Second Assault

As the evening came, the four of those gathered to eat dinner in the inn's cafeteria.
"So, tell me finally why you just took off?"
Iisai asked Drake with impatient tone.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, I got this letter from the Emperor himself where he requested me to visit him. Apparently, he needs some kind of service. Well, right when I had read it I was going to run to tell you but then I bumped into Aikatherinee. As you can guess, she wanted to know why I was so excited. Then, she suggested that we leave together already that night. I really wanted to tell you first but I just.. Sorta forgot.. Err.. I don�t know why�"
Wouldn't happen to be Aikatherinee's charm spell, No? Teo asked her self sarcastically.
"Oh. Um, it's okay, you see, we are going there too! I got a letter as well, at least, after the enemy had read it.."
Drake seemed to ponder something.
"So.. That's why you're hunted and you two are here together. Well, we might just as well travel to the palace together, no?" He grinned.
Iisai smiled happily, excited. "Ofcourse! It would be awesome!"
Then, he turned to look at Teo to make sure,
"Wouldn't it?"
She nodded approvingly. Travelling with more people was safer.
"Hold on.." Akatherinee interrupted.
She looked at Drake.
"Those two will only bring us trouble. The boy's hunted. He'll gather trash around us, I definitely don't feel like fighting off some dirt who wants his head!"
While Drake looked puzzled, Teo looked like she could have eaten Aikatherinee alive.
"That is why I am around, or have you forgotten? I promise you right here and now, Minai, that you will not have to interfere not one single fight! As a matter of fact, I won't let you!"
It seemed to be a matter of pride to her.
"His fights are mine, and my fights are my own. I am at full responsibility!"
Teo got up.
"Let's go, Iisai, it's getting late."
With that, she went upstairs Iisai following right after.

Iisai sat quietly on his bed while Teo was checking her equipment, looking rather annoyed. Iisai had about a million questions he'd want to ask, but he didn't really care for getting his ass kicked by a girl. But in the end, just Iisai's staring was enough to piss Teo off.
"WHAT?!"
Teo was holding her whip so hard her knuckles were turning white.
"Umm, oh... nothing... I just.. well.."
Iisai backed his back on the wall.
"I just thought.. that.. if.. well.."
"Out with it!"
"It's just.. are you sure you don't want Aikatherinee to fight with us... I mean, she seems pretty good and stuff.."
"Didn't you hear what I said to them? I haven't changed my mind. Your life is now my duty, and I won't let some half of a mage to ruin it"
Teo's voice had risen on every word, and by the time she had finished her sentence, Iisai had pulled a pillow on his head.
"Ok, ok, just.. Calm down.. Please.." Iisai seemed rather scared.
"Oh, come on, I'm not going to hit you" Teo sighed.
"You sure looked like you could.."
Iisai said carefully, taking the pillow back in his arms. Teo didn't say anything. She just looked at Iisai, then turned away.
Not good, not good at all, she thought.

At that night Teo decided she would no longer let Aikatherinee disturb her peace of mind no matter what she did as long as it had nothing to do with her or Iisai. She would ignore her, deny her personal existence and that would take care of it. As the sun begun to rise, they left Sabi with horses they had traded for the camels and headed west. It was pretty silent, with all the nature just awaking and most of the riders still half-asleep. Drake had protested against such an early leaving but this time even Aikatherinee had backed up for it. If they would move fast, they'd be out of the desert before the hottest hours of day. While Aikatherinee rode first in their little queue with her huge, pitch black horse, Drake kept tail Iisai and Teo between the two of those. If Drake had been anymore awake, He probably would have rode next to Kathy but now Teo had to force herself to look back once in a while to make sure he hadn't fallen off from his saddle.
"Honestly, Lizmaer, get a hold of yourself! You're making my neck hurt."
Teo complained at him, somehow daring him to pick a fight with her but he just smiled in slumber and mumbled:
"Sorry, sunshine. I didn't know you cared so much about what happened to me.."
Teo�s cheeks grew a bit red.
"As if! I just don't wanna loose a horse when it runs out on you as you fall! Now grab your bridles and watch where you're going!"
Drake was cattycornering away from them, far to the left.
"Lizmaer! Are you listening!?"
"Huh-? yes, ma'am, fife more minutes.."
At that point, Teo had ridden next to him and whacked him with her fist to head. "Ouch! b***h! I'm up alright!"
Teo was already riding back next to Iisai who had been watching half amused half worried of where the situation was going.
"Next time, make it look like so." She snorted.

