And we're back! So this chapter is SO much better than the last one in my personal opinion; hope you guys agree. (It's also twice the size of it, interestingly enough.) But, anyway. Some recommended music for this chapter: Flora and The Wylde Hunt by Omnia. I listened to both of them while writing the tense scene located at the end of the chapter, so if you'd care to listen, you may choose either. I think the latter actually works better, though - start it after Libra comments on the backpack's weight aloud for the second time and restart it as many times a necessary to get through the scene - don't let it go past the wolf howl after 'come join us for the Wylde Hunt', because the tone of the song changes after that point, and it no longer fits the situation at hand. I tell you what, though, I don't think anything I've ever written before has gotten me as keyed up as I was after I finished this chapter; I literally had to go run laps to get all my nervous energy out after I got done with that scene, and I am literally shaking just remembering it. So. Frikkin'. Intense.

That's enough out of me, though - please, go forward, and enjoy the chapter!


In New Ylisstol, everything was a district, whether it was officially or not. You want to watch a game? You go to the Sports District. You're looking for a little...action? Redlight District for you, my friend. Thus, where else would you find a church than in what locals referred to as the Church District? The title was hardly a surprise. Churches lined each side of the street, with only a few houses and apartment buildings between them. It was a Wednesday, and people were everywhere, flocking to the church of their choice; there wasn't a single face with a smile on it. Even Libra's neon traveling companion was frowning as the two of them speed-walked through the unsmiling thousands towards their own church destination. Libra himself was unaffected by the other church-goers' open hostility towards the girl with too many colors on at once and the priest wearing black, having long gotten used to their sourness. He smiled at those he passed regardless, the gentle, cryptic curve to his lips that made people stare no matter where he went.

"Are we getting close?"

He turned to her at the whispered question, still wearing that smile, and gave her arm, which, for reasons he himself was still a bit fuzzy on, was threaded through his own, a similarly gentle squeeze. "Nearly," he answered. "It won't be long and you'll be able to see it."

He looked straight ahead after that, struggling not to laugh at the palpable excitement she exuded. She was practically vibrating with it. Libra's heart was warmed by her exuberance to see the old relic he tended to, in a day and age when all save a few had completely renounced Naga for their new, made-up faiths. He lengthened his stride experimentally, to see if the girl could keep up despite having shorter legs, and was only a little surprised when she took notice of the change in speed and surged forward until she was just nearly pulling him along behind her. It's been a very long time since I've moved at any pace besides 'stately priest walk'...

As Libra was contemplating the pros and cons of suggesting a run, his arm was suddenly jerked on, making him stumble from the force of the pull. "Look! There it is! I can see it, just around that curve there!" With the intention of giving the girl a thinly veiled look of reproach, Libra pulled his arm out of her tightening grasp and turned toward her fully, only to be stopped short by the expression of sheer joy on her face and shining in her eyes, vaguely feeling his breath floating away with the wind that had stolen it from him and scarcely even caring. For the first time, he took a step back from the situation and really, truly looked at the walking rave he'd offered sanctuary.

The first thing he took note of were her eyes, which he had already been intrigued by when they were on the bus, but somehow, out of the artificial lights and standing in the golden light of late morning, there was something almost magical about them, a sort of fey, otherworldly light filling them from the inside out and seeming to be amplified by the sunlight, as though her green eyes were green, using solar power rather than electricity. These environmentally-conscious eyes were set into a pale white face that was flawless in an 'I've never heard of pimples' way, lacking even one pockmark, and structure of that face was very impressively proportioned indeed; her nose was small and straight (but not pointed), and her cheeks were smooth, if slightly round, as though she hadn't quite lost all the qualities of her baby face.

Below her face, there was little to see, as she was hidden by the raggedy, formless green jacket nearly down to her knees, but from what he had seen earlier in the day, she was... well proportioned elsewhere, as well. A slim waist, large-ish hips, toned, shapely legs, and in the other direction... Yes, her arms and shoulders were toned too; she clearly exercised on a regular basis. Libra pointedly avoided looking at her most noticeable features, certain that he'd hear about them anyways if his sad excuse for a best friend stopped by as he usually did. He'll probably even know what size bra she wears just from looking, he thought with a mixture of disgust and admiration. He was dragged back to reality as Neon (well, he needed something to call her, even if only mentally) spoke again, verdant eyes sparkling.

"I can't believe I'm actually here to see this," she said reverently. "And the way the sun's hitting the spires... This is just... epic; that's all there is to it."

