SS-Hi everyone! crickets chirp Yes, it's been a very long time, and I'm very sorry (especially since the last two chapters came within a week of each other)!! I won't keep you waiting any longer or bore you with explanations, just enjoy this too-long-for-my-own-good chapter…
Tym-She's serious; she's not even letting me get my word in…
...
Loving Legends
Chapter 10 – The turn-around
Disclaimer: See one of the previous chapters please.
Don't mind my grammar errors, my friend read through this for me, but I'm not sure if she got them all. And this is the first time I'm using this quick edit thing, and some of my symbols are off. The scene changes are different, as you can tell, and some other changes are...
Grypholyion ()this()
Wolborg "regular quotation marks"
...
Freeing Trygle from the tangle of nets didn't take too long, so the little crew continued their job in no time. Kai kept the disabled nets (as he was the only one who was familiar with the traps and could dispose of them later) and stayed close to Rei, unwilling to let him fall victim to another hidden trap.
More than an hour of time had passed (a lot more than an hour) and the group had already cleared a good portion of the forest. The bluenette guessed that they had taken down one third of the traps altogether. It wasn't too bad…for their first day.
"Hmm…" Rei straightened his clothes as he stood up. It had taken him a few minutes to find and destroy the mushroom that controlled that trap and he had unwisely crouched the entire time. His back ached a bit, but at least it would go away in time.
'That definitely wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done…' The raven-haired boy leaned backwards, stretching the pain away. 'Hm…I wonder how many we've taken down?' He decided to voice his question. Turning around, he walked over to Kai, who was practically killing the control box veiled by the bushes. "Hey Kai?"
The older boy glanced at him. "Hn?"
Rei rested his hands behind his neck. "How many traps do you think we've disabled? I mean, it has been an hour…"
Kai shrugged. "I'm not sure, but probably eighty or so."
Rei blinked in surprise. "Really?" He knew that most of the traps were pretty easy to take down, but eighty…out of all of them? That was pretty good. "Wow, that's not too bad."
The bluenette nodded. "Well, Dranzer and the pigeon are helping us, which virtually cuts our time in half." The half-breed agreed. "And we've been out here for almost two hours so--"
Rei gasped. Two hours??! When did two hours pass them?! "…We…we've doing this for two whole hours…?" He asked in a tentative voice.
Kai shrugged. "Just about. Didn't you realize it?" The younger shook his head incredulously.
"A-Are you sure you don't mean…an hour and two minutes?"
Kai stared at him. "What's wrong, Rei? You don't look too well." It was true. The raven-haired boy was tense, pale, and shaking slightly. His mind was shouting at him, telling him to leave if he ever wanted to see Kai's face again.
'Two hours?! Max's is probably worried sick! And Grypholyion…oh no…he must be…and if he asks Max…'
"Rei." He blinked at the touch of Kai's hand on his shoulder. "What are you--"
"I…I really got to go." He shrugged off the older boy's hand and turned to leave, ready to sprint at any second.
"But what about--"
Rei stopped and pivoted. "No, I just…let's say…I'm really late." He was about to take off until another thought came to mind. 'After this, Grypholyion will most likely be really suspicious about where I go in the morning. I got to throw him off. Maybe I can meet Kai a little later tomorrow…'
The half-breed gently bit his lip. "Uh, Kai…"
"Hn?"
"Tomorrow…uh, tomorrow, how about we meet a bit later…?" The older boy raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
He glanced into Kai's curious crimson eyes. "I just, need to…" Intentional or not Rei's golden orbs shone with brilliance, which made the bluenette blink in surprise. "…around sunset maybe?" No just wasn't an option at that point. There was something about the raven-haired boy's look that made him want to smile. Though he didn't. All the same, Kai doubted he could deny Rei anything at that point.
Waving his hand in a casual manner, he agreed. "Fine by me. I have things to do anyway."
Rei smiled. "Thanks." He turned towards the forest, almost forgetting something…someone… "Trygle!"
… Rei scratched his cheek and cupped his hand around his mouth, hoping to get the eagle's attention by increasing the volume of his voice.
"Trygle! C'mon, let's go! We're really late!"
…Yea, I'll meet ya there…I uh, need to finish something up first.
Shrugging, Rei began heading back, his light jog changing to a sprint. "Bye, Kai! Don't forget tomorrow!" Seeing the boy off, the hunter stood alone, waiting for Dranzer to show up. There, without witnesses, he grinned.
Rei tentatively poked his head above the water of the lake. So far, no one had seen him, not even Draciel (though the turtle wasn't even in the lake at the time). He scanned the immediate area. With a sigh of relief, he slowly raised himself out of the water and shook off the excess water.
"Looks like luck is with me today." He said with a smile.
[I'd think twice about that statement, little Rei.] Rei froze. It wasn't Grypholyion, but still, being called 'little Rei' was never a good sign. [Don't pretend that you didn't hear me.] The raven-haired boy mechanically turned around, greeted by an obviously aggravated Driger. The tiger was sitting in the forest, covered by the trees' immense darkness, giving him a grave appearance.
Rei noticed that he wasn't in a playful mood at all, and his hard, golden glare never faltered. He got up and began walking away. [You have must have quite a story to tell. Mine as well tell it in front of everyone.] Though Driger hadn't said it, Rei knew he had to go and followed without a word. All the while he was kicking himself for not noticing how much time had passed.
'I didn't think Driger would be mad at me. Then again, I haven't talked to him about much of this…' He sighed. 'I hope Max wasn't too worried.'
They arrived in the small clearing by the tree in a matter of minutes, and sure enough, once Max had seen him, he launched himself into him. "Rei! You're back!"
Rei frowned. 'Guess he was really worried.' The older boy patted his back. "Sorry if I scared you, Maxie. I didn't realize how much time had gone by. I didn't mean to worry you."
"Heh, I wasn't too worried, I knew you'd be ok…" Still holding onto the blonde, Rei raised his head and looked at the others who were also there.
He was surprised to see Wolborg had made his way down here. Even more shocking was that the white wolf was arguing with Trygle. 'When did he get back?! Wasn't I ahead of him?'
"How could you be so careless?! You were supposed to watch after Rei!" Wolborg barked at him.
For your information, I was watching after him! He got here in one piece, didn't he?!
"If he hadn't decided to come back on his own, Grypholyion could have found out, hence, Robert would also know! You should have been paying closer attention to the time!"
Trygle flapped his wings indignantly. Do I look like the sun? How could I have known what time it was?!
