At Least She's Not the Only One That's Crazy (Kiriyama)

OoC: Okay dude, I'm finally ready to start this RP. You know I have a reason for putting it in the BA, but that's a secret to everyone else.

BiC: The sun slowly rose from the horizon, slowly letting its rays seep through the window of an inauspiciously placed inn. In the small village of Vails, the people all had their role in society, and, despite the ill placement of their city upon a plateau, they were all happy, although they were poor serfs to the vassal that lived miles from them. Such a basic and depressing place was sparse to see any outsiders, although there was one person that they had stumbled across the day before.

An ostrich appeared outside of the city with a person on its back, not really seeming to notice the youth that it had picked up somehow. The villagers looked at the boy with eyebrows risen from the strange way the person was dressed. This was an amazing bad omen, mostly because the lord was coming in two days, and for a stranger to show up could only mean that something bad was going to happen. The people looked at the strange person with fiery red hair, trying to decide what should be done with him.

Despite the fact the lord was a tyrant and a despicable human being, the word was that he kept his power via some group that defended him and wiped out any who dared oppose him. Suddenly, the taxes had dropped suddenly, so the people began to wonder if he had stopped paying for his specialize bodyguards. If so, then maybe this boy was one of them. They'd question him later.

They grabbed the strange person from the giant bird and capture the animal, it would make a good feast later. The person that had arrived was stripped of his weapons and had his hands and legs bound to prevent him from escaping. The people, wearing their tattered rags and light cloth clothing that they had made by hand were astounded at the stitching and design of this person's clothing. If not anything else, his weapons were odd as well. A giant sword and a small dagger, but they moved the equipments and hid them. Should this boy come to and escape, these people would not let there assumed assassin kill them.

Two of the villagers dragged this person through the mud and threw him into the pigsty adjacent to the inn. Soon after, they tossed freezing cold water on him, and yet he didn't flinch. The villagers looked in awe before grabbing a thing of very hot water and throwing it on him. His body shot up, screeching in pain, and the villagers began their questionings.

Despite the fact that he was a prisoner, the youth replied snidely and spent his time telling them the truth: He had no idea what was going on. They didn't believe him, and after beating him with sticks, they gagged him, bound his eyes and dragged him off, bound and gagged, and threw him into a closet. This assassin would not get the better of them.

OoC: Okay, that should do. I know you are bound to come up with something awesome.

The vassal’s lavishly furnished castle was in direct contrast to the town he was in charge of. Everybody who worked there wore clothing of the finest cloth and stitch. The vassal felt that the state of his abode was a testament to the state of his power, thus why he was certain to make sure that everything was elegant and, no doubt, very expensive.

His success was owed to one person, and one person only. The ironic part was that he didn’t even know this man’s true name. The metaphorical genie’s servants, the homunculi, merely referred to the man as Master. Then again, what difference does a name make?

Whatever the man’s name was, he was single-handedly responsible for everything the vassal had. So what if he had to kidnap a few people for ‘Master’ to make into the red stones that fueled his creations? There were plenty of people to give to him!

Lament couldn’t care less though. In her eyes, she and Deceit were only there because Master forced Deceit to make regular checkups on the vassal. Lament had opted to come along, thinking that there’d be something interesting to do. (As much as she enjoyed torturing the playthings that Deceit and Despair captured for her, she was getting a little bored of them.)

“So,” the vassal was saying, sweeping one of his meaty, jewel covered hands in the direction of his land, “I do believe that everything is fine. The mongrels are happy for now, and I doubt there will be much trouble when I make my visit in two days. I’d like Despair with me just in case, though.”

“Uh-huh,” Deceit replied, brushing his orange hair out of his face. “I guess we can go then. If there’s anything you need, you know where to find me.”

He stuck his small cross back between his teeth (Master supposed that Deceit had been a priest in his former life) and rose from the windowsill on which he’d been sitting. Lament followed him to the dual oak doors, glad to be getting home. Her ‘pets’ were probably hungry by now anyway. Today was feces day, wasn’t it?

“Wait!” the vassal shouted, his sudden outburst causing Deceit to trip over his own feet and fall face-first into the velvet carpet. “I want your master to come see me next time. I don’t care about his name anymore, but I’d like to at least see the guy in person.”

“I don’t think so,” Lament replied, helping her fellow homunculus to his feet. “Master rarely leaves the house unless he considers it to be top priority. I doubt he’d consider you to be a priority.”

The vassal started to yell at her, but Lament literally tuned him out. She manipulated the sound waves coming from his voice box, shifting them so that they wouldn’t reach her ears. Deceit didn’t seem to be too happy with what the man was saying, and pulled her towards the doors.

“Sir!”

The doors flung open and knocked Deceit into Lament, sending both homunculi into a sprawled heap on the floor. A man, a peasant by the looks of his tattered and dirty clothing, came rushing in. He didn’t seem to notice either of the homunculi, even stepping on Deceit’s face in his mad dash.

“Sir, there’s trouble!” he shouted, running over to the vassal. He stopped and whispered something into his lord’s ear before fleeing back the way he came, stepping on Lament this time.

“Well,” the vassal said, walking over to the homunculi. “I guess there’s something you can handle after all. According to my snitch, there appears to be some civil unrest. Lament, wasn’t it? Why don’t you go see what you can about this. I need to discuss some matters with Deceit.”

Well, life had become astoundingly bad for the young prisoner. Being stuffed into a closet wasn't much fun at all, mostly since he couldn't see or speak. To make matters worse, he could barely move, although he did managed to get the gag out of his mouth. Almost the instant it was out, he began to scream and shout something about being held captive was unrighteous.

To the guards assigned to make sure he didn't break out, however it was he'd do that, it was merely background noise, as they were getting ready for the vassal to arrive. He would die shortly, and these people would be free of taxes and suffering. No matter how much they could produce in their monthly tax, enough was never enough. The people had little food to feed themselves, and yet their lord ate lavishly in a castle. If this wasn't reason to revolt, the people didn't know what was.

The people of the city were ready to take arms, even if all they had were farming tools. This battle would not end well if the vassal's army struck, but if the lord was paying a visit and there was a mishap and he died, how could it be proved that it had been the villagers faults? Even to the new lord, it wouldn't appear as if it was planned. Hell, it could even act as an omen to other lords to be more careful whom they abuse.