Libra unwound his arm from hers, causing her to look over at him, her face going into shock as, after a moment of rummaging around in his pockets, he held up the enormous, ancient key to the front gates. "As I'm sure a history buff like yourself already knows, this is-"

"The key that was forged in manakete fire and given to the first priests of Naga after the church was built," Neon interrupted, and before he could blink, she'd snatched it from his hand to run her own over it, searching for flaws and finding none on its gleaming white surface. "Rumored to be capable - in the hands of the faithful - of opening any door on this side of the world, though also said to be useless and lose it luster if taken to a continent where another goddess reigns supreme. Speculated to be white gold and purely ornamental by skeptics, known to the faithful as being plain old iron that was blessed and given magical properties. This key-"

"I hadn't realized your knowledge was so extensive." The words slipped out before he could stop them, as per the norm when he said something snarky, and a blush crawled over both their cheeks, his less intense than hers. Neon made to hand the key back, but he stopped her with a warm smile. "Please, there's no need. In fact, given your interest in the subject, I thought you might like to use it yourself."

"Seriously?" she asked, nonplussed nearly to the point of being minused. "Of course," he replied, and she launched herself at him, giving him a squeeze that turned his face red to the tips of his ears, then left him staggering as she took off at a run for the massive iron gates. Libra hesitated for just a moment before following suit, a grin stretching across his face at the exhilarating feeling of the wind rushing through his hair. It took real effort to catch up to Neon, but he managed, coming up beside her so that her own lengthy hair didn't smack him as it swished back and forth. She tossed said hair when she noticed him, a wild and challenging look in her eyes, and sped up further, her black boots oddly making little sound against the dirt road they ran on, the concrete having dropped away a while back. Liquid fire raced through Libra's veins, the chase awakening a rush he hadn't felt in years; not since the days when he ran with Gaius, when they were the lords of New Ylisse's streets. Normally, he did his best to pretend those days had never happened, but here, now, with that vile, accursed, glorious feeling flooding his senses and rousing his body to that state of alertness you almost couldn't get unless you were running for your life, amplifying every possible sensation...

His rapid steps were thunderous in comparison to hers, but all that mattered was the speed he achieved, not how quietly he did it, not anymore. The world raced past him in startling relief, everything distinct and vibrant and so much more real somehow. The gates rose up in front of him, Neon only just ahead of him now, and if he pushed just a little harder, he knew he would be able to beat her there, but this wasn't the back-alleys of the city, the chaotic mass of obstacles that kept out all those who didn't have an intimate knowledge of how it was arranged that week, and there was nothing to jump over or dodge around, only the harsh reality of the gate around the church, and it wasn't worth the pain of impact with it just to say he'd won. He slowed his pace, every fiber of his body screaming at him not to, but he ignored it all and did so anyway, catching himself against the unforgiving wrought iron just seconds after Neon did the same, the barrier clanking and rattling in protest. Libra's breath was fast and heavy as he came down from his high and the world slowly began to fade back to its normal dullness. For the moment, though, that insane level of clarity was still there, and as he stared unabashedly at Neon only to see her staring right back, her breathing almost normal again already despite the hard run, he knew that he would instantly drop his life here for the one he'd tried so hard to forget if she but asked. Barely an hour knowing her - he didn't even know her name yet - and already he was hopelessly lost in those bright green eyes that met his without any hint of shyness, like she'd almost tried to pretend she possessed earlier. No, right here in this moment, all barriers were down between them. She was not the clueless girl she presented to the world, and he was not the man he appeared to be. They were both, and neither-

"Mind stepping back so I can use this?" she said more than asked, holding up the key. Her voice was deeper than before, some one or two of her defenses still lying in crumbled pieces at his feet, but the moment had passed. Just as well it had done so before he could do anything stupid. He plastered his smile back on his face as he moved away, carefully reconstructing his own fortress, saying "Of course." with a warmth that anyone who hadn't seen him the way he just was would think completely genuine. Her girlish grin had also returned as she slid the key into the lock with a reverence he could now see was another half-truth, a facet to the character she had created for society more than it was really her, although he thought that she might actually be interested a little. However, it was highly doubtful that she was one of Naga's few faithful. Having seen even that little glimpse of her real face beneath the mask, he honestly doubted if she had any religion at all. Her gaze as they'd beheld eachother was not that of one who held anything on high. If he cared as much as he had to seem to, he'd be surreptitiously checking the key for signs that it was losing its luster - not that he thought her a goddess; no, that was beyond ridiculous, but, for someone to be that completely sure of themselves... well, it'd be worth a look, just to make sure. Unable to help himself, he did sneak a tiny peek. No discoloration, of course, although, if anything, it seemed to shine more brightly in her hands, which was admittedly strange. Neon turned the key, making the mechanism clink heavily within the guts of the lock before the gates swung obligingly open before them. She followed the side that still held the key until it bumped gently against the stone walls the gate was set into, then twisted it back out and offered it back to him. He could tell she wanted to toss it, but that wouldn't fit with her illusion. Silently he reached out to take it, sliding it back into the pocket of his robes as he guided the gates shut.

