Okay, this role-play can take place in a large clearing in the woods in... New Cephiro? (did they ever actually make a name for it? ) What we do is basically just what the title says: We chat while in-character. Oh, and I'm sure you all know this already, but I'll just say it anyways (it's better to be safe then sorry, right?) Please don't do any one-sentence posts or spamming. Oh, by the way, would anyone mind if I had Presea use two swords as her weapons? They never mentioned her having any, and I've always liked the idea of two swords. I probably won't use them in this RP, since we're all just chatting, but ya never know. Anyhoo, I'll start the RP:


"Whew! It sure is warm today!" Presea said to herself as she finally reached a clearing in the woods. It was a beautiful day, and Presea had just felt like walking around in the woods for a bit, and soon found herself heading toward the huge clearing near the center of the small wood. Alot of people often came to the clearing to think, or just to relax for a while, and pick a few fruits off the fruit trees that grew there. However, no one seemed to be there at present (which was actually good for Presea). Presea had thought that it would be a perfect day to walk to the clearing. However, she had not counted on getting so hot! She sat down under the shade of one of the fruit trees--picking one of the delicious fruits off a branch on her way down. The sun rays were peeking through the tree branches, and Presea was just starting to cool down and relax, when she was startled by a rustling sound behind her....

Just then at the edge of the clearing a small creature with long ears very much like a rabbit hopped out of the bushes. A moment later it was followed by a little girl that was apparently chasing after it. She was about six years old, had light brown hair, green eyes, and she wore a simple peasant dress that was a little dirty around the hemline.

"Bunny! Come back! I just want to play with you!"

She shouted and ran after it, unaware that there was already another person there in the clearing. When the rabbit creature hopped back into the forest at the far side of the clearing, the young girl stopped there. She could no longer see it anywheres.

"Awww ... I just want to have fun ..."

She moaned dejectedly and then turned to go back the way she had come. Then she noticed that another person - Presea - was sitting nearby in the shade of a tree watching her. At first the girl was overcome with fear because she didn't know who this person was. However, the stranger didn't do anything to scare the little girl, and she seemed to have a friendly smile, so the child slowly walked over to where Presea was to talk to her.

"Uhh .... h-hi, my name is Mirei."

She introduced herself bashfully then continued

"I ... I haven't seen you here before, w-what is your name? Maybe w-we could be friends?"

Mirei asked with much hestitation and a weak smile. She wasn't very comfortable being with a strange person like this and tried to hide it the best that she could, but being only six years old, Mirei wasn't very good at it yet.

((OOC: Mirei first appears in MKR as a the little girl that gives Hikaru a flower ... in the anime it was episode 4))

When Presea had been startled by the little girl rushing through the clearing, her first thought was How dare that little kid disturb my peace! Ooh, maybe I can get some punishment in! This is going to be so much fun! But then the little girl came shyly up to her when the creature had disappeared into the undergrowth.
"Uhh .... h-hi, my name is Mirei." She introduced herself bashfully then continued
"I ... I haven't seen you here before, w-what is your name? Maybe w-we could be friends?"
The thoughts that had just a moment ago filled Presea's head suddenly vanished as she stared at Mirei.
She sat up straighter, and lifted her chin. "I am Presea, Cheif Artisan of this land." She replied proudly.
Mirei seemed to shrink back, and Presea realized she would have to be gentler.
"I... suppose we could be... friends." She said slowly, and more gently this time.

At Presea's first reply, Mirei shrank back a little from her. Mirei's mom had always taught Mirei not to be too friendly with someone until she became more familiar with them. However, she didn't completely understand why her mom always told her to do that. Yes, there were bad people in the world, but Mirei had met lots of good people too so she tried not to think that everyone she met was bad. To Mirei Presea seemed like a good person. Her hair and eyes were very beautiful and she had a sweet voice, things that a bad person wouldn't have Mirei thought. But Presea also called herself a Chief of something that Mirei didn't quite understand. Presea also seemed to speak with an aura of strength and authority, like a person of importance. This was why Mirei continued to be shy and nervous.

