---

---

Tei waves happily at him, thrilled to see no bruises or footprints on his head. "Nice to meet you! Bye!"

Once out the door, Skye pulls out his compass just to make sure he's heading in the right direction - most of the buildings look the same to him, anyway - and heads back, looking for the clock and thinking over what he had learned.

It's a long walk, of course. By the time Skye reaches the clock Mi'ehna is already there, and is sitting up against the streetcorner, fast asleep.

Skye has to smile at that. She looks nothing like the vehement woman who'd broken Vos's arm some hours ago. He sits next to her, a bit weary from the walk, and watches her. Do you have nightmares, Mi'ehna?

"I have nightmares," she answers. Her eyes don't open, and her rhythmic breathing doesn't cease... she's talking in her sleep. Her open mind seems still able to hear his and respond, though she's not really aware of it.

He blinks. Then remembers how she was able to speak in his mind. It probably worked both ways and she was likely more vulnerable when she was asleep.
Hoping not to disturb her, he carefully puts one arm around her and pulls her close.

Mi'ehna doesn't really react, except to shift her breathing patterns a bit.

Skye breathes a sigh of relief. He'd been sure she'd wake up, or hit him in her sleep... something. He waits a little while though before gently nudging her. "Mi... wake up. I've got things to tell you."

She takes in a quick breath, eyes squinting though they're already closed. "No, don't stop, Skye..." She's quiet another moment before her eyelids start to flutter. She looks at him, plainly not all there yet.

"Don't stop what?" he asks, confused. "Did I disturb your sleep?"

Mi blinks again, then smiles at him. "Oh... no, I was just... having a very nice dream. When did you get here?"

"I'm sorry I had to call you out of it, then," he says. "And I got here a moment ago and found you sleeping. Did I keep you waiting that long?" he asks, looking worried.

Mi'ehna loops her arm around his waist and squeezes him a bit. "Oh, it was a while, I suppose... what did you want to tell me?" She looks up at him, still a little hazy. 

"I found those twins... and apparently the one Vos treated
was only protecting her sister." He smiles a bit at that. "And she said something about the Malfuel being able to "tune the energy needs" of Dothaven. And that the system wouldn't be damaged if the beast allowed you to leave. Which, according to her, means fighting it and winning."

"That will never happen," Mi'ehna shakes her head. "It is just too strong. Was there no other way?"

"She also mentioned someone named Aliema in the Air Temple..." he said vaguely.

"Aliema... the wind elemental? I have never met her in person, but I have heard much about her." She bites her lip, pondering, but making certain to lean against him as she does. "Is that what you want to do then? Go to see her?"

"I will go see her..." he says. "But not today. I think we should go find Hadone and see what she thinks about all of this. Then I want some sleep."

She nods, smiles a little more brightly at him. "Okay. Help me up, and we will go back right now. My legs are asleep."

"Why don't a carry you until you can walk?" he suggests lightly.

"That is sweet of you, but... I think I just need to stretch a bit." She pats his chest, and nudges him up. "Do not worry, Skye. You have built up plenty of good boy points already."

He grins, standing up and offering a hand. "Well, that's good to hear," he says. He really is tired, too. And a little hungry.

She takes it, of course, and helps herself up. She wobbles a bit, though, and kicks her legs to get some blood flowing. "Hey Skye. Since the traps are all gone... would you like to race back to the hearth?"

"I'm up for it..." he says. Thinks a moment. "Does the winner get a prize?"

Mi'ehna winks. "Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

Skye does his best to block a number of mental images from his head. "I don't know... if I win you can think of something for me, and if you win, I'll think of something," he suggests, tracing the engraving on Fairfight's pommel with feigned interest.

Mi blushes a bit. She doesn't know exactly what he's thinking, but... the mood communicates well enough. "Sounds great. Count down from three?" She faces the road that will eventually lead out, and lowers herself a bit, grinning.

Skye nods and tucks Silence into his belt beside Fairfight, noting that this will probably hinder his running. He too, faces the road. "Ready."

"Three... two... one... go!" Mi'ehna takes off on the mark, her little legs carrying her like a pretty pink bullet down the road of the techno-village. She looks back.

As Skye takes off, he realizes that two swords on his hip really does make it harder to run. Nonetheless, he manages to keep up pretty well.

Mi'ehna is thrilled with this. He's just a human, isn't he? Nevertheless, she cheers at him as they enter the deactivated trap hall. Just as she's getting close enough to cross the line, though, she puts her heels to the ground and purposefully slows, waiting eagerly for him to pass her.

The thought that she might be letting him win doesn't occur to him until he passes her up, at which point it's too late anyway, he's crossed the designated finish line. He turns and gives her a look that mingles triumph and confusion.

She trots up to him, smiles her little girl smile. "Guess I have to do whatever you want, huh?"

Oh, that's why... He feels a bit lightheaded. "I guess," he says smugly, looking down at her.

Mi tilts her head a little bit. "Skye? You guess... did I say something wrong?"

He doesn't quite know how to explain that she's making him feel things. "Mi... you can be so adorable sometimes, you know?" She really is. "You can give me whatever you want for a prize," he adds.

