Oh my god! Is that an…update as in "new chapter" update?
Yes, it is. Can you believe it?
I'm really, really, really sorry for taking so much time to update. I hope you can forgive me.
And in case such a long break happens again (which is not unlikely) I want to clarify that I will NEVER EVER abandon this story! I promise you that!
So and to make up for the delay this chapter is long. Really long. And the content isn't bad either. But I don't want to spoil anything.
Enjoy! (and if you don't let me know why. Perhaps I can fix it.)
I do not own the characters or the locations of Tales of Symphonia.
"Oh yeah? Well, I think it's very much the same!" Anna answered growing more and more frustrated. She sat on the ground, her hands crossed in front of her chest. Her face was lightened by flickering fire of the fireplace emphasizing how angry she was. Her companion's resistance had cost her a lot of nerves during the day and now in the late evening she was about to lose her temper. But what had really triggered her anger, was a comparison she found absolutely unfair. Insulting even.
"It is not" Kratos answered. While she was raising her voice more and more, he was staying calm.
"It so is!" the woman replied. Unable to remain still, she stood up and started walking back and forth.
"By human standards it might is…" but she didn't let him finish the sentence.
"And what's wrong about that?" she asked angrily and her tone gave away that he had said something terribly wrong. Noishe, who sat a bit further away, whined silently.
"How else am I supposed to measure it? Hm? I AM human! Dammit! You're also human! What else am I supposed to do but to treat you human?" Anna said, close to bursting "Every single time I only mention something that might not be that human about you, you grow silent or you change the subject. And now using human standards is wrong?" Deep, deep down inside of her a part knew that she was overreacting, but that part was too weak to calm her down.
"No, I did not say that. But what I'm trying to explain is that I am not doing this out of human reasons" the Seraph answered still serene. How the hell is he staying so calm?
"Then why are you hiding them?" she asked and her voice was noticeably friendlier.
"There is more than one reason…"
"Pity we don't have all night long to list them" she said sarcastically. She wouldn't let him get away without an answer.
"They….attract too much attention" the man said. She rolled her eyes.
"Well, obviously" the woman added.
"But the more important reason is that the Mana, which would be released if I'd show them, allows Cruxis to find me."
Anna jaw dropped. That was an answer she hadn't expected.
"H-How?" she asked and her voice was silent.
"My Mana-Signature. They could track me down by letting the Mana guide them" Kratos explained. He seemed to be quite relieved that Anna had decided to calm down.
"Oh…I suppose that is a good reason to hide them" she said, feeling already guilty for her outburst. "Wait a second!" she said and sat down next to him "If that's true and your wings or rather their Mana really give away your position, how did Cruxis find you before, even though you haven't shown them?"
He leaned a bit backwards and his look wandered from her face to the sky. Silence spread between them. But after some moments he broke it.
"I can't completely suppress my Mana-Signature. No one can. I simply keep my Mana-Level as low as I can. Cruxis is still sometimes able to locate me" he answered.
Anna wrapped her arms around her knees and mumbled "…Sorry, I didn't want to be so…well loud. I was simply angry that you….." But the young woman didn't find the right words.
"Didn't do what you wanted me to?" he suggested.
"No! Not that" she replied and shook her head "What you said earlier made me angry. Quite angry."
"What do you mean?"
"I said that you saw the…scars on my back and that showing me your wings would be the same. And you said that it weren't the same" she explained and while looking at the fireplace. Within the range of its light she could she the high grass, which was surrounding them. Noishe looked at her carefully, trying to find out if she had really calmed down.
"And that made you angry?" the Seraph asked and raised an eyebrow.
She blew a strand out of her face. "Well, actually it insulted me. You said it like those scars would mean less than your wings and…"
"I didn't say that" he interrupted her calmly.
"I know, Kratos" she gave him a small smile "But it sounded like you would. That just…You just hit a sore spot. That's all. But you know me I get angry very easily." She sighed silently. "I'm sorry. You have every right to have your secrets and I have no right to demand that you show them to me" the young woman added apologetic.
Then she stretched her arms and let herself sink into the grass. It was surprisingly soft and it smelled fresh. It was getting warmer and Anna was sure that the summer would start pretty soon. The trees had turned to a darker shade of green just like the grass.
