'Revival' in C sharp

‘A-Agh! How did she-? …Oh this is just –embarrassing-… I-I donâ€t even know exactly how I feel myself for cripe sakes.†Seraphimâ€s face flustered red in frustration and a shy hesitation, dumbfounded that Sindel saw through her. How was it that everyone could see through her lying?? Was she cursed or something? Maybe it was just Godâ€s way of telling her not to.

Either way, at this point Seraphim just fell quiet, now finding herself seriously confused on what to think. It was way too soon to even think about a relationship. She still hadnâ€t even gotten over… no, even begun feeling the real pain from breaking up with Megumi, and yet… did she really have some sort of feelings for Karina? She greatly respected the girl, admiring her spirit and strength, and she had these moments that were undeniably adorable, but… was it really like that?

Confused with herself, Seraphim once again sunk into the back of her mind, letting Sindel go as Seraphim fell oddly quiet, letting out a long sigh as a small frown came to her face. Once more, her eyes trailed to Karinaâ€s sleeping form, and she found herself even more confused. Just… what was she going to do about her?

Then, Seraphimâ€s silent thoughts were interrupted when someone came in, and had approached Karina first, seeming to pity her. That long, raven black hair, the white dress shirt with a strange red gem in the center, a short green skirt and black gloves, those bright red eyes that had practically seemed to glow… where had she seen her before? Trying to remember, Sindel then said the name, and her eyes widened, for a moment jumping to conclusions and ready to defend herself out of instinct as she sat up strait in the bed, cringing in pain from it. But rationality settled in when she knew Sindel was here to protect her just like she said, and wouldnâ€t have let her in unless there was a good reasoning to it. She eased up a little, unaware that her hands were balled into fists at her side, until finally speaking, finding it hard to make eye contact with Lute since she knew they were enemies, and didnâ€t feel right about this. “..I didnâ€t bring her here, the paramedics did. I just told them to take the best possible care of her and make sure they donâ€t mess with her guitar.. right before I passed out too.” She said this with a sigh, as her one, crimson eye slowly looked over at Karina again.

Lute smiled and shook her head, looking back at Karina before she'd relocate her eyes back to Seraphim. " That wasn't it. I could see it. I'm sorry that the Era of Hell is doing these nasty things, all I can do is apologize.. " She'd then turn back to Karina, taking another step to her and picked up her guitar, a bit clumbsy but managed to do so, placing it besides Karina, just incase she needed to grasp it. She herself knew what Karina was really like, Lute was almost friendly among every member of the Era of Hell and tried to get to know them, it was odd to see such a girl grouped up with such heels but no one questioned her abilities. She'd then once again turned to walk over to Seraphim this time, holding her hand out to Seraphim. " My name is Lute, I just figured I would introduce myself properly, even though Sindel had already told you my name.. " Lute had dropped all her defences just so she would seem less hostile, the fact was that almost no one knew about Lute but a select few, including Sindel, Lute starting to blink when she heard someone kicked against the vending machine near the room, hearing Sindel's voice. " Greedy ass machine! "

Lute couldn't help but giggle though quickly turned her head to the side to cough out, a faint tint of crimson on her cheeks and she spoke out softly. " Please excuse me.. I'm still a little ill, hehe. Anyway.. I have told the Era of Hell to leave you guys alone and recover.. This isn't the place to be fighting. "

Something about Luteâ€s apology felt… off. In fact, the whole presence of the girl just rubbed Seraphim the wrong way. But as well, it was vaguely familiar, and then, when she offered her name and dropped her guard, Seraphim knew why.

‘R-Rachel!!†Her old friend… back when she grew up on the streets. The girl who betrayed her, the reason she lost this eye, the reason Alison was in such a sick condition, the girl she killed that became the reason she went to prison. Lute was just like her in too many ways. It sent a shiver down Seraphimâ€s spine, and as best as she could, the girl tried to shelter it to the back of her mind. For a moment, she flinched, and a trickle of sweat came down her brow before falling from her nose to her lap, and instinctively, Seraphimâ€s fists gripped the sheets a little tighter. She suddenly felt terrified, and this woman may not have realized it, but she was the whole cause of it.

