It was a quite the shock, the arrival of another man. She nearly jumped out of her skin. That sort of accent was way too foreign to be from around here. Even Remmy and Sarah--and even Emma, when she wasn't trying so hard--all spoke with accents, but it wasn't like this. Foreign, but not like this.

Where did he . . .?

Mayako's first instinct was to sit up straight and look behind her--maybe to try and see where he had come from. It didn't matter, though. No matter where he came from, he was there, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Did he hear everything?

All the thoughts of well honed instincts boiled up in her mind all at once, all in the same kettle. The worst part of it was that she didn't know this man, and it seemed that with every stranger that came to Hillcrest, there was yet another cataclysm to befall their village. It went without saying that Mayako was immediately cautious, and though she was going to act nice and proper, as she usually did, to try and deter any idea the man might gain that she was cautious of him. If he really did have something horrible in mind for the village, or some people in it, that might just set him off!

Should I . . . should I ask who he is?

"Y-yes, it is a nice day . . ." Mayako replied, trying to sound as cheery as she absolutely could--which by this point, barely even sounded like a ruse at all.

The man couldn't help but chuckle, seemingly unaware of how badly he'd startled them. "Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to scare you, lass."

Despite the man's friendly attitude, Fenix found himself uneasy. Perhaps because, whether intentionally or not, this man had managed to sneak up on him--and like his mentor, he tried to be aware of who and what was around him at all times. Or was it something else...?

It was clear after he continued looking at them, though, that they were the reason he was there, not the view. "...Can we help you?" Fenix asked at length.

"I hope so. You're the coma kid, right? The doctors said you weren't available, so I thought you might be out."

"Yes, that's me," came the reply flatly.

So, he was asking about Fenix at the clinic? Which means he had gone to the clinic--where he somehow knew to specifically look for Fenix . . . Oh, no . . .

Damage control! This was going to end poorly. There was no doubt about that. An out of towner--who Fenix did not know--was here, searching for Fenix in particular. It wasn't like they could actually do anything about that, though. There were few people left in the village of fighting ability, if ever needed. Still, though--something needed to be done for the immediate future.

Mayako stood up and brushed herself off. The plan she had in mind might actually work, since she was, after all, wearing her nurse's outfit. Granted, she looked way too young to be a nurse, but uniformity generally outweighed age . . .

"U-um-- m-my name is T-Takamine Mayako-- a-and I'm Mr. Black's nurse," Mayako declared with an attempt at being pleasant, but she couldn't hide all of her nervousness, "May I help you?"

It was as good of damage control as she could muster. Standing up and taking full responsibility for Fenix meant that the man might address Mayako instead of Fenix--and that way, if something absolutely terrible happened, Fenix would have the opportunity to get away, as the man would be briefly preoccupied with her. Bravery always seemed to follow responsibility with Mayako . . .

Mayako's sudden outburst was a bit surprising, given how nervous she'd been just a second ago. Well, she still seemed nervous to Fenix, but not the kind of nervous that prevented her from hardly doing anything. Especially as he couldn't really figure out why she did that; perhaps there was some hospital rule the man was breaking by trying to talk to him out here or something...

The man, too, seemed a bit surprised, but he quickly recovered and even seemed slightly pleased. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Takamine," he replied smoothly, catching on that she introduced herself in the Cizokian way, with family name first.

"My name is Garv Phibrizzo." He lightly took her hand, at first seeming as just to shake it, a standard greeting--but instead, he turned it so the back of it was facing up, and bowed low, planting a light kiss on it. "But you may call me whatever pleases you."

Well, that was certainly unexpected! Mayako's cheeks briefly became a horribly bright red. Relationships and boys and the like were the last things on her mind at the moment, but that didn't mean they couldn't be brought up by something like, say, a kiss on her hand in a rather flirty way. Or flirting with her in some strong way in general. Actually, that didn't even happen before all the cataclysmic events that befell Hillcrest.

That wasn't fair at all! No way, no how!

That train of thought reduced her blushing tremendously. For a fraction of a fraction of a second, she was actually kind of angry at the fact that no one ever once kissed her hand before, or hit on her like that, when it might have actually mattered.

Mayako put her arms at her sides and felt bound and determined to keep them there. She would not be swooned by this man. He was a potential threat. She could not allow herself to be swooned by him!

"Mr. Phibrizzo," Mayako bowed slightly in a Cizokian manner, which helped her calm down almost completely, "May I help you?"

