It was the early evening, on this late October day. It was Wednesday,
and it was rainy. The rest of the week was forecasted the same. Rainy,
possibly with some thundershowers this weekend.
	A few weeks ago, Aria tracked down the man who instructed those who
went out for archery, and he said he wanted to see some sample shots from
her, and scheduled it for this afternoon. Rain or no rain.
	"Ok," said Captain Brufoven, "You said you have some experience, so
we will start out with you shooting at a 122 centimeter face at 50 meters,
and see how you do." Aria was quite confident.
	"Very well, sir," she replied, as she followed him to shooting range.
	"Excuse me sir, but is it ok if I watch?" said cadet Elan Morin
Tedronai from behind them. The two turned. Aria smiled. Captain Brufoven's
face remained neutral for a moment, and then nodded.
	"Just don't do anything to distract her as she shoots. Archery isn't
as easy as it looks, and the slightest distraction can be fatal. Sometimes
even literally," Captain said with a sternness about his voice.
	"I understand, sir," Elan said. As the three headed to the shooting
range, Aria fell back to walk beside Elan.
	"Not that I am complaining, but why are you here?" she asked Elan.
	"Meg had a game today, remember?" Elan said. Aria's face brightened
with remembrance.
	"That's right. I forgot," she said. Elan chuckled.
	"Usually its the other way around," Elan said with a grin. Aria
smiled back.
	The three reached the shooting range, where it was still raining.
"Excuse me, sir, since I don't know much about archery, but wouldn't the rain
affect her shooting?" Elan asked.
	"Not so much to where it cant be adjusted for by the archer, cadet.
Wind is usually the biggest problem, especially strong gusts, but wind is
also a factor to be adjusted for by the archer," The captain said. "Elan, if
you are going to be here you might as well have a use. Go set up the target."
	"Yes, sir," Elan said, slightly startled at the unexpected command.
Captain Brufoven frowned. "What distance?"
	"50 meters." Elan saluted, then went and set it up. When he returned,
Aria stood ready, looking at the target. Standing somewhat sideways, bow in
left hand, arrow locked, ready to be raised and shot. Elan stood off to the
side so as to not distract Aria.
	"Ok, cadet, lets see what you got," the captain said. Aria nodded,
turned towards the target. She stood there staring for about 20 seconds, then
raised the bow and arrow. Hardly pausing to take aim, and let loose. All this
happened in one quick motion that took only the fewest of seconds. A split
second later the arrow hit the target.
	Aria did this four more times. She wasted no time between her shots
and had readied the next one as soon as her last arrow left the bow and shot
the next one almost as soon as she was ready. After she finished shooting,
the three headed out to the target to see how Aria did. When they reached the
target, the two men had looks of amazement on their faces. One arrow had hit
the bullseye, while three others where in the ring just surrounding the
bullseye. The fifth one was in the second ring out from the bullseye.
	"Impressive shooting cadet. If you had taken the time to aim, you
might have scored a bullseye with most of your shots. As it is, I think I
have seen enough. I will put you in the middle class of competition, and see
how you do there. If you do well, I will promote you to the advanced class,"
he said.
	Aria smiled. "Thank you sir," she said.
	"You two put everything away while I go put your name into my
database."
	"Yes, sir," the two said almost simultaneously, then turned to gather
the equipment.
	"And Elan," he said, and Elan turned around to look at him. "I want
to see you tomorrow afternoon, after your classes."
	"Yes, sir," Elan replied. Then the captain walked back indoors. "I
wonder why he wants to see me." Elan said, removing a couple of the arrows
while Aria removed the others.
	"Well, he didn't seem too pleased at your being startled at his
order. It is probably that. We are supposed to be prepared and alert at all
times, you know," she told him, as she watched him remove the target and put
it in the nearby storage shed.
	"Yeah, you are probably right. Anyway, we should hurry if we don't
want to miss Meg's volleyball match," Elan said.
	"Ok," she said. The two walked back indoors, where they went to
Aria's room so they could dry off from the rain, which had started falling
incredibly hard by the time they got inside the dorms. Aria and Elan were
drying themselves off as best they could when Aria asked Elan if he wanted to
go back to his room to get into some dry clothes.
	"Not really. Don't see much reason to. I will only get soaked again,"
he said. Aria paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face, then
resumed drying herself.
