Lifeless Chapter 5 Part 1

Lifeless

Chapter 5 – Spring 13 Year 1

.~ .~ .~ .~.

It was the height of Spring in Alvarna, and the town was awash in color. There were flowers blooming everywhere of all colors; blue, red, white, yellow, pink, even purple. They grew out of every place possible; out of cracks in the street, even the Sharper Edge Blacksmithing, a sword shop owned by the weapons enthusiast Tanya, had a few growing out of the roof. Everywhere was alive with nature and plantlife.

But today was special. Today, the cherry trees were in full bloom, their bright pink petals opening up to the bright sunshine. Such an occasion was a sight to behold, and so every year the town had a festival to celebrate this gift of nature, on the 13th day of Spring. Today was the 13th, and that day found Jake in Cherry Blossom Square, sitting under a cherry tree, just enjoying the quietness around him. It was very early in the morning, around six to be exact, and he doubted anyone would be awake and about for at least another hour or two. So he had the entire Cherry Blossom Square to himself to enjoy before it got busy with sightseers and townspeople just enjoying the flowers.

He sat under one of the large sprawling trees, a sword in his lap as he began to polish it back to a fine luster, buffing out the scratches and chips it had gained from being used. A selkie wisped by on the wind, but he ignored its words; they hardly ever said anything of great importance anyway. A comment on the weather was the usual exchange, and he had no time for pleasantries with spirits only he and his family could see.

There were more important things to pay attention to, like an unexpected and unwanted guest.

“Jake?” Someone called, and Jake looked up. It was Kyle, and he was leaning against the fence surrounding the sacred cherry tree, looking at him with curious brown eyes. “It’s early, what are you out here for?”

Jake sniffed in a way that told how silly he thought that question was. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m sharpening a sword.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “At six in the morning under a cherry tree?” he chuckled. “Sounds a little weird to me.”

Jake snorted, looking back down at his weapon and continuing his work, opting to ignore the human for the time being with the hopes he would go away. He was interrupting his quiet time, and he definitely wouldn’t understand if he tried and explain it to him. He only had these few precious hours this morning to do this, and he didn’t want to be interrupted, damn it!

Kyle, for his part, was much undeterred by Jake’s neglect to explain his actions, and with a small smile walked toward the half – elf, planting himself on the ground next to him.

“Mmm, smells nice over here,” he said quietly, leaning back on his hands. Jake looked up, a little miffed.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m sitting.” Kyle said, mimicking Jake’s tone from earlier, and Jake scowled. Kyle just laughed quietly, before taking a deep breath, closing his eyes. Jake watched him like he was an alien from another planet for a moment before begrudgingly turning back to his work, the flint (tool that shines swords) making quiet scraping sounds against the metal. They sat in silence for a while, not a comfortable silence, but not one that was uncomfortable or heavy, either. Just… quiet and pleasant.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Jake asked eventually, holding the sword up for a moment to check how he was doing, the steel reflecting the light sharply around them.

“Yup.” Kyle deadpanned, and Jake had to resist the urge to pop a vein.

“…Then why don’t you do it?” he asked, feeling a little miffed. This human was just hanging around to annoy him, he could tell!

“There’s no hurry, it’s not like the plants are going to walk off and go on strike if I’m a little late in watering them.” Kyle laughed, opening his eyes to give Jake a cheeky grin. “Besides, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Jake gave him a glare that he hoped conveyed his aggravation at being interrupted and the potential threat of bodily harm he was entertaining in his head, but Kyle showed no signs of fear or that he was backing off, so he settled for a displeased sigh.

He turned back to his sword, flipping it over to work the other side silently. Kyle still didn’t budge from his seat; in fact, he laid down in the grass next to him, arms behind his head.

“…They say that cherry blossoms in full bloom are good luck for a warrior…” Jake said eventually, never taking his eyes off of polishing his weapon.

“Oh?” Kyle sat up, crossing his legs in front of himself. Jake nodded in confirmation. “Sounds interesting ... But why are you here so early, then?”

“Everyone in town will be here all day and long into the night, so this is the only time I can be here like this… and I was hoping to not get interrupted.” Jake shot Kyle a look, who grinned nervously.

“All right, all right, I get the hint; I’ll get out of here.” He stretched languidly, rolling his shoulders. “Have fun with your sword, I hope it gives you lots of luck and all that.” He stood up and waved, heading back toward the farm.

A selkie wisped by and snickered at Jake before following the human, playing with his bandana as it was caught in the wind. Jake frowned at it (what was it snickering about?) before sighing, looking back at his nearly polished sword.

Suddenly, the space under the tree felt a little lonely, without his presence.

He was used to loneliness, but that did not mean he did not feel its weight. He leaned back against the tree, watching as a petal floated down from the tip of a branch.

He wondered if maybe the blossoms could give him more luck than just as a warrior before banishing the thought – that was dangerous territory, he told himself – and got back to work.

Since when did he want Kyle’s attention, anyway?

.~ .~ .~ .~.

"Have a good day, Jake." Julia said cheerily, as he walked out of the bath house, silver hair still a little damp from his bath.

"Yeah yeah," Jake mumbled back, pulling the door closed behind him. He let out a breath of air, and was slightly surprised it didn't condense in the night time air. Things were really warming up; it was almost the first day of Summer, after all.

He ran a hand through his damp hair, trying to get it to spike back up like it usually did, as he opened the door to his home, the Inn. He mindlessly headed for the stairs, but paused mid - step when he caught something unusual in the corner of his eye.

"Hey Jake," Kyle grinned at him, waving from the doorway to one of the Inn's guest rooms. Cecilia was inside, preparing the bedding.

Why the hell was Kyle here at this hour? More importantly, why was Cecilia making the bed up in fresh sheets?

" ... What are you doing here?" Jake asked (with suspicion/curiosity).

"Cecilia asked me to stay the night." Kyle said, jabbing a thumb behind him. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms.

Jake's mind automatically went to the most unsavory (to him, at least) meaning for that. Cecilia ... was ... . WHAT? With this human?!

"W-What?" Jake sputtered, letting go of the railing to the stairs, looking back inside the room. Cecilia was still puttering around, preparing the room to be slept in.

... It was a single bed, and Ceci wasn't like that ... his Ceci wasn't like that ... so it must have been for a different reason, he rationalized. That notion was stupid, it had to be …

"Why? You have a house to sleep in." Jake wondered / said, and Cecilia finally finished, stepping out of the room.

"Okay Kyle, your room for the night is ready. Thanks for doing this." she sent a smile his way, which he returned with a smile of his own and a nod, and she spotted Jake, looking for his part rather confused.

"Oh, Jake, you're back! Guess what: Kyle agreed to stay the night with us tonight!"

" ... And why?" Jake repeated, trying not to pop a vein in irritation.

Cecilia looked a little surprised at the question before blushing, "Well, I was feeling bad that Egan hasn't been getting many customers lately, so I went ahead and asked Kyle if he would be kind enough to stay for a night ... "

Jake stared at the two of them in mild disbelief for a moment before snickering, shaking his head. “Ceci, you don’t need to do that. How well my father’s business is doing is his business and his alone. You don’t need to bother yourself with inviting the townspeople,” he spared a narrowed glance at Kyle, who was watching him curiously, “In fact, I would prefer it if you didn’t.” He sniffed condescendingly, turning back around to go up the stairs.

Having Kyle in his house for the night was one of the last things he wanted, the nosy human knew how to get under his skin, and he didn’t like it the least bit.

“I think it’s a nice sentiment,” Kyle piped up, and Jake paused just shy of the door to the second floor. “You’re lucky she cares enough to ask, in my opinion.” Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, not looking at Jake as he frowned at the barb. Kyle gave Cecilia a sweet smile and turned into his room for the night, which she returned before glaring up at Jake.

“What?” he asked, and her gaze just hardened.

“I was just trying to be nice, you know.”

“Whatever.” Jake replied sourly, stepping out of sight.

Author's Note: I HATE THIS SCENE WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND SUNS. Please let it go awaaaaaay *sobs* Jake just couldn’t be sweet to Cecilia while Kyle was around, and I TRIED to make that come through, but noooooo, it didn’t work and he just looks like an ass.

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Dinner was an infuriating and stifling affair, at least to Jake. Cecilia had insisted that Kyle eat dinner with them, and Egan was only too happy to agree – the more there were around the table the better the food tasted, he said – so Jake was left with no choice but to allow it. So he sat at the table, as far away as possible from Kyle, and angrily plowed his way though his food while the three of them chatted away. He tried his best to ignore him, but with that damn strange presence that Kyle seemed to leak everywhere, it was hard, and he found himself sneaking glances up at the red head more times than he would have liked. Occasionally Kyle would be looking at him too, which annoyed him – it was bad enough he couldn’t stop glancing over, but did he have to get caught, too? Not to mention the human would smile at him whenever it happened, and it made Jake’s stomach lurch uncomfortably, though not in sickness – he didn’t know what it was. Jake took to responding to such looks with a sneer, turning his nose up at him as discreetly as possible and looking away, returning to his meal.

He ignored all of Cecilia’s efforts to include him in the conversation, settling with a “don’t even try to mess with me, I’m not in the mood” look every time she attempted. Eventually she settled for conversation with Kyle, which Jake couldn’t say he liked more. It irked him how well they seemed to get along.

Author's Note: Aaaaand this is where I am right now. Sad, amirite? XD;

Okay so...

...I think I might have maybe kinda given up on NaNo. XD;; I just haven't had the urge to write much of it at all recently, and forcing myself does nothing. I've written maybe a scene or two in the past week.

I'll probably just set my goal to 25,000. Halfway ain't bad, right? XD It's already infinitely better than what I've done in previously years: I'm at a little over 19.5k as of right now; in '07 I only got to just under 16k, and last year I only got just over 12k.

