2Chapter 3- For Thee, I May
Kiibo had to admit that he didn't exactly trust Angie's talks of the spirits speaking through her on certain days. He was a scientific guy who valued logic over most things in life (aside from steady feet and good friends), so no one could exactly blame him. That wasn't to say that Kibbo didn't believe in the spirits at all, he actually considered himself to be fairly spiritually attuned. He tried to meditate daily, respected the world around him, and believed in many of the legends and stories that surrounded the spirits. Of course, he wasn't as attuned as Angie (who had even journeyed to the spirit would and had a reputation among the spirits) or as invested as Kiyo (who could recite every variation of every legend by heart). But occasionally Kiibo could hear the spirits whisper in his ear.
Anyways, the point was that Angie wasn't the most reliable source of spirit information, but she was the best they had, and despite Kiibo's initial doubts about going on such a journey, he was pretty sure that Angie had actually been assigned a spirit quest. Usually Angie wouldn't lie about that type of thing.
The moon spirit being replaced after millions of years? It was madness, so mad that it had to be real. Well, that's what he thought at least. Miu probably would've laughed at such thoughts and maybe say something perverse, but she wasn't there to do that, so there.
(Although, he had to admit that he was starting to miss her quite dearly. It had been a while since he'd left her side, after all.)
"Excuse me, Angie? Would you mind if I asked you where we are exactly?"
Currently, they were taking a break from their long walking trek, sitting on the edges of the dusty roads of a small village. Gonta was looking for any sort of bug that may have been on the ground and Angie seemed to be painting something with her brush and scroll (something that she swore she needed to take on the journey).
"Hmmm…" She tilted her head, though she didn't lift her eyes off of her work, "Oshyu, I'm sure."
Kiibo fumbled around, trying to take their map out of his bag- which was currently set across his chest. He opened it easily enough, and let his finger rest on the stated village. His eyes moved to look at their desired destination.
"It seems like it'll take an estimate of two days before we even make it to the Southern's cold lands. Especially considering that we're going on foot."
"Yep yep!" Angie chirped, still painting, "It's best not to waste our little bit of allowance on mounts. Way too expensive!"
And anyways, if they were going to buy any mounts, they should've done it a month ago, at the beginning of their journey.
"But… Angie thinks we could always have Gonta carry us there!"
Gonta's head perked up instantly, and he smiled, "Of course! Gonta will carry you both there, if you really want. It's the right thing to do."
"Ah no, that's alright. It would make me feel like dead weight…"
"Oh no… Gonta didn't mean to insult you!"
"It's okay, Gonta, you didn't, I swear."
"Nyahahahaha!" Angie's laugh interrupted their conversation, "I'm finished!"
And she held up a masterfully made painting (made in only an hour), of the arctic (probably based on memory). The shading was articulate, you could practically feel the warmth of the sun, and could almost hear the cracking of ice.
Angie was a wonderfully skilled artist, a skill that she claimed the spirits had blessed her with, and Kiibo had known that for over two years- yet his breath would always be taken away every time he saw one of her wonderful pieces of art. He closed his eyes, thinking.
"Do you think we could sell it? We do need more layers…"
Angie laughed, "No, silly. The spirits say that this is our peace offering!"
"Hurry up, degenerate!"
Kaito scowled at Tenko's shouting, and subsequently stumbled over the unstable sand that made up the desert's ground.
"Well, sorry, we can't all be unimaginably good at trudging through sand… I mean, seriously! I get that you're good at punching and stuff, but how are you so good at walking through this stupidly unstable ground?"
Tenko scoffed haughty at Kaito as she watched him tumble and suffer (he was an earth bender, he wasn't made for these types of situations!), "Tenko is offended that you called her trained art 'punching'! But, to answer your stupid question… Angie taught Tenko!"
Kaito paused, "...Angie?"
"Typical degenerate…" She grumbled, before explaining, "Angie may not be a sandbender, but she was raised in the desert. And she said that it might be useful if she taught Tenko the right footwork to walk over sand."
"Oh… I, uh, didn't know that…"
Tenko blanched, "Seriously? Do you not talk to anyone outside of your 'sidekicks'!"
Kaito was offended by the accusation, "Of course I do! Just not much to Angie or Kiyo."
"Why?"
"Well… because they always talk about" he shuddered before choking out, "spirits!"
Tenko scoffed, "You're scared of spirits?"
"N-no! Of c-course not." His feet wobbled and he tripped on the sand, falling to the ground. Tenko made a face, but helped him up, "But, y'know, haven't you heard the legends? I mean, they can steal your faces!"
"That's only one."
"One too many, if you ask me…"
"Come on, let's hurry up, degenerate." And she tugged on his arm, dragging him along as he tried to catch himself.
"W-wait!"
"What is it?" Tenko spat, the harsh sun making her even more annoyed.
"Shouldn't I check where we are? We could be going in the wrong direction or somethin'."
Tenko paused, and let go of Kaito's wrist, making him fall to the ground. "I guess that's an okay idea… Let Tenko do it!"
"No. I thought we agreed that I'm the better senser a long time ago?"
"Yeah, what was it you called yourself? 'King of Holes and Walls'?"
Kaito just sighed, "C'mon, just let me do my job. Or I'll tell Kokichi about the time you fainted when Kaede called you cute that one time next chance I get."
Tenko blushed, "Ugh… what's with you degenerate males and black mail?"
Rolling his eyes, Kaito sunk his hand into the sand and twisted it, making sure to grasp the trembles of the earth. He grunted, feeling his feet starting to slide and slip on the sand. Finally, he felt something tangible.
"Uhhh… Tenko…?"
"What is it?"
"You know the library?"
"Yeah?"
"I think it's right below us."
AN- Miu keeps getting mentioned but she hasn't actually even appeared yet. I swear I'm not building up to something. She'll probably be in the next chapter, were we'll get back to the main base and Shuichi (plus the main story). Not counting the rest of Shuichi's group (Tsumugi and Kiyo) and Miu, I'm pretty sure that Rantaro's the only one not introduced- it'll probably be a while for him to actually appear though, because he's not really involved in any action.