Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Vitas, or any other character of Radiata Stories. Squaresoft and Tri-Ace own the whole lot. This is a fan creation and not to be taken as canon. (Although I certainly wouldn't mind if it were. he he)

Lack of Subtlety: Ch 2

Jack Russell strolled down the path of Swords and Wisdom towards the Theatre Vancoor as he did every morning. Walking inside, he surveyed the lobby. Rolec was looking at the want ads posted on the wall, shivering from some miscellaneous insecurity. While the taciturn Gene and the terminally useless Carlos were both sitting at the nearby table playing cards. Everything was the same as usual. Walking up to the receptionist, Thanos, Jack asked:

"Hey, are there any missions open today? That apartment you guys gave me is a bit of a fixer-upper, and I need all the money that I can get my hands on for repairs."

Thanos looked at him with his usual bored look in his eyes.

"You're still green, kid. The missions you get at this point won't haul in that much money. Buts let's see here... here we go, I think I know of one that is an intermediate mission with a possible big payoff. If I remember correctly, it's a poaching mission, without a limit on the number of goods you can turn in."

Thanos rummaged though some folders, picking one out and handing it to Jack.

"This is a request from Bishop Dwight of the Olacion Order. He wants at least one large fang from a male Smilodon. The key words here are 'at least', Jack. Get more and you could double or even triple your pay. You'll be filled in on the rest when you get to the shrine. His room is the center of the Mortal Tree hallway. Go see him for the job details."

"Mortal Tree hallway, I know it well. Thanks Thanos, See ya later!"

Jack did indeed know of the Mortal Tree branch of the olacion Shrine, as it was where He would go almost every day in the midmorning to spar with Vitas, the resident tomboy of the olacion order. Making his way over to the white town of Stars and Faith, Jack made his way to Dwight's office. It was the same bald, sweaty man that he had met when delivering The Crocogator hides to Anastasia. It would seem the new faction of Oclacion relied on Vancoor for its semi-legal poaching needs.

Sitting down and talking with Dwight and his assistant, an extremely pale man by the name of Grant, Jack learned that the smilidons could be found in the Ocho region, to the south west of the city. Jack was a little dumbfounded upon hearing how many dagols Dwight and Grant planned to make by selling panaceas made from the fangs. 100,000 Dagols a smilodon, simply unbelievable…and he was only being paid 1000 per fang, he reminded himself. But it was always half-expected to get ripped off by the money grubbing "New" faction. Sighing, Jack walked out of the room and saw Vitas, who was walking from confession to her room.

"Hey there Jack, your timing's impeccable. Usually your about 30 minutes late to our training session." Jack immediately grew flustered as he realized his mistake.

"Vitas, I'll have to take a rain check this once, I'm on a mission for the guild today. I just finished a meeting with that Dwight guy. I'm heading out to Ocho, but I promise I'll be here bright and early tomorrow, okay?"

"….ok, whatever."

That was what vitas said aloud, but as she went into her room, inside she felt a small twinge of regret that Jack had not come there for her that day. She stepped into the center of her room and loosened her muscles in preparation for her old stand-by, her shadow boxing regimen, which after a week and a half of sparring with jack, seemed to Vitas rather empty in comparison. Her exercise slowed and came to a halt, as she just stared at the wall and mumbled to herself.

"It really shouldn't be that big a deal to me…it shouldn't…"

Jack quickly stopped back at the theatre to recruit a team for his exploits. Dennis, a skilled corporal serving under Alicia "The Swan" and Bruce, the guild medic were both smart choices. Also recruited from jacks list of allies was Alba, a tough thug from Void whose penchant for using violence for all situations barred him a position in Vancoor, and led to his being scouted by Ortoroz. They all set out from Lupus gate, heading toward Ocho

The Ocho region consisted of wide sweeping plains interrupted by ridges which jutted up put of the ground. The most unique characteristic of the entire region was without a doubt the wind. A dull roaring could constantly be heard wherever you were, as the landscape was dotted with massive cyclones, not moving but standing more or less in place, pillars of wind reaching into the sky. All the trees in the area, being constantly shaped by the wind as they grew, were them selves circular, the bark growing in a spiral pattern. With the exceptions of some small reptiles, every last animal in the area were giant in size. The team stood resolute and trekked into the area interior.

Dennis and Alba's respective swords, the Psycho Edge and Dunvera, hacked though various snakes and bone armored beasts until they finally reached what looked like an oversized cougar with two massive fangs jutting from its mouth. Surrounding it and killing it was easy, but what the party did not count on was its mate attacking as they were busy poaching the fangs. Being taken by surprise, the outcome was very bloody. All of them had been scraped up but jack got the worst, with deep slashes cutting though his iron breastplate. After the battle, Bruce examined everyone.

"Jack, are you alright? These cuts look quite deep."

