Chapter 7
Aster tried scrubbing his pant leg and edge of his coat in the water a little more, but the skunk smell didn't seem to want to come out. Now he just smelled like wet socks and skunk, with that awful after burn the demon's natural scent still clinging to the back of his throat. His eyes had nearly cleared by the time they had gotten to the warp, and so he had been able to blearily see the battle. Not that it had made much sense to him except that the demon knew Emil and Richter and intended to kill them both.
Splashing water on his face again, Aster blinked them clear just as Aqua surfaced just in front of him.
"Lord Aster," she said and smiled. "You can see again?"
"Yeah. Wish I could do something about the smell though."
"I'm afraid I can't help you there." She lifted out of the water fully and glided past him. "Lord Emil, Lord Richter. This river turns into an underground lake with an outlet into the ocean."
Aster turned around to watch the interaction.
Richter tossed his wet hair back over his shoulder, having been wringing it out and put his glasses back on. "Can we use it to get out of here?"
"No," Aqua shook her head, "But there's a spot on the lake with a ledge you can climb onto a path and continue further in the cave system. I saw some mining tools and a cart. So there has to be a way out from there. I'll create a bubble to protect you all and take you there?"
Emil nodded. "Sounds like our only way through."
Standing, Aster wiped his hands on his coat. "Well, looks like we're going to be wet again. So much for trying to dry off."
Richter snorted. "I'm just not looking forward to being trapped in a small space with you."
Aster stuck his tongue out and Richter laughed.
"What about Solum's core?" Aqua asked.
"Decus undoubtedly has it by now," Richter said.
"We just have to figure out what we're going to do about it," Emil said. "But we can't do anything from here." Striding towards the river, Emil looked down at the water and Aster watched the look of slight distaste cross hi.
"Aqua wouldn't let you drown," Aster said.
"I know." Emil smiled. "Doesn't make it any less frightening."
"A little surprising though." Aster shook his head. "The avatar of Ratatosk being scared of things."
Richter nudged Emil's shoulder from the other side. "Him? Scared of practically everything."
"Hm," Aqua glided closer. "It is surprising," she mused as she put a finger to her lower lip. "Lord Ratatosk is always very decisive."
"When Emil makes up his mind, he's very difficult to dissuade," Richter agreed. "He's like Ratatosk in that regard. But with the bonus of all the best parts thrown in too."
Emil flushed and looked down at his feet. Coughing behind his fist, he said, "We should get moving."
"Right. Before he dies of embarrassment," Aster said and laughed along with Aqua.
Raising her hands, Aqua formed a platform out of water just in front of Emil's toes.
Stepping forward, Emil took a place and took Aster's arm to steady himself as Richter's weight shifted the platform. The sides arched upwards, forming a bubble as they sank into the water. Aster felt Emil's hand tighten. The bubble closed over their heads and dark shapes rushed past as they moved through the water. The air became stifling as the three of them continued to breathe in the confined space.
Suddenly the bubble popped and fresh air rushed in. Emil was quick to step onto solid land again and fanned himself with a hand.
"Although," Aqua said as she floated around to face him with a cute smile, "He might be scared of everything, but he's still very brave." She put her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek before swimming off again.
Emil flushed and hung his head. "Why's everyone teasing me?"
"Let's get moving," Richter said, taking pity on him. "The longer we're trapped in here, the more time Decus has to do what he wants with Solum's core."
"At least we'll know when he's around," Emil said and started walking, "His smell was powerful enough to get past Aster's skunking."
"So, that's not what demons just... smell like?" Aster asked as he fell behind, allowing the other two to take the lead.
"No... Decus thinks it makes women like him," Richter said. "Although there's only one woman he wants the attention of."
"But she's too insane to see it. Or maybe it's just her way," Emil added. "She's sadistic after all."
Richter silently nodded in agreement.
They walked in silence, following a set of old rail cart tracks, though they didn't look rusted out on Aster's inspection, so he suspected they might have been in use up until a short while ago. When they passed a vein of sparkling red stones, he had to pause to look at them before moving on. He had never gotten the chance to see Exspheres up close, at least, not in their raw state like this. "Hey Emil," he said.
"Hm?" Emil looked back over his shoulder.
"Do you know what Exspheres are?"
"They're dead spirits," Emil said simply. "That's what is left of the mana they once used to live with. Eventually that will dissipate and they will quit shining."
