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Chapter 9

Saved from Tragedy

"The whole world can become the enemy when you lose what you love."

A/N

Okay, so to make up for the terrible thing from last chapter(Sorry guys) Three chapters in one week(I think… Or two).

But anyways. I'm really nervous about this chapter, because this is what you guys are looking for, I don't want to disappoint. So… If you don't like it, I'm sorry, and I hope you have the patience to either tell me what's up, or to keep following and reading on.

No acknowledgements today. Next chapter, I'll acknowledge all my reviews.

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I was shopping in the far part of Izoold, where it was foresty and all the shops were outdoor. It was a mildly sunny day, in Izoold it was rarely warm, but it was rarely cold either. Truthfully, Izoold would be the ideal place to live since it was protected by dangerous mountain passes and the sea from all sides, but that was it- It was protected by dangerous mountain passes and the sea from all sides. So they mainly thrived off of their own materials, and if necessary, trade from Palmacosta.

Even if the people weren't particularly friendly, but that probably had something to do with the fact that there was no set unity, they just kinda lived and did whatever.

I had a bag of tea boxes, because if I knew they had green tea here for super cheap, I would have come a lot sooner. And I had another bag of jerky for my trip back home.

It was a little quiet in Izoold, mostly because whenever things happened, it took a lot to affect Izoold. Thieves were rare, and so was trouble, which explained the two fishermen from a few days before gossiping about trivial and irrelevant things. Sure, they loitered around… But not enough of them were around to cause real trouble to a bunch of self sufficient families.

I played with a cat. That was the most eventful thing of that day so far at that point… It was gray. And cute.

I was looking through the weapons, a few other residents beside me. My guard was down, there was no sign of trouble for several days, and the package was secured safely in my hidden pocket in my currently zipped up shirt. Due to it being so late in the evening, the tall collar was unzipped down to a little below my collar bone. I was browsing through the selection of weapon care items, and was planning on using my extra thousand gald on just that.

"Let's see, she said she wanted a new staff… Dammit, there's about twenty of them! Which one does she want…?"

I looked over to the staff section half heartedly, dragging my eyes slowly. I read a bit on magic, to see if I could do it. I managed, but that took way longer than I was willing to spend time on and too much mana, and my Mana wasn't positioned just right to give me maximum controld over it, so I just stuck to the weaponry skills and strike attacks.

I saw a rather nice one, durable, pretty, and cheap. "Thats a pretty nice staff." I pointed to it. I turned to the person speaking, and my heart thumped once before stopping momentarily.

I should have known I would have jinxed myself, because after all this panicking, and then laughing at the picture that played a huge roll in the game, it was Lloyd Irving.

My brother.

I didn't freak out like a suspected I would, instead I just watched him carefully because he was very much not a video game character like I remembered, he was my long lost brother and he was moving naturally and humanely, as well as not being controlled by a navy blue remote that had the plastic chewed off slightly by various children and he was looking at me.

"Ah, you're right! Thanks!" He grabbed the staff happily, oblivious to my thoughts, and gave the store owner the money as I began to inch away slowly without realizing it, forgetting about the weaponry care stuff I was looking for. But before I could get away, He turned to me and grinned.

"Hey, you don't look like a fisherman. Are you from around here?"

"A-ah… No… Palmacosta…." I mumbled, watching him curiously, as well as… Regretfully, guiltily.

Anna, Kratos and Lloyd could have still been a family if I acted. I knew it didn't make sense, it would have happened anyways, the whole but I still blamed myself. I looked away from the stranger beside me, not being able to look him in the eye. I wasn't good for him.

"Huh? Your from Palmacosta?" The boy grinned, walking closer to me. I stepped back a bit, surprised. I mean… He was a hero, a story, was I even allowed to touch him? "Thats awesome! We're actually heading to Palmacosta ourselves. Say, do you have a boat to get over there? I thought the passage was closed or something."

I shook my head, slightly alarmed at his enthusiasm. He nodded, seeming to make a decision. "Lucky for you my group has a boat. Well, a boat ride. You wanna come with us?"

I was in dazed at this point, and if I was normal, I would have said Sorry bub, I work alone!, But I wasn't. Everything was happening so suddenly, I saw him, talked to him, and was conversing with him all in the span of five minutes. Someone who was related to me, but…

I could never let him know that. He deserved better, the last thing he needed was discovering me. Kratos was hard enough on him if I remembered.

"S-sure…"

So I said that. Very smart, right?

He grinned, "My name is Lloyd by the way. How about you?"

I blinked, and blushed. I wasn't about to give my long lost brother, (who was traveling with my long lost father) my name! That would just lead to disaster…

I knew I was overreacting, but when things were kind of happening(even though I expected it) who could blame me?

I crossed my arms."U-uh…" I looked to the side, but then finding a way to sidetrack, I stood up straighter and looked up at the grinning teen. "Hold on, where do you want to meet and when?" I said instead, and that seemed to distract him because instead of noting how I never gave him a name he blinked.

"Oh, right!... The boat. Uh. The professor told me we were waking up at seven in the morning, so… Around that? at the Fishing house?"

I agreed, because I was meeting someone there at that time for delivery anyways, and I excused myself and left as soon as possible.

.

And thats how I found myself in the Inn beating myself up.

Why the fuck did I say yes?! Now I'm going to get to know them, and like them!... Maybe!

How bad can it be? You can only ruin what little stability you have left for yourself. Nothing new there!

I wouldn't be able to handle getting so close to people like that. After losing my entire life, Both families, and Tia I couldn't handle getting close to people and losing them again. It wasn't as if they died, but that wasn't the type of loss I was talking about. Kratos leaves at the end of the game. Derris Kharlan, if I remembered right. And Lloyd… There was more ways to lose people other than death, and in that case I was worried about something along the eyes of rejection, or screwing everything up.

It wasn't just about losing things as a whole either. It was about an tragedy that forever haunts me because I know I could fix myself. I could get back together, become strong again. Regardless of the past, I could fix my mistakes.

It was the fear of breaking again that prevented helping myself.

Whats the point of healing if I'll just go back to the way things were? Its better to be alone than let my heart be ripped apart again. I'd rather isolate myself than anything.

I could lie all I want and tell myself, It would hurt Lloyd too much, but truthfully I was worried about my own rejection. About the heartbreak I would have to deal with. If he knew the truth, about everything, including my memories, would he hate me? Told me I should have found a way to save his… Maybe even our family? It didn't sound like him, but I remembered him saying the same thing to Dorr and Yggdrasil in the game. If you wanted something to happen and you knew the outcome, you should have found a way to make everyone happy.

Then I remembered Kaiden. I'd told him a few things, that I remembered my family. Depending on what happens, there would be no way to hide the fact I was willingly abandoning my brother.

But we did say everything in our power. This… This was so far above my head, I'd get killed. I wouldn't make anything better. I would only hurt the people that I should have been able to consider my family. But it was pretty much expected of me to tag along… How could I pass up the chance…?

