The Second Invasion [Closed]

Some things are best left up to professionals. The fireman should put out the fire, the doctor should do the surgery, and the soldier should fight in the war. But there's one thing that everyone should do, and that's protect someone. Whether it's a parent, sibling, spouse, child, neighbor, friend, or even a coworker, there shouldn't be a single career dedicated to protecting someone. Everyone needs to be able to.

And that's what Alain had been working on. A few hours after Serenity left, Alain had decided to walk out into the forest every day. He brought his sword and the materials needed to sharpen the blade with him. Even as the snow began to pile around, he went out every day. He'd return only to feed the puppy Serenity had left with him (whom he had named "Little Blizzard" as he had not learned if Serenity had named it or not) and things like that. Otherwise, he was in the forest. Alone.

He'd swing at trees, re-adjusting his body to swinging to harm. He had only been in practice for competition swordfighting. But with this growing desire to protect her, he'd have to delve into arts he was not fond of. He was going against his own grain as he swung and swung. But his sword skill wasn't the only thing he worked on. No, he trained himself in other ways too. The main way... was with his Arcana.

Without going into too much detail, he was mainly working on speeding up his Arcana's manifestations to be more effective in a combat situation. He didn't have time for its original speed now. Serenity needed swift protection, not a slow shredder. It had been a week since she had left, and the snow was making it hard to get out deep enough into the forest from his home. So, he left Little Blizzard with the closest neighbor and decided to camp out in the forest inside.

This was the first time in two days he could safely trek back home, and he decided to go and spend the day warming up inside and house-training Little Blizzard. He had left a note for Serenity saying he was out in the forest and would return soon. He had planned on returning early in the morning, but he decided against it. Instead, he went into work and finished clearing up a vacation plan. After that, he bought a pie that he would freeze for when Serenity got home. He made sure that it was fresh and was not made with anything she was allergic to. You'd think that in a world of magic, there'd be someone who could just make allergies go away...

After picking up the white puppy, Alain began to walk towards his home. It was an odd sight. In one arm, a bag. In the other, a white puppy. Alain looked more like a housewife than a professor at this point, but he didn't care. He was going to warm up, and that's what mattered. Well, that's what mattered up until he heard a familiar voice scream. He didn't drop the pie (or the dog, thankfully) and began to run towards his house...

Inside, he saw Serenity staring over the couch and a man sitting up. "You son of a bitch..." Alain's voice was full of animosity. At least that's what Serenity could tell. The man, on the other hand, knew something else about that tone. The man stood up, and Alain looked to him, walking around the couch. After an intense staring contest... Alain wrapped the arm with the bag in it around the guy's neck in a friendly hug. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming?!"

Alain then turned to Serenity, who was most certainly confused. "Don't worry, this guy's a pal. He's been a friend of mine since we were kids. Well, teenagers. Before that, we were bitter enemies." Alain's demeanor was obviously a lot lighter than before. Seeing Logan was relieving a good bit of stress from him. "So, how was your trip?" Alain asked Serenity, then turned to Logan. "And what brings you back here? Get kicked out of Varedia or something?"

Logan was an arrogant ass to most, but he was also Alain's best friend. He'd be Alain's best man even if Alain had to staple (yes, staple) him to the floor at the church. Alain was surprised, but glad to see this guy around. But surprisingly, Alain was more happy to see Serenity safe and sound. Maybe that dragon wasn't all-bad... but it still needed to go.

"She brought it around, and I'm just taking care of it for now. It seems to like me though." Alain really had no idea whether the damn thing liked him... but it hadn't bitten him yet, so that was a good sign... right...? And then the other that. Alain was about to explain when Serenity interrupted with a much-needed "Who are you?"

Alain waved off Serenity's concerns of this guy being a threat, mainly because Alain felt that he could take Logan in a fight. Although, Logan probably thought the reverse. Alain set the puppy down and sat down in his chair. Surprisingly, the puppy seemed to stare at Alain and stay at the leg of the chair. Alain was all-smiles, and he was smiling at both Logan and Serenity.

Alain listened to Logan explain what was going on. He nodded along, listening to his buddy. It had been a year or two since Logan had last been back here, so Alain was glad to see his friend. But again, he was still happier that Serenity was safe. He kept looking over to the now-half-pufferfish Serenity, but he wasn't conscious of it. With a motion, Logan was about to ask about Serenity and his relationship again when...

