Waiting

For a period of time, much longer than it had lived in the physical world, the Kobold waited patiently, hoping that it would one day be liberated from the darkness. Fortunately, just as all hope seemed lost, the Kobold felt the warm energy flowing from the young boy's hand and, before it realized what had happened, it was once again a Kobold. Looking up, it saw that the boy had changed a lot, now looking more like a young man. Even so, there was the same kind and gentle look in his eyes, almost as if the tyrannical might the boy possessed was an illusion.

Believing it finally had the opportunity to serve the boy, now its Master, the Kobold patiently awaited its first orders. With what little intelligence it possessed, the Kobold swore it would work hard to please its Master. Since he was already so strong, the Kobold believed it would be able to become much stronger at his side. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it would have the opportunity to grow any time soon as there were no enemies present at all. In fact, the Kobold felt like the space around it, though clearly visible, wasn't really 'real'. It couldn't make sense of this feeling, but the Kobold felt this to be the case...

Just as it began to worry about its future, the Kobold was surprised when its Master suddenly reached his hand out. Flinching in expectation of pain, the Kobold was surprised when, instead of its fears holding true, the complete opposite happened. Against all expectations, its Master began to stroke the mangy fur atop its head, affectionately stroking its ears in the process. In a calming voice, unlike anything the Kobold had ever heard, its Master suddenly said, "I can't name you now, but I promise to grant you a proper name in the future. One day, you will be able to become much stronger...I promise."

It couldn't really understand his words, but the Kobold felt the 'intent' behind them through a link it never knew existed. Nodding its head, the Kobold simply enjoyed the unfamiliar and comfortable feeling of being petted instead of attacked. Even if it never became stronger, the Kobold felt an existence where it could receive it's Master's affection was enough. It was far more pleasant to feel the warm energy flowing from it's Master's hand than it was to fight a desperate battle for survival...

Unfortunately, the unexpectedly happy times, came to an abrupt end. The Kobold's Master suddenly vanished into small particles that slowly disappeared into the sky. A profound sense of dread filled the Kobold's tiny heart but it was nowhere near as scary as the instinctual fear it possessed towards the small woman it's Master had previously been talking with. She was very small, almost child-like in appearance, with golden-blond hair that nearly reached the ground. Her icy-blue eyes seemed like they could pierce straight through the Kobold's flesh, freezing it to the bone. Then, though it couldn't understand what the girl was saying, the Kobold lowered its head. Though it didn't know why, hearing the girl say the words, "How ugly..." made it feel resentful and sad...

(Fenrir's Commentary: 'When I first met Eva, she was very scary...')