This chapter has now been re-written for your enhanced enjoyment.
"Well, that was waaaay~ easier than I thought it would be!"
Airi ignored her pink friend's victorious comment as she walked past Melona and the fallen body of their enemy. The petite elven girl had been knocked out instantly when Melona landed her surprise attack. Airi briefly noticed the little monkey that had accompanied the girl scampering off into the woods, but was too concerned about Church to really care.
So instead of doing anything about the monkey or the defeated half-elf, Airi instead moved to the body of the one she had been searching for. Church was slumped against a tree, exactly as he had been left there. As she came to stand in front of his unconscious body, Airi struggled to hold back a relieved sigh. As the weeks had passed, Airi was almost positive that Church had been killed or maimed or something of a similar nature. To see him alive and well was a huge relief for her. Airi herself realized that she was feeling far more strongly about this man than she should have been, considering how short of a time she had known him, but she buried those thoughts quickly, not willing to entertain them at the moment.
Trying to ignore how happy this situation was actually making her, Airi knelt down and gently shook Church by his shoulders in an attempt to wake him. He stirred briefly after a few moments, and cracked his eyes open to meet Airi's. He didn't look entirely certain that she was actually real.
"A-Airi? You... w-what are you doing here...?
The ghost maid simply gave him a gentle smile. "I'm here to rescue you of course. You seem fairly hopeless without me."
Melona chimed in from behind her. "Hey, I came too! Don't take all of the credit, Airi! In fact, this is all because of me y'know!"
Church peeked over Airi's shoulder to see his other friend. From this angle, he couldn't see Nowa's unconscious body. He was barely conscious himself, so it didn't even occur to him that Nowa should have been there too. "Melona...you too, huh? Thanks... both of you..."
With that, Church slipped back into unconsciousness. Airi scowled at this, because it would have been better if he could move himself. Sure, she or Melona could carry him, but that would be problematic during a hasty retreat from the now embattled forest, especially if the two servants encountered more opponents.
It was frustrating that she had finally found Church but could not immediately leave. After all, enough time had been used already, and the wraith was eager to leave this fiasco behind and return to the Swamp Witch. Airi twirled her index finger around one of her twin-tails as she thought of a solution. Her concentration did not last long however, as a throwing knife buried itself in the trunk next to Airi's head. Twisting around to both face this new assailant and deflect any more projectiles, Airi laid eyes on a nuisance she did not need right now.
"You again? What do you want? We don't have time to deal with you right now."
The brown-robed, hooded boy who had obviously thrown the weapon did not answer her. Melona took the brief moment of silence to pop a question. "Airi, you know this kid? Where did he come from?"
Airi scowled as she answered. "This is the guy who attacked Church back in the desert: a kid who's clearly too stubborn and dense for his own good."
The boy tossed his hood back, revealing his face, as well as shoulder length brown hair, as he answered the response that had been directed towards Melona. His hazel eyes burned with hatred. "Stubborn? I'm far more than that. I would chase you to the ends of the world, or to hell and back, if it meant I could destroy you!"
Melona leaned towards Airi and whispered to her. "Wow, talk about a serious grudge. What did you do to this guy?"
Airi shrugged as she prepared to battle this new threat. "I don't know, and honestly, I don't care. He's in our way, and that's all that matters."
The brown-haired boy took a few steps forward as he pulled out two strange pronged blades from within his cloak. "I've been waiting a long time for this. I'm going to crush you and cleanse this world of an abomination!"
Melona wagged a finger at the approaching enemy. "Now, now, don't forget, I'm here too! Are you really going to fight both of us? That would be pretty stupid, y'know?"
The boy stopped his advance and jabbed a finger at the voluptuous slime. "I have no quarrel with you! Just stay out of my way!"
He then switched his finger as well as his heated glare towards Airi. "My only problem is with this bitch. I will avenge my village, and you will suffer as much as they did!"
As Airi took note of the boy's pointed ears, much like the ones that the unconscious girl on the ground had, his identity struck a chord in her memory. "You're… a survivor, aren't you? Of that village I destroyed a few months ago..."
The boy's eyes filled with rage. "Yes. I am the only survivor of that village. You killed and burned everything and everyone else. You showed no mercy, and neither will I!"
Airi sighed in remorse, growing tired of this situation already. Contrary to what this boy thought, she hadn't enjoyed massacring the people of that village. She had simply been following orders. "Look, I'm sorry about your village and all, but I didn't have a choice. That's what Master wanted..."