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I was rather early to the fishing port, because that was where I was meeting the girl I was delivering the package to. Feeling refreshed, the nights sleep allowing me to keep a clear head for the meeting. I was strung out the day before, leading me to freak out needlessly. I was okay. So I waited by the wanted sign, which was actually right next to the large fishing storage. I waited there for about half and hour, when I saw Lloyd and his group walking over to us. and one girl I didn't recognise.

There was still no sign of anyone else, so I worried something happened to the person I was supposed to deliver the package to.

"Ah-! er, there… you are." He said, as if realizing he didn't know my name(I sighed. All that worrying about him, it was ironic he didn't even know my name), and the white haired woman, Raine Sage blinked at me, before she turned and glared at Lloyd… That wasn't odd at all.

I sighed, and glared off to the side. "Its Eris." I said, not wanting to sound too weird. I knew the name itself would ring alarms, but… I was sure a single name wouldn't be enough.

"Your name's Eris?" Lloyd asked, sounding surprised. For a minute, I thought he miraculously knew somehow, but my fears were subdued when he continued. "But that sounds really girly…"

I tilted my head. What? What was wrong with girly names…?

"Lloyd. Your an idiot." That was Genis I was sure, giving Lloyd a unamused glance. "Eris Is a girls name."

Then I realized. He didn't show any of the typical restraint a boy would with a stranger of the opposite gender, seeming more comfortable than what was logical. I sighed. "You… You thought I was a boy, didn't you?"

"Wh-what?" Lloyd stuttered, looking at me closer. Then when he seemed to realize, he took to waving his hands defensively. "No way! I knew…! Its just a weird name is all!"

"Lloyd..!" Raine growled, and realizing he was in even more trouble began to freak out more.

"I- Thats not what I…!"

I blinked at him. "... Its okay. Its a uncommon name, and its not like it matters…"

It was different when I was twelve and tried to look feminine, to look like a twerp. But now that my hair was short, I was short and wore baggy clothes and didn't even truly try to look like a girl, it was an easy mistake if you didn't get a close look.

The other brunnette girl I didn't recognize(I knew she wasn't part of Lloyds group) suddenly stormed over to me, and a couple of the party members eyed her in slight surprise as she got up in my face and peered at me rudely.

I frowned a bit. That time I wasn't wigging out like I did with Lloyd because I was prepared, so I was totally not freaking out when I noticed Kratos watching me in the corner of my eye. I made eye contact with him, then nervously looked back to the girl before me.

"You're Eris aren't you?" She asked(Demanded), placing a hand on her hip. "I was supposed to meet a girl with that name here right now."

I nodded in surprise, and she grinned, roughly grabbing my shoulders and rudely searching through my pockets.

The outside ones luckily. My shirt was still zipped up at this point since there was no reason to have it open. Walking around with a crop top wouldn't be ideal anyhow. I slapped her away, and she backed up a bit and glared as if I was the one who did something bad.

Natalia much?

I couldn't help but agree with the voice in the back of my mind(As crazy as it sounds), as I reached in my back pouch with my backpack supplies and the package in it. That time I was more relaxed, and not put off by the fact she just began searching my body like a cop. It fit it there, since it was rather small. I handed it to her, and said "I'm assuming your Lyla."

She nodded, not opening the package but looking up from it for the first time and glaring at me instead. As if she forgot I was there. I felt mild defensiveness bubble up inside of me at her offensive behavior, and I wondered what was in the box.

The pushy female huffed and turned to Lloyd, seeming to dismiss me without a second thought. "You'll get that letter to him, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." The red clad boy rolled his eyes. It seemed even Lloyds friendliness had a limit. "We'll get it."

Seemingly satisfied, she turned tail and walked away rather haughtily.

Lloyd turned to me, and said "Your name's Eris then?"

I frowned and looked away. I couldn't help the blush on my face caused by nerves. All I had to do was sit around on a boat and then make a retreat. That was it. "Yeah."

"... Thats it?" The brunette asked, looking at me quizzically. I blinked, not really sure what he mean. So I just shrugged, and he let out a 'huh,' but then he moved closer to me and said, "Anyways, this is The Professor-"

"Raine." She cut off, and although she wasn't smiling she wasn't frowning either. I felt the familiar buzz that only comes from a half elf. "You can call me what you like, I suppose. I'm not exactly your Professor."

"-And thats Genis-" Lloyd continued, and said boy smiled a bit. He also had that leafy like mana signature.

"-Colette-" She smiled at me and waved, and I noticed her mana was slightly… off as well, shifted a little more oddly than most. But it wasn't enough that I could actually tell you what was odd about it, but I figured it had to do with the angel transformation. "And Kratos. I have a dog named Noishe, but he kinda goes wherever…" Kratos tilted his head a bit as greeting, and I looked back at Lloyd. I didn't want to look at Kratos too long. That was just asking for trouble.

The mystery of Noishe and where he went confused me in the game. I guess Noishe kinda goes where he wants like Lloyd said.

I sighed, I didn't want to be rude or anything so even though they already kinda got the memo, I said "Well… My name is Eris… Nice to meet you."

Raine went to go talk to the boat… person, and the rest stayed with me to to chat, I assumed that it was probably due to never seeing anyone their age during the journey.

"Yeah, we got that." Lloyd laughed, and Colette walked up to me.

"So you're from Palmacosta?" She said, and I nodded. Lloyd must have told her.

"Wow, they have the best schools there!" Genis exclaimed, "Did you go to any?"

I shook my head. "N….no…" I said quietly. I wasn't sure I wanted to tell them I was an orphan, I mean Kratos was standing right there. Although he wasn't saying anything, I'm sure he was thinking plenty. How many fifteen year old girls had I ever run into named Eris? No matter how far I was from Iselia, the possibility was obviously possible since I was here. But I guessed as long as I didn't reveal my age..."You either need to be super smart or super rich, and I don't really have either."

"What's Palmacosta like?" Lloyd asked.

"Crowded." I answered immediately, because that was my biggest pet peeve about the place. The amount of people and how big it was. It wasn't as large as the cities back on earth, but it was bigger than I was used to in either life. And the fact it was so different than what I was used to made it worse.

"What did you give to Lyla anyways?" The younger half elf asked, and I shrugged, now starting to get used to these people. Even if I wasn't quite comfortable with them.

"I dunno."

"Wha..? What do you mean you don't know, you gave it to her didn't you?" Lloyd asked, and he tilted his head in question. He was actually making a pretty big deal out of the fact I didn't know what I gave to her. But I guessed that was just a quality of his… he liked to view things as simply as possible. If something doesn't work, then make it work. He had the will to cover for improbability.

I shrugged. "It was from my client."

"Your client?" Collette asked, tilting her head. "Are you a mercenary like Kratos?"