"I'm ... I'm sorry ... I didn't know that you were a Chief."

Mirei apologized and started to look away towards the forest again, avoiding Presea's gaze.

"Y-you must be an important person in Cephiro and I'm disturbing you Lady Presea ... I'm sorry ..."

She apologized again. Mirei quickly glanced at Presea once more. She wasn't crying, but her lower eyelids were lined with the wetness of tears. Mirei was very ashamed that she had asked this noble lady to be her friend. Her other friends were just children in the village like herself, not great leaders of Cephiro or whatever an "artisan" was.

'Please ... excuse me ..."

She said to Presea. Then Mirei quickly turned away from Presea and started to walk quickly back towards the forest.

Presea cursed herself for frightening the little girl, and as Merei began to quietly excuse herself, Presea felt she ought to do something. "Wait a moment!" She called as Merei headed out of the clearing.
The girl stopped, and slowly turned around. "I-I'm sorry that I frightened you. I truly am." She said quickly. "Actually, I was just about to have a few of these delicious Cephiran fruits. Would you care to join me? I would be very glad of the company." She added, smiling warmly.

After Presea had asked her to stay, Mirei just stood quietly for a moment. Presea's smile seemed very friendly and welcoming to her, so Mirei didn't feel like leaving anymore. However, this left Mirei feeling a little confused. Presea looked like she really did want to be friends with her even though she was just a little girl from a village Mirei thought. Mirei let out a little sniff and dried her eyes with the back of her hand, then she started to slowly walk back to Presea. The fruit that Presea had was something that Mirei had seen many times before in her village and Mirei knew that it was delicious. She suddenly started to feel very hungry, but Mirei was still a little nervous about accepting a gift from such an important person as a Chief like Presea was. Even though Presea's smile seemed very friendly, Mirei wasn't able to look at her as she tried to speak

"I ... I ... uhh ..."

She faltered and wasn't able to ask her question, but her hungry tummy came to the rescue.

"The fruit ... it looks very good Lady Presea. A lot of it grows around here so I know that it is delicious."

She said and managed a weak smile that quickly disappeared. Then Mirei went on

"But, I ... I don't feel right taking it from you. You're the Chief Arte ... sa ... I'm sorry I don't really know, but you're a noble person Lady Presea. You must be like a village chief or a princess or something like that and I'm just ... just Mirei. I'm not anyone special at all ..."

Mirei finished still looking down at the fruit in Presea's hands and not up at Presea's face. The food looked soo good, but Mirei didn't dare touch it out of respect and because she was still afraid. Soon her lower eyelids became damp with tears again.

"I'm just ... just Mirei. I'm not anyone special at all ..."
As Merei spoke those last words, and her eyes began to dampen again, Presea gently took the girl's chin in her hand, and looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Anyone who lives in Cephiro is special." she said softly, and placed the Cephiran fruit in the Merei's hand.

Mirei tried to look away from Presea at first, but there was something about Presea's gaze that kept her attention as Presea mentioned how everyone in Cephiro was special. At that moment Presea didn't seem distant, like a person with many cares and concerns elsewhere. Her eyes were warm and comforting Mirei thought, like her mother's when Mirei would come home crying because she had scraped her knee playing with her friends. She relaxed and took the fruit from Presea and began to eat it. It was delicious. Mirei didn't always get treats like this, so she ate it up quickly, but not so fast as to make a glutton of herself.

"Thank you so much Lady Presea, it was delicious!"

Mirei thanked her with a warm smile that did not fade quickly this time.

"You're a really nice person! I'm sorry that I was shy and afraid to be friends with you before."

She apologized without looking away from Presea this time. Then Mirei dried whatever dampness was left in her eyes and asked

"I would like to be friends with you now if it is okay? This is one of my favorite places to visit in the forest because it is quiet and sunny here. Can you please stay here with me for a while Lady Presea?"

Mirei asked her gently, but without fear this time.

