I lounged blissfully on the couch in my room. While I'd partially enjoyed the boat ride back to the hotel, seeing as it was the first time that day that I'd gotten to do absolutely nothing, Kanda had me work like a poor pack mule as soon as we made landfall. Lunges, jumping jacks, jump rope exercises – if there was a physical activity to be had, I did it fifty times over with a sword to the spine. Each time my siblings passed by, I received one of two different sorts of glances – pity or amusement.
I would moan that it wasn't fair, but I'd too often said to my siblings that life wasn't fair. I'd hate to be made out a hypocrite.
Those suckers had no idea how lucky they were. They had Allen and Lavi for teachers, which meant fun games like tag and hide-and-seek. Their idea of a trust exercise was falling backwards off a three foot tall platform in to the waiting arms of five fellow Exorcists.
Kanda's idea of a trust exercise was blindfolding me and dropping me off a cliff.
Of course, there was a boat waiting to catch me, but that boat happened to be full of compost, but I was still less than pleased to be covered in what was essentially kitchen leftovers. I'd grumbled all the way back to the hotel, while Kanda remained unfazed by my less-than-pleased glare.
Then, it was right back to work for me.
At five o' clock, Kanda released me from the torture called 'ten laps around the pool'. I knew how to doggy paddle, and that was about it. It took me nearly half an hour to do one lap. Of course, Kanda told me to quit whining and get to swimming. I had to admit, after I got focused, I definitely didn't notice how long it took me to do the other nine. I guess there is some method to his madness, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
Thankfully, the swimming happened after the garbage diving, which meant I was fairly clean by the time I got back to my hut.
As I lounged, Tip nosed his way up to me with his clay-ball nose, and I smiled, actually smiled, for the first time that day. Now, nothing could beat Erastus and his look after grabbing my panties off that pole, but a dog is man's best friend… I ruffled Tip's ears, and the mutt groaned with contentment as I vigorously scratched his head.
The pets had been split up accordingly; I had Tip, Ava had Parley, and Vi had Mr. Fluffikins. I didn't mind having Tip with me, seeing as it made me feel a little better about sleeping by myself, but he sure as hell did absolutely nothing when Kanda came to drag me out of bed this morning. True to his useless nature, he'd slept through the entire encounter, only barking after Kanda brought me back around five. Then again, he wouldn't have been much use to me against that samurai anyway, considering Kanda'd whacked him on the nose the minute Tip had gone for a good sniff to the crotch. For a guy I hadn't pegged as an animal person, he certainly could predict dogs.
I guess it takes a dog to know a dog.
I sighed to myself, enjoying the feeling of letting my muscles flop. I wasn't exactly a bodybuilder, so I had lots of 'muscle' to droop. I entertained the idea of reading one of my Swedish novels, but I decided it wasn't worth the headache. I wanted to wake up tomorrow with at least one organ that didn't feel like it'd been tenderized using a croquet mallet studded with nails.
Just as luck would have it, there was a knock on the door. I groaned to myself. I could almost bet that it was Kanda coming to torture me with more "exercise." Even thinking about doing anything beyond a light walk made me feel nauseous.
I slid off the couch and lay on the floor for a few moments, groaning. I honestly considered staying on the floor and letting him break down the door, but I knew that if I got up, this would go a lot smoother. Well, at least as smooth as things can go with Grouchface. I picked myself up off the floor at last to face the music.
"What?" I barked irritably as I yanked the door open.
I stared, transfixed, as I came to the very slow realization that I wasn't looking up at a dour-faced Japanese Exorcist. Lavi blinked a single, glass-green eye at me, and my mouth went dry.
Whoops.
"I, uh, I apologize, I-I-I-I've had-"
"A training day from hell? Don't worry about it. I'm just here as a relay from your siblings. Geez, I send them on a quick trip to the market, and they come back like they were stranded in the desert. I don't even think your cat's lazier," Lavi said, his tone good-natured.