"Still mad at me?" she asked after about ten minutes and turned her head to him. Like always his face bared no sign of any emotion let alone anger, but she didn't trust this calm mask. She never did.
"I never was" the man answered simply.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Not even a little?" she asked surprised.
"Why should I?" he responded.
"I yelled at you!" she said and sat up "Unjustified."
"You yell at me frequently. Getting angry at you every time, would be a waste of energy."
"I don't yell that often!" the woman answered and she sounded a little bit angry again.
"Oh…my g…I do yell at you that often!" Anna said after some moments and the realization was visible in her eyes. "I'm….I'm sorry! I'm a terrible person…"
"You are not" he assured her.
"Seriously how don't you get insane with me around?"
"You make it sound like that was an accomplishment."
"I know myself that I can be annoying and I should work on that, but I don't understand how you can simply stay calm without showing the slightest sign of anger, even though I yell at you!"
He looked at her and said "Anna, your presence is too pleasurable for me to be annoyed or angry about such small things."
First her eyes widened. Then her cheeks turned to a dark shade of red. Trying to hide the fact how embarrassed she was, Anna said "Small things…If those are small things to you, what on earth counts as big for you? Me trying to kill you?"
"You threatened to do that on several occasions" he simply replied.
"Well….I…was…You just" she stuttered. Then she groaned annoyed "You just drive me insane from time to time and not in a good way."
"How can driving you insane be good?" the Seraph asked and looked at her. "I…ah…" but she fell silent. The young woman of course knew how driving someone insane could be done in a good way, but there was no way in hell she would say it out loud. Now. In front of HIM.
He noticed her somewhat strange look and asked "Is everything alright, Anna?"
"Yeahsure!" she answered slightly too fast.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Kratos. I am!"
"You haven't answered my question from bef…"
"Hey, ahm…I was just thinking if you can't show your wings to me, could you please tell me how they look?" she asked trying the change the subject. She noticed the tiny hint of surprise in his eyes due to the sudden question.
"Do you really want to know how they look so badly?" the Seraph asked and then she knew that it had worked.
"Honestly? You tell me that you have wings and I'm not supposed to be extremely curious after that? You don't know me very well" the woman answered and rolled her eyes smiling "It's not like you meet someone everyday, who has wings."
He tilted his head slightly curious. Something he always did when he didn't quite understand how she could handle all the Cruxis stuff so easily.
"So? Will you tell me?" she asked again and leaned forward.
"If you insist…" the man responded.
"Oh I do!" she assured him.
…
…
…
Anna tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a bit skeptical. After she had spent five whole minutes with looking at Kratos, she said "I just can't imagine you with wings. It's simply impossible! I mean…" she came a bit closer "it's not like I wouldn't believe you but…"
She fell silent for some moments searching for the right words. "Blue wings! You and blue wings. For me there's simply no way those two things fit together."
"You can't imagine me with wings but that I am four thousand years old?" he asked a bit surprised.
"Well, yes" she jerked her shoulders "It's just you…you are so normal for me. It never crossed my mind that something apart from your age is not human. You might be a Seraph, but I don't see you as one. The fact that you're different from me, doesn't want to go into my head."
He looked at her for about three minutes.
"What?" the young woman asked.
"I have the feeling, that I will never be able to understand how you see things" he answered.
"Really? I don't think that I'm that complicated" she said. Then she yawned.
She sighed annoyed "I guess I'm already tired. Sometimes I envy that you don't get tired." She smiled at him. Then Anna leaned forward and kissed him very softly.
"On the other hand if I didn't sleep, I wouldn't get a Good-Night-Kiss" the woman sighed content "Again sorry that I yelled at you." Suddenly her look got a bit more serious. She hesitated for a moment, before she asked her question.
"Ahm…If we ever get a chance, will you show me your wings then? I would really, really like see them someday."
"If there's ever a chance…" he said after an eternity.
"Is that a yes?" she asked excited.
He just nodded. She had a beaming smile on her face, when she hugged him.
"Good Night!" the woman said and perhaps she might even saw a hint of a smile on his lips, when she turned around.
