A/N: Ouch, "A Golden Soul" didn't quite get the reception I'd hoped for. Then again, Dark Souls isn't as popular these days ...T_T

Still not feeling my best, but I'm trying to push through and update "The Golden Son" tomorrow. Hopefully I can bounce back quickly. Well, hopefully. Throat/Leg/back is driving me crazy and at the moment and therapy huuuuurts. In short, life is pain.

Soo, here we go. As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes.

Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to those far greater than I.

Hope this makes you smile in these trying times~!

"Humanity craves change. Change is chaos.

We are that chaos.

Lets begin."

~?

A Little Light

The brats were raiding the larder again.

Bernahl could hear them rummaging around behind the walls, rooting through things they shouldn't. Some might say the Volcano Manor was no place for children. They'd be right. This was a place of inquisitors and foulest blasphemy, of recusants and blood. So yes, this was no place for a pair of whelps running about.

But these were no ordinary children.

One an unknowing daughter of their lord, the other, a boy found in fire. Rya and Naruto were nigh on inseparable these days, as Henricus and Ghiza would often attest. Even the Lady's infamous Crucible Knight was rather fond of them. They brought light to the darkest corners of the manor, had a way of making you smile without realizing it...

.

..

...if only they could be quieter!

Rebelling against the Erdtree was a bloody work and he needed to focus.

Heaving himself out his chair, the old recusant laid his club against the wall and thumped a fist against it. One. Twice. Thrice. Upon the third strike someone knocked back. He grunted and struck again, earning a yelp from whomever lurked behind the wall. He would not laugh. He refused to do so; to be baited into their games.

Easier said than done, that. These two were much loved by the manor. Not even Patches could resist their wiles.

"Oi." he grunted. "Out of there. Both of you. Don't let Lady Tanith catch on."

Another thump answered him. Bernahl growled and smacked the wall.

A portion of the wall -secret door!- folded inward and out they came, tumbling over one another in their haste. Silly brats. Not even six and they wreaked more havoc than any invader he'd ever known. They took more to mischief than his training these days...but that was to be expected. Lady Tanith wanted to preserve their innocence, let them enjoy their childhood as long as they could. The duality of it all baffled him. Powerful they may yet be, but what use was power if one wasn't sane enough to use it?"

One of them tugged at his sleeve. "Uncle Bernahl? What's wrong?"

He looked down. Saw them. Frowned, for they were, the both of them, covered in flour. Rya at least managed to look sheepish. Not so little Naruto.

"Nothing." he rumbled. "Well, well. Seems you've been busy. Playing pranks again, are we?"

Pleading eyes turned his way.

It would be cruel to tattle on them. He was no snitch.

Tanith might find them sooner or later, but it would not be from him.

He closed his eyes. "...I saw nothing."

The brats scarpered with a merry giggle.

In the shadows of his mask, Bernahl smiled softly.

Little Lights indeed. He prayed the madness of the manor wouldn't snuff them out.

A/N: There we go. Little!Naruto and Little!Rya having a spot of fun as children.

Aaaaand scene. Well? Did it bring a smile to your face? Did you like it? Yay or nay?

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.

If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly? T_T

And enjoy some previews.

(Previews)

"A baby?"

Rennala cooed softly. "He's adorable!

"Of course he is." Marika preened. "I found him. Why would he be anything less?"

Godfrey leaned over Marika's shoulder, and Maliketh with him. "Did he truly fall from the sky?"

"How did he survive?"

"He is no Omen, that much is certain," Radagon leaned around HIS shoulder and dared to poke the babes cheek. "I suppose the children might have need of a servant-aargh?!" The little blond boy bit his questing digit and he recoiled with a hiss. "Blasted babe!"

"Not a servant." Marika hummed. "He clearly disagrees."

The Elden Beast had been laid low.

Fiend! Monster! Usurper! It would remember this!

"Hmm? This?" the blond beamed back it, grinning from ear to ear. "This is my Elden Ring now. You can have it back when your God stops being a prick."

The Elden Beast snarled wordlessly. "#$&%!"

An open palm cracked across what passed for its face.

"Boo-fucking-hoo!" another slap, snapping its long neck to the side. "Get off your ass and stop bullying everyone!"

It hissed at him.

"Going to be stubborn? Fine. Mortal form it is!"

He spanked her. "Bad girl!"

Sellen jolted in his lap.

"Naruto, no!

Irina tried to drag him back. He kept walking.

Naruto, yes! I just want to talk with your old man. Loudly. Repeatedly with my fists."

The Crucible Knight ducked behind a crumbling wall, gasping for breath.

"Aw, don't run!" A sing-song voice chased after it. "Come out come out, wherever you are~!

Never! It had served Lord Godfrey, once. Even the First Elden Lord hadn't inspired such fear. Such feared no man, but this blond terrified it. The fiend just kept coming! Its armor already had several dents, and that THING would be on it any second now-

"Hello~!"

GAH!

R&R~!