Previously, the reason I didn't do well was mostly lack of time in my day. In '07 I was a senior in high school, so I was busy with AP classes and the general stress of that year. Last year was my first semester in college, so I was still getting used to things. This year my schedule ended up being rather light, so I didn't have the same problems as before, but the polar opposite: I had so much time to work on it that I found myself doing other things (read: reading fanfiction and getting re-addicted to MLIA thanks to a friend) rather than writing. Then this past week all my motivation just went to shit, and I just stopped. I didn't touch it for like, three or four days, and then wrote little snippets and did one twitter war with the NaNoSprints page because I felt guilty.

The funny thing is, my goal the Saturday before last was to reach 20k... which I STILL haven't done. You'd think I'd have gotten there by now. XD; Less than 1k in more than a week, oh woe is me. ^^;

BUT the good thing is that I've actually gotten things done! 19k in 3 weeks is a lot for me--Duplicity, as it is now, is only at a little over 12k, and it took me like, three months to get to that point. Granted, a lot of the stuff in Lifeless needs to be redone or thrown out, but hey, I got things that I did like out of it.

I'm still not even at the end of the first arch (they're trying to not get to know each other, but they have to, dammit), though.... I need to get to the "we're friends now even though Jake pretends to not like it" point. But I don't really have many scene ideas to try and get that through.... I guess Jake's just going to have to put Kyle to work so that Kyle can gain some of Jake's respect, and things will just go from there. XD We'll have to see, I guess... *isn't sure about it all yet*

Well, I have an English paper to write, so off I go~ XD Hopefully I'll get SOMEWHERE with things soon. Eventually I'll probably attempt the Writing Festival's theme (this month it's "awkward"), but I don't have any ideas at the moment, so we'll see. After that, I'll probably switch between Duplicity's rewrite and working on Lifeless. I'll post about any progress on those fronts, but don't expect anything soon--it's nearing finals time, as most of my classes end around the 15th of December for Christmas Break. Busy busy study study. XD

Signing off,

Kitsune no Tora

Lifeless Chapter 4 Part 2

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Jake turned around as he heard the bell over the door jingle, distracting him momentarily from polishing his newest sword. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Kyle walk in, a proud grin on his face.

That was… faster than expected. Jake thought with surprise, sitting back from the table.

“Found it.” Kyle said, his voice slightly arrogant. He held out his hand, and in it was a pendant dangling from his fingers that he recognized as indeed belonging to Cecilia.

Hmph. Well, whaddya know. He’s not completely useless. Jake nodded, returning to what he was doing.

“…Aren’t you going to take it?” Kyle asked, quirking an eyebrow, hand with the pendant still outstretched.

“Yer the one that found it. Give it back to her and come back here.” Jake said gruffly, returning to his work.

“B-But!” Kyle gaped, “If I‘m the one to give it back to her, she’ll know that I went into the dungeons.”

“You did.” Jake snorted, smirking. This’ll be fun. Kyle frowned at him, displeased.

“Alright, fine.” He responded, turning around and stalking out the door. Jake’s smirk only widened. This human was fun, at least. He actually did what he told him to do.

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Kyle walked down the road, hands in his pockets. The light was dimming – it was after four in the afternoon, so the sun was beginning to set, washing everything in bright orange and red. Sunsets in Alvarna were always beautiful, Kyle had soon realized; in fact his first evening here he had sat out at the pier, watching in awe. He had never seen something so stunning, and despite not having any memory of anything prior to his arrival just a few days ago, deep down he knew that was true.

He truly was lucky to end up in such a place, with such kind people.

Of course, it would do no good if he did nothing but anger said nice people… which he knew he was about to do by returning Cecilia’s pendant. Jake was at work, so he could not have gotten it himself and asked Kyle to return it – and she would know that. He didn’t know if anyone else liked to go into the dungeons and he could use as a scapegoat, and what if Cecilia found them later and thanked them? He’d be in even more trouble for lying.

The only thing he could do was grit his teeth and get ready for her to be upset with him… which he really didn’t want, but Jake refused to return it for him, so there was really no choice.

Kyle knocked on the door to the manor for the second time that day, and again Cecilia was the one to open it.

“Oh, Kyle! Did you need something?” She asked politely. “I was just about to leave.”

“I just wanted to return this for you.” Kyle said quickly, pulling out the pendant from his pocket. She looked at it in surprise for a moment, taking it from him, before narrowing her eyes at him in suspicion. Kyle shifted on his feet nervously. He was going to get yelled at, he could tell…

“You found it? Kyle, did you go out in the forest to get this for me?”

“Uh, well, y-yeah…” he admitted, and when she frowned at him, he added, “Jake wanted me to find it for you, and I wanted to pay him back for helping me, so…

“I avoided the monsters, though! The pendant wasn’t that far inside… just in the clearing.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened almost imperceptivity for a moment, and she set her lips in a thin line. “Jake sent you out in the dungeons to go get this for me?”

“Yeah, technically…” Kyle said quietly, tugging on his headband nervously.

“All right. Thank you, Kyle. But please, be careful, I would hate for you to get hurt again.” Cecilia said politely but sternly, walking past him out the door, closing it behind herself. “I’ll see you later!”

And she walked off back toward the Inn, leaving Kyle a little flabbergasted. He… didn’t get in trouble?

“I have a feeling I managed to get Jake in trouble instead of myself…” Kyle chuckled quietly to himself, stepping out onto the street. What good luck.

.~ .~ .~ .~.

“I can’t believe you! You knew he was hurt, and you sent him out to the dungeons! What’s wrong with you?!” Cecilia screeched, and Jake grimaced, flinching back slightly. Cecilia was at the stove, preparing dinner and scolding him at the same time.

How the hell did he end up being the one in trouble? Kyle was the one who accepted the job, regardless of his own condition.

He voiced this thought, but Cecilia only screeched at him louder. “He wanted to repay you for helping him! Of course he went out and got it!”

“He didn’t have to do it right then!” Jake retorted, slumping back in his seat, scowling. “I didn’t tell ‘im to do it right the fuck then. It was his decision to go out there the way he did.”

“Kyle wanted to prove to you he wasn’t a bad fighter! You antagonized him!” she snapped, turning around and pointing the knife she was using at him accusingly. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she threw it, honestly, she was so mad. Jake grimaced at the idea.

“So? He deserved it! He got his ass beat by a Goblin, of all things, and then I had to save his dumb ass!” Jake growled, standing up with such force that his chair clattered around.

“I don’t care if you think he deserved it, it was wrong! He could have gotten himself hurt again, not to mention that he’s not one hundred percent recovered yet and not at his best!”

“He just went into the Forest! You go in there without a weapon and come out just fine, it’s not like he could have really gotten himself hurt unless he really was an idiot!” Jake’s hands were clenched in anger so strong that his knuckles were turning white, his nails digging into his palms.

He hated fighting with Cecilia. It was at the top of his list of things - to - avoid - at - all - costs, probably just beaten out by eating (whatever he doesn’t like). It made him feel bad to anger her so.

“I don’t care! It’s the thought that counts! You sent an injured man, who has done nothing to you to deserve it, out to what could have potentially been his death! I just can’t… ARGH I just can’t believe you would do that!” she shrieked, slamming the knife down on the counter, so angry her face was red all the way to the ends of her pointy elven ears. Jake shied away instinctively – Cecilia, although docile and kind most of the time, was probably the scariest thing he had ever seen when she was mad. Add that to the fact that it made him feel terrible when he angered her to such extents and he was practically shaking in his boots.

She was silent for a moment, breathing heavily as she tried to calm herself down. She turned around, facing away from him and staring at the backsplash. “Out.” She ordered, pointing to the door.

“What?” Jake sputtered, staring at her back incredulously.

“OUT! I don’t want to see your face anymore! Get out!” she shouted, voice rising a few octaves.

“Fucking hell…” he grumbled. He was getting kicked out of his own house!

“NOW!” Cecilia shrieked, and Jake thought it a good idea to just do what she said, if he valued his limbs, and he left.

Oh, he had a bone to pick with Kyle. How the hell had he managed to not only avoid getting yelled at by Cecilia, but turned it back onto HIM as well?

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Jake stalked onto the farm, seething with anger. He looked around, spotting Kyle stiffly tending to a few plants by the farm house. He was on his knees, bent over the plant with a thoughtful look on his face.

He didn’t know how, but Kyle was going to pay for getting Cecilia so mad with him. And pay dearly. So what if he was intending to get him in trouble in the first place? That didn’t matter. It blew up in his face, so he was going to make Kyle regret it.

“Hey, human!” Jake shouted, planting a foot not – so – nicely into Kyle’s thigh. He didn’t kick him, really, more like poke him really hard with the toe of his boot to get his attention.

“Ouch! Hey, what was that for?!” Kyle complained, looking up and clutching his thigh where Jake had “kicked” him. He raised a curious eyebrow at Jake’s absolutely livid expression, and Jake almost growled.

“Get up.” He hissed, and Kyle, not seeing how he had any choice, pushed himself off the ground rather stiffly; with great difficulty.

“What’s with you?” Kyle asked with irritation, eyeing him as he brushed his knees off.

“What the hell did you say to Cecilia when you gave her back the pendant?” Jake growled, taking Kyle by the collar, who let out a small sound of surprise.

“W-What? What are you talking about?” Kyle grasped Jake’s wrist, trying to pull out of his grasp, but Jake didn’t budge.

“Don’t act stupid. Somehow, Cecilia is mad at me, and I want to know what the hell you did,” he barked, pulling Kyle up to his tiptoes by his collar.

“I didn’t do anything! All I did was give her the pendant and tell her the truth. I was surprised she didn’t yell at me too!” Kyle protested, wiggling in his grasp. “Honest, that’s all that happened. Put me down!”

Jake stared menacingly at him for a few moments before obliging, letting him go with a dissatisfied sound. If he was telling the truth, there wasn’t much he could do… hell, there wasn’t much he could do in the first place if he didn’t want to incur more than just Cecilia’s wrath.

