<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?>
<!--  If you are running a bot please visit this policy page outlining rules you must respect. http://www.livejournal.com/bots/  -->
<rss version='2.0' xmlns:lj='http://www.livejournal.org/rss/lj/1.0/' xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' xmlns:atom10='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'>
<channel>
  <title>Kitchen of Hell</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/</link>
  <description>Kitchen of Hell - LiveJournal.com</description>
  <lastBuildDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:26:04 GMT</lastBuildDate>
  <generator>LiveJournal / LiveJournal.com</generator>
  <lj:journal>eccentric_emi</lj:journal>
  <lj:journalid>13424891</lj:journalid>
  <lj:journaltype>personal</lj:journaltype>
  <atom10:link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/' />
  <image>
    <url>http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/81957986/13424891</url>
    <title>Kitchen of Hell</title>
    <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/</link>
    <width>100</width>
    <height>100</height>
  </image>

<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3707.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:26:04 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Valkyria Chronicles Fanfic - Refraction 04</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3707.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; Refraction &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; T (Rating subject to change in future) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Valkyria Chronicles &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; AliciaxWelkin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance, drama &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;*shakes head*&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; At the war&apos;s end, Alicia and Welkin still have obstacles in their relationship to overcome. The biggest of those obstacles is intimacy with one another...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pass 04: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5130827/4/Refraction&quot;&gt;www.fanfiction.net/s/5130827/4/Refraction&lt;/a&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3707.html</comments>
  <category>alicia melchiott</category>
  <category>welkinxalicia</category>
  <category>valkyria chronicles</category>
  <category>welkin gunther</category>
  <category>fanfiction: multi-chapter</category>
  <lj:mood>blah</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3354.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:22:26 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Valkyria Chronicles Fanfic - Refraction 03</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3354.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; Refraction &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; T (Rating subject to change in future) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Valkyria Chronicles &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; AliciaxWelkin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance, drama &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Nope, still have nothing&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; At the war&apos;s end, Alicia and Welkin still have obstacles in their relationship to overcome. The biggest of those obstacles is intimacy with one another...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pass 03: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5130827/3/Refraction&quot;&gt;www.fanfiction.net/s/5130827/3/Refraction&lt;/a&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3354.html</comments>
  <category>alicia melchiott</category>
  <category>welkinxalicia</category>
  <category>valkyria chronicles</category>
  <category>welkin gunther</category>
  <category>fanfiction: multi-chapter</category>
  <lj:mood>blank</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3309.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:26:47 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Valkyria Chronicles Fanfic - Refraction 02</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3309.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; Refraction &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; T (Rating subject to change in future) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Valkyria Chronicles &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; AliciaxWelkin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance, drama &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;*sob* &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; At the war&apos;s end, Alicia and Welkin still have obstacles in their relationship to overcome. The biggest of those obstacles is intimacy with one another...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Chapter 02&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Side A&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I shut the door behind me quietly and fingered the small box in my coat pocket. It had been a couple of days since I had bought it, but I couldn&amp;rsquo;t seem to present Alicia with it. Whenever I tried to pull it out, my hand would just freeze over it. I was pretty sure that Alicia was becoming increasingly impatient that I hadn&amp;rsquo;t given it to her yet. I shrugged the heavy coat off and set it on the back of my chair. Why did the whole issue have to be so complicated?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I pulled off my day clothes as well and settled under my covers. There was no point in dwelling on my simple inability to give Alicia a simple ring. I relished the warmth of the covers and fell into a partially peaceful slumber.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin... Welkin! It&amp;rsquo;s time to get up.&amp;rdquo; There was an irritated huff. &amp;ldquo;Breakfast&amp;rsquo;s going to get cold.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ah,&amp;rdquo; I sat up groggily only to see that Alicia&amp;rsquo;s face hovered in front of mine. &amp;ldquo;G-good morning, Alicia.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Her lips glistened temptingly in my line of view. I resisted the urge to claim them so early in the morning. My drowsy mind couldn&amp;rsquo;t tear my gaze away; the effect she had on me was too powerful &amp;ndash;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin?&amp;rdquo; Alicia shifted and moved away from my bed. &amp;ldquo;Is there something on my face? Or are you thinking about how similar I am to some animal right now?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Before I could object and reassure her that I was doing nothing of the sort, she promptly turned and headed for the door.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Breakfast is going to get cold if we just sit in here.&amp;rdquo; Alicia shut the door behind her, and I sighed. I probably should&amp;rsquo;ve kissed her anyway. Maybe she was offended by my staring&amp;hellip; I shrugged it all off and dressed myself quickly. I grabbed my coat and bag and hurried after her into the kitchen. The sight of food made my empty stomach stir to life.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hmm, it looks good,&amp;rdquo; I commented and took a seat at the table. Alicia smiled; she seemed back to her usual cheerful self. I smiled back and gratefully accepted the mug of coffee she offered me. &amp;ldquo;Thanks.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re welcome!&amp;rdquo; Alicia joined me at the table and scooted to sit closer to me. &amp;ldquo;So, today is a half day for you, right?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I took a sip of coffee before nodding. &amp;ldquo;Yeah; why do you ask?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;N-no reason!&amp;rdquo; Alicia waved her hands back and forth to emphasize her point. For some reason, she seemed really flustered.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Is something wrong, Alicia?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Huh? What? Oh, no! Not at all!&amp;rdquo; She stood from the chair and took my mug from me to refill it. &amp;ldquo;Will you be going out on another nature walk today?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah,&amp;rdquo; I answered quietly. Part of me felt like I should skip it today, though. I took a quick look at the clock and realized that I was starting to run late. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll talk to you later, Alicia.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-wait, Welkin!&amp;rdquo; I cut her off with a hasty peck to the lips and grinned.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;ll talk later, okay?&amp;rdquo; I grabbed my things and ran out the door. Once I met the crisp morning air, I shivered; it really was starting to get colder lately.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I went to the university for my class, but I found that I really couldn&amp;rsquo;t concentrate on the lecture. Images of Alicia kept flooding my mind. As soon as the professor dismissed us, I gathered my things and practically ran out the door. One look at the sky warned of ominous weather and forced me to take shelter under the overhang of a nearby shop. Cold, cruel drops of rain pounded the ground and soaked it within a few mere moments. I let out a disappointed sigh. The one day I planned to return to Alicia&amp;rsquo;s side early, the weather was against me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The harsh downpour continued to rage on after what seemed like an hour. I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and stared at it despairingly. Why couldn&amp;rsquo;t I be as strong as that time at the end of the war when Alicia was in danger? I felt pathetic for once in my life.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The sight of some unusual insects caught my attention. I felt around for my insect case only to realize that I had left it at home in a hurry. These particular bugs were so interesting, though&amp;hellip; I took a glance at the box in my hand and considered my choices. I could always put them in my case at home later&amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;With just a moment&amp;rsquo;s hesitation, I removed the ring from the box, placed it in my pants pocket, and put the odd creatures in the box. Once the rain lessened enough for me to leave the cover of the awning, I immediately headed home. The moment my house was in view, I saw Alicia standing outside with an umbrella. Her face lit up when our eyes met.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin!&amp;rdquo; She ran toward me and paused to look me up and down. &amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re soaked! Hurry inside and dry off. Come on, come on!&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I obeyed and followed Alicia into our home. She took my wet coat from me and handed me a warm, fluffy towel. &amp;ldquo;Thanks, Alicia,&amp;rdquo; I expressed my gratitude and gave her cheek a small chaste kiss. Her face took on a pink tint before she turned away.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I-I&amp;rsquo;ll go get you some fresh clothes, okay?&amp;rdquo; She ran to the laundry room and left no chance for me to stop her. When she returned a few minutes later with a fresh set of clothing for me to wear, she seemed depressed compared to how she was earlier. I frowned at the sight. After changing into the clean clothes she brought me, I confronted her.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia.&amp;rdquo; She turned toward me, but refused to meet my gaze. She was upset about something but was trying to hide it from me. &amp;ldquo;Let me help you with dinner,&amp;rdquo; I finished dumbly.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Alicia seemed taken aback by what I said. &amp;ldquo;H-huh? Uh&amp;hellip; okay.