All right…now that I've finally stopped procrastinating…
Real Pent: FINALLY! I thought you'd never stop! Where'd you put my book of Elfire?
I put it somewhere where you can't reach it.
Generic Pent: w00t!
Real Pent: -finds Elfire book- um…on top of the fridge?
O.o um…no! –takes Elfire book- but umm…I would like to introduce some little cuties I found playing outside of the burned down –glares at Real Pent- Generic Muse Warehouse…they almost look like they were little Generic Pents that weren't fully grown yet. Everyone, say hello to Iisakkri and Sakkri—if you can't pronounce that, call them Zak and Zeke.
Zak/Zeke: Hi!
Aww, they're the most adorable things ever! –hugglez them- they're like mini-Pents! I can't tell them apart, though, and they're major tricksters.
Pent: O.o
Generic Pent: w00t!
Yeah, that's what I thought, Pents. Now, on to the review replies.
Serra's evil twin: my ever-faithful reviewer! (or one of them) I thank you for your kind words.
Cool-Chan: -tackles- my OTHER ever-faithful reviewer! Haha they get more hilarious every time XDD I'm very glad that I actually have FANS! –faints-
Lord of Swords and Waffles: XDD I love the name, especially since I'm kinda hyper right now. If you want to know what Raven looks like with Iris' boots, maybe you should find someone to draw a couple of pretty pictures for me. –hinthint to all artists- :D I hope Generic Pent will survive the Real Pent's wrath, too o.o
Paladin2007: that's a good idea! –grins evilly at Real Pent- XD
Okay…Zak, do the disclaimer.
Zak: -pouts- FINE! …Okay, Psychotic says that Fire Emblem doesn't belong to her. She didn't make it up. And…yeah. All that kind of stuff.
Good job, Zak. –pats on head- He's just so CUTE!
Zak: Yeah, I know.
All right…so…on with the story!
Chapter Nine: Rocks, Boots, and Random Stuff
"Well," Priscilla sighed. "I'm glad you decided to tell me all of this, Erk…the whole 'Emmanuel Roshaun' thing is kind of disappointing, of course, but I suppose I'll live…have you told anyone else?"
"No. You're the only one."
"…Are you planning on telling anyone else?"
"Maybe."
"So, does that mean I have to keep my mouth shut?"
"Probably."
"All right, then…no problem," Priscilla said. Erk had just finished telling her everything about everything, and it was already about midday. It was also very hot, so they were using the shade of a large oak tree nearby to escape the harsh sunlight. Maybe back then, they didn't know that body heat was actual heat, and if Raven saw the way they were sitting together, he probably wouldn't have approved, mainly because he didn't approve of them being within four feet of each other.
"So, you don't hate me?" Erk asked again after a long, pensive pause.
"No, I don't," Priscilla reiterated. "I don't hate you and I'm not upset with you, so don't worry about it."
"Okay. Just making sure," Erk said, a little more reassured than the last time he had asked her this.
"I find it a little odd that Hector isn't jumping on everyone's throats," Priscilla mused after another silence. "I thought we'd be leaving by now."
"Yeah, that is a bit strange," Erk agreed. "Maybe we should go see what's going on?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Priscilla replied as Erk took her hand and kissed it. "Oh, stop it," she giggled when he proceeded to kiss her cheek as well. "You know I hate it when you try and butter me up."
"I'm doing nothing of the sort," Erk declared, starting to stand up. After accomplishing this feat, he helped Priscilla up, and after a quick hug, they set off.
"Emmanuel Roshaun," Priscilla mused to herself. "From Kuivanen?"
"It sounds better when you say it," Erk remarked. "But don't waste your time blurting out all those syllables…'Erk' is fine."
"Well, if you stole my son's name, you have to use it," Priscilla said silkily. "Then I won't feel guilty about finding a new one, Emmanuel."
"Okay, fine…it's not my voice you're wearing out…just don't call me that around everyone else until they know, all right?"
"All right. I still think it's adorable, though."
"Well, I suppose it's fitting, then, isn't it?" Erk replied flirtatiously.
"You are so full of yourself, little boy," Priscilla laughed, shoving him playfully. "But you're right…you are pretty cute."
"You don't look so bad yourself," Erk grinned.
"Hey, kids," Hector said, randomly walking up to them and seemingly in a good mood. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting your lovesick ceremonies?"
"Er…no?" Erk said blankly.
"Well, good. We aren't leaving for another couple of hours. And no, it's not just because Raven's boots were stolen and got switched with some girl boots that he can't squeeze his enormous feet into."
"That's good to know," Priscilla rolled her eyes.
"Well…um…whatever…hey, Priscilla, you're a girl. Does my hair look okay?" Hector asked very randomly.
"Er…I…guess…"
"Okay. Have fun, you lovebirds."
"So…before that happened…" Priscilla, extremely confused, said as Hector went off to flirt with some random girl.
"What were we talking about?" Erk wondered aloud.
"Good question. Why don't we go and annoy Pent?"
