Yeah, I know, AN UPDATE. Blarg, I really don't have any excuse... Life's been life and i had to get away from some stuff, but after coming back I think I can do this nowwwww. After College Applications and Exams I'll be on more hopefully! If someone wants to be my nagger...feel free to PM me. I need someone to bother me about updating stories on a more regular basis... hahaha.
hope you guys like it. Thanks for all the patience, yo. Reviews replies at the end.
summary: Artemis Niels is a part-time topographer, gel maker, and merchant, with some medical talents just for kicks. Dressing as a male comes naturally. but she never thought she'd be dragged on a quest to save the world. 'Tales of the Abyss is not my property'
Page 9:
"And this seal releases more phonon current through my legs, I'd be a bit slower as a person without it I suppose…"
Jade nodded his head. Artemis had kindly explained each of her seals - that is except for two.
"You've two left," Jade reminded.
"I know."
Artemis continued to wash any remaining soap out of her hair. Jade suppressed the urge to treat her too much like Peony. After all, Artemis actually displayed quite some intelligence most of the time. He took to sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose instead.
He looked to his side when Artemis reached over and turned her water off.
"I'll be finished first then," she said simply.
"Who was the extremist?"
Artemis' hand tightened on the shower handle, but it relaxed quickly, as if to not reveal anything.
"What he is…an extremist," she said somewhat bitterly.
She turned quickly, but a little too quickly. She slipped in water on the tile flooring and would have made contact with the floor had Jade not caught her… A very naked Jade.
Artemis pulled herself up as calmly as she possibly could and cleared her throat. She was glad she was facing away from Jade; otherwise he would have seen for sure that her face was bright red. But hearing the man's chuckle told her otherwise.
She groaned.
"Please don't tell me you're a perverted sadist…"
"What would you do if I said I was?"
"I'd hang myself."
Jade was most definitely amused by her immediate response. Of course, that only led him to tease her more. He placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered into her ear.
"Let's not forget who is man and who is woman, Artemis."
SLAP.
Jade blinked. Artemis looked horrified even with a cherry blush on her face. Apparently, she had instinctively slapped him in the face. Funny how she hadn't done that when the Dark Wing leader was hitting on her.
Maybe because the person hitting on her was a man rather than a woman this time around, and nude.
He smirked.
So Artemis did have a feminine side. How cute.
"I-I'm not apologizing."
She quickly pulled on a shirt and a vest then slipped into some underwear and pulled her pants up, with some difficulty though, seeing as her skin was still damp.
"W-we aren't ever bringing this up again."
And she shut the door on Jade.
Guy was staring at the bathroom door. He was a little worried, he had heard something from in there…
Ah, the door finally opened.
Artemis walked out, his face was a little red. Maybe he had been under the hot water too long?
"Hey what was that sound?" Luke asked bored. It wasn't like the young noble was genuinely interested at all.
"Nothing," Artemis replied quickly.
"I slipped in the water… I hit the wall trying to catch myself…"
"Your face is red," Luke pointed out.
"It's kind of embarrassing to have someone watch you slip in water, Luke," Artemis said jumping onto the nearest bed.
Luke scoffed.
"Klutz."
Guy smiled.
"Come on, Luke," he said, "Give him a break."
Luke just looked at him and then turned away.
"Whatever."
The door to the bathroom opened again.
"Alright boys, your turn," Jade came out drying his hair.
Guy stared at Jade. He really, really shouldn't have. But that glowing red spot on his face was very distracting…
"I hit his face on accident," Artemis said.
"But you said you hit the wall," Luke argued.
"I hit his face," Artemis ended flatly.
Luke stared at the green haired man for a few seconds before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Che, whatever."
"Hey, Artemis?" Guy walked over to where Artemis had fallen asleep on one of the beds. The green-haired man didn't wake, instead he snuggled into the bed covers more and hid his face away from Guy. The golden haired man let out a short breath from his nose as he almost laughed at the sleeping man.
