"What are you doing here?" Karl asked. He looked genuinely happy to see her, which was weird because in every encounter she had with this guy, she gave the worst impressions ever. Unless he was being nice to her out of pity because she was pathetic. Now, that made sense.
"Tilith told me to," she replied. That was pretty much a summary of her entire journey so far: Tilith told her to do x, so the Summoner did it. It also sounded less troubling than "I woke up here after almost dying."
"Tilith is the goddess who you were referring to earlier, right?"
She nodded. "She's airheaded, but really cool. You'd like her, I think." Tilith was vibrant and energetic, and Karl was cool-headed and patient. They'd get along well. In fact, Lin and Tilith would make good friends, too… "Why are you here, then? It's not like the desert's a place most people visit for pleasure."
Karl smiled. "You're right about that. I'm here because – well, let's get out of this sun, first. It wouldn't do make ourselves miserable while catching up." He led her to a large boulder whose shadow covered the both of them with ease.
"As I was saying, I'm here to meet up with my squadmates. We're in pursuit of the demon Graham." He sat down and placed his heavy lance in front of him, leaning against the surface of the rock. She sat down next to him, folding her legs underneath her. Escaping the sunlight really did wonders; it was like the temperature dropped a good fifteen degrees, even though the sand still felt warm through the seat of her pants.
"Oh?"
"He's not affiliated with any of the Four Fallen Gods, but he's a threat all on his own," Karl explained. "My squad has spent most of its efforts over the past few months trying to track him down, but he slips out of our grasp every time."
"He sounds like a real asshole-" she started, and then froze, because she just cursed. In front of Karl. She felt like she had said it to like, her grandmother or something, and she had crossed some kind of moral line and Karl the Wholesome and Serious Military Boy would be feel uncomfortable with her vulgarity. Way to ruin things, idiot. "I mean, uh-"
Karl laughed. "Yeah, I'd say you're right."
Christ, was this boy even real? She let out the breath she had been holding in, and laughed alongside him.
"At the very least, I know that Graham isn't hurting any innocent people while we chase him down, so I can't say the time we spend is wasted."
"That's fair," she said. "A diversionary tactic is just as effective, even though it'd be nice if he could be stopped once and for all."
He nodded. "Anyway, what have you been up to since I last saw you?"
She paused because, well, a lot happened in the past few days. Karl left before she had even summoned Kuda, and that felt like ages ago. Since then, she'd nearly been killed multiple times (once by his replica!) and made loads of new friends. "Truthfully, I don't know where to start," she said after a moment, looking sheepish.
"That exciting, huh?" Karl said, and he didn't seem bothered by her incapability to make conversation. "I noticed your clothes – Noel made those, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, he did," she said. How did he know that? Oh no, had Noel placed some kind of weird mark on her that branded her as a dog of the Akras Summoners' Hall, or something? That was so him.
"I recognize the design from his collection of armor prototypes. He really likes drawing," Karl said.
"I didn't know that," the Summoner said. "Are you two good friends?" Considering that Noel made a mock-unit of Karl, the possibility was there.
"We're friendly, but I wouldn't call us that," he said, looking thoughtful. "I'd say you two are better friends, if he gifted you one of his inventions."
Calling her good friends with Noel was kind of…
"Wrong! There's no way!" she exclaimed. His supposition was so incorrect that it sent chills down her spine. "He's so cold. I give him nothing but love, but all he does is hurt me." She clutched at her chest. "I wonder if he exchanged his heart for a second brain, or something. It'd explain a lot."
Karl burst into more laughter, and she grinned.
"I'm glad you find my unrequited love amusing. Are all people associated with Akras cruel?" she said with no real venom in her voice, watching his shoulders shake as he doubled over.
"It's been a while since I've laughed like that. Thanks," Karl said, slightly out of breath.
"Anytime." She felt proud that she could make him lose it like that. Even though for all she knew, Karl hung out with people who had the sense of humor of a twig, and rarely got to partake in fine comedy. The Summoner was still glad, because he had a nice laugh and it was a shame that it'd been a while since the world last heard it.
"I take it that you've joined the Army, then?" Karl asked. "Friendship or not, Noel's loyal to Akras above all, and wouldn't give technology to someone with other loyalties."
She nodded. She wasn't sure that she considered herself loyal to the Akras Summoners' Hall – kind of like Lucius, Noel imposed a lot of different things on her, and it was a matter of not denying them rather than outright accepting them. Still, she supposed that she would follow the Hall so long as her superiors didn't command her to slaughter infant for sport or something equally disgusting. "Noel said that joining was an alternative for incarceration because of my crimes."
