12. In a good mood

"And as we round the corner on the final lap bunny number three is in the lead!"

"Run you moronic mammal! I bet 100 Fol on you!" Albel was almost leaning over the railing yelling at the small yellow bunny he had bet on. Sophia ignored him as she watched her own bunny run just inches behind the leader.

They had decided to spend the day in Gemity. Everyone had split up to pursue their own activities. Somehow she, Albel and Cliff had all ended up at the bunny races. While Cliff had stayed out in the lobby she and Albel had gone to sit in the stands.

"And bunny number three is the winner!"

Sophia disappointedly folded up her ticket and put it in her pocket. "I guess we should have listened to Cliff and bet on number three after all."

Albel tore his ticket into shreds and let them fall to the floor. "Damn that big ape and his hunches."

They walked out of the arena and passed Cliff as he was cashing in his tickets. "What I tell ya, number three won all the way! If you'd have listened to me you'd have a winning ticket too"

Albel glared at the tall blond but didn't stop walking. "I'll tell you where you can stick that ticket fool!"

Sophia had stopped next to Cliff but when she saw Albel continuing on without her she started after him.

"Hey!" Cliff called after her. "He's pretty scary. Watch yourself around him ok?"

Sophia nodded and waved to the Klausian before running after Albel. She caught up with him quickly and was walking beside him. "Well I think it's safe to say we suck at bunny racing. What do you want to do now?"

Albel stopped and looked at the area around them. "Didn't Fayt say he was going to the battle arena?" Sophia nodded "Then why don't we go and watch the fool get pummeled." He didn't wait for her reply and started towards the gate to the arena.

Sophia giggled and followed behind him. No matter how much Albel said he didn't like Fayt she knew that somewhere, deep down, he considered him a friend.

They entered the battle arena and found some decent seats away from most of the crowed. Sophia read over the flyer they were handed and found out Fayt wouldn't be fighting for some time. They sat in silence for the first few events, just watching the fighters and monsters battle it out.

Albel finally spoke up after watching a particularly uncoordinated young man lose a match. He stood, leaning against the metal guardrail to get a better view. "Ha what a pathetic fool. Even you could have defeated that monster."

"Hey!" Sophia crossed her arms over her chest. "Was that an insult or a compliment?"

He glanced at her for a moment as if deciding which answer would be best to give. "Both I suppose. You are a decent fighter but you still have a long way to go. "

She thought about that for a moment trying to figure out how to react. "Well thanks… I guess." They fell into silence once more before she spoke up again. "Hey Albel?"

"Hum?" he replayed without looking away from the fighting going on down below.

"I've been thinking a lot since the festival." She watched his shoulders tense a bit and waited a moment to see if he would respond. They hadn't really talked since he gave her that bracelet and every time she had brought it up he always changed the subject. When he didn't respond she felt it safe to continue. "About where I'm going to go after all this ends."

He continued to face away from her but she heard the nervous tapping of his claw against the metal of the railing. "What's there to think about? We both know your going back to earth."

Sophia shook her head. "Not really, I mean yeah I would have to go back to see my parents but that doesn't mean I have to stay there. I could always choose to come back to Elicoor. In fact Nel and I have been talking about it."

Albel grunted "oh and what did the little spy have to say?"

Sophia stood and leaned on the railing next to him. "Well we were talking about the federation and she feels that the queen and maybe even the king will want to join. If that happens the federation will want some ambassadors to stay on Elicoor and monitor things like technological advancement, communications and things like that." He didn't reply and she continued. "I don't really have a lot of experience but I think they would consider me a good candidate because I know a lot of people on Elicoor, not to mention the king and queen. It would really help the trust level to have someone their comfortable with at negotiations."

He continued to look ahead of him, not really paying attention to the battles anymore. "That's a lot of ifs. How can you plan anything when a decision like that is up to your government and not you?"

"Well even if they didn't pick me as ambassador, I could still come back. I'd just have to find something else to do."

"Why? Why do you want to stay on Elicoor?"

"Well I like it there, the people are nice and well… you're there, and I like you too." She looked down and could feel a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

Albel sighed deeply and looked down at her. "There will be problems."

She looked up at him smiling reassuringly. "There always are, but everything can be worked out. Were friends right, so you wouldn't mind having me around would you?"

"Well you do have a big mouth and can be annoying sometimes."

"Hey!" she said lightly hitting his arm.

"I said sometimes. When your not acting like a spoiled little girl your actually nice to have around."

Sophia smiled and wrapped her arm around his. "Good because I have no intention of leaving." She leaned her head against his shoulder, lightly letting her lips brush the skin on his arm.

Albel allowed a smile to grace his features. He really hadn't believed there could be anything between them, he'd figured she would go away when this was all over and never look back. He had no intention of allowing his feelings to get the better of him when nothing could come of it. But if she really did want to stay, if she really wasn't going to leave him, than maybe he could let his feelings for the girl surface just a bit. He felt his mood lighten considerably and actually felt quite happy.

For the first time in a long while he actually felt he had something to look forward to. He'd forgotten how good it felt to look towards the future with hope instead of misery. He'd forgotten how much he liked this feeling. He looked down and watched as she wrapped her hand around his and squeezed lightly. He squeezed back, never having the intention of letting her go. After all if she was fighting so hard to stay with him she must feel the same way.