"S-Sorry, I..." Eld stopped himself as he remembered who he was talking to. It wasn't like Lelan could imagine what he was going through--as far as he was concerned, Gaiasouls were only weapons...just tools.

"It's nothing," he said stoically, trying to hide how upset he was. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

He took another minute to gather himself. Unlike Lelan, he didn't have any belongings to carry with him. Only the rain coat he'd worn yesterday, which hung on a hook near the door. While a bit obsessive about hygiene while at the base, during missions he relaxed those standards out of necessity.

"When you're ready we should get going. I...think the thief is still nearby somewhere." He knew his connection with Kageko was affected by distance. The few times he'd slept somewhere other than in his room when back in Hillcrest, she couldn't visit him at night, since he didn't have his scythe with him.

But how far could their connection stretch, and for how long? That part he wasn't sure of. If he could hear her at night, he wanted to find her before even that trace disappeared...not to mention that he'd rather not go over the time limit Scott gave him. The consequences for doing so would likely be severe.

"You think so, huh?" Lelan asked rhetorically as he stretched his arms out over his head, yawning shortly thereafter.

Lelan had gone asleep the night prior without his jacket--and under than he actually wore no shirt. Eld, who healed well from his wounds, partially due to a massive amount of spiritual energy of his own, didn't retain many scars. Lelan, on the other hand . . .

While he was shirtless, Eld would be able to tell as much that Lelan didn't heal well--or he got himself into quite a few tough fights. A fairly substantial scar ran from shoulder to stomach, diagonally down his torso, and it was old. It would never heal, along with numerous other horizontal scars upon his ribcage. Lelan Jericho wasn't even that well built, either; he was skinny, but he didn't have much more muscle mass than the average kid his age.

"We have our work cut out for us," Lelan declared with a smirk, "See, our thief doesn't know what I look like. Ya wanna know why?"

Lelan reached over to the bed, under which his hooded jacket lay in a crumpled pile, on top of a nicer shirt--a button-down black shirt. He slid his hooded sweatshirt over his head and flipped the hood of his jacket up. Just like before, it was impossible to tell the details of his face, only that he was of a certain height. He was, for all intents and purposes, anonymous. Lelan flipped the hood back down, grinning all the while.

"But I know what our thief looks like."

It took a moment for Eld to grasp what Lelan was getting at, but then he understood. Lelan had his hood up the entire time they were in the city--the thief didn't know what he actually looked like, only his basic figure.

Eld, on the other hand, had his hood down once the fighting started, and his face was apparently better known anyway. "Well...I can hide myself, so you don't have to worry about him spotting me," he noted. It would be difficult to tell what was going on, but with the amount of time he spent in Purgatory he was getting better at telling what people were doing from it.

"So...what does our thief look like? And do you have any idea where he'd be?" This was more important--Eld could hide himself, but once he found the thief it didn't really matter; he was confident he could take on almost any human opponent.

"Not important to hide yourself, actually," replied Lelan as he stood up and stretched out his limbs.

He'd almost forgotten how hard it was to sleep on wooden floors. It was horribly uncomfortable--but that was the price one had to pay for not claiming the bed first. Lelan had spent the night drinking, rather than getting rest for this morning--just another price to pay.

Nonetheless, once he was ready, and he figured Eld was, too, Lelan motioned for Eld to follow. They weren't going to be finding their thief within their room, after all.

"See, last night, our thief came right into the bar. He made it pretty clear that he was leavin' as soon as possible," Lelan narrated as he continued walking, leading Eld down the stairs and into the first floor bar, "He didn't recognize me, 'cause I stole some drunk guy's shirt and ditched the hoodie. It was pretty obvious who it was, too. Guy comes in with a scythe and something thick under his sleeve? C'mon, seriously. I figure he was ditching out of town, since the town guards were looking for a scythe and a gauntlet, and he happened to be toting both simultaneously. Anyways, I'm guessing he's not that great of a collect, 'cause he was pulling resources without a hood, or anything at all to cover his face."

Lelan pushed the door open, hoping Eld was keeping up, but not checking either way. "He's about six foot tall. Doesn't look a lot older than us. Wears this dirty trench coat--and when I mean dirty, I mean he smelled like shit. Like a skunk vomited, even. He wore these thick glasses, too. Looked broken. Long greasy hair. Anyways, I chatted it up with this dweeb, and he said he was just on his way to the next town; he lives there, or so he says, and was just here in Emain Macha on business. I don't remember the name of the town, but it's not important: It's right down this road a few miles."

Eld's first impulse was to yell at Lelan for not informing him--they could have gotten their stuff back last night! However, he quickly suppressed that urge; a confrontation would have only ended in a fight, with a lot of innocent people around.

"If he lives in the next town, he'll be going home. And if he goes home...unless he keeps them on his person constantly, I can take them back," Eld concluded. There weren't too many houses that could keep a Reaper out.

