Hiei and Amira woke up early the next morning.
"Ready to go?" He asked her. She gave a long yawn and stretched.
"Yeah," she said making sure the fire she had built the night before was out. "Let's go."
The two made it to Raider territory without incident and began their search. After they had crossed the border, Hiei's memory on where he had seen the cave slowly improved and they were able to find it in a relatively short time.
"In here." He said, walking though the entrance. Amira looked up at it. The mouth of the cave was round and a bluish gray. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling and pointed down to the stalatites that grew up from the ground, giving Amira the impression of stepping into the mouth of some waiting beast. She hesitated at the entrance, something didn't feel right.
"You coming!" Hiei demanded impatiently from inside.
Amira rolled her eyes. "Coming!" she yelled back as she swallowed the feeling and walked inside.
with Yoko and Satira
"Morning." Yoko said cheerfully to the stretching cat. She looked at him through sleepy eyes.
"How are you up so early all the time?" she asked as she flung back the blanket.
"I have a hideout to run." Yoko replied. "Now get up. I have things for you to do." Satira looked at him.
"Do?" she questioned. Yoko raised an eyebrow.
"You don't think that just because I love you means you get to skip out on working do you?" he said with a smile.
"Well, not anymore." She replied teasingly. Yoko laughed.
"No, you still have things I need you to do." He said as he tossed her clothes. "But you do get out of wearing the uniform."
"Finally," she said with a smirk. "Sleeping with the boss pays off." Yoko caught her teasing look and shook his head.
"So what do I have to do?" she asked him.
"Today, you're just following me around." He said coming to stand next to her. "I want you to learn to take over in case me or Kuroune isn't here."
"What? Why?" she asked totally confused. Yoko turned to face her.
"Because I am the leader, and if you're going to be my mate, I will need you to look after things here for a while." He said, cupping her cheek tenderly. The thought of the responsibility of being Yoko's mate made her head swim. She wasn't really a thief and she didn't know much about thief etiquette. Yoko saw the look on her face and worried thoughts that she might refuse the job and run again ran across his mind.
"It won't always be easy." He admitted softly. "There are a lot of things to do, and when me and Kuroune are out on a thief, people will come to you with problems and when decisions need to be made." Satira looked up into his golden eyes. He was right of course, and she knew it wouldn't be easy, but she found that whatever it was she didn't care. She wanted to be here, with him, and that was all that mattered to her.
"I know." She said looked at him. "But being your mate is well worth it."
Yoko smiled and leaned down to gently kiss her.