"Then how are they used as...?" Aster asked, moving away from the vein of shining crystals.
Emil was silent a moment. "Ratatosk says that the process they use to attach one to a person feeds the Exsphere mana again, allowing it to revive slightly. But the complete consumption of the life of the person it is attached to and the key crest are what turns it into a usable tool by humans to help develop their fighting ability while using one. Though he's not sure where key crests came from."
"Dwarves can make them," Richter said.
"Yes. But Elves came from Darris-Kharlan, where did Dwarves come from?" Aster asked.
"Ratatosk doesn't know."
Something in Emil's voice told Aster that Ratatosk probably didn't care either and thought the inane questions were annoying. He caught a glimpse of Emil's profile and determined that the avatar was probably letting Ratatosk know what he thought of the Summon Spirit's disinterest. The thought that Emil could and would nag a Summon Spirit as irritable as the lord of the Ginnungagap made Aster grin with amusement.
The four of them continued onward in silence for some time before meeting any monsters. Emil and Richter quickly defeated it, then Emil made a pact with the creature. It disappeared into mana and they continued.
Aster sighed again after nearly an hour of walking behind his friends. It wasn't like he had asked to get sprayed by that skunk, although it was heartening that Emil glanced back frequently to check on him, often with a smile. It was reassuring to know that it was only because he stank that Emil wasn't walking with him. Yet it was also lonely.
Emil glanced back again, a worried look on his face. "You're sighing a lot... Do you need to rest? I keep forgetting you're not a fighter..."
Aster waved a hand only to flush when his stomach rumbled. "Ah - hah..."
"We should stop and eat," Richter said. "It has been a while. Do we have any of those rolls left?"
"A couple," Aster said. "And before you say anything Richter, it was my coat and pant leg that got sprayed, not my bag. The food is fine." He opened his bag and hunted briefly to pull out their food supply. Emil bravely came over first, though Aster could tell he was holding his breath. When Richter did not approach, Aster sighed and threw one of the meat buns at him, which he barely caught.
"You should at least learn how to throw, if nothing else," Richter said.
Aster shouldered his bag after selecting a meat bun of his own and considered sitting down, then reconsidered as he realized that would bring the smell on his pant leg closer to his face. Instead, he leaned a shoulder against the rock wall. "I just have no interest in being athletic, Richter. Although, Emil is starting to make me a little jealous."
Emil paused mid-bite and turned wide green eyes on Aster. "Eh?"
"Careful, he might start over apologizing again," Richter warned. "It was a lot of hard work to beat it out of him the first time."
Laughing, Aster shook his head.
Emil took a breath, looked like he wanted to say something and instead shoved a bite of his meat bun into his mouth and glowered at the opposite wall as he chewed. This only made Aster laugh more, tipping his head back against the cavern wall.
Even though he hadn't known Emil for long, Aster was glad to have met him, and even more happy to call him a brother. He had been an only child when his parents had died, but his test scores had allowed him to petition to join Sybak instead of going to an orphanage. At the time, he hadn't known about the gruesome tests going on in the basement. He had merely been a research assistant, only allowed to plow through the books and copy collected data for other scientists. He didn't regret those years, since it had led him to the vague mentions of the Mana Flow and Ratatosk, then to the Centurions and finally to meeting Ratatosk himself. Even if he had died the first time through, he considered this some kind of second chance and was absolutely proud that it had been he that Emil had been modeled after. Aster was fairly sure that if Ratatosk had chosen to hide himself in any other form, he might have not developed the personality he had now.
"Think you can continue a little longer?" Richter asked.
Aster looked up, pushing away his thoughts. "Yeah," he said. He did feel better now that he had eaten something, though he would have preferred a bath and change of clothes. Pushing off the side of wall, Aster dusted his hands only to fall back against the wall again as the ground began to rumble.
Dust and small rocks clattered down from the ceiling, one striking his head. Even as he winced, Aster found his arm grabbed by Emil and all three were stumbling down the sloping path and through an arch. Bright light pierced his eyes and he squinted even as they ran towards it, Richter helping him catch his feet when Aster tripped on something he couldn't see clearly.
Suddenly, they were in fresh air and sunlight, but Emil continued to urge them to run from the side of the mountain.
