Presea stares at the shore's waters. The group had just defeated Abyssion and had decided to rest for the night.
Come closer girl…
She shakes her head, trying to get the demon's voice out of her head.
"Are you okay, Presea?" Came Lloyd's concerned voice from the campfire. Presea looks up to see the rest of the group with a worried look on their face.
"You know you can always tell us anything, right Presea?" says Collette.
Everyone's so worried about me…I don't want to bother them…It's okay if I don't tell, just this once….right?
She stands up.
"I'm going to take a walk." She says quietly, before turning to the forest. No one follows. They know she needs some time to herself.
She walks among the foliage, admiring the trees and flowers. As she breaths the cool air, she is reminded of Ozette.
She is alone.
She sits down on a boulder, and picks up a random piece of wood. She takes out her dagger, and starts to whittle it down.
Slash! Slash! CREACK!
Carving. It was a skill that Alicia taught her. Try as she might though, she found that Alicia's carving would always seem more life-like, full of emotion. Emotion…would she ever be able to understand it? Or would she be that empty soul who loses to the darkness?
No. She musn't think like that. She has her friends, who care for her. She can't let them down.
Swish…her knife strikes empty air. She looks down to find that in her hand is the completed carving of a flower…the flower that Alicia had liked so much…a presea.
Yet as she looks at the flower, she can't help but notice all the errors. The leaf is bent at a weird angle, the shapes are blocky, on one of the petals she had accidentally slashed, making it look as if the petal was broken. So many mistakes…would she ever become good?
The wind blows. She senses another's presence; she is not alone.
In a flash, her ax is out and is facing the intruder. Her eyes narrow as she discovers his identity.
"Yggdrasill…" She growls. Her stares back at her impassively. She wonders how long he had been there.
"Peace, human. I am not here to fight." He says, a slight sneer in his voice. She does not back down. His cold face seems to soften somewhat, as if tired. "Please…do not ruin this beautiful night."
She sees logic in his argument, remembering the time when he had said that he does not kill without reason. She sits back down on her boulder, but keeps her hand on her axe. He accepts this response and leans against a tree, before closing his eyes.
She is confused. Is he letting his guard down in front of her, an enemy? Or is it merely a trick, to make her lower her guard? She watches him carefully. He does not change his position, apparently oblivious to her gaze.
After a while of watching, she finds her mind wandering. The moon is not visible, she notices. Is it hiding among the clouds? Or is today a day in which only the shadow can be seen?
"Did you carve this?"
Her eyes fly to Yggdrasill. He is holding her flower carving, looking at it carefully. She does not remember dropping it; she must have done so when pulling out her axe.
"Yes." She answers, wondering as to what he is thinking as he looks at it. What does he see when he looks at the carving?
To her surprise, he takes out a knife and starts to whittle at it. Presea watches with amazed eyes as he moves the knife gracefully, smoothing out all of cricks and scratches. The flower seems to bloom under his hands, becoming beautiful and pretty.
He stops for a moment, looking at it, and puts his knife away, signaling his finish. The presea's transformation is astounding. Within seconds, it has come to life.
He gets up and starts walking to her. Before she knows it, she is being offered the flower. She hesitantly takes it and stares at it, before looking up at Yggdrasill. His eyes are distant.
"Martel would always say that people cannot become beautiful by themselves. They need help from other people before they can grow." He smiles, and for a moment, Presea swears that she can see Mithos. "I never really understood her until now. Thank you."
She blinks and he is gone, a flash seen in the sky. She continues to stare at the sky, and sees the moon.
Emotions…they are confusing things.
She watches for a little while longer before sliding off her boulder and walking back to the campsite.
Raine notices her return and smiles.
"Did you have a nice walk?" She asks.
Presea looks down at her flower carving.
"I think so…" She says.
The morning after, Presea wakes from a peaceful sleep and notices something by her head. Looking closer, she notices that it's some flowers.
As she picks it up, she becomes aware of the noise from the campsite.
"Lloyd!! You feel asleep on guard duty again!!" Sheena yells.
"Sorry!!" Lloyd says sheepishly, scratching his head. "It was just so peaceful and nice…I couldn't help it."
"Lloyd…you're hopeless." Genis sighs while shaking his head. Presea gets up, the unknown flowers in her hand as she goes to where the rest of the group is.
"Ah! Presea!! What pretty flowers!!" Colette exclaims. "It's a carnation and a hydrangea right? Hmmm…what does that mean in flower language again? Umm…happiness?"
"A hydrangea means "Thank you for understanding" and a pink carnation means "I'll never forget you"." Raine says, coming up from behind. "Did you pick up those flowers on your walk Presea? They're quite pretty."
Presea says nothing and stares wonderingly at the flowers.
Thank you for understanding. I'll never forget you.
She feels as if she should be the one saying those words.
AN: Hmm...I got inspiration from this after going to a random pairing generator and got Presea/Yggdrasill. Did I portray Yggdrasill okay? I might continue this if I ever feel the need to...but for now, it'll stay a one-shot. Please review!