Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shiro caught sight of Thenia as she approached him and smirked slightly. He really was at a loss as to what he thought about her. It seemed to him that she was just as confused about all of this as he was, but also thought that she could just simply be toying with him, trailing him along some twisted path to his inevitable doom. He shrugged it off and knew if she wanted him dead, she probably would've done it right the first time. He decided to apologize for acting so irrational and cold to her recently, but instead turned to see her clutching her head in pain, and staggering towards him, reaching out for him. He quickly rushed forward catching her within his arms, and seeing the seared claw like wound upon her back he immediately lifted her up quickly into his arms. He had almost rushed into the banquet hall, but something of interest caught his eye...a projected image of some sort revealing a man whom apparently had been watching them as well. Shiro watched in horror as the demon known as Marxes looked directly at Shiro with the same surprise reflected within his eyes. Shiro simply grit his teeth and glared at the man whom he now was sure was responsible for everything he had gone through..."I'm coming for you...and god help you when I get there..." was all he said as the image began to shrink slowly as if it had been forceably held open. Finally snapping to, Shiro burst into the banquet hall, and yelled for help loudly, as he tried to keep Thenia conscious.

"Stay with me Thenia...don't you dare die...you can't die," he said as he held fast to the fallen demon girl. Why was he so afraid of losing her? He didn't know, but it seemed that despite the circumstances of their first meeting, the two were simply pawns in a much bigger game of chess.

Meanwhile...

Maxel sat back in his chair, his heart pounding at a thousand beats per second. He didn't know why a Hume could frighten him so much, but something about that boy terrified him. How could that boy see him. He had used powerful dark magics to scry them, and the fact that he saw him sent thrills up his spine. He grunted in distaste, and shifted in his chair. "Come boy...bring the girl back to me and I'll make sure the two of you share a casket together..." he muttered to himself as he swiped his hand at the contents on his desk, sending beakers, books, and other misc. objects flying off it and crashing to the floor.

Shiro remained silent the whole time, and although he had been asked questions about how she had ascertained such injuries he could only remain speechless, although thousands of thoughts swarmed through his mind. Many emotions seemed to flood Shiro overloading his common sense at the time, fear, hate, excitement all rushed through his mind just as the adrenaline rushed throughout his veins. Finally as the king left, Shiro revealed his distaste for the man. He could no longer stomach the superiority complexity of that man, and although he had no real reason to dislike him...he hated him so. He gripped his fist tightly and sucked at his teeth as he peered up at Lanryel, his eyes now almost fully red save the few green specs of his former eye color...

"I hate that man..." he chided softly as he trembled with anger. "He's hiding something immense, and it bothers me...he's plotting something..." he said softly once more. He quickly found himself seething with so much anger that he began to busy himself as he had always done when upset, he just simply ran his hand down a strand of his increasingly whitened hair repeatedly. It had been an old habit that he had not been able to snuff out. He sucked at his teeth angrily, and turned away from Lanryel feeling a bit ashamed of his inexplicable anger. "I'm sorry...I can't really explain it, but that man..." he stopped himself as his eyes fell back upon Thenia, and he began to quickly grow calm. "Oh Thenia...was that the man who told you to extinguish the flame, and come kill me," he softly said as he reached towards her face, and brushed away a strand of hair from it. "It's okay now...you don't need to apologize anymore for that man's actions. It's not your fault...it never was," he softly said, knowing his words fell upon deaf ears. He knew well enough that she had fallen deep into unconsciousness, but in a way he was also reassuring himself. He looked up quietly at Lanyrel, and gave a slight smile. "I appreciate all the trouble you've gone through for us...but I believe that soon the matter will be out of your hands, and the burden will have to be carried by Thenia and I...but as of now I am within your debt," he said respectably bowing. "You know...you remind me of someone, but oddly enough I can't quite remember. Strange really, but I can't quite remember much of anything from my past. I used to be able to remember everything, but now..." he fell silent once more, and looked back at Thenia, placing his hand atop her own.

