Dear Moonclaw.

Please stopping flooding the fandom.

...sorry! No can do. I have a bunch of stories rattling around in my head...so here's another!

I highly suggest reading Fire and Ice and Imperfection before reading this one, since it's a tie-in.

Izayoi rolled her eyes and shot him a brief glare, leaning against one of the consoles nearby. "No."

He sighed and spun idly in the chair, staring out one of the large windows. Space was so boring to look at, though the concept of a chair that spun in a complete circle was interesting. At the very least, he was having fun irritating his cousin by spinning in it.

"How about now?" he asked, still spinning.

She sighed. "I promise you you'll know when we land."

Edge sighed and caught his foot on the wall to stop his motion, "So…where's everyone else?"

"Tsukinowa is with the twins." Izayoi recited. "Gekkou is speaking with Cid. Zangestu is sleeping."

He nodded absently, still staring out the window.

"Rydia is in the lower cargo hold."

He glanced at his cousin. She smirked. "Why don't you go bug her and leave me be?"

"Because annoying you is fun," he replied, grinning.

She frowned, but nevertheless he hopped up and stretched, commenting; "You're so lucky I wanted to check on her anyway, because otherwise it's a long flight back home."

Izayoi watched him with her eyes as he walked to the doorway, commenting as he walked past, voice low. "You should check on her, especially since she is now in the company of that strange child."

Edge paused at the doorway, not bothering to turn around but frowning all the same. "You don't trust her?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I trust Rydia." his cousin replied carefully.

Edge nodded, at least glad she admitted that much. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about the summoner's choice to bring the Maenad child with them, but he had overheard a few of their mutual friends attempting to talk her out of it.

Rydia would have none of it and had stalked off, presumably to the cargo hold, to be alone and get away from them.

He left the room only to lean back in and catch Izayoi's gaze. She looked slightly puzzled by his quick return, so he pointed to her.

"You should get some rest, too." He said, adding as an afterthought; "I can make that an order if I have too."

Izayoi smirked and gave a slightly mocking looking bow. He rolled his eyes at her and ducked back into the hallway, passing Luca's creepy dolls as they marched onward. He grimaced, annoyed that they were still around.

They freaked him out.

It was a good thing that everyone was mostly keeping to themselves, since he didn't want to talk to anyone anyway.

The lower cargo holds were down a few flights of winding stairs, and the space on the ship turned more and more narrow and compact.

Despite the fact that there were crates that may or may not contain cargo, most of the space was unoccupied and vacant of both people and items. He glanced around the first room and saw nothing, so moved on.

The next room was smaller, but when he leaned around the door frame, he spotted the summoner immediately. After all, the vibrant green clothing and hair stood out in a stark contrast with the drab, gray room.

Rydia was curled up on one of the long benches in the room that were facing away from the large windows. Sitting next to her, posture rigid, was the strange little Maenad girl. She sat staring at the ground and only lifted her head a fraction of an inch to glance in his general direction.

Edge frowned, not sure how she just knew he was there, but then again, she was an interesting child.

There was a pause, and finally he decided that, even though Rydia was asleep, she probably wasn't the only one who needed company.

When he finally entered the room, she looked up completely, tracking his movements curiously, blue eyes unnervingly bright and alert.

As much as he didn't sense any threatening intent or abnormal auras from the little girl, she was unsettling. Her appearance, her movements. There was something unnatural about her, and maybe it was just because she was a miniature version of the powerful and ruthless villains they had been fighting, down to the clothing.

But despite that, she was also a little girl. Along with the air of extreme intelligence and cunning, there was an innate innocence and confusion surrounding her.

He found it impossible to distrust her when she was clearly a child. Besides, if Rydia felt she was safe, then who was he to argue?

Still, she was watching him eerily, as if knowing all the secrets of the world that he didn't.

Edge frowned and sat down on one of the benches opposite her, deciding to do a little investigation. He propped his chin in his hand, putting them at the same eye level, and proceeded to stare back at her.

Two could play at that game.

She blinked slower than most humans.

Her hair was shorter than the other Maenads and Rydia.

She was probably about six or seven, if he had to guess.

"So," Edge said, deciding to break the silence. "In all the excitement I didn't ask you your name."

She paused, blinking a few times before her expression became troubled. "I do not have a designation."

Edge frowned, "Well, that won't do. We can't go around calling you 'the girl', that's not very interesting."

