Y.Z. Act III [PG-16]

Okay. So Armon was a butt head.

That was true enough. He nodded in agreement at her comment, with a satisfied expression of light contemplation. Yeah. He'd been pretty mean.

"Well, I'm not so much making fun of you as I am point out the bare fac- Woah there!" Armon cringed back at the rock she was preparing to throw. He wasn't exactly a supple twig in water. But before she could throw the projectile, she did the one thing Armon had really hoped would not happen. Of course, he'd probably jinxed it. "Hey!" He cried in surprise when she hit water. Major crap. The first thing he did was fish her out by her arm, though that was most certainly not the first thing he ended up grabbing. Sweatdropping, he caught her arm on the second try, and pulled her from underneath the water. Okay good. She was still breathing. Because there was no way she would be getting any mouth-to-mouth crap from him. No sir. Whether she was different as hell or not, she was still Reid, and Armon was still Adela. No. Kissing. Of any possible kind.

His expression was far from worried however, in fact it was more exasperated, as though dealing with Sanako would soon become more of a chore than good fun. "I'd say the bath is pretty much over, in your case. Stahn shouldn't have any complaints." Armon rolled his eyes, pulling her into a sitting position in the hotspring at the very least while he got out to move over to the towels, fishing out the key with a strand of Dation and unlocking it. Hey, he was being pretty considerate, not just pulling her out and leaving her there. And he was pretty skilled, sitting her up like that all with one hand on her arm and arm only. There would be no risks for her being half-conscious and throwing more dangerous objects at him later. Besides, she was interrupting his bath.

"Here, you crazy girl." Armon said, a towel wrapped around his waist as he pulled her out, draping a towel over her in the process, "You're really weird. It's not like I haven't seen a girl's body anyway. You didn't have to pass out on me." Sighing he plopped her down on the floor on top of his oversized shirt.

"I'm going to finish my bath." He snapped, sitting back down in the water, "You better not do this next time. Xaviae, is that chivalrous enough for you?"

'If you weren't naked in my body, yes, probably.' Xaviae had since pulled the collar of his shirt over his white hair in complete, perfect, and flawless humiliation.

Jeckt snickered at the extreme entertainment he was getting out of this pointless training exercise, 'She acted faster than I thought she would. Wonder what she'll do when she hears she got grope-'

"You," Armon said in a casual tone as he leaned back, forming a bucket out of Dation and pouring water over his head, "Are not telling her anything." He shook his head and hair like a wet dog shaking off the water on it's fur coat before peeling away the long orange strands away from his face.

'You're still as bossy as ever.' Jeckt scoffed.

"Your hair is a lot longer than I though it was Xaviae." Armon commented, measuring an orange lock of hair with his finger, ignoring Jeckt to the fullest.


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Violette laughed a little reluctantly due to her current situation, but genuine nonetheless, "The Lieutenant is probably going to have a cow by the time this it all over! Her faels are really in for it. She seems pretty unaware of what's going on." Violette paused to think and listen for a moment, reminiscent of Lazarus' tendency to come to complete stop in the middle of his sentences, "I think your wings are interesting! I don't like not understanding things, and I don't understand why people are so against Wyvern's and Phoenix's. I mean, really, they're just a pair of wings. It could've been the other way around, my wings could've been the source of discrimination. Why are wyvern and phoenix wings so special? I've always wanted to know what makes them so different, so… hateful, I suppose?" Shaking her head, Violette continued her rambling, "I think Levi was originally pretty similar to Gil right now. I mean, I was on my way back to Gregar, and he suddenly just grabbed my collar and told me 'We're going to be late!'. And here I am. In all my suddenly-female glory."

She slid down into the water so that her nose just barely hovered above the surface. Watching her long curls lose their shape as they floated around her, Violette sat up a little so she could speak, "But I guess I just care more about the differences between genders. The Lieutenant doesn't seem like she cares at all, and Levi… well, we've already seen how much he's enjoying this…. I don't know Reid very well honestly, but now that he's changed into this new crazy little girl, I think I can never relate to him." Violette shifted her head left and right, watching the waves that her hair drew, "But it's great that you can talk- before I didn't understand anything you were trying to say. Makes it difficult to have a conversation!"

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"Hey," Gil shrugged, "I'm supposed to be a healthy young male. It's not that I care what I look like, I care what I can see. You know?" Laughing, Gil sent a particularly spectacular shot of water into the air and grinned, "I don't like being a refined person. It's more fun to do what you like and say what you want. That's why I'm a criminal. Or at least, that's why I was a criminal. They don't judge you down there as much as they do on the flip side."

Gil watched Deon lightly as he mentioned the missing aspect.

"I feel like I'm missing something between- alright alright, that's a little too open." Gil interrupted herself shaking her head with mirth as she continued to make herself a water show, "I wouldn't know what you're missing, but even though I like being a girl, I'm certainly not too keen on staying as one. I feel like I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time, and things just look and feel different. I think different, but I still think the same… girl persona, guy persona, it's all there. And no matter how much I try, I can't remember how to talk with my accent. Those are things that are missing for me. I'm not a complicated person, so I really don't feel like I'm missing much. You Archai Squad people seem like a total enigma though. Couldn't tell you what you're missing, maybe just the usual faces changing so much makes you feel set apart or something."

Gil paused. Someone?

"Hey, you're that Reid guy's girlfriend, aren't you? ...Er, usually... anyway... You don't mind that he's going to be spending the next few weeks with his ex-fiance? I mean, not that I mean to pry. Just, pointing out something that I'd be concerned about myself."

"What we're supposed to be, huh?" Deon repeated, placing the same emphasis on the word that Gil had. "Then you're in denial. I can't speak on behalf of Stahn, and I can't pretend to see a method to his madness, but I think he wants us to submit to what we are now. It's most likely a test of some sort. Nonetheless, it looks like we'll probably be spending a month like this, so..." His eyes then met Gil's as she reminded him of Reid, of Sanako. It was true, he had been his girlfriend, but... "For some reason, those feelings aren't there anymore. When I think of Reid now, I think of Sanako and her personality instead of the person I've known for the past five years. I'm thinking maybe Stahn intended this, so I'll play along. It's still crazy weird though... However, if Sanako chooses to fool around with Armon, then I'll just have to fool around with you~" He grabbed onto Gil's arm suddenly, and rubbed up against her in a joking manner.

"I'm grateful though. I didn't expect you to be a very good listener at first. In fact, I've been thinking you disliked me since I met you... are you the type of person who dislikes what I am? I AM the princess you know. If you hate me for that, I can see if Stahn will allow a change." He didn't quite understand why he was telling this unmannered girl such a terrible secret - even though a guy calling himself a princess was kind of funny - but there was just something about her he felt he could trust. He got up abruptly, his the water covering his body reflecting the rays of the morning sun. To the east, however, it appeared rain clouds were approaching. "Well, shall we head back down? It looks like it's about to rain, and I'd rather beat the weather!"

---

"Well, to be quite honest, we do have longer lifespans than normal people..." Christian began. "Sanako knows it, Deon knows it, but most people aren't aware of it. Most people who do know use it as justification for calling us freaks, while those who don't pretend to know and just follow suite. And, because we live longer, we fetch a much higher price than Phoenix people. It's a sad and ridiculous history, and only greed is to blame. It's one of this world's sad truths..." His voice took a solemn tone, but still he managed to look at Violette and smile. "This is problematic, though. For some reason a girl seems to be more attractive to me than a guy, and strangely, it's you..." Christian's face turned bright red as her realized what he had just said. "I- I- I- mean! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm not used to talking! It was a slip of the tongue!"

He hastily stood up and got out of the water, putting on his pants, before leaning over and extending a hand to Violette who was still in the water. "It looks like rain. We should probably go back now. If you're truly worried about seeing yourself naked, I can dress you. It's not like I haven't seen any of it before." After thinking for a moment to himself, he threw in another line. "Also, what you said about Sanako. I don't think she's crazy, I just don't think she knows how to deal with embarassment. I've had enough experiences with his fael to know she wouldn't have turned him into a psycho. She's most likely pretty feminine and kind when she isn't being embarassed by Armon. She probably needs some female friends to help her along. Obviously, I can't fulfill that role, but could I ask you to? I would be indebted to you."

---

"Kyuu... kyuu..." Sanako's breaths took a similar sound as she began to stir once more. She wearily opened her eyes, and found herself gazing over at Armon, who was once again in the water of the hotspring. She hadn't been completely conscious as he saved her from drowning, but she could remember bits and pieces of things that were said to her. She shivered briefly, which brought to her realization that she had a towel draped over her, hiding her important parts. She turned completely red for a moment, realizing that for him to have moved her out, he must have seen everything, but it faded after also realizing that he had the decency to cover her up. Had she been... misjudging him? "I've always been a burden to you, haven't I?" She said softly, barely audable as she struggled to stand. Her face was red not from embarassment, but most likely from a fever she had recieved as an after effect of staying in the water too long.

She refused to make eye contact with him, and so she had her head turned to face the hut. "Ever since the first day I met you, and I accidentally spilled your mom's coffee on you..." She didn't talk for yet another moment. Why was she getting so worked up? Reid wouldn't get worked up like this! "It's been that way forever, and when I ran away I decided I wouldn't be a burden to anyone anymore. I'd get stronger, that's what I told myself. But then I just became dependent on Flaire and Ellianne and began to drag them down." Was she having an epiphany of sorts? Could she say the things she couldn't say as Reid. Or... had the heat just gotten to her?

Wobbily, she got to her feet. Most likely, she was in no condition to be walking around at least until she had proper rest, yet she shakily made her way over to her clothes, accidentally dropping the towel along the way. She didn't have the energy to bother picking it up. The heat had claimed that energy. "When I met you again, I realized that all along I had been a greater burden to you than ever, and I didn't know what to do..." She struggled, but eventually managed to get both of her white undergarments on, but that was as far as she got before having to rest her petite body on a nearby rock.

"...Even now I'm a burden to you. Not once have I ever been able to compensate you for the pain and suffering I've caused you." She smiled meekly. "I'm a useless person. Even like this, I'm useless. You're strong, so I used to always look up to you. Me, I'm just a coward at heart. A coward who can only put on a brave face when the situation calls for it..." It began to rain. Sanako stared worriedly at her clothes. She was weak, she had a fever, and she could barely walk. How was she going to get dressed and make it back down. Moodswinging back in a Sanako-like personality, the thought of having him needing to dress her was unacceptable! This inspired a burst of energy, and she quickly assembled her clothing and put it on, making sure everything was perfect. Unfortunately, however, she ended up paying the price of wearing a white blouse with a white bra, and was forced to cover her chest. "Anyways, I feel so much better, no thanks to you, who caused it in the first place!" She was still obviously ill, as she had a red streak across her nose that indicated her fever, and she struggled to keep her body from shaking. "And just because you've seen it before, doesn't mean it's going to make me feel okay showing you my body, pervert. I'm shy about showing it off, unlike you, so you better learn to respect that."