Meanwhile, the young prisoner thrashed about his prison, trying to get the rag that sat upon his eyes off. "You bastards!" his voice rang clearly, his annoyance growing as he tried to escape and found himself unsuccessful. Every way he tried to throw his weight, it didn't seem to do any good. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you bastards! I want you to understand that!" he yelled, trying to figure how he would get out of there.

"You won't get out. You won't kill our leader this time!" one of the guards spoke back. "That prison you are in is made to keep your kind in."

"And what exactly is my kind?!" the youth asked in annoyance, finally falling back against the prison and sitting down as best he could.

"You know yur a god damn assassin that been dun killin our leaders!" a second voice responded. His voice easily annoying the red haired boy more then the first.

"If you are going to respond to me, can you at least call me by my proper name!"

"We dun noes your proper name," the second guard stated, shoving the prison and making it shake. "Now den, be quiet! Wes don't need the others of yous to knows where ya ar! the second man said, his voice angering the ice innate more and more.

"I'm Zachary," he muttered lowly, telling them his first name, although they seemed to ignore it. "NOW LET ME OUT!" he ordered as he began thrashing again. It was going to be a long time if he merely waited for them to execute him. If he could somehow get the door to his small closet prison open, oh how vengeance would be his.

It was then a sudden group burst of movement was heard, followed by the muffled screams of one man. The ice innate listened intently, wondering what the hell was going on outside of his cage.

Violence was one of the few, if not the only, thing that she absolutely loved. What she loved most about it was the fact that different people can take longer to die different ways. Sadly, she couldn’t kill both of them right away. She wanted to know what was up with the screaming closet, after all.

Both men were too preoccupied on the closet to see her, and there was no way in heck she’d let them hear her. She decided to go for the one on the left first. From what she’d heard on her way down the hall, his voice could likely drive people insane.

Lament flitted over to him and grabbed him by the hair with her left hand, wrenching his face upwards and exposing his neck. Without missing a beat, she punctured his throat with the thumb of her right hand. The other man was too shocked by the sight to do much until she grabbed his mouth.

“Mm, hrmmum!” he shouted, his voice muffled by the homunculus’ hand. She leaned in close and spoke clearly into his ear, using her powers to make sure that only he heard what she said.

“Who’s in the closet,” she said, “and why are they in there? Don’t bother shouting after I let go of your mouth. Your voice won’t leave this room, and I’ll tear your spine out before you even make it through that door frame, should you try to escape.”

She waited for him to nod before she let go of his mouth. As could be expected, he tried to make a run for it. Lament merely ran ahead of him and stood in the doorway, blocking his only exit. Seeing that he had nowhere to run to, he decided to tell her what was up.

“The guy in the closet’s an assassin,” he said, started to sweat bullets. “I thought you’d know that, whoever you are. You’re probably another assassin, aren’t you? We will not be intimidated by-”

Lament snapped her fingers and used her ability to turn the sound waves into a sonic boom, which promptly send the man face-first into the wall. She didn’t bother to see if he was really dead. If he was dead, he was dead. If not, who cared?

She walked over to the closet and leaned against the door. An assassin wouldn’t be very likely. Besides, who would the assassin be going after in the first place? Whoever it was had probably gotten caught in some paranoid delusion that the villagers had, and was suffering because of it.

“I’m going to open this door,” she said, making sure that whoever was inside of the closet heard her. “I have no idea what was up with those guys, or why you’re in there, so don’t come out swinging, alright?”

“I’m going to open this door,” a female voice called to him. It didn't sound like one of the villagers, but he couldn't be sure. “I have no idea what was up with those guys, or why you’re in there, so don’t come out swinging, all right?” This line made him smile slightly. This person was either a villager that wanted a shot at the boy, or someone that really had no idea what was going on and simply wanted to help. It didn't matter to the ice innate right now; after all, what could he do? He was a prisoner, making him only capable of whatever mercy he was spared.

A lock clicked, and suddenly, the door opened, the ice innate falling out of the closet they had shoved him in. "Oomph!" echoed from his ungagged mouth as he hit the ground, struggling to try to get free. "Okay, you've got me now, but at least before you kill me, can you untie me and give me a chance to fight back?" he asked whomever it was that had freed him.

The youth didn't hear anything for a moment, but suddenly, he felt the rag around his eyes loosen and his sight return. "Like I said, I don't know what is going on, so don't assume to judge," the black haired woman stated, partially smiling at him as she flipped him over and began untying his hands. "So, how did you get here?" he asked with a mild amount of interest.

He took a deep breath as his wrists began to felt like they were being crushed. Although this woman was helping him, she wasn't exactly gentle about it. She was, however, very effective, as he suddenly could move his hands. He turned himself over and began work on untying his legs so he could get the hell out of here. He looked up for a moment to see the raven haired woman staring at him, apparently awaiting an answer.

After a few minutes, one finally came from the red haired youth, and one that was soaked in spite. "Hell if I know," he muttered, trying to untie the intricate knot about his feet. "I woke up and these people were babbling something about me being carried here on and Ostrich and me being some kind of assassin or something inane like that. After that, they bound and gagged me and covered my eyes and threw me in that closet for some reason. All I know is that whatever reason I'm here for, he isn't here," the red haired boy stated, finally managing to untie his legs. "And freedom!" he said, stretching his arms out and laying back.

"That doesn't really tell me anything," she told him as she sat against the wall. "What were you doing before you wound up here might be a better question," she said, still looking at her.

He pulled his knees up and propelled himself so he was standing and looked at her. "Like I told you, I'm looking for someone. Someone I am going to kill when I find him. Not that it matters, first I need to get out of here in one piece," he groaned, looking at the guards. One lay on the ground, blood sprouting from his neck; the other's body slowly slid down the wall, blood from where his face had initially hit the wall trailed down until his body stopped.

The ice innate backed away in fear, looking at the girl as he looked over the bodies again. He slowly backed away, getting ready to make a break for the door, but could he make it. "You killed them... What are you, the God of Death come to claim my life," he asked her, remembering seeing the image of a god that looked exactly like this woman as he bolted towards the door, slamming his fist on it and screaming, "Help! The God of Death has come to kill me!" It wasn't like the villagers were much better, but still, he might survive with them.

"It won't work. None of the sound waves from in here are getting to the outside, and I'm not the God of Death. My name is Lament, and I am a Homunculi sent by my Master here to deal with some disturbance for some rich guy," the woman spoke, looking at the prisoner oddly as he turned around and looked at her with fear. "Like I said, I don't know what is going on here, so can you please fill me in?" she asked him as he shook a little less, offering her a kind smile.

