[Redd]

Fyte and Aivreron

The wind blew throughout the Vast Plains, howling eerily. The dark clouds on the horizon did not lighten the mood either. They were far away from civilisation, and they preferred it.

Fyte brushed away a strand of long strand of light brown hair that had, again blown across her face, and pulled a fierce scowl. She had pulled one of her closest companions and war comrades out onto this forsaken plain, with naught but a pack of supplies and a bow with a few shots, in search of her childhood home, which by now would be nothing short of ruins. Her companion Aivreron, or Avir as he preferred to be called, trudged along beside her, cursing the weather, the trek and about everything else to do with this "bloody, god-forsaken land".
Fyte had to laugh though. Avir had insisted he come with her to seek out the village. He had begged, grovelled and threatened, until Fyte, immobilised with laughter, had let him come.
"I think it's just over here." Fyte said over the wind.
Avir nodded. "It better well be, or I am not going on one of these trips ever again." He said, ruffling the big crimson and black wings that jutted out of his shoulder blades.

[Freezair]

Locke watched from the tip of the jutting stone, waiting.

He had switched between human and Khimera form more than once, wondering which was the least assuming. Khimeras were an odd sight, especially on their own. But a middle-aged businessman in a fine suit, wandering in the middle of the open plains, was equally baffling. Still humans were known for their odd whims in taking strange walks, and so human it was. He sipped from a water bottle and squinted his eyes.

His recent employer had not told him much. Only that he was waiting on an Albie. Possibly more. Purine colors for one of them. This described a great number of people, of course--He'd heard something about traveling companions as well, but he had not pressed for details.

"But Locke, me luv," his pet had asked him. "Ent ye Black 'Mere luking for a wee Albie a'well?"

"Yes, love," he said. "There are two of them."

She cocked her head at him.

"I do believe my employer merely said he wanted them delt with. Not how."

Her mechanical eye clicked at him. He grinned in his memory and in real life.

He waited.

[1]

[Redd]

The two had made sad progress through the vast rocky landscape. Avir bitterly trailed behind Fyte, cursing his rotten bad luck. He had wanted to travel in their true forms, Fyte as an Albie, and himself as a Garudor.
Fyte had coaxed him into travelling as a human.

"Folks around my hometown don't like animals that are also humans. They would kill you the moment you turned human." She had said.

"Then most 'folks' are darn well stupid then." Avir had retorted, but nevertheless, this was now how they were traveling.


Sai and Dobarchu

There were two more travelers that had headed out this way, to this forsaken plain. Guided by fate maybe, to the old desolate ruins of their hometown.
They had reached the old ruins. The houses were old, run-down and, more noticeably, torn up like a dog's plaything.
'I still can't believe the damage done to this place... and it's all my fault...' The human-formed Biolune Albie thought in despair.
It had been many months since he had woken up, with out his memory and a strange critter called a Void Bleeder sitting on his lap.
"Hey, brick 'ead. Whatta we doin 'ere?" The little black creature complained.
"Would you learn some manners, Dobarchu?" Sai patiently replied. "You speak like an uneducated ragamuffin."
Dobarchu scoffed. "Oi can speak 'ow ever I wan' to, thankyew very much."
Sai's lip twitched slightly, the best he could manage for an amused smile. The Bleeder hopped off his shoulder and curiously hovered around, peering in a window here, and around a corner there; this old place certainly was fascinating.
"Yor ol' gerlfriend lived in there, didn' she?" Dobarchu asked, pointing at a house that was particularly run-down. Sai gaped at the house. It was most certainly this house, how did that thing know?
"I'm a good bleeder, en't I?" Dobarchu chuckled. "I can pick out the house of yor gerl that yor 'eart is bleedin' for."
Sai grimaced. I wish something would kill me now, so I don't have to live with this mess. He wished.
Curious however, he trotted off into the ripped apart building

[Freezair]

"Ah-ha," Locke said to himself.

Against the endless khaki of the plains, two wriggly dark shapes stood out prominently against the grass. The bright, colorful lines crisscrossing the Biolune Albie's back stood out like Christmas lights in July. A smaller wriggly shape followed behind him--darker, and less colorful, but it still had a few lighter swirls across its back.

A Bleeder, Locke thought. His brother had nursed one of those, many years ago. No idea what happened to the odious little creature. Perhaps his brother still woke up every morning, with the thing nibbling on his toes. Not that he cared--it was only his brother, after all.

