Pika: Ahaha, sorry I took so looong. These chapters don't pop up so quickly, y'know? They're a bit long compared to the other ones around here. Yes, yes. Plus, Pika's reeaaally sick.
But honestly, I don't know what to say. I'm really touched by everyone's reviews. They were VERY inspirational. Thank you so, so much for everything you said! I can't believe my story is really that good... but really, thanks you guys. You really inspired me to keep going with this, plus it's fun.
By the way, to Wind Kaze, what do you mean? My real name is Saya, duh... no, not really. Yes, I did find the easter egg on the fourth Liminality DVD. All that information was actually what inspired me at first to write the fanfiction and such. Such a good little present on there! Gift was pretty cool too, though...
Ah, gomen, i'm sorry for the not-coolness of this chapter. There's just a small, pointless battle, but this is more like a joining chapter. Minor explainations and a character meeting is pretty much all this chapter is here for, but I couldn't just throw them all of a sudden ito Dun Loireag. The battle is pretty much needed for a character to show off... and another thing, but you'll see by then, eh?
Hehe, I was also inspired by the english trailer for the fourth game. I've already beaten it and everything, but I got the first .hack/Legend of the Twilight DVD, and they had it on there. And it was beeeeeeautifull! Ahahaha, sooo many good ideas...
But enough of me talking, right? Let's get on to what you've been waiting for!
By the way, sorry for minor spelling mistakes/errors in the last chapter. I got so eager to post it that I didn't read it over very well. I should post an edited version soon. Like, for example, my friend pointed out that I wrote 'upside down eight' instead of 'sideways eight'... an upside down eight is the same as a right side up one... this one has been read over.
Those Who Quest For The Twilight Dragon
- A story version of the
Epitaph of Twiligh -
Chapter Two : Away From The East
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... i'm here.
You stayed long.
It wasn't that long. There was someone in the way.
Someone in the way? Are they going to be a problem?
I think so. They're... human. With a half-sprite friend.
Nyahaa.. maybe you were just too weak?
I wasn't too weak!
Why didn't you kill him?
Because... I have a strange feeling about this one.
He could get the dragon.
He could...
What's him gettin' the dragon gonna do for us!
Because she'll see him.
... and they... are very attached.
Haha! I get it now! It's sooo perfect!
A blue sky.
It was all he saw, and all that filled his vision. A blue sky with white clouds and green grass. There was no one else with him, and all the sounds around him seemed to be dull and quiet, nothing noticable.
Except that ringing.
It started out small, but began to grow louder and louder. Just a light 'ding' ever couple seconds. He looked all around him, lilac hair falling in front of his eyes and obstructing his vision. Though the sound repeated and repeated, it wasn't scary. It was calming and somewhat beautifull, even though the normal person would be somewhat nervous of what was to come. A light wind tugged at his pants, but he could barely feel it.
... me.
The voice was gentle, light, and female. It was barely noticable, and only seemed to touch his mind. It was like the voice that the man from the previous battle had used - with an echo and all. But again, there was nothing threatening about it...
... to me.
"Who... are you?" He said outloud, trying to get the voice's attention.
... come to me.
He spun around again, only to see a shimmering light in the distance. Everything else was unnoticable, no matter what it was. He took a step forward, and under his feet, the ground started to crumble. But he saw nothing, felt nothing, and kept going forward.
Please, meet me. I'm calling to you, and only you...
"Where?" He asked, still oblivious to what occured around him. Whole pieces of the ground started to break apart, and the sky faded into darkness. But he kept moving towards the only light that was there, keeping the horizon bright.
Meet me. At the Wa...
Saya grumbled and rolled over, his eyes shutting tighter. His arm brushed against the grass as the early morning sun struck his face hard, and he tried to force himself to ignore it by shoving his eyes into the ground. The sounds of the birds could be heard now, however, and he could already tell that getting back to sleep was nearly impossible.
With reluctance, he sat up slowly, looking around. He was in the middle of a green field, beside a small forest. The sky was a shade of pink as the sun just began to peek from the horizon. He looked over beside him a few feet where Ashi lay, sleeping soundly. He could hear his small breaths, along with the birds singing their songs. He took in a deep breath, and the sweet morning air woke him up just a little bit more.
