Pebblekit: Hey guys! How are you doing today? I can't get to sleep, so I guess I'll write until I start snoring... Anyway, just so you guys know, my least favorite color is pink. This is why I keep making fun of Marcia. Not only that, but when she fights, I can't look at her because pink clashes with red so much that I can't stand it. Also, it turns out that Elincia went to Gallia before everyone else, something I completely forgot about until I was halfway through this chapter. I just decided to keep her there, because I didn't see it as a big deal. Please don't get too mad at me. Also, I finally got the permission to tell you the actual primary reason my updates take so long at times. It's my older sister's fault- Miss Marquin. She's on the computer "ALL THE TIME"- straight quote from my mom. Anyway, my sister told me to tell all of you that since she's on a lot (seniority gets reign in my house) I do not only have enough time to update, but also write. Anyway, I was told to tell you that so that I would stop pestering her while she's doing her "homework"- cough cough hack wheeze- …like that's going to happen…
Pairings for this chapter: Maybe a little Rolf/ Mist reference. I need to start somewhere, don't I? What better place than their first battle?
Prisoner in Reality
Chapter 11: A Soft Sigh in the Air
Eleven has two of the same digits
(-)
Ike set up the formation without much of a thought as to where he was putting certain people. This became apparent as he positioned Rhys on the front line and Boyd in the back. Mist was the one who told him that he was being stupid; causing her brother to blush deeply with embarrassment as he quickly switched the positions of the priest and fighter.
Oscar sighed inwardly as it became even more obvious that the ranger was having trouble focusing on the task at hand when he put Ilyana in front of himself. Soren eventually asked Ike if he should set up the battle formation. Nodding vaguely, the blue haired man sat down on a nearby rock, his gaze flitting to his little sister, worry overshadowing his features.
Rolf stirred next to Oscar, readjusting the strap of his quiver to where it was tighter, so as not to slip off during battle. As he watched the kid fumble with his fingers, the lance knight couldn't help but notice how much his little brother was quivering. However, whether it was from nervousness or excitement, he couldn't tell.
Eventually, Soren finished positioning everybody, setting Boyd up front next to Ike. Behind those two, Ilyana stood next to the frowning wind mage, nervously grasping her lightning tome more tightly. Behind those two, Mist, Rhys, and Rolf stood, blocked almost completely from harm. Last but not least, Oscar stood in between Lethe and Mordecai in the back. Titania sat on a rock nearby with Elincia, ready to run out into battle with an extra weapon if anyone needed it.
Next to the small mercenary band, a giant sort of short cliff stood. On the other side, the land dropped off about fifteen feet to a beach area below. Oscar silently thanked the goddess for the small fighting area. Because of the secluded space, all of the defenseless fighters, such as Rolf and Mist, could simply stand in the center of a circle consisting of the rest of the team. Once they got down to the beach area, however, this security would be gone.
All too soon, Ike released a strangled battle cry from his throat, no doubt any less worried about Mist than Oscar was about Rolf. At the sound of the wail, three Daein soldiers that had been patrolling the edge of the beach area below ran up, their weapons raised.
Ike quickly hacked at a fighter, doing massive damage as the poleax wielder slumped, grasping his wound. Another fighter came up behind the first, his still ax glinting in the sun as light reflected off of it. Soren released a wind spell, but the guy kept coming. Oscar raised his javelin to stop the man from chopping Boyd in half, but Rolf, who was standing in front of him, drew an arrow and shot with near in-human speed. The sharp stone bit into the man's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground dead.
Boyd looked back in surprise at his little brother, while Ilyana cast a thunder spell on the mage that had accompanied the two fighters. However, that didn't stop the soldier, who raised his hand and summoned thunder down from the heavens, just as Ilyana had done. Rhys miraculously jumped out of the way while Soren brought down the enemy with a handy wind spell.
Just as soon as the body hit the hard ground, a dark shadow passed overhead. Oscar looked up in surprise, squinting slightly harder than he usually did, and saw the lean body of a Pegasus above the small mercenary band. Perched on top of the animal was a petite girl with… pink hair…
The horse landed gracefully with a strong lurch of its wings. The girl jumped off of her mount with a soft thud and walked over quite confidently to the team. Everyone there was too shocked to move or raise their weapon. Whether the silence was caused by her sudden appearance, or the color of her hair, was unknown as everyone's eyes set on her. She spoke in a shrill manor, almost rivaling Mia's exhilaration. "Ike!"
