|
Hikari nodded slightly, "Well...that is a relief." she said with a soft laugh. She just started to massage the top of his head since she already had her hand on top of it. She glanced over to Aamori as she walked away from the lake and tilted her head slightly. She sighed and dropped her hand again, half debating on stalking Aamori to the trees, but she finally just sat back down again, not wanting to bother the girl to death. She was surprised enough that Kyran put up with her as well as he did.
Celestine looked at Aamori for a moment as if that was a stupid question. That water was like ice, he didn't want to leave both feet sitting in it. Besides, he was trying not to get his clothes too wet. When she walked off he just sighed and shook his head, getting up himself to head back to the trees where he'd been sitting previously. As he'd stared before he moved almost silently across the ground, stopping inside of a tree only one or two down from the one that Aamori went behind. He didn't have much of a care to follow her. He just leaned his head back and stared up through the trees. Nanashi sighed softly, "I just said that it doesn't bother me much." he repeated as he walked. He glanced back to her again, watching her mess with her cuffs and sighed, "Haven't you got enough of your own injuries to worry about?" he asked softly before shaking his head. He dug into his pocket and pulled out three objects holding them out so that LaRae could see. All that he held in his palm were two Gil and a dragon scale, obviously from the fire clan. Like his own scales, it was crimson red at the wide base and faded into purple at the tip where it connected with the skin, and it was warm to the touch. Judging by the size it appeared to have been taken form a dragon while it was in its true form as the scales were slightly larger then than they were while in the 'human' form. "This is all I have." he said simply. His point was obvious enough. He didn't have enough money to really buy anything. He glanced down at his hand and then closed it rather quickly when he realized he'd dragged out the scale as well. |
Kyran's ears lowered seeing as Hikari had started massaging his head. Again, that just felt weird. He sighed softly when she finally stopped, her attention being grabbed by Aamori for the time being. "I'm hoping we don't have to even bother going to the Southern forest..." He said quietly glancing over to Hikari briefly before looking else where. "...The only thing that has got me stumped is where the relic would be. If I could figure out that much I'd know where to go..." He stated in a mellow tone. "I've seen every single one of these forests before and I can't for the life of me pick out something abnormal about any of them..." Well, anything more abnormal then the fact that area's like this were even able to sustain life in this territory. He shifted, letting his other hand go behind him to keep him propped up. He tilted his head back and shut his eyes gently.
Aamori had not heard Celestine when he moved over to the tree away from her. She stared down at the staff for a few more minutes before she started to feel that she was reverting back to her other self. Sustaining that form did take a toll on one's magic after awhile; Luckily for her she could tell when it was happening. So she knew when to distance herself from the others, just to keep her secret. She looked up slightly and blinked a few times, her eyes now their natural dark blue shade. By this time she was pretty sure that her voice had regained it's annoying echo too. She lifted up her staff and peered into the silver of just barely catching her reflection and the color of her eyes. She scoffed knowing for sure now that she'd drained herself completely. "...Wonderful..." She muttered shutting her eyes and then let her back slide down the tree until she was sitting on the ground. She sighed heavily thinking to herself 'At least it lasted this long... two months this time... a new record' LaRae didn't pay too much attention to anything he'd said after commenting on her injuries. Bringing up the amount of them made her sit and count them all while he kept on about the things he had. 'Lets see... four burns, two broken wings... probably a slightly bruised cheek, slight sore thigh from the cuts prior, and another annoying itch on my back. Nine? Is that all?' She finally looked up when he started to close his hand; Barely catching sight of the scale. Sure it peaked her interest but she'd ask about it later considering how fast he'd shut his hand. "...I don't have that many injuries..." She muttered lowering her eyes back towards the ground. "...And if I'm not allowed to care about you hurting, even slightly then I'll stop caring; Which means I don't have to walk as slow as you.." She muttered again and started to walk a bit faster, moving ahead of him. |
Hikari looked back over to Kyran for a moment when he spoke again and smiled weakly, "Well...if it were easy to find then it would not be very well hidden." she said softly, "...You have it the hardest out of all of us, being first. Not to mention there are so many places that this thing could be hidden here..." She looked back to him again and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you will find it soon enough."