"Sure..." he said slumping against the door as he began to tell her what happened to him when he awoke in this strange village. Something about the woman was oddly trustworthy to him, although he didn't know what. Maybe it had just been that she had saved him, but he wasn't sure. He knew he'd find out sooner or later.

“They attacked me as soon as I arrived,” Zachary said, elaborating on everything that he knew about the situation. “I was able to get a gag off of my mouth and talk to those guards that you killed, and they seem to think that I’m an assassin. They’ve got something planned for when some guy comes to town, though I have no idea who the guy is, or what they’re going to do to him.”

“That would be the vassal,” Lament replied. “He’ll be visiting in a few days, I think. I’m not really sure. Listening to him is more Deceit’s job than mine. I’m just here to take care of stuff for him. To be honest, I’m bored out of my mind.”

She wasn’t lying. The homunculus didn’t want to have to baby-sit some guy that couldn’t keep his subjects happy. It didn’t matter that he was providing lives for more stones. (Which only came to a few small handfuls anyway.)

That was when the idea hit her. Why didn’t she follow this boy, and see what he was up to? It would certainly be more entertaining than sticking around and running errands for the vassal. Besides, what was left of the human side of her was telling her that the boy was cute.

“Tell you what,” she said. “I know where the villagers hide their weapons and such. If you need weapons, or they’ve got your weapons, I can go grab them for you. On one condition, that is.”

“And that condition would be?”

“I get to follow you for a bit. Running the vassal’s errands is incredibly boring, and I’m sure what you’ve got to do is a bit more fun. Besides, I could probably help you with stuff. As you can see by the guards, I’m able to hold my own in a fight.”

Lament smirked, anticipating a favorable answer.

~

“Where the hell is she?” Deceit asked himself, sitting atop one of the vassal’s gargoyle statues. The vassal himself was eating dinner below. About thirty feet below, to be exact. Yet, despite the distance between them, the homunculus could still clearly hear the vassal’s gluttonous feeding habits.

“Hey!” the vassal shouted through a mouthful of pork. “Where’s that other homunculus? She better be getting the job done, or your master’s gonna get a message from me!”

“Just eat,” Deceit replied, leaning over the gargoyle’s head to get allow the vassal to see him. “I’m sure she’s taking care of the disturbance. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about,.”

Was there nothing to worry about? Lament had been on an independent streak lately. He wouldn’t put it past her to just blow this whole thing off and leave. He’d have to find her…

"What I've got to do," he whispered back to himself, looking at this woman. She certainly was interesting, if not cute besides that, but even so, he'd have to be careful. She wanted to travel with him for a bit, and what could that hurt? It wasn't like she had come to kill him or anything, so that meant that working with her, as powerful as she seemed to be, could only benefit him. One thing still bothered him though: "What I've got to do?"

At that moment, it him him like a ton of bricks. "Now I remember!" he said standing up and pointing his finger upwards. His face was aglow with a certain amount of happiness at recalling why in the world he had come to this small part of the world. He was looking for a group of bandits he had been tracking since he had left the northern lands. Something about the bandits told the ice innate to find them, but he wasn't entirely sure what.

Still aglow with happiness, he turned to her, and she looked at him questioningly, perhaps wondering about how sane this young swordsman truly was. "I was searching for bandits before I woke up here! They are somewhere in the woods near this town raiding caravans! You can help me locate and defeat them, if you wouldn't mind," the ice innate stated, his firebrand burning even brighter. He took a few breaths as he moved towards the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he voice rang out, stopping him cold. "You really should have a weapon, since I don't think you can hold your own against those bandits, much less the villagers, without any. That, of course, is just a suggestion."

The red haired boy became rather flush and continued looking at the door. In his moment of recollection, he had utterly forgot that the villagers had stripped him of his arms. Surely it would be a short battle for him if he tried to fight anyone without any weapons, much less without his sword. He turned to her, still rather embarrassed and said, although with a kind smile, "Can you please show me where the villagers have hidden my weapons?"

"Um..." she stood there for a moment, simply making fun of the fact he asked her, "sure, why not?" she said, half casting him a smile as she moved herself in front of the door. "Now then, stand back," she told the red haired youth, who merely nodded and stepped back. With a sudden, and thunderous punch, the door was knocked clean off its hinges and flying into the city.

The ice innate followed the homunculus as she slowly lead him towards where the arms were stored. Lament's power to manipulate sound waves helped to cover the tracks of the escapee and his newfound partner. Even though their footsteps were covered, suddenly, a villager pointed and made the call to arms. Suddenly, Zachary felt a hand wrap and his wrist and nearly jerked his arm out of its socket at the woman pulled him into the armory.

"Quick, pass me something to barricade the door with!" she called over as he threw her an ax. Quickly, she lodged it into the door as the ice innate looked about, grabbing his sword and his dagger and placing them in his belt. "Now then, we wait for them to close in around the door, and bust it off its hinges," she told him, smiling.

"I'm fine with that, and when that is done, we can escape this God forsaken place. I just have one question though: What is your purpose in life? I've been thinking about it for a while, and as I stand now, all I have is my desire to kill a green haired man named Zorlo. I wonder what I'll do after that?" he asked himself, chuckling slightly. "So, what is your reason you feel you exist?"

“Hmm?” she replied, arching her eyebrow. “What brought a question like that to your mind? Seemed kind of sudden.”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I guess it just came to me. If you’d rather not answer, I’d understand.”

“Well,” Lament said, listening as the villagers crowded around the door. “I don’t really have a purpose, now that I think of it. I’d like to kill Kric, the alchemist who created me, but that’s about all I’ve got to look forward to in life. The rest of my life will be nothing but doing exactly as Master says, I’m guessing.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. Life was an odd thing. Some people did things with it, had things to do with it in the first place. After Kric, she’d have nothing to look forward to. Just doing Master’s bidding. Kill a few people here, save a person once in a great while.

Lament, suddenly feeling very angry, thrust-punched the door, knocking it off of its hinges and sending it straight into the crowd of villagers. Those that were unfortunate enough to be near the point of impact were killed instantly. Others were merely knocked out by the flying slab of wood. A few were even lucky enough to have been on the sides, and thus escaped any damage.

It was those people that Lament went for first. She clapped her hands and turned the sound waves into sonic booms, sending several people hurtling through the air. The few that hadn’t been taken by the door or the booms were quickly disposed of, the homunculus using her powers to make their eardrums explode.

