A Few Journeys
"So what is this change all about?" Taiken asked from the top of the table, more to himself than anyone else.
The little troop assumed their seats in the main hall at a long, oaken table, awaiting their breakfast. Kyo now realised just how hungry she was, and she knew that Hawk probably hadn't eaten much for the last couple of weeks or so. She was immediately sorry for Hawk, and regret piled up inside; it was her fault, after all.
"Do you reckon we should go yell at them to hurry up?" laughed Taiken.
"Is it true that Draco uses her daggers when she's preparing her food?" asked Chisel. Kyo giggled, then realised he was being totally serious. She couldn't force back the smile though.
"Yeah," replied Taiken with a hearty laugh. "She tried to teach Ruriko how to cut potatoes with her daggers."
At that very moment, Ruriko came skidding into the room, saying, "Breakfast will be up shortly. Our chef is working particularly fast today."
"Hey Ruriko, can you get Draco up here and show us how she would cut potatoes?" said Taiken, grinning.
"Um… what!"
"No big deal, we just want to see," Chisel assured her. Bewildered, Ruriko spun around and trotted obediently back to the kitchen.
Within a minute, Draco emerged. She looked quite comical, with a slightly burnt apron tied over her fighting garb and her daggers held healthily in her hands. Ruriko jogged in with a chopping board in her hand and several potatoes levitating behind her, which dropped out of the air onto the chopping board as soon as it was placed on the table.
"OK… I have no idea why I'm doing this, but oh well…" Draco sighed as she stood ready and poised in front of her vegetables. "Wind spell, please Ruriko."
"Shiri osiiku stai!" yelled Ruriko, raising her arms over her head and the air lilting with the words (as it did with all spells). It was a fairly amusing scene; the potatoes were thrown into the air, and Draco began to swipe the blades through in seemingly eight directions at once, so fast it was impossible to tell what she was doing.
After a couple of seconds, both Draco and Ruriko relaxed, and shortly after, the potatoes fell in finely sliced wedges onto the chopping board.
Kyo sat dumb, wondering if she was imagining this or not, and turned to the others for reassurance. Hawk was staring wide-eyed at the spectacle, Oshi was frowning, and Taiken and Chisel were grinning so broadly, it looked as though their smiles would fall off their faces.
"Happy?" asked Draco, grinning back. She gathered the chopping board and the food and set off back to the kitchen, Ruriko skipping behind her.
Kyo stared somewhat blankly after them, then withdrew her thoughts to her own mind; they would expect to hear her speak, but she didn't know if what she had to say would be good enough for them. She suspected that they were expecting some kind of groundbreaking story that would completely change the way they ran their lives, but all she could offer was fragmented memories, poorly told. She sighed quietly to herself; as long as she told them everything she knew, they should think that fine.
She looked up to survey the people whom she was sure she would disappoint. Taiken was listening to Chisel telling him about his own life threatening experience, which he seemed to regard as a huge joke. Oshi watched them warily. Hawk was actually watching herself, with wide concerned eyes; she tried her best give him a reassuring smile, but she didn't entirely trust her own mouth. But when Hawk looked relieved, she figured it had worked and waited in silence for Draco and Ruriko to return.
Kyo felt the familiar nagging of time failing to pass; it seemed so long that she sat there, waiting. She tried listening to Taiken and Chisel laughing together, but only a low buzzing was heard from their mouths, forming sounds in no language in particular. Hawk and Oshi remained still, left in their own thoughts. She now felt totally separate from them, as though they were a different species, left alone in a dank eternity, as Draco and Ruriko did not return with breakfast.
"Kyo, are you sure you're OK?" asked Hawk suddenly.
She felt herself startle and tense, and hesitantly turned to the speaker. She considered nodding, maybe try a reassuring smile, but she heard herself say, "Not really, Hawk sir."
He gave a slight nod, and Kyo noticed the room fall quiet.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait a little while more before telling us what happened?" said Taiken, quite quietly. She searched his voice for hints of sarcasm or tease, but it was clean. She felt a rush of gratitude to both Hawk and Taiken, Hawk for knowing something was wrong, Taiken for taking it seriously, the latter of which she hadn't expected, observing his attitude.
"No," she sighed simply. "I think it may be best I tell you all quickly, so as not to waste your time. It's just that…" She took in a deep breath, and blinked away tears that she didn't realise had been welling up in her eyes. "I can't remember a lot of it."
It felt such a relief to let it go, and now that it had passed, she wondered briefly why she had dreaded it.
