Arum seemed happy when Mike returned with a variety of long lumps tied down to Makken's back. "Where the heck did you go anyway?" Rylar asked as he poked the goods. Mike jumped off his back and began to work to unstrap everything that was securely in place.

"I got some stuff in Begnion. Sometimes I deliver things in the trading business so I know a couple of people," Mike said with a grin. "This is the first time that I could actually get some high quality stuff though! You know, something that wasn't useless to someone else! It should last a while."

The first thing that Mike pulled out when he flipped the covering back was a thick, broad blade. Arum gripped it immediately, as if he was concerned that Mike wasn't able to hold it. He tested the weight in his hands. "This is a good sword," he commented.

"That one is for you. I got that from a friend so he gave me a discount on it. I just owe 'im some work later."

"What else do you have in there?" Kaetar asked, trying to pull the covers off.

"Hey, gentle now! It's not much but it's kind of expensive and Syrin won't be happy if those things break!" he shouted after Kaetar, pulling his hands away. "I got some of the long distance tomes- bolting I think is one – a restore staff and a physic staff... I also got a steel greatlance and a steel poleaxe. Things that aren't typically available in a small weapon shop."

"Huh, why do we need a restore staff? Nasir can do that for free apparently," Rylar muttered, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Nasir only went to the field once. We can't rely on him ever being there. Think with your head for once," Arum responded, clearly unamused.

"I do and I think it's a waste. You can't tell me that Syrin knows everything," Rylar hissed back, almost like Ema when she growled in her laguz form. It was kind of like that deep rumbling that came internally from a laguz's side. And for a brief moment, Kaetar thought he could see that some of his teeth were pointier and more fang-like than that of a beorc. Did Zeke have those too and he just never noticed?

"I think we're paying for the convenience," Kaetar thought out loud. It made sense to him that a readily available staff should be on the field. What if someone didn't make it to Nasir? Arum stopped glaring at Rylar and took a deep breath.

"Syrin certainly has more experience then you," Arum mumbled and walked away, swinging his new steel blade onto his shoulder to rest as he did so.

"Show off," Rylar spat out. "Well, if you got nothing for me then there's no purpose for me to stay here. I'm going to go home."

"See ya!" Mike waved. "Anyway, did I miss anything?"

"Not much," Kaetar mumbled. Nothing from Crimea or Daein, aside from his last conversation with Saira. Maybe Syrin was right about Saira staying away because of that tome. Nothing was really stopping her from invading, especially since she already knew where they were. It was Crimea that they were worried about.

With Crimea came the possibility of Liam and Kaetar was more frightened of him then he cared to admit. He was stabbed at Toha before, just before getting on the boat to Begnion. It hurt and it was a sign of anger but that paled in comparison with being strangled after being beaten almost to the point of unconsciousness for no apparent reason. There was no reason for him to suffer so much. That friend of Misha's from before was angry but Liam just seemed messed up. No normal person took pleasure in causing pain like he did.

But Liam could also be someone who acted on his own for the most part. He had to ask Chibuike about him if he was willing to answer. He was torn out of his thoughts when Syrin suddenly appeared. "Did you get everything I asked for?"

"Physic, restore, steel blade for Arum, the two steel weapons for whoever needs 'em and I got those tomes," Mike mumbled, pulling out three books that were tied together. Syrin didn't reach out to grab the tomes but instead gesture for Kaetar to hold him. The tomes felt surprising light.

"I was not expecting Blizzard."

"It was kind of a deal for buying the other two. He threw in that one for half price so I thought it was useful to pick up," Mike answered with a shrug.

"And the change?" Syrin asked.

Mike passed a medium-sized brown page over, which Syrin grabbed. Kaetar didn't bother to mention that it wasn't technically Syrin's gold. The rebellion was being financed by Daein and Begnion but Syrin seemed to need to control it. It was like he couldn't trust anyone else to do it.

"And you have enough connections for more supplies when needed?"

"Heck yes! Those are my buddies!"

"Good to know," Syrin said plainly. "Go ahead and take a break. I think... Makken needs it."

Makken raised his head, as if he knew he was being addressed. He was sitting calmly, with one arm crossed over the other. It was almost cat-like, really. Syrin glanced at the sitting dragon like he didn't know what to do with him. He grabbed the two staves and then left.

