Lessons are learned. Respect is Earned

It flashed in his mind. whether it was a memory or not He could not decide. A body bathed in red light had collided in the ruins, his body and the light resided deep within him. A Figure approached through the smoke, they could not be seen but emerged on something huge with great beating wings that disturbed the crash site.

The figure approached, huge and dark, and crouched beside Nero, it's eyes staring down, coldly. its fingers where cold and metal, He thought that it might be a false arm but realised that it must have been wearing an armoured glove. It touched his chest just above his heart. Nero looked at the shadow of its great horns that jutted out and weaved back into each other in an X like formation

"When you wake up. stay away from the Capitol." it said in a low, gravelly voice "If she finds you, then all of this would have been for nothing. When they come for you, Do not restrain the Anthem, let it guide you. We will meet when the time is right." The Figure stood, it's great helm gleaming momentarily, before it's huge form up and vanished, where there was nothing but smoke and ash and flames. Nero's eyes fell heavy and He passed out.

Nero shot up from the bed, heavily breathing and looking around. He ached all over, and his ears were ringing. _"Ulsa's room." _He noted, recognising the lavish surroundings.

He grunted, the pain in his waist, and more importantly, his groin was staggering.... _"Oh.... right.... yeah," _He recalled the happenings in the tent, well recall wasn't exactly the right word, it was all a blur, but a chuckle left his lips, scratching his horns as He shook his head in disbelief...

"Hila."

Jolting, Nero's left arm outstretched, his Mysteria burning on his skin in reflex. But when he saw who he was aiming at, he lowered it, and looked upon Griff's ever-present smile.

"You scared the hell outta me, uh sorry." He said.

Crouching beside him, she grinned like a Knife "caution should never be apologised for. even after all that you're reflexes are good, not great mind you, but good." She chuckled.

"All that-oh. Right." He kept forgetting about that time in the tent, it was surreal, like it happened to someone else.

Griff scotted closer, looking very amused "By the Red God, you fuck your way through half the Litch hoard and all you have to say is, Oh right, hehe, you really need to have a bit more pride."

Her hand was beside his, and he instinctively moved it away. She noticed, and her smile didn't falter, but her eyes did become rather apologetic "I'm... sorry, about the other night. You just... caught me off guard."

He frowned "I didn't realise relatively inconsequential surprises had fatal costs."

She brushed a black hair behind her ear, rubbing her cheeks, she looked very exhausted for moment "Just be careful. I... I have some issues."

Nero tried his best not to give her an 'are you out of your fucking mind' look.

"You nearly turned my head into a brain kabab. What was that all about? are you okay?"

She went quiet.

She wore her lightweight armour now, not the beautiful dress that made her look like the sunset, Her sword was sheathed on her waist... and Calliope's black crystal blade strapped to the back of her waist. He worried about her, there were things buried under that pretty face and that beautiful smile that he could tell nobody had unfurled "Griff, You need to talk to me, You need to trust me if we are going to be partners. I need to know who you are, where you came from, I want to know why you had a mental breakdown when I touched you... I need to know who Calliope is, and why she gave that to me." Her eyes turned to him, and she seemed sad in earnest now and although hesitantly, He took her hand "I want to know your name. Your real name."

Griffin battled with whatever raged behind her blue eyes and frowned. she pulled her hand away from his "I can't. I'm sorry." She whispered, but she reached around and drew the shiny crystal sword, beautifully engraved and ominous in its appearance "This sword.... is called Umbral, it's a switch-blade made of a living crystal mined from underground that we call Anchor stone, similar to the many glowing stones that The Litchen have here, but of a different kind. I've seen someone merely nip their finger on a blade made of Venom anchor like this one... they die within hours, it's slow and painful, luckily, Umbral rests, it's inactive." her eyes traced it, half in horror, half in strange admiration " this blade has sent more innocents to the Accent that you could imagine. But..." she renewed her smile, and skillfully twirled the sword, offering it to Nero "Everything deserves a second chance. And I know that you'll use it for the right reason."

