A Fading Soul

Serenity frowned at the story. That woman was horrid. She wished she could do something to get rid of the old hag, if only to bring Felix peace. Once the water spirit told her that it was okay for her to sleep, she nodded lightly. "Thank you.." Serenity leaned back against Syndryl, getting comfortable against him before closing her eyes and drifting into a light sleep.

The dark blue dragon nodded at what Masamune said. He had to agree with him. He didn't usually hang around humans either, unless it was Serenity. She'd...grown on him, over the years. He curled up slightly around the blue eyed girl when she started getting comfortable, as if his body would be a barrier from harm. When she laid her head down, Syndryl did as well, even though he didn't plan on falling asleep. He didn't need much sleep, so he was fine.

Felix slept long enough to recover before waking up a few hours later. The sun had started to rise and it took him a moment to remember what exactly had happened. When it all came back to him he shook his head and slowly rose to his feet, ignorning the coldness of his soakkng wet clothes. Looking around he spotted Syndryl and could only assume Serenity was nearby. Slowly he knelt by the water. "Water spirit," he called softly. "What happened." The water spirit rose and informed the silver haired shinobi who glanced to Serenity once everything was an done. He carefully approached the dragon who was sleeping. "Syndryl tell her I said thank you."

Syndryl's eyes opened slowly when he heard talking. He'd been resting his eyes, but not sleeping. Not that he needed to keep his eyes open anyways. All he ever saw out of them was black, so he wouldn't have known what time it was if he hadn't heard birds starting to chirp. He turned his head towards Felix, once the human approached. He slowly lifted his wing, which had been covering a still sleeping Serenity. 'You can tell her yourself when she wakes up.' A pause. 'She hasn't slept like this in months. She needs to thank you. Will you wait for her to wake up?' The blue eyed dragon blinked his dark blue eyes. Even though he couldn't see out of them, he still had to blink. It was an annoying thing.

Felix was hesistant for a moment. "We're even," Felix said quietly as to not disturb the sleeping immortal. "I helped her, she helped me. There's no need to thank me." He looked off to the side. "She can thank me when I officially end her suffering." He then turned away. "Besides, I don't want to hurt her anymore than I already have. And she'll sleep easier once she knows I'm gone." Felix had said it in a matter-of-fact tone. He hated to see how scared she'd been around him and the last thing he wanted to see in her eyes was a reminder of the man he really was.

Syndryl had planned on making a comment after Felix said him and Serenity were even, but he wasn't sure if Felix would consider it rude, and the blue dragon had learned how to (mostly) avoid confrontation with humans. 'She wanted to say goodbye before you left. She knew if you woke up first, you'd leave straight away. She asked me to keep you here for a little while after you woke up,' the blue dragon communicated. 'Do you want me to wake her up so you can get it over with?'

Serenity had been pulled out of her light sleep when Syndryl's wing had shifted, and then heard Felix talk. She wished she could hear what Syndryl was saying to Felix. This dragon was smart, but sometimes he didn't know how to talk like a human. The blond woman kept her eyes closed and just listened for the moment. She felt terrible hearing Felix say that. She felt terrible for how she'd acted, even if she might've had a reason for it. There'd been no reason for her to tell him she wanted to forget him.

Felix merely shook his head. His blue eyes closing for a moment before he decided to speak again. "Goodbye sounds like forever," he said quietly. "I don't want to say goodbye." He placed his hand on his chest. "Serenity is all I have left," he said. "So I want to leave now before I mess things up." The silver haired male slowly backed away. "Just...just let her know I'm sorry." He then turned and started for the water. He splashed some over his face and then stared at his reflection. Who am I? Felix wasn't quite sure anymore. Grabbing Zane's scroll he placed it on the ground and stepped back. It was time he got a move on.

Syndryl tilted his head when Felix said goodbye sounded like it would mean forever. 'You humans say goodbye all the time with expecting to see each other again. Why is it different this time?' He hated when he couldn't understand humans. They were really strange beings. Serenity usually explained these things to him, but this time she was sleeping and unable.

Serenity kept her eyes closed until she heard Felix say that he was leaving now. She slowly opened her eyes and shifted to see the silver haired male walking away. When Syndryl looked at her, she shook her head lightly and got up, going up behind Felix and hugging him before he could turn around. "Apology accepted...I'll...uh, I'll see you again, right?" Her eyes had teared up a little from hearing him talk. She was all he had left?

