"Well," Mark said as he ducked a flying arrow, hands over his head, "this certainly isn't what I'm used to."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm never in the middle of the battle when I do my tactics; I stay in one place, a home base, and have somebody scout around to see how it's going."

"Oh?" She looked mildly surprised. "You know that I've only seen you work your magic"—Mark chuckled—"that one time during the surprise attack, so I never knew that. In a formal battle field, then, that's what you do?"

"Yes, and I must say it works quite well. Your method is interesting too, though." He smiled encouragingly, but she knew that he was just saying that to make her feel better.

"I know you'd probably rather have me tactic your way," she said and he raised his eyebrows in surprise at her forwardness, "and I do see where you're coming from."

"I never said—"

"I know you didn't, but I saw that disapproving glint in your eyes." She smiled at him, and he smiled back sheepishly. "Obviously your method is much safer, and I've considered it before, but I figured that it was easier for me to get into the action so I could tell what was going on. I'm more of a visual person, you know. And it's a risky move, I'll admit, and it was scary at first, being so close to danger and all, but I've gotten used to it."

He didn't respond for a moment, looking off to his right to watch Canas blast an axe man to pieces. When he looked back at Jasmine, he was beaming.

"I'm so proud of you, Jasmine, dear. You've grown so much—not only in your knowledge of tactics, but also as a person." He paused, seemed to be internally conflicted with whether or not he ought to say something, but apparently he decided to speak because he said, very delicately, "You sure showed your father that you could do whatever you put your mind to, that you didn't have to put with his ways and that you're a far stronger person than he thought you to be. I daresay he'd think himself a fool if he were to see how far you've come."

She instantly knew why he had trouble deciding on whether or not he ought to say that. At first she felt a little uneasy at his words, at the mention of her Pops, but she smiled. Mark had, after all, complimented her, and it was a very kind compliment indeed. "Thank you, Mark," she murmured, "Thank you...you have no idea how much that means to me."

He smiled at her and nodded. He walked off, hands clasped behind his back, as he took in his surroundings. His eyes were sharp and missed no details.

"You know, Mark," Jasmine said as she approached him, "I'd love to see you in action."

He laughed. "I'm a bit rusty, darling. I think I'll just mess up your brilliant plan."

"But I've only seen you direct an army once!" she whined. "And I couldn't even pay much attention since I was too busy trying not to get killed! Besides, once you're a brilliant tactician, you stay a brilliant tactician."

He smiled genuinely at her. "That's very sweet of you to say. I wouldn't want to intrude on your tactics, though...this is, after all, your army, and you ought to direct them."

"But I want you to! C'mon, Mark, for old times' sake!"

He looked down at her pleading eyes and sighed. "Fine, then."

She squealed in delight. He rolled his shoulders, straightened up his cloak, and cracked his fingers.

"Let's get started, then, shall we?"

~x~x~x~

Raven couldn't believe it, but he actually didn't mind listening to Serra babble. He'd always found her ridiculously annoying, but today, he didn't really mind. At least Serra could watch after herself now, although she did almost catch Raven on fire. But that wasn't the point.

"You alright, pretty boy?" grinned Legault as he twirled around him. He casually threw a dagger and it hit an enemy monk in the throat. "You're awfully quiet."

"I'm battling," Raven growled, slashing his sword forth. It came in contact with the enemy myrmidon's chest, and he roughly yanked his sword back out. "I have no time to chat."

"You always seem to have time to chat with my Scar-buddy, though, don't you?" Legault replied in a sing-song voice, grinning widely. Raven sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That's only because she's always bothering me. She needs to learn how to pay more attention to her surroundings and spend less time yapping. The same goes for half of this army!"

"We're all just enjoying our time."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "We're in the middle of a war. It's no time to have fun."

"Then when will we ever have fun?" questioned Legault. "The world is always at war. If we don't take the time to enjoy and cherish everyday, then we won't have a chance to ever enjoy life. You have to make the best of your situation."

Raven stared at him. Serra sent an enemy on fire, and she giggled and clapped in glee, shouting "Did you see that?" as she watched him run around screaming. "You've been spending a lot of time with that poet Mark, haven't you?"

Legault burst out in a fit of laughter. "No, I actually can't say I have. Very kind man, respects me as much as he respects the Lords, but a little too overprotective and dramatic, don't you think? After he heard me call Jas 'Scar-buddy' he was on me like a hawk! I don't think he likes me much anymore; hasn't spoken to him since."