"But, you won, not me." She grins again, relieved that she hadn't said the wrong thing. "I will tell you what. Think on it for a while, and then decide. For now, we should get back." 

He nods in agreement and adjusts Silence. "I hope Hadone got her mask back," he says. The truth is that Skye can't really think of anything she can give him. Just being with her is enough, and he does his best to think this single thought over and over so she might be able to feel it.

"I hope so, too, Skye. She seemed awfully out of place without it." She can feel it. It makes her smile, but she doesn't acknowledge, if for no other reason than to keep him thinking it. 

It helps that they're already in the hearth room when this happnes. The wall grinds its ear-numbing path around, revealing the door back to the Malufel's nest.

Mi'ehna takes Skye's hand. "Lead the way."

He leads her through the door, all the while continuing to think the same thought, mingling them with others, all more or less focused around her. "Hadone seems to be on good terms with the Malfuel," he says, "It's weird, in a way... but I sort of envy her for it."

"Why?" It's a simple question, really... not an incredulous one, just a curious one. "It is such a base creature, Skye."

"It's just..." he struggles for words. "It seems so calm around her. I'm sure there's not many people that put it at ease that way."

"Well... there are few. They are in the same occupation, she and the beast. But have you not noticed that it seems calm anyway, if it does not feel we are escaping?"

Almost as if cued, the Malufel lumbers into view down the path. Its sensors are open, scouting, but it is quiet.

Skye tries not to think of being swallowed into it and manages to remain clam, clearing his mind of any fears or intentions he might have to run out of there as fast as he can.

The monster just watches them, idly. It looks almost as if it is sleeping, but it is quite difficult to tell when it has apparent head.

"See?" Mi'ehna notes. "It is a big ugly teddy bear, I think. I am so glad you came along, Skye... now that I know this, we will be able to explore more of this place without fearing the monster."

Skye nods dumbly. Nothing to be afraid of. "I wonder where Hadone got to?"

"I am sure that we will find her when we return to the village. It is not far now." She squeezes his hand. "Listen, when we get there, you can look for her if you like. I badly need to get out of this armor, so I will go home. Okay?"

He shakes his head. "I'm sure she'll turn up. And besides, I need a nap." He's absorbed so much in the past hours that he really just wants to sleep.

Actually, Skye's not the only one who seems to share that notion. Nearer to the entrance of the Malufel's lair, though still solidly inside, a certain masked Death Dancer is asleep, sitting up against the wall.

"Look, Skye," Mi'ehna nudges him as they round the corner. "That was not a hard search."

Skye grins. "Should we wake her or leave her here?" he asks. He knows the Malfuel won't hurt her, but he thinks she should at least know that he and Mi'ehna have returned.

"It is not a kind place to sleep," Mi'ehna notes. She kneels down in front of Hadone and gives her a gentle tap on the shoulder. "Hey. Wake up, honey."

The Dancer opens an eye after a moment, again shadowed by the mask. The chament had also been dozing, and nods. "Hi there. Back from your odessey already?"

Skye nods, holding back a yawn. "It was... an interesting journey."

Mi'ehna smiles up at him, then looks back to Hadone. "I am glad to see that you got the mask back, and that the chament is still alive. We have some news, if you would like to come to my hut and discuss it?"

"We did discover some important things about Dothaven," Skye agrees. He really can't wait to tell Hadone all about it and hear her opinions. Or rather, the chament's version of her opinions.

The death dancer nods, and gets to her her feet. "This is a good place to sleep," the chament chitters quietly. "Everything is afraid of the Malufel so none of Dothaven's dangerous creatures will come near it and there are so many of them and the Malufel certainly won't hurt us and...mep!" It shuts up when poked.

"Well. Nothing has the balls to start a fight in my hut, either." Mi smiles at the chament, reaching out to pet it. "I was slightly worried to see you sitting there, though. My poor heart is having such a stressful day."

"Aww...yeah, that's the stuff, right there." The chament thumps a now more kangaroo rat-like though still scaled foot. "I'm fine," was the death dancer's actual response. But...priorities are priorities.

Skye favors the chament with something of a jealous glare. Though, how he can manage that while being so tired is really a feat. Is it me or is that thing... evolving?

Mi gives it one more scratch of the head. "I think we should get back. I really need to get out of this armor. Or... I could go ahead, if you two want to talk?"

Skye recalls he has somethings to discuss with Hadone yet... their conversation earlier cut off before he could bring up the issue that was really bothering him. But no. He shakes his head, mud brown hair falling over his forehead. "We can all talk later... Can I borrow your floor again, Mi?"

Hadone listens to these goings-on quietly, waiting for a decision. She's so used to not speaking that even the chament doesn't always have something to draw from.

"You may borrow my home however you like, Skye. Hadone, come along," Mi'ehna heads off that way, beckonging for them to follow. "I really, really have to get out of this armor so that I can take care of something. Come."

As soon as they reach the hut, Skye curls up in his corner, laying Fairfight and Silence blade-to-hilt on the ground in front of him, between himself and everyone else. He falls asleep pretty quickly.

Hadone has little else to do, and just heads back to what's apparently now her own hut.

