Yay, I got some more reviews! Sorry for not updating quickly, but I
do have reasons/excuses (har har). As you all know, I do have homework.
Besides that, I really haven't played the game for some time now, and I
sort of don't remember much. *slams head on desk* Ah, and I've been
reading some other fantastic stories and their reviews, which I may add,
some people just love to say "oh you should play the whole game" or "watch
the whole series," and it's utterly annoying considering some others put in
massive spoilers. So from reading such things, I've decided to drastically
reduce writing chapters until I play all of the games and watch a few
episodes I missed out on earlier. Then others won't have to tell me I
wrote something wrongly. (and if I DID, then it was on purpose)
Oh yeah, someone reminded me about the sprite ocarina. Yes, I do know that you can't use it to warp out of a field, but I was aiming to make The World a little more realistic. I mean, it's sort of odd to have a person all of a sudden go 'poof' and appear somewhere else. That's why I used to ocarina. It just seemed a little more realistic. (yeah, play an instrument and teleport, REALLY realistic. XD) Hey, even more reason to why it wasn't working! But thanks anyways for reminding me.
Well, sorry again for not keeping a constant update. I do hope you understand my predicament. So I'm making this chapter extra long so you won't bug me about wasting time and making short little chapters.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own .Hack, and you probably don't either - enough said.
Interceding Illusions
Elk strode through the tall grass of another field. He now felt fairly confident in his abilities to walk alone in a more dangerous area. Spending about a few months training with Mia had paid off. He had obtained quite some experience and found some garments that suited him for his qualities as a mage. Sure, he didn't have a good variety of offensive spells but with a decent supply of healing spells, who really needed offense? After all, he did have Mia's aiding in disposing of enemies.
He recalled some of Mia's words of wisdom. Always keep at least a few incantation excerpts from the books they found on a few dungeon raids. "You may never know when an enemy stronger than you will appear and just a bit of magic can make a difference," Elk repeated her words, slightly smiling while he finished.
Through the vast horizon of grass, he made his way towards a fountain. Actually he was going to the tree that shaded the fountain. He abruptly sat down and placed his staff to his right. He set free one of his Fairy Orbs to scan the field. It levitated in the air for a few seconds and then sped through the field at amazing speeds. According to its scouting, Elk left no area untouched. No more of the beasts roamed on top of the land. Elk sighed as he contemplated about the past months...
He remembered the past events from the vaguest of memories. The school dance was then. Of course he did care about it in some aspects, even if he refused to show it, but it wasn't like he was going to be with someone he truly admired. No, indeed he wouldn't be. After translating his friend's most recent note, Elk knew his chances of being with that one girl had decreased dramatically.
'Stupid foreign language notes... Perhaps, ignorance really is bliss. At least,' he paused for a moment, 'at least it would've been in that case.' He lowered his head a bit. 'It doesn't matter. That's in the past, and I can't do anything about it now...' Once more he caught himself thinking about his world. He let it pass and resumed concentrating about the world he was currently in.
After that note, Elk couldn't let go of the pain so easily, but he managed to find something to preoccupy himself with. This world kept him busy and content, seeing how he could just ignore his troubles. Moreover, he had found Mia around that time. Elk could depend on Mia being there for him, and he couldn't help but think he was growing closer to her. The way she would invite him on quests and listen to his stories about his world.
'Damn...I mustn't think that way about her, not if I want to survive another unexpected event. Besides, I don't even know anything about her; furthermore, it wouldn't be right of me to use her as a substitute for my loss in my world anyway. Even if I could, how in the world do I know she won't push me aside for another person?' He shook his head, 'I must refrain from thinking of this sick game people call love. Mia is just a friend, nothing more, nothing less. And if she could be something more, it would be a sister.'
Elk nodded in approval of his decision. He did feel slightly embarrassed that he used a foul word, but it was in his head and he intended to keep it there. He retrieved his staff and headed to Mac Anu, the town where Mia had asked Elk to meet her.
"Hello, Mia," Elk greeted. He still couldn't figure out the reason to why Mia would title one of her messages 'urgent'. She hadn't done that before, so he decided it must be rather important to her if he did show up.
"Hi, Elk. I'm glad you could make it."