I chuckled nervously to myself, and I nodded as I rubbed my face wearily. Vi could probably sleep for fourteen hours straight, if you let her, and the twins had a habit of napping throughout the day. I've wondered if the two were narcoleptic, but I never had the money or the patience to take them to a doctor. Luckily they didn't drop like flies in the middle of a battle. As if I didn't have enough to worry about.
"O-oh, sure, sure, um, what did you want to tell me?" I asked, trying to ignore the feeling that was burning a hole into my stomach.
I'd been fighting it all day, that feeling of abject panic. It was bearable around the presence of others, but when alone with those of the male persuasion, the feeling was more akin to a gorilla gripping my stomach than a toddler.
"There's a Thai play going on somewhere down the road at a local theater, and they wanted to know if you'd come and… well, to quote them, 'foot the bill for them.' They're not too subtle about things, are they?" Lavi stated frankly.
He snickered, and I rolled my eyes.
"Tell them that that's fine. I'll go ahead and pay for them," I answered in a rather distracted tone.
I didn't like leaving the three of them by themselves, though I was sure that Ava and Lily were going to tag along for the ride. I was antsy enough as it was, considering I felt like someone had stuck me in a room full of eggshells. Realizing I'd stopped paying attention to my guest, I jerked my eyes to meet Lavi's, and in that instance I saw something in his face.
He looked… detached. It wasn't a look of distraction – I knew those too well. My siblings tended to look distracted more often than not, especially if I was trying to teach them some life lesson about fighting, functioning in society, or bathroom habits.
No, instead, his face, for a moment, was far away and disconnected. It reminded me of a lithograph portrait for all of a moment, blank and completely cleaned of any sort of expression.
And then, just like that, he was his regular self. He shrugged with a slight smile the second he met my eyes, but I was warier now. His eye had looked like a little glass ball, and now it seemed more… guarded than before. He didn't seem sinister, but it did seem suspicious to me. And if there's anything that paranoid little me knows, it's suspicion.
"Sure, sure. I'll report back to the kiddos in the next hut," Lavi chuckled, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in their direction.
I felt a stab in my gut. Part of me didn't want this boy around my family, but I had a feeling that was my paranoia getting to me. He wasn't dangerous. He was an Exorcist, a trusted man of God and a member of the Black Order. I shouldn't have to be worried.
But saying it and doing it are two different things.
Curse my paranoia. He was perfectly normal, and this was just all in my head. Nevertheless, years of guarding my younger brothers and sisters from unsavory people, most of whom turned out to be literal monsters, had taught me a thing or two about listening to my gut. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps I was wrong, and that I just needed to forget about the whole thing before I let it spiral out of control.
"Okay. Thank you," I stated rather tersely, though I tried to be polite.
I tried to summon a smile, but my smile was apparently out for lunch. Lavi seemed to catch my sudden anxiety, and he gave a small finger wave. I was about to close the door when he said, "Wait, wait, wait, hang on a minute."
I stopped, peering through the crack with a pained expression. I barely managed to keep a groan from making its escape.
"Are you going to be walking back?" Lavi asked after a short pause, blinking. His face was carefully composed into a cheerful expression. I noted that his smile didn't really reach his eyes, but there was some glint of humanity there. Sure, it was buried, but it was there, and that eased me a little.
I realized I was staring, and I just about slammed my head in the doorframe. You'd think I'd never interacted with another human being before. I sighed and nodded.
"I probably will be, though I've been debating that in all honesty. I don't like to leave them for long. They get up to... things," I admitted.
Boy howdy. My mind could take me down some dark alleys, usually involving outlandish deaths that implemented various building collapses, animal attacks, accidents with kitchen supplies, etcetera.