They were a day's walk away from Mac Anu. Their travel had been quite peacefull, with no monsters attacking them at all. They spent the whole time talking to each other, trying to get over what happened. Ashi told Saya that he'd tell him what he knew about the events going on the next day, because he was still quite shocked that everything had happened the way it did.
And this morning was the next day.
Saya's mind instantly trailled off to the dream he had awoken from too soon. The girl's voice still hung in his mind, and only now did he realise the destruction that happened in it. Somehow, in that dream, he had ignored it all just for a chance to find out who that girl was.
"Meet me... at what?" He asked himself quietly, remembering her request. Meet me. At the Wa...
He shook his head, trying to get rid of any silly ideas. Dreams had never meant anything to him - they were nothing but the images that formed in your mind when you slept. Some people believed dreams were really warnings or messages...
Saya picked up his jacket from the ground, as he was using it as his pillow during last night's sleep. He started to dust the dirt off of it, trying to forget about it. If he dwelled too much on it, he thought he might become someone who did believe in dreams. And that would just be a nuisance.
He was able to quickly put them aside, fortunately, as his friend shuffled in his sleep as well. Saya chuckled and Ashi sat up, hair a mess and everywhere. He seemed rather out of it in the morning. He looked over slowly, and smiled, noticing that he wasn't the first up. Saya pulled his backpack over and searched through it a bit, then pulling out two small loafs of bread, tossing one to the half-sprite.
"Eat and get up. We should get going soon, if we want to make it to Dun Loireag any sooner." He told him, and Ashi gave a small nod and a sound of agreement.
The two talked and laughed over breakfast, already bonding with each other quickly. Afterwards, they got everything back together and packed, and turned their backs to the sun. They began to walk, at first in silence, but not in sorrow. They even had a small smile on their faces, thinking of the bright side of things.
The silence didn't last very long, however. The two walked, and Ashi seemed to slowly drift into a bit more of a serious mood. Saya looked over to him, realising what he was thinking of.
"... I didn't tell you anything yesterday, did I?" Ashi asked, ensuring that he wasn't just being forgetfull. He put his gaze to the sky as they walked, recalling everything that he knew in his mind.
"No, you didn't..." Saya replied, putting his hands in the pockets of his pants. He watched his small friend and turned his gaze to see what he was looking at. It was nothing in particular; just a normal, white cloud. Something to think of that was better, maybe...
"The... Cursed Wave." He said, somewhat quietly, but he was quick to adjust his voice so that he would be heard. "Have you heard of it?"
Saya thought a moment, looking at the ground. He tried to think, but nothing really came too quickly. "The name... it's familliar, but I don't think I really know it to well. I've heard it before, though." He turned back to his friend as they both continued to walk, looking rather curious, though Ashi was nothing like it. He was serious, and a little nervous.
"It's a big deal to sprites, but humans don't usually know alot. That's why I knew so much, you know?" He replied. Saya nodded, and there was a few second break, before Ashi sighed. "You see... the Cursed Wave is just what the name implies - a cursed wave of magic. Powerfull magic, at that... so, so powerfull..."
"Why haven't I heard of it, then?" He asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
"No one knows where the Wave came from, but we know it started somewhere in the east. And as you know, the east is sprite territory. Humans don't live down there. And that's why... it's not such a big deal to them. But... in the east..."
Ashi's face darkened, and his head lowered, some of his bangs falling into his eyes. "... it's... complete destruction. Anything that is touched by the Wave is wiped out. Demolished. Removed from existence..." Saya stared, in both amazement and fear. A horrible amazement, though, knowing that something like this could actually exist. Ashi's voice quivered as he spoke now. "And we don't know anything that can fight it! The sprites... are being destroyed. It's horrible, and there's no way... known... of how to win against it. But... it's moving it's way east, and it doesn't stop."
"And it's comming... here?" Saya asked, looking behind him at the rising sun. The direction of east, and the direction of Mac Anu.