It was like He'd looked upon it for the first time, the deep ebony blade shining darkly, like a slumbering black mamba. Taking the sword into his hands, He nodded "Thank you. and... I know you're one of those people that keep everything under lock and key." He muttered, "But, you're gonna have to break sometime."

Griff smiled and scoffed lightly "Pft, Impossible."

He chuckled, groaning as they both stood "It's gonna happen."

"Nope." She assured.

"Yep." He chuckled.

Griff sighed Nodding in exasperation as He unfurled and tied on his Black Manticore cloak, his grimace of pain in his hips nearly making him fall over. "Idiot." She whispered.

"Am not!-woah!" she grabbed him as His legs nearly gave out. He muttered weak protest but-

"Hush, we are going to find the girl, come on." She said, he tried to speak but "Shut up, shut up, shut up Nero, shut it... nope, shut up Nero, come on you big horny idiot."

The Walk through Fallgrim was laboured, and fairly awkward, at least for Nero. at least 5 dozen women ran up to him and kissed him fiercely on the lips, Griff merely rolled her eyes, dragging him away.

Fiore was nowhere to be found however and Nero was beginning to worry "Where is that Little Tike gone?" Griff asked.

Nero shrugged, but his eyes caught on the sight of a girl with shaggy blonde hair, hurriedly and manically peeling Rickta fruits with a curved knife "Good thing I know my way around." He said, Griff, helping him along who smirked.

"That's one way to put it." She chuckled.

Nira jolted as Nero and Griff approached, but then jumped up in joy "GREAT WARRIOR!" Launching at him, Nero groaned in pain as she laughed "He has come to me for seconds?" She growled happily

"No I-AGH!" He was cut off by Taku-Nira grasping at his very very sensitive cock, tightly, making his squeak like a girl.

"Nira will take as much Seed as the wolf will give!!" She cried.

Griff winced for him as His face contorted into a silent scream, reaching a gloved hand down to tenderly remove Nira's "Let's just not **** that any more than it already has been..." She said as Nira looked at her in confusion, before realising the pain on Nero's face.

"Oh!!" Nira cringe "Pains, many pains for your spear, Nira is very sorry!" She cried

Nero tried to pick up what little of his unpained conscious he had, Nira had shattered it like a mirror "It's fine... Nira... where's Fioremika?"

Nira put her hands on her hips and waved her knife around thoughtlessly "Oh, Okku-Fioremika is in the Karzja, she has been there for many hours, she shooting and stabbing at the air, she wants to be big Warriors like Bajarineh or Griff-griff woman!" She said waving her blade around like an angry bee stinger, Griff and Nero frowned as they tried to avoid it.

Nero raised an eyebrow, but nodded "Thanks Nira." He muttered, hoping that his cock wouldn't fall off.

Nira grinned, sheathing her knife and jumping up to kiss him, nipping his lip again "Bye-bye, Wolf-warrior."

Nira pounced back and bowed "Bye-bye Griff-griff woman, His dick is very big and hard, try it!"

Griff merely nodded, not understanding anything as she dragged Nero away and looked slightly annoyed "I heard Karzkja. Let's go. fucking... hmfsdbfdv..." She grumbled.

"You alright there?" He asked, seeing the irritation in her beautiful face.

She stopped and grasped his shoulders "No.... No, this language barrier thing is irritating me, a lot. you know what? Fuck it. Here think words..." She tapped his temples with her light and fast fingers.

"Words?" He asked.

She nodded "That's right, Word is a word, think red and Grass and... Tall, think spike and meat, think blade and blood, and dismember, or Kill! kill is a great word, Destroy!!! ha even better. think words... think words..." Nero had noticed that when Griff got annoyed she didn't really _Get _Annoyed, she instead got this crazed look in her eye like the gears weren't grinding but spinning like a cracked-out hamster in a ball.

He nodded, slightly afraid by this look "Those are... a very peculiar choice of word-."