"Is that so bad?" replied Oshi, genuinely confused. Kyo began to feel confused also; she didn't know these people, and all she knew of their character was what she had seen within a brief few hours and Hawk's descriptions. But they now seemed to be showing different faces, as though they had a different mask for every occasion. But it wasn't a mask; it was just how they handled the situations thrust at them.
"I was… frightened," she answered, somewhat awkwardly. "That maybe you would not be satisfied by only fragments of the ordeal."
"You were the sole survivor of the "attack" on Arie, at least, I'm assuming it was an attack," stated Taiken. She made a little noise of approval, not trusting her head to move. "As long as you tell us what you know, then that's definitely good enough for us."
The others made it heard that they agreed, and smiled. She felt her tense muscles soften and her lips curve into a smile also. It wasn't so bad after all.
Chisel fired into another of his own stories, but this time, Kyo could listen.
x-x-x
"Breakfast has arrived!" sang Ruriko, with a large pewter bowl levitating almost precariously behind her. "Stew!"
The dish hovered delicately to the centre of the table, landing with a slight thud.
"Ruriko," called Draco as she came striding into the hall. "As much as you like announcing breakfast, you forgot the bowls and cutlery again."
"Oh…" mused Ruriko as Draco began handing round bowls and chopsticks. Hawk caught a slightly bemused glanced from Kyo.
"You didn't use chopsticks in Arie, did you?" He felt he needed to ask.
"No," she replied earnestly, trying to fit them around her fingers. "The meat is not normally cut into such small pieces. The animals are too large."
"Yeah, you get some pretty big nasties way up north," said Chisel.
"Nasties," said Oshi incredulously. He frowned almost impatiently at the childish word. Chisel poked his tongue at him.
"Oh," exclaimed Ruriko, leaping forward. "Let me show you the fine arts of chopstick use, Résaku!"
"Résaku?"
"Language of the Making word, isn't it?" said Taiken, sheepishly scratching his head.
"It just means ' big sister'," explained Ruriko. If anyone was taken aback by this, they either didn't show it, or Ruriko ignored it. She set herself busy showing Kyo how to wield the chopsticks, arranging her fingers and manoeuvring her hands.
"Hawk, you're having first pickings," announced Draco, filling a pure white bowl with hot, mouth-watering stew. Hawk stared at his food, amazed that it was in front of him. He couldn't ignore the emptiness in his stomach, since he hadn't eaten for over a week. He tried in vain to exercise some self-control, but instead descended ravenously upon his meal.
Paying no attention to how he ate or what was going into his mouth, he almost felt his life being replenished, as though he were resting, recovering. Draco served the others, but stood over him, waiting to replenish his bowl.
"Meat! Meat! Meat!" Ruriko would exclaim between mouthfuls, who was incessantly cramming food into her mouth.
"I would have thought that you would have meat everyday," mused Kyo, looking up from her breakfast. Hawk noted that she kept her manners as she ate, maybe because her own nature wouldn't allow her to plunge into a meal the way he had, or maybe because she was still getting used to the chopsticks.
"When Hawk is here," said Taiken. "I'm not a particularly good hunter."
"We've been living off vegetables for the past couple of weeks," explained Draco.
"I did so like the way you tried to make it interesting," he laughed.
"I thought that was sheer brilliance!" Ruriko declared, standing up and raising her chopsticks in the air in a mock-imploring tone, slender body stretched in full height. Hawk was surprised to see that Ruriko was incredibly skinny. He'd always known she was slim, but he didn't know why he hadn't noticed it like this before. Perhaps it was just seeing her stretched out, and her ribs were visible, little oval shadows over pale, sparsely freckled skin.
She plopped back down into her place, with the others laughing.
"How do you make vegetables interesting?" asked Kyo, smile still evident.
"Well, there was the carrot totem poles," replied Draco, leaving her chopsticks to count with her fingers. "The radishes with the faces, that strange pea shooting game, the flowering cauliflowers, the flaming torch parsnip show…"
"And would you believe that Ruriko was the one who dreamt up all of those," scoffed Taiken sarcastically.
"Hey, you forgot the hut," protested Ruriko. "Do you know how long I spent on that picket fence?"
Chisel snorted into his stew, and everyone continued to devour the delicious mixture. Having consumed the contents of the large pewter dish, the guild sat back to enjoy the effect of their meal.
x-x-x
"Kyo, anything you want to say?" said Taiken leisurely. Kyo picked up the hint, and began talking, keeping her voice to a lifeless monotone.
