"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"I wouldn't have offered in the first place if I wasn't completely sure about it." I shrug and hold the sword up closer to my face, squinting to examine it a bit closer. It's a long blade, relatively thin when compared to my own, tapering off at the end into a sharp tip. The hand and a half hilt feels comfortable enough in my hand, the edges of the crossguard tipping upwards. The steel shines in the sunlight as I twist and turn my wrist, slowly swinging it back and forth. God, this feels really light, the fucks up with this? It feels kind of weird, though it certainly seems sturdy enough.

'Have you actually looked at your sword? You could use the blunt half to hammer someone's head in, though it suits someone like you, doesn't it?'

"I suppose." The pride and bravado in Edwards' voice and stance from before seems to have faded away, shoes shuffling against the dirt as he moves into a stance, left foot in front of the other, his identical sword held in a lax one handed grip.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, I just know how fun it is to spar is all. It's better than being stuck in your own thoughts, I'm not gonna force you to do this or anything." I speak as I drop my arm to my side, idly tapping the flat of the blade against the side of my leg.

'Don't cut yourself, dumbass.'

Come on, I'm perfectly safe here.

"No no, I do, just… I don't know, I'm just surprised you suggested it all, given what happened a bit ago." His lips purse together into a tight frown as he stares, his spare hand rubbing the back of his neck. Ah, that certainly explains why he's so skittish about this.

"Listen, this isn't about me, is it? I want to help you, Edward. Besides, I can handle myself, I'm a grown man." I try to assure the man as best I can, winking as I thump my fist against my chest. "Besides, it's cute that you worry. "

"You concern me sometimes." He responds with a sour sounding scoff, though it doesn't really match up with the faint smile on his face. He does look a bit less tense though, at the very least, the man rolling his shoulders.

'You and me both, Edward. This bastard doesn't even need to be in your head to know you're a mess.'

"So, any limitations?" I question as I raise my blade upwards, rolling my wrists along with it for a moment longer. Not exactly used to the weight just yet, but it'll have to do for now. Just because I'm not comfortable with this doesn't mean I won't give him a run for his money.

"No magic, obviously."

"I don't have my mana crystal with me anyways." Not that I'd use it against him even if I did have it on me, I wasn't even willing to entertain the thought. "Am I good to sock you in the face, or are we restricted to swords only?"

"Mn, I forgot about your… unique style of fighting for a moment, it's been a while since I've seen it." I raise an eyebrow as he snickers in response, his small smile turns into an amused smirk, a teasing twinkle dancing behind his eyes.

"The fuck does that mean, huh? There's nothing wrong with using whatever I have on hand, even if it's my actual hands."

"You're not entirely wrong, it's just unorthodox is all. Where'd you learn it anyways?" I hold my raised brow and stare at him, tilting my head towards him. Come on, really? His silence is a telling response, the man blinking as his face turns pink. "Ah, right, sorry about that."

"Jesus, you're really good at eating your own foot. Did you manage to do that when you went out with Lucy, too?"

"For fucks sake." His reply is accompanied with an exasperated sounding groan, burying his face into a spare hand. I can see him glare through the gaps of his fingers as I snicker aloud, my lips curling into a smug grin. "To answer your question, no. However unique your style is, it's my duty as a proper guardsman to be at least somewhat capable of adapting to how an opponent fights. That includes the stranger types."

"Sweet!" My little cheer and arm pump forces the man to sigh, though a happy little smile's still on his lips as his hand drops from his face. He wraps his hands around the hilt of his blade, bringing it upwards, the point sticking towards my chest.

'A proper stance for stability and power, it looks rather rigid though.'

I thought as much, he's rather by the books in duels like this, from what I remember anyways. Can't say I expected you to scope him out though.

'I'm just complementing what I see as acceptable is all, don't think I'll actually help you in this fight. If you fuck up and get cut then it's your own fault, and I sure hope you're not that incompetent to die in a spar. '

You can sit back and enjoy the show then. No offense, but I wouldn't want you to help anyways, this is just a fun fight between the two of us.

'Let's hope you can keep that thought while you fight.'

"Until first blood, or until surrender?" I try to keep my lips curled up into a smile, even as a shiver runs up my spine, trying to brush off that thought. This is just a spar, it's fine, it's not like that.

"I'll try not to hit anywhere important, you can brush off lesser wounds, can't you?"

