THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SKY (part I)
Fai D. Florite was leaning against the windowsill, looking out to the gardens in a thoughtful, serene attitude. His chin rested on the palm of his right hand, his right elbow on the stone of the window.
His relaxed position indicated nothing to the view, save that he was stress-free. Hikaru, closing the door that led to Sakura Hime's room quietly, saw him and reclined herself against the windowsill as well, although her petit height made it only to a little above his elbow. Fai, being as lithe and thin as a straw, gave the impression of being even taller than he already was. Fai, his chin still resting in his hand, turned his head and smiled at her.
"You know Hikaru-chan, this castle is very similar top the Castle in the land I come from."
"Really? What's that country called?"
"It's called Celes, and it's usually very cold." Fai said. "We have something called snow, and we wear furry coats and heavy capes." He didn't wander why he was being so open about his country land with this little girl. It was almost natural to be so; as if Hikaru had a special look in her eyes, a special demeanor in her little body that made you trust her. The Castle did bring a sort of feeling, close to melancholy to him; he assumed that, heightened by being apart from Chii and his homeland and not talking about it with anyone, the feeling made him a tad more vulnerable. Maybe it wasn't about Hikaru; perhaps he would've felt just as willing to talk had it been Sakura or Syaoran. Maybe he just wanted to talk.
"It snows in Japan too!" Hikaru said. "It snows in the winter. Tokyo is very cold then, and we use heavy coats too."
"Oh, so that means you come from a land that is called Japan too." Fai turned and leaned his thin frame against the windowsill, now resting in his elbows. "Kuro-wan-wan comes from a Japan country as well."
Hikaru laughed. "He has a familiar accent. And Syaoran-kun comes from a place called Clow Kingdom, as well as Sakura Hime." She looked up at Fai with questioning eyes. "Don't you think it's strange they didn't know each other? Is Clow a very great Kingdom?"
"I've really never been there." Fai answered almost apologetically. "But judging by Syaoran's descriptions and whatever Sakura-chan remembers, I'd say it's a humble, but powerful low profile country. I've heard quite a big deal of Clow-san, Sakura-chan's father, and I know he was a great Sorcerer."
"Oh, was he?" Hikaru blinked.
"Didn't you know? Sakura-chan can see and hear spirits…"
"She can?" Hikaru's eyes widened. "That's incredible!"
"How can that surprise you, here in Cephiro?" Fai asked honestly. "It would seem it is the most common of things."
Hikaru laughed and nodded. She looked out the window to the beautiful continent spreading below, under clear blue skies.
"Fai-san" she started, turning oh him. Fai gave her a look of polite interest, a gentle smile gracing his lips. "How comes you all ended up traveling together?"
"Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan, Kuro-pun and I all came to see the Witch of the Dimensions at the same moment. She told us to travel together to achieve our goals and so here we are."
"All at once? What a coincidence!"
"You think?" Fai asked softly, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.
He turned back to look out the window, thoughtful. There was a moment of silence as Fai contemplated the landscape that unfolded in front of him, ethereal beauty that mesmerized his eyes.
His gaze wondered aimlessly and accidentally tripped with the flying mountain. He blinked a couple of times, surprised at it.
He straightened, eyes fixed there. "That place…" he said. "Yes… it might be there. Let's go, Hikaru-chan!" he said walking off towards the gardens. "I think I have an idea!"
break+
"Up there?" Kurogane eyed the flying piece of rock suspiciously. "What the hell makes you think it's up there?"
"It looks like the place of most difficult access in all of Cephiro." Fai answered. "Following our usual luck—which just happens to be pretty bad—I'd take my bet it's probably up there."
"Yeah, following our luck." Kurogane growled.
"Theoretically" Guru Clef said looking up. "The flying mountain is the Wind Temple of the Guardians. The Genius Windom was sleeping there awaiting for the Magic Knight of Wind to find him. Now that the Guardians are gone, it shouldn't be dangerous."
"But?" Kurogane arched an eyebrow.