Mi'ehna finally gets her armor off and makes that lavatory trip she's been needing for the past few hours.  Once she's gotten herself in order she returns to her house, leans down to kiss Skye's hair, and heads to bed herself.

---

Mi'ehna yawns, and stretches in her bed.  A night full of dreams had left her feeling strangely detached from reality, but well rested. She takes a moment to shake her hair out and brush the tangles away before heading into the front room to see who's about.

Skye is still asleep on the floor, but it looks as though he isn't having a very good dream and that he'll probably wake up soon. Within a moment he sits bolt upright, gasping for air as though sleep had pulled him underwater. It seems to take a minute or two for it to register where he is, but when he sees Mi'ehna he smiles.
"Is it morning already?" he asks.

"It is," Mi'ehna replies, returning his smile albeit a little unsteadily. She'd caught the aura of his nightmare, of course. "Are you okay?"

He really wants to lie and say that he is. But he'd already told her about the nightmares. There was no sense in keeping it from her.
He shakes his head.
"Nightmare again..." he says, leaning against the wall and pulling Fairfight to him. "I'll be fine." He has them often enough, and he's gotten used to them.

"Yes, you will. In a moment, you will have forgotten all about your nightmare," Mi'ehna assures him, as she takes a knee beside him. Her slender arms settle about his neck. "Let me show you." And she kisses him, a gentle wake-up kiss.

He relaxes immediately. That had been the more subtle part of the nightmare, the fear that he would wake up alone. He wonders what it would be like to wake up every morning to her kiss and decides if he had that he could stand the nightmares. "... Mi'ehna?"

She chuckles, strokes his cheek with the back of her hand. "Of course, I am here Skye. Or have you forgotten my name already?" She gives him a playful nudge, smiling that little girl smile.

He grins. "Of course not. I just wondered for a moment if I wasn't still dreaming... a good dream for once." He traces his fingers over the engravings on Fairfight's pommel. Not because it interests him, but mostly because he's trying to keep his hands from wandering.

"Mm... no, I think I am very real. Even more so than yesterday." Mi giggles, not really noticing the significance behind the tracing of the engravings, and pulls away from him to stand again. "Come on, you. We are burning daylight."

He nods like a hypnotized snake. "We'd better go see if Hadone's awake yet... so that we can tell her about the things we found out." He looks down at his shirt. "And I'm going to need to fix this..." not that he minds the rips, but it's the only shirt he has at the moment.

"Oh, I am not so sure, Skye. I think it looks fine." Mi'ehna's slightly biased, though. "And... Hadone is a pretty late sleeper, is she not? We probably have some time to ourselves first."

True. Hadone does like her sleep. He frowns down at the rips, though. He wouldn't mind going shirtless if he has to, but then again, he's not sure how many people in Dothaven know what a trigon is. I guess I can always tie a piece fo cloth around my arm, like Trinity used to do for me.
"I need to check something, then," he says, going outside to sit on the grass. As soon as he's comfortable, he starts pulling things from his pockets. There are a few coins, his journal, his father's compass, a ring, and something that looks like a saphhire that sits in the palm of his hand.

Mi'ehna follows along of course, and leans in her doorframe to watch him quietly. She does wonder about the blue gem, though.

Skye watches it intently, and after a moment, it seems to glow. He grins, triumphant, but then seems disappointed. "Xsa." He puts it and everything else except his journal in his pockets and begins writing, glancing back at Mi'ehna now and then.

She's confused as hell, honestly, but gets the idea that she doesn't need to be bothering him right now. So, she takes a moment to head inside and change into a fresh set of clothes, waiting for him to finish whatever he's doing.

He stops writing after a moment and stretches out on the grass, looking up at the sky. He can't imagine seeing this place as a prison at the moment. He idly fingers the blue stone, thinking.

Hadone is awake...though she hasn't been for long. She yawns, and walks by Mi'ehna's home on the way to retrieve some water, bowing her head in greeting.

"Good morning," Skye says as she passes. "Mi, 'Adone's awake..." he says over his shoulder.

The village leader emerges from her home a moment later, just pulling clean brown shirt down over her belly. "Thank you, Skye. And, good morning Hadone. Did you sleep well?"

She nods. "Yes, thank you. And yourselves?" The chament chirps.

"I had a nice sleep," Skye lies, looking down at the grass. At least that sqeezing feeling that keeps him from breathing is past.

"I slept like the dead, actually," Mi answers the little lizard with a nod. "I had very good dreams of my day." She pats Skye's head.

Skye blushes a bit and continues to poke at the grass. After a moment, he looks to Hadone. "We need to tell you about the things we saw," he says.

The death dancer nods. "I can wash the mask later," the chament observes.

"I doubt that you will want to swim in the stream to do so, Hadone," Mi'ehna notes with a slight giggle. "It will not take long, and then we can go about our own business."

Hadone smirks, and nods. "It still smells like fish in here," the chament snickers.

Skye makes a face. Fish isn't a pleasant smell. "After we got seperated," he begins, "Mi'ehna and I found a sort of fire..." he does his best to explain. "Apparently, it absorbs the energy of the people in Dothaven and uses it to keep the place running."

