Fantastic Fantasy Adventures

The mansion is in a state that it honestly has not been in since the introduction of its new tenants, a state of silence.  People are resting, many heads rest against their pillows and finally catch their 40 winks of sleep.  It can almost be peaceful and relaxing for once, especially so with how quiet activity has been as of lately.  At least until the silence is broken by a calm, narrative voice.

“You four have been invited to the underground palace of the dwarven king, despite little to no experience with the surface dwellers, the architecture is ornate and detailed.  Symbols are carved into the pillars of unknown origin, most claim it was a remnant of the first dwarven king’s reign, and a beautifully constructed fountain drawing from their underground reservoir to add to the royal presentation of this palace.”  The light-blue skinned woman began to set the scene for the rest of the beings at the table, “You are escorted by an entourage of guards towards the stout king, his beard messy with food previously eaten.  His eyes fixed into a glare, and his dwarven jowls quiver as he speaks.”

Before her, a group of four listen intently as she paints the scene they find themselves in.  A look of awe upon the face of a purple-hued and horned tiefling as each and every word sinks into her head, a wide grin of glee adorned on the smaller, red-headed halfling that sat next to her, the mass hulking figure of the former ifrit guardsmen that sat between them and the last red-headed, musclebound woman who both leaned in closely to listen to every single word.  The blue-skinned machinesmith continued, this time doing her best to impersonate dwarven royalty.

“Do ye all know why aye summoned ya here?”  Her voice acting clearly could use some work.

“My character quickly steps forth, ‘Oh Underking, ruler of this beautiful underground city, we have heard the rumors of a halt in the advances of your kingdom underground!’”  The response was quick from the Tiefling, “She then gestures to herself, making this as grandiose as possible! ‘I will gladly take it upon myself to seek what advances we could acquire and help to benefit us in our humble mining kingdom!’”

“Wow, good job Lucyle, you’re uhh, pretty good!”  The muscular woman commends her tiefling friend.

“Mina, no, shhh, we’re supposed to be in character!”  Lucyle responds in a scolding manner.

“Alright, alright… I’m speaking out of character here!  Lucyle you did a good job!” Mina responds again with praise.

Lucyle quickly buries her face into her hand, already growing tired of the innocent praise.

“Natalia, c'mon, tell her she’s gotta stay in character!”  Asking like a child to their mother when their sibling so much as touches their stuff.

Natalia couldn’t help but smile, it was nice enough that Lucyle had stepped down as Game Master for her to take over and let her tell her own story and see how her new friends would handle it.  Nicer when she realized how deeply invested they had already gotten into the story, especially whenever she began to narrate a coming addition to the story.

“Lucyle, I don’t mind Mina offering commendations occasionally.  She’s not interrupting the story.”  She chuckled lightly, shaking her head from side to side at Lucyle’s antics.

“Mah guy saunters on over, bowin’ before the elven king and says, ‘Howdy, royalty, I’mma let y’all know that the same goes here for me.  I wanna help y’all deal with yer water issues.  It ain’t like I got much else to do ‘round here anyhow.’”  She could use a bit of work on her in-character details, it was always hard for her to let go of the way she spoke.

“Calsira! Are you even TRYING?!”  Lucyle would practically tug on her horns.

“Hey! I ain’t flirtin’ with him this time, ain’t I?”  Calsira crossed her arms over her chest.  “I’ve been gettin’ better ‘bout roleplayin’ my guy.”

Lucyle manages to mutter out an “I guess” before she relents and lets her continue with the roleplay.  A huff before a massive pout covers her face.

Mina, finding this amusing, nudges the Ifrit next to her.

“Hey, check it out.” She quips, barely managing to stifle her chuckle.  “She’s all pouty now, Axema.”

Axema tries not to laugh himself but, she just looks so ridiculous with how hard this power pout is.  The ifrit ends up laughing himself as he covers his mouth with one of his massive hands.  Natalia, who sat across the table from him, couldn’t help but smile.  Axema’s smiles were always contagious with her.