Celestine's ear twitched slightly when he heard Aamori's voice from behind the tree. He blinked and turned his head again, trying to look back at her, though he could barely see her. He shifted positions and peeked halfway around the tree. "...What is wonderful?" he asked dully. He hadn't found too much wonderful about this morning...he was quite honestly really to go back to sleep until noon. Nanashi looked at her when she said that she didn't have that many injuries. He nearly rolled his eyes; she wad way more than he did right now, and as far as he was concerned hers were a lot worse. He blinked when she said that she would stop caring and didn't have to walk as slow as him. "...You never had to in the first place..." he said softly, turning his eyes to the ground. He let her get ahead of him...he was pretty sure that she could find her way back without him. He didn't quite understand why she got so upset. Did she honestly want to worry over every nick and cut that he got over this entire trip? He had a feeling that she'd be in a near constant state, and really he just didn't want her to be bothered with that. He just sighed softly and tucked the three items back into his pocket before he dropped them somewhere. |
Kyran sighed softly. "I know I'll find it... eventually. Arienh's well being is hanging in our hands. Maybe that thought is what's got me so bothered about all of this. If we didn't have such a high negative outcome for if we failed then I might not stress so badly." He paused opening up his eyes and looking over at Hikari. "It doesn't help that I got stuck going first either. I can't wait until one of you get your turn..." He laughed a little. He was ready for one of them to be left stressing over everything; He wanted to just sit back and let someone else guide him around. He sighed and sat up resting his hands in his lap, hunched over slightly. "When the other two get here, I suppose we'll head North. That's the largest forest in all this territory. If it was hidden anywhere, I'd imagine there to be the best place."
Aamori stared down at her staff for a few moments before realizing that Celestine had overheard her. She sighed softly and turned her head to look in his direction. She hesitated for a bit, not sure she wanted to even speak while her voice was like this; Let alone while everyone else was awake. "...I was being sarcastic..." She muttered quietly trying not to draw anymore attention to herself. She indeed wasn't very happy with her current situation. She had no way to hide everything at the moment; She'd wished she had longer bangs or something to cover her eyes. At least then all she had to worry about was talking while she was stuck like this. She sighed softly knowing she wouldn't have to be like this for too long, but still she'd have to wait for her energy to build back up. Then she could set aside the reserve energy again and go back to her child-like state. LaRae didn't bother turning around or listening to him too much. She balled up her fist slightly hearing what he said. Of course now she was bit more upset then before which caused her to flick her tail about a couple times. She rather quickly realised her temper was flaring when she heard her tail flick at the ground and make a snapping noise. She sighed heavily and her shoulders dropped. "...You know what... Lets make things a lot easier on both of us." She paused briefly. "I'll stop caring what happens to you and you stop caring about what happens to me. It's only fair." She kept walking ahead of him, easily navigating through the forest. It shouldn't be too much longer before she'd reach the others. |
Hiakri nodded slightly, understanding that well enough. "Yes...you would think they could have warned us about this sooner and given us a bit more than five months..." She smiled and laughed softly, "Yes...well I can imagine you will be glad to let someone else take over the lead." she said, shaking her head slightly, "...Oh boy...I almost dread going home." she said with a sigh.
Celestine sighed, "I'm aware of that... I meant what?" he said simply, "Oh...never mind." he muttered, shaking his head. He really didn't need to pry into her businesses any more than she needed to pry into his. He wondered why she was talking that way again...maybe she finally ran out of steam. Nanashi stopped walking when he heard her tail snap against the ground and looked ahead at her even after she started to walk again. "...Why are you angry with me?" he asked bluntly, only just loud enough to reach her ears. Nanashi at east could get straight to a point without beating around the bush for an hour. He didn't know what he'd said exactly that made her flip out on him. He shook his head slightly and started moving again, walking just a little faster than before. There she went talking about fairness again... Life wasn't fair, he'd thought they'd both figured that out already, so why did she have to make such a big deal over him worrying bout her broken wings and telling her not to worry about his feet? In his mind, his feet would heal eventually, they always did... her wings were a bit worse off. |
Kyran looked back over at her for a moment before continuing on with a thought; "I'm pretty sure the Elders gave us as much time as they could. I can't imagine them purposely sitting on knowledge of what is to come with something this important. I'm just surprised they put their faith in the seven of us... and we'd never met before this really, and they expected us to all work together to complete this task; and without killing one another no less." He laughed softly, though it faded rather quickly. "I also doubt my lead will ever really be taken away, I'm sure you all will ask questions once I've found this relic... Anything to make finding you're own a little easier." He sighed again softly and looked back over to Hikari, this time not looking away as before. "Why do you 'dread' going home?" He paused shaking his head slightly. "I'm starting to think I'm the only one who had no real gripe with their home territory."
Aamori took a moment to peer around the base of the tree she was sitting behind to see what everyone else was up to. Seeing that Nero was completely uninterested in anything going on at the moment relaxed her a bit, plus it looked like Kyran and Hikari were having an in depth conversation. Which left very little for her to worry about. She sat back again, resting against the tree. She fiddled with the staff in her hands while she again hesitated to say anything. "...It's nothing really..." She paused. "...I think I used too much magic yesterday and I'm out of my reserve..." Once she finished saying what little she had she tilted her head down and stared at the staff. She had a way she could solve the issue for a couple hours while she waited for her energy to build back up but that could cause a problem later should an emergency arise. LaRae stopped walking nearly as soon as he said what he had. She had to take a deep breath trying to keep herself from getting too angry. What type of question was that anyway? Wasn't it obvious why she was upset? She sighed heavily and turned around to look back at him. "I'm mad because I'm trying to give myself a reason to not be okay with what's going to happen to me in the end of five months. I thought caring about you might be enough to make me change my mind about everything." She paused turning away slightly. "But you're making that difficult. Is it really that hard to let someone worry about you? I mean I was trying at least..." By now she'd turned all the way back around so she wasn't facing him anymore. "And if I can't worry about your well being then I'm not going to let you worry about mine, so I expect you to stop." She muttered just before she started to walk again. |
Hiakri smiled slightly to Kyran, "Well...the Elders were not the ones who chose us... I'm not sure what that thing was, but...I have a feeling that it went a little beyond simply choosing a member from each clan... But then again I couldn't say for sure." She shook her head and smiled, "Oh... it's not that I have a problem with my home, I just...well for one don't want to run into Ishta and for another...I'm not looking forward to looking for the relic there." she said with a soft laugh, "But if it will make you feel better, I will do it without asking you a single question. I have a library for that."
