Fire & Ice II: Age of Rebirth(private/mature/continued)

"Well I have to give it to you. Ya really know how to survive. Maybe next time you can be the one who fights the terrifying demon and I'll be the one who screams 'save me save me!!'" Titus grinned as he did a crappy imitation of Kora's voice.

"Is that right?" Noel asked, frowning a little. He didn't think he was anything like Yoko, but maybe he was wrong. After hearing her reason for not moving on Noel laughed softly. "You keep on waiting then. You wont get anywhere if you just sit on your ass. No guy is just gonna magically fly in on a magic carpet and fly you to never never land." he stated, laughing some more. "Maybe you're not really serious...maybe you're content with staying in love with the dead.."

Kora watched as he began to eat. "Hey i am not com0pletely defenseless." She laughed. "You can treat me like that though." She teased. At the emntion of a fire she nodded. "Didnt take that long i have done it a couple times." She explained.

Soara listened to his explanation. "Ib see...well that doest sound very air. I dont understand why she likes embarassing others. You do it to though i guess." She pointed out. At he mention of Jann she sighed. "I do want to move on...i am just aiting for the guy to help me..."

"You're pretty amazing." Titus blinked, still in shock. "All this time I just thought you were some defenseless human, but you can actually take care of yourself. I guess I should stop treating you some fragile piece of glass." Titus laughed and gave her a gentle punch in the arm. He grabbed a piece rabbit's meat and devoured it instantly. "How did you make the fire though? Dont tell me you scraped two rocks together for hours and hours."

"Well she's not my girlfriend. I told you we go off and on. Right now we're not together. Apparently I dont play nice with others. Thats why I was working as a grunt when you found the army. It was her idea. She thought I'd learn what she calls 'team spirit'. That and she thought it be amusing for to take orders from the half wit that was leading the group." Noel growled, but closed his eyes letting out a soft sigh. There was no point in getting mad about it. He had already done plenty of that. "What about you? How long do you intend to love this...demon. Dont you wanna move on?" he paused in between to stop himself from saying the word mutt.

Kora smiled at Titus reaction and then laughed. "Told you I was capable." she teased him. "No I didn't though that would have been a lot easier." she grabbed a piece of fruit and took a bite of it. While he had been out she had also built a small fire for warmth and cooking.

"Good..." Soara was satisfied with his answer and looked back at the sky. However he kept asking questions of course. She rolled her eyes. "Nothing is with me. Sorry I didn't want to meet your demon hating ....girlfriend." she paused inbetween to stop herself form saying bitch.

Titus' ears twitched more and more as Kora got closer. His eyes slowly peeled open as he sat up. "Damn tree..." he mumbled while rubbing his back. "So how did it go? Did you trip over anything?" Titus chuckled softly as he stretched out his back. When he saw the pile she had gathered, his jaw dropped all the way down to the ground. She had plenty of fruit. She had even cooked the rabbit she had caught too! "Oh my god...did you rip a trader off or something??"

Noel's head titled to the side. He stared at Soara completely dumbfounded. They were here to recover gems that could heal her father. He had no idea what made her think that she'd have to meet his ex/girlfriend/ex. "Er...no..." he stated blinking slightly. "For one, the village is a three weeks trip from here. Two, I couldn't exactly bring you to the village. You'd be cut down before you even got within two feet of Yoko." Noel explained, giving her the his ex's name. "Whats with you? You look pissed.."

Returning later Kora placed what she had gather in a neat pile and then moved to sit next to titus waiting for him to wake up. She couldn't wait to show him what she had gotten.

The more Soara listened the more she wanted to punch this chick in the face. She sounded like a bitch. she hated people who embarrassed others for their own entertainment. When he mentioned having a kid with her it took all her strength not to scoff. At hsi question she shrugged "Nothing...I don't have to meet her right?"

"Sure sure.." Titus sighed and moved back against the tree. It didn't take him long to drift off. He was old cold after about ten minutes. His black ears twitched in his sleep as he struggled to get more comfortable. Something was missing. His eyes closed tightly as he moved his head to lay on one of the trees thick roots, but still couldn't get comfortable. His tail hung limp by his side. Finally Titus gave up on trying to find the comfort he was missing. He'd just have to settle and get as much sleep as he could.

