Zeze rubbed her head slowly, ruffling her hair slightly. She whined,

"See, Aur cares about me, and he barely knows me. You're not a humane person, Sakiko, I swear."

The mage smiled,

"And you just noticed that?"

Sakiko whispered back in Aureliano's ear,

"You see, Sovelis and Arrika are both very wet, and it's me who must suffer from the inevitable wheezing and sneezing that follows after."

The mage grinned, assuring that it was only a very cold (and unfunny) joke. Sakiko shook her head at Arrika, and created a ball of water on her hand. She tossed it carelessly at the hungry flames, convinced that Arrika was stuck on the ground, trying to catch warmth from another wet person. The mage then scooted closer to Aureliano, and leaned her head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling tired from the panic and swimming. She muttered quietly, "I hope you don't mind."

Aureliano smiled at the bard. She was a bit......ditzy at times, but she was a good person.

Aureliano grinned at Sakiko's joke concerning the couple that sat on the floor, wet. He then watched in awe as Sakiko manipulated water and extinguished the fire. He had never been a wizard type of person, but he held the magic-abled beings in high regard.

When Sakiko put her head on Aureliano's shoulder, he froze. He dropped his hands to his side, letting the baby fall, and then came back to his senses, suddenly grabbing the infant by the leather strap of his holster before he hit the floor. "Sorry, unexpected reaction," he explained to Sakiko, hoping she would understand, considering it had already happened before. "It's ok, I don't mind. So what are we eating?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

OoC: Aureliano may not mind, but I do. Sakiko's hair is wet, and the chainmail Aureliano is wearing is VERY expensive

Sakiko jerked her head back up, surprised. The bard had noticed all this, and she wasn't going to let this wonderful chance get away. Zeze smiled,

"Aureliano is frightened by you, Sakiko. You might want to put away your seductive charms for later."

The mage scowled, and got up from her seat. She shoved Zeze roughly - albeit playfully - and yelled,

"What did you say, huh? Repeat it and you die!"

The bard laughed loudly, and did a cartwheel. She yelled,

"It's not my fault Aur can't return his feelings, Saaaakkkkkkkkiiiiiii!!!"

The mage began to run after Zeze as the bard fleeted away, but she thought better of it. She picked up a small piece of wood, and chucked it at the bard. Zeze dodged it skillfully, and stuck out her tongue. She screamed,

"Heelppp!! Sakiko is an unregistered murderer on the loose!!"

Arrika seemed to wake up at Zeze's cry and stared blankly from Sakiko to the extinguished fire. "Are you trying to make me catch a fever? What'd you put it out for?" She asked, confused. "When I get sick and die you'll be sorry..." she sighed, saying it in a way that made you wonder whether she really meant it or was being sarcastic.

Zeze stopped in her tracks, and raised her eyebrows. She said,

"You know, Sakiko has been suggesting for the billionth time that you move to the fire."

Sakiko nodded, her silver eyes reflecting her usual annoyance, which was almost always given to Arrika. She said with a grin,

"Oblivious, much?"

The mage then turned towards Zeze, and warned,

"I'm letting you go this time, but one more word from you in that line and it'll be the last word you ever say."

"She has?" Arrika said, bewildered. "Did I space out or fall asleep or something?" She looked towards the soggy remains of the fire. "Are you, um, gonna light it again?" The Sheikah asked, still shivering. "Hey, aren't you cold too? You jumped in first, didn't you? Hah, we'll get sick and die together... You die first though so that I can cry when I see your corpse. It'll be like repenting all my sins, so Farore won't send me to hell..." She said this in the same odd way.

"I'll do it," Aureliano told the thief. He picked up some spare dry wood from the side and piled it up in the center.The bard's childish behavior and her mocking of his problem angered him a bit, and he used the anger to power his spell. "FIRE!" he yelled, his palm facing the wood. A fireball emerged from his palm, striking the wood and lighting it instantly.

"Wow. That was very deep and random." Aureliano told the thief after her description of the forgiveness of her sins. He had never though that crying for someone would free you of your sins, but who was he to blame? All he was was a simple Vassal from a simple town, and different people had different outlooks on life.....

Sovelis helped Arrika to her feet, and walked over to the fire. "Sorry Sakiko...We'll come over here and warm up so that you'll stop worrying..." the Tempest finally said, tossing another piece of wood into the re-lit fire, and adding a small amount of his own magical flames to the blaze. "That'll keep burning for a while now...And I'm glad that you've taken my advice and conquered your fear of fire. That element can be used for such good like this, or in a battle. Of all of the primal elements, it is the easiest to call upon, but the hardest to master."

Sovelis held Arrika closely to him as he re-wrapped his red cloak around the two of them, trapping the heat of the fire so that they would dry off.

Aureliano simply smiled at the couple. He had a girlfriend once in Macondo, before the accident. She was one of the most beautiful girls in his village, and he found it amazing that she would go after him. They had just been together for a month until the leaf storm came and destroyed everything. It came in the form of a whirlwind, and it carried many materials from other towns. It carried rocks, cattle, fences, swords, you name it.....

Aureliano shook off his nostalgia and dread. He looked around in case another crazy seagull and when he saw the coast was clear, he asked to no one in particular, "So what now? Any food?"

Sakiko sighed, and got back to her spot. She gathered her knees about her chest, and wrapped her legs with her arms. Her temporarily dark gray hair fell about her shoulders, curling gently around her neck as they dried. The mage smiled slightly at Sovelis, and said,

"Yes, I have conquered my fear - although I had to be gutted alive for this."