How exactly did Kyle manage to get so popular with the townspeople so fast?! How annoying!

Kyle straightened out his clothes for a moment before narrowing his eyes at him. “What is wrong with you? Did you just come out here to pick a fight?”

Author’s Note: Aaaaand I don’t know where I’m going with this scene anymore so I guess Jake is just going to be all “leave me alone, human, if you’re just going to get me in trouble with Cecilia then I’m just going to have to beat the crap out of you if you bother me blahblblabbhabh” I don’t even care anymore. XD I guess they kind of just make up and stuff and WE ARE MOVING ON HERE PEOPLE. I hate this scene. XD IT IS TIME FOR FLUFF AND GOOD THINGS OKAY. *checks outline* Next would be the Flower Festival~ Unless I wanted to add in something random… I don’t know what, though. XD

.~ .~ .~ .~.

So yeah I started hating this and stopped for a while (wrote more for a future scene which I will not post until we get to that point, if ever, haha), so this is where I ended up so far. We're just going to move on here, nothing to see here folks...

Lifeless Chapter 4 Part 1

Lifeless

Chapter 4 – Spring 5 Year 1

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Cecilia came home late that night. Egan had cooked dinner, but Jake didn’t eat it. The Ruby was still on the dining room table, and Cecilia was still off at the Clinic with Kyle and the other townspeople.

Jake tried not to care that she was there. He did. He told himself that she would do the same for him, maybe even stay with him longer than she did with Kyle. She was only doing it because she was a kind person.

Not because she might like Kyle or something, and because he was jealous that she might.

The next morning, how Jake had saved him was the talk of the town.

He woke up at 6 in the morning as usual, ate breakfast, and got ready for work. He took his usual route through Cherry Blossom Square, but this time, Barrett was there. He nodded at him, not moving from his space on the bench. Jake ignored him. He passed through the North Square, and when he got to the de Sainte - Coquille Park, Alicia was walking through on her way to the pier. She smiled at him and said hi, he snorted and walked off.

For some reason, everyone seemed to think he was suddenly a nice guy. Well, he would just have to change that mentality.

He passed by the Clinic, the blood had been cleaned off the doorknob. Cecilia had mentioned to him last night that Kyle would be staying at the Clinic for at least another day, and then would be taking it easy at home. Cammy and Roy had volunteered to water his plants on the farm (there were not that many, anyway), and he had not planted anything in the dungeons yet, so that wasn't a problem.

He spared a glance in the front window for a moment, not stopping. Ray was in his usual place by the desk, and nothing else of merit was going on.

He almost paused at the door. He wanted to go in, to check on him. He squashed the urge, walking on as if who was in there meant nothing. He didn't mean anything to him anyway, right?

He really was losing it, wasn't he?

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Spring 9 Year 1

.~ .~ .~ .~.

The bell rang above the door to The Sharper Edge Blacksmithing, the door creaking shut.

“Hello! Oh, Kyle, what a surprise!” Tanya called from the stairs, “How are you doing? Is it okay for you to be up and about?” she came down the steps, meeting him at the rail. Jake turned and glanced at him, eyes narrowing in irritation, before turning back around and stoking the fire in the furnace vigorously.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Kyle grinned up at her reassuringly. “I’ll go crazy if I have to stay at home doing nothing all day again. I feel better being out.”

“I understand, I would feel the same.” Tanya laughed good - naturedly. “So what brings you here?”

“I was looking for Jake, actually…” Kyle said, and Jake felt his eyes on his back, watching him. He set down the shovel he was using to move the wood around inside the furnace with more force than was probably necessary, ignoring Kyle’s gaze as he walked over to the woodpile to get more wood.

“Ah. Well, have at it; I’ll just be over here if you need me, love.”

Jake walked back to the furnace, an armful of logs in his grasp. He heard Kyle’s footsteps come near him, but he ignored them, throwing more logs into the fire. He could feel his presence, that strangely comforting feeling from before, licking at his back, curling around him. He despised it. It made him question himself.

“Jake? Can I talk with you for a bit?” Kyle asked hesitantly as Jake stuck the shovel back in the furnace, spreading the logs around a bit. He didn’t answer, pulling the shovel back out after a few more moments of shoving things around and latching the door closed.

“Busy.” He turned around; searching for the tools he needed to manage the metal inside. He glanced at Kyle, who was frowning at him, almost pouting…

He looked away quickly, hunting for the tongs he used to pull the metal out of the furnace. Where had those darn things gone?

“I just wanted to thank you.” Kyle said quickly, gaining Jake’s attention again. He was blushing. “If you hadn’t been there, I probably would have bled to death out there… so I wanted to say thank you, and ask if there was anything I could do for you to show my gratitude.”

Jake paused, raising an eyebrow. “Heh.” He smirked. “Just don’t get yer ass kicked so badly again. I might not be feeling so generous and decide not to play hero next time.” He turned back around, examining the inside of the furnace.

Kyle sputtered, “Wait, you’d just leave me there if it happened again?”

“I didn’ have any obligation to help ya in the first place.” Jake snapped, leaning back. It wasn’t ready yet. “And if yer stupid enough to do it again, I see no reason why I should help ya.” He rested against the worktable, arms crossed, eyes watching Kyle. The human was still blushing slightly, but he was frowning, looking a bit put off.

“You honestly don’t have the conscious to help someone if they’re hurt?” Kyle challenged, balling up his fists in anger.

Jake met him level, eye to eye. “I have no qualms leaving a human like that if they’re stupid enough to get themselves in that situation in the first place,” he responded, his voice and expression strictly serious. “It’s not my problem if you’re an idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot!” Kyle shrieked, fists shaking. Jake smirked. What a perfect and expected reaction.

“Oh?” his smirk grew into a chiding grin. “Could have fooled me. You don’t know if you have any experience in fighting at all, yet you go in the second most difficult dungeon. Sounds like an idiot to me.” He was trying to ruffle his feathers, get him mad so he could see what he would do. See what kind of person this human really was – because there was no way he was as kind and gentle as people had been saying.

“For your information, I was doing just fine. The monster just took me by surprise, that’s all. I was trying to tame it,” Kyle retorted, glaring at Jake. “And I did. It just got me before I could jump out of the way.”

Jake shook his head. “I knew it was a mistake that Cecilia gave that to ya… don’t tell her that’s how ya got yerself hurt, it’ll just upset her.”

“I wasn’t planning on telling her.” Kyle frowned, crossing his arms. “I knew that would upset her, so I didn’t. You’re the only one who knows.”

Jake nodded. “Good. Now get out of my sight. I have work to do, unlike you.” He pushed off from the table, uncrossing his arms and heading for the opening in the furnace again, intending to look inside to check on the steel heating up inside. He heard Kyle huff with indignation, shuffling around.

“Regardless of what you think, I still want to pay you back for what you did.” Kyle said quietly, scowling.

He sighed with irritation, turning back around. “Fine. I have a job for ya, then. And this way you can pay me back and potentially prove to me you aren’t as incompetent as I thought.” He smirked when Kyle bristled, but the human didn’t do anything but nod.

“This morning, Cecilia was complaining that she lost something, out in Trieste Forest. Now, I was going to go look for it, but I’m a little busy. So you can go get it. That simple enough for ya, human?” Jake asked, crossing his arms again.

Kyle nodded. “What did she lose?”

“Beats me.” Jake responded, shrugging. “I didn’t catch what it was. Ask her.”

Kyle scowled at Jake, who brushed it off. “Get going.”

“Right…”

It wouldn’t be his problem if Kyle didn’t come back…right?

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Kyle exited the Sharper Edge Blacksmithing quickly, a scowl planted firmly on his face. “What is with that guy?” he mumbled grumpily, turning to head toward the Park, and eventually the de Sainte – Coquille manor, where Cecilia would be working. “All I wanted to do was thank him for saving me, sheesh.” He just wanted to thank him politely and ask if there was any favor he coud do in return, but Jake had to insult him. Multiple times, too, and Kyle’s ego was purpling over with bruises already.

“What a jerk…” he mumbled, strolling past the fountain, which bubbled merrily. It only cheered him up minimally.

He walked up the small but nicely decorated walkway and knocked on the door of the manor, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he waited.

“Hello, Kyle!” Cecilia said brightly as she opened the door.

“Hi there, Cecilia.”

“How are you doing? Are you sure it’s okay for you to be up and about like this?” she asked timidly, watching Kyle carefully as she closed the door behind him.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Kyle grinned reassuringly at her, and she seemed to relax a little. “I’ll be careful.”

“All right… So what brings you here today?” she questioned, green eyes glittering prettily. Kyle shifted his gaze away.

“I’m actually here on a favor for Jake…” he trailed off, pulling at his bandana absentmindedly. What should he say? He couldn’t tell her what Jake had asked him to do, because it involved going back to the dungeons while he was still recovering. She wouldn’t give him any information if he did.

“Oh?’ she piped up, “what did he ask you to do?”

“He wanted me to find out what it was you lost yesterday,” he replied. It wasn’t the whole job, but he couldn’t exactly tell her what it was, either.

“Oh! Yes, I did lose something yesterday. I was on a walk, and ended up in Trieste Forest… Anyway, once I realized where I was I got out as fast as possible, but I must have dropped my pendant somewhere. I retraced my steps everywhere but in the Forest, so it has to be there…” she told him as they wandered into the kitchen.

“I see…” Kyle responded, watching as she went to the stove top.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Uh, no thanks, I was going to get going, actually.” Kyle refused politely, stepping back toward the door.

“Oh, well, all right. Be careful, you don’t want to agitate your stitches.”

Kyle nodded. “I know. See you later.” He walked out of the kitchen, waving at Max for a moment as he exited the manor. Now he just had to go find the pendant without getting himself hurt…

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Kyle stood anxiously in front of the entrance to Trieste Forest, looking around warily. No one was around… that was good. Everyone in town would probably throw a fit if they saw him go into the forest in his current condition… well, except Jake, of course.