He chuckled to himself, and I could see he was humoring me with his lukewarm laugh. I did my best to keep from blurting out something I'd probably want to stab myself for saying later. Still, his expression had a note of genuine mirth, but it was… restrained. I found it odd that I was suddenly noticing all of this now. I would've figured that I'd notice all of this on the boat or while I was at dinner.
But then again, I'd been trying to keep from having a sword stuck in me all day. I've been more than a little preoccupied with losing as much bodily fluid as possible under the Thai sun.
"Well… do you mind if I walk back with you? I keep hearing from some of the locals that a storm's coming, and I'd hate to let a student-to-be suddenly get lost in the downpour," Lavi suggested, and I was taken aback.
I hadn't really taken him for the chivalrous type, but I hadn't exactly expected to be worked half to death either. I knew I was whining more than I should, but did I care? I considered it my chosen method of venting. It's better than what Lily does.
She collects toenails.
"Uh…Uh… I, uh…" My brain was in the process of self-destructing, unable to compute a situation it couldn't quite grasp. Luckily, my dog broke the self-destruct countdown by shoving past my leg and digging his nose straight into Lavi's crotch.
"Tip," I growled as I glared at the curious dog.
He looked back at me with a pleading look, and Lavi laughed. This was a much, much more realistic laugh than that sad excuse for a chuckle he'd given me moments before. I felt the edges of my lips twitch into something like a smile, and Tip seemed to grin as his tongue lolled out of his mouth like a long, pink yoyo.
"Suck your tongue back in, Tip, you'll catch a bird if you keep your mouth open like that," I grumbled to Tip with a good rub to the head, and Tip fawned over my attention.
He sidled up to me as I scratched behind his ears. His tail thumped, practically shaking the floor boards. Lavi walked nearer, probably to give Tip a good scratch.
I recoiled, my eyes immediately flicking back up to him. He hesitated, noting my obvious wariness, and I looked away.
"I think it'd be a good idea if I walked back with you. Knowing me and my perfect sense of direction, I'll probably end up somewhere in the jungle and never know how I got there," I quipped with a wry twist of the mouth, and the tension eased a little bit.
At the least, I didn't feel like I was about to perform surgery using a rusted knife while blindfolded and on five different narcotics.
"Alright. I'll see you then," he stated with a cheerful, small bow.
Lavi turned tail and left, and I deflated against the door jamb, suddenly drained as I watched him walk away. Somehow, he scared me more than Kanda did. At least Kanda was honest as a fence post. He may be a jerk, but he wasn't going to hide it. Lavi was a wild card, and I wasn't fond of wild cards. There had been something about his demeanor that had set off every alarm bell and red flag I had mentally on hand. The fact that his friendliness could be an act made my skin crawl. I closed the door to my hut, and I sat down on the couch and, as luck would have it, I had no desire to sit still after my encounter with Lavi. I cursed my paranoia and my body's changeable wants, and I got up for a walk on the beach.
I hadn't managed to put one toe on the sand before the twins ran up to me with anxious looks.
"Ava wants to talk to you about something, but we're not sure what. You're the only one who knows her hand signs well enough to figure out what she's saying," Erastus said slowly, showing traces of anxiety.
It didn't take me long to figure out that Erastus knew the gist of what Ava was trying to tell him, but he didn't trust his knowledge of her 'hand talk' to decipher it himself. Sebastian was uncharacteristically silent, and I stared at him.
"What, cat got your tongue?" I asked with a nervous smile, and he grimaced.
He stuck out his tongue, and my eyes widened. I let out a small sound of distress as I stared at his decimated tongue. He gave a sheepish smile as he retracted the damaged appendage, and I choked out, "What happened? How the hell did you mangle your tongue like that? What did you do, stick a sea urchin in your mouth?!"
He rolled his eyes.
"He had an accident on the way back from the market. He, uh, tripped, fell, got his tongue trapped between his teeth, the usual stuff, y'know?" Erastus said with a bright-eyed smile.