"Naturally, basitin body and all. I'll try to do the same for you."

"Bold of you to assume that you can get a hit on me." His lips curl into that smug grin of his, the forced smile on my face feeling that bit more genuine as he boasts. Proud sounding bastard, I like that. "Ready?"

I shift my eyes over to the building for a moment, a warm feeling stirring in my chest as I look over Mabel. She rests in the shadow of the building, shielded from the warmth of the sun as she curls my cloak around her, glowing golden eyes peeking out from underneath the hood. I can't see her face underneath the scarf, but she seems relaxed, her back pressed against the wooden wall.

It's a cute sight and I'm glad she's here. I really do hope she doesn't get put off from all of this; she's still just a kid after all.

I look back to Edward as I bend my knees, raising my sword upwards and outwards, holding my spare hand up to my chest. I might not have a shield, but as if that's gonna stop me from using it for other purposes, I'm good enough at hitting things.

"Ready." The casual shine in his eyes dissipates with a squinted glare, fists clenching around the hilt of his blade even tighter. Serious and proud, his feet shuffling around in the dirt with restrained movement, I really do prefer this Edward over the saddened one.

Alright, let's go then.

I lean forward and rush into the man, sword raised above us and bringing it down, a grim feeling glee igniting in my chest as the sound of clashing metal rings in my skull. Ah, that, that does sound pretty good, it's almost fucking invigorating. The guardsman grunts aloud with his lips pursed into a thin line, my hand shaking and shuddering for a moment before he twists his wrists, forcing my blade away, the sound of metal on metal gliding against one another filling the air.

My lips curl upwards into a grin as I duck down and away from a swing of his own, I can feel the air around his blade whip at the hairs on my head, stepping away from the guard. A competitive glimmer lingers in his eyes, stare still focused on me, flickering from spot to spot with my jittering and twitching. Is he faster than I remember, or am I just slower? No, he must've gotten faster.

I twist my wrist and stab at him with a flourishing strike, my grin turning smug as he brings up the flat of his blade to block it. That's unfortunate. I pause mid way through the attack and flip the sword in my grip, stepping forth to grip and fuck with his sword, pulling it down and away and mashing the pommel into his gut.

I struggle to hold the man still as I read my head back, a spike of pain flooding my skull as our foreheads meet, gritting my teeth through the pain. He tears his hands from my grip, backing out to move out of the way of an upward swing, the shining tip brushing against my nose. I barely have a moment to catch my breath before he swings back down again, blocking the blade with the flat of my own, both hands occupied with fending it off.

It takes a moment to divert the strike away, stepping forward into him to mash our heads together once more. A grunt pushes through gritted teeth as he matches me mid way this time, the pain redoubling and my sight blurring as I stumble away. I can at least see the blurred visage of Edward stepping away too, shaking his head with a grimace on his face.

Heh, I got the stronger skull. But fuck that hurt.

'Holy fuck you're both animals, I recinde my complement to him from before.'

I grit through the pain and shake away the blur as best I can, though an unsettling feeling stirs in my stomach. It feels… off, odd, unwelcome and cold and numbing. Something about it feels off-putting and uneasy.

Something feels wrong, and the pain that jolts through my skull isn't helping the situation either.

'You can stop the fight.'

No, I'll be fine.

'You stubborn fuck, do you think that I don't feel that too? Something's fucked up, you need to stop this fight.'

My eyes widen as the edge of his blade captures my attention, Adrian cursing from the back of my mind feels as if it's a niggling sensation as I shield myself from a sideward strike with the flat of my sword, gritting my teeth and forcing myself through the feeling. It's just that and nothing more, I can do this.

But I can't stay on the defensive, not like this.

A growl forces its way out of my throat as I push the guardsman backwards, forcing him onto his back foot with a swing from above, his grunting filling the air as I hammer and hack away. He diverts a strike of mine and shoves me away, stepping backwards and shuffling back into his stance.

Does he think he's gonna get a chance to breathe?

I press forwards before he can recuperate, taking another wild swing at the man, the harsh shrieking of metal clanging against metal reverberating in my skull. The clanging turns into a dull buzzing in my ears as I hack and hew down again and again. The man's face contorts and twists, I can see the sweat beading and dripping down from his forehead, chest heaving up and down as he gasps for air.