She wheeled around and barely resisted the urge to add Zachary to the death toll. Finding out that one’s life was worthless did that to people, obviously. It took everything the homunculus could muster to avoid attacking her new ally.

“Well Zachary,” she said, starting to feel embarrassed. “I guess we’re partners, for now at least. There’s probably going to be more villagers, so we should go. I’ll let you lead the way.”

~

Deceit sighed and shook his head. The bodies in the room were soaked in fresh blood. Despite their still-flowing blood and relative warmth, the corpses had already stiffened. It was hard for the homunculus to close their eyes and cross their hands on their chests.

“Lament,” he thought, “what are you doing?”

“Deceit,” said a childish, yet malevolent voice. The orange-haired homunculus turned around and found a small girl standing in the doorway. Her pink hair and wide smile hid a mind with ever-devious intents.

“What are you doing here, Mockery?” Deceit asked, starting to sweat. The younger homunculus darted forward and jumped, stopping herself via gravity just a few inches away from her ‘older brother’s’ face. Her smile took on a more twisted form, and she narrowed her eyes at Deceit.

“I’m here ‘cuz Master wants to know what’s taking you two so long,” she said, keeping up her twisted smile the whole time. “Master needs you two for an assassination. However, I can clearly see that you’ve lost Lament. That little ***** is really starting to make Master angry.”

She poked her fellow homunculus, sticking her tongue out at the same time.

“You know what happens when you make Master angry.”

The actions of the black haired woman could only be compiled by the onlooker that she had allied herself with in one word: horrifying. With the greatest of ease, she had picked apart those that had gathered towards the door. She had, at one point, seemed to want to attack the ice innate, but seemingly stopped herself. As if she wasn't scary enough, between her strength and ruthlessness, she was merciless. He just hoped he never enraged the Homunculus into attacking himself.

He fell to the ground in terror, making a break for the door as she spoke to him. He turned around and tripped over a corpse, falling backwards into the mud. His eyes locked onto her as he tried to flee desperately. The red haired swordsman knew he couldn't defeat Lament in combat, and it was a waste to even try. She had called him her ally though, so that helped the ice warrior to relax slightly. As he relaxed, his hands sunk into the cold mud.

His heart calmed down as the ice innate realized he was in no real danger from her now. She had calmed down, and why would she waste her energy on him when the two had villagers to attack. The black haired girl extended her hand, and Zachary grabbed it, allowing her to hoist him to his feet. The red haired boy blushed at his own weakness and inability to help, but merely turned and made a break for the exit of the town.

She followed closely behind him as the muddy and disgusting town transformed into the deep green of the forests outside of the ring of towns around the keep of the vassal. Leos hated the forests, mostly because they reminded him of that man. It was his fault that Zachary suffered, and it was his fault that Leos couldn't move on in life. As long as that man lived, the ice innate had someone to hunt, and as long as that man refused to die, the red haired youth had a reason to get stronger.

But again, the question occurred to him: What came after Zorlo was dead? Once the green haired fencer was dead, what would Zachary do? He and Lament had more in common then she realized, for their purposes both existed sheerly to destroy another who had wronged them. Having nothing after that person was dead was merely a side effect of that problem, and the ice warrior suddenly felt an emptiness in him form.

"We aren't so different... you and I," he spoke up, she looked at him after the silence broke. He couldn't help but produce a sad laugh as he stopped and looked at her, meeting here eyes. He forced a smile, although he could feel the pain of emptiness forming in his heart. Would this be what Zachary felt every day after Zorlo died?

"What do you mean?" the Homunculus asked him as she stopped and looked at him oddly.

He laughed a little again. The ice innate had an odd kinship with the black haired girl, even if it was a bit unique of one. "We both live to kill another person, and when that ends, we'll have nothing left. Right now, I'm an avenger- I live to kill those who have killed the innocent- but when Zorlo dies, that will all end. He's my reason for being an avenger, and when he falls at my hands... I'll have nothing but emptiness in its place. I sense you'll feel good for killing this man you are looking for, but then all you'll have left is your Master."

The ice warrior laughed again. At least she had something, no matter how bad it was, to live for after this Kric guy was dead. "You at least have your servitude to your Master, and no matter how bad that is, it is something," he told her, a tear rolling down his face. "All I've got when Zorlo dies is my own life... So maybe I'll just end it all after the green haired man dies. Sure there are others I could take my vengeance upon... but having destroyed the strongest of them, I'd only be wasting my time." He turned around and continued walking, looking for the bandits.

He stopped once more, turning his head back to her. "I'm sorry for all that. Please forgive me if I offended you," he told her, continuing on his trek through the forest.

“He’s right,” Lament thought, following the youth. “I guess I’ll try to take the same route as him. Maybe I’ll do it myself, or maybe I’ll try rebelling against Master. The second one’s a guaranteed death, after all.”

She sighed and dug her hands into the pockets of her robes. Maybe this Zachary person could use some help as an “Avenger”? Leaving Master and helping the boy like that would help her achieve death, and possibly help him.

Besides, she wanted to get to know him better. The boy intrigued her quite a bit.

~

Deceit howled in pain, his back breaking in several places from the impact. The wall didn’t escape unscathed, however. It hadn’t been able to contain the flying homunculus, and was graced by a new exit as thanks.

“Find her, Deceit,” Mockery said, her knuckles regenerating. She’d punched just a bit too hard. “If you don’t, Despair will have to come and find her. The next step after that is Master coming, and none of us want that.”

The little girl melted into the floor and reformed next to her collapsed comrade, her twisted smile returning. She put one foot on the side of his head and pushed down on it.

“Master’s giving you a day and a half to find Lament. After that, all hell is going to break loose.”

Deceit sighed with relief when he felt the pressure leaving his head. His ‘sister’ wasn’t being generous. She’d lifted her foot off of his head, but only so that she’d be able to stomp on it instead. She laughed at every meaty crunch she heard, waiting for Deceit’s head to regenerate before stomping it again.

“I’d love to do this all day long,” she said, punctuating each word with another stomp, “but I’m going to have to return to the mansion. I’ve got to clean Master’s room, Despair’s room, and Lament’s room. See ya!”

She stomped on his head one last time and disappeared, leaving her beaten and bloodied ‘brother’.

“Lament,” he thought, struggling to sit up. “What the hell are you doing?!”

~

“We should probably camp out for the night,” Zachary said, stopping once more. “Resting would be a good idea right now.”