“Man, I wish we could get Moriko or Joey in this at least.  I’m sure they’d have REALLY good characters.”  Another remark from Mina.

“Maybe next time we can hog tie them into this game too!”  Calsira then winks in Mina’s direction, “I’ll make sure to get the rope if y’all know what I mean.”

A heavy, hard player’s manual is thrown right at her with no effort needed whatsoever.  Calsira almost crumpling under the weight of the book after letting out a loud, and short grunt.

“HEY!”  She flails around on the ground, trying to push the book off of her with what little breath she still has.

“I’m not letting you be that flirtatious without consequences.”  Mina crosses her arms, slightly annoyed, “Moriko is a pure maiden… who happens to have vermin as her besties.  Maybe that’s why she still associates with you.”

Axema can’t help but laugh again, even if that joke was a little mean, Calsira has been egging her on too much.

“Axema!” Natalia responds in a serious tone, the anchor to his outbursts such as these.

“Erm, sorry.” Axema quickly tries to compose himself, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he rubs the back of his head.

Natalia only nods to his statement, as Mina now shifts her joking to her best friend.

“Ooooh, got yourself in the dog house now, buddy.”  Mina snickers, she enjoys it too much when others get in trouble.

Lucyle’s mood lightens slightly as she sees the chemistry between Natalia and Axema, a child-like smile spreading.  She couldn’t lie about not shipping them super hard, even if it was weird that she shipped her friends.  At the very least, they were super cute.

“Can we get back to our game now?  I really want to hear the rest of the story Natalia’s got for us.” No longer upset, she hopes they can at the very least continue.

“Of course, is everyone ready?”  Natalia asks the group before her.

“Yes!”  They all say in unison, clearly excited for the story she has set for them.

Her laughter was always the first thing that woke him up, well, more like giggling, really.  The warmth of her body up against his back, her high-pitched voice complaining about how she could never wrap her legs around his and still nuzzle the back of his neck was a common complaint every morning.  That was always the problem of a relationship between a gnome and an elf, one is always too tall or too short to do all that fun stuff together.  Yet, it never seemed to get her down as she hugged him tightly, kisses onto his shoulder were soft, and heartwarming.

“Good morning, sunshine!”  Her voice filled his ear, it was such a beautiful voice, the same thing was said every morning but he couldn't complain.  It always sounded nice to him.

“Good morning yourself...”  Sordnan groggily responded he was still so tired, he couldn't figure out why she had so much energy every morning.

More giggles were the response, despite the stuff they had to do, whether it be infiltration or even assassination, they had each other to rely on. They had the future to look forward to, a life without having to do such awful things.  Without having to help out in wars, with only each other, and a farm to take care of.  He knew he wouldn't be able to adapt too well to a farm setting, but his sweet, fun-sized angel was someone who particularly enjoyed the idea of having a farm with him.  And when she was happy, he was, and vice versa, while not entirely relying on each other for happiness, the other being happy only enhanced their own.

“Johana…” he whispered her name, Johana the purple-haired gnome, the love of his life, “I don't know what life would be like without you.”

“Well, life has a nice way of bringing people together who are meant to be, right?  So I don't think you have any reason to worry about what that would be like.  Because right now, I am with you, and you're not without me.” She sounded so confident, so reassuring, it was like all his worries could be put away without much thought.  Like he had no reason to be worried, especially in this war-torn continent.  

The war was sure to be over after the next infiltration, they would get the intelligence, give it to their client and thus would be out of this war for good.  A nice and simple life, a life without violence and without battle every single day.  It was something he was looking forward to.

“I love you, my angel.”  He was a sap for saying such things, while not exactly original, she didn't mind it one bit.

“And I love you too, hon'.”  She was the same way.

As he turned over, he found her smiling at him, curly shoulder length, purple hair, a button nose, freckles dotting her cheeks, and a smile shooting from ear-to-ear.  Her emerald eyes staring back into his own blue pools, both leaned in for the first kiss of their day, a rushing warmth spread through both of their bodies as they wished each other good morning in their own special way.

But then, he woke up.