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;We stood side by side in the kitchen and barely spoke the entire time. There was an air of tension above us. The only times we spoke were when I asked for instructions or she noticed I was doing something wrong. Even when we ate our meal, we didn&amp;rsquo;t talk very much. Hans even seemed wary of our behavior towards each other. When we finished eating, I joined Alicia in cleaning up, determined to fix our problem.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia, what&amp;rsquo;s wrong?&amp;rdquo; I asked as I took a plate from her and dried it. She looked away from me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin, you&amp;rsquo;re so clueless!&amp;rdquo; Alicia snapped at me, frustrated. I nodded my head in agreement which seemed to confuse her.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re right; I am clueless.&amp;rdquo; I took another plate from her shaking hand and dried it. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s why you need to tell me what&amp;rsquo;s wrong. I won&amp;rsquo;t know anything if you won&amp;rsquo;t tell me.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-Welkin&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; Alicia&amp;rsquo;s eyes watered and tears fell down her cheeks in rapid succession, which alarmed me. &amp;ldquo;I-I&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I embraced her trembling form impulsively. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, Alicia. I&amp;rsquo;m right here.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Were you r-really serious back then? Did you mean it when you said you&amp;rsquo;d be with me always?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t lie about that,&amp;rdquo; I answered fiercely. I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t joke about something like that! I seized her left hand and fished the ring out of my pocket. Kneeling before her, I placed it on her ring finger and looked up at her apologetically. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry that I&amp;rsquo;m not very good at serious things. I should&amp;rsquo;ve given this to you earlier&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin!&amp;rdquo; The tears continued to flood out of her eyes in great torrents. She wrapped her arms around my neck tightly.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll ask you again. Will you be with me, Alicia? &amp;hellip;Will you marry me?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Of course!&amp;rdquo; Alicia answered my question without a moment&amp;rsquo;s hesitation. After sharing a special, heartfelt moment together, Alicia pulled away from me and let out a giggle. &amp;ldquo;Hehe, you&amp;rsquo;ve got soap bubbles in your hair.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I chuckled with her. All the prior tension was gone, and everything felt the way it should&amp;rsquo;ve in the first place. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t shake an odd feeling in my gut, though.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;-----&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Side B&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I stared at the door to Welkin&amp;rsquo;s room despondently. This was our distance&amp;hellip; We slept in separate rooms just across from each other despite our relationship. I shook the feeling of loneliness that was starting to take hold and tore my gaze away from his door. I turned and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. Hans joined me in my task, and once breakfast was cooked, I walked back to Welkin&amp;rsquo;s room. I paused in front of his door again.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;After a moment of hesitation, I opened his door and walked in. I smiled at his room because it definitely screamed Welkin with all the papers, books, and various pieces of nature equipment that were scattered about. I shook my head and moved to his bed to rouse him.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin... Welkin! It&amp;rsquo;s time to get up.&amp;rdquo; I huffed with irritation when he rolled away from me. &amp;ldquo;Breakfast&amp;rsquo;s going to get cold.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ah, g-good morning, Alicia.&amp;rdquo; Welkin finally sat up but seemed to be staring at me weirdly. I felt my face heat up at the intensity of his gaze.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin? Is there something on my face? Or are you thinking about how similar I am to some animal this early in the morning?&amp;rdquo; I shifted and moved away from him because I didn&amp;rsquo;t know how much longer I could last under that powerful stare of his. I felt irritated with his silence after a moment and moved to the door. &amp;ldquo;Breakfast is going to get cold if we just sit in here.&amp;rdquo; I shut the door behind me and let out a sigh. What if he wanted to kiss me or something? I shook my head vigorously at the thought. That was probably just wishful thinking&amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I walked to the kitchen and started dish up some food for Welkin, Hans, and myself. Welkin joined me a moment later and sat at the table.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hmm, it looks good,&amp;rdquo; he commented. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want him to think I was in a bad mood or something right now. I poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him. &amp;ldquo;Thanks.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re welcome!&amp;rdquo; I grabbed a chair and sat as close to Welkin as I could manage. Maybe since it was so cold, I could get him to spend some more time with me today&amp;hellip; &amp;ldquo;So, today is a half day for you, right?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;He took a sip of coffee before nodding. &amp;ldquo;Yeah; why do you ask?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;N-no reason!&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Is something wrong, Alicia?&amp;rdquo; Welkin raised an eyebrow at me and continued drinking his coffee.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Huh? What? Oh, no! Not at all!&amp;rdquo; I took his mug from him to fill it as an excuse to turn away. &amp;ldquo;Will you be going out on another nature walk today?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah, I&amp;rsquo;ll talk to you later, Alicia.&amp;rdquo; He glanced at the clock and started gathering his things.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-wait, Welkin!&amp;rdquo; Before I could say anything else, he cut me off with a quick kiss and smile.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;ll talk later, okay?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Welkin disappeared from the house right after. I touched my lips thoughtfully and took a sip from &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;his&lt;/i&gt; coffee mug. Hans came to join me as I stood in a momentary stupor.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-Welkin&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The rest of the day passed uneventfully except for when Hans came back in the house after playing outside and left mud everywhere. That took a good hour or so to clean up. The thought of mud made me do a double take, though. For there to be mud, it had to be wet&amp;hellip; Rain! Welkin didn&amp;rsquo;t take an umbrella with him!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I grabbed my umbrella and opened the door only to be met with a violent rainstorm. If it was that strong, Welkin probably took shelter somewhere; he wasn&amp;rsquo;t a complete idiot after all. I shut the door and put the umbrella back in the meantime. I set about tidying up the house some more and had even studied for my exam while I was at it. I also made sure Hans didn&amp;rsquo;t go back outside in that weather. The last thing I needed was to have to clean up after him again.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;When the rain started to calm down, I put everything away and went outside with the umbrella. Welkin would most likely be home soon. As if on cue, he rounded the corner just then. I gasped at his soaked, disheveled appearance and ran toward him. &amp;ldquo;Welkin! You&amp;rsquo;re soaked! Hurry inside and dry off. Come on, come on!&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I ran back into the house and grabbed a towel that I had set out in case of this scenario. I handed it to him and took his wet coat worriedly; it&amp;rsquo;d be bad if he caught a cold.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thanks, Alicia.&amp;rdquo; Welkin leaned in and gave me an unexpected and quick kiss. I flushed and turned away from him.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I-I&amp;rsquo;ll go get you some fresh clothes, okay?&amp;rdquo; I took the wet coat with me into the laundry room to dry. Just as I went to hang it, however, a small box fell out of the pocket. I regarded it carefully before picking it up. &amp;ldquo;I-is this what I think it is?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;When I opened the box, I had to stifle a scream. Bugs! There were bugs inside! But of course, this was Welkin, so I shouldn&amp;rsquo;t have been so surprised. What was I expecting from him anyway? I closed the box and grabbed some fresh clothes for Welkin. I handed them to him wordlessly and stomped to the kitchen. A couple minutes later, Welkin confronted me with an air of seriousness.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia.&amp;rdquo; I turned to him but kept my face lowered. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want him to see me on the verge of tears; I had an idea what he was going to say, anyway. &amp;ldquo;Let me help you with dinner.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;What Welkin actually said surprised me, though. &amp;ldquo;H-huh?&amp;rdquo; I couldn&amp;rsquo;t help but let him do as he pleased, though. &amp;ldquo;Uh&amp;hellip; okay.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The preparation of our meal was pretty quiet. The only times we spoke were when Welkin asked what to do or when I noticed he was doing something completely wrong. It was frustrating standing next to him like that but being unable to say anything else. Even when we were eating, we barely spoke. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want it to be like this! Welkin broke the silence when we were cleaning up before I could.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia, what&amp;rsquo;s wrong?&amp;rdquo; Welkin asked when we were washing dishes. I refused to look at him; I was sure that if I did, I would start crying.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin, you&amp;rsquo;re so clueless!&amp;rdquo; I felt so frustrated. Why couldn&amp;rsquo;t he see the problem with our relationship? I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye and felt confused.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re right; I am clueless. That&amp;rsquo;s why you need to tell me what&amp;rsquo;s wrong. I won&amp;rsquo;t know anything if you won&amp;rsquo;t tell me.&amp;rdquo; I could feel myself shaking. I didn&amp;rsquo;t know how much longer I could hold it in.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-Welkin&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; The tears I had been holding back started to pour out of my eyes uncontrollably. &amp;ldquo;I-I&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The next thing I knew, I was in his sturdy arms. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay, Alicia. I&amp;rsquo;m right here.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I couldn&amp;rsquo;t stop my mouth from blurting out everything that was on my mind. &amp;ldquo;Were you r-really serious back then? Did you mean it when you said you&amp;rsquo;d be with me always?&amp;rdquo; I felt like I had to know his answer; that was the whole reason why I was upset in the first place.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t lie about that.&amp;rdquo; He grabbed my hand and kneeled! He kneeled and put a ring on my finger! I felt like my tears were more of happiness than anything else now. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry that I&amp;rsquo;m not very good at serious things. I should&amp;rsquo;ve given this to you earlier&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Welkin!&amp;rdquo; The tears continued to spill from my eyes, but I didn&amp;rsquo;t care anymore. I fell to my knees and hugged him as tightly as I could.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll ask you again. Will you be with me, Alicia? &amp;hellip;Will you marry me?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Of course!&amp;rdquo; I answered immediately; it was a no-brainer. After what felt like an eternity, I pulled away and stared at Welkin. The sight before me made me giggle. &amp;ldquo;Hehe, you&amp;rsquo;ve got soap bubbles in your hair.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;It felt like everything was better than ever, but I couldn&amp;rsquo;t help but feel like there was still something between us that was unresolved.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/3309.html</comments>
