Damn, it feels like I'm running out of motivation to write… is this what they call "writer's block"? Someone give me inspiration, quick! XD
I'm also running out of ideas of what stuff to put in this foreword…
Oh yeah, this is going to be the last Thursday update for a while. School starts on September 5 for me, so updates after this one will come every Sunday. I'll try to keep the quality good, tho'!
Anyway, welcome to chapter 16! Not an eye-wrenchingly long chapter like the cooking one, but it's longer than chapter 15. In other words, not too short, not too long. Enjoy!
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The next morning came, and the smell of cooking wafted up the stairs. Ein sniffed the air as he got dressed.
"Wonder what Coco's cooking this morning," he thought aloud.
He exited his room and headed for the stairs. He stopped by Fia's door, which was still closed. He debated knocking, and after a moment, decided to knock.
"Hello? Fia?" He got not response.
Ein opened the door a crack to get a peek in. He was surprised to find that Fia wasn't inside. He closed the door and headed down the stairs.
"Good morning, master Ein," Coco greeted as he entered the kitchen.
"Morning," Ein returned. "Have you seen Fia?"
"Oh, Fia left quite early this morning," Coco replied. "Here, some breakfast?" She handed him a plate with fried eggs, ham, and bread.
"Thanks, Coco." Ein took the plate. "I wonder what she's doing?"
"Are you worried?" Coco winked slyly. "Heh, figures…"
"Ahem, did you say something?" Ein asked between bites.
"No, nothing." Coco quickly turned away and started cleaning.
"Say, where were you yesterday?" Ein asked.
"Huh? Yesterday?" Coco thought for a moment. "Out picking fruits in the morning, running away from the beast a little later, bathing in the spring after that, and then some afternoon gardening. I went to take another bath after gardening." She counted off her fingers as she listed her activities. "Why? Did ya miss me?"
"Oh, I was just wondering why you were out of the house the whole day," Ein answered. He glanced up at Coco. "Say, did you notice anything odd about Fia when she left this morning?"
"What's with all these questions?" Coco asked. "Feels like I'm on trial or something. Fia… well, now that you mention it, she did seem somewhat preoccupied."
"Preoccupied? How?"
"And she looked like she'd been crying all night, too," Coco continued. "Her eyes were a little red. When I went into her room this morning to do some cleaning, I found the pillow all wet."
"Hmm." Ein took a bite out of the egg. "How did she seem preoccupied?"
"Well, she was walking into things." Coco flew up onto the table and sat down in front of him. "Did something happen last night?"
"Um, I don't know, actually," Ein answered. "I think something did, because she just ran off for no good reason, and locked herself in her room afterwards. She didn't want to talk to me after that."
Coco got up and stretched a bit. "Did you do something to her then?"
"Wha? No! Why would I?" Ein cried.
"Well, it's clear that something did happen," Coco said. "You better talk to her when you next get the chance."
"Yeah, Rose said the same thing," Ein added. He finished up his breakfast. "Is there any milk left?"
"Milk? Oh, yes, coming right up!" Coco flew towards the fridge and pulled out a carton. She then grabbed a cup and poured out a cupful of milk. After returning the cup to the fridge, she carried the cup to Ein.
"There ya go." Coco set it down in front of him.
"Thanks." Ein took a sip. "You're pretty strong for your size, Coco."
"Really?" Coco's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Aw, it's nothing."
Ein chugged the rest of the milk and brought the cup and his plate to the sink. "Thanks for the meal, Coco. I'm gonna go look for Fia."
"Okay! See you later!" Coco returned to her cleaning.
Ein entered the living room to find Rose and Ledah sleeping together on a couch. Ledah had his back to the backrest, and Rose lay in front of him in his embrace. Ledah had his wings gently wrapped around Rose. Both of them had their shirts off at the side. Ein tiptoed past them towards the door, put on his shoes, and left.
He reached the grove before he realized he'd left his Angel Blade at the house. Oh well, I don't think I'll need it…
"Hey, Ein!"
