Me: Sorry for not updating. They might be coming slower from now on because of school. I try working on it on weekends, but that's like at 12AM to 1 AM that I get time to do it.

Jeff: Stupid Cichol… I can take him you know that!

Me: Another character appears and the Mabinogi idol! If any of you know who that OC is, not mine though, feel free to comment but I won't be accepting anymore OC's.

Jeff: Stop ignoring me!

Me: I'm also adding titles to chapter now, just so it'll be easier for everyone. Enjoy!


Yuki's miracle was one of the best things that's ever happened, but that didn't stop the truth from haunting him. Half-formor…. How could that be? Who in the right mind would ever have a child with a formor? I-it's absurd! Whoever his parents were, they must've really loved him to let him be half formor and leave him to fend for himself.

'I have to pull myself together...There has to be something I can do.' He looked at his palms and tightened them into a fist. 'If Yuki can feel then I can be human.' Something didn't look right for some reason. A small black dot was on his wrist. Noel studied it carefully, unable to comprehend the mark.

After a long while Yuki had stopped her drunken stupor of happiness because of a large mass forming. All around them wolves and foxes had gathered. There were so many that you could only see a shadowy mass of glowing eyes. She quickly went to Noel who was staring at his wrist.

"We've have to leave now Noel, the formors are acting strange!" She urged but stopped in shock. Both her and Noel's eyes were wide at what they saw. Below the dot on his wrist a seven had formed.

"The formor sign…" Quickly Noel ran through the swarming wolves and foxes to reach Jeff. Along the way they barked and nipped him, each trying to pull him in, trying to have him join them. Ignoring them, he threw Jeff over his shoulder and ran as far as he could. Tir Chonaill won't be safe with him near. Nowhere would.

He urgently lifted Jeff as high as he could. "Yuki, take Jeff to Dilys right away!" He commanded.

Normally she would've argued. However now was not the right time. Yuki took the laborious job of flying him there. Noel turned and ran as he saw Yuki at a safe height with Jeff. He ran and ran until the formors reached the edge of their territory.

Gasping for air, Noel check his surroundings. He was right at the center of the logging camp. Everything seemed safe and there were only raccoons around. After finding a small tent that wasn't filled with logs, he caught his breathe. Things had calmed down, there was nothing left to do but to wait for Yuki to find him.


Maybe being able to feel wasn't the greatest gift ever. Jeff was a real pain to carry; along the way he kept stirring. Dilys was quite irked to see Jeff again for the second time. Still she tried to make small talk with Yuki.
"Amazing! So you can feel objects and textures?" said Dilys, as she rubbed ointment on Jeff's scratched body.

"It's the most amazing thing, Dilys!" flinging her arms as she spoke. "There are some things that I don't enjoy feeling though, such as Jeff's rough skin or the pain of scratching my hand."

"Everything comes with a good and a bad. I'm sure if you think about it you will find something that is worth all the pain you've felt." Dilys started wrapping Jeff's head in bandages.

"Noel…"

"What was that?" Dilys looked up from what she was doing.

"Ah- Noel's sheep, he found some sheep and let me pet them!" turning slightly red as she stuttered.

"Yes sheep's wool is very comforting. They make good bandages as well. You must really love to pet Noel's sheep."

"O-oh yea, very much." Yuki averted her eyes to the floor after speaking.

"Just help me with this one last adjustment and he'll be all patched up. Just hold up his hand for a moment while I add some ointment and moisturizer. His hand is as rough as a rat man's hide."

Doing as she was told, she gently lifted Jeff's hand. The coarse texture bothered her, but if it'll heal him then there's no choice. Yuki stared intently at his hand and wondered.

'I wonder… What does Noel's hand feel like...' she thought as she looked at her empty hand.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Dilys jumped up.

"Alright, we're done! Now get that mutt out of my clinic. Oh and for the record, Noel's sheep may be comforting but interaction and skin ship is good for the soul as well."

"Um…? Thank Dilys I'll keep that in mind. Sorry to bother you, but we can't pay this time. We can't find Noel's gold pouch."

"Don't worry about it at all, Yuki. Tell Noel that I'm not going to charge him a thing."

"Thank you very much. We'll be leaving now." Yuki gingerly lifted the limp Jeff off his bed and went to return to her mace. All the while she muttered in confusion, "Skin ship?"

"Oh and I hope Noel finds his gold pouch!" Dilys shouted after her. She sat down and smiled to herself. "People think will think I'm silly for giving Jeff a free fix up, but he was sent by Noel. So I'll let it by this time, but it sure is a good thing I found Jeff's pouch." Dilys smirked as she tossed a jingling pouch in her hand.

