Hatchling [Luna and Rak]

ooc: Well Madeline just had her parents killed; she is subconsciously searching for comfort and familiarity. While Natasha and Rak (as far as she is concerned) are both males, they are both taking care of her for the time being.

While Natasha acts incredibly boyish out of necessity. I suspect she will be the one mostly taking care of Madeline until they reach Maltia because she does have motherly instincts.

bic: Madeline beamed at Rak when he took her hand. Both of her parents had died, she craved the sense of familiarity of two adult hands within hers. While both Nadie and Rak were males, Nadie looked feminine enough that Madeline could entertain the thought of the boy being a female.

The small group walked in silence, the only thing from making the silence awkward was Madeline's low humming of some song. But she was a child, and got bored soon enough. To alleviate this boredom, she started asking questions, and since Nadie was the only one who could talk, the boy became the unfortunate target of her inquiries.

"Where ya from?" Her question seemed to take the boy by surprise. He paused for a moment before answering.

"Altamire." Madeline's curiosity perked. All the adults were talking about Altamire lately and how Queen Angelica was making a law forbidding the killing of twins. Madeline didn't understand why they were killing twins in the first place. So, she asked.

"Why do you guys kill twins?" Nadie seemed uncomfortable with the question, and she made several funny faces before answering.

"In Altamire we believe that everybody has and needs balance," he said slowly. "When twins are born, we believe one is born 'evil' and one is born 'good'-the balance one person is born with is split up between the two. Because you can't exactly tell which one is evil and which one is good upon birth, they both must be killed."

"That's stupid," Madeline informed the boy. The boy just shrugged.

"That's how it is."

"Well, what do you think of Queen Angelica tryin' to change this rule," Madeline pressed curiously. She had heard what everybody else thought of it, but this boy was from the country in question. Once again, the boy seemed to struggle to answer her question.

"I'm worried for her majesty," he said finally. "Tradition can't just be changed that easily. It's too drastic. Too sudden."

Madeline was about to open her mouth to say something, but she held back at the sight of the look on the boy's face; he looked like he was in honest pain. She closed her mouth again.

Rak listened to the exchange. He could tell by the sudden but slight drop in temperature that Natasha didn't like the way the conversation was going. Rak took action. As soon as they were out of the town's gate, he let go of Madeline's hand and put the mule's reins in instead. This made her beam with delight, and forget all about the politics of a far-off country. Rak stayed close by, in case the girl startled the mule or let go of the reins, but took advantage of not having to lead it by bringing out a second stick and beginning the whittling process.

The girl knew which way Maltia was, and fortunately, it seemed to be around the base of the mountain, like Rak had hoped.

Natasha was thankful for the distraction. Talking about her home country always made her uncomfortable. She was afraid she would slip up somewhere and her whole cover would be blown. That would not be good. That wouldn't be good at all. That and the painful memories it always managed to dredge up.

After an hour, Madeline began to chat about random things, telling the duo stories of her family and what they used to do as a family. She had a sad look on her face at points, and she begun to cry at others.

Soon the sun began to set low in the sky; they were almost to Maltia, it would be another few hours, but it was getting dark out and Madeline was getting tired if her dragging feet was any indicator.

"You know, they say, at the top of the mountain there's castle ruins. Yup. A big tower, with a loooong bridge to the next mountain, goin' over the valley, which is filled with boulders and rocks, so that you can't get through it. I didn't believe it, though, 'cause my grampa always was crazy, and-" with this, Madeline began crying again.

Rak didn't really know whether to believe that, but he had heard and seen stranger things. It was worth investigating, at least, especially if the valley was impassable.

Pyre.

Yes, human?

Have you ever heard of a bridge that goes across an entire valley, from mountain-top to mountain-top?

Would you call me mad if I said yes? I've seen glimpses of it, on maps from people's memories. Only the old maps that are considered unreliable and superstitious, though. I would be wary to trust its veracity.

Well, we may well cross that bridge, if it exists, because we're going to check it out.

I can't wait to get started.

__________________________________________________ ____________

Rak had almost finished with the second bokkan, when he realized Madeline wasn't talking anymore. The poor girl was too tired. He put the stick and knife away, then took the reigns back. They couldn't quite see the village yet, and he hoped they'd arrive before nightfall.

__________________________________________________ ______

A few hours later, with Madeline barely even walking now, and the sun just barely set, they arrived at the village entrance in a blanket of blue, cast by the moon. A man ran out to great them, carrying a buckler and a crude spear.

"Can I help you people? We don't normally get visitors at night."

Rak looked to Natasha yet again to be their spokesman.

By the time they reached the village gate, Natasha was giving Madeline a piggy back ride. The girl wasn't that heavy, and was no bigger then Angelica a few years back. She was shivering from the night air earlier, but Natasha's high body temperature had taken care of that little issue.

