University's like onions; you keep going and going through everything and there's just no end to it. Also, both make me cry.
But screw that; that's why there's Fanfiction. Just a little one-shot that's been floating around for a while.
"It's out far east of Elven Forest, just past the river that separates the islands." The elf said kindly. "It's a rare and powerful source, but it empowers only those who follow the light, so no doubt it'll accept you as it did me. But dark beasts live around the edges...are you sure you don't want me coming with you?"
"It's fine!" Rin smiled brightly, adding, "I think I can find my way well enough, and I don't want to spoil your time with Lass." she winked.
"Shush." Lire playfully admonished. "It's only a mission. But are you really going to go alone?" Her face creased in worry. "Please take one of the Chasers with you, just to be safe."
"Who? You said it is supposed to be a secret; not even the Chasers know about it."
"It can't be helped; someone else must know, someone whom we know won't tell anyone." Lire shook her head thoughtfully. "Is there anyone you know you can trust?"
Lime? Amy? No, they were always loud and talkative; they wouldn't be able to keep quiet...and even if they could, Rin wasn't familiar enough with them to be sure. Elesis? Ronan? Edel? They were knights, true...but...they wouldn't understand the importance of this journey. And as courteous as Ronan was, Rin doubted that he would be to thrilled to accompany her to some lake. "I don't know...they're all okay, but I mean, maybe it's just better to go on my own—"
"Hm? What's this?"
"Holy Agnesia's—don't do that!" Rin squeaked as Asin appeared out of nowhere, doing what he did best: eavesdropping. And scaring the daylights out of the Phoenix by popping out of nowhere.
A startled gaze jolted into Lire's eyes; otherwise, she was composed. "Good afternoon, Asin."
"Yo." He acknowledged her with a nod. "So, where is the little goddess flying off to...?"
She stuck out her tongue. "I can fly wherever I want."
Lire twitched, fighting a smile; Rin was so kind and gracious, except when it came to this boy. It was funny to watch, but also touching that she had allowed herself, albeit unconsciously, to open up to Asin of all people. But the elf tried not to be judgemental, as many were so with mysterious people that never disclosed themselves, like Asin, Lass, Dio...pretty much the entire Chase. In fact, this was a golden opportunity for both of them! "Why Rin, you didn't tell me you already picked someone!"
"Huh?" Asin quirked an eyebrow, feigning oblivion to the frantic Phoenix that was making cutting motions with her hand against her neck, signalling her to shut up. 'What are you doing? I'm not taking him!' she tried to communicate, but alas, telepathy wasn't one of the abilities she had as a reborn deity. 'Lire, no! Don't!'
But the elf had already turned to the fox, saying "Asin, I trust you know how to keep a secret?"
"Lire, you're making a huge mistake!" she squeaked. "I don't want—I mean, Asin—that, he—he's a guy!"
"I trust Asin would be polite enough to restrict himself to only be there for additional protection, nothing more. Lass did that for me when we came together."
"But that's Lass! Asin's—stupid—"
"Did you have someone else in mind?" Her elven vision detected another Chaser wandering down the corridor, his face buried in a thick hardback. "Is it Zero?"
"...?" Hearing his name, he barely raised his head from Mythical Folklore of Aernas, spotting them a few feet away.
"Zero! Are you—"was all Lire got out before a tanned hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her away, Rin waving Zero away with a nervous grin. Waving back, he re-lapsed into his book, ignoring his sword's never-ending complaints.
"Lire! Really! I'm not taking him; I mean, you said that the spring rejects those of demonic heritage! Do you want him to die?"
"But only the spring is powerful enough to purge the demons that come into it; it's surrounded by tainted creatures that want to absorb the purity of those that can come into the spring. Even so, I do not think any of the demons would be willing to go near something that can destroy them so thoroughly. Arme still has that nasty cold, and you know Ryan won't leave her side. Everyone else is busy but I am not letting you go there alone. I'm sure he won't be that..."
"I can handle myself, I'm a Chaser, remember?"
"Ooh, this sounds fun. Is the goddess taking a magical bath?"
"You! Why are you still here!" she hissed.
"Because I'm not there." he teased. "And to be your personal bodyguard to this magical spring."