I was less than convinced that it was 'the usual stuff'. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I groaned, "Lavi didn't tell me that when he stopped by."
"We, uh, kind of told him not to tell you, actually," Erastus stated guiltily, and Sebastian looked away with an equally chagrined stared.
I could practically feel my blood pressure rising to dangerous levels. The veins in my neck probably looked like wire cords. Part of my eyelid was twitching. If this kept up, I was going to be admitted to a hospital before long.
I let out a slow breath, and I said, "All right. I'll go and talk to Ava. Where is she, in her hut?"
The two nodded in unison, both pointing two different directions. I glared at them. Finally, they pointed in the same direction, towards Ava and Lily's humble, no doubt newly flowered, abode. I headed over, keeping in mind that I'd have to kidnap my brother and take him to a doctor, because heaven knew I'd practically have to drug him in order to get him to see any man of the medical profession. Giving them yearly check-ups were a nightmare…
It didn't take me long to get to the hut. As I'd predicted, there were flowers everywhere. Lily was like magic with flowers, both finding them and growing them. She had the magic touch when it came to anything that required sunlight and water to grow (and few that don't need either). I, on the other hand, had a brown thumb. I could probably kill a plant just by being in the same room. My presence was detrimental to plant life. I guess we evened each other out, because that meant there wasn't an overabundance of plants where ever we went.
I knocked on the door, brushing past a magnolia tree that probably hadn't sprouted flowers until the night Lily'd arrived. There was the sound of stumbling and yelping before the door opened. Lily looked out with wide eyes, blinking her dark, nutmeg brown eyes before sweeping back a strand of dark, black hair behind one ear.
She grinned at me in that vague way of hers and said, "Oh, hello Mag. I thought I just saw you at your hut."
"Yeah, I was. Hey, do you have Ava? Erastus and Sebastian - well, Erastus really - told me that she'd been hand-talking pretty a lot all of a sudden," I asked.
Lily cocked her head to the side, her wavy black hair falling in a drifting sheet. She thought for a moment, looking somewhere over my shoulder, and for a second I thought she might've actually lost her train of thought right that moment. I wouldn't put it past her.
"You know, Sebastian really screwed up his tongue. It's horrible. I wonder how he did that," she said suddenly, smiling at me. My shoulders drooped as if I was a deflating balloon, and I stared up at the sky. Some days I wonder whether God messed with her ears or her brain.
"Lily. Ava."
The two words seemed to click in her mind, and her face brightened.
"Oh! Oh, right! I'm sorry, she's right in here. She was taking a nap, but… she woke up…"
Lily wandered aimlessly into the hut, and I ducked underneath the magnolia growing outside her door. One of them fell on my head, and I brushed it off. Suddenly, I felt panicky as I noticed just how of the clutter had invaded. Every nerve within me screamed for me to pick up as much of the clothes off the floor and arrange everything back into some semblance of order, but I'd long quit trying to clean up after Lily. She had a system of her own, and it made her just as distressed for me to clean it as it distressed me to watch her make the mess.
I heard footsteps, and I looked over my shoulder. The glimpse of clean, blue sky eased my anxiety for a moment as I forgot the claustrophobic setting I occupied. Allen's white hair caught the light for all of a moment, and I frowned.
"They tell you, too?" I shouted, and Allen nodded as he ran up to the hut.
"They told me what they knew, but they said that you'd have a better idea of what she was trying to say. They said that she talks with her hands?" Allen asked, questions practically flitting around him like hummingbirds.
"Yeah, she, uh, she doesn't talk. She's voluntarily mute," I said, walking towards her room. I could tell it was hers because the door was scratched in a dozen different places around the bottom. She had a habit of marking her rooms, and it'd cost me more money in property damages than I'd like to think about. She was… a handful. I still wasn't sure how she managed to set things on fire when she was still so terrified of it, but perhaps instinct is stronger than fear.
