Chapter 13

“Who… are you? Why… Why can’t I remember you?”

She did not know how, but she was able to see the small, gentle smile sent her way from the figure before her, shrouded in darkness as she was

“It does not matter,” came the answer, and much to the teen’s ire, a finger came up to now-smirking lips in a shushing manner. “You will remember me in due time. For now, I believe there are people you need to return to.”

“Huh…? What, no, wait!”

~*~

Rityu sighed, scratching his head. He’d just came out of a meeting with Cain Kileros and his followers and… the spy hid a shudder. Not for the first time, he thanked whatever higher power up there that it was him who was doing the spying and not Phiol – his elder brother might’ve just cracked under Kileros’ aura of menace.

He ducked his head as several of who he knew to be directly under the evil lord’s command – to him, a mocking sign of humility. They paid him no mind as they walked by, but their conversation got Rityu’s attention.

“…Lord Cain said that the Thyride girl would not be a problem. Hah!” one scoffed. “She took out the majority of our forces with that spell of hers.” A swell of pride for the youngest Thyride and his brother grew within him at that, knowing how much time his younger brother had spent with her to make her – in crude terms – grow a backbone.

“We cannot afford to send more there, either,” another commented with a sigh, a feathered fan covering half her features. “There are far more important lands we have our sights on, after all.”

The biggest man among them chuckled – a dry and unnerving sound that forced Rityu to drop his previous train of thought. “I’ve sent them a message,” he told his companions, his grin nearly as demented as their leader’s own. “Since they are smart enough to underestimate our lord’s main piece, they should battle her and that Aitelorn brat the lord has his sights on to death.”

There was laughter and chuckled all around, all with the same dry and unnerving quality but one. “Fitting,” the formerly silent man said, his voice that tad bit muffled by a half-face mask. “That is,” he continued with a grin on his face, “if they could even do that; incompetent as they are.”

By that point, even Rityu’s sharp ears could not catch onto what they were saying anymore, but he had heard enough to draw his own conclusions. Battle… to the death? he thought, feeling his heartbeat increase in panic and fear for the two youngest in his family’s household. No. That cannot happen. They still have a whole life ahead of them!

Steeling himself for the potential explosion from Kileros’ twin brother, Rityu made haste towards the teleportation point Kileros had been oh-so kind to provide him with – to avoid suspision, he had told him with a smirk that sent chills down his spine.

~*~

“What?!”

Rityu hid a wince. As per his expectations, the good twin had a fit when he heard the news he brought. Doing his best to hide his own worry, he flipped his ponytail off his shoulder and regarded the silver-haired leader before him calmly – a far cry from his earlier panic.

“We need to inform the people in I’yn about this,” he said, a mask of calmness already settled onto his features. “Send word with a messenger bird or something. I wouldn’t know. I’m not the leader here; you are.”

Lord Abel closed his eyes and took a deep breath… then another. “You’re right,” he answered, his demeanour much calmer. “I’ll go there myself.”

The middle son of the Aitelorns raised an eyebrow. “And how are you going to get there, exactly?” he asked. “Pardon me, but you aren’t exactly a speed-type…”

The older man had to grin. “My brother is capable of setting up teleportation points,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I, on the other hand, can teleport.”

Teleportation points were easy to set up, Rityu knew. He had set a few up before… though it was mostly for the training the spartan Aitelorn patriarch led. Teleporting, on the other hand, required a huge degree of magical control that most people generally did not have – he had only known of his own mother and Seloria (even though the elder Thyride did not use as much magic as his mother) who could teleport anywhere they wanted, and even get others to teleport with them.

“Are you serious?” he asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice. Lord Abel grinned, gave him an almost cheeky two-fingered salute, and vanished.

“…” Rityu stared at the area the elder man was for a moment before he groaned and brought a hand up to meet his forehead, producing a loud smacking sound. “Yea, rub that fact in, why don’tcha?” he groused, having told the man that he was trying – and failing – to be able to teleport on his own.

