Of Shadows and Swords (Chiarra)

She smiled a bit, glad Archer was here else they would have a lot of awkward moments. She wondered if she and Lucius would ever get past this though, she really wanted them to be friends.
 
Lucius and Archer struggled for a little while, but their arguing slowly died off and Lucius ended up just walking with Archer on his back, supporting the slightly taller boy's legs with his hands. "You're impossible," Lucius muttered and Archer just smiled.


"But you still love me."


"Yeah, yeah. . ."
 
She chuckled at the sight of them. "Archer, I think Lucius walks enough for one person," she says. "Let alone two. If you want, you can ride up here with me. You can too Lucius," she said. "Or I can walk and we can take turns with the horse."
 
Archer pouted over Lucius' shoulder at her, putting his chin on the shoulder and doing his best to look pathetic. "But he's comfier than a horse. . ."


Lucius fought the urge to drop his friend on the ground. "And you're heavier than one."


Archer paused, surprised, then laughed. "Touche!"
 
She just laughed at him and shook her head. She rode on in silence for a bit and then suggested, "Why don't you give Lucius a ride on your back Archer?" she asked, just teasing and joking around was all.
 
"Because," Archer answered, fake-haughtily, and immediately, "I'm made for stealth and agility, not heavy-lifting. Isn't that right, my little pack mule?"


Lucius glared at Archer over his shoulder. "I'll drop you in a ditch." Then paused and smiled a little to himself. "Or through a shadow."


Archer's eyes went a little wide and he shuddered. "Oh dear god. No. Never. I will kill you if you do that to me again."
 
She just laughed at his words and then laughed at what Lucius said. She looked curiously though at Archer when he commented. "Shadows aren't that scary," she told him. "I mean, I was scared at first when I saw him moving them the first time, but that was just because I didn't know things like that were possible, but I'm not scared any more. That shadow blanket was very warm too," she noted, remembering how she had snuggled into it. She knew it was a shadow too, because when she tried to adjust it somewhat, she couldn't and looking at it she found out why.
 
Archer just shuddered again and made an exaggerated sound to go with the motion, looking up at Melody from where he was clinging to Lucius' shoulders like a monkey. "Moving shadows are nothing - Moving through them is the creepiest, most spine-chilling thing you hope you never have to experience." Archer had been pulled through one shadow and out another at one point, when it had been necessary for he and Lucius to run away from a sticky situation. He would die happy if he never had to do it again.
 
She tilted her head at him. "Really?" she asked. "It's that scary? I figured it would just be walking around in darkness," she mused. That was the truth, that's what she though it would be like.
 
Lucius shook his head. "He usually thrives in the dark, but my type of darkness is difference. There is absolutely no light whatsoever, and when not in control of the destination, it's . . . uncomfortable. Archer likes being in control."


Archer just nodded, not denying it. "I sort of need to be most times."


"So he doesn't like it. . . Also, there's the fact that if we somehow had separated before coming back out he could've popped back up through any shadow anywhere." Probably anywhere in the world. Lucius had never tried it.
 
She listened to Lucius as he explained and nodded, understand. "So...how do you know where you are going to wind up or if you don't know then why use it if it could just get you into even more trouble?" she asked him. She truly didn't understand any of this and she was trying to understand.
 
Lucius thought about it and made faces that were part hesitant and part confused as he thought it over. "I don't . . . I don't really know how to describe it. . ."


Archer raised an eyebrow. "Creepy as hell."


"Archer!" Swearing in front of a lady was not okay, and Lucius tried to glare at the other boy over his shoulder, Archer giving a wince and a tiny, slightly sheepish, smile in response. "Shush!" Lucius shook his head after that and looked up at Melody again. "Sorry. He - Nevermind. The point is I know where I'm going to end up, but if I ever drag anyone with me, they don't. It's only happened twice, and there wasn't really any other way out." He glanced away. "It's the only reason I used shadows when we were corned. There wasn't a safe way out."
 
((sorry for not being on much today. This will probably be how often I will be on though.))


Melody laughed as he sword and then laughed as Lucius reprimanded him. "It's okay Lucius. It's not like I haven't heard my father a time or two," she said smiling. "Well, I don't mind if you use the shadows now," she said. "Use them as much as you want to." She smiled softly at him.
 
((That's all right. I understand. I'm also leaving in a few minutes))


Lucius just shook his head. "He needs to learn manners anyway. . . And I won't use them too often, especially around people. I have to keep my head down." Always. He could never stop hiding or he would be hunted down and killed like an animal.
 
That reminded her, they needed to cut her hair so she would be in at least some kind of disguise. "Lucius," she said. "When are you going to cut my hair?" she asked. She risked a glance at Archer, because of how he had shown interest in cutting her hair, but....she was still afraid of him doing it.
 
Lucius shrugged a little, as much as he could with Archer on his back, and considered it. "Hmm. . . Our next stop, I suppose, if we can stay out of trouble this time. I have the scissors, so we could do it out here, but you'll probably want somewhere to bathe properly afterwards." He knew that he ended up itching after he had his own hair cut, and always wanted to wash it off after.
 
"Alright then," she told him smiling. "The next place we stop." She rode on then, not knowing what else to say really. "So...who wants to play a game?" she asked.


((You wanna time skip or something?))
 
((That, or anytime. But...I say yeah, the hair cut first. We really need an idea to get them "closer" though))
 
((Not quite sure yet. I'll try and think of something, but I might not reply more than just this once, as I have to get ready for work))


It took a little over a day, but they finally reached a nice, small town where Lucius thought they wouldn't be bothered. While Archer went for supplies this time, Lucius and Melody settled in to rest and after a while Lucius got up to retrieve the scissors. He'd almost forgotten about them, but he held them up for her to see. "All right. Do you want to do it now?" Now was as good a time as any. He wasn't sure when they'd have the opportunity again.
 
She looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, we can do it now." She smiled at him softly and turned her back to him so he could get to her hair. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, you can cut it as short as you want." She was a bit nervous.
 
Lucius nodded and made sure her hair was brushed out first, then stood there staring for a while as he figured out where to start. "Hold still." He said, just as a general warning, and started in cutting off big chunks at a time for the length of it, knowing he would have to go back around and even it out afterwards. If he made it too boyishly short, it would draw attention, so perhaps just above her shoulders would do.
 
((Sorry, had to go. Good news, got my learners! ^_^ ))


She sat there, waiting for him to start with her eyes closed shut. Finally he began and she didn't make a move until he finished. "Are you done?" she asked. "Can I look?" She hoped it was alright and even and she hoped it wasn't too short. Her head did feel lighter though, and cooler, but she was also itchy like he said she would be.
 
((Cool :) Aaaand, I gotta go to work xD Sorry, back in a few hours))


He hummed a thoughtful note and circled around her again, then nodded. "You could've looked the whole time, but I'm done." He rinsed the scissors off and dried his hands, then stood back to let her do as she wished. "It looks . . . It looks nice." He said, because he knew having most of her hair missing was going to be a shock. He didn't want to upset her, but it was necessary.
 
((Okay then and it's fine ^_^ ))


The way he said it looks nice caused her to be a bit nervous and she got up to go to a mirror and look for herself. She bit her lip as she saw it. It was...nice, but....so short. She reached up to touch her hair and sighed softly. "It looks good," she said. "I just wish that...it didn't have to be so short." She gave him a small smile though and said, "I'm going to go and take a bath now. You were right, it is itchy."
 
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