I wish this was my regular sword, even if it feels wrong to want for it, I wish I was just that little bit stronger, I wish this stupid fucking buzzing in my skull would fuck off, and I wish…

I'm wishing for a lot. Too many things. Focus on the fight, nothing else. Even if that unsettling feeling's still gnawing and squirming in my gut, it at least feels that little bit offset by the thrill of the fight. It feels like shit, but it's numbed at the very least.

My eyelids feel so much heavier than before, a numbing wave washing over my body as he deflects a strike. The muscles in my arms feel so numb, though I can still feel the hilt of my blade threatening to leave my grasp as my arm swings wide, hand squeezing around it ever tighter. I swiftly bring it back to center and twist my wrist, knees buckling and hand trembling as his sword slides down the flat of my blade, lips curling into a grin as he missteps.

Gotcha.

Time seems to move that little bit slower as I step forth once more, spare hand curled into a fist, driving it into his check. The pained sounding grunt sends a shiver up my spine as he stumbles back, a hazy look in his once attentive eyes, his sword still pointed low. He won't be able to react in time, if I just get to the edge to his neck , he'll surrender. Just like last time to me.

And then I'll win. Nice and easy.

Nice. And. Easy.

I step forth and raise my sword into the air-

A downward strike into the mutts skull, blood squelching from the open wound, pouring out into a lovely bloody red river. A picture perfect sight for a mongrel.

No no no, it's just a spar, fuck off! I feel my body flinch as a jolt of pain thunders through my skull, vision blurring for a moment.

But I push forward.

Even through blurry vision, I can still see my swing go wide, eyes widening as the pommel of a sword fills my vision.

A cracking noise fills my ears as the pain inside my skull ignites, the sound of something hitting the dirt as I stumble backwards. My visions filled by a lovely blue as I look upwards, the back of my skull thudding with a sharp but rapidly dulling pain.

I.

What the fuck was that?

Son of a bitch, I thought I was over that mess, it feels like it's been so long since I've even thought about it.

'It runs a lot deeper than you think, hidden in the back of your mind, always prepared to pop up again to fuck with us. God I'm fucking livid.'

Adrian? I thou-

'No, you didn't think, you fucking mongoloid, and that's the issue!'

I flinch as he screams into my mind, I can barely feel my limbs as I lay against the ground. The unsettling squirming in my gut still lingers, I can't say the same about the thrill that resided alongside it. I can feel the ghost sigh inside of my skull, an angered heated one.

'Okay, okay. As fucking pissed as I am, as much as I wanna strangle your dumb ass, I don't think we can do much at this very moment.'

I didn-

'Could you hear me? Do you know how long I was trying to get your attention?'

You were? I couldn't, I didn't hear you, what happened?

'Fuck if I know, it felt like I was talking to a brick fucking wall, more so than normal. Stupid fucking battle lusting bastard.'

I, what do you think that was? That was, fuck, it felt so real for a moment.

'I don't know, we need to fix this or at least learn to work around it, sooner rather than later. If this happens in something outside of a spar, we're fucked. Gods, I wish I knew more about this, but we'll have to discuss this later when we're alone, I need time to think. You're still with company.'

The dirt beneath my back feels uncomfortable, letting out hot and short gasps for air, the back of my skull igniting with sharp pain. I groan lightly as I shuffle onto my elbows, stopping in my place as the sharp tip of his sword presses against my chin, the blade shining with the light of the sun. I look up to the guardsman, his chest heaving as he gasps for breath himself, lips pursed into a thin line.

There's no sound between the two of us other than the sound of heavy breaths, the whispers of the wind brushing over my fur as he pulls his blade away from me. The squeezing grip in my lungs only barely lessens as his lips curl upwards into a warm, strained smile, sword arm dropping to his side as he extends his other hand out to me.

"Well fought." He finally speaks, squinted stare looking into my eyes, shifting from spot to spot on my face. My sight trails down to his hand, fingers outstretched and beckoning.

A very human hand, not a wolf one. Not a wolf, this is reality, not the flash of a fucked memory. At least the ringings stopped, if nothing else.

