Conflictions of the Mind
-Chapter Five-
And if Your Way Should Falter
I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears -- through your eyes I can see
And you are such a fool -- to worry like you do
I know it's tough and you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now, my oh my
"..Professor..?"
Lloyd ran towards the closed store and then stopped where he was, rubbing at his eyes and then taking a closer look at the woman leaning against the wall. Orange robes, moonlit silvery hair.. so he hadn't been mistaken. He moved forwards a few more feet, pausing as he tried to assess her condition, squinting his eyes. "Professor Sage! Are you all right?"
The healer finally seemed to notice him then, freezing for a moment, her hand covering her heart in surprise before she moved from her position and quickly grabbed the ancient rod that was leaning next to her on the wall tightly. "..Lloyd Irving, what are you doing out here at this time at night? Go to bed!"
Lloyd tilted his head to the side as he studied her. "You aren't going to run off on your own again, are you?"
Raine's blue eyes blazed into his. The only thing he was able to tell was that she was annoyed about something. "I've no need for you to keep tabs on me, Lloyd."
Lloyd folded his arms, his gaze just as furious as hers. "..Professor. You're holding something back from us. If you don't want to tell Genis or anyone else, that's fine. But I can't allow you to keep something to yourself."
"Lloyd. It is none of your business." She turned away from him, her orange robes whirling. "..Go to bed. Now."
"I'm not Genis. What are you hiding from us, Professor? You've been acting strange lately. Especially after we found out.. about what happened, to you and Genis when you were younger. Were you even telling Genis everything?" He took another step forwards when he saw how she was suddenly leaning against the wall. "Are you all right?"
She turned back around, furiously, holding her staff out in front of her. "Stop it, Lloyd. Your asking questions of me will do no good. We must stay focused. Especially since we're back here, in Sylvarant. There is one link left to break between the Summon Spirits. That is our concern."
Lloyd shook his head. "The others are sleeping. I can't sleep. There are too many things to think about. And if you are going to stay awake, then I'm staying with you. Now tell me the truth!"
"..It is not your place to be demanding things of me." Raine glared at him once more, her face red with frustration. "I'll ask that you stop this silliness now." A pause; her face was forced calmness and serenity once more, and her tone changed. "In the morning, we are going to speak to Neil. Then we are going to Luin, correct?"
Lloyd closed his eyes tightly. "Professor. Why won't you let anyone help you?"
"I told you. I don't need to be helped." Lloyd opened his eyes, and frowned when he saw her rubbing at her temples.
'Don't need? More like don't want!' The young man thought, but instead answered, "Yeah. We'll go to Luin first, and develop the rest of our plan along the way." His hands closed over the handles of the swords that he carried. "Besides Neil, we have to talk to Cacao as well. To let her know about Chocolat."
Raine nodded slowly. "..Yes, we need to speak to her."
Lloyd frowned abruptly. "What is the matter, Professor? That look in your eyes just now.. really, you should be resting like the others."
She averted her gaze, ignoring his words. "I have to speak to Cacao for my own reasons, Lloyd. After you reassure her that you are going to play hero and rescue her daughter of course. For is that not part of the plan as well?"
"..Is this another lecture about me being too softhearted?" Lloyd demanded; letting his hold on the swords relax and letting his hands drop to his sides. "What do you need to talk to her for?"
"Think what you like. I'm only telling you my plans." Raine looked back over at him. He frowned at how pale she seemed; how distant her eyes were. Unless that was his imagination. "I'd rather that you all left without me while I spoke to her."
"We couldn't do that." Lloyd said, gritting his teeth. "We aren't leaving without you, Professor. Do you know what that would do to Genis?"
A long pause of silence fell between them. The healer seemed to be contemplating, though her shoulders sagged as her eyes lowered for a moment. "..Of course. Then perhaps I'd better not speak to her at all. Saving the world is far more important." Raine looked back up into his brown eyes. "I.. let my personal inquiries take precedence over what must be done. I thank you for reminding me."
Lloyd simply blinked, looking and feeling very much like a stunned ox. "Professor.."
She shrugged, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "The ruins.. the otherworldly gate.." she sighed, pausing for a moment as her gaze went downwards. "I got so caught up in researching my past, and with my own fascinations that I didn't focus on what our goal here is."
