[PP-F5] Shifting Sands

[Zero 0]

"Sinon... I see..." Zero remained with a calm expression on his face, even though he knew what she meant, and pulled the girl close to him into a hug of sorts. He gently squeezed the girl and sighed closing his eyes. "My turn to confess why I'm such a lonely weird kid... I guess you could say I killed someone too, though it was more indirectly in my case." He went back to that snowy day for a few seconds and opened his eyes looking into Sinon's. "I killed my parents, it wasn't done by me directly but it was however caused by me. So I guess I somewhat understand how you feel, not entirely but somewhat...and what I'm trying to say is that, if you'll allow it, I'll be someone whom you can always trust..." Guess we can trust her after all... You can see it in her eyes, it's haunting her just like it haunts you... Yes... I noticed as well...

[Aoife 0]

My tears became more infrequent as Zero spoke of his own depressing tale. "I already trust you, Zero," I murmured with a nod. Hmph. Just don't get burned, girl. Didn't I tell you to shut up? Remembering that we had a job to do, I slipped out of the hug and looked up at Zero's face. "We should probably pay more attention to the task at hand. We wouldn't want to be caught off guard, right?" I asked, trying to revert the attention off of me and to more pressing matters.

[Zero 0]

"I'm glad to hear that Sinon, and yes you're right." Zero nodded with a slight smile as he pulled his face mask back up to his nose and glanced back at the quiet desert as the sand was carried by the faint wind. "Yeah, we can finish this later... That thing should come by here soon..." He turned to face the direction he had been looking at and sliced the air with his sword letting it rest by his side. "I assume you're ready as ever Sinon, so keep your guard up." Try not to die... It wouldn't do either of us good...

[Aoife 0]

I inwardly sighed with relief, glad that we had moved on to more important things than my current broken state of mind. "I assume that you're ready as ever Sinon, so keep your guard up." I blinked and thought yelled at Zero. I know that I have to remain guarded! Jeez! I'm not a baby! Don't micromanage me! I know, I know. He wouldn't be treating me this way if I hadn't told him my age. I can't take it back now.... I began trying to piece together my mask of indifference. "Let me ask again. Are we there yet?"

[Zero 0]

"Yes, this is where we wait." Zero spun his sword several times and watched the horizon as a large mound of sand began to form. "There it is..." He glanced back at Sinon and looked at the mound slowly move towards them. "Here it comes, and sorry if I'm being to overprotective or nagging... I'm just not comfortable with loosing people I care about..." He slightly bent his knees ready to charge forward and tighten his grip as his breathing slowed down.

[Aoife 0]

The shifting sands only proved to further help the scaly assailant in it's race to get to us. The snake quickly picked up speed and was soon streaking under the desert sands. I held my dagger to my side so it couldn't be knocked out of my hand so easily. When the snake was almost on top of us, I darted to the side, thinking that it'd burst out of the sand, and it did. The dust and sand grains flew into the air as the snake leaped out from under the ground. With a smile, I pounced on the snake and dug the blade into the hide of the beast.

(Actually, never mind. It's fine. XD)

[Zero 0]

Zero quickly followed Sinon's lead and sprinted at the creature. He threw his sword over his shoulder and slashed it in a diagonal motion from top right to his bottom left side cutting the creature. He glanced at his partner as the serpent thrashed about violently and hissed. "Sinon get off of it before it sends you flying off and into the sand!" He shouted as he moved back trying to keep his distance in case the creature did anything rash or violent.

[Aoife 0]

Keeping a tight grip on my dagger, I left gravity take over and slid down the snake's side. The blade left a long gash in it's wake on the way down. About halfway to the ground, I swung my feet towards the monster and planted them on it's side, digging in my heels to slow down a bit. I ripped my dagger out of the serpent's scaly hide and propelled myself away from the raging beast, free falling head first towards the ground. Twisting my body around in midair, I let my feet take the impact of landing and set my left hand touch the ground to keep my balance while skidding back a couple feet. Straightening up again, I glanced up, searching for Zero's position amid the chaos. I spotted him ahead of me just as the serpent spun itself around to face us, kicking up dust and lowering the visibility in the area.

(OOC: Is that good? I finally posted! Yeah!)