"I would like to be friends with you now if it is okay? This is one of my favorite places to visit in the forest because it is quiet and sunny here. Can you please stay here with me for a while Lady Presea?" Merei asked after finishing her fruit. "Of course we can be friends, silly!" Presea replied playfully. "I like this place, too. It's quite peaceful. Oh, by the way, you can just call me Presea." She added with a wink. "Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, I do believe you mentioning that you didn't know what an Artisan was? Would you like to find out? My house isn't too much farther from here. Well... maybe it is. It's actually in the Forest of Silence (I like my privacy, you see). But, if you'd like, I coul take you there and show you some of my work. Would you like that Merei?" Presea asked with a bright smile.

Mirei listened quietly and smiled as Presea explained about how she liked this place too. When Mirei heard Presea start to explain about what an artisan was, she became very excited and wanted to learn more. However, her hopes quickly faded when Presea mentioned the Forest of Silence and Mirei's face grew worried.

"The ... the Forest of Silence?"

Mirei said with alarm.

"My daddy has told me stories about the Forest of Silence. When he was younger he would go there with a group of his friends to go hunting. He said that there are lots of ferocious monsters in the Forest of Silence, but that made their hunting trips very exciting. But ... it just sounds really scary to me."

Mirei explained with a touch of sadness in her voice. She really did want to learn about Presea and what kind of work an "artisan" does, but Mirei was afraid of the monsters that might be in the forest. After a moment or two she asked Presea

"Would it be safe for me to visit? I really want to see what kind of work that you do, but I'm afraid to go into the Forest of Silence. A monster might try to eat me if I go there."

Mirei then looked up at Presea again and hoped that Presea would have an answer to the problem.

"Well, it's true that monsters do sometimes roam about in the Forest of Silence. But since my house isn't very far into it, they don't usually bother me..." Presea began. But, seeing that what she was saying wasn't really helping, she tried something else.
"But, don't worry! I know a bit of swordplay, so if any of 'em even tries to come near us, I'll whack 'em dead!" She added confidently.

Mirei was a little shocked at first to hear Presea talk about the monsters, but Presea's confident and enthusiastic approach to dealing with them helped Mirei feel more at ease. Presea didn't seem like the type of person who could be easily frightened, so Mirei was able to take hold of that to a certain extent.

"You seem really strong Miss Presea because you sound just like my daddy when he used to go hunt monsters too. So as long as you're with me, I'll try not to be afraid."

Mirei said with a little confidence, but a big smile.

"I very much want to see your house and what your artisan work is like ... and ... umm ..."

she hestitated for a moment, but then got her courage up to ask

"...umm, could you teach me how to use a sword too? My mommy said that swords are for boys, but you're a girl and you use one, so could you teach me too? I promise that I won't say anything because I don't want mommy to get mad at you."

Mirei's eyes were glittering with stars as she finished. Using a sword was something that she had dreamed of before, but didn't think it would be possible because Mirei's mom wouldn't allow it.

"So, you want to learn the sword, eh?" Presea replied with a grin. "Oh, but if your Mother thinks you shouldn't... I don't know if I should..." She trailed off. But as she looked down into Merei's pleading eyes, she seemed to remind her of herself... a long time ago. So, of course, she couldn't resist. "Well... as long as you promise to keep quiet... I suppose I could just teach you the basics--you know, everything you need to know to defend yourself... I'm sure your mother wouldn't have a problem with that if she did happen to find out. Defense is a good thing to know." Presea was more talking to herself than to Merei--trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. "But you know, learning how to use a weapon is no easy task. It takes hard practice and determination. Do you still think you could do it?" Merei nodded sincerely.
"Well then, I'm sure we could find a weapon for you borrow at my house. Shall we go?"

At first Mirei was almost afraid that Presea would refuse her request. She knew all to well how grown-ups liked to stick together. However, Presea agreed to go along and teach Mirei a little bit about swordsmanship.

"Yaayy!!"

Mirei shouted gleefully and embraced Presea with a hug.

"I promise that I won't tell anyone that you helped me. Actually it's just my mom that I worry about. Daddy would probably like it if I learn how to use a sword!"

