A/N:For those of you who read Chapter one and decided to come back, and those of you who are bothering to continue reading this story, I give you... Chapter 2. But first a few words from me. Sorry, it took a little longer than expected to get this chapter posted. (My Beta had an essay he had to finish and well...that and other things kept him busy over the weekend.)
In other news, I have some good news. The character you all know and love will finally be showing up in this chapter. And for those who are curious, the plot will begin to take pff. Pat attention and you might catch some stuff ^^. On with the chapter!!
(oh and seeing as I forgot this last time. I, sadly, do not own TOS. T_T there I said it. Consider that my disclaimer.)
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Ch. 2. Heat Wave
The sun beat mercilessly down on the baked earth; the sand absorbing its harsh rays and radiating the heat back up on any poor unfortunate soul that happened to be walking through the Triet Desert.
Luc licked her dry lips, her mouth feeling just about as dry as the surrounding sand. Another hot guest of desert wind kicked up a storm cloud of dust and sent it whirling about her, wedging sand into her eyes, hair, nose, mouth, ears, and any other crevice presented on her body or clothes.
With a curse Luc spat the sand from her mouth, but with little success since her mouth was almost to dry fro her to even spit. Any moisture that had been had already been greedily soaked up by the course sand that had managed to land in her mouth.
Unable to get the gritty particles from her mouth, Luc moved on to clearing her eyes of the painfully annoying particles. She reached up with an index finger a thumb and began to rub the corners of her eyes next to her nose since it was there that she felt most of the sand had decided to settle. After a few painful seconds, Luc was satisfied that she had gotten enough of the sand out that she should be able to see…at least as well as one could see in a place the glared about as bright as the sun itself.
At this rate, Luc felt she would be just as well off looking directly at the sun and walking. It was near impossible to see while walking looking ahead, and impossible see when walking while staring at the sun. So, in the long run watching where you were going and blinding yourself now had the same effect.
This feeling put aside, Luc raised an arm back up to shield her face from the hot rays and started once more to trudge through the sifting sands of this infernal wasteland of nothing but heat. The sand gave way easily beneath her platted leather boots, making walking a far more difficult task than it needed to be. In fact, walking had, ever since she entered the desert, begun to take more energy than she had ever remembered it taking before.
As she trudged along the ridge of the dune, the sand shifted enough that she lost her footing and toppled forward, her hands getting shoved wrist deep into the painfully hot sand. Thankfully the light gray wrappings that she had taken to wrapping around her hands protected the main bulk of her hands from the hot sand, but her poor fingers were not so lucky.
Luc pulled her hands lose and looked them over, shaking them so that any of the sand that had slipped inside the wrappings would fall out. Her fingers were a brighter pink than she remembered. She sighed as reached up ruffling her own hair, sending a small shower of sand into the hot breeze of the desert.
Pulling herself upright, Luc managed to pull her canteen free of her dark leather belt and uncorked it, taking a few precious gulps before forcing herself to recap it. As thirsty as she was, water was a commodity in the desert that was not easily restocked, and seeing as she was the only person and could only carry so much at a time, she had to be extremely careful to ration what water she had or she would run out far sooner than she needed to.
"Who the hell decided it was a good idea to put a god damn town in the middle of a place like this? Whoever it was, I'm gunna kill them. Then again, no one said I had to come out here", Luc chuckled to herself placing a hand over her face, "and that's one more against me. Once again it's my own damn fault for being in a place or situation that I am now beginning to hate…And…I am going freaking crazy. I'm talking to myself…a lot. Too much, so I'm just gunna stop now."
Canteen refastened on her belt, Luc struggled up from the unstable surface of the desert and took a good look around. It wasn't like there was anything for her to use as any landmark or anything, but she might as well try to get her bearing. She glanced back over her shoulder where her rapidly fading footsteps trailed off into the distance and gave a sigh.
She had no choice but to keep on wondering forward. Besides, as long as she hadn't wandered too far off course, she would be able to spot Triet as she got closer and readjust her path. Hopefully she would have enough water to reach that point and hopefully the heat didn't drive her insane before she reached the thriving desert town.
Luc's shoulders were beginning to sting and with a single touch from her fingertips she concluded that they were both starting to burn. Luc's light blue top ended just above her bellybutton and was sleeveless, leaving her arms, shoulders, and stomach exposed. Normally this wasn't a problem. Luc would only take on a light tan, remaining fairly pale because of her light complexion, but she wouldn't burn either. It was nice for the most part. She never had to worry about turning as dark as the belt she wore or turning as red as the tomato that obviously could not grow in this god forsaken place.