"Well, when the Pillar died and Cephiro was destroyed, the Mountain fell." Presea answered. "When we restored Cephiro, no one took care of the Mountain; yet it's right there, flying again. The Mountain being back might be just another aspect of Cephiro's restoring, but I wouldn't take that for granted. It should be empty now that Windom is gone, but with all the monsters going around I doubt it. It's a powerful sontroghold after all."
"Just our luck." Kurogane grunted. "It's likely to be there, if it's anywhere in this planet. So how do we get there?"
"Mokona should be able to take you." Clef pointed out. "If not then I can let you have temporarily one of my creatures."
"I'll take the creature a hundred times before trusting in the bun." Kurogane said.
Mokona jumped to his head with such strength the samurai actually stumbled back, struggling to breath with the thing attached to his face.
"Thank you very much Guru Clef-san." Fai smiled.
"Sakura-hime is still asleep." Syaoran said. "It's late now, almost evening, but I want to do as much as possible as soon as possible. Would it be too much of a trouble to do it now?"
"Syaoran-kun, it's very dangerous." Fuu said. "To go into an unknown place in the middle of the night…"
Kurogane rudely shoved Mokona to the grown, where it bounced rather obscenely, and turned to Syaoran. "We'll go in the morning." He said resolutely. "Going into unfamiliar possibly enemy grounds in the middle of the night is anything but smart. Our luck sucks already, let's not push it. Besides" he added arching an eyebrow. "You can barely hold yourself upright after the training this afternoon."
"I'm not…"
Kurogane simply pushed his shoulder and the boy stumbled backwards. Kurogane caught his wrist and brought him back up.
"See? You'll be an obstacle like this." The samurai pressed letting go. "If I go now, you're not coming with me."
"You're not going alone!" Syaoran said, the look of determination in his eyes so vivid it was undoubted he would fight his mentor in this subject.
"Then we'll all go in the morning at that's it." Kurogane almost barked. "Let's go to bed. You too." The samurai fixed his eyes in Fai.
"Why am I being sent to bed too, Kuro-papa?"
"Because if you stay bothering around I'm sure I'll have to go save you from something in the middle of the night and I don't feel like it. And don't call me that!" he added as an afterthought.
"You're so moody… relax!"
"Don't tell me to…!" Kurogane's eyes blazed, but the ninja found himself unable to express this distinct type of irritation with words, so instead he rudely pushed the mage towards the Castle's doors and gestured for Syaoran to follow soon.
"They sure have a strange relationship." Umi muttered.
Syaoran sighed. "In the morning then." He said. "Sakura-hime won't want to stay back…"
"Nor will us." Fuu smiled kindly. "We'll all go together and protect Sakura-hime. After all we did offer you our help!"
"I just don't want you to be endangered by our mission." Syaoran sighed. He sighed because he knew it was pointless; they'd be coming along anyway, and actually he was pretty relieved they would.
"Well, maybe we don't want you to be endangered by our world." Umi said arching an eyebrow. "Besides, the more the merrier!"
Syaoran smiled. Mokona jumped to his shoulder and tugged at his hair. Interpreting correctly the gesture, the boy headed towards the Castle's doors.
Guru Clef watched him walk away serenely. Then he turned to Lantis. They exchanged a knowing look of understanding.
You feel it too, don't you? Guru Clef silently asked to his mind.
Yes. There's something about the boy. Something odd. A strange aura.
Yes… also, Fai-san is hiding something… I recommend caution, Lantis.
Lantis nodded silently and left.
"Well, we all better go get some rest too." Fuu said. "Otherwise we might be an obstacle tomorrow too!"
"Ne, don't worry." Umi laughed. "If we happen to be just that, Kurogane won't fail to let us know!"
break+
"I should have known!" Kurogane grunted, sitting cross legged and cross armed on top of the flying fish Guru Clef had provided them with. "Can't trust a single Mage, no matter what dimension!"
"Isn't it early to be in a mood already?" Fai grinned.
"Can you fly?"
"You know I can't…"
"Then don't make me kick you off the fish."
The mountain was coming nearer quite fast. The fish was considerably quick even though its looks. Kurogane would have rather to be given a riding beast like the one Lantis had; a horse. But even to Kurogane it was obvious that complaining about what was freely given to them as a favor was going too far over the line.
