Heirot

Sid studied the man who had managed to sneak up on them warily. He'd been listening so carefully to the receding sound of footfall that he'd failed to anticipate it from another direction. Now here this person was, and to make matters worse, he had a feeling he'd seen him before. If this guy was as close to Queen Shea as he suspected, then this was not going to be fun.

He drew his sword. "Oh well, I guess we should get this over with." His eyes fell on Sid. "I'm guessing you aren't the type to step a side, right?"

"Not really, no," Sid said with a fake smile, edging a bit further in front of the girl who was clinging to his arm like her life depended on it, and well, it did. What he didn't understand was what on earth Shea could want with Rai.

Meanwhile, Soran stopped moving forward as a group of three men ran toward them, swords in hand. Frankly, Soran wasn't particularly concerned. He could tell from a glance that they were poorly trained. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling philanthropic enough to attempt to talk them out of wasting their lives. He dove forward into the first enemy, taking him out with a slice to the neck. However, when he turned to take on the remaining two, he found one swinging toward him with a sword and the other raising an alarm whistle to his lips.

Ah, decisions. He ducked under the sword and drove his blade into the attacker at stomach level while the shrill whistle filled the air of the forest and surely was heard in the camp as well.

Serith gave a long sigh and his eyes flickered between the girl and the warrior. The expression on her face was affecting him a bit more than he'd like. In the moon light her skin glowed pale, but those crystal eyes flickered brilliantly like the shimmering surface of the ocean. He couldn't let this affect him, for a lot of money would be paid for someone as wanted as her.

"Little Miss," he said softly. "I don't want to hurt your friend. So come with me and I promise no harm will befall him."

Rai blinked and looked up at Sid, golden ringlets moving from her face. She then turned her gaze back to the black clad man and firmly shook her head hugging Sid tighter. She knew that if Sid were like her father, he could do well on his own. She hadn't a clue what that man would do to her if she went with him. This new body came with new awareness to the world around her, a new take on life....

And a new way of understanding people.

"Let us go." Her voice, like music flowed through his ears. "We are just leaving. Please, we aren't going to do any harm against your Queen. We just want to go home."

Serith's brow scrunched as he narrowed his eyes. Why would Shea be so concerned with a girl, one who at the moment didn't seem like the time to go flailing spells around in attempts to assassinate someone. In fact, she just looked scared to death of almost everything at the moment. It wasn't just him. She was terrified of something else. He felt a little sorry for her, but he knew he couldn't let those thoughts get in the way of his job.

"I'm sorry. Look, it really isn't anything personal, okay? We all have our ways of making money, mine just happens to be hunting magic users such as your self."

Rai glanced at Sid, clearly confused. She didn't know magic. Serith's expression grew even more confounded. Her face was so truthful, like she could never tell a lie. So innocent, and innocence that he had never seen. Child like in a way. Different from that of any other girl he had seen her age. She truely didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about.

"Okay, like I said. Let's get this over with." He didn't draw his weapon. He just stepped forward with his hand out, like he was encouraging her to take it.

"Don't even think about it, Rai," Sid growled under his breath. "Rest assured that if I lose you, your dad will screw me up worse than this chump ever could." He took a big step in front of her and drew a short sword that he'd kept at his belt. "I trust you'll be willing to duke this out fair and square," he said to Serith, sizing him up as he moved forward to face him. Somehow, he had the sense that this was the type of person who respected rules, but as to which rules those were, he really couldn't be sure, so he was going with his gut.

Blade was late to stop the the alarm, but he did manage to cut it short by lodging a sliver blade in the man's throat. Blood pouring and gurgling as the unlucky soldier fell to the ground simultaneously with Soran's man. Blade bristled his wings and swooped his mother in his arms, holding her slight frame close.

"We need to go!" he growled, deathly aware that Rai and Sid were in hiding within the camp.

"Go...go now!" Mizuki chimed in, terror shinning in her eyes as she saw Rai and Sid confronting a dangerous man in her minds eye.

