Returning Home (Pasture)

[apollo]

APollo looked down as he say ebony link arms with him and rest her head on his shoulder. The sunlight hit her hair in such a way that it seemed to be as shiny as a lakes surface. "How can you do this, how can you like me?" He was surprised when he murmured this out loud. how could a girl like this actually like him. A smile crossed his face as he leaned his head against hers. The moment lasted for what seemed like an eternity, one blessed eternity before he lifted his head an put his hand on her shoulder. Turning her body towards him Apollo tucked one of her brown locks behind her ear and smiled down at her, "why don't we go to the house? I don't want you missing your father's visit because of little old me."

To think that he had just met this girl a little while ago, and already it seemed as though he had known her his whole life. Oh, the innocence of love. He didn't want to leave her side, not ever, but he knew that he would do anything she wanted, just to make her happy. No matter what the cost.

[ebony]

Ebony looked at him with concern as he questioned her liking him. "...Why wouldn't I?" she answered gently. His hair felt so soft against her cheek as he rested his head on hers. She was content to just close her eyes, hear his heartbeat, and think of nothing else. She was surprised when he turned her to face him, then voiced his suggestion. It was so completely out of nowhere that it shocked her at first. "If you really want to... I mean.." She paused, not knowing what to say. "It's just that I'm not sure how he'll treat you. And to be honest, I'm a bit afraid to find out." She looked away shyly.

The corners of her mouth twisted in frustration. "But I guess we'll never know until we try." Her hands balled into tight fists as she prepared herself. His level of understanding was so far above hers. He seemed to have centuries of experience behind him, even if he didn't look more than two decades old. She just hoped her father wouldn't do anything eccentric. Even though it had only been about a day since they first met, she felt like it had been much longer with that. Even if they hadn't conversed much during their travels here, just his presence was comforting. They had become closer, even without the use of words.

[apollo]

Apollo reached out and gathered her hand in his. It was so soft and white, like that of a fine flowers." Because how could someone as beautiful as you like me." He laughed gently. "If he throw me out the door, at least I'll know that I tried." he smiled down at her.

There was such love and warmth in her eyes, it made his want to gaze into those lipid pools forever. His heart seemed like it was going to burst. Never had he felt this way before, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he never would again. only Ebony seemed able to awaken such a fire within him. He took a step toward the house with her hand wrapped inside his. he had never felt this secure and happy in all of his many days living, and now that he had felt it, he never wanted to part from it again.

[ebony]

Ebony rolled her eyes, but she still grinned joyfully. "I'll be your shield." ((Name pun! )) His hands were still very warm and comforting. She imagined she'd probably be having dreams about all that has happened in the past twenty-four hours, not that that was a bad thing. When things were prominent in her mind, they stayed with her even in unconciousness. That explained why her dreams mostly consisted of either gathering food, or her father. But she had a feeling a different image would be joining them when she went to sleep that evening.

She walked with him back over to the house, quietly pushed open the door, and found her father sitting erect in an armchair, a rather fat book in his hands. He peered up at the sound of the door opening, then straightened up with surprise. He gave her a questioning look, and she explained, "Apollo thought it would be best if we came back here. He knew how much I missed you..." Her father's eyes shifted from between her and Apollo, and finally they rested on Apollo.

"You certainly aren't what I expected," Raphael admitted. He smirked in an almost friendly way, but there was still a very serious air between the two. "You're welcome here anytime." He paused, then quickly added, "That is, as long as you're not entirely alone with my daughter." He glanced at Ebony and saw her pouting. He gave her a stern look, and she looked away from him, embarrassed.

[apollo]

Apollo let his feet take him to the door of the house. The sight of Raphael sitting exhausted in a rocking chair gave him hope that there wasn't going to be a fiery exchange. " Thank you." Apollo smiled slightly as he bowed a little to the man. He could understand Raphael's worry, he was just doing what good fathers would do, care for their daughters. He looked and saw Ebony's flushed face with embarrassment as a smile crept over his face. So innocent. He wondered how much she had seen of the world apart from here. Drawing up a chair he sat down and looking at Raphael asked, "So how have things gone since...the war.." His tone was serious, yet curious. He wanted to know the truth, yet he also wanted to know about his friend.

[ebony]

Ebony decided it was best to leave the two alone, since she didn't want to have much to do with this conversation. It always left her father distressed. She subtley walked through the door and closed it quietly behind her.

Raphael's hand grazed over his chin as he looked at Apollo. Shaking his head slowly, he answered, "Are there not enough signs around you to answer that question?" He paced around the small room restlessly. "Things... Seem to be worse with every passing day. The only thing that seems to be right is the number of deaths, but even those are frightening. Things are passing when they aren't meant to, only because they can't survive in these conditions..." He passed a hand over his forehead. "Axel has had his hands quite full lately, especially with the return of that demon..," he added.

[apollo]

Apollo watched the door close as Ebony quietly exited the room. Then his eyes turned to Raphael. With a sigh he said, "Well surely there are some sort of Guardian prospects out there, to help you guys out some.So many years have passed, surely there have been some people found."
His gaze drifted out the window as he thought of a far away place, covered in snow and ice. It was probably the only place that hadn't changed, besides the people who didn't live there that much. Looking up at Raphael he asked, "Have there been any signs of the returning of Sylfaen? He would be someone who could help.[/b]"

His mind drifted back to Axel and Bael the demon, "As for Axel..." He sighed and leaned back into the chair. "I feel sorry for him Nobody should be forced to do something that they don't want to.[/b]" He shook his head. "That only leads to.....problems."