"You guys are so dead if I tell her just how disrespectful he was." Mistral, still having been in Armon's consciousness the entire time, watching. She was obviously referencing the feel Armon had gotten in while bailing her out of the water. "Though if your reila was smart, he'd pick up on the fact that she's acting fine when she isn't. Let's just see how this turns out." Mistral was surprisingly smug. She had something to hold over their heads now~

Armon sighed, lending the obviously delusional girl an ear as he formed an umbrella of Dation over his head, peering at the droplets of rain breaking the smooth glossy surface of the water. His back was turned to her, because after that scenario, there was no way he wanted to see her butt naked ever again. His expression changed with every mention that Sanako made. Rolling his eyes when she mentioned the coffee incident. Letting himself agree wholly with the burden fact. It was true. It was very true. He remembered fully the number of times Adela had let herself get saved by Reid, but failed to point that out as he stood, drying himself off without caring much about Sanako's prescence. Sitting under the roof of the hut, he dressed himself from the waist down, balled the bandages that were supposed to go around his torso into a messy lump, and stuffed it in his pocket. He was too lazy to put it on right now. Back-tracking to Sanako's very first comment as he wrapped bandages around his forearms as though it were habit, he said without much grace or sympathy, "Yeah, you are a burden."

Blunt. He didn't care if Mistral told Sanako what he did. Why should he? The truth was the truth. He bit one side of the bandage and knotted it with his free hand before continuing, "You're a burden, but you're not useless. And let me get this straight," He shook out the next set of bandages and started on his other arm, "I'm telling you this because your soft side creeps me out, and you better not expect me to praise you when your mind isn't melted jello. You're a burden on me but you've already made Flazure a country. Your connections made it so, so in that instance, you're not useless. You think you're useless because you can't do big things like Rosaline and make a country a country. You can only ask. You think you're useless because you can't give the order to have soldiers stationed in Flazure to protect the people you made free. Instead you have to ask Prince Ryan to tell me to give the order. But I don't think the graciousness of royalty extends to the far reaches of Phoenix and Wyvern people without your influence, because by ordering that race to be freed, they've destroyed families of great wealth and influence that specialized in the trade. You stop here and you've not only destroyed the people you tried to save, but the people who suffered for it have suffered for no reason. not to mention my squads stationed in Flazure that'll probably be obliterated by NEAR if they ever got the chance. Rosaline and Ryan aren't in the picture anymore. You were the only outsider at the start; and you're the only outsider in the end. Sorry Rei- Sanako, I'm not here for you, her, or the mute girl. I'm not going to tell you you're not a coward, because a coward is just someone who does what he's told."

Armon scoffed, standing up and throwing on his overcoat, "And that's why I do what I'm told, even when I don't like it. Because I've decided to be a coward and do what other people think is right. If I wasn't a coward, I wouldn't be here. I'd have told Rosaline no, whether I lost my post or not." His heavy words came while he was doing something as trivial as rubbing the towel over his head, and pulling it off, revealed a bored and indifferent face, "I'm going to be frank and tell you that I hate the way you're acting right now. This is all for you Archai Squad people after all. Fine, it's apart of your personality. Fine, you don't like showing me your body- It's not like I was trying to look at it anyway. If you think you're a coward, than sit around here and be a coward to Stahn. I plan on getting stronger than Stahn so I can get out of here and do things the way I want to, rather than getting jerked around by royals. Once we're out of here, I'll stick around only because whenever you get like this," Armon pinched Sanako's cheeks between his fingers sharply without mercy, "You really do become useless. And that princess girl should spend more time learning about being a princess than giving Mr. Freedom-Fighter a cheesy pep talk."

Stepping back and squatting down to let her hitch a ride on his back, he sighed, holding his arms out behind him, "Get on, we're going back and letting Stahn have a piece of our minds about this whole bathing business. I'm not going to save you if you're stubborn about this stupid ordeal next time, I promise." He suddenly turned, "Oh wait." A tendril of Dation formed an umbrella, "You're carrying the umbrella, because I don't have three arms."

'Somehow, that wasn't as sweet as I'd envisioned it.' Jeckt sighed hanging his head in disappointment.

Xaviae sighed, falling back onto the grass with a look of extreme relief on his face- Armon was once again, fully dressed. Thank god. His hair was still completely white from nervousness though, 'Mistral, don't make it worse.' He pleaded, putting a hand over his eyes and dragging it down his face, 'I think we have enough blackmail against me already.'

'I'll say!' Jeckt snorted earning a pebble to the head.

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"Longer lifespans?" Violette said, greatly interested and completely forgetting about her situation. She kept herself toned down only because it was the ladylike way to do things. If it had been Lazarus, he would've already shot off with thousands of questions, "Really? I have to make a note of that. That's really interesting… Ah! No no, that's okay! I mean…" Violette sighed, looking up and away from her chest, "I'm sure if I was still a guy, I'd be at least a little interested… though I'm more interested as to how one gets to this size. Perhaps it's the nutrition mixed with genetics? Surely it can't possibly be just one or the other, I mean, that would be a stretch-"

She sploshed out of the bath in this way, mumbling to herself about what nutrition could cause this highly unnatural (in Lazarus' opinion anyway,) phenomenon.

"No, I dress myself, thank you for the offer though." Violette replied, somewhat distracted by her idea's and theories, "Hyacinth didn't make the halter top too complicated… perhaps one would have to become extremely thin after being morbidly obsese….? No. That's somewhat scary."

Violette craned her neck around as she itched her leg from the stupid petticoats, "Oh? Sanako? Well, she seems better than Gil." Violette pondered, "I'll try my best, but I can't dodge flying objects in this outfit as well as I used to!" Laughing, she slid her feet into her boots and picked a seed off the ground, peering up at the rain.

She held the seed out on her flat palm and caught the stem of the giant leaf that had popped out from the seed, holding it over her head and pointing at it with her free hand, "Isn't this the cutest umbrella you've ever seen?"

'It doesn't match your outfit….' Hyacinth grieved, 'You have to curl your hair again when you get back… straight hair doesn't look good with this outfit Lazarus…'

"You're finally calling me Lazarus, huh…" Violette sweatdropped, knowing her faels wouldn't be able to get over the fact that their dearest Reila was displeased with them.

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Gil hardly had any time to react to Deon grabbing onto her arm, because Jazrelli reacted for her first. He popped from his teen form into a little boy who crawled out from under the couch, still hiding behind it like a shield.

'GIRL GERMS, GIRL GERMS!' He shrieked, sending the white room into an earthquake that made Gil's head reel, 'GET AWAY, AWAY!! OI, WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS,' He yelled over at Deon's fael, 'CONTROL YOUR REILA!! I'M INFECTED!! I'M GOING TO DIIIIIIIE-'

"What are you talking about Jazz?" Gil swayed back and forth, trying to catch her bearings again while she saw stars flying around her head from the sudden explosion of paranoia from Jazrelli, "Deon's a guy-"

"WHO WAS ORIGINALLY A GIRL!!" Jazrelli interrupted desperately, holding his arm out, "LOOK, I'M MELTING!!"

Gil ignored her fael, who was obviously just using his transformation abilities to try and prove his point. She fished out the key to the towels and unlocked the compartment, tossing one to Deon before wrapping herself in one the way a child would, around the shoulders rather than around the torso. There was no reason to point out any further that she had no chest to hold the towel up in place anyway. Besides, she didn't know how those other girls managed to do it. Rummaging around the pile of clothes, she fished out her undergarments and spoke in response to Deon's comments, "I don't remember from before, because it was probably really complicated, but I don't dislike you now. I'm probably not a good listener, I just didn't have anything to say!" She laughed, pulling on her skirt before her shirt because it required less bending over if she could just stand up and pull her skirt on at the same time, "Jaz, you should know. Want to enlighten us?"

'No.' Came Jazrelli's stubborn response, 'I'm not talking to a guy who was originally a girl and a girl who was originally a guy.'

"You're a guy who was originally a girl." Gil pointed out, waggling her finger at Jazrelli for being a hypocrite.

'SO?! IT'S NOT LIKE I TALK TO MYSELF. BESIDES, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO MESS AROUND WITH A GUY WHO ALREADY HAS A GIRL… BOY… WHATEVER FRIEND!!'

"Last one back to the mansion smells like rotten fish!" Gil cried, the minute she finished lacing her boots, bolting out of the hut and straight into the rain without hesitation even though she'd just taken a bath.

'DON'T ASK FOR MY OPINION IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LISTE-… Fine. Fine then. I'll just be here. You know. Here. Anytime you need someone to make fun of. I'm available. You got a few freebies, but I charge a $50 per jab at my pride rate you know.' Jazrelli grumbled, sitting down on the couch and folding his arms in frustration.

So that was, deep down, how Adela thought? What she thought of Reid? Sanako couldn't help but agree with the truths Armon pointed out. Her whole purpose for the past five years was to act as Kayle's puppet so that he could create Flazure. Why had she - had Reid, been okay with that? Flaire and Ellianne too - were they using him? Had he been wrong to leave all along? "You're wrong though. You can't be doing this for the 'Archai Squad people'. That squad only existed because of Carn's support. Something we don't have any more. This whole world is going to hell, and I can't help but feel that if I had just left well enough alone and butted out of the phoenix and wyvern thing, this could all have been avoided..."

She dropped silent for a moment as she positioned herself on Armon's back. She had been a bit shocked that he offered at first, and almost considered declining. Her body, however, nudged her that it was probably smartest to accept the offer. And there she was, her body against his. She rested her feverish cheek on the back of his neck, before quietly whispering into his ear the rest of her reply to his speel about how bad of a person she was. She didn't even care that he had said all that he did. She had known it all along. "For now... my goal isn't to get stronger than Stahn. Now, I just want to get stronger than you so I can stop being your burden and so that you can see that I'm capable on my own too!" He had inspired her. In his own weird, little way, he had inspired Sanako Davies.

The devil winged girl suddenly came to a realization. Despite the fact that she was shielded by an umbrella now, the fact that her clothes had already become substancially soaked remained, and as those wet clothes began to cool, she began to feel increasingly cold. After shivering a multitude of times, she buried her face into Armon's back as she held on tighter, trying to use his body heat as a source for the heat she lacked. "You're so warm..." She said quietly, before she fell asleep. Miraculously, she was still holding the umbrella upright, even while asleep.

"I'm so confused..." Mistral sighed to nobody in particular, although she was audiable to Jeckt and Xavaie. "I can't even tell if these two are mismatched or not... Ugh." What? It bothered her! She liked to know what was going on with her reila romantically, at least.