  <category>alicia melchiott</category>
  <category>welkinxalicia</category>
  <category>valkyria chronicles</category>
  <category>welkin gunther</category>
  <category>fanfiction: multi-chapter</category>
  <lj:mood>exhausted</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2831.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:14:43 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Valkyria Chronicles Fanfic - Refraction 01</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2831.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; Refraction &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; T (Rating subject to change in future) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Valkyria Chronicles &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; AliciaxWelkin &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance, drama &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt; I don&apos;t even own a PS3, let alone an actual copy of the game... OTL &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; At the war&apos;s end, Alicia and Welkin still have obstacles in their relationship to overcome. The biggest of those obstacles is intimacy with one another... &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Chapter 01&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Side A&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;It has been about a month since the end of the second Europan War. Ever since the decisive battle against Maximillian and the explosion of the Empire&amp;rsquo;s mammoth the Marmota, life has once again become peaceful. Reconstruction has begun not only in my country Gallia but also in the Empire, our former enemy&amp;rsquo;s country. Despite the heavy destruction in both of our countries, reconstruction has been moving along smoothly, and the people&amp;rsquo;s shock has worn off. As for what became of Welkin and me after that&amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The sun overhead beat down upon me as I stood outside in my small yard. I sighed as I continued to hang the damp, if not slightly heavy, laundry to dry on the short, taut clothesline. It has not only been a month since the war&amp;rsquo;s end but also since that fateful day that Welkin had proposed to me. Or at least that&amp;rsquo;s what I thought it was. Welkin hasn&amp;rsquo;t really said anything about our relationship ever since then. Once I had finished hanging up the final shirt in the basket, I yawned and stretched tiredly. It wasn&amp;rsquo;t even halfway through the day and I was already exhausted. Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was almost time for lunch and that Welkin would be stopping back home for a moment to eat soon. I hurriedly picked the basket up from the grass, set it down by the back door, and propelled myself into the kitchen. I grabbed my apron off of the hook and put it on while rushing to fetch some pans.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Pushing back all of my prior thoughts, I set to work putting the dough I had made this morning into the oven to bake. I sat down at the small table thoughtfully, the feeling of fatigue starting to set in. Thoughts of our &amp;ldquo;engagement&amp;rdquo; continued to plague my mind, though. I&amp;rsquo;d wanted to talk to Welkin about it before, but he was always at the university, studying at home, or observing the wildlife in the surrounding area. It almost felt like he didn&amp;rsquo;t have any spare time to spend with me anymore. I stared at my left hand forlornly; it was devoid of a ring to mark our engagement. A dejected sigh left my lips at the thought.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;We may live in the same house at the moment, but it felt like we were worlds apart. Our house was small and modest; we were only going to live here in the capital Randgriz for a while because Welkin still needed to complete his studies at the university. The national certification exam that I needed to take to become a baker was here in Randgriz as well. As much as Welkin and I wanted to return to our hometown of Bruhl, we knew that our obligations here had to come first. Time flew by as I thought about our circumstances, and before I knew it, it was already time to take the bread out of the oven. I hastily put on my oven mitts and carefully pulled the pans of bread out. Another quick look at the clock told me that Welkin would be home any moment.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;This was my chance! I could voice my concerns to him and end this awkward chapter in our relationship. The unease I felt would be fixed, and I could stop being depressed. Everything would be &amp;ndash; The sound of the door opening and closing interrupted my erratic train of thought, and Welkin&amp;rsquo;s cheerful voice rang through our small home.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia, I&amp;rsquo;m back!&amp;rdquo; Welkin poked his head into the kitchen and visibly brightened. &amp;ldquo;Oh! You made some bread.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I snapped up to face him and instantly felt the courage drain out of my being. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t bring myself to bring &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;that&lt;/i&gt; up now. &amp;ldquo;Y-yeah, some nice, fresh bread&amp;hellip; D-do you want some coffee to go with it?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hmm, some coffee would be nice, I guess&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; Welkin hung his bag on the chair and pulled it out to sit. He gave me a grateful smile and waited patiently for me to brew the coffee. I instinctively smiled back and fished around the cabinet for the coffee grounds. I checked where I would normally put it but didn&amp;rsquo;t see it anywhere.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Huh?&amp;rdquo; I checked the shelf space and scrutinized the countertops. &amp;ldquo;Did we run out?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Welkin shook his head and continued to smile. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay; I&amp;rsquo;ll just eat and then head back for my afternoon classes.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I frowned at him. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll just go out and get some really quick, okay?&amp;rdquo; Before he could answer or protest, I shrugged off my apron, grabbed my purse, and was out the door.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The venture into town was boring and uneventful. The damage to Randgriz wasn&amp;rsquo;t extensive, so most of the reconstruction in the capital was nearly complete. I didn&amp;rsquo;t make any unnecessary stops to browse, but I did get some other things while I was out. I hurried back home once I had obtained the coffee grounds and a few other items we needed, but I was stopped short by a few of the neighborhood&amp;rsquo;s wives at the corner. I almost snapped at them for delaying me, but I politely held my tongue. They might&amp;rsquo;ve had something important to tell me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;My, my, Alicia... Where are you going in such a hurry?&amp;rdquo; one of the more elderly women asked me. Another one nodded her head in agreement.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, it&amp;rsquo;s not like you have a husband to tend to&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Oh yes! Speaking of which, you should meet my son; I&amp;rsquo;m sure he would make a fine husband for you.&amp;rdquo; The other women began to join in the conversation, talking about what &amp;ldquo;good&amp;rdquo; matches their sons or brothers were for me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I felt my eyebrow twitch with irritation at their words. &amp;ldquo;Excuse me, but I&amp;rsquo;m actually already engaged&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;What? Really?&amp;rdquo; the first woman questioned skeptically. The group of women closed in around me, all asking to see my ring. I shook my head impatiently.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes, I really am. Now, if you&amp;rsquo;ll excuse me&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; But before I could sneak past the women, however, one of them gripped my shoulder.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Now, now. If you don&amp;rsquo;t want to meet my son, you don&amp;rsquo;t need to make up excuses like that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Huh?&amp;rdquo; I turned back to the woman incredulously. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m not lying.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then where&amp;rsquo;s your ring? A taken woman shouldn&amp;rsquo;t be running around without a ring. It&amp;rsquo;s improper.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I felt my face heat up with shame at her words. It wasn&amp;rsquo;t my fault I didn&amp;rsquo;t have a ring anymore. My original ring was a lion&amp;rsquo;s paw flower that Welkin had fashioned into a ring. The flames of the Marmota, however, had scorched it. I had been upset, but I was more glad that the love of my life and I had made it out of the mess alive. I diverted my gaze and hesitantly answered, &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t have one right now&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I tightened my grip on my bag and practically ran the rest of the distance home before the women could comment further. As soon as I shut the door behind me, hot tears blurred my vision. I angrily wiped them away and walked into the kitchen to put away the groceries. Welkin was already gone.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I spent the rest of the day tidying up the house absentmindedly and preparing dinner. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t deny that I was feeling depressed because of my earlier conversation. I habitually checked the clock every couple of minutes, restless and unable to wait for Welkin&amp;rsquo;s return. After the food finished cooking and the table was set, I sat in front of the window, anxious for Welkin to walk through the door. He was unusually late that night. I could feel the loneliness eating away at me as the minutes passed.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;When Welkin finally did walk through the door, I practically threw myself at him, overjoyed at the sight of him. Almost immediately, he wrapped his arms around me in return. In his arms, all of my problems disappeared; everything that had been worrying me today just seemed to disappear. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t remember how long it had been since he last held me like this. I breathed in his scent happily, and noted that he was soaked with sweat. I let out a cough.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-were you running or something? You&amp;rsquo;re all sweaty!&amp;rdquo; I hesitantly pulled away from him and ran to get him a damp cloth. I caught sight of his smile before I left the room.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah, something like that&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; Welkin answered enigmatically. He followed after me and accepted the cool cloth graciously. &amp;ldquo;Thanks.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I couldn&amp;rsquo;t shake the feeling that he was hiding something from me&amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;-----&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Side B&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;It has been close to a month since the fated conclusion of EW II. I lost my best friend Faldio after the final battle with Maximillian upon the Marmota, and I was barely able to escape in time with Alicia. It was thanks to Leon flying Isara&amp;rsquo;s plane that we were able to make it out alive. In the time that has passed since then, I&amp;lsquo;ve gotten a small, temporary house in Randgriz with Alicia. We both figured that it would be easier to stay in Randgriz to take care of our individual obligations.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;It had been over half a year since I had last attended class, but the subject matter was still fresh in my mind. I sat in class, fascinated by the professor&amp;rsquo;s lecture about how the effects of war can affect ecosystems. Apparently, he thought that it was crucial that he go over it again because of the major war we had just ended. I wasn&amp;rsquo;t about to complain about the interesting lectures, though. Once the professor dismissed us from class, I gathered my things and headed home. I had classes in the afternoon, but I still had enough time to go home, see Alicia, and grab a quick bite to eat.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;The walk between the university and home was peaceful. Because the temperature had been dropping lately, less and less people lingered outside. When I approached my house, I saw that smoke rose from the chimney; Alicia must&amp;rsquo;ve been baking again. I felt a smile come to my face at the thought of her happily baking. I opened the door, and the smell of freshly baked bread hit me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Alicia, I&amp;rsquo;m back!&amp;rdquo; I called out to her. I followed the heavenly smell to the kitchen where Alicia most likely was. At the sight of her bread, I felt even happier. &amp;ldquo;Oh! You made some bread.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Alicia&amp;rsquo;s face snapped up to meet mine suddenly. &amp;ldquo;Y-yeah, some nice, fresh bread&amp;hellip; D-do you want some coffee to go with it?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hmm, some coffee would be nice, I guess&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; I walked over to the table, hung my bag, and took a seat. A gracious smile broke onto my face at her consideration and she seemed to smile back. I didn&amp;rsquo;t really care if I had coffee, though. Just seeing Alicia&amp;rsquo;s bustling form as she prepared it would be enough for me. We hadn&amp;rsquo;t been seeing nearly enough of each other lately, so I savored the few moments we spent together.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Alicia seemed to sweep all through the cabinets and stared at the countertops. I raised an eyebrow at her behavior. &amp;ldquo;Huh? Did we run out?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Seeing what was coming next, I shook my head at her. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s okay; I&amp;rsquo;ll just eat and then head back for my afternoon classes.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;She frowned at me, much to my displeasure, and said, &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll just go out and get some really quick, okay?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Before I could protest or stop her, she was already out the door. I let out a sigh and turned back to the bread that she left behind. A &amp;ldquo;moink&amp;rdquo; behind me alerted me to Hans&amp;rsquo;s presence; it was his lunchtime, too.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hey, Hans... What&amp;rsquo;s up?&amp;rdquo; He pointed his nose at the bread on the table and gave a huffy &amp;ldquo;moioink&amp;rdquo; in response. I chuckled at the porcavian and offered him some of Alicia&amp;rsquo;s bread. He happily took the offering. I followed his lead and began to eat Alicia&amp;rsquo;s bread as well. Once I had eaten all of the bread that I could handle, I glanced at the clock and frowned. It was time for me to head back.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I gathered my things and headed out the door. I intended to go around the corner, but snippets of the conversation at hand there stopped me short. I didn&amp;rsquo;t know why, but I felt the need to hide. I took cover behind the nearby bushes and listened in.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;If you don&amp;rsquo;t want to meet my son, you don&amp;rsquo;t need to make up excuses like that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Huh? I&amp;rsquo;m not lying.&amp;rdquo; Wait&amp;hellip; that was Alicia&amp;rsquo;s voice&amp;hellip;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then where&amp;rsquo;s your ring? A taken woman shouldn&amp;rsquo;t be running around without a ring. It&amp;rsquo;s improper.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;There was moment of silence before Alicia answered again. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t have one right now&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I felt a pang of guilt in my heart at the tone of her voice. I could hear her quick footsteps pass by me and disappear into our house. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I left the bushes and headed toward the university. Partway there, however, I stopped. I felt that there was a more important task at hand. I changed direction and headed to the jeweler&amp;rsquo;s shop. Without realizing it, I broke into a run.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I burst into the store and was surprised at the face I saw there.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hey boss! What brings you here?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;L-Largo?!&amp;rdquo; I stepped back and did a double-take. What was Largo of all people doing here?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Boss&amp;hellip; Don&amp;rsquo;t look at me like that. You&amp;rsquo;re makin&amp;rsquo; me blush.&amp;rdquo; Largo scratched at his chin for a moment before gripping my head in a powerful headlock. &amp;ldquo;Naw, jus&amp;rsquo; kiddin&amp;rsquo;.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;A-ah&amp;hellip; Really&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; I unhooked his arm and walked up to the display. I saw him move to follow me out of the corner of my eye. He appeared to be browsing the rings as well.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gettin&amp;rsquo; a ring for the missus, boss?&amp;rdquo; I felt my face heat up at Largo&amp;rsquo;s words, but I nodded. He was right, after all.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;What about you, Largo?&amp;rdquo; I asked in return. Largo&amp;rsquo;s face also seemed to take on a pinkish tint at the question.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Gettin&amp;rsquo; a ring for Elle. By the way, boss&amp;hellip; Don&amp;rsquo;t you think it&amp;rsquo;s a bit late to be getting the missus a ring? But, I guess it&amp;rsquo;s better to do it late than not at all.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah&amp;hellip; I can&amp;rsquo;t believe I didn&amp;rsquo;t notice for so long. Alicia must be mad at me for making her wait.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I think she&amp;rsquo;d be happy jus&amp;rsquo; ta get one from you now. Don&amp;rsquo;t sweat the details, boss.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;After much deliberation, we were both able to find suitable rings. Largo&amp;rsquo;s advice while we browsed had really made me think, though.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ya got that, boss? Ya gotta be more romantic with her,&amp;rdquo; Largo had told me before we parted ways. I nodded reluctantly before tightening my hold on the small box. I took one look up the dark sky and realized that Alicia would be waiting for me at home.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;I made sure the box was securely placed in my pocket before running straight home. The air was crisp and burned my lungs, but I continued onward. When our house came into view, I slowed to a brisk walk. The moment I walked through the door, a desperate Alicia rushed into my arms. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t help but reciprocate her act and wrap my arms around her in return. I could feel her shaking within my embrace.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;Alicia nuzzled into my chest but quickly pulled away with a cough. &amp;ldquo;W-were you running or something? You&amp;rsquo;re all sweaty!&amp;rdquo; She left my side and ran into the bathroom. I followed after her without a second thought.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah, something like that&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; I answered. I didn&amp;rsquo;t want her to know why I had been running in the first place, though. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t shake the suspicious look she shot me when she handed me the cool cloth.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNoSpacing&quot; style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: larger&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 115%; font-family: &amp;quot;Calibri&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;#39;MS Mincho&amp;#39;; mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;#39;Times New Roman&amp;#39;; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA&quot;&gt;I had the feeling that presenting the ring would take more than just my reckless impulse this time.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2831.html</comments>
  <category>alicia melchiott</category>
  <category>welkinxalicia</category>
  <category>valkyria chronicles</category>
  <category>welkin gunther</category>
  <category>fanfiction: multi-chapter</category>
  <lj:mood>sleepy</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2617.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:56:16 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>FFIII Fanfic - The Cave of Shadows</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2617.html</link>