...
Restless Anna turned around for the millionth time and desperately tried to fall asleep. Noishe next to her was silently snoring (a sound she found quite adorable) and from time to time he barked softly. He was probably dreaming something.
Brain, could you possibly be so kind to stop thinking and let me sleep? she thought and turned around again. She moved closer to Noishe. Then she pressed her face against his warm fur. The warmth of his body somehow relaxed her, but even though she felt quite tired, Anna was far away from sleeping.
A part of their conversation earlier didn't stop bothering her and there was simply no way for her to stop thinking about it.
Come on, Anna! Don't be silly! Why do you waste your time thinking about it? It's…That is not going to happen! This part just…isn't in this relationship.
A small sigh escaped her lips and she hoped that her companion hadn't heard it.
It wasn't like today was the first time she would have thought about it. The one who had started it…had been Phaidra. She had brought up this particular topic and since then Anna had sometimes thought about…well sex.
She was 20 years old and apart from one year, she had spent a normal life in Luin. She hadn't been the most beautiful girl in town, but she knew that she had been pretty. Young men had found her pretty. Anna had had boyfriends before and one thing had let to another. She had experience. Good and bad. But for about a year this topic had completely vanished. There just hadn't space in her life for that. Even in the early months of her freedom she hadn't even wasted a second thinking about it. But now…
Now she was thinking about it. Wondering if there ever was a chance that she and….
No! Don't even try going that way! You know him that well to tell that this is not going to happen. Not in a million years…
Still…you thought the same about the kissing part. But to be honest sleeping with someone cannot really be compared with kissing. Tch…What am I doing? How can I honestly be thinking about this? This is…ridiculous. You and him…Just imagine it! There's no way this could happen!
But honestly…you would like to, wouldn't you? Well, there's nothing wrong about that. I mean you spent about three months with him alone. And you seriously love him. And he's good looking…Very good looking…
"What the hell am I doing?" she groaned and sat up. With her hands she brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the ground for a while. Everything was covered in darkness. The camping fire had already burned down. The only sound she heard was the sound of her and Noishe's breathing.
"Nightmares?" the Seraph asked. The young woman flinched and her heart made a jump.
"Oh…ah…yes! Nightmares…They just won't let me sleep" she answered a bit absent minded. This time it wasn't that hard for her to lie.
Again silence. She played with a strand of her hair for some minutes. The woman lay down again without a saying a word and much to her relieve she fell asleep a few minutes later.
Noishe barked amused and it sounded almost like he was laughing. Anna gave him a glare. "This is not funny, you furball!" she said angrily and grabbed a new piece of clothing out of her bag. It looked like a nice deep blue shirt, but then she unfolded it and…
"Not again!" she groaned. She stood up and sighed "Dresses! Nothing but dresses! What the hell is Phaidra thinking I'm doing? Going to a ball? Not one, not a single pair of pants!"
She gave up and got into the blue dress. "Next time I meet Yuan I'm going to tell him that he owes me a new pair of pants. Seriously he could have hurt me without ruining my clothes. …Oh great!"
She looked at her chest. "My Crystal is exposed…" she sighed "…I'm not in the mood to look for something else…Oh what have we here?" She picked up a grey jacket and looked at it a bit closer. It really looked quite nice and it fitted to the blue dress. Without further thought she put it on.
"Not perfect, but better than nothing" she thought and looked at herself. Noishe barked. "Really? I do look fetching, don't I?" she said and blinked at him. He wagged with his tail and lifted his head. He wanted to be patted for his compliment. The woman rolled her eyes, but she smiled.
She caressed his forehead with her hands. "Aren't you a good Protozoann? Yes, you are!" she said and hugged him shortly.
"Still I would prefer some pants or something that won't get caught in every bush I walk by" Anna sighed and picked up her bag. While she was collecting the clothes she had sprayed across the ground, she mused "Weird thing is in Luin I only wore things like that. And I really liked it. Just like my mum. She had so much fun dressing me and trying new hairstyles on me. My hair was longer back then. Sometimes I felt like her doll."
