You Make Me Stronger

@ Alphora
Ember beamed up at her as he stuttered. It was adorable and he was acting strangely but she liked it. She was seeing a different side of him. Ember smiled as he changed the subject. She looked at Elda and grinned as the woman started to talk but stopped as a woman about Ember's age came walking into the room in a stunning purple dress. She smiled her eyes moving over the room landing on Saber and she beamed in a way that held no innocence unlike Ember. She moved over to the old lady and kissed her cheek her eyes never leaving Saber's. "Hi grandma." she said and stood there behind the old lady. Elda smile. "Hello Catherine. This is Ember and Saber." the old lady said having milked Ember for information earlier. "You will be a good girl and show them around the festival won't you?" Elda asked Catherine. Catherine glanced at ember briefly before looking back at Saber. She nodded. "It will be a pleasure." she said and moved away from them to go grab something in the other part of the house. Elda chuckled at her granddaughter. "Now what was it you were asking Saber?" she asked and nodded as he reminded her. "Right. Well the celebration is all day but the maypole and the main festivities start right before sundown. As for what goes on the maypole is the only part I can really explain. The rest you will have to see for yourself." she said and patted his cheek. "Eat. It is almost time." she said and then left the room.

@ Jinx...
After they ate and Elda had left the room Saber turned to Ember and asked quietly, "Hey, did you notice that girl kept staring?" Saber seemed a little curious which seemed to worry Ember but then Saber chipped in, "I wonder if she knows we are Elementals or something. Or maybe she's part of Origin? Either way I am not letting my guard down too much." Saber saw Ember giggle a little but didn't realize why. Only Saber was the one who didn't notice his cluelessness. Mostly because he was usually on top of things, but not when it came to these types of things. Catherine came back into the room and was more than happy when she asked if Saber and Ember were ready to look around town. When they replied she grabbed Saber's hand and lead him out with Ember following behind.

@ Alphora
Ember was relieved when saber seemed completely clueless about Catherine's obvious attraction to him. Ember smiled and giggled at him shaking her head. She wasn't going to explain it to him just yet. Ember smiled as Cathrine came in. "Yeah. I am ready... you?" she asked turning to Saber and smiled. Ember stood and they all headed back into town towards the maypole. Catherine was going on and on about how to dance while dancing at the maypole. There seemed to be a lot of ducking in and out of people and spinning. Ember smiled at Saber excitedly. She walked close to him feeling as nervous as she was excited. She hadn't danced since she was a kid. What if she fell. They got to the pole and they were given ribbons. The festival started when the music started. It was wonderful. Ember was caught up in the music and the excitement and joy of the village.

@ Jinx...
Saber caught on to the dancing surprisingly quick. Being used to acting light on his feet it came pretty naturally to him. When Catherine told them it was a partner dance he turned to Ember expectantly. She smiled brightly when he took her in his arms and for some reason this made him have the same pressure in his chest from earlier. "Do you want to be my partner, Ember?" Saber asked a little hesitantly because even he knew what it meant to dance closely with the opposite gender. Before Ember could answer Catherine cut in, "If she doesn't feel ready yet I could dance with you for a while." She took Sabers arms into her own then leaned close and whispered, "Or you could stay with me all night if you'd like...Maybe even after the festivities." Saber's face drew completely red and he seemed completely lost for words, but his face showed he wasn't too fond of the last idea especially.

@ Alphora
Ember beamed at him as the maypole dance ended and the other dancing started as the sun had now set. Saber turned to her and she beamed up at him Fires were starting all over to light the courtyard. Something about the way he was looking at her made her weak in the knees the firelight hitting his face in just the right angles. Catherine cut in and Ember frowned. She listened to him for a little feeling sick with Catherine's attempts to get Saber to be her date for the night and much longer it seemed. She slipped between them and took Saber's hands as he turned bright red from whatever Catherine had said. She laughed as she spun into his arms loving that she could bring back carefree Saber if only for a moment. "Of course I will dance with you Saber." she said happily and wrapped her arms around his neck. Saber was her friend and she didn't see any problem with this until she was close enough to touch noses with him and suddenly she realized his sculpted body was pressed to hers. She gasped softly and blushed. She had never danced with a boy, or never noticed dancing with a boy before. She had been young when she danced last. "You will have to teach me." she said softly her eyes lighting up with playfulness. She looked so young and carefree, for once she looked her age and she looked happy. Ember squealed as the dance started and Saber lead her in the dance. He was light on his feet and she knew why. It made her smile more as he made her look like an eloquent dancer. Ember was lost in the moment everything forgotten if only for the moment.