"It must be moving now... closer to areas such as this. The mutated monsters are actually creatures that had been altered by the Cursed Wave's magic, set out to kill and destroy." Ashi replied, still not meeting Saya's eyes. Saya cursed under his breath and stepped carefully now, as they started to walk along a road that started after the field.
"Then who was... 'Skeith'?" He recalled the grey man, and the staff he weilded. Obviously with some connection to the Wave.
"I don't know. I've never heard of Skeith..." Ashi told him, looking up towards Saya. "He did seem to have a connection to that monster, though, which would mean that he has something to do with the Wave..."
Meet me. At the Wa...
"At the.. Wave, maybe...?" Saya asked himself quietly, as the voice played through his head from last night's dream. Ashi continued to stare at him, unsure of what he was saying.
"... Saya-san?"
"Huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts again, realising he was trailing off to it again. "Ah... oh.. sorry. It's nothing."
They continued to walk, both of them thinking to themselves. Ashi of the Wave, and Saya of both Ashi's story and his dream. Before long, it was noon. They had just kept walking without saying a word, trying to get to Dun Loireag as soon as possible. They kept moving, as if food didn't really matter at the time.
"How far away are we from it? I though Mac Anu was so much closer than this..." Ashi commented, making the first speech that had been said in quite a bit. Saya examined the horizon a bit more and shrugged.
"Actually, i've never been to Dun Loireag. I don't even know if we're going the right way." He replied, trying to fix his gaze on something a little bit away. There was something there, sitting in the grass a ways away from them, off of the road.
Ashi sighed and let his arms hang. "Darn..." He looked back up to Saya to add something else, but paused when he saw him staring at something far off. He turned his eyes towards the spot as well, and turned his head slightly to the side. "Hey... what's that?"
"I think it's a person." Saya stated, starting to pick up the pace a little to a light jog. Ashi was quick to imitate and follow, jogging close behind him. They didn't follow the road and ran onto the field of grass, trying to meet up with what ever or who ever was there. The grass was long, however, so wading through it wasn't as easy as they thought, and they were slowed down considerably. "E-excuse me!" Saya called out, extended an arm up into the air to wave and try to get their attention.
It was a man, seeming to be a few years older than the two. He perked at the sound of Saya's voice and slowly turned around, looking at the two travellers. His skin was paler than the average person, but not enough to make him look like a ghost, and he had a green swirl marking on his left cheek. His eyes were sky blue, and his hair was the colour of pure snow. It was short in the back, with small bangs that flowed gently and moved with his head. He seemed slightly tall, and sat down with one knee up, resting one of his arms on it. He was dressed in white robes that looked fancy and expensive and beside him lay a large sword, bigger and heavier than the normal blade that you saw every day. It was made of a white metal and had blue designs dancing up the blade. It slightly threw off his calm and good appearance, and though he didn't seem to be the kind of person that would carry that weapon, he did. He was smiling slightly, and now watched the two as they stared at him.
Both Saya and Ashi stopped part way to him, watching the strange traveller - or atleast they thought he was. His grin widened and he perked his head, closing his eyes for only a moment and letting out a small, single laugh. Ashi smiled a bit as well at his happiness, and grabbed Saya's hand, dragging him closer towards the new person. The man pushed himself up and got to his feet as well, meeting the two up in the grass. A light wind tugged at all their clothing, blowing his robes just a little bit above the ground.
The man instantly extended a friendly hand to Saya, and Saya smiled in reply, taking his hand and shaking it. "Travelling through from Mac Anu?" He asked. His voice was happy yet kind and calm at the same time. Saya nodded, his arm falling back to his side.
"We're going to Dun Loireag, so we can meet with the White Knight." Saya replied, looking down to Ashi for a bit more of an explaination. Ashi jumped at the chance, eager to give a hand.
"Were going to see White Knight Rirurianu, so we can try and speak with his highness, King Apeiron." Ashi stated proudly. Though the situation seemed big, the road trip seemed to cheer him up quite a bit. Their minds had set to different things, so they weren't too worried at the time.
The man placed a hand on his chin, raising an eyebrow. "Rirurianu... and his highness?" One of his fingers held up by his mouth, as he looked the two up and down. Ashi didn't pay much attention, but Saya watched the man back closely, and looked slightly behind him to his sword.
