Chapter 46: 44- A Stupid Betrayal

The morning came and, although Sara had a minor complaint about the smell in the room, all three of them had slept well and were ready to leave.  Marik had woken up slightly early and made Sai wake up as well so that they could wash up some before they had to sign out of their room.  Once they were properly clean he asked Sai to lightly wake Sara and ask if she wanted to clean herself up some as well while he double-checked everything to make sure all of their belongings were packed with the most necessary items, such as food or documents, easily accessible.  

Sara begrudgingly accepted the early wake up call for bathing and Marik kindly kept his back turned while checking through their bags so that she could wipe herself down with the clean rag he had gotten from inn staff working downstairs right after waking up.  Once he was sure that everything was packed correctly he did a quick verbal check on his sister's bathing progress and turned around to see her finishing up while in her underwear.  He was at a loss for a moment on how his sister didn't seem to feel embarrassed while in her underwear when she seemed so embarrassed when even thinking about anything sexually or romantically related but some of his vague memories of the cursed village, Goron, and how the clothing typically worn there could sometimes be even more revealing than simple underwear quickly cleared up his confusion on the matter and he proceeded to go about his business as normal.  He actually considered it a good trait to have since it was a basic requirement of veteran mercenaries and hunters to be able to strip down to the bare minimum in clothing without too much shame in a variety of situations, not the least of which included medical care.

"I think if we're there at the beginning we can have a light breakfast in the dining room before we leave.  My suggestion is to just take all of our stuff with us and hand over the key while we're there but if either of you thinks it might be better to wait until after breakfast then I don't mind doing it that way either."

"No, I'm good.  What about you, Sara?"

"Actually, I think I'd like to just come back after breakfast.  It'll be awkward to have our bags at the table and I may want to wash up just a little more before we leave."

"Fair enough.  Let's go ahead and go down, then, and we can come back for our stuff when we're done."

They headed downstairs and managed to be in the first wave of people scrambling for breakfast.  As they finished eating, Marik noticed Anthony coming down the stairs and decided to check in with him and make sure of their schedule.  He dropped his bowl off at the counter as he walked in Anthony's direction and met him about halfway from the stairs to the dining room.

"Good morning.  We'll actually be ready to go in just a few minutes but what's the schedule looking like and what do you need us to do?"

"Good morning.  I seem to be a little early to breakfast so there's no real need to rush right now.  Once everyone is done eating we'll be doing an inventory check and we should be ready to head off to the gate right after that.  Will you be able to give us some extra space allotted for you again, by chance?"

"We didn't pick up too much so it shouldn't be a problem.  The only amount of space that we need is what we had coming here plus the room for one more bag.  We can't really help with an inventory check but if you need any help with moving some of your wares around or whatever just give us a shout, okay?"

"I'll do that.  We may end up shuffling some things around so that would be a great help."

Marik waved him a temporary farewell as he left to go back upstairs.  He had noticed the girls walking past during his short conversation so he knocked on the door and waited for the response before entering.  Sai looked at him with a tilted head as he entered and Marik took a second to realize what her confusion was about.

"Sara said she might want to wash up after breakfast.  I wasn't sure how dressed she was."

"Oh.  That's silly.  She's your sister so she shouldn't care if you see her with or without clothes."

"Don't tell me.  I'm just the one trying to be considerate."

"Umm.  We might be siblings but it still feels awkward to be completely naked around him.  Sorry."

"Look at it this way, Sai.  Other than the past two months or the first two years of our life, we've barely seen each other or known each other.  We're almost strangers."

"That...well...okay.  I still think it should be okay if you just try to get used to it though."

"Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever be quite as close as you and Kiara are."

Marik picked up his two bags and made for the door while trying to explain his sibling relationship status to Sai.  Sai quickly grabbed her own bag to follow him while Sara continued to wash herself for a bit longer.

"You two go ahead.  I'll head down as soon as I'm done.  I can turn in the key if you want, as well."

"Thanks.  I'll leave the key for you right here, then."

