Hello there readers! I have come back once again, after a really long writer's block, and getting distracted with other stuff.
Matt: They are going to hate you after that cliff hanger on the last chapter.
Shut up Matt! This chapter may be shorter than the others since I don't really know what to do with this chapter.
Raguna: In other words, she's "winging it". She's got an idea and will go off of it.
Yep, the chapter will write itself from that idea. Actually, none of my chapters are planned; they just end up like they do.
Ivan: Anyhow…
"Speaking"
/thoughts/
((telepathy)) ((telepathy))
Sophie: I have a feeling that more of those are going to pop up. *laughs*
What is it? Pick on author day? Someone just please say the disclaimer.
Raguna *grins*: Of course, Claire!
Claire?
Ivan: His nickname for you.
Oh.
Raguna: CWB Doesn't own anything except for Matt, the kid, the riddle, and the plot of this fanfic!
Everyone: Welcome to chapter 13!
Chapter 13: Explanations and Caring
Last chapter: "I guess I should explain about today." I try to talk but Raguna cuts me off.
"I'm doing this because I want to, Ivan." That shut me up and I gave Raguna a nod.
"You see Ivan, I'm a…"
(Third person Pov: Still the same place)
Raguna takes a deep breath before continuing.
"I'm a Nekopire. Do you know anything about them?" Raguna asked.
"Nekopire…? Hmm, I know they exist, but there isn't much known about them. At least, not in Norad. Sechs know a bit more about them but, not much. The legend says that they were close to the Virtualites, an extinct race now-a-days." Ivan said, trying to recall what he knew about them. Quite frankly, even between Noradian and Sechian knowledge of the Nekopire race, there still wasn't much known about them. The Nekopirian only trusted one race with their knowledge and that race is long gone, what's left of the Nekopires are rumors and myths.
Raguna laughs before answering. "Extinct, aren't they?" A small knowing smile appeared on Raguna's face.
/Raguna, why does it seem like you know what happened with the Virtualites? / Ivan thought.
/Virtualites? I'll have to look into them once I get out of the room. I usually have books on every species out there./ Matt thought.
"Back to the Nekopire race, though. It seems that people don't know much about them so, I guess I should start from the beginning." Raguna fell quite, thinking about a good way to explain things to Ivan. Ivan looked at Raguna, wondering what this would reveal about Raguna. Ivan was wondering if Raguna would say how he got turned into one, and not just explain what the species is.
"You see," Raguna started, "Nekopire is an alien race." Raguna had to hold back a laugh at Ivan's and Matt's, who had appeared in holographic form a few moments ago, looks of disbelief.
"You're pullin' my leg, aren't you?" Ivan questioned.
"Nope, one hundred percent true." Raguna laughed.
"B-b-but, aliens!?" Ivan said, incoherently.
((I believe I'm on Ivan's boat, Raguna. Aliens? You've got to be kidding me.))
((Look at the one who's talking.)) Raguna teased.
((R-Raguna, why must you wound me so.)) Matt said in mock hurt. Raguna had to force himself not to laugh, since Ivan was there.
++++(Same place: During Raguna's conversation)(AN: That makes sense, right?)
Ivan knew that Raguna had been quite for a couple of seconds. If it had been in the past, Ivan would've passed it off as Raguna getting lost in thought, but now…not so much.
/I'm almost certain the guy I saw is from another dimension, just like the legend said. That legend also said something about the powers that each item (jewelry) gives. The most common power in that legend is 'telepathy'. / Ivan thought.
Ivan see's Raguna smile, and Raguna let out a soft chuckle but suppressed it. That was what made Ivan certain that Raguna was talking to the other guy; which cemented the theory of the guy being one from the legend.
++++(Same place: After Raguna's conversation) (Sorry if I'm pointing out the obvious. Not really, but, sorry…)
"Seriously? Norad has dragons, elves, Sechians for neighbors, a wide arrange of amnesiacs, dungeons in form of caves, monsters inside said caves, and all the legends and myths that there are, you can't possibly tell me that aliens are out of the question!" Raguna exclaimed, and while Ivan and Matt hated to admit it…
"You have a point."((You have a point.)) Ivan and Matt said at the same time.
Raguna shakes his head, almost fondly, and continues. "The Nekopires came here, seeking refuge from a tyrant on their world. Once they came here they met with the Noradians, and they quickly left because the ones chosen to represent Norad, started hunting them down, even though the Nekopires had only wanted refuge." The venom didn't go unnoticed by anyone present. Ivan was starting to worry that Raguna might have something against Noradians. According to the history Raguna was telling him, Noradians were the first to turn the Nekopires away, and considering that Raguna was now a Nekopire…hopefully the dislike for Norad wasn't hereditary.
Raguna noticed the worried look on Ivan's face. Raguna thought back on anything he may have said, that might cause worry, and he has to resist the urge to face palm.
