Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thank you again to DAve and Bob for reviewing, as well as everyone who alerted this and/or added this to their favourites! It really does bring a smile onto my face, so thank you all.

This only took so long because I'd gotten all sorts of other pieces wrote out already, but none of them were suitable to this chapter... until now. And this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote for anything... XD

Hope you all enjoy!

Notes: I support the pairings Guy/Luke and Guy/Tear, as well as Very Awkward Situations. You'll see soon enough.


ஜ۩۞۩ஜ -The Faithful Sentinel- ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

Chapter III: Camping Out in Fubras River


Gnomeday, 38 Rem Decan. AD2018

"Inappropriate dirty joke from Jade number... I lost count after twenty."


"Ouch!"

Tear poked her head around the corner of the inn room, the soft green glow of Seventh Fonons already forming in her hand. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes once she saw Sacha on the edge of her bed, trying to comb out her hair.

Key word was trying.

"Are you all right?" Tear asked.

"I'm fine!" Sacha's voice went up a notch when she got tangled into a particularly sore spot in her hair. Wincing as she tried to knot it out, she turned around to face Tear, her messy hair falling to her elbows in a clump of mats and tangles. "My hair isn't normally this bad to comb out."

"What kind of comb are you using?"

"A bad on- ouch!"

Tear put her hands on her hips, sighing. "Everyone else is eating breakfast outside. Jade managed to make some toast for us, while I got some fresh water. Are you coming?"

"I'll be out in a minute," the Oracle Knight answered, doing her best to not wince again as she combed over a small tangle. She put the comb onto the bed and quickly ran her fingers through her hair. It felt pretty dry, like old straw, and that was when she remembered that she had never had her shower last night. "Damn!"

"What's the matter?" Tear asked, sounding a bit irritated.

"I'm going to stink now. Like Gloomietta when she comes back from playing with her ligers," Sacha grumbled, more to herself than anyone else as she stood up. She gave herself a check-over in the mirror, to check that she had everything that she needed. Luke had the item bag, so all she really needed was her weapons, which she had.

"Who's Gloomietta?" Tear asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

Oh, that was right. Arietta's lovable nickname was an inside joke between herself and Anise. The word had slipped out naturally. She couldn't be so easy-going and carefree around these strange new people. They might think that she was odd, after all.

Okay, so she was, but they didn't need to know that just yet.

Sacha turned around to give Tear what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Oh, just someone that I used to work with. Nothing you need to know."

"Is that her real name?"

"No. It's a little nickname she has. She doesn't mind being called that."

She hoped that Arietta didn't mind being called that.

But she probably would. After all, this was Arietta that they were talking about.

"Anyway-" Sacha turned to Tear with a small smile. "-Let's go out and meet up with the others. We have to leave Saint Binah as soon as we can, right?"

Tear nodded. "Yes. If we linger here for too long, then we may be spotted by one of the God-Generals."

"Hmm... If we came across Dist the Reaper, we should be fine. He just spends all day writing in his revenge journal and obsessing over his 'friend'. But he is pretty good with fontech, so..."

"You seem to know a lot about the God-Generals," Tear observed, giving Sacha another one of her icy looks again. It made the woman shift in discomfort; Tear seemed to know an awful lot for her young age as well.

"I am a Fon Master Guardian. There are only a few ranks that are higher than Attendants in the Order of Lorelei."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, the-"

"-If you don't mind my interruption-" Sacha squeaked in surprise as Jade's head peeked in from the particularly open door, his glasses gleaming. "-Breakfast will have been eaten by Luke, unless you two hurry."

Tear, of all things, rolled her eyes. "That is something Luke would do. We're coming now."

"Wait, are we?" Sacha asked, her hand still in her hair as she tried to find her comb. She had somehow least. "But there's a comb in my hair!"

"Then I trust that you can comb it out." Tear grabbed the woman's arm and began to drag her out of the room, her high heels clicking on the wooden panels. She slammed down a small amount of Gald onto the inn desk as she walked past without stopping. The inn keeper looked beside herself with joy.

