' for shutting the power off earlier, and for not explaining anything. He fell onto his bed and sighed. 'Guess I'll have to figure things out for myself. Hm…maybe Kenny and I can go visit Max tomorrow. I bet he'll tell us what's going on.' With that settled, he picked up the phone and pushed the second speed-dial button, Kenny's number.
~*~
The brunette had placed Emily on her own bed across the hall and shut the door. He didn't know how long she'd be out, but he figured it would be a while. Settling on his own bed he picked up his laptop and turned it on; anxious to analyze the two creatures he had met the other day.
*Ring Ring*
"Huh?" He reached over and grabbed the phone from its stand and clicked the button. "Hello?"
"Hey Chief. Is Emily still asleep?" Recognizing the energetic voice as none other than his blue haired friend he smiled.
"Of course. Whatever that dragon did to her is bound to keep her out for a few hours." The screen came on in a few seconds followed by a familiar female voice.
"It's about time Chief, I've been in the dark about this new mission for hours."
"Is that Dizzy? I was wondering when she'd pop up." Dizzy was a female spirit trapped in the boy's laptop. On one of Kai's first missions he had brought Kenny along so that he could map out the forest for him and section off areas that held specific creatures to make future jobs easier.
They were asked to retrieve a Chishiki, a rare aether sprite that was said to reside in a more secluded part of the Umber Woods. To make a long story short, the area where they traveled was filled with nymphs and fairies, however, no Chishiki were found, or so they thought. It was one thing to find a Chishiki it was another thing to capture one. It would have taken too much time. Normally not the type to give up, Kai abandoned that mission for its bounty wasn't too great, nor was his respect for the man who offered him the deal.
When Kenny had returned home that day he turned on his laptop and found that the Chishiki they were searching for had somehow gotten itself trapped. A naturally curious spirit, it couldn't help but approach the machine when the boy was in the neck of the woods earlier. Now she was stuck, but it wasn't as bad as she had though. Making quick friends with the brunette, Dizzy now helps him analyze and study the creatures he encounters from the Umber Woods.
"Are you talking to Tyson, Kenny?" He nodded again and then placed the phone back on the stand.
"This is getting confusing, too many voices." He pushed one of the buttons on the stand to switch it to speaker. "That's better. Now what did you want to tell me Tyson?"
"How did you know I wanted to ask you something?" Kenny began typing.
"What else would you be calling for? So what are you thinking?"
"Well, since Kai didn't tell us anything about what was going on, I figured we can go ask Max about it tomorrow."
"You mean…you want us to go back to the waterfall?" Dizzy had been recording information during their encounter with Max and Rei yesterday, but wasn't fully conscious about the event.
"What's wrong with that Chief?"
"Nothing, but well, I don't think we should go back."
"Why not?" Kenny sighed and continued typing.
"It seemed like Rei didn't really want us to come back."
"Aw he's just being cautious. And besides, it wouldn't be a long visit. And you do want to gather more info right?" Dizzy cheered.
"Yes! More information."
"But Dizzy…"
"And you didn't even introduce me Chief, my microchips are hurt." Before Kenny could defend himself Tyson continued the onslaught.
"That's right! You didn't even let Dizzy get a good look at the place! Now we have to go back. How does twelve-ish sound?"
"But-"
"Sounds like a good idea Tyson, and I rarely say that to you." He let the comment slide.
"You guys-"
"Then it's settled! I'll meet you two at the entrance tomorrow!"
"Tyson…" The line went dead before Kenny could stop him. "Oh man…" He pushed the button again, turning the phone off. "Now look what you've done." He said accusingly.
"What did I do?" She replied sweetly. "And don't you want to learn more about Max and Rei?"
"Of course I do. I just don't want to get them in trouble."
"They're big boys Chief, don't worry." Grumbling, the brunette managed an 'ok' and pulled up a file on the screen.
"Fine…now let's get back to this."
"Right. Do you want me to play back the meeting yesterday?" Kenny nodded.
"Yea, we'll start with that and work our way back. Did you manage to get any data on what happened this morning?"