She grinned manically "YES! Peculiar! great word. Think words and come on hurry up!" And like an angry wind, she pulled him away to Karzkja.

After venturing down further into the Valley, Griffin mumbling to herself the whole time, eventually as they moved through the spiralling champer, emerged into the empty arena, where there was silence save for the swishing and heavy breaths.

Nero and Griffin came to Fiore, who was training here, Her Rifle-spear in hand, swinging wildly and harshly at the air, twisting and turning, cutting in perfect arcs, passing the weapon to a different set of arms to allow for a frightening degree of speed and range. Rolling forward and thrusting the bright silver blade into the air, before firing a shot that whizzed through the air and smashed into the wall, ripping a great bit hole in it.

Griff hummed "Wow... She's actually quite good. Hey, Fioremisa... Fioremila-fuck... uh... LITCHEN GIRL!"

Fiore's eyes shot at the two of them, the girl pointing the length of her rifle at them in reflex. the muzzle flashed and Nero's eyes widened, the pupil's thinning as the energy shot whizzed towards them, He slinked back agily, gripping Griff tight as he literally bent over backwards, his hand touching the ground as they lay horizontally, the shot speeding past their faces.

Nero pulled Griffin back up, and the two stood straight. Griff blinked, and Nero winced, the pain in his waste... and also the forgotten pain in his ankle cracked painfully. "Ow...." He groaned, fuck he hated pain.

Griff cleared her throat, brushing back her black hair "Dodges... Shock-shot... Noted." She said as Fiore sprinted over in a panic.

"Love? Love! are you okay? Griff-Griff?" Fiore cringed.

Nero shrugged despite his pain "Oh what me? I know Kung fu."

Griff and Fiore gave him the kinda look you'd give a baby running around a sawmill.

"Seriously?" He grimaced "Dodge this?" He fished.... no bite "The Matrix? you seriously don't know the matrix?" why would they? ...this was not his world

"You look, a little pale there, stud... you okay?" Griff's voice fell on **** ears... It was like an avalanche, everything came crashing down, the Instinct, the sex, the Litchen. the world... it crossed into itself, blitz at his brain, and Nero gripped his forehead

"Mars... I'm on Mars, no computers, no Shakespeare, no smelling the rain before it falls, no light-skinned girls in their Weird modern fashions, no more tea.... no more coffee, no more PlayStation 5.... I pre-ordered that, I beat the odds and it's gone, no more Christmas.... no more Adele............ no more Kira....." He whispered to himself, feeling himself unwind.

"Love?" Fiore squeaked, as Nero gulped, his eyes twitching as He looked at them both.

"I'm fine, perfectly fine. 100% fine."

They stared at him quizzically. "What? was that Gaian, you just spoke?" Griff was right... that wasn't Latin or;itch-tongue, it was like his brain was too muddled to differentiate them for a moment. but it passed and He cleared his throat.

"You nearly blew my head off with that thing. who taught you how to fight like that?" He said in clear Litch-tongue.

Fiore scratched her white head "O-Oh, well. Fioremika was taught by Cheif Ulsa, with Baj-Baj. to see who had the strength to be chief.... Bajarineh won, Fiore, is too clumsy."

Griff lent in "Translate?"

He did so.

"Clumsy? she nearly blew us up with that bloody thing!" Griff took Fiore's rifle, testing its weight aiming it and nodding "Customize made, White-steel bayonet, bodywork like a Tellun model, smooth and light, the grip is like magic.... can't have a novice like you swinging this gem around."

Fiore blinked, clearly confused as Griff swung the rifle-spear over her shoulder.

"Hey, Give it back Griff-Griff!" Fiore demanded, going to snatch it back. the only she grasped at was air, stumbling and nearly falling as Griff whistled boredly.

"Did you just feel a draft? hmmm." Oh god.