Celestine looked back again and finally got up to move around the tree so that she didn't have to lean around as much to talk to him, and so he could hear her better. "...So you can't 'hide' anymore...at least for a while?" he surmised from what she said. "...On well...I suppose we can deal with listening to that annoying echo for a while." he said with a faint hint of humor in his tone. Nanashi looked at her again, slightly surprised. "...You...don't want to be alright with it now?" he asked quietly, "...I thought you didn't really...want to get that close to me..." he glanced away again, "...I'm...sorry..." he said quietly, "...I'm just...used to ignoring things like this... If I am not worried about it, I don't see why you should be..." he said softly, "...Especially when you are in sore condition than I am." |
Kyran nodded slightly, he had nearly forgotten about silly little orb thing that had been fluttering around picking people at what appeared to random; But he knew better, though at the same time he didn't know why he knew that perhaps it was just a hunch. "If it's any consolation I don't think many of the others are looking forward to their hunt either, though I doubt any of them have Ishta to deal with." He laughed softly. "And to be honest, I don't mind if anyone, even you asks me questions. I just don't think I will be of too much help considering I'd only know things based off my territory."
Aamori glanced over when she saw him move. She sighed softly. "For lack of better words, yes. I can't hide for awhile..." She then looked away from him shaking her head slightly. "Don't worry, you won't have to listen to the echo. I won't be speaking, not even a little. At least until I've built up enough energy." She looked down at her staff, deciding now to save that for an emergency. She could easily have finished off that water in the shaft; It was special after all. It would have been able to give her a small boost until she could regain all her energy but she didn't want to chance being stuck with nothing. She lifted up the edge of the skort and slipped the staff back into the holster and buckled it in. LaRae stopped again, knowing that she wasn't that far off from where the others were and wanting to hash this out before they were back with them. It'd be slightly embarrassing to walk up to them and be having this type of talk with Nanashi. She sighed heavily and turned a little so she could look back at him again. "I can change my mind can't I?" She said quietly before lowering her eyes. "Besides, you were a lot nicer to me then I ever expected. I'd gone several years without that, I became cold and slightly bitter. Which is the only reason I can give for accepting death over life." She paused, sighing softly. "Then you were kind to me, you worried about me, it was nice then it made me second guess my decision. So now, I'm not so sure what I'm willing to accept..." She said quietly as her ears lowered slightly. "...And I try to be a fair person whereas everyone else isn't. So I don't think it's right for me to let you worry about me, when I'm not worried about myself. Just like you don't think I should worry about you. I mean... Sure I'm a little banged up, but I'll heal. Eventually my wings will be fine again... So I don't really see anything to worry about." She mumbled staring down at the ground. |
Hikari smiled, "Oh I am sure." she said with a soft laugh when he mentioned them not having Ishta to deal with. "And they should all be glad of it." She laughed again and then nodded slightly at his last comment. "Yes...That is understandable. I have a fairly good idea of where to look in my territory... By now I'm sure most have thought of one or two places to start looking. I only need to stop by the library for a bit and look a few things up...That shouldn't take more than a day..." she glanced back in Nero's direction, "Though...I am not so sure how well that will go over..." The rest of her people may not be quite as willing to let him go strolling into town as she was.
Celestine glanced over to her again. "...It isn't that annoying." he told her and then tilted his head back a little. "...You really don't want the other to know about this, do you?" He said simply, already guessing the answer before she had to give it. "...I won't say anything. ...I hope you will do the same." he said softly, hoping that she got the hint. He didn't want anyone knowing about his weird little uncontrolled abilities or the dreams. He didn't think Aamori would have a reason to say anything about it, but just in case...he just wanted to make sure that she knew he would be very peeved if she did. Nanashi stopped not far away from her and listened silently. He sighed quietly and shook his head. "...I have gone nearly my entire life without anyone really caring...I'm used to it. I don't expect people to give me care in return for what I do for them... but if you just absolutely feel the need then who am I to argue?" He stared at her for a moment and then crossed his arms. "...I honestly don't know what to make of you, LaRae... One minute you are telling me to come with you, then next you are telling me not to get close to you and no a day after that...you tell me you think you love me... What was I supposed to think? I barely know what to say or do around people anyway...mixed signals only makes it that much harder for me to figure out what you want." He sighed softly and stepped closer to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "...I do care for you... and I will until you give me a better reason than 'because I said so' not to." |
Kyran listened quietly and when she glanced back in Nero's direction his eyes followed and then rested back on her. "There is always going to be places that not all of us are welcome, we'll just have to take steps to watch out for the others of us." He of course had taken that precaution when he only allowed Hikari to go with him into the small town, knowing well enough that if they all had gone that would have caused a large upset. "I'm sure that some of us can be left behind while you go to do your research, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."
