The plain plains

[shivdeeviant]

Shiv sat on the dirt and prepared a pile of grass for a campfire. He took care to clear a decent area and dug a pit for the fire to go into. There was a very gentle breeze wafting through the air, so there wouldn't be any trouble of sparks carrying.

After piling a good portion of grass into the ditch, Shiv turned to Yin. Yang was still sleeping peacefully in Shiv's lap.

"Yin," said Shiv in such a way that his voice would not carry, "I know we do not get along. I know you hate me. And even knowing this, I know how difficult what I must ask of you."

Yin saw this coming as well, and interrupted Shiv.

"You want me to listen to you if Yang is unable to. To protect Yang is the important thing here. Is that what you were going to ask of me?"

Shiv blinked, surprised that Yin had so expertly deduced the situation.

"... Yes."

Yin gave a deep, annoyed sigh.

"I will concede that your judgment in battle is sound. I will even take it into consideration when we fight. Yang is what is important, and he shall be protected."

"Yes."

"Human..."

"Shiv."

"HUMAN," said Yin resolutely, "You have not earned my trust, not by a long shot. I tell you these things now as a token of gratitude for saving my brother's life, for I know that it was you who did it. For the second time in my life I was unable to do anything for my friends. You have granted me a great boon by allowing me to keep my brother, and for that you will have my cooperation until he is better. But do not think for a second that I will accept you as anyone's master. Now let us see to lighting the fire."

Shiv was so taken aback by this sudden emotional, and yet quiet, interlude from the most stoic party member. He had known of Yin's devotion to Yang, but Yin's verbosity on the subject was still able to take him by surprise.

Shiv sat there, looking at the unlit fire, thinking on what the Kyokyomon had said.

Yin, meanwhile, floated over to Inori, Wizardmon, and Alchemon. He nodded to Inori in passing and stopped next to Wizardmon, inadvertently placing himself between Alchemon and Inori. It was curious to note that how they were arrayed at that point, it looked like Yin and Wizardmon were guarding Inori from the newcomer. Yin saw in Wizardmon's posture a tension that mirrored his own when Shiv was around Yang. He wondered what this new Digimon wanted.

"Thank you for your assistance." Said Yin politely, "I am sorry that the tempo of the fight did not allow me to do as you asked. But things seemed to turn out amicably in the end, so no harm done?"

He turned to Wizardmon, giving him a look of support.

"I am very sorry to degrade you like this," Yin apologized, "But would you be willing to light the campfire?"

He added in an undertone, so that only Wizardmon could hear.

"You won't lose her... not to Him."

[Dante]

Dante breathed an internal sigh of relief at Nohemon's calm. If the thing had attacked them again, he didn't know what would have happened, but it would have been bad. So it was just as well that his greatest concern was gathering up his bag, the bedroll, and Nyaromon and following his friends. He looked on as a little drama ensued. It seemed that the newest digimon in their group was attached to Inori, and Wizardmon was none too happy about it. There seemed to be a degree of tension there, but Dante couldn't really bring himself to care. If they decided to hash it out with fists rather than words, then whatever. It didn't really concern him or Nyaromon, so it wasn't his problem. Shiv seemed to have the fire well on its way to being lit, and had a bit of a heated discussion with one of his partners. As he passively observed the party politics in action, he idly mused about everyone he met seeming to have two digimon attached to them. Did that make him deficient, or the only non-freak in the group? An interesting question, and not one that he or likely Nyaromon could answer. It didn't much matter to him, though. Time, as always, would tell. While they dealt with their issues, he had one of his own.

"You going to be okay, Nyaromon?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down so as not to attract the attention of the others.

"I'll live, Dante. Don't worry so much. I just need to rest, then I'll be fine. Next time, though, I'm going to watch that irritating pink blob more closely. I'm sure he feels guilty about hitting me instead of Nohemon, but it was just as much my fault."

Dante's countenance spoke volumes of how unconvinced he was.

