Free Soap

Authors Note: Okay, so Cyrene and Shanelle don't belong entirely to me. RacheyPoo helped. But, she has disassociated herself from them ::cries:: Oh well. They're MYNE now!! MUAHAHAHA!!

Shanelle straitened from her task of tying the last of the thugs to a tree. She turned to Cyrene; he was holding a hand over a fairly deep gash on his upper arm that was bleeding freely. The light mage walked over to her friend and took her backpack off her back.
"Sit down, please," Shanelle ordered Cyrene. He did as he was told, knowing it was pointless to argue with her. Shanelle began to dig through her bag. She pulled out a couple jars and a roll of bandages that she always carried with her.
"Do you think it might be poisoned?" Cyrene winced as she began to apply some ointment from a large stone jar.
"No, Trayhern wants me alive so he wouldn't risk anything poisonous, even if it was meant for you. These thugs are pretty stupid." Shanelle answered as she finished tying the bandages.
Cyrene watched as she began to re-pack her bag. The two friends had just finished yet another fight with Trayherns' men, the second one that week. Shanelle had insisted on not killing anyone; so she had been instructing Cyrene on hand to hand combat, which she happened to be a master at. He was making good progress.
"Shanelle," Cyrene began, "you're a really great friend and all, but fighting these thugs is getting annoying."
Shanelle looked up from packing her bag, "Well, it's not my fault that Trayhern just doesn't give up easily."
Cyrene nodded; after all he had let Shanelle travel with him.
"Look, we better move on before they wake up," Shanelle indicated Trayherns' men tied to the tree. They walked together in companionable silence. Susano was in wolf form to match Kumiko. Cyrene was thinking about Shanelle; he had been traveling with her for three months. He had met Shanelle when he helped her out with Trayherns' men, including a fire mage. He had learned that she was a healer, a pretty good one, and for some reason she found it offensive when people complimented on her looks. Cyrene remembered one time when he had complimented her on a necklace she was making:
Shanelle had found some purple-ish, lavender, and gray rocks. She collected a couple as they walked along but wouldn't tell Cyrene why. Then, after they stopped and made camp she sat down, took out her rocks, and pulled a piece of smooth glass from her backpack. Cyrene sat in front of her watching her perform this strange operation.
Shanelle then began to do something with her magic by refracting the light at just the right angle so it went through the glass and burned a hole in the middle of the rock. She also burned the rocks into different shapes. Cyrene watched as Shanelle pulled some string out of her backpack and strung all the rocks onto the string in a special order. She then tied the string around her neck so it hung loosely.
"OH! I see! It's a necklace!" Cyrene exclaimed as she finished.
"Of COURSE it's a necklace, silly! What did you think it was?" She replied.
Cyrene shrugged. "It's very pretty." He answered simply.
"Thank you," Shanelle smiled at his comment.
"It looks very nice on you. I think it brings out your lovely eyes," Cyrene complimented.
Shanelles' smile faltered a bit but she answered with a polite, "Thank you."
Cyrene never saw that necklace again.
He also found out that she was a light mage, but she never got a full education on how to use her magic, so she didn't have many advanced attacks or defenses.
"You know Shanelle, we can prepare for Trayherns attacks." Cyrene suddenly broke the silence.
"We can?"
"Sure, just think, are there any other people working for Trayhern? I don't mean thugs, more sophisticated than that, like any particular mages?"
Shanelle thought for a moment before answering, "Well, there are two mages that work for Trayhern."
"Do you remember anything about them?"
"One's a girl and one is a boy," Shanelle thought after a second of thought.
"We never actually saw them," Susano chimed in. "But we've heard of them, they're pretty powerful."
"Ok then!" Cyrene replied cheerily. "Now we just have to watch out for a pair of mages."
Before Shanelle could reply they heard voices up ahead.
"This looks like a good spot," a female voice exclaimed.
