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Chapter 4

Crossroads (Blaine)

The Caprian Tales

By Matthew Courtney (Barta)

"You didn't have to reach out like that....."

The glass was cold against my forehead, which was pounding of it's own right...Every light that passed and every sound that managed to drift by my ears earned a low snarl and quiverring of the jowls. The hoverbus came to a slow halt and the female voice rang out pleasantly through the air, "Catin District - Mian Tiang" and from that cesspool spilled noise and light, smell and frustration. I tucked my head low between my knees, fingers wrapped about my skull and squeezing with fierce anger, and the bus slowly began to accelerate. A light thud pushed it's way though the seat my scalp was flush against, and I could feel the seated body slowly turn about until cool bursts of breath graced the nape of my neck. "Fancy seeing you here, han-" The voice cut itself off, coughing as the weight shuffled about once again. It was a familiar voice, though the face I couldn't recall.

A finger soon assaulted my unresponsive form, and I left forth a rumbling snarl of obstinance and frustration, headbutting the seat before me angrily. And from it trickled an almost amused laughter, and an odd scraping sound. My tail set to whipping and lashing against the leather seat, and a spared a momentary upwards glance at the blinding light as my eyes began to readjust, "I've got a killer headache." To which the voice replied by brushing my cheek gently, "You've also got some rain drops on your cheeks, must be pretty bad down there in the Fenran District huh?"

His hand lingered there for a moment, and a finger strayed to stroke just behind my jaw before it slipped away in a fleeting caress. For a moment, I smiled and my tail gave an embarassing drumming upon the seat, but I soon regained my wits and cleared my throat as he came into focus. "You didn't have to reach out like that, it was..." I started but he promptly cut me off with another of those almost amused grins, "You didn't have to invite me to the bonfire, but you did...Maybe I wanted to reach out?" It was then that he became quite distinguishable, and the face resolved itself to reveal a grin that was far less timid and shy than before. "You're pretty torn up, a few scrapes on your right hand and a nasty headache.....You know...I could help you?"

"No thanks, I don't really need anyone's help right now." And with that I stood to make my way to the back of the shuttle, though even then I was pursued. He stood in the middle of the seats, arms folded across his chest and hips canted ever so slightly. "Hey, I'm actually not that bad at restorative symbology...Let me take a look will ya?" And I turned my attention away to face the window and passing scenery. "You're pretty stubborn, but I guess that's what they say about the big ones." And soon his hands were upon mine, and though I tried to pull away his grip was quite firm, and even moreso his claws were poised upon my flesh, just indenting and waiting to puncture. "It's a few deep cuts, if you hold still it won't be much of an issue. Just....let me get the glass out alright?" And that's when I started forcefully pulling away, "No, no, no, no!" Yet those claws sunk into flesh and earned a surprised yelp, which he traded with a sharp grin. "Five...Two-One!" The glass tinked across the floor, there was a sudden flash of blue, and a rough crack, and he was laying in a heap upon the floor. My fist was quite firmly planted in the leather where he'd been seated next to me.

"HEY! HEY! ARE YOU CAUSING TROUBLE BACK THERE FENRAN!?" Came a bellow from the front, and the bus began to decelerate rapidly, whilst groans trickled from the direction of the floor. I opened my mouth to speak, but out of the corner of my eye caught something shooting into the air. It was his tail, straight as a board and almost as tall as I, slowly rising as he did an odd sort of push up and then pushed himself to his feet. "No! No! Everything's okay!" He shouted, yawing his jaw and rubbing at it painfully, all whilst shooting me the most arrogant of grins. "Just a bit of foolishness! Nothing to be alarmed over!" And he thunked casually down in the seat with me once again, beaming a toothy grin. "So, I'm Gareth...And you, Mr.BigBadPunchyFenran?"

I chuckled heartily, I couldn't remember the last time I chuckled like that, it seemed so long ago. "I'm Blaine, and I'm sorry about the uhhhhh...." I gave a slight gesture to the growing welt upon his jaw, no doubt seriously bruised and aching. He simply shrugged and reached for my face, thumbs planting upon each temple. "Just don't do it again, alright? Or you might find yourself with an even worse headache."

Soon the pleasant voice rang out once again, "Last Stop - Emerald Point! Emerald Point!" And I followed him off, still quite intrigued by that unusually long tail and watching it twist and quirk as he sauntered his way out into the night.