Fiore frowned "Fioremika means it! give it back!" launching herself at Griff, the Vermillican beauty nearly casually stepped out of the way, spinning away and flicking Fiore in the head. making the Tribewoman growl so deeply that Nero felt genuinely scared of her.

But Griffin of Blade just checked her nails "Where's that Girl I saw fighting the Manticore, did she run off beetle hunting or something?" Nero should stop this, He saw what she was trying to do but... He quickly shut the fuck up, however, when Fiore tilted her head, watching the challenging look on Griff's cocky face, and she smiled, narrowing her eyes. The Game was on.

Charging at Griff she pounced, her four arms outstretched, body tight and tense, and just as Her fingers were about to touch at Griff's collar, she slid to the side, Oh! but Fiore anticipated reaching with her other set of arms to grasp at her, Griff smiled, and instead of moving away, she slid forward, her body barging under and through her legs, Nero had never seen anybody move so fast and so surely, sweeping out Fiore's legs, Griff emerged again, nodding and grumbling "Yeah... okay, do me a favour and tell her that she isn't getting this back until she at least convinces me to use my hands." She wiggled her fingers at Fiore.

"Ummm. Fiore, You're not getting that thing back until-"

"Fioremika get's it!" She growled a little hungrily, wiggling her finger's back at Griff.

"Okay... I don't think you do but. might as well sit back and enjoy the show."

The Sun sat at high noon, stained the sky red, Nero looked up at it as He lay in the dust, listening to the sound of Fiore's fruitless efforts for hours now, His head still didn't feel right, not since his single filled orgy, everything was sure, and clear then, curious, now all He could think was earth, and it made his head hurt, muddled things. crossed it all unnaturally, it was his brain, he knew that things were starting to set in, what he was, where he was, cemented in like the horns on his head.

He really hoped that it would just go away, blown along in the wind, up into the orange sky, but He knew it wouldn't. He just took a deep breath and tried to think Words.

Sitting up Nero watched the two girls scuffle... or Fiore scuffled, Griff just looked bored and slightly annoyed as Fiore threw herself to the ground, tripping over Griff's foot.

"Okay..." Griff sighed, moving over and picking the girl up out of the dirt "This isn't really working. I thin you're one of those feedback kinda girl's right?" Fiore puzzled at Griff and she sighed again. "Alright, Nero, come here, make yourself useful. Come here."

"Why?" He asked lazily.

She gave him that frown and He sighed, getting to his feet "Coming mum."

She took his left arm, and smiled as she also ushered Fiore between them "Put your finger on her temple, that's it, and I'll just, touch the other here. Perfect."

"Ummm, Great Warrior?" Fiore muttered nervously. But he reasured her with a gentle grin, He knew where this was going, and Griffin's face, the colour of a ripe apple arced into the biggest smile of all.

"Think words?" He inquired.

"Think words." She nodded "Oh and, try not to push to much in there at once, we don't want her ging braindead with a bad transfer."

"Wait what!?-"

Griff's arm blazed with the red fire of Amino and He followed clumsily "And..... GO!"

Reaching into his mind, the gatherings of all the latin words he had between the folds of his brain flooding out of his stem, bolting out of his arm and.... *Click* oh shit, fuck no! something was missing, he forgot a piece of the puzzle, fuck! bring it back! bring it back!

Griff was gentle and calm as still water as her arm crackled with red. Unfortunately, Nero's wasn't so stable, it flashed like an exploding lightbulb through the skin of his arm, right through the bones of his fingers, the current zapping deep into Fiore's brain. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as Griff's and Nero's currents resonated into her brain.

She shook quite violently for about a minute, Nero grimaced "Oh shit! that's what that looks like from the otherside, Fiore!?"

Fiore blinked and looked at him "What?" She asked.... in Latin.

Griffin smiled like a knife again, folding her arms.

Nero took her shoulders "Are you okay?"