“Mm-hmm,” Lament replied. She was too busy thinking about various things, the majority of thoughts being centered on Leos, to give a proper answer. The red-haired youth attributed it to fatigue, and thought no more of it.

OOC: I know. Short. XD

With what little the two had, the ice innate and the dark haired girl made camp. They would need rest if they were to encounter the bandits the next day. Neither had much more then what they could carry, so making camp was scarce, save for the small fire that Leos was attempting to get started. He sat silently, looking at the woman who seemed to stare off into space. Whatever was distracting her, he wasn't intent on bothering her while she thought about it.

Clack, clack, clack.

The flints struck together loudly, attempting to light the tinder to light. Although Zachary hated fire, he thought that Lament might enjoy it, and since she seemed so sad, it would be worth it to make it for her.

Clack, clack, clack.

Sparks shot from the flint, landing on the gathered twigs and branches, but not quite lighting them. It astounded the ice innate what he had learned for the period of time while he had traveled with Zorlo. The fencer knew all too well many interesting tricks, and had even given the youth the flint he had now. The green haired man was almost like a brother to the red haired boy, but to admit that would be treasonous to the youth's cause. Zorlo had to die, and that was all there was to it.

Clack, clack, clack. Boom!

Suddenly, a small fire ignited itself where the tinder was, swallowing the tinder and expanding with the help of the young warrior who had learned to spread the flames. Breathing under the fire helped to feed them, and with the lumber that had been amassed, this fire would burn for a little while. Now, the ice innate could relax for a moment. Even so, he had other things he needed to do.

Zachary pulled a round stone from one of his pockets and placed his sheathed sword on the ground. Sitting Indian style, he drew the blade and rested it on his legs. The blue glow of the runes lit up the night sky relatively well, but the time had come to do what the fencer had shown him. His blade was, after all, becoming dull.

Resting the stone at the base of the sword, the red haired boy began to scrape it against the dull edges of the sword, sharpening them slowly into their former glory.

Shink, shink, shink.

As the stone ran along the blade, all the boy could think about was when the fencer had demonstrated this to him. He had gone about it in a rather unorthodox way, but showing how much smoother cut could be made with the sharpened rapier the man had vs. the dulling edge of the boy's two handed sword. With the greatest of ease, the fencer had cut down a very large tree with his rapier, but then, when he tried to do the same with the boy's sword, the blade became stuck half way through. It was at that point that Zachary began to understand the massive knowledge that Zorlo had gained of the world during his travels.

Shink, shink, shink.

The ice innate had already sharpened one side, and soon got to work on the other, staring between his sword, the fire, and the Homunculus. She's really cute, he thought to himself silently. It might be the light the fire is casting on her, or the fact she saved me, but she's beautiful. I wonder if... nah. What would she want with a guy like me?! he asked himself, sharpening his sword still, looking deeply into the fire.

Shink, shink, shink.

Finally, the sword had been sharpened to the red haired warrior's liking. He returned the stone to his pocket and rose to his feet, looking at Lament. "I'm going to head out for a bit. I'll be back shortly."

She merely seemed to gaze out into space, very deeply caught in thought. No matter, he would simply go and do what had to be done, and then return.

With that, Leos took off into the forest, and quickly found himself looking upon the largest tree he could find. "This tree is only half as large as the one that Zorlo cut down with ease, but I'm sure I can handle this!" he told himself powerfully as he swung his blade back and swung it towards the tree at full force, snapping into the tree with great force.

The blade only cut one third of the way in before it had come to a stop. Where the tree had been cut had frozen over, a skill that Zachary was becoming quite good with. Even so, he could barely cut into a tree half the size of the one that Zorlo had destroyed with ease. How could he ever hope to match that man like this?! It would take years of training to do, and the ice innate simply did not have that time. He couldn't let him win though. Zorlo couldn't get away with his evil deeps unchallenged.

Even so, the ice innate couldn't take it. Even after all of his practice, he couldn't even defeat a tree. Tears dripped down his face as he sat against it and sat down, crying. He wouldn't get anywhere in the world; he'd be simply stuck where he was: a loser. His head moved onto his knees where he sat crying.

Surely Lament might notice he wasn't there, but what would she care?! It wasn't any of her business where he was or what he was doing. Anyway, she would probably just laugh if she found him like this. Even so, it was there that Zachary remained, utterly incapable of moving. Not yet, anyway. He had to find it, what Zorlo had told him he would need: A reason to fight beyond himself.

“I wonder where he went,” Lament thought. She shifted and stood up, the fire now stretching her shadow out to an incredible length. “He’s been gone for a while. What if the villagers found him? I hope they didn’t.”

That last thought turned Lament’s cheeks bright red. Why did she care about him now? If the villagers found him, they found him. If the bandits wound up killing him, the bandits wound up killing him. So why did she care?

She almost sat back down, but something kept her from forgetting about her companion. Why couldn’t she just leave him to whatever he was doing?

“Maybe I?” she thought, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. “No, that’s impossible. Can we homunculi even feel that way? Of course not! Still, I can’t help but worry about him.”

Lament focused her powers and tried to pick up any nearby sounds, so as to find Zachary by anything ranging from a twig he stepped on, to his very heartbeat. She picked up the usual background noise: Squirrels, birds, a few insects here and there.

But what was the last one? She focused on it, denying all the other noises passage to her ears. It sounded like Leos, but he was crying. Why would he be crying?

The sound was coming from the homunculus’ right, and it was in that direction that she made her way, careful to use her powers to make herself completely silent. What was the matter with Zach? He’d seemed fine when he left…

“He probably twisted his ankle, and he’s crying like a little baby!” a crueler side of Lament said. Her more sympathetic side disagreed, however. “He’s probably sad about the way his life is, and where it’s heading. It’s been hard to resist the urge to cry myself.”

She stayed as focused on the noise as possible and followed it. Through foliage, the usual motley rubble on the forest floor, and occasionally having to round large redwoods. With each step she drew nearer to the man that so intrigued her, yet frightened her in the same respect.

Lament stopped when she knew he was near. She peeked around a tree and found that the ice innate was slumped against a rather thick tree, silently crying. The sight was a heart jerker alright.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, rounding the tree.

~

While Lament was cutting through the forest floor, Deceit was cutting around buildings and through alleyways. A single villager managed to escape Lament’s massacre earlier, though he was bleeding to death. Deceit needed to ask him where Lament had gone, but the villager had fled the scene.