Jake. Kyle scowled, biting his lower lip. He was not an idiot, and a strong fighter. He was going to prove to him that he could do this, and while wounded, too! It wasn’t a difficult task at all; chances were Cecilia didn’t go far into the Forest before turning around…

He breathed in deeply before stepping into the forest, tapping the small pyramid next to the entrance which pulsed and swirled with colors for good luck.

Right away he could see the green portal, swirling and hovering suspended in the air next to the river to his left. It was an easy target, but the problem was that it would likely send out the two Renos that usually lurked this area during the day before he could even get close to it.

“Better stay away from that…” he mumbled, hoping that it wouldn’t activate once he stepped further into the forest to look for the pendant. He wanted to avoid combat – moving around too much might mess with his stitches, even if the monsters in the area were relatively weak. He pulled his short sword out just in case.

He stood his ground, looking around vigilantly from his vantage point in the entrance for anything that might be the pendant – a flash of something on the ground, anything.

Seeing nothing, he stepped in further, and groaned when he heard the familiar high – pitched spark of a monster being called from the Forest of Beginnings sound twice. Of course luck wouldn’t be on his side.

Out of the two sparks of green that descended from the heavens rolled two Renos, bright red and distinctly apple-like, from their round bodies and the stems sticking out of their oddly shaped heads. He watched carefully as they both looked around curiously. They laid eyes on Kyle at the same time, jumping in unison and sticking their heads into their round bodies like a turtle would, completing the apple look. They fell to the side, kicking off the ground with their feet before retracting them also, rolling toward him with astonishing speed.

“Crap…” Kyle darted out of the way, running behind the large flat boulder that took up most of the center of the area. The two Renos rolled right past him, stopping near the edge of the Clearing and rolling back on their feet, popping their heads back out and glancing around. Hidden that he was, they didn’t see him, and they sat down peacefully.

Kyle exhaled quietly in relief before something shiny at his feet caught his eye. He looked down, and, lo and behold, it was the pendant! He grinned, picking it up quickly and pocketing it. He knew this would be easy…

He crept around the other side of the boulder from the Renos, slinking past them back through the entrance quickly. He tapped the small colorful pyramid outside in victory. That’ll show Jake.

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Author's Note: Aaaaand that's as far as I've gotten. XD Well, there is one scene I'm working on, but I skipped ahead so that's a good while ahead of where this is, so I'm not posting it. :P I'll post it when I get to that point (will I ever...? XD). Thanks for reading this crap. XD

Lifeless Chapter 3 Part 2

.~.~.~.~.

Jake walked casually through the entrance to the Valley, walking over the bridge into the first room. Things were quiet, but not ominous like in his dream, which he greatly appreciated. The wind was blowing, but not too strongly (a selkie wisped by, but didn’t say a word), and the river bubbled softly to his left, not one bit the raging torrent he had seen in his dream that morning.

He crossed the small plot of fertile soil, and noted that it, indeed, had been cleared of the many weeds, grasses, herbs, stones, and stumps that had littered it not that long ago. Kyle must have come by here recently, probably this morning. It wasn’t tilled, though, so either he wasn’t interested in tilling it and only wanted the grasses or he was saving it for later, he didn’t know or care.

He came upon the middle of the room, and heard the tell – tale spark of a monster crossing over from the Forest of Beginnings into this world crack directly in front of him. A Goblin jumped out of the blast of green light, standing stationary for a moment before seeing him and launching himself at him.

Jake readied himself, pulling out his claymore quickly. He met the monster’s sword, the metal scraping and sparking against each other with a sharp sound. He pressed forward, parrying the monster’s sword away before slashing through it. The monster cried out shrilly, dropping its sword and falling to its knees. Jake stepped away, watching as it faded back into green light as it passed back into the Forest of Beginnings.

He eyed his sword carefully, looking for knicks, but the edge seemed to be holding itself well. He looked around – the portal the monster came through had to be close if it could sense him.

He saw it on the other side of the area right when there was another spark, directly to his left and so close it set the hair on the back of his neck on end with power.

He reacted quickly, slicing his sword through the monster before it even had a chance to see him. It too cried out, before falling to its knees and fading back into green light.

Jake rushed forward, slashing his sword through the portal a few times before it could summon any more monsters. He wanted to get through this part, the stronger and more worthwhile monsters were further in.

After a few slashes the swirling green portal started to shrink in on itself, before completely disappearing from sight, leaving no trace of ever being there. Jake stood up, sheathing his Claymore. It did well, he was very happy with how it held up against the monsters. He walked south, through a break in the trees, following the river down into the bowels of the Valley. Today was going to be a good, but tiring, day.

.~.~.~.~.

Jake exhaled, wiping his brow with one hand as he tucked his something else into his belt with the others. He was at the end of the dungeon, taking a quick break in the monster-less Bridge to Shrine. It was about three in the afternoon, so he had to start heading back soon – it was going to start getting dark soon, and his father would pitch a fit if he missed dinner, as annoying as it was.

He pulled out his katana, bracing himself for the fight back.

.~.~.~.~.

-- Note to self: change fight to him taking his anger at the thought of Kyle out on the monsters, it’s a little better that way. XD –

Jake took a deep breath, standing up straight as the swirling green portal he had just destroyed shrank into nothing. He gave his katana a quick once over, looking for chips and scratches. It had a few scratches, but other than that it was holding up extraordinarily well as well. He smirked, waving it around absentmindedly as he looked around. He was about halfway back to the beginning of the dungeon, taking his time with the monsters. There weren’t any more in this section of the Valley, so he headed to the next area.

The sun was setting, washing the entire landscape in a reddish hue, which was enhanced even more by the colors of the trees. It was so bright it almost hurt to look, but at the same time was so beautiful. The wind had died down to almost nothing, but it wasn’t eerily still. The river still bubbled softly along beside him, and he was feeling unusually calm. It was nice here. He should come more… often…

What was that? Jake looked around quickly, searching for the source of whatever he heard. It sounded sort of like a cough mixed with a whine…

Not seeing anything, he stood stock still, hoping to hear it again.

Jake looked around, still not seeing anything.

Sssfffht...

There was the sound again, directly in front of him and to his right, blocked by a row of trees. What was making that sound?

He pulled his katana in front of him, walking carefully in the direction of the noise. He parted the foliage carefully, searching through the semi-darkness. The twilight cast everything so deeply orange it was hard to see, but...

There was a form laying in the fallen leaves, hunched in on itself in the fetal position. It was a person.

Jake's eyes widened in panic, his heart beating speeding up. The figure was dressed in blue and white, a mop of red hair tied under a blue and white bandana.

It was Kyle, just like in his dream. The wind gusted, and his nose burned with the smell of his blood, acidic and strong.

Panic ran through him, and Jake walked up to him carefully, watching his surroundings.

"Hey! Human! What's wrong?" He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kyle just twitched, not moving from his curled up position.

"...J- Jake?" he whispered, eyes finally opening, glossed over with pain. Jake tried to move him so that he was laying on his back, and he obeyed, face scrunching up with pain.

Jake frowned. Kyle had a large gash slashed across his stomach, deep and red, bleeding profusely.

"Gods... What the hell happened to you?" he asked, digging through the small satchel he carried with him, looking for something, anything, to try and cover Kyle's wound and staunch the bleeding.

"I..." he paused, taking a quick gasp of air, "I was looking around for fields here... I heard I could grow fall crops here, and the plot in the first area isn't big enough... I guess it was a bad idea to try and go further in." he chuckled, or at least tried to, having been cut off by the pain it induced.

"Idiot..." Jake snarled, pressing a large amount of gauze into the gash. Kyle gasped and struggled, but Jake held him down. "As far as you know, you have no experience with fighting. What made you think you could handle the monsters in this dungeon?"

"Wishful thinking?" Kyle joked, his small smile quickly changing into a grimace and a cry of pain when Jake pressed harder, the blood seeping through the gauze and coating his hands. It stunk, it stunk so bad it was making him dizzy. He turned his head away in disgust.

"Fucking hell." Jake snarled, glancing back down to Kyle, who was breathing heavily, eyes both watching him and not watching him. "I can't move you like this. I'm going to have to go get help.”

"I can't move ya like this. I have to go get help." Jake sighed, aggravated. Not only was this human annoying, but careless, too, and now he had to play hero!

"O- oh, okay..." Kyle said quietly, his breathing still heavy. "I'll be here..."

Jake snorted at his poor attempt at humor, standing up and rushing out of the trees. The human's blood was on his hands. It reeked, oh how it reeked.

It would reek even more if he died...if he died because he couldn't get to Natalie in time…

Jake ran through the forest, sprinting past monsters and portals, nearly jumping over the bridge in one bound. He took the sharp turn down towards the North Square, cutting through the de Sainte - Coquille Park into the East End of town, where the Alvarna Clinic was.

He opened the door with more force than was strictly necessary, and Ray snapped his head up from inside, where he was standing at the desk leafing through some papers.

"Jake? What-"

"Where's your mother?" he asked quickly, walking towards the infirmary where she normally worked.

"Right here." She said, popping her head out the door. "Is something wrong?" she raised an eyebrow at Jake, spotting the blood on his hands. "Are you hurt?"

"No." He said quickly. "The new kid is. Found 'im in the Valley. Come with me."

He turned around quickly, stalking out the door. Natalie rushed back into the infirmary, quickly grabbing a first aid kit and running back out.

"Ray, get the stretcher. If Jake didn't bring him with him, he must have had trouble moving him." Natalie ordered, rushing after Jake. Ray did what he was told, carrying the large unwieldy thing out the door.

.~.~.~.~.

Author’s Note: At this point I had an I hate my life moment. Oh, woe is an author submitting herself to National Novel Writing Month. *posts in the I Hate Myself And Want To Die thread on the NaNo forums*

.~.~.~.~.

