Whiteshade of Blackness

by E-mu saru

a prussian eyed beast saved by a violet eyed lady, the OnePast began to unroll with their Present lives. NOT a ‘Beauty n the Beast’ story..! ...did the world's Sphere get narrower when they opened their eyes to Life?

17. false wind

Deia knocked on the door, at the sound of Ruéa's answer to plea

whiteshade of blackness revised-may'08

Credit : Modified Tam for beta-ing (saru had lots of jobs lately -they just added more and more-, sorry for LATE upload..reread it again n changed 2-3 words; some sentences saru' mind couldn't process…may be saru' English is rotten)

17 false wind

shine bright, Morninglight

now in the air the spring is coming

sweet blowing wind singing down the hills and valleys

keep your eyes on me, now we're on the edge of hell

Dear my love, sweet Morninglight

wait for me, you've gone much farther too far

(Fake Wing, Kajiura Yuki)

Deia knocked on the door, at the sound of Ruéa's answer to please her in she let herself into the chamber quietly.

"...how is he..?" Deia asked silently to the maid sitting on the chair at the other side of the big canopy bed.

"He's sleeping soundly..!" the motherly maid smiled to her, put the knitting in her hands on the shelf next to her, and poured some warm beverage for the girl.

"He's smiling...!" Deia said tinged with sad wonderment. "You think he's having a wonderful dream...?"

"He might be dreaming of you and Lady Lyea..!" the maid smiled. Deia understood she was just trying to cheer her up. "...Mother..?" she played along.

"Yes, perhaps together with the late Lady along...!" Ruéa chuckled warmly. Deia's smile froze a little on her face, still staring at the unconscious man on his bed that to the world seemed like he was only sleeping.

'...the Deia in his dream wouldn't be me, then...!', but his real baby girl, the one that was dead instead of her.

"...I miss your childish antics, Father. You made How-ward get a lot more older this past year, since he couldn't play along with your frolics...!" Deia chuckled a little, playing with The Lord's limp hand in her smaller ones.

It happened a year and few months back, the healthy and silly Lord out of nowhere just lost his consciousness. He was sleeping one night and didn't wake up again the next morning. Rumors said it was a Spell's doing, others said it was the OWL's scheme, someother said that the Land took him home... What's home..?! Shouldn't this plane be their home..?!

If it's a Spell, shouldn't the Lord be able to fend himself with his Veiled...? Or was it a stronger Spell than his Veiled, but that means there's an attacker-Spell user that was powerful enough to get to him? His Veiled was the strongest Veiled-Spell in the Land...unless he had to fend from several attackers...-

But who could penetrate the Castile's barrier...?

...that was, unless the Air let them in... Did it..? Did the Air betray them...?

Not ! ..right ? If the Air turned from their side then they wouldn't survive ! The Land wouldn't survive...!!

Odin had been spending a lot more time in the battle posts outside, since then. He was seldomly back in the Castile, and when they met he never looked them in the eyes anymore. He must have felt devastated to not to able to do anything the second time their father was in this kind of condition in his life. He had sacrificed his Spirit-friend's life to save him when they were teenagers, now that he had nomore to sacrifice, he could do nothing more... Part of his stubborn self must had blamed it to himself, knowing that he'd given the other half of the water-tree's heart to Deia, while, from the beginning he was saving it for the Lord, in case the condition was to reoccur. Deia had meant to offer him the halve water-tree's heart in her possession, but the look in Odin's eyes like he wanted to kill her instead had stopped her speech halfway. Lyea could have said it bluntly when she delivered the casket, 'don't make fun of Odin's feelings about this gift...or he will kill you!', but she didn't.

Deia sighed, slow and deeply, once. Rested her head on the man's chest, listening to the slow rythm of his silently beating heart. "...I hope you're with us, Father. I've got so many things to talk about..., I bet Lyea will rain you with matters and matters and matters when you wake up..!" she snickered softly. "Then you'll make another episode in the Castile by running away from those matters and How-ward and Old-din and The Council will have to chase you down in your hide-and-seek party. I bet a lot of people would play along, whether they think of it as a game or not...and don't worry, I'll let you hide in my hiding place...!" she grinned for a second, but it disappeared soon after.

"Just wake up and grace us with your grin..!! We've been a little lost since you fell asleep...!" she pleaded silently. The unspoken suspicion wafted in the Air, thick like a cloud, that it was a kind of punishment from the Land, because he opened up the secluded Land, to some extent, by making The Charms as aids for other lands. It had never been done by the former Lords, they and everyone knew the unwritten law naturally, like breathing the Air itself, so noone had dared to round it, more over to break it.

Ruéa didn't intrude her, she only opened the window to let the morning breeze in, tied the heavy drapes aside letting the transparent lace curtains to flow gently, and sat back to her knitting. The smell of Fragmenterussä, Lilia-of-nightshade-circles and Murky-augury were the most significant smells in the air from the garden outside, now that it was early spring, the sounds of Cotton-winds were heard like wind-chime's music.

Deia stilled for a long moment, letting the lonely feeling get to her for some time. When she felt she could be her usual self again, she straightened up in her seat. Took the cup of beverage Ruéa put on the small table at her side, the sweet liquid had already cooled down, but it tasted as great as ever. Ruéa knew her favorite brew, and Deia could distinctively taste the Frŭssanschiä in the drink.

"... Elderberries-of-the-sixth-crowned-cubes..!" she said in a nice wonderment. "At this kind of weather...?!". The rare plants only fruited once in several years in a warm weather, but the climate had turned fairly cold the last years.

Ruéa smiled warmly. "I took them from Howard's secret garden...!" she whispered conspiratorially.

"What...?" Deia asked wide-eyed. Ruéa chuckled, "No, Milady, they're from my own apothecary-garden !". Deia blinked. "Your favorite, isn't it ? Want to take some for Yuy..?"

Deia bounched her head with a nice flush on her face, "Yes, please..!". Her shy smile brought a warm laughter from the maid. "I already picked the black ones for you.." Ruéa said revealing a small wicker basket from the lower compartment of the cabinet next to the bed. She walked to Deia's side and handed the basket to her. "Thankyou...!" Deia said while accepting it with both hands like a treasure.

Ruéa snorted. "Stop that act..! You're NOT shy to begin with !"

Deia's laugh rang out. "You know me, Ruéa. Thanx..!" she said kissing the maid on her cheek, then fled after giving a peck on her father's forehead.

--

Lyea caught her on her way back to her chamber where she knew her Beast must had been waiting for her. To her grating-nerves, Lyea had to make a little episode of hell for her by briefing her about the human politicians and their countries and all that came along with nationalities and wars. They finished their 'sweettalk'-lesson only after around noon, thanks to Deia's severe pout or else Lyea wouldn't have stopped until late afternoon.

The downpayment she had to pay for a vacation with her Beast outside, or the curse for ever thinking about it that way. Either way, premonitorily she knew it would be the only chance for them to ever get out of the Land. Whether it was a good premonition or a bad one. Must be something to do with the Relic-prayer's song outside her window this daybreak. Or just her paranoia getting to her...

Yuy was sitting on the floor of her chamber, resting his back to the glass door with the soft curtain caressing him every now and then.

"Why are you sitting on the floor...?!" Deia asked while shutting the door. The Beast shrugged a little, his expression didn't change. "You didn't touch the meal !" she added seeing the food tray that still looked untouched. "Were you waiting for me...-?"

"I'm not hungry..." the Beast whispered silently.

"Because of what happened yesterday ? What was 'Thrice' debriefing you about...?!" she joined the Beast at his side.

"Nothing..."

"Can't be nothing...-!"

"He didn't ask anything...!"

"Then what were you two doing the whole night...?" Deia frowned, rather curiously instead of upset. He flicked his head for safe answer. "...What was the Temple like ?"

At that question Yuy turned his head to his Human. "No commoners are ever let inside..! Commoners as in common living beings inhabitting the Land which loosely translated as everyone with a big 'E'..! That makes you not a commoner anymore !"

He blinked. Then, facing forward again, "Just... a chamber..."

"Just a chamber, right...! Tell me something more specific, come on..!" Deia said while her hand, on autopilot, brought the elderberry to the Beast's mouth. He sniffed the transparent black fruit once and gave a tentative lick without looking at it. He sideglanced his Human's inquiring face while taking the fruit with his mouth. His tongue felt the peculiar shape of the berry, it was flat on three sides and quite ripely rounded on the rest part.

"Strange... and uncommon..." he whispered as if to himself after chewing a few times.