Taiken listened gravely, still not sure if his previous reassurance was enough to make Kyo's task as simple as wording a sentence. But it was more than words; it was almost as though something was being extracted from her, and it would leave her exhausted at the end. He had never had to make such a recital, but he had seen it with Ruriko, telling him about when she was almost expelled from Yuno academy of Magic.
"It started with the Clock Tower, I'm certain. I could tell there was something strange about it. I started avoiding walking past it in the dark, but that… feeling just got stronger, then I stayed clear of it all the time."
"You sensed that something was wrong with the place?" gabbled Ruriko suddenly, looking up from the notes she was making in her diary. "Have you had magical training? Did you say anything to anyone else? Did anyone else notice the aura of the clock tower? What colour did you see?"
Taiken was about to protest and let Kyo continue into the attentive silence, but Kyo stopped, her eyes fixed on one place, not focused on anything.
"Yes; no; no; I do not think so; and red," she answered simply.
"OK, thank you, Résaku," said Ruriko, rapidly recording what was just spoken. "Please continue."
Kyo nodded to the air in front of her. "I knew something bad would happen, and I knew it was around the Clock Tower, but I was scared to say. I tried to sleep a bit, but I woke up in the middle of the night. I ran out of my house, and Arie was burning. They… destroyed it. They killed the townspeople. Everyone I'd known. They'd destroyed it all."
Her monotonous voice shook with grief as she uttered the words, and she now swayed where she sat.
"But you escaped?" asked Ruriko.
"Yes. I just ran."
"You didn't encounter anything?"
"Kind of. A very strange monster. I've never seen one like it before. It looked almost like a giant clock crossed with an old man."
There was an uneasiness around the table now, and everyone turned to Ruriko, hoping she would have something to say again.
"But… if that is true, then… well, it couldn't be right…" stammered Ruriko, her eyes wide, and her forehead creased in a quizzical frown. "If those monsters you saw are the same ones I'm thinking about, they are man made."
The uneasiness became tense and still. This couldn't be right! Monsters couldn't be… made. They were living, breathing things, so they had to be born not made.
"How can that be possible?" said Draco, her worried, confused frown identical to her sister's.
"I have heard of the Clock Tower in Arie, and there are loads of stories made up about it," explained Ruriko. Her arms were folded, and Taiken now saw a totally different part of her personality; it was rare that she became unflinchingly serious and focused. "No one knows who built it; they say it was the work of dark wizards. If there was a weird aura around it like Kyo said, then it was definitely some kind of magic. Another thing I am wondering is how Kyo sensed what was going to happen, but Clock Tower first.
"They say a guild of powerful dark wizards and priests and necromancers and people like that made a meeting place, like we did with these caves. So they built the Clock Tower, and they lived in it. They said they did experiments and other nasty things in there, and some people say that they even wanted to cover the land in darkness and have Midgard kneel before them. It sounds silly, but I think there may even be some truth behind it.
"I think those monsters Kyo saw were the maybe the products of the dark wizards' magic or experiments or whatever they did in there, and they've been locked up in there for years. And now they've broken out."
"I'm sorry, Kyo," said Taiken, not wishing to leave the pause to boil them. "I think we're going to have to go back to Arie at some point."
Kyo nodded. Taiken didn't want to be the one to drag her back to her "home" nor did he like being the bearer of bad news. But what he would really dislike was leaving it to someone else. He figured it was part of his job as the peacekeeper of the group. She at least had the grace to accept the idea without complaint.
"Well, we at least have to find out as much as we can about the Clock Tower, but first Kyo needs to be all trained up," interjected Ruriko. "You have never had any magical training, you said Kyo?"
"None."
"Did you learn any dances that involved chanting? Because technically, that would be magic."
"No. We only learnt the basic steps."
"I wonder how it is that you can sense things…"
"I could only sense the feel of the Clock Tower," stated Kyo, turning her gaze to the side of her, almost as though she were ashamed.
"You couldn't walk past it?"
"It was so cold. I tried, telling myself it was just an old clock tower, but when I tried to walk, I froze."
"Learning the dances at Comodo should be a breeze for you then."
"I have magical talent?"
"Yes. It is not often that humans are so sensitive to these things. A mage or an acolyte's sense ability requires deep concentration, and all the chants do is translate the images already received by the caster. Everyone has a sensitivity to some things to a certain degree, but to have it in such amounts is rare," explained Ruriko.
"But my mother cared too much for music, and so I learnt dance instead of magic…" sighed Kyo wistfully.
Taiken sighed inwardly, although he didn't know why. For some reason, his mind felt challenged and consequently he was tired.