	"Good point," she said. "I guess I will stay in these clothes, too."
She dried her hair a little. Enough to where she could brush it, anyway. "Are
you going to comb your hair? It looks like a mop."
	"Probably not. Because I don't have a comb with me. I am not a woman,
after all," he said with a grin. She picked up a small cushion that was lying
nearby and threw it at him.
	"Oh, you are just the comedian today, aren't you?" she said
sarcastically. Elan just grinned at her. "Well, I am ready, are you?" Elan
nodded. "Ok, lets go."
	The two arrived at the match fairly quickly, albeit quite soaked,
again. Even their coats didn't help much, they still ended up soaked. They
found a spot fairly low on the bleachers, and the match seemed to have
started not too long ago. Megeara was out on the court, playing. The academy
team was currently on the defensive.
	A while later, the match ended, with the academy losing,
unfortunately. Megaera went to join her friends. Elan and Aria were standing
on the floor just in front of the bleachers. They were still a little wet,
although they have gotten dry some. Megeara had a grin on her face. "If you
two are going to take a shower, especially together, you are supposed to take
your clothes off, not keep them on," she said, grin still on her face.
	Elan and Aria knew she meant it in jest, but they both turned
slightly red anyway. "Ha ha, very funny. If we were a couple, then maybe,"
Aria said. "Well, we're sorry you lost, but Elan and I think you did well
enough to get treated to dinner on Saturday, if you don't have any plans?"
	Megaera smiled. "Sure, I would love to. Just the three of us. It'll
be fun." The three headed back to Aria and Megeara's room, so she could get
changed into her uniform, and head to dinner.
	For the rest of the evening the three talked about their day. Aria
mentioning her archery performance, and how Samuel Booth was harassing her
again today, at which Elan scowled. Elan talked about his classes, and how
boring he thought they were, and about how he was thinking about doing
fencing for an extra curricular activity. Megeara talked about her match, of
course, and of how this one girl on the team was angry at her, because she
said that Megeara was flirting with her boyfriend. Which was, of course,
untrue. Megeara may be a flirt, but she doesn't snatch away others
boyfriends.
	"So where are you two taking me for dinner on Saturday, or have you
not decided?" Megeara asked. Elan smirked. Aria smiled.
	"Well, we have decided," Aria said, "but we decided to make it a
surprise."
	"Ahhhh......one of those," she said. Megeara claimed she hated
surprises, but she still seemed to enjoy it when she was surprised. "Well, I
am sure I will enjoy it anyway." She grinned. They spent the rest of the meal
just chatting, and enjoying each others company. Booth came walking by a few
times, although he never stopped. Aria wasn't sure if it was the fact that
Elan was watching him walk by with the best poker face Aria had ever seen on
a person, or if it was the fact that Booth was trying to avoid trouble.
Although she didn't think it was that, or if maybe it was something else,
that she didn't know.
	After the meal ended, The three went back to the girls room to study
for a while.
	***************
	"So what were you able to find out?" the blonde haired man in the
ExoFleet cadet uniform asked the shorter dark haired man, also in a uniform.
	"Not much. It can get noisy in there, and it can be hard to
eavesdrop without being noticed. All I know is that they are taking the red
haired beauty to dinner on Saturday. If they said where, I didn't hear it."
	"Ok, then. Can you talk to your friend who is holding the party? Do
you think he would do me a favor?" the blonde asked. The other man in the
cadets uniform scratched his head.
	"I don't' know. It depends on what it is you want from him, probably.
But I will ask. What is it you want?"
	The blonde got a stern, forceful look on his face. The other person
felt just a little bit intimidated. "This is what I want him, and you, to do.
First, I want you and him to follow them to this restraint. When there......"
	****************
	It was early afternoon on this Saturday, slightly sunny outside,
although it was supposed to get cloudy and rain. Aria, Elan, and Megaera were
outside by the river having a picnic lunch. Megaera still trying to find out
just where they were taking her for dinner that night, and having little
success. They sat there talking for a while, and then Aria and Megaera
started talking girl stuff, at which point Elan dozed off, sitting back
against the tree the three were sitting under. By accident or design, the
girls could not decide.