The Albie and his gloomy little friend were moving toward a run-down little building. Locke had assumed it was merely an old settler's home--but from the purposeful look of the Albie's movements, Locke figured it had some significance. Melting back into Khimera form, he slunk down from the ledge, and rustled through the grass. Trying to go unseen, keeping his tails pulled in, he nudged toward the old building, watching patiently.

[2]

[Redd]

The Bleeder curiously cocked its head. Sai didn't even turn to look at Dobarchu, yet he asked. "What is it?"
Dobarchu shrugged. "Thought, I 'eard somethin'." He muttered, glancing around.
Sai ignored him. "This isn't a time for games, Dobar. We came here for a reason." He said through his teeth.
The Bleeder grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Boss. Got a lil' carried away thar. I'm sorrie. A reason you say? Wot are you lookin' for? Yor gerlie's lil' charm or somethin'?"
Sai scowled. "Does it matter? Yoru sent me out here to find some darn trinket belonging to... her... when he darn well knows I am trying to put the past behind me."
Dobarchu frowned a little. How lil' he knows... I'll wager my cracked heart that 'e dun't even know why 'e was sent 'ere...Yoru knows tha' both Albies will be in the same area, so 'e is gonna to kill 'em both... dunno why I dun't say nothin' though... Why would that pathetic excuse for an Albie believe me anyways? Agin, I'll wager by broken 'eart tha' the noise I just 'eard about a mile off, coulda been Yoru's agent... He mused to himself.
Sai started yanking out draws and searching through them. He knew exactly what he was looking for. He had given the trinket to his ex-girlfriend himself.

The village was quite small. Everything was the same as Fyte remembered it. There was the large old building in the centre of the village, which was used as a church and a gathering hall. Around it, their was a small collection of stalls, where goods could be purchased. Around the stalls, their was about half a dozen houses. The village was tiny compared to other villages. It was so small, it wasn't even on the map.
Yet, even as Fyte and Avir stood up on a particularly higher hill, still quite some distance from the village, it had changed so much.
The damage that the town had sustained was the equivalent to it being ripped apart by a bombshell. The central building had taken the most damage, with it's ceiling caved in and it's walls torn down.
"We came all the way out here... for this!" Avir exclaimed.
"Hey... I lived here, you know." Fyte retorted, turning around to glare furiously at him.
"Ok, I'm sorry Fyte. Forgive me?" Avir said, with childish humor.
Fyte laughed. "Of course."
They stood up here, admiring the view for a little bit, unaware of that their was anyone else out here.
Fyte turned to Avir and said quietly. "There is something else I have always wanted to do."
"What? It better not mean we have to take another trek out to some other god-forsaken spot out in the middle of nowhere." Avir replied.
Fyte smiled. "No... it's not that." She said softly. "I've always just wanted to try this." She lent over and kissed Avir on his mouth. Shocked and taken-aback, he did nothing, and before he could recover, she pulled away.
"Wha-what was that?" He asked, surprised.
Fyte smiled. "Nothing. Was just testing something. Something you and I have both wanted to try for a little while."

[Freezair]

Bingo, Locke thought.

The dark pair entered the remains of the house, snapping at each other. Then the Bleeder spoke. "Thought I heard something," he said, his voice thickly accented. Locke's bionic ears swiveled.

Perhaps I would be better served here in human form, he thought. Khimera don't necessarily have a sterling reputation.

Melting upwards into a human body, he crept toward the home.

The house seemed to have been part of a gathering of kinds. A small village, perhaps. A village like a scrap of old cloth hanging down from an ancient, tattered outfit. Locke pulled himself upright and wandered across the streets. He was straying somewhat from the house--he would get there, he supposed--but he found the tiny town curious. You hardly ever saw little burgs like this one anymore. Everything was so urban. When it had been "alive," this place would have been so quaint, it would have looked like... Well, like a painted plate from a tabloid ad, though that wasn't a very romantic analogy.

He tried to look nonchalant as he approached the house he'd seen the Albie and the Bleeder enter from a distance. He was only out for a stroll. A sightseer, and nothing more.

