A Very Riviera Christmas
DISCLAIMER: Don't own Riviera, and can't seem to figure out how to get into area 5-9. It annoys me. I cannot get Chapter 8 without the Hell Key. It sucks. But I don't own Riviera, which is somewhat obvious because if I did, Ledah would've had a Trust meter (if not a Mood one) like the girls.
Warning: This chapter will go into more detail about how exactly Ledah managed to survive Chapter 6, which means that there'll be some pretty bloody flashback sequences. If it makes you squeamish, don't read. And besides that, there'll be (of course) more shonen-ai, and some material to work with...
Ein stood shaking on the crystal path to the shattered Aquarium, his tremors so violent he could hardly stay on his feet. What he had seen paralyzed him, though he knew he should be doing something, anything he could. He barely even noticed when Einherjar slipped from his numb hands to clatter on the ground.
Ledah was also trembling, but from pain and exhaustion rather than shock, clinging desperately to Lorelei's haft just to remain upright. His chest heaved with every breath he took, and his clothes were black with his own blood, which spattered unevenly on the crystal surface beneath him. His eyes were hooded, nearly closed; his face obscured by his hair, even more ragged than usual. Although his grip on his Diviner mostly hid the slash across his chest, Ein couldn't forget it was there--not only was blood still spurting from it to land in the swiftly spreading pool Ledah knelt in, but it was because of him that Ledah'd gotten it.
He just couldn't believe what he'd seen or heard. Why had Ledah risked himself like that? He of all people should've known that he was in no condition to deal with Malice, so why'd he hurl himself between the two of them when she'd attacked? Sure, Ein might have been injured, but he would have been strong enough to retaliate, strike her down for good... while Ledah... he hadn't even had the strength to parry when she'd slashed him! What had he been thinking?
And his emotions... Ein'd had his suspicions since Ledah had passed the trials and received Lorelei, but hearing it out loud was just too horrible for words. He was caught painfully between wanting to throw his arms around his old friend and sob out his apologies and the desire to hit him for giving up something so vital, so important.
It wasn't fair... it just wasn't fair!
Ledah coughed, slumping closer to the ground and clutching his chest as another burst of nearly-black blood escaped his lips. "Ein..." he managed in a whisper. "Fare...well..."
The spell holding Ein was broken--he bolted forward, collapsing to his knees before his friend, clasping Ledah's shoulders. "Ledah! LEDAH!"
"Live... Ein..." the mortally wounded angel said weakly, his voice broken. His eyes finally closed, freeing the tears that had built up in them.
The world whirled around Ein as he pulled Ledah into his arms. "No... NO! Don't die! Not you, please, not my Ledah...!" Vaguely, the wingless angel heard Cierra speaking behind him, Lina's sobbing whimper, Rose's wild cry beside him. The only thing that mattered was the rapidly slowing rhythm of Ledah's heart, the increasing shallowness of each successive breath. "I don't wanna lose you... not you...! LEDAH! Why'd you do it, Ledah? Why!"
"Ein..."
It was Ursula's voice. Ein looked up, glaring wildly through the tears that spun the world into a blur around him.
"Malice has returned to Hector, upon the Isle of Goriarte. They are very close to their goal of reviving Seth, the Sealed One. There is no time left--not even for grieving. If Hector is allowed to succeed, all of Riviera will suffer. You must go."
"No!" Ein shouted, his grip on Ledah's unresponsive body tightening. "I won't leave him! Even if there's nothing I can do... nothing anyone can do! I can't just leave him here, knowing this is happening because he chose to fight for me, for Riviera! If this is the way you treat the people who are willing to die for the land you love, then you're almost as bad as they are!"
"Ursula, isn't there something you can do?" It was Serene's voice, broken and pleading. "We all know Ledah's a Grim Angel, but he's like this because he tried to protect us! Please! You're Riviera's guardian! Don't you have even a little power to spare on his account? He's on our side, after all!"
"And he's Ein's friend," Fia said softly, her voice a gentle counterpoint to Lina's terrified sobbing. "Surely you don't mean for us to leave him to die alone...?"
"This is what we're supposed to be fighting for, isn't it?" Cierra asked. "Not just Riviera as a whole, but all the individual lives that Hector is trying to destroy? If we let one more person die, or lose their soul... just one... won't that be as bad as failing everyone?"
