Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tears formed in the corners of Nils' eyes. Yes... he remembered now, all of it. It was pushed to the back of his mind for the longest of times, finally resurfacing as FD spoke. Memories from not only the first Scouring, but from the war that would be known as the second Scouring as well. He had taken part in both.

His eyes closed as his companion continued to talk, bringing up the part where he was directly involved. That day... That day, his sister, Ninian, was brought back from the dead by Bramimond. That day, Elibe was saved. And he helped save it. With his music, he helped saved Elibe from being burnt to a crisp.

But... With his music, he helped the band of people send FD, the one who was easily his closest companion in this new world, back through the Dragon's Gate.
And later that same day, he ventured through the Gate alone to seal it off from the other end. He left Ninian behind with Lord Eliwood, wishing her a life of happiness and reassuring her that their sibling bond would never be broken, even if he never saw her again.

A tear rolled down his cheek and he raised his hand to wipe it away immediately. He didn't want to cry, darn it! He wanted to be happy! His eyes reopened and he stared at FD, a small smile on his face.

---

Amara gasped, tugging on Alihi's cloak. "I wanna try, I wanna try!!"

"Okay, okay!" The tactician said with a laugh, handing the vendor the gold. With the way she was spending, she'd be out of gold before the festival was even over!

Seeing her daughter stare at the goldfish in the tank with a look of pure determination, knowing that the little girl was having a blast? Worth every single gold piece she had. Her arms crossed across her chest and she grinned. ... I don't want this peace and joy to end.

Aidan took Blossom's hand, a light, peaceful smile on his face.

"That was beautiful. I don't know if I would've been able to do that," he said, laughing nervously. Half to calm himself, he kissed her. "Here's to a better future. Right?"

Arashe smirked, taking a slight step back from the advancing Leon. As the Axe Knight got closer and closer, his blade a distance ahead, Arashe went into action. Quickly turning around to the other side of the pillar, Arashe glared at the oncoming man, and shook his head, as if it was already won.

"Heh, careless oaf..." Arashe propped himself up against the pillar, pulling a foot behind him, along the column's edge. As Leon came within melee range, Arashe gave the ground a hard kick, sending sand into a cloud around his location. If it didn't shroud him, which it really wouldn't, it would at least stop the brute's advance, something that Arashe would have liked.

The moment sand went into the air, Arashe rolled back to the other side of the pillar, and put away his bow. With a small smile on his face, he pulled out his Stiletto, waiting for his opponent to make some kind of movement.

Blossom listened in silence to FD's story. She had never realized just how much the war affected the dragons, too. She pursed her lips, considering going up there to speak to him, but Nils was right there, and she didn't want to intrude... not to mention how Ganon's attention had been taken by Ed's arrival, and Blossom didn't want to snatch anyone's spotlight, so she turned back to Aidan, who had caught up to her while she was lost in thought.

Blossom smiled warmly to Aidan, holding onto both of his hands. "I'm not sure how I managed it, actually," she told him with a laugh. She leaned into the kiss, then hugged him tightly, taking in the smell of his shirt. "Right."

Above the heads of the citizens and visitors of Eyris, an invisible spirit watched, quite amusedly. In truth, she was nervous about leaving her manor after so long, but it had been a long time since she had seen a festival of this size, and the curiosity got the better of her. All the buildings, the many people, the laughter, the fun, it was so much for her to take in. She knew that she couldn't reveal herself, but just watching was fun to her. Human interaction always amused her.

She flew through the sky, watching intently on the various games, giggling and having the time of her life. She truly was a child at heart. She was so busy having fun, she didn't realize that a... familiar person was entering into her manor.

But then, after just a little while, she sensed something very bad. It hit her so hard, that she let out a short yelp, accidentally into a man's ear. She flew back up into the sky, immediately. Thankfully, she was still invisible. In a perplexed state, she spoke aloud to herself, though nobody could hear her.

"...Eeeh? W-what's happening? ...No, no, no! No fighting in my house!"

She paused a moment, and then grew a tad shaky.

"..No! Don't go down there!!"

The wind picked up slightly, from he frustration. Taking immediate action, she soared back to her home, creating a gust of wind where she flew past people, hoping to arrive in time.

Amelia watched Leon and Arashe duel with curious eyes. Leon seemed to be handling himself all right, but Arashe was pretty on the ball. Clearly he knew how to handle oncoming opponents, but the biggest question was if he would be able to best the record keeper. Even if Leon was the Watch's record keeper, he could hold his own more than well enough in combat. It was just a matter of whether or not Arashe was better.

"Good luck," Amelia murmured.

She paused. Had that wind been there before? She looked up, then to the side as the wind dissipated to her right. What was up with that? She saw Fefga's manor up on the hillside in that direction, far, but still within the castle town's walls. She studied the manor as if something was going to happen, then shuddered a little and looked back to the fight.

"Don't get so paranoid," she decided under her breath, dismissing the sudden eerie feeling and relaxing once more.

Leon sneezed when the dust went flying up in the air. He knew to shield his eyes... Large used the old "dust in the eyes" technique on him all too often. The problem was, he didn't know that Arashe was actually a Ranger, able to wield knives... he still thought he was facing a Sniper, a specialist in long-ranged combat only.

Hastily, the Watch's Lieutenant scanned the arena. Not that many hiding places but the pillars. Hefting up his poleaxe in an attacking position and forgetting his anger for the moment, Leon had found his target based on the direction of the sand.

"There you are." He said simply, while swinging his poleaxe towards Arashe in a more concentrated, fluid motion.

All the while, something nagged at him. He had this weird feeling... danger was approaching and it wasn't Arashe.

Victoria watched the arena match continue. She had to admit that it was one of the longest bouts she ever saw take place in the colosseum. The bishop, although hating war, did enjoy watching fair-grounds fights of strength, because they were just simply too interesting! Not to mention the learning experience of repeated staff use afterwards.

Suddenly, a chill ran through her though. "What is this?" If she wasn't even scared of a gigantic man of Dan's proportions, then what was there to be a afraid of? "An... omen..."

Just like the one she felt.. the chill that froze her just before Bern's wyverns descended upon Etruria.

~~~~~~~~

"Ninian?" Sue just noticed the ice dragon, whom had arrived to hear the stories of FEF's members. "Are you all right? You seem pale." the nomad spoke with the most concern. She'd made a promise to Ninian from one friend to another that she'd keep both her and Nils safe... that she'd fight her hardest for all of Eyris. She must not only fill Rath's shoes, but also her own.