"It really is an amazing device," Mi'ehna adds, nodding.

"So, when you work though everything...the people here are imprisoning themselves. How lovely," the chament observes wryly.

Skye nods, trying to remember the something else important. "And if one were to leave Dothaven, the system would be ruined and things would stop working properly," he adds. "Unless, of course, you could convince the Malfuel to let you go... because it can tune the energy needs of Dothaven."

"Convince meaning, defeat it in combat," Mi'ehna adds. She's grinning though, at his delivery of the report. He's doing fine.

Hadone nods, though wondering why they feel she needs to know all this. The chament makes sure, to the dancer's slight embarassment, that this notion gets vocalized.

"I feel like it's my fault you're here," Skye admits. "I thought you had the right to know."

"Do you not want to get out of here?" Mi'ehna asks, curious.

"Sure, but I'm not sure how this helps," the chament notes. "At least until you have more information. Like, say, what happens if it does get thrown out of balance."

"Nothing good for the people who don't escape," Skye says darkly. "The energy keeps the river alive, keeps the crop growing... things like that."

"Keeps this whole place from imploding?" the chament wonders cheerfully.

"Bad enough," Mi'ehna answers it, not really finding this a funny thing, but too amused by the chament to be upset.

Skye passes the blue stone from one hand to the other. "I was told that the Air Temple had answers as well..." he says quietly.

"So look for them?" the chament ventures atop a shrugging shoulder.

"I thought about it... and I will go. Perhaps later today," he answers.

"What are you going to do then, Hadone? You do not seem all that excited about the possibilities here." Mi'ehna asks the question politely, as ever.

"No? I don't mean it that way. It is an exciting prospect...I'm just a pragmatist, and refuse to get my hopes up. Forgive me."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Skye replies. "If you're not used to good things happening to you, then that becomes a habit..."

Mi'ehna, though, isn't quite so receptive of that. "Well. If that is what you think, I suppose it cannot be helped." she looks to Skye, pats his head again. "I am going to go inside and find my old foil. We will practice your fencing today." That said, she vanishes back into the hut.

He follows her with his eyes for a moment, then goes back to poking at the grass, still thinking hard about something.

Hadone looks over at Skye. "That intent on escaping, huh?"

Skye looks up. "...I suppose..." he's not sure how to explain that there isn't really anything or anyone waiting for him outside of Dothaven. "I just don't like the idea of being trapped."

"Ah. Nothing really holding you to either place, huh? It's not impossible to get out of Dothaven, if it's any consolation." The chament turns a circle on her head. "I've been here before."

He stopps poking the grass, interested. "Really? How did you get here the first time?"

"Usually it is the same story with everyone, Skye," Mi'ehna says as she emerges from her house, a pair of fencing foils in hand. "Getting on the bad side of a wizard seems to be the preferred method."

Radish Moron... Skye thinks bitterly. "Damn wizards..." he mutters.

"I could not agree more." Mi kneels next to him, passing one of the foils to him. "Here you are, Skye. Later we can hit each other with these." A bit of mischief shines in her eyes at that, as she sits next to him on the grass.

He takes it with a smile. "This makes me think of Vern," he says, "our swordfights and all. Trinity would be angry with him whenever I was injured."

"Who is this Trinity?" asks the telepath, as she idly runs her fingers along the length of her foil. The training swords are just about the same length as Silence, though it is a touch heavier.

"She is my Ama..." Skye fiddles with the foil, remembering. "She saved me." He doesn't know how else to put it, really.

Mi'ehna lays her hand over his, gently squeezing. "If it is an unhappy subject, then we do not have to talk about it."

Skye nods. "I haven't seen her in four years..." It was hard to think about. He pokes at the grass some more, avoiding Mi'ehna's eyes. "At least I know she's safe."

Mi just leans against him, nodding. She knows better than to pry. Although... she does hope that this person won't get between the two of them, either in person, or in spirity.

He grins. "She could never move the ground beneath me, though," he adds offhandedly. Not like you can, Mi...

"Well, I will see if I can fit it into our schedule." She laughs softly, still leaning upon him, though looking at Hadone too. She can't help but think that something is off about all this, just... happening, and un-happening.

Skye hefts the foil with one hand. "Why don't we practice with these for a bit, and then I can sing for you?" he suggests.

"Aww, how cute, they have a mutual crush!" The chament croons.

Skye, of course, is trying very hard not to reach out and strangle the thing.

Mi looks at the chament, shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe."

Hadone just smirks. "Yeah, well...you two can train all you want to fight that creature," the chament states. "Considering all involved and what's waiting on the other side, I'd only feel a little displaced to just stay right..." the death dancer stiffens. And then, very suddenly, is gone. Just...gone.

Mi'ehna had been about to interrupt, in fact, her mouth is still open a bit. "Hey... where did she go?"

"...She just... vanished..." Skye says, awed. Maybe she was pulled out again, like last time. He's still staring at the place where she had been sitting, a look that mingles envy and confusion on his face.

Mi'ehna shuts her eyes, searching for Hadone. "Well," she reports, "she is not dead, or I would feel her energy departing. She is just... gone. Just like before." She looks at Skye. "Last time it turned out alright. Maybe she is just fortunate?"