---

"Well, I highly doubt you'll have to dodge objects from her..." Christian sweatdropped. Violette was far too polite and ladylike to most likely inspire any violence from anyone other than Gil. "I'd be more concerned about what Stahn has planned for us all. I mean, I'll bite that these are his actual training methods, as strange as they may be. But, this also seems like a way for Stahn to keep himself from getting bored. I stirred briefly when we knocked out and transferred here, and I'm pretty sure I overheard him say something about 'editing their pills later'. That didn't have any significant meaning to me at the time, but now... I wonder what it would mean for us. Because, really, we're just his playthings right now." He raised a valid point. This did seem to be a game to Stahn, and they were all wrapped around his finger. Perhaps he was mad, but it didn't matter. Christian didn't really care as long as he was trained properly. Distracted by this thought, the boy began to walk alongside Violette without paying any mind to the rain. Even though it was raining, the boy was completely dry as it all seemed to hit an invisible shield surrounding his body. Being a wation user, such things were doable. "Editing pills though... I wonder if that means we'd get different forms, if on temporarily? Ah well, best not to dwell on it, and most likely best not to tell the others about it. Knowing them, they might become even more cautious than they most likely are already! That wouldn't be good!"

---

"Would you grow up?" Yule sweatdropped over in Deon's consciousness in response to Jazrelli. "Stop being a hypocrite, as well. Even I can tell that you're female deep down, and this is the first time I've met you." He was... none too impressed with Gil's fael, that was for sure.

Before Deon had a chance to say anything else, Gil had already taken off for the mansion. Not seeing any other choice in the matter, Deon took off after him. It was a wonderful feeling, running in that form. There wasn't the same er... resistance found on the male body that there was on the female one, so it was much easier to run.

With a mental link to Gil still established so that she could hear it as well, Yule had something he needed to bring up with his reila. "As much as I hate to say it, I'm going to have to agree with that ridiculous fael on one point, Flaire. Don't forget about Reid." It was a hard thing for him to say. After all, even as Flaire, she had doubts about being with Reid romantically often. He was afraid that if she had such a golden window of opportunity, she might take the advantage of being involved romantically with someone else. In this case, he was afraid it might be Gil.

"What happens, happens. Don't be such a worrywart, Yule." Yule sweatdropped. Why had he given Deon a carefree personality, again?

She admired him. Armon stared straight at the ground with a blank look. As a guy, he honestly told himself; yes, I understand, and I wouldn't contradict her for admiring me. But when he thought of who and what he really was, as distant a memory it seemed, he shrunk, almost in shame, that anyone could admire someone like that. Someone who had hardened her heart, promised herself to never trust again, and yet, had willingly put her trust in Reid's ability to set things right in Flazure. Armon hated people who broke their promises. If they couldn't keep their own promises, then they could never be relied upon. Armon turned his head and eyes just enough so that he could see the tips of Sanako's bubblegum pink hair. He looked away. What strength? The strength from wallowing in trying to rise above and beyond where Adela had fallen from with endless hours of training and simulations, really just an illusion to chase away the self-pity? The endless night's watching the gleam of a mahstion gun and wondering how Rod had put himself in the control of someone else, let himself be controlled enough to point the gun at a friend and pull the trigger. It hadn't been Rod's strength. But she'd desired that ability to be so unfeeling and cold.

Was that to be admired?

"Mistral!" He barked his face turning irritated again, a few minutes after her comment as he sloshed through the rain, "You don't have to know, because we are mismatched. We've been mismatched since the very beginning, and even if we were a good couple- which we're not, it's not going to happen."

'That was a fast decision.' Xaviae commented, to receive no response.

It was a fast decision. But by the dark look on Armon's face, it was most certainly a decision that he regretted before even making it. Right now, he was in a turmoil. Right now, it had been no lie that it wasn't happening, because he didn't like Sanako. Bottom line. Her personality clashed with his, and it frustrated him. But even if by some god-forsaken chance that he did come to love her, then he wouldn't allow it to happen. Inside, he was still the one that had gotten dumped without a word. He was still the one who had waited for someone he'd loved while that person started to get to know and love someone else. He was still the bitter one. And now was no different than ever. This was only temporary. What would he do when this was all over? What would he say to Sanako's real identity? 'Sorry, but I wasn't really me, so it doesn't count'? What he'd said earlier was a direct contradiction to his true opinion. Falling in love was something that Armon would have to put up all the old precautions all over again. Focus on training- the real training, not this bull that Stahn was thinking up for his own amusement.

"Warm, huh?" Armon scoffed, standing still for a moment, knowing that by the lack of speech from Sanako that she was fast asleep. He laughed, though it was a very distant chuckle, "I don't feel warm at all…" He started walking again, "Hey, you better not remember any of this when you wake up."

'Hey, as funny as this is,' Jeckt rolled his eyes, 'If I think Adela's going to get even more screwed up after this, then you'll pay the price.'

Xaviae glared at Jeckt, standing up from his spot and retorting, 'We're not going to talk about this right now.'

A smile played on Jeckt's thin lips, but a sneer replaced it. Fine, if the King of the Forest said so. There wasn't anything that wasn't already known to be said anyway.

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'Oh yeah, you can tell I'm a girl.' Jazrelli said sarcastically, stretching out on the couch with an annoyed glare at the ceiling, 'I'm impressed, considering Levi's said it like, five times now. You've got serious deduction skills.' Phoenix faels. He stuck his nose in the air, 'I don't have anything to say to your kind.'

"Jazrelli!" Gil scolded while listening to Yule talk with Deon about Reid and such, and suddenly, a blurry memory flashed in her mind when Deon replied to Yule's warning. Stopping in her tracks entirely, not even paying attention to the rain, her eyes widened as she held up a hand to stop Deon.

The silver haired girl raised an eyebrow, "Woah. Red flag. I'm sensing something no bueno…" She glanced at Deon and grinned, deciding not to think about it, "Like the fact that you're going to lose!" She bolted again and Jazrelli slapped his forehead. Something had to be done before Levi got back. If Levi ever found out that he'd had anything more than a conversation with a phoenix or wyvern member, he'd surely melt as Jazrelli had been pretending to do so earlier. He shot Devitell a threatening look, and the negafael shrunk back into her corner again, guilt written all over her forehead. She'd done more help than harm by bringing that memory of the infinite cages in the Jaquez basement back to Gil's awareness, even if it had been blurred by the pill. Jazrelli wasn't about to get stuck in this form forever if Gil refused to work well with Deon.

They landed in Alta. How convenient. And they checked all four of the skills and Ashton into a hotel for nearly a week. Even more convenient. Obviously, there was something going on with the higher ups that required him to not be around for a week. That probably wasn't a good sign. Things had gone far already, almost too far in Ashton's opinion. He never had believed in the slaughter and enslavement of people, no matter how different they are. He was only in this bloody Gregar military because of the events that lead Auricia to become attached to him. It wasn't that Auricia was troublesome or anything, he was quite fond of her. It was just, it's her fault that he was involved in this whole ordeal. Although, this suited his fancy. He'd be able to gather information behind the military's back. Not to mention...

"Okay, since we've got nothing better to do for a week..." Ashton began. He stood before all of the skill in a conference room the hotel leased him. It wasn't particularly fancy. Just a large, carpeted room with a large round table in the middle, really. "I figured we'd get some training in. My sensei heard we were nearby and invited us, although he said if we want to use his facilities, then we'll need to assist him in aiding with the training of some of his other students. Is everyone all right with that?"

"It's fine with me..." Tsukasa was the first reply as he rose, his rag of an outfit shuffling as he did so. "I guess it will give us an opportunity to discuss that matter with Master Stahn as well." Out of all the skills, Auricia and Tsukasa were the only ones aware of Stahn. Auricia's reply was simply stated with a nod as she looked up at Ashton from her seat at the table. Having no need for her battle outfit anymore, the girl was now decorated in a pair of tight jeans and an equally tight violet tanktop that outlined her seventeen year old curves. She wasn't particularly lacking in those or bust size, but she wasn't overcompensating either. She had a pair of dark purple butterfly earrings on as well. They were fitting, for she had purple butterfly wings of her own. Having his response, Ashton looked to Dieter and Rasch. Dieter was the one he really needed to come along, however. Stahn specifically requested Auricia and Dieter, after all.

"HAHA! I wonder if he'll put you in THAT form again!" Seritii, Ashton's plufael laughed. Ah, the fond memories of training. No, not really fond. That man made sure that training with him was a different kind of hell...

---

It wasn't until they arrived at the courtyard before the mansion that Sanako actually woke up again and slid off of Armon's back without a word. Even Mistral had gone completely silent after hearing what the boy had to say on the way back. She didn't thank the boy. In fact, she didn't say a thing to him. She was too distracted by the arrival of Deon and Gil. Her heart sank. He looked like he was having fun with her. Her heart sank even deeper into the pit as Yule appeared to have a word with Mistral, alone. Even Yule, the fael who always seemed to keep his cool, was distressed. She didn't know how or why it happened, but she suddenly found herself face to face with Deon. "Listen, Sana- Reid. I think we should stop seeing each other... I mean, not like, not physically seeing each, but we should stop being involved romantically. I told Yule to "

Sanako blinked for a moment, assuming it wasn't really Flaire speaking and it was just Deon's doing. But... Mistral deterred that thought by repeating just what Yule had said. This was a decision Flaire had been considering for a while. The entire thing was genuinely Flaire's idea, and she couldn't keep on going romantically. Had she really been playing him all along? Sanako didn't even bother giving Deon a reply right away, and swiftly punched him in the fact, before turning away and looking at the ground, fighting her tears. "Bastard... YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST TOLD ME THE REASONS DIRECTLY!" She clenched her fists and walked back to Armon's side. She didn't speak a word. He didn't need to know. It was none of his business. Although, after all her fighting, she still managed to shed a few tears that were covered up by the rain.

Eventually, Christian and Violette arrived in the courtyard too. The rain had finally subsided just as the whole group was suddenly greeted by Stahn, who came out of the front doors of the mansion with a completely serious look on his face. The already upset Sanako could already tell. Something bad had happened. "As you may have noticed, Sven and Ailia are missing from this group." He began, his voice solemn. "Something happened back in Carn, so I sent them to investigate." Carn. Dammit, dammit, please no. "It pains me to say, but Princess Rosaline Dian was found dead only a few hours after arriving back in her country. She was murdered, it seems." The reactions from Deon and Christian were typical. Deon looked down and away from Sanako in particular as he clenched his fists, while Christian seemed completely taken aback, almost tripping and falling on Violette.

Broken. That one word could describe Reid at that very moment. Reid or Sanako, it didn't matter who he was at that moment. He was broken. And thus, she ran. She ran without looking back, like a coward. That girl Reid had saved five years ago, who didn't know anything at first. That girl who he had helped and recieved help from all these years... She was dead! DAMMIT SHE WAS DEAD. After running for a few moments, she tripped, landing on her stomach in the mud. But she didn't get up. What point was there in getting up, or going back to the bastard who dumped her or the boy who seemed to hate her? Rosaline was dead, and all she wanted to do was cry.