"Honestly," Nyaromon said with a sigh, "I had my bell rung more than anything. It's like if someone runs into you unexpectedly and it takes you a little while to regain your bearings. I'm not going to die, I'm not an invalid. I just need to sleep it off."

Dante cracked a smile. Even injured, Nyaromon seemed to be so sure of herself. It was one of the things he enjoyed about having her as a partner, and hearing her throw that attitude around again did much to calm his nerves.

[Inori]

Wizardmon regarded Yin evenly, murmuring something that sounded vaguely like a thank you before speaking up so more then just Yin could hear.

"Lighting a campfire is hardly degrading..." He said, tone sounding more amused then annoyed at this. "Particularly since it is an element I am good with."

Without giving it a second thought, Wizardmon set about lighting a fire.

Alchemon observed the higher level digimon for a long moment, then glanced up to said digimon's partner. It was really quite a shame she was stuck with such a disappointingly pathetic partner, he mused to himself. Lost in thought, he completely missed Inori moving away from him, and towards Dante. She trusted Alchemon less then she trusted Wizardmon, and something about him was a little unnerving.

"I know it isn't my fault, but I am sorry you got hurt Nyaromon." She paused for a moment then winced as she seemed to be struck by a realization. "Ah sorry, I'm probably interrupting or something."

She fidgeted awkwardly, mumbling some sort of apology before glancing around to try and find somewhere to sit that wouldn't place her in anyone's way.

[shivdeeviant]

Yin looked at the strange, grinning Digimon.

He looked odd, a rookie that had the air of danger of a champion. His smile looked predatory in Yin's eyes. Like a hungry Leomon, he eyed the girl. Yin felt a shudder ripple down his back.

"And what are you doing here, by the way?" He asked.

Shiv gave Wizardmon a nod of thanks as he started on the fire. Soon the grass was smoking and crackling, with the smoke rising straight up.

The sun was setting, casting a great red hue upon the horizon. The stars bean to peek out from the veil of twilight. Shiv took a deep breath as he looked at it. Yang mumbled something in his sleep and absentmindedly cuddled into Shiv's stomach. Shiv sighed.

"So, wizardmon," he said in a whisper, "Are you OK? You seemed to take some damage in the last fight. I'd hate to see our star player fall in the middle of anything. Perhaps you should rest."

Shiv's face lit up.

"Oh! I also wanted to share some ideas with you about how to combine some of our attacks!"

He then mumbled off a few of his ideas, most of them absurd. But some, some were quite interesting.

"And that is just what I've seen from what you can do! Can you do anything else?"

[Dante]

Dante chuckled at how awkward Inori seemed to be feeling.

"You're not interrupting anything, Inori-san."

Nyaromon also giggled a litle bit.

"Yeah, he was just being fussy."

Dante turned, an expression of feigned horror on his face.

"I was doing no such thing," he said, sounding defensive.

"Yes you were, Dante. Don't even bother denying that you worry too much."

She didn't even wait for his response before turning towards Inori and responding to the girl's profferred apology.

"Thanks for the sentiment, Inori-san," Nyaromon said, using the same honorific as Dante, "It really wasn't your fault, though. I just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time is all. I'll be fine in the morning, don't you worry."

She even smiled to punctuate her statement. Dante was a little annoyed that Nyaromon had ratted him out to Inori, but it didn't matter too much, so long as the girl didn't in turn try to make a huge deal out of it.

[Inori]

Luckily for Dante, Inori was not the kind of girl to make a huge deal out of things. Instead she smiled.

"I'm sure next time you will do way better then any of our partners!" She chuckled, then lowered her voice slightly, even though she knew Dante would overhear what she said. "You should bribe some ear scratching out of him."

Alchemon eyed Yin thoughtfully. "You lot seemed interesting so I started following...good thing I did considering what happened." He shrugged. "Aside from that, I don't really know...something about her..." He gestured vaguely to Inori with one of his scarf hands.