/I'm an idiot. Ivan's a Noradian, Nekopires dislike Noradians, and I'm a Nekopire. Not a good combination. I don't hate Ivan though, even following the Nekopire instinct, I never hated him. In fact, the Nekopire instinct trusted Ivan from the start. / Raguna thought.
"Ivan, I don't dislike Noradians." Ivan smiles a bit, relieved that Raguna didn't dislike him. "Now that doesn't mean that the representatives are off the hook. I'm still wondering the sanity of Norad as a whole, because the people are the ones that chose them to represent Norad!" Raguna explained.
"I take it you don't like the ones that represent Norad, but why do you feel that way?" Ivan was curious. Ivan wanted to know if Raguna's dislike for the representatives was because of what happened to the Nekopire ancestors, or if it was because of something he saw/heard them do.
((I am curious as well.)) Matt put his thought in.
"'Why?' Well, that's easy. They are idiots, to the point that the answer might be staring them right in the face, and it would take them, ten years, to see it." Raguna said, stressing out how long it would take them to get the answer.
"You've got a point on that one, they really are idiots. I wonder if the ones that voted for them or even more idiotic." Ivan said, with a smirk on his face.
*Raguna does a noise with his tongue* "Most likely." Raguna says with humor and then he smiles.
"Now, stop getting me sidetracked! The Nekopire then met a Sechian and cautiously asked them for refuge. The Sechian leader welcomed them with open arms and thought them about this world/dimension. The Nekopires stayed with the Sechian race for quite some time, until Norad's representatives found out that the Nekopires were staying with them, and then Norad attacked Sechs. That was the very first war between the two lands. After the war was over the Sechians still wanted to give the Nekopires refuge. The Nekopires refused, saying that causing that war was the least they wanted to do, and that staying there would only cause more wars. The Sechian leader was sad to see them go, but understood the reason they had for leaving. The leader gave them a few supplies and the Nekopire gave him an heirloom. The heirloom was a symbol of friendship and peace between the species, and it was to be passed down from generation to generation. That way, if any Nekopire descendants came, they would know what family helped their ancestors out. The heirloom also had a protection rune on it, if anyone, even a Nekopire, attempted to attack the family, the person would get shocked, or it would put up a shield(for long range attacks). The rune couldn't hurt Nekopire's unless the brainwave detector, detected bad brainwaves; the equivalent to bad intentions. Any questions so far?" Raguna stopped and asked, a bit tired from all the speaking and thinking he had been doing.
Ivan stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking about what Raguna had said.
/If what Raguna is saying is actually accurate then that would mean that Noradians are all-time jerks, Norad caused the first war, and not the other way around, like we've been told our whole lives. The Nekopires refused refuge in order to not cause any more wars amongst Norad and Sechs. Yet we still have wars with them…Why? Why do we keep fighting them? Is it because of the same reason, or did something else happen down the road that continued the fighting?/ Ivan thought.
"So," Ivan started, "Nekopires didn't take refuge with the Sechians in order to stop the wars that could happen?" At Raguna's nod , Ivan thought; /Man, that's selflessness to the max, Noradians wouldn't have cared if they cause wars for the ones offering them refuge. Then again, the Nekopires were escaping a tyrant, they possibly had their fair share of wars because of the tyrant./
"Did they leave because they didn't want wars to happen; because they themselves had been through wars and had seen the destruction they caused?" Ivan asked. Raguna looked surprised but nodded none-the-less.
"Yes, that's exactly right." Raguna said. /I can't believe he got that on his first try, the Sechians had taken a bit longer in finding out the reasoning behind the Nekopires leaving./ Raguna thought, impressed.
"Raguna," Ivan paused for a second, "what do you think of Norad?" Ivan wasn't going to ask the question, at least not that bluntly, but he truly needed to know what Raguna thought of their homeland. Ivan was born and raised in Norad, along with Raguna.
++++(Same Scene: Ivan's POV)
Raguna gave a small sigh and I wondered if it had any meaning behind it.
"Is it because of the history with the Nekopires?" Raguna asked me, I guess he was wondering why I decided to ask that. I nodded, letting him know that, that was indeed the reason I asked him.
Raguna shifts around a bit and somewhat nervously, I noticed, continues talking.
"I don't hate Norad, but I don't particularly like them either. It's technically a like-dislike relationship that I have with Norad. I like it, because this is where I was born, I can't hate, or even dislike, Noradians because I AM a Noradian. I can dislike Norad itself since…" Raguna trailed off, his eyes seemed so lost that I felt a pang in my heart.
/At least he remembers his birthplace, but does he hate Norad? He said he couldn't hate NORADIANS, that doesn't cover the things Norad does and stands for./
"Raguna? Are you alright?" I asked softly, and Raguna jumped a bit.