"When I go back to the village, yes. She's very busy though and..." Noel paused and released a deep breath. "Well she has the type of personality where she loves to tease and embarrass people. If she wasn't so freakishly strong I swear someone would have replaced her as leader already." Noel sighed. It wasn't often that he talked about his personal life with other people, but he felt somewhat comfortable around Soara. "Who knows maybe me and her will have a kid one day. Though..I cant really see her as a mother. Slaying demons is her passion. You'd have to tie her down and sit on her if you wanted to keep her from fighting. She loves her village. The people there are like family. She'll do anything to protect them." Noel smiled slightly. "I guess if you put that way she's pretty amazing." he stated with a small laugh, but then looked over at Soara. Something was..off. "You ok??"

"That is insulting..." Kora growled meaning his lack of confidence in her. Standing she rubbed the sleep form her eyes and gave Titus a determined look. "I can do it promise." she smiled slightly. After he finally agreed she nodded "Of course now sleep." she instructed before moving off into the forest. Truth was she was pretty decent at seeing at night for a human. Grabbing some branch she planted several traps. Returning later with fruit before checking the traps about a hour later. She produce just a rabbit though.

When Noel sat up Soara was slightly startled as it was so sudden. When he spoke she felt slightly jealous. "No..." she thought shaking her head. She couldn't be jealous Noel was nothing to her. "Hm...I see...so you what sleep with each other when you're in town?" she asked. The best way she could think of without saying that the girl sounded slightly like a whore. What girl didn't want commitment?

"You're...gonna...find...food???" Titus blinked and titled his head to the side. "How? Its pitch black out here. I dont need you bumping into every single tree you see." he stated, but then let out a soft yawn. "Damn..I'm am sleepy...but I dont feel good about you going off into the middle of the night." Titus stated while letting out a deep sigh. He scratched his head trying to figure out what to do. "Well..if you think you can do it...and you're sure that you wont get lost...I guess you can, just be sure not to go off too far."

"I see." Noel whispered and for some reason felt..well..weird about hearing that she still loved him, although he understood why. "Something like that." he replied and suddenly sat up. "She's actually a demon slayer and the leader of the village. We go on and off every now and then. Life is short, so normally humans stick together for as long as possible. They get married, have kids, and comment to family life. However, the life of a demon slayer...well there's no room for such things. Though I honestly wouldn't mind being a dad and having a few kids." Noel with a genuine smile. He looked up wondering what his kids would look like and if they'd be as hard headed as he was.

"I did not!" Kora snapped outraged at the prospect of drooling. Turning away she wiped at her chin. Hearing his stomach she smirked "Hungry?" she asked with a giggle. "How about I find food and you sleep? I know how to find fruits and set traps." she explained.

Soara nodded "Yes..." she whispered. She reached up gripping hte necklace that eh had gotten her years ago when her father had allowed her to go out on a date with him. "I do...he was my first love ever..." she confirmed. She looked at him "Did you have a first?"

"Its fine. You looked like you were sleeping pretty good so I didn't wanna wake you. Besides, you were talking in your sleep. You even drooled a bit too." Titus teased poking her cheek some. He got up and stretched his arms out over his head. Suddenly, a very loud growl came from his stomach. Titus looked down blushing a bit. "Oh..guess we never did eat dinner." he groaned feeling his stomach complain some more.

Noel listened quietly. He kinda understood now why she had been so unwilling to talk about Jann at first. "So its been 17 years since he died?" he asked, his eyes slowly shifting away from her. "Do you still love him? You must...I could tell when you were talking to your brother. This Jann must have been your first right?" Noel asked and closed his eyes. He had been in a few relationships himself, but wasn't sure if he had ever experienced love or not. It was hard to find it when most of his body and mind were being motivated by revenge.

Feeling the warmth of titus's tongue Kora grumbled before slowly stirring. "Mmm...." she opened her eyes. She could tell that she had slept longer than an hour. "Hey you were supposed to wake me after an hour." she pointed out.

"Yes it is...." Soara frowned at the thought. "Let's hope so...though we have looked everywhere for a cure..." she said. At the mention of Jann she looked away. "Please don't call him that..." she whispered. "He was lost confused...his father made him steal a book well...he didn't steal it I gave it to him...and then he joined his father...but in the end he helped us overthrow him...he tried to save my mother and...he had the chance to join us but he doesn't agree with decisions my father has made...kind of like you..."

Titus gazed down at Kora blinking. He tried lowering his head so he could hear what she was saying, but couldn't. "Hehe cant wait to tell her that she talks in her sleep." he laughed softly. The hour flew by. Rather then waking her Titus decided to allow Kora to sleep for a bit longer. She had been through allot. Titus could only guess that she probably wasn't use to nearly being killed by giant acid spitting and fire breathing demons. He sat back letting her sleep for another three hours before he leaned down licking her cheek to wake her. "Kora its your shift." Titus whispered. His body felt a little stiff, but it was nothing a little stretching wouldn't cure.