"I don't know why you let you talk me into these things, if we're not about to smash to bits on rocks, we're walking through a patch of nettles," a male voice answered rather grumpily.
"Why do you go with me if you don't like it?" The female snapped back. "Now help me set up camp."
Cyrene and Shanelle exchanged a glance and silently crept towards the voices.
Two people stood in a small clearing. There was a young man who wore black pants, a dark blue tunic and a blue undershirt. On his belt hung a silver hilted sword with blue gems embedded in the hilt. The boy was handsome and tall, about 5 feet 10 inches. He had bright aquamarine eyes and blackish blue hair that went almost to his shoulders. A sparrow, most likely his daemon sat on his shoulder.
His companion, a young woman wore baggy brown pants and a steely blue vest that went half way down her thighs over a three-quarters length light blue shirt. Her ice blue eyes were friendly. Her blonde hair had blue streaks and her hair fell just below her shoulders. She carried a quiver of arrows and a bow. She was about 5 feet 9 inches. A golden retriever, that must have been her daemon, stood by her side.
"Are these the mages that work for Trayhern?" Cyrene whispered to Shanelle.
"I think so, but I'm not sure," Shanelle whispered back.
"Better safe than sorry," Cyrene replied as he slipped off into the woods prepared to do something that was almost a routine to them, Kumi padded after him. Shanelle and Susano went to the left, purposely making noise as they went.
"Well, you see Myi --" The boy began until his companion held up her hand to silence him.
"Do you hear that?" She hissed.
The boy listened for a moment while his right hand moved slowly toward the hilt of his sword. The girl took her bow off of her shoulder. Shanelle watched at the two mages walked towards her hiding place.
"What are you doing there?" The girl exclaimed in surprise as she found Shanelle.
"I'll go with you!" Shanelle moaned, putting on her fear act. "Just don't hurt me! Please!"
"What makes you think we're going to hurt you?" The girl asked sounding confused.
"Go with us where?" The boy asked.
Shanelles fear act slipped a little there, "To Lord Trayhern, of course."
"Oh, how could have we forgotten, Xantos? Silly us, she wants to go to Trayhern," The woman told her companion, sarcasm dripping from her words.
Shanelle dropped her fear act and began to get a little annoyed. "Quit the act and take me to Lord Trayhern!"
"Ok," the boy, Xantos, began uncertainly. "We can take you, but you'll have to lead the way."
"What do you mean?" Shanelle stared at the pair, dumbstruck.
"We mean that we don't know what you're talking about!' The girl shot back.
Shanelle didn't see Cyrene until it was too late. The two suspected mages fell to the ground in one big unconscious heap.
"Ren! You dolt!" Shanelle shrieked.
"What? I didn't do anything wrong!" Cyrene protested. "We've been using this plan for months!"
"I think these are the wrong people!" Shanelle retorted through clenched teeth. Shanelle slowly slid to the ground and covered her face in her hands. "Ren, what are we going to do when they wake up?" She moaned.
Cyrene walked over and sat next to his friend. "Say sorry?" he offered.
"Sorry is NOT going to be enough!" Shanelle glared at Cyrene.
"What else are we supposed to give them? Free soap!?!" the water mage protested.
"Oh yea, I can see it now," Shanelle began sarcastically. "We're so sorry, as consolation, here's some free soap."
"It was just an idea," Cyrene mumbled.
They sat in silence for a few minutes while Shanelle peered at the two unconscious mages.
Suddenly her eyes widened. "Ren!" She moaned. "I'm gonna KILL you!"
"What?" Cyrene shot back, slightly irritated.
"These are definitely the wrong people!"
"How can you tell?" Cyrene asked, suspicious.
"This is the sea guardian!" Shanelle hissed.
"Oh. You mean they picked new guardians, again?" Cyrene ignored Shanelles sigh and continued, "So, what's your point?"
"My point is that we have an angry sea guardian here that could boil us in hot water, chop us into fourths and throw us into the ocean or something equally gruesome!" Shanelle replied hotly. "So I suggest you start running."