I scrunched my nose, and looked away. "I don't like that word. 'Mercenary' sounds ruthless."

"Well, ruthless is about right." Lloyd looked over to Kratos as if he was trying to make it unnoticeable, but the 'ruthless' mercenary simply rolled his eyes. My brother by blood failed at his 'discreet' attempts.

Raine walked over during our conversation, and stood next to Kratos and her younger brother. "The boat is ready. Lets go."

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically, and exclaimed "Awesome! I've never been on a boat before!"

All the younger ones besides me ran to the boat, and I felt extremely out of place walking calmly next to the older two. Kratos was a bit ahead of both me and Raine, but he wasn't so far away he was detached from the two of us, which was unfortunate for me.

"So you're a traveler?" Raine asked, her cloak moving slightly in her stride. I noticed her looking anywhere but the sea, so I guessed she was trying to ignore the fact that boats were in water.

"Yeah." I said answered, shoving my hands in my pockets. "I did it for training when I was younger, and I guess… I never got out of the habit." If traveling and killing monsters classified as a hobby, but then again Kaiden always liked to hunt little monsters outside of Palmacosta for fun with some others when we were young. He always took Giles with him, and tried getting me to join, but I was too advanced for that.

I wasn't fond of talking about my time with Tia so freely to strangers, the life of news spreading like wildfire in Palmacosta spared me from having to repeat it myself.

"Oh really? You look very young though." The elven woman had slight questioning in her tone. But as I looked to her, I noticed a very large(albeit well hidden, but not hidden enough) suspicion showing on her features. "But I suppose you're from Palmacosta… So I'm not too surprised. Genis is advanced for his age as well. " I internally groaned. But I guess if she thought I was twelve, fine.

"I started traveling when I was around seven." I said instead, and she frowned. She was smart, so I knew how transparent I was as of that moment.

"Seven is still young. Did you go alone?" Kratos pitched in with all his holy fairy-man grace.

"No." I responded, shaking my head. Raine kept looking at me, expecting me to add something, but instead I stepped onto the boat silently, the boards creaked in protest, and saw the other teens goofing off on the left side of the boat. The adults seemed pretty content by the bridge when they stepped on, so I made my way over to the right side, and sat on the ledge and brought out a book to read it, keeping my eye out on the sea.

There was a part of me that knew there was something in the sea that was important, that had something to do with the rumors of the sea ranch or the plot of the story, but I couldn't pick out for the life of me what it was…

Isn't that where the red headed jackass comes in? In some ruins...?

No, I recalled. Thats in the second game. And his name is Zelos.

The excitement died down eventually, and Lloyd was sprawled out on the middle of the boat with his friends surrounding him. Raine was still by the bridge, and Kratos was at the nose of the boat. Several feet away from me.

I actually somewhat liked Zelos, so I didn't have any clue where these feelings were coming from. I used to dislike him, but I kind of… grew out of it by the time I turned seventeen.

"I'm so booooored!" The twin swordsman complained, and Genis sighed and chastised him for his impatience.

"Told you this would happen…" Genis muttered when his scolding went through one ear and out the other.

"Shut it Genis!"

"Why don't we play a game?" Collette offered, smiling a bit. Lloyd perked up a bit.

"That sounds fun! What should we play though?"

Collette hummed a bit, turning to me she said "Eris, what kind of games do they play in Palmacosta?"

I looked over to her, and raised an eyebrow. "Depends on what you like to play…" It was kind of a dumb question, she made it sound like I was from another planet. But I didn't voice these thoughts, instead ignoring them and listening in on the conversation.

"Anythings better than this!" Lloyd whined, craning his head back to look at me. I knew he was expecting a suggestion from me, and I was honestly surprised at how that seventeen year old boy acted like a child. I'm sure he had his moments, but...

I sighed, trying to think. Me and Kaiden didn't do much back home, we went swimming sometimes, talked on the roof most of the time and did chores together almost never, but that was it. Since I mentally wasn't a child, we didn't really do childish things. In my last life I did though. That made me feel kind of bad, what was Kaiden doing, wasting his childhood on me?

He was already sixteen though, so making amends for that was a little too late.

When I was a teenager(Before), me and my buddies had a gorilla suit, and when we got bored, we would always go to a place we nicknamed Make Out Beach, because couples would drive up there to do what it sounds like; make out. So we'd put on the suit, sneak up on cars, then… Bang bang bang! and the couple would jump away like they'd been caught by their parents and we'd make monkey noises then run off to scare other unsuspecting couples. We had got that idea from my uncle, and decided when I was seventeen that it would be tons of fun to try with my friends.

That wouldn't work here, so I thought harder. Never Have I ever was a favorite. But I stopped playing, because if I lost I never backed out of a dare, so it was easier to just not play than to do dumb things. That had happened twice in my life, people hearing about the first time to see if I really would do it again.

I was a stupid kid. So it was weird to see a teenager like Lloyd. As in, he didn't try and be cool and fit in, he just liked who he liked and did what he did, no matter how childish.

I remembered a few more, but suggesting them wasn't something I really wanted to do…

"Ninja was one." I recomended, interested in watching them scramble about.

"Doesn't the second one involve alcohol?" Raine interjected, raising her eyebrow at me. I blinked, startled. Ninja? Well, it depended on how you played it...

I shrugged and folded my book. "Depends on how you want to play it. I don't do that one though. Drunk teenagers are not fun, regardless of the popular belief."

"Wait, what's Ninja?" Lloyd asked, somehow managing to tilt his head while leaning back.

"Its where you get to move once each turn, and you try and 'kill' the others playing. If someone goes to 'attack' you, you get to move to protect yourself. As long as your stomach or neck or head isn't hit, your still in. You start by taking a goofy ninja pose. Try not to knock each other down, but if you do get knocked down, you're out. If someone strikes, you can retaliate." I was simply going by the rules me and my friends played back then, so I wasn't really sure if those were truly the rules.

Everyone seemed to get it soon enough, and eventually they were all standing in a circle. They were silent for a bit, until Lloyd turned to look at me and said "Come on. You're playing too, aren't you?"

I tilted my head, "Um… N-no thanks, I'm not very fun…"

"But you've played it before!" Lloyd argued, "C'mon, please? No need to be shy!"

"I'm not shy…" I grumbled, but came over to stand with them anyways. I had chosen to ignore that I was talking to my long lost brother for a bit, so I was fairly comfortable speaking to the red clad swordsman. Everyone was ready to go, and I sighed. "Who's starting then?"

"Um… You start." Lloyd said uncertainly. "I still don't get it yet."

"Okay." I sighed, giving in without a fight. I was playing anyways, so it didn't make much of a difference. I took a epic street fighter pose(Haha) and waited until the rest did the same. I eyed the group, deciding to go for Lloyd first since he had the best reflexes, and going for the others first would be border line bullinging.