Despite that, he was not able to keep the desperate hope out of his heart. Please, he thought, his features turning grim – an unnatural look on his normally smirky face. Don’t let anything happen to them.

Chapter 12 [unedited]

*Note: This chapter has yet to be beta'd/proof-read. This is due to the fact my usual beta-reader is having some personal problems to deal with, and I don't want to pressure her. I'll remove this little note when it is beta'd.

~*~

Stein frowned as he fiddled with his swords on his belt, somehow not finding their weight to be as comforting as he remembered. They were already in position for a counter-attack, but as the sun continued to rise without any sign of the enemy on their side… No. Focus, Aitelorn. She’ll be fine, he told himself. They had all heard the alarm go off earlier that morning, and a runner informed them the group at the Jajya wall was under attack.

Stein’s first instinct then was to get to Kairi, but the commander of his group stopped him with a stern look. “Let her grow,” he’d told him, and while Stein was hot-headed… he understood. Granted, they did not know Kairi the way he does, but if he kept on coddling the younger teen; kept on protecting her... she would not be able to get over her irrational fear – and that fear is deadly in times like these.

So instead of rushing to where she was, Stein had taken deep breaths, saluted the commander, and returned to his position – in the opposite direction of the Jajya wall.

Remember our spars, woman. You can choose who to hurt and who to protect, he thought, as if hoping his unspoken words would reach Kairi’s ears.

~*~

Dodge. Parry. Counter. Attack. Slash. Roll. Flip. Evade. Stab. Leg sweep. Kick. Duck.

“Archers, fire your arrows!”

Ah, that’s a signal. Roll to the back. Do not let the enemy pass. Wind-elemental spells would blow the arrows off-course, but other elements work. Flare, Ice Wolves, Lightning Bolt – that guy’s too close; cut him down – Quake, the arrows are slowing down; Tornado.

“All right there, Thyride?” someone called, and Kairi barely acknowledged that with a nod. Noticing the signal to resume attacking, the cocoa-haired teen darted forward again, orange eyes dull from exhaustion. They had been at it since three in the morning; the fact that she was still going at it speaks volumes about the determination she has... and perhaps stubbornness.

They had a rotation pattern going on – every time someone switches in to rest, someone else comes out and joins the fray. Kairi had only gone in for a quick heal before she ran right back out. The healers had tried to stop her, but her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of red, shocking them enough that she was able to shake them off.

“I can’t… stop now…” she told herself between pants, sweat forcing her clothing to stick to her skin uncomfortably. Sure, she surprised herself by managing without a partner by her side to watch her back so far, but she was starting to feel the strain. She knew it; heck, everyone around her knew it, but she just would not stop.

Kairi felt childish doing it, but she justified her stubbornness with ‘it’s not their motherland that the enemies are coming from’. The teen stopped short when a chuckle resounded in her head.

Damn straight it’s not their motherland, Kairi, a voice said. Said teen chanced a look around as she evaded several swords, certain that the voice was in her head but not daring to believe it. Oh come on, little one. I’ve been with you since you were… well. You know.

“…what…?” the now-confused teen muttered softly, her movements slowing to a halt. The voice sighed, sounding a little amused.

Right. You probably don’t remember much. It’s okay, though. Here, let me--

And Kairi’s world turned black.

~*~

“What the…” someone muttered in shock. The commander did not blame him – he was just as shocked. He was ready to order someone to get Kairi back into camp when he noticed the teen slowing down, but just as suddenly as she stopped… she moved again.

In fact, she moved faster than she used to. Her spells were more powerful; her strikes more accurate and less hesitant. Kairi… did not seem like Kairi anymore, at that point of time.

“Has she been holding back?” an archer wondered, watching as the cocoa-haired teen zipped through enemy ranks, pausing only to help those who were struggling on their side. Even then, she did not really stop that long – just enough to make sure they were fine before she moved on.