"...Perhaps you are right..." Ursula closed her eyes, clasping her hands at her breast. "But time is of the essence... you will not have long."
There was a brilliant flash, and then the world went black.
---
When Ein could see again, the seven of them were standing at the entrance to Elendia.
"Ursula does care, after all..." Fia said with a sigh.
"But now that we're here, we've gotta do something!" Serene shouted. "If we can't help him right now, Ledah's gonna die!"
Another spasm wracked the angel's body; as Ein cradled him closely, he coughed again, leaving the shoulder of Ein's sleeveless tunic-jacket stained blackish violet.
"We must take him to Grandfather," Fia responded assertively. "There, we can get the healers to work on him--I can try my hardest to help, as well. If he's coughing up blood already, there won't be much time or room for error, so we've got to go now. Ein, do you think you can carry him on your own?"
Still shaking slightly, Ein nodded. "Y..yeah..."
"Then let's go. We have to hurry..."
---
Ein blinked awake, his breath coming in ragged gasps and his sides cold with sweat. Briefly, he shivered; he hated it when his dreams forced him to remember those kinds of things. The terror and the helplessness that he'd experienced then were things he never wanted to feel again, no matter what. The knowledge that Ledah had nearly died in his arms broke his heart, remembering how hard he'd strived to avoid getting his best friend hurt.
"What's wrong?"
Ein started; he'd forgotten where he'd fallen asleep. Shaking his head, he turned to look up at Ledah, who still sat straight before the fire, his wings carefully folded around both of those who'd chosen to stay with him. "Nothing. Just... memories."
"And are those memories so painful?" Ledah asked, shifting to slip an arm around Ein's shoulders. The wingless angel sighed and nestled closer, pressing himself against the black-winged seraph's side. "You were crying in your sleep."
Ein was silent, his chest beginning to ache again. How close, he wondered, how close had he really come to losing Ledah forever? Thanks to Ursula, he still had his best friend... but if she hadn't stepped in, either at Yggdrasil's summit or in the Maze of Shadows, what would life be like? He'd known true terror, and nearly been shattered, briefly... but an entire lifetime of grieving, of an empty place in his heart created by the death of his friend? The very idea of it made him shudder.
"Ein, talk to me," Ledah said softly, giving the younger angel's shoulders a gentle shake. "Don't close yourself off from me. Tell me what's wrong. Please... Ecthel..."
Ein made a face. "Don't call me that..."
"Why? It's a beautiful name. Ecthel." And on Ledah's soft whisper, it was... if only because of the way he spoke it, a promise and a prayer at the same time.
"Because I was only given that name after the Magi ripped out my wings in exchange for my Einherjar. Because it means, like Rose used to call me, wingless angel. I want to stay Ein in your eyes, in the eyes of all my friends."
"If you insist," Ledah replied. "But it's what you are. He who has suffered... the old meaning of your name... and your suffering has been great. You rose above that suffering, and became the man I'm proud to call my friend..."
"Oh, stop." Ein's cheeks were flamed as he snuggled a little closer. "Don't embarrass me like that... it's just an exaggeration anyway..."
Ledah smiled briefly, then gently stroked the length of Ein's back. The younger angel gave only a tiny wince of protest. "Was that what you dreamed... the loss of your wings...?"
Ein shook his head. "No... if I had, I'd have woken up everyone in the house screaming. I really should be glad I didn't remember that, but..."
"Then what was it? What was that painful?"
Ein gave Ledah a reproachful look, the hazel flecks in his cobalt eyes alight in the fire's glow. "Have you slept at all yet?" he asked, his voice suspicious and accusatory.
"Yes, a little."
"Keep this up and you're going to regret it," the dark-haired young man said flatly.
"I'll be fine. Stop avoiding the subject. Why don't you want to tell me?"
"I'm serious. You're gonna get sick. And I'm not avoiding. You are." He shifted, easing into a more comfortable position. "Get some sleep, okay?"
"I will if you will," Ledah said softly, smiling again, his carmine eyes gentle.
"Sounds good," Ein murmured, snuggling again. "And... thanks. For worrying, I mean."
"Of course." There was a note of humor in Ledah's voice, but Ein didn't catch it--he was already asleep again.