"That's elderberry, one of my favorite fruits..!" she said flatly, knowing what he was talking about. He blinked, the sidetracking from the topic seemed not to work nowadays. Must be their joined-minds now grown from his mind-leak. "See ? That's one of the six-crowns berry. This one's the six-crowned-cube..!" Deia dangled the relatively larger fruit from the first one, it shaped quite oddly rather like a small column of hexahedral shape. So the fruit cluster must be a set of heptameral berries with one clamped in the middle of six other berries, that what made their shapes as they grew to ripe. "The black ones are very rare, common elderberries are translucent whites or clear coloured..! They taste different, too !" Deia added. The Beast took the cube-berry in his mouth, a little frowning at its more peculiar taste. "...poisonous..-"

"Everything's poisonous in this land...!" she said it fast with a big smile. Seeing the interest shining in Human's excessive eyes, -maybe the sidetracking worked too well, after all-…now he didn't want to ruin his Human's mood.

He smirked at that. "What...?!" Deia asked with a disturbed frown. He flicked his head and stared forward again. Seeing that he was a little preoccupied, she asked, "What're you thinking about..?"

"False wind.." he answered without hesitation. "False what...?" Deia put an elderberry into her own mouth, while giving one to the Beast's mouth with her other hand. "...nothing.."

"Can't be nothing-...!"

"You've said that before...!" he smirked to his Human's small pout. Deia snorted. "It's about going to Viricidia..-" he didn't have the chance to finish.

Deia screamed upsetly, fake hysterical screams. He blinked. "Who told you that...?! Howard ?!" Although it's a question but he could see the answer in his Human's eyes. He blinked again. "That's supposed to be a surprise vacatio-...!!" she clamped her mouth tightly when the word was spoken out, turning her face from his. The usual fake-innocent smile masked her face automatically.

He blinked once more. He knew his Human would have the tendency to see the trip that way.

They silenced for a moment. "You're going, right ?" she stared him in the eyes, it has almost sounded like she was pleading. He didn't answer. "You don't want to...?" She thought to herself, too, that it would be too cruel to let her Beast see the sky he wouldn't be allowed to see again, once they're back in this Land.

"I'll be with you wherever you go..."

"That's not the answer to my question..!"

He looked down, then slowly rested his head on his Human's lap, Deia lifted the wicker basket and put it on the floor. He didn't say anything, his gestures showed her that he was tired, even though he was unconsciously hiding it. '...you don't want to come back here..' she said in her heart. A small grunt answered her.

'...would you like us to elope together...?' she tried slowly.

No answer.

Deia almost wanted to ask him to say yes, knowing she would jump to it without so much as a fraction thought of others if it was for him. Just an excuse to justify herself, her heart whispered to her mind. But even if it was not her, if it was not her Beast to mind, if they were winged creatures like the Relic-prayers, would they be able to come back here, to this cage, after knowing a real sky out there...?

'...how more cruel could you become, Mother....'

A cold biting clutched her heart like a dark claw, she squized her lips tight. A soft mewling sigh came from the half asleep Beast on her lap told her that he felt it too. Deia stroked the soft unruly hair gently, willing the dark claw to sink back to the dark space deep inside her, so it wouldn't hurt her Beast unconsciously. Crooning the Relic-prayer's song she heard that daybreak, knowing it was a song of a restless soul calling for atonement even though she didn't understand the language.

Staring at his half furled fetal pose, with both hands loosely-curled unconsciously near his slightly open mouth, another kind of pain slashed her heart. Realizing that she'd been subjecting him to make a decision to hurt others for her benefit, even knowing that he was too kind hearted, but would still do as she bid, despite his heartache of wrongdoing. How low could you degrade your loved-one...? Her heart asked her..

--

"-This is the gift for Virion's lord, you remember what to call him, right..? This is for the trip and these ones for the ball...-" Lyea said on and on repeating the list for the umpteenth time.

Deia was sitting with her body doubled on the table, her hands covering her ears. "...For Stratus' sakes, Lyea..!! I GOT those already...!!". Lyea stared at her rather unconvincedly, though she clamped her mouth shut.

She was gone from her study to her bedroom, and appeared beside Deia with a neatly wrapped bundle complete with a ribbon with her insignia as a seal. Deia blinked, time for the saved-treasury to come out..?

At Deia's incredulously inquiring look Lyea spoke silently. "This is not mine...!"

Like, 'this was Mother's', then...!'. Deia rolled her mind's eyes.

"Yuy wanted me to give this to you when the time comes...". Hearing that Deia snapped her body straight. When seal opened and the bundle unwrapped, covered in a black cloth of shroud-Spell –at which Deia stared with surprise- was a folded cloth of... She widened her eyes in resentment. Brushed it with one hand rather swippingly then fled the room. Lyea didn't even bothered to call out to her, knowing where she'd be going to.

"YUY...!!". Her angry shout was heard from a distance, but as the livid tone could be distinguished easily the soldiers at the Stone-field abruptly ceased their weapon training. All heads automatically turned to the direction the shout came from, except one brown head that happened to be presenting his back to that direction.

Deia walked in rigid strides, not minding her long dress sweeping the damp fine-grass and grounds. Most heads gave her a nod of salutation, while others must have had frozen in curiosity or bewilderment. The crowd gave a path to her and she rounded the teen-beast to stop in front of him.

"What is this...?!" she took Yuy's hand opened palm and slapped her hand on it. Leaving their hands like in a frozen shaking-hand pose. Yuy stared down with a tiniest turn of head to their joined hands, feeling a distinct trace of his own blood on her hand that only he himself could perceive. He flicked his indifferent eyes to Deia's stormy eyes then back to their hands. How he wished his daily-space could be quiet and undemanding...

That flicker of thought brought Deia's anger to a higher level. She gripped his hand tightly and tugged it forward to her. Yuy let the force jerk his body a little, still refusing to answer. Mostly, because he didn't feel comfortable in the presence of so many eyes watching their affair; in whichever meaning the word 'affair' they thought of it, he was aware that some of the inlanders thought of them –rather dreamily- like a classic slave-princess lovestory. He gave his Human a small bow from the waist, waiting for his Human to let go of his hand, patiently, submissively. His passive gesture made her concede after a long moment, and she tossed his hand aside and kept her straight rigid hands at either of her sides. Watching intently like an angry hawk at the Beast who turned his back to her and walked away, back to his training new recruits, -the rather gawking new recruits.

"I won't be taking someone suicidal to escort me to Virion's capital...!!" she said flatly and he only managed to take a few steps away from her. Snapped his upper body to turn at her, a small frown between his brows, ..suicidal ? Is that what his Human thought of him...?

Deia saw his illegible sign of denial flickered in his prussian eyes and challenged his answer out by lifting her chin a little. Yuy blinked, the black-covering on his halfface slithered away obediently to her stubborn wish, leaving his thinned lips uncovered. He searched his Human's eyes for a while, opened his lips slowly, noting a flicker of triumph shining in her eyes, then to everybody's surprise, he hissed showing his neatline of needle-sharp teeth that most people almost forgot he had them or never saw them until now.

Everyone blinked at that.

Deia stared him with renewed angry-stare, her lips thinned refusing her surfacing pout. Yuy thinned his lips again, matching her half-downcasted face with a fierce angry stare directed at him. Now, that looked like a child-fight, instead. Or maybe a cat-fight…

"I'm not talking to you until you give me your answer..!!" Deia said her ultimatum. Yuy stared her for somemore time, then gave her a slow salutation nod and turned back to his walking direction. That was most likely he was the one not talking to her. Almost everyone sweatdropped.

Deia turned her body sharply, and left rigidly with a severe pout.

Lyea stared them from one of the dome-tower windows, the wide round-floored chamber at the upper part of the dome, you could classify it as an attic in common houses, it was where Deia usually spent her training sessions with mostly Yuy in private. "...If you could not sweet-talk your Beast, then how could you sweet-talk some human-vultures, Dearest...?" she stroked the telescope in her hands unconsciously. It was said in a tired tone, although the almost-smirk smile on her lips betrayed that.

--

"... I know it's not my bussiness...," Circa tried at last after staring at him for almost a full fifteen minutes. "...aand...you can just shut me up if you mind it, but I'm too curious not to ask..." he waited the teen-beast to give any kind of protest sign. Just a calm face (if you rather not classify it as a closed indifferent expression), with eyes closed and stilled body. The winds from the open window at his side gave a little life to his stone-statued figure.

"...what was the Young Lady asking you about...?" Circa continued. Waiting patiently for his answer in any form, even in an ignorance form.

After a few minutes of nothing, a small whisper was heard. "...I gave Human a present. It's what you always reffered to as girl-things..." the last sounded almost like a question. Circa arched his brow, "You gave her a wrong kind of present, or what...?"

"It's a piece of cloth Human could use for a dress...!" the teen-beast still didn't open his eyes.

