Good morning/afternoon/evening (depending on the time of day)! Everyone has been well I hope. Look, this chapter is reasonably on time! :cheers: The next should be out...uh, before the end of September? Heh, it'll depend on how busy the new school year keeps me. Nothing else to say...thanks/replies are at the bottom, updates of any sort are in my bio. Happy reading!
Eh...where's Tym? He's on vacation. I hope he e-mails me soon...
Since some symbols were removed (again), everyone will use quotes, except for [Driger] and {Dranzer}. I'm really sorry about the confusion. If I had known this would happen, everyone would have started with regular quotes. Er, I shall change it all when I redo the story in the end.
And these... ooo are my new scene breakers. Ok, that's it.
Loving Legends
Chapter 11 – Fall, falling, fallen
Disclaimer: See prologue
"Mm, it's getting a bit dark." Trygle noticed. "Hey Rei, what time is it?" He was sitting on a rock near the hole in the wall, tipping his head from side to side. It had been a long time since they had arrived. Most of the fading sunlight was now completely gone and a thick layer of mist had settled in. "Rei, are you listening to me? Rei!"
"What?" The raven-haired boy had finally come to his senses and turned slightly to see the eagle. "Say that again."
"I said...do you have any idea what time it is?"
Rei blinked. "Time?" He looked outside and saw that it had already gotten dark. It was weird, he had been staring out into the woods for the past however long they were there, and he didn't notice. 'Guess I've been a bit preoccupied...'
"Well?" Trygle persisted.
"Oh, uh...it's getting pretty late." He knew an hour couldn't have passed, but with what had happened yesterday, he couldn't be too sure. "Why don't you go back to Max and tell him to stall a bit longer."
Trygle hopped off his rock and made his way to Rei. "Why do I have to? The guy is way late. I bet he forgot or something..." Rei didn't move. "Come on, you don't want to worry the others...again. Not to mention I don't want that Wolborg to bite my head off...again! Let's go. You can come back tomorrow."
"But Kai doesn't know if I'm coming tomorrow. And what if something happened to him today? I know he can be late sometimes, but if wasn't going to come, he'd send Dranzer."
He ruffled his feathers is annoyance. "Hmph...using Dranzer as his carrier pigeon, that's just wrong."
Rei managed a smile. "As much as you hate it, can you be mine and go to Max already? Tell him that I'll be back in ten minutes at most."
"Like I really have another choice?" He turned around and headed for the hole. "I'll be right back; so don't even think about going you know where. Got it?"
The boy kept a serious face, but was laughing at Trygle's tough act. "All right."
"Rei..."
Rei held his hands up in mock defense. "Don't worry. I promise I won't even think about going...you know where." The eagle glanced at him warily. "I swear."
"Mm...ok..." Rei gave him a thumbs-up and the bird left.
That left the boy to himself. He got up, dusted off his pants and stared out into the forest again. 'What happened to you, Kai?'
ooo
"If he leaves I am going to be in BIG trouble. Please listen to me, Rei." Trygle quickly left the cave completely and dove down into the forest. He knew where Max usually was, but went at a slower pace. If the blonde was doing what Rei asked of him, Grypholyion would be around, too. It would be a bit suspicious if he just came hurtling in out of nowhere.
"Hm...he should be around here somewhere..."
"Trygle!"
"Ah!" The sudden sound burst broke the eagle's concentration and he accidentally caught his head on a low branch. "Oof!" He made a sloppy landing on the ground and twitched a bit. "St-stupid tree..."
Max gasped. "Oh, Trygle!" He landed nearby and kneeled next to him. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to surprise you."
"Eh...no problem..." He quickly picked himself up and shook his head. "Just don't do that again." It was then Trygle realized that, even though Max was a half-breed, he couldn't fully understand him. The only mythical creature the blonde could communicate with was Draciel, but it'd take too long to find him. It couldn't be too hard to tell him what Rei said, though.
"Um...Max..." The boy blinked. "Rei, he um, he needs more time...got it?"
Max leaned in closer, hoping it would help. "What, something about Rei? What does he need?"
"Time. He needs a little more time."
The young angel tilted his head. "...Time? Rei needs more time?"
Trygle nodded. "Well you are certainly better than that hunter guy. Yes, that's right. So just, give him a few more minutes."
After the initial 'yes', things got a bit fuzzy, but it was enough. Max smiled. "Ok, no problem." He looked around. "Actually, Grypholyion hasn't come back yet. I've been flying back and forth by the cave and I haven't seen a hint of him. Wherever he went must have been far."
The eagle shook his head. "Nah, he probably just took cover since there's a storm coming."
Since he wasn't really paying attention, Max just nodded along, that is, until the words finally registered in his head. "What? A storm?!" He was up on his feet in an instant and stared up at the grey sky. "I know it's a bit cloudy, but that's common. How do you know there's a storm coming?" He asked in a jumpy tone.
"We Umber Wood creatures can feel it. It's just a chilly feeling in our bones..." Trygle closed his eyes. "It might take a while, but there will definitely be a big storm tonight."
Max sighed and bit his lip. "Aw man..." Unfolding his wings, he took flight and hurried off in one direction.
"Eh? Max, where are you going?" Before he knew it, the boy had come back for him and took hold of his tail feathers. "What the...?!" Max picked up the pace, all the while keeping a firm grip on the struggling bird. "Max, where are we going?! Better question, why am I going with you?! I need to return to Rei to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!"
