Spirits of the Earth

@SilverDragonsBlood

It was a deceptively sunny day. The air outside was crisp and chilly, and the leaves were beginning to change their color. Eckhart was awestruck- Hyoite really only had one season, and he'd never gotten to see an autumn like this before.

"Will you stop gawking?" Belladonna meowed from atop his shoulder. The two were on the road to Maestoso- at least a weeks journey from the town they had stopped at the night before. "I see this every year, it's nothing special."

Eckhart smiled apologetically. "Haha, sorry. It's just..." He looked at the forest that surrounded the road. "I'm not not used to everything being so colorful. It's really cool."

"You're impressed far too easily. You ought to-"

Suddenly, a loud noise caught both of their attention. It sounded as if a tree had been ripped out by its roots and tossed aside. Eckhart froze. "W-what was that?"

Belladonna hopped from the boy's shoulder and scampered in the direction the noise came from. "Come on, let's go see!" she purred excitedly.

Eckhart groaned, and begrudgingly began to chase after his familiar. "It's probably going to be something awful that gets me killed." he thought bitterly. "Just wait."

After only two days together, a note came for Hakan. A client was requesting his immediate services, so the visit had to be cut short. Taiga kissed her brother goodbye, and they started their separate ways.

Hyoite and Essyrn were both a decent distance from Serendipity, so she packed a few supplies in her satchel and mounted Kaeligar. The massive, eight-legged horse snorted at her, irritated that their week-long stay was cut so drastically.

The chilling air was nothing unfamiliar to a girl from the land of never-ending winter, so the snowflake cloak she fastened around her had nothing to do with temperature; simply not enough room in her satchel to carry it. Taking a look around at the changing leaves, Taiga smiled. It would be a full year before she would get the treat of seeing change like that again.

She spurred Kaeligar into a brisk walk. They had a lot of distance to cover, and the horse tended to be temperamental.

The girl sat atop her mount with no tack, feeling it degraded the beast to a simple horse. She held her staff across her lap and patted Kaeligar on the neck. "I know you're tired," she said, "but that's no reason to be annoyed with me." He answered with a simple toss of his mane.

The loud crash of something rather large and heavy drew her attention from her journey.

Almost as quickly as it had happened, Taiga grabbed onto her staff and Kaeligar's grey-shaded mane and whipped him towards the noise. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see her brother turn to the noise, but she waved him off. He had more important things to tend to, and she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

About time something exciting happened! She thought, a grin tugging at her lips.

After a few minutes of searching, Eckhart found the source of the noise- a carriage had crashed on the side of the road. As Eckhart approached, he began to wish he hadn't. The coachman was in two pieces. The horse was laying in a bloody heap, a large splinter of wood sticking out of it's neck. The carriage itself had been completely destroyed, pieces of it strewn across the road.

"Yikes." meowed Belladonna. "What happened here?"

"No clue." Eckhart replied as he cautiously stepped towards the carriage. Gingerly he began to clear away bits of the carriage, trying to find anybody who was still alive. Belladonna helped, levitating the larger pieces of wood out of the way so Eckhart could look under them. Finally, they both came to the same, sad conclusion.

Everybody at the scene had died.

It wasn't a long ride, especially for Kaeligar. He could've covered the distance in seconds, but Taiga held the beast back. She wasn't the most familiar with Serendipity, so she wasn't exactly looking to let him just run.

Upon arriving at the scene, the upturn of her lips disappeared, replaced by a slight grimace. The overturned carriage was in pieces, and she could see the horse's impaled body lying in front of it. Dismounting, Taiga heard a voice and gripped her staff.

Is someone still alive? She asked herself. Maybe a thief?

Kaeligar took it upon himself to walk around the carriage. Taiga watched the eight-legged mountain of a horse jump back with a startled whinny. She ran to him and put her hand on his snout. The last thing she needed was the beast running off in a panic. Looking to the other side of the carriage, Taiga expected to see someone ready for an attack. Instead, she was faced with a thin, young man and a mangy cat.

Looking at Kaeligar with a huff, Taiga hit the bottom of her staff on the ground. "A cat?" She said. "You got scared of a cat?" Shaking her head and readjusting her grip on her staff, Taiga looked at the man. "Who are..." Her voice trailed out when she saw the dead coachman in two different places. "Who are you?" She asked more defensively.

Eckhart stared at the body of a young girl in noblewoman's clothing. Her empty gaze was haunting, and yet he couldn't bring himself to look away from it. A pit had formed in the boy's stomach, and his eyes were beginning to water. Finally, he closed the girls eyes, shuddering while doing so. "Sweet Ansgar, that's gonna haunt me."

"So what do you want to do?" Belladonna asked. "We can't just leave them here."

Eckhart shook his head. "I'm not-"

The sound of hoofs caused him to freeze. Slowly, he turned around to see a massive, eight legged horse stepped out from behind the carriage. "A theocog!" Eckhart thought in a panic. "But I thought those things were only used by elite Mordecai!" His breathing became sharp. "Has Connlaoth decided to track down my family? Are mom and dad okay? Holy shit, what the fuck is happening?"

Belladonna took a step forward. She glared at the horse, her green eyes unblinking. "Back off, glue boy." she meowed dismissively. "You're freaking out my human."

Surprisingly enough, the horse actually seemed startled by this. It jumped back with a panicked whinny, and a woman looking to be around Eckhart's age showed up to comfort it. Well, she was actually chiding it, but Eckhart supposed the horse likely wasn't intelligent enough to understand that. The woman carried a staff, and wore a cloak bearing an oddly familiar snowflake pattern. The boy's eyes narrowed. "Where have I seen that before?"

Eckhart took a step back as the woman angrily asked who he was. "Shit, does she think I did this?" He laughed nervously. "Haha, don't mind me! I'm just a healer, I thought maybe I could help!" His fake smile faded. "Everyone is dead though..."

Taiga's silver eyes narrowed, searching him for signs of deception.  All that seemed off was his smile, but that faded rather quickly.  She was used to people not being initially comfortable with her, so his nervous laughter didn't phase her at all.

Even so, the boy seemed harmless enough.

She scanned him one more time and pursed her lips together. "I don't give a shit if you're a healer, a prince, or a woman in hiding," she said, her right eyebrow in an arch. "I was asking for your name."

Taiga didn't want to know what he was. If he had killed the woman, she knew how to talk to and act around criminals. If he hadn't, she had nothing to worry about. She wanted his name and to hear his voice. The way someone speaks tells a lot to someone who knows how to read it.

"What brought you here? You don't look like you have enough to buy passage, so this carriage sure wasn't yours. Just stumble upon it?"

Eckhart's eyes widened. The woman's tone of voice was very accusatory, and he didn't like it. "Um, well, uh..." he stammered nervously.

"Shit, what do I say? If she's a Mordecai, then telling her my name would be a huge mistake. But she also seems really mad..."

Belladonna purred. "Wow, she's really on your case, huh Tuna Fish?"

"Oh..." Eckhart murmured under his breath. "I can still hear you, can't I?"

Eckhart visibly relaxed, though only a smidge. "M- my name is Eckhart Von Musel. I heard the crash, so I came running, I wasn't riding with them." Eckhart took another step back. "Did... Did you do this?"

"If she did, then we're fucked." he thought anxiously. "Somehow I doubt Kaida will show up to save my ass again."

The girl chuckled breathily. "I don't kill people without being provoked," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "So no, I didn't do this."

It was obvious that he was nervous around her, but she wasn't about to just let herself be vulnerable. Especially after he said his name.

"If you're having a conversation with your cat, I swear I'll leave you to be eaten alive because I deal with enough madmen as it is. I talk to my animals, but it's far from a back and forth."

She looked at the small young man and huffed. Taiga was expected to be gone for a while still, so she had time to spare. Still, if he was going to cower around her every second of their discussion, they might have a problem.

"Von Musel, huh?" She asked, an uncharacteristic smirk creeping onto her face. She briefly thought back to a few years before in Hyoite. Von Musel had been a well-known name in the tundra. "Don't tell me you're tied to Hildegarde somehow?"

The brief relief that came from learning that the woman wasn't responsible for the crash was immediately dashed as she proceeded to bring up Eckhart's older sister. The young man's face trembled as a million scenarios played out in his head. "Shit! Why is she looking at me like that? Does she work for a rival gang or something? Is she going to try and kidnap me to use as leverage?" He put his hand on his head anxiously, looking very much like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Wow!" laughed Belladonna, curling her tail around her legs as she sat down. "She's really got your number, huh Eckhart?"

Eckhart gave the cat an angry glare. "Bella!" he hissed. "You're not helping!" Suddenly realized how this must look, he gave the woman a sheepish grimace. "Um, yes. Hilda's my big sister..." Eckhart waved his hands in from of him as if he trying ward something off. " But... But I don't work for her or anything! She's family, that's it!" The boy took yet another step back. "If... if you think that killing me will get you brownie points with her rivals or something, you're, um, mistaken. I, ah, haven't seen her in years."

"Sweet Ansgar, this is looking really bad!"

Watching the boy's physical reaction to the mention of Hildegarde was fascinating. Simply by hearing her name, he appeared to be filled with more thoughts and anxieties than Taiga had ever seen before. In a slightly sadistic way, she took pleasure in seeing how uncomfortable he got.

His cat, on the other hand, seemed to give off an energy that could've been interpreted as arrogance. Then again, that's always what cats do.

"Eckhart," Taiga said, smiling with a slight shake of her head. She put her hand out, palm towards him, and chuckled. "Kid, relax." She put her hand on her hip. "Damn, you really do have demons in your ear, don't ya? Never mind that. I just wanted to know who I was talking to."

Once again, she sized the boy up. Amazing that a young man so timid and insecure could be the brother of a woman as strong and confident as Hildegarde.

"I know of your sister, but I don't need to get on her good side or anyone else's. Honestly, I didn't like her, but I respected her because she owned who she was. And I'm not gonna kill you; no point in it. I'm Taiga, by the way."

Eckhart's face flushed as Taiga told him to relax. "S-sorry... I, um, kinda got carried away." He glanced at his feet. "It's, ah, been a long time since somebody immediately recognized my family name like that..."

"Well," meowed Belladonna. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to look for clues as to who these rich people were." Eckhart nodded absentmindedly, and the cat scampered off and began to shift through the rubble with telekinesis.

Eckhart gingerly stepped forward. "Um... Have we met before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere." The boy look at Taiga as a mouse would look at a cat who only ate vegetables. "Are you from Hyoite? Your cloak looks really familiar..."

"That would explain why she knows Hildagarde, at least."

Taiga took a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Short version, I manage a group of bad people who decided to live in the tundra instead of among people. Dirty job, but I keep them in line." She pulled her cloak, giving him a slight view of the large snowflake. "It's to give them a sense of purpose."