"I'll get him!" Aqua said and suddenly Aster felt his feet leave the ground. Squinting, he blinked down to find Emil and Richter running hard and Aqua hoisting him up by his armpits several feet above the ground, chasing after. He twisted his head to look back just as rocks broke loose from the mountainside and came tumbling down towards them.
"Aqua! Faster!" he yelped and wished he could run and help Aqua carry him faster. They came to a drop off and Emil slid to a stop, looked over, then dropped down, followed by Richter.
Dropping down beneath the ridge, Aqua tucked Aster up against the wall on a narrow ledge as the rumbling rocks poured over the side of the cliff above them, momentum carrying the rocks past their hiding spot. Dust clouded the air. Aster choked and coughed, covering his mouth with the sleeve of his coat. The rumbling subsided into a few small pebbles that clattered over the edge.
"That was a narrow escape," Aster choked out and looked down carefully to see a slope of collected rock debris leading down to the grasslands below.
Aqua carefully put her arms around him again and he clung to her shoulders as she lowered him to the first rock that sank and shifted under his weight. Aster quickly began to move, bounding down the shifting slope. Richter passed him, running along a different path, occasionally sliding and skidding as the pebbles gave out beneath him. At the bottom, the half-elf stopped and turned to look up at the other two that were much slower getting down the hazardous incline.
"Could we take a moment and explain a few things?" Aster asked as he carefully climbed down the last boulder to safe and stable ground. Emil hopped the last few unstable rocks to join him and Richter and wiped a hand across his brow with relief.
"More questions?" Richter asked.
"Smelly cat. Demon dude," Aster said.
"Decus?" Emil supplied and tried to ignore Aqua's giggles.
"Yeah. Him. How do you know him exactly? How does he know you? Obviously if he knows Emil or at least knows of Emil then he must come from the future you existed in." Aster lifted a finger as he turned to look at them.
Clearing his throat, Emil looked down. "Marta and I killed Decus and Alice in the Ginnungagap shortly before we went to fight you. They... forced us to kill them."
"Then it's reasonable to assume that they may have merged with demons that were rampant in the gap at the time," Richter said. "Which would explain Decus's current form. If that's the case, then Marta would be in danger. We're going to have to use the back up plan of Aqua calming the waters enough for us to cross the bay to Palmacosta." Richter moved a way several steps, squinting towards the shining band of blue water some couple miles to their south. "Looks like we managed to get out of the Toize mines at least. Crossing here should be slightly easier."
...
She wiped sweat off her brow as she descended a final step. Getting through the ruins had been more difficult than she remembered, but she had a feeling she was a lot stronger for it. Her body was catching up with the fighting techniques her mind already knew, or she thought she knew. Except for her magic, everything was coming back fairly quickly. Ahead was a short hallway leading to a door. A sharp line of light bisected the hall vertical, gently pulsing like a heartbeat.
"How much farther do we have to go?" Castagnier whined as he shielded his eyes from the light. He and Hawk had been more of a drag than a help. Castagnier had gone running after every monster they saw and Hawk had gone after to keep the boy out of trouble. Marta had been forced to participate in the fights just to make sure the other two came out relatively unharmed. While she had brought plenty of gels for herself, Castagnier had ended up needing quite a few.
Marta sighed in resignation as she moved ahead of Castagnier again and approached the door. Sliding her fingers into the opening, she pulled it open a little further before sticking her head in. The room beyond was filled with light, pulsing from a floating object on an altar at the center of the room. Shoving the door open wide enough to get through, she jogged in, tears stinging her eyes. "Its here," she whispered. "Lumen's core is here. Then Ratatosk exists!" Her steps slowed as she approached, her heart hammering in her chest, blocking her throat.
"What is that?" Castagnier asked as he and Hawk made it into the room. He stepped up beside Marta and reached out.
She slapped his hand. "Don't touch it."
"Then what're we here for?" Castagnier demanded, rubbing his hand as he glared at her. "If we're not looting this place, why bother coming?"
Marta slowly took a breath and reached out, her hands cupped several inches away from the core. "Lumen," she said gently. "Please hear me. I am Marta, ally of Ratatosk. Hear me and awaken! Ratatosk needs you."
"I should have known you'd come here when you left Palmacosta so suddenly."
Gasping as she recognized the voice, Marta looked over her shoulder to find a short blonde girl in pink and white striding confidently towards them. Black ooze billowed away from her feet as if she were walking through a dark mist that lingered despite Lumen's glaring light. Turning around fully, Marta activated her spinner and fell into a stance. "You're not Alice," she said, her eyes darting from the girl's familiar hair and eyes to her sadistic expression. Everything about her seemed off, as if something evil were merely using Alice's face for the sake of throwing Marta off.
