Rain Dance

Chaos reigned and everybody fought with the intruder demons until Sir Turqine came and set things straight with his sword and his whip of thorns. The master of the tournaments had little to fear from direct attacks since he was a ghost and such physical forces passed through him. After he and some of the familiars finally drove out the cloaked ones, and a couple of days were spent on repairs and injury treatment of demon and human alike, the tournament went on as usual.

The Phoenixes won the tournament. After a proper match with the Ravens they went to face the Thunderbirds and finally the Cats. They collected the prize of soul and status, the former to help heal Adair with and the latter to better guarantee entry into the big tournament. Voltaire should have felt elated, but all he felt was fatigue and longing by the end of the battles.

"Feeling okay 'Taire?" asked Adair, as he heard Voltaire cough again.

"Yeah," the Hunter replied a little hoarsely and more than a little tiredly. "Let's go."

The rain has diminished to almost nothing. It was safe enough for the phoenixes to travel, and they weren't the only one.

Kimi was traveling as well. Though she was much slower than the taller changlings and Ava, she was already far ahead in the direction they were traveling.

Adair was glad the rain had greatly lessened. He didn't know what they were going to do if it hadn't, now that Kimi was gone. He was also glad that the next tournament was far away, because Voltaire was looking seriously sick. He had pushed himself too far at this tournament, which he tended to do anyway, but it looked like all that extra strain was catching up to him. Adair also suspected a broken heart.

Right now the Hunter was asleep on Ava's back as they flew through the sky.

Kimi was at an impasse. In front of her stretched a wide canyon. There was no foliage to hide her so she stood out like a sore thumb. A small creature similar to Trevor paced at her side.

Kimi looked around, trying to figure a way across the deep gouge from the earth.

Voltaire woke up with his throat and chest tight. It hurt just to move. A slight steam wafted off him, even though he was not wet - a sign of fever.

"Are we there yet?" he asked hoarsely, before falling into a coughing spell.

"No, we're not going to be there for at least a week. We'll be traveling until nightfall," Adair answered. "Lie back down, 'Taire. You sound awful."

"I'll be fine," Voltaire replied, watching the scenery below fly by. He had been dreaming, something about fire and wings and Kimi. Dammit, he couldn't even get her out of his head while he slept. Not that he was ever going to see her again. That's what he got for getting so attached. He fell in love way too damn easily.

As they flew toward a series of canyons, he spotted something, no someone, pale among the reddish soil. It looked like Kimi. Great, was he going to start seeing her everywhere too?

Ava was more trusting of her eyesight, and had better eyesight in general. "Kimi!" she squawked, flying down.

Kimi looked up in surprise at being called.

The little demon growled threateningly and moved in front of Kimi to protect her. It was grey where Trevor had been black and it was missing the tuft of fur at the neck. The tail was a crescent instead of a fork and the eyes were blue.

"Ava?" Kimi murmured in awe.

"Hi! We missed you," said Ava, landing nearby. The phoenix took little interest in the little snarling summon, assuming it was like Trevor. "Volty especially."

Voltaire just stared at Kimi, having trouble believing she was really there.

"Fiona, calm down." Kimi murmured. She looked up at Voltaire with a frown. "Is he alright?" She asked. "How did your tournament go?" She acted as if she had never vanished.

The little creature stopped growling, but its neck fur didn't lie flat.

"...I'm fine," Voltaire replied when he finally found his voice. "Just...tired, that's all. We won the tournament." He glanced at Fiona. "Does that one talk too?"

Kimi shrugged. "Milipha only knows. I hadn't even known Trevor could." She stepped forward lightly until she was within reach. "You don't look so well, are you sure you're alright?" she murmured in concern.

"...Fine. I'll be fine," Voltaire insisted, his voice a bit fainter this time.

Adair watched the sick Hunter in worry. He knew that Voltaire was trying to look strong in front of Kimi, but in reality he was feverish and exhausted.

"Would you like to ride with us?" offered Ava, perhaps in concern for Kimi, perhaps in concern for Voltaire.

"..." Kimi looked to Adair for a moment before turning back to Voltaire. "May I heal you?" She asked softly.

"I'm..." Voltaire began, before going into a coughing spell. "I...I guess..." he finished, shivering slightly.

Kimi sighed. "Inhale deeply and keep it okay? I'm going to have to take the illness from you." She stated.

(Voltaire may not like this, lol. Adair, however...)

(?)

"Does this require biting?" Voltaire asked, thinking back to when he was poisoned. The mark from before was still visible though faint.

"Biting?" Adair questioned.

"...Long story. Tell you later..."

(you'll see. ^-^)

"No. No biting. Just hop down and take your deep breath" Kimi murmured. "It won't hurt. I swear"

Even though it was Kimi that was assuring him, he still felt skeptical about the painless claim. Regardless he jumped down, feeling slightly dizzy from the sudden movement, and took him a deep breath.

Carefully, Kimi pulled him down to her level and pressed her lips to his. Her lips forced his apart and Voltaire experienced a feeling similar to all of the air being forcibly sucked from him, taking with it the fatigue and ill feelings. It only lasted a moment, for Kimi let him go and her legs collapsed out from under her. Her cheeks were a sickly green, even for her, as she sat panting with her eyes closed. It was obvious that she would need a moment to recover.

Voltaire stood there in shock for a moment, struggling to regain the breath forced out of him. Then he noticed Kimi's own weakened state and felt guilt eat into his stomach.

"...Come here," he said, picking her up and climbing back onto Ava. Though the fever and tightness was faded he was still very tired from struggling with the illness. Ava carefully helped him get on.

Kimi leaned against him with a small groan. "Sorry" She mumbled softly "Sorry a-about earlier"

Fiona jumped up next to Kimi with a hiss.

"H-hush Fiona."

Voltaire sighed and rested his head on top of hers.

"What the hell are you sorry for? I'm the one who should be apologizing," Voltaire answered. "Those guards were coming for you and we weren't letting you leave. I managed to beat the crap out of some of them, by the way."

"mmmm." Kimi didn't tell him that she didn't know about the guards. It didn't matter now anyway. Both of them accepted her for herself. "You're warm." Kimi murmured, cuddling up to him slightly.

"I'm a Phoenix. I'd better be warm," Voltaire commented lazily.

"Ready to go?" asked Ava.

"Been ready," said Voltaire.

Ava took off.

Kimi easily fell asleep, being held in Voltaire's lap. The feeling of safety she got from being around him was comforting.

It didn't take long for Voltaire to fall asleep either, being both tired and relieved. He ended up slumbering for the rest of the flight. He was jostled slightly awake by Ava's landing at a cliffside, letting out a drowsy, annoyed groan for being woken up.