I have no idea what genre this should be.

So, this was originally going to be all about Agatio. Seriously, the guy is always written off as stupid, but nothing in the game actually indicates such. Poor Agatio.
But then this turned into something a little more complicated than that. But trust me, I will get back to Agatio. I actually rather like him. Just not as much as I like a couple other characters (it will become rather obvious who I'm talking about).
I'm not really a 'normal human relationships and interactions' type of writer. This is my attempt at doing just that. If you spot anything that bothers you, sounds unnatural, or is just wrong, then please, please, tell me. I'd appreciate it.

I don't understand the significance of having a disclaimer on something that is already called 'fan fiction'. If I wrote the damn games, then the word 'fan' obviously wouldn't apply, now would it?

For clarification, the "~~~" are dividers. You'll understand what they divide. The quotes are there so that they don't disappear. I like to use them in my stories. Deal with it.

If you actually read any of this long author's note, then thank you! If you didn't, then, well, I don't blame you. :)

"~~~"

Agatio was never one to talk, and when he did, he wasn't very good at it. As a result, he usually kept to himself. In fact, when he talked to anyone, and if he did, it would be to Karst.

Karst wasn't the nicest person, but she somehow found it in her to put up with Agatio, as difficult as that seemed to be.

And at this moment on a cold, Proxian day, Agatio found himself, once again, waiting for Karst, standing outside her door. For, although Karst was considered a 'tomboy' by most, she was still a girl. And girls, no matter what, have a tendency to take massive amounts of time to get ready for the most miniscule of events.

Agatio didn't understand why Karst needed to take so much time to get ready for training. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Saturos and Menardi were back in town, or perhaps it had more to do with Saturos' new buddy, Felix.

After all, Felix was everything that came out of Karst's mouth these days. Felix this, Felix that. Everything so marvelously Felix. At least, that's how Agatio heard things.

Agatio didn't mind that much, it was better than hearing Karst blab on about how wonderful Saturos was. Saturos, whose current fixation happened to be her sister.

It wasn't that Agatio was jealous of Saturos. Saturos, who was eloquent, which Agatio was most certainly not. Saturos, who was every Proxian girl's dream. Saturos, who was amazing, good-looking, who had a great smile, and was so very, very attractive- but Agatio didn't think any of those things, certainly not!

Which reminded him… What in god's name was taking Karst so long? Fifteen minutes was normal, but thirty fucking minutes? Proxians were apparently immune to the cold, but damn, Agatio was freezing, and he would be pissed if he were to die because Karst was too busy putting her damn clothes on.

Knocking on her door, he began "Karst…"

No response.

"Ugh. Silly woman…"

Banging loudly on her door, he started again "KARST."

BANG BANG BANG

"KARST"

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Finally, he received a response from a shrill, female voice. "What?"

"Karst, what's taking you so long? Practice must've started twenty minutes ago!"

"Oh. It's you." She said with mock distaste. "Fine, come in."

Agatio entered, expecting to see Karst in some state of disorder… but she looked fine. She looked exactly the same as she always did. It was kind of disappointing, actually. Agatio had been expecting her to look a mess.

"So… What's the problem?" He began.

"Huh?"

"What's taking you so long?"

"Oh, my hair…"

"Your hair looks fine. Let's go."

But Agatio was lying. Karst's hair did not look fine. True, it looked exactly the same as it always did, but in Agatio's honest opinion, the style just did not look good on Karst.

See, Karst wore her red hair long, long, down below her shoulders. It actually wasn't a bad style, but it just wasn't Karst. The style was not loud, was not rude, was not obnoxious, like the typical Karst. On top of that, it had no real body. It was just flat. Straight and flat, with no character whatsoever. Just hair.

Needless to say, Karst had not inherited her mother's beautiful waves, like her sister, Menardi, had. In fact, one could say that Karst didn't inherit much of anything from her mother, save for her skin tone and her temperament.

"But it's just so plain, Agatio…"

"We're late, Karst. Let's go to practice. We can fix your hair later."

And once again, Agatio had successfully avoided the original question and gotten Karst out of the door.

"~~~"

Practice had gone well. Agatio had the sneaking suspicion that practice would have been more productive, however, if Karst had been focusing on fighting rather than focusing on Felix.

Later, he asked the boy: "So what do you think of Karst?"

"Who's Karst?"

"Menardi's sister. She's got red hair."

"Oh. I… didn't notice her, to be honest." Felix paused. "You'll have to point her out to me next time."

The wheels in Agatio's head were turning.

"~~~"

Today, Karst felt angry, which really wasn't much of a deviation from how she usually felt. For Karst, everything came in shades of red. Blood red anger. Blood red anger hair. Karst was rather unhappy with her hair, to say the least.

"Menardi." The girl said, adding extra emphasis to the 'i,'

"Hm?"

"What should I do with my hair?"

"I'm busy, Karst. Not now."