"Oshi, Chisel, you guys will be helping Kyo train," he began; it wasn't that he enjoyed being bossy or that the others had elected him leader, it was just that he seemed to hold some kind of authority above the rest. "Draco, Ruriko, you'll be going to Yuno to speak with the Masters. Hawk and I will set off for Comodo."
"I say we give ourselves three weeks," said Draco, rising from her seat. "And I suggest that Hawk and Taiken sail from Aldebaran, and not Lutie to get to Comodo."
"I see what you mean," he mused, with a satisfied smile. "I say preparations to depart be made tomorrow."
And with that, each member rose solemnly from their place, and dispersed.
x-x-x
Hawk trailed back to his room, not sure on what to make of the journey that lay ahead of him. It seemed now that he never had a moment to relax; he would depart, exhaust his energy, return, recharge and then be departing again. His body told him that the journey would be fine, but he also felt a part of his subconscious screaming in protest, wanting to conserve his energy for just a little while longer.
He thought that he should at least make the most of a day when he could break the cycle, even if it were just for a short while.
"Comodo's a nice place," a voice behind him told him. "I'm fairly certain you will think so, at least."
Taiken strafed forward to walk alongside Hawk, taking the latter slightly by surprise.
"Good job on rescuing Kyo," Taiken continued amiably. He paused to check for a reaction, but Hawk did his best to remain passive. "Would you have done something like that for just anyone?"
Hawk felt his eyes widen and his limbs tense. He automatically kept his legs moving, in jagged stiff movements. He didn't know what Taiken meant by his question, and therefore didn't know how to react. He instead turned and frowned.
"Come on, you know what I mean," laughed his companion. "You can tell me."
"Taiken, I have no idea what you're talking about," stated Hawk flatly, feeling his patience ebbing away.
"I bet you do." Taiken was swift with his reply and turned almost menacingly on Hawk, forcing him to subconsciously step back. "But you don't want to admit it, even to yourself."
Taiken was now grinning broadly, in his usual friendly manner. But it still seemed very intimidating to Hawk, very aware now of the wall behind him. The smile seemed more like a leer, and he could almost feel Taiken's eyes boring into him. He stared back defiantly, praying to himself that he actually didn't understand what was being asked.
Thankfully, Taiken drew back. "You'll have to tell me one day, maybe within the next three weeks." And he strode down the passageway in a different direction.
Great, thought Hawk. I'm going to enjoy every bloody minute of this trip; irritating girls hitting on me left and right, and Taiken bugging me about this… thing.
In a foul mood, he prowled back to his room, reaching his destination a little too quickly.
x-x-x
"OK, we need baths," said Ruriko, hopping along behind Draco and Kyo. Draco turned to Kyo, who was smiling; she was thrilled at the idea. She hated the feeling of being dirty, covered in a layer of grime and accumulating filth.
"I'll show you to the bath," offered Draco. "Ruriko, you don't think you could get us some towels, could you?"
Her usual hyperactive self now back in her skin, Ruriko gave a small salute and trotted off.
"Oh, I feel disgusting," whispered Draco in contempt, staring at her hands. Little black lines of dirt had gathered in the folds in her skin, and she refused to look at her nails.
"I must be pretty disgusting myself," agreed Kyo, hands clasped in front of her. "May I ask where you were born, miss Draco?"
Draco looked slightly taken aback at this question, but Kyo felt almost as though Draco owed her that much, telling her something about herself, now that she had explained what had happened on the night she could barely remember. In fact, the telling of her tale was not as bad as she thought it would be. She had kept any emotions at bay, and the God's Cry didn't seem to think of her any differently; they were still the same kind people they were before. She had almost been afraid that they would maybe neglect her, or even that they might regard her as something fragile that would shatter at the slightest touch. But in actuality, it was a great relief to be able to talk about her experience, and it felt as though an intolerable weight had been lifted from her heart.
"In Morroc," was the simple reply. Draco left the reply hanging over the air, almost asking to be questioned further.
"Is that where you became an assassin?"
"Yes."
"If that is the case, why is Ruriko not an assassin?"
"Because our parents were control freaks. And plus, spell casting was the one thing Ruriko had an incredible talent for, so no one could really see her becoming anything else."
"Would they not allow you to do as you wanted?" asked Kyo, almost appalled.
"No," sighed Draco. "I think one of the only reasons I became an assassin is because it was the one thing they would really hate. I hated my parents so much then, that I don't remember the time so well. I… fell in with the wrong crowd, you could say. They resented the way I led my life, and some of the time, I couldn't understand why. I just hated the contempt they carried for me, and I really wanted to show them that I could do my own thing, it was my life to lead, and there was nothing they could do. They haven't seen me since-…"
She trailed, her eyes wide, realising she had said too much.