Whack! Serenity slammed the diary on his head. Alain snickered. He had no idea Serenity kept a diary, but... now he was curious about what she wrote. And apparently, his friend was the only other person who knew what was in there. He'd have to resist the temptation to ask about it... Although, Logan calling her love-struck didn't really help that. He blinked a couple of a times, which was only stopped by Serenity's screaming and then slamming of her door.

Logan rubbed his forehead and complained about women not liking him. Alain sighed and shrugged smugly. "Well if you go through their diaries... Of course no woman will like you." It was a shot towards Logan, who didn't have a cute girl living with him. "I know better to leave a diary or anything like that lying around, no thanks to you." Alain crossed his legs, barely avoiding the puppy as he did so.

Alain verbally ignored the adorable comment, but he did make note of it. Why? Well, because it was true. "We're just friends. I saved her from a bad man and she didn't have a home anymore afterwards... so I brought her back here. She helps keep the place up and all... But I think she needs to get out some more. We're planning on taking a vacation soon. Don't know where to though... You said you got wrapped up in some bad shit... is Varedia safe, or would you say to avoid there for now?"

"I don't keep her locked up. She's free to come and go as she pleases." Alain returned the look of "The fuck you sayin'?" to Logan. Alain wasn't some creepy psychopath trying to keep Serenity away from the spotlight. "Hell, she was gone for a good month and was in Zakat apparently. I don't keep her locked up." Alain was really confused now. He didn't keep her locked up, but was that what her diary was saying?

Alain was glad that Varedia was safe, but was now worried about his brother-from-another-mother. "If you've got the police on your ass, don't come around here to hide... I don't hide fugitives, even if it is you." Alain would make sure that Logan was treated fairly and would call in every favor he could, but he wouldn't risk his safety or Serenity's. "But alright, tell me later over a drink. Something tells me we'll both need it while catching up..."

Alain sighed, and then Logan asked the question. Did he want to know? Yes, he did. But he wasn't going to go behind Serenity's back. His respect for her was too great for him to do something so low. "I'm not surprised a lot of it was written about me... She was living in a house all by herself for Rydia-knows-how-long. Something tells me there's stuff in there about my dad too... They didn't seem to hit it off very well..." Alain sighed again as he recalled their encounter... It was not a fond memory.

"Yes, I do. But I don't want to hear it from you. If she has something she wants to tell me, I feel she'll tell me. I respect her. I'm not going to go around her just to sate my curiosity. She's a good lass, and I don't want to hurt her." Alain looked serious—more serious than normal, actually—as he basically told Logan to drop it. He wasn't going to hear the contents of Serenity's diary from him. No, he wanted to hear it from Serenity.

Alain couldn't help but to let out a good chuckle. He didn't know what Logan's problems were in Varedia, but bringing the police up made sense... Even if Logan was a "good guy" nowadays. He'd take that into consideration though for his vacation with Serenity. He heard it was quite beautiful over there, and it might be a good first stop.

And then came the topic of Magnus. "He did his same-old-same-old about me, and she didn't take too kindly to it... Can't blame her. Unless you know the guy as long as we have, it sounds like he's an ass. Well... he is an ass... but he'd seem like more of one to an outsider, you know?" Alain didn't like calling his father an ass, but he was. No matter what picture anyone tried to paint him as, Magnus Maldoc-Ryence was an ass. Even Helena would admit to him being a "bit" of one.

When Logan shook his head, the conversation switched to Serenity and her diary. Logan told him that what Alain was doing was wrong. Well, not wrong in a bad way. It was just not the right way to go about this. They were two peas in a pod, and neither had the guts or whatever to push forward and ask the other. Alain could admit that there was something different about what he felt for Serenity, but not to Logan. And... after seeing her wanting to leave just like that, he began to wonder if he'd even be a good match for her...

Alain sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I do want her around though." He stared at the slanted ceiling, as if it were the cloud-covered sky. "She really... makes me want to come home, you know? I like being able to come home and there be someone like her waiting for me. She keeps the house alive and warm, if that makes sense..." Alain felt like he was rambling, so he sat back up. "How about this. The three of us can go out to lunch or something. You're hungry, I'm hungry, and I bet she's hungry too. Plus, I don't want to make Serenity cook."

Alain smiled a bit more as he saw his pufferfish housemate outside making faces. She was a grown woman and yet... she was still so childish. But in a good way, of course. Alain liked that about her, and he hoped she'd never lose it. And once Serenity disappeared, the topic shifted to Alain's ass of a father. Which was a good thing, as he didn't want to bring up his father in front of Serenity right now. That was a battle he'd fight when it came up.

