Third day. Cora had finished the treatment and was mostly waiting for Guilford to wake up. The man however, showed no movement all day long. His breathing was calm and his vitals were stable yet, what was taking so long for him to wake up? Normally he would be up on his feet by now. Cora sighed. She could hear the discussion between the other five outside. Lance and the others have returned from Caleta last night and thanks to Akira's skills, was able to gather enough information for them to get a handle on things. Now they were formulating a course of action given that Abel had faked Gil's death. She couldn't care less though. Right now the only thing that mattered to her was the recovery of her friend.<br/><br/>Gil was kind enough to always keep her company in times Silver wasn't around back in their academy days. Though he would often be late for his other classes, he always made sure that when he leaves, Cora was in the care of Silver once more. Not once had she heard this man complain though, despite her childish episodes and breakdowns, he was just there for her. It wasn't easy losing your home town, the place where your everything was. She wasn't new to the feeling of being homesick and she'd gone through it one too many times. This man however, didn't pretend he knew what it felt like, he just lent her his shoulder one too many times just like that. In a way, the small act of selflessness made her feel relieved, made her feel like she wasn't alone, that someone out there who could choose not to care about what she feels decided otherwise. He was a kind soul, one of the kindest she ever met. Cora's self musing led her head to plop on Gil's bedside. She hadn't rested for nearly seventy-two hours now, she was tired. Cora decided to close her eyes just for a little bit and almost instantly drifted to sleep.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/>"I'm telling you man, it's a mess out there. The Council has the knights moving like crazy." Lance commented drily while chomping on a piece of meat. He waved it around with his words. "It's like they finally realized they had been idle for far too long with the loss of a Seraph."<br/><br/>Akira hummed in the dark corner of the room. He wasn't trying to look cool, there just wasn't enough space in the couch left to sit on. "Didn't think it had to take the death of our friend for those old geezers to grow a spine." he mused, thoughts going back to the time he infiltrated the Grand Cathedral. "I'm just glad this was all staged and not the real thing. Though it sickens me that they had to wait for this to happen before deciding to act."<br/><br/>"It just goes to show how tamed they had become over the years. I can't blame those old men. They have seen just as much as we did of the First War and even more before that. Now they have to face this head on, Light knows how weary their shoulders already are." Alona sighed, picking up a piece of bread and taking a small bite. "It wouldn't surprise me if one or two of them decides to step down and call it a day."<br/><br/>"Still, do you think what they're doing now is enough? I mean, they had entrusted most of the Light's work to Gil and the other Seraph right? Do you think they still have what it takes to shoulder the burden Gil left to them?" Silver questioned, eyes falling to the dancing flames in the fireplace. "If I knew any better, they would no doubt shove his duties to the other Seraph posthaste. Poor girl."<br/><br/>Lance turned his head to look at Abel who still seemed to be contemplating. "Neither of us know much about that other Seraph. All we know is that she was a vital piece like Gil to our victory back in the day. Cut her some slack, she can't be that weak to not be able handle all the Seraph work on her own. Besides, this time around the Council is actually helping. Can't be that bad could it?" he said, finishing another piece of meat after. The others nodded in agreement. Now that the council and knights are acting in a unified effort, they would surely be capable of accomplishing what was within their power.<br/><br/>"All that's left now is for Gil to wake up. We can't do anything just yet..." Abel trailed. Thoughts still lingering somewhere around his former subordinate. "For the meantime, the enemy won't be attacking carelessly. I gather they would reorganize and start planning their attacks from here on out now that Eve is leading their forces. If I knew her any better, she isn't feisty and always aims for total domination. I just hope we have enough time to prepare Gil when the time comes that they make their move."<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</div><br/><br/>Purple eyes gazed at the lightly snoring Cora by his bedside. There was blackness beneath her eyes and Gil already knew what that meant. He looked around. He had promised to visit this place but never got to fulfilling it. This visit was not really the way he had planned to but still, it was his first time here and the first thing he noticed was how homely the place looked. It was nothing compared to his home that felt hollow. Turning his head to the left, Gil noted the red marks on the calendar by the bedside desk. Three days, plus the time it took for them to make the trip. He was mostly out of it for roughly five days now. He still felt weak though, but that could mostly be attributed to the lack of food intake. The grumbling in his stomach was evidence enough of that.<br/><br/>When his gaze turned back to Cora, his eyes were met by hazel ones that were now gleaming with tears. He didn't intend to wake her up or anything so he refrained from any sort of movement aside from sitting up. Still, she was looking at him, whether she was mad or relieved remained questionable. Bursting out into sobs, Cora rushed to hug him tight, relieved of the fear she fought all day long. Gil was finally up!<br/><br/>"Don't you ever dare do that to me again!" she whimpered close to his ear, clutching the man tightly in her arms. Guilford understood what she meant. This girl already lost her home town of Chandos. Her friends was all that she had left and losing even one of them would be her ruin.<span style="color: #0080FF">"S-Sorry... it was just... Rosetta was..."</span>he fumbled but Cora even gripped him tighter. "Shut up! I know! I know that!" she yelped, more sobs on their way.<br/><br/>The commotion led the backroom doors to open. Familiar faces greeted the helpless one Gil had under the clutches of Cora. All of them were smiling at him, an indication that they were relieved of the same fears Cora fought.<br/><br/>"Welcome back to the land of the living Gil. Though I don't know if that's the right thing to say..." Lance blurted, already trying his hand on some sort of humor.<span style="color: #0080FF">"What do you mean?"</span>Guilford asked, one brow raising in confusion. The rest of them walked into the room, closing the doors behind them as well. "Hmm. How should we put this," Akira paused before continuing. "You're dead, well... technically speaking that is."<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"You're joking right?"</span>Now he was even more lost than before.<br/><br/>Abel took the front, knowing these two buffoons would probably confuse his former subordinate even more than they were doing now. "I faked your death Gil." he said going straight to the point. "I did that so I could prepare you for what lies ahead should you choose to continue."<br/><br/>Now a serious air had befallen the small backroom of the house. None of the others dared to even say a word. This was probably a little too much for Gil to take in even if he was used to ridiculous situations. Waking up only to learn that you were technically dead? That's something that could shake up even the most calm person in the world. No doubt his mind is going through a series of questions about the possible implications of his faked death, the Seraph was probably already arguing about this situation he was forced in. Lance patiently waited, counting down the seconds that it would take for his friend to unleash the Seraph. The seconds ticked by and no words came, the only sound that penetrated the silence was a loud grumbling of a stomach.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">"Okay, I can't think on an empty stomach. Got any food?"</span><br/><br/>Jaws dropped and some hands reached for the back of their respective heads. This man had just been told that he was dead and the first thing he thought of was food? What in the Light happened to the Seraph? All of them were dumbfounded at the reaction. Clearly none of them saw this coming. Lance's laughter filled the room. He was always the first one to adjust to a situation change. "Right on! If you can get out of bed, I'd get a warm meal ready for you. Though don't expect it to be as grand as what your butler always prepares for you. I'm not paid enough to be your cook."