"Guy, are you coming or what?" Luke asked impatiently from the door. They were getting supplies and Guy had been wondering if Artemis needed to get anything. It'd be easier to go all-together.
"Just a second, Luke, I want to make sure Artemis doesn't need anything."
Luke groaned obnoxiously, "Are you serious? Just leave him there, the city isn't going anywhere anytime soon! He can get his stuff on his own."
"Oh, I couldn't agree more," Jade suddenly said from behind the young Fabre's shoulder.
"Wh-what?" Luke jolted away from the Malkuthean man.
"Come, now, Luke," Jade smirked, "Like you said, 'the city isn't going anywhere anytime soon,' we should get going. Those two can make their shopping list another time."
Luke gaped at Jade and sputtered a second before scowling at the older man. He gritted his teeth and almost shouted at Guy while keeping eye contact with Jade.
"Guy, you stay here and watch our things, I'll be right back."
Though Luke was obviously upset with Jade, the glasses bearing man was nowhere near upset. And as if to stir the young noble's blood even more, he purposefully broke eye contact with him to look over at Guy.
"I hope you can keep a watch on Artemis as well. We wouldn't want him running off again."
"Ummm, okay."
Guy stared at the door for a few seconds after Jade had closed it.
That was a little odd...but this was Jade, maybe suspicious was the more appropriate word.
Guy sighed and shook his head. There was no knowing about that man. He turned to Artemis. Now the question was if Artemis was the same.
"Artemis?" he reached out to touch the unconscious man's shoulder but a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his wrist. Before the golden haired man could piece together what had just happened he was staring into orbs of swirling blues, greens, yellows and others that he'd come to learn as the Peacock condition. Feeling the weight on his lower waist his eyes shot over to where the pressure was coming from. Artemis was straddling his waist. The reason his eyes had been so close was because the ill man was holding on to the collar of his shirt.
Guy's head snapped to the side when Artemis suddenly shifted his weight. He felt his face heat up immediately. What in the world was he doing? He needed to snap Artemis out of it, before anything dangerous happened.
He turned his head just enough to see Artemis had leaned down so much that their faces were only centimeters apart.
What was this man thinking!
"Artemis!"
Then the Peacock user started to mumble words that the swordsman was very familiar with.
"Music Box: Lulla-"
And so Guy did what any sensible man would do. He slapped his hands over Artemis' mouth and just gawked at the greenhaired man. When Artemis did nothing in response he awkwardly pulled his hands back, leaving them to stay slightly raised around Artemis' shoulders.
"Artemis?"
The Peacock Eyes conditioned Artemis looked down into his eyes before moving again.
-And there was that movement again on Guy's waist. His face flushed as his eyes widened again. Did Artemis even know what he was doing to the poor man!
"Um-"
Something warm touched his forehead...Artemis' forehead.
"GAH!" Guy shoved the man away with both hands. Artemis was pushed to the ground while Guy shot to his feet.
"S-Snap out of it, Artemis!"
There was a groaning sound from the man lying on the ground and Guy was relieved to hear Artemis actually talking.
"Did I seriously roll off the bed...?" the man mumbled. He sat up and leaned on an arm while the other hand held onto his head.
Guy sighed in relief.
"Guy?"
The golden haired man looked down at Artemis' face and immediately regretted it. He felt his cheeks heat up.
"Are you okay?" he hadn't noticed that Artemis had gotten to his feet.
"I-I'M FINE!" Guy exclaimed before shouting a rushed 'excuse me,' and locking himself in the bathroom.
Artemis stared at the door as he heard the water to the showers turn on.
"Guy?"
"J-just taking a shower!" Guy almost ripped his boots off and speedily undressed.
"A shower?" he heard his companion ask from outside the door.
"Do you mind if I-"
Thinking that the man was going to ask if he could join the shower Guy hastily replied that the other shower head had broken down and that no water was coming out of it. There was a delayed reply.
"...Okay, I was going to wash up after you."