The woman let out a deep sigh. Her mother…She had no idea how she was. She didn't even know if she was still alive. The morning before she had been captured by the Desians had been the last time she had seen her. She felt how bitter sadness started to rise in her chest. But then someone interrupted her sad thoughts.
"Anna, are you ready?" the Seraph asked. He had stepped beside her and looked at her. Not without slight concern in his eyes. He had probably heard her.
"Yes, I am" she answered with a bright smile, already trying to prove that his concern was unjustified. "Choosing some clothes took me longer than I expected. Phaidra just packed me all sorts of clothes. Well, only dresses, but a lot of them!" She looked into his eyes for some moments.
"So…can we go now?" she asked innocently.
He nodded simply and started walking. But then about one minute later he asked "This Phaidra…Was her surname by any chance Brunel?"
Anna narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, actually it was. How do you know?"
"It was merely a name I heard at the Temple." The young woman rolled her eyes and suppressed an annoyed sigh.
"Oh spare me this crap. We both know very well why you know her second name." Anna stroke over Noishe's fur and looked a bit sad at the huge animal.
"She's the Chosen One's cousin, but I suppose you know already. She's very worried about her. Well, she has every reason to. Nevertheless she stays optimistic and prays every single day for her. This woman has hope for ten" she stretched her arms "But why did you ask?"
The Seraph answered simply "I've had the feeling that I have heard her name before. I only wanted to be sure."
"Oh…okay" Anna jerked her shoulders "All I can say that this woman was one of the nicest persons I've ever met. Same counts for her husband. But it sucks to be her. Not that my fate" she pointed at her Cruxis Crystal "would be any better. Still loosing a relative for a pointless cause is not really a nice experience."
"For them it's not pointless" her companion responded.
"Yes, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it hurts her. I mean no matter what the outcome Phaidra looses someone she loves. Either the Chosen One dies or she becomes a vessel. It's unfair…She doesn't deserve that. No one does! If…if there only was a way to change that…but…I guess there isn't."
Anna didn't get an answer. The Seraph remained silent. She looked at him for some minutes. He looked strangely…sad and guilty. An expression he hadn't had in a long time. She frowned.
Then she took his hand and said "Hey, Kratos. That wasn't an accusation. I didn't mean to blame you for their pain. It's not your fault!"
He had already opened his mouth to disagree, but she put a finger on his lips and said "Know what? Before you can assure me that it was your fault and yours alone and that I should despise you for that, we change the subject. Yesterday we only talked about Cruxis stuff and today we talk about it again. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think that the Cruxis topic is a real mood killer. So can't we talk about something else? Like…I don't know… the weather?"
"You want to talk about the weather?" he asked skeptical.
"Okay, if you have better ideas let me hear them."
"…"
"Didn't think so. But since you're not exactly an expert on human conversations I shouldn't be so hard on you. Hhm…We could for a change talk about something normal."
She tilted her head. Then, before she could do anything against it, she remembered what she had been thinking about last night and then she blushed. Very deeply.
"Anna?" he asked, after she had turned her head away.
"What?" she answered with a slightly higher voice.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not!" the woman answered and rolled her eyes "At least not if you ask that stupid question every time I do something slightly different. You're way to overprotective. Do I really look this fragile to you?"
"No, you don't. But…"
"But what?"
I spare you this particular long conversation. It just went on and on and at the end of the day he and I had only talked about…well nothing important. Not every day is exciting. Even with him.
But, as you might have noticed, I had started thinking about our relationship a bit more deeply and had arrived at that specific topic. I better not tell you the embarrassing attempts which followed the next week, to…well… you know. They didn't really succeed and he didn't even notice. He told me that, when I asked him later. I completely made a fool of myself and he DIDN'T notice. Seriously… Well, I guess I shouldn't complain. At least he said that I didn't make a fool of myself.
Oh and before I go on telling the story I warn you right away. I'll tell you about it, but don't expect any details. A woman has the right to have her secrets.
And can you imagine how mad he would be at me, if I told you? I would never hear the end of it!
Alright, I'll just check if he's somewhere nearby…because you know…I don't think he would let me tell…this part…of the story…Oooookay, he's not here.
So where were we? Right, uneventful day, some babbling and embarrassing attempts. Almost a week had passed and the House of Salvation was already in sight. It was the last night, before we would arrive there.