Rai took a step back, nodding. "Please... Don't get hurt..." she pleaded with him. She knew all to well how people tended to get hurt around her. She didn't want Sid to be the next. She was a curse and all that seemed to follow her was trouble.

Serith nodded, standing casually at first and then readying a fighting stance. Rai stepped off to the side, resting herself against a tree. Her body trembled still, so she hugged it slightly with her hands.

"Fair and square is how like it. Cheating is for cowards." Serith grinned, his green eye sparkling. He took a step back and then one large step forward, swinging his sword to begin his attack.

Soran glanced toward the camp watchfully as the third man landed. More were coming, but as Blade and Mizuki had so novelly suggested, he didn't plan to stick around until reinforcements showed up.

He moved at a fast, silent walk in the direction they'd come from before, toward the area where they'd left Sid and Rai.

* * *

Very interesting... the concept of the fair fight was mostly superstition in Arken. Most had heard of the concept, but very few believed in it. Sid chose to dodge that first blow. The strike had a confidence and grace to it that indicated a seasoned fighter, and Sid didn't intend to be sloppy. He wanted to know as much as he could about what this guy could do before he had to start slicing, because he already had a sinking feeling he was not the stronger fighter of the two of them. It didn't take a brain surgeon to know that those who served Shea directly did so for a reason.

He made a few more less-than-elegant dodges before realizing that learning time was over. He had to start swinging. Focusing, he threw in a feint to Serith's front line, arcing away at the last moment to aim for the man's side.

Blade hurried after Soran. Grim determination etched on his face as he carried his mother, whom slowly was regaining her composure, through the darkness. Mizuki, through the jostle of her son's pace, eyed Soran's back. Despite the situation, he was more agitated than normal for this. What else could he be angry at? Relief had barely brightened his face when he found her...

Not important now. Her thoughts should be on Rai. Frowning as she pushed aside her worry, she tried to decipher what she had seen in the blur of her mind.

His movements were fluent, almost casual, with little physical exertion involved when it came to manuvering out of the way. However, even had had to admit that Sid was a well accomplished swordsmen. He did very little talking, for his mind was completely focused on the task at hand, as well as the girl he was supposed to aprehend.

Rai shut her eyes every time the sword came close to Sid, afraid that he'd be hit. She was so concentrated on the fighting that she had completely forgotten about the other foot steps that they had originally heard coming towards them.

So it was a complete surprise a hand came around between her and the tree and wrapped around her mouth, the other arm around her waist and tugged her backwards. Rai screamed from behind the hand, but her noise was muffled.

Serith's concentration fell suddenly when he saw the girl suddenly dissappear from sight. He averted his attack from Sid, coming full circle to stand and face the direction she had originally been standing in. "Shit... Now, this is why I work alone," he muttered. Suddenly the Hunter took off in that direction, running up towards the man who held the girl.

Rai kicked her bare feet into the air, wiggling and struggling as the large arm held her thin body against the stone form. Her blue eyes were wide, fearful.

Sid didn't see what had happened behind his back until Serith dropped his guard and went off after Rai. Frankly, Sid saw no reason to prefer Rai be with Sid than with a random soldier he could presumably defeat, so he did the same, aiming to get to her before his opponent. "Hold it," he growled after the newcomer, trying to keep things as quiet as possible to avoid attracting even more attention.

The soldier was continuesly dragging her away just as she was continuously screaming to be let go.

"Stop," Serith ordered, ignoring Sid behind him.

The soldier stopped and through her too the ground, drawing his sword. "The queen said to take care of her," the soldier said, holding his sword with both hands, blade pointed downward.

Yes, those were the orders. However, Serith couldn't deny the strange feeling that was eating at him, like something was not right. It was disovling his insides like acid.