He was dressed in all white, and seemed to have an interest in what they were looking for. And that sword... there were quite a few simmilarities, but nothing could be confirmed with just an assumption. Saya looked back to the man.
"So, who are you? Why are you all the way out here?" He asked, waiting for the man's reply. The man turned around and walked a few feet away, back to where he was sitting, and picked up the large sword that he had beside him with ease. He swung it over his shoulder and rested it on a shoulder pad he had, and turned back with a smile.
"Ah, that doesn't really matter, but i'm off to Dun Loireag myself." He replied, making a slight turn in that direction. "The road is really lonely alone, if you can imagine what I mean. Can I go along with you two?"
Ashi just smiled even more, but Saya frowed weakly at his response. Jumping from Saya's side, the half sprite held his staff behind him and rested on it a bit.
"It'd be wonderfull to have another travelling partner!" He told him, and the man nodded and smiled in reply. Saya started to extend a hand for a second to stop Ashi from rushing so much, but he just let it fall from the air and land by his side again.
"But... it would be weird if we didn't know your name, you know?" Saya explained, trying to push the fact that he really wanted to know. The white clothing, the sword, the interest in them, and even going to Dun Loireag... was it all coincidence, or was this the White Knight?
The man stopped and looked at Saya. "Why, you're exactly right, aren't you?" He smiled and took a few steps back from the two, putting his arm back down so that his sword was down and not on his shoulder. He flipped one of his hands and put his arm in a respectable manner in front of his chest and gave a small bow towards them. Ashi watched in amusement, and Saya raised his eyebrow even further.
"My name is Fili, though i'm often called Fili the White by those who don't know me well." His bangs fell in front of his face and his eyes were closed as he stayed in his bow, showing respect for the travellers. He perked up after, though, standing straight up. His eyes caught themselves at Ashi's feet, however, as he began to drift back up."A human and a half sprite? It's a funny combination, but not bad, nonetheless! It's good to see less racism..."
Ashi looked to Saya, making sure that he was alright now. Saya frowned, seeing how he was wrong about his guess, and how it wasn't Rirurianu... or who he had already decided to call Rian. He shook his head and gave a small nod afterwards, happy with what he knew now.
There was a scream.
A high pitch, childish one, and a few other shouts. The three travellers spun around at the sounds, towards the direction that they came from. They came from down the road that Saya and Ashi had been travelling, somewhere that they would have gone to if they hadn't made the detour to meet Fili. Ashi and Saya exchanged glances, and already knew what they were going to do. Fili held the sword in his hand steadily, a neutral expression on his face as he watched down the road.
"Looks like someone must have stumbled into a portal..." Fili commented, as he started to head in the direction. Saya gave a puzzled glace to Fili, but Ashi grabbed his hand and tugged on it to follow.
"Come on, you handled that monster in Mac Anu really well, you can take this one on! I'm sure!" He cheered, dragging him along as he started to go. It took a moment before Saya started to completly follow, his brain still trying to work out the other things.
"Magic portal?" He asked, looking bettween the both of them as he picked up pace to walk along side the two. Fili gave a small nod. "I don't get out much, i'm sorry, I don't know what they are..."
"Magic portals," Fili started, as he took his walk into a light jog, and the other two were quick to follow after. His voice was still that calm, happy voice that he had before, just with a bit less perk to it. "Are portals that wandering magicians make. To seal off monsters, to protect themselves when they are weak. Magicians aren't the strongest fighters, you know? So, instead of wasting a ton of magic, they just seal them in these portals. But if anyone else goes near them,the portal activates, and anything in there just gets out..."
Saya nodded slightly dumbly, feeling a little stupid for asking a question that seemed to have a simple answer and that both of his partners knew. He didn't say anything else on the matter and continued to run down the road, as another shriek was heard. The three finally made it just up and over a small hill in the road, and looked down to see another set of travellers, and a large beast. The monster was alot like a three headed dog, but alot more dangerous and about four times bigger than what it should have been. Two adults and a child were present there. The mother had been the one screaming, hiding in their small cart that was off of the road by now. The child was sprawled out on the ground, somewhat curled up and away from the beast, as the father swung a sword uselessly at the creature, not doing any damage at all.
