"I see the danger, it's written there in your eyes"
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Reiken slowly stepped back, before turning around and walking down the mountain pass. He was so tired. The only thing he wanted to do was to go to sleep. There's been so many attacks the last few days and between that he had to deal with the others as well. All of this because the spirit clan started to show up again.
Every time he had to deal with Acheron, he came back even more depressed than usual.
He sighed, looking down at the ground.
Maybe he should tell them to just leave him alone. Not that they would listen to him anyway. This might just make Acheron even angrier at him. And that was something he did not need.
Shaking his head, Reiken folded his arms. There was a cold breeze coming down from the mountain.
It might start to snow soon.
When the cottage finally came into view, Reiken felt a relief wash through him. As he stepped over the barrier, it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
A small smile pulled on his lips as he looked at the cottage. That was home. A good place to be.
He liked the cottage.
He started walking again. Enjoying the last of the warm sun, Reiken reached the cottage. Hopefully he can get some sleep before something happens and he has to go out again.
A shiver ran down his spine as he stepped into the cottage.
It was cold inside. Maybe he should have left some of the windows open. On the other hand, if he did that... It probably would have started raining. That would just be his luck.
Reiken dropped his coat on the couch, before curling up next to it. He was too tired to go to his room.
Slowly he started drifting off to sleep.
He did not even notice the soft rain that started falling or when it stopped. When he finally woke up, the sun just started to rise.
Blinking Reiken sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"...it's morning..." he said quietly "Oh.... I slept that long..."
Reiken breathed out before he got to his feet. Slowly he moved towards the kitchen. He had to go back down to the village today. Hein and the others will probably come look for him if he did not at least show up.
Without warning, the back door of the cottage got flung open.
Immediately Reiken spun around, only to be thrown back. His back slammed into a wall with enough force to drive the air from his lungs.
He crumpled to the ground, legs giving in beneath him.
As he looked up a figure came stalking towards him. For a moment his vision blurred, it almost felt like something was pressing against his chest. It became more and more difficult to breathe.
"Who....?" he gasped, before the pressure started to increase, completely cutting him off.
The figure walked over to Reiken, kneeling in front of him. "Little fire sage..." he said "I finally found you"
Reiken coughed. "...Spirit.... clan..." he managed to gasp.
Immediately the figure nodded. "Well done..." he said "Now that wasn't so hard... now was it"
***
Hein and Gruen walked up the path, looking around.
"Damn the rain really came down today...." Gruen said, as a small stream of water ran down next to the trail.
"Seriously... I don't know how Reiken manages to do this" Hein said "He just goes on like it's dry land... which is really weird"
Gruen chuckled and shook his head. "Rei... is a strange one," he said.
It took them a while before they reached Reiken's cottage. Everything looked very quiet. Just like usual.
"Let's see if he's here," Gruen said.
Hein knocked on the door. "Rei!" he called "You home?"
No answer.
Gruen reached over, knocking on the door again. "Hey... Rei! You in there?" he called.
Silence.
"Maybe he's not home?" Hein said.
"Give him a bit of time... Maybe he's asleep" Gruen said, before knocking again. This time a bit louder than before.
"Rei! Seriously.... You in there?" Hein called out again.
The two stood in silence and Gruen could have sworn he heard something, but when nothing happened, he assumed he imagined it.
Reiken clenched his jaw. He could feel the knife against his throat. The Spirit clan stood behind him, holding a knife, as well as one hand stretched towards the door.
"Make... one sound" the man whispered in Reiken's ear "And I will kill who ever is on the other side of that door.... and then I will make you watch as they die"
"Rei! you in there?"
It was Hei's voice.
"Alright... let's just leave this here... When he gets back he'll get it"
Gruen's voice.
Both of them came. At least they didn't bring the others. He breathed out. He wouldn't let them get involved in this.
Clenching his jaw, Reiken nodded slightly. He had no reason to put those two in more danger. The pressure of the knife against his throat became more and he could feel the blade drawing blood.
On the other side of the door, he could hear Hein and Gruen talking. Their voices were muffled.
He wanted to call out to them. To tell them to run away. So they could get away from the danger. But he couldn't take the risk. He wouldn't let them get hurt here, even if it kills him.
Clenching his jaw, he could feel more blood dripping down his neck.
The Spirit clan member leaned closer so his mouth was right next to Reiken's ear.
"oh.... So you don't want your very.... human friends.... to die" he whispered "Just keep still.... or else I'll show you just how mortal they really are"
Reiken slowly turned his eyes towards the spirit clan. "...if you hurt them..." he said, his voice quiet and soft, but threatening "....I promise you will suffer for it"
"Well... Isn't that quite a threat" the spirit clan said.
Not moving, Reiken just watched the guy. After a few more seconds they could hear the footsteps slowly leaving.
"Let go," he said quietly.
"So that you can fight me again" Spirit clan asked.
"What do you want?" Reiken asked.
"Obviously...." he started "We... want you dead"
"You will need more.... than just your power.... to kill me" Reiken said "And I wouldn't let you... hurt anyone else"
"You don't have a choice, Sage" the spirit clan said, before he gave Reiken a hard hit against the head.
Everything blacked out as Reiken went limp, forcing the man to catch him.
***
Reiken slowly started waking up again.
There was a pounding in his head. Probably where the spirit clan hit him. Not that he blamed the man. He probably would have done the same if he was the man.
He opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the blue sky above him. So he wasn't in the cottage anymore.
The next thing he noticed was the cold. He was getting cold. It took him a moment before he realised that they were moving up the mountain. No wonder he was getting colder.
He closed his eyes again, just letting who it was, carry him.
After a while, he was thrown down onto the ground. The fall made him gasp. His eyes snapped open and he coughed, trying to catch his breath. Everything in his body hurt.
The spirit clan member leaned over Reiken.
"Welcome back Sage” the man said, before aiming a kick at Reiken's ribs.
He could hear something in his side cracking, before the pain followed. It hurts to breathe.
Hands grabbed him and hulled him to his feet.
"Don't try anything stupid, Sage" a new voice snarled at him.
Reiken lifted his head. His eyes flickered around, taking in everything around him. Immediately he recognized the place. They were almost at the top of the mountain.
Another punch hit him in the stomach. He doubled over, only the hands holding him up.
This place.... He did not want to be here. There were too many memories. It hurt too much to remember, he did not want to think about it. Why did they have to come here?
A white haired man stepped up in front of Reiken and the immortal's eyes widened slightly. All he could do was to stare at the man. The royalty of the Spirit Clan. He had not seen one of the Spirit Clan royals in such a long time that he couldn't move from the shock.
"Ah... Fire Sage" the white haired man said as he walked over "It has been a long time since I've seen one of you... You know... It's very difficult to get our hands one of you"
"What... Do you want?" Reiken asked softly.
"Oh the great Sage wants to know what we want" the man said "You should already know... It's not that difficult to figure out"
Reiken's eyes widened slightly. "....no..." he whispered.
A slow smile formed on the man's face. "There we go..." he said "You know... You know what we want..."
"I wouldn't...." Reiken said, shaking his head "I wouldn't do it...."
"Why not?" the royal asked "It's not like you haven't done it before"
Reiken clenched his jaw. "No" he snapped "I wouldn't.... I wouldn't do it"
The royal turned in the direction of the town. "Well... if that's how you feel" he said "It seems like I will have to motivate you a bit"
With that a blast of energy shot out heading towards the village.
Reiken's eyes widened.
"NO!" he screamed.
Power ripped through his body. A shield of elements twisted through the air, blocking the attack from reaching the village.
"BASTARDS" he screamed "Leave them ALONE"
The Royal turned back to Reiken. "Oh.... Do you want to protect them now? What about protecting us when we needed you?"
Reiken struggled against the person holding him. "I'm NOT opening the gate.... not for you.... not for anyone!" he snarled, anger bubbling up in him "I shouldn't have done it... I'm not letting them out"
"Then you don't really care.... about that small group of people down there" The Royal said "You either open the gate... or we will destroy that village"
"No.... I wouldn't let you...." Reiken said, glaring at the royal.
The Royal shrugged. "Well... if that's what you want...." he said "Why don't we burn this entire mountain down.... with that village and everything here"
Reiken froze.
