zombzeh: Naturally, this prompted the guards' interests. Was Eldridge telling the truth? Well, he did happen to have the holster, that much was for sure.

Lelan quickly shook his head, declaring, "He took the whole damn kit from me! What, do you think someone would actually let themselves get this roughed up trying to steal a farming tool?"

Unfortunately, this wasn't the best argument. Without hesitation, one guard grabbed Eld by the back of the throat, producing enough force to down the youth without fail and, although still conscious, leave him unable to fight back.

Lelan first assumed that he had won out, but was given the same treatment by the second guard, who--like the first with Eld--hung Lelan over his shoulder, the scythe in the other hand, and started onward, behind the one which also had Eldridge . . .

ZachKaiser: "A-Ah, ow, hey..."

Okay, it didn't really hurt *that* bad--Eld was tougher than he looked--but it was surprising and kind of jolting, and the back of the neck was a sensitive area. For a moment his stomach sank as he thought that his protest was being entirely disregarded, but just before he was hauled up over a burly guard's shoulder he saw that Lelan was receiving the same treatment. That was...well, not really progress, but at least it was better than being arrested for being a thief by himself.

It left him in a precarious situation, though, as since for some reason he couldn't use Qi, now that he was already in the guard's grasp there wasn't much he could do to break free of it--he was at their mercy. All he could do was watch Lelan's reaction and hope things improved from here.

zombzeh: Master . . . are you all right . . .?

Kageko was worried about him, though in actuality she should have been more concerned for herself. That was just the way she acted, in any case; Eld's well being over her own--that was how it always worked. It was one of many reasons why she never permitted herself to give Eld the opportunity "switch out" with her.

Lelan's vision blurred a bit. The pain in the back of his neck was fairly real, unlike Eld's. He was able to deal with it, Lelan was not. Between the two of them, there were several stark differences, combat wise. Namely, Eld could take it--Lelan could not.

The next time he opened his eyes, he only saw bars in front of him. He was flat against cold walls, smack in the corner, with only a single bed to share between two prisoners. Two . . . prisoners . . . Eldridge?! Well, that was a rude awakening. Both of their personal possessions had been taken away, the scythe included.

"Ugh . . ."

ZachKaiser: I'm fine. Just a little disoriented. While the initial blow was relatively mild to him, having the constant pressure there got to him. What about you?

Eld didn't resist at all when he was put in the cell--he had faith that justice would take its due course. Unfortunately, he had no idea how long that would take--this was a large city, too, larger than any he'd ever been in. And while he didn't have any particular qualms about waiting out that time, others were going to get worried about him if they didn't find out what happened.

Which was why every so often he'd cough into his sleeve, a cough that would sound suspiciously like "Scott" to a keen ear.

He paused this as he noticed Lelan get up, wondering for the umpteenth time since sitting there why they put them in the same cell. Weren't they worried about them fighting or something? He didn't say anything to him at this juncture, though--he was a little wary about him trying to pick a fight in here.

zombzeh: Unfortunately, Eld received no reply from Scott. He did from Kageko, though.

I'm cold . . .

It wasn't uncommon for her to feel that way when they were separated for too long. Kageko didn't understand why that was, she only knew what happened, and it was depressing. She could still hear her Master's voice, but he wasn't around her physically. She was, for all intents and purposes, a part of that weapon, and when he had the weapon around him, she felt warm and content. When it was extremely distant from him, she started to shiver a little.

"Damnit!" Lelan cursed loudly, angry and disappointed in this turn of events. "I was so close, too! God, you're such a sore loser! What, is it that if you can't have her, no one else can?"

ZachKaiser: Sorry...if I'd been paying attention, this wouldn't have happened. Just hang in there for now.

When Lelan spoke up, Eld's first response was to look to see if a guard was in earshot to hear this impromptu confession. Realizing he wasn't going to be that lucky, his second was to stare at Lelan with incredulity as he realized something.

"You...it really is just a game to you, isn't it?" Once Lelan's motive had been revealed, he'd started to suspect that much of his behavior was an act to keep him guessing, but it seemed that wasn't the case. "You don't care about her, and I bet you don't care about yours either. You're just a child who wants a new toy." The words weren't said with spite; it was just a surprised observation.

zombzeh: "Not a child, thank you very much!" Lelan declared, put off by the comment.

