So, I'll try to keep this short and sweet, since I'm on my phone... The journal entry that goes with this chapter will be posted tomorrow, when I have a computer. On a completely different note, thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited so far. And a very special shout-out to Yue Asuka for being the only reviewer so far.

I don't own TotA, but all OCs are mine or borrowed from friends.

Please be nice and leave a review on your way out.

Chapter 1.4 – Arrival in Keterburg
Part 4

I raised an eyebrow, though more because I was wondering what Cantabile would want with an assassin. The fact that he was one didn't really surprise me, as the deadly accuracy with which he had shot down the monsters earlier only helped to support that statement.

I was aware of both Koran and Dark watching me, both seemingly anxious as to how I would take the news.

I leaned back and propped myself up with my hands. "Okay," I stated bluntly. "And your point is? You helped me earlier with the monsters, and you've helped me take care of him," I said, nodding toward Sync. "And like I said yesterday, if you were going to harm me, you'd have done it already. You've given me no reason to distrust you, really all you've done is the opposite."

Dark's mismatched eyes scanned my face, looking for any hints of malice or disdain, I'm sure. His eyes widened slightly in shock after a moment, and he looked away from me. I heard Koran growl quietly as I looked back at the fire, then out the window. It was getting late, and I'm sure Nephry would be waiting for me by now.

"You need to get back to town, don't you?" Dark asked. I turned to him and nodded quietly, and he looked over at Koran, growling under his breath. Koran growled back, and I raised an eyebrow as I realized that he could both understand and speak the ligers' language.

Dark pulled Sync's boots away from the fireplace and slipped them onto his feet. "I can't keep him here, but Koran will take the two of you back to the edge of town. He can't go in without attracting attention, but…" he trailed off. I nodded.

"Thank you, Dark," I whispered, grabbing my jacket and pulling it on. It was still damp on the outside, but it didn't bother me, because the inside was nice and warm from being inside out next to the fire. I bundled up Sync's clothes with his nearly-dry shirt on the outside and put the bundle to the side for a moment.

Koran stood and Dark helped me slip the unconscious God-General onto his back. Dark handed me the bundle that contained his clothes as I jumped up behind the green-haired boy.

"Here. Drop my blanket and clothes off back here next chance you get. There's a window in the back that's busted if the door is locked," he told me. I nodded.

"I can do that. Thanks for helping us so much, Dark," I replied. He opened the door and Koran stepped out into the darkening forest, taking off at a run almost as soon as his paws were on snow.

We made it back to Keterburg as the sun was half-disappearing. Koran paused, and I looked over his head and raised an eyebrow. "She's seen you before, hasn't she?" I asked him. He nodded, and I frowned. "She's an associate of his. She might be able to help me get him to Nephry's place," I said.

Yes, Cantabile was standing just inside the gates of Keterburg, looking worriedly toward Mt. Roneal.

Koran stopped a little ways away and growled. Cantabile turned her head slightly, but didn't move away from where she stood vigil. I rolled my eyes.

"Help!" I called. That got her moving, and though she came running, she seemed to be limping. She caught sight of me and Koran rather quickly once she was away from the gates, and her eyes widened in shock when she spotted Sync in my arms.

"What happened?!" Cantabile asked as she reached us. I grimaced.

"Small avalanche. We're lucky Koran heard it and managed to get him mostly unburied," I told her. She looked between me and the liger.

"Can we get him to the hotel?" she wondered. I frowned.

"I was going to take him to Nephry's with me," I explained. She crossed her arms. "It's closer than the hotel," I added. Cantabile nodded.

"Alright. Here, I'll help you get him off the liger," she prompted. I shifted Sync into her waiting arms, grabbing the bundle of his clothes before they could slip off as I slid off Koran's back myself.

I turned to him and petted his head. "Thanks for everything you've done today," I said quietly. He growled and nudged me before running off. His way of saying 'you're welcome', I suppose.

I then turned again and took Sync back from Cantabile. Her right leg seemed to be having problems, and I definitely didn't want her falling with the younger God-General in her arms.

"What's your name?" Cantabile asked as we wandered past the gates. I smiled up at her.

"Kairi. Yours?" I replied. She looked a bit surprised.

"Cantabile. His is Sync," she told me. "Though, I confess to finding it odd that you didn't know that already."

I giggled. "I suspected, but I think it's rude to address someone by their name until they give it to you," I explained, covering up my tracks as best I could. Cantabile smiled.

"A wise policy, since you might not always have the right person. For all you knew, I could have been Legretta," she said. I laughed.

"Nah, Legretta's a blonde. I've seen her before, even if I haven't actually met her," I replied. Cantabile laughed, and I nodded toward the mansion I had stopped in front of. "Can you get the door?"

The God-General looked slightly surprised, then smiled and did so, holding the door open as I stepped through with Sync still in my arms. My back was starting to hurt a bit from carrying him, so I laid him down on the nearest couch and headed into the living room after gesturing for Cantabile to follow.