"Thats a long time to be ill." Noel whispered. He supposed though that having a sick father was slightly better then having a dead one. He didn't voice his thoughts though. "Well who knows. We might find something." he replied softly and moved to lay back down on his back. "Your brother..when he spoke of your love...he called him a traitor. Now that I think about it I heard that allot when we were back in your home. Whats the story behind that?" Noel asked, though in a slightly insensitive way. "I mean.." he muttered, trying to correct himself. "Well..I'm just curious..."

Kora slowly fell asleep leaning against him. The heat from his body only attracted her subconscious mind more. She lightly gripped his arm for warmth muttering slightly as she did so.

"Nothing...just you're eyes are visible in the dark." she laughed blushing as she was embarrassed to have said so. Turning to face him as he did so she thought through his question. "I don't know...I guess I will search for another way to cure him..but I want to believe taht this is the answer..." she whispered. "I hate not having my father....he's been like this for 17 years..."

"Alright cool." Titus smiled, though blinked twice when she laid her head on his shoulder. His face began to heat up a little. They had only just stated 'sleeping' together so the feeling was still new to him. "This...isn't so bad.." Titus thought to himself. He watched Kora fall asleep and let out a small sigh. His eyes shifted around their dark surroundings. The forest was quiet minus the sounds of a few owls. He looked down at Kora again wondering if she'd get cold during the night and heated up his body just a little to make sure she was comfortable.

"What?" Noel asked, catching her gaze on him. His head turned towards her returning her gaze. She seemed to have something on her mind. Noel wondered if she was still pissed off about him not giving her the map right away, though Soara didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge for too long. "Hey, what will you do if you get to the village and find out that the gems you need are gone like I said? This trip will have been for nothing you know." Noel replied softly and rolled over on his side so he was facing her.

Kora laughed when he said that she sounded like his siter. "Well then she must be one amazing person.." she teased. As Titus looked away Kora didn't. As he spoke she looked at him listening as he thanked her for the advice. "Anytime... she whispered leaning more against the tree. At the mention of sleep she nodded "Sounds good..." she rested her head on his shoulder.

Laying back Soara nodded in agreement. "Who would've thought huh?" she sighed. Looking over at Noel she could see his bright eyes through the darkness. God they got her heart racing...what was up with this guy. He could drive her crazy but he was so beautiful.

Titus gazed at Kora slightly surprised. His ears perked and let out a gentle laugh. "You...that sounds like something Soara would say." he chuckled. "I hope you and her aren't related or something." he smiled and shifted his gaze up towards the sky. It had gotten dark and the stars were shining down brightly filling up the sky. "Thanks. I feel a little better now. I mean it sucks to have to work harder then...well...just about everyone, but you're right. I'll be sure to keep your words in my back pocket too." Titus smirked and closed his eyes for a moment. His body was tired, but he couldn't fall asleep, not yet. "Why dont you sleep for a few hours? I'll keep watch and then we'll trade shifts."

Noel's eyes continued to scan through the darkness around them. He moved to sit down by Soara, not too close...but not that far away either. His body was on edge. It didn't help that one of his traps had been disabled too making him more tense then usual. "Its been a long day." he finally sighed trying to relax a little. "Who would of thought we'd go from dodging ogres to dealing with your brother all in one day?" he sighed again and moved to lay down on his back. His bright blue eyes were nearly glowing like they always did at night.

Sitting Kora could see the hurt on his face as his ears pressed back. "I'm sorry...I don't mean to be it just happens..." he whispered. As he explained everything he went through to master his true form she frowned. "Working hard at something just means that once you accomplish it you appreciate it a little more than the person who had it handed to them." she smiled looking at him as he leaned against her.

When night came Soara could tell that Noel was on edge. She would be to if she couldn't see in the dark. But she could so it didn't bother her as much. At the mention of camp she nodded "sounds good to me." she sat down on the vacant ground and sighed.

"Oh.." Titus replied softly and looked down. His ears pressed firmly against the back of his head. He looked up though, hearing her out. It made sense...kinda. She was afraid of his true form, but not really his original self. He sat back leaned up against her body a little. "I just dont understand. I've worked so hard. Dad wasn't even sure if I'd be able to use my true form or not. Soara and I are the first hybrids between a neko and a wolf. When I found out I was able to use it I put so much work into master it. I had to sit by and watch as Ama...my cousin, the one with the long white hair, ran right past me like she always does. Everything comes easy to her. Its always been like that. Just once I'd like to be the one who doesn't have to work so hard every single time.."

