Author's Notes: o.o I didn't notice a grammar error in the old summary T.T This chapter is a little early (or late depending on how you see it) for Christmas xD;; I'll be editing earlier chapters during the holidays when I have more time :D;;

This is full of spoilers for Things Unforgotten (but you all love spoilers anyway so it shouldn't matter XD) And to K005; Yea, I'm one of them xD

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Ragnarok Online

The Spectres of Amatsu

Chapter 5

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The ice wolves were the most revered of creatures in the snow town of Lutie. Lutites honoured the majestic creatures, holding the paragon of their race, Hatii, with especially high regard. A Hatii was the largest and most intelligent of the ice wolves. Lutites respected their raw power and control over the chilling winds, as well as the respect the wolves showed towards their kills. To them, the wolves were much more than mere animals.

But even so, many people lost their lives in encounters with the wolves in the snowfields. Whatever respect they held became a fight for survival; a fight where the Hatii would almost always come out on top. A rare few eyewitnesses recounted of how a Hatii would bend its forelegs, as if in honour of the slain, before letting the younger wolves feed. Occasionally, someone would win against the wolves, and would return to the snow town with a Hatii fang as a proof of their close scrape with death. Many tales of the battle and the fight for survival would ensue before the fireside, but there was always respect for the slain wolves in those words.

The Lutites understood that out there, in the snowfields, there was only survival. There could be no revenge for the lives of lost ones, because the wolves lost their own as well. But with the advancement of technology, magic and swordsmanship, and the introduction of the Kafra, travellers began to flood to Lutie in search of a Hatii. Revenge, bragging rights and battle trophies were all that mattered to them. The understanding of the ice wolves waned until the meaning behind those Hatii fangs vanished. And then the slaughter of the wolves began.

- Erin Farrian

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Lise spent a good portion of the days before Christmas searching for the ghost, but he was nowhere to be found. She strongly suspected he was either sulking or avoiding her because of their last encounter. She was starting to feel even more guilt over what she did, but she tried to put him out of her mind. It was Christmas; she was supposed to be out in the snow celebrating! But the more she tried to stop thinking of him, the more her thoughts lingered. He wouldn't leave her mind, like a stubborn stain on a white cloth. How much of her personality resembled his wife's? How much did he believe Lise was her?

She searched in the Tatami Maze for him one last time before she left for Lutie. Christmas was supposed to be a time for family and friends to enjoy a day together, a day where all the mundane things in life could be forgotten. But she didn't have a family and she didn't want to intrude on her friends, as they had their own families to tend to. Lise didn't mind; there was still plenty in the world for her to see, plenty of secrets for her to unravel. She was content with that.

Her mind flickered back to the current mystery she wanted to solve. He didn't have anyone at the moment either…

Ugh, Lise, you silly priestess, she mentally berated herself. Stop thinking about him!

But after trudging through Lutie's snow covered streets, Lise found herself getting increasingly annoyed at it. It was far too cold for her liking, even when she was wearing layer over layer of clothing until she felt like an overstuffed marshmallow. She could feel the snow that somehow managed to get into her boots melt and stink up her socks. And it didn't help that every time the chill wind caressed her exposed face, she thought of the one who had no warmth…

In an attempt to take her mind off him, Lise asked the local storyteller to tell her everything she knew about Lutie. The woman was more than happy to, and fell into her role with ease. The largest event of Lutie's history – other than its foundation – was when the wizard or alchemist created monster, Stormy Knight, tried to take over the city. Other than that, the snow city had little history to speak of. However, the people of Lutie had a powerful connection with the environment they lived in, much like the Payonese. But unlike their forest dwelling relations, one of the Lutites' representative creatures, the intelligent ice wolves, had been hunted almost to extinction. As a result, the peoples' relationship with the beast had waned over the years. Lise felt the woman had given her a crash course on everything about the ice wolves, from history and physical appearance to mating rituals.

