Mr.Who2123: 100 REVIEWS!!!!! WHOOOOOO!!!! (Throws a Party)
Kratos: (Covered in streamers) Thanks to those who have read so far.
Mr.Who2123: I OWN NOTHING!!!! It's all NAMCO!!!
Namco Director: Did someone say my name?
Kratos: 00;; Where'd you come from?
Mr.Who2123: Does it matter? PARTY!!!!
Namco Director: Whatever (Parties)
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The night was black, with small, twinkling stars and the crescent moon to ward off the complete black of night. If it weren't for those small, defiant lights in the sky, then everything would be pitch black without any light to guide us even in the darkest of nights. Without the stars and moon, we wouldn't find any hope of finding our way when the sun finally dips into the west for its nightly rest.
Then, when it seems the dark is finally overpowering the small dots of light in the sky, the east begins to glow with the light of a new day, and dark, as well as the stars, are washed away in the arrays of light blues and pinks known as dawn.
When the soft light of day first came upon Kratos' face, his eyes snapped open, ready immediately to start the day. He was under the sheets of his bed in the inn, comfortable, but he was ready to go quickly. The Seraph had never been a fan of sleeping the day away; he knew he had much more important things than getting his beauty sleep. Silently, Kratos got out of his bed, and checked on his love's exsphere. He leaned over slightly to get a better look, his hair nearly touching Anna's nose. The small gem went back to its red hue and seemed to be harmless once more.
"Uh, good morning Kratos?" Anna asked, looking at Kratos with a bit of bemusement. Kratos suddenly backed away; surprised he didn't notice her wake up.
"I'm sorry, but I just wanted to check on your exsphere," he replied, grabbing some clothes in his pack, and going into the bathroom to change. Anna, taking advantage of being alone, changed very quickly as well, so they could be ready more quickly. She knew as well as him that they have more important things than waiting around.
"Is there something wrong with it?" she asked through the door as she thrust on a blue shirt and light shorts.
"No, nothing," Kratos lied back, emerging from the door with a sulking expression. Anna slowly walked over to Kratos, noticing it.
"Are you sure?" she replied, putting her arms around his neck. Kratos smiled at the gesture, yet his heart was hurting. He couldn't bear to tell her that the exsphere was beginning its parasitic process.
"C'mon, let's get Yuan and Sanaro," Kratos said, trying to destroy the current discussion on hand. Anna nodded, and opened the door to the hallway. The sun had barely risen, and the sky was still partly dark. The Seraphim sharply turned right and opened the door of the other two companions.
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Sanaro was sleeping comfortably…maybe a little too comfortably. He was on his stomach, his arm hanging off the bed and dangling like a slow moving pendulum. However, that wasn't the reason why Yuan was staring angrily at his new companion. It was the noise that came from Sanaro's mouth, the atrocious snore that erupted from his nose every single second. It was louder than life itself, it seemed to Yuan, and he put a pillow over his head, hoping it could block out at least part of the noise.
WHY CAN'T I EVER SLEEP? His mind thought over and over.
When Yuan was first faced with the problem, he tried a numerous array of ideas to solve the problem.
The first one was just simply waking Sanaro and telling him to shut up. However, everything was to no avail. He tried shouting, smacking, everything, but the warrior would not wake up. So, the poor blue haired Seraphim was forced to think of something else…while listening to the unrelenting snores all the while.
Next, Yuan tried plugging up Sanaro's nose. Already, this was an extreme maneuver, but Yuan was tired, and when people are tired, they go nuts. So, Yuan found two cotton balls in the bathroom and stuck them up Sanaro's nose. Immediately, the sound disappeared, and Yuan sighed in relief. But as he got into bed to sleep, the sound came again…except this time, it was louder than ever. Yuan was nearly at the point of tears as he got up once again and looked at Sanaro. It seemed when Sanaro exhaled, the cotton balls flew out of his nose and onto the floor.
Next, Yuan tried plugging his ears with another pair of cotton balls…but Sanaro's snoring was just too loud to tone out. Just as Yuan crossed the thought of killing this annoying Seraph, Kratos and Anna came in, already dressed.
"Yuan, are you alright? You look…tired," she observed.
"No, I didn't get any sleep last night…because of this guy," he muttered, pointing to Sanaro, who was just waking up.
"Wha…why's everyone in here?" Sanaro mumbled, sitting up and yawning. Kratos raised an eyebrow at the innocent Sanaro, and then to Yuan, who looked delusional.
"He…he snored so loud that I couldn't sleep!!" Yuan pointed at Sanaro, who was beginning to think Yuan was delusional as well.
"Snoring…?" everyone asked simultaneously.
"Whatever, I'm getting dressed," the new companion shrugged and headed to the bathroom to get dressed.
"Yuan, you tend to have lots of problems with sleeping," Anna noted, remembering the 'counting sheep' moment back in Sybak. Sanaro emerged from the room, dressed in his full armor and leaning against the open door.
