SS – Erp…something went wrong with my document so I had to reload it and then I couldn't log in. Anyway, it's up now, so everything's fine. Though I do need to check the disks I'm using…
Tym – Not my fault you don't simply type it up in the downstairs computer… weird…

Loving Legends
Chapter 14 – Discovery
Disclaimer: Please see the prologue.
Note: Passages near the end, which are italicized, are brief flashbacks.

The day passed in a leisurely manner, almost in time with Rei's story. When his ending came, so did the day. The sun gave way to its counterpart and the creatures departed for their respective shelters. The raven-haired boy discretely noticed that Wolborg had urged Driger off with him, though, which left him a little curious.

'Wonder what they're up to…'

A hand acquainted his shoulder and ended his wonder. "Hey Rei, do you mind if we spend the night with Robert?"

Waving away his thoughts about his two guardians, Rei turned to meet his young friend's gaze. "Both of us?" A nod followed. "Sure, I don't mind. But why?"

Max shrugged. "I'd feel better if all of us were together…especially since we were all apart recently…" He finished with a slightly depressing tone.

"…Max…" After all that he had taught the blond, this was the one thing that was nearly perfected: the art of guilting others in to get what he wanted. Letting a smile play on his lips, Rei threw his cares out the window and held out his arm.

Everything shifted, and the angel grinned. "Great! Let's go!" Grabbing the older boy's wrist, he barely lifted himself off of the ground and sped off towards the cave, trusting Rei to be able to keep up with his fast feet.

"Why do I have a feeling that this has to do with your upcoming, you know what?"

"Maybe a little!"

By the time they reached the mouth of the cave, Rei's wrist was most definitely in need of some attention, but he suppressed it. The sight of Max bouncing around Grypholyion was more than enough to ease him. It looked like Robert didn't mind them staying the night, however, that was just his guess as he watched him grab hold of Max's hand and lead him away from the wary griffin. He walked towards them, ready to join in the fun. This was nice. For once he wasn't worried about anything else. It was the way things were before he got involved with Kai, and the town in general. Still, the hunter lingered in his mind, waiting to be dealt with later.
ooo
"All right, that's far enough." Driger rounded a tree and faced the wolf that had ushered him all the way over to the far side of the summit. "Mind telling me what this is all about, now?"

There was a laugh. "It's so painfully obvious it bears no repeating." Wolborg commented lightly.

"Well, then I'm not sticking around for it." He began walking away. "I have much too much on my mind now to deal with your head games."

As old as he was, the creature of ice glided in front of the irritated tiger, halting his escape. "If you answer me, I will help you understand Rei." He graciously offered.

Driger eyed him suspiciously. "Were you listening in on us or something?"

"No, but you only get frustrated by him. And that happens because you're too young to understand what he's thinking." He clearly stated before taking a seat.

The opposition sat as well. It seemed like they were staying here. "Like you can handle him and his silly logic any better." He turned away. "You're too old to understand."

"I have experience. And I know that, despite your words, he'll continue his friendship with that hunter because…" He paused to reconsider his initial statement. "Hmph, well, what do I know." He shrugged. "I'm just an old-timer anyway." He concluded smugly.

"Rrr…" Gritting his teeth, Driger resumed eye contact with the wolf. "What do you want to know?"

Wolborg grinned in his triumph. "The experiments."

"Those again!" He drawled out in an exasperated manner. "If you're so old and experienced, you should know…"

"Just tell me what you know."

Sighing, Driger recounted his memories. "All right. Let's see…I already told you that Max and Rei were found on the night of the explosion. Um…Robert brought them to the cave, humans in the town were practically blind to the explosion and went on with life…and…" He lingered, scrunched his nose in thought, and then gave Wolborg a sloppy smile. "And that's it."

"…That's it…?" His muzzle twitched. "What do you mean, that's it!"

"Well how in-depth do you want me to go!"

"You were leading me on before, cub." The ice wolf slurred out in a low voice. "You were insinuating that somehow, our Rei and Max, and Robert were brought to us because of that explosion and I intend to find out why."

Driger was astounded. "You think I would know! I was barely a cub when that happened! How do you expect me to know anything about it?"

Wolborg dug his claws into the earth, retaining his calm. "Then may I ask why you implied that you knew something earlier?"

The tiger shrugged. "For fun?" He answered simply.

"You…" Getting on all fours, the elder brushed past him roughly, heading for his home. "Obstinate cub…" He muttered heatedly.

Hiding a playful smirk, Driger remembered the wolf's proposition and called out to him. "Hey wait! You said you'd help me with Rei!"

Wolborg stopped. "Considering that you were just 'messing around' I see no reason why I should help you."

He pressed forward. "But it concerns Rei! Come on you old-timer, there must be something you can do."

"You really need a lesson or two in tact, you know?" He mentioned with a slight turn of his head.

"Tact?" He echoed curiously. "Like tic-tac-toe?"

"…" Wolborg closed his eyes and shook his head. "My advice to you maybe too complicated for your comprehension; so, I suggest just trying to listen to Rei." He continued on his way. "Or if that's too much, just observe him. He's a very expressive youth. Watching his body movements can give away all of his thoughts if he's not on his guard." There was a rustle of leaves, a vanishing breeze, and then the wolf was gone.

Driger furrowed his brows. "Watching him when he's not on his guard…" He tilted his head. "He wants me to spy on him!" His tail thumped the ground rhythmically. "I don't know…we'll see…"
ooo
The next day, Driger took Wolborg's words to heart. There were a lot of times in the past when Rei would bypass him and go to the wolf for advice, so maybe he did know the half-breed better when it came to issues like these. In any case, there wasn't anything else that he could do. Rei made a good effort to avoid the tiger that morning and afternoon, and hid this action by spending time with Max.

