Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... }

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Treading through the forest had been a silent and calm though rather uneventful experience on its own.

Of course she enjoyed the sight of nature, the way the cool albeit dry air of morning brushed against her face. How her hair tended to float behind her as if held by invisible threads before falling down against her back or the way her ears perked and twitching softly at the sound of birds chirping happily around her.

A timid smile had warped around her features as she took in the experience, still marvelled at how such mundane things felt and tasted so different now. As if she had been offered a cup of fresh water after having to tread through a dessert for days on end.

Speaking of which…., she was sure she could sense the world around her even better than before. The shades and colours came to her more vibrantly and brightly than she remembered, marking her surroundings came with a rather beautiful palette of tones that otherwise would have been ignored.

The air brought her the different aromas of the dried, rough texture of the trees around her or the cool, humid soil where leafs and roots were covered in thick layers of moss. Her ears were even capable to make heads of the distant whisper of the air and from where the current was going and from where as it gushed and brushed against bushes and branches in its way...her eyes almost picking on the individual spots of dust floating in the air.

Every time her eyes opened, every time she breathed in the air around her...she was filled with something new. It all felt as if she had been living with a veil covering her face only for it to drop down these last few days.

At first it had been a bit overwhelming..., or she believed it had, but the more time that passed, the more she became used to it and enjoyed it. Not really knowing that it wasn't just a different take on reality that had made her appreciate this things more than before, but also the fact that her senses had become more and more sharper by the energy inside her...

Truly, she was thankful to be alive…, and even more grateful to the one that had given her the chance to experience such joys once again.

Her azure eyes had locked time and time again in the form of her saviour. Catching brief glimpses of the way he moved and held himself as he moved through the foil of the forest.

Even with his size he moved with a particular grace, his steps inaudible as if he was a ghost rather than a man while an air of determination wrapped around him. Seemingly demanding her and emboldening her to follow wherever he went...

And so she did. Finding comfort in his presence as the two made their way onwards towards the location that her master surely knew and wanted to find or show her while she tried to maintain her balance and the sword resting over her head still at all times..

A challenging situation to be sure, and a task she had never heard before, but she had welcome it all the same. In fact, she came to understand the need for it.

A practice in futility…

Not really a task where she was meant to be working the muscles of her body, but rather her mind.

After all, there was no way she could keep the sword over her head for hours on end, especially not while trying to move at the same speed his master was. Her small legs having trouble to reach and match his simple long strides.

But that was not what had bothered her, no..., there was something wrong in the air. Something had changed even though everything appeared to be the same.

It had first started back at the village...

She had noticed the way some of the buildings had turned into dust when she was sure they had been fine a few moments earlier, the way his eyes had harden and become cold and pained...as if someone had staked his heart with savage wanton.

She had said nothing.

Wanting to respect his privacy even if it ate her inside to just ignore what had taken place there, how his body literally screamed of repressed negativity that had been so briefly unleashed only to bottle it up once more.

But she did not wish to cause him any unnecessary probing with her words, to be cause of any further distress...that was not her intent.

So she kept silent...

Besides, he surely had to know, there was no way those blazing eyes that all they could see would not have noticed and if he had not called her out on it nor he had given any vocal show of dissatisfaction then...perhaps it was not so serious.

She grimace a little at the thought. True, such idea was blatantly bathe in needless optimism...but she had wanted to believe.

And so..the matter was push to the side as they continued with their lives. She had thought that whatever had happened, it would end as a mere event to be merely forgotten or joked about later..

Then it followed with with those side glances…

Not at her as she had first come to believe, but...at something else. No, she corrected herself. Someone...

At first with his eyes merely rolling or glancing away towards something around them, his body tensing and his fist clenching, talons digging into his palms, but nothing too much. Then his head started to cock and angle itself more and more from its static position and finally there were those emotional flares that surged and spiked in their depths.

She bit her lip, it was not a pleasant memory...

Anger, disappointment, hurt, annoyance...and so much more as they stared and seemingly conversed with ways she was not aware of with something that was not there...or someone she could not see when she had tried to follow where he may have been looking at.

There was nothing as far as her mind could conceit…

And that was exactly what was wrong.

It was only when her mind had come to realize that there was something wrong that something had flared down inside her skin, like a switch or a thread she had unknowingly pull from. She had thought it to be just a fickle thing, a trivial matter that was just the product of the lights and shadows cast down their path through the beams of light that peered through the foliage.

Until she started to notice it...

The blur.

It could have been anything…, just the heat of the sun being reflected up from the soil or a strange mystical wind, but the more she looked at it, the harder it was not to see it. Its form reminding her of the blade Reaper had used to fight her during their firs lessons albeit, invisible to her senses, though this time more humanoid in nature.

Flying, hovering and sometimes standing close to her…its form shrouded from her sights, yet the edges of it were still noticeable to have some idea of its shape. Her eyes had squinted as she had tried to gaze at it in her scrutiny…

She found nothing, only that nagging feeling that whatever it was….it was looking back at her. Like delving into the blackest depths of the abyss and finding it staring back at her, only that her body tensed up and her face scowl in apprehension when it felt that it was laughing at her.

