Posting this for Luna, she seems to be having some difficulty with her email..

[NuRPG] Luna Chapter 5 -Fireside Chat (Forest near Mentira]

Here ya all be. Luna chapter 5, written by both myself and Rasis. Damn we be smooth. ^_^

Roughly two days had passed since Alex's short, yet stressful trip into the land of dementia. A trip which, thankfully, Alex had very little memory of. He knew well enough that he hit his head...he remembered the few panicked moments where he saw the ground quickly rise up out of nowhere, and the painful smack to his head, reminding him that gravity was not his friend. Everything else though, was a blur. Although he did have a strange dream that he was a talking white sock, bleached to perfection. He didn't even try to figure that one out.

Luna thought it was in her best interest to let Alex know as little as possible about his embarrassing night. After all, that wasn't HER Alex, and why should she embarrass him over something he had no control of? Azura though, thought differently. For some reason or another, she disliked Alex greatly. Luna figured it was because she was jealous of the DragonMaster, but Luna told her over and over again that she was still, and always would be, her friend. Azura didn't seem to be consoled by Luna's words. Worse still, both Luna and Alex told her more about the blue dragons of Lunar, and how she was one of them. Now Azura no longer thought that foxbunnies were cool. In fact, no longer denied that she was a baby blue dragon; she tried to let Alex know how 'superior' she was to him at every given moment, especially when they were getting ready to leave Running Water's cabin.

"Would you hurry the heck up Alex? I could have written a book by now, with the way you're running aimlessly about! Sheesh! I don't want to spend my life in this stupid cabin, you know. I mean, sure, the whole rustic feel was cute for a few days, but it's time for action! To see the world...or whatever this world is...and you're holding me back! You have no consideration for others, you know that?" Azura fumed, fluttering over to one of the unused chairs as Alex packed some food Running Water was kind enough to give them into his satchel.

"Look," Alex sighed, "I'm just about finished. If you want to eat, you'll have to give me a few more minutes...where's Luna?" Alex stopped packing long enough for his gaze to sweep about the cabin.

"Where do you think she is, you dunderhead? She's outside thanking Running Water. Did you thank him?" Azura spoke as if she was a queen addressing a simple commoner. Alex chose to ignore it for now.

"Of course I did. This morning. Azura, could you go outside and keep an eye on her? I'll be out in two-"

"Hey! What right do YOU have, ordering a cute blue dragon like ME about...But...since she's my friend and all, I'll do it.... But not for you!" Azura humped and fluttered towards the open door, turning around long enough to stick her tongue out at him. She giggled and headed outside.

Alex sighed loudly, and thumped his head once on the table where his bag was laying. "Why me?...Why?"

***

The air was crisp and cool, and for once, the sky was brilliantly a clear, crystal blue. To Luna, it seemed that it had been raining nonstop ever since she arrived in Nu. It was almost like the sky represented what Luna felt on the inside. Without Alex, she felt cold and dreary. With him, she felt warm and hopeful. She turned around long enough to wave her final goodbye to Running Water, then ran to catch up with Alex and Azura, who seemed to be locked in another argument.

"That so can't be true!" Azura wailed, "The DragonMaster can't control Althena's dragons! I mean, you can't be better than me!"

"Not better," Alex chuckled, "I just have a different job than you."

"But...but...but..."

"Look," Luna sighed, "I don't know why you dislike Alex so mu--"

"I'll tell you why!" Azura interrupted, "It's because he's a freaking moron! You say he's a great warrior and all that...but he hasn't done anything except lie about and babble in baby talk! You were the one that had to drag him up to that stupid cabin while he pissed in his pants!"

Alex gaped, "I WHAT?"

"Yeah, you heard me! You tinkled in your boxers! That's right! And Luna had a hell of a time finding you in the first place, getting jumped by some freaking monster guy, singing in a concert for some crooked green blob, and meeting Gh-"

Luna quickly put a hand around Azura's mouth, relieved she caught her from spilling something that would literally give Alex a heart attack.