Elk observed some of the people who passed by, "so...what was so urgent?"
"I heard of some rumors about an unbeatable monster. You up for a challenge?" Mia placed her weapon in front of her to lean on it.
Elk looked at the floor and then back at Mia. "...Yeah...Maybe the monster might have some aromatic grass," he replied with interest. "Oh, by the way, I found an area with a lot of aromatic grass the other day. Want to go there first?"
"Sure. Let's go," Mia slung her sword over her shoulder and started walking towards the gate with Elk right behind her.
At that moment another young boy was passing by. He wore garments of a scarlet color and a unique golden pattern. His hair and eyes were of an azure pigment. He had a crimson triangular pattern upon his face, but none of this is not what attracted the feline character. No, indeed, she saw something past all of that and rushed to the new boy to greet him.
"Mia?" Elk asked with concern as he watched his closest friend run off without reason. He too picked up his staff and ran after her. Mia started to slow down as she came into contact with the other boy.
"Hey, you! Yes, you," Mia addressed the unknown character, who looked dumbfounded as he pointed to himself, "That's a unique bracelet you have there."
"Can you see it?" he asked. Mia nodded and held his wrist, pointing to the bracelet with her other hand.
"Do you mean to tell me that you can't see this nice bracelet? Well, if you know it's there, it's the same thing as being able to see it, right?"
Elk, who nearly fell over from running too fast while making an abrupt halt, panted and said, "what bracelet, Mia? I don't see anything there..."
Mia averted her gaze from the bracelet and glanced at Elk. She released the boy's wrist and started to make her way to the Chaos Gate, "Well, thanks a lot...for letting me look at your bracelet. I have a feeling that we'll meet again."
Elk started walking away as well, but paused to observe the other character present. 'Meet again? ...I certainly do hope not...Ack...I'm staring again...' He clutched his staff tightly and turned away, trying to regain some composure. "Wait, Mia! What about the aromatic grass?!" he yelled, once again following the feline.
He slowly walked up the few cracked stone steps, leading him to Mia whom waited for him to input the code that would transport them to Elk's previously mentioned field. "Mia...what was that about back there? And..." his voice began to wane as soon as he realized Mia wasn't aware of his question. "...Mia...?"
She shook her head as if trying to dispose of an unwanted thought, "Sorry, my mind slipped away for a moment."
She watched as a slight smile creased the tips of his lips, changing his sullen expression into a more cheery one. "Oh, you mean you were away from your keyboard," he responded, hoping that was the case and not the idea of Mia thinking about that other boy.
Mia blinked a few times at his added statement, "I guess you could call it that...Now, about that field." she drew her sword and tapped the ground underneath the Chaos Gate. Elk complied and ran his hand through the cerulean aura captured within the golden ring, looking for the correct keywords. Once he had chosen the field, he removed his hand and looked up at Mia.
'I just know she'll love all the grass there.' he mused. The code became encrypted into a different language and swirled around both of their bodies, leaving nothing left once it disappeared.
"The patch is around here somewhere. Ah, there it is," he said, pointing to a distant fountain - the same one he had stopped by earlier. Elk knew that she couldn't see it from their current position and decided he would lead the way. He beckoned Mia to follow and she did.
Mia started to grow tired of hearing the soft treading of their feet along the tufts of various plants; she longed for a bit of the suspense from a decent skirmish. It seemed, however, that Elk had picked a very well monster-ridden land. "My, you sure are confident around here," she spoke, just so she could hear something instead of the rustling of their footsteps.
Elk grinned at her remark. He nodded saying, "I've been training in various places. I figured you might have been sleeping so I didn't want to ask you to come with me so late."
She chuckled a bit, "there's no need to justify yourself. Well, thanks for being so considerate anyway. I was just wondering. Why didn't you just bring the grass with you?"