The blonde had only caught about half of that, so he answered what seemed like the obvious question. "We're going to Draciel. I want to hear the full translation about this storm."
"Why?! I already told you there was a storm coming, what else do you need to know?!"
"...I don't like storms..." He blew his bangs out of his face and whispered: "Especially if Rei won't be here..." under his breath.
"What was that last thing?" Max kept flying, pretending he didn't understand what the eagle had said. He wasn't quite sure how he knew, but the angel was sure that Rei wasn't going to be here. And since Robert wasn't coming back until tomorrow, he wanted to know as much about the storm as possible. He didn't do too well alone with thunder and the such...
ooo
Rei huffed, his ten minutes had expired and he hadn't returned yet like he had promised. He was leaning against the side of the mouth of the cave with his arms crossed and foot tapping. Somewhere between Trygle leaving and now, his attitude towards Kai's disappearance had turned from a nervous worry to a ticked off irritation.
'I can't believe he's such a forgetful person. Must come from years of being a hunter.' He shook his head. 'It can't be good for one's health that's for sure.' Sighing, Rei decided it was time to pack it in and get back to Max and the others.
'Why did I wait for him? It's obvious he isn't coming. I should have left with Trygle.' He stopped walking and let his ears twitch. 'Why did I wait? Am I that worried about him?' He furiously shut his eyes and shook his head. 'No, I don't care about him. I just don't want him to complain about why I didn't teach him enough.'
Rei faced the exit again and narrowed his gaze, the subjective part of his mind ready to cook up another scenario for him to believe. 'He'll probably come here in twenty minutes, find me missing, and claim that that's grounds enough to break our deal. Well I won't let that happen. I shouldn't be waiting. I mean, since when am I submissive?'
He took a few strides towards the edge, calmly looking over it. 'It shouldn't take me too long to find him and tell him what's on my mind.' Kneeling, the raven-haired boy searched for a foothold and then began descending the cliff side.
'Oh wait! I promised Trygle that I wouldn't even think about going you know where.' He thought it over for a moment, waiting for his subjective state of mind to kick in. 'Well, I never really thought about it. I just decided that I wanted to check on—uh, tell Kai how I feel...about the situation...yea, so it doesn't go against his word.' Nodding to himself, Rei smirked and continued on his way. Actually, he did feel guilty. Considering what happened yesterday, this little adventure wouldn't settle well with Driger, Wolborg, or Max.
'I'll have to be quick about it. Hm, doesn't that sound familiar?' Pushing it to the back of his mind, Rei willed himself to believe the fact that the cause of his actions was important. He was looking for Kai to talk to him; however, a direct translation would be...he was worried about Kai. His heart told him so, and for that, Rei was vexed.
ooo
"That's all there is to it, it's a storm...no big deal."
"But it's going to be a rather large one, right?" Draciel questioned.
"Probably. You know just as well as I do that the weather here is usually pleasant, but when storms come, they come with a vengeance."
Draciel nodded. "Yes, I know. I just wish it didn't have to come now."
Max placed his hand on the turtle's shell. "So, it's coming soon, isn't it?" He asked.
"I'm afraid so. Within the next hour or sooner."
The blonde's normally cheerful eyes fell a few shades out of disappointment. He was hoping that the eagle would be wrong. "Great...just great."
A bit of fur brushed up against the boy, reminding him that Wolborg was there. "Don't worry. Just think of it as a bit of ticked of rain, wind, and lightening wreaking its havoc on the earth."
Driger gazed at the wolf quizzically. [Wolborg, I don't think you're helping...]
When Max and Trygle had arrived at the lake, they found Driger and Wolborg with Draciel at the water's edge. Max couldn't tell what they were talking about, but he uncharacteristically interrupted anyway and brought up the storm subject. Turns out it was going to be a large one, one that would come and go for the remainder of the evening and for much of the following morning.
"Tell me Max, why are you so fretful about this pending storm?" Wolborg wondered.
"...eh..." He shrugged off the inquiry and continued resting against Draciel's shell.
The wolf eyed him carefully. "Uh huh..."
[Max was found during a storm.] Driger volunteered the partial answer.
Lowering his voice, Wolborg insisted the conversation along. "He was?"
[Rei too. He found Max alone and stayed with him. Then Robert found the both of them and brought them to his cave. Grypholyion told me about it a while ago.] He stated in an almost indifferent tone.
"And the blonde remembers that far back? If I recall, Rei was only five or so, meaning Max was four."
Driger tilted his head. [Some memories remain because they are significant or sentimental. However, in Max's case, I think he remembers because it was both a frightening and relieving day.]
"All right Mr. Philosophical, mind explaining?"
[...I can't believe you never knew.]
"Never knew about what?" He demanded in a hushed tone.
[The experiments. That enormous explosion that I thought, until today, all Umber Wood creatures noticed and felt.]
"Of course I remember that. It happened during the first week of peace after the war between the creatures here. Some humans were being careless in a building and it blew up. What about it?"
[Don't you know what the humans were doing in that building?]
Wolborg huffed. "Like I care about what humans do..."
[Well you should. It was because of those experiments that Rei and Max and Robert came here.] Driger said in a low voice, making sure that Max couldn't hear them.
"What are you getting at?" The ice wolf asked curiously.
Driger shook his head. [It's too risky to say with the young one about.] He seemed to think that was enough of that topic and reverted back to the original one. [...Anyway, Max was found the night after the explosion. There was a storm then, too.]
"Oh, so that's why he's scared. The storm rekindles the memories of that explosion."
