어~ 안녕 모두들! 겨울방학 오고 있어요 ^_^ 크리스마스 스페셜!
Just for kicks, but I can tell you that Guardpuppy's is awesome! Go read his/hers too!
Grand Chase belongs to KOG, plot belongs to me, and the computer I'm using to type belongs to my dad.
Don't worry about the Korean part, it's nothing important.
In the castle of the Serdin Kingdom, the Knight Master ensured that every Chaser had a room of their own with basic furnishings, though each could add whatever they wished, whether it was pictures and posters or dragon pets and hoarded candy from Halloween (it was a miracle that there was anything left to salvage, though.) But being one of the handful that had some degree of sanity, Jin's room was decent, just like a typical college dorm with the emblem of the Silver Knights taped onto the wall to help him meditate, his various weapons arranged in order on his rack, and of course, a giant poster of Amy as Silver Land's famous idol. Perhaps he had a couple more under his floorboards…but one could never know.
All in all, Jin was not a sloppy person; as a Knight he was immaculate in everything, whether it was his training, meditation, habits, and room.
Yes, he was a very organized person…usually.
Right now, he was anything but organized. His desk was cluttered with uniforms and pieces of armour as he tunnelled through his cabinet and closet, his usually calm eyes widened in a state of panic as he sifted through his belongings. After several hours of searching in vain, he flopped back onto his bed, extremely frustrated. He was so sure he had it a few days ago, and every Chaser was issued a Defence Key imbued with fortification magic that unlocked the protective barrier around his or her door, so no one could have taken it. So where could it be?
His musings were interrupted by a sharp rap on his door. Looking through the peephole, he recognized the dulled white hair of Rin, who looked up with a scowl as he opened the door. As irked as he was, to discharge his ire out on an undeserving target would violate his honour. "Yes?"
"The diva's missing."
It took a moment to register that the 'Diva' was Amy. "Amy? Where is she?" he asked, worry momentarily replacing irritation. He stuck his head out and scanned the hallways, as if the Dancer would be waving at him from the end of the corridor.
"I said she was missing, so I wouldn't know. I'm going now, bye." Flicking her hair behind her shoulder, she stalked off, her golden trinkets on her black hairpin jangling about.
The Fighter watched her go with a strange surge of pitiful regret. Rin had chosen to take the path of vengeance, and it seemed that her personality had changed as much as her powers; the sweet and innocent girl that had first joined the Chase was now replaced by a hardened fighter who was ruthless in battle and considerably less cordial to her allies. In fact, the only person that she treated more or less the same was probably Asin. Why was that, he'd never know.
Walking back into his room, he was jolted back to the present as his thoughts returned to Amy. She was not one to disappear so suddenly; the Knight Master had enough hassle with the demons doing just that. Already the sky had darkened into a mix of indigo-black as little snowflakes began to fall. One swirled past his window, landing on his outstretched palm before melting into nothingness.
Looking down at the peaceful scenery, Jin stopped to drink it in: the nearby pine tree laden with white, hill after hill swathed in a soft blanket, the sludge of pink moving over the snow. He blinked his eyes, certain that it was a mirage. No, he could see two tails of bright magenta drifting through the snow.
"Amy!" He yelled, but his voice was carried away by the wind. "Amy!" He thought he caught a glimpse of her in her traditional Dancer outfit, and although it probably served her well when she was receiving a prophecy or doing whatever a Dancer and Oracle did, it didn't serve very well as winter gear.
After getting one last look to pinpoint the general location, he grabbed his Fighter jacket before bolting his door and dashing towards the nearest castle exit.
The snow danced around her as the wind bit at her face, but she took no notice as she continued to tread towards the hills. Where her skin wasn't red was slowly turning blue, but her brown eyes which were normally filled with childish enthusiasm was now glazed over, her expression looking as if she were listening to a voice in the distance. Her foot getting caught on a hidden tree root, she plummeted towards the ground. But her face never touched the ground as strong hands gently caught her and restored her balance. She looked up to meet a pair of golden eyes, which were laced with both relief and concern.