“I don’t blame him,” the homunculus thought, remembering the horrid carnage he’d found outside the town armory. “Lament… what the hell?”

He sighed and dashed ahead of the villager, careful to avoid stepping in the trail of blood he was leaving. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but the villager was too weakened by blood loss to fight back when he grabbed him.

“The woman who killed all those people, where is she?!”

What is it?! he asked himself, the tears streaming down his face. He simply couldn't figure out what Zorlo had meant when he had told him what the ice innate needed in order to become as strong as the fencer was. What is a reason to fight that isn't for myself?! What does he mean?! He simply could not figure it out, no matter how hard he pondered the thought. It caused his heart to ache uncontrollably, and the worst part was, he couldn't do anything about it.

I fight in the names of others, and yet that isn't enough to make me powerful?! What is it that Zorlo has that I don't?! What in the world could I fight for that isn't avenging the dead or fighting for my own honor?! WHAT IS IT?! he continued to ask himself, crying harder as the thoughts rushed into his mind. One by one, the tears splashed across the ground, soaking the dry earth beneath him.

Suddenly, a voice entered his ears, forcing him to raise his head form between his legs. He missed the words the voice spoke, but it was certainly enough to alert him. Slowly, his blood shot eyes looked upon the person before him. It was none other then Lament.

Why is she here?! he asked himself, wiping the tears from his eyes and wrapping his right hand about the hilt of his sword. He used the wedged blade to force himself to his feet, no matter how much he didn't wish to stand. "I'm sorry, I missed what you said," he told her gruffly, his voice cracked and weak.

"I asked what's the matter?!" she repeated, looking at him. He couldn't quite make out how she was looking, but he knew her eyes were upon him.

"Why, are you here to laugh at me or something?!" he asked her as he pulled his blade free. With ease, he sheathed it and looked back to her. "That is why you are here, isn't it?! You heard me crying with your powers and came to make fun of me?!"

"No, I'm asking you why you are crying," she stated, taking a commanding tone.

"It's none of your business, so don't worry about it," he told her distantly as he tried to walk past her. Before he could, her arm stopped him.

"You're going to tell me what is wrong. You don't have a choice in the matter."

He stepped back, getting progressively more angry. He took a deep breath and placed his back against the tree he had just sat against and slid back down. "I can't defeat him..." he whispered, knowing she would here.

"Can't defeat who?!" Lament questioned, eying him suspiciously. "The man you are looking for? How do you know you can't defeat him?"

"Trust me, I know. I spent some time traveling with him. he knew I wanted to kill him and still let me follow him, and even teaching me survival skills I didn't have." Leos clenched his fist tightly, his eyes closing and the firebrand that kept his heart so warm burned stronger then ever.

"He says... in order to defeat him, I need to find something. Something to fight for besides myself. Being an avenger, I'd imagine that that fighting for the fallen would count, but apparently it doesn't. I just wish I knew what he meant," Zachary said, slamming the back of his head against the tree. "I just wish I could find whatever he told me about. Just to know how the strength I get from it feels, even for only a moment," he told her, tears welling up in his eyes.

He got up and rushed past her, heading for the camp. He couldn't bear to have anyone see him like this, and perhaps sitting near the fire, he could find a way to sleep. He couldn't be weak, that was simply all there was to it.

Lament considered following him, but decided against it after a moment of contemplation. He obviously didn’t want her company at the moment. Something about that gave her a small twinge of sadness, but she shrugged it off as being longing for the warmth of the fire.

She walked over to the tree Zachary had struck and placed her hand upon the cut. Why had he attacked a tree, of all things? The homunculus turned around and leaned against the tree.

“What’s up with him?” she thought. “The person he wants to kill is stronger than him, so what? Just grow stronger!”

Lament reached up and felt the cut again. She slid her fingers into it, feeling how smooth the cut had been. There were virtually no splinters left inside of the gash. What was he so sad about? He didn’t have strength, but at least he had a clean cut.

She pulled her hand out of the gash and hugged herself, the cold starting to get to her.

“Why the hell am I following him around? I’m cold, bored, and lonely,” she blushed and hugged herself tighter at the last one. Lonely? She’d never felt lonely in her entire life!

~

“Are they this way?”

Deceit tripped over a root and smacked his face into a tree, breaking his nose. He waited for it to heal before continuing on his trek. When he found Lament, he’d give her a little talk about how you don’t tick off Master.

Mockery’s warning kept ringing in his ears. Despair coming was bad enough. Ever since Lament had joined them, Despair was growing more and more distant from him. His former best friend wouldn’t give him a light beating, nor would he give Lament one.

What was even worse was the thought of Master coming. He would perform acts of torture that would make Guilles de Rais and Marquis de Sade crap themselves. He’d choke them with their very entrails! He’d-

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Deceit,” he thought, trying to force the images of pain and misery out of his mind. “Master won’t torture you like that if you find Lament and get back to him as soon as possible. Who knows, he might even forget about it!”

He sighed and flicked a lock of hair out of his eyes. Master was like an elephant. He’d never forget. Still, it was a nice thought while it lasted…

When Zachary got halfway between Lament and camp, he stopped running, turning back for a moment and standing in silence. What the hell am I doing? I'm being a jerk right now, and that isn't helping anyone. She was only trying to help, and I ran off like some coward. He blinked, the tears vanishing from his eyes, and the flames within them burning like the flames of hell. Maybe, just maybe, if I stay around Lament for a little bit longer, maybe I can understand what Zorlo meant.

The ice innate stood silently for a moment. What was he thinking? He had never had allies before in his life, and now he was considering it? Something seemed a bit amiss, but the ice warrior didn't think about that. All he thought about was how rude he had been to a girl, that by his reckoning, was only trying to help him.

It isn't that I like her or anything... I think... Just that she's really strong and I could use her help. She's strong, and maybe being around her will make me stronger. Yeah, that's it! The boy's thoughts were slightly confused, but still very working. Even if he didn't have feelings for her, it didn't matter if he had her around, did it?

Who are you telling that lie to? a voice in the back of his head asked him, causing him to look around. The voice was not that of Magnus, who was disgusted at possibility of Leos liking that slave, but rather, someone else. That person was the swordsman's soul, telling him what he truly felt, even if it used Zorlo's voice to convey it.

The young warrior laughed, but couldn't really ignore the voice in his head that he knew spoke the truth. Okay... I do like her. Should I tell her? Nah, she'd just laugh at me. But still, I want to spend time with her, since she is the first person I've been around in a while that I haven't fought. She's simply very nice to me, and I shouldn't be mean to her because I'm weak.