She watched the cat start rummaging through the remains of the carriage, but paid it little attention. Taiga had learned not to question when bizarre things happened. Kaeligar walked over to the carriage and pawed at the rubble, moving it around. He didn't know what they were looking for or why, but he knew he wanted to be a part of it. Good thing she had left Calconirr back in Hyoite, or the meeting might not have gone so smoothly.

"I don't think we've met, though. Haven't even met your sister, so I doubt we would've crossed paths. Unless... No, you don't have criminal in you." Taiga shrugged. "That's okay, by the way. It's actually better. I come here to get away from criminals, but it seem as though fate decided I can't. I have some time to kill, so if you want to figure out what the hell happened here, I'm available. Did your cat find anything?"

As Taiga explained herself, a sense of understanding began to wash over him. "Oh... Yeah, I think I remember hearing about your group. They formed a few months before I left. They were called like, the Mistrals, right?"

Belladonna looked over at Eckhart from where she was standing. "Wait, did that broad just ask if I've found anything yet? I literally started looking, like, thirty seconds ago. Tell her to hold her fucking horses." She looked up at the weird Mordecai horse indignantly. "That means you, sticky hooves. Back off before you accidentally trample me."

Eckhart laughed sheepishly. "Er, no, no she hasn't. We... We should probably help them." He walked over to where the largest piece of carriage was laying and began struggling to lift it out of the way...

Kaeligar snorted at the cat, stomping purposefully near her. He couldn't exactly understand what she was saying, but he sure understood her tone.

"The Mistrals," Taiga said, rolling her eyes. "Yup. Definitely."

When the young man walked to the largest piece of carriage, the girl looked on with doubt. Eckhart visibly struggled with it, so she walked over to him. "Listen, I don't want to make you feel weak or anything, but there's an easier way to do that."

She put her hand on the piece, covering it in a sheet of ice. Then, she swept her staff through the air just above the ground, creating an icy runway. Taiga smirked, using her staff as a lever to shove the piece out of the way. It slid away from them, and she looked at him. "Don't work hard, if you can work smart."

Eckhart watched in awe as Taiga effortlessly moved the piece of carriage, creating a sheet of ice and sliding it out of the way. Her words rang in his head. "I don't want to make you feel weak or anything..."

"Welp," Eckhart thought, going red in the face. "Too late!"

"Um... Right." The boy said, clearly a bit flustered. "Thanks..." With the large piece of wood out of the Way, Eckhart was able to see yet another body- this one belonging to a woman who appeared to be pregnant. Eckhart winced and looked away. Finally he steeled himself, and knelt next to the body. "Oh! Look at this!"

The woman had a crumpled piece of paper in her clenched fist. Gingerly removing it, Eckhart smoothed it out and read it out loud.

"Dear Minister Corrine, I hope you are doing well. Everything has been arranged for your and your family's trip to Maestoso, although finding an inn with dedicated, professional midwife was harder than I had expected. Looking forward to meeting you this Saturday! Sincerely, Chancellor Greenacres."

Eckhart looked at Taiga nervously. "Um... I don't suppose you know anything about Serenian politics?"

There's no way she's still alive, Taiga thought to herself, grimacing at the scene. Death was a part of life, but something dying before it got a chance to live was just unfair.

When Eckhart had taken the paper from the woman's hands, it definitely caught Taiga's attention. If she was honest with herself, she never would have paid it any attention. He may not have been strong, but perhaps he was more clever than she had thought.

Minister Corrine? She thought. Chancellor Greenacres? The names were foreign to her. Though, because of Eckhart's unnerved expression, she assumed that they were people of power.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "I know how the politics work, but not who's involved in them. You know the names?"

Eckhart shook his head. "No. I didn't bother reading up on any of that stuff before I came here." He looked at Taiga, trying desperately to look more composed than he was feeling. "I mean, I only left because Serendipity has better better magic schools than we do at home." He looked back at the woman's body, an empty expression on his face. "I didn't think I was going to get dragged into any of this..."

Belladonna jumped onto the boys shoulders. "Why don't you just ask Cyn?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "She's a minister, I bet she'd tell you who they were!"

Eckhart went red in the face. "Bella!" he whined, shrugging the cat off of his shoulders. "Shut uuuuup!"

"I bet she'd try too kiss you too!" Belladonna laughed. "And invite you to help with her next grizzly murder!"

Going redder still, Eckhart stood up. "Come on! I didn't ask to get involved with her either!" Suddenly realizing how bizzare this must look to Taiga, the boy laughed nervously. "I, um, I'm not talking about you. Different girl." He said sheepishly. "Um... So, uh, what do you think we should do?"

Taiga didn't even bother with Eckhart's exchange with his cat. Whether he was talking about her or not mattered very little, so there was no reason to really question it.

"I don't know about you, but if I was awaiting someone's arrival, I wouldn't want to just be left wondering," she said with a frown. "We might get into some trouble, but I think bringing the letter back to this Chancellor Greenacres and explaining what happened would be the right thing to do."


Wasp crouched behind a nearby tree with her hood over her short hair. She wiped blood from her bottom lip and looked at the two people near the large carriage she had just blown up. The assassin hadn't escaped the blast range of her rock bomb, so the force threw her face first onto the ground. She put her hand in her pouch, counting the three polished stones she had left and knowing she would have to be smart about using them.

Using the energetic web that was tethered from her to Teryn, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Wasp to Spider," she said quietly. "I came across someone you might-"

"Passing you to Fly," Teryn's voice said in her mind.

She rolled her eyes and waited for Phoenix to take over. "Fly to Wasp," Phoenix said. "Who did you find?"

"Hildegarde Von Musel's little brother, Eckhart," Wasp said. "Orders?"

There was a moment of silence before Phoenix's slightly too eager voice came back. "Kill him. No witnesses."

Wasp smirked and silently climbed the tree to a low branch. She took one of the stones and blew on it, giving it a charge in case she needed to use it. How about a game of cat and mouse? She thought to herself, a devious grin growing on her scarred face. Taking one of her daggers, she flipped it so the blade was between her fingertips.

With her perfect aim, the dagger whizzed barely an inch in front of Eckhart's face. Kaeligar spooked, taking off at an unmatched speed most likely back to Hyoite. Wasp stood on the branch with a smirk, her completely black clothing and remorseless eyes making it clear just who they were dealing with. "Run," she hissed.

Eckhart nodded shakily. "Yeah... I think that would be-"

A dagger whizzed past his face, barely missing him by an inch. Crying out in fear, the healer stumbled backwards. Taiga's horse ran off in a panic, and Eckhart quickly whipped his head around to see a hooded woman with a scarred face looking at them from a tree branch. "What?" he thought in a panic. "Who is that? Sweet Ansgar, what the fuck is happening?"

"Wait, how did I not see her sitting there?" a small voice in his head asked. "She's wearing all black! She doesn't blend in with the orange leaves at all!"

The woman told them to run, the smile on her face making it clear that she was enjoying herself. Eckhart didn't have to be told twice, and was soon sprinting down the road at breakneck pace.

Belladonna scampered alongside him, fur bristling. "Not on the road, dumbass!" she hissed. "Into the woods! We'll have cover in there!" The cat ran off the road and into the bordering forest, and Eckhart followed suit. 

"Sweet Ansgar, why do I keep running into these psychotic women? Fate must fucking hate me."

Eckhart and Belladonna disappeared as soon as they were told, while Kaeligar was headed in the opposite direction. Taiga scowled at the woman, gripping her staff. She twirled it in her hands and shot four icy blasts towards the mysterious assassin. Wasp grabbed her other two daggers, spinning them in each hand, then switching hands at one point. The daggers blocked all of Taiga's blasts.

If given credit for anything, Wasp had style.

"Shit," Taiga mumbled, taking a step back. She might've been a bit cocky, but the ice girl knew when she was outmatched. Glancing towards the direction Eckhart had run in, Taiga started after him.

Wasp flipped off of the branch, landing lightly on her feet. She stuck her daggers in their sheathes on her belt, then grabbed the dagger from the carriage and secured it into her thigh sheath.

Taiga caught up to Eckhart, constantly glancing over her shoulder. "Who the fuck is that?" Taiga demanded in between breaths.

Wasp grinned, tapping her foot a few times. She momentarily admired her handiwork on the carriage with a sparkle in her eye. Three, she thought, two, one. Skipping once, she laughed. "Time to hide!" Wasp shouted with a musical tone. She looked into the woods, as she strutted forward in a quick pace. "Cause I'm coming to find you!"

Eckhart flinched when Taiga caught up to him, not slowing down for a second. "I don't fucking know!" he snapped at her. "People hate me sometimes, okay? This shit happens to me, like, every other week!" He looked down at Belladonna, who was running beside him. "Bella, you can teleport us out of here, right?"

The cat laughed sheepishly. "Ahahaha... Do you remember when I put on that magic fireworks display the other day? I, ah, kinda expended all of my mana..."

"What!" cried Eckhart. "Bella, come on! That's totally-"

He froze. Turning around, he could hear the woman yell something in a singsong voice. "What the fuck..." he muttered as he began to run once more. The healer glanced at the ice mage nervously. "Taiga, you're the one with a band of criminals, is it possible she's after you?"

"Please, please say yes. I really don't want to find out she's one of Kaida's loonies or something."

"No way!" Taiga said, her breathing heavy. She hadn't run for her life in years. "I seek out criminals. They don't find me! And none of them try to kill me!"

They continued to run, only spurred on by Wasp's melodic taunting. Chills ran up and down Taiga's spine. This new woman knew what she was doing and clearly enjoyed doing it. Somehow that made the whole situation even more disturbing.

"She's right," Taiga said suddenly slowing down. "We can't keep running forever. We have to figure out a way to cover our tracks and hide."

Meanwhile, Wasp heard a buzzing in her ear. Teryn's voice came through to her mind. "Eckhart fucking Von Musel?" He shouted angrily. "Melissa, stop this immediately! I don't need a war breaking out over this!"

"Spider, I can't hear you," she lied. "You want a war breaking out? I can arrange that." She laughed in a childish manner, doing a brief cartwheel in the road.

"This is serious issue!" He said. "Back the fuck off, now!"

With a short laugh, Wasp waved apparently to no one. "Bye-bye, Spider." She silenced his voice in her head, rolling her eyes and talking to herself. "The spider eats the fly, but the wasp kills the spider." She knew Teryn could hear her, and she knew he would come after her. A darkness came over her as she embraced her predatory side. She just need to find and end the Von Musel brat before Teryn found her.

"Shit." Eckhart muttered. "Then this is probably my fault." Eckhart admitted quietly as he too slowed down. "I, uh, kinda pissed off a dragon a while back..."