Raven nodded thoughtfully.

"We've secured the last fortress," Rath said as he rode up to them. He sheathed his sword.

"Ah, wonderful!" cried Serra, bounding toward the men. "My spell book was starting to get a little overused."

"What was in that village over there?" questioned Legault. Rath held up an Elysian whip. "Ah, well. Isn't very useful to me, is it?"

"Aren't Florina and Fiora already full-fledged Falcon knights already?" Serra frowned.

"There's Heath," Raven pointed out. "Maybe he could use it." He shrugged. "Either way, we ought to keep it."

"Well of course we should! Maybe we can sell it and finally buy some decent equipment! My shoes have gotten ruined from the last time we marched!"

The three men exchanged looks.

"There you all are! Hmm? Where's Bartre?" Lowen asked as he rode toward them.

"He's securing the village," Rath responded.

"Do you need something, Lowen?" questioned Serra.

"The lords have investigated around these parts and have found nothing to help us. Apparently Lord Hector had gotten false information."

"I knew something was fishy," grumbled Legault. "I knew that something was wrong as soon as I saw Pascal."

"And you couldn't have warned us?" snapped Raven. Legault shrugged.

"Well, I was sure that Lord Hector had a reason for coming here. Besides, I don't know the details of the lords' plans; there wasn't much input I could provide."

"You're right," grumbled Raven. "That brute Hector won't listen to anybody but himself, anyway."

Serra giggled.

Lowen cleared his throat awkwardly. "Err…well, yes, anyways, I came here to tell you that the battle is over and we're ready to march."

"March?" Serra shrieked incredulously. "Again? Don't we get to rest in a village or something? I'm exhausted from all this fighting."

"The Lords said that we don't have any time to lose…what with the time constraint we have, we need to keep on moving. Besides, it's only dawn…it's not too late…"

Serra let out an indignant huff. "Easy for them to say. They weren't casting spells all day long! My arms are aching!"

"And you think it's easier to swing an ax around than to lift a spell book?" Legault raised an eyebrow.

"No," Serra admitted, "but he doesn't have to be swinging it around the entire time! I have to hold my spell book in the air the entire time, and I have to recite incantations…it's a lot of work, you know, especially for a fragile girl like me."

"Hey, is the battle over?" Bartre asked with a frown as he joined the group.

"Yes," said Lowen. "And now we must march on. We really should get back to the rest of the army…I'm sure they're all gathered by now…"

"Do you have to be so pushy, Lowen?" huffed Serra. He opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. "We'll go when we're good and ready. You ready, guys?"

"Let's hurry up," growled Raven. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we stop and set up camp."

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we eat…" mumbled Lowen. Rath's mouth twitched.

"Bartre! Rath! Serra!" Everybody turned to see Fiora hovering above them. Legault mumbled something about being excluded from the names she called. "So you did find them, after all, didn't you, Lowen?"

"Yes, of course," he frowned. "Why wouldn't I have?"

"Well, you hadn't come back yet, so we figured that you'd either gotten lost or couldn't find the group."

Lowen grumbled incoherently underneath his breath, cheeks flushing a light pink.

"Come now, everybody, we really have no time to waste."

She flew off, gesturing for them to follow. Immediately Lowen set off after her, indignant of the conclusion she and the rest of the army had come to. Rath followed, and soon the others did as well.

"Ah! You found them, Fiora!" Eliwood said as he noticed the group approaching.

"They were right where they were supposed to be," she said as she flew down beside Florina. Farina, who had been speaking to Florina, abruptly let out an indignant "humph!" and looked away. "They just got sidetracked is all." She looked over at Lowen. "We really must work on that…"

Lowen's neck turned red.

"Don't be such a bully, Fiora," snapped Farina. "Not everybody's perfect like you."

"I wasn't being a bully," Fiora responded hotly. "I was simply suggesting that—"

"You're not head of this army, are you? You shouldn't be giving orders like that."

"Fiora wasn't trying to act like head of the army," Florina said, trying to avert the argument. "She was just trying to help."

"Thank you, Florina."

"Who's side are you on? Mine or hers? Clearly I'm right, so—"

"She's not on anybody's side! Keep Florina out of this. This is between you and me; don't try to change the subject."

"I wasn't trying to change the subject! I was just pointing out that—"

"Ladies," Marcus said in a firm tone, his sharp eyes on them.

They immediately silenced. Fiora hung her head but only after giving Farina a sharp look; Farina folded her arms and huffed indignantly; Florina turned a bright red and shuffled her feet.