She did not know what it was for it could be anything…, a ghost? The wind had taken an avatar? Her imagination? Of all three the latter was the least possible of all given that she seriously doubted two individuals could share the same hallucination.

But if it was causing her master no small amount of grief it could not be good.

And that was what had led her to propose to him such offer.

"Do you feel ok...?"

She remembered her words, almost as clear as if she had just utter them. It had been and act made out of haste and improvisation. Her feelings about the matter were genuine, though perhaps she would have been able to think something better with a little more time given into it…

Still, it had served her well to get closer to him and break the ice that had settle between them...

She almost chuckled, the ghost of a smile threatening to wide the edges of her lips as her fingers caressed them. Trying to hold down the heat from spreading out into her ears.

Funny, wasn't it? When she had started she had been a bit nervous, this was not about the cult or training or anything else. She was asking him about his own well-being. It somehow felt...rather personal.

No, she shook her head internally. It was personal. As much as it could be, especially given that she had not asked him any question pertaining his past, his life...his goals apart from the cult. Thinking about it, it pained her to admit that apart from his oath...she really didn't know much about him.

Luckily, such grievances dissipated as fast as they came the longer she spoke to him.

The fact that he had not accepted it right away did not dissuade her in the slightest, in fact even though she had wanted him to take her on her offer..she knew that there was no reason for him to actually do so.

Though she would have to admit... it had stung her pride a little.

Still, the fact that he had not ignored her and turned around perhaps it would not have meant much for others, or that small glimmer in his eyes she had managed to peek on just an after effect of the tricks in her mind now that she was seeing things that were not actually there.

But it was good enough for her.

For her to see again the way those eyes even for a brief moment flashed with such a human like gaze, filled with those untold feelings and desires that had been left unsaid, yet needed no words to convey what they meant. To know that there was a possibility for him to accept her offer, perhaps not now, or tomorrow, but someday... someday he would lean on her instead the other way around.

It meant that she was in the right path…, she only needed to give it time.

Staring back at her mysterious saviour she noticed that the flames from his eyes had vanished again, leaving only a black darkness to sweep what it used to be illuminated within.

What sort of wonders could be going through such marvellous mind? Or perhaps it was memories of a long forgotten past that like the aching of a scar tried to resurface and bring its raw pain back into the outside?

Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest at the possibility of the latter, an ache that was only healed when she slowly reached out and held his hand with hers. Her small fingers intertwining with his comically sharp talons.

Her timid action embolden when she felt no rejection coming form her lord as he stared at her with what could be a stoic expression...

No, it didn't matter what it could be. Whatever it was...she would there if he needed her.

Like a shadow, tailing him in the darkness night…

Always there…

Always close..

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``My oh my….what are you scheming now little one...?´´

Aurora could not help but mutter to herself with a devilish grin as she eyed curiously at the young little girl, the blond elf completely unaware that she was resting just right next to her.

Though not able to actually delve into the girls thoughts as she was now, especially knowing that such attempt would be foiled by her dark clad friend, she did not need for such thing to be able to know that the youngster was thinking some sort of convoluted plan in that pretty little head of hers.

Why? Because if she was her she would be doing just that...and it was something that she would probably bet her right arm and leg had to do with her dear….deeeaaaar Reaper.

She had witnessed the way he had remained still, clearly in deep thought after the girls poorly, though well intentioned attempt to had tug a cord inside him. How his emotions started to flare up from inside, the way his body at first resembled an automaton by its stillness and rigidity before softening and gaining more nuance to his stance.

Then he stood up and start moving without a word towards the original direction they had been walking towards to all this entire time.

….

To say that was anticlimactic would have been an overstatement, but well...she did like that her chosen companion would not fall so easily for the girls schemes. Still, it was not like she had to worry much about it.

It wasn't like the descendant of her blood had a chance to actually succeed.…, after all, a child could not compare to her.

Her soul transcended death, her experiences mirrored his and the two were bonded by more than just oaths and words but something far more deeper and stronger. The fact that she was already a mature woman instead of a barely come out of the oven teen who looked more like a wooden plank help too.

So….no, she had no reason to feel threatened by the elfs advances...

It was still a rather amusing thing to see though, like a show she had come across without trying only to find it interesting. Especially with the way the little bright sun of an elf was trying to stir up the heart of such dark void that was the man of their shared...interest.

Speaking of which..

She turned around, looking for him…only for a grimace to morph on her features when she found no trace of her man. She bristled with a small pang of annoyance as she played with a lock of her purple hair.

``Ah...not again..´´

She had merely lost sight of him for a moment as she dabbed in her thoughts...and the next second he was gone. For someone so big he really moved ridiculously fast. She would have pegged it to magic enhancing his attributes, but she was sure that no such thing had taken place.

He was just...that fast.

Another thing she would be able to marvel from here on out…

Still, finding him did not took that long, not really. The connection may not be the same as the one she held with those of her blood, but the intensity and raw scent of his aura was too strong for her to not know where he was.

And so both she and the elf found him standing tall over the remains of a destroyed house. The building seemingly having been blasted by what could only be imagined to be a mountain size club. Many of the trees around the fallen building had fared a similar fate, leaving nothing but a rather ominous hole in the forest.