[{Kaiji}]

Dai was exploring the area that was around that cottage. "Why do wizards have to know every detail of the land he lives in..." He muttered. His eyes caught the sight of the rare flower said to be found here. His eyes widened and he ran for it. He sat infront of it and admired its beauty. "Awww...its so...amazing." He touched the petals and smiled. An idea popped into his mind. A make-it-up spell. "This won't happen with speed, please give me a seed." A small gold seed appeared in his hand and he put it into a pouch on his waist.

[ebony]

Ebony had been milling around outside while her father and Apollo talked. She hoped that there was some male bonding going on in there. Otherwise, her relationship was doomed. She glanced around the pasture with a bored expression on her face, until she sighted some stranger fooling around in her flowerbed. She stood up and shouted angrily, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" She dashed over there and examined every row of flowers, making sure there was no damage. Her hands on her hips, she scowled at the man. "Any particular reason you just decided to tromp all over my flowerbed?"

Raphael shrugged sadly. "If there are, I haven't found any, or they haven't shown themselves. Although..." He paused to think. "There was this one woman... She seemed.." He thought about the elf girl. She seemed so pure and determined. Not to mention powerful. "Quite adequate." An idea just popped into his head. He wanted to find her, but he wouldn't know where to look. When Apollo asked about Sylfaen, Raphael closed his eyes. "No, none at all. How I miss him. He was an old friend of mine." Raphael leaned against the wooden counters. "Axel himself is problems. He doesn't need anything helping him to create them."

[apollo]

Apollo's face grew thoughtful as he considered what Raphael had said. " Well one is a start.. Hopefully the others will fall into place." The image of a much more stable world came to his mind. Why did they have to fight, the guardians? Why couldn't they just live in peace? Had they forgotten that the well being of the entire world rested on their shoulders? "Hopefully there won't be any troubles with the new guardians as with the old eh?"

"Axel didn't always have problems, well maybe he might have, but definitely not to the scale that they are now. what a life he has lived. What a tragic story." Apollo shook his head but then cleared it. "So how long is your stay? Ebony seemed very excited to see you. Hopefully her joy won't be cut short with a quick stay."

[{Kaiji}]

Dai was still looking at the other flowers around him. He had actually stepped on a few. That's when he heard a girl yelling, more than likely at him seeing as he's the only other person outside. He grabbed his staff by reflex and looked over at her. "I'm sorry that I stepped on a few of them, I'll fix it." He smiled. His hand opened and he uteered a small spell and the flowers that weren't completely healthy, even the ones that possibly might not have been watered lately, became 100% healthy. He stood up and looked at her. 'If she knew I were a guardian she more than likely wouldn't have yelled, but who knows.' He thought. "I fixed them all up in case you forgot to do something. They are all very pretty flowers." He told her.

[Miss Fifi]

Ebony leaned down to closely examine the flower beds, making sure nothing was out of place. When she saw that every single bud was in perfect condition, she sighed with relief. "...Thank you. I'm sorry I shouted." She smiled sheepishly. Something about this stranger made her feel a little uncomfortable. It was a feeling like she was overshadowed by him. The feeling was familiar for a reason she couldn't quite explain. Then it hit her all of a sudden. "Your a... Guardian, aren't you?"

Raphael shrugged. "Perhaps one, but I haven't exactly recruited her yet. I haven't exactly had the elements of time on my side..." He glanced out the window in Ebony's direction while he said this. Raphael smirked at Apollo's comments about Axel. "Certainly not a happy ending," he commented quietly. His head snapped up at Apollo's last remark. "Well, to be truthful, I can't stay much longer. I have other business I must attend to.." He looked down sadly as he said this.

[apollo]

"Well hopefully she will except, though I doubt she won't, most likely she knows what is going on and that this world as we know it needs her." Apollo leaned back in the seat and gazed at the door of the cabin. "So you have to leave soon..That is a shame." Not only did he wish that Raphael would stay later to tell him more about how his friend had been doing, but he also hated to see Ebony's face when her father left.

The house around him seemed empty, though it had little pieces of warmth from Ebony's touch, there was definitely something missing. "Probably the bustling activity it once had when everything was as it should have been for Ebony." "Do you want o go outside? I don't want to take all your time, I'm sure you want to be with your daughter." He stood up and cocking his head slightly to the side he mentioned, "Plus I think you have another visitor."

[{Kaiji}]

"You're welcome. And it wasn't a problem at all." Dai said with his smile still there. He looked at the flowers, they were very pretty. His attention turned to the house. He sensed someone who he sort of recognized, he couldn't put his finger on it but he was sure he knew him. He returned his attention to the girl who began speaking again. He nodded, "Yes. The Guardian of all Wizards." It was a bit troublesome to be a Guardian, especially at his age. He was only 16, almost 17. He didn't know at the moment, but the person he sensed was another Guardian. "Is there a problem with me being a Guardian?" He asked with a confused look.

[ebony]

Ebony looked surprised at his question. "No, nothing at all. I just felt it..." She glanced down at her flowerbeds, looking at the way that their colors were so varied and bright. "So, I'm guessing you like flowers?" she asked with a smile. He wasn't exactly a very manly man, but she didn't mind. They shared an interest in gardening.

Raphael felt the prick of heat on his chest, and he had a feeling that something had already been done for him. "Unless of course, someone else decided to do it for me," he wondered. If Axel had done it without his knowing, there would surely be a conflict about it. But for now he could be content to wait here. Shaking it off, he said, "But no matter. Those things can be dealt with later." He stood up and glanced out the window, seeing a man sitting near his daughter in their flowerbed. "I suppose we should get a move on." He pushed open the door with his elbow and walked calmy towards them, the cool grass feeling good against his skin. Narrowing his eyes, he stopped and called out to the man, "Dai, is it?"