"Tear, there's a comb in my hair!"

"So?"

Sacha sighed. "I swear..."

After they had all eaten breakfast (Luke had managed to eat most of Sacha's by the time the two finally arrived, and so Tear had to spilt hers with the Attendant), the group were walking towards the entrance of the city, busy chatting along themselves. Sacha was talking with Ion about how he was faring, while Jade and Tear were locked into an intense discussion over the various torture methods that an army could use. Luke and Guy had opted for a lighter topic, talking about Luke's 'Grand Adventure'. Sacha smiled upon seeing the red-haired noble smack his friend on the head a fair few times.

"Yeah, but I'll pass on any more 'adventures' like this anytime soon."

Then they came across a tall figure at the entrance, with the God-General icon on her cape. She had short purple hair cut into a boyish style, her weapon, a long katana, strapped safely to her side. Her long cape blew out behind her in the gentle wind, although there was no doubting the fierceness behind the gentle look.

All of them stopped walking, and Sacha bumped into the back of a shocked Tear.

"What's the matter..?"

"M-Major Cantabile?"

Luke turned to Tear, watching as her visible eye widened in surprise. He whirled back to face the purple-haired woman, who slowly stalked towards them, heels clicking on the ground. Jade, Ion and Sacha were busy ushering all of the citizens away from the small plaza, just in case a fight would break out between them all.

And given the look on the God-General's face, the likelihood of that happening was pretty likely.

"Tear," the woman's voice broke out, clear as the flawless sky above them. Luke instinctively flexed his fingers onto the handle of his sword. He may not have been able to do much, but damn it if he wasn't going to give her one hell of a fight.

"Major," Tear replied, her voice more firm. Her staff came to her hand in a flash of light, her eyes narrowed. "Why are you here in Saint Binah?"

"I would have said you'd grown," Cantabile began with a smirk, ignoring Tear's question. "But from hanging around a bunch of morons, I change my opinion."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Luke spat out furiously. He was not a moron! Everyone else was, definitely, but he was Luke! He had been trained by Master Van himself; there was no way he was a moron! "I'm not a moron!"

"The son of Duke Fabre, huh-" Something foreign flashed in her golden eye, something that looked like hatred, but it was gone before Luke could make it out. "-How pathetic. Especially given that that bastard of a human being took so much from me."

"What are you talking about?" Luke roared angrily.

"Jade the Necromancer. I had hoped that you had wiped out the moron on the Tarturus, and now you have a fon slot seal? Not so strong now, are you?"

"I may not be as strong as I used to be," Jade began coolly. "But I am still more than capable of defeating you."

Her eye fell briefly on Tear, before she turned to face Sacha, who was defensively standing in front of Ion with her arms outstretched. "Huh. You're the annoying brat who tags along with Anise on anything that sorry excuse does."

"It's called friendship. I know you're not familiar with it and all, but go and read about it or something."

Cantabile snorted loudly, but didn't answer. Instead, her hand danced over the handle of her katana, making the others tease up. "The Fon Master, a failure, an Attendant, the Necromancer, my former pupil, and-"

She suddenly cut herself off when her eyes fell onto Guy. Golden eye widening in horror, she stared blankly at him, as if he was some kind of monster.

A few tease seconds went past, as Luke tried to take in the sight in front of him. A God-General who was meant to be able to wipe out whole armies?

Man, she didn't look like it.

Guy shifted, gazing to the ground uncomfortably. "D-do I know you?"

Cantabile did something that Luke would have never thought a God-General would do. She stepped back in shock, holding a hand over her mouth, horrified.

"W-what? You don't..."

"Um..."

The soldier seemed to snap out of her state of shock. She turned to Luke, a sneer on her face. "Never mind. Since I've managed to find the wonderful Fon Master here, don't you think I should take him away from you bunch of idiots?"

