Author's Note: Oh my goodness. I feel like a complete btch. I haven't updated this in MONTHS, but I've been thinking about it nearly every day. I think I have the next section completely fleshed out now. To be truthful, I was afraid to continue before I'd done so. Blame it on paranoia given to me by friends.
BlackSakuyamon: Thanks so much. I try my best to write well, and I'm glad to know it's working. Your reviews really keep me going, even if it is extremely late. I apologize heavily for this.
Haxan: No, they're not, are they? Unfortunately, the organization is no fool, either. It makes for nasty dilemmas.
Again, sorry for the severe delay. Please enjoy.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Sophia wrinkled her nose in disgust, but offered no other emotion as to their current task at hand.
Striding proudly to her left, Noel bore a wide grin. Her eyes were dark and black, though her blanch hair was shrouded, for the most part, beneath a grayed hood. The sun took lightly to her companion's shoes, flashing Sophia in the eyes with each resounding clink.
It would seem as though the bright, fresh air had brightened her spirits. Then again, Sophia knew of only two sides to Noel: angry and overzealous.
Beneath her own garb, Sophia's muscled tightened. She reached her fingers up and gently closed it around the rough cloth, forcefully dragging it farther forwards over her head. Her eyes slide in their sockets, unable to look at the white teeth of Noel any longer. She seemed almost happy to be going back. Sophia herself had considered this a death sentence. It was no lie when she'd said there might be something to live for. Clearly Noel had lost it once more, or had never found it to begin with.
"Save your energy," Sophia said through gritted teeth. Her tension was uncharacteristic, and it caused the air around them to churn.
"Wha- Why?" Noel balked, her other emotion shining through quite clearly.
"We won't be eating for weeks," Sophia answered, her voice brought down to a more toned level once more.
"We go without food frequently," Noel answered, the sound of shifting cloth reaching Sophia's ears as her counterpart shrugged.
Sophia let it slide. There was no convincing Noel of the pure desperation in this matter. If she wanted to suffer, so be it. They were Claymore's once again, and she could no longer afford to look out for the other. Her eyes to the ground and her footfalls steady, Sophia fell into a rhythmic step behind Noel. The traditionally silver-eyed witch seemed more than happy with the arrangements and went so far as to pick up the pace.
Until one very old looking man stopped them in their tracks. His eyes were covered in grizzly sweat and grime. His eyebrows were bushy and long, and overshadowed his tiny pupils and wrinkled face. Other than that, he seemed to lack hair at all, but the wrinkle in his brow showed he was discontent with the current standings.
"Where a' ye ladies headin', hnn?" he gruffed.
Noel stopped, her mouth half open. With part disgust, and part shock, she answered. "Kindly move aside, sir."
Sophia took a few more strides before pausing herself. When humans interfered, it became interesting. There was a limit to just what they could do before it became pressing matters. Two months ago, they would not have cared, but now they had rules to follow once again. Sophia's throat hardened.
"Woman such a' ye folk ain' suppose' te be ridin' 'em ships." There was an extra curl the man's smile. "Bad luck."
It was a pathetic explanation at best. So, Sophia decided to be rid of the situation once and for all. With practiced ease she tossed her head back, letting her shroud fall to her shoulders. She glared towards the intrusive being, letting him get a good look at his eyes.
"There are yoma on this vessel," she answered him with a flash of her teeth. He seemed speechless at first, before the grinding of molars could be heard. The townspeople froze in their tasks, fish squirming in partially raised nets, and children winding around the unexpectedly still bodies of their parents. A poor soul standing on aging wood fell through the planks with a violent cracking sound. The still air broken, people began to move again, the man shifting out of the way.
She'd thought so.
With a valiant step forwards she now took the lead. She and a disgruntled Noel made their way down the wooden dock to a crude ramp. It stretched a good distance, but nothing insurmountable. One good leap would land them on the dock of the medium ship, no aid required. Its sails had been hitched, and their grey forms flapped silently in the growing wind. Most of the crew – and those passengers that weren't hiding – watched them mixed fear and interest. Sophia tried not to return the favor. She would have liked it better if they had travelled by foot, but the sea had been a much quicker alternative to the route they had taken to get to their far off sanctuary.
Once on board, people parted left and right for them, exchanging rumors. 'I didn't think there were any yoma in these parts'. 'Are they just going to get the job done and go?' 'Are they going to stay?' 'What are they doing here?'
She paid no mind to these bitter protests of her presence. Her current task was to find the hold and stay there until the trip was over. Hiding from the foolish, bickering groups of pure-bloods was the best option. Increasing the pace a touch, she made her way aftwards, the gentle sway of the vessel calming her nerves. Noel followed suit, her form disappearing for a moment as Sophia rounded a corner and descended into the dark. It smelled of damp earth and mold, among a number of other far less pleasant scents. Sea faring objects were quite vile.