Elk's cheeks grew slightly warmer with a tint of pink, "I was afraid that I might miss something you would've wanted. Besides, my pockets were filled with a lot of magical excerpts." He quickened his pace so she wouldn't find out his embarrassment. Truth be told, his pockets were actually quite empty, seeing how he used most of his excerpts on the monsters he battled with earlier. He was just finding another excuse to get her to travel and let him lead the way. He did enjoy going with Mia to her fields, but he didn't like fighting a lot of monsters in a dungeon. In fact, he despised going into those eerie buildings, especially the ones that appeared they would close their mouths and entwine their constantly moving fingers in front to prevent any escape. It reminded him of a movie he caught a glimpse of when he was watching his television set as a very young boy late in the night. Occasionally, he still continued to dread the very scene in which a group of people was mutilating each other - slicing off eyeballs, fingers, and whatnot. He shook his head, reminding himself that it was in a television set and none of it truthfully occurred.
"Wow, Elk, this is amazing. Why didn't you tell me there was practically an ocean of aromatic grass here? I'll probably come here and collect some more later," she said while gathering a few blades of the plants. Elk sat down in the traditional Indian style, placing his hands atop his knees. Mia took her seat next to him. "Hm..."
"What is it, Mia?" he asked, tilting his head. He usually slanted his head whenever he was curious about Mia's actions or remarks. He thought it would stress his concern more and show that he acknowledged her just in case she did not hear his queries due to his soft-spoken nature.
"I was just thinking. Maybe we should let that boy come to that dungeon with the unbeatable monster."
"Wha - but Mia, you barely met him a while back! I don't think you should invite a stranger so soon. There's no telling what could happen. I mean, he might even be a player killer..."
She giggled at his immediate response, "don't worry. I didn't mean I would invite him to join us. I would like to see the power of that bracelet."
Elk frowned. 'Even when he isn't around she is still thinking about him and that stupid bracelet...' "I didn't see any bracelet...what's so special about it anyway?"
Mia rose from her spot and shrugged. "Nothing really, I guess you'll just see when he comes."
"What do you mean 'when he comes?' How do you know he'll come?"
She looked down at him and smirked, which made Elk quiver at the thought of what she was going to do to convince that boy to come into a dungeon. "I'm sure there's something I can find that will sway his interest."
"So I guess we'll wait on that dungeon until he comes huh?" Elk asked.
Mia nodded, "yes, but I promise to contact him soon. Whether or not he comes is on his accord, but something tells me he'll come. Well, I'll see you later then." She played a sprite ocarina and left the area.
"bye...," his voice died - she had left before she could hear his farewell. '...there's no use in getting upset...but I can't just deny the emotion at this point...well, I suppose if she's happy this way, that's what matters...' He, too, left after that last thought.
Elk was back at the Chaos Gate in a matter of minutes. He strode to the stone steps and sat down, lying his head upon his splayed fingers after placing his staff atop his lap. His leather arm covering rubbed against his face, reminding him of Mia's hands' padded touch when she helped him cross some obstacles on a few of their previous adventures. He sighed and let his eyelids drape across his eyes. 'Mia's probably going to take at least a few days or so...I guess I'll just wait a while. I really don't feel like eating dinner at the moment'
"Aha! He of Aloof Body! What causes such a lad as you to be so glum? Why, I bet if thou accompanied me on my trek, he would surely become less distant! How about it?"
This new, semi high-pitched voice startled Elk. He rose the curtains from his eyes to find the person whom spoke to him. The voice belonged to a middle aged man, adorned in the armor of jade hues and a ruby shoulder pad. He had bushy raven hair and olive eyes. His body was quite massive, perhaps twice the size of Elk's, and he grasped an axe with both hands.
'I see no harm in it, but then I'd be seen as a hypocrite to Mia if she saw me follow this seemingly "okay" guy. Well, he can't hurt me within the town unless he wished to risk punishment from the Crimson Knights.' Elk placed his hands in his lap, right above the preceding staff. "Well, I don't feel like leaving the town at the moment, but if you want, I could just follow you around here."
The man grinned, "well, that's splendid news to hear! Where shall we journey, He of Aloof Body? Perhaps thou could assist me in purchasing fine excerpts of death bringing destruction! Or we could place some of my excess goods within the keeps of the Elf Haven. I, Piros, think it would be most worth our while to speak with the life events recorder. Then he may write down another amazing chapter about how I disposed of evil menaces in a distant land!"