He followed Lelan out, feeling relieved. They knew where the man was, and by tomorrow he'd have Kageko back, one way or another, before the Dirige declared him AWOL.

"Yep. We just have to track 'em down," Lelan replied, elbows up, hands behind his head, "Shouldn't be too hard. You're a Reaper and all. You can use Purgatory to your advantage."

Lelan started down the road first, continuing the process of walking away from Emain Macha. They weren't going to be getting into that city anytime in the near future, anyways--and their thief definitely wasn't going to be going back there carting around stolen goods.

"The hard part is if he keeps them on him at all times," Lelan continued, "If that's the case, then we just have to spot him, track him down, and kick his ass. I would've jumped him last night, but I'm just one guy, completely weaponless, against a guy with two weapons. Not just any weapons, either. Gaiasouls. And he would've been long gone if I went up and snagged you for backup, you know?"

There was a method to Lelan's madness, whether Eld wanted to admit it or not. Lelan knew what he was doing and how it was going to be done. Needless to say, this wasn't the first time he had to look for someone with a Gaiasoul. After all, he was a collector. The more Gaiasouls someone had, the more they were going to stand out--and the less he could hold on him at all times.

Eld nodded. Lelan was probably a good fighter, but his ability didn't give him much of an edge in combat, just made it so no one else could interfere. Unless he had more tricks he hadn't shown, he'd almost certainly need Eld's help if it came down to a fight against the man.

So, I guess he wasn't just drinking after all. But...how did he know that he'd be there? Eld was in an entirely foreign country; he had a vague idea of the local geography from his studies, but more importantly he lacked the kind of street senses someone like Lelan had--just as Lelan needed him to fight right now, Eld would have stood little chance of finding Kageko on his own.

Given they had some time before the reached the town, he decided he might as well do what was necessary to make his excuse for still being there valid. "How come you know so much about Reapers and Purgatory? It's not like we're terribly common. And how did you create that disturbance?"

"Believe it or not, I've fought a few more Reapers before you," Lelan slowed down a bit.

He thought back a few weeks, recalling several instances he experienced with others. Others being, well . . . Reapers.

"I put a few in the hospital. But they should be fine by now. I had to make sure they were out of it long enough that I find you, you know? Didn't want to kill them, though. That would've made me a, uh . . . whatever it is you call those things."

He talked about this casually, calmly; completely cool with what he had done. Fortunately, it wasn't much. At best, there were only a few Reapers currently in hospitals around the world, and none of them in graves.

"And the last thing I need is Death's army knocking on my door," Lelan continued, "So, anyways. I fought this one girl in the arena, trying to get some information about you. She's a Reaper, right? Well, I forfeited when I found that out, didn't want to tip anyone off. So, I tried little things to get your guys' attention. Turns out my Gaiasoul flickers a pulse of spirit when I release any locks, so I just kept on whispering the chant 'til someone came, moved from town to town, fought Reaper after Reaper. I figured I'd come across you eventually, or maybe another Reaper with a Gaiasoul. No dice on that, though. But yeah. It's amazing how much people spill when they're beat to hell."

"I probably knew some of those people," Eld commented darkly. He didn't elaborate, but there was a clear message in his tone: Lelan better stop hunting Reapers.

Eld crossed his arms and frowned. He wondered if Lelan knew how lucky he was: because he was a (relatively) normal human, even if he picked a fight with a Reaper they'd have to hold back. Even then, he was lucky he didn't run into anyone still too strong for him, or willing to bend the rules. Not everyone in the Dirige was a nice person. Not to mention that even as a normal human, if he persistently posed a threat to Reapers, sooner or later someone in charge would decide they didn't need to hold back if he showed up again.

He also disliked the idea of Reapers talking, even if they were beaten. Did they talk about him? He liked to think he had more discipline than to blab about things that were supposed to be kept a secret, even if he was defeated.

I'll have to mention this to Scott in my report. Also, if there were Reapers getting beaten when checking out anomalies, why the hell had no one told him this before he went on the mission?

"Well...you said you saw me in the Arena, right? That still doesn't explain how you found out about Reapers." Most users of Qi used it in a way that wasn't visible to a normal person: Eld could create bursts of pressure, and Addison could do all kind of things unseen. Effects like Etsu's azure flames were in the minority as far as he knew.

"I was under the impression not many people knew about us." He was doing his best not to give Lelan any further information, which is why he refrained from informing him they hunted Ame Voleur, but there was no harm in mentioning anything Lelan already knew.

"Hey, don't say it like they're dead," Lelan muttered. He didn't need that on his conscience, either.

Lelan played a dangerous game, yes. Collectors hunted Collectors who hunted Gaiasouls. That's how it worked. Anything to get the weapon was fair game, essentially. As Lelan explained earlier, some played by fair rules, challenging other Collectors to games. The loser handed over their Gaiasouls. Simple gambling strategy.

