Hehe... Another rewritten chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.
//Ein...//
//Huh? Who are you? And where am I?//
//That is currently of no importance... But heed this warning... An ancient foe has once again awoken... Prepare yourselves...//
//But you have not told me who you are... How would I know that you can be trusted?//
//All in due time my child... All in due time... I must now leave... Take care...//
Ein woke up at once and fell out of the bed. Looking around, he closed his eyes for a while to calm down and said to himself, "So it was just a dream after all..."
Standing up and wincing at the dull throb of his shoulder blades, he started to reminisce the time when he had first gotten his diviner... Remembering the pain of it... When his wings had been ripped out from where his shoulder blades were... made Ein shudder. As he gently crept back into the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping figure next to him, he snuck under the covers and tried to go back to sleep.
Just then, he felt two feminine arms wrap around him in a hug and a gentle voice whispered to him in a concerned manner, "Is anything wrong?"
Turning around and giving Fia a kiss, he smiled and said, "Nothing... I just had a bad dream... That's all..."
Seemingly satisfied, Fia gave Ein and slight nod and fell back asleep, still hugging him with a look of contentment on her face. Gently stroking her face, he smiled at her sadly. So peaceful she looked... As if she didn't have a single care in the world... As long as she was with him. Sighing softly, he nuzzled his face into Fia's hair and breathed softly. There was this strange dream that he was having... Yet as much as he tried to grasp it, the memory of the dream was simply trickling through his fingers like water. Sighing yet again, in frustration this time, he closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.
Just then, a dark figure with small bat-like wings dropped down lightly from the roof of the house and crept slowly into the house, with its scythe in its hand...
---Next Morning---
Ein was jolted out of his sleep by a scream. Tumbling onto the ground, he grumbled softly to himself, "I really need to stop sleeping so close to the edge of the bed..."
Standing up and attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes, something suddenly registered in his mind. Looking at the bed quickly, he realized Fia wasn't there... and that scream... Panicking, the first thought in his mind was that Fia was probably in danger. Grabbing Einherjar, he rushed towards where the scream had originated from and brandished his diviner, ready to strike down the offender.
Just then, a scythe swung from around the offender and blocked Einherjar. Turning around and smirking, the offender said, "A little edgy in the morning today, aren't we?"
Ein's eyes widened as he looked at the offender. It couldn't be! But he rubbed his eyes and looked again, and recognized his dear old friend. "Serene!"
"Looks like you haven't grown too old yet..." Serene smirked as she jabbed Ein's belly, "And it looks like you've been keeping yourself in shape despite the lack of battles!"
Ein's face started turning red from embarrassment at Serene's apparent lack of discretion when he replied awkwardly, "I've been helping the Elendians move stuff around..."
Attempting to change the subject, he asked, "So Serene... Where have you been?" With a casual flip of her hand, Serene replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Oh, nothing much. I've just been slaying any straggling demons around." The mischievous glint in Serene's eyes became more obvious as she asked Ein the next question, "So... I heard that Lina moved over to stay with the village Elder... Have you two been getting busy at night lately?"
Turning even redder, to the point where a tomato would feel jealous, Ein desperately thought of a way to divert the topic and whisked one from nowhere, "Uh... I'm sure you and Fia have a lot to catch up on... Plus I need to take my morning bath... See ya!" With that, Ein ran out of the house with Serene wondering ever since when Ein had a morning bath...
After a safe distance from the house, Ein slowed down from running to a leisurely walking pace. On his way to the Undine Spring, Ein noticed Lina playing with the Paxia kids. Walking over to their direction to take a shortcut to the springs, Lina seemed to notice Ein and called out to him, "Ein! Over here!" A blank look came over Ein's face as he walked over to Lina and the Paxia kids. Lina, apparently not noticing Ein's puzzlement, continued, "Wanna play with us?"
Deciding to just play along, Ein asked, "So how do you play this game?"
Lina giggled and nudged Molan, muttering to her, "You tell Ein..."
Molan steeped forward and tugged a few stray strands of her hair nervously as she piped up, "Well... We could show you... It's easier than explaining to you with words..."
Then, with Lina leading the trio, they started hopping around, singing some strange song:
...There was once a scary beast...
...Big and scary he was...
...He rose to destroy but was sealed...
...Later, he returned to cause more destruction...
...But five decided to stand up against him...
...Too powerful he was and eight others came to help...
...We don't know if that monster was defeated...
...But we know he's baaaad... :)
Hopping around excitedly, Lina yelled to Ein, "Well? Wanna join us?"
Mortified at the thought of others catching him playing this with Lina, he used the same excuse as he had with Serene about how he was going for a morning bath and rushed off, leaving Lina wondering ever since when Ein ever had a morning bath. Besides, right now, the little "song" that the trio had sung seemed to have sparked some memory of a dream he had... And Ein wanted some time to mull it over...
Frowning in puzzlement, Ein headed to the Undine Spring…
God bless, Azarethian Titan
Heya... I'm done revamping this chappie. Tell me what you think. ;)