Elk blinked in sheer amazement at the amount of words spoken in such little time. 'So, his name's Piros eh? Well, I best let him know who I am...maybe he'll stop calling me "He of Aloof Body"...' He stood up and held his staff parallel to the ground. "...Alright, let's go to the recorder then...By the way, my name's...Elk...not 'He of Aloof Body.' Did you...hear me, Piros?"
Piros nodded, "yes, indeed, I did hear you He of Aloof Body. Thou say your name is Elk. However, I think 'He of Aloof Body' suits you more than the characteristics of an animal. Well then, let's be on our way!"
Elk couldn't help but sough at the man's ignorance. It was ironic that a man with such eloquence could be so oblivious to another person's feelings. Perhaps he had no empathy, Elk thought. It mattered little though. Elk was surprisingly a bit glad that another person had decided to open up to him. That didn't mean he'd completely trust this Piros, some cautions must always be taken - just as Mia had mentioned in his training.
After the recorder had written down all of the events that had happened to both males, Piros headed to the Chaos Gate. "Have you ever been to another town, He of Aloof Body?" he paused to wait for Elk's response, which was a 'no' shake of his head, "well, how does going to one sound now?"
"What...town is it?" Elk asked. If he didn't know of the place, he refused to go.
"Ah, have thou heard of Dun Loireag? It's not very far, and it's full of life and prosperity. I can assure you that more people travel to that area than this one. Well, do you want to come?" Piros said with some more of his cheery, extroverted manner.
'Dun Loireag? Mia spoke to me about that city before. Hm...I suppose nothing bad could happen if I traveled to another town.' He accepted the offer. When Piros hadn't moved, Elk became a little wary about what was holding their departure, "um...Piros? How come we're...not going anywhere?"
Piros held out his axe in front of the boy. Elk noted that there were several marks on the weapon's spine. "First, thou must give me his sign. For without it, we cannot travel to the same spot, unless you know the area already, but thou said you haven't traveled from this small town. Lend me your staff for a moment." They exchanged items and engraved their corresponding marks onto the spines of their weapons. Elk chuckled nervously as he tried to shake off his shame for being so stupid to forget. Piros searched through the cerulean matter of the Chaos Gate and retrieved his hand within a few seconds.
The golden, encrypted language enveloped their bodies and transported them to the city of Dun Loireag. What Piros had said was true. The area had many more inhabitants than that of Mac Anu. However, for such a thriving area, it was a little outdated in terms of civilization. There were pastures dotted with violet and azure flowers, and the shops were constructed from what seemed to be a tent instead of Mac Anu's bricks. But there was another site that was much different from Mac Anu - a ranch. "He of Aloof Body, I must leave you for now. I have devoted this time to trading items with another. I shall see thou later," Piros explained before he departed to find the person whom promised to trade with him. Elk walked across a few planks that lead the ranch.
'Whoa...this place isn't too bad. I wonder what kind of animals they herd here.wha-' the petite animal withdrew from Elk's leg. He slightly cringed at the awkward animal. It had a somewhat possessed appearance in its blood-red oval orbs. The body's structure resembled that of a pig with a cow's head. 'Ugh...what a repulsive creature...'
"Daddy, feed me!" it begged. Elk nearly jumped back.
"I see that little grunty's grown attached to you. Say, would you like to raise it?" the rancher asked. Elk looked at the man dressed in bright tan and dawn-tinted peasant clothing. A mustache rested peacefully under his elongated nose.
The grunty nudged his "Daddy's" ankle with his snout. "I'm hungry, Daddy!"
Elk's icy impression couldn't remain frozen as he soon found himself caressing the animal's snow-white fur. He thought about how lonely the creature must have been - after all, it seemed out of place, just like Elk's own misfit self. "Is...it the only child around here?" The rancher nodded and explained how all the other infant grunties had been taken by other travelers so that they could be properly raised and be of aid. Elk lightly patted the grunty's head and retrieved a small satchel, giving the quadruped whatever little food he had accumulated during his training sessions. "I can...keep it?"
The rancher laughed heartily. "Sure, that little one's been alone for some time now. Make sure you feed it and get it checked every once in a while. There've been some new diseases out there recently."
"I...will do my best to care for it..." he said while smiling. Even if it DID have an unusually disturbing appearance, Elk still gave into the animal's charm.
"Oink! Daddy, do you have any more food?"