Wizardmon nodded slowly, seeming to not trust Shiv's intentions...whatever they may be. "I am fine. Just a series of unfortunate happenings. I should have done better." He tugged at his cloak for a moment, pulling it up further. "As for other things I can do..I do not wish to go in much detail, other then I have an affinity for fire and lighting."

[shivdeeviant]

Shiv nodded at Wizardmon.

"Well," said Shiv, "And also there is that eye thing that you do. I'm not sure what that does, but I can guess. Thanks for being so forthcoming."

Shiv looked up at the sky again.

"Your skies here are so beautiful. I lived in a city where I'm from, and the lights there blocked out the night sky. Here there are no planes, it's all so big! I feel I could get lost in the sky here."

Shiv stood up and dusted off his track pants.

"And that's enough of me waxing philosophic. I should start my watch. Yin! I could use an extra set of eyes!"

Yin turned away from Alchemon, looking perturbed.

"Could also use an extra brain..." Yin muttered under his breath.

He settled next to Shiv as they both looked into the plains. Yang nuzzled Shiv as he slumbered. And a slight breeze ruffled the fire and grass.

[Dante]

Nyaromon sat and pondered Inori's suggestion a bit. By the time she looked up at Dante, he already knew what she was about to say.

"Good idea," she commented, looking up at her partner with her best innocent face, "Would you be so kind as to give my poor ears a scratch?"

As she spoke, more and more effort seemed to go into sounding as pathetic as possible. Dante rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, but we really should get to sleep. Second watch isn't going to be any more pleasant for the waiting..."

He looked up at Inori with a smile.

"Sleep well, eh? I'll wake you up when it's your turn."

Once the other girl was headed out towards her own bedroll, Dante settled down on his, scratching Nyaromon gently as they both drifted off. He wouldn't necessarily be well rested when his turn came around, but he'd be awake, at least. Second watch wasn't so bad, provided you could maintain your focus and sleep soundly when it was your turn to do so. In that department, Dante was off to a great start.

[Inori]

Inori nodded to Dante, and of course went off to her bedroll to sleep.

Wizardmon had chuckled at Shiv's comment about the sky, not offering much of a comment. As Shiv went to go start his watch, the wizard digimon made his way over to Inori, locating somewhere moderately comfortable to sit and rest at.

Alchemon on the other hand, seemed to slink off to the nearest dark place he could find that would still let him keep an eye on things.

[shivdeeviant]

Shiv sat in thought, Yin beside him. The day had brought even more interesting things to note. The appearance of Alchemon, the black shard, the freaky scarecrow. Dante's partner and Yang's mistake. All things to think through. He would need to see what Nyaromon could do when it evolved. Plans swirled through his head. Shiv thought of how to properly fight in such an open area. He looked at Yang.

Yang slumbered peacefully in Shiv's lap. He dreamed of food. Lots and lots of it. Mountains of pumpkins and apples and oranges. Tasty of tasty. Whipped cream that he could jump in and make whipped cream angels! Food! Food! Food!

Yin sat quietly, feeling dark eyes upon him. He looked around for the source, but in the darkness couldn't see the specific spot that was looking back at him. He could only tell the direction. It came from by Inori and her partner. Yin rose into the air beside Shiv.

"Trouble?" Asked Shiv.

"Maybe," Whispered Yin.

Shiv rose slowly and crept beside Yin over towards Inori and partner. Passing them to the edge of the firelight. Yin saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His sight darted after the shadow, and he caught a trace of a scarf in the shadows of the grass. Yin knew who it was.

"Newcomer... Alchemon, was it?" said Yin quietly, "Either sleep like the rest or join us in our watch, lest we accidentally attack you in the night."

And with that Yin went back to his post, a very confused Shiv following.

"That was it?" mumbled Shiv, "Why didn't we just pull him out of the grass? We don't know what he's up to, and he seems untrustworthy."