---
Although Cierra and Serene eventually slept, and even Lina fell over, completely exhausted, Ein couldn't manage to close his eyes any longer than a blink. All through the night, his heart hammered as he sat up at the table, the ever-faithful Rose on his shoulder. Far too much terror flooded his veins to allow him easy rest. The knowledge that Ledah's life still hung precariously in the care of Elendia's healers, and that there was nothing he himself could do... it was killing him.
How could he not have known Ledah would pull a stunt like that? Ein asked himself, over and over, as the night dragged on. On their journey through Heaven's Gate, there had been many times when the same sort of thing had happened--Ledah had repeatedly risked his life to protect the still-inexperienced Ein from the blunders he made, catching demons' attacks just in time with swift and skillful parries, once even covering Ein's body with his own to take a blow that could've killed the younger angel. And when Ein had proven himself stupid enough to attempt to get at treasure by striking unstable stone, it'd only been Ledah, who'd tackled him and held him to the ground, that had kept him from being severely injured when the blow started a small avalanche. Of course he would do the same thing in Yggdrasil. They'd always been friends, and their bond formed a sense of obligation that even the loss of nearly all of Ledah's emotions couldn't dent.
So when Malice had attacked him...
Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could Ein have been so stupid? He knew Ledah better than anyone! How couldn't he have seen this coming? If he had... then maybe, there would've been something he could've done...
And now... Ledah might...
The tear that slipped down Ein's cheek burned like liquid flame. It was followed by another... and another... and another... until he was silently shaking, caught in a paroxysm of muffled sobs, with Rose desperately trying to say or do something to console him.
"(Ledah will be alright--he's strong! You heard what he said... that he wasn't one to die in a place like that...! Fia's a strong healer, and so are the others--they'll be able to help him! So please, Ein... don't beat yourself up about all this!)"
"There's only so much that even an angel's body can take," Ein retorted, his voice twisted by the knot of tears caught in his throat. "And Ledah... first, everything I did, and then Malice attacking him twice? He just... even he couldn't...!" Viciously, Ein scrubbed a hand across his face, dashing tears away. "Why... why did all this have to happen...?"
Rose hopped off Ein's shoulder, padding around on the table to place a velvety paw on Ein's free hand. "(Ledah loves you, Ein. You know he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you. Even if he doesn't make it... that means he'll die for love, on his own terms, instead of just being murdered by Malice and added to Hector's little soul collection. I think it's beautiful to die for love.)"
"Love?" Ein managed. "Rose, Ledah lost his emotions! How could you say something like that?"
"(Because love's not like other emotions, is it?)" Rose asked him, placing both paws on Ein's forearm so that she could stare at him nose-to-nose. "(It goes so much deeper. I can't imagine anyone ever losing their ability to love. Can't you feel it? The bond you have with Ledah, with Fia and Lina and Serene and Cierra, with me--it's so different, so pure compared to your everyday feelings like happiness, jealousy, sadness... it's a step up from hope. Ein, Ledah loves you. He may not even realize how deep his feelings for you run, but he loves you. He loves you so much, he's willing to die for you. And no matter what happens tonight, that's something for you to remember forever--to have been loved by someone like that... is a blessing.)"
The door creaked slightly, and Fia staggered in, framed by the faint light of the impending dawn.
She managed to make her way over to Ein's side; clasping his shoulder, she smiled wearily.
"He's going to make it, Ein... Ledah's going to live!"
The wingless angel sat bolt upright in his seat, tears still on his face. "W..what?"
"It took us so long, but we managed to repair the worst damage to his body. Angels really are so much stronger than us Sprites... if he had been one of us, it would have been hopeless. But even though he'd lost so much blood... Ledah hung on just long enough for all our work to count. He'll be weak yet for a few days, but... if he's given time, I don't see any reason why he won't be back to normal eventually."
"Fia...!" Lurching out of his chair, Ein threw his arms around her and broke down out of sheer relief, collapsing to the floor and taking her down with him. "Thank you... thank you so much...!"
"It's... the least I could do..." she managed, her entire face aflame. "You're... you're my friend, Ein... and isn't... isn't this what friends do...?"
---
When Ein next opened his eyes, Fia and Serene were crawling out of bed on the far end of the room, Ledah was slowly starting to blink awake, and Lina, nestled between Ledah's side and wing, was yawning enormously.
"Mornin'," he managed, stretching to work out the kinks in the muscles of his legs.
"What's to eat?" Lina mumbled. "Lina wants breakfast..."
"Did you three sleep okay?" Serene asked, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.