"Azura, " Luna said through clenched teeth and a fake smile, "Let's go see that nice little lake up there, just the two of us."

"Mphmph!" Azura protested.

"That's a good little Azura...yes..." Luna smiled wider and carried Azura off. "I'll be back!"

Alex scratched his head, his brow furrowing. "Something's up...I gotta ask her about it later..."

Meanwhile, Luna finally let go of Azura, who immediately went off into a stream of profanity. Finally, she calmed down to sputter out one single word. "Why?!"

"Why? Because that bit of news could drive Alex insane! That's why! He's got enough to worry about, and we don't even know if that was Ghaleon or not!"

"We don't?" Azura blinked at Luna as if she was crazy.

"N-No." Luna whispered. Then she picked her head up, crossing her arms and pouting, "No we don't! It could have been an illusion...or a fake! We don't know!"

Azura snorted. "Oh yeah, someone's off in the land of denial. That wasn't Ghaleon, no sir! That was a badly dressed, confused little goth queen. I think someone is afraid of telling him...aren't they?"

Luna sighed in desperation, "Please...PLEASE don't tell him."

"...Okay...But you do plan to tell him...eventually.... Right?"

Luna nodded, but deep inside...she wasn't sure she was telling the truth...

***

The day wore on and on. Even with the map Running Water provided, getting to Mentira was taking longer than expected. The sun had already turned a brilliant orange and was near dipping below the trees. The air began to cool even more, and Luna pulled her arms around her chest, trying to keep warm. Alex was beginning to look worn, still somewhat weakened from his experience, but trying not to show it. Azura on the other hand, was quiet...too quiet.

"I think this is a good place to camp for the night," Alex said quietly, "We can't get much done if we can't see past our noses."

"I guess so," Luna smiled, wrapping her arms around Alex suddenly, "Let me just get out our food." Luna flung the bag she was carrying to the ground and searched through it, begrudgingly, since she didn't want to let go of Alex. She stopped for a moment, her face paling. "The food...it's gone!"

"What?"

"It's gone, " Luna moaned, "We've been robbed...!" She then stuck her hands in the bag, against her better judgment, trying to find out just who the culprit was. Her hands finally grasped something soft and furry, and she roughly pulled it out.

"Gotcha!...Wha...?" Luna gazed upon the squirming blue creature in her hands, and growled angrily. "Azura...how...you ate EVERYTHING!"

Azura burped.

Alex let out yet another sigh, "Azura...that was our only sack of food."

"Well, It sucked anyway," Azura said in a huff, "There wasn't any fish."

***

A few hours passed. Since Alex and Luna didn't eat anything all day, they decided to walk onwards to Mentira, despite the fact that it was pitch dark out. Eating had not made their wits any sharper. Azura was already complaining that she was hungry, which was promptly ignored by everyone else. Finally though, Alex couldn't take it anymore. The ground was looking mighty inviting to lie on.

"I wanna rest in an inn..." Azura moaned.

"We can't now," Alex muttered, "We're too far away from Mentira now...and you ate all of our food. I can't go much further."

"Fine fine, make me look like some kind of slave driver! Isn't that right, Luna?" Azura asked, scrambling up her shoulder and perching herself on it.

"Actually," Luna mumbled, " I agree with him. I think we should stop and rest for awhile. We've got time."

Azura quickly filtered off Luna's shoulder, angry. "Traitor."

As Alex walked, he began noticing strange lights up ahead. Faint, yet inviting. Stopping for a moment to notice his surroundings, he could hear the usual nighttime noises of crickets and hooting owls...but he could also hear the slight crackling of a fire. Taking another few steps, he could begin to see the fire itself, small, but bright. A campfire.

"Looks like we're not the only ones here, " Alex said, stating the obvious. By now Luna and Azura could see the fire merrily burning many feet away, even though it was still tough to make out.

"Hmm," Luna took another few steps ahead, with Alex following. He put a hand on her shoulder, and pointed straight towards the fire. " "See that? It's either a campfire, or my name's mud... don't say it, Azura."

"Mud." Azura said in a smug tone. Alex groaned.