"Then, what's making the Young Lady so upset..?" Circa could distinguish his smallest sigh answering that question. "...apparently Human doesn't approve. And I thought I've waited for the right time so Human could use it for good...!"

"Doesn't approve of what..? A piece of cloth?" Circa asked with a frown. What was so wrong with such thing ? He didn't think that his beast-roommate had a hideous taste to give her a hideously patterned cloth, or something like that…

"..." Yuy parted his lips like he was going to try something, a small part of his mind could perceive what his older roommate thought and felt a little lightened. Clamped them again tightly. After some time passed, a silent whisper said, "...I dyed it with my blood..."

Circa bursted the chewed bread up and the crumbs rained back on his face lied on the pillow, he distractedly sought the cup on his drawer while the other one of his hand patted his chest with elbow propped his coughing figure. After he gulped down all the content in the cup, he asked hoarsely. "...you what..?!"

Yuy half opened his eyes, a little pout now surfaced his lips. "...Human is my Human.., and I want to make clear of that..!!" –specifically to those human-politians !

Circa gaped at that admission, then a choked cough/laugh started from his throat, and gradually developed into a hysterical chortle. He threw the rest piece of the bread at him, and the empty cup, followed with his pillow; of which the teen-beast dodged easily with a minimum movement.

"...You...-!!" –laugh- "...you one possessive-beast...!" Circa couldn't say the rest of his remark because he was still laughing outbreathedly despite that his face had started to turn a green-shade of colour from oxygent lack.

A knock on the door, and Fern entered the room. Circa stopped his laugh almost immediately, wiping the tears from his eyes, catching his breath a little. The three of them stared each other for sometime, Fern sighed and plopped down on his own bed, aware of his roommates' eyes on him.

"How's Rhenaia and his brother doing...?" Circa asked softly.

"Although I wouldn't say that they're fine..." Fern answered while taking off his boots without looking at them, "...but she could accept what had happened to some extent, Saffie's still asleep afterward..". His body hit the mattress backward, staring at the ceiling. "She told me to give you her apology, Yuy. She understands that it wasn't your fault, and to tell you to be careful, that whatever was lurking free in here had most likely marked you..."

Yuy blinked. Fern turned his head to him, noting he was in his usual meditation pose by the wide window ledge. He smiled, "...she said she still couldn't face you herself, but since you're going out of the land for quite some time, she asked me to tell you that."

Yuy tilted his head a bit, "...should I...-?". He could trace the culprit's signature left in Saffie's subconscious mind, though some of The Charms had the skill too.

"No. Just concentrate on your task at hand, now that the Lord is not in the best condition, and The Council in a rather uneasy state. Once The Lady had her inauguration then they won't bother to be bothered by the Land's matters...then we could breathe a little easier about this internal affairs..! That means you have to ensure that whatever humans had plotted for us out there comes to our benefit..!" Fern said seriously.

"...Of which task he had to make up with our Emissary i.e. the Young Lady, first...!" Circa mumbled not so under his breath. Yuy blinked. Fern halfdrooped his eyelids, "You two had an argument again...?"

"Nope ! Just a child-fight, if you ask the witnesses at the Stone-field...!" Circa smirked. Fern stared at Circa who stared back at him with a humor dancing in his eyes. They broke out into laughter some moments later, Yuy sweatdropped. "Really..!! What's the topic this time...?!" Fern asked between his laughter.

"...I don't think it's funny...!" Yuy stated flatly.

"No! No! ...But the looks on the new recruits' faces gawking...-!!" Circa waved his hand, while another one smoothed his chest that was choked by laughter.

"The incessant briefing by Master Lecturer would be better than the two of you...!" that meant Howard. The teen-beast got up from where he sat crosslegged, and headed for the door. His remark only fuelled his roomates' laughter more. He sighed the tiniest one at the door, "I might not be back here in time before departing to Viricidia, you two take care...!". He was saying as if they wouldn't meet again, Circa's mind whispered to him.

"Yes! Yes! Have some fun outside, since I don't think they'd allow both of you out for a honeymoon trip later...!" Fern shooed him with his hand. Yuy rolled his eyes, at least in his mind, then left.

Once their laughter subsided, they stared the closed door with a serious face. "What's their problem now..?" Fern asked flatly. "Well, our fun-to-be-made-fun-of roommate Yuy seemingly has to deal with his possessive behaviour a little..!" Circa said with a small smile.

Fern frowned, then turned his head outside the window. A lone Cotton-wind near their window tinkled gently in the wind. "Aren't they both the same at that...?" he asked matter of factly. Circa chuckled matter of factly.

"Your cup and pillow are outside the window...!" Fern added, leaving the known 'of 20 stories bellow'(1) unspoken. Circa moaned and dropped his head back to where his pillow supposed to be.

--

"...-are you sure about this arrangement...?!" Howard asked for the umpteenth time.

"It's settled, How-ward, don't sweat yourself too much, you're not that young to survive a dehidration at this age...!" Deia cut him with a smiling tone nicely smoothing her iritated tone.

"...As if you could get dehidration at this kind of weather..!!" Howard retorted under his breath, a nice white fog formed from his warm breath. Deia heard him, nevertheless, she laughed merily. It ringed beautifully in the uptight air at their departure. The cold biting Air didn't seem to agree with their decision to leave the Land, though.

Lyea neatened the thick fur-band lining her cloak by the neck, for the umpteenth time too. Deia sighed deeply, "Would you please stop that already? This thing won't escape me in the ride…!" The climate had turned abnormally freezing the past two days, as if the Air decided not to let them escape its atmosphere. The Land didn't have water stock for raining in its 'clouds', it was just dampness turned icy in Archantra. The inlanders never knew snow, thusly; they only had frozen shower of the light-spores despite the fact that it supposed to be early spring at the time. In spite of that fact, the extreme turn of weather was not untypical for that land.

Lyea sighed for the –nth time, most likely to calm herself, "Alright..! You take care of yourself, out there !". That brought a low groan from Deia, "I'm not that reckless, Lyea..!". The maid Kyllea stood like a statue behind them watching the scene, her face was closed like always.

"You're always easy to be carried away..!". Another low groan, Deia covered her head with both hands. Their paranoia was extremely annoying..!! Where has her Beast gone to, leaving her alone to endure this karma ?

Odin stared at the boy clad in black, his halfface-armor hid his nervous thinned lips, but the light danced in his Prussian eyes told the man his inner feelings, not anxiety but more like the expectation's euphoria. No, he's a teen now, Odin corrected himself, during the two years of joining the forces he had politely refused all the ranks offered to him, so he officially had no rank. But most of the soldiers respected his strength, little amount of others feared him, although he was not as distant as 'Thrice' to humans, they still felt the gap between their natures.

"Sir..?"

Yuy's small voice pulled Odin from his contemplation. The halfface-armor slid down from his face at the sound of his voice, Odin stared like watching a daydream. At his side the warsteed nudged his shoulder with its muzzle. He made a small sound of surprise, and cleared his throat.

"Yes..you're going now ?"

Yuy blinked, the General looked like he hadn't slept a few days, in fact he might have not been sleeping right in this last year; his mind was not as clear as it was before, when he perceived it from the man. Foggy and grayed, like breathing a smoky air, the Beast's sense complained.

"Yes, Sir.." he answered flatly.

Odin nodded a few times, most likely to himself, the Beast noted. The man rubbed the warsteed's strong neck almost distractedly, his eyes distanced. Then he made a gesture that he should come near him, he complied, although it took a few times of repeating until the Beast closed the distance to his liking. Not that he still didn't trust him, Odin knew, it was just that he politely didn't want to intrude his space.

Odin took the Beast's right hand and placed it's palm on the warsteed's forehead, his bigger right hand covering the back of it. He just gave another blink, scanned the man's readings without looking at him at his side. Foggy still…

"Take him with you..!"

Yuy sideglanced at the man. The horse gave a low long snort. A long silence reigned after that, he sensed the man's desire to lift his left hand and circle his smaller body, or just give him affectionate strokes on his brown head, but the hand didn't move. Still, he was grateful just for the man's feelings.

Nodded once. "Yes, Sir..", he gave a small smile. Odin nodded, pulled his own hand and let it dangle on his side. Stared the warsteed for a little more time, then left the stable without saying anything else.

"……..and don't show your real feelings even though they might be annoying you like hell…-" Lyea repeated for Stratus knows how many that day since the daybreak.

"…aaaaagghhhhh….can't you torture me with anything else other than that repetition..?!" Deia growled. Lyea humphed in indignation, but she shut up. Watching her sister walking an impatient path on the same spot again and again like a wind up doll, waiting for her Beast, was also a torture. She brightened when he finally showed up at the Castile's inner departure gate, lifted her brows when she noticed Odin's warsteed following him like a lost hellhound –not puppy, of course..!-.