In the mean time Noel had tried to busy himself by polishing his mace. For an old mace it was in pretty good condition. The handle was smooth and had a soft orange glow to it but the real eye catcher was the intricately shaped head that would fire a blinding reflection of the sun. Even in the darkest of nights if it could catch even a small light it would glimmer with beauty. In admiration, Noel held it up toward the sky and turned it a bit. Right now it seemed to have lost its luster however, which is strange because it usually takes at least a full two Samhains for it to grow dull. He gave the mace another gentle rub. It still didn't shine. Noel rubbed and rubbed and slowly grew more agitated. Furrowing his brow in frustration and exhaustion he gave his sore arm a rest. His wrist was sore and Eweca had already risen in the while.

The next moment Jeff was harshly dropped beside him. Noel turned to his mace to see it emitting a small glow, signaling Yuki was resting within it. Far too tired to talk he went to sleep as well.


A stray beam of light made its way into Jeff's eyes. Slowly and painfully he got up. Sleeping on stones and dirt does wonders for your body. Quickly cracking his bones into place he looked around. Noel was sleeping against the side of the tent with his head drooping and in his hand was the mace, as usual. Stretching his arm over his head, Jeff made his way towards the woods to relax.

A boy (who was no older than Noel but not quite that much younger) dispatched of a once growling bear. With a satisfied grunt he blew his slick black hair out of his eyes.

"And another one bites the dust, eh Nemu?" He propped his claymore onto his shoulder.

Behind him a cheerful female sword ego appeared.

"You said it, Big Bro, but aren't you tired of hunting bears all the time?" Nemu glided around the bear corpse as it began to fade.

"Aw come on now, it's not that bad." He brushed off his light green swordsmanship uniform that had accumulated dirt from the days of living in the woods. "Besides, Nao asked me to wait here."

Nemu played with one of her pig-tails as she mulled over the idea. "We've been here for weeks and nothing's happening. I'm getting bored of this, Brother."

"Just wait a little longer," he thought over this idea as well. It was a rather uncanning. "A half-formor is just ridiculous. However Nao doesn't think it's mean and wants to meet here to start the plan. So please be patient." giving her an endearing smile.

The sword spirit flew straight up to his face, practically nose to nose. "I'll wait, but if we stay here for the rest of eternity just remember whose idea it was." She stubbornly bore her gaze into his brown, cheerful eyes.

He playfully bowed, "Of course, Master."

Bewildered, Jeff eyed this young boy. My Morrighan it was like watching another Noel. Only he wasn't as depressed, which was a nice change of beat. Standing happily with his ego was a boy emitting a somewhat holy energy. That could only mean one thing; he was under Nao's watch.

"Hey, kid!" Jeff sized him up, "What're you doing here?" He spoke with a dominating voice.

The boy turned to a dirty, bandaged up young man and retaliated by jabbing his claymore into the ground.

"Erinn is a free land, and I am a traveler of these free lands. You, sir, do not have the right or the authority to speak to me in such a manner about my business."

Taken a bit back by his formality, Jeff hesitated.

"N-Na… I am… What're you up to and what's Nao got to do with it?"

Before anyone could speak a flash of light went off. A pair of black slippers gently landed on the ground.

"Please don't fight," her fair hands folded in front. "I can explain everything, Jefferson."

Jeff sent a deadly glare to where a muffled laugh was coming from.

"Shaoshu, don't laugh at Jefferson," her brows wrinkled above her crystal blue eyes. "We have serious matters to attend to."

Shaoshu stood at attention and put on a stern face. The grave atmosphere was strong. The woods grew quiet, no one spoke.


Back at the storage tent Noel had woken up. He carefully sheathed Yuki; trying not to wake her. Stifling a yawn he headed towards the woods to relieve himself, leaving the mace alone for a bit. There's no way Yuki is going to watch him pee if she happened to wake up. After finishing his business, Noel heard whispers somewhere between the trees. There he spotted three people with very grim faces.


Jeff and Shaosu turned to Nao waiting for her to speak. She looked back at them with her quiet, calm blue eyes.

"I have been asked personally by Goddess Morrigahn to…" Nao looked down at the ground, "to remove the threat Cichol has presented to Erinn."

Jeff crossed his arms and looked suspiciously at her. "And that threat would be?"

"Noel."

Shaosu bluntly stated looked at Jeff with a bored stare.

"Unfortunately Shaosu is right. When I first heard Noel was half-formor I didn't think it was a big deal. Now it is, no matter how small something may seem, if Cichol wants it, it means no good."

"Well that still doesn't explain why that brat is there." Jeff threw his thumb to Shaosu.

"Shaosu here has been dispatching of formors around the area, Noel would attract too many to take on at once." Nao walked over to Shaosu and held his hand. His face lit on fire. "He's also agreed to help Noel's situation."