'Like they won't spend enough time together later when Robert takes them to the Auburn Mountains.' He thought as he pursued the raven-haired boy.

It was a good opportunity to test out Wolborg's words. He had just left the cheery blond with Draciel, so he was alone and hopefully, 'not on his guard'. Rei was aimlessly walking to the summit, a smile on his face. Driger followed.

'What am I supposed to figure from this?'

When the path opened and revealed the grassy area, Rei made his way to the lake and jumped some of the taller rocks. He situated himself on the highest and peered into the clear depths.

Driger blinked. 'This is pointless…' He laid down. 'I bet Wolborg was just getting me back for the experiment thing. But it's not like I could really tell him. I mean, how was I supposed to explain it? The collecting of Umber Wood creatures, mixing DNA, tearing into those humans…my real connection with Rei…'

Said boy leaned back against the boulder's somewhat smooth surface and closed his eyes. He basked in the sun's glow with a relaxed expression.

'Hmph, like that connection is helping me now…' He began running his claws through the dirt. "Stupid wolf…he couldn't give advice to a fish out of water…"

"Well, it's not my fault the fish doesn't know how to properly use my advice."

"!" Driger would have jumped with a noise, but that would give away his position. He settled for a deadly glare and a pounding heartbeat. "Wolborg!" He hissed. The ice wolf let a smile play on his lips, a low rumble of a laugh escaping from his throat. "Yea, yea…laugh it up. Now if you can ease yourself for a moment, mind explaining your comment?"

"My pleasure. You see, when I said observe Rei, I didn't mean to stalk him. What do you expect him to show when he's by himself?" He smirked. "I meant to observe him when he's around someone else. He's much to guarded when he's alone. But when he's talking to someone, he feels more relaxed and will let more emotions show. Especially if he's with someone he trusts."

Driger continued to glower at the elder. "Why didn't you tell me that yesterday! I've been following around him all morning!"

Wolborg shrugged. "It's not my fault you misinterpreted me." He was clearly giving the tiger a taste of his own medicine.

"Fine." His gaze lessened. "So, are you going to talk to him and let me 'observe'?"

"Afraid not." He said. "The answers that you are looking for will require Rei to be with a certain someone, and it isn't me."

"Oh great. Who is it then, Max?"

"No." He replied with a grin. It was obvious to anyone that he was enjoying this. "Think for a moment, if you can. You are trying to understand why Rei is being stubborn about this situation with his hunter, right? So that means that you need him to be around…"

"Me?" He groaned. "But Rei won't come near me. I know that he's deliberately trying to avoid me…"

Wolborg was thoroughly amused. "No. And though I wish that I could stay and watch you continue to berate yourself over this, I need to go." The wolf got up and began walking to the lake. "However, to ensure that you don't go and 'misinterpret' my words again, I will give you a hint. This someone is human, he seems quite trustworthy to Rei, and he is of a profession that you do not approve of." He concluded with a laugh, his barks low enough to only strike Driger's ears.

'…Hmph, like I wouldn't have been able to guess that one a mile away…' The tiger rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes. 'I can't believe I have to watch as Rei interacts with that hunter. It'll be a miracle if I can make it without jumping out and tearing him to shreds. I'll have to work on that…'

ooo

Rei opened one eye slightly and tilted his head, doing his best not to give away his consciousness. 'Hm, Driger is still there. I wonder why he's been following me around all day.' Closing his eye again, he breathed in the lightly scented mountain air and let the sun continue to wash him with warmth.

'After our little chat yesterday, I thought he'd want to stay away from me for a while, but he's not. And what was Wolborg saying to him? If it wasn't for that waterfall I might have been able to hear them.' With the gentle breeze, flecks of water from said waterfall occasionally made Rei wrinkle his nose.

'As if I didn't have enough on my mind. Well, chances are that I won't have much time to think tonight. Max will be bouncing around and dragging me with him…the only thing I'll be concerned about is whether or not my arm will fall off.' He smiled. 'After the night's over, then what will happen? I'll have to face Driger again. I'll need to talk to Kai…and get my revenge for that incident.' An impulsive chuckle tickled his throat. He stretched his arms and got comfortable. 'And then…' He yawned. 'And then…' His mind shut down. The sun's rays were too comforting, the wind was too soft, and he was too tired. Rei fell asleep, the warming rock bed suddenly becoming to good to pass up.

ooo

"Robert, can I open my eyes yet!"

"No, not yet. And Rei, you can't either."

"Hey, it's not my birthday. Why can't I look?"

"You have to set an example for Max. And don't worry, we're almost there." Robert looked ahead, making sure that there was a safe spot for them to land.

"I can see a fine area off to the side, Robert. We'll be there soon." Grypholyion said. He beat his wings gently every now and then, his great wingspan and strength requiring only a few flaps.

"Excellent job. I doubt Max could stay still for that much longer anyway." He turned his head to check on the two younger half-breeds. He had left the birthday boy in Rei's hands as he directed Grypholyion. The raven-haired boy was doing fine. He held Max down in a hug, careful to keep their feet away from the griffin's wing joints.

"Give me a little more credit, Robert! I'm one year older and one year maturer."

"Uh…I don't think that's a word, Max." Rei commented with a laugh.

"…Well I say it is since it's what I am!" He defended.

"Fine. Just keep your maturity for when we reach the spot."

"I'm not sure if this is good news or not, Robert, but we're here." Grypholyion commented teasingly as he soared to the middle of the open meadow, slowing his pace with each beat of his wings. He reached for the ground with his hooved-hind legs, letting them touch the ground before his front claws descended and he strode around in a steady kind of trot.

