Don't own ToS. Yeah. We already knew this.
In the dim light cast down from the waning moon, she could still see it. Even when clouds passed overhead, blocking that faint, dusty light, even then... Presea could still see that soft, gentle face. Even when she closed her eyes... It was still there. Such a warm smile, kind eyes... Such... Foolish thoughts...
It was well past midnight, and yet the small framed girl sat upon her sleeping mat, her eyes focused on the one face amongst the group which... Which even in the darkness, shone so bright. At least to her eyes.
Foolish thoughts. Strange sensations. The girl—or was it woman, even she was not sure—lowered her focus to the dying fire, to the red embers fading into the darkness of the cool night. Fading, dying cinders... She could empathize with that dying light.
Muted. Suffocated.
She had spent many years in a similar state. Even now... The darkness was lonely, and all too familiar. Sleep far off, the warm light of day even farther. So she sat. Sat and watched the slumbering camp, the dark trees shifting in the cool wind, the dying fire, and... And that gentle, warm face. Even while asleep, that soft face... Was a comforting sight. Comfort... Logically, it made no sense.
The simple act of watching the Sylvarant Chosen sleep should bring no solace, and yet... Presea let a small frown form on her petite lips, her focus again inexplicably drawn to Colette's pale skin and delicate eyelids. Frail. Strong. Optimistic. Pessimistic. Frightened. Brave. There were many conflicting qualities held in that one soul, and somehow, every last emotion was perfectly clear to Presea's astute gaze. All of it. And the oddest... Perplexing thing of all? Every last one of those emotions were... Peculiarly beautiful. The uncertainty and fear hidden beneath bubbly giggles and gentle smiles... All of it.
...Inexplicable... Yet it was there. All in that sleeping face. In those blue eyes, hidden by delicate eyelids. ...Colette... Chosen... Titles, masks, inner strength and beauty. Presea could see it all. All on that unaware, sleeping face.
The pink haired girl forced her focus away from the slumbering Chosen, her blue gaze moving down to her hands. To the small hair ribbon held between her tiny palms. A present from Colette. It had been a simple occurrence, one that apparently was common place amongst "friends." So why was it... More than anything... Why was it the simple blue cloth held further significance than any amount of gald? A treasure, one that she held night after night, all the while watching the slumbering blonde.
Was it strange? Odd to watch over the girl, night after night?
...It was a perplexing notion, one she could not answer for herself, and wasn't even sure she wanted to. It was... Difficult. Odd. Illogical. And all the while... Warm. Warm and comforting. It really... Makes no sense...
"You're awake, Presea?" a whispered voice pulled the girl from her troubled contemplations, her eyes drawn away from the ribbon held in her hands, to the owner of that soft voice. "...Colette." The young Sylvarant Chosen's eyes were no longer hidden by delicate lids, her expression no longer one of slumber. Odd.
"You're having trouble sleeping again?" the blonde softly inquired with a tilt of her head, her pink lips set in a faint frown.
Sleep... What response should be given to such a question? What answer would be logical? Logic... Logic and reasoning. It was all Presea knew to rely on. Words were pointless, unless they held actual meaning, and feelings? Feelings were incomprehensible. "...The sleep process... Is highly inefficient..." she finally murmured, her monotone voice quiet, her focus drifting to the dying firelight. Sleep... Is difficult to achieve... And yet... Required for proper function. Inefficient...
It was a vague response, but all Presea could manage.
The darkness of night was encompassing, engulfing, and... Lonely. Yet this was irrational. Safer to blame the body. Human physiology. Not the feelings behind her sleeplessness. Strange, inexplicable feelings.
"...Your sleep seems to have been... Interrupted as well..." she hesitantly noted after a moment of silence, slowly pulling her gaze back to the girl lying a few feet away, bundled in a fuzzy blanket on her own sleeping mat. "..I'm not at fault, am I?"
"No! Of course not! I..." Colette started, quickly shaking her head, a blush emerging on her cheeks. She paused however, her widened gaze drifting away, focusing to the cloudy sky overhead. "...I could hear you breathing. And... Wondered why you weren't asleep. That's all," the blonde confessed after a pause, her blue eyes set on the slow moving clouds, the half-hidden sliver of a moon...
"I see." A frown formed on Presea's lips, her focus drawing back to the ribbon held in her hands. Breathing pattern... Differs while asleep... The Chosen had obviously sensed this with her angelic abilities. Logical. "...I'm sorry for waking you," she flatly remarked, her voice soft, as not to wake the other slumbering travelers settled about the camp. ...Sleep is... Impossible...
"Oh no! I just. Thought. Maybe. You could. Use some company is all. I'm sorry!" Colette's whispered words held that all too familiar tint of apology, her blue eyes wide. It was... There it was again. That warm, consoling sensation. Peculiarly comforting.
It really made no sense.
"...I don't... Mind company... However. There is a high probability that you... Have not fully recovered the necessary amount of energy to function to the full extent of your... Abilities..." The pink haired girl slowly mumbled, finding it rather... Odd that her own cheeks warmed, despite her inexpressive words. Warmth...
"I don't mind!" came the cheerful reply from the young Chosen, her pink lips forming a bright smile. "We just need to make sure not to wake the others, right?" she added with a glance about the dark, shadowy camp, her lips still set in a cheery smile. "What do you have there?" Colette quickly went on to inquire, her focus pulling back to the pink haired girl.