"You dare try to deceive me with false apologies? Your depravity really knows no bounds...I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you and everyone you would even consider calling a friend! Then you'll know my pain!"
Threatening her was bad enough, but threatening her friends was another matter entirely. One of Airi's most prominent qualities was loyalty, not just to her master, but also to her allies and companions. Threatening them was far worse than threatening Airi herself. Given, Melona could take care of herself, but at the moment Church could not: and if this elven boy was going to hurt Church, Airi was going to hurt him first. It occurred to her that she had hardly known Church all that long, but that she would at least count him as a friend at this point.
She looked at Melona and pointed a thumb back at Church's immobile body. "Watch him. More of those assassins may be around here somewhere. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Airi didn't want Church to be within the danger zone that her fight with this boy would create, so she flew up into the air and hovered above one of the lower branches, beckoning to the boy as he did so. "Well come on then: if you want a fight, you have to catch me first."
Without uttering a word, the brown robed boy leaped onto the lowest branch of the tree and scaled it with surprising agility and speed. As he neared Airi's branch, the scythe-wielding wraith flew over to another tree, gradually leading him away from her two friends.
The two of them were soon out of Melona's sight, and being unable to bear witness to it, the Protean Assassin quickly lost interest in Airi's situation, and instead went over to attempt to wake Church from his exhaustion-induced slumber.
She knelt in front of Church and poked him in the arm a few times, but the action garnered no response from the unconscious man. Melona tried a number of other things, such as flicking him on the nose and pulling on his cheeks, but when nothing seemed to work, she merely fell back on her gelatinous rump and sighed.
"Geez, we put all of this effort into finding you, and when we finally do you're busy sleeping on your lazy ass."
As one last attempt, Melona poked Church in the stomach, but instead of squishing into a soft belly, her finger ran into tough muscle. A brief moment was all it took for Melona to succumb to her curiosity and pull up Church's shirt to investigate. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the man had been working on his abs: it wasn't like he had a six-pack or anything, but it was a step towards fitness nevertheless.
"Or maybe you haven't been so lazy after all, huh? Just what have you been up to out here?"
Melona's self-talk was interrupted by a rush of air that rustled her bunny ears, followed by the flapping of large wings. Turning to face the source of the noise, Melona eyed the two angels she and Airi had tailed to find Church. The one with the pink hair seemed displeased, but the blue-haired one with green-eyes looked at Melona with less obvious emotions.
The latter mentioned angel pointed a gloved finger at Melona as she opened her mouth to speak. Her words came out aggressive, but something about her tone did not seem entirely sincere. "So, using angels to find your baggage, huh? I didn't think Underworld monkeys would ever stoop that low."
Melona's right eye twitched in annoyance. Being called a monkey wasn't quite the same as being called a monster, but it was definitely insulting. "Who are you calling a monkey, you crippled pest?"
The angel, who did indeed have a deformed right wing, clenched her fists in anger. Actually, the look on the angel's face was downright terrifying, even for Melona. Unbeknownst to the slime, there was a fair deal of pain in the expression as well, but only Nanael's anger was evident to Melona at the moment. "C-crippled... as if you have any right to call me that!"
Nanael practically tackled her adversary, launching her and Melona into the ground. Hachiel could do nothing but watch: she wasn't really much of a fighter. She hovered a little above the tussle and tried to calm Nanael from there.
"P-please, Nanael, we're here to get the man, not fight anybody!"
Hachiel's rambunctious friend took a brief moment out of her grapple with her squishy adversary to respond. "Whatever, you get him, I'm busy!"
As the two of them continued their bout (Although Hachiel didn't quite know how you could grapple with a shape-shifter that could practically melt into a puddle), Hachiel decided that she would leave Nanael to her own devices: angels were practically invincible as long as they were under Heaven's divine protection anyway.
Instead she flew over to the man who was their objective. As she neared him, Hachiel could feel a faint aura of energy coming from him that was unlike anything she had ever encountered before. Everyone had a unique aura of energy, but this man's energy was not of this world: he himself was an anomaly.
Beyond that though, the angel could not understand why he was so important. As one of the more intelligent angels in service to Heaven, she had a better understanding of all things in general: but there were some things no angel was told about. An abnormality in the fabric of time and space itself was one of them.
