Tears for Fears [Mine]

"W-wait, hold on! It's not what it looks like!" Richard said, letting go of Mine and raising his hands in a panic. "I just came here to help her find her way back!"

Mine eventually vouched for Richard, but it took a moment for the person named Shio to respond to the request.

"...very well."

The figure jumped from the tree and landing on the ground in a crouched position. The glint of silvery mantis blades reflected in the light of the sun in her hands. The figure then looked up, her large caramel eyes staring hard at Richard before sheathing her weapons and walking forward. Richard swallowed hard before taking a small step back, in part to give Mine and Shio space, and in part because he didn't want to use self-defense against the small Enkidu. Seriously, how old WERE these two?

Shio's anger seemed to dissipate and was replaced with a deadpanned expression at Mine as she approached her.

"I tried playing a prank on a giant beast thing," Shio explained in a monotnous voice. "I thought tying bells on its tail would drive it crazy."

Richard stared bewildered.

She tried to what now!?

"The bells did work, but it ended up wrecking the camp," she said plainly. "Instead of cleaning up though, I thought it'd be fun to tease you and see how surprised you were."

At this, Richard's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed.

This girl...has a very bizarre and DANGEROUS sense of humor...

Mine was quick to throw her arms around Shio as the girl approached. She held her tightly, burying her face into her friend's neck and shivering slightly. She was about to tell Shio how scared she'd been and how glad she was that Shio was safe. Shio began to talk though, and her words made Mine freeze suddenly.

Slowly, Mine pulled away, eyes shining with tears. "You did this on purpose?" She sniffled, her shock written on her face. "That's not..." Her voice cracked as her hands balled into fists. "That's not funny Shio!!!" She cried out, her lips pulling down into a deep frown. It was clear she was trying to look angry, but her tears didn't exactly help sell it.

"I thought you had died, o-or that you were lost and wouldn't come back again!" As Mine spoke, she furiously rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears as fast as they were coming. "I can't handle that...Not.." Mine started to say something, but paused and let her words die on the air. "This isn't funny...." She said again, her ears flattening as her head hung.

Mine's crying at this point was something of a normal occurrence, but even Richard could sense that there was a sense of hurt in whatever the other Enkidu girl had done. The latter picked up on this too as Shio's eyes widened for just a moment as Mine continued explaining it hadn't been funny. Richard uneasily scratched the back of his head and everyone was silent for a moment.

Mine, however, would then feel a soft hand pet the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," Shio said in a monotone voice. "You can sleep in my bed tonight, if you'd like."

Mine froze once more as she felt Shio begin to pet her. She sniffled, not responding right away. She seemed to almost consider her apology, in reality though, it didn't take much for Mine to forgive Shio. After only a couple seconds, she'd feel Mine lightly nuzzle against the girl's hand, clearly asking for more.

"I-I'd feel a lot better if it was for the rest of the week." She sniffled once more, her eyes looking at Shio pleadingly. From what it seems, she'd completely forgotten that Richard existed in that moment. Whatever Shio's answer ended up being, Mine would be quick to wrap the girl in a tight embrace. "I'm glad you're okay..." She'd mutter, quickly burying her face into Shio's neck.

As Mine hugged Shio, the latter, still expressionless, hugged her back. Her right hand lifted to stroke Mine's hair.

"So long as you're not noisy," she said in a soft voice.

Richard silently sighed in relief as the two seemed to make up. It didn't last long, however, as a curved blade clacked open and near his stomach.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet," Shio said, still letting Mine hug her. The chinchilla enkidu's shallow eyes stared at him. "You're a sly man to abuse this girl's low intelligence by tricking her with sweets."

I-is that any way to talk about your friend!? Richard thought to himself, though he was more preoccupied by being stabbed in the gut.

His hands went up in defense.

"Now, hold on a minute," he said, nervously smiling. "I really was just escorting her to camp. She mentioned being lost and I only gave her cookies to calm her down from crying and--"

The chinchilla ears shot up.

"Cookies?"

Richard scratched his cheek, perplexed.

"Ah...yes. I gave her a bag of cookies and also some chocolate--"

"Haaah!"

Shio let out a delighted sigh as, without letting go of Mine, yanked at Richard's satchel. Richard almost stopped her, but let her search his satchel until she found his unfinished bar of chocolate. Almost as if flipping a switch, the girl's expression went from blank to ecstatic. Her caramel eyes shone and she hurriedly tore of the gold foil and bit off from the corner. Richard's eye twitched.

"I...would have been happy to give it to you if you had asked."

"Silence!" she said waving her mantis blade at him.

Richard stood still, a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. Even if he could easily disarm her or use magic, he felt oddly unsure about what to do in the situation. He just watched as Shio chewed and swallowed part of the chocolate. Her face turned rosy.

"So good..." she said. She then looked at Mine. "Do you want some, Mine?"

"B-but that's my mine!" Richard argued.

"Yes, what about Mine? She can eat chocolate."

"Gah! I meant the chocolate belongs to me," Richard said frowning.

"Spoils of the war," Shio said haughtily.

"We didn't even fight!"

"You fought my snakes."

Shio pointed at the shattered box.

Richard squinted. He was pretty sure he won that round.

Richard sighed. He was now crossing his arms and shaking his head. Glas had given him that chocolate from one of the lake villages in Stahlmin and not found in Leiger. Unless he wanted to get smothered again, he was afraid to ask for more. Regardless, there was the situation of what to do with the girls having a wrecked camp. He was hoping Mine could pipe in he wasn't a bad guy.