...Odd that the girl's question would further the blush on her cheeks. Presea cast her focus down to the item in question, her grip on the ribbon tightening just a bit. "...It's..."
"Oh, it's the ribbon I gave you! It looks so pretty on you," the blonde cut in with a bright smile, her whispered words chipper, upbeat.
"...Pretty?" Pretty for a child? A woman? For one caught somewhere in between? "...Pretty..." Presea repeated that strange word, the frown on her petite lips deepening. ...I'm... Not pretty...
"It's true!" With this soft exclamation, Colette let out a quiet giggle, brushing strands of blonde, sleep mussed hair away from her face. "You're really pretty, Presea," she added, her smile warm, her voice gentle.
"...Illogical..." was the only response Presea could muster, noting—and futilely attempting to ignore-- the further warming sensation spreading across her cheeks. It... Almost seemed wrong. Wrong for the Sylvarant Chosen to think such a thing. I'm... Nothing about this... Shell is... It was dangerous thoughts she was allowing herself to fall into. Dangerously empty, dangerously dark. Just like the night air pressing against her.
...Where was the light of day when she truly needed it?
The small framed girl directed her attention away from her contemplations, watching with expressionless eyes as Colette stood, clumsily shoving her sleeping mat directly next to Presea's. "There," she happily whispered with an accomplished nod of her head, dropping gracelessly back onto the cushion. "Now. Let me see." Without giving the girl a chance to even respond, Colette gently took hold of the ribbon held in her hands, taking it from her grasp. "It looks better on, right?"
"...I..." Attempting a response proved useless, so Presea simply sat in silence, taking in that smiling, bright face, those warm, expressive eyes... Like sunlight. Light... Light of day... She allowed the Sylvarant Chosen to tie the ribbon to a strand of pink hair, the frown on her lips softening. ...I...
"There!" the young blonde whispered, giving another nod of her head. She pulled back a bit, carefully examining the smaller girl, her smile brightening. "Perfect!"
"...T-thank you." It. Was difficult at the moment to meet those wide, cheerful eyes, so instead the blushing girl cast her focus down, down to the gem embedded in her flesh. Exsphere...
Shell.
Host.
Perfect? Hardly. Presea kept this thought to herself, of course.
The two girls fell into silence, and Colette settled back onto her mat, her blue eyes again drawing upward, up to the inky night sky. They simply sat for some time, neither breaking the stillness that had settled between them.
Night, day... Warm, cold... Opposites. Contradictions... Where did Presea fit in this strange world of contradictions? Girl. Woman. Light. Dark... Somewhere... I...
"...How come you can't sleep, Presea?" The soft question snapped the pink haired girl from her troubled contemplations, her focus moving back to the Sylvarant Chosen. Colette's expression suddenly unclear, her blue gaze locked on dark clouds...
"I... I am not sure." Honesty. She was genuinely unsure. Unsure of the sensations within her shell of a soul, unsure of the dark night pressing against her. I... Sleep is... Where did she belong in the dark world of night?
"...Is it because you're cold?" Colette abruptly inquired, her wide eyes finally moving away from the sky, her focus directed back to the small girl beside her. "Are you cold, Presea?" A seemingly innocent question, yet Colette's former smile was nowhere to be seen, her whispered words solemn.
...Cold? Presea quickly broke eye contact with the Chosen, her attention pulling to the dying fire, to the suffocating darkness threatening those weak embers... "Cold. Yes. That must be it." It was an accurate description. Cold, empty darkness. The darkness of night was too familiar. Too much like her own cold, barren soul. "I'm cold."
Colette remained in silence for a few moments, her head tilting to the side a bit, seemingly in thought. She then gave a nod, her smile returning full force, bubbly and bright.
"I know how to fix that!" The blonde Chosen gave no further warning, instead simply latched onto the smaller girl's hand, tugging her closer. "Look. I can keep you warm," she softly whispered, wrapping an arm around the pink haired girl. "See?"
"...Y...Yes, That..." Presea started, yet her words faltered, her expression unsure. This is... Again, the girl found her thoughts fading, her focus drawing back to the blonde resting against her. "...Colette, this is... Not... Necessary..." Why? Why did her cheeks feel so warm, her tiny body so... Where... Do I belong?
Dark, light. Cold, warm...
Colette bundled both of their blankets about them, her smile still radiantly bright, her eyes warm. "This is better, right?" she gently questioned, shifting the both of them into a lying position on the combined mats, snuggling against the smaller girl.
"...I... Yes. It is better." The darkness... The cold... Was warmed. Warmed by that bright smile, those blue eyes... Warm. Like daylight. Daylight cutting through the night, cutting into that empty void of a soul. How... Illogical...
"...Whenever you feel cold, just tell me, Presea. I'll keep you warm. I promise!" The words were so light, so carefree... And yet those expressive eyes were solemn. Contradictions. Colette Brunel's bright, luminous face... The Chosen... She was truly beautiful.
"...Yes..."
"You promise?"
Those solemn eyes... Were brighter than any sun could ever be. "Yes."
Presea closed her blue eyes, taking in a breath, letting the Chosen engulf her senses. Warm.... So warm. In the world of quiet night, darkness and light, she... Lying against Colette, Presea... She was somewhere. Somewhere in between.
It was bearable. So much so, she found herself drifting, drifting along into the night, along with those dying embers.
Somewhere in between.
~Owari