"Here," she announced, grasping the rusted iron of a small chamber and jerking it open. The room was high enough to stand in, but little else. To hammocks swung, one atop the other, the grind of metal against metal filling the whole compartment. If they tried, both of them could squeeze side by side in the open space between the side of the ship and the door. Sophia's expression was platonic. Noel had been spoiled by wide open forests, and she took the sleeping quarters far less well.
"How long?" she asked, attempting to burn it with her eyes.
"One month." If all went well.
"Geh," Noel grunted, ripping her cloak from atop her head. Sophia wasn't sure why she'd bothered to keep it on.
"The effects haven't worn off yet," she noted with a look towards the witch's still dark eyes.
"Yes, thank you for blowing our cover and making it completely useless." They had agreed that one would go under the influence, and the other would remain in full body in the slight off-chance that something unexpected came. A fable could easily be made up for one of them, leprosy they'd eventually decided. Two cloaked figures that refused to reveal their face, however, was something the public would not take kindly to.
"It ended up being unnecessary," Sophia answered. The trip was going to be more painful than lying for hours on end if their tensions were already this high. Is that what they'd felt all the time as warriors for the organization? This guttural hate for the one next to you, a competition that was no longer friendly but simply meant for surviving. Surely they'd chided before they'd broken ties, but only when they'd left had it truly turned to joking.
"Well," Noel chipped, breaking the silence that had stretched between them. "I claim top bunk." In the effortless enthusiasm that should have only come from a child, she was rid of both cloak and Claymore. Stirred by this sudden overjoyed nature, Sophia quietly adjusted both into a neat pile in their dwindled space. She worked her way into the room and shut the door, clicking the lock.
"Sophia," Noel's voice ventured in her direction.
"Hmm?"
"I can't see anything."
"Right." There was a dull swiping sound and the small glow of a flame sharply lit their surroundings. Her face illuminated by the small source of light, Sophia fumbled slowly with a lantern fastened safely to the wall. After a few unsuccessful tries, and some burnt fingers, Sophia successfully set their room aglow.
Noel had already settled herself on the swinging canvas, her eyes staring at the ceiling. Her feet were bare, though her shoulders were still clad in orange-shining metal.
"You're going to get sore sleeping like that," Sophia told her, taking the time to slowly unfasten her own cloak instead of ripping it carelessly away.
"I prefer to be ready for the yoma we're going to be battling on this sturdy craft," Noel replied sarcastically.
Sophia had no choice but to grin.
"Turn off that light, I'm tired," Noel added. Sophia looked up in her direction, and half-snorted.
"You're a softie. You need light to get undressed, and you can't sleep while it's on. Next you'll need a soft mattress to sleep on, and then somebody to wash your feet."
This time it was Noel's term to scoff. "My feet are perfectly clean," she answered, and Sophia heard the hammock creak as she blew out the light.
Blind, but not hindered, she settled herself against the hardness of the floor and the knowing comfort of a Claymore at her back. Perhaps Noel had grown accustomed to a better standard of living, but Sophia had found she could not. Letting her thoughts spin around in her head, she attempted to claim as much sleep as she could. It was the one thing she was allowed plenty of on this venture.
-
There was a loud bang, and something smacked up against her leg. Sophia snapped her eyes open, searching the emptiness for what had caused it.
"Fuck." Noel's voice was startlingly close. In fact, right above her. "Sophia, why are you on the ground?" She heard fumbling, and Noel shifted again, her feet finding it hard to stand with Sophia's legs in the way. "How do you work this crazy lock!?" She almost sounded panicked, but it wasn't worrying Sophia, yet.
"Turn it," she answered with a lazy smile.
"Oh shut up, you bitch, I know you turn it!" The lock snapped and a dim blue light came floating through, while Noel flitted out the other side. Well, flitted was hardly the word. It was more of a drunken stumble. Noel gave a little groan and disappeared around the corner.
Now Sophia was starting to get worried. No, not worried. Interested. She stood slowly, finding various elements to look at. The lantern that she'd blown out the night previous, Noel's still swinging bed, and the folded cloaks in the corner. Shrugging lightly, Sophia took hers and drug it over her head, finally slipping out their prison and after Noel.
She found her at the very front of the ship, chumming the fish of all things. Sophia found it hard pressed to keep her composure after that. Luckily for her ego, most of the world seemed to be asleep; the ship was on auto-steer for a time. The ship's crew was exceptionally lazy.
"I feel like shit," Noel grouched. "And don't you comment," she snapped towards Sophia's approaching footsteps. Sophia's grin broadened, and it was a good thing that Noel could not see it.
"Try releasing y-"
"Don't you think I've already tried that!?" Noel turned to her, her hair in coils around her face and a wild desperation in her eyes. It was almost unnerving. Her brows were furrowed together, creating a deep groove above her eyes. Her lips, too, were pursed, and they had a slight sheen to them. What Sophia noticed most, however, is that they still retained their dark coloring.
"You're yoma energy must be weak if you're still under," Sophia chided, leaning on the wooden siding of the ship to watch Noel struggle.