Rei sighed. So they were arguing about it already. He figured it would happen sooner or later…
[Ahem.] Driger interrupted their dispute as he stood between them. [Would you two please stop your bickering? Rei is here now. He is safe and that is all that matters.] That was the first time Wolborg had taken notice of the half-breed's return and he quickly rushed to his side.
"Little kitty, you're all right." He nuzzled Rei's neck, happy to see that he wasn't harmed.
Rei nodded with a weak smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You were gone for so long, and with that hunter no less." He shook his head. "You had me worried sick! I was ready to cross over and find you but then this pigeon came back and told us that you were returning." He motioned to Trygle, who was glared at him.
Tilting his head down almost dejectedly, Rei turned to address them all. "Look everyone, I'm really sorry. I lost track of time, is all. Nothing happened. I was so caught up in the traps that I forgot to send Trygle back to tell you I might be late…"
Driger's head snapped up. [Traps? You were working with hunters…and traps?!]
Blinking, Rei quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "No, no, it's not what you think! See, there was just, one hunter," He held up his index finger for emphasis. "Kai. Remember? The one with blue hair and the phoenix."
Driger grunted. [Oh yes, Dranzer or something…]
The raven-haired boy nodded nervously. "Yea. Anyway, there were a bunch of traps set up in the forest, so we began taking them down."
"By yourselves?! You could have gotten caught!" Wolborg practically roared.
[I have to agree with him, Rei. What were you thinking?! Not only could you have fallen victim to one of those traps, but that…Kai person could have easily turned on you and captured you himself! How could you?!]
"He wouldn't do that, Driger!"
"How do you know, Rei?" The older boy was surprised at Max's question. He knew that Driger and Wolborg would be protective, but Max knows that he trusts Kai, doesn't he?
"Max…" He whispered incredulously.
"I…I know that you guys are ok now, but you should be careful…around the traps I mean." He was trying to stay on Rei's good side, while getting his point across. "We don't know much about them. They're dangerous." There wasn't too much emphasis on "they", but the raven-haired boy caught it. He knew Max was indeed doubtful of Kai, but for the sake of appearance, spoke as if the traps were the dodgy things.
Rei furrowed his brows. "Trygle was with me, he'd help me if I needed it."
"Pff…" Wolborg didn't even glance at the eagle. However, they soon got swept up in another fight. Max frowned, unsure of how to break them up. Driger, meanwhile, stepped up to Rei.
[Rei, he is a hunter. He cannot be trusted to the extent that you walk around with him in a forest filled with traps.]
"But-"
[But I don't know him, right? Rei, taking down the traps is the right thing, but alongside a hunter, well…I think you should do some thinking before you go out there again.] Rei's ears fell and his tail stopped flicking.
"Driger," His voice dropped to a whisper. "I trust him. I know he's a hunter, and I still hate what he does, but I don't think I hate him." The tiger took a seat. "I'll always be careful, I'm not going to get swept up by those snares. You know I'm smarter than that." The look of disbelief in Driger's eyes didn't waver. It seemed impossible to convince the creature otherwise.
Rei dropped to his knees and hugged the tiger around the neck. "Don't worry about me. I'm a big boy."
[…]
"I'm going back tomorrow, but around sunset. I have a feeling Grypholyion is really suspicious, so I'm going to throw him off a bit." He smiled into his white fur. "Can you and Max cover for me if he comes looking?"
[What?] Driger pulled away, amazed that Rei had the audacity to ask such a thing of him after all the worrying he had just put him through.
"Just in case. You may not have to."
Driger snarled. [Rei, do you even remember the little dispute we had no more than a moment ago?! How can you even think about going back, or even asking favors of me after I had been so worried?!]
"Because I know you want me to be happy."
Driger blinked. Happy? [Oh, don't tell me…the hunter…] The smile on Rei's face was enough of an answer. [Rei…] He whined.
"One hour. Please? I promise that I'll be back in one hour."
The tiger growled in annoyance. He glanced at the half-breed's innocent face and turned his head to the side. [You…] He caught the boy's gaze from the corner of his eye. [You really trust him, don't you?]
"If he wanted to catch me, he would have already." After some contemplation, and a long shake of the head, Driger nodded.
[If it'll make you happy…]
Rei wrapped his arms around Driger's neck and laughed. "Thank you!" The delight in his voice caught Wolborg, Trygle, and Max's attention.
"Thank you? Driger, what did you promise him this time?" Wolborg groaned. The tiger maybe fierce, but he held a humongous soft spot for the kitten.
Picking himself up, Rei jogged over to Wolborg. "I know that you're just trying to keep me safe, but tomorrow I'm going back to take down more traps." He quickly covered the wolf's mouth with his hand, keeping him from replying. "I know, I know, I shouldn't trust Kai, but you don't know him. And besides, Trygle will be there so if anything goes wrong (knock on wood), he'll be there to help." Before Trygle could get his word in, Rei shushed him. "Yes, you will be there."
Driger chuckled. [You sure know how to command your audience, Rei.]
"It's in my blood." He decided to take off while he could, so he turned for Robert's cave. After all, he had a lot of explaining to do with Grypholyion. "Thanks for understanding!"
Max smiled; impressed by Rei's finesse, and that he was getting along with Kai. He wasn't sure if they'd ever get on good grounds, and was glad that he had made friends with someone outside of the Umber Woods. The only thing that worried him wasn't Rei's trust in Kai, but Kai's sincerity in this new friendship.
...
Kai shuffled through the forest floor as he steadied the pile of nets on his shoulder. Shortly after Rei had left, he had decided to leave as well. Dranzer was circling above him, going ahead every once and a while to survey the area.
He glanced up at her. "You don't have to be so cautious…" She chirped knowingly. "I know this part of the woods better than Tyson knows his food groups." He looked straight ahead, the edge of the forest already in his sights.
The town was a bit quieter now, probably since most people were busy with work or something or other. Kai was thankful for that too, since it looked a bit odd, even for him, to be walking out of the Umber Woods with traps slung over his shoulder. Then out of the corner of his eye, the bluenette spotted Tyson running towards him.
"Hm." It was a little strange for Tyson to be looking for him, even more so, for his little friend Kenny to be missing. As the boy neared him, Kai stopped. "Tyson, what are you doing here? And where's Kenny?"
Said boy was a bit short of breath, and put his hand on Kai's shoulder for support. "I was…was just going to uh…into the Umber Woods." Kai eyed his suspiciously. "And Kenny is at home with Deliah, doing…I don't know, some sort of computer thing."