Slowly he looked over at the Royal. "You.... want to... destroy this place?" he asked, voice quiet and soft.
"Everything...." The Royal whispered, as he leaned towards Reiken.
Reiken shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly. Anger burned through him. Uncontrollable and furious.
"...I wouldn't let you..." he whispered.
"There is nothing you can do," the Royal said.
Slowly Reiken lifted his head. His eyes were empty and cold. "...I failed you... again...." he whispered "But... I wouldn't let you hurt them... or this mountain"
The Royal narrowed his eyes at Reiken. "Do you think you can stop us?" he asked.
"You can't…. I can't let you… please… PLEASE DON'T!" Reiken called out, straining against the one holding him.
"You CAN'T stop us!" The royal said.
Reiken's breathing sped up. His vision blurred as he screamed.
The mountain shook.
Storm winds ripped through the trees, tearing them from the ground.
Cloud started covering the skies. Rain poured down as the air heated up.
Thunderstorms raged over the mountain. Lightning ripped at the ground. Everything shook and trembled. Fires started on one side of the mountain, reaching towards the skies, burning furiously in the rain.
The royal stumbled back, covering his face with one arm.
Reiken's scream slowly faded.
The immortal lifted his head. No hands were holding him anymore. His red hair fell over his face in wet strands.
Slowly he got to his feet. Steam rose from his body, as power rippled through the air around him.
"...I will not…. Let you kill them…. Nor destroy that town… and I will NOT… let you destroy HER resting place" he snarled, as the mountain shook again "You insolent CHILDREN"
The sound of thunder ripped through the air. The ground trembled.
Power tore at the Spirit Clan members.
When the last Spirit Clan fell, the shaking and thunder stopped.
Reiken watched as they fell. There was no expression on his face. As the rain started to slow down, his expression softened.
"...I am so sorry…" he whispered. Tears filled his eyes and he sank to his knees.
"Please… forgive me…"
A quiet sob ripped through his chest as he gripped his burned wrist.
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Reiken sat cross-legged on his bed, just staring down at his hands. Mostly at his wrist. His entire hand and wrist were covered in a thick bandage. It hurt just to move his arm, not to say anything about his wrist.
After what happened with the demons, his not been able to move much. His body was really exhausted. He hadn't been able to fight the demons since then. If it weren't for Gruen and the others bringing him food, he probably wouldn't have eaten anything.
Shaking his head slightly, Reiken forced himself to get up from the bed. His legs almost buckled beneath him as he got up.
For the room around him turned.
He whimpered softly, wrapping his arms around himself. When the room finally stopped turning, he limped over to the kitchen.
Everything around him, felt dull and numb to his senses.
His power was exhausted. He could barely feel the heat from his fire element, nor the calming effect of his water and wind. The worst was the loss of the earth. He couldn't feel the earth, or smell it. It was all just dull and beyond his reach.
Nausea rolled in his stomach, and he almost crumbled right there, pressing his hand over his mouth.
Reiken leaned against the doorframe, breathing slowly.
His other arm wrapped over his stomach as he tried to keep his breathing even. So that he wouldn't start throwing up right there.
Shutting his eyes for a moment, before he stumbles over to bathroom. He barely made it in time, before starting to throw up. When the heaving finally stopped, he just curled up on the floor, whimpering softly.
He wasn't sure how long he lay there, before he finally had the strength to get up.
With a soft groan, he managed to get up. There was a soft ringing in his ears as he continued to stumbled towards the kitchen. Slowly he got the tea pot, putting it on the fire.
A fire that Hein made sure kept on burning.
Reiken sank down on the floor as he waited for the water to boil. He hugged his knees to his chest. He sat there staring at the flames. They felt nice and warm and calming.
"Why... can't I reach you?" he asked quietly.
A shiver ran through his body and he lean a bit towards the fire. He wanted to reach for his power, but it stayed out of his reach.
Sadness filled him and he hugged his knees a bit tighter.
He jumped slightly when the kettle started whistling. Immediately he looked up. Slowly he got to his feet again and for a moment he reached for it with his bare hand. He jumped slightly before reaching for the cloths.
They were just out of his reach.
Biting his lip, shuffled to the side, quickly grabbing them. He sighed as he took of the kettle.
***
Reiken sat curled up on his couch, just staring at the fire in the fireplace. A cold cup of tea stood next to him. Shivers ran through him as sat there. A shrill screech sounded through the air.
He flinched, his head snapping in the direction the sound came from.
For a moment his eyes widened as he stumbled to his feet, knocking over the tea cup.
"no...." he whispered, feeling the fear rising in his chest.
He couldn't really much at the moment. His power stayed out of his reach. Holding his hand against his chest, he stumbled towards the door opening it.
The sound of the demons felt like they were cutting through his soul.
Reiken whimpered, almost pulling back into himself. He was terrified of going out. Only he couldn't leave the demons. They will go to the down to the village and he could not risk that.
Shutting his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath.
Clenching his jaw he started moving to where the sounds were coming from. Even if he had to fight the demons with his bare hands and sai daggers. He was not going to let the demons get to the village.
It took him longer than it should, to find the demons that made the calls.
Reiken nodded as he shot forward.
Immediately the demons turned their attention towards him. He stumbled slightly as pain shot up his leg. The sai daggers fell into his hand.
Taking a deep breath he shot forward, constantly reaching for his power that stayed just out of his reach. He was lucky that they weren't high level demons, or else he'd be dead already.
One of the claws caught him across the chest, throwing him back.
Out of reflex he reached for his power, only to feel the bracelet around his wrist burned white hot. The pain made him drop his dagger. His back slammed into a tree and he whimpered, sinking down.
His vision blurred as he gasped for breath. Pain tore through his chest.
The world started disappearing. And the last thing he could make out was the image of the demons moving towards him.
Maybe this was it.
His time to atone for everything he's done. If they kill him, maybe that will be enough.
A new sage will be born.
Someone that can be worthy of the title.
It might be good.
Everyone can have peace. They can be happy. Everyone can be happy. They wouldn't have to worry about him, because he wouldn't be there to cause them any more trouble.
So will it really be that bad if he just gave in...?
If he'd let them kill him now?
Would that really be so bad?
Demon claws ripped through his abdomen, lifting him of the ground. A weak scream sounded from his throat.
His hand weakly held on to the demon's hand, as his vision faded again.
Slowly the corner of his mouth lifted in a sad smile. A weak cough, sounded from him as blood dripped from his mouth. He could taste a rancid taste in his mouth as he started fading.
The last thing he saw was a flash of brown, black, white and blond.
Pain tore through his body, before everything disappeared.
Pain shot through Reiken like lightning.
He wanted to scream. But he did not know if any sound came out of his throat, maybe there was. He didn't know.
"...."
A long familiar voice sounded.
"...."
More familiar voices.
Why did everything hurt so badly? Couldn't they just leave him to sleep.... Who every they were.... The familiar voices.
Brown and Black.
They stayed with him as a flash of colour filled his eyes. It didn't want to make any sense.
Something warm took his hand.
It was gentle.
Misha? What was she doing here?
He was tired. Wanted to sleep and rest. To get away from the pain and the confusion. Why would Misha be there with him? Wasn't she....
He couldn't even finish that thought.
Why would he think about her? When she couldn't be with him, when she left him.... No wait.... That's not right... He's the one that left her...
"...."
The voices again.
Not Misha.
"...you cannot die yet..."
"...don't think we'll let you off so easily...."
"...Rei.... you'll be alright...."
"...I WOULDN'T let you die!"
"...Just hold on..."
"We've got you"
The colours merged together. He felt so confused. The pain slowly pulled him back into the darkness.
***
Slowly Reiken started waking up. He couldn't feel his arms. Pain throbbed in his abdomen. It was echoed by the pain in his head.
Waking up, surprised him.
He did not expect that.
Opening his eyes felt like a chore. As if it was the hardest, most difficult thing he'd ever done.
What he saw was a canopy of green above him. He couldn't make out what it was made of, and he couldn't figure out what the hazy figures were moving around them.
"...he's waking up" a voice said.
That voice belonged to the blond, not that was the brown... He wasn't sure anymore. It confused him.