Images of Kaida's pink haired agent flashed through his mind. "This new girl is acting just like Jaela did, except she's actually trying to kill me this time. Does Kaida do something to people to make them like that?" Remembering how the dragon had taken a bizarre interest in him, the boy paled. "Oh Ansgar, she wanted to make me like that too, didn't she?"

Taiga's suggestion snapped Eckhart out of his thoughts. "Oh, um, ok..." he said timidly. "Um... I've never really been good at outdoorsy stuff. Should we, like, climb a tree or something?"

Belladonna sighed. "Eckhart, let me talk to her please. I have an idea."

Eckhart nodded timidly. "Y-yes. You may speak with her."

When Belladonna next opened her mouth, Taiga would find herself able to hear the cat's dry voice. "Alright bitch, listen. You do stuff with ice, right? Can you make snow we can walk backwards in?"

Eckhart watched nervously. "Sweet Ansgar, you don't need to be so rude to her about it..."

Taiga stumbled back, shocked at the cat's voice. "Of course she can talk," Taiga grumbled. "Like cats aren't bad enough. Okay, let's bring winter a bit early this year."

The girl handed her frosted staff to Eckhart. "You break my staff, I break you." She crouched to the ground, placing her hands on the dirt. A ice blanket of snow started forming in all directions, further than they could see. It wasn't the fastest process, but it was quicker than Wasp would be able to get to them.

Looking up at Eckhart with glowing eyes, she furrowed her brows. "Why the hell would you piss off a dragon?" She asked condescendingly. "You know what a dragon is, right?"

Wasp chuckled to herself as snow began to coat the area. She shook her head. Clever little shits, she thought to herself. They might be smart, but I'm smarter.

Eckhart accepted Taiga's staff gingerly. It was cold to the touch, making Eckhart wish he had brought his gloves with him. The girl touched the ground, and a blanket of snow spread through the once orange forest. Despite everything that was going on, Eckhart couldn't help but smile- it reminded him of home.

Belladonna jumped onto Eckhart's shoulders, muttering. "Like cats aren't bad enough? I'll show you bad enough, just you wait..." Her good eye twitched. "Alright Tuna Fish, now start walking backwards, away from the psycho. It'll look like you're going towards her."

"Um... Right..." Eckhart said, as he hastily began to follow Bella's instructions. As he passed Taiga he handed her back her staff. "Ah, here you go." He grimaced. "I wasn't trying to piss her off, I just-"

"Had a panic attack and threw a pot at her." Belladonna finished flatly.

Eckhart went red in the face. "Well... yeah, but she was like, trying to recruit me to something. You saw how she kept buttering me up, offering me free food and stuff!"

"Yes, yes, I know she's a terrible person. I'm just saying, you could have handled yourself better."

Eckhart glared. "I wasn't thinking straight, okay? I was crying, for fucks sake!" Suddenly realizing he had said this out loud, he gave Taiga an embarrassed smile. "Um..."

"Sweet Ansgar, that was painful. I should just kill myself now, save Kaida's assassin the trouble."

"You're pretty smart," Taiga admitted, "for a feline."

She smirked, listening to the exchange between Eckhart and Belladonna. Now that she knew he wasn't insane and talking to the air, the young man was growing on her...to a point. And though she just really hated cats, the fur ball was absolutely a great source of entertainment, if nothing else.

Throwing a pot at a dragon, she thought. So...maybe I was a little quick to think he's clever. Even so, the humiliation on his face when he realized he'd confessed to crying gave Taiga secondhand embarrassment for him. "Listen," she said, "if you had a good reason, I'm not judging. Tears are strength, kid. Don't think anything less. So, what made you freak out so bad you had to throw a pot?"

Trudging through the snow, Wasp kicked herself for not planning ahead. The horse that was lying dead on the road could've been used to made this much easier. Then again, where's the fun in that? She walked over to a tree and pulled herself up to a low branch. Navigating the close trees was much easier than shoving her way through the snow.

She dropped back down at the sight of footprints, seeming to be headed back towards her. She narrowed her eyes, looking in either direction, but the prints led further than she could see. Wasp examined the prints.

Toe is deeper than the heel, but they're not spaced out enough to be running. Sorry, bastards, but you're gonna have to do better. She laughed, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. "Hide, ya little bugs!" She called, her voice once again in a singsong tone. "Better hurry, or Wasp is gonna sting ya!"

Eckhart went even redder in the face. "Um... Thank you for not judging. That's really nice of you..."

"Oh, gods." Belladonna scoffed. "Are you gonna get sentimental now?"

"I- no!" stammered Eckhart, who was clearly about to get sentimental. "This isn't the time." He turned his head to look at Taiga, a pained expression on his face. ""Anyway, Kaida began to lie to me about what my powers were, made some big deal of it as if I was... special or something." He stared blankly at the forest ahead of him. "She told me I wasn't a healer..."

"What made it obvious she was lying," Belladonna quickly interjected. "Was her telling him that he could be better than his sister. If we actually look at the timeline of how this whole dragon clusterfuck went down, Hildegarde apparently kicked the scaly bitch's ass after she attacked Eckhart the first time. If I was were Kaida, I'd want revenge- what better way to do it then turn her own brother against her?"

Eckhart nodded. "Yeah. And now, since I rejected her, she just wants me dead. Just my-"

Eckhart froze when he heard the woman's voice. "W-wasp?" he asked, breaking out into a cold sweat. "You mean like-"

"Eckhart, she's not a bee. Calm down." Belladonna said, rolling her eyes. The cat looked at Taiga with her one good eye. "If we run, can you leave a layer of snow over our tracks?"

"Whether she was lying or not, it doesn't matter," Taiga said. In her experience, the weakest mage could be better than the most powerful if they learn to use their powers properly. Strength wasn't everything. She wasn't going to say anything more, though.

Eckhart's insecurity made a little more sense to her, after hearing Belladonna's explanation. The young man simply saw himself as inferior to his sister. Made sense, but he could easily get that smacked out of him with the right hit.

Upon hearing Wasp's voice, chills ran down Taiga's spine. She wasn't used to being the prey. Back in Hyoite, the ice girl was always the predator: this was a new and extremely uncomfortable position to be in.

Taiga couldn't help but smirk at Eckhart's reaction at the mention of a bee. She certainly didn't see that coming! Belladonna snapped her back into the scene. "Cover our tracks?" Taiga repeated. "I'll do you one better!" She aimed the tip of her staff in the direction they needed to run, which blasted the snow into a sheet of course ice. "Snow's a pain in the ass to run in. Come on!" She took off, spreading the ice ahead of them, while her free hand was behind them, covering the trail with a fresh layer of snow.

Wasp heard Teryn's voice in her head, encouraging her to stop, but she ignored it once again. At that point, she made Eckhart her own mission. She didn't care what kind of trouble she would cause.

Taiga ran down the pathway of ice she had created, and Eckhart followed suit. He stumbled slightly at first- he hadn't had to run on ice since he left home half a year ago- but he quickly regained his footing and matched the girls pace. "This was a good idea!" he said in between breaths. "Putting us in our element like this gives us the advantage! There's no way that she has the kind of experience with snow that we do!" 

As he ran, Eckhart drew his warhammer. The weapon was large and heavy, and Eckhart often had trouble using it- but it was better than nothing, and carrying it made him feel safe. He looked at Taiga, brows furrowed. "Is there anybody like this in your group? Like, totally batshit crazy? How do you deal with it?"

"Don't put a jinx on us!" Taiga snapped to him. "With our luck, she'll have grown up in Hyoite!" Taiga focused on her breathing with each step. During these nineteen years, she had never used ice and snow simultaneously. It was a powerful combination when used in a fight, but this was a method the girl hadn't developed fully.

When Eckhart drew his warhammer, she smirked. He looked a little foolish with the large weapon, but it was something. Taiga only hoped he would have the guts to actually use it.

"I've come across several people who are batshit crazy," she said. "The last one killed three of my men and convinced another to kill himself. I put an icicle through his eyes. There's no helping these people! Best thing to do is avoid them, and if they do catch you, void any emotions you have because they are predators who feed on power. And you'd better be able to swing that thing."

Taiga shivered, thinking about the last time she had to face someone like Wasp. It hadn't ended well for anyone.

Eckhart paled. "An icicle through the eye? Sweet Ansgar, that's fucking brutal." The boy swallowed nervously. "W-well..." he stammered. "Um, hopefully it won't come to that."

"Alright, we should try to make a loop back to the road. There should be enough distance between us now." Belladonna meowed authoritatively. "Head back to the town we stayed at last night. From there we'll be able to plot our next course of action. Sound good?"

Eckhart nodded, and began to slow down. As he did so, he noticed that Taiga's breathing was far too heavy, even for somebody who had been running as fast as they were. He looked at the girl nervously. "Um... Will you be okay?" he asked softly. "Would you, ah, like some help?"

"Please, pleasedon't take that the wrong way."

Taiga slowed, the flow of ice and snow stopping. She was able to slow her heart rate to near normal, leaning on her staff for some support. "I'm fine," she snapped too quickly. Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, Taiga sighed. "Sorry. I'll be fine. Once we get to the road, I won't need to use my magic."

She sized up the cat, hating that she actually thought the mangy thing had some good ideas.

"We have to keep moving. Last thing you want to do is underestimate a psycho assassin." Once again, Taiga cast the icy path ahead of them. She started off again, though that time in a jog. Speed was much less important at that point than covering their tracks. She could rest when they got the road, but they needed to live long enough to do so.

Taiga was right; they were underestimating Wasp. She found where the tracks ended and looked around, her eyes searching for any sign of them. She took another step, but realized that her feet didn't sink into the snow. She brushed the sheet of snow away and felt the path of ice Taiga had created.

Clever, indeed, she thought to herself. This is more fun than I thought. Her boots' thick and grippy soles held onto the coarse ice better than she expected. Though she slipped a few times from the mostly unfamiliar terrain, Wasp was making shockingly good time.

Eckhart flinched as Taiga snapped at him. "I knew it. I knew she'd take it the wrong way." he thought, internally kicking himself. "Sweet Ansgar, is it possible for me not fuck things up?" The girl's apology didn't make him feel much better. "She's just saying that." a small voice in his head told him. "She doesn't really mean it."

The two began to move again, this time slower than before. As he ran, a thought occurred to Eckhart- something about the situation they were in didn't make sense. He looked at Taiga. "Wait, so if she's after me, then why did she kill the people in the carriage?" He shook his head. "Something about that doesn't seem right..."

"If you don't listen to another word I say, take this advice." Taiga shook her head and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Don't question crazy. She's a trained killer, so one of three things must've happened; she was hired to kill you and used the carriage as a trap, she was hired to kill the people in the carriage and saw you as a better opportunity, or..." Her voice trailed off, unnerved with the last possibility. "Or she's bored and just wants bloodshed."

