The Gift of the Winds...

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

"You haven't told me what is going on yet, gentlemen. I'm waiting," she said, looking between the two of them. She leaned toward Jason a little, figuring he'd be easier to get information from. If Zeph was being stubborn, she didn't feel like fighting with him right now.

In fact, she was getting tempted to ask him for a massage later tonight, if Jason didn't object. She rubbed a shoulder, taking a sip of her own glass. Someone had thrown a rock, calling her names she'd long since learned to put aside, but the rock had hurt.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason took another sip of tea to occupy his mouth while he tried to come up with a reply.

"It's nothiing really," he said evasively. "We're dealing with it. You don't have to worry about it." He didn't much want Aritha worrying about it, knowing she must have gone through much the same thing as he was currently going through. She had dated Zeph once upon a time, after all.

[Zephyros Aetai]

Zeph nodded agreement, noticing her rub her shoulder. He stood and rubbed her shoulders a little. "You forgot to stretch again, you bad girl. Will you ever learn?"

He decided not to answer her questions, moving her hair so he could better get her shoulders. "You know my mother, and Jason and I are taking care of it. Don't worry about it, alright? You have a dance soon anyway, Lady White. You shouldn't let our troubles get to you at all. Jason and I have been through enough together than my mother won't split us up."

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

Aritha relaxed as Zeph worked the tenseness from her shoulders. "Yes, I did stretch. I've just been working all day."

She sighed, knowing she wasn't likely to get much more from either of them. At least they were more than able to stand by each other. She patted Zeph's hand. "Thank you, Zeph. That helped. Someone threw a rock at me earlier today, and it hurt. I hate the idiots that make their way in here sometimes."

She sipped at her glass again, noticing Zeph wrinkle his nose as he got a whiff of what was inside. And that was part of why they could never work. He hated the smell of blood, especially when it was on her breath and he tried to give her a kiss. Besides, Jason and Zeph were far too perfect together.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason was silent, watching Zeph massage Aritha's shoulders. At an earlier stage in his relationship with Zeph he might have felt threatened by their close friendship, but not now. There had been more than adequate opportunites for them to build a strong bond of mutual trust. He shivered a little, remembering how easily that trust could be broken with carelessness.

[Zephyros Aetai]

Zeph patted her hand back, moving to sit next to Jason again. He put his head on Jason's shoulder, sighing softly. "I saw that, Jason. Memories?"

Maybe he should have hesitated before going to massage her shoulders, but it was only her shoulders... not anything further than that. He'd make sure Jason was okay with anything further first. Picking up his tea, he sipped at it, thinking.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason nodded once, not wanting to elaborate and spur another angst-fit. He sipped at his tea, feeling it warm him up from the inside, and kept his eyes on Zeph. A smile slowly rose back to his face.

There was no point in lingering on the past. He was here with Zeph, together, in love. Everything that could have separated them before had already failed, except for one thing. And he wasn't worried about that yet. They had a lot of life to get through before Thanatos would meet them.

[Zephyros Aetai]

Zeph smiled back at him, putting a hand on his cheek for a moment. He put his head back on Jason's shoulder, looking at Aritha again. She was smiling indulgently, drinking her own... beverage. He wrinkled his nose at her.

"So... how's your father? Is he still making those delightful toys? I still have that music box you gave me for my thirteenth birthday. If he is... I was thinking of getting another one for a friend of mine."

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

"Yes, he is. He'd love to see you, Zeph. His wheelchair broke in the last town, we're trying to get him a new one," she answered, having a pretty good idea what friend Zeph was talking about. She glanced at the time and sighed. "Boys, I hate to break this up, but I need to get ready for my next show."

[Jason Hiller]

Jason nodded, taking another sip of his tea. "Keine angst--er, no worries," he translated himself, in case Aritha didn't speak German. "Go on ahead." He snuggled close to Zeph with a grin. "We're okay here. It was great to talk with you again."

[Zephyros Aetai]

"We're sitting on her stage, Jason," Zeph chuckled, finishing his tea and starting to put his chair away. "You could stay and watch her warm up. I have something I want to do..."