Teo and Drake were still exchanging angry looks as the endless sands turned bit by bit into small tufts of grass. At this point, Iisai had stopped paying attention to the almost-fighting two and was just staring at this more or less peculiar sight. Aikatherinee was more interested in enjoying Teo's bad mood. After few more moments, there was less and less sights of sand, and the horses started walking with their muzzles in the ground.
"Guys.. are you really gonna try to kill each others with your gazes, or will you start talking soon..?"
Iisai asked quietly, looking at Teo and Drake.
"What makes you think they will stop until they're both goners?"
Aikatherinee said with a smirk on her face. Iisai gave Aikatherinee a fairly angry look. "That wasn't really funny."
"It wasn't? Oh, I think it was."
Iisai looked around.
"Should you pay more attention to the surroundings, Teo..? Please, don't kill Drake, he's the only friend I've got."
Teo turned her eyes off Drake.
"I am paying attention. At least a little bit.." Teo wasn't very pleased of her surroundings, especially the living things that were staring at her.
"Fine then, I'll go and see if there's anything worthwhile around here"
She sighed and spurred her horse on a gallop. Not that she could go far because of Iisai, but she wanted to have a moment without Drake staring at her back. Even though she ran left and right, she didn't see anything strange, or even interesting. Every now and then, she had to take a look that Iisai was still alive and all, but he didn't seem to have any problems, as he just talked with Drake, surprisingly serious look on his face.
I wonder what they're talking about.. Well, as a matter of fact, I don't probably even want to know,
Teo thought and turned to return to the others.
Drake and Iisai fell silent as Teo got close, but Aikatherinee didn't even bother to hide her smile.
"Ok, may I know what you were talking about?" Teo asked, trying to sound formal.
It couldn�t bode well if Aikatherinee had smirked.
"Nah, I don't think it's any of your business" Iisai said back, still looking serious. Drake was looking the other way. Teo blinked. This was one of these days again. She sighed.
"Well, I think it is my business, as long as you're my client. Not that I'd care, otherwise."
"Sure you don't care, you never do"
Iisai snorted and gave Teo that kind of look that stated very clearly 'This talk is over'. Teo was truly bugged by the situation, but she thought it'd be wiser just to let things be. All would sort out later. And if it sorted out bad, he�d kill the boy herself for disobeying the contract and therefore endangering her duty.