I opened the door to find her staring out her window on her bed. The smaller pieces of furniture were turned over, and the bigger pieces had her telltale scratch marks. They looked like a massive cat had taken its claws to them, and I winced as I habitually racked up the property damages in my head.
"Why doesn't she talk?" Allen asked quietly as I stopped to look at her still, quiet form.
"A fire in Spain took out our tenement. A candle fell over, and she was trapped. I got her out, but she's never spoken since," I explained quickly and softly.
He walked around me towards Ava, and I followed. Discreetly, I lifted pieces of furniture into their upright positions, sighing to myself. My neurotic mind rebelled against such disorder. It irked me to see so much destruction. As an Exorcist, it practically drove me to my wit's end some days to see shelled buildings and ruined homes.
I looked up at Allen, who was crouched down watching Ava 'talk'.
My brain instantly narrowed to a single point as I watched her hands. What she was saying wasn't exactly pleasant.
Lights. Two. Sounds. Voices. Much. Big water. Across. Fire. Much. Loud. Much. Smell bad. Smell red. Smoke gray. High.
"Ava, can you tell me where you were when you saw all this?" I asked her, approaching with my arms crossed. She stared at me with wide eyes before talking with her hands again, rapidly signing words.
Long. High. Sky much. Tree much. Down far. Down road much. Lily. Big water. Far. Bird much. Man much and net. Sun high. Sun in eyes.
"She says that she saw lots of light, heard lots of voices across a large bay or body of water. She said there was a lot of fire there, and it smelled like blood-," I said, but before I could finish, he interjected.
Allen asked, "She can smell blood that well? Where was she?"
My eye twitched, but I continued.
"Yes, she can. She managed to catch a whiff of me and my half torn arm about three miles away three months ago. Now, she said she was somewhere up high towards either the east or the west side of the island. I think she's talking about an Akuma attack on a shore town where there are a lot of fishermen."
Allen's brow furrowed, white eyebrows meeting as he thought.
"That could be anywhere, Mag. There are hundreds of fishing villages. Do you think either of them could tell us where the town was? Maybe I can investigate tonight," Allen asked, rubbing his chin in contemplation. I shrugged.
"Lily doesn't have the best memory, and I don't know if she could tell you. Ava here is pretty good about her directions, but I don't feel comfortable letting you take her for a nighttime excursion," I sighed, running a hand nervously through my already frazzled hair.
I probably looked like I'd grabbed hold of an electric eel and refused to let go. Ava hopped down from her perch on the window sill, and she grabbed hold of my leg. I looked down at her with a questioning, wearied expression, and she began signing again.
Ready. Like Allen much.
I gave her a harsh look, and I said slowly, "No, Ava. You're not going."
Ava put a peeved look on her face, and she stamped a single foot. I was scared for a moment that she'd snort fire out of her nose. The only thing I needed to top off my day is to find that half my hair's been burned off by a stray spurt of flame. Still, I stood my ground, feet firmly planted as she clung to my leg, looking up at me with that angry face. There was a flutter of wings past my head, heralding a certain parrot's entrance.
"Krawk. Made her mad. Kraaaawk. In for it now. Kraaaawk, tail feathers singed."
I broke my staring contest, which I hate to say I was probably losing, to shoo off Parley. He landed on Ava's shoulder, the heavy parrot practically slipping off her little dress with his weight. He chewed on a piece of her hair, and I stared at the both of them. Now they both were giving me looks, and I couldn't exactly hold a glare on both at the same time without going cross-eyed.
Allen snickered, and I finally gave up.
"Fine! Go ahead. Go after the big scary monster, beat it with the ugly stick, and come back as soon as you can. I don't care if you have to hire fifteen elephants to get back, you come back before midnight or else I will come after you. Do you hear me?" I said, waving my finger in her face.
