I do not own any of these characters.

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Chapter 3

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Well, here I am with chapter three! I'm sorry that I take so long to get chapters up, but I hope that you're still reading! I'm trying to take the storyline at a reasonable pace, so, I hope you guys don't get bored.

Also… I don't know how, but I managed to turn an angst-fic into a humor-fic. God, I don't know what's wrong with me. I hope I can be more serious in later chapters, or maybe I can mix angst/drama with humor… Let's just see how this works out. Bear with me, guys.

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The question slipped past my lips, and I once again caught not just everyone else, but myself by surprise. I was being too damn gutsy, or just too damn crazy. Did insanity come with the package of a cold, or something?

Only the cold breeze replied, dancing across my numb face. Or perhaps it wasn't a breeze, but the cold personality that suddenly emerged from Albel, who had been fine and quiet for the past hour. His words were unpredictable, but those ones just dumbstruck me.

"Why the hell are you asking me that, you fool? It's none of your business, so I suggest you better not ask me that again or I'll see to it that your mouth be removed from your foolish, little head." He spoke as if he recited it for days, perfecting every single syllable with the correct amount of emotion, and using his trademark glare just to top the cake. His crimson eyes remained unmoving, and his mouth in the firmest, straightest line. As he watched me, I felt fear, but the fear dissipated into irritation.

I wanted to shout back in an equally rude reply, "Well, now. What crawled up your self-righteous bum and died?" but I bit my tongue forcefully, almost to a point where it was bleeding. Angering Albel wouldn't have helped me, and it probably would have created a tight situation.

Instead, I resorted to my usual, spineless response and spoke, "Suit yourself," stood up quietly, and walked (rather, stumbled, since I got a white-flash) back the sociable part members. I did not bother to glance back at Albel, but I felt somewhat satisfied—he was expecting a different response, a much different response.

Or maybe he just felt indifferent. Either way, I decided to drop the topic for once and rested my head on my knees. The breeze inconveniently picked up, causing me to shiver like the night before, and it didn't help with turning my pathetic day into a better one.

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Thanks to my illness, we weren't able to reach Kirlsa before sunset and were forced to set up camp. I was glad that we were at least out of the freezing, cruel mountains, but I was hoping to slumber in a nice, bone-warming bed at the Kirlsa Inn, with its pleasing scent of fresh flowers and its unbearably soft pillows. I could have fallen asleep peacefully just thinking about it.

Except that God, Apris, Luther, or whoever is up there, decided to laugh at my misery some more and planted storm clouds right above us-- dark, fat, juicy, evil clouds. Great, I thought. Now I'll get pneumonia and die.

But bad luck wasn't done raping my happiness. I ended up having to share a tent (that Maria luckily bought back in Airyglyph) with Albel PMSing Nox. Maria offered to share it with him, but I could see the fear and anticipation in her eyes and wouldn't let her. Damn my selflessness.

I still felt irritated with him from earlier, but my need to interact with him still tugged helplessly at my actions, and I tried, once again, to speak to him like normal people did, except I was a little far from normal, and Albel was nowhere near normal.

I hesitated when I began, but quickly asked my question, "Want, to, err… help me set up the tent?" Why did I feel nervous? I wasn't too sure, but the weather was becoming more windy and ominous, and it could have created a sense of fear in me. I just wanted to be inside the tent, since any shelter sounded comforting at the moment.

Albel momentarily glanced at me in acknowledgement of my question and walked over to the pile of unassembled tent, beginning to set it up. I took his gestures as a 'yes' and I went over to him, Nel's scarf bouncing up and down my back as I slowly walked, trying not to shiver even more in the cold. I considered buying a jacket in Kirlsa when I realized I wouldn't be returning to Airyglyph in a while, if ever.

I helped Albel set up the tent, all the while distracted thinking about the journey on Elicoor II that would soon come to an end (until we had problems with the 4D beings later, of course.) It saddened me, but the thoughts soon left my head when the tent was finally set up and I eagerly crawled in, wrapping myself in the cozy sleeping bag.

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I had to face it; I couldn't sleep. The wind and rain pounded on the thin walls of the tent, sounding angry and contemptuous, and the cold of the floor seeped into my sleeping bag from under me. What I would have given to be in Kirlsa at that moment.

Finally, about two hours later at midnight, the wind ceased and the rain turned into a gentle trickle. It was a really soothing sound, and it put my mind in slight ease. The night definitely seemed more peaceful, but there was still one last thing that was keeping me awake.

Next to me, Albel laid wide-awake, and he got just as much sleep as I did—none. Even when the unsettling noises outside stopped bothering us, he still laid perfectly still, his eyes focusing, and his eyes unmoving.

He had the strange ability to stay still for ages on end, just remaining there, not even twitching a single finger or moving every now and then into a more comfortable position. I noted his pensive expression, and I knew that he pondered about something again, just like earlier. I wanted to ask, but I might have gotten the same response, or Albel might have actually done through with what he said he would.

But, would he really? He seemed like the type of person to beat you up the second you annoyed him, and I've annoyed him… how many times, now? Well, enough to assume me as dead, yet there I was, in the same tent with him, with the same pensive expression, becoming more intrigued by his behavior each passing hour.

It was moments like those that made me realize that Albel had some humanity in him, regardless of what everyone said. And maybe it was the humanity that gave me the courage to approach him, talk to him, even just look at him. And it was that damned courage that made me ask the same question that I should have never asked earlier.

"Albel…" I quietly called out, turning my head to look at him. He replied, surprisingly enough, and finally left his 3-hour daydream to return the glance. His eyes focused on me, studying me… just as mine were focused diligently on him, effortlessly trying to figure him out. If I wanted my answers, I had to talk to him, whether he liked it or not. "What… What were you thinking about?"

It might have been a mistake, but my mind was at such ease, I couldn't even hear the small sprinkles outside rolling and dancing on and about the tent.

"I told you—"

"I know you did," I replied quickly, cutting him off before he could throw in another threat, "but, it's just… I know it sounds weird, but I want to know more about you. I don't know why, but I do. And… I just can't figure you out. It's driving me crazy." At the sentence of 'I just can't figure you out,' his piercing, red eyes increased in size for a split second, then looked away, then finally looked back up at me again before he sat up and pulled the sleeping bag up to his chin.

He stared off into space again, ignoring my presence and the freezing cold that was probably creeping up his exposed back.

Even without a reply, I had gotten a part of my answer, and I was finally satisfied, at least for that night.

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Ack, I know, I'm sorry it's so short, but I have it updated! I hope to write more—I'm really getting into this, and I hope you guys are, too! So, Fayt and Albel are starting to finally meet each other on the same level, kind of. My other story, "Essence of Innocence", focuses on Albel thought's, which are much more deeper than Fayt's and a bit more random, so check that out, too! It's not too far into the story as this one is, but I hope to update that soon, also. So, as usual, please review! They are so very much appreciated, and I usually don't write without any reviews. And point out any mistakes you see—typos and I don't get along, and sometimes, correct grammar escapes me (and my betas.) Thank you very much in advance!