From Ezra to Silverhold IC {VampWiz08 & Irell Starling}

Kyga threaded his fingers through West’s blonde hair as he rested a hand on her hip. She was amazingly soft and strong under his hand. Leaning forward he nestled his lips into the corner of her neck, taking in her smell. How long had it been since they first met? His life seemed so perfect now, so complete…”

God it even looked hot. Kyga looked out the windshield of Venus at Lillac, the small moon perilously close to the Reaver’s territory. In the copilot’s seat was a mutt with caramel fur and smart-looking eyes, the only other member of the crew. Roger whined at his owner before looking back outside the window. Kyga stretched and moved his head side-to-side, miss-cut dirty blond hair following his movements. ”Let’s get going. The sooner we catch her the sooner we can get off this planet and onto better space.” Roger whined again but eventually followed behind.

Metal clanked underneath as he walked out of the cockpit, through the kitchen and down the hallway past a few small side rooms. All of them besides his room (Roger shared his bed) were empty but sometimes if he really needed the cash he taxied people around. He didn’t like to do that, especially after one ended up being a total loon that tried to murder him in his sleep.

Kyga pressed a few buttons and the door in front of him hissed and opened, sending hot dry air into the ship. Roger whined for the third time. ”Look, if you’re going to be like this the whole time, you might as well stay behind and guard the ship.” The dog looked up at him, began wagging his tail before turning around, and then headed back the way they had came.

Sighing to himself, Kyga walked outside, the grass crunching under his feet as heat from the local sun began to bake his skin. Parts of Lilac received normal rain cycles and were good for growing crops. This location clearly wasn’t one of those. Raising his wrist, Kyga pressed a button on his watch. A screen popped up, showing a picture of his target, her most recent location, and a few tidbits of information. Sighing to himself, he grabbed his gun and guitar and headed over towards the nearest town where he hoped to gather some more information.

The touch of his hands sent chills down her spine. She always fel comfortable with him, his touch. He himself was comfortable. His gentle nuzzle sent even more chills through her body, and she pressed herself even closer to his warmth, letting their two bodies touch gently. Her hand ran gently up his spine while the other ran through his hair. She couldn't be happier...

There it was, that feeling. The feeling that someone was coming for her. She couldn't shake it, no matter how hard she had tried. It was hot, very hot. Beads of sweat ran down the delicate features of her porcelaine face, her hair beginning to stick to her cheeks. Why she hadn't cut her hair by now, she didn't know, but that was the least of her worries. Not only did she feel that someone was coming after her, her could feel her own memories start to poke through. She couldn't let that happen, not now, for if she did, there could very much be a massacre. And that was the last thing she needed, to get caught red handed, blood dripping from her blade and hands, with nowhere to turn.

She couldn't even remember how she had gotten to this moon. Had she hitchhiked her way there? Had she snuck onto a ship with no idea where she was headed? There was no way to tell now. With a sigh, West heaved herself from her seat at the bar, placing a bit of money on the counter. She hoped it was enough to pay, otherwise there would be more being coming after her, and one was enough.

She nodded to the bartender and walked out into the sun, more sweat instantly forming on her face. Yes, it was hot in the bar, but even hotter outside. And she was dehydrated. That was going to be an issue if she had to run. Guess getting a drink made of alcohol wasn't the best of ideas... West looked up to the sky, placing her hand above her eyes as if saluting so she could see. She tried to guess the time, but she never knew it anymore. All planets and moons had different times, days, weeks, months, years. There was no way of knowing what time it was anywhere anymore. A sigh escaped her lips and she looked back down at her surroundings. There was nowhere to hide, or to run, just dust and nearly desolate land. No caves, no trees. Just people, and not many, meandering their way around, probably trying to buy and sell, or find crews, or whatever the hell humans did nowadays to survive.

With a small grumble to herself, West began to walk, not knowing where she was going or what she was going to do, but she just let her feet carry her wherever they felt the need to go. This was her life now, traveling illegally to unknown places, never knowing where she was or how she got there, never being able to return to her home or previous location, begging for money for food or drink, and when her memories got the best of her, killing, with no recollection of doing it (sometimes), then running again. She was tired of running, but had no choice. With her memories of her old life really starting to show themselves, she was absentmindedly killing more. Not only that, she was starting to remember who she was killing, and how she did that. She hated that part about herself, because she really was such a sweet girl, very innocent. But there was that one thing keeping her from remaining that innocent girl she was, and even used to be. And there was something inside of her that wanted to get back to that place that changed her forever, and rid the universe of all those people, so no other child had to go through what she did.