"I'm going to consider it a good thing, thank you, Grypholyion." Once they had stopped completely, he jumped off the creature's back, landing with a soft thud. The area was quite dark, but thankfully he could see. Looking up into the sky, he noticed that there was a group of suspicious clouds concealing the normally sparkling stars from their view. He would have been worried, if there wasn't a strong wind coming.

"Brr…hey Rei, this gust w-will pass soon, right?" For the first time since he had gotten on Grypholyion, he was glad that the older boy was holding him. He blocked most of the wind.

"Yea, it'll pass, and then we can open our eyes and see the stars." He tightened his hold and called out: "Right, Robert?"

"Yes, just one moment…" A strong gale shuddered past the group, effectively pushing the ominous clouds back. One by one, the stars made their appearance, adding their glow of light to one another until the meadow floor was actually visible.

"Irritating breeze." Grypholyion huffed. He kneeled down, shielding his legs from the wind as it puffed its last breath. With a rustle from the blades of grass, the area began to calm down and a comforting silence reigned.

Robert turned and jogged back to the boys. "Here, Rei, give me your hand." He helped them both down and led them out to the middle. "Rei, you can open your eyes first."

"Aww, Robert!"

"Patience, Max."

Laughing, the raven-haired boy quickly blinked his eyes open. "Oh man." He breathed, a smile furiously tugging at his lips, the radiance in his golden eyes almost outshining the stars. "I almost forgot what it was like. The stars are so close, it's almost as if I could touch them if I jumped high enough."

"It has been a while. Not since the last celebration have we had the chance to come up here." Robert stood behind them. "There hasn't been enough time. Work at the university is quite taxing."

Rei nodded. "We know that; and we don't blame you, Robert. But we are glad that you managed to bring us up here."

"Ahem…" A rough, cough-like sound resounded.

"With Grypholyion's help." He added sheepishly.

"Thank you. Honestly, a little respect isn't too much to ask for." He demanded as he rested his head on his claws.

"Um…guys! Robert! Rei! Can I open my eyes, yet!" The blond pleaded.

The eldest looked over to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Max. Yes, you may open your eyes now."

"It's about time!" Fluttering his eyes, Max finally got to have a look around. "Wow!" He ran out a little, his arms outstretched and wings following in suit. "It's so dark and bright!"

"Yea, a'course that's possible." Rei joked as he ran out to him.

"Oh, you know what I mean! It's so dark here…" He circled around. "But that only makes the stars brighter in comparison!" He looked up. "They never look like this back home."

Rei plopped down onto the meadow floor. "That's because the elevation is much lower. Not to mention the tall trees and wary clouds block a lot of light." He stared up as well. "But out here, we're the only things blocking the radiance." He smirked. "Everyone else will just have to deal with it if we're in the way."

Max scoffed at that lightly. "That's so mean! But right now, I don't care." Extending his wings, the blond flapped once or twice, and ascended into the sky, letting his feathers lift him higher and higher. "It's just us out here! We'll enjoy it! You, me, and Robert!"

Rei corrected him. "And what about Grypholyion? Or do you think Robert flew us up here all by himself?" He teased.

"He's sleeping! So it's just the three of us! Remember, like before?"

"…Before?" He echoed curiously.

Giggling at the fact that he held something over Rei, Max landed next to him with a soft thump. "Yea! A long time ago, when there weren't any creatures or woods…it was just you, me, and Robert, together!"

Rei raised a brow and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "Max, when Robert found us, he already knew Grypholyion, so it was never just the three of us."

"Oh?" He pouted and thought about it. "But wasn't there a time…long ago, when it was just us?"

The raven-haired boy shook his head and closed his eyes. "Afraid not, buddy. I hope you're not losing it on your birthday."

"No, I'm not!" He laughed. "Well, then I guess it was something from a dream…" He smiled mysteriously.

Opening his eyes and giving Max a nod, Rei gazed at the stars again. "You'll have good dreams tonight, Maxie. Nights like these don't come around often. So I hope you enjoy it."

"I will…I am."

Robert came up and sat near them, watching as the blond bolted up again and took to the sky, bringing Rei with him. Or at least, attempting to. Rei was putting up a good fight. 'There aren't many evenings like these.' He watched his boys. 'Happy birthday, Max.'

ooo

'Hm, that's odd.' Kai walked out to his terrace and stared up into the sky. A moment ago, there was a violent wind, which had beat heavily against his sliding door. It passed quickly, but didn't bring any rain or clouds with it. Actually, from his view, he noticed that it only pushed a small group of charcoal-colored clouds away from a distant mountain.

'Weird.'

"Master Kai?" Dranzer brushed past the sliding door and landed on the boy's shoulder. "What was that?"

'Probably nothing…' He guessed. "It was nothing." He confirmed while patting the phoenix's talons. He led them both inside and checked the time. It was a quarter past nine. Sitting himself down on the bed, he picked up his pad of paper and pen. Before he was interrupted, the hunter had been trying to devise another way out of this 'situation' as he now called it. For the past day and a half, that's all he had been doing, creating plausible ideas (well, that and practicing with Dranzer. Even without Rei, they were getting along fine). He wasn't sure what he wanted in the end, but he knew there were two objectives that were plaguing his mind.

The first was to make sure Rei did not get caught. That one was easy. He had ten workable solutions and counting. However, it had a few conditions. Like figuring out this nagging feeling he had concerning Rei, and what he thinks about him (though he wasn't sure why that mattered). The other objective was to get Tala what he wanted. It…wasn't as easy. So far, Kai had four solutions. Although it was his original goal, he just wasn't so sure about it anymore. Not only would he not be able to see Rei again (apparently that matters), but also it would be disastrous if the half-breed were to catch on to the plan and try to escape.