Ashi stood there for a moment in a daze, but both Saya and Fili seemed used to this kind of thing. Almost on instant of registering what was going on, Saya flipped the twin blades from the belt on his side, and Fili whipped the large sword in front of him offensively. Ashi twitched a little, pulling himself back into reality, and looked nervously down to his hands. He wasn't much of a fighter, how could he...?
"Ashi." Saya said calmly and with a serious note to his voice. Ashi perked up and looked at him, turning his head to the side slightly. "I think Fili and I can take the monster out. You grab that kid and pull her and the father to the side." He spoke the plan to him, and the half-sprite gave a nod. Fili smiled down to Saya and bent down, whispering something in his ear. Saya nodded in response and Fili stood back up straight, getting ready again.
Without waiting another moment, the two pushed off and started to dash down the hill.
"Here we come!" They both shouted at the top of their lungs, drawing attention from the bottom. The mother's head shot up to watch them run down the small hill. The father continued to swing, but the monster no longer payed attention to him. It turned it's three heads towards the two new threats darting down the hill towards him, swinging their metal weapons, and probably as pathetic as the one that tried to kill it moments before. One of the three noses it had snorted out hot air as it turned itself around on it's feet. But neither of the two slowed down. They just continued to run, blades out, and made a jump just before the hill ended so that they landed on their feet, without any speed or balance problems from going from the slope of the hill to the flat ground.
Of course, because the monster payed attention to them, Fili's small plan of shouting both at once had worked quite well.
The monster lifted it's three heads, one after the other, getting ready to strike, but the two warriors were quicker than it. Saya dashed in, blades out and ready, and kicked off the ground forcing himself right into the dog's leg. His body colided with it and he drove the twin daggers downwards, causing it to reel back in shock and let out a roar. The husband pulled back from the beast in shock, just watching.
Within moments from his small retreat, Ashi ran up behind him, holding the little girl in his arms. The girl clung to his shirt in fear, and the half-sprite held her tight. He ran up beside the husband and stopped abruptly beside him, looking at his face. The man gave him a look, seeming to not stare at the person itself - but Ashi's ears.
"Please, sir, come back with me and your wife... Saya and Fili-san can take care of it." He explained to him, and the man only nodded once and slowly. They both turned around and dashed for the cart. The man ran into his wife's arms, and they both took the child from Ashi's arms and into their hug. Ashi turned his body towards the battle to watch Saya and Fili, making sure they were all right. But his duty was to stay with the family, and make sure that they were okay.
The monster's back legs pivoted and it's tail lashed outwards towards the small fighter, and Saya was knocked from the beast, the daggers comming out of it's leg and with him. It let out a growl and one of it's heads instinctively bent down and licked the small wound in somewhat worry. Fili took a few steps forward, lowering his blade a little.
"Please pull back! I don't want to hurt you, but if I must I will!" He called out to it, hoping that it would understand his plea. The monster just violently shook it's heads, coincidentally showing the symbol that others used for refusal. Fili frowned and brought the blade back into an attack position and waited, knowing the monster would strike any moment.
His predictions were quite right, and it leaped from it's old spot to merly inches away from Fili. He let out a small grunt and jumped back a little bit, but not enough to completly distance the two. Saya slowly forced himself up, rubbing his face from skidding it into the dirt. The dog lifted up one of it's large paws and brought it forcefully down, trying to knock Fili off of his feet.
The man seemed well trained in battle. He made a quick duck, and a very small gap was made bettween himself and the paw as it attempted to strike. He made a small jump inwards, closer to the monster, and said something under his breath before thrusting the white metal blade upwards. He pierced it's chest and all three heads let out a loud wail that lasted for mere seconds. Fili was quick to run out of there and towards Saya, now holding the large sword in a somewhat clumsy manner, one handed. The normal person would have been thrown off balance from such a heavy weapon held so carelessly, but he ran with ease and showed no signs of teetering over. He stopped by Saya and bent down, now kneeling beside the boy.
