Celes raised an eyebrow. ”And how are we going to find them?” she asked. After all, the bandits' ambush only worked so well because the road was well-traveled and the cover was thick. She was about to suggest hiding out themselves to wait for the bandits to make their move on the next caravan, but Caius had already started off into the woods. Celes sighed and glanced at Relm, gesturing to follow. She didn’t need to tell her anything else. Relm knew to keep on her toes.

’He has to know what he’s doing.’ Celes eyed him as she followed, carefully stepping around uneven ground and patches of ivy. She trusted Caius -- why wouldn’t she when they’d worked together so long? -- but it felt for all the world like he’d started marching in the first direction his eyes had landed on. Maybe he knew something from the reports? Or maybe he’d learned tracking and was following some trail she couldn’t see? Whatever it was, it rubbed her the wrong way.

She was one for strategy and planning. He was one to trust his gut instinct. She had no choice but to trust it too.

Then she saw them. A band of five gathered together among the cover of the leaves. Whatever Caius had done, it had worked. And apparently these particular bandits didn’t keep a close enough eye on the road.

She glanced at Caius and then at Relm. It was time to see how they worked as a team. Caius would act as the forward, of course, and Relm would stay behind. Celes would place herself between the two -- guarding Relm and aiding Caius however he needed it. He would be the muscle and she would be the strategist just as they’d always-

Wheels clattered across the road.

Of course it would come now. She wanted to shoot Caius a dirty look. If he’d only let her lead, they’d have had a better chance of surprise and an open field. It all came to the same thing of course, and she’d never actually contradicted him, but still…

They followed quietly (they wouldn’t have had to if they’d just stayed at the road’s edge) until the bandits finally emerged in front of them. Caius didn’t glance back. Instead, he kept his eyes focused and thrust himself forward in a flash of light. With him out of earshot, Celes let out a short huff before she held out an arm for Relm to keep her distance and threw herself into the road.

Nearly everyone was terrified. The bandits at finding a blade at their backs and the wagon driver for the sudden swordfight that surrounded him. The driver cried out and ducked as low as he could, hands over his head. The bandits shouted and slashed their swords about blindly. Celes charged forward, grabbed a man’s shoulder, and swept his leg out from under him before he could even set eyes on her. Caius had taken another, and Celes sidestepped to the one closest to her before she spotted one of them backed up around the cart’s other side. He had his hands together, a sparkling aura around him.

”It’s magic!” she cried out, but it was too far for her to reach and she didn’t have time to counter the spell with her own. ”Caius!”

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Celes half suspected that Caius had called her just for the sake of it.

She hadn’t known exactly what to make of the letter. At first sight, it had seemed like something to send some novice after (a green task, she’d thought to herself as she nearly filed it away.), but she trusted Caius’ instincts. More or less. In truth, they hadn’t seen each other much since they’d gotten into the thick of things. It was one thing to gather a few people here and there. It was another to make a name for themselves, and as they’d garnered more and more attention, they’d had to manage all the little details that came with it. It wasn’t just them on the road anymore.

Though she missed it if she was being honest.

And so as she approached the city gates, she couldn’t be too annoyed with him. He’d done his part since they’d last met, after all, and perhaps they both deserved a break. A break. Was that what this was to her? She always felt more natural with a sword at her hip.

She caught him in a flash of blonde and dusky gray. She gave an awkward wave and started towards him, her armor clinking comfortably at her shoulders. How long had it been since she’d needed it? There weren’t many jobs that needed her skills particularly.

”Well, what is it then?” she asked as she stopped before him. ”The catch. We’re looking for a boy, aren’t we? Is it behemoth territory? Or maybe a nest of cactuars?” She smirked at him teasingly. They both knew how silly this was, and maybe they both suspected the real reason she was here. Not that she minded much.

Her eyes caught a dark shape behind him, and she blinked at the thing, touching at her sword on instinct before she stopped and laughed in relief. ”Is that your dragon?” She looked at it closer and it most certainly was. ”It’s as big as a chocobo!”

And far more dangerous. Though she doubted he wanted to hear that part.

”You said it was growing, but I didn’t really believe it. I guess you can’t bring it in the city walls anymore. Half the guards would be up in arms, and the other half would be too scared to do much of anything.” Not to mention everyone unarmed and minding their own business. Though now that she said it out loud…

She shot him a scrupulous look. ”You’re not bringing it inside, are you?” That sounded like something he wouldn’t think twice about. ”Someone has to have told you no.”