Like the finger of a god that had dug deeply into the ground…, or a massive child who had snoozed with enough force to cause such mayhem.

``We have arrived...´´

His calm and solemn voice drew her attention back to him, or in this case...towards his back given that he was looking towards the broken remains rather than at them when he uttered those words. Standing over the broken rubble and the unnatural way the cloth seemed to move with a mind of its own he appeared more of a ghost like apparition than herself.

She then looked away from him towards the rubble he appeared so fixated about, her face creased with confusion. An imaged mirrored in the youthful looks of the blond elf, though in this case kept rather more professional.

What was he looking at..? Why were they here to begin with? She could smell the aura of death and the scent of dried blood in the air..., but where the bodies where she did not know.

She floated right next to him, ready to speak out and ask for what could be the ninth time that day what he was doing...only for the words to die out in her throat, never leaving through her lips.

Of course...it had to be that. How could she not realize it..!? It almost felt awfully shameful it had taken her so long...but her mind had been elsewhere.

And so she had not felt it…

In fact, it was hard even now that she was right unto the very source of it because of him. Because his very presence had not just dulled, but nullify her senses under the tide of thick layers upon layers of raw energy emanating from him.

But under the rubble, under the rock and splintered wood...laid one of the bearers of her blood.

It made then sense why he had actually consider such individual, the treasure they were looking for. A tad disappointing if she was honest with herself, for she had been expecting something more...exhilarating and amusing in what she had envisioned as a new adventure. Perhaps not as bloody and grim as the one she shared inside the Sanctuary.., but one nonetheless.

She remained silent, her face a mask of stoic flesh that resembled now more carved stone than the actual visages of a true living being, one that shielded her thoughts from any one who could be staring. Though given her present nature...such thing would have been all for naught as she stared at the broken remnants that was once a home.

Witnessing how the ground gave in and parted ways silently with not even a snap of of those sharp talons that remained eerily still in the air, limp around the sides of his waist, yet their position speaking of that never ending tension to be call up for action. Ready to strike in a moments notice

She felt how the air itself froze and became icy in its touch against even her immaterial skin, how it then started whirling around them before it retreated completely while stone and wood turned into dust when the passing of time was imposed over them, accelerating what it should have taken too long to take place.

She hummed with a diminutive pang of delight at the amount of control exposed as-well as the unknown spells that had been weaved before her eyes. She knew she was not alone in such sentiment with the way the little elf gawked like a fool at it.

Though who could blame her...?

Anything he did seemed to resonate with the world in a new, flashy, vibrant way that was just too attractive too look away. The two girls standing like mere observers of a painter working on its desired and cared project. Not out of the need to please his guests with his repertoire, but rather for the simple yet need to create something new and better than his last gift...

With out a word Reaper moved, the threads of fate waving and pushed aside with the same care a king would give attention to a vagrant as he set to do what he needed to do. Taking him not even two long strides before he stood over the centre of the dusty remains of the building.

Stretching his hand forward, his palm baring down the ground the dust started to be dispelled as if it was a stream of water someone had dropped a rock in it. Then it started to spiral upwards like a small size tornado, pushing something from below..

Given why they had come here it should not have come as a surprise, but seen the small sleeping for of a child come forth from the depths before resting over those strong arms of his did so anyway.

Like a rebirth...or baptism..though instead of water, ashes had done the job.

She flew right next to him, resting over his plated shoulder while her gloved hands caressed the thick metal and cloth of his form. Finally drawing his attention for once...

[What now…?]

"Another blond? Its it I or you are picking strays wherever you go my dear friend?"

[Shut up…]

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A/N

Here is another chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Review if you like.

Goldstar77: Yes, sometimes you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette. It may not be a joyful experience, but sometimes the pain is worth the risk.

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I have plans for the sister Princesses of Midgar. In canon Iris was thrown down a spiral of madness after her lost against Shadow, now something similar has happened here, but albeit more differently. Only she knows that she was defeated while the kingdom remains unaware of it and this time she has five years to process and grow to reach her cannon counterpart. Alexia however..well, I will keep that part for myself.

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The Rose section will come once more after this chapter.

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I have a doubt, one from the canon story, especially coming from the recent released chapter form the game. We all know that Nu appeared soon in the story and that she was one of the most recent additions to the Shadow Garden back then which should have made her between the 500 to the 600 number, rapidly climbing through the ranks given her skills until she became Gammas personal aid. Then how did she appear now two years before that moment when the main characters are in their child state (13 years old) instead of their grown up models (15/16 years old). In that chapter it was stated she was the first human apart from Claire to be detected to be one of the possessed and that her healing took four to five hours instead of the five minutes that it usually takes to heal another elf or Theriantrope. Given that she was..like everyone else afflicted by the curse thrown out the bus by their families I don't think she came back to them, what was she doing then through all that time? Was she playing with her thumbs or she awoke from some sort of imposed magical coma? Then that would mean she was not the most recent addition.

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So in other words….was her story reconnected..? Or did they merely created a character that looks awfully like her? I am really confused...