---

---

The fire elemental had found a small amount of peace during the night, the camp was surprisingly homely for her and she was able to adapt to her environment well. The night passed by without much activity--though she had fought off the strong desire to fly away from the camp. She didn't want to go exploring yet--not until she got the hang of this "band of mercenaries" and knew she could safely part company from the princess for a few hours or so. The fire beneath her had died out around the time the sun rose. Her body resumed its' more human appearance, caramel skin coating the inky blackness, her hair faded to long, brown curls.

It was the sound that snapped her consciousness back into her body. Fotiá opened her eyes, glancing around the camp as she became more coherent to the physical realm. Hm, a few heads were missing. The princess was still sleeping several feet away but the elf leader had vanished, as had the wide-eyed one. And the lizard was also gone. She was touched more by the disappearance of the lizard. She had wanted to pet him. And hopefully not light him on fire. That happened sometimes when she was excited about something.

Where were they? The elemental got up slowly, dusting herself off and half-wondering if it would be appropriate to don clothes again. An inconvenience and an act that would definitely slow her down--but apparently, socialization with these flesh creatures required some form of... "decency". With a heavy sigh, she bent over, picking her clothes up and re-arranging them on to her body. With her cutlasses comfortably hanging from her sides, she debated if she should wake the princess. Hmmmm. The sounds resembled the clash of metal, perhaps a battle was taking place? Wait.

The queen had given her very specific orders to ensure Sakura's safety. And logic told her that the sounds of battle and missing mercenaries meant a fight was most definitely happening and perhaps the antagonizers were after the princess. Well, they wouldn't be getting the upperhand this round. Fotiá leaned over, carefully reaching underneath the princess' slender form and pulling the woman up on to her back. She adjusted Sakura's weight, making sure to keep one hand free so that she could keep her one of her cutlasses at the ready.

With Plume in hand and the princess balanced on her back, the elemental walked through the camp, the sounds getting progressively louder. It took a few minutes but as she reached another clearing, she spied the elf leader, embroiled in battle with another being. Was that... another elf? What were they doing fighting their own kind? The two men clashed weapons and even the elemental felt a small amount of interest in the battle. It seemed as though they were evenly matched.

A quick glance to her right showed her where the wide-eyed one had wandered off to... but there was a strange man standing next to him. What. What was with all these bizarre appearances. This wasn't even mentioned in the job description. These material beings were so erratic. How on earth did they all survive, crammed into living spaces and squabbling over land? Her annoyance was very clear on her face. Was this even worth getting involved with? Her task was only to protect the princess, not bother with all the other side... business.

... But the princess did seem fond of the elven leader. And she... supposed that if the leader was hurt, then the princess would be sad and that would slow down their journey. Because if there was something she had learned pretty fast, it was that women could cry for hours and hours, shedding those disgusting water particles from their eyes and potentially flooding rooms. And that was absolutely revolting. She didn't want to deal with any more water than she had to. That came with the risk of her human form... best not to think about something that wasn't happening presently.

She readied her blade, projecting her voice to reach the others. "I'm not sure what form of extended play date this is, but it'd be wonderful if you could finish this up quickly so that we could continue on our way. Also," The elemental wasn't pulling any punches and narrowed her eyes into slits, gesturing towards the other stranger. "Is he a joining us or are we doing the stabbing thing? You material creatures take life in order to get rid of obstacles, right?" At least, that was what the mages had taught her. And killing never took long anyway. And the less distractions that there were, the faster they could depart from the campsite.

Yes. She could stab the stranger, the leader could stab the man he was fighting. The fungus would overtake the soon-to-be deceased bodies, and then they would be that much closer to getting to Truell. Riveting.

She felt warm hands around her body, but she didn't think to open her eyes and see what was going on. Things were so peaceful and quiet, she probably could have slept for quite a while longer. Sakura gave a soft moan as she was slowly moved around from her resting place. She hardly thought about it as she was put upon someones back, her head lulling against the other persons. Silky hair that smelt like campfire brushed her nose.

She was still lost in her dream as she mumbled slightly. The group of mercenaries was surrounding her and she was enjoying every bit of it as they ate next to the fire. Her heart was settled finally, no stress or anxiety filled her. She was happy. Truly happy.

That was until she heard a loud sound. The ring of steel filled the air, cutting sharply into her peaceful dreaming. Slowly, drowsily, she opened her eyes and found herself up on the back of the woman whom her mother had ordered to protect her. Her mind wasn't quite working properly so she couldn't figure out how she'd gotten there in the first place. Sakura yawned lightly, until her gaze fell on the chaos before her.

Instantly her heart leapt into a race and she gasped in a sharp breath, "Raze!" her cry for him might have startled the woman holding her, but she didn't care.

Squirming out of the woman's grasp she dropped down to her feet and took off running towards him, careless to her own safety as the other elf's gaze locked on her. He was dark, a threat to someone she cared about and she could see the blood lightly coating Raze's face and arm. He's wounded! she thought frantically as she ran. Her thoughts were only of getting to him before anything more happened.

Shyc, however, quickly stepped in and grabbed her around the waist, keeping her from getting to his side. She struggled against the young man fiercely, "Shyc! Let go! Let me help him! Raze!"

"No! You can't! You'll get hurt or worse! You just can't!" Shyc said to her, trying to still her from struggling so much.

The other elf's gaze gave her a cold chill that spread across her entire frame. Slowly he turned back to Raze, his dark eyes narrowing to mere slits. It looked as if he meant to kill Razeluxe and this scared Sakura. Her heart pounded hard with the terror that flooded her and she dropped, feeling the sudden well of pain in her chest.

"Sakura!" Shyc's alarmed voice cried out to her as she suddenly went limp in his grasp.

"Shyc..." reaching out she gripped his arm tightly, tears in her eyes as she fought off the growing pain, "Help him, please. That man mean's to kill him! Don't let that happen, please!" she cried, once again cursing herself for how useless she really was.




Shyc watched in awe as the two elves fought furiously. Both dealt blows to one another that weren't crippling, but had it been any other person certainly would have ended the fight. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as the young thief watched the fight unfold. The full blooded elf was certainly enraged about something, whatever that was Shyc wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Eitherway, though, he was threatening someone that the half daemon cared for. It didn't matter what the past was like, he knew Raze as he was now and he wasn't about to let anyone else kill the man, to take him away from Shyc who looked up to Raze so much.

Then the inevitable happened. The woman who had lit herself on fire the night before came into the picture. With her, she was carrying a slowly waking Sakura. His heart plunged to the depths of his soul as he watched the young woman wake up.

"I'm not sure what form of extended play date this is, but it'd be wonderful if you could finish this up quickly so that we could continue on our way. Also, is he a joining us or are we doing the stabbing thing? You material creatures take life in order to get rid of obstacles, right?"

"No! We're not killing him!" Shyc immediately answered, stepping up near Kenji so that Fotiá knew exactly who he was talking about. Pointing his finger towards the elf whom Raze had called 'Iriyn' he shouted, "But him we can kill."

Then Sakura's voice filled the air as she realized what was happening. His eyes grew wide as she freed herself from the woman's grasp and sprinted towards Raze in fear. The young thief moved, faster than she was, he all but tackled her to keep her from interrupting the fight that was going to start again soon. Shyc could feel the tension growing as well as feel the murderous gaze as it settled on Sakura and himself. He could almost read the thoughts in the full blooded elf's gaze as he watched the young woman.

Sakura pleaded to him then after dropping and giving him a heart attack. Is this the illness? She looks like she's in pain! he thought frantically, his face loosing it's color as he stared down at her. Even with her body as it was, she could only worry about someone else. He nodded to her, "I will," he reassured her.

Turning, he looked around the area for Raze's shield. Though he'd been fighting well enough without it, Shyc knew that Raze would be far better if he had it. When he spotted it, he sprinted for it, leaving Sakura to her fire guardian -or so he hoped-.

Iriyn's voice filled the air as Shyc made his way to the shield, "You know, I'm glad that you did not fall so easily, Dane. I would have been severely disappointed if I'd killed you so quickly. This makes things so much more worthy, don't you think?

The elf paused for a moment, his gaze growing darker once again and his laugh falling into a deep scowl, "For some, exile was enough. But for me, it wasn't. You took away everything, Razeluxe. Do you remember? My sister, my family, the clan was destroyed because of you! Do you remember her, Dane! Do you remember my sister? She was only a child, she used to cling to you and call you 'brother'! Do you think that being exiled is enough for such an atrocity as that!?"

Iriyn's words were piercing as he screamed them. Right after, he lunged at Raze once again, his weapons ready for another round. Shyc reached the shield and grasped it, rolling over it as he'd dived for it. Coming back up to his feet he watched as the other elf closed the distance between them so quickly. Shyc's heart was pounding hard as he moved to get closer in order to give Raze his shield.

"Perhaps I can repay you in a different way," Iriyn's gaze shifted from Raze to Sakura still on the ground. Swiftly moving from the half elf, he made for her who gasped and watched in fear.

Shyc yelled then prepared the shield as he was closer to Raze than to her, "Raze!" he shouted then threw the heavy piece of metal hoping that the elf would get it in time.

---

---

Although the typical situation would have had Razeluxe sharing the elemental's desire to head to Truell as soon as was physically possible, the battle before him was not only a difficult one, but a personal one as well. One might call it a 'blast from the past', but it was really more like a nightmare; anything to do with that village could only resurface undesireable memorie. Dane never let his eyes wander from Iriyn.

Before the two elves could reengage on each other, more voices began appearing to have joined the scene. One particularly disinterested voice belonged to the very girl that had been suspected of being an elemental being. And, just shortly after she had finished speaking, the panicked voice of a young princess caught his ear. Iriyn glanced over towards her, and then back at Razeluxe with a glare that betrayed the other elf's intentions were he to succeed in defeating Raze. Then again, the rest of the camp was here in that case, so he might have felt safer had it not been for the fact this elf wouldn't just find a way past numbers. The clan was resourceful, which is why Raze had made it out of so many different situations before, but.... well, now that might come back to bite him in the ass.

No, he simply just needed to beat Iriyn here and now, then there'd be no worries. As long as he didn't die....

"For some, exile was enough. But for me, it wasn't. You took away everything, Razeluxe. Do you remember?"

For as long as he had been 'Razeluxe', people knew he was not prone to emotional outbursts, angst, or sorrow. Well, so it had seemed. He was no devoid of emotion as it would appear, and those closest to him could tell he was quite the tsundere, never really wanting to seem like a good person. Small acts of kindness weren't unfamiliar to him, and he typically tried to factor in everyone's opinion on things when events had to become democratic. That being said, he would always try to downplay what he had done with his usual blank expression. "I don't care much for potatoes, so take mine" even though he happened to be very fond of them. "Go ahead, I can simply use my fire magic to warm myself up. The blanket's yours." Since his abilities were limited to empowering something with an element, they did not work that way, and he wouldn't mind spending a cold night or two if it helped anyone, hiding signs of a cold the next day. He was stubborn that way, and there were also times when he was sad, angry, or even happy, but he went out of his way to hide all signs of this if it were possible.

