So this took a little longer than I expected, and I'm a little sceptical of whether or not its even ready to go up yet, but I came to the conclusion that I could fine tune it later and should just update it now, but thanks for waiting!
After much debate, the Braves had decided to remain at there outpost for another night due to the injuries that Flamie and Adlet had sustained.
Much to Hans' amusement, Flamie had tugged her sheets a little further away from Adlet that night. When he looked over to Adlet to gauge his reaction, he felt a slight guilty tug at his stomach.
The self proclaimed Strongest Man in the Worlds' face held a sad smile with eyes that screamed dejection. For the Flower Saints sake he looked like a kicked puppy! Hans had had a first hand experience with Adlets inability to give up, but as the teen curled up gingerly on his pile of blankets which had an optimum view of Flamie, the smile on the redheads face was anything but genuine.
Hans watched Flamie sit by the fire, obviously waiting for the other braves to head to sleep before turning in herself. Goldov sat by the cliff on watch, just out of hearing range on a quiet conversation and with Mora already putting Chamot to sleep before quickly dropping of herself, it left only Hans and Flamie next to the fire.
After Rolonia had managed to drag Adlet unwillingly away from a second outpost established along the edge of the forest, the newest brave had taken up the second night watch. After the attacks that day, it would seem ill prepared to not to assume there weren't any more fiends lurking in the forest.
Hans slunk down next to the fire. His partner in crime asleep, and Adlet placing a dampener on his mood, Hans found himself slipping into melancholy state. Peering up through his bangs he could see Flamie was still waiting for him to leave, eyes continuing to bore into the fire with an impassive gaze.
Rubbing his eyes, Hans cleared his throat. When Flamie remained unmoved he decided for a more brash approach, carefully leaning forwards.
"Nya- Those were some large fiends you killed today," he started, scanning the darkened forest. Flamie looked up, her eyes now inspecting him with her indifference.
"It was lucky that Adlet arrived when he did I suppose," He continued, watching her with mild interest. Flamie raised an eyebrow, but the flash of guilt that washed across her usually stoic face wasn't missed by Hans as he pretended to get more comfortable of the ground below him.
"Nyeh- Now that is interesting," He mused to himself, watching her eyes flick back to the fire as he shuffled loudly.
Deciding how far he could push his luck, he tried again to get a response from the half fiend.
"He seemed a little put out though -Nya?" He hinted, watching for a reaction intently, curling his tail around himself.
"I wonder why," Hans trailed innocently as Flamie once more looked back up at him.
However when she spoke her tone wasn't the usually stoic or impassive one as he was used to, but one laced with remorse. Hans blinked in shock as Flamie muttered to him in a quietly.
"Adlet needs to stay away from me," Her voice tried to take on a resolute tone, but from the way it shook slightly Hans could tell she was having an issue believing in what she said. As Flamie stood up carefully and began to return to her bed Hans looked up at the inky night sky, littered with glittering stars.
"Flamie, I don't think he can," He said truthfully, glancing back over at the half fiend.
She stood quietly as Hans raised himself onto his feet. Walking past her to his bed sheets, he watched her stand in thought, firelight dancing across her face and into the shadows. Eventually, her head moved to look at the shape of Adlet, who had become remarkably still over the course of there conversation. Not that he had seen that of course.
Turning away, Hans crawled under his covers. There was now no mistaking Flamie's behaviour towards Adlet. She was afraid. The mere mention of the redheads name could drag the girl out of her emotionless shell. Hans hadn't lied to Adlet when he said he lived in a similar darkness to Flamie, it was cold and empty, but it was strangely comforting to know that people could no longer hurt you. It must have been terrifying to suddenly trust someone you have known for so little time after what Flamie had been through.
Sooner rather than later, Flamie would have to face her fear of living again. Hans would see to that.
**************
As morning broke, it was Chamot that woke him from his cat-nap. A finger sticky from something that Hans would rather not think about reached for his tail as he drifted back into consciousness. Flicking it towards the girl, it bumped her lightly on the nose, Hans grumbling as he rolled away from her.