"No! Since when did you—"
"Rin, I understand." Lire laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, silencing the argument. "Everyone else is too preoccupied, but if you don't want to take Asin, I'll come with you. I can meet Lass at another time; let's go." She made to leave, motioning for the Phoenix to follow. Her facial expression didn't change, but her shoulders seemed to slump, just a tiny bit.
"Ah, that's not..." Was she really that selfish? Rin was not stupid, she knew the sacrifice Lire was making. She and Lass had been separated for so long with conflicts from the Elven Corps and the Silver Cross Thieves, and both of them hadn't seen each other in a long while. Asin was...but she couldn't let her own wishes postpone Lire and Lass's already much-delayed reunion. She'd just ditch Asin on the way or something.
"...I mean...I would love to have Asin come with me! I know he can keep a secret!" she blurted out. Before Lire could turn and disagree, she quickly grabbed Asin's fox-tail and stomped away. "It's fine Lire! We'll be a-ok!"
Asin was seldom caught by surprise, but nonetheless, he allowed himself to be yanked away by the goddess. As he shot a glance back at the elven archer, their eyes met, with Lire giving a small wink and a wave as if to say, 'Go get her.' before she disappeared around a corner to find Lass.
He let out a faint grunt before attempting to pry the brown fingers off his tail. Elves, it seemed, were not all frolicking airheads as he thought them to be.
"Just let me get my things." she mumbled before slamming the door, right on his face. Quickly she looked for her...oh. Now this would come in handy. A satisfied smile crawled onto her face as she tucked in a shining blue card.
Sniggering, he leaned against the opposite wall. He had picked the lock once, and even though she had replaced it, it wouldn't be that hard to do it again. But it was too early; there were plenty of opportunities later on. This was going to be fun; they usually were with her around, weren't they?
"Hey, Goddess."
She sighed as she quickened her step, saying, "I have a name that you can call me by. It's Rin."
Amused by her not-so-subtle attempts to outrun him, he easily kept his pace with the girl with a foxy smile. "But that's not as fun. You get this little knot between your eyebrows when you're all flustered." He chuckled good-naturedly as he poked her head.
Blood rushed to her face as she almost dropped her fan, hotly retorting, "Why do you always have to—"
"You're cute when you get all irritable, you know that?" He raised his arm to block a smack from her fan. "I am simply being polite to a fellow member of the Grand Chase."
It was no secret that Asin Tairin knew just which buttons to press to get a rise out of her. She was still the epitome of compassion and warmth, her glyphs always bright as they formed protective wards around him and the others, and the gentlest breezes swirled at her bidding, whether to knock enemies aside or encourage her exhausted team-mates.
She no longer minded her comrades' aloofness(Dio, Rufus), silence(Zero, Lass), and haughtiness(Ley, Edel), but when it came to the Disciple, it was never long before her calm demeanour gave way, raging and steaming as the other trolled and laughed.
It was hard to believe that something more would grow out of that teasing and yelling, but neither seemed to notice; if they did, pride and uncertainty prevented both from investigating it further. Rin had seldom seen an Asin that wasn't so infuriatingly aggravating, but...well...last Halloween, and several other cases made her wonder. It wasn't like she could ask him about it though; the last thing she needed was for him to have another leverage over her.
As for the blue fox, he initially had a hilarious time toying with her as well. When he learned about her identity and the whole dark-and-light-war that was raging inside her, he had first wondered if she had been wise in her judgment to not release the seal, for the Malevolent Horde or whatever it was called sounded like an entity with massive power.
But those musings faded over time as he realized that power, in truth, was more than slamming an enemy to the ground. Strength was...he was never linguistic in these sort of things.
What he did know was that being with Rin was like...being with the former Tairin, in a way, only a bit more different. Like many mysteries of Aernas, it was hard to explain.
...He would die before admitting that to anyone, the goddess most of all. It was still much too fun to tease her, sometimes even more than Jin. So that was probably why he was following her around, annoying her and suppressing his own confusing thoughts that surrounded her.
"So what are we going to do once we find this magical spring? Drink it?"
"Yes, I am going to swallow up the entire lake because I am so thirsty."
"Ooh, sarcasm." He chuckled. "I like that."
