The air was already getting colder.
After four days of travelling, she could feel it. She sort of expected it -- they were going to Tomari after all -- and that particular city hadn't exactly been known for its subtropical climate. Oh, no! Of course they had to travel through the coldest spot on Lunar.
"Sometimes I really wish I had gained my dragon powers. Then I could fly us both past this stinkin' icebox of a city. Why people want to live in a place where you get to freeze your butt of on a regular basis, I'll never understand."
Nina shivered a little as the wind grew in intensity.
"Well, it's only to be expected. The summer's pretty much over, and autumn's not got far to go either."
"I know! It's gonna start snowing any minute now," she said, looking up at the sky.
The trip had proceeded at an incredible pace. Quinn had all but sprinted like a maniac up the mountains. He had all the reasons for it, she supposed. Not only did most of the area this far north consist of mountain areas, but the pikes had donned their whitecaps, and Nina had no doubt that Tomari was already covered in that...
"...blasted snow," she said. "I don't know how you stand it."
"It's not that bad," Quinn answered. "At least when you dress for it. I guess that kitten coat of yours doesn't quite measure up." He grinned wryly.
"Call me a kitten again, and you won't have to bother about the cold, bud," Nina said, her arched smile taking any insults or threats out of her words.
"Right!" His smile changed to one of the 'wide, with eyes closed' persuasion.
They were silent for a while. Nina had taken to riding on Quinn's shoulder a lot more than flying herself as they traveled farther up the mountains, mostly to conserve her strength but also to mooch off on the warmth of the cape he draped around himself -- and her -- whenever she was sitting there.
"Now, remind me again why we are even considering going to this town of frozen butts!"
"Because it's the only way us non-fliers can get to Vane. After the great collapse -- you know, the one that sent Zulan into a great chasm and made that area ridiculously dangerous to even think about crossing -- the only option is to go to Tomari, and then southwest towards Meribia," Quinn said, drawing his cape a little tighter around himself. "We should be there tomorrow. Are you still cold?"
"Well... not now," she said, looking a bit embarrassed, "But I plan to spend the night in front of a fireplace when we get there."
"Roger that. And with a big cup of hot chocolate."
Nina didn't say anything, but Quinn saw her eyes close, and felt her claws dig a bit more into the shoulder of the jacket as her smile grew.
The campfire was crackling nicely by the time the darkness of the night came over them, and the Blue Star was joined by its brethren, twinkling in great numbers over the whole stretch of the sky. Nina had already settled herself close to the fire, laying down on the dry grass that grew almost everywhere up in the long stretches of highlands that made up the northeastern part of the Katarina zone. The Blue Star was almost full, and the light it reflected illuminated the highlands quite nicely. And due to the cold, there were no insects to speak about.
Quinn was sitting just a foot or so away, apparently working on his sword. The long, scratching sounds from the drystone actually felt relaxing -- a sign that she was travelling with someone. On occasion he would stop for a second, looking over at her. Apparently, he was just as glad for the company.
She felt a little bad about having him do all the work, but there was little to be done about it. There was precious little she could do in her present form, and she found herself wishing she had taken the time to learn how to change into a human shape. But she had never seen the need for it, so there was no point in thinking about it now. Quinn never complained about it, saying that it didn't matter -- that it wasn't that much to do when travelling -- but Nina chalked it up to him being just polite about it. And then there was the reason he was going to Vane in the first place. Nina had to struggle a little to coax the full story out of him, and when she finally succeeded, she wished she hadn't tried in the first place.
After that little revelation, Quinn had become a little too quiet and introverted, Nina thought. She promised herself never to mention it again. At least not until he was cured of whatever he had.
If he could be cured.
She shook that thought out of her head.
His mood had slowly lightened again during the day, and he seemed to be back to his usual self by now. Well, she would just have to keep his spirit up, she decided. That was the least she could do, having him take care of practically everything else for the both of them.
She heard the long, drawn out sound from stone against steel yet again. And she yawned.