I bathed in a small pond with Noishe. "With" is the wrong word; he didn't actually come into the water. He was just there to look after me. But the conversation I had with him should turn out to be very important…
"You're sure you don't want to come in?" Anna asked the Protozoan, who stood a few meters away. He shook his head, but he touched with his paws the water surface.
"You aren't exactly a fan of water, are you?" she said and let herself sink a bit deeper into the water.
Again he shook his head.
"Oh now I see. You simply want to be polite and don't come in while I'm naked?"
He nodded.
Anna laughed and splashed some water into his direction. "Well, aren't you a gentlemen? But seriously I don't mind. Firstly because you're not going to turn into human for quite some time and secondly I'm pretty sure you've seen already everything there is to see, the times I went bathing with you before."
He barked and it sounded a little bit flustered. She giggled. "Okay, okay! If you don't want to come in, then don't. I won't force you."
The woman walked into a less deep part of the pond and sat down. The water was surprisingly warm, even for this time of the year. But Triet wasn't far away and the heat of the desert seemed to have some effects on the nearby area.
She looked at her reflection for some time. The woman on the surface resembled the woman she remembered from her time in Luin, but she was still different. She would always be different.
"But…" Anna whispered and raised her head. Then she turned around and asked "Noishe, I want your honest opinion. Am I pretty?"
The Protozoan looked at her surprised then he turned his head into a different direction. He wanted to stay polite.
"Am I, Noishe?" she asked again and there was hint of doubt in her voice.
He barked and nodded without hesitation.
"And you really mean that? You don't lie?"
He nodded again. The Protozoann looked serious.
Anna turned around again, sighed and leaned back. "But pretty doesn't equal attractive, now does it? I just don't get it!" She heard how now let out a confused and a little bit worried sound.
The young woman wrapped her arms around her knees. "I mean he basically says that he loves me, that he enjoys my company and he does everything and I mean everything for me. He gets into the worst kind of danger for me and then he simply…he stops at this point! At this point. Kissing is alright and physical contact, but not more? What man does that? What man doesn't do anything to get…there?"
She groaned. Quite frustrated.
"I mean seriously, Noishe! It's like it is not even in his definition of a relationship. I literally tried everything the past week and he didn't even seem to notice! It drives me out of my mind!"
Anna stood up and went out of the pond. She got into her clothes, while Noishe was demonstrably looking into the opposite direction. "I give it up!" she said eventually, while pulling the dress over her head "It's not going to happen. Never ever! He obviously isn't interested in this sort of thing. He's a four thousand year old Seraph, Anna. What did you expect? He doesn't sleep, because it isn't necessary. Seems like, he uses that kind of logic on everything. Perhaps it's like his appetite. Being an angle suppresses your human needs and instincts. If something as basic as hunger can disappear then….then I shouldn't be surprised if it's just the same with that."
After she had put on her clothes she sat down on the ground and looked at the sky. Thick clouds hung in the sky. She was surprised that it hadn't started raining yet. Noishe sat down beside her and touched her cheek with his nose.
She smiled a little. "I think I make this to a bigger deal than it actually is. Who cares if it is part of this relationship or not? I'm happy! That is what counts, right?" But she didn't sound completely convinced.
The Protozoann barked friendly. She patted his head. "And who knows? I got him to kiss me. With some time…anything is possible." Noishe tilted his head and looked slightly confused. She raised an eyebrow and said "You do know what I've been talking about the past few minutes?"
Noishe nodded energetic.
"Oh really? What was I talking about?" she wanted to know.
The Protozoan barked.
"I fear you have to be more specific."
He rolled his eyes and barked again. This time louder.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch that?"
Now he growled annoyed and Anna laughed. She kissed his forehead. "You're far too easy to tease" the woman stated and stood up. She went back to the camping place, closely followed by Noishe. They had gone extra far away, so that her angelic companion couldn't "accidentally" listen to their conversations.
Anna stretched her arms and yawned. Then something came into her mind.
"Hey, Noishe! If we arrive tomorrow at the House of Salvation, where will you sleep?" she wanted to know.