Maybe I was wrong to tell Hakan not to come, she thought.

"You have my word," she said softer. "You'll be fine." It wasn't so much that she wanted to protect the man, but rather it was her own internal sense of duty that forced her to makes sure anyone she was with was safe. She's had that part of her for as long as she could remember, so it was a deep feeling of responsibility that Taiga just wouldn't let go of.

Eckhart stared blankly at the pathway ahead of him. "Yeah. We'll pull through." he said, more to himself than anyone. "Who am I kidding? I'm going to die today." he thought hopelessly. "I never should have left home. Hildegarde was right about me."

Belladonna's voice pulled him out of his self loathing. "My bet is on the first." the cat said. "If she works for Kaida- and I suspect she does- then she'd want to create a situation where people needed healing. It's the perfect bait."

Eckhart's eyes twitched. "Holy shit, that makes perfect sense! That's really fucked up though..."

Belladonna nodded. "Yes. Yes it is. The road is up ahead, I can see it through the trees now."


It was a quiet day in the town of Ashbark. A few people were going about their daily routines, but the majority of them seemed to have chosen to stay indoors. Ignatius Pratt couldn't blame them- he could feel the cold breeze even with his leather jacket on. 

Carolina the goldfinch landed on the teenage boy's head. "Alright dude, so there are four inns in this town- I just checked." she said telepathically. "Do you still got the sketch the boss lady drew?"

Ignatius nodded, pulling a small piece of paper from his coat pocket. "Yeah, I still have it." he thought back. "You think we finally caught up to him this time?

"Man, I don't fucking know!" the goldfinch replied indignantly. "This Eckhart guy is fucking impossible to find. Is it really so hard to stay in one place for a while?

Ignatius shrugged. "Well, he is on the run from a family of dragons. It's kinda to be expected."

"Pfft, those dragons ain't gonna do jack shit." the bird scoffed. "Hildegarde has the little one eatin' outta the palm of her hand. Also, I hear the frost dragon is a massive pussy."

"Really? Where'd you hear that?"

"Hey, I know stuff, alright? Stop bein' so nosey." The bird chirped excitedly. "First inn is up ahead!"

"Haha, alright!" Iggy thought back, smiling. Running towards the building, he went inside ready to ask about his boss's little brother...

Taiga sighed. "You'd better hope it isn't the first one because that means you're the target of someone who will kill innocents just to get your attention. They didn't need healing, fur ball. They were killed very thoroughly."

She stumbled briefly, regaining her balance and shaking her head. What the hell is going on with me? She thought, pursing her lips. The short altercation with Wasp had thrown her off more than she thought it did. No one was able to avoid her attacks that easily, so she lost some of her confidence.

Making it to the road, they were able to slow just a bit to regain some energy. "This woman isn't gonna quit," Taiga said finally. "If she really was sent by this Kaida, she's gonna be damn sure to get the job done. Unless she's taken out first."

Teryn's voice echoed in Wasp's ear. "I'm less than four hours away, Melissa! I'm begging you to stop this!"

She stopped walking, focusing on Teryn for once. "Once upon a time, a fly thought she could take on a spider. What she didn't know was that this particular spider wasn't actually in charge! No, no, no. When the fly challenged the spider, she kicked a nasty little wasp nest." She smirked, starting in a brisk walk. "Because of one little fly..." Her playful laugh echoed. "...everybody gets stung! See you in four hours, Spider!"

Wasp suddenly sank in the snow. No more ice? She felt around her and smirked, looking at the ground. The ice was changing directions. Trying to throw me off? She thought. Me? Really?

"I'm getting bored," she mumbled to herself. Pulling from her pouch the stone she blew on, Wasp gave it just a little more juice. She hurled it forward and crouched to the ground, hands covering her ears.

BOOM!

The large explosion from the little stone threw her onto her side. She stood, laughing maniacally and starting off again towards the road.

Everything Taiga said just made Eckhart feel worse. "I didn't think she'd drag innocents into this..." he thought blankly, eyes beginning to tear up. "I should have just let her kill me back in Northwatch."

Taiga stumbled before reaching the road, though she quickly regained her balance. Eckhart was about to say something, but Belladonna cut him off. "Alright, now that we're at the road you need to stop the snow, that way she wont know which direction we-"


An explosion some distance behind them caused Eckhart to panic. "What? What was that?" he squeaked, clearly scared out of his mind. "She's blowing things up now? Sweet Ansgar, we're gonna die!"

She looked at the snowy land and nodded, realizing that she had been still covering their tracks.

The loud explosion was possibly worse than being face-to-face with Wasp. It was the anticipation of what was coming; the buzz right before the sting. She wanted fear.

"I don't think she's gonna need the snow to track us," Taiga said, once again picking up the pace. "This lady's good. Of all things to piss off, a dragon? We aren't gonna die! You keep your shit together, I gave you my word that you'll be fine. I don't break my word. We're about two hours away from the town, right? So, let's not make her job easy."

Wasp felt the two remaining stones in her pouch. Two left, she thought to herself. I can make do.

Taiga seemed just as panicked the explosion as Eckhart was, but she hastily assured him that they'd be fine. "How? How are we going to be okay?" the healer whined as he sprinted alongside Taiga. "Didn't you just say she'll stop at nothing? What's the plan when she manages to follow us into town? Then what?"

"Eckhart, calm the fuck down!" Belladonna yowled. "Towns have guards and mercenaries! We'll pay somebody to get rid of her with the money you stole from Kaida!"

An idea suddenly hit Eckhart in the face. "That's right! I have all the money from Kada's wallet! Maybe we can just... pay her to leave?"

In truth, it wasn't a horrible idea. Then again, did they want to risk it?

"You don't know how much Kaida's paying her," Taiga said. "You don't know if she's personally tied to Kaida. You don't know if she'll take the money and still come after you." Shaking her head, the girl huffed. "There are too many unknowns. Do you really want to slow down and find out?"

Belladonna was probably right. The safest bet was to get somewhere at least a little controlled. Even the most deadly assassin isn't a match against an entire t-

She can just blow it up, Taiga thought, pursing her lips. "I'm with the cat. We need help. I don't care how much you have: I'm almost positive you aren't buying this one off. She has skills I've never seen before, so Kaida has to be paying her a shitload. Best thing to do is find someone else you can pay to make her leave."

Eckhart went red in the face as Taiga shut down his idea. "Yeah, it was stupid." he said defeatedly. "I shouldn't have even asked."

"Eckhart, I swear to the goddess if start getting mopey now, I will just leave you to die." Belladonna snapped. "This is stressful enough without having to hear you bitch."

Eckhart went redder still. "S-sorry." he mumbled. "I'll just stop talking..."

"I don't need you bitching, cat," Taiga snapped. "Instead of ripping on him, come up with a way to convince someone to help. No one in their right mind is just going to jump in to save us."

She looked around, closing her eyes momentarily to listen and get an idea of their surroundings. Wasp was too close and gaining faster and faster. The only way they were going to even make it to the town before she caught them was to do something that drastically cut travel time.

"You better be fucking good at balancing," she said with a slightly skeptical look in her eye. Taiga tapped the outsides of her boots with her staff and jumped up, icy winds suddenly appearing beneath her and solidifying into thin sheets without any evidence of how. She pointed her staff forward, creating an invisible pathway to their destination. "She's gonna be able to see this, but we need a serious boost."

The girl grabbed Eckhart's hand without giving him time to react, then practically flew forward with him on the icy path behind her. She held onto his hand tightly, otherwise he would've simply crashed through the thin ice.

"Don't let go!" Taiga said over her shoulder. "If you let go, you're getting left behind. We'll reach the town in about half an hour."

Eckhart looked at the Taiga quizzically. "What does she mean bal-AAH!"

Taiga had grabbed his hand, and he was suddenly flying through the air on a thin sheet of ice. "Ah! What- what is this? What are you doing?"

Belladonna sighed, seemingly taking fact that she was now midair in stride. "Look, Taiga, I'm really sorry you got dragged into this. When we solve this, I'll make sure the boy pays you handsomely for helping us out."

"H-hey, don't be like that!" Eckhart stammered. "I never asked for any of this either!" He looked at Taiga apologetically. "I... I am sorry though... This is all my fault..."

Taiga shook her head with a huff. "I don't need your money," she said. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is, and placing blame isn't going to do us any good. I chose to step in, so anything that happens is on me, not either of you."

The speed boost Taiga had activated finally smoothed out. The beginning was always a little unsteady, but she got the hang of it. She looked at the sky ahead, seeing the town getting closer and closer.

"Save all the money for hiring a bodyguard or something," she said. "I don't care if you have to give every coin you own. We have to get her off our backs."

Wasp jogged along the road, suddenly seeing a new ice formation. She realized that the lack of subtlety meant they had switched to speed. "It's about time," she mumbled. "Run, bugs. Run." She kept at her steady jog, knowing that going faster could mean she wouldn't have the energy to deal with them in town.

"If you insist." Belladonna meowed. "Being selfless like that won't get you ahead in life, though."

"Oh, hush you." Eckhart snapped. "Nobody asked for your opinion." The boy shook his head angrily. "Sorry. It's- it's just that you aren't really helping either."

As the two began to pick up speed, Eckhart felt himself grow more comfortable with the rhythmic motion of his legs. It was certainly an odd way of travel, but it was something he could get used to. If he weren't in fear for his life, he may have even found it fun! "Um, Taiga?" Eckhart asked as he saw the town gates grow closer and closer. "How... Uh, how long did it take to pick this up? The flying, I mean." He smiled sheepishly. "It seems really advanced..."

"Oh Ansgar, I hope she doesn't think I meant that negatively..."

"Yeah," Taiga said to Belladonna. "I'm sorry for saving your ass!"

Eckhart snapped at the cat, and Taiga glanced at him in shock. She didn't think the young man was even capable of being assertive.

Her hold on him became less constricted as she noticed was getting more comfortable with the unusual method of transportation. The girl chuckled, thinking back to when she first learned the skill. "Well, I discovered it a little over a hundred years ago, but I finally mastered it about thirty years ago." Taiga glanced back at him, her eyes glowing slightly. "It takes a lot of energy, but it's pretty convenient when you need speed!"

Cutting a three hour trip down to a half hour is definitely a good boost, she thought. I just hope it's enough.

Eckhart gave Taiga a blank stare. "Ummm... I sorry, could you, uh, repeat that?"

"Why can't the people I meet ever be human? Is that too much to ask?"

Taiga grinned. She was used to all different reactions, but the ones who were just plain confused were her favorites.