Half an hour later it was still very silent. No one said anything, and when a faint beep broke out, everyone froze. The moment it happened, Teo's eyes were on her radar and then in the landscape around them. Iisai had gone pretty pale. Teo rode next to him and handed him her bridles.
"Stay right where you are, and hold my horse. That, Iisai, is a direct order!"
She jumped down, Iisai shouting after her. "Where are you going? Teo!?"
Drake rode next to him.
"Her weapon is a plasmawhip. A horse would be a grave disadvantage to her if she needed to battle."
Aikatherinee had stopped as well and watched as the Atrac stepped a bit aside from them. She was staring at the huge rocks before her, and was set face to face with a man who came behind of them. Holding her whip, she took a few steps to right and seemed to be waiting for the man to make a move. Well, a man or a boy, this guy looked like 18 or so.
"Hello there."
He said quietly and took a sword out of his belt.
"I happened to hear a red haired boy with a 10 000pieces of gold hanging from his head was going to travel through here..."
As he took a closer look at Teo, he continued.
"I suppose you are the Atrac with him.. It's my first time against one. Care to give it a go?"
Young or old, he could still put up a threat. Teo didn't move her eyes off him.
"I guess we hold no choice, do we now? Just know that this battle is 'kill or be killed'. I won't go easy on you just because it's your first time. I will kill you if you come at me."
She squeezed her whip and plasma burst out, light green this time.
"What is your name?" The man asked.
"Name the person who killed you? It's Myooji. Don't bother to tell me yours."
With that she slashed the first strike. It left a gaping scratch on the ground.
"This won't take long." she stated and lifted her arm for another strike.
The man didn't look shocked or even surprised, more like excited. He dodged the next one and she let him come at her. Just as he was close enough to cut her with his sword, she cut twice, forth and back. He stopped, looked at her in surprise and then fell over. She backed a bit, knelt lowering her head almost on his level and gave him blank look.
"I won't say I'm sorry to kill you, I'm sorry that such a young boy had to lose his life over a reward of mere 10 000 pieces of gold, no?"
He looked up to her, eyes in disbelief. Blood was quickly pooling under him from the two deep cuts in his chest.
"I... How�. What� "
He started like it would have amazed him gravely that she had been the successor.
�First of all, if you were smart you would have found out more about the Atrac with him and though twice before taking up against one with long-range weapon. Tho I will say to your honour that you knew alittle bit more what you were doing than the first one.�
�But.. I have family�. �
�That is not my headache is it now?�
Still gazing up to Teo's now-rather-cruel-eyes, he saw how she got up, stretched her arm for one last slash of mercy aimed to his neck and thus closed his eyes forever. Teo turned to look at Iisai. She didn't smile to him encouragingly but rather looked like nothing in the world could move or touch her, like nothing could reach her. Inside her head, her conscious screamed.

She got back on her horse and grabbed the bridles from Iisai's hands.
"Come now, we have to get moving, before more of those come around. Host haste!" Aikatherinee looked over her shoulder.
"Good job, kiddo. Didn't think you'd actually kill anyone.."
Teo's gaze was, once again, murderous.
"Don't you dare to call me a kiddo again, or anything like that!"
"What ever you say, kiddo" Aikatherinee smiled.
Teo tried to control her temper, which was difficult with a person like Aikatherinee hanging around. She just spurred her horse on and shouted over her shoulder:
"Let's move! Now!"
Seconds later she realised that Iisai had not, once again, followed her orders. She sighed, turned around and rode back to Iisai who was still sitting on his horse, looking as pale as a paper.
"What is it now?" Teo asked, furstrated.
A cold shiver ran down Iisai's spine.
"N-n-nothing..."
"Then what's holding you? We have to move on, if we wish to reach S'kai some day." Iisai didn't look at Teo.
"I know... I.. just..."
He closed his eyes
"..I ..Don�t like blood..."
Teo was silent for a moment, as she wanted to see if Iisai was going to throw up or not.
"Well, if we move now, you don't need to look at the corpse no more. It's as simple as that"
Teo sighed. Iisai shook his head and slowly opened his eyes.
"I don't.. Want to see you killing people..."
"Iisai, listen to me! It was either you or him!"
Teo was now seriously pissed off.
"Or would you have wanted to die instead of him?!"
The silence fell down like ice.
"..No.. I wouldn�t have..."
Iisai sighed. He could see Teo's point, but the thought of more corpses and blood didn't really cheer him up. He tried to think anything else as he rode after Teo back to Drake and Kathy. Drake looked fairly worried.
"Will you be ok, Iisai?"
"Suppose so..."
Was the faint answer.
"Well, you don't look ok to me."
"Just give me a sec.. I'll be ok.."