The commander continued watching Kairi’s movements without comment. Kairi had, after a while of charging headfirst into enemy lines, started to pull back – and the power of her magical aura at that point was unmistakeable. He mentally ran through all the powerful spells he knew – even though he could not use magic to save his life – and his eyes widened.

“A Gravity-oriented spell…” he muttered, surprise evident on his features. “Issue the signal to fall back! Thyride has a powerful spell in the making!” he ordered, and the runner scrambled to convey his words.

The originally grim-faced commander felt a smirk break out across his face. Echoing Kairi’s statement from the day previous, he muttered: “They’ll never know what hit ‘em.”

~*~

“Well now,” she muttered to herself with a wry grin, flexing her fingers, “we’ll see how this spell works, shall we?”

She heard the commander give out the order for everyone else to fall back a while ago, and while the enemy forces were confused, they were still attacking. She sensed no magic from the commander, but for him to be able to pin-point the basic nature of the spell she was about to use…

She chuckled. “The commander’s quite knowledgeable about spells. I’m impressed,” she said airily, as if she was not in the midst of battle. Timing was crucial for the spell she was about to use, and the fact that she needed to cast it twice… well…

“Ah, here they come,” she said with another chuckle, her eyes taking on an interesting red hue. The ground beneath her started to shake, forcing the soldiers before her to falter when they lost their balance, but they continued advancing on her.

“Kairi!” someone yelled from the other side of Jajya’s wall, “what’re you doing?! Run!”

“No need for that,” she whispered, chuckling as her eyes continued to take on a darker hue of red. “Not when the spell’s already in place.”

An abrupt silence washed over the battlefield – even from those behind the wall. “W-what is this pressure?!” someone yelled, though who it was could not be identified. Friend or foe, both sides were feeling it effects, though the men before her were feeling it more; they were falling to the ground like dominoes.

She felt herself stumble slightly, but quickly casting the same spell on herself rectified that little problem. “Dark Gravity,” she announced with a predatory grin. “Most people don’t know this one spell, being too used to casting Gravity.” She chuckled. “This spell can only be countered by the same spell, and after that it’s a battle of magical prowess. “ Another giggle. “And it’s doubtful any of you lot know this spell. Almost no one knows of it… ah, of course, except for your leader. Cain Kileros. Too bad for you that he’s not here, now is he?”

“Y-you…”

She giggled in a tone that made one think she was in an ice-cream shop instead of being in the middle of a battlefield. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I’m sure you all have families. But so do we. It’s do or die for both sides in situations like these.” Her daggers disappeared from view, and ‘Kairi’ raised a hand, the beginnings of fire on her fingertips.

She regarded the men before her with calm, almost pitiful eyes. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I’ll make it end fast.”

A flick of her wrist, and the flames grew. Another flick, and the fireball flew downwards, crashing into the ground before her. The flames caught onto several soldiers and from there, continued to grow and grow and it seemed as though a sea of red had appeared out of nowhere. Screams of horror and pain from the soldiers died as quickly as it began.

“…rest in peace,” she whispered a little brokenly as the flames began to recede. “…it’s better this way, for you to die in what you believe in than be broken by that man…”

She took several steps backwards as she released her spells, stumbling again. “Haha…” she laughed a little breathlessly, “so she still cannot stand the force of this spell.” She sighed. “It’s okay though… there’s still time for her to learn.”

“Kairi!” someone yelled, and she heard footsteps running in her direction. She smiled.

“You have wonderful comrades by your side, Kairi,” she whispered, “don’t let go of them.” She heard gasps and hastening footsteps when she felt herself fall.

Of course… Kairi’s fatigued. For me to use that spell so carelessly…

“K-Kairi!” Someone caught her. “You stupid, stupid woman!” Wait, from what she knew, Stein was not posted here! “What did you think you were doing? Mother’s going to be so mad…”

Instead of responding, she chuckled lightly and allowed Kairi’s body to get some much-needed rest.