Marik lightly tossed the key to Sara's bed and headed downstairs to go outside where he felt he'd be the most out of the way from the crowd that would soon be moving around.  Once outside, he looked for the most secluded spot in the direction of the stables and parking area that he could find and dropped his bags down there before sitting on the ground to wait.  Sai placed her bag near his and turned around to sit in his lap.  Marik spread his legs so that she cold sit between them and then pulled her close and rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes to rest while he waited.  He felt Sai leaning back into his embrace and they both shifted slightly to get into the most comfortable position.  It wasn't long before he heard approaching footsteps and considered opening his eyes but when he heard a light greeting with his sister's voice he decided to remain as he was.

They waited for maybe an hour before they finally went went over to help the employees with moving items around in the wagons.  They used the chance to load up their own bags and figure out how much space they needed for one person to rest similar to how they had done when they had first left to come to the city, although Marik suspected that Sara would need it less this time around.  Once everything was settled and everyone was loaded up Marik rifled through their bags quickly to take out their paperwork in case they would need it at the gate when leaving.  Their departure from the city itself was uneventful and as soon as they were outside the gate Marik put their paperwork back in the bags and transformed to run alongside the convoy.  Sai remained in her normal form to run with Sara for the morning.

During their noon break Sai crawled into the back of the wagon to strip and transform while Sara and Marik got their food ready.  The three of them sat apart from the rest at a spot where they felt they had good view coverage of their surroundings and ate some of the food they had brought that seemed like it wouldn't last much longer.

"You seem less winded than before."

Marik looked over at Sara as he commented on her improved stamina.

"You have been making me run a lot on this trip."

"It seems that it's been helping you, too.  Honestly, your stamina has improved even more than I thought it would.  I think it has something to do with our natural constitution after generations of mutation due to the constrictions the bodies and souls of our ancestors went through and adapted to.  It must be another factor as an offshoot subspecies race of the wolfkin.  I'll bet it's either because of or in tandem with our increased regeneration rate..."

"Huh?  What are you talking about?  I barely understood anything you said..."

"Oh, he was saying that you two are built slightly different from normal wolfkin because you came from the cursed villages and it makes you heal fast and gain stamina faster."

Marik opened his eyes wide at Sai's explanation of his ruminations.  He knew she was a genius but it was usually only things she was interested in so he didn't think she ever cared enough about the subject of his race to understand things like that.

"How...no, wait...why did you become interested in such a thing, Sai?"

"Hm?  I mean, it has something to do with you, right?  I don't care that much but I still want to know everything about you if I can so I tried to learn a little bit about that stuff when you first sent Sara over to our place a few years ago."

"I see.  That makes sense, I guess."

"Wait," Sara interrupted them after having thought about Sai's word for a bit.  "Does that mean we can get stronger faster than other people?"

"No.  Actually that's the inverse part that's proportional to our stamina and other undiscovered benefits.  Our offshoot race seems to be worse in strength and transformation as well as having reduced senses in return for rapid regeneration and increased stamina gain.  I think there may be some more benefits that we've mutated into as well in order to keep the balance that everything in the world seems to have in some way or another but I haven't figured out what they are yet."

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"Oh.  So, I'll always be weaker than normal people, huh?"

"Not necessarily, no.  It's just harder for us to improve in pure strength.  The good news is that the fighting style you've chosen needs pure muscle strength less than other fighting styles anyway.  If you really wanted to work on improving your strength, it's not like you can't ever get stronger than other people but it would just take more effort and time than someone else putting in the same amount of work and in your case in particular it would end up in a lot of time wasted for very little gain.  You should just work on your stamina, speed, precision of movements, flexibility, and dexterity, alacrity, and agility while letting whatever muscle strength naturally comes with it be the strength you have.  Just my opinion, of course."

"I think there were some more things that I didn't fully understand in there..."

"Just work on your movements and stamina while you learn and improve your blade dancing skills and you'll be stronger than if you try and increase your strength itself."

"Oh, okay.  Do you always have to say things in such a long and confusing way?"