Amidst of her thoughts and mindless wandering, she stopped. There was something she could hear, something soothing, that she was sure would calm her. The more she thought, the more the memories came back to her, and the more she felt the need to kill. So she walked toward the sound slowly, taking in which direction it was coming from. What was it?

Walking, walking, walking. It seemed to her that she was walking for hours (probably from her dehydration) before she realized what it was. Music. Soft, gentle, peaceful. And from a guitar, no less. It wasn't often West heard the sounds of a guitar. So she walked up to the young man playing and stared at him with her head tilted. The music was nice, soothing, calming. So, she stared at the man with dirty blonde hair playing, his dog laying peacefully at his side. But then the feeling hit her again, that there was someone after her. She continued to look and stare at him until she realize he was the one coming after her.

So she ran as best as she could away from him. She knew running would be pointless, since she had no energy and desperately needed water. But she was going to try and escape him.

Kyga couldn’t help but wonder if this could even be called a town. He check his watch again to verify his location and then looked back at the scene. Two buildings huddled together under the blistering sun. One was larger and had a few horses milling around in the padlock, looking for any sign of grass to munch and being sorely disappointed. The other had a combination of signs painted onto the front indicating its many uses including a bar.

Inside was hot, although solar powered fans tried to create a breeze. The only person besides him in the place was the bartender who was sitting down, watching a news screen on the side wall. When he entered, the bartender stood up and offered him a kind smile. ”What can I get you.”

”Water,” Kyga said, his voice coming out in a soft rasp. The bartender smiled and shrugged. ”We don’t have any of that here.” When Kyga gave him a look, the bartender broke out and laughed, ”I’m kidding.” The man turned back to the bar and began to prepare the drink, ice and all. When he finished, he handed the drink to Kyga who quickly gulped it down. ”You’re looking for her, aren’t you…” the bartender asked while the young man allowed him to talk, ”You her husband or something? No, she doesn’t seem like the type to get married. What do you want with her?”

Kyga pushed the button on his watch. A holographic wanted poster sprang to life and a blonde young woman peered back at them. ”I don’t want any trouble. I’m only it this for the money. As soon as I catch her I plan on taking her directly to the Alliance.” The bartender considered him for a while before nodding. ”She left just an hour before you came strolling in. Left that money there on the counter, I haven’t cleaned it up yet.”

A sudden idea sprung into his head. Thanking the bartender, Kyga paid him double and took a single coin from the previously paid till.

-----

Roger looked up at him and panted. ”Come on, show a little effort! Dog-food isn’t free you know and everyone’s got to earn their keep on my ship.” A woof emitted from the dog who sat down and continued to wag its tail. The man frowned and shoved the coin back under his companion’s nose. ”Come on, you’ve done this before. How hard can it be?” Tilted head. Wagging tail. Woof. ”Please?” Roger looked west as if sensing something and took off in the direction. Quickly closing the ship’s door behind him, Kyga grabbed his things before chasing after.

Roger and Kyga ran on for about twenty minutes westward until the two came upon a shallow pond where some hidden spring trickled towards the surface. A few taller plants grew nearby and Roger stopped and laid down under the shade of one of them. Irritated at the dog, but also knowing he couldn’t leave the animal behind, Kyga sat down next to him and began playing a way as his guitar and, as if by a miracle, within a few minutes, she appeared.

At first he couldn’t believe his eyes. Her picture was captivating but in person her beauty was so starting that he fumbled a few notes in mid-song. Now he had to figure out a way to not scare her off, but boy did she look leery. Perhaps the best approach would be to act naïve. Then when she started to trust him, he’d corner her and make his move.

”Hello,” he said, trying to on the kindest smile he could (which was not too hard, he was a naturally sweet guy). ”I hope I’m not trespassing or something, my dog and I just got a little tired and needed to take a rest.” He looked at her face which seemed warm and shown with perspiration. ”You okay yourself?”

West, being as distracted as she was, what with her extreme thirst and thoughts of running, hadn't even noticed that she was near a pond. Her feeble attempt of escape hadn't worked, clearly, though she begged her feet to carry her on, away from him. But his voice, so... captivating in the heat, caught her off guard, and she nearly tumbled to the ground. If she didn't get something to drink, and quickly, she was sure she would die.