After all, she mused with another chuckle, it’s not me they’re talking to.

Chapter 11

It was hard, Kairi decided, to be so close to her country yet be unable to go see it. Yes, she heard of its destruction-slash-death and she was on a mission, but it didn’t make it any easier for her to kill the need to set her eyes on what used to be the place she called home.

Stein had – probably rightly – decided that he’d represent the both of them in the currently-ongoing meeting with the other leaders who would lead platoons in the upcoming battles. She did not know how Stein was planning to handle the meeting, but she was going to put her faith in him. He’d told her he would try to get her posted at the Jajya wall so she could deal with the enemies that came that way (‘personally’ was left unsaid between the two).

Karyme offered to give her a quick tour of the estate, and Kairi accepted it. As already implied, the tour was quick, with Karyme pointing her towards rooms she would need to use in the duration of her stay there, and a cursory mention of the other rooms available in the estate. After that, she showed the younger girl the gardens.

“This is also the place I practice whatever spells I have in my arsenal,” Karyme knew she was blatantly lying, but she felt justified doing it. Kairi was restless ever since Stein entered the meeting, and from what little she knew of the cocoa-haired teen… “Go ahead and practice some spells. I’ll watch.”

Surprised, Kairi turned to the blond. “Seriously?” she asked, her tone one of disbelief. Karyme elegantly quirked a brow – Kairi did not want to know how such an action could be done elegantly – and the younger conceded. There were several spells from the book she read that she was itching to try out, with most of them being in elements she never used before.

Karyme stared at the younger female for a while before she decided she did not like that smile on Kairi’s face. It was creepy. The “oh you don’t know what you just asked for” sort of creepy. The Doyle heiress resolved to have Aydan’s spells on hand… just in case.

Twenty minutes and fourteen heat shields later, Karyme resolved to never be near the younger Thyride whenever she was trying out new spells. The almost-insane giggling every time Kairi managed to get a spell right – and when she did not get it right, for that matter, was quite disturbing. It was as though the younger female had never had so much fun before in her entire life – which led Karyme to question what kind of childhood Kairi had lived through.

Oblivious to the thoughts running rampant through Karyme’s mind, Kairi continued her attempts at perfecting the Lightning-element spell she was learning. It was a hard one – then again, Lightning was a difficult element to learn, much less master. She had her right hand in front of her chest with her left gripping her right wrist. The spell she was aiming for required her to mold the element into a ball, and releasing it would cause damage equal to ten explosion spells… or so it said, theoretically.

“Oy, Kairi!” Stein’s voice cut through her concentration just as she nearly managed to finish compressing the tennis ball-sized lightning. Yelping, the ball dispersed and she was thrown backwards, stumbling a little to get her footing back – Karyme’s heat shield kept her firmly in place. Kairi flailed her hand – for such a small thing, that spell packed a lot of punch.

“What is it?” she asked as Karyme dropped her shield and came up to check on her hand – the elder winced slightly at the mild burn marks on Kairi’s visible. Stein came up to them, took a look at Kairi’s hand himself and smacked her upside the head.

“Let’s get your hand looked at first, then I’ll let you know.”

~*~

After Kairi’s hand was bandaged with a stern warning from one of the doctors to not attempt Lightning-based spells without a Lightning-user nearby, Karyme surprised herself by still hanging around with the Duo. They found themselves back in the garden, settling themselves comfortably under a tree.

“It will be dark soon,” Karyme commented, and Stein glanced at the sky, as if surprised the day was ending so soon.

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Kairi asked, prodding Stein’s arm to get his attention back on the matter. Stein shook his head, as if to rid his mind of intruding thoughts and grinned at the younger teen.

“Guess where I got you posted,” he announced a little smugly. Kairi blinked at him slowly for a moment before her eyes widened.