Because showing anything but regret was forbidden to him. Yet lately, things had been changing. He remembered spending time with their newest member, even smiling on occasion. He also nearly had a heart attack when he learned who Sakura was, simply because he was that worried Shyc and the others might be harmed. He wasn't doing a great job of remembering what he had done as of late, and that's why Iriyn's words managed to strike up a pressure in his chest: the guilt only one such as he could have.

"...My sister, my family, the clan was destroyed because of you! Do you remember her, Dane! Do you remember my sister? She was only a child, she used to cling to you and call you 'brother'! Do you think that being exiled is enough for such an atrocity as that!?"

The pain of regret pulsed through his bodies and showed up on his expression only briefly. "... of course I remember her." he worded softly, obviously recalling the young girl as he did so. It wouldn't be crazy to say that of all his tragic memories, this one was the most painful to recall.

Dane was nearly drained of his will to fight, but nontheless, he slowly brought up his sword to defend himself from Iriyn, who was charging straight at him. Unfortunately, this proved to be meaningless, as the other elf muttered something and switched his target to someone else: Sakura. Raze's eyes immediately widened upon the realization, and the elf followed in quick pursuit. As he so desperately to reach the young princess, he hard his name, followed by a heave, and was just barely able to grab his trusty shield from the air. Now, all he had to do was save Sakura!..... but Iriyn was much too fast. With the head start he had, he wouldn't be interrupted by Raze before he could complete a lethal slash on her. Knowing this, Dane still rushed to try something, anything, but it was going to be too late.

Helpless, Raze watched as the other elf brought his sword up to swing down upon the girl.

...

...

...

But there was no death cry. No, in its stead was the sound of tumbling, swords clanking on the groudn, and groans. Someone had manage to reach him in time and intercepted him. That person was non other than the man who had injured Shyc but days ago. The act confused Raze, and likely irritated his elf brethren, but that did not hold him up. After ensuring the young princess was no longer harmed, the young hybrid followed up Kenji by jumping to the scene with his sword at the ready, pointing the tip to the neck of the elf Kenji had just knocked down. "Shyc, get over here." he ordered, nodding his head towards Kenji, who seemed to be injured a bit. Having his attention focused on Iriyn at that moment, Raze couldn't tell if they were serious or not, all he knew is that he had to keep this man from trying anything else.

"Iriyn...." Raze sighed, a pained expression taking form before he continued. "So in your pursuit of vengeance, you've become no better than the one you wish to kill?" Since his target was Raze, it meant he was speaking very ill of himself, and he did so so naturally you wouldn't even know that unless you were paying attention earlier. One could say that Razeluxe's least favorite person on the planet was himself.

"You're done for now. Give up and leave. Even you should be aware you can't take on an army by yourself."

Her voice gasped loudly in her throat as she watched the elf turn and streak towards her. With her heart hammering hard in her chest, the world around her seemed to swirl in nauseating circle. The elf in all black moved so quickly, yet to her it seemed that it took him forever to get to her. She watched Raze turn to chase after him but he seemingly couldn't gain any distance on the other. Fear gripped her tightly and she couldn't move. Again... I'm in the way again... she thought saddly.

Her gaze softened as she watched him, growing a bit distressed that she couldn't do anything about what was going to happen to her. Iriyn's shadow fell over her as he raised his blades. She was the only one to hear the man's words, "Forgive me, but I've no choice. He should suffer as I have." His cold gaze was dark, a look that she'd never thought any mortal being possible to have. Slowly she shook her head.

The sword came down upon her and her eyes closed. Several seconds passed by before she dared to peer out to see what was happening. She then heard the grunt of someone hitting something and the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. Looking to where the sound came from, she watched as the new comer had suddenly tackled Iriyn, keeping him from harming her. Her breath released, sucking in and out of her lungs rapidly. Every limb shook as she knelt there, watching wide eyed as Raze finally made it to her.

She watched as Raze ordered Shyc to his side, which the young thief immediately did. Her fingers clutched the area over her heart as she sat there, trying to remember to breathe. Her eyes watched Raze carefully, taking in everything during that moment. He seemed pained. Something was wrong. Not only that but he was injured too, even if it was light injuries, she couldn't help but hate the fact that he was bleeding.

"Raze..." Sakura's voice was shaking slightly as she watched him hold the blade right up against Iriyn's throat.

"Iriyn.... So in your pursuit of vengeance, you've become no better than the one you wish to kill?"

W-what? What does that mean? she thought frantically. Sakura tried to stand, but found her legs didn't have the strength to do so just yet. She leaned forward, her fingers curling in the dirt.

Iriyn laughed lightly, "Don't put me on your own level, Dane. You've no one else to blame but yourself for why I'm doing what I'm doing now. Perhaps I've struck a nerve? Do you actually care for these people around you? Or are you going to lead them to destruction just like you led those men to destroy us?" Iriyn scoffed as he lay there, panting just slightly from the fight and having been knocked to the ground so suddenly.

"You're done for now. Give up and leave. Even you should be aware you can't take on an army by yourself."

"Then you don't know what you're going to be up against when we meet again, Dane. You call this an 'army'? These are children compared to us. You and I both know we could kill them easily," he leaned forward, the tip of Raze's blade just barely pricking his throat, "You're life is mine, Razeluxe. Just remember that," Iriyn back up a bit before he stood, the sword following him as he stood.

Slowly he backed away from Raze. Within minutes he faded into the forest just as silently as he'd appeared. Sakura moved a bit. Her legs were shaking, but she managed to stumbled up to her feet. In a few quick strides she was at Raze's side. Her fingers gripped his wrist tightly, but not enough to hurt him, "Raze... You're... injured," she was originally going to say that he was 'hurt' but decided not to as it implied far too much. Reaching up she gently wiped at the blood that was on the side of his face.

"I can clean the wounds for you," she said as she took a step back to try to direct him back to the camp.



Shyc watched with bated breath as the shield flew through the air and finally as Raze caught it deftly, just as he knew the elf would. The half elf took off so quickly that even Shyc was astonished. Still, the full blooded elf was far faster and had a head start. The young thief cursed himself. Maybe if he hadn't yelled at Raze to catch his shield he could have caught Iriyn.

Shyc took off running as well, though he wasn't quite as fast as the fleet footed elves were. His heart lurched in his throat as he saw something else happen though. Kenji launched himself at Iriyn and took the elf down before he could cut through Sakura. They tumbled, a mass of limbs and extremely sharp blades. In a matter of seconds it seemed that the fight that could have prolonged for Gods knew how long, was over as Raze stood over his adversary.

"Shyc, get over here." Raze yelled for him and the half daemon obliged without a second thought. Kneeling down next to Kenji, he rolled the tall man over and frowned a bit as he examined the lashes he'd taken when he'd tumbled with Iriyn. Pulling him up, cradled by one arm and his leg, he shook his head a bit.

"Idiot... what were you thinking?" Shyc muttered, though he figured if it had been him, he probably would have done the same.

He looked up to watch the display between Raze and Iriyn. The other, darker, elf seemed intent on killing Raze, something that stirred a cold darkness in Shyc's chest. He tried to ignore the comments being made, turning away even and closing his eyes to keep himself calm. The stirring of the beast were almost too much, but he fought it back. This was no time to be letting that take over.

Finally Iriyn disappeared. Shyc let out a breath of relief as he sat there. Bowing his head over Kenji's chest, he finally looked up to Raze. His brilliant green gaze held many questions but he pushed them aside. It wasn't his place to go asking his esteemed leader a thousand questions to what had just happened. If Shyc had just met Raze he wouldn't have known better, but he could tell there was something wrong. He wasn't sure what it was his leader was displaying on his face... sadness? Regret? Hatred even? Raze had always been a hard individual to read, but Shyc was having an even harder time now.

With a soft sigh, he allowed Sakura's gentle nature to take over that particular subject. Maybe if they got lucky, Raze would open up to her. Though Shyc was starting to think the hard headed elf needed a push -albeit a large one maybe- to see what was standing right in front of him. Looking back to Kenji he sighed again.

"Alright, come on. Got to clean your wounds. At least they're not too deep..." he said as he pulled aside one piece of cloth that had been torn opened cleanly to look at the cut. Shifting around, he pulled Kenji to his feet.

---

---

The elemental was none-too-amused when the princess slid off of her back, taking a stance in front of her and gesturing to the enemy elf. What was that silly human girl thinking? It was foolish to run into the middle of danger like that and the queen certainly wouldn't approve of such ridiculous behavior. If this was an indication of the way it was going to be every time the mercenary leader was in danger, then she'd have to work up sufficient amounts of patience for the task. It was bad enough that they could be attacked at any moment due to the... peculiar gift of the princess. It was made worse when the girl just threw herself into the fray without a second thought.

Before Fotiá could intervene, however, the stranger stepped in front of the princess, offering his own body as a shield. The woman narrowed her eyes, factoring in the fact that she had not been informed of this additional party. What was this man doing? What purpose did he have for defending the princess? And, furthermore, why did he seek to defend her charge? She was a fully competent guardian and she did not require assistance from any outside forces. She gritted her teeth together but restrained herself, for it did not seem as if there would be any more danger imposing itself onto Sakura. The elf seemed to be content with his threat and after growling a few words to the leader, he shrunk back into the darkness, leaving the group alone in the clearing.

Her head was already aching and the morning hadn't even passed yet. It was with this tiny realization that she quickly glanced up at the sky to double-check the sun's position. She felt a bit of relief, it was still too early and noon was probably an hour or so away. Plenty of time to re-group and then seek shelter for a few hours. She had yet to explain this circumstance to the group at hand but felt little desire to do so. The elemental did not seek comprehension of her being--she only had a job to do. A job that this... stranger had interfered with.

Sakura was quick to attend to Raze, the wide-eyed boy following suit with the other human. Was everyone pairing off? Why did creatures of flesh seek the company of others like this anyway? It was no mystery to her, the blooming of that awful thing called "romance" floating about in the eyes of the boy and the princess. While she did not have much of a tolerance for it, she was quick to spot it. It had also existed on her plane of fire--although those romances tended to be a lot more volatile and passionate due to their fiery nature... no pun intended. (The woman failed to smile at her own joke)

Sighing and figuring it best to get this over with, she walked by the princess first, sliding her hand across the girl's shoulder as an affirmation of being unharmed. She approached the boy and the wounded human, coming to stand in front of the pair. She adjusted Plume in her hand, casually hovering it over the man's throat and narrowing her eyes at him.