"He's not the only one," Mike shrugged, curling his body against his friend's side.

Kaetar was eating lunch at the tavern with the others. It was nice to spend some time with the other rebels. Though Arum was around and not sitting near Ema, Misha or Aletta, Kaetar was amused to find that he had his bare arm on the table. His arm was flexed up and he was gripping Duma's arm, which as also flexed up. A competition of strength?

Arum and Duma struggled for a moment, their eyes focused on their arms. Suddenly, Arum slammed Duma's hand against the table and he let out a chuckle. Arum seemed happy that he won. He must have been getting more comfortable, around the other males at least, to be able to show some positive emotion. Rylar growled. "He was a laguz! How can you beat him?"

"It's not like I can transform anymore. I'm not as strong as I was before you were born," Duma said, offering a weak smile. Kaetar was curious about that. Did losing his powers also sap him of his strength? What abut his senses? Could he still see better than a beorc could?

"That was awesome though!" Chifee grinned, clapping his hands. His eyes were wide and he seemed to be in a state of awe. "Arum! You should try to go against Rykuu!"

"Would you be okay with that, Arum?" Rykuu asked with Soren sitting at his side. He still seemed clingy, still relatively silent but he seemed interested in the display. His eyes were wide and he didn't seem to want to take his eyes off the table.

"It wouldn't hurt too badly to try," he mumbled with a shrug. The tiger flexed his arm up but it still seemed somewhat relaxed, and gripped his arm. Rykuu's arm looked considerably bigger and his hand was also larger but Arum didn't see to want to back down.

"One, two and three!" Chifee shouted. Arum struggled against Rykuu – the tiger had Arum's down about half way between the table and their original position. Arum seemed to hold it, though Kaetar doubted he would win. After what seemed to be about half a minute, the back of Arum's hand met the table harshly.

"That was impressive for a beorc," Rykuu muttered.

"Wow, that means your strength is somewhat comparable to that of a laguz. Congratulations," Darius said with a goofy grin. "That's not too bad, kid."

"I stopped being a kid a long time ago," Arum muttered, clearly unamused.

"Fine, that's not too bad Mister Adult-Beorc," Darius corrected with a shrug. "Whatever makes you happy."

The door opened to the restaurant and Syrin walked in. "When everyone is done in here, I want to see you all in my room at the inn. Third floor, second room on the right. Spread the word if you know someone is missing."

With his short message, he left, clearly not interested in sticking around.

"Is everyone here?" Chifee asked.

"I think Mike is still outside. Oh, and Gus and Meagan are still at the inn, I think! The girls are just on the other side of this building, right?" Darius asked, peeking behind him.

"Why are they over there?" Kaetar asked. He hasn't noticed that the girls weren't with them – they usually were, giving Arum his space but still sitting with everyone else. Arum shrugged.

"I think they just wanted some time to themselves and get to know each other. Well, Elli had to be convinced to leave Arum alone for once," Rylar said, sticking his tongue out.

"She's free to spend time with whoever she wants to," Arum growled.

"You've glanced in their direction like three times since you lost to Rykuu!"

"Rylar! Cut it out!" Duma sighed. "I know you don't like it here and that you want to go home, but at least try to make an effort to be friends with somebody here."

Was that it? The reason why Rylar didn't seem to want to get along with anyone? It was because he was homesick and didn't want to feel emotionally attached to anyone? Or was he reading too far into that?

Rylar just rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I think I we should go see what Syrin wants. Chifee will get the girls and then I'll go find and stragglers outside," Darius said.

Kaetar hadn't realized that Syrin turned his room into a strategy room. He had many maps up on the walls, which Kaetar assumed he had permission for, and he also seemed to have moved in a long table that everyone gathered around. Or maybe Stefan did that, considering that Syrin couldn't do much with his arm.

They were looking at a detailed map of Crimea.

"We are here," Syrin started out saying. "Right now, Toha isn't a bad place to be. The citizens keep watch during the day, so security is not much of a problem. However, we can't win with only one major port city with us, otherwise we're stuck at Toha since we don't have any efficient methods of carrying all the supplies we need without wearing them thin. So our next order of business is to expand our influence out in these three towns." He glided his finger in an arch, hitting all three of the towns located not far from Toha.

"You want to slowly turn the citizens against the soldiers."