“No way. You got me the Jajya wall? Seriously?” Stein’s response was to continue smirking his ‘hah told you I could’ smirk and the youngest among them did something Karyme thought Kairi would never do. She squealed and proceeded to hug the life out of Stein, who flailed his arms in a desperate ‘get this mad woman off me’ moment.

Five minutes later (in which Karyme took two minutes to snap out of her surprise, two to laugh at Stein’s predicament, and the final one minute to pry Kairi off him), Stein broke the other news he had. “We aren’t sent to the same area, though.”

Kairi froze then. “What?” she asked, all joy gone. The younger’s reaction was confusing for the Doyle heiress, but Karyme watched silently as Stein poked her right in the middle of her forehead, a gentle smile on his features.

“Hey, relax. I’m close enough that I could provide back-up when your side needs it,” he told the suddenly-glum female. “Remember what I told you whenever we spar? You can choose who to hurt and who to protect.”

Then, Stein did something that made Karyme laugh inwardly. Completely breaking the almost-touching mood he set with his own words, he started shaking the cocoa-haired teen, with each shake emphasizing his sentence: “You. Can. Choose. Who. To. Hurt. You. Stupid. Woman.”

“I think she gets your point,” Karyme chided gently, her tone one of extreme amusement. Stein blinked at her, as if to say ‘fine, steal my fun away’, but gave Kairi one last forceful shake before he huffed and crossed his arms. Kairi blinked the dizziness away from her eyes, shaking her head in an attempt to right her world.

The moment her vision was not swimming anymore, the youngest of the three began chasing her partner around town in a game of tag of epic proportions – Karyme swore she saw the Duo pass her at least five times in the span of three minutes. She stood there, trying hard to hide her amusement at their childish antics before she called for a halt to their impromptu game fifteen minutes later.

“Time for food, then rest,” she told them, laughing at their playful teasing of each other. They really are relaxed, Karyme thought to herself as she played sarcastic peacemaker to their cheerful banter. It’s as though they aren’t at odds with the upcoming battle at all!

A little more silent observation, though, told Karyme that it was all an act. Kairi, if possible, was even more restless than usual, hiding it behind smiles –her eyes were what gave her away. Stein was worried all right – his agitated fiddling of his swords’ straps said it all, but he focused his worry on making his partner more confident in her abilities. Her family’s bodyguards and the additional soldiers sent by Lord Aitelorn, as if noticing and realizing the Duo’s banter to be a way for them to deal with the stress and nerves of an upcoming battle, made no comment.

Dinner was a peaceful affair, but Karyme was pretty sure none would sleep soundly that night. She did not realize when she nodded off, but when she had awoken early the next day, neither Kairi nor Stein were within the walls of her home anymore.

~*~

The first thing Kairi did when she got to the Jajya wall, much to the surprise of the other commander and soldiers with her, was scale it. It was her motherland beyond these walls – she could not help herself. She remembered traditional buildings intermingled with more modern designs; greenery that was cared for by the elderly; the feel of “home” no matter which part of the area you were in…

“…I should’ve known better,” Kairi muttered to herself, taking in the unsightly rubble that was once the place she called her country. “It was a false hope.” And it was. Everyone told her that – even Seloria. But she still clung onto the prospect that something would have been saved.

It was a subdued teenager that returned to the area they dubbed camp. Kairi deflected all questions by running around to help get things organized, and politely steering the concern away from her when asked. She kept it up for quite a while before running away with the commander and other squad leaders for a strategy meeting.

They were barely three minutes into the meeting before a runner came up to them, out of breath and holding onto one of the chairs they did not occupy for support. “The enemy has been spotted!” Kairi’s eyes widened and the older individuals in the room with her began muttering amongst themselves.

Rather surprisingly, Kairi regarded the runner first; her bright eyes a hue darker than usual. “Are they attacking?” she asked, voice oddly calm. The runner shook his head, already catching his breath.