"I believe you failed to make your introduction earlier. I'm curious as to your excuse for intersecting with our party." The word "curious" came out colorless and bland. The truth was very simple, of course. Fotiá wasn't the least bit interested in his reasoning or, for that matter, in his existence. However, it would be important for her to verify his reason for staying, she did have people to report to and she didn't want her records to be incomplete. Besides, the sooner she learned of his rationale, the sooner she could leave his direct presence. Too many people confused her and all this lovey-dovey crap was making her feel ill at ease. And feel the strong impulse to fly away somewhere... though that was not a current possibility.

"Define yourself." She prompted further, inching her cutlass just a bit closer to his throat. "Or I'll have no choice but to assume you will be a hindrance to the group."

---

---

"Do you actually care for these people around you? Or are you going to lead them to destruction just like you led those men to destroy us?"

"..."

Razeluxe remained wholly silent and unmoving as Iriyn backed into the forest, eventually disappearing from view, but certainly not from mind. While his appearance was sudden and brief, the hidden regret that resurfaced in Dane was not. Even after the figure of Iriyn was lost amongst the many many trees of the forest, Dane was still hesitant to even respond to outside stimuli, the painful memory of events long past repeating in his head.

"I can clean the wounds for you," Sakura claimed, backing towards their camp.

"Huh? Oh... sure..."

Not bothering or unable to hide the fact something heavy was weighing on his mind, he replied idly, slowly following the worried princess back to their campsite which wasn't far away. Because they were but a few steps away from the camp, they reached their destination in three paces. Although the mute samurai seemed to be hurt, it certainly did not appear fatal, and Shyc could certainly handle it. There was no doubt that things could have gone much worse had Iriyn had a sturdy head about how he approached things, or so Razeluxe thought. The fact Dane could hold him off without his full potential being realized (having his shield on-hand made things much easier and comfortable for the elf) was a new experience for Raze. It was quite likely Iriyn was somewhat blinded by the desire to avenge the fallen, which would explain this. But worrying about something like that was... pointless.

He had every right to be angered, after all...

"I believe you failed to make your introduction earlier. I'm curious as to your excuse for intersecting with our party." Fotiá spoke, and the dull way in which it came out contradicted her wording. Judging by her actions so far, Raze would assume this elemental did not find much interest in anything. At least, that's what her tone always implied, and with the minimal interaction between Raze and she, he shouldn't really be coming to any conclusions. Then again, at the moment, there were so many internal questions and debates running through the elf that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings in the slightest. Heck, Sakura could be stripping him of his clothes and taking him for a ride and he probably would not even notice --- he was that deep in thought. But perhaps for the better, the elemental snapped him out of it unintentionally.

"Define yourself. Or I'll have no choice but to assume you will be a hindrance to the group." she threatened, brandishing her odd blade towards Kenji's throat. Things got a bit hypocritical from there.

Razeluxe did not move in any way that would hinder whatever progress Sakura was making with his 'wounds'. He had only cuts and scrapes, nothing serious, or so he figured. It was possible he was still on his adrenaline high and just couldn't feel any real pain because of that. Either way, Sakura did not seem to be panicking more than usual so he figured it wasn't anything that would kill him. The elf made sure to speak a bit loudly and clearly so that his elemental companion could be sure to hear him. He wasn't yelling at all, but simply ensuring he wasn't drowned out by any other noises despite there not being any real reason to do so.

"I would appreciate the chance to thank this man for his help before you go and point a blade at him needl-------"

Mid-speech, a certain memory replayed from his past, causing him to cut himself off.

"I would hope you could give us a reason not to slay you on the spot, young miss. Mercenaries aren't fond of stowaways."

Oh, well this was fairly awkward...

...

...

...

Clearing his throat after a brief moment of silence, Razeluxe continued, albeit a bit timidly at first, "A-anyway, you should listen to him before you point your blade at him." managing to recover at the end, he also added, "It's unlikely someone performing your job of protecting the princess is here to hinder our plans." Such words were merely there to parry any attempts at rebuttal - the fact remains she wasn't the one who protected the princess at the given time, and although the same could be said for Raze - and he'd certainly get around to beating himself up about that once other thoughts were off his mind - she seemed to take a great deal of importance in her task, going off of his eagerness to get to their destination in face of a spontaneous eruption of combat.

"Lets hear him out. We owe him as much."

thanks Famished!

Sitting with Raze, Sakura concentrated on cleaning the wounds he'd sustained from the fight. The wet cloth gathered up the stray blood as she wiped it across his face. It was silent for a little while, but she was dying with questions. Something was wrong and she wasn't sure if she should ask them or not. Finishing with the small cut across his cheek, she moved to his arm, "Um..." she started, "Your... shirt."

While he himself had gotten on the elemental's case about the blade at Kenji's throat, he had done so much less aggressively than Shyc did for sure. In fact, just the anger behind his motivation for speaking to Fotia had even gotten on Raze's nerves a bit. After all, right now Shyc was speaking to Dane's god, and Dane himself was not really feeling happy about how he spoke to her before. Combined, these two factors caused Razeluxe to, of course, raise his tone, particularly towards Shyc. "Her worry is warranted, Shyc. Your attitude, however, is not. Don't tear out the throat of an ally, it really benefits nobody." Razeluxe was a lot more calm with his words than he felt. He wasn't some zealous, fanatical worshiper of the faith he believed in, but it was still somewhat infuriating. Either way, the leader of the mercenaries kept his cool as usual and that should be that.

Shyc's face went pale as he took the verbal warning from Raze. He often got in trouble, but this time was a bit more than usual, or so the young thief thought anyway. He bit his lip as he felt a blush of shame cross his face and he looked down. Releasing the weapon he turned away and stared down at the ground, but he didn't move either, remaining right in front of Kenji. He offered an apology to Raze though, because he knew he had gone out of line and he didn't like it when his leader was angry with him for any reason, "I'm sorry, Raze," he said and then waited for Kenji to speak, which he did.

"I feel I would be beneficial to the group. I'm good at fighting and as you just witnessed I'm fast with quick instincts. My name is Kenji Umeki, I've traveled all around Camdiere and fought for almost all the kingdoms. I have no affiliation. My intentions are to work with Shyc and in order to do that I'm willing to protect the princess. Accept me if you wish or else I'll be on my way."

If what he said was true, then his 'resume' as it were would suffice. Raze did not care much for Kenji due to his blatant refusal to acknowledge him a few days earlier, but if this man could listen when he needed to, then that should be good enough. And, obviously, saving Sakura earned the man a few points, so that went far enough to win Raze over, albeit hesitantly. "I am willing allow him to join us, so long as he listens and obeys when need be. I don't run an army, but I do lead a group. Some obedience is required eventually." he did want to know exactly what about Shyc had interested him. Shyc did not seem to be the most interesting individual from Raze's point of view, no offense to the boy. He certainly couldn't be said to be the brightest fellow in the bunch, so maybe it had something to do with his other half. Or so Raze deduced. Either way, as long as he didn't threaten anyone and did not cause disruption to the group, Razeluxe did not mind. He'd throw his vote in. But he could only throw his own....

"However, your joining of the group requires everyone's consent. I won't ask Shyc because it's obvious how he feels, and the lady who pointed the blade at your throat is technically newer than yourself to the group. So..." the elf glanced down at Sakura. "What's your opinion on the matter?"

Sakura looked between Raze and the man in question. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she thought. She recalled the night that Shyc had gone rampaging and how he was treated by the very person who wanted to now join them. Her lips pulled into a frown as she sat next to Raze. In light of that, she couldn't forget what he had just done either, the cuts across his skin were glaring proof of that. Even so, she was slightly unsettled, "I don't know, Raze. He did help though, so I guess it would be alright. I will have to learn more about him to really trust him though," she answered, looking back down at Raze, "I don't trust him. He had tried to kill Shyc before. I do, however, believe in giving others a chance."

"Then it seems he may stay." Raze stated, perhaps much to Shyc's elation. "Though if he does anything hostile whatsoever to the wrong party, then I will show no tolerance. I don't think I need to elaborate further on that matter, it's pretty obvious a threat."

Having said as much as he had wanted and his business involving Kenji directly being done, Razeluxe returned his attention to the fragile girl who was treating his wounds. With a small pause, she simply mentioned his shirt and with an even shorter pause, the young elf did not hesitate to reach under each sleeve and remove the fabric from his body, exposing a warrior's physique - a firm and tone body, riddled with many small scars in various places, obviously all from the many conflicts he had been in throughout his long life.

Sakura was slightly shocked at his near immediate response. Her gaze dropped unwillingly down as he removed the shirt. A brilliant blush painted her face and she quickly turned to walk behind him and tend to the cut on his arm, "Raze..." her voice squeaked a bit and she coughed to clear it, "Who was that elf?" she asked softly, trying to give her mind something else to focus on.

Upon hearing the question, Razeluxe tensed up. He was upset that it would be impossible to pass it off as just some random elf - the fight, the fact the elf knew his true name, and the hatred he had for Raze --- no, Dane, had already betrayed as much. If one were listening to the conversation the two elves had, they could likely piece together the basis of what may have happened, or at the very least, the fact that the other elf held a deep grudge against Razeluxe. Sakura didn't seem like an idiot, so Razeluxe could tell this was probably just a meaningless question to pass the time. Or, so it should have been. Remembering the past was just a very difficult thing for Raze to do when it came to his elven brethren. Taking a moment to himself before answering, he replied with, "My brother? No... I really haven't the right to call him that anymore..."

Sakura frowned a bit. The cut wasn't anything serious and so she had cleaned it rather quickly. Sitting back, she ended up staring at the glaring red wound for a while, trying to gather her own thoughts, "That man. He really wanted to kill you. I could... feel it. It scared me, Raze. I thought he was going to win, and... the way you fought.... it was different," she frowned even more as she tried to explain, "He... called you Dane. Why? Why does he want to kill you so badly? You don't deserve anything like that," she leaned forward now, reaching to touch his shoulder and moving just enough so that she could see the side of his face. Her heart was racing again, pounding hard with a flux of emotions that probably weren't good, but she didn't care.

"Dane...."

It certainly had been more than a few decades since he was last called that. Who had said it last? His dying mother? Someone from the clan? Iriyn? It had been too long to bother remembering. All he knew was that at one point, that had been his name, the one his human father had given him. But he wasn't human anymore, for what creature with any shred of humanity do what he had done? There was none. So, of course, when he was branded with a title most befitting of him, he never did return to calling himself Dane. "... When you take everything from someone, they tend to hold a grudge, Sakura" he looked down at her with cold, nearly dead eyes. Eyes of a beaten, broken man. Though his speech remained unaffected, one could see the torment, sorrow, and regret in these orbs of his, clear as day.

"Your biggest mistake right now, Sakura, is believing I'm half the man I'm made out to be. There's nobody more deserving of meeting their end at his blade than I am, it's just the truth. I think... I've accepted that now. Is that what you meant when you said I fought 'differently'?"

