A/N: *coughs* Still sick, still writing. Life is pain, but I'm trying to give myself time to rest between updates.
Trying bring the operative word. Some days are easier than others, but here we are.
Angling for a double update today. This, and another story.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
No questions this time. I think I've kept you waiting long enough already, dear reader
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one!
Time for Melina and Ranni to shine again~!
"Might you be the one I seek...?
~?
To the Depths
"Aaaaand he sticks another landing!"
Naruto alighted in a pointed crouch, grinning from ear to ear.
This drop hadn't been half bad, all told. He'd leaped headlong into the depths already, expecting some sort of challenge...but none came.
No challenges, no angry knights, not much of anything really. For all its supposed marvels and mystery, this "Nokron" if that was indeed where he had wound upon, didn't offer much in the way of resistance. Sure it was beautiful with its false sky of stars and ancient crumbling ruins, but it sorely lacked defenders. The one's he'd encountered thus far were a bunch of shy, shriveled pale folk who gave him a wide berth. They weren't keen on being anywhere near him and so long as they kept their distance, he was content to do the same.
The terrain wasn't much of a challenge either.
Lots of rooftop jumping, avoiding some strange metallic creatures, hopping through a few windows; it was very much a grand adventure, with only a single shard of grace to show for it thus far.
And so without a glimmer of fear he threw himself into the abyss once more.
"Another happy landing~!"
"Art thou mad?!" Melina manifested beside him in a swirl of furious blue light, lone eye shining with anger. "Stop jumping about like a rabbit! You could have broken your legs, or worse! Your neck!"
Naruto laughed. "But I didn't."
She absolutely hissed at him. "What if you mistimed the jump?!"
"Maybe." He turned that same wry grin upon her when she didn't immediately free. "Still didn't. And what about you? Finally done hiding?" She fumed at his words, but he didn't give her the chance to build up steam, not this time. "You're awfully more talkative now that we're alone.
Her face colored as he walked ahead of her. I don't know what you mean, Tarnished."
He grinned over his shoulder. "Yes, you do."
A scowl. "No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do."
His grin grew that much more as she continued to sputter and spit excuses. It was too much fun to poke and prod her along, methodically stripping away her cold facade to reveal the feisty spitfire within. He cherished all his friends and the family he'd begun to make here in the Lands Between, but Melina had been the first to truly speak to him. Sure, Trish was the first combatant he'd recruited, but she'd attacked him on sight. Melina had needed no such goading; she'd been guiding him almost from the first.
He'd missed their little talks.
"Its good to talk with you like this again." he found himself taking a step towards her. "I've missed you, ya know...
Melina's face went red and she skittered backward. Naruto felt a brief pan of confusion...then remembered why they weren't on speaking terms. Their argument. The shouting. The harsh words...and the searing kiss she'd inflicted on him before fleeing.
.
..
...awkward, to say the least.
Her good eye narrowed on him with all the fiery nature of her purpose. "Are you still demanding that I live?"
His smile soured, threatening to take his good with it. "Yup."
"So be it." She huffed, crossed both arms beneath her bosom and looked away. "Then we have nothing further to discuss."
"I think we do-
"We do not." she looked to be on the verge of vanishing again. He grabbed her hand to keep that from happening. Melina scowled at him for it. "...release me."
"Nope."
Her scowl became a dark thing indeed. "Don't start that again! Leave go!"
He shook his head. "Nope."
"TARNISHED!"
"Nope!" he smacked his lips this time, producing an audible pop. "We're not playing this game anymore and I'm not letting you run away, not this time." a quick tug yanked her closer. Another arm looped round her waist. To hold her fast, he told himself. His heart said otherwise. It was surprisingly...difficult to ignore the feel of her body pressing against his. "If you don't want to talk about us, then we'll talk about something else."
Melina's pout was a fearsome thing indeed. "And I suppose I have no say in the matter?"
"None~!"
...very well," she relented with a huff, squirming against him. "If I give you my word, my promise not to flee, will you let go of my hand?"