"What about you?" Cyrene quipped.
"Me?" Shanelle began, "I'm not gonna run, you're gonna CARRY me, ya PACK HORSE!"
Cyrene frowned, that's not fair. Why should I do that?"
Shanelle grabbed the collar of his shirt and rose to her full 5 feet 7 inches, dragging Cyrene along. She pulled on his collar until his face was mere inches away from hers. "You're gonna do it cause I told you to!" Shanelle hissed, her lavender eyes blazing.
"All the color in Cyrene's face drained. "She's 4 inches shorter than me but still manages to scare me witless!" he thought as he turned tail and ran.
"HEY! You can't run from the Sea Guardian without me on your back!!!" a furious Shanelle yelled after him.
"I'm not running from the sea guardian, I'm running from YOU!" Cyrene called back.
"Why you little--" Shanelle began to chase after Cyrene.
Xantos slowly opened to the spectacle of the girl they had met chasing a boy he had not seen before. Xantos sat up before he could realize that Myila's head was on his shoulder. Myila head hit the ground with a dull thud.
"Ow!" Myila cried in surprise as her eyes flew open. "What was that for??" Myila snapped as she glared at Xantos.
He grinned apologetically at her, "Well, I was surprised by the sound it made. I expected it to be hollow."
Myila opened her mouth but Xantos didn't give her a chance to begin speaking before he jumped up and began to run.
Myila promptly ran after him, shouting vile insults. "Oh yea! I doubt your head is full of much either, 'Mr. I'm so lost all the time'!"
The daemons sat in the middle of the clearing watching their mages chase each other. Zoni suddenly broke the ice, "Hi, I'm Xantos's daemon."
"I'm Susano, Shanelle's daemon."
"Kumiko, Cyrene's daemon."
"Hi! I'm Sashike, Myila's daemons." They all watched the mages for a few moments. "This is EXTREMELY entertaining," Sashike commented while watching the spectacle. "Almost as entertaining as being mean to Xantos."
Xantos found himself running next to the boy. "Hi!" Xantos panted.
"Hey, what's up?" the boy asked.
"Oh, I said her head was hollow," Xantos replied.
"Oh, Shanelle just scares me. By the way, my name is Cyrene."
"I'm Xantos. Nice to meet you."
A few seconds later Cyrene spoke again, "What is it with women? They practically live to chase you and beat you up. Lets hope Shanelle and your friend gang up on us. They seem completely capable of taking us down."
"Yep, us guys gotta stay together," Xantos said and nodded his head.
A few yards behind them . . . .
"What is it with men? They never seem to be able to keep their big mouth shut!" Myila remarked to Shanelle. She and Shanelle had been talking for a while now.
"The funny thing is," Shanelle began, "Is that they pretend to be all tough, but they're actually terrified of us."
"When we catch up to them, lets make sure it stays that way."
Shanelle grinned. "Good idea."
Up ahead . . . .
"Man, it has got to be hard having the Sea Guardian chasing you." Cyrene panted.
"What? I'M the Sea Guardian!" Xantos exclaimed, confused.
"What?!?" Cyrene suddenly stopped, and Xantos followed suit. "I thought SHE was the Sea Guardian!" he gestured to Myila.
Unable to stop fast enough, Shanelle smashed into Cyrene. Before Xantos could react, Myila ran full force into him and they toppled over. When Xantos got back on his feet Shanelle was on the ground and Cyrene was mumbling something about "Having to carry her after all." Myila was flushed a deep pink.
"You know Myila," Xantos started, "I don't think all this running is good fro you. It looks like you're getting heat exhaustion." Xantos ignored Myila's sigh and continued. "You should drink more fluids."
Cyrene looked up at them. He had just picked up Shanelle and draped her over his shoulder. "Well, I don't have any fluids, but I do have some free soap." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bar of soap and handed it to Myila.