"Not a chance!" Sacha shouted out, just as Tear made her way over to Ion, who was currently holding onto his own weapon. "He's staying here with us, if you like it or not!"

"I don't know who you think you are!" Luke snapped, glaring at the woman as he took out his sword. The familiar weight of it in his hand was comforting, and reminded him that he wasn't as helpless as everyone living in Saint Binah. "But you can stay the hell away from Ion!"

"Agreed," Jade said smoothly. "Without Ion, the peace treaty would fall through. The last thing Malkuth or Kimlasca needs is yet another war on their hands."

"And what about Daath?"

Jade shrugged. "Daath as well, I suppose."

"You're all so pathetic," Cantabile muttered, closing her eye. She sheathed her katana away, making the others glare at her suspiciously. "I'm not in the mood for fighting today."

"Hey!" Sacha called out as the God-General turned and began to walk away. "You're always in the mood for fighting!"

"I don't want to have a battle of wits with people who are unarmed. That's just plain cruel."

"A battle of wits with- hey!" Luke shouted out, prepared to run over to her.

"Besides," she glanced over her shoulder at the small group. Her gaze stayed on Guy, before she broke the eye contact, looking up to the clear sky thoughtfully. "I have my reasons. It's just a shame some people can't remember that."

With that, she took off, her long black cape flying in the wind as she walked out of Saint Binah. She stopped briefly to talk to an Oracle Knight, and slapped him on the head before sending him off to remove the troops from the area. Luke briefly caught the word moron repeated a few times, but he didn't really care. After all, she wasn't important to him; she looked like a pirate, what with that freaky brown eye patch and short purple hair. Also, who had purple hair nowadays?

That girl was weird.

"Man, she's annoying," he grumbled, putting his hands on his hips and gazing after the God-General.

"Then you two should get along like a house on fire," Jade interrupted with his usual jolly tone, grinning. "You have so many things in common, after all."

"Shut up!"

"Do you know her from somewhere, Guy?" Tear asked, coldly glaring at the blond man. He rubbed the back of his head, a rare frown on his face.

"No. I've never seen her before, but she seems to know me well enough."

"From as far as I know," Sacha put her hand onto her chin, looking thoughtful. "The only person Cantabile is close to is the Commandant. Apparently she lost her home when she was young, but... that's all she ever tells anyone about her past. I tried to ask her once, and I ended up with a black eye."

Sacha rubbed subconsciously at her left eye, groaning. "Man, that was hurting for a while..."

Ion coughed softly, making the small group all look at him. "I don't wish to be a nuisance, but we need to get moving to Kaitzur, correct? Anise will be waiting for us there with the peace letter."

"Indeed. We all know that our lovable Attendant has the patience of a saint, after all." Jade had already began to walk out of the city entrance, smiling to himself. The lens of his glasses gleamed sinisterly in the sunlight.

"...That was sarcasm, right?" Luke asked with a dead-pan expression on his face, looking out of the corner of his eye at the others.

"Oh no, I was deadly serious, Luke."

"Uh-huh, and Guy likes women."

"Hey!"


After doing a quick check over and finding Luke a new capacity core (he had lost his previous one sometime during the night at the inn, and was convinced that someone in their group had stolen it), the group of seven were finally at the entrance to Fubras River. Well, if a small pile of unorganized rocks messily placed into the ground counted as an entrance, that was. They had run the whole way there in order to avoid any Oracle Knights attacking them, and they were all thoroughly exhausted.

All apart from Jade, who merrily walked in the front of the group as if he had just woken up to a fresh spring morning.

"W-what the hell is wrong with you?" Luke snapped through his heavy pants. He stood up straight to glare at the older man.

"Luke, I assume that you don't know what a Field of Fonons is?" Jade asked cheerfully, completely ignoring Luke's question and insult.

"A Field of- what?"

"I'll take that as a no." Jade's eyes fell onto Guy. "Surely, as his servant, you should have taught him the basics of combat?"