Although her shirt had no sleeves, her entire arm was not left completely exposed. Luc had taken to wearing long leather guards on bother her lower arms that each had a long plate running the length of the top of the guard. Though they were normally meant to help her defend herself in a fight, they were now acting as a guard against the sun and she was grateful knowing that her entire arm wouldn't be able to burn painfully.
Thankfully, Luc didn't have to worry about her legs in the least. Baggy, dark blue pants shielded her legs from the sun, as well as her leather boots that began just below her knees that were platted lightly to add a defense factor while in fights. In the past she had learned that the light level of plaiting also doubled as a way to increase the effectiveness of any kicks she decided to through at opponent.
Luc kept wandering forward until the sun went down at which point she had no choice but to stop, pull out her grey cloak, and hope that chill of the night air would bring some relief. She wished she could continue to travel into the night, or maybe just travel at night, but that was unwise for her. It was cooler at night, true, but there would be almost no way for her to spot Triet if she came across it at night.
At least there was a large chance she would miss Triet if she were to come across it at night. If she didn't pass close enough to the town there would be almost no way she would notice it in the dark. The town, she heard, left lit torches at the gates to town, but it was possible for her to approach at then pass the town at an angle which the torched would not be visible. So to play it safe, she did not travel at night so she could not possible miss the oasis.
The night had proven to be cold, and Luc's gray cloak and aged bedding proved to be of little help against the chill. She had wrapped her cloak around her clinging to it in hopes of conserving body heat, but it had felt like every last bit kept slipping away into the night air. Luc was positive that only her shivering and burnt skin kept her body heat at a level that existed.
It most certainly hadn't been the first night she had spent in the desert, and not the first night she had spent there on this particular journey, but it had to be the coldest. Luc now wanted to find Triet more than ever.
The sun had risen and the heat had followed it with a devoted urgency. Luc shook her canteen after taking a quick swig. "With the amount left in this bottle and what I have left stored in my pack I'd say…I have about enough to make it through tomorrow…maybe…honestly though…through tomorrow if I stretch it. But god, I'm cutting this closer than I would have liked to", Luc whispered to herself climbing to her feet.
As much as she didn't like it, she knew she wouldn't solve anything but sitting around fretting or complaining. This was a situation that required actions, not words or thoughts. In fact, sitting around thinking or talking could cost her dearly. As refreshed as she could be, Luc pushed on as soon as she had carefully repacked her bedding after shaking it out and stuffed her cloak in over top of it.
"God damn it!" Luc cried out kicking into the sand. She glared furiously around her. It all looked the same and it was getting to her. She had managed to travel out her alone before, but for some reason she just didn't recall it to be so frustrating.
Ok, so last time her compass didn't decide to crack and fill with sand sometime during the night after entering the desert, and her map had been more helpful because its better half, the compass, had worked. This time her compass was useless because of said crack and filling of sand, that didn't happen before, and her map was just as useless as the compass because what good was a map if you didn't know if you were even facing the right direction during the day. What was even better was that trying to get back to Ossa Trail had been out of the question since she didn't even know which way Ossa Trail was from her anymore.
Each night, Luc was able to get her directions down because of the stars, but really, if she had veered off course during the day, simply just facing the direction Triet was in when she entered the desert didn't mean she would find Triet. For all she knew walking "towards Triet" now was really sending her right by it, and she had no way of knowing for sure.
This whole situation pissed her off, and there was almost nothing she could do to fix it. She had come prepared but it was as if fate was telling her it didn't want her making it to Triet just yet. That or fate was telling her she was meant to die out here in the desert, but that was one way Luc was determined she would not leave this world by.
The sounds of sifting sand, as if by weight and not wind, caught hold of Luc's attention driving off her anger. Calmly, Luc began to scan her surroundings. Was it a monster? Bandits' maybe? Or was it just her mind playing tricks on her?
The questions were soon answered as she heard the painful shriek of some "mage" ending a spell. Out of instinct, Luc sprang out of the way, the heat of three or four small fire balls whizzing by her.
Great just what she needed, a fight…with bandits. Luc let out a disgruntled sigh knowing running from them was out of the question, and fighting them would be a draining experience. Seeing as she had no real choice, Luc drew out her dagger and sword prepared to fight every last one of the fools who attacked her.