She stared at him, obviously not comprehending his point, so he sighed and gave her a once over before shrugging. "Anyway, I'm sure Rydia will get around to choosing a name for you,"

The little girl darted a glance at the sleeping summoner and shifted uncomfortably next to her. "She…will wake up, yes?"

He gave her an odd look, "Sure. She's just tired. We kind of trekked around a lot and fought a lot of battles."

"Then this state of inactivity is normal?" she asked, leaning forward.

Edge had to smile a little at her wording and nodded, "Yes, it's called sleeping. Very normal."

The Maenad glanced back at Rydia and then frowned slightly, eyes wandering along the floor. "Incomprehensible…"

"Don't you sleep?" he asked.

She looked up, startled. "No."

Edge found her reaction strange, but he was distracted when Rydia shifted in her sleep, moving her arm so that her elbow cushioned her head without waking up.

The little girl tensed, looking worried, but visible relaxed after a moment.

It was equal parts amusing and concerning, watching her react so sharply to everything.

Still, as much as she was demanding of attention, he couldn't help but let his gaze wander over to the sleeping summoner.

Just when he thought things between them couldn't get more complicated, he was proven wrong and it got twisted even more.

They needed to have a seriously long conversation, but he had no idea if he could convince her of that enough for it to happen.

She liked to dance around the topic and deflect it, and she was unfortunately good at it.

"You look at her differently than the other humanoids aboard this vessel." the Maenad child suddenly observed.

Her even tone broke him out of his trance and he sighed, closing his eyes and realizing that the situation was even more pathetic then he had thought previously.

Apparently he was so easy to read when it came to Rydia that even the weird little pod-child could see it. Not to mention everyone from Luca to Yang to Kain of all people kept bugging him about it.

And somehow, Rydia was still clueless.

If it wasn't so damn annoying, it would be funny.

The girl was staring at him again, and he hesitated, unsure how to explain to her or even if he should.

He had thought that he and Rydia had made progress recently, but she was very good at having selective memory when it came to anything between them.

"I care about her," he finally answered, figuring it was vague enough.

Her brow furrowed, as if this comment puzzled her. "Care…a state of mind in which one is troubled with worry or anxiety. An object of worry or anxiety. To devote serious attention to something. To place something in temporary keeping."

Edge couldn't help it; he laughed.

"Okay," he conceded, "Maybe that's a bad word choice,"

The little girl showed a shadow of emotion on her face, looking slightly put out. She looked back to the sleeping Rydia and spoke again, voice hesitant.

"If you are to care for her, than I must point out that she is damaged."

He sat up straight, concerned, "She is?"

The Maenad nodded and glanced at the sleeping woman again. "One of the females in your group who excels at the healing magicks looked her over before, but I have since noticed that she is favoring her left foot. Perhaps this is indicative of an injury to her right side?"

Edge knelt in front of them both, and the little girl slid over so he could check the summoner's ankle. It was a good thing she was sleeping so deeply, because if she did wake up, this would be hard to explain. Still, he was glad the Maenad had said something.

He figured out there was nothing seriously wrong with her, but she was probably still in minor pain from all the bruises and cuts. They'd had a hard battle, after all.

There was a gash on her shoulder that had obviously been healed with magic, but was still visible, along with a thin scratch on her cheek.

Edge sighed lightly and frowned, giving her a once over before risking a quick flick of some stray hair off her face along with a light trace of the cut on her cheek.

The little girl hadn't moved, and merely sat, silently observing him as always.

"Thank you," he said, tossing her a quick glance, "It's not serious, she probably just twisted it. But still, she really should have said something."

The little girl regarded him strangely, "Thank you?"

"A customary, verbal explanation of gratitude. You did me a favor, so I'm telling you I appreciate it." Edge replied, talking slowly to watch her face.

She seemed to drink in the knowledge and then nodded, as if to show she understood.

Edge gave her a concerned once over. "How about you?" he asked. "Are you…damaged?"

The girl hesitated, giving him his answer.

He frowned, "It's okay if you are,"

"I am…uncertain." she replied quietly, unfurling her fingers on one hand. "I…fell when we were running from…the…from the creator."

Her words were halted, nervous, even, and he smiled sympathetically at her, reaching out to take the hand she was carefully cradling in her lap.

"Here, let me see,"

She watched him carefully, mentioning in the same even tone she'd been using; "There is a bodily sensation contained in my hand,"

"Pain?" he hazarded, glancing up at her. "I'm not surprised, that's what happens when you get hurt. It looks like you scrapped a good layer of skin off on your hand."

