Tears for Fears [Mine]

Shio looked at Richard as Mine told her story. He was scowling as he scowled in defeat.

"Ah...yeah. She shot it with her crossbow," he said.

Shio turned to Mine, offering the smallest smile. She gave Mine a congratulatory pat.

"That's amazing, Mine," she said. "It's only natural you'd protect the weak and useless."

"Hnngh!"

Richard stiffened at the remark, almost dropping the stack of boxes he was adjusting. He glared at Shio. It was pretty obvious that remark was less praising Mine and more insulting Richard. Shio stuck out her tongue at him.

Grumbling, Richard continued packing things.

I hate days off...never going to have a stupid day off again!

***

By the time Richard had finished, he had organized everything into a large pack. Some things had to stay like pots and pans but Richard offered to replenish them out of his own pocket (and HE was going to force Delilah to pay him). He had also created two smaller backpacks for Mine and Shio, though Shio was forcing him to hold them with his hands. Sighing, he asked,

"Are you two ready to go?"

Shio nodded. She turned to Mine and slipped her hand between hers.

"Don't let go, okay?" she said. "We can't let you get lost and bump into ANOTHER creep now can we?"

Richard's head just hung in defeat.

Mine beamed at Shio's praise, the tip of her tail seemed to curl and uncurl as Shio pat her once more. She was clearly overjoyed to receive such praise, as little as it was. Though at her remark regarding Richard, Mine stiffened slightly. "Uwaaa, well he wasn't useless! He cut the tongue of the frog thing! It would've eaten me whole otherwise!" She looked back and forth between the two. "N, he knows this cool magic, but won't teach it to me..." She huffed slightly, but went back to nuzzling against Shio regardless. After today, she was just glad to see her alive and well. In particularly frightening days, sometimes she'd be clinging to Shio the whole night...

--

Mine tried to help Richard where she could when he was packing, though Shio made it pretty clear she wanted to leave that to him. She wasn't exactly one to go against Shio after all. Still, her obedience seemed to pay off when she felt Shio's hand slip into hers. Mine couldn't help but feel a little warm in the face. She kept it together though, and listened intently to Shio as she spoke.

"Okaaaayy." She smiled back at the girl, pressing herself a bit closer to Shio than she really had to. Honestly she had no intention of leaving her side for at LEAST a couple days..."Can he really carry all that by himself?" She muttered, leaning her head against Shio's shoulder.

Shio didn't seem to mind Mine being so close to her. Richard guessed Shio was already used to this sort of thing with Mine and that this was their regular level of affection. When Mine expressed her worry as to whether Richard was capable of carrying all the stuff, he offered a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he said. "It's not the first time I've carried this much stuff. Besides, it's a long way."

Shio's ears flattened and she frowned at him.

"Plus you'd be humiliated if you had to ask young girls to not only save you in battle, but carry things because you're too weak and old, right?"

Richard's eye twitched. The prospect of misleading them and putting them on a carriage to the desert sounded tempting for the briefest moment, but he prevailed. If he could survive his own daughter, he could survive these two.

The walk back through the forest was uneventful, fortunately. They'd reach the main road and it was their luck that a carriage came passing by right away that was empty.

"Ah, Commander Veiller," the coachman said as he saw them on the road. "Back here, I see?"

He peeked behind him to notice Shio and Mine, with Shio putting Mine as if trying to hide the girl behind her.

"And with company?"

Richard sighed.

"It's...a long story, Martine," he said. "We're lucky you were passing by. Mind if we catch a ride with you?"

The driver Martine was more than willing to. Richard loaded the stuff on the top and back of the carriage and the drive would begin. Shio would sit next to Mine while Richard stared at them from across, arms and legs crossed.

Shio was still frowning at him.

"What?" he scowled.

Shio blinked at him. She then turned to Mine.

"Say, Mine, this will be our first time in the city won't it?" she said. "I bet you'd like souvenirs once we get there, huh?"

