Star Ocean 3 is simply owned by tri-Ace.

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It seems that a very small fan base is starting to grow for these two stories, and that really makes me excited! Everyone's reviews are so kind, and I want to thank all of you, for both stories! Everyone gets cookies and/or cake, whichever one you want more. :D

So, now that I've done that, I'm going to try and catch this story up to EoC before I update EoC again, then I'll try to keep the chapters together so that each side of the story can easily be compared to the other one. Um… did that make sense? Sorry, it's 7:30 a.m. and I'm only up because I thought there would be school but it's snowing and… Bah, I'm rambling. Onward to the story! //throws some more cookies and/or cakes at all of her wonderful readers//.

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Chapter 2

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Not that it was new or anything, but I went through yet another sleepless night. It was kind of hard to sleep when you had nightmares every time you dozed off for even an hour. The nightmares weren't as frequent as they used to be about a year ago, but it was still a wonder to me (and to Woltar) how I managed to survive and properly function off of the miniscule amount of sleep that I received each night.

The sun barely began to peek through the mountains and the room finally began to glow with color. So I had been lying awake for… seven hours? Six? Whatever it was, I was just glad that we could leave the inn soon.

That short-lived thought of glee died as soon as I glanced over at that blue-haired enigma and noticed that he looked sickly. Within a second, I raised myself from the bed, the covers barely stirring, and brought myself to Leingod's bedside. I haven't been sick since I was 14 years old, but I could tell by his flushed face and painful expression that he probably had a fever, or… a cold? Bah, I didn't know!

And what was I supposed to do? Dress myself up in an apron and deliver him homemade toadpole noodle soup? Lay a wet, cold rag across his forehead? Wake him up and tell him that he needs to take care of himself?

I definitely wasn't going to do the first choice—I already felt degraded enough by even being concerned for the boy in the first place, and the third choice just seemed a little too… oh, what was the word that everyone used to describe me? Cruel?

That left me with the second choice, but I had not even the slightest of an idea where to get a wet rag, so I glanced around the room for something that could suffice. The lamp? No… the pillow? Well, if I felt like suffocating him. Maybe later, though.

After going through a few more ridiculous items, I became aware of the cold chunk of matter that rested on my left arm. Hey, it would have worked better than nothing, so don't give me that look.

At first, Leingod flinched when my gauntlet met with his forehead, but he didn't wake. Instead, his face became less distraught and he stopped furrowing his eyebrows. Was it really working? I reached my other hand over in curiosity to see just how extreme the two temperatures were of my claw and his forehead. I maybe had my hand resting on both of those for a second before I pulled it back and held it suspended, surprised, in the air. One half of my hand still burned and the other half went numb for a second.

What a fool, I thought to myself. But at the time, I wasn't sure if I was calling Leingod the fool or myself the fool.

After a minute or so of holding the cold metal on his forehead, I pulled it away, and although I knew it wasn't going to be true, I checked my metal appendage to make sure that his heat hadn't melted it.

Just as I did so, though, he slowly began to wake, opening those tired eyes of his. At first he didn't even realize that I was looming over him. He must have been really tired.

As soon as he did though, I was met with an unpleasant expression. He had to go cross-eyed for a few moments to look at my face until his eyes fully focused. Did I look that silly when I woke up, too?

Well, I replied to his expression with a confused one.

Before I could speak, he blurted out, his voice sounding as though he swallowed a bucket of dirt, "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" That was obvious— because you were looking at me like that. Idiot.

Apparently, I didn't even move my lips, although I thought I did, so he just continued to stare at me. Well, he wasn't dead, so I had no more business in that room. I turned on my heel and left, hearing his shouts of anger. I smirked in amusement. Not only was he alive, but he also had the energy to yell at me.

The urge to yell "Be grateful!" in reply loomed over me, but I just let it rest. It would get him more angry.

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In the lobby, I saw someone sitting by the fireplace that had died down to a single ember over the course of the snowy night, but I couldn't quite distinguish whom it was at first. When I got closer, I could identify long, blue hair, but the only name that came to me at the time was Traydeer. Or was it Traydare? Bah, who cared.

"Hello, Nox. Have a nice rest?" She spoke to me with a friendly, fearless tone, but my ears caught her nervousness. Either the stupid Aquarian scum, the blond maggot, or both, were telling her horror stories of me and now she thought them to be true, and they probably were, too.

"Check on Leingod." I didn't bother with formalities. What did it matter to her anyway how I slept? Was it normal for people to worry about strangers, or was she just trying to get on my good side? Either way, I gave her some respect points for daring to speak to me, even though she failed at it.

Traydeer opened her mouth to speak, but took it in her best interest to just take my advice and leave me alone. Yet, in a way, she almost reminded me of the other blue-headed person. I just prayed that she wouldn't be as persistent in becoming my "friend" as the boy was. One pest was enough.

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I sat outside the inn for maybe an hour before I heard Leingod's voice coming from inside the building. That time, it only sounded like he swallowed half a cup of sand.

I listened in for the first few sentences, but quickly lost interest. That is… until I heard him mention my name. Just like anyone else, my ears became radars and I listened more intently, squinting one eye as though it really helped with my concentration.