	"So, Aria," Megaera asked. "What is up with you and Elan?" Aria, a
little taken aback by this question, quickly looked over to Elan, who was
still sleeping.
	"What do you mean?" Aria asked, suspecting she knew exactly what
Megaera meant. Megaera just gave her a level look.
	"I know you aren't dumb, Aria, I mean you and Elan. I know you said
you aren't a couple, but you two sure act like you are. Always hanging out
together, doing stuff together, talking. You know, being best friends. You
two really do seem like you were meant for each other." Aria looked over at
Elan for a moment, who was still snoozing. A leaf had fallen into his hair.
Then looked back over at Megaera.
	"I don't know. He hasn't expressed anything for me beyond friendship,
and seeing as how my last, and only, relationship turned out, I am afraid
that the same thing might happen with Elan, and I don't want to lose him as a
friend," Aria explained.
	"Yeah, but sometimes, Aria, you just have to take a chance. You never
know unless you do, and sometimes, the rewards are worth the risk," Megaera
said. Aria sighed.
	"Maybe, but for right now, I think we will just remain friends. I
don't even know if he wants anything more than friendship, and until he does,
then we will just remain friends."
	"Ok. I think you two make a really nice couple though," Megaera said
with a smile. Aria looked at suspicious, yet playfully way.
	"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say you are trying to
set me up," Aria said. Megaera's face took on a look of mock surprise.
	"Me? Never," she said, grinning. "Well, at least he doesn't snore."
They both started laughing. Not that loud, though, so as not to wake up Elan.
	For the rest of the afternoon, the three hung out together and talked
and had fun. Before they knew it, the evening had descended upon them.
	After the three got ready, they left the campus and headed into town
and headed straight for the restaurant. It was a Hungarian restaurant called
Novak's.
	"Hey, this is great you guys!! I love European food!" Megaera
exclaimed. Elan and Aria smiled.
	"Great! Lets go on in and sample some of its finer cuisine," Elan
said. Aria grinned.
	"Try not to drool too much, Elan," Aria said. Megaera nudged her and
lowered her voice, deliberately lowering it to where Elan could just barely
hear.
	"He is a man, Aria, don't forget. Their stomach differs from ours in
that they have some control over the brain," Megaera said.
	"Oh, ha ha. Very funny," Elan said. Megaera took a deep breath and
smelled the scent of the food in the air. Of course, this also caused the
jaws of the surrounding guys to drop, except Elan, thanks to the clothes she
was wearing. They showed a generous amount of cleavage, which was only
enhanced by her deep breath. Aria herself could never bring herself to wear
anything like that.
	"The smell of all this wonderful food is making me hungry, lets go on
in," Megaera suggested. The others agreed. Elan quite emphatically, at which
the two girls giggled.
	They went on in and were greeted by a waiter, who showed them to a
table. The three sat down and the waiter gave them menus. "Is there anything
I can get you to drink?" he asked.
	"Uh, sure. Some water for now would be nice," Elan said.
	"I will have some water for now, too, thanks," Aria said.
	"Very good, sir, miss. And you?" he asked, turning towards Megaera.
	"I will go with.....oh, shoot. I can't decide," Megaera said,
frowning. "I guess I will just go with some water until I can decide."
	"Very good, miss, I shall return in a moment," the waiter said, then
departed for the kitchen.
	Elan, still looking at the menu, asked the two if they saw anything
they liked. They mentioned some dishes they would like to try. Then the
waiter returned with their drinks.
	"So have you decided on what you would like to order?" he asked. Elan
was the first to answer.
	"Yes, I will have the Chicken Paprikas," he said. The two girls also
decided on something after a few minutes.
	"Excellent. I will bring them by shortly," he said, and departed
again. The three just sat and talked for a while, and eventually, the waiter
brought by their food.
	A little while later, they finished their meal, and decided to go. As
they were leaving, a man bumped into Megaera.
	"Oops, sorry about that," he said.
	"Oh, don't worry about it," Megaera said cheerily.
	"No, I really am sorry." he said again.
	"Don't worry, it was just an accident. Things like this happen all
the time," Megaera said to him.
	"Ok, but I really am sorry. Say, how would you like to come to a
Halloween party I am holding next Saturday? Your friends are welcome to come,
too," he said.