He wined loudly. "Oh you poor thing! Life is so unfair to you!"
The Protozoann nodded. Anna laughed silently and patted him again.
"Oh ahm Noishe? This conversation stays between us, alright? I really don't want him to know, that…well, you know" she said and looked at him. Noishe looked a bit like he would smile. Then he barked.
"Thanks! You're a real friend!"
After about two minutes the two arrived at the camping place. Noishe lay down next to the fire and stretched his legs. He yawned content and for a moment Anna could see his long and without doubt dangerous teeth.
"Hey! Where's Kratos?" the woman asked a bit surprised, when she noticed his absence. Noishe simply jerked his shoulders. "He usually never leaves the camping place" she said a bit worried and sat down "Except…when Desians or something else is around." She looked at the Protozoan. "You didn't hear or see anything dangerous, right?" He nodded and barked to calm her down. "But…but…he never leaves…" she mumbled and the concern in her voice grew stronger and stronger.
She sat next to the fire silently and waited. And waited…and waited. Probably for about three hours, but it felt for her like eternity. And she just couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something wrong. What the hell is taking him so long? she thought angrily and quite worried. Time passed and with every minute a feeling in her grew stronger. The feeling of being alone…of being left alone. She had felt the same way in Iselia, when she had thought that the Seraph had been taken back to Derris Kharlan. Stop thinking about that! He is just gone to…do whatever he does!
But her eyes felt heavier and heavier and she almost fell asleep several times. Just when the woman was about to give in to sleep, she heard grass rustling. Her head shot up and she looked at the Seraph, who looked kind of…surprised.
"You are still awake?" he asked.
"Yes, I am!" she answered "How I am supposed to sleep, when I don't know where you are?"
The man sat down. He didn't look hurt or anything. Not even exhausted. He looked absolutely normal. However, it seemed like something was bothering him.
"Where have you been, Kratos? I was seriously worried about you" Anna said and sat down next to him.
"I thought I heard some monster so I controlled if the camping place was safe" he answered. There was no hesitation in his voice. It seemed like he had said the truth.
"But…you've never done that before" the young woman said. She couldn't help but feeling that he was hiding something from her.
"There was no need before" he simply responded. It was a lousy answer, but Anna was already too tired to say something about it.
"Oh…okay…" she mumbled silently as her eyes slowly closed "I…was just worried…about you, Kratos…" And then she fell asleep on his shoulder.
The woman rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No matter what you say, there IS something wrong with you today. I mean you can hardly look at me" she said and looked at the Seraph. His face was calm, but it was as if beneath the surface something wasn't calm at all.
"I can look at you" he answered and looked at her. But it was a brief look.
"Oh come on! Tell me what's wrong!" she demanded and sounded a little bit desperate "What bothers you? Was it something I said or did?" It had to be somehow her fault. That was the only explanation for his strange behavior.
He shook his head. "There is nothing that bothers me, so it cannot be your fault."
She groaned frustrated. "Now I understand why you are so annoyed when you ask me about my Crystal and I say "It's nothing." It really drives me insane, not knowing what is going on in your head." She looked at him worried. Anna was quite sure that he was upset. He avoided eye contact, barely talked (even less than usually) and she was quite sure that he avoided looking at her at all. It had to be somehow her fault.
"Kratos! There is something wrong! Stop lying to me and tell me!" the young woman demanded and she sounded honestly worried. For a second his expression changed and she thought he was about to tell, but then he said "There is nothing wrong, Anna."
In that moment she was about to rip off his head. But she stopped herself and said "Okay, fine! I'll believe you, even if it's a lie…" Suddenly thunder could be heard in the distance and the woman slightly flinched.
"We should hurry if we want to arrive in the House of Salvation, before it starts raining" the Seraph said and looked at the dark grey sky. It could start any moment now.
"You're probably right" she said and forgot her earlier worries, when a raindrop landed on her face. The next one came only a second later.
"But it seems like it's too late for it anyway" he said, when it started literally pouring with rain. Anna laughed and answered "Come on! Let's hurry before we get swept away!"