Parley followed it with his eyes as well as Ava, and he took a snap at it, but I was too used to his mischief not to notice his head inching forwards. He almost fell off of Ava's shoulder straight on to the floor with a spray of feathers, and I 'hmphed' with a bit of self-satisfaction. I kissed Ava's forehead and charged Lily with holding down the fort, which she readily agreed to.
I left for my hut again as Allen headed towards his own lodgings, probably to prepare for the impromptu mission. Inside my room, it was dark and quiet, and I took a minute to sit on my bed and enjoy the peace and quiet, however short it would be.
Finally I changed into another outfit, looking up at the sky. I could already see dark gray clouds hanging over the horizon. For some reason, they reminded me of my grandmother, but then again, she did have a habit of hovering and glowering, though I don't remember her spitting lightning and thunder. From far back here, though, I could see the rain coming down in sheets. I wasn't sure when it would hit the hotel, but I could tell it wouldn't take long.
I was startled out of my reverie as I heard a loud knock on the door, and I scrambled to put on the rest of my clothes as the door opened.
"Yes?" I shouted back, scrambling out of my room.
I'd thrown on pants and a shirt, not exactly womanly wear, but it was better than nothing. I stopped in my tracks as I stared at my uninvited guest with resignation.
"There's an Akuma infestation to the north. You're coming with me," Kanda said, his tone brooking no argument, and I suppressed the urge to groan. Of course he would want to take a look. The man had no idea how to leave things well enough alone.
"Well, you see, I kind of have-"
"Cancel your plans. I expect you here by 8 o' clock, sharp."
I should've guessed his answer would be as short as his patience.
I took a deep breath, and I muttered, "All right, all right. Allen and Ava are already on it, though, so I don't see any reason to go and add to the party."
I walked into the main living area, and Kanda stood there, as nasty and stormy as the massive clouds outside. He looked like he wanted to break the furniture, burn down the hut, and shave my dog. Then again, I've come to learn that his face just looks angry… and his mood generally reflected his face, so that wasn't really any consolation.
I grabbed my weapon off the kitchen table, and I nearly squealed as a hand grabbed my wrist. I looked up, mere inches away from Kanda's nose, and I gulped loudly. His eyes were black ink pools, devoid of any discernible emotion. The usual panic I felt had turned into a potent mix of terror and the instinctive urge to flee. I could do nothing but shake. Get it together, Maggie.
"Never leave your weapon. Have it with you at all times," Kanda growled.
I nodded, tight lipped. He let go of my wrist, and I hastily busied myself with putting my whip in its holster.
I rubbed my wrist as I stared at his retreating back. I was suddenly reconsidering who was scarier: Kanda or Lavi. Lavi's friendship may be an act, but at least I knew he meant no harm. Kanda's black aura didn't exactly give me any good vibes about my physical safety. My heart finally decided that hammering at a hundred miles per minute was not healthy and began to slow down. I rubbed the back of my neck.
"I'll escort my siblings. Is that fine?" I asked loudly, my tone probably giving the Arctic winds a run for its money.
Kanda didn't answer, only giving a grunt as he left. Luckily, I knew how to speak grunt, so I understood. I began to leave.
This was going to be a long night.
I rubbed my temples as I attempted not to choke the nearest bystander. The theater was little more than a small warehouse packed to the gills with people, food, a horrible stench, and not enough space. Thais milled around, yelling to one another and eating all sorts of unidentifiable foods. Several passed me by, wafting the scent of something heavily fried, and my stomach voiced its opinion rather loudly. Vi was having the time of her life, speaking with the locals using the little Thai that she knew while flouncing in a dress that'd make a nun faint. The twins were exploring, as was their wont, and Lavi was fetching me a drink before we headed back to the hotel. Kanda had set 8 o' clock as our meeting time, but he could stand to have me a minute late.
"Ready to go?" Lavi asked as he reappeared at my side, and I nodded wearily.