Just to stress further, I have almost completely forgotten what happens in the first game. So if something's wrong, I wanted it to be. After all, it gets boring just reading a fanfiction that says everything that happened in the game, right? If something didn't make sense to you, just let me know and I'll clarify what I was writing. I.e. engraving signs into their weapons = trading member addresses. All right, with that said, please review! Thankyou.
Oh yeah, someone reminded me about the sprite ocarina. Yes, I do know that you can't use it to warp out of a field, but I was aiming to make The World a little more realistic. I mean, it's sort of odd to have a person all of a sudden go 'poof' and appear somewhere else. That's why I used to ocarina. It just seemed a little more realistic. (yeah, play an instrument and teleport, REALLY realistic. XD) Hey, even more reason to why it wasn't working! But thanks anyways for reminding me.
Well, sorry again for not keeping a constant update. I do hope you understand my predicament. So I'm making this chapter extra long so you won't bug me about wasting time and making short little chapters.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own .Hack, and you probably don't either - enough said.
Interceding Illusions
Elk strode through the tall grass of another field. He now felt fairly confident in his abilities to walk alone in a more dangerous area. Spending about a few months training with Mia had paid off. He had obtained quite some experience and found some garments that suited him for his qualities as a mage. Sure, he didn't have a good variety of offensive spells but with a decent supply of healing spells, who really needed offense? After all, he did have Mia's aiding in disposing of enemies.
He recalled some of Mia's words of wisdom. Always keep at least a few incantation excerpts from the books they found on a few dungeon raids. "You may never know when an enemy stronger than you will appear and just a bit of magic can make a difference," Elk repeated her words, slightly smiling while he finished.
Through the vast horizon of grass, he made his way towards a fountain. Actually he was going to the tree that shaded the fountain. He abruptly sat down and placed his staff to his right. He set free one of his Fairy Orbs to scan the field. It levitated in the air for a few seconds and then sped through the field at amazing speeds. According to its scouting, Elk left no area untouched. No more of the beasts roamed on top of the land. Elk sighed as he contemplated about the past months...
He remembered the past events from the vaguest of memories. The school dance was then. Of course he did care about it in some aspects, even if he refused to show it, but it wasn't like he was going to be with someone he truly admired. No, indeed he wouldn't be. After translating his friend's most recent note, Elk knew his chances of being with that one girl had decreased dramatically.
'Stupid foreign language notes... Perhaps, ignorance really is bliss. At least,' he paused for a moment, 'at least it would've been in that case.' He lowered his head a bit. 'It doesn't matter. That's in the past, and I can't do anything about it now...' Once more he caught himself thinking about his world. He let it pass and resumed concentrating about the world he was currently in.
After that note, Elk couldn't let go of the pain so easily, but he managed to find something to preoccupy himself with. This world kept him busy and content, seeing how he could just ignore his troubles. Moreover, he had found Mia around that time. Elk could depend on Mia being there for him, and he couldn't help but think he was growing closer to her. The way she would invite him on quests and listen to his stories about his world.
'Damn...I mustn't think that way about her, not if I want to survive another unexpected event. Besides, I don't even know anything about her; furthermore, it wouldn't be right of me to use her as a substitute for my loss in my world anyway. Even if I could, how in the world do I know she won't push me aside for another person?' He shook his head, 'I must refrain from thinking of this sick game people call love. Mia is just a friend, nothing more, nothing less. And if she could be something more, it would be a sister.'
Elk nodded in approval of his decision. He did feel slightly embarrassed that he used a foul word, but it was in his head and he intended to keep it there. He retrieved his staff and headed to Mac Anu, the town where Mia had asked Elk to meet her.
"Hello, Mia," Elk greeted. He still couldn't figure out the reason to why Mia would title one of her messages 'urgent'. She hadn't done that before, so he decided it must be rather important to her if he did show up.
"Hi, Elk. I'm glad you could make it."
Elk observed some of the people who passed by, "so...what was so urgent?"
"I heard of some rumors about an unbeatable monster. You up for a challenge?" Mia placed her weapon in front of her to lean on it.
Elk looked at the floor and then back at Mia. "...Yeah...Maybe the monster might have some aromatic grass," he replied with interest. "Oh, by the way, I found an area with a lot of aromatic grass the other day. Want to go there first?"