He wanted to go get that gift with Jason occupied elsewhere. And Aritha never minded being watched.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason blushed, realizing Zeph was right. He got up and moved to put away his own chair, looking curiously at Zeph and grinning playfully. "Trying to sneak off on me, huh?"

[Zephyros Aetai]

"I'll be right back, I swear!" he said, grinning back with his hands up in an 'I'm innocent' pose. Chuckling, he moved to kiss Jason on the cheek, helping him get the chair put away. He ruffled Jason's hair, hugging him a little. "I can't stay away, you know that."

[Jason Hiller]

Jason grinned, giving Zeph's backside a playful pinch. "Because I'm just that irresistible," he laughed. "Go on, then."

[Zephyros Aetai]

Zeph jumped, his eyes wide. "Jason!"

He pulled away a little, grinning at Jason. "I'm going to get you back for that," he threatened playfully, then turned and ran out of the tent.

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

Aritha giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "Well, that was completely out of character from what I know of you two," she said, grinning. From the way she very quickly stifled it, she didn't really grin outside of Dunehelden.... perhaps with good reason, considering the shape of her eyeteeth.

"You must really bring out his shy side, Jason. Zeph is rarely caught by surprise like that."

[Jason Hiller]

Jason shrugged, still grinning at Zeph's reaction. "Maybe. We both bring out strange things in each other, I think." He frowned a bit. "And we tend to make each other tired whenever we just sit down together, for some reason. I want to look into that once school starts again."

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

Aritha shrugged, "Zeph said the same thing happened with me, but not like it does with you. But then, he and I didn't really become close until after I moved away anyway."

She stretched carefully, knowing that if she didn't she would cramp up after the show.

[Zephyros Aetai]

Zephyros walked through the carnival, looking for the Kairavis’ wagon. With his wheelchair broken, Aritha’s father would have to be inside, and that was where he sold his music boxes and toys, as well as a few of the clothes Aritha made. She could carry him around, but not in town. It wouldn’t make sense for a girl to be strong enough to carry her father around as if he were a child, and people would question it. The shadows grew deeper as he walked and his shoulders hunched instinctively. Finally realizing how nervous he was getting, he turned to leave. Walking alone in shadow was never a good idea, not at night in this town. Especially when you had features as recognizable as his. Blond hair was so valued by the Greek people because it was rare, and it made a person memorable.

As he turned, hands wrapped around his body and mouth, pulling him back quickly before he could cry out. He pried at the hand over his mouth, drawing in a breath through his nose. Digging his nails into the flesh that kept him silent, he pulled it away. “He-!”

As the word started to leave his throat, something hit the back of his head and everything turned black between one heartbeat and the next. He slumped limply into the hands that held him, unconscious. He was carefully stuffed into an oversized black bag… a body bag and carried into a van, thrown roughly into the back. His head hit something and the blackness seemed to grow thicker. The van started and drove off, leaving skid marks on the rough street.

--

His eyes opened slowly and he flinched away from the slaps that kept landing on his cheeks in an attempt to wake him. He groaned, trying to lift his hand to his head and finding both were tied behind his back. Stiffening, he started to fight his bonds, his green eyes still unfocused. A hand pulled his head up by his hair quickly, stopping his struggles. His eyes focused in surprise on a video camera as he heard men talking over his head. Something about ransom… his pupils dilated as the words “ever see him alive again” echoed through the room and he felt a gun muzzle press against his temple. What was going on?

The camera was turned off and a hideous visage came into his range of sight while his head was still immobilized. His heart raced and he tried to scoot back, feeling the gun press harder against his head. The man spoke Greek… Zeph turned his head away from the man’s horrible breath.

<If you ever want to see your family again, you will do exactly as I say. Clear?>

Zeph nodded quickly, trying to pull his hands free of the ropes behind his back. If he could just get them free, then he could try to get out of this room, this building and find his way to a police station or something. The gun moved away and hit him, making everything swim.

<Don’t try to get away, or we’ll kill you.>

Zephyros’ head hung limply and he made a soft noise in the back of his throat, maybe meant to be agreement. Somehow he knew they were going to need him alive… otherwise his parents would never pay the ransom they wanted.