Tipping her head to the side, the girl put a finger to her chin. "Oh. I think I am, Mart-Mart," she cooed, her yellow eyes narrowing to gleaming slits.
Shaking her head, Marta readied herself. Hawk was looking from one to the other in distress. Castagnier had fallen into a vague stance, fists clenched and up. He had hardly learned anything despite the fights he had picked with the various monsters in the caverns.
"So you already see me as an enemy. That makes me think you remember what happened. I'll have to fix that," Alice said. "I don't want any loose ends getting in the way of what I want. Not this time!" Alice lifted her arms, black ooze bubbling from beneath her skin to twist in ropes and reform into clawed hands nearly the size of her torso. Leaping twelve feet as if it were nothing, Alice slammed into Marta, throwing her backwards over the altar. Lumen's core clattered to the floor, ringing like a ceramic bottle.
Alice lifted a giant black claw high over her head. "Now die!"
Desperately, Marta slashed at Alice's face with her spinner, forcing the girl to draw back slightly before her attack connected.
A foot slammed into the side of Alice's head, knocking her off balance. Castagnier followed with another kick that knocked her off Marta entirely.
Rolling quickly to her feet, Marta grabbed Lumen's core and shoved it into her item bag for safety even as she took a stance beside Castagnier.
"What's with this girl? She some kind of demon?" Castagnier asked. "Why are you after Marta?"
"Some kind of demon?" Alice burst out laughing, throwing her hands out as her body melted and began to transform, rising in height, legs becoming an elongated tail of billowing ooze. "I am Rage. I am Vengeance! Mart-Mart knows what she did." Alice's grin turned sharp, her teeth protruding out of her elongating mouth in wicked scythes.
Hawk finally got his wits together and dashed over to join Marta, drawing his claws, eyes wide and wild with terror. "What have you gotten me into?" he asked in a quavering voice.
"Sorry, but I tried to do this by myself in the first place," Marta pointed out and dodged back just before Alice stabbed the ground she had been standing on with her claws.
Sharp pain sliced the backs of her legs as black spikes shot out of the ground under her, then retracted as Alice pulled her claws from the ground. Marta staggered away a few feet as Alice's snake-like body slithered towards her, leaving a trail of fuming ooze behind her now that Lumen's light had been muted.
"Leave her alone!" Castagnier shouted and rushed in to slam his fist into Alice's side. Yelping, he hopped back, shaking ooze off his hand. Hawk darted in to block a swipe as Alice tried to retaliate against the boy. Castagnier scurried away and dug in his bag a moment before pulling out a pair of leather work gloves that were several sizes too big. He had picked them up from the ruins some time ago, but chosen not to wear them for some reason.
"Hawkie, you should know better than to get in my way!" Alice shouted and slapped his blocking claw aside with a back handed swing. Changing directions just as swiftly, she knocked Hawk flying several feet. Advancing towards Marta, the demon lifted both hands and stabbed their sharp points at her face.
Diving aside, Marta barely missed getting struck by the first blow and cried out as Alice's claws sliced into her side, barely missing piercing through her middle. She rolled to her feet, left arm pressed against her torn flank.
Castagnier was back, delivering a swift left-right combo followed by a roundhouse kick that seemed to actually phase Alice briefly. Hawk moved in, slashing upwards then left with his claws and sprang backwards with a shouted arte she missed hearing as she sensed the shadows stirring.
"Leave you alone for only a couple of days," Tenebrae intoned as he materialized next to her, his hand-tail moving around beside her to offer a steadying support. "And you, of course, find trouble to get into."
Marta sobbed in joy as she met his yellow eyes. "You're here!"
"I'm glad you remember me, Lady Marta," the Centurion said. "Lord Emil has been worried sick about you. I shall summon some help for you." He faded from view again, leaving Marta standing by herself.
Marta turned her gaze back towards Alice just in time to be struck by a backhanded swing that sent her flying. Alice lunged to cage Marta in her claws, pinning her to the floor.
With a snarl, sharp wolf teeth latched around Alice's wrist. The demon released Marta to sling the wolf aside.