"Sure. Let's go," Mia slung her sword over her shoulder and started walking towards the gate with Elk right behind her.
At that moment another young boy was passing by. He wore garments of a scarlet color and a unique golden pattern. His hair and eyes were of an azure pigment. He had a crimson triangular pattern upon his face, but none of this is not what attracted the feline character. No, indeed, she saw something past all of that and rushed to the new boy to greet him.
"Mia?" Elk asked with concern as he watched his closest friend run off without reason. He too picked up his staff and ran after her. Mia started to slow down as she came into contact with the other boy.
"Hey, you! Yes, you," Mia addressed the unknown character, who looked dumbfounded as he pointed to himself, "That's a unique bracelet you have there."
"Can you see it?" he asked. Mia nodded and held his wrist, pointing to the bracelet with her other hand.
"Do you mean to tell me that you can't see this nice bracelet? Well, if you know it's there, it's the same thing as being able to see it, right?"
Elk, who nearly fell over from running too fast while making an abrupt halt, panted and said, "what bracelet, Mia? I don't see anything there..."
Mia averted her gaze from the bracelet and glanced at Elk. She released the boy's wrist and started to make her way to the Chaos Gate, "Well, thanks a lot...for letting me look at your bracelet. I have a feeling that we'll meet again."
Elk started walking away as well, but paused to observe the other character present. 'Meet again? ...I certainly do hope not...Ack...I'm staring again...' He clutched his staff tightly and turned away, trying to regain some composure. "Wait, Mia! What about the aromatic grass?!" he yelled, once again following the feline.
He slowly walked up the few cracked stone steps, leading him to Mia whom waited for him to input the code that would transport them to Elk's previously mentioned field. "Mia...what was that about back there? And..." his voice began to wane as soon as he realized Mia wasn't aware of his question. "...Mia...?"
She shook her head as if trying to dispose of an unwanted thought, "Sorry, my mind slipped away for a moment."
She watched as a slight smile creased the tips of his lips, changing his sullen expression into a more cheery one. "Oh, you mean you were away from your keyboard," he responded, hoping that was the case and not the idea of Mia thinking about that other boy.
Mia blinked a few times at his added statement, "I guess you could call it that...Now, about that field." she drew her sword and tapped the ground underneath the Chaos Gate. Elk complied and ran his hand through the cerulean aura captured within the golden ring, looking for the correct keywords. Once he had chosen the field, he removed his hand and looked up at Mia.
'I just know she'll love all the grass there.' he mused. The code became encrypted into a different language and swirled around both of their bodies, leaving nothing left once it disappeared.
"The patch is around here somewhere. Ah, there it is," he said, pointing to a distant fountain - the same one he had stopped by earlier. Elk knew that she couldn't see it from their current position and decided he would lead the way. He beckoned Mia to follow and she did.
Mia started to grow tired of hearing the soft treading of their feet along the tufts of various plants; she longed for a bit of the suspense from a decent skirmish. It seemed, however, that Elk had picked a very well monster-ridden land. "My, you sure are confident around here," she spoke, just so she could hear something instead of the rustling of their footsteps.
Elk grinned at her remark. He nodded saying, "I've been training in various places. I figured you might have been sleeping so I didn't want to ask you to come with me so late."
She chuckled a bit, "there's no need to justify yourself. Well, thanks for being so considerate anyway. I was just wondering. Why didn't you just bring the grass with you?"
Elk's cheeks grew slightly warmer with a tint of pink, "I was afraid that I might miss something you would've wanted. Besides, my pockets were filled with a lot of magical excerpts." He quickened his pace so she wouldn't find out his embarrassment. Truth be told, his pockets were actually quite empty, seeing how he used most of his excerpts on the monsters he battled with earlier. He was just finding another excuse to get her to travel and let him lead the way. He did enjoy going with Mia to her fields, but he didn't like fighting a lot of monsters in a dungeon. In fact, he despised going into those eerie buildings, especially the ones that appeared they would close their mouths and entwine their constantly moving fingers in front to prevent any escape. It reminded him of a movie he caught a glimpse of when he was watching his television set as a very young boy late in the night. Occasionally, he still continued to dread the very scene in which a group of people was mutilating each other - slicing off eyeballs, fingers, and whatnot. He shook his head, reminding himself that it was in a television set and none of it truthfully occurred.