It's been a long time since anyone's called me "Mr. Phibrizzo." He was actually sort of hoping she'd use an honorific with his name, as it'd been a long time since he'd gotten to flirt with a Cizokian girl, even a young one. There was something endearing about it. But he had told her to call him whatever she wanted, so he supposed he'd have to let that desire go for now.

"Well, I'd like to discuss something with your patient here."

"...Like what?" Fenix was rather bemused by Garv's introduction; it reminded him too much of his mentor, and not in a good way. In any case, it seemed his business was with him, not Mayako.

"Well, in regards to the one who put you in that coma. The-"

Fenix stiffened and quickly interrupted him. "One second. Mayako...could I have a few minutes alone to talk to this man?" He said this to her, but he didn't take his eyes off the newcomer for even a second.

"I-- . . ." Mayako started, but trailed off soon after.

Truth be told, she wasn't comfortable with this. This strange man had come from out of town to speak to Fenix about something. Something important. Something regarding the reason he was in a coma in the first place. And a proper noun. The reason?

The-- . . . does he mean . . .?

Nevertheless, as much as she would have preferred to be there just in case something happened, Fenix had a right to privacy. She couldn't forgo that right; it wasn't like receiving information was going to be physically challenging for him. If Garv Phibrizzo were to hurt him, though, that would be a physical challenge. But no. That probably wasn't going to happen. She was just being paranoid.

". . . okay," Mayako replied with a nod, a hint of solemnness in her voice. "I-- I'll be back in fifteen minutes, okay?"

Making good on that promise was the only way she was going to feel comfortable about this.

Fenix nodded. "Thank you."

For his part, Garv raised an eyebrow, but didn't object. The boy was the one he needed to talk to, so who was he to object if he wanted it private? Though, why he wanted it private, he wasn't sure. He stared at Mayako's back as she left, wondering.

After they figured she was out of earshot, Fenix asked, "What do you want to know?" His voice was low, and he was clearly unhappy being asked about this.

Garv let his jovial demeanor drop, and his face was suddenly all business. "Theleaus was the one who did this to you, right? I want to find him."

"Sorry, but I have no idea. I wasn't around to see how things ended. You'd be better off asking the villagers; seems he showed up here sometime after." He was uncomfortable; something about this man made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Unconsciously, he reached for his chest, for the pendant that he wore under his shirt.

Or at least, that he usually did. He knew he had it on--he even slept with it on. That was actually when he needed it most. Had it fallen off somewhere...?

"I asked around already, and no one knows. Seems no one really knows why he came here to begin with; the whole food thing doesn't sound terribly convincing for the risk he took, eh?"

"..."

"I was hoping you might know what he was after."

It took longer for Fenix to reply to this one. He did know, at least partially...but...no, he didn't trust this man. "Sorry; I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Hmmmm. That's a shame. You're sure?"

"Yeah." A lie, but a necessary one. "Why so interested?"

"Well...the organization I'm a part of...well, he's a pretty big danger to us. If we knew what he was up to, and could...find a way to make him stop being a threat, well, we'd jump at the chance."

"The only way he'll stop being a threat is if he's dead." Of that Fenix was certain.

Garv's only response to that was grim smile. He went on, though. "Actually, you might be interested in our organization. It's not really that formal, you know? Just a bunch of people with powers like ours, lending each other a hand when we need it. Gotta protect ourselves from our hunters, after all--and maybe do some hunting back."

"I'm not being hunted," Fenix said flatly. He didn't care what this man was a part of or whether he really thought they had similar powers; he wasn't joining anything like that.

"Ah, well, if you change your mind, try and track down the Obsidian Coalition, eh? If nothing else, you might learn something." With that, the man turned and headed down the slope. "I'll tell Miss Takamine I'm done, so sit tight, alright?"

As he headed down the slope, Fenix grabbed his crutches and pulled himself to his feet. Something about that man really put him on edge...

Mayako was just past the bottom of the hill, near where the path took a split. She could have gone back towards the village, or to the offshoot of the path, to a large clearing in the scattered trees that only had a single tree within it. For the entire duration of Fenix and Garv's conversation, she was preoccupied with staring at the tree.

Garv would find her there after he'd spoken to Fenix and started down the hill, with her back facing the hill, and her head tilted to somewhat show her profile, as she blankly stared into the clearing and at that tree.

"Oi!" Garv put on a cheery expression again, waving to the girl who was waiting patiently, if reluctantly, as he jogged up to her.