"Sorry, Ivan, I'm alright." Raguna said. /*sigh* Doesn't seem that way, Raguna./
"Anyway, the reason I CAN dislike Norad is…it's…" Raguna trailed of again. /He's having a hard time saying it./
"Raguna, it's alright if you don't want to say it, you shouldn't force yourself too." I told him gently, I'm afraid that if I were to speak to loud, he'd go into panic. He did get startled when I called out to him earlier.
++++(Same Scene: Raguna's POV)
Shock, that's all that I'm feeling right now. "Raguna, it's alright if you don't want to say it, you shouldn't force yourself too."
Nobody has truly giving me options whether to talk about things or not. When they did, it was reluctant, and the look of disappointment when I didn't say anything was a bit too much for me to handle. Noradians never truly understand what it's like to have to fend for themselves; they thrive in groups, after all. While the Virtualites are like that as well, we are more secluded. We technically enjoy keeping to ourselves, haha. Though when the time to stand united as one comes, we are always there to help each other until the bitter end.
Now here comes Ivan, going against everything that has ever been said about Noradians. He hasn't tried to use me for anything, or forced me to talk, or spend time with him. Ivan's…a mystery, a mystery indeed.
I shake my head. "No," I start, "I want to say this. It's because Norad, Norad…" Ugh! Just say it already! Why am I taking so long in saying this. I'm just, worried he'll hate me. Who'd want a broken experiment?
I take a deep breath. "It's because the Organization was of Norad and they experimented on me." I say quickly, in one breath, before I lose my nerve to say it.
++++(Same Scene: Ivan's POV)
. "It's because the Organization was of Norad and they experimented on me." These words, froze me to the core. The organization is a, bottle flipping, Noradian organization. I felt my heart cry out a little.
/By Firesome and Terrable! I've failed Raguna 10 times over by now! Norad's own people, all this time, we thought it'd been Sechians. Now it turns out that, they culprits behind his kidnapping were Noradians all along./
"Raguna…" I have no idea what to say.
"Do you hate me?" My head shot up to look at Raguna in surprise. He said it so low that if it weren't for the facts that he's right across from me, I most likely wouldn't have heard it. I don't think he even intended for me to hear it.
"What? No! Why would you think that, Raguna?" I asked, still to shocked to even notice that the words left my mouth.
"Well, they experimented on me, I'm not normal. Useless, monster, defective, worthless…" Raguna keeps going but my mind shuts down, they only thought being 'No!Nononononono!No!'. I make up my mind and walk over to Raguna, he stops once he notices me approaching. I lift my hand, wanting to pull him into a hug but, Raguna looked so scared when he saw me lift my hand. So much fear, as if I were going to hit him.
My stomach and heart sank at that realization, while multiple thoughts of how to murder the organization were going through my head. When the attack in the plaza happened, Raguna seemed fine with letting me close. Though that could've easily been because he was too far gone in his memories to notice, in detail, what I was doing. By the time he snapped out of it, he was most likely remembering something else. Maybe someone else doing the same thing I did, and that's why he didn't immediately pull away from me?
I ignored Raguna's expression and hugged him, Raguna gave a flinch in my arms. I try to ignore that as well and start patting his head, the same thing I did in the plaza.
"Raguna, you are not any of those things. You are kind, patient, calm, and tactical. You are the best person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. You can do a lot of things others can't Raguna, you've handled everything on your own and are still going strong. You are a person, who can feel, fail, and prevail at many things, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." I said, while hugging him. Raguna seems to have calmed down a bit more. Raguna then turns around and, amazingly, hugs me back. I looked closer to notice that Raguna was silently crying onto my chest. I pulled him closer and started humming, something I used to do when he got bullied at school.
"Thanks, Ivvy." Raguna said. My heart almost stopped at the nickname, that was what we used to call me when we were kids.
"No problem kiddo." I said, even though Raguna doesn't seem to believe what I had said. It's going to take some time, quite a long time for him to understand that what I said is the truth, but I'm willing to wait.
/Little one…I won't fail you again, I promise./ We kept hugging each other a bit longer, Raguna wanting the comfort and I, gladly giving it to him.
WHOO! I am done! How's that for a chapter! This explanation isn't over yet though, so expect there to be more on the next chapter.
Raguna: That's…cute.
Ivan: Real cute ending right there, Clara.
Thanks guys, I appreciate that.
How about you, readers?
How was that ending for you?
What do you think of Raguna and Ivan now?
Any guesses as to who they are to each other?
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: Was this realistic? And, Was this chapter any good?
All of us: Please Review, Favorite, and Follow!
Edit(5/4/2018): Nothing changed with the chapter, just adding in some lines and underlining stuff. I tried fixing typos and mistypes, but I'm not sure that I got them all.