Deia stopped in her cleared track, a fine line of footprints marked the ground, she didn't give any comment when she saw the warsteed. Yuy had insisted to them that it was safer traveling in the smallest number, so he said they would ride to Virion. Any luggage they would have to bring would fit in Deia's sanctuary. …But he didn't say that they would ride Odin's warsteed. Despite that, she didn't ask or show any of her thoughts. They were still not talking to each other, after all.

Yuy gave a slow humble bow of gratitude to Lyea, who grabbed him for a hug when he straightened his body. Howard treated him like that, too. All the others were given the same bow from the Beast, Ruéa actually lifted him in her bearhug, he squirmed in her over-motherly antics with a flush on his face. That brought a bright flush on the other maids who watched them from a distance behind the tall bushes.

Deia ignored all of it, the Beast noticed half gratefully, …half dejectedly.

Lyea gave a last repetition of the must-not-be-forgotten list, Howard added a few sentences to Yuy, but Deia had closed her senses and ignored everything. She accepted the black-gloved hand offered to her to mount the tall horse, let the Beast's strength lift her body to sit behind his back. Everyone wished them good luck and safe journey and other similar things, the maids waved at her Beast with shy cheerful faces. She stared at all of them from the end of her eyes and just wanted to go away from herself…

--

The black warsteed galloped through the Forest, small frozen branches of the high trees bended low from their boughs like thick layers of small fingers spread to catch them in their way. Deia called her Wrath out to shield them, but a few branches still managed to pierce through it and gave the warsteed and Yuy a few shallow cuts. They were not meant to wound them deeply, the Beast noted, just small stubborn touches as if they were farewell greetings. They paid no heed and continued the ride in silence.

At the end of the Forest, Yuy saw Kylle standing with his ever present angelic smile on his face. The warsteed gave a low snort. The red-head spread his hands wide. Deia tightened her embrace on his body.

He was smiling…that's what the Beast remembered of him.

A flash of brightlight, a reflection of a smile.. They rode straight through his smoky figure…

..and they're out of the Land….

--

He's taller than her by a head tall, Deia noted. She never realized how much she'd pushed him; like really saw it; maybe for her little-self it was only natural that her Beast do anything for her sake.

…..that's why she had to get away from herself……..

The hands embracing the Beast slackened a little. She rested her forehead on his shoulder, feeling the warsteed's run was not as fast as before. The rhythm that almost felt like a rocking lulled her to sleep. She closed her eyes.

--

…daijoubu ka..?

A mind-whisper was heard as clear as the wind, she never realized how beautiful it really sounded, too.

'…hmm..' Deia answered in her mind.

…couldn't sleep last night..?

'with Lyea's incessant repetition of her must-not-be-forgotten list who could have a piece of sleep…?!' she answered a little sarcastically. The Beast laughed a little to that, he thought he heard The-List plagued his Human's mind all night long through their linked mind.

'……….you're free-er without the Air, aren't you..' it's not a question. He didn't need to answer.

'once this trip's over….you'd still go back to the Land ?'

I'll go where you go..

'…what if I'm the one saying that instead of you…?'

A long pause.

….the trip's not over yet..!

A reflection of a smile… a soft brush of an intangible cloth around his shoulders…..

((…I'll be around….))

--

The sky was as friendly as before, and the sun was as scorching as always. That's what they'd always remembered of the daylight. A man pulled the end of the cloth covering his lowerface and used it to wipe the sweat off of his face. He waved it to fan his burning skin a few times then circled the cloth back covering half his face.

A line of dust running faraway on the open desert caught his eyes, he took out a telescope from his pocket and took a peek. Made a low hum under his breath, "Sir, I think you'd want to see this..!" he spoke out carefully.

The sands behind him rose and cascaded, leaving a bigger man sitting in the sands, half his body was still buried under the fine grains. "What?"

"I thought I saw an eclipse running through the desert, or is it my shift time to rest coming earlier…-?" he said the last part with hopefull eyes and a stiff grin.

The bigger man scooted over in the shelter of the fried rocks, took the telescope and peeked. Reflexively lowered the thing to check with his naked eyes and took another look from it. "No! That's an eclipse running, alright..!" He gave the telescope back to the smaller man.

"One of the delegations invited to Viricidia..?"

"Seems like it." The man's voice was so low anyone would think that he's groaning his words out.

The smaller man put the telescope again in front of his eye, the black spectacles he wore was moved to the upper part of his forehead. "From what country do you think they are? Should we inform Master or just ambush them right here right now..?"

"From the magic-craft they're using it seems like they're from Archantra. The air-shield used to protect them from the sunlight confirms it..!"

The smaller man gave a short hiss, "….even from a land as secluded as Archantra..?! How greedy could the Marquis be ?!"

The big man contemplated what he saw, then said, "You'd better stop watching them, because they can see you perfectly..!"

"Wha…-?" he lowered the telescope a little, but the question was never finished. A thunder-like cold feeling blasted through his every nerves surprised the man that the thing dropped from his grasp, his mind felt like a predator's eyes had marked him, and he dove reflexively into the sands. A low chuckle informed him that he's not going to die anytime soon, he emerged from the sands as if bowing low to the gap in the rocks from where they could see the said eclipse still running in a neat line of dust.

"Funny…! What was that…?!" the smaller man asked a little childishly, spitting out some grains that had managed to intrude the sanctity of his mouth.

"Apparently a beast riding on a beast-ride..!" –chuckle-, "…although that's strange…I don't think Archantra had that kind of beast living naturally in it's territory..!" -a frown-.

"The one riding, or the one running…?!" the smaller man asked rather sarcastically.

"Hmmmm….both..?!" his big comrade answered as if to himself.

"I'll report to our Master, then..-"

"Wait! No, I think that's not necessary. The plan's not going to change, anyhow….Besides,.." a deeper frown, "I think I know that beast riding on the warsteed…!"

"Though….." –a hiss-like long sigh- "….they said that they had made sure that he's dead." The big man mumbled to himself, scratching his head, "We're definitely going to have a big-scale war, then….!" -a long curse under his breath.

"…Hu..?" the smaller man asked in confusion, not catching his comrade's drift.

--

'…anooou….how long, again..?'

Five days shorter than our schedule…

Deia sighed, 'Why? Are you that eager to have the trip ended sooner than it's scheduled..?'

He blinked, a frown, now that he thought of it he realized that he'd wanted to flee as soon as they got out of the Land's barrier. Must be the wind that got to him.

I thought it'd be safer that it's not a passage anyone could use… I don't want to deal with thugs and robbers on the way to that place..!

'Uhmm…' Deia sideglanced to where she felt the two men watching them, 'You mean someone like those guys..?'

'..demo…..I don't feel any threats from them, though. But I felt a confirmation of familliarization from your harmony, Pru..'

Yuy flickered to their direction from the end of his eye, but he didn't care about them right now.

….must be IT recognized someone I've met before..!

'Oh, you mean the craftplate in your chest; you know them..?'

I've met a lot of creatures, I can recognize anyone when I face them. Right now they're not something you should worry about..! Because the people of Archantra never exposed to sunlight naturally, he feared something might happen to his Human, although she had insisted that it was the moonlight that hated her, not the sun.

Deia pulled her body back almost like reclining to the wind behind her, let the hands dangle on both sides of her thighs, mesmerized by the softness of the winds caressing her hair. It almost felt like she had wings. Through the clear blacksheet of her Wrath-Spell she watched the men on the faraway rocks lazily, a feeling of superiority that no human's eyes could see through the Spell lulled her worries to their dark space back. But those were not the worries for herself, those were for her Beast's sake; what she always feared was that she would lose him when they get out of the grasp of the Land. She could hold onto him, but if he choose to leave her she thought she'd let her hands go, anyway.

"Alright…" she murmured, "Let's face the monsters, then…!"

"But what about the five days spared..? We'll arrive at the city five days earlier and just stay at the palace as freeloaders…?!" she frowned at the animosity she felt.

The Beast smirked a little, "I thought you wanted to have a vacation..!" he whispered.

Deia's brows lifted up. The warsteed neighed softly.

--

The labyrinth of stairs was dark; damp cold air filled the space, empty silent cavities of window shape lined the walls like the construction of a beehive. With no light source, some people would think that the cavities had eyes watching them when they walked down the spiral stairs. A ceasless wuthering sound of the wind was heard as the swirling shapeless currents travelled up from the deepest vertical tunnel in the middle.