Grabbing the strangely-dressed man under his arms to lift him efficiently, Hachiel lifted him a few feet into the air. He was a lot lighter than she had expected. Casting one last glance at Nanael and her opponent tussling on the ground, the pinkette angel sighed and took off into the forest, looking for a quiet place to question her quarry.
"Why are you running!? Fight me!"
Airi ignored her pursuer's angry calls and challenges as her nearly weightless body alighted on top of yet another branch. Her adversary was quite a few branches below her, climbing as rapidly as he could, despite all of the energy he had lost chasing her around the forest for the past thirty minutes.
She, on the other hand, was in even worse shape. The last time Airi had acquired any large amount of life-force was back in town in the desert. She had stockpiled that life-force so that she could go for several weeks without it, but that reserve was quickly depleting. Even with the amount she had replenished from the two assassins earlier, Airi was rapidly growing weaker. Looking down at herself, she noticed that her outer garments were becoming slightly transparent, revealing a little of her lacy white underwear.
Along with this, Airi's minor spirits were also becoming harder to control. As her strength waned, the spirits that she usually commanded with absolute authority grew more rampant. The useless creatures didn't really have any loyalty: they were more like conscripted vassals that the Swamp Witch had put under her servant's control.
Contemplating all of the disadvantages stacked against her, Airi wondered how she would fare against this elven boy if she decided to fight him. After all, he could obviously keep up with her when she fled, so running no longer held any purpose. And even if he did defeat her, he couldn't kill her, seeing as how Airi was already dead. So there really was no risk in engaging him.
The opponent in question had just wrapped his arms around the branch below her, legs dangling, when Airi made her first move. Hopping down from her perch, the wraith combined the weight of her scythe's blade with the power of gravity, effectively turning her weapon into a deadly guillotine.
The razor-sharp edge of her unique weapon just barely missed the head of her target, who nimbly evaded the fatal strike by shimmying to the side. Instead, Airi cleaved the thick branch the boy dangled from in two, sending him down to the hard earth nearly a hundred feet below. Her opponent smashed into several wide branches as he fell, and Airi could hear more than a few snaps on his way down. After bouncing off of the lowest branch, the battered boy landed on the ground with a hard thud, his back taking the brunt of the rough landing.
Airi hovered slowly to the ground, her spiritual form completely unaffected by the laws of nature. She alighted on the soft underbrush of the forest soundlessly, waiting to see if her opponent still retained consciousness.
After a few moments, the boy struggled to his hands and knees, coughing up a little blood as he did so. He pushed himself up, attempting to stand, but fell back to the ground instead, out cold.
Airi relaxed her tensed body as she concluded that her fight was already over. Seeing an opportunity, she walked over to her defeated opponent, knelt down, and placed a hand on his back. No one said Airi could only absorb life force through the mouth: it was just preferable because it was more efficient.
The rush of invigorating energy that filled her was very refreshing. Removing her hand that served as a connection between herself and her host, Airi glanced down at her clothes, noting with satisfaction that she wasn't having any problems keeping them solid anymore. Reaching once more for her prey, she decided to finish him off here: she didn't want this nuisance bothering her or her allies again.
An almost silent rustling from behind stopped her however, and Airi had just enough time to turn and see the oncoming edge of a curved snake sword before she realized that the fight was far from over.
Alleyne really hoped she understood Nowa's pet monkey: it had come to her and grabbed onto her leg after she and Echidna had finished dispatching Taowrol's flunkies, and urged her to follow it back into the forest, particularly in the direction that her apprentice had fled with Church.
As she sprinted after the furry creature, weaving through tree trunks as they got in her way, Alleyne could only come to the conclusion that something had gone wrong with her two companions' escape. She hoped that neither of them had been hurt: that maybe the assassins that had found them had not killed them immediately.
Alleyne seethed with unfamiliar fury at the thought of it. The emotion was so potent that Alleyne herself was actually a little scared of it. She was usually so calm, composed, and collected, but recently, her emotions had been getting the best of her, affecting her judgment in negative ways. But even though she wanted to repress these feelings, Alleyne knew that if either Nowa or Church had been killed… Taowrol would have hell to pay.
The elven captain had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost stepped on the forest creature she had been following. Ru had apparently reached its destination: a small clearing that the trees formed a ring of bark around, that also held several bodies and evidence of a struggle. Two of the bodies were of dead black veiled assassins. The other was that of her pained, but very much alive, apprentice.