"Sorry.  It's how my thoughts go a lot of times.  I do think you're right, though.  It's probably something I should work on in the future, especially if I end up having to teach others at some point."

Marik shrugged and handed his last bit of food that he hadn't eaten to Sai who nipped it out of his hands while making sure not to accidentally bite his fingers.  He smiled a little at how cute she looked even in her fox form like she was.  He stood up and stretched a bit to get ready for the convoy's departure as he noticed some of the people in front of them begin to pack back up.  Sai suddenly stopped moving for a moment while her ears started twitching and pointing around.  Marik gave her a questioning look as he wondered what had caught her interest.

"There shouldn't be any bandits or anything around here, right?"

"This close to the city?  They'd either have to be incredibly skilled and have some genius tactics or be incredibly stupid to the point where I'd question if insects held more intelligence.  Why?"

"There's a small group of people watching us and keeping their distance..."

"Hmm.  I don't want to believe that there's actually bandits that stupid but I'll go let Anthony know anyways.  You two might as well try and get ready in case we have to fight after all."

Marik walked over to where Anthony was and told him about what Sai had noticed and suggested keeping that he let the employees know to be ready to hide at a moment's notice.  Anthony agreed and began to walk around to gather everyone and let them know about what was going on.  Sai came up to him as he started to walk around the perimeter of their camp.

"Hey, Sai.  Are you going to stay in fox form?"

"For now.  I don't want to alert the guys watching us that we know they're there.  If the only thing I did after transforming was eat before turning back then it would look really suspicious, I think."

"Maybe you're right.  I'd kind of prefer they just run away, though."

One of the employees cam running up demanding to know what was going on.  Marik sighed and was about to tell him to go talk to Anthony when some movement caught his eye a little further out.  A group of six men dressed in old, worn out leather armor and carrying worn out weapons began approaching them with slightly menacing looks on their faces.  Marik cursed inwardly at this strange turn of events.  A group of bandits that looked that worn down setting up less than half a day away from the capital city where they would likely be caught by a patrol was just ridiculous as far as he was concerned.

He glanced behind him and saw that the rest of the employees were quickly running to jump into hiding in the covered wagons and carriages.  He carefully took note of where they were hiding at in case he needed to rush to their rescue at any time while also noticing that they would likely not be able to see what all was happening from their hiding spots.  That could be a blessing or curse since they wouldn't be able to know if they were in imminent danger but they also wouldn't know if Marik and Sai used arcanistries in a more dire situation.  Anthony alone remained visible through his carriage's window as he watched the events unfold and Marik looked over at Sai only to realize that the employee that had run up to them was still nearby as well.

"Hey, go hide with the others for now.  We'll call out when it's safe again."

"What?  What's happening?  Didn't you say there were no bandits around here?"

Marik sighed and was about to tell him to go back even more strongly when one of the bandits called out to them.

"Hey!  Kids who've only just become mercenaries like you really shouldn't be this far out, you know!  How about you just let us have what we want and we might let you go."

Marik was about to respond when a thought crossed his mind.  Sara wasn't in sight at the moment and he and Sai were both in beast form so how did they look like kids in any way?  Not to mention that they weren't even half a day away from the city so there would be very few people who could call this 'far out' unless they were referring to how far they were from somewhere else.  Someone had obviously reported this convoy to these bandits.  As he turned a little to try and tell Sai what he thought, she suddenly leaped sideways and Marik saw the nearby employee holding a knife that he had just swung at her side.  He glanced at her to make sure she was okay and saw a little blood in her fur but it looked like it was more of a graze than a deep stab.

"What is going on?"

Sara had just come around to see the employee taking the swing and stopped in her tracks with her eyes wide.  Sai had a slightly smug grin for a moment before it began twisting in pain and she began wobbling slightly.  The man glanced at his knife then at Sai and put a smug grin of his own on his face.  Marik looked closely at the knife and saw something that looked like powder on the blade which made him realize that Sai had most likely been poisoned.  He looked at the man closely now.  The bandits were still a slight distance away so he should have time to deal with this betrayal first before he had to deal with them.

