Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Legendia or any of the characters or monsters or animals, including Galves. I did make up the mystery character in the last chapter but not her species...can that make me her owner? O.o Well, at any rate, enjoy the chapter! Review for it please if you would and let me know if you liked it. :) I accept constructive criticism.
Chapter Two
"Ooh, those sandwiches sure look good! Hmm, there are a ton of them...I don't think anyone will miss it if I just take one..." Norma Beatty said mischievously with a hungry look in her eye as she reached for the sandwich tray that was sitting on a table outside of Will's house. Several other trays of food, including bread, cookies, vegetables, and flans were waiting to be put in baskets and taken to Lumen Spring—once everyone arrived, that is. Senel, Moses, and Jay hadn't shown up, and Norma was getting impatient and hungry. Now that Chloe had left they had to wait for her as well, and Norma didn't know how long it would take to wake up Senel, so she'd decided to help herself to the sandwiches. As her hand was about to get a sandwich the Crystal Eren received a hard smack over her head and yelped.
"Ow!" She glared up at the person who had smacked her and waved her arms angrily in small circles while stamping her feet: the classic Angry Norma Pose. "Teach, come on! I know you said 'wait until everyone's here,'" she quoted what Will had said earlier, making her voice deeper in addition to adopting a lecturing tone, "but Senel's probably going to sleep in forever! So come on, please?" The man sighed and adjusted his glasses as he shook his head.
"Chloe's not here, either, in case you hadn't noticed." Norma eyed the sandwich tray longingly as her stomach gave a particularly loud grumble.
"I noticed, Teach...and she left just a minute ago to get Senel. She seemed pretty mad, too. I don't blame her for being mad at him, but even so, I feel bad for Senel. C had a really crazy look in her eye....muttering something about 'disgraceful' and 'inconsiderate fool'...well, you get the picture." Will smiled slightly and nodded, then widened his eyes as he noticed smoke coming from a window he knew was in the kitchen.
"Whoa, what's going on, Teach?" Will paused in mid-dash for his front door to answer back.
"Harriet's cooking a cake...and it seems she's burned it. I'll be back, and don't think of touching those sandwiches!" With that the man darted inside his house, leaving Norma looking mutinous as she crossed her arms and pouted. Then she glanced around and waited until she heard Harriet screaming in alarm and Will yelling "Don't panic, just let me take it out" before she dared to snatch a sandwich off of the tray. Giggling triumphantly, Norma tore off for Senel's house, stuffing the grilled cheese sandwich into her mouth as she went.
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Chloe stomped along the streets of Werites Beacon, her face the very definition of pure rage. She ground her teeth as she set her course for Senel's house and while she stormed through the streets, not noticing the people who gave her one look and pelted away from her. She was thinking of what to scream at him once she got up to his room.
How could you sleep in on a day like this?! Did you completely forget what we were all doing today? You are the most inconsiderate being on the Legacy!
She was reaching in her pocket for something when she reached Senel's front door and was perplexed to find it wide open. Maybe he was actually up and just leaving the door open for fresh air? It was usually closed when she came to visit, though, so this was a little strange but she shrugged and went inside. Letting go of the object in her pocket and moving her hand to grip her sword, she peered around the house warily. Couldn't be too careful, after all.
Looking around the room she didn't see much wrong; Senel's house looked the same as always, and nothing seemed to have been destroyed, let alone even touched. A reminding her of the heavenly smell of a bakery, and she noticed a metal tray with a towel laid carefully over it. She lifted the towel slightly and saw that Senel must have made mini-cakes for the picnic. They were chocolate cake with white icing and she had to admit they looked pretty good. So, he hadn't forgotten about the picnic today, she thought. Some of the nasty things she was thinking of saying to Senel fading away. A little smile appeared on her face but it faded as soon as it appeared. He's still in trouble for sleeping in.
She heard the stairs creak and turned quickly towards them, expecting to see Senel. She hoped it was him, because if he'd woken up on his own for once she wouldn't have to scream at him and make everyone in Werites Beacon wonder if a murder had been committed.
But the figure on the stairs was not Senel; it was a cream-furred Galf sitting placidly on the stairs and holding something oval-shaped and white in its mouth. She raised an eyebrow as she studied the object and suddenly felt sick.