“No, but-“

“Perfect,” Kairi cut him off, already thinking of their next move. “Knowing Cain, we’re outnumbered, correct?” she asked, lacing her fingers together as she propped her elbows on the table. The runner nodded, and her grin was absolutely feral. “You guys start thinking,” she declared, standing up and turning towards the exit of the huge tent they were in.

“What are you doing?” one of the squad leaders asked in mild annoyance, but he was mostly concerned. Kairi was the same age as his oldest daughter, for goodness sakes!

“Simple,” she said, smirking. “I’m going to tear through their numbers. Makes things a lot easier for when we have a set plan to take them down.”

Kairi chuckled darkly, and her departing words caused chills to run down the others’ spines. Being so used to Kairi’s happy-go-lucky attitude, the promise of pain and death in her tone shocked them. “They will never know what hit ‘em.”

~*~

Kairi got herself slightly beyond the Jajya wall. She shed a few tears when the full weight of her once-home destruction hit her, but kept going. Much of the landscape remained the same as the once-bustling country she remembered, much to her surprise, but she still mapped its current state of destruction into her mind as she walked, ducking into nooks and crannies when she sensed people walking around her.

She moved in that manner for a while, making sure her footsteps were quiet and constantly hiding behind walls or ducking into a hidden corner whenever she heard noises or sensed human presence – more than a few times she barely escaped having to engage in combat. Finding the area that was once her home, the cocoa-haired teen ignored the pang of sadness that rose within her, choosing to focus on the task at hand.

She ran up a hill that, in her memories, was behind her home and skidded in an abrupt halt when she spotted tents. So they’re here, she thought, a wry smile on her features. How ironic, Cain. How ridiculously ironic.

“Mystics,” Kairi called in barely above a whisper, smiling when she felt the familiar weight of her daggers fall into her hands. In slow, careful moments, she stood, mentally running through what she remembered of Jajya’s land – the hill was quite prone to landslides, and the only reason why her family’s home once stood where it did was due to the spells that were previously up to stop the soil from hitting the residences.

“This definitely works to my advantage,” she muttered, a slow smirk forming on her features. Kairi started chanting a spell under her breath, but cut herself short and ducked behind some rubble when she heard footsteps and voices.

“Man, this sucks,” a male voice – possibly around 20, grumbled. “Why can’t we attack immediately? I came for the action, not to scout around like idiots.”

“Fool,” an older-sounding male voice retorted. “Scouting is as important as fighting.”

While the voices bickered, Kairi did a discreet scan. Besides the obvious two, there were three others. Perfect, she thought, before tuning back into the little debate they had going on about scouting and fighting.

“-what would happen if you don’t scout and you run into kinks in our plans, huh?”

Kairi emerged from her hiding place then, snickering in an almost insane manner. “Something like this,” she answered in an oddly gleeful tone, daggers spinning frightfully fast. Two of the people she sensed earlier panicked slightly, but followed the lead of the oldest looking one in pulling their swords out. Another two stepped forward, looking as though they itched for a fight.

The oldest one appeared to recognize her somewhat – though from where Kairi did not know. “No, fools, fall back!” he ordered, but the two engaged her in combat, charging with far-too-eager battle cries. Her eyes flashed an odd hue of red, and no one saw how she felled the two rash fellows. All they knew was that she used her daggers, for she took a quick moment to flick the blood of its blades.

“So… who’s next?” she asked with a benign smile, as if she did not just kill two men in an action far too fast for their eyes to follow. “Don’t worry though,” she added as she advanced on them, and the oldest of the remaining three moved to guard his two still-alive charges, even with knowing it’d be futile.

Her eye colour changed from orange to red, and her smile was not assuring at all. “None from your end will escape alive.”

~*~

It was in the late evening that Kairi returned to camp, and with her being almost completely covered in blood, it served for them to panic – especially since Stein mentioned that she was not completely confident in her skills.