"Fuck." My voice sounds croaky and wavering as I reach out to the man, clasping the both of our hands together. He laughs in response, a good natured one at that, leaning backwards and pulling myself upwards. I stumble for a moment on two feet, sucking in more breaths of chilly air to sedate the burning in my lungs, the feeling of a hand clasping my shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"You didn't do that bad there, at least in terms of pushing the offense, but… you were kind of out of it towards the end. That's why you lost." His voice sounds low, his grip on my shoulder tightening ever so slightly. I purse my lips together and twist my head to look towards the man, his face burning red as he heaves for breath. Even still, his eyes shift from spot to spot on my face, squinting and observant.

"Y-yeah, sorry." I respond with a sigh, wincing as a dry constricting feeling grips my throat. Fuck, that really did go fucking terribly towards the end, didn't it? My throat feels as if I've fucking swallowed sandpaper. Concern washes over his face, lips dipping into a soft frown.

"You didn't need to force yourself to do this." God, I fucking hate how appologetic he sounds, I hate the thought of him feeling guilty because I was being a stubborn fuck.

"I know, I didn't feel like I forced myself, I just, I dunno." I bring a hand up to my face and rub at it with a palm, blinking away the blur as best I can. It still hurts to speak, but it's already feeling just that bit less awful, small blessings i guess.

"You really did think you were over it, didn't you?"

"More or less. It's been a while since that happened, hasn't it?" He doesn't seem very happy with that answer, the man pinching the bridge of his nose, letting out a heated huff.

'Evidently not, he doesn't need to be a genius to know that you're a thick headed dunce.'

"Zeke, it's been, what, two days tops? Probably less?" He sounds so exasperated, his voice lowering into an almost hissing tone.

I uh, think he's a little mad.

"...Is that not enough time?" The veins in his forehead throbs, the man groaning and mashing his face into his hands. Clearly not the best answer, then.

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that?"

"Hey, I thought I was fine, honest! It's not like I don't like sparring or anything, it just…" I trail off and bite the inside of my cheek, rolling my wrists and motioning with my hands. Edward sighs again, his tense body deflating.

"It got out of hand, obviously. Have you talked to anyone about it, to get it off your chest?" He asks with a squinting stare. I hum, scratching the back of my head as I purse my lips together.

"Anna, I think she's the only one that wasn't there that knows." I'm fairly sure I told Anna anyways, it's not like I talk to many people anyways. "And I think that was the day I got back, maybe the second one."

He nods and hums, a hand raised to his chin and tapping against it, as if in thought.

"You haven't touched your sword recently, have you?" I raise an eyebrow at him, his eyes glued to mine with a determined question.

"What sort of questions that?"

"Just answer it." Jesus, he's pretty serious about this, isn't he?

'No shit.'

"Well, no, I haven't really had a reason to."

"Even when you planned to come here? Did you plan to spar with me, do you remember when you used to carry that around like it was attached to your hip?" The more questions he asks, the more that my head aches, raising my hand to rub at the growing pain in my temple.

"I-I came because I missed you, because I want to spend some more time with you before I inevitably go. I didn't plan to spar, but, it's fun to spar, you know? It's fun to fight, even if it brought back… uncomfortable memories this time." I wince as a jab of pain surges through my head again, blinking away the dark spots in my eyes. "I, did I carry it around a lot? I can't really remember, you know my memory isn't the best."

It feels almost physically painful to get all that out, and thankfully the man doesn't cut in, the look stuck on his face stuck between concerned and… and something, I can't really tell. The sword in his grip drops onto the dirt with a thud, eyes widening ever so slightly as he grips my shoulders. His face fills my vision, eyes staring into mine with a determined stare, once proud visage marred by palpable concern.

"Zeke…" He trails off, a cold trail running up my spine. I don't think I've ever seen him so... Serious, not like this anyways. I've seen him pissed, I've him when he's feeling smug and proud. It feels unnatural to see the almost pleading look in his eyes, his gripping hands trembling lightly. "I need you to go to Anna's, fuck whatever else you have planned today, please go home and relax. I'll come visit you some time, I promise, I just want you to work on yourself."

"Okay okay! I'll go to Anna's, the fucks going on though? I've never seen you like this before, what's wrong?" I finally manage to eek out, fighting against the urge to step away from the man, wild eyes shakingly glued to mine.

"I-I just, I don't know, I'm not fucking good with people dammit. I've seen what happens when people try to ignore shit like this, it always gets out of hand, it fucks with other people who don't deserve it, I just-" He cuts himself off with a sharp intake of air, almost like a hiss. He holds it for a moment before letting go, the worried wild look on his face tempered, his stare remaining determined. "Maybe I'm the one overreacting for once, maybe I'm just being a selfish prick again, cause I know I am, I'm proud not blind. I don't want to see what I fear could happen, actually happen to you, does that make sense?"

