Hi ho, Symphonia~! I bet you guys thought the next chapter would take a while, didn't you?(If anyone aside from Blue actually reads this, that is. =P) Nope! In fact; I could have uploaded it yesterday if I hadn't been half asleep! Ima feeling a bit too lazy to put up, like, a three paragraph summary again (and I bet no one wants to read all that again), so I'll keep this short. I'm a little disappointed in myself since this chapter's only half the length of the last one, but oh well. Meh... Don't really have much to say here... Whatever; just read the story already!

*****************************************************************************************************

I started to get scared as soon as I couldn't see the town anymore. Maybe… Maybe this was a bad idea: maybe I should turn back… I shook my head: "D-Don't be silly, Kyo! There's… nothing to be afraid of…" I told myself, trying to sound convincing. It's true; the monsters around this area were some of the weakest in the world. Despite laughing nervously in an attempt to bolster my courage, I couldn't help but quicken my pace: nothing wrong with wanting to catch up, right? It's… it's not like I'm frightened of any silly little monsters, or anything.

Something moved in the bushes to my right, and I let out a yelp; cowering as I squeezed my eyes shut. A few seconds passed and nothing attacked me, so I opened my eyes a crack to get a better look at what had popped out at me. I fully opened my eyes, and my body relaxed: it was only a little Rappig! Laughing at myself again, I sank down to my knees with relief: why was I being this frightened? Honestly; I was never this cowardly before, it was kind of pathetic. Bending over, I held out my hand and beckoned to the little Rappig.

"Hiya, little guy…" I cooed as the tiny monster approached me and I picked it up. It was so tiny; thing poor thing was just a baby… "You seem as frightened as me," I told it as I cradled it in my arms; didn't it have any parents? Well: judging by the fact that two huge monsters aren't currently mauling me, it must be an orphan. Giggling as I tickled it a bit, I continued talking softly to it as I continued down the road. "I can't blame you for being scared, can I? Suddenly in an unfamiliar place…all by…yourself…" My voice trailed away as I stopped talking to mull my words over for a bit. "Kinda like me, huh…?" I asked; more to myself than to the Rappig.

"I should give you a name, shouldn't I?" I asked it; smiling as I looked into its wide eyes. But what do you name a Rappig? My mind flashed to someone I'd heard of from somewhere: I couldn't remember the details since my memory was so fuzzy. This man I heard of kept some nine Rappigs as pets; what was his name again…? I racked my brain as I walked; think…think… Suddenly it struck me—Peony! That was his name; Peony! "Peony…" I muttered, testing the name, "Do you like that, little Rappig?"

Peony squeaked in glee, and I giggled in response. "I'll take that as a yes, then," I replied, hugging baby Peony with a smile on my face. Turning my attention away from my little companion for a moment; I was surprised to find that I had actually arrived at the Chapel, and the steps were only a small distance away. Wow… I hadn't even noticed how far I had gone! I guess things are easier when you have someone to travel with...

But something wasn't right: strange noises were coming from the top of the stairs, and Peony was shivering nervously. I recoiled in horror at what awaited me at the base of the stairs: there laid the corpse of the Pastor, bloodied by a sword wound. "Wha…What is this…?" I barely managed to gasp, clutching Peony closer; half protectively, and half in fright. The sound of fighting broke out again, and I started up the stairs; panicking. Wasn't Lloyd and the others supposed to be up there!? Halfway up; I froze as a purple blur sped past me towards the top, and the clash of metal on metal halted for a moment. It was hardly a few seconds before the sounds of fighting began to drift past me again, and I snapped out of my trance as another man began to run down the stairs; followed by Desians! Wait—didn't we have a treaty with the Desians???

He noticed me directly in his path and shouted "Out of the way!" as I was knocked against the fence that guarded the edge of the staircase, and he ran past me with his Desians following him. Placing a hand against the railing to steady myself, I shook my head in an attempt to straighten out my thoughts. First thing was first: I had to go see what was going on at the Chapel!

My heart was beating furiously and Peony was held tightly to my chest as I reached the top; where I just barely managed to glimpse Lloyd, Genis, and Colette disappear into the chapel; following whom I assumed to be the purple blur from before. "Kyorina?" called a voice: I turned, noticing for the first time that Phaidra was here, too. Phaidra was Colette's Grandma… I think. "Dear child, what are you doing here?" she asked me, approaching wearily with a concerned look on her face.

"I… I was curious… about the oracle…" I stammered, looking down at the ground as I hugged Peony. I fiddled with one of his ears, embarrassed, before continuing "…But then I heard noise coming from the Chapel…and…and the P-Pastor…" I swallowed the lump in my throat, and decided to skip that part… I didn't want to talk about it… "Um… I started up the stairs, but then a purple guy ran past me… and then a D-Desian pushed me out of the way… and now… here I am…" Peony squeaked a little and looked up at me with big eyes, as if trying to comfort me; and it helped a great deal. Thank you, Peony… I thought gratefully, petting him on the head as a sign of appreciation.

Phaidra seemed a bit surprised when she noticed the Rappig I was holding, but merely smiled and responded "I see… Well, I'm just glad you're alright." The old woman hobbled over to the stairs, and continued "Plus; it's nice to see you've made a friend from this. Now… Mind helping an old lady down these stairs?" I nodded; a faint smile spread gratefully across my face, as I half carried Phaidra down the stairs. Even Peony tried to help at first, but eventually he gave up and merely followed behind us.

By the time we reached the bottom, I was panting heavily; and when we had finally returned to Iselia, I felt about ready to collapse where I was standing. Peony had climbed up on my shoulder at some point, but I hardly even cared about the odd glances I was getting from the townspeople: I needed to sit down… Phaidra invited me to rest at her and Colette's house for a bit since it was near the town's entrance, and I was happy to oblige. I sank down into a chair upon my arrival, and closed my eyes; taking advantage of the opportunity to finally relax for the first time today as I drifted off to sleep…