| The Second Angel Part 4 By Keiko When I emerged, I'd chosen only several of the items the seamstress had selected for me, including the parka. Bless the woman, she'd already picked out the outfits for Tali, saving me the trouble and the time. I retreated to my rooms with the armload of clothing. I packed a small duffel bag not unlike Tali's, easy to carry, and expendable. The layers of warm clothing would just have to be packed away in another bag until we reached the north. It was inconvenient, but necessary. Opening a wooden chest in my sitting room, I looked over my collection of weapons. Hmm... collapsible bow... throwing dagger... another dagger... throwing stars... poisoned darts... Finally, I pulled out a few daggers and the collapsible bow, and placed it on the table next to the duffel bag. Going to another chest, I pulled out a tool kit belt and placed it next to everything else. All that done, I went to bed. Standing as far away from the bed as I could, I took a deep breath and yelled, "TALI!! GET UP!!" Tali slept on blissfully. What a bastard. Inching closer, I tried again. Same. Now I was really wary. I didn't want to get too close to Tali when waking him up. No knowing what he might do, full of surprises as he was. Creeping to the side of the bed, I whispered, "Tali?" and jumped away. Nothing happened. Sometimes, when resting for a mission, Tali could go into a really deep sleep. Other times, he just liked messing with me... Making my way to the side of the bed again, I poked at the young man cautiously. And was totally unprepared when Tali jumped up and planted a big kiss on my cheek, yelling cheerfully, "Good morning!" Before I could hit him, he jumped away and began dressing. "Tali..." I snarled. Tali looked at me, "Uh oh." He grabbed his duffel bag and teleported away. In my anger, I didn't realize something until a while later... "YOU BASTARD! YOU LEFT ME WITH THE BAGS AGAIN!!!" Dragging the bags containing our cold weather wear, I stomped down the hallway to the launch pods, where Tali was sure to be waiting. "...been rather out of sorts lately, so do be careful with her, won't you?" Markus was saying when I arrived. Tali was standing in front of him, bag slung over one shoulder, and trying to look innocent. "I guess you know what happened, then?" I grumbled to Markus, not even bothering to look at him. My angry gaze was fixed on Tali, who'd dodged behind Markus for protection the minute he saw me. His grinning eyes peeked out at me over Markus' shoulder. Markus sighed. "Sato, loosen up. I don't need you angry with Tali for missions. This is way too important." "Of course. We're both professionals." I said airily. "I won't beat him until after we get back." I glared at Tali for good measure. He merely smiled benignly, knowing I'd never actually carry the threat out. Damn him for knowing me so well. If I beat him up for every time he surprised me with a kiss, he'd be constantly in the Shell hospital. I shoved the bags at Tali, "Here, make yourself useful for once and store this away. I want to talk to Markus." I was being horrible and I knew it, but I wasn't in a very merciful mood. Tali pouted at me, "I'm always useful. And are you still mad at me?" I shoved him off in the direction of the pods for answer. He teleported away before he could crash into the pod itself. Even fuming, I had to admit it took someone with a lot of power to do that, teleporting himself and a heavy load like that. Then again, it took someone with even more to be able to teleport more than 1 person at once. Tali could do that. His limit, as far as it has been tested, is 5 people at once, even it tires him out tremendously. I turned back to Markus. He was berating me with his eyes. I knew the look all too well. I sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I just wasn't in a mood for Tali's antics." "You're never in a mood for them." Markus replied, "But right now it's different. How are you feeling? Did you have another dream?" Right on the first count. I did have another dream, probably the exact same one as the one I'd had the day before. I told Markus about it. His eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of fire. After a moment's thought, he said, "You know that I found you in the burned ruins of your Dome, right?" I nodded, already guessing what this could mean, "You're saying it might be a memory resurfacing?" Markus shrugged, "Could be. You never know." And that was all he would say on the matter. Keiko's Rants: So does anyone like Tali? I like him. He reminds me of both Duo and Xellos at the same time. They're probably who I based the characters on... Yeah, I know, it's not very original... Part 3 Part 5 Back Main K & K |