I know, I know. It's not long enough. But it's here, and that's what counts.

Kirei Ryuusei: He usually only saves that for the knights and/or squires. I'm not sure how often he's ever used it on Magiya. But then, you figure, how else was he supposed to get through to her? Honestly?
She's more stubborn than a mule… Guess we'll just have to see, won't we? :)

ImInvisibleForNow: Hmm, don't really know, do we? If she's that obstinate, kinda makes you wonder. And you're right, guilt is a heavy burden. But so is love. ;)
Always trying to get another chapter out, ME.

But I warn you faithful and wonderful readers now, it may be an even longer wait from now until the next chapter. The teachers are all rushing work and trying to squeeze it in since school officially ends in 4 weeks and I've got end of year exams coming up in three. -.-

Anyway. For what little there is, enjoy. Nythera makes an appearance in this chapter, too; remember Magiya mentioned they were friends in the first chapter? She trusts her.

I sighed again, staring blankly out the window.

It had been six days since Rolith had hurled those parting words at me, but time didn't make them burn any less; they still festered at the back of my mind.

Hence, my migraine.

From where I sat on my bed, looking out, I could see a good portion of the surrounding forest, the small paddock that held the big black stallion whom I hadn't come close to riding since we returned from Moonridge, and even a patch of sky. But, contrary to how I half-hoped it would be, the sky that was visible to me was dark grey and solemn, and threatened a heavy layer of snow.

Kai rubbed his head under my forearm again in yet another futile attempt to get me to show some sort of affection, but I didn't move. His slightly frustrated rumble didn't go unnoticed, however, and my pet grumpily turned and prowled towards the small swinging door set in the back of my house, disappearing out through it.

He's probably going out to hunt, I thought dully, not moving from my post by the window. So much had happened in the few months since I had met Krieger, and yet… I was more confused and upset now than I could ever remember being in my life. Why is this happening to me?

WHY? roared my subconscious. This is all YOUR damn fault! He just tried to play nice, tried to be your friend, and did nothing more than help you and occasionally flirt with you! Harmless! He did nothing wrong to you, and you took what he offered and destroyed it! You tore his heart out of his chest when he gave it up for you, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it until it didn't exist anymore!

A single tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.

I didn't mean to, I internally wailed, feeling like burying my head in my hands. I just… I just…

You were 'just' going to spite him and hurt him, said my mind acidly. You didn't think he would leave and start avoiding you.

A knock at the door from the next room made me start, and my face jerked to face my bedroom door for a moment before I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and slunk to the front door.

I don't know who I expected to see when I pulled open the door. Probably, the person I most expected to see was Rolith. Maybe Warlic. Possibly even him. But one of the people I didn't expect to see was Nythera.

She stood there with her arms crossed, and her small dragon wings fluttering irritably. Not bothering with formalities (she rarely did) she just bluntly asked, "Can I come in?"

Wordlessly, I stood to the side and she stepped across the threshold before turning and looking me up and down. "You look like shit."

Nythera didn't give me bullshit, she gave me the bare truth. This was one of the things I liked about her, and it was one of the reasons she was a friend of mine. Why she liked me was another matter altogether.

I didn't say anything to her derogatory observation, mainly because it was completely true. I closed the door before turning to her and just gazing at her blankly. I felt… empty. Rolith's words had struck me to the core like a razor-sharp blade, and frankly, I was shattered. Without an invitation (as usual) she sat in one of the two chairs at the sturdy table, dragging me down into the second that was infrequently used.

"Now, are you going to explain everything to me, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" Nythera asked bluntly, crossing her arms when I sat across from her.

"There's nothing to explain," I responded just as directly.

"Oh, don't even try to feed me that shit," she snapped, her eyes glinting. "Something happened when you, Rolith, and Artix came back from Moonridge, because last time you came to see Warlic, I saw him send you off, and you looked like someone had just kicked you in the face. Obviously," she continued like a battering ram, "Whatever happened there screwed something up, because Artix has been at it more than usual lately and both Warlic and Rolith have been really boring. Tell me!" Nythera finally demanded, her short wings unfolding at these last two words.

"There's nothing to tell!" I replied, some of my typical annoyance emerging. Nythera and I were what I liked to call 'antagonistic friends'—we enjoyed tormenting each other and never went too far. "Krieger wouldn't stop bugging the hell out of me! That's it!"

"That's clearly not it. You and he are not the only ones who have been boring, I told you!"

"Just because they're not entertaining doesn't mean that they're not normal, Nythera!" I said hotly. She brought out the sadistic side in me, it seemed.

"I've been around Warlic long enough to know when something's up!" she challenged, wrinkling her nose. "Honestly, how stupid do you think I am?"

"Evidently pretty stupid since you can't see there's nothing wrong!" I whipped back. There wasn't much new here, this was how most of our conversations went—minus the Krieger, Rolith, and Warlic elements. Just basically insults flying back and forth.

"If there's nothing wrong, then why the fuck won't you explain to me why you refuse to talk about it, why you've been hiding like a bitch in your house for almost a week, and why you've been avoiding both Warlic and Artix for even longer!"

"That's none of your damn business!" I shouted furiously, not galvanized into standing to drive my point home. Yet.

"You made it my business!" Nythera yelled in return, a snarl forming on her lips. It was, to the saner and much smaller part of my mind, quite alarming to witness how quickly the situation had turned what would be classified as 'extremely dangerous' to a normal human.

"Fine!" I thundered, standing up so quickly my chair toppled over backwards onto the wooden floor. "You want to know what happened? Krieger was being a fucking womanizer like he was born to be, and I gave him a piece of my damn mind! He over-fucking-reacted and is acting like a stupid ass, and is being all silent, moody, and emo! Rolith was all like 'Why'd you do that?' and told me that I was gonna fucking die alone and that nobody would care! So you tell me, Nythera, what in the fuck happened there?" By the end, I was screaming almost to the point where my voice was ready to break, and I could barely see my long-time friend at all because my sight was so blurry.

Why can't I see right?

Scrubbing the back of my hand across my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision, the skin on my hand came back wet.

No, I'm NOT crying!

For one of perhaps two times I had ever seen her in this way, Nythera was silent. It wasn't a good silence, but nor was it necessarily bad. If I didn't know any better (and I really didn't), I'd say it was a stunned silence. Nythera just stared at me in shock, then she stood too and walked around the main room, running a slim hand through her dark bangs.

"Lore, Magiya, and I thought I screwed up when I tried to destroy Warlic… You've really fucked up."

"Thanks so much."

*ahem* Note the sarcasm in the last line.

In any case, you've been warned; there may be a short hiatus period, but not if I can help it. I swear on my level 40 character that I'll do my best to keep going with this.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed, and if you did, please review and/or subscribe! Reviewers and subscribers are much appreciated, and readers are always welcomed!

Please note that all trolls will immediately and consequently be forcibly escorted to the top of Mt Mordor by my small army of rubber-eating plot bunnies.

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