She frowned, still staring at her hand. "Pain…caused by noxious stimulus, such as exposed or damaged nerve endings."

"Sounds about right," Edge muttered, annoyed he didn't have any potions on him. Once they were well on their way, he'd dumped all of his supplies in one of the hallways, tried of carrying it. Everything but his weapons, of course.

She shifted uncomfortably, "The Maenads are not supposed to feel pain."

That would explain why, as frail and human as they looked, they just kept going until they couldn't. They didn't feel pain, they didn't try to avoid it, or realize it was hazardous for them.

Hoping to avoid that topic for a few more minutes, he glanced up at her, "You know, pain's not all bad. Sure, it hurts and it's no fun, but it tells you if you're doing something stupid and to stop,"

"Like entering a combative situation with a being more advanced and heavily armed than yourself?" she said, the slightest bit of haughty sarcasm leaking into her tone.

So maybe part of her was still a little bit like the Maenads.

Not that she didn't have a good point.

He grinned, "Yeah, like that. I said it tells us it's a bad idea, I didn't say we humans always paid attention to it."

"You adapt." she whispered, peeking up at him carefully.

He gave her an odd look, feeling like he'd had this conversation recently. "Something like that."

Her lips twitched to an almost smile, as if she knew something he didn't.

Regardless of what she was thinking, Edge clasped her smaller hand between both of his. "Hold still," he suggested, closing his eyes.

Izayoi was much better at the healing arts than he was, which irritated him since he might have been the slightest bit competitive with his younger cousin. Still, he was better at pretty much everything else, and she had the patience for it.

His cousin was always nagging him to not use healing magic because of how emotional he was. He always argued with her, but she just scolded that he was bound to put too much of his energy into the spell to heal someone he cared about, putting himself in as much danger as they were.

Still, he really doubted a scratched hand would be the death of him.

Unlike white magic that just did all the work, this form of curative magic merely encouraged the body to speed its own process of healing. To do so, it transferred energy from the person casting the spell to the person in need of healing, giving their body a boost.

It only took a few heartbeats for her hand to heal of its own accord with the proper incentive.

Edge blinked out of the magical daze and let go of her hand. The little girl's eyes were wide when he looked back at her. She blinked and flexed the fingers on her hand, transfixed by its healed appearance.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, snapping her gaze up to him as he stood.

He just grinned at her, "Trade secret,"

"Magic," she guessed, tipping her head to one side. "But unlike the magic the Lunarians use."

"Trade secret," he repeated.

Her expression dropped to a frown, but she merely went back to looking at her hand for a few moments before clutching it to her chest.

"Thank you." she said.

The use of a term she'd just learned made him chuckle and he reached out to ruffle her short, teal hair. "You're welcome,"

She brushed some hair off her face that he had misplaced and let her gaze wander to the windows on the far side of the room. Edge followed her look and saw that they were in sight now of their planet.

"You haven't seen our planet, have you?" he asked.

She shook her head, so he held out his hand, "Come on,"

The little girl didn't even hesitate before jumping up and taking his hand, letting him lead her over to the window.

They stood in silence for a long time, and she pressed her hands to the cool glass, standing on her tiptoes.

She'd be good at sneaking silently with a stance like that, he noted.

"It is unremarkable." she finally stated dryly.

Edge chuckled, leaning against a nearby column, "Alright, I'll admit it's not that exciting to look at from here."

She glanced at him, "Yet, you and the others aboard this vessel risked your wellbeing to save it. Why?"

"Because it's our home." he replied.

She dropped her eyes to the floor and stayed in her position for a few moments. In fact, she stayed standing there for so long he went and sat down on the closest bench to her to keep an eye on both her and Rydia.

The summoner was still dozing, but the Maenad child hadn't moved.

When she spoke next, her voice was cautious. "Home is…important?"

"Yes, and so are the people who live there." Edge said, hoping the concept was making sense to her.

She cast one last look at the planet and then pattered over to him, sitting on the bench next to him. "You carried me," she stated, tipping her head to one side. "When the Maenads transferred their recollection data to me and I collapsed."

He gave her a funny look, "How'd you know?"

She blinked up at him, "Your voice."

"Ah,"

She shifted closer, and he stifled a grin, keeping an eye on her as she processed.

He was surprised when she was the one to initiate the next topic. "This vessel will take another four hours to reach its destination."

"Something like that," he muttered in reply.