[3]

[Redd]

"Okay, now oi can really 'ear it." Dobarchu complained. "Can't you 'ear it too? Yor an' Albie, an' there 'sposed to 'have real good hearing, en't they?"
"Well, at the moment I am a human. Can't hear to well as one of those." Sai retorted, smoothly shifting back into his Biolune Albie form, even though he could perfectly well could hear in his human form. Curious to see who would visit this old village, Sai reared up and placed his front paws on the windowsill and peered out.
"Whose tha'?" Dobarchu asked.
Sai shrugged, and resumed his hasty search through the drawers.

Fyte turned away and sat up. "We should continue to the village. Before it gets dark."
Avir nodded and followed her.
The two wandered down into the village, but pulled up short when they saw something wandering around the village. Near her house.
"Who is that?" Fyte asked.
"How in perdition am I supposed to know!" Avir exclaimed, starting to head off towards the village.
"Wait." Fyte said, grabbing the back of his shirt to stop him moving. "I want to watch for a little bit."
She wanted to see why this stranger was looking at her house.

[Freezair]

He's looking out the windowsill, Locke thought. Better start making excuses.

Locke waved a human hand, lips broadening into a kind of smile. From a distance, it would hopefully not be too readily apparent that it didn't reach his eyes. "Hello there!" he called. "I'm sorry; am I interrupting something? I didn't mean to. I was traveling along, you see, and I happened to see what looked like a village. I was a bit thirsty and hungry, so I decided to stop by... But it looks as if this little town is a bit worse for the wear, eh?" He tried to look around nonchalantly. "You probably shouldn't be poking about in there. Looks rather unstable!"

He put his hands behind his back. Of course, if the Albie and his Bleeder wanted to know how he'd traveled out here--and kept his coat impeccable--he'd either have to show off his nature as a Khimera or make sure to conspicuously not show off the car he'd keep mentioning.

[Redd]

Dobarchu lept onto the windowsill with a fluttering of his wings. The Bleeder returned his wave and smile, well as much as a bleeder can. "Nah, yor not dis'urbin' us." He ruffled his wings, and gazed about the village. "We are jus' lookin' for somethin' 'ere. Oh, didja say you was hungry? Cuz I'm sure thar might be somethin' here you could eat."
Sai looked up from the drawer, time to take over. He trotted outside the building and up to the stranger. He would have preferred to meet this man in human form, considering the stranger was human, but he had trouble changing and could really only transform once a day.
"Greetings stranger. The name is Sai." He said, not too warmly. "What brings you all the way out here, to this old abandoned village?"
Dobarchu had caught up and settled on his usual spot, on Sai's shoulder. He cocked his head curiously at the man. Was he the one that the Desert Nagi had sent? Only time would tell. If it was, he would be a happy bleeder, for he would not have to suffer because of this fool's broken heart.

[Freezair]

"Ahhh. I'm a traveler, you see," Locke said. "But I'm afraid I was running a little low on water and snacks. I saw a cluster of houses and thought that I might be able to find an inn where I could refuel. Sadly, it seems this place is all but deserted."

Locke looked around, trying his best to seem tragic. "But I could very well ask the same of you," he said. "You and your Albie friend seem to be quite a ways out. Do you live here? Are there traces of life here yet? If you aren't, and you are fellow travelers, I wouldn't dream of shaking you down for you supplies, but I am curious..."

Locke looked down at the Bleeder. He wondered if perhaps this fellow had something to do with that Desert Nagi who'd send him out here. Curious indeed...

[5]

[Redd]

Dobarchu nodded his little head. "Fair 'nough. Well, all the food in this 'ere town is very well preserved. You should ask Sai a lil' moar about this town." Dobarchu said, glancing at his partner. "'e used ta live 'ere."
"Yeah, that's why we are here. I am looking for... something I left behind when we fled the village." Sai said flatly. Fled it? Yeah right. You didn't flee here. You destroyed this village. And Fyte. You killed her too. His inner voice snarled at him. Sai shuddered slightly, trying not to lose control.
"We can find ya some food if yor feelin' a bit peckish." Dobarchu's cheerful chatter cut across Sai's thoughts. For some reason, that thing was always happy, even though he had a mighty big gash across his face.

Fyte frowned. "Something isn't right. I know it." She said, from her perch in a tree, a small distance away from town.
Avir chuckled. "Course there isn't." He replied, putting an arm around her, and for the first time she didn't flinch away.
"Hey... that looks like..." Fyte tried squinting a little at the Albie.
"Don't even say it." Avir warned.