"…waiting for us…" What? I'm waiting for them? Damn right I am. We should have left over an hour ago.

"…that! Albel wouldn't run off like that!" It was hard to hear, but they were definitely talking about me now. And… that was Leingod's voice, right?

"He seems devoted to his country and his king. Don't treat him like a child."

I had heard people insult me, mock me, fear me, disrespect me, but never, and I do mean never, had I heard someone actually show some genuine respect for me. My soldiers only respected me because they knew I would gut them if they disobeyed my orders or acted as worthy as me.

But Leingod wasn't trying to impress me, and he definitely wasn't trying to impress his party members (for I heard the whole room go silent), yet he still said…

Closing my eyes and releasing a giant puff of vaporized air through my nose, I crossed my arms and tried to stop thinking about what Leingod said. I didn't want to think that day. It just felt more exhausting than usual, and Leingod perplexed me every passing minute. Just as I wanted to yell back at him earlier about being grateful, I wanted to pose a question… Why in the name of Airyglyph did you defend me, and what the hell do you want with me?

The voices resumed, but by that time I removed myself from the inn wall and walked across the tight alleyway to lean on the other wall. I could still hear them, but they were quiet enough now to where I could just close my eyes and enjoy the morning air.

To anyone not born up in these mountains, they would have hated the icy touch of Airygylph's cold morning air on their fragile skin. And for the people like me, who were born here, we hated the moist touch of the air downhill and closer to the ocean.

I probably would have lolled around in my random thoughts for a little while longer had the inn door not opened, revealing the rest of the group. Zelpher made sure to glare at me a few more seconds than necessary before turning and heading for the main road. Fittir presented himself with lowered eyebrows and a protruding jaw line. I think it was a glare. Either way, I didn't bother physically replying to his kind gesture.

Traydeer and Leingod quickly followed. They too glanced at me before continuing to walk, but I didn't care anymore. I wanted to go tame that dragon as soon as possible and return to my duty as Commander of the—

The war was over. I didn't have a real job anymore.

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The sun's pale rays proved me wrong when I thought that we left town late. The sun barely emerged from the western mountains when we reached the bottom of the main road of the Traum Mountains. Its tenuous rays glistened in the sky, growing almost unnoticeably brighter each passing minute. If anything could put my mind at ease, it was nature in its purest form. There were many days where I would go the highest point of Airyglyph castle and just stare out over the vast land, lost in the practical shapes of the hills and valleys.

Not that I was calling myself a Wood Pixie or anything, but people were just too much to bear sometimes.

Of course, other people found it hard to bear me most of the time, but that's just because I wanted it that way. My group members were no different.

They found it hard to converse in my presence. Some of them would shoot cursory glances at me thinking I wouldn't notice, but each time they met with the indifferent glare of my eyes and foolishly turned away from me.

In the midst of a conversation between Leingod and Traydeer, I learned how to actually pronounce the girl's full name—Maria Traydor. Their conversation didn't last too long though and the silence regained its position.

We continued like this for perhaps an hour and a half until a tremendous sound halted us all in our tracks. At first I thought maybe a monster had jumped out of the bushes and was roaring its battle cry as it charged towards us. It sure struck me as surprising when I looked down at Leingod and learned that he emitted those terrible noises. Those coughs sounded painful.

I was once again faced with the dilemma of "what do I do now?" I felt like I was a character in a novel that was satirizing my daily life.

Traydor answered my questions though as she ran over to Leingod and tried to support him. She had to hold him for what seemed like an eternity until the boy stopped coughing. In yet another rare moment (I was having a lot of those that day), I felt that same feeling of guilt overcome me. It was undoubtedly my fault that Leingod was sick and undoubtedly my fault that he was practically having convulsions on the floor after having a cough attack. Damn you, guilt. Who ever made you is almost as sadistic as me.

Without thinking, I dragged my reluctant self over to him and stood above him, still thinking to myself of how guilty I felt. He pulled away from Traydor and looked up at me. His eyes locked with mine. There was an expression floating around in his eyes. One could almost see the gears turning in his head through his eyes. I thought maybe he would look away first, but he continued to watch me, trying to find a reason in my actions.

Hell, I didn't even know why I went over there. Though I did know that his mental probing made me feel uncomfortable.

Walking away hastily, I kicked up some dirt from a nearby anthill and watched idly as the dust curled up into the air. I waited until the sand settled all the way before taking a seat, and there I watched the hill I had destroyed. The ants panicked and ran around in frenzied circles, but they eventually calmed down and went back to their routine. When I thought about it, I reminded myself of those ants. I didn't actually run around in circles when I was distressed, though. I just did in my head.

Footsteps approached me after… well, I lost track of time. I didn't bother to look up since I had an educated guess on who it was.

"What are you thinking about?" the familiar voice asked.

…Come again?

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A/N: Wow, sorry. I forgot to update. Haha. //punted// Anyway, thank you again everyone! As usual, point out any typos since they evade me like a fly evades a flyswatter. Wow, that made no sense. Um… I forgot what I was going to say… Well, just keep reviewing and I'll try to have another chapter up! Once I sat down and started typing, I got this done in no time!