She heard her partner cough and spit, then cough some more. "Do you enjoy my misery?" Noel snapped, but could complain no further as another episode wracked her body. Sophia, in all actually, wasn't sure. It did not bother her to watch, but she wasn't sure she'd wish it to keep up, either. She shrugged in response.
"The sea creatures are happy for your contribution," she answered.
"To hell they are."
Noel's suffering lasted only a short time. She only had to endure a few more chides from Sophia before relief finally came crawling back over her features. It was a slow process, but Sophia watched Noel slowly become more alert and less angry. It was replaced by a tired nature, until an exhausted woman slumped from her tight clench on the side of the ship to a resting her back against it. Noel opened her eyes and regarded Sophia carefully. They were gold in color, a rare sight coming from the warrior. Sophia blinked once at this discovery, before following suit and also taking a seat.
Neither one of them spoke for a time. Only the groaning from within the ship kept them company.
"Who is the organization kidding?" Noel spoke at last, her gaze transfixed at a winding rope on the front-most mast.
Sophia turned to address her, and then thought better of it. She chose her subject to be the silver highlighted cloud in the dark sky beyond. "The organization is very serious."
"Teresa's reincarnate is not one to be trifled with," Noel continued. When Ileana had spoken of there being two powers, one far stronger than the other, it had become clear how much of a menace Teresa had become. By all right, that battle had belonged to her, but she'd let her guard down. All for little Clare, in hopes she wouldn't end up with the same bitter fate. Look where she is now, Teresa of the Faint Smile, Sophia smirked in her head, shaking it lightly. "Are you listening?" Apparently Noel had drabbled on, and Sophia hadn't caught a bit of it.
"Whether or not she's like Teresa is unknown. She could be more powerful, or far less." The fact was, they didn't know. They're best bet was to expect for the worst, but would overplanning cost them as well?
Noel grunted. Sophia looked on.
"That new warrior, what was her name. . . Priscilla," Noel continued. "Won by mistake. By fraud. By cheating."
"No," Sophia interjected. "She won by mental strategy." Whether or not she had truly wished to die in those moments was very difficult to say, but had it been her plan all along she was a very sick and twisted individual indeed. An awakened being that was still in the world somewhere.
"Mental strategy. . ." Noel repeated.
Sophia watched her silvery topic twist and contort into some sort of building. Her memory told her she'd seen it before, but she couldn't quite place it. It felt so important.
"We have twenty-nine more days," Sophia spoke again, rising to her feet. She offered a hand to Noel and got a glare in return. The woman with slits for eyes made it to her feet on her own.
-
They'd spotted land early that morning. Rather, the screw had spotted it, and Sophia had caught the shadowed whispers travelling through the halls and repeated the information. Noel was tired, aggravated, but mostly she was unbearably hungry. The food hear was something even she would touch, and she'd ignored Sophia when she'd been told to consume what she could before it got worse. Noel insisted she'd be fine, and now she was regretting the decision.
Closing her eyes tighter she shifted against her heavy metal weapon upon waiting for Sophia to return. The bed had left sores on her arms, legs, and back. Nothing that couldn't be healed quickly, but with her current lack of food Noel didn't want to try. She merely grinned and bore the pain, with heavy emphasis on 'bore' and little to none on 'grinned'. They'd agreed to switch between the floor and the hammock after finding there was not enough room for both of them to sandwich together in their cramped space. Noel had decided that practically sitting on Sophia's lap did not fit her comfort level or her pride. She'd just deal with the horrible swinging cloth now and then.
A gentle tap echoed on the door before it began to open slowly. Noel was on her feet in a flash, her hands coiled tightly around the hilt of her weapon. Sophia's head appeared around the doorway.
"Since when do you knock?" Noel huffed, her alarm fading as she tried to find a comfortable position once more. Something about the air felt different as Sophia came in, and it aggravated her. Her fellow mixblood lit the lantern before encasing them in darkness. It was about time she figured it out.
The air around her changed again. The candle flickered, and Noel tried to watch it. Her anger at the situation intensified as her senses tingled, feelings becoming stronger and then dimming once again.
"Whatever you're doing, stop it." Noel made her upset clear in her voice, and leaned back farther as her stomach gave a horrible pang to remind her it needed food.
"I don't know what you're talking about," came her answer. The anger in Noel's face rose, and her jaw clenched as everything began to shift and change once again. "You're not getting sick again, are you?"
Then Noel figured out what it was. "You're fluxing your yoma energy."
"Don't be silly." Sophia's expression was mild.
"Stop playing games, Sophia." Her voice was becoming far harsher than she intended.
"Maybe you're going crazy, Noel. Maybe, you've lost your warrior arc."
"Sophia, cut the crap this in. . ." she trailed off and her eyes widened. Sophia smiled at her lightly and leaned back against the wood enclosure, her head nearly butting up against their light source.
"Noel, your yoma energy is changing rapidly," Sophia warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sophia."
They both grinned, and closed their eyes to wait for the moment they could get off this cursed vessel. One standing, the other sitting, but both with one ail relieved. They had a plan.