After a full minute of awkward silence, Ike approached the Pegasus knight with an odd look on his face. When he spoke, his voice was shaken, as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You! You're that…"
"That's right! It's me! Marcia! As promised, I came to repay my debt… I'm joining your group!"
No one knew what to say to this odd statement. Oscar wasn't exactly sure what was going on. He had never seen this girl before in his life, yet she seemed to know Ike rather well, which was odd, seeing as though the two men had lived under the same roof for several years now. It was awhile before Ike found the words to respond to the abrupt forwardness of this girl. "But I thought you were one of the holy Pegasus knights of Begnion…"
Marcia shrugged at the ranger's remark. "Pfff! I resigned! So what do you say? Are you going to let me in or not? Come on!" There was a sense of pleading in her eyes that not even the cruelest general in the middle of a fierce battle could resist as she clasped her hands and knelt on her knees.
Ike looked uncomfortable with this dilemma, and Oscar could tell that his friend wasn't used to making all of the decisions for the rest of the team yet. After all, how could he be? He had just been forced to take control of everything a day or two ago. "Are you sure about this? I mean, I'll be honest with you. We're a destitute band of mercenaries. Your wages will be a pittance to what you're used to," the young man finally managed to choke out.
"So, what? Are you saying no?" the girl sounded somewhat downcast at this point.
Ike, like everybody else in the clearing… except maybe Soren… couldn't bear to see her looking so glum, so he answered somewhat quickly this time. "No, I'm simply pointing out that you'll be losing almost all of…"
"Pfff! I won't be missing out on anything! Plus, I'll work twice as hard as anyone else. C'mon, please let me join? Pleeeease!"
Ike, finally making a choice, answered. "Well, if that's what you want, I guess we'll give it a shot. We're shorthanded though, so you're going to be busy."
Marcia, as she called herself was already heading back to her Pegasus as she exclaimed, "Huzzah! That's great! Just tell me what needs doing!" She jumped up onto a rock in order to mount her flying horse. "Where do you want me to be in the formation?"
Soren was the one who addressed her, seeing as though Ike had basically lost his mind once he found out that Mist would now be fighting. "Are you very strong, or did you just start training?"
The pink haired girl took a moment to think. "Well… I've been training for awhile, but I'm not that good of a fighter yet…"
"Say no more," the mage interrupted, looking around him thoughtfully. "You could stand by Rolf…"
"Who's Rolf?" Rolf, who was standing right in front of Oscar, raised his hand. "Oh! The cute one! Got it! Okie dokie day, let's get this battle underway!" As the girl's mount trotted into position, its wings hit Titania so hard that the red head nearly fell off the rock she was sitting on. "Sorry!" then, the creature's other wing slapped Rhys' head pretty hard as it tried to back away from the paladin. "Sorry again!"
Soren tapped his foot impatiently and scowled even more than usual. Oscar was suddenly filled with doubt as Marcia didn't see where she was going and her horse walked right on top of Ilyana's foot. …Is this going to be okay…? He wondered as the new recruit FINALLY got into position.
Soon after that, everyone got situated and was ready to move out, so the battle resumed. Oscar stayed close by Rolf, just in case anything were to happen. Strangely, he didn't feel all that worried. His youngest brother seemed to be doing just fine without any help at all as he delivered the final blow to both a mage who wielded thunder and a myrmidon with an iron sword. However, the lance knight couldn't seem to help but think that something was wrong. For some reason, he kept having an odd feeling about something whenever Rolf pulled back on his bowstring.
Meanwhile, a bandit was getting closer and closer to two houses that were located on the left side of the beach. Not only that, but two more bandits suddenly appeared on the shore of the rolling water. Unlike the rest of the enemies that they had fought so far, these two looked strong, their muscles bulging as they swung their axes tauntingly at Ike. Soren, Mia, and Marcia went to take care of the pirate that was already inland.
At this point, the mercenaries were no longer in the cover of the trees, but they were out in the open of the beach area. It was when the Boyd saw the two new enemies making their ways toward the small group when the fighter backed up to stand next to Rolf. When he spoke, his voice had a kind of urgency in it that Oscar hadn't heard in awhile. "Rolf! Stay close to me, okay?"
Rolf smiled playfully and knelt to restring his bow. "Sure, no problem!"