"Wait a minute," He shrugged Tyson off and readjusted his grip on the nets. "You are going into the Umber Woods? Why?" The last part came out as a command, even though it was technically, a question.
Tyson tried to act as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "No reason, j-just because." But he failed miserably. He wore his heart on his sleeve and couldn't hide anything if his life depended on it. Not to mention his nervous laughter was practically a sign that said: I'm up to something, but I don't want to tell you.
Kai quickly seized him up and tilted his head. "You weren't planning on going to see Max, were you?" He had only witnessed the two boys' joyful behavior around each other once or twice, but he knew from years of living with Tyson, that once he made friends with someone, it was hard for him to be apart from whoever it was. Since Max was the newest person he met (aside from Dizzi and Rei), and was a particularly unique one, it was only a matter of common sense.
"No, of course not! I just…you know, wanted to…uh…find some animals for Kenny?" Tyson was now shifting around and had one of those cheesy grins on his face. He mine as well have signed a confessional.
Kai sighed, grabbed the boy's arm with his free hand, and began dragging him back to the house. "Like that little act is enough to convince me."
Tyson began struggling, but a few small spurts of fire from Dranzer told him it was useless. "K-A-I!" He whined. "Let me go! Max is my friend, is there anything wrong with visiting--" No sooner had the words left his mouth, did Kai cover the boy's mouth and shove him into the nearest alleyway. He peered around the corner, making sure no one had paid heed to Tyson's little pleads, before breathing out a sigh of relief.
After a few seconds, the younger boy pushed the bluenette's hand away and told him off. "What the hell was that about?! You probably bruised my back from that stunt!"
Kai pivoted and glared down at him. "Do you have any idea what could have happened if someone had heard you, Tyson?" He said in a deadly whisper. "What if another hunter who knows about Max had listened in? He'd follow you and let you lead him to Max, or corner you later and make you show him where he is! I know that this maybe new to you, but when you know coveted information, you can't go and run your mouth off like that--"
"Hey, lay off! I didn't say I wanted to visit my super rare Umber Wood creature friend, I just said Max. For all anyone knows, that's probably one of my buddies who goes to the Umber Woods a lot. And what other hunter? No one else knows about them, right?" Kai turned away from him. "…Right?"
"Just watch your mouth, Tyson. And do not go to Max, you'll only cause more trouble." With that, the boy walked off, with Dranzer in toe.
Rubbing his back a bit, Tyson stepped out of the alley and, despite his tugging curiosity, headed to Kenny's place instead. Though Kai was very good at keeping his emotions in check, sometimes, even he lets things slip. His silence back there was more than enough to convince the boy that there was indeed another hunter who knew about Max and probably Rei, as well.
A few steps from the brunette's house, Tyson looked over his shoulder, towards the mysterious Umber Woods. 'Maxie…' Now he was beginning to worry. If he had understood Kai's silence, then who is the other hunter that's after his new friends?
...
Once he got home, Kai hurried up to his room and locked the door. He tossed the nets into his closet and sat down on the edge of his bed. 'That was close. I almost told Tyson about Johnny. Hopefully he didn't catch on.'
Dranzer pulled Kai out of his thoughts when she hopped over to him and tugged at the bag on his belt. He glanced at her and petted her red feathers. "Hungry already?" He removed the bag and opened it, letting the mint leaves spill out. "Don't tell me you're turning into Tyson." She didn't seem to notice (or understand) his comment, and began eating the leaves with a thankful chirp.
Seeing that she didn't need his company, Kai got up and reached for the phone. His train of thought had only reminded him that he needed to have a little chat with Johnny about those traps. He didn't know why he even had the redhead's number, but at the moment he was glad.
The phone rang once, and then a voice he didn't much care for answered. "Yes, who is it?"
Kai sighed. "It's me, we need to talk."
Johnny's rude manner suddenly did a 180 and became nice, as if he had been waiting for him to call. "Ah, Kai. How nice to hear from you."
"Cut the cra-" He took a deep breath and recomposed himself. " I mean, what were all those traps doing in the forest?"
"I told you before that there was no law forbidding me from putting them up, Kai."
He tried to keep his tone neutrally curious, though it was quite tempting to explode at him. "Yes, but I thought you were giving up your search for that mythic creature since you figured out that you were being led on a wild goose chase."
"Well, I was. But then I had a little chat with the man who sent me the request and he managed to turn me around on the matter. I decided to continue my little mission after all, isn't that wonderful?" His voice was dripping with false enthusiasm, which seemed like poison to Kai's ears.
"No, as a matter of fact, it isn't. Your traps keep other hunters from actual missions. I know it is none of my business, but do you really think you should waste all this time and money on searching for something that isn't real?"
The bluenette heard laughter from the other end. "Oh Kai, if only you knew. I'm quite set on my assignment and none of your lies will make me think otherwise. If anything, you're wasting my time, so I'll just end this little conversation now--"
"Don't you dare hang up, Johnny!"
Kai could practically see the smirk Johnny must have had. "Hm, I see you really are set on driving me away from this mission. Why do you care so much, Kai? My traps don't interfere with your jobs, so the only reason why you want me to quit is because you too, know of this creature and want to catch it yourself, isn't that right, Hiwatari?!"
Kai was about to retaliate, saying that that was all wrong, but an idea came to mind that seemed a lot more useful. "T-That's right, Johnny."
"Ha! You can't tell me other-…wait…I'm right?" Obviously the redhead thought Kai was going to disagree, but it shocked him to the core to find out that the bluenette was agreeing.
"Yes. I knew of this creature before you even heard of it. I even have a buyer waiting on me, but your stupid traps have littering the forest! The creature won't come out; it's too smart. So if I want to collect my bounty, I need you to step out and remove your ridiculously useless snares!" It wasn't hard for Kai to put feeling behind his words, especially since they were true.
"Well, I…" Johnny wasn't prepared for this, but came up with an idea anyway. "Well tough luck, Kai. My request came from a rich buyer, so don't expect me to bow out gracefully."
"Yes, I already know about your requester. Remember, I told you he asked me before he asked you, and I know that he doesn't have the money to back up his words." Ok, so that wasn't true, but if he sounded confident enough, he could pull it off.
"O-Oh yea? Uh…"
"All right, Johnny, I have an idea. Why don't we all meet…you, this mysterious buyer, and me? We can get together tonight and talk about this situation."