[Hm, it's about time you connected the dots.] He muttered sarcastically. [Usually Rei is here to stay with Max, but he isn't now.] The tiger stated. [Trygle, shouldn't Rei be back by now?]
"Hey, wait a minute, Driger." The two creatures locked gazes. "What about the other connection between Max and Rei to the explosion?" He whispered. "You're holding out on me."
[Another time, Wolborg.] Driger growled through his teeth. Apparently it was a touchy subject, and one that must have been kept under wraps for some time now.
Driger turned his attention to Trygle. [Rei should have returned now, right?]
"Oh uh, y-yea!" He agreed in a hesitant tone.
[Well, then where is he?]
The golden eagle paused. "Um...yes...Rei is..." He began backing away from Driger's hardened glare. "You know, why don't I go check on him...to make sure he's not, uh, sleeping or something." Before Driger could get his word in, Trygle took to the skies and headed for the cave. "Be right back!"
The tiger stayed back with the others. [You had better be.]
ooo
"Rei, please, please, please be there waiting for me!" The bird repeated his mantra over and over, trying to reassure himself that all was good and well. "Almost there." Though, deep inside his being, he already knew what he was going to find once he got to the other side of the secret exit.
Still, hoping never hurt anyone...
"Just got to squeeze through this little 'door' and...and..."
Well, hope never hurt, but it sure was a let down when one was wrong.
"Aww man!!!!!" Trygle flopped onto the ground and groaned. Rei, as expected, had left. "Rei...why can't you listen to me just once!?!" He propped himself up with his wings and muttered. "Really, one day he'll be sorry he never paid attention to me." Making his way to the edge, Trygle heaved a sigh and peered into the forest. "If I go back to Driger and the others without him, I'll be ripped of my feathers and then iced for the remainder of the century. Guess that means it's time to go and find my little headache-causing-good-for-not much-..." He trailed off with his childish name calling as he jumped from the cave's floor and soared off into the canopy of the woods. It was going to be a long search. What with the heavy mist, impending storm, and acres of forest to search through...finding one mischievous half-breed wouldn't be a piece of cake.
ooo
"Man, this storm was kind of sudden." Rei mumbled as he leaned against a sturdy tree. "I never should have stopped to take down those traps, it's slowing me down, and now I have another reason (aside from avoiding punishment) to get back soon." He turned and looked back to the mountain that divided the woods. Pushing his drenched bangs out of the way, he sighed. "Max must be scared to death. He hates storms..."
He knew it wasn't too smart to stay near trees during a storm, but lightening was never a big issue for the Umber Woods. Most of that occurred in town, so it was ok for him to take some cover. It didn't help much though, and since he needed to hurry, Rei got up; kept a grip on the nets he had taken down, and continued walking towards the town. It was getting hard to see through the heavy rain, not to mention the fog wasn't helping...so he had to be extra vigilant. "Ah, good timing!" The storm was beginning to let up a little, so he picked up the pace. The thick fog was still pervading the air, but at least he could see a bit better. "Mm?" Squinting, the raven-haired boy smiled as he saw the end of the forest within his reach. He shifted to a light jog. 'Once I find Kai, I can leave these stupid nets with him, get back to Max, and hopefully be free of any repercussions--' He stopped. His ears perked up when a noise rang through the air.
"What's that sound?" Rei glanced down, and then let his eyes roam the floor. "It sounds like...a beep..." Deciding it was nothing important he stepped forward...
BWEEEN
"...Ah! " Dropping the nets, Rei reached up and covered his ears. "What is that?!" Within the next second, the muddy ground beneath him crumbled; the forest floor threatened to consume him. "Whoa!" Quickly digging his hands into the ground, the half-breed tried to keep himself up. "Man...stupid...traps..." His grip couldn't hold, as the ground was sopping wet and it slipped through his fingers like fine sand. "Oh man..." Without any solid land to steady himself with, the trap swallowed him in its abyss, and he fell unconscious on impact with the rocky bottom. The rustling leaves seemed to approve of the incident, as they rested on top of the rickety, wooden cage-like lid, which sealed the half-breed in the accursed hole.
ooo
"Rei! Rei! Come on, kid, you got to be here somewhere..." Trygle dipped through the canopy again and slowed his pace. Not only had the storm caused him to halt his search, but also the forest was still littered with traps. He had to be careful if he didn't want to be caught like he did last time. Once was embarrassing enough.
BWEEEN
"Ahk! What is that sound?" It wasn't meant to be loud, but thanks to the eagle's heightened senses, it was as clear as a whistle, and just as sharp as one, too. Seeing as he wasn't having luck finding Rei on his own, he figured the sound might have attracted the boy. With Rei's sensitive ears, it was hard to get anything past him.
"Oh no." Trygle landed on a branch near the origin of the sudden sound and raked his eyes across the floor. "The sound, it stopped." He hopped down onto the ground and continued his search. "C'mon, Rei; I know you heard it. And I know your curiosity will get the better of you..."
He wondered about, staying in the immediate area in case the boy showed. "Rei?" Nearing the veiled trap, the leaves blew out from under his talons and he almost slipped through one of the holes of the cage lid. "Yikes!" He flew up in a breath and stared down at the partially covered pit. "Eh...? Is that a trap?" Landing cautiously on the bars of the trap, he peered down into the darkness. "Did Rei set it off? Ah!"
Through the nets that bound him and the leaves and dirt that soiled his clothes, Trygle spotted Rei...in the clutches of a hunter's snare. "Rei! Rei, can you hear me?!"
