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Menithlea gives a little nod. "Very well, I understand. You may find us at the town inn. However, we will only be here for another day. After that we depart. I have several other leads to investigate."

Menithlea and her mercenaries stay up at the shrine and begin to talk with other guards as Elias departs down the trail. Eric gives the lieutenant colonel a disgruntled look as he passes by. Upon returning to the small harbor town, Elias would find the town is abuzz with talk about the incident at the shrine. Most people seem to be commenting about the fireball they saw take off into the sky and disappear to the north. Others talk about the impressive looking group of mercenaries that had stormed through the town just a little while ago. However, there is no mention of anyone noticing an exotic looking wolf woman.

Elias's search around the town would turn up to be equally as fruitless. Even with the bird's eye views of Huginn and Muninn, there was no sign of the girl. However, towards the very edge of the town, just as things begin to seem hopeless, a familiar soft, playful voice speaks from behind him. "My, you do have a tendency to rush into things, don't you?" Once again Fumiyo stood behind Elias, with no indication of how she had gotten there unnoticed. She smiled coyly at the the solder as she tucked away a stray strand of black hair. "You look to be at a bit of a loss. Did you miss me?"

Fumiyo giggled at Elias's comment. "Well, I could tell you how I do it, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be much help to you." Fumiyo walked past Elias and she teasingly brushed him with her tail before sitting down on a tree stump by the side of the dirt road. She demurely crossed her legs in front of her and brought her tail to rest in her lap. Only once she looked comfortable did she answer Elias's question. "I went to help you, of course. But you did fine without me. I should have given you more credit. I'm sorry if I gave Huginn a bit of a fright."

Fumiyo's ears twitched at the mention of a person escaping from the shrine but otherwise her expression stayed the same. Elias's frustration seemed to amuse Fumiyo, for she answered his question with one of her own. "Oh? An incident you say? And an escaped person as well? Tell me, what indeed happened up at the shrine? Be honest, now; I have a way of telling when people are lying to me." Fumiyo's bright yellow eyes focused on Elias. Her mouth was twisted up in her usual mysterious smile.

As Elias began to walk away Fumiyo suddenly yelled from behind him. "Elias, wait!" Her voice is uncharacteristically serious as she continues to talk. "Don't you think I'm trying to figure that out myself, you fool? I know I haven't been very forthright with information, but... I have my reasons. I'm trying to protect you as much as myself. Don't go rushing off again without an understanding of the situation. I don't want you to get hurt!"

Fumiyo was standing now. Gone was her playful smile and coy demeanor. The look on her face was one of deadly seriousness tinged with a bit of sadness. Her yellow eyes bore into Elias's back as she waited for a response.

As Elias's explained to Fumiyo what had taken place at the shrine, her emotional, serious demeanor reverted back to one of playful aloofness. However, the tone in her voice indicated she was still speaking candidly to Elias. "What the elf woman said was not a lie... but neither was it the full truth. What you met up there was a seventeen year old girl, scared and lonely, not sure what to do with the first bit of freedom she's had in the last decade of her life." Fumiyo scoffed angrily at Menithlea's words. "Dangerously criminal indeed! That girl's only crime is wanting a life of her own... but she is dangerous...and that's why she needs you."

Fumiyo sat back down on her tree stump. "I did not approach you earlier simply because of your good looks--not that they weren't taken into consideration." Fumiyo couldn't help but flash Elias a wry smile. "The main thing is I recognized you as a powerful individual with great control over his element and someone who possesses the skills to teach others how to master their own elemental abilities. That girl, Ramona, has power beyond imagination, but she can barely contain it. With the way the Aria Kingdom is chasing after her, I'm afraid she's going to lose control and do something she will regret. She needs a teacher, someone to treat her like a human being and show her how to control her element. I do not possess the skills to guide her... but perhaps you do."

Fumiyo looked up once at Elias, whose tall muscular frame towered before her own petite one. Her playful facade once again gave way to one of sincerity. Her gaze was almost pleading now, as she waited for Elias's response.

Fumiyo gave Elias a grumpy look at his sarcastic comment. "Hey now. I'm being serious for once. I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't think you could do it. You're telling me a man who has trained thousands of men can't handle one little girl?"

Fumiyo watched as Elias paced back and forth, mulling her request over in his mind. She seemed to recognize, given his position and the orders the king had already signed for Menithlea, that she was putting him in potentially serious risk, so she patiently waited for him to decide. Once he had given her his answer a wide smile spread across her face. "I knew I could count on you, and don't worry about Ramona recognizing you. If you're with me, she will trust you. That is why I needed to know if I could trust you first."

Fumiyo jumped off the tree stump and walked up to Elias. She placed her delicate hand into Elias's. Her voice became soft, almost a whisper. "You're right, I will owe you, more than you know. I think it is about time I show you how I've been getting around. Summon Huginn and Muninn to you. It's time for us to head off."