"There is no situation, Hiwatari! This is my mission, and I'm going to collect the bounty right after I capture this creature!"
"Heh, good luck. You don't know the first thing about this creature, while I, have a good amount of knowledge. In fact, the only thing keeping me from capturing it are your idiotic traps."
"…"
"Face it, you don't have the experience to get this job done, you only have a couple of nets and wires. So either I meet this buyer, or I'll have Dranzer level the forest and your traps along with it, and capture the creature myself." All right, now he was going overboard. Kai knew full well he'd practically destroy the village if he ordered Dranzer to bring the forest down (not that she had that much power to do it in one blast), but he was on a roll. And part of him couldn't help but put that icing on the cake. His self-assured words and intimidating demeanor (yes, even over the phone), probably backed Johnny into a corner, making him forget the logic behind Kai's façade.
"Ok, ok…no need to shout, Hiwatari." He paused, and Kai smiled. "But not tonight. I'm already planning on meeting the guy tomorrow around five o'clock, so you'll have to wait until then."
Kai thought it over, that was when Rei wanted to meet him. 'I'll just tell him to skip the lesson. This is more important, and it'll probably look better to that Grypholyion creature if Rei didn't disappear everyday. "Fine. Where are we meeting?"
"The Yuki shrine. Don't be late." The line went dead, so Kai put the receiver down, a sense of accomplishment brimming inside of him. He noticed that Dranzer had nearly finished all of the leaves and sat down beside her.
"If my new ability of speaking to you doesn't work out Dranz, at least I know I still have impeccable people skills, right?" He practically said with a laugh.
She paid no attention to him and continued eating, though she was quite slow. It was almost as if she wasn't moving.
"Hn." He pulled the bag away from her. "You know, if you keep this up, you'll get fat-huh?" Turns out, she was dozing off. He picked her up and laid her in his lap, supporting her neck with his left arm and stroking her wings with his free hand. "Tired already? I didn't think destroying traps would exhaust you so easily."
She shook her head and chirped. {I'm fine, master Kai. Hm…it must be something about these leaves…} Even though she didn't completely understand, she knew that the boy was a bit worried about her.
"Listen Dranzer, I know that you can't understand me…but you have to try." She blinked, sat up as best she could, and looked at him. "I need you to tell Rei that I cannot see him tomorrow."
{Rei? Ok…you want me to tell Rei…something…}
He tried to elaborate since she seemed confused. 'Ok, she knows it's about Rei…I know that she recognizes his name.' He pointed to a trap that was showing behind the closet door. "Remember, we were taking down traps today? Well, tomorrow…" He got up and pointed to the next day on the calendar. "I cannot see him tomorrow." Kai covered the date and shook his head. "I can't go tomorrow, ok?"
{Tomorrow? Rei? Traps? We can't take down traps tomorrow? Is that it, master Kai?}
"We can't go see Rei tomorrow. You have to tell that to Rei, ok?"
{But why can't we take down traps tomorrow? Don't you want to help? Don't you want to see Rei-neko? Oh, did it have something to do with that call you just made?} It seemed there was no more time for silent questions. Kai walked out onto the balcony, a sure sign that he wanted the phoenix to deliver the message.
"I'll leave the door open for you, I have some things I need to do and I don't really have time to wait for you to come back, ok?"
{I hope I have the right information…mm…why am I so tired?} Her head bobbed out of weariness, but Kai mistook it for understanding and sent her off with a light push. {Oh! Oh shoot, I wont be able to do anything if I don't stay alert! Why can't I stay awake?}
"There's no need to rush Dranzer, just make sure you tell Rei." With that, he walked back into his room, leaving the phoenix to her job.
She flew over the canopy of the Umber Woods at a slow pace, occasionally dipping in her flight and catching the tops of the trees. She couldn't fly in the cover of the trees since some of the traps were still active, not to mention in her weary state, she would have trouble avoiding all of the branches.
Dranzer figured it must have been the leaves she ate. Their cooling effect must have consequences, causing drowsiness, or something or other. She wanted to sleep and let the effect take its toll, but Kai wanted her to deliver the message, so she figured that she'd have to wait until after she got back to rest.
{Oh, finally, there's the mountain. N-Now I just need to keep it up a little longer.} The ascension of the mountain was far past difficult, and by the time she had made it over, was near spent. {I don't know if I can find him in time…mm…what was I supposed to tell him again? I-I'm supposed to tell…Rei…that's right…but what did I need to-ah!} When she was thinking, a high wind appeared out of nowhere and blew her into the mountain. {Ah…} Knocking the last bit of consciousness she had left in her, Dranzer began plummeting down, paralleling the mountainside.
Nothing slowed or stopped her drop until she finally hit the lake's surface. The instant the water grazed her body, her eyes snapped open and she flew out of the liquid like a bullet from a gun.
{Oh my goodness! What in the world happened?!} She was fully awake and trying to stay in the air, but her drenched feathers were weighing her down. {This is terrible!} She landed and quickly shook the water off of herself as best she could. Thankfully the surprise high winds helped dry her off to the point that she could take flight again.
{What am I doing on this side of the Umber Woods? And without master Kai for that matter? Oh!} That seemed to remind her of the job he sent her to do. {That's right, he wanted me to…to tell something…to someone.} She racked her mind, but couldn't fill in the blanks. {Well, if I'm here, I must have delivered the message already. And the winds must have gotten me off guard and somehow blew me into the lake. …How strange…}
Feeling that all of her questions were more or less answered, Dranzer quickly scaled the mountain and headed back to Kai's house.
... The next day…
Robert quickly did a head count as the students left the building. The group had just had a tour of one of the most prosperous companies in Amidaru and was on their way to have lunch. The other two professors were leading the way, leaving Robert to keep a watch from the end. He didn't think that any of the students would stray, but he could never be too sure.
'Hm…' The thought of having a few mischievous kids reminded him of Rei and Max. 'I wonder how those two are doing? Hope they haven't drove Grypholyion out of his mind yet.' It was the second day of the trip and so far, everything had gone smoothly. He was enjoying the 'vacation', and it was nice to get out of the town and visit a fairly larger one, but still…a part of him missed the younger half-breeds. They weren't just his self-appointed responsibility; they were also his family.
'No matter how much a handful they are, I can't wait to get back.' Robert glanced at spot where he figured the Umber Woods would be. 'I wonder how much trouble they've caused so far…' He thought with a small laugh.
...
"May I leave, now?" Rei persisted.