Karl raised an eyebrow at her, his jovial nature dissipating and being replaced by solemnity and something resembling worry. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, that's a long story, and it wasn't even that serious," she said. "If we go back to the beginning, first—"
And she would have continued her story, if her throat hadn't decided that it didn't like it when she conveyed her thoughts. She coughed, a few small hacks initially, until she spit up some kind of thick slimy liquid into her palm.
"Sorry for being gross," she said, looking at the mucous substance. Eurgh, she hoped that it would wash out of her gloves. It coated her hand in excess, to the point where a glob overflowed and hit the white sand.
It stained the grains red. She stared at it blankly, surprised at how little it bothered her that she probably suffered severe internal damage. Mostly she was annoyed that her tale was interrupted.
"I might want to go see a doctor for this, huh?"
"I'm telling you," the Summoner muttered, her face burning red. "Thank you, but this is unnecessary." She pressed her face against her now-gloveless hands, the bloodied garments shoved haphazardly into the pouch strapped to her thigh.
"I disagree," Karl said, smile disarmingly bright.
He was right, but she wished that he wasn't. She probably would have died in the desert if Karl wasn't there. Karl had all but shoved potions down her throat. Then, the two agreed to go back to Elgaia, and she rose to her feet, and managed to support herself for a second before her stupid legs decided to stop working, too. The sand had broken her fall as she passed out, thankfully, but it was still embarrassing.
But falling over was nothing compared to this. She'd fall over ten more times gladly if it meant she didn't wake up to Karl… gosh, it was mortifying even saying it.
"You could do it a little differently, like over your shoulder," she suggested.
"I wouldn't want to jostle you and aggravate anything," he said. How was he so unaffected by all of this? Bastard.
Admittedly, his hands were cool as he held onto her waist and her legs. Noel got that much right in the mock-unit, at least. Or maybe it was that Karl was normal-temperature, and she was burning up because she was a) dying of embarrassment or b) literally dying (on the inside).
"People are staring," she said, keeping her eyes firmly affixed to the ornate walls of the Hall. Well, it wasn't every day that a guy in bright blue armor came in carrying a useless lump like herself bridal-style. It was some real shoujo-manga style garbage, and she didn't like it one bit. Karl's chestplate dug into her shoulder, and it was uncomfortable.
"I don't really care if people stare," Karl said. "What I do care about, however, is getting you medical attention as quickly as possible."
She couldn't say anything to that, nor could she look him in the eye, either. Had the halls always been this long?
She didn't know why, but the two of them were downright disruptiveas Karl took her somewhere down the winding halls of the building. People stopped in their daily business to turn towards them and watch as he carried her.
It was awful.
Ugh, she gave up. She relaxed in his arms. The Summoner wasn't light by any means, but his grip on her was firm and steady.
"Thank you," she said. "I guess I'll have to save you from a life-or-death situation in the future, so we can be even."
"Let's hope that it never comes to that," Karl replied cheerfully, and that was the end of the matter.
He turned a corner, and then the Summoner realized that she could recognize some of the layout.
"Noel's lab?" she asked.
"I figured that you'd be more comfortable with someone you know," Karl said. "In the end, it's all rather convenient that you joined the Akras Summoners' Hall. Our medical facilities are top-notch, and Noel is probably one of the best doctors in Randall."
Karl stopped in front of the large door, and moved to push the button mounted to the wall to open it, but the door slid open before he could do it.
"Hello," Noel said, sounding stuffy. Which was how he usually sounded. "I've had a cot set up, and you can place her on it."
Karl returned Noel's greeting with a friendly nod, and followed the boy's instructions.
"Okay, feel free to leave now," Noel said, tapping at some sci-fi-looking tablet device. Karl hesitated. Noel looked up at him. "It's nice to be worried for a comrade, but you have a rendezvous, do you not? And the person you have it with doesn't handle tardiness very well."
Karl jolted, as if struck with some kind of realization. "I had forgotten…"
"She's in good hands now," Noel said, "so you can feel comfortable to return to your assigned duties."
The suddenly stressed teen turned to her, looking apologetic. "I brought you all the way here, but I really have to go. I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's no problem!" she said. Why was he apologizing? He was the one who did her the favor. "Thanks for saving my life, by the way."