Back with the others, even Stahn seemed to be a little moved by this death. The world was turning chaotic. The thoughts on the minds of most now were: was someone pulling the strings?

"Teacher?" Dieter backflipped onto the table, catching his left hand on the surface before reeling his legs in and landing on it in a cross legged position. He loved doing these things, because it proved to him that he was a skill, it proved that he was just plain better than other people. He pulled his sunglasses off and stuck them back into his ruby hair across his forehead, raising an eyebrow as he watched Ashton carefully with his neon orange eye, the pupil as small as the head of your standard nail. It gave him a constantly angry glare, even though his expression showed that he was quite content, a calm smile on his face. His personality at the moment was considerably more laid-back than usual- enough so that he wasn't even throwing a temper tantrum at the sign outside of the hall that said 'no smoking'. However, he was chewing caffeinated gum along with the usual bottle of soda in his hands. "Well, if he asked for me specifically, I don't see why not! I don't know why he'd want me and Auricia though, it's kind of like, we're polar opposites, yeah? Well actually, I changed my mind, I'll only do it if Rasch does it. Hey old man, are you coming too? The more the merrier and it'll be better to have a few Lionus user's around in case someone gets hurt, you know? Don't you agree?"

Rasch had not been so gracious as to give Dieter his attention this time around, as he was soaking in the plain simple room. It was a nice room. Rasch liked it very much.

"Old man!" If Rasch did such ungraceful things, he would've sighed, but instead he stepped back to Dieter's side and gave him a light 'thwack' on the head with his black raven-head handled cane. Dieter sighed and settled in, waiting for Rasch to finish examining the room. As he finally stepped away from the walls, Rasch turned to Ashton and raised a steady hand that looked more aged than his face, drawing his answer with a long bony white finger.

'I have no objections.' His finger drew the letters as fast as he'd have said them- an advantage to the skill who had chosen not to speak with lower life-forms and passed this silence as the psychological defect that came with his species. He was fully aware of what his psychological defect truly was, but it was such an oddity that nobody else even thought of it, except for the scientists who had witnessed it first hand.

"Great!" Dieter pumped his fist into the air excitedly, his sunglasses falling back into place as he did so, "Are we headed there now? Now? Today? Tomorrow?"

Rasch stroked his beard quietly, observing the lighting system while he wondered to himself what the training would entail. And how, exactly, four killing machines would help with it. Rasch sweatdropped. No. More like, he was wondering why he and Tsukasa weren't favored over Auricia and Dieter. What could Lieutenant Tappen's old teacher possibly need with a pacifist and a sadist?

-----------------------------------------

Armon's satisfaction at seeing Deon- Flaire, more accurately, getting punched was short lived. His eyes went wide at Stahn's revelation of Rosaline's death. True. He'd hated her. But he sorely regretted his last words to her now. Looking down in shame, Armon clenched his fists. Fear gripped him- what if the Tealian royalty was also dead? True, he hated Prince Ryan. But the idea of him not being there to pass on irritated requests from Reid made Armon sick to his stomach. His stomach? His personality wouldn't allow it, but Adela's strong desire to find and obliterate whoever had murdered Rosaline, whoever had kidnapped Prince Ryan and the Queen- was causing his legs to itch. He wanted to run from this place, use this form to get in. But when he found himself running, he wasn't running away with mahstion gun in tow to do some serious killing and undercover investigation.

"Reid!" Armon called, taking a step forward before hesitating. His gaze turned to Deon. Silence fell over him before he wrenched his gaze away. Somebody had to be the princess in this world, and that somebody didn't have time to give cheesy pep talks. Like he'd said earlier. This was the only reason he would go after Sanako now. And also because the training wouldn't go right, if she was gone out in the rain caught in both grief and fever.

"Then…wh-… where's Blanc?!" Gil exclaimed, remembering the boy whom Shiraume had been so enthusiastic to see, "Where's Ilya?! What are they doing-… They should've come with us, then- then this wouldn't have happened! Wh-Wh…" Gil clenched her fists, "What am I supposed to do now?! I'm not here for the phoenix or wyvern people," She snarled with a furious gaze, more Levi than Gil with her last sentence denoting his opinion, "I'm here for Princess Rosaline!!"

Armon hesitated again. They hadn't come with because… He looked up, determination to fix everything in his eyes as he ran off after his partner, "Sanako, come back!"


Violette stood silently, the giant leaf that had been in her hand floating silently to the ground.

"Mr. Stahn…. Could you please inform me as to where the room I'm to share with Christian is?" She said quietly.

"You-" Gil whirled around, looking absolutely disgusted, "Still care about something like that?!" She raised her hand to slap Violette, but the latter beat her to it, aggravated by yet another death of someone who didn't deserve it.

"I hate people like you. You don't have any right to act like you've lost something important." Violette replied coldly, turning away and heading into the mansion and out of the rain before finishing her sentence, "You're a murderer too."

Gil stared at Violette, horrified. The truth that had just passed her lips stung more than the slap. She hardly remembered all that, and yet it played so clearly in her mind. Suddenly, everything wasn't as simple as it was before. It wasn't that someone had just killed the person who had saved her from death or a lifetime of jail. It was that she hated that person for killing Rosaline. But, wouldn't that put her in the same position as someone who had known that family? And- It hadn't been just one person… Gil grit her teeth biting back tears.

'Chance.' Jazrelli's voice echoed, filled with mischief and malice, his lips smirking when he sat up. He was just about to possess his reila and slaughter that arrogant Deon fool and his annoying faels before he felt the light touch of someone's hand on his shoulder. Forget that. What he felt first was him sinking into the black puddle that had pooled under him. His scream of fury was cut short when he was swallowed whole, 'DEVIT-'

In both Jazrelli and the couch's place, a silent girl peered up at the ceiling. The girl who had been hiding in the corner of the shadows, trying to help Gil remember her hatred for Deon's species before she grew too close. She did not want to see her dear Levi suffer. Her melancholic expression over her soft features deceived the fact that she was the negafael, instead of the malicious and spoiled Jazrelli. But, with Levi's preferences and attitude, it was not surprising that even his fael's were oriented incorrectly. She opened her mouth to speak, and though it was a very quiet pitch, it was easy to hear, for her voice was pure and untarnished, 'I apologize for being selfish and inconsiderate of the tragedies at hand. But at the moment, my dear Levi will not be able to resist my dearer brother's control, and I should like to do all I can to avoid further casualty. I will be placing Master Jaquez under a spell of sleep, until he has had the time to absorb this saddening news. I do not wish for your grievances to be furthered. So please, if I may trouble you with this request of mine, please bring him to a more comfortable place to rest, and do not stir Master Jaquez until he wakes up on his own.' She began to disappear as Jazrelli's furious words began to come back into earshot.

But Gil collapsed on the ground, out like a light, before Jazrelli could do anything but scream.


---------------------

Having longer legs was definitely an advantage. It wasn't long before Armon caught up with Sanako, grabbing her wrist and forming an umbrella out of dation quickly to hold over her head, "Hey! You-…" Armon paused, deciding it'd probably be best to reword his sentence, beginning again more gently with a very awkward sort of voice, "You… shouldn't be out here. You'll get sicker…."

He trailed off, not really knowing how to deal with this. Not just him, but Adela too. Pulling off his over shirt he sighed and draped it over Sanako, saying, "You said to Deon something about saying this directly, right?" He patted Sanako's head and gave her a half-smile, the corners of his lips sagging a little at the memory of Stahn's news, "Sanako, you want to get stronger right? Then, let's go back and make sure something like this won't happen ever again. I have a reason now- I'll stay with you guys and help out with all this Flazure…." Armon could not longer refer to it as 'nonsense' if he was going to help out, "This Flazure business. If… that helps at all."

Trying his best with a better smile than earlier, he said a little brighter, "You don't want to be a burden anymore right? Soooo, let's get out of the rain so that you don't get sicker, and so that we can make sure whoever is behind all this gets what's coming to him."


-----------------------


A white haired man stood at the news bulletin board, snow falling silently all around him. His cold red eyes had softened with the passing years, and his crimson bangs had been brushed aside from his face, leaving the words of the latest news clear in sight. His expression was one of worry, as two monstrous arms sprouting from his wings read the flyer as well, their eyes spinning from side to side in the palm of the hands.

"I wonder if Faewyn has heard…"

Deon hung his head. Probably not the best time to break it off with Reid. But, he didn't know this would happen. He was never particularly fond of Rosaline to begin with. The boy was violently snapped out of his guilty thoughts as he was suddenly slugged in the face by an unknown attacker. After regaining his balance, he blindly swung back, nailing Christian in the jaw and sending him flying to the ground. "What's your problem!?" He expected to see the effeminate boy teary eyed on the ground like Ellianne had always been, but Christian only looked up at Deon with determination and dislike.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" It wasn't hard to figure out what Deon had done. He hadn't chased after Sanako after all. "After all of this time! All of the time we've been together, you decide to do that today of all days!?" Christian didn't say another word, and got to his feet. Attempting to wipe away the blood coming out of his mouth, he walked into the mansion in pursuit of Violette. As he walked by Stahn, he grabbed a key from his hand that was held out to him.

"Up the stairs, first door on the right. There won't be any training today, so you two try and relax as best you can. Also, I'd like you two to have dinner with Armon and Sanako tonight. I think Reid would probably like the company." Christian nodded without even looking at the man as he entered the building.

Blood still dripping from his mouth, he took his right arm and planted it around Violette's back as he lead her up the brown Victorian stairs. "We're going to have dinner with Armon and Sanako tonight..." He said quietly, before a stray tear rolled down his cheek. "Why... why did it end like this..." He unlocked the door to the room and lead Violette in, before setting her down on the white canopy bed and sitting beside her. The blood still fell.

---

"Don't concern yourself with what I said to Dion! That bastard! That bastard... after all this time... WHY THE HELL NOW!?" She looked up at Armon, who was doing his best, with teary eyes. "Don't act like you care! You never liked Rosaline to begin with! Why the hell are you trying to comfort me!? EVERYTHING I'VE WORKED TOWARDS IS GONE. EVERYTHING." She swung at the boy with her free hand. "And Rose too! What did Rosaline do to deserve this!?" She gasped for air, which snapped her back to the reality that if she didn't at least calm herself a little, she was putting her health at risk. After calming herself slightly, she found it was easier to rationalize what she was saying, and was starting to recognize the efforts Armon was putting into everything. "Take me back..." She stated coldly and bluntly, still crying. "I'm cold, Armon... I'm really cold..." She clenched her muddied skirt in her hands as she steadied herself, but lost her footing in the mud and began to fall again, although Armon still had hold of her wrist.

"Xavaie!" Mistral shouted as she appeared abruptly in Armon's realm, falling right into the other plufaels arms, crying. "Xavaie! This is too sad, far too sad!"