Grypholyion shook his head, unwilling to let Rei go just yet. ()I'm sorry little Rei, but after your run-around yesterday, I'm not letting you leave my sight for some time.() Rei pouted, hoping to get some sympathy. ()You know full well that will not work on me. You had me very worried. If you were going to go all the way to Folborg's nest, you should have told me.()
Rei tilted his head down. "It's Falborg, Grypholyion…"
()The details don't matter. I know that you are getting older and want to explore more, but that does not excuse you from gallivanting off without notifying me first. Remember, Robert left me in charge of you and Max until he returns.() He stated a-matter-of-factly.
"I know, and I'm sorry. But I already stayed here all day and night…(from the time he went to explain until now), can't I please go to see Max and Driger?"
Grypholyion sat down and shook his head. ()Not just yet. You need to learn from your mistakes.() The great beast looked outside. They were at the mouth of the cave, where they had been all morning. ()You can leave when the sun touches the top of those mountains.() He finally said.
Rei glanced over his shoulder; that would be around four o'clock or so. Which meant that he would have an hour to get to Kai after that. But since Grypholyion would be keeping a closer watch on him, it was going to be hard, especially since he was still intent on keeping his promise to Robert (however much of it was left) and staying on this side of the mountain. That meant he couldn't take the easy way and cross over by way of the lake.
Rei sighed. 'Well, it's about noon now, so I have four hours to come up with a plan.' Making up his mind, he lied down, gathered some rocks and started plotting. 'Ok, let's say this rock is Grypholyion…'
...
Tyson plopped down on Kenny's bed and waited for his friend to follow. Unlike the blue-haired boy, the younger boy merely sat down. "So, what do you think?"
"Like I said yesterday, Tyson, I'm not sure. I mean, there can't be too many hunters that would know about Max since we have kept quiet about it,"
"Ha, I knew it!"
"However, if Kai has reason to tell you not to go, then you had better listen to him."
"Aw, Chief…why do you always have to side with him?" Tyson whined.
"I don't always agree with him, but he is right. There is in fact, another hunter than knows about Max."
The other boy sat up quickly in disbelief. "Really?! Who? We haven't said anything about Max! How could someone else know about him?!" He demanded.
"Calm down, Tyson!"
"Yes, would you please settle down?" Dizzi stepped in, coming in from the other room, brining in one of the nets from the traps Kai had taken down yesterday.
"Dizzi?"
"Just stay quiet and maybe Kenny can explain." She handed the boy the net and peered at the computer screen.
"Ok, thanks Dizzi." The brunette showed Tyson the net and then brought up the appropriate program on his laptop. "See here? This is a very expensive, high tech trap that's used to capture flying creatures." He picked up the still attached barometer. "When the right kind of animal flies past it and its air pressure matches that of the one indicated on the barometer, the net will drop and snag the creature."
"…All right, but what does that have to do with Max and another hunter?"
"I'm getting to that. See, on the screen…" He motioned to his laptop. "I have an updated analysis of Dranzer's statistics." He pointed to one number in particular. "This shows her maximum strength level and how much pressure she can create by flapping her wings just right." Tyson nodded, though looked a bit confused. "Now look at the number set on the barometer. See how it's about double the number of Dranzer's power? That means that whatever creature this trap was set for is really big." He closed his laptop and began looking over the net. "Or at least a good amount larger than Dranzer. And the only creature that big in the Umber Woods would have to be Max."
Tyson crossed his arms. "But what about that…that Grypholyion thing? It's a lot bigger than Max, maybe that's what the trap was set for."
"While that seems like a possibility, it's highly improbable. Not only does Grypholyion stay on the other side of the mountain, but this net is way too small for a beast of his size." It was true. The net strewn about Kenny's bed was about the size of an ordinary sleeping bag, and couldn't possibly fit a mythic animal the size of a griffin.
"Well, just because there are nets set up for Max's wing pressure and size, doesn't necessarily mean that there's another hunter out there who knows about half-breeds."
"Normally I'd agree with you, but Kai told me that there is another hunter. And this is one of his nets."
"Wha? Then why didn't he just tell me yesterday?! Doesn't he think I can keep a secret?!"
"Calm down, Tyson. Kai probably didn't want anyone who doesn't need to know, to know." Dizzi explained. "I'm sure he trusts you."
"Sure he does…" Tyson grumbled.
"Just forget about it, Tyson. At least you know now. So you can't go into the Umber Woods to visit Max. It's too dangerous for both of you. You'll just have to wait until the traps are gone and Kai does something about that other hunter."
"Fine…but only because I don't want Max to risk his feathers to see me. By the way, who is the other guy?"
"Unfortunately, Kai said I didn't need to know. He just wanted me to analyze this net. He wanted to know if I could somehow make a device that could disarm all of the other traps out there without actually taking them down."
"Oh, that would certainly makes things easier. Did you come up with anything?"
Kenny sighed and shook his head. "Not yet. Kai only gave this to me this morning you know."
"Right…" Tyson nodded, a sheepish smile on his face. He had been there, he should have remembered. "I knew that."
"Well, I probably won't be doing much else for the rest of the day. You can go home if you want."
Tyson shook his head. "Can't. Kai told me to stay here and out of his way."
"Out of his way?" Kenny echoed.
"Yup, so I guess I'll just help you figure this out!" He said enthusiastically. "I'll start by getting us some snacks!" With that the blue-haired boy dashed off to the kitchen.
"Do you really think he'll be able to help you, Kenny?" Dizzi asked.
"No, But I do think that Kai owes me big for this one." He opened his laptop. "Finding a way to disable all the traps is one thing, but doing that while watching Tyson is a whole other matter entirely…" Dizzi giggled and nodded.
... Later that day…
A few hours had passed and the day seemed to slip away. Rei had patiently waited for the sun to reach the two mountaintops all afternoon and was beginning to get anxious. 'Come on…come on…just a little bit further…' He tapped his claws against the ground in an annoying repetition and flicked one of the nearby rocks away.
He had already made a plan, though it wasn't too complex…he liked to think it would work when the time came. The rocks were useful in positioning the people he'd need, but the actual strategizing only took about fifteen minutes. For the majority of the remaining time, Rei had pretended they were army men and set up scrimmages between them. He was sure Grypholyion had thought him mad, but one does silly things when driven to absolute boredom.