  <description>&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; The Cave of Shadows&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; T&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Final Fantasy III (DS)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; LunethxRefia&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt; dfjkljdfadghk.Iownnothing.kfjkdjfkdskfjghicxie.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary: &lt;/strong&gt;In which Luneth and Refia get some alone time in the worst place at the worst time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;ldquo;Be on your guard,&amp;rdquo; Ingus had warned. I vaguely remembered nodding in agreement, but the meaning behind his words hadn&amp;rsquo;t fully sunk in at the time. We had come to the Cave of Shadows merely because the dark knights in Falgabard had suggested it as a good place for Luneth to train. Ingus&amp;rsquo;s warning was very much warranted in a place like this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The knights at the entrance of the dark, dank cavern had informed us of the dangerous multiplying fiends, but Luneth had plainly assured them, as well as us, that we&amp;rsquo;d be fine. The first couple of battles were difficult, especially on Luneth who had to constantly use &lt;i&gt;that&lt;/i&gt; skill to defeat the multiplying enemies. The fights were even taking their toll on me because I had to heal him every time he used that attack as well as everyone else. I quickly came to the conclusion that I really didn&amp;rsquo;t like being here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After a good hour or so of exploring the cave&amp;rsquo;s many channels, we had encountered yet another strange group of monsters. This grouping, however, was different from the previous ones we had encountered, and the close walls of the passageway weren&amp;rsquo;t helping us at all. They were stronger and smarter than the other packs. Before I was aware of what was happening, I found myself split off from the rest of the party. Luneth, Arc, and Ingus seemed to be unaware of my predicament.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had been so focused on dodging their attacks that I failed to notice that they were purposely separating me from everyone else. I began to weigh my options at that point and realized that my situation was grim. I knew there was no way I could pass them without getting seriously hurt, but if I ran away through the dark tunnel behind me&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That&amp;rsquo;s when I took my chances and ran. The darkness of the unlit tunnel enveloped me and the monsters strangely decided not to pursue me. That now brought me to the present. I looked through the darkness around me, and I gulped in apprehension. What if there was something stronger lurking in this passageway? What if I had just stumbled upon a situation worse than the one before? My thoughts were interrupted when something gripped my shoulder firmly. I whirled around to face the stranger and nearly screamed in terror.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;R-Refia?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Luneth!?&amp;rdquo; I fully turned toward him, and my eyes squinted at him in the shadows. I could barely make out his soft, silver hair, but it was certainly him. Soon after my fear dissolved, I made a critical realization. &amp;ldquo;Where&amp;rsquo;s your helmet, and why aren&amp;rsquo;t you wearing it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He audibly gulped. &amp;ldquo;It was getting kind of hard to see, so&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;What &lt;i&gt;really&lt;/i&gt; happened?&amp;rdquo; I asked pointedly. I knew from experience that he was hiding something from me. He chuckled ruefully and rubbed the back of his head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Actually, I threw it to distract the enemies and get to you before they did.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So that was why they didn&amp;rsquo;t follow me into the tunnel&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;ldquo;Oh...&amp;rdquo; I paused briefly before continuing, &amp;ldquo;I guess we better get going then.&amp;rdquo; Even though I said that, for some strange reason, my body refused to move. Was I really that scared? I suddenly felt ashamed of myself for being so weak&amp;hellip; especially in front of Luneth, of all people. My train of thought was once again cut off when he wrapped his arms around me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m sorry, Reffie.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I felt my face heat up as his grip around my waist tightened. When he nuzzled his face into my neck, an electric feeling erupted through my body. That sensation was becoming increasingly intoxicating every time I experienced it with him&amp;hellip; I was about to wrap my own arms around him when I realized our position. This was neither the time nor place for this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Luneth,&amp;rdquo; I whined, trying to wriggle out of his arms. He stared at my face curiously which, in turn, caused me to bashfully look down at the ground.&amp;nbsp;&amp;ldquo;Where are Arc and Ingus?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Well,&amp;rdquo; Luneth pulled away from me, much to my dismay, and scratched his chin, &amp;ldquo;I kind of left them somewhere when I noticed you were missing&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hah?&amp;rdquo; I snapped my head back up at him incredulously. &amp;ldquo;You did &lt;i&gt;what&lt;/i&gt;?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Luneth shot a sly smirk at me before grabbing my hand. &amp;ldquo;I guess I&amp;rsquo;ll have to use this opportunity wisely!&amp;rdquo; I was about to ask him what he was planning, but he cut me off with a series of quick kisses. &amp;ldquo;Time to get lovey-dovey with &amp;ndash;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I felt a dumb smile spread across my face at his affectionate advances. &amp;ldquo;Taking advantage of the situation, are we?&amp;rdquo; I interrupted teasingly, pushing him off me. &amp;ldquo;We can do that later, you know!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ll hold you to that, then.&amp;rdquo; He pulled away slightly but still kept a firm hold on my hand. &amp;ldquo;Are you ready to find them now?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I should be the one asking you that,&amp;rdquo; I grumbled lightheartedly, but nodded nonetheless. &amp;ldquo;And don&amp;rsquo;t forget to retrieve your helmet.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yes M&amp;rsquo;am,&amp;rdquo; Luneth complied and pulled me out of the darkness of the tunnel with him. I wasn&amp;rsquo;t sure what was in store for us, but I&amp;rsquo;d see whatever it was through to the end with him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;-----&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;So what were you two doing while you were gone?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I blushed heavily at not only Ingus&amp;rsquo;s question but also the tone he used when he asked it. I really wasn&amp;rsquo;t counting on having to face the big brother of our group like this. Luneth&amp;rsquo;s complacent smile only made the situation worse. Arc tried to calm Ingus down, but his efforts were also aggravating the circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I just went to find Refia; that&amp;rsquo;s all.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You were gone for an hour, Luneth. Arc and I had to retreat from the cave because we didn&amp;rsquo;t have a full battle party. It became too dangerous by ourselves. You also put the lives of you and Refia at risk.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Sorry, sorry. Refia and I couldn&amp;rsquo;t find you guys anywhere, so&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;So you decided to pass the time by kissing in the most unbecoming place? You&amp;rsquo;re despicable. A woman deserves much better than that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ah, umm&amp;hellip; Please stop it, guys&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Arc, stay out of this! This is between me and him! And Ingus! It just took a while of searching before we realized you guys had left.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I sighed at Ingus and Luneth&amp;rsquo;s bickering. Why didn&amp;rsquo;t anyone care to hear my side of the story?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay, if you guys are going to be like that, then I&amp;rsquo;ll just cook for Arc and me.&amp;rdquo; I smirked at Luneth and Ingus&amp;rsquo;s surprised faces. The two of them made up quicker than I thought possible and bowed in front of me humbly. I giggled at their complete change in behavior and waved them off. &amp;ldquo;Fine. I guess I can cook for you two as well. And Ingus, Arc? Could you guys make the usual preparations?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I gave Luneth a small wink, and he returned my sentiments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah, and I&amp;rsquo;ll help Refia out a bit.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Arc and Ingus gave us all-knowing looks but left us be with sighs. Luneth chuckled before turning back to me. &amp;ldquo;Now&amp;hellip; where were we?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I rested a hand on his chest and decided to play along. &amp;ldquo;I believe you had some unfinished business?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I do believe I did&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Arc and Ingus were rather wary of leaving us alone after that.</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2617.html</comments>
  <category>ff3</category>
  <category>ffiii</category>
  <category>refia</category>
  <category>fanfiction:one-shot</category>
  <category>ds</category>
  <category>luneth</category>
  <category>final fantasy</category>
  <category>lunethxrefia</category>
  <lj:mood>geeky</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2466.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:30:34 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>FFIII Fanfic - The Dark Knight and His Devout</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2466.html</link>
  <description>So this thing wants to work when I use a different computer, huh? GRAH! Anyway, this is my first time writing a fanfic in this perspective, so forgive me if I totally suck~&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; The Dark Knight and His Devout&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; E &amp;nbsp;(or K+)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Final Fantasy III (DS)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; LunethxRefia&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt; I never said that I didn&apos;t not own anything, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; In which a dark knight and a devout are left alone together, injuries are healed, and first kisses are put on the line.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ah, that hurts!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then hold still,&amp;rdquo; I snapped. The silver-haired boy before me winced as I ran my fingers along his fresh wound. I sighed as I began to channel my healing magic. Luneth had recklessly thrown himself in front of me during our last battle and had gotten himself hurt as a result. He claimed it was chivalry, but I thought it was just pure stupidity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Sorry,&amp;rdquo; he gritted out through his clenched teeth. I quickly looked away from his face. It was too hard to watch him writhe in pain. I finished patching up one gash and hurriedly moved on to the next.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You didn&amp;rsquo;t have to do that, you know,&amp;rdquo; I whispered softly. I thought it went unheard until:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I wanted to.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;But why? It&amp;rsquo;s not the first time an enemy has tried to attack me.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Refia,&amp;rdquo; Luneth shifted to face me fully, &amp;ldquo;you&amp;rsquo;re a devout now, not a red mage or warrior.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;So,&amp;rdquo; I interjected, a little angry, &amp;ldquo;that doesn&amp;rsquo;t mean that I&amp;rsquo;ll go down in one hit. I don&amp;rsquo;t need you to protect me all the time! It&amp;rsquo;s smothering me!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I pulled away from him to inspect for more damage to find that there was hurt in his expression. That was something I couldn&amp;rsquo;t fix with my magic. I tried to focus my attention on anything &amp;ndash; the surrounding trees, that red flower a few meters away, or even the damp grass we were sitting in &amp;ndash; except for his upset face.