The sounds of light steps was heard whispering down the stone stairs, a soft brush of a cloth followed behind. When the white hooded figure reached the base floor there were black mirrorlike glaze-stones in the cavities lining the wall in a full circle waited patiently, a void in the middle of the hollowed vertical chamber still tunneled down deep into the earth, ghostly whispers were heard every now and then carried by the wind up. Even without light the mirrorlike surfaces still reflected the person in the white robe when he passed them. Sharp eyes sideglanced at every glaze-stone passed, the person stopped when he found one that didn't reflect his figure back; instead, the glaze-stone showed a liquid figure of a white simple mask with a slender dagger as its body. The mask was the size of an adult's face, with holes of large eyes, a pretty upturned nose and almost pouty lips, like the kind of mask usually used in masquerades; while the dagger was transparent as if made of glass. An obelisk sign on the mask's forehead was shining when the person stopped in front of it.

"How is he..?" the smooth voice asked.

(Still as before, Shire..) the mask answered with a vibrating voice of a male and a female, the holes of eyes stared with an awareness of a sentient being.

The man snorted lightly through his nose, "And I thought that now when I have a living dragon this war would turn on my side..-!" he muttered.

"Well, since he's old enough to be several times my ancestor, I'd say just let him be for the time being. It's not like I'd wanted him to be used in a war, anyway."

"Just let me know when he wakes..!" – IF he wakes…his mind amended.

(Yes, Shire..)

The man turned and walked back to the round stairs lining the wall, but stopped after a few steps. He tsked to himself, then walked back to the front of the glaze-stone, the mask was still patiently waiting there. "Show me !", he commanded.

The mask didn't answer more, but the glaze-stone gradually illuminated itself, centered from the mask's obelisk sign. The window-shape stone became clearly transparent and showed a foggy chamber behind it, there was a young man with jet black hair sitting crosslegged on a pedestal, his head was down in a meditation pose that made the face covered by his hair that was so long it even piled up on the floor. The man knew by heart that his eyes were closed.

He stifled a sigh and just swallowed once, lifted up his right hand to trace the hidden face on the black glaze-stone surface with his fingertips, the slippery shell felt frozen to his touch. How he wished that that face would feel warm when he did that, anytime now… That he could let those raven tresses aside so that he could see his whole face. Just a futile wish, he knew. Or maybe just curiousity piled up for years. He'd been seeing that stilled figure for almost a decade now, not being capable of doing anything - to see or to touch.

He tsked again, heavier in frustration, and covered that face with his open palm. Nodded once, and the glaze-stone became black again. Dropped his hand and left without saying anything else, this was his only salvation, everyday, even though the frustration and disappointment killed him a little each day. His white hood that was longer than his robe followed whisperingly up the stone stairs, on the back of the loose garment an insignia of an axe-like figure shone in goldenness in the sunlight when he reached the tower roof. The roof had no barricade or wall surrounding its edge, there were only two statues on either side of the tower's ledge, formed as a model of part-shining sun with flames/rays blazing outward on a stake of a blade. Wholy formed like an axe or a sword with an opened wing, especially if they were as big as those statues.

A great hawk flew circling the sky above the lone tower. He looked up and smiled, lifted his right hand opened as if catching the magnificent bird with his grasp, the sunlight blinded his sight from between his fingers, and he let his sight go white as he lost the sight of the bird in the grand sky. Just as he couldn't catch the bird no matter how high he tried to reach out his hand up. A high pitched cry echoed as if bidding him a farewell, and he knew the bird had flown away from his blinded sight.

The strong breeze carried his soft sigh unheard, he was still smiling to the sky using his lifted hand to cover his eyes from the blazing light.

A rustling of cloth brought his mind back from the deep indigo sky, he cocked his head a little to his left, sensing a presence behind him.

"….Master..!" a black robed figure stood in a hunched pose, both hands put together on its front by the chest.

"Time for execution, now ?" the man in the white robe asked with a pleasing voice.

"You know The Lord didn't mean you any harm, Master..!"

A snicker. "Right, that's why he locked me in this tower for more than a decade !". It was meant as a sarcasm.

"Yes, Master..!". Or may be a fact.

"What does he want now…", almost not like a question.

"The Lord wants you to take his place in the alliance party he'd planned two weeks from now, Master."

A deep chuckle. "You're joking, Bland ? He'd already kill me when he took the throne for himself if not because of my pure blood..!"

"No, Master. Yes, Master..!" the black hooded figure bowed respectively. That habit of always answering and entitling him showed the servant's loyalty to him, and it alleviated his rigidness, knowing that the servant didn't mean it but he'd always find the antics funny.

He walked to the tower's edge and sat, letting his foot dangle and another one bended so he could put his elbow on his knee. " Maybe you should remind him of his precious heir, Bland..-"

"Young Lord had an accident in the hunt two months ago, Master. He died a week after, Master..!"- that's why he'd planned to gain allies from other countries to support his own position, not Master's.

Looks like Bland forgot to inform him about this. He sideglanced at the black robed figure behind him, "And…?"

"And The Lord fell ill after his death, and as it got more and more severe through each day to the present, The Lord had no choice than to let you take his place, Master…!" - since the dignitaries wouldn't support him anymore; another slow deep bow.

A frown. "Bland….", he said slowly, "…you didn't..-"

"It's your rightful time, Master..!"

With a tired sigh, he massaged his temple slowly. "I told you I didn't want their deaths; no matter what they're still part of my family…!",- eventhough they're suspected of scheming evil plans to take the throne from him.

"Because they didn't put you to death, or because you want them to suffer more before their deaths, Master..?"

He turned sharply with a look of rage burned in his eyes, Bland kneeled abruptly realizing his bluntness had burnt him (again), putting both hands and his forehead flat on the floor.

The man's anger almost gone immediately when he heard the loud thunk of his servant's forehead hit the stone floor in fear and remorse. He snorted and turned back to the plain sight under the tower. The city laid out in a structure of an elevated land piled up behind another, like an enormous rice-field of buildings. He always watched this side of the cityscape from the tower's roof, he hated the sight of the castle laid behind the tower. He loved his people, not the power as a ruler; that's why even though he'd thought of ending his life more than several times, he'd never followed out to them and rather choose to bear a life in exile.

"Bland, come here..!"

"…Master…" Bland said in fear despite the light smiling voice of his Master.

"Come here sit next to me..!" the man patted the space beside him, "I won't throw you off the edge !" he said chuckling to himself.

The black hood wormed slowly on the floor to his side, like a shelless black snail, and stopped when the hands in front of the head touched the edge of the tower's ledge. "You're not affraid of heights, are you ?", the man chuckled again.

"Yes, -no, Master..!" Bland half whispered, still keeping his head on the floor.

"What's that suppose to mean ?" he asked with a smile, "Sometimes…?"

"No, you won't throw me off the edge, Master…!"

He laughed, "You skipped the question, Bland..!". Bland shrunk more in his prostration, a strong big hand patted the black hooded head spontaneously, "It's good to have wings when you have the freedom to fly, right, Bland…?", he said as he spotted the great hawk flying in the sky faraway.

The head straightened up, showing a red-skinned face with streaks of white fur lining the cheeks from its sideburns like scratch marks. "….Master..!", his slanted ruby colored eyes softened with a sadness.

"Tell me about the OWL's progress !"

--

It was a very long passage through the mountains' back, along their thin line of earth's spine.

Deia gulped as she stared the dark opening that was like an open mouth ready to swallow anything who dared to enter, with no guaranty of spitting it out at its other end, or even 'it would spit us out at the other end, right…?!' –ma..maybe I shouldn't use the word spit….like, what would we look like after we pass through….

Afraid..?

A mindwhisper snapped her head to the face in front of hers.

'Me? -…' an abrupt pause, on second thought….she swallowed her dignity 'should I be…?'

The Beast only smirked to those large inquiring purple eyes. He patted the warsteed neck a few times, whispering something to its right ear. Without the protection of her Spell guarding her back, she admitted to herself that she felt a little unsettled….NOT afraid..!

A light change of harmony she sensed in their atmosphere made her frown, 'You're not laughing at me, are you, Yuy…?!' Deia asked emphasizing his name to show him that shewas angry.

No, Human-mine..!, was the answer, but a lighter harmony told her that he'd have laughed outright if he were as carefree as her. That brought her famous severe pout out, but the warsteed's step into the mouth of the passage made it gone abruptly. Her hand spontaneously sought her Beast's cloak as the light suddenly disappeared from upon their figure.

A gloved hand held her other hand that was dangled unceremoniously beside her thigh, and circled it around his body to his front.

Want to move to the front ?

'..uunh….it's okay, this is a safe passage, right…?' – although her spine felt a little more frozen than before, Deia smiled through her nervousness. '…right ?!' she repeated as there was no answer to her question.

….I said it is safer, that it's not a passage anyone could use…!