Jake led Natalie and Ray to where Kyle was quickly, the three of them somehow managing to dodge all the monsters that threatened their quickness. They passed through the Valley, finally reaching where Kyle lay, not having moved from the position Jake hand left him. The gauze he had laid across his stomach was completely tainted with his blood, not a single speck of white was still visible. It staunched and dyed his clothes, running in ribbons down his sides, smeared on his sleeves and arms from when he was curled up on himself.

“Oh my…” Natalie said quietly, kneeling beside him, opening her first aid kit with a quick flourish. Jake backed off so Ray could get to the other side of him, and then went even further, just outside the break in trees.

He was worried. Why was he worried? Why did he care? His heart… was beating so frantically. This was just some stupid human, one he didn’t know at all, nor care to know. What did he care that he died? Why did he even feel the urge to help him in the first place? He didn’t – doesn’t – like humans.

Kyle cried out as he was lifted by Natalie so that Ray could push the stretcher underneath him. Jake cringed visibly, such an anguished cry made it feel like needles were flowing through his veins.

Why did he feel such a pull towards this human? The only thing he wanted was to rush up to him and hold him, make the pain stop. What was this urge? Why did seeing him in pain hurt him so much?

What was this?

What was this feeling?

“Jake. Can you lead the way?” Natalie huffed, breathless. She watched him carefully, an eyebrow arched. Jake quickly schooled his expression – and wondered for a moment what it might have looked like when she looked at him – and nodded, pulling his katana back out again.

Hopefully Kyle would be okay. But why did he care so much?

.~.~.~.~.

Jake led them as far as the door to the Alvarna Clinic. He didn’t allow himself any farther. Kyle’s blood was still on the doorknob.

The trip had caused quite the commotion, in such a small town it was nearly impossible to miss three people carrying someone on a stretcher. Jake didn’t want any part of it. He didn’t want to be asked questions or be drilled for information. He wanted none of this.

He didn’t want this feeling of panic, of terror. He was afraid. Frightened. Terrified that Kyle would die. Why? Suddenly, that human meant something to him. He wanted to figure out why.

He turned around and walked off, even as Mana called out to him from the door of the Pumpkin General Store. She asked him to wait. He did not care, and did not wait.

Why?

.~.~.~.~.

What was happening to him? What was it about Kyle that made him different? Why was he different? He was just a human. Just like all the others in town, he wasn't any different...

Or was he? He had the strangest feeling when he met him, like he wasn't just a being walking on the Earth, like all the other humans seemed to be. He was the earth, was a part of the land, a connection Jake had never seen in anyone except those of his kind. Except in people like him, who were of the race closest to the gods, he had never felt that sense of belonging. It was so strange.

Was that it? Was that strange, small connection between the two of them all he needed to start caring? He, Jake, who Max took great pleasure in describing as a cold hearted bastard? He didn't care about anyone but himself, and maybe his father and Cecilia.

Or was it something else?

He groaned, rubbing his face in anguish, sprawled on top of his bed, his weapons scattered across the floor in a messy line. Cecilia had almost had a cow when she saw Jake walk in, his hands bloody and he himself looking a little haggard. It took several minutes and the washing of his hands to prove to her that the blood wasn't his, and to calm her down enough so that he could tell her it was Kyle's. She had freaked out at first, thinking that he had attacked Kyle (which he was greatly offended by, he did not attack worthless humans), but he managed to assure her he had done no such thing and that Kyle was at the clinic. She had already rushed out in a flurry. The Ruby was still on the dining room table.

He did not know. He honestly, truely, did not know why he cared. Or why he cared about why he cared. Why was he putting so much thought in it anyway?

He had suddenly grown a heart for this human. And only this human, for reasons unbeknownst to him. What the hell.

He would just have to stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it and see what happens.

Oh, and avoid Kyle at all costs. Yes, that sounded like a nice idea.

. ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ .

Author's Note: I AM ENDING THE CHAPTER because I fail and can't seem to make myself make the timeskip without it. Plus, this chapter is INSANELY long and makes me cry with how much it rambles and fails in general. But this is National Novel Writing Month (see how I write it out completely every single time? Author's Notes are adding to my wordcount, woo hoo!) so rambling is nice. Oh, and I don't know what I want to do directly after this, and I stupidly unpaused Write or Die. I can only pause it once, and I have another... 650 or so words until I hit the goal and can quit. YAYAYAYAYAYAY I AM SMRT.

I might just skip ahead to the kissing, because I REALLY want to write that scene, and just read an AMAZING original fiction yaoi smut lime thing that made me sad because I didn't get my pronz and so incredibly happy because it was AMAZING and AWESOME and HOT and SEXY. 8D~

...I just sneezed all over the computer screen. XD Wooo, that made me dizzy... can you tell I'm just doing this for words? HEHEHE SO EBIL *shot*

.~ .~ .~ .~.

Lifeless Chapter 3 Part 1

Lifeless

Chapter 3 – Spring 5 Year 1

.~.~.~.~.

Jake stood from his stool in front of the furnace, weighing the weapon in his hand, testing its balance. It was a katana he had just finished making, long and curved slightly, the steel reflecting the light the furnace threw across the room. He had not polished it yet, so it wasn’t perfect, but it sure felt good in his hand. Heavy, but not too much so, and the handle was heavy enough to counter the blade’s weight so it wasn’t uncomfortable to hold.

All in all, he was very proud of it. He swung it a few times to test it, and it cut through the air smoothly. He smiled subtly; he was proud of his work. The hilt was black, made with a tough tortoise shell and the handle was wrapped in a perfect criss – cross pattern with a white cloth. He put it down on the table, pulling out the things he needed to begin polishing it to a strong luster.

“What do we have here? You’re done with it already?” Tanya said from behind him, leaning heavily over his shoulder, arm around his neck.

“Hey, get off ‘a me, human! I’m not an armrest!” Jake protested, pushing her off and hurrying off to the side. Personal space, personal space!

“All right, sorry, love. I just wanted to get a good look, and you were taking up all the space in front of the table.” She grinned and chuckled, turning back to the katana on the table. She picked it up, examining it. She murmured to herself quietly, mumbling things even his sharp elven hearing couldn’t quite pick up as she scrutinized her work. He scowled as she tossed the blade lightly, probably to test its balance, and held it level with her face to check the angle and if the blade was warped at all. She lowered the blade, giving Jake a small smile. He merely raised an eyebrow, arms crossed impatiently.

“Hey, this is pretty good, kid. Feels good in my hand.” She backed off a little, swinging it around at invisible targets. “I’m impressed, Jake. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good.” She let the blade turn in her hand so that the handle was facing up, and handed it to Jake.

“Hn.” Jake grunted in response, taking the blade back and laying it on the table again. Of course it’s good, I made it. He smirked internally, busying himself with polishing it.

It was the best thing he had made all week. Good thing that tomorrow was a holiday, he would finally get the chance to go out and test it.

.~.~.~.~.

Spring 5 Year 1

Red, orange, yellow, brown. A few specks of green. He was surrounded by color everywhere; every tree looked like a painter had splashed them with bright watercolor. He knew by the color that he had to be in Messhina Valley, the dungeon of the fall season, but he couldn’t place where. The river flowed silently beside him, but this was a section of the Valley that he had not ever set foot in, at least not in his recent memory. He shivered. It was eerily silent. The world seemed to be on standstill – there wasn’t even a breeze, which was highly strange.

He spun around quickly, scrutinizing his surroundings. Why was it so quiet? And what was this strange feeling? It was almost like he was being watched, he could feel it. But there was no movement, no sound. He listened for a selkie, any kind of spirit, but without any wind, and with the river being so quiet he could sense none. There were just the trees, still as stone. Just what was watching him, what was causing this feeling?

He felt around his sides, breathing out in relief when he felt a sword at his side, its sheath hooked to his belt. It was his katana, freshly polished and deathly sharp – he had spent a good amount of time sharpening and polishing it to perfection the day before.

He pulled the sword out as a precaution, moving around stealthily, ears perked and eyes alert for any sound or movement. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing. Just what was going on?

An abrupt scream echoed around the forest, so high pitched and shrill he squeezed his eyes shut as his ears burned from the sensation. His heartbeat quickened in panic – who just screamed?! Someone was in trouble!

“Who’s there?” he shouted, eyes darting quickly around. Another scream and he spun on his heel, heading in the direction he heard it coming from.

It was across the river, he just knew it. He ran alongside it, the water churning violently along. He wondered when the current had gotten so strong – and for that matter, when the wind started blowing again – but that didn’t matter, all that mattered was who was screaming and why.

He wasn’t the generous and helpful type, but even he, cold hearted as he tried to be, couldn’t leave whoever was in trouble alone to be killed by the monsters.

He heard another scream, closer this time, but there was still no bridge. Just where had it gone!? He quickened his pace, running full speed along the river in a panic, heartbeat wild.

His eyes caught a flash of blue and white; a figure laying on the ground. He skidded to a halt, nearly falling into the raging current of the river.

The figure was a man, dressed in blue and white, with a mop of messy red hair on his head. He just barely realized who it was before everything went black. Kyle?!

.~.~.~.~.

Jake awoke to the sounds of Cecilia in the next room, talking quietly to his father Egan. He sat up, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. What a strange dream…it was so surreal. He never dreamed about the humans in town, either… and it was so… real. That new human, Kyle… he was laying in a pool of blood. He could still smell it, sour and metallic. It burned his nose even still. Just what had he seen, and why? Why did he dream about Kyle dying?

He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. It was just a dream, and meant nothing. So why was he so panicked, why did it that image pain him so much? Why did he care? He heard Cecilia and his father talking quietly in the kitchen, and he only listened for a few moments before he realized they were talking about cooking – it sounded like Cecilia had discovered a new recipe and was excited to try it out later that evening at the de Sainte – Coquille’s for dinner – and decided to ignore it in favor of glancing at the clock. Six in the morning, on the dot. He got out of bed, stretching. Today was finally the holiday, so he didn’t have to go to Tanya’s for his training. He had the whole day to test out the weapons he had made over the week, and he was feeling rather excited, weird nightmare aside.

