Seth turned around once by default of his daze and got a glimpse of his surroundings. He stopped on one foot and took a step in the direction of his friend, not wanting to be lost. He then remembered the little bit of an argument Michael had gotten into with Marcia. Nervously, Seth traced a black, bracelet-like marking on his wrist and continued to step behind Michael. He didn't remember much from earlier that day other than blurs of people and conflict, so he decided to just stay quiet yet again.

Michael gently grabbed hold of Seth's hand and kept him close when he got all silent, you know- to make sure he wouldn't lose him. He let his brown hair fall in front of his midnight blue eyes as they walked. Marcia was his friend, Ariel was his friend, Seth- Seth was more than just a friend, even if they only knew each other for two day. He had been more than just a friend since the very beginning, he just didn't fully understand it. 'I like you...' He thought to himself.

He didn't let go until they were inside the barrier and saw Marcia outside. When she walked towards them Michael came to a halt, his eyes serious. "You boys actually did it, you saved the kids. But aren't you a little young to be hero's?" She lightly folded her arms over her chest. Michael shakes his head. "Nope." She sighs and chuckles. "Welcome back."

Seth blushed crimson when he felt Michael take a hold of his hand. His face remained blank but his eyes were full of surprise and mild shock. 'Michael-' he thought for a moment before he was interrupted. To Seth, the barrier of the village literally hit him like a wall. He smacked right into it and if it weren't for his momentum he would have stopped walking. His senses were drained to almost nothing and he made note to somehow thank his companion afterwards for keeping him on his feet. After a few seconds, he could make out shapes and eventually sharper pictures like the figure of Marcia standing in front of him.

"So they're safe at home," he said with relief. He fought the urge to question how they got home. 'That isn't important,' he reassured himself. While he was still missing Ariel, Seth knew deep down that the little trio, quartet, quintet- 'Whatever we're called..'- was a hero from the inside out. He squeezed Michael's hand and hugged him within the same breath. "We did it!" he exclaimed.

Michael smiled and tightly hugged Seth back. Marcia averted her eyes and cleared her throat lightly. "The chief has a gift for each of you on the village's behalf- since he's spending quality time with his son, I will be delivering them to you." She pulled out a dagger with some ancient writings on them and held it out for Seth to take. "Seth, this is for you. Ariel received a necklace and Michael- your gift is from me personally. It's at the house in you and Seth's room by the bed."

It took Seth a moment to realize what Marcia had said. He turned to face Marcia and stood in awe when he saw the blade. He still kept one hand tightly connected to Michael's, but he accepted the gift. He almost dropped it at first- there was a sharp sting just like the one from his crystallized-tree shard, but for some reason the pain went away and it felt even more comfortable in his grip than his old dagger. He turned it around in the dim light and tried to read the writings. Seth gave up after a few seconds. He wondered what Ariel would end up doing with a necklace. Seth knew that spirits could be solid at some points.. 'Didn't she say she could phase through just about anything?' he wondered.

Seth's train of thought gave into the flow of the event and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth when he heard of Michael's 'personal' gift. Despite his severely damaged physical structure, Seth found that he was even more energized with a happiness that seemed to be new to him. "Michael, go see it~" he pleaded, on his toes and ready to follow.

Marcia chuckled and gestured to the house before walking to the lake. The chief had something for Krystal as well. Michael nodded to Seth's plea and headed towards the house, keeping a light grip on Seth's hand. He walked into the house paused for a moment to see Ariel on the couch sleeping peacefully with her necklace [ http://thesilvermaple.com/images/nec...cklace.jpg.jpg ] around her neck and no stain on her arm- which didn't make since to him- but he then continued down the hall.

[ Seth's dagger: http://theswordlord.com/library/1923...monyDagger.gif ]

[[ Jeeze, these gifts are freaking epic. >o< ]]

When Seth got inside the house, he was taken by surprise with Ariel's appearance. He strained his eyes to see a clearer picture of her, cursing himself for having such bad long-term decision making. Seth looked at Michael and decided that he wasn't hallucinating as he saw Michael's glance to the spirit as well. Seth realized that Ariel had in fact made it back unharmed. 'The-' he began to think when he saw her arm. Seth wasn't resistant to Michael's hold, though, so he quickly sheathed his dagger in his custom blade-designed pocket and continued through the house as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place whatsoever.