Noel looked back at Soara blinking twice. Her question about whether or not he was ok kinda caught him off guard. "Yeah just peachy." he stated giving her a small grin. The two of them continued moving, but when night began to fall Noel's pace slowed down. He became more cautious and always made sure to look over his shoulder even though Soara was right behind him. "Lets find a place to set up camp. There shouldn't be any traps in this area, but I wouldn't suggest moving too far ahead in the dark."

Kora looked up at his question "Of course." she smiled. However when he asked it she frowned. Thinking through her answer before replying she sighed. "It's not you...it's what you can become...that beast wasn't you...it was soemthing else someone else. I am not afraid of you just what you can become.." she explained hoping that did it justice.

"Exactly what I was thinking." soara replied. Following him through the landscape she sighed in relief as he said there was no traps for awhile. "Sounds great..." she breathed. Stopping hse looked at him "You okay there?" she asked. Then understood the abrupt stop. "Got it...well I think we can do it."

Titus nodded and closed his eyes. He knew that once the scar healed it would leave a nasty reminder just like Noel said it would. Maybe he could find a way to get it removed or something. "Can I ask you something?" Titus muttered, his voice nearly too low to be heard. "Are you...afraid of me now? I can still smell the fear within you...and I can feel how your body tenses when I touch you. I mean if you are I completely understand...I just...wanna know I guess."

"Hard to tell." Noel replied softly looking back at her. "I haven't seen any tracks or proof that someone even passed by. You'd think there would be at least a few foot prints. Even if they were old there would still be indentations in the ground." he sighed softly and pulled his map out. "We should have a clear path for at least a mile or so. After that, we'll see the traps I warned you about." he stated and came to a stop. His head titled up towards the sky. It wasn't 'as' hot as it had been a few hours ago, but the sun was still raining down brutal rays. "We've got at least five to six hours of sunlight left. Lets see how far we can go."

Kora looked up as he mentined her brother. "It's fine...not like you did it or anything..." she whispered. Even though a demon a lot like Titus had done it. However she wasn't like Noel adn didn't generalize about them. Leaning agaisnt eh tree once they stopped Kora reached down looking at the scar. "Just a little sting is all."

Soara did as Noel instructed and moved closer. She was on high alert now trying to see fi she sensed or smelled anyone near by. So far she didn't but there had to be someone who disabled the traps. "Any idea how long ago it was disabled? Maybe they just were passing through." she suggested.

"Well I still feel really bad about it. Oh...and...sorry for your brother...should have said that sooner too." he stated, his ears pinning back some. Turning from the destruction he had unleashed, Titus carried Kora until the forest got a little thicker. He then placed her down at the bottom of a tall tree so she'd be in the shade. "I guess this will do." he sighed and moved to sit down next to her. His eyes immediately locked onto her scar. "Does...it still hurt any?"

"No one would have known." Noel frowned, his body tensing as his gazed shifted around them. "I've been adding to these traps ever since I was little. I'm the only one that knows about them. The way this one was disabled...means that someone came through here. The only problem is if thats the case we should find more disabled traps unless...they only disabled the ones that would slow them down." Noel stated with a heavy sigh. he looked up at Soara signaling her to stay close to him. "Be on your guard princess. Chances are we're not alone."

Kora allowed him to pick her up. She looked at him as he spoke. "It's okay...you didn't mean to." she assured him. For some reason even after everything that had happened Kora enjoyed being close to Titus. At his question she nodded "We should be able to do it."

"Right..." Soara scratched the back of her head uncomfortably at this. "Ow..." at Noel's abrupt stop Soara had ran into him. "What's going on?" she stepped around him seeing the metal plate. "Huh...weird..who could have done that? Who would've known?" she asked looking around for someone else.

"Careful." Titus whispered, catching her as she gripped his shoulders. His head turned back in the direction Kora had headed. He really, really didn't want her to get to the village first. Sighing deeply, he turned to Kora and gently scooped her up into his arms holding her close. "You're injured because of me. We'll rest for a little bit in the forest and then start when you're feeling better. You said we're about a day or two away right? If I rush after you're done resting we should be be able to make up for lost time. Right now...I just wanna be sure that you're ok..."

"That is the life many humans live. I'm no exception." Noel whispered and suddenly came to an abrupt stop. His eyes darted from the left and over to the right. "Odd..." he muttered, his eyes narrowing as he took a small step forward. "There should have been a big one here. I rigged the ground so that flames would come shooting up from the earth. If the target made any move to dodge they would be impaled by flying spears from the east and west." Noel stated. He looked back at Soara scratching his head. "This plate here." he stated, kicking a few leaves off to she could see. "Its been disabled..."