As his gaze fell on her, they were cold, dark and full of feelings that scared her further. Sakura sucked in a sharp breath as she met his eyes. Her own eyes widened at bit as she looked up at him. She didn't know what he meant exactly by taking away everything from someone, perhaps he was saying that he had done such an act, but Sakura shook her head a bit. She wasn't going to believe that for a second. This man, sitting before her, wasn't someone who could do that so easily and with what she was witnessing in his look right then told her that whatever it was that had happened, he wasn't happy, or accepting, or anything of the like towards it.

"Raze!" she nearly shouted his name as he continued afterwards. Lurching to her feet, she came full circle to face him fully, grabbing his shoulders with both hands now she shook her head as she tried not to cry, "You are a good man, and you have shown that to me and Shyc and Willow and Dinan. You cannot say that you're not anything less. You don't deserve to die, no one does! And yes, that's what I meant when I said you fought differently. You wanted to die, didn't you?!" she was shaking now as she spoke rather quickly, her emotions flaring up in a bright wave, "You idiot! What do you think would have happened if you allowed that? Didn't you think about how Shyc would have reacted if that had happened? And what about me? Don't you understand anything, Raze?"

"Mercenaries always die in some way or another." he retorted, "You and Shyc wouldn't spend forever mourning the loss of a soldier, nor should you."

Sakura's face slackened as she watched him. The strength in her legs was threatening to give out. Her head dropped forward, long tendrils of black hair falling over her shoulders and face. With a soft laugh, she closed her eyes that shed tears now, "So... You are telling me not to be sad about someone that I care about, someone that I might even want to be with for a long time. You're telling me that I shouldn't care what happens to him? That if he dies I shouldn't mourn his passing? Are you saying that I should just accept the fact that you don't care?! About anything?" she shoved off his shoulders and turned around.

"..." Dane remained silent as Sakura's emotions began spewing forth like a hurricane. He wasn't so blind as to miss the implications of her words, but that wasn't an excuse for being so dense about the matter earlier. He wouldn't be surprised if he found out the others knew how Sakura felt earlier. That being said... he wasn't someone who could accept such feelings were they thrown at him. He'd lost that chance so very long ago.

"Sakura..."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've accepted the fact that I have done something unforgivable in the past, and that I do deserve to die. And I don't believe you should spend too long grieving over me if that ends up happening. But that does not mean I've any intentions of dying, or I would've just let myself perish earlier. I apologize about what I said, it was a bit insensitive of me, and I won't try to place blame on anything but myself. Yet, do you really think you could even spend a great length of time with me? I've exposed you to danger countless times already..."

Her chest had started hurting again, her fingers curled up over the area as she stood there with her back to him. He called her name and touched her shoulder and she jumped slightly. Turning to face him as he finished talking and apologizing, she looked up at him for a while not saying a word. He had somehow calmed her down, calmed down the raging torrent that usually caused so much pain she couldn't stand properly. She smiled at him, despite the tears, "Of course," she answered brightly, "I want to stay here, I want to stay with you, Raze. The past doesn't matter to me. You are you, and I want just that. I don't care if we find more danger along the way. What I do care about is that I'm with you and no where else. I know you for who you are and I'm in love with that. Everything, that is you, everything."

"... So is that your honest confession?"

Sakura's face lit up once more as she looked at him. Her mind went blank for a moment as she realized that, yes, she had indeed confessed to him. After a moment she finally took a breath, "Yes," she answered, her heart skipping a beat as she answered. Now what?! she thought as a slight tremble started in her hands and limbs.

Perhaps one might be thrown off by his expression after she admitted it. Where one would expect a smile of some sort or tears of joy (though Raze wasn't that kind of person, so probably not from him), Dane had looked a bit more down than he already was. The fact was, was that he still couldn't just be happy with his life. He convinced himself to live for now, but being content with life was another matter entirely. So, while it was possible he might internally return those feelings to Sakura, well, he just could not accept them yet. He still had much things to do.

"I see..." he wasn't sure what he should say. Rejection wasn't something he was accustomed to. It wasn't like she was not beautiful, kind, or his 'type'. It was solely him that was the problem, but the line 'it's not you, it's me' was much too clichéd for him to use, and it didn't make things any less... hurtful. Knowing her, she would think there was something wrong on her end, even if he could somehow word it to accurate describe why he could accept her feelings, which he wasn't exactly able to. "... Your mother would murder me if she heard you say that, you know?" the only thing he could do now was... ignore it. So he tried.

Sakura searched his gaze but he had gone back to being impossible to read. She wasn't sure what to do as he told her about her mother, "My... mother," she muttered the words, "She... I wouldn't let that happen, Raze. I...." she paused, unsure of what to say or even how to think really, "I wont let my mother kill you, or tell me that I cant be with you. Is that.... really what you're worried about?" she asked though other thoughts were starting to come to mind as well.

"I tried to make a joke." he clarified. In all honesty, he wasn't the best at doing that, so maybe it wasn't so funny as he had thought it was when he was thinking it. Well, in any case, he was not attempting to quit his day job any time soon so it should be fine.

"Well, we should get ready to head out. We've got a trip and a cure to get."

Sakura was partially stunned as he walked by her. She wasn't sure how to react to what had just happened. She had poured her heart out to him and in return... nothing. There was a slight pain, and she did wince but she didn't turn to follow him just yet. Sakura stood, trying to figure out what she was feeling and how to deal with it.



Sakura had three days to think. Three days of moving with the group. She had been bright and cheerful as much as she could be, but she was otherwise left to her own thoughts. Raze had seemingly brushed aside her confession with no real answer to her and she wasn't sure how she should be feeling. Truell was getting ever closer and the 'cure' that was there was the ending point of her stay with them.

Trudging along the road with them in midday light, she looked up to see the snowy covered mountain as their destination far ahead of them. Holding onto the reigns of the horse that led their cart, she gripped it tightly, wondering what exactly she was going to meet there.

---

---

Fotiá was caught off-guard when the wide-eyed one, Shyc, made a grab for her weapon. He allowed it to cut into his skin, narrowing his eyes at her as he spoke up in defense of the strange human. What was wrong with him? What was inciting this boy to speak to her in such tones? Was it the power of LOVE? His actions were confusing her and making her perception of him a hesitant one. She never knew what to make out of overly emotional situations and this seemed to be one that she was bound from the start to misunderstand. Because none of it made sense. He seemed willing to pick a fight with her, he had welcome that possibility. And it was an offer she was now fully considering, if only to stop him from behaving so weirdly.

It was the mercenary leader, however, that provided the voice of reason, rising to her defense. "Her worry is warranted, Shyc. Your attitude, however, is not. Don't tear out the throat of an ally, it really benefits nobody." She felt an odd tinge of... something in her chest as he spoke. Maybe this was what was called "relief". While she had been gearing up for battle, it wasn't the ideal result and his interference had stopped the two of them from clashing with one another. Still, she could not say she was overly fond of this Shyc character, or the stranger that spoke moments after him.

What the human Kenji said mattered naught to her, and the subsequent conversation afterwards was of little interest. It was all just white noise to her. What mattered more was the consent that their leader gave to the very idea of traveling together. The princess seemed to share the elemental's hesitance but radiated that thing called... trust towards the leader and voiced her acceptance of the whole issue.

For the first time in awhile, Fotiá was experiencing something she had come to identify as frustration. It was the same feeling she had felt when she had discovered she was stuck in this human body during the day hours. The same feeling she had when she realized that her true body was limited here and her abilities somewhat diminished. This whole thing was just... ridiculous. And, perhaps because she didn't know what else to do, she released the boundaries she placed on herself, just a little.

She had been aiming to only burn the nearby plant. Just to see the familiar and calming flames for a few moments to find some point of peace in this whole ordeal. But she hadn't taken into account that it was nearly noon and releasing her fire, even if it was just a little bit, was a mistake during the day. Her eyes flashed for a brief moment and what should've been a tiny flame ended up bursting a whole entire tree on fire. She blinked, staring at the poor flora as it burned to ash in a few, mere minutes.

... at least this time, she hadn't caused a forest fire.

Fotiá felt guilt bubble up in her stomach, oh well, there went her promise not to light any trees on fire... She glanced back at Shyc and Kenji before turning on her heel, not even bothering to say another word as she walked back towards the trails. The elemental didn't want any more unfortunate outbursts and it was already time to seek sufficient shelter for a few hours before the sun's rays became too intense. She eyed the cart with most of their supplies. Yes, that would do nicely.

She lifted up some of what was covering the equipment, climbing aboard and nestling into a more comfortable position for travel. She would explain this later to the group. She made sure her eyes were visible from underneath the tarp, sending scathing looks at the sun every now and again. At least they would finally be departing for Truell. This whole side diversion had grated on her nerves and while she was sure that she would've felt more neutral towards Shyc and Kenji had the fight not happened and the strange human introduced himself more normally... as it stood, she wanted nothing to do with them for a fair amount of time.

She'd try to communicate with them later. Raze was right, the fighting was a waste of time and they were allies, for better or for worse. All she could hope for was that there would be no more distractions before they arrived at Truell...

---

---

With a playful smile, the woman adjusted some loose strands of her hair while staring at herself in the mirror. Now there was a beautiful woman, why, the most gorgeous of all women in the land. She fluttered her lashes and blew a kiss at her own reflection, warmly gazing at how her cheek bones were the perfect height and how her hetero-chromia was utterly intoxicating to the eyes. There could be none as wonderful as she, not her who was so soft on the eyes. With a bit of regret, she tore her eyes away from her own reflection, stowing the mirror back into her bag. She couldn't be lost in a sea of perfection forever, there was work to be done!

Amaunet had been traveling for several days now, not on foot of course, that would be plain absurd. While she was capable of walking, the exercise did tend to tire her out pretty quickly. Instead, she opted to have her lovely, adorable skeletal children carry her everywhere. Her little minions carried whatever she told them to, whether it be her bag, someone else's purse, or her own weight. Hmm, just a few more days and she would arrive in Truell! She was sure to make a rather generous amount in that city--yes, nobles always did pay a nice amount for such a beautiful woman to give them attention for a few mere minutes.

She was more than aware of what effect her appearance had on others and she used it to her advantage, especially in her dances. And she had prepared an absolutely divine dance for her audience, ah, the thought gave her chills! The only downside was that she didn't have a traveling musician with her so she always had to hire some bard or some sort when she arrived in a new town. She should really work on hiring someone long term... Or just charming them into journeying with her, that could work too.

One of her babies gave a squeal, which caused her to look over her shoulder. "Hmm? What is it, darling? Did you hear something? She gazed down at her creation, which vigorously nodded its' head and gestured to the trail behind them. "What on earth..." She trailed off as she stood up, her golems moving quickly to help her to her feet and let her stand on the trail. She squinted, at first unable to see what all the commotion was about.