[Zero 0]

Zero watched his partner as the sand was picked up and thrown about by the snake. He had gotten tired of thos thing and wanted to end the fight. He opened his menu, keeping an eye on the snake in case it attacked, and searched through quickly. The snake looked at him then at Sinon, it was bound to attack her for being the last one to hit and Zero couldn't have that happen. He quickly selected an item from his inventory as three swords, The Three Great Beasts, appeared at his side. This will end that thing... He unsheathed the blades, one in his mouth and in each hand, taking a step back as he brought the sword in his right hand against his back and the one in his left hand across his waist pointing behind him. "Coordinated Edge," He dashed at the creature slashing across, downward and through the it as a sudden large gale of wind from the swords surrounded them and, cleared the sand up returning the visibility. "Dragon Twister." He looked at Sinon as the creature broke into bits of blue crystals.

[Aoife 0]

Shifting most of my weight on one foot, I slipped my dagger out of sight into the black binding that encircled a portion of my thigh. I glanced at Zero with my hand on my hip and my bottom lip pushed out in a slight pout. "That ended much too quickly. I was having fun," I said, whispering the last part to myself. I sighed to hide the smile that was slowly creeping onto my face. With a shake of my head, I looked back up at Zero and started towards him.

[Zero 0]

Zero sighed lowering his swords and quietly sheathed them. He looked at the sky for a few seconds as he heard Sinon speak and chuckled at what she said. "I'm sorry about that Sinon, didn't mean to spoil the fun for you." He scratched his head as he looked at the girl and began to walk towards her.

[Aoife 0]

I shook my head and stopped a few feet away from Zero. "Never mind that now. It's done and over with," I said calmly. Looking around at the cold barren landscape, I couldn't help but wonder if this was what a desert in real life was like. If so, I wouldn't want to go to one. "So, what next?" I asked, suppressing a shiver as a chill ran up and down my spine.

[Zero 0]

Zero looked at Sinon and calmly walked up to her. He smiled slightly and nervously placed his hand on her shoulder. "Well it's getting very late and the weather isn't very kind out here, how about we head somewhere to warm up and get something refreshing?" He passed his hand through his hair and looked at Sinon's eyes. "My treat."

[Aoife 0]

I noticeably flinched when Zero touched my shoulder, but prevented myself from doing anything violent in response. Tilting my head to the side, I listened silently. That does sound tempting. I searched Zero's eyes for anything misleading that would give me enough reason for doubt. A small smile lit upon my face when I was unable to find anything. "Alright, we might as well," I chimed.

[Zero 0]

Zero smiled more excitidly at hearing her and grabbed her hand without thinking, running back to the town. "Alright well you can get anything you like, my treat Sinon." He glanced back at her and smiled widely grabbing her hand more tightly. "You should smile more, you have a beautiful and enchanting smile."

[Aoife 0]

My eyes widened as I flew through the air for a moment before my feet hit the ground running. His excitement reminded me of child on Christmas morning. Anything? Hmm. "You should smile more, you have a beautiful and enchanting smile." Wait, what?! I was shocked by this statement. A beautiful and enchanting smile? I thought, mulling over his words in silence.

[Zero 0]

Zero looked back at Sinon as they ran back towards the town, the air was cold and the wind was picking up more sand. "The desert's getting colder and darker, better hurry." He pulled the girl forward and slightly smiled. "You alright Sinon? You seem a bit thoughtful of something."

[Aoife 0]

I sped ahead of Zero to hide any embarrassing expressions from sight. The wind picked up and spit gritty grains of sand in my face. "I'm fine," I snapped. As it got colder, the only thing I wanted to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other. For once, I didn't wish to be outside all night.

[Zero 0]

He tried to keep up with the girl as they both zoomed through the desert and began to near the town. "Hey we're almost there. How are you holding up against the cold Sinon? It can be very bothersome to some." He ran beside her trying to make sure she was okay and she wasn't bothered by something.

[Aoife 0]

The temperature continued to plummet and I began putting less energy into running and more of it into not shivering. I wound up falling back and letting Zero take the lead. Almost as soon as he couldn't see me directly, the will to suppress the shaking crumbled and I shivered repeatedly. I felt like jumping for joy when we got close enough to see the town, not that I'd actually do so while anyone was around. "Hey we're almost there. How are you holding up against the cold Sinon? It can be very bothersome to some." Zero said, his voice cutting through the freezing air. I wanted to laugh at that, but instead I shook violently. My steps faltered for a moment and that was all that was needed for me to stumble.