Disclaimer: Maple Story belongs to Wizet, not us. Characters of this story belong to Shortie, whereas the plot of this particular oneshot belongs to me, DolceCantabile. Disclaimer done.
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Schyth looked at the blurry green landmass in the distance, feeling more content than he had in a while. The wind flew against his face, and he could smell the salty sea air and hear the cry of seagulls amongst the crash of the waves against the side of the ship. The ship will reach its destination soon, and he would be able to set foot in Ellinia for the first time in two years.
As he let his mind wander, his thoughts turned his encounter with the Celestials almost a week ago. Never before had he seen all of the Celestials gathered in one place. If Miriam felt she had to send all of them, she must be at least slightly threatened. Right?And there was that boy too…the one called Arcanus. A hybrid of all four classes would prove very beneficial towards the Maple forces. He had potential, and lots of it.
He was forced back to reality when he felt the ship gently bump against the dock. He walked off the ship and looked for his brother, who had stayed in the cabin and had taken a nap for the duration of the ride.
'Tch. So much for the Hirazen brothers being all-powerful and fearsome,' Schyth thought as he saw his brother walk off the ship, still half-asleep. He elbowed him awake, and ignoring his glare, he looked around Ellinia.
"Ready for our grand entrance, dear brother?" Schyth asked, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Yeah, you are such a big fan of big entrances. Can't we just use the door like everyone else?" Blade sighed, still looking a bit out of it from his nap.
"Nah, I like the faces of wonder and awe when we woosh in."
"Hm."And true to their word, the brothers promptly disappeared with a gust of wind.
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Aella was bored. She was bored out of her wits. If Grendel hadn't told her that Schyth and Blade were returning, she would have skipped this meeting. As it was, the old man was currently having a merry time, combing out his beard.
She swore it was a fake. Or at least magically enhanced. There's no way someone could grow a beard that long. No way. She jumped as Arcanus sat down at the table.
'Damn, that kid is annoying,' Aella thought as she watched him argue with Grendel. Then she yawned. 'My god, when will this meeting start?' As if right on cue, a huge power surge flew into the room. When Aella turned to see what it was, she saw Schyth and Blade standing in the doorway.
Aella's eyes narrowed.
'That brat! I'll teach him a lesson the next time he chooses to be fashionably late! Him and his stupid big entrances!' Aella thought furiously, 'This meeting could have ended, and I could have caught up on some sleep!'
Her anger grew as she saw Frey embrace Schyth with happy tears in her eyes.
'And he didn't even leave a frickin' note! Not even a goodbye! I'll strangle him!'Felix glanced at her, then smirked. "Jealous?" he mouthed, and made a pointing gesture towards the couple.
"You wish, Ventus," Aella mouthed back, sending him a death glare.
She was a bit startled as the rest of the first job instructors came in. The Dark Lord gave her a wink, and she glared at him.
'Stupid bat. He really needs to get laid,' she thought, and made a mental note to play one of her infamous pranks on him later.
The rest of the meeting was, obviously, uneventful. Aella was playing with an ice ball when it melted and dissolved, and turned her head to see Grendel looking at her. She pouted, and was forced to pay attention for the rest of the meeting - err, daydreamed for the rest of the meeting.
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Three figures walked briskly down the hall, chatting amiably along the way.
"That was long. The most interesting part was when we all got armour…I don't know how Grendel expects me to move in a tux, but at least I'll look good for the ladies," Kenneth smiled at a passing girl, who promptly began to flush and ran off in the other direction. He got a slap on the side of his head for his efforts, courtesy of Aella.
"Tch. Don't you already have a fiancée?" Aella snorted, referring to the fire mage who was currently residing on the other side of Ellinia. She was Kenneth's childhood friend, and eventually their friendship grew into something more.
"Yeah, but she knows I love her."
