Birds, birds, everywhere birds.  It wasn't that Lucia really hated wingers, granted that while they were annoying at least their actions didn't border on harassment like those damn dogs did, they didn't smell like dwarves, and they didn't cry and whine all the while acting like they were better than everyone else like elves did, but the fact of the matter was... that they were annoying.

    "Is Muse big?"

    "No."

    "Is it great?"

    "No."

    "Does it have those really cool thingies that do those things?"

    Lucia paused, raised an eyebrow at the young winger following her, then sighed.  "No, Rinka, it does not have those thingies that do those things."

    "Oh.  Well, I want to see Muse anyway.  Never saw it before.  I bet that Chako hasn't seen Muse yet."

    "That's nice."  Lucia shrugged.  "But we're not going to Muse.  We are simply taking a detour until we get back to Greenhill."

    Paineal chuckled.  "You know, I'd be talking right now but it seems that the winger girl's yapping enough for the both of us."

    "Don't you start on me now."  Lucia threatened.  "I am NOT in a good mood."

    "And I have that fact to thank for my new teeth collection!"  Paineal replied as he took a bag out and happily shook it.  Several rattling sounds were made.  "This could make a really good necklace back in the Grasslands.  Course, people might mistake whoever wears it to be a cannibal.  Ah well.  Maybe I could sell it to a werewolf.  Too bad those guys are so rare nowadays."

    "Whatever..."  Lucia muttered, then paused as she felt a gust of wind fly by.  "Someone's following us."

    Paineal took a few anxious glances around.  "You think the Matilda knights are still after us?"

    "No."  Not worried about the mysterious stalker, Lucia took out one of Veeshara's maps of the Jowston province.  "We pretty much have sanctuary from Matilda here.  That lard-ass's power doesn't extend beyond Matilda's borders."

    "Muse, huh?"  Paineal glanced at the map.  "Does this mean we're in Hauser's territory, now?"

    "This is not General Hauser's territory.  He merely commands the armies that defend it."  Lucia stared at the spot marking the location of the Muse-Greenhill checkpoint.  Was it normal for the city-states to imprison officers from other city-states?  No wonder why this damn country had to had checkpoints for everything.  Muse-Greenhill checkpoint, Matilda-Muse checkpoint, SouthWindow-Tinto guard post.  Funny how the capital of the city-states most likely didn't even know what the other city-states were doing.

    An extremely powerful gust of wind almost sent Lucia's headpiece flying off, before being followed by Rinka screaming, "Eeek!!!"

    Paineal looked behind himself.  "Eh?  Obviously Hauser's not doing a good job since he can't even keep the Muse province free of kidnappers."

    "Paineal, that's not what he's supposed to do.  What are you talking about?"  Lucia turned around to see what Paineal was looking at and found herself staring at the sharp end of a young female winger's spear.  After the initial shock of surprise wore off in half a second, her eyes narrowed and she calmly remarked.  "Whoever you are, please bear in mind that I do not enjoy having sharp objects lie an inch away from my head."

    In a quick motion, Lucia sent the spear flying through the air, but the winger leapt into the air and caught the spear before it could hit the ground, holding onto Rinka all the time.

    "I can't even say one word before you try to disarm me!  And I thought that hunter guy was rude."  The teenage winger remarked.  "But it doesn't matter.  I have what I came for.  Well, Rinka, we're going home, now."

    Rinka glanced upwards at the female winger holding onto her.  "Aaaaaah... gee... Neigha?  What are you doing here?  You're taking me back to Two River?  But I thought you left there!"

    "Well duh.  I'm doing this for the big reward that your aunt offered.  There haven't been as many traders to hijack around Greenhill as there used to be now that Greenhill instituted the closed-door policy."  Neigha shrugged.  "And I'm still annoyed that I didn't get a going-away party like Sid did."

    "That's because Sid's cool and you're just an annoying kleptomaniac!"  Rinka yelled.

    "What?!"  Neigha crossed her arms and glared at the girl.  "Sid was given a goodbye party because everyone was so happy he was finally leaving for good!  And we're ALL annoying kleptomaniacs, remember?  Geez!  Shouldn't you be more appreciative of what I'm doing for you?  I mean, that kidnapper is mean!  She nearly killed a bunch of kobolds and wingers at Two River, she's an evil human, and from what I hear she was a complete bitch.  And she has a stupid hat."

    Lucia's eyes twitched for a brief second.  "I have a stupid hat?!?"

    "She's not a kidnapper!"  Rinka pushed herself away from the other slightly older winger.  "She's Teresa, mayor of Greenhill by night, substitute teacher of Greenhill by day!"

    "You're joking, right?"  Neigha grabbed Rinka again.  "I'm sure she's one of those Temple of the Silver Moon people that I've been watching.  It was a good thing that I tracked their last Greenhill 'shipment' of kids to this area, or else you'd probably be being beaten by that whip of hers and forced to do whatever they make those kids do by now."

    "Um, excuse me."  Paineal tapped her on the shoulder.

    Neigha quickly flipped away from Paineal and glared at him.  "What!?"

    Paineal smiled.  "I'd just like to thank you for contributing to my teeth collection."

    "Huh?  What are you talk..."  Before she could even finish her sentence, Neigha recieved a nasty whip slash across her face.  Before she even had a chance to feel any pain from that, she found herself grabbed by Lucia's whip then being slammed to the ground.  Before she even hit the grass a huge beam of fire blasted directly onto her, resulting in a huge explosion.

    "IT'S A HEADPIECE, YOU GOD DAMN BIRD!"  Lucia screamed as Rinka freed herself from Neigha again and ran over to her.

    Paineal glanced around.  "Didn't knock out any teeth?  Drat."

    "I'm pissed."  Lucia remarked."Now I'm hurt..."  Neigha muttered.

    "I'm hurt."  Neigha muttered.

    "I'm dissappointed."  Paineal sighed.

    "I'm on fire."  Rinka commented.

    Neigha flipped back onto her feet and spun her spear around.  "Jerks!  I won't be caught of guard next time!"  She quickly ran away, jumped high into the air, then flew off.

    "Wow, a winger that doesn't need a high perch to fly."  Paineal stared at the winger flying away in the distance.  "I never knew they could do that."

    "Yea, well, Neigha's wierd."  Rinka looked at the flames that were consuming her.  "Anyone have any water?"

    "No."  Lucia looked at her map again.  "We'll get some at Muse.  It would appear that we will be going there after all.  That stupid bird mentioned the Temple of the Silver Moon.  I have some unfinished business with them."

    "Great."  Rinka sighed.  "Good thing I keep a fire emblem equipped for cases when my microwave rune backfires."

    "Can't we just let Hauser take care of it?"  Paineal asked.  "Oh wait, I forgot.  You said it's not his job to deal with kidnappers."

    "No, in this case Hauser's just an incompetent idiot."  Lucia put the map away.  "Terrorists are another issue from kidnappers entirely."

    General Hauser must be losing his touch.  Letting that silly little temple of samurai running rampant through Muse like that.  Course, he couldn't even keep Karaya from infiltrating Muse without the help of a traitor.
 

***
 

    Hmm... Muse.  Well, might as well see if the rats that posed as humans were any better than the other riff-raff Lucia had to deal with in Jowston.