"Oh, you're finally… oh, who's this?" Nephry said as I walked into the room. I stepped aside to allow Cantabile forward, and she nodded politely. "Cantabile? It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Nephry asked. The God-General smiled.

"Yes. I had planned on coming to your wedding, but I'm afraid I was otherwise occupied at the time," she replied. "I hate to impose on you like this, but my companion was caught in a small avalanche, and my leg's acting up again. I didn't want to make Kairi carry him all the way to the hotel, and—"

Nephry shook her head. "Say no more, I know how dangerous the mountain is. There are two empty rooms upstairs to the left. The first door is Kairi's room, but the two after it are yours as long as you need them," she interrupted. Cantabile nodded, and I smiled.

"I'll just go put him up in the room next to mine," I said, leaving to do just that.

After tucking Sync into bed, I looked over at the fireplace. There were logs there, but there was no fire. So, after walking over and sitting down in front of the hearth, I closed my eyes, slipping onto the second plane again.

There are two things you can do with Energies. Magic, and tricks. Magic will severely deplete your strength, but tricks? Oh, tricks are easy.

I started gathering up red Energies, fire Energies, until I had a large mass of them. Then I threw together some gold, silver, and lavender Energies into another mass. Sun and moon Energies to give the fire Energies some substance, and wind Energies to enforce the fire.

I held the fire Energies around the wood in the fire, watching as they curled and wrapped around the wood. They wanted to burn, but in this form, they couldn't.

I brought the second mass of Energies down to join the fire Energies, and watched, amazed as always, as a few sparks lit, then erupted into flames. I grinned and slipped back into my body, watching as the wood began to burn and the fire danced.

The door opened and Cantabile stuck her head in. "Nephry asked me to tell you that dinner is in the kitchen waiting on you," she informed me. Then she smiled. "Oh, you already lit the fire."

I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, didn't want him getting sick. Well, too sick. I think he's already got a fever, but at this point…" I trailed off. Cantabile nodded.

"You've done what you can for him. Now, you go eat, and let his body recover on its own. I'm going to go to bed myself, since I ate before coming here," she said. I sighed and stood, heading down to the kitchen and eating before heading back up to my room. I picked the journal up off the table and scribbled a couple paragraphs before closing it, changing, and falling asleep.

I yawned and meandered down the stairs. I was wearing the green dress Nephry had gotten me, indicating rather plainly that I had no plans to go train for the day. To be quite frank, my body was sore from the last two days, my back especially from carrying Sync the night before, and I was running a low fever, even for me, seeing as how I usually ran a 99.4 or so temp.

"You okay? You look a little paler than usual," Nephry commented. I ran a hand through my bangs, which had fallen loose from my ponytail.

"I'm running a low fever from digging Sync out of the snow yesterday," I mumbled. "So I'm probably going to eat, find a book, and take it upstairs to read."

Nephry nodded. "Yes, you should try to relax if you're sick. Though, I'm not going to ask what you were even doing on Mt. Roneal," she commented. I shrugged.

"You don't want to know," I said bluntly, sitting down at the table.

"Hm, someone's up early," Cantabile said as she walked in. I yawned.

"Usually up and awake earlier than this. That's how I know I'm running a fever; I didn't get up before the sun rose, which means my internal clock's gone all to hell," I grumbled.

"If it's any consolation, Sync's awake. He'll be down shortly," she told me. I shrugged and buried my head in my arms.

I guess I fell asleep, because I woke to Nephry gently shaking my shoulders. "Hey… your food's going to get cold," she teased. I yawned and poked at my breakfast before I started eating it. Nephry walked back to her seat across from me, with Cantabile next to her. There was another seat next to her, but it was empty, and glancing directly to my right, I saw why.

Rather than sitting next to Cantabile, as I had expected him to, Sync was sitting next to me. I just shrugged it off and went about eating my food. I was about halfway through eating when Sync stopped playing with his eggs with a sigh.

"Thank you."

I froze, fork still in my mouth, and looked over at him. "For getting me out from under that snow," he continued. I smiled and swallowed the egg I had put in my mouth.

"You're very welcome," I said simply, before turning back to what was left of my breakfast. I hadn't touched the bacon yet, but that was an oddball habit of mine. I had started with the hash browns, and then gone through the eggs, and now came the bacon.

Sync stopped playing around with his eggs and finally ate them, and Cantabile smiled. "He's a lot more grateful than he's acting," she commented. Sync nearly choked on the hash browns he had just put in his mouth, and I giggled.

"I figured. You kinda remind me of a friend of mine," I said, the second half of that statement directed toward the green-haired boy next to me. "I got a 'thank you' though, so it's not like I don't know."

I thought I saw Sync smile a bit before he went back to picking at his food. I, personally, finished my bacon before another yawn escaped and Nephry giggled.