"Come," he said, half just to break the silence, and stepped ahead of her, gesturing for her to follow. "I'll take you to the nuns' quarters so you can put down your things. That bag has to be heavy." She dropped her guard again just briefly and gave him an unreadable look before grabbing the backpack's straps and doing that little hop to heft it up higher on her shoulders, saying something compliant in her false voice that he didn't bother to hear. To be honest, he'd forgotten she even had the thing hanging off her. How had he not seen it during their chase? Had he really been that involved in it? He put the thought as far out of his head as it would go, beginning to chatter pointlessly about the church as he escorted her through the courtyard and eventually the building itself. "Well, as you can see, I wasn't kidding when I said that the Church is still standing, though perhaps I should have put more emphasis on the fact that's about all it's doing," he half-joked, alluding to the obvious erosion of the outer walls. Neon examined both they and the actual cathedral intensely, but seemed satisfied enough with their condition.

"Looks alright to me, considering," she replied, and Libra was forced to concede.

"I suppose you're right. It has been here since before the Shepherds, after all, so perhaps it's holding up better than I seem to think. Speaking of, the murals are only around that next corner, if you'd still like to see them?"

He gathered that he'd startled her by remembering, as she directed a harsh glance at him until she realized what she was doing and tried to cover the look with one of her socially-acceptable alter-ego's bright grins. Libra resolved to make her lose her composure as many times as possible - the woman underneath was far and away more interesting and, dare he say, enticing, than the one she masqueraded as. A slight blush crept up his cheeks when she answered with a bright, "Yeah, that'd be amazing!" and he had to struggle to remember what he'd even said, lost once again in those emerald eyes, the depths of which held no hint of the cheerful girl represented everywhere else. He led the way to the old paintings, nearly faceless splotches of color on the ancient bricks, the respective weapons of the Shepherds some of the only things that could still be seen, the likeness of Falchion in particular retaining most of its painstakingly crafted details. "They're not much to look at anymore, really," he apologized as Neon scrutinized them, subconsciously running a hand along the rough stone as though apologizing to it as well. "Time has not been kind."

"It rarely is," she said dryly, then seemed to be repressing a wince as he turned towards her, unable to help noticing that she'd failed to speak in her falsetto voice. Though he wanted so badly to call her out on it, he said nothing but a soft, "Indeed." before waving her on towards the entrance. She fell into step beside him rather than behind, and Libra forced himself not to steal glances at her as he led her through the labyrinthine interior of the church, pointing out important rooms as they passed by; kitchen, laundry room, restroom, things like that, so she wouldn't have to ask at any time during her stay. He lost track of what he was saying the first time he turned a sharp corner and looked back at her, large parts of his mind deserting him in favor of trying to piece together the puzzle of who was really under that overly happy mask, but since she wasn't looking at him strangely, he decided that his mouth must not be saying anything too stupid and allowed it to continue chattering.

Finally, as they neared their destination, he picked up the thread again and recaptured control of his words, vaguely wondering if anyone else had ever had to wait for themselves to finish speaking so that they could rejoin the conversation. "We're almost there," he said, changing the subject - something about the stained glass windows - to gesture to her backpack. "I'm sorry it's taken so long, that must be getting heavy."

To his surprise, Neon made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a scoff. "Either it looks heavier than it is or you have no idea as to the meaning of the word," she laughed, and Libra didn't know what to say for several reasons. Once more she'd switched back to what he assumed was her true voice, deeper than that of her girlish persona though hardly unfeminine. In addition, her words had taken on a strange lilt and cadence, the barest hint of some sort of accent bleeding into them, and quite frankly, he was captivated. Yet again it seemed he'd brought home a stray who turned out to be something far different than he thought. Silently (and probably still staring) he followed Neon's example when she stopped in her tracks to look him in the eye, all traces of the sunny girl banished.

"I apologize," she said bluntly, and Libra marveled that even the way she held herself had changed as she shifted fully into her true identity; no longer did she slouch around like any normal person, but adopted an almost militaristically straight stance. "I've found that 'the real me' tends to be too much for the general populace and thus try to keep my authenticity to a minimum when in their midst." They'd already been making eye contact, but it wasn't until she truly focused on him that he felt trapped by her gaze. "You make me want to completely ignore that. It's been a long time since I've wanted to be all of myself around someone I didn't already know well, and I'm sorry in advance if said authenticity bothers or offends you, because I don't think I can stand hiding anymore."