"Wait a minute… that was too easy… what are you thinking?" The older sibling tried to sound angry, but, alas, he was a horrible actor, so his curiosity showed through as clear as day.
Rolf, who seemed to have noticed this, stood up and drew back his bowstring experimentally before answering. "Well, if I'm closer to you, then I can protect you easier."
"That's MY line! Rolf! COME BACK HERE YOU PEEWEE!"
"Not a chance!" the kid answered as he danced just out of his older brother's reach. The rest of the team chuckled slightly, watching the two playfully tackling each other, including the three that went to fight the pirate and had returned… except Soren and Lethe, who crossed their arms and frowned disapprovingly.
"May I ask," the wind mage began, "why we are acting like fools at such a time?"
Titania, who followed along on her horse at a distance, answered. "Because we're waiting for those two pirates to come inland. The only one of us that can fight them out at sea is Marcia, and she's not strong enough to take them both on at once. We don't exactly want to leave them running rampage in this area either."
It was Lethe that spoke next. "But we COULD be dealing with the other hum- beorc that are down by the fortress, and then come back to take care of these two."
Elincia, who was sitting behind Titania on her horse, was the one that replied, sounding perfectly sensible, "Yes, but this way, you can rest before fighting. It doesn't seem like the other enemies have noticed your presence yet either, so I do believe that we are quite safe for the time being."
"How could those idiots have NOT noticed that we're here?" Soren asked, sounding irritated.
Mist answered. "Simple. They're soldiers. Not only that, they're from Daein. They're too stupid to notice."
By this time, the two pirates had made it to the beach with their axes raised, obviously wanting to fight. "Everyone be careful!" Ike said, drawing his sword with intense speed. Oscar readied his lance, keeping one eye on Rolf and Boyd, who had rejoined the group by now.
The first bandit ran at Ilyana, a fierce light in his eyes, but the girl was ready. She side stepped out of the way at the last second and brought down a bolt of lightning on his head. Then, Marcia's Pegasus flew up and dove back down, allowing the knight to stab the unfortunate man with her iron lance. After a quick toss of Boyd's hand ax, the guy fell, bleeding from several serious wounds.
The second guy, who looked much stronger than the first, ran at Mist, but Mia got there first. The myrmidon jumped in front of the cleric and ducked under the man's ax. Then, she ran forward and stabbed him straight through to the stomach with her iron sword. Oscar raised his lance and charged forward on his horse, impaling his enemy in the chest. Rolf finished the guy off with a swift shot to the throat with his bow. As he fell, the bandit was able to grunt out a few words before his eyes glazed over with the coming of death. "Scallywags of the sea… are we… An end like this is quite… worthy!"
Mia stared dumbfounded at the dead body before her, prodding it with her toe. "Is this guy really dead? 'Cause I've never run into an enemy before that was HAPPY he had been killed."
Oscar didn't hear Soren's sharp response, however. He was too caught up with Mist and Boyd, who were talking in hushed voices about something in particular…
"…his brother! You should know!"
"You're his best friend! Why don't you know?"
"It's not like he tells me everything."
"Huh? He doesn't?"
"No!"
For once in his life, the fighter seemed to look pensive as he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. "So it wasn't you…"
"What are you talking about?" Mist sounded somewhere between annoyed and exasperated.
"Rolf. He told me that he opened up to someone and they got angry at him for it. I just assumed that it was you."
"Me? No way! He never even told me that he could use a bow! He just showed up one day carrying it. I thought he was holding it for Shinon… that is… until he actually used it."
"You mean he didn't tell you he could use it?"
"Uh-uh. I asked him where he had learned, but he wouldn't answer."
Oscar turned away from the conversation, his mind buzzing with thoughts. It sounded to him as though Boyd and Mist were trying to figure out how and where Rolf had learned to use his bow. The more he thought about it, the more this bothered the lance knight. Where did his youngest brother become so good at the weapon?
The man was jolted back to reality as Ike told everyone to move on. They were heading through a narrow clove of trees, having to progress in pairs because of the limited space. Marcia flew overhead, for her mount's wings were too wide to get through the constricted space below. Oscar's horse trudged on next to Mia, who was rubbing her wrist gently. Noticing this, the man became a little worried. "Are you okay?"