Ein looked up to see Reiche holding an orange rock. "Hey, Reiche."
"What's wrong? You look kinda down." Reiche tossed the rock into the air a couple times.
"Well, Fia's avoiding me today," Ein replied. "I don't really know what's wrong. I want to find her to talk to her, but she left early this morning."
"Aw, that sucks." Reiche took another rock out, this one a swirl of green and light blue, and juggled the two in one hand. "I haven't seen her around. Did something happen last night or something?"
"That's what I'm wondering," Ein answered. He hopped onto a boulder and sat down. "What do you think?"
"Well, I'm not too professional with girls myself, but I'd say something happened recently that's got her upset," Reiche advised him. "You'd better find out what's got her so upset." He set the rocks down and took a seat beside Ein.
"Yeah, I'm planning to do that, but first I have to find her, right?"
"No kidding, man. You can't find a solution without knowing the problem first."
"Right." Ein lay down flat on the boulder and stared up at the cloudless sky. He squinted against the morning sun. "But you know, I don't want to make her more upset by asking a stupid question, or a question she thinks is stupid."
"That's true…"
"Well, in any case, I have to find her." Ein hopped off the boulder and glided his way down. "Thanks, Reiche. I feel a bit more motivated now.
"Uh, no problem?" Reiche watched Ein glide away, and shook his head. "Looks like we both have a lot to learn about women," he said to himself.
Ein made his way through a small dirt path that led to Serene's house. Maybe I should ask her? He arrived at the house, which seemed quite plain from the outside. His knock received no answer, so he entered through the unlocked front door.
He surveyed the inside when he entered. The floor was clean and smooth, the walls simple. Several wooden chairs circled a central table. This must be the living room, he thought. He saw the scythe that Serene had showed them last night laying on the central table. Several other scythes lay behind a couch.
Ein walked towards the nearby door, and saw two pictures hanging on the wall as he passed by. One showed Serene looking away at a sunset over a cliff. The other was a painting, with Serene and Lina. Serene sat with Lina's head in her lap. Both pairs of eyes were half closed, staring into each other's eyes, as if in a trance. But what caught Ein's eye the most was that they were both completely naked, and he stood staring for a full minute before shaking himself out of his reverie.
He entered the door into the kitchen, which he found very tidy but unfurnished. A barrel of water sat in a corner next to a storage room door. The refrigerator stood on the opposite side, next to a stove that had been hardly used. A sink had a drain that led outside over the grass. Finding the kitchen fairly boring, he left and went up the flight of stairs.
Ein approached a door that was open a crack. Sunlight streamed from the crack, and he could hear faint sobbing and voices coming from the room. Curiosity overcame him, and he sat down near the doorway and listened quietly.
"…he said he likes her!" Fia's voice drifted out between sobs. "After all that! Wh-what is wrong w-with him?"
"Hey, there, there." Serene's voice gently soothed Fia. "That guy's a jerk. Don't let him get to you."
"Don't call him a jerk!" Fia suddenly sprung onto the defense. "I can't forgive him for that, but he's still a good guy, and I still like him!" She broke down in tears again. "Why… why can't I let go of him?"
"Lina thinks you shouldn't!" Lina's cheery voice wafted out too. "If Fia still likes him, Fia should go for him!"
"Huh?" Fia asked, surprised. "Lina? But why?"
"I think she's right," Serene agreed. "If you can't let go of him, that's probably a sign that you shouldn't be trying to in the first place. If you still love that je- if you still love Ein, then go after him with all your heart!"
"But he loves Rose!" Fia wailed. "I can't make him change his feelings!"
Rose? Ein thought. What is she talking about? And, she loves me?
"How do you know that?" Serene asked.
"He was talking about it last night," Fia answered. She started to cry again, so Serene took her in her arms and let her cry on her shoulders. Shaking, she continued, "He said, he was talking about Rose that time, and that he thought she was cute and he liked her!"