"I guess I just have insomnia or something…," Yuan muttered, sitting on his bed. Suddenly, a bundle of clothes were thrown at his face, blocking his vision. Indignant, Yuan peeled them off of his face, noticing it was a pair of his own clean clothes.
"C'mon, get dressed," Sanaro said, obviously being the one who threw them. "We don't have time to brood over a lack of sleep."
More like a whole night of no sleep, Yuan muttered darkly in his thoughts, entering the bathroom.
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Almost all the tension that was held in the morning dissipated when the six companions left for the Toize Valley Mine. Kratos pulled out a map from his pack, opening it to make sure he was on the right track.
"We go south until we meet the ocean, and there should be a private port somewhere that takes us east," he muttered, half to himself. Anna was looking over the map, unsure of where the position of the group even was, much less where they were headed.
Noishe and Annule were playing together, jumping on top of each other, play fighting, and enjoying themselves as they traveled. When Annule knocked over Noishe in a fight, the protozoan growled at the playmate, ready to get Annule back. Soon, Annule was padding away as fast as his white legs could muster while Noishe was behind the whole time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike back.
When Noishe was close enough to leap at the wolf, he made an extra burst of speed, to get at the perfect distance, and Annule took notice of it. In a moment, Annule was going faster than ever, wishing Noishe would finally get tired. However, Noishe took a chance and made a huge leap at the wolf in front of him. The protozoan was just about to clash with Annule, when he suddenly tumbled over on the grass, completely missing his playful target. The companions, watching from quite a few meters behind, began laughing as they saw that Annule had unfurled his wings, and flew right above his protozoan friend.
Cheater! Noishe screamed in his thoughts, making a face at the floating wolf. Annule made an expression equivalent to an amused grin, and slowly came back down, letting his tongue hang out in exasperation.
"Annule, you're such a little cheater," Anna remarked, chuckling as they caught up to the canines. Immediately, Noishe wagged his tail, nodding his furry head in agreement.
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As they group came to the small pier at the southern-most part of the Meltokio Continent, Anna broke into a run. She loved the ocean more than almost anything, except sailing on it.
"C'mon!" she called, already feeling the sand beneath the grass, making her increase her already running pace. Yuan leaned towards Kratos, a smile on his face.
"Better go get her…or she's going to be so far that she'll be out of your grasp, and you're going to hate yourself for it," he whispered, and then promptly ran forward to catch up with the spirited, young Anna. Kratos nearly stopped when his fellow Seraph said that, and watched the woman he loved.
As much as I hate to admit it…he's right, he thought, making his legs move faster as well.
Sanaro saw Yuan come up next to him, a little flustered, but smiling.
"What'd you tell him?" he asked, grinning as well. Anna was only a few meters in front of them, and Kratos was still coming behind them.
"That he better make a move or some guy's going to take her before he gets even close to her," Yuan replied, and the two began to laugh, for they knew that was a huge possibility.
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The pier itself was nothing more than a dock and a couple of merchants that wanted to get over to the continent eastward. Anna was sitting on top of a flat boulder, her shoes off, and her feet dangling over the edge. The tips of her toes touched the soft, warm ocean water.
The ship wasn't supposed to disembark yet, and the group had a little time to enjoy the beach. The men, Anna deducted, decided that talking to a couple of stray merchants was more important than having some fun on the beach.
Her mind wandered as she felt the waves crash against the rocks, and seawater sprayed all over her. She smiled, shaking her brown hair from the water that had made it so wet. From her nose dripped sea spray, and the cheerful young woman wiped it off, laughing as more water splashed on her, making her efforts to keep dry to no avail.
Anna noticed the sun was making its dip into the ocean, turning the normally blue skies into a pink and orange hue. A chill was sent through Anna's whole body, and she shivered, hunching her body closer around herself.
I should've brought a jacket… she thought, closing her eyes as of it would close away the icy chill that moved up her spine.
Suddenly, Anna was warm, and not just physically, but emotionally as well. Arms wrapped around her neck were warm, and soon, she was leaning back against the one she loved.
"Kratos…," Anna murmured, her eyes still closed. She got a soft kiss in response, short, but powerful, and it was all that she needed. The two laid there for what seemed hours, content in each other, as they waited for the boat to finally leave.
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Secretly, two sets of eyes were watching the lovers sitting together. The owners of those eyes were cracking up, and cheering for their victory.
"Finally, they're doing something!" Yuan said, still chuckling.
"Seriously," Sanaro added, and then the two did a high-five, and laughing at their childish behavior.
Then, when an hour passed by, the two Seraphim were still watching the lovers together, and not very cheery anymore. Even though they didn't truly feel that cold, they're bodies shivered in response to the icy air.
"…How long have they been there for?" Sanaro asked, yawning. Yuan merely shrugged.
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Mr.Who2123: Sorry if it seemed to end strangely. I'm sick (achoo!) and I took some sleep medicine so I'm a little tired. But I hope you liked the fluff!
Kratos: (Still in streamers) Review.
Namco Director: Yes, please review!