Hector, who had been watching the sisters argue with an amused look on his face, returned his attention to the task at hand. He looked up toward the setting sun.

"We should be able to squeeze in some time marching today. Let's get a move on."

"But Lord Hector!" whined Serra as the army began to move, "We're tired!"

"I don't see anybody else complaining," Hector responded. He looked around to make his point.

"That's only because everybody's too scared of you to admit it!"

Eliwood laughed. Lyn giggled at Eliwood's laugh, and Hector glared at them.

"They're only scared of his face," Lyn said, grinning widely. He gaped at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he shouted.

"It means exactly what it's supposed to mean!" she laughed.

"They'll be more scared of your face once I'm through with you!" He made a move to grab her, but she laughed and ducked out of the way. Squealing with laughter, she dashed passed her comrades, squeezing passed them and interrupting conversations. Hector plowed right through them, shouting and shaking his fist.

"Play nice, you two!" Eliwood shouted after them.

"I hope we can figure out some good, reliable information at the palace," Lyn said as she slurped on her stew. "We need to find that Emblem as soon as possible."

"I hate how little time we have," Hector grumbled, munching on his corn. "The Shrine of Seals better be worth it."

"Of course it's worth it," Eliwood said immediately. "Any step we can take to stop the Fang we take, right?"

"Of course," Lyn said. "We have to stop them before…" she trailed off.

"Before Nergal brings back the dragons," Hector finished for her. He stood up and walked over to the pot brewing over the fire, only to gape down at it. He spoke to Rebecca for a moment before returning to the other lords. He looked grouchy. "They ran out of stew," he grumbled. "It was my favorite, too; lamb stew with potatoes. Lowen always puts the right amount of spice in it…and its so tender…" He stared at the bowl of stew in Lyn's hands.

"First come first served," she grinned.

Without a warning, he snatched it out of her hands. She gasped and tried to take it back, but he raised it out of her reach. Then, turning, he slurped up some of her stew by placing his lips on the bowl. Lyn pounced on him, wrestling the stew out of his hands.

"Hector!" she said, slightly out of breath. Her eyes were wide. "You can't just take my food like that!"

"I just did, didn't I?" He was grinning widely. A bit of stew was stuck on his chin. Lyn rolled her eyes and slapped him on his arm. "Ow!"

"That's what you get," she said and made a face at him. "Geez, you ate half of it!"

"I told you it's my favorite."

"And I told you first come first served; I got to the stew first, so it's mine to eat!"

Eliwood chuckled and shook his head. The smile slipped off his face as he noticed the bowl of stew that he held. Glancing back at Hector, and back at the stew, he realized that it wasn't worth the risk; so he quietly got up and scurried to the other side of the fire, where Ninian and Nils were talking with Dorcas.

"…and such a messy eater," Lyn said as she wiped Hector's chin with a handkerchief. He made a face like a child and swatted her away. He scowled at her. She giggled.

"Should you really be talking?" He leaned in toward her, picking a carrot out of her hair.

"That was your fault!" she gasped. "You made some of the stew spill when you took it."

"Actually, I think it was when you took it back from me."

"I wouldn't have had to take it back and spill it if you hadn't taken it in the first place!"

"Well," Hector grinned, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back, "I—oof!"

Lyn pealed into laughter as Hector fell over.

Raven rolled his eyes as he watched the blueheaded idiot fall on his head. To think that the man who headed the army argued over a bowl of stew.

"Hey!"

A girl with a head of hair as blue as Hector's sat down beside Raven. She grinned. He looked around him, then realized that she'd spoken to him.

"…Are you talking to me?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I don't see anybody else around here."

"Actually, we're surrounded by about thirty other people."

She gave him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't."

"Then you must be more lightheaded than I thought."

He glared at her. "Did you just come here to bother me?"

"Sorta." She paused, frowning all cutely. "What, you don't want me to bother you?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, good, I knew you wouldn't mind!" She laughed at his scowl. "Yeesh, I don't recall you being so rude and grouchy the last time I talked to you. I thought you were some uptight and strict guy, like Fiora. Turns out you're just a rude jerk. It's hard to decide which one I like more."

He raised an eyebrow. Had this woman lost her mind? "What are you talking about? This is the first time I'm talking to you."

She frowned, eyebrows furrowing deeply. "What are you talking about? I talked to you earlier today during the battle, remember? I'm Farina, the new Pegasus knight. How can you forget so quickly?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about; this is the first time I've heard of you."