She acknowledged quite enthusiastically and with a big smile. Of course the next question was

"Oh, is your house very far away Miss Presea? How are we going to get there?"

Mirei asked with the delightful curiousity of a young child.

Realizing she hadn't really thought of how Mirei was going to get there before, it took a moment for Presea to respond to the question. "Well... my house isn't too far into the Forest of Silence--especially from here--I usually just walk... eh... what's the farthest you've ever walked, Mirei? Do you think you could walk for about a half hour?" She asked.

"About a half an hour walking? Sure, I could do that Miss Presea!"

Mirei answered with a bright smile, although like children usually do when excited about something, she hadn't given it very much thought. Together they left the clearing and started walking into the forest. It really was a very warm day, but once into the forest, the shade of the trees provided a delightful coolness that Mirei liked very much. The sounds of birds singing were heard everywhere and the different kinds of trees and plants fascinated Mirei because there weren't any like them in her village. After a half hour or so, but it seemed much longer to Mirei, Mirei's feet started to get tired even though she had enjoyed the walk very much so far.

"Oh, Miss Presea, is it very far to your house? My feet are getting tired ... could you please carry me?"

she asked and then reached up to Presea with her arms and showing a somewhat sad and pleading face.

Presea stared down at Merei reaching up to her, unsure of what to do. She reeeeeally didn't feel like carrying anyone in this heat, and her house wasn't much further... she tried to avoid the girl's pleading eyes, but there was no help for it. She sighed. She reached down to pick Merei up, but first quickly looked around to make sure no one was around to see. She placed the girl on her shoulders, and continued heading through the forests. She was surprisingly lighter than Presea had expected, and of that she was grateful. Before long, they reached her house. Presea set Merei gently back down on the ground. "By the way, that was sort of a one-time thing, so... don't expect me to be doing that too often." She told her. They stepped up to the front door, and Presea pulled out a glowing key. "This key was made specially by Guru Clef, you know." Presea told Merei as she fiddled with the lock.

((OOC: Eeep! I'm so sorry for not checking and posting anything for so long Presea-san! I'm such an airhead! v_v))

Mirei wasn't sure if Presea would carry her at first, but was pleasantly pleased when she picked her up. Her feet still ached a little but the ache soon diminished as Presea carried her along. The warm sun felt really comforting when it peeked through the trees and shone upon Mirei. Presea's beautiful hair also smelled really good and it wasn't long before Mirei started to doze off sitting upon Presea's shoulders. She didn't get a chance to actually fall asleep because just then they arrived at Presea's house and Mirei got down on her feet again.

At that point Presea made the suggestion that there might not be any more free rides, but Mirei really didn't pay attention. Instead she just looked up at Presea and thanked her.

"Thank you so much Presea-san! My feet feel much better now!"

Mirei said to her with a warm smile and then grabbed Presea around the legs with both arms and hugged her affectionately.

"You're a really nice person Presea-san, I really love having you for a friend!"

She finished cheerfully. When Mirei let go Presea got out the special glowing key and told her that Guru Clef had made the key for her. With amazement, Mirei's eyes grew wide as Presea opened the lock. Mirei was speechless with wonder and didn't say anything for a few minutes until they went inside Presea's house. Eventually she found her voice.

"Wow, Guru Clef made that special key for you Presea-san? He's the most famous and most powerful magician in all of Cephiro, so you really must be an important person if Guru Clef is your friend Presea-san!"

Mirei exclaimed with wonder.

(OOC:Yeah, I was sorta wondering if maybe you were getting bored with the RP since it was just you and me. V_V But since I know that wasn't the reason I feel better now. )

"Oh, I'm not that important." Presea laughed as the key finally clicked into place and the door creaked open. She led Merei through the house and down a long corridor with a door at the end. "I'm just an Artisan." She added as she opened the door, revealing a room full of the many weapons she had created.
Swords, axes, spears, magical tools, and other weapons hung on the walls and lay in neat piles on the floor. "By the way, in case you're still wondering, an Artisan is someone who creates these kind of things." Presea said, waving an arm around the room. "Now, we should get started on your training! So, I want you to go pick out a sword and bring it back here forthwith!" She ordered and watched Merei scamper off.