"Kitty-san! It's time to wake up!" She sung playfully, pushing the tail away from her face.
Reluctantly, the boy stretched out, complaining to himself. Blearily looking around, Hans could see a few of the Braves milling around the camp gathering weaponry and other items to bundle into packs. The sun had yet to creep over the horizon as Hans sat up, tail twitching occasionally.
The grass was wet with dew as shade still spread over the camp, the valley below them slowly beginning to lighten with the approaching sunrise. With the quick fall in temperature after the death of the Saint of the Sun, the valley had regained its bitter morning chill as Hans' breath condensed in front of him into a white smog.
Jumping up, Chamot began wander over towards the fire. Hans sighed as he fumbled with the bed sheets, shivering as he followed the energetic girl. As he slumped down next to the Saint, he watched the braves stumble around in what little light there was. Obviously Goldov and Rolonia had swapped shifts during the night as he located their posts now being attended to by Mora and Flamie.
He turned to Chamot, who was busily looking out across the land below the cliff. After Hans had explained his plan to her yesterday she had eagerly excepted it, planning the details out carefully before they had heard the first explosion set off in Adlet and Flamie's battle against the fiends. No doubt she was eagerly going over it again in her mind.
Feeling an uneasy prickle run up the back of his neck, Hans scanning the area around him, spotting Mora staring at him from the cliff, eyes burning with intense distrust.
"Nyeh- she would be a poor leader not to notice I suppose," Hans muttered bregrudgingly to himself, shaking his head as the sun crept over the horizon.
Hans waved at her as she scowled at him. He shrugged to himself as she marched past them haughtily and towards the resting braves, rousing them from there slumbers, Rolonia and Goldov mumbling sleepily as Mora forced them into action. However as she approached Adlet, the boy crawled out of his bedding on his own accord, having a short exchange with Mora before looking up at Hans and Chamot, a small smile plastered on his face.
He watched with curiosity as Adlet moved stiffly, packing away his objects into the steel container next to him. The smile on his face widened as Flamie wandered away from her guard post and towards her own bed roll, this time replaced with determination rather than the forced façade he wore the day before. No doubt he had come up with another 'plan' to talk to Flamie.
Flamie flushed slightly as Adlet flashed his toothy grin towards her, busily looking back down at the sheets in her hands. Hans smirked as Flamie peered up again, scowling at the brave who continued to happily pack up the items around him.
It had been two hours of uneasy travel for the braves as they passed through the forest. The attack the day before had shook the group more than Mora would have liked. Running at the back of the slightly dysfunctional group had allowed her to keep a watchful eye on her curious team mates.
Specifically, she was watching Hans and Chamot. After he had defeated Chamot, Hans hadn't strayed from the girl, and there more recent activities were beginning to give Mora a headache. That pair were scheming something. She could feel it.
Of course, she hadn't actually heard them, but Chamot had easily betrayed there behaviour. The girl was never this stated unless she was planning on some form of mischief, and Mora couldn't allow herself to believe that the cat like assassin wouldn't involve himself in Chamots antics.
She rubbed her eyes tiredly, begrudgingly accepting the inevitable. She just hoped that when the pair sprung there trap that she wasn't the one in it.
The braves had stopped at a small stream to rest during the midday, surrounded by a copse of trees. The awkward situation between Adlet and Flamie had only increased over the course of the journey, with the redhead teen occasionally flashing her a cheeky grin whilst Flamie pretended not to notice, running at the back of the pack as Adlet lead the charge through the forest.
Due to the previous days incident, the braves had fallen somewhat behind schedule. It had taken a while for Adlet to work out, but with a crude calculation in the dirt he estimated that to reach the Majin in time, the braves would have to cut there rest time by half on there current route. Groaning, he sat back on his hands. When mentioning this conundrum to Hans, the assassins ear perked up.
Shuffling over to Adlet map and his scrawls in the earth, he began to hum to himself, tail swishing lazily beside him. Hans' eyes glinted as a large smile split across his face. Peering over at Chamot, she flashed him a similar scheming grin. Perhaps they could start there plan earlier than expected...