[ well, they are from the chief~ ^^' ]

Michael continued to the room and blinked, almost hesitating before walking up to a midnight blue acoustic guitar with blue flames coming off the bottom of the body and looping around the mouth and a jet black neck. [ or: http://www.guitarnoize.com/images/bl...nk_trufire.jpg ] It is was in top condition, not even a single scratch, smudge, or smear was seen on the body. But it wasn't brand new. He'd recognized the structure from when he was a child. If we wanted to remember anything about his parents, it was their love for music.

[[ I am going to kill my browser. >:c I already typed up this post. T^T ]]

Seth glanced behind himself as he walked through the door into the room Marcia let Michael and himself use, no longer tracing the blade he felt so at-home with in his pocket. He peeked out from behind his companion and his eyes lit up when they saw the gorgeous acoustic. The flames seemed to dance in the moonlight, so Seth blinked once to shake that illusion- 'No, it's real!' he thought. He clapped his hands together and spun around in a circle before stopping somewhere in the middle of the room. "Michael, you can play~?" he asked charmingly. He guessed that Marcia most likely wouldn't pick up an amazing instrument to give for a first-timer. "You've got to show me sometime," he added, somewhat surprised with his own outgoing burst.

[[ i hate it when that happens >< ]]

Michael went to gently pick up the acoustic and sat on the bed with the guitar positioned it to play. "Why not now?" He smiled. "Something I learned form watching my parents..." He closed his eyes and starting strumming with great care. [[ Sterling Knight Hero Acoustic - YouTube ]]

Seth moved quickly enough to sit himself down beside Michael before he began to play. Seth closed his eyes and listened to the song, smiling sometime in the middle of Michael's performance and looking away timidly once he really thought about the lyrics for a moment. You'd be anyone's hero,' he thought as his attention turned back to the blue-flamed body of the acoustic.

When the song finished, Michael slowly opened his eyes gently laid the guitar in a resting position. Marcia was listening from a distance, smiling with her hair covering her eyes. She left the area without anybody knowing she was ever there to begin with, kissed Ariel on the forehead then went to bed.

Seth's eyes darted quickly to the room's door once the silence settled in- he thought he saw a shadow, or heard footsteps- but he quickly dismissed that concept having seen enough minor illusions that day. "Amazing," he marveled. He laid back sideways against the blanket on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. He could tell that his hair was still a little wet from his little swim. Seth's focused fixed on Michael briefly, captivated in another sea of midnight, and he offered a small smile that streamed through his dim exhaustion. 'Your eyes,..' he managed to string that much of a thought together before it wandered freely.

Michael picked the guitar back up and just strummed for the fun of it, soft and gently with delicate fingers. It almost sounded like a lullaby though the way he played, even if it was carelessly.

The state of sleep gradually pulled at Seth like vines from the ground as Michael continued to play his sweet music. Seth curled over on his side facing Michael and playfully made the motion of being injured. He covered his face in his hands and smirked. "No~! Don't do that- I'll be out like a light~--" he cut himself off short immediately after realizing the strange twist in which he put his words. It scared him to think about the loss of control over his own mind slowly crawling back from that same day- the tone he'd spoken during his sparring event. Seth peered through his fingers, still grinning at Michael. "Are you tired at all..?"

[[ gotta love Seth! XD ]]

Michael stopped and looked at Seth with a amused smirk and chuckled. "What would like me to play?" He tilted his head curiously. He blinked and pondered before shaking his head. "To be honest, not really." Michael replied quietly and quite honestly.

Seth fought back an urge to yawn and crash completely as he listened to Michael, but it was difficult since he simply felt so 'at home' in that environment. He was definitely envious of Michael's ability to be casually awake. Still, Seth held onto his consciousness with his best efforts to try and stay awake as well. "Play what you want to play," he suggested,

Michael sighed softly. He had too much on his mind to sleep. "I don't want to keep you awake if you're tired..." He smiled a little and gazed at Seth before slowly leaning towards him, eyes locked. When he was only inches from his friend's face he stopped himself, pulled back with his brown hair covering his eyes, slowly stood and went to leave the room. "Get some sleep, Seth." He said quietly, avoiding eye contact and hiding his crimson cheeks.

[[ Awh, Michi why did you stop~ ToT ]]

Seth was about to sit up and protest Michael's claim, but he was interrupted by silence and the strange feeling that the space between the two of them was getting smaller. Seth's heartbeat suddenly jumped into a quick flutter and stayed that way for the moment. He wasn't sure what he was on the inside, but he felt his own face flush a little, especially when Michael had turned and left with a short cover-line. Seth sat completely upright and tried to clarify what was going on. Before he could even think to say anything, the instant had already passed just as quickly as it came and he was bewildered with what had happened. "Good night," he quietly added afterwards, looking away and folding his arms together.