The caretaker scratched his neck. ()Well, it was his own fault. He ran off without telling me and has to endure the punishment…no matter how ridiculously useless it is.() He thought as he gazed at the sun, which was slowly reaching the mountaintops. ()But still…() Grypholyion glanced at the young half-breed. He hadn't complained during the entire afternoon, and acted rather maturely to a childish reprimand. ()I suppose it couldn't hurt.() Getting up, the creature stretched his back and gave his wings a good flap. ()Hm…I'm getting too old for this…() He concluded in his mind.
Rei turned around and sat up from where he lay. 'Is he leaving? It's not time yet…'
()All right, little Rei, I believe you've had enough time to think. You may go now; however, in the future, it would be in your best interests to tell me when you are going on a little expedition, am I clear?() Rei nodded, a smile crossing his face. ()Very well, go on, enjoy the rest of your day.()
The young boy bowed in gratitude and nodded. "Thanks, Grypholyion. I'll see you later then!" He turned to leave and jumped down to the adjacent ledge, slowly reaching the bottom where the trees could cover him. There, he made sure nothing could see him and he waited. "Ok, come on…go!" He mumbled. A minute or two passed until Grypholyion finally took to the skies, using his mighty wings to get far in seconds. The raven-haired boy sped through the forest a bit; making sure the griffin went far enough so that he was out of sight. He saw the beast fly towards the mountains to the west and nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect." Changing his direction, Rei headed back to his tree, where he hoped Max would be.
His original plan was to get Max to distract Grypholyion like before, but when he got an ache in his back, he realized that after all that sitting, his caretaker would want to stretch after his sentence had been completed. The best way for a flying creature to do that would be to take to the skies for a while (as Max had done multiple times before). So, he'd let Grypholyion do just that, and ask Max to stand watch near the foot of Robert's cave and, just like before, distract the great beast until the lesson was done. Usually Grypholyion would fly for a long time, so until then, he'd just have to find something to do.
First thing was to find Max, which didn't take too long considering he was waiting for him at the tree, just as Rei thought. The angel flew down from one of the higher branches and ran over to greet him.
"Rei, there you are. I was beginning to think that Grypholyion was going to keep you there until Robert came back." It wasn't time for a hug, but from his smile, the raven-haired boy knew that he was happy at his presence.
"So, you weren't worried?" Rei asked, faking an air of hurt that his best friend didn't worry that Grypholyion was really punishing him.
He shrugged. "Not really." At the raven-haired boy's pout, the angel smiled and elaborated. "I don't know, I just…had a feeling that you were going to die from boredom rather than pain, if anything. Besides, Driger sort of told me that you weren't in real danger." He leaned in and then whispered: "He said Grypholyion is a softy when it comes to us."
At that, Rei laughed, and was also reminded of the tiger and instantly glanced around for him. "Oh, I forgot about Driger…where is he?"
"Don't worry about him." Max assured him as he led his friend to the trunk of the tree, where they sat down. "He left last night, probably to one of his spots. Actually, he told me to get him when you were out of 'time-out' as he put it." He stood. "I should get him--"
"Hold on, Maxie!" Rei grabbed the boy's arm and tugged him back down. "Don't go just yet."
The younger boy glanced at him curiously. "Why not?"
Rei sighed "I know you're going to hate me for this, but…I need a favor…"
The smile on the blonde's face melted away and he shook his head in disbelief. "No way! No no! Rei after what just happened how could you--"
"Please, I need your help!" He clung to Max's arm childishly. "It's nothing big…I just need you to distract Grypholyion for me when he comes back from his flight." Max eyed him warily and let him continue his explanation. "The lessons are never too long, and you know how much Grypholyion loves flying. My guess is you won't have to do anything but sit and enjoy the wonderful scenery."
It sure seemed like an easy task, but Max knew it would never turn out that way. So, for once in a long time, the younger half-breed resisted Rei's pleas, but the raven-haired boy didn't give up. He had roughly an hour to convince him, which was surely enough time for someone with people skills like him…he hoped…
"I still don't know how you managed to drench yourself, Dranzer." Kai mumbled as he continued to gently brush the phoenix's feathers. They were already dry (considering she did fall in the water yesterday), but he was just baffled at how his Dranzer had been caught off guard. Now he was just grooming her, as she kind of insisted by poking him with the brush handle minutes prior to the present. "I wish Rei were here so that I could find out. But I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow…or whenever you told him to meet me." His mahogany eyes strayed to the clock on his nightstand. It was nearly five. He put the brush down and lifted the bird up from his lap and set her beside him.
{Done already, master Kai?} She chirped. {I was hoping for a longer session.} She purposely ruffled her feathers and flew to her perch. She watched the boy gather a few things and head for the door.
"Meet me at the door." He said, and then whistled a string of notes to clarify.
{I was hoping you'd say that.} She responded, and then made her way out the sliding door, over the balcony's ledge, and waited on the mailbox. {Master Kai seemed very serious; I wonder where we're going…what's so important?} Dranzer wondered. She didn't have too long to think though, since Kai promptly came out, walked past her, and onto the road. {It must be imperative to his mission. I had better be alert. I wouldn't want to be the reason master Kai is upset.} She concluded. The phoenix hopped off of the mailbox and reached Kai's shoulder in seconds. She wasn't offended by his seemingly indifferent attitude towards her; it simply meant he was under a bit of pressure or worry.
'Dranzer.' Kai faintly noticed as a weight landed on his shoulder. He patted her talons lightly. 'Be on your best, something tells me this is going to be an interesting meeting.'
...
Johnny checked his watch again and tapped his foot against the ground impatiently. "He's going to be late…"
"He still has a minute or two if I'm not mistaken." Came the reply from a mysterious person close to the shrine. He was definitely male from the tone of his voice, but other than that, nothing else could be determined. He was wearing a large brown cloak and pulled the hood up over his head. Even though it was summer, the veil of night came quickly, so the person's features were well hidden.
"Hmph, I don't know why he's even coming…" Said the redhead, obviously trying to forget his previous conversation with the bluenette.
"I believe he wants to discuss ownership of the mission." The cloaked person responded.
"Ownership?!" Johnny practically shouted in disbelief. "You gave me this assignment and I accepted before Hiwatari did! This job and its bounty belong to me!"
The mysterious figure chuckled. "I beg to differ…"
He was taken aback at that answer. "What?!"
"Despite your 'full-proof' traps, you have failed to catch anything, am I correct?"
"W-Well, true…but it's only been a day or two!"
"That's no excuse." The tone of his voice was firm and serious. "I don't allow any kind of failure, even a minor one such as this."