Aamori looked up at him shaking her head softly. "First you say it's annoying and now you're saying it isn't that annoying. I know it is, so you don't have to say otherwise. How do you think I feel having to listen to it bouncing around in my own head..." She sighed. "And yes, I don't want anyone else to know about it. You'd understand why if you knew everything..." She paused and looked back down to the ground. "...Anyway, thank you... for your silence. Of course, I'll give you the same courtesy." LaRae stood quietly, not bothering to lift her eyes from the ground. Listening to him only made her feel worse, more so because she didn't really have a reason to have been angry at him before. She started to lift her eyes to look at him when he touched her shoulders, though as soon as she reached his face her eyes darted off to the side. "...I'm sorry... I don't mean to be so confusing." She mumbled. "...I-I just fear anyone getting attached to me... When I could... You know..." She paused sighing softly. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through what could happen. I'd feel terrible knowing I was causing someone else pain... specially if I could keep it from happening..." She paused letting her eyes dart off to the other side. "...And..." She paused again, hesitating. "...I'm... afraid of dying... I don't want to go back home..." |
Hikari nodded slightly and then sighed. "Yes...but I really hate having to do that. I suppose it cannot be helped, though..." She didn't like leaving people behind, she thought it would make them feel unwelcome...though she did realize that the whole point of leaving them behind was that they were unwelcome in that area. "Oh well, I suppose we will see." She snickered softly, "Maybe we can push him into a huge tub of paint and then no one would know the difference." she said with another quietly laugh. She was of course completely joking about that...but the look she imagined on his face when he crawled out completely purple or yellow was priceless.
Celestine glanced at her from the corner of his eye and almost chuckled when she mentioned her voice bouncing around in her head. "...Why do I have the feeling that if I knew everything you'd have to kill me?" He said flatly, shaking his head. "...Good." he said simply when she said that she would give him the same. "I appreciate it..." Nanashi looked at LaRae as her eyes darted everywhere but at him. She acted just like he did when he first met her...he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with her at all hardly. At her last words his ears laid back and he sighed softly, wrapping his arms around her again and pulling her to him. "Everyone is afraid of dying, LaRae..." he said quietly, "It's nothing to be ashamed of... I can understand perfectly why..." he closed his eyes and nuzzled her with his cheek for a moment before pulling back slightly. "...Look at me," he said softly, waiting a moment for her eyes to come to his face before he continued regardless, "Don't worry about that... It is not you choice whether or not someone decides to get attached to you. ...I know what may happen..." he said quietly. He also knew that even if it didn't things couldn't work out between them, anyway. "...But already...I am attached to you, whether or not you like it... In the end...don't worry about whether it causes me pain or not... It would not be your fault." He smiled slightly and placed hand hand over the cheek that hadn't been hurt the night before. "...Besides...what is pain later compared to now? ...I would rather have you here with me...as a friend or...whatever more you like...then to have you here as a stranger trying to avoid me through the remainder of this trip." he tried to explain to her. "...I will be alright... and I will be there when you need me." |
Kyran laughed softly thinking of what Hikari had said though that stopped rather quickly when he thought of something else. "I wouldn't joke like that, He might just dump black paint on you when we have to go into his territory. I'm pretty sure as you are now, you'll stick out like a sore thumb." He shifted slightly and leaned back on one hand again. "As for having to leave a couple behind, you're right. It really can't be helped. I mean sure we've got this little parchment that says we're allowed everywhere, but that isn't going to change how others feel about some in our group." He sighed softly. "Unfortunately we're still in a time of war, so the towns people aren't going to let their feelings go just because we have a piece of paper that for lack of better words says they should. I just hope that once this is all done and over with Arienh might be able to enter a time of peace again."