She heaved out an exasperated sigh, then whipped out the card, tapping it twice. "Come out, little one." She smiled as the seal on the card lifted, releasing her pet slime that blinked at her eagerly. "Who's an adorable slime?" she cooed as she cuddled it tightly. "Yes you are! That's right, of course you are!"
"You're actually touching that lump of green gunk?" Asin asked in mock disgust. "You'll definitely need a bath after—hey!" Something rammed into his shins, making him lose balance and stumble back a few feet. The jelly-like creature hissed at him, glaring; clearly it did not like being called a lump of green gunk.
"Aw, come here." Scooping the slime up into her arms, Rin patted it soothingly, saying "Don't listen to that idiot boy. You're the best slime in all of Aernas, isn't that right Nesha?"
"Nesha?" Regaining his balance, he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Of all the names you could've given that thing you named it Nesha?"
"It was originally Agnesia, but that was too long. Agnes sounded weird, Aggie was...so, this is Nesha!" She beamed. "Isn't she adorable?"
He gave a dry cough, eyeing it with poorly disguised scepticism. "They have genders? What can it do?"
"For starters, keep you off my back." she stuck out her tongue. The slime hissed again as she laid it down, growling threateningly at Asin as it hopped after its mistress. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Asin hurried after her, maintaining a reasonable distance from the annoying goddess. He could easily take on a hundred slimes on any given day, but they were a long way from the castle an the last thing he wanted was slime juice on his favourite pair of pants. For something so puny, that slime packed a ton when it bumped him. What did it eat? Well (here he laughed silently), like master, like pet, they said...
"But seriously, what are you going to do with a lake?" he called.
"What do people usually do with a lake?" she replied, not bothering to turn.
Ooh, the little goddess was becoming sassy. Still not up to his measures, though. "Would you really come out here just for a dip in the pond?"
"It's a...Lire told me that this spring is...magic." The Phoenix now wished the elf was here; she explained it much better, and even to herself she sounded pretty lame. She cleared her throat. "There's some history behind it, but you can go ask her. All I know is that it's so strong that it can purge demons and humans with evil and selfish intentions. Only those with purity and light can go, apparently. How could Lire have known all this...?" she trailed off. By now the sun had sunk, letting the moon and its stars shine through the darkening sky.
Snap!
"Oh, lots of monsters that want to eat those who can go in the spring to absorb their light, almost forgot about that." Rin drew her fan, scanning the area for monsters, which was difficult through the think foliage they were tramping through. "Nesha, stay close."
Bypassing the opportunity to poke more fun at the slime, he asked, "And we're going to this dangerous pond just to take a bath?"
"Yup!" she sang. "Lire said it'll help me relax and be more in touch with the life and purity inside me. She's a light-elf, so she must know these things." Indeed, Rin and Lire had become close friends almost immediately, seeing as how both were attributed to light and peace and therefore having similar beliefs and hearts of gold. Rin loved being around Lire, who never judged her for the seal she was born with and always lending a shoulder or ear with a warm smile.
"Oho~ so I get to watch the goddess bathe?"
"NO!" she flared, than shot a torrent of wind at Asin. The winds were her friends, but they reflected her mood, so the usual gentle breezes were replaced by a howling gale that caught the fox-boy in a whirl, sending him spinning smack into an Elder Tree, much to Nesha's immense satisfaction. Rin was not worried; her winds never dealt fatal blows to anyone unless they were in serious combat. Blinking stars out of his eyes, he stood back up, saying, "Ow, okay, I was just joking, geez!" Did that slime just smirk at him? He glared.
"You'd better be." she huffed, her cheeks still tinged pink. "You're only here because of Lire, got that? You keep away from the spring or I'll have the winds blast you to Kounat. Nesha, make sure he behaves." She turned, summoning gentle breezes to shake the bushes and vines aside, allowing her to step through. Within minutes, they made it to the aforementioned spring.
Upon seeing it, Rin understood why Lire wanted this a secret: it was beautiful and she could feel the powerful light within, beckoning to her. The full moon seemed to concentrate its light solely on the spring, making it shine even brighter.
Even though it was surrounded by shrubbery that housed unfathomable threats and monsters, Rin had seldom seen something so pure and lovely in her life. The spring was not overly huge, but just enough. If everyone discovered this there would be no telling of what could happen; mages would drain it for research and magic. Selfish people could bottle it and sell it. Other evil sources could corrupt it.