An evil grin found it's way onto Jeff's face: such good blackmail here. "I don't see how a kid is going to help defeat Cichol."

"For someone who's supposed to be 'wiser' you just don't see the big picture." said Shaosu who'd stayed relatively quiet the entire time. "We can't beat Cichol, but we can prevent his plan from happening. I'm here to keep Cichol away from Noel."

Even though they haven't gotten along, Jeff actually felt some gratitude from his offer. "Alright, but what if we can't keep Cichol away from Noel?"

Shaosu and Nao looked at each other hesitantly. Nao looked at him pleadingly, unable to say it.

"Noel would have to die." Shaosu whispered, casting his eyes downward.

Jeff choked back his surprise. Another choke was made in the distance, but wasn't heard. "H-he's just a kid, we can't kill him." Compassion from Jeff… Strange.

"I don't want to kill, Jeff…" Shaosu tightened his grip on Nao's hand, which he still held, "I want to protect."

"These are our only options. Please take Shaosu with you and stop Cichol's plans. I beg you." A slightly red, Nao begged.

Jeff gravely nodded and beckoned Shaosu to follow him. He turned to return to Noel but decided to take a final blow.

"Well I can't take him with me if you glue him to your hand like that."

They both released their hands as if they were on fire.

"A-ah be safe out there you two." Nao turned to Shaosu, "Please stay safe." Looking deep into his eyes

He shyly nodded and they were off. The walk was slow and quiet most of the way. Midway Jeff spoke up.

"Wooh, that sure was hot back there, huh Shaosu?" Jeff waved his hand and pulled out his collar. In response he got an elbow to the ribs and a blushing Shaosu.

"She doesn't think of me like that." said Shaosu, looked at the sky.

"But you do." Jeff looked at Shaosu, all joking aside.

Without a work, Shaosu hastened his pace and left Jeff behind. Jeff folded his hands behind his head and let out a sigh.

"Teenage drama…"


Yuki had woken hours ago to a scary shock. Noel wasn't there with his warm smile and usual "good morning" s. The mace was just sitting abandoned on the ground. She took to the skies to find him. Finally she spotted a small light-blue speck. Swooping down, she discovered Noel huddled against a log off to the side of the woods. Immediately she desperately hugged him.

"Where did you go? You scared me!" she cried, digging her head into his back. He felt cold. "Noel, are you ok?"

No response.

Yuki's face softened. She stopped crushing him, but still held him close. His eyes were flickering as he stared at the ground.

"I'm here, Noel." Yuki comforted as she placed her hand on top one of his. They stayed like that for hours.

Noel had finally come to and realized it was dark. He also realized his back was very warm and comfortable as he unconsciously leaned into it. Though he turned extremely red when he realized the warmth was Yuki who had her sleeping head on his shoulder and arms around him. Her face was so close to his.

So so close…

"Holy Morrigahn, what am I thinking!" Noel almost screamed out loud, slapping his hands over his mouth.

Without a moment to lose he picked up Yuki and headed back to where the mace laid. Unfortunately Noel finally noticed something about Yuki; her clothes were rather… scanty. Two pieces of cloth tied into a knot doesn't exactly pass for a blouse and dress, unless you like to dress practically nude that is.

Once reaching the tent, Noel picked up the mace. But before recalling Yuki he peeled off his Messenger's wear jacket and gingerly put it on her. He chuckled at the sight. His coffee jacket didn't quite match Yuki's olden clothes, but at least it covered her… more. Noel sheathed the mace and pulled at his navy neck tie over his light gray short sleeves. The night wasn't' so cold so he could survive with this get up for a day. The cold season was coming though, and now that Yuki could feel her clothing needed a change.

Behind him footsteps appeared.

"Finally we found you! We've been looking for hours!" Jeff yelled, "We even looked at Dunbarton and everything!"

Shaosu looked at this innocent face. The steely gaze grabbed more of his attention though.

"Hey there, I'm Shaosu." He extended his hand with a smile.

Noel stared at his with a blank expression and slowly grabbed it. "H-hi…"

"Don't worry about him; he's just shy is all. He'll warm up to you soon enough." Jeff nudged Shaosu, "This brat is Shaosu, and he's gonna be with us for awhile, end of discussion."

Noel hadn't even bothered to try to keep the discussion going. He quietly stared at Jeff and Shaosu for awhile.

"I'm tired… I'm going to sleep in the next tent over. Good night you guys." Noel turned without waiting for a respond.

"I didn't know the guy was so shy." Shaosu looked surprised, "Did I scare him?"

"I dunno, you guys are barely a year apart. Shouldn't your brains work alike or something?"

"They work a lot better than yours…" mumbled Shaosu.

"Only one he really talks to is his ego. They cling to each other like baby to a pacifier. You take away Yuki and he'll bawl like a baby."