"..We all have our own goals. I don't think it's right to push it all aside." Lloyd said firmly, taking another step forwards. "Whatever is bothering you.. and if this has to do with Genis as well, it is important. As important as finding the guy that killed Presea's sister, or setting things to rights with the people of Iselia. We're all in this together, whether you wish to see it that way or not." His gaze went up to the sky briefly. It was still dark. They returned to the woman in front of him. "Please, Professor. Get some rest, and at least think about what I said."
Lloyd reached out for her hand. Slowly she raised her gaze, and blinked when she saw him reaching out towards her, though remained silent. "Professor.. please.."
Time seemed to stop flowing for that long moment. Lloyd watched, as something seemed to change once more in Raine's eyes before she closed them tightly once more. In defeat. Slowly her grip loosened from the staff, letting one of her hands fall free. Time remained slow until he caught her slender hand neatly in his, and was surprised at how cold her hand was. "..Lets go." He said quietly, his tone comforting.
She forced her blue eyes up to meet his pleading brown ones, and managed to smile weakly. "Lloyd. ..Thank you."
He smiled. "No problem at all, Professor."
The next morning didn't take long to arrive. For Mithos, it was merely a nanosecond, another second to eternity that only needed to pass by. For the others.. he smiled as he watched Genis sleep, and narrowed his eyes in Lloyd's direction. He had noticed that the boy had slipped out during the night. He was tempted to follow, but he knew that for now, he at least had to pretend to sleep, like the others.
Now Lloyd was sleeping deeply. It would have been the perfect opportunity to stop his breathing. Yet he still had his role to play, before it was all over.
Smirking slightly, Mithos now rose and left the room. Others would be waking up and gathering in the hall by now. Might as well see what they were up to.
Presea and Regal were sitting in chairs out in the hall. The girl's head was tilted upwards, her teal blue eyes hidden behind closed lids. Regal was watching her, a concerned expression on his face. However, as soon as Mithos approached, the blue-haired former convict stood up and handed him a buttered roll. "They're sure to feed you well when we take you over to the government building." He explained. "We'll prepare something for ourselves after we get on the road.. but I wanted you to have a little something first."
Mithos took the roll, blinking. It was steaming hot. While he no longer had to eat anymore, this body at least could still consume food normally. "..Th.. thank you." He stammered appropriately. "I.."
Regal smiled at him. "There are those who can be kind, Mithos. Remember that." He paused, his gaze going over to Presea once more, and then sighed. Mithos pondered about asking him a question, when there was a bang and a 'whoops' heard from overhead, heralding the chosen of Sylvarant before her arrival.
The blonde girl was blushing when she appeared in the stairwell, walking down to join them. "Good morning, Regal, Mithos and Presea!" she said brightly, smiling and pulling a decorated comb neatly through her hair before sliding it into her pocket. "I hope you both slept well.. there is a lot to do, after all."
"Hi.. Colette." Mithos greeted her tentatively before taking a bite out of the roll. It /was/ good, not that he would admit it.
Regal gave the girl a nod, likely not finding anything good about the morning. "Indeed."
"What makes a morning good?" Presea murmured, not looking at anyone when she voiced this, nor expecting an answer.
The blonde chosen of Sylvarant studied her a moment, looking about to answer the question, though glanced around instead. "Um.. Is anyone else up?"
Regal turned his head to look at her. "Yes.. Zelos just went out to.. ah.."
"Admire the 'beauties' of Sylvarant?" Sheena remarked dryly from the top of the stairs, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "I wouldn't be surprised. I'd hope that they'd have better taste."
Mithos frowned, and took a moment to chew and swallow before asking, "Is he always so.. I mean.. does he even consider the personality of those.. um.. girls that he chases? Or does he like them only for what they look like?"
"I think that he likes them just because they're girls." Colette remarked, stating the obvious but not realizing that she had done so. Mithos could very well tell that there wasn't much going on behind those bright blue eyes of hers.
"..I think we're better off not analyzing the chosen of Tethe'alla." Regal remarked wisely. Mithos couldn't resist a little smirk at that one. Colette giggled belatedly.
"Not that there is much to analyze." Sheena smirked, sliding down the banister to join them. "He is a.."
"A gorgeous specimen of mankind?" Zelos asked, cocking an eyebrow as he stuck his head into the conversation. Mithos had known his presence, and merely shook his head as Colette jumped. Presea took no notice. Regal held a faintly amused expression on his face and shook his head.
"No." Sheena replied curtly.