Well, it was true. He was as much of a child as Eld was--the same age and all. Lelan rubbed the back of his head. Why did that hurt? It shouldn't have, he was only grabbed harshly by the neck, in a particular pressure point that could render a person unconscious.

"And I told you, I'm a Collector! That's what we do. We find these things all over the world and try and get the best ones, by trading, bartering, or fighting--and you aren't the type to give it up easy like the first two."

The fact that Lelan's first objection was to being called a child arguably proved Eld's point, but he didn't comment on that. Moreover, Eld was concerned with something he said--particularly, his choice of pronoun.

"We?" he asked with concern. "You mean there's more of you?"

That idea was disconcerting--he'd assumed until this point that Lelan was working alone, for his own reasons, and that if Eld proved himself to be too much for him, then he'd leave him alone. Unfortunately, if he was working for an organization, that wasn't very likely--even if Lelan himself stopped stalking him, chances were they'd just send someone else. Someone who may decide it'd be easier to just kill him than try and steal Kageko from him.

"Why, then? What good does it do you to gather them?"

There was the obvious motive of power--if Kageko's abilities were any indication, even getting one Gaiasoul was significant, let alone...well, he had no idea how many Gaiasouls there were, really, but he could only imagine what anyone with multiples of the sentient weapons were capable of.

But given that only one person could use one at a time, it were only a matter of power, there was no reason for any of these people to work together; they'd be better off keeping any they find for themselves. So he figured there must be something else, though whether Lelan knew or cared was another question entirely.

"More than just me, yeah."

Which could in no way be good for Eld, or anyone else not affiliated with them that had Gaiasouls--or, for that matter, any of them personally, for reasons Lelan was about to explain . . .

"But a goal? No way! We all have our own personal goals. It isn't like Collectors work together like Reapers or anything; we're all a ton stronger than that. Collectors attack eachother for their Gaiasouls, or they trade them off, or buy them--or whatever fits the situation," Lelan shrugged his shoulders, "These things have been around for so long, there's practically a long line of Collectors over the last several hundred years or so. Maybe even longer."

The way he described it made it sound like some sort of dangerous competition between all of these people, but nonetheless, there was enough information to suggest that they weren't all good buddies or anything. Quite frankly, the only reason one of them would take interest in Eld and Lelan at the moment would be to somehow swipe Kageko, wherever it was that they had all of Lelan and Eld's belongings.

"I'm surprised you've never heard of them--us, considering the fact you own one and all . . ."

The news that there was more was definitely not good news, but at they weren't some kind of cohesive force. Dealing with individuals would be a lot easier than dealing with a whole group of them, and hopefully just because Lelan knew about him it wouldn't mean that the rest of them did.

In response to Lelan's comment, Eld shrugged. "Until recently, my biggest worry was saving up enough money to go to school--and my idea of strong was someone who could swing an axe hard enough to chop wood." He was essentially a normal boy, relatively speaking--still a bit of an oddity in his village, but a normal oddity, if that made sense.

"You sound like you've grown up with this kind of thing." If he had, it certainly gave him a different perspective than Eld, who was eternally running into new people, places, and concepts--many of which seemed to be out to get him.

"Since I was a kid, yeah," replied Lelan, "At seven or eight, I met Sarrevous. He told me about Gaiasouls, and then I met a Collector--fought him off, and all that . . ."

And quite the juxtaposition it was. Lelan and Eldridge were both around the same age roughly, and with Lelan's hood down and Eld having the opportunity to better examine him, it would be quite clear.

The two of them . . . they had come from separate lives, that much was for sure. There was no doubt about that. With Lelan's history, there was a fair chance he had seen so many more things than Eld, met so many different people--races, organizations, and the like. He had even met Reapers before; how else would he known about them?

"I used to have three. Do you have any idea how rare that is?" the Collector was quite excited as he announced that, but quickly sulked and released a sigh. "I was down to two, your girl included, but now zero. Thanks to you."

"Yes, I'm obviously to blame for you trying to steal from me and then getting caught," Eld retorted with a roll of his eyes. Granted, in the eyes of the guards, the thief could still be either of them, but he was fairly certain that if Lelan kept talking about trying to steal Kageko sooner or later someone was going to come by and overhear him.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like with three of them, though--that would be a lot of voices in one's head. He wondered if they'd all be in the same space, or they'd each have their own.

"So...you've known Sarrevous for a long time, then." He recognized the name as the name he'd spoken when he activated his own Gaiasoul--it must have been his name. I wonder what it is? He didn't get to see it whenever the guards managed to remove it from him.