Taking another few steps, a warm, inviting smell of roasting meat invaded each of their nostrils. Luna sighed happily, breathing in the wonderful odor. Alex did the same, only his stomach grumbled.

Azura however, seemed absolutely indifferent. " Meat...well...humph. Leave it be. They're not really cool because they're not roasting fish."

Luna just rolled her eyes, walking towards the campsite. "I think we should check it out."

Finally, the trees parted enough so the ragtag travelers could see the campsite with no obstructions. The fire roared merrily, with no indication that it wouldnt die out anytime soon. A large animal was roasting lazily on a spit...Luna guessed it was a rabbit or some type of bird. There was also a stick driven deeply into the ground, wwith small, juicy, roasted fish impaled in the tip. Next to the small fish was a large halberd, which was stuck blade first into the ground, and a traveling pack next to it. Strangely enough, there wasn't a soul by the fire. It was as if whoever had built it had completely vanished.

Azura didn't care though. Her train of thought instantly narrowed down on one target, the fish. She let out a squeal and tried to dive for it, but Luna caught her just in time.

"It's not yours!" Luna scolded.

"But I haven't eaten anything all day! There's no one here, and it's just wrong to waste a perfectly good fish, dammit!" Azura wailed.

"What a lie THAT is. You ate all our food, remember?" Luna giggled.

"Yeah...well..."

"This is unusual... An abandoned fire, food roasting, and a weapon.." Alex mumbled to himself. "Maybe we..."

Azura didn't wait for Alex to finish his sentence when she once again tried to dive towards the fish, wiggling out of Luna's hands. " Well...you know what mom always said. "Don't let perfectly good food go to waste!"

"Azura!" Luna groaned and stomped after her, wishing the day would simply end.

But just as Azura was about to take a bite out of the succulent fish, a sharp whizzing sound rang through the crisp night air. Azura looked up and was nearly jostled out of the tree by a strong vibration. Merely centimeters from her head, a sharp metallic object shaped like a four-tipped star had embedded itself on the stick the fish was on.

Azura screamed and flew back to Luna, hiding in her small cap and shuddering violently in fear. Luna sighed quietly, "That's what you get, Azura..."

Alex hurried to put himself between Luna and the direction the star came from. "Who's there?"

>From out of the trees, a dark figure stepped out. It was a young woman with long, flowing black hair, clad in a tight fitting black body suit. Luna blinked, she was a looker, with a thin waist, and nicely rounded breasts, although they weren't excessive. Her skin tone and hair color was unlike anything Luna had ever seen. Exotic would have been the best word to describe her.

Alex was still on his guard, sizing up the strange, yet beautiful woman. "I am Alex...we mean you no harm. Who are you?"

Azura finally found her voice, and stared agape at the woman. "Wow! Show off your tits there a bit honey. Oy!"

"AZURA!" Luna gasped, and whapped her on the head. She flinched slightly in pain, since she happened to forget Azura was hiding in her hat.

The woman didn't smile, but spoke in a soft and even voice, "Kobanwa." She slowly walked towards the now impaled fish and retrieved her throwing star.

"Does she speak our language?" Luna wondered aloud.

"I do speak your language, yes." The woman replied, obviously hearing Luna.

"Oh, good! Don't mind my friend here. She hit her head when she was small, and hasn't been the same since."

Azura growled.

The woman smiled slightly. "My name is Ryushin Natsuka. I am sorry if I startled you, but I thought your pet to be a scavenger of the forest."

"That's okay," Luna giggled, "She is. Sorry about that, though."

"Hey now..." Azura began.

Natsuka pulled the stick out of the ground, and dislodged the still juicy looking fish. "There's too much food for one person here anyway." She said. Luna noticed that she spoke softly and slowly, like she was trying very hard to speak properly. She kept that thought to herself. Alex, on the other hand, stared at Natsuka, blinking occasionally. Something about her...had he...met her before? Luna noticed Alex's look, and misinterpreted it as a look of longing. She growled under her breath.

