Settling Down
- Darren / Aerienne, Odyssa, Rodan, Tristan ; Maryanne's Treasure
-- Afternoon of Day 2
by Lum


Rodan glared at her and said "I just know it...Anyway, I think that all of us in this room, except for Darren, has a reason for finding the four Stones and should share it with all." He then bowed to the ladies and said "Ladies first, of course..."

For a moment, Aerianne did not speak, just studied the men standing before her, then, "I don't have to tell you," she said smoothly.

Rodan raised an eyebrow.

"I'm willing to help you- with honor," she ignored Rodan's look. "That's all you need to know," she said defiantly.

"Same here," announced Odyssa.

Tristan considered this for a brief moment then decided that they could be trusted. "Okay, Miss Aerianne. I trust you," he smiled. In reply, Aerianne nodded, her golden amber eyes softened, if just a little. "What do you think?" It was directed to Rodan.

Rodan shrugged, giving a lazy smile. "Fine with me."

Tristan nodded and turned back to Aerianne. "Why don't you go and have some rest, Miss-"

"Just call me Aerianne," she interrupted.

The blond blinked, "Okay, Aerianne. I think we still have spare guest quarters left, and you can get some good rest there. I'll get Telly to get you there¡K" he offered, and turned around to look for his bulky crewman.

"It's okay, Tris, I'll take them there," Darren volunteered, grinning. He had decided that if Tristan trusted Aerianne and Odyssa, he would trust them as well. Besides, he had sensed an unnamable tension between his two human friends, and thought it might be better to leave them alone. Heh, call me thoughtful! He thought, quite happy with himself. "The rooms next to ours, right? Okay, this way. C'mon!" He bounced to the door.

"Oi, Darren, are you sure you know the way?" Tristan asked.

"Of course I do! Who do ya think I am?" He faked an undignified little pout, trying not to chuckle, and failed. "Alright, we're *leaving* now!" He announced unnecessarily, urging the two females out of the room.

Tristan blinked.

Before he closed the door, Darren gave the remaining two a mischievous wink, grinning meaningfully. He then mouthed something.

Rodan chuckled, got the message. Tristan blushed.

Staring at the shut door, Tristan's mind was mixed with emotions. What Rodan told him earlier that afternoon stirred up.

'Actually, I wanted to get Darren into this, too¡K'

Apparently, that energetic redheaded devil had no clue.

Tristan bit his lower lip. Why did it hurt to think about this? To think that Rodan wanted¡K

"Tristan?" Behind him, Rodan called, softly.

Tristan could not bring himself to look at Rodan's deep amber eyes.

***

"Do you *really* know your way here?" An exasperated Odyssa asked.

"Of course, how many times must I tell you that?" Darren snapped, however looking uncertain.

Odyssa snorted. "I don't know. We've been *trying* to find the guest quarters for more than fifteen minutes now."

Darren turned red, "Oh yeah? I'd like to see *you* try. It's my first time on this ship, too!" He retorted. "And I'd only stayed in my quarter for no more than five minutes, how am I supposed to remember the way¡K" he muttered.

"What?!" The purple-haired princess stared.

Aerianne merely sighed.

The redhead looked around, trying to find something that appeared relatively familiar. "Okay, let's see¡K turn left here¡KI think." He ran around the corner, and heavily breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank god! Here we are!" He exclaimed. "Told ya I knew the ways," he looked quite smug.

"Yeah, took you long enough," Odyssa made a comment that Darren chose to ignore- since it was *true*.

He opened the door of the room next to his, and turned to Aerianne. "Aerianne, would you like to take this room?"

Aerianne nodded and walked into the tidy quarter. "Sure. Thanks."

"Hey, why are you so polite to Aerianne, but so rude to me?" Odyssa demanded, a little indignant.

Darren made a face in reply, and the princess would have ran and punch him in the nose if she weren't taught her manners.

"Oh yeah, and your room is the one right next to this one," he added, as if it was the last thing on his mind. Odyssa's mood was *not* improved.

Aerianne examined the room with an indifferent expression, her mind elsewhere. /The Stone of Fire¡K/

"Right-o, I guess my job here is done then," Darren turned to leave, and paused, thinking about something. "Oh, Aerianne, would you like to have some food? You must be hungry, right? Okay, I'll bring some food for you. Just wait a bit, alright?" Not waiting for an answer, he disappeared out of the room.

Aerianne shook her head, smiling just a little.

Odyssa noticed her expression. "What's so funny, Aerianne?"

"Nothing," she replied. "It's just that¡Kwell, he's not human, that's all." Aerianne sat down on the bed, carefully putting her bloodsharde aside.

Odyssa followed suit. "Are you okay, Aerianne? Did they hurt you?" She asked in concern.

Aerianne shook her head slightly. "I'm fine."

"That's good. I knew Tristan Marcus wouldn't lie to me. Actually, now that I think about it, he's pretty cute, and the other one¡K"

Aerianne looked at her. "What was that?"

"Huh? Err, nothing!" Odyssa blushed, and fell silent. For a while, neither of them spoke. Then, the princess asked softly, "What do we do now, Aerianne? Now that we are here¡K" she drew her knees up and hugged them to her chest.

The Lynnarae looked out of the window, deep in thought.

***

Darren opened the door to the deck and stepped out, in search of the kitchen. /Tris' ship sure is *big*¡K/ he thought in frustration.

Looking around, he spotted Telly with two other crewmembers, doing some work on the right side of the deck. "Oi, Telly, man!" He called, face brightening, and bounced to their spot in two strides.

Telly grimaced. "What?" He looked down to the pony-tailed youth who was a full head shorter than he was.

"Where's the kitchen?"

"*Didn't* you just eat?" The big man exclaimed.

Darren flushed a light red, "No, it's for Aerianne!" He explained hastily.

Telly laughed. "'K, go right there," he pointed to the staircase on the opposite to the one Darren came out of. "An' turn right 'round the second corner," he instructed.

"Oh, this way? Thanks!" Darren grinned. A drop of water hit the tip of his nose. He blinked, then wiped it away. "Rain?" He looked up to the clouded, grayish blue sky above. "Looks like the storm Tris was talking about earlier is coming in¡K"

---

*peeks out* 'K, so who's taking it from here? ^_^x

Lum <-- who just discovered that her finals start next week. Argh.