"Yeah. It's actually really warm," Ein told her.
"Great. I've got dibs tonight, then. I wanna see what all the fuss is about."
Ein sweatdropped. "You sure are popular lately, Ledah."
"Mmn..." As Lina wriggled out from under his wing, shuffling off to pester Fia about breakfast with her stuffed bunny trailing by one ear, the blonde seraph twisted, twitched both wings, and resettled, closing his eyes again. He now lay with his head and as much of his shoulders as his folded wings would allow virtually resting in Ein's lap.
"Urk! L..Ledah! What the... what are you doing?" Ein yelped, barely suppressing the twitch reflex that would have dumped the other angel on the hardwood floor.
No response--Ledah was out cold.
"Uh... do I even want to ask?" Serene asked, quirking one eyebrow.
"I think I understand," Ein replied, sighing. "I woke up once in the middle of the night--Ledah was still sitting up, wide awake. I'd been having some... well, odd dreams, and he said I'd been acting strangely in my sleep, so... I don't think he slept at all until I got after him about it, a little later than that." Awkwardly, he laid a hand on his fellow angel's shoulder, running a finger back and forth over the creased fabric of his priest's clothing. "I really don't want to wake him... if he tried to function today without sleep, it'd be really bad. He's already staying up all night with barely any warmth, so..."
"Here," Fia said from behind Ein. The wingless angel looked up--she was carrying the quilt from her own bed in her arms. "Lay this over him... he'll just get sick if we let him sleep like this."
"You're a lifesaver, Fia," Ein told her, taking the quilt and gently spreading it over Ledah's tightly curled body and wings while keeping the hem as far away from the hearth as he could. "Thank you so much."
Fia just smiled and headed for the storage room. "I think we've got a few loaves of bread that we can use to make a little toast for breakfast..."
"What kind of 'odd dreams', per say?" Serene asked, giving Ein a sidelong look.
"Not what you're thinking," Ein assured her hastily. "Really. It was..." Looking down at Ledah and visibly sobering, the wingless angel tenderly pushed stray strands of blonde hair out of his friend's face. "...A nightmare about Yggdrasil..."
"Oh... really?" Looking sympathetic, Serene knelt on Ein's free side, giving him a one-armed hug. "Cheer up, okay? It could've been so much worse, after all."
"I know." Ein shivered. "Just remembering how I felt back then, and the agony I was in, back at the Maze of Shadows, when I thought I'd lost him for good... it's awful. How do you stand it, Serene? I only ever had to deal with losing one person... and your entire village got wiped out! How can you manage to move forward, after everything that's happened?"
The last Arc shook her head, smiling bitterly. "I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and hope that someday things'll be better. I'll see them all again one day in Valhalla, I hope... and you guys all help so much...! I'm just really lucky to have friends like you all... you're as good a whole new family for me."
"Really? I'm glad to hear that."
"So, like... what kind of toast d'you want?" Serene asked, winking. "I'd say 'c'mon, let's go', only it seems like you'll be down here most of the morning."
"No kidding..." Ein sighed. "Well, just plain with a little butter, I guess. And make sure Fia saves a slice for Ledah, in case he does wake up sometime soon."
"Unlikely, but it'll save food, right?" Giggling and stretching, Serene headed off. "Hey, Fia! I've got Ein's breakfast order, if you wannit..."
"Did somebody say breakfast?" Rose mumbled from the stairs, scrubbing sleep out of her eyes. Upon getting a clear look at Ein and Ledah, she burst out laughing.
"It's not that funny," Ein said sourly.
"Yes, it is! Ohmigawd, you two are just so cute!"
"You are a sadist. My legs are falling asleep already."
"But it's just soooo adorable! I bet he's really comfortable too--from my experience, you're a pretty good pillow there, Ein." Rose giggled. "Now there's a trusting soul. Just think of all the mean things you could do to him from that position... you could dump him on the floor, mess with his hair, color on his face, pull out his feathers, take off his shirt..."
"Come on, Rose," Ein complained. "Don't be mean."
"...steal his first kiss without him knowing, hide his rosary, molest him..."
"Rose..."
"...put Serene's kitty hat on him, deflower him..."
"ROSE!" Face flaming, Ein waved a fist at her. "I would NOT!"
"You know that, but does he?" Rose quipped, winking. "Not really. And yet he falls asleep on you anyway... awwww. The love is so sweet!"