Colette looked over to Mithos, who had a very convincing look of confusion on his face. "They're always like this," the girl explained, as if he hadn't already figured this out. "I don't know if they like each other or hate each other. Or understand half of the things they say to one another anyway. Though Zelos likes all the girls. It's funny when he tries to get the Professor to talk to him."
"He likes Raine?" Mithos frowned. "But she's a.."
Zelos flashed a bright grin in his direction. "I'm an equal opportunity guy, after all. Beauty and brains isn't a combination you get every day!"
"Not that you'd know much about either." Sheena rolled her eyes, and went to sit near the silent girl in the corner, reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder. "You okay, Presea?"
Presea blinked, startled just a bit. "Oh? Um.. yes. Don't worry about me, please.. There is so much to think about, and I want to get it done before our next quest." Her eyes traveled to the axe leaning on the wall next to her. The ninja merely nodded in response.
Zelos turned his attention to Colette. "Why don't you say we two chosen take a walk and discuss.. 'chosen' things."
"Yeah!"
"Zelos!" Sheena glared over at him. "Don't you dare do anything inappropriate to her!"
"Inna..what?" Colette blinked at Sheena, clearly confused. "We're just going to talk. We Chosen have a lot in common, you know. And he is nice."
"Yeah, don't be jealous, Sheena." Zelos replied, winking in her direction. "Colette and I have things in common, y'know? I have to look out for my little angel."
Mithos refrained from rolling his eyes at the exchange and finished eating the roll. Thankfully he wouldn't have to put up with them for too much longer.. noticing that Regal was looking at him, he smiled to the former convict, complementing him on the roll.
Once everyone else was awake, the group stopped in briefly to speak to Cacao and inform her of the situation about her daughter. Raine kept quiet about her memory, though she and the woman had shared a glance. Cacao had studied her, though Raine quickly turned her head away. 'Not now. It is not the time for personal business.'
"We'll bring Chocolat back safely." Lloyd reassured the woman, and she smiled at him.
"The least I can do is keep the shop running.." She sighed softly, and then studied the group. "Please, if you need anything, feel free to browse this shop. I'll lower the prices for you--"
Colette shook her head. "You don't have to do that, ma'am. We're doing our part to help you, you know. The least we can do is pay for our efforts." She looked towards Raine, who was in charge of the gald.
"..Yeah. We can always get more." Lloyd said, grinning. "Thank you for the offer though."
Cacao smiled sadly. "Please stop in if you have any news at all."
"We will." He promised.
After they had spoken to her and restocked on a few key items, Lloyd glanced over to Raine as they stepped out of the door. "..Didn't you want to talk to her..?"
"Don't worry about it, Lloyd. Now we must speak to Neil and drop Mithos off." She glanced in the young boy's direction. Their new companion was speaking to Genis; not much of a surprise there.
"..All right." Lloyd frowned, but there wasn't much else he could say to her as the group continued on to the building.
Neil seemed happy to see them, though his news wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear. "Desians at the ranch?" Colette's eyes were worried. "It couldn't be.."
Raine sighed, shaking her head. "It looks like we'll have to investigate. This place could become the next Luin if that base became operational again." She looked towards Neil. "Would it be all right if Mithos stayed with you for a while? Our next destinations may prove too dangerous for him."
"We'll take good care of him." Neil promised.
Mithos smiled a bit hesitantly, his voice quiet. "Genis.. be careful. And Raine... and Lloyd.. and everyone else, too."
Lloyd smiled. "Yeah.. just wait here for a little while. We'll be back as soon as we can."
Mithos nodded, his gaze turning towards the silver-haired mage. "Genis.." he reached into his pocket and pulled out an ancient looking panpipe. "..Please take this with you."
The boy blinked, reaching out to take it. "..What's this?"
Raine raised a slight eyebrow at the exchange, though kept silent as she watched.
"It's.. a memento of my sister who passed away." The boy said quickly. Genis nearly dropped the instrument.
"I can't take that!"
Mithos pushed it back towards him, gently. "Take it. Please.. if you find yourself in danger, play it. I don't know what it can do.. but it just may be able to save you."
Colette started to speak. "How could a.." Sheena jabbed her in the ribs to keep her from saying any more. "Shhh."
Genis looked down, turning the instrument over in his hands. "Okay.. thanks. I promise to bring it back and return it to you."
Mithos smiled.