Lloyd jumped back, and I was forced to stay still. It was then Genis's turn, who went to strike me(Although it was rather adorkable looking), and I dodged, just lightly slapping his hand away.

Colette just tripped.

I blinked at her. Seriously? She just… Tripped. Nothing even was there.

She just laughed it off, of course.

Genis was the next to go, because when he went to hit Lloyd, the older just poked him in the forehead. Genis insisted that was cheating, and I sighed. Why did I ever suggest the game...?

So it was just me and Lloyd. At first it was all fun and games, but when neither of us were getting anywhere, it got more… Intense. One thing after another, and it wasn't just strikes and pauses, but attack came after attack and we weren't getting anywhere.

So we just… Went at it, abiding by ninja rules, but with sparring without weapons.

I almost knocked him on the ground at first, but he caught himself with his hands. He then tried slapping my tummy to win the game, but I dodged and delivered a roundhouse kick. He caught it, and when he wouldn't let go, I swung my legs downward, taking him with it. He let go, but I was in control at that point, and he was losing his own. Having less reliance on weapons than him gave me the advantage, so even if his advanced exphere made it unfair, I had the skill to knock him off course. So when he tried to come back up, I simply shoved his face back down and flipped over him, and when I was behind him I finished the job by officially shoving him into the ground with a harsh flat footed kick in the rear.

I could tell he was going easy, but that made it all the swifter to finish it.

"Woah, that was awesome!" He was grinning. "Your pretty flexible, you know?"

I shrugged, trying not to glow in his praise. "Thanks. You did pretty good, too."

"That was fun!" Colette came up to us, giving me a smile. "I went out pretty quick, but it was exciting to watch!"

Genis nodded. "Yeah, although I totally saw your loss coming." He told Lloyd snidley.

"Shut it Genis!"

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Colette asked innocently.

Lloyd turned to me, and I noticed a small red spot on his forhead, presumably where he face planted. "Oh yeah, that was pretty good. Its different without weapons, you know?"

The rest of the time was like that, them asking questions, and me answering.

I tried not to tell them much about myself and more about Palmacosta itself, but they eventually began asking about what happens in my personal life.

"Children, don't pry." Raine called over, reading a book and I watched her jealously, wishing I could do the same.

Lloyd deflated, and turned back to me. "Hey, you should stick around for a bit in Palmacosta. I mean, you're a lot more fun than you think you are. Isn't it lonely to travel alone?"

I held back a surprised laugh, knowing that it was far from true. I was boring in my last life, so I had no clue what these people were talking about.

It turned to night, and although I managed to escape their prying, It was too late to read. So I was currently crammed in the bridge, using what little light there was on the lit candle, desperately to attempt and finish the chapter in my book.

"Uh, what're you reading?" Max tried asking, eyeing me.

"History on the Balacruf Mausoleum." I answered shortly, still trying to read.

"Oh, so you're a nerd now?"

Needless to say, I suddenly wasn't as desperate to finish the chapter I was on, instead I was sulking at my original spot on the boat. I mean, I wasn't a nerd just because I liked to read… Genis was a nerd. Yeah, not me…

At least he didn't sulk away from people though. Yeah, I am a loser. It was official.

I sat on the edge, looking up at the sky. The stars were incredibly pretty in the ocean, and I had to say the stars were far more gorgeous in Sylvarant than on earth. I remembered in my astrology class, Eris was actually the name of a star. I wished the stars were the same here, because there was nothing familiar about the night sky. Even the moon was unfamiliar, even though it was big, there was no man on the moon or familiar craters.

"I've read that book before." I looked down to see Genis, who was eyeing the book laying on the ground next to my pouch, bag of green tea and jerky. It was rather annoying to wear with my shirt sometimes, so I took it off knowing if anything happened I could survive just fine with only a dagger.

"Y-yeah… History of Balacruf Mausoleum." I repeated again, although somewhat cautious. Wasn't really fond of being called a nerd…

"You said you couldn't go to school though." He tilted his head. "Where'd you learn to read?"

Didn't think he'd care to remember that. I thought, turning around on my perch to face him. But it was true, there were plenty of adults in Sylvarant that didn't know how to read.

"I've been able to read as long as I remember." I said truthfully. In my past life, there was never a time I hadn't been a reader. I'd actually been a lot of things. Unfortunately, I'd given up many of those things. The most devastating one to me was drawing. But I was lagging when it came to that hobby anyways, so I could survive.

"So your parents taught you?"

I jerked, and stared at him in surprise. One of my fondest memories was of my parents reading with me when I was little, and that was in my past life. But then I remembered that was Mikayla's parents, and he was asking about Eris's parents. I sobered up a bit, Genis watched me curiously.

"M...Maybe…" I mumbled, and looked away. "I don't remember much about that though."

The half elf boy tilted his head, but he was smart enough to tell when I didn't want to talk about something and changed the subject.

"Have you ever been to the Balacruf?"

I nodded, and slid down to sit in front of the younger one on the ground, and he followed me. "Yeah… Only once though."

I noticed Raine coming over here at the corner of my eye, and she sat down next to her younger brother.

"Eris… Do you know where any seals could be? I have a hunch the water seal is somewhere near Palmacosta." Raine said, watching us a bit. I was rather surprised she was asking me that, and although I knew what she was talking about and had an answer to back it up, I really couldn't help myself. I also wanted to test how much she was willing to elaborate.

"I knew you were an odd group." I started, trying to hold back a snicker. "Theres more than one." I successfully put on a poker face, closing my eyes 'thoughtfully' "There's usually hundreds on the beach every morning far up north Luin... But believe me when I say they do not like being touched."

Kind of like you. Are you sure you're not the seal their looking for? Hehe!

Hilarious.

Genis just looked plain confused, and while Raine was for a few seconds, she seemed to get it soon enough.

"No, not the animal, I mean… The seals for the journey of regeneration."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got that. I was just wondering what you wanted me to know. I'm not exactly familiar with the whole regeneration thing. Except the basics."

Raine seemed to understand what I was saying. That I didn't know if she expected me to keep hush hush about Colette being the chosen or not. So instead of sighing or getting mad, she said, "So do you know anything?"

Trying not to seem too suspicious, I said, "Well… It should be in a watery place right? I didn't see anything suspicious at Lake Umacy, but thats a possibility. Although..." I trailed off, wondering if I should tell them the real answer. I remembered the stuff between Izoold and when Sheena joins is the most annoying parts of the game for me personally. Besides the character build up stuff in Tethe'alla, like Regals story and the temples.

"Although what?" Raine asked, looking to me patiently.

"I've never been there before, but the Thoda geyser is a likely place for something like that… Its the most unique water feature in Sylvarant." I told her, tilting my head a bit. "I'd like to go, but I've never really gone in that direction. Also, the Sylvarant Dynasty. But thats less likely, I mean why would a sacred trial be held in a cursed castle?"

