Forever Strong

A/N: Expect longer waits.

It had been a couple hours of walking the grassy path towards the strait and the recent string of events had the duo physically drained, not to mention fatigue was heavily impeding their stride. Even so, they intended to keep in good spirits, even if it killed them.

Rather, he intended to keep in good spirits, even if his gesture went unreturned. For Sheena, unintentional or otherwise, was about as jolly as Saint Nick during a hangover. She was holding up one of her cards to the setting sun, he guessed searching for a watermark, but he wasn't one to interrupt a woman's thought train. Especially when it could come with painful consequences.

Unaware of her lumbering composure, Sheena opened her eyes to the real world only to find strands of grass poking out at her in various angles. Zelos chuckled a "You alright?" and offered her his hand to assist her.

Muttering something about an uneducated rock, she, in an odd manner, refused his help by rolling over and yawning. "It's getting dark anyway. We might as well set up a camp here."

Zelos blinked. "Eh?"

"Set up a camp here before it gets dark."

"Whauh?"

Sheena locked eyes with him; others would've called it an 'in denial love-struck moment' but with Zelos being, or acting, as dumb as he was, it could hardly pass as awkward. Resigning, she shook her head and picked herself up off the ground. "I'll go get some firewood. You... you do something productive, such as preparing food or something. Just... don't hurt yourself." After his interlude of thick headedness, she meant that with all sincerity.

Once she disappeared into the wooded area in close proximity, he let out a loud, exasperated groan, followed by a short string of curses as he collapsed backward into the soft plushy grass.

"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

It was a sign of the apocalypse. The Great Zelos Wilder, one of the many heroes of all Symphonia, former Chosen at will, and chick magnet of all the land, was having troubles winning over a single female.

'No worries, no worries. At worst, I'll have only one more day to try and get'er, plenty of time.' Upon thinking up ways to woo Sheena, he stumbled across a saying his old man told him many a times. "To make up for the lack of impulse, man creates nature to fit him. To make up for the lack of authority, nature creates man to fit her." He wasn't completely sure if it had a deep hidden meaning to it, considering his father was always drunk when he said it, but either way, it gave him an idea that could save his pride.

Gathering the necessary ingredients from his bag, he started a fire, it wouldn't last long, but it would work until Sheena came back.

His only problem was he couldn't quite remember the order of which to prepare the food. Oh well, he did have luck when it came to 'winging it', so he figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Once he finished adding all the ingredients required, he looked over it one more time to ensure his success. His 'Wilder Surprise' was a traditional stew with a twist passed down in his family for generations.

Feeling confident, he left the stew to warm over his temporary fire to answer the call of nature.

In due time, Sheena returned, arms full of logs. She was entirely taken by surprise by seeing a fire, even as small as it was, and food cooking over it. She had merely suspected some sandwiches or something of the basics.

With great curiosity, she peered over the edge of the container to see what contents lay within, inadvertently taking a whiff of the mixture. "It looks like a chili but smells like Vegetable soup with a hint of... chicken? But it can't be vegetable soup with chicken in it, can it? But it's not chili because there are potatoes in it. What is this? Well, whatever it is, I can't wait to try it!"

Her statement was apparently literal as she walked over and searched through Zelos' pack for bowls and spoons. He was well prepared and had three of each in stock, however as she reached for her spoon, something caught her eye. It was a folded piece of off-white paper previously concealed down at the bottom of his pack. She cautiously looked around to ensure that Zelos wasn't on his way back, however he was. She hurriedly stuffed the bowl and spoon back into his pack, slid the folded paper underneath her ribbon and dashed over to the opposite side of the fire. She sat and feigned a carefree appearence.

Upon Zelos' return, she tilted her head to show interest, "What's the stew? It seems great!"

He beamed. "Can't tell ya! You have to try it first!"

Sheena's shoulders dropped, "Oh, alright. Gimme a bowl and spoon, wouldja?"

"How'd you know," he blinked, "that I had bowls and spoons with me?"

She faltered slightly, "Uh, well, it was kinda to be expected if you made soup." She lied fluently. Secretly, she had some bowls and such in her pack, but was too lazy to fish them out.

"Sharp as ever." He smiled and retrieved two bowls and spoons and handed a pair to Sheena. "I don't have a ladle though, so just dip your bowl in there or something."

She complied and took a mouthful of the stew. It was delicious to say the least. "It's really good! I tried it, so what is it?"

He just laughed. "Guess!"

Sheena crossed her arms, but smiled in spite of herself. "Well, it's like vegetable soup, but with chicken... That's all I'm going to guess because you probably have some crazy name for it that would take me years to guess."

He shrugged, "Actually, it's just 'Wilder Surprise' which should be easy to guess."

"So, what all's in it? It has a unique taste I can't quite put my finger on..."

"Can't tell you that! It's been a family secret for a hundred or so years and I'm not going to break that chain!"

"Well... what if I ever want to make it?"

This comment made Zelos nearly choke on his soup, as impossible as it may sound. "W-What?" he barely managed to sputter.

"You heard me. What if I ever want to make it?" she said, on a slightly less joking note.

"Well..." his heart began to beat faster and faster, "you'd have to become part of the family."

"...Oh." Sheena wasn't sure how to answer that; it was like asking 'Do you love me?' She realized a grave mistake in her simple syllable answer and hastily added, "Oh c'mon! We're practically family! It's not every day that you go on a six month journey with people."

Zelos heart dropped slightly. "Yeah, I guess... but you'll have to convince my dead-great-aunt of that. It's a little joke that she was the one who killed by great uncle when he considered letting the secret slip."

It was far into the night before Zelos finally fell asleep. Luckily, the campfire still burned, producing just enough light for Sheena to read. She had waited all night for him to fall asleep to open the paper she had pulled from his pack. She hadn't even opened it yet and she was shaking. She knew he knew this was gone, and she knew it wanted it back, but he didn't know that she had it. That, she knew for sure.

She took a deep breath for reassurance, and then finally unfolded the document. It read:

BEFORE: Come to terms with elfs. Ask elfs if it's what is really wanted. Consider options and prepare a statement in case of disagreement. Pull trigger.

DURING: Don't stutter, be clear and precise. Be creative. Appeal to likings. Seclude. Go with the flow. Let lead. DO NOT: Burst into fit of laughter for no apparent reason. Elfs wouldn't like that, nor would recipient. Have just drunken any alcoholic beverage. Eye any other fish. Be near any company. Bring up pastime or generations. Choke.

ACCEPTANCE: Feel free to show emotion. DO NOT: Eye other fish. Bring up pastime or generations. B.I.F.O.L. Sneeze. Plan immediately.

NOT THE ABOVE: Continue as previous. Leave option open. DO NOT: Beg. Be indifferent. Cough. Become angry. Ignore. Ask why. Eye other fish.

INGREDIENTS: Ruby, amethyst, sapphire, emerald, diamond. Black silver. Estimated 21,000 plus. Avoid red.

The rest of what was on the parchment seemed to be meaningless doodles or scribbles.

Dear Corrine,

I found something of Zelos' and I regret to admit I stole it and read it. However, I don't understand a word of it! My best guess is that he's working for the elves, but I have no clue.

And just who is this 'recipient'? Are they a fish or something? Or a hater of fish? Overly zealous? Deathly afraid of germs? Would they be claustrophobic?

What about ingredients? He may be building a weapon or something. Maybe he wants to be a customizer?

And men say women are hard to figure out... ugh. I'm going to sleep.