So, that's where Kai was. Since Rei hadn't made any contact with him since yesterday morning, it was a good chance to think about it. OR (objective Rei) didn't have any time constraints, but OT (objective Tala) did. If he decided to go with that one, he'd have to do it fast, lest the redhead wouldn't compensate him. But the problem was, Kai didn't know which to go with, or what he really wanted in the end of it all. (1)

"Damn." He scratched out another idea for OT and continued working on the other side of the paper. "No, that wouldn't work, Rei would see right through it." He crossed it out and started again.

"Maybe you should take a break, Master Kai." The phoenix hopped off of the boy's shoulder and attempted to tug the notepad out of his grip.

"In a minute, Dranz. I think I have something." She watched on as he scribbled some words down. Shaking her head, she grabbed the pen with her talon and ripped it away. "Dranzer!" He stood abruptly and chased her outside onto the balcony. Naturally, she was just beyond his reach, and he was left against the railing. "Dranzer, give that back!"

"You need to stop. Take a break."

He sighed. "You do know that I could get another pen, right?" She titled her head. 'Hm, maybe she doesn't understand all of those words.' Turning around, he went back inside, pulled the drawer of his nightstand, and found a sharpened pencil. "There."

"Master Kai, that's not fair!" With her other talon, she reached and snatched the pencil away as well. He faced her with a glare.

"Dranzer, stop it!"

"Rest! You've been doing this all day!"

"Yes, because it's important." He fell onto his bed. "It's the only way for me to order my thoughts." He closed his eyes and ran an ungloved hand through his hair.

Careful to keep the writing instruments out of his sight, Dranzer landed near him. "And has it been working, Master Kai?"

He took a deep breath in and let it out very slowly. "…No." He admitted as he opened his eyes. His crimson orbs were tired and frustrated. "But I do have ten plans that would piss Tala off. So the day wasn't fruitless."

Most of that didn't register with her, so she overlooked it. "Perhaps you should talk to someone about this 'situation'."

"Like who? Tyson?" He laughed. "I doubt it."

"No, not Tyson. I fear he wouldn't be able to…fully comprehend the importance of it. Actually, I was thinking of…" She turned to something.

Without a full response from his phoenix, Kai grudgingly sat up. "Thinking of who?" He followed her gaze across the room until his eyes settled on the cleaned set of clothes that he had lent Rei that night. "…Rei!"

"Perhaps?" She added in a suggestive tone.

He looked at her incredulously. "You do know who one of the objectives is about, right?"

"Oh, Master Kai, you don't need to tell him forward. I'm sure he would understand if you said that it was about someone else that he doesn't know."

The blue-haired boy shook his head, but gazed at her thankfully. "I'll think of something." Standing up, he arched his back a little and walked around to the other side of the bed. "Though, you do bring up a good point."

"And what is it?" She questioned.

"When he left, Rei said that he'd be back soon. It's hasn't been too long, though, I assumed he would have contacted me by now."

"Maybe I should go and find him." She flew over to him. "I can ask him for you, since it's late. Besides, it isn't that suspicious to see a phoenix go over there at this hour."

"I suppose that's our only option. Ok. Try not to take too long." Kai walked her to the sliding door. "And don't get distracted by that eagle." He reminded in a protective manner.

She chirped. "I won't. Honestly, Master Kai, I'm not a fledgling." With an affectionate nip to his ear, she slipped past the door again and took to the night sky. Her flight towards the other side of the Umber Woods was fast and direct; growing up with Kai as her teacher, she knew not to waste time dawdling. 'I hope I don't run into Trygle. His interruptions are never short.' She thought with a sigh.

ooo

Thankfully, it didn't take too long for Dranzer to reach Rei's side of the mountain. She flew in cautiously, watching for the creatures that were friends with the half-breeds. Though, curiously enough, she didn't see any of them. Her first thought was that they were sleeping, but it wasn't that late. Flying towards the tree that Rei was around most often, Dranzer continued her search.

'Where are they?' She wondered. The phoenix flew around a few more times, but there wasn't a sign of them, not even the angel, who usually bolted around the place.

Taking a small break, she landed on the branch of Rei's self-proclaimed tree and huffed. 'This is getting peculiar. Where could they be?' She turned around and scanned the area. 'They wouldn't just leave. There must be an answer. But I don't see that tiger or griffin that are usually around either. Even Trygle has made himself scarce. What's going on?'

She hopped from the branch and took one more look around. Still, no one could be found. She thought about calling out for one of them, probably Trygle, but figured not to. It wouldn't be the best idea. 'I'll just have to go back and tell Master Kai. Maybe he will know what's going on.' Relenting on her quest, she turned and headed back home. 'Either that or he will come down himself and look for Rei.' She thought with a bit of amusement.

ooo

It's hard to believe that the three half-breeds could find something to occupy themselves for three hours, but they did. Well, Max did. After the food was gone, and most of the games were played, the blond still had energy to spare and was circling the area with rapid strokes of his wings. Robert had retired to Grypholyion's side. They appeared to be sleeping, but actually they were keeping an eye on the two young boys and conversing quietly. Rei sat on the edge of the meadow, which was also the side of the mountain. His feet were dangling over the edge, but since he was leaning back on his arms, he wasn't afraid of falling. …Though it was quite a long drop.

'Man, I can even see the town from here. Well, that was kind of obvious since this is a pretty tall mountain.' He teased himself. 'I didn't think some of the lights would still be on, though. It's pretty late.' Squinting, he looked at the higher part of town and noticed a pair of lights was on in a large house. 'Maybe that is Kai's house.' He mused cheerfully. 'He's probably up thinking about strategies to catch…whatever Tala asked of him. Hm…I never did ask what it was…'

"Incoming!"