"Oops.  Looks like you're one down, now.  Probably best if you just give up, you know."

Marik ignored them and glared at the smirking, dark-haired tigerkin.  He was trying to remain calm right now but he was really worried about Sai's condition.  That and he was extremely furious at this filth of a man who dared harm her and right in where he could see it, no less.

"You fucked up."

That's all Marik said and pointed at the man's hand that was holding the knife as he snapped.  The knife flew off to the side and fell on the ground nearby as the hand that was holding it became a mangled mess of meat and bone.  There was a moment of surprise right before the man opened his mouth to scream out in pain.  Marik pointed at the man's shins while snapping again and cast the explosion, making the man fall over while screaming in pain.  He exploded the shoulder that wasn't attached to a damaged hand and decided to leave him there with only a good leg so that he could deal with him later.

"Sara," he called out while turning towards the now still bandits, "I'll go ahead and take care of this real quick.  Take Sai behind the wagons and wait bring that knife, too.  You'll understand when you get there."

He didn't wait for her response as he started running while casting his arcanistries.  Everyone who could see him right now already saw him using mystical arts when he got pissed off at the betrayer so he wasn't planning on holding back.  He cast his blur and claws arcanistries and then pushed himself from a run to a full sprint to close the gap between him and his opponents, who all looked a lot less sure of themselves after seeing him crush their informant with a few soundless snaps.  Apparently the fact that he was now more difficult to see and left behind afterimages as he ran towards them did nothing to help alleviate their worries.

Marik cast a taser arcanistry as he reached the closest one and used the hand without the activated taser to cut the man's head clean off with his force claws right before he leaped to sideways and barely touched the next closest, causing his taser to shock the man into insensibility.  Two of the men suddenly started trying to transform into beast form while another realized that this wasn't a fight that was worth it and tried to turn and run.  Marik snap exploded the running guy's brain, instantly killing him, while shoving the force claws of his other hand into the stomach of one of the two that was mid transformation.  Interestingly, the transformation around where his force claws began to pierce reversed and seemed to cause even more pain before the rest of the hand entered the stomach.  Marik decided not to dwell on this discovery at the moment and clenched his open hand into a fist to grab a bunch of the man's insides before yanking his hand back out and pulling some things that looked like they would be important with it.

Out of the two men that were left, the one that hadn't begun transforming suddenly found his friend's innards flying towards his face while Marik cast another snap explosion into the head of the one in beast form.  Surprisingly, the beast form man didn't die but only looked slightly staggered.  Marik cast it again and saw the man stumble even more, as if he had taken a heavy punch that rattled his brain.  Marik decided to forego trying a third time and just sprinted forward and shoved his claws into the man's throat.  He turned to the man who had just finished pulling the guts and blood off of his face and out of his eyes.  He let the claw arcanistry dissipate and licked one of his fingers clean which he then used to press the button on his bracelet to call Kiara.

"Sai is poisoned.  Help."

Kiara could only open a portal to Sai anyways, so with Sara there to explain things and hand over the knife with the poison on it everything should be okay.  He hoped.  He looked at the last remaining bandit and continued to lick the blood off his claws.

"So?"

He was actually curious what their whole plan was.  On the off chance that everything had worked out for them they still would have been incredibly close to the city where guards made constant patrols.  There were only six of them that he had seen, so unless there were more than double that number in hiding nearby there was no way they would have been able to carry away enough loot while avoiding the patrols to make any of this worthwhile.  Luckily, there was one that he had only made unconscious and the informant was still alive for the moment so he could question them both later but he wanted to see if there was anything more while he still could.  Unfortunately for him it seemed his thoughts and questions weren't able to be completely passed on with a single questioning word because the bandit gained a wild look of fear in his eyes and rushed forward with his sword held overhead.  Marik sighed and sent a snap explosion into the man's brain, killing him instantly, before turning around and walking to the unconscious man.

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