Hopping around the bars, he continued calling to the youth. "Come on kid, can't you hear me?!" He started to panic, and instantly took flight, ready to break the cage top down with an attack. "Wait a minute...if I break the bars, the pieces could hurt him." He glanced at the mountain. "And none of them can help either. Driger and Wolborg would rip this thing to shreds and Grypholyion would...eh...I don't even want to think about what he would do. What am I going to do? No Umber Wood creature could open it without smashing the lid to bits in the process."
Trygle turned to the town. "Then...I need help from someone outside of the woods." He concluded. As soon as he sent that idea off in his head, one answer immediately popped up. "Oh no!! I'm not going to him!" There was only one person he knew that could help...although he dreaded the thought of going to him for assistance. "It's for Rei." He told himself as he headed towards town. "Rei needs help. Rei needs help and I can only think of one person who can do something about it right now!"
ooo
"Hmph...damn fog." Kai muttered as he followed the cobblestone path back to the center of town.
{Hm?} Dranzer chirped inquisitively as she sat on his shoulder.
"...It's nothing." He responded quietly.
Somehow (probably out of sheer luck), the mysterious buyer had eluded the hunter's sight through the thickening fog. Kai hadn't given up the search without a fight, but after much wandering it was useless to continue, especially at such a late hour. All right, it was only seven or so, but with the quantity of mist and darkening demeanor of the sky, it made spying conditions quite inconvenient.
So the two were now heading back to the house. Despite the shroud of vapor, Kai could find his way (the added light from Dranzer's occasional spurts helpful, but not necessary). It was nothing new; a good deal of his regular hunts ended this way...well, he'd be victorious of course, but the weather conditions were similar.
"We'll get him next time, Dranzer. I'm going to find out who he is."
Then, a rather loud sound disrupted the serene atmosphere. "Hey! Dranzer, there you are!"
Though he couldn't understand, Kai snapped his head at the direction of the screech and was a bit surprised. "Trygle?!"
Dranzer lifted herself off the bluenette's shoulder and met the eagle half way, a bit curious as to why her friend chose to come all the way into town. {Trygle...what are you doing here?!}
"It's Rei; he's gone and gotten himself in quite a predicament this time."
{Rei?! What happened to him?} She questioned in a worried tone.
"He's fallen into one of those accursed traps! I can't get him out on my own...I need...his help..." Trygle admitted a bit sheepishly. Dranzer didn't have to ask whom he was referring to. The eagle only held disdain towards a particular nearby human so it was painfully obvious.
{Lead the way; I'll get master Kai to follow.} She replied.
"Yea, yea..." He muttered as he began flying into the woods, keeping his pace slow so that the phoenix had time to catch up.
"Dranzer, what's going on?" His question fell deaf to her as she tugged at the hem of his pants with her talons, begging him to walk. Of course he couldn't refuse. By pulling at his hips, if he didn't walk, he'd fall backwards. "This is probably one of those times when I just have to trust you, ne?" With a hesitant sigh, Kai jogged with her until she let go of him altogether and led the boy to the spot where Trygle was waiting.
"Hurry up! He could be seriously hurt down there!"
Dranzer circled the spot, waiting for Kai to arrive. In the meantime, she peered down into the pit and eventually landed on top of the cage roof as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light and focused on the still form at the bottom. {Oh, Rei...} She glanced at Trygle, who had settled beside her. {Can't we just break this wooden top and get him out?! What if he's hurt?!}
"I already thought of doing that, but we can't risk it. If we break through, the falling pieces could hurt him further. That's why I came to find you and...and him..." He dropped his voice as Kai stopped to catch his breath. He looked confused and a bit ticked off, which couldn't be a good combination.
"All right, where's the fire?" He asked in a slightly sarcastic tone. He knew full well there wasn't going to be a straight answer, but it couldn't hurt.
In response, Dranzer hopped off of the cage lid and forced Trygle back as well. Raising an eyebrow in suspicion, Kai slowly walked to the trap and looked into the abyss. Naturally, his night vision wasn't as good as either of the birds', so he reached for his mini flashlight and hoped the beam was strong enough to reach the bottom.
"What's down there?" The hunter wondered. It had to be something important otherwise Dranzer wouldn't have pulled him over. "Hn?" The light caught a smidge of white and green as it neared the side of the hole.
He blinked. 'What Umber wood creature is white and has...green spots?' Squinting, Kai realized that they were stripes, not spots. 'Green stripes?' The thought passes through his mind for a second before his eyes widened in understanding.
He pulled back and stared at Trygle. "Rei?!"
The eagle practically squawked in relief. "Thank goodness you finally caught on!" The two couldn't communicate without Rei's help, but names were easy enough to comprehend. "Now get him out!"
Kai laid his flashlight on the ground and pulled out the pocketknife he kept tucked away in his belt. Then he began cutting through the wiry lid. Granted, it was rough to cut, and a lot slower than Trygle wished, but it was working.
'How in the world did he get into this predicament? Better question, why is he even out this far?' Kai wondered.
A few minutes later, the top was off and now Kai had the problem of getting Rei out of the cavernous pit without hurting him. His first thought was to get Dranzer and Trygle to lift him out, but with all the nets and wood debris tucked around him, he feared the boy would get injured in the process. So he went to his next idea, going down himself and somehow climbing back up with Rei on his back. It wasn't going to be easy, but he couldn't leave the boy down there...