And finally, food. Yes, even Alain was hungry. The pie he had was sitting in a bag beside his chair, but it wasn't big enough for three people to eat. Well, two people and the living stomach known as Logan. "What, your legs don't work or something?" Alain sent snark out to his brother-from-another-mother. "Of course we'd go out somewhere. We can go to that diner you liked all those years ago. I bet we can still get you a kid's meal too."

"I don't think she could hurt anyone even if she tried... Well, you don't count. You did read her diary, after all." Alain walked outside through the front door, looking around to see if she was there. She wasn't. He walked around outside the house and took a stand beside her. "Sorry about that.. Logan's a good guy, don't worry about him. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by it..."

"And I didn't let him tell me anything about the contents of your diary." Alain smiled a little and looked over at her. "If there's anything in there I'd like to know... I want to hear it from you, not him. I want you to be able to tell me those things." Alain wasn't going to let Logan tell him anything more about the subject material of the diary. Serenity had to tell Alain, and she was the only person he'd let tell him.

"Hey, we're talking about going into town to get some lunch. You want to come with us? I know you must be tired from your trip, so I didn't want to have to make you cook or anything..." Alain was hoping she'd come with... He wanted to remove a bit of the animosity between her and Logan.

"One day..." Alain spoke up after Serenity explained she was happy he didn't know any of what was written in there, "I'd like for you to tell me some of the stuff written in there. I shared some of my secrets, so I'd like to know some of yours." He was serious, but playful. He wanted to know more about her... She was a good person to be around, and he liked knowing more about her besides the whole celebrity angle.

There was one angle he knew though, and that was her angle on cooking. She apparently loved to cook, and he had learned this firsthand. However, Alain thought that she might want a break this time around. Well, he thought wrong. "O-Oh, okay. I just thought you might want a break..." And then, something magical happened. Well, not really magical. Alain knows what magical feels like. He teaches it for Rydia's sake!

No... Serenity grabbed his hand and pulled him along. It... was odd. This was the first time he had felt her hand with his. He had felt it before when she was healing him, but... this was different. He blinked a couple of times as he was being pulled into the house. Alain didn't pay attention to Serenity pushing Logan back down to the couch. In fact, it wasn't until Logan spoke up about the damn dragon that he snapped out of a trance induced by her soft hands.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... For now, she does." Alain had to correct her. He still didn't want the dragon around. "Tell me, Logan..." Alain leaned in. "Did anything happen in Varedia on December Nineteenth? That's when all sorts of things went down over here... The Queen was nearly assassinated, and I'm sure you heard of the speech Zakat's Emperor made... It's not really my business, but I gotta protect the people I care about, including you, man. So if this is a part of something bigger... I can use Dad's contacts to get word to the Queen... Although, using Serenity herself there might be quicker..."

It wasn't that Alain didn't like the dragon. Dragons were kinda cool. However... Dragons were against every housing code he had ever seen. He liked living here, and he didn't want to be forced out because of the dragon. There might also be a bit of jealousy in there, but he was mainly worried about getting kicked out of his childhood home.

Alain didn't even notice he had name-dropped Serenity, and was completely nonchalant about it while Logan was freaking out. "Oh, yeah. She's that one." Alain had long-since seen her as a normal person rather than a celebrity, so her status as one was just something which stood at the back of his mind. But what didn't stand at the back of his mind was Serenity's act. Just to torture his brother-from-another-mother... Alain decided to play along.

"You're what... six-foot-three or so? Yeah, that seems about right. The coffin she made will still work." Alain spoke with a completely straight face, crossing his legs as he did so. "She didn't get a chance to use it on the last person who made her mad. He ran away before we could catch him. Haven't found him yet."

Keeping the same serious tone, the topic shifted to the assassination attempts. Like he thought, it was tied in. This was not good. "So there were attacks on the civilian population too... We're going to have to tell some people higher up about that. It might lead to some new revelations in the case..." Alain was worried this was just the beginning of something bigger...

"Oh, right." Alain stood up, grabbing the pie out of the bag. Thankfully the dog hadn't gotten to. He half-ran and placed the pie in the freezer. "Hey, I bought a pie... I thought you might like it, but it needs to sit in the freezer a bit more. I forgot about it after seeing Logan and you being back." Alain explained to Serenity before getting a whiff of what was beginning to take shape in the kitchen. "So what are you cooking?" And he then increased his volume just slightly so Logan would be sure to hear him... "And is this what you're putting in Logan's food?"

Alain wasn't sure if they were connected either. It wouldn't make sense for there to be a random attack on a random civilian, but it was probably worth looking into. Frankly, there were probably other attacks too that just haven't been reported. The more attacks the governments found out about, the more dots they could connect.