'WHAT..?! You mean anyone as in anyone as in including us..-'

Shh..! Not a word in here !

Another blackgloved hand took her hand from his cloak and circled it to his front like the previous. Deia abruptly held his body flat to hers, 'You just want me to hold you like this..!!' –but her heart felt safer.

The gloved hand held hers on his stomach. And they rode on slowly through the dark passage.

Every now and then there were light movements she could sense in the hidden spaces of the dark crannies. Stares, breaths, rustles of cloths or furs…sometimes stealthy hisses. The warsteed had walked for several hours now, though it felt more like days, Deia couldn't deny her curiousity despite her nervousness. Strangely enough, the darkness calmed her more than her Wrath-Spell; perhaps because using her Spell would consume her emotions more than her vital-force.

'Pru… they're..-' Deia thought after being silent for the whole time since they entered. '…people(!)…, right ?'. A strong mind, she could read from the big furry-something dangling from the passage's roof above them. Intellegence and savageness… even the scattered bones along their way felt to have their own presence.

Yuy didn't respond for quite a while, when he did he sounded more gloomy than he used to.

….if you…

'What..?'. It was so silent Deia almost didn't catch his mind-whisper.

….if you ever.. have to seek a refuge-place,when you couldn't trust others outthere…

Deia blinked, staring at the back of the brown head, she didn't realize that her eyes could see just as perfectly in the darkness even without her Spell.

…you might just comehere…. Though they would judge you at first, you just have to hold your virtues …they'll keep you safe..!

A long pause. Deia only stared at his brown tresses that oddly enough to her realization were shining bluish aura in the passage's darkness. Or maybe to her eyes only….

'Yuy….' She thought slowly and carefully, '…are you not going to take me back to The Land…?', even though she used questioning form but she did make it sounded like a fact.

'………..you make it sound like you're not going to be with me afterwards…!'

His hand covering hers tightened a little.

She could let go, she thought to herself. Where are you going alone…? Her mind echoed, to him and to herself both.

If she were to be left alone, she thought she would just follow him even secretly.. She had noone else she would want to be with outhere.

Maybe not yet….

A reflection of mind flickered in her consciousness. She widened her eyes at it, she didn't know if it was the Beast's thought or hers, but still, it hurt her feelings for a fraction of second before she hid it behind her mind-shield.

--

"…This is Virion's suburb….!"

A light, clear and smooth voice halfwhispered to her ear, it brought up some bitter-sweet feelings first before she managed to open her eyes. A soft gasp, a questioning moan, a bright light assaulted her eyes. Deia moaned again as she blinked her sleepy eyes, trying to adjust to the daylight. Noticing after a while that the sky was cloudy grey with white rays randomly shone through the soft layers of clouds. When her mind was clear enough to realize that her Beast had spoken to her instead of whispering, she frowned, although there was a tingling of delight bloomed in the back of her mind where she kept her selfish ego. She blinked it off once, staring at prussian gems focused at her violets with a myrth danced in them. She frowned again.

"Whaat…?"

A soft breathy snicker, his lips quirked upward in a pleasant smirk. "You slept like a baby… I felt like a mother-monkey back there…!"

Deia didn't respond for quite a long pause, a stunned stiff half-grin plastered on her face. "…….like… a baby-monkey….?!" A fine flush on her face made her Beast chuckle softly.

Despite your nervousness, you did enjoy the ride more than me, didn't you…? He faced forward again, and the warsteed started to walk leisurely.

"…unnnh….looks like it….." The breeze welcomed her with new fragrances it carried from the landscape around them, her mind supplied her with the realization of some unfamiliar vibes that were enticing her Harmony. Something that lured her agitation to sleep. Like a little heady feeling of enchantment, weaved in the free air and wafted from their surroundings. She tried to shake the thrilling sensation off, and reassembled her Harmony in her own Order. Then frowned again to herself, observing the view laid out around them of giant granite rocks scattered like a natural maze with rugs of soft grass covered the grounds between. The grey rocks reverberated soft chimes to her harmony waves, a sense of tranquility that was forcing its entry into her mind, now she could distinguish it, must have been it that had put her to sleep halfway through the passage. She didn't even remember when she'd fallen asleep.

The natural tranquilizer this powerful….. So this is The Land of Beast-tamer….!

"Prussian….." Deia called softly, the concern was clear in her voice.

"Just a little heady…. It's fine..!"

But this is only the suburb and it's already this strong. Something that everyone in her homeland never warned them about..! She gritted her teeth subtly. "But the capital must be more….-"

A black-gloved hand gently cupped her chin forward, the brown head cocked and brushed hers with its side affectionately. "Don't worry about it…!", the whisper was so gentle she felt her face burn.

"But…-" she gasped weakly, a little too shaken by the warmth in his enchanting voice. The Prussian gems narrowed warmly in a supposed smile caught her eyes that she didn't even manage to see whether his lips were really smiling or not.

When he faced forward again, she started to get her awareness back. Blinked and swallowed once. Realizing she had been carried away by his eyes and the land's harmony, she looked down at her tangled nervous hands, feeling another hot blush intruding her composed face.

'but you're acting not like your usual self…..!' she mouthed to herself slowly. Well, not like she minded him acting a little warmer…or maybe she should say tempting…? A thought jerked her mind, is he going to act like that to everyone here…?! A nervous chuckle slowly let out from her lips turned to sinister laugh; yeahh, right…! Over everyone's dead body…!! She smirked with a wild stare in her eyes.

Her Beast glanced at her face. "Are you okay? You're acting weird…"

"Am I….?!" a devilish aura swirled around her, and he patted the warsteed to run thinking that his Human was tired.

A series of long highpitched chuckles echoed by the big grey rocks following the warsteed's steps made it run faster with pricked ears.

--

Okay, so his black halfface-armor was back on his face, and he wore a hooded cloak that covered his eyes everywhere, and he tried to be as stoic as usual, not even making eye contact with anyone more over chatting or looked like he was going to….. so why did his Human still had this devilish aura that was getting darker and darker everytime they stopped at a people's place like a market or an inn…?

….even the streets……! The Beast sweatdropped.

And everytime he asked whether his Human was fine or not, she would answer with a low "I'm perrrrfectly fhinnne…!!" which in Deia-ish translated as 'ABSOLUTELY THE OPPOSITE, are you STUPID?!'

And so he sweatdropped again for the –nth time today. It's only been the third day that they arrived in the occupied place (the rather crowdy places, he had to admit; since he didn't enjoy crowd as well) and her escalating aggravation made it more and more difficult to keep his composure. So much for trying to keep your low profile! As he'd said before, they would have 5 days spared from their trip plan, so he was planning to treat his Human to a vacation in the (Virion's) cities just like what she'd called it back then herself, but now he was thinking maybe this was a bad idea with a real serious politics matters coming and she was as dark as true dark could ever be. Growling and staring venom to everyone that neared them, or looked like was going to get near them.

He put the blankets the inn keeper gave them on one of the beds, focusing on the sound of the door closing behind him, and strode fast to pin his Human's forehead with his to the door panel. The violet orbs under the silvery grey hood glared at his prussians under his black hood. "What?!" she asked in annoyance.

He patiently stared back her dark stare until he felt her dark feelings downed and her violet orbs cleared of their venom. "…Hmm..?" she asked again, he noted she was also scrutinizing something in his eyes and seemed like satisfied enough with what she found.

"Do you want to head to Viricidia right away…?" he whispered flatly. Noting the dark venom had bursted instantly in her violet orbs again. She drooped her eyelids, "Do you want to get there as fast as you can, Yuy…?!" the smirk on her face looked like it was intended to bare one of her fangs only.

Deia pushed his body from her way and walked to the bed, while loosening her light cloak on the way. She threw the thing to the bedpost, and before she knew it her body hit the mattress and her Beast was crouching over her, both hands at either side of her head, her feet dangled by the edge of the bed with his bended knees kept her down at both sides of her thighs.

It was his beastly gesture to force her attention focused on him, she realized, not something more, she thought a little disappointedly. So she sighed her aggravation out, and closed her eyes, even knowing that her Beast wouldn't catch her implication by that act. As thought, he silenced for a while, then whispered in irritation "What are you doing…?", because he was doing it supposedly so his Human would focused to him or what he was going to say.

Deia huffed, "…Stupid thing over some stupid feelings, apparently…! Get off of me Yuy, I need a bath..!" She opened her eyes and caught his frowning stare still on her eyes. "Like, now, not tomorrow..!!" Deia half barked to his mask of face.

He complied and stood aside, all the while keeping his eyes on her like a beast did.

Deia didn't spare a glance at him when she headed to the bathroom, feeling a little jealous over something she herself felt inside, this was getting more and more distinctive nowadays, it's as if she had two-hearts inside that kept bickering over something they both feel in the same time.