I was beginning to get a headache. The sounds, the smells, the crush of people - it was doing a number on my head. I'd skipped dinner to make the trip with the Terrible Trio plus Lily to the theater, and I was feeling the consequences of neglecting my stomach. I made a mental note; skipping dinner was not worth the migraine, quite literally.
Vi caught my pained look, and concern flitted across her face. I looked away from her with a listless movement of my head, and the world tilted for all of a moment. I waved to her with a wan smile, and she flashed one of her own before going back to chatting.
"Y-yeah, I am. If we don't hurry up, dinner's going to be gone, and I'm going to be a very unhappy lady," I muttered.
We began to head out as Lavi handed me a coconut, and I stared at it. What the hell was I supposed to do with this?
"It's a coconut," Lavi stated with exaggeratedly slowness.
I looked up at him with a sardonic look, and I said, "Yeah, I got that, numb nut, but I thought you said you were going to get me a drink."
He took it out of my hands, and he looked it over with over-the-top deliberation, going so far as pursing his lips. He made a motion as if he was going to open the thing with his teeth and I stared at him incredulously. He grinned at my expression, shaking his head.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Here."
He pulled open a flap, and I saw that it'd been pre-cut. I snatched it out of his hands playfully and took a drink, deciding that it wasn't half bad.
We had walked for nearly three miles, practically half the way, when I heard the sounds. They were soft, the pitter-patter of footsteps. I tensed, my hands hovering over my waist where my whip was wrapped tight. A sidelong glance at Lavi revealed he was just as tense as I was, though he definitely hid it better.
"Akuma?" I asked.
He shrugged.
"Can't tell yet, but it sounds human," he stated, crossing his arms. "We'll keep going."
I groaned at the prospect of heading towards the noises. I wasn't exactly all that enthusiastic about going towards mysterious footsteps, but then again, who would?
It wasn't long before we saw the owner of said creepy footsteps. It was a Frenchman, and I sighed with relief. I should've guessed, from the fairy light sounds of his dainty feet hitting pavement.
"What's the matter?" I called out in fair French, all those months spent at Grandma's finally put to use.
"I'm looking to deliver a message to a young, redhaired man by the name of Lavi and a thin, sickly looking woman with bad taste named Mag. It is from a Japanese man."
I groaned. He'd called me thin and sickly looking. My teacher was such a sweetheart. At least he didn't immediately peg us for the two recipients. Perhaps he wanted directions.
"I believe you two must be the receivers. I was concerned for a moment, because I only saw the man's red hair and not the sickly woman, but now that I am closer I can see what he was talking about," the messenger said gleefully.
I made a mental note to attempt to strangle Kanda in his sleep.
"Speak your message already. I've had enough abuse for one day," I grumbled as Lavi tried (and failed) to hide a snicker.
The Frenchman vacillated before reciting in English, " 'Both went missing. Neither have come back. I am leaving without you. Headed to the jungles to the north.' All that I have, I am sorry."
"You speak English?" Lavi asked.
I had the feeling he'd understood everything, if the horrible attempts to hide his mirth were anything to go by, but he still sounded surprised by the English. I was surprised by the English, and I was none too happy about it either. I'd just dredged up all my French for nothing.
"Oui. And you understand French. Mademoiselle, your diction is excellent," he commented, and I felt a blush of pride.
"Thank you. I pride myself in keeping my nasal tones."
The Frenchman bowed in deference before heading on his merry way down the road, his fairy-feet lightly smacking the road.
"I guess Allen and Ava were delayed," Lavi mumbled, digesting this new information. I tried to keep my stomach in its proper place, but gravity seemed insistent to have it around my ankles. I could already feel the panic welling up inside of me like blood out of a wound.
My youngest sister, possibly dead or wounded.
"Well, I guess that just means we've got more work cut out for us," I mumbled. The storm rumbled overhead, and I continued down the road. No use standing here doing nothing. Lavi followed suit within seconds.
Here we go again, off into certain danger. Oh, how I reeked of anticipation.