Alain was glad that Serenity liked the idea of the pie. He had gone through some trouble to get that thing, so if she didn't like it... well, he'd actually feel a little sad. Although, her roast would cheer him up. Roast was an odd thing, but Serenity always made it in a way that made Alain forget it was roast.

And Serenity would be making it in a way that would make Logan learn a lesson too. Well, not really. The two were joking about poisoning Logan, but it was hard to tell that. The duo's energetic and believable banter only made it harder to tell if they were joking or not—much to Logan's chagrin, most likely. Serenity whispered to Alain about her diary. "We can talk about that when we go on vacation, okay? I don't want to talk about that while he's here." Alain smiled re-assuredly, giving himself time to think about what he could ask her about.

Logan stepped around the corner slightly and asked if they were really going to poison him... and then threatened to tell Helena. "Not a good idea." Alain shook his head. "I think she likes Serenity more than you now." It was true, though. She had taken quite a shine to the green pufferfish. "Hell, I think Dad might like her more than you." Alain began to walk back to the living room and placed a hand on Logan's shoulder. "I feel sorry for you..." And shook his head before continuing on.

Alain was good at joking. Frankly, he was too good. He would make an excellent spy, as he can keep a straight face when joking (and thus, lying). Well, besides the fact that he hates killing people. All Alain was trying to do was get Logan to say he was sorry to her. Alain could tell that the diary meant a lot to Serenity, so him passing the "I'm sorry" along wouldn't work, not for Alain at least. He wanted to hear those words go directly from Logan's mouth to Serenity's ears.

Well, that was the initial plan. Normally, even Logan would have caught onto the fact he was joking around... Something was different, and now he'd have to go find out what the hell happened in Varedia. "I got it, I got it." Alain wasn't sounding annoyed at getting Logan... but rather at going back into the snow. Grabbing Logan's jacket, since it looked like he forgot it, Alain opened the front door. He mumbled something about 'just getting to warm up' under his breath as he began to follow the shoveled path... which made him wonder who the hell shoveled that path since he hadn't been home in a couple of days. Should have been a neighbor. Hopefully that's all it was.

Eventually catching up to his brother-from-another-mother, Alain called out to him. "Wait up there." Alain's pace increased and he caught up to Logan even if he started to run. "For one, put this damn thing on. You're a guest, and I'd rather you not be sneezing all over the place." Alain tossed the jacket at Logan. "For two, I'm sorry about that. You should know that I was just joking around. Although she does like Serenity a lot.... Mom doesn't really see her as a second kid like she sees you as."

"There's a major difference. I think Serenity just is a breath of fresh air to having to deal with my father all the time..." Alain sighed, remembering just how much of an ass his father was to Serenity. "Besides, there's also the fact that I'm pretty sure she's egging me to date Serenity and vice-versa..."

But before Logan could respond... "PRO—" Alain's ears metaphorically perked up. That couldn't be... "FES—" It was. Dear Rydia, it was. "SAH!" A woman's voice echoed down the path, and Alain only turned to Logan with the most sympathetic look he could give. His eyes were telling him "I'm sorry you had to see this." "You might want to look out..." Alain sighed before being knocked out of Logan's sight by a horizontal plume of snow.

By the time the snow was clear, it was obvious that it wasn't the snow which knocked him over (and about five feet away). No, it was what was inside the snow which did. "Professor, you stopped by the academy but didn't see me?! Too busy to see your adorable little sister?" The younger-looking woman was standing above Alain, who was on his back. Her arms crossed, she was exuding an air of confidence.

"Olivia, I was just there—" "No excuse!" The woman was switching between Arcadian and Common as she spoke. Feeling watched, she turned around to see Logan standing there... most likely as shocked as possible. "Oh, hi!" Olivia waved to the red-haired man, then turned back to Alain. "Is this that new face that's been living with you? She seems... more manly than you said." Alain sighed and stood up. "That's because Logan is a man, and he's not the one I've told you about... Logan, this is my future coworker—" "And little sister!" Alain lightly bapped Olivia on the head, causing her to turn to Alain with a pouting glare. "Olivia... Who is not my blood sister, but dad's been taking care of her for a few years."

Olivia was caught between looking at Alain and at Logan. She was a little fascinated by him. Something about his red hair made her want to touch it... She decided that he would be called "Lion" if they ever came to the point of having nicknames. "And Olivia, this is Logan. He's sort-of like you. Like a brother, but no blood shared between us." And with that, the two shared a bromance moment with a fistbump.