While, Mine seemed to be just fine with Richard's presence, the addition of a new person wanting to drive them into the CITY no less did Mine's sensibilities no favors. She was happy to hide behind Shio, and fell into nervous silence as they sat in the carriage. Mine would've hesitated if not for Shio pressing on boldly.

During the ride itself, Mine fell quiet. She folded her hands into her lap, leaning her head on Shio's shoulder and staring towards the ground. They were too close to Richard and the driver was RIGHT THERE. Not to mention, this was her first trip into a new city. If they were even going to the city at all...Her tail twitched back and forth, her ears flattening.

When Shio asked her if she wanted something, she just nodded her head, making a small grunt before falling back to her silence. She was clearly not handling any of this too well.

Turning to Mine, Shio easily picked up on the feline's anxiety. Her eyes softened for a moment, but quickly went back to Richard.

"Well, you heard her," she said.

"Eh?"

Without looking at her, Shio took Mine's hand into hers and rubbed it reassuringly. Her eyes were still dead set on Richard, though.

"She wants souvenirs. You're going to buy them for us."

Richard arched an eyebrow, leaning forward with crossed arms.

"And why in Ma would I do that?" he said. "Don't you think you're being a little pushy considering I'm already offering you a free place to stay?"

Shio merely blinked.

"It is custom to Enkidus to receive gifts from who hosts them."

"I am acquainted with Enkidus. That custom never set upon my ears before," Richard argued.

Shio shrugged.

"It's a regional thing."

Richard gritted his teeth. He could feel his blood pressure rising. Even if he was glaring straight at the girl, she was completely unfazed by it. He then noticed Mine who looked rather upset herself, but in a more nervous manner.

Richard let out a deep sigh and fell back in his seat.

"Fine," he relented. "But that's the last thing I'm doing for you guys."

Shio would look at Mine.

"See? The creepy old man is going to give us lots of fun stuff," Shio said reassuringly. "There's no need for alarm. In fact, he'll entertain us until we reach the city."

"Haaaah?"

Shio clapped her hands, her expression and posture that of a noblewoman demanding her jester to do something.

"Well? Get to it!"

"I just said I wasn't going to do anything--"

"I forgot to mention that it is also custom."

"Stop pulling the custom card on me!"

Shio merely waited. By now, Richard's face was actually turning red. He was definitely feeling uncomfortable with all this, but it wasn't like he could do anything else. If he didn't do this, Mine was either going to cry or Shio would attempt to fight him and he couldn't fight back. He was, in a sense, a hostage. He grumbled.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever you did that made Mine happy earlier."

Richard sighed.

He raised his hand, summoning forth several marks. The floor in between the three of them would show a bright glyph and just like before, a creature appeared created solely out of light. It was a small hawk. It cawed and approached Mine's feet.

Mine's ear twitched slightly when Shio grabbed her hands and began to rub them. She felt a bit of heat radiate off her face, but didn't comment. Instead, she pushed slightly against Shio, her eyes lifting to watch the exchange between Richard and Shio. Mine, herself, was unaware of such customs in Enkidu culture, but she wasn't one to doubt Shio. If Shio said it was a thing, then it must be true!

Mine only really reacted when Richard began to cast magic again. Her ears perked up, her eyes widening as she tracked the glyph on the ground. Slowly Mine perked up, sitting up stiffly and leaned towards the hawk. She knew enough to not try and touch it, but she really wanted to. Slowly, a smile began to spread across Mine's face. She looked back towards Shio, beginning to bounce in her seat. "Look, Shio! Look!" She pointed at the hawk, shifting in her seat, tucking her legs underneath her and leaning almost dangerously over the side. "Its so cooooool!" She chirped before looking back at Richard. "I know I'm not smart enough to learn magic, but you should teach Shio! She's the smartest!" She beamed before continuing to watch the hawk.

Both Shio and Richard stared at Mine.

How am I going to break it to her? both thought simultaneously.

Richard smiled nervously.

"Well, you don't have to mind about that now," he said. The Cartic sending of the hawk continued to chirp and hop about.

Shio watched quietly from where she was, her arms crossed.

