"Those horses keep anyone else up last night?" Lucy rubbed her eyes as the group walked down the trade road they had been following. She was referring to the hoof beats that had started up last night while everyone was asleep. It had been during Brandon's watch over the fire, the windian guard had been considering waking up Ray and getting some rest himself when the sound of horses running along the road began echoing through the night. "Those things sounded like they were running back and forth or something with the way you could hear them every few minutes." The raven-haired windian yawned and stretched.

Janet shrugged. She was walking next to Lucy and Brandon. "I didn't hear anything last night." Her first reaction was to add on to that some sort of comment referring to how anyone could hear something during the night with the way Jason snored, but she bit her tongue to that. Janet hadn't even looked at Jason all day. The reason she had placed herself in between Lucy and her brother was simply so that she didn't have to deal with being near Jason. She was still too angry with him, still too hurt from the things he has said to her last night around the campfire. I knew he was a jerk, but now I know just what kind of a jerk he really is.

"Kind of strange how the only time we heard anything was during the night." Brandon was subconsciously tapping his rapier hilt again.

"Don't say that." Lucy sighed. "Every time you say something like that I get this weird ominous feeling." Lucy smirked up at her brother. "You'd be great at telling ghost stories."

"I'll keep that in mind." Brandon fluttered his wings lightly and stared down the road. The group had been walking for most of the morning, and it was around noon already. Brandon was hoping the town Ray had mentioned would be close by.

Jason, however, was hoping they'd have to stop and find lunch again. He shifted his shoulders a bit and felt the weight of the crossbow on his back move. The windian hadn't gotten to use it yet during their journey, and his fingers felt itchy. Haven't shot a damn bow for a few weeks now. Archery was one of Jason's hobbies. He was pretty good with a normal bow, but he preferred the feeling of a crossbow in his arms. Back at Windian High he used to be in the Archery Club, but they were forced to kick him out due to academic problems. Grades too fucking low. They must think that I'm too much of an idiot to work the weapon right. That was far from true. Jason had been one of the top archers in the club. His biggest challenge had always been a forestclan girl named Cynthia who seemed to be able to best him at just about everything in archery. Damn girl seems almost supernatural. Jason shifted his shoulders again, suppressing the urge to unsling it and look for a target. His eyes moved over to where Janet was walking. There's a target I couldn't miss.

"I think I see something!" Ray squinted and craned his neck forward a bit, staring down the road. "Yea... I think there's a town up ahead. Springton I'm willing to bet."

Lucy gave a little smile and the group seemed to speed up a bit. Jason couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Looks like target practice will have to be put off longer.

The group entered Springton, a nice town, medium in size, that thrived off of trade. "Which would explain why it's on one of the main east-west trade routes." Ray chuckled to himself.

"Better look into getting lunch." Brandon glanced around the town. "I've got some zenny, but not anything for a large meal."

Ray nodded. "There's probably a tavern or something around here if we look. We could buy a few sandwiches, maybe something to take along for the road."

"I'm just thirsty," Lucy sighed, "and need to rest my feet."

The party managed to find a nice tavern in the town. Ray glanced up at the sign hanging above its door.

"The Merry Traveler Tavern. Hmm, catchy name." He opened up the door to allow the others in. Inside it was cozy and warm, and fairly full. Not packed, but definitely not empty. There was a nice crowd, and from the sound of conversation it seemed like a well-acquainted crowd. Ray guessed that most of the folks must be townspeople. A few people glanced up as the group entered, but the faces of the people were warm and curious. Yes, definitely a trade town, Ray thought as he followed Jason in, letting the door close behind him.

They found an empty table near the back of the room that seated just enough for each of them. Lucy sat down in the chair her brother pulled out for her, letting out a contented sigh as she rested her legs.

"Finally... walking all day and sleeping out on the ground isn't the most comfortable thing to be doing a lot."