"Anytime," he said over his shoulder, half-jogging half-running from the lab. She heard the clack of his boots on the ground, and then the slide of the lab's door closing.
She expected some kind of snarky comment from Noel, but there was only silence. The Summoner turned to her favorite broody nerd, and said, "So, hit puberty or something lately?"
"Stop talking. You're going to give me a headache," he said, still tapping fervently at the tablet in his hands. With a snap of his leg, he kicked a rolling chair in her direction, and sat down on it while it was moving, all without looking up. It was pretty impressive.
"Wow."
He ignored her, and held the tablet over her body. She stared blankly at the sleek device. Presumably, it was a body scanner, or Noel was taking photos of her from an extremely unflattering angle.
Noel made a noise that didn't sound very encouraging, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned forwards, closer to the screen.
"So are my insides liquid, or something?" she joked.
"Just about," he said. "How did you even—" He let out an exasperated sigh, and ran a hand through his fringe. "I might go insane trying to explain this."
"You're not really telling me anything here," she said.
"There's a suspicious object inside of you," Noel said, and boy, wasn't that in the top five things you liked hearing from the person in charge of your health? She was quiet for a moment.
"Can we make it… not… inside of me?"
He squinted at the screen. Then he sat back in his seat, flipping open his notebook to a blank page. "It depends. Tell me what happened since I last saw you."
"Are we not worried about my liquefying insides and my coughing-up-blood thing? And the thing I'm carrying, apparently? It could be the Antichrist, for all we know!"
"Oddly enough, the object is keeping you alive," Noel replied, writing at insane speeds. It sounded like the paper would tear under his hand. "At least, that's what I suspect. I wasn't aware that you were coughing up blood. A side-effect, perhaps? Or the thing is slow-acting…" she blanked out as he started using large words that she didn't understand.
"That doesn't discount my Antichrist theory." They wouldn't want the host woman dying before it was born. Duh.
"I don't know what an 'Antichrist' is, nor do I care. Kindly tell me about your experiences, and why you haven't been answering my calls."
"You'll regret those words when this world is plunged into a bloody apocalypse because of the abomination in my womb. Also, your calls? I don't remember getting them."
"It wasn't anything particularly pressing, but it's rather concerning when you don't hear from a soldier in two days."
Two days? Um, what? At her blank look, he rolled his eyes.
"Just start talking. I promise, that'll be the only time you hear me say that."
So she told him what had happened since the last time she went to bother him in his lab – her lunch with Lin, the cut she received from Mifune, the trek up the Tower of Mistral. Her odd defeat of Maxwell's beast, and her conversation with Lucius. Waking up in Morgan and wandering until Karl found her. She talked until her throat demanded water.
"That stone. You still have it?"
"Uh, Kuda has it, I think." She hadn't even checked up on her squad since the battle. What kind of summoner was she, even?
…Claris and Eze. She sat up, only to be pushed down again by Noel.
"Do not make me sedate you," he warned. "I fear your obnoxiousness while under the influence of drugs."
"I…" He was right. She couldn't help anyone until she helped herself.
"The physical manifestations of your squad are entirely dependent on your own power. Therefore, if someone is holding an object while they are summoned, and then their form is destroyed, the item is dropped," Noel explained. "The stone may be at the apex of the Tower of Mistral."
Hmm, really? If that was true, then she felt like Kuda probably would have known that. And that meant…
She reached into her pouch, and amongst the assortment of claws and herbs she stuffed in the leather case, the luminous blue object glowed.
"What a clever guy." She chuckled as she handed the stone to Noel.
He took the object in a pair of tongs, and placed it in a plastic bag. "You said that clearing the den and the Tower took place in the same day, correct?"
"Mhmm."
"Well, since you last appeared in my lab, it's been three days. So you have forty-eight hours that are unaccounted for."
…
What.
Hot coffee. Black, the kind that burned your throat as it went down and clogged your senses with its aroma. Packed with so much caffeine that you knew you wouldn't be sleeping once it hit your tongue.
That was the kind of coffee Noel liked, and the kind he filled his mug with after he put her to sleep. She had been cooperative, thankfully, taking the drugged drink once he explained his intent to her. He'd suffered from horrible patients in the past; he had a scar on his lower back from the last time he treated the leader of the Sky Guardians that still ached when it was about to rain.
…He did not enjoy treating people. There was a reason, multiple reasons that he became a researcher over a doctor. At the same time, he didn't mind treating her so much.