“What, no, I’m not injured,” Kairi told them in bewilderment when someone sent a healing spell her way, her bright orange eyes blinking in confusion. “The blood isn’t mine.”

They were a little slow on the uptake, Kairi noticed, watching in something akin to bemusement as they slowly turned and gaped at her. “What?” came the chorus of confused-slash-concerned shouts, and Kairi rolled her eyes.

“The blood isn’t mine,” she repeated slowly, peeling off a torn sleeve that stuck to her skin from the blood. “Be prepared to fight tomorrow, though. I’m sure they won’t continue to keep quiet after tonight.” She made a little disgusted face at the torn fabric. “I’m going to change. Be back later.”

She left them at that point to disappear into a tent she claimed as hers the day before whilst the rest of them murmured and whispered amongst themselves, confused by her flippant attitude. It was less than a minute later that an odd-sounding explosion occurred, and Kairi flew out of her tent with a zipped-up jacket hiding her half-nakedness, scaling the Jajya wall once again. She swept a glance over the horizon and giggled.

“That spell really works well,” she commented, jumping off the wall and hop-skipping back to her tent, humming. Just as her being disappeared into the tent, a runner came up to the other leaders, panting.

“That… that explosion,” the runner said, attempting to catch his breath and report at the same time, “caused a landslide in Jajya. I... I don’t know what caused it, but…” the runner took a breath, “it happened in the area where most of Icolo’s tents were set up. We… we stand a decent chance at winning this battle now!”

As one, everyone but the runner turned to the tent Kairi disappeared into. “What else is she capable of?” came a hushed whisper, but no one had an answer to that.

Early the next morning, a runner sounded the alarm – the same one that indicated enemy forces were attacking. All that were fighting found themselves awake and prepared within seconds, and with Kairi at the very front of the lines, they charged out to meet them.

The war had officially begun.

Chapter 10

Their run to Hundaf was really… boring… if Kairi had to pick a word for it. None of the bandits Karyme warned them of appeared, and they had basically zoomed through the route they chose to use – quite literally, with Stein freezing the ground to slide along as Kairi’s Wind-enforced jumps brought her further down the path. Hundaf itself was rather plain, being a small, little town meant for ships to dock, unload passengers or items, and move on. Besides a random inn, some shops and a relatively small housing area, the place was absolutely…

“Boring,” Stein completed her train of thought, his mismatched eyes looking about the area with silent regard. He stretched slightly, trying to relax his muscles. “We made good time reaching here; we expected to reach at five, but we got here at,” he checked the nearby clock for the time, “four thirty in the afternoon. The next ship leaves in another 15 minutes.” He nodded rather self-assuredly. “Yup, we made good time.”

Kairi sniggered at him. “Yes, yes,” she said, rolling her eyes as they walked towards the ticketing counter. There was a pause in conversation between them as they bought their tickets, rushed into the ship, and grabbed refreshments. When they found a seat with a table and set their drinks and food down, their discussion began.

“Okay, if I remember correctly,” Stein began, pulling a map (courtesy of Abel) out of his bag, “we’re expected to look out for weak areas, places that can be converted for healing purposes, and places that might be targeted for surprise attacks, yeah?”

Kairi nodded, taking a bite out of the apple she chose to buy. “We should split up when we get there. Covers more ground that way,” she said, grabbing her own map (again, courtesy of Abel) out of her bag. “I’yn is not all that huge to begin with. We could split up, cover some ground, take a break, and later switch to make sure we got all the same spots.”

Stein blinked at her for a second. She blinked back. “What?” she asked, taking another bite out of her apple. “You know…” he began, and Kairi gestured for him to continue. “For someone who spent most of her life kidnapped, you have a really good brain.”

The younger stared at him for a while in bewilderment. “I can’t seem to decide if that was a compliment or an insult,” she deadpanned, taking another bite out of her apple. She ignored Stein’s chuckle as she took another look at the map. “I’ll take north and west I’yn. We’ll trade maps when we switch so we know which spots we got. Savvy?”