"They're lucky I was the one hunting you, anyways," Lelan continued to mutter; it was arbitrary if Eld heard him or not.

Nonetheless, like Reapers, not all Collectors were nice people. A less moral person wouldn't have left one of the Reapers in the hospital; they'd have slaughtered them and blamed it on a natural predator for those that lived in Purgatory, because such things existed.

"You're right, though, yeah. I bet only a handful of living people that ain't Reapers know about your group," Lelan admitted, "But when you hunt for the rarest things the world, no, the universe has ever seen, you meet some people. You learn some things about the world."

It was about the best answer he could give.

It was true, at least Lelan hadn't killed any Reapers, but that didn't mean Eld was happy that he was attacking them. He hoped he'd wise up and leave them alone; even if wasn't taking their lives, he could easily get himself killed attacking Reapers.

And if another Collector killed them...well, as Lelan seemed to guess, the response to that would be pretty severe. And even if they were strong enough to kill every other member in the Dirige, all the Gaiasouls in the world wouldn't help if Death himself decided to get involved.

"...So, why go through all this trouble?" Eld asked after a length of silence. It was clear he wasn't going to get a straight answer about how he knew about Reapers, so he tried a different question. "I mean, you have your own abilities...what do you need Gaiasouls for?"

This was the part he couldn't figure out. Lelan didn't seem particularly power hungry, nor did it sound like he sold them, and he certainly didn't do it for the company. So what did he want them for?

For what felt like hours, Lelan didn't answer. He pushed his hands deep into his pockets and stared ahead, his lips unmoving. Perhaps Eld had struck a chord with that--or perhaps Lelan just didn't have an answer on hand to give out at a moments notice, and needed time to think about it. Whatever the case, no one, Eld or anyone they passed by on the road, wouldn't be sure until finally, after several minutes of silence, Lelan replied:

"When I was little, my mother took me to church. I didn't understand a word the preacher said. He was a little much for a kid, too. Always talked of Hell and damnation. He was a little much in general," Lelan paused for a moment, "I remember he asked a question, though. It was weird, because it just . . . I don't know. It just didn't seem like something a preacher would say. How do you speak to the common man when every day you speak to God?"

And then he went silent again. It was the first time Lelan ever actually seemed somber about, well, anything. He was otherwise talkative and completely full of himself, but when prompted to think about his life and the reasons he became a Collector, he dropped that like a ruse.

But before the topic could be explored, or even adequately responded to, Lelan sped his pace up, motioning for Eld to follow, "I can see the town up there. Let's go."

For awhile Eld thought he must have struck a nerve or something, because Lelan remained silent. He followed suit, not pressing the issue.

When he finally answered (startling Eld a bit), it was far from a clear one. How do you speak to the common man when everyday you speak to God? He was certain it wasn't a religious matter. Loosely, he could grasp what it meant--after being in the Dirige so long, it did sometimes feel like he was out of touch with the regular world--but at the same time he didn't entirely understand, either.

Even if he wanted Lelan to explain, he didn't have time. They'd arrived at the town. In the end, Lelan wasn't going to stop collecting Gaiasouls; at best, Eld hoped to convince him that it was a bad idea to try and take his specifically.

"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" Eld inquired as he asked he matched his pace. He could think of some, but Lelan was turning out to be more reliable than he'd initially thought.

Lelan kept on at a quick pace until he reached a small bump upon the ground, a tiny hill to them, which decreased into a larger slope down into the town. Or city, it looked like. Its size was startling--but that was what happened with a town parked itself near the nation's capital. By virtue of being close to Emain Macha, the place got pretty huge. Not as large as the capital city, but large enough that, well . . . they certainly didn't have their work cut out for them.

"Simple," Lelan started as he narrowed his eyes, checking out the details on every person he see, "We ask around. Shopkeepers. Bank employees. If there's a market, we lurk there. And bars. Especially bars. Any place that serves alcohol. They're the best sources of information in the world."

This was about the time that he'd clap his hands together, declare break, and they'd split up and go about this search on their own volition. He didn't do that, though. That was actually a terrible idea.

"We stay sort of close, though," Lelan coughed, "If we find him, we gotta isolate him. You can't do that. I can. But we also gotta kick his ass. I can't do that. You can. And if I find him but lose you, I have to go nab you, come back, and I bet he'll be long gone by then."

"Hmmm." Certainly seemed like a solid plan; Lelan needed him to do most of the actual fighting, but he needed Lelan to isolate them all so he didn't end up making a huge scene or accidentally hurt someone.

"Wouldn't it be easier to find out where he lives, though? If he came back here, he must be going home. I have no problems fighting him, but I'd prefer to just take them back if we can."

It was unfortunate that he didn't have the same kind of connection with Kageko that he did with Etsu; that would make finding her a lot easier. Perhaps he could try something, though...if she was close...

Kageko? Can you hear me?