"Nya- That's only if we take this route," He smirked, indicating to a line that lead out of the forest and towards a now presumably deserted village. Adlet blinked at the seemingly simple solution. Obviously his situation with Flamie had been distracting him more than Hans thought.
"I suggest that we take this one," He said, finger pointing directly through the trees and towards the land of the howling demons.
Shaking his head Adlet sighed
"We needed to pick up some supplies from this village," He said indicating to a small settlement laying on his original route, "Perhaps we should hunt as we travel?"
Hans shrugged.
"That would take some time, Nya- maybe we should have some people forage along the way whilst the others press onwards to make a camp?" His eyes lit up with mischief a he winked at Chamot who sat across from him, unbeknown to Adlet.
"You want us to split up?" Adlet said, brows furrowing deeply as he began to make some modifications to his calculations.
"Basically," Hans quipped lazily, leaning back on his hands, watching Chamot restrain a giggle.
Adlets smile widened as he began to scribbled furiously in the dirt with some strange symbols Hans couldn't recognise. Sitting up triumphantly, he announced there modified plan to the group.
Surprisingly, it was Goldov that first chimed in
"I know a great deal about foraging in woods such as these from my travels." He said quietly from under a tree.
Swivelling around Adlet nodded to himself as Mora quickly joined in on the conversation.
"Myself, Rolonia and Chamot also have some knowledge of such things," She folded her arms "The Saints must have some idea of who not to poison themselves," Mora shuddered as she remembered attempting to hold Chamots attention long enough to actually teach her.
The girl in question groaned
"Chamot does not want to pick berries!" She moaned, sulking to herself
Mora rubbed her eyes in exasperation, obviously too tired to argue with the other Saint.
Hans quickly jumped into there conversation.
"Mora! I'm sure she wouldn't mind coming with us, nyeh, -right Chamot?" He said elbowing her in the ribs, pulling the best look of innocence he could.
"Right!" Chamot managed to splutter out a confirmation as Mora's eyes narrowed at the pair.
Hans pulled himself to his feet, clapping his hands together before Mora could interrupt
"Nya- It's settled then! Goldov, Mora and Rolonia will hunt," He began, "While myself, Chamot, Adlet and Flamie continue through the forest,"
Flamie's eyes widened at the realisation of her new teammates, opening her mouth to protest, but it was too late. The plan had been settled as the rest of the Braves clamouring around her, finalising details to there impromptu plan. Hans shot her a satisfied smirk as the group began to get ready to leave, Flamie busily scowling at him. Adlet, on the other hand, had visible become cheerier causing the edges of Hans' mouth to curve upwards as he looked over at the half demon, who busily attempted to avoid Adlets gaze.
The braves waved each other of as they parted ways.
There plan had begun.
After several hours had passed, but Hans was beginning to regret his and Chamot plot.
Due to Flamie's seemingly rational fear of the Swamp Saint and her current situation with Adlet still unresolved, it left the cat-assassin with only one option of travel companion. As much as Hans enjoyed silence every now and again, he couldn't deny he needed some form of entertainment as they ran through the forest.
As they pushed through the wood, the creak they had settled by earlier had widened to the point where it had become a large river, which had been dammed up by an ancient civilisation, who appeared to have evacuated and never returned 300 years ago.
After a while, the group had traversed a suitable distance for the day, almost marking the end of Hans' boredom. No matter how many times he had attempted to strike a conversation with her, Flamie had always shot it down.
"Nyeh- I have no idea what Adlet sees in this girl," Hans thought to himself grumpily as he thought about how painfully dull the quiet was. The only occasional respite he had had from this was when Adlet would through her a cheery smile and watch her have a sudden interest in the dirt below them.
Chamot, on the other hand, had found entertainment in the form of teasing Adlet from the back of her tamed fiend. The strongest man in the world not being one to back down from an insult had busily been attempting to deny her taunting for almost the whole journey.
Shaking his head at the pair in front of them, he grinned over at Flamie who continued to look ahead stonily. Hans grumbled slightly as she ignored him once again, before finally calling over to her.