Natsuka gestured towards Azura, who warily clambered out of Luna's hat. Natsuka kneeled down to Azura's level and offered Azura the small fish. "For you."

Azura boggled. "R--Really? Thank you ma'am!" She literally pounced on the fish, gobbling away.

Natsuka rose and turned towards Alex and Luna, and smiled softly. "Are you hungry? I'm sorry I scared you. Can I offer you to share my meal and my campfire?" Natsuka coughed, took a small flask from her belt, and had a long drink.

"Yeah, real hungry. These people don't feed me. I mean, the girl isn't that bad, but the boy's a nut. He thinks he's a potato with a hat. Imagine that." Azura mumbled between mouthfuls.

"What do you think, Alex?" Luna asked, turning towards him.

Alex blinked and snapped out of his fugue. "Huh? Oh...if we're not imposing, Miss Natsuka, we'd be grateful to you..."

"Very grateful," Luna added. She then blinked, realizing that Natsuka didn't know their names. "By the way. I'm Luna, he's Alex, and the baby dragon is Azura.

Natsuka raised an elegant eyebrow. "Dragon? But...it looks like a cat."

Azura continued to munch on the remains of her fish, talking with her mouth full. "I digress, I look like a foxbunny...but I digress...I'm really the strongest Blue Dragon in history!"

Alex smiled, mostly to himself. "It's a shame Nall isn't here. He could give you a whole dissertation on why he isn't a cat."

Natsuka nodded slowly to Alex, in agreement. "In a way, I am a dragon too. My second name is Ryushin, Heart of the Dragon." She then turned to Azura. "My apologizes for the mistake." She smiled graciously to Azura, but Luna noticed her eyes didn't smile along with her mouth. This woman was growing more mysterious by the moment.

Azura giggled. "It's cool...but wow. I wish I had a cool last name like yours..."

"I'd like to apologize for the conduct of our pet...It's not really her fault she has no manners." Alex grinned, and Azura humphed. "Alex 1, Azura zip..." Alex chuckled to himself.

Natsuka walked towards a log she obviously set down by the roaring fire. Her eyes though, looked even more lost than before...as if she was lost in thought...or maybe even lost. Luna blinked, looking her over. She wondered if she was the only one noticing something strange about the exotic woman.

"Is something wrong?" Luna finally asked.

Natsuka blinked, "Dinner will be ready soon. Please take a seat." Luna raised an eyebrow. She obviously dodged the question. Alex also blinked, and Luna realized he noticed it too.

The three travelers sat by the fire, thanking Natsuka profusely. Luna sat next to Alex, who seemed to be lost in thought himself...so lost in thought that he failed to notice Azura was sitting on his head...at least, not for a good few minutes, until Alex took off his helmet where Azura had perched. Azurra flipped the helmet over an snuggled into it. Natsuka, meanwhile, took out a white handkerchief, and set it on the ground. She pulled the spit from the fire and started to cut the meat into long, thin cuts. Natsuka finally finished cutting the meat up, and rose up from her seat, handing it to the famished travelers.

"So," Natsuka began, "How did night fall upon you in this forest?"

"We were just passing through." Luna said.

"Yeah, we had a late start on our journey, and couldn't make it far before it got late..." Alex added.

"Are you headed anywhere in particular?" Natsuka asked.

Alex didn't say anything though...he was squinting at Natsuka again, looking at her with a questioning gaze. "I...I think I've seen you before."

Natsuka hesitated momentarily before meeting Alex's gaze. "Really? I don't remember having seen you before. Kedo, even if I had I probably wouldn't remember it. I'm suffering from amnesia."

Luna's face immediately filled with sympathy. "Oh... that's terrible..."

Azura shifted herself inside Alex's helmet to get a better view of the three "Yeah, really. You should be on a soap or something."

Alex frowned, perplexed. "You seem familiar... there's something about you.."

Natsuka cocked her head to the side, growing more and more interested in what Alex was saying. "So why am I familiar to you, Alex-san?"