A warm bath could do….! She thought; -…not! Feeling the warm water was not as familiar as the water in her small pool in her bathroom. She sighed, feeling upset at herself for feeling upset in the first place.

The Beast was sitting on his bed with his back to hers, a little hunched. He'd made the beds, and there were some light meals on the nightstand separating their beds. He still had his black cloak on, with the hood covering his head perfectly. Deia stared his unmoving figure while she dried her hair with a towel.

"I've put your things out if you want to use the bathroom…!" she tried flatly. But he didn't budge. She frowned thinking that he was ignoring her. Threw the towel to the hanger by the wall, snatched her cloak and went to the door. Stopped by a mere second to see whether the Beast cared, but on second thought, she didn't feel like she even cared if he cared or not, so she opened the door and went out of the room.

He didn't move a fraction.

--

The inn was quite crowded at the evening, the first floor was open more as a brasserie at night, and a more proper eatery at day. This small city was quite bussy as many travelers moved through it to get to the capital. So, why was it still counted as a small city? There was a river that oddly enough was divided by the higher land which was the city and flowed as one stream again on the other end of the city, in summary, it was a city in the middle of a river. The stream was not very strong but the water was very deep, the dangerous thing was the under stream that could take even the strongest swimmer down and if they come up the river again –or maybe down- it was only if they're lucky enough to emmerge after the waterfall spit them up from its depth.

Deia stared the water from the big arch bridge, her white reflection stared back with the steady water flow making it waver from time to time. She didn't feel alienated in the colorful land, there was one thing she couldn't get out of her mind that plagued and kept her restless even though there was nothing real for her to mind. She sighed deeply, watching her reflection staring back at her with a smirk on its face, the light display of the dusk sometimes made it look like it was making movements she didn't make, but when she blinked it off she thought it was just her imagination.

Some people stared at her when they passed her by on the bridge but she paid no heed. A few boatmen called her with friendly faces, asking whether she'd like a tour on the riverside. She thought she couldn't have said it more clearly that she was a foreigner then her looks did. Some drunk men from the other side of the land gave her catcalls and made some gestures that she didn't want to care about.

"From which House are you…?" suddenly a nice looking mid aged man asked from behind her.

Deia didn't feel him coming so she was quite surprised finding him already so close to her. "House…?". The past dusk light already gave in to the darkness and let some stars shone in their own soft sparkles. An elderly candleman lighted the bridgelamp near them that casted a soft shine to her skin and a little of her locks that escaped her covering hood. The mid aged man looked caught for a second, sporting a flush on his face, before he smiled warmly.

"Are you lost, Miss?"

"No..!" Deia frowned, a little unnerved by the fact that he could get near her without her realizing it.

"..Ah, I'm sorry. Do I look suspicious..?" he tried when he saw the look in her eyes.

"Yes !". That was so blunt, the man sweatdropped. He cleared his throat and stepped back a little from her space. "I apologize, I was only thinking that you might not be familiar with this area.." He pointed to the other side of the land across the city, the mountains' shade already made the low forest dark, with specks of light from streetlamps or house windows shone like a pack of stars. "After dark, there always are some not quite nice people coming from that direction to the entertainment stores there." He pointed to the city direction.

"Even though I wouldn't say that they're bad people, but I wouldn't suggest for a young lady like you to be wandering around alone at this hour, especially in this area..!" he smiled politely.

Deia blinked, there was something bothering her senses about this man. Even though he acted politely like a fine gentleman. "So which House are you from?". There came the question again. She thought of a generic answer, and only could come up with a word.

"Home..!"

"Oh, so you're still finding one..!". Somehow the way his face brightened so suddenly made her uncomfortable. 'One for what..?! Do I look like a stray pet ?!' her mind said sarcastically, thinking that she already had a room in the inn. Right after she thought of it a sudden memory hit her like a slap on her face.

"Archantra's inlanders have really distinctive looks and there are many rich people who'd want to spend their money on the likes of you"

That memory of the mercenaries surfaced at the exactly wrong moment, when she was trying to push her dark feelings down, and in only a mere second she decided that she didn't want to push them down. The man suddenly cowered seeing the sudden change on her face, the looks in her eyes that seemingly wanted to kill someone directed at him. He stepped back and said some lame excuse to bid farewell and fled to the riverside.

Deia tossed her cloak pass her shoulders roughly feeling like she wanted to hit someone, let it fluttered in the wind before it fell covering her body again. She stomped back to the inn direction after that, thinking that she didn't want to lash it out to her Beast.

"….such a daring pearl…!" the wind brought the man's whisper to her ears. Deia stopped in her track, but continued after taking a few deep breaths.

The inn's brasserie was full and noisy, but as expected, the wide room silenced gradually when she entered and passed by the bar to walk up the staircase to her room. A servant boy banged his body to the wall to make way for her on the stairs, gripping the wooden tray with both hands flat to his chest as if a shield to fend a dragon with. Deia casted a sideglance at his pale face, and he tried a nervous smile. She stared at him for a few seconds and headed straight to her room, ignoring the poor boy who slid down the wall at her leave.

"…That customer is really scary, Owneeerr..!" his distant whine heard when Deia opened the door. "Hussh!! Or else-…", whatever the Owner at the bar said to him was muted by the closed door, not that she really cared anyway.

The Beast in the black cloak was still sitting like a statue on his bed, just like when she left him about an hour ago. There were two sets of supper put on the table, the light meals on the nightstand were still untouched. Deia took her cloak off and sat by the table, "You're not hungry..?", and started to eat alone seeing that she got no answer from him.

…wrong kind of people..! A bad liquor smell…disgusting wet leer….and she woke up in the middle of the night with a start, a small part of her mind felt grateful that she didn't wake up violently in fear of making her Beast worried. Her hand sought the said Beast's bedside, thinking that it was her large bed in her chamber, but touching the edge of the bed instead. She frowned and sat up, finding her Beast still in his pose on his bed. Covered the blanket like a veil around her, she crept to him and embraced his body from behind, putting her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. This felt safer..! And she didn't have anymore nightmares till morning.

Gentle strokes on her head woke her up around dawn, a warm wave of possessiveness, and a steady burn of expectation. Deia sighed a contented smile, "Mmm..? What ? Why are you petting me, Pru..?". A sense of euphoria bloomed around them and she opened her eyes. "What? You're expecting something..?"

The black hood didn't move a fraction, but the blackgloved hand stroking her head stopped and joining his other hand on his lap.

Curiousity baited, Deia reached out her hand around his head. "What ?" She was going to cup his forehead and back his head to her shoulder, but instead her hand found a velvety long..

'…muzzle..?' she thought stunnedly. Deia grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn facing her. He still had his head facing down, but the long thing covering his whole face was protruding from under the hood he was wearing.

"…Pru….." Deia whispered lamely after some long seconds. In the back of her mind she felt a shy blush crept on his face under the shield of the muzzle. "…Wi…will this do…?" he whispered weakly.

"….do….what..?" Deia asked stunnedly.

He seemed like trying to find the words before he answered, "…the…..capital..!"

Deia widened her eyes at his admission. "OOH..! No..-!", she sat back. "No..-, Pru…!!"

The muzzle straightened and faced her face, "This won't do…?", his whisper was vulnerable by disappointment and fear.

"NO ! I mean.., you..-!". Deia closed her eyes abruptly facing up at the ceiling, covered her face with the blanket in frustration at herself, and rearranging her feelings with deep breaths. After what felt like a short second to her, and ages for him, she faced him back pulling the blanket from her head in the same time. She had a stern look on her face.., she could feel his lips quiver in her mind.

"So you realized..!" she huffed. "I didn't mean to feel jealous over something that WOULDN'T happen….but I can't stop thinking that you…-". She clamped her mouth, and bowed from the waist to him. She felt him blinked a little stunnedly. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that..! Like this…"

She stayed bowing until she felt the fear of rejection ebbing from strangling his mind. The fear he always had in his heart, she knew, but kept forgetting and abused it unconsciously, and sometimes not so unconsciously. He's not used to speak out his heart verbally, that's why when he had someone he thought he could be submissive to he opened his mind to them, whether it was intended or not.

"You…don't like it…" it sounded like a question and not. Deia straightened up again and stared. His eyes were casted down behind the muzzle. She stared.

A white hand touched the black thing tentatively, it felt velvety and yet like a metal at the same time. A silent ringing she felt reverberated her palm when she cupped its side. It's alive!

"This…. Your craftplate..?" she whispered a little trancelike. A miniature nod. She smiled, "It's beautiful..!".