The bed was cold, no matter how many blankets he covered himself in, he was always so cold.  The bed was only a full-sized one, yet it felt so big and empty.  No smaller body pressing up against the back of his taller, and slimmer body, no giggling either, it was just eerily silent.  Reaching down to his waist, as if to try and confirm the truth, he felt nothing there.  No hands to hold, no arm to rub, just his own body all by itself.

“Another morning…”  He mumbled to himself, it was barely audible.

He shuffled in bed, turning over to look behind him as if to expect her turned away from him on a rare occasion.  That must be it, right?

Nothing.

Nobody behind him, no purple hair to run his fingers through, just an empty bed.

No indentation indicating someone was sleeping and just gotten up, no footsteps pounding on the floor, nothing to indicate he wasn't exactly how he felt, alone.

The only thing he could do was sit up, and pull open a drawer on a nightstand near his bed.  Reaching in, he pulled out an old, polaroid picture.  In it, was a picture of him, no mask, no scarf, nothing covering his scarred face, yet, he was smiling.  On his lap, was a familiar face, the same purple hair, the same button nose, the same freckles that peppered her cheeks, and the same smaller body that used to be pressed into the back of his, also smiling happily.  The two in the picture, happy as can be as he stared blankly at it.

“No tears yet again.”  Sordnan could only blankly say, no emotion whatsoever in his voice.

No matter how many times he looked at it, he could never cry anymore. Another sigh escaped his mouth, his head lowered before he raises his eyes to look at the picture once more.

“I miss you, Johana, and I always will.”

She hated what became of the team recently, everybody was so down and out, they were all so sad.  The Crimson Monster had just kept throwing disaster, after disaster after them, and everyone just looked so tired and so… sad!  Even after the big meeting Natalia had told them all about, the meeting where things were supposed to turn around, where they'd get help or something and finally sock it to that horrible monster woman!  The big villain at the end of the story, the one where all the heroes, and some villains, banded together to finally wipe out the even bigger boss!  This was supposed to be the turning point, but Moriko was just so down, she looked terrible!

She couldn't let that stay the way it was, so she always tried to find a way to help.  But others always got in the way, always telling her to leave her and others alone.  They needed alone time, they needed to be left alone, being there would only exasperate things.  All these things, one right after the other, to try and keep her away from her friend!  It happened with Mina when she was under the control of that stupid charm spell, and if they had let her see Mina earlier, Lucyle could have helped put an end to it!  Who the hell did that someone they claimed to love?!  But that's a different story, right now, it was all Moriko's story.  And she was not going to be fooled into leaving her friends alone without any sort of help again.

But why? Why couldn't she just accept her friend might need alone time and listen to her other friends when they told her that?  Why wouldn't she just listen to them?

BECAUSE NOBODY EVER DESERVED TO BE TOTALLY ALONE!

Sure, if the person told them that herself, she'd leave them alone because it was their words telling her that.  Not her other friends telling her what was the “right answer.”  But it was the thought she wanted to pull out, she wanted her friends to know that she was there for them, that she wanted to help.  She knew that Moriko had always seen herself as a burden, she always, ALWAYS seemed to apologize whenever her problems were made apparent.  Like she was a burden to her friends, BUT SHE WASN'T!  Moriko was just a silly, kitsune, well not silly because of her feelings but because she couldn't see how much Lucyle just wanted to help her!  How much Lucyle wanted to be her super good friend and guide her through this! Well maybe not guide but be the light at the end of the tunnel!

BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT GOOD HEROES DO!

Small, everyone was just so very small.  It was always nice to look down at them, all of them almost like children in his eyes.  Save for the ones that were too minuscule even for that, such as Rogen, Calsira, and Reza, but it was still nice to see them interact when he could.  In fact, it would have been nice to see anyone in the mansion interact with each other, as he remained outside for the most part.  Too big to really squeeze through the door, too tall to stand comfortably inside, but that did not matter in the least.  After all, being outside only meant he was closer to the Earth Mother than when he was inside the home.