"Sorry Chief. We got there too late. I only got bits and pieces…and a little on that dragon."
"That's a start." He adjusted his glasses and sighed. "Let's start that clip now, we got a lot of work to do before Kai asks for the disc."
"You got it." And that was how it went for the next hour or so. They reviewed clips they had recorded and analyzed the information collected from it. It was something they had always done whenever they went on a mission with Kai. He expected them to gather things about his creature(s) and give him a disc about them the next day or so. Kenny doubted he used most of it, but something in that floppy was useful to him (not to mention he was paid a good amount for it), and it gave Kenny a chance to learn more about the creatures in the Umber Woods, so he and Dizzy complied the data for him.
Even though they didn't find Kai's creatures, maybe he'd be interested in the data about Rei and Max. It might come in handy later. The typing commenced and they began.
~*~
Back in Kai's room, the bluenette was currently at his desk, writing something on a small pad of paper. Dranzer watched him curiously.
{Master Kai, what are you writing?} She knew he couldn't understand him and only heard chirps, but it wouldn't hurt to try. He looked over to her, trying to read her body language. {The paper, what are you writing?} She flapped her wings, hoping he would get the message.
"This?" He pointed to the paper. "I'm telling Rei that I'm coming over around 10 for those lessons he promised." Dranzer tilted her head.
{Rei?} It was the clearest word she heard since it was a name she was use to hearing. {Something about Rei-neko?} Thinking it over she realized it must have had something to do with teaching master Kai how to speak to her. {Is it about the lessons Rei-neko promised? Oh, I wish he could repeat what he said.} Kai went back to writing, adding a few more things before setting his pen down.
"There, now to get it to him." Already having an idea in mind he ripped the sheet of paper off the pad, rolled it up and walked over to Dranzer. "Mind playing messenger Dranzer?" Again she tilted her head, not catching any of those words except for her name. He tied it to her right leg and held out his arm.
{At least I know what that means.} She hopped onto his arm and waited as he walked out on the balcony. He looked into her bright eyes.
"Ok Dranzer, you know the way, can you give this to Rei?" He said it slowly, hoping something would connect.
{Rei? What about him?} The bluenette sighed and pointed to the barely noticeable waterfall deep in the Umber Woods.
"Rei. Can you fly this to Rei?" She looked down, showing her confusion.
{What about Rei? Do you want me to give this to him?} Kai was getting frustrated; it was like he was training her all over again. Back when he captured her he had the hardest time getting her understand what he wanted her to do. Up to yesterday, he thought all that was over.
'Ok, calm down. It's just like before, I need to show her something that will make her understand what I want her to do.' He walked back into his room and scanned the area, his mahogany eyes lighting up slightly when he spotted the napkin full of berried Rei had given to him. He picked it up and whistled so that she would pay attention.
"Remember these? Rei gave them to me. Now I need you, to give him, this note." He said the sentence slowly, pointing to the parcel, then to the waterfall, and lastly the note tied around her leg. Dranzer blinked as images of Rei giving him the berries flashed in her mind.
flashback
He stroked the bird's red plumage with a small smile. "Glad to see you got your fire back."
"I told you a day at home would do her good." He walked up to him and reached into his pocket. "But let's not go into that again. It's too early to argue." Rei pulled out a pouch and handed it to him. He accepted it reluctantly. "Some berries, just in case she feels a little weak."
end flashback
She chirped. {Master Kai why didn't you say that before?} She nipped his ear and flew off, finally understanding. Kai watched her leave, turning away when she had descended by the waterfall.
'There has got to be an easier way.' He walked back inside. 'All the more reason to start those lessons…hopefully they'll work.'
~*~
"Please Rei?"
"I don't think so Max."
"P-L-E-A-S-E?!"
"Max, it's not safe."
"When has that ever stopped us from doing something?"
"Max…" Rei was arguing with the blonde angel about letting Tyson and Kenny come back to their side of the Umber Woods for visits. He didn't even mention Kai for fear of an instant 'no'.
"It won't be long…just an hour or so."