# # # # # # #
"Hey, do you guys hear that?", Genis asked, his ear twitching as he picked up what he thought sounded like clashing metal.
Without even stopping to listen Lloyd instantly responded, "Hear what, Genis?" Genis simply shushed his friend listening intently to make sure he wasn't just hearing things. Kratos, Rain, and Collette had all stopped to see if they could hear what Genis had just picked up.
"I can hear something too, Genis", Raine, Genis's older sister and guardian, affirmed. Collette listened for a few more seconds before shimming in, "It sounds like swords or something. You don't think someone's in a fight somewhere near here, do you?"
Kratos nodded in response to the blonde Chosen's question. "By the sounds of it I'd say they aren't to far from us, whoever they are."
With Kratos's confirmation of there most likely being a fight near by Lloyd sprang forward hands ready to draw his two swords at a moments notice. "Come one, we have to help them", Lloyd cried bounding off in the direction of the sounds.
"Lloyd, slow down. We have to make sure we don't run right into the center of it. Even if it is someone who needs help, we won't be of any help to them if we run in there blind", Kratos called after the over-excited boy.
With Lloyd leaving the rest of the group little choice, they followed after their travel companion in red, catching up to him as he came to a sliding halt at the top of the next dune. As each person came even with Lloyd, the battle unrolled before there eyes.
Five or six bandits had all ganged up on a single woman who was armed with a dagger, which she held length wise, in her left hand and a saber in her right. She wore leather arm guards and boots that where lightly platted showing that she was some sort of a fighter, or a prepared traveler. She had light, almost white, short blond hair that was spiked up and to the back, the back cut longer than the rest but still light and feathery like the rest of her hair. White bangs angled over her right eye, and where cut short all along the left side of her face so that they really only could obscure her right eye.
The woman fought with a fast, precise battle style and was quick on her feet. She had obviously opted to focus on the one mage and one archer first, for they lay dead on the ground, the sand beneath them turning a crimson red.
Just as the group had come to watch the fight from there perch on the top of the dune, she ran her saber through another opponent, slashing out with her knife at their throat as soon as she was within reach. Pulling her blade from his torso, the bandit fell like a rag doll to the ground, red droplets scattering across the sand, a deep red spot beginning to form under his back as he let out a raspy watery hiss.
But there was still three more, and these three looked pissed as the five hells. On top of that, the woman was now clearly at more of a disadvantage. The bandits had now had time to watch her and gauge her. They had also had time to pull themselves together to create one unified front. There would be no more "one attacker at a time" nonsense, and they had no more long range people they would be trying to protect.
"Come on we have to help her", Lloyd called out waving his friends forward as he dashed from his spot pulling his dual swards as he went.
Kratos reached out after Lloyd, but this was just one of those few times Lloyd had the speed to beat Kratos's reflexes. "Lloyd wait", Kratos ordered, "We can't just go rushing in like that!"
Kratos's command came too late and Lloyd was unable to hear it because he was already in fight mode. Sabers drawn and ready Lloyd charged down the side of the dune, turning his run into a slide as neared the bottom. But in the time Lloyd took to get down the face of the dune, the woman had made quick work of two bandits that attacked her standing in a pattern that was far too convenient for her to pass up.
She had ducked in under one of their blows, slicing at the neck turning her sword to make an angled gash up and across the bandit's torso releasing his life's energy from his body. She had then redirected her dagger to catch the heavy blade of the second bandit that had been within feet of the first, choosing to run this one through with her sword before he had time to figure out what had stopped him cold in his attack. As quickly as he had been stopped he fell to his knees crumpling into a dying mass of flesh n the desert floor.
Now she was able to turn her attention to the last of the bandits. She threw up her sword halting the attack being swung at her torso, lashing out with a quick swipe of her dagger in an attempt to slash the bandit's hand.
Lloyd lid in just off behind the woman and to her left his swords help in a parallel paten. As soon as the ground was more level, Lloyd dashed forward pulling his right blade back ready to land a mighty uppercut on the bandit about to attack the women.
Without warning the bandit crumpled, falling over to his side with and agonizing cry, the sand seeped with blood within seconds of him landing on it. Before Lloyd could halt his charge the woman turned on her heel already launching a counter attack against an enemy she thought was moving in.