Skye nods. "Maybe." He grins. "It seems as though the chament went with her, though. So maybe she isn't that fortunate."

The village leader snickers at that. "Well, either way..." she pats his knee, and gets to her feet. "Come on, Skye. You and I have things to do. Where would you like to train with the foils?" She looks around, bites her bottom lip. "We will need some space... we can train in the forest over there, or by the falls. Or, we could go a bit further south, where the plains begin."

He thinks for a moment. "Forest," he says finally. "I guess this means I can have Hadone's house..." he muses.

Mi'ehna's eyes lower a little bit. "I was rather partial to having you in mine, you know," she looks up, grinning a little. "The path is this way." She walks on ahead, not waiting for him to reply to that comment. 

Skye follows, happy with the answer anyway.

Mi'ehna leads him on into the forest, a pretty good distance... certainly far enough to keep from being heard. "We do not want people thinking that we are killing each other out here, Skye." Beside a calmly babbling brook she stops, turning to him. "This is a good place. Do you think?"

Skye looks around. It's beautiful, really. "It'll do."

"Good. Now, tell me," she looks him up and down, head tilting a little bit. "Have you ever fenced, before?"

He shakes his head. "Not really. Vern knew a little, but after I left the island, I sort of forgot what I learned and developed my own ways of handling the sword."

"Well... a rapier is a very different sword from a short or longsword, Skye. Much of what you have taught yourself will remain useful, but there is even more to learn." Mi'ehna holds up her foil, looks it up and down. "First off... how are you at thrusting? As opposed to slashing or slicing."

"I like to think I'm pretty decent." Though he does prefer the slashing, in all honesty.

She grins at that. "Well, that saves us time. Now, I do not have masks, so we will have to be careful to guard our eyes while we do this, alright?" She daintily steps about two yards away from him and sets herself in a very stuck-up looking stance; chin raised, knees slightly bent, with her free arm held back and out. "Let us see what you have."

Skye's stance is looser and not as clean, but he seems to be comfortable with it because he only hesitates a moment before sweeping forward with a deliberate thrust.

Mi'ehna leans forward just a little bit, flicking her wrist to tap at the edge of Skye's foil in a calculated effort to turn the thrust aside. Her smile at his willingness to start is full and pleasant, more than the lip smile she usually wears.

He's not used to crossing blades with someone who has such clean, calculated movements. It's almost relaxing, but forces him to mentally check his footwork as he steps to the side and throws the foil to his left hand, launching a strike that isn't nearly as obvious as the first.

Mi turns on her inside foot, flicking her wrist again though this time she has to hop a little bit to compensate for the change of direction. "Skye," she softly says, her admiration at the hand switch shining through, "small, delicate movements."

It's quite obvious that Skye thinks "small delicate movements" are beyond his span of patience, but to his credit, he doesn't voice it or let it cloud his thoughts, instead adjusting his stance a bit and dropping his wrist the slightest bit to perform an attack that is more measured than usual for him.

There's a sharp metallic scrape as the foils meet again. Mi'ehna steps back, sword still held ready, but smile disarming. "Much better. You are a very quick study!"

Yes, even though he rarely has the opportunity to learn something new. He flashes her a dauntless grin and thrusts again.

Her eyes sparkle at this... it's so much fun to spar with someone new! Again she slaps at his foil, this time following up with a thrust of her own, a whoop of excitement passing between her lips.

Her light comes up so radiant for a breif moment that Skye nearly trips stepping back and parrying the blow. His right hand is itching for the fight again, but he manages to contain it, feigning weakness with his left at the next swipe of his foil.

Mi meets the weakened swipe, blocking with the length of the foil and circling his sword with the tip before turning the point down and aiming a quick, clean slice at his knee.

Here Skye falters in fencing ettiquite, but only because pure instinct tells him to. He falls back, the tip of the foil grazing his knee, sweeps the leg around and tosses the foil to his right hand, setting himself in a defensive position for a split second before thrusting again.

She's impressed. Actually, she's very impressed. But she knows that a pivot is a time-consuming move for fencing, and by the time he comes with the thrust she's ready. A flick of her wrist turns the attack aside, and she steps in, releasing her foil to loop her arm around his elbow and restrain it. She grins. "Sometimes grappling works, too."

Startled, the foil falls limp in his hand. "Mi... I don't fight that way," he says in a low voice.

"Why not?" she inquires of him, genuinely curious.

"The hand to hand art I was taught is purely for meditative purposes... and I rarely use it at all." He doesn't pull away from her, though.

"Mm... so... you are saying that you would not hit me?" She looks up at him, grins, and tightens her grip on his elbow a little bit. "My art was meditative for the first eight years of my study. Then, I was taught by some of the roughest hardasses in my whole world, and it became more... physical. I could do the same for you, if you wanted."

Skye favors her with a bold smile, inwardly scolding himself for enjoying the sting that runs up his arm. "I would never hit you, Mi," he says. "And I wouldn't want to learn how to hit others... as much as I like learning things from you."