[Freezair]

"'Fled?' Dear me." Locke put an affected hand to his chest. "You simply must tell me what happened, you poor little thing! And food, if at all possible."

He stepped back and beckoned affably to Sai. "So, Sai is your name, is it? Well, mine is--" Locke thought for a second, but hopefully not long enough to be noticable "--Kei. I hate to be such a tale-stealer, but I hope you don't mind... Your little friend has gone and made me curious."

He turned around and grinned. "If you can take time off from your busy schedule, I'd love to hear it..."

[6]

[Redd]

Sai eyed the man. He seemed reasonable enough, something was a little odd. Meh. I don't care. Give the man a tale. Twist it to your favor. Say you had to do it. Hopefully, you can do it so much that you might even believe the twisted truth. But don't count on it. The voice mocked.
"Food is this way. I'll take you to my old home." Sai said to Kei. "This village's tale is a sorry one. Many people want to know what happened here, but only two people know. Only two people survived. Me and... another Albie."
Dobarchu nodded his little head in agreement. They had reached the other small house. It was in noticeably better condition to the other houses around it. They spared my house. How touching. Sai thought, sneering to himself.
"Come in, sit down. I'll get you something in a minute." Sai mumbled, rummaging around the food stores, happy that it was all still edible, even after all these years.

The Albie trotted away from her house, and towards... No. It wasn't him. It couldn't be him. Not now. She had finally let that go. Moved on. Her affections towards her companion had proved that. Now her nightmarish past had caught up to her. Her lover- no, to-be murderer was here. In the village of all places. She had only come to see her village, and if possible look her beloved, long-lost Radill mount. Now she had to face her nightmares, or flee.
"He won't hurt you again. I promise that." Avir growled fiercely, sensing her fear.

[Freezair]

Locke eyed the house, trying to seem appreciably wary. "I... assume you have canned food in there? I don't know what else would keep. Well, I suppose it would be rude of me to refuse your hospitality, so... In I go, it seems."

Locke picked up his feet and followed the Albie into his house.

"Sad story. Touching, really," Locke said. "Quite sorry. May I ask, exactly, what--or who--did this to your poor little town?" He looked purposefully at Sai's eyes as he walked into the little, still-standing building. Then he skirted around the seat he was being offered and took it. He patted the back of his chair.

He watched the Albie check the food stores while his bionic ears twitched. He thought he heard another voice. The other one, perhaps?

The game is afoot, he thought with a tiny, inner smile.

[7]

[Redd]

"Well, yeah I guess it would be canned food." Sai said. "Well people around here could preserve food for centuries. Course we wouldn't do it for that long, only a couple of decades but the town has only been lost for two decades, so some of this food will have lasted. Some people actually had decided to preserve it for that long, so that in harsh times, he had food."
Sai had warmed up enough to Kei. He seemed like a reasonable enough man. He handed him a pile of fruit and nuts, all of it dried to preserve it. "Sorry. It's not much, but it's all me and Dobarchu have been surviving off." He said apologetically, nibbling on a couple himself.
Now, this man wanted to know about the town. Haha, and what are you going to say, fool? You did it? Course not. Your too pathetic to confess. You would rather die.
It was true, his inner voice knew him too well.
"This town, was full of life two decades ago. But we... we were attacked by hoards of warriors. They could not feel pain. We stabbed them again and again. But though they were wounded, the blood was enough to prove it, they still pushed on, some looking like walking pincushions." He took a deep breath. "We were a small village. We could not fight it. I ran. The rest... they died."
Dobarchu nodded his head while nibbling on a nut. "Yup, that's 'ow et happen'd." He nibbled on a nut, with a thoughtful face. Fyte... the Albie... she was here, his little broken heart could feel it. Now, he had two options. Tell Sai, so he could be whole again. Or let the murderer hired by the snake kill them both, saving him from this wreak.

Fyte snuck into the village. "We've got to be quiet. People are here, and I don't want to be seen." She whispered.
Avir nodded. "Sure. What are we looking for?"
Fyte pushed open the door to her house, dismayed to find things everywhere, drawers opened, tables upturned... but now was not the time. She opened a small hidden compartment under her bed and pulled out a necklace, the very one Sai was looking for earlier and put it around her neck.
She stepped out of the house and peered around curiously. Where was Sai? Should she try and see him?