"Hello, my name is Nadie and this my companion Rak," Natasha said introducing the two of them first before getting to the crux of the matter. "And this child here is Madeline; she's from the next town over. Her family runs an inn there, and in the middle of the night they were killed. She was over at a friend's house, so she was spared. She said she had family here, so we offered to take her here hoping they could take her in." The guard looked at pity towards the sleeping girl with a sad frown.

"That's so sad; you have any idea why?" Natasha shook her head; she never understood senseless violence. "Well, no matter. Come right in."

Natasha nodded, and followed the guard inside the village gate. She wasn't sure what they should be doing now; the relatives were asleep no doubt, and she doubted the guard knew who her aunt and uncle were. Natasha also didn't want to wake up Madeline either. She looked towards Rak for guidance.

Rak saw the look Natasha gave him: for a decision.

Well, I'll be fine sleeping behind a hut, and unless we wake Madeline and find out where her relatives live, we aren't getting to sleep inside tonight.

To Natasha, he motioned for her to follow, and walked behind a hut. This town was even smaller than the last, and didn't even have a bar or inn. He tied the mule to fencepost, and made a gesture to the ground, as if to say: "Well, this is it."

He laid out the bedrolls, one for the sleeping Madeline, and one for Natasha. He'd sleep on the ground, he was fine with it. Grabbing a piece of bread, Rak ate a bit, waiting for her to fall asleep. Once she did, he too let himself drift off. His last thought was,

When did I become the leader?

"You know you can sleep on the other bedrolls," Natasha said as she gently hugged Madeline from the behind, her shawl draped over Madeline like a blanket. "Since we're both girls, Madeline and I can share the same bedroll. Plus my high body temperature can keep her warm."

Natasha closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the hut and went to sleep.

Rak slept heavier than usual. He must have been tired from the previous night's interruption. He dreamt of his gladiator days again.

When he woke up, it was just breaking dawn. He felt rested, ready to get moving on their journey again. Looking over, he saw the girls were fine, and sleeping next to each other for Madeline's warmth. He felt he needed to wake them up, but kindly, so he took out an apple and used the same strategy he had a few days ago.

He munched on the apple , watching the sun rise in all of its glory. It looked like a phoenix, rising from the ashes of the night.

Why did they call me the Phoenix? I always thought that "mongoose" or "snake" would have been more appropriate for my style. I guess I do prefer Phoenix, myself.

This he thought, glancing down at the emblem on his poncho. It must just be his destiny to be associated with the mythological bird.

Madeline woke up and nearly had a heart attack when she realized she was sleeping in Nadie's arms. Her father had always warned her about men who wanted to take advantage of young women like herself. She didn't peg Nadie as the type but-

"AHHHHHH!" She screamed, pushing away from Nadie with all her might. Nadie, who was fast asleep, his his head against the hut they were sleeping behind and woke up with a start.

Several swear words left his mouth as he held his head.

Rak nearly choked on the apple he was eating. Instead of trying to rectify the situation, he started laughing and holding his belly, watching Madeline scream and run over to him, while Natasha sat up, rubbing her head. He had to lean against the wall to keep himself from falling over, he was shaking so hard.

"What was that for?" Natasha asked in shock. She racked her mind in a desperate attempt to figure out where she went wrong; she couldn't think of anything. Which was a first, but still.

"You tried to take advantage of me!" Madeline accused. Natasha just stared as Rak began to howl with laughter even louder. So, apparently just because he lost his tongue didn't mean he couldn't laugh at her.

Oh yeah, that's right; I'm a 'guy.' I should probably think these things more through.

"I'm not a guy despite my appearance," Natasha said after calming herself down. Thankfully because Madeline was upset she didn't notice the sudden change of air temperature when Natasha was surprised, peeved and confused. "I mean what kind of boy name is Nadie anyways?"

Even so, Madeline didn't look convinced.

Rak gained control of himself, he hadn't realized that Madeline had no idea that Natasha was female.

That's the funniest thing I've seen in ages.

He noticed the rise in air temperature, one eventually learned to associate Natasha's mood with it, and knew that she wasn't pleased. He waited as Natasha explained herself, and when Madeline looked at him in disbelief, he nodded solemnly.

"Why in da world are ya walkin' around like a guy if ya are a girl?" Madeline demanded. Natasha sighed and rubbed her temples, making sure she was calm before she answered. She didn't want to snap in more then one way.

"It isn't safe for a woman to travel alone," she said tiredly. "You should know that."

"But you aren't alone," Madeline protested stubbornly. "You are with Rak."

"I just met him the other day. We both got hired for a delivery job."

"What are you delivering?"

