(I'm so sorry for not updating! I really really really needed to get back in focus! I lost inspiration! But I'm back! I am still alive and well and God is still good! Anyways, I own nothing and I hope you enjoy! Good day and God bless!)

Baby blue and crystal clear skies turned to peach and Sakura because none can stop the passage of time, never truly.

But even as the dying sun soaked the horizon with golden light, the storm still raged and none were safe.

The waves crashed up against the stone that walked it in, temporarily fogging up the air. After continual years of the same blasted storm, the signs of erosion were rigid and unnaturally recent with rocks falling into the ocean whenever their roots became too weak. The sound bordered on melodic.

The sea air was neither chilled nor warm, but cooling upon the rather humid land it rushed through. The winds riled up the tall and unusual foliage rooted just around the beach like a fence. It tore violently at the violet branches of a single wysteria placed completely out of place just a few distance away from the beach.

It was old, the bark was sharp and dry but it was sturdy. Sturdy enough to let little Allen rest in its branches, at least.

The boy rested his back against the branches, his hands strenched above his head in relaxation and his drowsy eyes drawn to the fading sunset and the black churning storm clouds that ruined the perfectly beautiful scene.

He could not deny how wonderfully the violet flower petals went with the pink tainted skies but there were not many things as naturally distressing to mankind as the sight of a storm such as this.

And there was nothing more hopeless than a storm with no promise of ending.

It made it very hard to want to stay around.

"Never stops….." He whispered so very softly "The storm…."

He lifted his hand to block the sunlight from his eyes or maybe just to see if he could reach the vivid illusion.

The red moss had gotten worse.

He had practicly lost all sight in his left eye and he could no longer feel the cold air on his red hand.

This adventure so fun, so much fun that it made his heart hurt but it could be shattered so easily when it caught to him and he remembered.

Allen was dying and no tears or complaints could stop it.

It still remained a mystery why he couldn't seem to stop.

He cast another glance to the small and silent town his wysteria tree overlooked.

Even when the summer sun beat down on the dry soils of Nõl and the famine ate what little the people had, even then, the storm still raged over the violent sea waters.

Nõl was a small town by the beach that once made a healthy fortune from it's cheap ports, it's native pink clams and the beautiful pearl jewelry second to none. All the adults around this area knew of its past riches.

Now it's pale buildings and docks stood bleached and broken like porcelain because Nõl was now a ghost town were only the very poor or the loyal elderly lived.

It was said by the locals that it happened about sixteen years ago.

The time witch Miranda cursed this sea in her rage so that the storm would never end.

It's unsure who committed the crime but someone had thrown her child into the ocean. She didn't know who to blame so she punished the whole city by ridding it of its one source of income.

It's said that when the valley rains, it's because of her tears and when there is a good day, it's because Miranda hears the sound of a crying baby and she remembers the love she held for her own.

Now the town is all but gone and Nõl has been erased from history.

Allen now knew what it was about this grand storm that, rather than angry, felt so very sorrowful.

Rather than dooming, the dark and ever gathering storm clouds felt like the inability to rid oneself of a looking despair.

In one way, he felt sorrow for Miranda and in many ways he related to her.

If only the storm wasn't far too dangerous to traverse then he might be able to tell her just that.

It does things to you to be alone to long.

Allen knew just that. All he knew was the vastness of his father's house and he knew nothing of the world beyond. He knew nothing of pain, nothing of sorrow and certainly nothing of true happiness, not after Mana left.

There was so much he did not understand but he knew he would not survive to see it all. He knew it had to end but he did not want it to.

But did the pain and regret make it worth it in the end or did it all fall apart?

That's when Allen heard an unnatural rustling in the distance. It was not a valley animal, it was far too large.

His immediate assumption was a centaur. Those bloody nuisances seemed awfully fond of harassing random passerbys or so he heard in the reports.

He pushed himself up and jerked his head around to see who approached him so fearlessly only to be immediately disappointed.