"The more citizens that support us, the less the Crimean soldiers can do. There is a lot that can happen if they turn their weapons against their own citizens and none of them will help their cause move forward," Syrin muttered, shifting his gaze towards Joel. He was the only one who seemed confident enough to chime in on Syrin's explanations.

"That's assuming they have enough honour. I think they may just try to slaughter the loudest of the bunch, set an example and then no one will have the guts to try again."

"The Crimean army has never been known to be particularly strong on their own or even that brutal," Syrin muttered. Misha looked angry for a brief second, then sighed as if she couldn't really disagree with it. "You are right in that at least initially, it will have to be a silent protest. We are only looking for support and slowly make supply routes. However, when we have a lot of support in a lot of different places, it will spread the Crimeans thin if they all suddenly start to revolt. Killing the loudest won't have much of an effect."

"It sounds like it will take a lot of time that we don't have."

"I don't think any of us thought that this would happen overnight," Nasir stated, putting his hands on his hips. "The Mad King's War took over a year after all. I wouldn't expect something like this to be any shorter."

"I think something like this has the potential to spread like fire eventually. We just need to find a way to do that,, otherwise it should work fine," Misha said simply.

Syrin hummed, then nodded. "Either way, nothing will happen if we stay in Toha. We will focus on this town on the right first, then work our way to the left. Most of you will go and the rest will stay behind."

"Like?" Arum asked.

"You, Darius, Aletta Duma and Rylar. There's also Stefan and Nasir but that should go without saying."

Chifee looked uneasy and it occurred to Kaetar that he and Darious haven't spent much time apart since they were reunited. The only time Kaetar could think of was when they were in that town on that foggy day and that was only two hours tops and that was probably an overestimation on his part. Arum stared down Syrin, also obviously not pleased by the fact that he and Elli were going to be separated. She looked at him, smiled a little and grabbed his hand, slowly mouthing something to him.

"I also have some unsettling news," Syrin started. "I've heard news of an attack on Daein. The King, Kaetar's father, was injured."

"WHAT?" Joel and Loiya exclaimed simultaneously. Kaetar felt a little guilty – perhaps he should have told both of them before hand that something big happened in Daein. He was too focused on the sandmen and whether it was a good idea to say anything to tell either of them the basics of what happened. They deserved that much at least. He avoided their gazes.

"Who would dare to touch Daein? Was it Crimea?" Loiya asked.

"Idiot. Crimea can't afford the soldiers to do that. Even if they could, I don't we think would have trouble. Crimea's army hasn't ever really matched that of Daein's."

"That's biased," Misha mumbled.

"It's fact. Crimea only ever won because the Greil Mercenaries helped garner support from other countries to fight with what little remained of the Crimean Army. And the Crimeans didn't even try to fight back before then because they were simply slaughtered because Daein was better!"

"Joel, shut up. You're going off topic," Syrin growled. "Anyway, Crimea doesn't have the numbers to take on Daein and actually injure the king, so they used something else. Somehow, Crimea found a way to force spirits to animate sand, and it was an army of sand that attacked Daein."

Joel seemed visibly confused. It was the mages that seemed to try to puzzle it together.

"Is it possible to make spirits do that?" Meagan asked. "Can you make a spirit animate sand or any other material for that matter?"

"Theoretically, if you know enough of the ancient language and have enough command and favour over spirits, you could make them do anything. The basis of magic is simply an interaction with a spirit. You're calling upon their capabilities to attack or heal and you use your own strength to amplify that power. It's just extremely difficult to do more than that. It's even difficult to cast without a tome."

"What's a spirit?" Chifee asked, raising his hand. Syrin shrugged.

"No one quite knows, whether they've always just existed or they're just the essence of those who have lived previously. That's not what's important though."

"It sounds like Daein was merely a test. If you think spirits may be remnants of those who have died, then where do you think this might lead?" Nasir asked.

"You mean like give someone life again? Very improbable," Syrin said, shaking his head.

"That sort of ability sounds as if it was something that only the goddess could do. It's hard to believe that a mortal could hold so much power," Peter muttered quietly. "I don't like it."

Gus shook his head. "How do we defeat these things?" he asked.