For several moments Rin admired the view in silence, just drinking it in...with her eyes, not her mouth, mind you. It was like the spirit of Agnesia inside her was resonating with the spring, casting the Malevolent Horde aside and filling her with newfound hope. Then she suddenly felt uncertain; what if the spring rejected her because of the evil that was also sealed inside her? Would she die?
"Goddess."
"Rin."
He snorted. "Idiot goddess, tell your glob to stop messing my shoes!"
She tore her gaze from the shimmering lake as Asin was trying to wrench the slime off, the two locked in what would have looked like an intense wrestling match if the sight weren't so comical. Nesha was squirming and struggling under his death grip, its mouth having latched onto his ankle. Rin burst out laughing; she couldn't help it.
"All right Nesha, that's enough." she said once her laughter subsided, her pet grudgingly releasing its bite on the boy. Bouncing back to its owner, it blinked happily as she scooped it up in her arms, giving it a tight hug. "You did good." she whispered, thinking he couldn't hear.
"Ugh, after touching that vermin, you'd definitely need a bath." Asin merely grumped, wiping the last traces of slime on the trees; Nesha was a relatively clean slime compared to the others, but he didn't care; if he had to have a pet, he'd rather get something that had an actual body form. He had never disliked anyone as much as Jin, but that blob was coming to a close second.
"Wait! Where are you going?" she called out.
"I have better things to do than watching you drown in the pool." he grinned. "Have fun." He turned away and started to walk in another direction, making sure to keep a good distance from the slimy creature.
Rin stared at his retreating form and sighed. The stupid fox-boy was always going to tease her, wasn't he? Attempting to shake her thoughts off him, she ran a cautious hand through the water. The spring erupted in ripples at the touch, but they did not harm her; rather, the water was warm and soothing, inviting her to come further. Allowing Nesha to stand guard, she got undressed, folding her clothes in a neat pile, letting her silvery hair flow past her shoulders as she laid her clip on her dress and belt. Slowly, she eased herself into the water, sighing in content as the water swirled.
Placing her fan on an adjacent rock in case danger should arrive, she looked around. Just as Lire had said, the enchanted spring had accepted her. For a while she waded around, splashing Nesha and giggling when her pet attempted to shake off the water droplets like a puppy. Her eyes darted to the forest, but she became less alert as the forest showed no threats, and everything seemed peaceful. She took her time, lapping her face and body with the soothing water, inhaling the rising steam. The water glowed against her skin; it might have just been the moonlight, though.
Settling back against a boulder, she let her mind drift. She could actually feel the pure light and warmth surrounding her like the arms of a parent, the trickling water sounding like a peaceful lullaby. Serdin Castle had luxurious bathing tubs and showers, but this was more natural, more like home.
In Gaon, she always had to bathe in the sacred lakes before performing a holy ceremony or cleansing ritual of Agnesia, and she hated it. It was always a lengthy process, having to scrub and wash every inch of her body, rub scented oil and perfumes, and wash all over again. How the Chief Priest would scold her if he caught her slacking! But it was always worth it in the end, because the priests would smile at her and the priestesses would take her to the sacred altar for Agnesia's blessing...
It was times like these she missed them the most. Not even to Lire would she admit that she still saw their faces as the demons ravaged Gaon and destroyed them all to nothing, how the villagers screamed at her to run as they gave up their lives bravely and willingly for her, the reincarnation of a forgotten goddess that couldn't even save her own people.
The priests of Agnesia taught her that true peace came with forgiveness and amends of the heart. They had also said that the worlds worked in mysterious ways, everything being part of something bigger that only the Creator could see and understand, and that nobody could understand or see the greater part of the story. But why? The villagers of Gaon were the most kindest, most faithful followers of the Goddess. They were supposed to live forever. Instead of seeing the life and purity they deserved, they were annihilated for sheltering a cursed goddess girl.
And the Grand Chase? Would they share the same fate because of her?