"What in the gods' names are you doing out here?" he asked, taking her icy hands in his. "You shouldn't be out here, go back inside." The way she blankly looked up at him was unnerving; it was like she wasn't really there. "Amy, you're freezing."
She inclined her head slightly as her eyes slowly started to flicker back to reality. Involuntarily she snuggled into his chest, seeking his warmth. "It's cold."
"I know." Ripping off his jacket, he draped it around her shoulders and lightly tugged on her hands. "Let's go."
But she remained rooted to the ground, though her eyes were now almost completely normal. "I received a prophecy that I was going to find something around here. The Gods told me that there is something missing that is invaluable. I have to find it first." She looked at him pleadingly. "Please?"
"At least let's get you a pair of mittens." He insisted.
"No…we're almost there, I can feel it. It'll be quick, I promise!"
He sighed, but if the gods had sent a message to Amy, it was probably something important. "Fine, but let's hurry." Bending over, he stooped into a crouch. "Get on."
"What? It's okay, you don't have to." Despite the cold, her cheeks flared.
Come on, I'm not going to ask you again. You're going to freeze."
She carefully clambered onto his back, her arms shyly wounding around his neck. "Am I too heavy?"
He smiled, "No more than my Vajraas, don't worry."
…
"Hey~ Jin?"
"Hm?"
"Are you sure I'm not that heavy?"
"I train with monster, boulders, and many other things. To me, you are light as a feather."
"Really?" She mused, relieved, then pulled at his fiery hair, which was tied up in his usual Rama style. "Your hair's messy…can I comb it?"
Jin laughed, "Sure."
Amy always carried at least one kind of grooming equipment in her pocket, because an idol had to be prepared to look her best in unexpected cases. Her fingers clumsily fished out a comb, the cold hindering her dexterity. Untying the scarlet hair, she ran a hand through the locks, sending a shudder up the Rama's spine. Then again, it might have been the cold. She started the comb, only to be stopped immediately by a snarl. Instead of wincing in pain, however, Jin only chuckled.
"What's so funny?" She demanded, the words escaping in a breath that misted the cold winter air.
"When I was younger, Master Tairin had a tough time grooming me. I think my hair broke about six combs before he gave up and told me to keep my hair short. Master Tairin said a true fighter didn't need hair. But Master Vic– Victor secretly combed his beard every night." His smile turned rueful. He shook his locks onto his eyes to protect them from the frost. "I should probably cut it again soon…"
"Then should I get you a comb for Christmas?" Amy asked hastily. She did not want him to relieve the horrific events of the past. Matter of fact, she didn't want to either.
"Maybe. Although I'd probably break it again."
"You hair just needs some brushing. Boys…they can't even take a minute to do these things…" Shaking her head, she continued. "But don't cut them! You look manlier with your hair grown." She giggled as she disentangled a particularly stubborn knot. "Keep it long, okay?"
He flushed at her praise. "The Oracle wishes it, so it shall be. But that means I have to untangle it every day!" he gasped in mock dismay.
"Then I will!" Amy ran the comb easily through Jin's hair, resulting in a pleasant sensation which he tried not to enjoy too much. He focused instead on a snowflake that had landed on one of his eyelashes, grinning like an idiot.
"There! I sense something over there!" She tugged on his now-soft hair, yelling, "Onward, my trusty steed!"
As they hurried to a pile of snow, she hopped off his back and began to paw through the snow. "It's here…something that is precious to…" Shovelling the snow out of her way, her hands unearthed this precious object to reveal the exact thing Jin had been turning his room upside-down for: his Silver Knights badge that he habitually kept buckled to the side of his belt.
"The emblem of the Silver Knights…" she murmured as she ran her finger over the crest, eyes wistful. "This must be yours. I knew it was something valued."
Accepting the badge she held out, he said, "Keep it."
Taken aback, her eyebrows rose in surprise. "I thought this was important to you!"
"It is." He gently closed her fingers over the stiff object. "But the memories I have of the Silver Knights aren't in there. I know you have virtually nothing as a keepsake of the actual Knights. So…keep it. Although how it got here, I have no idea…"
That part was true: she had danced, laughed, and cheered for the Knights, but she was renowned for just that. Few if any actually took note of her combat skills. It was like a war: nurses heal and boost morale, but never are they considered soldiers of the war, when they have contributed just as much, if not more.