Nowa was leaning against a tree, rubbing the side of her face where there was a distinct purple bruise was forming. Alleyne quickly came over to her and knelt before pulling Nowa's hand away from the injury and checking for serious damage.
"Nowa! Are you alright? What happened?"
The small girl shook her head lethargically. She obviously wasn't feeling well. "I... I don't know... I didn't even see it coming..."
After concluding that Nowa didn't have any permanent damage, Alleyne stood and checked her surroundings for possible hostiles. Her expertly trained eyes couldn't detect any, and the forest itself was pretty quiet, so for the moment she was at ease. She looked back down at Nowa.
"Who did this to you? The assassins are dead, so it must have been someone else. Were there more of them?"
Nowa looked up at her, but her eyes were blurry and unfocused. "I-I…can't…remember…"
Alleyne frowned, hoping that Nowa's memory issue was only a temporary effect of a solid blow to the head. With Church obviously absent from the area, Alleyne knew she could not stay here to watch over Nowa, and so turned to Ru.
"Will you watch her?"
The little monkey stood on its hind legs and made a motion with his arm that looked somewhat like a comical salute. She would take that as a yes.
The blonde warrior turned away from the two of them to examine the clearing once more: the only way to find out where others had been was to observe the surrounding area. With careful attention to detail, one could find things that should not be.
It took the Combat Master a good twenty seconds to find them, but there were indeed abnormalities in the surrounding forest. One of the trunks of a tree to her left had several scrapes along its sides, as if someone had been climbing up it. Some of the flimsier branches were also bent as well, where someone had put their weight on it\\them. To her right was a far less distinguishable abnormality: several leaves had been removed from the twigs that held them, and a very vague path of affected trees could be seen. Something that was at least human-sized had passed through there, and since it was in the air, whatever it was must've been flying.
Taking all of this into account, Alleyne decided to follow the less obvious trail to her right. Although Church could've gone either way, she knew he wasn't foolish enough to try and escape from his pursuers by climbing into a tree: a human like him, especially in his injured state, could never hope to outmaneuver an elf in that kind of situation.
She looked down to Nowa one last time, noting that the girl had already fallen into a restful slumber, and was being vigilantly watched over by Ru, who was scanning the forest for danger. Feeling assured about Nowa's safety, at least for a brief while, Alleyne headed off into the woods, searching for the man who had somehow forcefully wriggled his way into her heart in such a short time, although for better or for worse, she still couldn't tell.
Barely deflecting yet another blow from her new enemy, Airi stumbled backwards, panting from the exhaustion this battle was causing her. The elf woman across from her, however, showed no signs of fatigue at all.
"What's the matter? You aren't done already are you?"
The teasing, green-haired snake woman infuriated Airi. If she had just been able to recover more of her vitality from the boy, this fight would not be so one-sided, and her opponent would not be so cocky and sure of herself.
The woman made a motion with her index finger that was universal for, 'come and get me.' It was obviously just an attempt to provoke her, an attempt that Airi was not going to fall for. She held back and tried her best to regain her breath. Spirit or not, Airi still had a physical manifestation, and it still possessed some physical qualities.
Seeing that Airi had not fallen prey to her provocation, the crimson eyed elf woman frowned. "Aw, hanging back? That's no fun. You're not scared are you?"
Catching her breath to some degree, Airi prepared herself for another attack from the woman. She was fast, strong, limber, and certainly a dangerous opponent. And Airi, without her full strength, was definitely no match for her. Fighting was futile: but for the moment she could see no other choice.
Her enemy ran at her, swinging her sword viciously in a precise upward strike aimed for Airi's torso. Sidestepping, the wraith barely managed to bounce the blade away from her flesh with the handle of her scythe. The deflection threw her adversary off balance, but only for a brief moment.
Without missing a beat, the woman spun around with incredible speed, using her shield like a crude hammer to smash into Airi's exposed side. The blow caused an ugly thud and sent the Swamp Witch's servant careening into the large roots of a nearby tree.
The attack fazed her for a few moments, but Airi quickly returned to her feet, scowling at the woman whose face showed a little bit of shock. No doubt she had expected her attack to be more crippling. Unfortunately for her, it was quite difficult to cripple a spirit, at least while she still had enough power to heal her wounds.