That was a lie. Menardi was definitely not busy at the moment. From what Karst saw, her sister was doing nothing but lying down across a couple of chairs, a position that looked both uncomfortable and stupid. So, what was it about such an uncomfortable position that prevented Menardi from helping her sister?

Karst stalked over to where her sister lay. "Liar. No you aren't. You're just slounging like a slug. A lazy, lazy slug."

"You wouldn't even know what a slug is, Karst, if I hadn't told you." Which was true, there were no slugs, or snails, in a wintry town like Prox. Menardi had only found out about them in her recent (and, not to mention, disastrous) trip to western Angara.

"Nuh-uh. They're in books." Which was true, slugs were in books. However, these were books which Karst had never so much as touched.

Rather than respond, Menardi just resumed her previous activity, letting her head rest in the seat of one chair.

"Since you're so obviously busy, as I can clearly see, do you think you could find time in your oh-so-busy schedule to help your dear sister with her hair?"

"I already told you, Karst, not now."

Karst was puzzled. "Why not?"

"I have to work tonight. I've got patrol duty this week. Someone's got to keep Prox safe."

Ugh. Karst hated patrol. She had never been on one, but regardless, she hated it. What was such an imminent threat, that Prox needed soldiers, two-by-two, to walk around aimlessly in the night 'protecting' the village? Snowflakes? Furthermore, this would mean that Menardi wouldn't be able to help Karst for at least another couple of days, which was almost infuriating. What really infuriated Karst, though, was that Menardi probably loved doing patrol. After all, Menardi's partner was Saturos, of all people, and who wouldn't enjoy that? Essentially, what Karst had gotten out of this conversation was that Menardi would rather spend time with her boyfriend than help her little sister with matters of utmost importance.

"Well, someone's got to help me with my hair!" Karst retorted.

"There are other people in the village, if your hair trouble is so important, you can ask them."

"But Menardi, you're the only person whose opinion I trust. I can't simply find somebody else!"

Menardi sighed. It was just like her sister to act like this. "Fine. How about next week, then? Besides, do you even know what you want to do with your hair?"

"No…"

"Well, then, come up with a couple of ideas and you can tell me later, okay? I'll help you then."

"~~~"

Menardi used to enjoy patrol. Although there generally wasn't much to guard against, Menardi had found peace in the quiet, pristine darkness that surrounded the village at night. Menardi enjoyed walking, the freezing air against her body, the sound of her boots in the ice and snow, the occasional monster, a target for her to take out her frustrations upon. Menardi once enjoyed these nights.

She still would, if it were not for one, rather obnoxious detail, whom she happened to be waiting for at that very moment. Saturos. Ever since she could remember, she had hated Saturos. The journey to western Angara, that horrible night where her friends died, had only exacerbated this hatred. She would have been content to ignore him once she got home, however, this was made impossible. As the only survivors of the 'Vale Tragedy', they, by default, became partners, something which made Menardi cringe and Saturos jump for joy.

Now, while she should have been enjoying the cold Proxian night, she was instead waiting for her partner near the sanctum, dreading the moment in which he would arrive, yet anxious for the moment at which patrol would end. Growing impatient at how far away that moment seemed, Menardi closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, in what, at the time, seemed like her last few seconds of solitude.

She resolved to take it all in, the night, the cold air, the darkness, the silence, the—

"Hey Menardi!"

She nodded her greeting at him. He didn't deserve her words. Menardi pushed off from her position on the wall and began walking quickly towards the back exit of the town, the start of their patrol route. She hoped she was making it clear that she absolutely did not want to socialize. Maybe he would finally get the message and shut up.

Unsurprisingly, he caught up to her.

"What, I don't even get a 'hello!' or a 'hey' or even a simple 'hi'? God, what kind of friend are you?"

"We aren't friends."

"I know, I know, so you've told me. Seriously, do you have any friends?"

"I did." Menardi said. And they all died. Menardi wanted to say.

A silence passed over the pair as they exited the village. However, it wasn't the kind of silence Menardi typically enjoyed; it wasn't at all the light, cold silence of the frosty Proxian night. This silence permeated their thoughts, humid and thick with all things unsaid. They kept walking their path.

"…Well, you're no fun."

The comment came out of the blue, really. Nothing had been said for quite a while, which Menardi didn't mind, but obviously, Saturos did.

"What?"

"Well, seriously, you're always ignoring me. Whenever I try to strike up a conversation to pass the time, you just shoot me down. Why?"

"Well, some people like to take their jobs seriously. Me, I try to keep my personal life and my professional life separate. It works best that way."

"That's a boring way to look at things. No wonder your sister's more popular."

Menardi sighed. "I'm just here to do my job, Saturos, not to socialize. Understand that."

And the two continued their patrol. Menardi, serious as she often was; and Saturos, surprisingly silent, contemplating dreams, and of course, women.

"~~~"

Once again, if you, dear reader, find any glaring (or even minor) problems with it, then please do not hesitate to notify me, and I will consider your words and see what I can do. :)

Also, take note that the narrator doesn't necessarily speak the truth.