Armageddon

Music Box

Eizen and his crew were just about done working their butts off the the day. The crew had worked up quite an appetite after a long day's work, and Eizen had just about deciphered their next heading. All that remained was food, which the crew anxiously waited for.

Sure enough, Velvet and Phi were just in the horizon.

"Oh boy!" Cried Benwick. "Finally, we'll be feasting like kings tonight!"

"Aye." Eizen said, wearing his trademark scowl.

Very truly, all those days out at sea, putting in hard physical labor, and dealing with daemons here and there, were about to pay off.

However, the two ended up rather surprised to find Phi picking up speed and running passed them, crying while doing so.

Then, Velvet walked up, wearing her typical cold and indifferent expression.

"Should I even ask?" Was the first thing Eizen asked.

"Bit of a long story. All you need to know for now is shopping was a bust. Apparently, there's a shortage."

"What?!" Benwick exclaimed. "How can that be? Last time they were well stocked!"

"Don't know what to tell you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Velvet then walked passed Eizen and Benwick in order to track down Phi. If she knew him, she knew exactly where he'd be at this time.
***
Almost as soon as Phi ran in his room, he slammed the door shut and buried his face into his pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. When will these horrific visions cease? When will his nightmare stop haunting him? The very thought of that damned Daemon tore him apart.

Just outside, Velvet approached Phi's door. She was about to knock until she heard the faint sound of his crying. She sighed for a moment, not altogether sure what to do at first. Laphi did the same thing back in the day; always running to his "cave" when he was upset, wanting to be left alone. She suppose that was like she could do for the time being, just let him cry it out. Just hearing the wails from a sweet little boy, one usually full of hope and joy, was enough to make even her stone cold heart sink.

"Is Laphicet okay?" Asked a hoarse voice from a little girl. When Velvet turned to look, there stood Kamoana, with a look of worry.

Once more, Velvet sighed. She knew how sensitive the little therion girl was, and hearing something like this might scare her or make her sad. She certainly didn't want to deal with another crying child on the ship.

"Phi's just needs some alone time right now. He'll be fine."

"I hope so..."

Kamoana slowly walked on her way, clenching her right arm. Half way through the hall, she stopped.

"You know, my mommy use to sing to me when I was upset. Maybe Laphicet would like that."

As Kamoana went on her way, Velvet thought about it for a moment. There was indeed a song that she use to sing for her Laphi, just before bed, though she wasn't sure she had the heart to sing it at the moment.

But then, a thought occurred to her...
***
Phi had just about finished crying, his eyes still stinging from the waterfalls of tears that streamed down his face. Using one of his sleeves, he wiped away said tears off his face. Though his tears had stopped, he was still very much perturbed. All he could do was stare at the floor, seemingly staring in deep space.

Suddenly, the faint sound of music caught him off guard. It came from outside, no mistake. It was a most peculiar sound, almost like tiny bells, each one with a different notes which made a soft and soothing melody. Curious, he stepped outside to fins where this music was coming from.