He dressed quickly, walking out of his room into the small kitchen. Cecilia was busying herself at the stovetop, cracking what looked like eggs into a skillet while Egan was sat at their small dining table, sipping some tea and staring out the window. Jake pulled out a chair and sat down next to his father.

“Good morning, Jake.” Cecilia said over her shoulder, shaking the pan she was cooking in. “Did you sleep well?”

“Fine.” He responded curtly, standing up and grabbing a cup from the cupboard next to her, filling it with water from the tap. That was a lie, but he really wasn’t in the mood to tell her that, and have to deal with her fawning over him – because she would. Plus, the dream was so odd, so unusual for him… she would probably take it wrong if he explained it to her. Knowing her, she would probably think it was somewhat prophetic, and then involve Kyle, which he didn’t want. He had absolutely no interest in any contact with him, and some silly dream wasn’t going to change that.

“So what are you going to do today, Jake?” Egan asked, taking another sip of his tea as Jake sat down with his drink.

“I made a few new swords this week, so I’m going to go into the dungeons to test them out.” The contents of the skillet sizzled harshly as Cecilia continued cooking, humming quietly as she worked.

“I see. Well, be careful.” Egan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Egan was, by human standards, rather old at over a hundred, but he probably only looked like he was in his early forties due to his elven blood. It showed every now and then, but not very often.

Jake was only a half – elf, so he could only hope to live half as long as his father, depending on how his human and elven blood mixed. It was a thought he had every so often, and often cursed it. Why did his human blood have to be such a pain in the ass?

“Yeah yeah.” Jake replied offhandedly, sipping his water and looking out the window. It was still rather dark, but the sun was just peeking over the horizon, painting the sky bright blue. Today was going to be a clear, sunny day, which he was thankful for. It would do him no good if it rained.

“Breakfast is ready!” Cecilia said cheerfully, placing a plate in front of him and his father before sitting down herself.

Jake ate in silence while Cecilia and Egan chatted, mostly about food and cooking. It was all they ever talked about, so Jake had gotten rather good at ignoring them. He wasn’t interested in cooking himself – if it was edible, he’d eat it. No big deal.

Although he wasn’t shy to admit (at least to himself) that he’d rather eat Cecilia’s cooking than anyone else’s.

“—Right, Jake?” Cecilia asked, her fork clinking on her plate.

“Huh?” Jake blinked, looking up from his food. He’d stopped paying attention a long time ago, and he arched an eyebrow in a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

“I said Kyle is pretty nice. He has been doing a lot of jobs for people around town recently, and he does a pretty good job. Look!” She leaned back, rifling through her apron pocket under the table for a few seconds before she brought her hand back out, holding a large sparkling red gem. “I asked him to go into the forest yesterday and get me a Ruby, but with one restriction – he couldn’t hurt any monsters. I would just feel terrible if anything was hurt because I wanted one. And he did it! I was so happy!” She smiled, setting the glimmering jewel on the table. Jake eyed it disdainfully.

“Why didn’t you just ask me? Why bother asking him?” Jake snorted, forking his scrambled eggs around the plate.

“Jake, I knew you would end up getting angry and attacking a monster, so I knew I couldn’t ask you.” She retorted, and Jake flinched. “Besides, I had something I wanted to give him, but I wanted to make sure he was the right person to have it.”

Jake blinked, scowling at her jab.

“Ah, the pet glove, right? You wanted to give him that so that he could tame the monsters to help him on his farm.” Egan said thoughtfully, twirling his tea cup in his hands.

“What? You gave him the pet glove?” Jake said, dropping his fork on his plate. “Why? That human would never be able to use it!”

“And how do you know that? Didn’t you feel anything from him when you met him? He’s definitely different, Jake. I think he would do very well.” Cecilia retorted, taking a bite of her breakfast.

“He is quite different.” Egan piped up, and Jake shot him a dirty look.

“He is just a stupid human, just like all the others. He’s not any different.” Jake snorted, picking his fork back up. “What a waste, you shouldn’t have given it to him.”

Cecilia frowned at him from across the table, but he ignored it in favor of his breakfast.

He finished quickly, leaving his plate at the table and heading back to his room. All the weapons he had painstakingly worked on the past week were propped up against the wall in a row – a claymore, katana, something else, something else, and something else. He carefully strapped them to himself, one by one, and stalked out the door.

“I’m leaving.” Jake huffed, giving the large Ruby still on the table a dirty look. That human… he was bad news. He was trying to worm his way into Cecilia’s heart, he could tell. He wasn’t about to let it happen – Cecilia was his.

“Bye Jake, be safe!” Cecilia said brightly from the sink, smiling cutely. Jake looked away quickly as he felt his face heat up a little, walking down the stairs quickly, and his weapons clanging together loudly.

“Yeah.” He called back.

The air outside was brisk and crisp, normal for a spring morning. He could smell the salt coming from the ocean spray, and it refreshed him.

He knew he had a small crush on Cecilia – she was the only one like him, after all, and she was so nice to him no matter what he did. But he wasn’t going to let anyone know, not yet. But he wasn’t going to let that stupid human get his hands on her, either. It was on.

He took the long way to Shooting Star Path, through Cherry Blossom Square, like he liked to do every day. Walking in the early morning hours was one of his favorite things to do – it was so peaceful, so quiet. It helped him to relax and organize himself, before he went out to do whatever labor- intensive job he had set himself up for that day, be it his blacksmith training or his training as a warrior.

Cherry Blossom Square was empty, like he expected. He strolled through, not in any hurry. Petals littered the ground, swirling around his feet in the light breeze, his weapons clanging together with every rhythmic step. The North Square was peaceful too, he didn’t even sense any movement coming from the new barn Kyle had had built with approval from Byron – that was a big deal around town, so of course Jake had heard of it, from Cecilia a few days before. Apparently the human wanted to tame and keep monsters, which had stirred up a few of the townspeople’s worries – how did they know that Kyle could control them? What if one got loose and started rampaging the town? What if one of them attacked someone who couldn’t defend themselves, like Cammy or Roy or Mana (Douglas pitched the biggest fit, if he recalled correctly) or Julia (who had no experience in defending herself and didn’t have even the first clue on what to do if a monster appeared) or Rosalind (Herman would be outraged if his little girl got hurt, even if she had a better chance than some of the other girls) or Dorothy or Alicia or some other girl? Jake would have Kyle’s head if Cecilia was hurt, he knew that. He doubted the human even had the ability to try such a thing, no human he had ever met had the ability (or the want, for that matter) to tame a monster.

But he had gotten a pet glove from Cecilia, she had blabbed on and on this morning about how he went in to Trieste Forest for her and got a Ruby for her without hurting any monsters, after all. So he had the ability, at least. They would see if he could use it right, though. Jake growled silently, eyes narrowing dangerously. Kyle was after Cecilia, he just knew it. Well, he wasn’t about to let that happen….

He walked down Shooting Star Path, stopping at the crossroads. What dungeon did he feel like going into? Padova Mountains held the strongest monsters, and the crisp winter air sounded like a nice idea – but he wouldn’t be able to spend a great amount of time in there, dressed as he was. Trieste Forest… the monsters were too weak for his taste – and he really didn’t want to deal with the long – range Orc Archers when all his weapons were various types of swords. Blessia Island was on the other side of town, so that was automatically out – besides, who wants to work in the summer heat, much less of their own volition? He only really went there unless he had something to do or was missing the summer weather when it was the dead of winter in town. So the only choice could be Messhina Valley…

He turned to the left, down the path to the Valley, but for some reason he paused. He had a strange feeling…. What was it?

Then it came to him – it was the same feeling of foreboding he had felt this morning… in that strange dream. He shook his head – he was acting silly. It was just a dream. It wasn’t like he was going to walk in, get lost, and then find Kyle bleeding on the ground… right? He couldn’t recall ever being prophetic… he never had the knack for it, even though he knew that some of his kind (elven side) held such abilities. Some humans did too – although their powers were more show and trickery than the real thing, case in point – Alicia. She was hardly ever right, and she knew it – so she always tried to MAKE her fortunes come true. Jake had almost threatened to disembowel her when he found out that she had read Cecilia’s fortune once, and it had read that she had to beware of stairs, and then made it her mission to try and make Cecilia take a fall down a flight or two.

He checked all of his weapons to make sure they were all there, took a deep breath, and walked in. No silly dream was going to prevent him from doing what he liked to do – fighting.

Lifeless Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! Again, this is completely unedited, so forgive it's suckiness. XD

Lifeless

Chapter 2 - Spring 4 Year 1

.~.~.~.~.

Jake hated humans. That was a known fact, and one he projected fiercely every second of every day. Stupid humans. They were frail, dimwitted, and constantly took advantage of things that weren’t theirs to take advantage of. They pillaged the land and slaughtered the innocent, blindly pushing forth to their own destruction.

And of course, whenever he announced these facts there was always some stupid human who knew him that would mock his sneer and say: “But aren’t you half human yourself?”

Well, he had a comeback for that. He was an elf. He heard and understood the land. He was stronger, faster, and more resistant to harm than any human. He was superior to them in every way that was of importance. It was not like his human half mattered anyway. He could live without it. He would prefer it if it didn’t exist at all.

.~.~.~.~.

“Mmmmm…” Kyle groaned, stretching in the morning sunrise outside the door to the farmhouse. It was going to be a nice day, he could just tell. The sky was clear, and the sunrise contained no red; just a warm yellow glow as it rose to start the day. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle caught a shock of green moving around on the far end of the field. Now, normally, a bit of green on a farm wouldn’t be anything to take note of, creating green (and various other colors) is what it’s for. But this particular green just so happened to be attached to a boy, who was digging holes in a corner of the field.