"And just when did I say I trusted him?" replied an incredulous Yin, "Better to let him think that he has control of the situation when he does not than exacerbate the situation with needless violence. What is it with you and picking fights?"

"What kind of question is that? I don't pick needless fights, and I never take a fight I can't win. Mistakes are for failures, and I am not a failure."

"I see." huffed Yin, "And so the fight with Nohemon that you started today, a fight in which Yang got hurt I might add, was not a mistake?"

"Nope." said Shiv matter-of-factually, "It was a chance to see what everyone could do as a team in combat. Dante wanted the fight, I just went along with him. I did not foresee Yang's chivalry. His damage was his own fault. He could have dodged, but chose not to. My sympathies to him, but he needs to be more powerful to fight others. I will keep to your challenge to heart, but sometimes power is needed. And... finally, it pulled out the stalker who's been following us since the train."

Yin stopped.

"How do you know he was following us from the train?"

"You were the one who tipped me off. Your body was tense and you were looking everywhere. I knew from that that something was up. I figured that it was something like him."

Yin gave Shiv an appraising look.

"You are far too smart for your own good."

"So I am told." Shiv said with a grin.

They settled back into their watch, Alchemon not bothering them again. When their time was up, when the moon was halfway up the sky, they went over to Dante and gently shook him awake.

"Morning, sunshine," said Shiv cheerily, "Your turn to watch the grass grow."

[Dante]

Dante arose without complaint looking just fine.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked as he scooped up a still drowsy Nyaromon.

If Shiv told him of anything interesting, he'd keep an eye out for it. Otherwise, he'd take a seat near the edge of camp, Nyaromon on his lap, scratching her behind the ears absently as he reflected on the events of the day, and it had been an interesting one, to be sure.

Shiv had turned out to be kind of a prick, but not so bad overall, Dante supposed. He could see why Inori didn't like him, and Dante didn't much appreciate some of his traits either, but it wasn't like the guy was worth hating or anything. Worst case scenario, he turned out to be a jerk and backstabbed them both. Kind of what Dante had been expecting, truthfully. Everyone betrayed. It was human nature to act only in one's own interest, and the moment it was in Shiv's interest to part ways with them, he would, and Dante expected no less. This current arrangement was convenience only, nothing more or less. They all happened to be together, and so they watched each other's backs. It wasn't too much trouble for Dante to sacrifice a little sleep to watch out for the people who happened to be in the same place as him, so he didn't mind. If it had been considerable effort on his part to do so, he would have done things differently. Even Inori, kind as she was, wasn't worth sticking his neck out for.

Nyaromon stirred and looked up at Dante.

"Let me guess, angry thoughts?"

He looked down at her quizzically.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked, genuinely interested in what she thought.

"You seemed pretty wound up earlier, Dante," she commented, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me and angry at Shiv for what his partner did to me."

He sighed and shook his head, a small smirk on his face.

"If you must know," he began, "I do care about you, Nyaromon. I don't like seeing you hurt, and I don't like that it was friendly fire that did it. Am I angry about it? No. It wasn't intentional, and even if it was, A) You're fine, and B) It's human nature to betray. If he did mean to hit you with that move, he's both possessing of greater foresight than I gave him credit for and stupid for not doing a good enough job at it. Next time I'll be ready for him, so he won't get such a good opening again. Even if that new hanger-on, Alchemon, wants to rumble, I'll have something cooked up for him by the time he decides on it. I expect everyone to betray me, Nyaromon, but that doesn't mean I'm angry. I'd probably do the same in their position, so why should I hold it against them?"

"Why expect betrayal, though?" she asked, "Why believe the worst of people? I don't know about you humans, but we digimon aren't such a bad bunch overall. We've got our bad apples, sure, but the majority aren't so bad. Why would you choose to think that all of us are bad just because a few are?"

"It's for protection, Nyaromon," he said plainly, "If I don't stick my neck out for anyone and expect them all to turn against me eventually I won't get hurt, will I?"

"Maybe not, Dante, but will you ever really be happy?"