"Hm. Anyway, let's go find Schyth. He and Frey vanished off somewhere right after the meeting. Felix, what are you looking at?" Aella asked suddenly. Felix had stopped walking and was staring at something at the other end of the hall.
"Hey, check it out. That Arcanus kid is talking to that new girl," Felix said.
Aella took a swift glance, then started snickering.
"Ohoho, someone has a crush!" she started singing.
"Shh! Don't be so loud! They'll hear us, and we'll never hear the end of it. Let's just find Schyth and Frey." Felix started walking towards the entrance.
Aella and Kenneth looked at each other, shrugged, then followed. It was a few minutes later that they found Schyth and Frey sitting on a branch, talking. Frey saw them coming, and started to wave, when Aella put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Frey resumed talking to Schyth, who was shockingly still oblivious to their arrival.
'Heh. Looks like he's completely off guard right now,' Aella thought evilly. With a blue flash, she disappeared and reappeared right behind Schyth.
"Boo!" she shouted next to his ear. Schyth barely flinched.
"Your stealth needs work, Aella," he said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Aella huffed. "Fine, you got me. But that's not the reason I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?"
Aella took a deep breath.
"You little bastard! Do you know how much you made us worry? We didn't know whether you were alive or dead, or whether you had gone suicidal on us, or how you were, or where you were, or who you were with! Not even a note, not one goodbye! No simple I'm-going-to-train-with-my-brother! And what the hell was that about, being late to the meeting? You made me wake up early for nothing! Prepare to die!" Aella growled. Schyth raised an eyebrow.
"I missed you too," he said.
"Damn right! And if you ever pull anything like that again, I'll strangle you, ya hear?" Aella said, letting the threat hang in the air. Kenneth and Felix sweatdropped, then turned to Schyth.
"Hey man, good to see you're alive," Kenneth smiled.
"Yeah, good to have you back. It was torturous having Frey mope around while you were gone. You know what it's like when she was depressed? The most pitiful thing in the world," Felix put in helpfully.
Frey blushed, then stuck out her tongue at him."I wasn't that bad," she defended, "besides, you were worried too."
As he watched the exchange between the two, Schyth nearly laughed. Nearly. He was a Hirazen, and the Hirazens don't show emotion. Except hate. And angst. And all things related to vengeance and war. Blade, however, was an exception. In Schyth's opinion, he was too happy to be a Hirazen. But that's far from the point.The point is, he's home, he's where he belongs, and he's with people who care about him. That's all anyone has ever wanted, and given the circumstances, he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hey," Aella said suddenly, "you okay?"
Schyth snapped out of his daydream."Yeah, I'm fine," he said.
Aella grinned."I say your return is a cause for celebration! Let's go raid Grendel's storage of ice cream!" she cheered, leading the way to the kitchen. A chorus of cheers followed.
'I don't even want to know how she knows Grendel has a storage of ice cream,' he thought as he followed them to the kitchen.
'But it sure is good to be back.'End
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Author(s)' Note:
Dolce (Kalypto): Aww, I can't believe I wrote something after a writer's block that lasted for a year and a half.
Shortie: I can't believe you wrote something either. Guess it's time for me to get to work…this was a trap to get me to start writing again, I know it.
Dolce: Hehe. I must say though, I'm proud of this little ficlet. So guys, if you must judge my creative writing skills, judge them from reading this fic. It's the most recent one, so it'll probably give you a more accurate idea about my writing style.
Shortie: Your writing skills are fine. Write some more.
Dolce: Meh…maybe.
Shortie: I won't write if you won't write.
Dolce: …cheater.
Shortie: Hm.
Dolce: Anyway, for those who are confused, this is a sidefic to Age of Darkness and Way of the Assassin! So go read those first! And leave a review!
Shortie: I like reviews..heh.
Dolce: Haha, thanks for reading! Ja ne!
Edit: Oh, and if you've received several emails saying that I've updated many times, it's because I'm trying to get the stupid lines to work. It's very fustrating -sigh-