"Maybe you'd better go back to bed instead of reading," she hinted. I shrugged.

"You know, that actually sounds nice. I think I'll do that," I agreed, standing and heading back to my room.

When I woke up again, it was to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I opened it to find Cantabile standing there. "Here. Sync said you might have an idea who these belonged to," she said, holding out the clothes Dark had lent him. I took them as she continued. "We have to get going. I'll make sure he gets plenty of rest, but right now we need to catch our ferry. Come by the cathedral in Daath sometime and ask after me. If I'm there, I won't mind showing you around the city."

I smiled. "I will. Thanks, Cantabile," I replied. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Take care, Kairi," she called over her shoulder. Her gait was steady as she walked away, so I guess her leg wasn't bothering her today. Speaking of today, when was it?

I wandered downstairs a little while later and checked the clock. After struggling to read the numbers, I deduced that it was almost four o'clock, so I had slept through most of the day. However…

Holding a hand to my forehead, I smiled. The fever was gone, because I felt normal again. Looks like the sleep was just what I had needed.

I stepped into Nephry's office and looked around. I had dropped that book on fonic artes in here somewhere, but where?

"Oh, you're awake," Nephry said. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Yeah, Cantabile wanted to talk to me before they had to leave, but I'm not complaining about her waking me up. It looks like I was out another eight hours, so… If I go to bed around midnight, I should wake up about my usual time. Always a good thing, right?" I told her. "Any later and my body would be objecting that, actually, so I'm glad she woke me."

Nephry smiled. "Are you feeling better?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yes. I came down here to find that book I was reading the other day. I thought I had left it in here, but did the maids put it up?" I wondered. Nephry's cheeks flushed slightly and she looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well, actually… I saw which of the two alphabets you wrote with in your journal, and… I may have asked a couple of the maids that had nothing better to do to translate the book for you. When you made the comment about wanting to read this morning, I suggested sleeping because I was trying to keep it a surprise… They said they'd be finished before tomorrow morning though," she told me. My eyes widened in surprise.

"You're joking, right?" I asked, shocked. Nephry smiled and shook her head, and I grinned and slipped around the desk to give her a hug. "Thank you!"

Nephry giggled and hugged me back before we let go, and then she looked like she remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot… Sync was asking me about what you liked and whatnot, and while I doubt he got anywhere with that conversation, he did ask me to try to keep you in Keterburg for another week or two. I think he still feels indebted to you," she said.

I crossed my arms. "That's fine. The monsters around here are a welcome challenge, and I'm still missing a few things. That, and I've discovered something that I'd like to investigate, and seeing as how Keterburg is pretty isolated, this area's perfect for experimenting," I replied. Nephry smiled.

"I admit, it'll be nice to have another woman around, other than the maids. They're nice and all, but my husband hired them before his passing, and they can be a bit stiff," she commented. I laughed.

"That's nice," I joked. "Oh well. I came down here to read, so I figure, even if I can't read the book I had been planning on reading, I might as well find something else for the time being…"

Nephry frowned. "Anything in particular you'd like to read about? Because all of the books on the south side of the living room are nonfiction, and most of them are from my brother," she said. I thought about it for a moment.

"Actually… this is going to sound weird, and from what I've heard about your brother, it's not a ridiculous question, but… You wouldn't happen to have an encyclopedia on monsters, or something of the sort, would you?" I wondered. Nephry sighed.

"Judging from the way you worded that, I'm going to assume that you won't be surprised when I say that yes, I do. You'll need the step-ladder, because it's on the top shelf, but it's in the far right section. 'Monsters of Auldrant' is the title, I think," she told me. I nodded.

"Okay. I can find that. I know 'm', 'o', and 'a', so it shouldn't be too difficult," I said. "Thanks, Nephry," I added as I wandered over into the living room. Finding the book wasn't hard at all. No, it was large, had big, white lettering, and as I had told Nephry, I had the characters for 'm', 'o', and 'a' memorized, and of course, I knew 'n' from the signs on the inns from the game. The 'mon' at the beginning of the title was easily recognized, and I pulled the heavy tome down.

The moment I opened the book up, I was very much pleased, not only with the book, which was pleasing enough as it was, but also with Jade.

Apparently, and I had noticed this in the fonic arte book too, he had a tendency to make notes in the margins off to the side. Sometimes, when the book explanations made no sense, Jade's comments helped me figure out what was being said, and vice versa.

I managed to translate my way through the first section, becoming totally engrossed in what I was reading, until Nephry walked in and tapped me on the shoulder. "Mind having dinner with me, for once?" she teased. I laughed and sat the book down, marking my place by sticking a random piece of paper into it.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and then it was back to the living room to read until about midnight, when I wandered back up to my room. I spotted the journal sitting by my bed and cringed, pulling it over to the fireplace, lighting a fire the same way I had the night before in Sync's room, and then scribbling down about a paragraph.

Then I fell back into bed and fell asleep once more.