She looked affronted. "What? Surely you must've heard of me; I'm famous for being one of the best Pegasus knights around! There's a reason I'm getting paid 20,000 gold for joining this army, after all!"

Raven's eyes bulged. "20,000 gold?" he exclaimed.

She grinned widely, nodding her head vigorously. "Of course. Only the best get paid so much."

"There's no way that that lout Hector is going to pay you that much."

"He's already paid me my first amount." Her grin widened.

"Wow," Raven muttered, "he really is an idiot."

"You talk about your employer like that?"

"You will too, soon enough. Besides, I don't even work for him."

"Oh? You work for Lord Eliwood?"

"No. I work for nobody."

Farina's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "So you're not getting paid?"

"No."

She looked absolutely shocked for a moment, and looked at Raven as if he'd grown three heads. "Then what are you even doing here?" she cried.

He was silent for a moment, looking away. Then he muttered, "I have my reasons."

She was also quiet for a moment. "I can't believe it…some people." She shook her head. She paused, frowning deeply as she realized something. "Wait a second…I thought you were a knight? Surely you must get paid."

He gave her a strange look. "Do you have a screw loose, woman? I'm no knight. I'm a mercenary."

"Hey! There's no reason to talk to me like that! All my screws are tight and secure, thank you very much! But wait a second…I swear you were a knight…" She trailed off, hand to her chin, staring at Raven intently. She gasped suddenly. "I'm talking to the wrong redhead!"

He rolled his eyes and heaved a big sigh. "Wow." He wasn't sure what else to say.

She scowled at him. "Don't look at me like that; I'm not stupid, alright? It's just dark and all you redheads look alike so I thought…"

"We don't all look alike," he argued. "That's like saying that all people with blue hair look alike. So you look like Hector, then."

"Hey! Are you saying that I look like a man?" she said incredulously, folding her arms across her chest. He simply smirked in response. She gasped and punched him on the arm, much to his surprise. He glared at her.

"Hey, you're the idiot for getting me mixed up for somebody else!"

"It was an innocent mistake! But calling me a man? That's a completely different story! I ought to hang you up by your toes!"

He raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to smile. "You want to hang me up by my…toes?"

"You heard me! And I should let Murphy chomp that pretty red hair off your head!"

"Murphy?" Raven frowned deeply. Hopefully Hector hadn't hired some crazy beast man that enjoyed eating people's hair.

"Murphy is my Pegasus."

"Oh. That makes a lot more sense."

"Who did you think he was? A person?"

Raven shrugged. Farina laughed.

"You're funny! You know, you're actually not half-bad; maybe even better than that uptight redhead I'd originally thought you were."

Raven's eyebrows rose. He didn't know if he should've felt annoyed, insulted, or flattered.

Raven didn't have a chance to respond (not that he had much of a response anyway) because somebody called out Farina's name. They both turned to see Florina walking toward them. She was smiling, but when she noticed Raven, her smile faltered slightly and there was a sudden change in the way she walked; she'd been strutting quite confidently toward her sister, but now she slowed, shrinking a little.

"Hey, Sis. You need something?"

"Sorry," she muttered, glancing through her pretty eyelashes at Raven, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything…"

"You're not! Just ignore him." She waved noncommittally at Raven. He scowled at her. "What's up?"

"I-I just wanted to let you know that we set up the tent."

"Oh, great!"

"It might be a bit cramped with the three of us, if that's alright."

Something on Farina's expression flickered. "Fiora's bunking with us?"

"Of course." She paused. "We weren't able to get another tent, and probably won't until we're able to reach Bern, so..."

Farina was biting her lip, looking a little conflicted. She sighed. "I wouldn't mind bunking with you at all, Florina, but Fiora? I'm not so sure about that…"

"Well, you can always bunk with somebody else." Florina's expression fell. "Though it won't be as much fun without you…"

"Oh, don't look at me like that!" She covered her face, only to peek through her fingers. "Oh, fine, I'll bunk with you guys. Stop looking at me like that, though! And this arrangement is only until I get a tent of my own!"

"Yay!" Florina squealed, jumping up like a child. Raven raised an eyebrow, and she instantly withdrew shyly, ducking her face. "I guess you'll come when you're done…?" She looked questioningly toward Raven.

"Yeah, it's fine, we were just…hey! Don't look at her like that!" Farina, once again, slapped Raven on the arm.

"Ow! Stop hitting me!"

"Then stop scowling at Florina like that!"