---

"Okay then. Since we all seem to be in agreement, we leave now!" Ashton stated cheerily. His was excited. There was always something interesting going on at that manor. "Sensei said it was urgent that we get there ASAP, so I think it'd be best we try and get there over the next few hours. It's noon now. However, Auricia, Dieter. Keep in mind. The people sensei is training right now. They're the ones we fought at Castle Meredy. So, don't treat them as enemies, even if they attack you. We seem to share a common goal..."

"Right." Auricia replied as she got to her feet. "Don't sweat it, I'm not a violence fan anyways. You should be more worried about that one!" She never did call Dieter by his name that often. 'That one', 'him', she seemed to have a thing against his name.

"Alright, so we're going to take airboards since I don't quite feel like tiring out my wings. I'll see you guys downstairs in a bit." Then he left the room, leaving the four faels to their own devices.

Violette took a deep breath. Now was no time for her to be grieving over something like this. Being the one who had known Rosaline the least, she would swallow her sadness and help everyone else who had more right to care about this than herself. She bit her lip, but loosened her bite when she felt Christian's arm around her back. Her face turned completely red, but drained of all heat when she saw the blood. Where had that come from? Had she missed something? Had Gil taken her anger out on him? The unanswered questions running through her head were interrupted when she realized they're arrived at their room already. Letting herself be set down, she arranged her skirts before peering at Christian. After a pause, a moment of silence in which she was probably supposed to respond to his question, she finally moved. Giving a half-hearted smile, she reached over and wiped away what was left of his tears. Silence came over her, and words of comfort would not pass her lips. It was just like back then.

She pulled her hands away, though her eyes still lingered on the blood. But something else caught her eye. Her books were stacked neatly on the nightstand. Immediately, Violette stood and pulled out the handkerchief that was pressed between the pages of the book that was not hollowed out. It was normally used simply as a bookmark, but she hurried over to Christian, unfolding it as she did and wiped the crimson off his chin. She had to say something. Anything.

"Do you think… it's ended?" She asked softly, before pressing her lips together. No. This… Lazarus knew, was not the end. There would certainly be more in the future in store for them.

---------------------------------------------

Armon's face darkened. Frustration. Irritation. Impatience. It was all written on his face. Only if one really stared could one find the sympathy he was supposed to be giving. His childish side took over as he tightened his grip on Sanako's wrist, letting his voice rise in volume as he spoke, "Fine! I won't act like I care! But don't ask me why I'm trying to comfort you! It's because I'm worried about you!!! …Why else…."

Armon blinked and let go of Sanako immediately when she requested to be taken back, snapping, "You…" He stopped though, catching her easily around the waist. He noticed the awkward position faster than someone who was faced with a death and cut-off relationship should've, and he fixed it quickly and gracefully by using the chance to lift Sanako into the air.

"Don't expect me to do this again!" Armon snapped, his face heating up despite the cold as he held Sanako securely under the knees and around her back, "I'm only carrying you back like this once!"

He sighed and shook his head, hurrying back. In his embarrassment, he forgot entirely that he could just use Dation to return in no time. But because he forgot this, he was able to ask Sanako a question that had been nagging at him ever since he'd caught up with her, and as gently as someone as frustrated as him could, he inquired, "Are you going to stay and train here? I mean... Are you going to go to Carn?"

----------------------------------------------

'Mistral...' He wrapped his arms around Mistral's shoulders protectively, managing only a mumble, 'It is. It's... It's unfair.' He stared at his pure white hair for a moment before tightening his embrace.

----------------------------------------------

Rasch sighed. He dearly hated sky boarding. It was so… unrefined. Certainly not made for the elderly. And he was not about change his form just for something as trivial as this. He twisted the ends of his moustache between his index and forefinger in thought. How would he escape this predicament? His gaze came to rest on Dieter, whose personality had undergone another switch. He watched silently as Dieter's eye dilated and un-dilated, registering and processing the information that he would be meeting people he'd neglected to kill the last mission. Shaking his head, Rasch loosened his grip on his cane, prepared to keep Dieter at bay, but he almost let a look of surprise cross his face when Dieter began to laugh. It was a very quiet and calm one at first, but his grin soon turned into one of sadistic anticipation.

"Perfect!" Dieter cackled after Ashton had left, the desire to kill practically exuding off of him, "Then it'll be less boring when I get to slaugh-…" Dieter stopped midsentence, his face suddenly crashing into disappointment as he realized Ashton's order and reasons.

"…Common goal?" Dieter's voice grew chilly and arrogant as he wrenched off his sunglasses again. He glanced at Rasch and asked in a loud voice, "Are we here to save a worthless tribe of people, Rasch?! Are we here to try and get stronger because we're weak as hell?!? No! That's Lieutenant Tappen's goal. My goal is what the goal of the most important person in this pitiful army's is!"

The old man peered silently at Dieter. That… was what Rasch had always been under the impression they were here for. That they were here to destroy all efforts to keep Flazure from becoming a proper nation, that is. Rasch was no longer sure of their goals, after Tappen's comment. He was confused, but his blank eyes closed as he lifted his hand up to draw Dieter a request to divert his attention from Ashton's comment. He could inquire about it later, when Dieter wasn't quite so keen on starting a fight. Dieter paused for a moment after reading the glowing letters that floated in the air, contemplating whether he wanted to change the subject or not. His wary gaze grew indifferent. Well. If Rasch wanted to, then he didn't mind too much.

"Sure you can hitch a ride on my sky board, but why? I'll have to use my feet if you do, because if I make it a normal one with my hand I won't be able to even the weight…" Dieter mused, completely forgetting about his anger from earlier and about replying to Auricia's comment towards him, "Well, forget telling me why- It's not like you'll tell me anyway. Come on, let's go, you can ride on the back."

'I'll be sitting.' Leaving those words to evaporate on their own, Rasch exited the room, quickly tailed by Dieter.

"...Ohh, so it's just because you don't want to ride something that's out of your age range, huh? I guess it'd be weird, seeing a dude as old as you on a sky board!"

"Dieter." Tsukasa's voice boomed from behind the older Skill. "The nature of Ashton's plans do not involve the slaughter of those other people. However, it does involve you killing a lot of strong people. Does that not satisfy you enough to follow blindly for now?" Ever the peace keeper, Tsukasa recognized that Dieter was the least likely to stay loyal to Ashton unless he was given some sort of motivation. Knowing Dieter's love of violence, that should be enough, but he seemed to have something against the phoenix and wyvern people. Probably because of the way Gregar's military decided to raise him after converting him into a skill...

After listening in enough, Auricia decided to contribute something. "Besides, didn't you hear? Princess Rosaline, the main person endorsing Flazure, was found dead this morning. We aren't needed to kill off that country now. It'll fall without our help." Really, she was just repeating what Ashton had told her. She never really was aware of what was going on in the outside world. She didn't care, either. Why both wasting time worrying about stuff that doesn't affect you? If she needed to know something, Ashton would tell her after all.

---

After being asked if it was the end, Christian just sat there quietly, his face reddened by the fact that she had been touching his face. "Listen... Violette. I'm sure the others would agree with me on this. I want you to leave, Lazarus." He went by Lazarus' real name to make it more obvious that it was all Ellianne talking. "Things are just going to get more dangerous from this point on, and I don't want you directly involved with us, risking your life." Christian quietly stated as he touched his hand to hers. "This... isn't your battle to fight, and... well... I'm sorry, I just met you recently, yet I'm saying stuff like this... Though, when this is all over, I won't be able to say anything at all again..." He made an attempt to quickly change the subject.

"Ah! Sorry to trouble you!" He remembered all Violette had done with cleaning up his wounds and wiping his tears away. He had been so caught up in thought, that he had forgotten to acknowledge them. "I guess I shouldn't have hit Deon like that. I'm too much of a wimp to last in an actual fight, even in this form. Flaire has always been better than me, and I guess that's why Reid fell for her instead... But now, after all they've been through, she just decides to drop the relationship. Right before the Rosaline thing nonetheless! I'm afraid, Violette. I'm afraid he'll never go back to normal after today." He took both of Violette's hands now, and looked at her eyes with his own deperate ones. "That's why I need you to talk to Sanako! There's no way I'd be able to console her, knowing that I had feelings for her!" Had. Yes, Ellianne realized it now. She really stopped having genuine feelings for him after Reid started dating Flaire. She just... couldn't keep up. Since she couldn't speak, there was no way she could...

---

Sanako's faced turned a vermilion red as Armon swept her off her feet, or so to speak. Her face still stained with tears, and her eyes still watery, she looked up at him with her big blue eyes as he actually began to carry her back. "Y-you care about me?" She stuttered, still not really sure how to respond to the blunt way Armon had gone about it. "Someone like me, who's caused you nothing but pain the past five years? You... actually care..."

She didn't say much after that, at least not until Armon inquired into her plan of action. "I was going to leave. I want to leave. But that's not going to fix anything, is it? Besides... I promised you I'd get stronger than you... If that means staying here, bathing, sleeping, and so on with you. Then I will. It's just... I don't know how to deal with this pain. I just feel like I could cry forever..." Her eyes began to water violently again. "This is wrong... guys aren't supposed to cry..." She plunged her face into Armon's shirt for a moment as she let it all out. When she was done, she said one last thing before going silent again. "Armon, you're so warm..."

---

"My, my, this is troublesome." Stahn muttered to nobody in particular as he placed Gil on the bed she was to be sharing with Deon, whom had disappeared shortly after the incident. It was troublesome, but tragic. Even so, Stahn knew that benefits came with this situation. If they overcame this as a team, they would make much faster progress. Not to mention he had those Skills on the way. Two of the students caught Stahn's eye, and one was sleeping right nearby. Maybe, just maybe, they were two of the ones he was looking for...

Dieter looked over his shoulder at Tsukasa, his face unreadable. It wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking though- Tsukasa was by far one of his less favorite Skills. As far as Dieter knew, he was just plain boring compared to other Skill. (Rasch was a special case. He was like a father figure, so he could slide.) Shoving his free hand into his pocket, Dieter grinned, giving a cheerful reply that consisted of malicious words, "If you want me to stick around and do your dirty work, I don't know if 'blindly' is the best word to use, Tsukasa. I'm close, but I'm not a mindless killing machine. I have my principles, even if there aren't very many."

"Thanks for the clue in Auri-chi," Dieter downed the rest of his soda before crushing the glass between his hands and scattering it across the floor of the hotel, "But I'll make that country fall faster if I feel like it."

---------------------------------------

Violette blinked, thinking for a moment before smiling and holding her hand flat over her head, "Sure I'll try and talk to Sanako, but…. it's the same as you and me." She stood, slipping her hands out of Christian's after giving them a quick squeeze, "I don't really know her very well. I don't know what I can do… and…" Violette peered over her shoulder apologetically, "I don't really think this is Deon's fault at all. He couldn't have possibly known that Rosaline had died before telling Reid. I'm sure he wouldn't have, if he'd known. With this opinion, I might not be able to say much at all, but- You should talk to him too. You've been with him longer than I have, the support is probably more significant if it comes from you."