"Perhaps it's time to call it a night. We have a full day's travel ahead tomorrow, if we're to get past Tomari before the 'everlasting night' begins." He put the sharpening stone back in its leather pouch and put the sword back in its scabbard.
Having done that, he rolled out his sleeping bag near the fire and put a little blanket over the dragon.
"Good night, little one."
Nina snorted at that. "When I get my dragon powers, we will see who'll be the little one!"
Quinn just chuckled and crept into his sleeping bag. A little while later Quinn had dozed off, but for Nina sleep wouldn't come so easily.
It was still kind of dark as Nina awoke. Well, not dark exactly, but the sky was not as bright as it used to be on the plains. Nina was, to say the least, a bit baffled about it.
Quinn was, apparently, already awake. His backpack was packed, and he was fully dressed and ready to go. Well... almost, anyway. She still had her blanket, it would seem, so she stood up and shrugged it off herself. Upon noticing, Quinn came over and picked it up, quickly stuffing it in the sack.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning? It's so dark. Are you sure this isn't the middle of the night?"
"Actually... it's almost past the morning into the beginning of the day. In a couple of days from today, the sun won't rise over Tomari for many months."
"What are you talking about?" Nina was sure he was joking.
"Well..." He hefted the backpack on his shoulders and picked up Nina, depositing her on his shoulder. "I'll tell you all about it while we walk. We have about six, perhaps seven hours of daylight today, so let's make the best of it."
And as he walked, he told her all about Lunar's axis from which it rotated, and how that came into effect as the seasons, and why that meant that the northernmost part would not see the daylight for about four months.
"So you see, it is in our best interest to get past Tomari and be well on our way to Meribia within three days."
Nina, looking very bewildered but actually having caught most of the lecture, didn't need to ask any questions.
"I... see." She didn't say much more for a while. Neither did Quinn.
Then, a little while later, Nina shook herself out of her reverie as she saw...
"Houses straight ahead... I think." She took off, flying a bit ahead, ascending to get a better view of the land.
"Yep!" she said. "Definitely houses." She shivered.
"It's a wonder the snow hasn't already covered the town. The snow line is actually much farther up the mountains." Quinn's look arched in a curious manner.
"The weather has been kinda nice lately. I suppose there just haven't been any downpours of any kind up here." She shivered again. "It's cold, though. Hey! Let's hurry on down. I long for the warmth of the fireplace."
She sounded positively giddy, and Quinn laughed silently at that.
The sun was about to go down as they reached the outer limits of the city. It had barely risen above the mountains during the day, true... but by now it was going down behind the mountains to the west, bathing the clouds in a reddish light. The sky itself had a dark blue color, and at the eastern side, the first and largest stars were already visible.
The whole scene could be considered 'picturesque'.
The city itself, now quite close, was somewhat quiet. Not many people were seen roaming the street. Actually, right now there were none. The complete lack of snow made the town look rather weird. At least that's what Nina thought, and by the look in Quinn's face, he was of the same opinion.
"I always figured this town would be covered in snow by this time of the year." Quinn voiced his opinion quietly, but still loud enough for Nina to hear. Not that it mattered, seeing as the streets were still curiously empty.
But then, as Nina noticed, Quinn's shoulders tensed as his head turned slightly to the left. She took to her wings, and flew in front of Quinn.
"What is it?"
"Shhh!" Quinn looked around, dumping his sack on the ground. He barely breathed, and the only sound that could be heard was Nina's wings flapping.
The attack came fast, from his right. He brought up his arm just in time to block the incoming kick, and he kicked out in the direction of the attack, already winding up for a roundhouse in the same direction with his other foot.
It hit, but only barely, knocking the aggressor back a few steps. Quinn started gathering his magical energy in his right hand as he turned to his assailant, taking a battle stance.
It was a boy about Quinn's age. Nina saw him quite well enough. He had black hair, about the same length as Quinn's. His face was far more angular and sharp, strengthened by the smirk he wore. He was also about the same height, and similar in build.
Quinn had a look of surprise in his face, but it was quickly replaced with a serious, although less angry look. Nina noticed it, though. And it made her wonder who and what they were up against.