"Can you take a punch?" is her next question, although his recovery from the crotch-cracker earlier has already answered it. "Skye, I have been beaten and slapped, stabbed and blasted by people far stronger than me. I would not think it ill of you to strike me, if it were in training. Or maybe a few other extreme situations." She pauses, thinking. "Can you grapple, at least?"

"All boys can, Mi," he says, supressing an insolent grin. "It's in our nature."

She smirks. "Show me?" She wrenches up on his arm, not enough to break it of course, or really hurt him that badly, but enough to get his attention.

The foil drops from his hand and he shifts his stance again, moving his leg outside of hers and pivoting, pulling her weight with him.

She goes, tumbles up and over and landing squarely on her back. She's grinning as her legs lift up to scissor his arm, attempting to flip him over along with his own momentum.

Unfortunately, the downside to this move is Skye being in the position to be bested, and as he falls he decides he should have known she could have outdone him. "You win," he says, looking at her with something akin to admiration in his eyes.

"Aww..." she squeezes his arm between her knees, chuckling, and lets him loose. "I was having fun. None of the men in the village will ever wrestle me."

"...I'm glad for that..." he murmurs, looking up at the sky through the trees.

Mi gets up, dusts herself off, and offers her hands for him. "Why would you say that, Skye?"

He blinks, unaware that he'd said the last out loud. "Nevermind," he says, allowing himself to be helped and picking up the foil from where he'd dropped it.

She shoots him a very confused look, but lets her smile shine through at the end. "If that is what you want. Would you like to train some more?"

He twirls the foil from one hand to the other for a moment, then looks to her. "What do you want, Mi?"

"You to beat me in a duel," she nods, grinning. "And if you do, you win a kiss. Maybe two." She smiles. "Deal, Skye?"

He seems pleased with the answer. "Only if I can fight by my rules," he says, "None of those 'small, delicate movements'." He prounounces the last three words with obvious impatience.

She seems slightly taken aback at that. "Okay. But that means I get to fight my way, too, yes?"

He hesitates a moment. Only fair, right? "Fair enough..." he shifts the foil to his left hand, liking the weight there better, and draws Fairfight to his right, taking up the loose, natural stance again.

Mi'ehna's eyes soften a little. A real weapon. "Okay," she lifts the foil, smiling her pretty smile at him. "If I win... I will come up with something." She sets herself in a very defensive, but decidedly non-fencing stance.

He doesn't intend to use Fairfight for more than distraction, really. The foil comes first, a half slash as he holds Fairfight back and steady.

Just like before, she flicks out the foil with a quick snap of the wrist. She likes that he's trying to out think her... it's the mark of a good swordsman.  Of course, she's beaten the stuffing out of plenty of those. She waits for his next move, foil circling just a bit.

Fairfight swings down evenly, crossing with the foil as it sweeps toward Mi'ehna's torso.

Mi'ehna knows that a foil can't deflect a real rapier, let alone a thicker sword, and so tries something else. She tosses the rapier in the general direction of Skye's attack and springs back, handspringing once, twice, and landing with her body so low that her thighs damn near scrape the ground. "Come on!" she urges him, eyes burning happily.

Grinning, he pulls Fairfight back once more, but brings him forth sooner than the last time. A beam of light breaks off of it, and Skye mentally orders it to break apart further, swinging the foil out again.

Mi'ehna is blinded for a moment by the light, but combat rolls out of instinct. "Oooh, a dirty fighter! Okay." She smiles again, retreating several yards away. "Skye. You are too good," she says as her energy begins to build, build, and build. "Come and get me, pretty boy."

Skye feels her light begin to build and sheaths Fairfight, holding the foil close and moving toward her with a flowing swiftness he uses for long range attacks. As he gets closer, he claps his right hand over his left, channeling a strong burst of light though.

Mi'ehna jumps, but partway up is blinded again by the flash. She lands unsteadily on a tree branch, rubbing her eyes, and wishing to hell he wouldn't do that. But, if that's his game... Mi'ehna lets her head back and screams with all of her strength, forcing her body's energy, and therefore its light, to surge at very near its maximum range, hoping to return the favor.

This, of course, has the desired effect. Skye feels as though a white-hot poker has been driven through him, and for a moment he completely loses focus, trying to grasp his own light again. It's not a pleasant experience.

Mi'ehna's expression sours. She knows that hurt him, she can feel it in her own mind. But... this is war. She kicks off of the branch and swan dives for him, completely disregarging her own safety in order to try and tackle him while he's stunned.

A split second before she brings him to the ground, Skye manages to get his light back, but he hits the ground anyway, and the foil escapes his grasp.

Mi slides up on top of him to pin his arms with her knees, a very... compromising... position, but an effective one. She's glad that she doesn't often wear skirts.

Lord of Light, Mi... you'll never get rid of me this way, he groans inwardly. "That wasn't very fair, you know," he says. "Your light could have burst my heart."

She smiles down at him, though she hadn't known that. "But what about my eyes?" She reaches down, sets her hands on either side of his face. "Do you give up, darling?"

"Even blind your eyes would be beautiful," he mutters, "While my heart is of no use to me if it doesn't live." He smirks. "Yes, I give up... for today."