She turned the doorknob and opened the door, turning to inform Christian where she was going, "I'm going to talk to Stahn for a moment about whether I'll really be staying here or not, I'll meet you at dinner, okay?"

It wasn't hard to find Stahn. After asking for directions, she found herself outside of Gil and Deon's room. She knocked three times, sliding inside as she'd been told that Gil was resting. Deon was nowhere in sight.

"Mr. Stahn, I'd like to inform you that I, no longer have any desire to participate in this ordeal. However, I'm perfectly willing to stay for awhile and complete the training, if it's convenient for you." Violette stated, her hands clasped behind her back.

-------------------------------------------------

"You-…" Armon sighed as he cut himself off for what felt like the thousandth time, "Nothing but pain, huh…? Hmph! I'll tell you off about that later! In the meantime, don't get me wrong! I care, but you don't have to put it in such a-!" Armon shuddered, "Girly way! -And what the heck am I saying? I feel like the touchy-feely guy in whatever shoujo manga you popped out of…. Argh, forget what I just said!"

Letting himself calm down a little- or more like, bottling it up until Sanako would be more in the mood to throw sticks and stones at him rather than cry her heart out, he shook his head, "As a girl, I'd say that I probably wouldn't think the guy was human if he didn't cry in this situation. It's not like there's anyone around that cares whether you're a guy or a girl anyway." However, his eye twitched when Sanako repeated the same thing she'd said just earlier, "…I get it. I'm warm. Thanks, if that was a compliment."

'No thanks to you though, I'm freezing.' Armon hung his head back and felt the cold rain sting his skin. He looked forward again when they finally reached the mansion again, greeted by a silence that, sadly, was extremely fitting.

-----------------------

"Please don't take it!! W-We need that for Grandpa! Please-"

"Aww, wouldja shuuut up?!" A pink haired boy no older than 15 sighed, sitting comfortably at a humble kitchen table as he counted the wad of money in his hand, "There's not much here anyway, so really. Grandpa's going to die if this is all you got anyway."

In the corner of the kitchen, a young girl trembled- she looked only about 8, yet she had her arms protectively around a sickly old man who looked to have little reaction to the scene. He was nearly gone, one could tell. I stood in the other corner of the room, and though I made no sound, I knew that nobody could hear or see me. It was just how things like this worked. Finally, the thief sighed, standing up and pocketing the money, "Well, I guess it'll be enough fer a week er so. Prolly not even…"

"Please don't take it!" The girl cried a second time.

The thief glared at the little girl, "Ya think I care? Do ya? It's a man eat man world y'live in girl, learn how t'git around. Maybe if you were older, I would leave you a few bucks- but I hate little girls like you."

"Stop it!" She left her grandfather for the first time and beat her little fists hopelessly against the thief's leg. He peered down at her. It was no longer a glare, but a stare that spelled out death.

"Y'sure you wanna leave yer old man all by his little lonesome?" He sneered, pointing at the old man. She hesitated, very slowly turning her head back to her grandfather. He was sprawled across the floor, the word 'L.I.V.E.' etched into his bleeding forehead. The look of shock on his face was matched with blank, dull eyes, "'Cause he don't look too hot t'me."

"Grand…pa?" She choked out, a mere squeak, staring at the corpse with horrified eyes. A smile crossed the thief's face.

"Stop it!!" I screamed, hurrying forward to grab the thief's hand that was gripping the little girl's head. But my hand passed through his as though I weren't there. I wasn't there, even though I'd been there the entire time.

"Enough of this nonsense- Grandpa, Grandpa! Now that he's finally DEAD, now will you SHUT UP?!" Levi turned his wrist, and the sound of a breaking neck spent shivers up my spine. He tossed the limp body of the little girl aside and picked out a coin from the satchel of money he kept with him. Squatting down, he wrenched the old man's mouth open and placed the cold coin on his tongue before whipping the wrinkled mouth closed once more, "Don't swallow it now old man, you'll be needin' it for your medical bills in hell, ya? Or maybe you'll wanta use it for free passage into heaven. Do what you like- I don't believe in heaven." He smirked, a sharp breeze behind him etching the word 'L.I.V.E.' on the little girl's forehead as well.

Suddenly, I turned and looked at the dead body, smiling the same smile as Levi, speaking the same words as Levi, "You don't get money. You- can go to hell. I believe in hell."

"If you want to go, then go. It seems Flaire has already decided to depart, at least temporarily." Stahn replied to the girl with his usual monotone voice as he spun around. He shook his bourbon glass round and round, the ice cubes clinking against each other in an irritable fashion amidst the golden liquid. "Though I would prefer you stay. Ellianne seems to have taken a liking to you, and I think with your help, she might be able to permanently regain a voice." He shook his poison for a second before downing another gulp. He really hated drinking, but sometimes it had to be done to forget about his problems. "And don't give me the 'she's under the influence of your pill' line. I've heard it before. I don't rig the things so that you fall in love with each other. More than anything, it makes the things one may not usual be able to express expressable." Without another word, he walked out the door. He glanced back with a grin. Maybe he could lighten up the next day a different way...

---

Sanako giggled a little at the issues Armon was having with getting out what he had to say. When they eventually reached the mansion, she broke free of the boy's grasp and got to her feet, walking away a bit. Her back turned, she announced her plans for the next few hours. "I'm sorry, after all this, but I need to be left alone for a while. So, I'll be in our room for a while, and I'd rather not be distrubed..." She dashed back in got her face up close to his, before planting a kiss on his lips. Only halfway through did she realize what she was doing, and jumped back after a moment more. "Oh my god! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- WHATEVER. Just don't expect it to happen again!" As she began to walk inside, she left Armon with one more comment. "Seriously though, thanks... for everything, Armon. I don't think you know how much it means to me..."

When Sanako arrived to her room, she did nothing but sit there in the darkness. Lights off, blinds closed, and she was under a blanket. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she just sat there and stared blankly at what she could see of her feet under all the darkness. This went on for six hours, with no signs of stopping.

OoC: Oh my gosh. x_o This post was insanely difficult, I'll have you know. I have nothing to do, it's all so awkward, and I know nobody cares, but I do, because this post really sucks! D: Rawrrrr, sorry it took so long.

iC: Armon grumbled to himself as he towelled off his hair for the second time today. Stupid him. Stupid stupid. What had he been so nice to that girl for? Now look where it got him! Wiping his face free of rain drops, Armon sighed, throwing the white cloth over his shoulder and sitting back. Damn. Five years of focus and diligence gone down the drain in one singular moment. Leaning his head back and rolling it around his neck to crack it, he sighed yet again. His mind was so jumbled that he'd already lost count of how many times he'd sighed, each sigh having a different meaning behind it.

'So…' Jeckt stated blandly, his voice and expression revealing to the world that he was officially bored out of his mind, 'Lucky Princess, aren't you?'

"Don't. Call me a Princess. Loser." Armon added bitterly, earning a twitch of the eye from Jeckt.

'Loser?' Jeckt repeated in slight disbelief, 'I don't think you're in any position to be calling me names. Both of you are weak as hell, if I wanted I could go off and-'

"But the point is," Armon interrupted, exhasperation thick in his voice as he rubbed the back of his neck, "You wouldn't, so I'm not worried. I have a headache guys, go away, wouldja? How much it means huh…" He stamped his foot in frustration and groaned to himself, "It's not going to mean much after the thousandth time if this keeps up!!"

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The silver haired girl let out a yelp as she sat stock straight. Though only six hours had passed, it had felt like an eternity, the same scene playing over and over in her head as she wondered whether that little girl had had friends. Sitting up in the bed she sighed and peered beside her. Deon wasn't there, so that meant that she hadn't slept too late… What had happened again? She remembered the news of Rosaline's death at once. Taking a sharp breath, she also remembered Violette's words. Reminding her of how cold and heartless she'd been, she thought for a moment, the way she did when she was Levi. Would she still get paid for this? Gil took over quickly though, feeling a stab of guilt at such a selfish thought. Gripping the sheets between her fists Gil bit her lip. Lost in thought, she threw off her blankets and decided to get something to drink. Her throat burned with suppressed tears. Inside her eyelids was the clear vision of the little girl's dead body, which Levi had stepped over without a second thought before the dream would repeat itself. Every time she blinked. Dead body. Blink. Dead body. L.I.V.E. had been just another scramble of Ivel. One of the prime ways they'd linked it back to the thief who called himself Levi.

By some stroke of luck, Gil found the kitchen with some ease. Big mansions… She hadn't been in one for so long. At least, hadn't inhabited one. Sure, she'd stolen plenty of things from huge houses, but it was truly inconvenient. Too easy to get lost, too easy to run into security, too easy to run into servants… Gil's luck ran out when she tried heading back to her room though. The kitchen doors had been different. Her own room's door was… the same as every other bedroom's door. She puckered her lips in thought. She was still really drowsy. Drowsy?

She perked up before opening the door to her room. Jazrelli should've been screaming and shouting right now. He'd yet to say anything at all. Perhaps he just wasn't talking on a Reila frequency. Gil yawned as she pushed the door open. Nope. Wrong room. It was too dark.

"Ah." Gil noticed the bubblegum pink hair first thing and made to leave, "Sorry about that-" Before she heard the sound of crying. Armon didn't really seem like the best of the comforting men in the world.

"Hey," Gil closed the door and turned on the lights, positioning herself cautiously beside the door, "Still feelin' down?" She suddenly wished she hadn't spoke up. Er, being who she was, she was probably not the number one person to be er… speaking with a victim's close friend.

Suddenly, from the darkness became light. Wait, light? "Ow, ow, ow, ow! Turn them off!" Sanako shouted as she suddenly clued into the fact that she had been staring directly at one. Fresh tears from the pain rolled down her face as she desperately rubbed her eyes in order to regain her vision. It was also a decoy to try and make it look like she hadn't been crying. "Y-you could have given me some warning before turning them on!" She stared blankly up at the door as her vision began to clarify. This wasn't the first time her vision had been like this, however...

"Mommy! Mommy! It hurts! It hurts! I can't see anything 'cause it hurts so much!" The boy cried as the blonde haired woman rushed him into an emergency bed conveniently located on the bottom floor of their house. The sound of a little girl crying in the background was faint, but present nonetheless. The woman flipped the boy onto his stomach, revealing the horrific sight present - or not present - on his back. Where once the elegant, yet rare wings of a butterfly once hung, were two terrible gashes, blood seeping out at an unimaginable rate. At the speed it was going, the boy would surely die of blood loss by the time the night was over. The woman, finally revealing her face, was crying. She knew that she could save him, but chances are she'd never be able to see her own son again afterwards.

"Reid, you need to calm down. Mommy is here, and Dad went to get help, okay?" He couldn't see it, but she was injecting a sedative into his arm. Before he knew it, the darkness became unconsciousness.