"One hour? Robert will find them in one minute! He almost caught us today unless you've forgotten!" He walked over to the tree and then quickly jumped up to one of its branches. Max followed, flying up to him. "It's just not safe."
flashback
"Hurry Max, Robert is probably already there!" Still holding the blonde's hand, Rei sprinted through the forest, desperately trying to reach the destination as quickly as his feet could carry him.
"Rei I can fly you know!"
"Not as fast as I can run!" Even if that wasn't completely, true, Rei was pretty fast, especially when he pushed himself.
"What do you think will happen if he sees that we're not there?" He suddenly turned right, darting between trees.
"Well, Dragoon causing a twister will be the least of our worries that's for sure."
[He's almost there!]
'Damn it.' He picked up the pace, the tree finally within sight. "We're almost there Maxie…hurry up!"
"What do you think I've been doing?" Driger was already there, staring at the incoming figure from above. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the two boys dashing in.
[Come on Rei!]
"It's not like I'm strolling through the park Drig!" In a few seconds Rei managed to reach Driger, leaning against him for support. Max had flown up into the tree, taking refuge in the branches and hiding behind the leaves. "W-Where is he…Drig?" The tiger just tilted his head up and sure enough, Robert was there, descending slowly and landing a few feet from them. Rei tried to calm himself, doing whatever he could to hide his heavy breathing and weariness.
"Rei, what's wrong with you? You look flushed." The raven-haired boy shrugged his shoulders and looked down, causing his long tresses to fall and cover his face. "I thought you didn't like letting your hair down."
"M-My wrap broke."
"Um hm…and where's Max?" The blonde poked his head out from behind the leaves.
"Up here Robert! Hi!"
"Playing hide and seek?" He shook his head and jumped out, using his wings to slow his fall.
"Nope. Just…lounging around." He eyed the blonde suspiciously, and then shifted his gaze from Rei to Max.
"Well if you two have been 'lounging around', I assume you heard the little explosion earlier, right?" Rei nodded.
"Uh…yea. We heard something. It came from over there." He pointed to the waterfall.
"I know." Max leaned on Driger too.
"Then you better go over there and…and check things out. Just to make sure everything's ok."
"I already sent Grypholyion, he'll take a look around." Robert kept his eyes on them. He knew they've been hiding a lot of things from him lately, and he wasn't about to let this one slide.
'All right, let's see, they were obviously at the explosion, but I doubt they caused it. They're careless, but not stupid. Grypholyion will tell me what creature did create the blast later. There were probably humans; I can't believe they were with humans. Or maybe they were there, and not seen. Hm…' Something else caught Robert's gaze, he couldn't believe he missed it before.
"Rei, your shoulder." The raven-haired boy just remembered the cut and tried to pull his shirt over it.
"Oh that, it's nothing. A branch must have gotten me when I was in the tree."
"You have to remember to be careful Rei." He grinned.
"I know, I know." Robert knew better, his neko was able to skim through the entire forest without getting so much as a scratch; the explosion must have been the cause of the injury.
'You can't keep this hidden from me forever.' Robert turned to leave. "You two should be extra vigilant if there are humans around, all right?"
"Yes Robert." Both chimed in response. He nodded and took off, returning to his cliff. The two let out a huge sigh and practically fell on Driger.
[I'm not a pillow you two!] Rei ran a hand through his hair.
"Give us a break, we just escaped another earthquake. Narrowly might I add."
"And it was a pretty small crack too."
[Lazy…if it were me I'd never let it cut so close.] Rei sat down.
"In your day Drig? Wasn't that the Jurassic period or something?" Max laughed as Driger flexed his claws.
[Don't push your luck Rei. By the way, where's that annoying dragon?] Rei looked around.
"Hopefully he went back to the cave."
[God I hope so.] They laughed again as they relaxed under the tree's shade.
end flashback
"What if he was away on one of his conference thingies? What about then?"
"Conference thingies? First of all you know that's not right, second, even if he's gone Grypholyion will be here and he'll find them."
"Not if we slip him some of that sage root…you know that makes him sleepy."
"Max we only use that for emergencies." He crossed his arms.
"Well it's not like we're running out. I don't know why we don't use that stuff more often." Rei grabbed a wrap he had taken earlier and started on his hair.