The girl twisted her hands in her lap. "Then what?"

Edge glanced at her, "I don't understand the question,"

"Then what? What do we do after we reach this…blue planet?" she asked, staring at the floor again.

Her robotic voice held the barest hint of fear in it, and he frowned, feeling sympathetic. Here was a creature that was just as confused about what would happen to her as everyone else was.

Sadly, he didn't know what to tell her.

"Well, then we land the ship. And then we leave the ship." he replied, somewhat sarcastic.

She nodded, looking pleased by the reply. "I understand."

"It's a long ride back, maybe you should copy Rydia and get some sleep."

The little girl shook her head, "No,"

"Alright, whatever. Suit yourself." Edge mumbled, eyeing her. He had a suspicion she wasn't going to be able to be to stick with that plan with how tired she looked.

But if she wanted to be stubborn, then he wasn't going to stop her.

Rydia wasn't sure what jolted her awake, but she snapped her eyes open only to groan in annoyance. She was bruised and battered, and even after the short nap she'd apparently had didn't stop the headache she had from magic.

Carefully sitting up, she took stock of her surroundings sleepily, trying to remember where she was.

Ah yes. The cargo hold of the Lunar Whale. She'd come here after getting into an argument with Cecil and Rosa about the Maenad girl she had taken in. They weren't entirely wrong in voicing their concerns, but she felt attacked by the worries and didn't want to deal with it.

Remembering the girl made her eyes widen and she looked around quickly, trying to locate her. Surely she hadn't wandered off?

Rydia stood, wincing, and took a moment to awkwardly adjust her clothing after her nap. She took another look around and frowned, spotting likely where the little girl was.

It only took one step for her to remember to be careful on her ankle, so she slowed down, stopping beside the far bench that was facing the large windows.

Rydia smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "Alright, I must admit, this is pretty adorable."

"Except that my arm is asleep," Edge replied, grinning up at her.

The little Maenad was curled up next to him, hugging his arm with hers, head resting against his elbow.

She giggled, sitting down and carefully, so not to wake her, disentangling the girl before pulling her into her lap. She stirred slightly and wrapped her arms around Rydia's neck instead, continuing to sleep.

"I couldn't get her to fall asleep," Rydia mentioned, glancing back to him. "I didn't mean to, either, though…"

Edge shrugged, "I'm sure you needed it. She was being stubborn but finally just passed out a few minutes ago."

"Poor thing," Rydia muttered, hugging her. "I hope she'll be okay…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine,"

"But…"

Edge frowned at her, "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." she admitted, sighing. She stared at the planet they were slowly approaching. "Do you think I did the right thing? Bringing her with us?"

"Why are you bothering asking?" he retorted, giving her a look. "You wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Rydia sighed, closing her eyes. "When I looked at her, I saw myself."

It wasn't something she wanted to admit so readily, but then again, she and Edge usually had serious conversations like this with each other, and she felt the need to explain herself about the child anyway.

Maybe not to him, but to everyone else. And possibly to herself. The action of taking in a Maenad, something that could turn into a danger, needed justification.

"I saw a little girl, confused and frightened as her entire world crumbled and burned around her. A little girl who has no choice but to trust someone she doesn't know, and I realized that I had to do something."

She glanced cautiously at him, concerned for his reaction. "But, do you think that I made the right choice?"

Edge raised an eyebrow, "And what was the alternative? Leaving her there to die?"

"True…" she murmured, idly combing fingers through the girl's thick hair. "Still, I can't claim objectivity in this matter, not after my own life experiences."

"And maybe that's what makes you the perfect person to take care of her." he remarked.

Rydia laughed lightly, averting her gaze, "I know nothing of taking care of children,"

"Nobody does until they have to do it," he countered. Edge leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. She could tell her was staring at her and she tried to ignore it, hoping he wasn't about to change topics on her and try to trick her into anything.

The Maenad girl shifted in her arms and Rydia adjusted her grip accordingly, smiling slightly. Even if the child wasn't normal, or possibly dangerous, there was something endearing about her, something appealing about the idea of taking care of her.

"Rydia,"

She glanced over at the sound of her name, noting the serious tone in it.

"At the end of the day," Edge said. "what matters isn't that you brought this Maenad back or not, what matters is what you believe she can be. Do you think she can grow to be more than just a Maenad?"

Putting it so simply, she had no hesitation and nodded, answering with conviction; "I do."

"Then screw what everyone else says," Edge commented, waving a hand in a dismissing gesture. "They can all get over it."