Stein snickered again for reasons Kairi did not bother finding out, but uttered his agreement.

~*~

“I’m bored!” Kairi whined for the umpteenth time in…wait, only five minutes? Stein suppressed a sigh and faced the younger. They’d just finished their checking of weak points about three hours ago, and the Doyles’ were not due to arrive for another two hours. He definitely was not warned about how easily bored the younger girl could be (‘Curse you, Seloria!’ he yelled mentally).

(Miles away, Seloria sneezed in the midst of calculating the money needed to restore Destila to its former glory.)

Wordlessly, he grabbed the younger girl by the head (yes, head – he was that annoyed… and that much taller) and steered her into a nearby bookstore. “Book. Pick,” he said simply, and picked out a thick volume of… something. He really did not care at this point. Kairi’s mouth formed an “o” of understanding, and took her time scanning the shelves of books – she came out with a tome of spells… which was pretty darn thick, too (they paid for them, obviously).

Stein gave her a questioning look, and Kairi shrugged. “Never hurts to review what I know and learn what I don’t,” she said by way of answer. Stein shrugged in response to that, and proceeded to drag the younger (by the head again) over to a nearby café.

There, they sat for the better part of an hour – Stein immersing himself in an odd fictional story about a boy who was thrown into an Abyss of sorts and returned only to find ten years has passed, and Kairi mumbling to herself about spell theories – one in particular caught his attention; something about “Ice Wolves”? He’ll have to snag the book off the younger later…

“Say Kairi,” the purple-haired teen spoke after a moment. The other “hmm?” in question, eyes not leaving the page she appeared to be fixated on – it’s probably a really interesting spell, judging by the way she’s so keen on it.

“Are you okay?”

Apparently, his question was not something the cocoa-haired teen expected. She looked up from her book, eyes wide. “What?” she finally forced out after another moment of staring, blinking rapidly.

He sighed, marking his page and closing his book, setting it on the table. “Are you okay?” he asked again. When the younger Thyride showed no sign of comprehending his question, he elaborated.

“You… have something on your mind. I know that much, but I can’t tell if it’s because of the mission or if it was something else.” He leaned forward, rested his elbows on the table, and folded his fingers together in front of his face. “Don’t look so shocked, Kairi – I could read you like an open book seventy percent of times. So, really… are you okay?”

Kairi stared at him a little longer before she, too, marked her page and closed her book. “The border wall… the one that separates I’yn from Jajya… it scares me.” She shuddered. “There were too many weak points the enemy could exploit, and there mere thought of enemies attacking from my homeland…”

Ah, Stein thought, so that’s what it was.

Be as it may, though, he had no words of comfort for the other. Stein reached over; ruffled the younger’s hair, gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile…

…and then the Doyle’s arrived.

~*~

Watching with a bemused smile as Kairi jumped around her in a moment of… she-didn’t-know-what-induced-hyperness, Karyme attempted to try and not follow the younger female’s bouncing with her eyes… and failed. Rather spectacularly at that. The girl just bounces so much like a ball!

“Was your trip back here pleasant?” Kairi asked as they made their way towards the Doyle’s abode. Stein was with her parents, discussing something-or-other as they walked, and the orange-eyed teen probably found it fit to leave her partner alone for the time being. The Doyle heiress actually paused for a moment to think over Kairi’s question.

“Honestly,” she finally said, “if it wasn’t for the looming threat of an attack, the trip back home would be far more pleasant.”

She didn’t understand it, but Kairi’s smile turned a little sad and her eyes travelled in Jajya’s direction a little. “I see,” she said by way of answering and muttered something under her breath. Karyme was sure the younger did not intend to be overheard, but with her senses as enhanced as they are with Aydan’s help…

What does she mean by ‘unlike us’? She wondered, but continued the track to her home in silence.