"We don't use it because it puts him to sleep for a long time and Robert gets suspicious."
"But Rei-"
{Rei-neko!} Both boys looked over at the sound of the screech. Max landed on the branch next to Rei.
"What was that Rei?"
{Rei-neko! I have something for you!} Rei stopped in mid-tie and stood up.
"It's Dranzer."
"Kai's phoenix? What's she doing here?" The red bird flew over to them and hovered in front of Rei, holding out her right leg.
"Dranzer, what are you doing here?"
{To give you this. It's from master Kai.} The raven-haired boy untied the piece of paper from Dranzer's leg and unfolded it, reading over the small writing quickly.
Rei, I've held up my end of the deal, now it's your turn. Meet me by the entrance of the waterfall around 10-tomorrow morning for the first lesson. We'll find an appropriate place from there. I'll bring Dranzer don't be late. –Kai
Rei folded up the note and stuffed it into his pocket. 'I can't believe I almost forgot about that. Well, he did warn us, and I promised Dranzer. I guess I'll have to go.'
"Rei, you're meeting Kai tomorrow?" Rei cursed under his breath, he thought he had read it fast enough and put it away before Max had a chance to look at it.
"Well…"
"You are such a hypocrite! First you tell me that Tyson and Kenny can't come over and now you're going off to meet Kai?" Rei turned around to face him.
"You don't understand. This is strictly a business matter, it's not fun and games like you're thinking." Max glared at him.
"Business? What kind of business would you have with him? You don't even like Kai."
"I made a deal with him ok? And my end of the bargain is to teach him how to speak to Dranzer."
"A deal? What kind of deal? And you're going to what? You never even taught me how to speak to creatures of the Umber Woods."
"It's nothing you have to worry about Max." Rei glanced at Dranzer. "Tell him I said ok."
{And just how do you expect me to do that? It took him a couple of minutes just to tell me to give this to you.}
"Well, he'll probably ask generic questions. Just nod or shake your head. I think you can understand enough to be able to answer him that way. And if not, then just make sure he comes tomorrow, I'll be there."
{All right. I hope these lessons work.} She dropped a little and then changed direction, heading back to the town. When Rei faced Max again he found that the younger boy hadn't changed his expression.
"You're meeting him somewhere?"
"Yes."
"This is so unfair."
"Actually, he's not coming into our side of the Umber Woods, so technically, I'm not being hypocritical." He jumped off the branch. "I'm meeting him at the entrance, so it's ok." Max landed beside him.
"So if I meet Tyson and Kenny at the entrance…it's ok?" Rei didn't answer he just walked away, finishing his hair. Max huffed. "That's not fair Rei!"
"Not all things in life are fair turtle dove." He disappeared into the brush, leaving behind an angry blonde.
~*~
Kai sat on his bed, scribbling something in his notebook. It had been ten minutes or so since he had sent off Dranzer, but he wasn't too worried. It was the first time she had to do this, and first times usually took a little longer than the norm. Still he glanced out the door every now and then to check for her.
'I hope she made it ok. It seemed like she understood me.' He flipped the page. 'If she didn't…well, I guess I could give him the message myself, that way Dranzer will know for the next time.
{Master Kai.} A chirp coming from outside told him to put down his pen and notepad, his phoenix had returned. He got up and slid the door open a little more so that she could get in. He saw that there was no responding note as she landed on her perch, now what was he supposed to do?
"Dranzer, what did he say?" She looked at him
{That didn't sound like a yes or no question.} Kai sighed.
"Dranzer I don't understand you. Did Rei agree to the note?" Dranzer listened carefully, trying to distinguish one word from another.
{You asked if Rei said yes? I hope so.} She nodded. Kai wasn't sure if she was just nodding for the sake of it or if she was actually answering, so he rephrased the question.
"So Rei said that he would come tomorrow?"
{Why are you asking me again? I said yes already.} She nodded again. The bluenette ran a hand through his hair.