Kyo didn't push it. Instead, she shared her own feelings. "It was mainly my mother's idea that I learn to do dance, but I did not even think to go against it; she loved me, and I trusted her. I knew she only wanted the best for me, so I never questioned what she said."
Draco nodded, politely quiet. "Do you sing?"
"Yes. My father used to like hearing it. I sang at his burial, but that was the last time…"
Kyo felt oddly stuck in the moment, voicing thoughts she had never examined herself to a woman she had known for a day. But she could almost a feel some kind of bond forming between the two, and inwardly rejoiced because of it.
"Here we are," announced Draco with a smile. She beckoned Kyo forward and began parting the seemingly thousands of crimson veils. Making her way through the waves of red, Kyo emerged into a handsome gold-lit circular room with what looked like a small lake in the middle. There was a rack in the entrance with space for clothes and towels. The scarlet veils adorned walls in here, and there was a panelled wooden wall cutting the room short at the far end. Now examining the bath itself more closely, she noticed it was a natural hot spring.
A rustling noise behind her caught her attention, and she whirled around. It was only Draco. But she was now stepping out of her clothes. Kyo felt immediately awkward, not sure whether she should be here or not. She began to panic when she realised that she would have to do the same.
Draco must have sensed something, because she peered over her shoulder as she raised her hands to untie her hair. "Don't worry. I guess I should just say get used to it, because you're going to be with us for a very long time."
Nodding, Kyo nervously loosened her belt and slipped out of her robe.
"You'll feel better once you're in the water," spoke Draco from behind her, and was rather surprised to feel Draco started letting her hair down for her. Kyo thought she felt herself flinch as Draco's bare arm brushed against the now vulnerable skin on her shoulder. She felt her hair touch the small of her back, which she would normally have not noticed as much, but she felt oddly conspicuous and somehow alert in her nakedness.
Kyo's tense legs carried her into the water, where she sank gratefully, feeling her susceptibility fade and her body cleansed. With her eyes just above the surface, she glanced over at Draco, who was leaning back casually as though there were no one else in the world but her. Kyo now noted just how very tanned Draco was, realising that her own pale skin was a bit out of place.
"How is it that you are so tanned, Draco?" she dared to ask.
Draco laughed, then turned her narrow eyes to Kyo. "You've never been Morroc before, have you?"
"No. In fact, the furthest south I have gone is Prontera."
"Well, other than Gonryun, Morroc and Comodo are the furthest south you will get. Comodo is a tropical island and Morroc is right in the middle of a desert."
Kyo subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair as it flowed through the water, blushing bright and brilliant.
"You would be considered a real find in Morroc," continued Draco. "I don't think I have ever seen anyone pale there."
At that moment, Ruriko came bounding into the room, vivid white towels clutched firmly in her slim arms.
"Wow… you talking about home, Sis?" said Ruriko as she placed the towels in the rack.
"Well, we have to start somewhere now, don't we?" replied Draco smoothly.
"Fair enough," sighed Ruriko as she hopped out of her robe and practically jumped into the bath. She scooted along the bottom of the little pool into her own little corner. Her hair gathered in a very thick red mist around her. "So, what was your home like, Résaku?"
Slightly taken aback, but smiling nonetheless, Kyo began sharing. And so, the three women began to get to know, and a deep connection was formed between them.
x-x-x
Taiken began to make a pack, which he laid out on his bed. He had wanted to leave today, but Chisel and Kyo had just arrived, and Hawk had barely returned yesterday.
As for Hawk, there was a slight question about the man Taiken was hoping to answer: why had he even bothered with Kyo? The Hawk he knew wouldn't have bothered to help the injured, never mind carrying them half way across Midgard to safety. Either he didn't know Hawk as well as he thought, Hawk had changed dramatically, or there was something about Kyo. He had known Hawk for almost two years, but they were not exactly the best of friends; in fact, they were more of acquaintances than guild mates. But Taiken knew of Hawk's nature well enough, and to help someone in those circumstances was not the kind of thing Hawk would do. He did seem to have changed, but to change so much in such a short period of time seemed impossible.
So Taiken had decided it must have been something about Kyo. He had to admit that he could see the appeal; her polite, innocent air and fresh, young beauty were very appealing. And someone like her could only have a beneficial effect on Hawk. Not only did their three week trip mean the opportunity to have a small break in Comodo, but a big chance to get to know Hawk better, and maybe even place a little hope for him about Kyo.