As he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up directly at the hot desert sun. He winced, and his vision began to clear. He sat up, but it felt awkward for some reason. After a short glance, he realized he was completely bandaged around the torso, and his wings were nowhere to be found. The boy, 11, eventually got to his feet, and found himself on the outskirts of his town. Upon trying to re-enter, however, he was met by a heavy blow by an aluminum bat to the head. "Damn Fallen, your likes around here will just cause this town bad luck. We don't need your kind around here!"

"Mommy... it hurts... so much... I can't... see..." And then it was darkness once again.

Sanako's heart shattered a little more as these memories came rushing back to her. Why had she forgotten that day?

As her vision finally cleared, she found Gil standing at the door, not Armon like she had originally suspected. Even though she had told him to stay away, she still kind of wished he would come anyways... But, presented with another girl to talk to, she jumped on the chance... quite literally. "Gil!" She cried as she leapt at the girl, turning it into a death grip as she hugged her. Her eyes, not crying, but still extremely watery and red from crying, stared at Gil hopefully in hope of some sort of reasonable support. "Yeah... I really can't take my mind off it, y'know? First Deon breaks my heart, then one of the most dear people to my in my life was murdered... It's hard to just shrug it off in a few hours." Not really considering Gil's life as Levi, she proceeded to say more than she should have. "Why would someone murder her, Gil? What justification is there for taking someone's life? Especially the one of an innocent? I just can't find a reason as much as I look for one!"

---

"Eh!? Princess Rosaline died!?" The shocked voice of a normally calm young woman cried after reading the news in the Betan paper. With all of the news about the plague and the war in there recently, everyone had wanted a change in focus. but this, this was not what she had in mind. Even as a resident of Beta, miss Laeina Waters, age sixteen, did not agree with what had been going on. Not so much as a word had been breathed to the public about the attack until it actually occured, and it was an unjustified attack at that. After straightening the cream beret atop her straight, shoulder length black hair, she proceeded to enter her favorite little coffee shop. It was such a nice place, with friendly staff and an exquisite selection of the finest beverages. Laeina, while you wouldn't believe it, was raised on the streets of Beta until she turned fourteen, at which time she was adopted by a family of aristocrats. Already well mannered, the Waters family affectionately aided Laeina in become a proper young lady. And, as a proper young lady, she demanded the best coffee suited to her tastes.

She took a seat at her usual table - a simple, wooden one seater by the farthest window where she could stare dreamily out at the simple street beyond the glass. The snow fell gently, making even the most gruesome of petty tasks, such as doing road work, look relaxing. She elegantly crossed her legs, her long cream coloured skirt shuffling as she did so. As she awaited her order, she straightened her long sleeved, white blouse so that it just bathed perfection, while humming a melodic tune by a classical artist long forgotten by the lower class. She unraveled her thin red scarf from around her neck, only to wrap it back around again, flicking the leftover end over her right shoulder.

She sighed as she rested her head on one of her white gloved hands. It would be her last time visiting this shop for a while, yet nothing interesting had occurred. Usually, at least a boy or something would try and ask her out on a date, which she would politely refuse. As the Waters family had taught her, she was only to marry into a rich family. She had noticed, especially recently, that many boys seemed to become infatuated with her. She was quite a catch, she had been told, with an elegant, kind and innocent presence extremely rare in the day and age. She personally thought nothing of it, but she also had an attractive figure as well. She was thin, decently tall, and she couldn't argue that her chest was at least slightly above the norm for her age group. Pair all of this with a cute face, and it was understandable why she was so popular in school.

After politely thanking the staff, and leaving a generous tip, Laeina curtsied before heading on her way. The doorbell chimed a cute chime as the cold air hit her like a brick wall. Now came the long walk to the harbor. I hope Stahn has a good reason for calling me out so suddenly...

Deon?

Gil blinked. Well. She obviously missed the notification. Wait- there were more important things right now, like how Sanako was bear hugging her back in two. It wasn't as though she had much flesh on her to begin with. All bones and skin. Gil smiled a little, hugging Sanako back as she spoke, "She was always in the most danger out of all of us. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people hated her for being a supporter of Flazure." Gil suppressed the thought of her own family, who was now living on their old wealth and having very little income left from their smaller businesses. Yeah, they probably hated anyone related to Flazure.

Gil racked her brain at Sanako's question about why anyone would kill the innocent. Rosaline hadn't been innocent at all, Gil knew this. But just the same as Sanako, she couldn't find a reason to kill her for it either. She furrowed her brow ever so slightly.

"The reason... would probably be because they couldn't see past their own selfishness. I mean, I was thinking about it earlier." Gil began, "Because, when I... you know... I didn't think I'd ever have to face it again. I thought-... I thought I could just leave it behind as a joke. I never expected to meet people who had grieved over what I'd done. And if I did- I probably would've laughed at them. Crying over what I thought would've been like spilled milk. Soldiers who came after me couldn't care less about them, but more about me who had broken the law. They weren't sad. It's not like the people who do these kinds of things end up seeing the consequences of it everyday."

Gil sighed and suddenly startled herself, "Oh! Sorry about that, I didn't mean to ramble on about that useles-... the stuff. I'm just trying to figure out why someone would kill another person. I guess what he thinks is justification is different from us."

It was awkward, being able to see so clearly into a murderer's mind. Because she was one? She hadn't exactly thought twice about it, when she was Levi. Gil couldn't help but wonder. When she was back to being Levi, would he care about Rosaline's death as much as she had? Or would he still be thinking about his suddenly cut off paycheck?

"...Why exactly did we land all the way up here?" Tsukasa spoke, only asking for the benefit of the others and not his own. Best not to have Dieter get too worked up, after all. No reply came. Though, Tsukasa was aware of the reason. Auricia's health had never been the best. Although that was to be expected after the accident she was saved from. Torn in half by a train, not exactly the easiest thing to recover from, even after being revived as a skill. There were many times where she'd just collapse in pain, and nobody really knew why. Some scientists suggested it was all in her head, but looking at her when it occured, it seemed highly unlikely. And, it happened again. So here they were, walking down a path from which they had landed nearby at a hotspring. Ashton was in the lead, carrying Auricia on his back, with Tsukasa trailing behind. Where they there yet?

---

"But... some people do what they have to, right? That's how the world works. I didn't realize it until today, but I too have done things that I shouldn't have done." Sanako replied as she began to stroke Gil's head for comfort. But really, she was only doing it for her own comfort. "As part of the Archai squad... I've had to kill innocents before. So, really, what makes me different than a murderer? We're more similar than we are different, really... " Sanako then let go of the girl, and then headed to the door without another word. Was she really no different than a murderer? Had Reid been wrong this entire time? "I... need to go to dinner. I'll see you later... Sorry for worrying you..."

Still completely depressed, she showed up in the dining room about ten minutes later. Her thoughts had distracted her, and she ended up making more than a few wrong turns. If it was under normal circumstances, she would have been impressed by the fact that the dining room was set up just like a fancy restaurant, with numerous tables, shrubbery, and classical music playing in the background.

Chistian perked up as he saw Sanako enter the dining room. It would be awkward, but he still had to try and make her feel better. As she approached closer and closer, however, he became more and more afraid of saying something wrong. The first thing he noticed, was that she looked a mess. Her usually neat and tidy appearance had been reduced to something unfitting of a girl obsessed with neatness. Extremely unkept hair, ripped stockings, her blouse stained with tears and a few buttons were opened near the top, going as far as to show her bra. She took a seat in the corner opposite Christian, and silence ensued. Terribly awkward silence.

"..." Dieter peered curiously at Auricia, sitting on his sky board and floating behind the others rather than walking. The left side of his board was splattered in blood from his bleeding wrist, having pulled it off to act as his sky board now that Rasch was merely walking. "Is Auri-chi okay?" He asked raising an eyebrow. He'd never seen a Skill faint or pass out, unless that Skill had the desire to do so. Humans were just so weak that they couldn't manage to hurt a Skill to that point. Dieter felt a severe gaze boring into the back of his head, and turning around, he saw Rasch raise an eyebrow.

"... I know, I know!" Dieter snapped irritably, hopping off the skyboard and catching his left hand in his right, "It's not going to help any. Jeez, sometimes I really wonder whether Auricia is really a Skill or not. Man, we're walking, living, breathing killing machines and she can't even stand the smell of blood."

Instead of the usual squelch of flesh on flesh, Dieter's hand was reattached peacefully with Rasch's twitchy Lionus stitching it back together.

"Lieutenant," Dieter barked, as he began to walk on his own, "What are we supposed to do anyway? It's not like we were made to help out with training. And then you don't want me to attack 'em- What, do I just stand there and let 'em take a chunk or two outta me? Not that it'll hurt any, but I'm not going to settle for that y'know. It's boring. Make Tsukasa or Rasch do it. Don't know why this teacher've yours thinks I'm going to do any good. Probably off his rocker is what I'd say if he thinks I'm going to stand around and let myself get attacked without killin' somebody."

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Having stolen into the room he shared with Sanako after she'd left for dinner, Armon was thankful to find a second set of clothes conviniently hanging in the closet. It was different from his usual clothes, due to the fact that the overshirt was more cargo-styled with various pockets, but the pants were essentially the same. He took the time to put dry, clean bandages on again, amazed at the fact that he could wrap them around his torso with little trouble, unlike before as Adela, where she wasn't able to put bandages on by herself at all. Armon had noticed his original shirt strewn across the bed, meaning that Sanako had definitely been here. He suddenly sneezed, sighing as he whipped a tissue out of the box. He'd definitely get sick if this kept up. Crumpling the tissue and tossing it into the trashcan with the skill and aim that he certainly wouldn't have had as a girl, he rebuckled his belt around his waist. Armon added a new accessory that wasn't apart of Xaviae's usual appearance in the meantime, feeling empty without the weight. His gun and holster, of course. And after having it returned, the butterfly necklace was safely back in it's place on the back pocket of the holster.

Wondering if he could pass with the excuse that he was tired to skip out on this dinner, Armon wandered throughout the halls, before finding someone who directed him to the dining room. Upon entering he felt his eyes widen. Six hours and Sanako still hadn't fixed herself up? He opened his mouth to scold her and tell her to go back and change, but he was interuppted by the sound of heels behind him. Ah, the only girl in heels here was Violette.

She smiled uneasily when he turned. Had she been there all this time? No, Armon mused, she had probably only just gotten behind him. He would've noticed earlier had she been behind him for as long as he'd been wandering around.

"Sanako-" Armon began, raising an eyebrow at her shirt, but Violette let out an 'Eek!' and hurried to the seat beside Sanako, buttoning up her shirt.

"Sanako, why do you look like this?!" Violette fussed, running her fingers through Sanako's hair to help untangle the pink strands before patting it down, "You look horrible! " Honestly, Violette wasn't as dolly as she normally was either. Her hair had lost all it's bounce and curl, looking much longer than it was before. It still looked damp too. Somehow, Armon felt over dressed. No, not really. Sitting down in the free seat beside Christian, he traced the edge of his water glass with his eyes, silent.