Myila looked from the soap to Cyrene. "Are you implying something?"
Cyrene looked taken aback. "Uhm . . . No . . ."
There were a few moments of silence while Myila looked at Shanelle. "You know, if I was her, I wouldn't want to be carried like that."
Cyrene stared at Myila for a moment until what she said sunk in. "Oh, you mean her!" Cyrene jerked his head towards Shanelle.
"Yea!" Myila answered enthusiastically. "I'd want to be carried like this!" At that she swept Xantos into her arms, much alike a prince would carry a princess right before they "Lived Happily Ever After." Except, backwards.
Xantos eyed the ground nervously. "Myila, please don't drop me."
"Don't worry, I won't" Myila grinned at him. "At least, not on accident. Anyway," Myila continued. "This is how you would carry me, right Xantos?"
"Naw, you're too heavy to carry. I'd probably just leave you lying there." Xantos teased.
As expected, Myila dropped him like a piece of red hot metal.
"Ow!" Xantos moaned.
A collective snigger arose from the daemons.
Myila glared down at him.
"Ha ha! That's a good one! I'll have to remember that one!" Cyrene laughed.
Myila whirled to face Cyrene, her eyes flashing.
Cyrene backed away fearfully, "Well, no offence, but you do look to heavy to carry . . ."
"Why are both of you against me?" Myila cried in distress. "Do you think I'm fat or something?"
"You're not fat Myila!" Xantos began, his eyes twinkling playfully. "You're pleasantly plump!"
Myila's eyes shone with disbelief. "Pleasantly PLUMP?!?" Myila rounded on Xantos, who paled at the expression on her face. Myila grabbed the front of his tunic and pulled him up so the two mages were eye to eye. "I wonder why you didn't run. But, then again it must be hard with your foot in your mouth!" Myila hissed.
Cyrene choked back laughter. "Xantos, my advice to you is, when a girl picks you up like that, run. Run fast."
Xantos did as he was advised, or at least tried to. Unfortunately Myila grabbed the back of his tunic to prevent him from running.
"Cyrene?" Xantos said, his voice pleading. "What now?"
"Ummm . . . Any last words?"

* * *

The four new friends sat around a fire, their daemons at their sides. Zoni was a cat, Kumiko was a wolf, Sashike was a dog, and Susano was a fox. Shanelle had reained concisousness while still on Cyrene's shoulder. She had started shouting insults at him and managed to kcik him in the back before he got her back on the ground. He even had the bruises to prove it.
"Feh, the girls just cant seem to make up their minds," Cyrene softly complained to Xantos while watching the two girls chattering away on the other side of the fire. "She said she wanted me to carry her, but when I do, all she does is kick and fuss."
"I said it once, I'll say it again. Us guys gotta stick together."
"Truer words were never spoken, Xantos," Cyrene agreed.
Cyren sighed. "I hpe Shanelle won't act like this too often. Does Myila treat you like that much?
Xantos laughed. "Cyrene, welcome to my life. Myila beats the crap out of me whenever she wants. I work with Kirona who beats the crap out of me whenever she wants to. I work with Aliasa who is completely capable of beating the crap out of me whenever she wants to."
"Poor Xantos," Cyrene smiled as he patted Xantos's shoulder sympathetically.
The two boys sat in silence staring into the fire. Cyrene suddenly pulled a bar of soap out of his pocket.
"Want some free soap?"

* * *

Authors note- ::Jams to Catch You Catch Me:: What's this? Someone who feels SORRY for Xantos! ::faint:: Well, at least it's a boy. Xantos could use a bit more of those as friends. Very pleasant compared to PMS-y, fire breathing, scaly, fanged, and clawed girls with the fires of Hades burning in their eyes. O.O; Much more pleasant. XD Hope you enjoyed! Thanks again RacheyPoo for letting me use Shanelle-sama and Cyrene-san in my stories!!