Prying

 As a part of his old training, Jerome would have been walking on the water next to his, Ky, and Eeta's Ice Raft. But he was sprawled out on the ground simply looking up and pondering while Ky talked to Eeta, He was still brooding over the things that he heard from the Pirate, 'He couldn't have been Creetia... but that Pirate called me his apprentice... Why? That was definately not Creetia! but...' as he pondered he remembered a lesson that Creetia taught him in sword play, not in the oceans or waters. 'Perhaps he's got a twin whose a pirate? A very good impostor look a like...'
   Lost in thought Jerome didn't hear the conversation between the other two: "Whose'is Kys followed?" Ky asked, crouched in the center of the ice raft, motioning to Jerome.
   "Don't look at me. He hasn't told me his name yet." Eeta replied.
   "Where he taking us?"
   "I don't know... but he's a nice guy, I trust him."
   "Why? You don't even know his name." Ky said, her grammar getting better as she went on.
   "Yeah, but he did save both our lives." Ky just nodded.
   "Who was the pirate anyways? The one that Jerome called Creetia? I couldn't imagine you being in a pirate crew."
   Ky rolled her eyes and curved her right pointer finger into a hook saying 'YAR!' but then explained, "I'm not, he was taking me back to be executed." She got quieter as she spoke, like regret for something.
   Jerome got up at that moment as he noticed, "Ky, your grammar is getting better by the second...." Ky jumped away from him and slid off the other side into the water. Jerome let out a hand to Eeta to climb up and she grabbed onto him to keep from sliding off with her.
   Jerome got into a lotus position of meditation, (crossing his legs Indian-style for all of us) and pushed the water up under Ky and eased her onto the ice. when she got up, panting, to the middle of the three meter raft, "You have a beautiful face." Jerome noticed spoke his mind because the face paint from earlier began to wash off her face and he could see her now.
   "No 'et naw!" she finally said, back in her own feral and animalistic stance.
   Jerome went on, "Why do you paint your face when you already have such a pretty one?" Some of the exposed skin turned red as she blushed against the smearing paint. She tried again to distort her speech as much as possible as she told him that the face paint kept away the bad men. "What's your name?" Jerome asked.
   "Me, Ky."
   "So you're Meky?"
   "No! I Ky!" She was getting frustrated.
   "Iky? alright I guess." Jerome knew what he was doing
   "No! No me's or Iam's It's just Ky."
   "Alright, Justky. Got it"
   "No! You iditotic male-" She clapped a hand over her mouth as she betrayed her visage.
   "I knew you could speak." Jerome said with a slight grin on his face.
   "Alright, you caught me, and? What?" She was a little scared, but Eeta was grinning as well from inside Jerome's collar. Eventually Jerome got Ky to tell him her story, "My full name is Ama-Terra. I'm a run away princess of the throne to Kaito, that's where I got the nick name, and ended up stowing away and painted my face to remain unrecognizable."
   Jerome greeted her formally then, "I am Jerome Indigo An Talus." He tilted his head slightly as he said it, "And I guess I'll be escorting you back to some land?" She nodded. "So if you are a princess and are pampered... why are you running away from the good life?"
   She scowled and he apologized, but she told him, "Well... my father, Terran-Don-Julius, the emperor of Kaito, is persecuting hundreds of Fire Brands because of our conflicting abilities." Jerome waved his hand motioning for her to say what she was, "Oh, I'm of Nature's Kiss, our specialty is plants, but my father is an Earthen Herald. He's going to start a war you know."
   Jerome was suddenly reminded of a quarrel in his past with the Riders of Lightning. "I think there's going to be a war in the near future, with more than just fire and earth..."