It was hard for anyone not to wince as they returned to the devastated city of Luin. There in the midst of it all stood Pietro, a determined look on his face, though his eyes widened when he recognized them. "Chosen! Sheena! Raine! Lloyd!"
"Hey Pietro.. how are the plans for the reconstruction going? We've been gone for a while and.." Lloyd paused, looking around.
"..Nothing's really changed.." Sheena murmured.
"Well.." Pietro looked down. "Suffice to say.. we are lacking in funds.. but I'll find some way to raise money."
Colette shook her fists. "We'll help! Right guys?" She gestured to the purse that Raine was holding. "We have a lot of gald. We must use it to help!"
Pietro blinked, taking a step back. "N.. no! I couldn't take money from you guys!"
Lloyd sighed. "We're on a journey to save the world. If we cant help a single city, what good will it do?" He looked to Raine for approval. She sighed, but nodded a little.
"..Yes. We can give you the money to use in increments. We may not be back for a while yet, so be sure to use it carefully." She glanced towards her brother. "Genis, can you find the spare purse?"
"I have it in my pack." Regal said, kneeling down so that Genis could reach into the bag on his back.
The young mage rummaged through Regal's pack, and finding what he was looking for, handed the spare purse over to his sister, who carefully began counting money out of their purse and putting it into the other one. Zelos' eyes were wide as he watched. "Man.. I had no idea that we had accumulated so much gald on our travels."
Sheena rolled her eyes. "This one rarely lets us buy stuff, so of course we'd have a lot left over."
Raine didn't look up from her counting of the money. "There is only so much that we can carry. And with my healing spells, not to mention the ones that Zelos and Regal know, we really don't need so many apple gels anymore. The only ones that are really useful are the pineapple and miracle gels. And life bottles, in true emergencies."
Zelos smiled sardonically. "In case you're the one that gets knocked out. Seriously, I'd prefer that you'd stay out of the battles, if it weren't for that awesome photon of yours."
The purse was closed shut after the money was counted out, and, ignoring Zelos, she handed it over to a wide-eyed Pietro. "Here you are. Use it wisely."
"Thank you very much. The next time you come here, you'll see a brand new city!"
Sheena grinned. "I can't wait, Pietro." She glanced towards the group as they began to leave the city. "Welp.. time to return to the Rheairds and speed over to that Ranch.. I don't see how it would possibly be operational as the demolition queen over here had made sure that it would never function again."
"True enough, but we must ease the minds of the Palmacostan people, and find out the truth." Raine said, keeping her tone serious. "We truly don't know what they are capable of, after all."
It was a short, quiet ride on the Rheairds. The afternoon sky was clear and bright, yet the tension was thicker than the mana in the atmosphere. "It is the calm before the storm," Raine told herself, letting the others lead as she remained behind the pack. She had been pain free all morning, though now she could feel the headaches building up again, waiting to come forwards.
She pondered reaching for the stone to take a preemptive move against them, though the flash of pain from the night before was still fresh n her mind as well, not so buried underneath thoughts of the group as she would have wished. "The group is more important than my silly little headaches." She muttered.
Yes, but how will you be able to help them if you are so blind that you can't see straight from the pain?
"Shut up." She tightened her grip on the Rheaird. She barely noticed that the group had changed their formation until Lloyd's Rheaird slowed so that it was nearly adjacent to her.
"Professor?" her gaze snapped over to him, and she blinked.
"Lloyd, why aren't you leading?"
The boy sighed. "Professor, we will reach the ranch in about a minute or so. Why are you all the way back here? If anything happens, we need you to be ready to fight.. I don't want you to be in that position if you aren't well."
She frowned at him. "I am perfectly capable of fighting, Lloyd. I was just sorting out a few things in my mind. Concerns of what might happen upon our arrival. We aren't sure of who or what we may be facing. It's not likely that any of those who were involved the last time are still here to make trouble."
Lloyd nodded. "..Yeah. We don't know. But we can't afford to lose you, either." He pointed to where the others were starting to land. "We're here. Come on, Professor."
"Right." Raine replied curtly, waiting for him to land before she reached into her pocket. "..It's not as if I have much of a choice.."
A blinding light sped up from behind her eyes, pushing forward so that she could no longer see. The hand holding the stone went numb, and sent the numbness zooming through her body like a small flame blazing up a curtain.
Flicker. The light dimmed. She could not move. She could not scream. For a moment her vision became a hazy screen, and suddenly she could no longer see anything.