Shiro smiled lightly as he sat there watching over Thenia. For the next few days the changes in Shiro became more prominent, and his hope for Thenia's awakening never faded. Although Eshe's attempts to get to know Shiro failed miserably, the king remained resolute in his attempts to befriend the strangely familiar man. Shiro would remain at Thenia's side, reading to her stories of his own childhood, rarely getting outside of the palace. He spoke little to anyone else, but at times would find himself deep in conversation with Lanryel mostly about his past, but despite the short time in which he had come to be within their world, his memory of his life in the Hume world also seemed to fade. Shiro would struggle to remember his grandfather, as well as the names of certain cities or states. Soon he had forgotten his grandfather completely, and when asked by Lanryel about things he had told her in the past, he would look down miserably, frowning as he'd attempt to remember what Lanryel would recap to him. Their conversations began dwindling as he forgot more, until the day he simply remained speechless when Lanryel came about. Shiro felt like a large piece of him had been ripped away, and shuddered as he only remembered fragments of his past. He became content with his appearance just as he slowly became all the more content about his fate. It was almost as if he had been reborn once again, but...somewhat incomplete. He had no doubt that even that feeling of loss would be forgotten the longer he stayed there within this land.

Shiro entered Thenia's room quietly, sitting down upon the chair he had sat upon so many times. His white hair glistened with the moist drops of water from his bath this morning. "It seems I've changed quite a bit since I arrived here in your world...my body has changed drastically. I'm stronger and faster than I've ever been before. My appearance has changed...I have white hair, long pointed ears, and my eyes are as red as the blood that flows throughout my veins. My life is...different completely, as if I have been reborn. Its all nothing that I've been too worried about, but...I can't remember my past. I can't remember anything, just fragments of people and places that I can't quite put a name to," he said softly to her. "I used to blame you for everything that had happened to me, but now...things are different. I know it wasn't your fault. I've learned much from this place, and how your people are...they are like my people in many ways..." he said softly, but chuckled lightly to himself, but chided once again to himself..."my people..."

Shiro gasped slightly as his ears perked to hear a strangely familiar voice. His lifted his head to see Thenia stir slowly from her sleep, and smiled. Although he was from the Hume world, he felt more closer to this girl than he had with anyone from where he was from, and he was almost sure that had he still retained his memory, he would nonetheless still think the same. As Shiro stared at Thenia, he could feel the slight flicker of hope relight within his soul. He had thought that all had been lost since that dark and dreary day, and things seemed to progressively get worse, but today he could see that not all things were lost. He couldn't help, but be curious as to what Thenia thought of his new look now. He had lost an inch or two from his original height since she lost seen him, not to mention his noticeable change in hair, skin, and eye color. He was all the more curious to know if she'd even recognize him now, being that so much had changed since then. Over the time Thenia had been unconscious, he had secretly been practicing with a few of the palace guards in order to improve his swordsmanship. He had even been studying quite a bit of the demonic and elven language since, and it seemed to come almost naturally to him as he studied book after book throughout the week. Many of the elves thought it frightening as to how quickly he had adapted within their lands. Apart from those things, he had also been having nightmares, and throughout the week they seemed to get worse. He had not only changed physically, but his mental state had also undergone quite a change. He easily had less nerve since he left his world, and was not afraid to yell at those whom annoyed him. He had even combated several of those whom spoke about him behind his back. He sent open glares at the king, and when spoken to by Eshe, he quickly just walked the other way. Lanryel seemed to be the peacekeeper over situations like that, always reassuring Eshe that Shiro was just overly stressed.

Shiro's now pale complexion slowly turned a lovely shade of red before he quickly turned away in embarrassment. "Well think nothing of it", he replied with his back turned to her, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling nervously. He was curious as to what would cause him to act so...well so odd, but quickly shrugged it off spinning back around to face Thenia. " I bet your pretty hungry right now. I mean you haven't eaten in some time, and well...perhaps you'd like to go grab a bite to eat with me in the palace dining room"..."to discuss our next step in our journey to get me back home of course," he quickly retorted so that he can hide the fact that he really just wanted her company. Being stuck within a castle for days on end with such a nuisance of a king drove him insane. It always seemed to him that Eshe kept an eye on him, as if he was in on some secret, and truth be told it made Shiro undoubtedly nervous around him. He bit his lower lip as he anxiously awaited a reply from Thenia, but looked back to Lanryel with a warm smile. "Thank you for all you've done for us. Is there any way I can repay you for treating our wounds, and caring for us? You've already given us so much, and yet I have so little to offer you..." he said softly, his confidence wavering as he repeatedly broke eye contact with Lanryel. He had done that quite often when speaking with Lanryel. The way she spoke, and the warm smile she gave him warmed his heart, almost as if she had been there for him from the beginning. She bore the role of a mother quite well.