However, after a few minutes, she was able to make out some shapes in the distance. Was that... a caravan? She couldn't count off the number of individuals surroudning it but it definitely was a traveling party. Ah, could this be what she had foretold just a few days ago? She had not been sure at the time, for her Eye of Ra had indicated to her that she was due for some company on the trails. This had to be what she had seen in the shifting sands of fortune. And they were headed in what seemed to be the same direction anyway. Perfect!

A traveling party was much safer than going at it alone. Not that she couldn't take care of herself but a beauty such as she was always in danger of being harassed. (She chuckled at a particular memory when a drunkard in a previous town had attempted to hit on her. He had not left with the ability to see, her children had made sure of that) And besides, maybe she could get some money out of them if she offered to preform! Amaunet didn't doubt for one second her ability to persuade others, her looks and charm usually took care of most things.

With a growing smile, she decided her best plan of action would be to set up a campsite nearby. The flames would attract them over towards her, then she could hash out the details. "Darlings, She whispered with a coy look. "I believe we'll be needing some extra firewood for our guests." Her golems all broke out simultaneously in the same eerie looking smile before burrowing into the ground to carry out her orders. Mm, what a lovely day this was shaping up to be~

---

---

Little did the elemental know, that feeling in her chest was not relief, but the seeds of love that Razeluxe had implanted into her with his heroic act prior. Soon he would be adding a second member to his harem. Soon his life-long aspiration of having an actual harem would be complete. Soon...

Razeluxe had been walking ahead of the group for most of the time they'd been traveling for the past few days. A lot weighed on his mind, specifically the matter involving Iriyn, who likely would hold true to his word and reappear. While there'd been no evidence to suggest such, Dane could feel eyes watching them as they traveled. After searching for so long, it was impossible that the other elf would let Raze go so easily. He could strike at any given moment of the day, likely with allies this time, and who knew what people he'd acquainted himself with in his pursuit of vengeance? Because of this, Razeluxe wasn't getting enough sleep, or really eating much either. He'd more or less deflected any conversation another would attempt to start with him while he took point. One couldn't call him a social butterfly right now.

And this was all an effect of Iriyn's presence solely. Had he not decided to hide Sakura's confession to him in the back of his mind, he'd probably be suffering even more. A simple look at the girl betrayed the fact she was still dwelling on it, as none of the usual vigor she had was with her during the trip. Perhaps this was why Dane took the lead, so that he wouldn't have to worry about seeing her like that. But right now, there were more important matters to attend to, so he could only be so cruel. Speaking of...

A fire up in the distance snapped Razeluxe's attention back to reality. He didn't want to stop if he did not have to under the guise of not upsetting the Queen by getting to Truell as quick as possible. While the hurried road trip was probably favored by a certain elemental who'd scorched a tree and then promptly took shelter in their supply cart the other day, the true reason was that walking was doing a good job of keeping his thoughts to a minimum-ish. That being said, Razeluxe figured it was time to make a stop in order for everyone to take a rest, to eat, to converse, and, of course, so he could go to the bathroom. He really needed to return the water he drank a bit ago back to nature.

"If that camp is friendly, lets take a break there." Razeluxe suggested over his shoulder to his followers, this having been the first words he'd spoken in a while. If someone had any complaints about the plan, then they were certainly welcome to voice them. Except Shyc But that did not seem to be the case, as everyone else was either elated to finally get a chance to rest, or simply weren't able to come up with a great reason as to not stop. Razeluxe increased his pace so he could scout the dangers of the camp that were presented by the people in it....

Or rather, person.

It was both because he was considered the 'leader' of the group, and because he was the first to arrive, Razeluxe took it upon himself to investigate. As he walked up, he kept his eye open for anybody hiding around in case this was some sort of ambush. He felt a disturbance in the Earth, albeit slightly. While he kept that in mind, it really did not feel enough to warrant too much attention, so he figured the area to be clear of anyone else. So whomever owned the fire was apparently alone. Razeluxe was finally able to get a good view of the aforementioned loner, who was a female.

The first thing he noticed about this woman was the two, round objects she was in possession of. Perhaps it was a bit rude, but he couldn't not stare at them for a minute, taking in the sight. She happened to be blessed with a unique pair that he almost felt entranced by, and maybe that showed on his face. Who knows. But in any case, she was likely to get fed up it if he continued on for too much longer, time for business.

"I'm sorry for staring, I've just never seen a pair of eyes with two different colors." That was true. In fact, he wasn't even aware that such a thing was possible, plus he wasn't even sure he'd seen a skin tone such as hers, but he was more interested in her eyes. Eyes were considered beautiful things to an elf, and ones so unique as hers had nearly made Razeluxe aware of the opposite sex again. Unfortunately for Sakura, almost was the keyword here. But I digress.

"Anyway, we've been traveling without rest for some time now, would you mind if we stopped here for a little bit?" A friendly tone that Razeluxe hadn't gotten to really use lately came out in his words. He hadn't gotten to properly greet anybody for the last week or so, considering Sakura had been a stowaway, well, Nahv was already an ally, but Kenji was actually a foe. Save their scaled friend who had disappeared due to business earlier, Razeluxe's recent first impressions weren't necessarily the greatest. "I don't make a living as a chef, but I'm fairly confident in my cooking. Food'd be on us."

He really hoped that judging her not to be hostile due to the lack of weapon at the ready, apparent numbers, and eyes was a good thing - He really needed to go to the little mercenary's room, and it was hard to do that while you were fighting.

((OOC: Assumed the golems were still underground or whatever. Tell me if you don't like that. Just kidding, I won't listen.

Thanks for the collab guys!! ^.^

The camp had not taken long to set up at all, her little darlings worked so fast and efficiently that she needn't have worried. It had been a safe bet to make the area large enough for a modest group of people. Even without knowing direct numbers, she had to make her surroundings hospitable, that was part of the game, wasn't it? Looking the part. And she certainly looked the part. Mm, she had to resist the urge to look in the mirror again. There would be time for that in just a little bit.

Amaunet dismissed her golems after their task was complete, a healthy flame crackling a few feet from her. She didn't want to scare her guests and while she thought her babies were the cutest things ever, the various screams from onlookers she had gotten over the years indicated people thought otherwise. (But how could they resist the plumpness of those round bellies? So what if they didn't have skin? That made them cuter) The creatures buried back into the ground, on standby till their mistress had need for them again.

She decided to pass the time by peering into the flame, fire was very beautiful. She always enjoyed the reassuring presence of flame, and it worked as a great lure for people too, so she couldn't complain. Speaking of lures... she heard some nearby branches snap and looked up. It looked like her guests had arrived. And she looked perfect, as usual. She made sure to lean over slightly to give a generous view of her ample assets, making the movement look natural. After all, she was just leaning over to add more firewood to the fire, nothing too intentional.

As expected, she had snared her audience with her looks--though in this case, it seemed to be her eyes that drew him in. Hmm, he was a handsome fellow, now wasn't he? She wasn't the biggest fan of blondes but he had a nice pair of eyes himself. She glanced him over, taking note that he did not seem to be in a defensive posture, considering his weapon was sheathed. Excellent, this was going to be easier than she had planned.

"I'm sorry for staring, I've just never seen a pair of eyes with two different colors." She smiled warmly at him, batting her eyelashes coyly.

"I tend to get that a lot." She laughed off his compliment but didn't say anything more, waiting to see what sort of move he wanted to make.

"Anyway, we've been traveling without rest for some time now, would you mind if we stopped here for a little bit? I don't make a living as a chef, but I'm fairly confident in my cooking. Food'd be on us." The offer at the end sounded like something of an after-thought but it was much appreciated. She was hungry after all, at least he knew to offer a lady food in the first place. What a gentleman. Hmm, though she wanted to be careful, he did look to be a warrior. And those were more difficult to toy with then the average person. Best to be kind until threatened~

"That's a kind offer, of course you are welcome here. I'm taking a break from traveling myself." She smiled warmly at him. Yes, he was easy on the eyes. But she was sure that the other members of his entourage would be reaching the camp shortly. Well, it didn't matter--males, females, anything in between, everyone could be seduced. She gestured towards some of the open spots around the fire. "You can settle where-ever you'd like,"

Razeluxe was a hardened veteran of more than a few wars, fights, and battles. Thusly, he had developed as a person over the years, becoming more and more experienced as time went on. One could say he was a master in some degrees. However, of all the things he learned, the most important one at this moment had to be his innate ability to be completely dense when it came to anything regarding women. This skill, of course, activated when the woman attempted to use her charms on him.

Immune to the round objects that weren't her eyes, Razeluxe simply smiled in return. Being sociable was one of his jobs, despite his actual personality. It was a bit difficult to get information if people didn't like speaking to you. "Thank you. It's very rare to see a friendly face so far away from civilization." so saying, he decided to take her up on the silent offer and took a seat across from her. It seemed as though the rest of their group was still a little bit away. Man, he really was trucking it.

"Headed to Truell, I assume?" it was best to keep from being quiet for now, while he waited for his fellow mercs to join them with their supplies. He couldn't make something from nothing, sadly, and food required something.

Sakura had hardly heard what Raze had said about a place to stop up ahead. She nodded, hummed a soft response and continued walking. Though he had kept pace ahead of them for the most part, she had done quite well keeping up just enough. It wasn't like she had anything to really talk about with him after all, but she had grown rather used to walking beside him. Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to match his pace ever since that day.

So, when they came upon the small campsite, she was startled to find that he had indeed stopped. Though she hadn't caught most of what was said, she did hear his offering to cook for her. This woman was very beautiful, she had the most stunning pair of eyes Sakura had ever seen. She was definitely far more appealing than the princess was in more ways than one.

For a moment, Sakura stood statue like as she watched the exchange. She recalled her first encounter with Raze some time ago. He had threatened me that time... she thought, a cold sharp feeling cutting through her chest at the same time. However, here he was offering to cook for her and was that... a smile? That was certainly something she rarely saw from him, if ever.

Her fingers slipped from the reigns of the horse that she had been leading. The creature then trodded off a bit for a small patch of grass to nibble on. The young princess wasn't sure what to make of the situation, she was confused and there were several other feelings fluttering around in her chest that she didn't know what they were. Sakura did know, though, that they weren't good feelings as her chest was starting to hurt again.

One thing was for certain, she didn't feel like staying right there. She didn't want to sit and eat with this strange woman, she didn't want to talk to her, and she certainly didn't want Raze to smile as he had or talk as he had with this person. Sakura turned on her heel and made for the cart. Unfortunately she couldn't go very far because she did have something to do, the cure that her mother wanted, but she didn't want to be near them right at that moment.

As she turned she accidentally ran into Shyc who had unknowingly come up behind her. It seemed the others had finally caught up. The young thief gave a startled sound as she had suddenly turned around and took her shoulders in his grip, "Ah! Sorry, Sakura.... Sakura?"