Her numb body shuddered, and suddenly she was pulled back into the dark recesses of her mind.
Lloyd and the others waited for Raine to land before deciding to venture into the ranch. "You all right, Raine?" Sheena asked her, as they followed Lloyd in.
"Yes." Raine seemed to respond almost absently, her eyes looking straight ahead. Sheena frowned slightly; something seemed different about those eyes, but there was no time to question it now, as stepping into the compound put to rest their doubts about a return of the Desians to the ranch.
"Renegades!" Lloyd kept his voice just lower than a shout of surprise. "So that's it. Neil and the others couldn't tell the difference between the Desians and the Renegades."
Botta's arms were crossed over his chest, looking most unperturbed. "We've been waiting for you."
Regal stared at him. "Are you saying that you expected us to come here?"
"Does it matter? We have important things to discuss." Botta paused for a moment, his eyes flickering over the group. "Such as joining forces."
Everyone was silent, blinking. Raine was the first to speak, her tone undeniably skeptical. "Unbelievable. You actually expect us to trust you after all you've done to Lloyd and Colette?"
"The circumstances have changed." A voice said from the shadows, and a familiar being stepped out to face them.
"Yuan!" Sheena gasped.
'Yuan. I should have known it was you.' Mithos thought, almost bitterly as he watched his longtime partner stepped out of the shadows. 'A shame. I always expected Kratos to be the traitor, yet he always returned to me, in the end.'
He was very careful to keep his own thoughts from flowing over to the woman. Once he had gotten the information that he needed, she would be able to recover herself, have a fuzzy knowledge of being present when this discussion was going on, and have no true recollection of where she had been during.. however long this conversation was to last. 'Just stay nice and safe, bathed in your memories. You have been parted from them for a very long time, after all.'
He could see through her eyes very clearly now. Skepticism was a particularly good practice, and a tone to use while finding out exactly what the renegades were up to. Hopefully it would keep this band of idiots from joining up with them.. though with Lloyd present, he knew that he would have no such luck.
"The soul of Mithos?" He heard Genis ask, after Yuan began talking of the Great Seed. The seed that was being used to keep his sister preserved until he had the means to revive her.
"Now that is a fairy tale." Botta answered him.
"The great seed is vital in order to reunite the two worlds." Yuan's voice seemed almost bitter, though he was speaking plainly. Mithos struggled to keep his own thoughts at rest. Traitor. Betrayer. 'You loved Martel, and yet you would sacrifice her for these pathetic worlds?'
"Reunite the two worlds?" Lloyd sounded confused now.
"Yggdrasill is the creator of the two worlds."
Mithos smirked to himself, allowing Yuan to go ahead and explain the situation. A situation well beyond his control, at that. Instead he moved Raine's eyes to glance briefly at the other members of the group. Mesmerized, all of them. And yet Yuan continued on, amidst their questions.
"The seed is nearly dead. We must expose it to a large amount of mana in order to save it."
Time to insert a bit more skepticism into the mix. That was what the professor was for. At least, that's all she was to this band of fools. "There is no supply of mana like that to be found anywhere in the world."
"Derris-Kharlan is a comet made from a giant mass of mana. It lies suspended in the sky high above this land. All we have to do is use that."
Annoyed, Mithos moved Raine's gaze towards Lloyd, who was now asking a question. "If that's true, why doesn't Yggdrasill revive the giant tree?"
Yuan wasted no words. "All of Derris-Kharlan's mana is being gives to Martel for the sake of reviving her."
"What?" That was Colette.
Mithos smirked. So Yuan would reveal his plans, would he? 'They think they know so much,' he thought. 'And yet I will trump them all.' Trapped in her own little bubble of memory, Raine could hear the mad cackle of laughter, though she had no idea where it had come from.
"By using the power of a cruxis crystal, Martel's soul lives on, existing as a part of the great seed." Yuan continued, and then paused.
Botta took on from where he had left off. "If Martel awakens, the seed will be absorbed into her. The reverse also holds true. In order to prevent that from happening, Yggdrasill protects the great seed with the seals of the summon spirits."
"So that's why the renegades are trying to stop Martel's revival." Mithos couldn't prevent the tone from sounding just a bit more on the bitter side rather than skeptical, though the others didn't notice, clearly too stunned to offer their own opinions.
"Yes." Yuan sounded especially proud. "We will make the great seed germinate. Martel will be absorbed by the seed, and then.."