She reached for her fan, grasped it tightly. She would never let that happen. She had lost her entire family once, and she wasn't going to lose her new group. Edel, the newest member, was prideful and stern, but even the captain was still treated with politeness. Lime was hardworking as ever, but Rin always sought for an excuse to leave when the Holy Knight began talking about her beloved Three Goddesses. She knew that the fourth was lost to time, forever faded from the pages of history, but it still hurt...
And as for Asin, maybe he was just toying with her like he did with everyone else. He just found her too easy to play with; she was nothing special to him, not that she ever was. Most of the Chasers still ignored her, ignored everybody. Arme, Lime, and Amy were always cheerful and smiling, but often Rin felt that she could never quite relate to them wholeheartedly. With Lire they had more meaningful conversations and shared little scraps of a past neither wanted to divulge, but Lire had Lass. Rin had...nobody.
A faint rattling noise set Nesha on edge, fidgeting nervously, but Rin was in her own world, where her happiness and sorrow clashed together. Only when the slime started squealing shrilly did Rin look up, her heartbeat quickening as she understood Nesha's distress. What were these creatures that shuffled from the trees, rattling against the rocks, their presence so hideous that even the moon shied from them, hiding behind the clouds?
The night did not let her see, but she flipped her fan anyway, preparing to fight these unknown enemies. She had the essence of light and purity in her; she could take on the darkness easily.
But the darkness in her own heart...after all, the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. In the deepest corner where the seal rusted, they stirred, enlivened by the surrounding monsters, and more amusingly, a despondent spirit of a child.
It was instantaneously quick; one second she was prepared to fight naked, next she felt water surround her, no longer a gentle caress but a wild force that expanded from her inside out.
The Blue Fox of Kanavan, Shadow of the Silver Knights...just a few of many names that trailed behind him, along with several others such as Disturbing Trollface, Annoying Brat That Should Just Shut Up, and Creep That Won't Leave My Boyfriend Alone, as the pumpkin called him. He didn't mind; the name he inherited from his mentor was a name that was his alone; it would be demeaning to his memory if that name hung on everyone's lips too cheaply.
Rin was the exception.
Armed with an armguard, quick wit, and sharper tongue, he was always ready to lash out at anyone with his words, but he always waited for his opponent to strike first before fighting back. He enjoyed pushing people to their limits, getting a rise out of them (his favourite being Jin), but physical combat was the only way that he allowed body contact between him and his team-mates. Whenever someone tried to reach for him, touch, him, or (gods forbid) hug him, he shifted out of reach, or just shoved them aside.
The goddess was slowly becoming an exception now, even to that; poking her and watching her turn red was sort of cute.
Nearly everyone that had tried to come near him had quickly realized that it was best to back off and shoot distrustful glares and not-so-subtle threats. But what confused the Disciple was that for the goddess, she just kept coming back with that silly smile. She would talk, he would tease, she would yell, and he would laugh, and repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...was she really that naive to keep sticking around him?
She was the goddess of purity, so pure to the point that Asin often thought that he and her could never match, but every time he did, she pulled something that somehow kept the boy from pushing her away. He needed to have power, become stronger, and prove his mentor that he was worthy as any Silver Knight, if not more. The goddess-girl had been a distraction, an interesting diversion. That was it.
Diversions weren't supposed to invade his mind constantly when he needed to concentrate on increasing his Liquid Jade.
Diversions weren't supposed to fuss and worry over him whenever he got hurt.
Diversions weren't supposed to make his insides go jumpy with smiles and insignificant phrases.
Diversions weren't supposed to be stupidly gullible yet annoyingly perceptive at the same time.
Asin wanted to believe that those weren't true, but if she wasn't a diversion...what the hell was she?
Bump!
...aaand the idiot goddess must be done with her bath to sick her watchdog (watchslime?) on him.
Bump! Bump! Bump!
"Stupid jelly." he grumbled. "I'm going, I'm going—" His words abruptly halted as he sensed a change in the air. It wasn't just because of the slime's frantic shrills, the dawning realization that he had met no monsters so far while walking, or the warning cry of some wild animal in the distance.
The balance was shifting.
He ran, completely forgetting that diversions weren't supposed to erase all other thought from his mind and make him worry about someone other than himself.
I originally wanted to wait a little longer, what with the quality and all, but the GC Fandom's been way too silent. Where is everybody?