HEY GUYS!

THANKS FOR BEING SUCH GOOD READERS :)

I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THE NEXT CHAPTER!

A SHOUT OUT FOR bamafelix WHO'S OC IS GOING TO MAKE AN APPEARENCE (I HOPE THAT YOU LIKE THE OUTCOME, BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE THE CONCEPT AND HOPE TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTER :))

ENJOY

PS. I AM UP FOR ACCEPTING MORE OC! JUST PM ME THEIR BIO'S!

~OmGiStHaTaDuMpLiNg~

~A Few Days Later~

Arianna watched amusedly from the dining table as Lavi continued to throw Hanna up in the air. Her peals of laughter cut through the silence, filling the space with its carefree joy. Edward and Kristina watched with soft smiles as they sat on the couch, enjoying each other's comfort. Kristina leaned back into Edward's chest closing her eyes, probably relieved that one of her children was being entertained.

Edward's son, David, sat on his mother's lap as he watched with wide eyes. Although amused, one could see he was slightly jealous as he fidgeted in his seat. His childish icy blue eyes locked on Arianna, wonder and shyness gracing their surface.

He had seen Arianna during the festival, how she danced, and wondered how such a seemingly distant person could dance so beautifully...

like there wasn't a care in the world.

Suddenly, Arianna met his gaze with her silvery orbs that intrigued him so much. David flushed and looked down at his tiny hands. Kristina smiled down at her son, obviously thinking that his actions were adorable.

David looked at Arianna from under his eyelashes, unknowingly sending her one of the cutest looks that she had ever seen. She bristled, unable to tear her gaze away, much like when Allen would do his signature pout with puppy-dog eyes.

After a few moments of slightly awkward staring, Arianna let out a deep sigh and finally motioned for the young boy to come to her. David immediately lit up and hobbled towards her, holding up his arms.

Arianna bent down slightly and took him up onto her lap, his warmth radiated through her, it was strangely comforting (she wasn't used to physical affection...yeah...). Distracted by her little moment with David, she didn't notice that Lavi had stopped throwing Hana in the air, and that he was staring at her, his eye wide with shock.

A silly smile started to spread across his face...

Oh dear god...

Arianna mentally prepared herself...

in three...

two...

one...

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SO CUTE! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, I GOTTA TELL ALLEN!".

He continued to aww and squeal like a little girl in is excitement, blubbering away as he and Hana danced around. Edward and Kristina watched in amusement, Bookman, who was watching from the sidelines, suppressed a smile. But Arianna frowned, her once relaxed expression hardening as she glared at Lavi.

"How do you know about Allen, Lavi?"

Lavi froze in place, obviously realizing his slip up. His green eye shifted to Bookman, but Bookman only shot his a look clearly telling him that it was his problem. Edward and Kristina looked rather guilty, but not as much as Hanna.

Something in Arianna's mind clicked, she sent all of them a cold disapproving stare.

"Ok, let me rephrase that...", she said in a almost disturbingly calm voice, "...How do you all know about Allen?..."

A silence filled the room, Hana shuffled her feet, her face rather pink. She looked up at Arianna, shooting her an apologetic, hopeful smile.

"I'm sorry Grey...We just wanted to know more about your family..."., she said rather quietly.

Cold anger flashed in Arianna's eyes, making them look molten silver. She calmly lifted David off of her lap and placed him on the floor as she stood up. Walking briskly towards the door, she pulled on her coat hiding her face in her hood.

Before anyone could protest, she walked out of the door, closing it with a loud slam. Lavi sighed, running his hand through his fiery red hair. Edward and Kristina looked at the door sadly, and Hana looked as if she was about to cry.

Bookman just shot them a tired look, as if telling them 'I told you so'.

They all knew it, they had crossed a line with Arianna...

and they weren't sure that they were ever going to see the care free dancing girl again.

Why did she feel so hurt?

They were just demonstrating the worst in humanity like she had known all too well.

But still...

Arianna grumbled as she kicked the frosty ground, ignoring the guardians, who became agitated as she passed, as if they could feel her anger and hurt. Many of the villagers were off to work, as many small fishing boats dotted the brackish waters below.

The children, she assumed, were all in the small school-house on the other side of the town, learning what ever junk their teachers were trying to force into their brains. She let out an exhausted sigh, her breath coming out in a misty cloud in the pre winter air. Suddenly a horrible realization hit her like a train.