Lucyle, Mina, and Axema were the ones that came to the backyard the most, Calsira, although one that went outside often, chose the front yard more often than the back.  Solely because it gave Tyazar more room to run around, and exercise himself.  Though he could always see her from over the fence, even sitting down he towered over it.  The rest, though, often went to the backyard to meditate, to exercise, or to take practice swings with their sword.  A spectacular scene to behold each and every day, people going about their business, taking each day one step at a time like he'd hope they would.  They all have gone through so much, and here he is, the cleric, the one that's supposed to heal them, having their weight on his shoulders.  Though, with them doing all of this, it was becoming lighter every moment.

They each had their own secrets too, who they were fond of, who they were starting to crush on, even who they missed.  These were only snippets of the secrets he held onto, a cleric would always know the secrets of the service members, and likewise, he knew the secrets of his friends. The secrets of Sordnan's past, the apple of both Axema's and Mina's eye, the final moments of Daniel Brandon, the brother of Joey Jojo, that could very well have been his only moments of peace.  Even though they were all small compared to him, they carried big secrets. Sometimes, even bigger weights on their shoulders, some which he was happy to help carry with them if they allowed.  Not always were they so grateful for his help, but he knew they appreciated the thought.

The small ones had such a great dynamic of friendship between some, Mina, Lucyle, and Axema had a fantastic friendship they could all be proud of.  Moriko and Joey Jojo were some of the best friends he saw in the home as well, Rogen tried to be as close as he could to everyone, much like Lucyle, but not as brash as she was.  Calsira was very… eccentric to say the least, but her company was not one he would turn away. Sordnan was the odd one out, though, he seemed to refuse to get to know any of the others.  Often turning down hang out time, or telling them he didn't really enjoy a particular activity, they would have to drag him along with them if they really wanted him to join them. Again, he knew the weight that lay on the poor elf's shoulders, but in order to respect his wishes, he never told anyone.  Try as the elf might, he may not have considered many of the group his friends, but they considered him their friend.  He thought this was nice.

This was it, it was finally his turn, after all, Natalia had confronted him before leaving for the meeting to tell him he should take the scroll from Calsira.  He never knew his heart could pump this fast, his hands could be this sweaty, his internal temperature just rising through the roof.  He almost felt bad, like he couldn't do it like he shouldn't do it. That was the case until he saw Calsira and the state she had been left in, sitting on the floor, against a wall, babbling to herself. She kept talking and talking, and it seemed like she was doing this to drown something else out.  From his own firsthand experience, it was probably to get the scroll's voice out of her head.  Clearing his throat to make his presence known, he saw something spark in her eyes as she stood back up.

“ROGEN, oh am I glad I could see y'all.  You ain't gonna believe what this thing has put me through!  Shoot, this thing was harder to look after than a bull making a warpath down the ranch!  Or whatever I say, heheh.”  Calsira almost forced that last metaphor out, it's almost like she wasn't even trying.  Something rare when it came to the quirky halfling.

“Calsira, are you okay?  You don't seem yourself.”  Rogen asked the obvious, of course, something was wrong.  Though, he wanted her to believe that maybe, that perhaps things weren't as obvious as they were.  Maybe she'd find solace in that, or maybe it would make her feel worse when she finally realizes that it is that obvious.

“Me, not myself?  Pssh, y'all actin' like I ain't been runnin' around on my hands, and tryin' to ride any ol' thang that moves.”  Again, everything seemed to be going through a filter of forced cheer.

This whole thing concerned Rogen, the fear that once filled his mind was being overcome by his concern for his teammate.  She went from cheery and energetic, to downright paranoid in the span of one night, what did this scroll do to her?  What could it possibly have said to her that got her to act like this?

“You're obviously afraid of something, Calsira.  This is unlike you, unlike anything I've ever seen out of you,”  Rogen said, concerned, “What did it say to you?”

Calsira's eyes immediately shot from side to side, her copper eyes swallowed by fear.  Almost as if she were being watched at this very instant, but she knew it couldn't be possible.  Could it?

“Look, Rogen, I ain't gonna want to bring y'all into this too,”  Calsira almost whimpered out, “She knows a lot 'bout us, and she knows way too much 'bout me.”