Luna's eyes narrowed, her voice taking a slightly dangerous tone. "Yes...why is she familiar to you...?" She turned to stare hard at Alex, who was still too immersed in thought to take note of her glare, or even to notice her tone. After a few seconds of pondering, Alex suddenly sat bolt upright, snapping his fingers.

"That's it!"

Luna moved quickly sideways on the log, startled, while Azura yawned and rolled her eyes at Alex. "What's it? You finally realized that armor's way last season?"

Alex chose to continue to ignore Azura, speaking instead to Natsuka. "There was a battle, outside the town of Skenic... you were there, I think." He slowly began to nod. "It was you, I'm almost sure of it..." Luna shifted back towards Alex on the log, looking questioningly at him for a moment before locking her gaze on Natsuka, her eyes still narrowed.

The exotic girl struggled with that for a moment, and wound up simply looking confused. "A battle? Skenic?"

Azura smirked as Natsuka began to murmur to herself, and looked at Luna. The narrowed eyes, the slightly hostile stare, the way she was sitting so close to Alex..."Hey Luna, maybe she'll put her arms around him, hmm?"

"Shhh!" Luna shot a nasty look at Azura.

"Maybe she'll french him next! Right in front of you!"

Gasping, Luna slapped a hand over Azura's mouth, cutting off the little dragon's giggling. Blushing bright red and turning to Natsuka to apologize, Luna was amazed to notice that neither Natsuka nor Alex had heard, or at least paid attention to Azura's remarks.

Finally, she spoke. "Was there... a man with two swords there as well?"

"Two swords..." Alex frowned again, trying to remember. "..yes! You were fighting by his side, actually."

"Honto? Do you know where he is?"

Alex shook his head. "I don't know... After the battle ended, you and your allies were scattered. When I last saw him, he was still there, at the site of the battle... a little way west of the town of Skenic... far north of here."

"Skenic ka... Skenic..." Natsuka mused, repeating the name as if trying to commit it to memory. Suddenly she looked up at Alex again, still very intent. "Do you know his name as well? The Nitoukenshi?"

Raising her head up to stare at Natsuka, Azura made a face at the word. "The Nitowhat?"

"The Nitoukenshi, the swordsman of two blades."

"What was his name now, that swordsman.. I can't seem to remember... did he even say it?" Alex shrugged, giving up. "I'm sorry, things were rather tense at the time. I don't remember. Maybe one of my former companions.. Masa or Mune might know...perhaps Neria."

Luna's gaze hardened again at the mention of Neria, and she made a note to herself to straighten up exactly who this woman was that Alex had mentioned during his delirium, and exactly what he had wanted Nall not to tell her. Meanwhile, Alex continued, oblivious to Luna's displeasure. "Actually, we're going now to catch up with them, they're going to a place called Shinkyo. You're welcome to come with us, is you'd like to ask them about that man. "

"Shinkyo, that's strange, its in the same language as my name. Tabun, ne, I should go there and speak to your friends. Kedo if I go to Skenic, I might be able to find him..." Natsuka looked questioningly at Alex.

Alex shook his head. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more, Natsuka. I only saw you briefly, from the other side of the battlefield.." His face settled into a grim smile. "You and that swordsman were fighting a couple of my friends, actually."

Natsuka pulled away from him, surprised. "Honto ni? We are enemies then?" Luna quietly looked back and forth between Alex and Natsuka, wary now, but unwilling to be the person to break the silence.

The quiet lasted for several seconds before Alex gave a dismissive shrug. "I'm not sure. I don't think so. Both sides were drawn into that fight.. it was unfortunate. None of us really wanted it.. From what I've heard, you had the opportunity to kill one of my group, but only knocked him out. That says something, at least."

Natsuka stared at Alex for a few brief heartbeats, then abruptly stood. "If we have fought against each other, perhaps I should leave..."

Alex blinked, standing up as well. "From your own campfire? I have no wish to fight you.. if you want us to go, we will."

Luna rose to stand beside Alex. "Maybe we should go.."

"Seeing as you outnumber me, I will relinquish the campfire to you. In a fight, you would easily win... especially since you won before" Natsuka prepared to step away from the fire.