Castagnier landed a flying punch on Alice's head. "What the heck was that thing?" he demanded as he landed next to Marta. "Not that you'd actually answer. You haven't answered any of my other questions."
Recovering with a shake of her head, Alice lifted both hands to slash at Marta again.
Both Marta and Castagnier dodged, each going a different direction to avoid Alice's attack. Hawk's blades slashed along the demon's back, staggering her forward even as the wolf rushed in and latched its teeth into her arm. Twisting and shaking its whole body, the wolf sent black liquid spraying.
Screaming in fury, Alice grasped the wolf and threw it aside before turning to face Hawk again, blocking his next strike with her claws.
Shoving a gel into her mouth, Marta quickly chewed and swallowed as she saw Tenebrae's black form reappear near Lumen's altar. "Tenebrae, can you contact Ratatosk?"
"I already have. I'm afraid there's not much he can do at the moment," Tenebrae said from the shadows.
"What in the world is going on?" Castagnier demanded.
"Oh, I wish you weren't here!" Marta growled and sprang forward along with Tenebrae's summoned wolf to attack Alice while she was busy with Hawk. Spacing their attacks, Marta sliced Alice's damaged arm just as the wolf was backing away from a slashing bite at the demon's side.
Retreating, Alice wrapped her hands around her shoulders with a savage hiss. "You'll pay for this, Mart-Mart!" Her body began to melt and shift again, wounds closing and the ooze from the floor rising up to condense around her.
Shadows collected on the ceiling as Alice lifted her hands upwards. Lightning crackled through the boiling black clouds. Liquid began pouring from the ceiling, burning wherever it touched her skin. Castagnier yelped in pain and tried to rub away a drop that fell on his arm only to spread it further. "Martel Bless!" he cursed.
If the acid rain hadn't been bad enough, lightning struck the ground next to Marta. Another bolt hit the wolf, knocking it out. Hawk narrowly avoided getting struck.
Cackling, Alice lowered her hands with a slash, the rain pouring harder to soak them all with burning pain.
Marta knelt as she wheezed breath between her teeth.
"I thought I'd taught you not to touch Marta the first time. I suppose you're too stupid to learn your lessons," a cold voice intoned.
Castagnier turned wild eyes on a dark portal that ripped open just above Lumen's altar.
Stepping out of the portal, Ratatosk in Emil's form stood on the altar, piercing glare directed at Alice. Tears of joy mixed with the acid rain on her face as Marta coughed a sob.
"You can't kill me, you damn rat!" Alice shouted, stretching her claws out and bearing her wicked teeth. "I'm more powerful than you could ever hope to be! You won't get in my way this time! None of you will!"
Drawing his sword, Ratatosk snorted. "Shut up." Charging forward, the swordsman swung hard, utterly severing Alice's fingers from her hand.
Marta dug in her bag for another couple gels, shoving one into her mouth before tossing one to Castagnier and Hawk.
"Who is this guy?" Castagnier demanded with his mouth full.
"A friend." Marta stood rushed in to join the attack as Ratatosk sliced his way down Alice's arm, shortening it to a stump just below her elbow. When Ratatosk missed a swing, Marta lunged in from beneath the demon's reach to slice three times at her torso, opening gashes that bled profusely.
Hawk followed her attack with several stabbing punches with his claws that punctured more holes through Alice's torso.
The demon slashed with her remaining hand to knock Hawk away. He tumbled away and rolled to his feet again. Castagnier slammed his foot into the stump of Alice's arm, only to get captured by her left hand, lifted and thrown across the room entirely.
"You people are really making me mad!" Alice shrieked and slithered back to lift her hand and stump into the air again. The remains of her arm turned to smoke and began collecting in her wounds.
"No you don't," Ratatosk snarled and spun to slam his sword into Alice's exposed chest, then changed his angle, leaping up to sling her into the air, disrupting her attempt to heal. Twisting like a wounded snake, the demon writhed away from Ratatosk's attack and crashed to the floor.
Marta sprinted in for an ill-timed attack as Alice recovered sooner than she had expected. Whipping around, the demon slashed Marta with her claw and sent her flying with a slap from her tail.
Landing hard against the altar, she woozily climbed to her feet just as Ratatosk threw a gel, hitting Marta in the face with it.
"You're using too many!"