	"Ok, sounds like it could be fun. Sure. how about you two?" she asked
Aria and Elan. They said sure, why not? Megaera turned back to the guy.
"Where and what time?"
	The guy, whose name was Jim, gave them directions and told them at
about 7pm. Then he said goodbye and went inside the restaurant.
	"This ought to be fun," Aria said. The other two were in complete
agreement. "Anyone got any ideas as to what you want to dress up as?" Megaera
got a sly looking grin on her face.
	"Oh, I am getting a few ideas," she said.
	On the way back to the campus, the three discussed ideas as to what
to dress up as. Elan and Aria ended up deciding to go as a knight and maiden,
but Elan decided against armor. It would hamper movement some. Megaera was
still trying to decide between a few different things.
	Elan decided to go to his room, and do some reading before heading to
bed. Aria thought that was a good idea, so she decided to do the same.
Megaera just soaked in a nice hot bath before heading to bed.
	The next week was pretty typical for them. Elan tried out fencing,
and decided that it may not be quite right for him, since he tended to use
his feet, as well as his foil, and so the instructor suggested he try martial
arts, since they also did weapon fighting. Several different types, in fact.
	Aria decided to spend some time practicing her archery. Elan joined
her sometimes, and she found out just how poor an archer he was. She did have
fun trying to teach him, though.
	Megaera was playing volleyball, and doing well. She had a couple more
matches during the week, and the team won both. The week passed by, and
October 31st came.
	Elan came by Aria's and Megaera's room dressed in his costume. It was
a medieval style of dress, with black breeches and boots. A white laced shirt
with frill at the neck and wrists, and a deep purple coat with a lavender
trim. He also had a cloak, and was wearing a sword as well.
	Megaera answered the door when he knocked, and Elan gaped. "Wow," he
said, "that is some costume!" Megaera was dressed as a she-devil. With little
horns on her head, and a arrow like tail. But it was the outfit that made
Elan gape, although he shouldn't be surprised. The top was vest like, meaning
no sleeves, and it was cut short, with a very low neckline, as well. The
bottom of it was cut jaggedly, like it was ripped, instead of cut. The skirt
wasn't much better, at least in the way of size, as it, too, was cut very
short and jaggedly. The two pieces were red, as well as the gloves and boots.
She also had pitched fork to complete the outfit. Her flaming red hair
complimented her costume quite well.
	"You are looking quite handsome yourself, Elan," she said. "Aria is
still getting ready, so just come on in and wait. She should be almost done."
	"Ok," Elan said, as he came in and sat down. "So are you looking to
start some fights tonight? I could see fights breaking out because of that
outfit."
	Megaera just chuckled. They talked for a few minutes until Aria came
into the room. Elan looked over at her and stopped talking. He had frozen in
shock at the site of her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid
his eyes upon. Her dress was a sea blue, exquisitely and beautifully cut.
There was a light gold trim around the hem of the skirt, and the blouse was
cut about midways at the neck, and had a light gold embroidery on it as well.
Her hair was styled in a way that allowed a few gems to dangle from it. All
in all, Elan would have said that she was the ultimate epitome of the word
beauty, could he have spoken right then.
	"Speechless, eh Elan?" Aria asked, smiling. Elan took another moment
to speak, but failed until Aria walked over and playfully hit him in the
shoulder. He came back to his senses and stood up and bowed. He took her hand
and kisses it.
	"Words cannot describe the awe inspiring beauty I see in the noble
lady before me," he said. Aria blushed.
	"Thank you," she murmured.
	"Shall we get going?" Megaera suggested.
	"Yes, lets," Elan said. He stood up and extended his arm towards
Aria. "If I might be allowed the honor to escort my lady?" Aria smiled and
took his arm, and the three were on their way.
	********************
	"Nice outfit," said the shorter dark haired man to Samuel Booth.
Booth was dressed as a ninja, all in black, except for the mask, which he
still had to put on. He had a ninja sword strapped to his back, and a short
knife sheathed at his belt.
	"Well, it will serve its purpose," he said. Wrapping the mask around
his head. The shorter man got a slightly worried look on his face.
	"You aren't going to start any trouble, are you?" he asked. Booth
finished with the mask and just looked at him with cold blue, furious eyes.
The short dark haired man shut up. A few minutes later, Booth left and headed
to a party.