"I've lived more times than I can count, kid. It's a bit complicated, and we don't have too much time, so I'll shorthand it for ya. I'm just as human as you are, but with certain advantages. Or disadvantages, depending on who you ask. I live and die, but then I come back with the same memories and same abilities. Like your soul is made of energy, mine is too. The difference is, mine is also made of ice."

She glanced back over her shoulder at Eckhart to make sure he was keeping up with her explanation.

"You need a better explanation, I'll be happy to deliver when we aren't running for our lives. Good?"

"Wait, so, she's immortal, kinda?" Eckhart thought, screwing up his face in confusion. "Um..."

"Oh, so you have a reincarnation cycle?" Belladonna asked, cutting him off. "That's interesting. How many times have you lived so far?"

"Souls are made of energy?" Eckhart said finally. "But I thought they were, like, metaphysical..."

Eckhart simply looked confused, so Taiga barely even addressed his question. "Yes, they're made of energy. That's not my specialty, so if you want a lesson on souls, find my brother on Thanatos."

She glanced at Belladonna, who had been quick enough to interrupt the boy before he started rambling.

"Reincarnation cycle's probably the best way to sum it up," she said. How many lives? Taiga thought. She hadn't been asked that in a very long time. Then again, she hadn't told anyone about her little...condition. It just slipped out that time, so she wasn't going to try to hide it. "I lost count after 1,926 times."

"What! But that means she's ancient!" Eckhart thought nervously. "I don't like this at all..."

"That many times, huh?" Belladonna said. "Lets see, if we were to round that up to two thousand, then multiply is by the average human lifespan..." The cat trailed off, evidently doing math in her head.

"Um, Taiga?" Eckhart said softly. "I thought you were from Hyoite... Why does your brother live on Thanatos?"

"One hundred thirty thousand years of life experience!" Belladonna said suddenly. "That's impressive!"

Taiga's brows knitted over her widened eyes. "Uh, yeah," she said to Belladonna's quick math. "Ya know, give or take."

It was a little uncomfortable for her to have all of those years suddenly brought to her, and she felt a chill run down her spine. Knowing that it was true was a little different than having someone plainly speak it.

"I have twelve brothers and sisters, all who live in different places," she said. "I'm from Hyoite, but my brother, Jack, is from Thanatos." She suddenly realized that it would make even less sense if they were from different places. "Kid, I'd need a little more time than we have to break this down for you. Basically, each of my brothers and sisters have power over an element. I'm ice, Jack is energy. There's earth, life, time, light. If you really want to know, hang around after we deal with this assassin."

His questions were practical, but the timing wasn't. Taiga didn't mind telling him about her family, but not while they were fleeing for their lives.

"Almost there. Have any idea who you're gonna turn to?"

Eckhart stared wide eyed at the girl as confirmed how old she was. Then she said that her brother was from Thanatos as opposed to just living there, and the young healer had to take a break from thinking about it. "Sweet Ansgar, and I thought the Black-Hearths were complicated."

Taiga's change if topic was a welcome one. "Um..." Eckhart said nervously. "Well, I suppose taverns usually have spellswords, right?" The boy looked ahead at the town. "We may as well start there..."

With a short nod, Taiga pursed her lips. Guards would probably ask too many questions anyway. Then, Eckhart would get in trouble for stealing, and it would be a whole lot of unnecessary bullshit. Sellswords would be their best hope...maybe their only hope.

"If we're going with them, I'm sure as hell not entering town like this. Watch your step." She stopped the icy ramp, jumping off and pulling Eckhart with her. Taiga let go of his hand, landing on the ground with a slight stumble. She quickly got her balance, glancing at him. "Get your land legs back. My guess, we gained about an hour on her."

She smashed the end of the icy ramp with her staff, creating a wave-like effect as the ice shattered and fell to the ground.

"It'll take about five minutes to get into the city," she said. "Take a minute to get used to standing again, but we should get a jump on finding protection."

Taiga brought them in for a landing, shattering the ice behind them as she did so. Eckhart stumbled to the ground, nearly falling over.

"Come on Eckhart, get it together." chided Belladonna, who had landed on her feet gracefully. The cat jumped back onto his shoulder. "Lets get moving!"

"Alright, alright..." the boy said, sounding very tired. After a few more seconds of catching his breath, he began to jog towards the city gates. He looked at Taiga nervously. "So, um, in your..." Eckhart paused, trying to remember the number Belladonna had given them. "In your, ah, long time being alive, you must have learned all about mercenaries and stuff, right? How do I know if they're any good when I talk to them? Like, what should I keep an eye out for?"

"Learned about mercenaries?" Taiga laughed, keeping a steady pace with Eckhart. "Please, I was a merc. Quite a few times, now that I think about it."

She thought about her days as a mercenary, as well as all of the others she had met along her travels. It was difficult to know if you're paying for a good sword until you saw them in action.

"Alright. First thing you need to do is not look desperate. Any sellsword is going to spot desperation and take advantage of it immediately. And don't talk to the cat!" She shook her head, looking at Belladonna on Eckhart's shoulders.

"Avoid anyone gambling. They like chance, and we don't have time for games. Avoid anyone drinking. This assassin is sharp, so we need someone at their best. Also, a good merc will spend just as much time looking at you as they do looking around the building and at the nearest exit. They want to know everything around them."

I think that's it, she thought.

"Oh! Don't lie. They'll spot a liar instantly, and we can't afford to lose their help."

Eckhart reflected on what Taiga had just told him as he passed the town gates. "So I need to act like I'm not really in danger?"

Belladonna sighed. "Taiga, maybe you should do the talking. You clearly know what you're doing."

"Wait a minute..." Eckhart realized. "If Taiga's been a mercenary multiple times, then why can't she fight off the assassin?" His eyes narrowed. "Something's not adding up..."

A familiar sight broke Eckhart's train of thought. "Up ahead! That's the inn I stayed at! The innkeeper is nice, maybe he can point out somebody reliable!"

Taiga quickened her pace ever so slightly, trying to reach the inn. If Eckhart was right, he might have just saved their asses.

Wasp ran, pulling out another stone and charging it, less than the last one. She climbed to the top of a nearby building, crouching on the roof. A glimmer caught her eye, so she turned to see something shining in the sky. Aww, she thought, a smile growing on her lips. Moth let you borrow her boyfriend.

Eckhart's voice snapped her attention back to the task at hand. She rolled the stone between her fingers, silently following the sound of his voice. Wasp saw Eckhart and Taiga about to enter a little inn. She hurled the stone towards the building.

BOOM!

The building was blown to smithereens, throwing Eckhart and Taiga back. "What the shit?" Taiga shouted, jumping to her feet and immediately looking around.

Wasp wiggled her fingers from a slight distance. "Hello!" She said with a smirk. "You two are sorry excuses for prey, really. I'm getting bored!"

In the span of a few seconds, everything went to shit.

The building exploded as soon as Eckhart laid his hand on the doorknob. The boy was thrown backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Taiga swore loudly. Belladonna yowled in confusion. Townsfolk screamed in fear, hastily pushing each other out of the way as they ran for shelter.

None of this registered as Eckhart groggily pushed himself up. He could hear the assassin mocking them, but he couldn't focus. His body felt immensely hot and sticky, and looking down Eckhart could see a large chunk of the door had lodged itself into his side. He looked at the blood soaking through his jacket numbly.

"This... this is it, isn't it?"

She's beyond insane, Taiga thought, listening to the assassin speak. She looked at Eckhart and Belladonna, losing her breath when she saw a large piece of door jutting out of the boy's side.

Taking a step towards Eckhart, the girl heard Wasp's snappy voice. "Did I tell you to move?" Her tone was of pure disbelief that someone would dare do something without her permission. "Stay the fuck where you are until told otherwise."

"If you're going to kill us, do it!" Taiga said, looking again at Eckhart, then back at Wasp.

"Oh, I will," she hissed. "Soon." The assassin held up her open hand. "Five."

Taiga quickly crouched next to Eckhart to see the blood oozing from his side. "I'm so sorry," she said breathlessly.

"Four." She brought one finger in.

"I need you to work with me, okay? You have to get out of here."

"Three."

She pursed her lips, turning to Belladonna. "I'm gonna try to hold her off, but you guys have to make good time. I don't know how long I'm going to last." Taiga regretted using her power recklessly to speed their travel because she needed it more now and didn't have it.

"Two."

Taiga bit her lip, standing to face the assassin with a slight feeling of desperation in her heart.

"One."

She gave Eckhart her staff to use for support. "Run."

As Eckhart's thoughts grew more coherent, he began to feel the pain. It was unbearable, as if his abdomen had be set ablaze. "I don't have time." he thought hopelessly. "I could heal this if I had thirty minutes, but with her here..."

Eckhart looked at Taiga, eyes cloudy. "No... I'm sorry..." he murmured as he took her staff and slowly pushed himself up. "Just because you'll get reborn doesn't mean you should have to cut this life short for my sake..." Giving the girl one last solemn look, Eckhart began to limp away.

"This isn't fair..."

Belladonna ran beside him. "We'll make it out of this." she said, sounding unsure of herself. "I should have enough mana to teleport in another hour or so, we just need to hold out until then. Okay?"

Wasp saw Eckhart start limping away with Belladonna following after him. Her arrogant smirk disappeared, replaced by a dark frown. She marched towards them, eyes locked on the boy.

Taiga stepped in her way, her fists raised for a fight. One swing. Wasp ducked smoothly, jumping back up and slamming her elbow into Taiga's face. The girl fell to the ground, nose bleeding and vision blurred.

Unsheathing one of her daggers, the assassin's lip twitched slightly. "Did I tell you to move?" She repeated through clenched teeth.

Wasp flipped the dagger so the blade was between her fingers. She hurled it forward. It planted itself in Eckhart's back, less than a centimeter to the right of his spine.

"I told you to stay the fuck where you were."

Blood dripped from the healer's coat as he moved, the dark red stain growing larger by the second. The assassin said something, but Eckhart wasn't listening. All that mattered to him at that point was not letting Taiga's selfless act go to waste.

And then, it was too late.

Eckhart felt a sharp jolt of pain in his back, worse than anything he'd ever felt before. Time seemed to slow as Eckhart stumbled, then fell. Images rushed through his head. He saw his grandfather reading him a bedtime story. His mother scolding him for breaking her Connlaothian vase. His sister hugging him after he gave her a timepiece for her birthday. His friend Kino ruffling his hair. Finally, he saw Kaida's shocked expression as he cut her face with a scalpel.

"Well... Looks like that's all..."

Eckhart collapsed, and stopped moving. "No!" he heard Belladonna cry. "Damnit you fucking human! I can't lose another!"

"Mom... Dad... Hildegarde... Bella... I'm sorry, everyone..." 

"Heh.... Found you."