Charging the energy of her minor spirits, Airi slashed at her target from afar, a purple crescent of ghostly energy flying forth from the blade of her scythe. The spiritual projectile cut through the air with deadly speed, and the only thing her enemy had time to do was raise her shield in defense. This time, she was the one sent flying, being thrown several feet backwards by the force of the impact.
Once more, Airi noted her own weakness in dismay. If she had been at full strength, that attack would have sliced that shield and its bearer in half. But with her current power, it had been much less effective, merely creasing the woman's steel shield a few inches inward where it had hit it.
The attack had also drained a lot of her remaining vitality. Putting her hands on her knees, Airi took a brief moment to bend over and rest before anything else happened: an action that turned out to be a terrible mistake. In her effort to take a brief respite, Airi had completely neglected the lack of damage she had caused her opponent. Hearing the rush of oncoming footsteps traversing the forest floor, she realized her mistake all too late.
Raising her head and seeing the cruel edge of her adversary's sword coming to meet her soft skin, Airi had only enough time to raise her arm and protect her face from the weapon. The steel cut deep into her forearm, slicing through skin and muscle, and splattering crimson blood across the green underbrush of the forest.
Before she could even utter a cry of pain, a booted foot crashed into Airi's stomach, brutally launching her backwards yet again, followed by a trail of blood from her recent wound. The ground met her with unyielding solidity, forcing the air out of her lungs as she landed. Determined to get out of this situation, Airi disregarded the pain she was so unused to feeling and pushed it into the farther recesses of her mind.
As she rose to her hands and knees, Airi noticed that she had landed next to the body of the unconscious boy she had dispatched earlier. Casting a brief glance at the green-haired woman who was her opponent, Airi came to the conclusion that defeat here was inevitable: and so she would fall back to a dastardly, yet efficient, backup plan.
Standing before the elf could close the distance between them and attack yet again, Airi dropped the edge of her scythe to the boy's neck and held it over him threateningly. It had the intended effect, and her opponent suffered a moment of hesitation before her planned attack.
"Stay where you are, or this boy is dead."
The elf woman glared at her Airi menacingly. "If you hurt him…"
Airi kept an even tone as she cut the woman off. "Drop your weapons and let me leave, and I'll let him live." She dug the tip just enough into the boy's skin to cause a bit of bleeding. "It's your choice."
The woman hesitated for a moment, before dropping her weapons and muttering angrily to herself. Airi, seeing that her opponent had complied with her demands, gathered the energy she would need to dematerialize. It was noticeably more difficult than usual. She managed one last demeaning smirk as she faded out of the physical world, all too pleased with her essential victory.
Alleyne knew what she was closing in on. Not just on Church, but also her childhood home. The secluded section of the forest that she had been raised in, just she and her grandmother, was just ahead, and somehow she knew that was where her objective would be.
Crossing a final barrier of young saplings and thick tree trunks, the place came within her sight: a very large, luscious green clearing that had a few ancient trees, a sparkling blue lake and a polished wooden cottage surrounded by a grove of cherry trees. No one had lived in that cottage for many years, and yet Alleyne knew it was as spotless as if someone was: she visited once a year to keep it in good condition, as homage to her deceased grandmother.
But as personal as this place was, none of it was immediately important. Alleyne ignored the memories of her far-off childhood and scanned the area for the man she was searching for. It was easier to find him than she had imagined it would be, not because of where he was, but because of what was with him.
Down near the edge of the lake was a large human looking creature with wings; certainly an angel, hovering above the sleeping body of Alleyne's friend. Knowing that angels were agents of heaven, Alleyne didn't think that she intended to harm Church in any way, but the elven woman advanced with caution anyway.
Keeping her footfalls silent on the soft, wet grass was an easy enough task for someone who had lived in the forest her entire life, and Alleyne managed to come within a few feet of the two persons before garnering any attention. Hearing the slightest sound of grass being crushed underfoot, the alert angel turned to face the source of the noise, one pink-haired, golden eyed face meeting that of a blonde, blue eyed one. Her reaction was immediate.
"S-stay back! As a Holy Angel of Heaven, this man is in my custody and under my protection!"
Alleyne raised her hands in the universal sign of peace. "I do not intend to harm him or you. He is my friend, and if you'll allow me, I would like to speak with him."
The wary angel looked down on Alleyne suspiciously, but after a few moments her gaze softened. "…Fine. But I'm watching you, so no funny business, OK? And leave your staff over there."