"Yeah Bruce, it's not a big deal, once I've rubbed some herb extract on them then I'll be fine."

"Alright jack, but don't push yourself. I think we've gotten all the fangs were getting today, what say we head back?"

The fangs were delivered dutifully to their greedy buyers, and Jack and his crew were walking out of the shrine with their pittance of a wage when Jack leaned against a wall and clutched his head.

"Are you alright, man?" Alba asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit…lightheaded…." To Jack the world lurched forward and went black as he passed out. Bruce ran over and examined him.

"What in the world? His wounds shouldn't have been that serious, what could be wrong with him? Let's see…aha, a few of his wounds have reopened on our trek back, and his red clothing made it impossible to notice the bleeding. Alright, everyone, we need to get Jack to Morfinn's Clinic immediately. It's closer than Theatre Vancoor, plus they have medicines for injuries not readily available at Vancoor."

Vitas sat outside Morfinn's clinic with her friend Freija, as she did every night. Idly petting a wild fox that always showed up in the evening, she glanced up and saw several warriors carrying another and she immediately recognized who it was.

"Oh Gods, what happened to Jack?" She rushed into the clinic along with everyone else. The Receptionist, Synelia, took a single look at jack and, with unnerving accuracy and the same creepily cheerful voice she always had, gave an instant diagnostic:

"Anemia from blood loss, but certainly nothing immediately life threatening. You're in luck, were just about to close the clinic for the night. I'll go get the doctor from his office, please move him to one of the free beds upstairs."

Vitas felt the one emotion she hated above all others as she watched jack get moved to the upper rooms, helplessness.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Vitas asked, barely keeping the edge of panic out of her voice. Morfinn, just finishing up his analysis of Jack, turned and said

"Provided he stays off his feet for a few days, yes he will. His wounds need time to heal properly, and he also needs time for his red blood cell count to recover. Now if everyone could please go home and get some rest; everything is under control."

The warriors left for their homes, but vitas remained.

"I'm going to stay here tonight"

"That's really not necessary, I assure you…"

"I said I'm going to stay here, tonight."

Morfinn quickly agreed and went downstairs to update his patient roster. Having been married for so many years, he knew better than to argue with any woman when they got that angry. Vitas regarded the unconscious Jack, worry still evident in her eyes, as she sat in the only free bed, and waited.

Vitas fluttered her eyes and sat up. Already nine in the morning. Great, Achilles was going to lecture her about missing morning Mass. She sighed and looked at Jack. Color had returned to his cheeks and seemed to be resting well. Suddenly, he stirred and began to wake up. Butterflies flew through Vitas' stomach. How would she explain her overnight vigil over him? Would he think she liked him? DID she like him? Over the days and weeks together she had grown closer to Jack than she had ever been with anyone. She was always the strong person, the aggressor around others; could she be a good girlfriend to someone? Rational and irrational, a million questions buzzed in her skull at once. And as he sat up, all her emotions drove her in one direction.

Jack stirred. Slowly sitting up from his bed, he looked over and saw himself between two different people. On his left was Nalshay, who was Adina and Elena's little brother, so Jack quickly deduced he was in the White town's clinic, however what really surprised him was when he turned his head to the right, just in time to meet Vitas oncoming fist.

"Ow!"

As Jack recovered from the punch, Vitas grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

"You idiot! First you ditch me to play big game hunter and then you come back injured?"

Jack looked at her with a dazed expression.

"That's come bedside manner you got there, Vitas."

Tears were in the corners of vitas' eyes, as she lectured her friend. "

Shut up, don't you start in with the jokes. What if you had been killed? Did you even think to stop for a second and think how I'd feel?"

She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest.

"You're a bastard, a bastard for doing this to me. I hate feeling weak Jack, I always have, and that's just what I felt all last night as I waited for you to come around."

Jack just sat there Dumbfounded.

"Vitas I had no idea that my well being mattered that much to you. I'm really sorry and I promise I'll take better care of myself."

"You're darn right you will, I'm going to see to that."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, Jack, you obviously can't take care of yourself, so it's evident that it is going to be up to me, otherwise I'm going to lose my favorite punching bag, and that just won't do."

Vitas dried her eyes, and gave one of her trademark cocky grins.

"There's no talking your way out of it. You've got yourself a partner."

End Chapter 2

So sorry for the long wait for an update! With essays due every week finding spare time to write for myself can be a hassle. As before please don't flame as I'm still new and don't think I deserve it (at least I hope I don't) but do offer any constructive criticism where necessary.

And so a new team has formed! I always figured that the number one way Vitas would react to being relieved over Jacks safety would be socking him for making her worry ;) Will Vitas ever be able to tell Jack her feelings, or will Jack quit being a thick dope and get the hint (Unlikely!) tune in next time for an exiting Chapter about the Stone of Miracles and the Septem Cave. Thank and see you next time.