Someone took hold of the heavy body that lay atop him and pulled it off soon after his complaint, relieving him of the heavy burden. He breathed a bit easier as he lay there, knife still held against his chest as it was pulled from the man's heart. His gaze looked up into that of the angels and he gasped a bit. Dinan stared down at him for a moment before speaking.
"I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you foolish child."
Is he... worried? Shyc thought in utter shock.
Shyc's heart skipped a beat, his chest rising and falling heavily for a moment. His voice cracked as he stared wide eyed at the man that loomed over him. His face flushed a deep red and he knew there was no way to hid the terrible blush that assaulted him. Thankfully though, Willow dropped down next to him and chided the one winged warrior.
"I'd suggest neither. At least not until after I finish easing his wounds."
He glanced over to her. He was a bit disappointed that she suggested neither option. But then her added part made him a bit nervous. That implied that Dinan could do what he wanted after he was all healed up.
He swallowed dryly.
Shyc's thoughts were rampant right then and he forced himself to reign in his wild imagination. He thought about answering, but wasn't sure really what to say to the sudden options given to him. Get slapped... or have a kiss. He looked away from both of them, deciding that silence was probably his best answer right then.
"Lay back. It'll tickle, and you'll feel a little tired afterward, but the wound should heal far faster," Willow's slender fingers pressed against his skin making him wince as she directed him to lay flat and stay still. Soon after, her magic pricked his skin and should the boy have been ticklish in the first place he probably would have squirmed, but it wasn't. Instead it felt pleasant, like a soft touch being dragged across his skin. It was rather relaxing.
As she'd said, he did feel tired. Overly exhausted and felt as if he could sleep right there on the forest floor. His eyes drooped a bit lazily as he stared upwards at the canopy. Finally she finished and he could tell that she was just as tired, if not more. She smiled warmly at him, which he returned a bit sheepishly.
"Thanks... I'm sorry, Willow," he said, feeling guilt bite down hard in his chest.
"There. You should be able to move well enough now, but for my sake don't get into any more fights alone for a time, hmm?"
"Sorry... I'll be more careful," he answered, emphasizing 'sorry' again. He truly felt terrible. The young thief was sure that he would be getting an earful later from Raze. He most especially was dreading what Dinan might say to him. The tone from earlier had him all sorts of confused, as did the words given. He wasn't quite sure what to think right then.
Then yet another scream filled the area and Shyc's heart pulsed hard. Willow looked up, two names breathed on her lips and she was off like a rocket with Raze almost immediately right behind her. The thief hauled himself upwards like he normally would have. Except this time, the large blood loss and the weakened feeling from having been healed by Willow's magic, he stumbled violently. He crumpled forward, just barely catching himself.
On Dinan.
He gasped.
Pulling away he stuttered, "Uh... S-sorry... Got up really fast, probably shouldn't have done that. Along with going off alone too, yeah shouldn't have done that either. Sorry... Um," he was blabbering now as he reached back and scratched the back of his head, ruffling his own hair. He glanced up at Dinan for a mere moment before finding it rather hard to face the angel. He set about gathering his weaponry, replacing the swords, daggers, and throwing knives before heading back in the direction of camp.
There he found a peculiar sight. A dragon looking male kneeling down with Sakura in his grip. The young woman was unconscious and behind them was a bloody mess of a corpse. Knowing Yan and knowing Sakura, Shyc was rather sure that neither of them had done the deed and so his gaze fell upon the lizard-man.
"Wow... we just keep finding random new people don't we? This is going to be interesting, again..."
Sakura shifted slightly. A blanket was over her and she was rather warm. Moving a bit more, she rolled over onto her other side and opened her eyes. Lying a little way away from her, she spotted Shyc. The young man was covered as well and looked to be asleep. She yawned, stretching her limbs a bit as she tried to recall what had happened and how she'd gotten there.
Her movement must have woken the mercenary for he shifted a bit and looked over to her, "You're awake. How do you feel?"
"I'm alright," she answered, "Where are we? What happened?"
"You kinda passed out. There was a lizard-man holding you. We ended up moving camp a bit. Everything's fine now, they're talking," he motioned to the flickering flames that colored the outside of the tent. Sakura silenced herself and listened hard. Voices came to her but she couldn't make out the words of the discussion outside their tent. With a soft gasp she looked over to him.