Nero just barely payed attention to what was being said by Hikari. He did happen to hear her remark about paint and he merely shook his head sighing heavily. Aamori shifted slightly and lifted her eyes to look at Celestine. "...Because If you knew everything and couldn't button your trap, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you." Her tone surprisingly enough was cold while saying that. She was being serious too. If he knew, or could piece everything together and not keep his mouth shut about it she would take measures to protect her identity without fear of repercussions. She sighed softly after lowering her eyes again. LaRae didn't move too much once he pulled her close. She nearly regretted saying anything about being afraid of death; It made her feel vulnerable for once. All this time she'd been trying to act tough, like nothing ever really bothered her and in a matter of those few words that had all been broken down. She was hesitant to look at him, she knew her eyes were probably glossy by now just from the brief thought of dying. She slowly brought her eyes up though, as he asked; Looking at him very timidly. She listened to the rest of what he had to say and for once was at a loss for words. She couldn't think of anything to say against what he had said. She sighed softly and brought her arms up from her sides, wrapping them around his waist and nuzzling against him; Managing to only mumble one thing. "...Thank you..." |
Hikari only smiled at Kyran's comment, "Yes, yes, I know... I stick out like a sore thumb no matter where I am." she pointed out, "But then again, I was only joking, I wouldn't do that to him." she said with a soft laugh. She glanced over to Kyran again and nodded slightly to his last comment. "Yes...we can only hope for that much... I hate all of the constant fighting, and being looked at strangely every time I try to at least be friendly to someone outside of my clan."
Celestine glanced over at Aamori again and huffed, "And I would not hesitate to defend myself, just so you know. I honestly don't care enough to go rattling off everything that I know about you. It would be relatively pointless, wouldn't you agree?" Nanashi simply smiled at LaRae and gave her a gentle squeeze. "...You're welcome." He whispered softly, leaning his head against hers for a moment. He raised his hand to the back of her head and gently combed his fingers down through her hair once before pulling back enough to look at her face again. "...Are you alright?" He asked softly, gently stroking her cheek again. "...Not mad anymore?" He asked with a half smile as his ears perked up a little, though they were still laid back a bit. He looked almost childish the way that he asked that. |
Kyran finally decided to get to his feet again. Once standing up straight again he stretched his arms up over his head, then let them fall back down to his sides. He glanced down at Hikari. "Even if the times changed and it was alright to be seen with other Clans, I doubt the strange looks will stop. At least not right away. It will take a long while for everyone to be able to get along." He paused. "There's always going to be a few people who oppose peace, just as the few of us that oppose war. Unfortunately I doubt there will be a time when everyone can truly be happy... Though I suppose that can be blamed on Clan pride." He laughed softly. Pride always seemed to get in the way of things; Pride wouldn't be such an issue if everyone was the same.
Aamori shook her head slightly. "It's not pointless to go telling a possible rival Clan secret." She stated bluntly. "And I've no reason thus far to believe you wouldn't be able to keep a secret." She didn't bother saying anything more on the topic of causing harm; Sure she had a few more choice stabs but there was no reason to completely alienate him when they appeared to be able to get along a little bit. LaRae relaxed quite a bit just from resting her head against him; Along with his kind gestures. When he pulled back a little she looked up at him, not hesitating as much as she was before. "...Yes, I think I'm better now." She leaned into his hand slightly when he began stroking her cheek; A smile slowly starting to form on her lips. "...If I was mad Nanashi, I think you'd probably be about five feet in the air right about now." She chuckled softly making a joke. Though, if she was really mad that probably could've happened. |
Hikari looked up to Kyran again and nodded. "...Yes, yes..I know." she said quietly. "There is no such thing as absolute peace...it's just a nice idea." She sighed and stood up herself, dusting herself off again and then half smiled. "...Yes...I suppose pride is an issue...as always."
Celestine looked back to her again and sighed, shaking his head. "...Are we rivals now?" he asked simply, "...I honestly haven't been paying attention to who is fighting with who lately..." He crossed his arms and rested them on top of his knees, "I have no reason to go telling anyone's secrets...intentionally." he knew there was always a possibility that the thought could slip out the way that his did to Aamori. "So really...I would just prefer not to know. That way we can both stay out of danger." Nanashi smiled slightly and laughed softly. "Haha... Yes, I suppose so." He said quietly. He shifted positions slightly and then leaned down, pressing his lips to the top of her forehead, though not exactly in a kissing motion. "Come on...lets get over there before someone organizes a search party." He said with a soft laugh as he started to let her go again. |
Kyran watched as she got to her feet, then moved over to the lake and knelt down on one knee. He then cupped his hands and sunk them into the water for a moment before bringing them back up and splashing the water on his face. The cold from the water sent a quick shiver down his spine which made his tail unravel a bit before tightening back up. He reached up and wiped his face a bit before looking back at Hikari. "Well nice ideas, and pride aside we've got to get going soon. I think we might be able to make it to the Northern forest by night fall." He stated as he started to rise back to his feet.
