Days later, Lloyd was sprawled across his bed, snoring and drooling ever so attractively. When he finally opened his eyes, he nearly had a heart attack from the two pairs of eyes staring down at him.

"Happy Birthday!" Genis and Colette exclaimed, throwing confetti into the air, which most landed right on Lloyd.

The birthday boy got up with a start, having been shocked out of his wits and slightly embarrassed at his drooling, half naked state. But what Lloyd was really upset with was that he himself had forgotten about his birthday…and it was the birthday that signified him as an adult!

Legally, anyway. Lloyd still had the mannerisms and knowledge of a fourth grader, but that didn't really count, right?

Trying to blink away the glazed-over eyesight he got from such long sleep, he stumbled and moved blindly around his room, searching for something to cover up in front of Colette. Comon Lloyd, she probably doesn't even notice or care. Besides, we've been friends for ages. Still, he found a cloak and threw it on quickly.

"Look Lloyd, I made you a cake!" Colette brought out a circular cake that was disastrously frosted with the words Happy Birthday Lloyd messily painted on top. Well, she tried.

"Yeah, and I helped! With the baking part, not the decorating." Genis said with an amused expression.

Okay, so it was good to know that the thing was edible, even if it didn't look so hot.

"Thank you guys so much. You're the best friends a guy could have." And he truly meant it.

After an hour or so off sitting around the small table in Lloyd's room eating cake and chatting, the group agreed that the day was going to be a great adventure.

"I don't know if I can move after eating all this cake." Lloyd laughed while rubbing his stomach. He had a whopping five pieces of cake, while Genis and Colette had stuck to one.

"Well maybe if you didn't inhale all of it like some black hole, you wouldn't be immobile." Genis teased.

"You know, I would go over there and do something about that comment…but this cake is telling me otherwise." Said Lloyd

"Since when does cake talk?" Colette asked, truly curious.

"Since you eat five pieces in one sitting…without chewing." Lloyd had a hard time not eating an insane amount of food, even if it bit him in the rear later.

After getting ready to go out, Lloyd and the others traveled to the outskirts of town and just walked. Walked and talked and walked and talked. Their conversations were strange, if not completely confusing. Not even all conversations between those three were interesting, but they had a blast doing such simple things with little worries on their minds.

Genis and Colette saved the end of the day for presents. They pooled together for a pair of ornate, gold gauntlets.

"They're great, guys. Thanks." He tried them on almost immediately and examined them on himself, silently approving their choice. "These must have been expensive though…"

"They only cost an arm and a leg." Lloyd and Genis both laughed at that comment.

"Don't be silly, we paid for those in gald!" Colette said with a smile.

Ah, sometimes Colette was so slow.

But I love her for it!

By the time Lloyd got home, it was dark and Dirk was in the kitchen, drinking what looked to be tea. "Happy birthday, Lloyd. Do ye' like keepin' ye old man worried?"

"Sorry, we weren't planning to be out so late." Lloyd took a seat across from his father. He took the extra cup on the table and poured himself some tea as well.

"Well it's a good thing ye came back. I 'ave a present for ye." Dirk pulled out a package from under the table and slid it over to Lloyd, who looked at the large wrapped up gift with surprise.

Lloyd didn't waste any time in opening it, and his face lit up when he saw what was inside.

"Dad…"

Swords. Two beautifully, handcrafted swords made with precision and care. They were so much nicer than the dual swords he had been using up to now.

"Thank you so much!" Tears almost welled in his eyes, but he didn't want to look like a baby on his eighteenth birthday. Lloyd went to the other side of the table and hugged Dirk, who grunted and semi-hugged back.

Fifteen years today.

Lloyd knelt down in front of his mother's grave, speaking to the slab of stone like he did often.

"It's my eighteenth birthday today. Well, I don't think today is my actual birthday, but it's the day Dirk found me, and…" The day you were killed.

I was only three.

"I wish you could be here…to see that I'm a man now. I hope you're proud of me. I know I'm not perfect or anything, but I hope you're happy with who I am, who I've become. Even though I only knew you for the first few years of my life, I feel closer to you sometimes than I do to people I've known most of my life." Lloyd sighed, but he felt some sort of relief wash over him, like he knew that she was there and listening. "I love you, Mom."

"So you're really going to do it, you're going to go around the world and work towards peace with the Sylveranti and Tethe'allans." Genis said, though he hadn't expected any less from Lloyd. Once he got his mind on something, it was nearly impossible to dissuade him from it.

"Yeah, I feel like I can make a difference with that. And even if I can't, at least I know I tried."

"Lloyd, once you've set your mind to something, you don't stop until you've completed it. If there's anyone that can make a huge difference, it's you."

Lloyd's brows furrowed. "By the way you're talking, it sounds like you're not coming with me."

"I…I really can't. Raine would never let me, and I can't get more behind on my studies."

But Genis, the entire Journey of World Regeneration you had a book in your hands!

"I…I see." Lloyd said, though he knew that Genis wouldn't lie to him. Genis is well, a genius. He probably did have many things to study…many things that Lloyd could and would never understand.

They walked into class and sat at their desks, waiting for class to start. Lloyd poked Colette in front of him and she turned around.

"Hi Lloyd!" Colette greeted him cheerfully.

"Colette, remember what we were talking about a few days ago? About that trip to dissolve tensions between Sylveranti and Tethe'allans? Would you really be willing to come with me?"

Colette thought for a second and then nodded. "Yes, it sounds like a good idea to me. I'm sure my parents would let me go."

Lloyd grinned ear to ear. "Alright! Does leaving tomorrow sound good to you?"

"Yer doing what?!" Dirk asked, or rather yelled, at Lloyd. "And when were ye plannin' on tellin' me about this little trip?!"

Lloyd 's eyes grew wide with fear as Dirk became angry, quickly. "You don't even know what this trip is for…"

"Ye just came back from a long trip, and now ye leavin' again so soon?" Dirk wasn't just upset that Lloyd was leaving, but more upset at the fact that he would be alone again. Whether or Lloyd knew, Dirk actually loved having the boy around because he kept him company. Without Lloyd, he was just a lonely dwarf living in the outskirts of a small town, doing work to pass the time.

"But this is to help the world too! I want to help the two groups of people of this world come together as one without so much tension and conflict. I feel like it's my duty, and I could help, I know I can."

Dirk thought about this for a second and mumbled under his breath. "Alright, ye can go." Lloyd couldn't believe he was giving up so quickly. "Yer a man now, ye know what's best for ye."

Note to self: give Dad more than a day's notice before ditching him for what could be a very long journey. A second very long journey.

Early the next morning, Lloyd got up and ready, packing a small backpack with clothing and money, and head over to Colette's house. She was waiting on her front steps, and when she saw Lloyd coming in the distance, she got up and ran to meet him, only to trip a few steps away. Lloyd caught her before she fell. We've been here before. Lloyd couldn't help but think to himself as she had saved Colette from falling for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Thanks." She said, looking up at her savior with a smile.

"Sometimes I'd think it'd be easier just to carry you everywhere."