{Master Kai?} Dranzer hopped over to the side as the hunter began descending into the trap. She tilted her head. He looked a bit odd with the flashlight sticking out of his belt like that. She guessed that he needed to see what was below him as he went, but why couldn't he ask her to fly down with it? (1)
Nearing the bottom, Kai took one last look to make sure he wouldn't step on Rei before jumping to the floor with a soft thump. Removing the flashlight, he kneeled next to Rei and raked it over the half-breed's still body and tried to make a quick check that he was (aside from the dirt and being unconscious) all right. The pulse from his wrist was steady, which relieved Kai for the most part.
'He just got knocked out during the fall. Hopefully nothing is broken...' He began untangling him from the numerous nets. 'He must have been taking them down before he fell. But why would he even come out to do that? We agreed to meet tomorrow to do this...unless...' Kai furrowed his brows. The only reason Rei would come out would be to remove the traps with him, right? But he asked Dranzer to tell—
Pausing for a moment, the bluenette called to his phoenix. "Dranzer?"
Even though he only asked for her, Trygle also peered over the edge. {Yes, master Kai?}
Keeping a loose grasp of Rei's shoulder, Kai continued. "Did you tell Rei that we were meeting tomorrow and that I wouldn't be able to come today?"
{Of course I did.}
He turned back to Rei and pulled away the last nets. "Well then why would he come out--"
"Wait a minute." Trygle interrupted. He glanced at Dranzer. "When did you tell Rei that? I never saw you this afternoon."
{I'm sure I did. I remember crossing the mountain.}
"And I remember waiting for you and that hunter around sunset. You two never came."
Dranzer flapped her wings. {Are you calling me a liar?}
"All I'm saying is that we never knew you two weren't coming. I'm sure Rei wouldn't forget you telling him that. I mean, the only reason he'd break his promise, again, and leave the mountain is to check on that blue-haired hunter of yours."
Kai's head snapped up. "What did you say?" He practically demanded.
Trygle peered over the edge, looking down on him. "I said, that the only reason Rei would think of leaving is because he was worried about why you weren't there!" He huffed. "I made him promise not to even think about going when I went to tell Max that he'd be late. I bet Rei thought his way around that one like he always does..."
{Now why would Rei do that? He knows that he doesn't need to worry about master Kai.}
The eagle puffed up. "Hmph, how should I know? He's..." The two continued their discourse, forgetting about Kai and Rei, who were still in the trap.
Kai, on the other hand, was slowly taking everything in as he cleared most of the dirt from the younger boy's body. 'Why were you worried? You left because you wanted to see if I was ok?' Shaking his head (hoping to shake his blush off), the hunter gently lifted Rei off of the ground and laid him over his shoulder. 'How idiotic. I don't need to be fussed over. Why would you waste your time worrying over me?'
Of course there was no answer to his arbitrary questions. But they nagged at his mind as he carefully climbed up the unsteady earth walls. He had to stop every once and a while to make sure Rei didn't slip, making his ascent long and tiresome. Actually, the half-breed was light, but trying to scale a deep hole with another person on him wasn't something Kai did everyday. And the two Umber wood creatures were too busy talking to one another to help him as he clambered out of the trap and onto the ground. It was only after Rei was lying near them and Kai was catching his breath next to him that they noticed.
"Oh, it's about time you got him out." Trygle made his way to Rei and nudged him lightly, hoping for a response. "He could be hurt and you went and treated it like a joy ride."
Kai glared at the eagle and reached for the boy's hand. "I don't know...what you just said, but I'm going to let it slide."
{Master Kai, don't get angry. Trygle is just fearful for Rei.}
Sighing, the hunter nodded. "Yea, I know. We better get him back to the house so that I can make sure everything is really ok."
"Hold on!" Trygle intervened.
"What?" Kai asked in a nonchalant tone.
"What do you mean, what?! You're not bringing him back to your house! We have to get him back to the other side! Max will take care of him."
"You can't be serious. If Rei really is hurt, nothing you guys have will help him." Despite the eagle's flapping and screeching, Kai picked up the unconscious boy and held him close. "I'll clean him up and bandage him and he'll go back when he wakes up."
"No, no, no! Clean him up?! I don't trust you cleaning up any part of him! And what if he doesn't wake up until tomorrow?! What will Robert say?! Oh...what will Grypholyion do to me..." He muttered that last part to himself, fearful of the punishment he may receive from the griffin, and Driger, and Wolborg... "Oh, I can't stop Kai, especially if Dranzer stays by his side. I better get Driger..." Ruffling his feathers in anxiety, Trygle took flight and headed for the other side of the mountain.
Kai paid no heed to him and walked away with Dranzer in toe. She flew to his shoulder, glancing down at the still boy in his arms. {He will be all right, won't he?}
"I'm sure he will be. I doubt he has anything more than a bruise here or there."
{Thank goodness.} She breathed. Then she nuzzled Kai's neck, guessing that he might need the warmth. {It's fortunate that we were close by. I don't want to think of what might have happened if Trygle hadn't found us.}
The hunter nodded. "Yea, Rei's lucky..." The half-breed was filthy from the fall and didn't look too good. Kai only hoped that he wasn't seriously injured. Yet, despite his worries (yes, he admitted that he was worried about the boy), the bluenette couldn't help but feel that everything was already ok. Having the half-breed in his arms like that made his surroundings insignificant and dull in comparison. It just felt...right.