"Scowling?" He scowled. "I wasn't scowling!"

"Yes you were, and you sure are now! Florina did nothing wrong; don't look at her like she did!"

"Sis," Florina mumbled, embarrassed, "it's fine. He wasn't doing anything wrong."

"Nobody looks at my sis like that!" Farina huffed, puffing out her chest.

"Raven, I never knew you thought of Florina like that!" Everybody was surprised to see Jasmine slide in beside Raven. She was smirking mischievously. "I mean, she is really pretty, so I don't blame you for looking at her…but still! If you're interested in a woman, you don't just look at her like she's a piece of meat! You have to be respectful and gentlemanly."

Farina burst out in a fit of laughter, Florina blushed furiously and looked at the ground, and Raven put a hand to his temple in exasperation.

"It looks like Dart has some competition, now, though, huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows and winked at Florina. She turned even redder, as did her ears and neck. Farina immediately spun around and was on Florina like a hawk.

"Who's Dart?"

"He's just a member of the army," Florina said all too quickly.

"If that's all he is, why are you so red?" Florina would've turned redder if she could've, but since she physically couldn't, she ducked her head and hid her face. "Florina! We have a lot to talk about tonight!" She jumped up. Florina squealed, hid her face behind her hands, and ran off as Farina chased after her, shouting, "Is he rich?"

Raven shook his head. His lips twitched. "Look what you've done, tactician." He looked at her, and his lips twitched even more. It was hard to resist the urge to laugh.

She grinned widely. "Hey, this is inevitably your fault; you shouldn't have been looking at Florina like that in the first place. I would've never thought …you, having an interest in sweet little Florina."

"I'm not interested in her," he growled. "And I wasn't looking at her in that way."

"Oh? Well, you certainly seem to have a way with the ladies. Farina was all over you!"

"She was not." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes she was! I saw the way she giggled at everything you said!"

"We argued the entire time, and she kept hitting me."

"You mean hitting on you?" She laughed when he gave her a look. "Oh, I'm just kidding! Why, in sweet St. Elimine's name, would anybody be interested in you?"

He scowled even darker. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're not exactly the nicest guy around…or the most patient…and you're certainly not the friendliest. Oh, and you sure aren't—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he interrupted with a roll of his eyes.

"You are pretty easy on the eyes, though," she mumbled underneath her breath. She peeked at Raven through the corner of her eye. Although she'd mumbled it, it was just loud enough for him to hear. He wasn't sure if she'd done that intentionally or not.

His eyebrows shot up, and he leaned in toward her slightly. She didn't look miffed one bit. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

She turned to him, and her smirk was mischievous, almost…flirtatious. "And if I did?"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was the tactician flirting with him? He was momentarily speechless, rather entranced by that smirk on her face, but he managed to slur, "Then either you've spent one too many days with that green knight or I haven't been getting enough sleep."

She laughed, making her curly hair bounce. She grinned at him, cocking her head. "Perhaps you've been up too many nights thinking about Florina?"

He groaned, slapping a hand to his face. "Will you stop with that nonsense already?"

She laughed and put her hands in the air, in a motion of peace. "Fine, fine." She paused, grinning widely. "I know that it's Farina you're actually after." She burst out laughing when he glared at her coldly. "Oh, I'm just kidding, Raven. Don't be such a grouch; take a joke once in a while." Her blue eyes sparkled humorously.

He merely scowled darker. She smiled cheekily at him.

"And you should consider smiling and laughing more often."

"And you should consider leaving me alone and shouting your mouth more often."

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, lifting her chin. "If you're going to be so rude, maybe I won't give you it."

He frowned in confusion. "Give me what?"

She smirked slightly, looking at him through the corner of her eye. She fished something out of her pocket. She showed it to him, but he didn't know what was significant about it; it was just a small blue bottle.

"What's that?"

"It's a bottle of Afa's Drops," she replied, looking at him. "Lord Athos gave it to me."

"You've had them for a while, then," he said with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," she admitted. She hesitated. "I just had trouble deciding who to give it to."

He looked up at her. "And you decided to give it to me?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" she laughed. "But yes, after some thinking, I finally decided to give it to you. Take it."

"…Why me?" he asked as he gently took it.

"You're always saving me, and I figured that this would be a nice way to thank you."

"What does it do?" He twirled it around in his hands, examining it.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Lord Athos said that it 'enhances natural abilities'—whatever that means. But since he gave it to me, it ought to be powerful, right?"

