And on the tenth day…

-:-

The tiny lumberjack looked at the beast before her, ready to pounce when the time was right. The beast looked back at her, head tilted in confusion as it tried to figure out what she wanted.

The little pink-haired girl, still looking at the beast, then extended her hand and said only one thing.

"Paw pads."

Noishe lifted one of his paws and placed it in Persea's hand, causing the girl to give a slight smile.

"I see that you've been teaching Noishe some tricks."

Persea's smile dropped and turned to the voice with a frown. "Is there something you need, Regal?"

The blue-haired man merely shook his head. "Not in the slightest, Persea. I'm just here to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Very well then," replied the emotionless girl with a nod before turning her attention back to Noishe.

Regal held back a sigh. It seemed that Persea still held a slight grudge if she was more or less ignoring him. Luckily there was one way to get her back to the camp.

"Noishe, Lloyd made an extra helping for you."

With a quick bark of excitement, the white and green canine made his way towards camp to get his dinner. Once Noishe was gone, Persea gave Regal a look.

"Why did you do that?"

"Noishe needs to eat, Persea. As do you."

"…I'm not hungry."

Her stomach decided to betray her by letting out a low rumble. She looked away from Regal, the only sign that she was embarrassed.

Regal held back a smirk. "Your body says otherwise. Now head back to the camp and eat. Once you're done, you can play with Noishe some more."

"I am not a child," replied Persea, but made her way back to the campsite regardless.

Regal held back a sigh as he followed after Persea. "I know."

As they walked, Persea wondered why Regal even tried. She knew that there was more to Regal just coming out here to tell her dinner was ready. She knew he was trying to repent for what he's done, but she was not going to have that. Not after what happened to her sister.

At the thought of Alicia, Persea wondered what she would do in this situation. She'd probably forgive Regal since she wasn't the type to hold a grudge. This thought gave Persea pause and made her conflicted on how to continue her relationship with Regal.

Maybe she could let up on him for a while and give him a chance for Alicia's sake. It would only be fair since Regal was trying to atone for the things he's done.

FIN

-:-

I always thought I'd write a Lloyd x Sheena fic as my first foray into Tales of Symphonia. That being said, this is not to be taken as a pairing fic.