"Wow, Elk, this is amazing. Why didn't you tell me there was practically an ocean of aromatic grass here? I'll probably come here and collect some more later," she said while gathering a few blades of the plants. Elk sat down in the traditional Indian style, placing his hands atop his knees. Mia took her seat next to him. "Hm..."
"What is it, Mia?" he asked, tilting his head. He usually slanted his head whenever he was curious about Mia's actions or remarks. He thought it would stress his concern more and show that he acknowledged her just in case she did not hear his queries due to his soft-spoken nature.
"I was just thinking. Maybe we should let that boy come to that dungeon with the unbeatable monster."
"Wha - but Mia, you barely met him a while back! I don't think you should invite a stranger so soon. There's no telling what could happen. I mean, he might even be a player killer..."
She giggled at his immediate response, "don't worry. I didn't mean I would invite him to join us. I would like to see the power of that bracelet."
Elk frowned. 'Even when he isn't around she is still thinking about him and that stupid bracelet...' "I didn't see any bracelet...what's so special about it anyway?"
Mia rose from her spot and shrugged. "Nothing really, I guess you'll just see when he comes."
"What do you mean 'when he comes?' How do you know he'll come?"
She looked down at him and smirked, which made Elk quiver at the thought of what she was going to do to convince that boy to come into a dungeon. "I'm sure there's something I can find that will sway his interest."
"So I guess we'll wait on that dungeon until he comes huh?" Elk asked.
Mia nodded, "yes, but I promise to contact him soon. Whether or not he comes is on his accord, but something tells me he'll come. Well, I'll see you later then." She played a sprite ocarina and left the area.
"bye...," his voice died - she had left before she could hear his farewell. '...there's no use in getting upset...but I can't just deny the emotion at this point...well, I suppose if she's happy this way, that's what matters...' He, too, left after that last thought.
Elk was back at the Chaos Gate in a matter of minutes. He strode to the stone steps and sat down, lying his head upon his splayed fingers after placing his staff atop his lap. His leather arm covering rubbed against his face, reminding him of Mia's hands' padded touch when she helped him cross some obstacles on a few of their previous adventures. He sighed and let his eyelids drape across his eyes. 'Mia's probably going to take at least a few days or so...I guess I'll just wait a while. I really don't feel like eating dinner at the moment'
"Aha! He of Aloof Body! What causes such a lad as you to be so glum? Why, I bet if thou accompanied me on my trek, he would surely become less distant! How about it?"
This new, semi high-pitched voice startled Elk. He rose the curtains from his eyes to find the person whom spoke to him. The voice belonged to a middle aged man, adorned in the armor of jade hues and a ruby shoulder pad. He had bushy raven hair and olive eyes. His body was quite massive, perhaps twice the size of Elk's, and he grasped an axe with both hands.
'I see no harm in it, but then I'd be seen as a hypocrite to Mia if she saw me follow this seemingly "okay" guy. Well, he can't hurt me within the town unless he wished to risk punishment from the Crimson Knights.' Elk placed his hands in his lap, right above the preceding staff. "Well, I don't feel like leaving the town at the moment, but if you want, I could just follow you around here."
The man grinned, "well, that's splendid news to hear! Where shall we journey, He of Aloof Body? Perhaps thou could assist me in purchasing fine excerpts of death bringing destruction! Or we could place some of my excess goods within the keeps of the Elf Haven. I, Piros, think it would be most worth our while to speak with the life events recorder. Then he may write down another amazing chapter about how I disposed of evil menaces in a distant land!"
Elk blinked in sheer amazement at the amount of words spoken in such little time. 'So, his name's Piros eh? Well, I best let him know who I am...maybe he'll stop calling me "He of Aloof Body"...' He stood up and held his staff parallel to the ground. "...Alright, let's go to the recorder then...By the way, my name's...Elk...not 'He of Aloof Body.' Did you...hear me, Piros?"
Piros nodded, "yes, indeed, I did hear you He of Aloof Body. Thou say your name is Elk. However, I think 'He of Aloof Body' suits you more than the characteristics of an animal. Well then, let's be on our way!"
