[Polaris]

Good. Zen thought, relieved. "Ahh, that is good then. For yes, what you told me is exactly what sits in front of you-" Well, mostly truth. But Zen would overlook one little incorrect detail. Or two. His questions were not stupid. "For I am, in fact, annoying you, and no, I am not going to tell you why I am still here- either the short version or the long- but I am not asking you silly questions." Zen smiled, a rare thing. He loved games. "What else do you see?"

[46]

[Polaris]

Ika sighed, "I see... A lot of things I guess... I see you smiling, which I think is a first for me. It's quite a lovely smile too. Perhaps if you did that more people wouldn't be scared of you, I certainly was... am... I don't know... Anyways..." He sighed again, "I see that you find my answer quite amusing. And I'm hoping that you see that I am not very happy with your refusal to answer my question, for I am extremely curious at the present moment."

[46]

[Polaris]

As soon as, if not before, the words left his mouth, Zen went into lock down mode. ...quite a lovely smile... Well, that lovely smile was wiped clean off his face, replaced instead by a thin, annoyed, and perhaps a bit of a frightened, line. "Maybe I want people to be scared of me," he said in monotone, with just a hint of flint in his voice. Standing up, Zen picked up Coaxcoach and slid her into his sheath. He turned towards the door, his head held high and hands in slight fists. "I am here in hope that you can make my sword shut up, and to make sure you don't die- 'cause if you do, then I'll be done for as well," he said, facing the door and moving towards it.

[47]

[Polaris]

"Well, aren't you moody?" Ika said, laying back in his bed, "Go ahead and leave me. I've been alone for a long time..." Yet inside the sight of Zen moving towards the door was quite painful. He still wasn't quite happy about those thoughts, but for some strange reason... No, they must go away! Get out of his head! "Everyone leaves, it's not new..." his voice faded, and he smiled up at the ceiling of the tent, even though he didn't feel like smiling. Stupid fever...

[47]

[Polaris]

Zen, by this time, was actually quite torn. in fact, looking back on what he'd said, Zen had already let too much out. But, of course, he couldn't go back to the hotel- the men from earlier had certainly ransacked the place and were waiting for him. And then he did have to make his sword shut up, but Zen couldn't- just couldn't- stay in this tent any longer after what Ika had said. It made his fingers tremble, and his feet want to take off running. Moving out of the door, Zen said, "I do want you to fix my sword..." And left. He would have to run fast now. And climb. The gates were sure to be closed at this hour.

[48]

[Polaris]

Ika stood up to stop him, where that came from he wasn't sure... He opened the tent flap and looked into the rain. What do you see? "I see nothing..." he whispered. He really wished he could see him smiling again... Why had he felt it necessary to piss the man off? He didn’t want him to go. Ika stood outside his tent in the rain, letting the water soak him washing away the perspiration on his skin, as he looked longingly into the distance.

[48]

[Polaris]

Zen's feet carried him fast and far through the darkness- he'd taken his over shirt off and ripped it in two, tying the pieces around his shoes to muffle his foot steps. But still they came. He could hear them, gathering speed in the dark. Clutching Coaxcoach to his chest now Zen pushed himself- Just a little bit farther, make it to the wall- they won't be able to climb over like you. Until suddenly a cat ran in his way, golden eyes spooking him. Falling against a building in an effort to avoid trampling the cat, Zen let a small cry out. Pushing himself back up as the echoes of his shriek vanished into the rain, Zen saw shadows emerge around him. A short, male laugh and a foreign language that Zen understood to a degree. Pulling himself up, he drew his sword and placed his back to the building. "Go away now- I won't hurt you," he murmured stoically. The men didn't go, and drew knives and swords of their own. Damn. "Give us the sword- we won't hurt you little girl." Zen's face, white in the dusk, contorted as he hurtled towards the men, swinging his saber as he went. He yelled loudly, hoping to wake the people and perhaps have some come to his aid as much as to intimidate his attackers.

[49]

[Polaris]

Ika blinked, he didn't see, but he heard... Yelling through the ringing in his aching head. With a flick of his wrists three swords came to his side, "Was it just me or did that sound like Zen?" The metal clinked, and Ika nodded, "I thought so..." He ran as fast as his stumbling legs could go to the place where the loud noise was coming from. "What the..." Ika looked at the men from a distance. "What do you want?" he asked the swords. They all chimed together, they wanted what all swords did. They wanted to fight, and this situation was just calling to them. "Alright then... Do what you want..." He flicked his wrist, allowing the swords to go where they pleased, only his power allowing them to fly freely. All three stabbed into men, who came crashing down. "Lovely..." Ika muttered, never a being a big fan of death, "Have fun my pets... Let's just never speak of this again..."

