Pale amethyst eyes narrowed as the shadows shifted around him. Something, more than likely more than one, was following him. He moved quick and agile through the underbrush, but whatever was following him was keeping up easily. There was no doubt in his mind that it would come to a confrontation soon enough. He had been trying to shake them for almost an hour, but they were persistent and he knew why. It had something to do with the pouch hanging off his silver belt. Instinctively one hand flashed to make sure it was still where he had tied it and satisfied that it was he once more focused on getting away.

Something broke through the trees on his left and only his nimble reflexes kept him from being tackled. As he sidestepped the flying body his instincts had him pulling his sword as he spun to deflect his next attacker. That's when he got a good look and his suspicions were confirmed. It was the town guards from the town he had just evacuated quite quickly. He frowned and ducked as another guard pounced at his back. Stealing something didn't usually get the town guards chasing someone miles from the town. Then again, it wasn't every day that someone stole something of such importance either. The object in his pouch smelled faintly of Earth magic and was probably used by the townspeople to help with farming and other things.

"Thief, return the Natru Gama!" One of the guards ordered.

Thief. His eyes twitched at the insult. He was no mere thief. He was a mercenary, a man capable of much more than just thievery. It was an insult to his ability to be called a thief. He failed to acknowledge that the only difference between a thief and a merc was that the merc got paid for it.

"Take it." The merc sneered back.

One of the guards lunged forward. The merc whirled, bringing the sword in a sweeping motion that knocked the other's sword away. He caught the guard with a kick to the face and immediately dropped down to leg sweep another guard. As he got to his feet he brought the sword up with him and deflected another. Spinning in a circle he realized there were more guards than he had originally thought. More of a challenge than he had anticipated, but that just made it all the more fun.

"Twelve to one." He mused, watching as they formed a ring around him. "I don't like your odds."

"I recognize you." One of the guards spoke up, taking in the tall young man's features. "You're the one they call Falcon. There's a reward for your capture."

Falcon smirked. "Gonna try and collect? Men better than you have tried and failed."

"You're cocky for twelve to one."

Falcon continued to smirk, eyes twinkling at the idea of combat. He widened his stance and centered himself as the twelve men shifted around him. Unfair odds. I almost feel sorry for them. He then lifted his sword and pointed at the one that had called him cocky. It was a clear challenge and no man with any pride would have turned it down. With a snarl the guard lunged forward with his sword extended to impale the young challenger. Falcon smirked at the foolish, amateur move and easily swept the man's sword to the side, twirling around to bring his own sword through the man's heart.

That was the real start of the battle. The guards were enraged at the man's death and attacked like a pack of rabid animals. They didn't stand a chance. Falcon was a blur, twisting, turning, and twirling with such ease that none of the swords came even close to catching him. Within seconds of the beginning of the battle the end came with a metallic thump as the last guard fell.

"Too easy."

Something clicked in his mind. The familiar smell of burning embers was all the warning he needed. Falcon dove to the side and fire rained down on the spot where he had just been. Rolling to his feet the merc quickly spun to see a red robed figure drop from a tree. Falcon tensed at the new challenge. This man was obviously not a Fire Master, but anyone capable of wielding an element was a worthy, not to mention dangerous, opponent. The other regarded him with dark eyes that didn't even conceal his contempt.

"Give me the Nartu Gama or by Aranas I'll take it from you" The man snarled.

"Let's see you try." Falcon said with a smirk.

"You dare challenge the Fire Saint of Doria?" The man boomed.

Falcons snorted. "Fire Saint? Tell me, did your Master give you that title of honor or did you give it to yourself?"

"The honor was bestowed upon me by High Master Taren!" The Fire Saint barked. The dark eyes narrowed, a spark of fire lighting there. "You dare mock me?"

"Oh come off your high horse. Either shut up and make a move or go back to your precious Fire Temple."

"Very well. I'll burn you to a crisp for your efforts."

Falcon dove to the side again as fire scorched the ground. As he rolled he snatched up one of the fallen guard's sword and threw it at the Fire Saint. The Fire Saint brought his own sword up and deflected the attack before lunging at Falcon. Falcon got his sword up in his defense, but received a kick to the chest that sent him sprawling. He used the momentum to roll backwards and up to his feet and immediately had to fend off the persistent Fire Saint. The Fire Saint was an expert swordsman, but his skills fell just short of Falcon and it became apparent as the merc dominated the fight. But the tables turned swiftly and brutally when the Fire Saint blasted his opponent with a fireball right to the chest that sent the merc flying into a tree trunk.

"Now you will feel the full wrath of the Fire Saint."

Falcon looked up to see the Fire Saint gathering a large fireball in his cupped hands. He knew it was time to reveal his own secret. Just as the Fire Saint threw the fireball at him Falcon raised on hand and sent out a stream of ice. The ice instantly cooled the flames and turned it into one huge ice ball that Falcon flung back at the Fire Saint. The startled warrior didn't have a chance of dodging the attack and was stuck hard, getting pinned beneath the ice ball. Falcon pushed to his feet, putting a hand to his seriously singed chest.