Lise really didn't want to hear the specific details of the latter, so she hastily excused herself and took to the snow paved streets of Lutie. She wandered aimlessly, paying little heed to the children skating on the frozen river encircling the city. But even after being brainwashed by the story teller, her mind was still obsessing over the little hints, the little facts she knew about the ghost. She dissected every memory, every word she had heard him say. He always seemed to sidestep her questions, yet all his words seemed to bear some truth. What did she know of him then?

He misses his wife…

As she was walking past Lutie's famous toy factory, she noticed a huge wall with words carved all over it. It was highly ornamented, and its jet black surface against the white snow was enough to draw her thoughts away from the ghost. When she drew closer to the wall, though, Lise realised that the words were in fact rows upon rows of names and dates. Frowning, she turned to a passer-by. "Excuse me, could I ask you a question?"

The man nodded. "Sure."

"What's the significance of those names and dates carved on that wall?" She pointed at it.

"That? Oh, those are all the Lutie children who were born on Christmas day. We stopped carving names after a while, ever since expecting mothers started trying to force births on Christmas so their kid could have their name there. Hasn't been done for a while now, but the thing still stands since it's a part of our history."

"Thank you for your time."

"No problem." He walked away, humming a Christmas carol.

Lise wasn't really interested in poring over the lists and lists of names, but her eyes threw a cursory glance over the stone. Her brain suddenly froze when she saw a name she recognised. Stepping closer so she could see the letters better, she tried to convince herself that she wasn't seeing things.

"NightEyes…Themofast…" she whispered, running her gloved fingers over the grooves. And then she saw the year beside his name. Feather really wasn't wrong. "Oh God…his wife can't still be alive. He's been dead for centuries! She's been dead for centuries!"

Did he even realise it had been centuries after his death? Or was he in denial, convincing himself that one day he'd be able to see her again?

Abruptly turning on her heel, Lise hurried towards the nearest Kafra. "A warp to Amatsu please," she said quietly, slipping the woman cold coins.

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He looked down at the messy scrawl that he had scratched across the page. Ink stained his hands, leaving dark splotches and snake-belly trails of smudges. His tongue-stud skittered across the back of his teeth as he anxiously waited for a reaction from her.

He was an awkward, graceless condor, trying to court a phoenix with the soft plumage. But if the phoenix brushed him away, he would burn.

She smiled, warm flames gently tickling his sides as she enfolded him in her embrace. "I love you too."

Lips soundlessly repeated the words. But this time, there was no reply.

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She entered the Maze, brushing the snow from her hair before it started to melt. She had shed the extra garments from Lutie at her room in one of Amatsu's inn before running to the Tatami Maze. She began her search in the secluded room, since that was where she had always found the ghost. Lise breathed a soft sigh of relief when she saw him half lying across the table, toying with the flowers in the vase. The flowers were white chrysanthemums, almost glowing in the dim light. He looked up, a wistful expression softening his angular features.

"She used to make tea from these…" he mumbled, shutting his eyes. He broke off a petal and pressed it to his lips, as if he was savouring their soft scent. And then he let the petal float to the ground, gently coming to rest at Lise's feet.

Lise didn't know what to say. His strangely contemplative mood and her mixed emotions regarding him had stubbornly clamped themselves around her heart and mind. Silence billowed from the chasm between them. Lise had her foot on the bridge spanning it, but she was neither here nor there. She couldn't cross the yawning chasm; there were several planks missing in the bridge, holding her at bay. He had reminded her that no matter how much she was like his dead wife, Lise wasn't her. And there wasn't anything she could do about it.

It only made her pity him more.

She didn't dare break the silence, so he did it for her. Standing up, he stuck his hands in his pockets as he strode towards her. His angular features were all the more haunting in the low light. "What questions do you want to hammer me with today, priestess?"

"I…I actually didn't come here to ask you anything." Why did she come here today? All the answers she needed would be falling into her lap within a few more days. And she didn't want to be the one to ask him if he knew his wife was dead. It had been a sudden, impulsive urge to see him that had drawn her here. "I haven't seen you ever since…" She didn't want to finish that sentence. "I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."