She smiles some at that, and lets herself up and away from him. "I would never have let you die, Skye. But... I fear this light issue is your gravest weakness. There are others more powerful than me, you know, and... well, you understand. Can you get up?" She reaches down again for his hands. She's blustering a bit... had she known about the heart issue, she would've preferred facing down the swords.

"If you weren't so - " he gets up, brushes earth from his pants and checks Fairfight " - emotional I might have been able to handle it, but you were pushing it..." And if I die it doesn't matter, he thinks bitterly, running a finger over the trigon mark. "But I'm fine now."

Mi'ehna's expression falters a little, her eyes misting.  She stiffens her jaw. "I am an empath you know." She gets up, thoroughly upset that he would ever think such a thing, and retrieves her foil. "If..." her voice falters. "If you use the same tricks you use fighting with that sword," she points at Fairfight, "then you will not learn the rapier. I would be very appreciative if you would practive with it. It was not a gift given lightly."

He nods solemnly, stung by her words and feeling childish again, and a thousand times worse; but he manages to fight it down with a muttered prayer.

She closes her eyes. "Stop that. Stop it! Skye, please, cheer up." She looks at him, eyes pleading with him. "I won," she softly adds, " and I think I know what I want from you. But you cannot give it to me with such a solemn face."

He regards her with increasing curiosity. "What is it that you want from me?" he's quite ready to give her anything at this point, but he doesn't say it.

"I want you..." she steps closer to him, reaching up touch his cheek, "to stay with me. In my house. Perhaps... in my bed chamber, as well. Would you be willing?"

Clearly his mind and light are answering for him before he can even speak. "I said I never wanted to leave you, Mi..." he says, fighting to keep his voice even. "And I meant it."

The empath/sometimes telepath smiles again at him. "Well, yes... but you had considered taking Hadone's house. I just... wanted you to see how much I want to keep you." Her eyes warm, softly glowing in pink so that his cheeks and shirt are illuminated by it. "Now. Bend down so you can kiss me."

He is all too happy to comply. And I said I'd do whatever you asked, too. He doesn't mention that he'd only brought up taking the house to see if she cared weather he took it or not, but he's pretty sure she knows that already.

She lets her eyes slide shut, but... he's really too damn tall. Or she's too short. "Skye," she whispers, eyes half-open. "Would you go back with me? I want to hear you sing."

He smiles at that. "So long as you bandage this for me," he says, displaying the shallow cut above his knee. It doesn't hurt, really. But it is rather troublesome to have it bleeding all over the place. Especially since he doesn't have another change of clothes here yet.

"Sure. Here," she holds out the hem of her shirt. "Cut a strip from this with your sword, would you? I have no bandages on me."

"I think my shirt is more suitable for this," he answers, ripping a strip from it and hading it to her. "I don't want to know what Eleris will think if he sees us walking out of the woods, you with your shirt torn."

Mi'ehna smiles. "Would you be so unhappy if he thought so, though?" She takes the strips and kneels, looking over the wound. "This will take just a moment." She ties it off in a very practiced manner... she's stitched up her share of comrades on the field, and by now has a good idea of field dressings. "There. Test your weight, and see if it holds?"

It's barely a scrape, really, but Skye's glad to have something to stop the bleeding until his light recovers. "Thank you, Mi... I know you'll hate to hear me say this, but I don't deserve you."

She smiles. "It is flattering. You are probably right." She stands, reaches up and gently smacks his cheek. "But you have me. Shall we?"

He offers his hand, glad at her response. "You have me." It was the second time she'd said it, and the feeling washed away everything else.

She reaches out, settling her hand in his. "We had better hurry, though," she whispers, "I get clingy after a fight. I would hate to shove you against one of these trees before we made it back..."

I wouldn't mind, Skye thinks with a grin, but he gently pulls her along the path back to the house. The fighting has left him a little drained, but his light is coming back in full.

She leans on him the entire way. She doesn't really notice how odd it is for her to become so attached so fast, or to want to hurt him one moment and kiss him the next. She just... enjoys his presence.

Predictably, Eleris isn't far from the forest entrance when they show up, both looking drained and dishevelled. He arches an eyebrow, giving Skye a very curious look, but goes back to his fishing in short order. Not his business.

"So," Mi says to Skye as the house looms, "would you like me to get Misao to look at your leg, make certain it is okay?"

"I'll be fine, Mi," he replies, not anxious to see the healer again, anyway. "It's just a little cut, really." It's been a while since anyone cared like this. It's a bit awkward, but even more comforting.

"I know." She nudges him. "Would you like to rest, before you sing for me, then? A bath, perhaps, or something to eat?" Of course she cares. She cares far too much for either of their own good.

He looks down at himself, flinching a bit at the state of his clothes and the thought of the dirt that must layer his skin. "Actually... I think a bath would be a good idea."

Mi'ehna nods. "Alright. I will see about getting you something wear, though. You can mend those later. I... will be getting ready, for you. When you are finished, come back here."