"I told you that they would react like that" the young woman said "A man and a woman traveling alone? The only explanation for a priest is that we're either brother and sister or…well, married. If you had let me talk to him, he wouldn't have given us this room." She looked at the two beds in the rather small room. Anna seemed to be slightly disappointed. "I would have liked to sleep in a big bed" she turned her head to him "Seriously; it wouldn't have hurt to say that we're not related."
"He simply assumed it and I thought it was unnecessary to correct him" he answered, while watching her getting out of her drenched jacket.
She rolled her eyes. "Unnecessary…" she scoffed, but didn't comment his explanation any further. Then she kneeled down and looked into her bag.
"Praise the goddess!" she exclaimed after some moments and pulled out a piece of clothing. Then she flinched after she had realized what she had said and apologized "Sorry! But I've just found a dress, which isn't completely drenched." Quite swiftly she went into the small bathroom and after less than two minutes she came out dressed in a light gray dress. Now her Crystal was exposed. The dark blue stone was shimmering slightly. Absent minded the woman wiped some water drops off it.
Then Anna laid the wet dress and her other clothing on a chair, so they could dry during the night. Water drops were still dripping from her chocolate brown hair. Annoyed she brushed her wet strands out of her face. "Don't you think it's weird that he thought we're siblings?" she said all of a sudden "I mean we don't look alike at all."
He didn't quite know how to respond to that and remained silent. Fortunately for him Anna's attention got caught quickly by something else. "You do realize that you're soaked to the skin?" she asked with one fine eyebrow risen.
"I am aware of that" he stated. Now she narrowed her eyes.
"And you're not going to do anything about it?"
"Why should I?"
"Isn't it…uncomfortable?" the woman asked a bit unsure.
He just shook his head. Instead of saying anything, Anna went to the bathroom again and came back with a white towel in her left hand.
"Here" she said.
"I don't need it" he answered and looked at her.
She smiled softly, but didn't move her hand away. "I know, but…could you at least dry your face? Then you wouldn't look like you would freeze to death at any moment."
"I cannot feel the cold let alone freeze to death."
"Yeah, I know that."
"Then why…"
"Just do it, Kratos. Please…" then she simply handed it over to him and sat down on one of the beds. She watched him expectantly until he gave in with a "Hmpf…" and dried his face with the towel. A very bright and beautiful smile was his reward.
Some minutes of silence passed, but as the Seraph knew, they wouldn't last very long. Anna wasn't very fond of silence and she would break it without doubt any moment. But to his surprise she simply sat cross-legged on the bed and looked out of the window. It was still pouring with rain and every now and again a flash of lighting lit up the sky. Then she turned her head to him. In her hazelnut eyes lay a somehow shy expression.
The young woman bit her lower lip for some moments, before she said carefully "Your…Cruxis Crystal…is the reason you don't feel the cold, right? So I've been wondering…if you took it off, would…you feel the cold?"
Anna looked at him. Her companion did seem to be quite surprised by her question. She had asked herself that question, but hadn't found an answer. Was his Crystal the only reason he couldn't feel human needs or had those instincts simply been lost over time? Was alone the Cruxis Crystal to blame for his lack of human emotions?
"It would take some time, but presumably I would" the Seraph answered eventually. Surprised that he had answered at all, the young woman replied "So after some time you'd feel tired and hungry again?"
He nodded.
Anna looked at her hands for a minute or two. Is it really this simple?
"Then why don't you?" she mumbled, well aware that he could hear her.
"Don't what?" he asked.
"Why don't you…" she looked up "take it off?"
He tilted his head slightly to the side. "Anna, I need to Crystal to fight" he said calm.
The woman stood up. "But why do you need it now? You don't have to fight."
"I need to be prepared in case…"
"In case of what? Cruxis? You just said two hours ago, that there was no way they could find us right now. The Desians? If Cruxis can't find us, how should they? We are safe here, even if only for a short time."
"Why do you want me to take my Crystal off?" he asked and only then Anna realized that she had been coming closer to him the whole time. She flushed a bit.
"Because…I don't understand that you want to keep something that suppresses a part of who you are. I know that you need it, but…"
"But what?" he asked.
"But don't you get tired of feeling nothing? Isn't it boring to not feel a difference between hot and cold? Doesn't it drive you insane to neither feel hungry or tired?" she asked him.