"I don't know that much myself, to be honest," he replied, flashing a smile. "Besides, we only taught Luke the bare essentials. It's pretty hard to do when he jumps out of windows to avoid classes and breaks his leg."

"Classes are boring!" Luke whined. "I'd much rather spend time with you then go to classes."

"L-Luke," Guy stammered, his cheeks taking on a light blush. "Do you really have to say it like that?"

"Like what? It's the truth."

"Luke!"

"A Field of Fonons is when after an arte is used, a circle of a particular type of fonons are left behind," Tear began, upon seeing that the two younger men in their group were likely to either fall into an argument or embarrass themselves.

"Then, using that field, you can release more powerful attacks onto the enemy, or use them to your advantage," Sacha continued. She pushed herself off the rock side that she had been leaning on. It looked when she would have to get practical to explain things.

"You see the fonons gathered in a small circle. If you want to be able to utilize it efficiently, the circle must be fully coloured in," Ion said in his quiet yet powerful voice, smiling at Luke. "It's general knowledge along all citizens of Auldrant."

"I didn't know," Luke grumbled under his breath, sending a glare at Jade.

"You're not normal," Tear said icily.

"H-hey!"

"Likewise, if the circle is white, then it will be useless unless you have a sunlight chamber equipped onto the arte you are using. Finally, enemies can also use any Field of Fonons we lay down, just as we can use theirs. You should get the hang of it soon enough," Jade finished, looking smug with himself. Luke stared at him, confused.

"What the hell's a sunlight chamber?"

"We won't worry your simple mind over it right now. Tear, if you would as kind as to summon a Field of Fonons for us?"

"H-hey!"

Tear nodded, holding her small staff out in front of her. A light green circle suddenly glowed a few feet away from her in a perfect round shape. "Is that okay?"

"That's excellent, Tear."

"You get it now, Luke?" Guy asked, crossing his arms as he looked over to the younger boy. He looked back to the blond with a scowl on his face.

"Yeah... kind of."

"You haven't got a clue, have you?" the man asked, grinning at his friend. Luke glared back at him with a frown.

"S-shut up!"

"Look Luke, I'll show you," Sacha said, briefly glancing over to the two of them before walking over to where the circle was. She stepped inside the small field, already feeling the fonons beginning to whirl around in like two magnets attached to each other. "You already know how Butterfly Kiss works, right?"

"Yeah."

"But, if I use it in here-" Sacha leapt up into the air and sent the fonons crashing down to the ground with her weapons. A small whirlwind formed beneath her, before she sliced it in half and twirled gracefully. Landing on her feet, she turned to face Luke, who currently looked as if he had seen a two-headed monster. "-Then it turns into a different arte that uses that particular fonon. For example, that arte was Caress Storm. You get it?"

After a few seconds, Luke groaned and fell to the ground. "I so do not get any of this."

"You'll learn as you battle," Jade said cheerfully. His lance suddenly flashed into his hand. "Speaking of which, here come some enemies now."

"Wait, what?"

"Get ready Luke!" Tear shouted. She quickly began to chant her Nightmare arte, the melody of the First Fonon echoing all around them.

"And do you know what the best thing is?" Jade asked, smiling wildly. Luke rolled his eyes, grumbling as he took out his sword.

"No, I don't. Please do tell me."

"These monsters thrive on water. Right now, it's raining." Just as Jade had said that, the dark clouds overhead had parted, and heavy rain began to lash down furiously on them. Ion yelped in surprise at the sudden wetness, while Tear sighed in a mixture of irritation and tiredness. A small and blue monster hopped around the corner, its arms stretching out far behind it. It made a loud croaking noise at them, before two more identical monsters joined it on either side.

"It's a group," Sacha muttered sarcastically. "Yay." She drew her weapons with a heavy sigh and leapt at them. She hated it when they all decided to attack at once; although it gave out more experience, and helped her capacity core to level up quicker, it was still annoying. And it was raining, which would only make them stronger.