Mirei went around and looked at the various weapons in Presea's armory. They were like nothing like she had ever seen before, and her mouth hung open in awe at the exquisitely crafted items. Some of the men in her village owned swords, but the only ones that Mirei had ever seen were just very common weapons. What she saw here however must be the weapons of kings and princes Mirei thought and she didn't dare touch any of them. Not only did she feel unworthy to even pick one up, Mirei was also afraid of hurting herself on one of the mirror polished, razor sharp blades.

Slowly Mirei turned around to look at Presea again, a nervous look on her face.

"Pick one of these? But I could never use one of your wonderful swords Lady Presea. Even the leaders of my village do not have weapons as fine and beautiful as yours are. I'm not a queen or a princess, only a little girl from a village. Maybe you have some others that aren't so nice? I don't think that I'm worthy to use any of these."

She finished sadly and looked down.

"Pshaw!" Presea waved a hand at Merie's comment. "You are as fit to use any of these swords as any prince or princess in Cephiro! Besides, I never said you could keep one, since--after all--each of these weapons was created with someone else in mind. But, until the time for you to receive your very own sword (with your parents' consent, of course), I think it would be best to use one of these... especially since I don't exactly have any older ones shoved in a closet somewhere." She finished with a chuckle. Merei still hesitated, however. "Don't worry! I'm sure one of those swords has been dying to be used lately! You wouldn't want to deny the poor sword some time to make itself useful, now would you?" She urged, presenting the matter in more of a playful point of view.

Mirei thought for a moment before answering

"Oh, I didn't think about it that way."

She looked at the weapons again, but then turned back to Presea. This time her eyes grew wide as if Mirei was anticipating something.

"Is it true what you said Lady Presea? Would you really make a beautiful sword like one of these for me?"

She asked, but then her face quickly drooped sadly as Mirei realized something.

"Oh ... I forgot. My mommy would never let me have anything like that. My daddy would let me I think, but mommy wouldn't. She says that things like swords and arrows are for hurting people."

Mirei turned back to the stacks of weapons neatly arranged in Presea's armory. As she looked at them, Mirei quickly realized that they were all too big for her. Some of the swords were so heavy that Mirei couldn't even lift them and the handles were so big that Mirei had to use both of her hands just to grasp them. They were made for men and knights to use in battle, and not meant to be toys for little girls to play with Mirei thought, but she kept on looking. Eventually she turned back to Presea without having picked one.

"I'm ... I'm sorry Lady Presea. My hands are just too small to use any of these. I would still like to learn from you, but do you have anything that was made for someone small like me?"

Mirei asked sadly trying not to cry. She really did admire the weapons that Presea had made, but Mirei was worried that she wouldn't be able to use any of them.

"Oh, I didn't think about that... let's see..." Presea replied as she walked over to where Merei was. She rummaged through the weapons for a few minutes, searching for just the right weapon. "Aha!" She exclaimed as she emerged from a pile of weapons, proudly holding up a small, but strong sword. "This sword was actually made for someone of a short stature... like Guru Clef." Presea said with a chuckle as she freed herself from the tangle of weapons that clung to her clothes. She held out the sword to Merei. All in all, the sword was only about four feet long. But it was very lightweight, and surpringly strong for it's size. "You can use this one until you've become better at using a sword. By then, I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind if you had one of your own--especially when she sees how good you are at using it." She added confidently.

As Mirei watched Presea emerge from the tangled mess, she started to smile and giggle uncontrollably at the funny sight. Fortunately Presea didn't seem to have hurt herself, so Mirei didn't have to feel guilty about laughing. Then Presea came and handed the slender sword to Mirei. Presea had told her that it was made for a small person, but the fact that Presea had mentioned Guru Clef made Mirei hesitate. She didn't want to ruin a sword that belonged to someone as powerful as Guru Clef, but then Mirei had come to know Presea a little better and she knew that Presea would not have offered it to Mirei if it wasn't alright. Slowly Mirei reached out to hold the weapon by the handle and take it from Presea. To her surprise it really was very light and didn't seem to weigh any more than a stick she would find in the woods. Mirei herself wasn't even four feet tall, so the sword was longer than she was which made for an odd sight.