Mine was obviously delighted as Shio hugged her back and continued to stroke her hair. She smiled, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes. After all everything that happened, she really needed this...As Shio and Richard spoke, Shio would feel a small vibration against her as Mine began to let out a small purr. It was clear she was in her own world, missing Shio's comments regarding her intelligence completely. Though even if she had heard....well she knew she wasn't the smartest cookie.

Her ears perked up when she suddenly heard her name. She shifted her head and opened her eyes. She saw chocolate! "Uwaaah! Yes please!" She chirped, shifting and reaching out.

It was then she remembered that Richard was here.

She shifted once more, not bothering to let go of Shio. After today, Shio would be lucky if Mine left her side at all..."This is-er..."This is Richard. He helped me kill a monster and gave me food!" She beamed happily. "Oh oh! He gave me this too!" She placed a hand into her bag and pulled out the ice flower she'd been given. "Hey Shio, do you think you could learn magic and make stuff like this?"

Shio blinked.

"Yes, I am certain you cannot live without me," Shio said plainly. She then looked at Richard, who was by now, getting tired of having a knife pointed at him.

"That is quite a fascinating trinket," she said. "Since Mine appreciates your gestures, it should be fine. That she is not terrified you is a feat in itself."

Shio retracted her weapon, the blade folding back into the gauntlet on her arm. Richard sighed in relief.

"I express my gratitude," Richard said. "I just wanted to make sure she got back to where she wanted to go safely."

He then looked at the site and back at the girls.

"That said...your base doesn't look all too safe now either," he mentioned. "With the corrupted beasts, you two would be better off in a town or village, or even the nearby city."

At this Shio frowned.

"You act as if money is easy to come by," she said. "We live off the land from what we find. Income for us is scarce and far too precious to waste on a cozy bed in an inn."

"Well, I'm with the Expiate," Richard said. He pulled out from underneath his coat pocket a badge with the Expiate sigil on it. "We could put up with you for the night until you can find safer accommodation in Leiger."

Still hugging and petting Mine, Shio squinted at the badge.

"I am aware of the Expiate. Your badge looks authentic enough," she said. "Very well. You can take us to the city but if you so much as try anything, I'll slit you from nose to navel, understand?"

Shio showed her gauntlet again. Richard instantly bobbed his head.

"A-ah, of course," he said before clearing his throat. "I should ah...probably let you gather your things then."

Shio arched her eyebrow.

"We?" she said. "I think you mean you. Pack everything up with your magic and carry our stuff for us."

"E-eh!?"

"Prove your worth, imbecile!" Shio said again. She then looked back at Mine. "Mine, tell him what valuables you want to bring."

Mine quickly lost track of the conversation as Shio continued petting her. Her eyes closed and she relaxed, her head moving occasionally to get Shio to scritch around her ears. The entire time she couldn't help but let out a soft purr, eventually just pushing her face against Shio's and nuzzling lightly. Anyone else might be embarrassed about such behavior, but Mine was getting pet, and she had thought Shio had died, so she really didn't care.

At least until following the man to town was mentioned.

"Eh? W-w ehm...Hold on a moment!" She pointed towards Richard, her eyes opening. "S-sure he led me here, but he could just be trying to get us together!" She looked back and forth, her one eighty in trust maybe not making sense to Richard, but Shio was probably used to such things by now. "You said something about Expiate? Whats that? Sounds made up, I bet its made up! O-or its some group of weird foreigners that eat Enkidu." Honestly? The mention of going into town with a stranger just didn't sit well with Mine. She trusted Richard so long as he was helping her get to Shio but..."Shio told me about going with strangers to secondary locations! You won't trick me!" She huffed, practically burying herself into Shio in some odd act of defiance.

As Mine expressed her doubts, both Richard and Shio looked at her in what could only be described as extreme concern. Shio gave Mine a brisk pat on the head.

"Truly, it is fortunate that I'm with you," Shio said. She let out a small exhale and closed her eyes. "Worry not. I know about the Expiate. I have heard of them. They are responsible for protecting the law in this country. Though, they do not seem to be very good at it."

Richard's eye twitched.

"H-hey now..."

Shio's one eye opened and looked at Richard sharply.

"Remember. If I want to, I'll slit you."

Richard straightened up, sweat trailing from his brow.

"E-err...right. Well...I'll get to packing your things."

"Good. Chop, chop, now!"

Richard squinted his eyes at Shio, utterly in disbelief that a little girl was bossing him around. He relented, however. He needed them to trust him and resisting wasn't going to do that. As Richard started rummaging through the ruins for their items, Shio pet Mine reassuringly.

"Do not worry, I will protect you," Shio said in a soft tone. "If he tries anything, I'll make sure he won't hurt us. Now...are you hurt? You mentioned fighting a monster."

Mine went quiet as Shio explained things. Ahh that made much more sense now! She smiled widely at her, her eyes shining. "So we'll be okay then?" She asked hopefully. It wasn't often she got to feel completely safe. Even when she was with Shio, she was always afraid something bad would happen. If they got taken in by the Expiate, and they were supposed to be protectors...Well that just meant they would be much MUCH safer! The thought alone brought a smile to Mine. Her and Shio wouldn't have to worry about bandits or monsters...

"Okay then!" She chirped. Despite her change of heart, she was still wary about Richard. She didn't know him that well after all, and Shio said he was bad at his job...After all she DID kill the monster before, if he was good at his job, HE would have killed it!

Speaking of the monster..."Uwaaaa! Right! Oh you're going to be so proud! I killed it! It was this biiiiig frog thing and it tried to eat me! Richard helped, but I ended up killing it and saving him!" Her eyes shone, a wide smile taking over her features as she paused, clearly hoping for some kind of praise from Shio. Again, Richard was left forgotten as she told her story, Mine's attention span was clearly...limited.