"Ok, ok…I guess you can understand me. That's good. He stroked her feathers in thanks and returned to his bed. Picking up the notepad and pen again he continued what he started. 'That wasn't too hard, but next time I'm sending her with a pen so that irritating tiger can write a response.'
~*~
Night had claimed the day as the sun disappeared beyond the mountains. Rei was sitting next to his tree, leaning against its smooth bark. On the other side was Max; his delicate wings wrapped around him like a blanket. He was still peeved at Rei about their argument earlier and had planned to bring it up now while he was sleepy and possibly less vigilant.
"…Rei?" The neko-jin opened one eye.
"Yea?" Max brought his knees up to his chest.
"About what you said before…about meeting Kai outside the entrance…" Rei responded in a light tone, showing his weariness.
"What about it?" The blonde smiled.
"Since, well, since you are meeting him tomorrow, why can't I meet Tyson and Kenny later?" The tiger closed his eyes, letting out a sigh
"It's too dangerous." Max groaned and turned his head to him, only seeing his raven hair.
"But it's not fair Rei." He too turned to catch the boy's blue eyes.
"Not all things in life are fair, Max. This meeting is different; I'm only going to hold up my end of the deal. It's not like I really want to see that frozen block of a human." The blonde sighed and crawled over to him.
"Just one time? Please? I promise Robert won't find out." Rei shook his head. "He has to go to town tomorrow anyway, Tyson and Kenny can come to the entrance and I'll meet them for ten minutes or so." Max hooked the older boy's arm and tugged at him gently. "I'll go after you and Kai leave and will be back in the Umber Woods before you come back." Rei debated about it with himself. Would it do much harm to let him do this once? "Just one time…please?" The raven-haired boy glanced at him, a little caught off guard by the blonde's big puppy dog eyes.
'Oh man. I knew I shouldn't have taught him that.' He sighed and nodded, knowing that he'd never get any sleep if this kept up. "All right, but just this once." Max's face lit up as he hugged the older boy tightly.
"Thank you, thank you Rei! You are the best and if I ever said otherwise I was wrong!" It didn't seem like he wanted to let go, he was so happy. So Rei let him stay there, combing through his puffy yellow hair as the energetic youth began to calm down. "You're welcome Maxie, but remember, it's just this once. And you have to be back here by the time I'm done ok?" No response. "Max?" For all the enthusiasm he had shown earlier, the little angel was already fast asleep, leaning his head against Rei's shoulder and covering himself with his petite wings. "Good night Max." With one last look at the star-filled sky, the neko-jin closed his eyes again and relaxed, content and ready for a long rest.
~*~
{Master Kai! Master Kai you must wake up now!} Dranzer jumped off her perch and onto the bluenette's bed, the sun's rays dancing across her feathers. Kai had told her to wake him up a little later that morning since Rei wasn't an early bird. He didn't want to waste the time, so he figured that just this once, he could sleep in. Doing so every now and then was good for the body. However, now that he had been allowed this break, he didn't want to get up. This odd behavior was something that Dranzer deemed, "un-master Kai-like".
{Please master Kai; you don't want to be late do you?} She hopped up to the head of the bed, spying a tuft of sky blue hair sticking out from under the covers. {You are acting like young Tyson more and more everyday.} She nipped the locks and pulled at it a few times. {Do you want to keep Rei-neko waiting?} Unfortunately for her, Kai just waved her away and turned around. Even when he was asleep he was drop dead stubborn. {Oh…} Thinking of a more efficient way, she dug under the blankets and pecked at his back. {Master Kai!} With a sigh she backed up, turning to her last resort. {Please forgive me…} She opened her beak, and flames began to appear.
Kai's POV
The sun was really annoying, won't there be a day when it'll not shine so brightly? I turned to my other side. Great, now even my back is getting hot. Are my covers that thin? No…wait…that's not the sun, it's…
"DRANZER!"
3rd person POV
Kai practically jumped out of his bed, patting his back as the last of the flames disappeared, leaving a dark mark on his t-shirt. He glared and stalked back to his bed. Ripping away the blankets with the matching scorch marks he found the source, his 'innocent' phoenix.
"Dranzer…what did you think you were doing?" His tone was deadly calm, which was the worst for someone like him. She tilted her head to the side.