The myrmidon looked up at him, her eyes glazed with pain. "When I hit that bandit, he had so much muscle or fat- I couldn't tell which- it felt like a solid wall. I think I injured my wrist, because it's been hurting since then."
Oscar slid off his horse so that he was standing next to her. "Let me see it." Mia held up her wrist and he took it as lightly as he could. Her skin looked swollen and irritated and her hand stuck out at an odd angle, looking somewhat sideways somehow. "I'm no expert, but I'd say that you twisted it."
"Will I still be able to fight?"
"I don't know. See if Rhys or Mist can put it right."
Mia nodded and slowed her pace so that she ended up right if front of Mist and Boyd, who were behind Oscar and the myrmidon. The lance knight looked up and saw a familiar lime green haired kid walking beside Soren. "Hey, Rolf!" he called waving to his little brother.
Rolf turned and looked behind him. When he saw who it was that had called him, he slowed down until he was standing next to him. "What is it Oscar?"
"How's your first battle coming?"
The kid looked down. "To tell you the truth, I'm really nervous."
Oscar cocked his head to the side. "Really?"
"Yeah. In fact, I was shaking so much earlier that I nearly shot an arrow straight into Boyd's backside."
Oscar laughed softly, the image of this scene sliding slyly into his mind. "Next time, don't hold your hand in check. Maybe if Boyd had pain inflicted on him, he wouldn't act so high and mighty."
Rolf grimaced. "I would agree, except that I'm not really in favor of the idea of finding an ax lodged in MY back."
Oscar laughed again. "This is true."
The two were interrupted by the sounds of battle up ahead. Apparently, Ike and Lethe, who had been up on the front line, had broken through the trees to a clearing down below where some Daein soldiers had lay in wait. As they got closer, Oscar could make out the faint outline of thunder magic, but he couldn't tell if it was the enemy or Ilyana.
Soon, the brother's broke out of the trees and stood at the edge of the clearing. Ike was taking down a mage, whom Oscar assumed was the one that had set off the magic attack earlier. Lethe was annihilating a myrmidon that was doing his best to avoid her sharp claws, but to no avail. Soren and Ilyana were working together to destroy a knight next to Ike. However, another knight was slowly approaching Rhys, who was standing to the left of the scene. No one else was around to help him, except for Marcia, whose lance wasn't doing very much damage. Mordecai was in human form, so he stood at the edge of the clearing.
Rolf ran forward slightly, readying his bow as he went. Oscar heart lurched as he saw his little brother pull back on the bowstring. His arrow landed in the enemy's armor, embedding itself in the black metal. The knight noticed this and slowly turned to face the archer, leaving Rhys an opportunity to run to the side and out of harm's way. Rolf drew another arrow as the soldier started to advance on him. Oscar charged forward, lifting his lance, but the archer beat him to it. The arrow that flew landed between the knight's armor and his helmet. After bleeding profusely for a moment, the guy fell forward, dead.
Rolf turned around and ran back to Oscar's side. The older man's chest was in pain; his heart was thumping so hard. Rolf, who seemed to notice this somehow, cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong, Oscar?"
The lance knight shook his head. "Nothing."
Rolf stared at him a moment longer before turning back to the battle. As Oscar watched the kid shoot a myrmidon in the stomach, he noticed something. But… surly he was imagining it. Shaking his head, he turned to the rest of the battle. Ike and Mia, who was fighting with her left hand rather clumsily, were advancing on an archer. Soren and Ilyana were taking turns firing on a rather fast soldier. Marcia was diving onto a thunder mage while trying to avoid wind attacks from another, along with arrows that an archer was aiming at her. Titania had taken leave of the battle, staying hidden in the clove of trees with princess Elincia. Rhys was running forward to heal Mist, who had been struck by a stray arrow that Marcia had dodged. Boyd was advancing on another soldier, having the advantage of an ax against a lance.
Oscar, after having surveyed the battle, decided that he had better join the scene, so he ran towards the wind mage that was giving Marcia trouble. While thrusting his lance through the guy's chest, the lance knight saw Rolf deliver a carefully aimed arrow at the archer that had nearly brought Mist down. However, the Daein man seemed to have more experience fighting, so he jumped clear of the kid's attack, following closely with one of his own. Oscar's stomach leapt up to his throat as he saw his brother sidestep a tad too late, being rewarded by an arrow catching in his shoulder.
