"So you still don't remember anything?" Cia asked for what seemed the one hundredth time while riding on Serenity's shoulder.
"No," Serenity replied coolly. "I don't."
"I was just asking," Cia said dejectedly.
"For like the hundredth time," Artemis grinned.
As Cia prepared to say something back, a stranger in a blue baboon mask and white fur cloak leapt out of the tree cover and landed before them. Rising to his full height, he said, "Forgive me for scaring you."
Removing Cia's claws from her shoulder, Serenity glanced at Artemis and noticed she had drawn her katanas. Looking back at the stranger, Serenity said, "No problem."
"Are you warriors?" the stranger asked.
"Yeah," Artemis said, sheathing her katanas. "Why?"
"I require protection from a group of thieves until I can return home," the stranger said. From beneath his cloak the stranger presented a chipped pale rose colored orb.
"Very nice," Serenity said. "That's what you're trying to get home?"
"Yes it is," the stranger said, returning the orb to beneath his cloak. "It is a treasured heirloom that has been passed through many generations."
"We will help you get it home," Serenity said. "Do you by chance know the name of these thieves that are trying to steal it?"