Elk couldn't help but sough at the man's ignorance. It was ironic that a man with such eloquence could be so oblivious to another person's feelings. Perhaps he had no empathy, Elk thought. It mattered little though. Elk was surprisingly a bit glad that another person had decided to open up to him. That didn't mean he'd completely trust this Piros, some cautions must always be taken - just as Mia had mentioned in his training.
After the recorder had written down all of the events that had happened to both males, Piros headed to the Chaos Gate. "Have you ever been to another town, He of Aloof Body?" he paused to wait for Elk's response, which was a 'no' shake of his head, "well, how does going to one sound now?"
"What...town is it?" Elk asked. If he didn't know of the place, he refused to go.
"Ah, have thou heard of Dun Loireag? It's not very far, and it's full of life and prosperity. I can assure you that more people travel to that area than this one. Well, do you want to come?" Piros said with some more of his cheery, extroverted manner.
'Dun Loireag? Mia spoke to me about that city before. Hm...I suppose nothing bad could happen if I traveled to another town.' He accepted the offer. When Piros hadn't moved, Elk became a little wary about what was holding their departure, "um...Piros? How come we're...not going anywhere?"
Piros held out his axe in front of the boy. Elk noted that there were several marks on the weapon's spine. "First, thou must give me his sign. For without it, we cannot travel to the same spot, unless you know the area already, but thou said you haven't traveled from this small town. Lend me your staff for a moment." They exchanged items and engraved their corresponding marks onto the spines of their weapons. Elk chuckled nervously as he tried to shake off his shame for being so stupid to forget. Piros searched through the cerulean matter of the Chaos Gate and retrieved his hand within a few seconds.
The golden, encrypted language enveloped their bodies and transported them to the city of Dun Loireag. What Piros had said was true. The area had many more inhabitants than that of Mac Anu. However, for such a thriving area, it was a little outdated in terms of civilization. There were pastures dotted with violet and azure flowers, and the shops were constructed from what seemed to be a tent instead of Mac Anu's bricks. But there was another site that was much different from Mac Anu - a ranch. "He of Aloof Body, I must leave you for now. I have devoted this time to trading items with another. I shall see thou later," Piros explained before he departed to find the person whom promised to trade with him. Elk walked across a few planks that lead the ranch.
'Whoa...this place isn't too bad. I wonder what kind of animals they herd here.wha-' the petite animal withdrew from Elk's leg. He slightly cringed at the awkward animal. It had a somewhat possessed appearance in its blood-red oval orbs. The body's structure resembled that of a pig with a cow's head. 'Ugh...what a repulsive creature...'
"Daddy, feed me!" it begged. Elk nearly jumped back.
"I see that little grunty's grown attached to you. Say, would you like to raise it?" the rancher asked. Elk looked at the man dressed in bright tan and dawn-tinted peasant clothing. A mustache rested peacefully under his elongated nose.
The grunty nudged his "Daddy's" ankle with his snout. "I'm hungry, Daddy!"
Elk's icy impression couldn't remain frozen as he soon found himself caressing the animal's snow-white fur. He thought about how lonely the creature must have been - after all, it seemed out of place, just like Elk's own misfit self. "Is...it the only child around here?" The rancher nodded and explained how all the other infant grunties had been taken by other travelers so that they could be properly raised and be of aid. Elk lightly patted the grunty's head and retrieved a small satchel, giving the quadruped whatever little food he had accumulated during his training sessions. "I can...keep it?"
The rancher laughed heartily. "Sure, that little one's been alone for some time now. Make sure you feed it and get it checked every once in a while. There've been some new diseases out there recently."
"I...will do my best to care for it..." he said while smiling. Even if it DID have an unusually disturbing appearance, Elk still gave into the animal's charm.
"Oink! Daddy, do you have any more food?"
Just to stress further, I have almost completely forgotten what happens in the first game. So if something's wrong, I wanted it to be. After all, it gets boring just reading a fanfiction that says everything that happened in the game, right? If something didn't make sense to you, just let me know and I'll clarify what I was writing. I.e. engraving signs into their weapons = trading member addresses. All right, with that said, please review! Thankyou.