"I haven't seen them myself, but if magic created them, then magic should be able to reverse whatever spell was cast. The easiest way would be use a different spell against them. I doubt physical attacks will be very helpful in doing anything other slowing them down," he stated, though Kaetar could tell he had something else in mind.

"And if we're surrounded?" Arum chimed in.

"I'm not useless. I can get one good spell in before my arm bothers me too much. It will help but that's a last resort and I don't wish to get that far. Besides, this is only a warning. If they sent enough to cause worry for the Daein army, then I doubt we'll be seeing them soon. I imagine something like that will take a little bit of time to prepare."

Chifee folded his arms in front of his chest in an obvious pout. "This sucks."

"There, there," Darius mumbled, patting him on the back.

"Are we done in here? Can we leave? It's stuffy in here," Rylar mumbled. Syrin just nodded and Rylar was the first in the room. Everyone slowly filed out, except for Joel, Loiya, Syrin and Stefan. Stefan smirked.

"You're chatty today."

"Am not."

"Only you would get defensive about being too social," Stefan chuckled. "You used to be straight to the point, as if you didn't dare waste time and energy on meaningless words but now you don't seem to mind explaining things a little more."

"Just how well do you know each other again?" Loiya asked. He suddenly seemed tired and confused. Maybe that was part of the reason why he didn't leave yet – he just didn't want to get up.

"I don't know much about him at all, actually," Syrin muttered. "We're not that close. He just keeps talking and he won't leave me alone. And I may very well have to put up with it for centuries. At least Nasir can take a hint and go away to go bother Ena!"

Kaetar couldn't help but to laugh a little. He sounded so annoyed it was actually kind of funny.

"I'm kind of lost," Loiya mumbled.

"You've looked like crap for the past three days or so and I can imagine that you feel worse than you look," Joel mumbled with a shrug. "It's not all that surprising that you can't follow a conversation."

As much as Kaetar didn't like the wording, he had agreed that Loiya had seen better days. He would say Loiya looked feverish, but the last he had a fever he was aggressive. It was Nicholas that set him off and Joel seemed to bother him more than Nicholas ever did. He could see the tired and worn expression on his face though – Joel was certainly getting under his skin. It might not be too long before Loiya decided to try something. It was hard to say. Loiya seemed a little unpredictable when he wasn't feeling well.

Just how stressed was he now anyway? He was just patrolling and for the past few days, Kaetar hasn't been in any danger. Maybe Misha had an answer seeing how she patrolled with him.

Stefan studied Loiya. "Maybe you should stay here too."

"No! I wasn't around the last time Kaetar got attacked! I'm staying by his side!" Loiya shouted back.

"You're no use to anyone if you're ill," Joel muttered.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle-"

"Like when you attacked Nicholas in a fevered rage?" Syrin asked, raising an eyebrow. Loiya didn't say anything, looking utterly defeated.

"Look, Loiya, I can take care of Kaetar. I'm more than capable of that. You're going to get worse and that will just make Kaetar worry more!"

"He'll be worried about me either way, whether I stay or go!"

Kaetar sighed. Were they really going to start fighting?

"Loiya, I will have Peter check on you tomorrow morning. If he doesn't think you're fit for battle, then you are to remain here. I will make sure that Kaetar has extra protection."

"I'll just stay here then and I will look after Loiya," Kaetar muttered.

"Then I will-" Joel started but Kaetar motioned for him to stop.

"No! I order you to go and help Syrin!" Kaetar said sternly. He didn't think of himself as harsh or even mean, but he was getting really tired of his two friends bickering at each other all the time. Maybe some time apart would help them both, and he knew Joel would fight to make sure he was around Kaetar, just as Loiya would do. If using his social status was a way to make something happen, then so be it! He had no control over anyone else but technically, Joel and Loiya were his subordinates. He outranked them.

Joel and Loiya both looked surprised. Joel also looked like he really wanted to say something but he said nothing, so Kaetar assumed he decided against it. Stefan chuckled. "Good job, Kaetar. Sometimes I wondered if you forgot what it meant to be part of royalty but it looks like you're still capable. Is it fine for both to stay?"

"Only if you go. You should make yourself more useful than just being 'moral support'," Syrin answered with a glare.

"I'll go if that makes you happy."

Just as Syrin said, Peter crept into the room in the morning, waking Kaetar up. It was a lot earlier than he expected though. The sun was just beginning to rise. "Sorry to wake you, Kaetar. I was told to check up on Loiya."

