Chapter 6: Young Love

(Jonathon's P.O.V.)

Standing in front of the Humvee and looking down at the map alongside my squad leaders, I looked over the various routes they could take if they were to go. After the debriefing from everyone's experiences and discoveries in this town, the squad leaders and myself had taken the map to one of the Humvees and laid it across the hood. Now, while we all looked over it, I leaned back as I tapped the far right of the map along the path leading to a mountain range. "This will be our stopping point. If whoever chooses to be the ones to split up, we can't afford to go any further than this or we will miss our window to return home..."

I felt a grimace start to form on my face while I looked down at the map at the wide expanse of area to cover.

"Sir, what if we don't find Eric?"

Glancing up at the one that asked the question, I saw his eyes were still scanning the map. "Then we unfortunately will have to label his mission as a success with the result of MIA, with possible KIA." Looking at the others as he looked up, I made sure to guarantee they understood what I was saying, "His mission was to end or stop the rebels from further terrorizing the surrounding area at all costs, even if it meant he wouldn't come back. He most likely completed his task without a hitch and survived, but if he did indeed end up in this world, we can only hope he is lying low and is just MIA. If we stay however, then those of you and your men that have loved ones back home will become just like Eric, trapped here, and then labeled as MIA."

While they stood there in silence, I found myself looking towards the map again, tracing the outlines of the roads that linked the individual towns and cities. I knew Eric could be in anyone of them, or possibly in the forests or the mountains. Strategic and adaptable was what made Eric one of the most successful men in our unit, and that made him hard to track; even for those that knew him best.

"We understand sir."

...

Grabbing my MRE and tearing it open while leaning against the turret of the BTR, I let my eyes close as my helmet fell forward a bit, shielding my eyes from the late afternoon sun furthermore as I separated the cooking package from the meal package. Brothers forged in fire... I can't just expect the men to understand my desire to find Eric from their words alone. Eric has saved my life on numerous occasions, and I intend on doing the same.

Opening my eyes and tilting the helmet back up, I looked down at the MRE and tore open the top of the pouch containing dehydrated preserved spaghetti. It wasn't an ideal meal to have atop a BTR, but it was a meal I was needing. Charlie and Baron will be the ones to take the open plains... so that will leave me with a little over a dozen men at my command. It should be more than enough, but I will need to keep the engineer with us since we will be hopefully taking the rougher route. I will let them take any of the scientists with them, but we all need to keep in consideration how many people go with who as there are only so many spots available for them to sit. Grabbing my canteen and opening the top of it, I took a sip before pouring water into the package and closing it as best as I could so it could cook itself.

While I set my MRE down on the BTR, I looked towards the other vehicles and saw my men were either sitting in small groups talking amongst themselves, with locals, or also eating MRE's. A few were looking around as they ate, and I turned and grabbed my canteen so that I could fully quench my thirst, before I was stopped when someone called out to me from the side of the BTR.

"Excuse me, sir... hello?"

Lowering the canteen and looking over the side of the vehicle, I saw a young man looking up at me with bright nervous eyes. Clearing my throat, I asked as politely as I could, "Can I help you?"

The young man smiled a bit wider as he spoke, "I run an inn nearby, and I thought maybe you and your men would like to rent a room?"

"Sorry, but me and my men don't possess any local currency."

His smile for some reason only widened, before he said, "That is alright. There was another man like you guys, and he was able to work for the trouble center to pay for a room."

Lowering my canteen, I stopped for a second, before asking, "What do you mean by, another man like us?"

The man shrugged as he took a step back when I leaned forward, "He was carrying one of those metal things you guys carry... and he was wearing one of those blocky vests that I saw one of, er, your men wearing."

Jumping down and landing next to the man, I felt a disbelieving smile cross my lips as the man took a few steps back in surprise, and I said, "Show me which of my men you're talking about, and show me what items he had that were like ours."

"Uh... excuse me?"

Nudging him to the front of the BTR and towards where I knew a few men were relaxing on the Humvee, I said, "Please, just do as I ask. We are looking for someone and if who you are talking about is him, then I need you to confirm it."

Once we were at the front of the BTR, his eyes were looking around, before he pointed a hand towards one of the men that had their backs to us. His uniform shirt was off, and his bulletproof vest was hanging off of his shoulders as the man beside me said, "He was wearing one of those things... and he was carrying something like that, but twice as long and smaller." A rifle was what he indicated to next, and I felt my smile widen, before it fell again. it was possible it was a rebel, but as far as we knew, none of them spoke English...

"Is there anything else about him you can tell me?"

The innkeeper looked at me, before he said, "I think his name was Erin or something... and he was travelling with his missus."