"..The Giant Kharlan tree will be reborn." Lloyd finished Yuan's sentence, a grin forming on his face.
Colette's blue eyes were wide. "Will the two worlds become one again?"
"The world will end if the great seed is lost." Yuan replied.
Mithos smirked once again. 'What you neglect to mention, dear old friend, who was to become my brother.. is that a new world would be born. My world, with the age of lifeless beings. My sister will be at my side. And Genis as well, if he proves more trustworthy than you.'
"So you just want Miss Martel to be a good little girl and disappear." The chosen of Tethe'alla remarked.
"Martel is already dead. If it weren't for Derris-Kharlan's mana, her soul would have disappeared a long time ago."
"Why is Yggdrasill so obsessed with Martel?"
Mithos glanced towards Genis. Surely he would understand if he knew the truth. 'My sister watched over me, and it is my turn to protect her. Wouldn't you say that you understand the same thing?' Yet he would soon, if everything went well. Oh yes, Genis would know.
"That doesn't matter." Yuan replied quickly. Mithos had the woman raise an eyebrow. 'Of course. If you let them know too much, they just might not go along with your little plan here. Especially someone like Genis.'
"Up until now the seed has been protected by the summon spirits of the declining world," Botta explained to them. Truly he was a thorn. "The protection around the seed has begun to unravel."
"..Because we have been forming pacts with the spirits of both worlds." Presea finally spoke, surprising those standing near her.
Mithos smirked. So that was it, wasn't it? Skepticism once more from Raine, "Now I understand why you want us to join you. Because we have Sheena, a summoner."
This sunk in for a moment, before Lloyd asked an important question. "Yuan. Are you with Cruxis, or the Renegades?"
Yuan did not hesitate in his response. "I am with Cruxis. I am also the leader of the renegades."
Regal stared at him. "A double agent?"
"..A traitor." Zelos muttered.
'The leader, then? My.. Martel would be disappointed in you.' Mithos thought. 'Yet at last your soul and your motives become clear to me. You even sound proud about it. Except the important reason of why you would abandon her in the first place.'
"What is your decision?" Yuan asked. There was silence.
"..Okay." Lloyd didn't even bother to look at the others to confirm his decision.
"Lloyd. You're going to trust him?" He had Raine ask the question, as no one else had said anything.
"He's revealed the fact that he's a traitor." Lloyd seemed to smile as he said this. "He is putting himself on the line. That has got to count for something."
He moved Raine's eyes to see the reactions of the group. They all seemed pleased with this. 'They are like sheep! They will follow one another into the pit of doom. How could they prove to be such adversaries?'
He could feel his hold on the woman weakening. Her grip on the pendant must not have been strong enough to keep the link. 'Just a little more,' he thought. 'Then you can go back and join them.'
The plans were set. They were going to go to Rodyles ranch. Something which would prove beneficial, as Rodyle was yet another traitor. At least the Renegades had a cause, filthy as it was. Rodyle was simply mad with his own power. Mithos smirked once more. 'I know what I needed to know. You can return to yourself now.'
He heard Raine's voice; she seemed confused. Her suddenly sweaty fingers let go of the pendant, and her hands went up to her head. No one noticed.
"..Yes. We do have a debt to pay to Rodyle." Presea murmured quietly, leaning on her axe.
"Let me know when you're ready." Botta replied.
Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. We should eat and take a few moments to discuss this."
"Yeah.. I'm so confused." Colette agreed, and they moved away from Botta, Raine lagging behind the group once more.
It was time to let loose the bond. Mithos pushed her forwards, releasing his hold on her. Raine stumbled and dropped to her knees, rubbing vigorously at her temples. The presence was gone, and the headache suddenly vanished as well. Lloyd and Regal were suddenly at her side. "Are you okay?"
"..Yes, I'm fine." Raine stammered, opening her eyes and blinking a few times. The blindness was gone and she could see.
You're lying again. It's an easy habit to get into, isn't it?
"We haven't eaten yet." Regal replied. "I'll get something started so that we can at least get a meal before we take care of Rodyle."
Lloyd was frowning at her. "..Professor.."
Raine looked up at him, blue eyes meeting brown. "..I'm fine, Lloyd, really." She wiped her hands on her robe. They were cold and clammy. "This has been a lot to take in, you know. I think.. we all need a bit of food before venturing out." 'And I also need to figure out what just happened here.'