Yes, she was annoying, and refused to treat him with the respect that his station demanded. He was the head of a department, and she was a rookie summoner. Every time she walked into his lab and desecrated it, she'd leave him with questions. Frustrating questions that demanded answers that he couldn't provide. It was maddening, and this time, she'd given him more than he knew how to handle.
"Hi, Noel!" A female – logistics support; Lin Merylham, recently-promoted Operator of the Grand Gaia Survey Office Bureau of Investigation – chirped, sliding into the seat across from him with a tray in her hands. Noel briefly considered retreating to his lab, but decided against it. She was fast when she wanted to be, even though she had little military training beyond the minimum required to join the Hall. He gave a nod in acknowledgement, hoping that it wouldn't encourage her to speak.
His hopes were futile, which was why he'd given up on such things ages ago.
"Whatcha thinking about? A girl?" Merylham asked. "You're at that age, after all."
Here was another ingrate who refused to treat him like the professional that he was. Her statement was so moronic and presumptuous that he felt like he'd be betraying himself if he didn't correct it.
"I've not the time nor the interest to be affected by matters like that," he replied, frowning.
"That's what they all say," she said, waving a hand. He sincerely doubted that was "what they all" said, but couldn't find the energy to comment on it. Merylham had this quality to her that tired him out. It was like she could absorb the vitality of other beings. "Anyways! Are you thinking about my cute redheaded friend? I heard that the leader of Nyonne carried her bridal-style to your lab! Do you think they're an item? I'm a little jealous!"
Of who, Merylham had neglected to mention. Her fast, high-pitched voice only added to the headache digging at his skull. When was the last time he slept…?
And of course Merylham and the rookie summoner were friends. They were both insufferable, and the divine forces that drove the world only existed to make Noel's life miserable, it seemed.
Karl, on the other hand, had attracted quite a bit of gossip with his uncharacteristic panicking. While considered a celebrity in his own right, the boy had never actively sought out fame. Rather, it was awarded to him as a result of his impressive accomplishments. To cause him to behave so unusually... well, the circumstances were unusual as well, but most people wouldn't know that, and the rookie would face a lot of scrutiny when she woke up.
The vindictive part of him crowed in satisfaction at the prospect.
"She's quite injured, actually," he said, and felt perhaps an iota of guilt when Merylham's expression fell, but it was drowned out by relief that she had calmed down.
But like a weed, she sprung back up. "You can handle her just fine though, right?" She stacked her empty plates and dirty utensils together, and stood up. When had she found the time to finish her meal while talking so much?
He felt his eye twitch involuntarily. He was seriously losing it. "Good talk, Noel! See you!"
Of course I can handle it "just fine," Noel thought snidely as he watched her skip away. Well, there was the issue of her internal organs, which had been severely damaged. There seemed to be a mechanism in her – placed by who? – that functionally replaced them. It was about the size of a human liver, and served the functions of a lungs, heart, stomach, and anything else that was damaged. He needed to observe it further to determine its specific functions, and his fingers itched to take it apart.
At the same time, there was the issue of the mechanism supporting the life of the moron who had injured all of her organs. While he enjoyed discovery like scientists were wont to, he was unwilling to sacrifice a life for the sake of it. That'd be betraying one of the many reasons he became a researcher and not a doctor.
She complained about spitting up blood, so there were also possible negative side-effects to be investigated, and that was better motivation than anything. Her life wasn't in any immediate danger, but it was better to identify liabilities before they became a fatality.
Noel opened his notebook and stared hard at the questions he had written down.
What was the object? Who created it, and whose agenda caused it to be placed in the rookie? Why was she so injured? How was she able to use a Blue Stone, which required heavy refinement to be used in even the most esoteric of spells? The cut on her chin that refused to cleanly heal also concerned him – Noel was very familiar with curses, and that wasn't how curses worked.
Where had she gone for two days? At the time, he hadn't been worried by her lack of responses – it was befitting for somebody as scatterbrained as she was. He didn't know what was going on, but he was fairly sure that he wouldn't like it when he found out.
She also took credit for releasing the Mistral region from Maxwell's influence, which was something other summoners hadn't done… well, ever. It'd be a boon to the Hall, because communications would be easier in a region that wasn't heavily influenced by a Fallen God. They'd be able to send lower-ranked summoners to survey the land with more confidence.
A bumbling civilian had accomplished what an entire military couldn't. Admittedly, the threat of the Four Fallen Gods was not urgent, and there was no pressing need to eliminate them, as they'd yet to show any aggression towards humans outside of their domains, but still. He could dress the rookie in as much protective gear as he wanted, but she was still a normal girl playing dress-up. A civilian.