And then 'black hair' attacked him.
He ran straight for Quinn, throwing fast punches -- all blocked by Quinn -- before kicking high -- this time ducked under. Quinn retaliated with a hard punch, though almost fully blocked, in the lower abdomen of his adversary. It threw him a bit back, but didn't prevent him from immediately rushing forward and kicking Quinn hard in the chest, making him fly backwards to land hard on the ground and on his back. Almost immediately after his fall he flipped back to his feet in typical martial arts fashion.
But Nina wasn't going to sit by doing nothing. She flew straight for the black haired assailant.
"No! Stop!"
She stopped, looking over at Quinn, question and concern written all over her face.
"But..."
"No! This is my fight." Again, he had taken a stance much like the one she had seen him use in Nota. "Please, Nina. There is nothing for you to be concerned about. Just... stay back."
Nothing to be... they were being attacked by a martial artist, a rather good one at that, and there was nothing to be concerned about? She looked at Quinn, but he had such a look in his eyes. A look that both commanded and pleaded at the same time. It confused her so much she stayed put, but she kept an eye on the black haired martial artist that had suddenly attacked them. Well... him, anyway.
And again, the assailant attacked. Rapid punches, all blocked, followed by a series of kicks that whooshed through the air with much force, yet always blocked or dodged by Quinn. And by now, he had started attacks of his own. Nina watched the spectacle with awe. Where the assailants attacks would be powerful and straightforward, Quinn's style was more focused on dodging, often counterattacking in the process. Their battle was slowly turning into a dance of competing skills, and it was quite clear that both fighters had a lot of experience to draw into. If it wasn't so serious a situation, Nina would probably have enjoyed the show, as it would have been.
A powerful, overhead kick from 'black hair' missed, and -- the opportunity not missed by Quinn -- his counterattack sent 'black hair' rolling back much in the same way he had sent Quinn in the beginning of the battle, the air 'whooshing' out of his lungs. Much as Quinn had at the beginning of the match, 'black hair' flipped himself back to his feet and into his stance. He also still wore the same smirk, although Nina could swear that it had loosened up into more of a grin.
Quinn, also in his stance, said nothing. He loosened up a little, though. And they started walking slowly towards each other. Nina held her breath. They walked closer, until they were but an arms length from each other...
...and clasped their hands together in a strong handshake.
And Nina's jaw hit the ground, almost literally, despite her being at well above human head altitude. She flew down to Quinn, landing on his shoulder.
"You... you know this guy!" She sounded near hysterics.
"Well... yes." Quinn answered, somewhat nervously. "I'll explain it all later." He turned back to the aggressor. "I am glad to see that your skills have grown tremendously over the last years."
"Yes..." 'black hair' said, his smirk back in full force, " ...but yours have not. What's the matter? Been slacking off in the last couple of years?"
"Heh." Quinn looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his neck, as he always did when embarrassed or nervous "Well, I guess I haven't had as much need to train as when I lived in the West Katarina zone, near Horam."
"Well, you're gonna have to improve, because next time I'm not gonna go easy on you. Moving away is no reason for letting your skills wither away."
"Right! I'll keep that in mind."
They released the handshake.
"So," 'black hair' cut in, "where are you heading now?"
"To Vane," Quinn replied. "We're going to spend the night here in Tomari, then continue the journey tomorrow."
"Then, you will stay in my home," he replied, brooking no argument. He got none, but he got a question.
"You live here?" Quinn spoke up.
"By the goddess, yes. It's been a while, has it not?" 'Black hair' smiled grandly, looking ahead. "I moved here not very long after you left. There wasn't much to hold me back. After I had gone to see you a couple of days after the tournament ended, I spent a lot of time thinking. Then I decided to move here." He turned to the little dragon who, up until now, had been quiet. "But enough about me. Who's your friend? Is that really a dragon?"
"Yes, it is. Her name is Nina, and she has been very welcome company from when I left Nota." The sincerity in Quinn's voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she sent a surprised look in Quinn's direction. Then she turned to 'black hair', a frown appearing in her face.