"Eh…"
"I've heard a great many things about Kai, and few about you. Yet, I gave you a chance to prove yourself." He lifted his head, letting a bit of light wander across his face. "Johnny, I'm telling you right now that if Kai takes me up on my offer, you will not be employed by me any longer."
Despite his brimming anger towards this cloaked person and Kai, Johnny did his best to suppress his emotions. The last thing that would help him was bursting out in shouts and threats of violence. Besides all that, footsteps approached, and he knew full well who it was.
"I'm sorry if I'm a bit late." The familiar voice said. "My phoenix needed my attention." He stopped a good distance from the two people in front of him, eyeing Johnny first, and then the mysterious stranger. 'This must be the person who sent me that letter. He's the one who got Johnny on my case…'
"Ah, Mr. Hiwatari, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." The sound of his voice was a bit familiar to Kai, but he couldn't quite place it with a face. "I hope you have had a pleasant day."
Johnny glared at them both. "We don't need any of that. Let's just settle this and get on with our lives."
Kai smirked. "What's wrong, Johnny? A bit agitated, are we?"
"It's none of your business, Kai." He retaliated with a snarl.
The bluenette raised his voice a little to respond. "My life wasn't any of your business either, but you didn't mind barging in with your obnoxious traps."
"Right, right. That's quite enough from the both of you." They turned to the cloaked person, who had stepped in. "You both have valid points, and that's what we are here to discuss. We'll start with claim to the bounty, and then work on the excess amount of snares we seem to have. Sound fair?"
"Fine." Johnny mumbled.
For once, Kai agreed with him. "Same with me." Actually, it wasn't fine. He didn't care about ownership of the mission, hell; he had his own job already and didn't need another (especially since it was to capture Max). And while he wanted to get Johnny to back off with the traps (just in case Kenny couldn't make the device he needed), Kai really wanted to find out just who this guy was, and who he worked for.
"Good, so let's get started. It's rather cold tonight, and I rather not stay out here any longer than necessary."
...
"Trygle…" Rei called out. "Trygle? Are you ready?" He rounded the tree and looked up into the leaves. "Trygle, hurry up! We're late!"
Give me a minute, would you?! A second later the eagle toppled out and began flying towards the cave. Geez, I'm no spring chicken, unlike you, young one.
Rei laughed. "Who are you calling young?! I'm nearly sixteen."
In people years…but going by cat years…or whatever the heck you're half of, you need to subtract a couple. He countered with his incoherent logic.
Rei shook his head slightly. He didn't mind, and was really just glad Trygle was ok with coming along. The half-breed smirked. 'Bet Driger sent him to watch me…' Well, the reasons didn't matter at least he had company. Scratch that, at least he was able to go. After much arguing and a bit of poking, Rei had managed to convince Max to cover for him…again. When the sun dropped a bit more, he had agreed to wait at the foot of the cave for Grypholyion to return. Rei was simply overjoyed. Though he did have to make a small deal with the blonde to seal the favor…
Hey Rei, what did you have to give Max to make him agree to being your look out again? Trygle asked as he waited for Rei to scale the ledge to the mouth of the cave.
"Well, it's really none of your business…but lets just say I'll be in his debt until I'm very old in both human and cat years…" Once he reached the cave, he dusted off his clothes and motioned the eagle to follow.
And you're sure this is all worth it? You're his servant for a dozen or so years in exchange for a little time with that hunter? Or does this agreement last for a couple of lesson lookouts?
When they approached the blocked hole, Rei began moving the rocks as Trygle provided a bit of light. "I'm not Max's servant, I'm just…so grateful that I'll probably do him some favors, make his life a bit nicer…that's all."
Uh huh… He responded in a disbelieving drone.
"And this does cover a few more lessons, so it's worth it."
So you say. However, you have pointedly avoided the other part of my question, Rei. Is the hunter really worth all of this trouble? You have absolutely despised his kind for the years that I have known you. You can't come out and tell me that you've suddenly had a change of heart. He stated and then added: Even you aren't that temperamental… With a bit of flare in his voice.
"I'd love to answer you, but I got the hole unblocked, and we're late so it'll just have to w-wait…?" After stepping through the makeshift door and glancing around, Rei blinked. Kai wasn't there. A bit stunned, he didn't move, Trygle, on the other hand, flew through and looked over the edge.
Well, he isn't here so I guess we aren't late. He concluded, and then made his way back to Rei. So, now would you mind answering my question?
Avoiding the eagle's question again, the raven-haired boy walked over to the mouth of the cave and looked for himself. Trygle was right. Neither Kai nor Dranzer were in sight. 'Where is he?' He silently wondered.
...
Just as the mysterious buyer had said, he didn't want to spend too long on this meeting. However, getting Johnny and Kai to agree on a seemingly simple issue was a harder task than he could have ever anticipated. In fact, the two hunters did most of the talking (or arguing…), while the cloaked figure was left bored and a bit cold. He leaned against the Yuki shrine, his eyes moving back and forth as the discourse continued.
"I told you, I don't want this stupid mission! I just want you to get your traps out of my way!"
"And I told you that I have the right to keep those things up since I am a valid hunter!"
"Valid?! More like invalid! You hardly catch anything even with those horrid snares and if you were considered a 'legitimate hunter' then why aren't you on Mr. Black's list?" Kai was right. Any hunter worth calling upon was very familiar with the self-proclaimed "hunter proprietor", and the bluenette knew that Mr. Black didn't know of Johnny.
"I don't need some lacky to give me requests! People come to me personally when they want a creature captured properly!"
"Only because Mr. Black turned down their requests to one of his hunters because they weren't worth our time!" The buyer rubbed his forehead. This wasn't getting them anywhere. Not to mention he had his own job to do. His boss told him to settle the dispute between Kai and Johnny and accomplish what needed to be done. If he let those two carry on with their rants any longer, they'd surely be out here all night.
"Worth your time?! I'll have you know--"
"That really is enough." He said in a milder, yet intimidating tone. The two hunters glanced at him and shouted in unison:
"Stay out of it old man!" Completely taken aback by their combined outburst (and the fact that they had called him old) he reached up his sleeve and pulled something out.
{Oh boy…} Sensing what was about to happen, Dranzer wisely flew out of the way as the cloaked person swiftly hit both Kai and Johnny with the whip he had stowed away.
"Ssh…" It only felt like a flick to Kai, but still, he hadn't expected it. The cord landed on his shoulder, right where Dranzer had been.