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Sorry for caring, then,&amp;rdquo; Luneth muttered and stood abruptly. He turned to walk away only to fall back to one knee just as quickly. I gasped and hurried to check for the missed injury.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You idiot!&amp;rdquo; I cried out. Luneth only gave me a weak smile in response.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I guess I forgot about the one on my abdomen.&amp;rdquo; He let out a little chuckle, but I didn&amp;rsquo;t find this funny in the least. When I saw the blood spread through the fabric, I frantically gestured for him to lift his shirt to allow me access. He weakly complied. I gasped at the sight in front of me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;How could you forget about something like this?&amp;rdquo; I was sure that if Arc or Ingus were here, they would&amp;rsquo;ve pulled the answer out of him right away with little trouble. Unfortunately, said party members were out collecting wood and scouting the area to set up camp.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Um, actually,&amp;rdquo; Luneth avoided my curious gaze and nervously scratched at a nonexistent itch on his neck, &amp;ldquo;I didn&amp;rsquo;t forget. I kind of lied&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I exploded at him, &amp;ldquo;Why would you do that?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You were getting mad, so I thought I&amp;rsquo;d give you some space&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;And let yourself bleed to death while I cool down?&amp;rdquo; I finished in an indignant screech. Luneth winced at my choice of words.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I could&amp;rsquo;ve used some potions&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Potions can fix &lt;i&gt;this&lt;/i&gt;?&amp;rdquo; I asked and gestured to his already partially-healed wound. He didn&amp;rsquo;t look so sure either. &amp;ldquo;I thought so.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m a dark knight, so I would&amp;rsquo;ve been fine.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Do I have to remind you how many times I&amp;rsquo;ve had to heal you after you used that souleater skill too much?&amp;rdquo; My eyes glazed over at the thought of Luneth&amp;rsquo;s exhausted body struggling to even stay upright after just one use. I could feel my chest ache painfully in remembrance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Never mind then.&amp;rdquo; Luneth shifted his position in front of me with a pout. I just smirked slightly and continued to mend the torn skin on his abdomen. After a moment of silence, I felt movement on my head and looked to see Luneth happily tugging on the ears of my devout robe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Hey Refia,&amp;rdquo; he toyed with the fabric as he spoke, &amp;ldquo;did you know that you look cute in cat ears?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I felt my face heat up profusely and silently cursed at his teasing. His wound just could not heal fast enough! I could practically feel the smile that he most likely directing at me. Another moment passed and the movement was not on my hood anymore but in my hair!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;What do you think you&amp;rsquo;re doing?!&amp;rdquo; I squeaked. I tried to focus on threading the last spots of his skin back together. His fingers continued to weave through my hair until my hood was eventually pushed away from my head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m just busying myself,&amp;rdquo; he casually replied. I grit my teeth as his nonchalance because I could feel my face growing hotter by the second. I practically jumped up to do a victory dance when I saw the last of Luneth&amp;rsquo;s skin had successfully healed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;A-all done!&amp;rdquo; I hopped up from my spot on the ground and tried to push Luneth&amp;rsquo;s sudden intimacy from my mind. Ingus and Arc would be back soon, I assured myself. Luneth stretched to test my handiwork and suddenly smirked at me. &amp;ldquo;What? Is something on my face?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Nah, I was just admiring the color of your cheeks. I have to admit; red is a pretty good color for you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I stared at him for a moment before his words finally sunk in. He was teasing me again! I huffed at his words, &amp;ldquo;How can I believe you really care if all you do is tease me, anger me, and&amp;hellip; worry me?&amp;rdquo; I started to walk away, intent on finding either Arc or Ingus to actually cool down like Luneth had wanted, but sudden warmth and a set of arms stopped me in place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I do care,&amp;rdquo; Luneth replied with conviction. His grip around my frozen body tightened, and the heat quickly returned to my face.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Prove it.&amp;rdquo; The words shot out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I could hear him grunt before he spun me around to face him. I gulped in anticipation. Was he really going to do what I thought? My first kiss&amp;hellip;?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His face leaned in towards my own, and I could feel my eyes flutter shut in response. I could feel his warm breath fan my face. Just a couple more inches&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Luneth! Refia! Um, I need some help.&amp;rdquo; We swiftly broke apart and whirled around to see Arc shuffling towards us with more wood than he could carry. I audibly sighed, which didn&amp;rsquo;t go unnoticed by my companion. Luneth briefly turned towards me with a mischievous grin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;We can continue later, Reffie,&amp;rdquo; he said happily before ruffling my hair and going to his friend&amp;rsquo;s side. &amp;ldquo;Woah, Arc! No wonder you took so long! I would&amp;rsquo;ve helped you earlier if you had just called for me, ya know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I smiled bashfully and lowered my head my feet. &amp;ldquo;That idiot. Who said I wanted to continue?&amp;rdquo; I muttered, but in the back of my mind, I knew I&amp;rsquo;d take him up on that offer. My fingers ghosted across my lips before I moved to help the two boys.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My first kiss&amp;hellip; I couldn&amp;rsquo;t wait.&lt;br /&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2466.html</comments>
  <category>ff3</category>
  <category>ffiii</category>
  <category>refia</category>
  <category>fanfiction:one-shot</category>
  <category>ds</category>
  <category>luneth</category>
  <category>final fantasy</category>
  <category>lunethxrefia</category>
  <lj:mood>hungry</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2095.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:36:01 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>RAGE.</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2095.html</link>
  <description>All I wanted to do was submit a new fanfic... WHY LIVEJOURNAL? WHYYY?? ARG. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After all the crap I went through to get that text under the LJ cut... How could it have been too long!? It was just barely longer than my Soul Eater one-shot. *sob* &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(Maybe I&apos;ll talk about how my birthday was later. :D) &lt;br /&gt;... &lt;br /&gt;(P.S. I should prolly invest in a &amp;quot;rage&amp;quot; icon.)</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/2095.html</comments>
  <category>rage</category>
  <category>:(</category>
  <lj:mood>angry</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1912.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:36:38 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>RAWR. Eccentric Emi is eccentric.</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1912.html</link>
  <description>&amp;nbsp;I haven&apos;t written anything since November? *face palm*&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, I think I might take up blogging a little more seriously (or, at least, as serious as Double E can get....) this year. I still have my WordPress blog, but I&apos;m not so sure about the direction I want to take with it anymore. It can be found here: &lt;a href=&quot;http://otakurecipe.wordpress.com&quot;&gt;otakurecipe.wordpress.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know that I still want to focus on anime, but I&apos;m not so sure about what aspect of it. Maybe I&apos;ll just review openings and endings? Or talk about entire episodes/series (which everyone all ready does). I&apos;m so unsure right now. &amp;gt;_&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Or maybe I can twist it into an even bigger vent for my otaku whims? Comics, weird ideas, and reviews?? I don&apos;t know, yet. T_T&lt;br /&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1912.html</comments>
  <category>wtf</category>
  <category>stuff</category>
  <category>anime</category>
  <category>otaku recipe</category>
  <category>wordpress</category>
  <lj:mood>contemplative</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1785.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:32:46 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>My opinion on Twilight...</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1785.html</link>
  <description>Okay, so I went to see Twilight with my friend after school yesterday. I went in with low expectations, of course.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, I sat through &lt;strong&gt;two hours&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;of awkward and choppy dialogue, over-emphasized action, remixed scenes, bad scene transitioning, and the worst part?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ROMANCE.&lt;/strong&gt; (Or lack of it.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Where was it? Where was the important transitoning from Point A to Point B? Where was the relationship building? Where was the predominant theme of an impossible romance? My answer: No where.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And character development. There was a severe lack of that as well. D:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My verdict? This movie would be okay for someone who hasn&apos;t read the novel, but the plot is so messed up, you&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;need&lt;/strong&gt; to read the novel to really understand what&apos;s going on. It was a mediocre movie that could&apos;ve been better, but it wasn&apos;t.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(BTW, my favorite part was the big fight scene at the end. I can&apos;t say that I actually liked any scene other than that one.)</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1785.html</comments>
  <category>movie</category>
  <category>twilight</category>
  <lj:mood>irritated</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1492.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:00:28 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Soul Eater Fanfic - Musical Moments</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1492.html</link>