However, Rolf drew another arrow and shot before his enemy could react, lodging it in his throat. Oscar ran up to his sibling, who was inspecting the shaft that was sticking out of his shoulder. "Are you okay?" the man asked worriedly.
Rolf jumped and looked up. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. He got me in my right arm, so I can still fight." There was a tiny hint of pain in his voice, but his eyes sparkled with exhilaration.
Oscar sighed. If his brother hadn't been left-handed, he would have an excuse to take him out of the battle. Then again, with two healers now, that might not have been very easy to explain. As he thought about this, his little brother bent to restring his bow again. The man sighed once more. "You're really enthusiastic to fight, aren't you?" he asked.
Rolf shook his head. "Not really. I just don't like waiting around and worrying about you and Boyd while I could be out here helping you."
The meaning of the words sunk in and Oscar suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for the boy. "All right, just stay close to me, okay?"
"Sure!" his brother answered with a nod.
As he stood again, Rolf saw Soren and Ilyana still having trouble with the soldier, so he aimed an arrow at the guy's leg, slowing him down. Oscar suddenly thought of Mist and Boyd's conversation again. "Rolf… where did you learn to use a bow?"
His brother's head whirled around. "Um… that is… uh… It's a secret!" He looked very uncomfortable, his eyes not meeting Oscar's.
"A secret?"
"Uh… yeah…." At that moment, a halberdier threw a javelin at Mist, who didn't get hit only because Boyd grabbed her arm and pulled her away at the last moment. Rolf readied his bow and shouted over his shoulder, "See you later Oscar!"
"Wait, Rolf! I told you to stay close!" Oscar yelled back as his brother ran off and disappeared behind Marcia, who had beaten the wind mage and was now ramming the halberdier. "Blast!" the man mumbled as he raced after the boy on his horse. He avoided an arrow from the archer that Ike had left Mia to take care of, the girl hacking at him rather haphazardly while the blue haired ranger ran over to help Marcia and Rolf, who was aiming an arrow at the halberdier.
As he got closer, Oscar saw again what had worried him earlier- Rolf's arm was quivering violently. Before, the lance knight had thought that it was just a trick of the light, however, this didn't seem to be the case as Mordecai, who was currently still in his human form, seemed to set his eyes on the child as well. Oscar rode closer and saw his brother release the arrow, which made contact with the Halberdier's leg. Marcia dove from above and thrust her lance through the guy's chest just as Lethe ran forward and bit at his arm. Soon, the enemy bled to death, the ground around him slowly being stained red. "Arrgh… urr… urg… In the name… of the empire… Cleanse… my shame…"
Titania and Elincia broke cover from the trees and rode over to the group. Oscar didn't hear any of what the important people were saying. He was too busy focusing on Rolf. After dismounting from his horse, he jumped about three feet in the air when a hand fell on his shoulder. "Hey buddy." Boyd, who was bleeding slightly from the arm, had come over after the fight. Mia had finally taken down the archer, and was slumped on the ground, a gasping mass of orange and purple.
"Hey Boyd, how was the battle?"
"Tiring. I was so busy watching out for Rolf that I didn't really pay much attention to what was going on around me," the fighter answered, pointing to a small gash just below his shoulder.
"I know how you feel. Hey… Boyd, did you see Rolf's arm? Was it me, or was he shaking really hard?"
Boyd shook his head. "I saw it too. So did Mordecai. When I got close enough, I saw this… scar… I don't know where he got it, but it looks pretty deep, new too."
"…Scar?" Oscar asked, somewhat disturbed. Where on Tellius had his brother gotten a scar big enough to hinder the movement of his arm?
"Yeah, it goes all the way from his elbow to his wrist. It looks like someone tried to heal it, even thought they weren't that experienced with a staff."
They both fell silent for a moment, until understanding hit them at the same time. "Hey Boyd…"
"You don't think…"
"…Mist?" They both said in unison.
At that moment, Soren walked up. "We are to proceed to Gallia immediately. Get your belongings together and get ready to move out before we leave you behind."
As soon as the mage had walked away, Boyd stuck his tongue out and gagged. "What is he so ticked about? I mean, really! It's not like someone took his tome or something!"
"Boyd…" Oscar began, "If I remember correctly, you were the one that stole his tome this morning and wrecked the kitchen, which, I may add, was a huge pain to clean up. I don't think he likes you all that much right now."