The silver haired shinobi blinked when Serenity came up behind him and gave him a hug. Felix bowed his head in defeat. "I....don't." Slowly he turned and looked to the blue eyed woman. "Serenity. I'm sorry that I couldn't be nicer. I'm sorry I couldn't be a real friend and that all these years have been hell because of me." He stood up and sighed. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. " He glanced to the water then back to Serenity. "If you want to forget me that's fine too. Just know I plan to fix this."

Serenity seemed to shrink back a little when Felix told her don't. She wondered if that was too much. When he turned to look at her, she didn't move, but swallowed lightly. "Whether you're asking me to or not, I still forgive you. The water spirit told me what's going on...what you've been through because of me." She paused and looked down. "It's not your fault. I just wish things could've been different," she said sadly. "Will I...be able to see you again? On this side?" She knew she couldn't pass over or fade, so she'd at least like see Felix once more before he did, whenever that would be.

"It's not because of you," he said dryly. "It's because of Kyla and myself." He frowned lightly. "There is far more stuff going on besides just you and Kyla. I screwed up and ended up getting Kana turned into an immortal as well as infecting her with Madness." He sighed. "And then...." He turned his head when he thought about Kymin. What if he was dead. Felix hadn't contacted him in three weeks. The shinobi then looked to the healer. "To bad we can't change the past." He rubbed his arm before continuing. "I'm not going to promise anything, but I'll try and make it back."

Serenity listened quietly to what Felix had to say. She knew it was because of her. If she didn't exist, maybe Felix wouldn't have gone through everything he had. She wasn't saying it was her fault, but it was because of her. Serenity didn't know who Kana was, or if she'd known this person at one time, she didn't remember her now. Either way, it sounded like Felix had it bad all the way around. She nodded when Felix said it was too bad they couldn't change the past. "I...I hope you make it through all this. I don't want this to be the last time I'll ever see you," she said sadly, looking down and to the side.

Felix smiled and it was a mixture of emotions. "Maybe it would be better if we didn't see each other after this," he said as he opened Zane's scroll. "Besides, you don't really know me. This side is bad enough, who knows how I'll be after I kill Kyla." He ran his hand through Zane's fur. "I mean...we're better off apart." Slowly he climbed onto the badger. "And I've got someone waiting for me back home. Someone very important." Blue eyes grew sad. "I don't wish to be conflicted. And although I care deeply for the both of you, I can only love one of you." The silver haired shinobi sighed lightly. "And I don't think i'd be able to love you if I find they're not waiting for me." Felix didn't want to get into this, but he was missing Kymin terribly.

Serenity gave a small sigh when Felix said it would be better if they didn't see each other again. "Whether I know you or not doesn't change the fact that I care about you," she said softly, looking at him. "No matter what you become, I still would." The blonde woman tilted her head when Felix said he had someone at home. She gave a small smile at that. That was nice. She was honestly happy for him. She blinked in surprise when he said that he could only love one of them and gave a small genuine laugh at that. "Felix...I'm not asking you to love me. I just wanted a chance to say a proper goodbye. At a time when you're not in so much pain." Her blue eyes saddened again, but she still held a small smile. She'd stopped wishing for Felix to love her a long time ago, which was what had made it so funny for her to hear him say that. She knew he couldn't love her. She looked too much like Meridian. And whether Felix was himself or someone else, they were incompatible for a relationship like that.

Felix hated how she could always see the good in him when he was at his worst. He hated how she knew him when he barely knew himself. He hated everything about her, but at the same time he wanted to love her. He couldn't figure it out. He did however smile when she smiled because it meant she seemed a bit happier and less afraid. Then she was laughing which seriously confused him. "Pain is something I can't control, but we can control making this a proper goodbye." His blue eyes seemed to brighten. "And just so you know, you're my best friend. We've know each other since before I became an immortal. If all else fails, you're all I've got. So don't go being stupid and getting yourself into trouble. were are you headed I'll know where to find you.

It was the first time since seeing Felix again that she realized it. It caught her so off guard that, for a moment, she found herself staring. She tilted her head, blinking a couple times. "You're...smiling." Suddenly she felt rather wary. The last time she'd seen Felix smile had been when he'd left her after she'd told him she was pregnant. And the time before that, it hadn't even been Felix, but that moon creature. But something told her this was Felix. She didn't know what or why, but somehow she knew this was him. Which made it even more surprising that he was smiling, instead of just grinning. What was more shocking was what Felix said next. That she was his best friend. She almost felt like crying now, and she didn't know why. Instead she just gave a small smile and an even smaller laugh and a nod, when the silver haired male told her not to do anything stupid. The smile faded when he asked where she was going. "I don't know yet. Maybe the Gears." Yeah, the Gears was remote enough for her to go. They didn't get much news from the outside world, so they wouldn't have gotten news about her from the Crested. That sounded about good.