Indeed, the Church of Martel said the Dynasty to be cursed. They claimed that they defied the church, and denied the existence of Martel. Although, scholars have never been able to claim any of that true or false, because the records of the argument was destroyed, as well as everything else past four thousand years ago.

Raine nodded, and Kratos walked over. "That seems like a good way to go. Its close." Kratos added, not sitting down like the rest of us. I noticed everyone was here but Lloyd and Colette, and I looked around to see them on the other side of the boat looking at the stars.

"We should rest in Palmacosta for a bit though." Raine said, more of a order than a suggestion. Kratos most likely knew how pointless it was to argue at this point with a woman, so he simply nodded.

I didn't deem it necessary to say anything else, and it seemed like Genis didn't know what to say. Everyone simply sat there, and eventually Lloyd and Colette got their little 'moment'(Wink wink, nudge nudge) over with, and walked over.

"Hey, whats everyone doing?" Lloyd asked, sitting down next to Genis. Colette came to sit next to me, rather close, and I resisted the urge to scoot away.

"We were just discussing a course of action." Raine answered, watching me carefully. I was sitting next to the chosen, so naturally they were wary of any attack from me. Especially after Sheena I was sure anything would have looked worse- now they knew some people didn't like the chosen enough to kill her.

"We're going to be staying in Palmacosta for a while!" Genis exclaimed excitedly. "We can play with Eris longer!" I jerked in surprise. Play with? I thought, half amused and half terrified.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered, "Oh… Uh… You don't need to do that…" I was boring, all I was planning to do when I got back was read and sit on my 'hidden' roof.

"You don't need to be shy!" Lloyd grinned. "We like being around you!"

Perfect. I thought. Only me… Only the chosens group!

"I'm not being shy!" I blushed, and looked away. "I just wasn't planning on doing anything. Thats all."

"How is that a bad thing?" Genis asked. "Thats means you have free time to do stuff with us!"

Seriously? Are these people teenagers? Shouldnt they be partying and doing drugs and stuff? I sighed. No different than I ever was in the past then. I didn't know how to do any of the typical danger stuff. I stayed home, literally did nothing. My best friends were my little cousins, and boys just didn't go with my 'bro' like nature… I was a best friend, not someone other teenage boys wanted to mess around with.

"O-okay, fine." I said, relenting. "Just don't expect anything fancy."

The three teenagers began talking excitedly, and the adults remained the same. When it seemed I was officially excluded, Raine and I started talking a bit.

"Can you read angelic?" Raine asked randomly, and I tilted my head.

"A… A little bit… But I'm not very good, since I'm more able to understand it than speak it." If someone was else was saying it, or I was reading it, I could understand it fairly well. But talking in the language was a different. Chiron didn't drill me on it, it was more of a week long lesson that was brought up only a few times afterwards.

"I see." She said, watching me carefully. I tilted my head, wondering why she even asked, but she never responded. Instead, we began talking about different things like books, and things in Palmacosta.

Morning came very soon, and I couldn't sleep well in different places, so I simply sat on the edge of the boat, waiting for morning to pass as I shined my dagger and looked at the stars.

I never slept well, it seemed to be an ongoing thing from my last life. It wasn't even in the 'but I want to do stuff' or 'I have work' kind of way. But here in particular, for some reason... The constant buzz of mana always kept me up. Along with discomfort, the electricity like energy kept me awake enough to survive. This body was used to lack of sleep at that point, so I could survive a couple of days with little to no sleep. But I was still human, so it was necessary I got at least ten hours of sleep a week to remain alert.

The sun rose, and I watched it. I had seen plenty of sunrises, but somehow a sunrise at sea was different. It was only a couple hours after that Kratos got up, although I knew he most likely never slept, and I slightly turned to look at him as he didn't even try and gently wake his son up, instead immediately resorting to throwing a bucket of water in his face he obtained from the bags in the back.

Lloyd shot up, sputtering, and Genis rolled over and mumbled at the older to 'Be quiet', before going back to sleep.

"Time to train Lloyd." Kratos said, walking to the side of the boat where there was no one but me, who was wide awake and able to get out of the way of something happened.

"Okay… Okay…" Lloyd mumbled, alert but not wide awake. Water does that you you, Tia used to do that to me in the orphanage every morning when we trained, and woke both me and Ann up indirectly.

Lloyd got ready as well, stumbling over his blades and I assumed he had just begun training a while ago, since he obviously wasn't used to waking up.

They began to spar, Kratos shouting advice every couple of minutes, and I went back to shining my own blades. It always took forever, since I had dozens of blades, small or no. I was surprised I could fit them all on my person.

People began waking up over time, Raine and Colette after the first two, and Genis soon after. The latter began making something, breakfast for their group I assumed, and Colette and Raine began talking by the bridge.

Eventually Lloyd and Kratos took a short break, and the former noticed me blinking, surprised I assumed. "How long have you been awake?"

Not very observant, is he?

I tilted my head, looking up at him in acknowledgement. "Never went to sleep."

He walked over to me, and he looked… Appalled? Worried? I may have known about him, but characters and people were completely different, so I couldn't quite read him. Like, if he was limping at this point in the game, it wouldn't have been portrayed in the game, because thats just too human. That sort of thing. "Wha? Why not?"

I shrugged, "I don't sleep well. So I didn't think it was necessary to get to sleep tonight."

"Really?" He asked again, and sat next to me as he was slightly panting from his sparring. "You just… go to sleep, don't you?"

I laughed, it was the typical 'Why don't you just go to sleep' question, but at least he had the decency not to jump to conclusions. Like many other people did. I understood it was hard to understand for someone who could fall asleep the second his head hit the couch, so I simply brushed it off.

"If it was that easy, I'd be getting a lot more sleep." I said dryly, shining my blades.

"Oh. S-sorry…" The boy mumbled, but then straightened up as he noticed my action with interest. "You have weapons?" I looked at him dubiously, wondering just where he got his intelligence. Not Kratos.

"Well I couldn't travel solo otherwise." I said slowly.

"Hey, maybe you can spar with me and Kratos!" Lloyd suggested.

"Uh. No thanks, I think I'll pass."

Lloyd shrugged, "Well if you say so…"

"Breakfast is ready!" We heard Genis call, and Lloyd Immediately shot up, and ran over to the food.

I stayed where I was, and took out a book and began reading.

I stayed like this, until Palmacosta came into view a couple hours later. The other teens and child ran to the edge of the boat to watch Palmacosta come into sight. They were talking amongst themselves excitedly, and the adults waited on the side opposite of me on the boat. I gathered my stuff, taking off my zip up shirt so I could hook my abdominal straps on my upper body below the rim of my shirt, and hooked the pouches in their respective places soon after.