Ignatius stood in front of Eckhart, blocking the strange woman's path. He struck a pose that he likely thought was dramatic. It made him look rather rediculous.

"Nothing personal... But it ends here."

"Did I do okay?"

"Hell yeah you did! She'll be shaking in her boots after an entrance like that!"

An odd boy appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. He positioned himself between Wasp and her target. The assassin grinned at him. "You're a strange thing, aren't you?" She said, looking at his tight pants and dark eye makeup.

Taiga shook her vision clear enough to put together what had just happened. She looked at the boy who seemed to be standing against Wasp, and she jogged over to Eckhart. "It's gonna be okay," she said quietly.

Wasp dismissed the boy instantly. Little fool, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes at the attempted - and failed - tough guy act.

Taiga whipped off her cloak, holding Eckhart's shoulders down. She kept the dagger in his back, ripping open the back of his coat and shirt to expose the injury. Glancing at Wasp and the boy to make sure nothing had changed, she continued. Taiga placed her hands on Eckhart's back around the dagger, not caring about her hands getting covered in blood and using the little bit of magic she could summon to chill the area. Hopefully it would help slow his blood flow. She packed her cloak around the injury. "Bella, lay on it. Needs pressure." The girl stood, facing the two others in case she needed to act.

"You are right about one thing." Wasp glared with a smile at Eckhart's bleeding body. "It ends here." She ruffled the boy's hair, walking past him towards her prey.

"Don't tell me what to do!" growled Belladonna. "I can use the boys magic, synchronicity and all that." The cat placed her paws on Eckhart's wound, and they began to glow a pale turquoise color. The boy's wound gradually began to stop bleeding. ""I'm clotting his blood. Pull the wood out of him, quick!"


Ignatius watched as the woman walked passed him, scowling as she ruffled his hair. Immediately he rushed in front of her again, this time with his butterfly knife drawn. "You're only half right I'm afraid." he said twirling his knife. "It ends here... for you."

"Alright, that was a bit weak."

"Aww, really? I thought it was a good comeback..."

"It was a good comeback, but your infliction wasn't great. You sounded too timid."

"Hildegarde's brother will die if I don't make this lady leave!"

"Use your power!"

Ignatius shook his head. "N... No. I got this. He grinned at the woman, doing his best to look menacing. "I see you like knives. I like knives too... Care to test your skills against a master?"

Taiga listened to Belladonna, getting back down near Eckhart. She placed her hand on the wood and the other on Eckhart's side. "Hold your breath," she said, yanking the wood out with a single pull. She pressed her hands over the wound, looking at Belladonna as she healed him.

Wasp took a breath, dropping her head back. "Listen, pipsqueak," she snapped, leaning forward slightly to be at his eye level. "I have a schedule to keep."

She watched him twirl around his little knife. Adorable. He seemed to be having some kind of internal battle, but what she said was true. She had to finish off the Von Musel brat before Teryn came to take the wind from her wings.

"Wanna know why I like knives?" She pulled out both of her remaining daggers, spinning them each four times in either hand. Wasp's eyes narrowed, suddenly crossing the daggers at his throat before he could even see what happened. "I like seeing the fear in fake little boys who think they can fucking compare to me."

Flipping the daggers back into their sheaths, Wasp fixed her stance. She went to punch the kid in the throat, stopping herself just before she touched him.

"You're nothing," she spat. "And I'm busy."

A mixture of fear and anger showed on Ignatius's face as the woman called him fake, flinching as she stopped her fist directly in front of him. "I- I am not fake!"

"She... she's not even trying to connect her attacks? W-who is she?"

"Use your powers. Bitch is too dangerous to fight head on."

Ignatius gripped his knife tightly. "But... she could die if I do that. I can't-"

"And then the boss lady's bother will bite it. You don't want that, do you?

"...No, but-"

"Then do it! Use your powers! You have no choice"

The boys breathing grew sharp. He looked up at the woman, eyes watery. "I'm sorry..." he mouthed wordlessly. Lifting his hand, he clutched it in midair, carbonating the woman's stomach acid.

Wasp ignored the boy, clenching her fists to get ready to deal with Eckhart. Feeling a strange sensation in her stomach, she whirled around to see the boy with his hand clutched in the air and tears threatening to spill.

"Are you jok-"

She suddenly doubled over in pain, landing on her knees and one hand while holding her stomach with the other hand. Wasp glared up at the boy with a sudden fire in her eyes. She felt herself start shaking involuntarily, then turned to the side, vomiting and coughing violently. Her arm gave out from her body's reaction to the boy's magic, and she fell to her side, propped up slightly on her elbow.

The assassin looked at Eckhart, then back to the newcomer. Once again, she started vomiting, and for the first time in her life, she realized she wasn't the alpha present.

The amplified screech of an eagle echoed, a massive shadow getting smaller as it got closer to the ground. A large creature dove toward them, sunlight reflecting from the pure white wings. Before the gryphon landed, an unarmed man leapt onto the ground with his hand extended to the boy. "Stop," Teryn said with wide eyes. "Please, stop. You're killing her."

Blexoir touched the ground, tucking his wings to his body. The gryphon looked at Taiga's shocked expression and the young man on the ground, immediately recognizing the cat's intelligence. "Do you need help?" He asked Bella telepathically.

Ignatius watched in utmost horror as his power took hold on the woman. He broke into a cold sweat, and began to tremble. "Ca... Carolina? I want to stop, it's not right!"

"What? Why? Look at her. She definitely doesn't think you're fake now!"

"She's going to die! I don't want her to die!"

"Honestly dude? She deserves it. Just sit back and enjoy watching her suffer."

Before Ignatius could object further, a man dropped from some kind of flying mount, begging the boy to stop. Happy to have an excuse, he relented. The boy looked at the woman, trying his best to look menacing. "You know why you lost?" He pointed at the woman dramatically. "You can't tear Friends apart, that's why!"

"Holy shit dude. You fucking nailed that!"

"Haha, thanks! It just sorta popped into my head!"

Ignatius turned towards the newcomer, twirling his knife coolly. "Heh... And who might you be?"


Belladonna looked up from regenerating Eckhart's cells. "Ew, no. Get lost, freak."

Blex flicked his tail, sitting and extending his wings just enough to block Taiga, Eckhart, and Belladonna from the others' sight.

Teryn nodded to the boy, putting his hands down. He rushed over to Wasp, putting his hand on her back. She breathed deeply and shoved out of Teryn's reach. "A thank you would do it," he said to her, shaking his head.

"Fuck you, Spider," she hissed, getting weakly to her feet. Immediately, Wasp started off towards Eckhart again.

Teryn whistled sharply, and Blex screeched, standing with his feathers ruffling and wings extending fully. She stopped, knowing that no matter how quick she was, there was no way she was getting past a gryphon.

Teryn turned back to the dramatically poised boy, who was flicking his knife around. "I'm Spider," he said smoothly. "Who are you? You friends with that kid?" He nodded his head towards Eckhart.

Ignatius watched as the woman managed to stand back up. The boy moved to raise his hand, but the man's bird thing managed to force her back. The man then introduced himself as, of all things, "Spider".

"Shit, is that a codename? Do I need a codename too?"

"Never mind that, look at how he talks to bitchface over there. Isn't that wierd?"

Ignatius tilted his head. "A little bit, yeah..."

"Careful how you answer his questions, dude. I don't like this."

Ignatius looked at the man for a few more seconds before he finally spoke. "I'm a friend." he said simply. "That guy's not one, but he's... related to us. Family, if you will."

"Alright, that sounded good. Now play dumb and ask about the whore."

Ignatius nodded and pointed at the assassin. "So, is she your wife or something?"

"Hahaha! Not that dumb, you doof!"

"Haha, sorry. That's all I could think to ask..."

"He wishes," she said.

Teryn scoffed, looking at Wasp, as she hissed at the gryphon. "If she was my wife, I would have killed myself," he said. "Wasp is my guard dog, if you will. Unfortunately, she tends to go off leash."

The two of them glared at each other. At that point, Wasp knew she lost. It was no longer a matter of how fast she could kill Eckhart. She was done.

Blex relaxed his appearance, his feathers smoothing and his wings folding against his sides. He walked around Teryn, circling the boy and sitting behind him. Just the gryphon's size was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. Teryn shook his head. "He's harmless unless I give the word."

"Unless Goldie gives the word," Blex sneered, to which Teryn gave a sarcastic glare.

"This is Hildegarde Von Musel's little brother, right? Well, you're 'a friend.' Don't think I don't know what that means." Teryn folded his arms over his chest with a shrug. "I don't want to have an issue rising, meaning I can't have you running back to your boss with a story about Spider and Wasp."

Taiga leaned in to Eckhart, unsure if he was actually conscious enough to understand what she was saying. "The assassin," she whispered. "Eckhart, the assassin isn't from Kaida. This isn't your fault."

Ignatius giggled at Spider's quip about killing himself. "Ha! This guy is funny!"

"He does, in fact, have jokes." the bird agreed.

The two Friends then stood dumbfounded as Spider told them that he didn't want Hildegarde to get their codenames. "Wow. He really is funny."

"Ahahahaha! I'm going to tell him he's stupid!"

"Haha! Do it! Tell him!"

"If you didn't want me to tell Lady Hildegarde, then why'd you tell me your codenames in the first place, dumbass?" Ignatius shifted his weight. "You could have called yourselves Jorge and Melissa and totally thrown us off!"

"Fuck dude, when did you become so savage?"

Ignatius smirked at Spider and Wasp. "I mean what are you gonna do? Kill me? You and I both know that's a bad idea."

"How am I doing?"

"Yes. I love you. Please, never stop."

Wasp smirked, amused at the boy's criticism of Teryn. "He's right, ya know," she said. "This was planned very poorly."

"Buzz off," Teryn said.

"Shut up," Blex said to the man. "Teryn, that was awful. I'm embarrassed for you."

Teryn huffed, ignoring both of them. His eyes emitted the faintest violet glow, and he lowered his hands to his sides again, his gloved fingers subtly dancing around each other in an unusual pattern. He nodded slowly, approaching the boy and patted him on the shoulder. His eyes grew slightly brighter.

"You're right," he said simply. "I've actually changed my mind." Teryn clapped his hands together once, then returned to the strange pattern. Blex grinned. The man took a breath. "Go back to your boss. Tell her the story. But tell her the full story. I expect you to tell her the truth. Wasp hunted and hurt little Eckhart pretty badly. But you tell her that I have the bee under control. Know this... I won't hesitate in letting her sting you, if you lie. Trust me, I'll know."

Teryn walked away from the boy to assess the damage his assassin had done. Blex walked after Teryn. "You did what I think you did?" He asked.

With a few more movements from his fingers, Teryn nodded to Blex. "He's my eyes and ears, Blex." His voice was low enough that the boy couldn't hear him. "I have myself a little spy."