Felix gave a short laugh when she pointed out his smile. "A lot has changed over the years," he said. "Some things for the better while some things are for the worst. Either way I've learned to smile a little more." The blue eyed male then nodded. "The Gears is always nice." He remember Kim and Suki and Jace. He sighed lightly. "Always good people there."

Serenity blushed lightly when Felix laughed, because she wasn't sure if he was laughing because she'd pointed it out, or because he'd seen her staring. "That's good...it's...it's nice to see you smile," she said, with a small smile of her own. She shrugged when he said the Gears was nice. "I haven't been there in centuries. I wonder how it's changed," she mused.

Felix grinned when he saw her blush. "You're turning colors," he said just for the hell of it. The blue eyed male then turned his head and looked to the sky. "I've been told I should smile more by someone else too. Maybe I'll take up that offer." He then smirked. "You've missed some good people," he told her. "But much hasn't changed. Everything's the same."

Serenity looked off to the side when Felix mentioned her blush. "We're not starting that again," she mumbled in embarrassment. She looked back at him when he said someone else had told him the same thing. "You should. You have a nice smile," she nodded. She tilted her head curiously when Felix said she'd missed some good people. She wondered what he meant by that.

Felix looked to Serenity with another smile as she stated they weren't starting that. "Oh all right." He then petted Zane who had started fidgeting. "Settle down," he mumbled. The badger fluffed up his fur but stilled himelf. Felix rolled his eyes then focused on Serenity. "I guess I'll smile a bit more," he said with a shrug. The male looked to Syndryl. "Will you take care of her for me," he asked. "Keep her safe til I get back."

It was hard for Serenity to believe that she'd been scared of Felix not even twenty-four hours before this. She'd missed him so much. Was it coincidence that Felix showed up for her about a month after she'd met that red haired being? She'd never believed in fate, but this was a very strange coincidence. The blonde woman smiled at the badger when he fluffed his fur. She remembered him. She looked to Syndryl and blinked when she realized he'd turned into his human form just so he could speak aloud.

Syndryl's dark blue eyes looked blindly between the two humans as they spoke. He remained sitting down, one leg crossed inward while the other stretch out in front of him. The dragon in human form nodded at Felix's request. "I can do that. But I don't like open ended agreements, so you'd better return soon." Syndryl wasn't good at joking, but every now and then he managed something very light. One could usually tell when he was joking when he was smiling, like now.

Felix hadn't realized Syndryl had changed and it was probably what had caused Zane to become so antsy. He slid off the badger and let him go over to the dragon. "I'll do my best," he replied with a grin. The silver haired male then looked to Serenity. "Um, I don't know what else to say," he admitted. "Aside from thanks."

Syndryl turned his head slightly when he heard something coming towards him, and guessed it was probably Zane, since whatever it was was walking on four feet. The black haired male pet behind Zane's ear. "Hello friend," he smiled.

Serenity watched Zane go over to Syndryl, smiling at the two. They were adorable. She turned her attention back to Felix when he said he didn't know what else to say. "How about...see you soon?" she said with a light smile. She paused. "And...thank you. For getting rid of the pain," she said, putting a hand lightly over her heart. She remembered, that was where the pain had originated, when it had started getting bad.

Zane seemed happy enough to be near Syndryl. Felix was happy to know his badger was happy. "See ya soon," he said with a smirk. "And no problem." The shinobi whistled to Zane. "Let's go," he called. "We will both see you sooner than later." He smiled as Zane rubbed up against him. "I know you want to stay," he mused. The blue eyed male stretched and then looked to Serenity. "Later."

Serenity smiled when Felix said what she'd recommended. Even if neither of them knew what would happen...well, she liked false hope. It was the only thing that had ever brought her this far, even though she'd known the truth of her existence from the beginning. She gave Felix a small wave when he stretched and said later. "Bye bye."

Syndryl blinked when Zane was called away. They hadn't even had a chance to chat a bit. That was too bad. Maybe he'd see the badger again next time Felix came around. Syndryl waved as well when they said their good-byes, waving to Felix just as well as Zane. He wondered if he'd be traveling with Serenity until Felix showed up next. Maybe he should, just in case.