He needed to think of a way how, but a little thought in the back of his head reminded him that something such as this would take more than three weeks, especially with Hawk.
-X-X-
"Off to Yuno we shall go…"
The entrance was filled with Ruriko singing self-invented songs to self-invented tunes. They were the first two up, though their journey was quite significantly shorter than Taiken and Hawk's. Draco playfully threw Ruriko's travelling cloak to make her go quiet for a few seconds, then watched as she launched instantly back into another strange song.
"Hey! Sis, that was unmandatory and uncalled for," she declared, gathering the cloak into a bundle of dark fabric.
"Oh, and we, little sister, will be having a lot of fun with Master Akiro," whispered Draco silkily.
"Oh, and why's that?"
"This little "soft spot" Chisel says he has for you," she replied. "That's why he's normally all normal around me, and he's quiet around you."
"I thought he was just the quiet type," admitted Ruriko sheepishly. Draco kissed her younger sister on the cheek and secured the strange witch's hat on Ruriko's head. The hat was black with a wide brim, and was much too big for Ruriko. But it was almost an exact replica of the hat worn by a villainous crone in a story the sisters were told as children no older than five. Draco remembered with a smile that whenever the wicked witch was defeated at the end of the story, Ruriko would complain and say that it was a bad story.
However, stories such as that were not so popular anymore, what with the prosperity of Yuno and Geffen, the advances in magic and the growing popularity of mage castes. Now the villain of the story was always the greedy hideous beast.
Ruriko practically dove through the wall that led to the outer labyrinth, but when prodded about it, vigorously protested that it was a hop, not a dive.
x-x-x
"Kyo, wake up," demanded the air above Kyo's head. She moaned and withdrew deeper into the covers of the bed that was hers two nights now.
The wake-up monster was persistent though; the blanket was thrown back, and a chill swept fiercely over her, causing her to retract into a shivering ball.
"I've checked, and it's sunny outside," the annoyance told her. "You will be warmer when you're up and about."
Opening one tired eye, she raised her gaze that was blurry with sleep to the dark figure stationed by her bed. Yawning deeply and rubbing her face fleetingly, she saw that it was Oshi, cold and void of emotion.
"Five minutes," he said, sweeping out of the room. Kyo swung her legs over the bed and stared after him. She suddenly had a fleeting moment in which she wished that she could be an assassin. Oshi and Draco just seemed so cool and composed, and very still. She also noticed that those two walked in a strange way, though she had only noticed it when they were walking alongside some of the other members. It just seemed like they glided along the floor with minimal movement. Of course, it was expected of them to move discreetly, and swiftly, but it just didn't seem like it could be defined as human.
Finding herself standing in her dancing uniform, she put on the earring she received yesterday from Chisel, and also grabbed the Sucsamad knife, both of which she kept on her bedside table.
As she crossed the room, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. It was only now that she realised just how long her hair was, and it quickly occurred that it would cause interference. She quickly gathered it in her hands and twisted it into a loose braid, quickly seizing a nearby ribbon to tie it together. There was still some shorter strands left to frame her face, but she shrugged and let them be.
She paused before she stepped outside her door; this was the end of the humble nice little Kyo. She was going to learn to fight.
Chisel and Oshi were both there. Chisel smiled when he saw her.
"G' morning, milady," he said benignly. "I would like to point out that it was his idea to be up this early. You see, he has the nerve to wake a sleeping woman, and I just… don't."
Oshi frowned, and started the three of them making their way towards the entrance.
"I take it you don't have any weaponry or anything?" asked Chisel. Kyo shook her head. "Well, I'll give you some, of course…"
Kyo turned to look at him; apparently, this kind of generosity was normal for him!
He didn't dwell on the extravagant offer he had just made, and instead turned to Oshi and fired into a conversation about weapons, which Kyo only half understood. She felt somewhat put out and dumb for her lack of knowledge of weaponry. But another thing she now noticed was that Oshi seemed to drop his strong front, and make amiable conversation. Maybe she should have been worried that the only thing Oshi seemed to be able to discuss with another person was weapons and killing.
When they reached the wall that separated the occupied caves from the outer labyrinths, Kyo stopped. Oshi and Chisel looked at her; she knew she had to walk through the wall, but she was still getting her head around the concept. After a second filled with uncertain thoughts, she decided she should just learn to deal with it and strode briskly forward. Cold seized her roughly, and she closed her eyes tight, the smell of earth strong. She felt almost somewhat accomplished when she reached the other side, and found a small smile touching her features.
Oshi and Chisel emerged; it looked strange seeing them walk through the stone, but she shook the thoughts from her head, allowing the men to lead the way.