"...Then we leave"
That was the black... He was sure that the black.
Blond moved into his field of vision, before followed by black. Immediately his entire body went cold. Pain shot through his body. He wanted to scream again.
Maybe he did.
He wasn't sure. The pain clouded his mind, leaving him feeling weak and cold. He wanted to reach for his power to warm him up, but it stayed out of his reach.
A gentle hand brushed back his hair.
Slowly his vision cleared.
Finally he could make out what was going on around him.
"Slowly" a voice said "Don't move to fast"
Reiken slowly turned his head to where the voice came from. "...Waneta..." he whimpered.
The blond head nodded. "Yes..." she said "Are you... feeling alright?"
For a moment Reiken just blinked at her. His eyes widened as his mind caught up with what was going on. Immediately he pushed himself up, only for his arms to give in beneath him.
Someone caught him, lowering him back to the ground. "You should stay down for now" a new voice said.
Sigurd sighed, when Reiken just stared at him with a terrified expression.
"....I'm sorry..." Reiken whispered, pulling back, away from Sigurd, as if terrified of getting into trouble.
Sigurd lifted his hands slightly in a show of peace and shook his head. "Easy there, Fire Sage..." he said "We're not here for trouble, Reiken"
Reiken all but curled up into himself, his body trembling.
"...sorry..." he whispered.
"You should have been more careful" Acheron said as he walked over to him "What the hell did you think going out like this?"
Reiken immediately looked away, his body trembling.
"Ash..." Waneta said "Back up... You're not helping"
Acheron rolled his eyes as he pulled back. "He should get back to his cottage.... because he croaks" he said coldly.
"He wouldn't die" the last voice said, Kaelah.
Reiken stared at the other immortals. It felt like he was hallucinating them there. Why would they help him?
"Why're... you here?" he whispered, still tasting blood in his mouth.
"You were going to die" Waneta said, tilting her head slightly "We couldn't just leave you to die like that"
She held out her hand towards him.
"It's okay, Rei.... You're save now... I wouldn't let anything happen to you"
Slowly Reiken reached out to her, taking her hand.
Waneta smiled as she helped him up. Immediately she had to catch him again as his legs gave in.
Sigurd sighed as he went to Reiken's other side, putting his arm over his shoulder, holding him up. "Come on... you will probably fall over if we leave you alone..." he said.
Reiken just looked down at the ground. "...sorry..." he whispered.
"You power is exhausted" Acheron said with a frown "What did you do?"
When Acheron started talking, Reiken flinched. ".... demons.... they... attacked the village" he said quietly.
"And you used all of your power for that?" Acheron asked, frowning.
Reiken nodded slightly. "...A hoard" he said and felt Sigurd stiffen next to him.
"A hoard, are you sure?" Sigurd asked.
"Of course he's sure" Waneta said "What kind of idiot do you think he'll be if he didn't know..... All of us know what a hoard looks like"
"And he used all of his power for that?" Acheron asked again "He shouldn't have had to do that"
"You forget the seal" Kaelah said quietly.
Acheron paused for a moment before he nodded. "Right..." he said "half his power... right... that makes sense now... Just take him home so we can get out of here"
"You really have to work on your personality, Ash" Waneta said, shaking her head "It's starting to get really bad..."
Reiken just looked away. He could feel Acheron's dark eyes on him, like daggers in his chest. All he wanted to do was to go home and curl up on his bed.
"....Can I go home... now?" he asked, voice barely audible.
Waneta looked over at Reiken, smiling slightly. "Alright.... let's go" she said "You look terrible"
***
Reiken closed the door as the others left. He could barely stay on his feet, so he was thankful that they brought him back to the cottage.
Wringing his hands together, he limped back to the living room. The fire that was there, had long since gone out. He sighed as he sank down on the couch, curling up.
After a few more second he struggled back up and stumbled to the fireplace.
He went down on his knees as he put some logs in the fireplace. It took him a few tried before he managed to get a fire started with the firestones. Immediately heat filled the apartment.
He was to tired to do anything else, so he just curled up on the floor, in front of the fire.
It did not take very long before he slowly started falling asleep.
It took Reiken a few minutes before he realized that he was waking up. Again pain rushed through him. It hurt so badly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that there was someone talking to him. He just could not make out what they were saying.
"There we go...." the voice said, finally clearing up a bit "Now you just need to keep on moving.... We're almost out, just a bit longer"
The voice kept on talking, but the rest of the words were just a jumble through his mind. He realized that he was moving, someone was helping him to move, but his painfilled mind just did not understand what was going on at all.
With every move, it felt like something was stabbing him. Over and over and over again. It hurt so badly.
"Stay with me, Sage..." the voice said, becoming clear again for a few seconds "You'll be fine.... I'm going to fix you up"
Reiken groaned, before his eyes started flickering open.
"....sorry..." he whispered.
"Shit... you're awake..." the voice said "Dammit.... it would have been better if you stayed asleep.... Alright, I'm going to help you, so stay with me"
Reiken whimpered, just holding on to the person.
"Right.... I'll give you something for the pain, when we get to my place..." the voice said "It's a bit of a walk.... but you'll be save there, got it?"
".... sorry...." Reiken whispered again.
"You're really a piece of work, Sage..." the voice said "Why the hell didn't you fight back? You could have gotten away if you wanted to"
"Not even to save yourself?" the voice asked, starting to sound a bit out of breath "That's not good... you need to take care of yourself as well, Sage"
Silence fell between the two.
Reiken whimpered as he moved a bit to much.
"Do we need to stop a bit?" the voice asked.
Reiken nodded slightly. ".... please.... Can't... breathe" he whimpered.
The voice went quiet for a moment before the movement stopped. "It's alright" the voice continued "Just get some rest.... Then we can start moving again when you feel a bit stronger"
Gently the person lowered Reiken to the ground.
Reiken gasped softly, his body relaxing slightly. The hands holding him up disappeared and he looked around. A blurred face appeared in his line of sight.
"Sage" the voice said and he could see that it was the blurred talking to him "I'm going to bandage some of your wounds.... It's going to hurt... they beat you up pretty badly"
"Why...." Reiken whispered "... are you... helping...?"
"Because.... You protected us" the figure said "By the way... I used to be Spirit Clan.... but... please don't be scared of me"
A sadness rushed through Reiken. Ignoring the pain in his body, he lifted his hand, reaching to the figure.
"...Sorry... for... failing you..." he whispered.
The figure caught his hand, slowly lowering it to the ground again. "Don't move, Sage... you'll make your injuries worse"
It took Reiken a while before he realized that the figure was now treating his wounds. Pain rippled through him with every touch. It slowly started to overwhelm him, until he had to bite back a scream.
His vision black out and the last thing he heart was the voice calling out to him.
***
Yuran clenched his jaw as he looked at the Sage. The fire Sage passed out as he reset the immortal's broken arm. It did not surprise him all that much. The torture they put him through just made him so angry.
Why would they do something like that? It's not like the Sage did anything wrong. He just protected them.
And just look at where that got him.
Breathing out, Yuran carefully lifted the Sage again. They needed to keep om moving. He did not want the villagers to find them again. It wouldn't be good for them.
He wasn't sure he'd be able to get them to back off again. They were pretty onto it that the Sage was a monster or something.
If only they knew that he used to be part of the Spirit Clan.
They'd probably try to kill him as well. Unlike the Sage, he wasn't going to just stand there and let them take him.
"Curses, Sage...." Yuran muttered as he started moving again "Why do you have to care about us humans so much? At least try and take care of yourself"
With a grunt he shifted the Sage a bit as he kept on walking. This was going to take a while. Since it almost took two hours for him to walk to his place on his own. So going so slowly with the Sage, it might take them so much longer.
Not just that, they had to stop every now and then so he could make sure the Sage was still alright.
Well... Alive...
He doubted that the Sage would die so easily, but he was not going to take the chance on that.
They were almost half way, when the Sage groaned softly.
Yuran looked at the pale face over his shoulder. "Sage?" he asked as he kept on moving. The Sage's face was so pale that he was surprised that the immortal was still alive.
They were leaving a blood trail behind as well.
If the demons did not follow the smell, he'd be shocked.