"Wow, it's really wonderful Lady Presea! It doesn't feel heavy at all, even though I'm not very strong."

Mirei looked at it closely and moved it around a bit in the air. There wasn't anything that Mirei could see in the sword that wasn't utterly perfect.

"It's so beautiful Lady Presea! You really are a great artisan to be able to make something like this. So is an artisan like an artist?"

Mirei asked inquisitively.

"So is an artisan like an artist?" Merei asked while admiring the sword. "I suppose you could call them that." Presea nodded as she considered the question. "But instead of using paper and pencils, we use special materials and mental energy to create the greatest weapons in Cephiro!" She added, feeling some of her old pride return. After making sure that Merei was used to the new sword, Presea suggested they head outside to practice. Merei tagged behind her carrying the sword with her, and followed Presea out behind the house. Many of the trees behind Presea's house had been cleared away, revealing a large clearing. "I usually practice back here with my own swords." mentioned Presea as she removed one of her two swords from it's sheath. "We'll start with the basics. Now, see if you can copy this pose." She said as she beckoned Merei over and took a fighting stance, waiting for Merei to do the same. It didn't take long for Merei to get the right pose, and from there Presea proceeded with the training. She showed her some basic fighting stances, and taught her how to maneuver her position when swordfighting so she could get the best out of her swordplay. "Well, I think that's good for today!" Presea announced after a while. "You did very well, Merei! But it looks like it might get dark soon, and I suppose you're mother might be wondering what has happened to you." She said, glacing up at the orange-streaked sky.

When they began, Mirei only watched Presea at first and tried to imitate her movements. Presea's handling of the sword was so graceful that Mirei thought she was more like a dancer than a swordswoman. The results of Mirei trying to follow Presea weren't very graceful however. A number of times Mirei lost her balance and fell down in the soft grass. A few times she lost her grip on the sword and dropped it, but Mirei didn't give up. Watching Presea had completely changed Mirei's mind about swordsmanship - that it wasn't just something for men and soldiers, that it could be something beautiful and elegant and Mirei was more determined than ever to learn this skill for herself. After a few hours, Mirei was just getting enough confidence in herself that she might want to go out into the forest and try it for real when Presea mentioned that it was getting late. Mirei looked up at the sky with clouds blazing orange with the approaching sunset.

"Oh I lost track of the time because I was enjoying myself so much Lady Presea ..."

Mirei stopped speaking, her eyes grew wide and she dropped the sword in the grass as she realized what Presea had mentioned ...

"Eeeep! Mommy is probably in the village square looking for me right now!"

Mirei shrieked, terrified

"I ... I ... have to go home right ... now! Mommy is going to be really mad at me Lady Presea!"

And immediately without thinking Mirei ran back into the house, trying to find the way to go home again.

Surprised at Merei's sudden panic, Presea soon regained her senses and followed Merei back into the house. "Uh... Merei?" She called. "The way back home is outsi--wah!" She exclaimed when Merei startled her by suddenly rushed out from behind a door, a frantic look on her face. "Oh, there you are." She said, catching her breath. Merei looked as if she might burst into tears any second. "Um... I'm afraid the only way I can think of to get back to your home right now is walking, which would take a while but--oh! Wait a minute!" Suddenly remembering something, Presea spun around and started heading back outside. She screeched to a halt when she realized she had forgotten Merei, and raced back inside. The girl was still standing in the same place, looking more confused now then worried. "Follow me. I have an idea." Presea said, waving her over. And with Merei following closely behind, she hurried back outside, locking the door behind her. "Now, you might want to cover your ears, and by all means, don't get scared--or at least try not to show it. They don't respond kindly to fear." And, without giving her a chance to respond, Presea cupped her hands over her mouth and made a long, high-pitched screech. A moment later, a huge griffin flew down from the sky, landing in the middle of the clearing behind Presea's house. Merei screamed in surprise, and Presea pressed her fingers to her lips warningly. "Griffin's don't repsond kindly to fear." She warned. "But this is the fastest, most efficient way back to your home... unless you would rather walk. I promise that Grey--the Griffin, that is--won't hurt you as long as you act normally." She knew it was a lot to ask, but she couldn't think of any faster way to get Merei home. "He's really quite friendly. Why don't you go up and pet him? He likes that. Don't worry, I'll be right behind you." Presea assured her.