"Are you alright?" He asked in his sweet-calm voice that he had used before. Saya just stared up at him in awe. While he stared, there was a large thump in front of them. His lilac hair spun around his face and struck his cheek as his head shot forwards towards the sound, only to see the cerberus colapsed on the ground, barely twitching. Fili frowned at the sight, though Saya was less than dissapointed. To defeat something like that within the matter of seconds Fili took was quite amazing!
"F-Fili..." He said slowly, just staring at the near dead dog-like monster. "... I think you're crazy."
Fili pulled back his head a little and turned it to the side slightly, a puzzled expression. "Yes, I do think killing the monster was the wrong way to go about it, but it was the only way... I don't see how that makes me crazy..."
"No, no, that's not what he's trying to say!" The younger voice of Ashi chirped up, as the half-sprite approached the two crouched on the ground. "He means that you were amazing... you surprised the both of us, you think! I mean, your appearance looks so nice and calm, and then you got that big sword, and I guess for a good reason, too..." Saya just nodded a little bit in reply and agreement to Ashi. Fili chuckled a little and waved his hand, dissmissing it as if it was nothing.
"You give me too much credit..." He told them. "I didn't really want to kill that dog, but I guess it can't be helped..."
Fili laughed a little again, but Saya and Ashi just continued to stare at him. Fili acted as if it was all nothing, but no one else really believed it. His laughing abruptly stopped though and he glanced behind the two. Both of them turned around to see the family - mother, father, and daughter - all perfectly safe.
But...
Their expressions were different than what they should have been. Well, atleast, that's how the parents were. The child was giggling and laughing happily, waving and saying thank you over and over again. The silence, other than the little girl, was rather awkward. Their expressions were partially stern, partially sad, and partially neutral. Less than pleased. Fili watched them, a slightly confused look on his face. Saya raised an eyebrow, and then turned his head slightly to look at Ashi. Ashi just stared at them, eyes a little wide with a slight pause.
The orange-haired boy got up slowly, and then looked down towards the two with a little bit of a smile. "Come on, let's go." He said a little quietly, but without a note of sadness to his voice. The family had already started to walk away, though the little girl was trying to pull them back to talk to the travellers. Fili followed Ashi with his eyes and his head, but Saya watched the family get back into their cart.
"Ah... am I missing something?" The white haired man asked as he pushed himself up with one hand and looked towards Saya. Saya just shook his head weakly and sighed.
"Not much." He replied, and started to turn around to catch up with the already walking Ashi. "You already know about this kind of stuff." Fili was quick to follow after, still slightly lost. Ashi walked along as if everything was perfect, but Saya was already sure that it wasn't the case. He was quick to catch up to the half spirte's side, and Fili didn't take too long to make it to them as well. Saya turned his head a little to the warrior that had taken their side at random, remembering how he said that he was headed in the same direction that they were. "Say, are we going the right way to Dun Loireag and Carmina Gadelica? West?" He asked, keeping by Ashi's side.
Fili gave a small nod. "Yeah. Carmina Gadelica is a day or two walk from Dun Loireag, assuming you don't disturb any monsters or run part of the way." He stated. "It's a straight road from here on untill you can actually see the city. Then there's a fork in the road, where you can decide to go to the city or keep to the feilds and mountains and go towards Carmina Gadelica. Well... uh, atleast I think so..." He took a pause, lifting up a hand and counting something on his fingers. Saya smiled a little at his attempts. It was obvious that he was a very wise and smart man, but he seemed to have this certain nature about him, like a child's soul with the intellect and body of an adult. His hair perked with each movement of his body and the weak, warm wind on the fields of grass."Yes! I'm quite sure that's it. I think I might remember the way to Carmina Gadelica as well."
"Say, ummm..." Ashi started, saying the first thing he had said in a bit. He bent his body over a little bit to see Fili, since Saya was standing right beside him, and Fili to Saya's other side. "What's Dun Loireag like? I've never been anywhere except Mac Anu, and some places east of there..."