Ignatius smirked. "Look. Even she thinks he's an idiot!"

"You fucking owned him, dude! You're awesome! I'm so, so proud to be your friend."

Spider likely saw the boy's cheeks had flushed red as he went to pat the boy on the shoulder, but Ignatius didn't care at that point. "Don't worry about it! I don't think she'll come after you." he replied to the man as he walked away. "She'll have a hard time taking you seriously after I tell her the full story, so you should be safe!"

"Oh my god Ignatius, I could kiss you."

"Hahaha, gross! Bird kisses!"

"I'm about to give you bird kisses right now!" Carolina said as she began to peck at the boy's lower lip.

"Ahahaha! Stop it, that tickles!" Ignatius whined, laughing out loud. "People are going to seeeee thiiiis!"


Eckhart groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. "I'm... Not dead?" he thought groggily. "Wha... Wha's goin' on?"

Teryn knelt next to Eckhart and Taiga briefly. "I want to make it clear to whoever can hear me that I won't hesitate in hunting any of you down if you try to find my assassin," he said in a forceful whisper. Taiga kept her mouth shut, simply nodding that she understood.

He stood up and walked over to Wasp. They snapped their heads over when the boy started laughing at his bird pecking at his mouth. The assassin sneered at him, rolling her eyes. "That how you and Moth work?" She asked the gryphon. Blex smacked her with his wing.

"Enough," Teryn said to both of them. He didn't care what the boy told his boss. He didn't care whether Hildegarde came after him or not. Either way, he'd be prepared. "Don't get cocky," he said to the boy. "Arrogance gets you killed. Take that however you want to."

Taiga smiled, breathing a small sigh of relief when Eckhart opened his eyes. "You're gonna be fine," she said quietly. "The assassin wasn't from Kaida. None of this is your fault."

Through the haze, Eckhart heard a man tell him not to hunt down his assassin. It was hard to reflect on it though- while his magic was effective at healing, he had a lot of trouble numbing pain. A groan of pain was all he could muster in reply. Taiga's statement that the incident wasn't caused by Kaida received a similar response.

"Don't trouble him with that now." Belladonna said, visibly relieved. "Let the boy rest."


Ignatius and Carolina both stopped what they were doing and looked at the man. "Look at him trying to save face. He was the one who got cocky, not you! What a joke!"

"Haha, he seems really mad! Who is he even supposed to be?"

"Beats me. You oughta check on Hildegarde Jr., he looks hurt."

Nodding, Ignatius shot the man a smug grin. "Okay." he would then walk over to where Eckhart and the girl were sitting. He posed dramatically. "Heh... Looks like you two are safe now, thanks to me." The teenager looked at the woman quizzically. "Will Eckhart be okay?"

"I expect you to meet me where we started off in no more than four hours," Teryn said.

Wasp looked at him, folding her arms over her chest. "You aren't gonna make me ride with you?"

Teryn scoffed and climbed onto Blex's back. "I think I know you better than that by now. Do yourself a favor and stay out of trouble. One more slip like this and you won't have my protection. Clear?" Her pursed lips was the only answer he needed. Blex lifted into the sky with Teryn on his back. Wasp glared at the three people and sprinted into the nearby woods.

Taiga watched them leave. She decided to listen to Belladonna. Regardless of her own experience, everyone comes back from near death at their own pace. Eckhart probably wouldn't be the one to just spring back.

She looked at the new kid and smirked. "Thank you," she said simply. "He should be okay now, but it'll take a little time. How'd you know where to find him?"

Belladonna watched the griffon take off, the man calling himself "Spider" upon its back. "You won't hesitate to hunt us down, huh?" she asked silently. She then looked at Wasp, eyes briefly meeting with hers before the assassin ran off. "Then I suppose you'll need to be taken out of the picture first." The cat looked at her master, a sad, almost possessive gleam in her eyes.

"Nobody will take you from me. Not again."


Ignatius smirked right back. "I've been following his trail for quite a while now." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the woman. "Lady Hildegarde drew it. I've been showing it to people and asking, and it's led me here!"

"And it only took us an entire month!"

"Shut uuuup! It would have taken longer if we didn't have Addie!"

Taiga took the drawing and nodded. "Well, your timing was pretty perfect," she said. "I'd hate to know what would've happened if you were a few minutes later."

She touched her nose lightly. Her raging adrenaline was finally wearing off, so the pain from her most likely broken nose was actually becoming noticeable. Taiga took her staff, using it to help her stand again. I need to find Kaeligar, she thought out of nowhere. The drama with the assassin and Eckhart's injuries had made her forget about her horse completely.

On her feet, Taiga looked at Bella. The cat had an interesting energy around her, and Taiga couldn't figure out what it was. She handed the drawing back to the boy. "My name's Taiga. Where's Hildegarde? Why didn't she come looking for him?"

Wasp stayed in the woods, hiding behind a few trees. She was close enough to listen to what they were saying because she didn't trust Teryn to tell her what was going on. She knew she would have plenty of time to meet up with the boss, especially if she stole a horse on the way.

Ignatius's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I was pretty cool, right?"

"Alright, stop there. You can't ask if you were cool- you need to act like you already know."

"R-right... Sorry..."

"For the record though... You were very cool."

Practically glowing, Ignatius watched the woman stand up. "My name is Ignatius. This is Carolina." he said, gesturing to the bird on his shoulder. He took the piece of paper back from Taiga. "Lady Hildegarde has a gang to run, so she sent me! She said I'd be able to beat the dragon's sister if she showed up, so I was the perfect person for the job!"

He looked around. "Who were those guys? Their bug codenames were really lame..."

"Forget Spider and Wasp, I wanna meet stinkbug!"

"Ahahahaha! Shut up!"

The girl smirked when Ignatius introduced his bird. She thought it was sweet.

"I have no idea who they were," Taiga confessed. "Eckhart thought the assassin was sent from the dragon, but apparently not."

She was at a loss as to where they came from. Even more as to why they were targeting the two of them. Glancing back at Eckhart, she noticed the blade was still in his back. If there was anything she knew about assassins, they wouldn't leave their weapons behind.

Crouching down again, Taiga looked around the area without seeing anything out of the ordinary. "Uh, Ignatius, would you mind hanging around here a bit? Just to, ya know, have two extra hands."

If the kid was even slightly aware of human expression, he would notice the urgency in her voice. She couldn't outright say what she was thinking, but she hoped he was sharp enough to catch on.

"Where's Lady Hildegarde based?" She whispered. "It's important."

"So she doesn't know either? Bizarre."

"Yeah... You think it's another gang?" Ignatius waited for the bird to respond. "Um, Carolina? You okay?"

"Ignatius, that cat is giving me a dirty look."

Ignatius looked down. Sure enough, the mangy cat that had been sitting by Eckhart's side was now staring at the bird, it's eyes menacing. "Whoah. That's creepy."

"Ummm..." the teenager began, still looking at the cat. "Yeah, I can stick around for a bit. Lady Hildegarde is in Zantaric, It'll be a while before I make it back there anyway..."

Zantaric, Taiga thought to herself. Abri's in Connlaoth, Soreyn's in Adela...oh! Meri.

She noticed Ignatius was locked onto the cat with an unsure look. Chuckling, Taiga shook her head. "Don't worry," she said. "The kitty cat's harmless, aren't you?" She glared at Bella, silently telling her to fuck off. "It's a bird, Bella. Just stop."

Wasp crouched to the ground. "Wasp to Spider," she whispered, using Teryn's web. "Von Musel bitch is based in Zantaric."

"Melissa, get your ass moving!" She heard Teryn say. "I'm listening! I don't need you there!"

She rolled her eyes and stood up, strutting into view. "Hello, pests," she said. Wasp raised her hand quickly to Ignatius. "I'm not here to kill anyone, this time. I want my dagger back!" She pulled her last stone from her pouch and held it up for them. Little did they know, it wasn't charged. "Any of you make a move on me, I blow us all up." She walked over to Eckhart, yanking the dagger from his back and wiping his blood on his jacket. "Catch ya later." Wasp winked at them and started walking off.

"That bird isn't right." Belladonna mewled. "It smells wrong." She scoffed. "Kitty cat? Bitch, I'll show you-"

At that moment, the assassin returned and threatened to blow them up. Belladonna froze. "Shit! Now what?" Her back arched and her hair stood on end. "I have to do something! I won't get another chance like this!"

Ignatius simply smiled. "Hello Wasp!" he said cheerily. His eyes flashed towards his bird for a moment, and his grin seemed to get larger. "It's good to see you again!" Once again he glanced at his bird, and he began to snicker.

As the woman bent down to pick up her knife, Belladonna saw her chance. Mustering all the magic energy she had, she focused on the blade. For a brief moment it glowed, and the cat was able to hear a buzzing in her ears. "Perfect, that alarm spell should do the trick. Now I'll know whenever she's within one hundred yards of me."



A sudden jolt of pain in his back snapped Eckhart out of his semi-conscious state. He could feel the blood spurting put of his back, which meant that the assassin had hit an artery. With immense concentration, he channeled his magic through his back, clotting the blood in the wound. "Asshole..."

The young healer propped himself up into a sitting position. He stared at the woman, who was now walking away from him. "Hey." he muttered angrily, eyes brimming with hatred. "Don't you know first aid? That's not how you're supposed to remove a knife from a wound."

Wasp stopped in her tracks at the sound of shuffling. Eckhart's weak voice echoed in her ears. Did this little fucker actually just try to tell me first aid? She asked herself.

A sharp and condescending laugh escaped the woman, as she turned on her heel with her head cocked to the right. "You know I'm the one who put it in your back to begin with, right?" She flipped the stone in her hand, blowing on it and actually giving it charge. Wasp reminded them of the bomb and walked back towards Eckhart. "You know, if I didn't like this dagger so much, I would've let you keep it." Her words were laced with poison that anyone would understand.

Taiga stood near Ignatius, shocked at how confident he seemed. She gripped her staff, unsure of what she could actually do against the assassin.

She tapped the dagger on her lips twice, before standing up and securing the blade into its sheath. "You got stones, you scrawny bastard. If you didn't panic when we first met, I might've even respected you." Glancing over to Ignatius, Wasp stayed quiet. "Stay out of my way," she said simply, disappearing into the woods for good that time.

As the woman turned to face him, Eckhart realized that it was the assassin who had taken the knife out of his back- the pain made it hard to think straight, and in the heat of the moment he thought it had been Taiga. "Shit shit shit shit shit!" he thought, panicking.

Thankfully, the assassin just mocked at him. As she turned to walk away again, Eckhart sight in relief. "Sweet Ansgar, that was too close for comfort."

"Bye Wasp! It was nice meeting you!"