{What is it master Kai? I was only trying to wake you.} He grabbed her a little rougher than he should have and went out to the balcony. {Master Kai?} The bluenette paid no heed to her chirps and tossed her off into the air. She fluttered aimlessly for a few seconds before regaining her noble hover. {Some thanks…}
"I know you can understand me Dranz, tell Rei I'll meet him at the entrance in a few minutes." With that he walked back inside, closing the door behind him with a bang. She screeched indignantly and flew off.
{Hmph…humans…}
~*~
"Rei, Robert just left, hurry and meet Kai already!" Ever since the sun rose Max had been pushing Rei along, obviously excited about seeing his friends again.
"Max did you have two cups of sugar this morning? What's the rush? It's nowhere near 10 yet! And I definitely don't want to see Mr. Congeniality sooner than I have to." Max continued pushing him, mulling over whether or not he should just fly them over.
"Oh, don't give me that! I'm sure Kai'll love to see you! And if you get there sooner, you two can become friends faster! Doesn't that sound…dandy?" Rei had stuck his claws into the side of a tree, bits of annoyance surfacing in his eyes.
"Don't push it Max." The blonde let go of him and laughed nervously.
"Ok, ok. I guess you two can get to know each other later." He glanced at the sun again; it was getting higher. "Still, you don't want to be late." Rei released his hold on the bark and dusted off his outfit, leaves and whatnot having attached to it while being pushed through the forest.
"I won't be. Besides, it's not like he can come in here and get me if I'm late anyway." A screech signaled someone's arrival. The two looked up to meet Dranzer, the phoenix a little ruffled by something. "Dranzer, did you wake up on the wrong side of the perch this morning?" She nipped at his hair ungratefully and hovered above them.
{It wasn't me it was Master Kai. Apparently he either wants to get up early or sleep in until lunchtime. The boy simply can't be wakened in the middle.}
"Does that mean he'll be late?"
{Of course not. He's coming and is expecting you in a few minutes to determine the location of the lesson.} He sighed.
"I knew it couldn't be that easy. And now he's pissed. Great, just great." She chirped and flew higher.
{Hurry Rei-neko. I will meet you on the other side.} She disappeared, leaving Rei and Max back in the clearing.
"What did she say Rei?" He asked.
"She says that Kai's coming and that I shouldn't be late." He dropped his shoulders. "Guess I better go." Before Max could cheer, the raven-haired boy turned to him and spoke in a serious tone. "Now remember, don't stay out too long and you had better be back before I get here." He nodded slowly, having heard many lectures similar to this one.
"I know, I know…"
"And if Robert comes back early, cover for me ok?" Another nod.
"Yea." Rei turned and headed for the lake.
"Then have fun, but don't get in over your head." The blonde smiled and waved him off.
"I won't, and you have fun too!" He added a hint of sarcasm in the last half.
"Hn…right." He jumped into the lake, ready or not to meet the mysterious boy again.
~*~
Kai stood by the lake's edge, leaning against the mountainside. He had been there for a few minutes, waiting for Rei's arrival. A screech told him that Dranzer had returned, but where was the neko-jin?
{Master Kai you aren't late!} He didn't respond so she hovered near him, her head tilted. {Don't tell me you're asleep…} Splashes caught her attention, so she turned to see a raven spot coming from the water. {Rei-neko!} Said boy popped his head out of the lake, shaking the excess water from his hair. He made his way to the edge and got out, ringing his clothes.
"Dranzer, where's K-oh…" Noticing the bluenette from the corner of his eye, Rei walked over to him. "Ok, let's get this over with." He waited for a response, but none came. "Kai?" He waved his hand in front of the older boy's face. "You awake?" A small gasp escaped his throat as Kai caught his wrist, effectively stopping the action. "Guess you are awake…" Slits of crimson appeared behind closed eyes as he took notice to the neko.
"I told you not to be late." He held onto the boy's wrist and started walking into the forest.
"I'm not that late, besides, Dranzer told me she practically had to peck your eyes out before you woke today. And let go of me! I can walk you know!"