"Coolidge's shoes?" She whispered, then drew her sword as a terrible thought entered her mind. "YOU BEAST! HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled in anguish, lunging at the Galf. The animal merely stared curiously at her as she shouted, leapt over her when she charged, and touched down on the floor by the front door then turned almost casually to face the enraged knight. Chloe whirled and charged again, but stopped when she heard a voice from above.
"Chloe....? What's going on? Have you seen my shoes...?" Senel called down sleepily, despite the huge commotion. Since he'd just woken up the realization that the knight was in his house hadn't sunk in yet. Chloe nearly dropped her sword in shock and relief as she saw her friend alive and well.
"Coolidge! You're alright! I thought this Galf had—" Senel blinked and rubbed his eyes, then came down the stairs, still groggy.
"Hang on...how'd you get in here?" The Iron Eren asked, rubbing his eyes and slowly becoming more alert. "And what do you mean? A Galf?" Chloe rolled her eyes and pointed with her sword at the animal, which was now wagging its tail. "Oh...what the...!?" He burst out, finally noticing the creature. "How'd that get in here?!"
"Idiot," Chloe hissed, and Senel blinked once, and his mouth hung open as he stared at the Galf, then closed as he glared at Chloe.
"What did I do?!" He yelled, getting tired of everyone—well, mainly Chloe—calling him an idiot, a coward, a disgrace, or any of the other insulting names she came up with. Then he noticed his footwear clamped firmly in the mouth of the creamy white furred Galf. "Hey, my shoes!" He exclaimed, and the Galf let out a howl, excited that he had finally noticed. The shoes fell from the creature's mouth as it howled. Chloe jumped but Senel thought it didn't look like it was going to attack...for all he knew about Galves, that is. He'd heard Giet howling because he was either excited or happy a few times, and when he was angry, and this Galf's howl sounded happy...he hoped. Senel crept down the stairs slowly, knowing what had happened the last time he'd approached a Galf. The one in front of him now just stared at him and kept wagging its tail, even as he approached and came within petting distance of the animal. If Senel didn't know better, he would have said that the Galf had a crafty gleam in its pale green eyes, as if it wanted him to approach it. He reached down and slowly moved his hand towards his shoes.
He'd taken too long; the Galf barked and lowered its head, quickly snatching up Senel's footwear and hurtling out the front door.
"Hey! Get back here!" Senel growled, giving chase immediately. Chloe stood still for a few moments, wondering what she should do. Then she stepped out of Senel's house and pulled a key from her pocket. The knight turned stuck the key in the door, locked it and put it back in her pocket. Then she heard someone calling her name, and recognized Norma's cheery voice. Today it sounded strangely garbled though, and Chloe turned to see Norma jogging towards her, chewing something.
"Hey, C! What's up? Senny just went running by me! He didn't have any shoes on either." Chloe nodded and tried to suppress the laugh that was building up.
"Yeah....somehow a Galf snuck into his house and stole his shoes. It wasn't Giet," the knight added, seeing the question waiting on her friend's tongue. Norma's jaw dropped after Chloe finished filling her in.
"No way! That Galf's a thief! Let's get Teach on this!" Chloe held her head and tried again.
"No, Norma. We need to help him. Once he corners that Galf it could attack him. Remember what Giet did, even if it wasn't his fault?" Norma shuffled her feet anxiously, not liking to think about it, but couldn't help but remember what had happened when Giet had gone out of control- both Senel and Moses had been injured badly. Norma didn't want that to happen to any of her friends ever again, and she didn't want things to turn out worse this time.
"Spot? Well....alright, C. Let's go help him out."
The two ran off in the direction they'd seen Senel running and hoped they'd be able to find him quickly.
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Author's Note: I'm trying to make it a little funny here, with Senel putting up with the possibility of a new roommate that's a little unruly....kind of like my dog Lulu. She is a free spirit. She chews my shoes and steals my socks but all is forgiven because she's cute :3 Anyway, review so Senel can get his shoes back. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I don't know if anyone cares but when I wrote the earlier chapters for this I used run-on sentences a lot. I cringe now that I think about it...I must be a grammar geek. To not have run-ons is something my English teachers stressed many times, but I managed to forget.