Awww, someone was embarrassed. "Swear to me, then."
Her head bowed. "I swear upon Destined Death."
...it would do.
He didn't want to let go of her, but a promise was promise. He released her; the moment he did she stepped back as if she'd been burned. Her good eye strayed to his hand for a moment and he saw her flex her own, as if to memorize the feeling of their intertwined fingers. Alas, she rallied a moment later, and her mental walls went up once more. "You needn't be so tense. This is not the place of my death."
A blond brow quirked. ""And where is that?
"If I tell thee, thou shall seek to keep me from it."
He raised both hands. "And if you don't, I'll just have to tickle it out of you."
Her gaze snapped to his. "Then thou art a fool. I am not ticklish. Not in the least."
"Rennala says otherwise." A bluff to be sure, but Melina didn't know that now, did she?
"Accursed woman!" Still he stared her down until she turned away with a dismissive sniff. "Someplace where fire and ice meet. That is where I shall fulfill my end."
"Well that's ominously vague. Don't suppose you'd be willing to give me another hint...?"
"I will do no such thing." By the log did she always have to be so difficult? "As I said, this is not the place of my death. That is all I shall tell thee."
And didn't that just sting? Well, screw that! He wasn't going to let her die. Even if it killed him.
"But I would speak with you further." her gaze flitted to the floor. "While we still have time."
Not like the flags you're raising here. He paused to lean against a cracked stone pillar. "Shoot."
For a moment he thought Melina might; such was the heat in her gaze.
As ever, the kindling maiden surprised him. She always did. "Why woo all these women?"
Naruto's brow shot into his hair and his heart rate with it. "Really? Of all the things you could ask...
Ranni asked me something similar.
"Did she?" interest sparked in her gaze, quickly quelled now when he noticed. "No matter. They are mortal. As are you. One day you will die, or they will, or perhaps you will pass from this realm back into yours. In doing so you will wound one another. Is it not better to have no such bonds to begin with? I cannot fathom why you would form such attachments in this Land, knowing you'll lose them."
Home. He...hadn't thought of the Elemental Nations in a terribly long time. Was that a bad thing?
He'd begun to consider this broken land his to protect. Was that wrong as well?"
Shaking off such maudlin thoughts, he crossed on leg over the other and stared the stubborn maiden down. "That's an awfully insular way to look at the world."
Melina shrugged. "It is the truth as I see it.
Infuriating girl. He blew out a sigh. "Do you hate me that much?
His words rattled Melina more than he expected. She actually shivered.
"I do not...hate you." She pivoted away from him at length and he caught a hint of pink in her cheeks. "You frustrate me, but you are capable. Even so, you will have to let me-and others-die before the end. You would be wise to remain unattached."
"Nope."
"That wretched word again." She scowled at him. What now?"
"Means no." He grew weary of standing and let himself slide down the pillar to sit beside a nearby shard of Grace. "Telling me to "remain unattached" is like askin' me not to breathe. Not possible. Ain't gonna happen.
Melina was silent for a long moment. Then she touched one hand to her chest, just above the swell of her breasts. "And what do you think of me?
So much. So very much. More than he could possibly say in a day.
In the end, he settled for six. "...I think the world of you."
Melina made a strangled noise caught somewhere between a sigh and a sob. "You shouldn't."
"Still do." he shifted a little, taking his back from the pillar as he patted the space beside him. "Tough."
She almost seemed to glow in the low light of the golden grace.
"..."
With a bit of coaxing she finally came to sit, not beside him as he'd expected, but at his flank. He felt her shoulders press into his spine -she really was slender- and the back of her her head kissed his. Neither spoke for a long moment. to rest against his bloody shoulder. As he looked on, he heard her sigh. In his peripheral vision, her good eye closed.
"The enemy you shall soon face is no base foe. You will need all the strength you can muster." she offered her hand over his shoulder. "Shall I turn your runes to strength?"