Around the noon there was no sand visible anymore and they built a small camp to grab something to eat. Iisai didn't touch his soup. He was still as pale as ever and Drake stayed rather close to him.
"C'mon mate, it's gonna be hours and hours away that we can stop again to eat. You ought to have something.."
Drake tried to coax Iisai. Teo was looking other way, not willing to deal with him. Drake would have to do.
"You're right.."
Iisai said but didn't show a move that would have revealed he was going to eat. Aikatherinee was gazing at Teo, apparently thinking how to piss her off this time. Teo, how ever didn't pay her any attention, as she had closed away the existence of the rest of the group. When she spoke, she spoke to just some people, not Iisai, Drake or Kathy. She had known the boy would be shocked, he did that so easily. As a matter of fact, most of her former clients had done so too, at first. She used to know what to say to them, but none of the phrases she had used back then to make them feel better would have worked on Iisai. He just had to snap out of it by himself. It pissed her off, too, that he showed such hesitance when obeying. She was getting more and more sure it would cost her health one pretty day. She would have wanted to complain to him about it, but she was sure it would only make things worse. Then, they left (Drake had in the end eaten Iisai's lunch with exaggerated look of annoyance on his face) and rode all afternoon. No people came across them, not even any animals were in sight. Iisai looked gloomy. Drake and Aikatherinee rode a bit ahead of him, talking about something idle. Drake laughed. Iisai looked away, non-intentionally at Teo. Their eyes met, and he was unable to move his before she turned hers away.

After countless hours of riding, a low growl reached Teo's ears. She looked left and right, back and forth, but didn't see anything strange.
"What was that?" She asked.
"Hmm, what?" Aikatherinee yawned.
Teo ignored her, totally.
"That growl, huh? That's just Iisai's stomach" Drake smiled.
Iisai was biting his nails, looking less pale.
"I told him he should eat, but did he listen? No, he never does" Drake said with a grin, that seemed to make Iisai feel a bit better.
"Here, honey, take this"
Teo was shocked to hear these words from Aikatherinee's mouth.
The mage reached out to Iisai and gave him a hunk of bread.
"Thanks.." Iisai smiled at her.
"You should eat, or the north wind will take you with it"
Aikatherinee laid a charming smile.
Teo had to bite her tongue and use all her mental strength to ignore all this.
"Wait a minute, what did you call him?" Drake interrupted with an angry tone in his voice.
"Honey. Is there something wrong with it?" Aikatherinee looked innocent.
Drake lowered his eyebrows but didn't answer.
Stupid spell-casting bitch... Teo cursed in her mind, trying desperately block it all away.
"Teo, do you want a bit of this?"
Teo turned around to face Iisai, who pointed at the bread in his arms.
"No thanks, I'm fine"
Teo said, turned away and kept on riding.
They're just people, just anyone, nothing personal,
Teo tried to convince to herself.
I truly wish that they'll have something else to stare at than me..
And they did.
"Hey, check that out, a gazelle!" Drake shouted out, pointing at their left.
"What? Where? Where?" Iisai almost fell down of his horse.
"Right there, by the bushes."
Teo looked too, and yes, a small gazelle fawn was standing by a bush, looking left and right.
"Hehe, it's cute" Iisai smiled.
"I wonder where its mama is."
"Well, where ever she may be, if she won't be back soon, her little fawn will be eaten. There's eagles around here"
Drake said with a serious face. Iisai looked shocked.
"We can't let a baby animal like that die!"
"Honey, look at this from another point of view" Aikatherinee interrupted.
"If a mother eagle won't catch food for her babies, they will suffer and die. Would you like to see that happen?"
Iisai looked down.
"Well.. no.."
"Don't worry" Drake smiled.
"I bet that's its mother."
And yes, a full-grown gazelle came to the little one, sniffed it and licked its head. A smile rose on Teo's face.
"Aww, look at that, they're so happy together" Iisai smiled very child-like smile. "Aren't they cute, Teo?"
"Heh, well, I guess they are" She replied absently.