Rei turned quickly. "Wha-oof!" However, it wasn't enough to avoid Max's tackle. It forced them both back, tumbling over the meadow's blades of grass ungracefully until they coursed to a sloppy stop. Rei sat up indignantly and narrowed his gaze on the laughing blond who was next to him, trying to hide his giggles while he lied on his stomach. "Maxie…what was that for?"

"You s-should have seen your face!" He managed through his laughter.

Picking the loose pieces of greenery out of his hair and patting out the dirt, he lessened his glare, but gave the boy a push. "Yea, must have been a hoot."

The angel propped himself up on his elbows. "I-I'm sorry. But you were just asking for it! Just sitting there, staring off into space…the perfect target for birthday-Max!" He fell back with a grin.

"Well don't make me make you the perfect target for my tickle attack, Maxie."

Sitting up properly, the younger brought his hands up in defense. "Ok, ok. No need to get brutal. But Rei, what were you looking at?"

"…Nothing…" He stood up and made his way back up to the hillside, with Max in toe. He sat down again, with his friend beside him. As Rei continued to gaze, the younger joined him, his sea green eyes filled with confused.

"Do you mean to tell me that you're staring at nothing again?"

The raven-haired boy nodded. "Yup. Isn't it fun?" There wasn't much sarcasm, which left Max thinking. What was he looking at? And yes, he was just bored enough to think about it.

"Aw c'mon Rei, you can tell me." No response. "Please? It's my birthday! This can be part of my present!"

The raven-haired boy blinked. "What? I already gave you your present." He reached over and pulled out the necklace he had pieced together. It was composed of fifteen dragon scales (which weren't easy to obtain) that were heated and reshaped to resemble a cord, and a yellow-ish shell hung loosely in the middle. "Or is it not good enough?"

"Oh, Rei, of course it's good enough. I love it!" He fingered the shell and then slipped it back under his shirt. "It's just…I want to know what you're thinking so hard about…"

"Actually…not much. You were right. I'm just staring off…"

"Into town." He observed. "You're looking over there in particular." He pointed to the upper part, to the one house that still had some lights on. "What's so special about that house, Rei?"

"…I'm not sure…" He answered, his tone a bit distant.

"Really?"

Rei shrugged. "Well, I'm not positive, but I think that's Kai's house."

"Kai?" He echoed. "Your friend, right?"

The older nodded with a smile. He pointedly noticed that Max had called the blue-haired boy his friend, and his hunter. "I just thought it might be, since he seems like a person who'd stay up late."

Max glanced at Rei while he spoke. His eyes brightened when he talked about Kai. It was something he only recently perceived. Like when he was telling everyone about his adventure, his facial features were humored, but it wasn't the same as when he talked about his experiences with Kai (limited as they were). The older boy was unusually happy. And even now, his eyes gave him away. They positively sparkled. The angel smiled.

"That'd be cool if it really was." He squinted. "But I can barely see it. My eyes aren't as good in the dark as yours are, Rei."

"Well," He started before falling backwards. "I guess I'm just gifted."

Rolling his eyes, Max fell back too, almost on top of Rei. "Sorry I'm not as talented as you are." He said playfully.

"…I forgive you, Maxie." The blond laughed and poked him incessantly, which resulted in Rei tickling him mercilessly. And as the sight and sounds greeted Robert, he gave a light sigh, and let a smile cross his lips. Despite all of the trouble, he was happy to have brought them up here.

ooo

Kai berated himself as he pulled on his cargo pants. It was a new day, but he was still bearing the problems of the last. The hunter groaned as he recounted yesterday's fading moments. 'I should have gone to check last night after Dranzer came back. What if something happened to him? And today just happened to be the day I sleep in. That in itself classifies this as a bad day.' He slipped a black tank top over his head and narrowed his eyes as he tugged at the bottom. He had forgotten to discard this one. It was ripped at the bottom from a previous mission, cutting off one or two inches from the bottom. The crimson-eyed boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It wasn't a good start. "Whatever." He muttered. Gloves were slipped on sloppily, the belt missed a loop, and his cape was all but forgotten. Dranzer could have been left behind, too if she hadn't been watching him and flew to his shoulder before he left the room.

"Well thank you, Master Kai." She muttered as the door closed with a slam and the boy practically leapt down the stairs.

"Whoa, Kai! Where's the fire?" Tyson called from the kitchen as he pushed the swinging door aside. Apparently Kenny and Dizzi were there, too. They were in the middle of eating. That proved how late it was. His roommate had already gotten up and made breakfast.

But there was no time for that now. He grabbed his set of keys, slipped on his shoes, and was out of the house with a minimal: "Be back before dark."

The boy blinked in confusion. "…Huh?"

"I guess Kai just realized that he slept in." Kenny commented as he took a sip from his cup.

Letting the door swing shut, Tyson shrugged and sat down with them. "Yea, I guess so." He tilted his head.

"Is something wrong, Tyson?" Dizzi asked.

"Not really. It's just…" He glanced at the door. "Do you guys think that Kai's been acting kind of weird lately? Or is it just me thinking too much?"

"I hate to say it, but I think you are thinking too much." The brunet said over the rim of his cup.

The fairy smiled. "Yea, don't hurt yourself."

He groaned. "I'm actually serious for once, guys. I've known Kai a lot longer then I probably should have, and he's never been this…this…weird." The two looked at him. "Ok, well, so I always thought he was a bit off, but only in a Kai-kind of way. He'd be too serious over nothing, or overly critical about something I'd only look at once…that's normal Kai-behavior. But lately he's just been…off!"

"Perhaps some of this 'Kai-behavior' has rubbed off on you, Tyson, so now you're being overly critical over nothing." She suggested with the brunet nodding in agreement.

"That's what I figured at first. But really guys, have you ever known Kai to sleep in for three and a half hours! He's usually up at six, six thirty at the latest…and now he's racing out around nine? C'mon, Diz, you've only known the guy for, what, a couple days as a human. Doesn't it seem odd?"