"My hair is going to be soaking. It's going to get in the way." Tear unleashed her Nightmare arte with a sigh, briefly glancing up to the dark sky. There was some mist beginning to form in the daylight as well.

"Maybe you should, oh, I don't know, cut it?" Luke suggested with a sneer on his face. Sacha snorted.

"Yeah, you're one to talk. Looked in the mirror lately?"

"Yeah, and I've seen the best person in the world looking back at me."

Guy sighed. "Luke, are you kidding me?"

"W-what? What did I say now?"

"Concentrate on the fight!"

"Hey!"

Jade unleashed a Splash arte onto one of the monsters, closing his eyes when the centre Ribbit grew larger in size. It almost looked as if it was grinning widely. "I had forgotten that they were stronger when infused with water."

Of course, Luke couldn't miss the chance to goat at the Colonel. "Haha! And you call me stupid!" He winced as a Ribbit lurched at him, smacking him down to the ground. His sword fell out of his hands, useless. "Uh, guys? A little bit of help here?"

Ion ran over and smacked the monster off with his staff, a rare look of malice on his face. It quickly vanished as he held out his hand for Luke to take. "Here."

Luke slapped the hand away and stood up on his own. He then picked up his sword while staring at Ion, surprised. "Wait a second; you can fight?"

"Of course," Ion said brightly. "I just can't use Daathic fonic artes too well, and I do not know any other ones. I am fully capable of smacking a few monsters senseless."

"Coming from you, Ion," Sacha interrupted, flashing a grin at them as she side-stepped an attack and threw an apple gel on herself. "That just sounds weird."

"But it's true."

"Still weird."

"Hey, guys!" Guy called out loudly, trying to fight off all three of the monsters at once. "As much as I love your bonding time, a little bit of help would be great!"

"Fine!" Luke said, sighing. He ran over to his friend, and with a quick Fang Blade, managed to deflect one of the monsters away.

Tear held out her staff as the Seventh Fonons rushed forth from her body. "First Aid!"

"Thunder Lance!" Green lightning crackled down from the tip of Jade's weapon, downing one of the Ribbits. It croaked weakly, its arms flopping to either side of its body as it began to glow. It quickly floated upwards into tiny balls of light that gradually died out. Sacha didn't miss the look of horror on Luke's face, even though the pouring rain. Speaking of the rain, it had somehow only gotten worse.

"Damn it!" Luke swore, blindly swinging his large sword around. "I can't see a thing!" Everywhere that he looked, there was a heavy grey mist surrounding them, tinged with purple. It made everything into dark blobs of shadows, making it impossible to see.

"Don't swing that thing around!" Sacha shrieked, her voice reaching dangerously high levels as the teenager's sword narrowly missed her neck. "Stay still and don't move!"

"But-"

"Leave it to Jade and Tear!" Ion shouted. He held his weapon out in front of him, eyes closed as he felt the fonons swarm around him. "I'll try to cast an arte to help us see!"

"Ion-" Sacha began worriedly. "Stop-"

"Illumine!" The area around them suddenly grew brighter, as if the sun had suddenly come out from behind the shadows of the hills. "Hurry!" Ion continued, panting from exhaustion. "It won't last for too long!"

"Ion-"

"-I'll be fine," Ion cut off the worrying Attendant with a smile. "Defeat the rest of them!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF-" Luke screamed. "THERE'S A GIANT TURTLE NOW!"

Sure enough, a large tortoise had wandered into the fight, slugging its way towards them with heavy steps. Each step that it took rumbled the ground.

"Tortoise!" Guy corrected hurriedly, wincing as he stumbled back from a powerful strike. "And who has the item bag? I need an apple gel!"

"Here!" Sacha called, throwing the small gel over to the swordsman. He grabbed it, and flashed a grin at her before rushing forward with a Void Tempest.