"Are you sure his name wasn't Eric? And missus?" I asked, a bit confused after the latest bit of information. It was possible he found a local traveler that he was using to show him around, but missus was usually used for those that were married.

"Eric? Yes, I believe that was his name. And his lady was interestingly enough using magic to appear like a demon. Strange... as that kind of magic would be hard to use..."

Eric was travelling not only with a local, but one dressing... er, acting like a demon!? And what of this magic? Surely if they are using street lamps they know magic isn't real. Nodding to the man, I asked, "Can you explain what you mean by demon and magic? Me and my men are foreign to the concepts you are using."

He nodded as he looked around, before he said, "She was using magic to appear like a demon, but I don't know what kind of magic they were using, as I only know about the elemental kind. Those closer to Port Dorade know of the higher levels of magic, along with the guardians."

"Wait, but what do you mean by magic? Like those lights?" I asked as I indicated towards a nearby street lamp.

He glanced over before he gave me an incredulous look and said, "No... that's electrical... magic lamps need to be maintained. If you want, I know a Jakkia that can do some Water magic."

The amount of terms and concepts he was trying to tell me was being filed away to later be learned about, and it seemed like he was offering to unknowingly knock out two birds with one stone. "Sure, that would be much appreciated, and do you know where I could find Eric?"

He unfortunately, shook his head, but I knew the chances of Eric staying in one location was slim, and if this man had approached us because he knew Eric, that cleared up an earlier concern. The rebels had indeed been through that village earlier, and I knew that for certain as this young man had been rather eager to let us into his shop rather than wanting to run us out of town. "Alright... well which was is this trouble center you spoke of? I would feel better if I paid you and your friend for the information you are giving us."

He pointed down the path as he gave me verbal instructions, and while he did, I found myself thinking over the new information I had just received. Eric is confirmed to have been here, so now his status was MIA as far as anyone else was concerned, and if he was traveling with a local, then that meant he surely was moving slower than if he was alone, and that meant he could be much closer than that endpoint me and my men had gone over.

Once he finished, I thanked him, and he turned and left without much of a fuss, and that left me with a new priority. Now all I had to do was go over this new information with my squad leaders, and then once we met up with that young man and his 'Jakkai' friend, I would finally be able to learn what he meant by magic, what a Jakkai is, and possibly more of this land. It was unneeded information yes, but if we were able to come back later on or further expeditions were planned later on from our military, then the additional information may prove useful. And a pay raise wouldn't hurt...

Ok, before I get the men for another debriefing, time to eat.

(Eric's P.O.V.)

Sakido and I were walking towards Riverside instead of flying due to the necessity of stretching our legs...

...And Sakido hurt her wings trying to show off while carrying me in demon form, since I was a bit heavier as a demon than as a human. Least to say, now I was walking in human form as we were sticking to one of the main roads that lead towards Riverside.

Looking to my side and towards my beautiful demoness, I saw her smiling as she seemed to be lost in thought while looking towards the sky. Her thoughts were her own, but I could easily detect the happiness in her, along with easily seeing the happiness in her eyes as we walked. Her posture was relaxed enough that she didn't seem to notice when I reached up and rubbed the top of her shoulder, and I was alright with that as we continued to walk. Her wings fluttered softly when a soft breeze ran through the tree lined path we were on, but other than that there wasn't much of a reaction from her.

Looking back forward as I let my hand fall from her shoulder, I brought the weapon hanging over my front up in front of me. Looking it over, I saw the many dents and scratches it had acquired in the hands of the rebels, and while I didn't think I would have much need for it anymore now that all the rebels were taken care of, it was still comforting to know I had some form of security with me rather than just my hands and the small amount of magic I knew. I had a bag buried in one of the previous towns where I had killed the rebels for safe keeping so that none of the medians here got any ideas, but I would only go back and collect those weapons when I had somewhere safe to put them.

The sound of Sakido letting out a sigh brought my attention back to her, and I looked over to see her smiling happily while gazing down at me. Her eyes were bright, and her smile was infectious, and while I let my weapon rest against my chest, I let a short chuckle leave my throat as i asked, "What are you thinking about my lovely demoness?"

Her smile only seemed to widen while she looked towards the sky, and after a bit of time had passed, I felt her hand snake its way into my own. Her eyes closed as she continued to walk while gradually leaning closer to me, but she didn't say a thing while we continued down the path together. Her smile only seemed to brighten the longer we walked in silence, and while I still couldn't hear any of her thoughts, I felt the happiness gradually increase until I wasn't sure if it was my own or not.

"Sakido?" I asked with a soft smile. I could understand her want to remain silent at times, but she seemed to always provide some sort of answer; whether it be verbal or mental.

