Fang, Knight, RW, 1

To Royal Knight Wolf's Fang, care of the Royal Palace of Lacroa, Greetings.

I have heard of your recent rise in the world and offer my congratulations and condolences, whichever you would like to accept, for your post of Royal Knight to Lacroa. I believe, as you must, that Katanu and Silveree would be beside themselves with pride of their beloved pup. Knowing the post has more than its share of danger, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health.

As promised, I am writing this the moment I heard tell of a certain hazel-eyed gundam.  The plumage is more of a mottled blue dun, but I am confident that it is the quarry you seek.  Reportedly, she resides above a tavern known as the Nasty Wench.  The tavern itself is on the dread isle Backwater, in the port of savages which I will not name.  Of the S.S. Crow's Sorrow I have heard not but the barest of rumors and fear she is lost to the tides of time.

Hoping this letter finds you well,

Talkback

Having given the courier a coin for their trouble, Fang was now sitting alone in his rooms in the Royal Palace of Lacroa.  Despite his reputation of being carefree almost to the point of laziness, the wolf gundam currently felt so tense his hands were shaking.  He read the parchment over for the thirteenth time before tossing it in the fire and slamming out of his room, a bright blue metallic feather held almost crushingly tight in one broad hand.

**

"Winter, if you would wait a moment."

The Royal Knight in question turned from where she had been practicing her spells with the Maelstrom Blade at the voice of her beloved Princess.  The blade was harder to control than her usual sword and Winter, Royal Knight of the Silent Frost, was always trying to better herself and her abilities.  Knowing Princess Relejimana didn't require her Royal Knights to one knee, Winter merely bowed, slipping the blade back into the mana pocket which held it safe.  "Yes, my Princess?"

"Have you seen Fang?"  The woman's voice was puzzled and her face, even more beautiful now than it had been scarcely two years before when she had rescued her now-husband, the Lord Artos du Bennr, appeared almost grave with concern.  Winter straightened, feeling a slight jolt at realizing that she had not seen her fellow Royal Knight outside of his duties in close to a week.

"I have not," she said, conjuring an ice-petal rose and offering it to the daughter and heir of the King and Queen of Lacroa, their beloved homeland.  "If it pleases your Highness, I shall search him out.  How urgent is your need to speak with him?"

Princess Rele signed, accepting the rose even while she shook her head once.  "Please, Winter, there is no need to stand on ceremony.  I'm worried about him.  He's been so distracted lately -- yesterday he was late for his duties.  He's never been late before, that I can remember, even after the Tournament of Peace."

The Knight of Silent Frost tapped a black finger against a crack on the left side of her mask as she thought, a habit she had only recently developed.  Like with all gundams, the lower half of her face was covered by a mask, one which Winter almost never retracted.  Hers was silver, to match the rest of her helm, and had two cracks just under her left eye, one reaching just about to the two small black strips over her mouth.  "I also cannot think of a time he has ever shown even a sign of being derelict of duty," she agreed, a frown portrayed clearly in her voice and eyes.  "This is very worrisome.  I have not noticed Claw acting any differently, so it is likely not ill news of Falcon or Peregrine -- at least, none that he has shared."  Winter gave a single, firm nod and met Princess Rele's blue-violet gaze with her own starkly pale blue eyes.  "Worry not, Rele.  I will see what despair has gotten its teeth into our Fang and do my best to dispel it."

Giving a faint smile, the Princess offered her hand to the second oldest of her Knights.  "Thank you, Winter."

Instead of bowing over or kissing the offered hand, Winter instead gave it a gentle squeeze when she took it.  "You are very welcome, Princess."

**

It wasn't much of a surprise to Winter that it was Nataku, the Bronze Knight, who answered the door for Claw's rooms instead of the Smoke Knight herself.  The two had made no effort to hide their relationship from the moment they decided to have one, a few days after their first meeting.  Instead, she gave her fellow Royal Knight an arched look.  "Should you not be preparing for duty?"

"Come to make sure I don't play hooky?"  Was Nataku's response, a chuckle in his voice.  "I don't need babysitting, Lady Knight."

"No longer, at the very least," Winter shot back.  The friendly smile in her eyes, easily read by her fellow Knight Gundam, softened her words.  "I have come to speak with Claw.  In private."

"That be so?"  The Knight in question asked, her tone in its usual relaxed drawl.  "Well then, begone, lad, we lasses've business to attend, what that's not needin' a male's distractions!"

Striding into Claw's quarters, Winter ignored the barbed goodbyes Claw and Nataku exchanged.  The Knight of Silent Frost was the last to give another Knight a hard time about whatever relationships they wished to engage in; she had been paramour to Zero, the Winged Knight, for close to four and a half years.  Only when Claw had shut the door firmly behind the Bronze Knight and the two gundams remaining in the room heard his footsteps depart down the hall did Winter turn back to face Claw, ignoring her fellow Knight's coy look.

"The Princess has expressed concern for your brother to me, this morn," Winter said, never one to mince words.  "I am concerned as well.  He has been distant and almost derelict lately."

The demeanor of her hostess changed completely.  "Aye," Claw agreed, stalking across the room to drape herself over a chair.  The cat gundam waved for Winter to do the same, but the Royal Knight remained standing, perfectly comfortable where she was.  "Fang be downright evasive lately an' Crow strike me if I be knowin' why."

Having been raised in and trained to be a freedom fighter for the Pirate Isles before they had been wrested from the grasp of the demon Lodarian, Claw swore by the deity of the Isles.  Winter herself, having lived in the Pirate Isles for close to two years, knew of the mecha-like deity Crow and on the occasion the Knight of Silent Frost was upset enough to do so, also swore by her.  They both knew even the cattish Claw didn't use the deity's name lightly, mostly due to Crow's habit of answering such uses at random.

Pale blue met gold and Winter's gaze burned deep into the Pirate Knight's eyes.  "Hunt him, Claw."

Sitting up straight, Claw's head drew back slightly at the direct order from the Royal Knight.  The cat gundam had masterful control over her own gravity changing and teleportation spells but only a slight affinity for the spells of the Hunt, which were Fang's specialty.  Winter knew she was asking a great deal from the fickle Knight but guessed correctly that the Smoke Knight would be willing to go out of her comfort zone for the sake of her younger brother.  "Aye, Winter," Claw said, standing with the boneless grace she was known for.

As one of two Royal Knights with a Summon Beast as a partner, Winter knew how to submerge herself in the Mana stream more quickly and completely than her fellow Knights.  Time hadn't dimmed her curiosity and she went into a slight trance now, watching with glowing ice-like eyes as Claw drew black-edged golden runes onto the air with the tip of one of the needle claws on her gauntlets.  The spell was the same she had cast years ago in attempting to track down Zero, The Winged Knight and the other members of the Gundam Force which had been captured by Lord Iswyn du Bennr, Artos' then-exiled father.  Though it had only led the group of rescuers part of the way then, now the runes hovered in mid-air for a moment before falling abruptly to the floor and shifting until they were glowing paw-prints.  Blinking to lift the trance, Winter turned her gaze to Claw, knowing the cat gundam could still see them, particularly since she motioned to her fellow Knight and trotted from the room.