"I'm lucky." Kai murmured under his breath.
ooo
"Tyson? Tyson!" Kai kicked off his shoes, removed Rei's, and headed for the couch. He figured that his roommate had stayed at Kenny's because of the storm, which decided to pick up again just as Kai left the forest. Dranzer had flown ahead (since she isn't too fond of the heavy rain) and the bluenette sprinted from the edge of the woods, through town, and all the way to his home with Rei in his arms. He was pleasantly surprised that everyone had taken shelter in their own houses, so the half-breed in his arms went unnoticed (or so he hoped).
Unfortunately, now both of them were dripping wet. It wasn't a big problem for him...but considering Rei was still out cold, well, he wasn't sure what to do. If he left him that way he'd wake up with a bad cold and be angry. However, if Kai...did something to get him dry...well, that wouldn't settle with the half-breed either. It'd settle with Kai just fine, but Rei would definitely consider it a violation of his personal space.
So, the first thing he did was dry himself off and change. Now he was stumped. Rei was lying on the couch, getting it quite wet, and Kai was standing near him. He had pulled out an extra pair of khakis and a blue button-up t-shirt (both of which were probably too big for Rei) and a towel, but very much doubted they were of any use if he didn't do something.
'I don't want him to get sick, so I'll have to dry him off at least. And drying him won't help much if he stays in those wet clothes, so I'll have to get him into some arid ones. It's...no big deal. I don't...like him that way or anything, so why is it awkward?' He shook his head. 'It isn't.' He finally concluded.
Kai nodded, picked up the white towel and dragged the coffee table closer to the couch so that he could sit down. The first thing to go was the boy's green t-shirt (smudged with dirt). Tugging at the fabric to loosen it a bit, Kai carefully lifted it up and pulled it over the boy's head. Tossing it aside for now, the older boy brought the towel around and began brushing it over Rei's body.
He was well built (probably from all of the running and climbing he did); yet, still slender, as he did have curves towards the waist. He was just like a regular boy, except for the two green stripes along his sides. It was unusual, they didn't look the way a tattoo did, unnatural and out of place, no, the stripes were just perfect. They accentuated his curves and complemented his skin tone.
Though he desperately fought the urge to do so, Kai tentatively traced one of them. The boy's skin was smoother than the finest silk, and quite warm albeit being carried through heavy rain. From the end of his ribs, along his side, and continuing below his waist (where the rim of Rei's pants stopped him), there were no imperfections on Rei's tanned body. Kai absentmindedly tugged at the hem, his mind telling him to see where the stripe ended.
'It probably stops right below the waist, but I'm curious to see if I'm right.' Just as he was about to continue tracing (his hand already tentatively reaching under the waist of his pants), a chirp from an approaching Dranzer snapped him from his daze. Shaking his head vigorously, the bluenette quickly sat back, rubbed his temples in frustration, and reached for the blue shirt.
He couldn't believe what he was doing just a moment ago. 'What did you think you were doing?! What in the world, did you think you were going to accomplish?!!' Before his mind could come up with an...appropriate answer, he busied himself with the task of getting Rei's slender arms through the holes of the shirt. He then buttoned it to the bottom, ensuring that there would be no more tracing of Rei's stripes.
Dranzer rested on the top of the couch and blinked. {Master Kai, why are you dressing Rei in your clothes?}
Fighting down his blush, Kai mumbled out his answer. "His clothes are wet. If he stays in them, he'll wake up with a nasty cold." He coughed. "Uh, can you check to see if Tyson is in his room?"
She nodded. {All right.} Giving her wings a light flap, she ascended and turned around to get to the other boy's room.
Of course Kai knew he wouldn't be there, but it gave him a little time to get rid of the pink on his face and get Rei into his pants.
Kai closed his eyes. 'Don't even go there...' He warned himself. Taking a breath, Kai unbuttoned the top fastener and saw...blue? After unzipping the rest he found that they were blue boxers...
'Where did he get those from?!' (2) He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. But with the pending return of Dranzer, Kai made quick work of removing the wet, baggy pants, drying him off and refitting him with his larger pair of khakis (that definitely took longer to do than it reads). His tail was, surprisingly, not a problem, as the pants were so loose it wasn't cramped.
Letting a sigh of relief brush past his lips, Kai got up and brought the wet clothes and towel to the washing machine, which was tucked away behind an accordion door. As he set the timer and settings for it, his mind wandered back to the stripe tracing he never finished. Though he had dressed Rei quickly, he did note that the green marking did not exceed the bottom rim of his boxers. So he was right. The stripe must have stopped near the top of his thigh. His mind yearned to think of where exactly, until...
{Master Kai.}
He furrowed his brows. 'Damn it.' Turning to the phoenix, she chirped out her response to her search. He didn't bother to have it translated since he knew Tyson wasn't there, so he just nodded and let her land on his shoulder.
Now all that was left to do was get Rei upstairs to his room. He couldn't let him stay on the couch since it was damp, and even though he could leave him in one of the guest rooms (there was one or two), but something in his head told him it'd be safer to have him rest in his bed. So he gently picked up the boy and made his way up the stairs, past Tyson's room, and into his own, which was at the end of the hall.
Dranzer immediately flew off to her perch and began preening herself while Kai laid Rei down on the side of his bed. There was a strong gust coming in (as the storm hadn't ended yet), so the hunter quickly closed the sliding door to the terrace. "Huh?"