Jason… oh gods, Jason’s probably worried sick. How long have I been gone? Did he try to find me? His heart almost stopped at the thought of Jason wandering the streets alone. No… No, Aritha would be with him at least. But… I hope she gets him back home. He’ll be okay there. Euros will help him. I never thought I’d be grateful to my brother, but Euros will help…

His head was pulled up again roughly as his green eyes struggled to focus on the man’s face. He blinked slowly, his eyes widening in shock as a fist slammed into his cheek and knocked his head to the side. That pain was joined by many others and by the time they were finished beating him, he was barely able to keep his eyes open. They left him, still tied to the chair. He gasped, every breath burning in his throat and chest. He felt like several ribs had been broken, and his head was spinning, and his stomach hurt… He fought the whimper that rose in his throat, knowing they would be happy to see him suffer. How long did they plan on keeping him? Where his parents going to pay?

Would they return him alive if the ransom was paid? …Would he at least get a chance to say goodbye? These men didn’t seem to speak English… if he could get a phone, he could tell his family goodbye without these men knowing what he was saying. Hopefully he would get the chance to speak to Jason directly first.

Hopefully… Hopefully.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason applauded as Aritha finished a dance, watching as the vampire took her bows. He glanced around, seeing with a stab of worry that Zeph still wasn’t back from his visit to Aritha’s father. He’d been gone for a few hours now.

“Aritha,” he called out, catching his friend’s arm as she left the stage. “I’m worried. Zeph hasn’t come back yet. It’s been hours. He wasn’t that far away. What do you think is keeping him?” He could hear his own voice trembling as he spoke. What could possibly have happened?

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

Aritha looked around, biting her lip. "He should have been back by now, but maybe father just held him for conversation. Papa doesn't often get visitors."

She looked around again, patting Jason's hand comfortingly. "Let's go see if that's what happened. I'm done for the night."

She didn't want Jason to see her own worry, so she kept her expression light. Speaking quickly with another dancer, she arranged to actually be done for the night so she could stay with Jason and then led him to her wagon. "Papa!"

The door opened and a man with badly twisted legs looked at them, sitting on a chair. He smiled until he saw Jason's expression and gestured for them to come in. "What's wrong?"

Aritha stepped up lightly, looking around. Her heart sank. "Zeph isn't here?"

Her father shook his head, looking concerned. "Should he have been? I haven't seen him for years, Bianca."

Aritha turned and looked at Jason, biting her lip. She couldn't hide her worry now... If Zeph wasn't here, where could he be? He'd promised to come back.

[Jason Hiller]

Jason felt his heartbeat speed up, and cold sweat began to bead on his skin. Zeph hadn't made it to Mr. Kairavi's tent... so where was he? It was dark; he might have gotten lost. But it wouldn't be too hard to follow the lights or music back to the camp. Jason tried to control his shallow, anxious breathing, but it wasn't easy.

He looked at Aritha, knowing she could see the worry in his face. "Where could he be? Should we go out and look for him?"

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

"No," Aritha's father said quickly, reaching out to catch Jason's arm. "That would be stupid. If he's in trouble, going out to look for him might just get you in the same kind of trouble."

Aritha wrapped her arms around Jason's shoulders comfortingly. "I'll get everyone to go look for him. We'll look for him as if he was one of our own. I'll get the police looking too... he's an Aetai, everyone will be concerned. I will also call his parents... you can stay with us for the night, then we'll get you back to their island. You'll be safe there..."

She paused, thinking. "Is there anything you need? The hotel... shall I get yours and Zeph's things?"

[Jason Hiller]

Jason nodded, realizing he was shaking now; he pressed closer to Aritha in an attempt to stop. "Yes. That would be good. Thank you. Please be careful."

[Aritha Bianca Kairavi]

She grinned at him, revealing her fangs. "Jason... I can break anyone who tries to touch me. Now, sit down. Papa will help you if you need anything."

She kissed his forehead, as if they were siblings as she made him sit down. "Calm down Jason, we'll find him."