Taking a deep breath, Yuran kept on moving. The sooner they get to his house, the quicker he can take care of the Sage's injuries.
The Sage woke up another quarter of the way towards Yuran's home.
"Sage" he said "Are you still alright? We stop a bit if you want to?"
"....I'm... sorry..." the Sage whispered, pain in his voice "... don't worry.... about... met"
"I really hope you don't think that I should just leave you here"
The Sage lifted his head slightly. "... don't... want to... cause trouble" he muttered before coughing.
Yuran could hear just how painful that was.
"Don't talk, Sage" he said "Just focus on staying awake"
Silence fell as they kept on moving, until a small house came into view. Not a house exactly, more like a cottage.
"We're here" Yuran said softly as he carried the Sage to the small cottage "You don't have to worry about anything here... The people wouldn't bother you"
The Sage lifted his head slightly. "Thank... you" he whispered.
"You don't need to thank me, Sage" Yuran said "I'm just repaying the favour"
"I.... don't... understand" the Sage said, before coughing again.
"You've saved my life before" Yuran said as he opened the door carrying the Sage inside "And you didn't care that I was Spirit Clan... So now I will make sure that you have a save place to stay"
Yuran let the Sage lay down on the small couch. "I'm going to get my treatment bag" he said.
Sage's eyes flickered open, glancing towards him.
"Thank... you" he whispered.
Yuran nodded and quickly disappeared deeper into the small cottage. When he came back again, the Saga was sitting up slightly, pressing a hand against his side.
"You shouldn't be sitting up" Yuran said, kneeling in front of the sage.
"...Who.. are you?" the Sage asked, his voice weak, but also very gentle.
"My name is Yuran... Sage" Yuran said, surprised.
The Sage shook his head slightly. "Don't... call me... that" he said "...my name is... Reiken. Thank you"
Yuran blinked, before he nodded. "Alright" he said "I... need to treat your injuries. It's going to hurt"
Reiken nodded slightly. "...I know" he said "It's alright"
"I'm going to get some water... we need to make sure none of the wounds get infected" Yuran said, getting up again.
Reiken just watched as Yuran left. His head hurt so badly, not that the rest of his body felt any different. At least the bleeding had stopped. Clenching his jaw, he just waited. There wasn't anything else he could do. He was sure they fractured his leg and broke his arm badly.
When Yuran returned, he carried a bowl with water.
"I'm sorry if this is going to hurt" he said "But we need to clean it and... it looks like I'll have to.... um... reset your arm"
Reiken nodded. "Thank you" he said.
"Alright..." Yuran said, carefully taking Reiken's broken arm "Let's do this first"
Before Reiken could say anything, Yuran twisted his arm back into place. He smothered a scream as the pain tore through his arm. His vision blurred before the pain overwhelmed him completely and he just slumped to the side.
Yuran cussed softly, but did not say anything as he caught the Sage, carefully letting him lay down again.
"Now I need to hurry" he muttered to himself. If he could take care of most of the injuries before the Sage wakes up, things would be much easier.
Quickly Yuran started working, going as fast as he could.
When the Sage woke up again, Yuran already took care of his injuries as was working in the kitchen.
Reiken slowly struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body. Slowly he limped over to where the sounds were coming from. The young man that helped him before, was moving around in the small kitchen.
Hesitating, Reiken glanced back towards the couch.
"You shouldn't be up" the now familiar voice said, making Reiken jump and quickly look back.
Yuran stood in front of him, looking worried.
Immediately Reiken stepped back, only for a bolt of red hot pain to shoot up his leg. It gave in beneath him and he fell.
Yuran's eyes widened slightly, as he shot forward, catching the immortal.
"Hey... Don't go doing stupid things like that..." he said, holding Reiken up "You are going to hurt yourself"
"...sorry..." Reiken whispered, his voice feeling raw.
Yuran sighed. "That's alright... just be careful" he said "You got pretty beaten up"
Slowly he helped Reiken back to the couch. "Don't get up again... I'm making us some dinner" he said "After we've gotten something to eat, we can decide what to do next"
Reiken coughed softly as he left the cottage. He felt a bit off, but not enough to make him stay at home. Although he was sure that if Fuki or Alice heard him cough, they'd force him to stay at home. He still had work that he needed to do in the town. It wasn't much, not enough to take Fuki with him.
With a sigh, he pulled his coat a bit tighter over his shoulders. He felt a bit weird, body aching and a headache that felt like if he just moved wrong it would get worse.
He sneezed as he walked. Maybe he was getting sick.
Although the trip down the mountain shouldn't make it any worse. It wasn't like he was going to do anything stupid.
He'd leave that for Fuki.
The Spirit clan member did everything without thinking. Reiken pouted at the thought. He would somehow have to get the guy to be more careful. It was getting quite ridicules the amount of stupid things the guy did.
Not just that, Alice quickly got annoyed at Fuki for the smallest things.
Usually that amused Reiken a bit, but today he just did not have the energy to deal with the two of them bickering and arguing about stupid things.
They would probably just make his headache worse.
If he told either of them that he had a head ache, they'd just fuss over him again. That was annoying. He didn't like it when they did it.
Reiken frowned slightly as he looked up at the skies.
It was getting darker as rain clouds started packing together. He should not have even thought about it. With a tisk he, kept on moving. No use in turning back now.
***
"Hey Fuki!" Alice yelled as he got back into the cottage "Where is the Sage?"
Fuki looked up from where he was busy cleaning. "What?" he asked "I don't know.... He wasn't here when I got back. I thought he went out with you"
"Of course he didn't go with me, he was still sleeping when I left" Alice said, glaring at Fuki with her hands on her hips.
There was a flat expression on Fuki's face as he looked at her.
"Don't give me that look" Alice snapped "We both know that he's been working so hard the last few days. And he was coughing last night"
"You think he's sick" Fuki said as he put down the cloth he was using to scrub the floor clean "And now you're going to follow him around like a lost puppy to make sure that he's not sick"
Alice pouted, crossing her arms. "It's not like that" she said.
"Then what is it?" Fuki asked "We're not his caretakers.... All things considered, he's the one that's taking care of us"
"He's reckless" Alice said.
Fuki sighed. "So are we... but he doesn't go around babying us"
"I'm not babying him" Alice argued.
"It would be weird if we tried to baby a thousand year old immortal" Fuki said "One that's been taking care of himself this entire time"
Alice glared at Fuki, but didn't say anything else as she turned around and went to the kitchen.
"He's my friend" she said before stepping through the door "I want him to be alright"
Fuki glared down at the floor. "And you think that I don't want him to be..... He saved my life.... Do you really think that I want him to not be alright? The least I can do is to repay him for what he did for me"
Alice sighed and nodded. "I know..." she said "I'm just worried about him... that's all"
***
The moment Reiken stepped back into the cottage, Alice and Fuki were there.
"Where did you go?" Alice asked "We were worried sick!"
Reiken wiped some of the rain water from his face. "I... went to.... the village" he said, eyes flickering between the two. It almost looked like he surprised about them.
"Seriously, Sage" Fuki said "You need to tell us when you go out... We were.... really worried"
Reiken sighed and looked down at the ground. "I... apologize..." he said softly "I did not.... mean to... worry you"
Fuki pulled his hand through his hair as Alice sighed.
"It's alright" Alice said "Just want to know where you go..."
Reiken opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but before he could, he started coughing.
Alice and Fuki glanced at each other.
Worried Alice stepped closer. "Are you alright?" she asked, gently.
Reiken nodded, as he tried to get the coughing back under control. A shiver ran through his body.
"You're bloody soaked..." Fuki said as he grabbed a blanket wrapping it around Reiken "We need to get you dry, before you get really sick"
"...I'm just.... going to... sleep.... a bit" Reiken whispered.
Fuki nodded. "Of course..."
Reiken nodded before he quickly walked to his room.
"he's sick..." Fuki said as he looked over at Alice.
She sighed. "Yeah..." she said "We should make him something to eat, a soup or something"
Fuki nodded.
Reiken curled up on his bed, holding on to the blanket that was wrapped around him.
Maybe he shouldn't have gone out today.
The coughing had gotten worse and not to talk about headache. His body ached.
Slowly he drifted of to sleep. Hopefully he'll feel better after some rest.