She shook her head, her platinum blonde hair barely moving with her, as most of it was attached to some part of her face or shoulders from the sweating. It was her answer to not only his question but his statement about trespassing. Of course he wasn't; she had only just arrived on this dreadful moon herself. "Thirsty," she finally spoke, her voice gravelly. She hadn't realized how thirsty she really was until she spoke, only then noticing how dry her mouth was, and how much water was falling off of her body. But before he could respond to anything, West walked as quickly as her tiny body could muster to the pond, kneeling in the soft sediment on the bank of the body of water. One hand held her up while the other cupped itself and dunked into the water before pulling itself up to her mouth. She drank from her hand before collapsing into the ground, now drinking the water with both hands.

At this point, she had forgotten that she was running from him, or supposed to be running from him. All she could focus on was hydrating herself so that, when the moment came, she could run. Though she was sure she still wouldn't be able to get far, what with her body needing to rest and relax and let the water give her her energy back.

After a few more minutes of drinking the water to herself, West finally rose from the bank of the pond and turned to look at him. He was handsome, yes, but a threat. She refused to make herself familiar with a threat. "No, you're not trespassing, by the way," she finally responded to him, her voice now almost back to normal. "I don't know who lives here, and I don't plan on finding out if anyone does. I'm not in the mood to get killed today." Her last words she made final, telling him to back off. "Now, if you'll escuse me, I have some... er... shopping? To do?"

She hadn't planned on making her final statement two questions, or even planned on stuttering through her life. And there it was again, that feeling deep inside of her soul that knew that he was the one coming after her. It also told her that he wasn't exactly going to fall for that. But she had to try, right? So she began walking toward him, hoping just the slightest bit that he would let her pass without taking her in. "See you again, maybe?"

Kyga tried not to stare at the woman and her sundrenched skin as she kneeled down to drink water out of the pond. He’d been all across the systems either touring with his guitar or making a more profitable income like now and seen hundreds of beautiful women including many companions but something was different about the one who stood in front of him. ”Oh no,” he groaned inwardly to himself, ”Don’t even think about it…”

He seemed to have a habit of adopting people and animals. A while back, Kyga had taken in a young man named Tucker who taught him how to properly maintain his ship for the cost of room, board and the promise of adventure. They’d spent a few years traveling around together before Tucker, wanting to settle down, moved onto greener pastures. Shortly afterwards Roger had shown up quite literally on his doorstep as the persistent pooch many his presence known one morning by barking right outside of Kyga’s bedroom door. By that time the ship was halfway through an automatic course to Erza and it was too late to return the stole-away. And here standing in front of him was another one. What was it about her that made him want to protect her? Ugh. Maybe it was something in the water that bartended had served him, after all what she really needed protection from was him and the countless other bounty hunters who were after the same target.

Kyga’s ears perked up as she mentioned that she hadn’t been on the planet for long. Good, that meant that he was probably the first to catch up to her which would give him valuable time. He wasn’t phased by her veiled threat but understood that she meant business and was still at least vaguely aware of herself. It pleased and worried him at the same time that she seemed disoriented and knew it was only a matter of time before she was overcome by heat exhaustion.

Roger looked up and whined at the woman while she passed by indicating that he would like some attention. Kyga shot the dog a glance but it simply yawned and stood up. Kyga took this as a cue and packed up his instrument, and then slung the protective leather case across his back. ”I guess Roger here is done resting for now. Since I’m new here and you’re new here, why don’t we walk around together? I’m sure it will be much safer this way.” He made no move to get closer to her and in fact tried to look as unimposing as possible. What he was really hoping for was to stick around until she passed out all on her own from dehydration, then to carry her to his ship and lock her up in the small make shift infirmary while she recovered. It seemed like the best plan and hopefully would end with neither of them getting hurt.

West looked at him curiously when he spoke. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not, but she knew that if she didn't stay with someone, it was sure that she would pass out form dehydration or would just simply die. Yes, she drank some water, but wasn't sure if she drank enough. But, maybe it was enough to last her until getting back into town, and then she could just escape in some way.

"Uh, sure?" she finally replied and continued to walk, hoping slightly that she could lose him in the town. The town was small, though, and didn't have much traffic, but there was a possibility that she could hide. Something was off, though, and she could feel more trouble. It was enough to run from one person, but to have to run from two? There was no way she had the energy to get away from two people, two bounty hunters. One was already following her, this she knew, and the other was somewhere. Somewhere close. She couldn't shake the feeling of the second, no matter how hard she tried. West knew, though, that if she showed any sort of emotion, fear, or anything else, this guitar player and his dog would know something was wrong, and would do whatever they could to keep her in their grasp.

Eventually, the young woman, man, and dog made it back into town, no words exchanged between them. West walked into the bar she had found herself when she first arrived in the town, never having known that the bounty hunter that was now following her every move had been there shortly after her. "Water, please," she told the bartender without looking up at him, hoping that something good would happen. The feeling of the second hunter coming after her grew, and she knew there was something really wrong now. And she really couldn't shake it now. She never saw the reaction of the bartender, but he gave her her water and she gulped it down.