"Hello," she said. She was looking suspiciously at 'black hair', not fully trusting him. Not yet, at least.
"You need not worry, Nina. I mean no harm to your friend." He chuckled slightly at her glaring at him.
She said nothing, but returned to Quinn's shoulder.
It was not a big house. But it was a warm one, and that was what counted.
At least for Nina who, as soon as they were inside, started looking for the fireplace. Following the sound of crackling fire, she quickly found it. Quinn had entered the house, and had immediately rooted through his backpack for some small bags of something -- what it was, Nina didn't know -- and promptly asked for the use of the kitchen. 'Black hair' pointed in the right direction telling him he was free to use whatever he needed, and looked over at the dragon still soaking up on the warmth from the fireplace. She was still giving him the 'not quite trusting you' look, though it was more a look than a glare now.
"My name is Shin," he said, hesitating a bit before continuing, "I hope you'll bear me no grudge for my sneak attack. I was merely testing his dairokkan, as well as his abilities."
"His what?"
"His warrior's sixth sense. It's part of the martial arts, no matter what style you study. I never intended to hurt him, even if I could have."
"Hmmm." Nina arched a look at him. "I don't know. You strike me as kind of an 'old enemy' of his."
Shin looked a bit taken aback by that. Regret easily visible in his features, he continued.
"...I was... a long time ago. I was probably his worst enemy." He sighed, but continued, "You have to understand that he was taken in by the master we all wanted to study under. And yes, I was also one of them. When he was chosen -- much to my surprise, not to mention the other masters in Horam -- it created a lot of jealousy among the warriors in training."
"But why?"
"Yu-Shan had turned away from the traditional arts and created a school of his own, his martial arts far different from the arts that make the Blue dragon karate the art it is. He was an outsider already then -- the leaders of Horam denied his request for starting a dojo there -- so I guess he looked outside for students. He had a student before your friend, you know."
"Really? Who?"
"I don't know. From what I heard, he was never seen training. But then there was the tournament about 20 years ago in the old arena, as far as the story's told. Yu-Shan had attended the tournament with his student. They had no choice than to let him enter, as refusing him would mean having to lose face. They didn't expect him to win anyway. He was alone, after all."
"But he did." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. Perhaps it was because they were too confident in their victory over the stray scholar in the arts. But he won them all, and it created such hatred for the prodigal master and his student. From what I've heard, they ambushed and killed the student, and whether they tried to take out the old master, no one knows. It was just a rumor, though. After all, they found the student's torn and ravaged body the next day, far south of the town. The official story was an animal attack, although I don't think anyone believed that for a second. But seeing as nothing was proven, they couldn't do anything."
"And then Quinn was chosen as the next student."
"Actually, that took a while. The masters of Horam hoped they had succeeded scaring him from taking more students. But he did at last take a student, yes."
"Why Quinn?"
"At the time, no one knew that either. The boy hadn't even asked him. He had been refused by all the other schools, after all. If what I've heard was correct, it was because he was too 'weak'. He lacked the fighting spirit the schools wanted in their students. Even so, Yu-Shan had accepted him, and they didn't doubt for a second that he would reenter the tournament when his student was ready. That's why the schools all got together to train someone who would crush him totally when that time came."
"And let me guess..." Nina cut in, words dripping so heavily with sarcasm, it made Shin wince, "...you were that lucky person."
"Yes..." Shin went quiet for a few seconds. Then, he turned back to Nina, and continued: "For years I was taught to hate him. I was trained hard. My technique would have no flaws, and my heart would show no remorse. They taught me how to cripple my adversaries, and they taught me that the weak deserved no better. But most of all, they taught me to hate my opponent."
Again, Shin went silent, turning away from Nina.
"It was only when..." Shin stopped again, looking like he was struggling with the words. But he continued shortly after, "...when I met him at the tournament in the last battle. Not overly surprising, he had defeated them all. All the opponents before the match that would put him up against me."
"And..." Nina peered at Shin, and he tightened his face.
