All That's Left ~Yogscast Fanfiction~

Chapter 3 - Fire

Building hadn't been easy for Strife, not with shaky legs and a muddled mind, but he had managed to start a nice little shack with a bed, chests, furnace, and crafting table. He'd of course build it up to be a full branch of Strife Solutions (which he had managed to grasp a concept of in the past couple days), but for now it served its purpose as a shelter and base of operations.

He headed outside to the fields, looking at the few sprigs of wheat that had started to protrude from the ground. There wasn't much to them, yet, so he took the time to tend to them, hoping they'd grow sooner. The sun was blocked by the clouds this afternoon, making it easier to do his work. Next he'd have to work on getting some machinery. It just means times in the mines... and being underground made him uneasy...

A cow migrated into the field, walking amongst the crops the Strife's dismay.

"Hey!" He shouted indignantly, storming over to the cow. "Shoo! Get outta here!" He started to push on the cow's flank but it wouldn't budge. It simply turned its head to look at him and let out an apathetic "moo". "Oh come on! Get! GO!" The cow dipped its head nibbling at the small wheat growths. "NO!" Strife smacked the cow's side.

Suddenly the cow froze, its eyes looking slightly less innocent. If it was possible, the cow seemed mad.

"Oh no."

GLOK!

Strife hit the ground with a heavy fa-thud. The cow continued along, leaving him to sit in the dirt and hiss in pain. Getting head-butted by a cow was less than pleasant... Tenderly, he rolled up his sleeve to examine the part of his arm that got hit. It was red and already puffy. Strife knew it'd swell and bruise quite a bit, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

"Hello, Strife."

"GAH!" Strife jumped into the air, spinning around with a startled look on his face. "Xephos! What are you doing here?" Xephos stood a few feet away, his arms crossed across his chest. His lips were stretched in a thin smile, obviously amused.

"I have something for you..." Xephos glanced around, his bright blue eyes scanning their surroundings. His eyes stopped on something in the distance, on something Strife couldn't see. He suddenly turned back to Strife, his expression lightening. "Can we go inside for a moment?"

Strife raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what Xephos's intentions were. "Uhh, sure."

The two started walking back towards the house, no glances or words exchanged. Xephos only turned back around to look back at what might have been the same something he was looking at before. Strife tried to see what it was, but Xephos stepped in front of him, blocking his line of sight with his torso. Strife glanced up to meet Xephos's gaze and the latter broke into a smile.

"The house looks... quaint," he offered, gesturing towards the spruce door behind Strife.

"It's home," Strife shrugged off his comment, still suspicious, and turned to open the door. They walked inside, immediately greeted by a warm fire in the fireplace and some food cooking in the furnace. Strife led Xephos into a small area that had some seats around a short table. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I only wanted to see the inside of your house; make sure its fit for- ... living." He glanced around, absentmindedly stroking the sprig of hair on his chin. It's hardly a beard, but suited Xephos just fine.

"So what is it you had for me?"

"Hmm?" Xephos turned his head back to Strife, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, yes." His lips stretched into a thin smile. "Tell me, Strife. Have you remembered much about your past?"

Strife sighed and brought up a hand to rub at his eyes. He shook his head and looked at Xephos who had a pitying look on his face. "All I can remember is Parv and Strife Solutions."

"Well then, you'll be in good company with who I brought you." Xephos started walking back towards the door, with Strife suddenly stumbling behind him.

"Who? What do you mean 'who'?!" Strife paused for a moment, a thought flashing through his mind. "Parvis. Did you bring back Parvis?"

Xephos was silent, so Strife ran ahead of him, quickly swinging open the door. "Parvis!" He froze, his hand still on the door handle. "You're..."

A rush of emotions flooded Strife. He could feel the surge in his bones and the tears welled in his eyes. His muscles tensed and released several times over and he just stared dumbly in front of him. He was lost in his mind for a moment, unable to pull himself back. And it wasn't until a hand was planted firmly on his shoulder that he realized warm, salty tears had slipped down his cheeks.

"Strife, this is Rowan."

He was crushed. Though the thought had only been in his mind for a moment, hope had swelled like a balloon in his heart then popped when his eyes fell on the red hair that burned in this sunlight; shattered into pieces as small as the freckles on a nervous face. He clenched his teeth and stared into green eyes that matched his own. Those eyes are supposed to be brown, that hair is supposed to be as black as the night sky they would lay under together, and those freckles should be specks of blood.

"Why is she here?" Strife finally growled, turning his head to Xephos.

"They are going to stay with you until I find someone that knows them. Rowan lost their memory and was... found without any idea where they were. I hope this won't be a problem, but you don't have a choice in the matter." Xephos stepped next to Rowan, placing a hand on either shoulder. He pushed them into the house then clasped his hands together, another very fake smile contorting his face. "Goodbye. I'm sure you'll both get along just fine. I'll of course be in contact if there are any problems."

"But Xephos-" The door was shut in Rowan's face and they took a few steps back, looking more nervous than they did before.

Strife covered his face with both hands, letting out a heavy sigh. "Why did he leave her with me?" he mumbled, only just loud enough to hear.

Rowan crossed their arms across their chest and furrowed their brow. "Hey-" Their voice cracked because they were nervous, but they tried again. "Hey!" Strife glanced up. "I'm sorry that I'm not who you were expecting, and I'm sorry that Xephos just decided to leave me here, but I will not stand for you mis-gendering me!"

"Wha...?" Strife straightened out, looking down at the indignant Rowan.

"I am not a girl, so stop referring to me as such!"

"So... you're a guy?"

"No! I am neither. There is none such gender that defines me! I am who defies all genders!" Rowan smirked, letting their arms fall to their side. They huffed, glancing over Strife's features once. "In other words, use they or them, or just use my name."

"...Alright." Strife quirked an eyebrow, but he was not amused. This is not what he wanted, nor was it who he wanted. "Well, if you're going to stay here I'll have to set up a bed for you. And I'm not gonna just let you freeload. You'll have to do your fair share of work."

"Of course." Rowan nodded, glancing behind the taller Strife. "Should I see the rest of the house?"

Strife frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah, sure." He seemed less than inviting, but reluctantly led the way deeper into the house. Rowan noticed the warm light cast by the fireplace, and felt drawn to it. Their arms itched to reach out to it, but they couldn't figure out why.

Just a deep-rooted magnetism for

Fire.