  <description>&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt; Musical Moments&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt; E &amp;nbsp;(or K+)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Soul Eater&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt; SoulxMaka&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt; Romance, Various&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt; I don&apos;t even own the shoes I&apos;m wearing, &apos;kay?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&lt;/strong&gt; Ten moments frozen in time and they still need an eternity more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Michael Gray &amp;ndash; Borderline (Radio Edit)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka stared at the door with a steady gaze, a pillow held to her chest. She had lost track of how long she had been sitting there like that. Soul still wasn&amp;rsquo;t home. He said that he&amp;rsquo;d be home that night too&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A dejected sigh escaped her lips. She couldn&amp;rsquo;t handle all of these lonely nights.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t stress about it too much. That&amp;rsquo;s not very cool,&amp;rdquo; he had told her that afternoon. &amp;ldquo;I swear I&amp;rsquo;ll be able to finish my duties and come home tonight.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s what you said last time,&amp;rdquo; Maka had retorted. He only gave her one of his usual grins in reply.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I promise.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sometime later, Soul walked through the door tiredly. All of his fatigue was washed away by the sight before him. Maka was sprawled out on the couch, asleep. A pillow rested on her chest and her hair was down and slightly disheveled.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Not cool,&amp;rdquo; Soul commented before moving to join her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yui &amp;ndash; Life&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka nearly blanched as she was abruptly picked up and slung over Soul&amp;rsquo;s shoulders.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;W-what do you think you&amp;rsquo;re doing?&amp;rdquo; she nearly screeched. Soul only gave her a bored glance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;re going to join in their game.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t you remember the last time I played basketball? Besides, I still don&amp;rsquo;t know the rules!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t worry, Maka. This time, you&amp;rsquo;ll be on my team,&amp;rdquo; Soul reassured with a smile.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A moment of silence passed between them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; Maka looked down and quickly remembered her dilemma. &amp;ldquo;By the way, when do you plan on putting me down?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There was another moment of silence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jinn &amp;ndash; Raion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul stared down at the recipe and glanced around the kitchen in disbelief.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apples; they didn&amp;rsquo;t have any apples.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Maka! There aren&amp;rsquo;t any apples!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There was silence through the apartment. Soul cursed; he&amp;rsquo;d have to get them himself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay&amp;hellip; It&amp;rsquo;s time to get some apples, I guess.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;--&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul swore that if it wasn&amp;rsquo;t un-cool, he&amp;rsquo;d seriously cry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You ran out of apples, too?&amp;rdquo; Soul asked. The grocer&amp;rsquo;s nod confirmed it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I guess I can&amp;rsquo;t make that pie for Maka then,&amp;rdquo; Soul thought dramatically. Just when the chance to show off his newly attained cooking prowess came&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Breaking Benjamin &amp;ndash; Blow Me Away&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Aah!&amp;rdquo; Maka cried out as she narrowly avoided a well-aimed swipe. The spreading madness made even the weaker enemies into formidable opponents.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Maka! Watch out!&amp;rdquo; Soul called out. Maka tried draw Soul across herself to block but was sent flying before she could react.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Oww,&amp;rdquo; Maka moaned in pain. After gathering her bearings, she stood once more. Soul sent her a concerned glance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Don&amp;rsquo;t worry, next time I&amp;rsquo;ll make sure the attack doesn&amp;rsquo;t connect,&amp;rdquo; Soul vowed. Maka let a small smile ghost across her lips.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;FLOW &amp;ndash; Word of Voice&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul glanced around the room. Only the little demon was there.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Are you looking for something? Power maybe?&amp;rdquo; The imp suggested. Soul grunted in response. He could&amp;rsquo;ve sworn he heard her voice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Maka?&amp;rdquo; he called softly. The demon grinned.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why don&amp;rsquo;t you let her in yourself?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul hesitantly stood and walked to the door.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Soul? The door is locked.&amp;rdquo; That was definitely Maka&amp;rsquo;s voice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul threw open the door at the sound of her words but was quickly thrown out of the room and into the darkness. He knew what was coming after this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You shouldn&amp;rsquo;t let someone like her keep you away from power,&amp;rdquo; the little demon mused before the door abruptly shut.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soul shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for the next part of the nightmare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His anguished scream filled the night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nightmare &amp;ndash; the WORLD&lt;/strong&gt; (Crack ahead. :D)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka stopped in the middle of the street when she saw it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A black notebook lay on the ground under the street light. Upon further examination, she saw that on its cover was the title &lt;u&gt;Death Note&lt;/u&gt;. She hesitantly picked it up and came face to face with a silver-haired boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He wasn&amp;rsquo;t there before.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Wah! Where&amp;rsquo;d you come from?&amp;rdquo; she asked wildly. He gave her a wicked grin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m the owner of that notebook. Will you wield it and cleanse this world&amp;rsquo;s evil?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After a moment of consideration, Maka firmly took the stranger&amp;rsquo;s hand and nodded. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m Maka and you are?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Soul Eater.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sakamoto Maaya &amp;ndash; Triangular&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka looked at Soul who was peacefully sleeping next to her on the sofa. A thought suddenly plagued her mind. &lt;em&gt;What would it be like to kiss him?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A heavy blush spread across her face at the idea. Then again, it didn&amp;rsquo;t seem like &lt;em&gt;that&lt;/em&gt; bad of an idea. She progressively inched closer to his face. His jagged teeth became visible when he suddenly smirked.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Trying to steal a kiss off of me, are ya?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka was about to jump back, but his strong hand held her in place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Who said it was stealing?&amp;rdquo; Maka tried to fight back. Soul&amp;rsquo;s grip on her frame tightened.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why does it matter?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He closed in for the kill.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nakajima Megumi &amp;ndash; Seikan Hikou&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kid and Black Star stared in disbelief. Maka could sing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Maka could sing!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka blushed at all of the attention. &amp;ldquo;I told you that this was dumb!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I played the piano,&amp;rdquo; Soul shrugged, &amp;ldquo;so you should have to sing.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everyone nodded in agreement. She let out a depressed sigh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You guys don&amp;rsquo;t have to be so enthusiastic about it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;--&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why&amp;rsquo;d you make me sing, Soul?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why&amp;rsquo;d you force me to play the piano?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They both stood in silence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Answer honestly on the count of three.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;One.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Two.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Three!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t want to play the piano for anyone but you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t want to sing for anyone but you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There was another moment of silence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Oh,&amp;rdquo; they murmured simultaneously. More silence followed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KOTOKO &amp;ndash; Sociometry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Take that!&amp;rdquo; Maka cried out as she threw a cold ball of white. Unfortunately, her specialty isn&amp;rsquo;t in projectiles, so it missed. Soul made a face at her and stuck out his tongue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You won&amp;rsquo;t be able to hit me like that!&amp;rdquo; He quickly followed up with a toss of his own. The snowball hit her square in the face. Maka fell to the ground and lay there unmoving. Soul began to feel slightly unnerved at her stillness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Maka?&amp;rdquo; Soul crept over to her and hesitantly touched her face. It was cold.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;White wash!&amp;rdquo; Maka yelled and showed a handful of cold white into his face. The concern immediately melted off of his face.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The snowball fight seamlessly continued.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mint Royale &amp;ndash; Singing In the Rain (Clean Remix)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Ah, rain,&amp;rdquo; Soul commented as he and Maka walked out of the building. Classes had run longer than usual that afternoon. Maka groaned in realization.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t have an umbrella.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A jacket landed on top of her head with a small thud.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Soul?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He looked away with a light blush. &amp;ldquo;Take it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maka smiled into its sleeve.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Want to share?&amp;rdquo;.&amp;nbsp;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1492.html</comments>
  <category>soul eater</category>
  <category>fanfiction:one-shot</category>