If there was anything Noel was addicted to besides caffeine, it was conundrums. The summoner asleep in his laboratory seemed to be made of them.
He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it all. He set down his empty coffee mug.
Noel's reverie was interrupted by a beep from his phone. A message.
Ah, it was Karl, asking for that girl's phone number.
She woke up in a chair, her arms sinking into comfortable red plush rests. Her neck was sore, like she'd slept in an odd position for too long. The oddest thing, however, was that she was dressed in the clothes she was wearing when she first landed in Grand Gaia. A white hood, black pants, and sneakers.
Probably dreaming, then. The hallucination was exceptionally vivid. The drugs Noel had given her must have been some crazy stuff, she thought as she tugged at the spot on her hoodie where she had been stabbed before.
She took in her surroundings again. The walls were a tasteful cream, and decorated with dim yellow lights that gave the room – no, auditorium – a mellow, muted feel. It was a nice theater. There was even an orchestral pit, and a stage bathed in brilliant white light.
In front of her, jutting out of the next row's seats, there was a screen that displayed… her own body, lying unconscious in the bed in Noel's lab.
Well, this was trippy. She watched herself for a few minutes. It was as interesting as watching a sleeping person was, so she stood up and decided to explore. Hopefully, she wouldn't trip off any traps.
Except the divine powers guiding this world hated her or something, because as she stepped into the aisle and made to exit the theater, she was bound in something that really resembled Kuda's whip-sword.
And there he was, looming a few rows above her.
"Oh, hi," she said. "Fancy seeing you here." She made a gesture with her head towards the weapon binding her arms to her sides. "Haven't we been through this already?"
Something like surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Your clothes look cooler," she said. His hair was also longer, and decked out with jewelry. The red cloak he draped over his shoulders had patterns, and a tattered black cape was layered underneath it. All in all, she was impressed with his swaggy clothes, and the fact that he had her tied up while dressed really well in one of her hallucinations had weird psychological implications that she didn't want to think about. Wait. "Where are my priorities?"
Kuda snorted. It seemed that he was finished with his review of her. He was probably jealous of her super-stylish hoodie (she still mourned its loss outside of this dream-world). Her restraints were removed. He coiled the whip around his wrist as he walked down the steps of the auditorium towards her.
"Your cut's healed," he said, running a finger up her neck to the corner of her mouth. She drew away from his touch.
"That tickles, jerk!" she swatted his hand away, and felt the area for herself. "That's weird, though, because it's not healed in real life. So, what's with the get-up?"
"You're in your own mind currently. Here, I have some agency in my appearance. In the physical world, I'm limited by your power." Kuda draped himself across one of the chairs of her mind (how did that make any sense?) and poked at one of the tablets displaying her body in the lab. "If I appeared in this form while you were conscious, it might kill you."
"Well, I'm sorry for being unable to sustain your greatness," she said, rolling her eyes. "So that means I'm not hallucinating, and you're not the product of a drugged-up fever dream, then?"
Silence.
Then, he sighed softly. "I can't believe I was worried about you," he muttered into his palm.
"Hehe. You were worried about me?"
He gave her a very flat look. She hummed and plopped onto the seat next to him.
"Now, there's no need to be shy! You can feel free to declare your undying love to me any time you like—"
The Summoner stopped in the middle of her awesome joke because Kuda did that annoying ninja-thing of his where he disappeared into thin air. Then he reappeared on top of her, pinning her wrists to the armrests.
"If I did that, what would you do?" He pressed his forehead against hers, his bangs tickling her face as he stared at her, eyes intense green in the dim light.
Her mouth felt very dry all of a sudden. A single thumb rubbed her forearm in a deliberate, sensuous way that made her want to squirm. "Would you accept my feelings-"With his other hand, he traced the edge of her cheek. "-or would you break my heart?"
Words, what were they? She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Uh…"
His eyes were half-lidded. He pressed the pad of his thumb into the soft skin of her cheek. "Really, that was too easy." Then he was leaning against the wall with his arms over his chest, looking smug as hell.
She blinked. He just… he…
"You know, you don't have to resort to physical aggression every time you feel embarrassed," she said, staring at the ceiling as she rubbed at the back of her neck. Man, the ceiling was great. It was carved with cool designs, and was way better than Kuda. The ceiling would never betray her. "I don't think that anyone disagrees with the fact that you're way stronger than I'll ever be."