"Thanks!"

"Nightmare!" Tear called out, just as Jade had cast his Stalagmite arte onto the new enemy. The combined might of the fonons caused the large animal to be flipped onto its shell, the blue legs of it flailing wildly as it tried to jump back onto its feet.

"That worked well," Jade said. He dispatched one of the Ribbits that had been knocked to the ground by Sacha's Butterfly Kiss on his way to the giant monster. It suddenly flipped back round, sending him and Tear flying high into the air. "Or not."

"Frigid Moon!" Guy called out, groaning when the monster simply shoved him aside. "Guess not all Field of Fonons are useful..."

"Leave the water based ones to me!" Tear cried out upon seeing Guy's failure. "I can cast Mediation, and it restores far more health than First Aid."

"All right!" The man stood back up again, and shaking his head, went back in for the kill. Luke had destroyed the final Ribbit with a simple stab, leaving everyone to gang up onto the sole monster. It never stood a chance.

"Done!" Ion called out as he dealt the finished blow, watching as the monster dispatched into blue fonons that floated upwards to the fonon belt.

"W-we need to find a place to stop!" Luke clattered through his teeth. Now that the rush of the battle had left his pulsing veins, he could easily feel the freezing air and mist surround him like a cold blanket. "I-I'm freezing!"

"How about over there?" Tear suggested, pointing to a small dip in the landscape, where small rocks covered some of it overhead. "We can set up camp there?"

"Camp?" Sacha repeated in surprise. How exactly were they meant to set up camping in the middle of a storm? A sudden dryness suddenly hit her throat, and she began to cough wildly. Everyone turned to look at her in concern and surprise, Luke with a look of irritation.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." Her throat still felt painfully dry. What was that all about? "I'm fine. Let's go and set up camp somewhere."

"Sacha, are you certain?" Ion asked softly. She nodded at him.

"Yeah, I'm positive. But how exactly are we meant to set up camp? I mean-" She gestured up. "-Forgive me for stating the obvious, but it's raining."

"Guy brought along a tent for him and Luke," Jade said, smiling as he turned around. He started to walk towards the spot Tear had mentioned earlier. "No doubt to-"

"JADE!" The two men in question shouted furiously. Sacha noted with slight amusement and a smile that Guy was blushing.

"Please stop making inappropriate jokes, Jade," Tear deadpanned, shaking her head.

"Ion..." Sacha whispered, slightly fearing the answer. "Did you, ah, hear any of Jade's 'dirty jokes'?"

"There was one about Luke and Guy having long swords..." Ion said innocently, blinking up to her. "What does that mean?"

All colour fled from Sacha's face upon thinking through the comment. That dirty bas-

"Never mind."

"Do you feel sick?" he asked, tilting his head. "You look very pale."

"I'm... fine. Let's go and set up camp."

"Are you certain?"

"I'm fine." Sacha gritted through her teeth. "Peachy, rosy, couldn't be better if Yulia came shining down on me with Seventh Fonons and promise of a happy Score!"

Ion was about to ask more, but the murderous look on Sacha's face stopped him from doing so.


The light platter of rain from earlier on had now turned into a lashing storm full of howling wind and angry droplets. Thankfully, the mist seemed to have cleared.

Shivering, Sacha unconsciously wormed into Tear's warm body tighter, one arm gripping a blue blanket over her chest while the other draped over Ion's shoulder. Jade was sat to the left of Luke, merrily drinking out of a small cup of smoking tea. Luke was greedily trying to grab it from the Necromancer's hands, but pouted and fell back onto the soggy ground beneath them. Guy was busy cleaning his sword with some rags, occasionally stopping to lean his head back and listen to the rain droplets platter against the tent roof.

Ion let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. "It's such a shame the weather is terrible today. We could have easily travelled to the other side in just a few hours, if it wasn't for this awful storm."

"Damn right," Luke grumbled, sitting up to see the others. "I'm freezing, and the last thing I want is to get my clothes wet."