@ Jinx...
The dancing seemed like it never ended. Although, Saber didn't seem to mind. Even he was caught up in everything that was going on. Once they finally sat down he was quite a bit out of breath. Saber and Ember had managed to just sit down and talk for quite some time. It seemed really fun, and Saber realized it was the first time he had ever actually asked questions about her and vice versa. Catherine was a little ways away and decided to waltz over and sit down on Saber's other side. Saber noticed she seemed a little different. "Are you alright, Catherine?" Saber asked. She explained that not a single person had danced or socialized with her a single time all night. Saber looked at Ember with pity that was directed at Catherine. He took a deep breath and decided to stand up and held his hand out to Catherine and smiled. Saber thought to himself, 'I guess one dance won't kill me.' Saber did feel odd with how close she attempted to be after just meeting him, but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he just sat there letting her wallow after hearing that and seeing her like that. Catherine rushed to the dance floor and Saber turned to look at Ember one more time. He saw the clear discontent on her face but said, "Someone I was close to once told me 'Any man who can ignore a woman crying shouldn't be called a man at all.' Besides, it feels wrong naturally to ignore anyone who's like that." Saber walked to the excited village girl and began to dance with her now.

@ Alphora
Ember laughed easily as she danced and talked with Saber. It was getting late and she didn't care. This was wonderful. For the first time she felt like she had someone that could understand her and they talked and talked. She felt her heart fluttering as Saber looked at her with those eyes. Catherine came over and sat down putting on some sob story that frankly Ember didn't believe. She was shocked to see Saber believe her. She frowned as he stood and held out his hands to Catherine. She bit her lip as the girl all to excitedly wished him away and he was gone with one last piece of advice to explain his actions. She didn't like this girl. She didn't like her at all. Something was off with her and Ember knew she had lied to Saber. Could he really not see it? Ember stood and went to get a drink trying to talk to other people at the dance but she was still overwhelmed with anger. It was taking a lot out of her to just focus on staying cool. She sighed and dared to look over at Catherine and Saber. She gasped as Catherine smirked at her over his shoulder. How dare she rub it in like that. Ember wanted to mark over there and sing the girls hair but she knew she couldn't. Saber wasn't hers so why was she getting all worked up about this? Ember sat back down and did everything she could not to look at Saber.

@ Jinx...
Saber danced like normal but he was honestly spaced out for a majority of the event when he was with her. He was really good at hiding it, though. Once the songs took a bit of a break he began to head back to Ember. Before he could go anywhere he felt his arm being tugged back and saw Catherine holding onto his sleeve. "What's wro-," Saber began to ask as he was cut off by her lips meeting his cheek. He was caught completely off guard and didn't expect that. He backed up a little and stood speechless. "That was a parting gift," Catherine explained as she winked, "Feel free to come back if you want any more." Catherine peered over Saber's shoulder where she was able to see Ember once more who had seen it happen entirely.

@ Alphora
Ember watched as Saber danced with her and then the song finally ended. He turned finding her in the crowd and was headed this way. Relief flooded into her for a moment until Catherine stopped him from moving and she kissed his cheek a little to close to his lips. She stood feeling her skin starting to burn. She gasped her eyes narrowing as she froze. Catherine smirked at her and that was the last straw. Ember turned picked up her dress and ran. She ran straight into the woods feeling much to warm. She was so angry and she couldn't explain why. Her skin was getting to hot. If she kept this up she would burn right through her dress. She ran out into the dark of the forest, dogging trees, until the town was no longer even a tiny light. Ember fell and stumbled into the dark hearing the rib of her dress. She cursed and lay there looking up through the thick trees to see the moonlight. She lay there a second to let her eyes adjust. When she stood she started to walk this time further into the forest feeling the warmth on her palm. She knew it had to be blood. Ember sighed trying to keep her cool. The night air was cold out here. A stick snapped and Ember turned toward the sound wondering what it was. She frowned and bit her lip. "Hello?" she said quietly. Ember whimpered when no one answered and she started to move again. Another sound was made and she took a defensive position lighting her hands looking around the forest looking for the source of the sound. She sighed when she found nothing. She turned her back once more thinking that maybe she should go back to the town but decided she was still not relaxed enough to do that. Ember wanted to find a nice tree to crawl up into so she kept looking. Suddenly a loud growl came at her from behind and Ember gasped from the pain of claws nicking her flesh cutting through the fabric on her arm. Ember turned and tossed a fireball in her fear at what ever was behind her but there was nothing but a tree that burn easily. She turned and looked around trying to find the beast but again she couldn't find it. She whimpered knowing that what ever was after her was a good predator and was still there. Ember screamed as something came at her way to fast to see knocking her onto her back it's jaws snapping as she pushed at it's through her body lighting up to try and defend herself.