Skye walks towrd the river, a downstream from where Eleris is fishing beside some rocks, and takes of his shirt, dipping it into the water and wringing it out. He uses it to scrub at his arms and neck, at his face. There is a dull ache in his shoulders, but it will be gone soon. He scrubs a his feet, and then takes off his pants, too, diving into the water a few times until he's satisfied with himself and he comes out, pulling his pants back on and shaking his unruly mud brown hair in every direction. After a little while, he starts walking back to the house.

Mi'ehna meets him partway, a bundle under each arm. 

"Here you go," she says as she pushes one of them into his arms, "these are for you. We do not have a dedicated tanner or clothing maker, but give the material a little time and will soften for you." The bundle is a fairly obviously home-made shirt and pants set... both made of hemp. It isn't that they aren't functional, even a little bit attractive... it's just hippy-wear. 

"I thought I should get myself cleaned up, too. If you will excuse me."

He takes them and once he's back inside, changes and folds his old clothes into his corner. The new pants don't have as many pockets as his others, so there is a little disappointment there, but they are clean, anyway.
He sits, leaning against the wall with Fairfight and Silence beside him, silently speaking to them in the way a swordsman speaks to his weapons.

Quite a while passes before Mi'ehna comes back. She returns freshly scrubbed, her hair still damp but her clothes fresh, looking revitalized in every way. Her old clothes she sets in a basket beside her bed before sitting to run a wooden comb through her hair, yelping now and again when the imperfect object snags a tangle.

Skye listens, a smirk tugging at his lips. He finds it amusing that something as simple as a comb could summon those noises from her when in battle she seems perfectly unaware of the slightest pain. "That's why I never use a comb," he mutters. His hair is naturally thick and unkempt, so no amount of combing would tame it.

It doesn't take her too long to finish, since her hair is mostly straight anyway. When she's done, she steps out of her room and sits in the front room, not really feeling up to speaking all that much. "So," she mutters, rather unsure of where to go from there. "Did you get cleaned up okay?"

He nods mutely, tilts his head to the side. "Do you want to hear the rest of that song I was singing yesterday... or another?" Mostly he knows snatches of songs, verses he's picked up to keep himself entertained. But he has a few that he knows in length.

Her eyes sparkle. "I want to hear something energetic," she nods, scooting over to sit closer to him. "Something that will put fire in my veins. Is that okay?"

"I think I have one..." he replies, smiling. The song he begins has more life in it than the sweet haunting song he sang on the mountain, and it's quite obviously a favorite of his.

"Today the sun still rises in the darkness,
I was hurt, then it was like courage reawakened.

Although the darkness before us keeps coming,
We'll face it, break through it, our strength together.

Now I know the reason I came into this world,
It was to be with you.

There's no turning away as we go now,
Free to do just as we please,
Somewhere, there's the glittering of
The sun we're longing for.

So then, along the same road we'll go,
Breaking through the dark wild lands
Hands that join together across time,
Never letting go.. we run.

Showing everything, even weakness, it's a miracle;
I'm here at the place I'd been searching for.

Embrace the untamed wilderness.
The sun, far in the distance,
Is where we cast our eyes.

So then, along this long road we'll go,
As the morning sun will surely rise,
As I'm watching over you across time,
We'll head for the light."

"How wonderful," Mi'ehna mutters as the song progresses, her head bobbing a bit with the rhythm of the song. So he's no master singer, it's still divine to her ears. 

"That was fantastic, Skye." On impulse, she hugs him for the song. "I wish my old friends could have heard you. They sang too, and would have appreciated your talent."

He grins. Talent? He could admit that his voice was enough to keep him from being lonely on a stretch of road, but then, he'd never really had an audience before. "I think they could have given me lessons," he replies, returning the hug.

"Oh, yes. My friend Foraya... she was not human, and her voice was amazing. She could harmonize with herself." Mi squirms a bit, nestling against him. "She never held me after a song, though. Would you sing me another?"

"One more," he agrees, and after a moment, lifts his voice again.

"If you fly towards the skies
With the wings hidden in your heart
You meet the self
Forgotten in the past

No need for memories...
Risking all, 
I live while searching
For the heating-up present

For light shall soon spread
From the other end of darkness
Even the pain of a burnt heart
I'll laugh and show you

I'd like to be myself... 

In their dreams
People dance in the distant sky
Reaching anywhere
Going beyond eternity."

"It is almost like you have lived my life, Skye, to sing such words," Mi'ehna whispers to him, moved by the song. She stands next to him, looks down. "Do you suppose people really can dance in the sky?"

He nods, smiling. "Of course. When something makes us happy enough... that is when we can." He looks up at her. "I wish I could... and I suppose one day I will."

"I would love to see it. My father... and a few others I have known throughout my life... could fly, but, I do not think that is quite what you mean." She looks at him. "Maybe, I can make you dance. Skye, stand on your knees."

He favors her with a confused look, but does as he's told, regarding her with something not unlike wonder.

"You are too tall. So I am evening the score." She buries her fingers in his hair, holding him place. "So. Let us see if this works." She leans down, softly pecks his lips. Smiles. "Did it work?"

He can only nod, completely at a loss for words. If only you knew what you're doing to me, Mi... "If only I could make you as happy?"

She smacks his cheek again, gently. "Do you know how long I have been here, with people who 'respect' me, too much to care about me, Skye?"