"That sounds like fun," Erk agreed, following after her.
"All right, Iris," Raven growled that night at a rock. "Give me back my boots, you whore!" he paused for a moment in thought. "No, that won't do…" Raven happened to be practicing what he was going to say to Iris when (or if) she came back, but he was having trouble finding words that would be effective enough and still be politically correct at the same time. "Er…give me my boots, or I'll—no, I shouldn't threaten her…"
"Raven, are you talking to rocks again?" Hector inquired curiously, looking down at him where he sat practicing on the ground with the rock.
"Er…yes?" Raven replied, sounding just as puzzled. He wasn't about to tell him about Iris, after all. Then she would really hate him.
"…Um…do you want someone else to guard tonight?" Hector asked concernedly.
"No, no, that's all right," Raven replied hastily. "I can handle it."
"…All right, but you'd better take a break tomorrow night. I think the lack of sleep is getting to your head."
"Right. All right…now, give me my boots, woman!" Raven snapped at the rock as Hector walked away, very amused. "Your girl boots don't fit me, and my feet hurt. If you loved me at all, you'd give them to me…that won't work, either, damn it. She doesn't love me."
"Are you talking to that rock?" a familiar voice inquired. Raven looked up and saw his boots. He scowled, looked up some more, and saw the person wearing his boots, who happened to be Iris.
"Iris! Give me back my boots, you whore!" Raven snapped at her. After a second, he realized what he had just said. "Damn! I wasn't supposed to say that!" inexplicably, Iris laughed.
"Raymond, you're so funny!" she said. "I knew you'd react like this when I stole your boots. Interesting greeting, by the way."
"May I have my boots back?" Raven pleaded. "…Please?" he added for better results.
"I don't know if I should give them to you," Iris said innocently. "They're very comfortable…even though they smell like feet."
"Iris…" Raven growled. For some reason, being menacing didn't work on this strange woman. She laughed at what other people would run away screaming from, like his signature Evil Scowl of Death.
"Yes, Raymond?" Iris replied sweetly.
"Give me my boots. Now."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. It's an order."
"Ah. Well, I suppose if you insist…" Iris sighed, starting to give in. "But I'm not giving you yours until you give me mine."
"That sounds reasonable. Why don't you sit down and stay for a while?" Raven suggested, moving over so she could sit down.
"I don't know…I think I'd rather lay down." Iris replied, then proceeded to lie down on the ground beside him instead. "What?" she laughed when he stared at her. "I'm tired!"
"Er…all right, then," Raven said, sounding a little nervous even to himself. "Do I get my boots back now?"
"Sure, why not?" Iris responded in the affirmative, then took his boots off and set them off to the side. "Now, where are mine?"
"Right here," Raven answered, producing them. "I couldn't even squeeze my toes in them. Why do you have such small feet?"
"Why do you have such big feet?" Iris retorted. "And why is your hair red?"
"That's not something I control," Raven said defensively.
"Well, I don't control how big or small my feet are, just like you don't."
"…Sort of like how you can't control how beautiful you are?"
"Yeah, sort of like that," Iris replied off-handedly, looking up at the dark sky. "What are you looking at?" she asked him irritably, noticing he was staring at her.
"Ah…you."
"Well, could you stop? It makes me feel uncomfortable, like I'm some sort of deformed freak that everyone gawks at."
"You're not a deformed freak, Iris," Raven informed her, deciding to lay down himself.
"You don't look so bad yourself," Iris smiled at him. "…Now what are you doing?" she said in exasperation after a small silence when he slipped an arm around her waist.
"I'm stealing your sash," Raven replied.
"Oh. Well, let's just pretend you did already and then gave it back. There's an idea."
"That's a good idea." Raven agreed.
"So…you're going to move your arm now, right?" Iris said pointedly.
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Well, you are now," Iris told him, sitting up and edging away. "Haven't I already told you I'm not like that? I'm not stupid; I know what you're doing. You're just like every man I've met, so all you want me to stay for is so that you can satisfy your perverted mind for one night and then be rid of me in the morning…I'm not falling for it!"
"What makes you think I'm going to do that to you?" Raven asked irately, seizing her wrist as she made to run away from him. "Not all men are like that, and I'm certainly not."
"I don't think I know you well enough to determine that," Iris replied coolly, clawing at his arm in an effort to get him to release her. Raven, undaunted, persisted.
"I don't think you know me well enough to judge me that quickly, either," he pointed out. "You're awfully cautious about this sort of stuff, aren't you? I just want you to stay so I can get to know you better…you're a very fascinating woman, you know…but you don't keep still long enough for me to talk to you. All right, I'm sorry I was so forward," he said when Iris gave him a look of pure venom and redoubled her efforts. "Won't you please stay, just for a little while? I won't hurt you, I promise…I only do that to people I don't like." Iris glared at him for a moment, then sighed in exasperation and laid back down, resting her head on his chest.
