[[ she's gonna do more than that o~o' nah, Ariel made her realize that to true love someone is to want that person be happy with every fabric of their heart- or something like that. I just just didn't wanna post the fight ^^' ]]

Michael's hearts sped up to the point where he thought Seth might be able to hear, and hoped to high heaven that he couldn't as he listened to him. When he felt the soft lips of his first true love, he blushed deeper and embraced him. Returning the kiss with a soft passion. Darkness seemed to flee like a colony of ants when it rains along with the bad memories. All he could think about was This dream-like moment.

[[ *laughs out loud*

Seth wished that the magic he was surrounded in never left. He could have sworn that he was floating on air and blushed even brighter when he felt Michael's embrace. Seth let go of his kiss with Michael after the brief moment and still felt like he was in the clouds. He smiled promisingly and looked away, shy to admit his liking of the situation he had brought himself to. His glance returned to Michael and he felt a slight longing that he couldn't place what it was about his friend that caused him to be so out of his once comforted zone. 'There's just something about you..' he thought happily.

Michael smiled when Seth let go of the kiss, averting his eyes with bright crimson cheeks then looked back at him with glimmering eyes from the sun rays bouncing off the crystal trees around them.

Seth blinked and looked around him. He realized that both Michael and himself were out in the middle of a forest. He thought back to the hut where he'd just about walked out on Marcia and Ariel. 'It wasn't like I was angry or anything..' he thought miserably. Seth was content with the belief that he needed to find Michael and get a bit of fresh air. Seth took a hold of Michael's hand and held it tightly. "Come on, Marcia already started to make breakfast," he said as if absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.

[[ x.x this could be my last post ]]

[[ nini just in case~ ]]

Michael nodded and gently held Seth's hand and whistled softly. Krystal came to the call quickly and lowered her head to the boys for them to climb up. "Shall we?" He smiled.

[[ okee, this one is the last one- promise. nini nova-chan~ ^^' ]]

Seth looked up at the small slivers of light that shined in from above the trees. He was still somewhat soft and fuzzy on the inside. He nodded and smiled at how fast the dragon appeared out of nowhere. The casualness that Michael displayed gave Seth a small sense of pride for a good deed. He remembered how terrified Michael had gotten over his tattoo no more than a day earlier to the point where Seth couldn't bear to see his friend in that kind of pain. Seth knew that he would be forever amazed by life's secrets. He looked forwards as if to survey the forest one last time even if he wasn't missing anything. "Sure," he answered cheerfully.

[[ nini~ ^^ ]]

Michael slowly stood, bringing Seth up with him before climbing up Krystal's neck and seating himself on her back to where Seth could sit in front of him.

Seth waited a moment when he got onto Krystal's back- he didn't want to shift and cause himself to fall right off. After his miniature wait ended, he shrugged and turned around like he had done the previous night. The early-morning sun cast contrasting shadows throughout the entire landscape, sending an orange glow through the sparkling forest he had just gotten out of. However, the forest wasn't nearly as attractive-looking as it had once been to Seth. He had already lost interest by the time his mind registered Michael's picture. "It really is fun to have a pet dragon, isn't it?" he asked in another playful 'I-told-you-so' manner before smiling honestly and looking out into the open once more. His eyes reflected a little of the bright sun just like the landscape had done in many places.

Krystal turned her head to look at the back of Seth's head and blew air out of her nose. Michael couldn't help but laugh a little. "I wouldn't call her a pet- she's actually quite resentful of that title. She's a companion who just doesn't have a human complexion." He stroked the side of his dragon. Krystal nodded her head and looked foreword.

Seth smirked beneath the wind he felt from Krystal. He shifted his hair out of his face and placed a hand on the back of Krystal's neck, closing his eyes and taking a breath. "Then a friend," he marveled to himself. Seth remembered hearing some lecture from someone about the difficulty it was to explain how creatures other than human beings could befriend one another without taking the superiority of one type into play. That was ages ago- a place where Seth never looked back to and happened to be repressing memories for an unseen reason. "She doesn't need a human complexion either, does she?" he continued. "I bet in her mind we all just need dragon appearances." He laughed softly and turned forwards to Michael. "You're insightful," he complimented, tilting his head a little.

Krystal looked at him again and lightly nudged him right into Michael's lap then made a sound that sounded like a satisfied grunt. She didn't mean any harm, just was in a playful mood, her smile gave that away. Michael sighed and kept him from falling off the dragon's back. "Easy girl, you should really wait until we're on the ground to play." He told her. She let a sound of apology as if being scolded and nodded her head.

Seth freaked when he felt himself nearly airborne and wasn't sure if he was happy or not to be practically on top of Michael. He blushed brightly and clung to his 'friend' for the sake of staying above the ground safely. As soon as he found a way to shift to freedom, though, Seth broke out of the gentle grasp just enough to be able to deem himself as off of Michael. He glanced away and sighed lightly, noticing the village coming into view. Seth was inspired by curiosity- something that hadn't happened for a while- as to how he would react to the Michael-related situation. Thoughts of morale and safety versus the so-called love and truth tried to persuade his mind.

Krystal landed under her favorite tree and lowered herself so the boys could get off. Michael slid off the side facing his guitar and stumbled foreword a little, nearly running into the tree but managed not to. He sighed inward and picked up his guitar then made sure Seth was right behind him. Things back at the hut seemed different somehow.

Seth followed Michael like he always did, still unsure of how to react to anything. 'Thinking that life should have gotten easier if I'd done it once..' he thought, referring to his strange experience in the Crystal forest. He shook his head and walked right into the hut. "We're back," he chimed with a smile. That's always how he got through things, since it was usually the better choice. When something went wrong between adult related things in the real world, Seth would just smile at his family and fix the problem before anyone really knew what happened- if they knew at all. Seth stepped into the kitchen with a puzzled expression, feeling as well that something was off.