"Then quit getting hit!" Ratatosk retorted and rushed in to chain his attack as Hawk finished his attack. Together, they drove Alice backwards and bashed her into a wall. Ratatosk sprang back and brought his hands together near his right hip as light began gathering in his palms and arcing down his sword. "Ain Soph Aur!" he shouted, slinging his ball of light at Alice.
Marta shielded her eyes as the arte exploded and the wall crumbled outwards into an adjoining chamber. Straightening, she wiped a hand across her brow and sighed when there was no sign of Alice except a fading black mist. "I don't think that killed her."
"Probably not," Ratatosk said as he sheathed his sword and turned to face her.
She met his gaze boldly, aware that Hawk standing in exhausted confusion nearby. Castagnier slowly climbed to his feet from where he had been lying on the other side of the room, hand to his head as he swayed.
Ratatosk came to a stop in front of her. His hands lifting out to grasp either side of her head, patted down her arms, and roughly turned her around fully once before suddenly crushing her to his chest.
Marta breathed in relief and put her arms around him in return, ear pressed to his chest where she could hear his thundering heart beat and feel the trembling of his entire body. "I'm okay," she said gently and squeezed.
"Stupid girl," Ratatosk muttered. "Why couldn't you just stay put in Palmacosta?"
"I had to know if... everything was a dream. I couldn't just sit and wait!"
Ratatosk sighed. "Emil will be here shortly," he said. "I need to return to the Ginnungagap."
"I'll meet him at Luin," Marta said firmly. "As long as Tenebrae is with me, I can get out of here on my own."
"Luin is gone," Ratatosk stated. "Alice destroyed it."
"Oh no..." Marta drew back to look up at him.
He placed a hand against her forehead and drew his thumb across her left eyebrow gently. She felt warmth glow where he had touched and felt the familiar pulse of Ratatosk's power. Releasing her as suddenly as he had embraced her, Ratatosk held out his hand.
Obediently, Marta pulled Lumen's core out of her bag and handed it to him. The petals surrounding the core unfolded and the globe of light mana floated in Ratatosk's palm briefly before dissolving. He turned to look at Castagnier and Hawk. "If any harm comes to her because of your incompetence, I will skin you. Personally."
"Ratatosk!" Marta objected, "That's not very nice!"
"Hmf," he grunted. "Go to Luin." His form faded out with a shower of dark speckles.
"That jerk," Castagnier clenched a fist. "I'll punch him next time I see him!"
Marta shook her head and reached over to touch Tenebrae's back as he came to stand beside her. "I wouldn't suggest it," the black Centurion said. "He is far more powerful than you and depending on which version you punch, might not take such an attack lightly." Tenebrae looked up at her. "We should go. I did not investigate Luin much to see whether there were survivors."
"Right." She turned and started towards the door. "Too bad there isn't a quick way out of here..." Shaking her head, Marta looked to her companions and took a breath, feeling the mana in the air respond to her call. Casting a healing spell on Castagnier, since he was in worse condition, she quickly healed the three of them to full health, then turned her attention to the wolf that had assisted earlier in the fight. Satisfied that her allies were able to continue their journey, Marta led the way back out the door.
"How did you cast a spell? That was a spell right? Who was that guy anyway? How do you know him? What was that demon? Why did she want to kill you? What did you do?"
"Ugh! Castagnier!" Marta shouted and stomped her foot to turn and face him, having only gotten a few steps into the hall.
"Why are you calling me that?" he put his fists on his hips and glared at her in return.
"Because - because this whole situation is very complicated and I'm not going to call you Emil!"
"Well, good. I don't like that wuss name anyway," Castagnier said firmly. "So are you going to answer my other questions now?"
Pushing her bangs back from her forehead, Marta rolled her eyes to the ceiling with a sigh. "That man was the Summon Spirit Ratatosk, Lord of the Ginnungagap and the demon was - I guess that was Alice. And I don't know what's going on exactly, okay?"
"What's that thing?" Castagnier pointed at Tenebrae.
"I am the Centurion Tenebrae, guardian of dark mana." Tenebrae bowed his head briefly by way of introduction. "I am a servant of Lord Ratatosk."
"You know what," Marta said and smiled at the Centruion. "Why don't you explain everything to Castagnier?"
Tenebrae's ears folded back. "Your fang is showing, Lady Marta."
...
AN: I'm starting to get into the swing of things. get it? swing...? :3
yeah. my puns are just as bad as Tenebrae's. Probably why I like him so much. btw. I like reviews?