"Go eat breakfast and leave me alone," Ein groaned, head-slumping.
Serene, heading back across the room with Ein's toast in one hand, looked from the angels to the familiar and back again. "What about my hat?"
Rose burst out laughing again, and Ein just shook his head.
"Trust me, Serene... you don't wanna know..."
---
"Ein? Wake up, okay?"
With a soft grumble, he did. It was Soala, the violet-haired witch, who was looking down at him after poking his shoulder a few times.
"Whassit?"
"The angel you brought in's awake, and he's asking for you."
"Oh." Sitting up, Ein stretched. "Okay, I'll come. Poor Ledah... he's probably really disoriented. He was unconscious when we brought him here, so... I doubt he'll have any idea where he is..."
"He did seem rather confused. Let's go, then..."
Doing his best to shake off sleep, Ein followed Soala to the Elder's house. Lying in a low bed on the house's far side, surrounded by Claude, Ladie, Mylene, Rebecca, and a few others Ein didn't know, was Ledah.
Heading over to his friend, Ein knelt so that they would be on eye level and smiled. "Good morning."
Ledah shivered; Ein noticed that he'd apparently been stripped down before Elendia's healers worked on him--from what the wingless angel could see, Ledah wasn't wearing anything but the tight linen bandages that covered his wounds and his silver rosary. "What's... going on...?" he asked weakly, a plaintive note to his voice that Ein had never heard before.
"Don't worry--just lie still for now. You were hurt pretty badly, and for a while we didn't think you were going to make it. This is Elendia, a village of Sprites located around the World Tree. It's where Ursula sent me when we were separated back at Heaven's Gate." Careful to avoid Ledah's injuries, Ein placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You remember what happened in Yggdrasil, right?"
"Yes..." Ledah's carmine eyes met Ein's cobalt ones, searching. "And you spared my life again, didn't you...?"
"You're my friend. No matter what you say or do, you're my friend. And I can't stand for any friend of mine suffering and dying like that. Ursula herself agreed with me--she's the one who transported us from Yggdrasil back here; if we'd had to carry you all through the World Tree, it would've been too late by the time we got back to Elendia."
"Malice...?"
"She got away." Ein's free hand balled into her fist. "I'll have a few things to say to her, the next time we meet. You're both Grim Angels, and you both know what Hector's really up to--how could she do something like that?"
"Hector...!" Eyes sharpening, Ledah struggled into a sitting position. "There's... there's no time! Hector is... only a few souls away from attaining his goal, the resurrection of... of Seth... you must hurry, and stop him if you can! This... is not... the will of... the gods... unnh..."
"Lie down! Take it easy!" With gentle hands, Ein coaxed Ledah back down to the sheets. "I know about what Hector's doing. But all the same--I'm not going anywhere until you're feeling better. Hector still can't enter Riviera as long as Ursula's protecting it, and as far as I know she's still got Cefiro all over Yggdrasil. I got Malice pretty good before she figured out that I was serious about fighting her--she's still hurt too badly to start soul-collecting again. The Accursed are sealed, so no more demons will be sprouting up from Niflheim. We've got a few days just to rest, and recover from everything that's happened."
"You're a fool," Ledah managed, still feebly trying to sit up despite Ein's restraining hands. "The best course of action would be... to strike now, while... the enemy is at its weakest..."
"I know I'm a fool. I still barely know what I'm doing. But I know that leaving you here, in a place you don't know anything about, in the condition you're in would be cruel and selfish. Saving Riviera is not just about saving the land. It's also about saving each individual life that exists here, and all the lives of those who want to protect this place. Saving you is every bit as important as saving this island."
Finally settling, Ledah just smiled. "Naïve as ever..."
"So what? So maybe I am naïve. I still think it's better than not caring. This whole death-in-exchange-for-life thing is messed up. No individual should have to be sacrificed for the sake of an ideal. You're my friend, Ledah, and always will be. You've lost enough in this life already. I'm not going anywhere until I know you'll be as good as ever."
"You're determined," the blonde angel commented. "Then, Ein, I have only one request..."
"What is it?" Ein asked.
"When you travel to Hector's castle, on the Isle of Goriarte... take me with you."
---
After two changes of firewood, Ledah finally opened his eyes.
"Hi," Ein said awkwardly, looking down at him.