	********************
	Elan, Aria, and Megaera reached the place of the party and went on
in. The man who invited them greeted them at the door.
	"Hi, glad you could come! Please, feel free to help yourself to
refreshments. We will be having a costume contest in an hour, and of course,
dancing at all times," Jim said.
	"Thanks," Megaera said. The three went on in. There were all kinds of
costumes that people were wearing. Lots and lots of variety. Megaera headed
straight for the dance floor, while Elan and Aria just walked around for a
while, talking. Then a slower song came on and Elan asked Aria if she would
like to dance.
	"Ok," she said. Neither of them noticed the ninja staring at them
from a distance. The two danced, and enjoyed themselves, and decided to
continue to dance when faster songs started playing.
	The costume contest came along, and Megaera entered, and won second
place. Probably would have won first if the panel of judges had been all
guys. She got certificate for a free meal at a local restaurant as a prize.
	Another slow song came on and Elan and Aria decided to dance some
more. That was when the man in the ninja outfit came up to them. They had
been enjoying the last couple of hours, having a lot of fun. It was a shame
that it was about to end.
	Elan turned around at the tap on his shoulder, only to have a fist
come at him in the face. Caught off guard, Elan took the hit squarely in the
nose, causing him to stumble back. He out a hand up to his nose, and when he
brought it back down, there was blood, and a lot of it, on his hand.
	"I don't know who---," that was as far as Elan got before the ninja
pulled the knife from his belt, and started slicing at Elan. Dancing back,
Elan got into a defensive position, and tried to fight off the ninja
attacker. Aria wanted to help him, but in the dress, she would be a
liability.
	Frustrated at not being able to get to his victim, the ninja rushed
forward, and Elan dodged, but not fast enough, for the knife managed to slice
him on the left shoulder. Aria gasped. Fortunately, the ninja lost his knife,
after scoring that hit. Unfortunately, he drew his sword. Elan, seeing this,
drew the sword at his side, too.
	Some of the surrounding people had seen what happened, and were
trying to detain the ninja, but with him waving that sword about, they were
unable to get close enough.
	For a few minutes, the two fought. The sounds of the clink of the
swords hitting each other loud enough to override the crowds talking and
yelling.
	Elan managed to score a few hits, but nothing more than surface
blows. He was getting tired, and the loss of blood was starting to weaken
him.
	Finally, Elan managed to score a hit on the ninja's sword hand,
causing him to drop it. Then some of the surrounding people closed in and
detained the ninja. They weren't able to hold him for long, though. He
managed to wriggle his way out of their grip and took off. Some people went
to try and find him, but they didn't think they would, with him in all black.
	Exhausted, Elan dropped the sword and fell to his knees, and Aria
went over to him and helped him get back onto his feet. "Is there a room I
can take him to?"
	"Yes, right over there," Jim said. Aria took him into the room. Some
bandages and other first aid supplies were brought in.
	"Thanks," Aria said. He left and Aria started bandaging up Elan's
wounds. When she was almost done, she looked up into his face, and their eyes
locked for a moment. She unconsciously stopped what she was doing, and just
stared back. After a minute, Elan said nothing, but put his hand on the back
of her head, and drew in closer, and kissed her.
	After what seemed like forever, they released each other, and she
looked at him, and resumed taking care of his wounds.
	"This could get me into a lot of trouble at the academy," he said,
indicating the fight.
	"Why? Just say a mugger attacked you. It is the truth, pretty much.
you can't get into trouble for that," she said. Elan thought for a moment.
	"I guess so," he said, trying to stand up, and failing. He tried
again, and this time, Aria caught him as he started to fall back.
	"We need to get you back to the academy doctors, and have them take
care of you," she said. Standing, although weakly, he smiled at her.
	"Thank you," he said. She helped lead him out of the room, where
Megaera was waiting.
	"Is there anything I can do?" she asked. Aria told her no, that she
was going to take care of him. She said it in such a way, that Megaera had no
doubts anymore, in regards to Elan and Aria. Megaera smiled, very happy for
her friends. Leading Elan out the door, Aria took him to see the academy
doctor, after which she helped him back to his room, where she stayed with
him until he fell asleep. Quietly, she left the room, and went back to hers,
thinking about what had happened tonight, and wondering just what else the
future held for her.
End