How many times had she offered to do that for him? And yet he hadn't let her until now. He blew out a small sigh. "Do it."
Her fingers closed around his, this time of their own volition.
His world burst into light. And through it, he heard her voice. "I wish to tell you a story."
He closed his eyes and listened.
"There was a time when Destined Death was the natural order of things." her voice rang around him, gentle in the swelling light as his strength surged. "The Golden Order stole that away; that was the first sin, that which would one day bring about the ruin of this land. That downfall was accelerated yet more by the one you are now assisting. Ranni. You would do well not to trust that blue witch. She is a treacherous being; best to discharge your obligation to her and leave this place posthaste.
The way she spoke...
He creaked an eye open as the euphoria faded. "Are you jealous?
"Of whom?" Melina released his hand and sniffed in open derision. "A witless woman who slew her own divine flesh and made herself a mere puppet, cold and unfeeling? A woman who can bear no children, no heirs?"
"You're awfully fixated on that last part."
His maiden huffed again and looked away. "You will be Elden Lord. It is only right that your descendants are treated with the same respect...
Huh. She went on and on about not having bonds, yet here she was talking about kids?
'Conflicting messages here...
"Are you quite done speaking ill of me?" A muffled voice intoned from his satchel. "I've given thee courtesy enough...
Melina bridled, even as Naruto sighed. Ranni's doll. She'd been silent all this time. No longer apparently.
He barely had tim to reach for her in the first place; the miniature recreation of the Witch proved herself quite capable. In no time at all she extricated herself quite quickly from his pouch and began tugging at his hand for purchase, demanding to be lifted up.
With a mildly bemused smile, he granted her request.
In thanks, Ranni's tiny doll glared up at Melina from her perch his palm. "Thou hast finally stopped hiding, I see."
The kindling maiden lifted her chin in return, the better to glare down at her. "I could say the same of you, wicked witch. Did thine mother spank the sense out of thee or merely thy shame?"
Ranni snorted derisively and rolled her good eye. "How rich coming from the wench who skulks about in the dark. Shall I tell thee whom you remind me of?"
"You need not, came Melina's rejoinder, "For I know exactly what you are. A meddling woman emboldened by the flame of ambition."
"Quoting Morgott now are we?" Ranni placed one of her many small hands upon her hip. "How like a wretch to mimic a wretch."
Naruto winced. He'd felt that burn, and he hadn't even been the target. It sent Melina into a frenzy. "Cowardly craven!"
"Oh?" Ranni's smile was nothing short of smug. "Doth the pot calleth the kettle black?"
"Traitor!" Melina shot back.
"Weakling!"
"Heartless bitch!"
"She who clings to fate!"
On and on it went, until they were spent and no more insults would come; yet each one-eyed women glared bloody red daggers at one another, neither willing to yield.
Naruto looked between them, unable to hide his smile any longer. "I take it the two of you are friends?"
The unlikely duo rounded on him, eyes ablaze. "Nay!/Never!"
"Really? Because you're acting almost like sisters...
Their glares only redoubled.
"Alright." He stood and shrugged a shoulder. "I won't pry. Which way to Nokron?
Here at last the doll's calm countenance cracked. Ranni actually flinched.
"I...do not know."
Melina barked a laugh. "Of course."
Naruto cast her a baffled look. "What?
"'Tis no fault of mine!" Ranni squirmed in his palm as much beneath his gaze. "Mch has changed since I last visited this realm. I will need some time to reorient mineself. An hour perhaps...
"Are you lost, traveler?" a new voice intoned a ways ahead of them, rippling in the dark. "If you seek Nokron, thou are headed the wrong way. Nokron is to the southwest now, just past the nearest fog door."
Naruto's head snapped up.
"...oh, hey! Thanks for the directions but..."
It was like flicking a switch. Ranni dove back into his pouch and hid herself. Melina vanished into astral from.
A hooded figure approached their shard of grace at a decidedly brisk pace.
His brow furrowed at the sight of them and his words trailed off...