Sun was getting low when Drake pointed out that it was time to get a place to stay overnight. They stopped and he wandered off to get some firewood. Iisai was seemingly feeling better, with colour and more cheery look on his face. He tried talking to Teo but only received short, minimum answers that made him give up. Aikatherinee then again, was much better company for that matter. The two of those had a vivid conversation that obviously annoyed returning Drake. After lighting the fire, he sat beside Teo, moping. "Didn't see that coming?" She asked him, with blank tone.
He looked at her with a weird face.
"What do you mean?"
Teo chuckled.
"Oh, you know what I mean."
Yet she did not look happy about her foreseen and after a look at her radar she crawled up inside her blanket. The beginning fall's nights were getting cold, tho not as cold as the nights at desert.
"Tell me, how come you're so calm with that stuff? Or can you really get used to it?"
Drake asked Teo not aware of Iisai listening to them.
��That stuff'?" tho unconsciously she knew what he was referring to.
"Well.. You know.."
"I don't."
"..Killing."
Something in his question made Teo a bit hysterical. At least she laughed with a hysterical tone.
"Calm, Lizmaer? I'm emotionless."
Then she turned her back to him, now face to face with Iisai. She blinked, he looked so...weird, and the continued to turn more not facing anyone now. She felt like she had been an item in a freak show that the others were staring at with both interest and gross-fear.
I have feelings too, you know. Isn�t that understandable to you? I�m a living being. Yes, I kill, but the people coming at me know that. They KNOW that. I don�t kill if it isn�t necessary.
And killing that boy with family was?
Shut up! How could I have known that!? And what difference would it have made? He still would have come at me, I still would have had to kill him!
�You know you are only saying that to justify yourself. We both KNOW you wouldn�t have been able to do it. You would have maimed him and let him lay there. You wouldn�t have given him lethal wounds.
Shut up! Just SHUT UP!!
Teo closed her eyes and felt cold. She hated her conscious. One of these days she was sure she�d go insane. If not insane, then quilt would take her over. The countless people that she had proven mortal would haunt her sleep every night.

Teo woke up in light breeze and a warm scent of bread and tea.
"Wake up, Teo" Iisai said from somewhere out of her vision.
"Mmm... Morning.." She yawned.
"There's some bread for you, if you want."
"Thanks.."
Teo rubbed her eyes and looked around. Drake and Aikatherinee were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, where are..."
"Kathy and Drake?" Iisai interrupted.
"They were fighting, so I sent them to fight somewhere else. I hate to hear people fight."
Teo was silent for a while, staring at Iisai's blank face.
"Iisai... did you sleep well?"
"Ofcourse I did." His voice was tensed, and his eyes were blank. As Teo sat up and grabbed a slice of bread, he sat next to her.
"Teo.. You mind if I ask something?"
"It depends. What's the question?"
Iisai was silent for a while, weighting the pros and cons of the question.
"Well.. when you said you're emotionless... You don�t really mean it do you?"
Teo looked away and then snorted.
"I only say what I mean, Iisai."
"Are you sure?"
Teo cast her gaze on Iisai's brown eyes.
"What do you mean am I sure? Ofcourse I'm sure."
Iisai shook his head.
"You don't seem emotionless. I mean... When you were staying in Tinkers Union HQ, you didn't seem emotionless at all. And I mean.. at all�."
Teo sighed.
"Look, Iisai, this job requires cold attitude, you understand that, don't you? Keep up like that long enough, and you'll turn emotionless. See my point?"
Iisai nodded quietly.
"I do, and I don't like it. People are not supposed to be emotionless. Least of all smart people like you."
She looked away.
Ignore him.. Just� Ignore him.. If he can�t see for himself, he ain�t worth the knowledge..
It didn't take long until the silence that had fallen upon them was removed by the sounds of footsteps. Teo was pleased to see Drake, but not so pleased as she laid her eyes on Aikatherinee, who seemed content.
"Oh, did you guys fight enough for today?"
Iisai said with annoyed tone in his words.
"Suppose so" Drake snorted.
What ever they had been fighting about, it seemed that Aikatherinee had won. As Drake opened his mouth to say something, most likely something that wasn't worth hearing, Iisai stood up and shouted:
"We will leave as soon as Teo's up on her feet. Understood?"
"Yes, honey" Aikatherinee smiled.
Once again, Teo stopped paying attention.