[49]

[Polaris]

Zen caught the movement out of the corner of his eye as three of the men fell. Good. that ment there was only one more to deal with, the man he was currently engaged with. Another, the man he was currently fighting's partner, lay behind Zen, a clean cut through the major artery on the inside of his armpit. Swinging Coa around to parry a blow to his shoulder, Zen's arms shook- he wasn't as strong as any of these men, and right now it looked like this one was simply having some sport with him. Growling, Zen went for an opening that the man had left over his right leg. Of course, while lunging Zen's upper back was open, but hopefully the surprise would- And steel met flesh. Good. The man in front of Zen crumpled, the major tendon and a vein on the inside joint of the leg severed. Three dead, two dieing. Zen himself, was spattered with blood, and dripping from a cut across his left shin, and a shallow though long slit that ran from the same hip up to his right collar bone. He would have certainly died if not for.. Who had thrown those swords? Turning warily, Zen saw a metal clad figure in the moon light- none other than that of Ika. Speechless, Zen fumbled with his words for a moment, but covered up by pulling his torn shirt off from around his shoes and dabbing at his cuts with the clean parts. His shirt was in tatters, but his pants had seen worse days. Of what could be see of his chest where his shirt had ripped were white bandages, effectively acting as another shirt. He tore his over shirt apart further and wrapped it around his chest- holding the mint undershirt together and covering the white bandages. "So." He commented, inwardly disarmed, though he still held a sword in his hand, "Thanks."

[50]

[Polaris]

Ika nodded. He flicked his wrist and the three swords lying on the ground jumped to life and returned to their master, already leaving the blood that had stained them. He pet one of them, "Now don't say I don't take you for walks..." he whispered. He turned back to Zen, "I heard you yell... Yelling's never good..." he shrugged and turned. Ika didn't really want to leave Zen, but he didn't seem to want him around.

[50]

[Polaris]

"Yelling, to the contrary, is very good. After all, I was hopelessly out numbered, and without aid of some sort I was sure to have been done it," He wiped his hands together, as if the brush off the death done here. "But, as the world would have it, I must bid you aidue, for there is someone waiting for my return quite anxiously, and I would not want to disappoint him." With this, Zen saluted Ika, and strode towards the wall, catching a foot and two hand holds in the weathered cracks between the bricks it was made of.

[Polaris]

Ika turned for on last glance at Zen,and was just about to leave when the largest of the three swords tinged quietly. Ika blinked at it, "Sorry... What was that?" His ears were still ringing slightly and the quiet noise didn't make any sense to him. It clinged much louder and Ika's hands flew to his ears, "Zee! Shush..." he rubbed his hears and sent an angry glance at the sword, the glance an owner would use to scold a beloved pet who had just acted up.

[51]

[Polaris]

Zen, having finished clambering quite ungracefully (though effectively) to the top of the wall, look back down at Ika. Hmm. Hopefully Ika would tack up this coming display as a feverish hallucination? Reaching his hands up into the air, one palm spread wide, the other holding Coaxcoach, he began to wave his arms about quite peculiarly. As if to signal someone? Slowly, a dark shape rose up from beneath the lip of the wall. It wasn't particularly large, perhaps the size of a small horse or large pony. However, it did not resemble a pony in the slightest. Black spikes protruded from all over its body, ringed with glowing lines that shimmered like auroras.

[52:1]

[Polaris]

Ika started quarreling with his sword, "Stop that nonsense and just tell me what you're trying to say!" It dinged again, this time at a normal level of volume, "Turn around Ika!" Ika blinked his silver eyes once before looking back at the wall. "What the..." Ika stared in amazement at the creature who had arisen to Zen's side. What in the world was going on?

[52]

[Polaris]

Stepping lightly on to the mountain slide of a dragon, Zen was again amazed that Coaihuicatl could even take to the sky. Coa'd explained it to him once, something having to do with magnetic forces and the particles blown towards earth by the sun. It was all much to far above Zen's head, but he'd just shrugged and been delighted with the fact that his friend was not earth bound. Zen turned around and waved good-bye to Ika, as if to exit from a stage. Then, bracing himself against one of the many spikes that protruded along Coa's spine, the two dropped out of sight.

[53:2]