Lelan scoffed at Eld. He didn't have to make such a big deal about it. Certainly, Lelan would have fought for Sarrevous and such, but he had a different code and knowledge than Eld. It was a bit hypocritical of him, though--not that such should have been unexpected, considering his behavior until then.

"Yeah. For years," replied Lelan, "He's crazy. Older than dirt and kind of bitter. Really annoyed with everyone and everything, you know? Especially hates Death. He told me a story a long time ago about how he got trapped, and it was in a battle with Saqin Rasche. Apparently, he was a real killer; mindless, as far as Sarrevous is concerned--fought anyone and everyone just for to fight."

True story--at least as far as background was concerned, and something Eld was at least slightly versed in. "Death" wasn't Saqin's real name. It was a namesake--a reputation. He fought and killed (trapped) so many, much more than any had prior to him.

So...can he create Gaiasouls out of anyone? Eld wondered. He'd done so with Kageko--but in that case, the alternative had been to kill her, and that was when she was little more than a mindless monster.

He knew of some of Saqin's history, that he went around fighting everybody, and how he earned his name, but he wasn't aware that he created Gaiasoul's out of his fallen opponents. That didn't sit terribly well with him, but that was in the past...hopefully.

"...I can imagine it must be tough, forever just being used by others. I don't want to her to have the same fate...I use her only because she willingly lends me her power. And I won't let someone just take her."

He was silent for a minute as he let that sink in, before having a thought. "I wonder if there's any way to permanently free them..." he mused. Could Saqin do it? Of course, Kageko would probably only see such a thing as a bad thing, but then no one would ever be able to simply take her and use her against her will. In the long run, surely that would be better.

"They took that gamble when they all fought for control, or whatever it was they all wanted for themselves . . ." Lelan shrugged his shoulders, speaking with a slightly more . . . sober--mature--tone, "Gods can't die. That's just how it is. Not even a god can kill a god. So, how do you end your enemy permanently, so they don't come back after you? You bind their weak soul to something inanimate, so they don't come back. That's how you kill a god."

It was a noticeable change in demeanor. Lelan stopped grinning, smiling, or frowning in excess, his voice became much more serious, far less joking, vivacious, or energetic--and energetic might as well have been his middle name.

"Sarrevous was amongst these people called Seekers. He and Saqin Rasche were the last ones. He hunted down and killed these pseudo-gods who let their planet give them mortality," Lelan, much more straight-faced, started in order to cite an example, "It was a dead planet filled with orphaned pseudo-gods. Saqin hunted him, cut him down in every way, and sealed him within the gauntlet Sarrevous was wearing at the time. He deserves to be a tool. It just so happens that he's a useful tool, and I like having him around."

For a little bit, Eld remained silent and in thought. He knew Saqin wasn't always a nice person--and whether or not he was currently a nice person could be debated, though he had trouble of thinking too ill of someone who saved his life as well as the lives of everyone he knew (even if it came at a price).

There was another thing on his mind, though. "You really do think of them as just tools, huh? No wonder you can't understand why I won't let you have her."

He shook his head--he should have that through a bit more. "Nevermind, it's not important," he added, not wanting to start a fight. Once the guards--or whoever would be investigating--figured out that Lelan was the thief, Kageko would be returned to him and he'd be free to go. Though how long that would take he still had no idea...

Clearly, he didn't know what Kageko was. As a "Gaiasoul," she was young--and far from godly. Compared to all other contained souls, she may as well have been an infant. In fact, compared to all walks of human life, she still may as well have been an infant!

But what he knew were older, more sinister gods. Sarrevous, as far as Lelan was concerned, deserved his face. Sarrevous was, after all, one of those men that hunted down and slaughtered what could best be considered a peaceful race of people, his descendants, and in the end, he was defeated and trapped by Saqin Rasche. Sarrevous wasn't a kind man before his containment, and he likely wasn't all the kind now, but Lelan considered his fate to be well deserved, and if all other gods were like Sarrevous and Saqin (the latter of which he knew as a man who fought just for the sake of fighting--to his knowledge, Saqin's slaying of Sarrevous wasn't out of revenge for this race of people he knew nothing about, but out of a continued drive to do battle), then they were all deserving of their fates: to be forever contained, never released, worse than dead--they were weapons, tools.

A voice broke through the silence between Eldridge Tsukimono and Lelan Jericho. "Lelan Jericho, Eldridge Tsukimono?"