Alice and Fuki were quiet as they tried to make the soup as quickly as possible. They didn't want Reiken to have to wait to eat when he woke up. every few minutes they could hear the coughing coming from Reiken's room.
Each time they paused, almost like they wanted to make sure that he was alright.
After about half an hour, they heard movement from Reiken's room.
"Do you think he's awake?" Alice asked.
Fuki shrugged. "Go take a look..." he said "I'll keep on eye on the soup"
Alice nodded and walked over to Reiken's room. She knocked softly, but did not get an answer. Taking a deep breath, she knocked again.
Again, no answer.
She glanced over her shoulder at Fuki. But he just shrugged. So she opened the door and peered inside.
"Sage?" she said softly as she stepped into the room.
Reiken lay curled up on his side. His face was flushed, breathing shallowly.
Alice sighed as she walked over to the bed. Gently she placed her hand on Reiken's shoulder. Even with that, she could feel the heat radiating off him.
"Oh Sage..." she said softly, before putting the back of her hand against his forehead.
Burning.
With a sigh, Alice got up and left Reiken's room.
"He's got a fever..." she said when Fuki looked at her.
"I'll bring you a bowl with some cool water and a cloth" Fuki said gently "You get the medicine.
Alice nodded and quickly went to get the medicine.
Fuki grabbed the bowl, quickly filling it with cold water. He went to Reiken's room.
The immortal lay curled up, just like before. His face was flushed with fever. Every now and then a shiver would run through him.
"Dammit.... what did you do?" he asked as he sat down, wringing out the cloth he had "You shouldn't have gone out if you weren't feeling well"
For a moment Reiken's eyes flickered open.
"Sage...." Fuki started "Um... Reiken.... how are you feeling?"
Reiken coughed, moving a bit restless on the bed.
"You need to keep still..." Fuki said softly, as he placed the cloth on Reiken's forehead "Alice will bring you some medicine... You just need to rest a bit"
Again Reiken could, this time gasping softly.
"Easy now...." Fuki said, gently wiping Reiken's face with the cloth, before dunking it in the water and wringing it out again "just get some rest... You'll be better in a little while"
Alice stepped into the room. "How is he?" she asked as she walked over.
"A fever.... and he woke up for a little bit, but he's asleep again" Fuki said, putting the cloth back again "And he has a bad cough"
Nodding Alice quickly looked through the medicine.
"We'll have to keep an eye on him" she said as he found the medicine she was looking for "And we'll have to get new medicine"
Fuki nodded.
"If he's not better tomorrow I will go to the village and get some" he said.
Alice nodded. "See if you can wake him up" she said "He needs to drink this"
Fuki nodded again. Then he leaned over Reiken. "Sage" he said softly "Hey... you need to wake up for a little bit"
Reiken groaned, before his eyes flickered open. "...Fuki..." he whispered.
"Yeah, it's just me" he said "I'm going to help you sit up"
Reiken whimpered, but did not argue with them.
Fuki breathed out before he gently helped Reiken to sit up. "There we go" he said "Now Alice will give you some medicine... You will feel better after you take it"
"Here" Alice said gently as she leaned over the bed.
She held a small cup to Reiken's lips. Gently she lifted it, so that Reiken could drink.
He quickly swallowed it, before coughing again.
"There it's alright... all done" Alice said gently, brushing his hair back "Now you can lay down again... Get some sleep, alright?"
Reiken nodded slightly.
Carefully Fuki lowered him so he could lay down again. "There you go... Get some sleep" he said softly.
Immediately Reiken's eyes flickered closed.
Fuki sighed and started cooling Reiken's face and neck again.
***
Fuki frowned as he came back to Reiken's room.
Reiken was sitting up, just staring out the window.
"What are you doing, sitting up?" Fuki asked as he walked over to the bed "You should get some more rest"
Reiken jumped slightly, looking over at Fuki, before looking down at his hands. "I'm... sorry..." he whispered, voice sounding rough from coughing the entire night.
"Hey... I wasn't..... I didn't...." Fuki started before shaking his head "Don't worry about it... You just scared us"
"Sage" Alice asked as she stepped into the room "Do you want to try and eat something?"
Reiken blinked at her, before looking at Fuki again, who just nodded.
Reiken focused on the plants in front of him. He hadn’t been able to pay much attention to the garden the last week or so, so there were a lot of weeds between everything, that he needed to clean.
With a sigh, he started working again. It didn’t take long before he was completely focused on his work. As he worked, he lost complete track of time as well. Reiken dropped some weeds on the ground, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
With a sigh he got to his feet, gathering all of the fruits and vegetables he’d gathered. Quickly he packed it in the basket he had. He grabbed his coat, before starting to make his way down the mountain.
With the time he had, he’d probably have to stay the night. Not really what he wanted to do, but he really did not have a choice.
Nothing happened as he went down the mountain. It was quiet and peaceful.
When Reiken reached the small village, he just stopped for a moment, blinking at the place.
It looked so lively.
There were lanterns all around, in the streets.
This confused him slightly as he just stared at the lights, before he noticed the vendors lining the streets.
Did he forgot something?
Shaking his head, Reiken slowly walked down towards the village. His eyes flickered around, taking in everything around him. People were laughing and walking around, dressed up in traditional clothes.
As he stepped into the village, he could immediately feel the festive atmosphere. Quickly he moved away from the more crowded area, towards the back where the old vendor was that usually bought his things.
“Oh Reiken” the old man said as the immortal stepped into his shop.
Reiken nodded slightly as he handed the man the basket. “...here” he said softly “.... fresh... today”
“Ah... thank you” the old man said “What can I give you for it?”
Reiken blinked, before biting his lip as he thought to what he might need for the next week. “...Normal supplies” he said after a moment and the man nodded.
For a moment Reiken hesitated.
“Is there anything else you want to ask?” the old man asked.
“What is.... um.... what is going... on?” he asked.
“It’s the winter festival” the old man said.
Reiken blinked. “Oh....” he said softly.
“Why don’t you go take a look” the old man said with a slight smile.
***
Reiken slowly walked through the street. He pulled his hood a bit over his face as he walked. He listened to the people talking around him. There was an excitement in the air.
It did not even look like the people notice that he was there.
That suited him just fine. He could watch everyone enjoy themselves. It looked like they so excited about the festival.
With a slight smile, Reiken moved to another part of the festival grounds, so he could just watch everything. He barely sat down, when some walked over to him.
“Rei!”
Reiken jumped slightly, his head snapping towards the voice.
It was Gruen and Hein, with Saffron and Leia behind them. Quickly he got to his feet.
“Hi....” he said quietly.
“What are you doing here?” Gruen asked, looking happy to see Reiken.
“...um... just came to... bring some.... things...”
Hein nodded. “That’s great.... Now you can got with us through the festival. That would be really fun” he said.
“Yeah... you can watch the light show with us...” Leia said with a smile.
Saffron paused for a second. “No wait.... the rain from last night made everything wet.... they wouldn’t light...” she said and everyone’s face fell with disappointment.
Reiken tilted his head. “Can... I help?” he asked.
Everyone looked at Reiken.
“You think you can fix it?” Hein asked, and Reiken shrugged.
“Let’s go see” Gruen said with a grin.
Quickly the group went to where the light show would have been held. Gruen talked to one of the guys that was in control of it, so they wouldn’t get into trouble just braging in.
As he returned, he grinned at the others and nodded. “They said we can give it a try” he said.
“YES” Hein said, doing an air punch “Come on, Rei... Let’s see what we can do”
Reiken smiled slightly as Hein pulled him to where the lights were.
“Fire... Fire works?” he asked, tilting his head.
Hein blinked and nodded. “Yeah... Light show” he said.
Reiken nodded. “I can.... make them light” he said slowly.
“Are you sure...?” Saffron asked and Reiken nodded again.
“Will you do that?” Saffron asked.
Reiken nodded, looking down.
“That’s amazing....” Gruen said “Thank you, Rei. It will make the festival so much better”
“The.... festival...” Reiken said with a slight confused look “What... for?”
The four smiled.
“It in honour of the fire sage” Saffron said “For saving the village so many times...”
Reiken just stared at them. “... I don’t.... understand...” he said.