But just before she could set the glass down, she was grabbed from behind. And this was it, her demise, her death. West screamed loudly as she was pulled quickly away from the bar seat, her legs slamming hard against the ground. She groaned in pain and attempted to fight and wiggle herself away from her captor. But she was too weak still to fight him off. The way she was getting carried away were bringing back memories of her past, and the anger grew inside of her. His grip was tight around her, and she had no weapons to fight back with, so there was no way she would even be able to kill him if she tried. Her screams were now turning to screams of pain, agony, and anger, and there was nothing she could do. A door opened in the back of the bar, and she was pulled back out into the sun and desert, and just knew she was going to die.

Roger padded along besides West, while Kyga kept a more comfortable distance. Even he was feeling the effects of the heat and had wished he’d had the forethought to carry more water along. Roger on the other hand, despite his fur and lolling tongue, seemed to be doing just fine for the time being. Kyga allowed West to lead them where she pleased, all the while mentally keeping track of their distance from his ship. As the outline of the town appeared on the horizon again, he cursed inwardly to himself knowing it would allow West time to rest, making it harder for him to capture her.

The trio headed straight for the bar a haven from the brutal sun above that held the promise of cool water. West went inside first while Roger padded around the door sniffing intently. ”What is it boy?”With a wild look in his eyes, the dog began to growl fiercely, tan haunches rising up in irritation.

Kyga rushed over and tried to calm the dog down. He’d never seen Roger, who was usually so calm and outgoing, act this way but the dog simply began barking loudly at the bar’s open door. Suddenly a woman’s scream rang out from inside the bar as glass shattered. Kyga attention was instantly turned away from Roger. He knew with certainty that the sound had come from the strange blond woman known as West Lockbone. But as he shifted to run into the bar, Roger ran in front, tripping him. In the time it took him to stand back up again and run inside, she had vanished.

”Where did she go!?” Kyga demanded turning on the bartender, his features distorted by fear and rage. He wasn’t only angry that someone had stolen his meal ticket right from under his nose, but that West sounds like she’d been in pain. Before the man could answer him, more sounds reached his ears: a dog barked, a woman screamed again, a vehicle started up.

Kyga ran outside in time to see a man with flaming red hair drive off with West. Roger was close on the dirt bike’s heels and Kyga joined after him but it was clear the pursuit was in vain as the vehicle got further and further away. Eventually the dog and the man gave up and fell to the sandy ground that licked their skin with heat. ”We should go back to the ship.” Roger whined up at him as if understanding what he’d said. ”We’re not giving up, we’ll just have to see if we can follow the tire tracks. We’ll get her back.”

In the distance, West could see the image of a bounty hunter and his dog. She knew exactly who it was, and though he was after her, she needed help. Her mouth opened to scream help, but nothing came out. Her lungs burned from what little hydration she had gotten from her earlier attempt to drink water. Whatever hydration she had had was now gone, and her lungs ached from the screaming. She stared at him with hope, though she knew he could see that. West watched as Kyga turned to his dog before closing her eyes and passing out in the back of the vehicle from exhaustion. Her body was weak, achy, and, even through her "slumber", she could tell her throat itched and her lungs burned.

She awoke, for whatever reason, in the shade of one of the biggest ships she had ever seen. Why the man who took Kyga's bounty didn't leave the moon yet, or even put her on it, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that her seemingly lifeless body was lying in the desert, no hydration in her system, underneath the hull of a ship, with a feeling that she could die at any moment. West reached into thin air as if reaching for water. Her body moved ever so slowly, and she tried to lift her head from the ground. The best she could muster was barely even an inch off the ground. This was the point where she began to wonder why this new bounty hunter hadn't fed her or given her something to drink. Most hunters, if they saw that their target was nearly dead, would at least give them something to give them life back because they didn't want the target to die in that sort of way under their "care".

When she realized she wasn't going to get any water from the mirage of a water bottle hanging over her head, her hand dropped hard into the hardened ground. The pain was almost non-existant since the rest of the pain her body was feeling overpowered that. She laid there and wondered where the man and his dog were. Yes, they were after her, and yes, they would probably end up killing her, but something was different about him. He had many chances to just kill her or take her away in his ship, but he hadn't yet, and that's why he was different. West had spent many a day and night escaping from the grasp of a bounty hunter, and many never returned again to kill her. But Kyga was different. He hadn't even made an attempt to attack. That feeling, though, that she always had when being chased was still there about Kyga, but very faint. Now, he was her only chance for survival, and hoped he would come find her soon. She wasn't ready to die, not underneath a ship, in its shadow, of dehydration. If she were to die, she wasn't ever going to go without a fight.

