The night was cold.
Very cold.
Perhaps it was not cold simply because of the temperature. Perhaps it was the lack of life in Agniratha, or the simple abundance of Mechon, or the fact that the place had such a dark past. That the Bionis was, in fact, the aggressor. The "villain" of the story. It was like coming to terms with something like your best friend or family member was evil. It was that sort of horrible, sinking feeling that chilled your bones and sent shivers down your spine.
Despite what he had said earlier, the blonde heir to the Monado wasn't quite sure about attacking Egil. From what Fiora- Meyneth- had told them about the history of Machina, it seemed near justified. But with one war and another one on the horizon, countless Homs, Nopon and High Entian deaths, and the sheer abundance of strong Mechon, it seemed to be necessary. It also appeared Meyneth didn't approve of what Egil was doing, if Fiora, who was close to him, the one who could take down Egil with the Monado, was her vessel.
His blue gaze flicked to the ground.
A flower?
That was certainly unusual. The flower was there, right in front of him. Shulk was no florist, but he was pretty sure that: One, flowers could not just appear out of nowhere, and two, flowers needed water and soil to survive. And there didn't look to be much soil around. The flower was in some soil, sure, but it was far from enough to spread its roots. Shulk gazed at the flower, before crouching down to inspect it further. Shulk was not really one for flowers, he found himself much more interested in technology than nature, but this simple flower intrigued him. He couldn't even explain why it did so.
The more he looked, the more he realized this was no "simple flower." It seemed to glow and shine, blooming widely in night's embrace. Its petals had a starry look about them, like it was a flower he could find in space. It had similarities to a violet, but he had never seen a violet that glowed and sparkled like this one. He had never seen a violet that interested him like this one. "It's definitely a violet," he confirmed to himself. He placed a finger on a petal of the violet, surprised when suddenly he felt a whole lot colder. You know how people say that when a ghost enters a room, the temperature drops? That was about what Shulk felt there, as the violet sent waves of cold all over his body.
He retracted his finger, looking intently at the thing. If not good to touch, it certainly was beautiful. He didn't want to pluck it- it would wilt very fast. Shulk stopped for a moment, wondering why he cared so much about a simple old flower. That was, until, a voice spoke from behind him.
"I see you enjoy that flower."
The voice startled him. It was rather unfamiliar, but one thing was certain, and that was that it was a woman's voice. It sounded similar to Lorithia's, but had a certain otherworldly quality to it, similar to Meyneth's. Who could that be? wondered Shulk. I thought the Machina had left this place...and there's no reason for a Homs or other Bionis species to be here. He turned around, even more surprised to see it was not a Machina, but in fact a High Entia. Why would a High Entia be here? puzzled Shulk.
The High Entia shined and glowed with starshine, similar to the violet which had seemed to descend from the night sky itself. Her snow white hair was put in braids, neat and fancy. Her incredibly detailed dress was dark as night, embroidered and embraced by the starshine surrounding her. It made a nice contrast to her ice blue eyes, white hair and white wings. Her dark purple fancy wing decorations fit neatly around her wings. She gave off a sense of elegance, and she also gave off the sense of being rather wealthy. But besides her shininess, elegance and gracefulness, there was one more thing that stuck out about the woman.
She was transparent.
Not completely transparent, being fair. Most details of her were noticeable, and so were her colors, such as hair, dress and eyes. But you could slightly make out things that were behind her simply by looking at her. It confused Shulk to death, but nevertheless, he responded respectfully. "Oh, yes. Usually I'm not one for flowers, but this one intrigues me."
"I certainly am glad," the High Entia woman responded, walking- hardly walking, really more like floating- to him. "They're my favorites." Shulk gazed to her. "I see. I don't mean to be rude, but what-"
"Is my name?" the High Entia finished for him. "Oh, dear me. You're far from being rude- I was the rude one, not introducing myself and all." She rested a hand on his shoulder, warming and chilling him at the same time. "I am Violet," she said calmly. Shulk was about to open his mouth, but Violet said, " No need to introduce yourself. I know who you are. Shulk, Heir to the Monado." Shulk blinked, then nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's me. Never knew I was that popular around High Entia though.." He scratched the back of his head.
"I dunno about you being popular with High Entia," said Violet, "but I've been watching you for a while." Shulk looked at her in surprise. "Pardon me?" he asked. "I haven't seen you at all before." Violet chuckled. "That's not a surprise. Spirits can disguise themselves easily." He blinked, confused. "Spirit?" he questioned. "Oh, yes, spirit. I am not alive. But I find you interesting," she answered.
"You...do?" asked Shulk. "Of course I do, you're an interesting person. But I can tell now, you will face many hardships," she announced. "Like now, for instance. I...think I'm rather good at giving advice, and if you need any help, I'm glad to help you, you know, for the sake of the future.." She fiddled with her dress, then looked to him. "I appreciate the offer, but will you stick around all the time, or...?" Shulk asked, trailing off a bit. "Oh, of course!" Violet reached over and plucked the violet from the ground. "Keep this with you," she advised. "You can use this to call on me. I'm not a genie or anything, but I can help you with advice."
"Thank you," Shulk said. "It's not a problem," answered Violet. "Now that I've made my presence known, I must be off. Ta-ta, enjoy your night~"
And with a wave, the High Entia slowly faded. Shulk looked after her. "Well, that was interesting."