She ruffled her own hair, trying to get the eerie voice out of her head. All the mocking it kept her up with last night, all the laughter at her struggle, all of the work she had gone through to even come this far.

“Calsira! Remember what Natalia said, no more secrets.”  Rogen actually stood his ground, he wanted her to know he was fully behind what his impromptu leader had told him.

Calsira bit on her bottom lip, she didn't want to reveal this at all, at least not until the funeral.  Yet, she knew he was right, they had promised no more secrets.  She was there when the samsaran had requested they do that, and she had put full support of this behind the idea.  Why did it have to start before she got the scroll?

“Fine… “  Calsira gulped, “She kept me up all night, taunting me about my drinkin' problem.  I ain't got over the demon in a bottle that I gotta sip from time to time.  That I started this because my parents don't give two shits about me, that my grandmammy was the only thing that pushed me into the Order of the Paw, and that she knows where she lives, Rogen!  She knows where my grandmammy lives, and I ain't 'bout to let her do anythin' to her!  I just, I just don't want her doin' anythin' to my grandmammy, Rogen.”

Valentine's Day, what a wonderful opportunity for those in the mansion to give gifts to each other on the basis that “Oh the school kids do it, we can too.”  An excuse to share their love for each other, even if it's just leaning towards platonic love.  An excuse for Mina and Axema to pace around in the garden, wondering what they could give as gifts for their crushes at the time.  What better way to figure it out than pacing and bouncing ideas off of each other.

“What about stuffed animals?”  The muscular woman started things off with a simple idea.

“No, no, Mina, Natalia would be disappointed in a stuffed animal.  That or she wouldn't understand it, we have to make something, that way it comes from the heart.”  Quipped the taller, and broader, Ifrit man, his hair up in flames as always.  As he said the name, “Natalia,” his hair flared a bit brighter.  It was an almost regular occurrence, so it did not startle Mina in the slightest.

“Ah, crap, you're right.  But I can't make anything, I got these hands that were meant for crushing skulls!  These things trying to be delicate is like… a bull in a china shop!”

Hearing Mina's words caused Axema's hair to dim slightly, she had a point about not only her hands but his own as well.  How could such hands, that are made for destruction, be used to create something?  Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps they couldn't make something and the personal aspect of it all lost in store bought brands.  No!  It can't be this way, there has to be another solution.

“Mina! We can't give up like that, we have to keep trying there will always be something we can do!”  His voice rang throughout the garden, and possibly multiple corners of the mansion as well.  He forgot to use his inside voice again.

Yet, he was met with silence.  Had he struck a nerve with Mina?  Did he say the wrong thing to one of his best friends?  Does he need to apologize?!  He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, as he opened his mouth to apologize he was met with her booming voice.

“You're RIGHT!  We can do it!  To hell with our strong, crushing hands!” Mina was thoroughly convinced now, which wasn't hard to do at all. One could probably convince her to eat literal garbage if worded the right way, “And I got just the idea!”

“An idea?  Tell me, Mina, what is it?”  Axema paused, looking down at his friend.

“We MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES FOR THEM!  Trust me, they do it in Japan all the time.  Those weird Japanese cartoons at least did it.  And cartoons are like, really accurate aren't they?”  Again, not the brightest bulb in the shed.

“Homemade chocolates?  That has enough sweetness to it that it could work alongside flowers as a gift… yet not too difficult for our hands to make.”  The ifrit raised his hand to his chin, deep in thought about this, weighing his options out in his head.

“And it's Japanese!  Moriko would love it!  At least I think she will, oh shit, what if I offend her by doing this?  WAIT, I CAN'T DO THIS! IT'S CHOCOLATE, SHE'S A FOX PERSON, AAAAARGH!”  The barbarian woman tugs at her hair in frustration, how could she be so stupid?

“Why not just make white chocolate?  It's not really chocolate.”  A much gentler voiced squeezed its way through the louder duo.  A soft hint of a french accent sprinkled over her words, who else could it be but the resident grandma, Juliet?  At least by the age standards, that's what she was.  Physically, she looked to be an ambiguously twenty year old woman, in reality she was a millennium old vampire, who has yet to catch up to the current age of words.