I blink once, then twice, Edwards's eyes still boreing into my fucking skull. Is his worry actually just an overreaction, or is it justified? Gods, it feels fucking awful to see him like this, the pit in my stomach feels as cold as ice.

He's worried enough to do this, he probably feels incredibly inept with the thought of talking about this, let alone actually doing it.

But he's spilled his guts about it anyways. I can't imagine he'd do it without feeling good reason to. I already planned to try to do something about it some time, but maybe he's right in the thought of hurrying it up. Is it selfish if someone else wants you to do it out of care?

What if he's right, too? Am I just ignoring the problem and putting others in danger for it? I can't let that happen, even if it's a mere possibility.

'Fuck if I know, lord knows I don't care for semantics. I'm shocked this man's looking out for your dumb ass, I got no idea what the fuck he sees in you, but I'll take what I can get.'

"Okay." That simple answer seems to take him by surprise, his eyes widening ever so slightly, muscles loosening.

"Okay?"

"You're right, I trust you with this. I-'ll go to Anna's, I'll take the day off and relax. You trust me to help you when you're feeling bad, and I feel like shit about worrying you like this, so it's only right to listen to your advice to make up for it, right?" It's not like either Adrian or I know exactly what's going on, or what to do, and I don't see Edward leading us astray on purpose. It's the best idea we got so far.

"O-okay, okay, thank fuck." He speaks up, his arms dropping from my shoulders, holding a hand to his chest, just above his heart as his lips curl into a thankful looking smile. Something about his relief niggles in the back of my mind, a sad uncomfortable feeling.

"You've said that to someone before, haven't you?" I question softly, frowning as I look over his face. He nods, a small frown on his face, much to my dismay.

"I don't really want to talk about it, I'm not good at the whole talking thing. I'm just glad you listened to me, normally you're a thick skulled prick."

'Tell me about it.'

I can't help but snicker a little at the ribbing, both from Edward and Adrian, even if the guardsman can't exactly hear it. To my surprise, he catches onto the laughter, it's one that I can barely hear, but it grows in volume, as does mine. I don't know why, but it ends up with the both of us laughing into the sky above, it's a nice and carefree feeling.

'Have you both lost your minds? What the fuck? There's literally nothing to laugh about.'

"Ah man, this situation is just fucking stupid, isn't it? Such an absolute fucking mess." I ponder out loud as I step beside the man, wrapping an arm around him and forcing a one armed hug. What a fucking mess!

"It's not my fault you're a bloody idiot, you thick skulled bastard, but you're my friend of a thick skulled bastard." To my delight, he actually reciprocates the hug, a bright grin on his face. Granted, that grin dies a quick death as I mash my cheek against his, a disgusted noise coming from his throat as he pushes me away. "Alright alright, get the fuck off of me."

"C'mon Edhead, you know you love me."

"I'd love for you to get off of me!" Another laugh tears itself from my throat as he finally shoves me off, I can see him struggling to force a frown through the grin. It doesn't work too well. At least he's smiling, the tenseness in his body seems to be washed away, for now at least.

"I'm still, you know, sorry about all that. Can't say that I expected me helping you turning into you helping me." I feel my face burn as I apologise, rubbing the back of my neck with a hand.

"Bah, don't worry about it. It's not like I didn't have fun while it lasted. I like sparring, with you especially, cause I know you're not going to hold back. Fighting against you is… unique."

"Ah right, unique style and all, as you said."

"You fight like a bandit."

"I'll take that as a complement. Hell, maybe we could do some other things instead."

"I could teach you some archery, give you some pointers."

"I'd uh, rather not, honestly. I don't have the best experience with arrows." The man coughs, something that I can't help but chuckle a little at. It feels nice to have a little back and forth between the both of us, nice and casual, it's better than the shitfest before at least. It feels… it feels good, as if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

Have I really not noticed the issue, am I really that dense?

'Oh fucking absolutely, you got no idea.'

Fair enough. I hum in surprise as I feel a tugging feeling at the hem of my shirt, twisting my head down to face her. Mabel looks up to me with a confused look on her face, tilting her head, eyes glowing their golden hue. I smile and kneel beside her, flipping the hood of the cloak back and ruffling her hair. Fuck, I kind of forgot that she was spectating us.