"…Oh yeah…"
(00)
Shinon stared up blankly at the trees that shadowed the ground of the forest. The dirt below was somewhat cool, having almost never been touched by the sun. The entire area was a deep purple color, mirroring the sniper's confusion.
Gatrie stirred next to him, rolling over and muttering softly in his sleep. A pair of yellow eyes that belonged to an owl stared dismally down at him. On his other side, the man with the hooded cloak scrunched up into a little ball, seemingly drawing in on himself to protect his body from the slight chill that was engulfing the forest. Summer was most definitely gone, heading mutely into fall.
Leaves of all different colors littered the ground, making a sort of crackling sound in the whispering breeze. Everything seemed so peaceful that Shinon almost couldn't believe that a Daein general had died earlier in the day, leaving his troops to flee, as most of them were good and honest folk with the misfortune of being drafted into a pointless war. Those that weren't as kind as the others had been taken care of by the spell cast earlier.
At this point, the sniper rolled over from his side to his back, following with a fluid movement that brought him up to a standing position. Walking silently, so as not to disturb his sleeping comrades, he slowly made his way out the dense clove of trees to a clearing nearby, the same clearing in fact, that the threesome had been in when confronted by their enemy. He walked over to a big rock at the edge of the area that jutted steeply out of the ground, but had a flat top, its point worn away by years of erosion and rain.
Shinon looked up at the evening sky, studying the brightly twinkling stars that lined it in no particular pattern. The scene reminded him of an instance long ago when a child pointed out the constellations that were contained in the mass of pinpricks of light. The sniper dimly wondered if he could still remember the shapes and names of those pictures. Glancing around, he recognized Clef, the master sage that had sealed the evil dark goddess. After another moment, he saw Reyearth, the first wolf that had ever come into creation. Windom was also visible, the first bird that ever sang. Selece, the first wyvern could also be seen. Not only that, but the man also saw Ferio, the brave warrior that had defeated the old demon king in the legends. He also saw Ascot, the first summoner, which existed only in myths.
This thought brought the sniper back to the skirmish today. The type of magic that the man in the hood had used was not one that Shinon was familiar to at all. In fact, he had never even heard of a magic that took on a purple shade of color and attacked from the ground upward.
What could it have been? That guy said something like… "Flux", was it? The sniper made a mental note to check for any magic of the sort next time he found himself in a library.
A deer crept by, its shape barely visible in the dark light. As soon as it saw him, however, Shinon heard it bound off quite quickly, obviously worried about being hunted as some of its family might have been.
This put a new thought process into the sniper's head. He could have shot the animal if he had wanted to, or if he had felt like it, but his brain had unconsciously decided not to. Looking around, his eyes taking in all of the trees around him that bared fruit, he wondered what the point would have been to take that thing's life.
There is no point. After all, we have all this fruit. There's no point wasting our energy hunting.
The next few moments were full of pondering. Who was the first person to hunt a living thing? What had they done it for? What was the reason? As these thoughts raced through his already crowded head, Shinon looked down at his hands. His left was callused on all the joints of his fingers along with the top part of his palm where he held his bow. His right had rough groves, almost resembling trenches, which had been formed by pulling back and holding the bow string. Suddenly, he glanced back to where his partners slept, for he realized that he had left his bow with them. He stood up slightly, then after a second of thinking, he sat again.
What's the point anyway? It's the dead of night. It's highly doubtful that someone would come all the way out here just to attack me.
Shinon scratched his chin thoughtfully, thinking of his weapon. Vaguely, he wondered who had made it. Not only that, but who had made the first bow? Who had made the first weapon, and for what purpose? He looked up at the stars again, those orbs of light that guided sailors and lit the night along with the moon. Where had the legends behind those constellations started? Was there a point to them?
The sniper sighed and looked down instead at the ground. Whenever he didn't have anything to do or think about, his mind started talking. A lot. It had always annoyed him, and he tried everything in his power to shut it up, but to no avail.
After a moment of silence, in which a lot of birds and crickets could be heard, Shinon started to think that he heard some of these questions before. Thinking back, he remembered the kid that had showed him the constellations in the first place. Maybe it had been he who had asked … what had his name been?
Shinon couldn't remember. It had been so long ago that his brain regarded it as inconsequential.
However… he did remember something…….