When Lute let out a small cough, Seraphim instinctively pressed her back a bit harder against the bedpost, as if trying to back away from her. Slowly, she shook her head, swallowing hard and trying to maintain a calm set of breathing, not wanting Lute to see the fear in her from old, repressed memories. “Th-Then… would you please be a little distant? I.. donâ€t want to sound rude, I have a weak immune system, and Iâ€d get sick rather easily; no offense. And… thanks.” Trying to keep herself calm, Seraphim came up with an excuse that was true to a point. Sure, she couldnâ€t lie with a strait face, but stretching the truth wasnâ€t so hard, seeing as how Seraphim did have a problem, her PST, and this girlâ€s presence alone was making it act up.

Lute would blink at the girl before nodding and taking her steps back, smiling once again. " I'm sorry, should've known better. Anyway.. I wanted to discuss something with you.. If you don't mind.. It's about Karina. " Lute would turn to look at Karina once more, bringing her hand to her bandaged forehead and gently stroked it, then suddenly mumbling out in a serious tone. " ..Make her forget about that guitar, it's dangerous.. " Sindel stepped back inside, blinking a few times. She was holding three cans of energy drinks, throwing one to Lute without telling her, luckily she managed to see it but catching it was hard, trying to catch it, doing so but in turn she fell on her rear with a flinch. " Ouw! " Then quickly Lute held her hand to her mouth to silence herself, knowing that Karina was still sleeping, Sindel in the meantime chuckled and gave a drink to Seraphim while once again laying down besides her, releasing a sigh. " I lost five bucks just trying to get one can. I swear these hosptals are out to get money! " Sindel grumbled childishly while Lute started to get up while placing the can on the desk, sitting on Karina's bed and rubbed the back of her head. " Ouw Ouw... That's gonna leave a mark.. "

Karina's eyes were fluttering open, as if slowly starting to wake up, all the commotion was disturbing her sleep and even the slightest of sounds was going to wake her up..

The second Lute brought Karina up again, Seraphim felt her heart tighten in a knot. There was no doubt about it, she cared about Karina a lot, and was focusing a lot of her thoughts on her over the past few hours, trying to figure out just what to do with her and how the rest of White Gale would feel, not to mention Sindel still seemed a little reluctant despite what she said. However, even though Seraphim was still unsure of some things, she knew that anything said about Karina from an Era of Hell leader no matter how kind she seemed… it was probably not going to be good.

And then she said it, mentioning the guitar that Karina seemed to care so much about. Earlier, Karina told her that the guitar was all she had left in her life, and now, Seraphim felt a huge dilemma hit her. If it was all she had, maybe she needed it. Like a link to her past, something that gave her comfort when she was alone, something she could fall back on. But on the other hand, if it was her only connection, maybe she should? After all, what if thinking about the past only brought pain? Wouldnâ€t keeping it only make it harder to move on?

‘Fuck... my… life.â€

Why couldnâ€t things be easier? Couldnâ€t she just make a good friend without any complications? ‘Nooooo, of course not. I get it God, another test. But Iâ€m not going to screw up, Iâ€m tellin†you that here and now big man!†Knowing the big guy upstairs was listening, she meant it slightly as a joke to lighten her mood, never wanting to say something bad about the lord since her faith was one of the only reasons she survived to begin with. And fortunately, as Seraphim was still contemplating an answer, Sindel came back, tossing her a drink which Seraphim caught. Though, she frowned a little, realizing it was one of those junky energy drinks. Seraphim never liked them to begin with, being a bit of a health nut ever since she left the slammer, and also knowing she needed to sleep soon anyway. None the less, she eventually nodded in gratitude to her friend, only to stop when Karina started to move.