He didn't know what to say to the Sanako sitting diagonal to him.

"Let's get you tidied up after dinner, okay?" Violette gazed worriedly at Sanako, as she sat back to give Sanako some space after her sudden need to fix every wronged piece of beauty on Sanako's person, "You shouldn't treat yourself like this."

"Please try and be more considerate, Dieter." Tsukasa, once again, commented before anyone else had a chance. "Don't forget that none of us really chose this fate. I didn't choose to be slaughtered by my own mom after watching her slaughter my younger sister, only to be pieced back together and turned into this. No, this is something we're made to do. Our bodies may not be human, but our souls still are. If Auricia can't stand blood, then you need to just accept it."

"Tsukasa, enough." Ashton finally spoke, and Tsukasa did what he was told. Ashton was terribly irritated by Dieter's views on everything. "I honestly have no idea what he sees in you..." He murmured to himself at first, but decided he should give a proper answer. "Don't worry, sensei's methods tend to be extremely painful. To the person he's training, not the subjects being utilized for the training. Chances are you'll be able to go all out-" He froze. Someone was watching them. But who? There, that's where the breathing was coming from. Was it an animal? Only one way to find out.

Laeina sincerely hoped they didn't notice her. She had originally caught sight of these strange people, and instantly recognized one as Lieutenant Ashton Tappen of the Gregar military. Why were Gregar's officers here, at Stahn's place? After panicking, she hid her self amoungst some bushes so she could eavesdrop, but if she was caught- "Oww!"

The high pitched cry of pain pierced Ashton's ears. So it was a girl? He had to admit, his aim was pretty good to hit a hidden target with a rock. The target rose out of the bushes very quickly, and Ashton readied himself to attack if she was hostile. He had to admit, she was pretty cute, with her long black hair and brown eyes. What Ashton was skeptical about, however, was her outfit that seemed better for a winter climate, not the temperate one here. She made a move, she was going to- bow? Over and over again, the girl bowed up and down, apologizing. Ashton sweatdropped. There was a 2% chance that this girl was an enemy.

After a moment of private conversation between Ashton and the girl, the lieutenant addressed his unit. "Okay, this young woman's name is Laeina Waters. She's from Beta, and is heading to sensei's place as well. Since our countries are allied right now, I figured we might as well escort her the rest of the way. So, be on your BEST behaviour." When he said BEST, that meant that if anyone did anything abnormal, they'd be in for it. Laeina waved at the group before bowing in gratitude and following alongside Ashton, who was once again carrying Auricia.

---

"I... didn't see much need in getting ready. I don't have anyone to impress..." Sanako stared blankly down at nothing in particular as she spoke monotonously like she was in a trance, although she seemed to be looking at her spoon. She had stopped crying, which was an improvement, but she had seemed to move into a more robotic-like depression "Everyone around me seems to get hurt... therefore I'll let myself become alone from now on." Anyone could tell that she had gone off the deep end, and needed to be snapped out of it before it was too late. "Nobody else will get hurt because of me then, right? Then there's no problem... "

Stahn listened in from beyond a nearby wall. It'd be problematic if Reid wasn't snapped out of depression soon. Very problematic. Christian listened in as well, disturbed. How crushed would someone have to be to start thinking like that? Especially Reid, who was usually the optimist. Had all of his motivation for living just drained away like that? If so, could it not be possible that he could start considering more severe ways of dealing with his sadness?

Switch. Dieter's light and cheerful face contorted with arrogance towards Tsukasa.

"Considerate?" Dieter pulled his cigarette from his mouth and spat before replacing it again, shoving his hands in his pockets. Tsukasa was such a boring person. His irritation was evident in the fact that his teeth were grit down on the paper wrapped tobacco, "Nobody asked you Tsukasa. If our souls are still human, then there's no reason I have to accept anything, because humans are selfish spit's of flesh that can't do anything right. If I'm human in soul, I can say and have my opinions whether you like 'em or not. You say what you want, but you don't know anything, so stop acting like you do. I chose this form, half-dead or not, and the hell if I know whether Auri-chi chose it too. Quit hangin' your head over me like you're my owner or something, pipsqueak." Dieter spit his cigarette a few feet in front of him before crushing it under his foot, "If you want me to do something, hide your ass behind Lieutenant Tappen and tell him to get me to do it, coward."

The word 'Dieter' written in Lionus was flung at an amazing speed at the back of Dieter's head, sending the latter sliding face first down a good portion of the hill. It was his chin that landed first before bouncing him up into the air again. Splat, right on his back, Dieter peered up the hill at Rasch with an exhasperated gaze. The old man had his hand in the air after having flicked his wrist to send his sharp chide into Dieter's attention. His hand began drawing words again, though he stopped after the first four letters because Tappen had returned.

"So, be on your BEST behaviour."

Rasch pointed at Tappen, then at Dieter before brushing his black jacket off and continuing down the hill.

"He was askin' for it." Dieter mumbled childishly, the bloody scrape on his chin moving from his neck to disappear under his eyepatch. He hopped back to his feet, wrenching his pinstriped vest off and shaking the sand from it, craning his neck around to look at Laeina, "So what're you headed for this dude's house for? Don't see much point in-… Alright, fine, best behavior, jeez. All your panties are in some kind of painful twist or somethin', I swear."

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Violette shook her head and offered Sanako a smile, "You shouldn't only get ready when you have someone to impress. You'll feel better if you always look your best." She frowned when Sanako spoke her proposition though, "Sanako, that's not going-"

"Enough!" Armon slammed his palm down on the table and stood, knocking his chair aside, "I've had enough of this! I don't know what to do with you anymore! Is this what you call getting stronger? Is it? Let me tell you; I don't think you look strong at all. I think you look like a little girl who's just running away! Before, I couldn't see it. I couldn't see how you could possibly admire me in any way- I couldn't see how you thought I was an obstacle to surpass. I see it now. It's clear as day, because you look absolutely pathetic. Set your priorities straight! Are you going to pretend that you're solving everything this way? Are you going to tell me that Rosaline is dead because of you?"

"Armon-" Violette began, standing up as well, but it wasn't about to end there. Armon's patience had finally run dry.

"That's what I hate about you Reid! You blame yourself for this and that! Everyone around you seems to get hurt, huh? Don't flatter yourself! The world doesn't revolve around you! Are the people getting hurt not around me? Are they just people who are completely unaffected by anyone but you? Shut yourself off if you want- I'm beyond the point of caring, because you don't even care yourself. Do what you want, but I've already changed my mind. There's no way I'm going to follow someone who falls apart like this into a battle for something I don't even advocate. Free the wyverns and phoenix on your own if you want to act like this. This is a war, Mr. Davies. If decide you're not going to wimp out every time a sacrifice is made, I'm all ears."

"Armon!" Violette cried, equally furious, "Think if you were Sanako for a secon-"

"I've already moved on from the things she's dealing with." Armon whirled around, "You don't know anything about me OR Reid! You want me to sympathize for him? Alright. I pity him. But you know what? I think this is great irony. Swallow your own medicine Reid. At least she had the decency to tell you she was leaving."

Without another word, Armon left the dining room without dinner. Screw Stahn and his stupid training principles.

Sanako jumped, startled by the hand being thrown against the table at such a speed and intensity that the silverware jumped. She proceeded to wince as every word that came out of Armon's mouth pierced her painfully like being showered by arrows. Her eyes still pointed down, but they were no looking back and forth rapidly as she thought of what to say in rebuttle. What was there to say in rebuttle? She knew he was right, but couldn't bring herself to admit it. Even after Armon had stormed off, she still said nothing.

Christian sighed, before lifting himself from his seat. He politely pushed it in, before walking to Sanako's side. He raised his hand elegantly, before swinging it down across the unaware Sanako's face. "What the hell are you doing!? Say something for yourself! Show me that the boy who's been protecting me for the past five years was actually capable of protecting me! Or have you always thought like this, been like this deep down? Was I fool to put my life in your hands!?" Sanako touched her right hand to her right cheek, which was quickly reddening. It hurt, a lot. She looked up at Christian, shocked at the gesture and what he was saying. "Well!?"

Her eyes softened as they looked back to the ground. "You're right... Maybe I always have thought like this. I thought like this after Rod died, and after my mom died. But, that didn't stop me, did it?" Her voice was still quiet, as if she didn't really want to say it. "I guess I wasn't a good choice-" Her face was engulfed in pain as Christian swung again.

"Did you listen to a THING Armon said!? Stop blaming yourself, Reid!"

Stahn suddenly came in from the doorway in which Armon had left, carrying the boy by his shirt collar. "My, my, look what I found. I arranged this dinner, you know, you should stay and enjoy it~" He sat Armon back down on his chair, before finally freeing him from his grasp.

It was Sanako's time to get up out of her seat. After taking into consideration everything that Armon said, there were a few conclusions that she had come to. She went to his side, and like Christian had done to her, she slapped Armon with all of the power her little arm could muster. "WOULD YOU GET OVER YOURSELF? You still haven't forgiven the fact that I left, have you!? After all of this time, I had let myself believe you'd have the decency to forgive me. I left for a legitimate reason. But no, you can't let it go because I came back with another girl! For the love of God, I didn't even start dating Flaire until three years after I left!" She spun around, in an attempt to leave before Armon got his hands on her, but found herself spinning around to slap Armon again as she remembered something else. "And ANOTHER THING. How could you take it out on Violette, she didn't deserve that! You need to apologize to her!"

This time, she actually succeeded in walking away, only to sit at her dinner seat once again. "Stahn. If I complete this training, I'll be able to avenge Rosaline, right?" She said, before watching the man intently. "No... we'll be able to avenge her, right?" Christian smiled, before sitting back down. It seems she had gotten the message, finally.

"Well, yes, in theory. You'd have to find out who did it first..."

"Good, now is there anyway we could get a round of drinks?"

"Pfft, no way. I'm not serving alcohol to a minor, especially not a girl. You'd never hold it in."

"..."

---

"Ah, Mr. Stahn is an aquaintance of my parents. They're business partners of sorts I believe. Anyways, he requested my presence here, and despite the fact I have school, my parents still sent me." Laeina reply to Dieter's question. Tsukasa watched the girl closely, looking for anything peculiar about her that would suggest she may be a threat. She had no weapons on her, and he couldn't sense any mahstion leaking from her body...

"Are you an aristocrat?" Tsukasa finally said something, taking note of her well kept appearance and expensive clothing.

Laeina blushed as she held her hands together at her waist. "Well, in a way, yes. I was adopted two years ago. Until then, I had been living out on the streets my whole life." The streets, huh? Impressive. Was there some street skill she had that Stahn wanted?

"We're here..." Ashton said as they arrived at the gates of the mansion.