"I'm sorry," she said, sounding sincere. "I just…I don't know. I've known too many men who just wanted me as a trophy and didn't care about me at all…I'd like to get to know you better, too, but I'm afraid…"
"Really?" Raven said, seeming rather flattered.
"Yes, but don't go and get a big head over it," Iris said, rolling her eyes at his tone. "You should consider yourself lucky…you're the first man I've ever had this long of a conversation with that isn't related to me." There was a small silence, during which Raven toyed idly with a strand of her hair.
"The moon is bright tonight," Raven remarked after a while, gazing up as she was into the cloudless night sky.
"Yes, it is," Iris agreed, dimly noticing his warm fingers intertwining with her own to rest slightly above her waist. "You touch the sword, you die," she added fiercely, slapping his hand as he reached to remove it from her side.
"You know, sometimes I think you love that sword more than you love me," Raven informed her crossly, shaking off the stinging pain before brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"I do," Iris said matter-of-factly.
"Gee, thanks," Raven responded sarcastically.
"No problem. Don't be mad…you learn not to trust anyone when you live by yourself for as long as I have."
"Ah."
"If it's any consolation, I trust you more than I trust a lot of people. Would you save my life if it was ever required of you?"
"Of course I would."
"Well, good. Do that and I'll trust you even more. Hey, could you let me go for a minute? I need to talk to Erk before he falls asleep on me."
"How do I know you're going to come back?" Raven inquired suspiciously, still clasping her hand tightly in his when she sat up again.
"What, you think I'd rather stay by myself all night again?"
"Er…sort of. Did you say you wanted to stay with me? Not your sword?" Iris looked at him in disgust, rolled her eyes, and left anyway. "Damn…too forward again."
Oddly enough, when Iris ventured over to Erk's tent, he wasn't in there. She puzzled over this for a few moments before remembering his little girlfriend and set off to find her. When these efforts failed, she decided to give up and go back to Raven when she saw the two people she was looking for walking around the woods together.
"What are you kids doing up at hour?" Iris asked, faintly amused.
"We're just taking a walk," Erk said, nettled.
"Oh. Well, that's okay, then." Iris said, running up to join them. "So, what's up?"
"Not much," Priscilla grinned. "I saw you over there with Raven, Iris…"
"You know my name?" Iris said in surprise, ignoring her other statement.
"Yeah, Emmanuel told me everything…and you stole my daughter's name. I'm Priscilla, by the way. Nice to meet you." Iris made an indignant voice.
"You stole my daughter's name," Iris pouted.
"Oh. Well, I guess we're even, then. Is Raven harassing you?" Priscilla asked eagerly. "You know, he's never acted like this before around girls."
"Really?" Iris said, raising her eyebrows, though not entirely surprised.
"You'd make the cutest couple," Priscilla commented, smiling sweetly. "Don't you think so, Erk?"
"Huh? No they—I mean, yeah, yeah, they would," Erk agreed hastily, wincing as Priscilla stepped painfully on his foot.
"I don't know…he's nice, I suppose." Iris said off-handedly. "Well, I'll leave you lovebirds to your activities…just don't let yourselves get carried away. Wait until you're married."
"Er…all right," Erk replied as Priscilla giggled and Iris started to walk away. "Whatever that means…"
"Hey, Raymond," Iris said upon her return to the edge of camp where Raven sat. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes," Raven replied, scowling. "Stop calling me that!"
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then I'll have to kill you."
"Now, that's not very nice…besides, you wouldn't be able to do it, silly. It's obvious that you're smitten with me." Iris commented, sitting down again and wrapping her arms around her knees. Raven winced.
"Is it that obvious?" he asked, embarrassed.
"Yep. It's quite apparent. I think that's sweet, by the way. Most boys think I'm too quiet and strange and mysterious."
"You love your sword too much."
"I was just joking!" Iris laughed. "I think I can make an exception for you in that aspect. But I hear you're supposed to be on guard, so I'll leave you to that…I'll probably be back tomorrow night."
"What?" Raven whined, disappointed. "Why do you want to leave me? Don't you love me?"
"Don't push it, Raven," Iris warned, standing up. "If anyone catches us together, remember, there'll be hell to pay." Raven jumped to his feet before she had a chance to leave, prompting Iris to look at him like he was a freak before he seized her shoulders and kissed her firmly on her rose pink lips.
"Hey! Raven!" someone shouted indignantly, seeing them after a good five seconds of this. "What do you think you're doing with her, you lout? She's mine!"
Raven ish a naughty boy o.o
Generic Pent: w00t!
Zeke: Don't you say anything else?
Real Pent: No, he doesn't. Isn't that annoying?
Well, sorry it took so long to get this up…I'll try my best to get chapter ten done within the week. School's getting a little demanding lately, and I'm too lazy, anyway.
Zak: You've got that right!
So…yeah. We're getting near the end of the story, by the way…just a couple more chapters.
Real Pent: (sarcastically) Gee, that's a bummer.
Ahem…-glares at Real Pent- until next time…