...who in blazes are ya?"
"Think of me as," She lifted her hood, revealing long, flowing blond hair, striking scarlet eyes..and a blood-red Great Rune etched into her forehead. "A friend." she looked past him, finding no one, and looked back to him. Had she failed to notice Ranni and Melina just now...? "I am but a humble wayfarer, guiding those who are lost." she granted him a kindly smile. "Are you undertaking this journey alone?"
Ranni trembled where she hid.
Melina, still in her astral form, remained silent as the grave.
Naruto blew out an exasperated sigh. Well, that boded poorly. "You got a name, friend?"
"I do." The Stranger patted his shoulder and walked by, hips swaying. "Perhaps someday I shall tell you it. Come," she beckoned lazily over her shoulder without looking back. "I shall show you the way. What you seek is not far. Indeed, it is closer than you think...
Naruto found himself hesitating. There was something about her voice. Had he heard it somewhere before?
Here at last she paused and looked to him, starting intendly "I mean you no harm, but we must hurry."
...I don't like this. There's something off about her. Be on your guard."
No need to tell him that. Reluctantly, he followed her into the depths.
What choice did he have?
(.0.0.0.)
"Come to me."
Milicent grit her teeth and ignored the voice.
It had grown louder in the last few hours of her Lords absence.
Even now it gnawed at her, disturbing the precious sleep she had sought.
"Come to the Tree." the words were akin to a clarion call. "It is time. You are needed."
She would not. She refused. She was herself and no one else...wasn't she?
Of course she was. To think otherwise was foolish.
Curling up on her bed, she closed her eyes.
'I am me. No one else. Just me.'
And yet the voice persisted.
'I am me...aren't I?'
A/N: The plot thickens!
Well? Did you like this story? Yes? No? Maybe? Speak up! Make yourselves heard! Your voice matters~! Silence hurts worse than any flame.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? It will remain, but it won't be continued! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs to keep the lights on, as such 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.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas....Review, Wouldst Thou Kindly?
And have some previews. Some are quite off, but still...
Mind you, most of these previews are the same.
Wouldn't do to spoil what's coming up.
Vote for what you want to see!
And as ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!
YE BE WARNED!
(Previews)
He came to a fog door and braced himself. Another mimic tear fell from on high; this one assumed his likeness, right down to the color of his eyes. Hmm. Interesting.
"Do be careful," their guide warned. The creations of Nokron can mimic almost anyonre.
"So that mimic tear thing's mimicking me, eh? Alright. Lets see how quick it is-
CLANG!
Naruto flew backward with a laugh.
Melina tutted softly. "He can be such a boy sometimes...
That music...
The song of the shamans. Beautiful, is it not? Would you like to meet them?"
You're reaching the end of your Journey, Naruto...many paths lay before you. Which ending shall you choose...
...oh? A most curious answer indeed. Will you create your own?
What will you sacrifice to achieve that ending?
Irina jumped him.
...what is that thing?"
Hewg offered him the Weapon.
"Its what she asked for. The power to kill a god."
"I AM HOARAH LOUX!"
"I AM NARUTO UZUMAKI!"
Milicent flung up her arms in exasperation. "You are such boys!"
"I'm so sorry!"
"And so we meet again Tarnished. You shall not triumph this time...
"GIVE HER BACK!"
He grabbed the needle.
There was a blade in his chest. He looked down with a sigh.
"And you thought this would work because...?"
"Please don't go...please...I can't do this without you...
"What was this? A projection? He didn't think so. And yet...
"I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella. And I-
CLONK!
-am not in the mood." Naruto finished as he stalked over her prone form. "Buzz off."
...wait."
Aw, hell.
Death roared at Death.
"Whoa, now!" He waved up at the fire giant. "Friendly! Friend! No stomping, please!"
The behemoth squinted down at him in utter confusion. Progress.
Naruto beamed up at it. "Wanna be friends?"
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. 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.
Silence...silence only hurts.
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
R&R~!