"Why are you up so early?" Kaetar whispered.

"I get up early to exercise. I like to stay fit and I don't have much time during the day for that," he answered, feeling Loiya's forehead with the back of his hand. It was a little concerning that Loiya didn't stir from the touch. He studied him for a moment and shook his head. "He seems warm but I'm not sure if it's a fever. He doesn't look well though, so I think he should get some rest."

"What if he's resting and it's not enough? He should have been the first one to notice you, not me!" Kaetar shouted in a whisper. "He used to be a light sleeper but now people can touch him without him even flinching."

"If he's sleeping that deeply, he probably needs it. I've noticed that he hasn't been himself but I have a hard time trying to come up with a cause for it. I'm worried about him and I was hoping you knew something about it."

"I don't," Kaetar said with a sigh. "I guess he just feels that he's not worth talking about. He's been my body guard since I was twelve and now I'm almost seventeen... but he's waited this long to tell me about his life. I guess he's always been closed up and we just haven't noticed."

"But he's more social than this, usually," Peter said with a frown. "Anyway, I should be going. I need to let Syrin know that Loiya should stay behind."

"Bye," Kaetar muttered, nestling his head against his pillow.

When Kaetar woke up again, he found that the rebellion had already left and those who were left behind seemed ultimately bored. Loiya originally got out of bed for food but now he seemed content with watching the water. Arum was training not far from him, while Darius, Duma and Aletta watched.

"Where's Rylar?" Kaetar asked.

"Funny thing, really. I went by to pick him up and the beroc man who answered the door said he was still asleep! I don't know any other laguz that sleeps like he does," Duma said with a shrug.

"I wish I could sleep like that. The family I live with are nice and all, except that the wife seems to have nightmares sometimes. It keeps me awake sometimes," Aletta said with a sigh.

"Really?" Kaetar asked. "Can you hear anything?"

"Yeah, thanks to my blood. I don't hear enough to get the full story though... just the name Nattie over and over again. I also heard something along the lines of 'so much blood' or something."

Arum stopped swinging his sword for a moment. Darius raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered. "Duma, will you train with me? I'm getting tired of being the only one doing something here!"

"I get that you're concerned about Elli but you're pushing yourself a little too hard," Duma mumbled slowly.

"I'm not pushing myself. I should be there with her – we said we would protect each other. How am I supposed to do that when she's not here? And it's because of some stupid test for Meagan and Gus! Syrin's obviously just testing them!"

Duma walked over to Arum and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She has a lot of people who care about her and will protect her though. You know, the other girls that you refuse to be around. I know it's hard to place someone dear to you in someone's else hands – I would be worried about Rylar if he was over there too – but you can trust everyone else to be there for her. You can trust in her own skills too, right?"

"Why are you trying so hard to console me?" Arum asked. He looked uneasy.

"I guess it's because I'm used to being everyone's dad. There's a lot of people in the desert that don't have parents there for them. If someone is down, I feel compelled to try to bring their spirit up. Sometimes people just need to hear that it will be okay."

Arum didn't respond. Kaetar didn't know if Arum knew what to make of it. Maybe he never really had interactions with his parents, similar to Zeke perhaps.

"Those are good words," Loiya said. "Sounds like something my father would say... except I haven't see him in a while."

"Ah, you speak!" Darius chuckled. "I was wondering if you were going to say something or just sit there."

Suddenly, someone screamed. Instantly, everyone as serious. Duma was the first to run off in the direction and everyone else followed suit. In the middle of Toha, there was a blonde cat laguz. Kaetar was surprised to see that this cat had no tail. It was snarling and hissing, circling a younger boy who was clearly scared.

"Knock it off, we're not supposed to do that anymore! The beorc mean no harm to us!" Darius shouted.

The cat stopped and turned directly to Kaetar. The prince didn't know how, but he swore that the cat was grinning at him. Suddenly, it pounced but Kaetar felt no impact. Instead, there was an anguished shout. Loiya was in front of him, his arm up to defend his face. The cat toppled him over and Kaetar was horrified to find that cat had his fangs deeply embedded in Loiya's arm. Whenever the cat tried to shake its head to remove itself, Loiya followed the movement with his arm.

"We have to make him transform," Duma muttered.