"Humans cannot live with peace. They may want it, but the reality is that they aren't all willing to strive for it. Thus, peace will never be attainable. The hearts of most humans are filthy. These people think of nothing but themselves. These people, and most people, are obsessed with death- with killing and murder. That is why…"
That is why…
Shinon looked at his hands again. He looked at the markings and blisters caused by his bow. By his weapon.
That is why; he thought grimly, That is why humans created weapons.
So that they could kill.
So that they could kill easily.
(00)
Rolf rubbed his arm, trying to quell some of the pain that bubbled up in it. Right now, it was quivering so violently that if he were holding a glass of water, the liquid would surly spill. It hurt so much that pangs of agony shot up his arm every now and then, driving his shoulder numb.
During the battle, the arm that Mist had healed, that had been scraped in his fall, started to cause the boy some problems. Although the skin had been sewn up, the wound was still there, and it wasn't completely healed yet. Right now, it was even more painful than the wound in his shoulder that he had received when that archer shot an arrow into it.
A little while ago, the mercenary team had finally made it to the Castle in Gallia. Presently, the princess, Ike, and all of the other important people, like Soren and Titania, were talking to Caineghis, the king of the Gallians. Everyone else was basically traversing the halls of the castle, exploring the grounds, or hanging out in their rooms.
Rolf himself was sitting on the bed that had been given to him during their stay in the castle. The reddening sun was shining through the picture window across the room, painting a portrait of orange and yellow glares throughout the huge room.
After a few moments, the door to the hallway creaked open, as though the person behind it wasn't sure whether they wanted to come in or not. Rolf stopped rubbing his arm and straightened his back, trying to look as though he wasn't in immense pain. "Hello?" he asked, his voice somewhat strangled as his arm sent a vibration up through his throat.
"Um… can I come in?" he recognized Mist's voice and his heart gave a slight leap.
"S-sure."
The stone floor echoed slightly as she entered, her hands clasped in front of her. "Um… how's your arm?"
Rolf clutched his hand tightly to stop it from trembling. "It's fine. What's wrong?" he asked worriedly as his friend frowned, her eyebrows furrowing to give her an extremely sad look.
"You're lying, I can tell."
Rolf looked down, studying the bed sheets under him. "No I'm not."
The bed creaked a little as part of the mattress went down. The boy looked up and saw Mist crawling towards him. Once she got close, she grabbed his left wrist, sending a vibe of agony up his arm, causing him to wince slightly. She pulled his arm up in front of her eyes in order to see it better. After a moment, she sighed. "Can't you at least be honest with me? I can't trust you if you don't tell me the truth."
Rolf pulled his arm back, wrenching it out of her grasp. "It may sting a little, but it's fine, really." Mist frowned. She took his wrist roughly and forced his arm over in front of her again. "Mist… what are you- ow!" She jabbed her finger into his arm as hard as she could. Blood dripped slightly from the scab that had formed over the wound.
"You call that okay?! Stop lying and tell me when you're hurt!" tears came to her eyes and started to flood down her cheeks in tiny rivers that gleamed in the dying sunlight. Rolf didn't have a clue as to what he should say. Whenever he made Mist cry, which seemed to be happening a lot recently, it made him feel so guilty, he couldn't stand it. She wiped off her eyes with her arm wrap and took a moment to cough out words that were actually audible. "It hurts Rolf. It really hurts when you hide things from me."
"Mist… I'm sorry. It's just… I didn't want you to think that there was anything wrong with the way that you healed me or anything. I didn't want you to think that you had done a bad job…"
"Then why didn't you ask Rhys to help you?! That was another lie, wasn't it? You're just scared that if Oscar and Boyd found out that you got hurt in your first battle, then they wouldn't let you fight anymore, right?" When Rolf didn't answer, but only looked down again at his bed sheets, Mist glared at him in frustration. "Why do you care so much? If they tell you not to fight, tell them that you're going to fight anyway. It's as simple as that!"
Rolf shook his head grimly. "That's not all there is to it. I can't defy those two… I just… can't."
Mist looked confusedly at him. "Why not?"
He shook his head in response. "I owe them my life. Ever since I was really little, they've watched over me. Not once have they complained, no matter how big of a burden I am. I can't just ignore them after all the time and effort they've put in to giving me a… reasonable life."
"I don't understand."
Rolf shook his head again and looked down. In his mind's eye, he saw the village he used to live in. He saw the blood that still haunted his dreams. The blood that he saw every night. His eyes welled up with salt and water which started to fall onto his shorts.