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”He was what?” Celes threatened to stop where she stood, half affronted and half dumbstruck. ’He was having a lot of trouble finding a purpose before he met you.’ Was that what he was telling people? Celes felt heat rise to her cheeks. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t told her that, but going on about it to stray girls he met on the road…?

Well, she couldn’t honestly say she was surprised. He’d spoken of his past in exactly that level of detail when they’d first met. Why wouldn’t he speak the same of her?

Yuna had come without expecting to find Caius, but it didn’t seem like she’d come explicitly for Celes either. She was rather flighty on what exactly she had come for, and it didn’t take a genius to see through her lies. Why pretend she didn’t need help?

”Came to say goodbye to who?” she asked. ”I thought you weren’t looking for Caius.” Celes didn’t want to call her out -- really, she didn’t -- but if Yuna was in trouble then it wouldn’t do any good to skirt around it. She didn’t know if it was pride or fear or just not wanting to be a nuisance, but something was holding Yuna's tongue. It would be stupid to hold it any longer.

She would have to come back to that later.

”While Caius is off swinging a sword, I’m usually here taking care of everything he left behind.” Celes glanced to her. ”Not that I mind. One of us has to lead the charge, and one of us has to stay. He’s always been a mercenary, but I haven't. I was trained as a general. I’m used to staying off the front lines.”

Nearly as used to it as she was in fighting to survive. Though that was not a state that she particularly missed.

”I know it looks harsh,” she said. ”But Caius and I have a reputation. If any of those men accepted the kind of missions we go on, they’d die.” Celes pushed her hair over her shoulder. ”I’ve seen soldiers like him before. Men like that have never been told they’re not good enough. I’d rather break his pride now than watch him bleed out on the field.”

She’d seen it before. Too many times, in fact. The men who challenged her were always the one too thick-headed to follow orders when it mattered. They were the kind of go over her head when she refused to promote them, and they were the kind to throw themselves into situations they weren’t ready for. Now that she was in full control, she refused to let it happen again.

”Thanks for healing him by the way.” She laughed a little. ”I would have done it if you hadn’t stepped in, but it looks like you outclass me there. It’s still funny to see so much magic here. It’s rare where I come from.” Rare to the point of nonexistence. If Celes could have thrown her magic right back where it came from, she wasn’t entirely certain she wouldn’t.

”Maybe you could teach me?” She glanced at Yuna with a slight smile. ”Everything I know I had to learn myself.”

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Celes laughed. Usually, she wasn’t one for childish antics, Relm’s dramatics were so overblown that she couldn’t help it. The thought of Relm of all people caving under pressure was hilarious. She’d have sooner seen Caius falter than the girl beside her. Relm seemed to think the same.

”If he keeps putting his foot in his mouth,” she said before casting Caius a teasing smile. That was more than enough tension between them. She knew he had the social grace of a dead fish, and she knew he hadn’t meant any offense. She was willing to forgive if he was willing to forget.

At least until he made the same mistake again.

Caius turned to Relm with a cheerful eye. ’Third member?’ Celes tilted her head in question before he opened his jacket and a small reptilian head poked out. She covered her mouth to keep from laughing. She’d almost forgotten about Vordun.

”’Puts the dragon in Dragonblades?’” She tried for an incredulous look that was completely undermined by her own stifled giggling. ”Have you been thinking of that all day?” Still, she thought Relm would appreciate the joke, and she did too if she was being honest. It broke the tension between them.

It almost made her appreciate the scaly thing that wiggled in Caius’ collar. She still didn’t like it. Caius had no idea what he was doing, and a dragon was hardly the same as a dog or a chocobo. It wasn’t bred for this, and it was only a matter of time before it mauled someone in a rush of pure instinct. Still, she knew better than to argue her point again.

And the dragon was cute. A little. She supposed.

”Well, are we going to protect the city or not?” She flicked the reigns and urged her chocobo forward. Caius would lead the way, she presumed. He’d been the one to pick the job.

The site wasn’t far. The bandits had been known to ambush caravans at a very specific bend of the road. They slowed their chocobos to a stop at its edge, and Celes eyed the foliage on either side of them. It was an opportune place for it, she’d give them that. Between the thick trees and the sprawling underbrush, she couldn’t see a thing past the road.

”Well?” She glanced to Caius. ”Do you have any leads?”

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