"I can do that!" Aletta said as she began to chant. Fire erupted around the laguz and he quickly untransformed, his growling turning in a cry of pain as the figure jumped back. For a moment, Kaetar's breath caught up in his throat and his stomach felt like it plummeted.

Liam.

His hood was down, revealing messy blonde hair and small ears poking out of his hair. He lifted a dagger with a shaky arm, which was red from the meeting with Aletta's fire magic. He stayed crouched with his blade out and head down.

"It's you!"

Liam spat something red out of his mouth and grinned at Loiya with bloodied teeth.

"Long time no see, Loiya. Didn't I tell both of you to stay out of Crimea? Was the first and second warning not enough for you two?"

Loiya growled, getting up to face him. Instead, he hissed in pain. Darius was by his side, glancing at the wounds.

"I don't care who you are. If you're a threat, you will meet my blade," Arum said, drawing his blade. He ran towards him but even in his injured state, Liam dodged out of the way. He put something in his mouth and he surged forward and jumped into the air. In mid-air, he transformed and pounced on Duma, knocking him to the ground before racing after Kaetar. Arum ran and Duma scrambled to his feet but no one was fast enough to stop a charging laguz except for another one, and Darius seemed a little too stunned to process it.

Kaetar turned to run but he didn't get very far. Liam growled and pounced on top of him. Kaetar landed on his stomach but before he could really register the fact that he was on the ground, Liam bit into his leg and ran away from the rebels with it in his mouth. Kaetar had nothing to grab on to stop Liam from dragging him around Toha and his shirt was riding up to his shoulders and it was uncomfortable for bare skin to be dragged across stoned. He saw Arum running after him, his sword in its sheath. Duma was also running but Arum had the head start. He heard a small growl from Liam before he suddenly turned a corner. He was trying to lose them by changing direction often and it seemed to be working. It was hard to run as fast as you could while needing to turn suddenly.

And suddenly, it all stopped. Liam collided into something and let him go. When Kaetar sat up, he realized that it was Nasir. When he transformed, he took up the entire width of the road, making it near impossible for Liam to get past him. Nasir didn't say anything. He took a thunderous step forward. Liam growled and transformed again.

"You're impossible. How can you be proud of yourself like that? Being a filthy subhuman doesn't mean much."

Nasir reverted back and grabbed Liam's throat. "Oh, is it now? Enlighten me, I haven't heard of such a thing."

"You grow up with something and you believe it to be true, no? I spent most of my life in Begnion and Daein and the only reason why I survived was because I stopped with the subhuman pride bullshit! Subhumans speak nothing but of their pride and where the hell did that get them? Would subhumans be in slavery if they just killed their slave owners? Instead, they were scared of someone who was weaker, who had nothing but steel and words. But that worked! The beorc have some mythical power over us and my life has been a lot better since I decided to be as close to a beorc as possible!" Liam grinned.

"If you're so disgusted by your form, then why do you still use it?"

Arum and Duma came up from behind. Duma was instantly by Kaetar's side, investigating Kaetar's leg.

"I can't deny it's use. It lets me travel far distances and to gather more information. The best thieves and spies are the quickest ones, after all! I would have also chopped off my ears if they weren't so useful for my field," he said, still grinning. "I also can't help one instinct that I personally share with the common cat... I like to bring gifts for my master."

Kaetar felt his heart beat faster. It didn't seem so much that Liam was angry and bitter about his past. He grinned the entire time he was telling his story. Instead, the reason why Liam wanted Kaetar so much was because he was wanted by Crimea. Presumably, whoever his master was currently had a lot of power in Crimea. But the thing that worried Kaetar the most was that cats never seemed to gift people something that was living. It was something dying or dead. The cat that kept the Daein keep free of mice often liked to leave the dead rats at random doors. Kaetar saw a couple of them before when he was younger and the servants had yet to notice them.

"That bastard," Arum muttered.

"I brought him gifts before – the bodies of the nobles that got in his way and prevented him from moving up in the world. I think this prince would be the best gift of them all. Considering the compulsive need to bury the dead, his body would still be worth something."

Arum seemed to have enough. With his hands on his blade, Arum marched forward with a growl. "I'm stick of listening to you. You're nothing more than a creepy kid."