"Yes, yes, Mine, it's quite impressive," Shio said plainly. Despite her attempts to sound unamused, her eyes were quite wide.

"Well, I'm glad you two like it," he said. "I'd bring along my real hawk, but I'm afraid he's at home."

Shio's ears twitched.

"You...own hawks?"

"Hm? Ah, yes. I have a falconry," he said. "Aside from being great messenger birds, hawks have always been quite loving creatures to me."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Do you happen to like hawks?"

Shio's ears flattened and she'd oddly turn her face away. She kept holding Mine's hand, though.

"Mmm...they're pleasant," she said. "But I've never imagined them as pets."

When Shio was younger, she'd often settle to just watching them out in the fields hunting their prey. But the baby ones had always looked cute to her. She pursed her lips.

"I do not dislike them."

Richard smiled and the apparition of the hawk would vanish.

"Well, if there's an opportunity, perhaps you'll get to see him tonight if I receive a message from home."

Shio perked up and Mine could feel her tail brush as it swayed from left to right. Shio bobbed her head firmly.

Richard stretched his arms.

"You should rest for a bit. It won't be until a bit of time before we reach the city proper," he said. "We'll drop off your things at the Expiate suites and then hit the town for you two to see."

With that, he rested back in his seat and closed his eyes. He realized just how tired he was. He might as well rest now since he wasn't going to get any later.

***

After a few moments, the carriage would come to an abrupt halt. If Mine still had her feet up, she was definitely going to stumble forward. From the front, the three would hear the coach.

"We're here," a voice said outside.

"Oh okay!" She said in response. She wanted Shio to learn magic, but if she was told not to worry about it she figured they would suss it all out. All that stuff went over her head anyway, she was definitely more interested in the hawk in front of her. It was a good imitation, but not wholly realistic, at least not in terms of behavior.

She briefly wondered if it was in direct control of Richard.

Mine looked up when Richard asked Shio if she liked hawks, Mine tilted her head actually interested in her response. Do not dislike certainly meant she viewed them favorably! Mine was about to comment on their taste, but she doubted Shio would like that very much. Just then, the hawk disappeared. Mine visibly deflated, letting out a small whine before up and falling onto Shio's lap. She had wanted to see more...

Briefly, her eyes looked up towards Shio, a silent asking for more affection before they arrived at their destination. After all it seemed li-

Thump.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Mine, in the process of curling up had been in no ways prepared. She let out a high pitched scream as she rolled from Shio's lap. Oddly enough, she twisted her body almost on instinct, landing on all fours on the floor before shooting straight back up and latching onto Shio. "WE'RE CRASHING! OH GODS WE'RE CRASHING!" She clutched tight to Shio, clearly missing the words of the coach as she more or less tried to burrow into her friend.

"H-hey, hey, now! It's okay! We just stopped!" Richard said, mildly panicking himself. Mine's screaming was a bit contagious.

Richard opened the curtain to show a street outside and that the carriage was no longer in motion.

"See?"

Shio, meanwhile, had stayed in place and barely flinched when Mine tackled her. She responded with petting her head.

"It's okay, Mine," she said. "You didn't bruise yourself falling like that did you?"

The carriage door opened.

"I heard screaming, is everything alright here?" the coach Jacques asked.

Richard raised a hand.

"It's alright, Jacques," he said."The little miss just had a scare."

Shio would try to coax Mine out of her lap.

"Come on, Mine. We have to get off now. It's okay."

There was a moment of silence as Mine clutched against Shio. Slowly, a blush began to spread across her face. She wasn't usual too embarrassed by her actions, but...this was too much even for her. "I'm okay...I-it's the carriages fault..." She muttered, hiding her face for just a bit longer. "It's too sudden."

Inevitably she was coaxed off of Shio, she shuffled to the side, her tail twitching in irritation as she kept her eyes low to the ground. She would, of course, follow close by Shio as they left the carriage. She wasn't letting her eyes wander too much. She figured they must be in the city now. The less she saw, the better she was likely to feel.