The warrior turned away from Fai, that was kneeled by him and attached to his arm—Fai was light as a feather, and the wind would have blown him away, so he had taken footage in Kurogane's heavier, stronger body—to look at Syaoran.
The kid was kneeling near the head of the fish, talking to the blue haired girl and the green haired kid, Mokona relaxed in his lap between his hands that protected him/her (whatever) from the wind. Lafarga and Ascot would join them later because they had gone hunting.
"Hey, Mage" the samurai said, still staring at the boy. "Why did you come along?"
"Huh?"
"Will you fight? Are you going to use your magic to be helpful?"
Fai didn't answer.
Kurogane's frown deepened. "Then stay out of the way and don't get in trouble. I can't always be making sure you don't get killed."
Fai only widened his grin.
"The fish slowed down and entered the hall of the mountain. It was wide and open, the high flat ceiling held by thin columns. The floors were tiled with white marble. The sun that filtered through the opening only reached so far; the rest of the hall was in darkness and the ends were impossible to make out.
Kurogane jumped off the fish, Fai right behind him. When the four of them were off, the fish disappeared. Ferio looked around.
"Wow.. I'd never been in one of the Temples before…"
"Yeah, but this isn't like the first time we came." Umi said.
"It's changed a lot." Hikaru jumped off the horse and landed neatly on the tiled floor. "It's…"
"Darker." Umi finished. "And scarier. Whne we came before, it was scary because we were so inexperienced, but you felt an inner calm, a kind of serenity… now that's gone."
"That was probably Windom's calm aura." Lantis said. "Windom being gone, it only makes sense that the aura has left as well."
"Mokona, can you feel the feather?"
The bun concentrated. It shook its head slowly in a negative gesture.
"But there are strange forces in this place." Fai said thoughtful. "Mokona might be confused by them."
"Yes, there are so many presences here that even telling ours apart from the unknown is difficult." Lantis said.
"Then… we have to go deeper inside and see if Mokona can feel it clearer." Syaoran said.
"Yeah. Let's get moving."
Mokona climbed to Kurogane's shoulder, higher than Syaoran's. They started moving inside, alert to their surroundings as they moved in a close group.
Fai thought he had felt something to their right. He slowed down and kept staring at that point, seeing if it happened to move again.
When it did, his eyes narrowed and he turned in that direction, walking there silently.
The creature moved again. Fai got a good look at it from the light of the sun that reflected off the marble tiles, as it moved away from the column, backing away from Fai.
It was a little, puppy creature. Apparently some sort of fox demon with enormous almond emerald green eyes and black fur. It growled and Fai, but it didn't look as though it could make much damage…
Fai crouched down, his extended arms leaning over his knees as he usually did, and smiled at the puppy. He was giving out an aura of calmness and trust, trying to get the puppy to come to him, to get a better look of it.
He heard a growl behind him. His eyes widened. He turned from his crouched position, his left knee going to the floor, and he didn't even have time to see the creature before the claws ripped from his right shoulder to his chest, flinging him away.
He slid across the marble floor, still shocked by the intensity of the pain he felt, and unable to get a hold of anything.
He only managed to grab the edge of the tiles, when his body fell off the hall and was left to hang over the edge, above the land of Cephiro, dangling from his right, injured, shoulder.
He was able to muster the strength enough to grab onto the edge with his left hand as well. Concentrating on the task at hand, he even lifted himself until his elbows were on the edge, breathing hard of the effort.
He raised his eyes and saw the wolf like bigger demon looking down on him from its taller position by the edge. The claws were scratching the tiled floor, they were so long and sharp.
Far behind the monster, to where Fai's sight could reach, there was no one in the hall.
He was alone.
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Ok, I'm not going to make up any sad excuses for taking so long. To be brutally honest, I've been too busy with other stuff and I forgot. Lying to you would be unfair. The only thing I can do, thus, is swallow my pride and say that I am sincerely sorry and I apologize. And it most certainly won't happen again.
I'm sorry.
Namariel.