"Well, I'm all done with your surly patient there. But, before I go I was wondering I could ask you a few questions yourself, miss." Despite her (justified) wariness of outsiders, he obviously hadn't done anything to Fenix.

In the distance, a rumble echoed--though the day had been fine up until now, there were dark clouds on the horizon, quickly closing in...

Mayako again nearly jumped out of her skin when Garv called to her. He really needed to stop doing that! She left her thoughts at that and turned, hesitantly, to face him. At worst, Fenix wouldn't be on top of the hill anymore, and she would have failed to be responsible for him. If that were the case, she'd probably be dead before long, too.

But it wasn't the case, fortunately. When she turned to Garv, she saw the form of Fenix on top of the hill, standing up on his own. He was going to need help down the hill, definitely-- that was Mayako's very first thought. She would've actually made a good nurse, if she ever had the chance to go to school for it, or anything like that. She thought of the patient first, before herself, and she never had a problem with that. Unfortunately, all hopes of ever getting a formal education had been taken away.

"Y-yes?" Mayako asked as she looked around Garv and still up to the hill.

Questions, questions-- darnit! It was going to rain, too. Hopefully he only had a couple of really quick questions, because it'd be downright impossible for Fenix to get down the hill safely in the rain, with or without her help!

She spooks real easily, huh? Hmm...

"Yeah. No worries, it'll just take a minute; no telling how sour that boy'll be if he's stranded up there." As he talked, he walked, not with a particular destination in mind, just heading around the clearing. It did, however, have the side effect of putting trees between them and Fenix's line of sight...

"So, I was wondering if you could tell me what happened in Galaens back in the beginning of summer. You know, the whole shindig that blew up a bunch of stuff and left a huge bloody crater in the ground?"

He was still being casual, but his eyes were watching her intently, wanting to take in every nuance of her reaction.

Garv started into the clearing, and Mayako unconsciously followed behind him. Once she realized she couldn't see Fenix anymore, she started to get nervous. What if he were to try and go down the hill alone? He might trip and fall and make a huge mess of himself! He was already a mess when he was brought here, and there was a chance that the previously broken bones might break a little easier than normal.

Ohhhh, come on! Mayako mentally rushed.

But contrary to her previous presumption, Garv wasn't going to try and waste her time. Well, not intentionally. He asked a loaded question, though. Mayako stared up at him with a serious expression; her brow was furrowed and eyes focused upon his face.

No. I won't.

"No," Mayako shook her head, "I wasn't there. A-and a-all there i-is, e-even for all th-the people that said they were there . . . th-there's just a million a-and one rumors, you know?"

And it would seem like a believable story, oddly enough--at least, if Garv didn't know all the details.

Garv frowned, and stopped where he was. "Don't I know it," he replied with a sigh. Really, everyone had a theory, some more plausible, like meteors or magic, others decidedly less so, such as divine intervention, aliens, and the like.

Shadow dashed across the field as clouds passed overhead, obscuring the sun. This time a distant flash of light precluded the thunder.

"Normally I wouldn't care much, but one rumor caught my attention. See, they described someone very real, and the chances of that same person's description being randomly imagined by someone is...well, pretty slim at best."

He turned and placed a hand on her shoulder...gently, but at the same time he had a decent grip. "I know what you are," he said, his voice low and now very, very serious. "And normally, someone like me would not be getting along well with someone like you, if you catch my drift. But as it so happens, I don't like hurting girls, and I think you know something I want to know. So I think I can make an exception."

"So, I'll ask again...what happened that day?"

Garv had seemed like a nice person at first--well, not quite a nice guy, but at least not the type of person to hurt or threaten people. But she'd been wrong about people like this before. She was almost comfortable, when he revealed what might have been his true colors. Mayako lost color in her face and tried to back away from him--but she couldn't. His grip on her was a little stronger than it seemed. He wasn't hurting her, but he wasn't letting her move, either.

"I--," Mayako whispered, but stopped to breath in with heavy heaves, "I-- I don't-- I don't . . ."

Was Fenix really okay? She tried to look past him and through the trees, but she couldn't. Was he just standing after he was horribly injured? Or trying to? Or maybe trying to get up to get to her to warn her to run away-- Oh God.

As much as she didn't want to die, she was more worried about Fenix, her charge, than anything else. Certainly, she was scared to near death. Her knees were shaking and her lip was quivering-- but she was, in the end, scared for Fenix slightly more than she was for herself.

"I-- I d-don't know wh-what you're t-talking about . . ." Mayako whispered, fear evident in her voice.