Hein patted Reiken on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, man” he said “just know that it’s for you and you will make it so much better if we can have the light show”
“You do... this... every... year?” Reiken asked.
The other nodded. “Yes... you just never come down at this time of year” Saffron said.
Reiken just nodded, blinking. “....oh...” he said softly.
“Now let’s make sure everything works” Gruen said “It’s almost dark”
As they worked, people started gathering around. More and more people came. Reiken made sure to stay behind the others, so they wouldn’t be able to see him that clearly. As the darkness fell, people started extinguishing the lanterns until all the light in the village disappeared.
“Come on, Rei” Leia said, taking his hand.
Reiken nodded and let Leia pull him along. He studied the fireworks, looking at the order that they were supposed to ignite it. Then he glanced at Leia, nodding slightly.
“Give some... space...” he said.
Immediately all four stepped back. Reiken knelt knelt to the fireworks. He took a deep breath before holding out his hand. For a moment nothing happened, the the fire works started going off.
Cheers and gasps sounded from the crowd.
Reiken looked up at the sky. Everything was dark, being lit up by the most beautiful patterns. It moved from flower to plants to animals, forming patterns and stories.
For a moment Reiken just stared up at the sky. His mouth open slightly in wonder, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
As the last fireworks died out, the sounds of cheering came from the crowd.
Leia, Saffron, Gruen and Hein ran over to Reiken, just hugging him.
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Reiken walked slowly through the town, just looking down, so he wouldn't make any eye contact with anyone.
He just wanted to get some fruits from town, but there was a group of Spirit Clan members in the town. At least they did not recognize him, so now he was trying to get out of the town before they realized who he was.
Wrapping his arms around himself, he quickly turned into another street. It was less busy. He moved quickly, until he got to the edge of the town.
Before he realized what happened, someone ran into him and both fell to the ground.
Reiken scrambled back, eyes wide as he looked at the one that crashed into him.
"Oh I'm so sorry" a familiar voice said.
Reiken's eyes snapped towards the figure.
Wide ice-blue eyes stared at him, through messy white hair. "You..." he whispered "Sage... what are you.... what are you doing here?"
Reiken blinked at him surprised. "...Spirit Clan..." he whispered.
"Fuki...." the young Spirit Clan member said "My name is Fuki..."
Reiken stared at him for a moment. "Fuki...." he whispered "What... what are you.... doing here?" he asked softly.
Fuki shrugged. "We're just going through the town" he said softly "Why are you here?"
"The mountain" Reiken said softly "I.... Live in the... mountain"
"Of course.... sorry for the stupid question" Fuki said, pulling his hand through his hair.
Reiken smiled slightly, nodding.
"Sage" Fuki said "You need to get out of here"
"...Reiken... please don't call me...sage" Reiken said quietly.
Fuki blinked. "Wha...." he started, before he realized what Reiken said "Oh... right.... your name..."
Reiken nodded slightly.
Fuki smiled as he got to his feet, holding his hand out to Reiken. "Sorry for running into you" he said softly "You should get out of here"
"Thank you...." Reiken said softly.
As he got to his feet, he paused for a moment. "Take care... of yourself" he said, before he quickly made his way out of the village.
***
Reiken fiddled with his fingers as he walked. The Spirit Clan left the day before, but he still made sure to get out of the village. Not only that, he also followed them to make sure that they did not cause any trouble.
Just as he was about to turn back to the village, he heard the screams. Without hesitation he spun around and rushed back to where the Spirit Clan was camping for the night.
The moment got to the camp site, he froze.
He wasn't fast enough. His eyes flickered around the carnage. It was a massacre. There was destruction and death everywhere in front of him.
Immediately his eyes started searching for the young Spirit Clan member, Fuki.
Something exploded to the side, making Reiken flinch, as he covered his face with his arm. For a moment he felt the heat, before he started in that direction, pushing the heat away.
A shout sounded, followed by fighting.
The moment Reiken saw the figure between the trees, he started running.
There were a group of demons, dragging Fuki away. The young Spirit Clan member, was fighting against the as well as he could.
Only those were elemental demons. They weren't low ranking. High level demons, that looked human. They were trouble.
With a shout, Reiken shot forward, attacking the demons.
Fuki's eyes widened as he saw Reiken.
"SAGE!" he called out.
Before Reiken could react, something slammed into the back of his head and the world went dark.
It took Reiken a moment before he realized he was waking up and remembered what happened. His eyes flickered open and stared up at what looked like a stone roof.
With a slight groan, Reiken slowly sat up, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Sage...?" a voice said "..Um... I mean... Reiken... are you alright?"
Reiken's eyes snapped to where the voice came from. For a moment he just stared at the white haired Spirit Clan member.
"....Fuki...." he whispered.
The blue eyes widened slightly. "Yes.... are you alright?" he asked, holding his shoulder like it had been injured.
Reiken nodded slightly. "..Just a slight... headache" he said "You?"
Fuki breathed out relieved. "I... I think they broke my arm" he said "And I can't use my power"
Reiken nodded slightly. Slowly he got to his feet, going over to Fuki. "Let me.. see" he said softly.
Slowly Fuki took of his tunic so Reiken could see his arm.
"Hmmm" Reiken whispered "Broken...."
Gently he checked Fuki's arm further before he started wrapping it with pieces of his own tunic.
"I'm so sorry, Sage..." Fuki said through clenched teeth "You shouldn't have come back... If we didn't come here, you shouldn't have gotten involved"
Reiken shook his head. "Don't worry..." he said as he finished and pulled back "How are you feeling?"
"Weak..." Fuki said.
"Don't call me Sage" Reiken said again as he sat back.
Fuki smiled slightly, looking down. "Sorry Sag... um, Reiken" he said, just as the door to their prison room opened.
Two elemental demons stepped into the room, followed by three other Spirit Clan members.
"What are you doing?" Fuki asked angrily, getting to his feet "You're the ones that attacked us?"
The other spirit clan members just glared at Fuki before nodding to the demons. Immediately the two elementalists grabbed the young Spirit Clan member dragging him to his feet.
"What are you doing?" Reiken asked softly as he got to his feet, moving almost like he wanted to block them from taking Fuki.
"Stay back" the other Spirit Clan member snapped, narrowing his eyes at Reiken.
"No.... leave him alone"
The Spirit Clan stepped towards him, back handing him through the face.
Reiken's head snapped to the side and he tasted blood. His hands clenched into fists, but he refused to move.
"Leave him" he said again.
"Hey! what do you think you're doing?" Fuki snapped, roughly pulling away from the elemental demons holding him "Leave him alone!"
"Are you friends with this filth?" the second Spirit Clan member asked.
Fuki roughly pulled away, putting himself between Reiken and the other Spirit clan member. "Back off" he snapped.
The two spirit clan members looked at him a bit more closely.
"Fuki Teivel" one of them said.
Reiken froze. He knew that name. From a very long time ago... He knew Teivel. Louie Teivel.
Teivel was the name of one of the first spirit clan members. He was a dear friend, someone that Reiken really cared about. All he could do was to stare at Fuki's back.
"That's right" Fuki snapped.
"What is a prince of the Spirit Clan doing here?" the other member asked.
Fuki clenched his jaw. "That has nothing to do with you" he snapped.
A cold sneer formed on the spirit member's face. "We know about you" he said "You have been exiled... And outcast...."
"So what about it?" Fuki snapped.
"You are free game" the other one said, before grabbing Fuki and shoving him towards the demons.
Reiken clenched his jaw. He needed to do something. They had to get out of there. As he stepped forward, the spirit clan members turned towards him.
"If you move.... we will kill you"
"You will not...." Reiken said quietly, he could already feel the bracelet around his wrist heating up.
"And why is that?"
Fire formed around Reiken's hands.
"Sage...." the one said, a cold expression appearing on his face "This will be fun..." he snapped his fingers at the demons holding Fuki.
Reiken felt himself go pale as he watched the demons starting to beat Fuki.
"STOP!" He snapped "Please.... you have to stop...."
Fuki groaned as the hits started falling. He could taste blood in his mouth. Pain bloomed through his body. Some where between the hits, he could feel bone breaking.
"Please...." Reiken begged "Stop that....."