Oh, Lorelei, what in the world was he doing. He was getting all flustered over Artemis? They barely knew each other...Not to mention they were both men! Guy groaned and held his head. What was wrong with him. Getting bothered about Artemis- No he wasn't all at fault! A-anyone would have reacted to someone practically- Guy stopped his thoughts their and slammed his head against the bathroom wall.
"Guy, are you okay?"
He made sure the water was cold.
Artemis stuffed her hands in her pocket after thanking the reception man. She had decided it'd be boring to wait for Guy to finish his shower, and she didn't know how much time she had till Luke and Jade came back. She didn't want to start working on something and anyone start bothering her about it. So instead she had asked the reception man if anything interesting had happened recently in the town. After having a short conversation with the man she decided to sit in the lobby area just for a bit and start doing her job, documenting the progress on the Kimlasca-Lanvaldear treaty.
As her scribbling slowed to a stop, her mind wandered over to Luke's friend. She wondered if Guy was okay. Maybe he had seen her fall out of the bed. Perhaps he was embarrassed of something. She hoped she didn't say anything embarrassing in her sleep... Well, Guy should have finished with his shower by now. She closed the thin leather book and slipped it along with her pen into her satchel. She had bought the new book in order to record the treaty. It was pretty expensive...but the occasion was pretty important. Might as well not hold back for it.
And now she was standing in front of the room, having decided it was fine to walk back to the room. Her hand on the knob, she turned it and stepped in.
"I'm back-"
Her eyes met the sight of Guy half-dressed with a towel around his neck. Noting Guy's horrified expression she bowed ever so slightly and apologized. She started to close the door when a stutter stopped her.
"W-wait, Artemis!"
She opened the door to see Guy slip his arms into his shirt.
"L-let's go into town together," he said, "We might be able to find s-something."
Artemis nodded her head, "Alright then."
There was a small pause before Artemis walked swiftly over to him. His eyes widened up until she laid a hand on his forehead, which he squinted his eyes to.
"H-huh?"
"I thought you had a fever or something, but you're freezing. What happened to the water?"
"Th-the heater i-isn't working I gu-guess!"
Artemis nodded her head in understanding and dropped her hand.
"Ah, I see. That makes sense then."
"Guy..."
The temperature suddenly dropped.
Artemis and Guy looked behind the mapmaker and to the open doorway.
"Anise?" Artemis started curiously.
She stomped into the room and stood in front of Artemis, effectively separating her and Guy. She crossed her arms and smiled dangerously at Guy.
"Aren'tyougettingalittleclosetomyArte?"
"Wh-what?" Guy exclaimed, his face turning red.
"WHY ARE YOU TURNING RED?" Anise almost screeched and lunged at the freshly showered man.
"YOU INDECENT MAN!"
"Gah, s-stop that!" Guy jumped over the bed in order to avoid Anise.
"I think I'll be splitting up with you guys," Artemis said. She and Guy along with the girls had gone out to shop. Somewhere along the way they had met up with Luke and Jade.
"I'm going to get some supplies for myself," she explained.
Anise frowned at the thought of her Arte leaving her. The others really paid no mind though.
"A-ah, Artemis, I'll go with you," Guy ran to catch up and slowed down to walk beside her.
"Oh, alright then," she replied. Guy must have been feeling better now.
"Che, when did those two get so close," Luke folded his arms.
Tear sighed, "I think you're just imagining things, Luke."
"I'm sure, they just share some similar hobbies or something like that," Natalie said offhandedly as she spotted a stand she liked, "Oh, Luke, over there!"
With that the princess dragged her fiancée off to said stand, Tear following somewhat reluctantly behind. Jade was looking over to where Artemis and Guy were walking off. Anise stomped a foot onto the ground.
"Oh, I can't stand it!" she exclaimed, "I'll have to keep Guy away from my Arte!"
Jade's eye brows rose in amusement, "And why would that be, Anise?"
Not really thinking about who she was talking to she started her tangent.
"I saw them in the room together!" Well that wasn't anything Jade didn't know would happen himself. "Artemis was feeling his forehead or something." Ah, Guy had gotten sick perhaps. "And get this, he blushed!" Oh? Well this was some interesting news.