He snorted, a smirk on the edge of his lips. "Sh' naw, I wasn't avoiding you. I was taking the piss outta the tin-can. Got nothing else to do around here."

"Oh, I see…" Somehow, she never thought he would be doing anything that did not involve bothering her, even if it was just bothering someone else. For some reason, she had just assumed he would only either be thinking of his wife or…thinking of her. She was caught in a sandstorm of confusion, where the winds of emotion swirled around her. And the raging storm prevented her from taking a step outside.

He paused, staring at her with a thoughtful look on his face. She squirmed under his gaze. "You seem different today, priestess."

She tried to smile, but all that came out was a sigh caught between twisted lips. "I could say the same to you."

This time he frowned. "You don't sound like yourself. Something wrong?" He stepped towards her.

Lise unconsciously shied away from him. She really didn't want to answer the question, especially when she didn't know the answer herself. A faint glint coming from his left hand caught her attention. Relieved at having found a distraction, she pointed to it. "What's that?"

He tilted his head as if to say 'oh, this?' Opening his palm, he let the thing in his hand drop. A crystalline fang dangled from a black leather thong, twisting through the air. The leather was wrapped around his hand, so he would never lose it. She had never noticed it around his hand; the black colour blended with his gloves. The way it was tied to him made her think it was important to him; maybe his wife gave it to him? Lise couldn't help but think the fang connected him to the living world like the leather connecting the fang to him. If he lost it, he would be cut adrift, directionless.

He didn't make any objections, any movement to stop her, when she reached out to have a closer look. Taking the fang gently with her forefinger and thumb, she instantly felt them go numb from the cold. At first she had thought the thing was a crystal imitation Hatii fang souvenir from Lutie, but the biting cold told her it wasn't made of crystal.

This was a real Hatii fang.

Something clicked in the back of her mind. Lise remembered the some of what the woman had told her regarding Hatii fangs. For him to have one meant he had overcome a Hatii in battle. And he had lived before the Hatii hunting parties, making it worth much more. But while NightEyes had survived their encounter, the Hatii had not and slowly faded from existence. And now it was his turn to fade like the Hatii…

The storm raged stronger, but she ignored it, stepping into the swirling winds. "Please, realise that I'm not…her…" she said quietly.

He blinked in surprise as she took a step closer, gently pushing his arms out of the way. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face into the furred collar of his jacket. He was so cold, so cold, yet…she couldn't bring herself to think of him as a dead memory. He was dead, but she could still feel a faint heartbeat that was beating faster, faster. He was so cold, yet he felt…alive…

He's too alive…He's too human…

Intially he tensed up, his heart beating faster, faster, against her. But as her numb fingers dug into his back that felt all too real, he slowly relaxed. Encircling his own arms around her, he completed the embrace of warmth and cold. Lise could feel her warmth flow away from her, flowing into him as if she was giving life to his cold, dead flesh. But she realised the terrible truth; she couldn't give him life, only death. His chilling embrace, intended to comfort her, could only kill her. And it only made their awkward embrace hurt more.

Pressing her face further into the fur of his jacket so he couldn't see her tears, Lise hugged him tighter, as if he would turn to mist any moment and slip from existence.

"Why are you doing this, priestess?" he whispered faintly.

Suddenly the storm quelled, and she realised why she came. There were so many reasons. Because he didn't deserve this. Because he didn't deserve to live on as a ghost. Because he didn't deserve to have his only reason for living to be a lie. But most of all, because…

"You don't deserve to be alone."

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Author's Note: I haven't actually experienced snow, so I have to guess. And for the (perverted) friends reading this, I am not implying ghost sex. This was probably the easiest chapter to get over 2k words, even though it was meant to be just a short interlude DX Mmm, we're almost up to where I'm stuck plot-wise. I guess I'd better get things figured out soon…

Comments and criticism welcome.