*This story takes place after the Key of the Starry Skies arc and before the Grand Magic Games

Clutching his forearm in an attempt to staunch the blood flow from his gushing wound, Cobra stumbled along through the forest he had wound up in. Every step he took sent shockwaves of pain lancing through his body. It hurt. God, did it hurt. But it wasn't even on the forefront of his mind. No, the only thing that was occupying his thoughts was her.

"I know you're there, I can hear you. Come out!" I demanded to the person watching me from afar. Whatever I was expecting to see, it definitely wasn't this.

A rather pretty girl with purple hair and a green dress approached me slowly as if I might bolt away like a frightened animal. As if I could, Scarlet had done a number on me. She knelt down beside me and cradled my head in her arms.

"You're terribly injured! Is there anything I can do?" Her soft voice called to me, laced with concern and a touch of fear.

"Don't you touch me!" I spat at her. I didn't need her or anyone's pity.

She seemed unfazed, and studied my face more closely.

"Hey...are you the one who's been calling me?" She asked.

A bit startled, it was my turn to study her more closely. It couldn't be…could it? Something akin to a jolt shook me to my core. It was her! My beloved friend, Cubellios! No longer in the form of a snake, but indeed the same being.

All he could think of was his dear friend. He hadn't even learned her name, but was now more than ever determined to find her. We've been close since we were young, he thought, and we'll never separate again. I'll make sure of it. So Cobra forged on, without the slightest clue where we was going but trusting his intuition to lead him the right way.

After what felt like hours of blind stumbling in the dark, Cobra finally laid eyes on what he had been searching for. His snake-turned-human was walking along a path seemingly absorbed in getting home quickly. Cobra braced himself against a tree to catch his breath for a moment and watch her pass him by. He contemplated calling out to her, but the moment they had met, he had been arrested. She probably thought he was a criminal, a dangerous one at that. After heaving a long disappointed sigh, Cobra decided that seeing her one more time was enough for him. He slowly sank to the ground, while leaning against the tree and closed his eye. He would rest for a few moments then work on a plan to get the rest of Oracion Seis out of prison.

Kinana's skin prickled with unease as she felt like she was being watched. Yet, in a strange way, it felt familiar. She could almost hear that kind voice again, calling out to her, to come find him. She turned around but hesitated. This could be dangerous, and her guildmates would worry if something happened to her. But that feeling of familiarity and nostalgia was even stronger than before, now that she was facing the direction of whomever was watching her. She took a step forward and then another. Each step she took brought her closer to a hunched over figure sitting against a tree. Was this the person watching her? His hair was big and spiky and he had a long scar over one of his eyes.

Kinana gasped as the recognition and disbelief shook through her. "Erik?!" She called out, "Is that you?"

Cobra's eye snapped open and he paled considerably. How had he not heard her until she spoke? Anyone could have snuck up on him in such a vulnerable state.

Kinana rushed over to him as he tried to get shakily to his feet. Her face lit up as she truly recognized him.

"It really is you! I never thought I would see you again! This is wonderful!" Her smile dropped abruptly when she noticed his pained expression.

He grimaced as he finally managed to stand before his old snake-friend. He hadn't meant to attract her attention. Come to think of it, how had he even done that? He had only intended to see her again and if it were possible, to hear her voice once more.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly, tentatively resting a hand on his arm. Unknowingly right on top of his injury.

"Fine" Cobra hissed out through clenched teeth, "Just stop." He shook her hand off, sending pain flying through his body. Kinana flinched back in surprise, and held her hand close to her chest. A flash of red drew her attention to her hand.

Kinana's eyes widened in shock. "You're bleeding! You're still hurt from back then? That was days ago! You haven't been treated for that long?" Kinana's questions tumbled from her lips without any hope of slowing down. " Hey wait, weren't you being arrested by the magic council? Where are they?" She looked around as if expecting them to come rushing out from between the trees and take him away again. The thought brought a frown to her face.

This line of questions had been what Cobra was afraid of, that she would fear him and view him as a lowly criminal. Well…that description wasn't entirely wrong, yet he had hoped they could be friends again. Still, she deserved an answer.

Cobra opened his mouth to respond when a sudden wave of pain crashed over him. He fell to his knees as his wounds burnt bright hot with nauseating intensity. It took him a moment to decipher the buzzing in his ears as questions Are you okay? What happened? Is there anything I can do?

His vision kept slipping away alarmingly while he fought to maintain his breathing. "I'm…fine." He gasped out.

"No you're not!" Kinana cried as she slipped his good arm over his shoulders and rose slowly. She reached her other arm around his waist but quickly withdrew it when he gave a choked gasp.

"Where…?" Cobra murmured.

"Someplace where you can rest and get better. My apartment, you'll be safe there." Kinana told him, on the verge of panic.

She took slow steps forward, stumbling under his weight. Gritting her teeth, she increased her pace and used her other arm to steady him, mindful of his injuries.

Cobra glanced at her. She was so like Cubellios. Her purple hair, so reminiscent of past scales, shone under the streetlights. The elegant way she walked reminded him of graceful turns through the sky. The determined set to her shoulders and complete focus she held could belong to no one other than his former partner.

He missed his friend terribly, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think that Cubellios was…prettier this way.

"What's your name?" Cobra asked, with an unsteady voice barely louder than a whisper.

She gave him a tender smile that filled him with warmth in the freezing air. "Kinana" She said softly, matching his tone.

Kinana. What a beautiful name.

I hope I got their personalities right! This was hard so please bear with me.

Sorry it's so short but the next chapter will be longer! Please leave a review if you liked

A/N 6-21-18: What's this? Finally an update after three years?

Yeah not quite, sorry to disappoint!

But, I believe you all will be happy to know that I have renewed my interest in this story after a lengthy break…haha, please don't kill me. However, first I have decided to edit the living shit out of the earlier chapters of this story, because good god people. How did you even like this stuff I wrote? The major plot points of course will remain the same, I just hope to make some changes in descriptions, dialogue, characterization, yadda yadda yadda. Seriously, I feel like I made Kinana so ooc in this fic like for real.

But that's not all!

I'm gonna finish this flipping story once and for all! I have in fact already written chapters 17 and 18, so look forward to that once I get around to posting them. I thought I should maybe wait until I was done with the story entirely and the edits but I figured I ought to throw you guys a bone for waiting so…patiently? Haha…I'm so sorry.

I'm back, you guys!