@ Jinx...
Saber saw Ember run and knew exactly what that meant. Catherine was still holding onto him so he couldn't chase after her. After Ember was far out of sight he lost his temper and reeled his arm away making Catherine fall as he ran off. He had to get to her before she does something bad, or something bad happens.
The beast kept attempting to snap at her unable to land a clenching blow when all of the sudden Ember heard a "Hwaahh!!" as the beast barreled away from her and stood on all fours. The beast snarled. It looked like a giant bear that was much to big to be normal. As she turned she saw a man standing there. He seemed much more slender than Saber but appeared just as confident. "Stay back," he demanded to Ember who was still bleeding. His voice was also much lighter than Saber's as well. The bear started dissolving into thin air, or so she thought. The man stayed on guard and after a moment he drew his sword. What was odd was that he didn't use it to swing but instead held it vertically in front of him and stared directly at it. In almost an instant he vanished and reappeared at another spot and stabbed what appeared to be thin air, but there was blood on his sword. The beast appeared where he had stabbed and let out a cry before falling over. The man let out a smirk and swung his blade which flung the blood off of it and onto the ground before sheathing it. He walked over to Ember and held out his hand as he asked, "Are you alright?" When he helped her up he saw her puzzled look and let out a smile similar to a confident aristocrat as he explained, "I am an Elemental like yourself. My element is light, but I have an interesting variation. I used my sword to see every bit of light in the reflection. This let me detect the bear's presence and attack it. There are a few other tricks to my light but every woman loves a bit of mystery so I will keep those to myself." He winked as he said this.

@ Alphora
Ember gasped as she saw the creature and it was pushed off of her. She sat up but heard the man tell her to stay still. She sat there watching the man confused as to what he was doing. He helped her up and asked if she was alright and she frowned putting a hand on her arm. She had a deep gash on her side she hadn't realized she had until now. She gasped falling into him as she stood. Ember listened to him talk interested in what he was saying. She nodded and smirked slightly at what he said. "Who are you?" she asked feeling dizzy and really light headed. He must have seen her fire from wherever he had been before rescuing her. He told her his name and before she could reply she passed out in his arms her side still bleeding. The last thing Ember remembered was the guy picking her up and Saber bursting through the trees.

@ Jinx...
Saber saw him standing there with Ember, but instead of acting on impulse he looked around. He saw the bear and assumed he didn't cause this. "Who are you?" Saber asked demandingly, "Also, return Ember to me." The guy was smiling as if he was in control and said, "The name's Klein. And this lovely lady right here would be in trouble if it weren't for me." His tone sounded accusing but he was still smiling. He was clearly toying with Saber but he wasn't phased. "Give her back," Saber demanded. Klein shrugged and brought her close handing her off. "You don't seem like you're a very fun guy," Klein said still toying with him. "Not when it comes to Ember, or anyone else I care about for that matter," Saber explained as he made sure to keep a close eye on him. "Oh calm down with the glare. You'll need to keep a straight face around me considering I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. She's caught my eye and I'm not letting her go. Besides, I am staying in the same village for now so I am sure we will be seeing plenty of each other very soon," Klein said as he walked off. Saber grit his teeth and walked back to Elda's house. He waited by Ember's bed after she had been patched up making sure she was okay.

@ Alphora
Ember woke with a groan and rolled over flinching at the strain from her wound. She opened her eyes the pain waking her up. "Saber..." she whispered and looked up at him pulling the covers over her chest more. She frowned and looked around. "What happened?" she asked feeling like everything was a dream and she didn't know what was real. Elda walked in and smiled. "Oh good you are awake. "There is someone here to see you." she said and brought in some herbs. "I told him to wait in the living room. Saber please leave her side for a moment so I can change her dressings." Elda said strictly. Ember smiled at Saber and patted his hand. "It will only be a moment." she said and smiled closing her eyes again. She was thinking about that man that saved her, what was his name. She wondered where the man was that saved her from the bear... if there was even a bear? It would make sense why she was injured. Ember moved as Elda told her to. She was grateful for the cooling of the herbs. "It looks like you will have a scar." she said and Ember chuckled. "Well it will be my first." she said. Elda smiled and nodded. "You are healing quickly though." Ember smiled having a clue why she was healing faster than a human would. It was the fire inside of her that was always with her.