Fiore's eyes narrowed like she was trying to do a difficult equation "Fiore, feels odd. Fiore tastes iron." She slapped her lips with an odd look before grimacing and staring at Nero "Fiore is speaking the Devil's tongue!? that is... that is impossible!?" Her voice sounded a lot different, softer, buttery and accented, something almost Mediterranean, smooth and whispy.

"I know, isn't it amazing!?" He exclaimed, trying to blink away the odd heavy ache from the transfer.

Fiore cringed "Fiore doesn't know, Fiore sound's weird..... FIORE IS FREAKING OUT!" She clasped her mouth and ears, scuttling around until Nero caught her.

"Hey.... hey, it's all good. I Know it's a little disorienting, just listen to the sound of my voice, and take a deep breath." He spoke gently.

She did so, getting that dreaming look on her pretty face again, filling her lungs with air as she bit her lips "Fiore, likes your voice..." She whispered "...It's like, Nitch-butter, and Ricta and c-cream."

"Oh uh, thanks, I guess? I like yours too." He chuckled nervously.

Griffin swept in, surveying Fiore's face and glaring "Say your full name." She commanded.

Griff had one of those voices that were springy and deep but became dark and powerful at a whim and Fiore felt it, shrinking "Ummm, Fioremiiii...." She paused "Okku-Fioremiiik-k-k-k-k-k"

The Vermilico's nose flared "Refer to yourself in the first person" Fiore clearly didn't quite understand the term, so Griff explained "Say... I love Fallgrim."

"Okay? Fiore, loves Fallgrim?" the fault was realised and she tried again "I.....ayyeeeee.... I....... Ummm?" nope.

Griff **** glare slowly turned in an arc, cutting through the air until the blue orbs blaze at Nero in a stone-cold vice tight good ole fashion peer of raw disappointment "You fucked it."

Nero frowned "I did not." He grumbled "...I slipped."

Griff sighed "I suppose that even the Warwolf makes mistakes."

"L-Leave him alone, and Give Fioremi-mi-mi... Give Fiore her Rifle back!" Fiore demanded, her smooth ivory hair bouncing on her shoulders.

"Oh so now she's gotten sassy because Griff-Griff can understand her. well, Sugar-lips, you aren't getting this back until you can take it, or... I am **** to use my hands." Griff said with a deep grin.

Fiore pressed her lips together and hunched ready to attack. Griffin sighed and frowned, shaking her head. Fiore tried, crying out widely... and once again she fell. "For goodness' sake. where's your manners?" Griff said.

"Fiore wants her rifle she earned that Rifle from Ulsa Cheif!! No Devil words can help that! She is too weak! a-and Fiore is too weak." the girl said, hitting her fist in the dirt.

Griff ran her fingers across her carved horns and blinked "You wouldn't last at all in Modern society with that attitude, Lady Fiore..." Fiore may have been sad, but Griff smiled, peering down at Fiore and whispering "You've heard at least some of the empire right? No, you wouldn't survive in Modern Society at all... would you?"

Fiore's chocolate eyes blinked, and recognition filled her eyes, Griff grinned picking Fiore up who placed her four arms on her thighs and lowly bowed in a way more lady-like than Nero had ever seen "Please, may Fiore have her Rifle back, Lady Griff-Griff?"

Licking her red lips, Griffin reached around and took the rifle from her shoulders, giving it a short twirl, before offering it with a respectful bow "It is yours, Lady Fiore."

They shared an appreciative look, as Nero joined them "Used your hands." He noted.

"Yes, very clever. but if you are to come with us to Leonis, Fiore, then it's important to note, there are more ways to win a Battle than just with ****." She put quite wisely, bopping Fiore on her button nose.

"Th-Thank you, Lady Griff-Griff." She smiled.

"Okay, that's me tired out for the day... I nearly broke a sweat. So, got anything in mind for today, Nero? we should start planning for our great journey across the infamously perilous Red Sea!" She poked.

Nero nodded "Yeah. Let's go plan. I don't want to be cooked meat in the desert. come on let's go, before we get overly sentimental."

And so they did. with a lesson learned, and respect Earned.