The teenager's shook Eckhart a bit. Looking at the source, he saw that a member of his sisters group he had met a few months back had joined them. "Shit. Why is he here?" he thought nervously. "Oh, um, hey. You, uh, work for my sister, right?"

The teenager looked at him, slightly dissapointed. "Yeah. Didn't... Didn't you see me?" The teenagers eyes flicked towards his bird. "I mean, I totally saved your life back there."

Eckhart looked at the boy, who was currently striking a bizarre pose. "There is no way this kid beat the assassin." He looked at Taiga. "Um... What really happened?"

"It's true," Taiga said, relaxing. "You got stabbed, and he showed up. Saved both of our asses."

She knelt next to Eckhart, glancing over his bloodstained clothes. Could've been a lot worse, she thought. "Listen, I'm grateful and all," she started, looking up at Ignatius. "Could you not piss off the assassin?"


Teryn put his hands on his thighs, listening to Ignatius speak with Taiga and Eckhart. He muted them, switching to contact someone else. "Shards?" He said, slightly nervously.

"You didn't web her," Blex said.

"Shit. There has to be a lake or something nearby." They landed next to a shallow stream. Teryn hopped off, while the gryphon laid down. The man knelt at the edge of the stream. "Shards? Need your help." No answer. "Viv!"

The water rippled slightly to reveal the shaky image of a woman with dark golden eyes. "Don't call me that," she said.

"You didn't answer the first time," he said.

She smirked, raising one eyebrow. "You aren't my first priority. Why aren't you just meeting me?"

"I need your help."

"Obviously."

Teryn dropped his head with a grin. "I'll see you in person, but I need information on Hildegarde Von Musel."

Vivianne was silent, eyes widening like she'd just seen a ghost. "I'll have to get back to you." She waved her hand over the reflection and disappeared.

"She was acting a little weird," Teryn said.

"She's always weird," Blex grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Eckhart stared at Taiga in disbelief, than at the boy himself. "How? How did this kid beat her?" He shook his head. "How is literally everyone more capable than I am?"

"I didn't expect it either." meowed Belladonna. "Now sit back down and let me take a proper look at you."

Eckhart nodded and sat on the ground, taking off his bloodstained jacket. "Sweet Ansgar, this is gonna be a bitch to clean..."


"I wasn't pissing her off!" Ignatius said indignantly. "It's like, a code. When you're cool, you gotta talk differently." He crossed his arms. "Acting all dismissive to each other like that is a sign of respect. We recognize each others coolness, you see."

"Oh my god, Wasp is soooo hardcore! I hope I get to see her again!"

"...Yeah. I'm sure you would."

"...You okay? You sound sad..."

"It's nothing. Look at the girl, it looks like she's about to talk to you again."

She shook her head at Ignatius' concept of 'cool.' "Kid, you're cool. She isn't. She's insane." The last thing the girl wanted was a miniature Wasp wannabe running around.

"Taiga?" A small voice appeared in Taiga's mind. "I found Kaeligar. Are you okay?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Ely, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. If you could bring him to me, I'll love you forever."

Taiga smirked. "My sister's bringing Kaeligar back," she said to Eckhart. Her smirk disappeared when she saw Eckhart's nearly emaciated body underneath his jacket. "Goddamn, Eckhart. You'd better let me give you a meal."


Vivianne sat on her bed with her hand covering the little mirror she was using to speak with Teryn. Memories flooded her mind from a time she thought was gone and a woman she planned never to think about again. She probably already had all the answers he wanted, but Hildegarde was a part of her life that Vivianne really just wanted to leave in the past.

Why Hildegarde? Vivianne thought, flopping to her back on the bed. Of all people, Teryn. Of all people, why Hildegarde?

As the teenager swelled with pride, Eckhart looked at Taiga with a sad smile. "You were prepared to die for me." he thought, a pit forming in his stomach. "I was going to leave you to be killed by the assassin while I ran." The boy's eyes began to tear up. "And you want to buy me a meal?"

Eckhart shook his head. "I... No. I couldn't accept it." Tears began to roll down the boy's cheeks. "You've... You've done more than enough for me. Letting you buy me food wouldn't be fair at all..."

Belladonna rolled her eyes. "By the goddess, kid! Get a hold of yourself!"

Eckhart rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "You're- *sniffle*- you're right. I'm sorry."

Taiga gave a small huff, hanging her head. She wasn't exactly comfortable with emotional outbursts or anything like that, but given the fact he just came back from near death, Eckhart was going to get a pass.

"Bella, it's fine," she said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, kid. You don't have to feel guilty. I'm not buying you food. My sister would make a terrific grandmother because she always has food on her somehow. I'm good for my trip back, so you're taking whatever she brings." She stood, pointing down at Eckhart. "And that's not a discussion."

Looking at Ignatius, Taiga took a breath. Now that Wasp was gone, she didn't need the boy sticking around.

"Thanks for your help, but I've got it from here. You said you have a long trip, so I wouldn't want you held here anymore."

Ignatius crossed his arms. "Excuse me? I haven't even done what I came here to do yet!" Scowling, he walked towards Eckhart and knelt down. Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he handed it to the healer. "Have you seen this woman since last time we met?"

Eckhart looked at the paper, then back at the teenager. "Um... This is me...."

Ignatius flushed red, eyes darting towards the bird on his shoulder. "Ahaha! Hildegarde drew two pictures..." He rummaged through his jacket pocket, finally pulling out another sheet of paper. "Here, this is the one..." 

Eckhart's heart began to race as soon as he saw the sketch. "This..." he began nervously. "This is her..." He shook his head. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Kaida- that woman was a human. My powers work differently on dragons. It's the difference in thermophysiology that does it I think..."

The teenager froze, then turned his head so as to look his bird in the eyes. "Ummm..." he said after a few seconds. "So she's been talking to you?"

Eckhart nodded. "She showed up once, yeah. I don't think she'll be coming back though... I, ah, kinda... Threw a pot at her."

Ignatius's jaw dropped. "That is so hardcore..." he whispered excitedly. He stood back up. "Okay, that's what I needed to know." The teenager turned to leave, giving a backhanded wave as he left.

"Wait!" Eckhart called after him. The boy stopped  and looked back. Eckhart flashed him a smile. "Thank you. I mean that. And thank Hildegarde for watching out for me."

Ignatius smiled back. "Heh.... Sure thing." With that, he would walk away.

Once the teenager was out of earshot, Eckhart looked at Taiga with his eyebrows raised. "What a strange kid..."

Teryn switched back to spying on Ignatius. He sat near the edge of the stream, eyes glowing violet. Certain words in particular stuck with him... Kaida...dragon...powers...

The man chuckled to himself. "The junior Von Musel threw a pot at a dragon, Blex," he said with a smirk. "He's an interesting one... More than meets the eye."

"Always is with the small ones," Blex said.

"Thank Hildegarde indeed," Teryn said, muting the kid's tie as soon as he started to leave. He stood up and climbed onto the gryphon again. "We have to get back to Adela. I need to have a talk with Viv."

"She doesn't like th-"

"Yes! I know she doesn't like that name!"


Taiga watched Ignatius start off and grinned. The extremely familiar thundering of too many hooves approached. Kaeligar galloped into view, slowing as he approached. A petite girl with blue hair and a pink dress slid off of the massive horse, stumbling slightly when she hit the ground. She blinked her white eyes at Eckhart's skinny body and her sister standing beside him.

"Tai?" She asked. They hugged each other, as the new girl smiled warmly. "I brought some food." She dug in her bag and pulled out a still warm loaf of bread with a fresh block of cheese.

"For him," Taiga said. "Elysia, this is Eckhart. Eckhart, my sister, Elysia. Thank you so much, but he and I both have things to take of. It's been a hell of a day. I'll catch you up some other time."

The blue haired girl looked at Eckhart and put the food back in the bag. She placed the bag on the ground near the boy, shaking her head with pursed lips. "She won't catch me up some other time." With a slight glare from Taiga, Elysia whirled around, her dress and her hair spinning. "I'm gone! I'm gone!" And within seconds, she was gone into the woods from where she'd come.

"You're gonna be okay, kid." Taiga smirked, walking over to Kaeligar. She picked up her staff and pulled herself onto the horse, who snorted at seeing Belladonna again. "Stay safe," she said, spurring Kaeligar into a gallop back towards Hyoite.

As the boy left, Eckhart heard a loud rumble. "Shit! Did Wasp rig something to explode?" He covered his ears, then uncovered them as he he saw Taiga's horse galloping towards them, a blue haired woman on it's back.

"Ugh, I'm never going to get over that."

The conversation between Taiga and the new girl was incredibly brief. Soon both had left, Taiga wishing him well before riding off. "Thank you!" Eckhart called after her. "For everything!"

"Crazy broad." Belladonna meowed condescendingly. "You reckon she was making up the reincarnation thing?"

"I... I have no idea. She could have been." Eckhart admitted. The healer looked around, taking in his surroundings. People had begun to gather around the inn that had been blown up, calling out for survivors. "Bella?" he asked. "What the fuck happened?"

The cat sighed. "From the looks of it, one of your sister's rivals put out a hit on you. Not Kaida." she added quickly. "The dragon had nothing to do with it."

Eckhart's eyes widened. "B-but... doesn't that mean that-"

"Eckhart, calm down." Belladonna said sharply. "We made it through the day, that's all that matters."

Eckhart shook his head. "No. It- it wouldn't end with one failed attempt. Somebody else will try to kill me- somebody who isn't a lunatic like... Wasp." The fear in Eckhart's voice as he said the assassin's name was audible. "This is just the beginning."

"That may be so." Belladonna agreed. "But let's not get freaked out just because of what the future might bring." She flicked her tail. "We could get hit by a freak storm tomorrow and die that way- no assassins involved." Upon seeing Eckhart's face grow even more worried, Belladonna changed the subject entirely. "Hey, look! Your knife wound healed!"

"What?' Eckhart reached for his back. Little more than a scab remained where an open wound should have been. "Did... did I heal it without even realizing?"

"You must have." The cat purred. "I'm impressed, I can't imagine you doing that back when we first met."

Eckhart laughed excitedly. "Hahaha! Oh Ansgar, that's awesome!" The boy's face paled. "But... my jacket..." He looked at the bloodstained fur coat, trying to see if there was a way he could fix it. His heart sank- it was damaged beyond repair. "The side is all shredded..."

Belladonna groaned. "Don't get sentimental on me, Tuna Fish. That thing was awful and you know it." She sat down, tail curling around her legs. "You finally have an excuse to buy a new one!"

"Yeah..." Eckhart said softly. "I guess..."

The healer and his familiar spent that night in town, feeling they had enough travel for one day. They would leave for Maestoso in the morning- and this time, they took a carriage.