It was one of the guards from before. He had gotten Lelan and Eld's name, and the general idea of both of their arguments. Both wound up sounding absolutely crazy, though . . .

Eld was aware that, in all likelihood, Kageko was unlike other Gaiasouls, at least in how recently she was trapped, not to mention the fact that she was a shade. But to explain any of this to Lelan would require him to explain much of his own story, and he wasn't really ready to do that.

Hearing the guard call them, his heart began to pound. Had they made some kind of decision?

"Yes?" he replied, standing up and walking up to the iron bars that separated them.

"Finally got it figured out?" Lelan grumbled.

He was a bit quick to give up in this situation. Lelan figured that he was caught, and that this was the end of the road for now--he'd have to go a bit more difficult route to get back to where he was before today. That's what he had concluded, at least. As soon as he knew he was beaten, he'd given up and stopped trying to fight back: he saw it as if the guards and Ulster as a whole had beaten him, and there was no sense trying to resist, so he would very well have just admitted to the truth if it got him out of this cell faster.

"The situation was only a scuffle between the two of you," the guard declared, "Both of you are, as you said, foreign, and had no interest in buying or selling. You were merely passing through."

The guard had quoted the last sentence verbatim, actually.

"Lelan Jericho stole from Eldridge Tsukimono a farming scythe, which will be returned, as well as all original belongings," he continued, "I can only hope that you worked out your differences here, and will not cause any further trouble for Ulster or her people."

He opened the cell. Lelan looked up, narrowing his eyes. Worked out their differences . . . like hell! He'd have tried to get Eld's Gaiasoul whether he liked Eld or not. Just because Eldridge was someone Lelan could get along with (and it seemed that way due to their discussion) didn't mean shit!

But he wasn't going to outright say this.

As Lelan stood up, the guard motioned for the both of them to go down the hall. "Your belongings are in the room at the end of this hall. Take your items and leave the city. There is an inn not very far from here if you need to rest. If you cannot find your own way out of our city, someone can be sent to escort you."

Unfortunately, in that white room that was only populated by Eld and Lelan's belongings, there were two particular items missing . . .

Eld was...surprised, to say the least. While having faith in the justice system was one thing, it worked faster than he thought; he figured he'd at least be spending the night in the cell.

It was also odd that they'd just let Lelan go, but he supposed it made sense from their perspectives: to them, both Eld and Lelan were children, and the scythe was hardly worth a second glance. If they knew the truth of what they were, as well as the true nature of the scythe, they'd certainly handle things differently.

I just hope he isn't going to attack me again as soon as we're out of their sight. If it came down to it, he'd release the second seal and wrap the chain around his arm, ensuring it wasn't taken again.

Unfortunately, fate was out to get Eldridge Tsukimono, so things wouldn't be solved that easily. Given how little he carried with him, it took him no time at all to notice that something was missing--not just anything, but given the reason they were in the jail in the first place, the most important thing.

He turned to Lelan, wondering if he somehow got the better of him after all, but as he glanced over Lelan's own belongings he got the nagging feeling that wasn't it. Changing his mind, he poked his head out of the hall and flagged down the guard that led them there.

"My scythe isn't here...you weren't keeping it anywhere else by chance, were you?" The growing pit in his stomach, though, told him he already knew the answer to that question.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Lelan shouted as he stamped his foot on the floor, just a second after the guard arrived as per Eld's call, "Sarrevous is gone, too!"

--prompting a confused look from the guard--

"My gauntlet!"

The guard thought for a moment. There was a chance that one or two of the other town guards had swiped them, thinking them to be weapons, and placed them in a different room. This particular room was kept under watch, but dangerous items were not kept here. That was the most likely scenario. Rather than go himself (him being the only town guard in the room, now), he figured it best if he had a colleague round up the weapons, instead. He stepped out of the room on the opposite side from where Eld and Lelan entered from, after which was a long corridor that the room intersected, and the door to the outside just across the hall. He waved one of his colleagues over.

"Check the weapons cache for a farming scythe and a red studded gauntlet."

The second guard, of obvious lower rank, nodded his head and proceeded down the hall.

Minutes later, though . . .

"There's nothing in the weapons cache fitting that description," the second guard reported with a shake of his head upon his return.

. . . and Eld hadn't heard Kageko say a word in quite awhile, either . . .

Lelan's entire body sulked. "You. Can't. Be. Serious!"