"I attacked him. Giving him almost no time to prepare for it, I attacked him with all my strength bolstered with the hatred instilled in me by my masters. It was over a hundred times more than what I had given his predecessors in the tournament, a raging fury that only would cease at his broken frame lying at my feet. But for all my energy spent, all my raging, hateful attacks, he took it all in with that sad look of his. He pitied me, and I hated him even more for it. But still, he was slowly defeating me, and I just couldn't understand it."
"So he won the tournament?" Nina asked, her features set in an emotionless mask.
"Towards the end of the fight, he had eventually managed to wear me down. One failed attack from me, and the counterattack left me on the mat, unable to do more than lie there and prepare for my defeat. I was barely able to lift my head, so I could look at him, the person I hated more than anything. And he just stood there, looking at me with that sad look I hated so much on his face. And then he left. He jumped out of the ring, and left the arena."
"But..." Nina looked perplexed, "that would mean that..."
"...I won the tournament. Yes, technically I did. By leaving the ring, he had forfeited the match. And I didn't understand it. I had, after all, come to win. And I did, though I didn't know why I felt no better because of it. But most of all, I didn't understand why he didn't take advantage of the fact that I was lying on the mat, much like how I wanted him to lay before me, so I could finish him. After all, I had lost. I was weak. It took me quite a while to find out that I was right, but not in the way I first thought."
"And that will be enough for now." A voice came from the direction of the kitchen. Both Nina and Shin looked over, to see Quinn coming out with a tray, three steaming cups on top of it. He headed in their direction, delivering a cup to Shin before setting the tray on the table, placing another one of the cups beside Nina, this one with a straw in it.
"I guess you'll need this," he said, indicating the straw, "Seeing as you don't know how to change into a human yet."
"Uh thanks," she said, peering down the cup, almost squealing with delight upon noticing its content.
"So," Quinn said, changing the topic, "any idea why the snow hasn't been seen yet?" He took a sip from his mug.
"Beats me," Shin said, after a moment's pause. "It should have started a long time ago. It's really hurting the tourism here too."
"People actually come here for the privilege freezing to death?" Nina asked incredulously, forgetting her hot chocolate for a second.
"No, they come here to ski," Shin answered. "The freezing is just an added bonus." He gave her a lopsided grin.
Nina rolled her eyes. "The time I figure you humans out, it won't be soon. I promise you that."
Quinn and Shin both just chuckled. Then, they all returned their attention to their cups.
And during the rest of the evening, Shin continued -- and finished his tale.
Upon the next morning, they all found themselves at the southwestern exit of Tomari.
Quinn and Nina, all set to head towards Meribia, looked towards Shin standing close by.
"I'm sorry about... well, being so suspicious about you." Nina said, looking very apologetic.
"Are you sure you won't come with us?" Quinn shot in before Shin had time to reply to Nina's apology.
"Uh... no. I'm sorry, Quinn, but I'm... seeing someone today." He turned towards Nina, "And thank you, by the way."
"Seeing someone?" Quinn looked a bit puzzled, "Anyone we know?"
"No, you don't know her... I mean..." Shin looked like he'd just made a colossal blunder. Judging by the shocked looks, but slowly appearing matching grins at both Quinn's and Nina's faces, he supposed he had. He looked towards the sky.
"A girl?" Quinn said with a surprised tone in his voice, barely able to restrain the laughter. "And how serious is this 'friendship', might I ask? From what I remember, nothing could keep you away from the arts, even after you came to see me past the tournament."
"None of your business, slacker, so stop your impertinence and get going." Shin growled, and shooed them away. "Before I have to beat some sense into your skull."
"Okay, we'll go," Quinn answered, grinning like an idiot. "But you can expect visits not far in your future. I have to see what kind of girl that can get your attention away from the arts, if just a little."
"Do I have to warn you twice?" Shin looked well and truly flustered, so Quinn decided to spare the poor guy the embarrassment. Thus he left, stopping after a couple of hundred of feet and turned around waving to the shape of Shin, still standing at the outskirts of Tomari.
Then, they set their sights for Meribia.