{Master Kai?}
Kai blinked and shook his head. For a moment, he thought he had seen something big and white come out of the Umber woods, but he must have been mistaken. No creature would willingly come into town, especially during a heavy storm. He pulled the curtain across the doors and turned his attention back to the sleeping half-breed. Rei seemed comfortable, as he had curled up a little. It was a good thing the blankets were already pulled away, it made covering him a lot easier.
Rei smiled and dug into them, enjoying the soft feeling that he had never, until then, experienced before. It forced Kai to suppress the smirk he felt. This, he decided, was a very cute side of the raven-haired boy. He reached out to push those long bangs out of the boy's face, his hand settling on his cheek.
THUMP
Dranzer stopped preening and looked up. {Oh. Who's that?}
THUMP SCRAA SCRAA
Kai stood up and urged Dranzer to stay silent.
SCRAA WHUMP THUMP
"Sounds like it's coming from the garage." Reverting to his old self, Kai whistled for the phoenix to follow him and quickly walked out of the room.
Even though neither Kai nor Tyson owned a car, they made use of the garage. It was a storage room that they rarely used and hardly ever opened the door of, but that seemed to be where the loud noises were coming from.
THUMP THUMP SCRAA
The bluenette flicked the switch, illuminating the partially dusty room. He whistled for Dranzer to be ready for attack as he removed an old, but still sturdy axe from the shelf.
WHUMP SCRAA
The old door looked like it would break if it endured any more damage, so Kai pushed the button attached to the wall, making the garage door pull up. As soon as it opened enough, the creature ran in, instantly going for the hunter. Kai whistled, telling Dranzer to unleash her fire assault.
CWAAR
Her blaze swept up the invader and stopped it in its tracks. [Stupid phoenix, stop it!]
{Eh? What are you--}
Once the fire stopped, the creature continued its path and lunged at Kai.
"Ugh!" Using the handle of the axe, he blocked the bulk of the attack. However, the opposing force was stronger than him and knocked him down.
{Master Kai!} Dranzer flew out from her spot in the darkness and chased the beast into the main room.
[Stop attacking me!] It roared.
{After you attacked him, I will not!} Fire spread, and she was careful to only hit him and not burn the house down.
"Oh...damn it..." Quickly getting back up on his feet, Kai rubbed his shoulder as he pushed the button to close the door. Walking into the main room, he was surprised when the creature leapt up and pushed him down again, its front paws on either side of his head.
[Where is he!]
Shaking his head and focusing on the being in front of him, Kai blinked in astonishment. "It's you!"
[You better believe it is. Now where is Rei?!]
Coming up behind him, Dranzer dug her talons into the creature's back and pulled him back. {Driger, stop it!}
[Let go of me and I just might!]
Once she had pulled the tiger back far enough, she let go of him and returned to Kai's side. {What are you doing here, Driger?!} She demanded.
[I'm here to find Rei and bring him back home! I don't know why Trygle even let that human of yours bring him here, but I'm taking him back!] The tiger made a few movements and began walking towards the first door he saw.
'He must be worried like a mother would be.'
Even though Kai couldn't make heads of tails of what they were saying, he knew the tiger was here to get Rei back and intended to turn the house upside down in order to find him. Since he didn't feel like having the house torn apart, he whistled for Dranzer to stand down. This definitely caught Driger's attention.
"I don't know if you can understand me or not, but if you want to find Rei, follow me." He was right, the tiger was only able to catch the name of his friend. Kai didn't look like he was planning anything, especially since he had called the phoenix back. So, staying on his guard, Driger followed the boy at a distance.
ooo
Pushing his door back, Kai walked in and whistled for Dranzer to go to her perch. For once, she didn't listen and stayed on the boy's shoulder. She eyed Driger with caution as he walked through the threshold. He glanced around the room and growled. Rei wasn't in his sight.
[Where is he, hunter?] Driger growled.
Blinking, the bluenette wondered why the tiger was so upset. Glancing at the bed he saw that Rei had turned around and scooted to the other end of the bed. 'The noise from when Driger got in must have caused him to shift.' Manually moving Dranzer to her perch (and earning a numbing nip), Kai then walked over to the other side of the bed (the one closer to the terrace) and pulled the covers back so that his black tufts of hair and green striped cat ears were in sight.
[Rei!] The tiger charged over and hoisted most of himself onto the bed. [Is he all right? Why isn't he moving? Why...why is he in different clothes...?] The last question seemed to be the waviest, but also the one he seemed to be willing to injure about if the answer he got wasn't that one he wanted.
Kai had remembered to hold onto Rei so that he could finally make sense of the tiger's growls. "Rei's fine. He's sleeping now, and as you can tell, it's raining so I had to change his clothes lest he catch something, ok?" Kai was careful not to put much emotion into his voice so that it seemed that Rei and his condition wasn't that big of a deal. "And would you mind getting your claws off of my bed?"
[Hmph, fine, I'll get off, right after I get Rei.]
"What?"
[I'm not leaving Rei here with you. I thank you for...taking care of him, but now I'll bring him back to his home.]
"No." He stated firmly.
[What?]
"If you haven't noticed, there's a storm out there! It's raining pretty hard, there're high speed winds, you'll never be able to get Rei there by yourself."
[I got here just fine.]
"That's different. And now that you bring that up, I can't believe you risked coming out here! People maybe indoors, but that doesn't mean they can't see out their windows! What if someone saw you?!"
[I'm sure no one saw me. Besides, I couldn't just leave Rei here with you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him.]
Kai glared at him. "Does it look like anything happened to him? Rei's fine. I wouldn't hurt him."