There was no way for Lloyd to possibly switch to counter the woman since he wasn't even in the mind set that she would even attack him. To make matters worse, Lloyd's forward momentum couldn't be stopped making it impossible for him to change directions. The sand just didn't allow enough traction for the young swordsmen to apply his reflexes and fighting style. There was no time for Lloyd to counter or to dodge. He was going to get struck hard, with deadly accuracy and precision.
A metallic echo resonated off of the woman's saber as Kratos gracefully redirected her strong blow aimed at Lloyd. Out of adrenaline and uncertainty, the woman lashed out with her deadly dagger. Expecting the strikes to continue, Kratos shoved Lloyd backwards as he raced to get out of reach, the dagger streaking by his sword arm.
A few more quick consecutive strikes followed which Kratos deemed best to just simply get out of the way, blocking with his shield or throwing up his blade only as a last resort to avoid being wounded. The woman came to a hasty halt, her shoulders and chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought to steady her breath. Though her assaults ended, the woman did not drop her guard. She remained ever on the defensive prepared to counter at any second with her knees bent, sword pointed up to about shoulder level, and dagger held low and ready to her side.
"Just hold on a second", Kratos sighed relaxing his posture to make his stance less offensive, "I think you'll find there has been somewhat of a misunderstanding. I have no intention in fighting you unless you choose to engage me, and I assure you I have no intention of harming you in anyway. If you would be so kind as to lower your weapons, I will go on."
The woman looked Kratos over thoroughly, trying to read ever aspect of his expression and stance. Once she was satisfied, she pulled her forward leg, which was her left back, to obtain a more natural and relaxed stance, lowering her sword and dagger without relaxing her grip one bit. Though the blades were lowered, they were still posed to retaliate, held firm and angled so that they could be raised in an instant.
Kratos and the woman stood, eyes locked, gauging one another for a few moments before Kratos finally sheathed his weapon standing up strait, muscled arms crossed casually over his chest. The woman relaxed her shoulders the rest of the way allowing her blades to hang more at her sides now, her grip still tight just in case.
"We were passing by and heard the fighting, and decided it would be best to check the situation out in case someone needed help. One of the members of our group is a little quick to act", Kratos began shooting an irritated glare at the boy garbed in red who now sat half sprawled in the sand, "and rushed in before we had the chance to fully asses the situation. As I feared, you mistook him for another enemy coming up from behind, and I only jumped in so that he wouldn't pay the ultimate price for not fully assessing the situation first."
Without further explanation the woman smirked sheathing bother her dagger and sword, placing a hand on her hip as she leaned more over her right leg so that she held a more s like stance. "So your not bandits? That's good news", the blond woman half laughed, "But uh, kid. You should really be more careful. Even noble intentions can be misread in the right situation. This was one of those times, and it near bout cost you….dearly. So I hope you take something away from this experience."
Kratos gave a sigh of relief that the tension had finally been resolved and shot Lloyd another irritated look out of the corner of his eye muttering, "the sooner he learns to think before he acts the better."
Lloyd gave an exasperated sigh as he stood, shoving his swords back into their sheaths before dusting himself off. "L…Lloyd, are you ok? That was almost really bad", Genis called as he came sliding down the side of the dune, almost slamming into Lloyd.
"Lloyd", came Collette's concerned voice as she trotted down the slope to stand next to her childhood friends.
Lloyd nodded still dusting off all the sand that he had accumulated when he had fallen to the ground. Collette placed a small hand on his shoulder as she looked him over for any sign of injury. "I'm fine Collette, really", Lloyd laughed ruffling the gentle blonde's hair, "I promise. I'm not injured. Not even a scratch."
Lloyd's goofy grin disappeared instantly as Professor Sage slowly slid down the last length of the dune angrily stating, "That was very careless Lloyd. You're lucky Kratos was able to reach you in time. You do realize you could have been killed if he hadn't, right? I mean what were you thinking, rushing in like that? Think Lloyd, think! She was focused on fighting her attackers and you came flying in from behind."
Lloyd grimaced knowing that Raine's exasperation at his lack of thought would lead to many more lectures on this topic, and everything she had to say now was only the tip of the iceberg.
As the members of the group all focused on Lloyd, the woman smirked to herself as she took in this absolute display of affection and concern. The young boy, the blond girl his age, the older woman that appeared to be related to the shortest of the group all kept fussing over him in their own way as the boy in red, whom she had gathered to be named Lloyd, shot back quick comments and reassurances.