I was just pulling it back on and zipping it up when we pulled into the port, next to tons of much larger, dormant ships. I picked up my bags and stood next to the chosens group waiting to get off. I stood off awkwardly to the side, and waited until everyone was off the boat. Then I followed them off, and walked up the dock our boat got off. The chosens group was talking to Max, probably thanking him before he took off again. I walked ahead of them, and I guessed they eventually noticed me missing because just before I was about to walk up the stairs, I heard Lloyd call out to me.

"Hey, wait up!" I turned around, hand on the railing, and saw the younger ones running to catch up to me. I waited for them(Somehow I thought if I ran, it would send the wrong message), and they caught up soon enough. Its not like I walked too far ahead anyways.

"Whats up?" I asked, tilting my head. I know they wanted to hang out with me for some reason, but I wasn't very good at that kind of thing. So I just assumed we'd see each other eventually.

"I-I don't know, I just kind of thought…" Lloyd trailed off, looking somewhat confused. I felt bad, I knew I was being kind of a jerk, but it wasn't my fault I had a hard time communicating with people outside of business.

Its a good thing you met that Renenet lady, otherwise no one would want you.

"Do you want me to help you find stuff?" I asked, relenting. Palmacosta was a big city, it was hard for me at first, so I couldn't imagine what it was like for Sylvarant village folk.

"That would make things a lot easier, at the very least." Raine said, her and Kratos catching up to us. I shrugged, and made my way up the stairs.

"Okay… Follow me then."

.

Ending up in the rather large shopping district, the group of Iselia bumpkins(and Kratos, I don't think he counted) stared in awe at the typical hustle and bustle nature of Palmacosta. Even if it had been washed down lately. The three minors looked around in awe, and while Raine looked just a little impressed, Kratos looked like he had seen it many times before.

He probably has actually.

"This is the intermediate shopping district." I said, waving my hand a bit. "There's everything here… Except liqu- I... I mean potion… That's at the bars only."

We walked through the shops and I told them what each one we walked by sold, and eventually we made it around the travelers shops. We walked a bit into it, and since they would eventually need to stock up, they browsed a bit.

"Eris!" I turned around, and saw a familiar blond haired twenty year old woman speed walking towards me. Rather bull like, and above all, very terrifyingly.

"Katherine?" I murmured, as she came to a stop in front of the group. She grinned a bit, and looked at them quickly before turning her attention to me. Not that I wanted it at that particular moment at all.

"Well? Arent you going to introduce me?" She not so subtly hinted, nudging me.

"No thanks."

She thumped me in the head, and I stepped back a bit. It didn't hurt too bad, but the point was still obvious enough that she'd do it again for ignoring her.

"Alright… This is Katherine." She waved enthusiastically at the introduction, and Colette waved just as so back, and everyone but Kratos nodded somewhat hesitantly, noting her unwarranted excitement as the mercenary simply tilted his head.

"These people are travelers, Katherine. This one is Colette, Lloyd, Genis, Raine and Kratos." I finished, trying to convey with my eyes that she really didn't want to do that to me. Except she did, so she once again brushed me aside and continued.

"Travelers?" Katherine asked, her grin somehow stretching further. "I didn't know you knew how to make friends Rissy!"

I sighed, looking away from her instantly. Kratos seemed to jerk in some weird emotional reaction(Or something), but when its him its impossible to tell if he actually reacted to anything, and even if you had physical and calculated evidence, and even if God said that he enjoyed pink stuffed animals, you would ignore it because its Kratos. And thats what I did.

"If you keep making that face, they'll mistake you for a monster." Katherine scowled at me, and I smiled innocently. "You're just as excitable as those weird pixie things." I told her, remembering the odd monsters that usually took residence near Izoold. Crazy, psychotic and weird was the only accurate way to describe them. Leafy elven creatures, but they weren't elves. Because elves were people and those things were monsters.

She rolled her eyes at me, she turned to the rest of the group and said, "We have room in our place, if you want a place to stay. It'll save you money at least, traveling takes a toll, I know!"

My eyes widened, and I turned to the chosens party and said "L-look, you really don't need to do that, I mean, we are very inhospitable people-" The older woman smacked me on the arm, and I jumped away. "Stop hitting me!"

She rolled her eyes, "It wouldn't hurt to be nice to people for once!" She said loudly before muttering to me in a low voice,"But it will if you wont..." I sighed, not at all caring if she went through with the threat one bit. She turned to them again and said, "The invitations still open, we have plenty of room."

"On the floor maybe." I mumbled, knowing that the only person who could say no at this point was the victims themselves. Truth was, we had more than enough room since Katherine was studying to be a doctor(And was considered one in this world, even if she was still learning) and needed to space for her clients. Also, she had a lot of money. Tia did a little bit of everything, and doctors made a lot of money, and she did what I did to fill in time gaps.

Raine stepped forward, looking back at Kratos and said,"That might actually be a good idea."

Wait, what?

"Palmacosta is expensive." Kratos added, "We can afford one room, but two might take a toll."

"Theres a Inn around our house!" Katherine said, putting a hand on my head. I puffed out my cheeks, embarrassed. "Here, we'll take you there!"

She took off, taking hilarious looking strides and started talking to Colette, who seemed to particularly adore her.

"You live with her?" Lloyd asked as he walked up to me, grinning a bit. "Is she your sister or something?"

"N-no…" I stuttered, still recovering from the excitement my roommate caused. "She's my roommate…"

"Roommate?" Raine asked, catching up to us, her brother beside her and Kratos close behind. "You don't live with your parents?"

Nosy… I thought, looking at her awkwardly. I looked to the ground and said "N-no, Um… they aren't really here…" Way to keep that from them, Kratos is probably one step away from figuring it out.

So much for staying out of their lives… My awkwardness seems to make a lasting impression…

"Oh…" Raine seemed to deflate, looking away from me. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pried…"

I shrugged, "It's fine… People just end up treating me different when they know…" It was true, that was always half the reason I kept my personal life from people. I wanted people to accept me for who I was, and not let anything else make them think differently. But also… Explaining was too much of a hassle. I could never truly explain the truth behind why I died, not truly. Knowing the facts and knowing the truth were different, and I definitely valued one over the other.

"I lost my parents too…" Lloyd offered, and I sighed. That was the last thing I wanted to get into. I didn't want to have a sob story time, I just wanted to ignore it and move on. Just like everything else.

"Its fine, don't worry about it." I said, hoping no one would say anything else. No one did, and everyone remained silent as we walked. We passed by the library with my roof, and I eyed it, wishing I could go up there at that time to relax after the journey. I sighed, and decided leaving them alone with Katherine to be alone wouldn't hurt them too bad.

"I'll catch up with you guys later." I said breaking the silence. "I have to do something really quick."

With that, I walked back towards the library not waiting for an answer. I knew Katherine would just argue with me, and I knew neither of us would relent anyways.

When I got to the roof, I saw a familiar boy sitting on the edge. I placed my bags down, and walked over to him slowly as to not startle him. The sun was up high, and although it wasn't chilly enough to see my breath, it was fairly cold anyhow.