Aamori sighed heavily shaking her head. "I didn't say that we are rivals..." She paused. "When I said possible, I meant possible; As in our Clans could possibly become rivals. Not you and I specifically." She shifted slightly and started to stand up again, though not moving from behind the tree just yet. "...Believe it or not, it's kind of nice to know that should I ever need to talk about it... I know you won't say anything." At least she had a very good feeling he wouldn't purposely go telling everyone; She didn't think he'd stoop that low. And it was nice to know that she could confide in someone if she wanted to; Keeping a secret like that could be difficult sometimes, let alone knowing that your life was practically already mapped out for you didn't make her feel any better either. LaRae merely smiled softly, letting go of him about the same time that he let her go. "I'm surprised that they have not already sent someone to find us." She said quietly, chuckling softly. She then turned and started to walk back to where the others were. Since they weren't all that far it wouldn't take too long. Once she reached the tree line and spotted Kyran and Hikari, she stopped remembering something she meant to say. She looked over her shoulder slightly. "Oh... I'll try to be a little more clear from now on..." |
Hiakri just stood where she was, watching him to wash his face. She nodded, "Yes, I guess we'd best get a move on... I wonder where those other two are..." she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground lightly. She looked at Kyran for a moment and then dropped her arms. "Did Nanashi even eat last night before he left?" she asked him. She wasn't even sure there was any bread left after everyone had picked it at it. At lest two of the items were completely gone, but she wasn't sure what was left...if anything.
Celestine looked up to her again, "...I meant our clans, not us." He said simply. He glanced away when she mentioned that it was nice to know that she could tell him. "...I guess so... I can listen." he told her. Listening he didn't mind so much, it was giving advice that he hated doing, because half of the time if the person decided to follow it it only cause a lot of trouble. Nanashi turned to follow her, walking close to her as they made their way back, though he still remained behind her a bit since he was still trying to be careful of the way that he walked. When she looked back to him and told him that she'd be more clear, he smiled again. "...Alright...I will, too." He said quietly. Of course, Nanashi was already about as blunt as he could get. |
Kyran had nearly forgotten about what happened last night with Nanashi; Being asked if he had eaten anything only reminded him of it. He sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't believe he did. He kind of rushed off once he had the chance." He took a moment searching for one of the bags from yesterday. He wasn't sure how he missed it, it wasn't like it was incredibly small. He wandered over to it and knelt down reaching for the bottom. He pulled out one of the white clothes the bread had been wrapped in, then unwrapped it part way. "There isn't a lot left, just these two pieces of the sweet bread." He stated holding it out in his hand towards Hikari. "Unfortunately I forgot that he had not eaten any so I didn't remember to put some aside for him. I could always go back to the town real fast and pick up some more if need be." He stated, feeling a bit bad for not saving anything more then what he had.
Aamori adjusted her skort slightly now that she was on her feet; Again making sure to hide her staff as best she could. She was a bit surprised, come to think of it that Hikari had not said anything about it when she showed it to her briefly last night. Maybe it didn't stick out too much like she thought it did. She sighed softly looking to Celestine once more. "I guess you get a break now from the echo..." She gave a weak smile and turned to head out from behind the tree; She headed over to the edge of the lake and stared down at the water for a moment. All she had to do now was keep quiet and avoid eye contact, at least for a few hours anyway. LaRae smiled softly and turned her head back and continued out of the brush. She stood for a moment looking around, noticing that everyone else was there and indeed her and Nanashi were the last ones yet again. She sighed softly, then eyed the lake. She wasted very little time walking over to it, kneeling down and removing the leather cuff from her wrist. She set the cuff down next to her and submerged her burn in the cold water. If anything the itch that had been pestering her went away while it was under water. She then pulled her hand out, then dunked her other wrist in the water. She didn't bother removing the other cuff, that one was a bit more intricate and would take longer to put back on; Not to mention it was a bit higher up on her arm. Once she finished she set her hands down in her lap, not bothering to dry them off just yet. She wanted them to air dry. She happened to glance over at Aamori, curious as to what had her so quiet. Usually her friend never shut up. She brushed it aside for now and looked back down at her wrists. At least the burns weren't too bad, they should be better in no time at all. |
Hikari looked over to Kyran again when he got out the bread. "Hmm..." she sighed softly, "Well...I guess we will just see if he's still hungry..." she said softly. She glanced back again when she heard LaRae come into the open again. "There you are." she said brightly. She then glanced back, looking for Nanashi. She smiled slightly when she saw him and waved to him, but he didn't seem to be paying attention.