She took a single step forward, and Libra again mirrored her, heart hammering in his chest though his voice was even when he answered. "I'm far from offended, believe me," he spoke lowly, and she stepped closer again, clearly intrigued by his own deeper tones. He moved up. They were only a few feet from eachother now, and he was getting almost the same adrenaline rush from that as he had from the chase. "Quite honestly, I've already been trying to think of ways to make you behave less her and more you - I'd rather talk to you any day." Closer still. The afternoon sun streaming through the windows, clear glass and stained, caught on her eyes and skin and made her something otherworldly (little did he know that she was thinking much the same of him) that threatened to steal the breath right from him. "And I must apologize for my own forwardness as well. It has been... a very long time since I have wanted to be anything resembling the man I used to be, content to live in the world I've constructed for myself here, but you-" He broke off into a sound that wasn't quite a laugh. "You also seem to bring out the worst in me, and the frightening part is that I'd like to let you."

Neon laughed lowly. Each breath she expelled shifted small strands of his hair that had gotten away from the rest, they were so close; he could smell the sweetness of blueberries on those breaths, and it was maddening. "Shouldn't you be panicking at my proximity by now, or praying for my soul or something? I am practically threatening to kiss a total stranger," she pointed out, and tilted herself in such a way that would make it so easy to take her up on the offer.

"I don't know," he said honestly, looking down into her entrancing eyes, and he could feel his hands trembling. "I'm having a bit of trouble remembering protocol just now."

Her laugh this time was almost dark. "You weren't always a priest."

It wasn't a question at all, but he treated it like one. "No. No, not hardly. And I wasn't exactly the best guy - wouldn't be the first time I've kissed a stranger," he elaborated when she arched a slender brow - and then she was right there, so close to him that their chests touched if they happened to inhale at the same time, though the increase in his heart rate and breathing sort of kept that from happening.

"Wouldn't be mine either," she said off-handedly, as though they weren't inches away from eachother, and she looked up, pinning him with her gaze again. "But, so the question is: is the Church of Naga your calling or your penance?" she asked, and he could tell she expected an answer.

"Bit of both," he whispered on an exhale, and Neon smirked. His heart stuttered.

"Is that so?" Libra felt immensely better and worse when she let out a harsh breath, better because he wasn't the only one affected by this... encounter, and worse because the scent of blueberries and powdered sugar assaulted him and made him wonder if her lips would taste as sweet. "I appreciate your honesty, at least. Hard to find that anymore, even in situations like these - everyone's got something to hide, it seems."

"What about you?" he countered, seizing the opportunity she'd left for him to ask, then struggled to fight down a blush as he realized from the slow smile spreading across her face that he'd been meant to.

Even so, she didn't answer immediately, and in fact, she didn't say anything until that smile he'd seen form had fallen away, crushed by the obvious gravity of the thoughts going on behind those eyes, but finally, she spoke again. The sound sent shivers up Libra's spine. "This is as honest as I can be," she said, and because he knew it was a genuine statement, he didn't bother pointing out that she'd avoided the actual question, too afraid that if he did so the spell would break, the moment gone never to be reclaimed.

"Just tell me one thing," he breathed, tilting his head downwards to better hold her gaze. Green-tinted black and gold mingled on the front of their clothing, his hair entwining with hers. Neon looked back at him evenly, waiting. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

"Depends," she replied, looking up so she'd be easier to reach. "Do you want to kiss me?"

"Stop me," he said, and it was both a warning and a plea. She said and did nothing, even when his hands settled lightly at her waist, instead waiting until his skin brushed against her own to place a hand in the center of his chest and push lightly. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done to pause there, lips almost touching, and turn his face instead to touch his forehead with hers for the briefest of moments before pulling back and stepping away. His heart was still beating wildly as he tried to bring his breathing back under control, eyes focused on the flagstones that made up the floor. He could see enough out of the corner of his eye to know that Neon had not moved save to let her hand fall to rest on the strap of her backpack.

Finally, he decided that he'd mastered himself enough to speak, and dared to look up at her again as he waved her forward. "The nuns' rooms are just down here, if you still want to stay...?"

She drew in a quick breath through her nose and let it out, shaking her head to resettle her hair out of her face. "Yes, if you don't mind," she said honestly, and Libra offered her that unintentionally cryptic smile of his, nodding his assent in place of words. Silence reigned between them, the only sound the echo of their boots against the stone floor as the priest resumed leading the way.


Duuuude. Tell me I'm not the only one affected by that. It can't just have been me, right? Right?!

Anyways, please please PLEASE let me know what you think about this fic; I am desperate for feedback on this because I've never done anything like it before, which makes me somewhat nervous. I know that the sudden shift in character - for both of them - is kinda choppy and weird, but *shrugs* it happened and I liked what I wrote too much to try and redo it. Also, I need your help, here, guys - do you want me to continue to write from Libra's perspective, or do you want me to switch over to "Neon"'s? I can't decide which I would rather do, so help me out? :D Thank you all so much for reading, I seriously love you all!