She had come to trust them...

that's why it hurt her so much.

Her eyes widened in disgust, not much towards them, but towards herself. She knew that there were going to be exceptions, Allen, Lenalee, and the few others had proved that, but this was just a whole other level.

How could she had come to trust Lavi, the person who was responsible for the hell that was her life?! Or Edward's family, she had just met them, how could they had weaseled their way into her heart so easily?!

Arianna gritted her teeth, finally accepting what she had been trying to ignore all this time.

She was becoming a different person.

~Meanwhile~

Caleb knew that his job was dangerous, that it meant that he was never going to be able to avoid death. But what he didn't realize, was that he was going to experience it first hand so soon. He panted as he and the small remaining group of finders huddled under the cover of trees. All of them were exhausted and riddled with wounds, some worse than others.

Caleb punched a nearby tree in frustration, causing the skin on his knuckles to spilt open, but he didn't care.

In the last 24 hours, he had seen almost half of his teammates killed by akuma as they pushed through the forest. It didn't matter that they didn't know each other very long. They all had families, loved ones, friends...

They all had lives, but now they were gone...

just like that.

They didn't even have bodies to bring to the order, seeing that the wind had blew them away as they succumbed to the akuma virus. Caleb knew that he was never going to forget the way they crumbled...

how their skin turned to ash.

The other finders scanned the area, their eyes wide with fear as they trembled, knowing that they were sitting ducks. Caleb knew it too, they weren't going to be able to last very much longer. There were exorcists positioned in the town they were desperately trying to get to, but they were still too far away to hope for any help.

It felt as if their hope was being sucked out of them, making the air colder than it actually was...

"Come on guys, we're almost there!"

They all turned to the cry, facing the young raven-haired exorcist whose startling violet eyes shone with determination. He shot them an encouraging smile, causing the faded scar on his right cheek to wrinkle slightly. A few of them returned his gesture of kindness with weak grins.

His name was Darrius Fair and he was around Caleb's age, and was just as tall. Like them, his exorcist cloak was covered in rips, blood lining the edges of some of them, showing that he was hurt.

But that didn't seem to faze him, and although his eyes shone with a hint of sadness, his determination and hope out shone them all. He leaned on his staff, which was his innocence. It made of what looked like mahogany, and appeared to be a mini totem pole, but Caleb knew that was just temporary.

They had all seen him in action, and that seemingly harmless native american-esque pole would transform into a weapon unlike any other they had seen before. It would grow to a size that one would think that no human being would be able to carry, and could split into projectiles that ripped through akuma like they were nothing. There was no doubt that it wasn't powerful, and it had earned the nickname of the "Holy Totem".

But no matter how powerful it was, he was just one person.

Caleb didn't blame Darrius for what had happened, he knew that it was irrational to think that it was his fault.

There was hundreds of akuma, and only one of him.

Finders could subdue, but they could not destroy.

He hoped that all of them felt the same way...

It wasn't fair to put that large burden on Darrius.

Caleb hadn't known Darrius for as long as the others, seeing that he joined the order a few months ago, but he was already good freinds with him. He was a extremely caring person, and greatly respected his colleagues. Unlike the others, Darrius acknowledged them and showed that he was grateful for their sacrifice, it made them feel like they had more self-worth.

The other's smiled as they listened to Darrius continue to give his signature motivational speech, the atmosphere slowly returning to a semi happy state. Distracted, they didn't notice a black figure sliding through the trees towards them.

The sudden shuffling of leaves made them alert, making them prep themselves for battle. From the corner of Caleb's eye, he could see Darrius hold his innocence in his hands, he could feel energy radiating from it.

The once carefree expression on Darrius's face was long gone, a serious and almost hateful one in its place.

But the black, inky creature didn't attack. It started to morph, taking shape into a more human appearance. At first it was a beautiful woman, then it was a child, then an animal. it kept changing it's shape, but it's glowing emerald-green eyes never left, causing them to watch in fascination and wariness. They didn't feel threatened at all, in fact, the creature seemed to wash all the darkness away, easing them and clearing their minds.

Now that they were uncorrupted with fear, anger, and sadness, they realized that the creature was.

It was one of the guardians that Lavi had told them about!

They immediately felt an almost overwhelming sense of relief. Caleb could swear that some of the finders were crying of joy. Darrius let out a deep sigh, a smile spreading across his face as he held his innocence by his side.