Her hand tightened gently around my own, and that was when I heard her let out a soft sigh, before she said just as softly, "I'm enjoying your company Eric…"

Smiling a bit more myself as I found myself feeling the same way, I turned my head to gaze into the endless sky as a breeze blew at our backs. The air was warm, but not unpleasantly so, the suns rays were soothing, and I had my beautiful mate at my side. I could easily see why she was enjoying my company when it was just as amazing to be at her side. It was a perfect day, we were alone with only the gentle murmur of the forest for company, and there wasn't anything we had to worry about…

I wish everyday could be as serene as today…

(Jonathon's P.O.V.)

As I slid my pistol back into the holster at my hip, I heard the sound of boots on dirt behind me, and as I turned to look over my shoulder, I saw one of the men from Alpha squad, our BTR driver more precise, standing there looking quite… perplexed to say the least. "Sir, there is a man and a… strange creature looking for you."

Looking back in front of my and grabbing my primary weapon, I felt a snort of laughter leave my lips as I asked, "What do you mean by strange creature Corporal?" As I slung my rifle's sling over my shoulder, I heard him clear his throat, along with him shifting his weight to the side. He remained silent long enough for me to turn around and look towards him, and it was then I saw his gaze had shifted to the side as he obviously thought over this ill planned joke.

When his gaze turned and looked back towards my own, he visibly swallowed, before saying a bit unsure, "I'm not sure sir. It has these huge ears… it… she seems to almost stand at three feet tall. She has this long tail… it's something you just need to see sir." The description sounded strange indeed, but that didn't explain why he was attempting a joke such as this. As if sensing my disbelief, he quickly began speaking again, "When one of the other men asked her what she was, she said she was a Jack-A or something like that sir."

Jack-A…? Wait, perhaps Jakkai?

"Alright Corporal, please take me to wherever they are." I said after a moments worth of thought. If this was the Jakkai that the innkeeper had been talking about earlier today, then perhaps this would be the moment I learned of what this 'magic' was that he seemed to think his friend possessed.

If this Jakkai creature really does seem so strange that one of my men did not know how to describe it, then it was possibly one of the locals that we haven't met or run across yet. Following behind my Corporal as he led us to the front of the convoy, I found many of the lights in the town were slowly starting to come to life. The sun was going down, and it made sense that the lights were to come on soon, yet how the system worked was a bit interesting in itself. I had thought the locals couldn't possess this kind of technology if they were coming at me and my men with pitchforks and axes, but that was easily in another part of the lands… as their best form of travel seemed to be by foot.

Walking around the lead Humvee, I found myself looking at the young innkeeper from before, but beside him was indeed, as the soldier had put it, a strange creature. When we came around the vehicles, I noted that she -as the feminine attributes were understandable now- did indeed stand around three feet tall, if not shorter; her head barely reached over the hood of the Humvee.. Yet when she turned her head to look at me, I saw she was smiling in wonder, but what really threw me off guard was her ruby red eyes. They sparkled with wisdom, and they seemed to reflect the light with a curious wonder as she looked over all the gear I had on.

Gerold stepped off to the side, and so I continued on by myself, and when I was standing in front of her and the innkeeper, she remained silent as he spoke. "This is Ruby Brighteye."

She smiled as she stepped forward and held her hand out to me while she said in an excited voice, "When Willy said more men like that one from before came here, I just knew I had to meet you!"

Lowering myself until I was near her height, I reached forward and clasped her hand in my own, and I felt the soft fur beneath my fingers shift as she shook my hand firmly, her smile widening the whole time as her eyes shined. I found myself still stuck on her eyes, which I couldn't look away from, and the addition to feeling actual fur instead of skin was a bit of a… curiosity as well. Forcing myself back to my senses, I offered her a smile as I swallowed thickly, and as I did, it was then that I noticed her ears twitch as well. It was then that I also found myself drawn to looking at her overall features this time, despite knowing I was most likely going to be making a fool of myself the whole time. If I looked like a fool and seemed to be checking her out, I could easily atone for that. This would make for good intel for report when I returned to our world. She had large ears that seemed like they could fold in on themselves, her hands were more or less like paws, her legs were bent oddly, almost like an animals, and her feet were… different.

When she let out a giggle, I looked back up, and saw her smiling widely as her gaze seemed to shift between my own and the ground, and I found myself inadvertently blush as I said quickly and apologetically, "Sorry… just where I'm from a Jakkai isn't really a… common sight." It was then that I noticed a slight red hue beneath her brown fur, and I cleared my throat and said, "Nice to meet you Ruby Brighteye, my name is Jonathon."

Giving her hand a firm squeeze, I made to pull away, but before I could, I felt her grip on my own tighten, before she said, "Willy here says you haven't seen magic before?"