But to him, Amy Plie was just as brave and strong as any of his brothers. She deserved to be one of them at the very least.
She nodded as she jumped to her feet, and threw her arms around him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you." she whispered. She looked like she was about to say more, then suddenly squatted back down. "Wait, there's more here!" Excitedly she reached in, and with a huff, she managed to pull out…
a spectacular pair of red boxers decorated with mini-tonfas and embroidered with golden flames.
"What the…!" Quickly snatching the underwear from an equally embarrassed Dancer, he furtively looked into the hole…and saw a whole collection of them, even the one that had J.K. monogrammed at the hem. He had been wondering about the sudden lack of underclothes for a while, but had dismissed them thinking that the cleaning lady must have been delayed with mass laundry. Jin was now wishing that the earth would swallow him whole when he heard a loud laughter nearby. He glanced around, and realized that the castle was practically right behind them. They had gone on a wild goose chase just for him to get humiliated.
Well, it wasn't completely pointless, especially when he got spend time with her…an atom of sweetness crawled its way in his mind amidst all the mortification.
"Jin…" she patted him awkwardly on the back, "It's okay."
"Thank you Amy…I think I need a good talk with a certain person…" He glared at the windows, and sure enough, golden eyes met scarlet, its holder wearing a foxy grin as his eyes danced with amusement. "Enjoying yourself?" He crossed his arms, obviously deriving great pleasure from the situation which he had taken great pains to set up.
"Frankly, yes." Jin retorted, hiding his rage under a mask of placid calm. "In fact, we've been enjoying ourselves so thoroughly, I think you should join in the fun." To Amy, "Can you make sure no one sees them?"
"Sure."
"Excellent." He cracked his knuckles. "Because I think Asin and I are going to have a lengthy discussion."
"I have been waiting for this." Asin leapt off the window ledge, using the ice-ridden walls to skid down to a stop. "Let's see just how truly strong you are!" He readied his armguard, going into his battle stance. "Bring it on, Silver Knight!"
Jin woke up with a fantastic headache. Screw that, his entire body felt as if it had been thrown against the wall multiple times then steamrolled. He was certain Asin suffered no less; flashes of yesterday's battle depicted them both suffering heavy casualties. He'd have to request Knight Master for another Defence Key. Maybe is he asked nicely, she'd give it to him as a Christmas present? He rolled to the side.
"Jin~" Amy's voice drifted past his door. "Can I come in?"
Ignoring the protests of his limbs, he rose and opened the door by a crack, which swung fully open as she barged in, tackling him onto the bed. "I was so worried!"
"It's okay, I'm fine." Jin answered, actually feeling a lot better than he was a second ago. Amy looked stunning as usual; in honour of the Christmas season, her hair was done with a golden hairpin with hollies, and a couple of bells were tied onto her waist with a red ribbon. As he righted himself into a sitting position, he noticed the badge dangling from her waist, just like he had worn it. "You're wearing it?"
"Yep!" She twirled. "It almost feels as if I'm a real Silver Knight! But–" Her words were cut off as Jin suddenly pulled her down to his bed, embracing her tightly.
"You are a real Silver Knight." He whispered into her ear. "You fought just as much as any of us. To me, you're a Knight as well as my favourite idol." He smiled, ruffling her pink hair. "Don't ever doubt that, okay?"
"Okay." She said, her arms going around hug him in return. For a few moments they stayed in this position, revelling in each other's company. Jin was the first to break it, "Shall we go to breakfast?"
"Wait!" She grabbed hold of his arm, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You promised, remember~?"
"Huh?"
"I promised to comb your hair every day!" She whipped out a comb as fast as Hammerspace, lightly complaining about the new array of knots that had formed in his hair. "It's going to take me all day!"
Jin sighed and sat back down, his lips twitching to hide a smile. He'd have to make sure his hair was properly tangled every day.
What're you guys doing for Christmas?