"Are you alright!? What happened to you?!"
Shyc scratched at his cheek guiltly, "Uh... yeah, about that. I kinda got in trouble. Going off alone wasn't the brightest idea in the forest and as it was getting dark. I didn't think I was going to go so far away but I did. Anyway, I got attacked by some mercenaries," he chuckled a bit at a memory, "I think the mage woman is still stuck to the tree too... Willow's punishment."
Sakura laughed a bit at that, "But you're okay? That scream was terrible."
"I'm fine now. Just tired really. Willow's magic tends to make you like that. She draws from your own energy as well as hers to do healing."
"Oh I see. I've been meaning to ask you some things about everyone," Sakura said, now that they were talking about the other mercenaries of the group. She propped herself up on her hands, rolling to her stomach to watch him, "What are they like? How long have you been with them?"
"They're good people. I've been with them for about three years now. Willow is like our mother, sometimes she can really get into the reprimanding. Hell, she even reprimands Raze sometimes, that's fun to watch. I don't think anyone could chide him like she does. Yan has always been as he is. Loud and touchy. You get used to it after a while," he grinned a bit as he moved to a more comfortable position, though still on his back, "Raze is always somewhat withdrawn from everyone. His words may seem harsh but he means well. He looks out for us a lot. I really look up to him. Don't let him fool you, he cares a lot more than he lets on."
As Shyc fell somewhat quite, Sakura tilted her head off to the side, "What about Dinan?"
His gaze widened a bit and his face flushed. Both of which she noted and smiled, "Uh... Dinan. He's silent a lot of times. Talks only when he needs to and doesn't like it when people talk to much, kinda like me," he gave a sort of half laugh, "He's really strong too. He and Raze could probably match up... Not that I want to see that! Ever, I mean... I would be really sad if that happened... Anyway! I find it really fascinating that he can fly with one wing, and I kind of envy that too. I wonder what it's like sometimes. I bet it's an amazing feeling." his voice trailed off.
Sakura's smile had widened, "You like him, right?"
He jumped a bit, "Hu!? What? Uh... what makes you say that?"
"Well, you just talked about him the most. You're always sneaking glances at him when we were walking just a few days ago. You sound really fond of him, that's all. So I figured you liked him."
He glanced over at her, his eyes narrowed a bit and a frown on his face, "You know... sometimes you're scarily smart."
Sakura tilted her head, "What do you mean? It's not that hard to figure out. I bet he likes you too."
"I don't think so. It doesn't seem like it really," he muttered, though it seemed like he was remembering something for his face turned red again.
"Want to know something? When you were in trouble, he ran off without waiting for Raze's directions. He was worried."
"R-really? He did that? That's... Umm... Strange."
"It's not strange. You should ask him. You should tell him too. I'm sure he already knows."
"Wait, wait. Are we really having this discussion? Doesn't this bother you? I mean, I'm a guy and I'm sort of attracted to Dinan, whose also a guy. Doesn't that bother you? And why are you encouraging me! Stop it!"
Sakura laughed, loud. She fell against the pillows as she watched him, "It doesn't bother me. I thinks it's great. You shouldn't be bothered by it either. If you're in love with him, than do it. You won't be happy otherwise. And I'm pushing you to do it because I doubt you'd do it on your own without someone telling you to do so."
Shyc's face was beet red as he stared up at the ceiling of the tent. He looked rather uncomfortable and unnaturally silent. Sakura sighed a bit as she got comfortable again, "Maybe I should ask him for you?"
"No! No! Definitely not! Don't say a word to him! Ugh, what would you do if I told Raze about you hu?"
It was her turn to blush this time, "Eh!? What are you talking about?? I-I don't know what you mean. I'm going to sleep now! Goodnight Shyc..." she announced hastily and rolled over quickly. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, not in fear but in embarrassment that one of the group had noticed. She'd been getting rather close to the elf and even though it was only a few days ago that she'd joined them, she had finally figured out the little tiny feeling that had started to bud recently.
Nope! Not going to think about that... its too late in the night and sleep is making me delirious. she thought and closed her eyes.
|| End Quest 2.5 || Begin Quest Three ||