"Nyeh- it looks like Chamot is getting a little restless, perhaps we should stop here?" A large, forced smile split his face as Flamie looked over and proceeded to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Shouldn't you be asking Adlet that?" She questioned suspiciously as the teen in question began to launch himself into his 'Strongest man in the World' speech, causing Chamot to groan dramatically, flopping back on top of her jyumba.
Hans snorted, causing Flamie to glance over at the quarrelling braves. An emotion flickered across Flamie's face as Adlet threw up his hands enthusiastically towards the Saint of the Swamp. As she looked back over, Hans tried to act as if he didn't see the small crack in her façade.
She nodded shortly as he cried out to the pair in front of them. Swivelling around, Chamot flashed Hans a small smirk before leaping off the back of her fiend, eagerly escaping Adlets lecture on 'true strength'.
Dumping there packs on the ground, they steadily began to set up camp in a less dense area of trees, a short way away from the dry riverbed.
As Flamie sent up a smoke signal identifying there location to the other braves, the small group began to unfold blankets and collect kindling, stacking it in a small pile in the barren forest for the evenings fire.
After a while Chamot looked pointedly over at Hans, who nodded his head slightly after glancing around them attempting to not draw the attention of the other two braves.
Darting stealthily towards Adlets steel container, Chamot began to rifle through the pack until she found a big enough item that suited there needs, a small bundle of explosives, her fingers moving quick enough to make even Hans proud.
Leaping backwards, Chamot cackled theatrically holding the package over her head as she attempted to make a scene, much to Adlets horror as he watched dance away from the steel box.
"Chamot! Put that down!" Adlet cried, scrambling towards her as she scampered away from the redhead and towards her awaiting jyumba.
"Tsk, tsk. Can the Worlds Strongest Man not even watch his own things?" She taunted, clambering on to the back of her fiend. By now, Flamie was on her feet who was suspiciously eyeing the girl as Adlet held up his hands in surrender, eyes fixated on the package now sat on her lap.
Hans had to stifle his laughter as Adlet looked over at Chamot with increased agitation.
"Chamot, you need to put that down," He said slowly, carefully inching towards the Swamp Saint, who moved away as he approached. Hans frowned slightly as Adlet shot him a panicked look.
The girl laughed
"You'll just have to take it from Chamot!" She cackled as she turned around, charging into the forest on the back of her fiend and quickly out of sight.
"CHAMOT!" Adlet shouted after her, scrambling quickly for his armoury, slamming it shut and slung it on to his back as he madly scanned the forest for any sign of the girl.
Hans squinted. Adlet shouldn't have reacted that strongly to Chamot taking his things, he had predicted agitation or perhaps even entertainment, certainly not downright panic.
Marching up to him and grabbing him by the shoulder, Hans stood firmly in front of the brave, anxiety slowly beginning to flood his chest.
"What was it that she took Adlet?" He questioned sharply as he and Flamie surrounded the teen
"That bomb is one of the most dangerous explosives I carry with me," Adlet replied, tying a belt around his waist, anxiously checking its pockets, "I have to carry it in bandages to prevent it from going off," The brave was now rambling as he began to march towards the forest.
Hans paled as Adlet continued.
"If Chamot were to drop it- I would hate to think..." He finished agitatedly, shaking his head
Hans blinked as he pieced together what the brave was telling him.
"CHAMOT!" Hans howled into the forest, scrambling away from the pair and crashing through the woods, leaving Flamie and Adlet stood bewildered behind him.
She was going to get herself killed. And it would be all his fault.
Hans heard the sounds of pounding footsteps behind him, Adlet giving out an order to spread out, watching the pair tear off in different directions. He, however, knew exactly where Chamot was going.
He just hoped he wouldn't get there too late.
Hope you enjoyed!
Please leave a review if you have any suggestions/criticisms Thanks!
Next Time: Well. There plan sort of works. I dunno, at this point I've gone past the point of a fully planned plot but I have a vague idea what happens (which is always good).