"I can feel those things, but they are not as intense as you feel them. I explained this to you before."
"Isn't the intensity of those feelings what makes them what they are? If all those feelings don't make any difference to you, then they don't have any meaning!"
"Anna, are…" but before he could finish his sentences, she kissed him. His lips were still cold just like the rest of his face. Some water drops dripped from his hair on her face and tickled her as they continued their way downwards. But before long she stopped and their lips parted.
"What does a kiss mean if you can't feel it with all the intensity it possesses?" she asked with an already racing heart.
Instead of answering the Seraph kissed her with one hand in her still wet hair and the other hand resting on her waist. Her breath sped up and she was quite sure that her heart had literally skipped a beat. There was something in this kiss. Something…new.
"I don't recall stating that I don't experience a kiss how you do" he said after he had ended the kiss.
Anna, a little bit out of breath, answered "I'm pretty sure, that you said that any kind of touch isn't as intense for you as it would be for me."
"I did not say any kind of touch."
"Well, I assumed…"
"Your assumption is wrong."
"Oh, and you found it necessary to correct me?" she asked with a smirk.
"But only because your assumption was so completely and unacceptably false" he replied ignoring her tease.
A different kind of smile played now on Anna's lips. "If I'm so wrong, then why don't you do it more often?"
"Do what?"
"Kissing me like you've just did before" she came a bit closer "Why don't you always kiss me like this?" Her hands rested on his chest, but as she waited for an answer they were slowly moving to his neck. And when she was already pulling him closer, he responded "Because I can't afford being so…distracted, when I should be protecting you from the danger you're in because of me."
"We're safe here. There's no danger. So you can afford…being distracted" she answered softly and kissed him.
"You don't leave me much choice anyway" the Seraph said.
"Oh shush!" she mumbled before she kissed him again. And this time she clearly felt what was new about his kisses. There was passion and even something which felt like desire. He tasted so good. Sweet but there was also a hint of a taste she couldn't really describe. Heat spread from her head to her entire body and made her wanting more. Something more than a kiss. She wanted it. She craved for it, but a part in her (a quite disappointed part) knew that he would stop soon. He always did. It was like he had no idea what was going on inside of her. Every time when her heart was already burning with passion, the Seraph stopped like there was nothing beyond kissing and…
What…she thought slightly confused, when Anna noticed that behind her back was pressed against a wall. Did he really just…push me against the wall? Their eyes met and then she knew that he had. The surprise was written all over her face.
The woman saw that he was about to say something, so she grabbed his collar and pulled him to her to shut his lips with hers. Whatever it was he wanted to say to her it could wait until later. Until much later. A quiet moan escaped her lips. If he only knew what he was doing to her. Seriously, how could someone who hadn't had any contact to other humans for four thousand years be so good at this?
Then their lips parted again, but his face stayed so close to hers that she felt his breath brushing over her skin. This almost-kiss was somehow even more intense and passionate than a normal kiss could ever be. It sent a tremor down her spine.
And when she looked into his eyes, she suddenly realized that he was asking a silent question. The question simply hung in the air for some moments and the silence in the room built up an almost unbearable tension. But Anna wasn't able to answer, because she was far too confused.
Why? Why now? What had happened? What had changed his mind? What was different from a few days ago? Was there even an explanation? Just why? Is he serious? Am I misinterpreting this?
But then she realized with a smile on her lips that she couldn't really care less about the "why?" now and with a very passionate kiss she answered his question. The only thing that was still bothering her was the question How the hell am I supposed to open this damn Cruxis clothing?
I don't know how I should feel about this chapter. I personally really like it and I enjoyed writing it, but…
Well, usually I have a vague idea how people will react to a chapter, but I have no idea how you will react to this one.
In my defense I had to write that.
I mean sooner or later I had to write about those two getting…intimate. Lloyd is the living proof they did it at least once and I highly doubt that it happened only once.
Still I feel like a crossed a border, but since I only described the kissing part and nothing more I don't feel so bad. I leave all those other (dirty) details to your imagination. ;)
Please review! Please!
And thank you so much for reading (and waiting)!