"Heh, sorry that you had to see all that kid." I apologise to her, a small smile on my face as I continue to ruffle her hair, nice and gently. She doesn't respond, instead choosing to nudge her way into my side, wrapping her arms around my neck. My smile widens as I return the hug, keeping a hand atop her head. Cute kid.

"I'll come around to Anna's tomorrow morning." My ears twitch as Edward speaks, twisting my head to look up to him. The look on his face isn't exactly a comfortable one, the man coughing into a hand once more and looking away. I know he doesn't like her, but he tries anyway.

It's adorable.

"Alright, do you have anything in mind?"

"Anything to get our mind off of things, should it be needed anyways." I smile and lightly nudge Mabel's arms away, standing upright, keeping a hand atop her head.

"I'd like that, quite a lot actually. I'll see you then, right?" The man's cocky looking grin and nod is a good enough answer, a comforting one.

"Don't get into trouble." I roll my eyes as he mocks me, turning away and waving dismissively, I can hear the man chuckling behind me. Mabel stays glued to my side, worry stirring in my chest as I look down at her. She's been rather quiet, is she okay?

"Hey." I hear him call from behind me, stopping and twisting my neck to face him. "The score's one to three, by the way."

What!?

"Bullshit! How the fuck you reaching that conclusion?" I can hear the man snicker as I pout, furrowing my brow with a glare.

"I count the first time we spared as a win to me, you did drop me on top of you."

"Fuck you!" I yell out to him, the man shaking his head and waltzing off, stopping and scooping up the swords. I huff and turn away, marching back into the barracks. That's bullshit and he knows it, it doesn't count.

'Competetive fucking children, and I complemented Edward too. I guess I can go fuck myself.'

Hey, all's well that ends well, right?

'This isn't the end, not yet. '

Eh, close enough. The sleeping guard still snores at the front desk, much to my surprise, I'd have thought someone would've woken him up. Ah well, it's not doing anyone any harm, right? I'll just leave him alone.

I move my way through the lobby and shove the doors open, a small smile on my face as I step out of the barracks, the wind brushing over my fur. Despite the shitshow, it feels… pretty good, it could've been a lot worse.

'You've got very low standards. '

Maybe, maybe it's nice to just let it out to someone every now and again. Yes, you do count Adrian, sometimes anyways.

'I'm fucking skipping with joy.'

"Zeke?" Mabel's soft whisper brings me from my thoughts, shaking myself back into reality to look down at her, small hands still curled around the hem of my shirt.

"What's up, kid?" I give her the warmest feeling smile possible, warmth stirring in my chest as I nestle a hand into her hair. She doesn't respond, though a dusting of pink appears on her cheeks, still tugging away. Eh? What's going on? What does she need?

I raise an eyebrow before kneeling, nestling my hand into her hair.

"Do you need anyth-" She leans forward, cutting me off and pressing her face against my cheek, a warm feeling spreading throughout it. I can feel her lips linger on my cheek for a few moments longer before she pulls away, the pink on her cheeks turning red, I can feel my own face burning.

Did she.

Huh.

"S-sorry." She squeaks and looks away, wringing her hands together. I can feel the cogs in my skull turning. I can't say I expected that.

"Wait a second, it's alright kid, I'm just surprised is all. I'm not mad or anything, but why'd you do that?" I ask her, nice and soft, wincing a little as a soft whimper fills the air. The sound makes my heart twist.

"Y-you did it to me when I was sad, so…" She trails off, turning her head to look up to me, golden eyes glistening. So she did it to me because I looked sad?

Oh my god.

"You're fucking adorable kid." I cup her head in my hands and bring her closer to me, the girl squeaking out loud as I press my lips to her forehead, her giggling filling the air as her arms wraps around me.

"You're not mad, or upset?"

"You're too cute to get mad at Mabel." I pull myself away from her, lightly bopping a finger against her nose. She crinkles and pulls away in response before sneezing, giggling soon after, nudging her head into my hand.

'I'm glad that I don't have a stomach to throw up.'

You love this too, Adrian, in some aspect.

'Lies and blasphemy.'

"Hey kid, do you wanna get on my shoulders?" Her bright eyes light up with excitement, nodding rapidly.