"Well…a little. However, you have to consider many factors. What if his alarm clock broke? Or he couldn't sleep? I mean, we all have our off days, right?"

"No…I know this guy. He doesn't set an alarm clock. He goes by his internal clock. And even when he stays up to catch something and comes home at goodness knows what hour of the night, he's always up and out before I wake up." He paused. "I think he's…sick or something."

Putting his fork down, Kenny tapped it lightly against the plate. "Tyson, I know you're concerned, which is already something considering it's Kai we're talking about, but you really shouldn't worry." The blue-haired boy glanced at him. "Even if something is wrong, you know that he can very well take care of himself." Picking up the dishes, he headed for the sink. "I'd stop worrying if I were you."

"Kenny's right. Kai's a big boy." She placed her elbows on the table and rested her head atop her hands. "If he has a problem and doesn't want to talk about it, then he can probably handle it." She assured.

Leaning back into his chair, Tyson nodded and sighed. "I know. It's just…weird seeing him this…off." He paused and shook his head. "It's not good Kai-ism." (2) He finished.

"Eh…Kai-ism?" Kenny echoed with a laugh. "Ok, maybe Kai isn't the only one a bit off today."

ooo

"Master Kai, can we slow down! I'm sure everything is fine!" Dranzer persisted as she did her best to keep up with the hunter. He was tearing through the forest effortlessly, the lack of cape and usual trapping items probably responsible for his boost of speed. "Rei is fine! Besides, since when were you so worried about him?"

"…I'm not. But something must be wrong if he wasn't there last night." He responded as he neared the waterfall. He slowed down and caught his breath as his phoenix scrambled to catch up. 'I'm not worried…I am not worried…I am not that worried.' After silently acknowledging Dranzer's arrival, he swallowed the apparent lump in his throat, nodded, and dove into the lake.

A spurt of fire shot from her mouth. "Master Kai…you're killing me…" She complained as her wings lifted her up into the sky. There was quite a way to go for her, and she wasn't happy about it.

By the time she had scaled the mountain and descended like a rock, she lazily sat on the ground by Kai's feet, her chirps coming out as pants. "T-There…must be an easier way for me to get here…"

Kai briefly glanced around, his gaze quick but precise. "Another time, Dranzer." He whistled to get her attention. "Come on, we have to go find Rei." He began walking off, with or without his phoenix.

"But Master Kai-"

"Hey, Dranzer!" A somewhat annoying call came.

"Oh damn…" She muttered.

Kai tilted his head up, spotted the source of the alien chirp, and sighed. "We don't have time for this." He whispered shortly.

"Dranz, you know it's good to see you, but did you have to bring that guy along?" Trygle motioned to Kai as he landed beside her. "Hey, you looked flushed; I hope you're not sick again."

"Me? No, I'm just…catching my breath. We were, in a hurry to get here."

"Yea, apparently. Where's the fire?"

"You might as well ask him if he knows where Rei is, Dranzer." Kai instructed.

"I know, Master Kai. I was just about to." She turned to the eagle. "Trygle, last night, I came here in search of Rei-neko, but he wasn't here. In fact, I couldn't find anyone. Was everything all right?"

"Last night?" He repeated slowly. "Oh yea! Everything was great! See, it was Max's birthday yesterday, so Robert took him and Rei over to the Auburn Mountains. The rest of us retired a bit early, and were in our own little hide-a-ways, so that's probably why you couldn't find us."

At that, Dranzer was quite relieved. It was good to know that Rei was ok. "Aah, that's wonderful." Catching the blue-haired boy's gaze, she continued. "Mm, can you please go and get Rei now, Trygle? Master Kai wants to speak to him."

The golden eagle sprang up. "Talk to the hunter?" His gaze became wary. "…I don't know, Dranz. It's ok when he comes on his own, but I don't feel too good about bringing him…"

The phoenix huffed. "Well, if you won't, then Master Kai will go and search for him on his own." He stated a-matter-of-factly. "It's really your choice."

Trygle crumbled. "You know…this isn't fair! Either you do this kind of thing to me…or Rei uses his silly logic…"

"Trygle, please? I'm in no mood to go searching."

"…Mm…" With an upset ruffling of his tail feathers, Trygle cocked his head towards the hunter, waddled up to him and flapped his wings just enough to reach his eye level. "I really don't know what Rei sees in you." He droned out before taking off, grudgingly searching for the raven-haired half-breed.

"Ok." Raising an eyebrow, Kai returned to Dranzer's side, sat down, and began showing her a little care for the first time that day by stroking her feathers. "Do I even want to know what he just said to me?"

"…" Weighing her options, Dranzer went with the safe choice and shook her head. "No, I don't think it bears repeating." She said with a small smile.

He shrugged. "If you say so."

ooo

Rei's ears twitched as he shifted. He turned to his side a bit, letting his tail fall off of the branch he was currently resting on. A breeze came by, causing his unbound hair to sway and his lengthy bangs to fall to his nose and trigger a sneeze. Still, he slept, quite peacefully actually.

Robert had brought them back late last night; finally deciding it was time to return home after Max nodded off three times when he attempted to get airborne. No, Rei hadn't been sleeping since then, but he was tired all the same. Max woke him up early and they ran around until Robert couldn't take it anymore. The older boy decided to take the blond to see the unicorns for some reason. Robert said he was interested about something. In any case, since Grypholyion went with them, Rei had free reign over the area. Too bad he was so exhausted he didn't make it farther than his tree before he gave into his slumberous desires.

It was nice to be catnapping at midmorning, especially since the subject of his recent dreams was very soothing. "…Mm…" He tilted his head and smiled. A ray of sunlight had crossed his cheek.