Roaming through the unusually tall grass like a child who had never seen grass before was none other than his, since yesterday, previous traveling partner and guide, Lavi Bookman looking as sleep deprived as ever.

At first he wanted to be excited and happy to see him again but then the spurred emotion turned sour at the source and was immediately discarded.

He made it quite clear he no longer wanted to lead someone as useless and clueless as himself to his destination. Allen knew this.

He assumed that the dormouse had just come to tell at him some more like yesterday wasn't enough. Not to mention that that was the true reason he ended up in this beautiful tree that offered little shelter from the storm.

He tried to glare at him but found it difficult with only one functional eye.

Lavi pushed his way through the landscape, visibly exhausted from who knows what. He was dressed in his casual and only change of clothing that he picked up a few months back. He had his hatchet in its usual bag on his back but he also had a sack Allen had never seen before slung over his right shoulder.

By the way he was walking, he knew it must have been quite heavy.

Allen immediately wondered what sort of heavy device was in the bag.

He may not have known alot in his rather sheltered I've but he knew full well what dangerous men liked to do with heavy objects.

But, Lavi wasn't dangerous, right? He may have shouted out him and told him how he really felt but surely he wouldn't do this, right?

Why wouldn't he just use his hatchet?

Did he think he wasn't worth that?

Surely he wouldn't-

And as his nervous thoughts became more and more abstract, Lavi stopped at the foot of the tree, silent as the grave Allen thought he dug for himself.

But then he looked up, despite the fact that the flowers practically concealed Allen's appearance completely and began to speak like nothing had even happened.

"Were you….." He breathed heavily like he had ran here "Were you…..here the whole time?!"

Allen took a moment to process what he just heard.

"I looked all over town!" He panted "I thought you ran off and you were just sitting here the whole time?!"

Allen didn't know what to say or what he really meant by the accusation so he just mustered up a single "….Yes?"

That was satisfactory to Lavi who then sat himself down at the foot of the tree, his legs crossed comfortably and set the bag down at his side.

"I guess I should be thankful… Except," In one brief moment, he reached into the bag and pulled out a single crimson apple, immediately calming Allen's nerves "I had to carry all this by myself. It wasn't hard it was just a bit heavy."

And he continued.

"You know what was really heavy, however? The drug that barmaid put in my drink that night. That was the worst. It was almost enough to make me want to quit alcohol all together. Whatever it was, it made me really feverish and irritable, you know."

It was when Allen recalled the taste of apples that he began to salivate, much to his dismay. He was not a wild animal, he was a human being.

But over the buzz of his churning stomach, he could hardly hear himself think, much less focus on what Lavi was saying to him.

"I should not have yelled at you, Allen." He said regretfully as he shook his head "I'm really sorry, little buddy. I know alcohol isn't an excuse, but I really didn't mean it. I was just irritated about some stupid buisness."

It was the way he said it that caught him by surprise.

He sounded sad. Really sad.

Even if he was slightly bitter towards him, he didn't want him to be sad. Lavi didn't do anything wrong to be sad about.

Now that Allen really thought about it, he was just a bit startled. He had never been yelled at by someone he knew. No one had even raised their voice, knowing that he was mute, not deaf.

In all honesty, Allen was actually in the wrong. The loss of half his sight had him bumping over and tripping on things like he was a new born fawn covered with blue pine needles.

But it made his heart hurt to hear him talk this way. He guessed he couldn't just stop caring for someone at the click of a hand.

He would say that he was sorry, to and hope that it all disappeared into a wonderous stream of beautiful memories but he really did not know how, in the end.

"You don't have to believe me…." Said Lavi, his voice soft like the wind that russled his red hair "You don't have to believe me but, at least," He reached into his bag and pulled out a dull but juicy pear to match his apple "You can eat. It's really not good for your health to sulk in a tree. Here, catch."

He got to his feet.