Kyga hopped into the in the pilot’s seat while Roger took the one next to his. He buckled his seat belt, then leaned over to tie the dogs make shift harness before starting Venus. The ship roared quickly to life and it was only a few minutes before they were off, flying low above the sands. The man reached out and tapped the climate control button which began to circulate a cool breeze. Gods above did he hate sweating, the sooner they were off this forsaken planet the better. Kyga steered the space craft towards the tiny town and found the tire trail with relative ease.

Ten minutes later a metallic object sparkled in the distance. ”I bet that’s it,” Kyga said. It was the first time he’s spoken since they’d boarded the ship. He had spent the time concentrating the tire tracks which were slowly being eroded by the wind. ”West,” he said and smiled a little to himself. The ship’s compass clearly read they were heading southeast.

Kyga parked Venus right next to the other ship. There was no point in being shy about this, in the barren desert there was no sneaking up on anybody. Well, unless there was a town, and a bartended, and fresh water, but other than that…

Warning shots fired as Kyga opened the airlock and stepped back outside into the heat. ”Stay back, cowboy!” the voice was husky most likely from lack of water. Roger, clearly didn’t understand his words and belted out barking loudly. Kyga followed quick afterwards after taking the safety off his pistol.

The other ship was massive compared to his. Looking around he saw West was lying in the dirt perhaps unconscious, perhaps dead. ”I know you!” Kyga turned to face the man who had stolen her. He was younger than expected, perhaps only a few years older than him but he had red hair and steely grey eyes. ”You’re that joker… uh… what do they call you? Black Turnip.”

”Black Sun?” Kyga offered, resisting the urge to grind his teeth.

”Nah, it was definitely Black Turnip.” Roger had continued barking throughout this conversation. ”Well, looks like all’s fair here.” The man began again, ”You didn’t think I recognized him? He may be a little bigger around the waist, but I’ll never forget Bandit. The way I figure it, you got my dog and I have your woman. Alls well that ends well.”

”Bandit?” Kyga said. As he did so Roger stopped barking and turned briefly towards him. The man used this time to walk closer to West but the dog heard the movement and circled around him, growling ferociously between the two.

”Look, partner,” he said, ”I don’t see how this is going to end well for anyone but me. I have no qualms shooting the three of you right here. I’ll get some reward for her dead or alive.” he pointed his gun as West, ”And you two can be vulture food for all I care. So, Bandit, ol’ boy you best back off” The dog didn’t flinch, even as the man raise he gun and took aim.

A familiar voice and bark came to West, along with an unfamiliar one. They seemed so distant as she listened to their conversation. She could hear the coldness in Kyga's voice, and even in Roger's bark. Her eyes opened as far as she could open them and she slowly sat up onto her elbows, watching the showdown between the bounty hunters. Her lips were now cracking, her throat felt like it was going to rip itself from her body, her hair plastered to her still sweating skin. The feeling of being hunted was now doubled, but distant, and there was an extra feeling there. She couldn't quite place it, but it felt... good. What was it? Safety? Comfort? Rescue?

"Help... me..." she tried to speak, but the words didn't even come as a whisper. West now sat into a full sitting position, her head dropping heavily, her eyes now staring at the hard, dusty ground. She couldn't understand much of their conversation, the only things she understood were "Black Turnip" and "Bandit". The reference to Black Turnip made a little bit of sense in her continuously dying mind, but she knew who that was. He had been hunting her for quite a while, and now it seemed that he wasn't hunting her anymore. He was saving her.

As best as she could, the young woman stood, attempting to keep her feet planted onto the dry ground. Since she had nearly fallen over, she rested against the bounty hunter's ship, accidentally hitting it with a hard thud!. Her body bounced off of it slightly, and her entire body was back on the ground. She winced heavily, the pain from falling surging through her right side, on which she had fallen. Her body curled itself in pain, and her left arm grabbed the right.

At this point, West knew that she had gotten the attention of both of the men and the dog, but there was nothing she could do for herself anymore. She knew that she had dislocated her shoulder from the fall, and she was too weak to even do anything anymore. She could feel three sets of eyes on her, two human and one dog.

West looked up at Kyga, desperation in her eyes. She could feel she was inches from death, and all her weakened body could do was mouth another "Help me" towards the hunter she had first met at the ravine.