Oh no, Ein thought. This is so wrong… she's got it so wrong. And what's worse, Serene wasn't there to hear the conversation, so she doesn't know it's not true. Neither was Lina.
"Oh, man, you're not kidding?" Serene exclaimed, shocked. "But hey, I thought Rose was with Ledah!"
"Yeah!" Lina chimed in. "Rose said she was with Ledah that night, and they even kissed!"
"Lina! Watch it!" Serene scolded.
Fia suddenly stopped crying, and looked up. "What did you say? Rose and Ledah?"
"Yeah," Serene confirmed. "Rose obviously loves Ledah. If Ein started to go for Rose, I'll bet Ledah would beat him to a pulp."
"Unless Ein was serious!" Lina giggled. "If Ein was serious, he could beat Ledah!"
"But hold on here," Fia said. "If Rose likes Ledah, then what about Ein?"
"I don't think Rose likes Ein that way," Serene assured her. "The two of them have been together longer than I can imagine, but I don't think they share that kind of relationship."
"But what if Ein likes Rose?" Fia protested. "What if he has feelings for her?"
"It'd all be one-sided, wouldn't it?" Serene replied. "And besides, you might have heard wrong."
"Oh, I don't know anymore." Fia cried on Serene's shoulder again, burying her head as far as she could. "Sometimes, I envy your easy relationship."
Serene grinned at Lina. "Well, we're just lucky, I guess. But you know what? The kind of thing you're facing right now will work to strengthen your relationship in the future."
"Huh?" Fia looked up, eyes red with tears. "What does that mean?"
"That means you'll love him more!" Lina chirped.
"That might not be the case," Serene said. "It's a complicated thing. But if Ein has to choose between you two, he'd have to put more thought into it rather than if he just goes along with you."
"Th-that makes sense, I guess," Fia said. "But still! This is so much to take!"
"Look, Fia," Serene put her hands on Fia's shoulders, pushing her away a bit and looking into her eyes. "Go and talk to Ein. Learn the truth about all this. You can't make a decision until you do that."
Fia closed her eyes and shook her head, forcing the tears out and sending them flying. "You're right, but… I don't know if I can face him…"
"You can do it!" Lina exclaimed. "Fia! Fight!"
"The Fia I know would be able to do it." Serene smiled. Fia looked up into her eyes. "Go for it!"
"O-okay." Fia's eyes filled with a new determination. "Thanks, you two. I'll be sure to come back if I have any more problems."
"We'll be here to give you support when you need it," Serene replied with her smile. "Come on, show us the smile we all love so much."
"Huh?" Fia blushed. "Mm, thanks." She brought her head up higher, and the bright smile came back onto her face, its energy pulsing with the sun. "Okay, I'm going." She wiped her face of the tears. "Thank you so much, Serene, and you too, Lina."
"No problem." Serene winked. "Come back when you need support again."
"Will do." Fia headed for the door, where Ein was still listening, not aware that Fia was about to exit.
"Whaa!" Fia stumbled over a body as she exited. She regained her balance and got a closer look, but the white wings instantly gave her the answer. "Ein!" she exclaimed.
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A/N: Heh, poor Ein. That rift is getting larger and larger XD. I don't intend to spoil the story, so I'm gonna shut my mouth now XD
Reiche doesn't strike me as a girl-chaser, but I think he could give Ein a little bit of advice. Not as much as some other guys, though… I'm sure Claude could give him more advice. I'm equally sure the girls would give him even better advice XD
Ah, and yes, the two pictures on the wall. Eh heh heh, Ein the perv XD
On the next chapter of The White Wings…
Chapter 17: Busted! (Release on September 3, 2006)
Fia dashes off, leaving Ein with Serene and Lina. After talking to the two for a while, Ein leaves. Serene and Lina play around inside the house, and find out some rather interesting things about the other's underwear habits… Meanwhile, outside, Ein gets lost and meets an unexpected adversary… Perverted yuri, you've been warned! XD