At the noon she had to return her attention as her radar started beeping again. Iisai's eyes flew to her. She looked around with a frown on her face, but didn't seem too concerned. There was restlessness lingering around the others, waiting for her response. She didn't get off her horse or take out her plasmawhip but stuck two fingers to her mouth and gave out a long, bright whistle. In three seconds, the whistle was returned.
"What's going on!?"
Iisai asked with unsteady voice.
"Another Atrac."
Came Teo's avoiding and unexpected answer, while she suddenly smiled.
"No problem, let's continue."
They started riding again, but there was a question lingering on Iisai's lips.
"Um.. Can we go see that other person?"
Teo rose her eyebrows.
"What for?"
He hesitated.
"Well.. I would like to see other Atracs. So.. Can we?"
Teo seemed a bit speechless. Iisai already had time to believe he had upset her as she pulled out a ribbon that was hanging from her earring. Then, to others surprise she spoke to it.
"Myooji to Lynx, Over!"
Then, after two seconds there came a faint, unclear speech hearable.
"Lynx to Ageha, I knew you wouldn't die on me like that. Over."
Teo chuckled. "Don�t call me that. Lynx, where are you heading? My client wishes to see you. Over."
At this point for some reason, she was grinning.
"Course to goddess, anything you wish. I will be there in five minutes. Over."
"Course to Lynx, much appreciated. Ending now. Over."
Then, it was silent.
Teo looked at Iisai who was looking at her with expression 'if you don't immediately hand that piece of art over for me to examinate it, I don't quarantine what I'll do'. She gave him one of her ear-ribbons and looked over yonder while he played with it. In five minutes, they could see a boy riding towards them, waving his hand.

"Heey, Myooji" The man greeted Teo with a wide grin on his face.
"Hello there, Lynx" She smiled.
Lynx's light blue hair flew in the air as he rode next to Teo.
"What's up, girl?"
"Well, nothing new, been busy" Teo said and shook her head.
Well, it's true, ain't it?
"Are all of those your customers?" Lynx laughed and pointed at the rest of the group.
"Bad joke, Lynx, you know better than well that there's no room for more than one customer, and that one's Iisai, the redhead"
Teo said and shoved her hand at Iisai, who seemed rather confused.
"Heh, don't be so serious, I'm just glad to see you again"
Lynx smiled widely and wrapped his arms around Teo. She suspected she had turned paranoid, or maybe the sound she heard really was some jaws falling to the ground. After a long moment, Lynx finally let her go.
"For a moment, I honestly thought you were dead"
He continued with a low voice.
"Hey, what would kill the devil" Teo grinned. She was completely aware of the light blush rising on her cheeks.
"Well, yeah, you're right, I shouldn't have-"
"Wait one goddamn moment here! Who is that guy?"
If Teo wouldn't have recognised Iisai's voice, she wouldn't have ever guessed who had interrupted their conversation. Teo turned her head just to see the angry and confused look on Iisai's face.
"Hello there, Mr. client, I'm Lynx. The little Teo here is my friend."
"Ahem, don't call me little!"
Teo snorted and folded her arms, not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice. Iisai was not the only one who was bothered by these two.
"Are we going to move on or not?"
Aikatherinee snorted.
"I'd want to reach S'kai while I'm still young and beautiful."
Teo gave Aikatherinee the most murderous look she could.
"Don't worry, guys, we'll move" Lynx smiled.
"WE? What do you mean WE?" Iisai shook his head.
"I'd say this group's big enough as it is."
Lynx chuckled
"Heh, I won't be bothering you all the way to S'kai, I have other things to do. I only escort you to the Keisoku-river, and that's not too far away."

Chapter 4 - Chapter 6