Mana woke up before dawn the next morning, not that that was hard. It was winter after all. Quietly, so as not to wake Allen, Mana got dressed and then sneaked out of the room and down the stairs.

The smell of fresh bread greeted him in the dining room.

"Good morning!" the barkeep's daughter said, curtseying. "Um..." She glanced behind Mana, then looked back up in his smiling face. "Allen's not with you?"

"He's still sleeping," Mana said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had a pair of scissors handy."

The girl nodded and went behind the bar. A few moments later, she returned with a pair of scissors about the right size for Mana's purpose. "What're you gonna do with 'em?" she asked innocently.

Mana patted her head. "Just need to cut something's all," he replied before heading up the stairs.

"Breakfast'll be in an hour," the girl called after him. Mana waved to show he'd heard.

Mana lit a lamp when he reached the room. It was starting to brighten outside the room, so Mana threw back the curtains for a bit of the extra light. He heard Allen groan and saw the boy curl up in his blanket cocoon to escape the morning.

"Allen, time to wake up." Mana shook Allen's shoulder gently.

"Just a little longer," the boy replied sleepily.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Allen shook his head under the covers. "I kept havin' bad dreams."

Mana sat down next to Allen's pillow and petted what he could see of Allen's head. "What kind of bad dreams?"

"I dreamt everything was broken," Allen muttered weakly. "There weren't any people or anythin' around. I was all alone in that broken place." Mana could hear Allen sniffling a bit.

"It was just a dream," Mana said, his voice quiet and soothing.

Allen peeked out from under his blanket. "But it was so real... There was blood everywhere 'n I was really scared."

Mana was taken aback a moment, but went back to stroking Allen's head. "Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to you. Not if I'm here." He knew there was no way he could keep that promise, but he did know that Allen needed some kind of comfort, and that was all Mana could offer. "If you ever have a nightmare like that again, you're welcome to sleep in my bed, okay?"

Allen nodded, then let his protective blanket fall when he sat up. He scooted closer to Mana, then buried his face in Mana's chest. He was still crying. Mana rubbed the child's back as he continued to cry, whispering things like, "It's all right," or "It was just a dream." By the time Allen had stopped crying, the sun was rising slowly over the horizon.

"Better?" Mana asked when Allen rubbed away his tears. Once Allen nodded, he stood and slid a chair over. "Allen, could you sit here a minute?"

"Why?" Allen asked as he got up and did as Mana asked.

"I'm going to comb that rat's nest you call hair and cut it."

Allen ducked and threw his arms protectively over his head. "I don't want you to cut it!"

"Then at least let me get the knots out," Mana said, taking his comb from the nightstand where he'd left it and running it through Allen's hair. The boy pulled away from him as he did so and let out a yelp of pain when the comb pulled the knot. "The less you move, the less it'll hurt." Mana ran the comb through his hair again with the same result.

"Can't you cut the knots out?" Allen pleaded.

"Then it will be crooked," Mana said, amused. "Besides, I thought you didn't want me to cut your hair."

"But it hurts when you pull it!"

"I don't mean to. You just keep moving."

The Battle of the Comb—which was what Mana so lovingly called it later—lasted about ten minutes. By the time Allen sat still, the worst of the knots and snarls had already been combed out. "You know, if I cut it, it won't hurt as much when I comb it," Mana said.

"Just cut it then," Allen grumbled, pouting. "I don't care anymore."

Mana chuckled and picked up the scissors he'd left on the nightstand next to where his come had been. "Now sit still, okay? I don't want to cut your ear off."

Allen squeaked in fear and flinched, but then sat perfectly still as Mana snipped away at his much-too-long hair. He didn't cut it too short—about shoulder length—but there was a good twelve centimeters of hair on the floor. Nodding at his handiwork, Mana swept up the long strands of hair into his hand to throw away.

Allen, on the other hand, hopped out of the chair as soon as Mana finished and went to the mirror. Mana watched from the corner of his eye as he always did. The boy looked surprised. He reached out, hesitated, then touched the glass. He turned his head this way and that, trying to see as much of himself as possible. It was like he couldn't recognize the boy staring back at him.

"Mana... Is that really me?"

"Of course it is, silly," Mana replied, brushing what remained of the hair on his hands into the trashcan. "Who else would it be?"

"But... that doesn't look like me."

Mana patted Allen on the head. "Of course that looks like you," he said. "That's what you look like under seven layers of dirt." He laughed when Allen stuck his tongue out at him. "All right, get changed and we'll head down to breakfast." Mana gestured to the folded clothes still sitting on the small table.

Once Allen changed, they headed downstairs to eat with their belongings all packed up. Mana glanced around quickly, but didn't spot Bookman or Cross anywhere. Allen didn't notice since he was too busy watching the pancakes the barkeep's wife was setting down on the table.

"Don't eat too fast," Mana reminded Allen when the boy was about to stuff an entire pancake into his mouth. "No one's going to take it away from you."

Allen made a face, but did as Mana said. He seemed to be getting used to Mana's rules, even if he didn't like them too much. He finished about half of his pancake before he looked up. "Hey Mana, what're you looking at?"

Mana set down his cup of coffee. "It's a newspaper."

"What's a newspaper?"

"It's a paper with news written on it."

Allen frowned, confused. He reached over the table and took it from Mana. He scanned it for a few minutes, then pouted, unable to decipher the many characters in neat rows all over it. "What's it say?" he asked finally.

Mana took the paper back. "Not too much. Mostly things you wouldn't be interested in."

"What's it say?" Allen repeated.

Mana skimmed for something that would prove remotely interesting to Allen. He wouldn't care about the stock market, or the current affairs in America, or the current state of the government. "The circus we were part of before left town," Mana said, reading one of the minor headlines.

"I coulda told ya that," Allen replied, going back to his pancakes. "They always move on after a while."

"Allen, don't talk with your mouth full."

Allen swallowed and drank his milk without taking ridiculously huge gulps. He was learning, at least. "Where're we goin' next?" Allen asked.

"Next town over," Mana replied. "It's about half a day's walk from here. Maybe we can catch a cart heading our way and hitch a ride."

Allen finished his pancakes and looked hungrily at the single pancake remaining on Mana's plate. Mana pushed it to him and Allen ate it in three bites. Well, that's better than yesterday, Mana thought as he stood to go. He picked up his suitcase and pulled on his coat. He then helped Allen do the same.

"Leaving already?" the barkeep asked when Mana paid for the room.

"Yes. Thank you for everything," Mana said politely.

"Don't mention it," the barkeep said, shrugging off Mana's thanks as if he got it all the time. "Have a nice day, sir."

Mana nodded, and with that, they left.


Wootness. Update. :D Rather short, I know, but this was more of a transition chapter to have them leave the in and go on their merry way again. Thank you for reading! Oh, and if there are any typos, please tell me. I'm only human. I always miss something.

Oh, and so you know, the fact they're eating pancakes is aimed at a friend of mine who probably won't bother to read this. XD (You know who you are if you're reading this).