He shrugged.

"I'm happy enough," he said, "So long as I'm still alive, I'm okay with missing out on a little bit in exchange for protecting myself from them."

"From who, Dante?" she asked, sounding more inquisitive than confrontational, "Who are you protecting yourself from?"

"Everyone," he said simply, "There's not a single person in all the world who won't stab me in the back if it suits them, so why leave an opening for them? Might as well just keep them all out and save myself the trouble."

"And me?" she asked, sounding more curious than hurt, "Do you think I'll turn against you, too?"

Dante paused before answering.

"I sincerely believe that you wouldn't betray me, even if it was in your best interests to do so. That's part of what's so weird about this world, Nyaromon. You're the first person I've ever met that I honestly believe I can trust, and that's not something I'm used to. That's also why I don't know what to do here. How can I honestly trust the other two if I fully expect them to stab me, and probably you too, in the back? Also, what would I do if I lost you for good?"

The two fell silent, each considering what the other had said. Also, Dante spared a thought for what he assumed was Alchemon rustling in those bushes over there. He'd probably heard most, if not all, of what had been said between them. No matter.

"I've said this before, and I'll say it again," Nyaromon said finally, "I won't betray you. You're my partner, and one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Even if you can't trust me, at least believe in that."

Dante nodded, a small smile forming on his face.

"I do."

The rest of the watch passed relatively uneventfully, save for Alchemon doing whatever it was Alchemon did over in those bushes, but who cares? In time, Dante stood from his position, walked over, and nudged Inori awake.

"How'd you sleep?"

[Inori]

Inori mumbled something about sleeping fine, and telling Dante to rest well as she got up. The shuffling woke Wizardmon from his sleep, and the two took their place taking watch.

"There is something wrong with him." Wizardmon murmured, keeping his voice low.

"Which him?" Inori mused quietly, figuring out what Wizardmon was keeping quiet about based on how he kept glancing suspiciously in the direction of where Alchemon had gone off to earlier.

"Would it be terrible of me to say take your pick?"

"Maybe a little." She grinned. "Who did you have in mind in this instance?"

"Alchemon mostly. There is something off with him. I cannot place it." Wizardmon shrugged lightly.

"Well, we can ask him to leave if you want..." Inori paused to gauge Wizardmon's reaction. The champion level digimon seemed to be honestly considering this.

"That wouldn't necessarily make him leave. No, if we are lucky he will just get bored and leave." Wizardmon sighed heavily. "Let's talk about something else, please."

"What would you like to talk about then?" Inori inquired, peering at the campfire, dreading the likely oncoming topic.

"Why don't you trust people?" He asked, half surprising Inori. She'd expected him to inquire on what ways he could earn her trust.

"I..." She started.

"Do not wish to talk about it?" He tilted his head. "What are you afraid of then? What is the worst thing you think I will do?"

"Laugh? Make fun of me? Though honestly the worst case would be: You're not worth my time, I'm leaving now." She shrugged, her attention still on the fire. Wizardmon reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, causing her to glance to him.

"Don't you dare think I would do that to you. Ever." He stated in a dead serious tone.

"I know...or part of me knows. It's something that always floats around in the back of my mind however. I cannot help it." She slumped forward slightly as Wizardmon let go of her wrist and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Things have not been easy on you, have they?" He asked carefully, peering at her.

"I have a hard time recalling a day where someone at my school did not come up with some reason to be a bully. People are kind of jerks for no real reason, you know? Over the stupidest things too...just because I could hold a conversation with you in binary, or explain to you how a motherboard works. Or because I am kind of oblivious to some things it's a perfectly valid reason to take advantage..." She trailed off, covering her face with a hand. "Sorry...I didn't mean to--"

"It's fine, Inori." Wizardmon interrupted, chuckling lightly. "I don't mind, and I am hardly one to complain. This helps you more then it helps me."

"I guess..." She resigned.

"I know." He nudged her lightly. She laughed quietly and nudged him back.