Kyo remembered the day when she had arrived in the arms of Hawk, and trying to keep track of the snaking passages. Now, it seemed all the more difficult, since she was walking.
"Who's opening the door?" asked Chisel.
"Opening the door tires me," replied Oshi flatly.
"It's not that boring, is it?"
"No, it literally tires me."
"Same here," snorted Chisel.
"Do I really need to open it? I need to be on form in case we get into trouble."
"I need to be alert to assess Kyo, and I need to be handy in case we get into trouble."
"But I will be the one doing all the physical work."
"I opened the door two days ago."
"I opened it last week."
They continued their childish argument, both evidently enjoying themselves, Chisel grinning openly and a deft humour rising in Oshi's tone. Kyo almost felt worried that they would get distracted and lose their way.
But thankfully, the trio soon stood safe in front of the terracotta rock.
"Wait, shouldn't our young friend learn how to open the door too?" said Chisel suddenly. Kyo jumped slightly at her being brought into the conversation. Chisel beckoned her forward and reached inside his cart (which he had been trailing behind him the whole way) and produced a small scrap of paper.
"Focus on the rock, and break it into pieces," instructed Oshi as Kyo's eyes swept over the writing. The incantations. Closing her eyes, she was sure she shouldn't feel so confident about this little endeavour she was about to begin.
The focusing was surprisingly easy; she began reading from the paper, doing as he had told her. In her mind's eye, she cut deftly through the rock. But with her slices now made, she didn't know what to do…
"What do I do next?" she said, also trying to keep her mind on her spell.
"Tell it to move out of your way," explained Chisel, with a slight splutter in his voice.
Kyo did so, and felt a slight breeze over her face. Opening her eyes now, she saw that it had worked; the passageway was there in front of her. She strode through, swelling with pride at her small accomplishment. She directed the fragments of stone back into place, sealing her new home behind her.
The light was so bright, and there was still dew gently kissing the lush ripe grass, sparkling like diamonds. The sun blazed over the green horizon. A healthy breeze lightly caressed her features, and birdsong was present over the air. It felt wonderful to be outside again; when she was living in Arie, staying in your house for more than a day, unless you were injured or ill, just wasn't tolerated. Not that she minded…
She diverted her attention to her companions, and flinched when she saw that they were gaping at her.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, knees ready to fall beneath her.
"You do have a talent for magic!" exclaimed Chisel, making Kyo let go of a breath she didn't realise she had been holding in.
"I said "cut the rock", not "slice 'n' dice into tiny pieces"," was all Oshi admitted.
"We normally only make a few cuts, and it takes us ages," said Chisel, staring at her in awe. "You made thousands within about two seconds! And how did you talk and keep your focus? You're not tired, are you?"
"I'm not sure. It was just easy," she replied with a sheepish tip of the head.
"I'm impressed," he stated, smiling. "Oh, we need to get you some head gear."
"We do?"
"Yes. It's God's Cry tradition," he explained, as though this were obvious. "Actually, it seems to be a worldwide tradition, but I will callously ignore that fact, so there. You see, Taiken has his little gentlemanly hat, Draco has her Western Grace, Ruriko has a wizard's hat, and Hawk has a Solar God Helm, lucky git…"
"A Solar God Helm exists?" spluttered Kyo; the inhabitants of Midgard had turned from the gods long ago in the pursuit of magic, abandoning their old religions. The temples honouring their old deities were either deserted or inhabited by healers.
"Yes, and Hawk has one," he replied. "And Oshi and I have our little hats." He indicated to his boyish cap and Oshi's strange… demon wing helm thing. "And as for equipment, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a card, so I have a ring that will give you the ability to teleport," he explained as he took out a tiny silver ring and slid it gently onto her finger. "But beware; it should only be used if you are in trouble, as it can be a bit unpredictable and you can end up anywhere within a two mile radius."
Kyo nodded, and asked about how to use it.
"I think you just say the words "beshou stai", and focus on the space around you and tell it to open," he explained. "We'll get Ruriko to tell you how to use it."
"Thank you, Chisel," she said, smiling as she held her new ring up to the light.
"That's OK," he replied, grinning back at her. "Now for your head gear; let me see what I've been carting around for however long…"
He squatted down and began rummaging through his cart, Kyo wondering whether she deserved this generosity, and Oshi stood waiting with an air of impatience. Within a few seconds, Chisel emerged, clutching an assortment of strange looking articles.
"OK, all of these came from the vault in Gonryun," Chisel explained.