Zachary turned around and began walking towards where he had left the Homunculus. He had to see her again. He had to apologize to her. She didn't deserve the way he was treating her. Hell, he didn't deserve the way he was treating himself. And if he truly did care for her, she'd be what he needed to move on in life. She'd be his reason to fight on and become strong.

The sound of Leos' footsteps filled the air as he walked slowly and calmly back to Lament, finding her curled up in her knees. He smiled softly and walked towards her, desiring to speak to her, and hear her voice again. He extended a hand to her, parting his lips to speak. "Hey, let's go back to camp. You look cold, and I'm sure we could both use a good night's sleep. Don't think I'd be able to sleep if you were out here all night. I'd worry to much," he told her, smiling kindly at her.

“Thanks,” Lament said, taking Zach’s hand and letting him help her up. She shivered slightly at his touch, the she wasn’t sure why. She ended up blaming it on the sharp contrast between his body heat and the surrounding cold, ignoring the voice in the back of her head denouncing that façade.

“No problem,” he replied, taking her shiver the same way she was. “It’s really cold tonight. You’ll feel better once you get to the fire.”

He tried to let go of her hand, only to find that she wouldn’t be letting go. She was telling herself that it was only because he was warm, and she wanted any possible warmth at the moment. The voice in the back of her head was having a fit at that.

“You’re warm,” she said, holding his hand a little tighter. “Don’t let go until we get back to camp, okay? Save for the fire, you’re the only warm thing in this entire forest. I wonder how anything manages to live out here.”

~

“So… freaking… cold…” Deceit said, teeth chattering. He was hugging himself so tightly that breathing was becoming a problem. The homunculus would rather lose a few lives than break the death-grip, however. His arms were probably frozen anyway.

He slumped over and curled up in a ball. Sleep seemed like such a good idea. The cold was piercing through his clothing, ignoring the unfeeling fabric in its quest to make Deceit’s life miserable. He shivered and groaned, trying to ignore the cold air’s molestation.

“Damnit… Lament…”

He rolled onto his back and looked up, checking if he could see the stars. They always helped him to sleep. Instead, he found himself looking at another one of Mockery’s twisted grins.

“Hello Deceit,” she said, stepping on her elder’s forehead. “Master sent me to remind you of the time limit. He said that I can make you remember however I wanted, and I have an idea. Have you ever been castrated? Let’s see how much it hurts.”

Deceit’s screams were muffled by a rolled up tube sock shoved halfway down his throat.

OOC: Sorry about crappiness. I've got a lot of catching up to do. >_>

OoC: Worry not, it happens to the best of us.

BiC: The two walked hand in hand, silently, through the forest, heading back towards the campfire, where the warmth was. To Zachary, who was more then use to being in freezing conditions normally, this cold was warmer then summer was, but even so, he couldn't help but feel slightly cold for some reason. He looked at her, and did his best to suppress a goofy smile that eventually formed over his face as he walked slowly towards the camp. He had still loved her compliment and couldn't help but be flattered by it, no matter how stupid or juvenile it seemed. A content sigh escaped his lips, except he did his best to mask, but again, another failed attempt.

I'm the only warm thing besides the fire, the firebrand thought to himself. That's probably the most ironic thing I've ever heard. I've always been told that my passion about what I do burns like a fire, and that I'm wild like fire when it comes time for action... but I never saw myself as either of those things. Really, I only see myself as being a cold, outcast loner. What business of mine is it what others do and what goes on in society? he asked himself as he looked at Lament. But what if... no... I can't do that. That path would only walk the path of destruction. I couldn't... he continued trying to convince himself, no matter how true he knew what he felt was. There is no way I could be in love. It just isn't possible. This is just a passing fancy, I know it, he again tried to assure himself, but anyone who saw him would know the truth without saying anything.

He tightened his hand around hers and looked at Lament with a feeling of caring about his face. He couldn't help himself. After all, she was so beautiful, and what man wouldn't want to be seen with her in public? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape his feelings, just as he couldn't escape the truth. He was in love, and he couldn't stop that. That wasn't all though. No matter how hard he searched himself for it, he couldn't bring himself to hate Zorlo any longer. It no longer served a purpose to hate the green haired fencer, but even so, that still wasn't a reason to stop hunting Zorlo. Zachary had a score to settle with the green haired man, and he had to avenge those that the fencer had surely killed.

Even thought the ice innate was in love, that didn't mean he'd stop walking his path as an avenger. So long as she didn't feel the same, he could idolize her as perfection beyond his own reach and simply simply continue his traveling. Sad though it was, it was the path of the ice innate. It was the path of Zachary Leos to avenge those who were unjustly killed.

Suddenly, the red haired boy stopped and looked out towards the trees. He felt something nearby, but he couldn't explain what it was. The red haired youth shook it off as being his imagination as Lament noticed he had stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking at him with something one would have thought was worry, but Zachary was sure it was something else.

"Nothing, just a strange feeling," the ice innate said slightly as he started walking again. Lament shrugged it off and followed. They were near the camp, and that meant they'd part person, no matter how much Zachary didn't want that.

The dark figure stepped out from behind the tree. He had been observing the two, keeping tabs on then to see if what he thought could be young love was truly blossoming. This man smiled as he watched over the two as they walked away, still hand in hand. He wouldn't follow them to camp. His observation was done, and now he had to return to what he normally did. Aside from being the ward of Zachary Leos, this man was also the eyes and ears of the forests.

The man hidden within the darkness turned and walked along a very large tree branch and then moved to another as he continued his travels. His eyes slightly glowed from under his cloak as he stepped into the moonlight, revealing the dark green cloak he wore and two emerald orbs staring back towards the two young people. This man's purpose had ill changed since he had met the ice innate, but something else had just changed. This man wouldn't need to watch over the young warrior any more, for as long as the red haired youth had the girl, the two would be hard to stop.

"Young love," he said with a sigh. "It is one of the strongest forces there is. If this is truly what I think it is, then Zachary may be able to become more powerful then I realize. After all, I didn't become as strong as I am until great pain befell me, and even after that, my power grew even greater when that pain vanished and was replaced by a complete feeling. Feeling your life is complete... it is one of the greatest powers there is. Follow your paths," the man in the green hood said as he continue to walk along the trees until he vanished from sight. His job could be left alone for now. It wasn't like the two were going to encounter anything too evil out in the forest.