"You shouldn't make jokes if you can't take them," he said, looking unimpressed.
Ugh, he was right. Damn it.
"Alright, you got me. I've either got to stop being my wonderful humorous self, or I need to develop nerves of steel." She needed to step up her game, or else Kuda would beat her, and that was simply unacceptable.
"I wouldn't know what to do if you stopped acting the way you do," Kuda said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Ha ha ha," she said. "So you said that this is my own mind. What does that mean, exactly, and what are you doing here? Also, why is it a huge auditorium?" It was impressive and nice, but why?
"Magic-users can access their own minds with enough training, and can converse with other magic-users telepathically. It's a powerful skill, as it allows one to organize their mind in an instant. As a summoner, you can convey your will to your summons, plan, and strengthen your mental bonds with them in ways impossible otherwise." Zephyr's voice cut across the room, and damn, those acoustics were gorgeous. "I can't tell you why your mind appears the way it does, but it's often a reflection of a place you consider comfortable. A sanctuary, of sorts. There have been cases in which a mind shifts in appearance, or becomes an antagonistic force rather than a sympathetic one."
"And that's a thing I can do?" She was confused, because she was generally talentless and had no experience with magic. Moreover, was Zephyr there the entire time? Because if he was, she seriously hoped that Maxwell would sweep in and murder her where she stood. She wasn't brave enough to ask, though.
…Her sanctuary. Hmm.
"I didn't expect it from you so soon, but I did believe you had the capacity for it," he replied. Zephyr then seemed to melt into the shadows, stepping out from behind a pillar near her. He was also dressed in more elaborate clothing, a headpiece adorning his blonde spikes, his armor much more ornate than it was previously, and whoa, was that a cape she saw?
She was proud of him.
"After reviewing your current condition, you seem to have swallowed a formula that has forcibly placed you in a coma. It's also refined the magic running through you, in an attempt to encourage natural healing. The state of your body is rather concerning…" he said, looking troubled. "While you're in this state, you are completely at the mercy of anyone around you."
"It's okay," she said. "He's grouchy and deeply disturbed, but I trust him." Noel would find a way. She thought of a saying that suited him perfectly – if the wall that he faced was taller, he'd build a longer ladder to scale it.
She'd be fine.
Zephyr looked unconvinced, but then again, he'd yet to see Noel's adorable face contorted into his characteristic scowl. "So long as you feel reassured, I suppose. I do, however, propose that we spend this time productively, and start your magic training. I'm grateful for your companion's formula for that, at least – with you in your mindscape, we've saved quite a bit of time."
Kuda shifted. "How effective would physical training be in this state?"
"Hmm. While she'd suffer from a lack of muscle memory, it does have its merits. Considering that our summoner doesn't know the theory behind common battle strategy, you and Michele have a lot to teach her even without access to her body."
The assassin inclined his head. "I'll have to go over plans with Corkscrew, then."
Wait…the Summoner lifted a hand, but Kuda disappeared from sight before she could say anything.
"That sounds horrifying! When were those two even on speaking terms?"
"Michele is cooperative when discussing tactics, I've discovered. Even more so when it comes to your safety," Zephyr said.
This information dump was on the verge of becoming an overload. Eurgh, if there was a pair who was capable of making her feel agony in her own mind, it had to be Michele and Kuda.
"Shall we move along, then?" She nodded numbly, and let Zephyr take her hand and lead her out of the hall into the expanse beyond.
"By the way." The Summoner looked up at Zephyr, rather than focusing at her feet (and not tripping). He was casting her a look over his shoulder.
"What is it?"
"After the battle at the Tower of Mistral, you disappeared for two days without a trace. While you've not emerged from the situation unscathed, I'm glad you're safe again."
…Oh, that was really sweet.
"Thank you."
Then, I realized absolutely nothing happened in this chapter. Whoops.
Sometimes, I'm sickened by how trashy I can make this story. Truly, I have no shame.
WHAT IS THIS NON-CANON GARBAGE YOU'RE PUTTING IN MY BF NOVELIZATION well I did say it was AU, and it'd be boring if you knew everything that was going to happen in advance. :^)
In fic-related news, the poll for the next unit voting is still up, and will remain up until the chapter before the winner appears. Also, the venerable choco-tan99 has drawn me gorgeous art that I'm undeserving of! I've put it on my profile so you all can feast your eyes on it.
Thanks for reading!
-eris