Nervously he fiddled with a strand of his hair as his deep crimson eyes reflected the room's surroundings. Memories continued to elude him more and more these days, but as the days passed by, he became more content with his situation, besides what good would worrying ever do him. There was little more he could do to remedy the situation. He didn't want to worry Thenia nor Lanryel about his huge gaps in memory any longer. His own last name was now a mystery to him, although the traditions of his family still somewhat lingered in his mind. He was even having trouble placing what he was doing before he came to that world, all he knew was that he had to confront Lanryel's father, and rekindle the flame to the lantern...no more...no less.

Shiro nodded warmly as he sat beside her on the bed, and placed her arm around his neck. She was very warm to the touch, and his chest pounded rapidly. As they rose, he couldn't help, but keep his eyes off of her face, as if he was searching for what made her so special. What kept him so interested in this girl. He snapped to before she noticed, or at least that's what he assumed. "You know if your ever in trouble...you can lean on me," he said as his hair fell forward covering his face. "Now...shall we go to the dining room? I'll chastise the cook if he gives you a dirty look. Apparently people around here don't like demons. Found that out on one of my few adventures around this place. Apparently I look more and more like one as the days pass..." he said with a smirk. He looked at Thenia and chuckled..."Think I'll get horns like you, and if I do...does it hurt?" he asked slightly concerned. He chuckled, "Yeah right...I'm not turning into a demon...there's obviously no way someone's genetic structure can be changed on a whim. Maybe the knife I was stabbed by had some sort of poison or chemical that made me look like this...who knows..." he said quietly, his words trailing off in the distance.

He had much to talk about with Thenia, and wanted to know much as well. As he helped her towards the dining area he went on with what thoughts swelled within his head over the span of her unconsciousness, until he could no longer think of anything. He spoke of his physical changes, how much more stronger he felt since the change, and how much more appealing his look became to him. The spoke of his distrust of the king, his vague familiarity he feels towards Lanryel, and how he had been practicing the sword with a few of the knights about. He went on about the new foods, and smells, and sights, some of which he had never seen before, and of the upcoming festival. He blushed upon realizing he had been doing all the talking and fell silent looking at Thenia. "Forgive me...everything here is still so...new. I've wondered many times what was going through your mind as you laid there...would you tell me?" he chided softly finally arriving at a table in the dining room.

Shiro fell silent at the mention of her father, and stared down at the floor. He thought it best to remain silent on his malicious plan to kill him only after he tortured him slowly. Along with his body, his mind was also changing. His memories began to fade, but his anger...it grew. He worried himself constantly in the previous nights, tossing and turning, wondering when he'd have another fit of anger, and if he'd be able to contain this time. Fortunately for Shiro he had been successful so far. He gripped his thigh secretly under the table sending a shrill pain up his leg as he clenched down. He chuckled lightly releasing his thigh, his anger dispersing at a random thought. "You know what...as vile as your father may be, I have to admit I have him to thank for bringing me to you. I can't remember much about my old life, but from what I gather, I believe I'm happier here. Either way, I have to meet him to make him pay for what he did to you, and how he used you...and oddly enough thank him for inevitably bringing me to you," he said blushing a bright red, and letting his hair fall in front of his face.

"You know...would it be all bad if I really didn't go back...I mean...what if I never get my memory back? Maybe it'd be best to stay here...with you," is what he wanted to say so badly to her, but instead remained silent. He had already embarrassed himself enough for one day. He felt oddly bold, and slightly regretful for bearing some of his most personal thoughts. It was out in the open now, so it really didn't matter at all. He chuckled as he broke the silence that had blanketed the area like fresh snow. "You know what...lets eat...we can worry about the rest after we confront your old man."