"Apparently Izoold has green tea for super cheap." I said, standing next to him.

He yelped, and jumped about three feet in the air. He almost fell off the roof, but I ran over to where he stumbled and steadied him.

"Y-you scared me! What the hell?!" Kaiden exclaimed, putting a hand to his heart. "Goddess Martel!"

"S-sorry…" I said, sitting down beside him as I knew despite my efforts, I failed to let him know I was there. He eyed me however, a blush spreading like paint over his face. He was probably embarrassed he got scared so bad in front of me.

"Since when do you apologize?" Kaiden asked jokingly, nudging my side slightly.

I smiled a bit, and chuckled. "Just been a really weird week… Thats all."

"What happened? You actually made friends?"

"You know, for some reason people just can't get over that." I rolled my eyes, and my roof companion gaped at me in surprise.

"Wha..? Seriously!?"

I nodded, but then tilted my head. "W-well I think so. I don't know yet…"

"Who are they?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…" I mumbled.

"Who?!" He pushed, leaning closer to me in interest, at that point in his nosy mode.

"Don't tell anyone, its supposed to be a secret... but its the Chosens group." I said hesitantly, and watched as he simply blinked.

"What?" He said, surprised. "How did you of all people manage to do that?"

I glared at him and he laughed, copying my common act of mock surrender. "Joking, joking!"

He then sobered up though, seeming to think of something. I peered off the edge as he was deep in thought. "... Does that mean your going with them too?"

I blinked up at him. But then I sighing, I looked to the side and I pressed my lips to my face in thought. "Heh. I don't know."

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "So you'd actually consider it?"

I bit my cheek. Kaiden was Kaiden- He was a orphan. He had no true external influences in his life and even though he was an idiot, he knew when something was personal and normally kept his mouth shut.

I grunted. "Can't keep a secret from you, can I? Well whatever. Lloyd, the boy traveling with them is my brother. So… Yeah. Whoopdedoo."

He was a bit silent. He blinked. "... And lemme guess. Your the only one who knows."

I nodded, I slight grin on my face.

"Well then go with him." Kaiden said, not really freaking out like most would. "Go with them. Who knows when your going to get this chance again?"

I laughed a bit. Of course he would say that, I even called it before.

Instead of bothering me about it, and knowing it was a confusing subject for the both of us, he changed the subject. We talked a bit longer, but it was about time for him to head back to the orphanage. We said our farewells, and I stopped at the library below me and bought a book about traveler hacks, like homemade healing remedies, and other various things that I probably would never use.

It was on sale.

I made my way back to the house, the sun setting as the cityfolk picked up their things, and got ready to go home. It was rather cool out, and the smell of the sea and the city reminded me of the times I would go to the Oregon beaches with my family.

I fumbled with the key, and opened my door. I took off my boots, and looked up to see the all of the Chosens group sitting on the couch, staring at me. This surprised me, because apparently all of them decided to stay at my place, instead of half at the inn.

Katherine probably begged them.

I looked back at them cautiously, wondering what they were looking at me for. It was odd, a few seemed to be thinking of something very carefully. This worried me, because I didn't know if it was because Katherine did or said something, or another thing entirely. She didn't do anything to Colette, did she?

"Hey… Guys…" I greeted, moving over to them. "Um… so… Whats the plan…? You going to stay here?"

Raine cleared her throat, "Yes. Katherine said the girls can share a room with you, and the boys can take the extra room… Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, I don't mind."

I sat down on the couch, unwrapping my calve bandages. Lloyd looked like he wanted to ask about them.

"Don't ask…" I sighed, finishing up and tossing them in the trash next to me.

We sat there for a bit, and for some reason there was an awkward air in the room, and I looked around curiously. It was probably my fault they felt out of place, I didn't exactly treat them the best on the ride home.

"So… Did you guys get your things set up?" I asked, eyeing them as I crossed my legs, my knees a couple inches away from Colette.

"Yes. Thank you for asking!" The angel exclaimed, smiling at me. Everyone nodded, and I watched them relax a bit.

"U-um… Thats good… Someone can take my bed, I don't need it really bad."

"Oh, no! You don't need to do that!" I looked at Colette, who was waving wildly. She seemed rather nervous, but I doubted it had anything to do with my suggestion with the way everything seemed when I walked in.

"S-so you guys wanted to do something?" I asked, looking at Lloyd and Genis who was sitting across from me.

The mood changed, and Lloyd grinned, "What do you usually do around here?"

I thought about this for a minute. Well Kaiden wanted to go swimming soon, but that wouldn't exactly work for night time. If Genis was older we could go jump off the pier, but alas, he wasn't old enough. Didn't want to get Raines little brother (Or anyone, for that matter) in trouble for breaking the law(A flimsy one at that) the second they arrived. We could do something exciting the next day, but looking at Lloyd, I decided to let him in on something.

"Theres a place I like to go… You want to see it?"

.

We were sitting on the roof of the library, and small lantern going as I drank some tea. The others were looking at the stars, and I sat on the ledge.

"So whats Iselia like?" I asked, not turning to face them.

"Its way smaller than this." Genis answered.

I turned around and smiled. "Yeah, I kind of figured."

Lloyd looked at me, and said "You know, I think thats the first time I've seen you smile so far."

I dropped my smile, and looked away. "Oh. Sorry about that."

"What? No, its fine! Its just… Why don't you smile more often?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Why do you smile so often?"

"Smiling is good for you!" Colette said, and of course she was smiling.

"This place is amazing though! You can see all of Palmacosta!" Genis exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to our conversation. I willingly let that slide, and looked at him as he was standing beside where I was sitting. I rolled my eyes and grinned, trying to loosen up a bit.

"Not all of it… Its even better if you climb the Martel Chapel- I mean…" I cleared my throat jokingly, then deepened it to sound mockingly mature. "Thats dangerous, Don't do it."

Lloyd blinked at me, and then grinned along with the rest of his friends, now getting used to the fact I knew how to be friendly. I wasn't quite comfortable with them yet, but it definitely helped I knew exactly who they all were beforehand.

"You've climbed the Martel Chapel?" Genis laughed, now him and Colette walking over to sit on the ledge with me. "Isnt that one of the largest structures in Sylvarant besides The Tower of Salvation and The Tower of Mana?"

"To be honest, it was a dare." I admitted. "But it was still pretty cool. I got in trouble, but the only thing that bothered me was the climb itself."

We talked some more about the trouble I got into, and I even told them about Kaiden, and the fact I had only let three people up here before.

"Yeah, I'm only still friends with one though… I don't really see the other two around much." I said and frowned, "I wish I could though, but me being a human in Palmacosta doesn't make things any easier."

"What does being human have anything to do with it?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head a bit.