She slipped out of his grip without a word and went for the cart. Maybe a little bit into the trees... just enough distance.... she thought and went between three of them, sitting down against one with her back to their makeshift 'camp'. She could still hear them, but at least she couldn't see them.

Shyc walked over to Raze and the new woman that he had been talking to, a little worried about the princess as she looked pale and perhaps on the verge of tears. He wasn't sure why, but for the past few days she had been not herself. He was going to have to talk to Raze about that he was sure. But when to do so seemed harder to figure out. Their leader had been giving everyone the cold shoulder.

Tapping Raze's shoulder, he leaned over, "We're resting here?" he asked, though he had heard. Biting his lip a bit he wondered how best to phrase his next words, "We probably shouldn't stay long... Sakura... doesn't look well. It may be the sickness?" he offered, lowering his words for only Raze to hear.

"She's been kind enough to let us." Dane replied, keeping the tone pleasant, despite the angst that was happening without his know. Sadly, he was oblivious to Sakura's situation since he was - and still is - in his own little world. The difference here was that he had to put on a bright face so as not to make their host feel awkward or threatened. And that's all it was; a face, nothing more. However, said face was a bit harder to hold when Shyc brought up their little literal princess. He selfish for wanting her to hold on until they'd gotten to Truell.

"I see." he nodded to Shyc. "But I think traveling if she's feeling bad is not the brightest idea." he, of course, was well aware of what was going on, considering he was likely the source. But even so, he couldn't really up and explain the situation. First off, it'd be odd talking to Shyc about it, and the rest of the group was a bit too new for him to confide in. He'd have to deal with it himself, which is how he preferred it anyway.

"Shyc, why don't you take a seat? I'll go see if Sakura needs anything."

"Sure," the thief answered and seated himself with the strange woman that Raze had been speaking to. Unsure of what to say to her, he sort of stared off to the left of her shoulder, trying to ignore how scantily clad she was. Not that he was into women, of course, but still. Sometimes it shocked him how the opposite sex dressed, "S-so... what are you doing out here all alone?" he said, trying to strike up some sort of small conversation.

---

Sakura had pulled her legs up against her chest. Unwillingly she had felt tears falling from her eyes down her face. Though she couldn't hear the words behind her very well because of the distance she had put between herself and the group, she could hear their voices. The feeling she was having course through her chest though was something so unfamiliar to her that she didn't know how to go about handling it, or how to get the pain to go away.

The pain was growing steadily and she didn't like how it felt. Sakura was going to have to calm herself soon or risk making herself sick or worse yet, passing out from the 'disease' she had. Taking several deep breaths she focused not on the conversation behind her, or the memory of Raze's smile towards a woman she didn't know, but on the air around her and the trees. She was outside, not cooped up in a castle anymore. She could hear the birds, the wind rustling the leaves and the lovely sounds of the small critters that moved about the trees. Eventually she stopped crying, and looked up to stare into the expanse of trees before her.

After departing from the company of Shyc and the woman (whom he had just realized he'd not exchanged names with), Razeluxe moved off towards where he thought Sakura had ventured to. It only took a few moments of walking through some trees before he located her, staring off in the distance. When he did the same, he noticed nothing out of the unusual, simply many different trees scattering the environment.

"Sakura."

Dane called out to the young woman as he approached, taking a seat just beside her. It was too selfish and stupid to think she wouldn't eventually get to this state long before they reached Truell. She had, after all, been locked up in the castle most her life, so she wasn't the best at hiding or dealing with foreign feelings. But still, it wasn't like he could just up and make this better by accepting her feelings. Not when he still felt like a monster.

"...How're you holding up?"

Sakura flinched at the sound of her name. It was Raze who called her and though she didn't particularly wish to speak to him right then, she felt some sort of comfort in knowing that he had come to see her. Her fingers pulled together tightly in small fists full of her commoners pants. The princess didn't look over to him even when he sat down with her. Turning just enough, she could barely make out the snow capped mountains through the canopy of trees. The thought alone was enough to make her wince slightly.

"Fine," she mumbled, "Just... unsure." she managed finally her gaze still settled on the mountains.

Raze rested his arms on his knees, simply enjoying the scenery like Sakura was doing. He took in the sights for a moment, gave an almost inaudible sigh, and took a breath in before he actually did reply.

"You know, it's not something I really care much to do." he said, then adding, "Making someone cry. It leaves quite the bad aftertaste in my mouth, it really does." he was still looking off in the distance, not really paying the girl he was speaking to any visual mind. He found the swaying leaves to be rather pleasant to watch.

Words weren't really forming as flowlessly as he had hoped they would. Despite this, he spoke almost like he'd rehearsed the setting. Each and every bit of the speech he made was constantly being plagued with internal criticism, since Razeluxe wasn't really too familiar himself with speaking from his heart. Yet, he knew not paying complete mind to this would be disrespectful to the Queen's daughter, to Sakura, and that's something he wanted to avoid at just about any cost.

"I know you're a princess, and it's probably that exact reason I'm having trouble with this, but couldn't you find someone more worthy for your affections? I know people much more kind, wealthy, handsome, and reliable than some mercenary... "

"So my station is the problem." she heaved a sigh as she spoke, "I suppose that I should have realized. After all, it is only in stories such things like this would happen. Reality isn't so kind, is it?"

She paused briefly before answering the rest of his statement, "There you go again. You know, Razeluxe, if you continue with that, you will drive away those that truly care for you and love you and you may only be left with those that will use and deceive you. I don't wish to be driven away, Razeluxe. But it seems you are intent to do so. To me, there is no one more worthy, or kind, or handsome or reliable. I care not for money, I prefer the road like this. I prefer a mercenary. I prefer you, but it seems that you do not see it that way no matter what I say. Perhaps if I had different colored eyes or a better body, you may smile at me as you did a moment ago. But alas, I fear that isn't the case either. I am simply my mothers daughter, an important 'bag' to you, that you must take to one place and bring back again."

Sighing, she blushed heavily as she realized she had spoken probably far too much and let her head fall into her hands that were wrapped around her knees, "I'm sorry. I am just... frustrated I suppose. We are getting closer to Truell and with it the end of my stay with you, once again. I guess it is the fate of one such as myself in this position. A 'princess'. If only status didn't hold us so tightly in one spot."

Razeluxe frowned when Sakura brought up his smile, having deeply been disappointed in her for doing so. He could feel a tinge of pain well up in his chest at the implications of her word. Besides, Razeluxe wasn't really one to appreciate physical appearance, even though she may have sorta caught him with the eyes. But it could be worse, he could be one of those guys who was overly fond of breasts, and admittedly, the woman beat Sakura in that respect by a long shot.

Not that she'd ever hear him say that.

"You should not be so jealous of a false smile. I avoided twisting my face in that shape near you because we're closer than strangers, Sakura." he shook his head a bit to show his disappointment. But from what he'd heard when in the bars while gathering information, females did typically have times when they'd be unreasonable. If that's the case, then it wasn't her fault.

"But that aside, do you not want to stay with us? With me, or Shyc? Even now, I wouldn't break a promise to you. If you aren't willing to go back to your confinement, I'll help you."

Her heart skipped a beat. A fake smile? Slowly she turned to look at him from the corner of her eye. She gazed at him for a while without saying anything. Finally she leaned back into her arms, hiding her small smile, "I see. I'm sorry I did not recognize it to be something like that," shaking her head a bit she closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze that moved through the trees.

"I do want to stay. With you. I want to go where ever you go, Raze. I will follow you anywhere, if you will let me," her smile grew wider as he reminded her of the promise he had given her, "You should know by now that I would do anything to stay away from that castle. But what are you going to do now that my mother knows you have me and has ordered you to take me to Truell?"

"Well," he began. "There's a rumored cure there for whatever it is that plagues you. It would not be wise to forget that, so for now, we'll continue to do what we've been asked to. Having your situation get more serious than it already is is unpreferable. I am no doctor, nor is anyone else with us right now."

Hopefully this lead of the Queen's was true. If she were to perish in his care... well, that's something he was not thinking about, and it was for the better that he didn't. Right now was the time to think about positive things.

"Sound good to you? I can't protect you from illness, I'm afraid."

Sakura smiled warmly, nodding her head, "Yes, that sounds fine," she answered then laughed a bit, "You protect me enough Raze. If anything I'm only ever getting in your way. Do not worry about the illness, I can handle it. I have for many years, what's a few more days?"

She was feeling a little bit lighter now and her normal energy and happiness was starting to come back, "Don't you have someone to teach how to weild a blade too? I thought that was another promise of yours, Raze," she teased a bit as she leaned against the tree, her head tilting back into the back as she gave him a sidelong glance.

"I guess it's not much. If you can handle it, then I'll trust you." It did sort of frighten him when she'd suddenly collapse, so it was not the easiest thing to take her word for it, but if she was confident she could live for a few more days, then who was he to say anything about it.

Razeluxe did some idle motion to fill up some space before the next set of quotes. "That's true. You are kinda useless." he jested.

Sakura gave a soft laugh as she sat there, "For you to agree with me," she giggled, "And, thank you. I appreciate you're doing all of this for me, Raze," she said as she allowed herself to lean over just slightly. Her back was against his shoulder now, "I don't think your weapon will suit me though, I think I may have to ask Shyc to borrow one of his, they may be lighter for me," she said.

(Collaborated post with Qaida; Qaida would need to edit in the font color for Shyc)

Later that night ~ Camp base of the mountain

Shyc moved about the camp silently. The fire was down to nothing but coals by now and he didn't stir it to make it brighter again. It was warm enough as it was anyway. Sakura had gone to sleep in her own tent to his left, the others either sleeping in the other tents or the hammock as Raze liked to have set up on nice nights. The young thief took one look around and then went to stand against one of the trees that surrounded their small camp. It was at the base of the mountain leading up to Truell, the snow capped region and realm of the Ice King. It was going to be heavily forested and thus the cart wasn't going to be taken up the steep, dangerous mountain trail.

Though there hadn't been word of bandits or anything like that on the passes and trails, Shyc couldn't help but to be awake and keep an eye out as he often did during their travels. He didn't stay up all night though as he did after the incident in Duun. No, he would go to bed soon, but not just yet. After all, his thoughts were too clouded, there was too much to take in to really go to sleep. Crossing his arms he gave a soft sigh, his gaze dropping down to the forest floor as he wondered what they were going to do with Sakura.

They were getting close to their destination. If the said cure was there for her, then they were done with their charge and were to take her back to the castle. He didn't want to take her back. Shyc -and he was sure Raze too though the man didn't admit it openly or say so- was very attached to her. To top it off, there was still the issue of the elf that had attacked them back in Iverien. Iriyn was his name and he had called Raze 'Dane', something that Shyc had never once heard before. Though he was curious about that, he didn't ask. It wasn't his business and he owed Raze that much. His past was his own, as was the thief's. Even so, it still made him wary. He was sure that Raze had felt it as they were making their way to Truell.