"Rei! Hey Ms. Sleeping Beauty, time to get up!"

"…" As sensitive as his ears were, if Rei didn't want to get up…he wasn't going to get up.

Knowing this, Trygle flew around him, continuously pecking at his shoulder and arms. "C'mon! Hey! Rei!" He nicked the boy's sleeve and pulled slightly, careful not to yank him off the branch completely. "Mm-Rei!"

There was an opposing tug. "…Leave me 'lone…" Came the mumble.

"'M not playin' 'round! That hunter of yours is waitin' for you by the falls, so get yer butt down 'here!"

The raven-haired boy's ears twitched. "…Kai?"

Letting go of his shirt, Trygle grabbed his arm within his talons' grasp. "Yea, that guy. So the sooner you and he talk, the soon he can leave!"

Golden eyes blinked open. "Kai?" He glanced at the bird. "What are you talking about, Trygle? He knows it's too risky for him to come over here." Breaking free of the sharp talons, the half-breed yawned lazily, forcing his claws to extend and his pointy incisors to show.

"Looks like someone got in late last night."

"!" Peering over a little too much, Rei retained a gasp. "Kai! What the he-whoa!"

"Rei!" The boy's sudden loss of balance resulted in a quick fall, which Trygle didn't have time to react to. He missed catching him, only managing to tear off the tail of his sash. Thankfully, someone else was paying attention.

"Hn…I thought that after our little 'closet incident', you'd be more careful about falling for me, Rei." The blue-haired boy murmured with a laugh. This time, he didn't tumble down with him. Kai managed to stay on his feet, with a disheveled boy safely held in his arms.

Furiously blushing, the younger blinked and echoed him. "…For you?"

"…On me." He quickly corrected. "This had better not become a habit." He finished hastily.

Saving a nervous chuckle for himself, Rei shook his head. "…I-It won't." Brushing some of his hair out of his face (much to Kai's dislike), he gave his savior a lazy smile. "But y-you do have great reflexes."

The blue-haired boy matched him with a smirk. "All part of the package."

Rei's ears pressed back, the color still apparent on his cheeks.

"Yea! All apart of the hunter package…" Trygle volunteered rather forcefully.

Dranzer bumped him out of the way. "Trygle!" She admonished.

"I'm just reminding Rei-"

"I know, Trygle. I know…" He said rather dejectedly. The boy climbed out of Kai's arms and straightened out his clothes. "…So, uh…" He removed a few knots from his hair and tucked it away behind him. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

'…' There was a brief jumble in the older boy's head as the site of Rei's unbound hair framing his slim body registered in his mind as a very good thing. Coughing, the hunter nodded. "Yea…" He eyed the two aviators. "In private if possible…"

Catching the blatant connotation, Dranzer began pushed her eagle friend away, slowly but surely. An amused expression crossed the half-breed's face as he motioned Kai to follow him out to the waterfall. It was bound to be a bit more secluded there.

'Perfect timing. Ok Rei, let's see what you're trying to hide from me.' Watching from his place in the brush, Driger followed the two boys cautiously. He was sure to find out what Wolborg was talking about now.

ooo

Rei stopped when the lake was in view. He turned to face Kai and shrugged. "All right. So, what's this little visit all about?"

"It's kind of obvious." Sauntering over to the other, he paused for a moment before sitting down. This wasn't going to be a minute. Rei obliged the silent command and joined him on the ground. "You said that you were going to contact me, but you never did. Yesterday, Dranzer came to ask you about it, and you weren't here. Actually, no one was. I got worr…I got curious," He substituted swiftly, turning his head away in the process. "And decided to make sure you didn't run away."

The raven-haired boy took this in, momentarily wondering if Kai was fueled by worry to come check on him. He managed a smile. "Sorry about that. I guess I should have said something. Yesterday was Max's birthday, so Robert took us out." He drew his legs up to his chest and rested his arms on top of them. "The others went to sleep early since there was no one to talk to."

It was acknowledged. "Right, you told me about his birthday a day or two ago."

Tapping his feet lightly against the floor, Rei kept his grin. "…Is the inquisition over now?" He asked good-humoredly.

Kai tilted his head towards the other. "What kind of meeting only has one question?"

The tapping stopped. "Meeting? Don't make it sound so formal. We're friends, you know…" He reminded with a murmur. "So, what else then?"

"…" That was a good question. What else did Kai want to talk about? Something must have been keeping him from getting up. 'If I can phrase it right, maybe I could find out what that nagging feeling is. That'd give me a solution and I can decide between the two plans. "Ok."

"Mm? Ok what?"

"…Do you remember when Tala came over the previous day?"

Rei laughed. "How could I forget? That was one of the most uncomfortable days of my life."

"Yea, same here." The hunter muttered. "Anyway, our relationship," Rei's ears twitched. "Is obviously on a friend level, right?"

"Uh huh…" Where was this going?

"Even though we argue, and don't always get along, that's the way it is."

He drawled out a response. "…Ok…yes. You were talking about that thing you had to capture…" His own answer sparked Rei's memory. 'That's what I was thinking about. I was going to ask Kai what he was trying to catch.' His attention was divided now, but as the blue-haired boy continued to talk, he nodded along.

"Correct. So...it's all right to act that way." This was proving to be difficult. Kai was never one to talk about relationships and feelings. He accepted what was there and went on with life. However, this was different. He wanted to know. The only problem was…he didn't know how to go about it. That resulted in a poorly executed 'conversation'. "…It's similar to the way we acted towards each other before…"

He knew he was supposed to be listening, but Rei couldn't help but wonder on his current thought. Kai's voice registered in his mind, but it was a whisper. Hearing a pause, he replied with a 'hn' and let the older boy continue.