The muzzle was made of layers of velvety plates and formed like a mythical creature's head, resembled a dragon's, slender and strong and exotic. There were four horns at the top of its head, two big ones as the main-horns, a pair of smaller ones a little under and at the side of the main ones. Another pair at either sides of its temple, and three pairs of batwings in exchange of ears. The muzzle reminded Deia of The Collector's snake-skull a little, only existed of the head and upper jaw/nose, a dark hollow space of its 'mouth' showed his real armored chin, with a pair of fangs hugging his face strategically. It had four black holes of 'eye' at the muzzle's sides, with his real eyes hidden perfectly in the shade of the jaw's hollow, covered by blackness. Another pair of a very slanted fake-eyes of black gemstone gleaming at its forehead.

"I like it !" she said smiling, "But I kind of miss your face…!" she mumbled to herself. She felt his smile blooming and blinked at the realization - she could feel him in her mind! And it wasn't disguised by his usual stoic mask.

"…ooh…okay !" she smiled warmly, a little flush colouring her face. "You have to bear with me too, na, Pru..?". A blackgloved hand covered hers on the black muzzle, and he rubbed it with the side of it.

So he gave himself to her a long time ago, but she kept needing the assurance and hurt him with rejections over and over.

--

Breakfast time didn't find the inn's first floor to be fully crowded as it was at night, but quite some customers came to have breakfast or morning brews. The servant boy almost dropped his empty tray when they came down the stairs, she didn't look murderous now but her Beast's full-armored face must be more than eye-catching. The Owner stared at them with his cigar dangling precariously from his gaping mouth.

The Beast didn't pay any attention to the stares directed at them, and just took a seat at the corner table facing the window to the backyard. A thick vine with bluish flowers decorated the far wall and the tall wooden fences aligning it. He pointed at the plant with a flick of his chin, Deia sat down on the chair next to him and casted a glace at what he pointed. The vine had a nice maroon shade at the outersides of its leaves and purple stems. Some greyish blue small songbirds she never saw chirping happily on the wall and fences.

"Uh…you're right, they reminds me of Lyea..!" she smiled, stole a sideglance at him, stared back at the little birds. "…are you going to eat like that..?", she mumbled.

I'm not hungry… Deia frowned at his admission. 'You barely eat anything since we got to this country..!' she pointed out. 'Something to do with this land's tranquilizer ?!'

A breathy snicker only she could hear, ..No. Just don't need to as much as in your Land. I can absorb some natural energy from the nature outhere..!

'Oh! Just don't get drunk by the tranquilizer..!' she commented.

I've been to places with far thicker enchantments in its air before. But I had to admit that the Air was too much even for me to adapt to…! A submissive smile.

"Ha..!" Deia smiled superiorly, but her hand subtly stroked his under the table's sheet.

"…-, Miss.., Master !" the servant boy braced himself to put the drinks from his tray on their table. He jumped back a step once he'd done it. Deia frowned at the warm beverage presented to her, then to the large size of bubbly drink with a little unpleasant smell in front of her Beast.

"We haven't ordered anything..!" Deia said mildly with a little crease between her brows.

Her light mood made the boy visibly relieved, "They're from that gentleman over there..!" he smiled and pointed behind his tray to the other side of the corner.

Deia turned her head, and found the man from last night at the table there, saluting to her with his own cup of beverage. Her face hardened, put her political mask on rather than her murderous one. "Tell him that we don't need them, but we appreciate his warm greetings..!"

"Eh ? But…-" the boy sweatdropped, but put the drinks back to his tray obediently.

He went to the man's table, and came back with empty tray. "He apologized that it wasn't to your taste, and wanted to know what you favored better..!" he half whispered politely.

You know him..? Yuy halfturned his armored face to him, finding the man bobbing his head saluting him.

'He's some man who wanted to buy me last night..!', Deia faced the boy with her most radiant smile. Somehow the boy shrank back behind his tray, bowed fast and fled.

That's not sweettalking you're doing..! he pointed out.

'This's sweetkilling, Beast-mine..!', Deia's shoulders trembled a little with her evilish chuckle. Her Beast only snorted soundlessly.

What made anyone think that she's available for buying, anyway?! Just because she's an Archantra native doesn't mean she's on sale, right..? Suddenly she stiffened. Since they entered the villages and small cities she'd been staring venom to everyone on their way, with Yuy always in front of her making arrangements for both of them; was that mean….anyone thought… That she looked like she was forcedly taken away by her Beast to be sold to some 'house' that man mentioned..?!

A heavy realization fell on her ferociously, she froze with such a look in her eyes staring down at the table, her Beast must have felt her extreme change, for he tightened the grasp on her hand under the table.

What's wrong..? No respond. ….Human..?

Human…..? He called again, tilting his head to her a little. As he noticed the table that's started to shake, and the tablewares started to make clattering sounds and floated for a mere centimeter from the table's surface, he took her hand to stand, made a sign to the Owner to bring their breakfast to their room. At his nod, Yuy pulled his Human upstairs.

He closed the door of their room behind his staggering Human. Let her stand flat to the door panel, and covered her with his body, the black armor head disappeared to his halface-mask, letting his forehead rested on the wooden surface beside hers. There was a slight gap between their bodies, Deia felt his presence fill her senses, let herself be drowned in his air. After a long moment of silence, she dropped her forehead to his armored shoulder with a dull thunk. Feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of the outerworld, and almost alone.

…homesick, already…? A gentle mindwhisper greeted her once her mind cleared of its burdensome shock.

"…he…" she tried a soundless whisper, '-they…. Must have thought that you were...'. She swallowed dryly once. '…that I…..'

"You're my Human..!" he whispered slowly.

What those words meant didn't sink at once in her mind. "…I wouldn't trade you even for the world or eternity..!"

I don't need the previous and I already had the latter..! He smiled submissively. Deia felt his submissiveness in the back of her mind.

"You know…" she whispered low, "..realizing your color in a much bigger picture and what value it has, was somewhat a nice opening to the political meeting we will attend the next days..!"

'You purposely take me to these places to show me this…?' her tone was vulnerable that it made him stiffen.

He didn't answer for a while.

You're my Human. You don't have to mind them…!

Deia pushed his shoulders with both hands, held them at arm-length. "You…-!!" She cried to his face. "They thought of you like those….bastards..!!" She dropped her eyes to the floor. 'kidnapping people,..and selling them…'

A long pause. "Have you met…anyone..like that before ?" she asked silently. If he was 0just curious and wanted to have an Archant like ones he might have seen somewhere, something that he could use as a plaything….

He silenced for a while, staring at her downcasted head. "I've heard about the Archants.." from some traders, "-they made it sounded like they were of some Wilds or beasts..", he avoided saying cattle, but she sensed it reflected in her mind. "…and, ..I didn't know that that mystifying land was their homeland… so I didn't go there to lure you out and trade you outhere, …if that is what you're afraid of..!"

-..giant white trees…. Alien beasts he never saw before in a strange forest… a rural village with mythical environment that captured his mind… a beautiful woman screaming 'beast' pointing his direction as he crouched stunnedly under the shade of a tree… some mythical-looking humans hunting him and hurting him in a wild chase….-

She could feel his past-surprise as the memory of that woman screaming frightenedly resurfaced in his mind, that he was only a beast to those 'Archants', and that they were no better than the humans outside..

Deia huffed and pulled his body flat in her tight embrace, stroking his back through his body-fit armor, felt the black-cover reverberating her palms back with silent ringing. As if purring… felt the mask of his face that didn't break by his feelings he kept to himself..

…….. "..my….Beast…!" she whispered eventually. He blinked, and stroked her head with his chin gently.

A nervous knock broke their trance, Deia jumped a step forward with her Beast still in her hands along. She opened the door a little hastily, letting the servant boy put the breakfast on the table with a hawk's eyes on his every move. He gave a little bow politely when he was at the door again going out, but a flash of sharp Prussian eyes made him glance at Yuy's face that wasn't covered by the hood of his cloak. A bright flush burnt the boy's face as he felt disrobed by that sharp stare, and he literally fled out of the room running.

A waft of devilish aura crept in the air behind him after the door closed, the dark air even blocked the sunlight streaming down from the open window behind his Human. "….Hoooo…..!" an even darker voice of her grumbled, a fanged smirk plastered stiffly on her face. She must have seen the servant's face glancing at him.

The Beast dropped his head rubbing his temples, feeling as if an acorn fell on his head. This pulling-pushing ritual is really tiring…!

Why was it that some humans acted as if he was undressing them with his stare, anyway…! He snorted through his nose trying to get rid of the traces of that heady smell of the boy's thoughts left in the air.

--

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the soldier's building where they lived were facing the hillside

owww… noticing the date at the head….it's been THAT long since saru wrote this chapter….haahaa