The only one that didn't seem to be on a personal level with the spirited youth was the one clad in almost all purple. The man seemed more distant and his annoyance based more on the fact that it made him act when the situation could have been avoided entirely. Looking the man up and down one more time, she determined that he was a mercenary.
The man glanced back over at the woman with a look of…curiosity mixed with suspicion. 'Yup, he's a mercenary all right. He has definitely got the "crisis averted now on to information gathering" thing going on.'
Kratos looked back at the rest of the group before deciding it was time to get some answers. Eyes narrowed slightly Kratos began by questioning, "Just who are you anyway? And what exactly are you doing all the way out here by yourself? And don't bother telling me your companions are just off over the next dune or something because I saw no signs that anyone else was even near you before those bandits attacked you, and groups don't split up in the dessert."
The woman sighed knowing now for certain that this man in purple was going to be more than thorough with his investigation, but she didn't blame him. After all, it was definitely an oddity to find a single person roaming around the desert like he was. So, before her lack of answers irritated the king of purple clothes she began with an amused sigh, "My name is Luc Kaiden, and I'm a mercenary. I'm not going to waste my breath trying to tell you I am not traveling alone, because I am. As for why I'm wandering around the middle of the desert on my own, I tell you this: I'm a mercenary who needs money and what better way to make money than to take a few jobs. Rumor has it that there are some jobs available out in Triet, so I decided it was worth a shot to come all the way out here and check things out."
Kratos eyed the amused "mercenary" wearily. Before the brunette could continue his questioning Raine began her own inquiries. "Where exactly are you coming from? Where meaning the point from which you entered the desert of course", Raine asked inquisitively rubbing her chin as she thought to herself.
"I entered the Triet Desert from the North-East you could say, you know, from Ossa Trail", Luc began nonchalantly until Kratos and Raine exchanged a quick look of uncertainty, "But…after seeing that look I think I should add that my compass broke part way into the desert, leaving my map useless and me lost by the end of the first day without it. Unfortunately, I was unable to turn back at that point because it happened during the night. The sun had risen by the time I realized I no longer knew which way was which and, no surprise here but, no trail remained to show me which way I had come from. So…could one of you possibly point me in the direction of Triet?"
Raine raised a slim eyebrow as the mercenary Luc explained her situation. A quick glance at Kratos revealed that he bought the woman's story, and if Kratos believed the woman, then Raine decided she would to. After all, the pale blonde's story seemed more than plausible. The way she had fought against the bandits, and the level of gear hat she wore, openly supported the claim that she was a mercenary. Delicate shades of pink over her shoulders and across the bridge of her nose along with the overly dusty appearance and subdued tones of her clothes supported the claim, somewhat unspoken, that she had been wandering about in the desert. But just to be safe, and incase gut feelings about the woman were off, Raine thought it best to at least ask to see said broken compass.
Without hesitation Luc swung her pack around in front of her, letting it hang off her left shoulder, and produced her compass, holding it out so Raine could get a good look at the broken piece of equipment. Raine reached out to take the compass for better observation pausing long enough to ask, "May I?"
Luc gave a quick nod as a go ahead for Raine to handle the compass, and the Elvin professor scooped up the tool turning it carefully between her fingers. 'Man, this lady is thorough. Maybe even more thorough than that guy in purple…Why the hell is he wearing that much…bah, it doesn't matter. Anyway, I just hope they will at least just tell me what direction Triet is in cause…I really am running too low on water', Luc sighed while thinking, stretching her back and arms.
After turning the compass over one more time, Raine passed it back to the mercenary with a curt nod. "It might definitely be worth your while to invest in a new one. At least, I think it would be easier to simply replace it as opposed to seeking out and finding an individual who would actually be able to fix it. That aside, just how long have you been wandering out here anyway? You certainly look like you could use some good rest and shelter", Raine commented looking Luc up and down before placing her hand on her forehead and shaking her head, continuing, "I'm sorry. I suppose a more appropriate question is do you need water?"
At the mention of such a precious liquid, Luc became conscious once again of just how dry her mouth felt and she ran her dry tongue over her cracked lips. The staff wielder through asking such a question was leading up to making a rather generous offer, and Luc, though she desired to be able to polish of her current canteen full of water without fear of running completely out of the valuable substance, felt as if she couldn't possibly accept such a generous offer. With a weak shake of the head, Luc cut the mage off by answering, "No, it's all right. I have enough water to get me a day or so. So, as long as Triet is within a day's travel I should be fine."