'What could the creature be? It must be something rare if it's taking him this long to get it. I certainly hope he isn't expecting me to help him. Oh, could that be what Tala was yelling about as Kai was pushing out? He said something about getting the - to him as soon as possible.' He thought. 'Man, why can't I remember?' His brows furrowed.

Noticing the reaction, Kai presumed it had to do with his words. "Except for the fights, I didn't mind it, but I think what's…going on between us now is…uh, good, isn't it?" A nod.

'Hm…what was the name of the creature?' Rei's contemplative mood forced him to stop his tapping. He just sat there, thinking…racking his brain. 'He practically yelled it for the whole town to hear! What was it…a…a breed of something. Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue!'

"It's certainly strange." Kai's voice called out. "What could be more inappropriate than a hunter and a half-breed, if you'll excuse the bluntness of my characterizations…"

At that, the younger boy smiled, which the other assumed to be a good sign in connection to his statement. Kai continued talking while the other boy celebrated his remembrance. 'Half! That's the word!' With a satisfied grin on his face, he rocked back a little. 'I can't believe I couldn't think of it. Man, that was idiotic. So, Tala wants Kai to find a half…' Golden eyes snapped open, dry lips parted slightly. The pieces connected in his mind, and everything began to clear as if once draped by fog.
"Kai, what are you-" His mouth was covered by Kai's hand before he could finish his sentence.

"Shut up and do not move." He commanded.

"Eh…what did you say to me-" The door closed with a slam…

'That's why…he didn't want Tala to see me…'
The hunter slowly opened the door he had been blocking, revealing a ticked off half-breed. "Rei."

The boy had his arms crossed, his cat ears pointed and slanted down. "Mind telling me what that was all about?" He asked calmly.

"I would, but this isn't over yet." He glanced at the door to the kitchen, making sure Tala didn't decide to check up on him again. "Please, just stay in here. I'll explain later."

'He was hiding me…before Tala could find me. But then why…'
Tala finally sighed. "I don't know." He shrugged. "I suppose even if you did have something going on around here, it's none of my business unless it concerns that half-breed you owe me."

'Half-breed…'
"…it's none of my business unless it concerns that half-breed you owe me."

'Kai's assignment is to find a half-breed…his job is to catch…' Rei's face paled upon realization. His eyes lost their brilliant sheen, and his mind started to spin. "…Me."

(1) Please bear with my unusual labels. Call me lazy, but it's just faster to type abbreviations.
(2) Kai-ism: Oh c'mon, like anyone could pass up the chance of using that word. Mm…the act of someone using Kai-like behavior. :grins:

SS – Don't look at me! I don't know what the heck I'm typing… :skims over bits and pieces: I swear, it's like someone else is typing through me. …And…I wouldn't really consider this a cliff, so there's no reason to get…miffed. :nervous laughter:
Tym – :hardly controlled laughter: S-Sure…this isn't a cliff…
SS – Er…I'll just go…start the next chapter…now…bye!
Tym – I don't know what's more hilarious, her behavior or the characters'! The OOC virus must still be floating around…

-Brief replies:

Ilex-Aquifolium: Thank you. I'm glad it was good to read. Hope this chapter was, too. Heh, I think a lot of people's minds fell into the gutter…just think how many times I fell in while writing it. :grins:

ChibiNekoSakura: Yea, they are one emotional breakdown short of a bunch. I've been reading too many plays. Anywho, I have been neglectful to Tala and Bryan…but they'll start showing up a lot fairly soon. Their roles are just beginning…whether or not they are the "evil ones" depends on how you perceive them.

Kitty: Hehe…pardon the long wait for that previous one. I was very…yea. This one was roughly on time (what clock am I going by!). The next chapter should be to your liking…a lot…I'll do my best to get it out faster (I'll pass on the life of living hell :cough:). Thanks bunches!

Moon Bind: 15-6 3-15-21-18-19-5 11-1-9 12-15-22-5-19 18-5-9! 20-8-3-25 1-18-5 19-15-15-15 3-21-20-3! :phew: I need a new code…my head hurts. :laughs:

Syaoran-Lover: No problem about waiting, I mean, how long did I take for that last chapter? Authoress secret: I had no clue what Kai was thinking back there either. :shush: But I do now, it's planned. Guess the other secret's out (like I did a good job of hiding it :nervous laughter:) so I applaud the good guessing! Wow, you have plenty of escape routes I could take if my ending doesn't work out…but maybe one of them is right. Hehe, you really want to see the guilt, eh? Well, I'm not promising anything because, I'm not sure if I can keep it later if I rewrite something, but I think it'll be good. :smiles: No worries! I'll keep your ideas in mind just in case! Thanks a lot.

Shini-neko-chan: School? Heh, that's the whole reason why I can't do regular updates. I think it's a common test of a person's ability to multi-task. :smile: Depending on how I plan out the rest of the story, I may have some Tyson/Max. It was my original intention to do so, but…well, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reviewing!

-Thanks a bunches for the reviews! They're loved to pieces and more pieces!
Dark Reiko, TNTiggris, Galy, pickle-kitten, CrossHunt-s, The-Pain-Of-A-Lost-Soul, and people who just read the chapters. I don't review all the time either, so it's all right. I'm just happy that my story is enjoyable.

Anywho…looks like this is the end of the fourteenth chapter! I've almost plotted out the ending, so maybe I can update faster (but no promises). I'm loving the comments on where to direct this. It helps a lot. Thanks again for bearing with my unique update schedule, and hopefully, I shall see everyone soon! Please review! Ashes.

:gasp: A "plot bunny" has invaded my head recently. However, I'm determined to finish this before starting anything else (since I'm terrible at tracking two stories), so it won't be acted upon that way. …It's really nagging though, so I may put up bits and pieces at my sheezyart place. Details later if I actually do. Bye!