"Yea but not fast enough. We've already wasted enough time." Rei looked around, he had been here a few times, but he never went any deeper. Does Kai know about a cave or something that they could use?
"Kai, I don't want to be rude, but since you're already being impolite by dragging me, where are we going and are we going to get there soon?" The bluenette didn't even glance at him.
"It's a cave in the mountain, and we're almost there." Rei sighed and jogged a little, Kai was picking up speed so he had to as well.
~*~
Tyson knocked on the door, looking up to the window every now and then. 'Where are you?' He was about to knock again but someone answered it. "Kenny! Finally. Come on, let's go!"
"Go? Go where?"
"Go meet up with Max remember?" The brunette checked the clock on the wall.
"But it's only five after ten. I thought we were meeting Max around twelve." Tyson smiled.
"That was the plan, but Kai just left so if we go now, we probably won't run into him."
"Tyson if we go into the Umber Woods and he's already in the Umber Woods, don't you think we'll run into each other?" The bluenette shook his head.
"Nope. He told me he was going to meet Tala." He pulled the boy's hand, forcing him to come out. "So by the time we get back, he'll still be out." Kenny sighed and locked the door.
"But why? Does Kai not want you to go back?"
"Well, to quote him exactly… "Tyson, if you go back there you won't live to see another mythical creature." Yup, that sounds right." They started walking towards the entrance to the forest.
"Strange, he didn't seem to mind when we went with him before." Tyson threw his hands up in the air.
"Eh…you know Kai. One minute he says it's potato the next day it's patato."
"Not to sure about the analogy, but I guess you're right."
~*~*~*~
Rei starred into the cave and swore; he couldn't believe it. It was in the exact same place where Robert's cave was on the other side of the mountain.
'I wonder if there's a tunnel that connects the two. If there is, I'm screwed.' Granted, Robert wasn't there, but Grypholyion was. He always stayed in the cave unless he was on his rounds, and he had just finished when Robert took his leave. Or what if this was a secret entrance that Robert used to get in and out when he didn't want him or Max to know? He turned back to Kai; he had just reached the top. Scaling the mountain was easy for Rei, and Kai didn't seem to think it was a hard task either, but he was quite slow at it.
"Hey Kai?" The bluenette dusted himself off.
"What?"
"A-Are you sure this is a good place to do the lessons?" He starred at him.
"Of course, it's sheltered by the tall trees, the opening is small and hardly anyone knows about it. It's perfect, unless you're afraid of the dark or are claustrophobic."
"No, I'm not afraid of the dark or of small spaces, I just don't know if it's the best place to do this."
"Why not?" Rei bit his lip. Should he tell him Robert's cliff was practically next-door? Would it make a difference? His mind and heart went at it again.
'Of course it would make a difference!!! Robert doesn't even want you or Max to go there unless you were in a life-or-death situation! What would he say if he knew that you let a human, no less a bounty hunter know about it?!'
'It's not like I'm going to tell Robert about it. I won't even tell Max that Kai and I chose to meet here.'
'This is stupid! Just make up an excuse and go somewhere else. There are a bunch of caves lined across the mountainside.'
'What excuse? Kai's pretty quick on things; he probably already knows I'm thinking of an excuse since I've been silent for so long.'
'Fine get yourself and Max endangered. Next he'll ask you to meet him at the main square in town!' Finally brought out of his thoughts by Kai's hand on his arm, Rei snapped his head up.
"Huh? What?"
"You can stop thinking of excuses. I already know you're trying to get out of this." He blinked.
"N-No I'm not." He narrowed his gaze.
"Rei it's no use lying to me, you've been biting your lip from thinking so hard it's bleeding." The raven-haired neko brought his hand up and touched his bottom lip; Kai was right, it was bleeding. He pressed his lips together and turned away. "If you didn't want to teach me you shouldn't have made that deal-" Rei pivoted to meet his ruby eyes.
"No! That isn't it. I do want to teach you, er…I mean, I'm ok with that." Kai crossed his arms.
"Then what is it? You said you aren't afraid."