For the whole time, Seraphim didnâ€t say anything as she was contemplating it all. But now she was quiet for another reason, silently raising a finger to her lips so Karina didnâ€t wake up. She knew the girl needed her rest, heck Seraphim should have been long asleep as well! And more importantly, she had no idea how Karina would react to seeing Lute here, especially after she just got betrayed. ‘Talk about being between a rock and a hard place…â€

Sadly it didn't go like Seraphim wanted, when Sindel started to open the can, it released the well known " Tssss " sound. Sindel flinched both eyes closed aswell as Lute and Karina immidiatly started to shift with a groan, turning onto her side and started to open her eyes, bringing one hand up to rub them, mumbling out. " Seraphim.. I don't mind if you-- " When Karina looked at Seraphim she noticed Sindel, then seeing from the corner of her eyes, someone sitting on her bed and she turned her head to see Lute looking down at her. She'd kept a long stare into Lute's eyes before she sighed and laid on her back. " Long time no see, Sindel. " Sindel merely nodded and then looked back to Seraphim, drinking her can of energy drink. " Lute.. " Karina closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her forehead to gently press it against her forehead, as if she had gotten a headache. " It wasn't you.. Was it? " Lute shook her head down at Karina, knowing what she was talking about and then noticed Karina grin, the girl starting to sit up and then suddenly... Wrap her arm around Lute's head while her other fist started to teasingly rub against the top of Lute's head. " Heh. Should have know! " Karina gasped out and flailed like a child, trying not to giggle too loudly. " H-Heyyyyyy! "

Sindel looked over at the two for a moment and she couldn't help but smile warmly, one of the smiles that would rarely be seen by Sindel, snuggling back up against Seraphim and whispered. " Maybe you're right.. Having Karina in the White Gale.. " Karina would chuckle down at Lute and then let her go, petting her on the head and nodded. " You always were one who looked out for me.. And still I never really did anything back.. And now I became friends with Seraphim and all.. Doesn't it feel odd for you? " Lute would purr and shake her head in refusal. " You'll always be you for me, no matter if you are out of the Era of Hell. I think you're better off in the White Gale though. " Karina would blink, a little confused but she always realized Lute had reasons of doing what she did but this time she wanted to press for the reason. " What makes you say that? " Lute closed her eyes and then brought the can to her lips, taking a gentle sip from it, which made her shivver and soon said. " My heart told me that, you know how it goes.. "

When Sindel opened the can, Seraphim cringed just a little herself, a small flinch from her one crimson eye before she saw Karina get up. A nervous chuckle came from Seraphim, especially when she was the one who got blamed when she was the quietest. She thought the girl would have awoken raging mad, it seemed like she was the type to do that, but instead the girl seemed calm, probably just tired still. She was glad to see her accept Sidnel being there, but then, when she noticed Lute, Seraphim held her breath, wondering how this was going to go. They were both leaders, but did they get along? Was there hatred? Would a fight break out?

And then, after a few exchange of words they were… friendly? ‘Heh, well no shit. Maybe.. I was just overthinking this far too much.†The smile finally creapt to Seraphimâ€s lips, seeing that this ended much better than she expected, and now, one of her enemies and new friend were acting all buddy-buddy. It made Seraphim feel left out, but when Sindel came closer to her and snuggled up beside her, Seraphim wasted no time in scooping the girl up and close, an arm resting around her waist as she hugged her gently, leaning herself beside the girl some. “Yea.. I hope I am.” She said, praying this was the right decision, but still smiling about it since she felt like it more than likely was.

“I.. had no idea you two were close friends. I guess not everyone in the Era of Hellâ€s so bad after all.” Giving a light smile as she said this, Seraphim tried to let her connected fears of Lute get in the way. There was no way she could shake that face from her mind, and she doubted that with Lute around, she truly could, but Seraphim at least tried her best to, keeping to herself as much as possible about the whole thing and just carrying a small smile. “I just…. Well, haha! Shit! Itâ€s just good to be in a place without any sour faces I guess, eheheh.” There it was again, that overly cheerful smile that didnâ€t seem to fit the ‘crimson eye†from her heel days, that extra enthusiasm in her tone that just seemed slightly forced, and the awkward laugh to try and change the mood. No matter what, Seraphim couldnâ€t shake off her doubts, fears, and pain, but she still gave it a good shot and not ruin the mood.

Lute would take the can of energy drink before she hopped off the bed and walked to the door, turning to bow at all of them. " I have to go now, the Era of Hell will not attack you till you are better, I promise. " She'd give a smile to Karina before she'd open the door and close it behind her. Karina would sit up completely and look at the door, silent from the fact Lute just left, resting her back against the bed before she started to figure out, casting a glance at Seraphim and shook her head. " .. The Era of Hell is bad.. She's the only one you can trust in there.. She left knowing that and left because she didn't like to hear that. " Karina would look at her guitar and pulled it under the covers to hug it, closing her eyes and cursed out " ..Fucking idiot is making herself miserable.. " Karina hated the fact that people like Lute were in the Era of Hell when they could do so much better, Lute actually saved Karina from doing many stupid things and she somehow saw Seraphim doing that for Karina in the future, closing her eyelids and trying to get some sleep again.