"You're of the Order of Ice?" The Fire Saint was clearly surprised. "But I didn't smell snow."

"I have the unique ability to hide the smell of my magic." Falcon replied with a shrug. "Comes in handy against arrogant pricks such as yourself."

"How could you dishonor you Masters with such behavior? Have you no sense of duty to your Masters?" Fire Saint demanded.

Falcon's gaze hardened. "You're awful brave for someone at my mercy."

"Your mercy?" The Fire Saint repeated, obviously finding some humor in that. "I'm hardly at your mercy."

Flames erupted around the Fire Saint and the ice ball exploded into fragments. Falcon dodged another fireball and growled. He was getting tired of playing around. The Fire Saint was delaying him too long. He had a deadline to meet and he didn't need his reputation being tarnished by being late. It was time to put the arrogant Fire Saint in his place. Falcon didn't notice the temperature falling fast because the cold weather didn't bother him. Fire Saint noticed as his magic was being nullified by the sub-zero temperature and realized he had grossly underestimated his enemy. This man had a greater power, one that far surpassed his own. These were his final thoughts as his body froze solid.

"Maybe by the time you thaw you'll remember the lessons your Masters taught you about underestimating an enemy." Falcon said as released his hold on his magic and the temperature began to rise once more. He sheathed his sword and then looked around at the bodies around him. Shaking his head the merc set out again.

vvvv

"You came dangerously close to being late Bryan."

Bryan, known as Falcon to most, frowned and crossed his arms. "Point is I'm not late."

"Indeed."

"So you've got what you want so pay up." Bryan snapped. He glared defiantly at the dark figure that most would have cowered before. "I don't work for free Boris."

Boris smirked as he felt the temperature around them begin to drop. "Easy young Bryan. Do anything to me and you won't get paid." The man then reached into his coat and pulled out a pouch. He tossed it to Bryan and watched with cold eyes as the merc counted the coins. "Satisfied?"

"Very." Bryan replied with a smirk.

"Good, then I'll be on my way." Boris said and stepped back into the shadows.

Bryan cast him one disgusted look before he turned and left the alley, heading for the tavern across the street. Usually, he didn't like going into those sort of places. It was easy to get attention drawn to oneself in big taverns. But the town didn't have any small pubs and he needed a drink. Nowadays he always needed a drink after using his Ice Magic. It rattled him for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why. He had never been especially gifted and it had taken the Masters longer to get him attuned with the element where as his friend T---. He viciously cut his train of thought. He couldn't think about that. Apparently a good stiff drink was exactly what he needed.

Stepping into the tavern he wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of alcohol and smoke. Like all magic users his senses were highly tuned and he knew it wouldn't be long before the smells started to make him sick. He made his way to an empty table and ordered a stiff drink when the barmaid came by. He made a quick observation of the tavern and saw a few shady characters that he recognized having done business with them in some way or another. He gave the barmaid a quick smile and paid her before taking up the drink and gulping a good portion of it. Using magic really, really rattled him.

"Are you Falcon?"

Bryan snorted into his drink and slammed the mug down before glaring up at the speaker. The person was wearing a cloak that hid everything except for green bangs and a fanged mouth. It was a neko-jin then, he could figure that much out by what little he could see. That instantly brought questions to his mind. Neko-jins didn't usually leave their villages or at least they didn't wander too far. Even when they did they usually stuck to safer places. One could easily get snatched from a tavern by neko-hunters and no one would look twice.

"What if I am?" Bryan snapped, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I need you to come with me. We have a job for you." The neko-jin said.

Bryan snorted. "By we I'm guessing you mean your village? Listen kid, your village couldn't afford my price."

"You don't know if you don't find out."

"I'm one of the most sought after mercs in the country. My services come at a high price."

The neko-jin leaned forward so that Bryan caught sight of violet eyes narrowed with anger. "And you think just because we're a neko-jin village that we don't have anything to offer you worth your time? I heard you were rough around the edges, but I didn't know you were so disrespectful. You don't even deserve the job with that kind of behavior. I'll just find another merc that deserves the payment and has a better attitude."

Bryan shrugged and watched the neko-jin saunter off. He was mildly insulted that the Elders of the village had sent a child to summon him. A neko-jin warrior should have been sent at least that would have been worth his time. He went back to his drink and got in a few more gulps before he set the mug back down and groaned. The neko-jin had aroused his curiosity. It was almost unheard of for the neko-jins to need the services of a merc and he was sure they wouldn't have sent for him if they hadn't had something worthwhile to offer him.