[I wouldn't put anything past a hunter.] Driger removed his upper body from the bed, walked over to the other side of the bed, and settled there. [However, I guess you are right about the storm. I don't want to chance anything, so both of us will stay here tonight. Though, you can be sure that by the first light, we'll be out of here.] Sighing, Kai nodded. He wasn't going to be able to change the tiger's mind, so why bother arguing?
Hearing the timer buzz, Kai remembered about the clothes and climbed over the bed to move them to the dryer. As soon as the boy left, Dranzer turned to Driger.
{Rei is safe here, you know. People don't come around often, so his presence here shouldn't be noticed.}
[It's not the other people I'm worried about, phoenix.]
{My name is Dranzer.} She stated a-matter-of-factly. {And you needn't worry about master Kai. He does care about Rei, and won't let him be harmed.}
[Hmph...so says you.] He grumbled.
ooo
Max stared into the dark sky with a frown. It was getting very late and still, the storm raged on. He had hoped that the first storm was it, but that was too much to ask for. This was the real thing, and now more than ever, he sorely missed Rei.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Driger will bring Rei back soon enough." Draciel comforted the gloomy half-breed.
Max folded his wings around himself. "I doubt it, Draciel. I don't think either of them are coming back until tomorrow..."
"And what makes you think that?"
He shrugged. "I just have a feeling, is all."
Trygle spoke up about that. "Well, last time you said you had a feeling too. Maybe you have some kind of foresight."
"Maybe you should shut up and wait for this storm to end." Wolborg commented with a huff.
Since Grypholyion hadn't returned yet (Max concluded that he was waiting the storm out somewhere), Max, Draciel, Trygle, and Wolborg decided to stay in a small cave near the waterfall instead of Robert's cave to wait out the storm. Driger had left quite some time ago and without the mediator, the eagle and wolf were able to quarrel as much as they pleased. It didn't help that they were separated, Wolborg was so angry that Trygle had let Kai walk off with Rei, he almost put the bird on ice. Draciel wasn't big on fighting, so he just sat himself between the two of them and hoped it would be enough until one of them fell asleep.
"I hope this storm ends soon." Max mumbled.
"It will probably last for a while." Wolborg stated. "Storms like these don't happen often, but when they do, they run on for hours."
The blond pulled his knees up to his chest. "Man...why did it have to be today?"
"Just go to sleep and when you wake it will be all over." The wolf pushed Max against him lightly with its tail and kept it there as a makeshift blanket. "Sleep. You're safe here."
"Mm..." It was the only warmth he was going to get that night, even if it is from an ice wolf, so Max made the best of it and closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.
Draciel glanced at the wolf. "Thank you, Wolborg."
"For what?" He questioned.
"Taking care of Max. I can't give him that kind of comfort. Rei usually does."
Wolborg shook his head and rested it on his paws. "He's a young one. No need to have him disheartened." The giant turtle also settled down and stared out into the dampened forest. It was going to be a long night.
'I do hope Driger and Rei are all right. I don't think Max would be able to handle it if the older boy wasn't around.' Closing his eyes and doing his best to drown out the sounds of the storm, Draciel pulled himself into his shell, and went to sleep.
(1) Just some wondering on her part. It would have taken too long for him to explain.
(2) Heh, I swear I'll remember to explain that next chapter.
All done. :phew: That took a bit longer than I thought, but I wanted to get the scenes right. There maybe some grammatical/spelling errors (sorry!), but not too many. I should get a beta...maybe I can bug my friend into it Ah, the responses! I skipped this last time, so here they are...
DeathglareQueen: It doesn't look like he got into much trouble this time, but he'll tell Kai something in the next chapter. :hint hint:
Yin Yang Tiger Girl: Thanks! Oh, Tym? He's just my little helper dude. Named after Tyrannomon, he's a good school buddy of mine that helps me with my story ideas.
Shadow Tigress aka Kit: Sorry for the long wait, but this one wasn't too long...I hope. Hey, how did you get Tala there?! :waves: Hi Tala!
Syaoran-Lover: :phew: When I read the first thing you wrote in the msg I was like "Oh shoot, did I do something really badly?"...then I read the rest and yea...thanks. I'm very glad you liked it. Hopefully this one was more interesting. I think I rushed it...again. I'm trying to shake the habit.
Porticulis: Hi hi! I finally get to respond to all of your responses! You know, you didn't have to review each chapter as you went...but thanks for doing it anyway. All the things you pointed out, I did notice at the time and ended up working on as I proceeded through the chapters. I try to remember it all as I keep going, and I really do put it to use as I type. It's hard to keep the story flowing smoothly (especially with all of the scene breakers I put it), but that's why I'm here, to practice. So, :hugs: thanks for pointing out my mistakes and not just saying "good job"...though you do say that too. =)
Angelgirl10: Ah, I knew it was 'might' instead of 'mine'. It's just that I hear my friends say 'mine' in place of it all the time and it got stuck in my head. Thanks for correcting that, and for the 'his' and 'him' thing. It's another grammar rule that slips my mind. Erg...must work on that too. :waves goodbye: Thank you!
Also, cookies to PhantasyPrincess, Platinum Rei, Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus, devilburns, alexgirl12, ade, Songs make me cry, and everyone else who read my story! I love your reviews to pieces. They push me out of my procrastinating chair (it's so comfy), and get me back into the writing mood. =) Lots of thanks and goodies to the readers! Until next time, ashes!