  <category>soul</category>
  <category>maka</category>
  <category>soulxmaka</category>
  <lj:mood>thoughtful</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>3</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1208.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:53:49 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>StH Fanfic - Fair</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1208.html</link>
  <description>I gotta post some fanny-fictions!! XP So here&apos;s a SonAmy one-shot that I&apos;ve posted several places already!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Title:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Fair&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rating:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;E for eccentric! Err-- I mean everyone&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Series:&lt;/strong&gt; Sonic the Hedgehog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characters/ Pairing:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;SonAmy (SonicxAmy)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Genre:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Romance, Slice-of-life, friendship&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Disclaimer:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;I own nothin&apos; foos&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Summary:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s only fair.&amp;rdquo; Sonic shrugged. &amp;ldquo;You never outright said that you were already mine, either.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;cutid1&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;ldquo;What would you do if I could use chaos control?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sonic was caught off guard by that question. What would he do? &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;d just have to use chaos control, too.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She pouted. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s not fair.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sonic smiled and retorted, &amp;ldquo;Well, you have a hammer, and I don&amp;rsquo;t. That&amp;rsquo;s pretty unfair, isn&amp;rsquo;t it?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s not like I enjoy hitting you with it&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t enjoy hitting you with a hammer either, Amy.&amp;rdquo; Sonic patted her head; her face flushed at the action.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s because you&amp;rsquo;re a hero.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Who said I don&amp;rsquo;t enjoy beating things up?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Amy giggled. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s not what I meant.&amp;rdquo; The sight of an ice cream cart caught her attention. &amp;ldquo;Want some ice cream?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Sure, why not.&amp;rdquo; Sonic shrugged. The two picked out different flavors and walked away contentedly. Their cones were stacked ridiculously high, but they didn&amp;rsquo;t mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why do you run anyway?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I run because I love to.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;From me, I meant.&amp;rdquo; Amy groaned when some ice cream dripped onto her hand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;And that&amp;rsquo;s what I meant.&amp;rdquo; Sonic chuckled at Amy&amp;rsquo;s attempts to clean her hand up. &amp;ldquo;Here, let me help.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Amy gasped when Sonic snatched her cone out of her hand and started eating it. &amp;ldquo;What are you doing?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Helping.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re eating all of my ice cream!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;No, I&amp;rsquo;m giving you a chance to completely wipe the melted ice cream off your hand,&amp;rdquo; Sonic defended innocently. Amy grumbled and finished wiping her hand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m done; now give it back.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Here ya go.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;H-hey! This is yours!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yeah, I know. I ate a little too much of yours, so I&amp;rsquo;ll give you mine to be fair.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Fine&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo; Amy accepted the offer and continued walking along. &amp;ldquo;Hey, if you enjoy running so much, why aren&amp;rsquo;t you doing it now?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sonic took a moment to answer. &amp;ldquo;This is also fun.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;What, walking?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Nope,&amp;rdquo; he answered. Amy felt herself becoming frustrated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;What&amp;rsquo;s so fun?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Being with you, teasing you, talking with you...&amp;rdquo; Sonic finished the cone with a silly grin. &amp;ldquo;And I can&amp;rsquo;t use chaos control without an emerald, ya know.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Amy scoffed. &amp;ldquo;You could always run, though.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;But then you&amp;rsquo;d hit me with your hammer the next time you see me.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Definitely,&amp;rdquo; Amy affirmed with a nod. She finished her cone as well. &amp;ldquo;So, does running from me count as teasing?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Definitely,&amp;rdquo; Sonic imitated which caused Amy to giggle. They stopped in front of her apartment door hesitantly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Can I count on seeing you tomorrow?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;As long as you don&amp;rsquo;t plan on asking questions that don&amp;rsquo;t matter.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Like what?&amp;rdquo; Amy asked, almost offended. Sonic put a hand on his hip and wagged a finger at her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Like &lt;em&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why do you run from me?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/em&gt; or stuff like that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Why?&amp;rdquo; Amy crossed her arms. Sonic imitated her and crossed his own arms.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;&amp;rsquo;Cause I&amp;rsquo;m already yours. Don&amp;rsquo;t think that I let girls other than you run alongside me.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Then why didn&amp;rsquo;t you say so in the first place?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s only fair.&amp;rdquo; Sonic shrugged. &amp;ldquo;You never outright said that you were already mine, either.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Okay then. I&amp;rsquo;m already yours. Fair?&amp;rdquo; Amy smiled at the small blush that spread across Sonic&amp;rsquo;s face.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Fair enough.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/1208.html</comments>
  <category>amy rose</category>
  <category>fanfiction:one-shot</category>
  <category>sonamy</category>
  <category>sonic the hedgehog</category>
  <lj:mood>bouncy</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/782.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:37:41 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Zidane and Ikuto are too bishounen...</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/782.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;... For school computers, that is.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Okay, okay, like the weirdest thing ever happened today at school. I was on one of the school&apos;s computers checking my messages on dA, and when I went to reply to some comments... It was bizzare!! When I was going to type to my buddy Angelbless about Zidane and such, the computer&apos;s fan just started being really loud. Freaked out, I cut my comment short. Then the computer calmed down. WTF?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;BUT!! When I went to reply to another comment (this time was to talk about Tsukiyomi Ikuto&apos;s hawtness), the computer did it&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;again&lt;/strong&gt;. It made me feel so self-conscious because the classroom was so quiet. That computer... I think that it was fangirling with me. XD&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, here&apos;s some Ikuto love~&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/000033d5/&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; src=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/000033d5/s320x240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Death Rebel and Black Lynx ftw.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Computer: Fo&apos; sho&apos;.</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/782.html</comments>
  <category>death rebel</category>
  <category>shugo chara!</category>
  <category>silliness</category>
  <category>bishounen</category>
  <category>ikuto tsukiyomi</category>
  <category>zidane tribal</category>
  <category>art</category>
  <category>black lynx</category>
  <category>chibi</category>
  <lj:mood>amused</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/595.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:43:45 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Stuff</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/595.html</link>
  <description>&lt;br /&gt;I keep forgetting that this account exists. My bad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My current game obsession is TWEWY~ That game is wicked fun. And of course, NekuxShiki is my OTP. &amp;lt;3 (I don&apos;t understand why people love NekuxJoshua so much...)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here&apos;s some cuteness to atone for my lack of activity. :3&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/00002qsz/&quot;&gt;&lt;img height=&quot;240&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;205&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/00002qsz/s320x240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;RG!Shiki and Mr. Mew make me happy~</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/595.html</comments>
  <category>twewy</category>
  <category>nekuxshiki</category>
  <category>mr. mew</category>
  <category>shiki misaki</category>
  <lj:mood>lazy</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
<item>
  <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/371.html</guid>
  <pubDate>Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:37:57 GMT</pubDate>
  <title>Watch out world! Here I come!</title>
  <link>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/371.html</link>
  <description>Beware! For I am a newb! I also like ending sentences with an &amp;quot;!&amp;quot; because I&apos;m such a hyperactive person. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/00001a4k/&quot;&gt;&lt;img height=&quot;240&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;133&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;http://pics.livejournal.com/eccentric_emi/pic/00001a4k/s320x240&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;... And Rukia seems to agree. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, warm welcomes would be really nice right about now... Along with a batch of freshly baked cookies! *drools*</description>
  <comments>http://eccentric-emi.livejournal.com/371.html</comments>
  <category>new</category>
  <lj:mood>craving cookies</lj:mood>
  <lj:security>public</lj:security>
  <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