"Wait," Serith said, but the soldier ignored him. He wanted the glory of killing the Queen had sent them after. He wanted the reckognition from the Witch Queen, the whore. "No! Wait!" Serith flew into action at the sight of soldier driving the weapon downwards. His blade broke through his leather armor and dove into his flesh. The soldier gasped, jerking back upwards. The Hunter pushed him away so he collapsed to the mulch earth.

His green eye looked down at the young girl and the expression on her face tugged at his heart. Complete and utter terror. "Are you alright?" he asked her, strange that he should ask such a question. But, he felt until he could figure out what to do with her or what it was about her keeping him from doing his job, he might as well let her live.

The next expression that crossed her innocent pretty face was hard determination and she jerked suddenly. Her foot coming up between his legs. "Uhhhghh..." he grunted and just as he was hitting his knees she was on her feet, grabbing Sid by the hand and running away from him.

Despite the pain he found something so humorous about the situation, and the expression he had seen. Such a strange feirceness for someone so innocent looking. And despite the pain he found himself chuckling, pressing his forehead to the earth.

Sid felt a rush of amusement and relief rush through him, but his adrenaline shoved it down beneath the urgency of getting Rai away from the man who proposed to abduct her for Shea's purposes. Of course, there was the fact that he'd just slain one of Shea's lackeys without much ado, but Sid still wasn't the least bit interested in letting her touch Rai. He jogged forward between Rai and the stranger. "Good girl," he called to Rai while keeping a sharp watch on Serith. He was just confused enough by the man's behavior to restrain himself from striking him when he was down, but not by much. "That guy piss in your ale once, or are you sayin' you can't pick a side?" he said flatly, an odd balance of amusement and anger in his voice.

Serith collected himself, regaining his composure, he stood up. He looked from Sid to Rai, who was huddled behind him, peering out from behind his arm. He really didn't have a good answer for that question. "The queen told me I could handle the situation how I saw fit... I've decided not to kill her." Rai's hand tightened around Sid's arm.

"I don't see what the Witch Queen is so worried about. The girl seems scared of her own shadow," Serith motioned to her. "Some powerful magic user." He couldn't deny that she was radiating some sort of magical energy almost the equivillent of Shea's.

"I'm not scared of my own shadow!" Rai called in her own defense. Serith grinned at her and she gave him a gesture that she often saw Soran give people, the her middle finger coming up.

"Really?" Serith asked in a disbelieving tone, his grin only growing amused by her gesture. "Anyway, there's something about this whole thing that isn't sitting well with me at the moment. So until I figure out what's going on, I've decided she's of more use alive."

"Isn't that just fantastic for you," Sid snorted. "Now if you've also decided that you are of more use alive, now is a swell time to fuck off," he said as the sound of people running through the woods swiftly approached.

"Actually, check that. About ten seconds ago would have been a swell time," Sid revised, because suddenly Serith wasn't just facing Sid, but a very irate elf and a highly protective half elf and dark angel. The group looked a little breathless and more than a little unfriendly.

Serith stood up straighter at the entrance of the others. He blinked, glancing back at the girl who waved at him with a brillant beautifully spiteful smile. "Well," he said calmly, taking a step back. "I guess you're right. I have to warn you that this won't be the last time. If she's that wanted by Shea, not just I will be sent out for her... and I can garentee that I'll be the only one so mindful of her life. Anyway..." He started to back up a little more. "I'm feeling sort of hungry, so I think I'm going to get a bite to eat." The strangeness of how casual it was seemed very funny to Rai. It was as if he were tyring to retreat without making it seem like he was retreating. Giving up, without giving up.

"See you later," he said, backing and disappearing into the darkness.

She was stll so stunned that she hadn't fully registered the new presences.

Mizuki watched the man disappear into the darkness with a calm serenity that had been unlike her only 20 minutes ago. She couldn't decide how much of a threat the man, Serith, had actually been. But Blade, Blade's heart was pounding with rage and adrenaline.

"Are you okay, sister?" he said with passion. He truly felt that Rai was his sister, hopefully she wouldn't deny that like Soran was.