Offering a polite smile as best as I could, I found myself soon studying her bright red eyes again, before I shook my head and said, "None of my men or myself have seen magic before."

Her smile was bright as she brought her other hand in front of her, and when it slid over the top of my hand, she tilted my hand until my palm was facing up. Looking down when I felt her hand pull slightly away from my own along with her easing my hand into a cupping position, I saw her hand leave my own and raise to my face. When her finger rested against my chin, she applied a bit of pressure until I was looking into her eyes again, and she said softly enough I doubted anyone else had heard, "Just keep looking into my eyes…" Doing as she said, I found us gazing ceaselessly into each others eyes while her hand lowered back to my own, and when her own was cupped again over my own, she smiled a bit more.

Then I felt the most peculiar feeling that I had ever had. A soft, chilly tingling feeling began to form in my palm, yet it felt odd with her warm hands holding my own. The feeling didn't stop, or even intensify how i had anticipated, yet Ruby smiled some more, before she asked quietly, "What do you think of Riverside?"

Feeling myself being drawn from the depths of her eyes, and the strange feeling of a weight growing in my hand, I found myself smiling like a fool, and I did my best to reduce it without seeming rude as I answered her question. "I have only seen a small part of the town, but it seems like quite the… homely place to live."

She smiled as she nodded her head a bit, and when she did, she looked to the side for a bit, and she seemed to be thinking something over, before she looked back into my eyes and asked just as softly as before, if a bit more curious than before, "So, how long do you plan on exploring Riverside? I have lived here for a few years, so I know where most of everything is…"

I wasn't able to quite tell what it was, but I felt like she was trying to say something other than just what I was hearing, but I forced myself to shake it off as I didn't want to appear more of like a fool than I already had. I shrugged my shoulders as I said, "Me and my squad leaders were planning on staying here for another day while we acquire local currency, but we were most likely going to leave sometime tomorrow depending on how plans turn out."

Her smile seemed to drop just a bit, along with the way her eyes shined, but I wasn't sure if that was just me or not as she asked in what sounded like concern, "Oh… why is that?"

"We are looking for a lost friend. The man from a month ago is who we are looking for."

"So, do you think you would be able to visit Riverside again?"

Smiling, I nodded briefly as I saw her ruby red eyes brighten up, and when they did, she let go of my hands and looked down. I did the same and I found myself shocked to see a small block of ice in the middle of my palm. Her hands had kept my own warm, and I could only surmise that the chilly feeling I felt early on was the beginning of the magic taking place. How, I had no idea, but this was still an interesting phenomenon to behold nonetheless.

"This is amazing Ruby… how were you able to do this?"

"Looking back up, I saw her eyes shifted to the side as she said carefree, "Oh, just a bit of magic is all. Nothing too difficult." Moving my hand into a flat position, I saw the ice lump had actually molded perfectly with my hand, and so now it was in a sort of cylinder bowl like form.

Lifting up the ice lump with my other hand, i held it up to the light and saw it was a flawless piece of clear ice, and as its chill began to make itself known, I saw it slowly starting to show signs of precipitation. "Ruby, this is still an amazing piece of work. Remember, I have never seen magic… real magic before…"

Her smile was wide as she looked into my eyes, before she said timidly, "Well, thank you then."

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a few of my men had lost interest and had left, but the few that remained were gazing at me with varying expressions. Yet when I saw one of my squad leaders, I nodded towards him, and he was instantly alert, so I tossed the ice chunk towards him and said, "Alvin… that is proof that real magic exists here…"

Before I could say anything else, I felt Ruby's hand on my own, and when I looked back to her, I saw her smiling nervously, before she said, "Good luck on finding your friend Johnny. Make sure to come visit Riverside again!" And before I had a chance to say or do anything, she leaned up and planted a brief kiss on my lips that lasted for but a single moment, before she turned and began to walk away at a quick pace with a large smile over her lips...

A.N.: Welcome to the seventh chapter of this installment for Eternal Wind everyone! If you are still following this storyline, thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read my work. I know my updates aren't quite as on-time as they used to be, and I have no solid reason for that issue as I had experienced a month or so of disgust with the idea of my stories, and I had in turn not wanted to write anything. Add that to some... legal issue's I had encountered this summer, that had also lessened my will to write; especially when the pressure to find a lawyer became prominent. Least to say, now that I no longer have to deal with those problems anymore... except for a rescheduled court date I will need to attend again later on next month. Until then however, do expect my work to start increasing again in both frequency and quality.

Please give a thanks to Timeless-Dreamer Neo for his wonderful help in writing and editing this, previous, and future chapters!

-No replies again, as it seems nobody has left me a review again... for the third chapter in a row? Well... they say three times is a charm, and I can only hope that is true. If not... C'est la vie...