"Thanks Wizardmon...you're a pretty nice guy." She smiled.

"I'd rather be a nice friend." He countered.

"I guess I could allow that." She tugged on his hat, pulling it down so it covered his eyes. Wizardmon took a second to adjust it, giving her a grin which she could actually see.

"So, why is your mouth all stitched up? Same reason as Alchemon I am guessing." She inquired. "Does it hurt? Does it get in the way much? Why don't you cut them so they are not like that? Wh--"

"Hahaha!" Wizardmoun laughed aloud, catching Alchemon's attention from his lurking spot. It was the only thing he'd heard from them so far, even though he knew they had been talking. He didn't care enough to do anything about it however. It was intruding on his plotting time.

"It just is how I am...likely the same for Alchemon. It does not hurt, and it only gets in the way regarding eating. I never thought about trying to remove them...but I don't really plan on it either. Now...it's about time to wake the others is it not?" He tilted his head.

"Seems about right..." She moved to stand, brushing herself off. "Could you go wake Shiv while I wake up Dante?"

"I'll take care of that." Alchemon spoke up, stepping out of the shadows, and making his way to Shiv before Inori could stop him. The alchemist digimon prodded at Shiv multiple times with his scarf standing a few steps back.

Inori shrugged at Wizardmon, then wandered over to Dante, carefully shaking him.

[shivdeeviant]

Shiv's eyes fluttered open. Seeing the creepy little rookie made him stiffen. Yin, catching on to Shiv's sudden shift, woke suddenly and was quickly airborne. He glared at Alchemon.

"What is your intent, newcomer?" growled Yin, "I will not allow you access to my brother."

As though this was the magic world, Yang gave a big yawn and got up.

"Hmmmm!" He said happily, "That was a gooood sleep! I think I'm all better now!"

Yang stretched, his blob figure reaching higher and higher. At the peak of the stretch, his whole body shone with light.

"Shinka! Pabumon digivolves to... Motimon!"

"Aaaah, that's better," mumbled Yang, "So what did I miss?"

His eyes came to rest on Alchemon, and then subsequently became the size of dinner plates.

"Ohmygosh!" he cried, "A new friend! Hi! I'm Yang! The Motimon! Who are you?! When did you arrive! That's a cool scarf! Where did you get it?! What's in those flasks of yours?! What do the goggles do?! They're so stylish! Who are you here with?! Are you a partner too?! This is so exciting!"

"Yang..." growled Yang and Shiv in unison.

[Dante]

Dante's morning started out well enough, he supposed. After all, he dreamed a very good dream during the second half of his slumber, and the figure who woke him was rather pleasant, given the way the light shone from somewhere behind her, and...

...Yang's enthusiastic cries jarred Dante to wakefulness, and he mumbled grumpily.

"Tell me there's a mute button for that stupid thing..."

He shook his head, rubbed his eyes a bit, and smiled a little at Inori as thanks for trying to wake him gently as opposed to letting Yang's hyperactive ramblings be his alarm.

"What's for breakfast?" Nyaromon asked dreamily.

Dante rolled his eyes, sat up, and scratched Nyaromon. He was about to mock her for thinking of food first and foremost when his digestive tract registered its own complaints.

"Reasonable question, actually," he said, sweatdropping a little.

[Inori]

Alchemon stared blankly at Yang for a long moment, probably trying to sort out of Yang simply had a low INT score, or if there was some other intent behind the questions. Instead of answering Yang, right away he replied to Yin first.

"I'd think my intentions were pretty obvious, given that it's morning, and you all were sleeping." He stated dully as he turned his attention to Yang. "As for you and your incessant questioning..."

Alchemon hesitated for a moment. This was a chance to do something likely un-expected. Perfect. Without changing his expression from vague annoyance, Alchemon sighed. "I will answer two of them. Take your pick."

Inori on the other hand, shrugged at Dante. "We have all that food which Nohemon gave us..."