Even though Presea tried to reassure her, Mirei was terrified of the huge Griffin. As soon as Presea tried to nudge her towards it, Mirei ran around behind Presea and tried hide behind her, trembling.

"N-no ... I'm ... scared ... please ... d-don't make me ... L-lady Presea!"

Mirei's little voice squirted out between her sobs. She had utterly forgotten that only a few moments ago that she had felt ready to go out into the forest with a sword and fight monsters. Now that a large creature like a monster (although Presea said that he was friendly) was standing right in front of her, Mirei was reminded of how small she really was. And while she stood there hiding, Mirei started to think of how angry her mom would be if she came home really late. It would be scary, but Mirei thought that her mom wasn't as scary as the Griffin, so she decided what to do. As soon as she stopped trembling Mirei dried her eyes and came around to look at Presea.

"I'm sorry Lady Presea. I don't want to be a problem for you, so I will just walk home through the forest the way that we came here. My mommy will be really mad, but it's my own fault because I was having a good time here with you today and I didn't notice how late it was getting."

Mirei hung her head down, dejected and full of guilt, and started to walk slowly towards the path throught the forest. But then she stopped and turned to look back. This time she was smiling.

"Thank you, Lady Presea."

Mirei said more cheerfully

"I had a lot of fun with you today. Do you think that we could play again sometime?"

She asked.

"You think I'd let you walk home all by yourself, silly?" Presea joked as she hurried to Merei's side. She turned back toward the Griffin, realizing how stupid it was of her to try and ask a small child to befriend a huge Griffin, and--with a quick signal--the huge animal was flying back the way it had come. Presea watched it fly away for a moment, then turned back to Merei. "Now, shall we be going?" She asked.

Mirei nodded to Presea after she had made the suggestion that they get going and then the two of them set off down the path through the forest together. After a few minutes of walking Mirei turned to Presea

"Thank you ... for coming back with me Lady Presea. My mommy will be mad, but if she knows that I've been with a nice person like you instead of by myself, she won't won't be so bad."

She said to Presea, but then added ...

"Erm, please don't say anything to mommy about the swords ... she might not like that very much."

Mirei suggested with a sheepish smile. It wasn't much longer before the sun had set completely and the Forest of Silence was starting to become dark. She wasn't sure how far they still had to go so Mirei started to become nervous. The gloomy shadows everywhere made strange shapes that Mirei could easily imagine to be monsters. She clutched her hands together in front of her chest, and her eyes darted around in every direction at the slightest sound. Now becoming frightened, Mirei walked very close to Presea, close enough to brush up against her as they walked.

"L-lady Presea, this place is r-really creepy ... is it safe at n-night? W-will a m-monster come out of the dark and try to ... to eat us?"

Mirei asked, her scared voice shaking.

"If any monsters were in this part of the woods, and if they ever dared to try and harm you, I'd jump at 'em with my sword--like this!" Presea said, pulling out her sword and slashing it at an imaginary monster, finally getting the end of her sword stuck in a tree. It took a few minutes to pull it out, and when Presea finally sheathed her sword again, she could feel her cheeks turning red, and was suddenly glad of the darkness. But her sudden act of sillyness seemed to have cheered Merei up a little--which made Presea feel better about nancing about mindlessly.

Presea's response caused Mirei to jump back at first, a little surprised at Presea's sudden swordplay. But when Presea managed to get her sword stuck in a nearby tree, Mirei started to giggle and laugh at Presea's antics ...

"Teeheehee! You're really funny Lady Presea!"