“Granny?! Oh, gods, how much of that did you catch?”  Mina's eyes shut tightly, one eye slowly opening to see the vampire walk into the garden to join them.

“Just enough to know what you two are planning to do.  And I think it's a crackerjack idea, chocolates are fun to make, and are fun to receive, my friends.”  A fanged smile spreads across her face, teaching how to make desserts was always something she enjoyed doing.

“I agree!”  The ifrit blared, his hair flaring up once more.

“Alright, okay, white chocolate, not real chocolate, got it,”  Mina mumbled to herself before another question was raised in the, rather thick, skull of hers.  “But what about if we mess up?  They'll HATE us for it.”

The ifrit's head raced with bad outcomes, oh no, he had never thought about a bad outcome with the chocolates!  What if they mistake salt for sugar?  What if the chocolate is too bitter?!  What if NATALIA DIDN'T LIKE CHOCOLATE?

“MINA'S RIGHT, THEY WILL HATE US FOR BAD CHOCOLATE!  WHY HAVE I NEVER CONSIDERED THIS?!”  His skull was just as dense as Mina's, his intelligence at times dampened by his wisdom.

No need to fear, though, Grandma Juliet always has an answer for these sorts of situations.  She wasn't one to come ill-prepared after all, she didn't want them thinking this way about, well, anything.

“Mina, Axema, please stop for a moment and think for a second.  I want you both to try and imagine Moriko and Natalia in a situation where they hate you over chocolate.”

As they both paused to think about it, it did seem kind of silly.  Their crushes getting angry at them over something as little as messing up a chocolate recipe.  They should do this more often, it makes things less confusing and more reasonable. If only they could find the time to do it.

“Besides, if anything, we'll just put them in the freezer and I promise to you they'll be perfect.  Nothing could disappoint someone you care about if you put the time and effort into doing it.”  While that's not entirely true, Juliet knew these two needed some positive encouragement.  After all, centuries upon centuries of learning helped her realize that long ago.

The both of them knew Juliet was right, why would they think that their crushes would hate them over this?  They knew that in the end, they would, at least, appreciate the effort these two put into getting out of their comfort zones.

“I can't wait to see the look on Moriko's face when she sees this.  Hah, did you know that sometimes when she blushes, it seeps through her fur?  It's so cute seeing her turn bright red in her true form...” Mina slipped into a daydream about her kitsune crush, someone stop her before it's too late.

“Maybe I'll get to see Natalia smile when I give her this.”  Axema's hair flared MUCH brighter than before after that, causing Juliet to jump back startled by its suddenness.

“Well I-I'm glad you two are now very much behind this.  Please, follow me, I'm sure we'll be able to quickly prepare your gifts before they come back home.  It's simple enough to follow, I can teach you both at once.”  If only Juliet knew what that entailed.

The two muscleheads looked at each other for a moment, before they turned back to Juliet.

“YES, that's perfect!  Thank you!”  The both yelled in unison, which caused Juliet's ears to ring slightly.  She almost forgot that something like that could still happen, was she really going on that much in the years?

How long ago was it when she had first met her best friend, Moriko?  It had to have been at least a two months by this point, and boy howdy was she an absolute blast to hang out with.  Mina sat on the floor in the garden, pondering and remembering all the fun times she's had with everyone in the party.  Yet, she always seemed to have much more fun with Moriko each time she got the chance to do so.  What was it about Moriko that helped her case?  Boy, if only it were that easy to think about.

“Why are you so much more fun, Moriko?”  Mina thought aloud, she always found it hard to keep thoughts inside of her head.

It almost felt like nothing could be boring around her best, fox friend. She could literally be gushing on and on about the differences between animals and Mina would find that to be a blast.  It was always fun seeing Moriko happy, a happy Moriko meant, usually, that everyone else was going to be happy.  A happy mansion was always better than the sad, gloomy mansion that seemed to be happening these days.  Even then, Moriko had always been able to lift up her mood very quickly, even after the whole charm spell that was put on her a while back by Alessa her, she hated to admit this, ex-girlfriend.