The hut was a mess. Mostly broken plates and damage done by magic. "The hell happened- it looks like a tornado came through here." Michael rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hold still!" Marcia's voice traveled from her bedroom. "Then be more gentle!" Ariel retorted. "You're the one who went physical and got yourself hurt." Marcia then sighed. "You threw a plate at me..." Ariel grumbled. "Yeah- in order to keep you from hitting me with your damn magic." She replied. "Owww~!" "Grit your teeth and endure it, you're really too sensitive for your own good." "I've never been human before dummy!"

Seth stopped in his tracks and turned to face the sound of the voices. He frowned when he heard that Ariel had 'gone human' and done damage. He was also mildly upset that yet a third house he'd lived in was trashed within the same week. He followed the sound, only checking once to see where Michael could have been. "What's going on?" he asked, only a few feet away from the bedroom door.

The girls blinked and looked at him. Ariel was being bandaged and Marcia had a few bandages herself and a red cheek from being slapped. "She started it..." Ariel grumbled quietly, sitting as physical as could be. Michael leaned against the wall not far from Seth. "We had an argument and things got a little out of hand." Marcia answered before finishing with the final bandage and cut the wrap. Ariel had a bandage-wrap around her left hand and right hand, only the right hand bandage-wrap continued to her forearm along with her upper torso. Marcia had bandage-wrap in less visible areas.

[[ last post~ nini yume-chan ]]

[[ nini~ ]]

Seth blinked once and looked at the amount of bandages that had been used. He shook his head and palmed his face, remembering the household life that had been in action before he left. 'They seemed just fine..' Seth bit his lip and crossed his arms. "If this is about the plate that got broken-" At first, Seth wasn't sure whether the argument had been an accusation towards Ariel or towards himself, but he decided to drop the subject completely. A strange warning gripped him like a nightmare he'd forgotten. It didn't explain why or how to do so, it just told Seth to shift gears. "..If there's anything that's burning, I can take care of it," he offered, seeing as the two girls had been preoccupied with their own first-aid help.

"Plate?" Marcia blinked and lifted her head. "Ah, um. My left hand burns a little..." Ariel said quietly. Marcia got up and went into the kitchen. "Breakfast was unharmed, if you guys are still hungry." She said. "What about the mess?" Michael asked. "Ariel and I made it, we'll clean it up after we eat." She replied as got four unharmed plates out and put them on the counter.

Seth looked away casually when he realized that Marcia hadn't learned of the shattered plate. He sidestepped out of the way for her to pass before taking his own step into the hallway. Seth figured that he could help clean up at some point. He turned back to Michael and Ariel, shrugging lightly and then crossing his arms in the direction of Ariel. It occurred to him fully that Ariel was bandaged like a solid being. "You're not a spirit anymore?" he questioned softly, not trying to make too big of a scene but still showing a look of concern.

Ariel shrugged lightly. "Marcia said I was never a spirit to begin with... I had some weird spell on me that needed something to cancel it out. While we were fighting- I'm not sure what happened- I was just physical all of a sudden. I don't get it." She sighed. "My magic usage is limited too now. That's why I'm all bandaged up." Ariel looked up at Seth with an apathetic expression then slowly stood and bowed. "I'm sorry. I started the fight because Marcia said something offensive..." Ariel said quietly in soft tone before standing straight again and looking at him. "Are you mad?"

Seth dreaded the first words he heard from Ariel. It made his heart feel empty and even a little chilled. Seth knew that there was always something ominous about the unknown, even if it wasn't on such a big scale. Instead of letting paranoia get to him- with whatever gloomy yet truthful ideas it might have held- Seth shook his head and smiled. "I'm not mad." he said reassuringly. "You two are still standing, right? That's all that counts for now. Come on, let's go get breakfast." Even as he looked at Michael with a kindness in his grin, Seth could still feel the edge of fear cutting into him. He considered it normal, though, as he had multiple reasons to be concerned.

Ariel blinked a few times before getting up and going to the kitchen as well. Michael tilted his head a little. He the kindness in his grin didn't fool him- but he let it slide. Marcia handed them each a plate with eve portions of food on it split between the four of them before taking a seat at the table. Ariel sat across from her. Michael stood in the corner of the counter as he ate. Something fishy was going on between the girls- and he almost wanted no part of it.

Seth murmured a quiet 'thank you' to Marcia and smiled at the biscuits that had turned out rather well for an amateur cook. He would have sat down adjacent to the two and invited Michael to sit across from him, but seeing as Michael had already taken leave from the family-like feel, Seth avoided the table as well. He circled his arm around his own plate and leaned against the wall right next to the doorway out of the kitchen, using that arm as a makeshift table. Seth's thoughts returned to the events leading up to that day, including the various ones that included Michael. His cheeks flushed and he turned away with his biscuit in hand. He realized that other than chasing down some Onyx freak-of-a-friend, Seth had little to do if anything at all.

Marcia nodded and smiled kindly. Michael finished his plate first and rinsed it off. The silence was almost unbearable and he help but notice the vibe coming from his childhood friend. She was always so easy to read, easier than a book. "Alright what's going on?" He asked quietly with a hint of concern as he leaned against the counter. Hearing not a single response he sighed a little. 'Just like when we were kids. Always with the secrets..' He rubbed the back of his neck before covering his mouth to yawn. Ariel tried and failed to hold in a giggle. "Someone needs a nap~" She teased. "Eh?" Michael arched an eyebrow and smirked casually. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks for breakfast." Marcia nodded. "Seth made the biscuits." She informed. He glanced at Seth and held up a thumbs up with a wide grin.