With an annoyed sigh he stood up and followed in the neko-jin's footsteps. As soon as he stepped out of the tavern his instincts screamed a warning. He glanced around quickly and frowned at the apparently empty street. He saw no danger and much to his annoyance no green haired neko-jin either. But that couldn't be right. He knew from his studies that neko-jins were a mostly fast, graceful, and agile race among other things, but no one could disappear that quickly. He knew he shouldn't care or be bothered by the fact that something could have happened to the neko-jin. No one cared about him, so why should he return the favor? But something deep down inside told him he'd regret not helping the green haired kid.

"Sham, grab the kid's feet." A voice barked out of the alley beside the tavern.

Bryan stalked to the edge of the building and glanced around. Sure enough four big brutes were trying to wrestle the green haired boy into a cage. Bryan had always been against the neko-jin trade and he especially didn't approve of youngsters being captured and forced into the unsavory world the rest of the adults were thrust into. He didn't want to care, and had it been an adult he probably would have walked away, but it was just a kid probably not very far into his teenage years.

"Has your catch been so bad lately that you have to resort to kidnapping children?" Bryan asked in a light, almost flippant way.

All four men spun quickly to face the stranger. Three of the men simply glared at him, but the fourth looked shell-shocked. Bryan smirked and pushed away from the wall and moved further into the alley. One of the men grabbed the struggling neko-jin had held him as the other two stepped forward. The fourth man was still staring as if a ghost stood before him.

"You're Falcon." The man finally said.

Bryan's smirk grew. "I see it's time for a change of appearance when lowly street thugs recognize me."

"Street thugs! We're Neko-hunters!"

"Like I said, street thugs."

One of the men snarled. "You're a neko lover, ain't you?"

Ain't you? And this guy wants to say he's not a street thug. Bryan thought to himself as he told the men that he wasn't a neko lover and didn't go into detail. He was enjoying the confusion that was settling over the men. They couldn't figure out if he was toying with them, planning on attacking them, or just about to walk away. Bryan loved every minute of it, but the young boy in their grasp looked about to have a heart attack at a young age. He needed to put a stop to it before the kid was permanently scarred by the experience. Should I taunt them some? Give them a choice to hand the kid over to me? Or just go in for the kill?

"What'd'ya want?" The tallest thug demanded.

"If you need me to answer that then you're as stupid as you are ugly." Bryan sneered.

He gave them a moment longer to figure it out, but the four men just shared a confused look. Pathetic. Bryan thought about pulling his sword, but decided against it. The day he couldn't take a pack of street thugs without sword was the day he needed to get out of the business. With that set in mind he strode forward, keeping his eyes on them the whole time. He had no doubt that the morons would make the first move and of course that would be their downfall.

"What game you playin' man?" The shortest neko-hunter demanded.

Bryan didn't reply and as he got closer the men finally started to piece it together. The one brute that had recognized him backed away and was given the neko-jin to hold while the other three moved to block Bryan's path. Predictably the biggest thug made the first move, a pathetic excuse for a punch to the face. Bryan didn't even budge, simply held up his hand and caught the fist. He then squeezed with only half his strength and felt several bones shift and pop. He yanked the man forward only to deliver a powerful kick to the chest and released the hand so that the man could go flying backwards. The other two rushed him at the same time, but again Bryan didn't move. He grabbed both punches thrown at him and then flipped them both to the ground and gave them both chops to the neck to make sure they stayed down. He then gave the last man a cold look that promised lots of pain if he didn't give up without a fight. Having already recognized him and heard the rumors about the fierce Falcon, the last man shoved the neko-jin toward Bryan and scrambled away.

Bryan caught the boy as he stumbled and help him catch his balance before letting him go. The two observed each other for a few minutes. Bryan realized quickly that even though the boy was young he was more intelligent than a person would have given him credit for at first glance. There was an agile quickness about him too and Bryan found himself surprised the hunters had managed to grab the boy. They had to have grabbed him from behind or given him no chance to defend himself, because the green haired youth didn't look easy to capture.

"Thamenz." The boy said, violet eyes wide and still slightly scared from the experience.

Bryan was caught slightly off guard. "You speak the old tongue?"

"Many of the village do."

"Interesting." Bryan mused, giving the boy one more look over. Those big violet eyes were begging him for something and he knew what it was. It was then he remembered something he had learned about the neko-jin culture that boys coming of age would be given tasks to complete by the Elders in order to prove themselves. That solved the questions of why such a young neko-jin had been sent to find him. He sighed and turned to walk away. "What's your name kid?"

"Kevin." The boy replied, moving to follow the merc. "Are you going to come with me now?"

"Well, you need to go back to your village, because you're obviously not old enough to be in the towns yet. I don't even think you could make it back safely on your own." Bryan said. He knew he sounded harsh, but that was just his way. "Therefore, I'll escort you to make sure you make it and since I'm going to be there I might as well listen to what your Elders have to say."

For a moment Kevin had started to look insulted and had begun to gather something worthy of spitting in reply when the true meaning behind Bryan's words struck him. Bryan wasn't looking or he would have seen excitement replace the fury on the boy's face. He sighed and fiddled with the hilt of his sword. Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?