Lately, though, Moriko had been sad and very distant in just about everything she did.  That stupid scroll had ruined her friend's attitude towards a lot of things, and Mina wanted to be the source of happiness that Moriko was to her in her own dark times.  This is what confused her the most.  The only time she ever felt like this was back in the day when she thought she loved Alessa.  She couldn't be falling in love with her best friend, though, could she?

“We're just friends, Mina.  The second you bring up you've been having these thoughts after two months of knowing her is going to get a weird response out of her.  She'll be pressured into a relationship because you're so much larger and that's no good.”  Again, the barbarian thought aloud to herself.

She would have kept a bit quieter if she knew this next part was coming up.  A quiet, flat voice responded her own thoughts, no emotion being expressed through his tone, it almost sounded bored.

“If you're so worried about that, Mina, I don't think she'll be pressured.  You seem like the kind of woman to take extra care for this sort of thing.”  It said.

She recognized the voice anywhere, though, their resident ex-assassin, the half-elf himself, Sordnan.  He had a habit of scaring people like this, not that she'd admit she was scared or anything.  He just happened to catch her off-guard is all.

“Sordnan, would it kill you to tell me you're coming into the garden?  I hate it when you surprise me like that.”  The much more muscular woman growled at Sordnan, she really did hate his surprises.

“I'll make sure to do that next time.”  Again, he sounded bored.

He took a few steps forward, looking down at Mina with his cold, almost lifeless eyes.  That also bothered her about Sordnan, he never seemed to emote whatsoever.  What had he gone through?  What could get a person to become completely numb to everything, especially emotion? Is this what Moriko was going through?  She couldn't let that happen at all!

“For now, though, we need to talk about what you've been thinking about. Especially in a time like this, Mina.”  Sordnan said, crossing his arms.

Oh, gods, this was it, wasn't it?  The time where Sordnan was going to tell her about how this was a bad time, she shouldn't be adding pressure on top of all of this.  That feelings like this should be saved until after they've defeated their nemesis and can solely focus on each other.  Yeah, yeah, she was expecting this to happen day one of admitting anything similar to this and she figured no one better to shoot down her dreams than Sordnan himself.

“So what, Sordnan?  I know I'm probably confused, maybe it's just a super good friendship and I'm just mistaking it for love.  It wouldn't be the first time I was completely wrong about it, and I bet it won't be the last time.”  Mina grimaced, she hated admitting all of that, “Look, all I want to do right now is make sure that Moriko doesn't end up like you, okay?  No offense, but you're so numb to everything that I'd hate to see her go through everyday life like this.”

Sordnan didn't say anything at first, and Mina soon realized how blunt she put that.  Guilt started to wash over her, and she panicked, trying to find the right words for an apology.  Oh, gods, she was so stupid in saying that, why the hell did she say it?  This guy sticks his neck out to help her all those years ago, and here is her repayment? A big, blunt fuck you to Sordnan.  As she nervously stumbled over her words and tried to apologize, he spoke over her.

“No, Mina, that's what I've come here for.  I've been noticing it too.”

What the hell was this?  Was he agreeing with her?  About his own personality and how he reacts to things, how the hell was he not offended?  He was offended a few days ago by Moriko's comment, and here he is taking that in stride?  What the hell was wrong with this guy?

“I've noticed it as soon as things started to hit the fan.  And quite frankly, I don't like it.  I think it's bad to see someone who I was told was so full of energy lying down and accepting people trampling all over her.  So I came to you to try and convince you to cheer her up, text message her, tell her you hope things go well at the meeting, and if they don't, comfort her.  Talk to her, help her get through the damage because I assure you there is damage already done.”  Despite the flat, unemotional tone of his voice, he seemed to genuinely care about his party mate.

“But, Sordnan-”  Despite trying to get in a word edgewise, he stopped her.