I frowned, thinking about the last time I saw Ann, and how scared she was of me. I would give anything to make the world easier on her, I just…

Didn't I promise that? To Kaiden. To do anything within my power to do it. I looked at Colette, knowing that they were the ones who were going to take the first steps in that. It was within my power, but who could fault me for not going with them?

Me.

"Because this world isn't kind to people who are stuck in the middle…" I said, looking up at the stars. "After I started traveling, I… Got distant from a lot of people, including the people who were with me from the beginning." I shrugged, and turned to the teens. Too soon in the game for that sort of thinking. "But, I guess I can figure it out later."

"People stuck in the middle?" Genis asked, looking at me with wide eyes. "Do you mean… Half elves?"

Lloyd looked at me surprised, and said "You're friends with a half elf?"

"Two." I corrected, and looked at him straight in the eye. "Everyone is mistaking the problem. Its not the half elves. Its the Desians."

"So basicly what you're saying… is you think half elves aren't the problem, its the Desians?" Genis asked incredulously. I felt like I was being tested, so I looked at him without doubt and he looked down at his lap. "What makes you think half elves and Desians are any different?"

"Desians are a group of people who made a choice." I said, crossing my legs. "Half elves are a race. Choices hurt people, not race."

"How can you think that?" Lloyd asked, looking at me. I was shocked at first at his reaction, but then I remembered at that point he didn't understand the difference between half elves and Desians. "We heard about your teacher… She was taken by the Desians."

I blinked. So thats what the whole awkward thing was about earlier. I shook my head. Sure, if it wasn't for my past knowledge, my biased feelings from past opinions, I would probably agree. However...

"That has nothing to do with Ann though." I said, now facing Lloyd. "Colette is part of the Church of Martel, does that mean I am as well, because we're both human?"

Everyone was silent, and I looked down. "Sorry… You don't have to listen to me, or conform to what I'm saying. Its just what I believe. I just get defensive because I'm friends with a half elf."

"I-its fine." Lloyd stuttered. "I believe what your saying, its just… hard to get used to… I've never met any half elf other than Desians."

I nodded, and smiled. He was right, it was one thing to be a spectator, but another to be right in the middle of the problem. Then I remembered that he would be, he would be right in the middle of that storm, and frowned. "Don't worry, I get it."

We talked and joked about other things. We stayed up until it got around ten pm, and we walked back to the house. When we got in, the adults were still awake and talking.

"Your back late." Raine said, eyeing the three next to me. I didn't want to get in trouble, I was still somewhat of a pansy in that aspect. Not surprisingly, the older half elf had a very teacherish air to her, and for some reason I always was very cautious and not trusting of teachers. I had some bad experiences in my past life, although I knew teachers as a whole were not bad, I had gone to a school where we did not have very… understanding teachers. They had more to worry about besides some student who didn't care enough to try.

School was not the highlight of my life.

I sat next to Katherine, who was across from Kratos. Raine got up, and told the others to get to bed. She went to go talk to Genis about something in the kitchen where no one could hear them. They grumbled a bit, but thirty minutes later they were in their designated places and mostly asleep.

Me and the adults were the only ones awake, and discussing various things like the travels ahead of them.

"So the Desians have been causing trouble a lot lately?" Raine asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Ever since the Oracle, the Desians have been showing up a lot more." Katherine said, her voice sounding grave. "Yesterday would be the third time they've come this week! And it's only Thursday!"

I turned to her wide eyed, "You're kidding right? Why were you in town by yourself then?!"

"I can fight you know!" The older woman huffed, and turned away from me. "I'm not useless!"

"But neither are they!" I scolded, glaring at her. "Tia was stronger than the both of us, and she still got captured! If the Desians werent dangerous, I could have gotten her out of the ranch by now!"

"I know their dangerous," She told me, crossing her arms. I could tell she wasn't relenting, so I just sighed as she continued. "But cowering will just make it worse."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes afterwards, until Raine coughed. "Have either of you heard of Marbles shop?"

I tilted my head, and told them no, but Katherine nodded enthusiastically.

"I helped out when their little girl broke her arm a few years ago… Very sweet family."

Raine nodded, and said 'I see,' before changing the subject.

The whole thing sounded eerily familiar, like many things of this world, but I brushed it off, knowing it wasn't my problem.

"We ran into Dorr today.-" I scowled harshly and looked away, and Raine eyed me curiously and continued. "-I heard he started a resistance…"

Katherine glared at me warningly, and I rolled my eyes in silent agreement. I wasn't going to say anything, everyone was going to figure it out eventually. There was nothing I could say to make it better.

"Yes…" Katherine said. "Many of the residence here are very enamored with him."

"We have a meeting with him tomorrow." Raine said, frowning a bit. "He might have some information on the seals. It seems like he would be willing to help."

I sighed, and stood up, mumbling "I'm going to bed…"

"Oh. Well, night Riss!"

I waved my hand, walking past the guest room and into my room, where Colette was laying on the floor with only a blanket. I sighed in exasperation. I knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore at one point, so I at least wanted to make her comfortable before then. I knew what it was like to be alone while everyone was asleep, like being in the twilight zone, like you didn't even exist anymore.

Like no one cared if you were dead.

"Look, I know you're awake, now get off the floor, and into the bed."

She turned to me, her eyes sparkling in the dark, reflecting the lights outside. "No, I'm fine…" She chirped in a whisper.

I walked up to where she was laying. I honestly just wanted to lay down and think for a bit, and there was no way I was letting her sleep on the floor. So I grabbed her blankets, and rolled her off. She squeaked, and made a loud thud. I felt bad, but this was going to happen either way, so I decided to get it over with as soon as possible then be polite about it.

I sat her up, and grabbed her hand, and she bounced as she landed on my bed. I flopped on the floor as she stared at me in surprise, and I simply rolled over, pulling the blankets over me and coming to a standstill.

When I didn't hear her move, I rolled my eyes and commandingly said, "Good night."

I finally heard her moving, slowly, and heard the final thud of her laying down and the shift of covers. "G-good night…"

I was still awake when Raine walked in, and I realized there was no blankets set up fir her. I groaned, and sat up.

"Eris? Why are you still awake?"

"Don't sleep well." I said dully, opening my closet, and pulling out a bunch of blankets. I remembered I had a perfectly good couch, and I shook my head wondering why Colette decided to lay on the freaking floor, and I just threw the blankets on the couch.

I walked past Raine, and said, "Night Raine… you can sleep on my couch…"

I flopped back on the floor outside the blankets, but I got hot very easy, so I wasn't even going to bother getting back in.

I heard a squeak of the mat as the older half elf flopped on the bed. It was silent for several more minutes and no sound was made.

"Eris…?" Raine called out in the dark, quiet, but loud enough for me to hear below her.

"... Yeah?"

"I… Never mind… Good night Eris."

"Night."

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A/N

So yeah. I think the ninja thing was really dumb, but I kinda needed something to fill the space... I'll come fix it later.

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