Alleyne nodded and deposited her weapon where the angel indicated without dissent. After a nod of affirmation from the angel, she moved closer to Church, who was still mercifully unconscious. Sitting down beside him, Alleyne was hesitant to wake the man, knowing full well that he would feel all of the aches and pains of this day's hardships. But, knowing that this may be the last time she would see him, there were some things she simply had to say.
Gently pulling his prone body into a sitting position and leaning him onto her shoulder in a way that she hoped was comfortable, Alleyne proceeded to shake him softly. He stirred a bit and peeled open one exhausted eye after another, raising them to meet Alleyne's concerned gaze. He smiled as he recognized her.
"Guess I must have really made it to heaven after all..."
Alleyne allowed herself a small smile, though its rarity increased its worth in the eye of the man under her visage. "I'm surprised you feel up to making jokes in your current condition."
"I always feel up to forcing a smile out of you. I mean, I can't have you scowling all of the time..."
Though it was in jest, Alleyne wondered how true those words were. She knew she didn't smile all that much, but was she scowling all of the time too? Did other people look at her and think that she was always bitter and irritable about something?
Church's voice brought Alleyne back to reality. "Speaking of scowls, I was only kidding Alleyne. You don't need to frown like that."
The blonde elf tried to force a smile back on her face, but she ultimately failed. Suddenly she wasn't in the mood for smiling. "Church... how do you feel? You look as though you're suffering very greatly..."
The battered man in Alleyne's arms sighed, though the gentle curve of his mouth never fell. "Well, it's been one hell of a crazy day, that's for sure... first Echidna, and then a crazy old guy and his cronies... this forest really isn't as safe as it felt like at first, you know?"
Alleyne said nothing in response, creating more silence between the two of them as she glanced over all of Church's injuries. The terrible sight elicited many emotions, among them anger and sadness: but for the most part, Alleyne felt regret and guilt. Wasn't this her fault? Couldn't she have stopped this?
Church's smile finally fell as he witnessed Alleyne's ever-deepening scowl. "H-hey, what's wrong?"
The elf took a few moments to find a response. She didn't know what was wrong really. All she knew was that she felt guilty for letting such harm come to this man. But why? True, he was her guest, and that meant his health was her responsibility. But her concern for him extended far past that of a guest. He was her friend. He was a friend that she was very fond of, and he had become that to her without her knowledge. She had never even noticed her own acceptance of him.
"This...this is all my fault. Your injuries are my fault."
Church furrowed a brow at the woman, unable to understand why she felt this way. "That's not true at all, Alleyne. Why would you say that?"
The blonde's voice was tight with anger, though it seemed to be mostly directed at herself. "If I had done something… this wouldn't have happened. I could've stepped in, or taken you away from the village. I should have tried harder to convince you of your foolishness. I at least... could have put your safety above the customs of my people."
Her words petered off as Alleyne ran out of things to say. This was the first time Church had ever seen her look so miserable, and he already knew he didn't like it one bit. He had half a mind to hug her, but even in their current situation Church did not think their relationship was on such a level that she would allow it.
"Alleyne, none of this was your fault. You gave me numerous reasons why I shouldn't go through with all this. I was too stubborn to listen to you, but at least you gave me a choice. I would rather you have done that than to have forced me to drop this whole stupid situation. If anyone is at fault for ruining everything, it's me. I've landed you and Nowa in a ton of trouble..."
Church's tranquil tone calmed Alleyne to a certain degree, temporarily lessening her anger. She honestly felt a little awkward being consoled in such a way, but that was likely because someone her age didn't need comforting very often. "I think Nowa will be fine. She cares more about her friends than her social standing in the village. Knowing that she kept you safe is enough for her. But you're right. You have put us in a tight spot. You do realize that you won't be able to stay with us anymore? Taowrol will be targeting us, and we won't be able to keep you safe… but you know all of this already, don't you?"
The man in her arms nodded sadly. "Yeah. I know. But I had to pay for my own decisions at some point right? Still, I'm certain I'll see you and Nowa again sometime. And maybe Echidna too I guess. She's not as bad as I made her out to be at all."
Alleyne actually managed to crack the smallest of smiles. It was hard to frown in the face of Church's optimism. "And what makes you so certain of this?"