Rydia giggled, rolling her eyes at how he viewed things before giving the girl in her arms a squeeze. She let her gaze slide sideways to him and spoke up quietly.

"What about you?" she asked. "What do you think about her?"

He grinned, "I think I trust you,"

She had to smile at that, and he shrugged, patting the little girl's back a few times while he admitted; "And, I think she's pretty damn adorable, too."

Rydia laughed again.

"What are you going to name her?" he asked.

She hesitated, "I…was giving that some thought. I'm not sure."

"Well, she needs a name," he said. Rydia rolled her eyes and shot him a look, "Yes, obviously."

They both sat in silence for a few seconds and then Edge frowned, "What was it the Maenads said about her?"

Rydia thought back, repeating it slowly; "That we should watch her, because she was all that they were, their future and legacy."

"I'd say she is more than they ever were," he muttered.

The summoner brushed at her hair again, thinking about what awaited the small child now that she was coming with them. What would her life be?

She smiled slowly, a name coming to mind. "Cuore,"

Edge looked up at her, slightly puzzled, "Cuore?"

"Her name."

"Heart?"

Rydia nodded, all smiles. She watched the teal haired child sleep in her arms, so peaceful at the moment, but so confused in the waking. Still, it was a good name, a good, fresh start.

Edge patted the girl's back again, "Cuore…I like it."

Rydia grinned at him, not sure why she actually cared if he did or not, but nevertheless pleased her approved her choice.

"And thank you for not naming her something to do with the moon," he added, rolling his eyes.

Rydia giggled, stiffening slightly when his hand brushed along the back of hers as it slipped off of the little girl's. She couldn't tell if it was honestly accidental or not. The best strategy was to ignore it. She was trying to avoid a certain conversation with him.

"So…"

She winced, wondering if he somehow knew what she was thinking.

"I think you owe me an answer to a question,"

Rydia glared at him, "Actually, you told me not to answer you until we made it back. We're not back yet. Until my feet touch the ground outside this airship, on our planet, I owe you nothing."

Edge was frowning at her, looking peeved. "That is such a technicality,"

"Cuore" stirred and blinked open her startling blue eyes sleepily. Rydia ignored Edge and smiled at the little girl, "Hi there,"

The girl sat upright, and looked around before sighing in relief.

Rydia stroked her back, "Don't worry, your fine. I promise."

The girl blinked at her and then rested her chin on Rydia's shoulder, apparently accepting the words as true. She peeked at Edge, too, and he grinned.

She wondered if she had missed something.

"Come on," Edge said suddenly, directing the question to Rydia. "I don't see why I have to wait that long,"

"You're the one who put that stipulation on the answer," she replied, grinning at him.

"Rydia," he said, pinning her with a look.

She shook her head, "I'm not having this conversation in front of Cuore, anyway."

The little girl looked between them, "What conversation?"

Apparently she already accepted her new name.

"Oh, that's a technicality, too!" he complained.

She stood and set the little girl down, but kept hold of her hand and put the other on her hip, "You'll just have to wait until later,"

She tugged the little girl with her towards the exit. "Come on, we need to find somewhere safe for the landing."

Cuore looked between them again and then looked over her shoulder as she followed Rydia.

Edge waved to her, and she smiled and waved back, making Rydia quite sure she missed something.

At least she still managed to avoid that conversation…

…For now.

Author's note: I thought this would be half the length when I started it. All well.

It's always occurred to me that Cuore and Edge HAD to have had some sort of bonding time between the defeat of the Creator and TAY's ending, because she is excited to see him, but WHEN did such bonding take place? Because it implies it hasn't been that long, nor have he and Rydia really talked, so...just when exactly did Cuore decide "Oh hey, your my dad now. Your welcome."?

Anyway, yes, there's some tie-ins to my other stories. I just count this as part of them.

Looked up the actual meaning of the word "care". Because...Cuore.

I have no idea how healing ninja magic works...or if it is even magic...back then why does it use MP? So...here's my best take at explaining it, and it makes a certain kind of sense, and would explain (besides sexism,) why Izayoi is the best at healing. She's the least likely to get emotional distracted and has the most patience...which still isn't much, but y'know.

There. It's cannon now. Sure, why not?

Anyway, here is another one of my one-shots. I hope you enjoyed!

PS. The conversation in the Tower of Babil that Edge has with the Maenad is awesome in the IoS version. I love it.

Carry on...