"That is why you should follow the example of the Fon Master and the lovely ladies over there," Jade said brightly, taking another small sip of his drink. "Personally, I wouldn't mind a hug myself."

"No chance!" Luke sneered in disgust, shuffling towards Guy. "Guy's the only person I'd be anyway near comfortable sleeping near!"

"Oh, Luke," Sacha said, smiling playfully. "If you swing that way, you can tell us."

Guy's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "W-what?"

"In Daath, homosexuality isn't discriminated," Ion said. It only took a quick glance from Sacha to convince him to join in with the joke. Besides, they were all looking pretty down, and needed something to cheer them up. Even if it was at the expense of poor Luke and Guy.

"Neither is it frowned upon in Malkuth," Jade continued, shrugging his shoulders as he put down his mug. "If anything, Emperor Peony encourages it. He claims that it will make Kimlasca follow by example."

Tear's head whirled around between them all in confusion. "W-what are you all talking about?"

"Oh Tear," Sacha said with a disapproving tone, leaning back as she tried to get more comfortable on the brunette's bony shoulder. "Luke and Guy; who else? Personally, I think the two of them would go well together; master and servant, so sweet!"

"Now hold on a second-" Guy began, standing up as his head briefly bumped against the top of the tent. However, he appeared to ignore it. "Me and Luke are friends, best friends. But we don't-"

"-They do claim that best friends often result in more-" Jade pushed the glasses up his nose further. They sparkled in the fire crackling inside the tent.

"-And it's often the best kind of romance there is-"

"-And the two of them do balance each other out," Ion finished, smiling. The smile was so innocent that it looked as if he could have been talking about what the Score had predicted for him. "Luke is outgoing and brave, while Guy is gentle and rather shy."

Now Luke stood up, his cheeks burning as brightly as his flaming hair. "-I'm not outgoing-"

"-Shy!" Guy asked, his eyes wide in surprise. "Fon Master, with all due respect, I'm not-"

"-You don't talk much," Tear smoothly cut in, looking at the blond with her intense icy eyes. "You could do with engaging more in group discussions."

"Well, I'm sorry for only meeting you a few days ago! At least give me a chance!"

"I like to think that I am giving you a chance."

"Oh no you're not! I teased you in Saint Binah, and then you hugged me! You know that I hate touching girls!"

"Only to get you to stop saying such ridiculous things."

"It was a joke!"

"Really?" Tear asked, eyes narrowed. "No one was laughing."

"That's because you have no sense of humour!"

All of the others in the small tent watched as the two bickered along themselves. Sacha closed her eyes, sighing loudly. Honestly, to think that Luke and Tear were bad... Luke was nothing compared to the roll that Guy and Tear could get on while talking. It somewhat surprised her, since the two of them had barely talked to each other, as far as Sacha had seen, and now they were fighting?

People were so weird.

"-You apparently read about vacation spots."

"Oh, please do forgive me for daring to dream of a life outside Baticul. I offer my deepest apologizes to you."

"That is a very childish response."

"...Was that sarcasm?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Tear blinked slowly.

"Oh, let's see; the cold look on your face, your hands on hips pose, your-"

"...They're like a married couple," Sacha quietly whispered to Ion, who flashed a small smile at her before gazing over to Luke. The redhead currently looked worried, oddly enough, his frowned face as he glanced up to his friends. Suddenly, he stood up and grabbed Guy's arm.

"Hey, would you mind coming out with me to do some sword practice?"

Guy turned around to face him, confused. "Well, sure, but... don't you hate the rain?"

"Anything's better than spending time with a bunch of freaks inside a cramped tent," he groaned loudly, looking at the others as if they were dirt on the bottom of his shoe. Laughing, Guy clamped a hand onto the teenager's shoulder.

"Well, all right then. Since you asked so nicely and all." The two of them walked out of the small tent, Guy flashing one final glance towards Tear before they were swallowed up by the darkness. Sacha stared after the exit, unsure of what to say or do except for stare at it with a wide mouth.