Fili smiled, and began to get himself wrapped into an explaination about their destination. Apparently a fog wrapped town, full of grassy hills and bridges that connected cliffs. He started to tell a couple tales about the place - misshaps that the commoners had happen to them, and that Fili got lucky enough to spot. He seemed to enjoy telling stories, though, because he continued to talk about his travels in the west to some lesser heard of places around there. Saya added a few of his stories about when he was in Mac Anu. He didn't have many, since he was somewhat of a loner, but those that he did have to tell were memorable. Ashi told the few he knew as well, and soon, all three of the travellers began to enjoy themselves in conversations about happenings and such. No one got in detail about the sad times in their lives because at the time there was too much enjoyment in trying to beat the others at telling the best story. It seemed each story outranked the last and got a better laugh as the strange competition went on.
If there hadn't been the dirt road, the gang would have been lost a long time before then. There were no turns or forks in this road, however, and it was very easy to follow. The time flew by, but part way through the afternoon, the gang had to stop for food - neither Saya nor Ashi had remembered about lunch, and they were dead hungry. Other than that, there were no disturbances or anything out of the ordinary. They just kept walking, untill it started to get dark.
After finding a comfortable spot, they prepared a fire and ate a bit more. Fili had said how it wasn't much more of a walk and they would probably reach the town tommorow, so there was no need to ration food. The evening wasn't any different - talking around the fire they prepared, laughing and joking, probably enough to keep the poor animals awake. They tired themselves out from the day quickly, and Fili offered to keep the fire up for a little bit more. The two 'younger' travellers were supposed to get their rest. Saya put up a second of an argument, but Ashi was quick to agree. He waddled over to a comfortable place in the grass, out of the circle they had cleared for the flames, and fell over almost instantly. He curled up slightly, tucking his head in a little.
Saya sighed and shuffled over to the same area, falling down beside Ashi. He lay there for a little bit, his head turned up to the sky. The stars had finally come out, and the sky had finally darkened to it's most. They were like fireflys - all flying solo on their own, with no apparent purpose what so ever. But they kept going and shining... kind of like...
The lilac-haired boy turned his head towards his half-sprite friend and blew the strands of hair that disrupted his vision a little with a small puff of air. Ashi frowned in his sleep, silently moping about something.
The afternoon. The family.
Their disliking for half sprites must have been what drove them away so quickly. The child, so naive and kind, had no idea of how others felt about the creatures. But the father and mother got a good look at Ashi and instantly judged the whole group. They walked away without a thank you or without even a word. It didn't matter to them, as long as they didn't associate themselves with a half-sprite like Ashi. Without knowing who he was, what he was like... no, it didn't matter to them.
And Saya understood. He understood all too well what it was like to be alone and shunned by other people, 'normal' people.
Saya turned onto his side, facing Ashi. He let out a small sigh and extended his hand, placing it on Ashi's smaller one, as a form of comfort. He wasn't sure if the boy felt it in his sleep, but it was the thought that counted. And with that, he closed his own eyes, suddenly feeling very tired himself.
Fili looked up and watched the two, smiling just a little bit. "I bet they've known each other for a day or so.." He commented to himself quietly, as he poked the fire with a stick out of his own boredom. "But I have a feeling with what ever is going on, they'll stick with each other untill the end..."
His gaze drifted to the sky, and his smile turned upside down. His brow furrowed as he watched the little balls of fire that Saya had payed attention to earlier. "Yet... I also have the feeling that i'll be with them longer than what I first expected... I wonder..."
And that was how he stayed for a while, looking up at the stars, as a couple thoughts ran through his head.
So... I heard that everyone's expecting it to come up, as some sort of plan or something?
Huh? Oh, yeah.
Who's the guy you mentioned that we think will do it?
I don't know. Some purple-haired kid. Pretty brave, though. He's travelling with a half sprite.
Oh, that will be easy to find then.
What are you doing...?
I'm just going to have a little fun... test him a little, you know?
'Test'? I doubt that.
... yeah, just the fun, really.
Hmph, what ever, just don't kill him.
I wouldn't do that, don't worry.
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Pika : Theerreee... done. Sorry it took so long, again! I'll see if I can get the third chapter ASAP.
Please read and review, it's where I get alot of inspiration, you knoooow? Thank you very much for reading up to number two, hope to see you agaaiiiiiin!