Mirei told her with a smile.

"I've always thought that grownups were always serious about everything and didn't like to do silly things, but you're different. You're more like my friends in the village that I like to play with."

Then suddenly Mirei ran up to Presea and hugged her around the hips.

"I'm so happy that you're my friend! I love you Lady Presea!"

Mirei confessed and kept hugging Presea affectionately.

Presea was somewhat surprised by the sudden show of affection, but was glad that she had managed to cheer Merei up. "Yes, I'm glad I met you too." She replied with a smile. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, it seems we're nearing the clearing we came from. I don't know where you live, so you'll have to take the lead, Merei." Presea said, motioning up ahead where she was vaguely sure the clearing lay.

Up ahead Mirei looked towards where Presea was pointing. The forest was now very dark and Mirei could barely see the path in front of her. Normally she would've been scared to death to be out in the forest after dark like Mirei was now, but having Presea close by kept her calm as she searched the path. Then Mirei looked up at the clear night sky. The break in the trees above the path revealed a whole galaxy of brilliantly glittering stars. For a moment she stared in wonder at them, not able to remember ever seeing such a beautiful night sky. The stars also showed Mirei which way the path went, by outlining the break in the trees above it. Then Mirei turned back to Presea to answer her.

"I think that I can follow the way Lady Presea. The stars will show me the way home."

she said with a smile in the darkness. Then Mirei started to walk on ahead, following the path of stars in the sky above her. Presea was correct, it was only a few moments before they reached the same clearing where they had met earlier in the day. The sky was open wider here and with more of the starlight, Mirei could see almost as well as during the day, although there was no color to anything at night. She crossed the clearing to the path that led to the village. Mirei came to the clearing often so she knew this area rather well. The path wasn't very long and only a minute later, Mirei led Presea out of the woods onto a well traveled dirt road. It was very quiet at this time of the night because few travelers ventured out of the village after dark.

"We're almost there now Lady Presea, this road goes right to my village ... I can even see some light coming from there now!"

Mirei said excitedly and began to run down the road towards the light. It turned out to be light from the sentry's torch at the entrance of the village. When Mirei reached the sentry with Presea close behind, the man stepped out of the shadows and accosted them.

"Who are you?"

He demanded gruffly

"What is your business at this village at this time of the night?"

He demanded again in a harsh tone - obviously he wasn't expecting anyone friendly. Mirei stopped in her tracks shocked, her eyes were wide with fright. No one had ever tried to stop her from entering her own village before and she didn't know what to do.

Presea stepped forward.
"My name is Soushi, Presea. This is Merei." She said, motioning to Merei. "This girl lives in the villiage. She was visiting me and we lost track of the time. I apologize if this has caused any inconvenience, but she needs to get home soon. Her mother will be worried."
Presea's voice was calm, but she stared hard at the sentry, as if daring him not to allow the girl passage.

The village sentry gave Presea a hard look, but then kneeled down to look at Mirei. It only took a moment for him to recognize her.

"Well, I'll be ... it is you Mirei! Your mother must be worried sick, what are you doing outside of the village at this time of the night? You'd better run along home as quick as a you can and apologize to your mother!"

He said disapprovingly. Mirei now felt very guilty because she knew that everything the man had said was correct. She hung her head down and apologized to the sentry.

"I ... I'm really sorry sir. I know that I shouldn't be out at night, but I was just having fun visiting with my friend, Lady Presea. We lost track of the time that's all ... I'm sorry"

She confessed sadly. The guard stood back up and looked at Presea again. This time he stared in wonder rather than scrutiny and asked her

"You're really the Presea, the Master Smith of Cephiro who forged the swords of the Magic Knights?"

"Yes, I am the Artisan. Chief Artisan, in fact." Presea replied, feeling some of her old pride return. She cleared her throat.
"But, uh... as you can see, Merei here needs to be getting home, so... I'll just escort her back. Sorry for all the trouble." She apologized, leading Merei through the gates.

presea crashed into chi 'heya presea how are ya!'
'hi shii-san'