"They must be really close."

"His ego is crazy, it can even feel objects."

Shaosu's eyes widened. "That can't be. How did that happen?"

"Cichol…" Jeff remembered as he turned to Shaosu.

They simultaneously thought, "That can't be good."

Once safe inside the other tent, Noel gripped at his frantic heart. That boy… that boy would either be his protector, or his murderer… He slid down against the wall onto the dirt floors.

'I never chose any of this… I never wanted this! Why is this happening?' Noel cried out inside.

Where were his parents to protect him? Where were the parents to comfort him? Where were the parents to love him? He looks no different from everyone else yet he is still hated.

Noel bit his lip as his wrist burned. He was horrified to see small black tendrils had formed a band around his wrist. Noel quickly ripped off his right sleeve and wrapped it around his wrist. Once the cloth was wrapped around his wrist, he released the breath he was holding. If that Shaosu guy sees his arm, he might just lose it.

Unable to sleep, Noel pulled out his mace. A sleeping Yuki appeared.

"Huh… Oh, hi Noel." She was surprised to see Noel's usual docile smiles.

"Good morning."

She giggled looking at his appearance. He was only wearing a gray V neck shirt, navy neck tie, and messenger pants so late at night. His right sleeve was ripped and wrapped around his wrist. Yuki gasped once she realized what was under the cloth.

"Is everything ok?" She asked as she gently held his wrist.

"I'm fine, Yuki. I don't feel any difference. I just wanted to cover the mark. Want to sit?" he patted the ground next to him.

Yuki looked him over, other than his clothing, Noel seemed fine. She flew to sit next to Noel but noticed something swaying around her. She still had Noel's jacket on.

"Why am I wearing this, Noel?" Yuki made herself comfortable next to him.

She unconsciously laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't really notice.

"You were sleeping," he flushed as he continued his sentence, "and I wanted to cover you up…" finishing with a whisper.

It was enough for Yuki to hear though as she turned red too. He handed her some empty bottles.

"I guess you're hungry by now. You can have these, if you want I mean." Noel avoided her eyes, still feeling embarrassed.

Yuki mumbled thanks and accepted the bottles, looking to the right.

"Well good night, Yuki." He said as he lay down on his side.

"A-aren't you going to withdraw me?" Yuki was surprised, and scared at the same time. She's never slept outside of her mace.

Noel let out a chuckle. "If you're really that scared, Yuki, you can always sleep nearby."

She slowly lowered herself next to Noel. Yuki stared at the ceiling then turned over. Noel had her back to her, which felt rather uncomfortable.

Noel slightly jumped as he felt Yuki's arms wrap around him.

"Y-Yuki that's a little too close…" he murmured.

"You said I could." She sighed, feeling safer.


"Hey, Master." Nemu came out of her hiding. "That guy before, with the whitish hair, his spiritual energy was way higher than most milletians."

"Was it? I couldn't really feel anything, but there's something off about him." Shaosu pulled an apple from his pack.

"He's the one Nao mentioned, right?"

Shaosu nodded

"It's his formor side…" Nemu thought out loud, "Formors are more spiritual than humans and milletians."

Shaosu thought this over, "Jeff did mention something about spirit awakening."

"Naah," she waved it off, "spirit awakening wouldn't reach the full potential of that energy. Something better and bigger is more obvious."

"Are you getting at something here, Nemu?" he said between mouthfuls of apple.

"Nope, nothing really." The young ego looked around the tent, bored.


Above Erinn, on a celtic platform, stood two goddess.

"They're going to be alright, right goddess?" Nao pleaded, "He's going to be alright?"

Goddess Morrigahn, through her closed eyes, faced Nao. "Shaosu will be fine, if he knows what he's doing. Nemu has stepped upon an interesting subject though."

With a sigh of relief, Nao asked, "What do you mean?"

"Cichol won't stop at simple spirit awakening. There's something else behind his plans. A mere spirit awakening won't stop this war, and that's exactly what he wants. There's more than Cichol is telling Noel, more than he's willing to share."

And with that the goddess left.

Nao looked back down at the travelers. Noel and Yuki cuddled in a tent, asleep, Jeff snoring at on end of a tent, with Shaosu talking to Nemu on the other.

Nao stared down at them then turned her head to where the goddess had just been, and looked back down.

"They're not going to be alright…"


Me: I'm sorry for not updating!! School and all and stuff, and excuses… So today's the first day of the vacation, Christmas eve! Well technically it's Christmas now… I decided since I haven't updated in so long that I'd stay awake until I finished the chapter. I had planned to end it four pages earlier, but naah I kept it going. So here I am, 5:09 AM… Yep… I'm just gonna… go… to… ZZzzzz