They had made it.

They were safe.

To say that Darrius was relieved was an understatement, he wasn't sure how much longer he could have gone on. And that wasn't even counting the well-being of the remaining finders, who looked even more battered up than he was.

He felt his heart twinge with guilt as he watched them limp through the forest, some supporting each other. He wished that he was stronger, so that he could have protected them all.

But that wasn't the case all the time, nothing could be that perfect in this profession. Don't get him wrong, Darrius loved his job. There was a very fulfilling feeling of accomplishment after every successful mission, he loved knowing that he had made a difference and had saved lives...

A smile spread across his face as he continued to walk behind the rest of the finders, protecting their rear from the akuma. He knew that the guardian would protect them from the front, seeing that it was leading them through the dense wood towards the village.

"You did good."

Darrius started at this, looking up at the person who spoke to him, instantly recognising the voice. Caleb smiled back at him, his green eyes shone with gratitude and respect. Darrius returned the smile, as he patted Caleb on the back.

"So, did you.", he replied playfully.

Without much warning, he put Caleb into a mock choke hold and mussed up his already pretty wild hair, making it fall out of it's usual make-shift ponytail. Caleb groaned in protest, trying to break away from Darrius's grasp, but failed miserably. Laughter filled the air as they continued their play wrestling at the back of the group, earning them amused stares from the others.

The guardian seemed to radiate more power as they all laughed, as if it was being powered by their happiness.

Caleb finally managed to break away from his friend's hold, and ran in ahead of the group, in attempts of sparing his head of anymore noogie-ing. He laughed as he watched Darrius chase after him, not paying attention where he was going until...

Wham!

Caleb stumbled and landed on something, a pained gasp issuing from it...

Ok, make that someone..

He opened his eyes, startled to see familiar silver ones staring right back at him. He felt his whole face go on fire as he realized who it was, seeing that they were basically nose to nose. He scrambled to his feet, desperate to get off of his young friend as Darrius and the others continued to laugh good-heartedly. The familiar form of Arianna let out a deep sigh of exasberation, rolling her eyes at his carelessness.

But then her eyes narrowed with seriousness as she took in their appearances. Caleb could see her evaluating their wounds, making a plan and deciding on priorities, much like a doctor would.

She gracefully pulled herself off of the ground, wiping the dirt off her finder coat and reclipping her bangs to the side with her signature cross pin. Turning to the guardian, she grudgingly gave it a nod of gratitude. It seemed to get her message and sped off to who know's where.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Darrius stare at Arianna thoughtfully, as if trying to figure her out. Caleb smirked with amusement, his friend had a hobby of reading people. He was very good at it and was normally never wrong, but Arianna was a whole other ball park.

It was definitely going to be interesting to see how his friends were going to interact with eachother.

"Come this way, we need to get those wounds wrapped up.", she said in her familiar, quiet bell-like tone.

Caleb unconsiously smiled at this, he never realized how much he had missed her voice, how much he missed her. Darrius shot him a knowing look, an amused smile spreading across his lips. He nudged Caleb in a suggestive way, wiggling his eye brows before adressing her.

"Why thank you beautiful, mystery girl", he said in a playful friendly voice, shooting Caleb another knowing gaze. Caleb turned pink and resisted the temptation to whack is friend upside the head.

Arianna raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't comment on their strange behavior. She didn't seemed to be phased by Darrius's comment, as if she was used to helpless flirting (even though Darrius's was obviously all play on the account of vexing Caleb).

"Your welcome, mystery exorcist.", she said after a moment of silence.

Caleb could hear the sarcasm in her voice, and noted the way she eyed Darrius's exorcist crest with slight distain, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Darrius seemed to noticed this too and became more mature instantly.

"What is your name?", he asked politely, shooting her a kind smile.

Arianna just rolled her eyes as she motioned for them to follow her into the town, she pulled up her hood hiding her face from view.

"You can call me Grey."

TO BAMAFELIX, I HOPE THAT YOU ARE SATISFIED BY THE WAY I PORTRAYED YOUR CHARACTER, AND I HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO LET ME USE HIM THROUGHOUT THE STORY!

TO OTHERS, I ALSO HOPE THAT YOU ENJOUYED THIS CHAPTER!

PLEASE REVIEW!

~OmGiStHaTaDuMpLINg~