Just as he tossed his pear up into the air above, thunder cracked violently in the distance but that hardly distracted Allen from the pear that appeared in his vision. He dove forward and caught it in his hands like a predator catching his prey.

The dormouse was not surprised when he gets a little bit of pear juice rain overhead as the boy devoured it hungrily and humorously happily.

Lavi stiffled a chuckle.

But it was not a moment later when there was a small sound when the seeds and stem hit the ground and a thin hand emerged from the branches and began clawing in the direction of the sack with the rest of the food, grunting in annoyance when he failed.

Allen, to, could not help but laugh a little. All the air of friendship returning like nothing happened, he could not believe he thought Lavi brought some sort of weapon to hurt him with.

What a humourous thought fears were with time like the peace after a storm.

But Lavi pulled the bag further away from his grasp and, just as he pushed forward once more, took firm hold of the wrist of his good hand, but not tight enough to hurt him.

Allen squawked in surprise as he was yanked forward just a bit further, his face now pressed against the dry branches, a rather uncomfortable position but not enough to splinter.

However, he was scared for one brief moment as Lavi just looked at him, more specifically his eyes.

For just a moment, they were both silent.

But Lavi didn't need to speak like he did. His expression spoke for him easily enough.

"Question." He asked clearly and carefully "Did you stay in this tree all night because you can't climb out?"

And there it was.

On the more humourous side of things, Lavi's weapon of choice had been a sort of hammer so it only made sense that he'd hit the hammer on the head.

It was just enough to defuse the drama of the situation.

So, he offered him a curt nod.

"And you're eye?"

And another nod.

Somehow, it felt much less bad when described to him in words by another. It seemed like running from a creature only to find it was a kitten following him, mewing for her mother and hungry for just one bit of food.

Was it death that frightened him or was it the fear of dying alone?

He refused to believe he was being overdramatic about something like his imminent death on the peach and Sakura horizon, but the idea of being fussed over into nightfall for it was suddenly not so appealing.

Wouldn't that really make him a useless person no one wanted to travel with? He feared as much and began to pull his hand from the other, suddenly feeling akward and shy about his predicament.

"Calm down." Lavi scolded softly.

None the less he struggled but did not succeed at all. With his left hand numb and less strong than he would like to push on things for leverage, he could hardly escape. None the less, he tried.

"Just calm down before you hurt yourself."

"No….."

"Stop it."

"Nooo…."

So Lavi, seeing that he would hurt himself if he didn't stop, let go as well as he could and his companion stumbled back a short ways.

There was a silence and then he groaned abruptly in irritation.

Now it was Lavi's turn to taste guilt. He probably should have been softer and shouldn't have forced him so much.

For that short while, it seemed as though the storm on the horizon was quiet and all was at peace.

Of course this peace was abruptly broken when Lavi threw something else. The sack of food.

It shook the branches quite a bit and Allen no less but as soon as he saw it all in all the glory good food held to a hungry person, he kept on his own with joy and dove towards the bag.

Only, he was stopped.

Lavi pulled himself onto the branches and into the trees fragile shelter.

Immediately Allen began to worry about the weight only to find that, for some odd reason, Lavi was alot lighter than he seemed and posed no threat at all.

The flowered tree began to snow violet petals from the commotion.

It was really quite beautiful.

But that wasn't really why Allen had taken a sudden interest in it.

He shivered lightly as a breeze brushed passed.

A warm hand landed on his shoulder.

"I really am sorry, you know. I know it means nothing, but I am. I'm sure we'll find a way to fix it."

"But, until then, we'll get to wear excellent matching eyepatchs and everyone will think we're thieves."

"Don't worry about it. I know a place."

And so the two slept in the completely free and rather beautiful inn they found through hardship.

The pale crescent moon now shown through the clouds, it's how blanketed.

Now listen.

Just as day comes, every storm shall end in due time, even if it should seem hopeless and men cry that all is no more.

All has a purpose and you may see it if you look just a bit closer.