Luna looked uncertain. "But..."

Shaking his head, Alex forced a smile. "That's not certain. You and I never crossed blades personally.. and I'd prefer to keep it that way... and I can hardly take your campfire from you. I yield it back."

Again a long silence prevailed as Natsuka turned around, staring at Alex. "Perhaps we can call it neutral ground, then." She then walked around to the opposite side of the fire from Alex and Luna. "That half of it for you, and this one for me. Fair?"

Alex sighed. "If that's the way you want it."

Luna hesitated. "But it's your...oh all right..." She and Alex slowly sat back down on the log, as Natsuka sat down opposite them. She yet again fell silent, deep in thought. Azura had missed the almost-excitement by falling asleep inside Alex's helmet.

Alex leaned over toward Luna, keeping his voice quiet. " Why do I feel vaguely guilty?"

Luna sighed, and responded just as quietly. "Because this is her campfire...and we're imposing..."

"We really should go.. but I don't want to leave her alone in the middle of these woods.. not if she's suffering from amnesia.."

"These woods are dangerous..." Luna smiled. "I don't blame you for staying here..."

Sighing again, he smiled wryly at Luna. "Things have been so complicated lately...although I suppose I should be used to that."

"No kidding...I'm still not exactly sure of everything that happened to you..."

Only now did Natsuka respond to Luna, picking up on what she had said and pulling herself out of her reverie. " In that you are right. These woods are dangerous. Perhaps we can forget that we were enemies once, and form an alliance to keep watches?"

"Certainly." Alex grinned. "No sense in enemies sharing a campfire, after all. My only question is.. how do we decide who takes which watch?"

Natsuka smiled back at the two. " I know, let's play a little game"

"Oh?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "A game?"

"Yes, a game. Whoever loses takes first watch."

"Fair enough.. what game?"

"Jankenpon."

Alex and Luna spoke in unison. "Jankenpon?"

Natsuka nodded. " It's very simple. We all hold our hands behind our backs, then we say 'Jankenpon!' and make our hands into a rock," she curled her hand into a ball, "scissors," she then formed a v with two fingers, "or paper." She held her hand open. "Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats stone."

Alex smiled. "We've played this before, actually. I've never heard it called Jankenpon, though."

Luna giggled. "Yeah, we did. And I won every time. Right Alex? "

Natsuka held her hand behind her back, and the others followed suit. "Okay... Jan, Ken, Pon!" Alex held out a pair of forked fingers in the 'scissors' position, while Luna and Natsuka both balled their hands into the 'rock'. " Dakara, Alex-san takes first watch. Now its me and Luna-san."

Alex chucked. "I always lose.."

Natsuka smiled, looking at Luna. "Mou ichido! Jan, ken, PON!!" Luna again brought her hand up as a rock, but Natsuka had gone this time with the scissors. "Eh? Maketa...?"

Alex laughed, and Luna smiled, more happy at winning the game than at winning last watch. "I win!"

"Second watch is me, then." Natsuka put her hand behind her head and smiled. "And Luna-san has last watch."

"What about Azura?" Alex blinked. "Wait. What am I SAYING?"

Luna laughed, kissing Alex on the forehead and laying down near the fire. "Night Alex..."

"Goodnight, Luna." Alex smiled, leaning up against a tree.

"Oyasumi, Luna-san!" Natsuka smiles girlishly, laying down on her side of the fire.

"Good night, Natsuka!"

The two closed their eyes, Luna quickly drifting off into a peaceful rest. Natsuka fell asleep more slowly, and her rest was significantly less restful. Several times during the course of his watch Alex found himself looking at the whimpering, frightened sleeper with a kind of deep sympathy. After his few hours were up, he woke Natsuka, and quietly lay down. Within a few minutes, his weary mind and body had fallen into blissful unawareness.

I hope you all enjoyed, and comments are appreciated as always. Sorry about the lateness...I had to keep up my reputation of being the chick who takes forever to write chapters, now didn't I? Tee hee. ^_^

Lucca