He sat in silence for what felt like a long time, until he could see his dim shadow in a significantly altered place than it had been. Seth didn't know what to think, or even how he could think if he had the choice. Finally, though, pure exhaustion got the best of his best and before long Seth was indeed out like a light.

[[ he's just... he's afraid to admit to falling in love because he doesn't want to be hurt or hurt the one he loves.. again... :( ]]

Michael walked out of the house as swiftly and silently as a shadow. He left the barrier and headed to the river to sit with Krystal who lifted her head. Setting aside the guitar he punched the tree his dragon was under as hard as he could, tears trickling down his crimson cheeks. Krystal cooed softly and nuzzled her pained rider gently in attempt to comfort him. "Not Seth... I've lost every other person I loved... I won't lose him too..." He whispered quietly. Krystal nuzzled him again and cooed softly in a motherly tone.

[[ *squee* amg, what happened? ]]

The first bit of Seth's sleep was horrific. They were filled with nightmares. Specifically, the ones related to 'types of angels' or so he called them. Onyx-related nightmares meant that there was more to burn under the village's guard. After three or four terrorizing wake-up calls, Seth shifted so he was upright in a sleep-deprived daze. He cursed the village for being protected so well, but he stopped in the middle of a mental rant when he realized what it also meant..

Seth looked at the markings across his hands. "I guess we all have our reasons for doing strange things.." He leaned back into his pillow and looked out across the horizon. 'Back at the houses, in the sparring..' he thought. The image of Michael floated into his mind and he smiled. Soon afterwards, Seth was drifting soundlessly in and out of a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

[[ i can't explain it~ ;-; ]]

Michael had literally taken his conflict of emotions out on the tree until his knuckles were beyond bloody and completely scratched up until his mind blacked out and he fell to the ground unconscious. He'd passed out from over-working himself. Krystal had stretched her wing out under him, as a way to support him so he didn't hit the hard ground then licked his knuckles as to clean them.

[[ last post, nini! ]]

Seth woke up at another interval sometime in the middle of the night after he'd just gotten himself asleep for longer than a few minutes. He had stayed put motionlessly through the entire time. 'It's no longer night, though..' he thought. Seth sat up slowly and looked out the window- the sky wasn't midnight-black anymore. It was a slightly lighter shade of blue, even more-so on the other side of the horizon. Seth didn't understand why he'd woken up so early, but he felt refreshed as if he'd slept a week. 'Strange..' he thought. He wasn't disturbed by the waves of excruciating pain from the spirit stone- he only felt a little airy.

He quietly set his feet down to touch the floor and stood up. Seth didn't know exactly what he was doing or why but he followed his instincts and tiptoed across the hall anyway. He peeked into the other empty room that was offered as a guest-bedroom and frowned when he saw it was empty. '..Where are you..?' he wondered. He walked down the hallway, stealthy as ever, and made it silently out of the house. Seth slipped out of the main part of the village and headed towards the tree he knew Krystal would remain put by. He only saw one side of her at first, but Seth had a feeling she might know where Michael was. "Krystal~!" he shouted in a whisper across the distance between them.

[[ nova-chan, your signature- what happened..? ]]

[[ he died of a heart attack/ stroke- i'm not sure which but today's his 2yr memorial... ]]

Krystal lifted her head from its resting position around the sleeping Michael on her wing but didn't making a motion of moving anytime soon, making a soft cooing sound.

[[ Ah, I see.. I know the feeling. I used to have a lot of pets, but almost all of them have already either been put down already or gone away due to their old age/growing sicknesses. We still have statues up at my old house as symbols of their resting places. ]]

Seth was almost completely quiet in the grass towards Krystal until he saw Michael and her together. His eyes brightened up when he caught a glimpse of Michael. He rushed up to Krystal and reached out to hug her tightly, completely ignoring the miniature rage of nature from the spirit stone- Seth was in no way interested in boundaries. Once he'd released his grasp, he sat down next to the dragon and put a hand across the glittery scales. "I'm sorry to wake you," he said softly and sincerely. Seth kept a hand on Krystal like so and looked out across the skyline. Every so often, he turned back to watch Michael's sleep for a moment before he fell back into his thoughts and his gaze returned to the growing light.