"Do you really think that after everything you've done to us, we will do as you ask?" the man asked.
Reiken clenched his jaw.
They were right. After what he'd done, he had not right to ask that of them, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to Fuki.
The man stepped up to Reiken, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "Just keep still and things will go much easier for both of you...SAGE" he snarled in Reiken's face.
Reiken's eyes flickered towards Fuki, who was now on the ground, curled up and gasping for breath.
He couldn't let this continue.
They were going to beat Fuki to death if he didn't do anything.
Another kick landed on Fuki and his eyes rolled back, going limp. He was not going last much longer.
"Please.... you need to stop..." Reiken whispered "You're killing him... He's one of your own"
"He's a traitor" the man hissed.
A snap sounded through the small cell before being followed by a scream.
Reiken's eyes widened slightly.
"Please let him go..." he whispered "I'll stay... just let him go...."
"Not a chance, Sage" the other one snapped.
Reiken shook his head. "Don't make me... fight you" he said softly, eyes focused on Fuki.
"We're not afraid of you, Sage"
"You should be...." Reiken whispered.
He could fee the burning around his wrist.
Wind slammed into the demons beating Fuki, ripping them away and throwing them through the wall.
Reiken's fingers twitched and a vine ripped trough the ground, grabbing the two spirit Clan members, tearing them away from Reiken.
"...keep still" Reiken said softly before walking over to Fuki, kneeling next to him.
Fuki lay on the ground, gasping for breath. His eyes were unfocused, as blood ran from his nose, and dripping down his chin.
"Fuki..." he said softly, carefully placing his hand on the young man's shoulder "Can you... hear me?"
Fuki moaned, his eyes flickering to Reiken.
"....sage...." he managed, before he started coughing.
Reiken nodded, gently putting his hand against Fuki's cheek. "Breathe...." he said softly "I will... take care of you..."
***
Alice jumped to her feet as the cottage door opened. She'd been worried sick about Reiken. It's been more than two days since he left and she hadn't heard anything from him.
The moment she saw him, she froze.
Reiken gave her a quick nod, before walking to the couch, gently putting the limp figure down.
"He... need help" he said softly "Get my things... please"
Alice blinked before she nodded and did what Reiken said. Quickly she placed the medical bag down next to Reiken, before bring a bowl of hot water as well.
"What happened?" she asked.
Reiken frowned as he started cleaning the wound.
"Spirit Clan" he said softly as he got to a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding.
"But he is Spirit Clan" Alice said with a huff.
Reiken shook his head. "Exiled" he said as he took a deep breath, holding his hand over the cut. Immediately he could feel the bracelet heating up.
Alice frowned. "They don't exile people... they...." her voice trailed off.
"...kill them..." Reiken finished for her with a nod "Tried.... Didn't work"
"You saved him?" Alice asked "Why?"
Reiken paused for a moment as he pulled his hand back. The wound finally stopped bleeding.
"...because..." Reiken started as he continued treating Fuki's wounds "....I... I wouldn't abandon... them... again"
Reiken stayed curled up on the floor, as he stared at the two Navoscia in front of him. He was still trembling slightly as he sat there on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest.
"...Powerful one...." the woman said, "...that is you...?"
Reiken shook his head slightly. "...Please... don't... don't call me that..." he whispered.
"But you.... you are the powerful one... One of the sages..." the man said, staring at Reiken "..The fire sage.... right?"
Slowly Reiken nodded.
"...sorry..." he whispered.
The man and woman, looking at each other, before they turned their attention back to Reiken.
"...What are you.... why are you... helping me?" Reiken whispered.
"Because we...." the man started "Well.... You needed it"
Reiken nodded, before he slowly struggled to his feet. "I... I'll leave..." he whispered "Don't... Don't want to put... you... in danger.."
"You can't leave..." the woman said, eyes going wide "You are still recovering"
"I.... I need to.... I have to.... leave..." Reiken said, leaning against the wall, to keep him balance. He could feel himself going pale. The world turned slightly and his knees gave in beneath him.
The man shot forward, catching Reiken before he could fall.
"Sage...." he whispered "Please take it easy... You are injured"
Reiken shivered, gasping. He couldn't move, he was to weak to move on his own. With all the power he used, he did not have much left anymore. His entire body was exhausted.
He collapsed onto the bed. His eyes rolling back as he started fading. It felt like his body was over heating.
Something cool touched his face and he bit back a whimper. Everything hurt so badly.
Somewhere through the pain and exhaustion, he could hear the man and woman talk again. They were arguing about him. Maybe he should just leave.... If he could only open his eyes, he had to leave. He couldn't put them in danger if the Spirit Clan came looking for him.
Slowly he struggled to wake up again.
***
Muffled screams pulled Reiken from the darkness. It took him a moment before he managed to gather his thoughts. As his memories came rushing back, his eyes snapped open.
Immediately he got up from the bed, stumbling towards the door.
The room turned and he felt sick as he moved. Only the sound of the muffled screams kept him going. It sounded like there was some kind of fighting going on outside the small house.
As he reached the door, he fumbled a few times before managed to get it open. For a moment he just stared at the scene in front of him.
Clenching his jaw against the pain in his body, Reiken stepped forward and lifted his hand. The bracelet burn ice cold against his skin.
Three men were attacking the man and woman that saved him.
A flash of air, shot at the people, throwing them away from the man and woman. He stumbled towards couple.
"...go..." he whispered to them "....run... I... I'll take... care of them"
The man and woman looked up at him, with shocked expressions, before they nodded. Quickly the man pulled the woman to her feet and they stumbled away from him and the three others.
Reiken lifted his head as he looked at the men. "Why?" he asked "Why are you... attacking them? They did not do anything to you"
"They helped you" one of the men said.
"... You didn't have to... attack them" Reiken whispered.
"Well... then their blood is on your hands" one of the others said.
Reiken balled his hands into fists before he shot forward. His power burned through him. He's used to much power.
The fighting continued.
His vision blurred. Everything around him turned. It hurt using his power. He could taste blood. The three men kept on coming. He needed to take care of the Navoscia, no matter what.
Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, he reached for more power.
A scream sounded from his throat. His vision blurred and for a moment his vision went white.
Everything around him started flickering. Small whips of flames, ice, steam and water appeared. The wind howled and the ground shook. His power had gone completely out of control.
He was to exhausted to do anything about it.
Without warning his power disappeared. His eyes rolled back as he crumbled to the ground.
For a moment he could see everything around him.
The entire area around him was completely destroyed. The ground was scorched and frozen and cracked. Trees looked like they had been pulled from the ground.
Reiken's eyes flickered closed as he was pulled back into the darkness.
His power kept on rushing through him. He was still half awake, aware of what was going on, but he couldn't move.
There was figures moving towards him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that it was the man and woman that saved him before. Now he was causing even more trouble for them.
The man knelt next to Reiken.
".... no..." he managed as he tried to stay awake "....just... leave...."
"No..." the man said, shaking his head as Reiken started fading again.
The voice kept on talking, but he couldn't make out what were being said. He was moved again. Slowly he stumbled, as the man helped him to move. He could barely stay on his feet, not to say anything about walking.
Coughing ripped through his chest.
He tasted blood.
***
Slowly Reiken started waking up again. His body burned. He couldn't focus his mind. The world kept on turning.
He shivered as he tried sitting up. It was the same room that he woke up in the first time. Every part of his body body hurt. He curled up on his side. More pain shot through his body and he bit back a yell.
It almost felt like something pulling on his soul, making it hard to breath.
For a moment he tried to bring up his body heat with a bit of fire, but immediately his vision black out and he couldn't breath.
When his vision returned, he just stayed as he were. It felt like the room was moving. He kept on feeling hot and cold. And it was hard to breath as well, almost as if the air around him had become thick and heavy.
But he needed to leave... To go back to the village and his cottage.
The demons there would start coming down the mountain if he wasn't there. Right now he was useless. His power was completely exhausted and there was nothing he could do about that.
The door creaked open slightly.
Immediately Reiken's eyes tried to focus on it, but he couldn't, his vision kept on slipping. All he could make out was a figure that looked like that woman from before.
He tried to talk, but his tongue felt to heavy in his mouth.