Church smiled and shrugged, as if he believed his explanation was not the best, though it was the only one he had. "Well, if two people are determined to see each other again it's fairly likely they will, right?"
"You really believe that?"
He nodded in response. "Yeah, though I would feel a whole lot better if you believed it too."
Alleyne had no ready response, allowing the two of them to share many minutes of silence as they stared out into the lake. This kind of situation was very unusual for the old warrior, who had very few close relationships with other people throughout her entire life, and even less with men. She had not ever had a relationship like this with a man before, even if the relationship was just one of friendship.
After a few minutes, a strange thought occurred to Church. "You know, there's this one poem I just remembered..."
Alleyne cocked an eyebrow at him, unsure of what Church was getting at. "A poem?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I can't remember who wrote it, but it was about... well, I think it was about the end of an adventure. The end of an adventure because of the loss of the captain, who led his men with bravery."
"How do you mean?"
Church furrowed his brow in thought. "Well… it was lamenting the death of a great leader that led his country through dire times."
Even with that explanation, Alleyne couldn't understand what Church was trying to say. "So why did this piece of poetry occur to you right now?"
He smiled forlornly. "Well… you're not dying, I know that. But I mean, I am losing you for now. And I'd like to think you've been a pillar of sorts for me since arriving here. I can't imagine these past few weeks without you around. More than anything else, I'm going to miss just talking to you..."
At his last mournful remark, Alleyne felt a stab of pain in her chest. It was an unusual feeling that the elven woman had not experienced before, even in all of her years of living. She would have attributed this pain to being separated from someone close to her, but even her grandmother's death did not affect Alleyne quite in this exact manner. Still unsure of what the source of this pain was, Alleyne grabbed one of Church's hands in her own. Even in this situation she was unwilling to do anything further on that front.
"I…I'm going to miss you as well, Church. You have given me a type of companionship I have not experienced for many, many years. And even though I do not understand it, for that, I cannot thank you enough."
Despite what she said, Alleyne questioned her own feelings. Why did she feel this way? She'd never felt so pained to be separated from someone. This man… she had known him for barely a month and yet he already held so much importance to her. He had been her friend, but he had been more than that too. He inspired feelings the elven woman had never experienced before… feelings that she didn't know what to think of. Was this love, that Echidna had teased her over for centuries? This…ache in her heart, knowing that this man was going to be taken away from her, perhaps permanently? Or was it just high tension in the heat of the moment? Perhaps these unusual feelings would subside completely the moment this was all over.
She wasn't sure how long the two of them stayed like that, but Alleyne was vaguely aware that the observant angel had disappeared from the scene: perhaps she had realized how personal this time was. Alleyne appreciated the thoughtfulness, grateful that the angel had been so considerate.
As she sat in silence, a thought popped into Alleyne's mind. "Church, who are you going to stay with? I may have to escort you out of the forest, at the very least…"
He shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Some friends found me a little while ago. They'll take care of me."
"Friends?"
"You can trust them."
Alleyne sighed. "I'm not sure I want to. I trust myself far more than these friends of yours."
Another long silence followed the pair as they sat together. Several minutes passed, although neither knew exactly how long. It wasn't awkward or anything: it was a peaceful tranquility, quietly accepted by both parties. It was Church who once again broke it.
"Is this where you grew up, Alleyne?"
The questioned woman answered without giving it much thought. "Yes. How did you know?"
"I noticed some cherries around here, and figured it was the place you mentioned before. You know, speaking of which, I never did get a chance to make those sweets for you…"
For the first time since Church had met her, Alleyne laughed, though it was slight and laced through and through with a tone of great sadness. "I suppose I have been spared. I promise I'll try them next time. But only if you promise to return to Syrinidell during the fall. It is very beautiful around that time of year, and I don't think anyone should miss out on the experience."
Church looked up into her eyes, trying to impart his earnest desire to do just that. "I promise, as long as you do."
She nodded in response. "Of course."
Church smiled and nodded, and Alleyne could only watch as the man drifted back into unconsciousness over the next few minutes. There was nothing he could do to hold off the fatigue from his rough day. Alleyne allowed herself a bittersweet smile as she looked down on him, then sighed as she looked up at the trees, again questioning how she could be so greatly affected by someone she had known so briefly.
"I fail to see what is so good about goodbyes..."
The most prominent change in this chapter was Alleyne's attitude and dialogue. She's far more in character this time around. No tears were shed this time!