Someone was following them, they had been following the small group for quite a long time actually. It made Shyc more than a little uncomfortable to think that the other elf was tailing them so easily. Biting his lip in thought, he shifted his weight slightly, making the slightest noise with the movement. Glancing over his shoulder, he took another quick look behind him into the camp before returning his attention to the forest before him.

---

Nahvariik, along with a small handful of Drakaani rangers, had been skulking around the borders of Truell, under direct orders from Ice King Wuld'drak himself, watching for any signs of travelers or the sort passing into the kingdom's outer borders. While the winds from the mountain rolled down, it hadn't bothered those of Drakaani blood, as they had originated from a much harsher climate.

They had caught the scent of others within the area a few days back while returning to the southern outpost, and had been tracking them for some time now. The small group had stayed out of sight and hearing for the most part, using the upper trees as their cover, while Nahvariik elected to stay on foot. As he observed the tracks the group in front of them, until recently it had been roughly the size of five and a cart, though they had seemed to gain another member.

Staying out of sight, the pack of Drakaani followed the intruders to a nearby clearing, and waiting for the perfect time to strike, Nahvariik signaled the others, each splitting up to flank and surround the group. Despite the eerie darkness that the forest around the mountain created after sunset, it had little effect on the reptilian hunters' vision, and the mountain winds betrayed one particular intruder as it shifted.

As the individual split from the group, Nahvariik followed him under the veil of darkness, occasionally shifting behind a tree whenever his prey glanced around. The group had the element of surprise in their favor, and after Nahvariik reassured that they hadn't given away their positions, he pulled his hood over his head before emerging from behind the tree and charging into the individual from behind, arms outstretched and prepared to tackle his target.

It was silent for the most part, but as Shyc turned to look back into the trees, he heard a slight sound, the crunch of a twig and turned only to be caught off guard. Barreled into by something very large and brutish he coughed upon impact and went tumbling to the ground with the attacker on top of him. Hitting the ground, he groaned as he struggled to get air back into his burning lungs. Dazed by the sudden attack he couldn't move for a moment. When he did manage to drag a breath into his lungs, he found he could move again and struck out at the one who had tackled him to the ground, his fist headed for the person's head that was covered in a hood.

The person on top of him was heavy as hell, constricting his movements for the most part. One arm was pinned to his side as the attacker had tackled him to the ground, "Get... off," he ground out between clenched teeth as he writhed around in an attempt to loosen the grip and free himself so he could at least reach a weapon to better fend off the heavy body.

Nahvariik felt a glancing blow to the side of his head, a lucky yet weak attempt to fend off the Drakaani, however he had repositioned himself in an attempt to prevent another such blow. As he pinned down his prey, he noticed that it was a young male, and there was something familiar about the person as he heard him weakly mutter something.

Then it had hit the Drakanni. The person that he had ambushed was Shyc, and where there was Shyc, the others were nearby as well. However, that didn't change the fact that they were intruding upon Truell's borders, which had unfortunately turned Nahvariik against them.

"Well, look what we have here. Why is it that things like this always happen to you when you're by yourself?" The Drakaani asked, releasing his grip on the poor mercenary. Getting back onto his feet, Nahvariik called out to the others in his native tongue that these travelers were old allies of his, but to stay alert.

Shyc winced as he was pinned down, giving a sharp cry as his arm was put in a rather precarious position. It didn't last long though, which surprised him. He heard the words that were directed to him and he had to wonder what the hell that meant exactly. Once the heavy weight was lifted off of him, the thief flipped over and looked up to the tall assailant. Standing up, he wrung his wrist slightly. Wait... he knew that voice.

"Nahv... the hell?" he asked softly. Rolling his shoulders to loosen them a bit he heaved a heavy sigh, "What the hell are you doing here? And has anyone told you that you're ridiculously heavy..." he shook his head a bit as he tried to get feeling back into his seemingly squashed limbs.

He had chuckled a bit, or what would've been considered as a chuckle from a Drakaani, before revealing exactly why he appeared from out of the dark. "Aye, I do apologize young lad, but you happen to be passing into the territory of Ice King Wuld'drak. If you and your party doesn't turn and return the way you came or return to one of the main roads, under direct orders of the Ice King I'll... have to dispose of you." he replied grumpily, hesitant on wanting to follow through.

Shyc sucked in a sharp breath, his fingers that were wrapped around the opposite wrist tightened. What? That... that can't happen. We have to get Sakura to see the King. He has the cure! Shyc's wide gaze studied the tall Drakaani carefully and for a long while as he tried to think of something to say, "Nahv...That... We can't. We... have to go there. It's for Sakura's sake. If we don't go, she'll die! Can... can't you just take us there then? Or let us pass without a word? Or... wait... you... since when did you work for the King of Truell?" confused he was rambling, trying to piece it all together.

The Drakaani was in quite a dilemma and had to pause for a second or two, thinking over what possibilities that were available. Returning to his native tongue once more, he called for a nearby ranger, and from the canopy above them, another Drakaani, roughly the same size as his male companion and armed with a bow, appeared. "Send word to the Ice King that I'm escorting Princess Dieriean through the old ruins. Also alert him to the fact that she will also be closely accompanied by a group of talented and well trained mercenaries, but we can deal with them when we reach the palace. Go."

The smaller Drakaani replied in confirmation before swiftly moving out of sight, as Nahvariik pitched the idea of having to go through the labyrinthine ruins that ran throughout the mountain. "Seeing that your group would most likely not last very long on the trails, I do know a much safer passage to the Ice King's palace, though you'll most likely have to leave the cart behind. It'll be dangerous nonetheless, but it's much safer and quicker than having to travel through the blizzards and other hazards."

Shyc lifted an eyebrow. Though he was grateful for the fact that Nahv didn't want to 'dispose of them' as he had first said, he was still slightly wary. All of the Drakaani around was definitely unnerving. Still, if it was a sure way to get to the King, he supposed they should take it, but that wasn't his decision in the least, "Well, we were planning to leave the cart anyway so it doesn't matter either way," he answered, also aware that the large lizard hadn't answered his question about when he had worked for the King. Frowning just a bit he sighed softly, "Anyway, you'll have to tell Raze, though I think he will probably agree. If it's our only way in, we'll have to take it. Sakura needs that cure. She says she can last, but I don't know how true that is."

Crossing his arms across his chest, Nahvariik released a small grunt. "Well, you should return to your camp. I also know that you picked up a new member along the way, so I shouldn't be too surprised."

Shyc startled slightly, but then relaxed. Of course Nahv would know that they had more than they had ended up with when returning to Iverien weeks ago, "Yes, yes. We picked up a few new people," he answered and moved to go past the large lizard-man. Stopping briefly, he turned slightly and looked over his shoulder to the other, "Thank you, Nahv," he said and went into the camp.

The warrior followed Shyc into the camp, making a quick hand gesture to signal the remaining Drakaani that it was all-clear and for them to continue making their patrols. It had seemed to him that the mercenary was the only one that stood watch for the night, as nobody else was in sight within their temporary campsite. "As for when, the... Ice King will reveal that when you're introduced to him," Nahvariik calmly spoke out, pausing midway in the sentence. "Unfortunately, I'm on the other team this time, so keep that in mind when you tell the others."

---

---

Razeluxe never found himself in a deep sleep due to his instructor's training a couple centuries ago, and his own paranoia. As his hammock swayed very lightly from side to side, a small disturbance in the force area around the camp, too quiet for a normal human likely, snapped the warrior awake. At least those ears were useful for something.

He scanned the campsite quickly with his vision and despite not having night vision like a cat or some species, he was able to at least make out the situation with the moonlight which, of course, was that the actual camp was dead save him. But he could still hear something that sounded like voices, although he was not able to make what they were saying out. They begun getting closer and closer, as though people were approaching the camp, and eventually, Razeluxe could make out both the voices. He was moderately surprised at the deeper one, and for a good reason too -- they had just departed from the group a few days ago. Judging by the tones used, there was not immediate threat to the camp and Razeluxe quietly approached the incoming people, his footsteps naturally something swift but silent, this being more of a trait of an elf than a soldier.

"Alright." Razeluxe said quietly as the two finally entered his vision, not particularly wanting to wake the rest of the camp, though he wouldn't be surprised if someone had already awaken besides himself. He hadn't been able to make out any clear words since they weren't shouting, for obvious reasons, he was simply able to hear the tone and voices. "So it was Nahv that was trailing us? That's a relief." even if Nahv was hostile, Dane would definitely prefer him over Iriyn. It wasn't a matter of who would be easier to fight, it's simply a problem of his past he buried but didn't realize it wouldn't stay that way. But now wasn't anytime to be thankful your stalker was different than the person you really feared. You still had a stalker. "Anyway, what have I missed? It pertains to the business you had, I presume."

(OOC:Sorry for the poo post! T_T I'm fairly tired and need other stuff done too!)

---

---

The boy that stayed behind when his leader (she was assuming, given the way the two had been whispering) was kind enough, he had a bit of trouble keeping an even gaze with her. Not surprising. He, unlike the man that had just left, seemed more suspectable to her whims. Heh. She leaned closer as he chatted with her, letting him catch small glimpse of just a little bit of skin. That was part of the game, wasn't it? Tantalize with a small peek but never with anything more. There conversation was pleasant enough, he seemed interested to know why she was heading in the direction of Truell. She gave him the answer she normally gave, which was close enough to the truth: she had a show to perform there.

There wasn't really much to say beyond that and with a wary look in the direction of their cart (she could've sworn she saw it move), she put the fire out and wished her guest a good night. She wrapped herself in her warm silk blankets and lay her head down, fading into a world of pleasant dreams, where all who saw her bowed down instantly, grateful to be in her presence... Mmm... yes, she was such a wonderful goddess...

Yet it was that... noise that awoke her. It was shuffling and one of her eyes shot open, looking about her for the cause. The first thing she noticed was that the boy was gone, the spot he had been sleeping in was empty. That wasn't what concerned her, it was the shadow that was crouching over where she was laying. The dancer flinched back, veering away from the figure. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but from what she could make out, this shape was another woman's. A woman she didn't recognize--had she missed someone last night?

Her heart lept in her throat and her chest was starting to constrict. Relax, nervousness was not really a trait that suited her, not in the slightest. She glared at the figure, not about to let her hesitation leak through.

"What's your problem?" She was already reaching behind her to grab her scimitar to defend herself but the figure was quicker, grabbing her wrist and pushing her down to the ground. With the distance between them somewhat lessened, Amaunet was able to get a better look at her "attacker", a woman with green eyes and a rather blank expression. Maybe she shouldn't have invited these people to stay with her, if this was the thanks she was going to get!

She could hear the growls from her babies, though mixed with the night hair, it sounded more like a low murmur. No, she wasn't going to... let them out, she could handle her own in this one. Best not to blow her cover so immediately.