As soon as Nanashi was back in the clearing again, his eyes wandered to the ground, away from Kyran and the others. He just hoped that no one would bring up the topic of last night again because now he couldn't run away for a while. He just started toward the lake to get his shoes. Hikari just watched him silently for a moment before happening to look at his feet. Her eyes widened slightly and she took a few steps toward him, "Nanashi...your feet are bleeding!" she said as she tried to catch his attention. Nanashi stopped and looked back at her then before glancing down to his own feet. "...Not anymore..." he said simply, "...I'm fine." he said as he started to move again. Hikari finally ran up to him and grabbed his arm, "Oh sit, would you? You're not fine when you're bleeding." she waited for him to sit down and then took to looking over his feet. She stared at the bloody blisters all over his feet, "How in the world can you even stand to walk?" she asked as she looked them over. She made a face when she saw all of the bits of dirt and dry leaves that were stuck in the dried blood. "Stay here, I'll be right back." she said as she got up and pulled a piece of cloth from her bag. She went and dipped it in the lake water to get it wet so she could clean out all of the dirt before doing anything else. Nanashi sat down only because she nearly pulled him down, and wouldn't look at her while she examined his feet. His ears laid back and he sat staring off at the ground looking almost humiliated. He didn't really like people messing with him.. especially someone like Hikari, or Selenity, touching his feet. That was awkward beyond all means. Hikari made a quick trip of coming back to him and snatching his foot pressing the cloth to it and then gently dabbing away the blood and other things stuck to his foot. For a second she thought she was going to get kicked in the face the way tat he jumped, but after that he settled down at least. Nanashi yelped and jerked violently when she first pressed the cold, dripping cloth to his foot. As much as he didn't want to admit it, that HURT. He whimpered quietly and bit his lip, closing his eyes tightly while she worked. He looked more like he was ready to crawl under a rock. Celestine only nodded to Aamori when she got up, but he stayed where he was for now. He knew when Nanashi and LaRae had gotten back...he heard Nanashi yelp all the way over there over something, but he didn't get up to go see what was going on. |
Kyran had taken notice to the other two finally showing up while saying 'Thank Arienh' in his head. At least this way no one had to go looking for them; Which would only have taken more time out of their busy day. He was a bit surprised to see how quickly Hikari rushed to take care of Nanashi's feet. He hadn't even noticed them, though he didn't make a habit of checking people over head to toe either. He sighed softly and wrapped the bread back up. His ears twitched terribly a few times when he heard Nanashi yelp. He had to shake his head a few times to get his ears to stop ringing from the sudden noise. He stood back up straight and wandered over to them with the bread still in hand. He happened to glance down towards his feet to see how bad they were, they must have been bad considering Hikari's reaction. He shook his head softly, dropping the wrapped up bread in Nanashi's lap. "Here's what's left from last night; It's not much." He paused glancing over at LaRae for a moment before looking back down at Nanashi. "We need to buy you some new boots. That is unless you'd prefer Hikari treating your feet on a regular basis." He laughed softly of course poking fun at his obvious dislike for her touching his feet.
Aamori looked down when she caught LaRae come over to the lake out of the corner of her eye. Ordinarily she would have started talking to her by now, but she caught herself before she said anything and just sighed. She would've asked about the burns on her friends wrists, and more so about the small bruise on her cheek. She merely quirked a brow; Her tail swayed behind her softly from the curiosity. It was eating away at her, more then you really tell and all she could do was bite her lip and hope LaRae would just talk about it. LaRae lifted her eyes from her lap when she heard the noise that Nanashi was making. She looked over at Hikari who was taking care of his feet and she sighed. Apparently you had to be forceful in order to do anything about his feet, if she'd have known that then she could've done what Hikari is doing. She shook her head and looked back down at her wrists as she reached for her cuff to put it back on now that her hands were dry. She happened to glance over at Aamori in the process and saw how antsy she'd become. "...What's wrong?" She asked latching her cuff on. Aamori bit her lip a little harder. Of course she didn't say anything she just stared at LaRae waiting for her to talk about her minor injuries. She was already hating this whole mute thing, getting points across was going to be so difficult. |
Nanashi startled again and opened his eyes to look at his lap when he bread hit him, and then looked up to Kyran for a second, though he was pretty clearly trying to keep quiet so he didn't even unclamp his lip long enough to say thank you. She started on his other foot and he cringed, his eyes almost watering, but at least all he did this time was suck in a sharp breath through his nose. When Kyran joked about Hikari treating his feet regularly he only opened one eye to look up at him as his ears laid back a little more. That expression was easy enough to read. Are you kidding!?
Hikari looked up to Kyran and shook her head, half smiling, "Oh, Kyran...stop teasing him." she said lightly, "But he could definitely use some new boots." She looked at his feet again. They were clean now, and it was even more apparent how sore they must have been. It looked as if he'd walked the entire sole of his foot off nearly, not to mention his toe's were blistered as well. She started to reach into her pack and then sighed, "Oh...this will take too long to heal and only get worse the more we go at that rate." She finally just touched both of his feet lightly and closed her eyes as the white aura surrounded her hands. She still needed to conserve her energy as well after everything she was trying to fix on LaRae yesterday but these were only flesh wounds and a lot easier to heal than bone. Besides that they weren't all that deep, just pretty painful looking. After a few moments she pulled her hands away and looked at his feet again. "There, that's better." There wasn't a mark on them now. Nanashi glanced back to Hikari shyly and finally drew his feet back, curling them up under him a bit. "...Thank you..." he mumbled quietly...directing it to both of them at once. Hikari just smiled at him again, "You're welcome." she said softly. She just remained sitting where she was for now. After yesterday even that small amount of power left her a little tired. Healing was probably one of the most difficult things that you could learn how to do. Nanashi nodded slightly and finally reached down to pick up the bread, though he didn't unwrap it just yet. He stood up slowly and started back in the direction that he was going again, sitting down by his boots, and then glanced over toward LaRae and Aamori. |
Kyran merely laughed seeing Nanashi's expression, though that was stopped soon enough by Hikari's comment. He watched quietly while Hikari healed the guys feet, mumbling to himself a bit about how handy an ability like that must be in emergencies. Again he watched as Nanashi moved over to his boots, then looked back down at Hikari. "Are you alright?" He asked noticing she looked a bit tired. "We can rest here a little longer. It doesn't look like anyone's really quite ready to go." He stated softly before shifting his glance over to LaRae and Aamori briefly. Rather then going over to see how they were feeling too he just sat down where he was standing and sighed lightly.