For once, Mist didn't say anything. All she did was crawl a little closer to her friend and wrap her arms firmly around him.
And for awhile, they stayed like that. The sun set behind them and the room soon grew dark. Oscar and Boyd, who were sharing a room with their little brother, came in a few hours later to find the two fast asleep, obviously exhausted from the days affairs.
Mist was curled up on her side next to Rolf, who was flat on his back, his right arm flung wide as though he had just fallen over.
Oscar and Boyd took one look at them and left the room.
(--) – zzzzzz
"My. They seem to be getting closer by the day, don't they?"
Boyd sat on the railing to a short wall in the castle that overlooked the humungous gardens of the castle. Laguz scurried all around, trying to finish some last minute chores they had to do. "I suppose so… was it okay to leave them like that?"
"Boyd, they were asleep. What do think they're going to do?"
"Well… I don't know… It just feels kind of… awkward to see them like that and do nothing about it… I mean, don't get me wrong, Mist is a good girl and I know that Rolf won't do anything weird, it's just that… they're so young. If Soren were to walk in on them like that, what do you think he would do?"
Oscar pondered this for a moment, picturing the mage opening that door to a scene like that. He had to admit that whatever the mage were to think, it would probably be completely wrong. No matter how smart Soren was with books, his span on relationships left much to be desired.
After a moment of silence, Boyd spoke up again. "If….that were to happen, what would you do?"
"Well Boyd, what would you do?"
The fighter thought for a moment before responding. "I don't know. While they're both still really young…I don't know. They just seem to give off that vibe, you know?"
Oscar cocked his head to the side. "Vibe?"
"Yeah…like the two of them are just meant for each other or something. Ever since we came here, to Greil Mercenaries, I've had the feeling that the two of them…."
"Yes?"
"That the two of them…. Oh never mind! It's a stupid thought anyway!" Boyd crossed his arms and turned away, his face turning a deep shade of red.
"Boyd…."
"W-what?"
"You don't…. like Mist, do you? Because if you do, you've done a great job hiding it."
"What?! HECK NO! I just… the fact that I even thought of that…. I don't know. I just don't want this to end up like it did back then."
Oscar opened his eyes slightly; just to where their deep green shade was visible. "Are you talking about Mari? Or maybe…Lariana?"
"…"
Oscar looked up at the moon, which was full that night. "Perhaps even… mom and dad?"
"………I suppose… all of them……."
Oscar saw Boyd looked down, distress shadowing all of his features. Wrapping his arms around his brother, he tried to say words that would help the fighter's thoughts. "Listen. Mist isn't like mom, or Mari. She's not about to succumb to any weakness like Lariana either. And even if what happened does repeat itself, you and I will be there to help them through it, right?"
"I… suppose you're right…"
"Oh Boyd… you're so caring."
Boyd cleared his throat loudly after a moment. "Yeah, yeah, now get off of me you great lump! I'm not a little kid anymore!"
Oscar merely hugged his brother tighter. "Yes, I know you're not. Sometimes….I wonder about myself though."
Boyd sighed and hugged his brother back very roughly. "All right, I suppose I can bend to your needs every now and then...just as long as my back doesn't break from strain."
Oscar chuckled slightly. "Oh Boyd…thank you."
A moment passed in which many crickets could be heard before the younger brother answered. "No Oscar…thank you."
The night gathered calmly around the two of them, driving a chilly wind through the halls of the castle. But, neither of them felt it, as they were both lost in their own thoughts.
Author's note: Hey guys! This chapter was so much fun to write. By the way, did any of you notice where I got the names for the constellations? If you did, tell me! I'll put a disclaimer out for it next chapter. By the way, Lariana is pronounced Lar-ee-on-u. All of the characters that I created in this story are from the book that I'm writing. Originally, her name was Mia, even before I played this game. But… for obvious reasons, I couldn't use this name. Not just because Mia is in the game, but another reason too, one which will not be brought to light until much later. You'll probably hate me for it too…those last two scenes were hard to write, just because I didn't want to imply anything… extra. One more thing- the dialogue used by Boyd, Rolf, and Oscar, at least some of it, is actually in the game if you have them talk to each other during the battle. Since it wasn't in the game script I'm using, I had to rely on my memory, though I think it's pretty close.