"I don't know," Raven said. She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe this is actually poison."

She laughed. "Oh, so you can make jokes, can't you?" He didn't respond. "Well, I'm pretty positive it's not poisoned. But if you do die, I'll take the blame."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome," she said all too cheerfully. He rolled his eyes. Then, softly, she asked him, "You trust me, right, Raven?"

He looked at her, surprised at the sudden question. "I let you boss me around on the battlefield, don't I?" When she didn't respond, he took a deep breath and answered in all seriousness, "Yes, Jasmine, I unfortunately do trust you."

She playfully swatted him at the 'unfortunately' but aside from that, she was beaming. "Then you should be able to take those Drops without a problem."

He raised an eyebrow. "So it all comes down to trust? Over such a petty thing?"

"Many things come down to trust," she answered. She added a quiet, "unfortunately" afterwards.

He was silent for a moment, watching her. He drew himself up and asked, in the most serious tone, "And do you trust me, Jasmine?"

She looked at him, eyebrows raised so high that they disappeared beneath her hair. She was silent for a few moments, seeming to seriously think over the question, and she finally answered, "Yes. Yes, I do trust you."

"Then you really are denser than I thought."

She gasped and elbowed him, lips pursed. She looked away, chin held up, arms folded. He laughed.

"I was just kidding!" She made no response. "Oh, c'mon tactician, you've been the one who's been joking around and telling me to loosen up!"

Again, she made no response. Raven wasn't sure if she was just doing it to annoy him or if she was actually offended. Before he could apologize (he was actually planning on it, although reluctantly), she extended her hand toward him, although she still didn't look at him. He looked at her curiously.

"Touch my hand."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You heard me. Just touch it."

He furrowed his eyebrows. Well, that was a strange request. Nonetheless, not wishing to anger her further, he took her hand. He heard her chuckle a little, as if in disbelief. She turned to him, and she was smiling.

"So I really do trust you." She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she'd said.

He had no idea what touching her hand had to do with trust, but he decided to loop his fingers through hers. She looked down at their intertwined hands in surprise.

"There," he said softly. "It's a sign of our mutual trust."

She looked up at him with her eyebrows crinkled, her mouth turned up in a small smile. "So are you ready to take those Drops or what?" Her smile turned into a grin, and the grave atmosphere disappeared instantly.

He gave her a calculated look, and then nodded. "Alright." Taking his hand away from hers, he unscrewed the bottle. There was a small syringe connected to the bottle cap, and he squeezed it into the bottle so he could get the blue and thick liquid. He raised the syringe to his mouth, gave Jasmine a look, and squirted into his mouth. It tasted bitter like medicine, and he made a face as he screwed the cap back on. There was no way he was going to drink it all.

"So?" she asked. "How do you feel?"

He paused. "I don't feel any different."

"Maybe it's because you didn't take it all."

"I'll finish it later." He wasn't sure if he was lying or not; he didn't know if he wanted to taste that again.

"At least you're not dead," she pointed out.

"Not yet."

She laughed and stood up. "Then I guess I could only hope to see you tomorrow; if I don't, I do wish you the best of luck in Hell."

"I've experienced enough hell with you," he grumbled, "so I think I can handle it."

"Oh, shut up and go to sleep!" was her way of saying good night. She gave him a little wave as she walked off. He pocketed the Drops, stood up, stretched his limbs, and headed toward his tent. If the Afa's Drops did turn out to be poison, he could only hope that Hell was better than this miserable place.

Hey, long time no see! It's been a while since I updated, I know, but hey, at least I've got it up now! The next update will probably be sometime in late June or July. Probably. Don't take my word for it.

Wow, I just realized that it's been a while since I've written my little author's notes. O.o I'm having difficulty deciding what to say! Well, first off, I guess, Raven and Jasmine are kinda getting jealous! Raven's jealous of her interactions with Mark (usually in the battlefield he's stuck with Jasmine, but this time around he wasn't, which was why he didn't really mind Serra since he was too annoyed thinking about those two) and Jasmine's jealous of his interactions with Farina and Florina. You know, I always thought a support conversation between Farina and Raven would've been interesting...seems like it would've been funny, with those two arguing. Oh, and the redhead she got Raven mixed up with was Kent, if you didn't get that. How rude, huh?

I think that's enough of my rambling. I trust that you guys can try to deduce some confusing areas on your own, because even though I'd like to, I don't wanna give too much away :P ...And shoot, I just got water on my computer screen. Gotta run! Happy reading!