"Mhm!" I can feel my fucking heart melting, god bless this kid. She squeaks a little when I lift her upwards, planting her atop my shoulders with a slight struggle, her hands gripping and tugging at my hair.

Her laughing sounds like the loving chiming of bells in my ears, a wide smile on my face as I step away from the barracks. It's a soothing sound, one that fills my heart with warmth, against the overall cold feeling of the rest of my body.

I'll be okay, we'll be okay.

I'll make sure of it.

…

I wrap my knuckles against the wooden door, stifling the growing cold pit in my stomach as best I can. I really really hope she's not disappointed by this.

I could just help her anyways, with whatever she needs. Edward wouldn't have to know.

But I'd feel like shit if I brushed him off like that, I know he's probably done it for a reason.

'And here we are. You're overreacting, you know, Anna isn't gonna blow the fuck up cause you need to get your head on straight. Hopefully anyways, she still scares me, so don't fuck it up.'

Always a fucking ray of sunshine, what could I do without you? I step back as the door swings open, Anna's head popping through the crack. Her hair's frizzled, but at least she doesn't look as if she's on the verge of falling asleep.

"Mn? I didn't think you'd be back so early kid, what's up?" She asks in an oddly gentle tone, a small polite smile on her face.

"I uh, kinda wanna talk about the thing I was gonna help you with today." I start off, rubbing the back of my neck, the nerves in my chest igniting. Well i feel fucking awkward asking this, don't I?

"You having second thoughts? I'm not gonna force you to help or anything."

"I do wanna help, just, could I help some other time?"

"You're worried that I'd get upset, aren't you?" The smile on her face looks a little bit sadder than before, a calm and gentle look in her eyes as she stares at me.

"Obviously, I really do want to help, but… things happened, and I don't know if it's the smartest idea to try anything without fixing my own head up first, you know?" I don't know what she needs help with, but I don't wanna take chances.

"Heh, you're a good kid, Zeke." I can't exactly see how, maybe her age is getting to her. She plants a hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair with a warm smile on her face. It only seems to grow as I huff, feeling my ears twitch. "Headstrong and dumb, but good enough."

"Bah, everyones a critic." That little quip gets an amused sounding snort out of her, at least she takes her hand off of my head.

"Get going then kid, I still got stuff to do, and you'd wanna be getting back to the kid soon. Just tell me when you feel like you're ready." She flashes a final smile before disappearing into the room, the door clicking shut. That went a bit better than expected, huh?

'And so we live another day. Lets get back to the girl, it'll give us time to think bout what the fuck we're meant to do.'

I nod, though it's not exactly needed, turning away from the door and back to my own. I'm thankful for the cottage being out of the way and quiet, it helps a lot.

'...I think I might have an idea, actually.'

I pause for a moment, my hand wrapped around the knob to my room, humming aloud. You do?

Maybe, I don't know, I only know what you know, more or less anyways. It's just a theory, and I'll have to do some thinking, but it's better than nothing.

...Thanks Adrian.

'Ich, don't mention it. I'm a part of this body too, a part of you, whatever fucks with you fucks with me, so I'm basically obligated to fix it.'

The same goes for the other way around, you know that right? However weird our little relationship is, you're still important, one way or another.

'Pfah, get your ass in the room you sappy fuck, the brats waiting.'

Love you too Adrian. I can hear the ghost sigh in my mind as I open the door, stepping inside and closing the door shut behind me. Mabel's small form sits on top my bed, legs dangling off of the edge, lightly gripping and pawing at the book in her hands.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know." I say with a soft smile, sitting beside her. She nudges into my side, borderline lazing against it, a barely audible purr filling the air.

"I wanna read with you." Such an innocent response, the girl tilting her head as she beams, golden eyes twinkling.

She's gonna kill me sooner or later, and I'll welcome it gladly. I ruffle her hair, tips of my fingers gently digging behind her ears.

"Let's get reading then, hm?" Her vigorous nodding is a perfect answer, and I'm sure that the extra petting is just a bonus on top of it, white fur tipped fingers cracking the book open. I spare a glance over to the mess against the wall, smile falling for a moment as I look over the sheathed blade.

I'll get to you soon. More time with the kid won't do any harm.

Authors note: Another slightly late chapter, not much excuse this time, I just got lazy lmao. Hope you all do well, have a good day.