"...Hi..." Ledah shifted a little, then slowly sat up, Fia's quilt swiftly slipping off his body. "What... am I...?"
"You were awake for about five seconds this morning, and then you fell asleep again," Ein informed him. "I told you to go to sleep at night, but it doesn't seem like you listened very well. Ow--aggh... ow ow ow ow..."
"What's wrong?" Ledah, pausing in the middle of shoving his hair out of his face, turned to look at his friend worriedly.
"When you fell asleep, you fell asleep on me. Ow. Ow ow ow... my legs kinda went to sleep too. Ow ow ow ow ow... pain..."
"Sorry."
"No biggie. Just... get a pillow next time..." Wincing, Ein stood.
"You could've gotten up."
"That would have meant that you didn't get any sleep though," the wingless angel reasoned. "Ouch. You're my friend, Ledah. I couldn't just dump you like that..."
"Oh..."
"Hey, look who's finally up!" Serene crowed as she sauntered down the stairs. "You hungry? Want some lunch? You just missed it, but we saved some for you."
"Sure..." Carefully folding Fia's quilt, Ledah stood and followed the last Arc into the storage room, leaving Ein to work out the kinks in his legs alone.
---
The day passed slowly but peacefully. To keep Lina's mind off their predicament, Serene offered to start a checkers tournament, in which Cierra and Ein also participated. Rose worked on her book, and Fia roped Ledah into helping her rearrange the storage room for easier access to the food supplies. Once that was done, there was dinner to make, and after that, Ledah surprised Ein by suggesting that they spar for a while. With the girls as an audience, they cleared a space in the middle of the largest room and had at each other, matching blow for blow with their Diviners. The mock fight kept on for almost an hour until the two of them admitted that they were sufficiently tired that they didn't feel like going on--and then, Fia, Serene, Lina, and Cierra decided they wanted to do something similar. It was a lasting form of entertainment until Rose finally decreed that it was bedtime, thank you very much.
Lina took Serene's place with Fia in the downstairs bed; Rose and Cierra headed back upstairs. And Ledah took his place by the fire again, spreading his wings to let Ein and Serene curl up at his sides.
"These really are soft," Serene said with some surprise as she ran a hand over the inner side of Ledah's left wing. "If you shed these again in spring, I want 'em. Maybe I can get Soala to make me something out of them..."
Ledah sweatdropped and fidgeted. "Fine, but don't touch..."
"Is the great solitary angel ticklish?" Serene asked, giggling.
The blonde seraph turned his eyes skyward and didn't answer.
"Don't worry, I won't exploit your hidden weakness." Smiling, Serene snuggled closer. "G'night, boys. Ledah, please maim Ein if he says or does anything pervy."
"Get some actual sleep tonight, okay?" Ein asked, resting his head on Ledah's shoulder. "I don't want a repeat performance of today."
"I will." Leaning his cheek against Ein's soft hair, Ledah closed his eyes, trying to stifle the swift chills that ran along his body.
"Night, then."
"...Sleep well, Ein..."
---
And apparently, Ledah had slept the night, for he was just as awake in the morning as the others. Ein heaved a mental sigh of relief. He didn't want any further trouble with his friend, and their situation was awkward enough without one of them acquiring a skewed sleep schedule.
Or at least, Ein was relieved, until...
Roaming the room until Fia finished up with breakfast, Ledah suddenly stopped short, looking slightly perplexed, and sneezed.
Ein stared.
"Did you just...?"
He got his answer with another sneeze.
Ein groaned. "Ledah..."
"What, Ein?"
The wingless angel stood, walked over to his friend, and brushed his bangs off his forehead, resting the back of his hand against it as he did so. "I thought you looked a bit flushed this morning... and your forehead's a little warm, too. You're getting sick."
"I don't get--" Ledah began, but had to break off in the middle of his sentence to sneeze again.
"I know this is kind of a bad time to say 'I told you so', but I did--"
"Don't make a big deal out of it. I'm fine," Ledah insisted, pulling away from Ein and taking a few steps in another direction.
Until, without any warning, he collapsed to his knees, barely catching himself with splayed hands and outstretched wings.
---
NEXT TIME: Winter flu is a bitch, isn't it? Especially when the person who's got it doesn't usually get sick and doesn't have much resistance. And Ein's left with a few heavy things to process, after striking up a conversation with a half-delirious Ledah... Plus, a little more description of Riviera's "Ledah ending"!