LaRae sat staring right back at Aamori for a moment waiting for her to say something; When she didn't she sighed and looked away from her. "...So what did I do now? Since you're not talking to me?" She asked thinking that she must have done something to upset her. Though she wasn't even sure she had done anything, she had not been around Aamori since the night before and things were fine then. She sighed again, looking back to Aamori. "Well?" Aamori knelt down and just shook her head hearing her ask if she'd done something wrong. She couldn't believe that LaRae would even ask that first. She sighed heavily, of course she wanted to answer her friend and reassure her it was nothing that she did but when you're trying not to speak around everyone that was difficult. Finally she turned slightly so that she was facing LaRae and pointed to her bruised cheek and then to her burnt wrists and quirked a brow hoping that would be enough to get the point across. LaRae followed Aamori's finger as she started to point to things, but of course she didn't realize the bruise on her face was that noticeable and ignored that. She looked down at her wrists when Aamori pointed to them and in return quirked a brow. "What? You want my cuff?" She asked completely oblivious to what her friend was trying to ask about. |
Hikari looked up to Kyran when he asked if she was alright and just smiled. "Yes...I'm fine. I'm just still a little worn out from yesterday. Those spells don't really come easy." she said simply, "I'll be alright." she assured him. It just took her a bit longer to regain her energy after using healing spells than it took most to regain their energy. Being somewhere with plenty of light helped just a little, but otherwise she just gained it back little by little. That was why she tried to avoid healing most minor injuries. The only reason she'd bothered with Nanashi's feet was that she knew that had to hurt him every time he took a step and as much as they were going to be walking it wasn't going to get better anytime soon without some outside help.
Nanashi looked over toward LaRae and Aamori again as he started to put his boots back on. He tilted his head, watching Aamori point to LaRae's newest wounds. Why doesn't she just ask? "I...think she wants to know what happened to your wrist...and face." he said quietly as he tied his shoe. |
Kyran listened as Hikari spoke, pushing the conversation or lack of that LaRae and Aamori were having from his mind. "Okay. Well, we can rest here until you're feeling good enough to start walking." He paused, looking around at the others briefly before focusing back on her. "I doubt any one else minds waiting a bit longer." He would have given any of them same courtesy, should they need to rest. He would like to have said he'd expect the others to do the same, but that could be asking a lot. "Although, if anyone objects to staying here a little while longer I suppose I could just carry you for awhile." He said smiling softly.
Aamori of course was aggravated by this point, could LaRae really not be catching on? Her ears twitched several times when she picked up on what Nanashi had said. She bit her lip trying to keep herself from blurting out 'Thank you!' because someone finally got it. LaRae looked over at Nanashi when he said that and immediately her hand rose to her cheek and she covered up the bruise, slightly embarrassed. She sighed and turned back to Aamori, purposely choosing to ignore the mark on her face for now. She didn't exactly want to go explaining the whole thing with Renzo last night. Or even bring that damn guy up at a time like this. Her eyes fell towards the ground, avoiding eye contact. "The burns?" She paused. "It's nothing, just a friction burn..." She wasn't exactly lying, but she wasn't telling the whole truth either. The last thing she needed was more people worrying about what could happen when Renzo finally came back; Worse, Aamori knew Renzo. Not quite as well as LaRae did, but she'd met him a few times. She timidly started to lift her eyes back to Aamori. "...I-Is that what you wanted to know about?" |
Hikari looked at Kyran again and smiled, "...Thank you...but really, I'm alright." she told him again. "We can get moving again whenever you like. I won't fall or anything, I promise." she said with another smile. She knew he and the others were pretty eager to get this over with, and she didn't want to be the one to slow them all down. She was pretty sure she'd be just fine as soon as the mild light headed feeling wore off.
Nanashi looked at Aamori for a moment and then over to LaRae again. He sighed quietly, dropping his gaze and letting her tell whatever she wanted. He half wanted to tell Aamori about the guy but knew it wasn't his place. He was pretty good at keeping quiet up until something really needed to be said. Finally he looked down to the bread and unwrapped it slowly, taking a piece. He examined it for a moment before taking a small bite. He blinked and made a slight face when the sweetness filled his mouth. He was expecting something kind of sweet, but that was a little much. He chewed and swallowed then took another bite. That one was a little better. He wasn't sure what kind of bread this was...whatever it was it was eatable, but it was definitely an acquired taste. |
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