"OW!" Johnny cried. "Hey, what's the hell is your problem?!"
The buyer chuckled and then shrugged his shoulder innocently. "Oh, sorry, I really didn't mean to hit you. I was just surprised by your outburst and well, I did what came naturally." He tucked the whip away. "When my own mythic creature bites I give him a tap with my whip. So sorry…"
"Do we look like animals to you?!" Kai really wanted to answer, but held his tongue as Dranzer gave his a sharp peck to remind him to be nice.
"Like I said, I'm very sorry. However, you two did deserve it. I said I wanted this to be a fast meeting and already you two have been arguing for the past twenty minutes." He declared in a matter-of-fact manner. "Now, can we please discuss this rationally?" The two nodded. "Good. Now, I think I'll take the reins of this conversation from here on." He cleared his voice. "As Johnny stated in the beginning, he was the first to accept this mission so technically, claims to the bounty rightfully belong to him."
"I told you so."
"However, just as I said, you haven't done a very good job of it. Not only have you failed to bring me anything, but, as Kai mentioned, your methods haven't been beneficial to anyone."
Johnny grumbled as he crossed his arms. The bluenette merely suppressed a smirk.
"So, Kai. I have to ask you again." Crimson eyes locked on hidden ones. "Will you accept my offer and capture this creature for me? It's obvious you know that such a creature exists otherwise you wouldn't be here." Kai didn't blink or waver. "I will pay you handsomely, of course." He added, trying to sweeten the pot.
However, the experienced hunter shook his head firmly. "Sorry, but I'm already on a mission. And my request came from a more reliable acquaintance than you." He started finally. "I'll have to humbly decline." That issue, as far as Kai was concerned, was over. From the start he didn't want the job, and didn't care whether or not Johnny got it. He just wanted the redhead to remove his traps and find out who this guy was.
'This guy knew I didn't care about the request.' He narrowed his gaze on him. 'Is he just stalling? This whole conversation was meaningless and went in a giant circle!'
The mysterious buyer nodded. "Very well. I suppose I can't sway you, and I must respect your decision." Kai never took his eyes off of him. The whole thing was too easy. Why go through all the trouble of bringing him out here and trying to convince him if he was willing to give up so easily?
Johnny watched their exchange with a twitching eye. That had to be the umpteenth time Kai had refused the stranger. And in a way…that irked him. What's more, he (Johnny) was willing to do this mission for the guy, but nothing he did was enough. This buyer clearly wanted Kai's skills, so why did he keep going to Johnny when it wasn't sufficient?
'It's almost as if he keeps me around just to agitate Kai. And while I don't mind pulling that jerk's leash, no one uses me like that…' Johnny thought.
Almost mechanically, the cloaked figure turned to Johnny. "Well then, I suppose you are still employed."
He glared at the stranger. "I don't think so." That definitely got the man's attention, as well as Kai's.
"I beg your pardon."
"You heard me. Even Kai heard me, and heaven knows his senses are gone." The bluenette passed on another chance to retaliate. He was curious as to where Johnny was going with this. "I know what you're up to, old man. You're just using me to get in Kai's way so that he'll keep coming back to argue and you can get another chance to get him on your side. Well I'm not falling for it." He declared.
Kai was a bit impressed, but only a bit. Actually, he was kicking himself for not connecting the dots sooner. Of course Kai already knew that Johnny was the distraction, but what the redhead said got him thinking. 'This guy wants me to work for him, that's a given. Now…he wants me to capture Max. Obviously he knows a bit about him. But in all my years, no one has ever claimed to see a half-breed, and out of the blue, this guy speaks up. Could it be he was just binding his time?' Kai's eyes widened.
'Wait a minute…it isn't just out of the blue. He sent me that letter right after I told Tala that I could only bring in one half-breed…could it be that he works for him? That would be why I recognize the voice. He could be one of Tala's men, or one of the guys who work for Tala's boss. But…no, that couldn't be…' Kai racked his brains and thought back to that day.
'I-I got that letter the same day I talked to Tala. He couldn't have written it and sent it so quickly, he lives in Amidaru. Unless…he already had it prepared…? But then he would have known about Rei…'
"Kai!" The bluenette turned to Johnny and glared at him. He was connecting the dots and the redhead just had to interrupt him.
"What is it?!" He barked.
"Cool it, Hiwatari. I just wanted you to know that I'm not sticking around to be some old man's lacky. The mission is yours for all I care." With that, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and stormed off.
Now it was just Kai alone with the mysterious buyer. "Well, things have certainly turned around, haven't they?" The young hunter didn't respond. He was now more suspicious of this guy than he was before. "I suppose everything has been settled, now hasn't it?" His voice was a bit angry, but he hid it pretty well. Obviously this wasn't the way he wanted things to turn out. "Though, the traps are still up, but I suppose you can handle those yourself, Kai." He turned and began walking away. "Until next time…"
Kai didn't take his eyes off the man until he was completely out of sight. And even then, he started after him. There was just something about him. He needed to know where this guy was going. If he headed to the train station, that would strengthen his reason to believe he works alongside Tala.
'If I'm right, and this guy does know about Rei, he must have spied on me. If he knows about Rei…I don't know what I'm going to do…'
{Master Kai? Why are we going this way?} Dranzer asked. Unable to understand, Kai just patted his talons.
"Stay quiet, Dranz. This will only take a minute." A whistle at the end told her to just stay alert. So she did. The phoenix trusted Kai, and quickly glanced around. It was getting late, and a light mist was settling in. The lamps flickered a bit, and Dranzer stayed close to the boy's head. She didn't like the mist too much. It made one do strange things sometimes…
...
SS-Really long, but actually, I didn't go as far as I originally intended. I plan things and add too much inbetween, so I'm pretty sure that read a bit hurriedly. I'm sorry if it did. Truthfully, I did this whole chapter in one sitting. I cleared a day and sat down and told myself to write. Still, I'm sorry if it seemed too fast. I'll pace and go a bit more evenly for the next one.
And this was what my friend calls 'plot development' … or 'character development' … or something or other. One of those chapters where things are explained and it doesn't seem too fascinating. Trust me, I've waited a long time to write the next chapter. It should make up for things. If you want to stick around that is…
Tym-And you can check her page/bio if you want any details to her absence. It's a doozy of an explanation in my opinion. Until then, thanks for all the reviews (I think we hit over 100, right?! Right?!?! You guys are amazing!) and please review…Ashes!