Genis had been listening intently from the shade provided by his taller friend in red, and he had concluded that, based on Luc's stance, complexion, and response to the mention of water, piped up stating, "You don't seem like you're fine on water. You're response to the very mention of water reveals that you are worried about the remaining quantity you have. Though, it might also be indicating that you have been stretching your water supply. The second possibility would mean that you haven't been getting all the water you need and by continuing to short change yourself, you would be able to avoid running out of water until tomorrow."
Luc blinked wearily at the shortest member of the group. That was a far more astute assumption, and conclusion, than she had ever thought a child his age would ever be able to make. But here this boy wonder was, taking that idea and smashing it on the very rocks of reality. The momentary shock over the young Elf's accuracy gave left Luc vulnerable enough that Kratos and Raine were both able to more accurately asses the mercenaries condition, not to mention allowed them to read her like an open book.
Once Raine made her findings clear, by speaking them aloud, Collette quickly chimed into the conversation insisting that the group had water enough to spare, assuring Luc it would be no problem for them to provide her with some. Luc, despite the reassurances of the white clad blonde girl, continued to decline the offer trying to convince that she really didn't need any water.
Lloyd eventually pulled out his own canteen saying he had just topped it off not all that long ago, and that it would be perfectly all right by him if Luc helped herself to some of the precious liquid.
After a few minutes of almost every member of the Chosen's group insisting Luc take some water, Kratos pulled his own canteen off his belt walked over to the slowly swaying Luc, and shoved the canteen into her near flat chest. Luc weakly shoved the canteen back towards Kratos, but the man was bale to easily redirect the canteen back into her chest. Before finishing her protest, Luc swayed, the exhaustion from the fight and the lack of an adequate amount of water in her system finally catching up to her, eventually falling forward as a wave of dizziness swept over her, skewing her vision and turning the world at odd angles and slopes.
Kratos caught the falling woman and helped her to sit, shaking his head muttering to her, "Driving yourself to this point hardly shows you to be a good mercenary you know."
Luc let out a hiss and started to give the man a piece of her mind but she was over ridden by Raine. Kneeling next to Luc and Kratos, Raine looked the woman over. "We're actually heading back to Triet ourselves, and we have more than enough water for our entire group plus you. So you can just travel back with us. However, as a healer I must ask that you start drinking more water from know on. I understand that you were technically lost in the desert and needed to make what little water you had last, but as I said we have more than enough to spare. So you don't need to worry about running out now", Raine explained, suddenly raising an eyebrow before adding, "And by the way. Failure to follow my instructions to adequately rehydrate yourself will result with me finding a more creative way to rehydrate you. I will simply not allow stubbornness or pride to be the reason, or the means, by which you neglect yourself. As a healer, I simply can not condone such things."
Raine stood with a smile and turned to start marching the group back up the dune. Before Luc could even attempt to negotiate, refuse, or accept, for that matter, the offer slash request slash demand, Kratos had helped her to her feet and up onto the back of a large green and white…dog…that Lloyd had called over, which had been, now that Luc thought about it, been whining and whimpering from behind the three non-adults of the group.
Travel by dog-back was far easier on Luc, and she was soon feeling well enough to walk, but Raine would not hear of it. The crazed healer insisted the Luc stay riding the large pooch, which Lloyd informed Luc went by the name of Noishe. Irritated at being treated as if she was in a delicate state on the verge of breaking, Luc scratched the large dog behind the ears. As annoyed as she was, however, Luc had to admit that it was nice being able to not walk in the shifting sands as well as to travel while practically lying down.
Luc had taken to leaning forward on Noishe's back, letting her head and chest rest along the shoulders and neck of Noishe. His long white and green fur was soft, and surprisingly the over sized dog actually smelt quite nice. The dog's scent reminded Luc of a forest, fresh in bloom in the spring time, and any scent like that was welcomed when the only thing one had smelt for the past few days had been dry aired desert wind, sand, and sweat.
Although she enjoyed the easy travel, and technically the lift the do was providing, Luc still felt irritated about not walking. It wasn't right for her to be riding astride a giant canine while there were others that clearly should have been the candidate to ride the beast. Luc was a mercenary and thus was conditioned and used to hard travel. Meanwhile, Collette, Lloyd, Genis, and even the crazed healer Raine, all seemed like they would be a in far more need of assistance traveling such great distances, but here Luc was anyway, being the one to ride through the desert.
