Ink and Blood
By: Asnee
Chapter 5- To Payon?

AN: Sorry it took me so long. Un-edited and such. Also very short. I just needed to put something up to prove I was...you know...alive. Sorry sorry, next chappy will be a long one. ;

xXx

Gentle brown eyes pulled him out of the abyss, warm hands on his chest. Seda smiled from above him. "Miss Alumani..?"

She held a finger to her lips, then, very gently, laid her head on his chest. He sighed deeply. So what if the elders didn't approve of relationships outside the guild? So what if he got in trouble? He was fine, on his own - plenty deadly without his peers. He raised a hand slowly, meaning to put it on her head, imagining the softness of the brown tresses...and then, a voice --

"What the hell are you doing, tardass?"

Not Miss Alumani. Sweatdrop. Ozi Tyrmee blinked at him from a seemingly impossible height. He then pulled up a chair, stradling it and looking down at the assasin. His red eyes danced with amusement, no longer the dangerous gold of before.

"Er, that is to say--."

The half-demon quirked an eyebrow. "You weren't fantasizing about my best friend's little sister, were you"?

"P-pardon"?

Ozi sighed, sweatdropping. "Whatever, man. But you really need to watch the whole Seddy thing around Byri. He gets kind of nuts."

Ryxam said nothing. Ozi continued. Boyyy did the lord knight like to talk. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Seda is Byri's existence. Their parents died when they were young, so he raised her."

"...How did they die?" The assasin asked softly, now making eye contact with the other man.

"Nobody's quite sure, really. I mean, I was only like...twelve?" He scratched his shiny black head. "It was awful, though. It hit me hard, to. And my parents."

"You're not sure?" Ryxam sputtered tempermentally, too weak too move. He would have liked to have throttled the stupid man. Ozi knew it and grinned.

"They were exploring some cave. Out towards Glast Heim, looking for some relic." Ozi's brown crinkled in thought. "They never came home."

Silence fell heavily upon the men for a while, until the assasin sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. "Where am I, exactly?"

Ozi, who had been nodding off a bit, his elbows on the chair, looked up sleepily. "Payon. It was the closest place to the Sograt desert, from where we were." Ryxam mulled the entire ordeal over in his head. Pitied. Bandaged. By an enemy. His temper flared. The lord knight grinned slyly.

"Chill. The only reason Byri let you live was because of Seda."

Ryxam took a deep breath. So, the lord knight really would have killed him. It was no surprise, really. Byran Alumani was no weakling. It was a shame he had become a knight really, then Assasins of the Cross would have welcomed him as one of their brethren.

"Is Miss Seda...well"? He pondered aloud. Ozi shrugged.

"Fine. Apparently she's been training really hard with some high priestess. She practically lives in the Glast Heim Prison Complex now."

A tiny smile came to Ryx's lips. Growing stronger...Good. She was sweet, but a weakling. Then again, maybe he liked that. Small and something to protect. Wait a minute. No. Emotions got in the way of stuff, and then stuff...stuff---

"I need to get out of here."

xXx

The Rybio fell to the ground with a fleshy thud, and a one Seda Alumani grinned triumphantly. Riseen healed a small wound on her own shoulder, then turned to the sage.

"Whew, long session. And without serious incident"! The high priestess laughed, and Seda blushed. Her earlier exploits had been far from succesful, but Riseen had dealt with her bumbles with a sisterly patience. Now, things flowed more smoothly, and the spells burst form lips effortless as a sigh. She was getting stronger, more confident...She fixed her skirt and readjusted her top, brushing off the dust and grime that floated about.

"Let's go back to Juno. I want tea and some of those buttery thingies," Riseen laughed. Seda nodded. It was getting a little monotonous down here. Rybio. Injustice. Fly, irritating her. Riseen screeching about bugs. Prisoners trying for hugs. Yeah, prison pretty much sucked.

"Juno!" The red-clad woman called, throwing a blue gem into the air. It exploded on contact with the ground, and a portal opened. Seda stepped in. Going through a warp portal was always an unusual feeling. Like having the rug pulled out from other you, and as soon as you squint and prepare for the ground, you're there. Soon, the cold air of Prison turned into Juno's cool breezes. The scent of larkspur and stone welcomed her home. Somehow though, it wasn't quite home with her brother gone. Normally, when she got home, he'd be waiting in his study, his goofy glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. Sigh. She looked through his door once in the house, half out of habit. Empty, save for the smell of his favorite orange tea.

"If you keep sighing like that, you'll explode," Riseen said, trying to sound wise. Seda sweatdropped. Err...She bustled around the kitchen, finding the kettle and such. Riseen, already more than comfortable in their house, started heating biscuits on their little stove. "Really, hun. You should try and relax. Your brother will be fine."

The sage dropped into her chair, suddenly finding the pattern on the table interesting. Images kept flashing through her head. Her brother dead, or hurt and suffering, a large gash through his armor, his cloak in threads, his beautiful blonde hair matted with blood and---

"You're pouring tea on your leg you know."

Ow. The high priestess sighed and took the kettle from the sage, healing the wound that was beginning to swell and blister in angry red welts. "S-sorry Ris. I'm just out of it...".

Riseen sweatdropped. "That's a gimmie." She put a finger to her lips as she chewed. "You know if you're so worried...why don't you go find him"?

Ding! Seda's eyes lit up. "Would that be obnoxious of me though?"

Riseen shrugged. "Hmm well...," she suddenly flushed. "Do...do you wanna meet my crush"?

Seda smiled. "Mister Dias?"

"Yes," she swooned. "He's a bit older but he's got dreamy blue eyes...and he's so rough around the edges but so smart...and...". You could practically feel the love waves emmiting from the blonde. Seda smiled.

"Sure"!

Riseen smiled. "Let's go! He's doing some research in Payon."

Seda smiled. Payon...ah, how peaceful that would be.

W R O N G.

AN: Soooo sorry, my dears. Working on next chapter of ITTE, to. Both of these are gonna finish up soon. So I guess...I dunno. I've had another one going for a while, but it will be short, like three chapters. (That one's high wizxhigh priestessxsinX, by the way. ;D) POLYGON OF LUST. Also, I wanna pair Ozi and Byri up. Hrm hrm.