She grinned, hoping the cryptic statement would stay oblique. The mage decided to ignore Arrika's depressing comment - thinking of a dead corpse of herself was the last thing she wanted to imagine. She was pale as she was...

Zeze pouted, and confessed,

"No food, sorry, Aur. Unless Sovelis or someone else has any."

Sakiko snorted,

"Yes, because you ate everything."

The mage looked over at Aureliano, and frowned. His aura was negative, reflecting off feelings she had felt among many adventurers who had left their home. She might've felt it - some time in her life, perhaps. Sakiko stared at Aureliano intently, but gave up. She sighed, and took out her book. She took out her pen, and began to scribble distractedly in the dog-eared pages.

"Do you observe and write about teen angst too?" Arrika asked, amused. "Unless it's that secret diary you're always trying to hide from me. I'll read what you say behind my back eventually... 'Oh Goddesses today Arrika knocked out this poor old man just for his wallet!' or 'Arrika's being all emo today, which makes me jealous because I'm supposed to be the negative one' or 'Arrika's making really bad metaphors relating her feelings to death.' Or my personal favorite, 'Arrika keeps trying to convince me that slitting someone's neck is as easy as cutting an apple and I should try it sometime!'" Arrika mimicked Sakiko in a much higher pitched voice.

Ooc: and thus the catfight begins. On your mark, get set...

IC: Sakiko shut her book with a slam. Her eyes turned a dark shade of gray as she stared at Arrika coldly. All human emotions fleeted from her face - the smile, the small creases of worry - as her unmoving eyes focused on the Sheikah's face. The mage stayed silent for a moment, and said icily,

"It must be the idiotic attempt to rescue your watch that must've gotten your senses. I don't appreciate this worthless trash you say aloud - do me a favor, and keep them to yourself. I understand your opinion of me, that you would degrade my actions to the price of dirt... but I won't do anything to prove myself worthy to you, to protest against any back-stabbing you are so paranoid of. The simple truth is, you don't have my esteem to be worthy of such actions. Oh, and another thing: you don't know me at all to make such assumptions about what I do, and what I write."

Zeze stood up, and emerald green eyes wide. She yelled,

"OK, TIME OUT, COME ON PEOPLE! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PEACEFUL, FRIENDLY, SOUL-SEARCHING, WHAT-CHI-GI-MAJJIGA CAMPING TRIP!"

The bard grabbed Arrika, and wrapped her in a hug. She sniffed,

"Sakiko, you're such a cold person. Can't you tell that Arrika is sad?"

The mage didn't say anything in reply, but continued to stare at Arrika with the same, freezing look. Zeze smiled brightly,

"Now come on, Sakiko, you DO keep a secret diary, don't you?"

Sakiko's eyes finally moved, breaking off the continuous glare. She asked quietly,

"What do you think?"

Zeze smiled.

"I think you do."

The mage remained motionless, trying to hide the anger that was scratching painfully inside her. Sakiko muttered,

"Stop trying to lighten up the mood, Zapheta. Someone here seems intent on destroying it, anyways. Your efforts are going nowhere."

Zeze frowned, and let go of Arrika. The bard silently sat on the sandy ground, and scratched at the grains. Sakiko sighed, and opened up the book once again. She threw a dirty look at Arrika, and looked down on her notes of herbs again.

OoC: 'twould be #2, but I'm sure the numbers will swell to at least 10 by the end of the year.

IC: "Yes, because I'm just a little floating cloud of depressing emotions and negativity," said Arrika loudly, her temper flaring up at once. "How is what I say worthless trash? Unless everything I tell you really does go through one little pale ear and out the other! And how was it back stabbing at all? You're so- rgh, to Hell with you!" The Sheikah chucked the watch she still gripped in her hand at the mage girl, aiming straight for her face.

Ooc: Yeah... cat fights are very... interesting (?)

IC: Sakiko turned her face, skillfully moving out of the flying watch. However, she had not been accurate enough. The metal collided with her white face, creating a vivid, obvious, red streak. The watch landed on the sand with a thump, as if it had always been there, unmoving, harming no one. The mage felt her face with her thin hands, and turned her glare to Arrika. She hissed,

"I knew you'd throw something. You're so predictable, it gets so uninteresting. Obviously, you weren't listening. Did I ever say that what you said was back-stabbing? That just proves that you don't listen to people - or as you put it, go in one ear and out the other. You always accuse people of doing the things that you do, and it's so pathetic."

Sakiko grabbed the watch that fell on the ground, feeling the smooth surface in her hands. She smirked,

"To hell with me? Why, who's the one who slits people's throats for fun - steals items and rip people of the fruit of their labor? Is it so incapable of you to ever think before you speak? Or perhaps use that small brain of yours?"

The mage examined the watch, and turned it, so that the sunlight reflected from it brightly. She sneered,

"Did you cause everyone so much trouble for this damn watch so that you can throw it? Well, it shows that you're a slave of your emotions. So pitiful."

OoC: I honestly felt like slapping you for a second... But I'll save it for the Athena/Dasha punching bag.

IC: "Shows what you know! And who says I became a thief for fun? I didn't do it because I wanted to- I did it because I had no freaking choice or I would have starved to death! And don't start some trash that I could have "apprenticed myself somewhere else to learn the value of real work"! Who in the name of Din would even bother looking at a scrawny, crying little kid anyway?! Well excuse me if I didn't grow up in a fancy house with tons of books and a real family to teach me magic!" Arrika shouted back. "Slave of my emotions? I least I have emotions! If that's what you really think, then you should have left me to drown."