"I'm not…it's just…"
"Just what? What is it about this place that freaks you out?" Rei glanced back into the dark of the cave, wondering if it even went deep enough to meet Robert's cave. Maybe they were miles apart. He didn't know for sure, he was just being overly cautious. The neko-jin faced Kai again; he had to make a decision now.
"Uh…" The bluenette growled and tried to keep his voice neutral. It was obvious he was tired of this though.
"Look, if you really are scared of this place then we can go somewhere else, just make up your mind." That did it.
"I am not afraid of this cave." Rei sat down and slammed his hand down on the ground next to him. "Now shut up and sit! Let's get this over with!" Kai smirked; he knew that if he pushed the right buttons, Rei would take action. He whistled for Dranzer and sat next to him, eager to get started.
~*~
"How do we even know if Max will come? You didn't tell him."
"I know I didn't, but I just have a feeling he'll be there." Kenny brought up the map of the Umber Woods onto the desktop again. He was marking their path. Without Kai, they only had this map to go by."
"Don't worry Chief, if we go off track I'll tell you."
"Ok Dizzy, I'm just making sure."
"See Kenny everything's fine, now we just have to get to the entrance and wait for Max." He pushed back the brush and kept walking, they were getting close, and the sound of the waterfall was getting louder with each step.
"Hey guys!" Tyson and Kenny looked up and smiled, it was Max. Tyson waved his hands up in the air.
"Hey Max! Over here!" The blonde was flying in the canopy, searching for them. He landed a few feet away from them and walked over. "Hey buddy, glad you came."
"Same here. I didn't know you guys were coming though."
"Then how did you know to come?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know I just had a feeling. Oh well, now that you're here, come on, let's go! I know this little clearing that we can go to." He turned and began walking off to the left. The two followed him.
"We're not going to your side of the woods?"
"No, it's too dangerous. We might get caught. Besides, Rei was already wary of letting me meet up with you." Kenny nodded.
"Yea, I had a feeling he would. Oh, by the way, where is Rei?" Max glanced back.
"Don't you know? He left a little while ago to meet Kai." Tyson and Kenny stopped.
"He did?" The blonde turned around.
"Uh huh. Didn't Kai tell you?" They looked at each other and then back to Max.
"No, he told me that he was meeting Tala." Max scratched his cheek.
"I wonder why he would say that. Wait, whose Tala?"
"Tala is one of Kai's clients."
"Oh that's right, Kai's a bounty hunter isn't he?" Tyson nodded. "What was he supposed to get for Tala?" They continued walking.
"Two really rare creatures…(1) hey, maybe you can help him find them!" Max pointed to his chest.
"Me?"
"Yea! That way he'll stop coming and we can hang out more!"
"I don't know Tyson. I mean, I'm ok with Kai being a bounty hunter, but remember that I'm a creature of the Umber Woods too; if I helped him it'd be like you selling out Kenny to someone. Sorry." Tyson waved it off.
"Nah it's ok, I understand." Kenny nodded.
"Besides, I don't think Kai would accept help if it came up and bit him." He starred at his map again. "This place looks familiar, where are we?"
"Oh we're at the entrance of this really cool valley. Rei and I accidentally found it a while ago, it's a whole area full of-" Kenny looked up and gasped.
"It's the fairy region!" On cue a nymph and a fairy flew past him, almost knocking the poor boy over. Hearing Kenny's cry and recognizing the sight recorded by the camera, Dizzy was overjoyed.
"Mommy I'm home!"
~*~*~*~
(1) I don't think I made it clear before, but Tyson and Kenny aren't aware that Rei and Max are the two creatures that Kai was looking for.
SS-There we go. Sorry again that it's very late and for any grammar/spelling errors. ^^;; I'll try and get back on track with this.
Tym-Yea, don't want it to turn into SSM.
SS-Exactly. And did anyone see the episodes today? If you didn't…don't translate the code thingy: A=1 B=2 C=3 etc. … I can't believe 18-5-9/12-15-19-20/4-18-9-7-5-18!!! =( Wah!!!
Tym-…please stop that.
SS-*sniff* Ok…until next time people…
Tym-Bye bye.