"Look, darling," She decided to try a different approach, fluttering her eyelashes at the other. "I'm sure this is a misunderstanding, though if you're looking for an excuse to get closer..." Amaunet adjusted her leg, rubbing her thigh against the woman's waist. To her surprise, the figure didn't seem pleased by this and immediately leaned backwards, relinquishing the grip that was keeping her pinned to the ground. Well, that wasn't the reaction she expected but... at least it had freed her.

The dancer was quick to get to her feet, grabbing her scimitar in the process. Best to be on guard right now.

"Identify yourself." Huh? What did that cutie say? Now that Amaunet was getting a better look at this woman... she wasn't too bad looking at all! She had modest breasts, not as big as hers, of course, but they were a nice size. And that little waist, mm, so petite. Still, what was this woman going on about? Identify? Identify what?

"... Excuse me?" Was all the necro-engineer could manage as she stared back.

---

---

Fotiá didn't know why this... ... whatever she was... desert woman was so difficult. Usually pulling a weapon on someone else worked. She had never had anyone rub their leg against her. It had felt strange and unwelcome. Her features were rigidly set, despite the fact that she had been somewhat frazzled by that... odd decision. Why didn't this stranger get it? This was yet another person that had not been a part of her orders, another person that did not conform with the proper order of things, and another person who was delaying their trip. And she had thought they'd got over this with the weird... silent... whatever it was.

And the elemental really didn't like repeating herself. Besides, the woman was probably just being intentionally frustrating--that was what all strangers liked to do anyway. And this was ridiculous, they were staying in a camp that this traveler had offered without the slightest clue as to whether or not this person was a hostile entity or not. The princess could be in serious danger--why wasn't this mercenary leader doing his job properly? But it didn't matter, she could take it into her own hands... as she was right now.

She decided that she had had enough--after all, talking was a waste of time. Narrowing her eyes, the emerald faded into the familiar turqoise as her pupils and irises disappeared into the hue, her skin flaking and burning as she morphed into a more familiar shape. If weapons didn't work, then fire always did. She'd be careful this time, she wouldn't burn any trees. Hissing, she raised a few fingers, a small ring of fire swirling around her digits.

The woman seemed temporarily stunned by this shift, why? Had no one on this plane ever met an elemental before? Fotiá had been summoned, after all, she couldn't have been the first elemental to make their presence known. She pushed these thoughts out of her mind, focusing more at the task at hand. She took a few steps closer to the other, the stranger tensing in response.

"Cutie, I don't know how you did that but... I don't think you really want to be attacking me." Fotiá was unfamiliar with the tone of voice the woman was using. None of it mattered, she had to find out why they had been offered shelter, and if this dancer was going to be a threat. She sent off a warning blast of flame, singing the ends of the woman's hair. The stranger's mismatched eyes widened as a look of horror (Fotiá knew what this was) overtook her features. What was the big deal? It was just hair. It would grow ba--

Something cold, something slippery, something... something WET was dumped over her head--Fotiá didn't know how it happened but it was happening. The water was disgusting and her flames made a sizzling noise. It definitely wasn't enough to put her out but it had hit the back of her head, dampening some of her hair. The elemental stood in stunned silence, hating every moment of this, hating this woman because that was the only person around to blame. But most of all, hating water, it was the most vile thing in existence.

She raised her body temperature to compensate for the bit of her that had gone out, flames expelling from her skin and causing the nearby plant life to whither and die at her feet. (... damn it.) The stranger blinked, but that mismatched gaze was not fixed upon the elemental. Instead, it was focused on something behind her. Fotiá glanced behind her, wondering what the woman could've been looking at. But all she saw was a mound of dirt. Hmm...

She turned back to the dancer, with a short sigh. This night. This night was neverending. Well she didn't need to sleep, she meditated anyway. And she could wait it out the whole entire night. She was going to stand here and watch the dancer. There was no way she trusted the woman but she was also aware that the princess was sleeping not too far off and she didn't know where the others were but she didn't want to wake them with the sounds of battle.

"Don't try anything." Was all she said, taking her place in the center of a pile of logs. She caused the wood to catch fire the instant she sat down but she paid no heed, a close eye on the woman in question. This night was far too bizarre.

"So it was Nahv that was trailing us? That's a relief. Anyway, what have I missed? It pertains to the business you had, I presume."

Shyc glanced over to the tall lizard-man, "Yeah, I guess. But..." he paused for a moment, "Business hu... after or before he tackled me," he gave a slight glower at the lizard. Obviously he was still trying to have feeling return to his strained limbs. With a sigh he reached up and ran his hands through his hair, "I guess he's working for the King of Truell."

"That so?" Razeluxe turned to the Lizard-man who had created what would later be known as the 'man-pack'. "Too much to hope that he wanted to enjoy my company again."

Shyc gave a slight huff, a small upturn of his lips as he smiled slightly, "Well, better than what he originally wanted to do. He'd told me that we couldn't go any farther unless... well, he's been ordered to dispose of anyone who dares to 'tresspass'. But with Sakura's condition, it seems he's made an exception. So! Thankfully we won't die today, but we're under strict... survelliance I suppose. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that."

"Getting the cure for Sakura is our top priority at the moment, so I could care less if we're under watch. At the very least, I know Nahv's character enough to know that he won't do anything if we don't. Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.."

Shyc looked over to Nahv again, his arms crossing as he eyed the man. He seemed to think about their options and then returned his gaze to Raze, "Yeah. I trust you on that. He's decided to take us through some ruins to get to the castle. I guess the pass is too perilous right now with all the snow. And well.. I think I have to agree. Sakura may say she's good, but... coupled with the cold and she's been looking a little pale lately," he paused again watching Raze carefully, "It'll be faster, warmer and Nahv will be guiding us. What do you say to that?"

Razeluxe's face was blank, as usual. Despite that, he couldn't help but avert his eyes for a moment. Would Sakura-chan be alright until then? He realized pondering this would just be wasting the little time they probably had. Razeluxe returned his gaze to Shyc. "I'm fine with it. Cold was never really my thing anyhueway." he answered.

"When does he want to depart?"

To this, Shyc gave a slight shrug, "I don't know. Probably soon, maybe in the morning which isn't too long now if you think about it," the young theif gave a sigh. So much for sleeping, but he was sort of used to that anyway, "Want me to wake her? Or will you? I could..." he glanced over as his attention was taken by something that sounded like a scuffle. He watched both women for a while before he shook his head and sighed as he looked down to the ground, "Well... that's just going to be great. Want me to see what's got those two all riled up?" he asked, pointing at the two women and specifically Fotia who looked to be drenched in water.

Razeluxe too had heard all the commotion coming from the camp. Whatever it was, it wasn't welcome. Razeluxe shook his head at Shyc's offer. "No, I'll deal with it. Go wake Sakura and tell her what we're going to do." he instructed before heading off towards the scuffle, irritated that something that was likely to be stupid was going on. He was quite done with all the shit going on around him for at least a few more nights.

"Alright," Shyc said with a nod and turned to go to Sakura's tent. He was slightly glad that Raze was going to deal with the two women. He wasn't quite sure how well he could have done so. Pushing aside the tent flap, he moved into her tent and gently shook her shoulder, "Sakura?"

She gave a mumble in reply, still wrapped up in a deep sleep. He grinned as he watched her, laughing to himself. Of course, nothing could wake her up it seemed, a full on war could be going on around her but if she were in this deep of a sleep, there was nothing to get her up. He settled for poking her face until she twitched a few times, and reached out and slapped at his hand.

"Sakura," he laughed, "Wake up, I know it's late. Sorry..."

"Mm, what is it, Shyc?" she said barely muttering the words as she rolled over and peered up at him sleepily.

"We're gonna get going soon."

"Now?"

"Yeah, seems... Nahv is back and he's going to take us to the King. We'll get your cure sooner. How does that sound?"

Sakura lay there for a while before everything processed and then she nodded and sat up slowly, stretching as she went. She gave him a tired smile, "You are all so worried. And for nothing. I promise I'm okay, jeez it's not like I'm just going to drop," she teased slightly.

Shyc frowned a bit, "So you say... but... you've been looking really pale lately and I don't know if it's just me but... you're usually more energetic."

"We've been walking a lot," she said with a shrug that he didn't believe wholly. Sakura pushed herself up to her feet and yawned, her arms stretching up over her head one more time. Shyc stood with her as he shook his head just a bit.

"See? Just... fine," the Princess swayed and then dropped.

Shyc shouted, catching her just before she could crumple completely, "Sakura?!" he shook her gently, and when she didn't move, he picked her up and left the tent in a hurry, taking her towards the dying fire, he laid her out as he called for Raze, shouting the elf's name even though he probably didn't have to.

Unfortunately for the two fighting women, the big, strapping young elf-human hybrd was unable to reach their tent before he heard the boy's cry for help. With a glare through the tent towards Shyc for interrupting his possible three-way, he rushed over to the tent that held the two.

"What? What's the matter?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The young theif ground his teeth, "I'm hopeful that she's just too tired... but... she stood up and then passed out," Shyc shook his head as he eyed Sakura's still form carefully, "This isn't looking good, Raze. What are we going to do if we lose her before we even make it?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to the elf with a bit of fear in his gaze.

Shaking his head, he continued a bit, "And Nahv hasn't gauranteed our audience with the King either... only that we'll get there."

"We'll get her there before that happens." he shot back, as if offended by the very idea that she'd actually perish before then. "Both our lives and her own depend on it, and I won't let them be lost. For now, we worry about things one at a time. You'll just stress yourself out otherwise. Can I expect a level head on you, Shyc? You're the most veteran member I have left."

Shyc took a sharp breath. For a moment only stared at Raze and then nodded, releasing his pent up air as he settled himself, "Yes," he answered and looked back down at Sakura, "Yes. You can expect that. I promise," he readjusted his hold on her and stood, he offered her to Raze, "I'll get our things, and tell Nahv we are ready. The sooner the better at this point," he said as calmly as he could muster.

---

The darkness of the room was only broken by a slight strand of silver light from the moon hanging outside the window. From that strand of light, two figures could be seen in the dark room. One was seated, the other stood next to them. The one that was seated tapped the arm of the chair incessantly.

"How much longer?"

"Till that time?"

The figure seated nodded only in response.

"Not too much longer. The solstice is nearly upon us. I'm sure she's starting to feel it by now. The pains would have increased, fatigue follows next, and eventually..."

"Will they make it?"

The one standing shrugged lightly, "Who knows. Even if they don't she will still awaken. The only thing depending on if she makes it is what sort of destruction will happen afterwards. Should the King manage to get his hands on her, he can awaken her with little destruction. If not... well... it matters not."

"No. It doesn't matter. She's mine anyway. Just so long as that power of hers is awakened, that's all I want. That's all I need. Everything else doesn't matter."