It's been so long since he felt this, he almost forgotten how it feels. This was power exhaustion. There was nothing else that could wipe a sage like this.
"Sage ..." The woman said softly "I brought you some tea"
Reiken tried to sit up but his body just collapsed beneath him in pain and exhaustion. It caused another shiver to run through his body.
"Oh no... Please don't get up" the woman said softly, placing a hand on Reiken's shoulder "Let me help you..."
Reiken nodded slightly and the woman helped him to sit up.
It took everything he had not to start fading again.
The woman smiled slightly at him as she reached for the cup she just brought in. Gently she held it to his lips so he could drink a bit of it.
As he took a few sips, it felt like his energy just disappeared.
"Just rest, Sage" the woman said.
"...reiken..." Reiken muttered, finally getting his mouth to speak.
The woman blinked at him. It took her a moment before she understood what he was saying.
"Oh... Should I call you Reiken?" she asked and Reiken nodded slightly. She smiled and gave him a bow "Thank you, Sage Reiken. I am Aira and my husband is Dyzek"
Reiken smiled slightly. "...thank you..." he managed to whisper before his eyes closed again and he finally fell asleep.
Reiken closed the door behind him. Quickly he walked to the kitchen, putting the basket down on the counter. It was empty but for a few jar of jam and pickled vegetables.
A slight smiled pulled on his face as he took it out and started putting it away.
Just as he turned to go to the back door a knock came from the front. He sighed, looking over at the door. For a moment he considered just ignoring it before walking over to the door.
Reiken opened the door, before immediately looking down at the floor. "Sigurd..." he said softly, stepping back.
Sigurd looked at him and nodded. "Reiken" he said "We need to talk"
"Of course...." Reiken whispered, still not looking at the other guy.
"Reiken.... There's a new nest of Demons" Sigurd said, without stepping into the cottage.
Frowning Reiken looked at Sigurd for the first time. "Why not send the others?" he asked "I'm.... I don't like leaving the mountain"
Sigurd shook his head. "They are all busy with other demons" he said "This is a new nest... So it shouldn't take you to long"
Reiken stared at Sigurd for a moment. "Where is it?" he asked.
"It's a day's travelling from here" Sigurd said, watching Reiken.
For a second Reiken's eyes widened, realizing what Sigurd was telling him. "....here...?" he whispered and Sigurd nodded "Why... Why didn't you... tell me earlier?"
"We only just found out" Sigurd said.
Reiken frowned, before he nodded, looking down at the ground. "Alright..." he said "I'll go..."
"Good" Sigurd said before stepping back "Don't take to long"
"I... I wouldn't..." Reiken said, kicking at the ground. After a few seconds, he looked up, noticing that Sigurd left without a word.
He spun and quickly, darting into the cottage, grabbing his coat, before rushing outside.
Close....
There was a demon nest close to the village. He had to take care of this before the nest grows to big to him to handle.
Without taking anything with him, Reiken left for the village that was about a day's way from him. He had to hurry up, before the demons start attacking the village, if they haven't already started.
***
Reiken twisted before driving the dagger into the demon's head. Out of breath, he stepped back, eyes flickering around as he made sure that all of the demons were dead.
His chest hurt where on of the demons hit him.
Slowly he walked back, before lifting his hand. He could feel the slight burn running up his wrist from the bracelet. Fire leapt up from the demon corpses and a stench filled the air.
Reiken stepped back even more before he sat down on the grass, watching the flames. It took a while before the fires started dying down.
After a few more minutes, he got to his feet, glancing up at the skies. The sun was already setting again, becoming dark. Shaking his head, he turned towards the village and started walking.
He just needed to make sure that they were alright, before he could go back home. It was just like Sigurd said, a new nest that just started.
New nests were either easy to take care of, or extremely hard.
Slowly he walked down to the village. His body hurt and throbbed painfully from being thrown around by the demons.
The moment he stepped into the village he could feel that something was wrong. His eyes flickered around, searching for what was making him feel so uncomfortable.
That's when he noticed it.
A group of people was gathering around a guy. It looked like they were teaming up on him.
Reiken hesitated, not wanting to get involved in more trouble, until he saw the the plants moving slightly, growing.
"...please... I didn't do anything" the young man said, stepping back, lifting his hands in surrender.
"You're the reason all of this happened..." one of the men snapped, waving a pitch fork at the young man "Why those things attacked the village. It's all because of you!"
Reiken gasped softly before limping towards the people. He couldn't let this happen. That young man was a Navoscia.
As he reached the group, one of the tried to stab the young man with a pitch fork. Immediately Reiken caught the weapon, stopping it from touching the young man.
"Please... stop...." he said softly.
"What are you doing?" the man snapped "He's the reason that this place was attacked"
Reiken shook his head slightly. "No..." he whispered "He is not..."
"Like hell he's not" the man snapped "We're throwing him into prison"
"No" Reiken said softly "Please don't..."
"What do you want us to do then?" the man snapped, "Those demons will come back if we don't get rid of him"
"Leave him..." Reiken said gently "I... Take me.... Take me instead..."
"No..." the young man behind him said.
"Please..." Reiken said "Take me.... Don't hurt him.... He's not... he's not a danger..."
The man slammed the shaft of the pitch fork into Reiken's middle. He gasped and doubled over. Something slammed into the side of his head. His eyes rolled back and he crumbled to the ground.
Reiken could hear someone calling out.
He didn't know the voice. Strange voice in a place he did not know. Pain echoing through his body. The fight against the demons had drained him, he didn't have anything left.
Slowly the darkness started to pull him down into blissful darkness.
***
Reiken slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment before he realized that he was in cell. Every part of his body throbbed painfully.
Taking deep breath, he slowly started sitting up.
The room turned and he almost fell back down again. It took him a moment before he cell stopped turning.
As that happened, he started sitting up again. For a second he felt dizzy again, so he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Slowly Reiken breathed out and pulled knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.
He stayed like that, until footsteps came to the door and opening it.
One of the villagers stepped into the cell. "Who the hell are you?" he man snapped at Reiken "And what are you doing here?"
Reiken looked up at the man. "I... I'm... I was... sent here to.. take care of the demons.." he said softly, as he looked away.
The man took two steps over to Reiken before backhanding him through the face.
"YOU...." he snapped "You're the reason that we were attacked...."
Reiken coughed, curling up on his side just before the man started kicking him. He felt something in his chest snap. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
Someone came rushing into the cell, pulling the man away from Reiken.
He couldn't hear what was being said, before the door closed and silence fell over the cell. Breathing hurt. His body hurt even more.
Reiken started coughing. He just taste more blood, the coppery taste filling his mouth. Then he started trembling, just curling up where he lay. Blood dripped down the corner of him mouth.
A shiver ran through him and he closed his eyes.
Time started ticking away and he had no idea how long he'd been in there. Until a soft knocking came from the door, before it opened. A gentle hand touched Reiken's shoulder.
".... why did you defend me...?" an unfamiliar voice asked as something warm wrapped around his shoulders "...that was reckless.... you don't even know me..."
Reiken managed to open his eyes slightly. A blurred figure stood over him.
"...navoscia..." he mumbled, before he started coughing again.
The figure cussed, quickly holding something against Reiken's mouth that he could cough into.
"...You've got a fever..." the voice said ".... and you're coughing up blood... I need to get you some medicine..."
Reiken just stared at the figure before his vision started to fade again.
He had no idea how long he was out this time, but as he started waking up, there was someone else with him, urging him to drink something. Reiken tried to do as the voice said.
If they wanted to poison him, he just didn't care at the moment.
The warm mix, felt good down his sore throat.
Soft cussing sounded from the one with him. "I have to go..." the voice said before disappearing, leaving Reiken alone again.
Reiken started fading again.
When he came to again, there was a familiar voice talking to him. It took him a while before he realized that it was Hein and Gruen.
"Rei?" Hein's voice asked "Hey can you hear me?"
Reiken's eyes flickered open, before focusing on Hein and Gruen. The two guys glanced at each other.
"It's alright, Rei" Gruen said, looking at Reiken's pale face "We're here.... You're save now"
Reiken let out a whimper, before nodded. His body exhausted as he just slumped against Hein.