And that's when they noticed... Olivia wasn't there. She had taken off towards the house, and Alain could see.... Serenity... standing there... He could feel the intense look on her face from here, and he actually gulped. He knew he had some explaining to do... He had hoped to introduce these two normally to Serenity, but APPARENTLY NOT! Alain started heading back to the house, mouthing "sorry" to Logan. He had a situation to diffuse...

By the time Olivia made it to the house, even she could feel a presence of "You're not wanted" from Serenity. She got within a few feet of her... and stopped. Any further and she would probably be in danger. "Oh, you must be the new face Professor was talking about." Olivia spoke still energetically, but nowhere near like she was when she first saw Alain. "Much better looking than that one out there," she pointed to Logan using her thumb.

Bearing the intense snarl of disgust, she looked Serenity up and down one more time before nodding three times. "I approve." Olivia smiled, hoping it would help this new woman feel a little less hostile..."Professor will practically brag about you. Not in class, but he does!"

Alain finally made it to the house just in time to not hear Olivia say that. "Serenity, this isahhh—" Alain was grabbed by Olivia and pulled away. "Follow me." The two went to the side, still visible, but not audible... until. "What?! Bu—" Alain looked surprised by what Olivia had just said, but Olivia brought a finger to her mouth to shut him up. "Shhhh!"

It took about forty-five seconds for their little private conversation to end and for them to get back to the front of the house. If Serenity had gone inside, the two would enter the house. "As I tried to say... this is Olivia. Dad is her godfather, and her actual dad has been missing for years now... So she's sort-of my little sister. Sorry I didn't mention her earlier... I wanted to properly introduce you two when we all had free time." Alain could tell there was a bit of hostility... or something coming from Serenity. If it continued, he'd pull her to the side...

If this were a drama, Alain would have slapped her right then and there. Her being Serenity, of course. But thankfully, this was no drama... and that was not in Alain's character. However, Alain was not going to stand idly by right now. Olivia looked a little confused, and Alain opened the door only to hear "unwanted company." He shut the door again... and looked to Olivia. Through the door or windows, the ones inside couldn't hear anything. They saw Olivia look a little sad and then walk off, her head slumped.

Alain opened the door again and walked inside this time. "I take it she's in her room?" He looked at Logan and then to the room at the end of the hall. Whether or not Logan re-affirmed that, Alain dug into his coat pocket and handed Logan a small sum of gold, just enough for a decent lunch. "Go get some lunch or something... I need the house to myself for a little while." Alain couldn't look Logan in the eye at that point, as he was practically begging Logan to step away for a bit.

Once his friend did leave, Alain walked to the end of the hall... and sat down. "They're gone." That's all he said for a minute or two. He stopped counting the time before he spoke up again. "Listen... I... am an idiot. It's hard to just out and say it... but those two were right. You know, I do like you. I like you a lot. I talk about you constantly, and I love seeing you when I get home... but... I'm afraid, Serenity."

Alain's back now leaned hard against the door, but his gaze was to his feet. "You're a great friend, but... I'm afraid I can't keep you happy. Especially after the other night... I'm scared of losing you as a friend because of that... I mean, I know I do little things that can cheer you up or other things that make you mad. That's not really what I mean though... How should I put it... let's take your diary for example... I'm sure you get happy just being able to write in it. That's the sort of happy I want to make you feel... I don't want to make you just feel bursts of joy, but, a longer, continuous 'happy...'" Alain sat in silence for a few more seconds... "Sorry, I must not be making much sense..."

"You're right..." That's all Alain could muster at that point. That's all his body would allow. His head slumped farther than before, and his glasses fell to the floor... He couldn't move to even pick them up. He just stared at them. No, he wasn't really staring at anything. His eyes were almost glazed over, empty and lifeless right now. It was as if his soul was now leaving his body... "I haven't done anything... have I...?"

"I'm kinda terrible at this, aren't I...?" Even as Alain tried to joke, his tone couldn't express any real emotion right now. He wanted to cry, but couldn't. He wanted to scream back at her, but he couldn't. His voice was soft, hoarse, and hard to hear... But she would still be able to. "I do want you... but..."

Alain tried to stand up, failing on his first try. He fell back into the door. "Would this turning to an 'us' really... make you happy?" And on his second try, he stood up. His posture no longer had confidence... It lacked vitality, like a man on his way to the gallows. "Think about that... and when you give me your answer to that... I can let you know what I want..." Alain began to walk down the hallway, if you could call that walking...