"I would put your blade down if I were you. Crimean troops have been following me for a while now since we're on the same path for now. They know I came here... and if they know that I didn't leave, they're coming here. Do you think you could protect yourselves and Loiya and Kaetar against an onslaught? Skill only gets you so far!" he sang.

Nasir sighed and let him go. Arum watched him carefully. "You leave right now, but one day this sword is going somewhere painful."

Liam laughed. "Love you too!" he said, jumping away when Arum tried to punch him. He grinned one more time, his teeth still bloody, before scaling to the rooftop of one of the houses. He ran off.

"We're just going to let him go?" Duma asked.

"He realized he was trapped so he had to make a deal with us. However, I don't believe he'll bother us right now. We should be tending to Kaetar and Loiya. Are Darius and Aletta tending to Loiya right now?"

Arum merely nodded.

"Then we should move Kaetar to the inn and take a look at his leg."

Loiya was already in the room with his arm raised up, grimacing when Darius poked at his arm. Aletta was at his bedside with a vulnerary and a roll of bandages. Arum was the one to carry Kaetar up to his room and he gently laid Kaetar down after Duma moved the covers. Arum ripped his shirt apart to get his chest while Nasir rolled his pant leg up to reveal that wound as well. Kaetar didn't like to see the shirt go but he had a feeling it wouldn't last much longer anyway. The fabric as probably weakened from Liam dragging him around. It was odd how he was even remotely attached to fabric when he could go home and get as many shirts as he wanted.

"Kaetar! Are you alright?" Loiya asked. His arm still looked pretty nasty too, as Darius didn't seem to get around to doing anything but wash it. The bucket of water he had was on the floor, partially red because of Loiya. "Just wrap it up for now, Darius. You look a little confused."

"It seems so simple to just slap a vulnerary on a straight edge wound but a bite seems... wrong to apply something like that without thinking. But how are you doing there, Kaetar?" Darius asked.

"It hurts," he mumbled. "But about Liam..."

"Nothing excuses his behaviour," Nasir stated. "He's a born killer. He might have felt discriminated against in his past, there are several who do, but most of them don't show such lack of empathy and remorse. I doubt he even had troops out there but I didn't want to risk the small chance he was telling the truth."

"And that master of his... do you think he's more messed up than his brat?" Arum asked. He still sounded angry. He grabbed the bucket from Darius' feet and began to gently wash Kaetar's leg with the rag. Kaetar hissed in pain.

Nasir nodded. "The worst people always end up finding each other. If Liam is like this, I wouldn't like to see what his master is like. It's rather concerning."

"All the more reason to kill assholes like him," Arum sighed. Kaetar shifted uncomfortably.

"And you'll be the one to purge Tellius of such assholes?" Darius asked, gently wrapping Loiya's arm as Loiya told him to do. "Why do you kill though? You seem to be able to do it so easily."

"I've been killing since I was twelve. It was the only way to survive and it became essential in order to protect Elli from the disgusting side of Tellius."

Aletta seemed surprised but she didn't say anything. She always seemed nervous around Arum, like she was afraid that saying anything would upset him. Arum seemed too distracted to notice her but that didn't seem to relax her. She looked away, keeping Loiya's arm still while Darius wrapped it.

Darius turned his head and grinned. "You know, it sounds like true love. That has to be a truly special bond between you two!"

"It doesn't have to be love-"

"I think you two would be cute together," Loiya said with a smile. Darius tied off his arm and Loyia hung his arm out like he was testing it.

Arum glared, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he simply left. Nasir sighed. "You three are going to need to help me treat Kaetar now."

Okay, I don't know what the problem was, but I couldn't upload this chapter in my usual way. It was stupid because I did what I always did and that didn't work. Apparently, I'm not the only with this issue and I found a way to get past the issue, as annoying as it is. Hopefully, the same doesn't happen in March. Sometimes I wonder if I should upload this story somewhere else as a backup so that if this happens again, the new chapter will be up somewhere.

As for the perspective changes, the next chapter is on Syrin since I said he would sort of a test and I think it worked out well. I will also do an Arkit chapter and an Elli chapter because it actually fits in with some of the ideas I have but couldn't figure out how to do it with Kaetar. Don't be afraid to suggest more people, just note that I may not be able to incorporate such suggestions. I don't think it will also work as nicely as Elli and Arkit did.