“Uh…. Roy, what are you doing?” Kyle deadpanned when he reached him, causing him to jump. Roy turned around, flushing red.

“Hello, Kyle… I was just looking for some things of mine.” Roy said, scratching his head nervously. “I buried some of my treasures out here a while ago for safe-keeping, but now you’re going to be using this field, so I thought I’d go and get them before you found them unexpectedly.” He smiled, looking worried that he was getting in trouble.

“Oh, okay.” Kyle said calmly. “That’s fine; just make sure you fill your holes back up.” He smiled brightly, causing Roy to relax and smile back. “You’re basically just tilling the land for me, so go ahead.”

“Okay, sure!” He said, continuing to dig. As Roy searched for his treasures, Kyle went to work; pulling weeds and unwanted grasses, smashing up rocks, and cutting up branches.

“So, how do you like Alvarna so far?” Roy asked enthusiastically, filling in a hole as he moved on to dig another.

“It’s nice here. Everyone is very kind.” Kyle grunted, chopping at a particularly stubborn stump.

“Have you gone into any of the dungeons yet?”

Kyle paused, wiping his brow. “Yeah, I poked around a little bit. Douglas was telling me how the dungeons stay one season all year round, so I could plant crops there no matter the season in town, but I saw a whole lot of monsters running about so I didn’t stay long.” He replied, absentmindedly swinging his axe over his shoulder. “I should really get a good sword, just in case…”

“Oh, you want a sword? Why didn’t you say so before?” Roy beamed, standing up in a rush and running to the stone bridge spanning the small river that cut between the farm and the town. Spinning around, he beckoned Kyle to come. “You should come to my house! My mom runs a blacksmith shop; she’s really good at that kind of stuff.”

.~.~.~.~.

“Jake! Pay attention to the furnace, you’re letting it cool down too much! Put more wood in it!” Tanya shouted from the railing, leaning over so she could see the dial on the side of the large furnace they used for blacksmithing.

“Hn,” Jake grunted, walking off to the back of the room to grab another pile of wood. He grabbed as many as his arms could carry, straining slightly under the large load before he dumped them next to the furnace door. Carefully he unlatched it, backing off and grimacing at the huge amount of heat that escaped. Quickly he threw the logs in, one by one, blowing more air into it as he went to fan the flames even hotter.

It was hard work, his training as a blacksmith. He had to constantly run back and forth between the furnace and the woodpile, carrying the lumber to keep the flames and heat going. He had to watch the metal inside so that it didn’t heat up too much or too fast, then pound it into the right shape. It took a lot of dexterity and strength, and a lot of guts too—it was a very dangerous job. But he loved it all the same. Fighting was his passion, so weapons were too. Oh the many nights he had spent dreaming about going to the capital to find a worthy opponent… That was his goal, his dream; to fight someone strong for real, one on one, no holds barred. No one in town would do that with him—they were all too much of a chicken, or were too far above or below his skill level. He had asked Tanya several times, and she had agreed, but never seemed to have the time. She’d always tell him “Sure, I’ll fight you! Don’t expect me to go easy on you, though!” and then she would never agree to any plans.

He settled for fighting the monsters in the dungeons on his days off, but that never could be a good substitute. The monsters were too stupid, too easily tricked and outsmarted. They weren’t fast enough or strong enough to prove to be much of a match, and he despised having to fight them. None of them were strong enough anymore, and hadn’t been for years.

He growled quietly in frustration, flipping the door to the furnace shut again and locking the latch. The dial had risen back to the appropriate temperature, and he busied himself with collecting the proper tools to pull the lengths of metal out so they could be tempered.

The ring of the bell over the door distracted him, pulling his attention to the doorway. He scowled—it was that annoying little human spawn of Tanya’s pulling along the new human from the other day, the one he met in the bath house. Kyle was standing awkwardly in the doorway, looking around the room hesitantly while Roy bounced around, yelling and pointing out random things. Finally his eyes landed on him, and it took all of Jake’s power not to suck in a breath. He quickly looked away, turning back to the furnace.

What was that? He just had the oddest feeling when their eyes met… there was something strange in those eyes. He couldn’t quite place it, but… there was definitely something different about Kyle. When their eyes met, he was hit with a jolt, like someone had delivered him a shock of static electricity down his spine. There was something inherently different about him… he had felt it when they met in the bath house, that feeling of being natural, of being connected to the land. But that was miniscule compared to what he had felt just now… Just what was he? It wasn’t anything he had ever experienced before from a human…or anything else, for that matter.

Jake shook his head minutely, ignoring Kyle and Roy in favor of picking the large heat – resistant tongs back up so he could start working. Whatever he felt from Kyle was not important – he was still a human.

“Mooom! I brought Kyle over!” Roy shouted, running to the railing where she stood.

“Hello, welcome!” Tanya shouted from above them, leaning over the railing on the landing. She waved, smiling at their arrival.

“Hello.” Kyle greeted back, glancing one more time at Jake before strolling over to where Tanya stood. She extended a hand, and Kyle took it.

“Ah, Kyle, was it? Douglas was telling me about you, you’re the one taking care of Misty Farm now, correct? It’s nice to finally meet you, love. I’m Tanya, and I run this little shop.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Kyle returned, watching as she gestured proudly to all the racks and shelves of weaponry and armor. Jake finished pulling out a length of metal from the furnace, setting it on the anvil with a clang and a hiss.

“I’m gonna go back outside, okay? Good luck with getting what you need, Kyle!” Roy said quickly, running back out the door like a small tornado. Kyle chuckled as he watched him go, and Jake flinched.

“Well, if you’re here, you must be looking for a weapon!” Tanya continued, bringing Kyle’s attention back to her. “What are you interested in? A quick sword? A heavy hammer? A hefty axe? A nice, sharp spear? What strikes your fancy?” She walked around, gesturing to various racks and shelves, all of which held as many sharp objects as would fit in them. The sharp clanging sound of metal on metal filled the room as Jake began pounding the metal into the shape of a long sword, mostly ignoring the exchange going on above him.

“Uh… I don’t know… I can’t recall ever using a weapon before, so I don’t know what I could use.” Kyle admitted, biting his lip as he timidly scanned the shelves.

“Ah, that’s right, I remember Roy mentioning that you don’t recall anything before coming here. That’s too bad.”

That attracted Jake’s attention; previously he had only been half-listening to their exchange in favor of hefting a length of metal out of the furnace and fashioning it into a sword. Kyle didn’t remember anything? Nothing at all? He had no memories of anything from before he came to this town, no family, no friends?

He frowned, scolding himself. What did he care? That was the human’s problem. He was obviously idiotic (or accident prone) enough to lose his memory, so what did it matter to him? He looked back at his sword – it was nearly done. He continued pounding.

“Well, then we’ll just have to start from the beginning! Don’t worry, I’ll get you just what you need, love. If there’s something you need to know about weaponry, I’m the girl to go to!” she laughed, smiling proudly. Kyle nodded back.

“Thanks, I will.”

“I just love swords, they’re my favorite type of weapon. Depending on the kind you get, you can be quick and fierce, or a an immobile wall of power. You know, many people call me obsessed. I don’t deny it, haha! I mean, look at this!” she sauntered over to a rack, carefully removing a sword which glimmered in the lamplight. It was a long zweihander; and the handle was made of gold with a ruby in the center, wrapped in a purple cloth. “Isn’t it beautiful? The way the metal shines and reflects the light? The razor – sharp edge? The carefully balanced and excellently crafted hilt? It’s incredible!” she exclaimed, fawning over the blade, running her hands along its gleaming razor sharp edge.

Jake rolled his eyes, returning his nearly – finished sword to the furnace to heat back up again. She was on another rant again…

He looked up while he waited, and was surprised to see that Kyle was watching him, an unsure look on his face, as if he was perplexed by how Tanya was acting and trying to ask if she acted like this often without saying anything. Jake smirked despite himself, turning his attention back to pulling his sword out again. He was in her clutches now, and he had no interest in distracting her.

“But, I think this sword might be a little out of your skill range, so how about we start from the beginning? A short sword is a good place to start, I think. Here!” Tanya continued, leading Kyle across the room to another shelf, reaching in and plucking one out. It was maybe about 5 inches long, with a plain bronze hilt. She placed it in his hand gently.

“Short swords are quick and easy to use, you can get a lot of hits in before your opponent has a chance to attack. But don’t think that you should just stick to this since it’s so quick – it doesn’t have a whole lot of power. When you get better, you should move up to bigger weapons. They swing slower, but pack a lot more punch!” Kyle nodded, weighing the sword in his hand experimentally. The sharp metallic repetitive bang of metal on metal sounded again as Jake began the finishing touches on his claymore.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Kyle looked up, and both he and Jake watched as Tanya scurried across the room, rifling through a drawer filled to the top with items tossed in there in a mess.

“Swords aren’t all there is to fighting. You can’t forget about skill seals! There’s a variety of kinds you can choose from, you just have to find them.” She pulled out a small green disk with a picture of a short sword emblazoned on it in silver. “This one in particular sends a shockwave of electricity at your opponent. It’s very handy, since it allows you to fight from a distance, and often stuns the opponent, so you can get in there without running the risk of getting hurt. You can have it for free, if you’d like.”

“Uh, sure. Thank you.” Kyle replied, taking the seal from her hand and looking it over before pocketing it.

“All right! I think we’ve got you all settled for today, love.” She clapped, grinning. “Just pay for that short sword there, and go out and have some fun! I hardly ever get the chance to go out and fight monsters, and none of them dare to come into town. It’s so boring~” she continued talking, even as Kyle counted out his gold and handed it to her.

“You be careful, now. Those monsters can be tricky sometimes, so watch your back!”

“I will. Thanks for all your help.” Kyle replied, putting away his new short sword.