“And those feelings you seemed to be confused about, or at least, think you are.  You need to bring those up too, whether or not she feels the same way, she needs to at least hear about them in a time like this.  If you keep them bottled up for too long, who knows what could happen to her.  She could die the very next day, and what will you have to show for it?  A lack of confession.  It doesn't have to be today, but it needs to happen soon.”  He came to a halt at the end of it all, almost like he was lost in thought for a moment.

At this point, Mina was more confused than ever.  Why is he so invested in this?  What got the normally uncaring Sordnan to come up to her and tell her all of this?  Is this guy crazy or something?  Is he some sort of weirdo that needed this to satiate some sort of sick craving?

“Sordnan, why do you even care about all of this?”  She questioned, her head tilting to the side a bit inquisitively.

“Let's say, I've seen something, Mina.  Something private that I feel I must not have seen, but might be important to you.”  Sordnan wasn't looking at her this time, but something behind her.  That wasn't unnerving, no.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you might be getting something, maybe something like a confession sometime soon.”

As soon as the image came on screen, as soon as the chair that did not seem to fit with the strange setting appeared, he knew what was going to happen.  He knew that she was going to appear, there was something in him that just wanted to punch the projector to escape from her torment.  He knew she was going to appear, he knew it was mere seconds before she'd appear on the screen.  Before it would take Joey and Moriko both to pull him away from the room in an effort to stop the meeting from going belly side up.  Then it happened, then the monster that has utterly ruined his life from his first day meeting her appeared on screen, stretching her lips out to smile wide in an effort to unnerve her.

“I'm going to kill her, monster, devil, witch!”  The insults began to fire in his head, already fuming at the sight of her.

He remembered each and everything she had done to him and seeing her again only reopened old wounds.  She forced him to kill his friends, his old comrades, his brothers in arms, all while inside him forcing his body to move.  Forcing him, to say things he would never think of saying, forcing him to be banished from the realm he called home. Then, to further damage him, she took away most of his intelligence, making him a bumbling idiot.  She made him believe his name was “George,” and she made his life hell.  There she was, speaking, saying words in that voice that made him want to shatter bones.

“Don't ever go near my friends,”  He thought to himself, “Don't you dare touch them!  Don't do to them what you did to me, if I so much as catch you near them, you're dead.  If you try to so much as take what I have away from me again, I will make you sorry.”

He didn't notice he was grinding his teeth at this point in his frustration.  He didn't notice that the room had gone considerably hotter, he didn't notice his hands balling into tight fists.  The formal robes he had on would mean nothing the second his anger takes over, ruining one of the only things he had from his old home.  The home she took him away from.  The home she forced him out of.  The position he finds himself in, the way the elf keeps talking down to his friend, the position Natalia found herself forced into in the underground.  There were so many things she was responsible for.

With how consumed in anger he had gotten, he didn't realize his hair had flared up into a massive flame.  At this point, it would cause the ceiling to catch fire, the entire building would burn down due to his anger and he didn't even know it.

“I am tired of you ruining my life, monster, and I-”  He was interrupted.

A hand had gently placed itself atop one of his fists, and he had been thrown off course.  It didn't happen immediately, the calming effect that is.

“I don't want you to do to her what you did to me.”  His inner voice, though still angry, was beginning to lose its steam.

Gradually, his hair began to lose it's vigor, beginning to settle down as he looked down to see who it was.  He was so blinded by his arrogance, he didn't notice Natalia get up out of her chair.  She was back first against the wall, her hand atop his fist, and it seems like she noticed his anger and tried quickly to defuse it.

“I don't want...”  He was slowly losing track of what he was angry about, he was not expecting her to do this at all.

His hair was now back to its normal flame, his cheeks flushed pink, his face blushing brightly.  His teeth slowly coming to halt, no longer grinding up against the other, his fists not as tight as they were when he first saw the monster. His gaze turning from the screen over towards the “smaller” samsaran, as his eyes widened upon seeing her.  Even in his intelligence deficient state, he saw her as he did now.  A flower, a flower that grew in the darkness that was the horrors around him.  A flower that somehow kept herself well away from the choking roots of the weeds, finding enough nourishment to survive and growing in this corrupted plane.