"Those monks really liked you, didn't they," murmured Oshi, smiling cynically.
"Well, aside from knowing one of the most cute and powerful magic practitioners in the world, I did take care of a little something-or-other for them, so I should hope so, yes," replied Chisel. He laid his little burden out on the ground in front of Kyo, who knelt down to look at the equipment; there was a strange headband almost exactly like Oshi's, except the wings on it were that of an angel.
"What is that one?" she asked pointing to it.
"Angel Helm," was the swift reply.
"How about this one?"
"Kitty Band."
"This one?"
"A tiara."
"That one?"
"Um… Goggles. What of it?"
"Wait! I think I can guess this one!" she said, taking it as a game, and picking up a little pale pink ribbon. "Could it be a ribbon…" she said sarcastically.
"Um… no! It's a… cute ribbon?"
"I think I will stick with this one," she laughed, tying it over her head.
"Aw… it does look cute!"
"Honestly, I was hoping she would choose the Kitty Band."
-X-X-
"You're not going to be bugging me about this all the way, are you?" groaned Hawk as he and Taiken tramped across the open green landscape, glorious afternoon sun beating down upon their backs. Their course was set a day's journey west to the port town of Aldebaran, where they would hopefully find a ship headed for Comodo island.
"I will bug you as long as I need to," replied Taiken smoothly. He did like to stretch people's emotions a bit, just to see their reaction. However, there was a point sometimes where it would stop being a game.
He now noted that Hawk strode incredibly briskly, shoulders hunched and stiff. And for a moment, he could see why he had chosen the name Hawk; his dark eyes were narrowed in frustration, and he looked dauntingly menacing, towering over the ground upon which he trod.
"You're pissing me off, Taiken," he spat, letting his anger surface.
"You could make it a lot easier for yourself by answering my question," Taiken whispered, hoping he at least masked his amusement to some extent.
Hawk let out a loud groan of impatience and set a faster pace for himself. Taiken looked at him for a moment, smiling, then he caught up to Hawk.
"Shut up," snarled Hawk before Taiken had opened his mouth. Taiken frowned.
"Aw… now who said I was going to say anything?"
"Well, let me think now," was the sarcastic reply, along with a glare.
Now having to jog to keep up with his companion, part of Taiken began nagging him to stop. Hawk would burst in a moment.
"Are we nearly there yet?" he said innocently.
"We've only been walking for a couple of hours," Hawk replied through gritted teeth. Pessimistic, as usual, thought Taiken, frowning again.
"Why does our base have to be so far from anything?" he tried, taking his hat off and wiping his brow.
"Ask Ruriko."
"Where were you born?"
"Umbalm. Why do you care?"
"Was it nice?"
"Does it matter?"
"Are you even capable of casual conversation?"
"Probably not."
"Are you planning on telling us why you're all defensive?"
"I learnt not to trust."
"But you still trust."
"I have to, don't I."
"When did you start using a bow?"
"When I was five. It was my fa-…"
Hawk hesitated and fell silent.
"… Yes?"
"My father," sighed Hawk, and bowing his head, as if in shame.
"Is it really so bad to talk about your family?"
"Yes."
"This is going to sound really annoying by now, but…" replied Taiken. He took a deep breath, not sure how Hawk would react. "You can tell me. I can take stuff seriously, by the way."
Hawk breathed deeply, and slowed down slightly, considering. Taiken slowed too, but also knew he would have to change his approach to Hawk; for Hawk, this was an incredibly delicate matter, and Taiken would be the first to hear about it.
"Well…" he began, his anger drained had been replaced by cautiousness. "My mother died when I was seven, but I was too young to understand, so I've grown up thinking she just left me. And my father… I don't remember him. I know one thing about him though."
"What is that?"
"I hate him."
Taiken felt his legs cease moving; he stood rigid on the spot. Hawk walked on a few paces, then turned to look at him.
"I thought you said you couldn't remember him?" spluttered Taiken. Hawk's answer just didn't fit at all…
"I don't."
"Then… why do you hate him?"
Hawk sighed deeply again, a forlorn sadness adorned the air about him. "That's the frustrating bit about it; I have no idea who he was, but I know I definitely hate him. I don't know how, and I don't know why. But hate, hate, hate him I do."
He turned back to the west, waiting for Taiken to absorb what he had just been told. Taiken never had any idea that Hawk felt this way about his parents. But now that he thought about it, Hawk had never even mentioned his parents, so it seemed he was just a man who appeared in the world, with no parents and no humanity.
Not sure how to react to the revelation, Taiken decided to follow Hawk in making good speed to Aldebaran.