Sindel placed the can on the desk besides Seraphim and snuggled into her when she was hugged, not wanting to close her eyes no matter how good it felt being so close to the person you care most about, then she said something that would hopefully keep Seraphim happy. " White Gale will grow strong.. We... Will grow strong.. All of us... Not through power.. Not hrough chaos.. But through friendship. "

“Um… o-okay… nice to meet you, I er.. guess.” The hesitation in Seraphimâ€s voice clearly showed how much she was still bothered by Lute. Something about her was just… off. They were all saying it, Lure was such a good person, yet she was stuck in the Era of Hell, and everything felt like it was out of place, like she was just too good of a person to be in there. And quite frankly, that was what Seraphim just didnâ€t like, she was in fact just that; too good. There was no way she would stick around in the Era of Hell like this unless she had some ulterior motive. And after being betrayed once, and losing everything for it, Seraphim was too sharp to let it happen again. So, sure, she would accept the girl to an extent, and not hate her or anything, but otherwise, Seraphim was going to keep her eye on that girl, even if Karina did say she trusted her, it just didnâ€t feel right and that girl had something about her that was just… wrong.

Looking at Karina again, Seraphim wanted to say something to Karina, but the girl found herself once again silent. Honestly, she didnâ€t know how to speak with the girl right now. She wanted to give her another hug and just comfort the girl, she wanted to tell her what Lute said about the guitar, she wanted to just get up and start training with her again, heck, she wanted to do just about everything with her! Oh… wait, not like that…
But that didnâ€t change the fact that she had a hundred things on mind, and found it impossible to express even one!

And of course, only after Karina closed her eyes did Seraphim speak, and what did she say? “Gâ€night Karina.”

‘Gah! Stupid-stupid-stupid! Grr, what the Hellâ€s the matter with me?!â€

Frusterated with herself, her those thoughts faded again when Sindel got close, just letting her friend lie there, casually stroking through her hair for a moment, before Seraphim leaned back as well, deciding to finally rest her head against the pillow, letting out a sigh of relief. Yea, sure, she had a lot on her mind. Shit… the girl was probably going to drive herself insane at this point! But, with Sindel here, and knowing she made a new friend, it all felt like things in the end.. they were going to be alright.

“Yea… youâ€re right. I couldnâ€t imagine it any other way.” Seraphim said with a calm smile, still thoughtful for one last moment as she had an imagine in her mind of what the AFW should truly be like. “Thank you, Sindel.” And with those last words, after she gave Sindel one last hug and a soft kiss on he forehead, Seraphim curled up under the blankets and closed her eye, burying herself in the pillow before drifting into a light, silent sleep until tomorrow.

After a long night of resting and getting their things together, Karina offered Seraphim to stay at her place so they could train whenever they were both recovered. Karina had led the girl to her house, which was quite fancy.. But off course when you were backed up by the Era of Hel, you could afford almost anything since they always ade sure you won. She took out the keys with steel skulls on the end of it, pushing the key into the lock and twisting it twice to the side to unlock the door, pulling the key out and opening the door, holding it open for Seraphim to enter before she'd close her door again and locked it.. Just in case. Karina's house was quite... Normal. Karina lived for listening and playing loud metal music but she wasn't someone to make her entire life about it. She'd drop her guitar next to the couch and showed Seraphim she could sit upon it, taking a seat on the other side of the couch and resting her back against it, closing her eyelids for a moment to let out a content sigh " Aahh.. Good old soft furniture. "

She's rest her feet on the table and urged Seraphim to do the same, turning on the TV and zapping through some channels again. " Well.. It ain't much but you can enjoy your stay for as long as you like. Only one rule. I always order out, I can't cook at all. Last time I tried to cook a meal, almost burned my kitchen down, you do NOT want me to repeat that, hehe. "