With a sigh Luc vowed that she would convince the crazy healer to walk by the end of the hour or she was going to die trying to get off this dog.
Hours past, and the sun began to fall lower in the sky, though the heat failed to drop with it. Sweat trickled down each person's brow like it had been all day, except for now the sweat was sliding over an already wet surface only creating a larger shine across each individuals skin. Luc had successfully persuading Raine to allow her to walk, but it had taken downing a whole canteen of water over the course of an hour or two to prove to the healer that she was drinking plenty of water now.
By the next day, Luc had recovered almost one-hundred percent. Over the course of a quick morning meal, which the group insisted Luc share with them instead of digging into her own rations, Luc was able to wrestle there approximate location out of Raine.
According to the nutty professor (sorry, I just couldn't help myself XD) they were just to the north-east of Triet. Raine pulled out a highly detailed map pointing to their general position. Luc studied the map for a few moments and concluded that if she had continued on her original course, she would have passed just north of Triet, by a margin of only a few miles, and most likely would have ended up aimlessly wandering the desert until she died of one of many causes.
Thinking optimistically, if Luc had not been found by the group and she had been extremely lucky, she might have eventually wandered into the outskirts of the desert where one could more easily find water. Being a fairly realistic and grounded individual, though, Luc knew that the odds of her actually having made it to the outskirts without dying of thirst first was extremely slim.
With the severity of the situation Luc had just been in les than twenty-four hours ago now put into painfully clear prospective, Luc released a shaky sigh as she sat staring intently at her clenched fist. She knew that she really did owe these people her life, and she knew that if there was anyone who ever deserved her gratitude, it was these people.
Fingers involuntarily beginning to twitch from an odd feeling pushing at the back of her mind, Luc opted to discreetly survey her surroundings as well as the individual she now traveled with. She scanned carefully, searching for the source of the "you are being watched" feeling. The source, Luc promptly discovered, was a pair of deep reddish brown eyes that belonged to the dark red haired mercenary, Kratos.
As Luc had been carefully searching for the source of the feeling, she had un-expectantly made eye contact with the man. Instantly their eyes locked, each mercenary focused directly on the others eyes. The two mercenaries' maintained eye contact for only a brief moment before they both began to feel a heavy awkwardness set in, causing them both to look away simultaneously.
Flustered, Luc was unable to make full assessment of the man's originally hardened expression and deemed it best to forget the short moment all together. She suddenly became aware of a wave of heat that had been slowly creeping across her face and up the back of her neck since the moment she made the un-expected eye contact.
It an attempt to forget the sensation, Luc climbed to her feet brushing of the sand still clinging to her and strode over to her pack. Since she was avoiding looking at the other mercenary, she didn't notice the way Kratos was still gazing blankly at the exphere on the back of his right hand.
Kratos had become distant, as if he was in another world. He slowly traced the exphere with the tips of his fingers. A strange feeling had swept over him that he just couldn't shake, and for some reason he felt an odd connection to gem on the back of his hand.
It was strange; the female mercenary seemed so familiar, but he was unable to place her name or her face. Kratos quickly began sifting through hundreds of years of memories even though he knew that even if the woman was an elf, he shouldn't have to go through many of his older memories. But then again…perhaps the woman reminded him of someone. Maybe she resembled a person who he had met long ago, or maybe he had encountered someone like her.
Kratos shook his head finally finding the strength to look away from the gem and ran a hand through his hair, pulling his long bangs out of his face momentarily. He was being sentimental, subconsciously looking for a reason to look back through his hundreds of years of memories, or at least that was what Kratos forced himself to conclude. 'She's a young, skilled mercenary, much like I was many years ago. So, she reminded me of myself in someway and that brings me back to my past', Kratos reassured himself before standing to finish breaking down the small camp the group had set up for the night.
Although Kratos had made a final conclusion about the strange feeling, he still felt a strange tug on his heart and at the back of his mind. He only hoped that he could shake it. After all, a mercenary didn't need to be distracted, and especially not a mercenary who was traveling as a part of the Chosen of Mana's group while they were so close to a Desian base.
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A/N: And that concludes chapter 2. Chapter three is already under way and I will hopefully have that finished and posted in the next week or so (hopefully sooner ^^). Please review. Tell me what you liked, didn't like, things you think I should work on, etc. But please, just don't mindlessly flame. Constructive criticism: good. But flaming is not constructive, so therefor it doesn't help me. Anyway, thanks for reading and check in for chapter three if you liked.