“Awww, you’re no fun anymore!”

Mockery dropped Deceit’s arms, which she’d been beating him with for nearly twenty minutes, and pouted. The male homunculus wasn’t fun when he wasn’t screaming. Then again, he couldn’t exactly scream with his lungs hanging outside his mouth…

She grabbed the sacks of flesh and pulled, tearing his lungs off. He could only cry silent tears at the pain, and wait for his lungs to regenerate inside of his body.

~

The sight of the fire was a mixed blessing. It meant she’d be warm, but she also had to let go of Zachary. She still wasn’t sure why she wanted to hold his hand in the first place, as she usually didn’t like anybody touching her (Even Master’s touch was unsavory), but touching him was somehow comforting.

She held on as long as possible, and lightly brushed his hand when they let go. Despite being near the fire now, she suddenly felt cold again. Lament wondered if there was a way to sleep near him, hopefully touching him somehow, without arousing suspicion.

“Good night,” Zach said, lying down a few feet away from the fire. Lament sat on the opposite side of the flames until he fell asleep, trying to resist the urge to lay with him. Eventually she gave in and, believing him to be asleep, walked around the fire and lay next to him, though not touching him.

After a few minutes she moved a little closer, careful to avoid waking him. Eventually she amassed the courage to poke him and, when he didn’t stir, she wrapped an arm around him. Within moments of hugging him, she found herself drifting off to odd dreams, almost all of which included Zach.

Heartbeat... he could hear his own heartbeat. What was going on? He'd never felt like this before. The life had nearly left his body, and then... where had his heartbeat come from? First there was great rage and fury, but then, nothing. His eyes opened, and there was an odd blurring. He could see nothing but his desire. Only one word ran through his head at that time: kill.

A second pulse. It wasn't his own... it was more... sinister. He looked down. HIs sword was pulsing? What had incurred this? A dark magic burned from the runes of the sword, and although they were filled with hatred and rage, he wasn't filled with anything. All that he felt was a great, solemn nothingness. A sadness struck him at these feelings. Who was this that he was seeing?

Then he saw it. Kellson and Zorlo fighting. He was back here... back on that plateau. He didn't recall this. After Kellson nearly stomping the life out of him, he didn't recall anything, actually. He watched what occurred, and right until he was knocked out, there was no understanding of what had happened. Then, in the darkness of him being knocked out, it occurred to the youth what he was seeing.

"That was... me...?" he asked himself in the darkness as he looked down at the endless darkness. The sword at his side suddenly began to glow a dark blue, and he began to hear things.

"Do you want that power? Do you wish to control it?"

Zachary looked around and then looked back at the sword with a smile. "Yes. I want it!"

"Then touch my hilt and take it!" the evil voice echoed.

With a sinister smile across Zachary's face, he moved his hand, but then, another voice reached his ears.

"Don't!" It was none other then Lament's. What was this? What did she care? He looked down at the sword, and then shook his head.

"No... Whoever you are, I don't need your help. I'll defeat them with my own power. I'll draw you out myself, I don't need your pity offering!" he stated, the sword's power suddenly erupting as Zachary took the sword in his hands and the power surged into him, but unlike Magnus had planned, Zachary took the power and control. Zachary wouldn't be controlled.

The ice innate's eyes opened with a dark smile across his face, dark blue eyes staring. "Thank you, Lament," he said evilly as everything suddenly stopped.

***o=)---------- ----------(=o***

Suddenly, the ice warrior's eyes shot open, his body covered in a cold sweat. He found he couldn't move, though. He looked at what was holding him down, and his wonder changed to happiness. She was holding him. No... she was hugging him. She had saved him from himself in the dream, and now he would return the thanks. His arms quickly moved around her body and he hugged her close.

His body felt tingly, and other parts of him felt unique. In fact, something about his pants seemed strangely fitting, but he disregarded it. He was happy, and she was near him. He'd never let her go. Never.

“You see,” the silver-haired man said, his egg-white eyes trained on Lament’s own, “I cannot be forsaken. I give you a job, and you do it. You live for nothing else. To even think that will get you nothing but pain!”

He drove another stake into the homunculus, this time running through her hand and pinning it to the ground. Master repeated this with her other hand, bringing the total stake count to five. One in each hand, one in each knee, and one in her stomach.

“You see what you’re independence has gotten you, Lament?” he asked, his voice taking on a tender and sad, somehow loving tone. He stroked the homunculus’ cheek and looked at her with pity in his eyes. It almost looked like he was holding back tears.

The psychotic immortal’s moment of humanity didn’t last long, however. His lips parted, revealing a row of razor-edged teeth, which he quickly used to bite into Lament’s cheek. Once his teeth had a secure grip, he snapped his head back and tore away a piece of the homunculi’s face, ushering blood-curdling screams from the poor girl.

He watched her regenerate, blood dripping from his chin, and attacked again once her face was whole, tearing off her nose this time. To her disgust, he chewed it to shreds and spit it on her.

“You’re pathetic,” he said, grabbing her throat. “I thought you’d be a good little girl, but you just had to have aspirations! Dreams aren’t for homunculi! Lives are beyond your reach! This is exactly what happens when you think otherwise!”

“Sir, can I have my turn now?” a childish, whining voice said. Through the blood clotting in her eyes Lament could see Mockery standing behind Master. She had a meat hook in each hand. Definitely not a good sign…

Her turned to face the pink-haired homunculus just in time to see a red-haired youth decapitate her. The child’s headless body fell to the ground and, to Lament’s shock, didn’t regenerate. Master was just as shocked, and was quickly beheaded in the same fashion.

“Are you okay?” the boy said, kneeling over the homunculus and plucking the stakes out. She had to blink several times to double-check. Her savior was none other than Zachary Leos. He had a look of concern on his face, with a bit of sadness mixed in. There was a difference between his feelings and Masters: His were genuine. He actually cared about her.

She nodded, tears in her eyes.

~

“There we go!” Mockery cheerfully said, her face graced by a broad smile. It was the first time Deceit had ever seen a smile that didn’t hide inner malevolence. She was genuinely happy with her accomplishment, and so was he.

Deceit sat close to the fire and watched his sister closely. He still wasn’t quite sure why she’d opted to make the fire for him. Maybe she wanted to push him into it? Whatever the reason, he was glad for some warmth.

“Now then,” she said, her smile turning into a sick grin, “I want to play a game. It’s called, ‘How flammable is Deceit’?”

Well, it was good while it lasted.