Jeez, this kid as curious as Angelica was. She has the name of one sister and the personality of another. And the death of her parents was my fault cruelly enough. The universe sure hates my guts. But if I can rise beyond this, I can prove myself better then my monster instincts.

"We aren't hired to check what the contents are," Natasha said evasively. "But enough of that; what about your relatives. Do you know where they are?"

"We aren't hired to check what the contents are," Natasha said evasively. "But enough of that; what about your relatives. Do you know where they are?"

Good dodge, Natasha. Keep it straightforward and to the point.

Rak untied the reigns of the mule, rolled up the bedrolls, and prepared to embark. He was glad to have helped the girl, but they needed to get moving, and she was asking too many questions for either of their liking.

EDIT: Ooc: To anyone following this RP, it is noteworthy that anyone with intact vocal chords is capable of some basic sounds, laughter included. Thus, Rak is consistent with himself if he laughs, grunts, or cries out in pain. He just can't formulate any sounds that require the use of a tongue.

"Well, last time I visited they lived towards the middle of town," Madeline said slowly, her face bunching as she tried to remember. "I remember thinking it looked odd because they had half of it in stone and the other half in wood."

He walked away from the back of the hut, and gestured towards the middle of town, implying that Madeline should lead the way.

Madeline lead them through town, wandering around for a good thirty minutes or more before she finally stopped and turned to look at Rak and Natasha with a worried look in her eyes.

"I'm lost," she announced. "I've only been here with ma family, and daddy always lead the way." Natasha did several deep breaths as she felt herself get annoyed.

She is just a child. Don't be too hard on her.

"Well, do you know their names?" Natasha asked after a moment, making sure she was calm. Madeline thought for a moment.

"Uncle Leo and Auntie May," she announced finally. Natasha nodded her head and walked over to the nearest vendor. It was a young woman about her age with red hair and green eyes and a freckled face. She was rather pretty thing. The girl blushed as Natasha approached.

"Excuse me," Natasha said coolly. "Do you know where a Mr. Leo and Mrs. May live?" The girl nodded, her cheeks stained red. Natasha under any other circumstances would be curious why the girl was blushing, but right now she was a man, er woman, on a mission.

"Ya, if you keep following this street down and turn a left at the statue, it's the second house to the left." Natasha nodded briskly.

"Thank you ma'am." Natasha walked back towards the group, completely missing the vendor girl swoon a bit.

"Come on, this way."

Rak was puzzled as to why the girl swooned. Sure, Natasha looked like a boy, but she wasn't handsome, in the masculine sense of the word. An odd girl, to be sure.

He continued following Natasha, who led them to the house the girl had given directions to. He stayed in the street. Whoever lived here wouldn't want to see him accompanying their niece to the front door.

Natasha knocked on the door and a woman peeked outside the door. She was a skinny woman; almost as bad as Natasha. Her eyes darted left and right before they landed on Natasha and Madeline.

"Madeline!" The woman said, and Natasha could only assume this was May. "What are you doing here sweetie? And why are you with this young man? Where are your parents?" Madeline opened her mouth to explain, but she began to tear up and started crying. She grabbed her aunt's dress and buried her face into it and started to bawl. May tried comforting the child while looking to Natasha for an explanation.

"Her family was murdered the other night," Natasha said simply. "We-" she gestured to Rak who was sulking around in the street, "offered to take her to her next of kin. Which she said was you." May looked shocked.

"Murdered?!" She asked aghast. "Why?"

"I don't know," Natasha said simply. And it was true. It was pure senseless violence.

"Why did Madeline ask you for help though?"

♥♥♥♥, she is asking questions I rather not answer.

"I was staying at the inn," Natasha said, a slight frown on her face. "I heard noise in the middle of the night, but I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. I'm sorry; I should have investigated."

May shook her head, a frown on her face.

"I doubt you could have done anything anyways. No offense, but you look rather weak."

Well, if I went berserk I would have fried them to a crisp.

Natasha just gave a rueful smile though, silently glad May didn't ask why she was spared.

"Well, thank you for taking Madeline to us. Why don't you come in for a bit?" Natasha shook her head; they shouldn't linger. They needed to prevent another tragedy.

"Your offer is generous, but we must get going. We have been hired to do a job, and we should get back on track." May nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, thank you so much once again for taking Madeline. We are eternally grateful." Natasha nodded as May lead the sobbing Madeline inside, trying to console the child. Natasha walked back towards Rak and sighed, slightly depressed.

We can finally get going! Helping that girl took too much time, but it was the right thing to do, I suppose.

He noticed the temperature change and could tell that Natasha was depressed. He was getting good at this. He looked at her, wondering what could be the matter. He stood still, instead of beginning their trek, to catch her attention, and possibly get an answer.

Was she hoping for a reward?