"Can you believe it! I'm definitely going to stop this! Just because he's afraid of girls doesn't mean he can-! Jade?" Anise did a full three-sixty after noticing the Colonel had disappeared.
"Anise, you really shouldn't just be standing in the street like that," Tear called.
"Yeah, Aniiiise," Natalia smiled, "Someone might think something's wrong."
"WHAT?" Anise exclaimed, "You she-witch! Get your ugly hands off of my Luke!"
"EXCUSE ME?"
Guy looked over at Artemis nervously. He wasn't really sure why he had jumped at the opportunity to go with Artemis. Maybe it was to figure out why Artemis had run away at that one time...and why he seemed to have tried running away again. M-maybe it was to apologize for his behavior earlier? But then wouldn't he have to ask Artemis to apologize for what-
"Guy?" Artemis asked worried after seeing Guy having punched himself.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said quickly, "Don't worry about it."
He straightened and caught up to his side. The multitalented man was standing in front of a stand lined with glass bottles; some were filled with herbs others with different colored liquids. What was this for...
"I have to make sure I have plenty of first aid supplies," Artemis said offhandedly. He picked up a bottle with a purple herb sitting in it. He held it into the light where it appeared pink. The green-haired man handed it over to the stand merchant.
"-Since I can't use Fonic Artes on myself," he nodded to the merchant and pointed to several other bottles, "I'll take all of those, please.
The merchant nodded his head and bent down to get a sack, when Artemis stopped him
"I don't need a bag. How much?"
The man gruffly said the price and Artemis reached over to her satchel. Guy watched as the man's delicate hands pulled out a sack of gald. -Wait, delicate? Guy stiffly looked away as Artemis paid the merchant his gald.
"That's a nice trick," Guy turned when he heard the merchant talk again.
His eyes caught on Artemis' face again as the man started to laugh.
"It's not really a trick, but thank you," Artemis turned and saw Guy looking. He grinned sheepishly and Guy looked away quickly.
What was going on...
Distracted, he saw out of the corner of his eye as Artemis put a bottle into his satchel, then another, and another, and another, and an-.
"How are you doing that!" Guy exclaimed. There was no way he could fit that many bottles into that small satchel.
Artemis stared at Guy before laughing again.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Y-yeah," Guy was genuinely interested. Artemis always seemed to catch him off guard-
"Oh, I would like to know as well."
The two spun around.
"Jade?"
Poll: Jade(18); Guy(14); Sync(7); Other (...I accidently deleted them...so I dont know the number haha); another side-note, i was wondering if anyone wanted me to draw Artemis (in her new outfit or old)
Philadelphiacheese: LOL okay, thanks a bunch! :D
The Fool Arcana: lol let's go. right nao. XD JK. lol maybe I should dress up as artemis and go to a convention xDD omg you don't know how many times my mom's turned around and I've been smiling like an idiot at the computer xDDD
El-xo: D'AWWWW thanks! That makes me so happy D: and now….OH SHNAP! REALLY? BLAAAAHHHHHH! My brain failed… UGH JUST PRETEND EVENOS AND ION ARE THE SAME PERSONNNN SHHHHHHHHH! LOL nah, i'll go fix it… eventually…. AND WHO KNOWS? MAYBE JADE IS A REAL PERVERTTTTTTT
Saaneaco: lol thanks
Midnightxwolfx: JA THANKS! I IS GO FIX NAO x_x
Cavalyn: LOL thanks a bunch! "seduction/torture from Jade"? LOL OKAY! jkjk, lol, poor artemis…
Labyrnith: aw thanks :D I'm actually really glad they're the closest too xD I'M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT SO LONG!
Springflowerangel: thanks :D
CRimSonaLLoy: thanks thanks
SyncxArietta: aw thankss x3 Artemis is 22! :D
CRiMSOnALLoY I'm glad T^T I AGREE COMPLETELY.
Midnightxwolfx xD your vote is taken.
Eraluan I WILL TRY MY BEST TO /SOB
NigredoXSekaiXRubedo HE IS VERY.