Ray sat down next to her and nodded his agreement. "Breaks like this are nice once in a while."

Brandon took his seat on the other side of Lucy, and Janet sat next to him. This left only one seat for Jason, and it was right in between Janet and Ray. Jason took one look at the spot and stood behind it. The group rested quietly for a few minutes before Brandon finally said something.

"You two alright? Usually you'd be arguing for the fifth time by now." He motioned to Janet and Jason with his finger. "But I haven't heard much words from the both of you."

"Oh, you want me to say something to her?" Jason managed up a bewildered look at Brandon. "Well, alright, I mean since you insist." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the back of his chair and turned to Janet, asking innocently, "So how'd you sleep last night?"

"That's IT!" Janet slammed her hands palm down onto the table and stood up, her seat almost falling over backwards from her movements. She didn't even look at Jason, but she shot an angry glance to everyone else around the table. "If anyone wants me," she growled through clenched teeth, "I'll be outside." With that, she turned and stormed towards the tavern door, flinging it open and letting it close loudly behind her.

Jason whistled and watched her leave. "Well then, guess I shouldn't have said something, eh?" He chuckled lightly and made a move to sit down when Brandon's voice interrupted him.

"Jason."

"Huh?" Jason looked over to where the windian guard was giving him a dangerous warning look. Ray and Lucy exchanged confused glances.

"Jason," Brandon stood up from his seat, "come here a minute."

"What'd I do?" Jason asked, and hit of anger and impatience in his voice as he walked over to Brandon, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "Man, she's the one who blew up like that!"

Brandon waited until Jason was standing just in front of him, then crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a studying look. "I know what you said to her last night around the campfire." Brandon had lowered his voice, making it harder for Lucy and Ray to hear. He didn't doubt the fact that they were probably listening in anyway.

"What thing around the campfire?"

"Don't play innocent I was up the whole night." Brandon's look seemed to become a silent threat to what would happen if Jason didn't cooperate. "And I heard what you said to her. Now look, you and Janet have been the biggest problem this group has had. If you two don't start getting along we're leaving one of you behind, and I'm betting it's not going to be Janet."

Jason felt a bit uneasy under Brandon's eyes. He shifted around on his feet a bit and his eyes began to wander just slightly, looking at the floor of the tavern, to the wall behind Brandon, scanning over Brandon's face. He couldn't seem to hold his gaze steady with the intimidating guard. "So... what do you want me to do?" Even his voice seemed meeker compared to the low growl of Brandon's voice.

"Get out there," Brandon pointed to the tavern door, "and find her, and get on your knees and grovel for her to forgive you for that. I'm not putting up with the two of you acting like that, and it's your problem to fix."

Jason's mouth opened in closed in annoyance and surprise at Brandon's idea. "Find her and... what? Oh no, I am not apologizing to that bitch!" The volume of his voice rose defensively. "I was just getting back at her for what she's been saying about me!"

"I don't care what you were doing but what you're going to do is get out there and apologize and don't come back until you two stop being a problem." Brandon studied Jason's annoyed expression a moment longer. "Or you can get out there and take a good look around town because this is where we're leaving you unless you work this out." The guard patted Jason lightly on the shoulder, a gesture to show that the conversation was finished as he walked by the stunned windian and sat down again.

Jason didn't move. He just stood there, staring at the space were Brandon used to be standing. His hands, still inside his jacket pockets, were feeling agitated and he rubbed his thumb over his fingertips, suppressing the magical energy that often built up when he became annoyed. He thought about Brandon's words. More like his threat, he sighed. Guess I'd better go carry out his wishes... With another uneasy sigh and shrug of his shoulders, Jason turned and made his way past the table and towards the door. He didn't bother looking back over his shoulder to where the other three were sitting. He didn't feel like dealing with their curious stares. He really didn't feel like dealing with Brandon's studying gaze. Fucking creepy Windian Guard. No wonder he's good at his job.