Luke had... Luke had just been nice about something! Okay, he was a bit of a jerk towards them all, but he was actually half-decent back then! What was wrong with the world?

Jade broke the silence with a merry grin, shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, the youth of today. So full of energy and love."

"I can't believe you," Tear said, holding a hand to her forehead as she shook her head. Sacha stared at him.

"Are you blind?"

"I was talking about our two lovebirds of course," Jade replied smoothly, standing up. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked around at the others.

"E-excuse me?" Tear half-demanded, half-choked as she furiously tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. "Me and-"

"My, my, Tear. I was referring to the two males who have gone out to do some 'sword practise'-" Jade's smirk widened into a full-grown grin as he continued. "-I'm sure that they'll be able to do plenty of that with the size of-"

Sacha firmly braced her hands over Ion's ears and turned him away from Jade. Tear's face grew pale as she listened to the colonel finish, while Sacha was unable to keep the look of horror off her face.

"Colonel!"

"I was only speaking the truth, my dear."

"Thank Yulia Anise isn't here..." Sacha muttered, removing her hands from Ion's ears. As soon as she had done so, the green-eyed boy blinked up to her with wide, sleepy eyes.

"Whatever did Jade say?"

"You don't want to know," Sacha said quickly before Jade could cut in. "Trust me, you don't."

"But-"

"You don't."

"Sacha-"

"You. Don't," Sacha roared, leaning over the boy. Ion stared at her blankly, but slightly afraid at the raging expression on the Guardian's face. He sat back, nodding slowly.

"O-okay..."

"N-now that's out of the way," Tear stammered, looking clearly uncomfortable at having to spend any more time in Jade's company than necessary. "I-I think I will go and check on Guy and Luke."

"Be careful, my dear," Jade said, still grinning as Tear made for the exit. "You might just catch them in the climax of their so-called-"

"Jade!" Sacha thundered angrily, clamping both of her hands over Ion's ears again. "Shut up and go and do something useful!"

"The youth of today..." Jade shook his head with a deep sigh, clearly over the top. "They have no respect for the elderly."

"You are not old!"

"I'm certainly ancient, according to the age of the rest of you people." Standing up, the Malkuth colonel dossed out the fire with a small Splash arte. "And would someone please explain to me why we decided to use Fifth Fonons inside a small, cramped area?"

"Um..." Sacha blinked. She thought about the question as she watched the man begin to undress himself for the night. "So that we would stay warm?"

"And set fire to the tent, and promptly die?" Jade shrugged his shoulders and laid down in his sleeping bag. He took off his glasses and placed them beside him, sighing. "If that is the way you youngsters wish to go, than I shall not stop you."

"There's something wrong with you, I swear."

"Great minds truly do think alike."

"What is that supposed to-"

"Please don't fight," Ion asked shyly, already in his sleeping bag. He had his head lying on top of his clothes, the quilt pulled firmly over his chest.

"Yes Sacha. We all know that I'm opposed against violence."

"You-" She sighed deeply and sat down upon seeing the pleading look on Ion's face. Lying down next to the green-haired boy, she absentmindedly yawned, staring up to the roof of the tent. A lot had happened today. First of all, they had stumbled upon one of the God-Generals, Cantabile, while trying to leave Saint Binah, The most surprising thing, however, was that she didn't even attempt to fight them. Sure, she had threw in her usual insults and harsh words, but it was the first time that Sacha had ever seen the adult shocked about something. It made her feel uneasy.

Also, it was the first time that Sacha had been fighting with the group. It looked like it had been Ion's first time, too; Luke had clearly been surprised upon seeing the Fon Master wield his own weapon, more than able to be 'smacking a few monsters senseless'.

She giggled slightly at the thought of Ion bashing monster heads together, before pulling the blanket around her tighter and going to sleep.