“Anytime, love! Have a good time!” Tanya called as he walked down the steps toward the door. Jake ignored him in favor of pulling his nearly-finished claymore out of the furnace again, and after a few minutes of pounding he heard the bell over the door chime as Kyle left.

I wonder if I’ll go out there later and have to scrape him off the ground, Jake mused, throwing water on his finished blade. It hissed and sizzled, quickly turning into steam and swirling to the skies.

.~.~.~.~.

Author’s Note: Chapter 2, complete! 8D Finally~ This is absolutely terrible, but I hope you guys were at least mildly entertained. XD

Lifeless Chapter 1

A/N: This chapter was written before I started NaNo, and thus hasn't been included in my wordcount. It was actually written back in May, but I got distracted by other ideas and it sort of fell to the wayside. That would be why I'm writing this story for NaNoWriMo, so I can get it out before it disappears completely.

Thus, this chapter has been cleaned up and edited, so expect the quality to just go downhill after this. XD Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory 2. In this and all future chapters, I do not claim that I own any of these characters.

Lifeless

Chapter 1: Spring 2 Year 1- Pleased To Make Your Acquaintance

.~.~.~.~.

Jake loved this time of day. The clear sky, the brilliant color of the sun rising in the east, the birds fluttering and starting to peep out of their nests.

Which, really, was an unusual thing considering how he hated most everything else. But the early morning hours were a tranquil, quiet time; where the only sounds were the wildlife waking up to start the day. No noisy humans buzzing about, just him and nature, as it should be.

He was an elf, after all. Being an elf, he was very much attuned to the land around him, feeling what it felt, knowing the damage those humans did to it every day.

Although, the land had been different this morning. It seemed like nature was holding its breath, coiling up in anticipation for something. This sense of something approaching was actually the reason he was up so early, besides his normal early-bird habits. It wasn’t a bad feeling, really… just odd. Like the land was expecting something exciting to happen, at any moment.

As he arrived at Cherry Blossom Square on his usual route to the The Sharper Edge Blacksmithing, the feeling only intensified. Whatever it was the land was anticipating, it was going to happen here. He just knew it. He glanced around, quickly scanning the square for anything odd. All seemed… normal. The cherry blossoms were just opening in the morning sun, and soft petals littered the ground in their usual way. There was a breeze that rustled the trees, but it wasn’t particularly strong.

How… strange.

He would have to discuss it with Cecilia later on. Surely she will notice the strange anticipation in the air, wouldn’t she? Maybe something during the day would give him an answer.

But, for now, there was nothing but to continue his stroll, off for another day of blacksmith training with Tanya. Sure, he hated humans, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take advantage of their knowledge, right?

.~.~.~.~.

Jake stood up from his stool and stretched, rolling his shoulders to loosen those muscles that had grown tight during his day’s work of pounding steel in front of the blazing heart of the furnace before him. He exhaled sharply, pulling at his collar, feeling the dampness of his sweat drenching his turtleneck. A bath would be nice. But, not before going to see Cecilia. Besides walking her home from working at that overweight rich human’s over-extravagant mansion as he usually did, he did have this morning to discuss with her.

Despite the fact that the excited tension he could feel had dissipated since that morning, it still bothered him. It was… peculiar. Not something he could describe. It was similar to the sense of impending doom he often felt before a large storm, but… it wasn’t bad. Just the opposite, in fact. And it was irritating him with its mysteriousness.

He had not even noticed he was walking before he heard Cecilia’s voice calling to him.

“There you are, Jake. You’re late.” She smiled, looking pretty in her usual work attire. He frowned. Okay, he had not just admitted he liked seeing Cecilia dressed as a maid. No, he most certainly did not. He simply shrugged his shoulders at her, having no explanation for his tardiness.

Cecilia sighed as they began walking. But her depression at his silence didn’t last long, as she filled the space between them with her own words, like she usually did.

“Oh, Jake! Did you hear about this morning?” She piped up, flashing that pretty grin at him again. Her eyes danced with excitement, like she had this big juicy secret dancing around her head that she just had to get out.

“What about this morning?” He humored her, mind wandering back to his experience in the square again.

“A man came to town today.” She replied, grin growing wider. “His name is Kyle.”

Jake snorted. “So what? A lot of people come through this town, it’s a port. What, is he staying at the inn?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Or is there something particularly special about his human?” he spat, looking away. He had better not been flirting with Cecilia, he threatened internally.

She sighed. “No, he is not staying at the inn. His living arrangements are a bit more permanent than that. He is taking over Douglas’ farm." Jake raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more.

"Rosalind heard from Max, who heard from Julia, who heard from Roy that Mana and Douglas were taking someone to the farm. She dragged me over there today to go check it out." She giggled. "We ended up hiding in the bushes watching him clean out the field there for most of the day."

"You spied on the new human." He shook his head in disbelief, grumbling as they walked in the door to the inn.

"Well... yes, we did." Cecilia admitted, flushing deep red. She shyly brought her hands to her face in an attempt to cover her blush.

Sneakily taking note of how cute she looked when embarrassed, Jake rolled his eyes, his arms crossed as he tapped his foot on the floor. "Whatever," he said, sighing for the umpteenth time that day. "I'm going to go take a bath." He headed for the door, before stopping halfway through it. "Oh yeah. Did you notice anything... odd, this morning?"

"Yes, now that you mention it..." she said thoughtfully, before replying; "Maybe it was because of Kyle? That's the only thing that I can think of that happened today." Jake groaned, scrunching up his face in distaste at the mention of the human man again.

Cecilia frowned at him. "I wish you would quit the 'I hate humans' thing. Humans aren't inherently bad. And the people in town are nice. You would get along a lot better with everyone if you would just stop being so stubbornly intolerant," she huffed. Jake snorted indignantly again.

"Sorry, but that's one wish I can't grant you." Jake responded dryly, shutting the door behind himself.

.~.~.~.~.

"Welcome!" Julia greeted as the door to the bath house opened with a chime.

"Hn." Jake grunted, fishing in his pockets for coins to place in her outstretched hand. He pulled at his turtleneck again, the heat and steam from the baths getting to him. It wasn't as hot as the forge, no, but that heat was contained and something that could be avoided. Not the bath house - the heat and steam encased and engulfed all who entered in its own personal bear hug. Whether the hug was enjoyed or not was up to the individual. Sometimes he wondered how Julia could stand being in there all day, but he could admit that it felt nice after being out in the chilly night-time spring air.

"Okay, have a nice bath!" Julia smiled, money in hand, and headed toward the counter as Jake took a step toward the male bath. "Oh, wait a second, Jake."

"What?" he huffed, sounding irritable.

"Just so you know, there's someone in the bath right now."

"Who?"

Julia shrugged, then smiled again, waggling an eyebrow. "I don't know him, he just came into town. I heard about Douglas and Mana taking him to Misty Farm earlier today. He said his name was Kyle when he came in."

Jake furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the entrance to the men's bath. The guy Cecilia was talking about was in here, eh? Well, he didn't sense anything particularly strange... which meant that chances were what he and Cecilia had experienced that morning had to be related to something else. Either that, or he was losing his touch...

Deciding on the former, he strode for the door.

"Huh? Wait, Jake? Where are you going?" Julia sputtered. "Aren't you going to go take a bath?"

"Later. I don't bathe with humans." he replied sourly, grabbing the handle to the door.

"Hey! You know that's not true! I know you used to bathe with Max all the time when you were little!" Julia protested, earning a particularly piercing glare from Jake. She was undeterred, however. Putting her hands on her hips, she continued, "Stop being such a dick and get your ass over there."

Jake snorted, and opened his mouth to snap a harsh comment back before another voice came from the opposite side of the room.

"Is everything okay out here?" Jake turned, and in the doorway to the men's bath stood a young man, about 20 years of age. He was fully dressed in baggy blue shorts with white zigzags down the sides, a white short-sleeved turtleneck with blue trim on the sleeves, and a beige leather chest plate. His auburn hair was wet and rumpled under a towel draped over his head and what looked like a blue and white headband was slung over his shoulder. The man's chocolate eyes darted worriedly between Jake and Julia, he had to admit: there was something... different about him. It wasn't blatantly obvious; Jake was sure it was only something an elf could pick up. It was interwoven into him, its subtle nuances seeping out through his movements, through those eyes. He seemed... natural. Rooted to the land. He was strange for a human, that was for sure.

But of course, different so he seemed, he was still a human.

"Yes, I was just leaving." Jake snapped, turning back to open the door.

"If you were going to take a bath, don't let me get in your way. I'm done, you can go ahead." Kyle gestured, stepping out of the archway and up to a still-glaring Jake. "I don't think we've met yet. I'm Kyle." He held out his hand, waiting for Jake to take it.

"Jake." he responded simply, ignoring the hand and opening the door. "Don't talk to me again, human." He walked off, letting the door slam behind him.

"Oh jeez." Julia sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose as Kyle watched the door close inquisitively, his hand falling back to his side. "I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be apologizing for him, but I'm sorry about that. Jake has... never been every sociable."

"That's alright..." Kyle responded absentmindedly, eyes still on the door. How... peculiar.

.~.~.~.~.

Hi Everyone!

This is the first post to this blog! Hooray! 8D *party poppers and confetti*

This blog will be strictly about my writing. I'll post my fanfiction (mostly things I can't post on FFN without maybe getting in trouble, otherwise I will just link), little excerpts from things I am currently working on, and rant about writing in general.

For the foreseeable future, this blog will be all about National Novel Writing Month. Here I'll post my NaNoNovel AS I WRITE IT. *gasp* Since it is the 9th already, I'll have a few posts of catching up, but after that I'll just post what I have written over the course of the day as I go to bed. I will warn you: It will be terrible. I will ramble. I will be redundant. There will be stupidly long author's notes. This is all in the pursuit of words. I will make it to 50,000! My third year will finally be the year I win! *genki pose* I am not afraid of the dirty ways to do it! XD

Thanks for coming by, and I hope you enjoy your stay!