@ Jinx...
By the time Ember came downstairs she saw Saber glaring at the man who was here to see her. Of course, it was the same man who had saved her from the boar. Klein smiled as he saw Ember. "I'm so glad you're alright," Klein said, "If anything happened to a beautiful girl such as yourself I would have felt awful." Saber saw this complete 180 from how he was treating Saber the previous night when Ember was unconscious. He really didn't like that. "Ember, are you sure you're okay to-" Saber was about to ask until he was cut off by Catherine who took his arm and sat him down with her. "So, where did you run off to? It looks like girly over there had company of her own after all," Catherine said to Saber still flirting. He looked at Ember who looked happy to see the man which pissed him off, but he kept quiet for the sake of everyone else around at the moment. Plus, Ember told him to keep quiet about the elements thing around normal people. There would be no end to the questions if Saber mentioned how Ember got that wound and one small man was able to save her.

@ Alphora
Ember came out of the room to see Klein. She smiled softly glad she had not been dreaming about the boar. "Thank you Klein." she said and frowned seeing Catherine. She looked back at Klein trying to ignore the turning in her belly. Ember smiled and took the hand he offered her sitting down thankful for his help. She was healing quickly but she was still very weak. "How did you find me?" she asked and looked around seeing everyone watching her and Klein. How did this man take any interest in her. She blushed and looked away from everyone feeling to much in the center of attention. "We should walk." she said softly not wanting to be in the middle of the room with everyone watching especially Saber who despite his attempts looked like he wanted to rip Klein's limbs off.

@ Jinx...
After Ember and Klein left Saber got up to follow but once again was pulled back by Catherine. "Oh c'mon, now is the perfect chance to just sit down and get to know each other," She said happily. 'There's something about him that I don't like. Not just the fact that he's overly nice to Ember compared to me, but there's something off about him,' Saber thought to himself. He really didn't want those two to be alone. He had an idea but he wasn't sure he would like it. "Catherine, let's go on a walk ourselves," He offered. She was beaming to do it and bounced up. Catherine kept talking and talking as they walked but Saber mostly made sure they were in sight of Ember even if she was so far away he couldn't hear her even if she were to yell. He just wanted to keep an eye on them. Catherine didn't seem to notice what he was doing either so it worked out for now.

@ Alphora
Ember walked slowly with Klein. "Thank you for saving me. It was very honorable of you." she said and walked with him her hand in his arm to help her stay up. He let her lead which was a nice change of pace. Ember smiled at him. "I don't remember what happened." she said softly and blushed. She didn't know what else to say to him honestly she was amazed by him and how he was so gentleman like. "So tell me were you were headed before you saw me." she said wanting to make conversation.

@ Jinx...
"Well, I was going back to my home," Klein said hesitating a bit on the word 'home'. "If you ever need to rest or have anything else you want just ask," Klein said happily and continued, "I was out travelling because someone asked me to go scouting for someone special. That's why when I came across you there was no way I could just let you go...Well, that and I doubt I could bear to see an innocent young beauty such as yourself be pulverized by such a monster. Perhaps you wouldn't mind being my special someone?" He did mean the special person he had looked for but she could easily see his clever word play.
Saber noticed Ember smiling and felt a pit in his stomach. Not only did he not like this guy but Ember was getting close to him. 'What's so likable about some pretty boy, cocky prick anyways,' Saber thought to himself. "Saber, are you all there?" Catherine asked messing with him. "Huh? Oh, yeah of course," Saber said stuttering a little.

@ Alphora
Ember smiled. "Home..." she liked that word and the way he said it with such affection. She smiled. "Thank you. I am okay for now." she said and listened to his story feeling he was being honest with her and she appreciated it. In this day and age it was likely for people to lie to you all the time. She giggled as he complimented her again. "Thank you Klein. I wasn't able to really handle myself at that time." she said and looked at her bandaged hand feeling it throb. She looked back up at him as he spoke again. "You're special someone?" she asked and blushed looking back at the house where she had left Saber with Catherine. "What do you mean?" she asked stopping and looking up at him as he turned towards her holding her hands.

@ Jinx...
"I was told to go out and not return until I came back with someone special," Klein said as if he was telling an epic of love, "I was not allowed to return home until I did. I wouldn't mind having that person be you. And as you said, you weren't able to handle yourself. I would also promise to make sure you can get beyond the point of handling yourself to where you are the one those beasts fear, if you so desire. A mentor, a teacher, or whatever you may want to call me." He smiled as he talked the entire time. It was easy to tell he came from somewhere that is very pampered, or at least he seemed like the type. It made sense with the sword and the way he battled in such a classy and polished manner. Much different from Saber's way of fighting that comes through sheer experience but still just about as fierce in a different way.